The Kinect device is commonly associated to videogames, but this is not the only purpose of this device. Going into more depth, it could be a powerful tool to accomplish several goals, not only related to simple games. One such example could be Serious Games. Above all, Kinect device is a group of sensors and as such it is an attraction point in order to do experiments and measurements. This thesis tries to understand the potentiality and specifically tries to understand the precision and accuracy in the explicit area of rehabilitation. Taking advantage of the Kinect functionality, the thesis tries to enter in a young area, composed by two principal field of interest: catching and recognizing movements without the help of tool to wear, and the movements in order to do physical therapy. The result of this thesis is that the accuracy and precision of the Kinect device is sufficient for detecting therapeutic movements. Further work is however needed to be able to use Kinect for automatic discrimination of correct and incorrect physical movements.


Three reflectance meters available in Canada for glucose self monitoring were assessed for accuracy and reliability in determining capillary blood glucose compared with venous serum glucose assayed by the laboratory hexokinase method and to capillary whole blood glucose determined by the glucose-oxidase method on a YSI (Yellow Springs Instrument, Yellow Springs, Ohio). The readings with all three meters correlated with serum glucose rather than with whole blood glucose. The Ames Glucometer (Ames Division, Miles Laboratories, Rexdale, Ontario, Canada) was found to have the best predictive value over the full range of serum glucoses from 30 to 399 mg/dl. The Lifescan Glucoscan (Lifescan Inc., Mountainview, California), although reading satisfactorily in the range 30–180 mg/dl, significantly underestimated the capillary glucose at values > 180 mg/dl. The Hypoguard Hypocount B (Hypoguard Ltd., Suffolk, England) on the other hand read consistently high in the range 30–99 mg/dl but read satisfactorily over the range 100–399 mg/dl. All three methods, however, had inherent limitations that must be taken into account in their clinical application.


According to the cognitive-experiential self theory (CEST), all behavior is guided by two information-processing systems: the rational system and the experiential. Previous research with school leaders has shown that the rational system and constructive elements of the experiential system have a strong positive relationship with transformational leadership, as outlined in the Full-Range Leadership Theory. This article reports a pretest, posttest study using an intervention and control group to test whether changes to CEST information-processing systems could bring about changes in transformational leadership. The results of a 10-week, individually delivered coaching intervention program with a small group of school principals showed that there was a significant increase in transformational leadership scores between the pretest and posttest for the intervention group, as rated by school staff. The control group remained unchanged. Qualitative results from interviews indicated that school principals in the intervention group became more aware and reflective about their leadership practice. This study yields initial evidence that increasing rational and constructive thinking can develop the use of transformational leadership techniques.


Intensive care nursing is a professionally challenging role. This is elucidated in the body of research focusing on nurses' illbeing, including aspects such as burnout, stress, moral distress, and compassion fatigue. In contrast, little is currently known about intensive care nurse work wellbeing. The objectives of this programme of research were to conceptualise intensive care nurse wellbeing by identifying intensive care nurses' perspectives of work wellbeing and strategies that strengthen their work wellbeing. In a two-stage mixed methods approach firstly, the existing evidence base was explored through text analytics and a systematic review. Secondly, intensive care nurses' perspectives were sought in an online prototype analysis and a descriptive exploratory study. In stage one, a text analytics model was developed and applied to explore the size and impact, disciplinary reach, and semantics of the online publications investigating wellbeing generally, and intensive care nurse wellbeing. The intensive care nurse wellbeing literature was then systematically reviewed in an electronic search. In stage two, the prototype analysis sought intensive care nurse's perceptions of the characteristics of their work wellbeing and explored the internal structure of the construct of work wellbeing. Finally, in a descriptive exploratory study, using free text responses, intensive care nurses reported strategies strengthening their work wellbeing. These mixed methods were then synthesised to develop a framework to support organisational change. The text analysis and systematic review identified that conceptions of illbeing were strongly represented and intensive care nurse wellbeing was virtually absent. Four primary research studies were identified in the systematic review, focusing on intensive care nurse spiritual wellbeing, team commitment, emotional wellbeing, and the effects of a mindfulness programme. The studies were heterogeneous, and of variable quality and generalisability. The prototype analysis found the terms 'support', 'work-life balance', and 'workload' were in the top five most frequently endorsed and rated in the top 12 most central to their conception of work wellbeing. The nurses identified personal work wellbeing strengtheners such as mindfulness and yoga. Both relational (i.e., between nurses and ICU NURSE WORK WELLBEING iii colleagues) and organisational strengtheners were also evident, including aspects such as peer supervision, formal debriefing, and working as a team to support each other. Work wellbeing was found to be best described as a collection of elements; a multifaceted construct. Strengtheners of intensive care nurses' work wellbeing extended across individual, relational, and organisational resources. Actions such as simplifying their lives, giving and receiving team support, and accessing employee assistance programmes were just a few of the intensive care nurses' identified strengtheners. The findings of this programme of research were synthesised into a framework for job crafting and redesign. This synthesis informs future strategic work wellbeing programmes, creating opportunities for positive change.


Objective To assess the impact of components of the national programme for information technology (NPfIT) on measures of clinical and operational efficiency. Design Quasi-experimental controlled before and after study using routinely collected patient level data. Setting Four NHS acute hospital trusts in England. Data sources Inpatient admissions and outpatient appointments, 2000-5. Interventions A system for ordering pathology tests and browsing results (computerised physician order entry, CPOE) and a system for requesting radiological examinations and displaying images (picture archiving and communications system, PACS). Main outcome measures Requests per inpatient, outpatient, or day case patient for full blood count, urine culture and urea and electrolytes tests, and plain x ray film, computed tomography, and ultrasonography examinations. Results CPOE was associated with a reduction in the proportion of outpatient appointments at which full blood count (odds ratio 0.25, 95% confidence interval 0.16 to 0.40), urea and electrolytes (0.55, 0.39 to 0.77), and urine culture (0.30, 0.17 to 0.51) tests were ordered, and at which full blood count tests were repeated (0.73, 0.53 to 0.99). Conversely, the same system was associated with an almost fourfold increase in the use of urea and electrolytes tests among day case patients (3.63, 1.66 to 7.94). PACS was associated with a reduction in repeat plain x ray films at outpatient appointments (0.62, 0.44 to 0.88) and a reduction in inpatient computed tomography (0.83, 0.70 to 0.98). Conversely, it was associated with increases in computed tomography requested at outpatient appointments (1.89, 1.26 to 2.84) and computed tomography repeated within 48 hours during an inpatient stay (2.18, 1.52 to 3.14). Conclusions CPOE and PACS were associated with both increases and reductions in tests and examinations. The magnitude of the changes is potentially important with respect to the efficiency of provision of health care. Better information about the impact of modern IT is required to enable healthcare organisations to manage implementation optimally.


The purpose of this article is to illuminate the nature-past, present and future-of clinical training within the Psy.D. Program of Wheaton College and to contribute to the conversation of Clinical Training in Integrative Christian Doctoral Programs. We examine the history and basic philosophy of clinical training within the program, the unique opportunities and challenges our program experiences interfacing with the professional community, and the integrative dimensions of clinical training at Wheaton College. Additionally, we explore the various challenges and rewards that come with becoming a practitioner-scholar in a Christian context. Finally, we look forward to new directions and opportunities which remain ahead for the professional psychology training programs whose missions are grounded in a Christian worldview. The Wheaton College Psy.D. program began in 1993 and was accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) in 1998, in time for the first graduating class of doctoral students. The philosophy of our clinical training flows from the practitioner-scholar model (Gregory & McMinn, 2004), with an emphasis on servanthood which truly makes our program distinctive. In particular, there is a vital imperative for doctoral training to prepare psychologists for work with underserved populations given the disparity in the need for psychological services and the provision of these services among underserved populations (Krous & Nauta, 2005; Kruse & Canning, 2002). The founders of the Wheaton College doctoral program were greatly influenced by their desire for and calling to serve the underserved (Isaiah 61:1-4, Romans 12:1-2) and that influence has continued to impact the continuity and changes of our program, and specifically the clinical training of our students, over the past 17 years. This desire is reflected in the mission statement for the Psy.D. program which includes four strivings: 1) educate students in a manner grounded in, informed by, and shaped by the beliefs and practices of the Christian faith; 2) produce highly competent clinical psychologists who will be practitioner-scholars, capable of benefiting from and contributing to both the theoretical and applied empirical scholarly literature of the clinical psychology field, adept at advancing our understanding of the interface of psychological and spiritual understandings of the person, and competent to intervene to enhance human welfare; 3) emphasize and model a commitment to professional practice as service, especially to the Body of Christ, the Church, and also to those persons who have been marginalized and wounded by our society on the basis of racial or ethnic identification, age, socioeconomic status, or gender; and 4) conduct training in the context of an intentional community of faith which will emphasize a balanced approach to spiritual, personal, professional, and interpersonal growth and development. The wording of the mission statement highlights how important clinical training is to the program in its focus on the development of Christian clinical psychologists who are effectively and holistically trained to enhance human welfare and to serve others. With regard to the structure of the program, during graduate study at Wheaton College students are building a foundation upon which all later clinical development will occur. The academic curriculum includes breadth and depth in both clinical psychology and theology courses. This scholarly basis is critical to the professional development and clinical practice of students. We recognize the importance of diversity in models of professional practice as an impetus for personal growth as each student trains to become a competent professional. We strive to integrate theory with practice early in the program through student involvement in practicum training, which begins in the second year of the program. Throughout the sections included in this article, it will be apparent that the experiences that students receive in their clinical practica training in years two through four are central to their development. …


The national policy responses to the rising drug problem are effectuated by financing a large set of activities aimed at combating drug abuse. This paper provides an analysis of drug-related public expenditures in Croatia. We have examined the expenditures of public sector institutions in Croatia in the period from 2009 to 2012. Our main research goal was to identify the total drug-related public expenditures including the unlabelled ones, and to develop the method of estimating and allocating unlabelled expenditures by the type of drug policy program. The estimated total expenditures according to Reuter's drug program division are allocated into prevention, treatment and social reintegration, harm reduction, and law enforcement. The results indicate which types of drug policy programs public authorities in Croatia are really committed to in the sense that those programs absorb the largest proportions of total drug policy expenditures. The methodology applied could contribute to the development of the international methodological standards in this field. The findings are discussed in terms of future monitoring of public expenditures and policy recommendations, in order to facilitate better design programs and activities carried out by policy makers in fighting drug abuse in Croatia.


The Iberian Chain developed by inversion of Mesozoic rifts of the Iberian Basin during the Paleogene. The Maestrat and Cameros basins developed during the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous rifting cycle 2. There are two main controls on sedimentation: (1) tectonics, (2) climate, and these together control sea-level and paleoecosystems. Cameros and Maestrat basins display different styles of extensional tectonic structure probably due to a crust thermally weakened. Biotic changes in freshwater plants, continental faunas, and marine carbonate producers, reveal the evolution from Late Jurassic-Earliest Cretaceous climate to show hydrological seasonality in a general warm and humid context. This is confirmed by the coexistence of biotic markers of hydrological stress (closed stomatal structures in plants, small size in animals) with sedimentologic indicators of a long-lasting humid climate (lateritic soils and karstic bauxite deposits). The long-term global sea-level curve fits the main transgressive-regressive evolution of the Maestrat basin with
some local tectonic disturbances.


Modern intellectual property laws possess an unreasonably narrow focus on economic "incentivism" and pecuniary exploitation, which is problematic because it fails to address larger social welfare issues. This paper explores the genesis of two significant and chronologically overlapping legal evolutionary processes, that occurred in England during the 16th to 18th Century, to account for the development of this overly narrow economic focus.

The first legal process would be the conception of intellectual property laws as a result of British guild influence during the industrial age. This has accounted for the asymmetrical development of intellectual property laws, which favour right-holder protectionism and seeks to combat the growing ease of copying that technology offers.

The second process is the medieval English "Enclosure Movement", which academics use to draw similarities between the privatisation of common lands used by rural peasants and the contemporary propertisation of intellectual resource. The effect of intellectual propertisation grants right-holders exclusionary rights and contributes to the growing lack of access to intellectual goods by the masses. Next, this essay explores the role that multinational conglomerates have played in fostering stronger global intellectual property rights and creating informational scarcity. Corporations do so through overzealous lobbying and unfortunately, the effects of which are not confined within a domestic level, and have an upward vertical transfer on an international level as well.

Lastly, the consequential effects of intellectual propertisation are explored through the use of several case studies. Firstly, in the case of the AIDS pandemic, the inflation of pharmaceutical drug prices have effectively deprived those afflicted from accessing the necessary medicines needed to alleviate pain and prolong life. Secondly, in the case of the informational commons of the Internet, continual Governmental attempts to regulate the Internet have instead conversely accounted for the proliferation of illegal file-sharing activities.


In the present study cotton fabrics were dyed with the extracts obtained from the rinds of the fruit Punica granatum and the fabrics were assessed for antimicrobial,dyeability and fastness properties. The color strength (K/S) of dyed fabric was assessed through dyeability test. The finished fabrics were assessed for antibacterial activity qualitatively by disc diffusion method and parallel streak method (AATCC 147) and quantitatively by percentage reduction test (AATCC 100) against the test organisms Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The fabrics were also assessed for fastness properties such as wash fastness, light fastness and rubbing fastness as per the AATCC standards. The fabrics were finally subjected to wash durability tests. The dyeability results showed that the fabrics dyed with the P. granatum rind extracts have high K/S value when compared with the untreated control fabric. The natural extract dyed fabric has prominent antimicrobial activity which was evidenced by clear zone of bacterial inhibition in qualitative tests and bacterial reduction in quantitative tests whereas the control fabric has no antibacterial activity. Wash durability test showed that the antimicrobial activity of the fabrics was durable up to 10 wash cycles.


Volatilization and subsequent processing in the atmosphere is an important environmental pathway for the transport and chemical fate of pesticides. However, these processes remain a particularly poorly understood component of pesticide lifecycles due to analytical challenges in measuring pesticides in the atmosphere. Most pesticide measurements require long (hours to days) sampling times coupled with off-line analysis, inhibiting observation of meteorologically driven events or 10 investigation of rapid oxidation chemistry. Here, we present chemical ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry with iodide reagent ions as a fast and sensitive measurement of four current-use pesticides. These semi-volatile pesticides were calibrated with injections of solutions onto a filter and subsequently volatilized to generate gas phase analytes. Trifluralin and atrazine are detected as iodide-molecule adducts, while permethrin and metolachlor are detected as adducts between iodide and fragments of the parent analyte molecule. Limits of detection (1 second) are 0.37, 0.67, 0.56, and 1.1 μg/m3 for gas phase 15 trifluralin, metolachlor, atrazine and permethrin, respectively. The sensitivities of trifluralin and metolachlor depend on relative humidity, changing as much as 70% and 59%, respectively, as relative humidity of the sample air varies from 0 to 80%. This measurement approach is thus appropriate for laboratory experiments and potentially near-source field measurements.


Ecologists have wrestled with understanding what dictates the kinds and proportions of organisms in communities ranging from meadows to montane forests. Competition, predation, disturbance, and other factors have a heavy hand, and new research is showing the influential role of evolution as well. But there is still no consensus on the relative importance of the various forces. Darwin and many later ecologists emphasized competition among species, but proponents of a controversial theory of biodiversity that assumes competition has no impact argue that immigration and other random demographic events can account for much of the apparent makeup of communities. As a result, ecologists have a long way to go to come up with formulas that predict how communities might arise and change. Yet the ability to make predictions is important for the restoration and management of ecosystems impacted by invasive species or climate change.


Abstract. The Central America region hosts a valuable amount of World Heritage Sites (WHS), many of them located in areas of floods, landslides, drought, high winds, intense precipitations, and earthquakes. The effective management of WHS requires the understanding of this type of environmental phenomena and their potential impacts on these sites. The objective of this work is twofold. To make an analysis of some of the atmospheric systems (easterly waves, cold fronts and tropical cyclones [TCs]) hitting Central America, to estimate their effects on socio-economic activities and potential impacts on WHS during the period 2002–2012. The second objective is to identify, for a case study, the potential effects of hydro-meteorological events associated with a tropical storm on the Diquis Delta region in southern Costa Rica. This site, an important unique archeological site of stone spheres, has been proposed by this country as a WHS. To achieve both, public data bases like HURDAT (North Atlantic Hurricane Database), and information from regional newspapers and National Emergency Committees, among other sources, were used for the study of socio-economic impacts caused by these natural hazards. To accomplish the latter, course resolution NCEP/NCAR (National Center for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research) Reanalysis atmospheric data served to initialize version 5 of a numerical atmospheric mesoscale model (MM5). This approach permitted to obtain higher resolution gridded data for a set of atmospheric variables for a case study associated with the formation of tropical storm Alma upon the Pacific basin. The MM5 resulted winds and precipitation, among other variables, were then used to evaluate potential impacts on the WHS region. Among the systems analyzed for Central America, TCs were the ones that most severely impacted regional social life and worsened the already weak regional economies. During the period analyzed, TCs affected regions where WHS are very relevant to cultural life and touristic income. The MM5 derived data shows its potential for providing detailed space-time atmospheric data to help quantify and anticipate impacts for WHS protection and management. The overall results are expected to bring the attention of organizations and governments about the importance of socio-economic and cultural losses associated with the impacts caused by natural hazards near WHS in the region.


A novel selective filling technique has been developed for the patterning of semiconductor materials in microstructured optical fibers (MOFs) based on waveguide curing of epoxy filled capillary holes. The technique is compatible with the high pressures required for the semiconductor deposition and allows for quick and convenient selective filling, or coating, of complex designs in a range of MOF hole sizes and spacings. A variety of semiconductor filled MOFs have been demonstrated including the patterning of different materials within selected holes. The ability to selectively fill MOFs with multiple semiconductor materials is a step towards developing arrays of both passive and active all-fiber optoelectronic devices.


The quality of coastal waters is deteriorating in virtually every country of the world. Concerned groups and individuals in countries with scarce financial, technical and political resources need to find creative ways to strengthen institutional capabilities and commitment to deal with water quality issues. All too often, research efforts are duplicated in various institutions using different techniques and the results are often not widely shared. The formation of a Water Quality Working Group is a new approach in Ecuador to coordinate action around water issues. It is comprised of a group of Ecuadorian technicians trained in different areas of chemistry and engineering, and employed by various institutions with interests and responsibilities related to water quality. The Group has met regularly for the past four years as part of the Water Quality Management Program of the Ecuador Coastal Resource Management Project. The group has cooperated to understand the current quality of coastal waters and to establish guidelines for its use and management. In the beginning, intercalibrations of equipment and techniques were carried out to assure reliable results. The next stage was oriented to sampling and analysis of waters in critical areas, which permitted the documentation of baseline data. Currently, the group is formulating guidelines for water use and management as well as preparing proposals for additional funding. This interinstitutional and multidisciplinary method for developing an agenda and institutional capabilities related to water quality management is a new procedure for Ecuador and can be replicated in other countries.


Purpose of Study A fundamental question for educational planners and policy makers is which secondary school providers are most efficient in raising student learning for the most youth, given an available level of resources. Considerable attention has been devoted in recent years to the proposition that private providers offer efficient alternatives to government-financed and administered secondary schools. This study examines the rise of private secondary schools in Uganda and calculates a unit cost estimate for representative samples of secondary schools, both private and government. Setting A unit cost analysis was conducted among 28 randomly selected secondary schools in Uganda. Research Design A national sample of secondary schools was stratified in three ways. First, schools were selected according to the type of school, allowing half of the sample to be government schools and the other half private schools. A second stratification involved urbanicity, so both urban and rural schools were included in adequate numbers to allow subsequent comparison. Finally, the school sample was stratified by the four primary geographic regions in Uganda: Central (n = 10), Eastern (n = 6), Northern (n = 6), and Western (n = 6) Regions. All findings are based on analysis of sample survey data derived from randomly selected administrators, teachers, and parents of students. Using secondary school leaving examinations as the measure of effect, the article examines the relative cost effectiveness of private and government schools. Results Private schools in Uganda appear to be attractive, low-cost alternatives to government secondary schools. Per-pupil spending is significantly related to learning achievement, regardless of whether a student attends a private or government school. Thus, if higher performance is the desired ultimate student outcome, additional spending will be required. For their per-pupil cost, this article shows that private schools produce good learning gains—better, in fact, on a dollar basis, than government schools. Conclusions/Recommendations Unit cost data, when combined with reliable and valid measures of student learning achievement, are helpful to policy analysts and policy makers in determining the most efficient use of money. Although the comparatively high unit costs of government schools in this study are affected by the inclusion of capital costs, there is strong evidence to support the contention that private schools are a cost-effective alternative to government schools in the provision of general secondary education. Recommendations for future research include extending the analysis beyond the comparison of costs and examination scores by also considering the intangible component gains of schooling experiences in both private and government schools.


Purpose of review As considerations of the quality of health care have matured, the role of pediatric primary care providers and models for the delivery of primary care have received growing attention. Particularly for children with chronic conditions, the need for proactive, planned, and coordinated care delivered in partnership with consumers has become more apparent. The primary care medical home has emerged as a model favored by national organizations representing pediatricians and family physicians as well as national public health policy makers, yet implementation of this model remains limited and the evidence base for its value is not yet highly developed. Recent findings Most studies of primary care outcomes involve individual elements of the medical home such as care coordination and continuity of care. Limited data that are emerging from studies of the medical home model as a whole in practice settings suggest improvements in patient satisfaction and in some areas of utilization. No data are available that examine specific functional or physical health outcomes associated with primary care models like the medical home. Summary The pediatric primary care medical home provides a care model for both well children and those with special health care needs that expands primary care services beyond those provided in the examination room by individual providers to include systemic services such as patient registries, explicit care planning and care coordination, planned co-management with specialists, patient advocacy, and patient education. There is an immediate need for large-scale, practice-based studies of the outcomes for children and youth, providers, and the health care system when such improvements in primary care are implemented.


I This Article documents and explains the legal and extralegal dimensions of Investment Accelerator (IA) systems. Accelerators are a new class of institution that supports entrepreneurs and early stage startups. Investment Accelerators take an ownership stake in companies that participate in an intensive, time-limited program. Interviews reveal the surprising extent to which parties in many Investment Accelerators exchange economic value in the absence of formal agreement. Startups share proprietary information with highly accomplished mentors who, in turn, contribute their time and connections without direct compensation. This under-contracted and informal arrangement raises concerns about opportunism. Data from an original investigation presents a description of Investment Accelerator organization and its effects. Research reveals three notable findings about how IAs organize resources in the service of innovation objectives. First, Investment Accelerators mingle formal and informal mechanisms to assemble a system of stakeholders that spans an entrepreneurial community. Second, informal mechanisms attract a wider pool of mentor participants, including desirable professionals who would not participate as full time hires or as contributors pursuant to a contract. Third, Investment Accelerators show that, under certain circumstances, informal network governance constrains opportunism, even where a network is rapidly assembled and new entrants are included. I


ABSTRACT A new heliolitid tabulate coral Avicenia kocyani n. sp. is described from Silurian erratic boulders from Pomerania (Poland). The new species has higher intracolonial variation than other heliolitids. The growth pattern in corallites of the new species is not correlated with the growth pattern in coenenchymal tubes. This phenomenon is probably caused by different gene expressions in corallites and common tissue. Coenenchymal corals with a common skeleton, developed as polygonal tubes may have two levels of colonial integration: lower, with uncoordinated growth of corallites and common tissue (as for example in Avicenia kocyani n. sp.) and higher, with a unified growth pattern throughout the colony (as for example in Heliolites diligensis Bondarenko, 1966). Heliolitids are known to show strong provincialism during the Silurian. The discovery of Avicenia Leleshus, 1974 in Europe (previously known only from Central Asia) shows that at least some of them had a wider distribution than previously thought.


In the world of machine learning, neural networks have become a powerful pattern recognition technique that gives a user the ability to interpret high-dimensional data where as conventional methods, such as logistic regression, would fail. There exists many different types of neural networks, each containing its own set of hyperparameters, that are dependent on the type of analysis required, but the focus of this paper will be on the hyper-parameters of convolutional neural networks. Convolutional neural networks are commonly used for classifications of visual imagery. For example, if you were to build a network for the purpose of predicting a specific animal, it would hopefully output, with high fidelity, the correct classification of a new animal introduced to the model. Traditionally, hyper-parameters were rarely optimized because it required a lot of computational power and time. If hyper-parameters were adjusted, analysts would manually change a few hyper-parameters, re-run the model, and hopefully get a better classification accuracy. However, because of the advancements in technology, hyper-parameter tuning can now be done through complex and powerful optimization algorithms to improve the model. This paper implements and compares three different optimization techniques: random search, Bayesian Optimization with Gaussian Process, and tree of parzen estimator approach. The best performing technique is then improved through the Kiefer-Wolfowitz approximation.


A taxonomic revision of Anthriscus (Apiaceae, tribe Scandiceae ) in Turkey was carried out. The genus Anthriscus is represented by four sections and eight taxa, including six species with three non-typical infraspecific taxa in that territory, grouped into four sections: i) A. sect. Anthriscus ( A. caucalis var. caucalis and A. tenerrima var. tenerrima ); ii) A. sect. Cerefolium ( A. cerefolium var. trichocarpa ); iii) A. sect. Caroides ( A. kotschyi ); and iv) A. sect. Cacosciadium ( A. lamprocarpa subsp. lamprocarpa , A. lamprocarpa subsp. chelikii , A. sylvestris subsp. sylvestris and A. sylvestris subsp. nemorosa ). A new taxon, A. lamprocarpa subsp. chelikii , was found and published as a preliminary result of the present revisionary study. Some new characters such as length of filament and petal, and the ratio of fruit length to its beak length are used in the identification key for the first time. New localities of some taxa were found and their distribution areas are expanded. According to all morphological findings on Turkish Anthriscus , a new description of the genus was carried out. The taxonomic treatments for all taxa include type, synonyms (when present), morphological descriptions, phenology, and distribution areas (worldwide and local), habitats, phytogeographic region, conservation assessment and specimens examined. A new identification key for the sections and all Turkish species of the genus Anthriscus is reported, and illustrations and distribution maps in Turkey are also given for eight taxa.


Abstract In probabilistic safety assessments of pressurized water reactors, it is imperative to assess the potential and frequency of steam generator tube ruptures. Estimation of the frequency of steam generator tube ruptures has traditionally been based on historical occurrences, which are not applicable to new designs of steam generators with different geometries, material properties, degradation mechanisms, and thermal-hydraulic behaviors. This paper presents a new probabilistic mechanistic-based approach for estimating steam generator tube rupture frequency that is based on the principle that the failure of passive systems is governed by degradation or unfavorable conditions created through the underlying operating conditions and underlying mechanical, electrical, thermal, and chemical processes. This developed approach identifies, probabilistically models, and simulates potential degradations in new and existing steam generator designs to assess degradation versus time, until such degradation exceeds a known endurance limit. An example application of the proposed reliability prediction approach is presented for a new design of small modular reactor steam generators consisting of helically coiled tubes fabricated with advanced tube materials. This developed probabilistic physics-of-failure-based approach, when combined with probabilistic safety assessment techniques, can provide an effective tool for the evaluation of the safety and reliability of steam generators, particularly new steam generator designs used in advanced reactors.


Abstract The search for a gas source near to Apache9s Forties Field in the North Sea was motivated by the prediction of an ever-increasing fuel gas shortfall as the field oil rate declined. The Central North Sea is well known for a large number of shallow gas hazards in the Pleistocene section that have historically caused blowouts during exploration and development. These gas accumulations typically show up as small bright anomalies on seismic data. In 2009, a large gas anomaly was identified to the east of Forties, and the Aviat Field was discovered in 2010 when exploration well 22/7-5 was drilled. The Aviat Field reservoir is interpreted to be a subaqueous glacial outwash fan, consisting of silt-grade, rock flour material, deposited in front of a grounded ice sheet in some 400 m of water. Aviat sits on an overcompacted silty mudstone that was deformed by this ice sheet – the Crenulate Marker. The distribution of this horizon implies that the Early Pleistocene ice sheet covered at least the northern half of the UK North Sea. Although the Aviat reservoir is thin (2–9 m thick), the well tests, pressure profiles and geophysical response demonstrate that the reservoir is well connected, extensive (over 35 km 2 ) with high deliverability (up to 18 MMscfd achieved). Aviat was sanctioned in 2014 for development as a fuel gas supply for the Forties Field, with first gas achieved in July 2016.


In the world we live in today, the presence and claims of crisis abound – from climate change, financial and political crisis to depression, livelihoods and personal security crisis. There is a challenge to studying crisis due to the ways in which crisis as a notion, condition and experience refers to and operates at various societal levels. Further, different kinds of crisis can overlap and intersect with each other, and act as precursors or consequences of other crises, in what can be thought of as inter-crisis relations or chains of crises. This article makes an enquiry into how to develop more adequate analytical tools for understanding crisis as a multidimensional phenomenon. We ask how crisis can be conceptualised and what the analytical potentials of a distinct crisis perspective might be? In this article we suggest a multi- and interdisciplinary approach to bridge between traditionally separated realms. Our ambition is to present a case for the development of Interdisciplinary Crisis Studies as a field of scholarly enquiry, which allows for new perspectives on data collection and analysis. Using the cases of, first, crisis and security and, second, crisis and climate, conflict and migration, we illustrate how studying and intervening in crises requires non-linear approaches which connect across disciplines to develop more comprehensive, interdisciplinary understandings of societal problems and better solutions. In concluding the paper, we assert that key features of Interdisciplinary Crisis Studies must include (1) temporality, spatiality and scale; (2) multi-layeredness, processuality and contradictions; and (3) gender, intersectionality and social inequalities.


The Second Edition of OFDM Baseband Receiver Design for Wirless Communications, this book expands on the earlier edition with enhanced coverage of MIMO techniques, additional baseband algorithms, and more IC design examples. The authors cover the full range of OFDM technology, from theories and algorithms to architectures and circuits.The book gives a concise yet comprehensive look at digital communication fundamentals before explaining signal processing algorithms in receivers. The authors give detailed treatment of hardware issues - from architecture to IC implementation.Links OFDM and MIMO theory with hardware implementationEnables the reader to transfer communication received concepts into hardware; design wireless receivers with acceptable implemntation loss; achieve low-power designsCovers the latest standards, such as DVB-T2, WiMax, LTE and LTE-AIncludes more baseband algorithms, like soft-decoding algorithms such as BCJR and SOVAExpanded treatment of channel models, detection algorithms and MIMO techniquesFeatures concrete design examples of WiMAX systems and cognitive radio apllications Companion website with lecture slides for instructorsBased on materials developed for a course in digital communication IC design, this book is ideal for graduate students and researchers in VLSI design, wireless communications, and communications signal processing. Practicing engineers working on algorithms or hardware for wireless communications devices will also find this to be a key reference.


The present study seeks to examine attitudes to teaching and learning among jalis in the Gambia. Although this is the main focus, the horizon of which the study is carried out, analysed and discussed, is the development of music teacher education in Sweden during the last three decades, and of which I have been a participant.

The intention of the study is to expand current views on music teaching and learning so that teachers will be better equipped to work and function in a multicultural society. Specifically, the intention is to open the doors to the Mandinka approach to music education, in order to illuminate their philosophy of music teaching.

The research question is: What are the attitudes to music teaching and learning in the Gambia, and in what ways are the jalis experiences of, and attitudes towards music and music education expressed?

This study concerns cultural meetings on a number of levels: between people, between institutions and between literal and oral worlds of knowledge. The methodology chosen reflects these meetings: all results stem from the travels that I and my informant and co-researcher jali Alagi Mbye have made visiting musicians in the Gambia and, during a long period, moving in and out of each others cultures.

The core of the empirical data consists of observations and interviews with jalis and other Gambian musicians. The emic and the etic perspectives of these interviews are reflected in different ways. In one of the interviews my main informant, jali Alagi Mbye, acts as a co-researcher, thereby opening up new dimensions to the study. In this interview, it is the accompaniment of the 21-stringed kora that leads the conversation, just as much as the questions. Because of the multifaceted content of this interview, the full transcript and a CD-recording is attached in the appendix.

The results show that the oral jali tradition is in some respects both structured and formalised. Hence, it is described as 'the Oral University'. Delving deeper into the conversations with the musicians 'inside' and 'outside' the jali musical culture, the thematic outcome is differing. While the 'insiders' highlight the intellectual dimension of music education expressed in thoughts on culture and identity, and with references to the Sunjata orature, the 'outsiders' highlight the practical instrumental training dimension of music education, expressed, for example, by praising 'the art of not talking' as a way of teaching, and claiming that the master level and position is reached when people start to dance to your playing.

In conclusion, these differences in attitudes to music teaching and learning reflect different ways of expressing knowledge.


With increasing scale and complexity of supercomputing and cloud computing architectures, faults are becoming a frequent occurrence, which makes reliability a difficult challenge. Although for some applications it is enough to restart failed tasks, there is a large class of applications where tasks run for a long time or are tightly coupled, thus making a restart from scratch unfeasible. Checkpoint-Restart (CR), the main method to survive failures for such applications faces additional challenges in this context: not only does it need to minimize the performance overhead on the application due to checkpointing, but it also needs to operate with scarce resources. Given the iterative nature of the targeted applications, we launch the assumption that first-time writes to memory during asynchronous checkpointing generate the same kind of interference as they did in past iterations. Based on this assumption, we propose novel asynchronous checkpointing approach that leverages both current and past access pattern trends in order to optimize the order in which memory pages are flushed to stable storage. Large scale experiments show up to 60% improvement when compared to state-of-art checkpointing approaches, all this achievable with an extra memory requirement of less than 5% of the total application memory.


In this paper, the annual maximum daily rainfall data from 1961 to 2010 are modelled for 18 stations in Taiwan. We fit the rainfall data with stationary and non-stationary generalized extreme value distributions (GEV), and estimate their future behaviour based on the best fitting model. The non-stationary model means that the parameter of location of the GEV distribution is formulated as linear and quadratic functions of time to detect temporal trends in the maximum rainfall. Future behavior refers to the return level and the return period of the extreme rainfall. The 10, 20, 50 and 100-years return levels and their 95% confidence intervals of the return levels stationary models are provided. The return period is calculated based on the record-high (ranked 1st) extreme rainfall brought by the top 10 typhoons for each station in Taiwan. The estimates show that non-stationary model with increasing trend is suitable for the Kaohsiung, Hengchun, Taitung and Dawu stations. The Kaohsing and Hengchun stations have greater trends than the other two stations, showing that the positive trend extreme rainfall in the southern region is greater than in the eastern region of Taiwan. In addition, the Keelung, Anbu, Zhuzihu, Tamsui, Yilan, Taipei, Hsinchu, Taichung, Alishan, Yushan and Tainan stations are fitted well with the Gumbel distribution, while the Sun Moon Lake, Hualien and Chenggong stations are fitted well with the GEV distribution.


Each year, hundreds of billions of dollars are moved from one investment manager to another. Frequently, these decisions are based on relative performance measurements over periods of 5 to 10 years. The authors use a Monte Carlo model to test the logic of such an approach by constructing managers that have (1) positive skill, (2) no skill, and (3) negative skill versus their benchmarks. The authors show that the typical positive-skill manager suffers a longest underperformance period (defined as the longest month-to-month period during which the returns for the simulated fund trail those of the benchmark) of approximately 10 years during 15-year simulations. Conversely, managers with negative skill enjoy longest outperformance periods of a similar length. The authors also simulate a series of very skilled managers over a 100-year period and show that, on average, there is a 25-year period in which they underperformed. These findings are confirmed by empirical analysis of the realized performance of 5,500 actively managed funds with 15-year track records from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the Eurozone, Europe ex-euro, and Developed Asia ex-Japan markets. The authors conclude that the standard time frames for evaluating the relative performance of investment managers are insufficient to evaluate the skill of a manager with any degree of confidence. The authors cannot state with confidence that relative performance measures are useless, but the authors can state that they are so when they are employed in the customary fashion. TOPICS: Portfolio management/multi-asset allocation, performance measurement


Industrial waste comes from the end of product process as a solid or liquid waste. Avoiding the negative effects of industrial waste, each industry must complete their company with wastewater treatment plant. This Field Job  Practice was  done  at Kelola Mina  Laut,  Inc.,  located  in  Randu Agung Village, Kebomas District, Gresik th  th Residence, East  Java Province on August 4 – September 13 as  a mean  to observe,  learn  and  to know Kelola Mina Laut,  Inc. wastewater  treatment method. Work method which  used  in Field  Job Practice was  descriptive method with data collection technique, active participation, interview and literature study. The wastewater treatment plant of Kelola Mina Laut, Inc. consists of one collector batch unit, two aeration batch units, one sedimentation batch unit, and one contol batch unit. Before loosing the effluent to the water stream, wastewater  passes  through  the  control  batch  to  know  about  the wastewater  quality. After  passing  through  the treatments, wastewater  that  loosing upon  the environment will have a good quality and appropriate with Environment Quality Standard.


The objective of this workshop was to bring together researchers working in multiscale simulations with emphasis on multigrid methods and multiscale finite element methods, aiming at chieving of better understanding and synergy between these methods. The goal of multiscale finite element methods, as upscaling methods, is to compute coarse scale solutions of the underlying equations as accurately as possible. On the other hand, multigrid methods attempt to solve fine-scale equations rapidly using a hierarchy of coarse spaces. Multigrid methods need "good" coarse scale spaces for their efficiency. The discussions of this workshop partly focused on approximation properties of coarse scale spaces and multigrid convergence. Some other pre- sentations were on upscaling, domain decomposition methods and nonlinear multiscale methods. Some researchers discussed applications of these meth- ods to reservoir simulations, as well as to simulations of filtration, insulating materials, and turbulence


Objectives:
 Risk factors for peripheral artery disease (PAD) are tightly linked to those for coronary artery disease (CAD). Although depression is known to increase risk of CAD, fewer studies have evaluated depression and PAD, and the mechanisms linking depression and PAD remain unknown. We examined the association of depression with prevalent PAD and with prospective PAD events and evaluated potential mediators of these associations.

 Methods:
 We used data from the Heart and Soul Study, a prospective cohort of 1,024 men and women with CAD recruited in 2000-2002 and followed for a mean of 7.2 years with <5% loss to follow-up. Depression was assessed with the validated nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire. Prevalent PAD at baseline was determined by self-report. Prospective PAD events were adjudicated based on physician diagnosis, radiological imaging and/or need for PAD surgery. We used logistic and Cox models to estimate the independent associations of depression with prevalent PAD at baseline and subsequent PAD events, adjusting for potential mediators of these associations.

 Results:
 At baseline, depression affected 19% of patients. Prevalent PAD was reported by 12.1% of patients with depression and 7.3% of those without (age-adjusted OR 1.79, 95% CI 1.06-3.03, p=0.03). In age-adjusted models, physical inactivity, diabetes, and CRP level each explained more than 5% of the association between depression and prevalent PAD. During follow-up, PAD events occurred in 9% of patients with depression and 6% of those without (age-adjusted HR 1.77, 95% CI 1.02-3.07, p=0.04). Factors explaining more than 5% of the association between depression and incident PAD events included inactivity, diabetes, prevalent PAD, race/ethnicity, smoking, HDL, and triglyceride levels.

 Conclusions:
 Depression was associated with a greater risk of PAD at baseline and with prospective PAD events, providing evidence that depression is an important risk factor for the development of PAD. Since elevations in traditional, modifiable cardiovascular risk factors partially explain these associations, such risk factors should be assessed and aggressively treated. Furthermore, this study emphasizes the importance of depression screening and treatment in patients with PAD.


BACKGROUND
National and international guidelines recommend advance care planning (ACP) for patients with heart failure. But clinicians seem hesitant to engage with ACP.

PURPOSE
Our aim was to identify behavioral interventions with the greatest potential to engage clinicians with ACP in heart failure.

METHODS
A systematic review and meta-analysis. We searched CINAHL, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Database of Systematic Reviews, Embase, ERIC, Ovid MEDLINE, Science Citation Index, and PsycINFO for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from inception to August 2018. Three reviewers independently extracted data, assessed risk of bias (Cochrane risk of bias tool), the quality of evidence (Grading of Recommendation Assessment, Development, and Evaluation), and intervention synergy according to the behavior change wheel and behavior change techniques (BCTs). Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated for pooled effects.

RESULTS
Of 14,483 articles screened, we assessed the full text of 131 studies. Thirteen RCTs including 3,709 participants met all of the inclusion criteria. The BCTs of prompts/cues (OR: 4.18; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.03-8.59), credible source (OR: 3.24; 95% CI: 1.44-7.28), goal setting (outcome; OR: 2.67; 95% CI: 1.56-4.57), behavioral practice/rehearsal (OR: 2.64; 95% CI: 1.50-4.67), instruction on behavior performance (OR: 2.49; 95% CI: 1.63-3.79), goal setting (behavior; OR: 2.12; 95% CI: 1.57-2.87), and information about consequences (OR: 2.06; 95% CI: 1.40-3.05) showed statistically significant effects to engage clinicians with ACP.

CONCLUSION
Certain BCTs seem to improve clinicians' practice with ACP in heart failure and merit consideration for implementation into routine clinical practice.


Form the application of long rail system the non-ballast steel plate bridges, fatigue strength increase and rail noise reduction can be expected. This is mainly form the reduction of the rail impact at the rail joint locations which already made to behave together from welds. In the high speed rail, application of long rail system is essential because without long rail system, the required serviceability level can not be achieved. But even with this long rail systems, the thermal expansion from the girder can not be absorbed in the normal bearing systems, and these expansion cause between girder and rail. Also unexpected rail buckling and fracture through rail thermal tension may happen. It was found through numerical analysis and field measurement that these problems can be avoided by semi-fixed bearing system. In this study, the benefits of non-ballast plate bridge through long rail system, especially at the point of girder stability, girder stiffness increase and bearing maintenance will be reviewed.


When a customer uses a credit card, the merchant pays a small percentage of the purchase price to the bank that issued the card. This cost of card acceptance, known as the interchange fee, adds up to big money really big. This year, the credit card companies anticipate that interchange fees will total $48 billion, an increase of nearly 300% since 2001. Merchants can do little to influence these fees, because credit cards are critical to their businesses and the systems' rules prohibit surcharging. In recent years, commentators with growing levels of confidence have suggested that this anticompetitive rumble could be quelled if merchants had the power to surcharge card transactions. And now, fed up with the astonishing increases in interchange fees, merchants have filed more than 50 antitrust suits (now consolidated) against the credit card companies challenging the rules prohibiting surcharging and seeking the power to do it. This Article contends that permitting surcharging would likely do more harm than good. Under well established economic principles, charging merchants more than necessary to cover the cost of providing card-acceptance services can actually enable consumers to internalize all of the benefits (those flowing to both consumers and merchants) of card use. Just as newspapers efficiently charge readers much less than the cost of producing and delivering the morning paper, and advertisers pay much more than the cost of placing an advertisement, efficient credit card pricing requires that merchants pay more than the direct cost of service, and cardholders pay less. In such a two-sided market, shielding cardholders from merchant acceptance costs through rules prohibiting surcharging serves the pro-competitive purpose of facilitating efficient pricing. Today, unfortunately, card systems with market power go too far and charge merchants an additional, anticompetitive increment, above what is necessary to an efficient pricing policy. Card issuers may then retain some revenue as supra-competitive profit and wastefully compete some away in pursuit of highly profitable cardholders. Although surcharging potentially could combat this market power, it would be an uncertain and risky response, because merchants could not precisely tailor their schemes to undo only the anticompetitive overcharge. Moreover, retailers in competitive markets would find surcharging difficult because of the costs, particularly in terms of customer resistance. Merchants with market power probably could institute surcharges, but would be unlikely to channel all of the savings to their customers. In sum, the competitive benefits of permitting surcharging are more uncertain, and the losses in terms of consumer welfare more likely, than commentators have suggested. Whether consumers would benefit from the resulting disruption to the current market equilibrium would be, at best, anybody's guess. This Article proposes an alternative, less risky response that would focus directly on card system market power by relaxing the rule that requires merchants to accept cards from every issuer on the network (the "honor-all-cards" rule). Today, large banks issuing Visa and MasterCard cards effectively set their interchange fees collectively. By forcing these banks to compete for merchants, as American Express and Discover do now, this approach would stimulate competition and move card-acceptance costs toward the efficient level, without a significant risk of inefficiently disrupting the market.


Temperature, relative humidity, and air quality all affect the sensory system via thermo receptors in the skin and the olfactory system. Air quality is mainly defined by the contaminants in the air. However, the most persistent memory of any space is often its odor. Strong, emotional, and past experiences are awakened by the olfactory sense. Odors can also influence cognitive processes that affect creative task performance, as well as personal memories and moods. Besides nitrogen and oxygen, the air contains particles and many chemicals that affect the efficiency of the oxygenation process in the blood, and ultimately the air breathed affects thinking and concentration. It is important to show clients the value of spending more capital on high-quality buildings that promote good ventilation. The process of achieving indoor-air quality is a continual one throughout the design, construction, commissioning, and facilities management processes. This paper reviews the evidence.


The fuzzy composition of objects depicted in images acquired through MR imaging or the use of bio-scanners has often been a point of controversy for field experts attempting to effectively delineate between the visualized objects. Modern approaches in medical image segmentation tend to consider fuzziness as a characteristic and inherent feature of the depicted object, instead of an undesirable trait. In this paper, a novel technique for efficient image retrieval in the context of images in which segmented objects are either crisp or fuzzily bounded is presented. Moreover, the proposed method is applied in the case of multiple, even conflicting, segmentations from field experts. Experimental results demonstrate the efficiency of the suggested method in retrieving similar objects from the aforementioned categories while taking into account the fuzzy nature of the depicted data. Keywords—Fuzzy Object, Fuzzy Image Segmentation, Motion Descriptors, MRI Imaging, Object-Based Image Retrieval.


The purpose of this paper is twofold: (a) to determine whether there is value premium in our sample of US stocks for the period May 1, 1969-April 30, 2011; and (b) to examine whether an additional screening to the first step of the value investing process can be employed to separate the outperforming value and growth stocks from the underperforming ones. In this paper, we document the following: We find a consistently strong and pervasive value premium over the sample period. We show that there are distinct differences between US exchanges which means that papers that aggregate all US exchanges under one umbrella may dilute findings and bias conclusions. The stocks of AMEX firms, high business risk firms and firms that report extraordinary items experience worse returns than the rest of the US stocks in our sample. We find that P/E based sortings produce better overall results than sortings based on P/B. We are able to construct a composite score indicator (SCORE), combining various fundamental and market metrics, which enable us not only to separate the winners from the losers among value and growth stocks, but also to predict future returns of value and growth stocks. SCORE portfolios give better results for sortings based on P/E and when we employed a cross-section-time series medians approach. Results remain robust for a time period out of sample, for negative P/E or P/B ratio firms and for the firms that were excluded from SCORE-based performance, namely, AMEX stocks, stocks with high business risk and firms that reported extraordinary items the year before. Finally, we provide evidence that the return of a portfolio strategy that buys (sells) stocks that rank low (high) in the composite score indicator has significant explanatory power in an asset pricing model framework and that such a strategy earns statistically significant positive returns.


In mixed-valence (MV) systems essentially identical, more or less electronically coupled, redox centres are brought into formally different oxidation states by removal or addition of an electron. Depending on the strength of electronic coupling, an electron or a hole is either concentrated on one of the redox centres, or it is symmetrically delocalised onto several sites, or the situation is somewhere in between, which leads to the classification system for MV systems introduced by Melvin Robin and Peter Day. These different characteristics are of fundamental importance for the understanding of electron transfer processes. Applications of quantum-chemical methods to aid the classification and to unravel the nature of the electronic structure and spectroscopic data of both organic and transition-metal MV systems, have gained tremendous importance over the last two decades. In this review, we emphasise the prerequisites the quantum-chemical methods need to fulfill to successfully describe MV systems close to the borderline between Robin-Day classes II and III. These are, in particular, a balanced treatment of exchange, dynamical and non-dynamical correlation effects, as well as consideration of the crucial influence of the (solvent or solid-state) environment on the partial localisation of charge. A large variety of applications of quantum-chemical methods to both organic and inorganic MV systems are critically appraised here in view of these prerequisites. Practical protocols based on a combination of suitable density functional methods with continuum or non-continuum solvent models provided good agreement with experimental data for the ground states and the electronic excitations of a large range of MV systems close to the borderline. Recent applications of such methods have highlighted the crucial importance of conformational effects on electronic coupling, all the way to systems where conformational motion may cause a thermal mixing of class II and class III situations in one system.


Carbon-13 NMR spectra of twelve monosubstituted benzene derivatives were measured in deuterochloroform. Together with the literature data a set of 35 systematically chosen substituents was obtained on which some thirty correlation equations were tested. As anticipated only substituent chemical shifts (SCS) in the position 4 are controlled by inductive and resonance effects, and can be correlated by dual substituent parameters (DSP). For the other positions DSP were not successful and more sophisticated equations are not much telling. On the other hand, the direct relations between two series of SCS are usually more precise and simple to understand. It is concluded that SCS in benzene ring need not be controlled by too complex mechanism but simply by different factors than by inductive and resonance effects.


"Home" is the final destination of human's body and mind and also spiritual sustenance. "Residential community" is the sublimation of home, including significant architecture and spatial organization, a big leap from residential function toward multiple functions. With the background of industrialization, environment quality and landscape needs of residential community have become crucial symbols of material and spiritual civilization.


The objective of this study is to evaluate the poten- tial of large altimetry datasets as a complementary gauging network capable of providing water discharge in ungauged regions. A rating curve-based methodology is adopted to de- rive water discharge from altimetric data provided by the En- visat satellite at 475 virtual stations (VS) within the Amazon basin. From a global-scale perspective, the stage-discharge relations at VS are built based on radar altimetry and outputs from a modeling system composed of a land surface model and a global river routing scheme. In order to quantify the im- pact of model uncertainties on rating-curve based discharges, a second experiment is performed using outputs from a sim- ulation where daily observed discharges at 135 gauging sta- tions are introduced in the modeling system. Discharge esti- mates at 90 VS are evaluated against observations during the curve fitting calibration (2002-2005) and evaluation (2006- 2008) periods, resulting in mean normalized RMS errors as high as 39 and 15 % for experiments without and with direct insertion of data, respectively. Without direct insertion, un- certainty of discharge estimates can be mostly attributed to forcing errors at smaller scales, generating a positive correla- tion between performance and drainage area. Mean relative streamflow volume errors (RE) of altimetry-based discharges varied from 15 to 84 % for large and small drainage areas, re- spectively. Rating curves produced a mean RE of 51 % versus 68 % from model outputs. Inserting discharge data into the modeling system decreases the mean RE from 51 to 18 %, and mean NRMSE from 24 to 9 %. These results demon- strate the feasibility of applying the proposed methodology to the continental or global scales.


The increasing popularity of multi-core System-on-Chip platforms introduces new challenges, both in terms of hardware platforms and design methodologies. Dynamic reconfiguration can be exploited to increase the flexibility of the system and to implement multiple applications, since it is possible to easily switch between them by reconfiguring part of the device at run-time. Additionally, new applications may be included in the system after the design time synthesis has been completed. This paper addresses the problem of mapping new applications on the device area at run-time, by reusing existing components of the system. We propose an heuristic technique that is able to determine how the new application should be mapped in a short time and, thanks to the reuse policy, to immediately deploy the solution on the device. The proposed algorithm also takes into consideration two conflicting performance metrics, in order to generate a good quality result.


I had always known that my maternal grandfather, a Jew and a society gynaecologist in the swinging Berlin of the 1920s and 1930s, had written a book analysing the roots of sexuality and its position in modern society. But, like his detective novel, Sperm Type D1, in which the fetus of a drowned woman is transferred to another woman's womb, I had always presumed that all the copies had been incinerated in the book burnings which characterised the early years of the Third Reich. What a surprise, then, to come across a copy of Sex and Sin—The Crisis in Sexuality and the Decline of Marriage by Dr Heinz Schmeidler in my parents' attic.

I picked up the red, cloth backed book and opened it with some trepidation. I had been brought up to regard my grandfather, who I never met, as a man of great intellectual gifts and much larger than life. Overflowing with humour and kindness, he was the darling of the Berlin film and theatre set in those Bohemian years before everything went so horribly wrong.

His surgery was two floors above the fashionable Cafe Kranzler in central Berlin and one floor above the offices of the German Stage and Theatre Club. He was also doctor to the Ufa film studios, and it was not long before he was on the closest of terms with such icons …


We present a $\Gamma$-convergence analysis of the quasicontinuum method focused on the behavior of the approximate energy functionals in the continuum limit of a harmonic and defect-free crystal. The analysis shows that, under general conditions of stability and boundedness of the energy, the continuum limit is attained provided that the continuum---e.g., finite-element---approximation spaces are strongly dense in an appropriate topology and provided that the lattice size converges to zero more rapidly than the mesh size. The equicoercivity of the quasicontinuum energy functionals is likewise established with broad generality, which, in conjunction with $\Gamma$-convergence, ensures the convergence of the minimizers. We also show under rather general conditions that, for interatomic energies having a clusterwise additive structure, summation or quadrature rules that suitably approximate the local element energies do not affect the continuum limit. Finally, we propose a discrete patch test that provides a ...


Over the years, firms have been pressured by various stakeholders to be transparent about how they operate. In this regard, good corporategovernance should ensure timely and accurate disclosure is made on a firm's financial, risk management and internal control. Hence, the purpose of thisstudy is to construct an index for risk management and internal control. This index used to assess the extents of Malaysian listed firms' compliance of therisk management and internal control guidelines created for directors of listed issuers. The index was developed based on the requirements, underParagraph 15.26(b) of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad's Main Market Listing Requirements ('Listing Requirements'), as guided by the 'Statementon Risk Management and Internal Control: Guidelines for Directors of Listed Issuers'. This guideline , which was released on 31 December 2012,incorporates the revision made to the Statement on Risk Management & Internal Control: Guidelines for Directors of Listed Issuers (issued in 2000).The findings of this study reveal that the compliance score by the sample firms reach about 70 per cent. The result is beneficial to the industry ledTask Force to ascertain how the revised guidelines were incorporated into corporate governance dislosure. The findings of this study could also beuseful for firms to determine the adequacy of their risk management and internal control practices and ensure that these guidelines are communicatedappropriately and effectively. This, in turn, will assist firms to achieve their corporate objectives and match stakeholders' expectations within an ethicaland healthy corporate culture.
Keywords: Disclosure, internal control, risk management


Malawi is a small developing country that is dependent on fisheries as a source of employment and protein. The country supports an artisanal fishery for both commercial and subsistence use. Centralised management has failed to reduce effort and protect juvenile fish, resulting in declining fish stocks. In an effort to correct problems with these fisheries, co-management has been suggested starting with the test sites. Lake Malombe and Lake Chiuta. This study will look at improvements needed to increase the potential for sustainability by allowing co-management to be integrated into the societal context, focusing on the position of the village headmen and Beach Village Committees. -- Co-management is the evolving institutional process of sharing the management of the fishery among various stakeholders. The capacity and interests of local fishers are complemented by the state's ability to legislate regulations. Co-management can lead to better more informed decision-making and improved resource outcome as measured by efficiency, equity and sustainability. -- Co-management so far in Malawi involves the creation of Beach Village Committees in communities to aid the Department of Fisheries in managing fisheries at the test sites - Lake Malombe and Lake Chiuta. Beach Village Committees in Lake Malombe include the village headmen, and has resulted in fishers being underrepresented in management. After the implementation of co-management there has been an increase in compliance and increased catches. The main benefit is improved communication between the Department of Fisheries and communities. -- In Lake Chiuta, co-management was implemented through a community led initiative in response to the harmful effects of nkacha fishers. Village headmen have not served a major role in the process of co-management. As a result the Beach Village Committees are more often viewed as being representative of the fishers and they are able to present views of those fishers. The main advantage of co-management has been to legitimise de facto regulations. -- To become a part of the society in which these fishers live, co-management needs to have certain qualities. Village headmen need to be removed from Beach Village Committees, although they need to be given other positions of authority within the fishery that their position dictates. As members of lake wide committees they can still gain benefits from the fishery and be involved in dispute resolution. Beach Village Committees need to build on pre-existing social structures. This may mean the inclusion of sadakas and chairmen in Beach Village Committees.


ABSTRACT Unique to pestiviruses, the N-terminal protein encoded by the bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) genome is a cysteine protease (Npro) responsible for a self-cleavage that releases the N terminus of the core protein (C). This unique protease is dispensable for viral replication, and its coding region can be replaced by a ubiquitin gene directly fused in frame to the core. To develop an antiviral assay that allows the assessment of anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) NS3 protease inhibitors, a chimeric BVDV in which the coding region of Npro was replaced by that of an NS4A cofactor-tethered HCV NS3 protease domain was generated. This cofactor-tethered HCV protease domain was linked in frame to the core protein of BVDV through an HCV NS5A-NS5B junction site and mimicked the proteolytic function of Npro in the release of BVDV core for capsid assembly. A similar chimeric construct was built with an inactive HCV NS3 protease to serve as a control. Genomic RNA transcripts derived from both chimeric clones, PH/B(wild-type HCV NS3 protease) and PH/B(S139A) (mutant HCV NS3 protease) were then transfected into bovine cells (MDBK). Only the RNA transcripts from the PH/B clone yielded viable viruses, whereas the mutant clone, PH/B(S139A), failed to produce any signs of infection, suggesting that the unprocessed fusion protein rendered the BVDV core protein defective in capsid assembly. Like the wild-type BVDV (NADL), the chimeric virus was cytopathic and formed plaques on the cell monolayer. Sequence and biochemical analyses confirmed the identity of the chimeric virus and further revealed variant viruses due to growth adaptation. Growth analysis revealed comparable replication kinetics between the wild-type and the chimeric BVDVs. Finally, to assess the genetic stability of the chimeric virus, an Npro-null BVDV (BVDV−Npro in which the entire Npro coding region was deleted) was produced. Although cytopathic, BVDV−Npro was highly defective in viral replication and growth, a finding consistent with the observed stability of the chimeric virus after serial passages.


Abstract. This paper examines impacts of increased visitation leading to human trampling of vegetation and soil along several trails in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) to understand how abiotic factors and level of use can influence trail conditions. RMNP is one of the most visited national parks in the USA, with 3.3 million visitors in 2012 across 1075 km2 and 571 km of hiking trails. 95 % of the park is designated wilderness, making the balance between preservation and visitor use challenging. This research involves the application of trail condition assessments to 56 km of trails to determine prevailing factors and what, if any, connection between them exist. The study looked at a variety of inventory and impact indicators and standards to determine their importance and to develop a baseline condition of trails. The data can be used for future comparison and evaluation of development trends. We found that trail widening (mean trail width 88.9 cm) and soil loss (cross-sectional area 172.7 cm2) are the most visible effects of trail degradation. Further statistical analyses of data identified the role and influence of various factors (e.g., use level and topography). Insights into the influence of these factors can lead to the selection of appropriate management measures to avoid or minimize negative consequences from increased visitation.


Federated Learning is a distributed learning setting where the goal is to train a centralized model with training data distributed over a large number of heterogeneous clients, each with unreliable and relatively slow network connections. A common optimization approach used in federated learning is based on the idea of local SGD : each client runs some number of SGD steps locally and then the updated local models are av-eraged to form the updated global model on the coordinating server. In this paper, we investigate the performance of an asynchronous version of local SGD wherein the clients can communicate with the server at arbitrary time intervals. Our main result shows that for smooth strongly convex and smooth nonconvex functions we achieve convergence rates that match the synchronous version that requires all clients to communicate simultaneously.


Coralligenous habitat results from a multi-stratified accumulation of crustose coralline algae and animal builders in a dynamic equilibrium with disruptive agents. The result is a complex architecture crossed by crevices and holes. Due to this three-dimensional structure, coralligenous may host a rich and diversified fauna, more abundant than any other Mediterranean habitat. Unfortunately, very few data are available about the cryptic fauna that lives inside the conglomerate. As already reported for coral reefs, the cryptic fauna plays an important role in the exchange of material and energy between water column and benthic assemblages. Here we compare the sponge community present inside and outside the coralligenous framework of Portofino Promontory (Ligurian Sea) at different depths (15 and 30 meters) not only in terms of taxonomic diversity but for the first time also in term of biomass. Sponges present on the surface of each block were collected, weighed and identified; after blocks dissolution in HCl, target cryptic sponges were separated from other organisms, weighed, and identified. We recorded a total of 62 sponge species. The average number of sponge taxa occurring outside the coralligenous accretions is lower than the number of taxa identified inside. This pattern is confirmed also regarding sponge biomass. These results underlines that studies focused on coralligenous functioning should take in account the important contribution of cryptic fauna, as recently evidenced also for tropical reef habitats.


In this important and timely collection of essays, historians reflect on the middle class: what it is, why its struggles figure so prominently in discussions of the current economic crisis, and how it has shaped, and been shaped by, modernity. The contributors focus on specific middle-class formations around the world—in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas—since the mid-nineteenth century. They scrutinize these formations in relation to the practices of modernity, to professionalization, to revolutionary politics, and to the making of a public sphere. Taken together, their essays demonstrate that the historical formation of the middle class has been constituted transnationally through changing, unequal relationships and shifting racial and gender hierarchies, colonial practices, and religious divisions. That history raises questions about taking the robustness of the middle class as the measure of a society's stability and democratic promise. Those questions are among the many stimulated by The Making of the Middle Class , which invites critical conversation about capitalism, imperialism, postcolonialism, modernity, and our neoliberal present.

Contributors . Susanne Eineigel, Michael A.Ervin, Inigo Garcia-Bryce, Enrique Garguin, Simon Gunn, Carol E. Harrison, Franca Iacovetta, Sanjay Joshi, Prashant Kidambi, A. Ricardo Lopez, Gisela Mettele, Marina Moskowitz, Robyn Muncy, Brian Owensby, David S. Parker, Mrinalini Sinha, Mary Kay Vaughan, Daniel J. Walkowitz, Keith David Watenpaugh, Barbara Weinstein, Michael O. West


Integrin cross-linking can stimulate several cellular signaling pathways, resulting in cytoskeletal reorganization and gene expression. Werner and Werb investigated how integrin cross-linking, specifically integrins containing the α5 subunit, can trigger an increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) that leads to the stimulation of the NF-κB transcription factor and expression of the matrix metalloproteinase-1 and collagenase-1 gene CL-1. Cross-linking of the α5 integrins with an antibody stimulated a transient increase in extracellular and intracellular hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Increased H2O2 was also observed in cells expressing constitutively active forms of the guanosine triphosphatase Rac or RhoA, but not Cdc42. The integrin-stimulated increase in H2O2 required activation of Rac and could be blocked by a Rac dominant-negative mutant. The activation of NF-κB and transcription of CL-1 was blocked by expression of Rac with a mutation in position L37. The increased H2O2 was inhibited if the mitochondrial respiratory chain was inhibited. To assess whether dissipation of the mitochondrial membrane potential was involved in the activation of CL-1 expression, cells were sorted into two populations: those that showed a dissipation of the mitochondrial membrane potential in response to integrin activation and those that did not. Only the cells in which the potential had been dissipated in response to the integrin activation later showed increased expression of CL-1. Despite transient dissipation of the mitochondrial membrane potential, the integrin-cross-linked cells did not undergo apoptosis or appear to undergo the mitochondrial permeability transition. However, overexpression of the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2 inhibited integrin-stimulated expression of CL-1, suggesting that Bcl-2 may be a modulator of this process in addition to its role in apoptosis. E. Werner, Z. Werb, Integrins engage mitochondrial function for signal transduction by a mechanism dependent on Rho GTPases. J. Cell Biol. 158, 357-368 (2002). [Abstract] [Full Text]


We present an analysis of V-band radial surface brightness μ(r) profiles for S0 galaxies in different environments using Hubble Space Telescope/Advanced Camera for Surveys imaging and data from the Space Telescope A901/2 Galaxy Evolution Survey. Using a large sample of ∼280 field and cluster S0s, we find that in both environments, ∼25 per cent have a pure exponential disc (type I) and ∼50 per cent exhibit an up-bending disc break (antitruncation, type III). However, we find hardly any (<5 per cent) down-bending disc breaks (truncations, type II) in our S0s and many cases (∼20 per cent) where no discernible exponential component was observed (i.e. general curvature). We also find no evidence for an environmental dependence on the disc scalelength h or break strength T (outer-to-inner scalelength ratio), implying that the galaxy environment does not affect the stellar distribution in S0 stellar discs. Comparing disc structure (e.g. h, T) between these S0s and the spiral galaxies from our previous studies, we find: (i) no evidence for the type I scalelength h being dependent on morphology; and (ii) some evidence to suggest that the type II/III break strength T is smaller (weaker) in S0s compared to spiral galaxies. Taken together, these results suggest that the stellar distribution in S0s is not drastically affected by the galaxy environment. However, some process inherent to the morphological transformation of spiral galaxies into S0s does affect stellar disc structure causing a weakening of μ(r) breaks and may even eliminate truncations from S0 galaxies. In further tests, we perform analytical bulge–disc decompositions on our S0s and compare the results to those for spiral galaxies from our previous studies. For type III galaxies, we find that bulge light can account for the excess light at large radii in up to ∼50 per cent of S0s but in only ∼15 per cent of spirals. We propose that this result is consistent with a fading stellar disc (evolving bulge-to-disc ratio) being an inherent process in the transformation of spiral galaxies into S0s.


The Guidelines for Qualifications of Neurodiagnostic Personnel (QNP) document has been created through the collaboration of the American Clinical Neurophysiology Society (ACNS), the American Society of Neurophysiological Monitoring (ASNM), the American Association of Neuromuscular & Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM), and ASET The Neurodiagnostic Society (ASET). The quality of patient care is optimized when neurophysiological procedures are performed and interpreted by appropriately trained and qualified practitioners at every level. These societies recognize that neurodiagnostics is a large field with practitioners who have entered the field through a variety of training paths. This document suggests job titles, associated job responsibilities, and the recommended levels of education, certification, experience, and ongoing education appropriate for each job. This is important because of the growth and development of standardized training programs, board certifications, and continuing education in recent years. This document matches training, education, and credentials to the various tasks required for performing and interpreting neurodiagnostic procedures. This document does not intend to restrict the practice of those already working in neurodiagnostics. It represents recommendations of these societies with the understanding that federal, state, and local regulations, as well as individual hospital bylaws, supersede these recommendations. Because neurodiagnostics is a growing and dynamic field, the authors fully intend this document to change over time.


Whether you're using a Tungsten T3 with its glorious high-res screen or the No. 1-selling, under-$100 Zire, the heart of your handheld remains the same: the mighty Palm operating system! Here to ensure that you start taking advantage of all of its built-in software and functionality immediately is a thoroughly updated Visual QuickStart Guide from Palm pro Jeff Carlson. Using clear, step-by-step instructions peppered with plenty of visual aids, Jeff quickly brings you up to date and up to speed on all that's new in the rapidly changing world of Palm Cobalt and Palm Garnet devices: the ability to synchronize data with Apple's iApps (iCal, Address Book, iMovie, iTunes, and iPhoto) and Microsoft Entourage; support for high-res screens in tablet designs; rich graphics and multimedia features; and more. After learning how to use Palm's built-in applications, you'll quickly discover the breadth of what you can accomplish using today's Palm-based organizers--snapping photos, communicating wirelessly, recording sound, and more!


Much of the ethical debate on peer-to-peer (P2P) focuses on the use of this technology for unauthorized and illegal sharing of copyrighted materials. This fixation has led some to believe that P2P is an intrinsically unethical technology. However, P2P has a much wider significance than the unauthorized circulation of copyrighted material. Scholars therefore need to evaluate the global ethical effects of P2P architecture on society, as opposed to focusing on the specific implementations of this architecture. Several criteria have been proposed for the assessment of these implications, ranging from the effects of P2P on the technological progress of a society to its influence on the development of virtuous interactions. This article contributes to this debate by presenting a new approach, which distinguishes between local effects (content related) and systemic effects (communication modality related) of the use of P2P and focuses on the latter. Employing Floridi's information ethics, it considers whether or not P2P is an ethical technology, in a global sense.


Recent research has shown that an important characteristic of English science writing is the use of inanimate subjects with agentive verbs (IS-AV constructions), as in this paper suggests or this theory argues. This article explores the use of such IS-AV constructions from a cross-linguistic perspective, investigating, by means of two small-scale corpus studies, whether they are used differently in English and Dutch academic prose and how they are translated in English-Dutch translations in this genre. The results are relevant for Dutch writers of English academic texts and translators working with these languages, and raise a number of broader theoretical issues with respect to contrastive differences between English and Dutch, the possibility of English influence on Dutch academic prose, and the desirability of IS-AV constructions in this genre.


Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) bronchoplasty is an advanced VATS technique requiring experience in endoscopic sewing, tying and suturing techniques reserved for cancers arising from central airways. There are three main types of bronchoplasty depending on the extent of cancer involvement of the bronchus. In this paper the author describes his experience with different types of bronchoplasty with case and video illustrations.


The objective of this study was to measure the efficiency level of Water Users Associations (WUAs) in the coastal oases of Gabès (South-Est of Tunisia) and assessing its main determinants. First, an input-oriented data envelopment analysis (DEA) was used to measure the relative efficiency scores of WUAs and to evaluate the management and maintenance costs sub-vectors efficiencies separately through a mathematical modification in the initial DEA specification. In a second stage, critical determinants of sub-vector efficiency are determined by applying a Tobit model. A key finding of the study is that WUAs are clearly inefficient. Results show that on average, 38% of the used inputs could be saved if the WUAs operated on the frontier. The inefficiency found can be mainly attributed to the number of water pumping stations managed, the ratio of water losses and WUAs' age. The results also show a discrepancy between the technical efficiency values calculated under the CRS and VRS assumptions, resulting in a 20% scale inefficiency. The study also revealed that the sub-vector inefficiency of WUAs is more linked with engineering inefficiencies than to their management inefficiencies.


Surface creep rate, observed along five branches of the dextral San Andreas fault system in northern California, varies considerably from one section to the next, indicating that so too may the depth at which the faults are locked. We model locking on 29 fault sections using each section's mean long‐term creep rate and the consensus values of fault width and geologic slip rate. Surface creep rate observations from 111 short‐range alignment and trilateration arrays and 48 near‐fault, Global Positioning System station pairs are used to estimate depth of creep, assuming an elastic half‐space model and adjusting depth of creep iteratively by trial and error to match the creep observations along fault sections. Fault sections are delineated either by geometric discontinuities between them or by distinctly different creeping behaviors. We remove transient rate changes associated with five large ( M ≥5.5) regional earthquakes. Estimates of fraction locked, the ratio of moment accumulation rate to loading rate, on each section of the fault system provide a uniform means to inform source parameters relevant to seismic‐hazard assessment. From its mean creep rates, we infer the main branch (the San Andreas fault) ranges from only 20%±10% locked on its central creeping section to 99%–100% on the north coast. From mean accumulation rates, we infer that four urban faults appear to have accumulated enough seismic moment to produce major earthquakes: the northern Calaveras ( M  6.8), Hayward ( M  6.8), Rodgers Creek ( M  7.1), and Green Valley ( M  7.1). The latter three faults are nearing or past their mean recurrence interval.

Online Material: High‐resolution fault system map, and tables of creep observations and geographic coordinates of fault model.


Ask yourself this question: What type of character qualifies the people God chooses to use? The question itself assumes an atypical answer, simply because it leaves out so much. To ask only about one's character seems inadequate when defining a leader. We surely need to ask about character, but also about personality, communication skills, IQ, education, previous experience, and more... don't we? Crawford Loritts disagrees. He answers the question with four simple words: Brokenness, communion, servanthood, and obedience. These four traits form the framework for Leadership as an Identity. By examining each trait, Loritts undermines many pervasive assumptions about leadership that are unbiblical. According to Loritts, God doesn't look for leaders like the world does. He looks for disciples, and ironically, as these disciples follow Him, they will lead.


This paper compares the performance of three implementations of simplified pattern matching instruction. The fastest version was microprogrammed on a VAX-11/750, the next fastest was written for a Reduced Instruction Set. Computer (RISC I) developed at Berkeley, and the slowest was pro grammed on the VAX. The paper presents execution times for the microcode and for high-level language and machine language versions of the instruction.


A combined Raman and electrochemical study of natural orpiment (As2S3), an arsenic sulfide pigment, was used to assess the quick formation of oxidized species such as arsenic oxide (As2O3) upon exposing the pigment to 405 nm or 532 nm monochromatic light while simultaneously recording the Raman spectra of the exposed sample. During this process, a distortion of the main band at 355 cm−1, associated with the stretching of the AsS3/2 pyramids of natural orpiment, was observed as well as an increased intensity of the 359 cm−1 band, corresponding to covalent As–As bonds in natural orpiment. The distortion was accompanied by an overall decrease of the global Raman signal for natural orpiment, which could be explained by a loss in the crystal structure. The same phenomena were recorded in reference natural orpiment model paint samples stored for a long time together with verdigris (Cu(OH)2·(CH3COO)2·5H2O) and minium (Pb3O4) paints, the latter two appearing darkened on their sides closest to the orpiment sample as well as in several historical samples containing natural orpiment mixed with various blue pigments. By SEM-EDX and XRPD analysis, respectively on loose material and cast thin-sections of model paint samples, the darkening was identified as dark sulfide species such as chalcocite (Cu2S) and galena (PbS), suggesting the release of volatile sulfide or related species by the natural orpiment paint. XANES analyses of paint samples presenting As–As bond increase indicated the presence of sulfur species most likely identified as organosulfur compounds formed upon the As–As bond formation and explained the darkening of the Cu- and Pb-based pigments. To the best of our knowledge, this article reports for the first time the light-induced formation of As–As bonds in natural orpiment used as an artists' pigment and objectively demonstrates the incompatibility between orpiment and (arsenic) sulfide-sensitive pigments.