In the provision of multiservice network services, much attention has been focused on the use of usernetwork (UN) signalling. UN signalling plays an important role in connection-oriented networks. In such networks, it can be used for admission control, providing resource allocation (resource reservation), enabling new services, accounting information (for generating bills) as well as allow collection of statistics that can aid in dimensioning and capacity planning. We argue that UN signalling is not required for IP-based networks and that; a) for an IP-based network other mechanisms may be more suitable for providing the features listed above; b) to insist that there is UN signalling in IP-based networks that reproduces the signalling mechanisms already used in the telco-network can hinder the deployment of new applications in IP-based networks.


Scholars and policy-makers now recognise the security risks posed by refugee militarisation, including the spread of civil war and regional destabilisation. These analysts pay little attention to the militarised exiles once they return home. Instead, repatriation is uncritically accepted as the most desirable solution to refugee crises and as a prerequisite for post-conflict peace-building. Undoubtedly, the vast majority of the refugees desire a peaceful and stable return home. For the minority of militarised exiles, however, return may facilitate a continuance of their programme of political violence. This article examines whether and how previously militarised refugees engage in political violence upon return. It does this by tracing five decades of forced migration in Rwanda, paying particular attention to the Tutsi exiles in Uganda and their eventual militarised return. In the Rwandan case, leaders relied on the mechanism of socialisation, defined as transformative learning and the development of new worldviews, to achieve their goals. Such socialisation operated in exile to form the Tutsi exile army and later functioned as a tool for the coercive imposition of political control in Rwanda.


Information systems have become a critical element of every organization, emphasizing the need for a reliable and secure ICT infrastructure for companies whose principal asset and added value is information. This book proposes a global and systemic multidimensional integrated approach to the holistic evaluation of the information security posture of an organization. The Information Security Assurance Assessment Model (ISAAM) presented in this book is based on, and integrates, a number of information security best practices, standards, methodologies and sources of research expertise, in order to provide a generic model that can be implemented in organizations of all kinds as part of their efforts towards better governing their information security. This approach will contribute to improving the identification of security requirements, measures and controls. At the same time, it provides a means of enhancing the recognition of evidence related to the assurance, quality and maturity levels of the organisation's security posture, thus driving improved security effectiveness and efficiency.


Policy makers around the world recognize the potentially harmful consequences of trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy. Indeed, many countries have recently initiated policy reforms to strengthen the enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR). Further, minimum standards of enforcement have been incorporated in many international treaties, especially trade agreements. This emphasis on enforcement raises basic questions about the actual impacts of IP rights infringement, which differ across the types of IPR and economic sectors. The authors review the academic literature and other studies in the public domain to evaluate what has been learned about these socioeconomic effects, with an emphasis on developing countries where possible. They also identify important gaps in our understanding of the consequences of counterfeiting and piracy and develop recommendations on how governments might collect data and conduct studies to better inform IPR enforcement policy.


Soil data serve as an important initialization parameter for hydro‐ecological and climatological modeling of water and chemical movement, heat transfer, or land‐use change. Most soil hydraulic properties are difficult to measure and therefore have to be estimated in most cases. Efficient methods for estimating soil hydraulic properties are lacking for tropical soils. This study examines and uses easy‐to‐measure soil properties together with terrain attributes in artificial neural networks (ANNs) to estimate saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks), one of the key soil hydraulic properties for two pilot sites in the Volta basin of Ghana. It was observed that good data distribution, range, and amounts are prerequisites for good ANN estimation and, therefore, data preprocessing is important for ANN. With adequate and sensitive data, ANN can be used to estimate Ks, using soil properties such as sand, silt, and clay content, bulk density, and organic carbon. Although the inclusion of terrain parameters can improve the estimation of Ks using ANN, they cannot be relied on as the sole input parameters as they yield poor results for the scale considered in this study. The source of training data was found to significantly influence the topsoil Ks, but the subsoil was not sensitive to training data source.


This article has been written at the initiative of UK climate scientists, from both the academic sector and the Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research, in response to an article in the previous issue of World Economics by Carter et al., which was part of a 'Dual Critique' of the Stern Review of the Economics of Climate Change. The criticisms of Carter et al. concerning the Stern Review's presentation of the climate science have been challenged and found to seriously misrepresent the current state of knowledge. Furthermore, the latest Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, whose Summary for Policy Makers was published in February 2007, vindicates the approach used in the Stern Review. The authors show in this paper that the Stern Review did not use an exaggerated response to increases in greenhouse gases nor did it overstate the certainty with which current warming can be attributed to human activities. They therefore conclude that the findings of the Stern Review with respect to the science of climate change are fundamentally sound and form a proper basis for the subsequent analysis of economic risk.


Rapid developments in technology are reshaping how citizens receive and use information electronically. At the same time, government regulation limits the services that may be offered by the industries that transmit information, and will determine how interactive and other advanced video services are able to develop. In this book, Richard Klingler traces the evolution of regulatory regimes that constrain the broadcasting, telephone, and cable television industries, as well as emerging information services. He also examines new information delivery systems and the integration of electronic carriage with provision of content and information services, including services that resemble printed products.Klingler describes two basic challenges to current regulation of these industries. First, established regulatory regimes often harm competition and the development of services in industries that are increasingly interrelated and rapidly changing. He outlines how recent developments contradict basic assumptions underlying the structure of current regulation and how regulation might better respond to those developments. Second, the Constitution limits regulation of these industries as they increasingly engage in activities protected by the First Amendment. Klingler shows how the First Amendment, as recently elaborated, applies to electronic transmission of information and likely precludes certain forms of regulation, including established regulation of the content of communications. The book also examines how regulation designed to limit market power in these industries can be reconciled with the First Amendment.


An effective near-field - far-field (NF - FF) transformation with spherical scanning for quasi-planar antennas from irregularly spaced data is developed in this paper. Two efficient approaches for evaluating the regularly spaced spherical samples from the nonuniformly distributed ones are proposed and numerically compared. Both the approaches rely on a nonredundant sampling representation of the voltage measured by the probe, based on an oblate ellipsoidal modelling of the antenna under test. The former employs the singular value decomposition method to reconstruct the NF data at the points fixed by the nonredundant sampling representation and can be applied when the irregularly acquired samples lie on nonuniform parallels. The latter is based on an iterative technique and can be used also when such a hypothesis does not hold, but requires the existence of a biunique correspondence between the uniform and nonuniform samples, associ- ating at each uniform sampling point the nearest irregular one. Once the regularly spaced spherical samples have been recovered, the NF data needed by a probe compensated NF - FF transformation with spherical scanning are efficiently evaluated by using an optimal sampling interpolation algorithm. It is so possible to accurately compensate known posi- tioning errors in the NF - FF transformation with spherical scanning for quasi-planar antennas. Some numerical tests assessing the accuracy and the robustness of the proposed approaches are reported.


Background Despite efforts to provide a comprehensive diagnosis of whiplash (eg, The Quebec Classification system, 1995; Soderlund & Dennison) it is an ill defined and poorly understood injury. Its occurrence seems to be dependent on a number of contextual variables. Objective The primary objective of this study was to identify the number of cases of whiplash reported in one complete season by professional rugby players. Design A longitudinal design was adopted. The assessment of whiplash was carried out independently of the assessment of the number of incidents that could potentially lead to WAD. The two assessments were blinded to each other. Setting The study was undertaken within a professional rugby club in the north of England. Participants The full first team squad (n=32) were included in the study. Assessment of risk The main independent variables was the number of potential whiplash inducing incidents over the entire season. Main outcome measurements The main outcome measure was the number of whiplash related injuries reported. Results There were six cases of whiplash reported during the entire season. Five followed an on field assessment during the game and the players were deemed fit to continue with play. They needed treatment post injury in readiness for the next game, however in all five cases the injuries were not sufficiently serious to rule the player concerned out of contention for selection and all have missed no matches as a result of their injury. The minimum number of collisions that would have been expected to produce whiplash was found to be three per game. Conclusion It is clear that the number of reported/diagnosed whiplash injuries in this sample is much lower than would be expected if you were to use data from the non-sporting domain. Further investigation into why this discrepancy happens is underway, using physiological, psychological and biomechanical markers.


Introduction: Discipline is one of the key of success in reaching the college highest academic achievement Discipline requires self-regulation). This study measured the correlation between self-regulation and discipline among Unai girls' dormitory residents of school year 2018/2019.
Method: This study occupied descriptive correlation method with convenient sampling held in  UNAI chapel program on May 3, 2019.  Out of 477 girls dormitory residents, 297 students were able to return the questionnaires. The Self-Regulation questionnaire was modified from The Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SRQ) and Discipline questionnaire was modified from Discipline with Purpose Questionnaire. The reliability of those questionnaires were .882 (high).
Result: This study found that there was significant relationship between Self-Regulation and Discipline of UNAI girls' dormitory residents on 2018/2019 with correlation .353 (low correlation).
Discussion: This low correlation measures happened because the residents are more afraid of punishment rather than practicing self-regulation.


Introduction. Maize (Zea mays L.) production in La Frailesca region, Mexico, is limited by sandy soils, low in potassium (K), and with acidic arable layers and subsoils. There is information on the management of lime but not on amendments that could be used for subsoil acidity — such as gypsum — nor on the interactions between amendments for soil acidity and K fertilization. Objective. To evaluate the effects of K and gypsum on maize and on previously limed soils. Materials and methods. The evaluations were conducted in farmers' fields in La Frailesca region, Chiapas (Mexico) in 2016 and 2017. Four gypsum rates (0, 1.25, 2.5 and 5 t ha-1) and four K rates (0, 60, 90, and 120 kg ha-1 as K2O) were factorially combined in a randomized block design, with three replicates. In both years, before the beginning of the experiments, dolomitic lime was applied to the experimental area following standard practices. Responses of crop yield, soil exchangeable K, Ca, Mg, and Al, and soil pH were obtained. Results. Maize yields increased with gypsum (stabilizing at 1.25-3.0 t ha-1), and K (stabilizing at 70-120 kg ha-1 of K2O) applications. In soils, K application increased exchangeable K content, while gypsum increased exchangeable Ca content and pH, and decreased exchangeable Al content. Liming increased pHCa and exchangeable Ca and Mg contents, and lowered the exchangeable Al content in the top 7.5 cm of soil. Conclusion. Soils with exchangeable K (≤0.3 cmolc kg-1) were responsive to K fertilization. The positive effects on yields from gypsum were probably linked to a greater Ca supply in the top 7.5 cm. These results are encouraging about the benefits of the combined application of dolomitic lime, gypsum, and K, but longer evaluations are needed to properly determine the effects of gypsum on subsoil acidity.


There has been a general consensus in the sports tourism literature that sport and tourism agencies do not collaborate. Despite being identified as a problem, it is really only Weed (2001, 2003) and Weed and Bull (1997) who have tried to explain why this is the case, and even they were forced to confine their study to the relationship between the regional bodies for sport and tourism in England. Thus, there is a gap in the literature which this study will address. This research examined the relationships that exist between the public agencies involved in sports tourism, using a comparative study of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. A qualitative approach was considered the most appropriate for this study, using the critical case‐sampling technique in which a total of 54 in‐depth interviews were conducted with public‐sector officials from both countries. To analyse their findings, the authors have tapped into the literature on inter‐organisational behaviour and adapted Huxham and Vangen's (Huxham, C., & Vangen, S. (2005). Managing to collaborate: The theory and practice of collaborative advantage. London: Routledge) theory of 'Collaborative Advantage' to produce a model that captures the dynamics of collaboration in sports tourism. The model is made up of 12 practitioner themes (aims, commitment and resources, trust, culture, structure and restructuring, key individuals, power, leadership, identity, democracy and equality, communication and partnership overload) and four crosscutting themes (politics, economic policy, accountability and ideology). Each theme and the issues and tensions identified within it can affect inter‐organisational relationships in a particular way, but the model illustrates how each theme is interlinked and is part of a larger, more complex picture.


Context. CP Pup (Nova Pup 1942) showed outburst and quiescent characteristics indicating a very massive white dwarf, yet the standard spectroscopic dynamical analysis assuming an accretion disk yields an extremely low value for the white dwarf mass. However, some physical parameters and the accretion geometry are still poorly known. Aims. The nova was spectroscopically monitored between 1988 and 1996. We analyzed the whole data set in order to re-determine the spectroscopic period and examine its stability. We also looked for chemical anomalies in the spectrum. Methods. We obtained the radial velocity curves for the hydrogen and helium lines from our last better quality 1996 run. The mean 1996 spectrum yields information on the chemical composition of the binary. We also searched the mean period using the multi-year data set. Results. From the radial velocities of our complete data set we derive the most probable mean spectroscopic period and tentatively suggest revised ephemeris. However, we demonstrate that the period is intrinsically unstable. We show that a standard accretion disk model does not explain all the spectroscopic features observed nor the variability of the spectroscopic period. We suggest that only interpreting the system as a slightly asynchronous polar would fit the data. The mean optical spectrum of CP Pup shows also an enhanced carbon abundance. Non solar abundances in the accreted material are unexpected and interesting, confirming that the nature of the secondaries of old novae should be studied more in detail. In fact, in CP Pup, as in other novae, the enhanced carbon is an important clue to the pre-outburst evolution, implying that the secondary was heavily polluted with carbon and helium during the common envelope phase of the pre-cataclysmic binary by a relatively massive primary that filled its Roche lobe during the third dredge up on the asymptotic giant branch.


Study Design. Retrospective cohort study. Objective. The purpose of this study is to evaluate pulmonary function and quality of life (QOL) in children treated with early spinal fusion for progressive congenital scoliosis. Summary of Background Data. The relationships between radiographic measures, pulmonary function tests (PFT), and QOL were examined. Methods. Twenty-one patients with congenital scoliosis treated with early spinal fusion were evaluated using radiographs, PFT, and the Child Health Questionnaire (CHQ) at 12.6 ± 3.5 years. They were 6.9 ± 2.3 years postdefinitive fusion, which occurred at 4.9 ± 3.1 year of age. The cohort was also divided in two groups, "thoracic fusion" (apex above the thoracolumbar T–L junction) and "nonthoracic fusion" (below T–L junction). Results. Forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume (FEV1), vital capacity (P < 0.0001), and total lung capacity (P = 0.017) were significantly lower compared with healthy children. CHQ scores were significantly lower than in healthy children in physical function (P = 0.036), general health (P = 0.007), physical summary (P = 0.026), and parental impact/emotional (P = 0.01). Correlation analysis showed that the degrees of thoracic curves were negatively correlated with FEV1 (P < 0.05), family activities, role/social physical (P < 0.05), and physical summary (P < 0.01). The degree of kyphosis was negatively correlated with Self-Esteem (P < 0.01). Patients who had thoracic fusions had shorter spinal height (P = 0.049), lower forced vital capacity (P = 0.004), FEV (P = 0.012), vital capacity (P = 0.031), and reported more pain (P = 0.033) than nonthoracic fused. Conclusion. Compared with healthy peers, congenital scoliosis patients treated with early spinal fusion have worse PFT and QOL scores at 6.9 years follow up. Patients with thoracic fusions had shorter spines, worse pulmonary function, and more pain than nonthoracic fused. The results may support alternatives to early spinal fusion such as growing rods, epiphysiodesis, and distraction thoracoplasty. Current efforts are underway to compare outcomes of this study to those of other treatments.


In June 2010 the Spanish Constitutional Court rendered a very important judgment on the constitutional legitimacy of the new fundamental charter (Estatut) of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia. Faced with a very long and ambitious legal document, the Court succeeded in not condemning as illegitimate most of its controversial provisions by means of interpretation consistent with the Constitution. Thus, those provisions aiming at 'constitutionalizing' Catalan identity have been widely neutralized or deprived of their legal significance. By doing so, however, the Court has attracted widespread criticism, possibly paving the way for further conflicts.


Periodontal disease, which attacks the gums and supporting structures of the tooth, is one of the major causes of tooth loss in adults. Few studies on general well-being have compared the differences in oral health between men and women with studies from Europe and USA reporting that there are more edentulous women than men.Among the many factors contributing to tooth loss are poverty, availability and accessibility to dental and other health care as well as cultural traditions. This study examined a population living in a high fluoride area near Cape Town. This isolated community has until recently been unexposed to the diets and habits of the western world and have inter-married for decades. The results of this study indicated that although women had better oral hygiene habits than men, tooth loss was associated with age rather than gender.


Inorganic membrane is one type of synthetic membranes. It has been developed before 1945. At early stage, the application of inorganic membranes was mainly concentrated on military purpose and not commercially used by the industry. However, nowadays inorganic membranes especially carbon membrane has emerged as another alternative membrane in the separation technology. Generally, inorganic membranes can be divided into two different categories: porous inorganic membranes and dense inorganic membranes. Carbon molecular sieve membrane is one type of porous inorganic membranes. The concept of carbon membrane for gas separation has been found in early 1970. However, the boost of interest to develop carbon molecular sieve membrane only appeared after Koresh and Softer successful achieved apparently crack-free molecular sieving carbon hollow fiber membranes. Until today, researchers from all over the world have prepared carbon molecular sieve membranes by using various polymeric materials. Pyrolysis method is usually used to produce carbon membranes derived from organic polymers. Permeation properties of carbon membranes have been improved greatly in these 20 years due to much effort put in this field. It is found that the carbon membrane has a lot of unique characteristic and advantages compared with polymeric membranes. Due to better selectivity, thermal and chemical stability, more attention will be paid to carbon membranes in new millennium especially carbon hollow fiber membranes. This is because hollow fiber configuration has been recognized to be more suitable and practical to be used in the industry. Hence the purpose of this paper is to give an overview regarding the development of carbon hollow fiber membranes in last 30 years in order to encourage more researchers involve in the development of carbon hollow fiber membranes for gas separation.


Little information is available regarding contemporary relations between Bedouin tribes and the Syrian state apparatus. These ties are mainly expressed through relationships of patronage and clientism between tribal leaders and state operatives. The Bedouin tribes of Syria continue to function as groups tied in networks of real and fictive kinship; these bonds provide the tribal members with a solidarity and cohesiveness which the state has not been able to suppress despite decades of effort.


Has British Public Administration lost its sense of coherent identity? This article describes the major changes of the postwar period. It describes the decline of traditional Public Administration with its distaste for theory, focus on institutions, and predilection for administrative engineering. The 1970s heralded the era of eclecticism with the British "behavioral revolution" and the advent of organization theory and policy analysis. The 1980s saw these fashions wane under the impact of New Right ideology. If rational choice was a minority interest, the new public management swept all before it. But Public Administration was an observer, not a participant in the rush to reinvent Whitehall. Its institutional base also weakened But all is not doom and gloom in the 1990s. The Economic and Social Research Council invested significant research funds in Public Administration and the future lies in our own hands. We must produce better quality research and prove we can contribute to understanding the changing institutions of government. Editors note: This is the second article in a two part series on the intellectual development of public administration that was organized by Jack Rabin. We greatly appreciate his contribution to PAR. British Public Administration(1)(*) is insular, a quality it shares with its American counterpart, but it is also unreflective. There are few histories of the subject, and there is a lack of interest bordering on distaste for agonizing over the future of the subfield. We prefer to leave such soul baring to others. In this article, I provide the first review of the development of British Public Administration that covers all the postwar period.(2) To document this development is to describe two declines. The critical, institutionalist tradition that prevailed for the first half of the 20th century began a long and lingering death in the 1960s. A flurry of social sciences invaded Public Administration in the late 1960s on the back of rapid expansion of the universities. But their day in the sun was short. A new star rose in the firmament, and the eclecticism of the 1970s came to a rapid standstill as New Right ideology dominated the 1980s. In the 1990s, British Public Administration has lost its coherent identity, has not found a new role, and is losing its institutional base in the universities. An optimist would describe the future as bleak. A pessimist would be living and working in America. The Era of Traditional Public Administration Bill Mackenzie was the doyen of British Public Administration in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1951, he wrote that the subject was in "rather a queer state." The teaching involved a "smattering of history," "a little law," and some current affairs. The number of researchers was small: "it is hard to think of more than half-a-dozen names altogether," and the tradition was "descriptive and critical" (Mackenzie, 1975; 4, 7-8, and 9-10).(3) William Robson's (1975; 73) delineation of traditional Public Administration is remarkably similar. The general university approach was essentially institutional. It concentrated attention on the authorities engaged in public administration, analysed their history, structure, functions, powers and relationships. It enquired how they worked and the degree of effectiveness they achieved. Mackenzie's comments on criticism and Robson's reference to effectiveness both highlight the reformist strand in traditional Public Administration. Public Administration was criticized "by reference to what may be crudely called `common sense'" (Mackenzie, 1975; 9). The Fabians, with their belief in administrative engineering, epitomize this social-critic component of the British tradition (Rhodes, 1979; 70).(4) With the focus on institutions and the predilection for criticism goes a distaste for theory. A distaste clearly expressed by William Robson (writing in 1961): On this side of the Atlantic we have avoided, or at least not emulated, the abstract approach which characterises the work of such American exponents as Herbert Simon, Chester Barnard, Edward Litchfield, or Philip Selznick. …


Donors face distinct challenges in operating in fragile states and supporting the building of state capacity. This article explores one type of assistance – the 'embedding' of highly skilled staff members within local government agencies – through a unique case study of Finn Church Aid's experience with secondment in Somalia. Building upon FCA's previous work in Somalia, its staff member worked as part of the Transitional Federal Government's Ministry of Constitutional Affairs and Reconciliation to assist in the implementation of the roadmap designed to end transitional governance in the country. Although a number of such initiatives exist, few studies have explored how, why and whether they work. Drawing on unique access to FCA staff and documents, as well as interviews with Somali stakeholders, donor representatives and others, the article explores FCA's experience and impact through this initiative, one way in which a non-state actor has provided tangible, relatively low-cost support to a fragile state.


Although both the academic and policy communities have attached great importance to measuring corruption, most of the currently available measures are biased and too broad to
test theory or guide policy. This article proposes a new
composite indicator of grand corruption based on a wide range of elementary indicators. These indicators are derived
from a rich qualitative evidence on public procurement corruption and a statistical analysis of a public procurement data in Hungary. The composite indicator is constructed by linking public procurement process 'red flags' to restrictions of market access. This method utilizes administrative data that is available in practically every developed country and avoids the
pitfalls both of perception based indicators and previous 'objective' measures of corruption. It creates an estimation of institutionalised grand corruption that is consistent over time and across countries. The composite indicator is validated using company profitability and
pol itical connections data.


Recombinant apolipoprotein E-3 (ApoE-3), expressed in Escherichia coli, was purified and used in an in vitro and an in vivo model system for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome-associated Kaposi's sarcoma (AIDS- KS). This protein blocked cell proliferation and chemotaxis of AIDS-KS cells in response to activated lymphocyte conditioned medium (AL-CM) and oncostatin M (OSM). ApoE-3 also inhibited the formation of neoangiogenic lesions induced in BALB/c nu/nu mice by AIDS-KS cells. These findings represent a novel and potentially less toxic therapeutic approach for the treatment of AIDS-KS.


Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are a serious health problem affecting millions of people each year. Infections of the urinary tract are the second most common type of infection in the body. Urinary tract infections (UTIs) account for about 8.3 million doctor visits each year. One woman in five develops a UTI during her lifetime. Natural remedies have been used for centuries to alleviate pain and discomfort as well as address the underlying symptoms. Natural remedies for urinary tract infections are safe and cause no side effects. They also support one's physical, mental, and emotional health, rather than simply treating UTI symptoms. A number of antibiotics can be prescribed to treat urinary tract infections. However, certain antibiotics may not be safe for these pregnant, plan to become pregnant rare breastfeeding women. Like all medications, antibiotics have side effects. These medications can produce reactions and even serious medical complications in some women. In addition, adverse reactions to antibiotics may be more serious in women with weakened immune systems, including women with diabetes. Possible side effects of antibiotics include allergic reactions, fever, nausea and bloating. Vaginal yeast infections are another common side effect of antibiotic use in women. Antibiotics kill bacteria, including bacteria that control the amount of other normal body organisms, such as yeast. So the reduction in bacteria can result in an overgrowth of yeast. Taking certain antibiotics during pregnancy may be a risky proposition since women who take them may deliver babies with increased risk of birth defects. The present Article reviews the role of cystocran in Preventing Urinary tract infections.


From the Publisher:
This text makes in-depth explorations of a broad range of theoretical topics in computer science. It plunges into the applications of the abstract concepts in order to confront and address the skepticism of readers, and instill in them an appreciation for the usefulness of theory. A two-part presentation integrates logic and formal language—both with applications. Chapter topics cover mathematical preliminaries, propositional logic, proving things: why and how, predicate logic, proving with predicates, program verification, logic programming, language models for computer science, language models, finite automata and their languages, regular expressions, Lex: a tool for building lexical scanners, context-free grammars, pushdown automata and parsing, and turing machines. For future computer scientists.


One of the most colorful, controversial, and misunderstood public figures of the 19th century "The most hated man in New England," critics dubbed him on the eve of the Civil War. Caleb Cushing, brash and controversial, was perhaps the last of 19th-century America's renaissance figures. Poet and politician, essayist and diplomat, general and lawyer, this multidimensional scion of a Newburyport, Massachusetts, mercantile family moved in and out of positions of power and influence, for more than fifty years. First as a spokesman for the Whig and then the Democratic Parties, Cushing served in Congress, as the minister to China, as a general in the Mexican War, U.S. attorney general, and legal adviser and diplomatic operative for Presidents Lincoln, Johnson, and Grant. With an unharnessed mind and probing intellect, Cushing inspired and infuriated contemporaries with his strident views on such topics as race relations and gender roles, national expansion and the legitimacy of secession. While his positions generated arguments and garnered enemies, his views often mirrored those of many Americans. His abilities and talents sustained him in public service, and made him one of the most outstanding and fascinating figures of the era. Biographer John Belohlavek delivers a work of importance and originality to specialists in the areas of mid-nineteenth-century political, legal, and diplomatic history, as well as to those interested in New England history, antebellum gender relations, civil-military relations, and Mexican War studies.


While most scholarship about the Social Security Administration's ("SSA") disability benefits programs and policy focuses on issues of medical eligibility or the programs' financing, this article analyzes the history, evolution, empirical vulnerabilities and current public policy issues generated from the much less examined labor market side of substantive disability benefits law and policy. Disability denotes a frame of reference – disability from work. Thus, the disability benefits programs have always evaluated eligibility with reference to the impact of a claimant's medical impairment on the ability to perform work in the American labor market. The primary administrative mechanism for ascertaining the availability of less demanding work to which disability claimants might adjust is an innovative medical-vocational matrix or "grid" regulation that takes administrative notice of job characteristics, job incidence, and adaptation assumptions based on the U.S. Department of Labor's ("DOL") first occupational taxonomy, the Dictionary of Occupational Titles ("DOT") and other government surveys. However, the empirical data about the labor market upon which the grid regulation was based is nearly half a century old and dependent upon an occupational taxonomy (the DOT) that was discontinued twenty years ago. In addition, changes in disability policy and social welfare policy from the Americans with Disability Act ("ADA") of 1990 and the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act ("PRWORA") of 1996 that emphasize work over benefit receipt have provided impetus to reconceptualize disability benefits eligibility. Because of the complexity of the disability benefit programs' existing labor market adjudicative process, the empirical vulnerabilities in the present system and the public policy currents from the ADA and PRWORA, a variety of alternatives has been suggested for altering or modifying the present system for adjudicating labor market work adjustment issues.This article evaluates those alternatives and concludes that the SSA should employ a "mend it don't end it" approach to the adjudication of labor market considerations in the disability benefits programs. It argues that the suggested alternatives to the present system are either fundamentally misguided or politically unpalatable. It urges acceptance of the National Research Council's recommendation from a report issued in March 2010 for the DOL and SSA to collaborate on completion of an up-to-date and methodologically appropriate labor market taxonomy to support an updated grid's empirical bases for continued use. It further advocates for institutionalizing at least decennial revision of the underlying labor market data and taxonomy to enhance the grid's temporal reliability on a continuing basis. Finally, it eschews usage of a grid updating or revision process as an opportunity to tighten or restrict benefit eligibility in light of the consequences of wrongful disability benefit denial in a post-welfare reform reality of substantially restricted safety net alternatives and in a depressed and constricted economy for characteristically low-skilled, disability benefit claimants.


Within plant seeds, signaling functions from the endosperm regulate development of the embryonic plant suspensor. In flowering plants, fertilization involves multiple gametes. The diploid zygote, which will form the embryonic plant, is surrounded by the often triploid endosperm, which provides a supportive and nourishing function. Working in Arabidopsis, Costa et al. (see the Perspective by Bayer) identified a trio of small signaling peptides that derive from the endosperm but that regulate growth of the embryo. RNA interference was used to down-regulate expression of all three peptides. Fertilization was not affected, but seed growth was. The peptides were critical for normal development of the suspensor, which tethers and nourishes the growing embryo. L. M. Costa, E. Marshall, M. Tesfaye, K. A. T. Silverstein, M. Mori, Y. Umetsu, S. L. Otterbach, R. Papareddy, H. G. Dickinson, K. Boutiller, K. A. VandenBosch, S. Ohki, J. F. Gutierrez-Marcos, Central cell–derived peptides regulate early embryo patterning in flowering plants. Science 344, 168–172 (2014). [Abstract] [Full Text] M. Bayer, Patterning cues from the altruistic sibling. Science 344, 158–159 (2014). [Abstract] [Full Text]


The worldwide public is aware that humankind lives in a changing environment. Typical questions to scientists addressed by the public are e.g.: How much will sea level rise at our shores in 100 years? How will average seasons and the distribution of precipitation be in 30 years in our country? Will we be able to send ships over the North Pole in a few decades?To address these questions one has to understand the various interactions between the atmosphere, the oceans and the ice covering both polar land and seas. The changing physical properties are tightly coupled to the biological and geochemical cycles which have therefore to be included to forecast the fate of the earth system. Ice is a key player in the earth system as the polar ice sheets store an equivalent of more than 60 m of sea level difference. Sea ice has compared to open water a much higher ability to reflect radiation instead of heating by absorption.Both the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) and the Institute of Low Temperature Science (ILTS) have some of their major research topics covering aspects of ice beginning with the basic physical properties of ice crystals and their inclusions, formation of meteoric and sea ice, internal structure of ice sheets towards modelling and observing the evolution of ice sheets and sea ice in the earth system. Together both institutes cover an almost complete portfolio of research addressed to ice and lay the basis for research towards answering the questions by the public.Selected ice research topics relevant for the AWI and the ILTS will be presented, as e.g. microstructure of ice, internal electromagnetic reflections in ice sheets, air content in natural ice, modelling the evolution of ice sheets and distribution of sea ice under different climatic conditions. Latest reconstructions of sea ice extent and ice sheet geometry from proxy parameters in ice and sediment cores permit the comparison with modelling results.


This thesis explores the gap between theory and practice within the context of humancomputer interaction (HCI), specifically relating to effective implementation of HCI methods and frameworks within practice. The thesis is structured as follows: three connected but stand-alone papers are presented preceded by an introduction, and followed by a conclusion. The introduction defines HCI, discusses its history and evolution, and how it has been influenced by different disciplines. The first paper covers the usability of personalisation of Web sites and consists of three quantitative studies. The main measurements are effciency, effectiveness, and satisfaction as indicators of usability. Two of the studies show a significant relationship between the amount of content on a page and time taken to find information. The third study shows that when users are only allowed 3-5 seconds to glance through the page (skim), the significance, found in the other two studies, disappeared. There is, however, no indication that subjective satisfaction is affected, regardless of the amount of time users take to find information in any of the studies. The second paper is a case study: a practical evaluation of how usability is implemented in commercial website design projects. It compares the difference between targeting usability issues early in the design and later in the development. The third paper conceptualises involving users early on in design projects, how this affects design projects in the context of Garrett's (2002) framework and how it compares with current and optimal approaches. It shows that involving users early in the design process does not negatively affect time or effort and concludes by defining areas where research should concentrate to provide further evidence towards involving stakeholders in Web design through researchable propositions. Finally, the conclusion chapter summarises each of the paper's limitations and conclusions. It links the three papers through a discussion on how they are related in addition to how this research could benefit the practitioner


The significant wide impact of mobile technologies (e.g., smartphones, tablets) and the difficulty of mastering their complexity (due to factors like constant emergence and evolution) pose new challenges to many (if not all) software engineering disciplines. We particularly see these challenges when thinking of average citizens that carry out their daily activities in smart environments where mobile technologies and sensors installed provide many potential advantages to support them. Applications that could enable informed decision-making are currently beyond what software developers can provide. This position paper discusses challenges, and highlights current approaches available in order to support decision-making for thoughtful living. We present an initial version of a comprehensive framework to overcome the challenges identified and analyse which software engineering research lines may help to implement it. A motivating scenario is used to conduct the discussion.


Abstract. Structural monitoring requires instruments which can provide high precision and accuracy, reliable measurements at good temporal resolution and rapid processing speeds. Long-term campaigns and flexible structures are regarded as two of the most challenging subjects in monitoring engineering structures. Long-term monitoring in civil engineering is generally considered to be labourintensive and financially expensive and it can take significant effort to arrange the necessary human resources, transportation and equipment maintenance. When dealing with flexible structure monitoring, it is of paramount importance that any monitoring equipment used is able to carry out rapid sampling. Low cost, automated, photogrammetric techniques therefore have the potential to become routinely viable for monitoring non-rigid structures. This research aims to provide a photogrammetric solution for long-term flexible structural monitoring purposes. The automated approach was achieved using low-cost imaging devices (mobile phones) to replace traditional image acquisition stations and substantially reduce the equipment costs. A self-programmed software package was developed to deal with the hardware-software integration and system operation. In order to evaluate the performance of this low-cost monitoring system, a shaking table experiment was undertaken. Different network configurations and target sizes were used to determine the best configuration. A large quantity of image data was captured by four DSLR cameras and four mobile phone cameras respectively. These image data were processed using photogrammetric techniques to calculate the final results for the system evaluation.


Background The unlearning process is complex and sometimes painful in nature. This process usually occurs in social interactions and is very dependent on social contexts and the work environment. Objective To explore the concerns and mental challenges in facing unlearning situations in nurses. Methods This qualitative study using content analysis was conducted in 2013–2015. Participants were 25 people, and research environment was hospitals in Mashhad and Gonabad. The method of data collection was unstructured interview, and sampling was continued until data saturation. First, the recorded interviews were transcribed and reviewed several times. Then open codes were extracted and after reviewing several times, were classified into subcategories based on semantic similarity. Finally, the similar subcategories were put into the main categories semantically. Results Data analysis led to the emergence of 1,180 initial codes and 8 categories and 3 themes. Our themes were discouraging/encouraging situation, double-edged sword colleagues, and organizational policies paradox, that the central theme of progressive and suppressor organizational climate paradox were derived from them. Conclusion Exposure to unlearning situations is a complex process of which its adoption and implementation is difficult and challenging. This suggests that supporting nurses and attention to their mental concerns and providing favorable learning conditions is required.


It has been pointed out repeatedly that it should be possible to adapt global program optimization algorithms for the purpose of detecting faults in programs. It has become clear that global program analysis can be beneficial in program development, debugging, verification, and documentation since it can provide information about all possible executions of the code at once. The techniques employed are not only capable of revealing errors, interfacing errors, and other shortcomings but of doing so in a way which helps to pinpoint the source of problems.
In this dissertation we systematically examine the global optimization techniques available today to determine how these techniques can be used to aid the rapid, compile-time detection of program errors. The techniques considered include flow tracing, type finding, and value flow. The approach is to determine what facts about a program can be collected using the best available program analysis technique, and to use this information to mark suspicious program segments. The techniques proposed have been implemented in an extensive global "bug finder", and examples of its use are included.


Creating value for shareholders in terms of equity value growth significantly depends on the corporate governance's ability to make optimal decisions for the company's competitiveness. The article conducts a comparative study between Romania, France and the average recorded in the European Union regarding competitiveness in companies from the accounting business field for the period 2008–2013. Competitiveness is measured as average for the domestic-owned companies and separately for the foreign-owned companies. Competitiveness assessment is based on assets related elements, processes and performance. The data are collected through the European Statistical System and processed by means of competitiveness analysis methods used in the literature. The findings show that the competitiveness of Romanian and French companies from the accounting business field is above the European Union average. The hypothesis according to which the foreign-owned companies are more competitive than domestic-owned companies is partially confirmed . DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ee.29.3.17269


The continuing gap between the percentages of black and white people entering the criminal justice system (particularly in prisons), observed both in the USA and the UK, raises an old but very important question of whether the over-representation is the result of proportionately more black than white people committing offences ('differential involvement') or whether it is the result of racial bias in the administration of criminal justice ('racial discrimination'). The data provided in this study lends some support to the latter view and suggests that the over-representation and differential treatment by racial origin of the defendants at each stage of the criminal justice process cannot be explained by the differential involvement hypothesis alone. The research involved a multivariate analysis of all male referrals and outcomes during a five year period from the inception of the Criminal Justice Act 1982, in a London Metropolitan Police District's local juvenile criminal justice system which comprises the largest numbers of ethnic minorities in the United Kingdom. The study found that it was not possible to attribute outcomes on the basis of significantly more young people from one of the three racial groups of defendants being associated, for example with committing certain types of offences when compared to the other two groups. In other words, there was no significant interaction found between race and each of the control variables of interest, such as the type of the primary offences, the type of offences taken into consideration at the same hearing as the primary offences, the total number of offences dealt with at the same hearing and the number of arrests or court appearances in any model predicting court sentences as against police diversionary measures. However, evidence is provided which suggests that black young persons were significantly more likely than white young persons to have been acquitted in the courts because of insufficient evidence from the police rather than to have received police diversionary measures, notwithstanding the influence of the control variables of interest considered in combination with each other. A similar result was also found in respect of custodial sentences, where black young persons were again significantly more likely to have received custodial sentences compared to their white counterparts, the latter proving significantly more likely to have had no further action taken against them by the police or to have been cautioned. There were differences between the probabilities of acquittals and of custodial sentences between black and Asian young persons in favour of black young persons, but these were not significant. Likewise, the difference in the probabilities between Asian and white young persons in the custodial sentences analysis was not significant, although it was in favour of Asian young persons.


This paper mainly studies Weather Stations part of the wind power station. The use of wind energy in practice is carried out using the facilities of the wind in which the kinetic energy of the windscreen flow is converted into mechanical energy wind speed, then electrical energy alternator. The effective operation of the wind turbine is dependent on the direction of the wind. Speed air density, which in turn depends on the temperature and humidity. Thus, the speed of the wind worked effectively in its composition must include the weather. Meteorological station also performs the role of prevention. When the sharp wind speed or increase wind speed above the maximum value, it sends a signal to the lock assembly wind to prevent wind turbine technology from damage. The work of the meteorological stations design as part of the Wind Energy Station is considered. The complex technical devices are used for its implementation. A set of technical means used to its implementation and designed system consists of a temperature, humidity, wind speed, wind direction and rain gauge sensors that are connected to PIC16f876A microcontroller.


Background: India records 5 lakh child-deaths annually due to vaccine preventable diseases. As a strategic endeavor, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, launched Mission Indradhanush in December 2014 to achieve more than 90% full immunization coverage by the year 2020. Objectives: To assess the awareness of the respondents about Mission Indradhanush, to assess their attitude and practices regarding childhood immunization, and to determine the association between knowledge and practice with selected variables. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was undertaken from June to September 2017 among mothers with children aged 12–23 months in urban slums under field practice area of Community Medicine Department, Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar. Results: Mean age of the children was 17.23 ± 3.43 months; 65% were males and 35% females. Mean age of the respondents was 24.48 ± 3.97 years; 68% were literate and 94% were Hindus. Majority (76%) belonged to upper-lower Kuppuswamy socio-economic status scale. Only 10% had heard about Mission Indradhanush; health worker (90%) being the most common source of information. A total of 91% believed that vaccination prevented disease. A total of 96% believed that immunization was important for their children. A total of 73% had the maternal and child protection card with them. A total of 72% of children were fully immunized. Of the 28% partially vaccinated children, only 12.5% had heard about Mission Indradhanush. Reasons stated for partial immunization were mother too busy, child illness, and lack of information. Conclusion: Very few participants had heard about Mission Indradhanush in this study although most of them were aware of immunization services. Strengthening of Information, Education, Communication (IEC) activities regarding the program—Mission Indradhanush—needs attention. The immunization coverage was satisfactory.


Knowledge about leptostracans from the Mediterranean Sea is still scarce. Examination of samples collected from the Aegean Sea off Turkey and from Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean Sea revealed new localities and range extensions for 2 species of leptostracans: Nebalia strausi Risso, 1826, and N. kocatasi Moreira, Kocak, and Katagan, 2007. The record of N. kocatasi is the first for Cyprus and for the Levantine Basin. Additional specimens (Nebalia sp. 1 and Nebalia sp. 2) might prove to belong to 2 new species but the lack of material prevents their formal description.


Background Studies have shown that N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors play a critical role in pain processing at different levels of the central nervous system. Methods In this study, we used adult Wistar rats to examine gender differences in the effects of NR2B NMDA antagonism at the level of the anterior cingulate cortex in phasic pain, and in the first and second phases of a formalin test. Rats underwent stereotactic surgery for cannula implantation in the anterior cingulate cortex. After recovery, paw withdrawal latency to a noxious thermal stimulus was assessed. Rats were also subjected to a formalin pain test whereby 60 μL of 5% formalin was injected into the right hind paw. Results Female and male rats that received Ro 25-6981, an NR2B antagonist, before formalin injection showed significantly reduced pain responses to the formalin test compared with saline-injected control rats (P < 0.05). No gender differences in phasic pain responses were found in rats treated with Ro 25-6981. Conclusion These results suggest that cortical antagonism of the NR2B subunit reduces inflammatory pain levels in both genders of rat.


The strong correlation between consumer attitudes towards brands and the brands' market shares or usage levels is well known. This attitudinal evidence, however, mainly relates to sectors where there are large, well established brands. This raises the question of what happens in fragmented markets where there is a proliferation of small, mostly not very well known brands. This paper investigates possible sub-patterns in a fragmented market such as wine. Neither the peculiarities of fragmented markets nor the type of measures employed seem to affect the occurrence of the known patterns. The interpretation of the findings and the managerial implications are discussed. Specifically, we suggest that knowledge of these patterns can be useful to managers for the interpretation of attitudinal statements concerning their brands compared with the competition. The results also imply that strategies aimed at raising attitudinal scores may be pointless, unless trial and usage are increased first.


Sino-Indian relations, which have long been fraught, took an especially adverse turn this summer with a military-to-military confrontation on the Doklam Plateau near the India-Bhutan-Tibet trijunction. After several weeks, Indian and Chinese forces withdrew from the region. However, neither side resiled from their respective territorial claims. This episode exemplified the troubles that have come to characterize the Sino-Indian relationship, especially since Prime Minister Modi assumed office in 2014. His regime, which is more nationalistic and reposes greater faith in the utility of force in international politics, had initially sought to diplomatically court the PRC in the hopes of improving their bilateral relationship. However, these efforts did not prove successful. Instead, the People's Liberation Army, as in the past, continued to undertake limited probes along the Himalayan border, while the PRC continued to make diplomatic, commercial, and strategic inroads into India's neighbours, trying to reduce India's influence in those countries. The Modi regime, in turn, sought to counter these initiatives through various efforts of its own in the neighbourhood. Beyond South Asia, India has also sought to enhance its ties with Australia, Japan, the United States, and Vietnam in an attempt to hedge against the PRC's growing economic and military assertiveness in Asia. These endeavours, however, have elicited hostile reactions from Beijing, which sees New Delhi as the only significant potential hurdle to the expansion of its influence in Asia. Despite Beijing's adverse reactions it is unlikely that the current regime in New Delhi will scale back its efforts to cope with what it deems to be significant threats emanating from its behemoth northern neighbour.


sensory cues by fish us ossifragus preying on artificial bird nests. How predators locate avian nests is poorly understood and has been subjected to little experimental inquiry. We examined which sensory stimuli were important in the nest-finding behavior of fish crows Cor (cid:2) us ossifragus , a common nest predator in the southeastern United States. Using an array of potted trees in a large enclosure, we presented artificial nests to captive crows and quantified responses to visual, auditory, and olfactory nest cues, and nest position. Partial ranks of nest-treatment preferences were analyzed using log-linear models. Nest visibility significantly increased the likelihood of predation by fish crows and increasing nest height was a marginally significant influence on nest vulnerability; no responses were apparent to auditory or olfactory stimuli. Our findings demonstrate that fish crows are visually-oriented nest predators that may preferentially prey on, or more readily encounter, above-ground nests. Moreover, the experimental design provides a new method for evaluating predator-prey interactions between nests and their predators. This study also illus- trates how sensory capabilities of predators can interact with nest types to determine nest predation patterns.


Individuals with schizotypy often report more cannabis-related problems, which include
cognitive, interpersonal, and social responsibility difficulties. Past studies have observed
correlations between the factors of schizotypy (i.e., positive, disorganized, and negative)
and the five-factor model of personality. Certain personality traits are also associated
with cannabis use. Further, both schizophrenia-spectrum symptoms and cannabis use
have been implicated in reduced ability to identify emotional facial expressions, which
can lead to greater difficulties in social functioning. Therefore, the purpose of the current
study is to better understand the associations between cannabis use, schizotypy, and
personality. Additionally, this research aims to identify which of the aforementioned
variables are most salient in individuals who experience cannabis-related problems and
emotional identification deficits. The sample was comprised of 242 undergraduates
attending Western Carolina University, and data were collected through self-report
measures and an eye tracker.
Results from bivariate correlations and non-parametric statistics indicated that
cannabis use was associated with higher disorganized schizotypy and total schizotypy,
while the number of cannabis-related problems was significantly correlated to all factors of schizotypy. Cannabis use, cannabis-related problems, and schizotypy were associated
with lower Agreeableness and Conscientiousness, as well as higher levels of
Immoderation and Excitement-Seeking. Individuals who met criteria for cannabis
dependence were significantly higher in Excitement-Seeking, but lower in Cooperation,
Dutifulness, Achievement-Striving, and Cautiousness compared to those who do not
experience cannabis-related problems. Similar to the deficits seen on the schizophreniaspectrum,
cannabis use frequency was associated with decreased attention to the left
visual field; moreover, cannabis-related problems were negatively correlated to attention
to the eyes of most emotional faces. Personality traits such as Conscientiousness were
associated with fixation on particular emotional features, as well as accuracy for
identifying neutral faces. Taken together, the results of the current study suggest that
there are significant associations between cannabis use, schizotypy, and personality, and
these variables play a role in cannabis-related problems and facial affect recognition
processing. Therefore, prevention of these potential problems should target identification
of schizotypal traits, abstinence from cannabis, and social skills building in adolescence
and emerging adulthood.


A computational method, incorporating the finite element model (FEM) into data assimilation using the particle filter, is presented for identifying elasto‐plastic material properties based on sequential measurements under the known changing traction boundary conditions to overcome some difficulties in identifying the parameters for elasto‐plastic problems from which the existing inverse analysis strategies have suffered. A soil–water coupled problem, which uses the elasto‐plastic constitutive model, is dealt with as the geotechnical application. Measured data on the settlement and the pore pressure are obtained from a synthetic FEM computation as the forward problem under the known parameters to be identified for both the element tests and the ground behavior during the embankment construction sequence. Parameter identification for elasto‐plastic problems, such as soil behavior, should be made by considering the measurements of deformation and/or pore pressure step by step from the initial stage of construction and throughout the deformation history under the changing traction boundary conditions because of the embankment or the excavation because the ground behavior is highly dependent on the loading history. Thus, it appears that sequential data assimilation techniques, such as the particle filter, are the preferable tools that can provide estimates of the state variables, that is, deformation, pore pressure, and unknown parameters, for the constitutive model in geotechnical practice. The present paper discusses the priority of the particle filter in its application to initial/boundary value problems for elasto‐plastic materials and demonstrates a couple of numerical examples. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The proteins of Pseudomonas syringae pv. TomatoT1 were prepared using a protein preparation method with some modifications and applied the procedure to an Antarctic Pseudomonas syringae Lz4W and evaluate the results using proteomics methods. The preparation of proteins was studied using Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato T1 as a model bacterium and separated the proteins on SDS-PAGE. Suitable method is applied for the preparation of proteins from Pseudomonas syringae Lz4W. The gel bands cut into small slices, in-gel digested with trypsin and the resulting peptide mixtures analyzed by proteomics analysis. Our results showed a total of 190 proteins were identified from supernatant and 326 proteins from pellet when bacteria grown at 22 o C by using Method A. Also Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato T1 showed a total of 301 proteins grown at 28 o C by using Method B, whereas only 33 proteins were identified using MALDI. The proteomic approaches used in the present study are very useful to evaluate the efficiency of the protein preparation methods. This study highlights that the protein preparation method plays a critical role in proteomics studies of bacteria. (Ehab F. Abou-Eladab, M Mohammed Idris, Medicharla V Jagannadham. Evaluation of protein preparations from bacteria using proteomics approaches: Application to an Antarctic bacterium Pseudomonas syringae Nature and Science 2012; 10(4): 102-114). (ISSN: 1545-0740). http://www.sciencepub.net/nature . 16


In recent years, web has experienced a tremendous growth concerning users and content. As a result information overload problem has always been always one of the main discussion topics. The aim has always been to find the most desired solution in order to help users when they find it increasingly difficult to locate the accurate information at the right time. Recommender systems developed to address this need by helping users to find relevant information among huge amounts of data and they have now become a ubiquitous attribute to many websites. A recommender system guides users in their decisions by predicting their preferences while they are searching, shopping or generally surfing, based on their preferences collected from past as well as the preferences of other users. Until now, recommender systems has been vastly used in almost all professional e-commerce websites, selling or offering different variety of items from movies and music to clothes and foods. This thesis will present and explore different recommender system algorithms such as User-User Collaborative and Item-Item Collaborative filtering using open source library Apache mahout. Algorithms will be developed in order to evaluate the performance of these collaborative filtering algorithms. They will be compared and their performance will be measured in detail by using evaluation metrics such as RMSE and MAE and similarity algorithms such as Pearson and Loglikelihood.


Background The transition from enucleated reticulocytes to mature normocytes is marked by substantial remodeling of the erythrocytic cytoplasm and membrane. Despite conspicuous changes, most studies describe the maturing reticulocyte as a homogenous erythropoietic cell type. While reticulocyte staging based on fluorescent RNA stains such as thiazole orange have been useful in a clinical setting; these 'sub-vital' stains may confound delicate studies on reticulocyte biology and may preclude their use in heamoparasite invasion studies. Design and Methods Here we use highly purified populations of reticulocytes isolated from cord blood, sorted by flow cytometry into four sequential subpopulations based on transferrin receptor (CD71) expression: CD71high, CD71medium, CD71low and CD71negative. Each of these subgroups was phenotyped in terms of their, morphology, membrane antigens, biomechanical properties and metabolomic profile. Results Superficially CD71high and CD71medium reticulocytes share a similar gross morphology (large and multilobular) when compared to the smaller, smooth and increasingly concave reticulocytes as seen in the in the CD71low and CD71negativesamples. However, between each of the four sample sets we observe significant decreases in shear modulus, cytoadhesive capacity, erythroid receptor expression (CD44, CD55, CD147, CD235R, and CD242) and metabolite concentrations. Interestingly increasing amounts of boric acid was found in the mature reticulocytes. Conclusions Reticulocyte maturation is a dynamic and continuous process, confounding efforts to rigidly classify them. Certainly this study does not offer an alternative classification strategy; instead we used a nondestructive sampling method to examine key phenotypic changes of in reticulocytes. Our study emphasizes a need to focus greater attention on reticulocyte biology.


BACKGROUND
Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery causes profound weight loss and improves insulin sensitivity (S(I)) in obese patients. Regular exercise can also improve S(I) in obese individuals; however, it is unknown whether exercise and RYGB surgery-induced weight loss would additively improve S(I) and other cardiometabolic factors.

METHODS
We conducted a single-blind, prospective, randomized trial with 128 men and women who recently underwent RYGB surgery (within 1-3 months). Participants were randomized to either a 6-month semi-supervised moderate exercise protocol (EX, n = 66) or a health education control (CON; n = 62) intervention. Main outcomes measured included S(I) and glucose effectiveness (S(G)), which were determined from an intravenous glucose tolerance test and minimal modeling. Secondary outcomes measured were cardiorespiratory fitness (VO2 peak) and body composition. Data were analyzed using an intention-to-treat (ITT) and per-protocol (PP) approach to assess the efficacy of the exercise intervention (>120 min of exercise/week).

RESULTS
119 (93%) participants completed the interventions, 95% for CON and 91% for EX. There was a significant decrease in body weight and fat mass for both groups (P < 0.001 for time effect). S(I) improved in both groups following the intervention (ITT: CON vs. EX; +1.64 vs. +2.24 min⁻¹/μU/ml, P = 0.18 for Δ, P < 0.001 for time effect). A PP analysis revealed that exercise produced an additive S(I) improvement (PP: CON vs. EX; +1.57 vs. +2.69 min⁻¹/μU/ml, P = 0.019) above that of surgery. Exercise also improved S(G) (ITT: CON vs. EX; +0.0023 vs. +0.0063 min⁻¹, P = 0.009) compared with the CON group. Exercise improved cardiorespiratory fitness (VO2 peak) compared with the CON group.

CONCLUSION
Moderate exercise following RYGB surgery provides additional improvements in S(I), S(G), and cardiorespiratory fitness compared with a sedentary lifestyle during similar weight loss.

TRIAL REGISTRATION
clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT00692367.

FUNDING
This study was funded by the NIH/National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (R01 DK078192) and an NIH/National Center for Research Resources/Clinical and Translational Science Award (UL1 RR024153).


In this paper, a small wind turbine emulator (WTE) using separately excited DC motor is modelled, designed, simulated, implemented and tested. A 1 HP separately excited DC motor is used to emulate the characteristics of the rotor of small wind turbine. The DC motor is driven by a thyristor bridge with closed-loop cascaded PI controller for armature control. A separately excited DC generator with a variable resistive load is directly coupled to the DC motor. A small cheap analogue electronic circuit, with less interfacing, is used to generate a specific reference wind turbine speed based on the wind turbine rotor characteristics and the mechanical wind power available. Simulation and experimental results are compared to proof the validity and accuracy of the WTE.


Knowing a set of points on a curve, the interpolation problem is to hypothesize the location of the intermediary ones. A large set of interpolation techniques are known. We address the problem of generating a path with minimal maximum curvature, passing through N ordered points and joining the two end-points at predefined directions. This is related to R-geodesics, which have been used to generate paths with minimum average curvature between two given points that have to be joined at predefined directions and curvature. For example, when interpolating GPS points to reconstruct a vehicle's trajectory, we may know that the centripetal acceleration is upper bounded due to physical constraints, hence adding constraints on the trajectory curvature. Among two interpolations with the same maximum curvature, we prefer the one with shorter trajectory. We compare experimentally several interpolations techniques, and propose heuristics to generate paths based on concatenated arc and line segments (also known as R-geodesics) inferred based on tuples of three consecutive points. Benchmarks with over 1000 simulated and real scenarios show that this algorithm is 73% percent better then the next candidate method we propose and which is based on bi-arcs with hill-climbing. A remaining open question is whether a global optima can be achieved and proven.


This report presents the results of an online survey that collect relevant data from almost 3,000 organisations working on eInclusion in 27 European countries, which is the first attempt in Europe to collect primary data from those actors. This research constitutes a building block of a larger project 'Measuring the Impact of eInclusion Actors on Digital Literacy, Skills and Inclusion goals of the Digital Agenda for Europe' (MIREIA), a policy-oriented research project which aims to better understand the role of these actors across the European Union and to create adequate measurement instruments to provide evidence about how they contribute to the achievement of the Europe 2020 policy goals, from the eInclusion perspective. The findings of the analysis provide policy relevant insights and help shed light on the size of the sector, the types of organisations providing eInclusion services and their capacity (staff, budgets, funding sources and network), the services they provide and the target groups they address. In conclusion, they illustrate the key relevance of these estimated 250,000 actors in EU27 in advancing social and economic inclusion goals of the Europe2020 strategy, and in particular the digital literacy and inclusion goals of the Digital Agenda for Europe.


Atopic dermatitis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease associated with cutaneous hyperreactivity to environmental triggers and is often the first step in the atopic march that results in asthma and allergic rhinitis. The clinical phenotype that characterizes atopic dermatitis is the product of interactions between susceptibility genes, the environment, defective skin barrier function, and immunologic responses. This review summarizes recent progress in our understanding of the pathophysiology of atopic dermatitis and the implications for new management strategies.


A novel graphene-oxide-based saturable absorber with 12% modulation depth, which is fabricated by the novel vertical evaporation technique, can be used to passively mode locked the Nd:GdVO4 ultrafast laser system. The maximum average output power measured is 1.1 W and it is operating at TEM00 mode. The measured pulse duration and repetition rate are 4.5 ps and 70 MHz, respectively. This low-cost, broadband graphene-oxide-based saturable absorber can potentially be used practically in the high-power mode-locking laser system.


Abstract. Atmospheric aerosols often contain surface active organics. Surface activity can affect cloud droplet formation through both surface partitioning and surface tension reduction in activating droplets. However, a comprehensive thermodynamic account for these effects in Kohler modeling is computationally demanding and requires knowledge of both droplet composition and component molecular properties, which is generally unavailable. Here, a simple representation of activation properties for surface active organics is introduced and compared against detailed model predictions and laboratory measurements of CCN activity for mixed surfactant-salt particles from the literature. This simple organic representation is seen to work well for aerosol organic-inorganic composition ranges typically found in the atmosphere, and agreement with both experiments and detailed model predictions increases with surfactant strength. The simple representation does not require resolution of the organic aerosol composition and relies solely on properties of the organic fraction that can be measured directly with available techniques. It can thus potentially be applied to complex and ambient surface active aerosols. It is not computationally demanding, and therefore has high potential for implementation to atmospheric models accounting for cloud microphysics.


We present a new distributed model for graph computations motivated by limited information sharing. Two or more independent entities have collected large social graphs. They wish to compute the result of running graph algorithms on the entire set of relationships. Because the information is sensitive or economically valuable, they do not wish to simply combine the information in a single location. We consider two models for computing the solution to graph algorithms in this setting: 1) limited-sharing: the two entities can share only a poly logarithmic size subgraph, 2) low-trust: the entities must not reveal any information beyond the query answer, assuming they are all honest but curious. We believe this model captures realistic constraints on cooperating autonomous data centres' have results for both models for s-t connectivity, one of the simplest graph problems that requires global information in the worst case. In the limited-sharing model, our results exploit social network structure. Standard communication complexity gives polynomial lower bounds on s-t connectivity for general graphs. However, if the graph for each data centre has a giant component and these giant components intersect, then we can overcome this lower bound, computing-t connectivity while exchanging O(log2 n) bits for a constant number of data centers. We can also test the assumption that the giant components overlap using O(log2 n) bits provided the (unknown) overlap is sufficiently large. The second result is in the low trust model. We give a secure multi-party computation (MPC) algorithm that 1) does not make cryptographic assumptions when there are 3 or more entities, and 2) is efficient, especially when compared to the usual garbled circuit approach. The entities learn only the yes/no answer. No party learns anything about the others' graph, not even node names. This algorithm does not require any special graph structure. This secure MPC result for s-t connectivity is one of the first that involves a few parties computing on large inputs, instead of many parties computing on a few local values.


Intelligent transport systems provide a multitude of possibilities when it comes to increasing traffic safety on our roads. Many of the proactive traffic safety applications under development today demand timely and reliable treatment of deadline dependent data traffic. Unfortunately it is not possible to provide any timing guarantees when using the current IEEE 802.11p standard for wireless access in vehicular environments. Additionally, a difficult wireless channel environment makes successful data transmissions very challenging. We suggest adding a real-time layer, comprising a deterministic medium access control protocol and transport layer retransmissions, on top of IEEE 802.11p in order to enable guaranteed real-time behaviour and to improve reliability. In a simulation study we show that the packet error rate can be decreased by several orders of magnitude while being able to guarantee timely treatment of both ordinary transmissions and retransmissions by the help of a real-time schedulability analysis.


The influence of English on Armenian is limited to borrowings at the lexical level. This brief survey examines the problem of the domestication of English words in Eastern Armenian. It is essential that our focus be on contrastive and typological studies of the two languages, as English and Eastern Armenian differ in their phonetic systems, systems of grammatical categories, and semantics. We analyze the phonetic and graphemic integration of Anglicisms in Eastern Armenian. We also elucidate the peculiarities of the grammatical integration of Anglicisms belonging to different parts of speech: nouns, adjectives, and verbs. The last part of the article is devoted to the problem of semantic integration of loanwords in the receptor language.


A new approach allowing to improve frequency-selective properties for a fixed order of N filter is suggested. In all the studies, conducted with the help of numerical electrodynamic analysis of 3D models of microstrip filters based on a multimode resonator, the same substrate with dielectric constant ε=2.8 and thickness h=2 mm (material - FLAN) was used in calculations. The central bandpass frequency of microwave structures f0≈1.4 GHz was registered and as well as relative bandwidth Δf/fo≈80%. The strip conductor of central multimode resonator in six studied filters of the sixth and eighth orders has the shape of an irregular meander being electromagnetically connected with four single-mode resonators, a pair of which is located to the left of it, and the other pair is to the right. It is shown that in single-mode quarter-wave resonators building-up the number of portions of identical parallel strip conductors, connected to a screen at one end and connected with each other by a strip conductor jumper, can increase the power of suppression at low-frequency stop band by more than 15 dB, as well as near high-frequency slope of passband by more than 10 dB. Therefore, the level of maximums of return losses in the passband of wideband bandpass filter ranges within a few dB.


Abstract. The aim of this study was to develop an approach for estimating ice break-up dates on the Mackenzie River (MR) using more than a decade of MODIS Level 3 500 m snow products (MOD/MYD10A1), complemented with 250 m Level 1B radiance products (MOD/MYD02QKM) from the Terra and Aqua satellite platforms. The analysis showed break-up began on average between days of year (DOYs) 115 and 125 and ended between DOYs 145 and 155 over 13 ice seasons (2001–2013), resulting in an average melt duration of ca. 30–40 days. Thermal processes were more important in driving ice break-up south of the MR confluence with the Liard River, while dynamically driven break-up was more important north of the Liard. A comparison of the timing of ice disappearance with snow disappearance from surrounding land areas of the MR with MODIS Level 3 snow products showed varying relationships along the river. Ice-off and snow-off timing were in sync north of the MR–Liard River confluence and over sections of the MR before it enters the Mackenzie Delta, but ice disappeared much later than snow on land in regions where thermal ice break-up processes dominated. MODIS observations revealed that channel morphology is a more important control of ice break-up patterns than previously believed with ice runs on the MR strongly influenced by channel morphology (islands and bars, confluences and channel constriction). Ice velocity estimates from feature tracking were able to be made in 2008 and 2010 and yielded 3–4-day average ice velocities of 1.21 and 1.84 m s−1 respectively, which is in agreement with estimates from previous studies. These preliminary results confirm the utility of daily MODIS data for monitoring ice break-up processes along the Mackenzie River. The addition of optical and synthetic aperture radar data from recent and upcoming satellite missions (e.g. Sentinel-1/2/3 and RADARSAT Constellation) would improve the monitoring of ice break-up in narrower sections of the MR.


When BUSE gave an enumeration of the grasses collected by JUNGHUHN in Java and Sumatra, he mentioned under Paspalum a species, described by RETZIUS in the year 1781 as Paspalum hirsutum. BUSE identified a grass from Sumatra as being the species of RETZIUS, on account of the description, having certainly not studied the authentic specimen, which was at that time not easy to consult. It may be that even the work of RETZIUS was not at his disposal, it is probable that he studied only the description, given afterwards in LAMARCK'S Encyclopedie. RETZIUS described his species from China, where it was collected by BLADH. Although the description of RETZIUS agrees fairly well with BUSE'S plant, we are in modern times not so satisfied with such an identification, because it is a priori not sure at all that the Chinese species is identic with a grass from the high plateau of Sumatra, the more because since the description by RETZIUS and the identification by BUSE, such a Paspalum was never found in the wide area between China and Sumatra. I therefore carefully studied the type of RETZIUS at the herbarium of Lund (Sweden), which was kindly forwarded for study from the director at Lund and I compared it with BUSE'S type, preserved at the Rijksherbarium. The latter is in a very good condition. Already at first sight the two types agree very much especially in the vegetative parts, the number of racemes, their length and general form In the genus Paspalum, a very large one, much weight is given by agrostologists to the form and outline of the spikelets and I will therefore give my opinion on the type of RETZIUS first. The plant consists of an upper part of the culm with 3 very hirsute leaves and 2 distant racemes. The spikelets have hairy pedicels, the short hairs are sparingly mixed with long ones. The form of the spikelets is obovate-oblong; they are obtuse at the summit and rounded. The first glume (mostly rudimentary in the genus) is wanting the second one, which is very convex, is slightly shorter than the spikelet, minutely punctulate and provided with 5 very strong nerves, a midnerve and two marginal ones, the latter anastomosing upwards and running into the midnerve at the top, which is thickened where the nerves meet. The sterile lemma or third glume is flat and as long as the spikelet; it has 3 strong nerves, a midnerve and 2 submarginal ones, anastomosing at the summit; the true margins are membranaceous and distinctly hairy at the middle, the hairs more or less flexuous or curved. Besides these 3 nerves there are 2 more nerves at a rather broad distance from the midnerve; these two nerves are faint and distinct only at the base of the glume and evanescent upwards, being undulate and giving that part of the glume a scrobiculate, transversely wrinkled appearance. The fruit (fertile lemma) is dark brown and exposed by the shortness of the covering glume. From all these characters it is evident that RETZIUS'S plant belongs to a group of species in the genus Paspalum called by Mrs. AGNES CHASE the "plicatula". Representative species of this group are the well-known New World Paspalum plicatulum Michx. and the variable Old World species Paspalum scrobiculatum L.. The characters of the true Paspalum hirsutum are given on my plate, which is an exact copy of the type specimen, the spikelets being magnified 10 times. Returning to BUSE'S plant from Sumatra, I indicate here the different characters of the spikelets. Their form and outline is different, they are not only a little longer but more elliptic, not rounded at the summit but distinctly obtusely apiculate; the convex glume is 3-nerved only, the marginal nerves not doubled, the glume is longer than the fertile lemma, obtecting it entirely and protruding above it; the flat sterile lemma is more narrowed upwards too with 3 very distinct nerves and 2 interjecting faint ones, the surface is wrinkled as in the American Paspalum plicatulum and the body of the glume is perfectly glabrous. Comparing types and the figures given by me, we see thus that there are distinct differences between the spikelets of the two types and it is therefore evident that we have here two different species. These differences between the two species as to the morphological characters are supported by the very different geographical distribution, the plant described by BUSE being hitherto only known from the prairies of the plateau of Padang lawas in Sumatra. Since BUSE described his species and the characters of the spikelets are given here in extenso, it is not necessary to describe BUSE'S plant once more. It is named here after the collector Dr HORNER as a species, endemic on Sumatra, the Paspalum Horneri HENR. = Paspalum hirsutum BUSE, non RETZIUS. A puzzling plant was described by BUSE in the year 1856 in DE VRIESE'S Plantae Indiae Batavae Orientalis as Streptachne indica. BUSE was an accurate observer and described this plant exactly but he unfortunately overlooked an important character. Having studied his type, a plant collected on Java by REINWARDT, I found that the spikelets have an articulation below the glume and thus easily fall of in toto. In the large tribe of the Agrostideae to which BUSE'S plant belongs, this Streptachne is thus not a member of the subtribe Stipeae as BUSE supposed, this subtribe having always an articulation above the glumes which are persistent at maturity. It was thus at once evident that BUSE'S plant was not a Steptachme at all, but more allied with such genera as Polypogon and Chaeturus. It belongs to the genus Garnotia which is already known from Java. BUSE'S species is placed by me under Garnotia stricta BROGN.


Combining history, theology, and the cognitive study of religion, this article offers a new interpretation of the origins and purpose of the fourth-century Trinitarian theology known as Homoianism, suggesting that it aimed to create an "entry-level" Christianity as a first step in gradually easing polytheists into Christianity. It highlights the polemical nature of Homoianism's characterization as "Arianism," and examines the beliefs of Homoianism's proponents, including those of Ulfila, the "apostle of the Goths." This article suggests that the Homoian view of the Trinity attempted to map non-Christian intuitions of divinity onto the Christian doctrine of God. It points to Homoianism's Western origins on the Roman Empire's strategically important Danubian frontier, arguing that a Homoian creed should be seen not only in the wider context of the "Arian Controversy," but also as part of attempts to ensure the peaceful Romanization of the Goths.


This paper develops an infinite-horizon, political agency model with a continuum of political districts, in which incumbent politicians can improve their re-election probability by attracting swing voters in key states through strategic trade protection. A unique equilibrium is shown to exist where incumbents build a reputation of protectionism through their policy decisions. We show that strategic trade protection is more likely when protectionist swing voters have a lead over free-trade supporters in states with relatively strong electoral competition that represent a larger proportion of Electoral College votes. US data is used to test the hypothesis that industrial concentration in swing and decisive states is an important determinant of trade protection of that industry. The empirical findings provide support for the theory and highlight an important, and previously overlooked, determinant of trade protection in the US Electoral College.


An article in the online Rand Daily Mail (www.rdm.co.za) dated 16 July reports that Sanral has reacted with "fury" to a recent ASA ruling against an e-toll advertisement. The attitude of Sanral appears to be that it need not comply with the ASA, and that this is all part of a conspiracy against Sanral. The reality is that if Sanral maintains this attitude, it will soon find out that the ASA is not quite a toothless tiger.


Masking is a promising countermeasure against side-channel attack, and share slic- ing is its efficient software implementation that stores all the shares in a single register to exploit the parallelism of Boolean instructions. However, the security of share slicing relies on the assumption of bit-independent leakage from those instructions. Gao et al. recently discovered a violation causing a security degradation, called the bit-interaction leakage, by experimentally evaluating ARM processors. However, its causality remained open because of the blackbox inside the target processors. In this paper, we approach this problem with simulation-based side-channel leakage evaluation using a RISC-V processor. More specifically, we use Western Digital's open-source SweRV EH1 core as a target plat- form and measure its side-channel traces by running logic simulation and counting the number of signal transitions in the synthesized ALU netlist. We successfully replicate the bit-interaction leakage from a shifter using the simulated traces. By exploiting the flexi- bility of simulation-based analysis, we positively verify Gao et al.'s hypothesis on how the shifter causes the leakage. Moreover, we discover a new bit-interaction leakage from an arithmetic adder caused by carry propagation. Finally, we discuss hardware and software countermeasures against the bit-interaction leakage.


Abstract How did the evolution of the rule of law become stunted in Sicily during the 19th century? The work of economist Yoram Barzel, particularly his property-rights approach to understanding the political economy of state formation, is uniquely suited to understanding the failure of Italy's unification process to secure the rule of law in Sicily during the 19th century. This failure can be explained by a lack of a credible commitment to the rule of law in the state formation process. I argue that this lack of credible commitment manifested itself in the abolition of previously existing parliamentary institutions as an independent collective action mechanism, as well as prior constitutional agreements that existed in the Kingdom of Sicily. The resulting uncertainty over the security and legal definition of property rights over land raised the transaction costs of competing for resources through productive specialization and market exchange. In turn, it reduced the relative costs of competition for land ownership and the use of enforcement through other means, such as rent seeking or organized crime.


CONTEXT
Different relative aerobic energy contribution (WAER%) has been reported for the 2 women's Olympic kayaking disciplines (ie, 200 and 500 m).

PURPOSE
To investigate whether the adopted method of energy calculation influences the value of WAER% during kayaking time trials.

METHODS
Eleven adolescent female kayakers (age 14 ± 1 y, height 172 ± 4 cm, body mass 65.4 ± 4.2 kg, VO2peak 42.6 ± 4.9 mL·min-1·kg-1, training experience 1.5 ± 0.3 y) volunteered to participate in 1 incremental exercise test and 2 time trials (40 and 120 s) on the kayak ergometer. A portable spirometric system was used to measure gas metabolism. Capillary blood was taken from the ear lobe during and after the tests and analyzed for lactate afterward. The method of modified maximal accumulated oxygen deficit (m-MAOD) and the method based on the fast component of oxygen-uptake off-kinetics (PCr-La-O2) were used to calculate the energy contributions.

RESULTS
The anaerobic energy portions from m-MAOD were lower than those from PCr-La-O2 in the 40-s (41.9 ± 8.8 vs 52.8 ± 4.0 kJ, P > .05) and 120-s (64.1 ± 27.9 vs 68.2 ± 10.0 kJ, P > .05) time trials, which induced differences of WAER% between m-MAOD and PCr-La-O2 (36.0% vs 30.0% in 40 s, P > .05; 60.9% vs 57.5% in 120 s, P > .05).

CONCLUSIONS
The reported different WAER% in women's Olympic kayaking could be partly attributed to the adopted method of energy calculation (ie, m-MAOD vs PCr-La-O2). A fixed method of energy calculation is recommended during the longitudinal assessment on the relative energy contribution in women's Olympic kayaking.


We design and prototype protocols for processing smart-meter readings while preserving user privacy. We provide support for computing non-linear functions on encrypted readings, implemented by adapting to our setting efficient secret-sharing-based secure multi-party computation techniques. Meter readings are jointly processed by a (public) storage service and a few independent authorities, each owning an additive share of the readings. For non-linear processing, these parties consume pre-shared materials, produced by an off-line trusted third party. This party never processes private readings; it may be implemented using trusted hardware or somewhat homomorphic encryption. The protocol involves minimal, off-line support from the meters---a few keyed hash computations and no communication overhead.