OBJECTIVE To compare time to achieve vascular access (TTVA) between an ultrasound-guided technique (UST) and landmark-based technique (LMT) for central venous catheter (CVC) placement in healthy anesthetized dogs. ANIMALS 39 purpose-bred hounds. PROCEDURES Anesthetized dogs that were hemodynamically stable following completion of a terminal surgical exercise were enrolled in the study during 2 phases, with a 45-day intermission between phases. For each dog, a UST and LMT were used for CVC placement via each external jugular vein by 2 operators (criticalist and resident). The TTVA and number of venipuncture attempts and catheter redirections were recorded for each catheterization. Placement of the CVC was confirmed by contrast fluoroscopy. After euthanasia, a gross dissection was performed during which a hematoma score was assigned to the catheter insertion site. For each phase, nonlinear least squares estimation was used for learning curve analysis of the UST. RESULTS Median TTVA, number of venipuncture attempts and catheter redirections, and hematoma score did not differ significantly between the 2 operators for either technique. Median TTVA for the UST (45 seconds) was significantly longer than that for the LMT (7 seconds). Learning curve analysis indicated that 8 and 7 UST catheterizations were required to achieve performance stability in phases 1 and 2, respectively. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Results indicated that the UST was comparable to the LMT for CVC placement in healthy dogs. The extra time required to perform the UST was not clinically relevant. Additional studies evaluating the UST for CVC placement in clinically ill dogs are warranted.


This article examines the way in which the Syrian search for a renewed partnership with Europe has met with the corresponding European Union (EU) foreign policy in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). In particular, the impact on the EU of dealing with Syria has not been analysed. This article contributes to fill this gap and examines the founding principles and policy mechanisms of EU engagement with Syria and what they tell us about the priorities, interests, and beliefs of the EU. This is important because the nature of the Syrian regime provides us with the possibility to explore how the EU engages with countries that have a very problematic relationship with the West. What emerges is that EU policy-making is not only highly complex but is greatly influenced by the regime with which it works and therefore, contrary to what many argue, is a pragmatic actor in international relations.


Model predictive control (MPC) is a very popular controller design method in the process industry. A key advantage of MPC is that it can accommodate constraints on the inputs and outputs. Usually MPC uses linear discrete-time models. In this report we extend MPC to a class of discrete-event systems that can be described by models that are "linear" in the max-plus algebra, which has maximization and addition as basic operations. In general the resulting optimization problem are nonlinear and non-convex. However, if the control objective and the constraints depend monotonically on the outputs of the system, the model predictive control problem can be recast as problem with a convex feasible set. If in addition the objective function is convex, this leads to a convex optimization problem, which can be solved very efficiently.


ONLY CONNECT is a comprehensive history of American broadcasting from its earliest days in radio, through the rise of television, to the current era of digital media and the Internet. It presents broadcasting as a vital component of American cultural identity, placing the development of U.S. radio, television, and new media in the context of social and cultural change. Each chapter opens with a discussion of the historical period, thoroughly traces the development of media policy, the growth of media industries, and the history of U.S. broadcast programming, and closes with a look at the major ways that radio and television have been understood and discussed throughout American history.


Exploring a space with our body is a strong experience; it is not like looking at a pic- ture of a space or listening to a detailed description of it. Being somewhere physically is a fundamental element involved in our unique and personal perception of a room.However, I often feel constrained by social and cultural rules in my bodily explora- tion of spaces. My aim throughout the project is to engage people into sharing their feelings and experiences about space, in order to better understand the relationship between the human body and the architecture in western societies.Through an experimental process I am articulating and reflecting upon a design meth- od to dialogue and engage with a large range of people. By using some tools from the field of interior architecture, I am building physical artefacts used as a means to challenge the bodily engagement of the users.The analysis of the interaction between the user and the artefacts, constituted the basis for me to elaborate on the two design proposals.The process also gives me the opportunity to reflect on my influence and responsibility as an interior architect into promoting, challenging and inviting people to more bodily engagement in space.


Little is known about the effect of preceding endurance-exercise bouts on subsequent resistance-training (RT) performance in team-sport players.

PURPOSE
To examine the effect of prior skills/endurance training and different recovery time periods on subsequent same-day RT performance in professional Australian football players.

METHODS
Sport-specific endurance-running loads (duration [in minutes], total distance [in meters], mean speed [in meters per minute], high-speed running >15 km·h-1, and relative high-speed running [>75% and >85% of maximal velocity]) were obtained for 46 professional Australian football players for each training session across an entire competitive season. RT was prescribed in 3 weekly mesocycles with tonnage (in kilograms) lifted recorded as RT performance. Endurance and RT sessions were interspersed by different recovery durations: ∼20 min and 1, 2, and 3 h. Fixed- and mixed-effect linear models assessed the influence of skills/endurance-running loads on RT performance. Models also accounted for season period (preseason vs in-season) and recovery duration between concurrent training bouts.

RESULTS
An increase in high-speed running and distance covered >75% and >85% of maximal velocity had the greatest reductions on RT performance. In-season total distance covered displayed greater negative effects on subsequent RT performance compared with preseason, while ∼20-min recovery between skills/endurance and RT was associated with greater reductions in RT performance, compared with 1-, 2-, and 3-h recovery.

CONCLUSIONS
Sport-specific endurance-running loads negatively affect subsequent same-day RT performance, and this effect is greater in-season and with shorter recovery durations between bouts.


ABSTRACT Ralph Austen in African Economic History (1987) noted how few African countries explicitly choose capitalism on independence, and for those who did it was a default model or a residual pattern. 'African socialism' was popular in the early decades of independence and pursued by several countries, including Ghana, Guinea, Senegal and Tanzania, the cases considered in this paper. The term had multiple meanings, and its advocates were quick to stress that they were not communist, and some said they were not even Marxist. This paper explores the argument that African socialism was a search for an indigenous model of economic development for a generation that was justifiably ambivalent about capitalism, but wary of being put in the communist camp in the Cold War era. Importantly, advocates of African socialism often proposed bold and transformative visions for their countries. These visions might be worth revisiting, devoid of the paradigm of socialism.


With the latest developments in video coding technology and fast deployment of end-user broadband internet connections, real-time media applications become increasingly interesting for both private users and businesses. However, the internet remains a best-effort service network unable to guarantee the stringent requirements of the media application, in terms of high, constant bandwidth, low packet loss rate and transmission delay. Therefore, efficient adaptation mechanisms must be derived in order to bridge the application requirements with the transport medium characteristics. Lately, different network architectures, e.g., peer-to-peer networks, content distribution networks, parallel wireless services, emerge as potential solutions for reducing the cost of communication or infrastructure, and possibly improve the application performance. In this thesis, we start from the path diversity characteristic of these architectures, in order to build a new framework, specific for media streaming in multipath networks. Within this framework we address important issues related to an efficient streaming process, namely path selection and rate allocation, forward error correction and packet scheduling over multiple transmission paths. First we consider a network graph between the streaming server and the client, offering multiple possible transmission paths to the media application. We are interested in finding the optimal subset of paths employed for data transmission, and the optimal rate allocation on these paths, in order to optimize a video distortion metric. Our in-depth analysis of the proposed scenario eventually leads to the derivation of three important theorems, which, in turn represent the basis for an optimal, linear time algorithm that finds the solution to our optimization problem. At the same time, we provide distributed protocols which compute the optimal solution in a distributed way, suitable for large scale network graphs, where a centralized solution is too expensive. Next, we address the problem of forward error correction for scalable media streaming over multiple network paths. We propose various algorithms for error protection in a multipath scenario, and we assess the opportunity of in-network error correction. Our analysis stresses the advantage of being flexible in the scheduling and error correction process on multiple network paths, and emphasizes the limitations of possible real systems implementations, where application choices are limited. Finally, we observe the improvements brought by in-network processing of transmitted media flows, in the case of heterogeneous networks, when link parameters vary greatly. Once the rate allocation and error correction issues are addressed, we discuss the packet scheduling problem over multiple transmission paths. We rely on a scalable bitstream packet model inspired from the media coding process, where media packets have different priorities and dependencies. Based on the concept of data pre-fetch, and on a strict time analysis of the transmission process, we propose fast algorithms for efficient packet scheduling over multiple paths. We ensure media graceful degradation at the client in adverse network conditions by careful load balancing among transmission paths, and by conservative scheduling which transparently absorb undetected network variations, or network estimation errors. The final part of this thesis presents a possible system for media streaming where our proposed mechanisms and protocols can be straightforwardly implemented. We describe a wireless setup where clients can access various applications over possibly multiple wireless services. In this setup, we solve the rate allocation problem with the final goal of maximizing the overall system performance. To this end, we propose a unifying quality metric which maps the individual performance of each application (including streaming) to a common value, later used in the optimization process. We propose a fast algorithm for computing a close to optimal solution to this problem and we show that compared to other traditional methods, we achieve a more fair performance, better adaptable to changing network environments.


Mindfulness-based treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have emerged as promising adjunctive or alternative intervention approaches. A scoping review of the literature on PTSD treatment studies, including approaches such as mindfulness-based stress reduction, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and metta mindfulness, reveals low attrition with medium to large effect sizes. We review the convergence between neurobiological models of PTSD and neuroimaging findings in the mindfulness literature, where mindfulness interventions may target emotional under- and overmodulation, both of which are critical features of PTSD symptomatology. Recent emerging work indicates that mindfulness-based treatments may also be effective in restoring connectivity between large-scale brain networks among individuals with PTSD, including connectivity between the default mode network and the central executive and salience networks. Future directions, including further identification of the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness interventions in patients with PTSD and direct comparison of these interventions to first-line treatments for PTSD are discussed.


ABSTRACT This paper compares an emerging market (Egypt) with a developed market (U.S.A.) in terms of their impact on entrepreneurial characteristics and behavior. The differences are discussed along the dimensions of transition to free market, money and its cultural meanings, locus of control, and attitude towards risk. A number of hypotheses are tested using a sample of MBA students from Egypt (n = 214) and the USA (n = 112). The result with its implication is discussed. INTRODUCTION This paper compares a less development country (LDC) on a transition stage to free market (Egypt) with a development country (DC) (U.S.A.) in terms of their impact on entrepreneurial characteristic and behavior. In order to stimulate economic growth and employment, entrepreneurial traits and activities are often encouraged by countries in terms of creating appropriate environment and market conditions which may enhance the rate of entrepreneurship (see for example, Farid, 2007, for more discussion on this issue). Research support the notion that national entrepreneurial characteristics and entrepreneurial opportunities are stimulated by multiplicity of cultural and environmental factors (e.g., Hayton et al, 2002). The AmericanEgyptian entrepreneurial differences are discussed in this paper along the dimensions of transition to free Market, attitude towards money, locus of control and attitude towards risk. The next sections discuss these themes. Hypotheses, to be tested later, are introduced throughout the discussion. TRANSITION TO FREE MARKET Factor of Market Liberation To understand dynamic environmental changes which are occurring especially in transition economies, studies use leading theories of Institutional Development Theory (IT) and Resource- Based Theory (RBT) ( Wright et al, 2005). From the IT perspective (North, 1990), successful transformation to free market requires positive changes in political, economic, social, and governmental institutions. Traditional IT international research suggests that these entities play major role in developing new business in emerging economies (e.g., Hoskisson et al, 2001). For example, successful transition requires greater government openness and accountability and changes in power relations and cultural conditions to enable individuals to see and use market, economic, and financial opportunities. The emerging economy in Egypt is engaging government, communities, bureaucrats, and market and is supported by a number of international (e.g., World Bank) and intergovernmental and international NGOs as agencies for change. Still, the market is lacking strong market institutions, access to technological inputs, and property right, among others (e.g., Fattah & Butterfield, 2006). The RBT perspective (Barney et al, 2001) is concerned with how environmental tangible and intangible resources and capabilities, including human capital and organizational knowledge and learning, provide for hospitable environmental conditions that stimulate entrepreneurial characteristics and behavior. Elyachar (2006) notes that micro-enterprise lending and other projects intended to promote small business in Egypt have not been effective. In addition, transition to free market should provide for more transparency, including greater disclosure, or that government, institutions, and market resources become visible and explicit so that individuals can see through and get access to resources and opportunities. While there is a general trend of increasing demands for transparency in most Western countries, mechanisms for ensuring government transparency and accountability have yet to become established in the Arab region (Sakr, 2003). Nelson (2000) and Elyachar (2002) note that international NGOs are exerting influence on the World Bank to emphasize transparency issues of micro-credit lending, human rights, gender, and corruption. The lack of free market institutional environment in Egypt has resulted in lack of reporting and transparency of corporate economic and social performance (e. …


According to usage-based and constructivist approaches to language development, linguistic categories and structures have semantic content and a communicative function. Relative clauses (RCs) serve a variety of functions in spoken discourse. Depending on their function, RCs occur in different discourse and linguistic contexts and are marked by different formal, semantic, and lexical features. This has largely been ignored in studies that investigated children's processing of these complex structures. I will summarize cross-linguistic corpus studies that analyzed the form and function of RC constructions in children's and adults' speech. Furthermore, I will summarize findings from recent cross-linguistic experiments that suggest that children's processing of RC constructions is constrained by the form and function of RCs as they are used in social interactions as well as by the form and function of other related, more frequent constructions. Most of the corpus and experimental data come from children learning English, German, Japanese, or Cantonese because there are comparable studies, but I will also indicate when there is data from other languages.


The formation of reaction and barrier zones was studied in the xylem of Eucalyptus globulus and Eucalyptus nitens tree stems after wounding and artificial inoculation with two white rot fungi. The study had two objectives: to describe host responses in Eucalyptus spp. by light microscopy and to determine whether they would differ in a fungal treatment (wounding and inoculation by one of two fungal isolates) when compared to a control treatment (wounding only). Eucalyptus globulus and E. nitens developed similar reaction and barrier zones. The E. globulus barrier zone was characterized by kino vein formation. In both hosts, the reaction zone was primarily influenced by content and distribution of living tracheids and parenchyma cells within the sapwood. By contrast, the anatomy of the barrier zone showed similarities to the basic xylem structure of each host, except for some cell types that were newly formed (sclereids, kino veins) or increased in number (parenchyma cells, tracheids). Other cell types were reduced in number or completely absent. Host response in terms of barrier zone width appeared to be greater in the fungal than control treatment. Both wood decay fungi appeared to induce a wider barrier zone in both species than that associated with non-specific damage caused exclusively by wounding. However, the small number of replicates available for this study was possibly insufficient to provide statistical evidence for different barrier zone width between fungal and control treatments.


There is major concern internationally, and specifically in the Ethiopian afromontane biodiversity hotspot, about the impact of forest habitat fragmentation on biodiversity conservation. This study assessed the effect of land-use change on land-cover pattern, forest patch spatial structure and consequent effects on plant species richness and composition in two areas of southwest Ethiopia: Illubabor and the Gamo highlands of Gamo Gofa. Land-use change analysis was conducted on three sites, I (1500-2000 m altitude) and II and III (1878-2422 m altitude), each of 47,648 ha, in Illubabor and one area of 66,765 ha in the Gamo highlands. Two Landsat images from the years 1986 and 2000 and one Spot image from 2007 covering Illubabor and two Landsat images from 1995 and 2010 covering most of the Gamo highlands study area were analysed. The change in area, number, shape and edge density of patches of each land-cover class were quantified between the years. Field sampling of woody plants was conducted in plots within 30 forest patches in Illubabor stratified between the three sites, and ten in the Gamo highlands stratified between sacred groves and non-sacred forests. Information on local knowledge, cultural association, institutions, practices and threats of the sacred groves was obtained by interviewing 24 of their traditional custodians. The landscape pattern in both Illubabor Zone and Gamo highlands has changed rapidly over 20 years. In highland areas there has been a rapid conversion of forest to farm, settlement and grazing land. At lower altitude forest cover has been retained but it has been degraded by its use for understorey coffee cultivation. The area and number of forest patches has decreased while patch shape and edge density has increased. In Illubabor forests' woody plant species richness was higher in the lower altitude site I (70.8±9.2) than in sites II (50.9±6.3) and III (54.3±4.9), with little difference in the shape of their species accumulation curves. Species composition also differed between site I and sites II and III; altitude and disturbance were more strongly associated with this difference than were patch size, shape and edge density. There was little difference in tree density or basal area amongst the sites.
Within forest patches, tree basal area was higher in the patch interior (96.8±9.4 m2 ha-1) than in the edge zone (77.2±15.3 m2 ha-1), however total tree density did not differ significantly. The interior forest had twice the density of trees taller than 22 m and a higher density of small trees (5-14.9 cm DBH) than the edge. Tree species richness did not differ significantly between the two habitats, however including shrubs and vines total woody species richness was higher in the edge (69.3±5.9) than interior (52±3.5) forest. While the upper canopy of interior forest was dominated by species with a wide habitat distribution range, it also had a higher abundance of forest-habitat specialist species than the edge. Species with a distribution associated with forest-margins were, as expected, more abundant in the edge habitat. No association was found between tree density, basal area or height in both habitat types and any fragmentation variables (patch size, shape or edge density) or environmental variables (rainfall, altitude or cumulative disturbance). However,
edge habitat basal area was negatively associated with disturbance. Shrub, vine and geophytic angiosperm herb species composition differed between forest edge and interior habitats. Species richness of vascular epiphytes was higher in interior (28.9±1.8) than edge (13.6±1.4) habitat, as was their individual density (114.5±6.5 and 42.7±3.7 respectively), which was associated with the density of large DBH trees. Epiphyte density was not associated with any fragmentation variables, rainfall or altitude, however in the edge habitat it was negatively associated with disturbance. Species composition varied between the two habitats, with forest-habitat distribution species, which tended to have herbaceous stems and leaves, being more abundant in the interior habitat. However, the same three epiphyte species were dominant in both habitats, and species with succulent stems and leaves or woody stems had similar abundance in both. Geophytic fern species richness was higher in interior (29.4±1.8) than edge (22.1±1.4) habitat, as was individual density (104±22.3 and 59.8±13.7 respectively). Species with forest-habitat distribution, those with creeping or erect rhizomes and those with tufted fronds were more abundant in the interior, while generalist distribution species and those with spaced fronds showed no difference.
In the Gamo highlands, sampled woody plant species richness and diversity were higher in sacred groves than in non-sacred forests, however, the species accumulation curve showed no difference between the two categories of forest. Their species composition differed and the sacred groves had a higher proportion of species endemic to Ethiopia (12.5%) than the non-sacred forests (9.2%). Two national conservation priority species, Cordia africana and Hagenia abyssinica, were only recorded in the sacred groves, and one IUCN red list species, Prunus africana, was more abundant there. Mean basal area was significantly higher in the sacred groves (1.55±0.45 m2 ha-1) than the non-sacred forests (1.28±0.41) as was tree seedling density (1111.7±393.2 ha-1 and 476.8±87.3 ha-1 respectively) but not sapling density.
In conclusion, forests in southwest Ethiopia are undergoing a high rate of fragmentation and degradation. The resulting loss of forest interior core habitat is associated with a loss of biodiversity, especially of vulnerable forest-specialist species of woody plant, vascular epiphyte and geophytic fern. Nonetheless, the remaining small forest patches do still have high biodiversity value and they should be made a high conservation priority. In the Gamo highlands these small patches are generally sacred sites with high cultural value, however they have recently come under high levels of threat which risks loss of biocultural diversity. Their conservation through strengthening of traditional community institutions is a high priority.


Storage tanks have been widely used in many industrial particularly in the oil refinery and petrochemical industry which are to store a multitude of different product with crude oil as one if it. There are different types of tank such as fixed roof tank, open roof tank, floating roof tank etc. Floating roof tank is which the roof floats directly on top of the product, with no vapour space and eliminating the possibility of flammable atmosphere.
There are various industrial code and standard available for the basic requirement for tank design and construction. Commercial software are also available in the market for
the basic design, hence tank designer would rely wholly on the software without detail understanding. Despite of the various standard and code, there is limited procedure and
rules in designing the floating roof which result lots of floating roof failure and caused injuries and fatalities accident. Design and safety concern has been a great concern for the increasing case of fire and explosion due the tank failure.
The main objective of this project is "How to design a new floating roof tank". The aim of this project is to develop basic rules and procedures, highlighting the concerns in designing, construction and operation of a floating roof by taking an existing Oil Development Project with it's readily available information as a base, to design the
tank, and identify the problematic and lesson learnt throughout the project


The Problem: Social and point-token reinforcement were implemented to increase student question-asking and discussion behaviors.
Procedure: Three groups of university college students in small discussion classes were the participants in this study. Baseline data was collected
on frequency of student discussion behaviors and on accuracy scores on both an immediate and delayed review quiz.
Findings: Results demonstrate that social and point-token reinforcement were highly effective for increasing the rate of discussion behaviors. In addition, increased accuracy scores on the immediate review quiz following discussion of material to be contained in those quizzes were noted. No improvement on the delayed review quiz was observed.
Conclusion: Implications are that student interaction with academic
material in the form of discussion can increase academic performance.
Recommendations: It would appear that efforts should be made to
promote as much of this interaction as possible in the classroom.


We present a scalable and robust Bayesian inference method for linear state space models. The method is applied to demand forecasting in the context of a large e-commerce platform, paying special attention to intermittent and bursty target statistics. Inference is approximated by the Newton-Raphson algorithm, reduced to linear-time Kalman smoothing, which allows us to operate on several orders of magnitude larger problems than previous related work. In a study on large real-world sales datasets, our method outperforms competing approaches on fast and medium moving items.


This thesis comprises an introduction and four distinct chapters. Its central theme is the role played by the allocation of asset ownership rights in motivating asset-specific investment, when contracts are incomplete. Chapter 1 considers the debt financing of an entrepreneurial project. To encourage asset-specific investment and loan repayment, debt structure should minimise both (voluntary) strategic default and liquidation following (unavoidable) liquidity default. Liquidation incentives are critical and shown to depend crucially on creditor characteristics. In general, borrowing from multiple creditors with contrasting attributes is found optimal. The benefits of borrowing from a creditor also undertaking project trade are explored. In Chapter 2 the relationship between asset ownership and investment specificity is examined. Asset control encourages efficient, asset-specific investment by owners. However, lock-in fears lead non-owners to choose widely applicable but less effective investment. The interactions between asset ownership, firms' technology choices and workers' investments are considered. In particular, it is found that the costs and benefits of individual integration decisions are sensitive to overall industry structure. The specificity framework is extended in Chapter 3 to model a retailer's product choice. Vertical merger encourages investment in integrated supply and foreclosure of non-integrated manufacturers. An anti-competitive as opposed to an efficiency interpretation depends delicately on the trade-off between the benefits of supplier-specific investment and multi-product retailing. Where retailers compete, it is shown that vertical integration implements effective competition-reducing differentiation strategies. In Chapter 4 vertical integration, through the incentive effects of asset ownership, is shown to amount to a specialisation decision. The attractions of encouraging investment in input as opposed to final good production depend on the effectiveness of investment at each manufacturing stage, and the scale benefits of input sales to generally rivalrous downstream firms. These benefits are sensitive to downstream competitive pressures, yielding a potentially non-monotonic relationship between competition and integration.


Unfair Trading Practices (UTPs) between businesses in the food supply chain have a significant impact on the various stakeholders involved, and on the environment. So far, no attempt has been made at the Member State level for the identification of UTPs in the food supply chain and their impact on the relevant stakeholders. This study drew on this gap and attempted to identify the UTPs that exist in the Cypriot food supply chain, assess their impact on the involved stakeholders and provide guidelines that will assist the transposition of EU relevant Directive to the national law. To achieve this goal, the study was based on a quantitative survey of a representative sample of businesses using a specific questionnaire. The results showed that particular UTPs do appear in the food supply chain with a different frequency, while the majority of businesses have been victims of UTPs in the last five years. Notably, the estimated cost of UTPs as a percentage of the business annual turnover is considered important ranging from 5.7% for retailers to 31.9% for farmers. Thus, most participants agree that UTPs in the agricultural food sector should be regulated by national legislation. We argue that the national legislation for UTPs should be a mix of policies that integrate private, administrative and judicial methods of monitoring and enforcement. Policy and decision makers should seek to reinforce the role and the bargaining power of small businesses in the food supply chain. This might be accomplished through the development of efficient producers' organizations, short food supply chains, interbranch organizations and strategic partnerships.


Community-based obesity prevention efforts are an essential component of a public health approach to obesity and chronic disease risk reduction. Afterschool programs can participate by providing healthy snacks and regular physical activity. Although efficacious obesity prevention strategies have been identified, they have not been widely implemented. The authors describe the development of A+, a quality improvement (QI) toolkit designed to help YMCA afterschool programs implement healthy eating and physical activity guidelines. YMCA of the USA Health Promotion Standards for afterschool sites specify eliminating sugar-sweetened beverages and trans fats; providing fruits, vegetables, and water; and ensuring at least 30 minutes of physical activity daily. Field tests of A+ indicated that a QI toolkit for community-based afterschool programs can be implemented by a program director across multiple program sites, responds to programmatic needs, appropriately identifies barriers to improvement, and permits development of locally appropriate improvement plans. The QI approach holds promise for public health efforts and for field research to evaluate promising interventions by helping ensure full implementation of health promotion strategies.


Background: Intermittent interleukin-2 (IL-2) therapy leads to a sustained increase of CD4 T cells in HIV-1-infected patients. Methods: Symptom-free HIV-1-infected patients who were naive to all antiretroviral drugs (n = 68) and/or to protease inhibitors (n = 50) and had a CD4 cell count of 200–550 × 106 cells/l were randomly assigned to start lamivudine/stavudine/indinavir alone (controls) or combined from week 4 with subcutaneous IL-2 (5 × 106 IU twice daily for 5 days: every 4 weeks for three cycles, then every 8 weeks for seven cycles). Immunological and virological results were monitored until week 74. Results: CD4 T cell counts increased more in the IL-2 group than in the controls (median increases 865 and 262 × 106 cells/l, respectively; P < 0.0001); an 80% increase in CD4 T cells was achieving by 89% of the IL-2 group and by 47% of the controls (P < 0.0001). Decrease of plasma viral loads was similar in both groups. Compared with controls, IL-2 induced a greater increase of naive and memory CD4 T cells, lymphocyte expression of CD28 and CD25 (P < 0.0001) and natural killer cells (P < 0.001). In a logistic regression analysis, odds of being responders to recall antigens in vitro was 8.5-fold higher in IL-2 recipients (P = 0.002) than in controls. The former experienced a higher level of antibody response to tetanus vaccination at week 64 than controls (32 and 8 haemagglutinating units/ml, respectively; P = 0.01). Conclusions: The combination of antiviral drugs and IL-2 induced a greater expansion and function of CD4 T cells than antiretroviral drugs alone.


Policy action to avoid the impending societal costs of climate change is particularly warranted in transport sector, which is responsible for 30% of greenhouse gas emissions in OECD countries. To design appropriate interventions in this sector, policy makers should account for the recent emergence of shared mobility services in urban areas and their potential advantages in terms of emissions mitigation. This study estimates the impact that the widespread uptake of shared mobility services could have on the carbon footprint of urban transport. To this end, it simulates the share of each transport mode and aggregate emissions from passenger transport in 247 cities across 29 OECD countries between 2015 and 2050. The analysis indicates that they have the potential to eliminate, on average, 6.3% of urban passenger transport emissions by the end of this period.


In this paper, we propose a receiver design for satellite ground station use which can demodulate a waveform without specific knowledge of the data rate, convolutional code rate, or line code used. Several assumptions, consistent with the Space Network operating environment, are made including only certain data rates, convolutional code rates and generator polynomials, and types of line encoders. Despite the assumptions, a wide class of digital signaling (covering most of what might be seen at a ground station receiver) is captured. The approach uses standard signal processing techniques to identify data rate and line encoder class and a look up table with coded sync words (a standard feature of telemetry data frame header) in order to identify the key parameters. As our research has shown, the leading bits of the received coded frame can be used to uniquely identify the parameters. With proper identification, a basic receiver autoconfiguration sequence (date rate, line decoder, convolutional decoder) may be constructed.


Over a period of three years (2006-2008) students entering [university] were asked to complete the Student Leadership Practices Inventory (S-LPI), and 2,855 initial responses were received. Responding students were asked to complete the S-LPI again at the end of their first and third years of study. No significant differences were found in student use of the leadership practices based on age, geographic origin, or whether the student lived on or off campus during his or her first year. Significant differences were found based on students' gender and program of study. Implications for leadership development programming are considered.


Structural characterization is essential to understand the formation mechanisms of the nanostructures in thin absorber layers in third generation solar cells and amyloid protein aggregates. Since to the dimension of the precipitated structures is in nanometer scale, electron tomography technique in transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has been applied as a major tool to analyze the 3D order and distribution of precipitates using the electron tomography technique. Silicon rich silicon carbide (SRSC) films were deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) technique and annealed in the nitrogen atmosphere for 1 hour at 1100 °C. The spectrum-imaging (SI) technique in Energy filtered TEM (EFTEM) imaging mode was used to develop electron tomography. From the reconstructed sub-volumes, the complex, three dimensional interfacial nanostructure between the precipitated NPs and their parental matrix was observed and explained in terms of thermodynamic concepts. Additionally, the feasibility of raw data 4D electron tomography has been demonstrated using the EFTEM SI dataset.The aggregation process of the human islet amyloid polypeptide (hIAPP) has a great impact on human health. In this thesis, a model system has been taken to study the ultrastructure of the hIAPP aggregates that are present in the fat body tissue surrounding the brain of Drosophila melanogaster. Electron tomography technique on TEM revealed clear crystalline structures in 3D. For the first time, the presence of a 5-fold twinned structure in biology was discovered. An intriguing finding is the filament like interconnection of hIAPP protein granules observed predominantly along the nearest neighbor directions. This suggests the existence of the directional binding forces between two nearest protein granules in addition to dipole-dipole interactions.


The film Il primo re focuses on the relationship of the twin brothers Romulus and Remus who are overwhelmed when the river Tiber floods. In addition to the film's set design, with a remarkable attempt at historical reconstruction based on valid historical and archaeological sources, the director and production team have attempted to engage in a philological operation very similar to Mel Gibson's successful attempt in Passion of Christ – which is in Aramaic, Hebrew and Latin. In fact, the cast of Il primo re speaks a proto-Italic language, reconstructed by a group of linguists thanks to inscriptions, tombs and objects that were contemporary to the time period in which Romulus and Remus were imagined to have lived.


Reinforcement learning by direct policy gradient estimation is attractive in theory but in practice leads to notoriously ill-behaved optimization problems. We improve its robustness and speed of convergence with stochastic meta-descent, a gain vector adaptation method that employs fast Hessian-vector products. In our experiments the resulting algorithms outperform previously employed online stochastic, offline conjugate, and natural policy gradient methods.


AbstractExploration throughout KGHM International's Victoria property in Sudbury, Ontario, occurred over an approximate 10-year period and resulted in the discovery of the Victoria Deposit. A variety of geophysical techniques were used with varying results to detect Cu-Ni-PGE-rich ore bodies at depth. Near-surface methods supplemented traditional mapping and geologic interpretation techniques to gain an understanding of property-scale depositional environments. The use of 3C borehole EM surveying facilitated the transition from a broad exploration program, which was based on surface geophysical signatures and geologic principles toward a targeted mineral definition campaign. The presence of off-hole features within several drillholes targeting a lesser massive sulfide lens identified a mass of strong conductors approximately 1 km deep. The drilling of thin-plate forward models derived from the borehole EMs resulted in the intersection of the Victoria Deposit. The tabular deposit has a downdip extent of mo...


Ferrara is inscribed in the World Heritage List of UNESCO since 1995, according
to this criterion: "considering that the site is of outstanding universal value, being a
Renaissance city, remarkably planned, which has retained its urban fabric virtually intact and
for representing the concept of the "ideal city"… the completion of this project marked the
birth of modern town planning and influenced its subsequent development".
SInce 1999 UNESCO decided to adjoin the Este ducal residences in the Po Delta, so now the
inscription is: "Ferrara, City of the Renaissance and its Po Delta" which illustrate the
influence of Renaissance culture on the natural landscape in an exceptional manner.
The Delta can be defined a "cultural landscape", an "open air museum" and a "technological
landscape" for the presence of castles and rural residences named "delizie", as Belriguardo,
Verginese, Mesola, rich from the artistic point of view, and for of the big work of drainage
and canalizing until the sea, where the gulf of Goro was supposed to become a big port
contrasting the trades of Venice. The Master of land reclamation, Alfonso II was the last of
the Este family, so Ferrara and the Delta became part of the Vatican State and all the land works were abandoned.


Starting with the publication of their seminal best-seller, Future Shock, Alvin and Heidi Toffler have given millions of readers new ways to think about personal life in today's high-speed world with its constantly changing, seemingly random impacts on our businesses, governments, families and daily lives. Now, writing with the same rare grasp and clarity that made their earlier books classics, the Tofflers turn their attention to the revolution in wealth now sweeping the planet. And once again, they provide a startling, penetrating, coherent way to make sense of the seemingly senseless. Revolutionary Wealth is about how tomorrow's wealth will be created, who will get it and how. But 21st Century wealth, according to the Tofflers, is not just about money, and cannot be understood in terms of industrial-age economics. Thus they write here about everything from education and childrearing to Hollywood and China, from everyday truth and lies to what they call our "Third Job" --- the unnoticed work we do without pay for some of the biggest corporations in our country. They show the hidden connections between extreme sports, chocolate chip cookies, Linux software and the "surplus complexity" in our lives as society wobbles back and forth between depressing decadence and a hopeful post-decadence. In their earlier work, the Tofflers coined the word "prosumer" for people who consume what they, themselves, produce. In Revolutionary Wealth they expand the concept to reveal how many of our activities -- whether parenting or volunteering, blogging, painting our house, improving our diet, organizing a neighborhood council or even "mashing" music -- pump "free lunch" from the "hidden" non-money economy into the money economy that economists track. Prosuming, they forecast, is about to explode and compel radical changes in the way we measure, make and manipulate wealth. Blazing with fresh ideas, Revolutionary Wealth provides readers with powerful new tools for thinking about -- and preparing for -- their future.


Graduate students who fulfill teaching roles in the undergraduate laboratory play an important role in establishing a positive learning environment. A host of various graduate teacher training programmes have been developed, implemented and evaluated accordingly in order to enhance their teaching capability. In addition research has also documented the varied or sometimes complex factors that influence graduate students' teaching capability. This present study set out to explore graduate students' sense of psychological empowerment as an influencing factor on their perceived teaching self-image and behaviours. The Teaching as a Chemistry Laboratory Graduate Teaching Assistant (TCL-GTA) programme was developed to enhance the sense of psychological empowerment experienced by seven chemistry graduate students at an Irish University as a means of enhancing their perceived teaching self-image and behaviours. The data collected throughout this study involved both qualitative and quantitative forms through conducting interviews and administering questionnaires. The findings of this research suggest that the level of psychological empowerment experienced by graduate students lends considerable and positive contributions to their perceived teaching self-image and behaviours which are influenced by a number of contextual, training and personal factors. This research should interest those involved in teaching chemistry in higher education as well as those interested in empowerment of either teachers or postgraduate students undertaking teaching duties.


Mycobacterium bovis is the main cause of tuberculo-sis in cattle. At global scale and also in Iran, the most frequent currently-in-use method in detection of in-fected cattle is tuberculination.The present study was aimed to improve our genom-ic knowledge of Mycobacterium bovis population structure in cattle farms of Shiraz.Fifty pathological samples from tuberculin-positive cattle collected from two slaughterhouses at Shiraz were subjected to bacterial culture on glycerinated and pyruvated Lowenstein-Jensen media. Genomic material from culture-positive slopes was extracted and used in PCR-16S rRNA, PCR-IS6110, and PCR-RD typing experiments. All the M. bovis isolates were further genotyped using pvu II-digested PGRS-RFLP strategy.


In order to determine whether failure of the colon to salvage carbohydrate could contribute to the diarrhoea of ulcerative colitis we investigated the effect of ingesting a drink containing 20 g lactulose on stool output and breath hydrogen production in 39 colitic patients subdivided according to their disease extent and activity and in 14 normal volunteers. Each subject took a standard diet for four days and stool output was monitored throughout this period. Administration of lactulose on day three significantly increased stool weight and frequency in patients with both active and quiescent total colitis (p less than 0.01), but not in patients with distal colitis or in the volunteers. The basal and peak breath hydrogen responses to ingested lactulose were similar to normal controls in all patient groups but the hydrogen concentration tended to be higher in colitics. The mouth to caecum transit of the lactulose meal was slower in all groups of colitics (p less than 0.02) when compared with controls. These results suggest that impaired colonic salvage of carbohydrate could contribute to the diarrhoea in patients with total colitis who are ingesting a diet rich in unabsorbed carbohydrate, or who are hypolactasic.


We searched for an optical counterpart to the first gravitational-wave source discovered by LIGO (GW150914), using a combination of the Pan-STARRS1 wide-field telescope and the Public ESO Spectroscopic Survey of Transient Objects (PESSTO) spectroscopic follow-up programme. As the final LIGO sky maps changed during analysis, the total probability of the source being spatially coincident with our fields was finally only 4.2 per cent. Therefore, we discuss our results primarily as a demonstration of the survey capability of Pan-STARRS and spectroscopic capability of PESSTO. We mapped out 442 deg^2 of the northern sky region of the initial map. We discovered 56 astrophysical transients over a period of 41 d from the discovery of the source. Of these, 19 were spectroscopically classified and a further 13 have host galaxy redshifts. All transients appear to be fairly normal supernovae (SNe) and AGN variability and none is obviously linked with GW150914. We illustrate the sensitivity of our survey by defining parametrized light curves with time-scales of 4, 20 and 40 d and use the sensitivity of the Pan-STARRS1 images to set limits on the luminosities of possible sources. The Pan-STARRS1 images reach limiting magnitudes of i_(P1) = 19.2, 20.0 and 20.8, respectively, for the three time-scales. For long time-scale parametrized light curves (with full width half-maximum ≃40 d), we set upper limits of M_i ≤ −17.2^(−0.9)_(+1.4) if the distance to GW150914 is D_L = 400 ± 200 Mpc. The number of Type Ia SN we find in the survey is similar to that expected from the cosmic SN rate, indicating a reasonably complete efficiency in recovering SN like transients out to D_L = 400 ± 200 Mpc.


Visual illusions may be explained by the likelihood of patches in real-world images, as argued by input-driven paradigms in Neuro-Science. However, neither the data nor the tools existed in the past to extensively support these explanations. The era of big data opens a new opportunity to study input-driven approaches. We introduce a tool that computes the likelihood of patches, given a large dataset to learn from. Given this tool, we present a model that supports the approach and explains lightness and color visual illusions in a unified manner. Furthermore, our model generates visual illusions in natural images, by applying the same tool, reversely.


Study on nutrient diagenesis and physico-chemical characteristics of bottom sediments of the Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei Darussalum waters had been carried out under the ongoing SEAFDEC Collaborative Research Project. The results indicated that organically enriched offshore sediments consisted high levels of pore water nitrate and phosphate concentrations. For the whole study area, the levels of nitrate and phopsphate concentrations in pore water were in the ranges of 0.05 to 77.12 μg at NO 3 --N/L and 0.07 to 13.13 μg at PO 4 3--P/L, respectively. Upward diffusive fluxes of pore water nitrate widely changed in stations. At the nearshore area, the fluxes of pore water nitrate had an average of 26.5 mg at NO 3 --N/m2/d and were about one order of magnitude higher than those of phopsphate. However, phosphate upward fluxes were apparently high at deep areas off Sabah. Pore water ammonium concentrations were commonly very low but tended to be more accumulated at nearshore organically enriched areas. The ammonium concentrations for the whole study area ranged from non-detected level to 81.76 μg at N/L. The nearshore stations showed very high upward fluxes of ammonium, which were nearly 10 times higher than those of nitrate and phosphate. Sedimentary organic levels were comparatively high in two distinct regions; (I) a shallow nearshore region of Sarawak, and (II) a deep offshore region of Sabah amd Brunei Darussalum. The sources of organic materials settled in Regions (I) and (II) were suggested to be derived from different origins. The Northeast monsoon can somewhat enhance organic accumulation in the nearshore region. Overall our results obtained from this study had been used to characterize the bottom sediments into three distinct regions and discussed for further fishery resource development and management.


Purpose
Reflecting, reliving and reforming experiences enhance longer-term effects of travel and tourism, and have been highlighted as an important aspect in determining loyalty, re-visitation and post-consumption satisfaction. The purpose of this paper is to develop new methodological approaches to investigate emotion, memory creation and the resulting psychosocial effects.

Design/methodology/approach
The paper proposes a unique combination of physiological measures and photoelicitation-based discussions within a longitudinal design. A physiological measuring instrument (electrodermal activity [EDA] tracking technology through Empatica E4 wristbands) is utilised to capture the "unadulterated" emotional response both during the experience and in reliving or remembering it. This is combined with post-experience narrative discussion groups using photos and other artefacts to give further understanding of the process of collective memory creation.

Findings
EDA tracking can enhance qualitative research methodologies in three ways: through use as an "artefact" to prompt reflection on feelings, through identifying peaks of emotional response and through highlighting changes in emotional response over time. Empirical evidence from studies into participatory arts events and the potential well-being effects upon women over the age of 70 is presented to illustrate the method.

Originality/value
The artificial environment created using experimental approaches to measure emotions and memory (common in many fields of psychology) has serious limitations. This paper proposes new and more "natural" methods for use in tourism, hospitality and events research, which have the potential to better capture participants' feelings, behaviours and the meanings they place upon them.


Evidence on schools' performance is confined to comparisons across schools, usually based on value-added measures. We adopt an alternative approach comparing schools to observationally equivalent workplaces in the rest of the British economy using measures of workplace performance that are common across all workplaces. We focus on the role played by management practices in explaining differences in the performance of schools versus other workplaces, and performance across the schools' sector. We find intensive use of HRM practices is correlated with substantial improvement in workplace performance, both among schools and other workplaces. However, the types of practices that improve school performance are different from those that improve performance elsewhere in the economy. Furthermore, in contrast to the linear returns to HRM intensity in most workplaces, improvements in schools' performance are an increasing function of HRM intensity.


This paper aims to explain the evolution of Kazakhstan's trade and industrial policy through an examination of official documents and declarations, policymaking processes and general government practices in the context of economic and geopolitical environment. The history of trade policy is presented in two periods: the liberalisation in the difficult 1990s and the rise in protectionism in the subsequent boom. The rise of protectionism coincided with a general reorientation of economic policies towards statism and is associated with improvements in fiscal and external balances and continued centralisation of political power.


Privacy-preserving protocols allow multiple parties with private inputs to perform joint computation while preserving the privacy of their respective inputs. An important cryptographic primitive for designing privacy-preserving protocols is secure function evaluation (SFE). The classic solution for SFE by Yao uses a gate representation of the function that the two parties want to jointly compute. Fairplay is a system that implements the classic solution for SFE. In this paper, we present a new protocol for SFE that uses a graph-based representation of the function. Specifically we use the graph-based representation called ordered binary decision diagrams (OBDDs). For a large number of Boolean functions, OBDDs are more succinct than the gate-based representation. Preliminary experimental results based on a prototype implementation shows that for several functions, our protocol results in a smaller bandwidth than Fairplay. For example, for the classic millionaire's problem, our new protocol results in a approximately $45$\% bandwidth reduction over Fairplay. Therefore, our protocols will be particularly useful for applications for environments with limited bandwidth, such as applications for wireless and sensor networks.


Despite having international and national legislative frameworks and policies that guarantee children's rights and encourage their participation in matters affecting them, consulting children has received scant scholarly attention in the African context. Notwithstanding this state of affairs, it is important to ask whether, in keeping with growing progressive practices, having children as active researchers is a feasible goal to achieve and, if so, how might this be possible. Drawing on Swartz and Nyamnjoh's framework of research existing along an emancipatory continuum, we argue for practical, methodological interventions to bridge the researcher–researched divide. We show, using four case studies, how giving children a voice – a key feature of emancipatory research – as participants in educational research has the potential to afford them space to co-enact the research and develop their sense of agency. The four case studies were drawn from investigations of (1) lived experiences of orphaned children and conceptions of education quality in South Africa; (2) consulting children about sex and HIV/AIDS education in South Africa, Tanzania and Kenya; (3) a study of a community-based peer education programme in South Africa and (4) language and mathematics skills assessments in a large-scale study. Within each case, we (1) evaluate the extent to which the research methods used aims for and achieves children's participation and emancipation and (2) offer ways to overcome challenges for adopting emancipatory approaches in the schooling sector from ethical, policy and political perspectives. The article concludes with recommendations for implementing emancipatory methodologies in educational research involving children.


We demonstrate the highest flux tabletop source of coherent soft X-rays to date, driven by a single-stage 10 mJ Ti:sapphire regenerative amplifier at 1 kHz. We first down-convert the laser to 1.3 µm using a parametric amplifier, before up-converting it to soft X-rays using high harmonic generation in a high-pressure, phase matched, hollow waveguide geometry. The resulting optimally phase matched broadband spectrum extends to 200 eV, with a soft X-ray photon flux of > 10(6) photons/pulse/1% bandwidth at 1 kHz, corresponding to > 10(9) photons/s/1% bandwidth, or approximately a three order-of-magnitude increase compared with past work. Finally, using this broad bandwidth X-ray source, we demonstrate X-ray absorption spectroscopy of multiple elements and transitions in molecules in a single spectrum, with a spectral resolution of 0.25 eV, and with the ability to resolve the near edge fine structure.


Gas condensate reservoirs constitute a significant portion of global hydrocarbon reserves. In these reservoirs, liquids develop in the pore space once bottomhole pressure falls below dew point. This results in the formation of a liquid bank near the wellbore region which decreases gas mobility, which then reduces gas inflow. In such complex reservoirs, it is important to correctly describe PVT impacts, adjustments to well test analysis and inflow performance, and then combine all effects in the reservoir analysis. The literature contains many references to individual adjustments of PVT analysis, well testing, or inflow performance for gas condensate reservoirs, but few studies demonstrate the complete workflow for reservoir evaluation and production forecasting in gas condensate fields. This research uses a field case study to demonstrate an integrated workflow for forecasting well deliverability in a gas condensate field in North Africa.
 The workflow incorporates a description of the retrograde behavior that impact the well deliverability. The workflow begins with the interpretation of open-hole log data to identify the production interval net pay and to estimate petrophysical properties. A compositional model is developed and matched to actual reservoir fluids. Several gas condensate correlations are used to obtain the gas deviation factor and gas viscosity in order to count the change in gas properties with respect to pressure. Transient pressure analysis is described and used to identify reservoir properties. Inflow performance relationships (IPRs) are analyzed using three types of back pressure equations. The workflow integrates all data in a numerical simulation model, which includes the effect of bottom water drive.
 Results show that in this field case study, reservoir behavior is composite radial flow with three regions of infinite acting radial flow (IARF). Using compositional simulation, it is found that the fluid sample for this field is a lean gas condensate since the liquid drop-out represented 1% of the maximum liquid drop-out. In addition, liquid drop-out increases by 0.1% for every 340 psi drop in reservoir pressure, which reduces the AOF by 3.4%.
 The results provided in this case study demonstrate the importance of an integrated workflow in predicting future well performance in gas condensate fields. The study demonstrates how to implement the workflow in managing or developing these types of reservoirs.


This paper proposes a map matching algorithm using Bayesian belief network for GPS traces to generate the spatial-temporal information of individuals. The algorithm incorporates the road network topology, distance from trace nodes to road segments, the angle between two lines, direction difference, accuracy of measured GPS log point, and position of roads. The GPS data collected in the Eindhoven region, The Netherlands, was used to examine the performance of this algorithm. Results based on a small sample show that the algorithm has a good performance in both processing efficiency and prediction accuracy of correctly identified instances. Even with a small sample, the overall prediction accuracy reaches 87.02%.


Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer related deaths. If diagnosed in a timely manner, the treatment of choice is surgical resection of the cancerous lesions followed by radiotherapy. However, surgical resection may be too invasive for some patients due to old age or weakness. An alternative is minimally invasive needle-based interventions for cancer diagnosis and treatment. This project describes the design, analysis, development and experimental evaluation of a modular, compact, patient-mounted robotic manipulator for lung cancer diagnosis and treatment. In this regard, a novel parallel Remote Centre of Motion (RCM) mechanism is proposed for minimally invasive delivery of needle-based interventions. The proposed robot provides four degrees of freedom (DOFs) to orient and move a surgical needle within a spherical coordinate system. There is an analytical solution for the kinematics of the proposed parallel mechanism and the end-effectors motion is well-conditioned within the required workspace. The RCM is located beneath the skin surface to minimize the invasiveness of the surgical procedure while providing the required workspace to target the cancerous lesions. In addition, the proposed robot benefits from a design capable of measuring the interaction forces between the needle and the tissue. The experimental evaluation of the robot has proved its capability to accurately orient and move a surgical needle within the required workspace. Although this robotic system has been designed for the treatment of lung cancer, it is capable of performing other procedures in the thoracic or abdominal cavity such as liver cancer diagnosis and treatment.


The study area for this thesis focuses on the central northern part of the Bredasdorp Basin of southern offshore South Africa, where the depositional environments of wells E-M1, E-M3 and E-AB1 were inferred through electro sequence analysis and sequence stratigraphy analysis of the corresponding seismic line (E82-005). For that, the Petroleum Agency of South Africa (PASA) allowed access to the digital data which were loaded onto softwares such as PETREL and Kingdom SMT for interpretational purposes. The lithologies and sedimentary environments were inferred based on the shape of the gamma ray logs and reported core descriptions. The sequence stratigraphy of the basin comprises three main tectonic phases: Synrift phase, Transitional phase and Drift phase. Syn-rift phase, which began in the Middle Jurassic during a period of regional tectonism, consists of interbedded red claystones and discrete pebbly sandstone beds deposited in a non-marine setting. The syn-rift 1 succession is truncated by the regional Horizon 'C' (1At1 unconformity). The transitional phase was influenced by tectonic events, eustatic sea-level changes and thermal subsidence and characterized by repeated episodes of progradation and aggradation between 121Ma to 103Ma, from the top of the Horizon 'C' (1At1 unconformity) to the base of the 14At1 unconformity. Finally the drift phase was driven by thermal subsidence and marked by the Middle Albian14At1 unconformity which is associated with deep water submarine fan sandstones. During the Turonian (15At1 unconformity), highstand led to the deposition of thin organic-rich shales. In the thesis, it is concluded that the depositional environment is shallow marine, ranging from prograding marine shelf, a transgressive marine shelf and a prograding shelf edge delta environment.


The Indian monsoon is maintained by propagation of convective systems of synoptic (lows, depressions, etc.) and planetary scale (tropical convergence zones) from the warm tropical oceans, onto the heated subcontinent. As a result, the monsoon variability on subseasonal scales (between wet and dry spells) and on interannual scales (good monsoons and droughts) is linked to variation of the convective systems over the ocean, where variability in turn depends on the sea surface temperature through complex relationship. The nature of this relationship and the mechanisms suggested for understanding it are discussed. It is suggested that for further insights into monsoon-ocean coupling detailed observations particularly over the Indian seas with new satellites and special observational experiments are essential


The resonant interaction between three waves propagating perpendicularly to an external magnetic field in a plasma is considered. We present the explicit expressions for the three wave coupling coefficients of a warm multi‐component plasma. The results of previous work on the generation of THz radiation by laser plasma interaction are significantly improved. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)


This book traces Schiele's development as a portraitist through four principal chronological phases, from 1906 to 1918. Starting with the artist's rigorous training at the Vienna Academy, it chronicles Schiele's eventual break with academia and the emergence of his Expressionistic style. As Schiele honed his technical abilities, he gathered a coterie of patrons-many of whom he immortalized on canvas-and developed a tendency toward realism and introspection. Throughout his career Schiele tested the boundaries of traditional portraiture. Confrontational, explicitly erotic, and largely devoid of props or scenery, Schiele's portraits are seminal works of originality and deep empathy with the human condition. This volume also offers a close examination of Schiele's self-portraits and his relationship with Gustav Klimt, Schiele's gestic language in the context of contemporaneous photography and the silent film, as well as brief biographies of Schiele's subjects and transcriptions of illuminating letters pertaining to his life and work.


In 1947 Alvah Bessie was subpoenaed to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee to answer whether he was a member of the Communist Party and the Screenwriters Guild. Along with nine others (the group known as "The Hollywood Ten"), he stood on the first amendment and refused to answer the committee's questions. All ten were sentenced to prison terms; Bessie served his (one year) in a jail in Texarkana, Texas. The HUAC investigation, which resulted in a blacklist, effectively ended Bessie's career as a screenwriter. (Ironically, his last film before his subpoena, Objective Burma (1945), had earned him an Academy Award nomination.) His only real contact with the industry since the blacklist was occasioned by the made-for-television film (released theatrically in Europe in a longer, more sexually explicit version) of his novel The Symbol (1966), which appeared on television in 1974 as The Sex Symbol. Both novel and film were surrounded by controversy, which has been Bessie's constant companion throughout most of his career. Upon its publication, the book was unfairly attacked by most critics as a cheap rehash of the life of Marilyn Monroe, an exploitation of her personal suffering and of her sexual history. Only a few critics, notably Martha Gelhorn of the Kansas City Star and Wirt Williams of the New York Times Book Review, were perceptive enough to judge the novel on its own merits, which are considerable, instead of playing who's who games with its characters and then castigating Bessie for fictionalizing some real-life figures (a common enough novelistic device). Probably because of the unnecessary abusive criticism, the hardcover edition of the book, published by Random House, did not sell well. However, the paperback, issued in 1968 and again in 1973, has sold nearly a million copies, which makes The Symbol the best known of Bessie's novels. The television movie made from the novel also became a Hollywood cause celebre. The project was announced amid great fanfare, its controversial subject matter and the explicit nature of some of its scenes making it quite a daring project for television. The casting, too, generated considerable publicity: all the roles were described in various trade magazines, and Connie Stevens was finally chosen for the lead after Dyan Cannon and Ann-Margret had turned it down. The film was scheduled to air on March 5, as an "ABC Movie of the Week", but then was suddenly canceled. ABC claimed that it needed more work, but this did not prevent much gossipy speculation: some suggested that the Kennedy family had forced the network to cancel (the producers had spiced up Bessie's story by adding the character of a prominent senator who has an affair with the actress), while there were also rumors of lawsuits by Joe DiMaggio and by Arthur Miller (whose 1964 play After the Fall was also being prepared for televison release in 1974); perhaps, after all, the whole incident was merely a publicity stunt, calculated to excite further interest in the show. Finally, 77ie· Sex Symbol was broadcast on September 14, and although it won sixth place in the Nielsen ratings for the week, it was damned by TV critics from coast to coast. Bessie's own part in the adaptation of his novel for the home screen was accompanied by some bitter, if less public, contention as well. Faced with the problem of turning his 300-page recreation of a woman's life into a workable TV script, he repeatedly asked his executive producer, Douglas Cramer, to persuade the network to allow him a two-hour format, but this request was rejected, and he found himself restricted to 74 minutes' running time (to fill the standard 90-minute time-slot). Still, Bessie strove to preserve the depth and complexity of his narrative technique, alternating between scenes from Wanda Oliver's life, occasional monologues, and her dialogues with a psychiatrist. The version he submitted, though a strong and potentially powerful drama for television, was inexplicably scrapped, and the script substantially revised by Bud Baumes, an assistant producer. …


This dissertation consists of three interrelated essays. The first essay focuses on the adverse selection component of the bid-ask spread. A regime switching model applied to the trading process leads to a parsimonious model of the time-series evolution of the bid-ask spread in which market participants use trade data to answer the following question: Is there currently private information in the market for a given stock? If there is a high probability of private information in the market, this leads contemporaneously to a greater revision in beliefs about the true price. Together with compensation for transactions costs, this leads to a greater revision in transaction price. Using TSE 35 trade and quote data for March and May 1996, the pooled cross-section and time series results support this view. The second essay examines the costs of adverse information and order processing in light of transaction size, type of trader and type of trading method. Specifically, it is found that adverse selection increases with the trade size (consistent with numerous empirical studies relating trade size and the cost components of the bid-ask spread). However, whether the trade was undertaken by the designated market maker, by a principal trader or by an individual belonging to neither of these two categories is also of importance. In addition, we show that trades consummated within the investment dealer's firm have a lower adverse information cost component than trades executed externally. For order processing, it is found that the single most important determinant of cost is whether the transaction is internal or external to the investment dealer firm, with internal trades being more costly. The third essay examines the robustness of the Huang and Stoll (1997) model estimates to the use of different clustering methods and to a minimum quotation increment reduction (MQIR) on the Toronto Stock Exchange. We find that adequate reversal of trade flow is a necessary but not sufficient condition for model performance. We also find that model estimates are quite sensitive to the data clustering method selected. In addition, we show that this model fails to provide adequate cost component estimates of the spread in the post-MQIR period due to a fundamental change in market-maker behavior.


Many scholars and policy-makers have pinned their hopes on the expectation that in the post-Cold War world peace will be preserved if the diffusion of democracy continues. This hope is grounded on the demonstrable evidence that historically democracies have rarely, if ever, waged large-scale war to resolve their disputes with one another. Yet explanations as to why this propensity is exhibited have been unsatisfactory, and debate about the causes of `the democratic peace' as well as about the domain to which it applies have not resulted in consensus. Reviewing the empirical findings in this genre of research, this article examines a deviant case — the Reagan Administration's covert military interventions in the 1980s against established governments — to generate propositions about the heretofore neglected influence of democratic leaders' perceptions and beliefs on the linkage between democracy and peace. The implications for subsequent theory-building are probed to suggest how explanations and descriptions of the democratic peace might be improved by taking an expanded view of its preconditions.


This book gives an up to date reference on the state of the art in this highly important methodological area, which is central both to theoretical models of party competition and to empirical accounts, whether these are case studies or comparative analyses. It looks at subjects including tracking estimates of public opinion and party policy intentions in Britain and the USA; the policy space of party manifestos; and party platforms and voters' perceptions. Its panel of respected contributors reviews the refinements which have been made to established techniques as well as considering the potential and early successes of computer coding.


We demonstrate -switched and CW passive mode locking in a laser-diode-pumped Nd:GdVO4 laser with a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror. The repetition rate of the -switched envelope increased from 23.1 to 260 kHz as the pump power increased from 1.75 to 13.0 W. At a pump power of 13.7 W, the -switched mode locking changed to CW mode locking. The maximum average output power of 4.9 W with a 140-MHz repetition rate was obtained at a pump power of 17.9 W and the single mode-locked pulse energy was 0.035 J. The CW mode-locked pulse duration was measured to be 11.5 ps.


The spatial and temporal distributions of volcaniclastic deposits in arc-related basins reflect a complex interplay between tectonic, volcanic, and magmatic processes that is typically difficult to unravel. We take advantage of comprehensive geothermal drill hole stratigraphic records within the Taupo-Reporoa Basin (TRB), and integrate them with new 40 Ar/ 39 Ar age determinations, existing age data, and new mapping to develop a four-dimensional model of basin evolution in the central Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ), New Zealand. Here, exceptional rhyolitic productivity and high rates of extensional tectonism have resulted in the formation of at least eight calderas and two subparallel, northeast-trending rift basins, each of which is currently subsiding at 3 to 4 mm/yr: the Taupo fault belt (TFB) to the northwest and the TRB to the southeast (the main subject of this paper). The basins are separated in the northeast by a high-standing, fault-controlled range termed the Paeroa block, which is the focus of mapping for this study, and in the southwest by an along strike alignment of smaller scale faults and an associated region of lower relief. Stratigraphic age constraints within the Paeroa block indicate that a single basin (∼120 km long by 60 km wide) existed within the central TVZ until 339 ± 5 ka (Paeroa Subgroup eruption age), and it is inferred to have drained to the west through a narrow and deep constriction, the present-day Ongaroto Gorge. Stratigraphic evidence and field relationships imply that development of the Paeroa block occurred within 58 ± 26 k.y. of Paeroa Subgroup emplacement, but in two stages. The northern Paeroa block underwent uplift and associated tilting first, followed by the southern Paeroa block. Elevations (>500 m above sea level) of lacustrine sediments within the southern Paeroa block are consistent with elevations of rhyolite lavas in the Ongaroto Gorge, the outlet to the paleolake in which these sediments were deposited, and indicate that the Paeroa block has remained relatively stable since development. East of the Paeroa block, stratigraphic relationships show that movement along the Kaingaroa Fault zone, the eastern boundary of the central TVZ, is associated with volcano-tectonic events. Stratigraphic and age data are consistent with rapid formation of the paired TRB and TFB at 339 ± 5 ka, and indicate that gradual, secular rifting is punctuated by volcano-tectonic episodes from time to time. Both processes influence basin evolution.


The biosand filter is an intermittent-flow adaptation of slow sand filtration technology. Developed over 20 years ago and now with 15+ years' operating experience in households, it has established a reputation for effectiveness, durability, and sustained use. Research, field evaluations, and understanding of the nature of intermittent filter operation have led to advances in the design of the biosand filter as well as the specifications for the hydraulic loading rate, filtration sand, and pause period and requirements for maintenance and cleaning. Different methods of fabricating the filter body and diffuser basin are providing more alternatives for implementing biosand filter projects. As of December 2013, 500 organizations have reported implementing biosand filter projects in 59 countries, for a total of over 650,000 filters, impacting more than four million people (CAWST 2014).


This paper proposes a lossy image representation where a reference image is approximated by an evolved image, constituted of variable number of triangular brushstrokes. The parameters of each triangle brush are evolved using differential evolution, which self-adapts the triangles to the reference image, and also self-adapts some of the control parameters of the optimization algorithm, including the number of triangles. Experimental results show the viability of the proposed encoding and optimization results on a few sample reference images. The results of the self-adapting control parameters for crossover and mutation in differential evolution are also compared to results with keeping these parameters constant, like in a basic differential evolution algorithm. Statistical tests are furthermore included to confirm the improved performance with the self-adaptation of the control parameters over the fixed control parameters.


We have shown that prophylactic treatment with a high dose of corticosteroid stabilizes the cardiovascular system, prevents hemorrhage of the small intestine, and improves survival. In this study we evaluated the effect of corticosteroid administered early after the manifestation of shock induced by endotoxin on blood pressure, heart rate, respiration rate, hematocrit, blood glucose, acid-base parameters, small-intestinal hemorrhage, and survival in the conscious rat. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were anesthetized with 2% enflurane and cannulae were placed in the carotid artery and jugular vein. Following recovery the animals were challenged with endotoxin (20 mg/kg). After the mean blood pressure had fallen to below 70 mm Hg the animals received corticosteroid (300 mg/kg) or an equivalent volume of saline. Supplemental doses of 30 mg/kg were given 90 min and 180 min after the initial dose. In groups other than those dealing with survival, rats were sacrificed after 4 h for pathological examination. When endotoxin was administered to untreated animals, 0/10 were alive at 15 h. In the treated group, 6/10 were alive at 24 h. Treatment shortened the early hypotensive period, but resulted in lower blood pressure from + 60 min to sacrifice. Heart rates in the treated animals were lower, pulse pressures were higher, and respiration rates were the same. Corticosteroid treatment prevented hypoglycemia, hemoconcentration, and acidemia, and markedly inhibited hemorrhage of the small intestine. Large-dose corticosteroid treatment is highly effective even when administered after the first evidence of shock induced by endotoxin in the conscious rat.


National concerns are sometimes raised against offshoring of economic activities to other countries. While most of the existing literature has focused on the effects on labor demand and productivity the effects on domestic R&D have been neglected. This is unfortunate since the decision to offshore activities also includes R&D. We use unique and rich firm level data for the Swedish manufacturing sector to analyze how offshoring impacts domestic R&D and how these effects vary with respect to target region and type of firm. The results suggest that offshoring of production alter a firm's investments in R&D in Sweden and that a negative impact on home country R&D is confined to offshoring by non-multinationals and offshoring to Europe and EU15 countries.


The thesis explores the growing significance of cities and urban governance in two interrelated areas: first, regarding national and European socio-economic objectives; second, regarding the processes and spatial implications of inter-urban competition at the EU level. The European Union, in the attempt to tackle disparities and promote economic competitiveness, has developed initiatives for an urban level of policy-making. Central to such a response, it is argued, is the integration into the European policy framework of the fundamental heterogeneity of urban governance structures in Europe. One particular and prominent dimension of urban disparities in Europe is the North-South polarisation of the emerging European urban hierarchy. The thesis goes beyond the traditional economic focus of urban governance studies in its attempt to understand the relatively poor competitive position of cities in Portugal, Greece and Spain. The thesis stresses the analysis of the process of urbanisation from a socio-political perspective: focusing upon the mode of social, economic and political restructuring and competitive orientation of the local level in Southern Europe. The research presented here examines the competitive position of Spain, Greece and Portugal at the local level and the structural divergence of the Southern European urbanisation process from the 'ideal-typical' Fordist/post-Fordist mode of urban restructuring and resurgence. The thesis highlights the characteristic urban governance arrangements of Spain, Greece and Portugal which, it argues, are a causal factor of the lagging competitiveness of Southern European cities. This pattern of European urban heterogeneity is not addressed in the emerging EU policies on urban governance. Case-studies of two EU urban programmes from the 1994-99 policy framework, the RECITE networks and the URBAN Initiative, are used to further illustrate the argument. The conclusion highlights the problems, possibilities and consequences of the Community's current pattern of urban intervention.


The jatropha plant was introduced to Zimbabwe in 1940. Until recently, jatropha production was mainly done by communal farmers in marginal areas of the country. Being a multipurpose tree, the jatropha plant was being used to produce soap, lubricants and in soil conservation. Due to the fuel crisis that gripped Zimbabwe over the last decade, there has been a move towards producing biodiesel to complement imported fossil fuel. There is potential to produce animal and plant protectants, and organic fertilizer from jatropha. The current utilization of the plant is limited by lack of a clear government policy, unfavorable selling prices and unavailable agronomic information. There is need for government to come up with a policy that encourages production, research and utilization of biofuels. Information on jatropha propagation should be made available, not only in English, but vernacular languages also. Research should be encouraged so that varieties that are higher yielding are produced.


This article presents the most important findings concerning the socialeducational needs as expressed by adolescents in kinship foster care (KFC) in the study carried out I+D SEJ-026575 in Spain between 2005 and 2008. The data for the study was collected from discussion groups with adolescents in kinship foster care AFE (n=57) from different autonomous communities in Spain. In the needs assessment the data was collected in the following categories: characteristics of Foster care in kinship family; family history; foster family and foster child; biological family and foster child; self-awareness; healthy family life; free time; the future after fostering. In the results found the following needs stand out: emotional family stability; overcoming problems related to the generation gap with the Foster family, greater openness and clarity dealing with family history, establishing norms and limits, increasing the frequency and quality of parents visits, finding ways of aiding relationships between the foster family and the biological parents, providing support and resources to the foster family, affronting in an educational way subjects such as sexuality, drug addiction, pro-social activities and lastly preparation to face the future after foster care. Incorporating these elements in the support programme for adolescents in KFC can contribute in a positive way to the cognitive, emotional and behavioral development of these adolescents.


Precise control of liquid-solid interactions within sub-micrometer spaces is critical to maximize the active surface areas in porous materials, yet is challenging because of the limited liquid penetration. Here we discover an effective, dry-climate natural plant-inspired approach to guide water into sub-micrometer graphene microwells (Sub-μGWs) and to tune the transition from the hydrophobic to superhydrophilic states. Dry plasma texturing of Sub-μGWs by graphene 'nano-flaps' which adjust the tilt and density upon controlled liquid evaporation leads to controlled and stable sub-micrometer-scale surface modification and variable wettability in a wide range. This effect helps capture Au nanoparticles on the Sub-μGW surfaces as a proof-of-principle water purification platform and tune the charge-storage capacity and frequency response of Sub-μGW-based supercapacitors without altering the Sub-μGW backbones. The outcomes may be extended into diverse materials and solutions thus opening new opportunities for next-generation devices, systems and applications.


The defacto standard - a must-have for all LISP programmers. In this greatly expanded edition of the defacto standard, you'll learn about the nearly 200 changes already made since original publication - and find out about gray areas likely to be revised later. Written by the Vice- Chairman of X3J13 (the ANSI committee responsible for the standardization of Common Lisp) and co-developer of the language itself, the new edition contains the entire text of the first edition plus six completely new chapters. They cover: - CLOS, the Common Lisp Object System, with new features to support function overloading and object-oriented programming, plus complete technical specifications * Loops, a powerful control structure for multiple variables * Conditions, a generalization of the error signaling mechanism * Series and generators * Plus other subjects not part of the ANSI standards but of interest to professional programmers. Throughout, you'll find fresh examples, additional clarifications, warnings, and tips - all presented with the author's customary vigor and wit.


The Golden Rule of Forecasting counsels forecasters to be conservative when making forecasts. We tested the value of three of the four Golden Rule guidelines that apply to causal models: modify effect estimates to reflect uncerainty; use all important variables; and combine forecasts from diverse models. These guidelines were tested using out-of-sample forecasts from eight US presidential election forecasting models across the 15 elections from 1956 to 2012. Moderating effect sizes via equalizing regression coefficients reduced the error relative to the original model forecasts by 5%. Including all 25 variables from the eight models in a single equal-weights index model reduced error by 46%, and combining forecasts from the eight models reduced error by 36%.


THE CONSUMER Electronics Show (CES) and Macworld, both held in January, are always a rich source of information about where the electronics industry is headed. Based on this year's shows, it appears that the future will be wireless, thin, high-definition, and chic. One of the annual events at CES is the "last gadget standing," an informal contest sponsored by Yahoo. The winner of this year's competition was the Eye-Fi wireless SD (secure digital) card. The Eye-Fi card is a two-GB memory card with a built-in wireless Wi-Fi transmitter. With the software included, you can wirelessly transfer photos to your computer or even to an Internet photo-sharing site. The card is available from Wal-Mart and other retailers for about $100. Speaking of wireless, several new technologies are becoming available that can help eliminate wires. Universal Serial Bus (USB) 2.0 has become the ubiquitous standard for computer interfaces. Now, there is Wireless USB. Wireless USB is essentially an "in-room" technology that creates a wireless interface between devices over a distance from 3 to 10 meters. At 3 meters, the data transfer rate is as high as 480 Mbps (megabits per second). At 10 meters, the transfer rate drops to 110 Mbps. These rates make it possible to connect printers and other peripherals and transfer photos and music, but they are not fast enough to transmit high-resolution video very well. If you hate wires, the under-$50 price tag is appealing. However, you will need an adapter for every device. Recently an industry trade group formed called Certified Wireless USB. The group has an informative website at www.usb.org. Of course, before you buy any Wireless USB devices, it is wise to be sure the company has drivers for your computer's operating system and for your printers. Recent reports have come in that drivers are slow in coming for Microsoft Windows Vista. Another industry trade group dedicated to developing wireless networks capable of streaming high-definition video and surround sound is called WirelessHD (WiHD). Members of the group include LG Electronics, Matsushita, NEC, Samsung, Sony, and Toshiba. If you want to beam high-definition video (HDTV) with surround sound all through the house--something I have wanted to do for years--things get tricky. Beaming four streams of HDTV is ideal, since different people in different rooms could then watch different programming. But unlike Web browsing and other wireless uses, even small interruptions in a video stream are objectionable. This means that the gear used must have what is known as a QoS (quality of service) function that guarantees a certain throughput. By comparison to Wireless USB, WirelessHD has data transfer rates of between 2 and 5 Gbps (gigabits per second). WiHD is definitely an "in-room" technology, but that may be a benefit. You won't be beaming your video around the neighborhood. If you are interested in learning more about WirelessHD, Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org) has good explanations and comparisons of various approaches. I suspect that, by the end of 2008, both Wireless USB and WirelessHD will have become common. They say that "thin is in," and in the IT world, thin was readily apparent at this year's shows. For example, LG previewed a super-thin 42" LCD HDTV that is only 1.7" thick. Not to be outdone, Sony unveiled an 11" television that is only 3 mm thick. Sony's super-thin TV uses an OLED (organic light emitting diode), a technology that requires very little power. By contrast, LCD and plasma displays consume a lot of electricity, so OLED is a step toward "greener" displays. The ASUS Eee PC is a sub-notebook or ultra-compact PC that has received a lot of attention at CES and in the tech press. The Eee is the size of a hardback book and has a 7" diagonal screen with a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels. A distinguishing feature of the Eee is that it uses memory chips instead of a hard drive. …


Saliency-based visual attention models provide visual saliency by combining the conspicuity maps relative to various visual cues. Because the cues are of different nature, the maps to be combined show distinct dynamic ranges and a normalization scheme is therefore required. The normalization scheme used traditionally is an instantaneous peakto- peak normalization. It appears however that this scheme performs poorly in cases where the relative contribution of the cues varies significantly, for instance when the kind of scene changes, like when the scene under study becomes unsaturated or worse, when it looses any chromaticity. To remedy this drawback, this paper proposes an alternative normalization scheme that scales each conspicuity map with respect to a long-term estimate of its maximum, a value which is learned initially from a large number of images. The advantage of the new method is first illustrated by several examples where both normalization schemes are compared. Then, the paper presents the results of an evaluation where the computed visual saliency of a set of 40 images is compared to the respective human attention as derived from the eye movements by a population of 20 subjects. The better performance of the new normalization scheme demonstrates its capability to deal with scenes of varying type, where cue contributions vary a lot. The proposed scheme seems thus preferable in any general purpose model of visual attention.


The advancement of deep convolutional neural networks (DCNNs) has driven significant improvement in the accuracy of recognition systems for many computer vision tasks. However, their practical applications are often restricted in resource-constrained environments. In this paper, we introduce projection convolutional neural networks (PCNNs) with a discrete back propagation via projection (DBPP) to improve the performance of binarized neural networks (BNNs). The contributions of our paper include: 1) for the first time, the projection function is exploited to efficiently solve the discrete back propagation problem, which leads to a new highly compressed CNNs (termed PCNNs); 2) by exploiting multiple projections, we learn a set of diverse quantized kernels that compress the full-precision kernels in a more efficient way than those proposed previously; 3) PCNNs achieve the best classification performance compared to other state-ofthe-art BNNs on the ImageNet and CIFAR datasets.