In the study of article systems in creole languages, two opposing models of analysis stand out. On the one hand, Bickerton, in line with his bio-program hypothesis, proposes an article system in which there is a clearly marked distinction between the notions of specific and nonspecific reference. On the other hand, Janson explains the creole article system in terms of its transmission from the lexifier language, and its further development under the influence of the lexifier language.The capacity of these models to account for the article systems of Cape Verde and Sao Tome Creole Portuguese is examined in a number of oral texts in these two languages. One feature of the analysis stands out in particular: once a discourse item has been introduced via the indefinite article, which marks it as both specific and new, no further marking of successive occurrences of that discourse item by means of a so-called definite article is necessary or even useful. This feature partially contradicts Jan-son's account and accounts for the failure of these two creoles to conform to Bickerton's universal system. Additionally, the paper considers a number of general principals governing the formation of pidgin and creole languages and the action of specific factors in their genesis.


Virtual reality (VR) involves an attempt to create an illusion that the user of the VR system is actually present in a synthetic (usually computer-generated) environment. Little is known about how various system parameters affect the illusion of presence in a virtual environment (VE). In particular, there seem to be very little quantitative data on which to base VR system design decisions. Also, while presence (or immersion) in VEs is a primary goal of VR, not much is known about how this variable affects task performance. The goal of this research was to provide a ratio-scale measure of perceived presence in a VE, to explore the effects of a number of environmental parameters on this measure and construct empirical models of these effects, and to relate perceived presence to user performance.
This was done by manipulating eleven independent variables in a series of three experiments. The independent variables manipulated were scene update rate, visual display resolution, field of view, sound, textures, head-tracking, stereopsis, virtual personal risk, number of possible interactions, presence of a second user, and environmental detail. Participants performed a set of five tasks in the VE and rated perceived presence at the end of each set using the technique of free-modulus magnitude estimation. The amount of time spent in the VE was also recorded.
The results indicate that the VR system parameters manipulated and analyzed in this research did affect participants' subjective feeling of presence in the VE. Field of view, sound, and head-tracking showed the largest effects. Other significant effects found were those of visual display resolution, texture-mapping, stereopsis, and the presence of a second user. Free-modulus magnitude estimation worked well as a measure of perceived presence. A positive relationship was found between perceived presence and task performance, but this relationship was relatively weak. Second-order empirical models were constructed that predicted perceived presence with moderate success and, with less success, task performance.


A comprehensive approach to modern caries management This systematic approach to modern caries management combines new, evidence-based treatment techniques with the scientific underpinnings of caries formation, providing an in-depth review for both clinicians in daily practice and students advancing in the field. Beginning with patho-anatomic changes in the dental hard tissues, Dental Caries: Science and Clinical Practice goes on to cover non-invasive, minimally invasive, and more aggressive interventions based on each stage of the disease. From microbiology and histology to visual, tactile and radiographic diagnosis, risk assessment, preventive measures, and tooth preservation and treatment strategies, the book is packed with valuable clinical information for all dental practitioners. Key Features: * Succinctly covers the science behind the disease, with recommendations for treatments based on assessment starting at the microscopic level * Written by a team of leading worldwide authorities on caries treatment and management-and utilizing the International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS) standard throughout* Covers the newest treatment techniques, including adhesion technology, fissure sealing and infiltration, caries removal, tooth-colored restorations, and more * Demonstrates step-by-step caries procedures in striking, full-color illustrations of adult and pediatric cases * Offers the newest thinking on early prevention and behavioral changes in oral health promotion, including the role of diet and nutrition, biofilm management, fluoride use, population-based approaches, and more Shifting to the new paradigm of "heal and seal" rather than the more invasive "drill and fill," this beautifully illustrated text puts scientific principles into clinical action for the best results. It is an essential resource for a complete, proactive approach to caries detection, assessment, treatment, management, and prevention in contemporary dental practice.


A fully updated second edition of the excellent Digital Audio Signal Processing Well established in the consumer electronics industry, Digital Audio Signal Processing (DASP) techniques are used in audio CD, computer music and multi-media components. In addition, the applications afforded by this versatile technology now range from real-time signal processing to room simulation. Digital Audio Signal Processing, Second Edition covers the latest signal processing algorithms for audio processing. Every chapter has been completely revised with an easy to understand introduction into the basics and exercises have been included for self testing. Additional Matlab files and Java Applets have been provided on an accompanying website, which support the book by easy to access application examples. Key features include: A thoroughly updated and revised second edition of the popular Digital Audio Signal Processing, a comprehensive coverage of the topic as whole Provides basic principles and fundamentals for Quantization, Filters, Dynamic Range Control, Room Simulation, Sampling Rate Conversion, and Audio Coding Includes detailed accounts of studio technology, digital transmission systems, storage media and audio components for home entertainment Contains precise algorithm description and applications Provides a full account of the techniques of DASP showing their theoretical foundations and practical solutions Includes updated computer-based exercises, an accompanying website, and features Web-based Interactive JAVA-Applets for audio processing This essential guide to digital audio signal processing will serve as an invaluable reference to audio engineering professionals, R&D engineers, researchers in consumer electronics industries and academia, and Hardware and Software developers in IT companies. Advanced students studying multi-media courses will also find this guide of interest.


Isatis species, which are endemic across most of Turkey, exhibit antibacterial, anticancer and antiviral effects. The aim of this study was to determine of antioxidant, antimicrobial, tyrosinase inhibitor, cytotoxic activities, and phenolic profile of polar extracts of Isatis cappadocica Desv. We analyzed the antioxidant properties of extracts using total phenolic content (TPC), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), cupric reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC), and 2,2-diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity. The phenolic composition of methanolic extract of I. cappadocica was analyzed by reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). Extracts' antimicrobial properties were evaluated based on the agar well diffusion technique. Tyrosinase inhibitory activity was measured colorimetrically. Methanolic extract yielded better FRAP and CUPRAC results and aqueous extract yielded better DPPH activity. Benzoic acid, and sinapic acid were detected as major phenolic compounds. Methanolic extract was particularly effective against all the bacteria investigated, apart from Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. Methanol extract was exhibited tyrosinase inhibitory activity. The methanol extract has caused to death of cells by dosage in the high concentrations cytotoxic activity on the PC-3 and 3T3 cell lines. The results showed that I. cappadocica could be used as a natural source in the food, cosmetic, and drug industries due to their rich antioxidant, antimicrobial, cytotoxic and tyrosinase inhibitor activities.


The optimized molecular structural parameters and UV-vis, IR and Raman spectra of a dye molecule with an open formula of 1,1,5-Tris(4-dimethylaminophenyl)-3-methyl-divinylene are determined by means of density functional theory (DFT) calculations using B3LYP/6-31G** formalism. Neutral and cationically charged molecules are used for DFT computations. CC, CC, and NC bond distances of dimethylaminophenyl groups of the dye molecule are in reasonable agreement with the experimental and theoretical CC, CC, and NC bond lengths of the group reported in the literature. Because Vis-NIR region is near UV-Vis region in the electromagnetic spectra, calculated maximum wavelengths of UV-vis spectra are close to those of the experimental VIS-NIR spectra reported. CC stretching frequencies calculated for dimethylaminophenyl, alkene, and benzene ring groups are also in good agreement with experimentally reported values. All calculated frequencies fall within 2.2% of the experimental frequency region. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2010


Volcanic eruptions are common, with more than 50 volcanic eruptions in the United States alone in the past 31 years. These eruptions can have devastating economic and social consequences, even at great distances from the volcano. Fortunately many eruptions are preceded by unrest that can be detected using ground, airborne, and spaceborne instruments. Data from these instruments, combined with basic understanding of how volcanoes work, form the basis for forecasting eruptionsâ€"where, when, how big, how long, and the consequences. Accurate forecasts of the likelihood and magnitude of an eruption in a specified timeframe are rooted in a scientific understanding of the processes that govern the storage, ascent, and eruption of magma. Yet our understanding of volcanic systems is incomplete and biased by the limited number of volcanoes and eruption styles observed with advanced instrumentation. Volcanic Eruptions and Their Repose, Unrest, Precursors, and Timing identifies key science questions, research and observation priorities, and approaches for building a volcano science community capable of tackling them. This report presents goals for making major advances in volcano science.


Background Esophageal high-resolution manometry (HRM) is performed for evaluation of dysphagia or the pre-operative evaluation before esophageal surgery. The esophageal manometry parameters, interpreted as per the Chicago classification (CC), are meant to be acquired in an awake state. At times, the patient intolerance or inability to traverse the manometry catheter across the esophagogastric junction (EGJ) renders incomplete esophageal motility evaluation; hence, sedation or endoscopy assistance is required. There have been concerns raised regarding the use of sedation and resultant alteration of the manometry parameters. The aims were to study the effects of intravenous sedation on esophageal motility parameters and analyze its impact on outcomes of patients with dysphagia who are intolerant to awake manometry procedure. Methods The study population comprised patients who had sedation or the endoscopy assistance for the HRM. The indication for HRM, necessity for the sedation, manometry findings, barium esophagogram results, procedural timings and patient outcomes were reviewed. The diagnostic impact of the 10% correction in integrated relaxation pressure (IRP) was also studied. Results There were 14 patients from 179 awake manometry procedures that required the sedation or the endoscopy assistance. The mean age was 60.7 years and there was equal gender distribution. Dysphagia (n = 9) remained the predominant indication for the HRM, followed by the pre-operative evaluation for the esophageal surgery (n = 5). In eight patients, awake manometry failed due to the coiling of the catheter above the EGJ and six patients were intolerant to awake catheter insertion technique. Six patients were diagnosed with achalasia and two with EGJ obstruction. The correction of the possible 10% inflation of the IRP did not alter the final diagnosis in majority except one patient with the EGJ obstruction. The findings of the barium esophagogram corroborated the manometry diagnosis. Conclusion Esophageal HRM should be done in awake state as much as possible. Sedation may be a feasible option as against aborting the further workup in patients who fail with current techniques involving awake catheter insertion. However, one needs to be mindful of sedation effects on manometry parameters and interpret results carefully.


More than 80% of college students are drinking. More than a third do drugs. For students struggling with substance abuse, temptations on campus—and stressors that can derail abstinence—run high. In response, several colleges and universities offer effective support in the form of recovery communities, which are more appropriate to campus settings and young adult development than traditional 12-step groups alone. Substance Abuse Recovery in College explains in authoritative detail what collegiate recovery communities are, the types of services they provide, and their role in the context of campus life, with extended examples from Texas Tech University's influential CSAR (Center for the Study of Addiction and Recovery) program. Using data from both conventional surveys and end-of-day daily Palm Pilot assessments as well as focus groups, the book examines community members' experiences. In addition, the importance of a positive relationship between the recovery community and the school administration is emphasized. Topics covered include: • The growing need for recovery services at colleges. • How recovery communities support abstinence and relapse prevention. • Who are community members and their addiction and treatment histories. • Daily lives of young adults in a collegiate recovery community. • Challenges and opportunities in establishing recovery communities on campus. • Building abstinence support into an academic curriculum. This volume offers clear insights and up-close perspectives of importance to developmental and clinical child psychologists, social workers, higher education policymakers, and related professionals in human development, family studies, student services, college health care, and community services.


Tectonic control of the drainage in the Andes of northern Argentina. Transverse rivers draining the eastern flank of the Andes of north Argentina show abrupt diversions to axial courses immediately west of the trace of big thrusts, or the borde rs of plates uplifted by faults located along the opposite side of them. The diverted rivers gather other transverse rivers before me rging in the opposite direction and breaking through the mountain front. River diversion is interpreted as a response to progressive uplift and lateral growth of fault belts or anticlines propagating along blind thrusts. Most of the rivers of the region were diverted ; few maintained their courses across growing structures. Drainage reorganization by the growth of structurally controlled topography influenced the location and concentrated the river outlets at the mountain front. This 600 km-long segment of the Andes has onl y three outlets represented by the trunk rivers Bermejo, Juramento and Sali-Dulce. The drainage pattern evolved since the Puna u plift (12-15 Ma), after the final marine regression. River deviations may have started after uplift of the Cordillera Oriental (10 Ma ) and promulgated with the uplift of new mountains to the east, progressively from west to east. The easternmost belts of the Subande an system and northern Sierras Pampeanas were uplifted after 3 Ma, generating younger obstacles for the rivers. High uplift rates of the tectonic obstacles could explain the tendency to deviation of the rivers of this region.


Abstract The notion of value neutrality has been a contentious issue within the human and social sciences for some time. In this paper, some of the philosophical and scientific bases for the confusion surrounding the fact-value dichotomy are covered and the discrepancy between how psychology studies values and expresses them is noted. The sense of value neutrality is clarified historically and the clarified meaning of the term applied to some qualitative data demonstrating in what sense values may be expressed in psychology. The position is upheld that psychology as a human science intentionally should not be absolutely value free in the sense that human reality has to be studied in a non-reductionistic manner and thus methods of study must be respectful of the full ethical sense of humanness. This is simply meeting the phenomenological requirement of "fidelity to the phenomenon". However, psychology can be value free in the historical sense of the term properly understood because it refers to the fact that the personal values of the scientists ought not to be conflated with scientific findings. The discussion of values takes place primarily within the context of science, where the problem of value neutrality emerged, but it is acknowledged that non-scientific approaches to value have merit and can also be compelling.


Ti and TiN films are used as diffusion barrier layers in Al and Cu metallization. They are often produced using physical-vapor-deposition techniques and are subject to energetic particle bombardment during subsequent processes. Therefore, the sputtering yield for ion-induced physical sputtering is important. The absolute sputtering yields of Ti and TiN target materials with 400–700 eV normally incident N and Ar ions are measured here. The experimental values are favorably compared to simulation results from TRIM.SP, which is a vectorized Monte Carlo code simulating ion–surface interaction using a binary collision mode. The phenomenon of reactive sputtering of Ti with incident N is also discussed.


The global demand for energy is growing and conventional energy sources like coal and petroleum are depleting, and renewable resources will play a crucial role in the future. The development of clean and sustainable energy technology is imperative to avert the impending climatic crisis. A worthy investment option is concentrating solar power (CSP) technology which has the capacity to provide for about 7% of the total electricity needs projected for the world by 2030 and 25% by 2050 (considering a high-energysaving, high-energy-efficiency scenario) [1]. In the present study, the various concentrators available have been explored. Countries all over the world have recognized the potential for CSP and numerous ndia plants are being planned and constructed with incentives offered by the governments. In India, the states of Rajasthan and Gujarat have the potential for widespread application of CSP technology to harness the solar resource. The launch of The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) in 2008 by the Indian Government and its initiatives, complemented by state solar policy passed by the states of Rajasthan and Gujarat, will go a long way in the establishment of CSP to supply a segment of India's upcoming energy


Purpose: Despite the amount of health information available online, there are several barriers that limit the Internet from being adopted as a source of health information. The purpose of this study was to identify individual skill-related problems that users experience when accessing the Internet for health information and services. Methods: Between November 2009 and February 2010, 88 subjects participated in a performance test in which participants had to complete health-related assignments on the Internet. Subjects were randomly selected from a telephone book. A selective quota sample was used and was divided over equal subsamples of gender, age, and education. Each subject was required to complete nine assignments on the Internet. Results: The general population experiences many Internet skill-related problems, especially those related to information and strategic Internet skills. Aging and lower levels of education seemed to contribute to the amount of operational and formal skill-related problems experienced. Saving files, bookmarking websites, and using search engines were troublesome for these groups of people. With respect to information skills, the higher the level of educational attainment, the less problems the participants experienced. Although younger subjects experienced far less operational and formal skill-related problems, it was revealed that older subjects were less likely to select and use irrelevant search results and unreliable sources. Concerning the strategic Internet skills it was revealed that older subjects were less likely to make inappropriate decisions based on information gathered. Conclusions: The amount of online health-related information and services is consistently growing; however, it appears that the general population experiences many skill-related problems, particularly those related to information and strategic Internet skills, and they become very important when it comes to health. These skills are also problematic for younger generations who are often seen as skilled Internet users. The results of the study call for policies that account for low levels of Internet skills. lifestyles, early detection of potential medical problems, col. Introduction nline health information has several potential benefits or health-care consumers; it saves time and effort, affords asier access, provides help when feeling embarrassed or ∗ Tel.: +31 534891021; fax: +31 534894259. E-mail address: email@example.com 386-5056/$ – see front matter © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights res oi:10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2011.10.005 © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. stigmatized, and enables one to obtain additional information. Obtaining health information online may also lead to healthier laborative treatment of illnesses, and access to treatments to which a local provider may not have access [1,2]. Many online health information providers seem to assume that when


The use of opium, often in the form of laudanum, was a constituent element of the Romantic Imagination. Coleridge, Thomas De Quincey, and Charles Lloyd were all subject to its bondage. In Scotland the literati of Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine were aware of its prevalence. James Hogg had a 'perfect horror' of the effects of laudanum and gave great offence to John Gibson Lockhart when, in his Anecdotes of Sir W. Scott, he revealed that Lady Scott had taken opium. In one of the 'Noctes Ambrosianae' published in Blackwood's, probably written by John Wilson (himself possibly an opium user) Hogg's persona, accompanied by De Quincey, also a Blackwood's contributor, speaks eloquently about its horrid effects. Hogg parodied Coleridge's poetry and was familiar with the unfathomable hell into which opium's usage plunged its 'eaters'. The nightmarish experiences of Robert Wringhim in Hogg's Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner reflect those of Coleridge and Lloyd and their devilish sense of confusion of identity and insane impulses. Hogg would also be aware of The Stranger's Grave written by George Gleig, another frequent Blackwood's contributor. He returned to the self-persecuting theme of the doppelganger in his story called Strange Letter of a Lunatic.


Revised guidance on child protection will shortly be issued in Northern Ireland by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS). Although reference is made in that document to the needs of both victims and those who abuse other children, it also points to the requirement for separate inter-agency guidance. This paper, which was delivered to a conference at Newcastle, Co Down on 27 February 2002, sets the policy context whereby leadership from the department, clear guidance and a range of practice intervention ranging from prosecution to restorative and family group conferencing should result in: victims feeling that their needs have been considered; those children who abuse and their families experiencing fairness and facing appropriate accountability; and professionals understanding and fulfilling their role in the adjudication, assessment and programme delivery which deals with the abusive behaviour and also in meeting the child's other needs.


This thesis consists of three self-contained studies on economic consequences of accounting standards. The first study jointly examines the informational value of pension liability recognition mandated in France under IFRS and its effect on firms' financing decisions. We argue that changes in pension accounting information have affected firms' required cost of capital and/or investing decisions. Consistent with our hypothesis, we find that changes in financial leverage in the adoption period are negatively related to the surprise component of IFRS pension liability for financially constrained firms, suggesting that despite the existence of informational transfers from early adopters of IAS 19, universal mandatory adoption carries incremental informational content. The second study investigates the performance of the accounting comparability measure introduced in De Franco, Kothari and Verdi (2011). Using Monte Carlo simulations we show that the design of the DKV measure introduces unnecessary variation in estimated cross- firm and period comparability; and further that it cannot successfully identify comparable accounting systems when accounting incorporates information in returns with a lag, particularly so when firms differ in terms of their cost of capital. We suggest the inclusion of lag returns as explanatory variables in the original earnings-return relation in order to increase the measure's ability to rank firms based on accounting comparability. The third study examines comparability and relevance of published IFRS financial statements, by examining the magnitude and nature of cross-country analyst pro-forma adjustments. We find evidence that accounting earnings comparability is increased among IFRS adopters, but the degree to which real economic performance is captured in accounting earnings still varies considerably across countries. Our analysis also indicates that IFRS adoption increased street adjustments, but less so in countries already requiring high level of disclosures. Finally, we find that analysts adjust reported earnings for fair valuing of financial instruments and expensing of research costs.


The detection of intra-cohort plagiarism is often difficult in virtue of the quantity of material that must be compared. This can be limited by imposing constraints on the granularity of comparisons and through heuristic approaches to content comparison. Plagiarism sourced out with a group cohort is more difficult to detect, although Internet-based resources are the principal basis for such comparisons. This paper describes a survey of course work submissions from several computer science classes. The survey purpose was to determine the historical level and extent of plagiarism across electronically submitted assignments. This paper also describes our plans for using automated means of detecting plagiarism against future submissions. An approach to document tagging is described which supports the detection of contamination across documents within a cohort.


We analyze the dispersion characteristics of an optical fiber having linear chirp type refractive index profile. The chirp type profile is general in nature and by controlling the profile parameters, one can obtain a wide range of profiles from simple step index to complex multiple cladded type. The problem is treated as an optimization problem in the profile parameter space. It is shown that a variety of dispersion characteristics can be realized with proper optimization of the profile parameters. Linear finite element method (LFEM) is employed for computing the modal fields and propagation constants. Tolerance analysis of the fiber dispersion characteristics and bending loss calculation are also carried out.


A new generation of sensor rich, massively distributed autonomous systems is being developed that has the potential for unprecedented performance, such as smart buildings, reconngurable factories, adaptive traac systems and remote earth ecosystem monitoring. To achieve high performance these massive systems will need to accurately model themselves and their environment from sensor information. Accomplishing this on a grand scale requires automating the art of large-scale modeling. This paper presents a formalization of decompositional, model-based learning (DML), a method developed by observing a modeler's expertise at decomposing large scale model estimation tasks. The method exploits a striking analogy between learning and consistency-based diagnosis. Moriarty, an implementation of DML, has been applied to thermal modeling of a smart building, demonstrating a signiicant improvement in learning rate.


College athletes are at risk for heavy alcohol use, which jeopardizes their general health, academic standing, and athletic performance. Effective prevention programming reduces these risks by targeting theory-based intermediate factors that predict alcohol use while tailoring content to student-athletes. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the myPlaybook online prevention program on student-athletes' social norms, negative alcohol expectancies, and intentions to use alcohol-related harm prevention strategies. NCAA Division II student-athletes were recruited from 60 institutions across the United States to complete myPlaybook and pretest/posttest surveys measuring demographics and targeted outcome variables. Participants were randomly assigned to the treatment group (pretest-program-posttest; final n =647) or the delayed treatment "control" group (pretest-posttest-program; final n =709). Results revealed significant program effects on social norms ( p p =.14). Implications for future research and practice are discussed.


Importance
The lack of underrepresented in medicine physicians within US academic surgery continues, with Black surgeons representing a disproportionately low number.

Objective
To evaluate the trend of general surgery residency application, matriculation, and graduation rates for Black trainees compared with their racial and ethnic counterparts over time.

Design, Setting, and Participants
In this nationwide multicenter study, data from the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) for the general surgery residency match and Graduate Medical Education (GME) surveys of graduating general surgery residents were retrospectively reviewed and stratified by race, ethnicity, and sex. Analyses consisted of descriptive statistics, time series plots, and simple linear regression for the rate of change over time. Medical students and general surgery residency trainees of Asian, Black, Hispanic or Latino of Spanish origin, White, and other races were included. Data for non-US citizens or nonpermanent residents were excluded. Data were collected from 2005 to 2018, and data were analyzed in March 2021.

Main Outcomes and Measures
Primary outcomes included the rates of application, matriculation, and graduation from general surgery residency programs.

Results
Over the study period, there were 71 687 applicants, 26 237 first-year matriculants, and 24 893 graduates. Of 71 687 applicants, 24 618 (34.3%) were women, 16 602 (23.2%) were Asian, 5968 (8.3%) were Black, 2455 (3.4%) were Latino, and 31 197 (43.5%) were White. Women applicants and graduates increased from 29.4% (1178 of 4003) to 37.1% (2293 of 6181) and 23.5% (463 of 1967) to 33.5% (719 of 2147), respectively. When stratified by race and ethnicity, applications from Black women increased from 2.2% (87 of 4003) to 3.5% (215 of 6181) (P < .001) while applications from Black men remained unchanged (3.7% [150 of 4003] to 4.6% [284 of 6181]). While the matriculation rate for Black women remained unchanged (2.4% [46 of 1919] to 2.3% [52 of 2264]), the matriculation rate for Black men significantly decreased (3.0% [57 of 1919] to 2.4% [54 of 2264]; P = .04). Among Black graduates, there was a significant decline in graduation for men (4.3% [85 of 1967] to 2.7% [57 of 2147]; P = .03) with the rate among women remaining unchanged (1.7% [33 of 1967] to 2.2% [47 of 2147]).

Conclusions and Relevance
Findings of this study show that the underrepresentation of Black physicians at every stage in surgical training pipeline persists. Black men are especially affected. Identifying factors that address intersectionality and contribute to the successful recruitment and retention of Black trainees in general surgery residency is critical for achieving racial and ethnic as well as gender equity.


The appearance of time advance (due to distortion by the non-resonant background) instead of the expected time delay in the region of a compound-nucleus resonance in the center-of-mass (C-) system is known. Here at the same conditions we study cross sections and durations of the neutron-nucleus scattering in the laboratory (L-) system. Here there are a review of papers where it is shown that such time advance is a virtual paradox and in the L-system the time-advance phenomenon does not occur and only the trivial time delay is observed. At the same time the transformations from C-system into the L-system appear to be different from the standard kinematical transformations because in the C-system the motion of a compound nucleus is absent but it is present in the L-system. Here we analyze the initial wave-packet motion (after the collision origin) and the cross section in the laboratory (L-) system. Also here (as physical revelations of profound general methodic and in very good consistent accordance with the experiment) several results of the calculated cross sections for the neutron-nucleus in comparison with the experimental data in the L-system at the range of one or two overlapped compound resonances are presented. It is shown in the space-time approach that the standard cinematic transformations of cross sections from the C-system to the L-system are not valid because it is necessary to consider the center-of-mass motion in the L-system. Finally on a correct self-consistent base of the space-time description of the nuclear processes in the laboratory system with 3 particles in the final channel, the validity of the former approach is shown, which is obtained for the space-time description of the nuclear processes with 2-particle channels earlier.


Introduction: During 1986-2009, an estimated 1.6 million persons were internally displaced from northern and
eastern regions of Uganda due to civil war. We investigated accessibility to
and availability of health care services for the internally displaced persons in Kitgum and Pader districts, northern
Uganda. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in Kitgum and Pader
districts, northern Uganda. We interviewed a total of 1383 respondents comprising
968 (70%) adults and 415 (30%) adolescents; 60% were females and 40% males, randomly
selected from 35 of 67 (52.2%) internally displaced persons (IDP) camps. We
held 27 key informant interviews and 52 focus group discussions. Data
were entered in EPI data version 3.02 and analysed using SPSS version 12.00 statistical
packages. Findings: Two thirds of the respondents 67.5% lived
within 5 km distance of a health facility. The majority 62.9% of respondents
mentioned that health related information was readily provided. 43.5% of
health providers were always available in a health facility. A quarter 25.1%
of health facilities always had drugs available, while 56.9% of the drugs prescribed
were always available. Two thirds of the respondents 65.9% were satisfied with
the health care services provided. The main reasons for the choice of a
health facility were proximity 29.6%, provision of free treatment 24.7% and
availability of drugs 17.2%. Main barriers to health care access were due to the
lack of financial resources, trained personnel, and inadequate drugs and supplies in the health facilities. Conclusions and
Recommendations: The majority of IDPs lived in close proximity to health facilities and obtained health
care services from public health facilities. Access to health care was determined
mainly by proximity and availability of free services and drugs. Although geographic accessibility to health services was high, lack of finances, information and decision power hindered
access to health care services.


This paper examines folk theories of algorithmic recommendations on Spotify in order to make visible the cultural specificities of data assemblages in the global South. The study was conducted in Costa Rica and draws on triangulated data from 30 interviews, 4 focus groups with 22 users, and the study of "rich pictures" made by individuals to graphically represent their understanding of algorithmic recommendations. We found two main folk theories: one that personifies Spotify (and conceives of it as a social being that provides recommendations thanks to surveillance) and another one that envisions it as a system full of resources (and a computational machine that offers an individualized musical experience through the appropriate kind of "training"). Whereas the first theory emphasizes local conceptions of social relations to make sense of algorithms, the second one stresses the role of algorithms in providing a global experience of music and technology. We analyze why people espouse either one of these theories (or both) and how these theories provide users with resources to enact different modalities of power and resistance in relation to recommendation algorithms. We argue that folk theories thus offer a productive way to broaden understanding of what agency means in relation to algorithms.


Sleep is thought to be restorative in function, but what is restored during sleep is unclear. Here we tested the hypothesis that increased periods of wakefulness will result in decreased levels of glycogen, the principal energy store in brain, and with recovery sleep levels of glycogen will be replenished, thus representing a homeostatic component of sleep drive. Using a high-energy focused microwave irradiation method to kill animals and thereby snap-inactivate glycogen-producing and -metabolizing enzymes, we determined, with accuracy and precision, levels of brain glycogen and showed these levels to decrease significantly by ∼40% in brains of rats deprived of sleep for 12 or 24 hr. Recovery sleep of 15 hr duration after 12 hr of sleep deprivation reversed the decreases in glycogen. Using a novel histochemical method to stain brain glycogen, we found glycogen to be concentrated in white matter; this finding was confirmed biochemically in white matter dissected from rats killed with microwave irradiation. Levels of glycogen, as determined histochemically, were significantly decreased in gray and white matter with sleep deprivation, and these decreases were reversed with recovery sleep. The observed decreases in levels of brain glycogen may be a consequence of increased wakefulness and/or a component integral to the homeostatic drive to sleep.


For the past several years, USGS has taken a multi-faceted approach to investigating the condition and trends in sagebrush steppe ecosystems. This recent effort builds upon decades of work in semi-arid ecosystems providing a specific, applied focus on the cumulative impacts of expanding human activities across these landscapes. Here, we discuss several on-going projects contributing to these efforts: (1) mapping and monitoring the distribution and condition of shrub steppe communities with local detail at a regional scale, (2) assessing the relationships between specific, land-use features (for example, roads, transmission lines, industrial pads) and invasive plants, including their potential (environmentally defined) distribution across the region, and (3) monitoring the effects of habitat treatments on the ecosystem, including wildlife use and invasive plant abundance. This research is focused on the northern sagebrush steppe, primarily in Wyoming, but also extending into Montana, Colorado, Utah and Idaho. The study area includes a range of sagebrush types (including, Artemisia tridentata ssp. tridentata, Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis, Artemisia tridentata ssp. vaseyana, Artemisia nova) and other semi-arid shrubland types (for example, Sarcobatus vermiculatus, Atriplex confertifolia, Atriplex gardneri), impacted by extensive interface between steppe ecosystems and industrial energy activities resulting in a revealing multiple-variable analysis. We use a combination of remote sensing (AWiFS ( Any reference to platforms, data sources, equipment, software, patented or trade-marked methods is for information purposes only. It does not represent endorsement of the U.S.D.I., U.S.G.S. or the authors), Landsat and Quickbird platforms), Geographic Information System (GIS) design and data management, and field-based, replicated sampling to generate multiple scales of data representing the distribution of shrub communities for the habitat inventory. Invasive plant sampling focused on the interaction between human infrastructure and weedy plant distributions in southwestern Wyoming, while also capturing spatial variability associated with growing conditions and management across the region. In a separate but linked study, we also sampled native and invasive composition of recent and historic habitat treatments. Here, we summarize findings of this ongoing work, highlighting patterns and relationships between vegetation (native and invasive), land cover, landform, and land-use patterns in the sagebrush steppe. ____________________________________ In Monaco, T.A. et al. comps. 2011. Proceedings – Threats to Shrubland Ecosystem Integrity; 2010 May 18-20; Logan, UT. Natural Resources and Environmental Issues, Volume XVII. S.J. and Jessie E. Quinney Natural Resources Research Library, Logan Utah, USA.


UNLABELLED Recently mutations of the NOD2/CARD15 gene were identified as genetic markers for Crohn's disease (CD). It has also been suggested that the presence of mutation may influence the phenotype of the disease. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of common NOD2/CARD15 mutations in Hungarian Crohn's patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS DNA was obtained from 142 pts with Crohn's disease (70 male and 72 female, mean age: 36.2 yrs) and of 115 healthy subjects. Clinical data were obtained by filling in a questionnaire by the physician. DNA was screened for possible mutations by denaturing HPLC (WAVE Nucleic acid fragment analysis systems, Cheshire, UK) using published primers (Lesage et al, Am J Hum Gen 2002) for SNP's 8, 12, and 13. Mutations were then confirmed by direct sequencing on a ABI Prism 310 Genetic Analyzer (Perkin Elmer; Norwalk, USA). RESULTS Mutations of NOD2/CARD15 were significantly more frequent in patients (n = 42, 29.6%) than in controls (11.3%, p = 0.0007, OR = 3.3, 95% CI = 1.7-6.5). R702W and 3020insC mutations were significantly more common in IBD compared to controls (4.3% and 2.6%); 18 patients had the R702W mutation (12.7%, p = 0.001, 13 homozygous, one homozygous for R703C) and 22 the 3020insC (15.9%, p = 0.001, 4 homozygous). 7 patients (4.9%) were heterozygous for the G908R, which was not different from the controls (4.3%). 5 patients were compound heterozygous. The allele frequency of R702W (11.6% vs. 4.3%, p = 0.0026, OR = 5.9, 95% CI: 2.3-14.9) and 3020insC (9.1% vs. 2.6% p = 0.004, OR = 7.6, 95% CI = 2.4-24.0) was significantly higher in Crohn's disease compared to the controls. Age at presentation was not different between carriers and non-carriers (26.7 +/- [SD] 10.3 yrs vs. 27.7 +/- 11.8 yrs). There was a tendency of ileal location to be more common in carriers of the mutation (40.5% vs. 29.0%), while colonic location was less frequent (16.7% vs. 44%). The presence of the mutation did not affect disease behaviour (carrier: inflammatory: 30.9%, stenosing: 26.2%, penetrating: 42.9%, non-carrier: inflammatory: 36%, stenosing: 27%, penetrating: 37%). Among the extraintestinal manifestations arthritis (30.1% vs. 47%, p = 0.05) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (0% vs. 9%, p = 0.047%) was significantly less frequent in carriers of the mutation. CONCLUSIONS In concordance with European data we found a high number of NOD2/CARD15 R702W and 3020insC mutations in Hungarian patients with Crohn's disease. The G908R mutation was uncommon in Hungarian Crohn's patients. The presence of the mutation was associated with ileal but not with fibrostenosing disease and extraintestinal manifestations were less common in carriers of the mutation.


One of the greatest challenges in designing applications for developing communities is that potential users may have limited literacy. Past work in UI design for low-literate users has focused on illiteracy as the inability to read per se, with little recognition to other cognitive differences between literate and non-literate users.
 In this paper, we investigate the correlation between literacy and cognitive skills for conceptual abstraction using video-based skills training. We performed a controlled experiment that compared 28 non-literate and 28 literate participants from low-income communities in India. Results confirm that both the groups did worse when a skill required generalization from instructional material, compared with the case when instructional material was specifically and exactly tailored to the skill. Literate participants did better than non-literate participants all-around on this learning task. In addition, we found that diversification of examples within instructions helped literate participants in transfer of learning, but did not help non-literate participants. We conclude that ICT UI and content for low-literate users should be sensitive to issues beyond strict illiteracy, to additional cognitive differences among these users.


We report on subsurface deformation features measured from recently acquired core and image logs from the Marcellus Formation in north-central Pennsylvania, supplemented with data collected from Valley and Ridge outcrop. The subsurface data are from an area that bridges a gap in existing published data between outcrop in the Valley and Ridge province of Pennsylvania and the relatively undeformed outcrop exposed on the Appalachian Plateau of New York. We find one distinct set of vertical veins that strike orthogonal to Appalachian Plateau fold axes and an associated set of low-angle reverse faults and stylolites that strike parallel to fold axes. As the trend of the fold axes changes around the Pennsylvania salient, the trend of associated mesostructures changes to maintain kinematic compatibility with the shortening direction change along the salient. These structures are interpreted to support a single, although possibly protracted, strain event during Alleghanian deformation, as opposed to multiple events previously interpreted to occur in different regions and stratigraphic levels within the fold belt. The veins are associated with clusters of bedding-plane slip surfaces, which are found at distinct mechanical stratigraphic positions where the competence contrast between shale and stiff limestone units is greatest. We interpret this association to indicate that bed parallel-shear within detachment zones provides the sufficient driving force required to nucleate vertical veins, and the decoupling of beds accommodates extension orthogonal to the shortening direction. Although these veins are oriented orthogonal to the present-day maximum principal horizontal stress, they remain propped open by crystalline cements. Homogenization temperatures of fluid inclusions trapped in the veins, combined with one-dimensional burial and thermal history models, suggest that the pervasive vein set formed during the Late Pennsylvanian–Permian during the Alleghanian orogeny.


To date the management of state-maintained special schools for children with hearing impairment (SMSSCHI) in Ghana has not been extensively researched. As a result, the way such schools are managed is inadequately understood. This research sought to address that lack of understanding. The aim of the research was to examine the nature of the day-to-day management activities in SMSSCHI to refine our current understanding of such schools. Research questions focused on the nature of the day-to-day management; the organisational challenges; the relationships between the SMSSCHI and stakeholders including, the private sector, parents and the Ghana Education Service (GES); the way educational policies influence the management of SMSSCHI; and the boundary issues in the day-to-day management of SSMCHI in Ghana. The research began with an analysis of the relevant literature. The empirical research was in two phases: Phase 1 involved visits to seven out of the 12 SMSSCHI in Ghana to understand day-to-day management practices. Phase 2 explored the relationships between schools and stakeholders in the day-to-day management of SMSSCHI in three schools. The data were analysed using the planning, organising, staffing, coordinating, reporting, budgeting (POSDCoRB) framework. The key findings were that day-to-day management practices were homogenous across study schools. This homogeneity stemmed from the use of centralized planning emanating from the GES to ensure conformity to set policies. This practice led to a limited adoption of strategic plans to address local needs. Organisational boundary issues emerged as significant in relation to the involvement of stakeholders in school management portrayed by the profound influence of the GES and very minimal involvement of other stakeholders as enshrined in the decentralisation policy of the GES. Societal conceptions of disability and the location of special schools influenced stakeholders' involvement in school management. The implications of the findings for policy and practice are discussed.


AIM
To describe the classification of aneurysms coexisting with arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) and their endovascular treatment.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Based on the basis of radiological findings and clinical features, 59 aneurysms coexisting with AVMs were classified into four different types: intranidal, flow-related (proximal and distal), and unrelated. These aneurysms were treated by endovascular techniques with or without AVM embolization. Clinical outcome was assessed using the modified Rankin Scale (mRS).

RESULTS
59 aneurysms coexisting with AVMs were found in 39 patients. There were 11 unrelated aneurysms, 18 proximal flow-related aneurysms, 11 distal flow-related aneurysms and 19 intranidal aneurysms. In the 11 unrelated aneurysms, 4 were caused subarachnoid hemorrhage. In 11 distal flow-related aneurysms near the AVM, 7 caused a major hemorrhage. Six of the 19 intranidal aneurysms presented with hemorrhage. In contrast, only 3 of the 14 proximal flow-related aneurysms on major feeding arteries caused hemorrhage.

CONCLUSION
Aneurysms coexisting with AVMs could be classified into four types and this classification may provide a rationale for endovascular treatment.


ABSTRACT Contemporary smart cities have largely mirrored the sustainable development agenda by embracing an ecological modernisation approach to urban development. There is a strong focus on stimulating economic activity and environmental protection with little emphasis on social equity and the human experience. The health and well-being agenda has potential to shift the focus of smart cities to centre on social aims. Through the systematic and widespread application of technologies such as wearable health monitors, the creation of open data platforms for health parameters, and the development of virtual communication between patients and health professionals, the smart city can serve as a means to improve the lives of urban residents. In this article, we present a case study of smart health in Kashiwanoha Smart City in Japan. We explore how the pursuit of greater health and well-being has stretched smart city activities beyond technological innovation to directly impact resident lifestyles and become more socially relevant. Smart health strategies examined include a combination of experiments in monitoring and visualisation, education through information provision, and enticement for behavioural change. Findings suggest that smart cities have great potential to be designed and executed to tackle social problems and realise more sustainable, equitable and liveable cities.


Although the importance of integrating social and natural science understandings in natural resource management (NRM) models has been largely acknowledged, current evidence suggests that that there has been limited success in achieving such integration. Integrated NRM model development processes are complicated by the lack of consensus between disciplines as to how NRM problems should be defined and addressed. In the Northern Thailand region, attempts to define NRM problems, system boundaries, stakeholder groups or environmental processes are subject to complex and multi-facetted perspectives in a highly politicized context. The problems resulting from the complexity and political sensitivity of developing an NRM model for Doi Inthanon National Park in Chiang Mai, Thailand led to the formulation of three research questions addressed in this dissertation. 1. Perspectives: Whose perspectives have determined the NRM problem definitions of the NRM models developed for the Northern Thailand region and how has this influenced the integration of social and natural systems understandings? 2. Problems: Does the perspective used to develop an NRM model problem definition affect NRM model outcomes when modeling in a localized context? 3. Pesticides: Should the concerns of local stakeholder groups within Doi Inthanon National Park, such as pesticide use management, receive more attention as environmental conservation priorities in NRM model development processes? This dissertation demonstrates that the influence of a dominant national level environmental narrative decreases researcher and stakeholder satisfaction with an NRM model"s representation of interactions between social and natural systems. Furthermore, within the localized context of Doi Inthanon National Park, perspectives on NRM problem definitions varied widely amongst stakeholder groups. Finally, the pesticide use management concerns identified by local stakeholder groups were shown to be legitimate NRM issues that need to be addressed. Accounting for the different perspectives about NRM issues in an area and the power differentials between those perspectives is necessary to better understand the interaction between stakeholder groups and their reactions to a NRM model development program. This increased understanding will reduce the perceptions of disciplinary incompatibility within a NRM model development program and ensure that the choice of NRM priorities is transparent as opposed to obscure.


This article examines the geographical reach of international humanitarian law (law of armed conflict), particularly during armed conflicts between States and non-State organized armed groups. The issue is operationally critical, since to the extent that IHL applies, practices which are lawful during armed conflicts, such as status-based targeting, may be employed. When IHL does not apply, human rights obligations shouldered by the State govern the conduct of its military operations. The article surveys the various approaches to the the legal geography of non-international armed conflict, arguing that an interpretation by which IHL is not geographically restricted is the most supportable.


Amyloid-β peptide (Aβ)-induced death in cerebral endothelial cells (CECs) is preceded by mitochondrial dysfunction and signaling events characteristic of apoptosis. Mitochondria-dependent apoptosis engages Bcl-2 family proteins, especially the BH3-only homologues, which play a key role in initiating the apoptotic cascade. Here, we report that the expression of bim, but not other BH3-only members, was selectively increased in cerebral microvessels isolated from 18-month-old APPsw (Tg2576) mice, a model of cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), suggesting a pivotal role for Bim in Aβ-induced cerebrovascular degeneration in vivo. A similar expression profile was observed in Aβ-treated CECs. Furthermore, Aβ induction of bim expression involved a pro-apoptotic transcription factor, FKHRL1. FKHRL1 bound to a consensus sequence in the bim promoter region and was activated by Aβ before bim expression. FKHRL1 activity was negatively regulated by phosphorylation catalyzed by Akt, an anti-apoptotic kinase. Akt upregulation by adenoviral gene transfer inhibited Aβ-induced FKHRL1 activation and bim induction. In addition, Aβ increased the activity of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A), a ceramide-activated protein phosphatase. Suppression of PP2A activity by RNA interference or a specific inhibitor, okadaic acid, effectively suppressed Aβ-induced Akt inactivation and FKHRL1 activation, leading to an attenuation of bim expression and cell death in CECs. Coimmunoprecipitation experiments revealed that Aβ enhanced the binding of the PP2A regulatory subunit PP2ACαβ to Akt. These results implicate PP2A as an early regulator of Aβ-induced bim expression and CEC apoptosis via the Akt/FKHRL1 signaling pathway. We raise the possibility that this pathway may play a role in cerebrovascular degeneration in CAA.


[1] The role of wave-topography interactions in the formation of sand ridges on microtidal inner shelves is investigated with an idealized morphodynamic model. The latter uses the two-dimensional shallow water equations to describe a storm-driven flow on an inner shelf with an erodible bottom and a transverse slope. Both bed load and suspended load sediment transport are included. New are the incorporation of a wave module based on physical principles and a critical shear-stress for erosion. A linear stability analysis is used to study the initial growth of bed forms, by analyzing the initial growth of small perturbations evolving on an alongshore uniform basic state, which describes a storm-driven flow on a microtidal inner shelf. Model simulations show that wave-topography interactions cause the ridges to become more trapped to the coast. Both growth and migration of the ridges are controlled by suspended load transport. The physical mechanism responsible for ridge growth is related to transport by the stormdriven current of sediment that is entrained due to wave orbital motions induced by bed forms. This new mechanism even acts in absence of a transverse bottom slope. The orientation, spacing and shape of the modeled ridges agree well with field observations from different shelves.


Liver metastases are the most common cause of death in colorectal cancer patients. The standard of care and potential for cure for colorectal liver metastases is resection, but often times disease it too extensive for this treatment. Over the years, cancer research has made way for advances in treating progressive disease through immunotherapy. By genetically modifying an individual's immune system using virally transduced chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CAR-T), patients are better able to receive exquisitely specific T cells to target specific tumors. Furthermore, selective delivery strategies may enhance efficacy while limiting detrimental, systemic adverse effects. Not only this, CAR-Ts have also lead to complete remission in some liquid tumors while maintaining the potential for remission in solid tumors as well. This literature review takes readers through the emergence of the different generations of CAR-T and the various studies including clinical trials that have demonstrated the safety and efficacy of CAR-T. The second portion of this paper will outline the design for a phase II clinical trial using intrahepatic CAR-T therapy in addition to selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT) for refractory CEA+ colorectal liver metastases. Benefits and limitations of using these therapies are further discussed.


Signature is a special form of handwriting that contain special characters and additional forms are often used as proof of a person's identity verification. Partially legible signature, but many signatures that can not be read. However, a signature can be handled as an image so that it can be recognized using pattern recognition applications in image processing. Because the signature is the primary mechanism for authentication and authorization in legal transactions,the need for research on the development of recognition applications and automatic signature verification and efficiently increases from year to year. The method is widely used in signature recognition is a method of artificial neural network. On artificial neural networks are learning and recognition. One neural network algorithm is Learning Vector Quantization ( LVQ ) and Self Organizing Kohonen. Processes that occur in the neural network method requires a relatively long time. It is influenced by the number of data samples are used as a means of weight training update. The more and the large size of the pattern being trained, the longer the time it takes the network. LVQ is a method of training the unsupervised competitive layer will automatically learn to classify input vectors into certain classes. The classes are generated depends on the distance between the input vectors. If there are 2 input vectors are nearly as competitive layer will then classify both the input vectors into the same class. Kohonen Self Organizing Network is one of the neural network model which uses learning methods or unguided unsupervised neural network model that resembles humans. To speed up the computing process in the training and recognition is then developed an algorithm and a combination of LVQ and Self Organizing Kohonen by modifying the weight given to obtain a shorter time in the process of training and recognition.


Edward Snow's "A Study of Vermeer", first published in 1979 and here presented in an expanded and elaborately revised version, starts from a single premise: that we respond so intensely to Vermeer because his paintings reach so deeply into our lives. Our desire for images, the distances that separate us, the validations we seek from the still world, the traces of ghostliness in our own human presence - these, the book proposes, are Vermeer's themes, which he pursues with a realism always in touch with the uncanny. As Snow traces the many counterpoised sensations that make up Vermeer's equanimity, he leads us into a world of nuances and surprise. "A Study of Vermeer" is passionate and visual in its commitments. Snow works from the conviction that viewing pictures is a reciprocal act - symbiotic, consequential, real. His discussions of Vermeer's paintings are conducted in a language of patient observation, and they involve the reader in an experience of deepening relation and ongoing visual discovery. The book has been designed to facilitate this process: over eighty illustrations, fifty-nine in color (including two full-page foldouts), accompany the text so that the details Snow illuminates will be continually in view. Here is a book to enthrall not only students of Vermeer, but anyone who feels the exhilaration of what Cezanne called 'thinking in images.'


We present results of new Monte Carlo calculations made with the DIRTY code of radiative transfer of stellar and scattered radiation for a dusty giant late-type galaxy like the Milky Way, which illustrate the effect of the attenuation of stellar light by internal dust on the integrated photometry of the individual bulge and disk components. Here we focus on the behavior of the attenuation function, the color excess, and the fraction of light scattered or directly transmitted toward the outside observer as a function of the total amount of dust and the inclination of the galaxy, and the structure of the dusty interstellar medium (ISM) of the disk. We confirm that dust attenuation produces qualitatively and quantitatively different effects on the integrated photometry of bulge and disk, whatever the wavelength. In addition, we find that the structure of the dusty ISM affects more sensitively the observed magnitudes than the observed colors of both bulge and disk. Finally, we show that the contribution of the scattered radiation to the total monochromatic light received by the outside observer is significant, particularly at UV wavelengths, even for a two-phase, clumpy, dusty ISM. Thus, understanding dust scattering properties is fundamental for the interpretation of extragalactic observations in the rest-frame UV.


We show that optical reflectivity measurements can be used to evaluate the part of a NH, flux which reacts with a Ga-terminated GaN surface or with a Ga-flux simultaneously impinging on the surface, as in standard molecular beam epitaxy situation. At least for temperatures not exceeding 700 degrees C, the ratio of the reacted part of the NH3 flux to the incident flux can be assimilated to the NH:, cracking efficiency. Being nearly zero below a threshold temperature of 450 degrees C, it increases with temperature but remains low (similar to 4%) explaining why an exceptionally high V/III flux ratio is necessary to grow GaN using NH3. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics.


The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is a chief regulator of the cardiovascular system and body fluid homeostasis. Stem/progenitor cell therapy has pointed towards a novel tool for medical and therapeutic intervention. In addition to the physiological and pathologi- cal role of the RAS and its pharmacological inhibitors, the proliferation, differentiation in stem cells is mediated through various cell-signalling pathways. This book chapter reviews the new role of RAS components, distinct from other common roles by consider-ing its regulating impact on the several signalling pathways involved in different body tissues, as well as in stem cell therapy.


Rapid reduction of aqueous ClO4(-) to Cl(-) by H2 has been realized by a heterogeneous Re(hoz)2-Pd/C catalyst integrating Re(O)(hoz)2Cl complex (hoz = oxazolinyl-phenolato bidentate ligand) and Pd nanoparticles on carbon support, but ClOx(-) intermediates formed during reactions with concentrated ClO4(-) promote irreversible Re complex decomposition and catalyst deactivation. The original catalyst design mimics the microbial ClO4(-) reductase, which integrates Mo(MGD)2 complex (MGD = molybdopterin guanine dinucleotide) for oxygen atom transfer (OAT). Perchlorate-reducing microorganisms employ a separate enzyme, chlorite dismutase, to prevent accumulation of the destructive ClO2(-) intermediate. The structural intricacy of MGD ligand and the two-enzyme mechanism for microbial ClO4(-) reduction inspired us to improve catalyst stability by rationally tuning Re ligand structure and adding a ClOx(-) scavenger. Two new Re complexes, Re(O)(htz)2Cl and Re(O)(hoz)(htz)Cl (htz = thiazolinyl-phenolato bidentate ligand), significantly mitigate Re complex decomposition by slightly lowering the OAT activity when immobilized in Pd/C. Further stability enhancement is then obtained by switching the nanoparticles from Pd to Rh, which exhibits high reactivity with ClOx(-) intermediates and thus prevents their deactivating reaction with the Re complex. Compared to Re(hoz)2-Pd/C, the new Re(hoz)(htz)-Rh/C catalyst exhibits similar ClO4(-) reduction activity but superior stability, evidenced by a decrease of Re leaching from 37% to 0.25% and stability of surface Re speciation following the treatment of a concentrated "challenge" solution containing 1000 ppm of ClO4(-). This work demonstrates the pivotal roles of coordination chemistry control and tuning of individual catalyst components for achieving both high activity and stability in environmental catalyst applications.


Some of the presenters at the Lean Construction Institute's 2010 and 2011 Lean Congresses reported that organizations on Lean Construction journeys must undergo a cultural change as an essential element of their transformation (Giuzio 2010, Lichtig 2010, Angelo 2010, Izuierdo 2010, Montero 2010). Some also identified effective leadership as an important element of successful cultural change (Giuzio 2011, Lichtig 2011, Angelo 2011, Reiser 2011, Laski 2011, McCready 2011, Lindsey 2011). Some companies have detoured from Lean because they didn't know how to make the cultural change necessary to create company-wide transformation (Beaudoline 2011, Heger 2011, Knapp 2011, Fauchier 2011, Osterling 2011, Robinson 2011, Holzemer 2011, Moore 2011). What is "cultural change" and "effective leadership" in the context of a Lean Construction transformation? This paper describes the preliminary results of research relating to the cultural change of construction companies on Lean journeys. It addresses leadership's role in making a cultural change to Lean. The paper is based on presentations by Lean practitioners, interviews with CEOs, project managers, superintendents and others who have been on Lean Construction journeys as well as a literature search of organizational development models that could help construction leaders create the cultural change necessary to sustain Lean. The paper identifies a model, borrowed from research related to high performance teams, which could help support a Lean transformation.


This Essay takes a critical look at a doctrine that is often cited - by Muslims and non-Muslims alike - as indicative of Islamic law's systematic gender discrimination in favor of men and against women: the legal requirement that a Muslim woman, prior to her marriage, must gain the permission of her father, or another male relative. This is in contrast to a Muslim male, who, it is said, may marry without the permission of his father, or any other relative. This essay will not attempt a detailed analysis of all the rules regarding the role of the guardian in the marriage contract. Instead, it attempts to provide a broad overview of the competing interpretations that have been given to the guardian's role in one school of Islamic law, the Maliki school. Based on a close reading of the relevant Maliki doctrines, one can make the following conclusions. First, there is no basis to conclude that under Maliki doctrine female autonomy with respect to marriage is subordinated to the private interests of her male relatives. Second, Maliki doctrine did discriminate against females with respect to emancipation from the guardianship of their fathers based on a legal presumption that females were prone to squandering their property. According to Malikis, this fact prevented females from enjoying full legal capacity until they proved in court, using a procedure called tarshid, their competency in managing their economic affairs. This was in contrast to male children, who were assumed to have such capacity simultaneously with the onset of physical puberty. Once a woman was declared to be financially competent, whether married or not, she attained full legal capacity, including, the capacity to marry without the approval of her father or other male relatives, and indeed, she could marry in spite of them. Third, even taking the Maliki presumption regarding the generalized financial incompetence of women at face value, a woman, after having attained puberty, should have been treated as a safiha - a person lacking capacity to manage her property - rather than as a minor. In that case, the father would have lost the power to contract a marriage for his unmarried - but not yet fully emancipated daughter - without her consent. Fourth, (and finally) the fact that an adult woman could substitute the consent of the judge (who was obliged to consent in this case) for that of her family suggests that the general requirement in Islamic law that a guardian consent to the marriage is akin to the general power of contemporary states to set the general terms upon which marriage is available and to issue licenses therefore. The fact that as a default matter, Islamic law assigned this task in the first instance to fathers was thus based on the notion that the father would be the best representative of the public's interests in the marriage.


This paper examines the use of higraphs as a means of representing dependencies and relationships among multiple aspects of system development models (e.g., requirements, hardware, software, testing concerns). We show how some well‐known diagram types in UML have counterpart higraph representations, how these models incorporate hierarchy and orthogonality, and how each model can be connected to the others in a useful (and formal) manner. Present‐day visual modeling languages such as UML and SysML do not readily support: (1) the traceability mechanisms required for the tracking of requirements changes and (2) built‐in support for systems validation. Higraphs also deviate from UML and SysML in their ability to model requirements, rules, and domain knowledge relevant to the development of models for system behavior and system structure. To accommodate these demands, an extension to the basic mathematical definition of higraphs is proposed. Capabilities of the extended higraph model are examined through the model development for an office network computing system. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Syst Eng


Problem of aircraft structural components (wing, fuselage, tail) optimization is considered. Solution of this problem is very computationally intensive, since it requires at each iteration a twolevel process: first from previous iteration, an update step at full component level must be performed in order to take into account internal loads and their sensitivities in the whole structure involved by changes in local geometry. Second, numerous local analyzes are run on isolated elements (for example, super stiffeners) of structural components in order to calculate mechanical strength criteria and their sensitivities, depending on current internal loads. An optimization step is then performed from combined global-local sensitivities. This bi-level global-local optimization process is then repeated until convergence of load distribution in the whole structure. Numerous calculations of mechanical strength criteria are necessary for local analyzes, resulting in great increase of the time between two iterations. In this work an effective method for speeding up the optimization process was proposed. The method uses surrogate models of optimization constraints (mechanical strength criteria) and provides a reduction of structure optimization computational time from several days to a few hours.


Abstract. Many of the soils in the Australian cereal belt have subsoils with chemical and physical properties that restrict root growth, which limits water use and yield. On alkaline sodic soils salinity, high pH, high available boron (B), deficiencies of zinc (Zn) and manganese (Mn) and high soil strength occur commonly and aluminium (Al) toxicity restricts root growth on acid soils. While the effects of individual subsoil constraints have been studied there is some debate about the relative importance to yield of the different soil stresses across the region. To address this issue yield variation among a set of 52 varieties of bread wheat was analysed using yield data from 233 trials conducted over 12 years. The trials were conducted in all mainland States but the majority were in South Australia and Western Australia. Each variety was characterised for its response to high B, high pH, Al toxicity, salinity, deficiencies in Zn and Mn and resistance to root lesion nematode (Pratylenchus neglectus), root growth through strong soil, seminal root angle, carbon isotope discrimination (CID) and maturity. This data was then used to examine the contribution of each trait to the genetic variation in yield at each of the 233 trials. The contribution of a specific trait to the genetic variation in yield at each site was used to infer the importance of a particular constraint to yield at that site. Of the traits linked to soil constraints, salinity tolerance, (measured by Na+ exclusion) was most often associated with genetic variation in grain yield (34% of all experiments), followed by tolerance to high Al (26%) and B tolerance (21%). Tolerance to low Zn and Mn were not consistently associated with yield variation. However, maturity was the trait that was most frequently associated with yield variation (51% of experiments), although the relative importance of early and late flowering varied among the States. Yield variation was largely associated with early flowering in Western Australia and the relative importance of late flowering increased as trials moved eastward into South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales. Narrow, rather than wide, seminal root angle was more commonly associated with high yield (25% of sites) and there was little evidence of any regional pattern in the importance of root angle. CID was important in 18% of trials with a low CID being most commonly associated with high yields. The yield advantage at sites where a trait contributed significantly to yield variation ranged from ∼15% for Na+ exclusion and B tolerance to 4% for tolerance to high pH. The analysis has provided an assessment of the relative importance of a range of traits associated with adaptation to environments where subsoil constraints are likely to affect yield and has indicated patterns in the importance and effects of these traits that may be linked to regional variation in rainfall and soils.


Mono and multifilamentary HTS tapes exhibit nonnegligible AC loss in self-field and considerably higher losses in the presence of external magnetic field. The effect of the conductor's geometry on the AC loss has been investigated in this paper. The nonlinear electromagnetic properties of the superconducting material are expressed with a B-dependent E-J power law and are implemented in finite element method commercial software. The critical current density and the power index n dependence on B are obtained from DC measurements of a real Bi-2223 tape. AC loss comparison between monofilamentary conductors of rectangular, elliptical, square and round geometry has been performed in self-field and applied external perpendicular magnetic field. The areas of the cross-section and the superconducting-core-to-Ag ratio have been kept constant in the simulations. To complement the AC loss analysis, the distribution of the current density and the magnetic field of the different geometries are presented.


Large-scale wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are highly vulnerable to attacks because they consist of numerous resource-constrained devices and communicate via wireless links. These vulnerabilities are exacerbated when WSNs have to operate unattended in a hostile environment, such as battlefields. In such an environment, an adversary poses a physical threat to all the sensor nodes. An adversary may capture any node, compromising critical security data including keys used for encryption and authentication. Consequently, it is necessary to provide security services to these networks to ensure their survival. We propose a novel, self-organizing key management scheme for large-scale and long-lived WSNs, called Survivable and Efficient Clustered Keying (SECK). SECK provides administrative services that ensures the survivability of the network. SECK is suitable for managing keys in a hierarchical WSN consisting of low-end sensor nodes clustered around more capable gateway nodes. Using cluster-based administrative keys, SECK provides five efficient security administration mechanisms: 1) clustering and key setup, 2) node addition, 3) key renewal, 4) recovery from multiple node captures, and 5) re-clustering. All of these mechanisms have been shown to localize the impact of attacks and considerably improve the efficiency of maintaining fresh session keys. Using simulation and analysis, we show that SECK is highly robust against node capture and key compromise while incurring low communication and storage overhead.


Analysis, modeling and development of residential demand response schemes are vital for the next generation active distribution systems. Among residential level deferrable loads thermally controllable loads have shown a great potential to be the candidates for increasing the flexibility of power distribution network. This paper evaluates the benefits of managing residential electric water heater set-points to reduce the overall cost of electricity in the presence of day-ahead forward price at distribution level. Three unique features, (i) consumer comfort by providing more hot water at the time of usage, (ii) reducing residential indoor temperature variations and (iii) reducing the health concerns due to water temperature regulations are addressed in this work. Randomly specified residential units, along with the thermal dynamics are used. ASHRAE standards are used in this work to ensure physical limitations are accurately represented. The results show that appropriately controlling the water heater temperature will be of great value to both utility and consumer demand response programs.


The volume of O(2) exchanged at the mouth during a breath (Vo(2,m)) is equal to that taken up by pulmonary capillaries (Vo(2,A)) only if lung O(2) stores are constant. The latter change if either end-expiratory lung volume (EELV), or alveolar O(2) fraction (Fa(O(2))) change. Measuring this requires breath-by-breath (BbB) measurement of absolute EELV, for which we used optoelectronic plethysmography combined with measurement of O(2) fraction at the mouth to measure Vo(2,A) = Vo(2,m) - (DeltaEELV x Fa(O(2)) + EELV x DeltaFa(O(2))), and divided by respiratory cycle time to obtain BbB O(2) consumption (Vo(2)) in seven healthy men during incremental exercise and recovery. To synchronize O(2) and volume signals, we measured gas transit time from mouthpiece to O(2) meter and compared Vo(2) measured during steady-state exercise by using expired gas collection with the mean BbB measurement over the same time period. In one subject, we adjusted the instrumental response time by 20-ms increments to maximize the agreement between the two Vo(2) measurements. We then applied the same total time delay (transit time plus instrumental delay = 660 ms) to all other subjects. The comparison of pooled data from all subjects revealed r(2) = 0.990, percent error = 0.039 +/- 1.61 SE, and slope = 1.02 +/- 0.015 (SE). During recovery, increases in EELV introduced systematic errors in Vo(2) if measured without taking DeltaEELV x Ca(O(2))+EELV x DeltaFa(O(2)) into account. We conclude that optoelectronic plethysmography can be used to measure BbB Vo(2) accurately when studying BbB gas exchange in conditions when EELV changes, as during on- and off-transients.


Deletions of the long arm of chromosome 6 are a recognised recurrent cytogenetic
abnormality associated with ALL. Balanced rearrangements of 6q are less common but occur
in leukaemias of both lymphoid and myeloid origin. With the aim of identifying genes that
contribute to leukaemia through loss or rearrangement the breakpoints of translocations and
deletions of 6q were mapped by FISH. Comparison between the mapped deletions led to the
identification of a 4.8 Mb CDR and candidate tumour suppressor gene (GluR-6). Expression
of GluR-6 was demonstrated to occur in haernatologic tissues and mutation analysis was
performed on leukaemic samples with clonal deletions of the region. In one of 14 cases a
base pair substitution that led to a change in amino acid sequence was found. The base pair
substitution was also present in the patients' remission sample but was not seen in any of 20
other normal bone marrow samples analysed. Analysis of the translocations identified a
variety of breakpoints between 6q15 and 6q27, with none positioned within the CDR. In
seven cases breakpoints clustered within a 14 Mb region of 6q22-q23 but different subregions
were defined for five analysed in detail. Complex rearrangements in one case of ALL
appeared to result in translocation of one homologue of 6q and deletion of the second.
Detailed FISH analysis defined a translocation breakpoint falling between two PACs that
contained exons of a known tumour suppressor gene, the IGF2-R. Southern blot analysis
failed to confirm disruption of the IGF2-R, but an IGF2-R-Afl? P8 fusion transcript was
cloned by RACE PCR from the patients' c-DNA. Involvement of MRP8 in the translocation
remains in doubt because attempts to confirm the presence of the fusion transcript were
unsuccessful.


This paper explores how online social interactions may influence consumers' impulse purchase when they browse online group shopping websites. We develop a research model based on the stimulus-organism-response framework and prior research on online social interactions. We propose that social interaction factors may serve as stimulating cues. In specific, opinion-based social interaction (i.e., review quality and source credibility) and behavior-based social interaction (i.e., observational learning) may affect perceived usefulness and positive affect (organism), which further lead to consumers' urge to buy impulsively (response). We empirically test our model using an online survey method. The results show that both source credibility and observational learning positively influence perceived usefulness and positive affect. Meanwhile, review quality has a significant impact on perceived usefulness, but not on positive affect. Perceived usefulness is found to posit a significant impact on positive affect, which influences urge to buy impulsively. We believe that these findings have important implications for both research and practice. We provide new insights to understand online impulse buying by incorporating the perspective of online social interactions. We also expect that new e-business strategies can be developed for online retailers regarding how to evoke consumers' impulse purchase urges.


This study employs first- and second-level agenda-setting to investigate how media salience, public opinion, and policy agendas influence the perceptions of foreign countries in the United States. Triangulation of research methods allowed examination of media coverage, public opinion and presidential public papers. Results indicate that salience promotes awareness of inflated significance for foreign countries named in U.S. media. The study identified a strong relationship between the foreign country salience in media coverage and in presidential public papers. The hypothesis for agenda-setting effects of policy agenda on public agenda was not supported. Regarding second-level agenda-setting effects, a correlation was found to exist among a negative tone in news coverage, presidential public papers, and public opinion. In contrast, no correlation was identified pertinent to the positive valence in the three agendas.


The vast majority of immigrants to the United States at the beginning of the 20th century adopted first names that were common among natives. The rate of adoption of an American name increases with time in the US, although most immigrants adopt an American name within the first year of arrival. Choice of an American first name was associated with a more successful assimilation, as measured by job occupation scores, marriage to a US native and take-up of US citizenship. We examine economic determinants of name choice, by studying the relationship between changes in the proportion of immigrants with an American first name and changes in the concentration of immigrants as well as changes in local labor market conditions, across different census years. We find that high concentrations of immigrants of a given nationality in a particular location discouraged members of that nationality from taking American names. Poor local labor market conditions for immigrants (and good local labor market conditions for natives) led to more frequent name changes among immigrants.


In this study, raw boron enrichment waste was treated with hydrochloric acid and ultrasound at 35-kHz frequency for 60 minutes. To optimize the adsorption conditions for removal of methylene blue (MB) from synthetic wastewaters using raw boron enrichment waste (BEW), acid modified boron enrichment waste (HBEW) and ultrasound modified BEW (UBEW) by adsorption process and to compare the adsorption efficiency of chemical and ultrasonic modifications of BEW were aimed. The optimum adsorption conditions were determined economically and eco-friendly aspect and MB removal percents were found as 80%, 80% and 92% at optimum conditions for BEW, HBEW and UBEW, respectively. The maximum regression coefficient values were obtained as 0.911, 0.998 and 0.984 for BEW, HBEW and UBEW, respectively at Langmuir isotherm model. The adsorption rate was fitted well to pseudo-second order kinetics according to a good correlation coefficient. The adsorption of MB onto adsorbents studied is spontaneous in nature and feasible because of negative ∆G values. The results indicated that the boron enrichment process waste could be a suitable adsorbent for removal of MB from aqueous solution. The maximum adsorption capacities were equal to about 107,0 mg/g, 160,7 mg/g and 145,3 mg/g for BEW, HBEW and UBEW adsorbents at 298 K, respectively. The maximum dye removal percent was achieved for UBEW as 92% and ultrasound assisted modification was found more efficient method compared with acidic modification for MB removal.


Soft tissue artifact is known to be one of the main sources of errors in motion analysis by means of stereophotogrammetry. Among many approaches to reduce such errors, one is to estimate the position of anatomical landmarks during a motion with joint angle or displacement of skin markers, which is the so-called compensation method of anatomical landmarks. The position of anatomical landmarks was modeled from the data of the so-called dynamic calibration, in which anatomical landmark positions are calibrated in an ad hoc motion. This study aimed to apply the compensation methods with joint angle and skin marker displacement to three lower extremity motions (walking, sit-to-stand/stand-to-sit, and step up/down) in ten healthy males and compare their reliability. To compare the methods, two sets of kinematic variables were calculated using two different marker clusters, and the difference was obtained. Results showed that the compensation method with skin marker displacement had less differences by 30–60% compared to without compensation. In addition, it had significantly less difference in some kinematic variables (7 of 18) by 25–40% compared to the compensation method with joint angle.


In this letter, a phase-sensitive, swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) system is implemented for the optical measurement of nanostructures. A new approach is proposed to reduce the phase errors, resulting from trigger jitter of the swept source and the asynchronization between the A-scan trigger and OCT signal at the data acquisition end, with a narrowband fiber Bragg grating to generate the accurate A-scan trigger. Furthermore, combining the common-path configuration with the proposed approach, the displacement sensitivity can be calculated to be 80 pm when the swept source is operated at 30 kHz. Finally, the conducting glass was scanned with the proposed approach to quantitatively measure the thickness of conducting layer. The results show that the proposed SS-OCT approach can make be a potentially useful tool for noninvasive, real-time inspection of nanostructures.


There is a wealth of medical information now available to the public through various sources that are not necessarily controlled by medical or healthcare professionals. In Australia there has been a strong movement in the health consumer arena of consumer-led sharing and production of medical information and in healthcare decision-making. This has led to empowerment of the public as well as increased knowledge-sharing. There are some successful initiatives and strategies on consumer- and public-led sharing of medical information, including the formation of specialised consumer groups, independent medical information organisations, consumer peer tutoring, and email lists and consumer networking events. With well-organised public initiatives and networks, there tends to be fairly balanced information being shared. However, there needs to be caution about the use of publicly available scientific information to further the agenda of special-interest groups and lobbying groups to advance often biased and unproven opinions or for scaremongering. With the adoption of more accountability of medical research, and the increased public scrutiny of private and public research, the validity and quality of medical information reaching the public is achieving higher standards.


A positional game is essentially a generalization of Tic-Tac-Toe played on a hypergraph $(V,{\cal F}).$  A pivotal result in the study of positional games is the Erdős–Selfridge theorem, which gives a simple criterion for the existence of a Breaker's winning strategy on a finite hypergraph ${\cal F}$.  It has been shown that the bound in the Erdős–Selfridge theorem can be tight and that numerous extremal hypergraphs exist that demonstrate the tightness of the bound. We focus on a generalization of the Erdős–Selfridge theorem proven by Beck for biased $(p:q)$ games, which we call the $(p:q)$–Erdős–Selfridge theorem.  We show that for $pn$-uniform hypergraphs there is a unique extremal hypergraph for the $(p:q)$–Erdős–Selfridge theorem when $q\geq 2$.


Rising temperatures in the Arctic Ocean are causing sea ice and glaciers to melt at record breaking rates, which has consequences for carbon cycling in the Arctic Ocean that are yet to be fully understood. Microbial carbon cycling is driven by internal processing of in situ produced organic carbon (OC), however recent research suggests that melt water from sea ice and glaciers could introduce an allochthonous source of OC to the microbial food web with ramifications for the metabolic balance of plankton communities. In this study, we characterized autochthonous and allochthonous sources of OC to the Western Svalbard fjord system using stable isotopes of carbon. We quantified δ13C of eukaryotic and prokaryotic planktonic groups using polar lipid‐derived fatty acids as biomarkers in addition to measuring δ13C of marine particulate OC and dissolved OC from glacial runoff. δ13C of bacteria (−22.5‰) was higher than that of glacial runoff OC (−28.5‰) and other phytoplankton groups (−24.7 to −29.1‰), which suggests that marine bacteria preferentially use a third source of OC. We present a Bayesian three‐source δ13C mixing model whereby ∼ 60% of bacteria carbon is derived from OC in sea ice, and the remaining carbon is derived from autochthonous production and glacial‐derived OC. These results suggest that subsidies of OC from melting glaciers will not likely influence microbial carbon cycling in Svalbard fjords in the future and that further research is needed to determine the effects of melting sea ice on microbial carbon cycling in fjord systems and elsewhere in the Arctic Ocean.


Federated learning is a machine learning approach that allows a loose federation of trainers to collaboratively improve a shared model, while making minimum assumptions on central availability of data. In cross-siloed federated learning, data is partitioned into silos, each with an associated trainer. This work presents results from training an end-to-end ASR model with cross-silo federated learning system. We propose a novel aggregation algorithm that takes update diversity into account and significantly outperforms Federated Averaging (FedAvg). The system design used in this paper allows joint training with human transcribed and semi-supervised (SSL) data, yielding 7.6% relative word error rate reduction on head test set and 13.9% on tail test set, when using 20kHr of SSL data. Gains further improve to 13.8% and 20.5% respectively when SSL data is increased from 20kHr to 200kHr.


This dissertation studies a number of issues related to Development Economics. The first chapter explains how we can use multiple correspondence analysis to calculate an asset index, and then offers an inequality analysis using the asset index. The second chapter provides a theoretical explanation of an odd relationship between child labor and per capita land holding in a household, and then provides empirical evidence for the explanation. Finally, the third chapter represents the results of a study of the behavior of rural households during shocks. Across the entire dissertation, we use three cross sectional surveys, conducted in 2001, 2007-8 and 2010-11 in Zimbabwe. Essays on Child Labor and Inequality


Obesity has become a major concern for healthcare professionals and the general public in the United States over the past few decades. Other nations have recently begun to experience an increase in obesity rates as well. Diabetes also affects many Americans to an alarming degree. Though practitioners and organizations have presented various treatments for those experiencing these metabolic diseases, including medications, restriction diets, calorie counting, and exercise, people still become morbidly overweight and develop Type 2 Diabetes. A new diet-based approach, generally termed intermittent fasting, has been proposed as a very viable treatment option for individuals with these conditions. This literature review sought to test the present theory that intermittent fasting reduces insulin resistance by improving insulin sensitivity. Though findings of the reviewed studies were mixed, the general consensus was that intermittent fasting does positively affect insulin by reducing fasting insulin levels and increasing insulin sensitivity. More research is needed to confirm this conclusion, as well as to investigate other aspects of diet and fasting such as gender, time of day to eat, types of foods eaten, and length of fasting periods, just to name a few. Social implications for intermittent fasting as a potential treatment option have also been discussed.