We have generated an extensive new suite of massive giant planet atmosphere models and used it to obtain fits to photometric data for the planets HR 8799b, c, and d. We consider a wide range of cloudy and cloud-free models. The cloudy models incorporate different geometrical and optical thicknesses, modal particle sizes, and metallicities. For each planet and set of cloud parameters, we explore grids in gravity and effective temperature, with which we determine constraints on the planet's mass and age. Our new models yield statistically significant fits to the data, and conclusively confirm that the HR 8799 planets have much thicker clouds than those required to explain data for typical L and T dwarfs. Both models with (1) physically thick forsterite clouds and a 60 μm modal particle size and (2) clouds made of 1 μm sized pure iron droplets and 1% supersaturation fit the data. Current data are insufficient to accurately constrain the microscopic cloud properties, such as composition and particle size. The range of best-estimated masses for HR 8799b, HR 8799c, and HR 8799d conservatively span 2–12 MJ, 6–13 MJ, and 3–11 MJ, respectively, and imply coeval ages between ∼10 and ∼150 Myr, consistent with previously reported stellar ages. The best-fit temperatures and gravities are slightly lower than values obtained by Currie et al. using even thicker cloud models. Finally, we use these models to predict the near-to-mid-IR colors of soon-to-be imaged planets. Our models predict that planet-mass objects follow a locus in some near-to-mid-IR color–magnitude diagrams that is clearly separable from the standard L/T dwarf locus for field brown dwarfs.


The American health care system is plagued by high costs and poor public health outcomes, due in part to the overuse of costly diagnostic tests and treatments. In 2009, the Institute of Medicine estimated that unnecessary care wastes 750 billion dollars a year, equivalent to about 30% of health care spending. Moreover, overtreatment can directly harm patients as a result of surgical complications, drug toxicity, and hospital-acquired infections.Yet while the problem of medical waste has long been recognized, solving the problem has proven elusive. In part, this is due to perverse economic incentives for physicians and hospitals, which still primarily receive reimbursement on a fee-for-service basis. Providers are financially motivated under this system to generate a higher volume of invasive procedures independent of their likely benefits. Patients generally lack the information needed to decline unnecessary services, even when they wish to actively share in medical decision-making, and a strong cultural bias pushes both patients and physicians to "do more," even when evidence suggests that doing more may result in harm. In the 1990s, managed health care organizations attempted to rein in health care waste by stringently reviewing and prospectively denying payment for unnecessary tests and treatments, but that experiment was a political failure. Similarly, attempts to reduce overuse by shifting financial risk directly onto providers through capitated payment mechanisms have had limited success. The ability of these mechanisms to limit waste is compromised by the real or perceived incentive to also reduce spending on appropriate care.We propose a new conception of medical necessity that will reduce inappropriate care by allowing informed consumers to actively participate in decisions about their medical care. Where evidence-based guidelines are available, medical necessity should be determined on the basis of an objective, multi-level Matrix of Appropriateness rather than the subjective binary decision of an insurance company's medical reviewer. Such Matrices have already been created by systematically combining published evidence with expert judgment to create clinically detailed, evidence-based, multi-level medical necessity ratings for elective procedures based on individual patient characteristics. In our proposed system, if a patient desires a service proposed by a physician under clinical circumstances that receive low medical necessity ratings, the third-party payer would offer to cover the service but at a sliding copayment scale imposing greater patient cost sharing based on the service's appropriateness. This would preserve patient choice while discouraging the overuse of costly treatments that provide little marginal value, reducing medical waste and improving the overall value of medical care.


We show that the preference to act as a leader rather than as a follower is related to subjects' behavioral type. We rely on the methodology proposed by Fischbacher et al. (2001) and Fischbacher and Gachter (2010) in order to identify subjects' behavioral typ es. We then link the likelihood to act as a leader in a repeated public goods game to the elicited behavioral types. The leader in a group is defined as the subject who voluntarily decides in the first place about his contribution. The leader's contribution is then reported publicly to the remaining group members who are requested to take their contribution decisions simultaneously. Our main findings are that leaders emerge in almost all rounds and that conditional cooperators are more likely to act as leaders compared to free riders. We also find that voluntary leaders, irrespective of their behavioral type, contribute more than the followers. However leadership does not prevent the decay that is commonly observed in linear public goods experiments. JEL-classification H41, C92


Political debating in the United States forms a type of pragmatic act with a recognizable script. Within that script, the nature of the debate presents itself as rife with examples of follow-ups (Sinclair and Coulthard 1975) whereby candidates react to challenges to their prior assertions by reasserting, justifying, and/or mitigating their original claims. Follow-ups can be identified sequentially or functionally, and emerge in the linguistic and interactional context both intra- or interdiscursively when, in the latter case, speakers are called upon to follow up on an assertion they made in an earlier political discourse (e.g., in a political speech or campaign advertisement); that is, the previous assertion has been entextualized in the latter discourse. Using the Multilayered Model of Context (Berlin 2007, 2011) as a framework to conduct a critical discourse analysis, pragmatic strategies are identified within selected debates which occurred during the final days of the 2010 US Midterm Elections. The integration of Positioning Theory (Harre and van Langenhove 1991, 1999) in the analysis also emerges as instructive in classifying those strategies as affirmative versus negative.


Novel trialkylphosphonium ionic liquids chain extenders enabled the successful synthesis of poly(ethylene glycol)-based, cationic polyurethanes with pendant phosphoniums in the hard segments (HS). Aqueous size exclusion chromatography (SEC) confirmed the charged polyurethanes, which varied the phosphonium alkyl substituent length (ethyl and butyl) and cationic HS content (25, 50, 75 mol%), achieved high absolute molecular weights. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) demonstrated the triethylphosphonium (TEP) and tributylphosphonium (TBP) polyurethanes displayed similar thermomechanical properties, including increased rubbery plateau moduli and flow temperatures. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) emphasized the significance of ion–dipole interaction on hydrogen bonding. Atomic force microscopy (AFM), small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), and wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) supported microphase separated morphologies in the trialkylphosphonium polyurethanes, despite the presence of ionic interactions. Sorption isotherm experiments revealed the TEP polyurethane exhibited the highest water vapor sorption profile compared to the TBP, which displayed similar water sorption profiles to the noncharged analogue. The phosphonium polyurethanes displayed significantly improved tensile strain; however, lower tensile stress of the TEP polyurethane was presumably due to absorbed water. In addition to physical characterizations, we also explored the trialkylphosphonium polyurethanes as nucleic acid delivery vectors. The phosphonium polyurethanes bound DNA at low charge ratios, and the polyplexes exhibited enhanced colloidal stability under physiological salt conditions.


Abstract Vietnam has gone through massive economic restructuring from a socialist command economy to market-oriented economy. This provides an excellent example of a country that has experienced changes in competition regime. Economic reforms in late 1980s and 1990s and the introduction of pro-competitive policies in the first half of 2000s have radically altered the economic and, in particular, competitive environment. Understanding the evolution of competition across industries is an important step towards understanding the impact of economic reform on the economic performance of Vietnam as a result of the economic transition. In this paper, the authors investigate the evolution of competition in Vietnam during the economic transition using the price-cost margin (or Lerner Index) and the profit elasticity measure recently developed by Boone (Competition, 2000). This paper provides the first empirical study of intensity and evolution of competition across majority of industries in Vietnam in the last decade using firm-level data from the Vietnam Enterprise Census (VEC) conducted annually since 2000 by the Vietnam General Statistical Office (GSO).


Many idiomatic expressions can be used figuratively or literally depending on the context. A particular challenge of automatic idiom usage recognition is that idioms, by their very nature, are idiosyncratic in their usages; therefore, most previous work on idiom usage recognition mainly adopted a "per idiom" classifier approach, i.e., a classifier needs to be trained separately for each idiomatic expression of interest, often with the aid of annotated training examples. This paper presents a transferred learning approach for developing a generalized model to recognize whether an idiom is used figuratively or literally. Our work is based on the observation that most idioms, when taken literally, would be somehow semantically at odds with their context. Therefore, a quantified notion of semantic compatibility may help to discern the intended usage for any arbitrary idiom. We propose a novel semantic compatibility model by adapting the training of a Continuous Bag-of-Words (CBOW) model for the purpose of idiom usage recognition. There is no need to annotate idiom usage examples for training. We perform evaluative experiments on two corpora; results show that the proposed generalized model achieves competitive results compared to state of-the-art per-idiom models.


The rising Korean cinema has inspired a flurry of new understandings of the nation's media and cultural policies. However, there remains a gap in the historical factors leading to this phenomenon, regarding particularly Hollywood's long-term negotiations with import and screen quotas. This study charts Hollywood's export activities in Korea and analyzes differences between the US economic approach to film as 'goods' and Korean view of films as 'cultural expressions'. The Korean government's perseverance to safeguard film as cultural heritage and its ability to stand-up against relentless trade pressures from the US have led to the contemporary Korean cinema's tangible success. Ironically, a brood of American films, which flooded Korea after 1988, helped raise this tiger from its slumber and the subsequent spread of Hallyu the so-called Korean wave, across East Asia and the globe.


The recent availability of survey data on social contact patterns has made possible important advances in the understanding of the social determinants of the spread of close-contact infections, and of the importance of long-lasting contacts for effective transmission to occur. Still, little is known about the relationship between two of the most critical identified factors (frequency of contacts and duration of exposure) and how this relationship applies to different types of infections. By integrating data from two independently collected social surveys (Polymod and time use), we propose a model that combines these two transmission determinants into a new epidemiologically relevant measure of contacts: the number of "suitable" contacts, which is the number of contacts that involve a sufficiently long exposure time to allow for transmission. The validity of this new epidemiological measure is tested against Italian serological data for varicella and parvovirus-B19, with uncertainty evaluated using the Bayesian melding technique. The model performs quite well, indicating that the interplay between time of exposure and contacts is critical for varicella transmission, while for B19 it is the duration of exposure that matters for transmission.


What is PDFlib? PDFlib is the leading developer toolbox for generating and manipulating files in the Portable Document Format (PDF). PDFlib's main targets are dynamic PDF creation on a Web server or any other server system, and to implement »Save as PDF« in existing applications. You can use PDFlib to dynamically create PDF documents from database contents, similar to dynamic Web pages. PDFlib has proven itself in a wide range of other use cases as well. Application programmers need only decent graphics or print output experience to be able to use PDFlib quickly. Since PDFlib frees you from the technicalities of the PDF file format, you can focus on acquiring the data and arranging text, graphics, and images on the page.


Business ventures have the characteristics of conducting business focusing on a specific growth market. In the growth process, several issues emerge that are inherent to business ventures in the new field, namely, new product development and / or new service introduction.
For the business ventures, developing business in the new field impacts the sustainability of the enterprise. The business ventures need specific characteristics to achieve this sustainability. Those characteristics vary according to the competitive condition of the market. However, there have been only few empirical comparisons on this subject in the past.
This paper identifies business characteristics that business ventures targeting the business in the new field based on the transformation of finance and cognitive management issues. A causal loop diagram analysis, which is one of the System Dynamics tools, is used to identify the underlying major factors which influence the sustainability of the business. The analysis shows the problems of cognitive management issues and the associated countermeasures.


OBJECTIVE: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not therapeutic play is effective at reducing preoperative anxiety in children age 4 through 12. STUDY DESIGN: Three single blind, randomized controlled trials that were published between 2008 and 2010 and published in the English language. DATA SOURCES: Each of the three studies that evaluate the effectiveness of therapeutic play in pediatric populations were found using the PubMed database based on their relevance to the clinical question and their inclusion of patient oriented outcomes. OUTCOMES MEASURED: These three articles compared anxiety and stress levels in preoperative therapeutic play and standard preoperative procedures with the Modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale (m-YPAS), Chinese version of the State Anxiety Scale for Children (CSAS-C) and Preschool Behavior (Behar) Questionnaire. RESULTS: All three studies found a significant decrease in the anxiety levels of children who were involved in preoperative therapeutic play when compared to those who underwent standard preoperative procedures. In the Athanassiadou et al. study, a p-value was not reported; however, the results were concluded to be statistically significant in showing that preoperative play led to lower anxiety levels in children. In the Hosseinpour et al. study, it was demonstrated that preoperative play was successful at reducing anxiety levels in children with a statistically significant p-value of 0.001generalizable to gender and age for the targeted population. In the Li et al. study, the experimental had a mean anxiety level of 34.36 and a control mean anxiety level of 36.16 with a reported test statistic p-value of 0.002 indicating statistical significance. CONCLUSION: The results of these three studies comparing anxiety levels in children who received preoperative play with children who received standard preoperative procedure demonstrated that it is possible to reduce anxiety levels in children age 4 through 12 with intended intervention.


The story behind the litigation that produced two decisions in Southern Burlington County NAACP v. Township of Mount Laurel may accurately be told in terms of plans having gone awry. The New Jersey Supreme Court invalidated the two attempts by Mount Laurel to regulate land through the implementation of fiscal zoning ordinances. In its most recent decision, Mount Laurel II, the court imposed upon communities a state constitutional obligation to provide adequate housing opportunities for low- and moderate-income families. Mount Laurel II thus defines the constitutional limitations on a municipality's power to regulate land. It also establishes a supporting corollary: in order to fulfill this constitutional obligation, a municipality must plan for the growth of its low- and moderate-income population by providing adequate housing opportunities for this population This Article presents an alternative land use regulation, a municipal land bank, as a means to aid municipalities in planning for and providing housing opportunities for its low- and moderate-income families. Municipal land banks acquire, manage, and dispose of land according to legislatively authorized policies and objectives, and can help ensure that sufficient land is available to provide for a municipality's supply of fair share housing. In addition, a municipal land bank would shift the responsibility of designing affirmative measures to attack exclusionary zoning practices from the judiciary to the legislature. The Article presents a policy overview of legislation and planning regulations necessary for the establishment of land banks, as well as the interrelationship between the local governmental body an the state and regional agencies that will oversee the operation. Part II focuses on the Mount Laurel doctrine through an examination of Mount Laurel I and Mount Laurel II. The section concludes that the establishment of a municipal land bank would better serve the Mount Laurel doctrine than the remedy proposed by the court in Mount Laurel II. Part III introduces the concept of land banking, and provides a description of its operation and its implementation in foreign countries. The American Law Institute's study of land banking is also considered. Part IV discusses the legal issues surrounding the land banking concept: the constitutionality of the acquisition of property, the requirement that the land banking objectives benefit the general welfare of the public, and judicial review of land dispositions. Finally, Part V considers issues related to the operation of the land bank, including the legislation necessary to establish entities to oversee the land bank, as well as local development plans.


Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is passed on point-to-point
protocol. This document describes a Multipoint Session Initiation
Protocol. This protocol is an application-layer control (signaling)
protocol for creating, modifying, and terminating sessions with one or
more participants. The protocol is based on distributed network
entities architecture, and the use of the server is mandatory.


It is estimated that there are five million CCTV cameras in use today. CCTV is used by a wide range of
organisations and for an increasing number of purposes. Despite this, there has been little research to
establish whether these systems are fit for purpose. This thesis takes a socio-technical approach to
determine whether CCTV is effective, and if not, how it could be made more effective. Humancomputer
interaction (HCI) knowledge and methods have been applied to improve this understanding
and what is needed to make CCTV effective; this was achieved in an extensive field study and two
experiments. In Study 1, contextual inquiry was used to identify the security goals, tasks, technology
and factors which affected operator performance and the causes at 14 security control rooms. The
findings revealed a number of factors which interfered with task performance, such as: poor camera
positioning, ineffective workstation setups, difficulty in locating scenes, and the use of low-quality
CCTV recordings.
The impact of different levels of video quality on identification and detection performance was
assessed in two experiments using a task-focused methodology. In Study 2, 80 participants identified
64 face images taken from four spatially compressed video conditions (32, 52, 72, and 92 Kbps). At a
bit rate quality of 52 Kbps (MPEG-4), the number of faces correctly identified reached significance. In
Study 3, 80 participants each detected 32 events from four frame rate CCTV video conditions (1, 5, 8,
and 12 fps). Below 8 frames per second, correct detections and task confidence ratings decreased
significantly.
These field and empirical research findings are presented in a framework using a typical CCTV
deployment scenario, which has been validated through an expert review. The contributions and
limitations of this thesis are reviewed, and suggestions for how the framework should be further
developed are provided.


Abstract The hippocampus and the basal ganglia are thought to play fundamental and distinct roles in learning and memory, supporting two dissociable memory systems. Interestingly, however, the hippocampus and the basal ganglia have each, separately, been implicated as necessary for reversal learning—the ability to adaptively change a response when previously learned stimulus–outcome contingencies are reversed. Here, we compared the contribution of the hippocampus and the basal ganglia to distinct aspects of learning and reversal. Amnesic subjects with selective hippocampal damage, Parkinson subjects with disrupted basal ganglia function, and healthy controls were tested on a novel probabilistic learning and reversal paradigm. In this task, reversal can be achieved in two ways: Subjects can reverse a previously learned response, or they can select a new cue during the reversal phase, effectively "opting out" of the reversal. We found that both patient groups were intact at initial learning, but differed in their ability to reverse. Amnesic subjects failed to reverse, and continued to use the same cue and response learned before the reversal. Parkinson subjects, by contrast, opted out of the reversal by learning a new cue–outcome association. These results suggest that both the hippocampus and the basal ganglia support reversal learning, but in different ways. The basal ganglia are necessary for learning a new response when a previously learned response is no longer rewarding. The failure of the amnesic subjects to reverse their response or to learn a new cue is consistent with a more general role for the hippocampus in configural learning, and suggests it may also support the ability to respond to changes in cue–outcome contingencies.


This study examined characteristics of two nontraditional teacher preparation
programs. Teach for America and the North Carolina Model Teacher Education
Consortium were analyzed according to participant selection, length and depth of the
program, and teacher performance. Researcher-constructed surveys were administered to
eight teachers from each group and to the principals in their schools of employment. The
teachers also participated in semi-structured interviews. Results indicated strengths and
weaknesses in both programs. It is concluded that preparation in classroom management,
clinical experience, and a strong support system are essential for effective teacher
preparation


For decades the concerns about the impact of modern agriculture's use of pesticides have been one of the most debated issues within Danish environmental politics. Several action plans have aimed at reducing the use of pesticides, but the scientific basis of these has not been well justified. The aim of this paper is to analyze the effectiveness of different instruments targeting unilateral pesticide reductions in Danish agriculture as well as whether the benefit from further reductions exceeds the social costs. The last issue is a novel feature of this paper since it requires the collaboration and linkage of very different research disciplines and modeling tools.

In the paper we combine several analytical tools in search of an effective pesticide instrument and an optimal application of such an instrument. The tools under considerations are firstly a CGE model used for evaluating the cost and to calculate general economic and sectoral consequences. This CGE model is linked to an agricultural sector model calculating the optimal use of land, and the agricultural sector model is then linked to a biological agent based simulation model (ABM) calculating changes in the population of a key species of farmland bird, caused to changes in production and landscape. The results from the agricultural sector model are also used in evaluation of pesticide usage and the leaching of pesticides to ground water.

First we analyze the implication of three different scenarios in all of the above-mentioned models and tools. All three scenarios are constructed such that they result in the same welfare implication (measured by national consumption in the CGE model). The scenarios are: 1) pesticide taxes resulting in a 25 percent overall reduction; 2) use of unsprayed field margins, resulting in the same welfare loss as in scenario 1; and finally 3) increased conversion to organic farming also resulting in the same welfare loss as in scenario 1.

Biological and geological results from the first part of our analysis suggest that the use of unsprayed field margins is the most cost-effective instrument for improving bio-diversity and securing drinking water. That is, combining economic modeling with physical biological modeling and geological evaluation allows us to select unsprayed field margins as the most effective instrument. Sensitivity analysis conducted on bio-diversity suggest that this result is globally stable

Having concluded that unsprayed field margins are the most effective instrument, we proceed by including valuation studies of increased bio-diversity which allows us to estimate the total value of increased biodiversity in the field margins scenario and thus contributes to an actual cost-benefit analysis. But further more we also address the question of the optimal size of field margins. Combining the valuation studies, with a series of analysis from both the biodiversity model (ABM) and the CGE model enables us to obtain the total abatement cost and benefit curves. From these curves we can then deduce the marginal benefit and cost curves, which allow us to determine the optimal size of unsprayed field margins.


Session of Tuesday, August 3 The first session of the Society was called to order at 10 o'clock a. m., Tuesday, August 3, in the auditorium of Bacon Hall, University of California, by C. F. Tolman, Jr., Chairman of the Cordilleran Section, in the absence of President Arthur P. Coleman. Seventy-five members and visitors were present. After announcements in regard to proposed excursions, the dinner, and the official program, the Chairman declared the reading of papers to be the regular order. It was proposed to take up the papers in the order given in the printed program; those under Topic A, "Erosion and Deposition in Arid Climates," at the first session, held at the University of California, August 3; those under Topic B, "Petrologic Problems of the Pacific Area," at Stanford University, August 4; and those under Topic C, "Diastrophism of the Pacific Coast," at the University of California, August . . .


Abstract Second-harmonic X-mode (X2) electron cyclotron (EC) heating (ECH) has been used in DIII-D in conjunction with plasma initiation and current ramp-up. Although the toroidal inductive electric field Eϕ in DIII-D is high enough (0.9 to 1.0 V/m) to allow robust start-up without EC assist, start-up in fusion devices such as ITER will have lower fields (Eϕ = 0.3 V/m), and EC assist can provide a reproducible breakdown and an increased margin for burnthrough of low-Z impurities. ECH, applied before the inductive electric field, is used to separate the various phases of plasma breakdown and start-up and is defined as preionization. Preionization first occurs near the X2 resonance location and then expands in the vessel volume. Perpendicular launch (k[parallel] = 0) is found to produce the strongest preionization. The power threshold for preionization can be reduced by optimizing the prefill and the vertical field, although the lowest power threshold is not at the optimum value for ohmic start-up alone. An orbit-following code confirms that cold electrons (0.03 eV) can be sufficiently heated by ECH to energies above the threshold of ionization of hydrogen. This code predicts heating in new tokamaks such as KSTAR and ITER to energies where preionization can occur. The ITER start-up scenario has been simulated in DIII-D experiments, and X2 ECH assist has been applied at reduced toroidal loop voltage to assist burnthrough and plasma current ramp-up.


We study the inelastic collisions between orthogonally polarized solitons in a birefringent optical fiber. We show that if the collision is sufficiently slow, one soliton may be destroyed by the other, or the two solitons may fuse into a breatherlike solitary pulse. We derive a simple analytical estimate for this soliton decay, based on a condition of spatial resonance between the two solitons, and confirm this prediction by numerical simulations. Breakup of colliding solitons with different polarizations may set a fundamental lower bound to the soliton time width in soliton transmissions.


Consider a company which produces and sells a certain product on a market with highly variable demand. Since the demand is very high during some periods, the company will produce and create a stock in advance before these periods. On the other hand it costs money to hold a big stock, so that some balance is needed for optimum. The demand is assumed to be known in advance with sufficient accuracy. We use a technique from optimal control theory for the analysis, which leads to so-called activity periods. During such a period the stock is positive and the production is maximal, provided that the problem starts with zero stock, which is the usual case. Over a period of one or more years, there will be a few activity periods. Outside these periods the stock is zero and the policy is to choose production = the smaller of [demand, maximal production]. The "intrinsic time length" is a central concept. It is simply the maximal time a unit of the product can be stored before selling without creating a loss.


Title of Document: ENTROPY CONSIDERATIONS APPLIED TO SHOCK UNSTEADINESS IN HYPERSONIC INLETS. Gillian Mary Harding Bussey, Ph.D, 2012 Directed By: Professor Mark J. Lewis, Department of Aerospace Engineering The stability of curved or rectangular shocks in hypersonic inlets in response to flow perturbations can be determined analytically from the principle of minimum entropy. Unsteady shock wave motion can have a significant effect on the flow in a hypersonic inlet or combustor. According to the principle of minimum entropy, a stable thermodynamic state is one with the lowest entropy gain. A model based on piston theory and its limits has been developed for applying the principle of minimum entropy to quasi-steady flow. Relations are derived for analyzing the time-averaged entropy gain flux across a shock for quasi-steady perturbations in atmospheric conditions and angle as a perturbation in entropy gain flux from the steady state. Initial results from sweeping a wedge at Mach 10 through several degrees in AEDC's Tunnel 9 indicates the bow shock becomes unsteady near the predicted normal Mach number. Several curved shocks of varying curvature are compared to a straight shock with the same mean normal Mach number, pressure ratio, or temperature ratio. The present work provides analysis and guidelines for designing an inlet robust to offdesign flight or perturbations in flow conditions an inlet is likely to face. It also suggests that inlets with curved shocks are less robust to off-design flight than those with straight shocks such as rectangular inlets. Relations for evaluating entropy perturbations for highly unsteady flow across a shock and limits on their use were also developed. The normal Mach number at which a shock could be stable to high frequency upstream perturbations increases as the speed of the shock motion increases and slightly decreases as the perturbation size increases. The present work advances the principle of minimum entropy theory by providing additional validity for using the theory for time-varying flows and applying it to shocks, specifically those in inlets. While this analytic tool is applied in the present work for evaluating the stability of shocks in hypersonic inlets, it can be used for an arbitrary application with a shock. ENTROPY CONSIDERATIONS APPLIED TO SHOCK UNSTEADINESS IN HYPERSONIC INLETS.


Following several years of experimentation with the GPS radio occultation technique, the 6-satellite FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC (F3C) mission was launched mid-2006 and has been collecting data since then. In this paper we present early findings of research performed at Meteo-France regarding the use of these data for assimilation in numerical weather prediction. Benefiting from the dense global coverage allowed by F3C refraction-induced observations, we first assess the quality of these data at four levels: bending angle, refractivity, refractivity lapse rate, and temperature. We compare them with calculations from Meteo-France numerical weather forecasts. Leaning from these various levels of data we devise quality control procedures that rely on the refractivity lapse rate. Applying a recent methodology developed in data assimilation we calculate observation bending angle error variances for our assimilation system. Using these new quality control procedures and observation error estimates we run an assimilation and forecast experiment with Meteo-France's operational global 4DVAR data assimilation system used as a reference. Our results indicate a very clear positive impact of the assimilation of F3C bending angle data in the Southern hemisphere for the prediction of geo potential heights and winds. We also observe an improvement in wind forecast skill in the Northern hemisphere, albeit such an improvement is smaller than in the Southern hemisphere.


Quantitative analysis of administered drugs in biological tissues is essential for understanding the mechanisms underlying their efficacy or toxicity. Imaging mass spectrometry (IMS) may allow the quantification of targeted drugs in tissue sections along with the visualization of their spatial distribution. In this study, surrogate tissue-based calibration standards were prepared to quantify a small molecule drug (S-777469 or raclopride) in tissue sections of mice administered with the drug, followed by analysis with a linear ion trap mass spectrometer equipped with a matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) source. The distribution of the drugs in the dissected organs was clearly visualized by MALDI-IMS. The drug concentration determined using the calibration standards prepared for MALDI-IMS analysis was highly consistent with that determined by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, and the quantification in multiple organs was enabled. The results of this study show that MALDI-IMS can be used to quantify small molecule drugs in biological tissue sections using surrogate tissue-based calibration standards.


Salmeterol and formoterol are two long-acting beta2-agonists for inhalation, currently being used in clinical practice. The aim of the present study was to investigate the onset of action, duration of effect and potency of these two beta2-agonists in asthmatic patients. Patients (n=28) were included on the basis of salbutamol stepwise reversibility (100, 100 and 200 microg, given cumulatively; total reversibility > or =15%). In a double-blind placebo-controlled crossover study, the bronchodilating properties of formoterol 6, 12 and 24 microg were compared with the effects of salmeterol 50 microg. Formoterol was given via Turbuhaler and salmeterol via Diskhaler, and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) was monitored during 12 h. Formoterol at all doses had a more rapid onset than salmeterol as judged from bronchodilation at 3 min after the dose. Formoterol at all doses had a similar duration of effect to salmeterol 50 microg, as judged from bronchodilation at 12 h after dose administration. When the relative potency of the two drugs was compared, salmeterol 50 microg was estimated to correspond to formoterol 9 microg (95% confidence interval: 3-19 microg). We confirm that formoterol and salmeterol are both long-acting beta2-agonists, but with some differences in effect profile. We confirm the more rapid onset of action of formoterol compared with salmeterol, and furthermore, no difference in duration of effect is evident.


The perception of facial attractiveness is a complex phenomenon which depends on how the observer perceives not only individual facial features, but also their mutual influence and interplay. In the machine learning community, this problem is typically tackled as a problem of regression of the subject-averaged rating assigned to natural faces. However, it has been conjectured that this approach does not capture the complexity of the phenomenon. It has recently been shown that different human subjects can navigate the face-space and "sculpt" their preferred modification of a reference facial portrait. Here we present an unsupervised inference study of the set of sculpted facial vectors in such experiments. We first infer minimal, interpretable and accurate probabilistic models (through Maximum Entropy and artificial neural networks) of the preferred facial variations, that encode the inter-subject variance. The application of such generative models to the supervised classification of the gender of the subject that sculpted the face reveals that it may be predicted with astonishingly high accuracy. We observe that the classification accuracy improves by increasing the order of the non-linear effective interaction. This suggests that the cognitive mechanisms related to facial discrimination in the brain do not involve the positions of single facial landmarks only, but mainly the mutual influence of couples, and even triplets and quadruplets of landmarks. Furthermore, the high prediction accuracy of the subjects' gender suggests that much relevant information regarding the subjects may influence (and be elicited from) their facial preference criteria, in agreement with the multiple motive theory of attractiveness proposed in previous works.


A BSTRACT Background Opioid dependence is a chronic, relapsing disorder with important public health implications. Methods In a 17-week randomized study of 220 patients, we compared levomethadyl acetate (75 to 115 mg), buprenorphine (16 to 32 mg), and high-dose (60 to 100 mg) and low-dose (20 mg) methadone as treatments for opioid dependence. Levomethadyl acetate and buprenorphine were administered three times a week. Methadone was administered daily. Doses were individualized except in the group assigned to low-dose methadone. Patients with poor responses to treatment were switched to methadone. Results There were 55 patients in each group; 51 percent completed the trial. The mean (±SE) number of days that a patient remained in the study was significantly higher for those receiving levomethadyl acetate (89±6), buprenorphine (96±4), and highdose methadone (105±4) than for those receiving low-dose methadone (70±4, P<0.001). Continued participation in the study was also significantly more frequent among patients receiving high-dose methadone than among those receiving levomethadyl acetate (P=0.02). The percentage of patients with 12 or more consecutive opioid-negative urine specimens was 36 percent in the levomethadyl acetate group, 26 percent in the buprenorphine group, 28 percent in the high-dose methadone group, and 8 percent in the low-dose methadone group (P=0.005). At the time of their last report, patients reported on a scale of 0 to 100 that their drug problem had a mean severity of 35 with levomethadyl acetate, 34 with buprenorphine, 38 with high-dose methadone, and 53 with low-dose methadone (P=0.002). Conclusions As compared with low-dose methadone, levomethadyl acetate, buprenorphine, and highdose methadone substantially reduce the use of illicit opioids. (N Engl J Med 2000;343:1290-7.)


Humans are social animals and, in general, don't thrive in isolated environments. Homeless people, many of whom suffer from serious mental illnesses, often live socially isolated on the streets or in shelters. "Homelessness, Housing, and Mental Illness" describes a carefully designed large-scale study to assess how well these people do when attempts are made to reduce their social isolation and integrate them into the community. Should homeless mentally ill people be provided with the type of housing they want or with what clinicians think they need? Is residential staff necessary? Are roommates advantageous? How is community integration affected by substance abuse, psychiatric diagnoses, and cognitive functioning? "Homelessness, Housing, and Mental Illness" answers these questions and reexamines the assumptions behind housing policies that support the preference of most homeless mentally ill people to live alone in independent apartments. The analysis shows that living alone reduces housing retention as well as cognitive functioning, while group homes improve these critical outcomes. Throughout the book, Russell Schutt explores the meaning and value of community for our most fragile citizens.


Transmission of compressed video over error-prone channels requires techniques that are efficient in compressing the video and are robust against the channel errors. The application of MPEG-4 can conform to the bandwidth limitation, but the highly compressed bits will be more susceptible to noise errors. In this paper, we present a mode-based error detection (MED) technique and a mode-based unequal error protection (M-UEP) technique to provide the robust video transmission of MPEG-4 compressed bits over error-prone channels. The MED technique can detect errors effectively and efficiently, which cannot be detected traditionally. Experimental results show that the error-detection ratio is more than 90%, and sometimes even 100%. Concerning the M-UEP, experimental results prove that it can provide better decoded video quality than the traditional unequal error protection technique does. In conclusion, the two proposed techniques are highly effective and efficient for the robust transport of MPEG-4 video over error-prone channels.


The Source of cortical variability and its influence on signal processing remain an open question. We address the latter, by studying two types of randomly connected networks of quadratic integrateand-fire neurons with balanced excitation-inhibition that produce irregular spontaneous activity patterns: (a) a deterministic network with strong synaptic interactions that actively generates variability by chaotic dynamics (internal noise) and (b) a stochastic network that has weak synaptic interactions but receives noisy input (external noise), e.g. by stochastic vesicle releases. These networks of spiking neurons are analytically tractable in the limit of a large network-size and channel-time-constant. Despite the difference in their sources of variability, spontaneous activity patterns of these two models are indistinguishable unless majority of neurons are simultaneously recorded. We characterize the network behavior with dynamic mean field analysis and reveal a single-parameter family that allows interpolation between the two networks, sharing nearly identical spontaneous activity. Despite the close similarity in the spontaneous activity, the two networks exhibit remarkably different sensitivity to external stimuli. Input to the former network reverberates internally and can be successfully read out over long time. Contrarily, input to the latter network rapidly decays and can be read out only for short time. The difference between the two networks is further enhanced if input synapses undergo activity-dependent plasticity, producing significant difference in the ability to decode external input from neural activity. We show that, this difference naturally leads to distinct performance of the two networks to integrate spatio-temporally distinct signals from multiple sources. Unlike its stochastic counterpart, the deterministic chaotic network activity can serve as a reservoir to perform near optimal Bayesian integration and Monte-Carlo sampling from the posterior distribution. We describe implications of the differences between deterministic and stochastic neural computation on population coding and neural plasticity. ∗correspondence to email@example.com / firstname.lastname@example.com


A system has been designed and built for transmitting images of diffusely reflecting objects through optical fibers and displaying those images at a receiving station. Wavelength coding is used to reduce the number of fibers required for transmission while allowing transmission of >1000 pixels/fiber. The system is an optical/electronic hybrid which operates under computer control. A tunable dye laser is used for a high-brightness light source, and a CRT is used for the output image display. The system and its operation are described, and examples of results are shown.


Consumer interest in the source of their food, its environmental footprint, and the impact of diet on health has supported the growth of the grass-finished beef (GFB) industry. Studies have concluded that GFB has distinct nutritional differences from conventionally-finished beef. As the GFB industry continues to expand, it is vital to continue to explore the nutritional complexities and variation in the product. To achieve this, a survey of grass-finishing production systems throughout the USA was conducted, and beef finished on the participating farms was analyzed for its nutritional composition, including fatty acid (FA), mineral and fat-soluble vitamin contents. Samples were analyzed from 12 producers and annual production capacity of farms ranged from 25 to 5,000 cattle, with a mean age of cattle at harvest of 26.8 ± 2.30 mo. An array of finishing diets included grazing exclusively in perennial pasture, incorporating annual forage crops, and feeding a variety of harvested forages with supplementation of non-starch feed byproducts. Beef muscle tissue FA content was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS). The mean ratio of omega-6 (n-6) to omega-3 (n-3) FA in samples varied significantly by producer, ranging from 1.80 to 28.3 (P < 0.0001), with an overall sample set median of 4.10. A selection of minerals including iron, magnesium, and potassium were analyzed by ICP emission spectroscopy and mineral content significantly differed by producer for all minerals (P < 0.001). Mean α-tocopherol and β-carotene content was 610.6 µg/100 g beef and 32.2 µg/100 g, respectively. The amount of these antioxidants also varied between producers (P < 0.0001), but tended to be greater in beef finished solely on fresh forages. This survey indicates that commercially available GFB can vary in nutritional composition due to the diverse practices used to grass-finish cattle.


Abstract Segmentation is a key task in the processing of 3D point clouds as obtained from airborne laser scanners (ALS). However, most of the segmentation techniques currently employed require prior gridding of the data and thus do not respect the inherently three-dimensional geometry of more intricate structures such as power lines. By contrast, the mean shift procedure, a filtering and clustering approach which has recently found much interest in the image processing community, works directly on the original 3D point cloud; also, mean shift is a non-parametric technique (i.e., it does not depend on any geometric model assumptions) and can thus also be applied to vegetation structures. In this paper, we will give a self-contained derivation of the mean shift procedure, and discuss how it can be used to obtain a classification or segmentation of an unstructured 3D point cloud. Two application examples shall further illustrate its usefulness to ALS data processing.


An innovative set of six observed predictors of fog formation by radiative cooling is proposed, which describes: 1) one of the main processes of fog formation that is the water uptake by aerosols at surface level; 2) the fog development along the vertical up to 30 meters, as well as the cloud cover; and 3) the temporal evolution of the parameters describing the water uptake by aerosols and the cloud cover. The visibility is used as a signal of atmospheric and surface processes affecting the water uptake by aerosols. The vertical fog development is described by the vertical thermal gradient along a 30-m meteorological mast. The cloud cover is described using a ceilometer for low and middle clouds above the instrument, and satellite data for clouds in a pixel and in a larger 9 × 9-pixel region around the site. The set of predictors can be observed in operational conditions, such as on airport fields. Data acquired at the SIRTA platform (Paris, France) during two autumns and two winters were analysed, and the cloud cover classification derived from the SEVIRI instrument on the METEOSAT Second Generation satellite by the EUMETSAT/NWCSAF program was also utilized. The training data set was acquired in November 2011 while the validation data set extended over 12 months.
All situations were discriminated between favourable and unfavourable scenarii of radiative cooling fog formation, with a factor of 10 in probability. 246 moderate visibility events (with visibility between 5 and 10 km) were observed under a clear sky in 12 months at SIRTA. While developed fog formed according to one scenario, thin fog formed according to six scenarii. On the contrary to thin fog, developed fog did not form when cirrus clouds were observed above moderate visibility situations. The fog formation probability varied from 12 to 43%, and even reached 100% for one thin fog. As the training data set was acquired in autumn, the predictor set seems more appropriate to nowcast fog in humid autumn conditions, when the fog formation probability was multiplied by ~2. The predictive set could be enriched by predictors proposed in literature, and tests suggest that relative humidity would improve the fog formation probability in winter. Five predictors identify 65 of the 217 no-fog events counted in 12 months, with ~3 h anticipation time. If visibility decreased below 5 km, 88 additional no-fog events were identified. In this case, the formation probability was 35% for developed fog, and 24–60% for thin fog, but with an anticipation time reduced to ~1.5 h. Only one fog, which represents 3% of the fog events, would be missed with such a predictive scheme.


This brief presents a low-power high-stability scan driver integrated by In-Zn-O (IZO) TFTs on polyimide substrate. Observed from the experimental results of the scan driver with 48 stages, there is no distortion and good noise-suppressed characteristics for the output waveforms. In one stage of the proposed scan driver, there only needs a small TFT connected to clock signals by using a feedback inverter and a dc output module to minimize the dynamic power consumption. It is measured that the power consumption for one stage of the proposed gate driver is 18.3 μW at the output swing of 15.3 V and the clock frequency of 50 kHz. There is a good noise-suppressed characteristic and high stability for the proposed scan driver as shown from a 300-h test.


Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs) is one of the most important sector in terms of incomes for rural households in remote areas and traditionally most competitive in the world markets. Non Timber Forest Products (NFTP) form an important part of livelihood strategies of the people. Additionally, they can be an incentive to leave the forest intact instead of cutting down trees for timber and fire wood. Skrapari's area, is one of main areas regarding the collection of the NTFP that constitute an important specific weight in the income of the rural families. The collection and marketing of medicinal plants from the wild is an important source of livelihood for many of the poor in Skrapari's Municipality, but unfortunately unsustainably managed during the transition period. The goal of this study is that through value chain analyses to provide information necessary on the local policy level to make sound decisions and plan interventions focused on developing productive dependent upon the sustainable management of the natural resources. As a case study value chain analyse through Gjedra Company operating on Skrapari's Municipality, is conducted in this paper, taking into consideration its activity during 24 last years (from 1993 to 2017). The company has spent a lot of efforts on the improvement of the performance and value chain. Through an economic analysis we will try to identify the effect of the value chain improvement on the performance and incomes increasing. The analysis consists on the identification of the value chain improvement to increase of the number of products, MAPs quantity and the total incomes. As are showing on the results of this paper there is a good relationship between the improvements of the value chain at all the hangers and the performance of the company.


The polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) of the n-3 and n-6 group are important in the human body. It is therefore important that these fatty acids are consumed in the right amount and correct proportion so as to maintain a healthy physiological status in the body. Certain foods are naturally rich in these fatty acids, such as sea foods and some oilseeds. Fish and fish oils are rich in eicosapentanoic acid (EPA) and docosahexanoic acid (DHA) which are n-3 fatty acids, they play a crucial role in improving the physiological and health outcomes in conditions such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, immune suppression and mental health. These fatty acids have also been shown to play beneficial role during pregnancy and lactation. Linolenic acid (LNA) which is abundant in oilseeds such linseed is a precursor of EPA and DHA in the human and therefore can be converted when need be, however the conversion is not very efficient and therefore cannot be used as a substitute. With the current deteriorating state of the global supply of fish and the high demand of energy causing diversion of resources to produce biofuels, the availability of these natural sources of n-3 and n-6 foods is growing ever scarce. Feeding of full-fat linseed and/or linseed oil has been shown to substantially increase the content of LNA in animal products such as meat, eggs and milk. On the other hand, fish oil supplementation in animal feeds also leads to a substantial increase in EPA and DHA to levels that can positive health effects to the public. Due to this potential to increase the amount of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in animal products, it is seen as a simpler and cheaper way to deliver an increase in consumption to the wider public in a sustainable manner. This is due to the fact that products such as milk and eggs are more widely distributed and available in the market. Some challenges are of course present, such as negative effects due to the oxidative stability of polyunsaturated fatty acids which can have negative effects on rumen function and product organoleptic characteristics. To offset the problem of rumen biohydrogenation of PUFA, various methods of protecting the seed and fish oils have been devised, allowing for feeding even higher doses without impacting negatively on production and product quality.
Keywords: PUFA, fatty acid profile, cow, organoleptic


The Qur'an is the living source of all Islamic teaching, and is of singular importance to those interested in Islam and the study of religions. Despite this, there exists a long-felt lack of research tools for English first-language speakers who wish to access the Qur'an in the original Arabic. The Dictionary of Qur'anic Usage is the first comprehensive, fully-researched and contextualised Arabic-English dictionary of Qur'anic usage, compiled in accordance with modern lexicographical methods by scholars who have a lifelong immersion in Qur'anic Studies. Based on Classical Arabic dictionaries and Qur'an commentaries, this work also emphasises the role of context in determining the meaning-scatter of each vocabulary item. Illustrative examples from Qur'anic verses are provided in support of the definitions given for each context in which a particular word occurs, with cross-references to other usages. Frequently occurring grammatical particles are likewise thoroughly explained, insofar as they are used in conveying various nuances of meaning in the text.


Over the last decade, free labor has emerged as a key analytical tool for understanding new or semi-new forms of labor in the contemporary digital economy. This article critiques and develops this concept, with specific reference to work in the media industries, by presenting a historically grounded typology of free labor that also highlights some of the analytical problems with the current use of the concept. Our typology presents seven metaphors of free labor based on historical instances of roles people have taken on when performing unpaid labor: those of The Slave, The Carer, The Apprentice, The Prospector, The Hobbyist, The Volunteer, and The Patsy. A key conclusion is that free labor is performed by different actors at either end of increasingly complex and temporally stretched out value chains. This necessitates a more fine-grained and historicized use of the concept of free labor.


SUMMARY: In this paper we compare the elasmobranch composition, depth-related trends of species and community descriptors (abundance, biomass, mean fish weight, species richness and diversity) of the Balearic Islands Archipelago and Algeria (north- and southwestern Mediterranean, respectively). The samples used in this study were collected in bottom trawl surveys between 36 and 779 m depth. Generalized linear models, linear regression, cluster and similarity percentage analyses, and generalized additive models were used to compare the two areas. Twenty-nine elasmobranch species were caught, 12 of them common to both areas, 7 appearing only in the Balearic Islands, and 10 only in Algeria. The bathymetric distributions of species were, in most cases, best fitted to uni-modal response curves. The models for species common to both areas showed similar bathymetric trends, except for Etmopterus spinax, which in Algeria showed a maximum abundance located 154 m shallower than in the Balearic Islands. Four bathymetric assemblages were identified in both areas with similar depth ranges but with different species composition. The mean values of the community descriptors were higher on the shelf in the Balearic Islands, whereas higher values were detected on the slope in Algeria. Different between-area bathymetric trends for all the descriptors were detected, with the exception of mean fish weight. The distinct environmental scenarios and fishing histories of the areas studied are discussed as underlying traits influencing the elasmobranch populations.


introduction: low vision and blindness make up the visual disability, one of the types of disability with the highest worldwide prevalence, and apparently the most frequent at a Colombian level. The conventional etiology of permanent and transitory deficiencies responsible for visual impairment such as glaucoma, cataract, infectious blindness and uncorrected ametropias, may be changing due to the presence of other entities and results of public health programs, and it is necessary to extend the etiological spectrum to both Ophthalmological causes as not ophthalmological. Objectives: to identify the etiology and the most relevant clinical characteristics in an adult population with visual impairment. Materials and methods: descriptive cross-sectional study in 96 adults with confirmed visual impairment. Results: 61% with low vision; in 55% the etiology of the visual deficiency was in the posterior segment, 21% in the anterior segment and 10% in the pathway and/or visual cortex. The most frequent individual pathologies: pathological myopia, non-glaucomatous optic neuropathy, glaucoma and macular degeneration related to age. Conclusions: in this study, pathologies with posterior segment involvement occupied the most frequent etiologies related to visual disability, and the neuro ophthalmological and ocular trauma entities were identified as a potential source of visual deficiencies. It is necessary to continue carrying out studies that clarify whether the spectrum of conventional etiologies causing visual disability has changed, with the aim of redirecting programs of promotion, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation in low vision and blindness.


Purpose ofinvestigation: Sertoli-Leydig cell tumors (SLCTs) of the ovary are rare, usually presenting as virilization in women in their second to third decade of life. Less than 10% of patients are older than age 50. The authors present a series of cases of SCLT managed at their institution.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
A retrospective review was performed of all cases of ovarian SLCT diagnosed at a tertiary care institution between 1990-2014. Demographic data, clinical presentation, pathological findings, and treatment modalities were col- lected.

RESULTS
Of the 16 patients diagnosed with SCLT over a 24-year period, nine patients (56%) were postmenopausal at the time of diagnosis, with a median age of 52.5 years (IQR = 39.7 years). These nine patients had a median interval of 14.7 years (IQR = 15) since the onset of menopause. Hyperandrogenism was a presenting feature in only five of 16 (31%) [median age of 49 (IQR= 26.5)] whereas postmenopausal bleeding was noted in two of 16 (12%). At diagnosis, tumor grade varied from well- to poorly-differentiated lesions, and eight patients (15%) received adjuvant chemotherapy. Disease-free survival over a median follow up of 31.5 months (IQR = 73.5 months) was 100% without recurrence.

CONCLUSION
The present patient population was noticeably older than what has been described in literature, with the majority being postmenopausal. To the authors' knowledge, this is the largest series of postmenopausal patients with SLCT. Hyperandrogenism was evident in only a small sub-group. While the definitive management of SLCT remains controversial and varied, prognosis and risk of recurrence are reassuring.


This paper will describe the dependence of capacitive accelerometer characteristics on the accelerometers physical dimension and its material properties. The sense element of the accelerometer is designed on the basis of a commercially available torsion based accelerometer technology. The sense element consists of an asymmetrically shaped flat plate of metal supported above a substrate surface by two torsion bars mounted on a central pedestal. The sense element is free to rotate around the torsion bars. Capacitor plates located on the substrate surface are used to detect the acceleration. Multiphysics simulation software using FEM technique called "COMSOL Multiphysics" is used in designing the geometry of the accelerometer. It is followed by simulation using the same software. The accelerometer characteristics such as frequency response, dynamic range, sensitivity, and temperature range are measured. Further, (i) the mass of the sense element is varied (ii) a material with a different stiffness ratio is used for the torsion bar. Each of these different geometries is simulated, followed by measurement of accelerometer characteristics. The dependence of the physical dimensions and the stiffness of the torsion bar of the accelerometer on the characteristics of the accelerometer are studied in this paper.


We present a new approach to general-activity human pose estimation from depth images, building on Hough forests. We extend existing techniques in several ways: real time prediction of multiple 3D joints, explicit learning of voting weights, vote compression to allow larger training sets, and a comparison of several decision-tree training objectives. Key aspects of our work include: regression directly from the raw depth image, without the use of an arbitrary intermediate representation; applicability to general motions (not constrained to particular activities) and the ability to localize occluded as well as visible body joints. Experimental results demonstrate that our method produces state of the art results on several data sets including the challenging MSRC-5000 pose estimation test set, at a speed of about 200 frames per second. Results on silhouettes suggest broader applicability to other imaging modalities.


Background: Statins are a common medication for cholesterol control that may also have effects on cancer-related pathways. The evidence of an association between statins and prostate cancer risk remains ambiguous. Methods: We examined statin use in a prospective cohort of 5,069 elderly U.S. men and the risk of incident total, low/high stage, and low/high grade prostate cancer diagnosed between 2000 and 2008. We used multivariate logistic regression models to estimate relative risks and 95% confidence intervals, adjusting for demographic and lifestyle characteristics. Results: There was no evidence of an association between statin use and any of the prostate cancer endpoints (total, low/high stage, low/high grade prostate cancer), adjusting for age, study site, race, body mass index, marital status, family history of prostate cancer, number of comorbidities, physical activity, and smoking history. Conclusions and Impact: In this study of elderly U.S. men, we observed a null association between statin use and risk of prostate cancer. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 21(10); 1886–8. ©2012 AACR.


Twelve species of estuarine algae were collected from Miani Hor, Balochistan (Pakistan) and their methanol extracts investigated. A variety of 22 saturated and 42 unsaturated fatty acids (F As) were quantitatively analysed as their methyl esters by GLC and GC-MS techniques. Most of the species contained unsaturated F As in greater proportion than the saturated ones. The saturated F As ranged from C5 to C29, among which C16:0 and C17:0 were most prevalent and palmitic acid was the most dominant FA. The unsaturated F As included 15 mono-, 9 di-, 11 tri- and 7 poly-unsaturated ones, among which oleic acid was the most dominant FA. The monounsaturated F As ranged from C8 to C23 and diunsaturated ones from C 11 to C 19. The triunsaturated F As ranged from Cl0 to C29 and polyunsaturated ones (PUFAs) from C12 to C20, among which C17:3 was most common. The PUFAs were detected with 4 - 6 double bonds. The FAs of C 12, C 14, C 16 and C 18 were most common as they were found in all categories of FAs.

Apart from that 18 different terpenes, 14 sterols, 3 hydrocarbon derivatives, 2 carbohydrates and 2 glycosides were isolated, purified and chemically elucidated through IR & UV, El-, FAB-, FD-, GC- & HR-MS and 1H- & 13C-NMR spectroscopy. Terpenes included 1 mono-, 1 sesqui-, 8 di- and 8 tri-terpenes, among which Trans-phytol was most common. The sterols contained 9 I"5-, two I"7-, one I"5, 7- and 2 other types of sterols having cholesta- and stigmasta-skeleton, among which Cholesterol was most common. Hydrocarbons were dihydroxy and isoprenoid derivatives, carbohydrates included di- and poly-saccharides and the glycosides were sterol galactosides.

Crude extracts were tested against 6 species of Gram +ve and 8 of Gram –ve bacteria, 7 human pathogens, 8 saprophytes and 5 plant pathogens. All the tested organisms were found to be equally susceptible against all the algal species. A variable cytotoxic activity was exhibited by different algal extracts. Members of the three investigated phyla of algae differed from one another in a variety of ways in various aspects of bioactivity.


ABSTRACT Maintenance of sex-specific germ cells requires balanced activation and repression of genetic hierarchies to ensure gender-appropriate development in mammals. Figla (factor in the germ line, alpha) encodes a germ cell-specific basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor first identified as an activator of oocyte genes. In comparing the ovarian proteome of normal and Figla null newborn mice, 18 testis-specific or -enhanced proteins were identified that were more abundant in Figla null ovaries than in normal ovaries. Transgenic mice, ectopically expressing Figla in male germ cells, downregulated a subset of these genes and demonstrated age-related sterility associated with impaired meiosis and germ cell apoptosis. Testis-associated genes, including Tdrd1, Tdrd6, and Tdrd7, were suppressed in the transgenic males with a corresponding disruption of the sperm chromatoid body and mislocalization of MVH and MILI proteins, previously implicated in posttranscriptional processing of RNA. These data demonstrate that physiological expression of Figla plays a critical dual role in activation of oocyte-associated genes and repression of sperm-associated genes during normal postnatal oogenesis.


Updated to include additional topics and to cover all versions of the software, this guide provides the most vital information on using QuickBooks to track financial data in nonprofit organizations. Management of donors, grants, and pledges, and topics such as allocating expenses to programs, handling donor restrictions, and generating the reports needed for donors and tax returns are covered in detail. In addition to easy-to-follow instructions and many tips and workarounds, information on using QuickBooks for fundraising is provided. With detailed explanations of transaction entries, report customization, and other accounting requirements, this handbook is a must-have for nonprofit board members, accountants, and bookkeepers.


Objective: The aims of the study were:
(1) To assess the mutated CHIKV E1-A226V and DENV II infection and dissemination rates of an Ae. albopictus population established in Athens (Greece)
(2) To assess the risk of outbreaks in four Greek localities based on Ae. albopictus population density whose estimate was based on the number of eggs laid in ovitraps.
Methods: Under laboratory conditions females were offered blood meal infected with the CHIKV titer of 1X106 TCID 50/mL and DENV II titer of 1.76 X106 TCID 50/mL; at day 11 after oral infection, females were sacrificed, legs were removed and processed for PCR analysis to assess the presence of viral replicates. In order to evaluate the risk of outbreak of CHIKV and DENV II, a pilot monitoring program was started in three Greek localities and in Chania (Crete), to estimate the adult female population density on the base of the number of eggs in the ovitraps.
Results: We proved the vector competence of the Greek Ae. albopictus strain for E1-A226V mutated CHIKV and DENV II. Combining the data on the vector competence with those on the female population density, based on the egg density data, the estimated risk of outbreak was relatively low but not negligible.
Conclusion: As the vector competence estimated under laboratory conditions was obtained by offering females moderately low initial virus titers, it can be expected a higher vector competence in the field. This consideration, together with a possible increase of the mosquito population due to the global warming effects, make the quantitative ovitrap-based monitoring a necessary and useful tool to estimate the risk of outbreaks.


Popular trust in social and political institutions is vital to the consolidation of democracy, but in post-Communist Europe, distrust is the predicted legacy of Communist rule Contrary to expectations, however, New Democracies Barometer surveys of popular trust in fifteen institutions across nine Eastern and Central European countries indicate that skepticism, rather than distrust, predominates Although trust varies across institutions and countries, citizens trust holistically, evaluating institutions along a single dimension. Both early life socialization experiences and contemporary performance evaluations influence levels of trust. The legacy of socialization under Communism has mostly indirect effects, whereas the effects of economic and political performance evaluations on trust are larger and more direct Thus, skepticism reflects trade-offs between public dissatisfaction with current economic performance, optimism about future economic performance, and satisfaction with the political performance of contemporary institutions in providing greater individual liberties than in the Communist past.


Specialty crops grown by multiple producers are often viewed by consumers as differentiated products that command a price premium. Since price premiums are dependent upon differentiation of an item from generic counterparts, specialty crops must have distinctive identities that cannot be copied or mimicked by others. Trademarks are normally employed to differentiate and protect products, but the limitation of trademarks to products from a single source means that differentiation of specialty crops grown by multiple producers may involve difficulties in precluding free riders from adopting the same name. Through a case study of Georgia's Vidalia Onions and an examination of producer price data, this article explores the problem of the protection of product differentiation of regional specialty crops grown by multiple producers.


Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women world-wide. Objective: Evaluation of cervical cancer risks, frequency and screening uptake in women with learning disability (LD). Method: Review of the literature. Results: Few data are available on the risks of cervical cancer among women with LD, but those available suggest a lower incidence and the presence of fewer risk factors. Uptake of screening in this group is as low as 7%. A number of factors contribute to low uptake, including ineligibility based on comprehension and physical disabilities, as well as a general perception that women with LD are sexually inactive and therefore not at risk. Conclusion: More data are needed to evaluate the incidence of cervical cancer among women with LD, preferably disaggregated by sexual activity. The subgroup who are sexually active should be actively recruited into screening programmes. Further research is also needed on the consequences of a positive screening result and how women with LD cope with a diagnosis of cancer.


Transient receptor potential vanilloid receptor 4 (TRPV4) is a calcium-permeable non-selective cation channel implicated in numerous physiological and pathological functions. This study aimed to investigate the effect of TRPV4 activation on respiration and to explore the potential involvement of bronchopulmonary sensory neurons. Potent TRPV4 agonist GSK1016790A was injected into right atrium in anesthetized spontaneously breathing rats and the changes in breathing were measured. Patch-clamp recording was performed to investigate the effect of GSK1016790A or another TRPV4 activator 4α-PDD on cultured rat vagal bronchopulmonary sensory neurons. Immunohistochemistry was carried out to determine the TRPV4-expressing cells in lung slices obtained from TRPV4-EGFP mice. Our results showed, that right-atrial injection of GSK1016790A evoked a slow-developing, long-lasting rapid shallow breathing in anesthetized rats. Activation of TRPV4 also significantly potentiated capsaicin-evoked chemoreflex responses. The alteration in ventilation induced by GSK1016790A was abolished by cutting or perineural capsaicin treatment of both vagi, indicating the involvement of bronchopulmonary afferent neurons. The stimulating and sensitizing effects of GSK1016790A were abolished by a selective TRPV4 antagonist GSK2193874 and also by inhibiting cyclooxygenase with indomethacin. Surprising, GSK1016790A or 4α-PDD did not activate isolated bronchopulmonary sensory neurons, nor did they modulate capsaicin-induced inward currents in these neurons. Furthermore, TRPV4 expression was found in alveolar macrophages, alveolar epithelial, and vascular endothelial cells. Collectively, our results suggest that GSK1016790A regulates the respiration through an indirect activation of bronchopulmonary sensory neurons, likely via its stimulation of other TRPV4-expressing cells in the lungs and airways.


In the 2010s, mental health and related issues such as suicide have become major global issues of public health concern. The indirect costs to the global economy of mental illness—encompassing such factors as loss of productivity and the spending on mental health services and other direct costs—amount to approximately $2.5 trillion a year. Global health experts and economists project this amount will increase to approximately $6 trillion by 2030. When gone untreated, mental illnesses account for 13% of the total global burden of disease. By the year 2030 it is expected that depression alone will be the leading cause of the global disease burden. Unfortunately, many persons suffering with mental illnesses do go untreated or receive marginally effective treatments. However, recent advances in technology, evidence-based treatments, and delivery systems of care provide hope for the world's mentally ill population.


It is a wonderful time to work on microbial biofilms. There has been an explosion of studies examining the molecular genetic basis of biofilm formation by bacteria and fungi. The wealth of recent genetic, biochemical, and microscopic data makes this an ideal time to step back and reflect on themes in this rapidly growing field. One of the prime motivations for this book is to summarize where we stand today (the fall of 2003) in terms of our understanding of the molecular genetic basis of microbial biofilm development and biofilm-associated properties. This book is by no means an all-inclusive work—to make it so would require reviewing a literature going back at least 70 years or more (
Henrici, 1933
). Many scientists have contributed to laying the foundation for the work presented in this volume, and to these pioneers we are grateful.


The 3.55-3.22 Ga Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa and Swaziland, and surrounding coeval plutons can be divided into four tectono-stratigraphic blocks that become younger toward the northwest. Each block formed through early mafic to ultramafic volcanism (Onverwacht Group), probably in oceanic extensional, island, or plateau settings. Volcanism was followed by magmatic quiescence and deposition of fine-grained sediments, possibly in an intraplate setting. Late evolution involved underplating of the mafic crust by tonalitic intrusions along a subduction-related magmatic arc, yielding a thickened, buoyant protocontinental block. The growth of larger continental domains occurred both through magmatic accretion, as new protocontinental blocks developed along the margins of older blocks, and when previously separate blocks were amalgamated through tectonic accretion. Evolution of the Barberton Belt may reflect an Early Archean plate tectonic cycle that characterized a world with few or no large, stabilized blocks of sialic crust.


Following the path of companies such as Apple and Amazon, more and more firms are trying to become not just product purveyors but also platform providers, facilitating direct connections between customers and other groups. Although launching a platform can generate new revenue, success is not automatic. After studying more than 20 companies that have tried to move from products to platforms, the authors point to four practices that can separate winners from losers: 1. Start with a defensible product and a critical mass of users. A strong product and a loyal customer base will attract third parties to your platform. 2. Apply a hybrid business model. Instead of operating with a "product mindset" or a "platform mindset" alone, combine the two in order to discover new opportunities for creating value. 3. Drive rapid conversion to the platform. Existing customers are likely to flock to a platform if it provides enough new value, if the additional products and services offered are consistent with your brand, and if users have opportunities to improve both the products and the platform. 4. Deter competitive imitation. Make it tough for rivals to copy your product-to-platform strategy: Consider creating proprietary standards, using exclusivity contracts, and erecting other barriers to competition


Climate change presents the United States, and the world, with regulatory problems of a magnitude, complexity and scope unseen before. The United States, however, particularly after the mid-term elections of 2010, lacks the political will necessary to aggressively address climate change. Most current books focus on climate change. Ending Dirty Energy Policy argues that the US will not adequately address climate change until it transforms its fossil fuel energy policy. Yet there are signs that the country will support the transformation of its century-old energy policy from one that is dependent on fossil fuels to a low-carbon energy portfolio. A transformative energy policy that favors energy efficiency and renewable resources can occur only after the US has abandoned the traditional fossil fuel energy policy, has redesigned regulatory systems to open new markets and promoted competition among new energy providers, and has stimulated private-sector commercial and venture capital investment in energy innovations that can be brought to commercial scale and marketability.


Chromosomal DNA must be in single-strand form for important transactions such as replication, transcription, and recombination to occur. The single-strand DNA (ssDNA) is more prone to damage than double-strand DNA (dsDNA), due to greater exposure of chemically reactive moieties in the nitrogenous bases. Thus, there can be agents that damage regions of ssDNA in vivo while being inert toward dsDNA. To assess the potential hazard posed by such agents, we devised an ssDNA–specific mutagenesis reporter system in budding yeast. The reporter strains bear the cdc13-1 temperature-sensitive mutation, such that shifting to 37°C results in telomere uncapping and ensuing 5′ to 3′ enzymatic resection. This exposes the reporter region, containing three closely-spaced reporter genes, as a long 3′ ssDNA overhang. We validated the ability of the system to detect mutagenic damage within ssDNA by expressing a modified human single-strand specific cytosine deaminase, APOBEC3G. APOBEC3G induced a high density of substitutions at cytosines in the ssDNA overhang strand, resulting in frequent, simultaneous inactivation of two reporter genes. We then examined the mutagenicity of sulfites, a class of reactive sulfur oxides to which humans are exposed frequently via respiration and food intake. Sulfites, at a concentration similar to that found in some foods, induced a high density of mutations, almost always as substitutions at cytosines in the ssDNA overhang strand, resulting in simultaneous inactivation of at least two reporter genes. Furthermore, sulfites formed a long-lived adducted 2′-deoxyuracil intermediate in DNA that was resistant to excision by uracil–DNA N-glycosylase. This intermediate was bypassed by error-prone translesion DNA synthesis, frequently involving Pol ζ, during repair synthesis. Our results suggest that sulfite-induced lesions in DNA can be particularly deleterious, since cells might not possess the means to repair or bypass such lesions accurately.


The β-cell is unique because its major agonists, i.e., insulin secretagogues, undergo metabolism instead of interacting with a receptor. This perspectives presents the hypothesis that the first part of a metabolic signal of a secretagogue is specific to the secretagogue and the β-cell and can be envisioned as proximal. The second part, which occurs after transduction to more universal signaling mechanisms, is viewed as distal. Distal signaling and exocytosis in the β-cell operate the same as in other cells. Aerobic glycolysis is required for glucose-induced insulin release. Because glyceraldehyde, which enters metabolism at the triose phosphates in the glycolytic pathway, is a potent insulin secretagogue but pyruvate, which is metabolized in the mitochondrion, is not an insulin secretagogue, the proximal signal for glucose-induced insulin release originates with an interaction between the central part of the glycolytic pathway and mitochondrial metabolism. The proximal message in leucine-induced insulin release originates with leucine allosterically activating glutamate dehydrogenase, which activates endogenous glutamate metabolism, and by the metabolism of leucine itself. The methyl ester of succinate is a potent experimental insulin secretogogue. It is puzzling why the glucose signal requires the interplay of glycolysis and mitochondrial metabolism, whereas the signals from leucine and succinate originate entirely from within the mitochondrion. Leucine-induced insulin release is suppressed and glucose-induced insulin release is activated in islets cultured at a high concentration of glucose. Conversely, leucine-induced insulin release is activated and glucose-induced insulin release is suppressed in islets cultured at low glucose. We have correlated suppression of the insulinotropism of leucine and glucose with decreased expression of the genes that encode the catalytic subunit of the first component of the branched-chain ketoacid dehydrogenase complex and the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, respectively. This indicates that the proximal signal is specific to the secretagogue, whereas distal signals are more universal and are shared by many secretagogues. The proximal signaling mechanisms have yet to be elucidated, but many distal mechanisms are known.


This book introduces students with little or no prior programming experience to the art of computational problem solving using Python and various Python libraries, including PyLab. It provides students with skills that will enable them to make productive use of computational techniques, including some of the tools and techniques of data science for using computation to model and interpret data. The book is based on an MIT course (which became the most popular course offered through MIT's OpenCourseWare) and was developed for use not only in a conventional classroom but in in a massive open online course (MOOC). This new edition has been updated for Python 3, reorganized to make it easier to use for courses that cover only a subset of the material, and offers additional material including five new chapters. Students are introduced to Python and the basics of programming in the context of such computational concepts and techniques as exhaustive enumeration, bisection search, and efficient approximation algorithms. Although it covers such traditional topics as computational complexity and simple algorithms, the book focuses on a wide range of topics not found in most introductory texts, including information visualization, simulations to model randomness, computational techniques to understand data, and statistical techniques that inform (and misinform) as well as two related but relatively advanced topics: optimization problems and dynamic programming. This edition offers expanded material on statistics and machine learning and new chapters on Frequentist and Bayesian statistics.


Discounting is still a highly contested element of cost–benefit analysis. From an epistemological point of view, three levels of arguments must be distinguished: the empirical, the conceptual and the ethical level. On the conceptual level, discounting turns out to be a hypothesis that has to be justified empirically. This approach requires a method for a direct (utility-)evaluation of future cash-flows in order to prove that discounting correctly represents changes of utility-values in time. Reacting on ethical criticism, economic theory tends to draw a sharp line between intra- and inter-generational discounting. This is ethically unacceptable as the composition of any generation is arbitrary. Therefore, many intra-generational problems can be reformulated as inter-generational problems and vice versa. There can be only one consistent theory of inter-temporal justice.


Int J Exerc Sci 2(1): S17, 2009. Research suggests that energy increasing supplement ingestion prior to prolonged aerobic exercise (>60minutes) can improve aerobic capacity (VO2 Max). Energy increasing supplements affect on reduced aerobic training periods (<60 minutes) lack definitive empirical evidence. PURPOSE: To investigate the potential impact of an energy increasing supplement on aerobic training, body composition and anaerobic power. METHODS: Thirty-three healthy male and female subjects (18-30yrs) participated in an equated volume supervised running workout for six weeks utilizing long slow distance. Group one (N = 17, 21 ± 3 yr) participated in long slow distance training as a Placebo group void of any dietary instructions or interventions. Group two (N = 16, 21 ± 3 yr) participated in long slow distance training and was provided with a GU Energy Gel packet and 8 oz. of water fifteen minutes prior to the workout. All subjects participated in a familiarity session (FAM), a Pre-Test (T1) and a Post-Test (T2). Each testing session consisted of a V02 Max, a 30 second Wingate and body composition assessment. Data were analyzed by a two-way ANOVA with repeated measures. Significance was set at p < 0.05 and adopted throughout. RESULTS: The GU and Placebo groups experienced significant increases (p < 0.001), in VO2 max, with 9.71% (4.06 ± 2.68 ml/kg/min) and 2.81% (1.26 ± 2.25 ml/kg/min) increases respectively. A significant interaction (p < 0.005) in VO2 max occurred between groups, as the GU group displayed a 322% greater increase when compared to the Placebo group. Body fat percentage significantly decreased (p < 0.05) in the GU (0.76 ± 2.47%) and Placebo (1.55 ± 3.21%) groups without a significant reduction in total body weight at a p < 0.05 significant level. No change was observed in Wingate peak or mean power (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The findings of this study suggest GU Energy Gel supplementation has a more profound impact on aerobic capacity when compared to a Placebo under identical training protocols. However, both GU Energy Gel and Placebo supplementation had a significant effect on aerobic capacity and body fat percentage. TEXAS AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SPORTS MEDICINE 2009 CONFERENCE


Storytelling has recently become a popular way to guide museum visitors, replacing traditional exhibit-centric descriptions by story-centric cohesive narrations with references to the exhibits and multimedia content. This work presents the fundamental elements of the CHESS project approach, the goal of which is to provide adaptive, personalized, interactive storytelling for museum visits. We shortly present the CHESS project and its background, we detail the proposed storytelling and user models, we describe the provided functionality and we outline the main tools and mechanisms employed. Finally, we present the preliminary results of a recent evaluation study that are informing several directions for future work.


Two-dimensional FE simulations on prediction of position of kink band formation for a single crystal of a Mg-based LPSO phase are performed using a dislocation-based crystal plasticity model. We take account of activities of basal, prismatic and 2nd-pyramidal slip systems and assume that the LPSO phase is simply composed of HCP lattices for simplicity. However, a HCP crystal such as Mg and the LPSO crystal are distinguished by magnitude of critical resolved shear stresses of the slip systems and elimination of deformation twins. In addition, to express crystal defects in the kink band within the framework of continuum mechanics, GN dislocation density, SS dislocation density and GN incompatibility (disclination density) are incorporated into the hardening rule. We carry out the FE simulation. First, we assign initial dislocation density homogeneously to a specimen used in the simulation. The result shows that a kink band is formed in the center of the specimen and distributions of densities of isolated dislocations, dislocation pairs and disclinations are appropriately expressed by the present models of crystal defects. Next, introducing a heterogeneity into the distribution of the initial dislocation density, we investigate the effects on kink deformation in terms of total elastic strain energy. As a result, the position of a kink band formation changes so that the energy is structurally minimized.