Design of Electrical Transmission LinesSriram Kalaga 2016-12-19 This book covers structural and foundation systems used in highvoltage transmission lines, conductors, insulators, hardware and component assembly. In most developing countries, the term "transmission structures" usually means lattice steel towers. The term actually includes a vast range of structural systems and configurations of various materials such as wood, steel, concrete and composites. This book discusses those systems along with associated topics such as structure functions and configurations, load cases for design, analysis techniques, structure and foundation modeling, design deliverables and latest advances in the field. In the foundations section, theories related to direct embedment, drilled shaf ts, spread foundations and anchors are discussed in detail. Featuring worked out design problems for students, the book is aimed at students, practicing engineers, researchers and academics. It contains beneficial information for those involved in the design and maintenance of transmission line structures and foundations. For those in academia, it will be an adequate text-book / design guide for graduatelevel courses on the topic. Engineers and managers at utilities and electrical corporations will find the book a useful reference at work.


We perform numerical simulations of cross-correlation frequency-resolved optical gating with the nonlinearities, optical parametric amplification, and difference-frequency generation for measuring broadband pulses. We show that use of a noncollinear beam geometry that matches the group velocities of the pump, signal, and idler pulses permits use of relatively thick crystals for high gain without significant distortion in the measured trace, yielding bandwidths of ~100 nm.


Because of its rich π electrons, graphene oxide (GO) can bind with single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) through π-π stacking, but it cannot bind with double-stranded DNA (dsDNA). This different binding ability of GO with DNA has found many applications. By combining this ability with aptamer chemistry, we have developed a highly selective method for the detection of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). The hybrid of ATP aptamer with fluorescein (FAM)-labelled complementary DNA (FAM-DNA) demonstrates a weak affinity for GO and strong fluorescence of FAM-DNA. If ATP is present the strong fluorescence of FAM-DNA is quenched, because the binding of ATP with its aptamer greatly inhibits hybridization of the aptamer with FAM-DNA, and the unhybridized FAM-DNA is adsorbed on to the surface of GO. The quenched fluorescence intensity was found to be in proportion to the concentration of ATP in the range 3–320 μM with a detection limit of 0.45 μM. This method of ATP detection is highly selective and the existence of GTP, CTP and UTP have scarcely effect the determination.


Natural Language Inference (NLI) task requires an agent to determine the logical relationship between a natural language premise and a natural language hypothesis. We introduce Interactive Inference Network (IIN), a novel class of neural network architectures that is able to achieve high-level understanding of the sentence pair by hierarchically extracting semantic features from interaction space. We show that an interaction tensor (attention weight) contains semantic information to solve natural language inference, and a denser interaction tensor contains richer semantic information. One instance of such architecture, Densely Interactive Inference Network (DIIN), demonstrates the state-of-the-art performance on large scale NLI copora and large-scale NLI alike corpus. It's noteworthy that DIIN achieve a greater than 20% error reduction on the challenging Multi-Genre NLI (MultiNLI) dataset with respect to the strongest published system.


In this paper, we propose an efficient planarization algorithm and a routing algorithm dedicated to Unit Disk Graphs whose nodes are localized using the Virtual Raw Anchor Coordinate system (VRAC).Our first algorithm computes a planar 2-spanner under light constraints on the edge lengths and induces a total exchange of at most 6n node identifiers. Its total complexity is O(nΔ), with Δ the maximum degree of the communication graph. The second algorithm that we present is a simple and efficient algorithm to route messages in this planar graph that requires routing tables with only three entries. We support these theoretical results by simulations showing the robustness of our algorithms when the coordinates are inaccurate.


Abstract
 Objective: To assess intermediate coronary artery lesions by 2D and 3D Quantitative Coronary Angiography (QCA) and compare the results with standard fractional flow reserve (FFR).
Background: FFR is the standard for assessment of physiological significance of an intermediate coronary stenosis, but it expensive, sometimes it is unavailable, or limited use by contraindications to adenosine, QCA especially three-dimensional (3D-QCA) can be used as another method to help in assessment of the intermediate coronary lesions.
 Patients and methods: Thirty two vessels in 30 patients with intermediate coronary lesions were scheduled for FFR, 2D and 3D QCA measurement and the results of QCA were compared and correlated to the obtained from FFR.
 Results: The studied group included 32 vessels, 24 diabetic patients (75%). 18 hypertensive (56.3%). 20 smokers (62.5%). Mean FFR value was 0.80 ± 0.13. FFR? 0.80 was observed in 18 lesions (56.25%). Lesions severity obtained by 3D-QCA was better correlated to FFR than 2D-QCA. Both 3D area stenosis percent and 3D diameter stenosis percent have comparable correlation in term of accuracy but with better sensitivity for the percent diameter stenosis. 2D-QCA measurements were less correlated to FFR.
Conclusion: 3D QCA is better than 2D QCA in assessment of intermediate coronary lesions and it is better correlated with FFR so it may be used in assessment of intermediate coronary lesions, when FFR is unavailable or contraindicated.


Despite the abundance of literature on the topic, there is very little that can be called "common" about our common sense understanding of plagiarism. Taking a closer look at the history, rhetorical uses, and cultural practices of plagiarism, this essay reveals that this concept is multiple and heterogeneous, riddled with contradictions and blind spots. As a result, the article argues the overlapping, inter-related, yet distinct discourses of plagiarism that circulate within the academy can be usefully described as a "complex system." In positing plagiarism as a complex system, this article has several goals. First, it shows how singular approaches to plagiarism are ultimately insufficient and examines the ways in which an interdisciplinary consideration of the issues can shed light on the problem. Next, it uses the issue of plagiarism to examine the rubric of "complexity" itself, suggesting ways that recent uses of the term within interdisciplinary research might be modified and extended. Finally, it uses this enhanced, integrative understanding of plagiarism to make pragmatic proposals for both pedagogy and policy.


In this thesis major challenges of creating business models at incumbents within mature industries are identified along with a mitigation plan. Pressure is upon incumbent organizations in order to keep up with the latest rapid technological advancements, the launching of startups that almost cover every field of business and the continuous change in customers' tastes and needs. That along with various factors either forced organizations to continually reevaluate their current business models or miss out on great opportunities.How some incumbents have dealt and are dealing with business model innovation challenges over the past few years is demonstrated through several cases of incumbents. The sources surveyed include recent scientific articles, books, firsthand accounts with executives in the area of business models, innovation and business development, online sources and contemporary business publications. In order to overcome those challenges, we propose a framework which is derived mainly from the sources mentioned above.In order to overcome such challenges, thesis propose a framework that can be used to successfully engender new business models and make a transition from current to new business model. By successful business model innovation, firms can increase the extent of their offerings, meet yet unmet market demands and untapped customer segments. Additionally, organizations can create new value propositions and gain highly sustainable competitive position through business model innovation which is not easy to imitate or copy by the competition.Our findings attest to the fact that business models are highly situational however there are general steps for incumbent organizations that would lead to a successful business model innovation approach. First an organization must have a clear strategy. Establishing separate innovation centers for firms do enhance and foster the mindset of innovation as they take innovation outside the parent organization's logic. Other approaches include open innovation, partnerships and ensuring that resources are constantly allocated to create disruptive innovations internally and is led by the right personalities. Solving customer needs should be the core of any business and finally there are no best practices in business model innovation. The significance of our findings gives insights on how to overcome some challenges in practice for incumbents to create suitable business models and contributes to theory since there were some empirical findings that weren't pronounced in literature.


There is a growing concern about the ability to produce enough nutritious food to feed the global human population in this century. Environmental conflicts and a limited freshwater supply constrain further developments in agriculture; global fisheries have levelled off, and aquaculture may have to play a more prominent role in supplying human food. Freshwater is important, but it is also a major challenge to cultivate the oceans in an environmentally, economically and energy- friendly way. To support this, a long-term vision must be to derive new sources of feed, primarily taken from outside the human food chain, and to move carnivore production to a lower trophic level. The main aim of this paper is to speculate on how feed supplies can be produced for an expanding aquaculture industry by and beyond 2050 and to establish a roadmap of the actions needed to achieve this. Resources from agriculture, fish meal and fish oil are the major components of pellet fish feeds. All cultured animals take advantage of a certain fraction of fish meal in the feed, and marine carnivores depend on a supply of marine lipids containing highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA, with ≥3 double bonds and ≥20 carbon chain length) in the feed. The availability of HUFA is likely the main constraint for developing carnivore aquaculture in the next decades. The availability of fish meal and oil will decrease, and the competition for plant products will increase. New harvested resources are herbivore zooplankton, such as Antarctic krill and red feed, and new produced resources are macro- algae, transgenic higher HUFA-producing plants and bacterial biomass. These products are to a lim- ited extent components of the human food chain, and all these resources will help to move cultured carnivores to lower trophic levels and can thereby increase the production capacity and the sustain- ability of the production. Mariculture can only become as successful as agriculture in the coming cen- tury if carnivores can be produced at around Trophic Level 2, based mainly on plant resources. There is little potential for increasing the traditional fish meal food chain in aquaculture.


The Ubiquitous Interactor is a system for universal access to mobile services, where the user-service interaction is the common denominator between different devices. By combining interaction with device specific presentation information, tailored user interfaces for different devices can be created. A calendar service has been developed as a proof of concept.


Materials used in various biological applications are often modified with proteins to regulate biomolecular and cellular adhesion. Conventional strategies of protein conjugation accompany monovalent bifunctional protein linkers, which present several limitations in molecular synthesis and protein conjugation. Herein, we present a new strategy of preparing multivalent polyaspartamide linkers in a simple top-down manner, and also demonstrate that the resulting polymer linkers allow us to readily conjugate proteins to both organic and inorganic materials. The top-down synthesis of polyaspartamide linkers was performed by partially opening succinimidyl ring moieties of polysuccinimide (PSI) with the controlled number of nucleophiles reactive to photo-cross-linked hydrogel or gold-coated inorganic materials: (1) Poly(2-hydroxyethyl-co-2-methacryloxyethyl aspartamide) (PHMAA) presenting methacrylate was used to micropattern fibronectin or collagen on a hydrogel in order to regulate cell adhesion and growth area on a micrometer scale. (2) Poly(2-hydroxyethyl-co-2-mercaptoethyl aspartamide) (PHMCA) presenting thiol functional groups was used to link fibronectin to a gold-coated silicon microelectromechanical probe designed to measure cell traction force. Overall, these multivalent polyaspartamide protein linkers will greatly assist efforts to analyze and regulate the cellular adhesion to and phenotypic activities of a wide array of substrates and devices.


Table of Contents in a book:

Part I. Communication Architectures and Models for Green Radio Networks:
1. Fundamental trade-offs on the design of green radio networks Yan Chen, Shunqing Zhang and Shugong Xu
2. Algorithms for energy-harvesting wireless networks Vinod Sharma, Utpal Mukherji and Vinay Joseph
3. PHY and MAC layer optimization for energy-harvesting wireless networks Neelesh B. Mehta and Chandra R. Murthy
4. Mechanical relaying techniques in cellular wireless networks Panayiotis Kolios, Vasilis Friderikos and Katerina Papadaki
Part II. Physical Communications Techniques for Green Radio Networks:
5. Green modulation and coding schemes in energy-constrained wireless networks Jamshid Abouei, Konstantinos N. Plataniotis and Subbarayan Pasupathy
6. Cooperative techniques for energy-efficient wireless communications Osama Amin, Sara Bavarian and Lutz Lampe
7. Effect of cooperation and network coding on energy-efficiency of wireless transmissions Nof Abuzainab and Anthony Ephremides
Part III. Base Station Power-Management Techniques for Green Radio Networks:
8. Opportunistic spectrum and load management for green radio networks Oliver Holland, Christian Facchini, A. Hamid Aghvami, Orlando Cabral and Fernando Velez
9. Energy-saving techniques in cellular wireless base stations Tao Chen, Honggang Zhang, Yang Yang and Kari Horneman
10. Power-management for base stations in smart grid environment Xiao Lu, Dusit Niyato and Ping Wang
11. Cooperative multicell processing techniques for energy-efficient cellular wireless communications Mohammad Reza Nakhai, Tuan Anh Le, Auon Muhammad Akhtar and Oliver Holland
Part IV. Wireless Access Techniques for Green Radio Networks:
12. Cross-layer design of adaptive packet scheduling for green radio networks Ashok Karmokar, Alagan Anpalagan and Ekram Hossain
13. Energy-efficient relaying for cooperative cellular wireless networks Yifei Wei, Mei Song and F. Richard Yu
14. Energy performance in TDD-CDMA multihop cellular networks Hoang Thanh Long, Xue Jun Li and Peter Han Joo Chong
15. Resource allocation for green communication in relay-based cellular networks Umesh Phuyal, Satish C. Jha and Vijay K. Bhargava
Part V. Green Radio Test-Bed, Experimental Results, and Standardization Activities:
16. How much energy is needed to run a wireless network? Gunther Auer, Vito Giannini, Istvan Godor, Oliver Blume, Albrecht Fehske, Jose Alonso Rubio, Pal Frenger, Magnus Olsson, Dario Sabella, Manuel J. Gonzalez, Muhammad Ali Imran and Claude Desset
17. Standardization, fora, and joint industrial projects on green radio networks Alberto Conte, Hakon Helmers and Philippe Sehier.

Description:
The importance of reducing energy costs, reducing CO2 emissions and protecting the environment are leading to an increased focus on green, energy-efficient approaches to the design of next-generation wireless networks. Presenting state-of-the-art research on green radio communications and networking technology by leaders in the field, this book is invaluable for researchers and professionals working in wireless communication. Summarizing existing and ongoing research, the book explores communication architectures and models, physical communications techniques, base station power-management techniques, wireless access techniques for green radio networks, and green radio test-bed, experimental results and standardization activities. Throughout, theoretical results are blended with practical insights and coverage of deployment issues. It serves as a one-stop reference for key concepts and design techniques for energy-efficient communications and networking and provides information essential for the design of future-generation cellular wireless systems.


We study the tidal evolution of galaxies in the most massive cluster of the IllustrisTNG-100 simulation. For the purpose of this work, we selected 112 galaxies with the largest stellar masses at present and followed their properties over time. Using their orbital history, we divided the sample into unevolved (infalling), weakly evolved (with one pericenter passage), and strongly evolved (with multiple pericenters). The samples are clearly separated by the value of the integrated tidal force from the cluster the galaxies experienced during their entire evolution and their properties depend strongly on this quantity. As a result of tidal stripping, the galaxies of the weakly evolved sample lost between 10 and 80% of their dark mass and less than 10% of stars, while those in the strongly evolved one lost more than 70% of dark mass and between 10 and 55% of stellar mass, and are significantly less, or not at all dark-matter dominated. While 33% of the infalling galaxies do not contain any gas, this fraction increases to 67% for the weakly evolved sample, and to 100% for the strongly evolved sample. The strongly evolved galaxies lose their gas earlier and faster (within 2–6 Gyr), but the process can take up to 4 Gyr from the first pericenter passage. These galaxies are redder and more metal rich, and at redshift z = 0.5, the population of galaxies in the cluster becomes predominantly red. As a result of tidal stirring, the morphology of the galaxies evolves from oblate to prolate and their rotation is diminished, thus the morphology-density relation is reproduced in the simulated cluster. The strongly evolved sample contains at least six convincing examples of tidally induced bars and six more galaxies that had their bars enhanced by their interaction with the cluster.


This thesis covers the field of vortex-flow dominated external aerodynamics. As part of the contribution to the AVT-113 task group it was possible to prove the feasibility of high Reynolds number CFD computations to resolve and thus better understand the peculiar dual vortex system encountered on the VFE-2 blunt leading edge delta wing at low to moderate incidences. Initial investigations into this phenomenon seemed to undermine the hypothesis, that the formation of the inner vortex system depends on the laminar/turbulent state of the boundary layer at separation onset. As a result of this research, the initial hypothesis had to be expanded to account also for high Reynolds number cases, where a laminar boundary layer at separation onset can be excluded. In addition, unsteady transonic computations are used to shed light on a highly non-linear phenomenon encountered at high angles of incidence. At certain conditions, the increase of the incidence by a single degree leads to a sudden movement of the vortex breakdown location from the trailing edge to mid-chord. The lessons learned from the contribution to the VFE-2 facet are furthermore used to prove the technology readiness level of the tools within the second facet of AVT-113, the Cranked Arrow Wing Aerodynamics Project International (CAWAPI). The platform for this investigation, the F-16XL aircraft, experiences at high transonic speeds and low incidence a complex interaction between the leading edge vortex and a strong, mid-chord shock wave. A synergetic effect of VFE-2 with a further project, the Environmentally friendly High Speed Aircraft (HISAC), is also presented in this thesis. Reynolds number dependence is documented in respect to leading edge vortex formation of the wing planform for a reference HISAC configuration. Furthermore, proof is found for a similar dual vortex system as for the VFE-2 blunt leading edge configuration.


The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard is becoming the appropriate choice to pave the way for the next generation wireless and cellular standards. While the popular OFDM technique has been adopted and implemented in previous standards and also in the LTE downlink, it suffers from high peak-to-average-power ratio (PAPR). High PAPR requires more sophisticated power amplifiers (PAs) in the handsets and would result in lower efficiency PAs. In order to combat such effects, the LTE uplink choice of transmission is the novel Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) scheme which has lower PAPR due to its inherent signal structure. While reducing the PAPR, the SC-FDMA requires a more complicated detector structure in the base station for multi-antenna and multi-user scenarios. Since the multi-antenna and multi-user scenarios are critical parts of the LTE standard to deliver high performance and data rate, it is important to design novel architectures to ensure high reliability and data rate in the receiver. In this paper, we propose a flexible architecture of a high data rate LTE uplink receiver with multiple receive antennas and implemented a single FPGA prototype of this architecture. The architecture is verified on the WARPLab (a software defined radio platform based on Rice Wireless Open-access Research Platform) and tested in the real over-the-air indoor channel.


The article starts from noting that the social deficit of the European Union has aggravated during the recent economic crisis, despite the ambitious social objectives included in the Lisbon Treaty. The balance between economic integration and the social dimension that EU Law and the case law of the CJEU have pursued during the years has been destabilized, generating new political and social conflicts. Faced with these alarming tendencies, scholars have recently put forward some interesting proposals, in particular the proposal for a European Social Union (ESU). For its proponents, this Union would not be a fully federal welfare State, but rather a closer union between national welfare systems better capable to sustain solidarity within each nation State while promoting new forms of transnational solidarity. The core of the essay illustrates this proposal. It clarifies the proposed core mission of the ESU as well as its internal organization. In particular, it discusses the role that the European Pillar of Social Rights and EU citizenship could play in it. Reflections are devoted also to the thorny question of how to strengthen pan-European solidarity. It concludes by outlining possible future scenarios.


Visitor Encounters with the Great Barrier Reef explores how visitor encounters have shaped the history and heritage of the reef. Moving beyond the visual aesthetic significance, the book highlights the importance of multi-sensuous experiences in understanding the region as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Drawing on archival and ethnographic research, the book describes how visitors have experienced the Great Barrier Reef through personal embodied encounters and the mechanisms they have used to understand, access and share these experiences with others. Illustrating how such experiences contribute to a knowledge of place, Pocock also explores the vital role of reproduction and photography in sharing experiences with those who have never been there. The second part of the book analyses visitor experiences and demonstrates how they underpin three key frames through which the Reef is understood and valued: the islands as paradise, the underwater coral gardens, and the singular Great Barrier Reef. Acknowledging that these constructs are increasingly removed from human
experience, Pocock demonstrates that they are nevertheless integral to
recognition of the region as a World Heritage Site.

Demonstrating how experiences of the Reef have changed over time, Visitor Encounters with the Great Barrier Reef should be of interest to academics
and students working in the fields of heritage studies, history and tourism. It should also be of interest to heritage practitioners working around the globe.


Background: The prevention of childhood dental caries relies on adherence to key behaviours, including twice daily tooth brushing with fluoride toothpaste and reducing the consumption of sugary foods and drinks. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore parents' perceptions of barriers and facilitators that influence these oral health behaviours in children. A further objective was to explore parents' views on limitations and opportunities for professional support to promote children's oral health. Methods: Six focus group interviews were conducted, including a total of 39 parents of 7-year old children, who were recruited from paediatric dental centres in The Netherlands. Interviews were held with Dutch parents of low and high socioeconomic status and parents from Turkish and Moroccan origin. Focus group interviews were conducted on the basis of a pre-tested semi-structured interview guide and topic list. Content analysis was employed to analyse the data. Results: Analysis of interview transcripts identified many influences on children's oral health behaviours, operating at child, family and community levels. Perceived influences on children's tooth brushing behaviour were primarily located within the direct family environment, including parental knowledge, perceived importance and parental confidence in tooth brushing, locus of control, role modelling, parental monitoring and supervision, parenting strategies and tooth brushing routines and habituation. The consumption of sugary foods and drinks was influenced by both the direct family environment and factors external to the family, including the school, the social environment, commercials and television, supermarkets and affordability of foods. Parents raised several suggestions for professional oral health support, which included the provision of clear and consistent oral health information using a positive approach, dietary regulations at school and a multidisciplinary approach among dental professionals, child health centres and other institutions in providing parental support. Conclusion: In conclusion, this qualitative study provided detail regarding parental views on the influences on children oral health behaviours and their opinions on what further support is needed to promote children's dental health. Parents' suggestions for professional oral health support can guide the development or improvement of caries preventive interventions.


We report the discovery of the disappearance of Mg ii, Al iii, C iv, and Si iv broad absorption lines (BALs) at the same velocity (0.07c), accompanied by a new C iv BAL emerging at a higher velocity (up to 0.11c), in the quasar J0827+4252 at z = 2.038. This is the first report of BAL disappearance (i) over Mg ii, Al iii, C iv, and Si iv ions and (ii) in a weak emission-line quasar (WLQ). The discovery is based on four spectra from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and one follow-up spectrum from Hobby–Eberly Telescope/Low-Resolution Spectrograph-2. The simultaneous C iv BAL disappearance and emergence at different velocities, together with no variations in the Catalina Real-Time Transient Survey light curve, indicate that ionization changes in the absorbing material are unlikely to cause the observed BAL variability. Our analyses reveal that transverse motion is the most likely dominant driver of the BAL disappearance/emergence. Given the presence of mildly relativistic BAL outflows and an apparently large C iv emission-line blueshift that is likely associated with strong bulk outflows in this WLQ, J0827+4252 provides a notable opportunity to study extreme quasar winds and their potential in expelling material from inner to large-scale regions.


Background In South Africa, studies on the prevalence of intestinal helminth co-infection amongst HIV-infected patients as well as possible interactions between these two infections are limited. Aim To investigate the prevalence of intestinal helminth infestation amongst adults living with HIV or AIDS at Mthatha General Hospital. Setting Study participants were recruited at the outpatient department of Mthatha General Hospital, Mthatha, South Africa. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted between October and December 2013 amongst consecutive consenting HIV-positive adult patients. Socio-demographic and clinical information were obtained using data collection forms and structured interviews. Stool samples were collected to investigate the presence of helminths whilst blood samples were obtained for the measurement of CD4+ T-cell count and viral load. Results Data were obtained on 231 participants, with a mean age of 34.9 years, a mean CD4 count of 348 cells/µL and a mean viral load of 4.8 log10 copies/mL. Intestinal helminth prevalence was 24.7%, with Ascaris Lumbricoides (42.1%) the most prevalent identified species. Statistically significant association was found between CD4 count of less than 200 cells/µL and helminth infection (p = 0.05). No statistically significant association was found between intestinal helminth infection and the mean CD4 count (p = 0.79) or the mean viral load (p = 0.98). Conclusion A high prevalence of intestinal helminth infections was observed amongst the study population. Therefore, screening and treatment of helminths should be considered as part of the management of HIV and AIDS in primary health care.


Introduction Meniscal tears are a common knee injury with an incidence of 60 per 100 000. Management of meniscal tears can include either non-operative measures or operative procedures such as arthroscopic partial meniscectomy (APM). Despite substantial research evaluating the effectiveness of APM in the recent past, little is known about the clinical course or the experiences of patients with a meniscal tear. Aim To summarise the short to long-term patterns of variability in outcome in patients with a meniscal tear. To summarise the evidence on patient experiences of meniscal tears. In particular, we will focus on patient experiences of treatment options, treatment pathways and their views of the outcomes used in meniscal tear research. Methods and analysis Two search strategies will be developed to identify citations from EMBASE, MEDLINE, AMED, CENTRAL, Web of Science and Sociofile. The date of our planned search is 14 August 2020. For the quantitative review we will identify studies reporting patient-reported outcome measures in patients after a meniscal tear. The standardised mean change will be used to assess the variation in size of response and summarise the overall response to each treatment option. All studies will undergo quality assessment using either the Cochrane risk of bias or the Newcastle-Ottawa tool. A qualitative systematic review will be used to identify studies reporting views and experiences of patients with a meniscal tear. All studies will be assessed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme tool and if sufficient data are present a meta-synthesis will be performed to identify first, second and third-order constructs. Ethics and dissemination Given the nature of this study, no formal ethical approval will be sought. Results from the review will be disseminated at national conferences and will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal for publication. Lay summaries will be freely available via the study Twitter page. PROSPERO registration number CRD42019122179.


Background: Current distribution information on cacti in the Tugela River basin in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, is scant. Accordingly, surveys in this region substantially improve our understanding of regional invasions by this succulent group. The identification of new or extended invasions requires (re)assessments of their invasion status and consideration of possible management interventions. Objectives: To identify and collect cacti either not previously recorded or poorly known in the central Tugela River basin, and to assess their invasion status. Method: A 40 km section of tertiary road was travelled through the topocadastral square 2830 CC, from the R74 main road northward across the Bloukrans River towards the Tugela River. Herbarium specimens were collected to vouch for new instances of naturalisation of cacti, the colony sizes of which were estimated and invasion stages determined. An applicable weed risk assessment model was used to determine the threat status of one cactus species not previously evaluated for South Africa. Based on the South African Plant Invaders Atlas database records and field observations, management recommendations were suggested for six cacti species. Results: The first naturalised population of Opuntia microdasys in KwaZulu-Natal was detected, as was the first confirmed South African record of Echinopsis oxygona . Four populations of Peniocereus serpentinus were also found, ranging in size from several square metres to 0.4 ha. Echinopsis oxygona generated a score that falls into the reject category of the risk assessment model used. Conclusion: It is recommended that E. oxygona be added to the Species Under Surveillance for Possible Eradication or Containment Targeting list to investigate whether this species requires formal legal listing and the development of a specific eradication plan. Immediate action from local authorities is recommended for the manual removal of P. serpentinus and O. microdasys populations.


Even though natural hazard threats are present in most parts of the world, according to the data collected in the International Disaster Database, most of them occur in developing countries, and remain a major obstacle to sustainable development and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. The trend during the last decades shows an increase in the number of natural hazard events and their consequences. Natural hazards cannot be avoided, but understanding and measuring the factors that make up vulnerability, the main factor in the risk equation that can be managed, is an important research task. In this endeavor, information is a key factor in vulnerability reduction. Most planning authorities rely on hazard maps to define risk management plans and projects, but these maps only depict the threat and not the whole picture of what and who can be affected by these hazards. Information, or rather the availability of useful information, is a critical element for effectively tackling vulnerability. Defining the fitness for use of municipal geo-information for earthquake vulnerability assessment is the main topic of this research. A methodology was developed to establish whether and to what extent the vulnerability indicators calculated using this municipal geo-information are suitable for decision making. This is done by understanding the different types of vulnerability, and re-defining it in terms of the three disaster stages: impact, relief and recovery. The main proposal of the general analysis model is the analysis of vulnerability of a region for the 3 stages of a disaster (1- Impact, 2- Relief, and 3- Recovery), that follow each other in time and require different municipal strategies to cope with them. Considering this, the availability of data for the analysis of vulnerability in each phase starts with the identification of the required information -indicators- and their specific attributes. A list of indicators exists for each phase (required information) that in turn will be rated in importance according to different attributes. Some indicators are common to different evaluation phases, but their application to the analysis and/or solution proposals or plans is different. The indicators are assessed in terms of five attributes: availability, completeness, integrity and reliability, scale, and shelf-life.


The deviated nose presents a particular challenge to the rhinoplasty surgeon because, frequently, both a functional problem (airway obstruction) and an aesthetic problem must be addressed. An approach to the deviated nose is presented that relies on accurate preoperative planning and precise intraoperative execution of corrective measures to return the nasal dorsum to midline, restore dorsal aesthetic lines, and maintain airway patency. The principles of correction include wide exposure through the open approach, release of all deforming forces to the septum, straightening of the septum while maintaining an adequate dorsal and caudal strut, restoring long-term support, reducing the hypertrophied turbinates, and performing controlled stable percutaneous osteotomies. An operative algorithm is described that emphasizes simplicity and reproducibility, and case studies demonstrate the results that can be achieved with this approach.


Natural sunlight permits organisms to synchronize their physiology to the external world. However, in current times, natural sunlight has been replaced by artificial light in both day and nighttime. While in the daytime, indoor artificial light is of lower intensity than natural sunlight, leading to a weak entrainment signal for our internal biological clock, at night the exposure to artificial light perturbs the body clock and sleep. Although electric light at night allows us "to live in darkness", our current lifestyle facilitates nighttime exposure to light by the use, or abuse, of electronic devices (e.g., smartphones). The chronic exposure to light at nighttime has been correlated to mood alterations, metabolic dysfunctions, and poor cognition. To decipher the brain mechanisms underlying these alterations, fundamental research has been conducted using animal models, principally of nocturnal nature (e.g., mice). Nevertheless, because of the diurnal nature of human physiology, it is also important to find and propose diurnal animal models for the study of the light effects in circadian biology. The present review provides an overview of the effects of light at nighttime on physiology and behavior in diurnal mammals, including humans. Knowing how the brain reacts to artificial light exposure, using diurnal rodent models, is fundamental for the development of new strategies in human health based in circadian biology.


The ECMWF-T21 atmospheric GCM is forced by observed near-global SST from January 1970 to December 1985. Its response in low level winds and surface wind stress over the Pacific Ocean is compared with various observations.
The time dependent SST clearly induces a Southern Oscillation (SO) in the model run which is apparent in the time series of all variables considered. The phase of the GCM SO is as observed, but its low frequency variance is too weak and is mainly confined to the western Pacific.
Because of the GCM's use as the atmospheric component in a coupled ocean-atmosphere model, the response of an equatorial oceanic primitive equation model to both the modeled and observed wind stress is examined. The ocean model responds to the full observed wind stress forcing in a manner almost identical to that when it is forced by the first two low frequency EOFs of the observations only. These first two EOFs describe a regular eastward propagation of the SO signal from the western Pacific to the central Pacific within about a year. The ocean model's response to the modeled wind stress is too weak and similar to the response when the observed forcing is truncated to the first EOF only. In other words, the observed SO appears as a sequence of propagating patterns but the simulated SO as a standing oscillation.
The nature of the deviation of the simulated wind stress from observations is analyzed by means of Model Output Statistics (MOS). It is shown that a MOS-corrected simulated wind stress, if used to force an ocean GCM, leads to a significant enhancement of low frequency SST variance, which is most pronounced in the western Pacific.


What do you know about SEO? If you are serious about internet marketing, this is THE skill you should master in order to be successful. This simple book will help you just do that! This book contains proven steps and strategies on how to properly use SEO to make your website visible online. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a marketing discipline geared towards improving visibility in non-paid search engine results. It embraces the creative and the technical aspects needed to achieve better rankings, attract traffic, and improve awareness in search engines. There are different factors that affect the search rankings, from the content you post in the page to the way other websites add link to you. To put it simply, SEO is a set of strategies to make certain that your website is developed in a way that search engines can easily understand. However, SEO is not all about creating websites that are friendly for the search engines. It is also about making sure that the website is friendly for real people too. This book is founded on the principle that websites should be friendly to robots and humans alike. It is designed to give you the basics of all important aspects of SEO - from identifying the right keywords that drive traffic back to your website, to ensuring that your website is user friendly, to building links, and using the power of digital platforms to market the unique value of your website. If you are a beginner, you might be confused at this point. Dont worry. This book is written for you. The SEO world can be very complicated, and it is fast-changing. That is why you need to learn the basics, and continue educating yourself so you can use this tool effectively to position your website. Learning the basics of SEO can make a big difference! After downloading this book you will learn Chapter 1 How Search Engines Work Chapter 2 How People Use Search Engines Chapter 3 The Importance of Search Engine Marketing Chapter 4 The Basic of Search Engine Friendly Design and Development Chapter 5 All About Keywords Chapter 6 SEO and User Experience Chapter 7 Growing Popularity and Links Chapter 8 How to Measure and Monitor SEO Success And Much, much more!


PURPOSE
To evaluate the in vitro microleakage of a new fluoride-containing dentin adhesive and to provide evidence for fluoride release from the adhesive and penetration into the dentin.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Class V preparations with margins in enamel and dentin were made in the buccal and lingual surfaces of six extracted human third molars. Six preparations were restored with Scotchbond Multipurpose (SBMP)/Z100 composite and six with a new fluoride containing dentin adhesive (FB)/Litefil composite. After aging for 30 days in water at 37 degrees C, the teeth were stained with silver nitrate, sectioned and graded by two observers for leakage at the enamel and dentin margins. Selected FB specimens were examined in the scanning electron microprobe using WDS for fluoride and EDS for calcium and phosphorous. Fluoride release into water from disks of FB adhesive was evaluated for up to 112 days using a specific ion electrode.

RESULTS
Fluoride leached from the adhesive at a decreasing rate with time. The final rate over 112 days was 0.02 ppm/day (0.2 microgram/cm2/day). Leakage at the enamel and dentin margins was similar for both adhesives (Mann-Whitney U-test; P < or = 0.05). SEM evaluation showed the presence of a discontinuous hybrid layer of 2-3 microns. Fluoride was present within, but limited to, the hybrid layer for the FB adhesive. The penetration of fluoride could only be confirmed in areas where leakage had occurred.


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CREDIT: COPYRIGHT T. WHITE, 2008

Charles Darwin's seminal work On the Origin of Species , published 150 years ago next month, contains just one understated sentence on the implications of his theory for human evolution: "Light will be thrown on the origin of man and his history." As Darwin implied in his introduction to The Descent of Man , he felt that those implications were obvious; he appreciated, as events quickly showed, that it would be only natural to look at evolution foremost from our human perspective and contemplate what makes us unique among other primates—our large brains and ability to communicate, to create, and to understand and investigate our history and nature; our culture, society, and religion; the ability to run fast on two legs and manipulate tools; and more innovations that separate us from our primate relatives.

Tracing our evolution and how we came to acquire these skills and traits, however, has been difficult. Genetic data now confirm that our closest living primate relative is the chimpanzee. We shared and evolved from a common ancestor some 6 million or more years ago. But identifying our unique genes and other genetic differences between us and our primate cousins does not reveal the nature of that ancestor, nor what factors led to the genetic changes that underlie our divergent evolutionary paths. That requires a fossil record and enough parts of past species to assess key anatomical details. It also requires knowing the habitat of early humans well, to determine their diet and evaluate what factors may have influenced their evolution through time. Many early human fossils have been found, but with a few exceptions, these are all less than 4 million years old. The key first several million years of human evolution have been poorly sampled or revealed.

This issue presents 11 papers authored by a diverse international team (see following pages) describing an early hominid species, Ardipithecus ramidus , and its environment. The hominid fossils are 4.4 million years old, within this critical early part of human evolution, and represent 36 or more individuals, including much of the skull, pelvis, lower arms, and feet from one female. The papers represent three broad themes. Five focus on different parts of the anatomy that are revealing for human evolution. These show that Ardipithecus was at home both moving along trees on its palms and walking upright on the ground. Three characterize Ardipithecus 's habitat in detail, through analysis of the hosting rocks and thousands of fossils of small and large animals and plants. These show that Ardipithecus lived and ate in woodlands, not grasslands. The first paper presents an overview, and it and the last two papers trace early human evolution and synthesize a new view of our last common ancestor with chimps. One conclusion is that chimps have specialized greatly since then and thus are poor models for that ancestor and for understanding human innovations such as our ability to walk.

These papers synthesize an enormous amount of data collected and analyzed over decades by the authors. Because of the scope of these papers and the special broad interest in the topic of human evolution, we have expanded our usual format for papers and coverage. The papers include larger figures, tables, and discussions, and the overview and two concluding papers provide extended introductions and analyses. In addition, to aid understanding and introduce the main results of each paper, the authors provide a one-page summary of each paper, with an explanatory figure aimed at the general reader. Our News Focus section, written by Ann Gibbons, provides further analysis and coverage, and it includes maps and a portrait of the meticulous and at times grueling field research behind the discoveries. Available online are a video interview and a podcast with further explanations.

To accommodate this material and allow the full papers, this print issue presents an Editorial, News coverage, the authors' summaries, and four papers in full: the overview paper and one key paper from each thematic group above. The other research papers, and of course all content, are fully available online. In addition, a special online page ([www.sciencemag.org/ardipithecus/][2]) links to several print and download packages of this material for AAAS members, researchers, educators, and other readers.

This collection, essentially an extra issue of Science in length, reflects efforts by many behind the scenes. Every expert reviewer evaluated, and improved, multiple papers, and several commented on all 11 of them. The authors provided the summaries on top of an already large writing and revision effort. Paula Kiberstis helped in their editing. The figures and art were drafted and improved by J. H. Matternes, Henry Gilbert, Kyle Brudvik, and Josh Carlson, as well as Holly Bishop, Nathalie Cary, and Yael Kats at Science . Numerous other Science copyediting, proofreading, and production staff processed this content on top of their regular loads. Finally, special thanks go to the people of Ethiopia for supporting and facilitating this and other research into human origins over many years, and for curating Ardipithecus ramidus for future research and for all of us to admire.

Ardipithecus ramidus thus helps us bridge the better-known, more recent part of human evolution, which has a better fossil record, with the scarcer early human fossils and older ape fossils that precede our last common ancestor. Ardipithecus ramidus is a reminder of Darwin's conclusion of The Origin :

There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.

 [1]: pending:yes
 [2]: http://www.sciencemag.org/ardipithecus/


Abstract Raman spectra and lattice dynamics calculations are presented for the dioctahedral mica, muscovite. Calculated fundamental mode frequencies for the Raman-active and Ag and Bg species were fit to observed fundamentals assigned to features in the two polarized Raman spectra collected, so that unambiguous vibrational assignments could be made to most peaks in the Raman data. Calculated frequencies for the IR-active Au and Bu modes generally fall within the frequency ranges of bands in the IR spectra for muscovite presented earlier. Factor group analysis indicates that motion from all atom types in the muscovite structure can be found in modes for all four vibrational species. Force constant values determined for muscovite are similar to equivalent values calculated for the trioctahedral mica, phlogopite. Raman and IR-active modes calculated at frequencies greater than 800 cm-1 are dominated by internal sheet T-O stretch and T-O-T bend motions, where T is a tetrahedral site. Modes between 800 and 360 cm-1 have internal tetrahedral sheet motions mixed with K and octahedral Al displacements. Modes at frequencies less than 360 cm-1 have lattice and OH motions. Inter-sheet bonding in the muscovite structure is strong enough to affect modes at frequencies as high as 824 cm-1.


This paper uses data from the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) to analyze the relationship between self-reported health (SRH) and literacy and numeracy proficiency for immigrants compared to U.S.-born respondents and for Hispanic versus Asian immigrants. The research questions were: (1) Are literacy and numeracy scores associated with adults' SRH? (2) Are associations between SRH and literacy and numeracy proficiency moderated by immigrant status? (3) Among immigrants, are literacy and numeracy scores more strongly associated with SRH for Hispanics versus Asians? Immigrants had significantly lower literacy and numeracy scores, yet reported better health than U.S.-born respondents. Ordinal logistic regression analyses showed that literacy and numeracy were both positively related to SRH for immigrants and U.S.-born adults, and should therefore be viewed as part of the growing evidence that literacy is an independent and significant social determinant of health. Second, U.S.-born and immigrant adults accrued similarly positive health benefits from stronger literacy and numeracy skills. Third, although Hispanic immigrants were more disadvantaged than Asian immigrants on almost all socioeconomic characteristics and had significantly lower literacy and numeracy scores and worse SRH than Asian immigrants, both Hispanic and Asian immigrants experienced similar positive health returns from literacy and numeracy proficiency. These findings underscore the potential health benefits of providing adult basic education instruction, particularly for immigrants with the least formal schooling and fewest socioeconomic resources.


PURPOSE
The recent introduction of CyberKnife M6 FM and FIM models expands the field of robotic radiotherapy into the domain of large volume tumors. The increased complexity of CyberKnife plans with MLC requires at least 2D dosimetric verification in a phantom before the patient is treated. We describe a protocol for IMRT QA using an array of ionization chambers (MatriXX, IBA) for IMRT QA of large-target CyberKnife plans.

METHODS
We developed post-processing software that reads the dose frame sequence recorded by the MatriXX and applies a number of CyberKnife-specific correction factors to each frame. Individual beams are located within the frames and angular correction factors are applied depending on beam angle. In addition, the background evolution is tracked in the "beam-off" frames which are subsequently subtracted from the "beam-on" frames according to a predictive model.

RESULTS
The clinical passing rates are significantly improved when the per-frame analysis software was introduced in our IMRT QA procedure. We present a number of cases, for which the passing rates are increased from an average 80% in the raw data to 95% after correction. The MatriXX is found to have additional advantages, for it allows vertex beams, which are often part of the predefined paths in the planning software.

CONCLUSION
The per-beam correction strategy described in this work is found to improve the passing rates of CyberKnife plans designed for target volumes in excess of 40cc. Such large target volumes will be commonly treated with the new MLC enabled CyberKnife robot. Point dose verification remains a viable option for smaller targets, for which the spatial averaging in the MatriXX chambers hinders the performance of the device.


– Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) widely uses Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) to print various Mechanical components like Gears, Rack and pinion, Power Screw and Mechanical Links etc. But their properties change with the method of printing, working temperature, printing temperature and layer flow direction. In this particular study ABS SPECIMEN printed by FDM is used to study its Abrasive wear properties. The test has been carried out on a custom made pin disc wear testing apparatus. Index Terms — Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), Abrasive Wear, Mass Loss, Load.


We elaborate on our proposal regarding a connection between global physics and local galactic dynamics via quantum gravity. This proposal calls for the concept of MONDian dark matter which behaves like cold dark matter at cluster and cosmological scales but emulates modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND) at the galactic scale. In the present paper, we first point out a surprising connection between the MONDian dark matter and an effective gravitational Born-Infeld theory. We then argue that these unconventional quanta of MONDian dark matter must obey infinite statistics, and the theory must be fundamentally non-local. Finally, we provide a possible top-down approach to our proposal from the Matrix theory point of view.


In this paper, we explore the relationship between Facebook users' privacy concerns, relationship maintenance strategies, and social capital outcomes. Previous research has found a positive relationship between various measures of Facebook use and perceptions of social capital, i.e., one's access to social and information-based resources. Other research has found that social network site users with high privacy concerns modify their disclosures on the site. However, no research to date has empirically tested how privacy concerns and disclosure strategies interact to influence social capital outcomes. To address this gap in the literature, we explored these questions with survey data (N=230). Findings indicate that privacy concerns and behaviors predict disclosures on Facebook, but not perceptions of social capital. In addition, when looking at predictors of social capital, we identify interaction effects between users' network composition and their use of privacy features.


Handbook of Neural Computation explores neural computation applications, ranging from conventional fields of mechanical and civil engineering, to electronics, electrical engineering and computer science. This book covers the numerous applications of artificial and deep neural networks and their uses in learning machines, including image and speech recognition, natural language processing and risk analysis. Edited by renowned authorities in this field, this work is comprised of articles from reputable industry and academic scholars and experts from around the world. Each contributor presents a specific research issue with its recent and future trends. As the demand rises in the engineering and medical industries for neural networks and other machine learning methods to solve different types of operations, such as data prediction, classification of images, analysis of big data, and intelligent decision-making, this book provides readers with the latest, cutting-edge research in one comprehensive text. Features high-quality research articles on multivariate adaptive regression splines, the minimax probability machine, and more Discusses machine learning techniques, including classification, clustering, regression, web mining, information retrieval and natural language processingCovers supervised, unsupervised, reinforced, ensemble, and nature-inspired learning methods


This thesis consists of six chapters dealing with several issues related to the common theme of improving the insurance regulation and supervision in China based on China's realities and experience drawn from some selected regimes. Chapter I provides an overview of China! s insurance industry and its regulatory framework with an aim at providing a platform for deeper discussions in the following chapters. In particular, it reviews the 2002 revision of PRC Insurance Law. Chapter 2 critically examines the liberalisation process, competition issues and relevant legal framework in China's insurance sector in the context of the WTO accession and the international convergence of regulatory standards and practices. Chapter 3 examines how China's insurance regulation and supervision can be effectively and efficiently improved by the implementation of market-based approaches, shifling some of responsibilities for supervision onto insurance firms and the insurance industry through greater corporate governance, active self-rcgulation by the industry, and reinforced insurers' transparency. Chapter 4 addresses issues on the restructuring of China's insurance prudential regulation and supervision from four sides: the inefficiency of solvency management existing in the insurance industry, the framework of prudential regulation, the upgrade of early warning system, and the need to establish policyholder protection funds. Chapter 5 demonstrates the urgent needs for both relaxing restrictions on insurers' investment and improving investment regulation, and discusses a set of regulatory measures that would both facilitate insurers' effective portfolio management and safeguard the soundness of the insurance sector. Chapter 6 examines rate regulation and impacts of rate deregulation in China's nonlife insurance markets, focusing on auto insurance as a typical case. By drawing experience from the rate regulation in the US property and casualty insurance, it shows that China needs certain legal environment to escort a gradual liberalisation of rate


ABSTRACT This article presents the results of the evaluation of the seismic safety of the Ancien Hôpital de Sion, an important Swiss architectural heritage building, situated in the Canton of Valais, the region with the highest seismic hazard in Switzerland. Three-dimensional Applied Element (AEM) modeling of the whole structure has been performed and validated. The adopted modeling strategy, together with nonlinear dynamic analysis, was able to represent the actual behavior and failure mechanisms typical of complex masonry structures, in addition to a good computational efficiency compared to other available numerical approaches. The local collapse mechanisms have been also studied through a kinematic limit analysis based on rigid block rotation. Both linear and nonlinear approaches have been followed together with the capacity spectrum method. The results provided by the different methodologies have been compared with the aim to provide possible insights concerning a general procedure for the assessment of the safety of such type of structures.


Nowadays, software-as well as hardware systems produce log files that enable a continuous monitoring of the system during its execution. Unfortunately, such text-based log traces are very long and difficult to read, and therefore, reasoning and analyzing runtime behavior is not straightforward. However, dealing with log traces is especially needed in cases, where (i) the execution of the system did not perform as intended, (ii) the process flow is unknown because there are no records, and/or (iii) the design models do not correspond to its real-world counterpart. These facts cause that log data has to be prepared in a more user-friendly way (e.g., in form of graphical representations) and algorithms are needed for automatically monitoring the system's operation, and for tracking the system components interaction patterns. For this purpose we present an approach for transforming raw sensor data logs to a UML or SysML sequence diagram in order to provide a graphical representation for tracking log traces in a time-ordered manner. Based on this sequence diagram, we automatically identify interaction models in order to analyze the runtime behavior of system components. We implement this approach as prototypical plug-in in the modeling tool Enterprise Architect and evaluate it by an example of a self-driving car.


The focus of this research paper is a case study charting the development of the WSIU brand campaign for television. WSIU Public Broadcasting is in the midst of a brand roll out campaign with its own positioning strategy centralized in its tagline, Powered by You®. For WSIU-TV, the idea is to create soft sell testimonial spots in which WSIU supporters engage the audience with compelling stories about how public television has made an impact on their lives. By comparing the elements of branding and practices alongside WSIU's Powered by You campaign, an attempt will be made to characterize and specify the brand, clarify the campaign strategy through its positioning, and identify the successes while offering suggestions to areas that were overlooked. The objective of this study is to demonstrate how branding requires thorough research to build the brand strategy, which must be shared with all members of an organization in order to extend the brand experience across all platforms to develop a strong and purposeful campaign.


The article proposes a provably secure authenticated multiple key establishment protocol for Wireless Sensor Network. Security of the protocol is based on the computational infeasiblity of solving Elliptic Curve Discrete Logarithm Problem and Computational Diffie-Hellman Problem on Bilinear Pairing. User authentication is a one of the most challenging security requirement in wireless sensor networks (WSN). It is required to establish the correct session key between two adjacent nodes of WSNs to achieve this security goal. Here we prove that, the proposed protocol is secure against the attack on data integrity and known key security attack on session key. It also provides perfect forward secrecy.


The influence of acoustic-wave diffraction on nonstationary backward stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) in the presence of feedback for a Stokes electromagnetic wave is numerically investigated. The cases of an acoustic-waveguide and -antiwaveguide fibers are considered. The Kerr nonlinearity is taken into account. For fibers with a small core radius (r0<3 µm), the influence of sound diffraction on the nonstationary SBS can lead to new features. The importance of the acoustic-mode structure of the fiber for the process of forming a pulse train is shown in the case of synchronous pumping in Brillouin fiber lasers. It has been found that the acoustic-antiwaveguide fibers with a small core, r0<3 µm, can be preferable for obtaining a stable train of compressed pulses. Under a constant input pump, an acoustic diffraction can essentially reduce the threshold of the modulation instability under SBS in the presence of the feedback.


In this paper, a novel approach to detect and classify comprehensive fault conditions of induction motors using a hybrid fuzzy min-max (FMM) neural network and classification and regression tree (CART) is proposed. The hybrid model, known as FMM-CART, exploits the advantages of both FMM and CART for undertaking data classification and rule extraction problems. A series of real experiments is conducted, whereby the motor current signature analysis method is applied to form a database comprising stator current signatures under different motor conditions. The signal harmonics from the power spectral density are extracted as discriminative input features for fault detection and classification with FMM-CART. A comprehensive list of induction motor fault conditions, viz., broken rotor bars, unbalanced voltages, stator winding faults, and eccentricity problems, has been successfully classified using FMM-CART with good accuracy rates. The results are comparable, if not better, than those reported in the literature. Useful explanatory rules in the form of a decision tree are also elicited from FMM-CART to analyze and understand different fault conditions of induction motors.


The carbon isotopic signal of the C37-alkenone, a taxon-specific biomarker for haptophyte algae, has been used in various paleoceanographic studies as a proxy for ancient surface water CO2 concentration ([CO2aq]). However, a number of recent culture, field and sediment studies imply that the carbon isotopic fractionation (ep) of alkenones is controlled predominantly by physiological processes and environmental factors other than the ambient CO2 concentration (i.e., growth rate, nutrient availability, light intensity, active carbon uptake, bicarbonate utilisation). The environmental conditions controlling phytoplankton growth are likely to vary strongly with oceanographic setting. Culture experiments can not perfectly recreate natural growth conditions and physical processes which affect the carbon isotopic signal in the field and its preservation in the sediment. Consequently, the use of the carbon isotopic record of alkenones as a reliable paleoceonographic proxy also requires sediment-based studies covering a broad range of different oceanic regimes for the past and modern ocean. Here, we present the first basin-wide comparison of alkenone ep values from sediments of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and the latest Holocene. Different oceanographic regions from the equatorial and South Atlantic Ocean were examined. Generally, alkenone ep is lower during the LGM compared to the Holocene. Considering present understanding of LGM-Holocene changes in surface water conditions, the observed glacial/interglacial difference in ep indicates that different effects controlled the isotopic fractionation in alkenone producing algae depending on the regional setting. In upwelling regions, the variations in ep probably reflect a glacial increase in haptophyte productivity controlled by the availability of surface water nutrient concentrations. By contrast, in oligotrophic areas slightly lower nutrient content was available during LGM. Here, the observed ep difference can be explained partly with an assumed glacial decrease in surface water [CO2aq]. However, it can not be ruled out that changes in haptophyte productivity also affected the ep signal to some extent. This study clearly demonstrates that a reliable reconstruction of [CO2aq] on the basis of the isotopic composition of alkenones is not feasible without a detailed knowledge of ancient haptophyte growth conditions.


Views of natural areas and green space may have value quite apart from access to those lands. Using 25 years of home sales data from St. Louis County, Missouri, and modern geographic information system tools to measure views, we estimate a hedonic property fixed-effects model that captures the effects of changing land cover on house sale prices. Unlike previous studies, our approach minimizes bias from omitted variables and uniquely captures changes over time. We find that forest views negatively affect home prices, whereas farmland views have positive effects. Changes in relative scarcity of these land types over time may explain the findings. (JEL Q51, R14)


Experts predict that in the next 10 to 100 years scientists will succeed in creating human-level artificial general intelligence. While it is most likely that this task will be accomplished by a government agency or a large corporation, the possibility remains that it will be done by a single inventor or a small team of researchers. In this paper, we address the question of safeguarding a discovery which could without hesitation be said to be worth trillions of dollars. Specifically, we propose a method based on the combination of zero knowledge proofs and provably AI-complete CAPTCHA problems to show that a superintelligent system has been constructed without having to reveal the system itself.


Abstract. This work presents a technique for debris-flow (DF) forecasting able to be used in the framework of DF early warning systems at regional scale. The developed system is applied at subbasin scale and is based on the concepts of fuzzy logic to combine two ingredients: (i) DF subbasin susceptibility assessment based on geomorphological variables and (ii) the magnitude of the rainfall situation as depicted from radar rainfall estimates. The output of the developed technique is a three-class warning ("low", "moderate" or "high") in each subbasin when a new radar rainfall map is available. The developed technique has been applied in a domain in the eastern Pyrenees (Spain) from May to October 2010. The warning level stayed "low" during the entire period in 20% of the subbasins, while in the most susceptible subbasins the warning level was at least "moderate" for up to 10 days. Quantitative evaluation of the warning level was possible in a subbasin where debris flows were monitored during the analysis period. The technique was able to identify the three events observed in the catchment (one debris flow and two hyperconcentrated flow events) and produced no false alarm.


The main aim of this work is to improve the lower detection limit of cadmium selective polymeric membrane. The sensor was fabricated by using thiacalixarene derivative 5,11,17,23-tetra- tert-butyl-25,27-bis-((3'-methoxy phenyl)methoxy)-26,28-dihydroxy-2,8,14,20-tetrathiacalix (4)arene as ionophore. The membrane with composition of ionophore: PVC: DMP: NaTPB of 3.5% : 33% : 1.0% : 62.5% (w/v) has a standard detection limit of 1.0x10 -8 M and lowest possible detection limit of 6.2x10 -9 M. The electrode exhibits Nernstian response with slope 35.3±1 mV decade -1 of activity in linear concentration range of 4.2x10 -8 to 1.0x10 -1 M for Cd 2+ ion, performs satisfactorily over wide pH range (1.5-7.0), with a fast response time (5s). The selectivity coefficients determined by using fixed interference method (FIM) indicate high selectivity for Cd 2+ as compared to other tested cations. The practicable utility of electrode has been demonstrated in the titration of Cd 2+ with standard EDTA solution. The proposed electrode was successfully used for the determination of Cd 2+ in different biological and environmental samples.


Long – term monitoring (LTM) networks are installed for groundwater remediation systems to evaluate the performance of various remediation processes and to track the variation of contaminant concentration and contaminant plumes. In addition, the results of LTM can be used to determine whether remediation goals have been achieved, to select the techniques for further remediation, and eventually to minimize the risk of environmental and human health. LTM involves collecting subsurface soil samples, groundwater samples or/and vapor samples at selected depths from monitoring wells periodically, analyzing samples and data interpretation. LTM networks are costly at certain remediation sites due to the operation and maintenance of large number of monitoring wells, multiple sampling depths and multiple-parameters analyses, some of which are not necessary once the remediation goals have been achieved. This cost can be reduced by optimizing existing LTM networks,e.g., removing redundant monitoring wells or reducing sampling frequency while maintaining acceptable accuracy of the LTM networks. Data interpolation and site characterization are two important components in LTM network optimization. Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) and Kriging (e.g., ordinary kriging, quantile kriging, etc.) are the most commonly used data interpolation techniques for predicting pollutant concentration values from neighborhood sampling locations at contaminated sites. The basic assumption of IDW is that the concentration at locations near each other in space are more likely to be similar than those at locations far from each other. The interpolated value is a weighted average of the concentration values at sampled points and the weight assigned to each point decreases as the distance from the interpolation point to the sampled point increases. The advantages of IDW include fast computing time, no assumptions required, and the method is very simple and basic. The IDW method, however, does not consider the trend of contaminant distribution due to the movement of groundwater.


Warm Mix Asphalt for Cold Weather Paving Olof Kristjansdottir Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Assistant Professor Stephen T. Muench Civil and Environmental Engineering Increased environmental awareness and stricter emissions regulations have led to a development of warm mix asphalt (WMA) to reduce the high mixing temperatures of regular hot mix asphalt (HMA). Its benefits are reduction in energy consumption during production and reduced emissions during production and placement. The three most tested methods are; WAM Foam, Aspha-min zeolite and Sasobit wax. All three methods reduce the viscosity of the binder at a certain temperature range, allowing the aggregate to be fully coated at lower temperatures than in HMA production. Previous research has not focused much on how WMA functions in cold weather paving. This paper investigates WMA's potential in cold weather conditions and specifically how Iceland, with such conditions, can benefit from it. The conclusions in this paper are drawn from a literature review and a survey that was conducted among Iceland's paving industry professionals. Reduced emissions are especially beneficial in densely populated areas and in non-open air paving. The decreased viscosity allows effective compaction at lower temperatures where cool down rates are slower. WMA's disadvantages are mainly related to rutting and moisture susceptibility issues. Using WMA processes at HMA production temperatures: 1) Increases the temperature gap between production and cessation, allowing e.g. increased haul distances 2) Facilitates compaction, which is beneficial for; stiff mixes and RAP, paving during extreme weather conditions and reduction in compaction effort. Icelandic professionals are generally positive towards WMA, interested in testing it further for Icelandic conditions, and hopeful about its potential for helping with some key problems in Icelandic paving. The final conclusion is that WMA is a viable option for cold weather conditions and for the paving industry in Iceland, Sasobit is most suitable of the three methods, and usage incentives are twofold: 1) As a compaction aid for mixes produced at, or close to, regular HMA production temperatures, used to increase haul distances and/or pave during cold and difficult weather conditions, and sometimes slightly reduce fuel consumption as well. 2) As an environmentally friendly method when emissions approach limits, although not an issue today it may become one with stricter emissions regulations or increased production.


In the fantasy genre where the female characters are so often in the minority, it is disturbing that George R. R. Martin chooses to reinvent the traditional male fantasy hero with female characters that are presented as monstrous for attempting to gain power in a patriarchal society. This article will be discussing Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series (1999–), examining the character of Cersei Lannister and the reasons as to why she cannot gain power in a patriarchal system. In the first part of this article, I will depict how Cersei gains power by creating what I term 'political prostheses', which serve as substitutions for her female body and create a masculine armouring through which she can take part in the political field and patriarchal society. As I will demonstrate in the second part of this article, unlike the other mother characters, Cersei's monstrosity comes about through the amalgamation of incompatible images of womanhood, which is complicated further by incest. Consequently, as I will emphasize in the last part of this article, Cersei is expelled from society at the end of the last published book through a ritual that can be read as one of abjection.


Land degradation processes, such as soil erosion, which threaten the sustainability of agricultural production have been studied for many years. While research progresses on the processes, little advance has been made on translating results into terms which can be used directly in the design of appropriate and economically justified forms of soil conservation and land husbandry. Research by the authors has shown how soil erosion affects the potential of land to produce crops. Simple models have been developed which provide a first approximation of the impact of soil erosion on future production, to be used as a baseline against which the benefits of soil conservation can be compared. The concepts of soil life and residual suitability have been developed as a measure of the sustainability of the production system considered. In this paper a simple experimental technique to derive the future production and the residual suitability of land is proposed. The method is based on the principle of sequential testing and uses a simple graphical technique to translate information on production and erosion into a crop production forecast. The method and its application are illustrated using examples from Botswana and Sierra Leone.


A developmental analysis of pollination responses in Arabidopsis implicates pollen as well as stigma maturation factors in the acquisition of reproductive function. In the anther, competence of pollen to germinate and to produce pollen tubes in situ occurred late in development. In the pistil, competence to support pollen germination and tube growth extended over a broad developmental window, and abundant as well as efficient pollen tube development was observed on pistils at anthesis and for a period of 1–2 days prior to flower opening. In contrast, pollen tube growth on immature pistils was found to proceed at low efficiency, at reduced growth rates, and with lack of directionality. Based on the pattern of pollen tube growth at different stages of pistil maturation, temporally regulated signals emanating from specialized cells of the pistil are inferred to be operative in each of the four identified phases of pollen tube growth. In the stigma and the stylar transmitting tissue, these signals directed the path of intra-specific pollen tubes as well as pollen tubes from another cruciferous genera, Brassica. By contrast, in the ovary, signaling by the ovule was effective only on intra-specific pollen tubes and was thus identified as the basis of inter-specific incompatibility. Furthermore, the acquisition of reproductive function was found to involve, in addition to the induction of a variety of stimulatory signals, a heretofore unrecognized developmental restriction in the capacity of epidermal surfaces of the flower to support pollen tube growth.


Asia and the Pacific, despite visible signs of prosperity due to years of rapid economic growth, has made insufficient progress in freeing its population from hunger and malnutrition, the most basic marker of true development. Given the importance of reducing poverty and hunger as core development priorities, the international community has placed these as the first Millennium Development Goal (MDG), adopted in the historic Millennium Declaration of September 2000. The MDGs envision halving the incidence of poverty and hunger by 2015 and call for major improvements in the provision of basic services, promising a better life to millions of poor across the globe. However, if progress in reducing poverty and hunger is not accelerated in the region, such hopes will remain unrealized. This paper aims to trace the progress of efforts to reduce hunger in Asia and the Pacific, to identify reasons for their successes and failures, and to suggest policy initiatives to help make tangible progress of the Millennium Development Goal targets from now until 2015.


Even though generic drugs now account for more than two-thirds of dispensed prescriptions, to date they have played almost no discernible role in products liability litigation. In the last few years, however, courts have begun to confront challenging questions presented when plaintiffs assert tort claims for injuries caused by the use of generic drugs, including negligent misrepresentation claims brought against the manufacturers of the brand-name versions of those products even though never used by the patient. Such cross-over litigation uniformly failed until a couple of years ago when the California courts allowed a plaintiff to maintain claims against only the brand-name drug manufacturer even though she had ingested only the generic version. This article explains the profound though not entirely self-evident illogic of such an approach.


The paper re-examines Swedeni?½s price level targeting during the 1930s which is regarded as a precursor of todayi?½s inflation targeting. According to conventional wisdom the Riksbank was the first central bank to adopt price level targeting as the guideline for its activities, although in practice giving priority to exchange rate stabilisation over price level stabilisation. On the basis of econometric analysis (Bayesian VAR) and the evaluation of new archival sources we come to a more skeptical conclusion. Our results suggest that it is hard to reconcile the Riksbanki?½s striving for a fixed exchange rate with the claim that it adopted price level targeting. This finding has implications for the prevailing view of the 1930s as a decade of great policy innovations.


Two cyclone spray chambers of different sizes are evaluated for inductively coupled plasma/atomic emission spectrometry. On the basis of a simplified mathematical model, the cut-off diameters of the aerosol droplets are estimated to be 2.2 to 4.3 and 1.8 to 3.5 μm for the large and the small cyclones, respectively. The sample consumption rate can be reduced to about 50 μL/min when the cyclone chamber is used in a recycling mode. In general, the signal-to-background ratios, detection limits, and precisions of the analyte signal intensities obtained with the small cyclone chamber are slightly superior to those achieved with a Scott spray chamber and a recycling gravitational sedimentation chamber. The performance of the recycling cyclone chamber is also evaluated for the determination of copper in the NBS freeze-dried urine.


The American Cancer Society puts it bluntly: "We're fat and it's killing us." Obesity is rising at epidemic rates and, according to a first-ever Surgeon General's report on obesity (issued in 2001), it may soon surpass tobacco as the chief cause of preventable death in the United States. Obesity has been directly linked to heart disease, diabetes, stroke, infertility, and cancer. Each year, obesity costs the nation an estimated $120 billion in medical care and takes some 280,000 lives. Body weight is rising fastest among young Americans—the most dramatic stories feature heart attacks among obese six year-olds.David Satcher, "Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity" (Rockville, MD: Department of Health and Human Services, 2001), xiii, 8; Kelly Brownell, "Public Policy and the Prevention of Obesity," in Eating Disorders and Obesity: A Comprehensive Handbook, ed. Christopher G. Fairburn and Kelly D. Brownell (New York: Guilford, 2002); Eric Schlosser, Fast Food Nation (New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2001), 241–43.


Calibration spectra of CO in the 2.38–5100 ppm concentration range (22 spectra) have been measured with a spectral resolution of 4 cm−1, in the mid-IR (2186–2001 cm−1) region, with a Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) instrument. The multivariate calibration method partial least-squares (PLS1) was used to model the CO calibration spectra in order to improve the sensitivity and to flag possible outliers in the prediction step. The relation between the absorbance values and concentrations was strongly nonlinear. This result was caused mainly by the low spectral resolution of the instrument. To improve the model predictions, we have linearized the data prior to making the model calculations. The linearization scheme presented here simplified the data pretreatment, because the function needed to linearize the data might be approximated by co-absorbance peak areas representing the concentrations. The integrated absorbance areas, rather than the concentration values, were used as input to the PLS algorithm. A fifth-order polynomial was used to calculate the concentrations from the predicted absorbance areas. The PLS algorithm used on the linearized data reduced the number of factors in the calibration model. Our results reveal that the calibration model based on the linearized data had a high concentration prediction accuracy throughout the entire concentration range.


This book focuses on the rapidly growing economic and political influence that China has in Africa. Cutting-edge contributions from sixteen pan-African authors provide an historical and geo-political context for understanding the evolving partnership between Africa and China. The book features nine detailed country case studies and assesses China's Africa policy and interests in relation to those of other powers. It broadens the debate on this crucial topic and ensures that African voices enrich a discourse that could well determine the future of the continent.


If ever there were a book to make you switch off your television set, The Dangerous Book for Boys is it. How many other books will help you thrash someone at conkers, race your own go-cart, and identify the best quotations from Shakespeare? The Dangerous Book for Boys gives you facts and figures at your fingertips - swot up on the solar system, learn about famous battles and read inspiring stories of incredible courage and bravery. Teach your old dog new tricks. Make a pinhole camera. Understand the laws of cricket. There's a whole world out there: with this book, anyone can get out and explore it. The Dangerous Book for Boys is written with the verve and passion that readers of Conn Iggulden's number one bestselling novels have come to expect. This book, his first non-fiction work, has been written with his brother as a celebration of the long summers of their youth and as a compendium of information so vital to men of all ages. Lavishly designed and fully illustrated in colour and black and white throughout, it's set to be a perfect gift for Father's Day and beyond. Chapters in The Dangerous Book for Boys include: The Seven Ancient Wonders of the World, Conkers, Laws of Football, Dinosaurs, Fishing, Juggling, Timers and Tripwires, Kings and Queens, Famous Battles, Spies, Making Crystals, Insects and Spiders, Astronomy, Girls, The Golden Age of Piracy, Secret Inks, Patron Saints of Britain, Skimming Stones, Dog Tricks, Making a Periscope, Coin Tricks, Marbles, Artillery, The Origin of Words and The Solar System.


Handling rat pups either for 10 or 20 days after birth resulted in a reduction of adrenocortical steroids in the plasma at weaning after the pups were exposed to novel stimuli as compared with controls that were not handled. Nonhandled offspring of mothers which had been handled in infancy also show a reduction in plasma steroids in response to novel stimuli when compared to nonhandled weanling rats of nonhandled mothers. Handling of the offspring when they are infants appears to counteract the influence of the experience of the mother during her infancy.


The woodland animals were all getting ready for the winter. Geese flew south, rabbits and deer grew thick warm coats, and the raccoons and chipmunks lay down for a long winter nap. Come Christmastime, the wise owls were the first to see the rainbow around the moon. It was a sure sign that the big snow was on its way.


3D seismic data provide images of geological features which are approximately circular in plan view but whose shape and origin may not be possible to constrain using 2D seismic data. As 3D seismic data become more commonly employed in hydrocarbon exploration, the number of demonstrably "circular" structures will increase. At least ten different geological processes can result in seismically resolvable "circular" structures in sedimentary basins. These include salt/shale diapirs, salt withdrawal basins, polygonal fault blocks, dissolution collapse hollows, breccia pipes, calderas, gas pockmarks, bioherms, sand volcanoes, pull-aparts, impact craters and tectonic folds. Geometrical and geological criteria for each are summarized to facilitate identification of such features should they be encountered in the course of a 3D seismic interpretation. Certain types of geological feature have distinctive properties, others are less straightforward to recognize on the basis of individual criteria.


In a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell, the condensed water in the separator-channel prevents the supply of reactants to electrodes, which deteriorates the cell performance. The Lattice Boltzmann simulation has been conducted to understand the behavior of condensed water in the separator-channels. The scheme for the two-phase flow with large density difference was applied and the boundary condition for wettability at the corner inside the channel was examined. The present simulation demonstrates the effects of the cross-sectional shape, the wettability of channel and the volume of condensed water on the liquid water behavior. In the hydrophilic separator-channels, the liquid water spreads along the channel wall to form film and, in a specific condition, the water draws away from the gas diffusion layer, which suppresses the flooding. On the other hand, the liquid water forms sphere, covering larger area of the surface of gas diffusion layer in the hydrophobic separator-channels, but the drain performance of liquid water is superior.Copyright © 2005 by ASME


OBJECTIVE
Prior latent class analyses have identified subgroups of smokers that vary by the severity and individual symptoms of nicotine dependence. These analyses have not accounted for the use of alternate tobacco, which is most prevalent among current cigarette smokers. The objective of this study was to determine whether smokers who frequently use other forms of tobacco constitute a latent class characteristic of nicotine-dependence symptoms.

METHOD
Current cigarette smokers (N=4,517), who had a lifetime history of daily smoking, were selected from Wave III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. A latent class model was based on 10 indicators, which included 6 items from the Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence and 4 measures of the past-month use of tobacco products (cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, bidis). Covariates included demographic, psychosocial, smoking-related characteristics, and the use of other substances.

RESULTS
One of the five estimated latent classes, which ranked second in severity of nicotine dependence only to the class with the heaviest smokers, consisted of light-to-medium smokers who were the most frequent users of alternate tobacco.

CONCLUSION
Alternate tobacco use is correlated with nicotine dependence among smokers, a factor that should be considered in promoting the substitution of one tobacco product for another.


The Axelrod model of cultural dissemination is a convenient analogue to the description of archaeological cultures based on a series of material features, such as styles of pottery, agriculture, domestication, etc. Allowing a population to spread into uninhabited, or sparsely inhabited, territory, while undergoing cultural interaction, generates a wave front containing larger homogeneous cultures, with a backwater of diversity. A very similar process is observed in the neolithic transition -the arrival of the first farming technology at the end of the Mesolithic - in south- eastern Europe (c. 8000-6000 cBC), where the first observable neolithic cultures are large and homogeneous, and these are succeeded by greater diversity. The model presented here demonstrates how the dynamics of a spreading wave can explain the observed progression from large, spreading cultures to smaller, more diverse cultures.


The modernization of the irrigation systems has been the main strategy followed by the regional administration of the Valencia Region to cope with the structural water deficit of the region, which has been particularly severe during the last three decades. These policies have been oriented to the substitution of gravity irrigation systems for drip technology. The technological change has involved an important investment effort, developed by different public administrations and also the farmers and water users9 associations (WUAs). This transformation, has also involved a change in the structure of costs of the WUAs. This paper analyzes the changes in costs and tariffs of irrigation after the important investments made in the modernization of irrigation. The effects of subsidies on the percentage of the cost recovery in the services of water for irrigation are also considered. All of them have developed modernization projects in the recent years. It can be concluded that conflict between two objectives proposed by the Water Framework Directive may exist. On the one hand, significant reductions of water supply are observed; meanwhile, on the other hand, the cost recovery percentage diminishes significantly.


Every day new frameworks and libraries are created and existing ones evolve. To benefit from such newer or improved APIs, client developers should update their applications. In practice, this process presents some challenges: APIs are commonly backward-incompatible (causing client applications to fail when updating) and multiple APIs are available (making it difficult to decide which one to use). To address these challenges, we propose apiwave, a tool that keeps track of API popularity and migration of major frameworks/libraries. The current version includes data about the evolution of top 650 GitHub Java projects, from which 320K APIs were extracted. We also report an experience using apiwave on real-world scenarios.


We introduce the first temporal-difference learning algorithms that converge with smooth value function approximators, such as neural networks. Conventional temporal-difference (TD) methods, such as TD(λ), Q-learning and Sarsa have been used successfully with function approximation in many applications. However, it is well known that off-policy sampling, as well as nonlinear function approximation, can cause these algorithms to become unstable (i.e., the parameters of the approximator may diverge). Sutton et al. (2009a, 2009b) solved the problem of off-policy learning with linear TD algorithms by introducing a new objective function, related to the Bellman error, and algorithms that perform stochastic gradient-descent on this function. These methods can be viewed as natural generalizations to previous TD methods, as they converge to the same limit points when used with linear function approximation methods. We generalize this work to nonlinear function approximation. We present a Bellman error objective function and two gradient-descent TD algorithms that optimize it. We prove the asymptotic almost-sure convergence of both algorithms, for any finite Markov decision process and any smooth value function approximator, to a locally optimal solution. The algorithms are incremental and the computational complexity per time step scales linearly with the number of parameters of the approximator. Empirical results obtained in the game of Go demonstrate the algorithms' effectiveness.