Angiosarcomas are highly malignant neoplasms of vascular origin. They most commonly arise from the skin and subcutaneous soft tissue of the head and neck, with only a small percentage of tumors from the viscera. In this article, we evaluated the clinical and imaging features of angiosarcomas and compared visceral angiosarcomas with nonvisceral angiosarcomas. A comparison between angiosarcomas and hemangiopericytomas was performed as well. This study included 14 patients (7 men, 7 women, averaging 53 years) with pathologically confirmed angiosarcomas during a period of 14 years. All clinical data and images, including computed tomography (CT) images in 10 patients and magnetic resonance images (MRI) in two, were reviewed. The clinical data of angiosarcomas in the present study were also compared with those of hemangiopericytomas from our previously reported study. Visceral and nonvisceral each comprised 50% of all angiosarcomas in the study. Visceral angiosarcomas were larger at the time of diagnosis than nonvisceral angiosceral angiosarcomas. The metastatic rate was much higher for patients with visceral angiosarcomas than for those with nonvisceral angiosarcomas. The overall 2-year and 5-year survival rates were lower for patients with visceral angiosarcomas than for those with nonvisceral angiosarcomas. Most lesions were ill defined, heterogeneous, and had variable degrees and patterns of enhancement on contrast-enhanced CT images. The overall two-year survival rate for the patients with angiosarcomas and those with previously reported hemangiopericytomas were 43% and 61% respectively. Angiosarcomas were heterogeneously hypointense on T1-weighted MR images and hyperintense on T2-weighted MR images. In our report, visceral angiosarcomas were more common, had higher metastatic rates, and poorer prognosis than nonvisceral angiosarcomas. Imaging features were nonspecific to angiosarcomas but were characteristic for hypervascular tumors. The prognosis for patients with hemangiopericytomas was poorer than for those with nonvisceral angiosarcomas, but better than for those with visceral angiosarcomas.


Background:Myofascial Pain Syndrome is characterized by localized muscle pain, in which affected muscles are in a chronically-shortened state and contain trigger points.It is the single most common source of musculoskeletal pain that is encountered in clinical practice. Modalities such as electrotherapy, cryotherapy, thermal therapy, dry-needling and ultrasound are used in its management. The use of phonophoresis has generated much interest; and literature around this modality continues to accumulate. Numerous studies have demonstrated the efficacy of phonophoresis with an anti-inflammatory in the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders, attributing the efficacy to the penetration of the coupling medium by means of the ultrasonic waves. Traumeel®S, is a homeopathic anti-inflammatory, that has successfully been used in the treatment of musculoskeletal injuries.It has anti-oedematous, anti-exudative, anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. Its efficacy as a coupling agent in phonophoresis has not been tested for myofascial pain syndrome. Methodology:This study was designed as a prospective, double-blinded, randomized, and controlled experimental investigation. Sixty subjects were randomly allocated to three groups of 20 subjects each. Group Areceived active phonophoresis with Traumeel® S gel;Group B received sham phonophoresis with Traumeel® S gel; Group C received an application of Traumeel® S gel only.Algometer and Numerical Pain Rating Scale 101 (NRS) readings were taken immediately before treatment at visit one and thereafter at visits three and four. Results:Repeated measures ANOVA testing was used to examine the intra-group effect of time and the inter-group effect of treatment on the outcomes of NRS and algometer readings. Profile plots were used to assess the direction and trends of the effects. An intra-group analysis revealed that, objectively and subjectively, all groups responded positively to treatment over time, with no significant time-group interaction. It was noted that there was a higher rate of improvement in Group A over time; however, this difference was not statistically significant. Conclusion:The results from this study revealed that all three treatment groups responded favorably to the alleviation of pain. It was concluded that phonophoresis with Traumeel® gel had no significant additional beneficial effects.


In this paper, the spatial modulation (SM) technique is employed at the source and relay nodes in a full-duplex two-way relay channel (FD-TWRC) to support spectral-efficient bi-directional communications while guaranteeing a low cost implementation. Maximum likelihood detectors are employed at each node that is subject to an intrinsic self-loop interference. We first propose a tight upper bound on the average bit error probability (ABEP). Then, based on the ABEP upper bound, an asymptotic ABEP expression is derived in the high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) regime. Exploiting the asymptotic ABEP, an exact SNR threshold for the selection between FD-TWRC-SM and half-duplex (HD)-TWRC-SM is derived in a closed form, which sheds light on when it is beneficial to select the FD (or HD) mode. In addition, the power allocation (PA) among sources and relay is investigated, through which an optimal PA factor in terms of ABEP is obtained. All analytical results derived in this paper are verified by Monte Carlo simulations, from which some new insights are obtained on the performance of FD-TWRC-SM.


The high housing prices of many major cities of China has becoming a hot social topic recently. This paper, taking Shanghai as an example, had specified the Hedonic Price Method as the research method through combining the theoretical research and empirical research method. According to the selected specific characteristic variables, this paper had collected 240 data in which 220 data were valid, and used related econometric software (Eviews7.0) to debug and analyze those data further to construct a model of the influences of specific factors on housing prices. Straight after, the paper summarized the result, confirmed the influence degree of various factors on housing prices and analyzed the housing price in Shanghai from the perspective of the hedonic price theory. Hereby the paper had come to a conclusion to help consumers buy house with relatively good position, high quality satisfaction and reasonable residential housing price. Besides, the paper had put forward practical Suggestions for Shanghai real estate management department to timely grasp the housing price distribution and control urban commercial house price macroscopically.


This thesis intervenes in current debates concerning the violence of armed drones, developing a historical perspective on what is predominantly understood to be a novel form of warfare. It argues that debates on drones overlook the important linkages between drone warfare and earlier regimes of violence from the air. On the basis of a historical analysis of drone warfare, it offers a critique of drone bombing that goes beyond the narrative of "targeted killings". The first part of this dissertation, comprising Chapter 1, introduces the central problematic of the thesis by revealing the crucial differences between, on the one hand, a description of drones strikes drawn from testimonies of people living under drones and, on the other, an account of these strikes based on the targeting methodology the U.S. military follows. This part demonstrates that the frame of "targeted killings" fails to offer an adequate lens through which the multifaceted violent effects of drone bombing can be explained, understood and criticised. The two chapters that constitute the second part of this thesis employ a genealogical historical method, demonstrating that the broader violent effects wrought by drone strikes – which testimonies reveal, but current military doctrine effaces – are intrinsically bound up with the development of the air weapon. More specifically, Chapter 2 offers a detailed account of the emergence of air power theory and discusses the doctrine of "strategic bombing". Chapter 3 examines how the British colonial territories functioned as a testing ground for assessing, adjusting and consolidating this doctrine. The third part brings this historical perspective to bear on discussions about drone warfare. Chapter 4 offers a critical review of the literature on drones, arguing that the tendency to frame drone warfare as a radically new form of armed violence forces critical thinking into the discursive straightjacket of the "targeted killings" narrative. Chapter 5 offers a critique of the "targeted killings" framework by inquiring into the manhunting doctrine, developed in recent years by U.S. military theorists. In the afterword to the thesis, it is argued that a critical account of the


T Cells for Epithelial Tumors Malignant tumors harbor genetic alterations. Recently, adoptive T cell therapies have taken advantage of this: T cells specific for mutations in tumors are infused into patients to generate an antitumor immune response. Although therapeutic benefit has been seen for melanomas, effectiveness against more common epithelial tumors is unclear. Using whole-exome sequencing, Tran et al. (p. 641) identified tumor-infiltrating CD4+ T cells specific for a mutated antigen expressed by a tumor from a patient with metastatic cholangiocarcinoma. Infusion of this patient with an expanded-population, mutation-specific T cell resulted in tumor regression and stabilization of disease. T cells specific for a mutation expressed by tumor cells show antitumor activity in a patient with an epithelial cancer. Limited evidence exists that humans mount a mutation-specific T cell response to epithelial cancers. We used a whole-exomic-sequencing-based approach to demonstrate that tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) from a patient with metastatic cholangiocarcinoma contained CD4+ T helper 1 (TH1) cells recognizing a mutation in erbb2 interacting protein (ERBB2IP) expressed by the cancer. After adoptive transfer of TIL containing about 25% mutation-specific polyfunctional TH1 cells, the patient achieved a decrease in target lesions with prolonged stabilization of disease. Upon disease progression, the patient was retreated with a >95% pure population of mutation-reactive TH1 cells and again experienced tumor regression. These results provide evidence that a CD4+ T cell response against a mutated antigen can be harnessed to mediate regression of a metastatic epithelial cancer.


Purpose: This paper aimed to evaluate the competitive potential of the agricultural and food sector in the member states of the European Union and identify differences between them with reference to the position of such countries in international agricultural and food trade. Design/Methodology/Approach: The competitive potential was evaluated using a synthetic measure designed using TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution). The potential was confronted with the competitive position of the member states of the European Union in the international trade in agricultural and food products. To this end, among other indicators, the Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) index was used. The analysis was based on data from EUROSTAT and FADN (Farm Accountancy Data Network) for years 2007-2017. Findings: The results point to a strong diversification of the level of agricultural development among the member states of the European Union. Four groups of countries characterised by a similar level of the analysed phenomenon were identified. The highest value of the synthetic measure was characteristic of the Netherlands. It was more than 3 times higher than in the country least competitive in that respect (Slovenia). Countries with the highest agricultural competitive potential such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and France, also maintain a high competitive advantage in the international agricultural and food trade. Many countries, in particular those included in EU-12 (Malta, Romania, Bulgaria, Poland) in the analysed period 2007-2017 significantly improved their competitive position in the agricultural and food trade despite a small increase in the competitive potential of agriculture. Practical Implications: The surveys made it possible to identify countries (mainly new member states of the EU) in which, despite relatively large resources of production factors in agriculture, the competitive potential measured with an aggregate measure designed in this paper, taking into account primarily an advantage in terms of quality and not costs and prices, is low. This points to a need for orienting the Common Agricultural Policy at boosting the dynamics of structural transformations in this sector so that in the future these countries are able to maintain a high competitive position in agricultural and food trade. Originality/Value: An added value of this paper is the analysis of multiple factors affecting the competitiveness of the agricultural and food sector and identification of a group of EU countries by means of a synthetic measure designed using TOPSIS, whereas most papers investigate the effect of one factor with a limited number of competitiveness measures. The analysis of relationships between the competitive capacity and the international competitive position of the countries of the European Union in agricultural and food products further contributes to the originality of the study.


1-Formyl-19-oxobilin-type tetrapyrroles are characteristic, abundant products of chlorophyll breakdown in senescent leaves. However, in some leaves, 1,19-dioxobilin-type chlorophyll catabolites (DCCs) lacking the formyl group accumulate instead. A P450 enzyme was identified in in vitro studies that removed the formyl group of a primary fluorescent chlorophyll catabolite (pFCC) and generated fluorescent DCCs. These DCCs are precursors of isomeric nonfluorescent DCCs (NDCCs). Here, we report a structural investigation of the NDCCs in senescent leaves of wild-type Arabidopsis thaliana. Four new NDCCs were characterized, two of which carried a stereoselectively added hydroxymethyl group. Such formal DCC hydroxymethylations were previously found in DCCs in leaves of a mutant of A. thaliana. They are now indicated to be a feature of chlorophyll breakdown in A. thaliana, associated with the specific in vivo deformylation of pFCC en route to NDCCs.


Argument realization, and particularly argument omission, is a subject that has been widely studied in the field of child language research, and several different theories have been put forth to explain this phenomenon. In this study, semantic agency is proposed as a contributing factor. To test this, corpus data of four children acquiring Inuktitut were coded for agency on the grammatical subjects produced by the children. Statistical analyses were performed to assess the relationship between subject argument form and agency. A qualitative analysis of the verb semantics associated with non-agent subjects was also performed. While the analyses yielded some statistically significant results, no clear relationship between these factors could be identified. The qualitative analysis, on the other hand, did appear to reveal a weak trend in terms of a relationship between verb semantics and argument realization. The findings are discussed in terms of the broader aspects of the development of agency, transitivity, and ergativity.


T era of synthetic organic pesticides began in the 1940s and brought with it many benefits. The new pesticides enabled growers to produce abundant food and fiber, both economically and predictably. They enabled public health officials to control many serious insect-vectored diseases in the United States and throughout the world. However, the universal adoption of synthetic organic pesticides in the 1950s also brought risks. UC scientists soon noted adverse impacts from these broad-spectrum pesticides on natural biological control agents and developed the concept of "integrated control." In addition to their adverse effect on biological control agents, it soon became apparent that pests could develop resistance to the new pesticides. This resistance required that increased rates of pesticides be applied to achieve acceptable control, exacerbating the problem. The publication of Rachel Carson's famous book, Silent Spring, in 1962, brought concerns about the environmental and health risks of pesticides to the forefront of public awareness, and began a national debate. The U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare established the Commission on Pesticides and Their Relationship to Environmental Health in 1969, chaired by UC Davis Chancellor Emil Mrak, to conduct the first assessment of pesticide risks. The Mrak Commission recommended the establishment of a governmental mechanism for assessing the environmental safety of pesticides. In 1971, President Nixon created the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by executive order, transferring pesticide regulation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to the new agency. Congress soon mandated EPA's charge to evaluate risks and benefits of pesticides by passing the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act of 1972. Lawmakers had now established a mechanism for careful evaluation of any pesticide's environmental and health risks, and for consideration of more environmentally benign pest-management alternatives. UC scientists, who were already leaders in the development of biological control, integrated pest management (IPM) and pesticide toxicology, became increasingly engaged in national programs to identify and develop alternative pest-management strategies to broad-spectrum pesticides. They formed alliances with their counterparts in federal and California agencies to develop and implement new pest-management systems and tactics, including both biological and chemical means to combat pests. However, developing and implementing alternatives to organophosphate pesticides to meet the needs of California's highly diverse agriculture, as well as its urban areas and natural resources, has been and will continue to be a challenge because of decreasing public funding for research and extension. UC and USDA scientists released a task force report in 1992 entitled Beyond Pesticides: Biological Approaches to Pest Management in California (UC DANR Pub. 21512). This report provided an overview of possible alternative control tactics without the use of broad-spectrum pesticides, and was produced with an appreciation for the mounting political pressures on these products because of safety concerns. Two controversial National Research Council reports, Regulating Pesticides in Food: The Delaney Paradox in 1987, and Pesticides in the Diets of Infants and Children in 1993, focused attention on dietary risk from pesticides and on the differential effects of pesticides on vulnerable groups in the population. These reports questioned how the EPA established pesticide tolerances, and were drivers for passage of the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA). The FQPA is the most important regulatory reform yet enacted. Many broad-spectrum pesticide products and uses have been lost and more are anticipated in the future. The elimination of the uses of many broad-spectrum pesticides has resulted in the development and registration of a number of reduced-risk and environmentally benign pesticides and control strategies. These new pesticides are more pest-specific and less robust in their control and will require increased vigilance on the part of pest control advisers. The new products are often slower-acting, will control only related pest species, and are more expensive. In addition, resistance to these new materials can occur in populations of many important pest species. Effective reduced-risk pesticides have not been developed for a number of important pests. Thus, there could be substantial economic impacts on California agriculture from implementation of the FQPA. To address these concerns, the California Department of Food and Agriculture supported a study to measure the economic impact on the 13 top-valued economic agricultural crops in California if all organophosphate insecticides were eliminated from use. The study, The Economic Impact of Organophosphates in California Agriculture (http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/publications. htm), showed that the elimination of broad-spectrum pesticides would increase the cost of production, and the amount of increase was crop-specific. This report was the stimulus for the publication of this special issue of California Agriculture, in which UC scientists discuss alternative control measures that they have developed over decades of research. The importance of UC maintaining its capacity to respond to future regulatory issues, introductions of invasive species, vector-related public health issues and economic challenges faced by California citizens has never been greater. To meet these challenges, a new era of cooperation and integration between UC's Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperation Extension must be implemented in the near future. This reorganization must be substantial and collegial, and foster the vertical integration of knowledge development and delivery. Through the closer integration of these two units, a leaner and more efficient organization will be positioned to lead California as it responds to the challenges ahead. Environmental laws elicit evolution in pest management


In this paper we address the question as to why fund managers may trade on short-term information in a financial market that offers more profitable trading on long-term information. We consider a setting in which a fund manager's ability is unknown and an investor uses performance observations to learn about this ability. We show that an investor learns less efficiently about the ability of a fund manager when he trades on long-term information compared to trading on short-term information. This is the case, because the information on which a manager bases his trades is less precise the longer the information horizon, and thus performance observations contain more noise. Moreover, under trading on long-term information, performance observations become available after a short period only if the manager unwinds his position early. Such performance observations, however, are generally contaminated with additional noise, because unwinding prices only reveal underlying asset value imperfectly. When the informational efficiency of short-term prices increases, this effect becomes less pronounced, because a long-term trader who unwinds his position after a short time can convey an increasing amount of information concerning his ability to the investor. At the same time, trading on short-term information becomes less profitable, and therefore the investor's incentive to induce short-term trading weakened. Nevertheless, we show that short-term trading may be induced even when prices fully reveal short-term information.


In John Davidson's "A Ballad in Blank Verse" (1894) a young Scottish poet is torn between commitment to sensuous aestheticism and duty to aged parents who desire his confirmation in the church above all else. Unable to persist in one course or another, he succeeds only in hurrying his mother's death and torturing his dying father's soul before claiming to rise above all creeds as a poet at the end. The poem is usually approached as an autobiographical document conveying Davidson's high aesthetic ideals and his bildung as a poet. In 1894 Arthur Quiller-Couch pronounced, "Mr. Davidson lets us know his conception of the poet's proper function." (1) John Sloan, Davidson's most recent biographer, follows suit, discerning in the poem's nearly five hundred lines a Promethean victory: "For Davidson the making of the visionary poet and the existentialist rebel appear to have been one." (2) Raimund Schaffner proffers a less optimistic reading, viewing the poem and the whole of Davidson's work as an embrace of Social Darwinism and Nietzschean will to power. Yet Schaffner, too, finds the narrative largely transparent: "Davidson ... succinctly summarizes his world view of the early and middle 1890s in 'A Ballad in Blank Verse' as follows: 'No creed for me! I am a man apart:/A mouthpiece for the creeds of all the world'" (ll. 426-427). (3) Davidson unquestionably incorporates autobiographical details into the poem. The action is set in an industrial Scottish port closely modeled on Greenock, where Davidson's father served as a minister in the Evangelical Union Congregational Church, and where Davidson renounced Christianity early on, preferring to spend his Sunday afternoons writing blank verse. (4) But "A Ballad in Blank Verse" is anything but an autobiographical transcript. Davidson's long narrative ultimately critiques all attempts to fix meaning or anchor belief, whether in poetry or in religion. And prosody and more particularly meta-prosodic commentary play a crucial role in this project. Davidson's title telegraphs a challenge to stable or transparent meaning at the outset, since it yokes verse measures (ballad and blank verse) usually considered antiphonal as if they were congruent. (5) In a literal sense, Davidson's title cannot be parsed. This resistance to settled meaning is evident even in the short title Davidson adopted for his 1904 Selected Poems but is more striking still in the longer title under which the poem first appeared in 1894: "A Ballad in Blank Verse of the Making of a Poet." (6) In the original title Davidson intimates that the making of the poet depends on destabilizing conventional relationships between poetic genres and their associated meters even though his poet-speaker relies on blank verse and prior literary tradition. By troubling the meaning of prosody at the head of his text, Davidson suggests his awareness, in common with other poets, of the ideologies attached to various metrical forms; and his ensuing narrative calls these ideologies into question as part of a broader argument about all dogmas. "A Ballad in Blank Verse of the Making of a Poet" belongs squarely to a period of pervasive irony in Davidson's work of the early 1890s as he emerged from a neo-Romantic conception of poetry influenced by the Spasmodics and had not yet become immersed in Nietzsche's philosophy, to which he turned after 1896. (7) In this interval, irony itself became a philosophical principle for Davidson's work, when he sought to remain open to all possible perspectives by simultaneously enacting and interrogating any given premise or standpoint. Significantly, Davidson produced some of his most lasting poetry at this time, including "Thirty Bob a Week" and "The Ballad of a Nun," both published in The Yellow Book. During this period of radical irony, which Carroll Peterson traces back to William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, it was perfectly consistent that Davidson should be an insider of aesthetic circles such as the Rhymers' Club while simultaneously ironizing art and aestheticism in his works. …


Background: It is quite difficult to teach complex topics like the physiology of vestibular apparatus to undergraduate students. Understanding the orientation and mode of stimulation of receptors in vestibular apparatus is also quite challenging for the students. As faculty we attempt to use innovative methods to teach physiology and enhance student learning. Purpose: This article describes a simple and innovative method (student-involved demonstration approach, or SID) to teach the physiology of the vestibular apparatus to the undergraduate medical students. Methods: The current study describes a protocol where students engage in role-play sessions in the middle of the regular didactic lectures. Effectiveness of the sessions was later evaluated by using a questionnaire and by comparing the pre-SID and post-SID test results of the students. Results: The posttest score of the students was significantly higher than the pretest score, and this indicates the usefulness of SID sessions on enhancing the student learning in the class. Conclusions: Students also found this method very interesting and useful in better understanding the physiology of the vestibular apparatus.


The goals of this paper are: (1) to provide a statistical analysis approach that is appropriate for data from an interlaboratory study where responses are measured in discrete percentages and are subject to multiple sources of random variability, and (2) to apply this model to data on wood-failure percentages from block-shear tests on structural wood adhesives. We treat percentage responses measured in 5-point intervals as having arisen from observing 20 independent binary responses on different parts of the observed wood blocks. The overdispersion that is likely to result from the practical inadequacy of this assumption is overcome empirically by the inclusion of a random effect for blocks. We propose an analysis based on a parametric bootstrap to provide sampling distributions for statistics that regulators might wish to use in setting standards for acceptance of wood adhesives. Similar computational methods are developed to assess the fit of the model. This model is shown to provide a reasonably good fit for actual data in many of the cases to which it was applied.


A multivariable analysis of the influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) on the climate of the North Atlantic and European sectors is presented using the 40 yr (1958-1997) consis- tent data set from NCEP. Using high and low NAO index composites, anomaly fields of climate vari- ables are then interpreted based on physical mechanisms associated with the anomalous mean flow (characterised by the surface wind field) and the anomalous eddy activity (characterised by the sur- face vorticity and the 500 hPa storm track fields). It is shown that NAO-related temperature patterns are mainly controlled by the advection of heat by the anomalous mean flow. However, large asym- metries between minimum and maximum temperatures, and more significantly, between positive and negative phases of NAO imply the importance of a different mechanism, namely, the modulation of short wave and long wave radiation by cloud cover variations associated with the NAO. Further- more, NAO influence on 2 different precipitation-related variables—precipitation rate and precip- itable water—displays different patterns. Precipitable water is shown to be strongly related to the corresponding anomaly fields of temperature while precipitation rate appears to be controlled by the surface vorticity field and associated strength of the tropospheric synoptic activity.


Context: Majority of falls are multifactorial and results from a complex interplay of predisposing and precipitating factors. Falls and their sequelae are potentially preventable. Aims: To determine the risk factors for falls among the elderly. Settings and Design: A community-based cross-sectional study in urban part of Bengaluru. Subjects and Methods: Study conducted for a period of 1-year, among elderly population 60 years and above, were residents since 1-year. Complete enumeration by census methodology applied. A pretested semi-structured questionnaire was administered to collect information about falls. Statistical Analysis Used: Univariate and multivariate logistic regression employed using SPSS version 18. Results: Of the 416 elderly persons studied, prevalence of falls rate 29.8%. The rate of fall for medical factors varied 33.3% diabetes mellitus to 71.4% foot problems. Among the people with behavioral factors, higher fall rate seen among those who were underweight 77.7%, abnormal finding in balance test 59.5%, abnormal gait 51.4%, low Mini Mental State Examination score 50%, Obese 50%, those who had difficulty with steps/stairs 45.3%, habit of smoking 45.1%, low activities of daily living score 45.4%, persons with abnormal get up and go test 43.8% and those who were on alcohol 43.1%. Logistic regression analysis revealed elderly with backache, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, visual problem, difficulty in getting on/off toilet, smoking, cataract, TCA′s loose slipper outside home were at higher risk of fall, was found to be statistically significant. Conclusions: Majority of the falls in the elderly are due to medical, behavioral factors which are predictable and preventable.


This paper presents a new numerical method for pricing American call options when the volatility of the price of the underlying stock is stochastic. By exploiting a log-linear relationship of the optimal exercise boundary with respect to volatility changes, we derive an integral representation of an American call price and the early exercise premium which holds under stochastic volatility. This representation is used to develop a numerical method for pricing the American options based on an approximation of the optimal exercise boundary by Chebyshev polynomials. Numerical results show that our numerical approach can quickly and accurately price American call options both under stochastic and/or constant volatility.


BACKGROUND: To evaluate the prognostic value of the cartilage invasion (thyroid, cricoid) in laryngeal cancer, in relation to disease free survival period. METHOD: Examination was made of the charts of 102 patients with cancer of the larynx treated at the INCA/MS-RJ Cancer Hospital between 1992 and 1994. These patients were divided into 4 groups: those having T3N0M0 stage III tumors (excluding patients with T3N1M0); those having T4N0M0 (with tumoral invasion of laryngeal cartilage without extralaryngeal spread); those having T4N0M0 (with neoplastic spread through the laryngeal compartment); and those having metastatic cervical lymphadenopathy (T3N2-3/T4N1-2-3). Survival rate curves were drawn for each group and the survival rate differences between the groups were compared using the Kaplan-Meier method. The value of statistical significance were calculated using the Wilcoxon-Gehan method. RESULTS: Those patients who presented with tumoral invasion of laryngeal cartilage without neoplastic spread, behaved like those with T3N0M0 tumors, with no statistical survival rate difference (p=0.36). Patients who had neoplastic invasion of the laryngeal cartilage (T4N0M0) had a better prognostic than those with extra laryngeal neoplastic spread (T4N0M0) (p=0.02). The presence of metastatic lymph nodes was the main adverse factor affecting prognosis (p=0.002). CONCLUSION: The findings of this study call into question the validity of the present TNM classification in the staging of T4N0M0 laryngeal tumors. New studies, based on a larger number of cases, are needed to corroborate our results.


Ecological responses to a changing climate have been well documented in a broad range of species, predominantly in terms of range movements and phenological changes. When faced with a changing environment, species survival will depend on the ability to: 1) evade changes in climate, via dispersal; 2) evolve, via natural selection; and/or 3) plastically change their phenotype, without underlying genetic changes. The potential for an organism to evade, evolve or plastically respond to a changing environment can be predicted by inferring relationships with current climatic conditions. Altitudinal gradients have been proposed as being particularly suitable for environmental change studies due to the rapid variation in climate even over short geographical distances. Species that inhabit altitudinal gradients experience a range of climatic conditions across their range and are thus subject to varying selection pressures. Changes in temperature are predicted to particularly influence ectotherms due to the direct effect on physiological processes. The common frog (Rana temporaria) occurs from zero to over a thousand metres along altitudinal gradients in Scotland, offering the opportunity to assess the influence of temperature on organism responses. The overall aim of this thesis was to assess population-level relationships with climate, in order to make predictions regarding susceptibility to a changing climate, focussing on R. temporaria in Scotland. In Chapter 2, I inferred colonisation patterns within Europe following the last glacial maximum by combining new and previously compiled mitochondrial cytochrome b DNA sequences. I found that the mitochondrial DNA sequences from my Scottish samples were identical to, or clustered with, the common haplotype previously identified from Western Europe. This clade showed very low mitochondrial genetic variation, consistent with a leptokurtic model of range expansion, where low numbers of long-distance dispersers cause multiple founder events. Second, I assessed fine-scale genetic variation in relation to current temperature gradients using microsatellites. No population structure was found within or between altitudinal gradients at any scale (3-50km; average FST= 0.02), despite a mean annual temperature difference of 4.5°C between low- and high-altitude sites. Levels of genetic diversity and heterozygosity were considerable but did not vary by site, altitude or temperature. In Chapter 3, common temperature treatments were used to assess phenotypic differentiation and phenotypic plasticity variation in relation to altitude in terms of larval fitness traits. Local adaptation to altitude was assessed using QST-FST analyses and adaptive phenotypic divergence was then related to environmental parameters using Mantel tests, to look for drivers of selection. I found that R. temporaria showed evidence of local adaptation in all larval fitness traits measured. However, only variation in larval period and growth rate was consistent with adaptation to altitude. Moreover, this was only evident in the three mountains with the highest high-altitude sites (at least 900m). Adaptive divergence in traits that were locally adapted to altitude was correlated with spring temperature, suggesting that temperature acts as a strong environmental selection pressure influencing local adaptation even in the face of high gene flow. In Chapter 4, the physiological and behavioural responses that facilitate survival in high-altitude environments were evaluated, in terms of routine metabolic rate and freeze tolerance in tadpoles, and breeding temperature in adults. I found that routine metabolic rate was lower for individuals sampled from high- than low-altitude sites but only from the three mountains with the highest high-altitude sites (at least 900m). Glucose accumulation during freezing was not significantly different based on altitude. However, individuals from low-altitude survived freezing significantly better than those from high-altitude, across all mountains. Breeding did not occur below 5˚C at any site and there was no significant difference in breeding temperature between high- and low-altitude sites, leading to high-altitude individuals spawning 30 days later than those at low-altitude. My results suggest that tadpoles are adapted physiologically to surviving at high-altitude via reduced routine metabolic rate, but only at the highest breeding sites. Finally, in Chapter 5, I assessed the spatial variation in species presence and composition of parasitic water moulds in the genus Saprolegnia found on R. temporaria eggs. Thirteen samples isolated from four sites were identified as members of the Saprolegniaceae. Four putative species of Saprolegnia were isolated overall, multiple Saprolegnia water moulds were isolated from within sites, and species composition varied between sites. Acidity was significantly lower at sites where
4
Saprolegniaceae were present, but genetic distance between samples was not correlated with environmental or geographic distance. These findings question the previous focus on S. ferax as the primary agent of Saprolegnia infection in amphibians and suggest that future studies of virulence need to consider the synergistic effect of multiple Saprolegnia species. In conclusion, R. temporaria show the potential for evasion, evolution and plastic responses to a changing climate and my results suggest that the outlook is positive for survival of the common frog in Scotland.


In the early 1980s, American complaints about unfair trade practices began to intensify. Sunrise industries such as manufacturers of semiconductors and telecommuniications equipment joint older complainants, including steel and textile producers, in seeking more safeguards against foreign competitors who priced their products too aggressively or whose governments subsidized exports or protected home markets. They demanded that increasingly stringent rules be enforced against the worst offenders. In this book, Pietro Nivola analyzes the US government's efforts to combat the objectionable trading practices of other countries. Through most of the postwar period, Nivola notes, policymakers had deemed it in the nation's economic and strategic interests to tolerate asymmetries and infractions in the international trading order. But that tolerance has been sharply lowered by new sensitivity to inequities and a growing conviction that government should intervene to ensure a "level playing field". Nivola maintains that foreign protectionism and American decline in the face of international competition cannot completely explain the stiffening regulation of unfair trade. The world trading system, he argues, is not more restrictive now than it was before and the crises about foreign commercial transgressions have remained strident despite a formidable US export boom. Some of the US regulatory activity has acquired a political momentum of its own, in part because it offers policymakers the ends and means to aid constituents at relatively little risk. Nivola cautions that trade regulation now bears too much of the burden for ameliorating economic imbalances and deficiencies. The resulting sense of frustration induces demands for still more regulatory remedies. While recognizing the need for more explicit and responsible trade policy, Novola concludes that such a policy must be based, first and foremost, on realistic expectations. More than lip service will have to be paid to the fact that trade actions cannot continue to take precedence over a more basic agenda: improvement in the national rates of saving and investment, better preparation of the work force, and changes in industrial organization - all of which are likely to be far more consequential for the nation's long-term competitiveness and living standards.


While the strategy of funding both systems provides an incentive for both school districts and community colleges to participate with dual enrollment, the current fiscal environment has drawn attention to the inefficient use of the dual funding structure. This article highlights the results of a case study on Florida's dual enrollment program documenting how over a 20-year period policymakers offered different financial incentives as an inducement to greater participation among districts and community colleges. The article documents how the current state fiscal condition has altered lawmaker's motivations for supporting dual enrollment. It concludes by describing the implications of this on community college participation with dual enrollment.


Observations of climate change during the CMIP5 extended historical period (1850–2012) are compared to trends simulated by six versions of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies ModelE2 Earth System Model. The six models are constructed from three versions of the ModelE2 atmospheric general circulation model, distinguished by their treatment of atmospheric composition and the aerosol indirect effect, combined with two ocean general circulation models, HYCOM and Russell. Forcings that perturb the model climate during the historical period are described. Five‐member ensemble averages from each of the six versions of ModelE2 simulate trends of surface air temperature, atmospheric temperature, sea ice and ocean heat content that are in general agreement with observed trends, although simulated warming is slightly excessive within the past decade. Only simulations that include increasing concentrations of long‐lived greenhouse gases match the warming observed during the twentieth century. Differences in twentieth‐century warming among the six model versions can be attributed to differences in climate sensitivity, aerosol and ozone forcing, and heat uptake by the deep ocean. Coupled models with HYCOM export less heat to the deep ocean, associated with reduced surface warming in regions of deepwater formation, but greater warming elsewhere at high latitudes along with reduced sea ice. All ensembles show twentieth‐century annular trends toward reduced surface pressure at southern high latitudes and a poleward shift of the midlatitude westerlies, consistent with observations.


We investigate on designing agents facing multiple objectives simultaneously, that creates difficult situations, even if each objective is of low complexity. The present paper builds on an existing action selection process based on basic behaviors (resulting in a modular architecture) and proposes an algorithm for automatically selecting and learning the required basic behaviors through an incremental Reinforcement Learning approach. This leads to a very autonomous architecture, as the hand-coding is here reduced to its minimum.


Public agencies and private redevelopers have been urban renewal partners for over sixty years. While federally subsidized urban renewal initially delegated a major role to the public agencies, this program gave way to strategies in which the private sector has been dominant. Nowhere is privately sponsored urban renewal more successful than in Missouri, where constitutional authority for private, tax-abated redevelopment has stimulated large-scale downtown reinvestment in St. Louis and Kansas City. Downtown areas have been an especially severe renewal problem, as population and employment transfers to the suburbs left many downtowns facing an uncertain future. Downtown retailing has declined, new construction came to a standstill, and buildings were demolished but not replaced. Subsidy programs poured millions into downtown renewal, often with little success. The Missouri experience deserves close analysis as a successful downtown renewal program in which the public role is minimized and a novel tax abatement subsidy provides the renewal incentive. The downtown St. Louis tax-abated urban redevelopment program is the subject of the study presented in this book. Part 1 introduces the program, outlines its major provisions, and details its history in St. Louis. Part 2 evaluates the effectiveness of the program, applies a cost-revenue analysis to measure its net benefit to the city, and considers equity issues raised by the tax abatement feature. The final portion of this book considers the major legal issues that have been litigated in Missouri appellate court decisions. A conclusion provides commentary on tax-abated private redevelopment as an acceptable redevelopment technique.


Considerable inequality among Russian regions is rooted in social and economic disparities, territorial distribution of production and resources, fiscal capacity and ethno-cultural characteristics. Th e Siberia n Federa l Distric t include s regions with pronounced industry and demographic specificity, causing significant differences in the quality of life of the population in different age groups. We assess the parameters of active ageing depending on regional and territorial aspects to develop measures for establishing the active ageing policy, equalising the opportunities for the older generation to lead a productive life after reaching retirement age. We hypothesise that the differences in individual and social conditions shape the activities of older adults in urban and rural settlements. Based on the international methodology of the Active Ageing Index, we assessed the indicators of active ageing for urban and rural areas of the Siberian Federal District. We revealed some shortcomings of the original methodology and suggested relevant proxy indicators, compensating for the lack of data in Russian statistics. The mean Active Ageing Index for the Siberian Federal district is 26.41 for urban and 23.91 for rural areas. The maximum value of the Active Ageing Index among macro-regions of Russia is 32.2 in the Northwestern Federal District; the maximum among European countries is 44.9 in Sweden. The value of employment indicator in urban areas in Siberia exceeds the rural one by 8 percentage points. However, the parameter of participation in society is lower by 3.5 percentage points. In terms of opportunities for active ageing, this indicator is higher by 7 percentage points in urban areas, while values of the indicator of independent and secure living are almost the same in both areas. The study results may be applicable in the development of social policies promoting active ageing among rural population.


Projecting the effects of silvicultural choices on forest regeneration has traditionally been difficult. In an effort to improve upon this, a collection of empirical models based on leading hypotheses and theories of tree and stand development were constructed to simulate regeneration and early stand dynamics in Missouri Ozark forests. The stochastic models of establishment across a gradient of residual overstory density (Chapter 2) are consistent with the variable nature of the regeneration process. Linking establishment outcomes with models of annual height growth based on residual overstory density (Chapter 3) and size (Chapter 4) provides a powerful tool for both applied and empirical objectives. Quantitative interpretation of the regeneration process is as important as simulation of it. Developmental milestones for successful canopy recruitment were identified to improve evaluations of individual trees in even-aged stands during the regeneration process (Chapter 4). The reference chart methodology presented in Chapter 5 increases the inference obtainable from a single measurement by providing interpretation of individual tree development in the context of a variety of peer groups. Though imperfect, the combination of these models and tools should increase our understanding and ability to recreate the regeneration process, and as a result, the efficacy of our efforts to manipulate it. 1 Chapter 1: Introduction


Searching for a universality class near a quantum critical point, a precarious point of quantum instability between two competing phases, is a fundamental paradigm with emergence of exotic elementary excitations as observed in magnetic heavy-fermion materials, high Tc superconductors, one dimensional Ising spin systems, and Luttinger liquids. Meanwhile, topological orders with emerging gauge fields develop new ground states without symmetry breaking such as fractional quantum Hall liquids, quantum spin liquids, and etc. Ruthenium chloride, α-RuCl3, is a quantum magnetic system exhibiting both a symmetry breaking order and a topological order, and thus could be a candidate for a new universality class originating from interplay between two distinct types of ordering. In this study, we report a universal behavior in the dynamic spin susceptibility of α-RuCl3 obtained from inelastic neutron scattering, and derive a universal scaling law through theoretical model calculations for the elementary excitations near the quantum criticality. Our findings manifest that the quantum criticality of α-RuCl3 is a novel universality class, and provides a new framework to explore the quantum criticality involving the topology order.


This study of Martin McDonagh's play The Beauty Queen of Leenane investigates verbal confrontation in the dramatic discourse between its female characters. The analysis shows how various expressions of conflict range from direct and symmetrical, when the two women use repair and refutations, to indirect confrontation in the case of witty and ironical ripostes. The aspects of an interactional confrontation are not simply appreciated as rhetorical strategies but are viewed in their quality as speech events that may trigger different cognitive processes in the mind of the readers/viewers.
This study suggests that the closeness and distance that are associated with the speech act of disagreeing and conflicting can be viewed from the cognitive angle of Relevance Theory (Sperber and Wilson, 1995 [1986]), if one considers that speakers make an initial approach to their interlocutors by taking on board what they say and their views, to then take their distance from them when they refute their propositions. The dimensions of 'closeness' and 'intimacy' in opposition to that of 'distance' and 'disengagement' therefore are not simply social (i.e. speakers disagree in a situation of intimacy) but can actually be seen in relation to the cognitive effects to which the dramatic text gives rise


Despite concerted effort and expenditure, improving the numeracy outcomes for Indigenous students particularly those in remote regions continues to be a major challenge. There are many factors that impact on the learning of Indigenous students in remote communities. For students, learning mathematics is a complex task when English is their second or third language. Other student factors involve attendance, transience and retention. In Western Australia, many teachers in remote Indigenous communities are new graduates, and as well as being inexperienced in teaching mathematics, they also have little experience being in a remote community with Indigenous people. Some larger schools may have numeracy specialist teachers who can provide mentoring and professional learning support. However in the smaller schools there is an often limited face-to-face professional learning opportunities. In 2010 seven schools in the Kimberley in Western Australia established the Fitzroy Valley Numeracy Project. The project aims to improve the numeracy outcomes of Indigenous students by developing a systematic and co-ordinated approach to teaching mathematics that can be sustained long-term, beyond staff turnovers, transfer of ʻexpert' teachers, or one-off funding arrangements. A study was commenced to examine the impact of the project on primary teachers' content-pedagogic knowledge and classroom practice. This paper is part of an ongoing larger study. It examines some data from an initial survey and a follow up survey after almost a year of implementation of the project. Twenty one teachers responded to the Initial Questionnaire, twelve teachers responded to the Follow Up Questionnaire, and of that number 8 responded to both. At the end of the year they seemed confident to select a mathematics focus, cater for the range of achievement in their classes, monitor student learning and use classroom management strategies. They seemed less confident in diagnosing student learning, making the mathematics focus of the lesson clear to their students and providing activities that engage their students. The results indicate that dealing with the literacy demands in the mathematics lesson needs more investigation.


These days it may seem quaint-even irrelevant-to be discussing Baltic theatre in terms of a post-Soviet context, as the events immediately before and after independence now seem to have occurred in a distant past. Young adults-including theatre patrons and professionals-have no direct experience of that life-in-transition experienced by the citizens of the Baltic States during the last decade of the twentieth century. Issues that once stirred passion-deprivations, deportation, censorship, the serious and petty absurdities of totalitarian ideology-are settled and no longer incite citizens to action. Issues regarding the business of theatre-especially regarding funding, the reorganization of the theatre business, and other practical concerns that were of paramount concern immediately after 1991-have been identified and, if not completely remedied, at least critically parsed and thoroughly addressed. Likewise, given each country's particular national agenda and issues of identity, it is increasingly difficult to discuss Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania as a geopolitical entity called "the Baltics," as if the three separate states shared homogenous social, cultural, and economic situations. It is more accurate to consider "the Baltics" a geographical phenomenon, much as we refer to Europe while respecting the distinctions among the various member states. Indeed, it could be argued that the idea of "the Baltics" is an historical anomaly, conveniently designating people occupying a certain chunk of land south of Scandinavia, west of Russia, and north of Germany as Baits, ignoring cross-ethnic merging, conquests by Teutonic and Livonian knights, and various occupations by nations like Sweden, Poland, and Russia. Even so, during the period between WWII and the early 1990s, the countries were unified as a territory under Soviet occupation, and the theatre in each country played its part in the various resistance movements designed to counter Soviet ideology. The moral impetus of the pre-independence theatre was clear and fairly unified: it was a counter-force to the dictates of a party-line run by ideological commissars. However, the social issues during the early post-Soviet years were more confused and diverse. The excitement and pos- sibilities of independence trumped any negative critiques of the sudden switch to a capitalist, market-based economy or of the sudden access to cultural conduits from the West. Re- garding theatre, this period has been referred to frequently as a period of collapse, during which the theatre experienced a crisis of relevance, when political action and life in the streets seemed far more interesting than staged productions. And with the influx of new media, many of the traditional aspects of theatre seemed stale, irrelevant, and suffused with an aesthetic too closely associated with a repressive past. Ironically, it was the repressive environment that created the unique quality of Baltic theatre, as writers and directors were forced to rely on clever sub-textual critiques of their socio-political situation under the Soviets. After the occupation, however, the theatre lost its raison d'etre. The result was a shift in the purpose of theatre from the idea of theatre as a "weapon" during the years before independence to a theatre suffering a crisis of relevance, marginalized by an influx of competing forms as well as by the inherent difficulties of actually staying in business within a market-based economy. This new prosperity created decadence, not in the moral sense but in the classic sense: while Baltic culture was at peace, its theatre became redundant, transformed after liberation from a politicized "theatre of resistance" during the Soviet era into merely a "theatre of entertainment." But new challenges are suddenly tempering the enthusiasm and optimism of the post-liberation era. Russia is thriving and threatening; the economies of the Baltic states are overheating; the middle class is a fragile construct prey to hyper-inflation; corruption and cronyism thrive. …


Research on information security policy compliance provides insights on the factors that facilitate security related human behaviour. Since humans provide the end of every technological use chain, this research provides an important building block of every organizational security architecture. Research on this topic can be divided into research on policy compliant behaviour (positive policy compliance) and research on policy deviant behaviour (negative policy compliance). However, a previous metastudy that was the first to test available measurement instruments of positive policy compliance for response biases remained inconclusive on the truthfulness of self-reported policy compliance. This contribution provides a new measurement instrument that builds upon the scenario-based questioning approach found in most negative policy compliance research, while enabling scenario-independent measurement of positive policy compliance and provided response consistency. The instrument was validated by conducting a pre-test (n = 8) in a research department and yields a promising internal validity with Cronbach alphas of .911 for the policy compliance instrument and .961 for the policy knowledge consistency instrument. The instrument is being applied in a larger survey that aims at determining the reliability of measured policy compliance of the instruments currently used in positive policy compliance research.


Variable stars, or particularly eclipsing binaries, are very essential astronomical occurrence. Surveys are the backbone of astronomy, and many discoveries of variable stars are the results of surveys. All-Sky Automated Survey (ASAS) is one of the observing projects whose ultimate goal is photometric monitoring of variable stars. Since its first light in 1997, ASAS has collected 50,099 variable stars, with 11,076 eclipsing binaries among them. In the present work we focus on the period determination of the eclipsing binaries. Since the number of data points in each ASAS eclipsing binary light curve is sparse, period determination of any system is a not straightforward process. For 30 samples of such systems we compare the implementation of Lomb-Scargle algorithm which is an Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) basis and Phase Dispersion Minimization (PDM) method which is non-FFT basis to determine their period. It is demonstrated that PDM gives better performance at handling eclipsing detached (ED) systems whose variability are non-sinusoidal. More over, using semi-automatic recipes, we get better period solution and satisfactorily improve 53% of the selected object's light curves, but failed against another 7% of selected objects. In addition, we also highlight 4 interesting objects for further investigation.


Background: Mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana Linn.) is tropical fruit that known to contain bioactive compounds which has particular function as antioxidants, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial. Mangosteen rind extract is known to have high contents of xanthone compounds which have antioxidant and free radical scavenging activities. This study was aiming to determine the contents of xanthone derivatives using Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and antioxidant activity of six different maturity levels of mangosteen rind extract using electron spin resonance (ESR). Method: Mangosteen was classified based on the maturity level by its visual characteristic and divided into six criteria of maturity. The mangosteen rinds were extracted through maceration and freeze drying method. Qualitative analysis of xanthone was obtained using LC-MS/MS. Antioxidant activity was determined using ESR spectrometer. To evaluate antioxidant activity, using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) was used as free radical scavenger method. Results: The LC-MS/MS analysis showed that the highest concentrations are filled by mangosteen rind with maturity level 6. Moreover, each maturity levels of mangosteen rind extract has different g value compared to DPPH free radical. Different g value indicated the different type of free radical and decreasing g value indicated the declining intensity of free radical. The higher decreasing of g value was mangosteen rind with maturity level 4, 5 and 6. Conclusion: Mangosteen rind extract contains xanthone and its derivatives and ESR analysis showed that different maturity levels on mangosteen rind has different antioxidant activity as indicated by declining free radical intensity.


Background Existing initiatives to support patient self-management of heart disease do not appear to be reaching patients most in need. Providing self-management programs over the Internet (web-based interventions) might help reduce health disparities by reaching a greater number of patients. However, it is unclear whether they can achieve this goal and whether their effectiveness might be limited by the digital divide. Objective To explore the effectiveness of a web-based intervention in decreasing inequalities in access to self-management support in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). Methods Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to explore use made of a web-based intervention over a period of 9 months. Patients with CHD, with or without home Internet access or previous experience using the Internet, were recruited from primary care centers in diverse socioeconomic and ethnic areas of North London, UK. Patients without home Internet were supported in using the intervention at public Internet services. Results Only 10.6% of eligible patients chose to participate (N=168). Participants were predominantly Caucasian well-educated men, with greater proportions of male and younger CHD patients among participants than were registered at participating primary care practices. Most had been diagnosed with CHD a number of years prior to the study. Relatively few had been newly diagnosed or had experienced a cardiac event in the previous 5 years. Most had home Internet access and prior experience using the Internet. A greater use of the intervention was observed in older participants (for each 5-year age increase, OR 1.25 for no, low or high intervention use, 95% CI, 1.06-1.47) and in those that had home Internet access and prior Internet experience (OR 3.74, 95% CI, 1.52-9.22). Less use was observed in participants that had not recently experienced a cardiac event or diagnosis (≥ 5 years since cardiac event or diagnosis; OR 0.69, 95% CI, 0.50-0.95). Gender and level of education were not statistically related to level of use of the intervention. Data suggest that a recent cardiac event or diagnosis increased the need for information and advice in participants. However, participants that had been diagnosed several years ago showed little need for information and support. The inconvenience of public Internet access was a barrier for participants without home Internet access. The use of the intervention by participants with little or no Internet experience was limited by a lack of confidence with computers and discomfort with asking for assistance. It was also influenced by the level of participant need for information and by their perception of the intervention. Conclusions The availability of a web-based intervention, with support for use at home or through public Internet services, did not result in a large number or all types of patients with CHD using the intervention for self-management support. The effectiveness of web-based interventions for patients with chronic diseases remains a significant challenge.


We investigate the sample complexity of networks with bounds on the magnitude of its weights. In particular, we consider the class \[ \cn = \left\{W_t\circ\rho\circ W_{t-1}\circ\rho\ldots\circ \rho\circ W_{1} : W_1,\ldots,W_{t-1}\in M_{d\times d}, W_t\in M_{1,d} \right\} \] where the spectral norm of each $W_i$ is bounded by $O(1)$, the Frobenius norm is bounded by $R$, and $\rho$ is the sigmoid function $\frac{e^x}{1 + e^x}$ or the smoothened ReLU function $ \ln\left(1 + e^x\right)$. We show that for any depth $t$, if the inputs are in $[-1,1]^d$, the sample complexity of $\cn$ is $\tilde O\left(\frac{dR^2}{\epsilon^2}\right)$. This bound is optimal up to log-factors, and substantially improves over the previous state of the art of $\tilde O\left(\frac{d^2R^2}{\epsilon^2}\right)$, that was established in a recent line of work. We furthermore show that this bound remains valid if instead of considering the magnitude of the $W_i$'s, we consider the magnitude of $W_i - W_i^0$, where $W_i^0$ are some reference matrices, with spectral norm of $O(1)$. By taking the $W_i^0$ to be the matrices in the onset of the training process, we get sample complexity bounds that are sub-linear in the number of parameters, in many {\em typical} regimes of parameters. To establish our results we develop a new technique to analyze the sample complexity of families $\ch$ of predictors. We start by defining a new notion of a randomized approximate description of functions $f:\cx\to\reals^d$. We then show that if there is a way to approximately describe functions in a class $\ch$ using $d$ bits, then $\frac{d}{\epsilon^2}$ examples suffices to guarantee uniform convergence. Namely, that the empirical loss of all the functions in the class is $\epsilon$-close to the true loss. Finally, we develop a set of tools for calculating the approximate description length of classes of functions that can be presented as a composition of linear function classes and non-linear functions.


After decades of large-scale digitization, many historical newspaper collections are just one click away via online portals developed and supported by various public or private stakeholders. Initially offering access to full text search and facsimiles visualization only, historic newspaper user interfaces are increasingly integrating advanced exploration features based on the application of text mining tools to digitized sources. As gateways to enriched material, such interfaces are however not neutral and play a fundamental role in how users perceive historical sources, understand potential biases of upstream processes and benefit from the opportunities of datafication. What features can be found in current interfaces, and to what degree do interfaces adopt novel technologies? This paper presents a survey of interfaces for digitized historical newspapers with the aim of mapping the current state of the art and identifying recent trends with regard to content presentation, enrichment and user interaction. We devised 6 interface assessment criteria and reviewed twenty-four interfaces based on ca. 140 predefined features.


When model neural networks are used to gain insight into how the brain might carry out its computations, comparisons between features of the network and those of the brain form an important basis for drawing conclusions about the network's relevance to brain function. The most significant features to be compared, of course, relate to behavior of the units. Another network property that would be useful to consider, however, is the extent to which units are interconnected and the law by which unit-unit connections scale as the network is made larger. The goal of this paper is to consider these questions for neocortex. The conclusion will be that neocortical neurons are rather sparsely interconnected each neuron receives direct synaptic input from fewer than 3% of its neighbors underlying the surrounding square millimeter of cortex and the extent of connectedness hardly changes for brains that range in size over about four orders of magnitude. These conclusions support the currently popular notion that the brain's circuits are highly modular and suggest that increased cortex size is mainly achieved by adding more modules.


New information technologies have dramatically increased sellers' ability to engage in price discrimination in retail consumer markets. Debates over using personal information for price discrimination frequently treat it as a single concern, and are not sufficiently sensitive to the variety of price discrimination practices, the different kinds of information they require in order to succeed, and the different concerns they raise. This paper explores the ethical aspects of the debate over regulating price discrimination facilitated by personal information. By drawing distinctions between various pricing practices and the motivations behind them, this paper seeks to clarify the ethical principles that should guide legal and regulatory efforts to control the use of personal information for pricing.


NASA Tech Briefs, September 2012 At low SNR, the receiver symbol synchronization loop will be increasingly sensitive to transmitter timing jitter. Excessive timing jitter can cause bit slips in the receiver synchronization loop, which will in turn cause frame losses and potentially lead to receiver and/or decoder loss-of-lock. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate what symbol timing jitter requirements on the satellite transmitter are needed to support the next generation of NASA coded modulation techniques. Measurements of ground segment receiver sensitivity to transmitter bit jitter were conducted using a satellite transponder and two different commercial staggered quadrature phase-shift keying (SQPSK) re ceivers. The symbol synchronizer loop transfer functions were characterized for each receiver. Symbol timing jitter was introduced at the transmitter. Effects of sinusoidal (tone) jitter on symbol error rate (SER) degradation and symbol slip probability were measured. These measurements were used to define regions of sensitivity to phase, frequency, and cycle-to-cycle jitter characterizations. An assortment of other band-limited jitter waveforms was then applied within each region to identify peak or root-mean-square measures as a basis for comparability. Receiver clock recovery loops that operate in low SNR ratio environments require that transmit clock jitter be constrained by several measures on different dimensions and operating regions. In this work, effects of transmit phase jitter (PhJ), frequency jitter (FJ), and cycle-tocycle jitter (CCJ) were studied for sinusoidal and multi-tone jitter profiles on receiver performance. It was demonstrated that the receiver must have a loop bandwidth tight enough to avoid cycle slips, but loose enough to track some movement in the data signal. Movement that a tight loop cannot track is usually manifested first as intersymbol interference (ISI) (SER degradation) and then ultimately as cycle slipping in the receiver. Results from the tests indicate that the receiver symbol synchronization loop is more sensitive to certain types of symbol jitter and jitter frequencies, depending on the selection of the loop filter and damping ratio. A framework is provided to properly compose a transmit jitter mask depending on receiver design parameters such as damping ratio in order to limit receiver performance degradation at low SNR regions. This work was done by Chatwin Lansdowne and Adam Schlesinger of Johnson Space Center. Further information is contained in a TSP (see page 1). MSC-24810-1


Conditional restricted Boltzmann machines are undirected stochastic neural networks with a layer of input and output units connected bipartitely to a layer of hidden units. These networks define models of conditional probability distributions on the states of the output units given the states of the input units, parametrized by interaction weights and biases. We address the representational power of these models, proving results on the minimal size of universal approximators of conditional probability distributions, the minimal size of universal approximators of deterministic functions, the maximal model approximation errors, and on the dimension of the set of representable conditional distributions. We contribute new tools for investigating conditional models and obtain significant improvements over the results that can be derived directly from existing work on restricted Boltzmann machine probability models.


Abstract Background. In 2006, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a revised Field Triage Decision Scheme. It is unknown how this modified scheme will affect the number of patients identified by emergency medical services (EMS) for transport to a trauma center. Objectives. To determine the change in the number of patients transported by EMS who meet the 2006 scheme, compared with the 1999 scheme, and to determine how the scheme change would affect under- and overtriage rates. Methods. The EMS providers in charge of care for injured adult patients transported to a regional trauma center in three mid-sized cities were interviewed immediately after completing transport. All injured patients were included, regardless of severity. The interview included patient demographics, vital signs, apparent anatomic injury, and the mechanism of injury. Included patients were then followed through hospital discharge. The 1999 and 2006 scheme criteria were each retrospectively applied to the collected data. The numbers of patients identified by the two schemes were determined. Patients were considered to have needed a trauma center if they had nonorthopedic surgery within 24 hours, were admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU), or died. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics including 95%% confidence intervals. Results. EMS interviews were conducted for 11,892 patients and outcome data were unavailable for one patient. The average patient age was 48 years; 51%% of the patients were men. Providers reported bringing 54%% of the enrolled patients to the trauma center based on their local trauma protocol. Medical record review identified 12%% of the enrolled patients as needing a trauma center. Use of the 2006 scheme would have resulted in 1,423 fewer patients (12%%; 95%% confidence interval [[CI]]:11%%–13%%) being identified as needing a trauma center by EMS providers (40%%; 95%% CI: 39%%–41%% versus 28%%; 95%% CI: 27%%–29%%). Of those patients, 1,344 (94%%) did not actually need the resources of a trauma center, whereas 78 (6%%) actually needed the resources of a trauma center and would have been undertriaged. Conclusion. Use of the 2006 Field Triage Decision Scheme would have resulted in a significant decrease in the number of patients identified as needing the resources of a trauma center. These changes reduced overtriage while causing a small increase in the number of patients who would have been undertriaged. Key words: wounds and injury; triage; emergency medical services; emergency medical technicians; decision scheme


There is a small but growing literature on the financialization of housing that demonstrates how housing is a central aspect of financialization. Despite the varied analyses of the financialization of housing and the importance of housing to financialization, the relations between housing and financialization remain under-researched and under-theorized. The financialization of housing is not really a specific form of financialization, transcending as it does a number of different forms of financialization. Housing systems, in particular, vary widely across the globe, which implies that housing financialization will be inherently variegated, path-dependent and uneven. In this introduction to the symposium, I will discuss how the articles to follow contribute to the literature on the financialization of housing. Housing has entered a post-Fordist, neoliberal and financialized regime. Increasingly, both mortgaged homeownership and subsidized rental housing are there to keep financial markets going, rather than being facilitated by those markets. There is little evidence that the global financial crisis has resulted in any de-financialization of housing. There are common trajectories within uneven and variegated financialization, rather than radically different and completely unrelated forms of housing financialization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]


Historically, education abroad has been designed to provide students a full immersion experience by way of semester or year-long study at a foreign university. However, this traditional format has been redefined to include a variety of non-traditional international experiences, such as international service learning projects, internships, and short-term international experiences. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to develop a deep understanding of the lived experiences of agricultural education undergraduate students participating in a short-term international experience. The overarching question that guided the study was: What were the lived experiences of agricultural education undergraduate students during a short-term international experience? As a result of the short-term international experience, students did not progress fully through all levels of development needed to be considered proficient in cultural competence. However, students demonstrated significant gains in cultural awareness and some gains in cultural understanding and cultural sensitivity. Finally, participating students verified some progress toward building cultural communication competencies as a result of their experience.


Virtualization technologies such as Xen can be used in order to satisfy the disparate and often incompatible system requirements of different user groups in shared-use computing facilities. This capability is particularly important for HEP applications, which often have restrictive requirements. The use of virtualization adds flexibility, however, it is essential that the virtualization technology place little overhead on the HEP application. We present an evaluation of the practicality of running HEP applications in multiple Virtual Machines (VMs) on a single multi-core Linux system. We use the benchmark suite used by the HEPiX CPU Benchmarking Working Group to give a quantitative evaluation relevant to the HEP community. Benchmarks are packaged inside VMs and then the VMs are booted onto a single multi-core system. Benchmarks are then simultaneously executed on each VM to simulate highly loaded VMs running HEP applications. These techniques are applied to a variety of multi-core CPU architectures and VM configurations.


New opportunities for the refinement of ionospheric modelling and reduction of the ionospheric error in GPS measurements arise since a third-frequency will be introduced for the modernised GPS system. This paper investigates theoretical models of the ionospheric refractive error. A triple-frequency method of correcting the 1st and 2nd order ionospheric refraction is presented and a triple-frequency ionosphere-free combination method is proposed for GPS modernization. These new methods can be equally applied to the European GALILEO system. In addition, typical effects of the 2nd and 3rd order ionospheric effects are also investigated, and a correct formula for the 3rd order ionospheric error is derived in a simple way for easy implementation. It is anticipated that the proposed refraction correction methods will play an important role in both the modernized GPS and GALILEO systems. Results show that the proposed triple-frequency methods can correct the ionospheric refraction effects to a millimetre level. Since the models are given in simple forms, these corrections can be easily implemented in many real-time applications and the triple-frequency methods for correcting high-order ionospheric can significantly eliminate the error remained in the current ionospheric models. The method developed will potentially contribute to a better long-range baseline ambiguity resolution and an accuracy improvement in precise point positioning.


PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES
to identify subgroups of patients receiving biotherapy with pain, fatigue, sleep disturbance, and depression and to determine functional status and quality of life differences between subgroups.

DESIGN
a descriptive, prospective, cohort study design.

SETTING
internet-based survey.

SAMPLE
187 patients with cancer receiving biotherapy.

METHODS
pain intensity, Piper Fatigue Scale, General Sleep Disturbance Scale, Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression, Karnofsky Performance Scale, and the Multidimensional Quality of Life Scale-Cancer were used at two time points one month apart (T1 and T2). Latent profile analysis identified subgroups.

MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES
biotherapy, symptoms, functional status, and quality of life.

FINDINGS
At T1 (N = 187), five patient subgroups were identified, ranging from subgroup 1 (mild fatigue and sleep disturbance) to subgroup 5 (severe on all four symptoms). At T2 (N = 114), three patient subgroups were identified, ranging from subgroup 1 (mild pain, fatigue, and sleep disturbance without depression) to subgroup 3 (mild pain, moderate fatigue, and sleep disturbance with severe depression). At each time point, the patient subgroup with the most severe symptoms showed significantly lower functional status and quality of life.

CONCLUSIONS
as with other cancer treatments, biotherapy can be divided into similar patient subgroups with four prevalent symptoms. Subgroups of patients differ in functional status and quality of life as a result of symptom severity.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING
clinicians should assess and identify patients with severe levels of the four prevalent symptoms and offer appropriate interventions. Future study is needed to investigate the factors that contribute to symptom severity and to examine the occurrence of symptom clusters that may place patients at increased risk for poorer outcomes.


This book offers a timely account of health reform struggles in developed democracies. The editors, leading experts in the field, have brought together a group of distinguished scholars to explore the ambitions and realities of health care regulation, financing, and delivery across countries. These wide-ranging essays cover policy debates and reforms in Canada, Germany, Holland, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as separate treatments of some of the most prominent issues confronting policy makers. These include primary care, hospital care, long-term care, pharmaceutical policy, and private health insurance. The authors are attentive throughout to the ways in which cross-national, comparative research may inform national policy debates not only under the Obama administration but across the world.


Previous accounts of the development of triadic attention identify a ''curious'' shift around nine to twelve months. We introduce a novel approach inspired by distributed and embodied cognition frameworks. In a longitudinal study of five mother-infant dyads, videos of home play interactions were recorded over the infants' first year. We scrutinized the real-time organization of mother-infant sensorimotor activity, including the targets of hands, gaze, and mouth, as the dyad members attended to one another and to toys. We identified a pervasive developmental pattern: At four months, infants converged all sensory modalities on objects introduced by the mother. From six to twelve months, infants showed increasing decoupling of hands and eyes and increasingly elaborate sequences in multi-object play. Concurrently, dyads engaged in increasingly elaborate social exchanges (e.g., turn-taking) as mothers adapted to infants' sensorimotor skills. We therefore theorize that triadic attention emerges not as a novel form of social cognition but as a continuous product of sensorimotor development, scaffolded by parents' expanding social actions.


A Flux-Coordinate Independent (FCI) approach for anisotropic systems, not based on magnetic flux coordinates, has been introduced in Hariri and Ottaviani [Comput. Phys. Commun. 184, 2419 (2013)]. In this paper, we show that the approach can tackle magnetic configurations including X-points. Using the code FENICIA, an equilibrium with a magnetic island has been used to show the robustness of the FCI approach to cases in which a magnetic separatrix is present in the system, either by design or as a consequence of instabilities. Numerical results are in good agreement with the analytic solutions of the sound-wave propagation problem. Conservation properties are verified. Finally, the critical gain of the FCI approach in situations including the magnetic separatrix with an X-point is demonstrated by a fast convergence of the code with the numerical resolution in the direction of symmetry. The results highlighted in this paper show that the FCI approach can efficiently deal with X-point geometries.


Shareholder democracy has blossomed. The once moribund shareholder franchise is now critical in takeover contests, merger decisions, and board oversight. However, the mechanisms of this vote remain largely undertheorized. In this Article, we use voting rights and social choice theory to develop a new approach to the corporate franchise. Political democracies typically tie the right to vote to the level of a person's interest in the outcome of the election. Corporate democracies, on the other hand, tend to define the requisite institutional interest quite narrowly, and thus restrict the right to vote to shareholders alone. This restriction has found its justification in the assumption that shareholders have a homogeneous interest in corporate wealth maximization. Such homogeneity, it is argued, maximizes efficient preference satisfaction. This assumption of shareholder homogeneity is false. It is becoming increasing clear, for example, that shareholders have many different types of interests in a corporation. In addition, stakeholders such as employees, consumers, and creditors also have interests in corporate governance that are not currently captured through existing contractual regimes. Moreover, many of the conclusions drawn from the assumption of shareholder homogeneity are either based on dated understandings of Arrow's Theorem or, in some cases, are flat out inconsistent with the standard economic theory that they purport to embody. As a result, corporate voting schemes are sterile reflections of their more robust political counterparts. The Article argues that corporate law scholars should acknowledge the weaknesses of shareholder voting theory and should examine new ways of translating the preferences of corporate participants into a governance structure.


The present textbook on ordinary and partial differential equations is tailored to develop analytic skills and "working knowledge'' in both classical and Lie's methods for solving linear and nonlinear equations. It is based on lectures delivered by the author at Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, and Blekinge Institute of Technology. The prerequisites are linear algebra and mathematical analysis with one and several variables including elements of ordinary differential equations.


Proper characterization of the dynamic behaviour of soil deposits is of utmost importance in earthquake ground-response analyses. Cone-tip penetration resistances, which are usually obtained in a typical geotechnical study for foundation design, can be used to evaluate the dynamic properties and thus to outline dynamically a given soil deposit. Because of the capacity of neurofuzzy techniques to combine the representational aspect of fuzzy models and the learning mechanisms of neural networks, in this paper a neurofuzzy system is proposed to map the values obtained from cone penetration tests into the dynamic properties of Mexico City clays. Utilizing this methodology, it is possible to achieve profies of shear modulus and damping ratios versus shear strain curves, from which soil deposits can be characterized dynamically at a reduced cost.


Abstract Introduction Each patient suffering from severe coronavirus COVID-19-associated acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), requiring mechanical ventilation, shows different lung mechanics and disease evolution. Therefore, lung protective strategies should be personalised for the individual patient. Case presentation A 64-year-old male patient was intubated ten days after the symptoms of COVID-19 infection presented. He was placed in the prone position for sixteen hours, resulting in a marked improvement in oxygenation. However, after being returned to the supine position, his SpO2 rapidly dropped from 98% to 91%, and electrical impedance tomography showed less ventilation at the dorsal region and a ventral shift of ventilation distribution. An incremental and decremental PEEP trial under electrical impedance tomography monitoring was carried out, confirming that the dependent lung regions were recruited with increased pressures and homogenous ventilation distribution could be provided with 14 cmH2O of PEEP. The optimal settings were reassessed next day after returning from the second session of the prone position. After four prone position-sessions in five days, oxygenation was stabilised and eventually the patient was discharged. Conclusions Patients with COVID-19 associated ARDS require individualised ventilation support depending on the stage of their disease. Daily PEEP trial monitored by electrical impedance tomography can provide important information to tailor the respiratory therapies.


Abstract. Providing preventive information to the public is one of the major challenges in the prevention of major hazards. In France, the DICRIM (Document d'Information Communal sur les Risques Majeurs; in English "Municipal Information Document on Major Risks") is currently the main regulatory risk communication tool intended for the general public. It has been developed with the aim of contributing to awareness and knowledge of risks and informing on the actions and behaviors to adopt. This raises questions as to its suitability composed of readability and legibility, essential for its appropriation by the population. Answering these questions constitutes the first step in improving its effectiveness. This article presents the development of indicators and a decision support model used to analyze and improve the suitability of a DICRIM. Two types of indicator, considering visual and content characteristics, were developed: System Indicators for the entire document and Substantive and Formal Component Indicators for the fields it contains. They were formalized using five types of source: the literature, expert knowledge, opinions of residents, analysis of a DICRIM database and a questionnaire survey. The aggregation of indicators provides suitability scores and feedback on what should be improved in the DICRIM. Validation sessions were performed with five risk analysis experts. The advantage of the model is that it can be used by the town halls and design offices of any municipality without the need to call on experts or significant human or financial resources.


Immunities in international law expose multifaceted tensions between goals of international stability and legal accountability. This Article seeks to clarify the law in this area by providing conceptual and doctrinal coherence to relationships between immunity and jurisdiction. It first explains that foreign sovereign immunity and official status-based immunity are jurisdictional in that they block the exercise of adjudicative jurisdiction by foreign states' courts. The Article then explains that these immunities do not block the prescriptive jurisdiction of foreign states' laws to regulate conduct, even conduct inside other states, if a basis of prescriptive jurisdiction exists in international law. The Article argues that this view of the relationships between immunity and jurisdiction makes sense on, and holds two important consequences for, the current state of the law. First, the relevant law-in-time for gauging these immunities is the law in existence when a court determines whether to entertain suit, not the law in existence at the time of the conduct underlying the suit. As a result, the viability of claims arising out of the same underlying facts changes along with changes in the law of immunity. Second, this view gives the immunity doctrines rule-of-law coherence by avoiding legality problems or retroactive application of the law any time a post-conduct trigger like a waiver or change in status removes immunity.Last, the Article assesses the law of conduct-based immunity and, in particular, arguments that conduct-based immunity does not attach for violations of jus cogens, or peremptory norms of international law. Compared with the relatively settled laws of foreign sovereign and status-based immunities, the law of conduct-based immunity is in flux. Because customary international law arises from state practice and opinio juris, arguments used to avoid direct collisions between other types of immunity and jus cogens do not necessarily extend by analogy to conduct-based immunity, which is its own distinct doctrine under international law. Most prominently, arguments that foreign sovereign and status-based immunities do not come into direct conflict with, and thus do not yield to, jus cogens — because those immunities address amenability to suit while jus cogens address substantive prohibitions under international law — may not apply when the immunity at issue is conduct-based. For instance, conduct-based immunity may be understood as a substantive, as opposed to a jurisdictional, defense on the current state of the law, especially in criminal suits. In which case, conduct-based immunity does come into direct conflict with, and yields to, jus cogens. The Article concludes that the present state of flux in the law of conduct-based immunity may also be indicative of immunity norms bending to accountability norms where the law is unsettled.