Sequence classification is an important problem in many real-world applications. Sequence data often contain no explicit "signals," or features, to enable the construction of classification algorithms. Extracting and interpreting the most useful features is challenging, and hand construction of good features is the basis of many classification algorithms. In this thesis, I address this problem by developing a feature-generation algorithm (FGA). FGA is a scalable method for automatic feature generation for sequences; it identifies sequence components and uses domain knowledge, systematically constructs features, explores the space of possible features, and identifies the most useful ones.
In the domain of biological sequences, splice-sites are locations in DNA sequences that signal the boundaries between genetic information and intervening non-coding regions. Only when splice-sites are identified with nucleotide precision can the genetic information be translated to produce functional proteins. In this thesis, I address this fundamental process by developing a highly accurate splice-site prediction model that employs our sequence feature-generation framework. The FGA model shows statistically significant improvements over state-of-the-art splice-site prediction methods.
So that biologists can understand and interpret the features FGA constructs, I developed SplicePort, a web-based tool for splice-site prediction and analysis. With SplicePort the user can explore the relevant features for splicing, and can obtain splice-site predictions for the sequences based on these features. For an experimental biologist trying to identify the critical sequence elements of splicing, SplicePort offers flexibility and a rich motif exploration functionality, which may help to significantly reduce the amount of experimentation needed. In this thesis, I present examples of the observed feature groups and describe efforts to detect biological signals that may be important for the splicing process.
Naturally, FGA can be generalized to other biologically inspired classification problems, such as tissue-specific regulatory elements, polyadenylation sites, promoters, as well as other sequence classification problems, provided we have sufficient knowledge of the new domain.


The ALICE experiment at the LHC has been designed
 to cope with the experimental conditions and
observables of a Quark Gluon Plasma reaction. One of the main assets of the ALICE experiment with respect to
the other LHC experiments is the particle identification.
The large Time-Of-Flight (TOF) detector is the
main particle identification detector of the ALICE experiment. The overall time resolution, better that 80 ps, allows the particle identification
over a large momentum range (up to 2.5 GeV/c for pi/K and 4 GeV/c for K/p).
The TOF makes use of the Multi-gap Resistive Plate Chamber (MRPC), a detector
with high efficiency, fast response and intrinsic time resoltion better than 40 ps.
The TOF detector embeds a highly-segmented trigger system that
exploits the fast rise time and the relatively low noise of the MRPC strips, in order to identify several event topologies.
This work aims to provide detailed description of the TOF trigger system. The results achieved in the 2009 cosmic-ray run at CERN are presented to show the performances and readiness of TOF trigger system.
The proposed trigger configuration for the proton-proton and Pb-Pb beams are detailed as well with estimates of the
efficiencies and purity samples.


In contemporary liberal thought, "tolerance" has come to be redefined as a synonym for ethical neutrality: refusal to judge among competing views of goods and evils. The result of this extreme relativism has been a foundations crisis in law, politics, education, and other areas of social life. In this lucidly written and brilliantly argued volume, J. Budziszewski attempts to reserve the self-destruction of modern liberalism by showing that true tolerance is not only consistent with taking stands about objective goods and evils, but actually requires doing so. Tolerance, falsely understood as ethical neutrality, has the paradoxical effect of crippling policy choice by divesting it of the moral and practical framework on which it depends. By painstakingly and exhaustively dissecting each of the many neutralist arguments, Budziszewski demonstrates that real neutrality is logically impossible. Confronted by alternative views, the neutralist at best obscures his own underlying judgments, and at worst abandons all possible defense against fanatics who oppose both true equality and true tolerance. "True Tolerance" is both a rigorous critique, and a polemic undertaken in the name of a positive, twenty-first century vision of liberalism. Budziszewsky outlines a view of true tolerance that assumes a relationship with an older liberal tradition and a codependence with other virtues, including humility, mercy, charity, respect, and courtesy. This vision is rooted in historical experience and rational conviction about what is good. In the spirit of liberal and classical theorists of virtue from Aristotle to John Locke to Alasdair MacIntyre, the virtue of true tolerance is much more than a readiness to follow known rules; it includes a developed ability to distinguish good rules from bad, and to choose rightly even where there are no rules or where rules seem to contradict each other. Accessibly written and intended for a wide readership, True Tolerance will be of special interest to political theorists and activists, and to sociologists and philosophers.


Abstract In the frame of the protection of the environment that is continuously polluted by the massive use of chemical pesticides, we carried out a joint R&D project, on the development of biological pesticides using local bacterial strains isolated from Qatar and Tunisia. Microbial bioinsecticides were shown to be an efficient tool to control plant pests as well as human disease vectors. The Bacillus thuringiensis elta-endotoxins are the most valuable bioinsecticides currently used in commercial agriculture, forest management and mosquito control. This Gram-positive, spore-forming bacterium produces parasporal crystals composed of insecticidal elta-endotoxins. They exhibit a high specificity of insecticidal toxicity towards lepidopteran, coleopteran and dipteran insect species. From both Qatar and Tunisia, hundreds of strains of B. thuringiensis were isolated and studied and their bioinsecticides coding genes cry were cloned and characterized. Among the Tunisian strains, we evidenced the abundance of the kurstaki subspecies active on the lepidopteran olive tree pathogenic insect P. oleae, whereas from the Qatari soil samples, we found large heterogeneity among the isolated strains. Moreover Bti strains, used for the control of disease vector mosquitoes, were more abundant in the Qatari Bt strain collection than in the Tunisian one. On the other hand, very particular Qatari B. thuringiensis strains synthesizing particular crystals and harbouring different plasmid profiles and probably synthesizing novel insecticides were evidenced. Besides the genetic and molecular investigations, the development of a fermentation process for B. thuringiensis bioinsecticides production was also carried out and allowed us to do the scale-up of the production of bioinsecticides in a 430 litre fermenter. Important quantities of biological and environmentally safe insecticides were produced and applied successfully in the field.


The technological challenges of securing networks are great, as recently witnessed in widespread denial of service and virus attacks. The human reaction to these attacks may be either a loss of trust or a willingness to tolerate increasing risk having weathered one assault. Examining human and computer interaction with a focus on evaluations, the human response to loss of trust is a key part of the search for more secure networks. The success of current efforts to design appropriate security mechanisms depends as much on an understanding of human extensions of trust to computers as it does on an understanding of underlying mathematics. However, the former has not been sufficiently examined.In this work we survey the findings in social psychology and philosophy with respect to trust. We introduce three hypotheses that remain unanswered with respect to the manner in which humans react to computers. We discuss potential design revisions in light of findings from other disciplines. Then we conclude by noting that research which empowers users to be their own security manager may be based on a fundamentally flawed view of human- computer interaction. We close by encouraging designers of computer security systems to examine the humans, which these systems are intended to empower, and recommend that any security system be built on the basis of understanding of human trust provided by the social sciences.


This thesis is concerned with the projection and valuation of the Egyptian social security pension system which represents the first and main pillar in pension provision in Egypt. The system is officially a funded defined benefit one and is managed by two public Funds on behalf of the state. As a result of the pre-funding strategy, the two Funds have been accumulating a large amount of assets, which makes them important institutional investors with certain characteristics. Larger contributions from employees and/or employers or cutting back some benefits cannot be recommended by the system's actuary in the event of an actuarial deficit for many political, economic and social reasons. Actuarial deficits can be dealt with by two methods, the first is higher interest rates on the invested funds from the National Investment Bank (NIB). The second is a transfer from the Treasury to shoulder the actuarial deficit alongside the annual subsidy given to improve the level of benefits. This strategy raises four very important questions. The first is whether the system's expected annual cash flow is sustainable under different demographic and economic scenarios, particularly whether the system will face any cash flow liquidity shortage in the near future. The second is how much the expected annual subsidy will be. The third is what is the required rate of interest on the invested funds to achieve the funding objective of covering 100% of the liabilities. The fourth is whether the current contribution rates are fair and adequate for new entrants at certain ages. In answering these questions a pension projection and valuation model is developed. This involves analysing and modelling the relevant demographic and economic factors in order to project them. It is found that the system will face cash flow deficits unless it liquidates some of its assets over the projection period. It is also found that the current contribution rates are more than enough to cover the cost of new entrants, even with delays in starting work as a result of the high unemployment. It is also found that a moderate rate of interest of around 6-7% per annum with salary growth of around 8-9% per annum can keep the funding level at 100% of the liabilities. Finally, a set of recommendations are made for reforming the system to enable it to survive the changes it faces in an uncertain economic and demographic environment. Some suggestions for further
work are also discussed.


Introduction: Cerebral vein thrombosis is a rare complication of nephrotic syndrome (NS).We report a known case of NS with hemorrhagic thrombosis. Case report: A boy with previous history of NS was admitted with headache and decrease of level of consciousness and his brain images were revealed hemorrhagic thrombosis Conclusions: Cerebral vein thrombosis must be considered in patients with history of NS (especially in new cases and during of relapses) and prevention of hemoconcentration is very important to decrease thrombosis risk.


The effect of advanced resonance self-shielding models incorporated in the developmental version of the DRAGON code on estimation of reactivity coefficients of a typical CANDU-6 lattice is evaluated. The advanced self-shielding models are based on either equivalence in the dilution model or on a subgroup approach. Under equivalence in dilution models, the generalized Stamm'ler model was used with or without Riemann integration and Nordheim model. Among the subgroup approaches, the Ribon extended and the statistical self-shielding models were used. The Ribon extended self-shielding model uses mathematical probability tables, while the statistical self-shielding model uses physical probability tables. The analysis focused on four important transients, which include the fuel temperature coefficient, coolant void reactivity, pressure tube ingression, and calandria tube ingression. Four burnup stages for estimation of reactivity have been identified. To benchmark the results obtained using DRAGON, the results obtained were compared with those of MCNP5. These analyses indicated that, of all the self-shielding models, the resonance self-shielding model based on the subgroup approach using physical probability tables seems to perform well for all situations and can be recommended for CANDU-6 analyses using the code DRAGON.


Entity linking links entity mentions in text to the corresponding entities in a knowledge base (KB) and has many applications in both open domain and specific domains. For example, in the recruitment domain, linking employer names in job postings or resumes to entities in an employer KB is very important to many business applications. In this paper, we focus on this employer name normalization task, which has several unique challenges: handling employer names from both job postings and resumes, leveraging the corresponding location context, and handling name variations, irrelevant input data, and noises in the KB. We present a system called CompanyDepot which contains a machine learning based approach CompanyDepot-ML and a heuristic approach CompanyDepot-H to address these challenges in three steps: (1) searching for candidate entities based on a customized search engine for the KB; (2) ranking the candidate entities using learning-to-rank methods or heuristics; and (3) validating the top-ranked entity via binary classification or heuristics. While CompanyDepot-ML shows better extendability and flexibility, CompanyDepot-H serves as a strong baseline and useful way to collect training data for CompanyDepot-ML. The proposed system achieves 2.5%-21.4% higher coverage at the same precision level compared to an existing system used at CareerBuilder over multiple real-world datasets. Applying the system to a similar task of academic institution name normalization further shows the generalization ability of the method.


Objective: To evaluate a learner-centered, elective course complementing pharmacotherapeutic instruction.
Design: A one credit-hour elective as developed. Enrolled students were responsible for article selection and to lead in-class discussions. A content-validated discussant rubric was use to peer review each discussant.
Assessment: Enrolled students kept current on the literature and nurtured an obligation to themselves and their peers to be prepared on a weekly basis to discuss the selected article. Discussion demonstrated varied opinions and provided ample opportunity for students to use technical/clinical language. Also, the course allowed for thinking at a higher level, discussing complex ideas/issues, and developing oral communication skills.
Conclusions: This learner-centered approach allowed the enrolled students to take ownership of their learning and complement their learning from the traditional mode of learning in two pharmacotherapeutic courses. It encouraged the students to investigate the clinical literature as a means to complement and enhance their knowledge.

Type: Note


A significant part of the System-on-a-Chip (SoC) design problem is in the correct composition of intellectual property (IP) blocks. Ever increasing clock frequencies make it impossible for signals to reach from one end of the chip to the other end within a clock cycle; this invalidates the so-called synchrony assumption, where the timing of computation and communication are assumed to be negligible, and happen within a clock cycle. Missing the timing deadline causes this violation, and may have ramifications on the overall system reliability. Although latency insensitive protocols (LIPs) have been proposed as a solution to the problem of signal propagation over long interconnects, they have their own limitations. A more generic solution comes in the form of globally asynchronous locally synchronous (GALS) designs. However, composing synchronous IP blocks either over long multicycle delay interconnects or over asynchronous communication links for a GALS design is a challenging task, especially for ensuring the functional correctness of the overall design. In this thesis, we analyze various solutions for solving the synchronization problems related with IP composition. We present alternative LIPs, and provide a validation framework for ensuring their correctness. Our notion of correctness is that of latency equivalence between a latency insensitive design and its synchronous counterpart. We propose a trace-based framework for analyzing synchronous behaviors of different IPs, and provide a correct-by-construction protocol for their transformation to a GALS design. We also present a design framework for facilitating GALS designs. In the framework, Kahn process network specifications are refined into correct-by-construction GALS designs. We present formal definitions for the refinements towards different GALS architectures. For facilitating GALS in distributed embedded software, we analyze certain subclasses of synchronous designs using a Pomset-based semantic model that allows for desynchronization toward GALS.*
*This project received support from CCF-0417340 (CRCD), CCF-0237947 (CAREER), and CCF-0702316 (NSF).


Latent Dirichlet analysis, or topic modeling, is a flexible latent variable framework for modeling high-dimensional sparse count data. Various learning algorithms have been developed in recent years, including collapsed Gibbs sampling, variational inference, and maximum a posteriori estimation, and this variety motivates the need for careful empirical comparisons. In this paper, we highlight the close connections between these approaches. We find that the main differences are attributable to the amount of smoothing applied to the counts. When the hyperparameters are optimized, the differences in performance among the algorithms diminish significantly. The ability of these algorithms to achieve solutions of comparable accuracy gives us the freedom to select computationally efficient approaches. Using the insights gained from this comparative study, we show how accurate topic models can be learned in several seconds on text corpora with thousands of documents.


PAGE Localized calcium elevations known as calcium puffs or sparks are cellular signals arising from cooperative activity of clusters of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptors (IP3Rs) or ryanodine receptors (RyRs) located at calcium release sites on the endoplasmic or sarcoplasmic reticulum membrane. When Markov chain models of these intracellular calcium-regulated calcium channels are coupled via a mathematical representation of the calcium microdomain, simulated calcium release sites may exhibit the phenomenon of "stochastic calcium excitability"' where the IP3Rs or RyRs open and close in a concerted fashion. Although the biophysical theory relating the kinetics of single channels to the collective phenomena of puffs and sparks is only beginning to be developed, Markov chain models of coupled intracellular channels give insight into the dynamics of calcium puffs and sparks. Interestingly, under some conditions simulated puffs and sparks can be observed even when the single channel model used does not include slow calcium inactivation or any long-lived closed state. In this case termination of the localized calcium elevation occurs when all of the intracellular channels at a release site simultaneously close through a process called stochastic attrition. This dissertation investigates the statistical properties of stochastic attrition viewed as an absorption time on a terminating Markov chain that represents a calcium release site composed of two-state channels that are activated by calcium. Assuming that the local calcium concentration experienced by a channel depends only on the number of open channels at the calcium release site, the probability distribution function for the time until stochastic attrition occurs is derived and an analytical formula for the expectation of this random variable is presented. Also explored is how the contribution of stochastic attrition to the termination of calcium puffs and sparks depends on the number of channels at a release site, the source amplitude of the channels, the background calcium concentration, channel kinetics, and the cooperativity of calcium binding. This dissertation also studies whether single channel models with calcium inactivation are less sensitive to the details of release site ultrastructure than models that lack a slow calcium-inactivation process. Release site dynamics obtained from simulated calcium release sites composed of instantaneously coupled calcium-regulated calcium channels whose random spatial locations were chosen from a uniform distribution on a disc of specified radius are compared to simulations with channels arranged on hexagonal lattices. Analysis of puff/spark statistics confirms that puffs and sparks are less sensitive to the spatial organization of release sites when the single channel model includes a slow inactivation process. The validity of several different mean-field reductions that do not explicitly account for the details of release site ultrastructure is also investigated. Calcium release site models are stochastic automata networks that involve many functional transitions, that is, the transition probabilities of each channel depend on the local calcium concentration and thus the state of the other channels. A Kronecker structured representation for calcium release site models is presented and benchmark stationary distribution calculations using both exact and approximate iterative numerical solution techniques that leverage this structure are performed. When it is possible to obtain an exact solution, response measures such as the number of channels in a particular state converge more quickly using the iterative numerical methods than occupation measures calculated via Monte Carlo simulation. When an exact solution is not feasible, iterative approximate methods based on the Power method may be used, with performance similar to Monte Carlo estimates.


Software-reliant systems permeate all aspects of modern society. The resulting interconnectedness and associated complexity has resulted in a proliferation of diverse stakeholders with conflicting goals. Thus, contemporary software engineering is plagued by incentive conflicts, in settling on design features, allocating resources during the development of products, and allocating computational resources at runtime. In this position paper, we describe some of these problems and outline a research agenda in bridging to the economic theory of mechanism design, which seeks to align incentives in multi-agent systems with private information and conflicting goals. The ultimate goal is to advance a principled methodology for the design of incentive-compatible approaches to manage the dynamic processes of software engineering.


This article addresses changes in Norwegian greeting rituals during the last century seen from two viewpoints: First, an article in Maal og Minne (Lundeby 1995) against the answers to a questionnaire on greetings and address forms conducted by Norwegian Ethnological Research (NEG) in 2008. Secondly, the claims from the NEG corpus are tested against a modern text corpus with a wider age distribution. Using linguistic theories from semantics and pragmatics, the study finds that, with some exceptions, greetings with a semantic content related to religious belief, situation, task and time are replaced by greetings that are similar to primary interjections in that they no longer carry descriptive meaning. Because of that, they function as short, quick and context-free greetings to anyone, even to strangers, which makes it questionable to what degree they increase relational intimacy as claimed by Lundeby. The new greetings are described as empty, superficial and informal by the NEG-informants; the reasons for this, however, are thought to be their lack of the information, formality and tradition that the older greetings possess.


We introduce vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) photolysis at 172 nm as a more efficient process for bromate and chlorate removal than conventional ultraviolet (UV) photolysis at 254 nm. We discuss the effects of pH and coexisting salts on VUV photolysis. In experiments at various pH levels, the VUV photolysis performance decreased in the alkaline region for pH above 7. Furthermore, nitrate and inorganic carbon compromised the performance, probably owing to the generation of active oxidant species (such as hydroxyl radicals and carbonate radicals) during the photolysis. However, photochemical experiments conducted in pure water revealed that VUV photolysis is 4.1-fold more energy efficient than UV photolysis using a low-pressure mercury lamp. Although the performance of VUV photolysis in tap water was about 40% less efficient than that in pure water, mainly owing to the presence of bicarbonate ions, the performance was still higher than that of UV photolysis in pure water. However, VUV photolysis may not be feasible in tap water with a high concentration of nitrate ions, because nitrate produces a stronger inhibition effect than other salts.


The overwhelming amount of various monitoring and log data generated in multitier IT systems makes problem determination one of the most expensive and labor-intensive tasks in IT Services arena. Particularly the initial step of problem classification is complicated by error propagation making secondary problems surfacing on multiple dependent resources. In this paper, we propose to automate the process of problem classification by leveraging machine learning. The main focus is to categorize the problem a user experiences by recognizing the real root cause specificity leveraging available training data such as monitoring and logs across the systems. We transform the structure of the problem into a hierarchy using an existing taxonomy. We then propose an efficient hierarchical incremental learning algorithm which is capable of adjusting its internal local classifier parameters in realtime. Comparing to the traditional batch learning algorithms, this online solution decreases the computational complexity of the training process by learning from new instances on an incremental fashion. Our approach significantly reduces the memory required to store the training instances. We demonstrate the efficiency of our approach by learning hierarchical problem patterns for several issues occurring in distributed web applications. Experimental results show that our approach substantially outperforms previous methods.


Background Limited past research has stated that selective exposure is negatively correlated with decision quality and has demonstrated that when participants where steered into making a poor preliminary decision they made a worse final decision. However, the effect of free choice concerning the relationship between selective exposure and decision quality has not been investigated before. Aim The aim of the PhD was to address the gap in literature, examine in depth and reveal the true nature of the relationship between decision quality and selective exposure. Based on the limited literature and unilateral methodological designs of previous research, it was hypothesized that decision quality is positively correlated with selective exposure. Methods To test this hypothesis six consecutive studies where conducted, were participants were allowed to freely make a preliminary decision as opposed to preceding research. Additionally, the impact of specific moderators was assessed for the first time according to their effect on selective exposure and consequently on decision quality. Additionally, two novel decision-making tasks were employed to measure selective exposure, a survival scenario paradigm and a nutrition value paradigm. Results The results of all studies revealed that the moderators examined significantly increased participants' degree of selective search and that selective exposure was positively correlated to the decision quality they exhibited during the completion of the decision-making exercises. Conclusion In conclusion, the main contribution to the literature is that it was shown that when participants were allowed to choose freely their preliminary decision, selective exposure and decision quality were positively correlated. Such finding has not been found before. Finally, the knowledge acquired from this thesis can be applied in ultimately all areas were decision-making takes place. Such areas include minor importance contexts such as consumer behavior and spread out to more significant areas such as health practice or military action. It is essential for decision-makers to be allowed to choose freely between alternatives and not be restricted by non-flexible decision-making interests or policies.


IT platforms as the foundation of digitized processes and products are vital in a digital economy. However, many companies' platforms are liabilities, not strategic assets because of their complexity. Consequently, companies initiate IT complexity reduction programs. But these technology-centric programs at best provide temporary relief. Soon after, companies' platforms become just as complex as before. Based on four case studies, we identify three non-technical drivers of platform complexity: (1) Lacking awareness of consequences business decisions have on platform complexity, (2) Lacking motivation to avoid platform complexity, (3) Lacking authority to protect platforms from complexity. We propose measures to address these drivers that can help achieve more sustainable impact on platform complexity: (1) Removing information asymmetries between those creating complexity and those dealing with complexity, (2) Redefining incentives to include long-term effects on platform complexity, (3) Redressing power imbalances between those who create complexity and those who have to manage it.


The 1980s was a turbulent period for the financial services industry. The federal safety net-particularly deposit insurance-which was heralded by many for sustaining industry stability for nearly half a century, was suddenly criticized as a major cause of many of the industry's problems. In response to numerous proposals to modify the safety net, Congress enacted the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991 (FDICIA). The new legislation emphasized the need to reform the safety net by shifting more of the risk of bank failures to depositors and away from the insurance fund and taxpayers. In a previous article appearing in this Journal, Professor Krishna Mantripragada discussed the costs and benefits of depositor discipline and evaluated the attributes of moving from the dollar-based insurance of FDICIA to a maturity-based coverage that insured only short-term deposits. In this Article, Mr. Evanoff expands the discussion of market discipline and recommends an adjustment to the current bank regulatory structure that utilizes an alternative form of discipline. Evanoff emphasizes the unique attributes of subordinated debt and claims that a regulatory structure relying on an increased role for subordinated debt in banks' capital structure requirements would be preferable to either the sizeor maturity-based forms of depositor discipline. He contrasts the effectiveness of the proposed regulatory structure with alternatives relying on depositor-imposed market discipline by analyzing the behavioral changes the proposed structure would instill in bankers, depositors, and regulators.


Ontology-based data access (OBDA) is a novel paradigm facilitating access to relational data, realized by linking data sources to an ontology by means of declarative mappings. DL-Lite_R, which is the logic underpinning the W3C ontology language OWL 2 QL and the current language of choice for OBDA, has been designed with the goal of delegating query answering to the underlying database engine, and thus is restricted in expressive power. E.g., it does not allow one to express disjunctive information, and any form of recursion on the data. The aim of this paper is to overcome these limitations of DL-Lite_R, and extend OBDA to more expressive ontology languages, while still leveraging the underlying relational technology for query answering. We achieve this by relying on two well-known mechanisms, namely conservative rewriting and approximation, but significantly extend their practical impact by bringing into the picture the mapping, an essential component of OBDA. Specifically, we develop techniques to rewrite OBDA specifications with an expressive ontology to "equivalent" ones with a DL-Lite_R ontology, if possible, and to approximate them otherwise. We do so by exploiting the high expressive power of the mapping layer to capture part of the domain semantics of rich ontology languages. We have implemented our techniques in the prototype system OntoProx, making use of the state-of-the-art OBDA system Ontop and the query answering system Clipper, and we have shown their feasibility and effectiveness with experiments on synthetic and real-world data.


BACKGROUND
Across the world, the economic and health costs of diabetes are rising at an alarming rate. Each year in the United States, billions of dollars are spent on T2 Diabetes mellitus (T2DM) treatments, but such treatments are not always effective and can lead to adverse events. Many pharmacological treatments exist to control the primary and secondary symptoms of T2DM, but these medications are not always efficacious, do little to treat secondary T2DM symptoms, and often carry adverse side effects. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a form of alternative medicine that is becoming appealing to western healthcare systems because of its comprehensive, holistic approach to managing T2DM patients.

METHODS
Works across TCM printed texts, clinical trial databases, medical association practice guidelines, and the existing literature on TCM and western diabetes treatments (in print and online) are reviewed.

RESULTS
Conventional pharmaceutical therapies for T2DM are not efficacious enough to maintain satisfactory blood glucose levels for all patients, and even patients who maintain stable blood glucose levels may still suffer from secondary T2DM symptoms as well as from the side effects of their medications. TCM therapies have demonstrated promising results in T2DM clinical studies without causing the types of side effects associated with standard pharmaceutical treatments. In addition, the economic burden of TCM diabetes treatments on patients and payers is oftentimes less than that of pharmaceutical regimens.

CONCLUSION
TCM approaches can be a viable alternative approach to treatment in the modern U.S. healthcare landscape, but a number of obstacles impede its assimilation into western health systems.


To assess body proportions in girls with Turner syndrome (TS) during long term GH treatment, height, sitting height (SH), hand (Hand) and foot (Foot) lengths, and biacromial (Biac) and biiliacal (Biil) diameters were measured in 68 girls with TS participating in a GH dose-response trial. These previously untreated girls with TS, aged 2-11 yr, were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 GH dosage groups: group A, 4 IU/m2 x day; group B, first year 4 and thereafter 6 IU/m2 x day; group C, first year 4, second year 6, and thereafter 8 IU/m2 x day. Seven-year data were evaluated to assess the effect of GH treatment on body proportions during childhood. In addition, data from all girls who had reached adult height were evaluated to determine the effect on the adult body proportions. All results were adjusted for age and sex and expressed as SD scores using reference values of healthy Dutch girls. To describe the proportions of SH, Hand, Foot, Biac, and Biil to height, these values were adjusted for the SD score of height and were expressed as shape values, using the formula, e.g. for SH: shape SH = (SH SD score - height SD score)/square root(2 - 2 x correlation coefficient between SH and height in the reference population). Furthermore, SD scores using references of untreated girls with TS were calculated for height and SH. Values less than -2 or more than +2 were considered outside the normal range. At baseline, the shape values of all measurements were significantly higher than zero, but most mean shape values were still within the normal range. Seven-year data of 64 girls and adult height data of 32 girls showed that an increase in height was accompanied by an even higher increase in Foot, resulting in mean SD scores above zero and shape values of +2 and higher. The increase in the shape value of Foot was significantly higher in groups B and C compared to that in group A after 7 yr of GH treatment, but there were no significant differences between the GH dosage groups in the girls who had reached adult height. The shape values of SH had decreased to values closer to zero after reaching adult height, especially in group A. A similar pattern in the relationship of SH to height was seen using references of girls with TS. No significant changes in the other proportions were found after reaching adult height. In conclusion, on the average, untreated girls with TS have relatively large trunk, hands, and feet, and broad shoulders and pelvis compared to height. The increase in height after long term GH treatment is accompanied by an even higher increase in Foot and a moderate improvement of the disproportion between height and SH. Recently published reference data from untreated adults with TS and the results of a different patient group receiving a comparable GH dosage suggest that the disproportionate growth of feet has to be considered a part of the natural development in TS, but might be influenced by higher GH dosages. The development of large feet can play a role in the decision of the girl to discontinue GH treatment in the last phase of growth.


Avian eggshell is a relatively simple model of biomineralization processes. This biomaterial consists mainly of a mineral part made of columnar calcite crystals and a pervading organic matrix. The organization of eggshell microstructure is determined by genetic, physiological and external factors. Eggshell microstructural characteristics can inform us about biological and physicochemical processes affecting its formation. Quantitative microstructure information can be efficiently determined from two-dimensional diffraction patterns of polycrystalline samples. The present paper analyses the potential of this methodology as applied to microstructure characterization of fully dense polycrystalline materials such as avian eggshell. High correlation was found between parameters determined by X-ray diffraction, such as the number, size and intensity of reflection spots in Debye rings, and crystal size dimensions determined by means of optical microscopy. Crystal sizes can be calculated from these parameters following calibration using samples of the same material whose sizes are already known. Estimated error in crystal size measurements was within 5 %. In comparison with traditional methodologies ( e.g. , optical microscopy), this technique enabled much faster and more precise determination of microstructural information.


To cope with the large bandwidth and low-latency requirements, Virtual Reality (VR) systems are steering toward user-centric systems in which coding, streaming, and possibly rendering are personalized to the final user. The success of these user-centric VR systems mainly relies on the ability to anticipate viewers navigation. This has motivated a large attention in studying the prediction of user's movements in a VR experience. However, most of these work lack of a proper and exhaustive behavioural analysis in a VR scenario, leaving many key-behavioural questions unsolved and unexplored: Can some users be more predictable than others? Do users have their own way of navigating and how much is this affected by the video content features? Can we quantify the similarity of users navigation? Answering these questions is a crucial step toward the understanding of user's behaviour in VR; and it is the overall goal of this paper. By studying VR trajectories across different contents and through information-theoretic tools, we aim at characterizing navigation patterns both for each single viewer (profiling individually viewers - intra-user analysis) and for a multitude of viewers (identifying common patterns among viewers - inter-user analysis). For each of these proposed behavioural analyses, we describe the applied metrics and key observations that can be extrapolated.


Emily Ravenwood's article, "The Innocence of Children: Effects of Vulgarity in South Park," examines the way in which the appropriation of low culture into high art can operate to simultaneously raise and lower the cultural capital of the art in question. Usually, in definitions of high and low art vulgarity is understood as a negative representation. This dismissal is rooted in the linguistic and political relationship between vulgarity and perceived "lower class" realities. In the context of artistic representation, however, vulgarity can be a powerful weapon to enforce attention and awareness of foreign realities in a middle class audience. Authors of works deemed high art, such as Rabelais and Swift, freely use it so. A current example, which is in transition, or perhaps in suspension between high and low, is the television cartoon series South Park. The series provides for an excellent opportunity to examine the particular workings of vulgarity and to re-examine definitions of high and low art. The connection between the two categories and forms of artistic expression lies in the desire of those who define popularity to partake of the unpopular. South Park takes advantage of this connection. In the final analysis, however, South Park may have defeated its own aspirations to high art by appealing too much to the source of its vulgar and popular images, namely children. Emily Ravenwood, "The Innocence of Children: Effects of Vulgarity in South Park" page 2 of 9 CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 1.2 (1999):


Although distribution patterns of seabirds at sea have been described for decades, it remains difficult to identify the mechanisms underlying these patterns. For instance, researchers focusing on prey dispersion as the primary determinant of seabird distribution have found high variability in the spatial overlap of bird and prey aggregations, partially due to the scale-dependent nature of such associations. We conducted a study to identify how the behaviour of capelin Mallotus villosus, the primary prey species of all vertebrate predators in the Northwest Atlantic, influences the search tactics of Common Murres Uria aalge while acting as central-place foragers during chick-rearing. The study was conducted from 1998-2002 on and around Funk Island, the largest colony of murres in eastern Canada (∼ 400 000 breeding pairs , situated on the northeast coast of Newfoundland. We made direct measurements of (1) the distribution, a bundance and spatial and temporal persistence of capelin aggregations within the foraging range from the colony (∼ 100 km) in combination with (2) bio-physical habitat characteristics associated with capelin aggregations, and (3) individual- and population-level arrival and departure behaviour of murres from the colony. During July of 2000, capelin were found to be persistently abundant within specific 2.25 km blocks of transect ("hotspots"). Further study revealed that capelin persisted in hotspots due to bio-physical characteristics suitable for demersal spawning and for staging areas and foraging areas prior to and after spawning. Directions of return and departure flights of murres measured from the colony did not match during the same observation period (∼ 1h), indicating that murres departing the colony did not use information on prey distribution provided by the flight paths of flocks returning to the colony (Information Center Hypothesis). Specific, commuting routes (regular flight paths) of murres toward and away from capelin hotspots, however, were obvious at sea, and feeding murres consistently marked the location of these hotspots. This provided excellent conditions for murres to locate capelin from memory and by cueing to activities of conspecifics (local enhancement). Hotspots were persistent across years in this region, presumably allowing marine predators to learn the locations of hotspots, resulting in the use of traditional feeding grounds through generations. Hotspots of predators and prey promote energy transfer among trophic levels, a key ecosystem process. Human predators also concentrate fishing activities within these areas and, thus, there is a need to identify hotspots for protection. Persistent hotspots would be particularly amenable to the design of marine protected areas defined by the habitats of marine predators and their prey.


The host-SIMD style heterogeneous multi-processor architecture offers high computing performance and user friendly programmability. It explores both task level parallelism and data level parallelism by the on-chip multiple SIMD coprocessors. For embedded DSP applications with predictable computing feature, this architecture can be further optimized for performance, implementation cost and power consumption. The optimization could be done by improving the SIMD processing efficiency and reducing redundant memory accesses and data shuffle operations. This paper introduces one effective approach by designing a software programmable multi-bank memory system for SIMD processors. Both the hardware architecture and software programming model are described in this paper, with an implementation example of the BLAS syrk routine. The proposed memory system offers high SIMD data access flexibility by using lookup table based address generators, and applying data permutations on both DMA controller interface and SIMD data access. The evaluation results show that the SIMD processor with this memory system can achieve high execution efficiency, with only 10% to 30% overhead. The proposed memory system also saves the implementation cost on SIMD local registers, in our system, each SIMD core has only 8 128-bit vector registers.


Key features include: • Discussion of language in relation to various aspects of identity, such as those connected with nation and region, as well as in relation to social aspects such as social class and race. • A chapter on undertaking research that will equip students with appropriate research methods for their own projects. • An analysis of language and identity within the context of written as well as spoken texts. Language and Identity in Englishes examines the core issues and debates surrounding the relationship between English, language and identity. Drawing on a range of international examples from the UK, US, China and India, Clark uses both cutting-edge fieldwork and her own original research to give a comprehensive account of the study of language and identity. With its accessible structure, international scope and the inclusion of leading research in the area, this book is ideal for any student taking modules in language and identity or sociolinguistics.


Organizations today constantly have to discover new ways to be successful and respond to challenges. The employments of work forces who are motivated and willing to exhibit extra role behaviors are important for the survival of the organization. For hotel industry, operational employees must demonstrate such voluntary behaviors in delivering quality services to customers. However, it is becoming more difficult if this type of hotel employees resist exhibiting extra role behaviors or doing something that is beyond the requirement. Therefore, what motivates employees to engage in or exhibit citizenship behaviors has been one of the mainly critical issues faced by hoteliers. While potential factors that could encourage employees' positive attitudes and behaviors considered being the primary focus of interest to practitioners and academia, perceived justice from the fair treatment they have received from the organization is argued to be a strong motivational indicator for such behavior. Based on social exchange theory, cognitive consistency theory and beliefs attitudes-behavioral intentions model, this study proposed a framework connecting human resource diversity management practices, diversity receptiveness and organizational citizenship behavior. A total of 430 operational employees from large (5-star rated hotels) and medium-sized (3 and 4-star rated hotels) hotels, representing a response rate of 42.2%, participated in this study. Self-administered survey questionnaires were utilized in this study. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to test the hypotheses posited in this study. The regression results indicated that: (1) HRDM practices had a significant positive relationship with OCB (OCBl and OCBO), (2) HRDM practices were significantly related to diversity receptiveness, (3) diversity receptiveness were positively related to OCB (OCBl and OCBO) and (4) diversity receptiveness were found to mediate the relationship between HRDM practices and OCB (OCBl and OCBO). Theoretical and practical implications of the study as well as suggestions for future research were discussed.


The present paper treats the Carbon Nanotube Field Effect Transistors (CNFETs) in terms of new development as a possible future basic element for beyond CMOS technology used in ultra high scale integration ULSI. The CNFET is studied both in physical as well as technological point of views aiming a further understanding of the limitations to high integration density. The different types of carbon nanotubes (SWNT) and (MWNT) used for electronic and sensing devices are discussed and the limitations for a higher integration density are evidenced. The CNFET switching characteristics and the IV characteristics are discussed to evidence the power dissipation and the switching frequency.


This article examines the critical didactic incidents (CDIs) method used by European researchers in didactics. Originally designed by Flanagan (1954) in psychology, the CDIs method is based on qualitative accounts and analysis of critical moments in the teaching process when content is brought into play. The article reviews the use of critical incidents in educational research and then focuses on the epistemological aspect of its recasting in didactics. Criteria and guidelines for using the method are described, as well as some tenets for interpretation. The description emphasizes the fact that the CDIs method is anchored in a concern for developing depth of understanding of a particular phenomenon: the dynamics of the implicit negotiations between teacher and students regarding content issues and the co-construction of meanings that undergirds classroom interactions.


Background: The cognitive model of auditory hallucinations posits that the beliefs or appraisal of the voices plays an important role in the determination of consequent reactions. These beliefs are explored effectively through "Beliefs About Voices Questionnaire-Revised (BAVQ-R)." However, Hindi adaptation and psychometric evaluation of this tool are yet to be done. Hence, the present study aimed at translating the BAVQ-R in Hindi language and assessing the psychometric properties of the same. Methodology: The original version was translated in Hindi language using translation–back-translation method. This translated version of BAVQ-R was then administered to 51 schizophrenia patients with a history of active auditory hallucinations. All the participants were selected from Central India Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Rajnandgaon (Chhattisgarh), using purposive sampling technique. Initially, the informed consent was taken from the patients, followed by the administration of the Hindi version of BAVQ-R and Psychotic Symptom Rating Scale (PSYRATS). Finally, the psychometric properties, e.g., internal consistency reliability, divergent validity, and convergent validity were calculated. Results: The internal consistency reliability was within the range of 0.6–0.94, as indicated by Cronbach's alpha. The divergent validity was high as malevolent voices and engagement feelings and behavior towards the voices were negatively correlated (r = −0.56, P < 0.01), and benevolent voices significantly negatively correlated with resistance feeling and behavior towards the voices (r = −0.74, P < 0.01). Convergent validity was measured by correlating the subscales of BAVQ-R with the dimensions of PSYRATS. Pearson's correlation indicated significant associations between the dimensions of the two scales. Conclusion: The Hindi version of BAVQ-R has good psychometric properties. The tool has good internal consistency along with high divergent and convergent validity.


The Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence presented the 2007 Fall Symposium Series on Friday through Sunday, November 9–11, at the Westin Arlington Gateway, Arlington, Virginia. The titles of the seven symposia were (1) AI and Consciousness: Theoretical Foundations and Current Approaches, (2) Artificial Intelligence for Prognostics, (3) Cognitive Approaches to Natural Language Processing, (4) Computational Approaches to Representation Change during Learning and Development, (5) Emergent Agents and Socialities: Social and Organizational Aspects of Intelligence, (6) Intelligent Narrative Technologies, and (7) Regarding the "Intelligence" in Distributed Intelligent Systems.


As defined in my previous work, (un)reliability is one of five types of hypothesis or integration mechanism, whereby readers account for textual incongruities. In principle, we may always appeal to alternative logics of resolution: ambiguous data may be attributed to generic convention, as in the detective story, and/or to functional drives, like surprise, no less than to the teller's blind spots. What distinguishes the perspectival or the unreliability hypothesis is that it brings discordant elements into pattern by attributing them to the peculiarities of the speaker through whom the world is mediated. This links up with Meir Sternberg's model of how fictional communication works through quotation. To infer unreliability is to make sense of the text at a quotational remove, with the mediator as ironized quotee set into the overall narrative for a purpose. And the ultimate quoter along the chain of transmission is the author, our frame-sharer and our normative reference-point for every intermediate viewpoint. To test and illustrate these relations anew, they are extended here beyond the traditional semiotic boundaries of language, so that mediation extends to the very medium. My test case is a dramatic monologue in which the narrator manifests (un)reliability through verbalization of a visual artwork (through ekphrasis, in short). Here the difficulties of translating between media or art forms intersect with those of managing a quote within a quote. Semiotic and perspectival complexities arise together. Furthermore, to quote or re-present an artwork in words is to frame one global act of communication within another. The perspectives involved in visual discourse—painter versus beholder—are thereby reset into the verbal discourse about the visual discourse. So, in ekphrasis, the quoting chain goes from literary author to narrator to plastic artist, with their respective ends, skills, vehicles, audiences, and at times with further mediators en route. Ekphrastic speakers can therefore betray themselves—as this one does—in more ways than usual, against more diverse (e.g., aesthetic) norms and to richer ironic effects. In my example, Blake Morrison's "Teeth" (appended below), the issues and disparities of point of view multiply even further. Due to a strategic allusion to Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess," the modern speaker unknowingly echoes the Renaissance Duke, and the Duchess's picture hovers behind the re-presentation of the modern artwork. In such light, readers infer that the monologist has similarly murdered his wife once we catch and decode the underlying intertextual cum intermedia allusion. This goes to show not only that (un)reliability hinges on reading but also that different orders of (un)reliability (e.g., between flat and fine judgments, as on the speaker here) correlate with different orders of reading.


Time is always marching forward. We have again reached the quinquennial changing of the guard at the Monthly. It was a great pleasure for me to serve during 2011 as the Monthly's Editor-Elect. This marks my first of 50 issues as Editor, and I wish to use this opportunity to take a look both backwards and forwards. The Monthly, its readers, and the MAA owe a huge debt of gratitude to my predecessor, Professor Daniel J. Velleman of Amherst College. Few people understand the daunting task of managing this publication. The Monthly receives somewhere between 800 and 1000 submissions annually, and we are able to publish less than 10% of the manuscripts we receive. The process of juggling submissions, Associate Editors' reports, requests for referees, referees' reports, and sometimes multiple revisions, can be mind boggling. As many Monthly authors would profess, Dan was a master at whipping an accepted article into publishable shape. While many authors were frustrated by being asked to revise a paper as many as three times after it was accepted, the end result was unmistakably an article of the highest expository quality. I thank Dan for his unending help during the transition and am glad he has agreed to remain on the Editorial Board for another 5-year term. The Monthly remains the world's most-read mathematics journal; this is in no small part due to the efforts of Dan during his Editorship. It would be a terrible omission for me to not also thank Dan's Editorial Assistant of 5 years, Nancy Board. We wish her well as she heads to New Mexico to begin her well-deserved retirement. In the ever-changing world of academic publication, the future of the Monthly remains bright. The beginning of my term as Editor-Elect saw the adoption by the Monthly of the Editorial Manager System for manuscript management. I thank the authors of submitted papers and referees for their patience with the system during its initial months of operation. While isolated problems and glitches do occur, we are confident that Editorial Manager has allowed us improve our administrative function. As the year unfolds, I do not think you will notice many changes in the Monthly, but as with all organizations, there will be some. The incoming Editorial Board consists of 38 members. Of these, 19 are new appointments. Representation on the Board by members of most underrepresented groups has increased drastically. Moreover, the number of Board members with expertise in Applied Mathematics has increased from 1 to 3. The members of the Board hail from 22 states (including the District of Columbia and Alaska), Puerto Rico, Australia, and Germany. Of note in the group are Sergei Tabachnikov (Notes Editor), Jeffery Nunemacher (Book Reviews Editor), and Doug Hensley, Gerald Edgar, and Doug West (Problems Editors). I wish to thank Sam Houston State University, most notably Provost Jaime Hebert, for providing the funds to renovate a set of offices we will use over the next 5 years. Bonnie Ponce has joined our staff as my Editorial Assistant. Please do not hesitate to contact us at email@example.com when you have questions or concerns. I look forward to serving you over the next 5 years.


Four books written by social scientists and published in 2007 are reviewed: The Trials of Abu Ghraib: An Expert Witness Account of Shame and Honor, by Stjepan Mestrovic; The Lucifer Effect, by Philip Zimbardo; Torture and the Twilight of Empire: From Algiers to Baghdad, by Marnia Lazreg; and Torture and Democracy, by Darius Rejali. Prior research on torture has left unsettled the question of the importance of training and direct orders as causes of torture, and the role of liberal democratic institutions in preventing torture. The four books demonstrate that the Abu Ghraib torturers did not act on their initiative but were encouraged to commit torture by their superior officers and by the effects of their social environment. The torturers did not receive formal training in methods but did receive informal instruction from CIA and Guantanamo interrogators. While democratic states use torture less frequently than nondemocratic ones, they nevertheless do use torture sometimes when faced with severe threats to security. Of the four books, Rejali's Torture and Democracy stands out for its depth of research and quality of analysis.


The first aim of this PhD thesis was to dissect the role of Quantitative Trait Loci (QTLs) involved in the resistance to Oidium neolycopersici identified in tomato wild species
Solanum neorickii G1.1061. A F2 population and several advanced backcrosses (BC) originated from cross between S. neorickii and the susceptible S. lycopersicon cv
Monyemaker, were used to fine map Ol-qtl2 and Ol-qtl3 loci using CAPS markers. The location of Ol-qtl2 on chromosome 12, narrowed down in a region of 8 cM, explains 30% of
the phenotypic variation. Ol-qtl3 was a false positive. The Ol-qtl2 locus was associated to a region where the Lv gene (conferring resistance to Leveillula taurica) is located. To clone the QTL a genetic and physical mapping approach in the region of interest was performed. An epistatic locus that interact with the Ol-qtl2 on chromosome 3 of S. neorickii was also identified. The second aim was to explore the interaction system tomato-late blight. In
particular, tomato plants transformed with the R1 gene were inoculated with the host and the non-host pathogen races. The R1 resistance gene transcribes for a protein that confer
resistance to P. infestans race 1 in potato (Ballvora et al. 2002). A Suppression Subtractive Hybridization (SSH) was used to generate a cDNA library enriched for sequences transcriptin a resistant R1-tomato plants inoculated with late blight. A total of 100 clones were obtained and 82 partial cDNA sequences were submitted to international
database (Solanaceae Genomic Network; SGN: http://www.sgn.cornell.edu and National
Center for Biotechnology Information; NCBI: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ). Fifty-six sequences showed similarity to plant annotated sequences. Of these, 39% were
previously characterized as either defense- or stress-associated genes. A fine annotation was performed for each gene. The aim of this experiment was to understand which gene/s was/were involved in the signal transduction process during the interaction of R1 gene with the P. infestans race 1. Based on the annotation results, further analyses were conducted on ten clones. The sequences of these clones were used to design primers to perform Real Time PCR experiments. In particular, sequence 21 (Catalase_like), 37 (putative receptor-like serine-threonine protein kinase) and 47 (Beta glucosidase) gave the best results.


STUDY OBJECTIVE--The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between water fluoride concentration and the incidence of hip fracture, since evidence on this is at present inconsistent. DESIGN--Numbers of hospital admissions for fractures of proximal femur were obtained from hospital activity analysis data for the years 1978-1982. The fracture rates were compared with water fluoride concentrations in 39 county districts of England and Wales (fluoride concentrations had been measured in these districts between 1969 and 1973 as part of the British Regional Heart Study). PATIENTS--During the study period, 4121 men and 16,272 women aged 45 years and over were discharged from hospital after hip fracture. RESULTS--Poor correlations were found between discharge rates and both total (r = 0.16, p = 0.34) and natural (r = 0.01, p = 0.95) water fluoride concentrations. CONCLUSIONS--Water fluoridation to levels of around 1 mg/litre is unlikely to reduce hip fracture incidence markedly in this country.


Metal-halide perovskites (MHPs) exhibit excellent properties for application in optoelectronic devices. The bottleneck for their incorporation is the lack of long-term stability such as degradation due to external conditions (heat, light, oxygen, moisture, and mechanical stress), but the occurrence of phase transitions also affects their performance. Structural phase transitions are often influenced by phonon modes. Hence, an insight into both the structure and lattice dynamics is vital to assess the potential of MHPs. In this study, GIWAXS and Raman spectroscopy are applied, supported by density functional theory calculations, to investigate the apparent manifestation of structural phase transitions in the MHP CsPbBr3. Macroscopically, CsPbBr3 undergoes phase transitions between a cubic (α), tetragonal (β), and orthorhombic (γ) phase with decreasing temperature. However, microscopically, it has been argued that only the γ phase exists, while the other phases exist as averages over length and time scales within distinct temperature ranges. Here, direct proof is provided for this conjecture by analyzing both theoretical diffraction patterns and the evolution of the tilting angle of the PbBr6 octahedra from molecular dynamics simulations. Moreover, sound agreement between experimental and theoretical Raman spectra allowed to identify the Raman active phonon modes and to investigate their frequency as a function of temperature. As such, this work increases the understanding of the structure and lattice dynamics of CsPbBr3 and similar MHPs.


When speakers need to communicate a piece of information in which they allocate all the components the same degree of informational density – especially the components expressing the state of the world described and the entities associated with it – they rely on linguistic mechanisms that may differ radically from those employed in speech-acts that involve a rhematic element (rather dense informationally) linked to a thematic element (rather thin informationally). In languages where existential predication does not require a verb of existence with the subject as the thematic element, this type of construction is well adapted to the thetic communicative intention, since it is organized around a noun phrase conveying rhematic information that is not connected to any thematic element apart from the world, or the situation. Since this element is not instantiated linguistically, or at least not by expressions capable of referring, the structure of this kind of existential predication is monadic. This is the most striking difference between the formal correlates of thetic constructions and those of the dyadic construction with rheme and theme. The Sikuani language makes a great deal of use of verb nominalization machinery (which provides a way to combine in the most parsimonious way the state of affairs described and the entities associated with it) in order to fulfill the goal of thetic communication. In particular, by playing with these mechanisms this language manages to modulate the degree of semantic reification of the state of the world described by the nominalized verb. Consequently a nominalized form with a thetic function becomes able to express semantic configurations (events, states, etc.) similar to those normally expressed by finite verbs.


A BSTRACT. Vegetative filters (VF) are used to remove sediment and other pollutants from overland flow. When modeling the hydrology of VF, it is often assumed that overland flow is planar, but our research indicates that it can be two-dimensional with converging and diverging pathways. Our hypothesis is that flow convergence will negatively influence the sediment trapping capability of VF. The objectives were to develop a two-dimensional modeling approach for estimating sediment trapping in VF and to investigate the impact of converging overland flow on sediment trapping by VF. In this study, the performance of a VF that has field-scale flow path lengths with uncontrolled flow direction was quantified using field experiments and hydrologic modeling. Simulations of water flow processes were performed using the physically based, distributed model MIKE SHE. A modeling approach that predicts sediment trapping and accounts for converging and diverging flow was developed based on the University of Kentucky sediment filtration model. The results revealed that as flow convergence increases, filter performance decreases, and the impacts are greater at higher flow rates and shorter filter lengths. Convergence that occurs in the contributing field (in-field) upstream of the buffer had a slightly greater impact than convergence that occurred in the filter (in-filter). An area-based convergence ratio was defined that relates the actual flow area in a VF to the theoretical flow area without flow convergence. When the convergence ratio was 0.70, in-filter convergence caused the sediment trapping efficiency to be reduced from 80% for the planar flow condition to 64% for the converging flow condition. When an equivalent convergence occurred in-field, the sediment trapping efficiency was reduced to 57%. Thus, not only is convergence important but the location where convergence occurs can also be important.


The population of Oslo increases rapidly and the corresponding demand of housing is an issue of great public, political and professional interest. Today, we can see several interesting discrepancies in the housing market, such as very high prices for dwellings with low technical standards and dwellings located in neighbourhoods very different from those planned and built today. There is a great diversity in the housing households' willingness to pay. What are the patterns of such attractiveness in more detail and what might be the lessons to learn concerning what to build in the future? How can we plan and build housing that responds to the wide range of contemporary demands and that will also be attractive in decennials to come?
Economists and real estate businesses provide statistics on prices of dwellings, but the variables examined are usually too general for the results to be useful for actual planning and design. However, space syntax based research has shown that locations in cities can be measured more specifically and that analyses of these measurements correlate with numerous phenomenon related to activities and attractiveness of cities. By applying space syntax based measurements in GIS, comparing housing prices with presumed relevant variables of buildings and neighbourhoods by means of hedonic regression analysis, it is possible to seize new knowledge about how specific urban form variables of buildings and neighbourhoods correlate with housing prices. By this approach, willingness to pay for dwellings has been examined in two studies in Stockholm and Copenhagen. This paper presents methods and some result of these studies. In brief, we see that continuous urban form measurements in GIS are significant for willingness to pay for dwellings. The specificity of these measurements achieved by GIS analyses, applying the Place Syntax Tool, provides new and more detailed knowledge in this field.


The purpose of this thesis is to analyse if there are any changes in the inflow of Foreign Direct Investments before, during and after a currency crisis. The thesis is based on a theoretical framework and has an empirical part, which use a regression equation.The theoretical framework presents a foundation of the incentives to mak FDI investments and the implications for a host country. Together with the possible link to the level of the real exchange rate in the host country, this thesis, based partly on previous paper written on the subject, presents a regression equation for an empirical analysis. The regression equation is based on a hypothesis about the changes in FDI inflow before, during and after the occurrence of a currency crisis in the host country.The empirical analysis presents different results concerning the link between FDI and a currency crisis. The hypothesis stated in the thesis is that a currency crisis influences FDI inflows. This hypothesis is rejected. Moreover, a currency crisis can have both positive and negative effects on the inflow of FDI for the selected countries.Results find further no similarities in regions or year of occurrence of the currency crises. The depth, length and structure of each currency crisis together with using the right definition of a currency crisis are two important factors relating to the outcomes in this study.


Groundwater is the most vital source of water supply in Iran, and its sustainable use is an unavoidable necessity. Unfortunately, in the last few decades, the country's water resources have been in crisis in terms of quantity and quality, and the decline in groundwater aquifer levels has led to serious restrictions in more than 404 of 609 study areas, and a cumulative storage deficit of around 135 billion cubic meters in groundwater resources. In 2014, the implementation of the Groundwater Resources Sustainability Management Plan was approved by the Ministry of Energy to reduce groundwater abstraction. Despite the efforts of the Ministry of Energy over the past five years, the groundwater level is still declining. The use of global models in sustainability management projects can be a great help to better productivity of this project and change the approach of extracting groundwater resources in the country. Therefore, in this article, the leading countries in the field of sustainable water resources management programs have been identified and water resources sustainability laws have been extracted in these countries for implementation in Iran, to improve the rehabilitation and balancing plan in the next phases. Based on the experience of other countries, to increase the effectiveness of the sustainability plan, the most effective factor is the need to reform the structure of water governance and participation of local communities and without public participation, no tangible results can be achieved. It is also necessary to apply integrated and adaptive management of water resources.


Objective: The aqueous extract of Celosia argentea var. cristata L. leaves at 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg body weight (b.w.) was investigated against cadmium (Cd)-induced oxidative stress in Wistar rats. The in vitro antioxidant of the extract was evaluated using ammonium thiocyanate, reducing power, and membrane stabilizing models. Materials and Methods: For the in vivo study, 30 male rats (Rattus norvegicus) weighing 138.02 ± 7.02 g were completely randomized into 6 groups (A–F) of 5 animals each. Animals in groups A and B received 0.5 ml of distilled water and the same volume containing 8 mg/kg b.w. of Cd, respectively, for 7 days orally. Animals in groups C, D, E, and F were treated like those in group B except that they received 100 mg/kg b.w. of ascorbic acid, and 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg b.w. of the extract, respectively, in addition to Cd. Results: Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloids (0.61%), saponins (2.93%), cardiac glycosides (0.21%), cardenolides (0.20%), phenolics (3.26%), and flavonoids (2.38%). A total of 10 mg/ml of the extract inhibited linoleic acid oxidation by 67.57%. The highest reducing power was 100 mg/ml as against 10 mg/ml for ascorbic acid. In addition, 2 mg/ml of the extract produced a membrane stabilizing activity of 63.49% as against 77.46% for indomethacin. Compared with the distilled water control group, the administration of Cd alone significantly (P < 0.05) decreased the alkaline phosphatase activity of the rat liver and brain. This decrease was accompanied by a corresponding increase in the serum enzyme. The simultaneous administration of the extract and Cd produced an enzyme activity that compared favorably (P > 0.05) with the animals that received Cd and ascorbic acid. In addition, the reduction in the superoxide dismutase and catalase activity of the liver and brain of the animals, serum uric acid, albumin and bilirubin, and also the increase in the serum malondialdehyde content in animals treated with Cd alone was attenuated by the extract; the values compared well (P > 0.05) with those simultaneously administered with Cd and ascorbic acid. Conclusion: Overall, the results indicated that the aqueous extract of C. argentea leaves attenuated Cd-induced oxidative stress in the animals, with the best result at 400 mg/kg b.w. The antioxidant activity of the extract may be attributed to the phenolic and flavonoid components of the extract. The induction of antioxidant enzymes and scavenging of free radicals may account for the mechanism of action of the extract as an antioxidant.


The topics and authors included in this special issue were selected with the conviction that this area of study has much to offer scholars interested in all aspects of the humanities and social sciences. Aging, after all, is one way to consider the experience of living. Moreover, the aging of individuals occurs in social, economic, political and environmental contexts which are changing as well, partly due to another form of aging: demographic or population aging. Consequently, we must study aging individuals in an aging society.The papers which comprise this volume focus on the demographic aspects of aging and on the impact of population aging on major social institutions and preoccupations such as the community, work, leisure, and the family. This introductory paper links these structural concerns to some issues about the meaning of aging and old age for the aging individual. We begin by examining demographic aspects of aging, the structure of the life course, socio - economic issues, and health issues. We then turn to a consideration of psychosocial concerns associated with aging: dependency and independence, family life, attitudes toward aging, and the association between aging and the anticipation of, and preparation for, death.Demographic AspectsCanada is an aging population. At the beginning of this century less than six percent of the Canadian population was aged 65 and older. Today more than ten percent fall into that category, and by 2031 this proportion will rise to almost 25 percent. The proportion that will be old by the decades 2021 and 2031 is now projected to be considerably higher than had been believed 15 or 20 years ago because demographers no longer anticipate large increases in fertility, and because recent decreases in later - life mortality have been significant.Women live much longer than men. While life expectancy at birth is just 70.2 years for men, it is 77.5 years for women. These life expectancy differences persist at later ages. To illustrate, a man born in 1980 - 82 has an 75 percent chance of living to age 65; but a woman born in that period has an 86 percent chance. At age 65, a man can expect to live an additional 14.6 years, whereas a woman can expect to live an additional 18.9 years. Because women are increasing their advantage in life expectancy over men, the world of the aged is becoming a world dominated by women. This has profound implications for women, who become a majority group, and for men, who become the new minority. This shift in the sex ratio also has a profound impact on younger cohorts of the population in terms of economic support and the care - giving that may be needed, and on such public policy areas as housing, transportation, community support, health promotion and health care.Another important aspect of the age structure of Canada's population is the changing median age. This is the age at which you would say "half of all Canadians are younger than this age." The current median age of the Canadian population is 30. In 1971 it was just 26.2 years. By the end of this century it is projected that it will rise to 37.2 years; and when, by 2031, all the baby boomers are old, the median age may be as high as 41.6 years. As a larger and larger proportion of our population reaches age 65 and beyond, the overall composition of Canadian society will become, in a way, more "mature."Another interesting and important trend is that, considered as a population in itself, the group over age 65 is aging. That is, growth in the numbers among the very advanced ages (80+) is happening at a greater rate than among younger old people. This, however, will change after 2010, when the first of the baby boomers start to enter the 65+ category. By 2031, about one in 20 Canadians will be aged 85 or older.(f.1)The Structure of the Life CourseThe "structure of the life course" refers to typical patterns of the ordering and timing of major life events, such as marriage, retirement, the empty nest (when children are likely to have left home), and widowhood. …


Flying robots have the unique advantage of being able to move through the air unaffected by the obstacles or precipices below them. This ability quickly becomes a disadvantage, however, as the amount of free space is reduced and the risk of collisions increases. Their sensitivity to any contact with the environment have kept them from venturing beyond large open spaces and obstacle-free skies. Recent efforts have concentrated on improving obstacle detection and avoidance strategies, modeling the environment and intelligent planning to navigate ever tighter spaces while remaining airborne. Though this strategy is yielding impressive and improving results, it is limited by the quality of the information that can be provided by on-board sensors. As evidenced by insects that collide with windows, there will always be situations in which sensors fail and a flying platform will collide with the obstacles around it. It is this fact that inspired the topic of this thesis: enabling flying platforms to survive and recover from contact with their environment through intelligent mechanical design. There are three main challenges tackled in this thesis: robustness to contact, self-recovery and integration into flight systems. Robustness to contact involves the protection of fast-spinning propellers, the stiff inner frame of a flying robot and its embedded sensors from damage through the elastic absorption of collision energy. A method is presented for designing protective structures that transfer the lowest possible amount of force to the platform's frame while simultaneously minimizing weight and thus their effect on flight performance. The method is first used to design a teardrop-shaped spring configuration for absorbing head-on collisions typically experienced by winged platforms. The design is implemented on a flying platform that can survive drops from a height of 2 m. A second design is then presented, this time using springs in a tetrahedral configuration that absorb energy through buckling. When embedded into a hovering platform the tetrahedral protective mechanisms are able to absorb dozens of high-speed collisions while significantly reducing the forces on the platforms frame compared to foam-based protection typically used on other platforms. Surviving a collision is only half of the equation and is only useful if a flying platform can subsequently return to flight without requiring human intervention, a process called self-recovery. The theory behind self-recovery as it applies to many types of flying platforms is first presented, followed by a method for designing and optimizing different types of self-recovery mechanisms. A gravity-based mechanism is implemented on an ultra-light (20.5 g) wing-based platform whose morphology and centre of gravity are optimized to always land on its side after a collision, ready to take off again. Such a mechanism, however, is limited to surfaces that are flat and obstacle-free and requires clear space in front of the platform to return to the air. A second, leg-based self-recovery mechanism is thus designed and integrated into a second hovering platform, allowing it to upright into a vertical takeoff position. The mechanism is successful in returning the platform to the air in a variety of complex environments, including sloped surfaces, corners and surface textures ranging from smooth hardwood to gravel and rocks. In a final chapter collision energy absorption and self-recovery mechanisms are integrated into a single hovering platform, the first example of a flying robot capable of crashing into obstacles, falling to the ground, uprighting and returning to the air, all without human intervention. These abilities are first demonstrated through a contact-based random search behaviour in which the platform explores a small enclosed room in complete darkness. After each collision with a wall the platform falls to the ground, recovers and then continues exploring. In a second experiment the platform is programmed with a basic phototaxis behaviour. Using only four photodiodes that provide a rough idea of the bearing to a source of light the platform is able to consistently cross a 13x2.2mcorridor and traverse a doorway without using any obstacle avoidance, modeling or planning.


Introduction: Academic success of medical students is influenced by several factors.
Aim: To determine whether academic success of high as well as low achievers in physiology in the present academic context is influenced by pre-reported factors.
Materials and Methods: Focus Group Discussion (FGD) sessions were conducted to explore perceptions of high as well as low achievers in physiology, regarding seven pre-reported factors influencing academic success. These factors were: attitude towards medical school, attitude towards teachers, interest in subject, time-management, strategic studying, academic self-perceptions and test competence. First year students (n=13) who had scored distinction (>75%) in physiology, in three block-end examinations and second year students (n=7) who had distinction in all four block-end examinations when they were in first year, were categorized as high achievers. Students (n=14) who were unsuccessful in first year final summative examination, were grouped as low achievers.
Results: The FGD data which was analysed using a deductive analysis framework revealed a positive link between responses for all pre-reported factors with the academic success of high achievers, except time management and strategic studying. Even though the responses from low achievers regarding medical profession, teachers, and interest in subject were positive, these could not be linked to their academic performance in first year. The low achievers in the present study believed that with continuous teacher support, their understanding of physiology could be improved, which in turn could lead to an increased interest in the subject which could motivate them to work hard and improve their academic performance.
Conclusion: To conclude, academic success of both high and low achievers in the present academic context were influenced by pre-reported factors. Through this study, students were provided with an opportunity to reflect upon the learning process which is reported to be a learning supportive process. This study also gathered evidence for the fact that medical students need to be made aware of and has to be trained in effective time management skills.


This Article analyzes the institutional and political factors deterring prosecutors from accepting the possible legitimacy of post-conviction innocence claims and formulating creative responses to them. Specifically, the institutional culture of most prosecutors' offices treasures convictions; an attorney's conviction rate may serve as a barometer of that person's stature within the organization and a key factor in determining that person's chances for internal advancement. This professional incentive for prosecutors to obtain and maintain convictions may be bolstered by profound psychological and personal bases for believing in the soundness of the verdicts and pragmatic reasons for discounting the possibility that there may be some creditable claims within the heap of post-conviction filings. Likewise, there are a series of political incentives for prosecutors to resist post-conviction innocence claims, even potentially meritorious ones, with zeal. Candidates vying for the office of chief prosecutor typically campaign on a general tough-on-crime platform, strewn with references to their overall win-loss record and reminders about specific successes in high-profile cases. Appearing "soft" on criminals, such as by accepting the possible validity of a prisoner's innocence claim, detracts from that tough-on-crime rhetoric and is largely anathema to prosecutors. The major exceptions to this general rule are when political considerations suggest that openness to the innocence claim may be advantageous, which is of little consolation to the prisoner whose claim happens to surface at a time when the political stars are not so perfectly aligned. This Article concludes by mentioning a series of potential reforms designed to help rehabilitate the ideal that prosecutors are obliged to do justice in the post-conviction arena.


Background: A safe, efficacious, and economical drug for the treatment of obesity is the need of the time. Literature published in previous years referred to embelin as a potential investigational therapeutic agent to manage obesity. Objectives: This study was designed to isolate and characterize embelin from Embelia ribes and further to assess its role in alleviating oxidative stress and chronic inflammation in the high-fat diet (HFD) fed obese C57BL/6 mice. Materials and Methods: Embelin extracted from berries of E. ribes with n-hexane by soxhlet extraction was characterized using high-performance thin-layer chromatography, infrared and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analyses. The obesity was induced by feeding of HFD for 8 weeks. Embelin (50 mg/kg/day, p.o.) was administered from 5th to 8th weeks along with HFD. After 8 weeks, the body weight gain and body mass index were calculated. Then, animals were sacrificed; serum and tissues were collected to further assess the various biomarkers of oxidative stress and inflammation. Results: The presence of embelin was confirmed using the above-mentioned analytical techniques. Treatment with Embelin showed amelioration of obesity biomarkers along with the substantial decline in levels of protein expression of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor and nuclear factor kappa-B in liver tissue. Treatment with embelin also normalizes the liver tissue levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, glutathione, superoxide dismutase, and catalase. The histopathological analysis of liver tissue showed significant prevention of necrotic and inflammatory changes in embelin treated HFD fed mice. Conclusion: The results of the study clearly indicated the potential of embelin in ameliorating obesity by alleviating oxidative stress and inflammation induced by HFD in C57BL/6 mice.


Sports journalism has traditionally been seen as a male domain, and a number of researchers suggest that this tradition has not changed (Strong, 2007) . Sports reporters in the United Kingdom remain predominantly male, and despite increasingly more women having entered sports journalism since the women's movement of the 1970s, the number of women sports writers remains relatively low (Franks, 2013; Chambers et al, 2004). In recent years there has been some considerable progress regarding the visibility of women in broadcast sports journalism and in particular the London Olympics in 2012 was a watershed for UK broadcasting, but there are still very few women sports writers in the UK newspaper industry, and sports journalism remains a largely male-dominated area in countries all over the world. (Hardin & Shain, 2005)


We study online pricing problems in markets with cancellations, i.e., markets in which prior allocation decisions can be revoked, but at a cost. In our model, a seller receives requests online and chooses which requests to accept, subject to constraints on the subsets of requests which may be accepted simultaneously. A request, once accepted, can be canceled at a cost which is a fixed fraction of the request value. This scenario models a market for web advertising campaigns, in which the buyback cost represents the cost of canceling an existing contract.
 We analyze a simple constant-competitive algorithm for a single-item auction in this model, and we prove that its competitive ratio is optimal among deterministic algorithms, but that the competitive ratio can be improved using a randomized algorithm. We then model ad campaigns using knapsack domains, in which the requests differ in size as well as in value. We give a deterministic online algorithm that achieves a bi-criterion approximation in which both approximation factors approach 1 as the buyback factor and the size of the maximum request approach 0. We show that the bi-criterion approximation is unavoidable for deterministic algorithms, but that a randomized algorithm is capable of achieving a constant competitive ratio. Finally, we discuss an extension of our randomized algorithm to matroid domains (in which the sets of simultaneously satisfiable requests constitute the independent sets of a matroid) as well as present results for domains in which the buyback factor of different requests varies.


The Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) instrument was launched aboard the environmental satellite ENVISAT into its sun-synchronous orbit on 1 March 2002. The short-lived species NO 2 is one of the key target products of MIPAS that are operationally retrieved from limb emission spectra measured in the stratosphere and mesosphere. Within the MIPAS validation activities, a large number of independent observations from balloons, satellites and ground-based stations have been compared to European Space Agency (ESA) version 4.61 operational NO 2 data comprising the time period from July 2002 until March 2004 where MIPAS measured with full spectral resolution. Comparisons between MIPAS and balloon-borne observations carried out in 2002 and 2003 in the Arctic, at mid-latitudes, and in the tropics show a very good agreement below 40 km altitude with a mean deviation of roughly 3%, virtually without any significant bias. The comparison to ACE satellite observations exhibits only a small negative bias of MIPAS which appears not to be significant. The independent satellite instruments HALOE, SAGE II, and POAM III confirm in common for the spring-summer time period a negative bias of MIPAS in the Arctic and a positive bias in the Antarctic middle and upper stratosphere exceeding frequently the combined systematic error limits. In contrast to the ESA operational processor, the IMK/IAA retrieval code allows accurate inference of NO 2 volume mixing ratios under consideration of all important non-LTE processes. Large differences between both retrieval results appear especially at higher altitudes, above about 50 to 55 km. These differences might be explained at least partly by non-LTE under polar winter conditions but not at mid-latitudes. Below this altitude region mean differences between both processors remain within 5% (during night) and up to 10% (during day) under undisturbed (September 2002) conditions and up to 40% under perturbed polar night conditions (February and March 2004). The intercomparison of ground-based NDACC observations shows no significant bias between the FTIR measurements in Kiruna (68° N) and MIPAS in summer 2003 but larger deviations in autumn and winter. The mean deviation over the whole comparison period remains within 10%. A mean negative bias of 15% for MIPAS daytime and 8% for nighttime observations has been determined for UV-vis comparisons over Harestua (60° N). Results of a pole-to-pole comparison of ground-based DOAS/UV-visible sunrise and MIPAS mid-morning column data has shown that the mean agreement in 2003 falls within the accuracy limit of the comparison method. Altogether, it can be indicated that MIPAS NO 2 profiles yield valuable information on the vertical distribution of NO 2 in the lower and middle stratosphere (below about 45 km) during day and night with an overall accuracy of about 10–20% and a precision of typically 5–15% such that the data are useful for scientific studies. In cases where extremely high NO 2 occurs in the mesosphere (polar winter) retrieval results in the lower and middle stratosphere are less accurate than under undisturbed atmospheric conditions.


This article deals with the ways in which Islam is put to use by the Syrian regime and its opposition in the Syrian Uprising. By applying anthropological theory about politics of immediation and political theory about ideologies to a specific case – namely bombings in Kafer Suseh in Damascus in December 2011 – the article illustrates how horrific images in the conflict are mediated as part of distinctive political projects. The article traces the work of anti-regime activists on the Internet and on TV as well as that of pro-regime representatives in order to understand the peculiar scapegoating processes that followed in the hours after the bombings. In effect, a certain dynamic of ideological mediation is proposed in which social, historical and political presuppositions are suppressed. Resurfacing the historical conditions of mediation gives a better understanding of how horrific events as the one in the case are mediated. On a fundamental level, the case and its analysis indicates how politics of immediation and ideology intertwine in battles over Islam and its future role in Syria.