BACKGROUND
The safest ranges of oxygen saturation in preterm infants have been the subject of debate.

METHODS
In two trials, conducted in Australia and the United Kingdom, infants born before 28 weeks' gestation were randomly assigned to either a lower (85 to 89%) or a higher (91 to 95%) oxygen-saturation range. During enrollment, the oximeters were revised to correct a calibration-algorithm artifact. The primary outcome was death or disability at a corrected gestational age of 2 years; this outcome was evaluated among infants whose oxygen saturation was measured with any study oximeter in the Australian trial and those whose oxygen saturation was measured with a revised oximeter in the U.K. trial.

RESULTS
After 1135 infants in Australia and 973 infants in the United Kingdom had been enrolled in the trial, an interim analysis showed increased mortality at a corrected gestational age of 36 weeks, and enrollment was stopped. Death or disability in the Australian trial (with all oximeters included) occurred in 247 of 549 infants (45.0%) in the lower-target group versus 217 of 545 infants (39.8%) in the higher-target group (adjusted relative risk, 1.12; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.98 to 1.27; P=0.10); death or disability in the U.K. trial (with only revised oximeters included) occurred in 185 of 366 infants (50.5%) in the lower-target group versus 164 of 357 infants (45.9%) in the higher-target group (adjusted relative risk, 1.10; 95% CI, 0.97 to 1.24; P=0.15). In post hoc combined, unadjusted analyses that included all oximeters, death or disability occurred in 492 of 1022 infants (48.1%) in the lower-target group versus 437 of 1013 infants (43.1%) in the higher-target group (relative risk, 1.11; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.23; P=0.02), and death occurred in 222 of 1045 infants (21.2%) in the lower-target group versus 185 of 1045 infants (17.7%) in the higher-target group (relative risk, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.43; P=0.04). In the group in which revised oximeters were used, death or disability occurred in 287 of 580 infants (49.5%) in the lower-target group versus 248 of 563 infants (44.0%) in the higher-target group (relative risk, 1.12; 95% CI, 0.99 to 1.27; P=0.07), and death occurred in 144 of 587 infants (24.5%) versus 99 of 586 infants (16.9%) (relative risk, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.16 to 1.82; P=0.001).

CONCLUSIONS
Use of an oxygen-saturation target range of 85 to 89% versus 91 to 95% resulted in nonsignificantly higher rates of death or disability at 2 years in each trial but in significantly increased risks of this combined outcome and of death alone in post hoc combined analyses. (Funded by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council and others; BOOST-II Current Controlled Trials number, ISRCTN00842661, and Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry number, ACTRN12605000055606.).


The functional relationship between thermotolerance and heat shock protein (HSP) expression is well described. However, the intraspecific variation in HSP70 expression and heat resis- tance is not fully understood. Some studies have shown a correlation between thermotolerance and HSP70 expression levels at the intraspecific level, whereas others have not, and results depend on species, developmental stage and environment. The present study extends such correlative studies to species from soil ecosystems, where we have characterized the variation in thermotolerance and HSP70 expression in 18 inbred isofemale lines of the springtail Orchesella cincta. The results show ample genetic variation among lines in heat shock resistance as well as in HSP70 protein levels and hsp70 mRNA expression. However, we did not detect any significant positive correlations between HSP70 expression and thermotolerance. These results indicate that the variation in HSP70 expression and heat resistance at the intraspecific level is dependent on species and/or ecosystem and further studies are needed to clarify this relationship.


Impacted teeth are commonly encountered in dental practice, yet currently there is not a comprehensive book detailing the surgical treatments and orthodontic therapy to erupt or manage these teeth. Written by arguably the best orthodontist in the world and his periodontist colleague of almost 40 years, this text covers the various types of impactions an orthodontist and surgeon will encounter, including maxillary central incisors, maxillary canines (both labially and palatally impacted), mandibular canines, premolars, and mandibular molars. Each chapter focuses on a speci c impacted tooth and how it can be surgically uncovered and orthodontically moved. The book also presents a chapter on failed cases, explaining what went wrong and how to prevent such negative outcomes when treating similar cases. Ideal for any dental practitioner who treats impacted teeth, this comprehensive and up-to-date book is a tting legacy for Dr Kokich, whose impact within the eld of orthodontics will be felt for years to come.


Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) represent a new class of materials possessing high selectivity
and affinity for the target molecule. They have been utilized as sensors, catalysts, sorbents
for solid-phase extraction, stationary phase for liquid chromatography, mimics of enzymes, receptors,
and antibodies. In this research, molecular imprinted polymers (MIPs) for luteolin were prepared
using acrylamide, 4-vinylpyridine and 1-allyl-piperazine as functional monomers and ethylene
glycol dimethacrylate as cross-linker by non-covalent imprinting method. UV-visible spectra
were used to evaluate the interaction strength between the template and the monomers. The composites
of the polymers were calculated from elementary analysis. The porous properties of the
imprinted polymers have been determined from nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms. The
imprinting efficiency of the prepared MIPs was evaluated by selective adsorption for luteolin and
its structural analogues. Although the interaction strength of monomers to the template was in the
order 1-ALPP > 4-VP > AA, the binding affinity of the imprinted polymers towards luteolin was in
the order MIP 2 > MIP 3 > MIP 1. Our results demonstrated that the imprinting efficiency was depending
not only on the interaction strength between the template and the monomer, but also on
the fidelity in transferring the complex into the polymer.


In 2010, the United Nations Development Programme Human Development Report and OPHI released an international Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) that reflects multiple deprivations in education, health and living standard that people face at the same time. How robust is this index to the different choices made in its design? This brief presents the results of tests that show that the MPI rankings are robust to a range of plausible changes in weights.


Rising energy costs and international pressure has motivated governments and homeowners to reduce the energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of new and existing dwellings. A popular technical approach to this problem is the adoption of net-zero energy targets, which can achieve substantial energy and GHG emissions reductions. Often focused on new builds, there is growing interest in retrofitting existing buildings to net-zero. Addressing existing stock is essential since they will continue to be a significant portion of the building stock for several decades.
Net-zero is not limited to single buildings, and potential benefits of community-scale retrofit projects include greater economic viability and economies of scale. However, challenges faced by such projects include few demonstrations in practice, and the need of detailed analytical models to analyze techno-economic feasibility. Another challenge is the lack of consensus on formal net-zero definitions.
This research was conducted to explore the feasibility and performance of retrofitting Canadian residential communities to net-zero, and the impact of net-zero definition on design. To meet this objective, a new modelling approach was developed which builds upon the detailed and validated Canadian Hybrid Residential End-Use Energy and GHG Emissions Model (CHREM). A new Canadian residential appliance and lighting bottom-up model was developed and integrated into CHREM which realistically captures the behaviour, variability and aggregate electrical demands of communities. Building envelope retrofit models, ground-source heat pump (GSHP) space heating, and heat pump hot water models were incorporated into CHREM. A new methodology was developed to estimate the impact of envelope retrofits on airtightness.
Retrofit community-scale energy systems considered included solar thermal and photovoltaic (PV) systems, district heating and thermal energy storage, and microturbine cogeneration. Detailed models of these systems were developed in the TRNSYS energy simulation tool. An optimization algorithm was used to determine the cost-optimal net-zero solutions for representative residential communities. Commonly used site and source net-zero energy definitions were considered. The results indicate that deep envelope upgrades and PV and GSHP system retrofits have potential to achieve net-zero and significant GHG reductions. The results also indicate that site net-zero likely realizes more GHG reductions compare to source net-zero.


This study examines how people value their historic urban landscapes through participatory heritage websites. These websites are online places where citizens actively contribute to the conservation of urban heritage. Taking UNESCO's 2011 Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape as its theoretical starting point, this study understands urban landscapes as (1) dynamic, because they change over time; (2) multilayered, as different generations and communities contribute in diverse ways to the development of urban landscapes; and (3) mediated through digital technologies such as participatory heritage websites. Furthermore, this UNESCO recommendation is used to make a distinction between the kinds of heritage discussed on the websites (attributes) and the significance attached to it (values). Through a qualitative content analysis of 20 participatory heritage websites from various Dutch and English cities, the study examines what is valued by those who contribute in their urban environments. In so doing, the study demonstrates how online media can support a people-oriented form of urban heritage conservation. This analysis reveals that the following five categories of heritage attribute are remembered by citizens: (1) the built environment and public space, (2) the social fabric and identity, (3) culture and leisure, (4) business and industry, and (5) politics and public order. Moreover, it is found that these attributes are valued because of their social relevance (social value), their connection to the biographies of citizens (experiential value), and their contribution to our understanding of the urban past (historical value).


We have previously shown that the DNA damage-induced G2 arrest is contributed by inhibition of Aurora A (AurA) and that transduction of active AurA into arrested cells allows bypassing the block through reactivation of CDK1. In this study, we investigated the mechanism of DNA damage-induced AurA inhibition. We provide evidence that ionizing radiation (IR) administered in mitosis, a time when AurA protein and enzymatic activity reach peak levels, impairs interaction with the partner TPX2, leading to inactivation of the kinase through dephosphorylation of AurA T-loop residue, T288. We find that decreased AurA-TPX2 complex formation in response to irradiation results from reduced cellular levels of TPX2, an effect that is both contributed by increased APC/CDH1-dependent protein degradation and decreased translation of TPX2 mRNA.


Business process models capture crucial information about business operations. To overcome the challenge of maintaining process definitions in large process repositories, researchers have suggested methods to discover errors in the functional and the behavioral perspectives of process models. However, there is a gap in the literature on the detection of problems on the organizational perspective of process models, which is critical to manage the resources and the responsibilities within organizations. In this paper, we introduce an approach to automatically detect inconsistencies between activities and roles in process models. Our approach implements natural language processing techniques and enterprise semantics to identify ambiguous, redundant, and missing roles in textual descriptions. We applied our approach on the process model repository of a major telecommunication company. A quantitative evaluation of our approach with 282 real-life activities displayed that this approach can accurately discover role inconsistencies. Practitioners can achieve significant quality improvements in their process model repositories by applying the approach on process models complemented with textual descriptions.


ABSTRACT This article explores how working fathers are conceptualised within the UK's work-family law and policy framework and whether a dominant ideology of fatherhood can be discerned. The socio-legal literature on men and masculinities is considered alongside established feminist theory on families, paid work and unpaid care to provide a backdrop to the analysis of current policy provision in this area. Three 'ideal' type ideologies of fatherhood are identified ('absent', 'involved' and 'active') which are used to critically examine the current legal framework. Despite claims to the contrary, the current framework supports and reaffirms the gendering of care so that the intransigence on the part of men and women to rebalance related responsibilities is unsurprising. The authors argue for a more care-centric approach to work-family policy in place of gender-specific normative modelling. A legal framework which enabled and encouraged all care providers to participate regardless of gender and biological relationship would not only improve the workplace experiences of women, but also enable men to develop and fulfil their care-giving aspirations and potential.


ABSTRACT CD4+ T cells are thought to be critical in the maintenance of virus-specific CD8+ cytotoxic T-cell (CTL) responses. In human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection, a selective decline in HIV-1-specific CTL as the CD4+ T-cell count decreases has been reported. Using HLA-peptide tetrameric complexes, we show the presence at high frequency of HIV-1- and cytomegalovirus-specific CD8+ T cells when the peripheral CD4+ T-cell count was low or zero in three HIV-1-infected patients. No direct virus-specific CD8+-mediated effector activity was seen in these subjects, suggesting antigen unresponsiveness, although tetramer-sorted cells could be expanded in vitro in the presence of interleukin-2 into responsive effector cells. Thus, virus-specific CD8+ T cells can be maintained in the peripheral circulation at high frequency in the absence of circulating peripheral CD4+ T cells, but these cells may lack direct effector activity. Strategies designed to overcome this antigen unresponsiveness may be of value in therapies for the treatment of AIDS.


A new description of two-dimensional continuous free-surface flows in Lagrangian coordinates is proposed. It is shown that the position of a fluid particle in such flows can be represented as a fixed point of a transformation in $\mathbb{R}^2$. Components of the transformation function satisfy the linear Euler-type continuity equation and can be expressed via a single function analogous to an Eulerian stream function. Fixed-point iterations lead to a simple recursive representation of a solution satisfying the Lagrangian continuity equation. Expanding the unknown function in a small-perturbation asymptotic expansion we obtain the complete asymptotic formulation of the problem in a fixed domain of Lagrangian labels. The method is then applied to the classical problem of a regular wave travelling in deep water, and the fifth-order Lagrangian asymptotic solution is constructed, which provides a much better approximation of steep waves than the corresponding Eulerian Stokes expansion. In contrast with early attempts at Lagrangian regular-wave expansions, the asymptotic solution presented is uniformly valid at large times.


PREFACE Read this bit. It will save you time, because it explains the kind of book this is and, perhaps more importantly, the kind of book that it isn't, which will make it easier for you to decide whether you will benefit from reading it or whether you would get more out of doing something else instead. Right at the beginning, we want to make clear that this is not the book for you if you want to cover the world of statistics in a rigorous and exhaustive manner. The guiding principle of this book is the need to know. If you are unlikely to need a particular statistical method in order to analyse the data that you have collected for your project or dissertation, then you won't find any mention of it here. There are enough books on statistics out there, which range from relatively simple introductions to advanced mathematical expositions. This one has a different purpose. It concentrates on what you need for success in your assignment, project or dissertation, and ignores the minor roads and byways that the person very interested in statistics would be pleased to travel. As the textbooks (which, strictly speaking, this isn't) put it, by the end of this book, you will be able to choose and use an appropriate and effective statistical technique that will allow you to analyse your data and write about your results and findings convincingly. In a sense, this is the book that we wish we could have used during our own studies. We both spent far too long in a fog of not understanding which statistics to use, when we should be using them and why we should be using them. As a consequence, the book concentrates on particular statistical tests and their three Ws – what, why, and when – and mainly ignores the details of how to calculate them, leaving this area for the books that not only explain the mathematics behind the techniques, but also how to use statistical software to analyse your data. This is not the book for you if you want what any normal, self-respecting textbook currently supplies: self-check and review questions and tests, case studies, practice exercises, worked examples, activities, boxes for pauses for thought or reflection, lists of learning outcomes or a companion website. Nor will it satisfy you, if you want to know all about the theory behind the statistical calculations of the methods you use. Instead, the book is intended for you if you are undertaking a social science or business and management assignment, project or dissertation as part of an undergraduate or masters qualification. It is designed to help you choose the graphs and statistics that are suitable for your data, and having got some results from your computer, to understand what they actually tell you. The chapters that follow set out to explain the three Ws that you need so that you can produce a successful assignment, project or a dissertation. However, from now on we will just refer to any of these as a 'project' as it is less clumsy. Chapter 1 deals with why you can't avoid using statistics in analysing your data, whether this is qualitative or quantitative, and what using statistics can do for your research. Chapter 2 explains the language of statistics so that you understand what the various terms used for statistical techniques and results mean. Chapter 3 clarifies why, if you are using primary data, you need to link the creation of your questionnaire or interview to your analysis plans, and when to do this. Chapter 4 deals with using tables and charts to present your data so that you, and your reader (or examiner) find them easy to understand. Chapter 5 explains the statistics used to describe data and Chapter 6 deals with the statistics used to infer differences and relationships. Finally, Chapter 7 briefly considers what next. The book provides three Appendices; the first provides the types of questions and statements you are likely to use in your project, and the data types associated with them, the second appendix discusses main statistical software that you could use to do your stats calculations for you, and the third provides a table of the alphabet of statistics used in this book. At the end of the book, we give you a glossary of the statistical terms that have been used throughout the book, so that you have them all in one place. Many statistics books divide statistical tests between parametric or non-parametric tests, or they deal with the available tests in terms of their increasing rigour. The main divisions of this book are based on how you will be using statistics: displaying data, describing data and inferring differences or relationships. Explanations of terms such as parametric, non-parametric and rigour are fitted into these divisions, the term which is being explained being emboldened. In writing the book, it was not our intention to give you the information you need to understand the whole field of statistics. Instead, we provide you with the fundamental ideas and the most commonly used techniques that you will need to organise, and then make sense of, your data. Whilst there are no mathematical proofs of the techniques discussed, there is a discussion of the rationale for the chosen statistics. There are very many methods that can be used to analyse your data, many of them with strange names: Chi square, Kolmogorov-Smirnov, paired t-test. You are quite right to feel daunted and confused about which are appropriate for your needs. Which is where this book comes in. 1. It will deal with statistics for your project on a need-to-know basis. If a statistic is interesting, but too sophisticated for your purposes, it might sometimes be mentioned, but is otherwise ignored. 2. What you will therefore have is an explanation and presentation of those statistical activities that are sufficient for you to deal with your data, and to come up with the answers to your questions (and to get your qualification). A FINAL COMMENT We wrote this book because we want to end the fear and anxiety about statistics that we and our students endured, and that many students still endure, and to show you that you can succeed in statistical analysis of your data. There is no doubt that learning statistics takes an investment of time and effort, but this book provides you with the means both to save some of that time and effort, and also to enjoy your analysis without fear of failure. If, after reading this book, you can understand the statistical analysis sections of the journal articles you read, and if you have found out how to make statistics work for you, the book will have accomplished what we set out to provide for you. If you have suggestions on how to improve the book to even better meet your needs, please let us know. Reva Berman Brown Mark NK Saunders


In this paper, we present an improved attack algorithm to find two-block colli- sions of the hash function MD5. The attack uses the same dierential path of MD5 and the set of sucient conditions that was presented by Wang et al. We present a new technique which allows us to deterministically fulfill restrictions to properly rotate the dierentials in the first round. We will present a new algorithm to find the first block and we will use an al- gorithm of Klima to find the second block. To optimize the inner loop of these algorithms we will optimize the set of sucient conditions. We also show that the initial value used for the attack has a large influence on the attack complexity. Therefore a recommendation is made for 2 conditions on the initial value of the attack to avoid very hard situations if one has some freedom in choosing this initial value. Our attack can be done in an average of about 1 minute (avg. complexity 2 32.3 ) on a 3Ghz Pentium4 for these random recommended initial values. For arbitrary random initial values the average is about 5 minutes (avg. complexity 2 34.1 ). With a reasonable probability a collision is found within mere seconds, allowing for


In practice, compliance-driven cultural resource "management" and its requirements for resource location, evaluation, impact assessment, and mitigation manifests a fundamentally different use of geospatial predictive modeling than do research-oriented investigations. This difference primarily results from the lack of an iterative research design. In research-oriented modeling, iterations of model building and model testing gradually build a more robust model and lead to an increased understanding of the variables that condition human spatial behavior in the past. In a compliance environment, spatial models are rarely built and evaluated; rather, once built, they are applied in a single iteration. An assumption is made that the model being used will accurately predict behavior in space. Yet, in digitalcommons.unl.edu 76 Dore & Wandsnider in GIS and Archaeological Site Location Modeling ( 2 0 0 6 ) most settings, our knowledge of the factors that condition the spatial organization of activities—and under what conditions these factors are relevant—is just beginning to develop. Coupled with the methodological issues of sample size, changing environmental conditions, functional differences in resource types, the fact that most archaeological deposits represent depositional (as opposed to functional) sets that have accumulated over hundreds of years, spatial variability caused by nonenvironmental factors, etc., compliance modeling certainly does not represent best practice, even though it is legal under federal cultural resource law. Rather than modeling the past, a more productive approach to modeling for cultural resource managers is to model the present. Instead of reacting to development and infrastructure projects that have taken the place of our stewardship responsibility, geospatial technologies can be used to design a proactive approach to resource management. With such an approach, present conditions, both natural and cultural, are modeled to predict site and feature visibility and to identify potential threats to surface sites and features. At a regional scale, the use of vegetation, slope, and sediment data can be used to develop erosion models for current and future conditions. Cultural resources can be compared with these models to categorize and prioritize the resources most at risk. At the scale of individual resources, aerial photography and new higher resolution satellite imagery can be used to establish the baseline condition of resources and, with follow-up visits, to establish and compare rates of change from erosion, all-terrain vehicles, and vandalism. At the intrasite scale, new processing techniques can be used with geophysical data to predict the nature of actual cultural features rather than identify data anomalies that then require excavation. These techniques will ultimately lead to absolute, rather than relative, signatures for properties of the archaeological record and provide a truly nondestructive archaeology. We illustrate this geospatial management framework with archaeological examples from western, southwestern, and midwestern North America.


Iodine is a fission product of major importance in a severe reactor accident because volatile species exist under reactor containment conditions. Radiolytic oxidation of iodide ions is an important source of volatile iodine species. The SISYPHE tests provide an experimental database of prime importance for the study of the mass transfer between the sump and the atmosphere of a containment building under natural convection and in an evaporating flow regime. This phenomenon greatly impacts the airborne iodine concentrations. The two main effects of evaporating conditions are to increase the kinetics of transfer from the liquid to the gaseous phase and to change the steady-state iodine concentrations. The well-known two-film model has been modified to extend to these types of conditions. The agreement between the experimental results and modeling is satisfactory. However, when applied to typical reactor conditions, the impact of this improved modeling on gaseous iodine concentration is not as strong as other phenomena; for example, uncertainties remain concerning organic iodide production mechanisms. Correlations enabling the calculation of individual mass transfer coefficients for the liquid and the gas phases are proposed. The values resulting from these correlations agree well with those obtained from the test interpretations.


Private forest owners control most of the southern forest resource and are critical to maintaining forest health in the South. Record droughts, rising temperatures, increased frequency and intensity of wildfires, insect and plant invasions, and more intense storm events all pose threats to the health of Southern forests. Scientists project that increases in temperature and changes in rainfall patterns will cause these disturbances to become more common, occurring with greater intensity or duration. This pamphlet reviews healthy forest strategies and approaches to decrease the risks associated with these disturbances on your forestland.


Stochastic incorporation kinetics can be a limiting factor in the scalability of semiconductor fabrication technologies using atomic-precision techniques. While these technologies have recently been extended from donors to acceptors, the extent to which kinetics will impact single-acceptor incorporation has yet to be assessed. To identify the precursor molecule and dosing conditions that are promising for deterministic incorporation, we develop and apply an atomistic model for the single-acceptor incorporation rates of several recently demonstrated molecules: diborane (B2H6), boron trichloride (BCl3), and aluminum trichloride in both monomer (AlCl3) and dimer forms (Al2Cl6). While all three precursors can realize single-acceptor incorporation, we predict that diborane is unlikely to realize deterministic incorporation, boron trichloride can realize deterministic incorporation with modest heating (50 °C), and aluminum trichloride can realize deterministic incorporation at room temperature. We conclude that both boron and aluminum trichloride are promising precursors for atomic-precision single-acceptor applications, with the potential to enable the reliable production of large arrays of single-atom quantum devices.


Abstract. Radiative forcing (RF) of black carbon (BC) in the atmosphere is estimated using radiative transfer codes of various complexities. Here we show that the two-stream radiative transfer codes used most in climate models give too strong forward scattering, leading to enhanced absorption at the surface and too weak absorption by BC in the atmosphere. Such calculations are found to underestimate the positive RF of BC by 10% for global mean, all sky conditions, relative to the more sophisticated multi-stream models. The underestimation occurs primarily for low surface albedo, even though BC is more efficient for absorption of solar radiation over high surface albedo.


Extracted from text ... 2 November 2005 Moneyweb's PERSONAL FINANCE
YOUR DETAILS
IF YOU change your address or other
contact details (phone or fax numbers
or e-mail address), please let us
know immediately to ensure that you
continue to receive your issues
promptly.
Telephone us on (011) 327-1277,
fax us on (011) 327-1279 or e-mail
us at firstname.lastname@example.com ??
prices generally were rising so fast
that buyers were able to quickly
build up equity in their homes and
lower the loan-to-value ratio.
"Now, however, the rate of
price growth has slowed, and it may
be time for buyers to have a serious
rethink ..


Abstract. The Refectory of Chiaravalle abbey, still in use today, is a masonry building (with bricks that are not common in size), vaulted and characterized by complex stratifications that required careful cognitive analysis of the documentary sources, structural and physical analysis to be understood. To this aim, an accurate 3D laser scanner and photogrammetric survey was carried out during last years in order to obtain geometric information on the building and its complex elements, in scale 1 : 50. Those data were also fundamental to support the mapping of the different construction phases, the transformations and the dated additions, to be compared to the archive, iconographic and photographic documents. A canal derived from the Vettabbia, which served to move the blades of the mill (now reactivated), flows right under the Refectory causing the usual phenomena of degradation. Saint Bernard had chosen this place because it was rich both in water, and therefore highly productive, and in clayey soil, which allowed the construction of the buildings of the abbey. However, today the strongly compromised irrigation and water regulation system (especially after the construction, in 2003, of the large purifier in Milano Nosedo) represents the main factor of degradation for all the buildings of the monastic complex, in particular for the Refectory.The purpose of this paper is to present the main results of the studies and surveys conducted on the Chiaravalle abbey in the last ten years, focusing in particular on the Refectory.


A documented and illustrated checklist of the Anomura is presented for the Mayotte region, Western Indian Ocean. The study area is situated between longitudes 43-48° E and latitudes 11-13°10' S. It includes Comoros, Mayotte, and Glorioso Islands plus three marine banks (Zelee, Geyser, Leven). Records included are from fieldwork in Mayotte during November 2009, and complemented by a review of the literature. In total 75 species are listed including 43 new records for the Mayotte region. The inventory includes 51 Paguroidea, 22 Galatheoidea, 1 Chirostyloidea ( Eumunida sp.) and 1 Hippoidea ( Hippa adactyla ). The Diogenidae are best represented with 29 species of Aniculus , Areopaguristes , Calcinus , Ciliopagurus , Clibanarius , Dardanus , Diogenes , Paguristes and Pseudopaguristes . Other families represented are the Porcellanidae, with 13 species of the Aliaporcellana , Neopetrolisthes , Pachycheles , Petrolisthes , Pisidia , Polyonyx ; the Paguridae, with 11 species of Anapagrides , Catapagurus , Cestopagurus , Pagurixus , Pagurus , Pylopaguropsis , Trichopagurus ; and the Galatheidae, with 7 species of Galathea and Macrothea . Only a few species are listed for the families Coenobitidae, with 5 species of Birgus and Coenobita ; Parapaguridae, with 3 species of Paragiopagurus , Strobopagurus , Sympagurus ; Pylochelidae, with 3 species of Cheiroplatea , Pomatocheles , Trizocheles ; Munididae, with 2 species of Munida and Sadayoshia ; and Chirostylidae, with 1 species of Eumunida . Biotopes investigated include the intertidal area (on foot at low tide) and shallow-waters of the lagoon (scuba diving between 0-62 m). Based on previous marine campaigns in Mayotte region, 11 species are also reported in the 200-700 m depth range. The anomuran fauna of Mayotte region is predominantly Indo-West Pacific in its composition (85 % of the species). Twelve species are distributed in Western Indian Ocean only. A comparison with the anomuran fauna of adjacent regions shows that at least 129 anomuran species are potentially present in Mayotte region. Groups that need better sampling include Hippoidea, Diogenidae, and Porcellanidae.


Acceleration of catalytic transformation of molecules via heterogeneous
materials occurs through design of active binding sites to optimally balance
the requirements of all steps in a catalytic cycle. In accordance with the
Sabatier principle, the characteristics of a single binding site are balanced
between at least two transient phenomena, leading to maximum possible catalytic
activity at a single, static condition (i.e., a 'volcano curve' peak). In this
work, a dynamic heterogeneous catalyst oscillating between two electronic states
was evaluated to demonstrate catalytic activity as much as three-to-four orders
of magnitude (1,000-10,000x) above the Sabatier maximum. Surface substrate
binding energies were varied by a given amplitude (0.1 < ΔU < 3.0 eV)
over a broad range of frequencies (10-4 < f < 1011 s-1) in square, sinusoidal,
sawtooth, and triangular waveforms to characterize surface dynamics impact on
average catalytic turnover frequency. Catalytic systems were shown to exhibit
order-of-magnitude dynamic rate enhancement at 'surface resonance' defined as
the band of frequencies (e.g., 103-107 s-1)
where the applied surface waveform kinetics were comparable to kinetics of
individual microkinetic chemical reaction steps. Key dynamic performance
parameters are discussed regarding industrial catalytic chemistries and
implementation in physical dynamic systems operating above kilohertz
frequencies.


Comprehensive investigation on herbarium material was realized and taxonomical structure of the genus Aconitum in Slovakia has been ascertained on the base of phenetic analysis. Three new taxa (i.e. A. degenii subsp. degenii, A. moldavicum subsp. hosteanum, and A. moldavicum nothosubsp. confusum stat. nov.) were rediscovered for this region, and for one of them the new status was proposed. Morphological variation of A. anthora and its subdivision onto infraspecific taxa (subsp. anthora and subsp. jacquinii) are discussed. The new key for identification and maps of distribution are represented.


Context. Reports suggest that defects in code cost the US in excess of $50billion per year to put right. Defect Prediction is an important part of Software Engineering. It allows developers to prioritise the code that needs to be inspected when trying to reduce the number of defects in code. A small change in the number of defects found will have a significant impact on the cost of producing software. Aims. The aim of this dissertation is to investigate the factors which affect the performance of defect prediction models. Identifying the causes of variation in the way that variables are computed should help to improve the precision of defect prediction models and hence improve the cost effectiveness of defect prediction. Methods. This dissertation is by published work. The first three papers examine variation in the independent variables (code metrics) and the dependent variable (number/location of defects). The fourth and fifth papers investigate the effect that different learners and datasets have on the predictive performance of defect prediction models. The final paper investigates the reported use of different machine learning approaches in studies published between 2000 and 2010. Results. The first and second papers show that independent variables are sensitive to the measurement protocol used, this suggests that the way data is collected affects the performance of defect prediction. The third paper shows that dependent variable data may be untrustworthy as there is no reliable method for labelling a unit of code as defective or not. The fourth and fifth papers show that the dataset and learner used when producing defect prediction models have an effect on the performance of the models. The final paper shows that the approaches used by researchers to build defect prediction models is variable, with good practices being ignored in many papers. Conclusions. The measurement protocols for independent and dependent variables used for defect prediction need to be clearly described so that results can be compared like with like. It is possible that the predictive results of one research group have a higher performance value than another research group because of the way that they calculated the metrics rather than the method of building the model used to predict the defect prone modules. The machine learning approaches used by researchers need to be clearly reported in order to be able to improve the quality of defect prediction studies and allow a larger corpus of reliable results to be gathered.


The development of antagonists of the transient receptor potential vanilloid-1 (TRPV1) channel as pain therapeutics has revealed that these compounds cause hyperthermia in humans. This undesirable on-target side effect has triggered a surge of interest in the role of TRPV1 in thermoregulation and revived the hypothesis that TRPV1 channels serve as thermosensors. We review literature data on the distribution of TRPV1 channels in the body and on thermoregulatory responses to TRPV1 agonists and antagonists. We propose that two principal populations of TRPV1-expressing cells have connections with efferent thermoeffector pathways: 1) first-order sensory (polymodal), glutamatergic dorsal-root (and possibly nodose) ganglia neurons that innervate the abdominal viscera and 2) higher-order sensory, glutamatergic neurons presumably located in the median preoptic hypothalamic nucleus. We further hypothesize that all thermoregulatory responses to TRPV1 agonists and antagonists and thermoregulatory manifestations of TRPV1 desensitization stem from primary actions on these two neuronal populations. Agonists act primarily centrally on population 2; antagonists act primarily peripherally on population 1. We analyze what roles TRPV1 might play in thermoregulation and conclude that this channel does not serve as a thermosensor, at least not under physiological conditions. In the hypothalamus, TRPV1 channels are inactive at common brain temperatures. In the abdomen, TRPV1 channels are tonically activated, but not by temperature. However, tonic activation of visceral TRPV1 by nonthermal factors suppresses autonomic cold-defense effectors and, consequently, body temperature. Blockade of this activation by TRPV1 antagonists disinhibits thermoeffectors and causes hyperthermia. Strategies for creating hyperthermia-free TRPV1 antagonists are outlined. The potential physiological and pathological significance of TRPV1-mediated thermoregulatory effects is discussed.


Industrialised timber frame housing is successful in the Swedish market for one‐family housing. In the manufacturing industry, methods and software systems such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) are widespread, demonstrating significant benefits. A survey of the majority of industrialised timber frame housing companies in Sweden demonstrates low ERP use with a low degree of strategic importance, but with operational and managerial benefits. The ERP approach has potential for industrialised housing and its use is favoured by an increased maturity in IT.


Although soy phytoestrogens have been postulated to exert a protective effect against breast cancer, the attendant mechanisms, in particular epigenetics underpinnings, have remained elusive. We investigated the putative effects on DNA methylation by two naturally occurring isoflavones, genistein and daidzein, in a study of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 oncosuppressor genes in breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7, MDA-MB 231, and MCF10a). A demethylant agent, the 5-azacytidine, and a methylant, the budesonide, were used as treatment controls. DNA methylation of BRCA1 and BRCA2 was investigated with methylated DNA immunoprecipitation coupled with PCR. In parallel, protein expression was determined by Western blot, immunohistochemistry, and confocal microscopy. Our results suggest that treatment with 18.5 μM Genistein or 78.5 μM Daidzein might reverse DNA hypermethylation and restore the expression of the oncosuppressor genes BRCA1 and BRCA2. 5-Azacitydine also enhanced the reexpression of these genes while budesonide had an opposite effect. To the best of our knowledge, these observations, while requiring replication, provide new evidence on potential epigenetic mechanisms by which genistein and daidzein might contribute to regulation of the BRCA1 and BRCA2. Future studies are warranted on whether the demethylating effect of genistein and daidzein is global or focused on select candidate genes.


Systematic excavation at Gomolava conducted almost interruptedly between 1953 and 1985 provided an almost full insight into the human occupation of the southern Pannonian Plain from the Early Neolithic to the successive arrival of Celts and Romans. This fact makes it possible for many of the excavated short-lived or horizontally-stratified settlements to be defined in relation to Gomolava's stratigraphic sequence. As a result, the paper attempts to establish a relative chronology for Bronze and Iron Age sites in the area between the Sava and Danube rivers. By way of illustration, it offers four maps suggesting synchronous developments. Thus Map 1 shows chronological parallelism between the Early Bronze Age layers and late Vucedol and Vinkovci sites (such as Pecine near Vrdnik, or Belegis, Vojka and Batajnica) belonging to the final Eneolithic and Early Bronze, while Map 2 shows synchronisms between Gomolava IVb-c and the Vinkovci layers at the sites of Gradina on the Bosut, Gradac at Belegis, Petrovaradin Fortress, and Asfaltna Baza on the outskirts of Zemun. The end of the Bronze Age represented by Gomolava IVb1 to IVc is shown to be synchronous with the settlements, necropolises and hoard horizons of an Ha A1 and A2 date. Finally, Early Iron Age sites are easy to fit in with the Srem sites owing to systematic excavations at Gradina on the Bosut near Sid, Kalakaca near Beska and numerous hoards of bronze artefacts marking a clear boundary between the Bronze and Early Iron Ages. At Gomolava this transition is reflected in horizons Va to Vd: the earliest is represented by black channeled pottery of the Gava type, while the other three are connected with the evolution of the Bosut-Basarabi complex.


Seasonal thermocline development in the shelf seas of NW Europe results in the formation of pronounced frontal regions which separate stratified from well-mixed water. Numerical M2 palaeotidal modelling of the NW European continental shelf during successive stages of the Holocene transgression indicates that seasonal stratification started to develop in the central Celtic Sea once a critical threshold water depth had been exceeded at around 9000 years BP. This hypothesis has been tested through faunal, isotopic and geochemical analysis of an AMS 14C-dated British Geological Survey vibrocore from the Celtic Deep bathymetric basin; a record which spans the last 12 000 years. Marked positive trends in the stable oxygen isotopic data from the benthic foraminifera Ammonia batavus and Quinqueloculina seminulum between 9000 and about 5000 years BP represent a 4–5°C cooling in summer bottom water temperature caused by the progressive replacement of tidally well-mixed by stratified water. Stable carbon isotopic data from the same species, measured through the same core intervals, show a negative trend consistent with net oxygen utilization and decomposition of organic matter beneath the productive frontal zone. These geological data indicate the progressive evolution of seasonally stratified water in the Celtic Sea during the earlier part of the Holocene. Modern shelf sea frontal and thermocline development are known to influence biological productivity, sedimentation rates, the organic content of shelf sediments and the climate of surrounding landmasses. Hence these palaeodata have significance in defining the role of shelf sea environments in the climate system.


In patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-associated pulmonary Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) (group 1), we analyzed whether the addition of transbronchial biopsy (TBB) and bronchial brushings augmented the diagnostic MTB yield over nonbiopsy sampling. Positive acid-fast bacilli (AFB) smears from combined sputum, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), and washings were 30 percent compared with 37 percent when brushings and TBB were added (p = NS). The addition of TBB increased culture yield from 96 percent to 100 percent (p = NS). Similar results were seen in patients with pulmonary MTB without human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) risk factors (group 2). Group 1 patients most commonly had a nonspecific inflammation on TBB histopathology and had a lower incidence of granuloma formation than group 2 (p less than 0.05). Our results suggest that more invasive sampling with bronchial brushings and TBB does not contribute to the microscopic, bacteriologic, or histopathologic diagnosis of pulmonary MTB, independent of AIDS risk factors.


The literature regarding the influence of the hole shape on the performance, especially on the losses, of negative-index metamaterials on the basis of the so-called double-fishnet structure is unclear. We investigate this aspect in a systematic theoretical study showing that the figure of merit can differ by as much as a factor of 2.5 between rectangular and circular holes, respectively.


Computer simulation tools used to predict the energy production of photovoltaic systems are needed in order to make informed economic decisions. These tools require input parameters that characterize module performance under various operational and environmental conditions. Depending upon the complexity of the simulation model, the required input parameters can vary from the limited information found on labels affixed to photovoltaic modules to an extensive set of parameters. The required input parameters are normally obtained indoors using a solar simulator or flash tester, or measured outdoors under natural sunlight. This paper compares measured performance parameters for three photovoltaic modules tested outdoors at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL). Two of the three modules were custom fabricated using monocrystalline and silicon film cells. The third, a commercially available module, utilized triple-junction amorphous silicon cells. The resulting data allow a comparison to be made between performance parameters measured at two laboratories with differing geographical locations and apparatus. This paper describes the apparatus used to collect the experimental data, test procedures utilized, and resulting performance parameters for each of the three modules. Using a computer simulation model, the impact that differences in measured parameters have on predicted more » energy production is quantified. Data presented for each module includes power output at standard rating conditions and the influence of incident angle, air mass, and module temperature on each module's electrical performance. Measurements from the two laboratories are in excellent agreement. The power at standard rating conditions is within 1% for all three modules. Although the magnitude of the individual temperature coefficients varied as much as 17% between the two laboratories, the impact on predicted performance at various temperature levels was minimal, less than 2%. The influence of air mass on the performance of the three modules measured at the laboratories was in excellent agreement. The largest difference in measured results between the two laboratories was noted in the response of the modules to incident angles that exceed 75 deg. « less


Abstract For many years, dementia care has been dominated by the standard medical approach, in which dementia is treated mainly with drugs, such as anti-anxiety, antidepressant and anti-psychotic medications. With the aim of seeking effective treatments for patients with dementia, over the last years, several contributions have criticised the pervasive use of drugs for the management of behavioural and physiological symptoms related to dementia, proposing personalised interventions aimed at supporting patients and their relatives from diagnosis until death. With particular reference to long-term settings, in this work, we aim at understanding the organisational implications of three types of interventions (labelled supportive care interventions – SCIs) that have characterised this shift in dementia care: person-centred, palliative and multi-disciplinary care. Conducted by following the integrative review method, our review underlines how SCIs have controversial consequences on the quality of care, the care-givers' quality of life and cultural backgrounds. After an in-depth analysis of selected papers, we offer some considerations about the implications of SCIs for long-term care organisations and future research directions.


SUMMARY

In the UK, ascospores of Leptosphaeria maculans first infect leaves of oilseed rape in the autumn to cause phoma leaf spots, from which the fungus can grow to cause stem cankers in the spring. Yield losses due to early senescence and lodging result if the stem cankers become severe before harvest. The risk of severe stem canker epidemics needs to be forecast in the autumn when the pathogen is still in the leaves, since early infections cause the greatest yield losses and fungicides have limited curative activity. Currently, the most effective way to forecast severe stem canker is to monitor the onset of phoma leaf spotting in winter oilseed rape crops, although this does not allow much time in which to apply a fungicide. Early warnings of risks of severe stem canker epidemics could be provided at the beginning of the season through regional forecasts based on disease survey and weather data, with options for input of crop-specific information and for updating forecasts during the winter. The accuracy of such forecasts could be improved by including factors relating to the maturation of ascospores in pseudothecia, the release of ascospores and the occurrence of infection conditions, as they affect the onset, intensity and duration of the phoma leaf spotting phase. Accurate forecasting of severe stem canker epidemics can improve disease control and optimise fungicide use.


This paper addresses the problem of data retrievability in cloud computing systems performing deduplication to optimize their space savings: While there exist a number of proof of retrievability (PoR) solutions that guarantee storage correctness with cryptographic means, these solutions unfortunately come at odds with the deduplication technology. To reconcile proofs of retrievability with file-based cross-user deduplication, we propose the message-locked PoR approach whereby the PoR effect on duplicate data is identical and depends on the value of the data segment, only. As a proof of concept, we describe two instantiations of existing PoRs and show that the main extension is performed during the setup phase whereby both the keying material and the encoded version of the to-be-outsourced file is computed based on the file itself. We additionally propose a new server-aided message-locked key generation technique that compared with related work offers better security guarantees.


Conducting a user-oriented test is not always an obvious task even for experienced usability professionals. Several usability processes like Nielsen [1] or Rubin processes [2] have been proposed, standards like ISO 9241-11 [3, 4, 5] for "Quality in Use" or CIF (Common Industry Format) [6, 7] for reporting the testing process have been adopted and a few tools exist to cover parts of those processes or standards. But current usability testing processes are still incomplete and mostly informal. They do not always specify for each step of the process, the actors, their roles and how they must perform their tasks. On the other hand, existing usability tools do not clearly illustrate the usability testing process they implement. They are indeed very useful to collect data during the "conduct phase" of the testing process, but they do not guide the tester through the tasks he has to accomplish; the tester basically decides what actions he must perform and then uses the tool to do so. RANA Wizuse aims to remove that extra cognitive load from the tester by defining and implementing a complete and easy to follow process that will guide usability testers throughout the empirical study. The tester will not have to remember what tasks to perform at any given stage of the usability study; the web-based wizard will remind and assist him. This report is submitted to fulfill the requirements for COMP7931-Major Report. The goal of the project was to clearly specify and implement the RANA web-based wizard for usability testing process


Background Glutamate transmission is implicated in drug-induced behavioural sensitization and the associated long-lasting increases in mesolimbic output. Metabotropic glutamate type 5 (mGlu5) receptors might be particularly important, but most details are poorly understood. Methods We first assessed in mice (n = 51, all male) the effects of repeated dextroamphetamine administration (2.0 mg/kg, i.p.) on locomotor activity and binding of the mGlu5 ligand [3H]ABP688. In a parallel study, in 19 stimulant-drug-naïve healthy human volunteers (14 female) we administered 3 doses of dextroamphetamine (0.3 mg/kg, p.o.) or placebo, followed by a fourth dose 2 weeks later. We measured [11C]ABP688 binding using positron emission tomography before and after the induction phase. We assessed psychomotor and behavioural sensitization using speech rate, eye blink rate and self-report. We measured the localization of mGlu5 relative to synaptic markers in mouse striatum using immunofluorescence. Results We observed amphetamine-induced psychomotor sensitization in mice and humans. We did not see group differences in mGlu5 availability following 3 pre-challenge amphetamine doses, but group differences did develop in mice administered 5 doses. In mice and humans, individual differences in mGlu5 binding after repeated amphetamine administration were negatively correlated with the extent of behavioural sensitization. In drug-naïve mice, mGlu5 was expressed at 67% of excitatory synapses on dendrites of striatal medium spiny neurons. Limitations Correlational results should be interpreted as suggestive because of the limited sample size. We did not assess sex differences. Conclusion Together, these results suggest that changes in mGlu5 availability are not part of the earliest neural adaptations in stimulant-induced behavioural sensitization, but low mGlu5 binding might identify a higher propensity for sensitization.


Whether or not intracellular transport and surface expression of the invariant chain (Ii; CD74) occurs independent of the presence of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecules was examined by comparing the class II-negative mutant lymphoblastoid cell line 174 x CEM.T2 (T2) and its class II-positive parental cell line 174 x CEM.T1 (T1). We found a similar proportion of Ii being transported to the Golgi complex in T1 and T2, as monitored by the degree of sialic acid addition to glycan side chains of Ii. In agreement with this result, T1 and T2 expressed comparable amounts of Ii at the cell surface, as measured by flow cytometry. This indicates that, although not associated with class II molecules, a proportion of Ii is transported to the plasma membrane. Both in T1 and T2, surface Ii (sIi) was rapidly internalized with a half-life of 3-4 min, suggesting that some Ii enters the endocytic route via the cell surface after being internalized. Our data demonstrate transport of Ii on a route alternative to the endocytic pathway. This alternative route could also account for delivery of newly synthesized class II-Ii complexes to processing compartments in antigen-presenting cells.


The Hemispherical Resonator Gyro (HRG) is unique in the area of high accuracy inertial sensors. One of its very first selected applications was on the Cassini mission to Saturn, its Rings, and Moons. Since that time it has been the chosen gyro technology for precision space missions both military and commercial. For these missions the HRG has been mechanized to operate in the Whole Angle (WA) mode when operation under high dynamic rates is required. However when high sensitivity and very precise angular measurements are at a premium the same HRG is switched to a Force To Rebalance (FTR) mode. In this FTR mode the gyro operates at low rates thus sacrificing the inherent high rate capability of the HRG. It should be noted that a third mechanization can be implemented that gives the same high rate capability as the WA mode and at the same time capable of the sensitivity that is inherent in the FTR mode. This mode is known as the Whole Angle Tracking (WAT) mode. To implement this mode changes to electronics, that are responsible for the readout and control of the gyro, are required. This paper will outline these mechanization changes and also show that a reduction in the electronics that support the HRG is possible. Because electronic noise characteristics plays a very large role in noise sensitivity of the gyro, a reduction of control electronics should lead to an improvement of the noise characteristics of the complete HRG sensor. Mechanization of this WAT mode is presented together with simulation of the mechanization that demonstrates both the high rate and high precision sensitivity of the gyroscope. It should be noted that the WAT mode actually has been implemented and tested when exposed to laboratory and extreme environmental conditions. Finally, D.D Lynch plainly demonstrated in one of his paper Ref (2) that "size does matter" when considering the performance of the HRG. In the quest for high precision using HRG technology accordingly this paper will outline geometry of a type HRG and mechanization changes will give precision performance that is very competitive with that used in HRG applications today, but at greatly reduced production costs. A low cost technique proposes "glass blowing" and, or "glass moldings" which are being actively pursued today in many establishments with excellent results. Incorporating these techniques is discussed in the design of a new HRG to meet both space and terrestrial applications. The introduction of "Glass blowing" allows geometry changes to be made so that the HRG is not the only geometric candidate. Accordingly the term Shell Resonator Gyroscopes, SRG, is introduced to cover these other geometries.


Traditional association rule mining has been widely studied. But it is unsuitable for real‐world applications where factors such as unit profits of items and purchase quantities must be considered. High‐utility itemset mining (HUIM) is designed to find highly profitable patterns by considering both the purchase quantities and unit profits of items. However, most HUIM algorithms are designed to be applied to static databases. But in real‐world applications such as market basket analysis and business decision‐making, databases are often dynamically updated by inserting new data such as customer transactions. Several researchers have proposed algorithms to discover high‐utility itemsets (HUIs) in dynamically updated databases. Unlike batch algorithms, which always process a database from scratch, incremental high‐utility itemset mining (iHUIM) algorithms incrementally update and output HUIs, thus reducing the cost of discovering HUIs. This paper provides an up‐to‐date survey of the state‐of‐the‐art iHUIM algorithms, including Apriori‐based, tree‐based, and utility‐list‐based approaches. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first survey on the mining task of incremental high‐utility itemset mining. The paper also identifies several important issues and research challenges for iHUIM. WIREs Data Mining Knowl Discov 2018, 8:e1242. doi: 10.1002/widm.1242


Cascade-Correlation is a new architecture and supervised learning algorithm for artificial neural networks. Instead of just adjusting the weights in a network of fixed topology. Cascade-Correlation begins with a minimal network, then automatically trains and adds new hidden units one by one, creating a multi-layer structure. Once a new hidden unit has been added to the network, its input-side weights are frozen. This unit then becomes a permanent feature-detector in the network, available for producing outputs or for creating other, more complex feature detectors. The Cascade-Correlation architecture has several advantages over existing algorithms: it learns very quickly, the network determines its own size and topology, it retains the structures it has built even if the training set changes, and it requires no back-propagation of error signals through the connections of the network.


Abstract. For a long time Lençóis Maranhenses region in Northeastern Brazil, has been calling attention for being an area of extreme contrasts, not only under the physical-geographical and climatic point-of-view, but also because of the great contradictions and social conflicts that can be found there. A big part of the territory has been officially declared a National Park on June 2nd, 1981 (BRASIL, 1981), although the Region of Lençóis and Pequenos Lençóis (Little Lençóis) extends beyond the area protected by the National Park (TSUJI, 2002). Communities established inside the National Park are supplied with electricity, while others, just a few kilometres away; lack this resource, even being located within the official perimeter (SOUZA, 2007). The consequences of these expressions of spatial injustice can be considered terrible: severe health problems, serious conflicts between tourism activities and the traditional ways of production, among others. The region (Figure 1) has never been object of a multidisciplinary and organized study in the form of an atlas, in spite of being very popular and attractive under the touristic point-of-view. For this reason, the research intends to elaborate the Social-Environmental Atlas of Lençóis Maranhenses in its wholeness, and, in a later stage, proceed with its publication in paper and digital form. This atlas will have about 200 pages and, initially, 13 sections have been defined. In view of its thematic and territorial content, it can be classified in the category of special regional atlas (SALITCHEV, 1979). Therefore, the proposed atlas will focus not only on the National Park but also on its surroundings. Thus, we intend to study all the geographical space, categories of land use and forms of occupation by society as a whole, with emphasis on the traditional communities which dwell in the area. This region is characterized by an environment unfit for most farming crops, not only because of its sandy soil, but also because of moving dunes and of the hydric regime, sometimes with rain in excess, other times with long drought periods (Figure 2). All these factors, associated to the difficult access to the area, contribute to a most vulnerable population, causing an obvious influence on their ways of life. Nevertheless, people who live there have found ways to produce and provide for themselves. Fishing and fruit collecting, vegetal fibres and other natural products are among the usual sustenance activities. Many turn to breed small herds of goat, sheep and cattle, or work little parcels of land; they may also devote themselves to craftsmanship and various activities related directly or indirectly to tourism. Therefore, we feel that the use of the methodology called Cybercartography (TAYLOR AND LAURIAULT, 2014) will help us to understand the flows and habits in this region, thus contributing to improve the life quality of local communities. Even if this location is known virtually since the beginning of European occupation, and there exists a National Park established by law in 1981 (BRASIL, 1981), up to this moment there has never been an atlas devoted exclusively to this part of the state of Maranhão. This is, therefore, the first scientific challenge: to create, compile and present maps and texts specifically dedicated to Lençóis Maranhenses, and organized in form of a special regional atlas, showing the socio-environmental dynamics of the place. Moreover, there is the issue of employing techniques of Cybercartography, specifically of the Nunaliit Cybercartography Atlas Framework (TAYLOR e CAQUARD, 2006). We intend to use this technological platform, designed to create apps of interactive mapping in the internet, using different sources of data and multimedia, which allow users a high degree of participation. By default, the Nunaliit Framework employs a simple and flexible database, founded on documents to store any graphic objects or descriptive attributes (texts). As it happens, virtually in all the directly affected area, and of interest for the atlas project, the regular access to Internet is much reduced or virtually inexistent, even if considering the mobile phone nets. For this reason, the atlas will be devised in simultaneous versions: a traditional one, in paper print, and also a complementary version created in the Framework for Cybercartographic Atlas. Moreover, the team that developed the Nunaliit platform, led by Professor Fraser Taylor, from the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies and Director of Research Center in Geomatics and Cartography of Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, has kindly offered to collaborate in this project, supporting the creation of the cybercartographic version, also developing specific apps that allow the elaboration of maps in PDF off-line, which will be then incorporated to the framework of the traditional printed version. We believe that the availability of the digital version (Cybercartographic) of the Atlas of Lençóis Maranhenses will definitely contribute to the digital inclusion of local communities. With the results reached by this project, we understand that it will be possible to know better the distribution of the communities in the region, their kinds of use and means of production, with emphasis on the handling of natural resources and cultural aspects. Thus, with a better knowledge about the actors in the territory, it is intended to stimulate regional and local actions with respect to environmental education and initiatives of social inclusion. Therefore, and important objective is to divulge the work and methodology proposed, to incorporate and encourage participation not only of the academic-scientific sector, but also of managers and local population, especially those who live within Lençóis Maranhenses and its area of influence. Thus, this methodological research may be applied to other places in Brazil, for example, with indigenous population, communities of "quilombolas" (descendants of former slaves), "caiçaras" (sea shoreline population) and others.


Speech Act Theory is concerned with the ways in which
language can be used. It originated with Austin, but was
developed by Searle. The theories of Austin and Searle are
described and several problem areas are identified. If it is to be a viable theory of language usage, speech act theory must be able to integrate with a theory of discourse structure, because if speech acts are identifiable as units of language, then it must be possible include them in a model of discourse.

The second chapter examines discourse structure, examining
two rival theories: the discourse analysis approach and the
conversational analysis approach. Discourse analysis is broadly sympathetic to speech act theory, whereas, conversational analysis is not. The claims of conversational analysis are examined and are found to be wanting in several respects. Speech Act Theory is then discussed with a particular emphasis on the problem of relating speech acts to each other within a larger unit of discourse. It is noted that Austin, by including the
expositive class of speech acts, allows for the possibility of relations between speech acts, whereas Searle's description of speech acts effectively rules out any relations between speech acts.

The third chapter develops speech acts in terms of a
schematic model consisting of cognitive states, a presumed
effect of the speech act and an action. The cognitive states are represented using modal and deontic operators on the proposition within epistemic logic. This idea of the description of a speech act in terms of cognitive states is developed in Chapter Four.

In Chapter Four, speech acts are related using a
communicated cognitive state to pair two speech acts together into a primary and secondary speech act. It is noted that the idea of a primary and secondary speech act is present within the discourse analysis model of discourse (in the form of the initiation-response cycle of exchanges) and also in the conversational analysis approach to discourse (in the form of the adjacency pair). The conclusion from this is that the two approaches are perhaps not so incompatible as might first appear.

Chapter Five deals with grammatical sentence types and
their possible use in communicating cognitive states. It also examines modal auxiliary verbs and their possible relationship to the modal and deontic operators used in the cognitive state model.

In Chapter Six, theories of indirect speech acts are
described. An explanation of indirect speech acts is developed using pragmatic maxims and cognitive states to explain why certain indirect forms are chosen. This leads to a theory of linguistic politeness and a use model of speech acts.


Background: In 1996, tuberculosis detection rate was higher in Oudalan (Sahel region) than in other provinces in Burkina Faso. Cattle breeding, a major activity of the local population, may favor exposure of humans to bovine tuberculosis.
Objectives: (i) to isolate and identify M. bovis among new cases of tuberculosis with positive culture in the Sahel (Gorom-Gorom and Dori); the Center (Ouagadougou) and the Western (Bobo-Dioulasso) regions of the country; (ii) to investigate susceptibility of isolated strains to anti-tuberculosis.
Methods: (i) collection of sputum from newly TB patients with a positive smear during a prospective study carried out in 1998 in the North, Central and Western region of the country and transferred at the Mycobacteriology Laboratory, (ii) optimization of operational procedures: (iii) mycobacteria strains's isolation on 3 different media (Loweinstein Jensen (LJ), LJ without glycerine and LJ supplemented with pyruvate; (iv) identification of the tuberculosis complex according to criteria such as: bacillus growth time, colony appearance, biochemical test results, bacilli growth with pyrazinamide or thiophene carboxylate hydrazide, or D-cycloserine; (v) performing antibiograms.
Results: Among the isolated strains, M. bovis represented 6.2% (2/30) in Gorom-Gorom, 0% (0/18) in Dori, 2.6% (3/109) in Ouagadougou and 2.9% (2/65) in Bobo-Dioulasso. Sixty nine percent (31/45) of strains were susceptible to the main anti-tuberculosis drugs, 13 strains presented single or combined resistance and one strain was multidrug-resistant.
Conclusion: We showed that M. bovis disease is prevalent in all the studied regions but at a relatively low rate. The transhumance of from the north to the west practiced by the breeders could explain why it was found M. bovis in a similar rate as in Ouagdougou and Bobo-Dioulasso where livestock activity is less intense than in Gorom-Gorom.


Background Endothelial dysfunction is a key player in cardiovascular disease (CVD) complications and novel drugs are required to treat this pathological process. Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are key molecules that regulate signalling in many biological processes and drugs that mimic their structure could be a novel source of therapeutics to target specific CVD pathways. Purpose We have synthesised a set of four glycomimetic compounds and our objective was to determine whether they could activate protective pathways in endothelial cells subjected to fatty acid-induced endothelial dysfunction. Methods Glycomimetics, C1-C4, were synthesised by the stepwise transformation of 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid to a range of 2,5-substituted benzoic acid derivatives, incorporating the key sulphate groups to mimic heparan sulphate. Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVECs) were treated with glycomimetics (1µM) in the presence or absence of the free fatty acid, palmitate. DAF-2 and H2DCF-DA assays were used to determine NO and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, respectively. Lipid peroxidation colorimetric and antioxidant enzyme activity ssays were also carried out. RT-PCR and western blotting were utilised to measure Akt, eNOS, Nrf-2, NQO-1 and HO-1 expression. Endothelial function was determined ex vivo using acetylcholine-induced endothelium-dependent relaxation in mouse thoracic aortic rings by wire myography. Results All four glycomimetics protected against palmitate-induced oxidative stress and enhanced NO production in vitro via upregulation of Akt/eNOS signalling, activation of the Nrf2/ARE pathway and down-regulation of ROS-induced lipid peroxidation. Under palmitate-induced oxidative stress, ex vivo endothelium-dependent relaxation was significantly enhanced by all four glycomimetics. Furthermore, the glycomimetics did not induce HUVEC activation, as determined by lack of ICAM-1 protein. Conclusion We have developed a new set of small molecule glycomimetics that do not activate ECs and protect against free fatty acid-induced endothelial dysfunction both in vitro and ex vivo. Future work will focus on developing the glycomimetics into drug-like therapies that target endothelial damage.


In this note we look at anisotropic approximation of smooth functions on bounded
domains with tensor product splines. The main idea is to extend such functions and
then use known approximation techniques on Rd. We prove an error estimate for domains for which bounded extension operators exist. This obvious approach has
some limitations. It is not applicable without restrictions on the chosen coordinate
degree even if the domain is as simple as the unit disk. Further for approximation
on Rd there are error estimates in which the grid widths and directional derivatives
are paired in an interesting way. It seems impossible to maintain this property using
extension operators.


The ongoing developments in numerical mathematics and available computing power combined with the industrial needs promote a development of more and more complex models. However, such models are, due to their complexity, expensive from the point of view of the data storage and the time necessary for their evaluation. The reduced-order models (ROMs) provide an approach to an approximation of high-dimensional PDE-based models by low-dimensional ones. We will go through the principles of the proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) and the discrete empirical interpolation method (DEIM) as they are currently one of the most used tools for the construction of the reduced-order models. We will also briefly outline how these two methods can be linked with the OpenFOAM, an open-source software specialized mainly in the field of the computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The OpenFOAM is a toolbox capable of solving even industrial scale problems. Hence, with a link between the OpenFOAM and methods for construction of ROMs, it is possible to test the applicability of POD-DEIM based ROMs on the real-life problems.


BOUZO, C. A. and J. C. FAVARO, 2015. Container size effect on the plant production and precocity in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.). Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 21: 325–332 This work compares the growth and yield of tomato crop from the study of different plant development stages and container sizes. Two experiments were conducted in order to examine the effects of container size during spring-summer of the years 2012 and 2013. In the fi rst experiment was conducted in a greenhouse to measure the effect on the initial yield. A second experiment was performed outdoors to incorporate the effect of plant age on the development and yield. Commercial hybrid tomato seeds (Solanum lycopersicum L.) of the cv. 'Tauro' were dry sown in containers of different volumes (20, 40, 70 and 350 mL) and with variable transplant times (14, 21, 28 and 35 days). We found that an increase in the container size results in plants of higher size, precocity and yield. The physical restriction of root by the use of containers with low volumes (20 mL) severely limited the plant growth beyond the 14 fi rst days after sowing, being worse with increasing plant age. From an age of 28 days, in all the treatments except for a volume of 250 mL, the fruit yield diminished from the values found without container size restrictions.


After the global financial crisis, it has been getting clearer that the existing world economic system has wider cracks, and the world after the end of the crisis would look much different from what we have seen over the last thirty years. In the changing landscape of the world economy, some conspicuous features have emerged. China stood up as one of the major economic powers in the world, so that we cannot think of the world economy without taking the Chinese economy into consideration. Dealing with as much domestic instabilities and imbalances as many of the fast developing countries, however, China does not seem to think it has the capacity to deal with the world affairs and its domestic ones at the same time. Europe, after the brilliant history of regional integration process, is now faltering from the crisis of its common currency. Reforms in economic and political governance are on demand. The United States, which stood up as the unipolar global power after the collapse of communism some twenty years ago, was the very origin of the global crisis, and it has not demonstrated outstanding leadership in economic recovery since the crisis occurred. We are also confronting many challenges of how to deal with the financial industries within a sustainable global economy. In a changing world environment like this, East Asia has been asked to solve problems in the region for itself. Considering its growing economic weight and importance, East Asia has sometimes been even asked to share responsibility in world affairs. In connection, Korea, as one of the economies in the region that emerged rapidly, has been asked to display leadership on peace and prosperity in the region and the faltering world as well. All of these changes have given rise to tough tasks for Asians and Koreans. This book is an outcome of dialogue and exchange of ideas among European and Korean scholars in tackling these issues; at an international conference titled "Korea and East Asia in a Changing Regional and Global Environment" which was held in Vienna, 28-9 April 2011. This book tries to tackle the issues concerning changes in three areas: changes in economic, security and development/ODA. The first part covers economic aspects of the changing world environment and challenges for Korea and East Asia. In chapter one, Bark Taeho and Kang Moonsung deal with East Asia's strategy in G20 economic and trade issues. It aims to identify the trade agenda that reflects Asia's concerns regarding the global and regional trading system against the background of G20 summit meetings after the crisis. East Asia has played an important role in the evolution of global production and trade networks. Though the region's production networks in East Asia became the major transmission mechanism of the crisis, resulting in a trade collapse, but Asia experienced a relatively quick turnaround, demonstrating that its network was not derailed. Asian economies have also shifted their policy focus from multilateralism to regionalism, even though several challenges remain such as underuse and a shallowness of their regional trade agreements. Bark and Kang recommend that the Seoul Summit seek tangible results on resolving the stalemate of the Doha Development Agenda to strengthen the credibility of G20, integrate individual free trade agreements into broader regional trade agreements, and link the development agenda to trade. Chapter two talks about the role of Korea and East Asia under the changing trade environment. First, Professor Song Yoocheul elaborates on his argument by emphasizing the growing weight of East Asia in the world economy. The three northeast Asian countries of Korea, China and Japan accounted for 20% of world GDP and over 40% of foreign reserves after the crisis. During the recovery from the crisis, the role of East Asian countries has been highlighted as a buffer in consumption and production cycles of the world economy with their high economic growth. Their trade performances are particularly worthy of note, as their 52% share of world trade will increase more through very active regional FTA moves within the region. East Asian countries can contribute to the prosperity of the world by pursuing close economic cooperation between Korea, China and Japan; and could engage in consolidated efforts to boost domestic consumption to reduce global imbalances. Thus the role of Korea can be highlighted in solving the regional issues in trade barriers and historic conundrum. Professor Park Young-Joon covers financial issues in East Asia in chapter three. He reviews current developments of East Asia's financial cooperation and makes suggestions for enhancing its effectiveness. Recent global financial crisis has raised awareness on the importance of financial safety nets. The Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM) as a regional financing arrangement plays a role as a regional financial safety net in East Asia, and could be linked with the global financial safety nets such as the IMF's lending facilities. For the CMIM to be more effective, the current pool size of $120 billion, which would be insufficient in a crisis, should be increased to at least $250 billion. Efforts by ASEAN 3 along with the Asian Bond Market Initiative (ABMI) should make progress beyond establishing the Credit Guarantee Investment Facility (CGIF); e.g. establishing a Regional Settlement Intermediary, Asian Bond Standards, prudential standards for cross-border transactions in the region. A new surveillance unit, ASEAN 3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO), should also play a key role in the process of East Asia's financial cooperation. The Second part of the volume deals with political and security environments. Professor Heinz Gürtner argues in chapter four that global solution rather than regional or local ones urgently requires overcoming current international financial crisis or terrorism. Transatlantic cooperation between the US and Europe revealed clear limitations for preserving global security. The idea of a "multi-partner world," raised by Hilary Clinton can be one of the best concepts for global problem-solving. The new type of global security requires building functioning governments based on stable governance, rule of law and democracy. Civil-military coordination and cooperation (CIMIC) for disaster relief; in addition to enhancing nation-states' responsibility to protect citizens from genocide, famine, massive human right violation, etc; and functioning government endowed with legitimate monopoly of the use of force. These represent essential elements in new global security. Chapter five deals with North Korea's foreign policy and its domestic implications. Professor Rudiger Frank explores North Korea's foreign policy of years 1997-2010 with a certain focus on years 2008 and 2009. He does so based mainly on a quantitative analysis of official North Korean state propaganda through its news agency KCNA. The key hypothesis tested in this chapter is that North Korean foreign policy is very closely linked to domestic developments (and vice versa) and should be understood as such, which has significant implications for the international community's approach towards the DPRK and key areas of concern such as the nuclear program. In the next chapter, Professor Kim Sung-han introduces Korea's evolving strategic thinking toward East Asia over the last twenty years. The Korea-US alliance has been the first strategic preference for Korea since the end of the cold war, and it was against this background Korea has engaged in comprehensive regional security cooperation including APEC with the rising of Asia-Pacific regionalism. In the future, Korea-US alliance needs to be more comprehensive and much more strategic, to preserve the peace in the Korean Peninsula. The alliance should go beyond simple responses against military threats from North Korea, and contribute to preserving democracy and capitalism as well as enhancing peace in the region. Korea needs to construct a pan-Asian network through its active soft power advocacy, towards protection of human rights. Multilateral security network such as the Northeast Asia Security Dialogue (NEASAD) should be strongly encouraged. The third part covers the emerging topics of Overseas Development Assistance in East Asia and Korea's strategy on development issues. In Chapter seven, Dr. Han Baran addresses the role of transnational consumer activism in international development cooperation. As examples of consumer campaigns with development impacts, the international anti-sweatshop campaigns in the 1990s, the Fair Trade coffee industry, and the Product (RED) program supporting HIV/AIDS funds are discussed. In order to increase the effectiveness of transnational consumer activism, Independent Monitoring and Labeling Agencies as well as a framework for active coordination with other development actions need to be encouraged. Professor Kang Insoo offers an overview of Korea's ODA policy in chapter eight. Korea is ranked 19th among 27 OECD DAC members in 2008 in terms of the size of ODA. Professor Kang argues that Korea needs to increase ODA through Country Partnership Strategies (CPS) in the future. Korea leaves something to be desired in terms of ODA including ambiguous objectives in ODA policy, inefficient and ineffective structure of ODA policy administration, lack of evaluation system, and opaque decision making system in choosing partner countries. In the future, Korea should conduct more actively new programs such as Knowledge Sharing Programs (KSP), while following the global trend of "More Aid, Better Aid, and Changing Aid architecture." In the last chapter, Professor Park Sung-Hoon and Professor Kim Jung-Ho introduce Korea's ODA policy towards CLMIV countries. The biggest recipient of Korea's ODA has been Asian countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Mongolia and Afghanistan. More than fifty percent of Korea's ODA


Climate science's fundamental premise – assumed by all parties in the great climate debate – says the greenhouse gases – constituting some 1% of Earth's atmosphere – first derived by John Tyndall's in his 1859 thermopile experiment, and demonstrated graphically today by infrared IR spectroscopy – are special because of their infrared (IR) 'heat' absorbing property. From this, it is paradoxically assumed the (remaining 99%) non-greenhouse gases Nitrogen (N2) and Oxygen (O2) are non-heat absorbent. This paper reveals, by elementary physics, the (deceptive) role thermopiles play in this paradox. It was found: for a special group substances – all sharing (at least one) electric dipole moment – i.e. CO2, and the other greenhouse gases – thermopiles – via the thermoelectric (Seebeck) effect – generate electricity from the radiated IR. Devices using the thermopile as a detector (e.g. IR spectrographs) discriminate, and have misinterpreted IR absorption for anomalies of electricity production – between the sample gases and a control heat source. N2 and O2 were found to have (as all substances) predicted vibrational modes (derived by the Schrodinger quantum equation) at 1556cm-1 and 2330cm-1 respectively – well within the IR range of the EM spectrum and are clearly observed – as expected – with Raman Spectroscopy – IR spectroscopy's complement instrument. The non-greenhouse gases N2 and O2 are relegated to greenhouse gases, and Earth's atmospheric thermoelectric spectrum was produced (formally IR spectrum), and was augmented with the Raman observations. It was concluded the said greenhouses gases are not special, but typical; and all substances have thermal absorption properties, as measured by their respective heat capacities.


English Lyric Poetry is a comprehensive reassessment of lyric poetry of the early seventeenth century. The study is directed at both beginning and more advanced students of literature, and responds to more specialised scholarly inquiries pursued of late in relation to specific poets. This extremely lucid and elegantly written book avoids the limitations of much recent criticism. Donne, Jonson, the Spenserians, Herbert, Milton, Marvell, Vaughan, as well as many non-canonical and women poets, all receive sustained, fresh, and detailed analysis. Jonathan Post seeks to assimilate many of the post-New Critical theoretical concerns with readings of the major and minor, male and female, authors of the period.


Silicon Photonics is widely acknowledged as a gamechanging technology, driven by the needs of datacom and telecom. Silicon Photonics builds on highly capital-intensive manufacturing infrastructure, and mature open-access silicon photonics platforms are translating the technology from research fabs to industrial manufacturing levels. To meet the current market demands for silicon photonics manufacturing, a variety of openaccess platforms is offered by CMOS pilot lines, R&D institutes and commercial foundries. This paper presents an overview of existing and upcoming commercial and non-commercial openaccess silicon photonics technology platforms. We also discuss the diversity in these open-access platforms and their key differentiators.


Russian space experiment "Matryeshka-R" was conducted in 2004-2005 to study dose distribution in the body of anthropomorphous phantom inserted in a spacesuit imitating container mounted on outer surface of the ISS Service module (experiment "Matryeshka"). The objective was to compare doses inside the phantom in the container to human body donned in spacesuit "Orlan-M" during extravehicular activity (EVA). The shielding function was calculated using the geometric model, specification of the phantom shielded by the container, "Orlan-M" description, and results of ground-based estimation of shielding effectiveness by gamma-raying. Doses were calculated from the dose attenuation curves obtained for galactic cosmic rays, and the AE-8/AP-8 models of electron and proton flows in Earth's radiation belt. Calculated ratios of equivalent doses in representative points of the body critical organs to analogous doses in phantom "Matryeshka" H(ORLAN-M)/H(Matryeshka) for identical radiation conditions vary with organs and solar activity in the range from 0.1 to 1.8 with organs and solar activity. These observations should be taken into account when applying Matryeshka data to the EVA conditions.


This essay explores white masculinity and the recuperation of privilege in the figure of Sturgill Simpson, an American country music singer from Jackson, Kentucky. Operating at the intersection of country music studies and third wave whiteness studies, it demonstrates how Simpson deploys the outsider identity of the industry outlaw to recuperate insider benefits of critical acclaim, commercial success, and creative license. As an artist who makes country music for "people who don't like country music," Simpson functions as a representative figure of the adaptive tactics of white masculinity and the broader politics of inclusion and exclusion in contemporary country music.


This unique volume focuses on the psychosexual and social effects of female genital mutilation, an ancient, deeply entrenched custom saturating the larger part of Africa. Over a period of six years, Author Hanny Lightfoot-Klein trekked through outlying areas of Sudan, Kenya, and Egypt, where she lived with a number of African families. What she learned by way of in-depth personal interviews and firsthand observation has enabled her to add a previously unknown and often astonishing dimension to our knowledge of ritual practices and human sexuality. This valuable book will be extremely helpful to professionals and scholars in women's studies, social psychology, psychotherapy, psychiatry, gynecology, sexology, as well as cross-cultural and African studies. It should also interest anyone who is concerned with male circumcision in the United States.


Radviz is a radial visualization technique which maps data from multiple dimensional space onto a planar picture. The dimensions placed on the circumference of a circle, called Dimension Anchors (DAs), can be reordered to reveal different patterns in the dataset. Extending the number of dimensions can enhance the flexibility in the placement of the DAs to explore more meaningful visualizations. In this paper, we describe a method which rationally extends a dimension to multiple new dimensions in Radviz. This method first calculates the probability distribution histogram of a dimension. The mean shift algorithm is applied to get centers of probability density to segment the histogram, and then the dimension can be extended according to the number of segments of the histogram. We also suggest using the Dunn's index to find the optimal placement of DAs, so the better effect of visual clustering could be achieved after the dimension expansion in Radviz. Finally, we demonstrate the usability of our approach on visually analysing the iris data and two other datasets.


$\newcommand{\eps}{\varepsilon}$ In this paper, we consider two important problems defined on finite metric spaces, and provide efficient new algorithms and approximation schemes for these problems on inputs given as graph shortest path metrics or high-dimensional Euclidean metrics. The first of these problems is the greedy permutation (or farthest-first traversal) of a finite metric space: a permutation of the points of the space in which each point is as far as possible from all previous points. We describe randomized algorithms to find $(1+\eps)$-approximate greedy permutations of any graph with $n$ vertices and $m$ edges in expected time $O(\eps^{-1}(m+n)\log n\log(n/\eps))$, and to find $(1+\eps)$-approximate greedy permutations of points in high-dimensional Euclidean spaces in expected time $O(\eps^{-2} n^{1+1/(1+\eps)^2 + o(1)})$. Additionally we describe a deterministic algorithm to find exact greedy permutations of any graph with $n$ vertices and treewidth $O(1)$ in worst-case time $O(n^{3/2}\log^{O(1)} n)$. The second of the two problems we consider is distance selection: given $k \in [ \binom{n}{2} ]$, we are interested in computing the $k$th smallest distance in the given metric space. We show that for planar graph metrics one can approximate this distance, up to a constant factor, in near linear time.