Immediate type hypersensitivity reactions can occur after allergen exposure followed by allergen-specific IgE-FceRI interactions on mast cells/basophils in sensitized subjects.1 In comparison, chronic allergic inflammation induced by Th1 responses can occur without exposure to environmental allergens; instead, an IgE-mediated response to autoallergens can activate Th1 cells, causing them to release pro-inflammatory cytokines.2,3 Kitaura et al.4 demonstrated that mast cells with sensitized IgE antibodies on their surface can display a wide spectrum of heterogeneity in their ability to induce cytokine production and secretion. The spectrum of IgE antibodies has two extremes: highly cytokinergic IgE antibodies that induce potent survival promotion, degranulation, cytokine production, and migration, and poorly cytokinergic IgE antibodies that release minimal amounts of cytokines.4

An article published in this issue demonstrated that human IgE antibodies as well as mouse IgE antibodies show heterogeneity.5 This is clinically relevant for two reasons. First, human IgE antibodies showed heterogeneity in cytokine production and second, highly cytokinergic IgE antibodies showed polyreactivity to autoantigens. This concept was tested in serum from atopic dermatitis patients, since some of these patients have high levels of ssDNA- (or dsDNA-) or β-galactosidase-reactive IgE antibodies with high levels of histamine releasing factor-reactive IgE antibodies. Most atopic dermatitis patients had very high total IgE levels in their serum, and polyclonal IgE antibodies detected in serum from these patients enhanced the survival of and cytokine production by mast cells.6 These findings suggest that an autoimmune mechanism is a part of chronic inflammation in a subset of atopic dermatitis patients, although they did not screen serum specific IgE to potential auto-antigens related with skin inflammation. Further studies investigating the mechanisms how polycytokinergic IgE antibodies reacting various kinds of autoantigens can activate other inflammatory cells and mast cells in various phenotypes of atopic dermatitis are essential. Furthermore, the IgE antibodies exhibited polyreactivity to the autoantigens tested in this study.5 Some autoantigens are multivalent, and potentially capable of activating highly cytokinergic IgE antibodies bound to the surface of mast cells and basophils. An autoimmune component might be a part of the pathogenesis of chronic skin allergic inflammation. High serum specific IgE to Staphylococcal superantigens were noted in atopic dermatitis7 and chronic urticaria.8 This hypothesis might be extended to Staphylococcal superantigens, which play a role in the activation of mast cells in patients with atopic dermatitis and chronic urticaria.

Several studies have suggested that autoimmune mechanisms play an important part in the development and progression of chronic allergic inflammation in subsets of asthma,9,10 chronic urticaria,11 and atopic dermatitis patients.12 Moreover, the chronic urticaria patients with high specific IgE to thyroid peroxidase showed a favorable response to anti-IgE therapy.13 In addition, various autoantigens were suggested. Several environmental allergens sharing structural similarities with human proteins can be autoantigens.14-16 Some tissue antigens were thought to be derived from thyroid proteins and epithelial cells interacting with environmental factors.9,10,17 This study5 also confirmed the presence of human IgE antibodies reacting to thyroglobulin, which is closely associated with the autoimmunity of chronic urticaria.11 In addition, these IgE antibodies reacted with histamine releasing factor and induced mast cell degranulation. Additional studies are essential to understand the exact mechanisms by which these IgE antibodies activate skin mast cells, as this will be useful for classifying various phenotypes of chronic urticaria and atopic dermatitis, and developing new therapeutic strategies based on the heterogeneity of these phenotypes.


Ala. AT was purified from pig heart by a new procedure , which consisted of an homogenisation, ammonium sulphate fractionation, heat treatment and a second AS fractionation, followed by DEAE cellulose and Sephadex G200 chromatography

Thee purified enzyme had a specific activity of 450 units/mg protein, and appeared to be at least 95 % pure, from electrophoresis.

Sodium dodecyl sulphate - polyacrylamidee gel electrophoresis indicated a submit molecular weight of 52000. The concentration of' the coenzyme was measured: it was 1 mole/54 00 gm protein.

The kinetic parameters for four different assays and the inhibitor constants for several inhibitors were determined, at 25°C, at several pHs. These parameters were found to vary considerably with buffer concentration. For this reason, the values of these parameterswere extrapolated to zero buffer concentration.

From a study of the affinities of several different assays and the inhibitor from ala AT, at pH 8.0, it seems that the ˂(carboxyl end side group of the substrate, (as well as the <.amiro and ˂ (keto groups), are involved in binding to the enzyme.

A Dixon analysis of the results shows the existence of certain catalytically important pKs in the free forms of the enzyme, the enzyme-substrate complexes, and the enzyme-inhibitor complexes.

The nature and role of the enzyme groups that are involved in.substrate binding are deduced, in part.

Visible absorption spectra were recorded at 25°C. PL-ala AT shows a spectral pK at pH 7.6. This pK is raised to about pH 8 by fumarate or acetate binding. The dissociation constants obtained are similar to the inhibition constants. TSC binding produces an intense absorbance peak at 390 nm: a similar result has been obtained with asp AT.

Substrates were titrated with ala AT and spectra of the enzyme-substrate complexes were calculated. An absorbance peak at 490 nm is observed. It is very probably a deprotonated, (highly conjugated), complex: i.e. there are separate deprotonation and protonation steps. A rough estimate is made for the relative concentrations of the different spectral forms of the enzyme-substrate complex, at pH 7.0.

The pH dependence of the L alanine-pyruvate equilibrium enzyme-substrate complex spectrum was studied. The changes between pH 5.5 and. 10.5 can be ascribed to three pKs, and were used to explain the pKs of the complex, that were shown by kinetic analysis.

The inactivation of the enzyme was studies using heat, (65°C), 5.6 M urea, formaldehyde, nitrite, TNM, and. photo-oxidation by rose Bengal and methylene blue.

Both methylene blue photo-oxidation and TNM inactivation of ala AT give results similar to those obtained by 1Martinez-Carrion, for asp AT.

With methylene blue, an essential residue is modified, which has a low pK end is believed to be a catalytic base; it is probably a histidine.

With rose Bengal phot-oxidation, nitrite and TNM, inactivation is incomplete and the nature end role of the modified residue is v most uncertain.

The results with formaldehyde inactivation suggest that it inactivates by a reaction at the active site: the possibility that this reagent cross-links a histidine end a lysine group is discussed.
The inactivation results, all together, indicate that two different conformational changes can occur, when substrate is bound to ala AT. The nature of these changes and their relation to the kinetic results are discussed.

A detailed model of the catalytic activity of ala AT is presented.


Approximately 3% of births require neonatal resuscitation, which has a direct impact on the immediate survival of these infants. This report proposes an automatic video analysis method for neonatal resuscitation performance evaluation, which helps improve the quality of this procedure. More specifically, we design a deep learning based action model which incorporates motion and spatial information in order to classify neonatal resuscitation actions in videos. First, we use a Convolutional Neural Network to select regions containing infants and only keep those that are motion salient. Second, we extract deep spatial-temporal features to train a linear SVM classifier. Finally, we propose a pair-wise model to ensure consistent classification in consecutive frames. We evaluate the proposed method on a dataset consisting of 17 videos and compare the result against the state-of-the-art method for action classification in videos. To our best knowledge, this work is the first to attempt automatic evaluation of neonatal resuscitation videos and identifies several issues that require further work.


Keeping pace with knowledge and technological expertise, relevant for searching, retrieval, evaluating and effective dissemination of information in this information explosive world has been a major challenge in most developing world. Every academic library has the mandate to support its academic community in research and learning through relevant services to sustain a good standard of education. Information literacy that aids individual into making an informed decision, forms the basis of lifelong learning. It's common to all discipline, learning environment, levels of education and recognizes disparities in learning styles. This can be achieved through different methods; Library tours, orientations, subject specific library courses among others. Recently, Anambra State College of Health Technology, Obosi Library engaged on an annual programme of one week consecutively, through creation of interesting Information Literacy activities in its academic community, Hash tagged- ⋕ASCOHTLibraryweek to attract students into developing the interest and joy for learning for a sustainable quality education. The programme objectives are to provide IL activities that can conform to the students' learning style and capture their interest towards effective/efficient use of the library with activities like; lectures by Librarians on the theme of the week, wearing of branded T-shirts by lib. staff, IL training, guide and free access to the E-library resources, comedy and talk shows by first year students among others. This programme started in 2017 following none existence of any library instruction and has lasted till date. It had improved the library patronage, created awareness on the use of the college E-resources, fulfilling the SDGs of free access to information for all and improved the overall eagerness of the students in wanting to learn new things, thereby improving their academic performances and aiding a sustainable quality education. Implementation of IL in school curriculum, strategizing of flexible library services among others are therefore recommended.


Endometriosis is a significant risk factor for clear cell and endometrioid ovarian cancers and is often found contiguous with these cancers. Using whole‐genome shotgun sequencing of seven clear cell ovarian carcinomas (CCC) and targeted sequencing in synchronous endometriosis, we have investigated how this carcinoma may evolve from endometriosis. In every case we observed multiple tumour‐associated somatic mutations in at least one concurrent endometriotic lesion. ARID1A and PIK3CA mutations appeared consistently in concurrent endometriosis when present in the primary CCC. In several cases, one or more endometriotic lesions carried the near‐complete complement of somatic mutations present in the index CCC tumour. Ancestral mutations were detected in both tumour‐adjacent and ‐distant endometriotic lesions, regardless of any cytological atypia. These findings provide objective evidence that multifocal benign endometriotic lesions are clonally related and that CCCs arising in these patients progress from endometriotic lesions that may already carry sufficient cancer‐associated mutations to be considered neoplasms themselves, albeit with low malignant potential. We speculate that genomically distinct classes of endometriosis exist and that ovarian endometriosis with high mutational burden represents one class at high risk for malignant transformation. © 2015 The Authors. The Journal of Pathology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland.


For Hegel, architectural structures reveal cultural understandings about how we as human beings understand the self and the world around us at any given point in history. What I seek to do in this paper is to identify what sort of cultural understanding is revealed through contemporary architecture such as the skyscraper, the symbol of modern capitalism. To do this, I present Hegel's analysis on the cultural meanings that are revealed in Classical and Romantic architecture, using the Temple of Athena and the Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp as examples. Next, I draw on Heidegger's (1993) discussion in "The Question Concerning Technology" of the technology as a way of "enframing" – a revealing that orders – to argue that, in the context of modern capitalism, contemporary architecture reveals the world, and ourselves, as part of a "standing reserve." In the last part before the conclusion, I delve further into how a "technological worldview" persists, using Foucault's discussion of Panopticism in his book Discipline and Punish. Through my discussions of Heidegger and Foucault, I use the Willis Tower in Chicago as an example to help elucidate the argument that contemporary architecture makes space for a "technological worldview." By bringing into attention the ways architecture make space for cultural understandings, we better understand the impact architecture has in revealing the self and the world, and thus grants us an opportunity to reveal the world through other ways than the technological.


Complex marine−terrestrial interactions characterize Chilean fjords, where benthic communities influence the distribution of organic matter (OM). We examined spatial and seasonal changes in the hydrography, sediment conditions and soft-bottom macrobenthic, meiobenthic, and total microbial biomass in a glacial Patagonian fjord (Martinez Channel, Chile). The transport of a high load of glacial mineral and particulate OM to the fjord in the austral summer coincided with low total live benthic biomass. Multivariate analysis evidenced temporal-related macrofaunal groups influenced by the different environments produced by the advection of sediment transport and terrestrial OM from the Baker River, Chile. The relationships between density/biomass and respiration versus body size varied considerably with distance from major riverine inputs, but the slopes of density size spectra and normalized biomass size spectra were less negative in summer than in winter. Occasional large-scale advective processes in the water column affected sediment conditions and removed surface macrofauna, influencing the slope and intercept of the regression models. In the outer fjord, lateral advection and subsequent sedimentation of terrestrial OM contributed a significant fraction to total OM sediments (<14.76%). Stable carbon isotopes measured in benthic organisms suggest that benthic communities in the inner fjord may assimilate a significant fraction of terrestrial OM via heterotrophic bacteria in contrast to the minor input of terrestrial OM in the outer fjord.


Leeds Beckett University library has been using LibGuides as its content management system since 2014. During this time responsibility for the maintenance and updating of content on the library website has gradually grown to encompass many colleagues in different teams across the Libraries and Learning Innovation service. This article will highlight strategies employed to maintain the quality control and currency of external links on the website, with particular reference to the subject guide pages. It will demonstrate how Google Tag Manager and Google Data Studio have been used to connect content writers with relevant analytics data showing exactly how external links on their subject guides have been used.


Short text classification is a fundamental problem in natural language processing, social network analysis, and e-commerce. Traditional approaches for classifying text do not generalize to short texts, due to the lack of structure that is prevalent in longer sentences and paragraphs. More recently, deep learning-based methods have been applied to this problem, with limited success. To overcome the limitations of textual features in short text, in this paper, we propose to apply Graph Convolutional Network (GCN) to classify short text. The method uses side-information present in the dataset to construct a graph and then learn a Short Text Graph Convolutional Networks (ST-GCN). We demonstrate the efficacy of our method in the context of two variants of the problem in the e-commerce domain where the text is short: product query classification and product title classification. The use of a GCN to represent our corpus allows us to capture dependencies between the text samples and this additional construction allows us to surpass several baseline methods. Our model achieves state-of-the-art results on both proprietary and external datasets, where ST-GCN outperforms other methods by up to 5.89 % in classification accuracy. Furthermore, we show that compared to baseline methods, ST-GCN is relatively more robust to noise in textual features.


We exploit detailed transaction and position data for a sample of long-short equity hedge funds to document new facts about the trading activity of sophisticated investors. We find that the initiation of both long and short positions is associated with significant abnormal returns, suggesting that the hedge funds in our sample possess investment skill. In contrast, the closing of long and short positions is followed by return continuation, implying that hedge funds close their positions too early and "leave money on the table." As we demonstrate with a simple model, this behaviour can be explained by hedge funds being (risk) capital constrained and facing position monitoring costs. Consistent with our model, we document that the return continuation following closing orders is more pronounced when these constraints become more binding (e.g., after negative fund returns or increases in volatility).


Prior research has shown that online recommendations have significant influence on users' preference ratings and economic behavior. Specifically, the self-reported preference rating (for a specific consumed item) that is submitted by a user to a recommender system can be affected (i.e., distorted) by the previously observed system's recommendation. As a result, anchoring (or anchoring-like) biases reflected in user ratings not only provide a distorted view of user preferences but also contaminate inputs of recommender systems, leading to decreased quality of future recommendations. This research explores two approaches to removing anchoring biases from self-reported consumer ratings. The first proposed approach is based on a computational post-hoc de-biasing algorithm that systematically adjusts the user-submitted ratings that are known to be biased. The second approach is a user-interface-driven solution that tries to minimize anchoring biases at rating collection time. Our empirical investigation explicitly demonstrates the impact of biased vs. unbiased ratings on recommender systems' predictive performance. It also indicates that the post-hoc algorithmic de-biasing approach is very problematic, most likely due to the fact that the anchoring effects can manifest themselves very differently for different users and items. This further emphasizes the importance of proactively avoiding anchoring biases at the time of rating collection. Further, through laboratory experiments, we demonstrate that certain interface designs of recommender systems are more advantageous than others in effectively reducing anchoring biases.


Nearly half of large, employer-sponsored group health plans in the United States do not cover prescription contraceptives used by women. This exclusion contributes to unintended pregnancies, higher out-of-pocket expenses, and adverse social consequences. The federal courts currently are split on whether this exclusion violates Title VII as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA). In a recent decision that is of first impression at the circuit court level, the Eighth Circuit ruled in In re Union Pacific Railroad Employment Practices Litigation that the lack of contraception coverage in an employee health insurance plan that covered Rogaine and Viagra for men did not violate the PDA because contraception is not related to pregnancy. This article reviews the pertinent legislative history and case law and proposes a two-part strategy for expanding the availability of prescription contraceptives in employer-sponsored health plans. First, employers that exclude prescription contraceptives from employee health insurance plans should be held to violate the PDA. Such a violation occurs because the failure to provide insurance coverage for prescription contraceptives necessarily affects a sex-related medical condition since only women can become pregnant. This article additionally urges the adoption of an amendment to ERISA – the Equity in Prescription Insurance and Contraceptive Coverage Act – which would mandate all group health plans to include prescription coverage as a matter of federal law. Such an enactment would avoid ERISA preemption and serve to require prescription contraceptive coverage in both insurance-based and self-insured employer health plans.


This paper presents experimental validation of two reference stress based methods for circumferential cracked pipes. One is the R6 method where the reference stress is defined by the plastic limit load. The other is the enhanced reference stress method, recently proposed by the authors, where the reference stress is defined by the optimized reference load. Using thirty-eight published pipe test data, the predicted maximum instability loads according to both methods are compared with the experimental ones for pipes with circumferential through-thickness cracks and with part circumferential surface cracks. It is found that the R6 method gives conservative estimates of the maximum loads for all cases. Ratios of the experimental maximum load to the predicted load range from 0.54 to 0.98. On the other hand, the proposed method gives overall closer maximum loads than R6, compared to the experimental data. However, for part through-thickness surface cracks, the estimated loads were slightly non-conservative for four cases, and possible reasons were fully discussed.Copyright © 2003 by ASME


System trespassing by computer intruders is a growing concern among millions of Internet users. However, little research has employed criminological insights to explore the effectiveness of security means to deter unauthorized access to computer systems. Drawing on the deterrence perspective, we employ a large set of target computers built for the sole purpose of being attacked and conduct two independent experiments to investigate the influence of a warning banner on the progression, frequency, and duration of system trespassing incidents. In both experiments, the target computers (86 computers in the first experiment and 502 computers in the second) were set either to display or not to display a warning banner once intruders had successfully infiltrated the systems; 1,058 trespassing incidents were observed in the first experiment and 3,768 incidents in the second. The findings reveal that although a warning banner does not lead to an immediate termination or a reduction in the frequency of trespassing incidents, it significantly reduces their duration. Moreover, we find that the effect of a warning message on the duration of repeated trespassing incidents is attenuated in computers with a large bandwidth capacity. These findings emphasize the relevance of restrictive deterrence constructs in the study of system trespassing.


This glossary was put together in response to an increasing technological and linguistic Tower of Babel effect in the communications field. It offers an initial filtering of the terminology based on a re-examination of information and communication basics. The first term, the notion of human relations, signifies a phenomenon that is ontologically impossible in the absence of the communicating act, and the quality of which is a reflection of the model of communication governing it. The chapter examines the following terms: deontologies, morals and ethics, which are reassigned their true meanings, underlining the inherence of moral and communication, and of intersubjectivity and society. Inform and communicate are concepts that can be derived by schematization from the group of relational categories in order to bring out the vertical, causative, desocializing and imperfect nature of the former, and the synthetic, reciprocal, socializing and perfect nature of the latter, demonstrating that inform should be conceived of from the perspective of communicate, and not the reverse. This thinking lays a foundation for the full legitimacy and precedence of communication rights, whose areas of application are described. The chapter also discusses the aspect of these rights that provokes the most conflict today - the vicarious exercise of them - in order to demonstrate the need for new social contracts in this area. The term free flow of information, an essentially positive concept, though often improperly applied, needs to be recovered, because many current controversies reproduce old and unresolved diatribes regarding information in its other senses. The two antonymous terms access and participation are identifiable in communicational terms as receiving and transmitting of messages. These two notions, of great strategic importance, are often distorted, if not manipulated. Finally, the term information society is a triumphalist nickname used to legitimize the repudiation of better and more peaceful human relations that are expressed in a communication society. Considering the information society in its current phase, the chapter criticizes its evident anomy, the abuses of dominant positions that plague it, its addiction to espionage and its criminal economic record.


We consider the problem of locating facilities in a metric space to serve a set of selfish agents. The cost of an agent is the distance between her own location and the nearest facility. The social cost is the total cost of the agents. We are interested in designing strategy-proof mechanisms without payment that have a small approximation ratio for social cost. A mechanism is a (possibly randomized) algorithm which maps the locations reported by the agents to the locations of the facilities. A mechanism is strategy-proof if no agent can benefit from misreporting her location in any configuration.
 This setting was first studied by Procaccia and Tennenholtz [21]. They focused on the facility game where agents and facilities are located on the real line. Alon et al. studied the mechanisms for the facility games in a general metric space [1]. However, they focused on the games with only one facility. In this paper, we study the two-facility game in a general metric space, which extends both previous models.
 We first prove an Ω(n) lower bound of the social cost approximation ratio for deterministic strategy-proof mechanisms. Our lower bound even holds for the line metric space. This significantly improves the previous constant lower bounds [21, 17]. Notice that there is a matching linear upper bound in the line metric space [21]. Next, we provide the first randomized strategy-proof mechanism with a constant approximation ratio of 4. Our mechanism works in general metric spaces. For randomized strategy-proof mechanisms, the previous best upper bound is O(n) which works only in the line metric space.


This study characterised the responses of isolated equine pulmonary artery vessels to hypoxia and a range of agonists, and compared responses of isolated bovine pulmonary vessels. In vivo studies have demonstrated an inability of the equine pulmonary vascular system to ensure that blood is directed to well-ventilated regions of the lung in lateral or dorsal recumbency. This phenomenon is accentuated when accompanied by general anaesthesia: the resulting hypoxaemia contributes to the morbidity and mortality associated with this procedure. Proper function is further hampered by the lack of a strong hypoxic vasocontrictor (HPV) response redirecting blood away from poorly ventilated lung regions. Both the HPV response and vasoactive agent-induced vasoconstriction have direct medial smooth muscle and endothelial cell components which were examined in this study. A simple and reproducible method of isolating and culturing vascular endothelial cells was developed and used to measure the release of vasoactive substances during normoxia and hypoxia. The rate of release of endothelin from cultured equine pulmonary artery endothelial cells was similar to that from bovine pulmonary artery and equine aorta cells; 4 h hypoxia had no effect on the rates of release from any of these cell types. Hypoxia stimulated prostacyclin release from bovine but not equine pulmonary endothelial cells. Isolated equine pulmonary artery had similar sensitivities to phenylephrine and 5-hydroxytryptamine, yet contracted with approximately 50% of the force when compared to bovine vessels. The contractile response to endothelin appeared to be mediated via the ETa receptor in equine pulmonary artery. The response of both equine and bovine pulmonary vessels to hypoxia was similar, although bovine vessels contracted more strongly than equine vessels in both absolute and relative terms. In conclusion, equine and bovine pulmonary vessels responded to vasoactive agents and hypoxia, but equine vessels of equivalent diameter contract less strongly. These differences do not appear to be caused by altered endothelial cell function. Instead they may reflect the presence of less smooth muscle within the medial layer and an intrinsically weaker response of equine pulmonary smooth muscle to hypoxia.


The repeated pattern of I, P and B frames in an MPEG stream is known as the Group of Pictures (GOP). Current GOP choices are made using intuition and informal guidelines without the support of theoretical or practical evidence. This paper studies the impact of the choice of GOP by evaluating the effects of GOP on both static MPEG videos and MPEG videos streaming over a lossy network. The static analysis involves encoding raw video images into MPEG files with various GOP patterns to compare and contrast static properties such as the frame size, file size and quality. The streaming analysis varies the GOP length and pattern to study the impact of GOP on a model of the streaming bitrate and playable frame rate. The results consistently suggest two guidelines: 1) the number of B frames between two reference frames should be close to 2, except when limited to less than 2 by time constraints; 2) the number of P frames should be 5 or fewer as there is little performance gain in setting the number of P frames in the GOP larger than 5.


This beautiful new book by renowned art historian Timothy Verdon tells the story of the life of St. Francis of Assisi in story and art. The 28 stunning thirteenth-century frescoes by Giotto that cover the walls of the famous Basilica in Assisi named for the saint are reproduced in full color, together with a schematic drawing showing their placement in the church. Through detailed descriptions and illuminating commentary on each of the famous frescoes, Verdon tells the story of Francis's extraordinary life, allowing today's reader the opportunity to "read" the art on those walls in the same way that a medieval Christian might have done.


Ancient physicians engaged in property disputes over the seals they impressed on the containers of their medications, making brand marks the oldest branch of intellectual property. The antiquity of brand marks, however, has not helped their proper understanding by the law. While the conceptual and historical foundations of copyrights and patents continue to be part and parcel of contemporary legal debates, the full history and theorizing on business marks is largely external to trademark doctrine. Furthermore, with only a few and by now outdated exceptions, whatever scholarship exists on these topics has been performed mostly not by legal scholars but by archaeologists, art historians, anthropologists, sociologists, and historians of material culture. Such a striking imbalance suggests that the law is more eager to assume and state what trademarks should be rather than understand how they actually work today. Nor does the law often acknowledge the many different ways in which marks have always been deployed to distinguish both goods and their makers. This is not just a scholarly problem: given the extraordinary importance of brands in the global economy, the growing disjuncture between the way brands function in different contexts and cultures and trademark law's simplified conceptualization of that function has become a problem with increasingly substantial policy implications.


This paper describes the implementation of controlling physical parameters through IoT applications with GSM module. The ever increasing requirements for information being accessible at any time, from any place, regardless the type of remote device or planned operation, together with the need of complete control of a specific scenario or device has paved the way towards the next technological revolution: Internet of Things (IoT). In this project, the parameters are sensed by the respective sensors and are monitored by the individual microcontrollers. Finally, the values are displayed with the help of individual LCD displays. The microcontroller is connected to the PC through zigbee bus and the output will be displayed in that PC with the help of RS232 serial communication. This data is stored in the Pc and uploaded to the cloud. The system is reliable and stable. It is the most effective and most economical means of equipment safety monitoring. Keywords—Zigbee, GSM, IoT, Android, Microcontroller,


Multiparty routing protocols for resource constraint VHF Mobile Tactical Networks are studied by employing a modeling platform that integrates VHF tactical radio signal measurement data and practical network deployment scenarios. The standard approach of Simplified Multicast Forwarding based on the 2-hop neighborhood information and a typical alternative using 1-hop network clustering are compared to examine their overhead cost and their applicability in the tactical network. It is found that the 2-hop neighborhood information based solution may generate high message overhead when disseminating the link status information. The 1-hop clustering scheme, on the other hand, may require improvement on its packet forwarding efficiency.


T his article presents the nature of conflicts in postcolonial societies as the consequence of being under external control and economic exploitation. Drawing on empirical cases from Indonesia and a comparative literature review of African states, this article reveals a huge dilemma within the desire to build a solid nation state in a deeply pluralistic society. The nature of the modern nation state, which from the start requires the forcible subjugation of the population, has become one of the greatest paradoxes. That is to say, the very idea of unity for the pursuance of equity contradicts the premise of democracy, because forcing unity onto diversity implies denouncing differences and thus violating universal individual rights to be different. On that account, Indonesia's struggle with diversity has falsified Huntington's thesis, according to which cultural differences necessarily tend to lead to conflict. On the contrary, Indonesia demonstrates that conflicts have stemmed from nationalism and political-economic ideologies rather than cultural differences. This article highlights two issues of global relevance. Firstly, the inherent problems of coexistence that arise from the legacy of the Christian missionary tradition advocating the separation of the state and religion in the colonies, whereas Islam is a religion of politics and of law. Secondly, the concept of al-din is hardly compatible with the Western concept of religion. In contemporary globalization, the modern nation state and nationalism are increasingly contrasted with the 'cosmic' nature of religion, which claims allegiances transcending differences of race and nationality. On the bright side, a case study of a Muslim 'intentional community' offers a pragmatic solution whereby an implementation of Islamic jurisprudence as a response to ecological issues by an individual Muslim group is doable within the constraints of a nation state. Thus the thesis moves beyond the rigidity of state system and promotes a 'people to people' approach.


This paper examines analytical procedures aimed at the study of the functional condition of architectural artefacts and, as a result, the promotion of a better understanding of the connections established with spatial conditions. The goal is to contribute to the development of techniques based on computer vision of mobility and users' interaction, producing non-arbitrary registries of their movement/navigation and occupancy/co-presence patterns via a quantitatively based analysis.Movement/navigation and occupancy/co-presence patterns were correlated with configurational properties obtained by applying the space syntax descriptive model (Hillier and Hanson, 1984). It was possible to analyse relations between the spatial configuration and the movement/navigation and occupancy/co-presence patterns, a key question within the architectural conceptual process.


I will investigate applications of machine learning algorithms to medical data, adaptations of differences in data collection, and the use of ensemble techniques. Focusing on the binary classification problem of Parkinson's Disease (PD) diagnosis, I will apply machine learning algorithms to a primary dataset consisting of voice recordings from healthy and PD subjects. Specifically, I will use Artificial Neural Networks, Support Vector Machines, and an Ensemble Learning algorithm to reproduce results from [MS12] and [GM09]. Next, I will adapt a secondary regression dataset of PD recordings and combine it with the primary binary classification dataset, testing various techniques to consolidate the data including treating the regression data as unlabeled data in a semi-supervised learning approach. I will determine the performance of the above algorithms on this consolidated dataset. Performance of algorithms will be evaluated using 10-fold cross validation and results will be analyzed in a confusion matrix. Accuracy, precision, recall, and F-score will be calculated. The expands on past related work, which has used either a regression dataset alone to predict a Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale score for PD patients, or a classification dataset to determine healthy or PD diagnosis. In past work, the datasets have not been combined, and the regression set has not been used to contribute to evaluation of healthy subjects.


In steam methane reforming one of the key reliability aspects relates to ensuring the integrity and reliable operation of the catalyst filled radiant tubes. The tubes experience temperatures beyond 900°C for a considerable length of time, which makes creep the prime mode of failure. Predicting and assessing creep damage rates is challenging for a number of reasons: the alloys are not subject to any international specifications, the tubes are cast and their microstructures evolve substantially in service. These factors are known to lead to considerable scatter in creep life, strain and ductility response. This paper describes the initial steps of a current approach to managing tube life and outlines the early stages of a study aimed at development of a methodology to utilise appropriate inspection in combination with judicious creep strain/rupture testing to provide an effective strategy for longterm assessment and management of reformer tube integrity. The work involves creep testing and microstructural characterisation of service-exposed material to incorporate the influences of material changes


Background : To address the risks of adverse pregnancy outcomes and future type 2 diabetes associated with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), its early detection and timely treatment is essential. In the absence of an international consensus, multiple different guidelines on screening and diagnosis of GDM have existed for a long time. This may be changing with the publication of the recommendations by the International Association of Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Groups. However, none of these guidelines take into account evidence from or ground realities of resource-poor settings. Objective : This study aimed to investigate whether GDM projects supported by the World Diabetes Foundation in developing countries utilize any of the internationally recommended guidelines for screening and diagnosis of GDM, explore experiences on applicability and usefulness of the guidelines and barriers if any, in implementing the guidelines. These projects have reached out to thousands of pregnant women through capacity building and improvement of access to GDM screening and diagnosis in the developing world and therefore provide a rich field experience on the applicability of the guidelines in resource-poor settings. Design : A mixed methods approach using questionnaires and interviews was utilised to review 11 GDM projects. Two projects were conducted by the same partner; interviews were conducted in person or via phone by the first author with nine project partners and one responded via email. The interviews were analysed using content analysis. Results : The projects use seven different screening procedures and diagnostic criteria and many do not completely adhere to one guideline alone. Various challenges in adhering to the recommendations emerged in the interviews, including problems with screening women during the recommended time period, applicability of some of the listed risk factors used for (pre-)screening, difficulties with reaching women for testing in the fasting state, time consuming nature of the tests, intolerance to high glucose load due to nausea, need for repeat tests, issues with scarcity of test consumables and lack of equipment making some procedures impossible to follow. Conclusion : Though an international consensus on screening and diagnosis for GDM is welcome, it should ensure that the recommendations take into account feasibility and applicability in low resource settings to ensure wider usage. We need to move away from purely academic discussions focusing on sensitivity and specificity to also include what can actually be done at the basic care level.


Wyoming Coal Rules and Regulations require shrubs be returned to mined land and that revegetation "...be self renewing." We evaluated seed production and seed quality of Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt. ssp. wyomingensis (Beetle & Young)) by measuring the effect of mining, herbivory, and environmental modification on seed production at 5 sites on the Dave Johnston Coal Mine near Glenrock, Wyo. Mined-land stands ranged in age from 5 to >20 years. Single sagebrush plants on mined, and adjacent unmined land were treated by: (1) fabric mulch around the base, (2) windbreak on the north and west, (3) both mulch and windbreak, and (4) neither windbreak nor mulch. Plants were fenced and compared with unfenced, untreated, neighboring plants. Seeds were harvested for 3 years and data were collected on seed-stalk numbers, bulk weight of seeds produced, and seed quality. Fenced mined-land plants produced several times more seeds than fenced plants on adjacent unmined land. There was no difference in seed quality. Treatments to modify the plant environment resulted in some benefits but fencing had a greater effect on seed-quality parameters than did planned treatments. We conclude the sagebrush seed-production potential on reclaimed lands such as those of the Dave Johnston Coal Mine is equal to, and often several times greater than that of adjacent unmined lands. However, browsing by wild ungulates can eliminate the mined-land yield advantage. DOI:10.2458/azu_jrm_v56i5_booth


Has the emergence of information technology changed the structure of employment and earnings in the US? We propose a new index of occupation-level IT intensity and document several long-term changes in the occupational landscape over the past decades. Using Census and US KLEMS micro-data, we show that: (i) the bulk of productivity growth after 1950 is concentrated in IT intensive sectors; (ii) the share of workers in IT jobs has expanded significantly, with little or no pause and IT jobs enjoy a large and growing earnings premium, even after controlling for general task requirements (e.g., cognitive, non-routine); and (iii) the rise of the IT intensive employment share is closely associated with declines in the manufacturing employment share. While earnings premia for college-educated and cognitive/non-routine workers have flattened in the aggregate since 2000, we show that they continued growing in IT intensive jobs and that these jobs have played a key role in accounting for the surge of high tech service labor productivity. We also use our IT intensity index to estimate industry-specific elasticities of substitution between IT and non-IT intensive labor, finding values of 1.6 in manufacturing and 1.3 in services. Finally, we revisit a long-standing question about the relationship between technological progress and productivity and provide evidence that occupation-level IT intensity is positively associated with output growth, especially in the services sector.


Noise is prevalent in all pipeline instrumentation and measurement system data and is perhaps one of the biggest environmental factors, which determines if a system will operate reliably in practice. Noise present in data can be random or repetitive, occurring continuous or in isolated bursts and can have a multitude of sources. At Enbridge, the leak detectability of Computational Pipeline Modeling (CPM) based leak detection (LD) systems is notably affected by the presence of noise in the pipeline data. Data smoothing of noisy pipeline data is a non-trivial process; these techniques are used not only to eliminate "noise" from the operating data, but also to extract real trends and patterns within the data, and to maintain important characteristics of the signal itself, particularly during transient time periods. Finding an effective data smoothing methodology has, therefore, become an important and challenging task for the Leak Detection team at Enbridge.This paper presents an innovative approach on data smoothing with the aim of improving data quality and detectability of the CPM based LD systems using the Wavelet analysis method which is incorporated in the MATLAB toolbox. Wavelet-based algorithms have proved to be quite an effective tool for the analysis, synthesis, denoising, and compression of signals and provide more precise information about signal data than other signal analysis techniques, such as Fourier Transform. In this paper the Wavelet analysis technique has been reviewed and is shown to be effective in manipulation and smoothing of pipeline data, both during the transient and steady state conditions. Based on the algorithm and utilities developed, extensive tests have been performed and comparison studies have been made to validate the methodology using simulated leak test data, fluid withdrawal test data, and API 1130/1149 calculations etc. The test results indicate that data smoothing technique employed has a substantial effect on the data quality which in turn has significantly improved the detectability of Enbridges current leak detection system.Copyright © 2012 by ASME


Introduction. Part I: The Eclipse Landscape. Chapter 1: Reader, Meet Eclipse Eclipse, Meet the Reader. Chapter 2: Installing Eclipse. Chapter 3: Using the Eclipse Workbench. Chapter 4: Changing Your Perspective. Chapter 5: Some Useful Perspectives and Views. Part II: Using the Eclipse Environment. Chapter 6: Using the Java Editor. Chapter 7: Getting Eclipse to Write Your Code. Chapter 8: Straight from the Source's Mouse. Chapter 9: More Eclipse "Sourcery". Chapter 10: Refactoring: A Burd's Eye View. Chapter 11: Refactor This! Chapter 12: Looking for Things in All the Right Places. Part III: Doing More with Eclipse. Chapter 13: Working with Projects. Chapter 14: Running Code. Chapter 15: Getting Help. Chapter 16: Squashing Bugs. Part IV: The Part of Tens. Chapter 17: Ten Frequently Asked Questions (And Their Answers). Chapter 18: Ten Great Plug-Ins for Eclipse. Index.


Triclosan, the antimicrobial agent marketed for its germ-fighting capability in personal care products, is coming under close scrutiny. In April 2010 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it is conducting a scientific and regulatory review of triclosan in FDAregulated products, with publication of results expected in spring 2011. The agency also is collaborating with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) specifically to study the potential endocrine-disrupting effects of the compound. Triclosan is a broad-spectrum antimicrobial agent developed over 40 years ago and first introduced as a surgical scrub. Over the last 20 years its use has grown rapidly in personal care products including soap, hand sanitizer, cosmetics, and toothpaste, as well as household products such as odor-fighting socks and germresistant sponges, kitchenware, and bedding. A 2001 U.S. study—the latest such data—found triclosan in 76% of 395 commercial soaps examined. In 2008 the Environmental Working Group reported finding triclosan in more than 140 types of personal care and home products. Data from the 2003–2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey showed triclosan in 75% of urine samples analyzed. Triclosan also has been found in rivers and streams and in sewage sludge applied to agriculture. In January 2010, congressman Edward J. Markey (D–MA) wrote to the FDA and the EPA, urging the agencies to regulate triclosan and the biocide triclocarban. However, future regulation of triclosan in the United States is far from certain. "The efficacy of triclosancontaining products in household and other nonhealthcare-related settings and the potential hazards associated with [these uses] are the subject of an ongoing scientific debate," says Antonia Calafat, lead research chemist in the Organic Analytical Toxicology Branch of the National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One area of debate involves the hypothesis that triclosan enhances the production of chloroform, which is classified by the EPA as a probable human carcinogen. A study published in 2007 illustrated that, under some circumstances, triclosan triggered the production of chloroform in amounts up to 40% higher than background levels in chlorine-treated tap water. But another study published the same year showed no formation of detectable chloroform levels over a range of expected tooth-brushing durations among subjects using toothpaste with triclosan and normal chlorinated tap water.10 Studies also have yielded conflicting findings regarding links between triclosan and adverse health effects in animals. One study, for example, associated exposure to low levels of triclosan with disrupted thyroid hormone– associated gene expression in tadpoles, which encouraged them to prematurely change into frogs, while another linked triclosan exposure with reduced sperm production in male rats. In contrast, research published in February 2010 showed no effect of triclosan on the normal course of thyroid-mediated metamorphosis in bullfrog tadpoles at environmentally relevant concentrations. There is still less certainty about the potential for harmful effects in humans. A multiethnic longitudinal study of 1,151 U.S. girls identified small inverse associations for triclosan and high-molecular-weight phthalates with pubic hair stage, although the authors noted that "some or all of our findings may be due to chance." The FDA notes the compound currently is not known to be hazardous to humans, and, moreover, the agency does not currently recommend any changes to consumer use of triclosan-containing products. Scientists in Europe are less sanguine. In 2009 the European Union's Scientific Committee on Consumer Products, which provides the European Commission (EC) with scientific advice, wrote that the toxicologic data suggest "the continued use of triclosan as a preservative at the current concentration limit of maximum 0.3% in all cosmetic products is not safe for the consumer because of the magnitude of the aggregate exposure." However, the committee noted that continued use in specific subcategories including toothpaste, soap, deodorant, face powder, and blemish concealer is considered safe. In March the EC called for an assessment of whether triclosan in cosmetic products can lead to the development of resistance by certain microorganisms. One manufacturer already asked European regulators to withdraw its application for the use of triclosan in plastic products that come into contact with food. In a 2009 letter to the EC, officials from Ciba Inc. wrote that the company "does not consider the use of the substance in plastics intended to come into contact with food appropriate any more." As for whether triclosan actually improves products to which it's added, the FDA asserts it has no clear evidence that triclosan in antibacterial soaps and body washes provides extra health benefits over washing with regular soap and water, although it acknowledged evidence that triclosan in toothpaste may help prevent gingivitis. Paul DeLeo, senior director of environmental safety at The Soap and Detergent Association, maintains that antibacterial soaps with triclosan have been shown to work better than soap and water when killing harmful bacteria, citing a study by researchers from The Dial Corporation. DeLeo notes that years' worth of research demonstrates the environmental safety of triclosan as reflected in studies showing that 90–98% of the compound is typically removed by wastewater treatment plants. However, says Rolf Halden, an associate professor in the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment at Arizona State University, although triclosan may be effectively removed from wastewater, only about 50% is degraded during treatment. "We are in a conundrum," he says, "where we have all of this old data that shows that triclosan is safe, and all of this new data that shows the potential harm." The challenge for the FDA and the EPA will be to figure out where the new data and the old intersect.


In this paper, we describe a method for coordinating multiple robots in a pursuit-evasion domain. We examine the problem of multiple robotic pursuers attempting to locate a non-adversarial mobile evader in an indoor environment. Unlike many other approaches to this problem, our method seeks to minimize expected time of capture rather than guaranteeing capture. This allows us to examine the performance of our algorithm in complex and cluttered environments where guaranteed capture is difficult or impossible with limited pursuers. We present a probabilistic formulation of the problem, discretize the environment, and define cost heuristics for use in planning. We then propose a scalable algorithm using an entropy cost heuristic that searches possible movement paths to determine coordination strategies for the robotic pursuers. We present simulated results describing the performance of our algorithm against state of the art alternatives in a complex office environment. Our algorithm successfully reduces capture time with limited pursuers in an environment beyond the scope of many other approaches.


Probability elicitation is an important area of research with a wide scope for investigation and experimentation. The existing literature on the subject is vast and
spread over many disciplines. This indicates the importance of the subject and the ubiquitous nature of the concept of probability.
In this thesis, we focus on a probability elicitation method known as predictive elicitation. Predictive elicitation is a method for estimating hyperparameters of prior distributions by inverting corresponding prior predictive distributions. The uncertainty associated with prior predictive distributions is the uncertainty associated with socalled observable quantities. This uncertainty is generally accepted to be fundamentally more robust for elicitation than the uncertainty about unobservable parameters associated with prior distributions.
Although predictive elicitation is the most natural way for eliciting probabilities for Bayesian models, it has two major difficulties for practical implementation. The first
of these difficulties is related to inverting integral equations. Here, we deal with this difficulty by restricting the space of possible classes of prior distributions into three families, namely the beta, gamma and normal families as suggested by Percy (2002-
2004). The second difficulty is the problem of constraints on eliciting quantiles of the prior predictive distribution. In this thesis, we propose a method for identifying such constraints for single parameter models. We also propose a computational algorithm that makes predictive elicitation accessible for two-parameter models. We demonstrate that using the proposed elicitation method for two-parameter models it is possible to identify associated constraints.
In summary, we extend the current literature related to predictive elicitation by adding to it the following main points:
We propose a method for identifying constraints on the elicitation of quantiles for single parameter models.
We propose the use of a new hybrid elicitation procedure for two-parameter models. We also investigate a method for identifying constraints on the elicitation process posed by the hybrid elicitation strategy.
We provide numerical algorithms, programmed using MathCAD software, that enable full implementation of predictive elicitation for single parameter models.
We also provide similar programs for selected two-parameter models that enable implementation of the proposed hybrid elicitation method. These algorithms can be used as bases for developing generic software for implementing predictive
elicitation.
Further research is needed to address the issue of the practical applicability of predictive elicitation to multi-parameter and multivariate models. The advancements
made in this thesis provide foundations and an approach for dealing with the problem of constraints that can be extended to solve similar problems for multi-parameter and
multivariate models.


In this paper, we propose a framework for prioritized constraint-based specification of robot tasks. This framework is integrated with a cognitive robotic system based on semantic models of processes, objects, and workcells. The target is to enable intuitive (re-)programming of robot tasks, in a way that is suitable for non-expert users typically found in SMEs. Using CAD semantics, robot tasks are specified as geometric inter-relational constraints. During execution, these are combined with constraints from the environment and the workcell, and solved in real-time. Our constraint model and solving approach supports a variety of constraint functions that can be non-linear and also include bounds in the form of inequalities, e.g., geometric inter-relations, distance, collision avoidance and posture constraints. It is a hierarchical approach where priority levels can be specified for the constraints, and the nullspace of higher priority constraints is exploited to optimize the lower priority constraints. The presented approach has been applied to several typical industrial robotic use-cases to highlight its advantages compared to other state-of-the-art approaches.


Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a major causative agent of atrophic gastritis and peptic ulcer as well as associated with gastric carcinogenesis. The bacteria not only can persistently colonize the stomach by evading the immune system of the host, but also has antibacterial drug resistance. Thus, the need for alternative medicine to effectively eradicate the bacteria has become more important. Phytochemicals from crucifer vegetables are well-known alternative medicines as antibacterial substances. Among various crucifer vegetables, a turnip (Brassica rapa L.), in the family Brassicaceae, was evaluated in the present study because of its popularity on ethnopharmacology and the advantage of long-term storage after harvest. The evaluation was done by colony formation unit calculation, urease activity test, anti-H. pylori IgG titer measurement, proinflammatory cytokine measurement, and histopathological assessment after sacrificing the infected mouse model. Among the experimental groups, the group treated with a high dose of myrosinase-reacted turnip roots exhibited a distinctive anti-H. pylori activities, such as reduced bacterial colonization and increased anti-H. pylori IgG titer. Thus, the present study suggests a turnip as a new functional dietary regimen for the treatment of H. pylori infection. Furthermore, the present study can be utilized as a basis for the development of safe and effective drugs for other infectious alimentary diseases.


This Article argues that machines are coming to disrupt the legal profession and that bar regulation cannot stop them. Part I describes the relentless growth of computer power in hardware, software, and data collection capacity. This Part emphasizes that machine intelligence is not a one-time event that lawyers will have to accommodate. Instead, it is an accelerating force that will invade an ever-larger territory and exercise a more firm dominion over this larger area. We then describe five areas in which machine intelligence will provide services or factors of production currently provided by lawyers: discovery, legal search, document generation, brief generation, and prediction of case outcomes. Superstars and specialists in fast changing areas of the law will prosper — and litigators and counselors will continue to profit — but the future of the journeyman lawyer is insecure. Part II discusses how these developments may create unprecedented competitive pressures in many areas of lawyering. This Part further shows that bar regulation will be unable to stop such competition. The legal ethics rules permit, and indeed where necessary for lawyers to provide competent representation, require lawyers to employ machine intelligence. Even though unauthorized practice of law statutes on their face prohibit nonlawyers' use of machine intelligence to provide legal services to consumers, these laws have failed, and are likely to continue to fail, to limit the delivery of legal services through machine intelligence. As a result, we expect an age of unparalleled innovation in legal services and reject the view of commentators who worry that bar regulations are a significant stumbling block to technological innovation in legal practice. Indeed, in the long run, the role of machine intelligence in providing legal services will speed the erosion of lawyers' monopoly on delivering legal services and will advantage consumers and society by making legal services more transparent and affordable.


Passage retrieval is an essential part of question answering systems. In this paper we use statistical language models to perform this task. Previous work has shown that language modeling techniques provide better results for both, document and passage retrieval. The motivation behind this paper is to define new smoothing methods for passage retrieval in question answering systems. The long term objective is to improve the quality of question answering systems to isolate the correct answer by choosing and evaluating the appropriate section of a document. In this work we use a three step approach. The first two steps are standard document and passage retrieval using the Lemur toolkit. As a novel contribution we propose as the third step a re-ranking using dedicated backing-off distributions. In particular backing-off from the passage-based language model to a language model trained on the document from which the passage is taken shows a significant improvement. For a TREC question answering task we can increase the mean average precision from 0.127 to 0.176.


Video summarization is a useful tool which allows a user to grasp rapidly the essence of a video. In the development of this research topic we propose a new method based on different individual content segmentation and selection tools in a collaborative system. The main innovation of this work is to merge results from different approaches, so as to benefit from their respective qualities. Our system is organized in two phases: first segmentation of the video, second identification of relevant and redundant segments. The final list of selected segments is used to concatenate the video segments and build the final summary. In order to assess the effectiveness of this organization, we evaluate our system with a method based on the TRECVID 2007 BBC rushes summarization evaluation pilot and compare our performance with existing systems.


Shakespeare's plays were not always the inviolable texts they are almost universally considered to be today. The Restoration and eighteenth century committed what many critics view as one of the most subversive acts in literary history-the rewriting and restructuring of Shakespeare's plays. Many of us are familiar with Nahum Tate's "audacious" adaptation of King Lear with its resoundingly happy ending, but Tate was only one of a score of playwrights who adapted Shakespeare's plays. Between 1660 and 1777, more than fifty adaptations appeared in print and on the stage, works in which playwrights augmented, substantially cut, or completely rewrote the original plays. The plays were staged with new characters, new scenes, new endings, and, underlying all this novelty, new words. Why did this happen? And why, in the later eighteenth century, did it stop? These questions have serious implications regarding both the aesthetics of the literary text and its treatment, for the adaptations manifest the period's perceptions of Shakespeare. As such, they demonstrate an important evolution in the definition of poetic language, and in the idea of what constitutes a literary work. In The Re-Imagined Text, Jean I. Marsden examines both the adaptations and the network of literary theory that surrounds them, thereby exploring the problems of textual sanctity and of the author's relationship to the text. As she demonstrates, Shakespeare's works, and English literature in general, came to be defined by their words rather than by the plots and morality on which the older aesthetic theory focused-a clear step toward our modern concern for the word and its varying levels of signification.


Concurrent alcohol dependence poses a significant burden to health and wellbeing of people with established opioid dependence. Although previous research indicates that both genetic and environmental risk factors contribute to the development of drug or alcohol dependence, the role of genetic determinants in development of concurrent alcohol and opioid dependence has not been scrutinised.
To search for genetic pre-determinants of concurrent alcohol and opioid dependence, electronic literature searches were completed using MEDLINE (PubMed) and EBSCO (Academic Search Complete) databases. Reference lists of included studies were also searched. In this discussion paper, we provide an overview of the genes (n=33) which are associated with the opioid, serotonergic, dopaminergic, GABA-ergic, cannabinoid, and metabolic systems for each dependency (i.e., alcohol or opioid) separately.
The current evidence base is inconclusive regarding an exclusively genetic pre-determinant of concurrent alcohol and opioid dependence. Further search strategies and original research are needed to determine the genetic basis for concurrent alcohol and opioid dependency.


Tourism development in a regional autonomous is much needed tourism bureau. Motivation of the employee as primary person who has responsibility is very important to get success or weakness of the output. The motivation of them is content of internal and external. The external motivation came from rule and the poli9cy of their leader. The man who has achievement from any people and office came from promotion.
This research was used motivation concept from Alderfer. There are existence needs, relatedness needs, dan Growth needs (ERG). Third of them is sed to get satisfaction with simultanly although any factors such as social, culture, and ability any person could give presure strongly to
one of them. Work achievemnet concept is content of quality, quantity, and attitude. Research method is content of survey research, research location in Dinas Pariwisata Jl. Sultan Agung, Batu , the popualtion are 70 person of all the egovernment employee. Sample methode was used
total sampling, data were primmary and secondary data, data collection were documentation and quisionery, variable mesurement was used likert scale, instrument test was used validity and reliability, analyze data tool was used corelaton quantitative method.
Research result was showed corelation between motivation and work achievement of Batu Tourism Bureau's government employee. Existence variabel has worth 0,855 or 85,5%.
Corelation between relatedness and work achievement had worth 0,525 or 52,5%. Corelation between growth and work achievement had worth 0,763 or 76,3%. The highest corelation was existence.


China gets higher national prestige since it has expanded market-opening policy after joining the WTO in 2001, holding the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008 and Shanghai International Expo in 2010 successfully. Based on this phenomenon, China makes an attempt at qualitative economic and social growth. China's aviation industry has been continuously growing about 10% or more since the 2000s and expected leading the world aviation market. Also China has 25% of air transport share and 20% or more of cargo share of nation's total transportation. So China is considered as a prime trade partner of Korea. Meanwhile, airport policy aims to make hub airport based on major airlines externally, and promote the efficiency of airport operations internally. So each airport operator is looking for ways to survive from fierce competition among them. In the future, expanding of open-sky between Korea and China, interdependence of two nations is expected to be higher. These changes in environment might have an influence on airport policy of Korea and China. So it is highly expected to make strength partnership between airports. In other words, Korea and China's major airports are in competition to make hub airport of Northeast Asia. But it is also needed to seek cooperation through joint research for improvement of the competitiveness of the aviation industry in Korea and China. Accordingly this study presents collaboration measures among the facilities, operations and policy of Korea and China's major airport to increase the exchange of aviation industry and open sky. We are expect that this study contributes to the development of the aviation industry between Korea and China through the cooperation exchange presented in this study. Also we expect activation of regional airports by synergies of aviation and tourism and furthermore improving the quality of aviation services between Korea and China.


Pain Mechanisms: The Neurophysiology and Neuropsychology of Pain Perception. Psychology and Social Factors Influencing Pain: Individual Differences in the Experience of Pain. Pain and Thinking: An Introduction to Cognitive Psychology. Ethical Issues in Pain Management. The Assessemnt of Pain. The Use of Pharmacology in Pain Management. Psychological Techniques in the Management of Pain. Patient Teaching: A Pain Management Strategy. The Management of Children's Pain. Managing Post-Operative Pain: Problems and Solutions. Sickle Cell Disease Pain. Cancer Pain and Its Management. Chronic Non-Malignant Pain: A Community Based Approach to Management. Pain in the Elderly--Management Strategies. The Influence of Nursing Expertise on the Assessment of Pain: A Quality Study.


Postsurgical spine syndrome is becoming an increasingly common challenge for clinicians who deal with spinal disorders owing to the expanding indications for spinal surgery and the aging world population. A multidisciplinary approach is most appropriate for patients who are unlikely to benefit from further formal surgical intervention. Anticonvulsant medications are effective in managing neuropathic pain after surgery, whereas opioids are rarely beneficial. Neuromodulation via a surgically implanted dorsal column neurostimulator is gaining popularity owing to its substantial superiority over conventional medical management and/or further surgical intervention. However, considering that prevention is always better than cure, spinal surgeons need to be well aware of the many poor prognostic indicators for spinal surgery, particularly psychosocial overlay.


In their best-selling book Hansons Marathon Method, the coaches of the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project revealed the marathon training programme they've used to turn their runners into race winners, national champions and Olympians. Now in Hansons Half-Marathon Method, they reveal their unique approach to half-marathon, the fastest-growing running race distance in the world. Using this strategic and scientifically grounded training programme, runners will mix precisely paced speed, strength and tempo workouts to forge breakthrough performance in the half-marathon distance. Hansons Half-Marathon Method will prepare intermediate and competitive half-marathoners for their best performance. Detailed nutrition and hydration chapters help runners pinpoint their personal energy and hydration needs so they know precisely how much to eat and drink during workouts, race week, race day and for recovery. The Hansons approach to pacing and nutrition means runner will never hit the wall.


Abstract Research has pointed to schools and society as environmental influences on student beliefs about mathematics. This article highlights findings from two activities designed to elicit high school students' beliefs, particularly those related to gender. As a result of the activities, females in upper level classes rated themselves as having less confidence than males. In addition, viewing a movie clip was sufficient for some students to modify their descriptions of someone who is good at mathematics. Introduction My prior experiences with public perceptions about what it means to be good at mathematics have led me to investigate the role that society and the media play in high school students' confidence and beliefs. It seems as though some sort of justification or clarification is necessary when a female appearing to be "normal" can do mathematics. Evidently those who succeed in mathematics are males who lack social skills. I am interested in what these stereotypes are saying about those of us who enjoy mathematics. Additionally, I am concerned that similar situations may prohibit both male and female students from pursuing their interests in mathematics. Background As a female and former classroom teacher who has found success in mathematics, I have witnessed the wide range of beliefs about mathematics. Prior research on beliefs about mathematics has mainly focused on students' previous experience with mathematics (Bandura, 1986; Pajares, 1996; Weiner, 1986). Like Mcleod (1992) I will consider confidence as a belief about one's competence in mathematics. There is considerable anecdotal and research evidence that girls and women generally express less confidence about their mathematical capabilities than boys and men (Dweck, 1986; Willis, 2000). The subject of mathematics is unique because failure often does not lead to embarrassment. Instead students have been known to refer to their inabilities with a sort of pride (Damarin, 2000). On the other hand, those who succeed or hold some confidence in their mathematics abilities are viewed as outcasts. Research on the mathematically able has described them as a marked category in the form of deviance from the larger society (Damarin, 2000). It appears the understanding of mathematics has been placed out of the reach of most students. To find out more about student beliefs and mathematics, it is worthwhile to consider what might contribute to them. Some prior research has pointed to schools as influencing or even promoting these beliefs. Several sources of educational influences on students' beliefs about mathematics have been identified. Valerie Walkerdine (1998) examined the stereotypes placed on girls within mathematics classrooms. In another article Walkerdine (1989) attempted to tell a stow of female classroom success by explaining that it is necessary to avoid being caught in the empiricist trap of proving the mathematical equivalence of girls. Sue Willis (1995) explained a social typification of girls' success in mathematics as due to hard work and rule-following which can play a role in teacher behaviors. Leedy, Lalonde, and Runk (2003) discovered that even in a mathematically talented group of students, girls demonstrated a lack of confidence in their abilities. Other authors have discussed how society might play a role in students' mathematical beliefs. Suzanne Damarin (2000) described how mathematicians are portrayed in the media and how this influences the mindset of teenagers and young professionals. Similarly, Jo Boaler (2002) criticized researchers and popular media for their explanation of differences in the mathematical abilities of boys and girls. Dorothy Nelkin (1986) found that Nobel Prize scientists are portrayed as 'socially removed, apart from and above most human occupations.' In addition, Tapia and Marsh (2004) explained that children's peer cultures may assist in determining their choices. …


We present a novel ridge extraction algorithm for use with the two-dimensional continuous wavelet transform to extract the phase information from a fringe pattern. A cost function is employed for the detection of the ridge. The results of the proposed algorithm on simulated and real fringe patterns are illustrated. Moreover, the proposed algorithm outperforms the maximum ridge extraction algorithm and it is found to be robust and reliable.


Background: Addiction is one of the greatest problems of human societies, which not only causes social and behavioral disorders but also affects different aspects of health and imposes huge financial loss on individuals, families, and society. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of resistance training and mindfulness on the sexual function of addicted people.  Methods: The present study is an experimental research conducted using a pretest-posttest design with a control group. Participants of this study consisted of 50 married men aged 30-45; since their referral to addiction treatment centers in Shahrekord two weeks had passed. They were selected using convenience sampling method and matched based on the age range and history of addiction and divided into four groups of resistance training, mindfulness, combined (resistance training and mindfulness), and control. The resistance and combined training groups participated in resistance training for 8 weeks. The mindfulness and combined training groups participated in mindfulness therapy training for 8 weeks. During this period, the control group performed their daily activities. Before and after the intervention, data were collected using an erectile dysfunction questionnaire. Data were analyzed using covariance. Results:  All three types of intervention, including resistance training (P≤0.001), mindfulness training (P≤0.006), and combined training (P≤0.001), lead to the improvement of sexual performance. Additionally, combined training was more effective compared to the other two methods (P≤0.001). Conclusion: In order to improve the sexual performance of addicts, physical exercise and mindfulness training can be used. The simultaneous use of both methods has a greater influence on the improvement of sexual performance due to the addicts benefitting from the effects of two types of intervention.


The thermophilic Campylobacters Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli together constitute one of the major causes of bacterial diarrhea worldwide. Variations in growth temperature, pH, and inorganic ion contents led to increases in expression of flaB up to 2.6-fold over the basal level of expression in standard medium, suggesting that Campylobacters can modulate the compositions of their flagellar filaments and their motilities in direct response to environmental signals. Kanamycin-resistant, motile revertants were never obtained in the presence of DNase, indicating that these recombinational events were due to autolysis of cells and natural transformation mediated, intergenomic recombinational events. The lack of a suitable nonprimate disease model has precluded examination of nonflagellated isogenic mutants in a pathogenesis model, but several groups have examined the role of flagella in the invasion and adherence of eukaryotic cells in vitro. Flagellin genes were among the first Campylobacter genes to be cloned and mutated by site-specific mutagenesis protocols. The subsequent manipulation of these genes not only has led to greater understanding about the structure of an unusual flagellar filament but also has increased understanding of other aspects of the biology of these organisms. An understanding of the mechanisms by which Campylobacters regulate expression of flagellin genes and genes encoding alternate posttranslational modifications on the flagellins will contribute further to understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of these important pathogens.


We present an approximate procedure for computing coupled S waves in inhomogeneous weakly anisotropic media. The procedure can be used to compute S waves propagating in smooth inhomogeneous isotropic or anisotropic media. In anisotropic media, it can describe behaviour of coupled as well as decoupled S waves. Basic part of the procedure is an approximate computation of the common S-wave ray, a trajectory, along which properties of both S waves propagating in anisotropic media are computed. For computation of the common ray and of the approximate geometrical spreading along it, we use the first-order ray tracing and dynamic ray tracing concept, developed for computations of P waves in inhomogeneous weakly anisotropic media. The amplitude coefficients of the coupled S waves are computed by solving a coupled system of ordinary differential equations the coupling equations along the common S-wave ray. The performance of the procedure is illustrated on several models of varying strength of anisotropy. Its accuracy is tested by comparing its results with results of the standard ray theory.


A wealth of powerful dimensionality reduction methods has been established which can be used for data visualization and preprocessing. These are accompanied by formal evaluation schemes, which allow a quantitative evaluation along general principles and which even lead to further visualization schemes based on these objectives. Most methods, however, provide a mapping of a priorly given finite set of points only, requiring additional steps for out-of-sample extensions. We propose a general view on dimensionality reduction based on the concept of cost functions, and, based on this general principle, extend dimensionality reduction to explicit mappings of the data manifold. This offers simple out-of-sample extensions. Further, it opens a way towards a theory of data visualization taking the perspective of its generalization ability to new data points. We demonstrate the approach based on a simple global linear mapping as well as prototype-based local linear mappings.


Tracking the spread of an epidemic disease like seasonal or pandemic influenza is an important task that can reduce its impact and help authorities plan their response. In particular, early detection and geolocation of an outbreak are important aspects of this monitoring activity. Various methods are routinely employed for this monitoring, such as counting the consultation rates of general practitioners. We report on a monitoring tool to measure the prevalence of disease in a population by analysing the contents of social networking tools, such as Twitter. Our method is based on the analysis of hundreds of thousands of tweets per day, searching for symptom-related statements, and turning statistical information into a flu-score. We have tested it in the United Kingdom for 24 weeks during the H1N1 flu pandemic. We compare our flu-score with data from the Health Protection Agency, obtaining on average a statistically significant linear correlation which is greater than 95%. This method uses completely independent data to that commonly used for these purposes, and can be used at close time intervals, hence providing inexpensive and timely information about the state of an epidemic.


Soft tissue infection in a diabetic foot with an ulcer is often clinically obvious but the diagnosis of osteomyelitis underlying a diabetic foot ulcer is challenging. It has been calculated that there are over 1 million amputations worldwide for diabetes related complications every year, many preceded by an ulcer complicated by osteomyelitis. This research encompasses two studies attempting to add to the ways in which osteomyelitis is diagnosed. The first was examining the role of inflammatory blood markers in recognising and separating ulcers with cutaneous infection from both suspected and proven osteomyelitis. The response of the body to produce these markers when an injury occurs is well known but arguments exist as to the capacity of the individual with diabetes to do so. Despite the recognition and allowance for common confounding factors no trend was found. This study may have been more difficult than originally thought due to the many interactions of the diseased state of diabetes, the drugs used to control it and the many other confounders that would have influenced the inflammatory process and as such the level of the markers. The second study was comparing a new form of scanning technique (SPECT/CT) to the technique most commonly used as a 'gold standard' – MRI. The results of each type of scan were compared to the clinical diagnosis and each other. The SPECT/CT scan appears to show some good results and may be a more suitable scan for individuals who are unable to have a MRI for example due to the need to introduce a renally excreted drug to help make the images clearer but it does mean introducing a small amount of radiation into the individual.


Women and men tend to be differentially represented in many careers, in spite of reductions in structural barriers to the advancement of women and in overt sexism. Women are often overrepresented in traditionally feminine careers. Careers populated mainly by women also tend to be lower in pay and prestige. The present study continued an exploration of various gender-related barriers to more equal representation of women and men in careers. Specifically, perceptions of the femininity and masculinity of the RIASEC types (Holland, 1959; 1997) and positive/negative ratings of the RIASEC types were examined. In addition, covariates representing sexism and conservatism (right-wing authoritarianism and religious fundamentalism) were included to determine their impact. Participants were 509 university students who completed questionnaires and a sorting activity in which they assigned feminine and masculine traits from the Bem Sex Role Inventory (Bem, 1981), the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (Spence & Helmreich, 1978), and the Positive-Negative Sex Role Inventory (Berger & Krahé, 2013) to occupational descriptions representing the RIASEC types. Participants also rated their attitudes to traits assigned to descriptions. MANOVA and MANCOVA were used and gender and condition were found to have significant effects on the perceptions of the RIASEC types, while only gender was found to have a significant effect on positive/negative ratings of the RIASEC types. The sexism and conservatism covariates were found to have significant effects with both perceptions of and attitudes toward the RIASEC types. These results are discussed in light of other research and implications for further research and career counseling.


From the introduction] In academia, educators often insist that there is a strict divide between scholarly prose and creative nonfiction. Research and history are true – what has happened is fact. The concern is that perhaps these facts lose their value and veracity when paired with creativity or the personal. However, creative nonfiction – essays in particular has challenged this view by demonstrating that in fact, research presented with personal experience can actually reveal a deeper meaning or understanding behind both. Our stories are rooted in the personal experiences that bind our day-to-day lives together, and within those experiences are embedded strands of cultural histories from every corner of the world. Our experiences are intertwined with one another, each social encounter being a sort of interwoven fabric of two or more lives meeting and leaving an impression on one another. The challenge for the writer becomes how to tell his or her stories and examine these cultural histories or concepts in a way that engages the reader on different intellectual and emotional levels. They must use a structure in which the personal stories and the historical backstory or cultural concepts maintain their original nature and meaning. Both histories – the individual, personal history and the broader history a writer is relating it to – must remain strong individually and become stronger when presented together. Personal essays, when presented this way, are often stronger and more engaging for the reader, giving them a new lens through which they can examine aspects of their life and culture. Document Type Capstone Project Degree Name Bachelor of Arts


Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) contribute to cell migration and cell proliferation by degrading the extracellular matrix (ECM) and by releasing growth factors bound up in the ECM. The actions of MMPs are held in check by a class of proteins called tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs). Vu and Werb review the physiological functions of MMP in development and in cell regulation and cover in more depth the topics ranging from bone and mammary development to zygotic implantation and wound healing. MMPs may act independently or in concert with other MMPs that share some redundant actions. Thus, the authors point out, the elucidation of the functions that each MMP has within organismic development and, more narrowly, organ development, have only been revealed through difficult work. Similarly, what the favored substrate is for each MMP is largely unknown. Vu, T.H., and Werb, Z. (2000) Matrix metalloproteinases: Effectors of development and normal physiology. Genes Dev. 14: 2123-2133. [Full Text]


This strategic project enhanced innovation procedures within a company, and technical support to its customers. The project aims were to add value to crab shell waste, develop pasteurised crab meat technology and new added value shellfish products. Evidence of achievement exists in the form of the new crab pasteurization technology in operation, increased sales of shellfish products, new crab cake and flavoured machined crab meat product prototypes, a crab meat nutritional quality literature review, and a business plan for adding value to crab shell waste. However, paying customers for crab shell waste products for a free from flesh soil conditioning application and chitin manufacture have still to be found. The knowledge resulting from the project has helped secure new export customers for pasteurised crab products, added culinary and nutritional capabilities within product development, and engaged the company with key EU research networks and organisations with interests in adding value to crab shell waste.


"Physical activities" is a current subject in Swedish nursery schools. I therefore wanted to study how teachers in other countries work with it. To collect the material, I went to a nursery school in the South of England where I did qualitative interviews with the pedagogues, to get their view on the importance of physical activities for the children´s personal development. I also observed in nursery school to get all the knowledge I needed for this work. The result showed that working with physical activities is something the teachers do for different reasons. One reason is to strengthen the social interactions between the children and the other reason is for the health benefits that physical activity gives. The activities the pedagogues did with the children was mostly outdoors, both through controlled and free games, and once a week they also had indoor dance classes.


Introduction: Breastfeeding is very important for the infant and for the mother. Breastfeeding practices in India and abroad are not up to the mark, and they pose serious health risk to the mothers and the babies. Methodology: This single-group before–after intervention study was conducted to assess the impact of positive deviance (PD) approach on knowledge about exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) practices among tribal pregnant women. The sample size was 376. Data were collected using convenient sampling method. At first, we identified eight positive deviants from that area. They were trained by the investigator regarding EBF practices. They were also motivated to share their knowledge and practices in the community. Results: It was observed that knowledge regarding initiation of breastfeeding (<1 h of birth) increased from 181 (52.2%) to (67.1%) among 347 study participants. Only 81 (23.3%) knew that breastfeeding should be on demand before intervention, which increased by 21% after the intervention. The majority of the study participants, i.e., 286 (82.4%) knew the advantages of breast milk. The proportion of study participants who knew that breastfeeding should not be stopped during mother's illness was 171 (49.3%) before and 229 (66%) after intervention. Before intervention, around one-fourth, that is, 85 (24.5%), knew that if the mother is not producing enough milk, then she should visit a health center which increased to 130 (37.5%) after intervention. The majority of the participants, i.e., 145 (41.8%) knew that bottle feeding should not be done for the babies which increased in proportion to around 55% after intervention. A statistically significant (P < 0.001) increase in knowledge was observed. Conclusion: It is possible to increase the awareness and practice level among the lactating mothers for EBF using the positive deviant approach. Recommendation: The concept of PD approach can be further popularized as they can strengthen our existing health system for better health outcomes in future.


Global income has increased exponentially over the last two hundred years; while, and at the same time respective Gini coefficients have also increased: this investigation tested whether this pattern is a property of the mathematical geometry termed a fractal attractor. The Koch Snowflake fractal was selected and inverted to best model economic production and growth: all triangle area sizes in the fractal grew with iteration-time from an arbitrary size – growing the total set. Area of triangle the 'bits' represented wealth. Kinematic analysis – velocity and acceleration – was undertaken, and it was noted growing triangles propagate in a sinusoidal spiral. Using Lorenz curve and Gini methods, bit size distribution – for each iteration-time – was graphed. The curves produced matched the regular Lorenz curve shape and expanded out to the right with fractal growth – increasing the corresponding Gini coefficients: contradicting Kuznets cycles. The 'gap' between iteration triangle sizes (wealth) was found to accelerate apart, just as it is conjectured to do so in reality. It was concluded the wealth (and income) Lorenz distribution – along with acceleration properties – is an aspect of the fractal. Form and change of the Lorenz curve are inextricably linked to the growth and development of a fractal attractor; and from this – given real economic data – it can be deduced an economy – whether cultural or not – behaves as a fractal and can be explained as a fractal. Questions of the discrete and wave properties and the accelerated expansion – similar to that of trees and the conjectured growth of universe at large – of the fractal growth, were discussed.


Law schools have done a poor job educating future members of the bench and bar about the criminalization, conviction, and incarceration crisis in criminal justice administration in the United States. This Article sketches the contours of this curricular failure, and concludes that no single criminal law or sentencing casebook -- and few criminal justice-related courses -- treats these issues with the seriousness that each deserves. The Article considers whether and how to incorporate hyper-criminalization, conviction and incarceration into standard law school courses. Inclusion of these issues can expand students' career prospects, encourage further critical study, and, ultimately, has the potential to alter both the pace and the scope of the country's current troubling criminal justice trends.


The creation of licensed medical countermeasures against Select Agents such as Ebola virus (EBOV) is critically dependent on the use of standardized reagents, assays, and animal models. We performed full genome reconstruction, population genomics, contaminant analysis, and characterization of the glycoprotein gene editing site of historical United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) nonhuman-primate challenge stock Ebola virus Kikwit "R4368" and its 2014 replacement "R4415." We also provide characterization of the master stock used to create "R4415." The obtained data are essential to understanding the quality of the seed stock reagents used in pivotal animal studies that have been used to inform medical countermeasure development. Furthermore, these data might add to the understanding of the influence of EBOV variant populations on pathogenesis and disease outcome and inform attempts to avoid the evolution of EBOV escape mutants in response to current therapeutics. Finally, as the primary challenge stocks have changed over time, these data will provide a baseline for understanding and correlating past and future animal study results.