This research attempts to improve our knowledge on the study of the use of force for diversionary purposes by addressing three issues that have been left unaddressed. First, I seek to develop a more complete perspective on the diversionary behavior of leaders executing under different institutional constraints by emphasizing issue salience. Empirical results demonstrate that while autocratic leaders divert more regularly under the pressure of domestic unrest, leaders of democratic and mixed regimes are more likely to initiate disputes under deteriorating economic conditions. Second, I explore the effects of domestic unrest on conflict behavior of rivals. Findings demonstrate that while international and strategic rivals are more likely to initiate conflict against their rivals, this relation disappears when international rivals are separated into their enduring and proto components. Finally, this dissertation introduces a new perspective to the study of diversion by associating diversion with corruption. My findings reveal that while corruption has a strong negative effect on the external use of force, the effects of corrupt on the external use of force in combination with domestic unrest appear to be positive. I also observe that corruption has a strong positive effect on militarized interstate dispute initiation in enduring rivalry settings. Likewise, prevalence of corruption in democratic regimes increases latitude towards belligerent foreign policies.


The work was carried out in Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul State, Brazil, between May 10th, 2002, and July 18th, 2002, in a Latossolo Vermelho distroferrico, clay texture. The fresh mass yield and gross income of 'Todo ano' bunching onion and of 'Nova Zelândia' spinach cultivated under mono-crop and inter-crop system were evaluated. Bunching onion under mono-crop system (C), spinach under mono-crop system (E) and bunching onion/spinach under inter-crop system (CE) were studied and arranged in a randomized block experimental design with six replications. Spinach propagation was done by seed and of bunching onion by cutting. Harvest of bunching onion and spinach was done at 69 days after the beginning of propagation by cutting the leaves of bunching onion plants, near the soil, and above the first new bud of spinach branches. Fresh mass yields in t ha-1 and inter-crop system were evaluated using the expression of land equivalent ration (LER). Validation of inter-crop system was done by gross income per each culture and total, using the prices paid to producer. Bunching onion and spinach plants, as under mono-crop as under inter-crop system, had different performances, with an average of 1.59 t ha-1 for bunching onion and 19.70 t ha-1 for spinach. Fresh mass yield of bunching onion and spinach plants under mono-crop system presented respectively, increases of 35.55% (0.48 t ha-1) and of 23.74% (4.18 t ha-1) in relation to those under inter-crop system. Land equivalent ratio (LER), considering fresh mass yield of cultures, was of 1.55, which indicates that inter-crop system was effective. For bunching onion producers, the inter-crop system using bunching onion/spinach inter-crop system was the best, since it could have induced monetary increases per hectare of R$ 52,698.34. For spinach producer, spinach/bunching onion inter-crop system was the worst, since it could have induced monetary decrease per hectare of R$ 6,678.28.


Draft lottery data combined with Danish longitudinal administrative records show that military service can reduce criminal activity for youth offenders who enter service at ages 19-22. For this group property crime is reduced for up to five years from the beginning of service, and the effect is therefore not only a result of incapacitation while enrolled. We find no effect of service on violent crimes. We also find no effect of military service on educational attainment and unemployment, but we find negative effects of service on earnings. These results suggest that military service does not upgrade productive human capital directly, but rather impacts criminal activity through other channels, for example by changing the attitudes to criminal activity for this group.


STATISTICAL MODELING OF INTERFRACTIONAL TISSUE DEFORMATION AND ITS APPLICATION IN RADIATION THERAPY PLANNING By Douglas J. Vile, B.S. A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2015 Major Director: Jeffrey F. Williamson, Ph.D. Professor, Medical Physics Department of Radiation Oncology In radiation therapy, interfraction organ motion introduces a level of geometric uncertainty into the planning process. Plans, which are typically based upon a single instance of anatomy, must be robust against daily anatomical variations. For this problem, a model of the magnitude, direction, and likelihood of deformation is useful. In this thesis, principal component analysis (PCA) is used to statistically model the 3D organ motion for 19 prostate cancer patients, each with 8-13 fractional computed tomography (CT) images. Deformable image registration and the resultant displacement vector fields (DVFs) are used to quantify the interfraction systematic and random motion. By applying the PCA technique to the random DVFs, principal modes of random tissue deformation were determined for each patient, and a method for sampling synthetic random DVFs was developed. The PCA model was then extended to describe the principal modes of systematic and random organ motion for the population of patients. A leave-one-out study tested both the systematic and random motion model's ability to represent PCA training set DVFs. The random and systematic DVF PCA models allowed the reconstruction of these data with absolute mean errors between 0.5-0.9 mm and 1-2 mm, respectively. To the best of the author's knowledge, this study is the first successful effort to build a fully 3D statistical PCA model of systematic tissue deformation in a population of patients. By sampling synthetic systematic and random errors, organ occupancy maps were created for bony and prostate-centroid patient setup processes. By thresholding these maps, PCA-based planning target volume (PTV) was created and tested against conventional margin recipes (van Herk for bony alignment and 5 mm fixed [3 mm posterior] margin for centroid alignment) in a virtual clinical trial for low-risk prostate cancer. Deformably accumulated delivered dose served as a surrogate for clinical outcome. For the bony landmark setup subtrial, the PCA PTV significantly (p<0.05) reduced D30, D20, and D5 to bladder and D50 to rectum, while increasing rectal D20 and D5. For the centroid-aligned setup, the PCA PTV significantly reduced all bladder DVH metrics and trended to lower rectal toxicity metrics. All PTVs covered the prostate with the prescription dose.


DensePose supersedes traditional landmark detectors by densely mapping image pixels to body surface coordinates. This power, however, comes at a greatly increased annotation cost, as supervising the model requires to manually label hundreds of points per pose instance. In this work, we thus seek methods to significantly slim down the DensePose annotations, proposing more efficient data collection strategies. In particular, we demonstrate that if annotations are collected in video frames, their efficacy can be multiplied for free by using motion cues. To explore this idea, we introduce DensePose-Track, a dataset of videos where selected frames are annotated in the traditional DensePose manner. Then, building on geometric properties of the DensePose mapping, we use the video dynamic to propagate ground-truth annotations in time as well as to learn from Siamese equivariance constraints. Having performed exhaustive empirical evaluation of various data annotation and learning strategies, we demonstrate that doing so can deliver significantly improved pose estimation results over strong baselines. However, despite what is suggested by some recent works, we show that merely synthesizing motion patterns by applying geometric transformations to isolated frames is significantly less effective, and that motion cues help much more when they are extracted from videos.


This exceptional chronicle takes readers on a visual tour of the glittering "white city" that emerged along the swampy south shore of Lake Michigan as a symbol of Chicago's rebirth and pride twenty-two years after the Great Fire. The World's Columbian Exposition, which commemorated the 400th anniversary of Columbus' voyage to America, was held from April to October in 1893. The monumental event welcomed twenty-eight million visitors, covered six hundred acres of land, boasted dozens of architectural wonders, and was home to some sixty-five thousand exhibits from all over the world. From far and wide, people came to experience the splendors of the fair, to witness the magic sparkle of electric lights or ride the world's first Ferris wheel, known as the Eiffel Tower of Chicago. Norman Bolotin and Christine Laing have assembled a dazzling photographic history of the fair. Here are panoramic views of the concourse - replete with waterways and gondolas, the amazing moving sidewalk, masterful landscaping and horticultural splendors - and reproductions of ads, flyers, souvenirs, and keepsakes. Here too are the grand structures erected solely for the fair, from the golden doorway of the Transportation Building to the aquariums and ponds of the Fisheries Building, as well as details such as menu prices, the cost to rent a Kodak camera, and injury and arrest reports from the Columbian Guard. This unique volume tells the story of the World's Columbian Exposition from its conception and construction to the scientific, architectural, and cultural legacies it left behind, inviting readers to imagine what it would have been like to spend a week at the fair.


The physical‐based geometric‐optical Li–Strahler model can be inverted to retrieve forest canopy structural variables. One of the main input variables of the inverted model is the fractional component of sunlit background (K g). K g is calculated by using pure reflectance spectra (endmembers) of the viewed surface components. In this paper, the feasibility of up‐scaling from high (Quickbird) to medium (Hyperion) spatial resolution data for extracting the required endmembers is demonstrated. Furthermore, the sensitivity of the endmembers used as input for inverting Li–Strahler model is evaluated. After validating the inverted model results, namely spatially explicit forest mean crown closure and crown diameter using field measurements, it can be concluded that the regional scaling‐based endmembers derived from the linear unmixing model are the best ones to be used in combination with the inverted Li–Strahler model for quantitatively monitoring disturbance in forest canopy structure.


This research aimed to study the perceived threats of information security, their frequency of occurrence and the perceived main source of information security threats
in Malaysian academic libraries. Utilising the relevant literature, a possible list of information security threats were listed and investigated. In addition, the researcher also studied the levels of implementation of information security measures in these academic libraries. The information security measures were grouped into five (5) components that represent the proposed library information security assessment model (LISAM). The five (5) components included the technological measures, information security policies, security procedures, security methods and security awareness creation activities. The researcher also studied the differences between the academic libraries in applying information security measures based on the type of university, number of staff, years in ICT adoption, yearly information security budget, availability of information system (IS) security staff and availability of wireless connection. Data used was based on structured questionnaires collected from a total of 39 individuals who were responsible for the information systems (IS) or information technology (IT) in academic libraries in
Malaysia. The pilot test and the actual data collection indicated all the five components in the instruments are reliable with cronbach alpha correlation coefficients above α = 0.60. Findings revealed that hardware security threats (70.0%), human-related threats (66.0%) and environmental threats (51.0%) were perceived as the most common
information security threats in Malaysian academic libraries. However, data security threat was perceived as the least threatening to these academic libraries. There were slightly high frequencies of occurrence of hardware maintenance errors, use of unauthorised hardware and malicious code attacks in these academic libraries. Parallel
with the existing research findings, hardware and software failures (56.4%) as well as human-related threats (41.0%) were perceived as the main root causes of information
security incidents in these academic libraries. Most of technological measures for hardware, software, workstation, network, server, data and environmental security have
been implemented and reviewed on regular basis in these academic libraries. This study found significant differences among academic libraries in Malaysia in applying technological measures due to yearly information system's security budget and availability of information systems (IS) security staff. However, most of information
security procedures, information security administrative tools and information security awareness creation were rated at Level 2 (Only some part of measures have been
implemented), these findings were discouraging as rating of Level 4 (Implemented and reviewed on regular basis) and Level 5 (Fully implemented and recognised as good example for other libraries) would be better reflection of a well implemented organisational measures in libraries. This study found significant differences among academic libraries in Malaysia in applying the organisational measures due to number of staff, yearly information system security budget and availability of information system (IS) security staff. With regard to the overall security status of information security management in Malaysian academic libraries based on the proposed information security assessment tool for libraries, findings revealed that half of those academic libraries (55.3%) surveyed have good practice of technological security measures but require improvement on organisational measures. This may be due to the over-emphasis on technology as the sole solution to information security problems in these academic libraries. Therefore, it is necessary to put organisational measures in
place as relying on technology alone will not solve the information security problems effectively.


The disastrous effects of the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake in Taiwan demonstrated an urgent need for better knowledge of the island's potential earthquake sources. Toward this end, we have prepared a neotectonic map of Taiwan. The map and related cross sections are based upon structural and geomorphic expression of active faults and folds both in the field and on shaded relief maps prepared from a 40-m resolution digital elevation model, augmented by geodetic and seismologic data. The active tandem suturing and tandem disengagement of a volcanic arc and a continental sliver to and from the Eurasian continental margin have created two neotectonic belts in Taiwan. In the southern part of the orogen both belts are in the final stage of consuming oceanic crust. Collision and suturing occur in the middle part of both belts, and postcollisional collapse and extension dominate the island's northern and northeastern flanks. Both belts consist of several distinct neotectonic domains. Seven domains (Kaoping, Chiayi, Taichung, Miaoli, Hsinchu, Ilan, and Taipei) constitute the western belt, and four domains (Lutao-Lanyu, Taitung, Hualien, and Ryukyu) make up the eastern belt. Each domain is defined by a distinct suite of active structures. For example, the Chelungpu fault (source of the 1999 earthquake) and its western neighbor, the Changhua fault, are the principal components of the Taichung Domain, whereas both its neighboring domains, the Chiayi and Miaoli Domains, are dominated by major blind faults. In most of the domains the size of the principal active fault is large enough to produce future earthquakes with magnitudes in the mid-7 values.


The perspective and concern considered here is the internal‐subjective evaluation of HRM effectiveness. This involved investigating managers' and employees' perceptions about standards of HRM and of the work of human resources (HR) staff in their own organizations. Survey research indicates that there is a pattern of more positive perceptions of HR staff than of overall standards in HRM. This disassociation presents a challenge to the validity of internal subjective evaluations. One explanation is that features of stereotyping are influencing subjective evaluations of HR staff. The concept of stereotyping is applied and consideration is given to "cognitive efficiency", inter‐group dynamics and broad social power theories. The author concludes that HR staff have benefited from the stereotype connection in the past but in an era where more explicit objective standards are increasingly expected, they may not continue to benefit from such positive effects. Nonetheless, an enhanced awareness of the positive behaviours that can arise from dealing with stereotyping can be useful in achieving high standards of HRM.


Stock prices are more informative when the information has less social value. Speculators with limited resources making costly (private) information production decisions must decide to produce information about some firms and not others. We show that producing and trading on private information is most profitable in the stocks of firms with poor corporate governance -- precisely because it will not be acted upon -- and less profitable at firms with better corporate governance. To the extent that the information in the stock price is used for disciplining the CEO by the board of directors, the informed trader has a reduced incentive to produce the information in the first place. We test our model using the probability of informed trading (PIN) and the probability of forced CEO turnover in a simultaneous-equation system. The empirical results support the model predictions. Stock prices are efficient, but there is a limit to the disciplining role they can fulfill. We apply the model to evaluate the effects of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.


Since the beginning of the reforms three decades ago, Beijing has progressively become more urban and more global. With the economic reforms and the gaige kaifang (the opening of the country), the city has been steadily growing in both size and population and an important part of this urbanization process can be observed in the changes of its very own urbanity, as it allows more choices and possibilities for its inhabitants. During Mao's era, urban life and daily rhythms were essentially defined by work and family activities; similarly, urban spaces were loosely differentiated and mobility, almost inexistent. Along with the reforms came an increasing urban diversity – spatial, social, cultural and functional – that results in a change of city rhythms and urban practices. Hence, social and urban transformations are giving opportunities to individuals to experience different spaces, activities and lifestyles through their daily activities. One of the objectives of this research project is to make visible the transformation of space carried out by citizens. This aspect of urbanization, which is part of day-to-day practices and choices, has indeed a great importance in shaping contemporary Beijing. The first question that I would like to explore in this project is: how, in a rapidly changing environment, do Beijing residents practice the city? How do they get informed about and how do they grasp – or not – the increasing possibilities that the city is offering? In fact, there is an important difference between being aware of the "potential" and actually realising it: this is the reason why I am trying to understand not only how Beijingers perceive their city but also how they actually practice it: which places do they go to? What kind of activities do they do? What are their daily rhythms?


The present paper explores biomedical research coverage in the Indian English-language newspapers. Science and technology coverage in the Indian English-language newspapers revealed dominant representation of biomedical research. The research reported was mainly from foreign sources, mostly performed in US, UK and other developed countries of Europe. Plausibly, this was the major reason that areas of medical concerns in foreign countries such as Neuroscience, Oncology, Genetics and Cardiovascular research constituted more than one-third of the total space whereas neglected tropical diseases have almost been neglected in the coverage. This is despite the fact that tropical and other neglected diseases constitute the greatest health problem in India. The study discusses the significance of this research for policy planners, media, health information dissemination and those concerned about informed and science literate citizenry in the country.


The authors evaluate the effectiveness of private and collective technical, marketing, and financial support systems for the Republic of Korea's small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurs. Their report draws on a survey of 122 SMEs that make woven textiles (42 firms), auto parts (20 firms), electronic parts (20 firms), and factory-automation products (40 firms). Although Korea has a dense network of public technology-support institutions, Korean SMEs tend to turn to private sources of technical support (especially from buyers, suppliers, and moonlighting engineers) more often than in public institutions. Even so, some collective support was used often and valued highly, especially in technologically dynamic sectors. For technical assistance to be timely and relevant, its delivery must increasingly be decentralized - to industry-specific institutes and to geographic clusters of SMEs in the same industry. Among various collective providers of technical support for Korean SMEs, at least one was used by more than half of the SMEs surveyed. Collective marketing support was used much less than private sources and was not considered very useful - except by firms in the initial stages of exporting or in the pioneer stage of a new export industry. Generally, networks of local agents and foreign traders developed as firms gained in export experience. Financial assistance is the most critical form of support for SMEs. The Korean government has made extensive use of parastatal finance institutions, target credit, and credit guarantee schemes. Government intervention in finance was so pervasive that the line between private and collective support blurred. Most SMEs sampled used at least one collective institution of financial support, and rated them very positively.


We investigate phenomenological four-dimensional (4D) dS solutions with co-dimension 2 branes and finite 4D Planck mass in six dimensions. We present the conditions under which six-dimensional compactifications with holomorphic axion–dilaton field or models with pure gravity with local sources can yield 4D dS solutions. Different classes of solutions are specified by a holomorphic function describing different embeddings of multiple conical branes. Depending on the local singularities of this holomorphic function and the topology of the compact dimension, one has to introduce 3-branes creating a deficit angle equal to π and/or 4-branes with positive tensions.


Developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) is a dislocation of the hip joint that is present at birth. The condition is found in babies or young children. A hip that is truly dislocated in an infant should be detected at birth, but some cases are mild and symptoms may not develop until after birth, which is why multiple exams are recommended.


Radiation therapy of tumors progresses continuously and so do devices, sharing a global market of about $ 4 billions, growing at an annual rate exceeding 5%. Most of the progress involves tumor targeting, multi-beam irradiation, reduction of damage on healthy tissues and critical organs, dose fractioning. This fast-evolving scenario is the moving benchmark for the progress of the laser-based accelerators towards clinical uses. As for electrons, both energy and dose requested by radiotherapy are available with plasma accelerators driven by lasers in the power range of tens of TW but several issues have still to be faced before getting a prototype device for clinical tests. They include capability of varying electron energy, stability of the process, reliability for medical users. On the other side hadron therapy, presently applied to a small fraction of cases but within an exponential growth, is a primary option for the future. With such a strong motivation, research on laser-based proton/ion acceleration has been supported in the last decade in order to get performances suitable to clinical standards. None of these performances has been achieved so far with laser techniques. In the meantime a rich crop of data have been obtained in radiobiological experiments performed with beams of particles produced with laser techniques. It is quite significant however that most of the experiments have been performed moving bio samples to laser labs, rather moving laser equipment to bio labs or clinical contexts. This give us the measure that laser community cannot so far provide practical devices usable by non-laser people.


Spying the Underground refers to the buried utilities that are often hidden from the eyes of citizens and city engineers. Since they are difficult to localize and measure from street level, utility plans are the only models that convey geometry information about them. Nowadays, Augmented Reality (AR) techniques allow us to display three-dimensional (3D) virtual utility models over a surface level camera image. To achieve this, 3D information needs to be added to existing utility models. Therefore, we developed a data model that allows storage of depth and geometry information. Based on this, we developed a fuzzy model that will visualize a fuzzy shape that indicates the uncertainty related to the location of each utility. We developed all this while generating 3D models for subsurface utilities at Oostplein Rotterdam.


Nadia Boulanger - composer, critic, impresario and the most famous composition teacher of the twentieth century - was also a performer of international repute. Her concerts and recordings with her vocal ensemble introduced audiences on both sides of the Atlantic to unfamiliar historical works and new compositions. This book considers how gender shaped the possibilities that marked Boulanger's performing career, tracing her meteoric rise as a conductor in the 1930s to origins in the classroom and the salon. Brooks investigates Boulanger's promotion of structurally motivated performance styles, showing how her ideas on performance of historical repertory and new music relate to her teaching of music analysis and music history. The book explores the way in which Boulanger's musical practice relied upon her understanding of the historically transcendent masterwork, in which musical form and meaning are ideally joined, and show how her ideas relate to broader currents in French aesthetics and culture.


DIRECT NUMERIC SIMULATION OF SHOCK WAVE STRUCTURES WITHOUT THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL VISCOSITY Kenneth B Jordan, B.S., M.S. Marquette University, 2011 The purpose of this work is to directly simulate shock wave structures without the use of artificial viscosity. The commonly used artificial viscosity model is replaced with an irreversibility model. Irreversibilities are not typically taken into account when modeling the shock processes because shocks are resolved in a large domain where the thickness of the shock is thin compared to the numeric grid resolution. The result is the shock is poorly resolved. In addition processes other than shock processes are adiabatic and reversible. The result is artificial viscosity, a form of irreversibility, is added to the numeric cells near the shock in order to account for the irreversibilities generated within the shock structure. In this work the shocks are resolved and the physical sources of irreversibilities, namely viscous dissipation and localized heat transfer, are directly incorporated within the shock process. The resulting simulations yield a more realistic shock structure, the shape of which can be integrated to determine the resulting increase in entropy of the shocked material. Metrics such as shock thickness and wave structure compare favorably to experimental results. Irreversibility is traditionally accounted for by inserting artificial viscosity into the energy balance. Artificial viscosity reduces numerical overshoot, diminishes the total energy, and smears out the shock front over several cells thereby eliminating the need for nanoscale grid resolution necessary to resolve the shock front and numerically resolve the gradients. This approach fails to correctly model the shock wave structure of distended materials because their dynamic loading is a highly dissipative process and completely irreversible. Thus, the work described herein models on a bulk scale a thermodynamically consistent representation of the irreversibilities associated with shock wave formation such as viscous dissipation and heat conduction and seeks to determine if these sources of irreversibility are comparable to artificial viscosity.


We show a new camera based interaction solution where an ordinary camera can detect small optical tags from a relatively large distance. Current optical tags, such as barcodes, must be read within a short range and the codes occupy valuable physical space on products. We present a new low-cost optical design so that the tags can be shrunk to 3mm visible diameter, and unmodified ordinary cameras several meters away can be set up to decode the identity plus the relative distance and angle. The design exploits the bokeh effect of ordinary cameras lenses, which maps rays exiting from an out of focus scene point into a disk like blur on the camera sensor. This bokeh-code or Bokode is a barcode design with a simple lenslet over the pattern. We show that a code with 15μm features can be read using an off-the-shelf camera from distances of up to 2 meters. We use intelligent binary coding to estimate the relative distance and angle to the camera, and show potential for applications in augmented reality and motion capture. We analyze the constraints and performance of the optical system, and discuss several plausible application scenarios.


This article looks into the claim that the international academic community of educational technologies seems to have functioned in a "tribal" way, having formed themselves around tribe-like patterns. It therefore addresses the research question: What are these claimed tribe-like practices that such a community exhibits? This question is answered qualitatively, examining empirically the habits of three Saudi Arabian Bedouin real tribes, followed by empirical comparison of these tribal habits with the habits of the academic community of educational technologies. Having analysed the data using the grounded theory approach, three key themes emerged: Cultural Similarities between Tribes and Academic Communities; Political Similarities between Tribes and Academic Communities; and Social Similarities between Tribes and Academic Communities. Having considered these themes collectively with reference to the existing literature, a theoretical proposition has been grounded: that academic communities are similar to tribes in the sense that all, naturally, constitute themselves in ethnic groups characterised by distinct cultural, political and social norms. The implication is thus that such communities are, at least partially, culturally, politically and socially different. Echoing such an implication, the recommendation is not to seek to remove such cultural, political and social differences and therefore make them act as one, but rather to foster cross-community cultural, political and social exchange and therefore learning.


Purpose: To evaluate the utility of artificial ascites induction for radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of peridiaphragmatic hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) through retrospective cohort analysis comparing characteristics and complications of peridiaphragmatic HCC without the use of artificial ascites to non-peridiaphragmatic HCC. Materials and Methods: IRB approval was obtained. From September 2003 to December 2008, 150 consecutive patients with hepatic tumors received percutaneous RFA. 110 patients had presumed HCC, and of those 21 had lesions abutting the diaphragm. Of the remaining 89 patients with non-peridiaphragmatic HCC lesions, 21 were randomly selected for the comparison group. RFA volume, major and minor complication rates, pain, technical success, and recurrence rates were compared between the two groups. Results: There was no statistical difference in RFA volume (P = 0.962), overall major complication rate (P = 0.343) and minor complication rate (P = 0.118) between the two groups. However, the peridiaphragmatic group that underwent RFA with a clustered-needle demonstrated a statistically significant higher proportion of major complications compared to the non-peridiaphragmatic clustered-needle group (P = 0.033). There was no statistical difference in pain severity (P = 0.8802) or pain location (P = 0.15). There was no statistical difference in technical success rates (P = 1), local tumor progression rates (P = 1), or time to local tumor recurrence (P = 0.67). Conclusion: Artificial ascites induction for RFA of HCC lesions adjacent to the diaphragm may not be necessary, although clustered electrode technique should be avoided in this location as they present with a higher complication rate.


In this, the second of two articles that deal with the history of the South African National Defence Force in the first ten years of its existence (1994 to 2004), the track record of the SANDF is critically analysed in an effort to find answers to questions like: How successful has the SANDF been? What problems had to be overcome? To what extent have the challenges been met? In the course of the article reference is, inter alia, made to allegations of racism, problems with regard to discipline, the impact that HIV / AIDS has on the SANDF, rationalisation, the controversial arms deal, and the role played by the SANDF in peace-keeping operations (including its involvement in Lesotho, 1998-2000).


None of the current surveillance streams monitoring the presence of scrapie in Great Britain provide a comprehensive and unbiased estimate of the prevalence of the disease at the holding level. Previous work to estimate the under-ascertainment adjusted prevalence of scrapie in Great Britain applied multiple-list capture-recapture methods. The enforcement of new control measures on scrapie-affected holdings in 2004 has stopped the overlapping between surveillance sources and, hence, the application of multiple-list capture-recapture models. Alternative methods, still under the capture-recapture methodology, relying on repeated entries in one single list have been suggested in these situations. In this article, we apply one-list capture-recapture approaches to data held on the Scrapie Notifications Database to estimate the undetected population of scrapie-affected holdings with clinical disease in Great Britain for the years 2002, 2003, and 2004. For doing so, we develop a new diagnostic tool for indication of heterogeneity as well as a new understanding of the Zelterman and Chao's lower bound estimators to account for potential unobserved heterogeneity. We demonstrate that the Zelterman estimator can be viewed as a maximum likelihood estimator for a special, locally truncated Poisson likelihood equivalent to a binomial likelihood. This understanding allows the extension of the Zelterman approach by means of logistic regression to include observed heterogeneity in the form of covariates—in case studied here, the holding size and country of origin. Our results confirm the presence of substantial unobserved heterogeneity supporting the application of our two estimators. The total scrapie-affected holding population in Great Britain is around 300 holdings per year. None of the covariates appear to inform the model significantly.


Pumpkinseed(Lepomis gibbosus)is an exotic fish species widely distributed in Europe and it has expanded its distribution area in Turkey since its first report in 1982. It is well known that invasive species like L. gibbosus adapt to introduced habitats relatively well. In order to evaluate morphological variation within this invasive species, sampling was carried out in June 2012 and May 2013 in the Aegean and Thrace regions, respectively. Body-form variability in sampled populations of L. gibbosus was investigated using landmark-based geometric morphometrics. L. gibbosus showed significant geographic- and habitat-based differences with and without allometric standardization. However, outcomes of these results differed significantly. Differences between locality-based Procrustes distances were found to support habitat-based differentiation. These results suggest that, depending on the hypothesis of the morphometric study, it might be important to implement allometric regression and standardization. Additionally, the range extension of L. gibbosus needs to be monitored carefully. It had previously been reported only from the Thrace and Mugla regions. However, according to our data, it has been sampled from two new basins, Susurluk and Sakarya.


Wetlands are the largest natural source of methane to the atmosphere, but factors controlling methane emissions from wetlands are a major source of uncertainty in greenhouse gas budgets and projections of future climate change. We conducted a controlled outdoor mesocosm experiment to assess the effects of plant community structure (functional group richness and composition) on potential methane production and potential iron reduction in freshwater emergent marshes. Four plant functional groups (facultative annuals, obligate annuals, reeds, and tussocks) were arranged in a full-factorial design and additional mesocosms were assigned as no-plant controls. Soil samples from the top 10 cm were collected three times during the growing season to determine potential methane production and potential iron reduction (in unamended soils and in soils amended with 200 mM formate). These data were compared to soil organic matter, soil pH, and previously published data on above and belowground plant biomass. We found that functional group richness was less important than the presence of specific functional groups (reeds or tussocks) in mediating potential iron reduction. In our mesocosms, where oxidized iron was abundant and electron donors were limiting, iron reducing bacteria outcompeted methanogens, keeping methane production barely detectable in unamended lab incubations. When the possibility of re-oxidizing iron was eliminated via anaerobic incubations and the electron donor limitation was removed by adding formate, potential methane production increased and followed the same patterns as potential iron reduction. Our findings suggest that in the absence of abundant oxidized iron and/or the presence of abundant electron donors, wetlands dominated by either reeds or tussocks may have increased methane production compared to wetlands dominated by annuals. Depending on functional traits such as plant transport and rhizospheric oxygenation capacities, this could potentially lead to increased methane emissions in some wetlands. Additional research examining the role these plant functional groups play in other aspects of methane dynamics will be useful given the importance of methane as a greenhouse gas.


This paper sets forth a theoretical discussion of a number of specific benefits that can arise through the expansion of civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) as a way to improve public sector management. It posits that CRVS can be the main source of information to improve policy planning and coordination, as well as increasing transparency and preventing corruption and fraud, among other key features of public sector management. CRVS may supplement the census and other conventional instruments for collecting personal and demographic information on society. The paper also discusses practical ways to maximize the benefits of CRVS and the potential value of civil registration by opening a discussion on the costs and benefits of an expanded utilization of CRVS.


ABSTRACT Budding yeast Rad53 is an essential protein kinase that is phosphorylated and activated in a MEC1- and TEL1-dependent manner in response to DNA damage. We studied the role of Rad53 phosphorylation through mutation of consensus phosphorylation sites for upstream kinases Mec1 and Tel1. Alanine substitution of the Rad53 amino-terminal TQ cluster region reduced viability and impaired checkpoint functions. These substitution mutations spared the basal interaction with Asf1 and the DNA damage-induced interactions with Rad9. However, they caused a decrease in DNA damage-induced Rad53 kinase activity and an impaired interaction with the protein kinase Dun1. The Dun1 FHA (Forkhead-associated) domain recognized the amino-terminal TQ cluster of Rad53 after DNA damage or replication blockade. Thus, the phosphorylation of Rad53 by upstream kinases is important not only for Rad53 activation but also for creation of an interface between Rad53 and Dun1.


A Review of The Network Society: A New Context For Planning edited by Louis Albrechts and Seymour J. Mandelbaum reviewed by Lasse Gerrits published by Routledge ISBN 9780415701518 (2005) Introduction It is very hard to overestimate the impact of Manuel Castells's seminal The Information Age on the social sciences. Since this trilogy was published during the 1990s, with a revised edition in 2000, many scholars have adopted the network paradigm to base their work on, and have sought to tease out the implications of networks for their own particular research. This resulted in a plethora of books and articles that use the ideas of networks to understand a certain empirical phenomenon. While some may lament that this has contaminated the network concept, it actually shows that one of the great strengths of Castells's work is that it invites further exploration and experimentation with different ways to understand social and physical reality. From the onset, it was clear that The Information Age would have major consequences for the way we understand the intersection between the physical environment and the social environment. This edited volume is another attempt to use the network paradigm in order to investigate a vast range of topics in planning. It brings together a number of papers that were written for the Third Joint Conference of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning and Association of European Schools of Planning (2003). The bookis part ofthe Networked Cities Series. The editors cite Castells's work as their main motive for putting this book together. However, stories about the network society and the implications for planning abound, so one should critically examine what this book has on offer. Goal and Structure of the Book The main goal of this book is to investigate whether the network society provides a new context for planning. The initial conference in 2003 resulted in a large number of papers, and the editors made a selection of those papers to feature in this book. After selection, the contributions were revised in order to fit the book. The editors admit that there were no initial guidelines for the papers. Regardless of the editing, there are still major differences between the various papers in terms of topics, focus and style. Some authors offer novel research, other authors offer essays and the empirical focus varies with each paper. In order to structure this wide variety, the editors have distributed the papers over three parts, each concluded by a commentary by a well-known researcher. The parts are named "The Network Society: A New Paradigm?" (commentary by Judith E. Innes), "Organization of Space and Time" (commentaries by Gabriel Dupuy and Leonie Sandercock) and "Policy Networks and Governance" (commentaries by Susan S. Fainstein and Patsy Healy). Some parts of the book have multiple subsections. There is an introductory chapter by the editors that describes the goal ofthe book and presents a research agenda. There is no concluding chapter. Impression The first overall impression is two-fold. The editors brought together an impressive collection of well-known researchers in planning and related studies, and many of the contributions discuss many of the current issues in planning. There is a large variety of perspectives. The term 'network' provides an opportunity to understand the dynamics of physical networks (e.g., the contribution by Bertolini), the dynamics of information networks (e.g., the contribution by Drewe), the dynamics of social networks (e.g., the contribution by de Souza Briggs) and the dynamics of governance networks (e.g., the contribution by Van Ark and Edelenbos). Obviously, there is no neat separation between all types of networks. Many ofthe authors address the multiplicity ofthe network concept and point at how the built environment, social dynamics and governance respond to each other. While some contributions are very conceptual, most of them (also) present case studies from many parts ofthe world. …


Abstract Objectives: (1) To attain a quantitative estimate of patient satisfaction with physiotherapy care for musculoskeletal conditions in Australia; (2) to compare the observed level of patient satisfaction with care in Australia with those from other countries; and (3) to compare factors contributing to patient satisfaction between Australia and the United States (US). Methods: We conducted a prospective study of 274 patients presenting for physiotherapy treatment of a musculoskeletal disorder in Australian clinics. Patient satisfaction was measured using the 20-item MedRisk Instrument for Measuring Patient Satisfaction with Physical Therapy Care (MRPS) and satisfaction scores were compared with those from Northern Europe, North America, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. To investigate factors contributing to patient satisfaction between Australia and the US, we compared 20-item MRPS data from Australian and Spanish-speaking US cohorts. Results: Mean Australian MRPS satisfaction score was 4·55 (95% confidence interval: 4·51–4·59) on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 indicates high dissatisfaction and 5 indicates high satisfaction. This high level of patient satisfaction is consistent with international data. Australian respondents specifically valued interpersonal aspects of care, including advice and information about their condition and an explanation about self-management. The correlation between treatment outcomes and global patient satisfaction was low (r = −0·22). A comparison of data collected from Australia and the US showed that MRPS items regarding interpersonal aspects of care, such as the therapists' communication skills, correlated strongly with global satisfaction in both countries. However, there were other questionnaire items for which the correlation with global satisfaction was significantly different between Australia and the US. Conclusions: Patient satisfaction with musculoskeletal physiotherapy care in Australia is high and comparable with Northern Europe, North America, the United Kingdom and Ireland. Comparison of data between Australia and the US indicates that while some determinants of patient satisfaction are common, country-specific differences also exist.


Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and startups are widely recognized as playing an important role in the global economy. They are traditionally known to be responsible for generating the majority of jobs and disruptive innovation. To achieve continued economic growth, SMEs and startups must be able to meaningfully contribute to the development of new technologies that will advance technology standards that bring much sought after network effects. Global standards development, however, involves hundreds of companies, and often requires heavy and upfront investment in research and development, as well as the cost of attendance in standards groups. This has led some policy makers and commentators to express concern about whether SMEs and startups are meaningfully able to contribute to and leverage the standard-setting process in traditional standards development organizations. This paper addresses this issue empirically and concludes SMEs and startups have been able to participate in and contribute to leading technology standards, although there is a continued need to promote and encourage such activities. By focusing on information from a rich dataset of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), that is responsible for developing global second, third, and fourth generation (2G, 3G, 4G) cellular standards, this paper estimates the participation and technical contribution by 3GPP members. The empirical findings establish that although SMEs and startups contribute up to 15% of the overall participation in the creation of 3GPP standards, the likelihood that such technical contributions will be accepted is similar to contributions from non-SMEs or non-startups. This result indicates that the rules governing 3GPP and similar open, voluntary SSOs afford effective means for active participation of SMEs and startups in the important process of standards development. Therefore, policy makers should encourage efforts by SSOs to adhere to traditional concepts of open and balanced voluntary participation for all standards development stakeholders, and also increased SME and startup participation in - and contribution to - standards efforts, in the knowledge that these entities will be in a position to earn fair returns on their investments to develop technologies and contribute them to standards, which may then be successfully implemented.


Background: Significant numbers of adolescents are involved in sexual activities at an early age which exposes them to the risk of unintended pregnancy, abortion and STIs. Even though, the reproductive health problem of young people is critical among both sexes, adolescent's girls are more affected because of their biological, economic and social vulnerability. Therefore, this study was designed to assess the prevalence, consequences and associated factors of premarital sex among female students in Ambo University.
Methods and materials: An institutional based crosssectional study was conducted with qualitative inquiry from January to February 2015. Quantitative data were collected from 650 randomly selected female students in Ambo University using a pretested structured questionnaire. The qualitative data were generated through focus group discussions among purposely selected discussants. Odds ratio with 95% confidence interval was estimated using multivariable logistic regression to identify independent predictors of premarital sex while thematic framework analysis was employed for the qualitative data.
Results: About 90 (53.9%) of sexually active respondents reported that they started sex after joining the University. Twenty Eight (16.8%) of sexually active respondents have got pregnant prior to the study period and 15(53.6%) reported history of abortion. The proportion of respondents screened for HIV/AIDS were 56.8% and among this 1.6% had positive results. In the multivariate analysis students who didn't discussed sexual related issue with their parents [AOR: 7.16; 95% CI (4.39-11.68)], being alcohol consumer [AOR: 3.70; 95% CI (2.04-6.73)] and attending romantic videos/films [AOR: 9.95 (7.69-49.87)] were independent predictors of premarital sex.
Conclusion: Significant number of young females had started sex very early and involved in high risk sexual behavior without condom and family planning methods. These kinds of findings call for family life time education including parent-youth communication education.


CONTEXT
Escherichia coli is a major cause of bloodstream infections and death due to sepsis. Bacteremic isolates harbor a significantly greater repertoire of virulence factors (VFs) in contrast with commensal E. coli isolates.

AIMS
The aim was to determine the relationships between E. coli VFs, phylogenetic groups, and their clinical importance.

SETTINGS AND DESIGN
This descriptive study was carried out in a multi-specialty tertiary care hospital.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Escherichia coli isolates from consecutive episodes of bacteremia in 100 patients were screened for their VFs, phylogenetic group, and their effect on patient's clinical outcome. Virulence genes of all isolates were determined by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Phylogenetic analysis was performed by triplex PCR methods. Estimation of risk of death was calculated using APACHE score II calculator.

RESULTS
Of the 100 patients, the most common predisposing factors were diabetes (42%), followed by carcinoma (23%). On analysis of the VF genes of the isolates, a majority of strains (88%) were possessing the fimH gene followed by iutA (76%), papC (44%), cnf1 (16%), hlyA (16%) and neuC (5%) respectively. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that 25 (25%) isolates belonged to phylogroup A, 8(8%) strains to group B1, 30 (30%) were from group B2 and 37 (37%) were from group D. The incidence of iutA gene was significant in higher APACHE II score group.

CONCLUSIONS
Our findings indicate that virulent as well as commensal strains are capable of causing sepsis. Host related predisposing factors, adherence factors, and iron uptake are essential for the survival of the sepsis inducing strains.


Abstract The Okavango River system flows through Angola, Namibia and Botswana. It is in near-natural condition and supports globally iconic wetlands and wildlife. The basin's people are poor and development is inevitable: the next decade is critical. The river could become an example of responsible planning that resolutely addresses the three pillars of sustainable development. Recognizing this, the Member States completed a transboundary diagnostic analysis (TDA) in 2010 funded by the three governments and the Global Environment Facility. A central feature of the TDA was a basin-wide environmental flow assessment using the DRIFT (Downstream Response to Imposed Flow Transformation) holistic approach. This produced scenarios of increasing water resource use that spelled out the costs and benefits in terms of the health of the river ecosystem, associated social structures and local and national economies. The results were used to help create a transboundary strategic action programme, which the Member States are now beginning to act on. This article describes the DRIFT application, the findings and how these could be used to help achieve sustainable development. Editor D. Koutsoyiannis; Guest editor M. Acreman Citation King, J., Beuster, H., Brown, C., and Joubert, A., 2014. Pro-active management: the role of environmental flows in transboundary cooperative planning for the Okavango River system. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 59 (3–4), 786–800.


This paper reports the development and validation of a short Use of Creative Cognition Scale in studying (UCCS) that was inspired by the Cognitive Processes Associated with Creativity (CPAC) scale. In Study 1, items from two of the six subscales of the CPAC were excluded due to conceptual and psychometric issues to create a 21-item CPAC scale, which was administered to 517 university students. Exploratory factor analysis revealed that the 21-item CPAC scale is unidimensional. Five items were selected to create the new unidimensional UCCS. In Study 2, 696 students completed the UCCS and a set of scales measuring related constructs. Confirmatory factor analysis corroborated the unidimensional structure of the scale. The scale correlated positively with measures of flow, trait intrinsic motivation, adaptive metacognitive traits and positive affect, it correlated negatively with negative affect, and it did not correlate with core maladaptive metacognitive traits. The findings indicate that the scale is a valid and reliable tool for research and monitoring.


The performance of a newly designed corner impinging jet air distribution method with an equilateral triangle cross section was evaluated experimentally and compared to that of two more traditional methods (mixing and displacement ventilation). At nine evenly chosen positions with four standard vertical points, air velocity, turbulence intensity, temperature, and tracer gas decay measurements were conducted for all systems. The results show that the new method behaves as a displacement ventilation system, with high air change effectiveness and stratified flow pattern and temperature field. Both local air change effectiveness and air exchange effectiveness of the corner impinging jet showed high quality and promising results, which is a good indicator of ventilation effectiveness. The results also indicate that there is a possibility to slightly lower the airflow rates for the new air distribution system, while still meeting the requirements for thermal comfort and indoor air quality, thereby reducing fan energy usage. The draught rate was also lower for corner impinging jet compared to the other tested air distribution methods. The findings of this research show that the corner impinging jet method can be used for office ventilation.


Estimating the travel time of any path (denoted by a sequence of connected road segments) in a city is of great importance to traffic monitoring, route planning, ridesharing, taxi/Uber dispatching, etc. However, it is a very challenging problem, affected by diverse complex factors, including spatial correlations, temporal dependencies, external conditions (e.g. weather, traffic lights). Prior work usually focuses on estimating the travel times of individual road segments or sub-paths and then summing up these times, which leads to an inaccurate estimation because such approaches do not consider road intersections/traffic lights, and local errors may accumulate. To address these issues, we propose an end-to-end Deep learning framework for Travel Time Estimation called DeepTTE that estimates the travel time of the whole path directly. More specifically, we present a geo-convolution operation by integrating the geographic information into the classical convolution, capable of capturing spatial correlations. By stacking recurrent unit on the geo-convoluton layer, our DeepTTE can capture the temporal dependencies simultaneously. A multi-task learning component is given on the top of DeepTTE, that estimates the travel time of both the entire path and each local path simultaneously during the training phase. The extensive experiments on two large-scale datasets shows our DeepTTE significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art methods.


The present study describes the characterization of degradation products of cobicistat and atazanavir through mass spectrometry tools. Initially, cobicistat and atazanavir were subjected to stress degradation under different stress conditions. A single UPLC/PDA method was developed and applied separately for analysing the stressed samples of cobicistat and atazanavir. The degradation products were subjected to in-source fragmentation followed by collision-induced dissociations (CIDs) to produce further product ions simulating the MS3 step of ion-trap. This approach was applied to characterize five degradation products of cobicistat while the remaining degradation products of cobicistat and atazanavir were characterized by LC/QTOF/MS/MS experiments. Once the molecular weight of the degradation products was determined, various fragmentor voltages were applied to induce in-source fragmentation. These product ions were then further fragmented using conventional MS/MS, and the resulting spectra were analyzed to postulate the structures of rearranged product ions. All the data obtained from these studies provided valuable information on the fragmentation pathways of the degradation products of cobicistat and atazanavir. The developed UPLC/PDA method was validated with respect to the accuracy, precision, linearity, and robustness validation parameters.


Featuring several mass-murdering authors, two fraternal writers at the head of a football-hooligan ring and a poet who crafts his lines in the air with sky writing, Nazi Literature in the Americas details the lives of a rich cast of characters from one of the most extraordinarily fecund imaginations in world literature. Written with acerbic wit and virtuosic flair, this encyclopaedic cavalcade of fictional pan-American authors is the terrifyingly humorous and remarkably inventive masterpiece which made Bolano famous throughout the Spanish-speaking world. One of the most exhilarating, intense and dangerous voices to emerge from South America ...[Nazi Literature in the Americas] is a parade of delusional, mediocre, vicious and pitiable poetasters, a scabrous parlour game that reveals much about literature, power and complicity. Very funny indeed.' Scotland on Sunday The triumphant posthumous entrance of Roberto Bolano into the English-language literary firmament has been one of the sensations of the decade.' Sunday Times The best and weirdest kind of literary game ...This artful alternate history of modern literature, stitched together from loose ends, half-told stories and deft episodes of pastiche, is a strangely profound place to get lost. ' Financial Times


Abstra ct Surgery that causes severe pain physiological response as compared to a normal delivery was called sectio caesarea.The a lternative to reduce pain with benson relaxation. Benson relaxation was the develop ed of relaxation response method by involving patient is belief factor. This research was aimed to explore the effectiveness of benson relaxation for reduction pain in postpartum mothers sectio caesarea. The method used this research was quasi experimental with pre test and post test design with control group.  The instruments used numeric rating scale to measure pain intensity. The sampling technique used purposive sampling where the quantity of research sample was 30 respondents which are divided into 2 groups, namely intervention group and control group. Benson relaxation carried out for 15 minutes each day for 2 days. The univariate analysis was conducted to show pain distribution and bivariate analysis was conducted by Dependent sample T-test and Independent sample T test. The result show that after benson relaxation was applied towards intervered grou p, it was obtained that mean of respondents category pain was reducing at 2,86 (low pain) with the reduction was 1,53 and mean of postpartum mother sectio caesarea pain without given benson relaxation in control group was 3,76 (modarate pain) with the reduction was 0,30. The statistic showed up p value (0,000)< 0,05 which mean that benson relaxation effective to reduce pain of postpartum mothers sectio caesarea. Based on the result, benson relaxation can be recomended as nursing intervention of postpartum mother sectio caesarea. Keywords: Benson relaxation, pain, sectio caesarea


Motivation: In the analysis of experiments that involves the high density of oligonucleotide chips, it is important to generate list of genes or 'targets' from the genomewide data set that contains a lot of information. Gene selection is a process that seeks to identify the most significant genes which reveal large expression changes between the baseline experiments and the conditions. Even though, several algortithms like T-test and other derived statistical algorithms were used for that selection process, the suitable Pvalue Cutoff remains difficult to choose. Therefore, one solution consists of using a False Discovery Rate (FDR) control. The Significance Analysis of Microarray (SAM) and the T-test Benjamini & Hochberg (BH) algorithms have been successfully used in such way. However, the reproductivity of results and their impact on the genes and/or experiments classification, while using different soft tools remain a subject of discussion. Method: we use two Affymetrix data sets, when we look for identifying list of genes under SAM and T-test-BH algorithms with FDR control runing under R/Bioconductor project and Bioinformtics ToolBox of Mathworks. Results: The list of selected genes changes significantly when using the two algorithms under both R/Bioconductor project and Bioinformtics ToolBox of Mathworks. By means of data provided from publicly databases, we illustrate, that the permutation process of the multiple statistical T-test (SAM and BH) may affect results of selection process. Moreover, list of genes using the two Soft is affected by the choice of the Pvalue-CutOff for identifyng true differential expressed genes. According to this work, we present some results clarifying sensitivity and efficiency of used soft and its influence in gene selection process. Hierarchical classification of selected genes and corresponding experiences confirm the influence of both methods and tools on the outcome of gene expression data analysis.


This paper presents an information theory-driven matching methodology for making causal inference from observational data. The paper adopts a "potential outcomes framework" view on evaluating the strength of cause-effect relationships: the population-wide average effects of binary treatments are estimated by comparing two groups of units - the treated and untreated (control). To reduce the bias in such treatment effect estimation, one has to compose a control group in such a way that across the compared groups of units, treatment is independent of the units' covariates. This requirement gives rise to a subset selection / matching problem. This paper presents the models and algorithms that solve the matching problem by minimizing the mutual information (MI) between the covariates and the treatment variable. Such a formulation becomes tractable thanks to the derived optimality conditions that tackle the non-linearity of the sample-based MI function. Computational experiments with mixed integer-programming formulations and four matching algorithms demonstrate the utility of MI based matching for causal inference studies. The algorithmic developments culminate in a matching heuristic that allows for balancing the compared groups in polynomial (close to linear) time, thus allowing for treatment effect estimation with large data sets.


It is frequently claimed that the current EUR/USD exchange rate is too high and that a depreciation of the EUR against the USD would contribute to relieve the Eurozone economy from the current state of persistent crisis. Evidence provided by the a/simmetrie annual econometric model suggests that this claim is unsupported by the data, at least as far as the Italian economy is concerned. In fact, the size and sign of the trade elasticities show that the increases in net exports towards non-Eurozone countries, brought about by the depreciation of the euro, would be offset by an increase in net imports towards Eurozone countries, brought about by the increase in Italian domestic demand. To put it simply, in case of a depreciation of the EUR, the Italian economy would not only suffer a higher costs of energy (because of the depreciation vis-a-vis OPEC countries), but also spend in Germany much of the money it earned in the US, Japan, and the emerging countries, with a net effect likely to be almost zero or negative in the first three to four years.


BACKGROUND
5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and imiquimod creams are accepted topical therapies for actinic keratosis (AK). Both are associated with a prolonged course of treatment with an inflammatory response that may preclude the treatment process.

OBJECTIVES
To describe the treatment regimen and the extent of side effects in the use of the combined application of 5-FU and imiquimod creams in patients presenting with AKs and to demonstrate the convenience and ease of the methodology of this regimen.

METHODS
The patients applied 5-FU and imiquimod creams to their lesions daily for one week each month over the course of 3 months. The patients were seen after the completion of each one-week course to evaluate their progress and side effects.

RESULTS
There were 64 patients in the study, 48 of whom completed the study and demonstrated a clearing of their AKs by the end of the third course of treatment. All of the patients developed an inflammatory response at the sites of their AKs as well as at subclinical sites with no apparent AKs. Nearly all of these inflammatory reactions were confined to localized sites without involvement of the surrounding skin.

CONCLUSIONS
Therapy with the combined application of 5-FU and imiquimod creams is a relatively rapid and convenient form of therapy as compared to the separate use of each medication.


In Australia, social and legal trends towards shared parenting after separation coincide with statistics conveying domestic violence as the single biggest health risk to women of reproductive age (UNPFR, 2005). Such statistics rely on the reporting of physical violence, yet there is a growing recognition that domestic violence is best conceptualised as a pattern of coercive control (Stark, 2007) that may include only minor, if any, physical violence (Johnson, 2008). An important concern for the Australian social work profession should be a coherent ability to identify and respond to domestic violence in order to ensure the protection of women and children in the trend towards shared-parenting post separation. This thesis explored women's experiences of post-separation shared parenting arrangements and the aspects of abuse which persisted beyond separation. The study was conducted from a feminist standpoint. Thirty (30) women were recruited using non-probability purposive and snowballing sampling procedures. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews explored their pre- and post-separation experiences of abuse from the fathers of the children. This data was then thematically analysed.
The findings of this study show that there was a commonality of dynamics underlying the relationship each woman had with the father of their children. Despite the women's resistance, these dynamics gave rise to shared experiences of oppression both pre- and post-separation. The dynamics are conceptualised as a web of abuse emanating from their partners' attitudinal and behavioural style. A parallel is drawn between the web of abuse and a process of colonisation. Colonisation helps clarify the relentless and pervasive pattern of boundary violations experienced by the women both pre- and post-separation. It also explains the extent of the women's post-separation difficulties irrespective of the presence, form or intensity of shared parenting arrangements. The consequences of conceptualising domestic violence independently of physical violence and as a colonising process are discussed with regard to the implications for counselling, research, the socio-legal response, and social work knowledge and practice. A conclusion drawn from this study suggests that critical to the anti-oppressive practice of social workers in the field of domestic violence is their ability to detect and disrupt colonising attitudes and behaviours. Collusion with such attitudes and behaviours seriously undermines the value of our profession for women and children who are at risk of abuse.


We introduce a Gaussian process (GP) framework, stochastic relational models (SRM), for learning social, physical, and other relational phenomena where interactions between entities are observed. The key idea is to model the stochastic structure of entity relationships (i.e., links) via a tensor interaction of multiple GPs, each defined on one type of entities. These models in fact define a set of nonparametric priors on infinite dimensional tensor matrices, where each element represents a relationship between a tuple of entities. By maximizing the marginalized likelihood, information is exchanged between the participating GPs through the entire relational network, so that the dependency structure of links is messaged to the dependency of entities, reflected by the adapted GP kernels. The framework offers a discriminative approach to link prediction, namely, predicting the existences, strengths, or types of relationships based on the partially observed linkage network as well as the attributes of entities (if given). We discuss properties and variants of SRM and derive an efficient learning algorithm. Very encouraging experimental results are achieved on a toy problem and a user-movie preference link prediction task. In the end we discuss extensions of SRM to general relational learning tasks.


This paper highlights some interventions which might alleviate agricultural pressures on steep slopes and reduce land degradation in parts of the Ethiopian Highlands. The Ethiopian Highlands are losing alarming amounts of soils (estimated at more than one billion, 1000 million, tonnes) annually. This loss, which is associated with nutrient losses, is manifest in declining agricultural production and biodiversity. About 80 per cent of the annual soil loss occurs from croplands during the rainy season. The nutrient imbalance is further accentuated by forest clearing, removal of crop residue from cultivated lands, and little use of chemical fertilizers or organic manure. Even where livestock are part of the production system, dung is preferentially used as a cooking fuel. Chemical fertilizers are costly, and therefore and alternative land-management scheme is suggested. This is based on a new land-shaping device for drainage which is called the BBM (broad-bed maker), and growing forage legumes to improve soil nutrients, which should allow intensive cultivation of Vertisols in the Ethiopian Highlands. Adoption of the broad bed and furrow land-management system would facilitate early planting and increase the yield of both grain and straw from the major crops relative to the yield from traditional cultivation in flat beds. While not decreasing the yield of grain, mixed cropping of grain and forage crops has been shown to give significantly greater total crop residue yields. The yield is even greater when fertilizers are applied. Supplementary irrigation can help in utilizing Vertisols on bottom lands, and this can be expedited by constructing water reservoirs.


We developed a novel scheme for intense terahertz pulse generation by two-color driven ionization of gasses that allows for MV/cm level peak-fields. The nonlinear mixing between such high-field terahertz pulse and an optical pulse results in an electric-field-induced second harmonic generation, both in gasses and in condensed media. We report on our recent investigations on this phenomenon that allows e.g. for the terahertz pulses three-dimensional mapping.


Although there is now a significant body of work devoted to the study of women's magazines, comparatively little attention has been paid to the sub-genre of fashion magazines. This paper is devoted to the latter, more specifically Vogue Paris. Moreover, while readers' pages have for a long time been a regular feature of the written media, their significance in the press remains unaccounted for. Through the selecting, editing, or even, some would argue, manufacturing of readers' letters, a publication chooses to represent a certain voice of a certain reader, in a certain way, in the process also representing itself to its readership. This paper is the first to offer an in-depth analysis of the way readers' letters are built into a media text to define and to produce it.

Through a textual analysis of Vogue Paris's readers' letters page between March 1996 and December 2001, during which the section lasted, the paper interrogates the way the reader's voice is melded into that of the magazine and appropriated by the French title to represent itself. It looks at some of the different functions the section performs, commenting on both its organisational structure and the way the letters' values represent Vogue and its readership. It appropriates Habermas's notion of the public sphere to interrogate the presence, in a consumer magazine such as Vogue, of a readers' page. Drawing on the work of Bourdieu, it comments on the way the page participates in the production of the belief in fashion as a high art and the construction of Vogue as a magazine devoted to the field of high culture. Elaborating on the values and ideas that both inform and are conveyed in the letters, it discusses how Vogue can be defined, and defines itself, as French, and more precisely, Parisian.


Just as macroeconomic models describe the overall economy within a changing, or dynamic, framework, the models themselves change over time. In this text Stephen J. Turnovsky reviews in depth several early models as well as a representation of more recent models. They include traditional (backward-looking) models, linear rational expectations (future-looking) models, intertemporal optimization models, endogenous growth models, and continuous time stochastic models. The author uses examples from both closed and open economies. Whereas others commonly introduce models in a closed context, tacking on a brief discussion of the model in an open economy, Turnovsky integrates the two perspectives throughout to reflect the increasingly international outlook of the field. This new edition has been extensively revised. It contains a new chapter on optimal monetary and fiscal policy, and the coverage of growth theory has been expanded substantially. The range of growth models considered has been extended, with particular attention devoted to transitional dynamics and nonscale growth. The book includes cutting-edge research and unpublished data, including much of the author's own work.


The vertical distribution of aerosols in the lower troposphere is critically important for assessing their impact on Earth's radiation budget and modulation of cloud microphysics. This study analyzed cloud‐free aerosol extinction coefficient (βext), aerosol subtypes, and particulate depolarization ratios obtained from CALIOP (Cloud‐Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization) over the six regions of India during 2008–2018. We investigated unprecedented climatology of the physical and optical characteristics of elevated aerosol layers (EALs) along with their source and formation mechanism. The key findings include: (a) EALs over the Indian region were persistent between 4 and 6 km during all seasons, (b) geometrical layer thickness of EALs increased up to 36.7% and 25% from the annual mean during summer and fall seasons, respectively, compared to that of spring and winter, (c) dust and polluted dust accounted for up to 50%–80% from near‐surface to 6 km and up to 80%–90% of the EALs between 4 and 6 km, respectively for all the seasons and regions, (d) we anticipated that locally confined recirculation coupled with stratified stable layer capped within turbulent layers could be a possible mechanism of formation of stratified EALs between 4 and 6 km during winter‐spring‐fall, while in summer, vertical transport of pollutants from the PBL to mid‐troposphere due to enhanced deep convection served as a key formation mechanism of the EALs, (e) the second Modern‐Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications Global Modeling Initiative model reasonably simulated the shape and vertical gradient of βext with significant differences in magnitude below 4 km; however, it fails to reproduce EALs for all seasons and regions during the study period.


This thesis studies cloud capacity auto-scaling, or how to provision and release re-sources to a service running in the cloud based on its actual demand using an auto-matic controller. As the performance of server systems depends on the system design,the system implementation, and the workloads the system is subjected to, we focuson these aspects with respect to designing auto-scaling algorithms. Towards this goal,we design and implement two auto-scaling algorithms for cloud infrastructures. Thealgorithms predict the future load for an application running in the cloud. We discussthe different approaches to designing an auto-scaler combining reactive and proactivecontrol methods, and to be able to handle long running requests, e.g., tasks runningfor longer than the actuation interval, in a cloud. We compare the performance ofour algorithms with state-of-the-art auto-scalers and evaluate the controllers' perfor-mance with a set of workloads. As any controller is designed with an assumptionon the operating conditions and system dynamics, the performance of an auto-scalervaries with different workloads.In order to better understand the workload dynamics and evolution, we analyze a6-years long workload trace of the sixth most popular Internet website. In addition,we analyze a workload from one of the largest Video-on-Demand streaming servicesin Sweden. We discuss the popularity of objects served by the two services, the spikesin the two workloads, and the invariants in the workloads. We also introduce, a mea-sure for the disorder in a workload, i.e., the amount of burstiness. The measure isbased on Sample Entropy, an empirical statistic used in biomedical signal processingto characterize biomedical signals. The introduced measure can be used to charac-terize the workloads based on their burstiness profiles. We compare our introducedmeasure with the literature on quantifying burstiness in a server workload, and showthe advantages of our introduced measure.To better understand the tradeoffs between using different auto-scalers with differ-ent workloads, we design a framework to compare auto-scalers and give probabilisticguarantees on the performance in worst-case scenarios. Using different evaluation cri-teria and more than 700 workload traces, we compare six state-of-the-art auto-scalersthat we believe represent the development of the field in the past 8 years. Knowingthat the auto-scalers' performance depends on the workloads, we design a workloadanalysis and classification tool that assigns a workload to its most suitable elasticitycontroller out of a set of implemented controllers. The tool has two main components;an analyzer, and a classifier. The analyzer analyzes a workload and feeds the analysisresults to the classifier. The classifier assigns a workload to the most suitable elasticitycontroller based on the workload characteristics and a set of predefined business levelobjectives. The tool is evaluated with a set of collected real workloads, and a set ofgenerated synthetic workloads. Our evaluation results shows that the tool can help acloud provider to improve the QoS provided to the customers.


The social and economic characteristics of the human resources in the baking industry in south-eastern Nigeria were studied. The human resources used for the study were the managers, supervisors and factory floor workers. The study was done using an enterprise level interview schedule in Onitsha, Owerri, Aba and Nsukka in south-eastern Nigeria. Almost all the bakeries studied (96.9%) were owned and managed by the owners or their family members. The managers were aged between 21 and over 60 years with more males (75%), than females (25%). Many of them (43.8%) had completed secondary and 21.9% completed primary school education. Many of the mangers (43.8%) claimed that they could not estimate their monthly income whereas 28.1% claimed they earned not more than N10,000 per month. The ages of the supervisors were between 20 and 50 years. Many of the supervisors had completed secondary (42.9%) and 31.9% their primary school education. The monthly income of the supervisors ranged between N1,000 and N10,000 per month. Most of the factory floor workers were aged between 21 and 60 years. Many of them had completed their secondary school education (44.8%), while 22.9% had completed their primary education. The monthly income of the factory-floor workers ranged between less than N1000 and N8,000 with 98% of the workers earning not more than N5,000. The salaries were obviously low for all workers .Of all the workers, only 6.1% of the managers had formal training on the baking business. All the others learned on the job and most of them helped to train their fellow workers. There were generally more male than female workers in the bakeries. These have varying household sizes. Agro-Science Vol.2(1) 2001: 50-62


Abstract This article will engage with the difficult question of whether common purpose could be successfully used to prosecute the surviving Marikana miners for the murder of their fellow miners, shot and killed by the police. It will conclude that this is entirely possible,on the law as it stands. However, I will argue that the law is not what it ought to be. I will argue that common purpose violates fundamental principles of criminal law, beyond the arguments traditionally raised. The one traditional argument raised and rejected by the Constitutional Court in Thebus, which bears repeating, is that it is a violation of the presumption of innocence to attribute causation and that this is not solved, as the Constitutional Court stated, by placing the issue of causation beyond questions of proof for both parties. I will note also that Thebus does not seem to answer the charge that common purpose violates the dignity of an accused. In addition, I will argue that, contrary to fundamental principles, common purpose punishes evil thoughts alone to the extent that it relies upon subjective thought to establish conduct, and it violates the requirement of voluntariness and capacity for self-control because it allows for liability where the accused did not, and could not, control the conduct in question. It allows for the resort to unreasonable force in response to an attack. Furthermore, I will argue that common purpose has an effect which can, in many instances, be met with a valid defence of mistake of law. I will conclude that, if principle is observed, and while fairly broad defences are conceivable, common purpose ought to be abolished as a deep source of embarrassment in our criminal law.


Abstract In several key passages in Thomas Hobbes's understudied translation of Thucydides's History of the Peloponnesian War, Hobbes's Pericles directs audiences to distrust rhetoric in favor of calculative self-interest, inward-focused affective states, and an epistemic reliance on sovereignty. Hobbes's own intervention via his translation of Thucydides involves similar rhetorical moves. By directing readers to learn from Thucydides, Hobbes conceals his own rhetorical appeals in favor of sovereignty while portraying rhetoric undermining sovereignty as manipulative, self-serving, and representative of the entire category of "rhetoric." Hobbes's double redescription of rhetoric is an important starting point for an early modern project: appeals that justify a desired political order are characterized as "right reason," "the law of nature," or "enlightenment," while rhetoric constituting solidarities or publics outside the desired order is condemned. Hobbes's contribution to this project theorizes rhetoric as a barrier to individual calculations of interest, placing a novel constraint on political life.


The risk of an uncontrollable wildfire poses a serious threat to the Dutch citizens. Climate change enhance the chance of an uncontrollable wildfire. A large-scale, organized evacuation seems impossible by experts, because the relatively short time available to evacuate. So it is important for the persons present in the area that they know what they have to do, when a wildfire breaks out.
This study aimed to investigate how holiday-makers can increase their self-reliance, in the case of an uncontrollable wildfire. The study was a 2 (type message: written vs spoken) x 2 (action perspectives: one vs multiple) x 2 (model behavior: recommended behavior vs not recommended behaviour) between participants experiment. It was conducted tot test if there is a main effect of type message, action perspectives and model behavior on the dependent variables (subjective comprehension, perceived threat, perceived efficacy en behavior intentions). Also, interaction effects were tested. Furthermore, the relationship between the dependent variables (subjective comprehension, perceived threat, perceived efficacy en behavior intentions) was investigated. Finally, it was investigated whether subjective comprehension is an useful addition to the Extended Parallel Process Model.
Results showed no main effects of type message and action perspectives on the dependent variables. Furthermore, no main effects of model behavior where found, with the exception of behavior intentions. Also, the results showed no interaction effects of type message, action perspectives and model behavior on subjective comprehension, susceptibility, severity, self-efficacy, response efficacy and behavior intentions. Furthermore, the results showed a positive correlation between the dependent variables subjective comprehension, perceived threat, perceived efficacy and behavior intentions. Also, results showed that subjective comprehension is an useful addition to a model to predict behavior intentions.
The study shows that in this context hardly matter whether a spoken of written message is sent. In this study, the action perspective "go to the meeting point at reception" seems to be enough for behavior intentions. Furthermore, people are more inclined to follow the warning message if they see also others do this.


We analyse the change trends of the annual and seasonal runoff series of the hydrological station Batang on the headstream of the Yangtze River over the period 1960–2007. The relations between runoff series and precipitation and temperature conditions are investigated, and the influence of the refreezing process of meltwater of the glaciers on the Yangtze River flow is examined with the proposed accumulated temperature deficit (ATD) index. It is found that annual runoff at the Batang station is not stable during the period 1960–2007. From 1960 to 1980, there was a rather strong decrease of 14.4 m 3 s � 1 year � 1 on average in spite of the statistically significant increase in air temperature and rather stable precipitation. It is argued that the annual rate of glacier runoff generation is possibly controlled by the ATD rather than by the direct air temperature. Seasonal analysis indicates that ATD might be of greater influence in autumn and winter in affecting runoff than in spring and summer. The research in this paper may be helpful in understanding how the hydro-climatic conditions affect runoff generation in the cold regions.


Proxima Centauri is an M dwarf approximately 15,000 au from the Alpha Centauri binary, comoving and likely in a loosely bound orbit. Dynamic simulations show that this configuration can form from a more tightly bound triple system. As our nearest neighbors, these stars command great interest as potential planet hosts, and the dynamics of the stars govern the formation of any planets within the system. Here we present a scenario for the evolution of Alpha Centauri A and B and Proxima Centauri as a triple system. Based on N-body simulations, we determine that this pathway to formation is plausible, and we quantify the implications for planet formation in the Alpha Centauri binary. We expect that this formation scenario may have truncated the circumstellar disk slightly more than a system that formed in the current configuration, but that it most likely does not prevent terrestrial planet formation. We simulate planet formation in this system and find that, in most scenarios, two or more terrestrial planets can be expected around either Alpha Centauri A or B, orbiting in a region out to approximately 2 au, assuming that planetesimals and planetary embryos are able to form in the system first. Additionally, terrestrial planet formation and stability in Proxima Centauri's habitable zone are also plausible. However, an absence of planets around these stars may be indicative of highly disruptive stellar dynamics in the past.


The performance of vertical cavity surface emitting lasers can be enhanced, while simplifying the fabrication process, by adopting a hybrid design using a photonic-crystal (PhC) top mirror. In this paper, we analyze the performance of photonic-crystal surface emitting lasers (PCSELs) by varying the number of periods in the PhC mirror and estimating its reflectivity and lateral radiation losses. We consider three types of PhC mirrors: a simply periodic structure, a structure with a constant period but a variable filling factor (FF), and a structure with a constant FF but a variable period. We show that lateral losses can pose a serious limitation on the minimum size required to achieve an efficient PCSEL operation. We also show that our special structure can convert vertically emitted light into an in-plane light that propagates in the same plane as the PhC mirror creating the possibility of coupling vertically emitted light into optical waveguides. © 2010 Optical Society of America


The proposal that there is a simple dichotomy between implicit and explicit knowledge fails to fully explain why children and adults can perform a task with increasing awareness and efficiency before they are able to completely understand and explain their success. Karmiloff-Smith (1992) in her Representational Redescription (RR) model claims that representations of implicit procedures can be redescribed into further levels, E1, E2 and E3, which gradually afford increasing conscious and linguistic access. This study examines how 25 children's representations about balancing a beam on a fulcrum changed over time, as they attempted a set of tasks each day for five consecutive days. Children's behaviour was classified into seven levels, rather than the four identified by Karmiloff-Smith, and the path through these levels is traced as children progressed over the 5-day period. This provided one form of validation about the developmental sequence of the levels. Additional tasks assessed the flexibility of the children's representations, operationalized either as an ability to predict which beams would balance, or to identify which picture showed a beam that would balance on a fulcrum. The findings from these assessments shed light on the conscious accessibility and transportability of the children's knowledge, independent of their overt behaviour. The data also reveal a complexity in cognitive functioning which could not be identified from observations of performance alone. This research thus provides a theoretical endorsement and extension of Karmiloff-Smith's multi-representational framework of cognitive development and empirical support for a hypothesized path of development through the representational levels.


For a long time, the collection of data through sensors and other means was seen as inconsequential. However, with the somewhat recent developments in the areas of machine learning, data science, and statistical analysis, as well as in the rapid growth of computational power being allotted by the ever-expanding computer industry, data is not just being seen as secondhand information anymore. Data collection is showing that it currently is and will continue to be a major driving force in many applications, as the predictive power it can provide is invaluable. One such area that could benefit dramatically from the use of predictive techniques is the steel industry. This thesis applied several machine learning techniques to predict steel deformation issues collectively known as the hook index problem [1].The first machine learning technique utilized in this endeavor was neural networking. The neural networks built and tested in this research saw the use of classification and regression prediction models. They also implemented the algorithms of gradient descent and adaptive moment estimation. Through the employment of these networks and learning strategies, as well as through the line process data, regression-based networks made predictions with average percent error ranging from 106-114%. In similar performance to the regression-based networks, classification-based networks made predictions with average accuracy percentage ranges of 38-40%.To remedy the problems relating to neural networks, Bayesian networking techniques were implemented. The main method that was used as a model for these networks was the Naive Bayesian framework. Also, variable optimization techniques were utilized to create well-performing network structures. In the same vein as the neural networks, Bayesian networks used line process data to make predictions. The classification-based networks made predictions with average accuracy ranges of 64-65%. Because of the increased accuracy results and their ability to draw causal reasoning from data, Bayesian networking was the preferred machine learning technique for this research application.


Knowledge of the growth and development of nestlings has widespread application in fundamental and applied ornithology. Unfortunately detailed information on species-specific growth and plumage development patterns is lacking for most species. Here we present the results of a study on growth in selected mass and biometric parameters as well as plumage development based on data collected from 20 Sabota Lark Calendulauda sabota nestlings. The results revealed extremely rapid growth of the tarsus which is an adaptive strategy allowing nestlings to fledge at an early age and hence reduce the likelihood of a predator depredating the entire brood. There was also interesting variation in the presence or absence of down on the ventral surface and the position, size and number of tongue spots. This study provided a foundation for future comparative studies on avian life history strategies in larks.