We describe an effective approach to automated text digitisation with respect to natural history specimen labels. These labels contain much useful data about the specimen including its collector, country of origin, and collection date. Our approach to automatically extracting these data takes the form of a pipeline. Recommendations are made for the pipeline's component parts based on state-of-the-art technologies.
 Optical Character Recognition (OCR) can be used to digitise text on images of specimens. However, recognising text quickly and accurately from these images can be a challenge for OCR. We show that OCR performance can be improved by prior segmentation of specimen images into their component parts. This ensures that only text-bearing labels are submitted for OCR processing as opposed to whole specimen images, which inevitably contain non-textual information that may lead to false positive readings. In our testing Tesseract OCR version 4.0.0 offers promising text recognition accuracy with segmented images.
 Not all the text on specimen labels is printed. Handwritten text varies much more and does not conform to standard shapes and sizes of individual characters, which poses an additional challenge for OCR. Recently, deep learning has allowed for significant advances in this area. Google's Cloud Vision, which is based on deep learning, is trained on large-scale datasets, and is shown to be quite adept at this task. This may take us some way towards negating the need for humans to routinely transcribe handwritten text.
 Determining the countries and collectors of specimens has been the goal of previous automated text digitisation research activities. Our approach also focuses on these two pieces of information. An area of Natural Language Processing (NLP) known as Named Entity Recognition (NER) has matured enough to semi-automate this task. Our experiments demonstrated that existing approaches can accurately recognise location and person names within the text extracted from segmented images via Tesseract version 4.0.0.
 We have highlighted the main recommendations for potential pipeline components. The paper also provides guidance on selecting appropriate software solutions. These include automatic language identification, terminology extraction, and integrating all pipeline components into a scientific workflow to automate the overall digitisation process.


In this paper, we exploit a natural experiment in which thrifts in several states witnessed an exogenous reduction in supervisory attention to assess the effect of supervision on financial institutions' willingness to take risk. We show that the affected institutions took on much more risk than their unaffected counterparts in other districts that were subject to identical regulations. Subsequent to the emergency enlistment of examiners and supervisors from other parts of the country two years later, additional risk taking by the affected thrifts ceased. We find that the expansion in risk taking resulted in a higher incidence of failure as well as more costly failures. None of these patterns are present in commercial banks subject to a different primary supervisory agent but otherwise similar to the thrifts in our sample.


This book presents a new and comprehensive biography of one of the most prominent artists of the twentieth century in dialogue with the events and ideologies of his time. It encompasses the 98 years of Chagall's life (1887-1985) in Russia, France, the US, as well as Germany and Israel, his deep roots in folk culture, his personal relationships and loves, his involvement with the art of the Russian Revolution, with Surrealism, Communism, Zionism, Yiddish literature and the state of Israel. The book exposes the complex relationships between Chagall's three cultural identities: Jewish-Russian-French. Indeed, it is a biography of the turbulent times of the twentieth century and the transformations of a Jew in it, his meteoric rise from the "ghetto" of the Russian Pale of Settlement to the centers of modern culture. The book reveals Chagall's endless curiosity, his forays in many directions beyond painting and drawing: public art, theater and ballet, stained glass windows in churches and synagogues, lithographs, etchings, and illustrations of literature and the Bible. We observe the intricate relations between Chagall's life and consciousness and the impact of his life on the iconography of his art. Thus, the book provides an indispensable key to the understanding of Chagall's often enigmatic art. Indeed, it is a contribution to the understanding of some of the central problems of Modern art, such as the question of originality, the interaction between the formal discoveries of the avant-garde and cultural or multi-cultural representation, and the relations between an artist's art and his personal biography. Renowned Israeli-American scholar Benjamin Harshav presents the first comprehensive investigation of Marc Chagall's life and consciousness after the classic 1961 biography by Chagall's son-in-law Franz Meyer. Harshav's narrative includes hundreds of private letters and documents written by Chagall and his contemporaries in Russian, Yiddish, French, English and other languages, translated by Benjamin and Barbara Harshav into English, and placed in their personal and historical context.


The reliable identification of the "best" arm while keeping the sample complexity as low as possible is a common task in the field of multi-armed bandits. In the multi-dueling variant of multi-armed bandits, where feedback is provided in the form of a winning arm among a set of k chosen ones, a reasonable notion of best arm is the generalized Condorcet winner (GCW). The latter is an arm that has the greatest probability of being the winner in each subset containing it. In this paper, we derive lower bounds on the sample complexity for the task of identifying the GCW under various assumptions. As a by-product, our lower bound results provide new insights for the special case of dueling bandits (k = 2). We propose the Dvoretzky–Kiefer–Wolfowitz tournament (DKWT) algorithm, which we prove to be nearly optimal. In a numerical study, we show that DKWT empirically outperforms current state-of-the-art algorithms, even in the special case of dueling bandits or under a Plackett-Luce assumption on the feedback mechanism.


Risk factors for repeat drink driving, an important road safety issue, are well known. However, apart from the findings of a recent New South Wales study, estimates of Australian recidivism rates by risk factors are not well known. The driving records of a cohort of Queensland drink drivers participating in a drink driving rehabilitation program were matched by age, region, blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level and prior offence and used to estimate sex-specific two- and five-year re-offence rates overall.Estimates of the proportion of Queensland drink drivers with a prior drink driving (DD) offence in 2004 were used to standardise rates to the Queensland drink driving population. Rates were higher in remote areas, as were rates in males, young drivers, drivers with high BAC levels and drivers with prior DD convictions (this was especially true of drivers with at least two prior DD convictions). Five-year rates for Queensland were estimated as 21.8% in males and 16.4% in females, appreciably higher than in New South Wales. Keywords Drink driving, Drink driving risk factors, Recidivism, Repeat offenders


The development of the internet as a medium for conducting commercial activity has led to a series of legal disputes between competitors and other parties concerning the allocation of the potential revenue to be derived from these activities. The pleadings for such disputes, not surprisingly, tend to set out numerous causes of action in the hopes that at least some will be amenable to reasoning by analogy as judges confront novel claims. The danger, however, of an ad hoc approach to the progressive development of common law as it applies to online disputes is that hastily scattered doctrinal seeds may develop unexpectedly into firmly entrenched judicial roots. The objective of this brief comment is not to resolve the issue of propertization of online transactions, but simply to demonstrate that doctrinal implementation of property norms should not be predicated on the questionable legitimacy of using metaphors of place and object as the conceptual framework for analyzing online disputes.


We present a sensing technology and input method that uses skin deformation estimated through a thin band-type device attached to the human body, the appearance of which seems socially acceptable in daily life. An input interface usually requires feedback. SenSkin provides tactile feedback that enables users to know which part of the skin they are touching in order to issue commands. The user, having found an acceptable area before beginning the input operation, can continue to input commands without receiving explicit feedback. We developed an experimental device with two armbands to sense three-dimensional pressure applied to the skin. Sensing tangential force on uncovered skin without haptic obstacles has not previously been achieved. SenSkin is also novel in that quantitative tangential force applied to the skin, such as that of the forearm or fingers, is measured. An infrared (IR) reflective sensor is used since its durability and inexpensiveness make it suitable for everyday human sensing purposes. The multiple sensors located on the two armbands allow the tangential and normal force applied to the skin dimension to be sensed. The input command is learned and recognized using a Support Vector Machine (SVM). Finally, we show an application in which this input method is implemented.


We document and analyze price dispersion in the U.S. mortgage market. We find significant price dispersion in posted prices in the retail channel: for example, a consumer with a prime credit score and with a 20% down payment for a conforming loan might see a spread in interest rates of 50 basis points, controlling for all relevant consumer/property characteristics, including discount points. This amounts to extra 342 dollars per year, for every 100,000 of the loan. We also show, from survey evidence, that close to half of consumers did not shop before taking out a mortgage, and that most consumers do not seem to realize that there is price dispersion. Using a proprietary dataset of lenders' ratesheets, we estimate an equilibrium model of costly search where majority of consumers hold incorrect beliefs regarding price dispersion. In addition to search costs, we show that non-price factors, such as consumer preference of one lender over another, also play an important role in preventing consumers from searching more. In one of our counterfactuals, we show that if 20% of consumers had obtained one extra quote, consumers would save $4 billion dollars a year, most coming from the indirect/equilibrium effect of firms lowering prices in response to more shopping. In another counterfactual, we show that if consumers were to focus on mortgage cost only, they would save about $9 billion dollars a year.


Abstract The career readiness of high school students has been a longstanding issue that has received renewed attention in recent years. To document an approach to promoting career readiness in the United States, we conducted an exploratory case study of a distinguished information technology career academy. Using the premises of capital building as a frame of reference, we found a community who viewed career readiness as a form of investment in human capital development. As such, a network of business partners collaborated with academy staff in providing school- and work-based learning opportunities for academy students. This approach was complemented by an emphasis on the development of social capital with social bonds, bridges, and linkages in place to sustain the network identity and development.


With the imminence of global climate changes that affect the temperature and the rainfall uniformity, it is growing the concern about the adaptation of crops to the water deficit. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate alterations in physiological and enzymatic mechanisms during the germination process of sesame seeds under different water availability. To simulate the water restriction we used PEG6000, a high molecular weight molecule that does not penetrate the seed structure but allows different osmotic potentials. The treatments were -0.1, -0.2, and -0.3 MPa, and the control. Germination, first-count germination, germination velocity index, and length and dry mass of the hypocotyl and radicle were performed. The seeds were weighed before and after treatments every 3 h. After each weighing, 100 seeds were taken for analysis of the enzymes alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), malate dehydrogenase, esterase, catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), isocitrate lyase (ICL), and glutamate dehydrogenase (GTDH). The statistical design was completely randomized with five replications. PEG6000 prolonged ADH activity during the beginning of germination, maintaining the anaerobic metabolism for longer. Subsequently, their activity was reduced, as well as ICL, favoring the deterioration of the seeds that take the time to germinate. Behavior was evidenced by the appearance of SOD, CAT, and GTDH isoforms after 24 h of imbibition when water restriction was imposed. Therefore, the PEG600 is efficient in simulating water deficit conditions in future scenarios of climate change, offering impotent information regarding the germination behavior of the plants under these conditions.


This special issue of American Quarterly asks powerful and poignant questions about technology and its effects on our bodies, minds, families, economies, armies, and academies. Technology is an entry point for American studies scholars to find new and creative ways to think through social and cultural problems. The essays in this collection provide an interdisciplinary exploration of the ways scholars of culture use the study of technology to examine the flows, conflicts, tensions, and hazards of American culture. Re-reading the narrative of U.S. technology, the contributors move beyond celebrations of exceptional tinkerers and a deterministic machine-driven sense of progress and form a more comprehensive understanding of opportunities and responsibilities that befall a nation that interweaves its identities, labors, and creative cultures with its machines. Discussing technologies of transcendence; the cultural work of technological systems; technology and knowledge systems; and technology, mobility, and the body; they consider the place of American technologies in an increasingly globalized, multi-polar, high-tech world and illuminate the relationship between technological positivism and the dynamics of imperialism and war.


Film cooling is a common technique to manage turbine vane and blade thermal environment. Optimizing its cooling efficiency is furthermore an active research topic which goes in hand with a strong knowledge of the flow associated with a cooling hole. The following paper aims at developing deeper understanding of the flow physics associated with a standard cooling hole and helping guide future cooling optimization strategies. For this purpose, large eddy simulations (LESs) of the 7-7-7 fan-shaped cooling hole are performed and the flow inside the cooling hole is studied and discussed. Use of mathematical techniques such as the fast Fourier transforms (FFTs) and dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) is done to quantitatively access the flow modal structure inside the hole based on the LES unsteady predictions. Using these techniques, distinct vortex features inside the cooling hole are captured. These features mainly coincide with the roll-up of the internal shear layer formed at the interface of the separation region at the hole-inlet. The topology of these vortex features is discussed in detail and it is also shown how the expansion of the cross section in case of shaped holes aids in breaking down these vortices. Indeed upon escaping, these large-scale features are known to not be always beneficial to film cooling effectiveness.


Word-order convergence is argued to be a processual mechanism in which bilinguals use morphemes from language A in an order which is more prominent in language B than in language A. In this chapter we examine whether there is word-order convergence in the speech of Welsh–English bilinguals using Myers-Scotton's (2002) Matrix Language Frame model. We use the term dichotomous matrix language to capture the phenomenon found where structural material within a clause does not point to either language as being the matrix language (ML), and suggest that this reflects convergence in such clauses. Applying this model to recorded spoken data from six Welsh–English bilinguals, we find that dichotomous ML clauses in the data are very rare, suggesting that word-order convergence in Welsh–English bilinguals is not commonly found when measured in this way.


The use of MAR schemes within the European Union is not a new phenomenon, on the contrary it dates back to the beginning of the XIX century. Despite being widely adopted and currently the object of extensive studies, this tool is not soundly regulated and so far very little research has been conducted on the normative framework regulating MAR at the regional and at the national level. This paper draws upon the findings of a Report which represents one of the deliverables identified by MARSOL, a EU FP7 project launched in December 2013 that aims at demonstrating that MAR shall be regarded as a viable approach to address the predicted water shortages over the long term. Through a survey which involved a number of national experts, the researchers involved in the drafting of the Report have collected relevant data concerning the national legal frameworks of nine EU countries that adopt MAR schemes. The results of the questionnaire have been processed using a qualitative and comparative approach and have been duly included in the legal analysis, which covers the implementation at the national level of the two EU Directives relevant for MAR Schemes, i.e. the Water Framework Directive and its "daughter", the Groundwater Directive. This paper shall be considered as the outcome of a preliminary investigation which covered only a limited number of European countries, it is expected that the research will be carried out as to include a larger number of EU Member States (MSs), alongside the most relevant extra EU countries.


With recent advances in motion‐sparing techniques in spine surgery, disc nucleus replacement (DNR) has been introduced as a viable method to restore the biomechanical functions of the spine. Several methods of DNR have been proposed in the literature. However, the risk of device migration or extrusion is a major issue that should be addressed for a successful DNR. DNR using a balloon nucleus (BN) filled with pressurized fluid may be capable of reducing such risks while preserving the advantages of DNR. The objective of this study was to investigate the biomechanical functionalities of the human cadaveric lumbar motion segments with a custom made BN filled with saline at internal fluid pressure of 0.3 or 0.6 MPa in terms of axial and rotational flexibilities of the L4‐L5 motion segment. Axial flexibility was quantified by the axial displacement resulting from an axial compressive force of 400 N while the rotational flexibility by the range of motions determined as the rotational angles in response to a pure moment of 6.0 Nm in flexion, extension, and right‐ and left‐lateral bending directions. These tests were performed successively on the motion segment in the following conditions: intact, post nucleotomy, implanting BN with 0.3 MPa, and BN with 0.6 MPa. The nucleotomy was found to significantly increase both the axial and rotational flexibilities while the implantation of the BN reduced the axial and rotational flexibilities to those of the intact segment. The axial and rotational flexibilities of the segment with the BN with 0.3 MPa were greater than those of the segment with the BN with 0.6 MPa. © 2017 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 36:167–173, 2018.


This article examines the Supreme Court's recent decision in Illinois Tool Works v. Independent Ink. In that decision, the Court extended its remarkable run of pro-defendant decisions in antitrust cases, holding that plaintiffs in patent tying cases must prove and not presume market power. The Court's rejection of the presumption of market power in the presence of a patent, as well as a special per se rule of illegality for patent ties is consistent with the broad consensus that views patents as distinct from monopolies, and recognizes the pro-competitive uses of tying. While this is a positive step, the Court's decision may be limited by the flawed and outdated modified per se rule used to evaluate tying arrangements generally. Moreover, while the Court undermined the underlying rationale for the modified per se rule against tying, it chose not to revisit this issue. In addition, while the Court's opinion implicitly adopts a robust standard for market power, it failed to address its contradictory holding in Kodak v. ITS, its most recent decision evaluating a tying arrangement.


This doctoral thesis consists of five self-contained essayspresented to the Faculty Board of the Royal Institute ofTechnology. Property valuation is a central issue that forms acommon thread in the analysis in these essays. In the thesisproperty is considered in a mixed asset context in an attemptto build a bridge between valuation, property investment andfinancial theory. The object of the thesis is to value propertyfor finance, sales and purchases and investment. Theinvestigation of the thesis extends traditional valuation withan integrated approach using econometric technology.Essay I estimates the market value of townhouses underdevelopment in a North American city. The traditional hedonicregression model is used to predict the value of the complex asa whole, as well as of the individual unit. The role of theproperty tax in explaining property valuation is indicated andthe valuation errors of the predicted values estimated in theessay relative to the prices realized in the market suggest thefeasibility of regression analysis for preconstructionappraisal.Essay II investigates the implicit prices of property valuesin the Beijing residential market. An uncertainattribute—"perceived construction risk" enters the modelas a proxy for a consumer's subjective probability ofconstruction quality. Public facilities are found to reduce thevalue of residences and consumers would be willing to pay ahighly substantial amount of money to protect themselves fromthe risk of poor construction quality.Essay III studies the long-term relationship between housingprices and property stock prices under the Swedish rent controlsystem from 1980 to 1998. The Vector Autoregressive (VAR) modelwith a subsystem approach is used to test cointegration and theError Correction Model (ECM) and Granger Causality are alsotested. The tests provide evidence of co-movement between thehousing market and property stock market and suggest the roleof rentals in raising the speed of movement towards thelong-term equilibrium of asset prices.Essay IV models the volatility of property stock returns inthe Swedish market from 1990 to 1999. The GeneralAutoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (GARCH) model isapplied to capture time-varying volatility and the GARCH-Mmodel is used to price this volatility. The vacancy rate isfound to help explain persistent volatility and risk spillovereffects from the bond market and the direct real estate marketare expected.Essay V analyzes the inflation hedging ability of Swedishproperty stocks from 1980 to 1999. Two expected inflationrates—UND1x inflation and GARCH inflation—andcointegration technology are used for this study. For theperiod as a whole, no inflation hedging behavior is found, butfor the period of 1986–1993 when the vacancy rate was low,short-run inflation hedging is indicated.


ity pose several problems. The normal temperature range recommended for storing liquid pesticides is usually 40 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit, although some pesticide labels state a specific temperature range for maintaining optimal shelf life. The purpose of this guide is to provide a quick reference for specific storage information and temperature requirements, if relevant, for many commonly used greenhouse, ornamental and turf pesticides. Temperature extremes in storage can reduce the effectiveness of pesticides. Freezing of liquid pesticides can result in the active ingredients separating from the solvents or emulsifiers, which may lead to crystallization or coagulation of the pesticide. Some pesticides may be thawed and reused after being frozen by rolling, shaking or otherwise agitating the container to resuspend its contents. Call the manufacturer for advice on reusing specific pesticides that have frozen. Also note that the freezing point of many pesticides is lower than 32 F due to the hydrocarbon solvents and inert ingredients present. At the other extreme, excessive heat can cause pesticides to volatilize and drift away from the storage site. Some pesticides are flammable. Temperature extremes can also damage the integrity of the pesticide container. Freezing temperatures can cause glass, metal and plastic containers to break. High temperatures can cause plastic containers to melt and glass containers to explode. As a rule, wettable powders and granules are not affected by low temperatures. Moisture is the greatest factor affecting their storage as it can cause caking that may reduce the effectiveness of the pesticide. Products formulated in water-soluble packets have a high affinity for moisture and become brittle when frozen. Brittle packets may break open when handled, so store these products in a warm, dry area. Before storing pesticides, read the "storage and disposal" section of the pesticide label. Many pesticide labels provide specific storage information. The following precautions should be used in the storage of all pesticides:


The effect of multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) and single-wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT) on carbon paste electrode (CPE) electrochemical response was examined by introducing various portions of CNT into the CPE. The optimum electrode structure was determined by comparing the prepared electrodes´ electroanalytical performance towards ferricyanide. Then these optimum compositions were modified with xanthine oxidase (XO) enzyme for obtaining a xanthine biosensor. After the optimization of biosensor working conditions, the developed systems were characterized for xanthine. Linearity was obtained in the concentration range between 1 and 100 m M xanthine with an RSD value of 3.35% for MWCNT-CPE, while with SWCNT-CPE these values were 1-20 m M and 3.5%, respectively. The developed biosensors were also applied for the detection of xanthine in denatured plasma samples (MWCNT-CPE) and canned tuna fish samples (SWCNT-CPE), and very good recoveries were obtained.


Genetic diversity represents the heritable variation within and between populations of organisms. A better understanding of genetic diversity and its distribution is essential for its conservation and use. In this study the genetic diversity analysis was performed in 30 accessions of Centella asiatica (L.) Urb. using 10 SSR markers. C. asiatica is a tropical medicinal plant from Apiaceae family native to Southeast Asian countries. It is among the top herbs in the category of anti-aging and CNS drugs used worldwide. The whole plant and aerial parts are used widely in traditional and alternative medicines due to its ample pharmacological activities. The molecular screening through microsatellite markers showed low polymorphism (0.019) between the samples analyzed. Further studies, including the effect of environmental factors, genetic composition or possibility of inbreeding, are required to analyze the probable reason for the low variability exists in the species.Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 6(2): 103-109


Wideband Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) channel measurements were preformed in outdoor-indoor scenario for peer-to-peer system at 5.25 GHz with 100 MHz bandwidth. Based on the measured data, a new power delay profile (PDP) model is proposed which is applicable regardless of the first path is the strongest or not. Time dispersion parameters and empirical model are presented. The RMS delay spread (RDS) is log-Gumbel distributed and the path number well obeys the Gao's distribution. The relationship between RDS and mean excess delay is also studied. Finally, the propagation pathways are reconstructed under the assumption of two-bounce scattering according to the geography of the measurement site and the spatio-temporal information provided by a high resolution algorithm.


Introduction: Terminal ileum resection in patients with Crohn's disease results in vitamin B12 deficiency and these patients are routinely given B12 supplementation to prevent anemia and neuropsychiatric disease. The effect of right hemicolectomy on B12 status in cancer patients has not previously been studied. Total serum B12 is an unreliable test. Second-line diagnostic tests measure methylmalonic acid (MMA) and homocysteine (tHcy) are also used. An assay measuring an active form of B12 is available for routine use. This observational study investigated whether B12 deficiency exists in patients after a right hemicolectomy for cancer.
Methods: Patients (n=28; age range=52-88 years) who had undergone a right hemicolectomy for cancer and been in remission for two years were identified from a database and recruited to an outpatient clinic along with an age-matched control group (n=27; age range=52-89 years). Vitamin B12 status in both patients and controls was assessed by the measurement of vitamin B12 (total and active), MMA and tHcy.
Results: Concentration of tHcy was significantly higher (p 0.05).
Discussion: Right hemicolectomy for malignancy is associated with an increase in tHcy concentrations although a larger study is required to determine the B12 status in post-operative right hemicolectomy patients.


This paper shows how, with the aid of computer models developed in close collaboration with decision makers and other stakeholders, it is possible to quantify and map how policy decisions are likely to affect multiple ecosystem services in future. In this way, potential trade-offs and complementarities between different ecosystem services can be identified, so that policies can be designed to avoid the worst trade-offs, and where possible, enhance multiple services. The paper brings together evidence from across the Rural Economy and Land Use Programme's Sustainable Uplands project for the first time, with previously unpublished model outputs relating to runoff, agricultural suitability, biomass, heather cover, age, and utility for Red Grouse (Lagopus scotica), grass cover, and accompanying scenario narratives and video. Two contrasting scenarios, based on policies to extensify or intensify land management up to 2030, were developed through a combination of interviews and discussions during site visits with stakeholders, literature review, conceptual modeling, and process-based computer models, using the Dark Peak of the Peak District National Park in the UK as a case study. Where extensification leads to a significant reduction in managed burning and grazing or land abandonment, changes in vegetation type and structure could compromise a range of species that are important for conservation, while compromising provisioning services, amenity value, and increasing wildfire risk. However, where extensification leads to the restoration of peatlands damaged by former intensive management, there would be an increase in carbon sequestration and storage, with a number of cobenefits, which could counter the loss of habitats and species elsewhere in the landscape. In the second scenario, land use and management was significantly intensified to boost UK self-sufficiency in food. This would benefit certain provisioning services but would have negative consequences for carbon storage and water quality and would lead to a reduction in the abundance of certain species of conservation concern. The paper emphasizes the need for spatially explicit models that can track how ecosystem services might change over time, in response to policy or environmental drivers, and in response to the changing demands and preferences of society, which are far harder to anticipate. By developing such models in close collaboration with decision makers and other stakeholders, it is possible to depict scenarios of real concern to those who need to use the research findings. By engaging these collaborators with the research findings through film, it was possible to discuss adaptive options to minimize trade-offs and enhance the provision of multiple ecosystem services under the very different future conditions depicted by each scenario. By preparing for as wide a range of futures as possible in this way, it may be possible for decision makers to act rapidly and effectively to protect and enhance the provision of ecosystem services in the face of unpredictable future change.


Indonesians parent widely use private school shuttle services for their schoolchild due to their lack of time and effectiveness, unfortunately mostly of those shuttle vehicles (car or motor cycle) services currently cannot be tracked. From a security point of view, the parent's need a system that can identified the location of the vehicle in real-time. With rapid technological development today, parents' skepticism can be overcome by tracking the shuttle vehicles through a mobile applications that connected to Global Positioning System (GPS). This research presents the design of a prototype, called "AS-OJEK", an android-based mobile apps and web technology for schoolchild shuttle applications that used several technology such as Web-services, JSON, PHP, MySQL and bootstrap framework as application builders. The application could be installed on any android smartphone version, it will be able to send the location and displaying the vehicle shuttle location on the smartphone screen and display historical location of the tracked vehicle. Rapid Application Development (RAD) framework was used as a software development method, with its 4 phases; phase 1: requirements planning and specifications, phase 2: user design, phase 3: construction, phase 4: cutover. The application was already appropriate with user's needs, proven by performing functional testing and User Acceptance Test (UAT). Based on the results of the UAT, this application has been running well and succeed sending vehicle location to the server, and can tracked through mobile-apps or web applications.


The present study describes the outputs of a collaborative research programme funded by the UK`s Department for International Development-Crop Protection Program to investigate the genetic (lineages) and pathogenic (pathotypes) diversity of the blast fungus populations and characterize the key sites suitable for resistance screening. Seventy-one Magnaporthe grisae isolates were collected from seven regions where rice is grown, representing blast populations in Ghana. Following molecular characterization, these isolates were grouped into four distinct lineages designated as GH-1, GH-2, GH-3 and GH-4 and 25 pathotypes. GH-1 was the major lineage comprising 52% of all the isolates and was present across the country on up to 24 rice cultivars. GH-2 comprising of 30% of the isolates sampled was restricted in distribution mainly from Hohoe area on up to seven cultivars. GH-3 consisted of six isolates from Western, Eastern and Central Regions while GH-4 consisted of two isolates from Nyankpala in Northern Region. Occurrence of blast pathogen on wild rice and weed hosts has been observed and their potential impact needs to be considered in blast/weed management. Baseline data new to Ghana on the diversity and distribution pattern of the blast pathogen populations have been established and key sites identified. Adaptive research is continuing to develop technologies suitable for long-term pathogen monitoring, identify sources of resistance and develop appropriate blast management strategies.


Identity refers to the beliefs and values, the lifestyles, character, style and history of a congregation. A person has an identity, so a congregation develops an identity which is in a very close association with its members, their circumstances and history. The Kwe San and their unique history and circumstances have contributed to their current identity. This identity also determines the way in which the ministerial praxis is tailored for a specific congregation and community. The Kwe San's current context has a practical theological response which is contextually based. Their traditional free-roaming abilities have been limited by the Tsumkwe Constituency, a prior homeland. The various original social organizations which form an integral part of the Kwe San's life within their System Two, forms an integral part of their current life. These aspects need to be taken into consideration when formulating a congregation's ministerial praxis. Within this community the practicality of theological ecclesiology has become important. This is due to the change in context of the Kwe San. To have a better understanding of the present ministerial praxis I have incorporated the Gestalt theory principles which help us to address the current situation and also the System Theory, in order to understand the current contextual nature of the Kwe San people. Any form of a holistic ministerial approach requires that we understand the interdependence of people and nature. It also emphasizes the fact that we are all connected to one another and that the church needs to raise to the occasion and play its part within each segment of the community. It needs to be an active participant within different interdependent or interrelated parts within the society in which we interact with one another, interact with nature and interact with God.


ABSTRACT A sustainable and just world cannot be achieved without enormous structural and cultural change. The argument presented below is that when our situation is understood in terms of resource and ecological limits, it is evident firstly that getting rid of capitalism is not sufficient. A satisfactory alternative society cannot be highly industrialised or centralised, and it must involve highly self-sufficient local economies and largely self-governing communities that prioritise cooperation and participation. Above all, there must be degrowth to a far lower GDP per capita than that exists in rich countries today, with a concomitant embracing of very frugal material "living standards." Only a basically anarchist society can meet these conditions satisfactorily. Secondly, given this goal the transition to it can only be achieved via an anarchist strategy. Both these themes point to the need for substantial rethinking of essential elements in mainstream socialist and Marxist theory.


Above the politics and ideological battles of Washington, D.C., is a committee that meets behind locked doors and leaves its paper trail in classified files. The President's Intelligence Advisory Board (PIAB) is one of the most secretive and potentially influential segments of the U.S. intelligence community. Established in 1956, the PIAB advises the president about intelligence collection, analysis, and estimates, and about the legality of foreign intelligence activities. Privileged and Confidential: The Secret History of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board is the first and only study of the PIAB. Foreign policy veterans Kenneth Michael Absher, Michael C. Desch, and Roman Popadiuk trace the board's history from Eisenhower through Obama and evaluate its effectiveness under each president. Created to be an independent panel of nonpartisan experts, the PIAB has become increasingly susceptible to politics in recent years and has lost some of its influence. Absher, Desch, and Popadiuk, however, clearly demonstrate the board's potential to offer a unique and valuable perspective on intelligence issues. Privileged and Confidential not only illuminates a little-known element of U.S. intelligence operations but also offers suggestions for enhancing a critical executive function.


Art and Design Pedagogy in Higher Education provides a contemporary volume that offers a scholarly perspective on tertiary level art and design education. Providing a theoretical lens to examine studio education, the authors suggest a student-centred model of curriculum that supports the development of creativity.

The text offers readers analytical frameworks with which to challenge assumptions about the art and design curriculum in higher education. In this volume, Orr and Shreeve critically interrogate the landscape of art and design higher education, offering illuminating viewpoints on pedagogy and assessment. New scholarship is introduced in three key areas:

curriculum: the nature and purpose of the creative curriculum and the concept of a 'sticky curriculum' that is actively shaped by lecturers, technicians and students;
ambiguity, which the authors claim is at the heart of a creative education;
value, asking what and whose ideas, practices and approaches are given value and create value within the curriculum.
These insights from the perspective of a creative university subject area also offer new ways of viewing other disciplines, and provide a response to a growing educational interest in cross-curricular creativity. This book offers a coherent theory of art and design teaching and learning that will be of great interest to those working in and studying higher education practice and policy, as well as academics and researchers interested in creative education.


In this thesis we describe relevant aspects of the development of survival modelling in actuarial mathematics. In particular we introduce some recent mortality projection models and research dealing with uncertainty in future trends and we review the relevant actuarial evidence. We then investigate the feasibility of using the Lee-Carter methodology to construct mortality forecasts for the Italian population. We fit the model to the matrix of Italian death rates for each gender from 1950 to 2000. A time-varying index of mortality is forecasted in an ARIMA framework and is used to generate projected life tables. In particular we focus on life expectancies at birth and, for the purpose of comparison, we introduce an alternative approach for forecasting life expectancies on a period basis. The resulting forecasts generated by the two methods are then compared. We also analyse, in a Lee Carter mortality context, the standard endowment policy under a fair value approach. In order to determine an actuarial model for the fair valuation of the stochastic stream of cash flows at time t, we base our demographic assumptions on the life and death probabilities extracted from the tables constructed using the Lee Carter model. The emphasis of the existing literature has been on financial markets; the primary feature of our model is its focus on the demographic reference system.


The Bank of Russia's decision to reduce the key rate by 0.50 pp to 6.5% was caused by an inflation slowdown to 3.8% in October 2019 relative to October 2018, with a high probability of its continuing downward movement. In this connection, the Bank of Russia has revised its inflation projections for 2019 from 4.0–4.5% to 3.2–3.7%. It is expected that the annual inflation index in 2020 will amount to 3.5–4.0%, and then it will be hovering around its target level of 4%. Thanks to this year's good harvest, a slow growth rate of domestic demand, and the ruble's strengthening, inflation slowdown may become even more pronounced than the Bank of Russia is currently expecting it to be. These developments may once more prompt monetary policy easing before this year's end.<br>


Abstract In this paper, the authors have discussed the subject of fire and explosion hazards during the operation of a modern ship's high-power internal combustion engines. The causes of the occurrence of and the methods of preventing explosions in the starting manifolds of modern piston combustion engines equipped with a pneumatic starting system, with starting valves on the cylinder heads, have been specified. The concept of an active system for monitoring the technical condition of the starting valves has been presented in order to quickly diagnose leakages and reduce the risk of explosion. A conceptual design of a prototype of a non-invasive, new generation leak detector for starting valves and its technical design have been presented. Exemplary implementations of the prototype detector have been shown and its selected functionalities have been discussed. This paper has ended with an assessment of the possibility of further development and the applications of this device.


Protection devices are extensively utilized in direct current (DC) systems to ensure their normal operation and safety. However, series arc faults that establish current paths in the air between conductors introduce arc impedance to the system. Consequently, they can result in a decrease of current, and thus conventional protection devices may not be triggered. Undetected series arc faults can cause malfunctions and even lead to fire hazards. Therefore, a series arc-fault detection system is essential to DC systems to operate reliably and efficiently. In this paper, a series arc-fault detection system based on arc time-frequency signatures extracted by a modified empirical mode decomposition (EMD) technique and using a support vector machine (SVM) algorithm in decision making is proposed for DC systems. The oscillatory frequencies from the arc current are decomposed by the EMD with an analysis of the Hurst exponent (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${H}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) to reject interference from the power electronics noise. <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${H}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> analyzes the trend of a signal and the intrinsic oscillations of the signal are those with values of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${H}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> larger than 1/2. Comparing to traditional filters or wavelet transforms, this method does not require knowledge of the frequency range of the interference which varies from system to system. The capability and applicability of the proposed technique are validated in a photovoltaic system. The effectiveness of arc-fault detection is significantly improved by this technique because it can acquire sufficient and accurate arc signatures and it does not need to predefine various thresholds.


Linguists tell us that the Oromo language also referred to as afaan Oromoo or Oromiffaa with its more than 20 million speakers is the second most widely spread indigenous language in Africa. More than two-thirds of the speakers of the Cushitic languages are Oromo or speak afaan Oromoo, which is also the third largest Afro-Asiatic language in the world (Gragg 1982). In spite of its importance as a vernacular widely spoken in the Horn of Africa afaan Oromoo lacks today a developed literature. Both the cultural history of the Oromo people and the language policy of the Ethiopian government were suggested to be responsible for this state of affairs. In this paper I maintain that, although some basic literature existed in afaan Oromoo for the last 100 years, as the Oromo were colonized, they were (and still are) not given the chance to build on the literary foundations that were laid down during the last two decades of the 19th century. To illustrate my argument, I describe Onesimos Nasib's contribution to Oromo literature, and the efforts he made to spread literacy and modern education in Oromoland at the beginning of this century. I discuss also, albeit briefly, the reactions that the works of Onesimos aroused among the Abyssinian nobility and clergy and the resultant language policy that suppressed development of literacy in afaan Oromoo and the other Cushitic and Omotic languages. The approach in this paper is socio-historical as well as socio-linguistic. It is perhaps easier to appreciate the contributions made by Onesimos if we look at them in relation to his life and the numerous events that influenced or affected him and his work in one way or another. Therefore, I present in this section a short biography of Onesimos Nasib.


A significant part of carpet waste consists of petroleum-based polypropylene. As a nonrecyclable product, disposing of it has previously meant incineration or landfill. However, a new solvent is now making it possible to recover virginstandard polypropylene from carpet waste—with no perceptible reduction in quality. Developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics IBP and its partners, the process also involves costs that are quite competitive. The development has taken place as part of the ISOPREP EU project.


We theoretically analyze the generation of broadened and multi-peak terahertz (THz) radiation in aperiodically poled lithium niobate (APPLN), whose sequence of opposite domains is optimized by simulated annealing (SA) algorithm. The full-width at half maximum (FWHM) of the broadened THz radiation in our simulation is 0.26 THz. Both of the central wavelength and FWHM can be easily tuned by choosing proper objective functions. THz radiation with wider and flatter FWHM can be achieved by increasing the length of the lithium niobate crystal. The two-peak THz generation is also provided as an example of multi-peak with the central wavelengths at 1.68 and 1.80 THz, respectively.


Advances in the life sciences rely on the ability to observe dynamic processes in live systems and in environments that mimic in-vivo situations. Therefore, new methodological developments have to provide environments that resemble physiologically and clinically relevant conditions as closely as possible. In this work, plasma-induced laser nanosurgery for three-dimensional sample manipulation and sample perturbation is combined with optically sectioning light-sheet based fluorescence microscopy (SPIM) and applied to three-dimensional biological model systems. This means: a) working with a biological system that is not confined to essentially two dimensions like cell cultures on cover glasses, b) gaining intrinsic optical sectioning capabilities by an efficient three-dimensional fluorescence imaging system, and c) using arbitrarily-shaped three-dimensional ablation-patterns by a plasma-induced laser ablation system that prevent damage to surrounding tissues. Spatial levels in our biological applications range from sub-microns during delicate ablation of single microtubules over the confined disruption of cell membranes in an MDCK-cyst to the macroscopic cutting of a millimeter-sized Zebrafish caudal fin with arbitrary three-dimensional ablation patterns. Dynamic processes like laser-induced hemocyte migration can be studied with our SPIM-microscalpel in intact, live embryos.


In this paper we develop two mathematical models to predict the release kinetics of a water soluble drug from a polymer/excipient matrix tablet. The first of our models consists of a random walk on a weighted graph, where the vertices of the graph represent particles of drug, excipient and polymer, respectively. The graph itself is the contact graph of a multidisperse random sphere packing.

The second model describes the dissolution and the subsequent diffusion of the active drug out of a porous matrix using a system of partial differential equations. The predictions of both models show good qualitative agreement with experimental release curves. The models will provide tools for designing better controlled release devices.


Bacopa monnieri, commonly known as Brahmi, has been extensively used as a neuromedicine for various disorders such as anxiety, depression and memory loss. Chemical characterization studies revealed the major active constituents of the herb as the triterpenoid saponins, bacosides. Bacoside A, the vital neuroprotective constituent, is composed of four constituents viz., bacoside A3, bacopaside II, jujubogenin isomer of bacopasaponin C (bacopaside X) and bacopasaponin C. B. monnieri extracts as well as bacosides successfully establish a healthy antioxidant environment in various tissues especially in the liver and brain. Free radical scavenging, suppression of lipid peroxidation and activation of antioxidant enzymes by bacosides help to attain a physiological state of minimized oxidative stress. The molecular basis of neuroprotective activity of bacosides is attributed to the regulation of mRNA translation and surface expression of neuroreceptors such as AMPAR, NMDAR and GABAR in the various parts of the brain. Bioavailability as well as binding of neuroprotective agents (such as bacosides) to these receptors is controlled by the Blood Brain Barrier (BBB). However, nano conversion of these drug candidates easily resolves the BBB restriction and carries a promising role in future therapies. This review summarizes the neuroprotective functions of B. monnieri extracts as well as its active compounds (bacoside A, bacopaside I) and the molecular mechanisms responsible for these pharmacological activities.


In metabolomics studies, large sample sets have to be analyzed to allow statistical differentiation of sample types. Obviously, repeatability of the whole analytical workfl ow, including sample preparation, sample introduction, separation and detection, is hereby of the utmost importance. In this respect, automation of the sample preparation is very useful in order to reduce the analytical variability. In a series of articles, we describe the use of the Gerstel MPS WorkStation for automated sample preparation applied to metabolomics studies. In a first part, an automated ultrasonic assisted extraction and fi ltration method was discussed. In this second part, an automated fractionation of lipid classes using solid phase extraction (SPE) is presented. The SPE fractions are concentrated using an mVAP evaporation station and re-dissolved in small amounts of solvent, followed by LC-QTOF analysis.


Purpose Oral nitisinone has been shown to increase fur and ocular pigmentation in a mouse model of oculocutaneous albinism (OCA) due to hypomorphic mutations in tyrosinase (TYR), OCA1B. This study determines if nitisinone can improve ocular and/or fur pigmentation in a mouse model of OCA type 3 (OCA3), caused by mutation of the tyrosinase-related protein 1 (Tyrp1) gene. Methods Mice homozygous for a null allele in the Tyrp1 gene (C57BL/6J-Tyrp1 b-J/J) were treated with 8 mg/kg nitisinone or vehicle every other day by oral gavage. Changes in fur and ocular melanin pigmentation were monitored. Mature ocular melanosome number and size were quantified in pigmented ocular structures by electron microscopy. Results C57BL/6J-Tyrp1 b-J/J mice carry a novel c.403T>A; 404delG mutation in Tyrp1, predicted to result in premature truncation of the TYRP1 protein. Nitisinone treatment resulted in an approximately 7-fold increase in plasma tyrosine concentrations without overt toxicity. After 1 month of treatment, no change in the color of fur or pigmented ocular structures was observed. The distribution of melanosome cross-sectional area was unchanged in ocular tissues. There was no significant difference in the number of pigmented melanosomes in the RPE/choroid of nitisinone-treated and control groups. However, there was a significant difference in the number of pigmented melanosomes in the iris. Conclusions Treatment of a mouse model of OCA3 with oral nitisinone did not have a favorable clinical effect on melanin production and minimally affected the number of pigmented melanosomes in the iris stroma. As such, treatment of OCA3 patients with nitisinone is unlikely to be therapeutic.


Background: The Diabetes Distress Scale (DDS) is a valid instrument to measure diabetes distress included in American Diabetes Association and Canadian Diabetes Association guidelines but not available in Vietnamese. This study translated and culturally adapted the DDS to assess diabetes distress of Vietnamese type 2 diabetics and evaluated its internal consistency, face and content validity.
Methods: The translation process followed standard guidelines for adaptation of an instrument: forward translation, back translation, synthesis, evaluation by an expert panel and pretest. The expert panel included three English specialists as linguistic experts and six content experts in multidisciplinary areas relevant to the study. The pretest was conducted on a sample of 31 type 2 diabetics in the Endocrinology outpatient clinic at Trung Vuong hospital. Content validity was determined based on experts' concurrence using content validity index for items (I-CVI). Face validity is assessed by participants in pretest. Internal consistency was measured using Cronbach's alpha.
Results: Final version was equivalent with the original English version and easy to understand. I-CVI of 17 items were 1.00 in linguistic experts and greater than 0.83 in content experts. All 31 participants involved in the pretest commented that the items were very clear and acceptable regarding their socioeconomic background. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.76 – 0.93 for each subscale and 0.94 for the overall.
Conclusion: Vietnamese version of the DDS was reliable, face and content-valid to assess diabetes distress in type 2 diabetics among Vietnamese.


The enhancement of the nuclear spin polarization generated by dynamic nuclear polarization depends on two competing processes: the perturbation of the thermal equilibrium by the applied microwave field and the tendency of relaxation processes to re-establish the thermal state. Hence, it is important to correctly incorporate relaxation processes in the theoretical description of dynamic nuclear polarization to obtain meaningful simulations. A difficulty arises in the choice of the correct interaction frame when building an appropriate relaxation superoperator. In the Zeeman frame, the rate constants introduced to define longitudinal and transverse relaxation can become mixed if the non-secular part of the hyperfine interaction between an electron in a paramagnetic centre and the nuclear spins is strong. Deriving the relaxation superoperator in the interaction frame that is defined by the eigenbasis of the stationary Hamiltonian eliminates this issue. However, when using this strategy, not all the non-secular terms arising in a relaxation model based on local magnetic field fluctuations are taken properly into account if dipolar interactions between nuclear spins dominate over hyperfine interactions. An analytical treatment of this problem is presented that is corroborated by a set of numerical simulations focussing on the case of solid effect dynamic nuclear polarization. The advantage and possible errors arising when using either of the two strategies are briefly summarised and discussed.


Purpose: To evaluate the peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) in Wolfram's Syndrome (WS) using optical coherence tomography (OCT). Methods: The peripapillary RNFL of eighteen eyes of nine patients with the clinical diagnosis of WS were measured using Stratus OCT. The RNFL was determined consecutively three times. Results: The mean RNFL thickness is inferior to the 99% normal limit given by the instruments normative database in all patients. The superior and inferior quadrants were beneath the 99% normal limit in every patient. The nasal quadrant was at the level 1-5% in 37.0% of the measurements and at the level 5-95% in 3.7%. The temporal quadrant was at the level 1-5% in 13.0% of the measurements and at the level 5-95% in 5.5%. Conclusion: In our series, there is an overall decrease of the RNFL thickness. The nasal and temporal quadrants were the least affected. This is the first time that this characteristic of the disease is described. Understanding the pattern of RNFL damage can be important clinically to differentiate WS from other causes of hereditary optic atrophy that have distinct patterns of RNFL loss. This provides further insight in the lesion pattern and pathophysiology of the disease.


Sophisticated Web robots sport a wide variety of functionality and visiting characteristics, constituting a significant percentage of the requests serviced by a Web server. Unlike human clients that retrieve information off a site by navigating links and ignoring irrelevant information, Web robots may collect many different types of resources, and employ varying navigation strategies to find the knowledge on the site they desire. Thus, the resource request patterns of their visits are unpredictable and cannot be inferred based on our knowledge of human request patterns. In this paper, we perform an analysis on the types of resources requested by Web robots using recent Web logs from an academic Web server. We study the distribution of response sizes and response codes, the types of resources requested, and popularity of resources for requests from Web robots. Throughout, we contrast our findings against human resource request patterns. We find reasons to suggest that robots severely handicaps the ability of Web server caches to operate with high performance.


Colloidal silica gels are shown to stiffen with time, as demonstrated by both dynamic light scattering and bulk rheological measurements. Their elastic moduli increase as a power law with time, independent of particle volume fraction; however, static light scattering indicates that there are no large-scale structural changes. We propose that increases in local elasticity arising from bonding between neighboring colloidal particles can account for the strengthening of the network, while preserving network structure.


Covariate selection is a fundamental step when building sparse prediction models in order to avoid overfitting and to gain a better interpretation of the classifier without losing its predictive accuracy. In practice the LASSO regression of Tibshirani, which penalizes the likelihood of the model by the L1 norm of the regression coefficients, has become the gold-standard to reach these objectives. Recently Lee and Oh developed a novel random-effect covariate selection method called the modified unbounded penalty (MUB) regression, whose penalization function can equal minus infinity at 0 in order to produce very sparse models. We sought to compare the predictive accuracy and the number of covariates selected by these two methods in several high-dimensional datasets, consisting in genes expressions measured to predict response to chemotherapy in breast cancer patients. These comparisons were performed by building the Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) curves of the classifiers obtained with the selected genes and by comparing their area under the ROC curve (AUC) corrected for optimism using several variants of bootstrap internal validation and cross-validation. We found consistently in all datasets that the MUB penalization selected a remarkably smaller number of covariates than the LASSO while offering a similar—and encouraging—predictive accuracy. The models selected by the MUB were actually nested in the ones obtained with the LASSO. Similar findings were observed when comparing these results to those obtained in their first publication by other authors or when using the area under the Precision-Recall curve (AUCPR) as another measure of predictive performance. In conclusion, the MUB penalization seems therefore to be one of the best options when sparsity is required in high-dimension. Further investigation in other datasets is however required to validate these findings.


Interactions between people are the basis on which the structure of our society arises as a complex system and, at the same time, are the starting point of any physical description of it. In the last few years, much theoretical research has addressed this issue by combining the physics of complex networks with a description of interactions in terms of evolutionary game theory. We here take this research a step further by introducing a most salient societal factor such as the individuals' preferences, a characteristic that is key to understanding much of the social phenomenology these days. We consider a heterogeneous, agent-based model in which agents interact strategically with their neighbors, but their preferences and payoffs for the possible actions differ. We study how such a heterogeneous network behaves under evolutionary dynamics and different strategic interactions, namely coordination games and best shot games. With this model we study the emergence of the equilibria predicted analytically in random graphs under best response dynamics, and we extend this test to unexplored contexts like proportional imitation and scale free networks. We show that some theoretically predicted equilibria do not arise in simulations with incomplete information, and we demonstrate the importance of the graph topology and the payoff function parameters for some games. Finally, we discuss our results with the available experimental evidence on coordination games, showing that our model agrees better with the experiment than standard economic theories, and draw hints as to how to maximize social efficiency in situations of conflicting preferences.


competitiveness." The United States faces two challenges in providing the opportunity for gainful and meaningful employment to all its citizens. The first, structural and long-term, requires workers and their communities to adjust to the ongoing shift toward greater skill requirements and higher educational attainment, evidenced by a growing mismatch between worker abilities and employer needs. The second challenge is the cyclical and near-term hurdle of moving the economy out of the Great Recession. To address these twin challenges, well-working labor markets are essential. A component of that functioning is good labor market information, enabling intelligent choices about career paths, hiring, training, and public investment and policy. Unfortunately, today's federal statistical system is not adequately serving the needs of the full array of labor market participants and policymakers. This paper's aim is to provide a vision of a federal labor statistics system that enables Americans to gain productive occupations and a roadmap for implementing that vision.


The underpinning assumption of much research on cognitive individual differences (or group differences) is that task performance indexes cognitive ability in that domain. In many tasks performance is measured by differences (costs) between conditions, which are widely assumed to index a psychological process of interest rather than extraneous factors such as speed–accuracy trade-offs (e.g., Stroop, implicit association task, lexical decision, antisaccade, Simon, Navon, flanker, and task switching). Relatedly, reaction time (RT) costs or error costs are interpreted similarly and used interchangeably in the literature. All of this assumes a strong correlation between RT-costs and error-costs from the same psychological effect. We conducted a meta-analysis to test this, with 114 effects across a range of well-known tasks. Counterintuitively, we found a general pattern of weak, and often no, association between RT and error costs (mean r = .17, range −.45 to .78). This general problem is accounted for by the theoretical framework of evidence accumulation models, which capture individual differences in (at least) 2 distinct ways. Differences affecting accumulation rate produce positive correlation. But this is cancelled out if individuals also differ in response threshold, which produces negative correlations. In the models, subtractions between conditions do not isolate processing costs from caution. To demonstrate the explanatory power of synthesizing the traditional subtraction method within a broader decision model framework, we confirm 2 predictions with new data. Thus, using error costs or RT costs is more than a pragmatic choice; the decision carries theoretical consequence that can be understood through the accumulation model framework.


The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of a four week Nintendo Wii aerobics intervention on blood lipids. Specifically, HDL, LDL, TC, TG and the LDL: HDL ratio. A sample of fifteen (4 males, 11 females) individuals from the University of Central Lancashire took part in the study. Participants were divided into two groups based on their cardiorespiratory fitness levels (low and high). Both groups engaged in the four week Wii aerobics programme, a two week washout period and a control condition containing no exercise. The order in which the groups completed the conditions was randomised. Blood samples were taken pre and post both conditions. Blood pressure, body composition and estimated VO2max were assessed as part of a basic health screen. Additionally, a MetaLyser ® 3B was used to measure respiratory gases whilst exercising. Paired samples t-tests were used to establish significant differences in the measured variables pre to post exercise and control conditions. It was established that a four week Nintendo Wii aerobics intervention significantly (p≤ 0.01) increased HDL cholesterol and significantly (p≤ 0.05) reduced the HDL:LDL ratio in both fitness groups. No significant differences were found for LDL, TC, or TG in either fitness group. Moreover, the intervention resulted in a significant (p ≤ 0.05) decrease in resting SBP and estimated VO2max in both fitness groups. A significant (p ≤ 0.05) reduction in exercising EE, relative VO2 and METs was established in the low fitness group. In conclusion, it was established that Nintendo Wii aerobics may help to improve numerous cardiovascular risk markers, including; lipid profiles, blood pressure and cardiorespiratory fitness. Specifically, individuals with low cardiorespiratory fitness seem to benefit the most from active gaming. It was also demonstrated that participants show a high level of adherence to active gaming sessions.


This paper, which was delivered as the keynote address at the Miller Center's immigration reform conference in 2013, surveys the obstacles to immigration reform and argues for specific steps forward. The key principles underlying the analysis are sustaining and expanding legal immigration and commitment to future law compliance through a mix of well-designed deterrents and more focused direct enforcement. The paper urges the House to accept a capacious legalization of long-time de facto residents, as provided for in the Senate's 2013 immigration reform bill. The House should see such a step (counterintuitively) as a long-term immigration enforcement measure – because it would reduce key obstacles to vigorous interior enforcement in the future and also help enhance the legitimacy of important programs now under severe challenge, such as Secure Communities, by minimizing their use against long-term well-anchored residents. The 1986 IRCA experience, wherein legalization was successful but the associated enforcement measures largely failed, should not count against this approach, because the United States now has extensive enforcement tools and resources not at all available in 1986 – though they need to be deployed intelligently in order to achieve full post-reform success. E-Verify, which provides for a speedy computer check of the employment authorization of new hires, is a highly promising deterrent. Nonetheless, it remains vulnerable to identity fraud and identity theft. Congress needs to assure more vigorous and well-funded measures to fight such fraud, either through biometric systems at hiring sites (politically unlikely) or through much greater inducements to states to share their driver's license photos for use in E-Verify's "photo tool." Congress should also shed its fixation on deploying a biometric exit system as a way of enhancing enforcement against visa overstays; the paper explains why such a system at this point is a wasteful exercise. Congress instead should provide for enhanced action against overstays that would use biographic information already available in existing Homeland Security data systems. It should also enact streamlined procedures, with focused safeguards, to enable speedy issuance of a removal order against overstays. The Senate bill lavished unnecessary billions on expanded border enforcement; most of those new resources should be applied instead to enhanced interior enforcement.


In this work, as a proof of principle, the design and performance evaluation of a simple, cheap and efficient colorimetric test for the detection of the NS1 protein of dengue virus, assisted by an immunoconjugate of magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles coupled to anti-NS1 antibodies is reported. A monoclonal antibody against the NS1 antigen was covalently immobilized on the surface of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs ∼ 20 nm) and used for the immunodetection of this protein. When the magnetic immuno-nanoplatform is added into infected serum, it conjugates with the NS1 protein and can then be easily separated using an external magnetic field; then, the recovered immunoconjugate is transferred into a well containing a second immobilized NS1-antibody to form an ELISA-type system. When the NS1 protein is present, a color change to blue is induced by reaction with the Perls reagent, which is consistent with the formation of a SPION-antibody-NS1 antigen-antibody conjugate that confirms infection. No false positives were found when NS1 was not present or a different antibody and the NS1 protein were added into the system. The experimental findings could be extrapolated and scaled up to lead to future developments of simple, quick, and inexpensive, in situ biomolecular diagnostic tests for emergent viral infections.


Metal–organic framework (MOF) chemistry offers the unique possibility of bridging organic and inorganic chemistry to develop hybrid crystalline porous materials and opens the door to the synthesis of highly functional bulk- or nano-materials. A potential future field of application is their biomedical application as a theranostic agent or simply as a new contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MRI is one of the most versatile imaging modalities in routine clinical examinations due to a wide range of usable contrast mechanisms. This in turn leads to a variety of conceivable nanoparticle designs as an MR contrast agent or theranostic. This review aims to integrate the state-of-the-art of MOF nanoparticles and their use in MRI. It gives an overview of the work done so far, focusing especially on the clinical applicability. Furthermore, it summarises the different factors for MR signal formation mechanisms important for the development of MR active nanoparticles and provides suggestions for a better comparison between different studies.


Previous learning based hand pose estimation methods does not fully exploit the prior information in hand model geometry. Instead, they usually rely a separate model fitting step to generate valid hand poses. Such a post processing is inconvenient and sub-optimal. In this work, we propose a model based deep learning approach that adopts a forward kinematics based layer to ensure the geometric validity of estimated poses. For the first time, we show that embedding such a non-linear generative process in deep learning is feasible for hand pose estimation. Our approach is verified on challenging public datasets and achieves state-of-the-art performance.


The lowland rice system in Asia makes a major contribution to the global rice supply and is often cited as an example of a sustainable system in which two or three crops of rice are grown in sequence under submerged conditions. However, water shortages are becoming critical in some regions for lowland rice cultivation; and there is high potential in exploring rice cultivation under moisture regimes that save water and also increase productivity. The objective of this article therefore is to analyze the consequences of switching growing of rice from flooded to aerobic conditions on soil fertility and its management. Fertility advantages of submerged rice include amelioration of chemical fertility, preferential accumulation of organic matter and improved availability of major, secondary and selected micronutrients, which contribute to the long-term maintenance of soil fertility and sustainability of the lowland rice system. However, the fertility problems under aerobic rice are better addressed with the crop as a component of a cropping system because continuous growing of aerobic rice in sequence does not seem sustainable due to complex, site-specific chemical and biological constraints.


The effects of various soil acidity factors on yield and foliar composition of sorghum ( Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) were determined. Sorghum responded strongly to liming in yield on two Ultisols and one Oxisol. The response was stronger on the Ultisols than on the Oxisol. On the Ultisols, yields of grain produced by a seed and a ratoon crop decreased as the percent Al saturation of the soil increased, averaging only 861 kg/ha on the Corozal clay, and only 428 kg/ha on the Corozal subsoil at the highest Al saturation percentage, as compared to 5,255 and 3,969 kg/ha with no Al, respectively. On the Oxisol, the yields were not so drastically reduced because the highest Al saturation attained was only 34%. On all soils, yields increased with increasing pH, and decreased as the Al/base ratio increased. The P content of the leaves decreased significantly with increasing soil acidity and was highly correlated with grain yields of the seed crop on the Ultisols. The Ca content of the leaves was not correlated with soil acidity factors, nor was it correlated as closely with yields as has been shown in crops such as soybean and corn.


One issue of downsized and supercharged engines is low-speed pre-ignition (LSPI) that occurs in the low-speed and high-load operating region. One proposed cause of LSPI is the influence of the engine oil and its additives. However, the effect of engine oil additives on pre-ignition and the mechanism involved are still not fully understood. This study investigated the influence of engine oil additives on abnormal combustion in a spark-ignition engine. A four-stroke air-cooled single-cylinder engine with a side valve arrangement was used in conducting combustion experiments. The research methods used were in-cylinder pressure analysis, in-cylinder visualization and absorption spectroscopic analysis. Engine oil additives were mixed individually at a fixed concentration into a primary reference fuel with an octane number of 50 and their effect on knocking was investigated.


Phenol is a toxic pollutant in many kinds of hypersaline industrial effluents that should be treated properly before discharged into water bodies. In this work, a halophilic strain which could utilize phenol as the sole source of carbon and energy was isolated. Based on 16S rRNA results, it was identified as a member of Citrobacter. The phenol biodegradation ability and cell growth of the strain was evaluated with the variation of initial phenol concentration and salinity. The effect of temperature and pH on phenol removal was also investigated. The results showed that the strain was capable of withstanding high phenol (up to 1,100 mg L-1) environment with varying salinity conditions (0-10% of NaCl). The optimal initial phenol concentration was 400 mg L-1, at which the average removal rates of phenol peaked at 10.8 mg L-1 h-1. The higher initial concentration of phenol could inhibit the microbial metabolism. The optimal temperature, pH, and salinity were 35 °C, 6.0, and 0%, respectively. Under these conditions, 400 mg L-1 of phenol could be completely degraded within 20 h. The high removal rates of phenol by the strain might provide an alternative for treating phenolic wastewaters containing high salinity.


In this study the experience of Zulu African mothers who have adolescents who are misbehaving in urban townships in Durban were identified and explored. A qualitative, descriptive, contextual and interpretive research design was used to capture the experiences of ten mothers whose adolescents are misbehaving. Data was collected by means of individual semi-structured interviews as well as feedback and collaboration with the mothers. Data was analysed using Tesch's eight steps of data analysis, through which, four themes emerged. Themes are clustered around the support of mothers' perceptions of themselves, mothers' fearful emotional responses and mothers' suggestions on managing adolescents who are misbehaving. The strongest themes that emerged, which were reported by all the mothers were family support, despair and worry. Mothers mentioned that they experienced lack of support from their extended families, schools and other structures in helping them deal with their experiences. Mothers also mentioned feelings of worry about their children's life, and despair in relation to not knowing what to do or who to turn to for help. Guidelines and strategies in the form of recommendations are made to assist mothers in managing their adolescents who are misbehaving and also to facilitate adolescents in gaining parenting skills in schools.


German Quickly: A Grammar for Reading German is a thorough, straightforward textbook with a sense of fun. It teaches the fundamentals for reading German literary and scholarly texts of all levels of difficulty. It can be used as an introductory text for scholars with no background in German, or it can serve as a reference text for students wishing to review German. The grammar explanations are detailed and clear, addressing common problems students encounter while learning to read German. This book includes thought-provoking and entertaining reading selections consisting mainly of aphorisms and proverbs. There are also twelve appendices, including a summary of German grammar, descriptions of German dictionaries, a partial answer key, strategies for learning German, and a humanities vocabulary section of about 3,800 words.


Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (TTDS) is a powerful spectroscopic technique, combining pulsed broadband operation with high sensitivity coherent detection at room temperature. This thesis describes studies of terahertz surface plasmon polariton (SPP) guidance on a range of metamaterial structures using TTDS. Metamaterials are artificial media constructed from sub-wavelength dimension conducting elements which have an electromagnetic response that can be engineered by creating geometrical plasma-like resonances. In this work, high-confinement terahertz waveguiding is achieved by binding SPPs to cavity resonances which spoof the behaviour of intrinsic surface plasmon resonances found at much higher frequencies. The main aim of these studies is to investigate their properties with regard to potential applications in waveguiding and sensing. The first two chapters of this thesis describe the background to the subject. In chapter 3, the construction of a novel, flexible geometry, fibre-coupled TTDS system using hollow-core photonic crystal fibre (HC-PCF) is described. The extension of the system to include a near-field probe for evanescent field characterisation is also discussed. In chapter 4, we present the first direct observation of terahertz SPP propagation on plasmonic metamaterials consisting of copper sheets patterned with two-dimensional arrays of square copper-lined holes. Wavelength-scale field confinement is experimentally observed over an octave in frequency close to the band edge, representing a two order of magnitude increase in confinement compared to a flat metal sheet. In chapter 5, metamaterials consisting of two-dimensional arrays of coaxial apertures are shown to support two spoof plasmon modes below the band edge, enabling wavelength-scale field confinement to be experimentally realised at two distinct frequencies. In chapter 6, we present the first experimental results for terahertz SPP propagation on helical and discretely grooved cylindrical metamaterials termed metawires. In each case the results are compared with numerical simulations.


We will make the readers of this paper familiar with two basic approaches to repeated sequences extraction – a suffix tree based method and an inverted list based method. The first algorithm (ST) makes use of a tree data structure known from suffix tree clustering (STC) where each node represents one word and the root represents the null word. Thus, each path from the root is a phrase occurring somewhere in the corpus. The second applies an inverted index (broadly used in information retrieval), more specifically its hash table implementation (HT). Occurrences of each word in this index are employed to construct lists of words following the current word in different places of the corpus. These lists are then modified in a recursive fashion to satisfy the constraints of repeated segments. We will introduce both methods and compare them in terms of their time and space complexity, efficiency, effectiveness and results yielded with some sample input data. We will conclude that whereas the ST-algorithm is better as to time cost, it is outperformed by the HT-approach with respect to space. Finally, we will suggest several possible applications of repeated sequences.


Although it is quite easy to conceive of a number of conventionalised impoliteness formulae that, depending on context, do not lead to the hearer's evaluations of impoliteness, there are many situations when the speaker aims to be genuinely impolite and does not try to mitigate his/her verbal behaviour. This paper reports the findings of an analysis of twenty-nine genuinely impolite verbal behaviours that occurred in the Big Brother UK 2012 house. The main objective of this study is to examine the triggers for genuine impoliteness and determine which aspects of the hearer's face and rights s/he claims for him/herself are targeted in such interactions. The results reveal that impoliteness among the housemates is triggered by previous impolite (non-) verbal behaviour, implied negativity or personal dislike of the target. The speaker, in his/her turn, tends to associate the target with a negative aspect or behaviour, question his/her mental, emotional state or knowledge, deny the freedom of expression or participation and, finally, warn or threaten the target.


Detailed analysis of continuously cored boreholes and cone penetrometer tests (CPTs), high-resolution seismic-reflection data, and luminescence and 14 C dates from Holocene strata folded above the tip of the Ventura blind thrust fault constrain the ages and displacements of the two (or more) most recent earthquakes. These two earthquakes, which are identified by a prominent surface fold scarp and a stratigraphic sequence that thickens across an older buried fold scarp, occurred before the 235-yr-long historic era and after 805 ± 75 yr ago (most recent folding event[s]) and between 4065 and 4665 yr ago (previous folding event[s]). Minimum uplift in these two scarp-forming events was ∼6 m for the most recent earthquake(s) and ∼5.2 m for the previous event(s). Large uplifts such as these typically occur in large-magnitude earthquakes in the range of M w 7.5–8.0. Any such events along the Ventura fault would likely involve rupture of other Transverse Ranges faults to the east and west and/or rupture downward onto the deep, low-angle decollements that underlie these faults. The proximity of this large reverse-fault system to major population centers, including the greater Los Angeles region, and the potential for tsunami generation during ruptures extending offshore along the western parts of the system highlight the importance of understanding the complex behavior of these faults for probabilistic seismic hazard assessment.


Norwegian writer Knut Hamsun (1859--1952), winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1920, was a man both brilliant and controversial. Lauded for his literary achievements by Hemingway, Gide, Hesse, and others, he also provoked outrage for his open collaboration with the Fascists during the German occupation of Norway and for his insistent refusal to renounce his Nazi sympathies. This gripping biography of Hamsun, now available for the first time in English, offers a nuanced account of this morally ambiguous man. Drawing on Hamsun's extraordinary private archives and on his psychoanalyst's notes, Ingar Sletten Kolloen delves deeply into Hamsun's personal life and character. In vivid and telling detail, he describes Hamsun's early years in a peasant farming family, his tempestuous and jealousy-racked second marriage, his erratic relationship with his children, and his infamous love affair with Nazi Germany, the roots of which Kolloen traces to Hamsun's earliest days. Much like the characters he created in novels such as Hunger, Growth of the Soil, Mysteries, and Pan, Hamsun was irrational, eccentric, strange, and compelling--a man uncomfortable in his own time.


The performing arts of dance, theatre, music and live art have become established means through which cultural geographers can examine how people experience and make sense of their everyday worlds. Simultaneously, performance theorists and practitioners increasingly seek geographical tools that help elucidate the broader processes or politics that underpin artistic genres of performance. This review article works at this interdisciplinary nexus, exploring the diverse areas of engagement between geography and the performing arts. It provides an overview of three spatialities around which interdisciplinary exchanges take place, and where there are interesting synergies in the conceptual approach to studying geographies of performance, namely: landscapes, places and cities. In so doing, the article outlines some avenues where geography and performance studies academics might further their mutual interests, and argues that geography is central to the constitution, meaning and form that performance works take.


To facilitate a wide-spread acceptance of AI systems guiding decision making in real-world applications, trustworthiness of deployed models is key. That is, it is crucial for predictive models to be uncertainty-aware and yield well-calibrated (and thus trustworthy) predictions for both in-domain samples as well as under domain shift. Recent efforts to account for predictive uncertainty include post-processing steps for trained neural networks, Bayesian neural networks as well as alternative non-Bayesian approaches such as ensemble approaches and evidential deep learning. Here, we propose an efficient yet general modelling approach for obtaining well-calibrated, trustworthy probabilities for samples obtained after a domain shift. We introduce a new training strategy combining an entropy-encouraging loss term with an adversarial calibration loss term and demonstrate that this results in well-calibrated and technically trustworthy predictions for a wide range of domain drifts. We comprehensively evaluate previously proposed approaches on different data modalities, a large range of data sets including sequence data, network architectures and perturbation strategies. We observe that our modelling approach substantially outperforms existing state-of-the-art approaches, yielding well-calibrated predictions under domain drift.


Background Smoking, alcohol consumption and unhealthy diet are known to cluster, but evidence from developing countries at the early phases of the tobacco epidemics and with markedly different cultures, lifestyles and forms of tobacco use is scarce. The objective of this study was to quantify the association between tobacco consumption (manufactured cigarettes, hand-rolled cigarettes and smokeless tobacco) and alcohol, fruit and vegetable intake in Mozambique according to place of residence (urban/rural). Methods A representative sample of 12 902 Mozambicans aged 25–64 years was evaluated in a national household survey conducted in 2003 using a structured questionnaire. Age- and education-adjusted ORs were computed to estimate the association between tobacco consumption and alcohol, fruit and vegetable intake. Results Tobacco use and overall alcohol drinking were positively associated, regardless of type of tobacco consumed, but smoking of hand-rolled cigarettes and consumption of smokeless tobacco was negatively associated with beer drinking. Smokers of manufactured cigarettes had a less frequent intake of fruit, but smokeless tobacco consumption and hand-rolled cigarette smoking were not inversely related with intake of fruit or vegetables. This pattern was relatively consistent across genders and urban/rural areas, with the observed differences likely to be explained either by random variation or heterogeneity in tobacco consumption patterns across genders or places of residence. Conclusion Strong associations between tobacco consumption and the intake of alcoholic beverages, vegetable and fruit intake are found, but not consistently for all forms of tobacco use.


Dehydrins (DHNs) are hydrophilic proteins with conserved lysine-rich K-segment, which belong to Group II of the late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) protein family. DHNs are considered as molecular chaperons playing important roles in abiotic stress tolerance. In this study, DHN genes were identified through genome-wide searches in five Cucurbitaceae species, including cucumber, wild cucumber, melon, watermelon, and bitter gourd. Three to five DHN genes were found in each of the five species, which were further divided into several protein architecture types based on the presence and order of the major conserved motifs such as K-, Y-, and S-segments. In silico expression profiling using RNA-Seq data revealed high expression of SK3-type DHN gene and low expression of other type DHN genes in cucumber and melon. In silico promoter analysis identified a number of cis-acting element-like sequences related to abiotic stress-response such as DRE and ABRE in 2-kb putative promoter sequences. DHN genes identified in this study will be valuable for understanding the stress response mechanism as well as assisting molecular breeding in Cucurbitaceae crops.


Efficient white-light-emitting polymers were developed through the incorporation of narrow-bandgap green-emitting and red-emitting siloles moieties into the blue-emitting fluorene and carbazole copolymers backbone. By carefully controlling the concentrations of the green- and red-emitting species in the resulting copolymers, a white-light emission was achieved due to the simultaneous emission from all three colors. EL devices based on the copolymers exhibited luminance efficiencies of 4.87 cd/A with color coordinates of (0.30, 0.31) that was very close to the ideal CIE chromaticity coordinates for pure white light of (0.33, 0.33). After thermal treatment under 160  $^{\circ}{\hbox{C}}$, the devices showed the best luminous properties with external quantum yield of 3.39%, $L _{\rm ELmax}$ of 6.78 cd/A and color coordinate of (0.29, 0.30). Furthermore, the color coordinates remained almost unchanged over the range of operating potentials. The main operating process involve in the white electroluminescent process can be attributed to the direct charge trapping on the narrow band gap units and partial energy transfer from the blue-emitting segments to the green- and red-emitting siloles moieties.


Abstract : Security is a very visible issue these days for software. New software products are continuously reported to be vulnerable to attack and compromise; organizations must support an expensive unending update-and-upgrade cycle. Process improvement has been proposed as a mechanism for addressing security challenges, but the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI[registered name]) approach does not specifically address security, so the linkages for the Software Engineering Process Group (SEPG) community are unclear. The security track at the SEPG 2007 conference was developed to provide a forum for identifying the appropriate ties between process improvement and security. This document summarizes the content shared at the conference and identifies several subsequent steps underway toward strengthening those ties.


Recent work at the University of Birmingham's Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies has raised an interesting new problematic for cultural theory. A number of anthropologists studying ideology and cultural hegemony are already working on these questions and producing new studies of cultural reproduction and resistance. This article starts with Paul Willis's concept of a class culture and further develops his ideas with critical theory, symbolic interactionist, and anthropological perspectives. This reading of class and cultural theory suggests a more political concept of culture and cultural assimilation. It also suggests a variety of different questions that anthropologists can ask about everyday cultural life and communicative practices in capitalist societies. This perspective was used in an ethnographic study of cultural reproduction and resistance in one South Texas high school (Foley 1989). The analysis of class culture reproduction is part of a community-level class analysis of the Chicano civil rights movement (Foley et al. 1988).