Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text. Objective: Gut microbial metabolism of dietary choline, a nutrient abundant in a Western diet, produces trimethylamine (TMA) and the atherothrombosis- and fibrosis-promoting metabolite TMA-N-oxide (TMAO). Recent clinical and animal studies reveal that elevated TMAO levels are associated with heightened risks for both cardiovascular disease and incident chronic kidney disease development. Despite this, studies focusing on therapeutically targeting gut microbiota-dependent TMAO production and its impact on preserving renal function are limited. Approach and Results: Herein we examined the impact of pharmacological inhibition of choline diet-induced gut microbiota-dependent production of TMA, and consequently TMAO, on renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis and functional impairment in a model of chronic kidney disease. Initial studies with a gut microbial choline TMA-lyase mechanism-based inhibitor, iodomethylcholine, confirmed both marked suppression of TMA generation, and consequently TMAO levels, and selective targeting of the gut microbial compartment (ie, both accumulation of the drug in intestinal microbes and limited systemic exposure in the host). Dietary supplementation of either choline or TMAO significantly augmented multiple indices of renal functional impairment and fibrosis associated with chronic subcutaneous infusion of isoproterenol. However, the presence of the gut microbiota-targeting inhibitor iodomethylcholine blocked choline diet-induced elevation in TMAO, and both significantly improved decline in renal function, and significantly attenuated multiple indices of tubulointerstitial fibrosis. Iodomethylcholine treatment also reversed many choline diet-induced changes in cecal microbial community composition associated with TMAO and renal functional impairment. Conclusions: Selective targeting of gut microbiota-dependent TMAO generation may prevent adverse renal structural and functional alterations in subjects at risk for chronic kidney disease.


In this paper we introduce a simple space-filtration discretization scheme on Wiener space which allows us to study weak decompositions and smooth explicit approximations for a large class of Wiener functionals. We show that any Wiener functional has an underlying robust semimartingale skeleton which under mild conditions converges to it. The discretization is given in terms of discrete-jumping filtrations which allow us to approximate nonsmooth processes by means of a stochastic derivative operator on the Wiener space. As a by-product, we provide a robust semimartingale approximation for weak Dirichlet-type processes. The underlying semimartingale skeleton is intrinsically constructed in such way that all the relevant structure is amenable to a robust numerical scheme. In order to illustrate the results, we provide an easily implementable approximation scheme for the classical Clark-Ocone formula in full generality. Unlike in previous works, our methodology does not assume an underlying Markovian structure and does not require Malliavin weights. We conclude by proposing a method that enables us to compute optimal stopping times for possibly non-Markovian systems arising, for example, from the fractional Brownian motion.


This paper investigates the relation between cartographic and phasal heads in the light of Chomsky's recent proposals (2007) of feature transfer from C to T; the data come from Meiteilon, a language that lacks Tense morphology. I argue that the evidence from this language provides striking confirmation for the proposals that something like T exists even in languages without Tense, insofar that this head inherits uninterpretable features from a higher C-like dominating head. Moreover, the evidence from finite clausal complementation in the language shows that such feature transfer/inheritance relations are restricted to within phases.


Traffic is a major source of green house gases. The transport field stands for 32 % of the energy consumption and 28 % of the total CO2 emissions, where road transports alone causes 84 % of these figures. The energy consumed by a car travelling at constant speed, is due to engine inefficiency, internal friction, and the energy needed to overcome resisting forces such as aerodynamic drag and rolling resistance. Rolling resistance plays a rather large role when it comes to fuel economy. An improvement in rolling resistance of 10 % can yield fuel consumption improvements ranging from 0.5 to 1.5 % for passenger cars and light trucks and 1.5 to 3 % for heavy trucks. The objective of this thesis is to estimate the power consumption in the tyres. To do this a car tyre is modelled with waveguide finite elements. A non-linear contact model is used to calculate the contact forces as the tyre is rolling on a rough road. The contact forces combined with the response of the tyre is used to estimate the input power to the tyre structure, which determines a significant part of the rolling resistance. This is the first rolling resistance model based on physical principles and design data. The elements used in the waveguide finite elements tyre model are derived and validated. The motion of the tyre belt and side wall is described with quadratic anisotropic curved deep shell elements that includes pre-stress and the motion of the tread on top of the belt by curved quadratic, Lagrange type, homogenous, isotropic two dimensional solid elements. The tyre model accounts for: the curvature, the geometry of the cross-section, the pre-stress due to inflation pressure, the anisotropic material properties and the rigid body properties of the rim and is based on data provided by Goodyear. To validate the tyre model, mobility measurements and an experimental modal analysis have been made. The model agrees very well with point mobility measurements up to roughly 250 Hz. The eigenfrequency prediction is within five percent for most of the identified modes. The estimated damping is a bit too low especially for the anti-symmetric modes. The non-proportional damping used in the model is based on an ad hoc curve fitting procedure against measured mobilities. The non-linear contact force prediction, made by the division of applied acoustics, Chalmers University of Technology takes the tyre, the road texture and the tread pattern into account. The dissipated power is calculated through the injected power and the power dissipated within each element. It is shown that a rough road leads to more dissipation than a smooth road. A demonstration on real existing motor ways, for which rolling resistance measurements also have been made, show the potential of the method. The damping is very important for the rolling resistance prediction. The damping properties of the tyremodel are therefore updated based on measurement, equivalent structure modelling and viscoelastic material models. This updated model is slightly better at the point mobility prediction and is far better at predicting the damping level of the identified modes from the experimental modal analysis.


This paper considers metaphor as a kind of activity in the spirit of Levinson's 'Activity Types' or of Mey's 'Pragmatic Acts'. Contrary to what has been suggested in the literature, metaphors neither belong exclusively to the domain of abstract reasoning (such as by analogy; Max Black), nor are they merely linguistic and/or psychological processes (of cognition; George Lakoff). Metaphors do not originate and live in the brain only, neither do they exclusively belong to some conceptual domain from which they can establish relations to other domains, or blend with them. Metaphors are primarily pragmatic activities.In my contribution, I will concentrate on the pragmatics of what is called 'embodiment': while metaphors represent, respectively support or illustrate, an activity that is performed by the total human being, the body part of the metaphoric deal is often neglected. Yet, as many researchers in the humanities and the sciences have shown, the role of the body in solving problems through appropriate metaphoring cannot be overestimated. An embodied perspective on thought, and especially on metaphor, will allow us to form a better understanding of the things we do with words, when we use words to do things.


This study tests Jiang's (2004) 3-stage model of second language (L2) vocabulary acquisition. Jiang observed continued first language (L1) [Korean] semantic mediation in L2 processing among advanced L2 speakers. We hypothesise, however, that mediation might depend on the developing proficiency of the L2 learner and the relationship between L1 and L2.
We explored the extent to which L1 background influences the processing of semantics and syntax in L2 (English). Three different L1 subject groups (n=30 per group): English, European, and Japanese. L1 European speakers were tested because their L1 shares the same word order as the L2, in contrast to L1 Japanese speakers.
Two reaction time (RT) experiments were conducted to determine whether strings of words accurately reflect English syntax or semantics. Using the L1 English subject group as a control, we compared the choices made by our three groups. We also examined the L2 (English) learners' vocabulary size.
Overall the RTs were slower for incorrect syntactic word strings. The syntax RTs of the European and Japanese groups showed differences between correct and incorrect strings. However, the Japanese group showed no difference between SVO correct and incorrect strings. The semantic RTs did not differ between the L2 groups but the control group was faster. Initial findings suggest that L2 word order judgement latencies are mediated more by L1 word order; however, L2 semantic judgement latencies seem less mediated by differences in L1 word order. The findings are discussed in light of Jiang's model and how the role of L1 word order is closer related to L2 syntactic processing than semantic processing.

References
Jiang, N. (2004) 'Semantic transfer and its implications for vocabulary teaching in a second language'. The Modern Language Journal, 88 (3), pp.416-432.


It is often agreed upon that food and shelter are the two most important elements of human survival. At the same time, millions of people around the globe are either malnourished or living in hunger. The purpose of this paper is to present a macro-scale critique of the current food system and its connections to poverty and hunger. The first section of this paper is an introduction to the market commodity nature of the food system. This is followed by the exploration of unsustainable practices that are used within each sector of the system (these being production, consumption, distribution and transportation). I then outline how each of these unsustainable practices has led to or has further exacerbated poverty and hunger in the urban [and rural] context. The motivation for writing has come from a service-learning placement at a food redistribution centre in Vancouver, British Columbia. Personal reflections have left me with critical questions on the topics of hunger, poverty, food security and sustainability. This paper therefore seeks to make connections between these between these social issues.


Infectious agents are estimated to contribute to oncogenesis in c. 25% of human cancers worldwide. Approximately half of them are attributed to infection by oncogenic viruses. Viruses are obligatory intracellular pathogens, which disrupt host cell homeostasis during their life cycle. The induction of malignancy is not part of their life cycle, but rather a multistep outcome, that may occur several years after the infection. Oncogenesis is initiated by the disruption of cellular mechanisms (detecting and repairing DNA damage, activating checkpoints and inducing apoptosis or survival) through the activity of viral proteins. Host and environmental factors further contribute to the multistep aetiology of cancer development and progression. This article describes the common molecular mechanisms by which human oncogenic viruses disrupt cell homeostasis and the prophylactic and therapeutic treatment options for virus-induced malignancies and discusses the identification of emerging oncogenic infectious agents.

Key Concepts

Oncogenic viruses are estimated to contribute to approximately 15% of all human malignancies.
Human oncogenic viruses include both DNA viruses (EBV, HPV, MCV, HBV and KSHV) and RNA viruses (HCV and HTLV-1).
Induction of malignancy is not part of the viral life cycle and confers no benefit to the virus per se.
Oncogenic viruses disrupt host cellular pathways (DNA repair mechanisms, cellular checkpoints and apoptosis) for efficient viral replication, consequently initiating cancer development.
Viral oncogenesis is a multi-step process, initiated by the action of viral proteins but requiring additional factors for disease development and progression.
Transmission of oncogenic viruses takes place mainly via human contact including, but not limited to, sexual transmission.
Prophylactic (vaccine) treatment options are limited. Therapeutic treatments include anti-virals in combination with chemotherapy and surgical removal of the tumours.
Emerging oncogenic viruses comprise a growing group of newly identified viruses with putative oncogenic potential, which have been detected in association with human cancers.

Keywords:

oncogenic viruses;
cancer;
DNA virus;
RNA virus;
EBV ;
HPV ;
HBV ;
HCV ;
HTLV-I ;
KSHV ;
MCV


Celecoxib is intended for acute pain, menstrual cramps, pain, and inflammation of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of celecoxib (10 and 50 mg/kg/day) treatment on rats orally for 28 days. We examined effects on some biochemical parameters and kidney and liver tissues of celecoxib-treated Wistar albino male rats. At the end of the study, hepatic and renal function tests were performed and liver and kidney of rats were microscopically examined to detect systemic toxicity of celecoxib. Celecoxib-treated rats had statistically significant decreases of cholesterol, total bilirubin, total protein, urea, globulin, blood urea nitrogen, phosphorus, and calcium. Serum gamma glutamyl transferase levels increased in 10- and 50-mg/kg/day celecoxib-treated rats. Histological examinations showed mononuclear cell infiltration, hyperplasia, and cellular degeneration in liver and tubular damage and mononuclear cell infiltration in kidney. We suggest that high doses of celecoxib may cause changes in liver and kidney histopathology, liver function, and in some biochemical parameters.


Our software SHERPA enables the automated mass-analysis of diatom shapes by offering a versatile image processing workflow focused on the identification and measurement of object outlines. It handles all steps from image segmentation over object identification to feature extraction with minimal user interaction, extracting of a wide range of outline shape descriptors widely used in diatom studies and elsewhere.
Targeting a classical system in polar paleo-oceanography, we analyzed the morphometric variability of Fragilariopsis kerguelensis valves throughout a Southern Ocean sediment core, representing glacial and interglacial periods. Commonly only few features are actually measured for this kind of analysis, whilst e.g. the valve-area is just estimated from the valve's length and width by applying a correction factor. SHERPA however accurately measures the valve-area, and from these measurements we can identify morphological trends in Fragilariopsis kerguelensis in glacial/interglacial periods more precisely than was previously possible. These analyses also showed that in the last glacial maximum, two clearly distinct morphotypes of F. kerguelensis coexisted. These morphotypes differ in shape-characteristics, thus resulting in different area-correction factors, which are equivalent to the morphometric descriptor "rectangularity" as it is derived by SHERPA from actual measurements. These novel findings in a heavily studied system nicely illustrate the potential gains that can be reached by automated image analyses in diatom morphometrics.


Low latitude F region ion motions exhibit strong seasonal and solar cycle dependences. The pre‐reversal enhancement (PRE) in the vertical ion drifts is a particularly well‐known low latitude electrodynamic feature, exhibited as a sharp upward spike in the velocity shortly after local sunset, which remains poorly understood theoretically. The PRE has been successfully simulated for the first time by a general circulation model, the National Center for Atmospheric Research thermosphere/ionosphere/electrodynamic general circulation model (TIEGCM). The TIEGCM reproduces the zonal and vertical plasma drifts for equinox, June, and December for low, medium, and high solar activity. The crucial parameter in the model to produce the PRE is the nighttime E region electron densities: densities ≥ 104 cm−3 preclude the PRE development by short‐circuiting the F region dynamo. The E region semidiurnal 2,2 tidal wave largely determines the magnitude and phase of the daytime F region drifts.


Summary The recommendations in this report supersede the U.S Public Health Service (PHS) guideline recommendations for reducing transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV) through organ transplantation (Seem DL, Lee I, Umscheid CA, Kuehnert MJ. PHS guideline for reducing human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B virus, and hepatitis C virus transmission through organ transplantation. Public Health Rep 2013;128:247–343), hereafter referred to as the 2013 PHS guideline. PHS evaluated and revised the 2013 PHS guideline because of several advances in solid organ transplantation, including universal implementation of nucleic acid testing of solid organ donors for HIV, HBV, and HCV; improved understanding of risk factors for undetected organ donor infection with these viruses; and the availability of highly effective treatments for infection with these viruses. PHS solicited feedback from its relevant agencies, subject-matter experts, additional stakeholders, and the public to develop revised guideline recommendations for identification of risk factors for these infections among solid organ donors, implementation of laboratory screening of solid organ donors, and monitoring of solid organ transplant recipients. Recommendations that have changed since the 2013 PHS guideline include updated criteria for identifying donors at risk for undetected donor HIV, HBV, or HCV infection; the removal of any specific term to characterize donors with HIV, HBV, or HCV infection risk factors; universal organ donor HIV, HBV, and HCV nucleic acid testing; and universal posttransplant monitoring of transplant recipients for HIV, HBV, and HCV infections. The recommendations are to be used by organ procurement organization and transplant programs and are intended to apply only to solid organ donors and recipients and not to donors or recipients of other medical products of human origin (e.g., blood products, tissues, corneas, and breast milk). The recommendations pertain to transplantation of solid organs procured from donors without laboratory evidence of HIV, HBV, or HCV infection. Additional considerations when transplanting solid organs procured from donors with laboratory evidence of HCV infection are included but are not required to be incorporated into Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network policy. Transplant centers that transplant organs from HCV-positive donors should develop protocols for obtaining informed consent, testing and treating recipients for HCV, ensuring reimbursement, and reporting new infections to public health authorities.


Background: There are no reports from our region about the association of Epstein Barr virus (EBV) with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children.
Aim: The aim of the present study is to assess the presence of EBV in children with acute incidence of acute lymphoblastic leukemia by the use of specific immunoglobulins assay for capsid protein antigens and molecular method.
Material and Method: The study included 93 children at the onset of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. In addition, 100 healthy children with matched age and sex were included as control group. Blood samples were obtained from each participant of the study and sera were separated. Sera were subjected to serological studies of EBV specific immunoglobulins G (IgG) and M (IgM) for viral capsid antigens by enzyme linked immunosorbant assay and molecular study of EBV DNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
Results: Immunoglobulin G was the most common marker among children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (29%) followed by EBV DNA (25.8%) and then IgM (12.9%). In control group 15 children were positive for EBV IgG (15%) and 5 children were positive for IgM (5%) and none were positive for EBV DNA. There was statistically significant difference in presence of Ig G (P=0.0001) and EBV DNA (P=0.04) between patients and control. Younger age (3.4 ± 1.6, P=0.005) and lower platelets counts (43±1.0 x103, P=0,027) are associated with positive EBV viremia in patients.
Conclusion: From this study we can conclude that Epstein Barr virus is common in children at the onset of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Younger age is associated with positive EBV viremia in patients. The infection is usually asymptomatic and diagnosed only by laboratory tools. The combination of serology with molecular method for detection of this virus is the ideal way.


We undertake the first large-scale analysis of flood insurance claims in the United States, analyzing over 1 million claims from the federally managed National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) over the period 1978–2012. Using fixed effects regressions and other statistical analyses, we test several hypotheses about the nature and drivers of flood claims (e.g., the impact of flood zone, characteristics of the house, individual and collective mitigation, and repetitive loss properties), as well as uncover quantitative relationships on the determinants of claims payments. We also examine how claims are distributed across time and space. Our findings, several surprising, provide a quantitative basis for exploring the challenges associated with low insurance demand and also can contribute to more informed policy decisions regarding reform of the NFIP, as well as flood insurance markets around the world.


PURPOSE
Formation of scarlike epiretinal membranes (ERMs) constitutes potentially the end stage of evolution of proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). Among various cellular populations, ERMs contain cells with contractile features typical of myofibroblasts. The current study was conducted to investigate the presence of transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta1, TGF-beta receptor II (RII) and ED-A fibronectin (FN), the main inducers of myofibroblastic differentiation in ERMs in PDR and PVR.

METHODS
Samples of ERM were obtained from 23 patients during microsurgery for PVR or PDR. Electron microscopy, immunohistochemistry, and confocal microscopy with antibodies recognizing beta-smooth muscle (SM) actin, desmin, TGF-beta1, TGF-beta receptors I and II, and ED-A FN were performed.

RESULTS
alpha-SM actin was detected in all ERMs, whereas desmin was present in 50% of the cases. ED-A FN was expressed in all ERMs in close relation with alpha-SM actin-positive myofibroblasts. In addition, TGF-beta1 and TGF-beta R II were always present, TGF-beta RII being expressed in both alpha-SM actin-positive and negative fibroblastic cells.

CONCLUSIONS
Myofibroblast accumulation is a key event in ERM-associated traction retinal detachment occurring during PVR and PDR. The current results suggest that the presence of alpha-SM actin-positive myofibroblasts is probably dependent on the concomitant neoexpression of TGF-beta1, TGF-beta RII, and ED-A FN. The results furnish new data on the mechanism of alpha-SM actin stimulation in fibroblasts in a human pathologic setting.


The persistence of hunger in a world of plenty is the most profound moral contradiction of our age. Nearly 800 million people in the developing world (20 percent of the total population) are chronically undernourished. At least 2 billion suffer from vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Yet since the mid-1970s the world has produced enough food to provide everyone with a minimally adequate diet. Hunger is one piece of a complex of interrelated social ills. It is linked intricately to global economic, political, and social power structures; modes of development and consumption; population dynamics; and social biases based on race, ethnicity, gender, and age. The world community has both the knowledge and the resources to eliminate hunger. Putting these tools to work requires us to ground our choices small and large, individual and collective, political and economic in ethical values, including empowerment and justice, stewardship of common resources for the common good, and affirmation of diversity.


Managers don't have to be told that to innovate they need to embrace drastically different practices from the ones they use for routine work. So why don't they do it? According to Robert I. Sutton, co-director of Stanford University's Center for Work, Technology and Innovation, when business leaders see what innovation actually requires, they often recoil. The right practices seem strange, even wrongheaded. Understandably, it's hard for any executive to take action that will lose money today in order to test ideas that might never make money ? in hopes one idea will make money tomorrow.

Nevertheless, Sutton contends, that is just what cutting-edge companies do, bravely tackling ideas that at first blush seemed weird. From his research on such organizations, Sutton has developed eight techniques to move teams and companies from working by rote to innovating. The first two techniques are designed to provoke emotions that interrupt mindless action (provoke unpleasant emotions in others; make yourself uncomfortable). The second two are for smashing mindsets (treat everything like a temporary condition; ignore the experts). The third two help people identify and reject their dearest beliefs (plan to do something ridiculous; hold a sacred "cow" workshop). The last two are for exploding the composition of organizations and teams (bring in some slow learners; keep changing the composition of teams).

Sutton cautions, however, that the exact methods a company uses to spark novel ideas and actions should differ depending on the situation. He recommends giving people freedom to play around with a wide variety of offbeat notions until bringing in new knowledge and helping people see old things in new ways finally enables the company to break from the past.


This chapter discusses novel data from two experimental studies testing the acquisition of futurity and providing evidence in favor of Demirdache and Lungu's (2009, 2011) zero-tense hypothesis, according to which child grammars display both zero-present and zero-past tenses, alongside indexical present/past tenses. Extending Kratzer (1998), Demirdache and Lungu argue that simultaneous construals of past/present in adult languages arise via a zero-tense analysis of the embedded tense. The claim is that while some adult languages (English, French) allow zero-tense construals of past and others (Japanese) allow zero-tense construals of present, child French in particular and, by hypothesis, child language in general, allows zero-tense construals of both past and present. We argue that once we admit the existence of a zero-present tense in child French, we expect children to allow non-adult, non-indexical construals of other tenses that have a present component. On the basis of two experiments testing the interpretation of futurity in L1 French, we show that this prediction is borne out.


With the consolidation of the new data protection regulation paradigm for each individual within the European Union (EU), major biometric technologies are now confronted with many concerns related to user privacy in biometric deployments. When individual biometrics are disclosed, the sensitive information about his/her personal data such as financial or health are at high risk of being misused or compromised. This issue can be escalated considerably over scenarios of non-cooperative users, such as elderly people residing in care homes, with their inability to interact conveniently and securely with the biometric system. The primary goal of this study is to design a novel database to investigate the problem of automatic people recognition under privacy constraints. To do so, the collected data-set contains the subject's hand and foot traits and excludes the face biometrics of individuals in order to protect their privacy. We carried out extensive simulations using different baseline methods, including deep learning. Simulation results show that, with the spatial features extracted from the subject sequence in both individual hand or foot videos, state-of-the-art deep models provide promising recognition performance.


This article examines the use and significance of two-horse teams within the Nordic Late Bronze Age cultural sphere in southern Scandinavia and the southwestern Baltic region. Its point of departure is a remarkable hoard found in the late summer of 2014 at Bækkedal in northern Jutland, Denmark. The hoard, dated to period V of the Bronze Age, differs from many other hoards of this period by virtue of its abundant and almost complete content of bridles and other harness components for a two-horse team, including cheek pieces, phalerae and jingle plates. Furthermore, organic material was preserved in the form of parts of the bridle, with bronzes in situ, together with bits and reins. It therefore provides important new information about the group of hoards that contain horse tack, given that it is now possible, for the first time, to see how a bridle was constructed. Moreover, it contributes to our understanding of driving with two-horse teams and four-wheeled wagons, which, given the quantity of horse tack in hoards, must have been more commonplace than indicated by the other finds in the archaeological record. Lastly, the local context of the hoard is examined and reveals an area rich in other contemporaneous deposit finds and numerous settlement traces.


Recent studies suggest the necessity of understanding the interactive effects of predation and productivity on species coexistence and prey diversity. Models predict that coexistence of prey species with different competitive abilities can be achieved if inferior resource competitors are less susceptible to predation and if productivity and/or predation pressure are at intermediate levels. Hence, predator effects on prey diversity are predicted to be highly context dependent: enhancing diversity from low to intermediate levels of productivity or predation and reducing diversity of prey at high levels of productivity or predation. While several studies have examined the interactive effects of herbivory and productivity on primary producer diversity, experimental studies of such effects in predator-prey systems are rare. We tested these predictions using an aquatic field mesocosm experiment in which initial density of the zooplankton predator Notonecta undulata and productivity were manipulated to test their interactive effects on diversity of seven zooplankton, cladoceran species that were common in surrounding ponds. Two productivity levels were imposed via phosphorus enrichment at levels comparable to low and intermediate levels found within neighboring natural ponds. We used open systems to allow for natural dispersal and behaviorally-mediated numerical responses by the flight-capable predator. Effects of predators on zooplankton diversity depended on productivity level. At low and high productivity, prey species richness declined while at high productivity it showed a unimodal relationship with increasing the predator density. Effects of treatments were weaker when using Pielou's evenness index or the inverse Simpson index as measures of prey diversity. Our findings are generally consistent with model predictions in which predators can facilitate prey coexistence and diversity at intermediate levels of productivity and predation intensity. Our work also shows that the functional form of the relationship between prey diversity and predation intensity can be complex and highly dependent on environmental context.


From a combination of high quality X-ray observations from the NASA Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE), and infrared observations from the UK Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) we show that the medium energy X-ray (3-20 keV) and near infrared fluxes in the quasar 3C273 are highly correlated. It is widely believed that the X-ray emission in quasars like 3C273 arises from Compton scattering of low energy seed photons and our observations provide the first reliable detection of correlated variations in 3C273 between the X-ray band and any lower energy band. For a realistic electron distribution we demonstrate that it is probable that each decade of the seed photon distribution from the mm to IR waveband contributes roughly equally to the medium energy X-ray flux. However the expected mm variations are too small to be detected above the noise, probably explaining the lack of success of previous searches for a correlation between X-ray and mm variations. In addition we show that the infrared leads the X-rays by 0.75±0.25 days. These observations rule out the 'External Compton' emission process for the production of the X-rays.


During French colonization, the world of prostitution in Tonkin evolved as the result of the numerous social and economic changes that were occurring at the time. The increasing mobility of the population led to rapid, significant urbanization: consequently, the city changed in form and in culture. Prostitution hence became increasingly visible. Its expansion was both quantitative and qualitative in the sense that prostitutes were no longer confined within the so-called spaces of "legal" brothels and were no longer perceived as being the only women capable of providing sexual services. In this regard, the world of prostitution is a critical vantage point which permits a far-reaching study of these global changes as well as a unique vantage point onto the complexity of colonization itself. This world was a microcosm of colonial society with its latent notions of racial hierarchy, inherent domination, and intimacy for colonization, and these all represent an intimate yet politically charged encounter. The racial boundaries delineated at the very foundations of the colonial order were therefore blurred and had to be redrawn and sharpened. The regulation of prostitution was one of the means used by authorities to control the interaction between the colonizers and the colonized because it reproduced the racial distinctions of the colonial society. The second dimension of the administration of prostitution was medical: because of venereal diseases, prostitution was perceived to be a threat to individuals and the nation as a whole. The regulation of prostitution thus was part and parcel of the policing strategies set up by the authorities to insure colonial order and public health. Nonetheless, its application proved to be difficult because prostitution, which was understood as construing both actors and places, resisted the police and medical frameworks that sought to confine them. Authorities' attempts clashed with the evasive strategies of prostitutes, madams, clients, and others as well. In light of these issues, this study offers a thorough examination of the official frameworks and the reality of prostitution as it existed in colonial Tonkin.


Abstract : Echo phenomena in several materials have been reviewed for the purpose of considering the recently proposed amplified spin echo as a chirp radar receiver. The technique is believed to exhibit considerable merit in that a number of desirable characteristics have been combined in a unique manner. If properly realized, a portion of the processing of the radar signal could be accomplished at the antenna feed element. However, the available materials still limit the practical usefulness of this device as compared to more conventional techniques. (Author)


The purpose of this book is to introduce the sociology of law by providing a coherent organization to the general body of literature in that field. As such, the text gives a comprehensive overview of theoretical sociology of law. It deals with the broad expanse of the field and covers a vast amount of intellectual terrain. This volume is intended to fill a gap in the literature. Most textbooks in the sociology of law are insufficiently theoretical or else do not provide a paradigmatic analysis of sociological theories.The content of this text consists of discussions of the works of scholars who have contributed the most to the cumulative development of the sociology of law. It surveys the major traditions of legal sociology but is not wedded to any one particular theoretical approach. Both the "classical," or nineteenth-century, and "contemporary," or twentieth-century, perspectives are covered. The reader will see that nineteenth-century thought has directly influenced the emergence of twentieth-century theory.One unique feature of this book is that key sociological and legal concepts, presented in bold print and italics, are defined, described, and illustrated throughout. Although the nature of the subject matter is highly theoretical and, at times, quite complex, Trevino values every effort to present the material in the most straightforward and intelligible form possible without compromising the integrity of the theories themselves. In short, this book aims to accomplish three objectives: inform about the progressive advancement of sociological theory, teach the reader to analyze the law as a social phenomenon, and develop in the reader a critical mode of thinking about issues relevant to the relationship between law and society.


My lifespan encompasses the era when the United States of America was capable of launching human beings into space. Some of my earliest memories are of sitting on a braided rug before a hulking black-and-white television, watching the early Gemini missions. This summer, at the age of 51— not even old—I watched on a flatscreen as the last Space Shuttle lifted off the pad. I have followed the dwindling of the space program with sadness, even bitterness. Where's my donut-shaped space station? Where's my ticket to Mars? Until recently, though, I have kept my feelings to myself. Space exploration has always had its detractors. To complain about its demise is to expose oneself to attack from those who have no sympathy that an affluent, middle-aged white American has not lived to see his boyhood fantasies fulfilled.


Awareness of the knowledge of learning partners is not always sufficiently available in collaborative learning scenarios. To compensate, the authors propose to provide collaborators with partner knowledge awareness by means of a visualization tool. Partner knowledge awareness can be used to adapt messages toward the partner. This study investigated the cognitive consequences of message adaptation on producers. The authors chose a simulated collaboration scenario in order to dissociate the producer effect from recipient and collaboration effects. Results on 42 participants that had been randomly assigned to either the partner knowledge awareness condition (partner and own knowledge visualized) or the control condition (only own knowledge visualized) are reported here. Participants in the partner knowledge awareness condition adapted their contributions according to the visualized partner's knowledge and benefited with regard to the acquisition of elaborated knowledge.


5: RAINFALL: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase III study of cisplatin (Cis) plus capecitabine (Cape) or 5FU with or without ramucirumab (RAM) as first-line therapy in patients with metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction (G-GEJ) adenocarcinoma. Oral Abstract Session A Thursday, January 18, 2018: 3:00 – 3:09 p.m. PT The Moscone West Building, Level 2, Ballroom Charles S. Fuchs, MD Smilow Cancer Hospital, Yale New Haven Health New Haven, CT Abstract 6: Robot-assisted minimally invasive thoraco-laparoscopic esophagectomy versus open transthoracic esophagectomy for resectable esophageal cancer: A randomized controlled trial.6: Robot-assisted minimally invasive thoraco-laparoscopic esophagectomy versus open transthoracic esophagectomy for resectable esophageal cancer: A randomized controlled trial. Rapid-Fire Abstract Session Thursday, January 18, 2018: 1:00 – 1:04 p.m. PT The Moscone West Building, Level 3, Room 3014 Pieter Christiaan Van Der Sluis University Medical Center Utrecht Utrecht, Netherlands Abstract 47: The association of an exosomal form of PD-L1 with immunosuppressive activity and gastric cancer prognosis.47: The association of an exosomal form of PD-L1 with immunosuppressive activity and gastric cancer prognosis. Poster Session A Thursday, January 18, 2018: 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. PT Thursday, January 18, 2018: 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. PT The Moscone West Building, Level 1, West Hall Yibo Fan The First Hospital of China Medical University Shenyang, China Abstract 206: Randomized, open label, multicenter, phase II trial comparing transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) plus sorafenib with TACE alone in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC): TACTICS trial. Oral Abstract Session B Friday, January 19, 2018: 2:50 – 2:59 p.m. PT The Moscone West Building, Level 2, Ballroom Masatoshi Kudo, MD, PhD Kindai University Faculty of Medicine Osaka, Japan Abstract 209: KEYNOTE-224: Pembrolizumab in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma previously treated with sorafenib.209: KEYNOTE-224: Pembrolizumab in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma previously treated with sorafenib. Rapid-Fire Abstract Session Friday, January 19, 2018: 1:10 – 1:14 p.m. PT The Moscone West Building, Level 3, Room 3014 Andrew X. Zhu, MD, PhD Massachusetts General Hospital Boston, MA Abstract 347: Lanreotide for the prolonged control of carcinoid syndrome (CS) in somatostatin analog (SSA)naïve or experienced patients.347: Lanreotide for the prolonged control of carcinoid syndrome (CS) in somatostatin analog (SSA)naïve or experienced patients. Poster Session B Friday, January 19, 2018: 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. PT Friday, January 19, 2018: 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. PT The Moscone West Building, Level 1, West Hall Edward M. Wolin, MD University of Kentucky Lexington, KY Abstract 553: Nivolumab + ipilimumab combination in patients with DNA mismatch repair-deficient/microsatellite instability-high (dMMR/MSI-H) metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC): First report of the full cohort from CheckMate-142. Oral Abstract Session C Saturday, January 20, 2018: 11:00 – 11:09 a.m. PT The Moscone West Building, Level 2, Ballroom Thierry Andre, MD Saint-Antoine Hospital Paris, France Abstract 558: SCOT: Tumor sidedness and the influence of chemotherapy duration on DFS.558: SCOT: Tumor sidedness and the influence of chemotherapy duration on DFS. Rapid-Fire Abstract Session Saturday, January 20, 2018: 7:10 – 7:14 a.m. PT The Moscone West Building, Level 3, Room 3014 Mark P. Saunders, MD, PhD Christie NHS Foundation Trust Manchester, United Kingdom Abstract 724: Evaluation of outcomes over time (1998-2009) of patients (pts) with stage III colon cancer receiving adjuvant FOLFOX: Analysis of 7,230 patients from MOSAIC, C07, C08, N0147, AVANT, and PETACC8 trials in the ACCENT Database.724: Evaluation of outcomes over time (1998-2009) of patients (pts) with stage III colon cancer receiving adjuvant FOLFOX: Analysis of 7,230 patients from MOSAIC, C07, C08, N0147, AVANT, and PETACC8 trials in the ACCENT Database. Rapid-Fire Abstract Session Saturday, January 20, 2018: 7:10 – 7:14 a.m. PT The Moscone West Building, Level 3, Room 3014 Mohamed E. Salem, MD Levine Cancer Institute, Carolinas HealthCare System Charlotte, NC 2018 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium News Planning Team: Michelle Kim, MD, PhD, American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute; Nancy Baxter, MD, American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO); Laura Dawson, MD, FRCPC, FASTRO, American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO); Ajay Maker MD, FACS, Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO). View the disclosures for the News Planning Team. ATTRIBUTION TO THE 2018 GASTROINTESTINAL CANCERS SYMPOSIUM IS REQUESTED IN ALL NEWS COVERAGE.


This paper proposes a novel boosting algorithm called VadaBoost which is motivated by recent empirical Bernstein bounds. VadaBoost iteratively minimizes a cost function that balances the sample mean and the sample variance of the exponential loss. Each step of the proposed algorithm minimizes the cost efficiently by providing weighted data to a weak learner rather than requiring a brute force evaluation of all possible weak learners. Thus, the proposed algorithm solves a key limitation of previous empirical Bernstein boosting methods which required brute force enumeration of all possible weak learners. Experimental results confirm that the new algorithm achieves the performance improvements of EBBoost yet goes beyond decision stumps to handle any weak learner. Significant performance gains are obtained over AdaBoost for arbitrary weak learners including decision trees (CART).


This work provides a typologically oriented description of clause linkage strategies in Ket, a highly endangered language spoken in Central Siberia. It is now the only surviving member of the Yeniseian language family with the last remaining speakers residing in the north of Russia's Krasnoyarsk province.
Although Ket can be said to have a rather long history of studies, there are issues that still lack a comprehensive and coherent account in the existing literature on the language, issues of clause linkage being one of them. The present study seeks to change the situation by providing a unified description of strategies used to code various clause-linking relations, including coordinative relations, complement relations, adverbial relations and relative relations.
The theoretical background of the present study is based on the general framework developed within the functional-typological approach. It incorporates all the advances made during the last decades with respect to Ketology and the study of clause linkage typology to ensure its descriptive and typological value.


This study conducted a preliminary examination on cognitive reserve (CR) as a modifier of symptom expression in subjects with autopsy-confirmed chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). The sample included 25 former professional football players neuropathologically diagnosed with CTE stage III or IV. Next of kin interviews ascertained age at cognitive and behavioral/mood symptom onset and demographic/athletic characteristics. Years of education and occupational attainment defined CR. High occupational achievement predicted later age at cognitive (p=0.02) and behavioral/mood (p=0.02) onset. Education was not an individual predictor. These preliminary findings suggest that CR may forestall the clinical manifestation of CTE.


The concept of experiences may not be all that revolutionary or new, however, the notion of an economy where experiences make up the core of all businesses is. This suggestion was made by Pine and Gilmore in 1999 in their bestseller "The Experience Economy", and since then, the concept has received a lot of positive attention. Critics of the authors' proposal still remain few in number, and there is a lack of research re-garding experiences and consumers.As the authors of this thesis we posed ourselves positive to the Experience Economy in general, but also a bit hesitant to the idea of companies offering experiences in all consumer contexts. Due to the lack of research regarding the demand side, we set out to explore the phenomenon of the Experience Economy from the perception of consumers. By doing so we hoped to find whether or not a foundation for Pine and Gilmore's (1999) idea exists.In order to explore consumers' perceptions of the Experience Economy, we focused on what is at the core of the concept – experiences. A qualitative research approach was decided upon, and three focus group interviews were conducted. The focus groups were made up of young consumers, parents of small children, and middle aged consumers.The empirical findings indicate that a foundation for the claim that the Experience Economy is emerging does exist, at least to the extent that no substantial barriers have been identified. However, we believe that the notion of an experience-based economy is only to be discussed if the concept is somewhat widened in its claims. That is, our summation of the consumers' perceptions of the Experience Economy suggests that experiences need to be viewed as existing along a spectrum, ranging from a negative to a positive extreme. Rather than just being at the positive extreme, as indicated by scholars, we believe that staged experiences in the Experience Econ-omy will range from the spectrum's neutral centre to only on rare occasions touch upon the extraordinaire.


Placental transfusion has been thought to be the main benefit of delayed umbilical cord clamping (DCC) in preterm neonates. However, the importance of cardiovascular stability provided by allowing lung aeration prior to cord clamping has recently been highlighted. We aimed to determine the influence of blood volume changes on cardiovascular stability at birth. Preterm lambs (0.85 gestation) were instrumented for measurement of pulmonary, systemic and cerebral blood pressures and flows, systemic oxygen saturation and cerebral oxygenation. Left ventricular output (LVO) was assessed by Doppler Echocardiography. Lambs underwent immediate cord clamping followed by (1) 25 ml/kg infusion of whole blood over (90 s; or 2) withdrawal of 10 ml/kg blood over 90 s. Ventilation was initiated 30 s after volume change (2 min after cord clamping) and was maintained for 30 min. Blood infusion significantly increased pulmonary blood flow (PBF) which maintained systemic cardiac output during the infusion, and increased carotid arterial pressure, flow and heart rate, which remained elevated until after ventilation onset. Upon completion of transfusion PBF rapidly returned to control levels and LVO decreased. Conversely, blood withdrawal decreased PBF and LVO. The cardiovascular changes that accompanied ventilation onset were similar between groups. Providing a blood volume transfusion immediately after umbilical cord clamping maintains PBF and cardiac output during the transfusion, which does not persist beyond the period of the transfusion. Our study implies that an apneic newborn cannot maintain cardiac output through an increase blood volume alone. Importantly, delaying umbilical cord clamping until after breathing/aeration of the lung may be a way to maintain cardiac output throughout delivery at birth.


Abstract Development of lightweight cars for saving fuel and reducing emission has been a priority for more than a decade. A similar trend is now seen for heavy vehicles. Here, however, the chassis rather than the cab is in focus, since this is by far the heaviest part of the vehicle. Using welding fabrication has many advantages like larger freedom in choice of material and more compact design. However, there are also factors like fatigue strength, residual stresses and geometric distortion, which must be addressed. There are large potentials to save weight in heavy vehicles by utilising high strength steels or aluminium alloys. In general, existing joining methods can be used, but new filler materials or recently developed post-weld treatments may be necessary to fulfil the demands on the components. In this paper, two examples are given, showing possible weight reduction solutions. In both cases, welding plays a central role.


The following academic thesis explores the links between offender motivation and violence reduction treatment for adult male offenders, with a focus on those with a mental illness. The thesis begins with a systematic review of the literature regarding the impact of motivation on interventions aimed at reducing violence and aggression. The majority of reviewed studies provided tentative support for the theory that individuals with higher levels of motivation stay in treatment longer and have better treatment gains regarding violence reduction. The following chapter includes an empirical study investigating the impact of Stage of Change, as measured by the Transtheoretical Model (Prochaska & DiClemente, 1982), on the outcome of treatment. The focus of this study was the Violent Offender Treatment Programme (VOTP), designed for mentally disordered offenders, and its application within a High Security and a Medium Security hospital. The programme itself was found to be effective in reducing violence outcomes, however there was little support for the Stages of Change model as a form of categorising those who were more likely to improve. Chapter 4 then presents a Case Study of an adult male offender, with a diagnosis of Delusional Disorder, in order to ascertain whether the VOTP could be adapted for individual use. Case study results were not clinically significant but are discussed in light of current research and forensic practice. A critical appraisal of the Violence Risk Scale (Wong & Gordon, 1998-2003) is then presented in Chapter 5, due to this being a primary risk assessment tool referred to throughout the doctoral works. The thesis concludes with a chapter summarising the key points and involving a reflective element by the author.


Abstract We analyze a unique database from a sample of real-world boardrooms — minutes of board meetings and board-committee meetings of eleven business companies for which the Israeli government holds a substantial equity interest. We use these data to evaluate the underlying assumptions and predictions of models of boards of directors. These models generally fall into two categories: "managerial models" that assume boards play a direct role in managing the firm, and "supervisory models" that assume that boards monitor top management but do not make business decisions themselves. Consistent with the supervisory models, our minutes-based data suggest that boards spend most of their time monitoring management: approximately two-thirds of the issues boards discussed were of a supervisory nature, they were presented with only a single option in 99% of the issues discussed, and they disagreed with the CEO only 2.5% of the time. Nevertheless, at times boards do play a managerial role: Boards requested to receive further information or an update for 8% of the issues discussed, and they took an initiative with respect to 8.1% of them. In 63% of the meetings, boards took at least one of these actions or did not vote in line with the CEO. Taken together our results suggest that boards can be characterized as active monitors.


This study generally aimed to assess the effect of supplementation with various levels of a novel product containing probiotic and yeast cells, a feed enzyme, short-chain oligosaccharides, and herbal extracts (Farmer Peck's Performance Booster®) and the use of halothane free gene semen on two successive parities in sows in selected farms in Leyte. Randomized complete block design (RCBD) with treatment used in T0 – (in-feed antibiotics, Og probiotic/kilogram feed and Al using semen from farm's boar); T1 – (0 antibiotics, 2g probiotic/kilogram feed and Al with halothane free gene semen) and T2 – (0 antibiotics, 3g probiotic/kilogram feed and Al with halothane free gene semen). The study results showed that sow-litter performance of artificially inseminated sows using halothane free gene semen in two farrowing seasons was significantly higher in T1 and T2 groups than that of To group as affected by probiotic supplementation. Probiotic supplementation, both at 2g kg-1 (T1) and 3g kg-1 (T2) of feed is effective in improving both litter and sow performance. The cost of using halothane free gene semen for Al is less as compared to using semen from the farm's boar, and the cost of using probiotic at two levels as feed additive is relatively lower than using antibiotics based on the pre-weaning mortality, litter size, and litter weight at weaning. The use of halothane free gene semen can now be widely used in the different piggery farms. Including the use of probiotic supplement for both the sows and piglets.


This article investigates firm characteristics associated with the probability of relocating activities in a foreign country. Using manufacturing firms' micro data for the 1999-2005 period, we find evidence that cost-cutting objectives are the main determinants for offshoring production. The analysis reveals that firms that are larger and have higher productivity, more research and development activity and greater human capital intensity are more likely to relocate activity abroad. Thus, 'the best' firms self-select to offshoring activities. We note the special prominence of foreign firms among those that engage in offshoring. Our results show that self-selection of 'the best' firms are much more significant in foreign firms.


America's adversaries will contest US military superiority in the domains of land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace. Fundamentally, these foes seek to disrupt the dominance of American fighting forces through anti-access and area denial (A2AD) systems, such as cyber exploitation, electromagnetic jamming, air defense networks, and hypersonic capabilities. According to Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) Pamphlet 525- 3-1, these A2AD capabilities create multiple layers of stand-off that inhibit the US ability to focus combat power and achieve strategic objectives in a contested, increasingly lethal, inherently complex, and challenging operational environment.1 The Department of Defense (DoD) plans to mitigate this shift in enemy strategy through the adoption of multidomain operations (MDO).1 MDO is defined as operations that converge capabilities to overcome an adversary's strengths across various domains by imposing simultaneous dilemmas that achieve operational and tactical objectives.1 Within this MDO construct, medical treatment expectations must shift accordingly as the ability to rapidly treat and evacuate patients may be constrained by enemy action. Thus, the notion of prolonged field care (PFC) may be a necessity on the future battlefield. As Special Operations Forces (SOF) continue to refine what PFC entails, it is imperative that an understanding of the incidence and type of diseases that require medical evacuation to higher levels of care be thoughtfully estimated. Armed with an understanding of the anticipated epidemiology, effective prioritization of training requirements and equipment acquisition is possible in a manner that is complementary to the overall success of the assigned mission. Furthermore, this prior planning mitigates risk, as the limitations of money and time impose significant opportunity costs in the short run should the disproportionate mix of disease states be pursued, which in turn, avoids jeopardizing Soldiers' lives over the long term.


44 year old woman was admitted to our clinic with complaints of inability to walk and severe arm and leg pain. Patient's symptoms began within a week. She has not a systemic disease except diabetes mellitus. Because there was a laryngeal mass which causes difficulty in swallowing, she had recently laryngeal mass operation history. She had tetraparesis and paresthesias in the neurological examination and she had also urinary incontinence. Her deep tendon reflexes were normal. Transverse myelitis were considered at the forefront of these findings. In cervical magnetic resonance imaging, cervical paravertebral abscess and accompanying spinal cord involvement was detected. After appropriate neurosurgical procedure and antibiotic treatment, patient fully recovered.


The Westminster parliament is a highly visible political institution, and one of its core functions is approving new laws. Yet Britain's legislative process is often seen as executive-dominated, and parliament as relatively weak. As this book shows, such impressions can be misleading. Drawing on the largest study of its kind for more than forty years, Meg Russell and Daniel Gover cast new light on the political dynamics that shape the legislative process. They provide a fascinating account of the passage of twelve government bills - collectively attracting more than 4000 proposed amendments - through both the House of Commons and House of Lords. These include highly contested changes such as Labour's identity cards scheme and the coalition's welfare reforms, alongside other relatively uncontroversial measures. As well as studying the parliamentary record and amendments, the authors draw from more than 100 interviews with legislative insiders. Following introductory chapters about the Westminster legislative process, the book focuses on the contribution of distinct parliamentary 'actors', including the government, opposition, backbenchers, select committees, and pressure groups. It considers their behaviour in the legislative process, what they seek to achieve, and crucially how they influence policy decisions. The final chapter reflects on Westminster's influence overall, showing this to be far greater than commonly assumed. Parliamentary influence is asserted in various different ways - ranging from visible amendments to more subtle means of changing government's behaviour. The book's findings make an important contribution to understanding both British politics and the dynamics of legislative bodies more broadly. Its readability and relevance will appeal to both specialists and general readers with interests in politics and law, in the UK and beyond.


In this thesis we study the problem of requiring self-interested agents need to interact with some centralized mechanism where this interaction is costly. To improve their utility, agents may choose to interact with neighbours in order to coordinate their actions, potentially resulting in savings with respect to total interaction costs for all involved. We highlight the issues that arise in such a setting for the mechanism as well as for the agents. We use a mechanism-design approach to study this problem and present a model for self-interested agents to form groups with neighbours in order to reduce the total interaction cost. Our model focuses on two aspects: reward-distribution and cost-sharing. We look at two scenarios for reward-distribution mechanisms and proposed a core-stable payoff as well as a fair payoff mechanism. We then propose a cost-sharing mechanism that agents can use to coordinate and reduce their interaction costs. We prove this mechanism to be incentive-compatible, cost-recovery and fair. We also discuss how agents might form groups in order to save on cost. We study how our final outcome (the total percentage of savings as a group) depends on the agents' interaction topology and analyze different topologies. In addition we carry out experiments which further validate our proposal.


In early February, I was working from home when I received a message informing me—and all the other professors at my university in China—that courses would be taught online because of the novel coronavirus. I was already feeling anxious about the mounting epidemic, and my university had locked its doors a few days earlier. Then, when I realized I'd have to teach students online, my anxiety level grew. I didn't have any experience with online teaching platforms. I was also skeptical about how effective they'd be. "How will I gauge the students' reactions to my lectures through a computer screen?" I wondered. "Will they learn anything?"

> "I've spent most of the past 2 months at home … wondering when life will get back to normal."

I live in Xuzhou, China—roughly 500 kilometers from Wuhan, the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike Wuhan, my city isn't on lockdown, but residents have been discouraged from going outside and many businesses and institutions are closed. I've spent most of the past 2 months at home, along with my wife and daughter, fearful of the future and wondering when life will get back to normal.

Thankfully, none of my family members, friends, or colleagues have tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Working from home is also possible for me because my research doesn't involve lab work. But the spread of the virus and the rapidly rising death toll have weighed heavily on my mind. I've found it difficult to sleep. I've also had trouble focusing on work. One day early in the outbreak, I sat down at my computer intending to write a grant proposal. But all I could do was stare at the screen.

Years ago, I'd heard that Taoism philosophies were helpful for finding internal peace. So, I decided to listen to a few recordings. One instructed listeners to "govern [yourself] by doing nothing that goes against nature." That resonated with me because I realized that I'd been trying to push my anxieties aside and force myself to concentrate on work—an approach that wasn't working because it didn't feel natural. From then on, I told myself that it was OK to feel anxious, even if it impeded my work. That helped to lessen my internal struggles.

Over the past 2 months, I've also learned how to teach courses online, and I have found unexpected joy in that process—even though I struggled at first. There were multiple online teaching platforms to choose from, and I didn't know which one was best or how to use it. I opted for a platform that had a large server, thinking that it would cope better with heavy usage. My university provided some helpful guidance, and I also learned through trial and error.

My first lecture was especially difficult because I couldn't see the students' faces. I was accustomed to lecturing in front of an audience. Online, I felt like I was speaking at my students but not getting anything in return. I communicated with a few of them afterward to get their feedback and they agreed with me, saying that I needed to find a way to make my lectures more interactive. So, I started to encourage my students to leave questions for me in the platform's comment section during my lectures.

Almost immediately, my students started peppering me with questions. I was surprised by the level of engagement. In a normal classroom setting, they are afraid to raise their hands; most wait until after the lecture is over to approach me and ask a question. But online, students were more comfortable sharing their questions in front of the entire class. That was a great outcome because if one student has a question, it's likely that another student has the same question and would benefit from hearing the answer. I've also been pleased to see from the homework assignments that they are following my teaching well.

China was the first country to close its universities, but over the past month, universities in Italy, the United States, and elsewhere have made similar moves. I hope that my story can provide inspiration for academics who are fearful of what's to come. It's OK to feel anxious. But I'd also recommend staying open to change. You never know what you'll learn.


Much of the debate surrounding counterfeit medicines to date has focused on how to prevent them seeping into the supply chains of developed-country markets. The majority of counterfeit medicines originate in Less Developed Countries (LDCs), including most of those that end up in the US and EU. Steps should be taken to change the incentives faced by counterfeiters in LDCs participating in the production and trade of counterfeit pharmaceuticals.


Aim: The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of endoscopic versus microscopic excision of pituitary adenoma, and to evaluate the merits and demerits of each approach. Materials and Methods: Prospective data were collected and patients were surgically treated for pituitary adenoma at SMS Hospital, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. Patients consent was obtained. Age, sex, presenting symptoms, length of hospital stay, pre- and post-operative hormone status, extent of resections of tumors, and intra- and post-operative complication were noted. Results: A total of thirty patients with pituitary adenoma were operated transsphenoidally. Seventeen patients were operated by endonasal endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery and 13 patients were operated by microscopic transsphenoidal surgery. In an endoscopic group, complete tumor excision was achieved in 11 (64.71%) patients, and in microscopic group, it was achieved in 6 (46.15%) patients. In endoscopic group, mean operative time was 111.29 ± 21.95 min (ranged 80–135 min), and in microscopic group, it was 134.38 ± 8.33 min (ranged 120–145 min). In endoscopic group, mean blood loss was 124.41 ± 39.64 ml (60–190 ml), and in microscopic group, it was 174.62 ± 37.99 (100–220 ml). Postoperative sinusitis was present in 1 (5.88%) patient in endoscopic group and in 2 (15.38%) patients in microscopic group. Conclusion: Endoscopic approach provides a wide surgical field and broad lateral vision making easier distinction of tumor tissues. Thus, there is less blood loss, greater extent of tumor removal and it had less operative time, less postoperative complication, and early discharge from the hospital.


CALL FOR PAPERS

SONG, STAGE AND SCREEN XII
19 – 22 JUNE 2017

At
GUILDFORD SCHOOL OF ACTING, UNIVERSITY OF SURREY, GUILDFORD, UK.

MUSICAL MULTIPLICITY

In recent years the influence of singer-songwriters, tv shows, jukebox musicals and politics have challenged the perceived homogeneity of musical theatre, showtunes and the Hollywood musical.

in a period in which societal diversities are under threat, musical theatre and film exhibits new multiplicities of subject matter, modes of storytelling, and production styles. Simultaneously, artists with varied backgrounds from singer-songwriters to practitioners in verbatim or physical theatre are creating musical theatre which challenges accepted methodologies for creating musicals. Additionally, digital media allows for new platforms for the performance, delivery and marketing of musical theatre; raising a challenge to the very nature of the artform.

This conference considers and celebrates all facets of multiplicity in musical theatre and musical film; from staging concepts challenging the traditional proscenium, to musical styles from Hamilton to La La Land. Papers might consider how diversities have created developments in musical storytelling throughout history, and how revivals are informed by later innovations unimaginable at the time of the original production.

Topics for papers and presentations may include, but are not restricted to:
• Musical multiplicities
• Diversities of platform; beyond the stage and screen
• Staging diversities
• Choreographic multiplicities
• The challenge to societal diversity and the response of musical theatre/film
• Gender diversities in the musical,
• The challenge to the traditional 'showtune'
• Diverse methodologies of developing musicals; beyond the workshop
• Developing new audiences in musical theatre

Papers should be designed to last no more than 20 minutes. Please send an abstract of no more than 200 words for blind peer review (your name should not appear anywhere in the proposal) to the conference convenor, Julian Woolford, Head of Musical Theatre at GSA: firstname.lastname@example.com with the subject heading "Song, Stage and Screen XII".
The deadline for proposals is Saturday, February 18 2017.

'Whose Voice Is It Anyway'?
'We may feel so in awe of the seeming vocal perfection of our idols that we become immensely critical of our own voice for what it naturally is.'
Brophy, B (2012) The Singers Instinct. BBVS, Toronto, p108

Just as nearly all modern popular music recordings are heavily edited, mixed, compressed, and equalized before release, so too are the vast majority of musical theatre cast recordings. The clarity of digital sound magnifies every small imperfection of the natural voice. Compression, reverb, delay, equalization, and in extreme cases, auto-tune are used to combat this.
The implications are wide-reaching in terms of both performance and pedagogical practices. The digital alteration of voices on musical theatre soundtracks and cast recordings for both stage and screen is influencing the vocal habits and development of potential musical theatre performers, as particularly young women, attempt to mimic this compressed, artificial recorded sound, emulating what they consider to be perfection.

This paper addresses two inter-related key questions:

How might this influence the development of musical theatre performance in terms of professional industry practice?

What are the implications of these developments in pedagogical terms and how do we address them?

Although there are several works which present analyses of these developments, none of these works seek to address the implications in terms of pedagogical/training practices or from an industry perspective. None of the existing research presents this analysis within a critical framework which allows us to consider this in terms of gender. This paper will consider why more women are influenced and how this should be addressed within a pedagogical context, both in practice and theory.

Bibliography
Brophy, B (2012) The Singers Instinct. BBVS, Toronto, p108
Edwards, M (2016) Audio Equipment and Vocal Health, Manual of Singing Voice - Rehabilitation, CCC-SLP, Plural Publishing
LeBorgne, W and Rosenberg, M (2014) The Vocal Athlete, Plural Publishing.
Jan Svec, Harm K. Schutte, and Donald G. Miller, 'On Pitch Jumps between Chest and Falsetto Registers in Voice: Data from Living and Excised human Larynges', Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Vol. 106, No. 3, Pt. 1 (September 1999, 1523-29), 1523.
Screlting: a combination of the words screaming and belting, reserved for performers forcefully singing at the top of their range.4 Sep 2014. The Directory of Contemporary Musical Theatre Writers, found online at https://contemporarymusicaltheatre.wordpress.com/2014/09/04/screlting-or-please-dont-stand-so-close-to-me-vol-1/


The conventional wisdom is that property rules induce more (and more efficient) contracting, and that when faced with rigid property rules, intellectual property owners will contract into more flexible liability rules. A series of recent, private copyright deals show some intellectual property owners doing just the opposite: faced with statutory liability rules, they are contracting for more protection than that dictated by law, something this Article calls "super-statutory contracting"—either by opting for a stronger, more tailored liability rule, or by contracting into property rule protection. Through a series of deal analyses, this Article explores this counterintuitive phenomenon, and updates seminal thinking on property entitlements and private ordering in the intellectual property context.

While law and economics scholars have long grappled with the question of whether property rules or liability rules are preferable, and when, they have traditionally ignored a key lever: "perceived control," or a rights holder's impression of their ability to grant or withhold permission to use their work, and/or to name their price for such use. In addition to proposing a recalibration of the relative importance of consolidation, transaction costs, defaults, and damages, this Article identifies and describes perceived control as an essential factor in the licensing enterprise. This has significant implications for legislators and policymakers seeking to better align incentives between licensors and licensees, and for administrators tasked with term and rate setting.


This presentation is to discuss the percutaneous outpatient vertebral augmentation (VA) and reconstruction with a polyethylene intravertebral mesh (OptiMesh® Spineology, Inc., Stillwater, MN, USA) and biologic morcelized bone graft, the surgical indications, operating technique, case illustrations and clinical outcome. In the past vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty have provided excellent pain relief for vertebral compression fracture (VCF), but with a high incidence of complication; i.e., leakage of Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) into spinal canal or vasculature, cardiopulmonary complication, and adjacent vertebral fracture.This percutaneous VA system, is designed, developed, and used for VCF treatment without above complications, and is a true biologic vertebral reconstruction. An OptiMesh® consists of, multi-strand polyester mesh or sac to be packed with specially ground bone chips or morcelized bone chips inside the mesh device to create a hyperdensed graft pack for restoring height resulting in pain relief. This minimally invasive outpatient percutaneous OptiMesh® VA provides an efficacious and controlled delivery mechanism to stabilize and treat painful osteoporotic, traumatic and neoplastic VCF. In addition it can easily be used as an excellent intravertebral spacer and for intravertebral spinal fusion/fixation.


Effective resizing of images should not only use geometric constraints, but consider the image content as well. We present a simple image operator called seam carving that supports content-aware image resizing for both reduction and expansion. A seam is an optimal connected path of pixels on a single image from top to bottom, or left to right, where optimality is defined by an image energy function. By repeatedly carving out or inserting seams in one direction we can change the aspect ratio of an image. By applying these operators in both directions we can retarget the image to a new size. The selection and order of seams protect the content of the image, as defined by the energy function. Seam carving can also be used for image content enhancement and object removal. By storing the order of seams in an image we create multi-size images that are able to continuously change in real time to fit a given size.


Fire is one of the oldest technologies of humankind; indeed, the earliest signs of fire appeared almost two million years ago. Traces of early fire use include charcoal, baked sediments, and burnt bone, but the archaeological evidence is ambiguous due to exposure to the elements for hundreds of thousands of years. Thus the origin of fire use is debatable. The first fire users may have been occasional or opportunistic users, harvesting flames and heat-affected food from wildfires. The art of maintaining the fire developed, and eventually humans learned to make fire at will. Fire technology (pyrotechnology) then became a habitual part of life.
 Fire provided warmth and light, which allowed people to continue activities after dark and facilitated moving into colder climates. Cooking food over or in the fire improved digestibility; over time, humans developed a culinary technology based on fire that included the use of cooking pits or earth ovens and preservation techniques such as smoking the food. Fire could even help in the procurement of food—for example, in clearing vegetation for easier hunting, to increase the fertility of the land, and to promote the growth of certain plants or to trap animals. Many materials could be transformed through fire, such as the color of ochre for use in pigments or the knapping properties of rocks for production of stone tools. Pyrotechnology ultimately became integral to other technologies, such as the production of pottery and iron tools.
 Fire use also has a social component. Initially, fires for cooking and light provided a natural meeting point for people to conduct different activities, thus facilitating communication and the formation of strong social relationships. The social organization of a campsite can sometimes be interpreted from the artifact types found around a fire or in how different fires were placed. For example, access to household fires was likely restricted to certain family members, whereas communal fires allowed access for all group members. There would have been conventions governing the activities that were allowed by a household fire or a communal fire and the placement of different fire types. Furthermore, the social uses of fire included ritual and ceremonial uses, such as cleansing rituals or cremation. The fire use of a prehistoric group can, consequently, reveal information on aspects such as subsistence, social organization, and technology.


This Article culminates a project undertaken by the Walter Leitner International Human Rights Clinic ("Leitner Clinic") at Fordham Law School to examine the effects of land resettlement on communities that were forcibly evicted or are at risk of forced eviction from their homes, and, in particular, the effects of forced evictions on the Boeung Kak Lake community in central Phnom Penh and on people living with HIV/AIDS ("PLWHA"). This Article is based on field research the Leitner Clinic conducted in Cambodia in the fall of 2008. While in Cambodia, the Leitner Clinic interviewed families from four different communities: resettlement camps in Dam Nak Trayoeng and An Dong; Boeung Kak Lake, where residents are facing forced eviction; and the Green Shelters at Borei Keila where forcibly evicted PLWHA and their families await resettlement. The Leitner Clinic also met with local human rights and land rights organizations and organizations working with PLWHA.


This study examined the possible protective effects of thymoquinone (TQ), the main constituent of the volatile oil of black seed (Nigella sativa), against cyclophosphamide (CP)‐induced cardiotoxicity. Adult male Wistar albino rats were divided into four treatment groups. Rats in the first group were served as control. Rats in the second group received TQ (50 mg/L in drinking water) for 12 days. Animals in the third group were injected with a single dose of CP (200 mg/kg, IP) at day 5. Rats in the fourth group received TQ (50 mg/L in drinking water) for 5 days before a single dose of CP (200 mg/kg, IP) and continued thereafter throughout the experiment. On day 13, animals were sacrificed; serum and hearts were isolated and analyzed. Cyclophosphamide resulted in a significant increase in serum creatine kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, cholesterol, triglycerides, creatinine, urea, and tumor necrosis factor‐α. In heart tissues, CP resulted in a significant increase in thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and total nitrate/nitrite and a significant decrease in reduced glutathione, glutathione peroxidase, catalase, and adenosine triphosphate levels. Interestingly, TQ supplementation resulted in a complete reversal of all the biochemical changes induced by CP to their control values. Data from this study suggest that TQ supplementation attenuates CP‐induced cardiotoxicity by a mechanism related, at least in part, to its ability to decrease oxidative and nitrosative stress and to preserve the activity of antioxidant enzymes as well as its ability to improve the mitochondrial function and energy production. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biochem Mol Toxicol 25:135‐142, 2011;View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10:1002/jbt.20369


These two works on life's fleeting pleasures are by Buddhist monks from medieval Japan, but each shows a different world-view. In the short memoir Hojoki, Chomei recounts his decision to withdraw from worldly affairs and live as a hermit in a tiny hut in the mountains, contemplating the impermanence of human existence. Kenko, however, displays a fascination with more earthy matters in his collection of anecdotes, advice and observations. From ribald stories of drunken monks to aching nostalgia for the fading traditions of the Japanese court, Essays in Idleness is a constantly surprising work that ranges across the spectrum of human experience. Meredith McKinney's excellent new translation also includes notes and an introduction exploring the spiritual and historical background of the works. Chomei was born into a family of Shinto priests in around 1155, at at time when the stable world of the court was rapidly breaking up. He became an important though minor poet of his day, and at the age of fifty, withdrew from the world to become a tonsured monk. He died in around 1216. Kenko was born around 1283 in Kyoto. He probably became a monk in his late twenties, and was also noted as a calligrapher. Today he is remembered for his wise and witty aphorisms, 'Essays in Idleness'. Meredith McKinney, who has also translated Sei Shonagon's The Pillow Book for Penguin Classics, is a translator of both contemporary and classical Japanese literature. She lived in Japan for twenty years and is currently a visitng fellow at the Australian National University in Canberra. "[Essays in Idleness is] a most delightful book, and one that has served as a model of Japanese style and taste since the 17th century. These cameo-like vignettes reflect the importance of the little, fleeting futile things, and each essay is Kenko himself". (Asian Student).


Conformational relaxation of individual chain molecules in the entangled state has already been investigated by direct observation in fluorescent DNA experiments. Yet, possible connections between the quantity accessible in those experiments and well defined conformational measures have not been established so far. In this study, the relaxation behavior of the individual polymer conformation in the entangled state is simulated through the primitive chain network model, and compared to well known relaxations like that of stress or electric polarization. Inspired by the experiments, we use as a measure of the individual conformation the maximum distance between segments of a given polymer chain, which is often referred to as chain extension, and indicated by the symbol x. The relaxation behavior is calculated as auto-correlation function at equilibrium, suitably ensemble averaged to eliminate the noise. It is found that such x relaxation is significantly different from both stress relaxation and end-to-end dielectric relaxation, though the power-law exponent of the longest relaxation time vs. chain length appears to be the same for both the stress and the x measure.


BACKGROUND: Acoustic rhinometry has been used to assess nasal patency and to calculate nasal cavity volume. This study used acoustic rhinometry to assess changes in nasal patency after alterations in posture, unilateral mechanical obstruction, temperature, and humidity. METHODS: Eight healthy adult volunteer subjects underwent acoustic rhinometry during the following conditions: (1) sitting position (control), (2) supine position, (3) left lateral recumbent position, (4) nostril unilaterally mechanically blocked, (5) ice pack on neck, (6) drinking cold water, (7) drinking hot water, (8) nasal nebulizer, and (9) oxymetazoline decongestant. RESULTS: Two distinct patterns emerged based on the total nasal cavity volumes in response to the decongestant. Subjects with initial unilateral nasal cavity volumes near the mean had an expected increase in total volume after the topical decongestant administration. There were two subjects with initial volumes of 1 SD above the mean that had a paradoxical decrease in total volume in response to the decongestant. In all subjects, there was a significant decrease in the volume of each of the nasal cavities in response to ingestion of hot water at 1 minute. There was a significant decrease in the volume of the smaller of the two nasal cavities in response to nebulizer treatment and hot water ingestion at 5 minutes. Total nasal cavity volume changes were not significant for any of the variables. CONCLUSION: Changes in nasal cavity volumes were detected by acoustic rhinometry after alterations in posture, unilateral mechanical obstruction, temperature, and humidity. Nebulizer treatment and hot water ingestion caused a significant decrease in nasal volume. The nose of a healthy patient was able to adapt to environmental and physiological changes to maintain a consistent total nasal volume within 15 minutes. 9). Acoustic rhinometry predicts tolerance of nasal continuous positive airway pressure: A Pilot Study. Am J Rhinol 2006 Authors: Morris, L.G., Setlur, j., Burschtin, O.E., Steward, D.L., Jacobs, J.B., Lee, K.C.


Hundreds of millions to greater than one billion North American birds are directly killed each year by human stressors, including collisions with man-made structures, predation by feral and pet cats, intentional and accidental poisoning, and pollution. Because these causes of mortality are increasingly abundant and because some result in large bird die-offs, they have received both increased scientific attention and general media coverage. However, quantifying bird mortality remains imprecise and methods to assess whether these losses cause important biological impacts remain underdeveloped. If local mortality studies followed rigorous design and sampling schemes, allowing comparison of data and scaling up of mortality estimates to broad regions, this could lead to improved analyses. Several analytical techniques – including hierarchical and population models – show potential for improving quantification of anthropogenic mortality of birds and inference of population-level effects. Results arising from im...


Additive Manufacturing (AM), also called 3D Printing (3DP) is not a new technology. The technology was invented over 30 years ago. Originally thought of as simply an application for rapid prototyping, it has developed significantly and is now a viable option for many applications including aerospace, automotive, healthcare, construction and consumer products. This paper offers a brief introduction to the history of AM/3DP and an overview of the current state of the art in AM/3DP technologies focusing on their fundamental processes, typical materials, significant benefits, key applications and critical challenges to implementation. Finally a description of the potential benefits to the maritime industry that can be gained by implementation of AM/3DP technologies is presented. The most immediate is the possibility of more efficient logistics, for example the maritime spare parts supply


While prior research holds the consensus that accounting conservatism can serve as an effective monitoring device, it is not clear whether shareholders can successfully enforce managers' adherence to accounting conservatism when directors fail to fulfill their fiduciary duties. We attempt to answer the question by exploiting staggered enactments of the universal demand (UD) laws in 23 U.S. states. UD laws raise procedural hurdles for shareholders to file derivative lawsuits against managers and directors who allegedly breach their fiduciary duties. For firms incorporated in states that adopt UD laws, restrictions on shareholder litigation rights shift power to managers, thereby weakening directors' incentives to monitor managers. We predict and find a decrease in conditional conservatism following the enactment of UD laws. The main result is attributable to both the direct channel (through restriction of shareholder litigation rights) and the indirect channel (through the deployment of management-friendly governance provisions). The decline in conditional conservatism exists only for firms with low institutional ownership, low external equity dependence, or high ex-ante derivative lawsuit risk. Our findings suggest that shareholders cannot successfully demand accounting conservatism when managers possess extensive power and directors lack the incentives to monitor managers.


This paper aims to broaden the scope of constructivist theory on norms diffusion by considering the case of religious normative action by non-Western international actors. Drawing on Habermasian normative debates about the post-secular, the paper conceptualizes world society as a post-secular global public sphere where the process of institutional translation acts as a social mechanism of norm contestation and international diffusion. Institutional translation is empirically investigated through two case studies in the normative activity of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) at the United Nations (UN). The first case looks at the dialogue of civilizations norm promoted by the OIC. This norm, after going through a successful process of translation into the secular liberal language, garnered international support and was finally institutionalized in the UN's Alliance of Civilizations. The second case focuses on the principle of defamation of religion. This norm, facing ample translation barriers, was largely opposed by international actors at the UN and eventually failed to become an internationally recognized norm. We conclude that the mechanism of institutional translation is central to explaining how norms diffuse internationally across different cultural and normative contexts.


The dynamical behavior of optical vortices during propagation of an electromagnetic wave is investigated. The propagation of these waves is computed with rigorous scalar diffraction theory. It was observed that a single optical vortex propagates perpendicularly to the wave front. Two optical vortices with the same charges (isopolar vortex pairs) are observed to gyrate around each other during propagation. Two optical vortices with opposite charges (bipolar vortex pairs) are observed to drift laterally away from the general direction of propagation. In cases in which interference between waves is allowed to occur or in which wave fronts are converging to focal points, bipolar vortex pairs are sporadically created and annihilated. An elementary model for the propagation of vortex pairs is proposed to explain the gyration and drift phenomena.


Given a connected graph $G=(V,E)$, Let $r\geq1$ be an integer and $B_r(v)$ denote the ball of radius $r$ centered at $v\in V$, i.e., the set of all vertices within distance $r$ from $v$. A subset of vertices $C \subseteq V$ is an $r$-identifying code of $G$ (for a given nonzero constant $r\in \mathbb{N}$) if and only if all the sets $B_r(v)\cap C$ are nonempty and pairwise distinct. These codes were introduced in [M. G. Karpovsky, K. Chakrabarty, L. B. Levitin, On a New Class of Codes for Identifying Vertices in Graphs , IEEE Transactions on Information Theory 44(2) (1998), 599–611] to model a fault-detection problem in multiprocessor systems. They are also used to devise location-detection schemes in the framework of wireless sensor networks. These codes enable one to locate a malfunctioning device in these networks, provided one scans all the vertices of the code. We study here an adaptive version of identifying codes, which enables to perform tests dynamically. The main feature of such codes is that they may require significantly fewer tests, compared to usual static identifying codes. In this paper we study adaptive identifying codes in torii in the king lattice. In this framework, adaptive identification can be closely related to a Renyi-type search problem studied by M. Ruszinko [M. Ruszinko, On a 2-dimensional Search Problem, Journal of Statistical Planning and Inference 37(3) (1993), 371–383].


This article examines in depth works of Jewish-Israeli and modern-Orthodox artist Andi Arnovitz (b. US, 1959) that relate to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The article utilizes tools that arise from cultural research, in particular the critical and alternative view that feminist discourse offers with respect to the concept of multiculturalism. Thus the article makes use of concepts as the "productive look" (Silverman), the "ambivalent text" (Lotman), and "transversal politics" (Yuval-Davis) to provide a platform for understanding the works. The article examines a corpus of artworks that address the "other" in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the emotional relationship towards pull of the land. Works of this kind constitute a significant bulk of Arnovitz's oeuvre. Thus, although her work is regarded through a very specific lens, this is also an opportunity to gain insights into the artist's overall manipulation of her materials. Moreover, the works discussed here will serve as a case in point of modern-Orthodox feminist art's broader occupation with relations between Judaism and Islam and with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  This article will show how Arnovitz aims for a "productive look," with her "ambivalent gaze" enabling a fresh look and re-examination of the other, from within traditional Jewish frameworks. Arnovitz brings deep humanistic sensitivity to her examination of Jewish-Islamic relations. A thorough examination of this voice reveals a combination of a conservative world and a profound and non-conformist spirit, based on the values of pluralism and humanism.


We present a novel image representation method based on shift-invariant spaces. Unlike existing rendering methods, our proposed approach consists of two steps: an analog acquisition step that traces rays through the scene, and a subsequent digital processing step that filters the intermediate digital image to obtain the coefficients of a minimum-error continuous image approximation. Our approach can be easily incorporated in existing renderers with very little change and with little-to-no computational overhead. Additionally, we introduce the necessary tools needed to analyze the smoothing and post-aliasing properties of the minimum-error approximations.

We provide examples of spaces --- generated by the uniform B-splines --- that can be readily used in conjunction with the two-dimensional Cartesian grid. Our experimental results demonstrate that minimum-error approximations significantly enhance image quality by preserving high-frequency details that are usually smoothed out by existing image anti-aliasing approaches.