Abstract Background The cause of low levels of physical activity (PA) in the post stroke population is complex and multifactorial. The volume of research in the area of physical activity and stroke is vast, coupled with complexities with respect to definitions of physical activity. The current UK clinical guidelines (National Institute of Care and Excellence NICE 2013 and Royal College of Physicians RCP 2016) are broad in their advice with respect to implementation strategy dimensions* across the stroke pathway of care**. In response, our aim for this scoping review is to gain an overview of the evidence, describing the focus in relation to population demographics*** across the stroke pathway of care and the implementation strategy dimensions being utilised in physical activity interventions. * Implementation strategy dimensions extracted in this scoping review include physical activity specific dimensions (mode, frequency, duration, intensity), domains (occupational, domestic, transport, leisure time) and provider (who delivers the intervention). ** Stroke pathway of care refers to the setting in which the intervention occurred (e.g. acute care, primary health care or community). ***Population demographics include severity of stroke, physical or cognitive impairment level, gender, classification of stroke; acute, subacute, chronic and variation of time since onset of stroke Methods and analysis: This scoping review protocol is registered with the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/vjfp4). The review will follow Arksey and O'Malley scoping review methodology. The search will include relevant systematic reviews from a range of electronic databases, followed by title and abstract screening as well as a full text review. All review steps will involve two or more reviewers. Data extraction, charting and summary will be guided by a template aligned to the study objectives. Findings will be presented in tabular format and will include a descriptive numerical summary as well as a descriptive overview. Ethics and dissemination: Findings will be disseminated through a peer-reviewed journal, conference presentations and as part of future workshops and events with professionals involved in physical activity and stroke. The scoping review does not require ethics approval.


A new mechanism beyond charge transfer, spin-orientation dependence of O2 reactivity on a ferromagnetic surface, is presented using first-principles methods. O2 favors the anti-parallel configuration at the transition state and a parallel configuration at distances above and below it. This suggests coupling and is found to originate from the unquenched spin moment of O2.


Most knowledgeable readers of Edith Wharton's work will not be surprised by the conclusion reached in a recent book that she believed strongly in the need for important fiction to have a "moral dimension" (Singley 6). Abundant evidence to support this conclusion rests in her own novels and short stories, almost all of which exhibit a powerful interest in ethical questions. Supporting evidence is also present in several of her non-fiction discussions of general issues related to the novel. In The Writing of Fiction, for example, she asserts, "A good subject, then, must contain in itself something that sheds light on our moral experience"; if it does not, it is a "mere irrelevant happening; a meaningless fact torn out of its context" (27). She makes a similar point in the unpublished essay, "Fiction and Criticism," when, after asserting that "The novelist ceases to be an artist the moment he bends his character to the exigencies of a thesis," she emphasizes that a novelist also ceases to be an artist "should he draw the acts he describes without regard to their moral significance" (italics Wharton; qtd. in Vita-Finzi 30). Missing, however, from her commentary about morality and fiction is any detailed discussion of her own work and the problems she would have had to confront as she tried, without preaching, to make readers aware of the significance of her stories, or as she tried to "shed light" on moral issues without distorting characters in order to do so. There is no doubt that, at times, these problems would have been complex and difficult to solve, given her strong belief that "the aliveness of the characters seems the novel's one assurance of prolonged survival" (qtd. in Vita-Finzi 28). Nonetheless, although Wharton wrote nothing analogous to James's Prefaces, and although almost none of her comments helps readers understand the process through which took place, in her own fiction, the "dramatization and working out of the moral significance" (Vita-Finzi 51), there does exist a kind of studio in which readers may observe Wharton as she tries to become a novelist who is also an artist. What I am referring to is the manuscript of the last chapter of The Custom of the Country,[1] and the evidence relevant to this issue that a comparison between the manuscript and, in particular, the completed book version (it was also serialized[2]) can provide. Wharton's focus for almost three-quarters of the chapter is on Paul Marvell, the pathetic, almost nine-year-old son of Undine Spragg, the novel's shallow, many-times divorced central character. Wharton's revisions[3] reveal her attempts to support a "thesis" about the "human cost of separation and divorce" (Benstock 159) without "bending" Paul and thus destroying his "aliveness." That these attempts were not always successful in preventing his predicament from becoming too melodramatic or sentimental was probably inevitable, given both the emotionally charged subject matter and also the painful resemblance between certain dimensions of Paul's situation and Wharton's memories of her own youthful self. Book IV of the lengthy, complex novel ends with the suicide of Paul's father, Ralph Marvell, after he is shocked to learn he has failed to prevent his son from becoming the charge of Undine and her new husband, the French aristocrat Raymond de Chelles. The chapters in Book V preceding chapter XLVI trace the disintegration of Undine's latest marriage, and they culminate with her seeking the solace of her first husband, the crude multimillionaire Elmer Moffatt, and with his attempt to persuade her to obtain a divorce and marry him. In the Book's last chapter readers quickly learn through Paul, on holidays at Easter from private school and waiting for his mother and stepfather to return to their recently purchased Parisian hotel, that it has been two years since the divorce and re-marriage have taken place. Two important related keys to Wharton's presentation of Paul in this chapter--which for interpretive convenience I will divide into five sections--are its length, because for the first time she invites readers to concentrate their attention on Paul, and its focalization, because, also for the first time (and only the second time in her published fiction), she allows readers to experience events from a child's perspective. …


Fatigue crack growth depends heavily on near tip stress-strain behavior controlled by many micromechanical and microstructural factors. Crack closure is widely used to rationalize crack growth behaviour under complex loading conditions. Reliable crack closure measurement is essential for enhanced damage tolerance design and remains a challenge to the industry. This paper focuses on the effect of plastic deformation ahead of a notch/crack on the non-linearity of compliance curves of 6082-T651 aluminium alloy specimens to highlight a potential issue in the conventional compliance curve based crack closure measurement technique. Experimental and numerical simulation results demonstrate that plastic deformation ahead of the notch will introduce non-linear stress-strain behavior in the absence of crack closure. It is proposed that the effect of crack tip plasticity on the non-linearity of the compliance curve be separated to obtain reliable crack closure measurement.


The Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer certification is designed for individuals who have knowledge and responsibility for designing, implementing, and administrating infrastructures for business solutions. The certification covers the installation, configuration, and troubleshooting of network systems using Windows Server 2003 and Microsoft Windows 2000 Server. The Windows Server 2003 certification requires the passing of seven exams in no specified order. The Exams covered include: - 70-290 Managing and Maintaining a Windows server 2003 Environment - 70-291 Implementing, Managing, and Maintaining a Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure - 70-293 Planning and maintaining a Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure - 70-294 Planning, Implementing, and Maintaining a Windows Server 2003 Active Directory Infrastructure Once they have completed the exams successfully, administrators will find the book to be a valuable reference to core Windows administration skills. This self-study exam preparation guide for the MCSE certification exam contains everything you need to test yourself and pass the Exam. All Exam topics are covered and insider secrets, complete explanations of all MCSE subjects, test tricks and tips, numerous highly realistic sample questions, and exercises designed to strengthen understanding of MCSE concepts and prepare you for exam success on the first attempt are provided. Put your knowledge and experience to the test. Achieve MCSE certification and accelerate your career. Can you imagine valuing a book so much that you send the author a "Thank You" letter? Tens of thousands of people understand why this is a worldwide best-seller. Is it the authors years of experience? The endless hours of ongoing research? The interviews with those who failed the exam, to identify gaps in their knowledge? Or is it the razor-sharp focus on making sure you don't waste a single minute of your time studying any more than you absolutely have to? Actually, it's all of the above. This book includes new exercises and sample questions never before in print. Offering numerous sample questions, critical time-saving tips plus information available nowhere else, this book will help you pass the MCSE exam on your FIRST try. Up to speed with the theory? Buy this. Read it. And Pass the MCSE Exam.


The System Usability Scale (SUS) is an inexpensive, yet effective tool for assessing the usability of a product, including Web sites, cell phones, interactive voice response systems, TV applications, and more. It provides an easy-to-understand score from 0 (negative) to 100 (positive). While a 100-point scale is intuitive in many respects and allows for relative judgments, information describing how the numeric score translates into an absolute judgment of usability is not known. To help answer that question, a seven-point adjective-anchored Likert scale was added as an eleventh question to nearly 1,000 SUS surveys. Results show that the Likert scale scores correlate extremely well with the SUS scores (r=0.822). The addition of the adjective rating scale to the SUS may help practitioners interpret individual SUS scores and aid in explaining the results to non-human factors professionals.


The Terceira Rift formed relatively recently (∼1 Ma ago) by rifting of the old oceanic lithosphere of the Azores Plateau and is currently spreading at a rate of 2–4mm/a. Together with the Mid‐Atlantic Ridge, the Terceira Rift forms a triple junction that separates the Eurasian, African, and American Plates. Four volcanic systems (São Miguel, João de Castro, Terceira, Graciosa), three of which are islands, are distinguished along the axis and are separated by deep avolcanic basins similar to other ultraslow spreading centers. The major element, trace element and Sr‐Nd‐Pb isotope geochemistry of submarine and subaerial lavas display large along‐axis variations. Major and trace element modeling suggests melting in the garnet stability field at smaller degrees of partial melting at the easternmost volcanic system (São Miguel) compared to the central and western volcanoes, which appear to be characterized by slightly higher melting degrees in the spinel/garnet transition zone. The degrees of partial melting at the Terceira Rift are slightly lower than at other ultraslow mid‐ocean ridge spreading axes (Southwest Indian Ridge, Gakkel Ridge) and occur at greater depths as a result of the melting anomaly beneath the Azores. The combined interaction of a high obliquity, very slow spreading rates, and a thick preexisting lithosphere along the axis probably prevents the formation and eruption of larger amounts of melt along the Terceira Rift. However, the presence of ocean islands requires a relatively stable melting anomaly over relatively long periods of time. The trace element and Sr‐Nd‐Pb isotopes display individual binary mixing arrays for each volcanic system and thus provide additional evidence for focused magmatism with no (or very limited) melt or source interaction between the volcanic systems. The westernmost mantle sources beneath Graciosa and the most radiogenic lavas from the neighboring Mid‐Atlantic Ridge suggest a mantle flow from Graciosa toward the Mid‐Atlantic Ridge and hence a flux of mantle material from one spreading axis into the other. The Terceira Rift represents a unique oceanic rift system situated within the thickened, relatively old oceanic lithosphere and thus exhibits both oceanic and continental features.


While much research focuses on main effects of emerging media technologies, the potential for new media attributes to moderate relationships between content features and cognitive outcomes has enjoyed less attention. Do new user controls moderate editing effects on memory? This study demonstrates that control can exacerbate effects. Researchers developed an interface offering two levels of user control. Those assigned to a situation comparable to traditional television viewing were four times more likely to later recognize complex media content than were those for whom user control over pacing and narrative sequence was available. Implications for journalism and strategic communication are discussed.


In this paper I argue that it is a mistake to regard the new culture of politics and the 'open space' of the World Social Forum (WSF) as an immediate and euphoric redress coming out of this contemporary crisis moment. Using historical examples from colonial discourse analysis and recent 'development' processes, I argue that contemporary politics, as a direct trajectory of this history, is intrinsically paradoxical and ambivalent. Using the concept of ambivalence from the work of Homi Bhabha, and influenced by postcolonial theory in general, I suggest that, while this ambivalence is problematic for our times, it nevertheless is productive and exploitable for progressive social movements. Following this logic, I argue that the WSF, arising as it does out of a crisis moment, also is fraught with productive paradoxes and ambivalences and should not be presumed to exist as an a priori 'openness'. I propose a strategy of resistance for this particular moment of crisis (in the meaning of neo-liberal globalization – of which the anti-globalization movement is part and parcel). I also affirm the value of a political praxis which openly, knowingly and purposefully exploits ambivalent moments in political, pedagogical, representational and 'open' spaces; so as to politicize people, engage in politicized activity and enable a broader range of people to become critically aware of the hegemonic narratives that naturalize the current world order and posit that 'There Is No Alternative'. Clearly, a wide spectrum of people, both in the metropolis and in the 'developing' world, are critically aware and are engaged in the work of engendering critical awareness. This paper makes the case that the World Social Forum and its tangential activities also can provide a tool for exploiting ambivalent moments, so as to reach beyond the strata of the already 'converted'.


The Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) is a migratory endangered species that arrives, along with a great number of other winter migratory birds, to Boca Ciega every year. In spite of the importance of this ecosystem, these species, are threatened by the current habitat change caused by the dredging activities in the area. With the aim to generate new information about the importance of this area during winter, we studied C. melodus activities during the winter season in Laguna Madre, from December 2009 to March 2010. Our objectives were: 1) determine the importance of the area during winter, 2) describe C. melodus ethology, feeding substrate preferences and food items, 3) to analyze and describe the sympatric diversity associated with C. melodus. A total of ninety nine individuals were observed during the monitoring. The Cochran and Kendall test showed a high significance of the species with the substrate and signs tests using a binomial distribution that indicated a high preference for algal type of substrate. The highest activity recorded for this species during this winter season was feeding. The principal food items found in sediments were larvae of Diptera: Chironomidae and Ephydridae. The sympatric species of C. melodus were two families of Charadriiforms: Scolopacidae (nine species) and Charadriidae (two species). We concluded that this is an important area for feeding, protection and rest sites for this species, and its protection and management is recommended.


Trait-mediated indirect interactions (TMII) play an important role in structuring natural communities, and numerous studies have experimentally demonstrated their presence in a variety of systems. However, these studies have largely examined the presence or absence of traits that are responsible for these interactions, without considering natural variation between individuals in the extent to which these traits are manifested. We used a well-documented TMII to investigate the importance of individual behavior type for determining the strength of the TMII. The toadfish Opsanus tau has an indirect positive influence on bivalve survival because the mud crab Panopeus herbstii, a consumer of bivalves, reduces foraging effort in the presence of toadfish. We quantified variation in the strength of persistent individual mud crab responses to toadfish and resulting variation in the strength of TMII. We demonstrate that the strength of this TMII is strongly influenced by mud crab size and behavior type, strengthening with the intensity of response of individual mud crabs to toadfish predator cues. Further, we demonstrate that the spatial distribution within intertidal oyster reefs of crabs with different behavior types is not random; mud crabs inhabiting subtidal areas, where predator cues are more persistent, are significantly less responsive to toadfish cues than mud crabs from intertidal areas. This spatial behavioral structure should lead to spatial variation in the strength of TMII. Given the widespread importance of TMII and the broad occurrence of individual personality or behavior types across numerous taxa, these results should be generally applicable. The distribution of behavior types within a population may therefore be a useful metric for improving our ability to predict the strength of TMII.


This article sets out the structure of a course, directed to the retraining of qualified teachers, which has been devised to be adaptable to local conditions. It is delivered, at present, at two centres - the CDT Berkshire Centre, Brakenhale School, Bracknell and King Alfred's College, Winchester. It is not my intention to discuss the content base and its delivery in any detail - I believe it would be no different to the best practice elsewhere, but to observe and reflect on the defined course structure and its implementation in practice at one of these centres, King Alfred's College (KAC) where I am course leader .


PURPOSE
To evaluate the effectiveness of prophylactic 360° laser treatment in the fellow eye of patients with unilateral idiopathic giant retinal tear (GRT) to prevent the occurrence of a (macula-off) retinal detachment.

METHODS
We conducted a retrospective, nonrandomized case-control study. Clinical data of consecutive patients, undergoing surgery for idiopathic GRT, between 2003 and 2015 were analyzed. The data collected included GRT, retinal detachment, and RTs in the fellow eye.

RESULTS
We included 129 patients who underwent surgery for an idiopathic GRT, with a mean follow-up period of 107 months. In the observation group, a retinal detachment developed in the fellow eye in 22/51 patients (43.1%), leading to a macula-off detachment in 9/51 patients (17.6%). By contrast, in the prophylactic 360° laser group, only 10/78 (12.8%) patients developed a retinal detachment, leading to a macula-off detachment in 1/78 patient (1.3%). This difference was statistically significant.

CONCLUSION
This study suggests that prophylactic 360° laser treatment in the fellow eye of patients with an idiopathic GRT decreased the incidence of retinal detachment, lowering the high risk of visual loss due to a macula-off retinal detachment.


Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) usually requires symptomatic supportive therapy by intubation and mechanical ventilation with the supplemental use of high oxygen concentrations. Although oxygen therapy represents a life-saving measure, the recent discovery of a critical tissue-protecting mechanism predicts that administration of oxygen to ARDS patients with uncontrolled pulmonary inflammation also may have dangerous side effects. Oxygenation may weaken the local tissue hypoxia-driven and adenosine A2A receptor (A2AR)-mediated anti-inflammatory mechanism and thereby further exacerbate lung injury. Here we report experiments with wild-type and adenosine A2AR-deficient mice that confirm the predicted effects of oxygen. These results also suggest the possibility of iatrogenic exacerbation of acute lung injury upon oxygen administration due to the oxygenation-associated elimination of A2AR-mediated lung tissue-protecting pathway. We show that this potential complication of clinically widely used oxygenation procedures could be completely prevented by intratracheal injection of a selective A2AR agonist to compensate for the oxygenation-related loss of the lung tissue-protecting endogenous adenosine. The identification of a major iatrogenic complication of oxygen therapy in conditions of acute lung inflammation attracts attention to the need for clinical and epidemiological studies of ARDS patients who require oxygen therapy. It is proposed that oxygen therapy in patients with ARDS and other causes of lung inflammation should be combined with anti-inflammatory measures, e.g., with inhalative application of A2AR agonists. The reported observations may also answer the long-standing question as to why the lungs are the most susceptible to inflammatory injury and why lung failure usually precedes multiple organ failure.


1. Ten subjects with acute intermittent porphyria from three different families, and 92 relatives, were investigated for their erythrocyte uroporphyrinogen I synthase (EC 184.108.40.206) activities by the spectrofluorimetric method described and for their urinary concentrations of δ-aminolaevulinic acid and porphobilinogen. 2. The mean uroporphyrinogen I synthase activity in 41 healthy women and 41 healthy men showed a significant ( P 3. A reduction of about 32% of the enzyme activity was observed in the porphyric subjects as compared with values in healthy normal subjects and the values from the porphyric subjects overlapped those of the reference subjects. 4. With the values from the normal subjects in each family used as reference, however, the enzyme activity in normal subjects was twice that in affected subjects. Thus by using an internal family reference uroporphyrinogen I synthase values became more reliable in disclosing latent cases of the disorder. Furthermore, these measurements were shown to have a stronger discriminative power than urinary δ-aminolaevulinic acid and porphobilinogen determinations.


We describe a procedure for identifying morphology-dependent resonances observed in various optical processes in micrometer-sized droplets. This capability results from the use of a vibrating-orifice aerosol generator in which the radius a of a droplet stream is repeatedly ramped between fixed values, providing characteristic size spectra. When acquired in conjunction with other optical data (such as fluorescence, lasing, and Raman scattering), fixed-angle elastic scattering provides a fiducial spectrum from which mode positions are assigned and transferred. From Lorenz–Mie theory calculations, spectral spans of ≈0.1a are shown to be sufficient to yield unambiguous mode identification, given an initial experimental uncertainty of ±1.5° in the scattering angle and ±6% in the refractive index.


From the beginning of the 1970s a number of Indian pharmaceutical firms had invested in gaining technological competence without having "formal RD and through efficient "reverse engineering" had slashed the prices of products otherwise sold by Western multinationals. However, their knowledge base was founded on the chemical technology of creating bulk drugs and during the second half of the 1980s these firms were confronted with biotechnology, a set of techniques that was new and more complex to integrate. Using detailed panel data on a sample of 32 firms active in biopharmaceuticals, this paper attempts to understand the relationships between their size, R&D strategies and market sales. Given the small sample size, the statistical analysis of our data set is limited to the identification of associations between the different variables and is not extended to estimation of models. The methods used are descriptive statistics, principal component analysis and analysis of variance.


In the 21st century, medical tourism has emerged as a prosperous industry. Its growth
has been fostered by increasing healthcare costs, long waiting lists for nonemergency
operations and a lack of service availability in many developed countries.
This has resulted in a reverse phenomenon of patients travelling from developed
countries to developing ones to seek affordable healthcare and prompt services.
Developing countries in particular have established a variety of strategies to benefit
from this profitable market. However, the negative implications of the cross-border
movement of services have raised concerns. Quality of services and continuity of
care for patients are key concerns in source countries, and inequity, in terms of
access to services, rising healthcare costs and the 'internal brain drain' of healthcare
personnel are concerns in destination countries.
It is widely believed that there are substantial economic benefits to be gained from
medical tourism, but this belief is not based on a firm empirical foundation.
Similarly, there is a lack of empirical evidence concerning the impacts on the health
systems of destination countries. The divergence of views and overall lack of
evidence affords the potential for policy incoherence between trade and health. This
study intends to address this gap in the literature through an empirical assessment of
both medical tourism and the healthcare profiles of medical tourists. The overall aim
of the study is to assess the impact of medical tourism on the Thai economy and
domestic private health system. Thailand was selected as a appropriate country for a
case study due to its significant medical tourism industry. This study presents the
most extensive and detailed research on medical tourism and its effects on the private
health system to date, by drawing on 324,906 patient records in the five largest
private hospitals in the country.
The key findings are that medical tourists in Thailand are non-homogenous.
Comparisons present differences between them and non-medical tourists and Thai
private patients in terms of demography and service profiles. The majority are likely
to be opportunistic tourists, especially patients who use out-patient departments.
Furthermore, the actual number of medical tourists is far fewer than is generally
suggested, although they and their companions contribute disproportionately to the
Thai economy in terms of medical and tourism-related spending. In terms of medical
services, there is no difference between the critical aspects of care given to Thai and
foreign patients. Hospitals make use of spare capacity to serve the demand of
foreigners. However, foreign patients might be partially responsible for a shortage of
high calibre doctors in public hospitals. Hence, if it wishes to continue with its
"Medical hub" policy, there is an evident need for the Thai government to consider
carefully the overall "cost" of this policy.


Drawing on nearly a decade of experience at the University of Washington, the authors argue for a reorientation of graduate curricula and pedagogy through publicly engaged forms of scholarship. Recognizing that the claims mobilized around public scholarship are necessarily local and situational, they suggest that public scholarship is best understood as organizing language that can align and articulate convergent interests rather than standardize or normalize them. This approach to public scholarship cuts against the disciplinary-professional mandates of most graduate curriculum since it requires both diversified forms of professionalization and pragmatic commitments to institutional change.


Background Insecure attachment style relates to major depression in women, but its relationship to depression associated with childbirth is largely unknown. A new UK-designed measure, the Attachment Style Interview (ASI), has potential for cross-cultural use as a risk marker for maternal disorder. Aims To establish the reliability of the ASI across centres, its stability over a 9-month period, and its associations with social context and majoror minor depression. Method The ASI was used by nine centres antenatally on 204 women, with 174 followed up 6 months postnatally. Interrater reliability was tested and the ASI was repeated on a subset of 96 women. Affective disorder was assessed by means of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM–IV. Results Satisfactory interrater reliability was achieved with relatively high stability rates at follow-up. Insecure attachment related to lower social class position and more negative social context. Specific associations of avoidant attachment style (angry–dismissive or withdrawn) with antenatal disorder, and anxious style (enmeshed or fearful) with postnatal disorder were found. Conclusions The ASI can be used reliably in European and US centres as a measure for risk associated with childbirth. Its use will contribute to theoretically underpinned preventive action for disorders associated with childbirth.


STUDY OBJECTIVES
(1) To assess the predictors for obtaining polysomnography (PSG) in children undergoing adenotonsillectomy (AT) for sleep-disordered breathing, and (2) to estimate the adherence to the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) guideline recommendations for pre-AT PSG.

METHODS
This was a retrospective cohort study of children who were seen in the Pediatric Otolaryngology Clinic and underwent AT for sleep-disordered breathing over a 13-month period at a single tertiary care children's hospital. Patients with and without pre-AT PSG were compared using bivariate and logistic regression analysis to identify predictors for PSG. Electronic medical records were reviewed for demographic variables, medical comorbidities, and PSG data. Adherence to AAO-HNS guideline recommendations was estimated by calculating the proportion of patients who had a PSG among those who met the recommended criteria for pre-AT PSG.

RESULTS
Mean age was 6.6 ± 3.6 years with 53% male. A total of 65 of 324 children (20%) underwent PSG prior to AT. The only factor significantly associated with pre-AT PSG was age 1 to 3 years (odds ratio 4.5, 95% confidence interval [2.2, 9.0], P < .001). Among patients who met AAO-HNS criteria for pre-AT PSG, 28 of 128 (20%) underwent PSG compared to 35 of 186 (19%) who did not meet criteria (odds ratio 1.0, 95% confidence interval [0.6, 1.9], P = .87).

CONCLUSIONS
Among children who underwent AT, the only significant predictor of obtaining pre-AT PSG was age 1 to 3 years. The rate of adherence to the AAO-HNS guideline recommendations was low (20%), which represents an educational opportunity.


Many industrial IoT applications process sensor data over distributed networks to monitor devices in real-time. Since the sensor telemetries are transmitted over networks as events, imperative and event-driven programs are often used to handle IoT data. However, the inverted control flow and shared global states of these imperative programs make them difficult to interface with synchronized computation on IoT data. This problem is further complicated for high-frequency data such as electric signals, which may require dynamic adjustment to data sampling rate to operate under the constraints of network and system. In this paper, we propose a push-pull reactive programming model for IoT application to address this challenge. This model uses push-streams for asynchronous computation such as data capturing and user controls and uses pull streams for synchronized computation such as data analysis. This model is simpler than push-based models by avoiding the complexity of glitch prevention through re-sampling in pull-streams. It is also more flexible than pull-based models by allowing dynamic adjustment of the sampling rate to maintain real-time speed of the IoT computation. The push-stream has a monadic interface, which converts to a pull stream through buffering. A pull stream converts to a push-stream when driven by a clock. The dynamic switching of our streams is based on a monadic abstraction called AsyncM that uses continuation passing style and a form of cancellation token for asynchronous control. Our model is simple and can use threads or event callbacks for concurrency.


The aim of this report is to identify how workplace bullying can be tracked over time, to indicate what measures and metrics can be used to identify change, and to provide comparators for other sectors in the UK and internationally.
Bullying can encompass a range of different behaviours. Deciding on a definition of workplace bullying can clarify what is regarded as bullying, but it may also narrow the focus and exclude relevant issues of concern. For example, bullying definitions typically state that negative behaviours should be experienced persistently over a period of time. The threshold for behaviours to be defined as 'bullying' could be set to include one or two negative acts per month over the previous six months; or more stringently to include only behaviours that occur at least weekly over the previous twelve months. Choosing an appropriate threshold for frequency and duration of behaviours raises several questions: should occasional negative behaviours be regarded as bullying? Would one or two serious episodes of negative behaviour be regarded as bullying? Some researchers use the criteria of weekly negative behaviours over six months to identify bullying, but others argue that occasional exposure to negative acts can act as a significant stressor at work (Zapf et al., 2011).
We have identified a range of tools and metrics that can be used to track change over time. However, there are a number of important issues to consider when measuring bullying which may affect the interpretation of the results. In particular, bullying prevalence rates vary considerably depending on the type of metric and definition of bullying used. For example, one international review found prevalence rates ranging from less than 1% for weekly bullying in the last six months up to 87% for occasional bullying over a whole career (Zapf et al., 2011).
There are three main types of direct measures of bullying: self-labelling without a definition, self-labelling with a definition, and the behavioural experience method. Self-labelling metrics typically ask a respondent to identify themselves as a target of bullying (e.g., "Have you been bullied at work?" with a yes/no response, or "How often have you been bullied at work?" with a frequency scale such as never/occasionally/monthly/weekly/daily). This approach is quick and easy to administer, but is more subjective as responses will be based on the respondent's interpretation of bullying. This approach can be improved with the provision of a definition of bullying, and a request to use the definition when responding. However, following pilot work, Fevre et al. (2011) argued that respondents tended not to read and digest bullying definitions as they had already decided what bullying meant to them.
The behavioural experience method offers a more objective approach, but is typically longer and more time consuming. This method involves respondents rating the frequency with which they have experienced different negative behaviours (e.g., "How often has someone humiliated or belittled you in front of others?" with a frequency scale such as never/now and then/monthly/weekly/daily). These behavioural inventories may not mention bullying, but capture the prevalence of specific negative acts, and a total score may be calculated. The threshold for the frequency and number of negative acts, or a total score, required for an experience to be regarded as bullying can be chosen by the researcher. Although this enhances the objectivity of the measure, it may be that the respondent themselves may not regard their experience as bullying.
In a meta-analysis of bullying studies conducted across 24 countries, Nielsen et al. (2010) found an overall prevalence rate of 18.1% for self-labelling with no definition, 11.3% for self-labelling with a definition, and 14.8% using a behavioural experience checklist. For best practice, it is recommended that both the self-labelling with a definition and the behavioural experience method are used in bullying research (Zapf et al., 2011).
It is also important to be specific about the type of bullying being measured. In particular, if the measure is designed to capture bullying at work between co-workers this should be explicitly stated, so that bullying from patients and their relatives is excluded.
Interpretation of the results may also be somewhat complex. Although increases in bullying prevalence should undoubtedly be addressed, we need to be mindful that an increase in reported bullying may reflect a change in culture: changing expectations of the behaviour of colleagues and managers, or a move towards greater openness and willingness to address concerns that were previously ignored or condoned. A measure of employees' trust in the organisation to respond appropriately to such allegations may act as a positive indicator.
The perceived and actual anonymity of responses is a critical factor. Employees are understandably wary about providing sensitive information on bullying and have voiced concerns regarding being identified and the potential repercussions of reporting bullying (Carter et al., 2013). There is a considerable discrepancy between the prevalence of bullying as captured in anonymous questionnaires and direct reports of bullying made to the organisation (e.g., to managers or HR; Scott, Blanshard & Child, 2008). Protecting the anonymity of respondents, and ensuring that individuals cannot be identified, will be important factors in the administration of a bullying measure.
Some metrics are already routinely collected by the NHS, and if examined closely could provide useful indicators of change. Direct indicators include complaints about bullying and responses to ongoing NHS staff surveys. Indirect metrics can be used to capture factors that are associated with bullying, such as psychological wellbeing (including stress, anxiety and depression), sickness rates, job satisfaction and organisational commitment. However, factors other than bullying will affect these measures. The prevalence of witnessed bullying could also be considered as an important metric. A large proportion of NHS staff report that they have witnessed bullying between staff, and this is associated with negative outcomes for individuals and teams (Carter et al., 2013).
Comparing the NHS prevalence rates with other sectors in the UK and internationally is complex. Ideally comparators would have used the same definition, measurement method and reporting period, but the definitions and metrics often differ. Total populations are the ideal, but are rarely provided. Single site studies are less generalisable than multi-site studies, and total samples are preferred over open invitations to unknown populations which may be more likely to attract responses from those who have experienced bullying.
This report begins with several definitions of bullying, describes direct and indirect measures of bullying, and compares the prevalence of bullying in the NHS to other sectors in the UK, and to the healthcare sector internationally.


The North-Eastern Neo-Aramaic (NENA) dialects, which are the focus of this paper, were spoken across a wide area encompassing northern Iraq, north-west Iran, south-eastern Turkey, Armenia and Georgia. In these spoken dialects a distinction should be made between two major types of Left Dislocation (LD) structures. In one type the initial item is prosodically and grammatically integrated with what follows. The initial item is prosodically integrated in that it is not separated from what follows by an intonation group boundary. The initial item is resumed in the clause by a pronominal affix, as opposed to an independent pronoun or a full nominal. Such initial items have all the semantic and functional properties of normal grammatical subjects. These are referred to as LD1 structures. A distinct type of construction is where the initial item is less integrated prosodically and/or structurally with what follows. This is referred to as an LD2 structure. This includes cases where the initial item is separated from what follows by an intonation group boundary. Another strategy for disjoining the initial item from the rest of the clause is the resumption of the initial item by an independent pronoun. Moreover, an additional structure in which the initial element is less integrated into the clause than LD1 constructions is where the resumptive element is a full nominal rather than a pronoun. An initial item in a LD2 structure is restricted to nominals that are topical, i.e. they function as the informational pivot or starting point of the following clause and typically their referent is identifiable from the context. The initial item of an LD1 structure, however, can have a variety of other types of status, including narrow focus. In this respect they correspond functionally to clause-initial subjects. When a clause-initial item has topical status, whether it be subject, an LD1 item or an LD2 item, the basic function of the construction is to express the onset of a discourse section and, if it occurs within the body of the discourse, a disjunction of some kind from what precedes. This includes not only topic shift, but also other types of discourse shifts, such as foreground to background or change in the level of description. In some cases, an LD1 construction is more normal than a construction with the grammatical subject in initial position, and indeed in some cases it is obligatory. This has given rise to diachronic change whereby the original grammatical subject of the construction has been re-analysed as having a different syntactic status.


Disruption of posttranscriptional gene regulation is a critical step in oncogenesis that can be difficult to observe using traditional molecular techniques. To overcome this limitation, a modified polyadenylation site sequencing (PAS-seq) protocol was used to generate a genome-wide map of alternative polyadenylation (APA) events in human primary breast tumor specimens and matched normal tissue. This approach identified an APA event in the PRELID1 mRNA that enhances its steady-state level and translational efficiency, and is a strong breast cancer subtype-dependent predictor of patient clinical outcomes. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that PRELID1 regulates stress response and mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in a cell type–specific manner. Modulation of PRELID1 expression, including its posttranscriptional control, appears to be a common stress response across different cancer types. These data reveal that PRELID1 mRNA processing is an important regulator of cell type–specific responses to stress used by multiple cancers and is associated with patient outcomes. Implications: This study suggests that the regulation of PRELID1 expression, by APA and other mechanisms, plays a role in mitochondrial ROS signaling and represents a novel prognostic factor and therapeutic target in cancer. Mol Cancer Res; 15(12); 1741–51. ©2017 AACR.


This study explores the link between participative management practices
(PMP) and participative management outcomes (PMO) in Japanese
Subsidiary Companies in Malaysia. One hundred and forty managers from
140 Japanese Subsidiary Companies in Malaysia had completed the
questionnaires covering participative management practice (PMP) and four
participative management practices outcomes (readiness to accept change,
productivity, teamwork effectiveness and customer service quality).
Descriptive statistics were used to describe the profile of the subjects in this
study and the nature of participative-management-practice programmes.
The research utilised F-test (analysis of variance), factor analysis, correlation
analysis, and multiple regression analysis to analyse the data.The research found that 65.7 percent of the respondents indicated that the
level of participative management practices in the studied Japanese
Subsidiary Companies in Malaysia was at medium level. With regard to the
type of participative-management-practice programmes, the result
indicated that programmes, such as total quality management (TQM),
quality control circles (QCC), suggestion scheme and small group activity
(SGA) were more frequently practiced in these companies, while, the
discussion group, team working, matrix/project management and task
forces programmes were regularly practiced in these companies. The other
programmes such as morning prayer, company magazine, video
presentation and collective bargaining, were less regularly practiced in
these companies.
From the factor analysis, five factors; consisting of organizational culture,
organizational climate, employee empowerment, total employee
involvement and leadership; were identified as elements of participative
management practices in this study. Statistically significant relationships
were found between participative management practices and readiness to
accept change, productivity, teamwork effectiveness, and customer service
quality. These findings indicate that participative management practices
tend to increase productivity, readiness to accept change, customer service quality and teamwork effectiveness. The influence of participative
management practices on the participative management outcomes is a clear
signal to managers to realize the importance and effectiveness of
participative management practices.
Overall, this study found that the participative management practices were
correlated with the selected participative management outcomes in
Japanese Subsidiary Companies in Malaysia. It is recommended that the
participative management practices in Japanese Subsidiary Companies be
adopted by local firm in Malaysia


Background: Breast cancer is the most common malignancy among women. It is estimated that 1 in 10 women worldwide is affected by breast cancer during their lifetime. In 5 to 10% of breast cancer patients, the disease results from a hereditary predisposition, which can be attributable to mutations in either of two tumor suppressor genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2 to a large extent. BRCA2 6174delT mutation constitutes the common mutant alleles which predispose to hereditary breast cancer in the Ashkenazi population with a reported carrier frequency of 1.52%. In this study, we investigated the presence of the 6174delT mutation of the BRCA2 gene in Libyan woman affected with breast cancer and compared the results with those of other population groups. Methods: Eighty- five Libyan women with breast cancer in additions to 5 relatives of the patients (healthy individuals) were recruited to this study. We obtained clinical information, family history, and peripheral blood for DNA extraction and analyzed the data using multiplex mutagenic polymerase chain reaction (MS-PCR) for detection of 6174delT mutation in the BRCA2 gene. Results: The 6174delT of the BRCA2 gene was not detected either in the 85 patients with breast cancer (18 with familial breast cancer and 67 with sporadic breast cancer) nor in the 5 healthy individuals. Conclusions: The present study showed that the 6174delT of the BRCA2 gene was not detectable using mutagenic PCR in the Libyan patients with breast cancer and can be considered to be exceedingly rare


In this paper the modeling of a signal by a chaotic generator with respect to a specified signal statistic will be considered. To accomplish that, the considered class of n-dimensional piecewise linear Markov generators will first be analyzed analytically, yielding an algebraic expression for the statistical quantity in question. Based on this analytical result an optimal set of parameters minimizing the modeling error with respect to the considered statistical quantity will be calculated.


Snow density is an important measure in hydrology used to convert snow depth to the snow water equivalent (SWE). A model developed by Sturm, Tara and Liston predicts the snow density by using snow depth, the snow age and a snow class defined by the location. In this work this model is extended to include location and seasonal weather-specific variables. The model is named Weather Snow Density Model (Weather SDM). A Bayesian framework is chosen, and the model is fitted to and tested for 4,040 Norwegian snow depth and densities measurements between 1998 and 2011. The final model improved the snow density predictions for the Norwegian data compared to the model of Sturm by up to 50%. Further, the Weather SDM is extended to utilize local year-specific snow density observations (Weather&ObsDensity SDM). This reduced the prediction error an additional 16%, indicating a significant improvement when utilizing information provided by annual snow density measurements.


The case reported is unusual. It is that of a premature infant, born of a mother who was ill with pneumonia during the eighth month of pregnancy; the infant died three days after birth from extensive pneumonia, empyema and pneumococcemia. The subject of intra-uterine pneumonia is by no means new, and has received the attention of some investigators for many years. That different drugs may be transmitted from mother to fetus has been known for a long time. Ether can be detected in the respiratory air of the new-born when the mother received the anesthetic during the delivery. Morphine, strychnine, metallic poisons, various toxins and immune bodies have all been demonstrated in the fetus and traced to their origin in, and transmission from, the mother. Bacterial invasion of the fetus has been demonstrated many times, but the origin and mode of transmission is still in dispute. The placenta is imputed


Abstract:This article traces eight performers from Burkina Faso, who in 2014 protested unfair labor practices at the Africa Museum of Original Art in South Korea, where they had been hired to perform. In the process, they demonstrated political and artistic endeavors in live concerts and dance workshops to reclaim both their monetary compensation and their artists' status. Nevertheless, public and media discourse that followed this nationwide news—no matter how sympathetic—tended to treat the artists' experiences as merely a failed Korean dream. Using performance studies methodologies and ethnographic methods, this article uses the terms performance and performativity more capaciously to include a range of embodied acts. With this, the article argues that framing the artists' experiences within the narrative confines of struggling migrant workers fails to capture the complex, often contradictory relationship that they have with acts of performing beyond the existing categories of migrant labor. Furthermore, the sympathetic discourse capitalizes on hypervisibility of blackness, through which the artists' suffering becomes a spectacle. This article suggests consideration of the concept of uncapturability—the embodiment of which exposes failures of a nationalist and racialized language—as well as existing theoretical frameworks mobilized to understand the interiority of performance and the artists' work.


Distributing long-tail content is a difficult task due to the low amortization of bandwidth transfer costs as such content has limited number of views. Two recent trends are making this problem harder. First, the increasing popularity of user-generated content and online social networks create and reinforce such popularity distributions. Second, the recent trend of geo-replicating content across multiple points of presence spread around the world, done for improving quality of experience (QoE) for users. In this paper, we analyze and explore the tradeoff involving the "freshness" of the information available to the users and WAN bandwidth costs, and we propose ways to reduce the latter through smart update propagation scheduling, by leveraging on the knowledge of the mapping between social relationships and geographic location, the timing regularities and time differences in end user activity. We first assess the potential of our approach by implementing a simple social-aware scheduling algorithm that operates under bandwidth budget constraints and by quantifying its benefits through a trace-driven analysis. We show that it can reduce WAN traffic by up to 55 percent compared to an immediate update of all replicas, with a minimal effect on information freshness and latency. Second, we build TailGate, a practical system that implements our social-aware scheduling approach, which distributes on the fly long-tail content across PoPs at reduced bandwidth costs by flattening the traffic. We evaluate TailGate by using traces from an OSN and show that it can decrease WAN bandwidth costs by as much as 80 percent and improve QoE. We deploy TailGate on PlanetLab and show that even in the case when imprecise social information is available, it can still decrease by a factor of 2 the latency for accessing long-tail YouTube videos.


A variety of tools have been developed to bring about the realization of pervasive context-aware systems. However, there are still many challenges faced by such applications when trying to determine the context of who, what, when, where, why and how activities are being performed. One such challenge is obtaining the necessary data to train such context-aware systems. In this paper we present a real-time annotation tool which has been developed to streamline the process of collecting and annotating data in an experimental setting. By decreasing the amount of time needed to collect and annotate data, we can increase the rate at which applications can be developed and trained to recognize the current context and react accordingly. These applications can then deliver relevant information in a timely manner supporting a broad range of tasks.


Inquiry-based learning encourages students to pose questions, find and interpret multiple pieces of evidence and to present conclusions in a coherent presentation. The goal of this research is to demonstrate that narrative and story can support inquiry learning on a number of different levels. Characters who undertake familiar inquiry processes, such as a detective or an investigative journalist, can act as a focus around which an inquiry task can be conducted and a story can be constructed. These characters are intended to support a learner by helping them to understand the sorts of activities they may need to do in their own inquiry. More functional aspects of narrative can also underpin the process of the inquiry and assist a learner in understanding important relationships between facts. Finally, parallels between narrative structure and an inquiry process can be exploited to support a learner through the different stages of inquiry and provide help in producing the output and constructing a story, based on the conclusions of the task.


ABSTRACT Introduction: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders' social and emotional well-being provides a strength-based framework to discuss social and emotional well-being. This paper focuses on Elders' and older Aboriginal people's experiences of social and emotional well-being and their cultural obligations relating to social and emotional well-being. These cultural obligations, along with social and emotional well-being experiences, inform and/or are influenced by Elders and older people's occupations. Methods: An Indigenous Standpoint Theory guided this research and supported yarning as a research method. In total, 16 older Aboriginal people participated in this research. A modified version of an existing thematic analysis process was used to organise the data, which enabled research yarning members to participate and engage in all stages of data analysis. Results: Three key themes were identified: 1). Every day you will learn something; 2). It all comes back to culture; 3). The old wings, they used to be flyin', are just lying beside them. These themes highlight the importance of older Aboriginal people participating in learning activities and fulfilling cultural obligations that support social and emotional well-being. Factors like disrespect, poor health and/or well-being, broken cultural connections, and geography negatively influence participation in roles, responsibilities, and occupations. Conclusion: Elders and older people are integral in maintaining the cultural well-being of family, community, and country. This social and emotional well-being framework provides a respectful foundation to discuss Elders' and older Aboriginal people's cultural obligations, with the cultural domain providing a solid foundation for exploring Elders' and older people's occupations.


We have performed a very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) survey of local (z < 0.05) ultrahard X-ray (14–195 keV) selected active galactic nuclei (AGNs) from the Swift Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) using KVN, KaVA, and VLBA. We first executed fringe surveys of 142 BAT-detected AGNs at 15 or 22 GHz. Based on the result from the fringe surveys and archival data, we find 10/279 nearby AGN (∼4 per cent) VLBI have 22 GHz flux above 30 mJy. This implies that the X-ray AGNs with a bright nuclear jet are not common. Among these 10 radio-bright AGNs, we obtained 22 GHz VLBI imaging data of our own for four targets and reprocessed archival data for six targets. We find that, although our 10 AGNs observed with VLBI span a wide range of pc-scale morphological types, they lie on a tight linear relation between accretion luminosity and nuclear jet luminosity. Our result suggests that a powerful nuclear radio jet correlates with the accretion disc luminosity. We also probed the Fundamental Plane of black hole activity at VLBI scales (e.g. few milliarcsecond). The jet luminosity and size distribution among our sample roughly fit into the proposed AGN evolutionary scenario, finding powerful jets after the blow-out phase based on the Eddington ratio (λEdd)–hydrogen column density (NH) relation. In addition, we find some hints of gas inflow or galaxy–galaxy merger in the majority of our sample. This implies that gas supply via tidal interactions in galactic scale may help the central AGN to launch a powerful parsec-scale jet.


In this study, we examine the effect of site and season (spnng vs fall) on the movement frequency and net displacement of juvenile sea scallops Placopecten magellanicus, and the relationship between the net movement direction of scallops and the near-bed current direction at 2 sites in Lunenburg Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada. At each site, a total of 150 and 100 individually marked juvenile sea scallops were released on the sea bed at 2 points (Stns 1 and 2) placed 50 m apart for the spring (March) and fall (September) studies. The movement frequency and net displacement of the scallops were monitored within a 10 m radius from the release point approximately once a week durlng the spring study, and once a day during the fall study. Current meters placed 60 cm off the sea bed recorded near-bed current velocity. There was a significant interaction between site and season on the movement frequency of scallops. Scallop activity was low during the spring study at both sites when -30% of scallops were found at their release point on the sea bed after 30 d. Scallops were much more mobile during the fall study when ~ 5 % of scallops were found at their release point after 2 d. However, the net dally displacement was c 3 m for more than 60% of scallops recorded In -50% of the surveys, the net movement direction of scallops was significantly related to the direction of the main current vectors over daily to monthly periods, whereas in the other cases the net movement direction was independent of the direction of the main current vectors. The results of this study indicate that local hydrodynamics is not a good predictor of the swimming dispersion of juvenile P magellanicus in natural habitats.


Background Epidemiological studies of injury have mainly been performed on team sports. Present methods for data collection and analysis neglect important features of individual sports. Aims To develop a study protocol for large-scale epidemiological studies of injuries in individual sports, exemplified by athletics. Design Structured information system development. Specification of the study protocol was preceded by an examination of requirements on injury surveillance in individual sports and iterated drafting of protocol specifications, and followed by formative evaluations. A preliminary protocol was evaluated in a pilot study involving athletic coaches and athletes and revised into the final version. Setting Swedish youth and adult elite athletics. Participants Six elite athletics coaches and 22 athletic athletes. Results The requirements analysis showed that the central demand on a study protocol to be used for epidemiological surveillance in athletics is to enable detailed analyses of overuse injuries, which subsequently requires continuous and prospective collection of athlete self-reported data. The study protocol fulfils these requirements by using a web-based athlete diary for collection of data regarding exposure to practice and competition as well as injuries. In addition, the requirements analysis showed that the study protocol should cover collection of detailed baseline data, including injury history, subject characteristics and a psychological profile. The evaluation data showed that the preliminary protocol only needed minor revisions at the level of web-questionnaire design. Conclusion The resulting study protocol for injury surveillance is specifically targeted at individual sports. It can be employed in surveillance preceding intervention programs for preventing injuries and suffering among both adult elite and youth athletes. Electronic data capture is crucial for injury surveillance in individual sports, such as athletics in order to ensure high validity of data.


IT-supported knowledge repositories are an important part in Knowledge Management (KM) work. The success of an IT-supported knowledge repository is dependent on what is stored in the repository and hence the ability to capture the right knowledge is a key aspect. Therefore, to increase the quality in an IT-supported Knowledge Repository, the identify activity, which starts the capture process, must be successfully performed. While Critical Success Factors (CSF) for KM and KMS are frequently discussed in the literature, there is a knowledge gap concerning CSF for this specific knowledge capture activity. Based on an interpretive field study and a literature review, this paper proposes and characterizes CSF for the identify activity. For example, we highlight the importance of having organizational knowledge about what knowledge to capture and where to find it, i.e. having knowledge about potential sources of knowledge.


The purpose of this technical report is two-fold. First of all, it introduces a suite of challenging continuous control tasks (integrated with OpenAI Gym) based on currently existing robotics hardware. The tasks include pushing, sliding and pick & place with a Fetch robotic arm as well as in-hand object manipulation with a Shadow Dexterous Hand. All tasks have sparse binary rewards and follow a Multi-Goal Reinforcement Learning (RL) framework in which an agent is told what to do using an additional input.
The second part of the paper presents a set of concrete research ideas for improving RL algorithms, most of which are related to Multi-Goal RL and Hindsight Experience Replay.


Integrating appliances in the home through a wired network often proves to be impractical: routing cables is usually difficult, changing the network structure afterward even more so, and portable devices can only be connected at fixed connection points. Wireless networks are not the answer either: batteries have to be regularly replaced or changed, and what they add to the device's size and weight might be disproportionate for smaller appliances. In Pin&Play, we explore a design space in between typical wired and wireless networks, investigating the use of surfaces to network objects that are attached to it. This article gives an overview of the network model, and describes functioning prototypes that were built as a proof of concept.


Dielectric constant, e', dielectric loss factor, e",
electric modulus, M, and ac conductivity, σac, of pure CPVC and that
stabilized with 10 wt% of phenyl maleimide, PM, have been carried out. The
dielectric properties have been studied in the temperature and frequency
ranges; 310 K - 450 K and 1 kHz- 4 MHz, respectively. The incorporation of 10 wt% of PM
as stabilizer for CPVC leads to reduce its Tg from 405K to 378K at 10
kHz. PM molecules within CPVC structure reduce the double bond, stabilizer
effect, and cause the widely spacing between CPVC main chains, plasticizer
effect.  Three dielectric relaxation
processes namely ρ, α', and α were observed for pure CPVC. The first process
was explained based on space charge formation or Maxwell-Wagner-Sillers, MWS,
polarization. The second one is due to the segmental motion of the branching of
CPVC. The third process occurs around the glass-rubber temperature, Tg,
and is related to the micro-Brownian motion of the main polymer chain. Electric
modulus and ac conductivity reveal that the conduction mechanism of CPVC is
follow the correlated barrier hopping, CBH, while stabilized sample exhibits a
quantum mechanical tunneling, QMT, type conduction.


The emergence of a creative sector is one of the features of both a structural change of the world economy and society as well as the process of advancing metropolitanisation. Metropolitan areas are among those where this sector develops especially dynamically, and is turning into one of the most important markers of their competitiveness. The identification of mutual interdependencies between the process of accommodating creative knowledge and a competitiveness of metropolitan regions within the enlarged European Union has become a subject of an international research project called ACRE, implemented within the EU Sixth Framework Programme. The project's central question is: What are the conditions (in particular, the role of so-called 'soft' factors) for stimulating creative urban processes? The paper presents: a) an outline of the above mentioned project in the context of R. Florida's concept of a creative class and a creative city; b) preliminary results of the project on the example of the Poznan metropolitan region; c) challenges and implications for urban policy. The case of Poznan illustrates a character and typical features of creative processes in post-communist metropolises of East-Central Europe.


Abstract. – OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to investigate the effects of the bacterial biofilm formation on the tonsil surface exposed N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC) and acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) of patients undergoing tonsillectomy by light and electron microscopy. The general process of biofilm formation comprises adhesion of free-living or planktonic bacteria to a surface, which subsequently develop into microcolonies and form a biofilm. Based on studies that have shown the presence of biofilms in common sites of chronic infections, it has become clear that bacteria may persist on mucosal surfaces through formation of biofilms. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Ten patients between 4 and 39 years of age (mean, 11.9 ± 11.2 years). In all cases, periodic acide Schiff (PAS) staining was found to be an accurate predictor of the presence or absence of biofilm using light microscopy as a control standard. Therapeutic doses of NAC and ASA were identificated as the effective on the tonsil bacterial biofilm using light and electron microscopy. RESULTS: Biofilm formation was detected on all samples. Tonsils removed from patients with ASA-10 had showed higher-grade inhibitory effect at the biofilm formation than the other group (p ≤ 0.0001). The correlation was found between drug dose and decrease at the biofilm formation. CONCLUSIONS: In chronic or recurrent tonsillitis patients, decrease on the tonsils surface biofilm formation may be associated with ASA dose. Whether effect on the tonsils surface biofilm formation of other agent have a role is not known.


Objectives and prior work - For many asylum seekers just getting to the UK is an achievement, let alone obtaining refugee status. When 'equality' is achieved with other immigrant workers then the settlement process begins. For some this includes starting a business but there are a number of well documented barriers to business start-up for refugees as well as black minority ethic entrepreneurs, which have been highlighted in the North East region (BRKN, 2007). Given this Northumbria University has sought to engage with these communities. This paper represents on-going research which began with a Northumbria University funded project that supported two main workshops aimed at refugees who wished to start a business.

Approach - The University sought to engage with this particular part of the community through a project which aimed to contribute to the widening of business start-up for refugees at a time of increasing economic uncertainty. One practical means that had become available was the opportunity to establish a community based social enterprise. Given this an introductory workshop for refugees was organised on social enterprises. The workshop attracted over twenty-five community leader participants from ten different nations including the Cameroon, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iran, Pakistan, Somalia, the Sudan, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. Participants requested a second workshop which then took place on 'planning a business venture.'

Results - Questionnaire data was obtained from these workshops on business and social enterprise start-up, previous business experience and the usefulness of the workshops. Following these some of the workshop participants attended Northumbria University's Student Law Office for advice on setting up their own businesses. Informal contact is also continuing with leading figures in these communities and through engagement with local voluntary sector groups.

Implications - This paper will discuss some of the barriers that refugees face when starting a business and how their migration status impacts on this. It will also consider the recent cuts to the voluntary sector, how this has impacted on many of the groups supporting refugees and the extent to which the University is able to support these communities with business start up.

Value - This research aims to identify the barriers which stand in the way of refugees trying to start up businesses, and to suggest measures which might ameliorate the situation, and enable more refugees to become successful business persons, contributing to the UK economy.

BRKN (2007) Enterprise for Black and Minority Ethnic Communities, Refugees and Migrants, report by BOW Community Projects, Richardson Howarth LLP, The Knap and Northumbria University for ONE North East.


In the choice of a design object, tangible and intangible relations are established between its designers, manufacturers, distributors, and consumers. A purchasing action is more and more a place for learning, simulation, and representation of scripts, roles, and screenplays of the self (Rutelli & Bortolanza, 2006). This work focuses on the feasibility of validating a protocol for use in defining the processes of discrimination and attribution between design objects, and the meanings that these objects have. In particular, response frequencies and concentrations are measured to assess the discriminatory capacity of the items of an ad hoc protocol. The ARCLASS model (Lombardi & Sartori, 2006) can be applied to identify the object typology classes and thus enable their prevalent semantic areas to be represented.


This study examined the energy expenditure and heart rate of structural firefighters. Subjects included nine (N:9) full-time firefighters from Ithaca, NY, ranging in age from 2l-48 years. All subjects completed four test days. Test day I included measurement of VOz.r*and anthropometric data. During test days2-4, activity count to estimate energy expenditure (EE) and heart rate (HR) were measured simultaneously using an Actiheart Monitor. During each shift (test days 2-4), subjects were required to document all activity at l5 minute increments. Activities were subsequently classified as emergency response (ER), simulation training (ST) or other shift activities (SA), and were synchronized with the activity count and heart rate data from the Actiheart. A3x2 repeated measures ANOVA compared heart rate and activity count between ER and SA during the three test days. Data during ST was captured on only one firefighter therefore ST data was not included in the statistical analysis due to small sample size. As expected, mean HR was significantly higher during ER compared to SA. Surprisingly, EE during SA was significantly higher than EE during ER. The large difference could be due to the variety and intensity of tasks completed during SA and the amount of time during those activities. Accurate exercise prescription is essential to meet the physiological demands of the profession. Physical demands affect job performance and ultimately public safety. Shift activities like truck checks and truck washing should be considered when prescribing exercise to this population.


Abstract Stratigraphic subdivision of the Upper Miocene deposits in the Pannonian Basin has been traditionally based on the endemic mollusc species of Lake Pannon. The cockle species Lymnocardium soproniense Vitális, apparently evolving through a sympatric speciation event in the sublittoral zone of Lake Pannon about 10.2-10.3 Ma, attained wide geographical distribution in the Pannonian basin and thus may serve as a good stratigraphic marker. Lymnocardium soproniense was one of the few large-sized cockles in Lake Pannon, most closely related to its ancestor, L. schedelianum (Fuchs), and to another descendant of the latter, L. variocostatum Vitális. According to the δ18O stable isotope record of its shells, the large size of L. soproniense was coupled with an extended life time of more than 10 years, probably reflecting a stable lake environment with increased resource availability and decreased predation. The species lived in quiet offshore conditions, below the storm wave base, where clay was deposited from suspension and the influence of currents was negligible. The base of the Lymnocardium soproniense Zone in the sublittoral deposits of Lake Pannon is defined by the first occurrence of the species, whereas the top of the zone is marked with the base of the overlying Congeria praerhomboidea Zone, defined by the FAD of C. praerhomboidea.


Purpose: Imetelstat is a covalently-lipidated 13-mer thiophosphoramidate oligonucleotide that acts as a potent specific inhibitor of telomerase. It binds with high affinity to the template region of the RNA component of human telomerase (hTERC) and is a competitive inhibitor of telomerase enzymatic activity. The purpose of this study was to determine the recommended phase II dose of imetelstat in children with recurrent or refractory solid tumors. Experimental Design: Imetelstat was administered intravenously more than two hours on days 1 and 8, every 21 days. Dose levels of 225, 285, and 360 mg/m2 were evaluated, using the rolling-six design. Imetelstat pharmacokinetic and correlative biology studies were also performed during the first cycle. Results: Twenty subjects were enrolled (median age, 14 years; range, 3–21). Seventeen were evaluable for toxicity. The most common toxicities were neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, and lymphopenia, with dose-limiting myelosuppression in 2 of 6 patients at 360 mg/m2. Pharmacokinetics is dose dependent with a lower clearance at the highest dose level. Telomerase inhibition was observed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells at 285 and 360 mg/m2. Two confirmed partial responses, osteosarcoma (n = 1) and Ewing sarcoma (n = 1), were observed. Conclusions: The recommended phase II dose of imetelstat given on days 1 and 8 of a 21-day cycle is 285 mg/m2. Clin Cancer Res; 19(23); 6578–84. ©2013 AACR.


Abstract. On 13 June 2015, the London Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC) warned the Buenos Aires VAAC about a possible volcanic eruption from the Nevados Ojos del Salado volcano (6879 m), located in the Andes mountain range on the border between Chile and Argentina. A volcanic ash cloud was detected by the SEVIRI instrument on board the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) satellites from 14:00 UTC on 13 June. In this paper, we provide the first comprehensive description of this event through observations and numerical simulations. Our results support the hypothesis that the phenomenon was caused by wind remobilization of ancient pyroclastic deposits (ca. 4.5 ka Cerro Blanco eruption) from the Bolson de Fiambala (Fiambala Basin) in northwestern Argentina. We have investigated the spatiotemporal distribution of aerosols and the emission process over complex terrain to gain insight into the key role played by the orography and the condition that triggered the long-range transport episode. Numerical simulations of windblown dust were performed using the ARW (Advanced Research WRF) core of the WRF (Weather Research and Forecasting) model (WRF-ARW) and FALL3D modeling system with meteorological fields downscaled to a spatial resolution of 2 km in order to resolve the complex orography of the area. Results indicate that favorable conditions to generate dust uplifting occurred in northern Fiambala Basin, where orographic effects caused strong surface winds. According to short-range numerical simulations, dust particles were confined to near-ground layers around the emission areas. In contrast, dust aerosols were injected up to 5–6 km high in central and southern regions of the Fiambala Basin, where intense ascending airflows are driven by horizontal convergence. Long-range transport numerical simulations were also performed to model the dust cloud spreading over northern Argentina. Results of simulated vertical particle column mass were compared with the MSG-SEVIRI retrieval product. We tested two numerical schemes: with the default configuration of the FALL3D model, we found difficulties to simulate transport through orographic barriers, whereas an alternative configuration, using a numerical scheme to more accurately compute the horizontal advection in abrupt terrains, substantially improved the model performance.


A study has been undertaken to investigate the pore structure characteristics, porosity and critical pore diameter of preformed foamed concrete with a density between 1300 and 1900 kg/m3, and its effect on the permeation characteristics, water absorption and permeability. Different measured and calculated methods were adopted to determine the above properties and a comparison between them was done. Porosity was measured by apparent, total vacuum saturation and mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) methods, while permeability was measured (by constant and falling head methods) and calculated (by the Katz and Thompson model). Total porosity and dry density are found to be clearly related. The critical pore diameter (from the MIP test) and the pore diameter size (>200nm) are found to be closely related to the permeability of foamed concrete.


Most proponents of slavery reparations seem to have in mind a program that includes substantial redistribution of resources from whites to blacks within the U.S. This Article takes seriously the idea of slavery reparations as a program of redistribution. The Article, therefore, has a normative component in that it offers a new justification for some degree of racial redistribution, a justification that takes into account distributive justice concerns as well as efficiency concerns. The argument, in brief, is that, since race strongly correlates with differences in well-being, is relatively immutable (or at least not a function of work/leisure choices), and is relatively observable, a program of racial redistribution can have the properties of a distributively just lump-sum transfer. There are, of course, reasonably strong arguments to be made against doing any redistribution by race. Those arguments are also discussed in the Article. As to the questions of precisely how much racial redistribution their ought to be, what forms such redistribution should take, and whether the types of racial redistribution that we already have (via targeted spending programs and prohibitions against statistical discrimination as well as through race-based affirmative-action programs) are sufficient, the Article provides no answers. It does, however, suggest some of the general types of programs that should be considered and the criteria for evaluating them. Moreover, what is most relevant for the current debate over slavery reparations, I suggest that the slavery reparations debate would be improved if more attention were given to these distributive justice, efficiency, and policy-design issues.


White pieces make the first move in chess games. A great deal of data suggests that the color of a chess piece affects the outcome of a chess game. The purpose of this study was to see if playing the white pieces gives a winning advantage. Our hypothesis was that there is a greater chance of winning when the first move is made with a white piece. In addition, we tested if playing certain opening or defense strategies gives a winning advantage. We played 5 games each with 4 openings and 4 defenses in Chess Titans for 10 levels, for a total of 400 games, and on chess.com, for a total of 40 games. We also analyzed a database of over 32,000 chess records. The data suggest that opening and defense strategies affect the outcome. On chess.com, the winning percentage was the same for both white and black pieces (65%), while in Chess Titans, the winning rate was higher for the white pieces (92%). Overall, the winning percentages were much higher when playing with white pieces.


ABSTRACT Highly accumulated hyaluronan (HA) not only provides a physiological barrier but also supports an immune-suppressive tumour microenvironment. High-molecular-weight (HMW)-HA inhibits the activation of immune cells and their access into tumour tissues, whereas, low-molecular-weight oligo-HA is known to potentially activate dendritic cells (DCs). In this paper, we investigated whether small extracellular vesicle (EVs)-PH20 hyaluronidase induces tumour HA degradation, which, in turn, activates DCs to promote anti-cancer immune responses. Informed by our previous work, we used a small EV carrying GPI-anchored PH20 hyaluronidase (Exo-PH20) that could deeply penetrate into tumour foci via HA degradation. We found that Exo-PH20-treatment successfully activates the maturation and migration of DCs in vivo, particularly CD103+ DCs leading to the activation of tumour-specific CD8+ T cells, which work together to inhibit tumour growth. Moreover, combination with anti-PD-L1 antibody provided potent tumour-specific CD8+ T cell immune responses as well as elicited prominent tumour growth inhibition both in syngenic and spontaneous breast cancer models, and this anti-tumour immunity was durable. Together, these results present new insights for HA degradation by Exo-PH20, providing a better understanding of oligo HA-triggered immune responses to cancer.


Diesel engines are inevitable parts of our daily life and will be in the future. Expensive after-treatment technologies to fulfil normative legislations about the harmful tail-pipe emissions and fuel price increase in recent years created expectations from researchers for alternative fuel applications on diesel engines. This study investigates hydrogen as additive fuel in diesel engines. Hydrogen was introduced into intake manifold using gas injectors as additive fuel in gaseous form and also diesel fuel was injected into cylinder by diesel injector and used as igniter. Energy content of introduced hydrogen was set to 0%, 25% and 50% of total fuel energy, where the 0% references neat diesel operation without hydrogen injection. Test conditions were set to full load at 750, 900, 1100, 1400, 1750 and finally 2100 r/min engine speed. Variation in engine performance, emissions and combustion characteristics with hydrogen addition was investigated. Hydrogen introduction into the engine by 25% and 50% of total charge energy reveals significant decrease in smoke emissions while dramatic increase in nitrogen oxides. With increasing hydrogen content, a slight rise is observed in total unburned hydrocarbons although CO2 and CO gaseous emissions reduced considerably. Maximum in-cylinder gas pressure and rate of heat release peak values raised with hydrogen fraction.


In this paper I will investigate the phenomenon of the awayday and its potential as a transitional space as well as how it fits into management discourse. Transition is central to the awayday, often on a literal level (of being away from the office, for example). Furthermore I want to explore whether this shift from place or routine has any bearing on the feelings and experiences of the employees: does it represent a psychological transition? Does the irregularity of structure of the awayday provide a space for reflection? Does it alter the way the individual thinks about work or identity? I will discuss this apropos Turner's concept of the liminal. My empirical data led the research. I interviewed members from two organisations that had recently been on an awayday and used their viewpoints to shape my understanding of the effects of transition on issues of identity whilst theoretically couching the discussion of the awayday within the context of 'fun at work' and how the awayday provoked questions about identity (both singular and multiple) and boundaries.


This paper describes the Fortran parallel task recognizer and the directed graph model upon which it is based. The recognizer is itself a Fortran program. As input the recognizer accepts source programs written in Fortran; as output the recognizer generates a set of tables which communicate to the operating system information regarding the parallel processability of source program tasks. The recognizer has been used to analyze several programs in an attempt to determine what characteristics render a program "suitable" for parallel processing. Timing studies have shown that the detailed recognizer analysis consumes a large amount of time in an attempt to answer the suitability question. For a suitable production-type program this analysis time can be distributed over the lifetime of the program. In those cases where the source program is not suitable for parallel processing, however, this analysis represents a wasted investment of valuable system resources. To circumvent this, a heuristic procedure has been developed which introduces little overhead and provides a preliminary answer to the suitability question based solely on the nature and number of source program statements. If the preliminary analysis suggests a favorable potential for the source program, then the program is subjected to the detailed analysis of the recognizer.


The literature on the economic and fiscal impacts of in-migrating retirees on rural communities concentrates on the young, newly-retired. An issue not systematically addressed are the impacts on the communities as these retirees age. The Wisconsin Economic Impact Modeling System, a county level conjoined input-output/econometrics simulation model, is used to assess the impact of an aging rural population. Using data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Expenditure Survey, profiles of two household types are constructed and used to simulate the economic impact of an additional 500 elderly households into a small rural economy. Household types vary by age and, as a result, have different income levels and expenditure patterns. As hypothesized, the magnitude and nature of impacts is in direct proportion to relative household size and income level.


Note: Each chapter ends with a Conclusion. 1. The Technology Challenge for Teacher Education Dialogues Within the Academy: Dinner for Eight Introduction Three Assumptions That Guide This Book How SCDEs Are Handling the Increased Role of Technology What Obstacles Must Be Overcome if SCDEs Are to Employ Technology Successfully? 2. Establishing Benchmarks for Technology and Teacher Education Dialogues Within the Academy: Finding Benchmarks The CEO Forum on Education and Technology Campus Leadership Campus Infrastructure SCDE Leadership SCDE Infrastructure SCDE Curriculum Faculty Competence and Use Student Competence and Use Alumni Connections 3. Approaches to Technology Instruction in Teacher Education Dialogues Within the Academy: Do You Think Technology Might Affect Accreditation? Sorting Out the Options Stand-Alone Technology Course College/University Technology Requirement Integrated Technology Component Technology in the Field Computer-Assisted Instruction and Distance Learning as a Technology Component Technology Fully Integrated Throughout the Program 4. Integration of Technology Across the Teacher Education Curriculum Dialogues Within the Academy: From Dinner for Eight to Lunch for Three Finding a Model for Technology Integration Building a Framework Specific to the SCDE Integrated Technology Activities 5. Technology for Special Education Teachers Dialogues Within the Academy: What About Special Education? Special Education Service Delivery Preparing Teachers to Use Technology in Special Education 6. Preparation of Technology Specialists Dialogues Within the Academy: Trying to Do It All Preparing the Technology Specialist 7. Technology for School Administrators and Counselors Dialogues Within the Academy: Administrators and Counselors Next Why Should We Be Concerned About the Technology Competence of School Administrators and Counselors? The Impact of Technology on the Role of School Administrators The Role of Technology in School Administration Graduate Programs The Impact of Technology on the Role of School Counselors The Role of Technology in Counselor Education Graduate Programs 8. Distance-Learning Technologies in Education Courses Dialogues Within the Academy: Out on the Road Distance Learning in Higher Education Why Distance Education? A Model for Merging Distance-Learning Technology and Teacher Education Professional Development, In-Service, and Distance Education 9. Using Technology as a Catalyst for Change Dialogues Within the Academy: The Final Report Problems of Change in Higher Education Seven Lessons from Research on Change CEO Forum Revisited Nine Steps for Successful Technology Implementation University of Florida College of Education Information Technology Initiative Glossary Resources Index


Chinese hamster ovary cell populations were enriched for cells displaying low surface expression of the 140-kD integrin fibronectin receptor (FnR) by means of fluorescence-activated cell sorting using monoclonal anti-FnR antibodies. Selected cells were cloned by limiting dilution, and the resulting clones were screened for low cell surface FnR expression by ELISA. Two multiply sorted populations gave rise to variant clones possessing approximately 20 or 2% FnR expression, respectively, compared with wild-type cells. Growth rates of the "20%" and "2%" clones on serum-coated plastic dishes were similar to that of wild-type cells. Variant cells expressing 20% FnR could attach and spread on substrata coated with purified fibronectin, although somewhat more slowly than wild-type cells, while cells expressing 2% FnR could not attach or spread. Cells from all variant clones attached normally to vitronectin substrata, but some of the 2% clones displayed altered morphology on this type of substratum. Motility assays in blind well chambers showed a correlation of movement with level of expression of FnR. The number of cells migrating in response to fibronectin was greatly reduced compared with wild-type cells for the 20% FnR variant clones, while variant clones with 2% FnR showed virtually no migratory activity. Surface labeling with 125I and immunoaffinity purification of FnR showed reduced levels of intact FnR on the plasma membranes of variants with 20% FnR, while none was detected in variants expressing 2% FnR. Nevertheless, beta subunits were detected on the surfaces of all variant clones. Immunoblots of cell lysates from wild-type cells and from both types of variant clones showed substantial amounts of FnR beta chain as well as enhanced amounts of a pre-beta moiety in the variants. alpha chain was markedly reduced in the 20% variants and essentially absent in the 2% variants, indicating that failure to assemble intact FnR in these variants was due to deficiencies of alpha chain production. Dot blots of total mRNA from a representative clone expressing 20% FnR showed reduced levels of material hybridizing to an 0.97-kb hamster FnR alpha chain cDNA probe as compared with wild type, while mRNA from a representative clone expressing 2% FnR had no detectable hybridizable RNA; this seems to agree well with the results obtained by immunoblotting. Thus, the defect in the variant clones seems to be due to reduced levels of alpha chain mRNA leading to a deficit of mature FnR and consequent alterations in cell adhesion and motility on fibronectin substrata.


This sequential mixed methods study investigates the differences in adolescent engagement with Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) such as computers, mobile phones, and the Internet. The multi-case project involves 698 second year high school students from three socioeconomically, ethnoculturally, and geographically specific schools in China. It examines the ways in which social factors, such as ethnicity and rurality/urbanity, shape technology access and use before analysing social and educational consequences of youth interaction with ICT. While the quantitative strand lends its power to reveal structural inequalities in the levels of access and use, the qualitative interviewing sheds light on the diversities in use and gives voice to individuals as they encode technology with values and meanings. The research finds that urban students in Shenzhen have the highest level of access to technology and support, use ICT for the widest range of activities, and are most likely to treat them as "life" and "thought" companions for psychosocial, emotional, and intellectual gains. On average, Tibetans are disadvantaged; but the most digitally marginalised teenagers are mainstream Han students with parents having no more than six years of education. Nonetheless, the return to parental education is by far greater for Han students than it is for Tibetans. While the probability of students reporting underachievement decreases as parental education increases, Tibetans are significantly less likely to report "Below average" or "Bottom 10%" in class. The study also discovers that access to ICT strongly correlates with socioeconomic status, but use of them articulates ways of learning and living, which are often resistant to change. As the global and fast-changing ICT become more prevalent, oftentimes adults highlight what they might do to students, while teenagers emphasise what they can do for them. So technology and culture regularly clash. When ICT are introduced to schools by adults, they rarely satisfy the needs of adolescents; and when they have any effect on learning, usually it is not because of what students have in school, it is because of what they do elsewhere — at home or in Internet cafes.


For query-by-example spoken term detection (QbE-STD), generation of phone posteriorgrams requires labelled data which would be difficult for languages with low resources. One solution is to build models from rich resource languages and use them in the low resource scenario. However, phone classes are not language universal and alternate representation such as articulatory classes is explored. In this paper, we use articulatory information and their derivatives such as bottle-neck (BN) features (also referred to as articulatory BN features) for QbE-STD. We obtain Gaussian posteriorgrams of articulatory BN features in tandem with the acoustic parameters such as frequency domain linear prediction cepstral coefficients to perform the search. We compare the search performance of articulatory and phone BN features and show that articulatory BN features are a better representation. We also provide experimental results to show that low amounts (30 mins) of training data could be used to derive articulatory BN features.