BACKGROUND
The efficacy and safety of anticoagulant treatment for patients with acute, symptomatic superficial-vein thrombosis in the legs, but without concomitant deep-vein thrombosis or symptomatic pulmonary embolism at presentation, have not been established.

METHODS
In a randomized, double-blind trial, we assigned 3002 patients to receive either fondaparinux, administered subcutaneously at a dose of 2.5 mg once daily, or placebo for 45 days. The primary efficacy outcome was a composite of death from any cause or symptomatic pulmonary embolism, symptomatic deep-vein thrombosis, or symptomatic extension to the saphenofemoral junction or symptomatic recurrence of superficial-vein thrombosis at day 47. The main safety outcome was major bleeding. The patients were followed until day 77.

RESULTS
The primary efficacy outcome occurred in 13 of 1502 patients (0.9%) in the fondaparinux group and 88 of 1500 patients (5.9%) in the placebo group (relative risk reduction with fondaparinux, 85%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 74 to 92; P<0.001). The incidence of each component of the primary efficacy outcome was significantly reduced in the fondaparinux group as compared with the placebo group, except for the outcome of death (0.1% in both groups). The rate of pulmonary embolism or deep-vein thrombosis was 85% lower in the fondaparinux group than in the placebo group (0.2% vs. 1.3%; 95% CI, 50 to 95; P<0.001). Similar risk reductions were observed at day 77. A total of 88 patients would need to be treated to prevent one instance of pulmonary embolism or deep-vein thrombosis. Major bleeding occurred in one patient in each group. The incidence of serious adverse events was 0.7% with fondaparinux and 1.1% with placebo.

CONCLUSIONS
Fondaparinux at a dose of 2.5 mg once a day for 45 days was effective in the treatment of patients with acute, symptomatic superficial-vein thrombosis of the legs and did not have serious side effects. (Funded by GlaxoSmithKline; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00443053.)


After irradiation and cooling in a pool, spent nuclear fuel assemblies are either transported for wet storage to a devoted site or loaded in casks for dry storage. During dry transportation or at the beginning of dry storage, the cladding is expected to be submitted to creep deformation under the hoop stress induced by the internal pressure of the fuel rod. The thermal creep is a potential mechanism that might lead to cladding failure. A new creep model was developed, based on a database of creep tests on as-received and irradiated cold-worked stress-relieved Zircaloy-4 cladding in a wide range of temperatures (310°C to 470°C) and hoop stress (80 to 260 MPa). Based on three laws - a flow law, a strain-hardening recovery law, and an annealing of irradiation hardening law - this model allows the simulation of not only the transient creep and the steady-state creep, but also the early creep acceleration observed on irradiated samples tested in severe conditions, which was not taken into account in the previous models. The extrapolation of the creep model in the conditions of very long-term creep tests is reassuring, proving the robustness of the chosen formalism. The creep model has been assessed in progressively decreasing stress conditions, more representative of a transport. Set up to predict the cladding creep behavior under variable temperature and stress conditions, this model can easily be implemented into codes in order to simulate the thermomechanical behavior of spent fuel rods in various scenarios of postirradiation phases.


Host-parasite co-evolutionary relationships for the clariid fish species of the Lake Victoria basin and their parasite fauna was inferred by cytochrome b gene and the 18S rDNA using 'a strict coevolutionary' constrained tree method, the results of which revealed a phylogenetic incongruence between the fish hosts and their parasite fauna. The present study further indicated that the sympatric association between the clariid hosts and non-clariid fishes in Lake Victoria makes it possible for the parasites to switch from one host to another and hence the large number of shared parasites observed. The specificity of some of the parasites, e.g. Diplostomum mashonense and Tylodelphys species 1 & 2 observed is most likely a result of a strong hosthabitat association, such that the position of infective stages (cercariae) in the water column might preclude infection of diplostomids to other clariids. However, this ecological factor, together with the possibility of immuno-physiological barrier requires further investigation. Keywords : Host-parasites coevolution, Lake Victoria Tanz. J. Sci . Short Comm. Vol. 37 2011, 179-185


The Recommender Systems community is paying increasing attention to novelty and diversity as key qualities beyond accuracy in real recommendation scenarios. Despite the raise of interest and work on the topic in recent years, we find that a clear common methodological and conceptual ground for the evaluation of these dimensions is still to be consolidated. Different evaluation metrics have been reported in the literature but the precise relation, distinction or equivalence between them has not been explicitly studied. Furthermore, the metrics reported so far miss important properties such as taking into consideration the ranking of recommended items, or whether items are relevant or not, when assessing the novelty and diversity of recommendations.
 We present a formal framework for the definition of novelty and diversity metrics that unifies and generalizes several state of the art metrics. We identify three essential ground concepts at the roots of novelty and diversity: choice, discovery and relevance, upon which the framework is built. Item rank and relevance are introduced through a probabilistic recommendation browsing model, building upon the same three basic concepts. Based on the combination of ground elements, and the assumptions of the browsing model, different metrics and variants unfold. We report experimental observations which validate and illustrate the properties of the proposed metrics.


Seasonal windows of opportunity represent intervals of time within a year during which organisms have improved prospects of achieving life history aims such as growth or reproduction, and may be commonly structured by temporal variation in abiotic factors, bottom-up factors, and top-down factors. Although seasonal windows of opportunity are likely to be common, few studies have examined the factors that structure seasonal windows of opportunity in time. Here, we experimentally manipulated host plant age in two milkweed species (Asclepias fascicularis and Asclepias speciosa) in order to investigate the role of plant species-specific and plant age-varying traits on the survival and growth of monarch caterpillars (Danaus plexippus). We show that the two plant species showed diverging trajectories of defense traits with increasing age. These species-specific and age-varying host plant traits significantly affected the growth and survival of monarch caterpillars through both resource quality- and resource quantity-based constraints. The effects of plant age on monarch developmental success were comparable to and sometimes larger than those of plant species identity. We conclude that species-specific and age-varying plant traits are likely to be important factors with the potential to structure seasonal windows of opportunity for monarch development, and examine the implications of these findings for both broader patterns in the ontogeny of plant defense traits and the specific ecology of milkweed-monarch interactions in a changing world.


We investigate whether accounting discretion is (i) abused by opportunistic managers who exploit lax governance structures, or (ii) used by managers in a manner consistent with efficient contracting and shareholder value-maximization. Prior research documents an association between accounting discretion and poor governance quality and concludes that such evidence is consistent with abuse of the latitude allowed by accounting rules. We argue that this interpretation may be premature because, if such association is indeed evidence of opportunism, we ought to observe subsequent poor performance, ceteris paribus. Following Core et al. (1999) we conduct our analysis in two stages. In the first stage, we extend the prior literature and again find a link between poor governance and managers' accounting discretion. However, in the second stage we fail to detect a negative association between accounting discretion attributable to poor governance and subsequent firm performance. This suggests that, on average, managers do not abuse accounting discretion at the expense of firms' shareholders. Rather, we find some evidence that discretion due to poor governance is positively associated with future operating cash flows, which suggests that shareholders may benefit from earnings management, perhaps because it signals future performance.


Abstract In a systematic parametric study 3D MHD flows in expansions of rectangular ducts with different expansion ratios, expansion lengths, and various wall conductivities are analyzed for fusion relevant parameters in order to establish a data base useful for the design of liquid metal blankets for fusion reactors. In currently considered helium-cooled liquid metal blankets the liquid metal velocities are very small so that inertia is often negligible in comparison with the electromagnetic forces. In the core of the flow the major balance of forces establishes between pressure and Lorentz forces while viscous forces are confined to very thin boundary layers along the duct walls. Near the expansion an intense exchange of flow between the upstream and downstream cores with the corresponding side layers is observed. At the expansion a large fraction of the flow is carried by these thin layers along the side walls. This effect becomes more pronounced with decreasing the length of the expansion region. The three-dimensional flow near the expansion gives rise to additional electric currents, which are responsible for higher pressure drop compared with fully developed conditions. This additional pressure drop and the flow partitioning between cores and side layers are investigated in detail depending on the relevant governing parameters.


Regulations on emissions from diesel and gasoline fuelled engines are becoming more stringent in all parts of the world. Hence there is a great deal of interest in developing advanced combustion systems that offer the efficiency of a diesel engine, but with low PM and NOx. One promising approach is that of Partially-Premixed Compression Ignition (PPCI) or Low Temperature Combustion (LTC). Using this approach, PM can be reduced in compression ignition engines by promoting the mixing of fuel and air prior to combustion. This paper describes the application of an advanced combustion simulator for fuels, combustion and emissions to analyze the key processes which occur in PPCI combustion mode. A detailed chemical kinetic model with advanced PM population balance submodel is employed in a PPCI engine context to examine the impact of ignition resistance on combustion, mixing, ignition and emissions. The ignition and combustion of a diesel-like fuel (n-heptane) and low octane gasoline-like fuel (84PRF) are compared using the model highlighting how the diesel-like fuel ignites at very rich equivalence ratios whereas the gasoline-like fuel ignites on the lean side. Sources of exhaust gas emissions are also identified. For the first time, a computational model is employed to demonstrate the trade-off between low PM emissions and "over-mixing" (sensitivity to cycle-to-cycle variations and combustion instability) for a full range of fuels with increasing ignition resistance. These results are then discussed noting that conventional hydrocarbon fuels which fulfill either a conventional diesel or gasoline standards are not necessarily consistent with those required to run an engine operating at it's optimal point in terms of PM emissions and combustion stability.


Dynamic turnover of integrin cell adhesion molecules to and from the cell surface is central to cell migration. We report for the first time an association between integrins and Rab proteins, which are small GTPases involved in the traffic of endocytotic vesicles. Rab21 (and Rab5) associate with the cytoplasmic domains of α-integrin chains, and their expression influences the endo/exocytic traffic of integrins. This function of Rab21 is dependent on its GTP/GDP cycle and proper membrane targeting. Knock down of Rab21 impairs integrin-mediated cell adhesion and motility, whereas its overexpression stimulates cell migration and cancer cell adhesion to collagen and human bone. Finally, overexpression of Rab21 fails to induce cell adhesion via an integrin point mutant deficient in Rab21 association. These data provide mechanistic insight into how integrins are targeted to intracellular compartments and how their traffic regulates cell adhesion.


The Task Force on the management of chest pain was created by the committee for Scientific and Clinical Initiatives on 28 June 1997 after formal approval by the Board of the European Society of Cardiology. The document was circulated to the members of the Committee for Scientific and Clinical Initiatives, to the members of the Board and to the following reviewers: J. Adgey, C. Blomstro¨m-Lundqvist, R. Erbel, W. Klein, J. L. Lopez-Sendon, L. Ryde´n, M. L. Simoons, C. Stefanadis, M. Tendera, K. Thygesen. After further revision it was submitted for approval to the Committee for Practise Guidelines and Policy Conferences. The Task Force Report was supported financially in its entirety by The European Society of Cardiology and was developed without any involvement of the pharmaceutical industry.


We present the first empirical study on using color manipulation and stylization to make surgery images more palatable. While aversion to such images is natural, it limits many people's ability to satisfy their curiosity, educate themselves, and make informed decisions. We selected a diverse set of image processing techniques, and tested them both on surgeons and lay people. While many artistic methods were found unusable by surgeons, edge-preserving image smoothing gave good results both in terms of preserving information (as judged by surgeons) and reducing repulsiveness (as judged by lay people). Color manipulation turned out to be not as effective.


Adam-type methods, the extension of adaptive gradient methods, have shown great performance in the training of both supervised and unsupervised machine learning models. In particular, Adam-type optimizers have been widely used empirically as the default tool for training generative adversarial networks (GANs). On the theory side, however, despite the existence of theoretical results showing the efficiency of Adam-type methods in minimization problems, the reason of their wonderful performance still remains absent in GAN's training. In existing works, the fast convergence has long been considered as one of the most important reasons and multiple works have been proposed to give a theoretical guarantee of the convergence to a critical point of min-max optimization algorithms under certain assumptions. In this paper, we firstly argue empirically that in GAN's training, Adam does not converge to a critical point even upon successful training: Only the generator is converging while the discriminator's gradient norm remains high throughout the training. We name this one-sided convergence. Then we bridge the gap between experiments and theory by showing that Adam-type algorithms provably converge to a one-sided first order stationary points in min-max optimization problems under the one-sided MVI condition. We also empirically verify that such one-sided MVI condition is satisfied for standard GANs after trained over standard data sets. To the best of our knowledge, this is the very first result which provides an empirical observation and a strict theoretical guarantee on the one-sided convergence of Adam-type algorithms in min-max optimization.


A practical step-by-step guide to provide secure remote access using the Citrix Access Gateway VPX Overview A complete administration companion guiding you through the complexity of providing secure remote access using the Citrix Access Gateway 5 virtual appliance. Establish secure access using ICA-Proxy to your Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop hosted environments. Use SmartAccess technology to evaluate end users devices before they connect to your protected network. Provide a comprehensive solution to secure remote access by implementing Appliance Failover, taking care of your high availability needs. In Detail The Citrix Access Gateway can provide full VPN access to you network or simple ICA proxy and we will show you how. No matter how new you are to Citrix or how long you have used Citrix for, we are going learn how to extend the use of Citrix products beyond the confines of your corporate network. Citrix Access Gateway VPX 5.04 Essentials takes you through the complete process of configuring the appliance. Providing easy to follow guides that you will be able to follow as a seasoned Citrix professional or newbie, we will see you through to the full and complete deployment of the appliance. Once we have established the license infrastructure we quickly begin on the Access Gateway itself. This runs as a virtual machine so we must import and configure the device. This shouldnt take us too long and we are ready then to open the web console to see what awaits us in its Adobe Flash driven administration heaven. Our time is going to be well spent here and also, we will spend a long time here so we need to make sure that we are comfortable for the journey that will see us create basic and smartaccess login points; that is, complete access to our networks based on the needs of the user and their role. Not happy with this, we ensure that our work is not destroyed with power outages and we provide appliance failover to ensure the system keeps running. We do not short change you so you will not short change your customers. Install and configure the Citrix License Server 11.10 into your environment, either the software version or the virtual appliance. Import the VPX edition of the Citrix Access Gateway and complete the initial configuration from the command line express setup. Configure ICA-Proxy access to your XenApp and XenDesktop infrastructure using basic login points. Investigate different mechanisms for deploying the Access Gateway plugins to you user devices including the Citrix Merchandising Server. Build up the elements to create full VPN access to your internal network whilst maintaining adequate protection from rogue devices using end point analysis implemented using device profiles referenced in SmartGroups. Publish network resources to be made available to the VPN clients based upon the results of their end point analysis. Use SmartAccess login points to access the VPN and view remediation messages should we not meet the security requirements of the network. Monitor the Access Gateway and provide a mechanism to maintain the log files on a remote host. Manage the high availability of the Access Gateway by implementing appliance failover, two gateways acting as one each monitoring the availability the failover partner. Access the gateway command line management using SSH.


This paper presents an application for the analysis of structures formed by unsaturated layered soils subjected to rainfall and seepage flow; the results are part ofa current research project on rainfall infiltration. A three - phase coupled infiltration- deformation method for unsaturated soil was used for the numerical analysis. The effects of the water permeability and horizontal drainage on the distribution ofseepage flow velocities, saturation, and generation of deformations for an unsaturatedlayered embankment were investigated. The results show that the generation of deformation on the embankment surface highly depends on the water permeability of the soil. In addition, through horizontal drainage simulations, the advantage ofthis type of solution for decreasing the pore water pressures on the back of the slope embankment, thus avoiding local failure (erosion), is shown.


The cultural distinctiveness of the South led to a backlash in the region in the years following the rise of a national LGBTQ movement. In the decades that followed, political science research showed that the South remained fundamentally different than elsewhere in the nation in terms of attitudes regarding LGBTQ individuals and policies, both regarding overall views and Southerners' imperviousness to personal contact with queer individuals in terms of reshaping attitudes. In electoral politics, explicit group-based appeals regarding LGBTQ individuals were often employed. And, policy divergence between the South and non-South was stark. While unambiguous shifts have occurred in the South in a more pro-LGBTQ rights direction, the region remains distinctively conservative when it comes to LGBTQ politics. Particularly striking are Southern attitudes toward transgender individuals and policies. That said, "two Souths" have begun to cement on LGBTQ politics as urbanized and suburbanized areas have diverged. Moreover, within the region's Republican Party, a factional divide has begun to show itself across the South. The South remains consequential in gauging whether backpedaling on the dramatic progress made on LGBTQ rights is occurring in the United States.


Contrary to a common picture of relationships in a market economy, people often express communal and membership-seeking impulses via consumption choices, purchasing goods and services because other people are doing so as well. Shared identities are maintained and created in this way. Solidarity goods are goods whose value increases as the number of people enjoying them increases. Exclusivity goods are goods whose value decreases as the number of people enjoying them increases. Distinctions can be drawn among diverse value functions, capturing diverse relationships between the value of goods and the value of shared or unshared consumption. Though markets spontaneously produce solidarity goods, individuals sometimes have difficulty in producing such goods on their own, or in coordinating on choosing them. Here law has a potential role. There are implications for trend setting, clubs, partnerships, national events, social cascades, and compliance without enforcement.


Narcolepsy is a disorder of excessive daytime sleepiness. Previous attempts to investigate the relationship between this sleepiness and everyday cognitive fimction have been limited by both the ability of narcoleptics to contain their sleepiness for brief testing periods and the potential lack of sensitivity of routine performance
tasks to sleepiness induced changes. The first study reported in this thesis developed a research protocol which allowed subjects with narcolepsy to express states of sleepiness and non sleepiness and to then compare the performance of subjects with narcolepsy to age, gender, and IQ matched controls on tasks evaluating automatic, attentional and complex cognitive fiinctioning. The results
indicate that at high arousal subjects with narcolepsy performed as well as controls on automatic tasks. This suggests that the capacity to perform for narcolepsy is
not restricted by physiological factors but is secondary to the effects of sleepiness. Comparison of both the within subject effects for narcolepsy subjects of the
transition between high and low arousal states, and the between subject effects of low arousal for narcolepsy subjects compared to controls, indicate that complex
cognitive tasks are the most sensitive to arousal fluctuation. The second study compared the effects of low arousal for narcoleptic subjects, on selected performance tasks, with the effects of 32 hours of sleep deprivation for non pathologically sleepy subjects. The previously noted decrement for complex processing tasks secondary to low arousal in narcoleptic subjects was not demonstrated for the sleep deprived population. These differential performance outcomes for narcoleptic and sleep deprived controls are evaluated within a theoretical model of the interaction between sleepiness and performance. The third
study reported in this thesis evaluated the subjective impressions of narcoleptic subjects of diminished memory fimction associated with the disorder. Previous
evaluations have been non specific, requiring subjects to simply provide a global rating of subjective memory fiinction. The current study formalised this subjective
analysis of memory function using the Metamemory in Adulthood Instrument to compare aspects of subjective memory dysfunction between narcoleptic subjects,subjects with excessive daytime sleepiness not associated with narcolepsy, and controls. The analysis indicates narcoleptics have significantly diminished self efficacy for memory function, in comparison to the reference groups,
despite demonstrating equivalent levels of memory knowledge.
In addition an integrated model is developed that illustrates the postulated role of affective dysfunction and sleepiness in narcolepsy in contributing to both cognitive difficulties and dysfunction on complex processing tasks.


Purpose: Mobile Financial Services are such applications of mobile computing which provide customers the support that is needed to access their bank accounts and bank anywhere and anytime using a mobile handheld device such as a mobile phone. Mobile Financial Services remove space and time limitations from banking activities such as checking account balances or transferring money from one account to another. The study tries to understand users' level of intention to use mobile financial services in Khulna city.
Methodology: Data have been collected from 110 respondents out of which 35 respondents are agents and rest is from different professions. All mobile financial service users in Khulna city have been assumed as population for the study. There has been no demographic barrier for the mobile financial services users to be taken or to be given priority. A structured questionnaire has been administered among the respondents to collect the data. There are 7 variables that have been interviewed among the respondents. These variables are taken from 'Technology acceptance model' and 'Theory of reasoned action'. Correlation and multiple regression analysis are applied to understand the intention of the users.
Findings: The study finds that there are strong relationships among the variables. It also shows that trust has strong relation with intention to use mobile financial services.
Value: Different stakeholders like mobile financial service providers, mobile operators, regulatory authorities, government and others will get benefit from the study.


In urban vehicular networks, where privacy, especially the location privacy of anonymous vehicles is highly concerned, anonymous verification of vehicles is indispensable. Consequently, an attacker who succeeds in forging multiple hostile identifies can easily launch a Sybil attack, gaining a disproportionately large influence. In this paper, we propose a novel Sybil attack detection mechanism, Footprint, using the trajectories of vehicles for identification while still preserving their location privacy. More specifically, when a vehicle approaches a road-side unit (RSU), it actively demands an authorized message from the RSU as the proof of the appearance time at this RSU. We design a location-hidden authorized message generation scheme for two objectives: first, RSU signatures on messages are signer ambiguous so that the RSU location information is concealed from the resulted authorized message; second, two authorized messages signed by the same RSU within the same given period of time (temporarily linkable) are recognizable so that they can be used for identification. With the temporal limitation on the linkability of two authorized messages, authorized messages used for long-term identification are prohibited. With this scheme, vehicles can generate a location-hidden trajectory for location-privacy-preserved identification by collecting a consecutive series of authorized messages. Utilizing social relationship among trajectories according to the similarity definition of two trajectories, Footprint can recognize and therefore dismiss "communities" of Sybil trajectories. Rigorous security analysis and extensive trace-driven simulations demonstrate the efficacy of Footprint.


The Law on Financial Derivatives offers you an extensive analysis and explanation of the legal and regulatory principles underlying over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives in the UK. Drawing together concepts from many areas of law – including contract, tort, trusts and private international law – it shows how they relate to the day-to-day practice of financial derivatives markets and the completion of standard market contracts. Whether you're looking for concise, to-the-point guidance on the basic issues of OTC derivatives, or a thorough, in-depth analysis of some of the more complex issues surrounding the industry, this title provides you with all the information you need to advise your clients confidently. This new edition covers all of the litigation which has arisen in the wake of the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the credit crunch; explains the proposals for the regulation of derivatives in the EU and in the USA; and provides a full analysis of the ISDA Master Agreement and the many recent cases which have cast doubt on its effectiveness.


Purpose:Recent research suggests the use of noncontact low-frequency ultrasound (US) as an adjunct to standard wound care to facilitate the healing process. The purpose of this systematic review was to examine the effect of noncontact low-frequency US on the healing of chronic wounds. Methods:CINHAL and PubMed were used to identify studies published from 2000 to 2011 written in English with the key words ultrasound and debridement, chronic wounds, ultrasonic-assisted wound treatment, and MIST Therapy®, resulting in the retrieval of 51 potential articles. Ten studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. Two reviewers independently rated study quality and extracted data concerning study methods, quality, and outcomes. Results:Nine of the studies reviewed demonstrated improved wound healing when noncontact low-frequency US was used either as the sole treatment or as an adjunct to standard wound care, whereas the findings of one study were inconclusive. Discussion/Conclusions:The literature reviewed supports the use of noncontact low-frequency US as an adjunct in the treatment of chronic wounds. The studies reviewed suggest that noncontact low-frequency US aids in the reduction of wound volume and that healing occurs at a faster rate than with standard wound care alone. Evidence is limited by the existence of only two studies with control groups. Future research should use comparison groups and focus on dosing parameters, outcomes on the basis of the wound type, and other meaningful patient outcomes such as wound pain or cost of treatment.


How parenting became a verb, from Dr. Spock and June Cleaver to baby whispering and free-range kids. When did "parenting" become a verb? Why is it so hard to parent, and so rife with the possibility of failure? Sitcom families of the past—the Cleavers, the Bradys, the Conners—didn't seem to lose any sleep over their parenting methods. Today, parents are likely to be up late, doomscrolling on parenting websites. In Long Days, Short Years, Andrew Bomback—physician, writer, and father of three young children—looks at why it can be so much fun to be a parent but, at the same time, so frustrating and difficult to parent. It's not a "how to" book (although Bomback has read plenty of these) but a "how come" book, investigating the emergence of an immersive, all-in approach to raising children that has made parenting a competitive (and often not very enjoyable) sport.
 Drawing on parenting books, mommy blogs, and historical accounts of parental duties as well as novels, films, podcasts, television shows, and his own experiences as a parent, Bomback charts the cultural history of parenting as a skill to be mastered, from the laid-back Dr. Spock's 1950s childcare bible—in some years outsold only by the actual Bible—to the more rigid training schedules of Babywise. Along the way, he considers the high costs of commercialized parenting (from the babymoon on), the pressure on mothers to have it all (and do it all), scripted parenting as laid out in How to Talk So Kids Will Listen, parenting during a pandemic, and much more.


Retreat longwall mining is the most productive system for underground extraction of tabulated deposits. However, the steady growth of the mining depth dramatically increased the ground pressure in chain pillars protecting the longwall entries. Therefore, several coal industries have tried to shift to pillarless mining and practiced maintenance of the head or tail entry behind the longwall in the stress relief zones using the backfill bodies in the thin coal seams. We modernized the pillarless variant of the retreat longwall system introducing the third roadway, which is driven in the consolidated goaf behind the moving longwall in a stress relief zone. We used a computer code FLAC3D to simulate stress redistribution during pillarless extraction of adjacent panels that assisted to determine optimal parameters of mining layout. This modernized technology provides for sustainable mining due to enhancement of transport, ventilation, safety conditions, and a comfortable environment because of the stability of the underground roadways, which serve the high productive longwalls.


While generating the CH2OO molecule by reacting CH2I with O2, significant amounts of the OH radical were observed by laser-induced fluorescence. At least two different processes formed OH. A fast process was probably initiated by a reaction of vibrationally hot CH2I radicals. The second process appeared to be associated with the decay of the CH2OO molecule. The addition of molecules known to react with CH2OO increased the observed decay rates of the OH signal. Using the OH signals as a proxy for the CH2OO concentration, the rate constant for the reaction of hexafluoroacetone with CH2OO was determined to be (3.33 ± 0.27) × 10(-11) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1), in good agreement with the value measured by Taatjes et al.1 The rate constant for the reaction of SO2 with CH2OO, (3.53 ± 0.29) × 10(-11) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1), showed no pressure dependence over the range of 50-200 Torr and was in agreement with the value at 4 Torr reported by Welz et al.


Chinese hamster ovary cells grown in monolayer culture and exposed to cytochalasin B were enucleated by centrifugation. Thereafter, the karyoplasts (the nucleated parts obtained from the bottoms of the centrifuge tubes) and the cytoplasts (the enucleated cytoplasmic parts attached to the coverslips) were allowed to recover and subsequently were examined by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Microscopy of thin sections revealed that the karyoplasts, limited by an intact plasma membrane, contain an intact nucleus surrounded by a layer of cytoplasm that includes ribosomes, mitochondria, and fragments of the endoplasmic reticulum, but no centrioles or microtubules. The cytoplasts, similarly examined, appear to contain all cytoplasmic organelles and systems, including centrioles and microtubules. The karyoplasts, when replated in fresh medium adhere to the substrate but remain essentially spherical and are incapable of motility. They disintegrate in about 72 hr. The cytoplasts, under identical conditions, recover a shape similar to that of the whole Chinese hamster ovary cell and display some motility. They generally survive not more than 48 hr. It appears that this enucleation procedure consistently separates the nucleus and limited cytoplasm from the centrosphere and microtubule-containing cytoplasts and, furthermore, that the formdetermining and motility mechanisms reside in the cytoplast and function without nuclear participation for the short period of viability.


For the general public, magnetism often seems more the province of new age quacks, movie mad scientists, and grade-school teachers than an area of actual, ongoing scientific inquiry. But as Ronald T. Merrill reveals in "Our Magnetic Earth", geomagnetism really is an enduring, vibrant area of science, one that offers answers to some of the biggest questions about our planet's past - and maybe even its future. In a clear and careful fashion, he lays out the physics of geomagnetism and magnetic fields, then goes on to explain how Earth's magnetic field provides crucial evidence for our understanding of continental drift and plate tectonics; how and why animals, ranging from bacteria to mammals, sense and use the magnetic field; how changes in climate over eons can be studied through variations in the magnetic field in rocks; and much more. Throughout, Merrill peppers his scientific account with bizarre anecdotes and fascinating details, from levitating pizzas to Moon missions to blackmailing KGB agents - a reminder that real science can at times be stranger, and more amusing, than fiction. A winning primer for anyone who has ever struggled with a compass or admired a ragged V of migrating geese, "Our Magnetic Earth" demonstrates that education and entertainment need not be polar opposites.


 Citation: Amouzade S, Aghalari Z, Tirgar A. Determination of Research Bias Based on the Articles Published in Health Management Journals. Journal of Health Research in Community. Spring 2017;3(1): 69-76. ABSTRACT Introduction and purpose: Content analysis of scientific articles conducted in the field of Health Systems Management through identifying the priorities and outcomes can help authorities in decision-making. The present study aimed to determine the status of research bias in the articles published in scientific journals in the field of Health Systems Management. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 659 articles from 87 issues of 4 scientific journals in the field of Health Systems Management (from the first year of publishing through the end of 2014) were surveyed using the census method. A researcher-made checklist was used for data collection, and descriptive statistics were utilized for data analysis. Results: From different research areas, the highest percentage of published papers (23.4%) were on Health Systems Management and 18.4% belonged to the Human Resources Management. In 27.3% and 13.3% of the surveyed papers, the study populations were limited to staff and managers, respectively. More than two thirds of the papers (89.3%) were derived from original articles, 59.4% of them were descriptive studies, and over half of the papers were questionnaire-based. Conclusion: Despite the wide variety of subjects in Health Systems Management articles, some areas such as physical management and medical equipment and supplies have been neglected. Thus, a balanced subject distribution along with an emphasis on novel and practical studies is recommended.


Purpose: The aim of this work was to evaluate the role of low vision aids in improving visual performance and response in children with low vision. Study Design: Prospective clinical case series. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted on 50 patients that met the international criteria for a diagnosis of low vision. Their ages ranged from 5 to 15 years. Assessment of low vision included distance and near visual acuity assessment, color vision and contrast sensitivity function. Low vision aids were prescribed based on initial evaluation and the patient's visual needs. Patients were followed up for 1 year using the tests done at the initial examination and a visual function assessment questionnaire. Results: The duration of visual impairment ranged from 1 to 10 years, with mean duration ± SD being 4.6± 2.3299. The near visual acuities ranged from A10 to A20, with mean near acuity ± SD being A13.632 ± 3.17171. Far visual acuities ranged from 6/60 (0.06) to 6/24 (0.25), with mean far visual acuity ± SD being 0.122 ± 0.1191. All patients had impaired contrast sensitivity function as tested using the vision contrast testing system (VCTS) chart for all spatial frequencies. Distance and near vision aids were prescribed according to the visual acuity and the visual needs of every patient. All patients in the age group 5-7 years could be integrated in mainstream schools. The remaining patients that were already integrated in schools demonstrated greater independency regarding reading books and copying from blackboards. Conclusion: Our study confirmed that low vision aids could play an effective role in minimizing the impact of low vision and improving the visual performance of children with low vision, leading to maximizing their social and educational integration.


Mealybugs are one of the major constraining factors in South African citrus fruit exports to foreign markets. An identification guide is required as an aid to field and laboratory identification of the species and to help reduce the rejection rate of exported fruits during foreign quarantine inspections.Adult and immature females of the striped mealybug Ferrisia virgata (Cockerell), the spherical mealybug Nipaecoccus viridis (Newstead), the oleander mealybug Paracoccus burnerae (Brain), the citrus mealybug Planococcus citri (Risso), the citrophilous mealybug Pseudococcus calceolariae (Maskell) and the longtailed mealybug Pseudococcus longispinus (Targioni-Tozzetti) are described and illustrated from field-collected and slide-mounted specimens. A diagnostic key to the different stages and species is provided. Morphometric characteristics useful for separating the different developmental stages of each species and the six species are discussed.


Sociological legitimacy is a critical yet undertheorized element of a successful international criminal tribunal. This Article examines the link between sociological legitimacy and the composition of hybrid courts by analyzing the practice of five international criminal tribunals: the ICC, ICTY, ICTR, SCSL, and the ECCC. It finds that the presence of local judges on international criminal courts offers a firmer normative basis for enhancing their legitimacy among the local community. However, the Article also finds that despite impressive scholarly efforts to demystify the "homogenous" international community, international judges are not sufficiently particularized. The solution I offer is both principled and pragmatic. The appointment of international judges should prioritize individuals from regional states (provided the states were not involved in the conflict), those of the same legal tradition, and individuals who speak a language of the affected state. This solution pays greater respect to national sovereignty and enhances the prospect that judges sensitive to local customs will be involved, increasing the likelihood that the court will be regarded as legitimate. The court's sociological legitimacy, in turn, heightens the court's prospect of success.


The continuity of long-term environmental datasets provided by citizen science groups has the potential to address the specific concerns of multiple audiences. We designed an analysis framework based on a 16-year dataset across 40 sites in Puget Sound, WA, USA, which citizen scientists collected by visiting beaches annually and using prescribed protocols to record biodiversity, substrate, and slope. The framework was developed collaboratively by local citizens, agency managers, and academic scientists, incorporating objectives emphasized by each group while addressing overlapping appeal: (1) volunteers highlighted a natural history focus to analyze patterns of biotic and abiotic attributes; (2) managers highlighted a trend analysis to document changes through time; and (3) academic scientists highlighted an impact focus to analyze effects of habitat types and disturbances on biodiversity. By using this framework, we showed that volunteer objectives that describe natural history could categorize beaches according to fauna and flora assemblages and sediment composition. Management objectives that describe trends in eelgrass were stable, with site-specific variability. Science objectives that measure impacts found that dynamic beaches with active sediment movement had higher taxa richness. We conclude that the analysis had broad appeal across users, and we link how natural history, trend, and impact studies can be developed along spatial and temporal components to address multiple objectives and conservation goals.


Using a survey dataset collected from Andhra Pradesh, India, we test if multiple borrowing is equivalent to over-borrowing. Results suggest that over-borrowing and multiple loans are not necessarily synonymous. As the number of credit agencies in a village increases, the average loan burden of villagers does not increase. We also find evidence of substitution of formal sources of credit for informal ones with increased presence of formal credit institutions. Such substitution is greater with addition of microcredit institutions than with other formal lending agencies. Our results indicate that joint liability setup seems to ensure that individuals at a greater risk of non-repayment are discouraged from obtaining microcredit.


The exponential growth in knowledge coupled with the decreasing knowledge half-life creates a challenging situation for educational programs particularly those preparing software engineers for their very dynamic hightechnology field. Teachers in high technology education areas are challenged in selecting and making relevant knowledge intuitively accessible to students, especially with regard the highly dynamic digital and software technologies. This paper contributes a knowledge nexus-based multimedia approach aligned with Higher Education 4.0 for creating learning apps on mobile devices that support multiple didactic models, leverage intrinsic curiosity and motivation, support gamification, and enable digital collaboration. Object recognition is used to trigger learning paths, and various didactic methods are supported via workflow-like learning flows to support group or team-based learning. A prototype app was realized to demonstrate its feasibility and an empirical evaluation in software engineering shows the didactic potential and advantages of the approach, which can be readily generalized and applied to the arts, sciences, etc.


To answer a pressing need for managing today's complex process and requirements of hydro relicensing, Central Maine Power Company (CMP) has applied the principles of project management, including the use of computerized scheduling to its hydro relicensing efforts. This approach involves early inter-departmental cooperation in mapping out critical path scheduling by requiring the project team to: 1. Outline the scope of the project in its entirety. 2. Clarify and define components of the project. 3. Quantify and categorize assumptions and dependencies. 4. Identify constraints. The computer-generated schedule of this cooperative planning effort provides a graphic representation of the team's plan and becomes the focal point for refinements and adjustments necessary to complete an application on time. The use of project management techniques facilitates team understanding of the realities and limitations in the relicensing process. These techniques encourage cooperative action toward a common goal, and use a solution-oriented process resulting in a product which can be a useful tool in communicating with resource agencies and regulators.


There is renewed interest in inferring evolutionary history by modelling diversification rates using phylogenies. Understanding the performance of the methods used under different scenarios is essential for assessing empirical results. Recently, we introduced a new approach for analysing broadscale diversity patterns, using the generalised mixed Yule coalescent (GMYC) method to test for the existence of evolutionarily significant units above the species (higher ESUs). This approach focuses on identifying clades as well as estimating rates, and we refer to it as clade‐dependent. However, the ability of the GMYC to detect the phylogenetic signature of higher ESUs has not been fully explored, nor has it been placed in the context of other, clade‐independent approaches. We simulated >32 000 trees under two clade‐independent models: constant‐rate birth‐death (CRBD) and variable‐rate birth‐death (VRBD), using parameter estimates from nine empirical trees and more general parameter values. The simulated trees were used to evaluate scenarios under which GMYC might incorrectly detect the presence of higher ESUs. The GMYC null model was rejected at a high rate on CRBD‐simulated trees. This would lead to spurious inference of higher ESUs. However, the support for the GMYC model was significantly greater in most of the empirical clades than expected under a CRBD process. Simulations with empirically derived parameter values could therefore be used to exclude CRBD as an explanation for diversification patterns. In contrast, a VRBD process could not be ruled out as an alternative explanation for the apparent signature of hESUs in the empirical clades, based on the GMYC method alone. Other metrics of tree shape, however, differed notably between the empirical and VRBD‐simulated trees. These metrics could be used in future to distinguish clade‐dependent and clade‐independent models. In conclusion, detection of higher ESUs using the GMYC is robust against some clade‐independent models, as long as simulations are used to evaluate these alternatives, but not against others. The differences between clade‐dependent and clade‐independent processes are biologically interesting, but most current models focus on the latter. We advocate more research into clade‐dependent models for broad diversity patterns.


The central theme of this book is competition treated as an evolutionary process in which the focus is upon economic change and not economic equilibrium. This theme is explored by linking together differences in economic behaviour with the role of markets as co-ordinating institutions. In this picture innovation plays a central role as a primary source of differential behaviour of firms and the purpose of the book is to identify the consequences of these differences for competition and competitive advantage.


In this paper we compare different approaches to maintain shadow state for heap objects in Java. We identify dynamic analyses that need to shadow heap objects, and we consider their requirements. We describe three very different approaches in detail: using a hash map, heap tagging, and injecting shadow fields.
 We discuss the tradeoffs between the different approaches, and we empirically evaluate the viability and performance of the hash map and heap tagging approaches, the two approaches that work on Hotspot, the most prevalent JVM. We find that both approaches work reliably, but that -- with the contemporary JVM implementation of heap tagging -- the simpler hash map approach has far superior performance.


Wildland fires pose an immensive threat to social and economic values in many countries around the world. These fires are ecological phenomena subject to boundary con-
ditions which vary spatially and temporally. Airborne laser scanning (ALS) is an active remote sensing methodology capable of directly measuring the location of reflecting
points on the earth's surface. ALS systems scan the earth surface with a laser beam, resulting in a three-dimensional point cloud containing structural aspects of the vege-
tation canopy. Thus, it was hypothesized that ALS could provide structural information relating to the spatial arrangement of fuels to assess either the risk or the potential impact of wildland fires. The presented dissertation focuses on the derivation of such structural parameters from ALS data in its raw form and attempts to develop, implement and validate robust methods for biophysical vegetation parameter estimation.
An approach for the estimation of the canopy geometry at the scale of single trees from ALS data was implemented and validated using field data. It was shown that the tree geometry, including position, tree height and crown diameter, of single trees could be derived from the laser point cloud with an accuracy that matches the one of
traditional field work. A methodology for the derivation of canopy density measures such as leaf area index (LAI) and fractional cover (fCover) was implemented using a
physically based ALS estimator related to different echo types inside the canopy as a predictor variable. The validation was done using field data being geolocated with
centimeter precision. This allowed for matching field data and ALS estimates for very small areas, opposed to more commonly used stand wise approaches.
The methods developed provide a high degree of automation, once they were calibrated with field measurements and were found to be robust in respect to changes of ALS scanning angles used in this study, while changing the flying altitude significantly affects the methods for derivation of vegetation density. In such cases, a recalibration
of the methodologies for different flying altitudes is needed, as long as the dependence of flying altitude is not well enough understood to allow for a direct correction. The
methodologies developed for deriving structural and density related information of the fuel bed sustain the large potential that ALS data has for the derivation of biophys-
ical vegetation properties. One key finding of this thesis is that if one wants to exploit this potential even further, one will need to consider the interaction of the laser beam
and the canopy more thoroughly.


The purpose of this study is to extend the current understanding of business divestiture by investigating its potential for triggering strategic reorientation. A divestiture involving strategic reorientation is here denoted as a strategic business exit, otherwise it is a status quopreserving business exit. The motives for divestiture specified in prior studies are mainly associated with firm financial performance and corporate strategy. Most studies investigate their impact on divestiture separately though both may interact. This study contributes to research by, first, distinguishing divestiture types, and, second, empirically testing the influence of performance and strategy both separately and in conjunction on the choice between strategic and status quo-preserving business exit with secondary data on 213 divestitures during 1999-2004 which were undertaken by a cross-industry sample of 91 firms listed in the German CDAX. The findings mainly indicate that firm financial performance is a stronger predictor of strategic business exit than corporate strategy.


Malaysia has been the world's largest producer and exporter of palm oil for the
last fifteen years. The palm oil is facing stiff competition from other palm oil
producers especially Indonesia. Indonesia's production of palm oil is increasing
rapidly at more than 10% annually compared to Malaysia which showed an average
growth of only 8.2% from 1990 to 1995. In response the Malaysian government has
taken many efforts to improve the performance of the local palm oil industry.
Despite the efforts of the government as well as the private sector to develop the palm
oil industry in Malaysia, the performance of the industry, measured in terms of market
share and profitability, is declining relative to those of other countries especially
Indonesia. Therefore, the aim of this study is to assess the competitiveness of the
Malaysian palm oil industry and to identify the factors affecting it.This study analyzed the competi1iveness of the pahn oil industry at the country
and industay level The compcIitivmess at country level was detennincd by palm oil
export performance which was measured by 1he constant Market Share model (CMS).
The CMS model decomposes the export of palm oil into three effects ie. size of
market, distribution and competitive effects. The result of the CMS analysis for the
size of market effect shows that the country was unable to cope with world palm oil
demand in the later periods, compared to Indonesia. The distribution effect showed
that both Malaysia '8 and Indonesia '8 palm oil expolls were concentrated in markets
where demand was growing at slower rates during earlier periods fonowed by faster
rates in the later periods. Finally, the competitive effect showed a decline in Malaysia' 8
market share for the later periods, while Indonesia's market share was increasing
continuously. Thus, Malaysia is graduaJly losing its competiJiveness to Indonesia in
tenns of market share.
The analysis was carried out on crude palm oil (CPO) millers. The
perfonnance of the industry was found to be affected by productivity, technology,
market share, quality, balgaining power and cost of production. Performance was
measured by value added and return on assets. The coefficient of determination was
64.0% and 42.08% for ROA and value added rcspec1ively. The results showed that the
cost of production, market share, productivity of capital, quality (free fatty acid
content) and technology were significant at 5%. Bargaining power did not contribute
much to the performance of CPO millers. In conclusion, it was found that the
competitiveness of the industry can be improved if the firms increase their production,
productivity, technology, market share and reduce the cost of production.


There is a large and fragmented literature that examines the nature of franchising. This paper aims to collect all the empirical evidence on the factors that make franchising work and to integrate this evidence in a framework. A narrative synthesis was performed of 126 peer‐reviewed empirical journal articles. This review shows how the outcomes of franchising are determined by five major clusters of factors: ownership structure, business format design, contract design, behavior of the franchisor and the franchisee and their interaction, and the age and size of the system and its units. It identifies what franchisors and franchisees need to do to be successful and which evidence gaps and conflicting results remain. To yield better outcomes for both the franchisor and the franchisee, they should work on a recognizable brand name and a good working relationship; in addition, they should have suitable skills and attitudes as well as contractual exclusive territories. For further improvement of franchisee outcomes, high‐quality franchisor support, decentralized decision‐making, selection tools and fair contracts are essential. The effects of a high franchise proportion, active ownership, knowledge exchange and standardized operating instructions are contingent on other structural and contextual factors in the system. Conflicts and tying should be prevented. Hardly any research has been undertaken into which franchise designs are valued by customers. The authors have launched a research agenda for further research, from various theoretical perspectives, into the interactions between system elements, actors and contexts.


—Scientific analyses commonly compose multiple single-process programs into a dataflow. An end-to-end dataflow of single-process programs is known as a many-task application. Typically, tools from the HPC software stack are used to parallelize these analyses. In this work, we investigate an alternate approach that uses Apache Spark—a modern big data platform—to parallelize many-task applications. We present Kira, a flexible and distributed astronomy image processing toolkit using Apache Spark. We then use the Kira toolkit to implement a Source Extractor application for astronomy images, called Kira SE. With Kira SE as the use case, we study the programming flexibility, dataflow richness, scheduling capacity and performance of Apache Spark running on the EC2 cloud. By exploiting data locality, Kira SE achieves a 3.7× speedup over an equivalent C program when analyzing a 1TB dataset using 512 cores on the Amazon EC2 cloud. Furthermore, we show that by leveraging software originally designed for big data infrastructure, Kira SE achieves competitive performance to the C implementation running on the NERSC Edison supercomputer. Our experience with Kira indicates that emerging Big Data platforms such as Apache Spark are a performant alternative for many-task scientific applications.


Factory of the future is emerging with the existence of new modeling and application tools that can both simulate and manage the whole production process in an autonomous, intelligent and interactive manner. Holonic modeling and its software correspondence agent oriented technology provides us with these tools. Especially the use of learning algorithms trying to optimize the behaviors of software agents within a dynamic environment is the key factor in reaching the required properties. In this paper, we use the well known Q learning algorithm of reinforcement learning (RL) in evaluating production orders within a supply chain management (SCM) framework and making decisions with respect to these evaluations. We introduce our SCM model and show that RL performs better than traditional tools for dynamic problem solving in daily business. We also show cases where RL fails to perform efficiently.


Heavy metal pollution has become one of the most serious environmental problems throughout the world. Among the innovative solutions for treatment of contaminated water and soil, bioremediation that use biological materials like living or dead microorganisms is a promising, safe and economical technology. One of the most ubiquitous biomass types available for bioremediation of heavy metals is yeast. Yeast cells represent an inexpensive, readily available source of biomass that retains its removal ability for a broad range of heavy metals to varying degrees. Furthermore, yeasts exhibit the ability to adapt to extreme conditions such as temperature, pH and high levels of organic and inorganic contaminants. To understand the different mechanisms of interactions between metals and yeast strains in the environment, this paper will give an overview on the role that yeasts play in the immobilization/mobilization of toxic metals and factors affecting these processes. Biotechnological applications in the bioremediation of heavy metal such as bioaugmentation using degradation abilities of yeasts will also be discussed.


We suggest an immediate allocation with colorless grant (IACG) method for dynamic bandwidth allocation of a gigabit passive optical network (GPON) system. The suggested method is based on the GigaPON Access Network (GIANT) media access control (MAC) method. The IACG method can assign the transmission bandwidth regardless of the value of a scheduling counter, whereas the GIANT MAC method can assign the transmission bandwidth only when the scheduling counter has a value of 1. Also, unlike the GIANT MAC method, the IACG method utilizes the unallocated remainder of the transmission bandwidth. At the end of scheduling, the IACG MAC method assigns the unallocated remainder to each optical network unit (ONU) with an equal share. Using computer simulations with the self-similar traffic model, we show that the IACG method dramatically outperforms the GIANT MAC method in mean delay and frame-loss rate.


The magnitude of the risks from low doses of radiation is one of the central questions in radiological protection. It is particularly relevant when discussing the justification and optimization of diagnostic medical exposures. Medical X-rays can undoubtedly confer substantial benefits in the healthcare of patients, but not without exposing them to effective doses ranging from a few microsieverts to a few tens of millisieverts. Do we have any evidence that these levels of exposure result in significant health risks to patients? The current consensus held by national and international radiological protection organizations is that, for these comparatively low doses, the most appropriate risk model is one in which the risk of radiation-induced cancer and hereditary disease is assumed to increase linearly with increasing radiation dose, with no threshold (the so-called linear no threshold (LNT) model). However, the LNT hypothesis has been challenged both by those who believe that low doses of radiation are more damaging than the hypothesis predicts and by those who believe that they are less harmful, and possibly even beneficial (often referred to as hormesis). This article reviews the evidence for and against both the LNT hypothesis and hormesis, and explains why the general scientific consensus is currently in favour of the LNT model as the most appropriate dose-response relationship for radiation protection purposes at low doses. Finally, the impact of the LNT model on the assessment of the risks from medical X-rays and how this affects the justification and optimization of such exposures is discussed.


: This paper presents evidence for a high chronology of the early Iron Age in central Italy. Four archaeological contexts from Fidene, SatriculIl and Castiglione are presented together with the associated range of artefacts and the radiocarbon dating. Especially the set of radiocarbon dates from the hut at Fidene func tions as a reference point for the transition of Latial phase IIB to phase III. It is highly unlikely that the hut and its contents can be dated la ter than 820 BC. Thus, the absolute chronology of the transition from Latial phase IIB to phase III can be safely raised by 50 to 75 years. This would bring the Italian absolute chronology for the early Iron Age more in line with chronological developments in central Europe. In the Epilogue some consequences of a high chronology for the Italian early Iron Age in relation to Mediterranean archaeology are discussed.


SUMMARY Forests are not empty. There are various rights and interest in forests as well as the people who live in and around forests. If the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation plus (REDD+) mechanism is to work unilaterally by state and overlook the role of various actors, then it is likely that REDD+ will fail. From our stakeholder analysis and political mapping in Jambi, a priority province for REDD+ implementation in Indonesia, we show that REDD+ actors with knowledge, power and leadership, can support or reject REDD+. Specifically, we discuss the implementation capacity and new directions in policy. The analysis also provides indications as to the readiness of Jambi to implement REDD+, who wins and loses in adopting REDD+ and intervention scenarios to make REDD+ work. The methods used in this study are general and could be implemented elsewhere in Indonesia or abroad.


Sri Lanka Malay is the vernacular language of the descendants of the Malay-Javanese diaspora of Sri Lanka. It is a restructured variety of Malay, which emerged from the prolonged contact between speakers of Malay varieties and speakers of Sinhala and Tamil varieties. The grammar shows a typological shift from the Austronesian to the Lankan type, a shift that can be explained by the typological pressure that the adstrates Sinhala and Tamil – which are highly congruent – exercise in the trilingual environment. This paper discusses the prevalent grammatical patterns of Sri Lanka Malay in terms of frequency, typological congruence and trilingual admixture. I show that, for a complete understanding of Sri Lanka Malay grammar, we must approach it by taking into full consideration the typological matrix in which it has developed, which includes a Malay-based lexifier and two adstrates, namely Sinhala and Tamil. This argues against a view of Sri Lanka Malay as the product of a bilingual admixture.


Introduction: Massive tears in the rotator cuff are debilitating pathologies normally associated with loss of function and pain. Tendon reconstruction is seen as the standard treatment in order to preserve shoulder function and to inhibit cuff associated osteoarthritis. However, the effect on longer-term shoulder function and patient satisfaction is unknown. Material and Methods: 165 consecutive patients with massive tears were included. 57 debridement (mean age 61.9±8.7 years (range 43-77)) and 108 reconstruction (mean age 57.5±8.9 years (range 45-74)) cases could be followed up 2-4 (short-term), 5-6 (mid-term) and 8-10 (long-term) years after surgery. Evaluation was performed with the Constant, a modified ASES and the DASH score. Statistical analysis was done using Sigma-Stat Version 3.5 with a p-value<0.05 indicating statistical significant differences. Results: All three scoring systems showed no significant differences in the short-term follow-up for the two groups (mean values: Constant debridement/repair: 70±11.9/66±13.6; ASES debridement/repair: 22.3±3.3/ 23.3±3.3; DASH debridement/repair: 22.3±11.0/ 24.3±10.1). In the mid-term (Constant debridement/repair: 51±2.9/68.3±5.2; ASES debridement/repair: 20.3±1.3/24.3±1.7; DASH debridement/repair: 31.0±6.5/20.3±5.4) and long-term follow-up (Constant debridement/repair: 42.3±3.8 /60.7±2.6, ASES debridement/repair: 17.3±0.5/21.7±0.5, DASH debridement/repair: 41.3±6.2/25.0±1.4), rotator cuff reconstruction revealed better objective results and better patients' satisfaction. Conclusion: Rotator cuff tendon repair leads to better long-term clinical outcome and subjective satisfaction compared to debridement. Tendon reconstruction should be considered as a treatment for patients suffering from massive rotator cuff tears, thus preserving shoulder function and by that means delay indication for reverse arthroplasty.


Design of The Phaidon Atlas of Contemporary World Architecture, (450 x 310mm hardback) 812 pages.

The volume contains extensive text and 5,500 colour illustrations and 2,000 line drawings. It features 1,052 buildings chosen from 75 countries including the Kuala Lumpar Airport by Kisho Kurokaw (1998) and Jae Cha's timber and polycarbonate church in Bolivia (2000).

This design project represents the largest and most complex undertaking by the researcher to date. The design strategy was to provide a simple repeatable grid and a series of data bars to contain the unusually large amount of images and information contained on each page. The latter included a cross referencing to other buildings designed by each architect, the size of each building and its cost in US dollars. The volume is zoned in terms of continents and opens with a world data section illustrating the global economic and demographic context of architectural practice. An overview of the demographic, economic and environmental factors that have shaped our built environment was also included together with projections in these areas.

The final selection of architectural 'projects' was made late in the design process so the researcher evolved and managed a system of putting each of the 'projects' together with pages drawn from different files. These were designed, prepared for pre-press and digitally proofed in such a way as to facilitate the late inclusion of entries. The volume was assembled in page form at the very end of the process, a logistical challenge to the editors and the graphic designer.

The volume was launched in a number of venues in April 2004 including the RIBA Pavilion, Interbuild, NEC, Birmingham, UK and through Hyperlink http://www.phaidon.com.

The volume has been cited frequently including Julie Snow New Voices in Architecture, p. 14.


Objectives This study examined patient adherence and persistence to oral bisphosphonates for the treatment of osteoporosis in real-world settings. Methods A systematic review was completed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE), Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Allied and Complementary Medicine Database (AMED), Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE), Health Technology Assessment (HTA) and National Health Service Economic Evaluation Database NHS EED) databases were searched for studies published in English language up to April 2018. Prospective and retrospective observational studies that used prescription claim databases or hospital medical records to examine patient adherence and persistence to oral bisphosphonate treatment among adults with osteoporosis were included. The Newcastle–Ottawa quality assessment scale (NOS) was used to assess the quality of included studies. Results The search yielded 540 published studies, of which 89 were deemed relevant and were included in this review. The mean age of patients included within the studies ranged between 53 to 80.8 years, and the follow-up varied from 3 months to 14 years. The mean persistence of oral bisphosphonates for 6 months, 1 year and 2 years ranged from 34.8% to 71.3%, 17.7% to 74.8% and 12.9% to 72.0%, respectively. The mean medication possession ratio ranged from 28.2% to 84.5%, 23% to 50%, 27.2% to 46% over 1 year, 2 years and 3 years, respectively. All studies included scored between 6 to 8 out of 9 on the NOS. The determinants of adherence and persistence to oral bisphosphonates included geographic residence, marital status, tobacco use, educational status, income, hospitalisation, medication type and dosing frequency. Conclusions While a number of studies reported high levels of persistence and adherence, the findings of this review suggest that patient persistence and adherence with oral bisphosphonates medications was poor and reduced notably over time. Overall, adherence was suboptimal. To maximise adherence and persistence to oral bisphosphonates, it is important to consider possible determinants, including characteristics of the patients.


News articles are important for providing timely, historic information. However, the Internet is replete with text that may contain irrelevant or unhelpful information, therefore means of processing it and distilling content is important and useful to human readers as well as information extracting tools. Some common questions we may want to answer are "what is this article about?" and "who wrote it?". In this work we compare machine learning models for evaluating two common NLP tasks, topic and authorship attribution, on the 2017 Vox Media dataset. Additionally, we use the models to classify on a subsection, about ~20%, of the original text which show to be better for classification than the provided blurbs. Because of the large number of topics, we take into account topic overlap and address it via top-n accuracy and hierarchical groupings of topics. We also consider edge cases in authorship by classifying on inter-topic and intra-topic author distributions. Our results show that both topics and authors readily identifiable consistently perform best when using neural networks rather than support vector, random forests, or naive Bayes classifiers, although the latter methods perform acceptably.


The paper analyses ex ante the potential economic effects of tissue culture biotechnology, which is being introduced into the Kenyan banana sector through an international collaborative project. The expected yield and income gains are sizable, because the pathogen-free banana planting material could substantially reduce the current crop losses induced by pests and diseases. However, using the technology is associated with relatively high set-up costs for farmers. This might discourage innovation adoption, especially for the smallholders. Lowering the price of tissue-culture plantlets could help to avoid undesired income distribution effects among the banana growers. Furthermore, community-based initiatives for local biotechnology dissemination could ameliorate the adoption conditions. The example demonstrates the great potential of biotechnology to contribute to welfare growth in developing countries. Yet public support is needed to make sure that certain disadvantaged groups are not excluded from the benefits.


Paula Pryke is one of the world's leading floral designers and an inspiration to novices and experts alike. Her flower school in London, which attracts students worldwide, provides one of the most sought-after credentials for anyone serious about mastering the art of floral design. Now with Flower School, Pryke offers the essentials of her London program in gorgeously illustrated text, allowing readers to feel as if they have enrolled in her school. Simple step-by-step instructions and clearly defined photographs make even the most ambitious design achievable. Drawing on her signature designs, she discusses design rules, color concepts, equipment, and flower preparation, and then offers a series of formal lessons on hand-tied bouquets, the use of water in containers, wirework, and designing for special events. This impressive collection is rounded out with a flower directory detailing those flowers and plants best suited to Pryke's dramatic approach to floral artistry. Packed with original ideas and invaluable techniques, this comprehensive volume is an inspirational sourcebook for flower arrangers of any level.


There are various means, sources, techniques and methods to impart education. Museum is one of the unique imitable educational institutions whose basic function is to provide education in an intelligible and interesting way to the people who visit it. It is not merely a place of entertainment but also its activities are used for pubic, so that they can have a real exposure of the evolutionary status of contemporary social norms. Despite the importance of the problem, almost no systematic research on the appropriate role and function of museums in Sindh has ever been conducted in the past. Moreover, relatively little has been done in terms of formulating a multi dimensional framework addressing the role failure of the concerned agencies. A few columnists have attempted to discover evidence about a part of the whole process. In this study an integrated and holistic viewpoint has been adopted that includes the most critical issues simultaneously and in a multi-dimensional framework. The purpose of this study was to initiate an attempt to discover the role failure of museums in disseminating knowledge. This study attempted to determine the most important, influential factors that have significant, value-added impacts on the growth of the museums. Specifically, the study attempted to systematically discover evidence about the determinants of problems faced by the museums.

The present study is exploratory. In the present study universe is "Museums of Sindh� Not a single study is at hand on role performance of the museums in Sindh. Attempt has been made to unearth the problem from the initial stages to arrive of the sound conclusion. In the present study quota sampling was used to determine sample size and data collection from visitors. Also proportionate stratified sampling method was used to select the sample size of administrative staff of museums. The sample of 57 respondents working in eleven museums of Sindh was collected. Moreover, a sample of 300 students and 115 general masses visiting the museum was also collected from the universe of the present study. Survey method was adopted for this study. Data for the study was collected from both primary and secondary sources. The simple and contingency tables were made to correlate the different variables used in the hypotheses. To test the hypotheses, statistical methods including SPSS were applied to the data mentioned in contingency tables. The chi-square test was applied to test the significance of the relationship between the two variables of hypothesis. The obtained results indicated that the majority of museums' staff was postgraduate and trained. Vast majority of museums were dependent on government funding. Therefore, they were suffering due to shortage of funds. It was found that the museums having proper facilities attracted more students and general masses. On the other hand the museums having less facilities could not attract the students and visitors.


Methylation of lysine residues on the tails of histone proteins is a major determinant of the transcription state of associated DNA coding regions. The interplay among methylation states and other histone modifications to direct transcriptional outcome is referred to as the histone code. In addition to histone methyltransferases and demethylases which function to modify the methylation state of lysine sidechains, other proteins recognize specific histone methylation marks essentially serving as code readers. While these interactions are highly specific with respect to site and methylation state of particular lysine residues, they are generally weak and therefore difficult to monitor by traditional assay techniques. Herein, we present the design and implementation of a homogeneous, miniaturizable, and sensitive assay for histone methylation-dependent interactions. We use AlphaScreen, a chemiluminescence-based technique, to monitor the interactions of chromodomains (MPP8, HP1β and CHD1), tudor domains (JMJD2A) and plant homeodomains (RAG2) with their cognate trimethyllysine histone partners. The utility of the method was demonstrated by profiling the binding specificities of chromo- and tudor domains toward several histone marks. The simplicity of design and the sensitive and robust nature of this assay should make it applicable to a range of epigenetic studies, including the search for novel inhibitors of methylation-dependent interactions.


In most eukaryotes the histone methyltransferases SU(VAR)3-9, G9a and their orthologues play major roles in transcriptional regulation. Histone H3 lysine 9 methylation is associated to transcriptional silencing in vivo. SU(VAR)3-9 is the main H3K9 HMTase in Drosophila heterochromatin whereas G9a was found to be an euchromatic H3K9 methyltransferase in mammalian cells. In this work SU(VAR)3-9 and a new HMTase homologous to G9a were characterized in vitro.

A detailed analysis of the reaction products shows that recombinant SU(VAR)3-9 adds three methylgroups to full-length H3 and only two methylgroups to an H3-tail peptide. The transfer of two methylgroups to an unmethylated H3-tail peptide is achieved in a nonprocessive manner. The full-length enzyme elutes with an apparent molecular weight of 160 kDa from a gel filtration column, which indicates the formation of a dimer. The N-terminus was shown to be required for this dimerisation and to retrieve full activity in vitro. We show that the interaction occurs by domain swapping of two motifs within the N-terminus. The fact that the N-terminus is responsible for a concentration dependent dimerisation of SU(VAR)3-9 may indicate a role for this domain in the dosage-dependent effect on position effect variegation.

Drosophila G9a adds three methyl groups to unmethylated H3 in vitro as has been described for mouse G9a. In vitro, a N-terminal truncation of dG9a adds three methylgroups toward H3K9 and K27, with a preference for K9. Surprisingly, dG9a also methylates H4 with specificity for K8, K12 or K16. In vivo, dG9a is present in complexes with a molecular mass of 440-670 kDa and we show that it specifically interacts with the histone deacetylase Rpd3.

HP1a is predominantly associated with centromeric heterochromatin in Drosophila. Supporting the histone code hypothesis, the chromo domain of HP1 recognises and binds H3K9 methylated peptides. Here we show the mechanism for binding to H3K9Me chromatin by recombinant Drosophila HP1a. HP1a requires a bimodal interaction of the chromo domain with H3K9Me and a simultaneous interaction of the chromo shadow domain with auxiliary factors (SU(VAR)3-9 and ACF) for stable association with H3K9Me chromatin. The two HP1 paralogs HP1a and HP1c bind to distinct chromatin structures and we identify distinct interaction partners for these two proteins.


The article investigates the everyday life and festivity of the Polish community living in Itapua department in Paraguay. The research also addresses the sense of national identity of the descendants of Poles who came to Paraguay in the years 1936-1938. It firstly presents the socio-economic conditions of the districts of Itapua, Carmen del Parana and Fram, where fieldwork was carried out. Due to the agricultural nature of the Poles' emigration to Paraguay, the research was conducted mainly in a rural environment where agriculture and small entrepreneurship are the primary occupations. The research was based on two types of sources: induced (open interviews) and existing ones. Eighteen in-depth interviews were conducted with representatives of the first and second generation born in Paraguay, giving a picture of the life of four generations. The elements of everyday life and festivity presented in the article are the most widely discussed aspects of the life of the Polish community in the context of maintaining the national identity of successive generations of Polish emigres. The key concept of the analysis is family. The research concludes that changes in family structure initiate alterations in the self-definition of members of the Polish community


A new method to determine the shape and fall velocity of hydrometeors by using a single CCD camera is proposed in this paper, and a prototype of a video precipitation sensor (VPS) is developed. The instrument consists of an optical unit (collimated light source with multi-mode fibre cluster), an imaging unit (planar array CCD sensor), an acquisition and control unit, and a data processing unit. The cylindrical space between the optical unit and imaging unit is sampling volume (300 mm× 40 mm× 30 mm). As the precipitation particles fall through the sampling volume, the CCD camera exposes twice in a single frame, which allows the double exposure of particles images to be obtained. The size and shape can be obtained by the images of particles; the fall velocity can be calculated by particle displacement in the double-exposure image and interval time; the drop size distribution and velocity distribution, precipitation intensity, and accumulated precipitation amount can be calculated by time integration. The innovation of VPS is that the shape, size, and velocity of precipitation particles can be measured by only one planar array CCD sensor, which can address the disadvantages of a linear scan CCD disdrometer and an impact disdrometer. Field measurements of rainfall demonstrate the VPS's capability to measure micro-physical properties of single particles and integral parameters of precipitation.


A digital model has been developed for the simulation of the rainfall-runoff process of rural watersheds. Input data are daily values of precipitation and temperature together with mean monthly potential evapotranspiration. The model produces daily values of streamflow as well as information on the time variation of the soil moisture content. In all, ten model parameters have to be identified, seven of which have a major influence on the performance of the model. The model operates by accounting continuously for the moisture content in four different and mutually interrelated storages representing physical elements in the watershed. It has been applied to three different Danish watersheds. Several statistical measures of accuracy have been utilized for a quantitative evaluation of the simulation results. The simulations demonstrate that the main shortcomings of the model are due to the lack of a procedure accounting for frozen ground during extended periods of frost, which could improve some of the simulation results during winter and spring.


This systematic review provides a comprehensive, up-to-date summary of traumatic brain injury (TBI) epidemiology in Europe, describing incidence, mortality, age, and sex distribution, plus severity, mechanism of injury, and time trends. PubMed, CINAHL, EMBASE, and Web of Science were searched in January 2015 for observational, descriptive, English language studies reporting incidence, mortality, or case fatality of TBI in Europe. There were no limitations according to date, age, or TBI severity. Methodological quality was assessed using the Methodological Evaluation of Observational Research checklist. Data were presented narratively. Sixty-six studies were included in the review. Country-level data were provided in 22 studies, regional population or treatment center catchment area data were reported by 44 studies. Crude incidence rates varied widely. For all ages and TBI severities, crude incidence rates ranged from 47.3 per 100,000, to 694 per 100,000 population per year (country-level studies) and 83.3 per 100,000, to 849 per 100,000 population per year (regional-level studies). Crude mortality rates ranged from 9 to 28.10 per 100,000 population per year (country-level studies), and 3.3 to 24.4 per 100,000 population per year (regional-level studies.) The most common mechanisms of injury were traffic accidents and falls. Over time, the contribution of traffic accidents to total TBI events may be reducing. Case ascertainment and definitions of TBI are variable. Improved standardization would enable more accurate comparisons.


Cloud computing is an emerging computing paradigm with a large collection of heterogeneous autonomous systems with flexible computational architecture. Load Balancing is an important step to improve the overall performance of the cloud computing. Load Balancing is also essential to reduce power consumption and improve the profit of service providers by reducing processing time. In cloud computing environment, user services always demand heterogeneous resources (e,g CPU, I/O, Memory etc.). Load balancing in large distributed server systems is a complex optimization problem of critical importance in cloud systems and data centers. Load balancing algorithms are classified as static and dynamic algorithms. Static algorithms are mostly suitable for homogeneous and stable environments and can produce very good results in these environments. However, they are usually not flexible and cannot match the dynamic changes to the attributes during the execution time. Dynamic algorithms are more flexible and take into consideration different types of attributes in the system both prior to and during run-time. Load balancing aims to optimize resource use, maximize throughput, minimize response time, and avoid overload of any single resource. In the paper, we have studied and implemented three algorithm using Java language and simulate using CloudSim. CloudSim also offers novel support for modeling and simulation of virtualized Cloud based data center environments such as dedicated management interfaces for VMs, memory, storage, and bandwidth. CloudSim layer manages the instantiation and execution of core entities (VMs, hosts, data centers, application) during the simulation period. Hence it is proven that proposed algorithm OLB+LBMM gives the better results as compared to Honeybee Foraging Behavior and Active Clustering. We also analyzed the research results on the basis of distinct performance parameters such as Response time, Total Execution time, Throughput, Processing Time and


Navigating CU-Data [2] Shows how to navigate to CU-Data to run reports. Running a Report in CU-Data [3] Shows how to run a report in CU-Data. Searching in CU-Data [4] Shows how to search for prompt values, like SpeedTypes or Employee ID numbers, when running a report in CU-Data. Drilling Down in CU-Data [5] Shows clicking on blue underlined text in m-Fin reports to see underlying reports for more detail.


Throughout the U.S. energy services company (ESCO) industry's history, public and institutional sector customers have provided the greatest opportunities for ESCOs to develop projects. Generally speaking, these facilities are large, possess aging infrastructure, and have limited capital budgets for improvements. The convergence of these factors with strong enabling policy support makes performance contracting an attractive and viable option for these customers. Yet despite these shared characteristics and drivers, there is surprising variety of experience among public/institutional customers and projects. This collaborative study examines the public/institutional markets in detail by comparing the overarching models and project performance in the federal government and the ''MUSH'' markets municipal agencies (state/local government), universities/colleges, K-12 schools,and hospitals that have traditionally played host to much of the ESCO industry's activity. Results are drawn from a database of 1634 completed projects held in partnership by the National Association of Energy Services Companies and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (the NAESCO/LBNL database), including 129 federal Super Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPC) provided by the Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) (Strajnic and Nealon 2003). Project data results are supplemented by interviews with ESCOs.


In the chaotic aftermath of Japan's loss in the Asia-Pacific War, thousands of Japanese infants and children were stranded in northeast China and remained there for decades as the foster children of Chinese households. Subsequently, more than two thousand of these "war orphans" have belatedly returned with their families to Japan, where they have faced tremendous difficulties adjusting to Japanese society. This article critically examines the reasons for the Japanese government's failure to expeditiously repatriate and successfully resettle the war orphans in Japan and considers the war orphans' grievances in light of their recent compensation lawsuits against the government.


DNA nanotechnology provides a versatile foundation for the chemical assembly of nanostructures. Plasmonic nanoparticle assemblies are of particular interest because they can be tailored to exhibit a broad range of electromagnetic phenomena. In this Letter, we report the assembly of DNA-functionalized nanoparticles into heteropentamer clusters, which consist of a smaller gold sphere surrounded by a ring of four larger spheres. Magnetic and Fano-like resonances are observed in individual clusters. The DNA plays a dual role: it selectively assembles the clusters in solution and functions as an insulating spacer between the conductive nanoparticles. These particle assemblies can be generalized to a new class of DNA-enabled plasmonic heterostructures that comprise various active and passive materials and other forms of DNA scaffolding.


This article is crafted through three scenes, through which the author tries to imagine quality as something that is third space, semiotic, plasticity, eternal, and simultaneously something solid and obviously good here and now, through a Spinozian/Deluzian/Braitottian joy/you/me. The author rhizomatically tries to lay everything out on a plane of exteriority – on a single page, the same sheet: lived events, historical determinations, theories, philosophies, stories, concepts, individuals, groups, social formations, and her desires. Scene One is from Plato's dialogue Phaedrus and is about censuring. Scene Two is from Robert M Pirsig's story Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values. The third scene (and all scenes) is a DeleuzoGuattarian fabulation, writing qualia becoming quality and hopefully transgressing universal quality measuring projects that are addressing specific professionals and/or preschools or child/ren/hoods, where early child/hood is ultimately seen as a matrix of becoming and early childhood education centres as translocal places preparing for future contingent events. The author tries to provide a chance to see better the airy void around us – to see beneath the stucco surface of the purely phenomenal, insubstantial character of the everyday world – so as to enjoy fleeting quality life all the more, at least for a moment. The author is initiating new discourses on childhood – ultimately, children's political subject formations.


Research objective: The objective of the study was to examine the relationship between sustainable leadership, talent management and organizational health as predictors of university transformation. This study went further to establish the mediation effect of organizational health as a mediating factor between the exogenous variables (sustainable leadership and talent management) and endogenous variable (university transformation). Research technique and methodology: The study used a cross sectional survey design and the sample of respondents (N=820) was randomly chosen from six universities in  which the central region of Uganda. The sample was deemed convenient for this study since the method used for data analysis was structural equation modelling that normally requires a big number of sample population. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to analyze each of the individual constructs used to attain reasonable parameters estimates. The  fully fledged structural equation modelling (SEM) was used in the study to analyze the hypothesized structural model and its casual relationships plus the mediation effect between the constructs. Main findings:  The findings of the study showed that there is positive relationship between sustainable leadership, talent management and organizational health. However, the relationship between sustainable leadership and university transformation, talent management and university transformation were negatively related. Practical implications: It was recommended to educational practitioners, lecturers and policy makers to use this model to harness university transformation. For researchers, it could be used to do further examination of university transformation on other universities both locally and internationally.


There are many examples of augmented objects in the literature. Augmented objects should provide intelligence to the ambient where they are located and also they must require a low cognitive effort to be used. Few works have been reported providing guidelines to conceive and design these components. Therefore, developers have to use improvised ad hoc software processes to support the development of augmented objects. In order to help dealing with this situation, this article presents a software process to develop these components. The proposed process was named Augmented Objects Development Process (AODeP) and it is based on the authors' previous experiences and software engineering best practices. The article also reports two case studies in which AODeP was used to guide the development of augmented objects in specific problems. The obtained results are encouraging.