State and local taxes increased relative to overall economic activity during the 1980s, but have not reached the alltime high levels experienced during the 1970s. A slight decline in relative state and local tax levels durin the early 1980s continued a trend away from the high tax rates of the 1970s. State and local tax rates turned upward again in 1982, peaked in 1988 and declined slightly in 1989 and 1990. While both state taxes and local taxes increased durin the decade, the increase in local taxes was more rapid than the increase in state taxes. Local taxes topped 40 percent of the combined total of state and local taxes for the first time in 1990. Income taxes were the fastest growing type of tax at the state level, while sales taxes increased most rapidly among local taxes. Althoughlocaljurisdictions decreased their dependence on property taxes as a percentage of total local taxes during the decade, local tax rates increased enough that property taxes actually increased slightly as a percentage of total state and local taxation. LONG-TERM TRENDS A long steady rise in state and local tax rates relative to income that began before 1950 continued through 1973, In 1973 state and local taxes peaked at an all-time high level of 11.69 percent of total personal income, State and local taxes declined relative to income during the next several years, partly in response to the so-called "tax revolt." The decline continued through 1981, reaching 10.26 percent of income, the lowest level since the late 1960s, Since 1981, state and local tax rates have generally risen again, peaking in 1988 at 11.15 percent of income and declining slightly I to 11.10 percent in 1990, Table 1 shows the overall trend of state and local taxes during the past four decades and several high and low points. (Table 1 omitted) TRENDS DURING THE 1980S Nationwide, local taxes increased more rapidly than state taxes during the 1980s, particularly durin the last half of the decade, In 1985, local taxes represented 38 percent of total state and local taxation: by 1990, the local percentage had increased to 40, Individual and corporate income taxes produced the largest share of state tax revenue throughout the decade, and the portion even increased during the decade, In 1980, income taxes accounted for 37 percent of all state tax revenue, By 1990, income taxes represented 39 percent of all state taxes, down slightly from a peak of 40 percent in 1989. Sales taxes were the second most important source of state tax revenues nationwide, representing almost a third of total state tax revenues. Sales taxes also rose during the decade, rising from 31 percent of the total in 1980 to 33 percent in 1990. Property taxes held fairly steady at about 2 percent of total state tax revenues during the decade. All other types of state taxes declined relatively during the decade. The nature and size of such taxes varies greatly from state to state. In energy-producing states such as Alaska and Wyoming, severance taxes are significant. Nevada derives a high portion of its revenue from taxes on the gambling and visitor industries. Nationwide, all other taxes declined from 30 percent of total state tax revenues in 1980 to 26 percent in 1990. For local governments, the property tax remains the undisputed leader among tax revenue sources. Property taxes have declined slightly as a percentage of total local taxes, but still represent almost threefourths of all local tax revenue. Sales taxes and other taxes have increased slightly in importance during the past decade, while local income taxes have remained fairly steady as a local government revenue source. TOTAL TAX RATES The division of responsibility between state and localjurisdictions for such important (and costly) functions as education and transportation varies significantly from state to state. For this reason, combinin state and local totals provides the most equitable basis for making interstate comparisons of tax levels. …


This study examined the effects of Internet-based expressive writing on posttraumatic growth. Expressive (n = 14) and control writing (n = 10) participants wrote for 15 min on 3 occasions spaced 3 days apart. Measures of intrusive and avoidant thoughts and posttraumatic growth were administered at baseline and 2- and 8-week postintervention follow-ups. Results showed that posttraumatic growth significantly increased from baseline to 8-week follow-up in the expressive writing group, while there was no significant change in levels of posttraumatic growth in the control group. Intrusive and avoidant cognitions did not differ between writing groups. Analyses of language use showed that greater use of insight words was associated with an increase in posttraumatic growth. Findings are consistent with cognitive processing models of expressive writing and have implications for Internet-administered expressive writing.


As an answer for a certain consumers category and in the frame of European concern for environment protection and healthier food, the Research-Development Station for Vegetable Growing, Bacău has been carying on, for several decades, researches for obtaining ecological vegetables. Researches of ecological agriculture are few, because, by definition and by legislation, ecological poducts have intrinsic value, exclusively detemined by the growing technologies. The Station has ecologically certified land ever since 1992. From the agrochemical point of view, the soil ment for ecological crops is normally developed, slightly acid, with a medium supply of the main nutritional elements, characteistic for the first terrace of the Siret river, suitable for vegetable gowing. The climate is moderately continental, with a multi- annual average temperature of 8,9oC, characteristic for the second suitability zone for vegetable gowing, and the rainfall multi-annual average is 520 mm/m 2 , the rainiest month is in summer - July, with a multi-annual average of 80 mm/m 2 . Many vegetable species are grown of wich only a few: tomatoes, egg-plants and capsicum, are presented in this paper. Growing technologies are complex and include farm compost, green manure, and homologated and ecologically cetified products. The novelty of the researches carried on at SCDL Bacău consists of a complex approach having in view, at the same time, the preservation and improvement of the soil fertility properties, the plants nutritional status, the products mineral contents and their biochemical properties as compared to the same characteristics of conventionally grown vegetables. Increasing the yields, which are lower than those of the conventional vegetable growing, is also a goal, as well as improving the vegetables appearance, which is less pleasant than that of the conventional products. These last two aspects are limited by renouncing at the chemical fertilizers and pest control products. The final purpose of these researches, besides satisfying a certain consumers' category, is to create and maintain specialized markets and ensure an adequate profit for the farmers. The present paper presents results of these researches obtained in 2006 and 2007. The soil fertility status is maintained at an adequate level over the yeas, the nutritional status of the crops is comparable with that of the conventional crops, and the nutritional value of the products, expressed by the mineral contents and biochemical properties, is no different of those of the conventional products.


Studies on the formation of colloidal crystals in concentrated suspensions
have mainly been based on dispersed suspensions with a repulsive inter-particle potential of hard or
nearly hard spheres. The self-assembly in weakly-flocculated suspensions has still been unrealized.
Here, we report on the formation of ordered structures in concentrated suspensions of nearly-hard
spherical particles with weakly-attractive inter-particle interactions that are an order of magnitude
higher than the particles' thermal energy.

 In our case, the self-assembly in such suspensions is not thermodynamically driven, but an
external shear force must be applied. The driving force for the particles' ordering is an increase in the
inter-particle interactions. This manifests itself in a decrease in the average angle between the interparticle
interaction direction and the applied shear stress direction.

For a successful ordering into a large-scale closed packed assembly, the external shear force
must not exceed the inter-particle attractive interaction for the minimum possible average angle (as in
the closed packed structures) but be high enough to enable the particles to move in the highly loaded
suspension.

The developed method for the self-assembly of the weakly flocculated systems can be
applied very generally e.g. a control over a composition of heterogeneous colloidal crystals, manufacturing
of the large-scale photonic crystals or preparation of very densely packed compacts of particles
needed for the production of sintered ceramics.


Researchers continue to explore possibilities for expanding additive manufacturing (AM) technologies into direct product manufacturing. One limitation is in the materials available for use in AM that can meet the needs of end-use applications. Stereolithography (SL) is an AM technology well known for its precision and high quality surface finish capabilities. SL builds parts by selectively crosslinking or solidifying photo-curable liquid resins, and the resin industry has been continuously developing new resins with improved performance characteristics. This paper introduces a unique SL machine that can fabricate parts out of multiple SL materials. The technology is based on using multiple vats positioned on a rotating vat carousel that contain different photo-curable materials. To change the material during the process, the build platform is raised out of the current vat, a new vat with a different material is rotated under the platform, and the platform is submerged into the new vat so that the new material can be used. This paper introduces a new vat exchange mechanism, cleaning process, recoating process, resin leveling mechanism and process planning technologies for the implementation of multiple material SL. An overview of the system framework is provided and the system integration and control software is described. In addition, several multiple material test parts are designed, fabricated, and described.


Background
Infection with the gram-negative bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei can result in melioidosis, a life-threatening disease that can be difficult to diagnose. Culture remains the gold standard for diagnosis but requires laboratory resources not available in many endemic regions. A lateral flow immunoassay has shown promise for POC diagnostics but suffers from low sensitivity when used on blood samples. PCR also has low sensitivity on blood, attributed to the low bacterial numbers in blood observed in melioidosis patients, even when bacteraemic.

Methods
A prototype i-STAT cartridge was developed to utilize the monoclonal antibody specific for the capsule of pathogenic Burkholderia species employed on the LFI. The resulting POC assay was evaluated on 414 clinical specimens from Darwin, Australia and Cambodia.

Results
The i-STAT assay accurately distinguished Australian blood culture positive melioidosis patients from Australian patients hospitalized with other infections (AUC = 0.91, 95% CI 0.817 - 1.0). We derived an assay cutoff with 76% sensitivity and 94% specificity that correctly classified 88% (n=74) of the Australian patients. Interestingly, only 46% (6/13) of the culture-positive melioidosis patients in Cambodia were classified correctly. Of great importance however, the assay detected capsule from blood samples for 32% of blood culture negative melioidosis patients in both cohorts and previously undiagnosed melioidosis patients in Cambodia. In addition the assay showed high sensitivity and specificity for urine, pus and sputum.

Conclusions
Diagnostic tools that are not dependent upon the growth kinetics or the levels of bacteremia of B. pseudomallei represent the next-generation of diagnostics and must be pursued further.


There is uncertainty about the interhemispheric timing of climatic changes during the last glacial-interglacial transition. Different hypotheses, relying on different lines of evidence, point variously to the Northern Hemisphere leading the Southern Hemisphere and vice versa, or to synchrony between the hemispheres. Southern South America is well placed to test the various alternatives using both glacial and palaeoecological evidence. We argue here from a synthesis of key proxy records that there was a sudden rise in temperature that initiated deglaciation sychronously over 16° of latitude at 14 600-14 300 14 C yr BP (17 500-17 150 cal. yr). There was a second step of warming in the Chilean Lake District at 13 000-12 700 14 Cy r BP (15 650-15 350 cal. yr), which saw temperatures rise to close to modern values. A third warming step, particularly clear in the south, occurred at ca. 10 000 14 C yr BP (11 400 cal. yr), the latter achieving Holocene levels of warmth. Following the initial warming, there was a lagged response in precipitation as the westerlies, after a delay of ca. 1600 yr, migrated from their northern glacial location to their present latitude, which was attained by 12 300 14 Cy r BP (14 300 cal. yr). The latitudinal contrasts in the timing of maximum precipitation are reflected in regional contrasts in vegetation change and in glacier behaviour. The large scale of a 80-km glacier advance in the Strait of Magellan at 12 700-10 300 14 C yr BP (15 350-12 250 cal. yr), which spans the Antarctic Cold Reversal and the Younger Dryas, was influenced by the return of the westerlies to southern latitudes. The delay in the migration of the westerlies coincides with the Heinrich 1 iceberg event in the North Atlantic. The suppressed global thermohaline circulation at the time may have affected sea-surface temperatures in the South Pacific, and the return of the westerlies to their present southerly latitude only followed ocean reorganisation to its present interglacial mode. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Recent studies in the mouse have established that IL-4 and IL-12 direct the development of Ag-stimulated naive CD4 T cells into, respectively, type 2 and type 1 Th cells. We report that prolonged exposure of immunologically naive and unstimulated human neonatal CD4 T cells to IL-4 or to IL-4 plus either IL-2 or IL-12 markedly affects their cytokine production on primary stimulation with PMA and ionomycin. IL-4 induces long-term proliferation of neonatal T cells and after 3 wk of culture these are capable of producing high levels of Th1 (IL-2, IFN-gamma) but no Th2 (IL-4, IL-5) cytokines; IL-4-primed cells are homogenously CD45RO-/RA+ and CD31+. After culture in the presence of IL-4 + IL-2 or IL-4 + IL-12, neonatal T cells are enriched in CD45RO+ and CD31- cells and they can produce Th2 as well as Th1 cytokines. In response to primary stimulation with PMA and ionomycin, cells primed with IL-4 + IL-2 produce IL-4, IL-5, and IL-10 and the same levels of IL-2 and IFN-gamma as IL-4-primed cells. Cells primed with IL-4 + IL-12 produce very high levels of both IL-4 and IFN-gamma but no IL-5. Endogenous IFN-gamma that is detected in primary cultures containing IL-4 + IL-12 does not inhibit, but rather enhances, the ability of the cells to produce IL-4. Further analysis of IL-4 + IL-12-primed cells reveals that IL-4 is mainly produced by CD31- cells and that these cells can trigger B cells to synthesize Ig including IgE. Finally, positively selected CD31+ cells remain CD31+ and are poor IL-4 producers after 3 wk of culture with IL-4 + IL-12, suggesting that these two cytokines promote the selective expansion of the small number of CD31- cells that are present in freshly isolated neonatal CD4 T cells.


This paper presents MRPyrNet, a new convolutional neural network (CNN) architecture that improves the capabilities of CNN-based pipelines for knee injury detection via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Existing works showed that anomalies are localized in small-sized knee regions that appear in particular areas of MRI scans. Based on such facts, MRPyrNet exploits a Feature Pyramid Network to enhance small appearing features and Pyramidal Detail Pooling to capture such relevant information in a robust way. Experimental results on two publicly available datasets demonstrate that MRPyrNet improves the ACL tear and meniscal tear diagnosis capabilities of two state-of-the-art methodologies. Code is available at https://git.io/JtMPH.


Committees of classifiers, also called mixtures or ensembles of classifiers, have become popular because they have the potential to improve on the performance of a single classifier constructed from the same set of training data. Bagging and boosting are some of the better known methods of constructing a committee of classifiers. Committees of classifiers are also important because they have the potential to provide a computationally scalable approach to handling massive datasets. When the emphasis is on computationally scalable approaches to handling massive datasets, the individual classifiers are often constructed from a small faction of the total data. In this context, the ability to improve on the accuracy of a hypothetical single classifier created from all of the training data may be sacrificed. The design of a committee of classifiers typically assumes that all of the training data is equally available to be assigned to subsets as desired, and that each subset is used to train a classifier in the committee. However, there are some important application contexts in which this assumption is not valid. In many real life situations, massive data sets are created on a distributed computer, recording the simulation of important physical processes. vii Currently, experts visually browse such datasets to search for interesting events in the simulation. This sort of manual search for interesting events in massive datasets is time consuming. Therefore, one would like to construct a classifier that could automatically label the "interesting" events. The problem is that the dataset is distributed across a large number of processors in chunks that are spatially homogenous with respect to the underlying physical context in the simulation. Here, a potential solution to this problem using ensembles is explored.


From its outset, this book offers a stimulating and fresh approach to the topic of an authentic Asian theology that needs to be more clearly articulated among the emerging theologies of the twenty first century. The author writes out of the conviction that previous work has been only superficially contextual. For him, western theology has not addressed the real concerns within a context of the relevance of Christ to revolutionary social change, pervasive poverty, ethnic and economic minorities, culture as a positive and negative force, the multi-faith situation and church conflict.


This paper attempts suggest improvements on Nan-Pu combined cycle power plant, which is located in Kaoshiung of Taiwan. As far as transient outage of power system in southern Taiwan is concerned, the steam turbine generator would trip but the gas turbine generator would keep running. The outages had occurred several times since commercial synchronization; it happened as many as three times from January to June in 2001. Consequently, we found that the settings of overcurrent protection relay of excitation transformer were improper in our investigation and through with the other plant. By modifying the relay settings, this defect has already been corrected fully. The project not only improve working achievement, but also enhance transient stability of overall power system in Taiwan.


Plea bargaining is a very important feature of criminal procedure in common law countries. It is the way to administer justice avoiding expensive trials and reducing the workloads of prosecution, defence and court, saving their time as well. Despite these advantages of such a procedure it does not correspond to some legal principles and basic rights of a defendant and even a victim. That is why it fairly deserves to be criticized not only in continental law system countries but in such countries as England and Wales themselves. But there are some European countries examples described in this article which show that it is possible to incorporate the basic elements of the original plea bargaining according to the specific character of the national criminal procedure and the requirements of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The experience of foreign countries, in particular the Codes of Criminal Procedure of Italy and Russia, the draft of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Estonia and some German scholarships' ideas persuade us that a defendant who admits his guilt of committing a crime and (or) refuses the right to trial in case of minor crimes can speed the criminal process and reduce its costs without any big inconsistency with fundamental requirements of a democratic criminal procedure. In case of such a decision of defendant appropriate sentence reduction on regular basis according to law must be applied. The plea of guilty is also included in the criminal procedure of Lithuania. But the trial is compulsory in any case. In this sense, some amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure can be made and the goal to simplify the criminal procedure can be achieved.


The study in this thesis focuses on the development of
 word-onset consonant clusters, in two-year-olds, acquiring Dutch. Word-onset
 clusters are often simplified during acquisition, but the studies reported
 here demonstrate a more complex and diverse range of developmental
 possibilities. For example, reduced onset clusters were found systematically
 to contain an acoustic trace in the subsequent vowel; a seven-staged process
 of /Cr/ development in production was revealed. In perception longer looking
 times at toel (stoel) as opposed to tein (trein), evidenced for a more stable
 mental representation of correct /sC/ clusters.
 This phenomenon is studied from different perspectives. Both longitudinal and
 experimental data are studied, and experiments comprise both production and
 perception. In addition to phonological analyses, detailed acoustic analyses
 are performed. The speech production mechanism appears to develop in a
 top-down manner. The main error source for onset cluster productions is
 initially formed by incomplete segmental representations in the mental
 lexicon; with complete specifications, syllable spell-out at the phonological
 encoding level forms the main error locus. Phonetic encoding errors are the
 most persistent. Variable word forms are a hallmark of early child language;
 they show the relative instability of a new developmental state of the speech
 production mechanism.


In this thesis, two major topics are discussed, namely the synthesis and characterisation of a cyanate ester polymer system based on the poly(arylene ether sulphone) backbone, together with the molecular modelling of this and similar polymeric systems. The molecular modelling studies involve the general modelling of a poly(arylene ether sulphone) oligomer in a vacuum, which has the same repeat unit as UDEL poly(sulphone), originally produced by Union Carbide. The oligomer was characterised by atomistic models of the system using molecular mechanics and molecular dynamics techniques in which the flexibility of the backbone torsional angles were examined. The sulphone torsional angle was identified as the most flexible, followed by the ether torsional angle, with the isopropylidene angle being the most inflexible. Their energy barriers were 1, 4 and 6kcal/mol respectively. The complexity of the polymeric system was then increased to model the above thermoplastic polymer under the influence of bulk conditions. Finally, the thermoset polymer with a poly(arylene ether sulphone) backbone, linked together by cross-linking cyanurate rings was modelled. Conformational properties were obtained of the various linking groups together with the calculation of various mechanical and physical properties, e.g., the Young's moduli and the glass transition temperatures of the simulated polymers. The results obtained from this work were generally in good agreement with experimental calculations. The synthetic work involved making the oligomeric repeat unit which constituted the repeat unit used in the thermoset modelling studies. A poly(arylene ether sulphone) dicyanate ester oligomer was synthesised, which when cured, formed a cyanurate ringed thermoset network via the reaction of three cyanate ester groups to form an s-triazine ring. This polymer was then characterised by classical techniques to obtain various mechanical and physical properties of the networked thermoset polymer. These were then compared with the properties calculated in the modelling studies. Fairly good agreement between the experimental and simulated results were observed, e.g., the simulated Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio were 3.64GPa and 0.35 respectively, whilst the experimental results were 2.50GPa and 0.33 respectively. In essence, the objective of this thesis was to synthesise and simulate via molecular simulation some poly(arylene ether sulphone) based thermoplastic and thermoset polymers and then to compare the various properties obtained from both techniques. The results show that molecular modelling techniques can be used to obtain accurate values of various properties of polymeric systems. This indicates that in the future, molecular modelling in conjunction with synthetic techniques may be used to predict trends and values of various properties of polymeric systems.


Often in highly-cluttered environments, a robot can observe the exterior of the environment with ease, but cannot directly view nor easily infer its detailed internal structure (e.g., dense foliage or a full refrigerator shelf). We present a data-driven approach that greatly improves a robot's success at reaching to a goal location in the unknown interior of an environment based on observable external properties, such as the category of the clutter and the locations of openings into the clutter (i.e., apertures). We focus on the problem of selecting a good initial configuration for a manipulator when reaching with a greedy controller. We use density estimation to model the probability of a successful reach given an initial condition and then perform constrained optimization to find an initial condition with the highest estimated probability of success. We evaluate our approach with two simulated robots reaching in clutter, and provide a demonstration with a real PR2 robot reaching to locations through random apertures. In our evaluations, our approach significantly outperformed two alternative approaches when making two consecutive reach attempts to goals in distinct categories of unknown clutter. Our approach only uses sparse readily-apparent features.


New Tribal Labyrinth offers a survey of works from the eponymous ongoing project by Atelier Van Lieshout, the internationally recognized studio of Dutch artist Joep van Lieshout. This publication reflects on our extremely advanced and complex society, in which over-consumption and limited raw materials play a crucial role. In Atelier Van Lieshout's vision, this will lead to conflict and the subsequent emergence of a new world order, with groups of people organizing themselves in tribes instead of nation-states. This new tribal world will see a return to farming and industry-which currently both have been banished from our society-and a re-establishment of our relationship with materials which now has been lost. The book-published in collaboration with GRIMM gallery-is richly illustrated, showcasing not only the finished works of the artist but also how some of the pieces were made by van Lieshout and his team in their Rotterdam studio. Joep van Lieshout lives and works in Rotterdam. Since the early 1980s, he has produced objects primarily in brightly colored polyester, the material that would become his trademark in subsequent years. Over the years he has gained international recognition for objects that balance on the boundary between art, architecture, and design. These works of art are practical, uncomplicated, and substantial. Recurring themes in the work of van Lieshout are autarky, power, politics, and the more classical themes of life and death.


This study investigated factors constraining effective growth of the Consortium of Tanzania University and Research Libraries (COTUL). A mixed research design was employed to gain a deeper insight into the subject matter. Data was collected using interviews, questionnaires and observations. Fifty-eight (58) purposively selected professional librarians participated in this study. The study investigated, among other things: the librarians' level of awareness of COTUL, its organizational structures, strengths and challenges. The findings revealed that librarians' awareness of COTUL is minimal, hence constraining its growth and that the  existing organization structures are not conducive for COTUL to function satisfactorily. A number of challenges were identified including weak sustainable financial base, researchers' low level of awareness of e-resources, lack of e-resource searching skills and lack of office space.  Based on these findings, it is recommended that COTUL should look for permanent and reliable funding sources, sensitize all library staff and top administrators, form an Advisory Board and set up a full-time secretariat and a  permanent office premises.


Extracted from text ... I
Human energy: exploring the
world of the human generator
Management Today July 2005 45
Prof Joppie van Graan is associate
professor in industrial psychology at the
Vaal Triangle campus of the North West
University. He also consults in team
building, the assessment and stimulation
of human potential, accelerated growth
and the management of energy.
Tragically stress has become a powerful status symbol. One gets the impression
that an ulcer seems to be part and parcel of the executive perks although it is
actually a strong indication of a malfunctioning and a protest from the body; a
heart bypass is ..


Commercial growth media were evaluated for their effect on tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) seedling emergence, growth and development in 80% net shade house at Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources from March-April 2015. Three locally available commercial growth media (germination mix, cocopeat and hygromix) were used. A completely randomized design (CRD) with four repetitions was used. Tomato seeds were sown on 200 cells styrofoam seedling trays to evaluate seedling emergence. Thereafter, the following growth and development parameter were measured; leaf number and area, plant height, fresh and dry masses. Data was subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results revealed no significant differences (p>0.05) in seedling emergence among the three growing media for the entire study period. However, hygromix gave superior absolute numbers compared to other two growth media. Hygromix also gave significantly (p<0.01) larger leaves and taller seedlings than germination mix and cocopeat whereas, no significant difference was observed on shoot fresh and dry masses. Growing media had no significant influence on seedling emergence rate although hygromix sown seeds still emerged relatively faster than the other media. Growers must pay attention to details when selecting the medium to use. Therefore, hygromix and to some extent germination mix are recommended as the most desirable growing media for raising tomato seedlings. * Corresponding Author: Thembinkosi Mathowa  email@example.com International Journal of Agronomy and Agricultural Research (IJAAR) ISSN: 2223-7054 (Print) 2225-3610 (Online) http://www.innspub.net Vol. 9, No. 1, p. 83-91, 2016 International Journal of Agronomy and Agricultural Research (IJAAR) ISSN: 2223-7054 (Print) 2225-3610 (Online) http://www.innspub.net Vol. 5, No. 1, p. 14-22, 2014


ABSTRACT  Sphenoclea zeylanicais described and its phenology, habitat, and distribution documented in North America, based upon data from voucher specimens and original field observations. The species, an exotic native to Asia, has been in the United States since the mid-1800s, with the earliest records from Louisiana where it was most likely introduced as a contaminant of rice seed. Its distribution and spread are linked strongly with cultivation of rice, and we document its dispersal in the United States over the past 150 years with the postbellum expansion of rice agriculture in the Mississippi River Valley. Photographs and scanning electron micrographs illustrate structural details of inflorescence, flower, fruit, and seed.


The monitoring of elections by international groups has become widespread. But can it have unintended negative consequences for governance? We argue that high-quality election monitoring, by preventing certain forms of manipulation such as stuffing ballot boxes, can unwittingly induce incumbents to resort to tactics of election manipulation that are more damaging to domestic institutions, governance and freedoms. These tactics include rigging courts and administrative bodies, and repressing the media. We use an original panel dataset of 144 countries in 1990-2007 to test our argument. We find that, on average, high-quality election monitoring has a measurably negative effect on the rule of law, administrative performance and media freedom. We employ various strategies to guard against endogeneity, including instrumenting for election monitoring.


With a focus on establishing whether climate targets can be met under different personal transport scenarios we introduce a transport sector representing the use and profile of light domestic vehicles (LDVs) into the integrated assessment model WITCH. In doing so we develop long term projections of light domestic vehicle use and define potential synergies between innovation in the transportation sector and the energy sector. By modelling the demand for LDVs, the use of fuels, and the types of vehicles introduced we can analyse the potential impacts on the whole economy. We find that with large increases in the use of vehicles in many regions around the globe, the electrification of LDVs is important in achieving cost effective climate targets and minimising the impact of transportation on other sectors of the economy.


Greece and its creditors seem to be engaged in a game of chicken: both sides expect the other to yield at the last moment. The game will almost certainly end with each side deviating somewhat from its preferred course. This High-Level Brief discusses how a parallel currency could contribute to a resolution of the conflict. In the author's view, it would be the least-bad option for both sides among three possible options on the table.


The research was carried out to investigate the effectiveness of the subjects taught to the teacher trainees before their teaching practice and to determine the level of readiness in terms of subject knowledge and subject competence of the teacher trainees. The respondents of this research were 34 and 39 third and fourth year TESL students respectively. The respondents were required to answer the questionnaires. Five lecturers who had taught the TESL programmed and went out to supervise the teacher trainees from the Department of Modern Language (FPPSM) participated in the interview sessions. All the data obtained from the questionnaires and interview sessions were analyzed manually. The findings of this research proved that the exposure to the several subjects before teaching practice really helped the teacher trainees in performing their teaching practice. The teacher trainees were able to apply all the skills and techniques gained in the real classroom context. To conclude, the findings of this research offered some recommendations to further improve the performance of TESL teacher trainees during the teaching practice.


Lizards rarely visit and pollinate flowers, the few recent records being mostly restricted to island habitats. We report here on the Noronha skink (Euprepis atlanticus) seeking nectar in the flowers of the leguminous mulungu tree (Erythrina velutina) at Fernando de Noronha Archipelago, off northeast Brazil. The mulungu tree blooms during the dry season, and each flower secretes copious and diluted nectar throughout the day. The Noronha skink climbs up to the inflorescences and laps the nectar accumulated in the flowers' base. While exploiting the flowers and crawling over the inflorescences, the body parts of the skink contact the anthers and stigmas and pollen adheres to the lizard's scales. The lizard visits inflorescences from the same and different trees, which renders it a potential pollinator. As the mulungu tree blooms during the dry season and the island has little or no natural freshwater supply during drought periods, we suggest that the Noronha skink seeks flower nectar both for its energetic, diluted sugars and the water content.


By enchaining a small fraction of chiral monomer units, the helical sense of a dynamic polymer constructed from achiral monomer units can be disproportionately biased. This phenomenon, known as the sergeants-and-soldiers (S&S) effect, has been found to be widely applicable to dynamic covalent and supramolecular polymers. However, it has not been exemplified with a supramolecular polymer that features multiple helical states. Herein, we demonstrate the S&S effect in the context of the temperature-controlled supramolecular copolymerization of chiral and achiral biphenyl tetracarboxamides in alkanes. The one-dimensional helical structures presented in this study are unique because they exhibit three distinct helical states, two of which are triggered by coassembling with monomeric water that is codissolved in the solvent. The self-assembly pathways are rationalized using a combination of mathematical fitting and simulations with a thermodynamic mass-balance model. We observe an unprecedented case of an "abnormal" S&S effect by changing the side chains of the achiral soldier. Although the molecular structure of these aggregates remains elusive, the coassembly of water is found to have a profound impact on the helical excess.


It is widely believed that we always have reason to maximize the good. Utilitarianism and other consequentialist theories depend on this 'teleological' conception of value. Scanlon has argued that this view of value is not generally correct, but that it is most plausible with regard to the value of pleasure, and may even be true at least of that. But there are reasons to think that even the value of pleasure is not teleological.


The principles and concepts of a wave-front analyzer based on spot edge scanning techniques and rising and falling illuminance slope comparisons are reviewed. An analyzer implementing these techniques and designed to be used with an adaptive optics element for the real time correction of low order aberrations is described. An evaluation of the tilt output channels of the analyzer shows a linear operating range exceeding ±500 μrad, frequency response exceeding 250 Hz, and a noise equivalent tilt angle of 4 μrad. For the focus and astigmatism channels, the analyzer output is linear over an ∼2.5–3-μm range of aberration input for a diffraction-limited (DL) spot. The instrument gain falls from ∼8.5 V/μm for a 1 × DL spot to ∼4 V/μm for a 6 × DL spot. The noise equivalent aberration increases from 0.025 μm for a 1 × DL spot to ∼0.05 μm for a 6 × DL spot.


An online 'positivity' exercise involving the practice of discrete positive emotions was pitted against a mindfulness meditation exercise and an active placebo control. The effects of positivity and meditation were examined in relationship to personality variables known to entail vulnerability to depression. Participants (N = 741) were randomly assigned to the positivity, mindfulness, or control condition. They completed their exercise for three weeks and were assessed on measures of subjective well-being at baseline, post-test, and one, and two months later. Results indicated that all groups showed significant decreases in depressive symptoms from baseline to two months. The positivity exercise uniquely predicted increases in meaning, pleasure, engagement, and satisfaction in life across follow-ups. Dependent individuals responded favorably to the positivity intervention in the short run, but worsened in the long run for pleasure-related happiness. Self-criticism was associated with significantly greater gains in life satisfaction following exercise completion.


Emotions differ between cultures, especially in their eliciting conditions, social
acceptability, forms of expression, and co-extent of terminology. This thesis examines the
psychological sensation and social expression of envy and jealousy in Classical Athens.
Previous scholarship on envy and jealousy (Walcot 1978, Konstan and Rutter 2003) has
primarily taken a lexical approach, focusing on usage of the Greek words phthonos (envy,
begrudging spite, possessive jealousy) and zelos (emulative rivalry).
This lexical approach has value, especially in dealing with texts and civilizations from the
past, but also limitations. These are particularly apparent with envy and jealousy in ancient
Greece as: a) overt expression of phthonos is taboo; b) there is no Classical Greek label for
sexual jealousy. Accordingly a different, complementary approach is required, which reads
the expressed values and actions of entire situations.
Building on recent developments in the reading of emotion episodes in classical texts, this
thesis applies to Athenian culture and literature insights on the contexts, conscious and
subconscious motivations, subjective manifestations, and indicative behaviours of envy and
jealousy, derived from modern (post-1950) philosophical, psychological, psychoanalytical,
sociological and anthropological scholarship. This enables the exploration of both the
explicit theorisation and evaluation of envy and jealousy, and also more oblique ways in
which they find expression across different genres.
Topics examined include: 1. Aristotle's analysis of the nature of phthonos and its
relationship to other emotions; 2. the persuasion or manipulation of audiences using
phthonos, both overt and masked, in Attic oratory; 3. the arousal of envy and moral
indignation (as a 'safe' form of transmuted envy) by 'Old' Comedy; 4. phthonos scenarios
and their destructive outcome in tragedy; 5. the nature of Greek sexual jealousy, especially
as a gendered emotion in tragedy, and the use of tragic themes in other genres to
manipulate audiences' expectations.


The paper investigated the application of MODIS data for mapping regional land cover at moderate resolutions (250 and 500 m), for regional conservation purposes. Land cover maps were generated for two major conservation areas (Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem—GYE, USA and the Pará State, Brazil) using MODIS data and decision tree classifications. The MODIS land cover products were evaluated using existing Landsat TM land cover maps as reference data. The Landsat TM land cover maps were processed to their fractional composition at the MODIS resolution (250 and 500 m). In GYE, the MODIS land cover was very successful at mapping extensive cover types (e.g. coniferous forest and grasslands) and far less successful at mapping smaller habitats (e.g. wetlands, deciduous tree cover) that typically occur in patches that are smaller than the MODIS pixels, but are reported to be very important to biodiversity conservation. The MODIS classification for Pará State was successful at producing a regional forest/non-forest product which is useful for monitoring the extreme human impacts such as deforestation. The ability of MODIS data to map secondary forest remains to be tested, since regrowth typically harbors reduced levels of biodiversity. The two case studies showed the value of using multi-date 250 m data with only two spectral bands, as well as single day 500 m data with seven spectral bands, thus illustrating the versatile use of MODIS data in two contrasting environments. MODIS data provide new options for regional land cover mapping that are less labor-intensive than Landsat and have higher resolution than previous 1 km AVHRR or the current 1 km global land cover product. The usefulness of the MODIS data in addressing biodiversity conservation questions will ultimately depend upon the patch sizes of important habitats and the land cover transformations that threaten them. D 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


PURPOSE
To evaluate the impact of interfractional changes on the delivered dose in proton therapy (PT) and intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) for low-intermediate risk prostate cancer.

METHODS
A subset of prostate patients participating in a randomized clinical trial at our institution also took part in a complementing serial imaging study. For patients randomized to receive 79.2 Gy in 44 fractions (9 weeks) of PT or IMRT, respectively, CT or Cone Beam CT scans were acquired on a weekly basis. The images were rigidly co-registered to the planning CT to simulate the set-up procedure. For each patient, both PT and IMRT plans were applied to each of the weekly image sets. Doses were normalized to the number of fractions to approximate the total dose received in a specific week. The weekly doses were then accumulated on the planning CT image using deformable image registration. Dose volume histograms were analyzed and compared to the original plans. The equivalent uniform doses (EUD) were calculated for targets and adjacent organs.

RESULTS
Comparison based on a representative case indicated no significant changes to the prostate dose (boost target). However, the dose to seminal vesicles was 3.7 and 5.4% lower than planned, for proton therapy and IMRT respectively. The maximum difference between the planned and accumulated EUDs for all organs at risk was below 5.5 Gy (7% of the prescribed dose), observed in the bladder. On average, the organ EUD was different from planned by 2.5 and 2.8% for protons and IMRT respectively.

CONCLUSION
Despite the use of immobilization devices and bladder filling instruction per protocol, interfractional organ variability was observed. The data acquisition and analysis are ongoing, as patients are accrued to the trial. To date, the OAR dose changes were found to be small with no significant differences between protons and IMRT.


We present single-Sersic two-dimensional (2D) model fits to 167 600 galaxies modelled independently in the ugrizYJHK bandpasses using reprocessed Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release Seven (SDSS DR7) and UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey Large Area Survey imaging data available from the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) data base. In order to facilitate this study we developed Structural Investigation of Galaxies via Model Analysis (sigma), an r wrapper around several contemporary astronomy software packages including source extractor, psf extractor and galfit 3. sigma produces realistic 2D model fits to galaxies, employing automatic adaptive background subtraction and empirical point spread function measurements on the fly for each galaxy in GAMA. Using these results, we define a common coverage area across the three GAMA regions containing 138 269 galaxies. We provide Sersic magnitudes truncated at 10re which show good agreement with SDSS Petrosian and GAMA photometry for low Sersic index systems (n 4), recovering as much as Δm= 0.5 mag in the r band. We employ a K-band Sersic index/u−r colour relation to delineate the massive (n > ∼2) early-type galaxies (ETGs) from the late-type galaxies (LTGs). The mean Sersic index of these ETGs shows a smooth variation with wavelength, increasing by 30 per cent from g through K. LTGs exhibit a more extreme change in Sersic index, increasing by 52 per cent across the same range. In addition, ETGs and LTGs exhibit a 38 and 25 per cent decrease, respectively, in half-light radius from g through K. These trends are shown to arise due to the effects of dust attenuation and stellar population/metallicity gradients within galaxy populations.


In EU and the US, competition law regulates the practices of large firms so as to protect consumer welfare and economic efficiency. In Asia, many countries such as China and Vietnam are shifting to market economy; small firms expand and grow to become large scale corporations. Competition law is gaining importance in these countries. This paper firstly provides an overview on the role of the competition law in protecting consumer efficiency and consumer welfare. Afterwards, content analysis on the previous journal articles about Asia's countries competition law, such as China, Vietnam, South Korea, Japan, India will be conducted. Lastly, a case study on supermarket in Hong Kong shows the role of competition law.


Advanced and Authenticated Packet Marking (AAPM) scheme is one of the proposed packet marking schemes for the traceback of Denial of Service (DoS) attacks. AAPM uses hash functions to reduce the storage space requirement for encoding of router information in the IP header. In this paper we take the perspective of the attacker and analyze the effects of inserting fake edges against AAPM. Since the AAPM scheme is subject to spoofing of the marking field, by inserting fake edges (corrupting the marking field) in the packets the attacker can impede traceback. In this paper, we show that the attacker can increase this distance by inserting fake edges in packets. Therefore, the attacker can make it appear to the victim that the attack was launched from a node farther away than it actually was, thus maintaining his own anonymity.


The nation's health, wealth, and security rely on the production and distribution of certain goods and services. The array of physical assets, processes and organizations across which these goods and services move are called critical infrastructures (e.g. electricity, the power plants that generate it, and the electric grid upon which it is distributed). Computers and communications, themselves critical infrastructures, are increasingly tying these infrastructures together. This report aims to address the concern that this reliance on computers and computer networks raises the vulnerability of the nation's critical infrastructures to "cyber" attacks.


We have performed a systematic study on the effect of microporosity on the energy stability and electronic properties of graphene-like materials, including 2D C, B and B–C allotropes. We used a modified crystal structure-search method to yield planar structures by systematically varying microporosity. Our results show that the energy stability of allotropes is strongly correlated with the microporosity and that the trends for C and B allotropes are qualitatively different. The formation energies of the most stable C allotropes with the same microporosity increase quickly with the microporosity, which shows a parabolic relationship. In contrast, B allotropes show a much weaker and linear dependence on microporosity. Our calculations also reveal that basic electronic properties such as metallicity and band gaps also depend strongly on the porosity. The allotropes with low microporosity and low formation energies tend to be metallic, and the semiconducting allotropes appear more often with high microporosity. In contrast to the general trend, our study identified a C allotrope with low microporosity that is quite stable and has a large band gap of 0.58 eV.


Coverage is a fundamental problem in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Conventional studies on this topic focus on 2D ideal plane coverage and 3D full space coverage. The 3D surface of a field of interest (FoI) is complex in many real-world applications. However, existing coverage studies do not produce practical results. In this paper, we propose a new coverage model called surface coverage. In surface coverage, the field of interest is a complex surface in 3D space and sensors can be deployed only on the surface. We show that existing 2D plane coverage is merely a special case of surface coverage. Simulations point out that existing sensor deployment schemes for a 2D plane cannot be directly applied to surface coverage cases. Thus, we target two problems assuming cases of surface coverage to be true. One, under stochastic deployment, what is the expected coverage ratio when a number of sensors are adopted? Two, if sensor deployment can be planned, what is the optimal deployment strategy with guaranteed full coverage with the least number of sensors? We show that the latter problem is NP-complete and propose three approximation algorithms. We further prove that these algorithms have a provable approximation ratio. We also conduct extensive simulations to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithms.


Beta radiation is discharged during the nuclear reactions. This beta radiation connects with the protecting materials and results optional radiation, for example, bremsstrahlung. Shielding parameters of beta-prompted bremsstrahlung in amalgams are imperative in the field of radiation protecting. We have studied the bremsstrahlung efficiency, bremsstrahlung dose rate, probability of energy loss by beta during bremsstrahlung emission and specific bremsstrahlung constant of the beta of end point energy ranges from 0.4 MeV to 5MeV in some Al-based glassy alloys as Al86Y7Ni5Co1Fe0.5Pd0.5, Al85Y8Ni5Co1Fe0.5Pd0.5, Al84Y9Ni4Co1.5Fe0.5Pd1, Al80Y13Ni5Co1Fe0.5Pd0.5, Al70Y23Ni5Co1Fe0.5Pd0.5 and Al60Y33Ni5Co1Fe0.5Pd0.5. We have compared the shielding properties among the studied different Al-based glassy alloys and that of stainless steel. The efficiency, intensity and dose rate of Bremsstrahlung increses with maximum energy of beta nuclide (Emax) and modified atomic number (Zmod). The specific bremsstrahlung constant in Al-based glassy alloys are also evaluated. The studied the bremsstrahlung shielding parameters such as bremsstrahlung efficiency, probability of energy loss by beta during bremsstrahlung emission and specific bremsstrahlung constant values are smaller in the Al-based glassy alloy Al86Y7Ni5Co1Fe0.5Pd0.5 than the other alloys. This means bremsstrahlung production is less in this alloy. This alloy may be used as substitute for stainless steel.


We have been measuring HI in the Galactic halo using the 100m Green Bank Telescope (GBT) at an angular resolution of 9'. The sensitivity of this instrument is so high that even for modest integration times of a few seconds it can be seen that much of the halo HI in the inner Galaxy is organized into cloud-like structures whose velocity appears to be dominated by Galactic rotation. A region above the plane near longitude 35 degrees has received particular attention because it appears to contain a long `whisker' of HI extending from low latitudes to b > 15 deg at a distance of about 7 kpc from the Sun. The GBT observations show that much of the gas in the whisker is in clouds with masses in HI of several tens of solar masses. At this location clouds can be found more than 2 kpc above the plane. We will discuss the physical properties of the clouds and their relationship to other species. Because this set of clouds lies in an ordered structure it is possible that they have been transported up from the plane rather than been formed at their current altitudes. There is an exception for one cloud, though, which appears to be associated with a star and may be part of a different phenomenon entirely. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is operated by Associated Universities, Inc., under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation.


The results are presented of a study of pretreatment methods as possible controls on the buildup (plateout) of cobalt and cesium activity on the inside surfaces of mild and stainless steel piping used to carry radioactive liquors. Coupon specimens of mild steel and Type 304L and 18/13/1 stainless steel piping are treated by contacting with acid and electroetching. Also, the effect on plateout of saturating steel coupons with inactive cobalt is investigated. In addition, the transient effects of pH, concentration changes, and liquid turbulence on untreated surface buildup are presented. Surface treatment is shown to delay activity buildup in certain instances bu does not affect the magnitude of overall surface activity. For untreated and treated surfaces, plateout is dependent on solution pH and isotope concentration. The higher the pH and the higher the concentration, the greater the deposition will be. The effects of turbulence cause only a marginal decrease in plateout at each pH level and concentration studied. The steel type has a major effect on the activity picked up. The mild steel specimen shows the greatest activity buildup.


Purpose - The purpose of this paper is, first, to summarize six studies which analyze the key characteristics of different types of employees. Three types of employees found in workplaces all over the world are identified as "Necessities," "Commoners," and "Parasites" and, second, to combine the results of these studies in order to identify the key traits and behaviors that characterize each type of worker across a variety of social and cultural settings. Design/methodology/approach - For starters, three types of employees are defined. First, a person is a Necessity if s/he is irreplaceable and critical to the functioning of an organization. Second, a Commoner is a person of normal ability and talent who has no significant impact on organizational processes. Last, Parasites are detrimental freeloaders who damage the functioning of an organization. To identify the principal characteristics of these three types of workers, a group of researchers led by the first author conducted six studies in which they collected survey data from undergraduate and graduate business students in the USA, India, Korea, Chile, and Japan. Findings - The authors note the points of commonality and difference across the data sets, and offer their thoughts on future research in the area. The perceptions of what characterizes really good workers (people of Necessity) and very bad workers (Parasites) appear to be the same in all five countries. The picture painted for the Commoner across all data sets, however, is not as clear-cut. Originality/value - The study described in this paper helps to explain both similarities and differences in employee characteristics between and among workers in different countries and cultures.


This book reminds students in junior, senior and graduate level courses in physics, chemistry and engineering of the math they may have forgotten (or learned imperfectly), which is needed to succeed in science courses. The focus is on math actually used in physics, chemistry and engineering, and the approach to mathematics begins with 12 examples of increasing complexity, designed to hone the student's ability to think in mathematical terms and to apply quantitative methods to scientific problems. Detailed Illustrations and links to reference material online help further comprehension. The second edition features new problems, illustrations, and features expanded chapters on matrix algebra and differential equations.

 Use of proven pedagogical techniques developed during the author's 40 years of teaching experience

 New practice problems and exercises to enhance comprehension

 Coverage of fairly advanced topics, including vector and matrix algebra, partial differential equations, special functions and complex variables


Abstract Purpose: It has been proposed that rehabilitation practice expand its aims beyond recovery to "ultrabilitation," but only if certain biological, technological, and psychosocial conditions are met. There is thus an opportunity to connect ultrabilitation, as a concept, to adjacent literature on assistive technology and sociotechnical systems. Method: We draw on insights from sociology of technology and responsible innovation, as well as concrete examples of neural devices and the culture of rehabilitation practice, to further refine our understanding of the conditions of possibility for ultrabilitation. Results: "Assistive" technologies can indeed be re-imagined as "ultrabilitative," but this shift is both psychosocial and technological in nature, such that rehabilitation professionals will likely play a key role in this shift. There is not, however, sufficient evidence to suggest whether they will support or hinder ultrabilitative uses of technology. Conclusion: Advancing the idea and project of ultrabilitation must be grounded in a nuanced understanding of actual rehabilitation practice and the norms of broader society, which can be gained from engaging with adjacent literatures and by conducting further research on technology use in rehabilitation contexts. Implications for rehabilitation "Assistive" technologies can be conceptually re-imagined as "ultrabilitative" technologies, expanding their utility from recovery to enhancement and flourishing. Actual development and use of ultrabilitative technology is both a technical and psychosocial challenge, and its success depends on the cultural context in which technology is situated. Further empirical research is needed on the ways in which rehabilitation culture and the norms of broader society might impact or even inhibit the use of ultrabilitative technology.


High concentrations of retinoids occur in some commercial cat food formulations as a result of the use of animal liver as an ingredient. Our objective was to study the teratogenic potential of dietary vitamin A in cats. We investigated the incidence of birth defects in kittens of queens given diets with retinyl acetate concentrations of 6000, 306000, or 606000 retinol equivalents (RE)/kg diet (control, 306K, or 606K groups, respectively) for approximately 3 years [1 RE=1 micro g retinol=3.3 International Units (IU)]. Each group comprised 12-15 age-matched, nulliparous domestic short-haired queens that were exposed to toms. There were a total of 396 kittens born in 97 litters. Pregnancy rate, number of kittens per gestation and gestations per year were not significantly different among treatment groups. A total of 2, 5 and 11 malformed kittens occurred in the control, 306K and 606K groups, respectively. Malformations included cleft palate, cranioschisis, foreshortened mandible, stenotic colon, enlarged heart and agenesis of the spinal cord and small intestine, which are typical foetal defects consistent with ingestion of excess retinoids in other species. This study demonstrated that a concentration of 306000 RE/kg diet has a potential for causing birth defects in the kittens.


The exploration of unknown environment autonomously and intelligently by autonomous mobile robot is one of the main problems that still have to be solved. From the biological systems it appears that it is not only a matter of computational power but also the right sensors and methods of implementation. In this work we understood that the invention of the powerful and practically realizable, emerging paradigm called cellular nonlinear network (CNN) fully realized the concept of real-time handling of time signals coining from space distribution sources. On the other hand inertial gyro sensor can increase the robustness and computing efficiency of vision system, which is subject to signal degradation and high computational expense, by providing a frame-to-frame prediction of camera orientation and position. Since most of the earlier or recent studies have tackled the artificial vision with two or three views in account, in this work we present a direct trigonometric recovery of 3D scene geometry from a stream of images. These images are vertically rectified using gyroscopes' output to minimize the token relative displacements between each frame. To match this vertically rectified stream of images in real-tune we borrow the strength of CNN, and the matching results are trigonometrically processed for 3D range estimation.


People who have been sexually assaulted or abused will later be influenced not so much by the event itself but by their interpretations of it. This research proposed that when clients disclose their experiences of sexual assault to a counsellor, the resulting validation or invalidation of different foci of their beliefs about the assault and about themselves will affect the likelihood of their beginning to reconstruct their unhelpful beliefs about their experiences, and to move in the direction of optimal functioning. Forty-one participants were interviewed about their experiences of disclosing sexual assault to a counsellor. A personal construct model was developed to account for the role of validation in clients' reconstructions of their unhelpful beliefs arising from their sexual assault experiences, and was tested using both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The findings did not wholly support the proposed model. As predicted, invalidation of clients' beliefs about their assault experiences, and validation of their meaning-making processes, were found to be integral to enhancing reconstruction of their beliefs. One foci of the model was not upheld. Contrary to the prediction, invalidation of clients' beliefs about themselves was found to be more likely to lead to reconstruction than validation of their beliefs about themselves. The personal construct model was revised in the light of these findings. The limitations of the research, suggestions for future research, the usefulness of the personal construct model and the Validation and Reconstruction Assessment Techniques devised to test it, and the clinical implications of the research, are discussed.


In this paper, we investigate the problem of overfitting in deep reinforcement learning. Among the most common benchmarks in RL, it is customary to use the same environments for both training and testing. This practice offers relatively little insight into an agent's ability to generalize. We address this issue by using procedurally generated environments to construct distinct training and test sets. Most notably, we introduce a new environment called CoinRun, designed as a benchmark for generalization in RL. Using CoinRun, we find that agents overfit to surprisingly large training sets. We then show that deeper convolutional architectures improve generalization, as do methods traditionally found in supervised learning, including L2 regularization, dropout, data augmentation and batch normalization.


The programming and modelling languages currently used in software engineering generally have plenty of tool support. But although their syntax is specified using formal grammars or meta-models, complete formal semantic specifications are seldom provided. The difficulty of reuse of parts of semantic specifications, and of co-evolution of such specifications with languages, are significant drawbacks for practical use of formal semantics. I have collaborated in the development of several meta-languages for semantic specification, aiming to eliminate such drawbacks: action semantics, and modular variants of structural operational semantics (MSOS, I-MSOS); this led to the PLanCompS project and to CBS, a meta-language for component-based semantics. The components of language specifications in CBS correspond to so-called fundamental programming constructs (funcons). The main feature of CBS is that each funcon is defined once and for all: the addition of new funcons does not require any changes to previous definitions, and behavioural laws are preserved. In contrast to software packages, the definition of each funcon has to remain fixed after its publication. As well as explaining how component-based semantics achieves these desirable pragmatic properties, and comparing its features with those of some other meta-languages, I will demonstrate the current tool support for CBS, which is implemented in Spoofax.


[1] The effective thermal conductivity of snow, keff, is a crucial climatic and environmental variable. Here, we test the intuition that keff is linked to microstructural and mechanical properties by attempting to relate keff to density ρsnow, and to shear strength σ measured with a handheld shear vane. We performed 106 combined measurements of keff, ρsnow and σ in the Alps, Svalbard, Arctic Alaska, and near the North Pole, covering essentially all snow types. We find a good correlation between keff and ρsnow which is not significantly different from that of Sturm et al. (1997). The correlation between keff and a combination of σ and ρsnow is stronger than with density alone. We propose an equation linking keff, (W m−1 K−1) ρsnow (kg m−3) and σ (Pa): keff = 7.114 10−5 ρsnow σ0.333 + 2.367 10−2. This equation places constraints on the calculation of keff, ρsnow and σ in avalanche warning models where σ is a key variable. For our samples, we calculate σ from measured values of keff and ρsnow using our equation and compare the value to that predicted by the French MEPRA avalanche warning model, which uses density and grain type as input data. MEPRA and the prediction of σ based on keff and ρsnow agree within 8%. MEPRA agrees with observations within 11%. Calculating σ from density only yields values 55% lower than measured, showing the interest of using additional data to predict σ.


Energy liberalization is commonly measured by the level of market competitiveness and price reductions. This review applies an alternative method, market power, to give a sense of firms' pricing behaviors in the electricity generation market. In Both Guatemala and Chile, the ex post simulation approach suggests a slightly larger price markup ratio for firms with larger market share and more diversified generation technologies. Further, in Chile, the policy reform considering electrical supply bidding framework (Law No. 20.805) has been proved tentatively positive towards the mitigation of market power. With the hope of more data availability, this review also explores the possibilities to implement other measures of market power in LAC region as well as the data requirements for different methodologies.


Adequate vascularization of tissue-engineered constructs remains a major challenge in bone grafting. In view of this, we loaded ß-tricalcium-phosphate (ß-TCP) and porous poly(L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) scaffolds via collagen coating with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and studied whether the VEGF loading improves scaffold angiogenesis and vascularization. Dorsal skinfold chambers were implanted into 48 balb/c mice, which were assigned to 6 groups (n = 8 each). Uncoated (controls), collagen-coated, and additionally VEGF-loaded PLGA and ß-TCP scaffolds were inserted into the chambers. Angiogenesis, neovascularization, and leukocyte-endothelial cell interaction were analyzed repeatedly during a 14-day observation period using intravital fluorescence microscopy. Furthermore, VEGF release from PLGA und ß-TCP scaffolds was studied by ELISA. Micromorphology was studied from histological specimens. Unloaded ß-TCP scaffolds showed an accelerated and increased angiogenic response when compared with unloaded PLGA scaffolds. In vitro, PLGA released significantly higher amounts of VEGF compared with ß-TCP at the first two days resulting in a rapid drop of the released amount at the following days up to day 7 where the VEGF release was negligible. Nonetheless, in vivo VEGF loading increased neovascularization, especially in ß-TCP scaffolds. This increased vascularization was associated with a temporary leukocytic response with pronounced leukocyte-endothelial cell interaction at days 3 and 6. Histology revealed adequate host tissue response and engraftment of both ß-TCP and PLGA scaffolds. Our study demonstrates that ß-TCP scaffolds offer more suitable conditions for vascularization than PLGA scaffolds, in particular if they are loaded with VEGF.


Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a central regulator of growth and metabolism. mTOR resides in two distinct multi-protein complexes – mTORC1 and mTORC2 – with distinct upstream regulators and downstream targets. While it is possible to specifically inhibit mTORC1 with rapamycin, or inhibit both mTOR complexes together with ATP pocket directed mTOR kinase inhibitors, it is not possible to assess the specific roles for mTORC2 pharmacologically. To overcome this, we have developed a novel, inducible, dominant negative system for disrupting substrate recruitment to mTORC2. Previously we identified the mTORC2 specific subunit Sin1 as a direct binding partner for AGC kinases Akt and PKC. Sin1 mutants, which retain the ability to bind Rictor and mTOR, but fail to recruit their AGC client kinases, inhibit AKT and PKC priming and block cell growth. In this study, we demonstrate that uncoupling mTORC2 from AGC kinases in DLD1 colon cancer cells inhibits Akt activation and blocks tumour growth in vivo. Further we demonstrate, using time resolved two-site amplified FRET (A-FRET) analysis of xenograft tumours, that inhibition of tumour growth correlates with the degree of mTORC2 uncoupling from its downstream targets, as demonstrated for Akt. These data add weight to the body of evidence that mTORC2 represents a pharmacological target in cancer independently of mTORC1.


The 50th anniversary edition of this classic work on the art of Northwest Coast Indians now offers color illustrations for a new generation of readers along with reflections from contemporary Northwest Coast artists about the impact of this book. The masterworks of Northwest Coast Native artists are admired today as among the great achievements of the world's artists. The painted and carved wooden screens, chests and boxes, rattles, crest hats, and other artworks display the complex and sophisticated northern Northwest Coast style of art that is the visual language used to illustrate inherited crests and tell family stories. In the 1950s Bill Holm, a graduate student of Dr. Erna Gunther, former Director of the Burke Museum, began a systematic study of northern Northwest Coast art. In 1965, after studying hundreds of bentwood boxes and chests, he published Northwest Coast Indian Art: An Analysis of Form. This book is a foundational reference on northern Northwest Coast Native art. Through his careful studies, Bill Holm described this visual language using new terminology that has become part of the established vocabulary that allows us to talk about works like these and understand changes in style both through time and between individual artists' styles. Holm examines how these pieces, although varied in origin, material, size, and purpose, are related to a surprising degree in the organization and form of their two-dimensional surface decoration. The author presents an incisive analysis of the use of color, line, and texture; the organization of space; and such typical forms as ovoids, eyelids, U forms, and hands and feet. The evidence upon which he bases his conclusions constitutes a repository of valuable information for all succeeding researchers in the field


This paper deals with the estimation of a random coefficient model. The virtue of this approach is that it considers firm heterogeneity, which conventional SFA models do not. Applying the model to Polish farms, the results indicate that the conventional random and fixed effect models overestimate the inefficiency score. In addition, the reasons for inefficiency are analysed. It is shown that despite the fragmentation of Polish agriculture, there is no evidence for scale inefficiency. Moreover, inefficiency could partly be attributed to factors, which affect the management input and requirements on farms.


Romance and romantic entanglements are the fuel of musical theatre, igniting words and music (to paraphrase Engel and Kissel 2006:113) to create entertaining and successful shows (Knapp, 2006) with uplifting happy endings. Whilst critical exploration might expose cracks and highlight how deceptive such happy endings actually are (Kirle, 2005:2), their normative force in performance perpetuates and reinforces gender hierarchies and stereotypes: 'Women wait for love, men bring it' (Barnes, 2015:51).reinforces fantasies of patriarchal superiority and affirming damaging gender binaries. Next to Normal eschews the 'marriage trope', whereby jagged edges are smoothed by romantic union, employing instead 'the divorce trope' 'in which a woman creates the sensibility of a musical by leaving an existing unworkable reality to invent herself' (Knapp, 2016:822). Scott McMillan argues that the driving factor in musical theatre isn't seamless integration but 'the crackle of difference' as the musical shifts between 'book time' and 'lyric time' (McMillan 2006). Next to Normal 'combines its use of music with issues of visibility in order to reveal multiple views of reality' (Donnelly, 2014:18), arguably marking a moment of transition within the musical theatre genre. The audience spends about eighty per cent of the show suspended in lyric time without the option to return to the perceived normalcy of book time, thus expanding the genre's capabilities.'(McMillan, 2006: 22). As herstory has its eyes on musical theatre Next to Normal deserves to be lauded as the important work it is and the aftershocks it has created need to be further explored and investigated. This article reflects on the implications of engaging with Next to Normal on its own terms for pedagogical practice: in what ways might it be possible to explore through practice the critical potential of this work?


In more than half of the democratic countries in the world, candidates face legal constraints on how much money they can spend on their electoral campaigns, yet we know little about the consequences of these restrictions. I study how spending limits affect UK House of Commons elections. I contribute new data on the more than 70,000 candidates who ran for a parliamentary seat from 1885 to 2019, and I document how much money each candidate spent, how they allocated their resources across different spending categories, and the spending limit they faced. To identify the effect on elections, I exploit variation in spending caps induced by reforms of the spending-limit formula that affected some but not all constituencies. The results indicate that when the level of permitted spending is increased, the cost of electoral campaigns increases, which is primarily driven by expenses related to advertisement and mainly to the disadvantage of Labour candidates; the pool of candidates shrinks and elections become less competitive; and the financial and electoral advantages enjoyed by incumbents are amplified.


: Background: The hepatitis B virus [HBV] is an infectious disease and its one of the great public health problem, its outcome depends on the kinetics of the virus-host interaction and specifically on the strength of the innate and adaptive, humoral and cellular immune response. Thus interactions between the virus and the components of immune systems plays an important role in the pathogenesis of the disease. This study aimed to evaluate innate immune response in different clinical courses of HBV infection by estimation serum levels of granulocytemacrophagecolony stimulating factor (GM-CSF), Interleukin-1 (IL-1 ), Interleukin-8 (IL-8 ) , immunoglobulin A (IgA), IgM, IgG and Complement component (C3and C4) levels. Aim of study : to evaluate role of immune response in clinical course of hepatitis B infection Patients and Method: This study based on 78 patients with HBV infection attending the Public Health Laboratories. Their ages ranged from (14-65) years, (58 males and 20 females) compared with 20 healthy subjects (12 males and 8 females) as control group. This study extended from first of January 2015 to first of January 2017. The patients were classified to three groups on the bases of serologic markers (HBsAg, HBe Ag, HBc Ab IgM) according to WHO department of communicable disease surveillances and response, liver function tests which are used as supportive indicator for the liver injury, history of the illness, and full clinical assessment. The first group includes twenty-eight patients with acute HBV infection, second group include twenty cases identified as chronic healthy HBsAg carriers group and the last third group include thirty cases of chronic HBV group Results: By using enzyme immuno assay [ELISA] technique, serum levels of interleukin-1alpha [IL-1 α ], interleukin-8 [IL-8], and granulocyte-macrophage-colony stimulating factor [GM-CSF] were measured in all patients compared to that of healthy control group. The mean levels of IL-1 α and IL-8 showed a significant increase in serum of patients with newly infected (acute) HBV and chronic HBV compared with studied control group [P=0.04 and P=0.001 respectivel]. However, the mean serum levels for IL-1 α and IL-8 recorded a non significant increase in patients with chronic healthy HBsAg carriers [P=0.17 and P=0.4 respectively]. While the mean serum levels of GM-CSF showed a significant rise in acute HBV only [P=0.01]. Moreover, immunoglobulins IgA] and complement component 3 , C 4 levels also evaluated by using single radial immunodiffusion test (SRID). The mean serum IgA, IgG and IgM levels showed a significant increase in chronic HBV group as compared to that of control group [ P=0.000 ,P=0.000 and P=0.001 respectively].. The mean serum C 3 and C 4 levels showed a significant lower serum level in all groups compared to control studied group [P=0.000]. Conclusion: this data demonstrate that immunological differences do exist between different clinical groups with HBV infection and may reflect the role of the innate immune system


Spectral graph theory is the interplay between linear algebra and combinatorial graph theory. Laplace's equation and its discrete form, the Laplacian matrix, appear ubiquitously in mathematical physics. Due to the recent discovery of very fast solvers for these equations, they are also becoming increasingly useful in combinatorial optimization, computer vision, computer graphics, and machine learning. In this thesis, we develop highly efficient and parallelizable algorithms for solving linear systems involving graph Laplacian matrices. These solvers can also be extended to symmetric diagonally dominant matrices and M -matrices, both of which are closely related to graph Laplacians. Our algorithms build upon two decades of progress on combinatorial preconditioning, which connects numerical and combinatorial algorithms through spectral graph theory. They in turn rely on tools from numerical analysis, metric embeddings, and random matrix theory. We give two solver algorithms that take diametrically opposite approaches. The first is motivated by combinatorial algorithms, and aims to gradually break the problem into several smaller ones. It represents major simplifications over previous solver constructions, and has theoretical running time comparable to sorting. The second is motivated by numerical analysis, and aims to rapidly improve the algebraic connectivity of the graph. It is the first highly efficient solver for Laplacian linear systems that parallelizes almost completely. Our results improve the performances of applications of fast linear system solvers ranging from scientific computing to algorithmic graph theory. We also show that these solvers can be used to address broad classes of image processing tasks, and give some preliminary experimental results.


As the share of energy from fluctuating renewable energy resources traded on the German power spot markets has risen over the past years, energy prices on these markets have become more volatile. Therefore, the opportunities for utilizing the flexibility of energy demand or supply to gain monetary benefits have increased significantly. Especially the EPEX Intraday Continuous power market appears to be a favorable market place for demand- and supply-side flexibility options as continuously changing prices for power products offer the possibility to profit from consecutive rescheduling up to only five minutes before delivery. The contribution of this paper is twofold. Firstly, we provide an analysis of the development of the German Intraday Continuous power market over the years 2015 to 2017, and secondly, we quantify the revenue potential for different flexibility options participating in this market. The results of this work show an increasing revenue potential over the course of the three years. The revenues equal up to 3.4 times the wholesale energy costs for solely consuming and up to 12.4 times for consuming and generating flexibility options.


This article is an extended version of a speech delivered during the Conference on Judicial Cooperation Techniques for the Protection of European Fundamental Rights: Past and Future Prospectives held in EUI on 9-10 May 2014. It deals with the possibility of maintaining coexisting national and Charter standards of fundamental rights and with the importance of cooperation between the ECJ and the national courts when fundamental rights protection is at stake. In this article, possible approaches to the relation between the constitutional and Charter standards of fundamental rights are discussed, and the implications of the approach adopted by the ECJ are examined. Furthermore, the current and potential importance of the constitutional identity of the Member States is analyzed.


We study the effects of relaxational dynamics on congestion pressure in scale-free (SF) networks by analyzing the properties of the corresponding gradient networks (Toroczkai and Bassler 2004 Nature 428 716). Using the Family model (Family and Bassler 1986 J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 19 L441) from surface-growth physics as single-step load-balancing dynamics, we show that the congestion pressure considerably drops on SF networks when compared with the same dynamics on random graphs. This is due to a structural transition of the corresponding gradient network clusters, which self-organize so as to reduce the congestion pressure. This reduction is enhanced when lowering the value of the connectivity exponent λ towards 2.


This paper investigates the behaviour of a bottom hinged flap-type wave energy converter (WEC), namely the Oscillating Wave Surge Converter (OWSC), in random seas. The semi-analytical model of Renzi and Dias (2013b) for an OWSC in the open ocean is considered to analyze the performance of the device in random incident waves. The modelling is performed within the framework of a linear potential flow theory, by means of Green's integral theorem. The resultant hypersingular integral equation for the velocity potential obtained from the above formulation is solved using a series expansion in terms of Chebyshev polynomials of the second kind.The behaviour of the device is investigated for six different sea states, generally representative of the wave climate in the North Atlantic Ocean at the European Marine Energy Centre test site. A Bretschneider spectrum is considered in order to reproduce the sea climate. The analysis is made for sea states where the spectral energy contribution from large periods, which cause excitation of body resonance of the flap — not modelled by the linear theory — is almost negligible. The power take-off damping is optimised for each individual sea state to calculate the captured power.The investigation is undertaken for two flaps of different widths, resembling the Oyster1 and the new Oyster800 version of the Oyster WEC, respectively. Comparison is made between the performances of the two converters. The effect of varying the width and the characteristic parameters of the flap on the capture factor in random seas is then discussed.The results of the analysis show that the performance of the device is fairly consistent for the sea states considered. Also an enhancement in the overall average capture factor is shown for the latest version of the wave energy conversion device.© 2013 ASME


The need to manage the rivers of Arkansas has been a driving force in developments that have resulted in dramatic changes to the geographical "face" of Arkansas over the last 200 years. These changes are the creation of man-made lakes throughout the state, where before, there had been none. The many lakes that dot the Ozarks and the Ouachitas were created by dams. There are 1,251 dams over 25 feet in height, or that impound more that 50 acre-feet of water, in Arkansas, and uncounted smaller dams. No matter their size, dams were constructed to manage the rivers and streams of the state for flood control, power development, navigation, municipal water supply, recreation, irrigation, and for other uses. Between 1836, when Arkansas became a state, to 1945, there were 112 dams constructed in the state. This study examines the historical context of dams that were built before 1945, when the construction of dams was more local, less politicized, and less complicated. It examines the purposes for which dams were constructed, who built them, and why. It is based on the National Inventory of Dams database, which records all dams in the United States and territories that are over 25 feet in height, or that impound more than 50-acre-feet of water. While the NID is not an exhaustive list of all the dams in Arkansas, it is an invaluable tool for identifying dams by year completed, primary purpose, owner type and owner name, all of which are an entry point for discussing the history of dams in Arkansas.


Architects draw.Drawing is fundamental to architectural thinking, communication and organization and this thesis explores the nature of architectural drawing by using drawing methods as a form of research. Architecture has the capacity to position information in relationships that are a catalyst for creating productive dialog between inter-connected technological, environmental and societal systems.The speculative spaces produced in this work create multiple narratives through complexity on this site. As such, the drawings of the project are an examination of the abstract spatial possibilities, with attention to the quantifiable needs on such a challenging site. The speculative spaces produced through this process can be read as new narratives and new organizational structures for spatial thinking in the North. Drawing from local cultural practices, this thesis investigates alternative drawing methods for an environment that is not easily perceived or measured by known architectural conventions.


[Read the Introduction to this Special Section][1]

![Figure][2]

CREDIT: VAN J. WEDEEN, AAPO NUMMENMAA, RUOPENG WANG, AND LAWRENCE L. WALD/MARTINOS CENTER FOR BIOMEDICAL IMAGING, MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL

There are approximately 86 billion neurons in the human brain. Over the past decades, we have made enormous progress in understanding their molecular, genetic, and structural makeup as well as their function. However, the real power of the central nervous system lies in the smooth coordination of large numbers of neurons. Neurons are thus organized on many different scales, from small microcircuits and assemblies all the way to regional brain networks. To interact effectively on all these levels, neurons, nuclei, cortical columns, and larger areas need to be connected. The study of neuronal connectivity has expanded rapidly in past years. Large research groups have recently joined forces and formed consortia to tackle the difficult problems of how to experimentally investigate connections in the brain and how to analyze and make sense of the enormous amount of data that arises in the process.

This year's neuroscience special issue is devoted to general and also several more specific aspects of research on connectivity in the brain. We invited researchers to review the most recent progress in their fields and to provide us with an outlook on what the future may hold in store.

To make sense of larger structures, we first have to understand the composition of their basic building blocks. Markov et al. (p. 578) describe how interareal connectivity at the single-cell level, revealed by quantitative anatomical tract tracing, is relevant to our understanding of large-scale cortical networks and their hierarchical organization.

A different but also rapidly growing research direction deals with the use of connectivity measures to link brain structure and cognition. From the perspective of network theory, Park and Friston (p. 579) review our current understanding of structure-function relationships in large-scale brain networks and their underlying mechanisms.

One of the biggest breakthroughs in understanding the heavily connected brain has been the development of noninvasive brain-scanning methods, especially functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Turk-Browne (p. 580) provides an overview of recent exciting developments in large-scale fMRI data analysis, with a focus on unbiased approaches for examining whole-brain functional connectivity during cognitive tasks. Increased computational power now allows investigation of the whole-brain correlation matrix, the temporal correlation of every voxel with every other voxel throughout the brain, and the application of multivariate pattern analysis to these correlational data.

A sophisticated system that depends on the astonishingly precise interaction of a large number of cortical areas is the human ability to produce and understand language and music. Zatorre (p. 585) discusses how brain plasticity in the music and speech domains can be affected by predisposing factors that relate to brain structure and function.

 [1]: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/342/6158/577
 [2]: pending:yes


To identify the regions of recurrent copy number abnormality in osteosarcoma and their effect on gene expression, we performed an integrated genome-wide high-resolution array CGH (aCGH) and gene expression profiling analysis on 40 human OS tissues and 12 OS cell lines. This analysis identified several recurrent chromosome regions that contain genes that show a gene dosage effect on gene expression. A further search, performed on those genes that were over-expressed and localized in the frequently amplified chromosomal regions, greatly reduced the number of candidate genes while their characterization using gene ontology (GO) analysis suggests the importance of the deregulation of the G1-to-S phase in the development of the disease. We also identified frequent deletions on 3q in the vicinity of LSAMP and performed a fine mapping analysis of the breakpoints. We precisely mapped the breakpoints in several instances and demonstrated that the majority do not involve the LSAMP gene itself, and that they appear to form by a process of non-homologous end joining. In addition, aCGH analysis revealed frequent gains of IGF1R that were highly correlated with its protein level. Blockade of IGF1R in OS cell lines with high copy number gain led to growth inhibition suggesting that IGF1R may be a viable drug target in OS, particularly in patients with copy number driven overexpression of this receptor.


Abstract : This report covers a project management (PM) experiment, one of six experiments that examine different functional areas of Ada programming environments. The PM experiment was designed as part of the Evaluation of Ada Environments Project. This report describes the environment-independent part of the experiment: the activities covering the functional area, the evaluation criteria, and an experiment scenario to be performed on different environments. The experiment as it stands has been validated through internal and external review and through application to several environments that support project management. Keywords: Systems engineering.


The objective of this study is to demonstrate the changes in serum lipid of diabetic Iraqi men. Comparative change in serum lipid of 36- patient's type-1 and 48-patients type-2 diabetic men, with two groups of healthy non-diabetic men. HbA1c is used both as a marker for long term glycemic control and the effect of metabolic control. The serum lipids are elevated in both types of diabetes with serum triglyceride more affected than other lipid types. The high density lipoprotein cholesterol was lower in type 2 diabetes than control. Together, these data demonstrated that the serum level of triglyceride is more affected than other lipid types in patients with DM.


NIST, in its draft report for public comment, initially denied that WTC 7 collapsed at the acceleration of gravity with the claim that an overall collapse time of 5.4 seconds was 40 percent longer than a free-fall time of 3.9 seconds for the first 18 stories. After being confronted with analysis of the collapse clearly demonstrating that free-fall had occurred, NIST acknowledged this fact in its final report, yet still maintained that the overall collapse time was 5.4 seconds. NIST explained in the final report that this measurement was obtained by examining a single pixel of a video towards the center of the roofline. It is argued in this paper that NIST's chosen methodology for determining the point in time representing the onset of global collapse is not merely fallacious, but indicative of a willful and deliberate effort to deceive the public and obfuscate the implications of free-fall through scientific fraud.


Reduction in cerebral blood flow (CBF) following global ischemia has been implicated as a pathogenetic mechanism in progressive brain damage seen after restoration of effective cardiac action and cerebral perfusion pressure. There are serious limitations to many of the techniques for measuring regional cerebral blood flow, particularly during low flow states. In 15 dogs anesthetized with thiopental, 12 minutes of total cerebral ischemia (TCI) was produced using a double balloon occlusion technique. Total and regional cerebral blood flows were sequentially measured before and after balloon release by left ventricular injection of 15 microspheres labelled with 5 different radionuclides. Total CBF was reduced 53 ± 5% (mean ± SEM) from pre-ischemic values between 1 and 3 hours after "resuscitation" despite normal perfusion pressure and arterial blood gases. CBF remained slightly reduced (24 ± 7%) at 6 hours post-ischemia. Thirty minutes after balloon release, grey matter flow was reduced 38 ± 8% from control values while adjacent white matter flow was increased 21 ± 10%. However, by 1 hour after ischemia, grey and white matter flows were both reduced (60 ± 3%, 41 ± 5% respectively). Similar differences in brain stem and cerebellar flow were also observed. The majority (71-86%) of the reduction in total CBF seen at one hour post-TCI is due to increased cerebrovascular resistance, with 14-29% of the decrease related to arteriovenous shunting. Stroke, Vol 12, No I, 1981