An explication of the neural substrates for social perception is an important component in the emerging field of social cognitive neuroscience and is relevant to the field of cognitive neuroscience as a whole. Prior studies from our laboratory have demonstrated that passive viewing of biological motion (Pelphrey, Mitchell, et al., 2003; Puce et al., 1998) activates the posterior superior temporal sulcus (STS) region. Furthermore, recent evidence has shown that the perceived context of observed gaze shifts (Pelphrey, Singerman, et al., 2003; Pelphrey et al., 2004) modulates STS activity. Here, using event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging at 4 T, we investigated brain activity in response to passive viewing of goal- and non-goal- directed reaching-to-grasp movements. Participants viewed an animated character making reaching-to-grasp movements either toward (correct) or away (incorrect) from a blinking dial. Both conditions evoked significant posterior STS activity that was strongly right lateralized. By examining the time course of the blood oxygenation level-dependent response from areas of activation, we observed a functional dissociation. Incorrect trials evoked significantly greater activity in the STS than did correct trials, while an area posterior and inferior to the STS (likely corresponding to the MT/V5 complex) responded equally to correct and incorrect movements. Parietal cortical regions, including the superior parietal lobule and the anterior intraparietal sulcus, also responded equally to correct and incorrect movements, but showed evidence for differential responding based on the hand and arm (left or right) of the animated character used to make the reaching-to-grasp movement. The results of this study further suggest that a region of the right posterior STS is involved in analyzing the intentions of other people's actions and that activity in this region is sensitive to the context of observed biological motions.


This article questions the legal status of Real Money Trading (RMT) in MMORPGs. Noting that in-game items are virtually treated as personal property, but are only legally recognised as information goods, the right of ownership of these goods belongs to the developers, and players have a right to use, as conferred by the terms of service. I argue that the object of RMT is neither the item itself nor the right to use the item, but rather something entirely distinct one - 'play values', and the monetary compensation is a 'gwonri-geum' (goodwill) payment. This analysis makes an analogy between the transfer of goodwill and RMT, where the transfer is not a purchase of an item or the right to use, but rather a payment for the effort the other party has invested in obtaining the item. On this analysis, RMT does not concern the operator any more than sales of goodwill concern the lesser of a business property. It follows that if RMT is a transfer of goodwill, then it must fall within the domain of private autonomy of players, and developers and publishers have no legal standing to ban RMT. Such bans are unfair insofar as they heavily infringe upon players' autonomy and their rights to the intangible value they have created. However, because the value in RMT transactions is the goodwill associated with the item and not the item itself, RMT does not impose liability on the publishers for protection of the item's market value. Publishers ought to disclaim any involvement and liability with regard to RMT between players, but reserve the right to regulate the in-game behaviour of players. I concludes that, pointing out many publishers do not care to correct structural issues in their games which lead to RMT, as RMT indirectly increases their revenue, doing away with nominal bans on RMT and restructuring in-game social platform fairly can alleviate the problems recognised in South Korea.


Biodiesel is gradually being accepted worldwide as suitable alternative fuel for diesel engine. Rigorous purification is however required to meet the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and European Union (EU) standards for biodiesel because of unfavorable properties and the multitude of feed stocks with different properties that can be used. Two of such impurities that must be kept within limits are methanol and glyceride. Egunsi melon oil selected for the study was transesterified using sodium hydroxide as catalyst and methanol as reagent and then washed with distilled water. The fatty acid profile, the amount of methanol and glyceride in the oil, (B100) 100% biodiesel and, B10 (10% biodiesel blend with 90% diesel) and B20 (20% biodiesel blend with 80% diesel) were measured by Gas chromatography equipped with flame ionization detector. They were also characterized to determine their suitability for use in diesel engine. The triglycerides, free and total glyceride content of the oil are all outside the limits, while those of B100, B10, and B20 are within the limits. The measured fuel properties are also within the limits, hence egunsi melon oil biodiesel and blends can be used as alternative fuel for diesel engines without major modifications.

 Key words: Egunsi melon oil, biodiesel, blends, methanol, glyceride.


A novel molecularly imprinted electrochemiluminescence sensor based on a Ru(bpy)32+/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)/nano-titanium dioxide (nano-TiO2)-Nafion electrode was established for the ultrasensitive and ultraselective detection of bisphenol A (BPA). The introduction of MWCNTs/nano-TiO2 nanohybrids into the Nafion film could provide an excellent basis for effective immobilization of Ru(bpy)32+ and improve the electrochemical and ECL properties of Ru(bpy)32+. The MIP-ECL sensor fabricated by the combination of the MIT with the Ru(bpy)32+ ECL system could provide specific binding sites for BPA and the selectivity of the sensor was significantly improved. Under the best optimum conditions, the proposed MIP-ECL sensor not only exhibited high sensitivity and selectivity for BPA, but also displayed acceptable reproducibility and stability. A linear range from 0.01 μg L−1 to 2 μg L−1 for the detection of BPA was observed with a detection limit of 0.0041 μg L−1. Moreover, the fabricated sensor was successfully used to detect BPA in ambient water samples and relatively satisfactory recoveries were obtained.


The methods section of a scientific article often receives the most scrutiny from journal editors, peer reviewers, and skeptical readers because it allows them to judge the validity of the results. The methods section also facilitates critical interpretation of study activities, explains how the study avoided or corrected for bias, details how the data support the answer to the study question, justifies generalizing the findings to other populations, and facilitates comparison with past or future studies. In 2006, the Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research (EQUATOR) Programme began collecting and disseminating guidelines for reporting health research studies. In addition, guidelines for reporting public health investigations not classified as research have also been developed. However, regardless of the type of study or scientific report, the methods section should describe certain core elements: the study design; how participants were selected; the study setting; the period of interest; the variables and their definitions used for analysis; the procedures or instruments used to measure exposures, outcomes, and their association; and the analyses. Specific requirements for each study type should be consulted during the project planning phase and again when writing begins. We present requirements for reporting methods for public health activities, including outbreak investigations, public health surveillance programs, prevention and intervention program evaluations, research, surveys, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses.


Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have progressively been integrated into people lives during the last years. It is quite common now to see UAVs flying in the countryside doing field inspection, in highways for traffic control operations, or above stadiums in sport and music events. It is also common to see spectacular UAV swarm showcases (in most cases they are just performing a choreography) showing the potential of upcoming technologies. This article is focused on multi-UAV scenarios, on the establishment of Flying Ad hoc Networks (FANETs), and on the integration of 5G technologies like Network Function Virtualization (NFV) or Software Defined Networking (SDN). In particular, this article presents a proposal for one of the most common problems that the research and development community has to face at some stage: the validation of the different solutions and deployments. In this area, there is currently a notorious gap between the design phase and the deployment phase, since traditional network simulators are not designed with the constraints imposed by UAVs in mind. Besides, services implementations (that are usually distributed into single-board computers carried as payloads by UAVs) cannot be easily combined with the simulators. VENUE (Virtualized Environment for multi-UAV network emulation) is presented as an experimentation platform that allows testing the integration of multi-UAV FANETs together with network services deployments. VENUE covers from the simulation/emulation phase up to the real equipment integration phase. The validation of the platform is also presented in this article through several UAV use cases that make use of NFV technologies.


Physic nut ( Jatropha curcas L.) is a relatively new agricultural crop commodity in Indonesia. Hence, the thrips associated with this plant are not well recognized. The research objective was to provide information and tool for identification of thrips associated with physic nut. Survey method was conducted in some areas of Java, Madura, and Lombok island. The results showed that 10 species of thrips were found associated with physic nut. They belonged to nine genera and three family i.e. Thripidae, Aeolothripidae and Phlaeothripidae and one unidentified species. The Thripidae species were Selenothrips rubrocintus , Rhipiphorothrips pulchellus , Thrips hawaiiensis , Heliothrips haemorrhoidalis, Zaniothrips ricini and Scolothrips sexmaculatus . The family Aeolothripidae were Franklinothrips vespiformis , F. variegatus and Mymarothrips bicolor ; the only one of Phlaeothripidae was Ecacanthothripstibialis . The identification key had been built for all species mentioned above. These thrips can be grouped into herbivore, carnivore, and fungivore. Keywords : Jatropha curcas , thrips, diversity


Are there unifying principles behind the structural complexity of the cerebral cortex? A mosaic of hundreds of interconnected and microscopically identifiable areas in the human cerebral cortex controls cognition, perception, and behavior. Each area covers up to 40 cm2 of the cortical surface and consists of up to 750 million nerve cells (1). The architecture—the spatial distribution, density, size, and shape of nerve cells and their processes—varies between different cortical areas. Nerve cells are interconnected within each area and with other brain regions and the spinal cord via fiber tracts, synapses, transmitters, modulators, and receptors. This incredible structural complexity underlies the functional segregation in the cerebral cortex. The ultimate goal—to understand the driving forces and organizational principles of the human brain beyond the cellular and functional details—remains a challenge. Reports by Chen et al. (2) and Wedeen et al. (3) on pages 1634 and 1628 of this issue, respectively, accept this challenge by analyzing the genetic topography of the cortex and the spatial course of fiber pathways in the brain. The studies find unifying hierarchical and geometric rules behind the organizational details.


Chrysopteron Jentink, 1910 is 1 of the 7 subgenera of Myotis Kaup, 1829 recognized by Tate that traditionally comprises Asian and African species characterized by conspicuously parti-colored wing membranes. Definition of Myotis subgenera has long challenged taxonomists and prior to the present study the systematic status of numerous forms within Chrysopteron remained unclear. Following examination of material (including available type specimens) in 21 European, North American, and Asian collections, and using morphological (external, cranial, and dental characters) and genetic data, we evaluate the validity of the Chrysopteron subgenus, revise the taxonomy of the named Asian forms, and review their distinguishing characters, distribution, and taxonomic history. We argue that Chrysopteron is an available name for a monophyletic ''Ethiopian clade'' recovered with high support in our analyses, which comprises species characterized by striking reddish or yellowish dorsal fur that strongly differentiates them from congeners. We also determine that M. formosus sensu lato contains several morphologically distinct forms, some of which occur in sympatry and some in widely separated localities. A morphological key is provided for all Asian species of Chrysopteron revealed by our study: M. bartelsi Jentink, 1910 (Java and Bali), M. formosus (Hodgson, 1835) (Afghanistan, India, Nepal, China, Taiwan, and Vietnam),M. hermani Thomas, 1923 (Sumatra, Thailand, and Malaysia), M. rufoniger (Tomes, 1858) (Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, Laos, and Vietnam), M. rufopictus (Waterhouse, 1845) (Philippines), and M. weberi (Jentink, 1890) (Sulawesi). Journal of Mammalogy, Vol. 95 No. 4. 2014. P: 663-678.


Objectives: To identify the most accurate clinical predictors of fitness to drive (FTDr) in Huntington disease (HD). Methods: This cross-sectional study included 60 active drivers: 30 patients with manifest HD (8 women) and 30 age- and gender-matched healthy controls. Mean (SD) age of the HD group was 50 (12) years and median (Q1–Q3) disease duration was 24 (12–48) months. A clinical battery consisting of a driving history questionnaire, the cognitive section of the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS), Trail Making Test, and Mini-Mental State Examination, as well as a driving simulator evaluation, were administered to all participants. Additionally, the subjects with HD completed the motor, behavioral, and Total Functional Capacity sections of the UHDRS and underwent an official FTDr evaluation comprising visual, neuropsychological, and on-road tests. The blinded neurologist's appraisal of FTDr and the 3 most predictive clinical tests were compared with the official pass/fail FTDr decision. Results: The patients with HD performed worse on all tests of the clinical battery and driving simulator than the healthy controls. Fifteen patients with HD (50) failed the FTDr evaluation. The blinded neurologist correctly classified 21 patients (70%). The Symbol Digit Modalities Test, Stroop word reading, and Trail Making Test B provided the best model (R2 = 0.49) to predict FTDr, correctly classifying 26 patients (87%). Conclusions: Half of active drivers with HD fail a driving evaluation and pose a potential hazard on the road. Our results suggest that those at risk can be accurately identified using a clinical screening tool.


The proposed technique is based on extracting the windowed wavelet transform of fault generated transients to distinguish between faults in a busbar protection zone from those outside the zone, particularly in case of early and severe current transformer (CT) saturation. Most given techniques are tending to block the differential measurement during the portion of the cycle that a current transformer is saturated. Some other techniques bring more meaning to the breakpoint settings of the operating characteristic. The traditional differential concept is based on the current magnitude for estimating the restraining and biasing values. The significant imbalance comes from the secondary current of a current transformer with a resistive burden which collapses to zero when saturation occurs and it remains at zero until the time when the next zero crossing would have occurred. The study describes a new technique with improved characteristic and the differential concept does not depend on the current magnitude. The wavelet transform (WT) depends on high frequencies of the faulted signal produced owing to CT saturation. The proposed WT is based on Mexican basis function that was found to be an excellent discriminant for identifying the fault signals during the CT saturation. The time and frequency information during saturation are obtained rather than the current magnitude.


Gunther disease, also known as congenital erythropoietic porphyria (CEP), is a congenital form of erythropoietic porphyria. The word porphyria originated from the Greek word porphura. Porphura actually means "purple pigment". It is a rare, autosomal recessive metabolic disorder affecting blood caused by deficiency of the enzyme uroporphyrinogen cosynthetase. It is extremely rare, with a prevalence estimated at 1 in 1,000,000 or less. In milder cases patients have not presented any symptoms until they have reached adulthood. In Gunther's disease, porphyrins are accumulated in the teeth and bones and an increased amount are seen in the plasma, bone marrow, feces, red blood cells, and urine.


Inadequate waste disposal from ore processing is one of the main inputs of metals to rivers where they are transported either in dissolved or in particulate form. Heavy metals' and arsenic from metal-rich wastes may reach hazardous levels to humans and ecosystems, and constitute a negative influence on sustainable development. The present study focuses on determining the concentrations and speciation of dissolved and suspended particulate arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead, zinc and iron produced by the combined input of mine wastes and urban wastewater in the Taxco River. Water samples were collected along the river in both, dry and rainy seasons. Results showed near neutral or slightly basic pH values at most sites, dominated by bicarbonate, sulfate, calcium, sodium and magnesium as the main ions. The highest content of metals measured in the water at site TX3 close to tailings were: Fe and As, mainly in particulate form (54.5 mg/L and 0.047 mg/L respectively), Zn, Pb, Cu and Cd in dissolved form (245.83, 0.217, 3.94 and 1.73 mg/L respectively). Closeness of TX3 to mine tailings allows dragging of material by water and wind induced erosion. This process supplies metals, ions and acid drainage to the river water altering its composition mainly in the dry season (pH 2.8). A seasonal dilution factor was observed in the chemistry of the river, since in the dry season average flow of the studied transect was only 0.05 m3/s and in the rainy season the flow increased to 1.45 m3/s. Aqueous metal speciation, predicted using WATEQ4F software, reflected the influence of local geology, with presence of limestones, as well as sulfide oxidation of minerals within tailings. Speciation results data indicated that oxides, ohyhydroxides and carbonates are the main compounds controlling mobilization/immobilization processes of the studied metals. Metal concentrations over drinking water standards, as well as urban wastewater influence render the river water unsuitable for irrigation and as a drinking water source without a previous treatment, mainly at sites close to discharges and wastes. Environmental protection of the river implies avoiding direct wastewater discharges, as well as particle dragging and acid mine drainage input to the river that may be attained through the construction of physical barriers and water treatment systems.


We present a detailed investigation of a magnetospheric flux transfer event (FTE) seen by the Active Magnetospheric Tracer Explorer (AMPTE) UKS and IRM satellites around 1046 UT on October 28, 1984. This event has been discussed many times previously in the literature and has been cited as support for a variety of theories of FTE formation. We make use of a model developed to reproduce ion precipitations seen in the cusp ionosphere. The analysis confirms that the FTE is well explained as a brief excursion into an open low-latitude boundary layer (LLBL), as predicted by two theories of magnetospheric FTEs, namely, that they arc bulges in the open LLBL due to reconnection rate enhancements or that they are indentations of the magnetopause by magnetosheath pressure increases (but in the presence of ongoing steady reconnection). The indentation of the inner edge of the open LLBL that these two models seek to explain is found to be shallow for this event. The ion model reproduces the continuous evolution of the ion distribution function between the sheath-like population at the event center and the surrounding magnetospheric populations; it also provides an explanation of the high-pressure core of the event as comprising field lines that were reconnected considerably earlier than those that are draped over it to give the event boundary layer. The magnetopause transition parameter is used to isolate a field rotation on the boundaries of the core, which is subjected to the tangential stress balance test. The test identifies this to be a convecting structure, which is neither a rotational discontinuity (RD) nor a contact discontinuity, but could possibly be a slow shock. In addition, evidence for ion reflection off a weak RD on the magnetospheric side of this structure is found. The event structure is consistent in many ways with features predicted for the open LLBL by analytic MHD theories and by MHD and hybrid simulations. The de Hoffinan-Teller velocity of the structure is significantly different from that of the magnetosheath flow, indicating that it is not an indentation caused by a high-pressure pulse in the sheath but is consistent with the motion of newly opened field lines (different from the sheath flow because of the magnetic tension force) deduced from the best fit to the ion data. However, we cannot here rule out the possibility that the sheath flow pattern has changed in the long interval between the two satellites observing the FTE and subsequently emerging into the magnetosheath; thus this test is not conclusive in this particular case. Analysis of the fitted elapsed time since reconnection shows that the core of the event was reconnected in one pulse and the event boundary layer was reconnected in a subsequent pulse. Between these two pulses is a period of very low (but nonzero) reconnection rate, which lasts about 14 mins. Thus the analysis supports, but does not definitively verify, the concept that the FTE is a partial passage into an open LLBL caused by a traveling bulge in that layer produced by a pulse in reconnection rate.


Vincent Cornell's Realm of the Saint is a masterly work, indisputably authoritative, the result of more than twenty years of research on Sufism in Morocco and Al-Andalus. Drawing on a critical reading of a vast array of textual sources, including hagiographies, histories, didactic treatises, devotional works, and poetry, this book brings to light material that has been virtually untouched in academic studies on Moroccan Sufism. As Cornell points out, Morocco has become a paradigm for the anthropological analysis of Sufism, but the vast archival resources of Morocco had been hitherto largely untouched by academicians. Through detailed analysis of the lives of many Sufi saints as presented in hagiographical literature, exploring both the ideological and sociological dimensions of sainthood in the Moroccan context, he convincingly argues that the "doctor" versus "saint" topos that prevails in the anthropological literature does not do justice to the reality of pre-modern Moroccan Sufism. He also deconstructs the centrality of "maraboutism" and rurality in Moroccan Sufism. Cornell compares his findings with studies of saints in Europe by scholars such as Peter Brown and Thomas Heffernan, as well as with the Weberian theories of charismatic leadership that have prevailed among social scientists, displaying an extraordinary range of competence in the literature of several academic disciplines. It is a rarity to find a scholar of Cornell's deep understanding of Arabic and Islamic tradition who also places his research within the broader context of the study of religion. Nevertheless, scholars outside Islamic studies are unlikely to read this book because of its length, excessive detail, and frequent use of Arabic terms, despite the presence of a glossary of technical terms at the end of the book.


Abstract As a course available for general education credit, one purpose of our undergraduate Introduction to Cognitive Science course is to increase students' understanding of mathematical concepts. We chose to concentrate on the concept of algorithm. The course contains a section discussing artificial intelligence as a way to simulate human cognition, using both symbolic and numerical algorithms. Since many undergraduate students are uncomfortable with numbers, we chose a program that used a symbolic algorithm. We replaced the discussion of this program with a live demo that students could discuss step by step. The demo program simulated a grocery store bagger. As this program was an example of an expert system, a program that simulates human expertise, students could not only watch the program make choices for different sets of groceries, but change its bagging rules as well. Thus students were able to observe the underlying expert system algorithm as well as a family of bagging algorithms. Course evaluations showed that students enjoyed the demo and found it more helpful than the material it replaced, but they still found the material difficult. Introduction An important part of learning mathematics at the university level is the concept of algorithm. Yet many undergraduate students are uncomfortable with numbers, even to the point of math anxiety (Tobias, 1990). This paper reports on an attempt to increase students' understanding of the concept of algorithm in a general education course without triggering the nonproductive responses often fostered by previous negative experiences with mathematics. To this end, we replaced a segment discussing the behavior of various computer programs in our Introduction to Cognitive Science course with a live demo that students could discuss step by step. Moursund (2005) points out that the term "algorithm" has different connotations in mathematics education and in computer science. For both types of educators, an algorithm describes a procedure for solving a problem or obtaining a result. In mathematics, an algorithm usually involves a calculation, while in computer science, an algorithm may use words, structures, or other symbolic elements instead of numbers. For this study we selected a symbolic algorithm rather than a numerical one. Using familiar content along with an approach and notation that students had not seen before, we hoped to trigger curiosity and enthusiasm rather than the negative feelings that a numerical approach might otherwise trigger. Naps et al. (2002), in a survey of software visualization experiments, conclude that learner engagement with the software may be the most important factor in student learning. This is consistent with Papert's classic work (Papert, 1980) on engaging children in creating software using the Logo language. Papert's work was based on the constructivist approach of Piaget (1973). Some of the practices most generally considered useful for this purpose include adapting to the knowledge level of the student, supporting flexible execution control of the program, supporting learner initiatives in changing the data, showing history in addition to current state of the system, and including explanations along with the demo. The intent of these practices is to help students attain deeper levels of understanding as measured by Bloom's taxonomy (Bloom & Krathwohl, 1956). Using these principles, we wanted to help students understand the concept of algorithm by providing students a compelling experience where they could see an algorithm run and affect what it does. In the next section we explain our motivation for teaching artificial intelligence in a Cognitive Science course and how we selected the software to use in the study. In the following section we describe how the software works and how we used it in class. Then we give the results of our study. Finally, we place our work in context. …


The conference "Managing Multiple Crises in Times of Global Uncertainty: the EU and Latin America in comparison", was organized on 16 April 2018. It brought together experts, academics and journalists from both Europe and Latin America to discuss the multifaceted crises that have recently been affecting the countries of the two regions, in order to define a roadmap for closer regional cooperation. Both Latin America and the European Union have been hit hard by the global financial crisis and its social consequences, and both have witnessed the rise of populist forces triggered by social discontent – albeit in various forms and with different agendas. The complex and multidimensional nature of the current global context offers considerable scope for stronger EU–Latin America cooperation and for common political ground.


Biometric appears as one of the solutions which is capable in solving problems that occurred in the usage of password in terms of data access, for example there is possibility in forgetting password and hard to recall various different passwords. With biometrics, physical characteristics of a person can be captured and used in the identification process. In this research, facial biometric is used in the verification process to determine whether the user has the authority to access the data or not. Facial biometric is chosen as its low cost implementation and generate quite accurate result for user identification. Face verification system which is adopted in this research is Compressive Sensing (CS) technique, in which aims to reduce dimension size as well as encrypt data in form of facial test image where the image is represented in sparse signals. Encrypted data can be reconstructed using Sparse Coding algorithm. Two types of Sparse Coding namely Orthogonal Matching Pursuit (OMP) and Iteratively Reweighted Least Squares -ℓp (IRLS-ℓp) will be used for comparison face verification system research. Reconstruction results of sparse signals are then used to find Euclidean norm with the sparse signal of user that has been previously saved in system to determine the validity of the facial test image. Results of system accuracy obtained in this research are 99% in IRLS with time response of face verification for 4.917 seconds and 96.33% in OMP with time response of face verification for 0.4046 seconds with non-optimized sensing matrix, while 99% in IRLS with time response of face verification for 13.4791 seconds and 98.33% for OMP with time response of face verification for 3.1571 seconds with optimized sensing matrix.


ABSTRACT Hispanics have become the largest ethnic minority in the US Better serving Hispanics to succeed in tertiary education and scientific fields like computing is critical to build equitable life opportunities and strengthen the US workforce. Typically, the most selective postsecondary institutions are emphasized as exemplary models for developing human capital in the US. Yet, due to the nation's tertiary education institutional stratification, relatively low numbers of Hispanics are enrolled in these institutions. We examine how Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), federally designated institutions in the US that enroll at least 25% Hispanics, develop strategies to raise Hispanic attainment in computing fields. Specifically, we explore the activities of HSIs in the Computing Alliance for Hispanic-Serving Institutions (CAHSI), a network of over 60 HSIs and other stakeholders that are committed to raising Hispanic attainment in postsecondary computing. We address the question: How do HSIs in CAHSI employ strategies to develop talent in computing among Hispanics? Specifically, we examine how CAHSI institutions apply values that are grounded in Hispanic communities, including emphases on confianza, respeto, and familia, to support Hispanic students in computer science. Our findings indicate the importance of centering Hispanic cultural assets to improve Hispanic success in computing.


The human action classification task is a widely researched topic and is still an open problem. Many state-of-the-arts approaches involve the usage of bag-of-video-words with spatio-temporal local features to construct characterizations for human actions. In order to improve beyond this standard approach, we investigate the usage of co-occurrences between local features. We propose the usage of co-occurrences information to characterize human actions. A trade-off factor is used to define an optimal trade-off between vocabulary size and classification rate. Next, a spatio-temporal co-occurrence technique is applied to extract co-occurrence information between labeled local features. Novel characterizations for human actions are then constructed. These include a vector quantized correlogram-elements vector, a highly discriminative PCA (Principal Components Analysis) co-occurrence vector and a Haralick texture vector. Multi-channel kernel SVM (support vector machine) is utilized for classification. For evaluation, the well known KTH as well as the challenging UCF-Sports action datasets are used. We obtained state-of-the-arts classification performance. We also demonstrated that we are able to fully utilize co-occurrence information, and improve the standard bag-of-video-words approach.


Most of existing methods for DNA motif discovery consider only a single set of sequences to find an over-represented motif. In contrast, we consider multiple sets of sequences where we group sets associated with the same motif into a cluster, assuming that each set involves a single motif. Clustering sets of sequences yields clusters of coherent motifs, improving signal-to-noise ratio or enabling us to identify multiple motifs. We present a probabilistic model for DNA motif discovery where we identify multiple motifs through searching for patterns which are shared across multiple sets of sequences. Our model infers cluster-indicating latent variables and learns motifs simultaneously, where these two tasks interact with each other. We show that our model can handle various motif discovery problems, depending on how to construct multiple sets of sequences. Experiments on three different problems for discovering DNA motifs emphasize the useful behavior and confirm the substantial gains over existing methods where only a single set of sequences is considered.


Gilbert Ryle once ridiculed substance dualism, describing it as the view that we are a "ghost in the machine." Since that time, substance dualism has found few defenders, and a presumption toward naturalism has dominated philosophical inquiry. Here, I offer an unapologetic defense this unfashionable view of the self. To do so, I first explain why philosophy should endorse a shift in method away from naturalism and toward common sense philosophy. I then show how, from within that approach, substance dualism is far better supported than its competitors. My defense of the common sense method rests heavily on an account of justification and of evidence defended by Michael Huemer, and results in the view that we should give strong presumptive weight to common sense. I proceed to argue that a commitment to active, immaterial minds is built into the conception of human nature used in everyday life, and therefore qualifies as a tenet of common sense. This fact gives a strong presumption to dualism. I finish by considering objections to dualism, and showing that they not only fail to overcome this strong presumption, but would fail to overcome even a moderate conservatism with regard to beliefs about the nature of the mind. Putting the Ghost Back in the Machine: A Defense of Common Sense Dualism


High-precision constraints on primordial non-Gaussianity (PNG) will significantly improve our understanding of the physics of the early universe. Among all the subtleties in using large scale structure observables to constrain PNG, accounting for relativistic corrections to the clustering statistics is particularly important for the upcoming galaxy surveys covering progressively larger fraction of the sky. We focus on relativistic projection effects due to the fact that we observe the galaxies through the light that reaches the telescope on perturbed geodesics. These projection effects can give rise to an effective fNL that can be misinterpreted as the primordial non-Gaussianity signal and hence is a systematic to be carefully computed and accounted for in modelling of the bispectrum. We develop the technique to properly account for relativistic effects in terms of purely observable quantities, namely angles and redshifts. We give some examples by applying this approach to a subset of the contributions to the tree-level bispectrum of the observed galaxy number counts calculated within perturbation theory and estimate the corresponding non-Gaussianity parameter, fNL, for the local, equilateral and orthogonal shapes. For the local shape, we also compute the local non-Gaussianity resulting from terms obtained using the consistency relation for observed number counts. Our goal here is not to give a precise estimate of fNL for each shape but rather we aim to provide a scheme to compute the non-Gaussian contamination due to relativistic projection effects. For the terms considered in this work, we obtain contamination of fNLloc ∼ 𝒪(1).


At present there are 1425 tariff rate quotas (TRQs) notified by member countries to the World Trade Organization. TRQs were provided for in the Uruguay Round as a trade policy instrument to guarantee minimum market access for politically sensitive agricultural imports, and in some cases to continue managed trade regimes. This article evaluates the developmental relevance of TRQs and discusses how the various methods TRQ administration methods influence market access in Switzerland for agricultural products from developing countries. The findings show that existing TRQ management in Switzerland is complicated and lacks transparency. Further, the manner in which TRQs are administered results in high transaction costs, a situation that fails to liberate trade opportunities from rents and influences trade flows of the partner countries. Proposed reforms are establishment of a more efficient administrative mechanism, modalities to liberalize trade with TRQs through reduction of out-of-quota tariffs, and capacity building in developing countries; such reforms would maximize market access opportunities from a development perspective.


We consider several non-uniform variants of parameterized complexity classes that have been considered in the literature. We do so in a homogenous notation, allowing a clear comparison of the various variants. Additionally, we consider some novel (non-uniform) parameterized complexity classes that come up in the framework of parameterized knowledge compilation. We provide some (inclusion and separation) results relating the different non-uniform classes to each other. Moreover, we illustrate how these non-uniform parameterized complexity classes are useful in the setting of parameterized knowledge compilation.


In several domains, data objects can be decomposed into sets of simpler objects. It is then natural to represent each object as the set of its components or parts. Many conventional machine learning algorithms are unable to process this kind of representations, since sets may vary in cardinality and elements lack a meaningful ordering. In this paper, we present a new neural network architecture, called RepSet, that can handle examples that are represented as sets of vectors. The proposed model computes the correspondences between an input set and some hidden sets by solving a series of network flow problems. This representation is then fed to a standard neural network architecture to produce the output. The architecture allows end-to-end gradient-based learning. We demonstrate RepSet on classification tasks, including text categorization, and graph classification, and we show that the proposed neural network achieves performance better or comparable to state-of-the-art algorithms.


Mango is one of the most important and popular tropical fruits for people around the world due to its taste, appearance and excellent overall nutritional source from which lead to a heavy demand in world fruit market. With the increasing demand and consumption of mango, quality control becomes more and more important nowadays. Many relevant authorities are setting such criteria for quality factors to ensure good chain supply of mangoes. Therefore, to ensure the chain supply of good quality fruit, it is important to sort and grade mango based on its quality. To determine quality parameters in mango, several methods were already widely used in which most of them are based on solvent extraction followed by other laboratory procedures. However, these methods often require laborious and complicated processing for samples. Also, they are time consuming and destructive. Hence, a rapid and non-destructive method is required as an alternative method in determining quality parameters of mangos.
Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) has become one of the most promising and used non-destructive methods of analysis in many field areas including in agriculture due to its advantage; simple sample preparation, rapid, and environmental friendly since no chemical materials are used. More importantly, it has the potential ability to determine multiple quality parameters simultaneously. Since NIRS itself cannot reveal chemical information in the spectra, chemometrics is required to extract the information about quality attributes buried on NIR spectra through a process called multivariate calibration from which a mathematical relationship between NIR spectra and the measured quality parameter will be revealed to determine desired quality attributes. Thus, the main objective of this study is to investigate the use of NIRS as non-destructive method combined by chemometrics for quality attributes in term of soluble solids content (SSC), titratable acidity (TA) and ascorbic acid (AA) predictions of intact mango.
A total of 99 mangos were used as samples in the study from which NIR spectra were acquired at wavelength range of 1000-2500 nm. A reference measurement for desired quality attributes were obtained by standard laboratory procedures: solvent extraction, refractive index by refractomter (for SSC), and titration method (for TA and AA). Chemometrics, which are include principal component analysis (PCA), outlier detections, spectra pre-processing (mean centering (MC), mean normalization (MN), de-trending (DT), multiplicative scatter correction (MSC), standard normal variate (SNV) and orthogonal signal correction (OSC)), linear calibration models by principal component regression (PCR) and partial least square regression (PLSR), and non-linear regression by supporting vector machine regression (SVMR) and artificial neural networks (ANN) were applied to reveal chemical information buried in the NIR spectra by creating calibration models followed by validation or prediction for models evaluation.
The results show that for linear regression method, PLSR seems to be more accurate and robust than PCR. From the spectra pre-processing point of view, the use of MSC, SNV and OSC prior to PLSR models development, significantly has an impact to the model accuracy and robustness. This can be seen from the reduction of latent variables used in PLSR (3 LVs after MSC and SNV, and 2 LVs after OSC), and increasing coefficient of determination (R2) and residual predictive deviation (RPD) index in calibration and validation. Based on accuracy (R2, RMSEC and RMSEP) and robustness index (RPD), the non-linear regression method (SVMR or ANN) was found to be better than linear regression (PLSR). The most optimal models for mango quality attributes prediction were achieved when ANN is used in combination with PCA as input. Thus, it may conclude that NIRS coupled with proper spectra pre-processing and regression method may be used as non-destructive technique for quality attributes measurement of intact mango.


We introduce skypattern cubes and propose an efficient bottom-up approach to compute them. Our approach relies on derivation rules collecting skypatterns of a parent node from its child nodes without any dominance test. Non-derivable skypatterns are computed on the fly thanks to Dynamic CSP. The bottom-up principle enables to provide a concise representation of the cube based on skypattern equivalence classes without any supplementary effort. Experiments show the effectiveness of our proposal.


OBJECTIVE
To revise and update models in the Mortality Probability Model (MPM II) system to estimate the probability of hospital mortality among 19,124 intensive care unit (ICU) patients that can be used for quality assessment within and among ICUs.

DESIGN AND SETTING
Models developed and validated on consecutive admissions to adult medical and surgical ICUs in 12 countries.

PATIENTS
A total of 12,610 patients for model development, 6514 patients for model validation. Patients younger than 18 years and burn, coronary care, and cardiac surgery patients were excluded.

OUTCOME MEASURE
Vital status at hospital discharge.

RESULTS
The admission model, MPM0, contains 15 readily obtainable variables. In developmental and validation samples it calibrated well (goodness-of-fit tests: P = .623 and P = .327, respectively, where a high P value represents good fit between observed and expected values) and discriminated well (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve = 0.837 and 0.824, respectively). The 24-hour model, MPM24 (developed on 10,357 patients still in the ICU at 24 hours), contains five of the admission variables and eight additional variables easily ascertained at 24 hours. It also calibrated well (P = .764 and P = .231 in the developmental and validation samples, respectively) and discriminated well (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve = 0.844 and 0.836 in the developmental and validation samples, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS
Among severity systems for intensive care patients, the MPM0 is the only model available for use at ICU admission. Both MPM0 and MPM24 are useful research tools and provide important clinical information when used alone or together.


Abstract We present a new spectrum of the Centaur object 5145 Pholus between 1.15 and 2.4 μm. We model this, and the previously published (0.4- to 1.0-μm) spectrum, using Hapke scattering theory. Seen in absorption are the 2.04-μm band of H 2 O ice and a strong band at 2.27 μm, interpreted as frozen methanol and/or a photolytic product of methanol having small molecular weight. The presence of small molecules is indicative of a chemically primitive surface, since heating and other processes remove the light hydrocarbons in favor of macromolecular carbon of the kind found in carbonaceous meteorites. The unusually red slope of Pholus' spectrum is matched by fine grains of a refractory organic solid (tholin), as found previously by M. Hoffmann et al . (1993, J. Geophys. Res. 98, 7403–7407) and P. D. Wilson et al. (1994, Icarus 107, 288–303). Olivine (which we model with Fo 82) also appears to be present on Pholus. We present a five-component model for the composite spectrum of all spectroscopic and photometric data available for 5145 Pholus and conclude that this is a primitive object which has not yet been substantially processed by solar heat. The properties of Pholus are those of the nucleus of a large comet that has never been active.


In this work, we studied the effect of chirped grating on optical bistability in λ/4-shifted semiconductor distributed-feedback(DFB) devices, such as an etalon with nonlinear mirrors, a λ/4-shifted DFB waveguide and aλ/4-shifted DFB laser amplifier. We found that chirped DFB devices exhibit bistable switching at a lower input power.OCIS code : 050.2770, 190.1450, 190.5970, 230.0230.


Abstract : Vapor-phase detection of the model organophosphate malathion was achieved using enzymes encapsulated in peptide nanotubes and attached to gold screen-printed electrodes. Malathion was chosen as the model for this experiment because its binding mechanism with acetylcholinesterase (AChE) is identical to its more potent counterparts (such as sarin or VX), but it has an extremely low human toxicity, which makes it both practical and easy to use. The peptide nanotubes had horseradish peroxidase encapsulated inside and were coated with both acetylthiocholine (ASCh) and AChE on the outside. ASCh hydrolysis, which produces thiocholine, was catalyzed by the AChE. The thiocholine was then oxidized by the electrodes to produce a signal that could be measured by a cyclic voltammeter. This signal was inhibited in the presence of malathion vapor, with the extent of inhibition proportional to the malathion concentration. A calibration curve was first established in order to determine the concentration of malathion vapor in a given environment using standards of known concentrations of liquid malathion in a gas chromatograph. Once the vapor concentration was established, peptide-nanotube-modified, gold screen-printed electrodes were used to detect organophosphate vapor. The nanotube-modified electrodes were exposed to both AChE and ASCh and inserted into an airtight vial with a known concentration of malathion. Cyclic voltammograms were taken at each step to monitor the changes in activity. This research demonstrates the ability to use nano-modified biosensors for the detection of organophosphate vapor, an important development in countering weaponized organophosphate nerve agents and detecting commercially-used pesticides.


Most currently employed Integrated Assessment Models are of a dynastic nature, commonly assuming a fixed relation between pure time preference, economic growth and interest rate. This rigid relation has led to much debate on which level of discounting to adopt. Especially the quantitative results of Integrated Assessment Models have been subject to controversy because of their strong sensitivity on future discounting. Many economic analysts advocate employing a descriptive time preference, based on historic data, which usually represents an approximate efficient use of environmental resources. Others encourage assuming a prescriptive time discounting, allowing them - by taking low discount values - to model a sustainable use of environmental services. This paper argues that, although a fixed time preference relation might be convenient for economic analysis, such a supposition can be misleading. By avoiding a rigid discounting relation, the descriptive-prescriptive controversy can be avoided. It is concluded that dynastic Integrated Assessment Models are in many respects inappropriate for providing policy makers with quantitative figures about the costs of carbon dioxide emissions, and their desirable reduction levels. In contrast, Overlapping Generations models, allowing the use of a flexible discounting relation, are suitable for designing a broad class of policy instruments. With the Integrated Assessment Model ALICE 2.0, it is shown how various assumptions on demographic change and public institutions can affect the interest rate, thereby influencing the desired optimal greenhouse gas emission reductions. It is recommended that economic modelling intensify attempting to establish both efficient and sustainable resource use. The discount rate should be treated as an endogenous variable, rather than an exogenous parameter characterising a central planner.


Understanding of carbon exchange between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere can be improved through direct observations and experiments, as well as through modeling activities. Terrestrial biosphere models (TBMs) have become an integral tool for extrapolating local observations and understanding to much larger terrestrial regions. Although models vary in their specific goals and approaches, their central role within carbon cycle science is to provide a better understanding of the mechanisms currently controlling carbon exchange. Recently, the North American Carbon Program (NACP) organized several interim-synthesis activities to evaluate and inter-compare models and observations at local to continental scales for the years 2000–2005. Here, we compare the results from the TBMs collected as part of the regional and continental interim-synthesis (RCIS) activities. The primary objective of this work is to synthesize and compare the 19 participating TBMs to assess current understanding of the terrestrial carbon cycle in North America. Thus, the RCIS focuses on model simulations available from analyses that have been completed by ongoing NACP projects and other recently published studies. The TBM flux ◦ ◦ estimates are compared and evaluated over different spatial (1 × 1 and spatially aggregated to different regions) and temporal (monthly and annually) scales. The range in model estimates of net ecosystem productivity (NEP) for North America is much narrower than estimates of productivity or respiration, with estimates of NEP varying between −0.7 and 2.2 PgC yr−1, while gross primary productivity and heterotrophic respiration vary between 12.2 and 32.9 PgC yr−1 and 5.6 and 13.2 PgC yr−1, respectively. The range in estimates from the models appears to be driven by a combination of factors, including the representation of photosynthesis, the source and of environmental driver data and the temporal ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 928 523 1669; fax: +1 928 523 7423. E-mail address: email@example.com (D.N. Huntzinger). 304-3800/$ – see front matter © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. oi:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2012.02.004 D.N. Huntzinger et al. / Ecological Modelling 232 (2012) 144– 157 145 variability of those data, as well as whether nutrient limitation is considered in soil carbon decomposition. The disagreement in current estimates of carbon flux across North America, including whether North America is a net biospheric carbon source or sink, highlights the need for further analysis through the use of model runs following a common simulation protocol, in order to isolate the influences of model formulation, structure, and assumptions on flux estimates.


LOTT (Leiden Online Thesis Training) is an online course for writing Masters theses at the English department of the University of Leiden (Netherlands). LOTT was a response to curriculum change following the Treaty of Bologna. A description is given of the goals of the course, its development and the role of existing (mainly American) online writing courses and research on thesis writing. An overview is also given of academic writing theory and the principles of genre analysis according to which LOTT was designed. Finally, a discussion is provided of the problems, and their solutions, of online writing courses. It is concluded that while the course is a success, difficulties continue, mainly as a result of unfamiliarity with online courses. "I don't understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I'm frightened of the old ones." (John Cage)


The wolf is a common motif in the foundational mythologies and cosmologies of peoples throughout Eurasia and North America (corresponding to the historical extent of the habitat of the gray wolf). The obvious attribute of the wolf is its nature of a predator, and correspondingly it is strongly associated with danger, destruction, making it the symbol of the warrior on one hand, and that of the devil on the other. The modern trope of the Big Bad Wolf is a development of this. The wolf holds great importance in the cultures and religions of the nomadic peoples, both of the Eurasian steppe and of the North American Plains. In many cultures, the identification of the warrior with the wolf (totemism) gave rise to the notion of Lycanthropy, the mythical or ritual identification of man and wolf.


In this paper, spaceborne radar altimeters are shown to have the potential for monitoring the height of large rivers with accuracies of approximately 1 m. However, the need for a better height accuracy and the observations of smaller continental basins have led to studies on how to improve and extend the use of nadir-altimeter data. Conventional retracking techniques over land are limited to the examination of altimeter waveforms on a case-by-case basis. Due to the arbitrary geometry which may be present at altimeter river crossings, this approach may be limited to large rivers, which approximate ocean crossings. To overcome this limitation, we introduce a waveform-fitting method which uses the entire set of waveforms associated with a water crossing, rather than individual waveforms. By using ancillary data, such as digital elevation model (obtained from Shuttle Radar Topography Mission and Gtopo30) and classification maps (obtained from Landsat and MODIS), it is possible to recast the retracking problems as a maximum-likelihood-estimation problem. Theoretical power returns based on the a priori knowledge of the observed scenes are generated, resulting in a parametric library of waveform histories, which is then used to constrain the estimation. For demonstration, we concentrate on the river Meuse in northern western Europe and on the river Lena in Russia. The Meuse has important social impact, since it has flooded in the past and better real-time predictions of its changing stage may improve flood-forecasting skill. Furthermore, it presents a challenge to conventional nadir-altimeter waveform retracking. We will present both theoretical performance results and demonstrate the feasibility based on real altimeter data.


The Fortran language has just been revised. The new language, known as Fortran 77, became an official American National Standard on April 3, 1978. We report here on a compiler and run-time system for the new extended language. This is believed to be the first complete Fortran 77 system to be implemented. This compiler is designed to be portable, to be correct and complete, and to generate code compatible with calling sequences produced by C compilers. In particular, this Fortran is quite usable on UNIX† systems. In this paper, we describe the language compiled, interfaces between procedures, and file formats assumed by the I/O system. An appendix describes the Fortran 77 language.


A Review of:
Bullers, K., Howard, A. M., Hanson, A., Kearns, W. D., Orriola, J. J., Polo, R. L., & Sakmar, K. A. (2018). It takes longer than you think: Librarian time spent on systematic review tasks. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 106(2), 198-207. https://doi.org/10.5195/jmla.2018.323
Abstract
Objective – To investigate how long it takes for medical librarians to complete steps toward completion of a systematic review and to determine if the time differs based on factors including years of experience as a medical librarian and experience completing systematic reviews.
Design – Survey research as a questionnaire disseminated via email distribution lists.
Setting – At institutions that are members of the Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries (AAHSL) and librarians at Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) or American Osteopathic Association (AOA) member institutions.
Subjects – Librarians of member institutions who have worked on systematic reviews.
Methods – On December 11, 2015, AAHSL library directors and librarian members of AAMC and AOA were sent the survey and the recommendation to forward the survey to librarians on staff who have worked on systematic reviews. Reminders were sent on December 17, 2015, and the survey closed for participation on January 7, 2016. Participants who had worked on a systematic review within the past five years were asked to indicate experience by the number of systematic reviews completed, years of experience as a medical librarian, and how much time was spent, in hours, on the following: initial consultations/meetings; developing and testing the initial search strategy; translating the strategy for other databases; documenting the process; delivering the search results; writing their part of the manuscript; other tasks they could identify; and any instruction (i.e., training they provided to team members necessary for completion of the systematic review). Participants also further broke down the amount of their time searching, by percentage of time, in various resources, including literature indexes/databases, included studies' references, trial registers, grey literature, and hand searching. Participants were also given space to add additional comments. The researchers reported summary statistics for phase one and, for phase two, excluded outliers and performed exploratory factor analysis, beginning with principal components analysis (PCA), followed by a varimax rotation, to determine if there was a relationship between the time on tasks and experience.
Main Results – Of the 185 completed responses, 105 were analyzed for phase one because 80 responses were excluded due to missing data or no recent experience with a systematic review. The average respondent had between 1 and 6 years of experience: 1-3 years in librarianship (49.5%) and 4-6 years (23.8%). The time reported for completion of all tasks ranged from 2 to 219 hours with a mean of 30.7 hours. Most of the variance (61.6%) was caused by "information processing" and "interpersonal instruction/training" components. Search strategy development and testing had the highest average time at 8.4 hours. Within that category, databases accounted for 78.7% of time searching, followed by other searching methods. For remaining systematic review tasks, their averages were as follows: translating research (5.4 hours), delivering results (4.3 hours), conducting preliminary consultations (3.9 hours), instruction (3.8 hours), documentation (3.0 hours), additional tasks that were written-in by respondents (2.2 hours), and writing the manuscript (1.8 hours). The most common written-in tasks were development of inclusion/exclusion criteria, critical appraisal, and deduplication. Other write-ins included retrieving full-text articles, developing protocols, and selecting a journal for publishing the systematic review.
For the second phase of analysis, 12 responses were excluded as extreme outliers, and the remaining 93 responses were analyzed to detect a relationship between experience and time on task. Prior systematic review experience correlated with shorter times performing instruction, consultation, and translation of searches. However, librarian years of experience affected the percentage of time on task, where greater years of experience led to more time spent consulting and instructing than the percentage for librarians with fewer years of experience. Librarians with greater than 7 years of experience skewed trends toward shorter time on task, and, with their data excluded, years of experience showed weak positive correlation with instruction and consultation.
Conclusion – Because the average librarian participating on systematic review teams has had few prior experiences and because the times can vary widely based on assigned roles, duties, years of experience, and complexity of research question, it is not advised to establish expectations for librarians' time on task. This may be why library administrators have disparate expectations of librarians' involvement in systematic reviews and find it difficult to allocate and anticipate staff time on systematic review projects. While it may not be possible to set specific overarching guidelines for librarians' expected time on systematic review tasks, librarian supervisors and library directors planning for their staff to offer systematic review services should work to develop extensive understanding of the steps for conducting and assessing systematic reviews in order to better estimate time commitments.


Microwave puffing is a process used to obtain low-fat healthy foods by rapid heating of food products to develop high internal pressures in the material that cause significant structural changes. Two-way coupling of complex multiphase transport and large deformations in the material, which is critical to simulate the puffing process accurately, was implemented. A porous media model that includes different phases, solid, liquid water, and gas, and incorporates pressure driven flow and evaporation was used to describe the transport processes in the material. Large deformations were included to model structural changes, with the material treated as hyperelastic. Arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian (ALE) framework was used. The model was validated using experimental temperature, moisture, and volume measurement and used to comprehensively understand the puffing process. Uncertainty analysis was carried out to estimate uncertainty in model prediction due to the choice of critical input parameters such as bulk modulus and permeabilities. © 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 59: 33–45, 2013


The combination of solid-phase micro-extraction (SPME) with infrared (IR) attenuated total reflection (ATR) spectroscopic methods provides a fast and convenient way to detect organic compounds in aqueous solutions. In an effort to overcome the limitation of commercially available polymers, polystyrene (PS) was derivatized with different alkyl groups chain lengths to increase the performance of SPME-IR/ATR in detection of various aromatic compounds in aqueous solutions. The alkylated PS provides higher extraction efficiency and speed of diffusion in analysis of aromatic compounds than the commonly used polymers in SPME-IR/ATR methods. The increase of extraction efficiency is mainly caused by the π–π interaction between the phenyl rings of PS and the aromatic compounds. Meanwhile, the high rate of diffusion in the SPME phase is due to the lower crystallinity after alkylation. Results from analysis of different polarity aromatic compounds indicated that alkylated PS provides both a higher partition coefficient and a faster diffusion rate for the examined aromatic compounds. Better extraction performance of longer chain length PS was observed for low-polarity aromatic compounds. For higher polarity aromatic compounds, the increased chain length reduces the extraction efficiency in detection of this type of compound. This observation may reveal that the π–π interaction is more important in attraction of medium to polar aromatic compounds.


Background In 2011, the Bangladesh Government introduced the National Nutrition Services (NNS) by leveraging the existing health infrastructure to deliver nutrition services to pregnant woman and children. This study examined the quality of nutrition services provided during antenatal care (ANC) and management of sick children younger than five years. Methods Service delivery quality was assessed across three dimensions; structural readiness, process and outcome. Structural readiness was assessed by observing the presence of equipment, guidelines and register/reporting forms in ANC rooms and consulting areas for sick children at 37 primary healthcare facilities in 12 sub-districts. In addition, the training and knowledge relevant to nutrition service delivery of 95 healthcare providers was determined. The process of nutrition service delivery was assessed by observing 381 ANC visits and 826 sick children consultations. Satisfaction with the service was the outcome and was determined by interviewing 541 mothers/caregivers of sick children. Results Structural readiness to provide nutrition services was higher for ANC compared to management of sick children; 73% of ANC rooms had >5 of the 13 essential items while only 13% of the designated areas for management of sick children had >5 of the 13 essential items. One in five (19%) healthcare providers had received nutrition training through the NNS. Delivery of the nutrition services was poor: <30% of women received all four key antenatal nutrition services, 25% of sick children had their weight checked against a growth-chart and <1% had their height measured. Nevertheless, most mothers/caregivers rated their satisfaction of the service above average. Conclusions Strengthening the provision of equipment and increasing the coverage of training are imperative to improve nutrition services. Inherent barriers to implementing nutrition services in primary health care, especially high caseloads during the management of sick under-five children, should be considered to identify alternative and appropriate service delivery platforms before nationwide scale up.


We present the second edition of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Quasar Catalog. The catalog consists of the 16,713 objects in the SDSS First Data Release that have luminosities larger than Mi = -22 (in a cosmology with H0 = 70 km s-1 Mpc-1, ΩM = 0.3, and ΩΛ = 0.7), have at least one emission line with FWHM larger than 1000 km s-1, and have highly reliable redshifts. The area covered by the catalog is ≈1360 deg2. The quasar redshifts range from 0.08 to 5.41, with a median value of 1.43. For each object, the catalog presents positions accurate to better than 0.″2 rms per coordinate, five-band (ugriz) CCD-based photometry with typical accuracy of 0.03 mag, and information on the morphology and selection method. The catalog also contains some radio, near-infrared, and X-ray emission properties of the quasars, when available, from other large-area surveys. Calibrated digital spectra of all objects in the catalog, covering the wavelength region 3800–9200 Å at a spectral resolution of 1800–2100, are available. This publication supersedes the first SDSS Quasar Catalog, which was based on material from the SDSS Early Data Release. A summary of corrections to current quasar databases is also provided. The majority of the objects were found in SDSS commissioning data using a multicolor selection technique. Since the quasar selection algorithm was undergoing testing during the entire observational period covered by this catalog, care must be taken when assembling samples from the catalog for use in statistical studies. A total of 15,786 objects (94%) in the catalog were discovered by the SDSS; 12,173 of the SDSS discoveries are reported here for the first time. Included in the new discoveries are five quasars brighter than i = 16.0 and 17 quasars with redshifts larger than 4.5.


We examine the general factors that affect the distribution of debt among state and local governments. We measure the distribution as the percentage of total state and aggregate local debt that is issued or held by the state level of government. Using a fiscal federalism framework, we discuss the fiscal, legal, and political factors that play an important role in determining the level of government that issues debt. Findings suggest that important factors of debt concentration at the state level include state political ideology and economic factors of income per capita and unemployment rates.


In this paper, I will argue that general administrative law concerns about the legitimacy and effectiveness of rule-making have special force in the municipal zoning by-law context. In particular, I will argue that a particular, civic republican conception of legitimate state action offers the best justification for municipal regulation and provides the best normative foundation for developments in municipal consultation processes. In Part II, I will argue that the consultative processes in Quebec's zoning laws reflect a commitment to civic republican ideals, but that because of specific features of municipal regulation, these ideals are incompletely realized. In Part III, I will argue that a particular municipal institution - the ward council - enables the zoning process to better approximate civic republican ideals. I conclude this paper by arguing that ward councils not only strengthen the normative justifications for municipal regulation, they contribute to its effectiveness.


Single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) have remarkable properties based on their electronic properties, i.e., metallic or semiconducting types, but as-grown SWCNTs contain a mixture of both types. Presented here is an improved and detailed method for producing highly enriched semiconducting SWCNTs from a colloidal suspension of as-grown SWCNTs through agarose gel column-based affinity chromatography. After a 2 wt% sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) aqueous dispersion of SWCNTs is passed through the gel column, metal-type SWCNTs preferentially elute out using a 1.5 wt% SDS solution. Semiconductor-type SWCNTs are subsequently recovered from the column using a 2 wt% Pluronic F77 surfactant solution eluent. The semiconductor-enriched fraction purity is in the 90–95% range, based on detailed UV-vis-NIR absorption and resonant Raman spectroscopy characterization of the particulate suspension. Semiconductor-type SWCNTs are recovered in solid form by evaporating the suspension fluid, and heating the dried sample in air to a temperature just above the Pluronic decomposition temperature. Using Pluronic and other nonionic-type surfactants can aid the scalability of the chromatographic production of semiconducting SWCNT samples.


The comparative and evolutionary analysis of molecular data has allowed researchers to tackle biological questions that have long remained unresolved. The evolution of DNA and amino acid sequences can now be modeled accurately enough that the information conveyed can be used to reconstruct the past. The methods to infer phylogeny (the pattern of historical relationships among lineages of organisms and/or sequences) range from the simplest, based on parsimony, to more sophisticated and highly parametric ones based on likelihood and Bayesian approaches. In general, molecular systematics provides a powerful statistical framework for hypothesis testing and the estimation of evolutionary processes, including the estimation of divergence times among taxa. The field of molecular systematics has experienced a revolution in recent years, and, although there are still methodological problems and pitfalls, it has become an essential tool for the study of evolutionary patterns and processes at different levels of biological organization. This review aims to present a brief synthesis of the approaches and methodologies that are most widely used in the field of molecular systematics today, as well as indications of future trends and state-of-the-art approaches.


Objectives This study explored the perspectives of people affected by Huntington's disease (HD) on their own communicative abilities. Methods Qualitative semi-structured interviews were carried out with eight people with early HD. The data were analysed through thematic analysis. Results Four themes were constructed from the data, characterised by the following core topics: How HD directs and mediates communication; Regaining control to improve communication; Emotional outflows into communication and the struggle for separation; Sheltering as a way to boost confidence in communication. Discussion Separating patients' identity as individuals from that of a person with a disease can help increase communicative control. Consistent with the general theory and model of self-regulation, patients should be allowed a wider range of choices to regain control over communication. Achieving better emotion regulation is of paramount importance for communication, and factors such as medication regimes, relationships and existing coping strategies should be strengthened. Consistent with previous research, feelings of safety and the idea of a safe place ('sheltering') represent an effective coping mechanism. Practical implications include the refinement of communication and relationships among clinicians, caregivers, and patients with HD by considering a wider range of medical, psychological and socio-environmental factors.


─Abstract ─ The aim of this qualitative study was to explore research assistants' opinions to improve science perception at graduate programs. The research question includes the research assistants' suggestions on the improvement of the quality of the graduate program regarding science perception. The sample for the present study contains 12 interviewees from four different institutes of Middle East Technical University. The interviewees are all PhD candidates at METU. The results were considered under the title of suggestions which could be realized by university administration and by personal efforts. In conclusion, based on literature review and the research assistants' views it is suggested that history and philosophy of science course utilizing explicitly-reflective inquiry approach should be included curriculum of graduate programs.


In this paper, we consider the analysis of the acquisition process for a hybrid double-dwell system with antenna diversity for DS-CDMA (direct sequence-code division multiple access) using an adaptive threshold. Acquisition systems with a fixed threshold value are unable to adapt to fast varying mobile communications environments and may result in a high false alarm rate, and/or low detection probability. Therefore, we propose an adaptively varying threshold scheme through the use of a cellaveraging constant false alarm rate (CA-CFAR) algorithm, which is well known in the field of radar detection. We derive exact expressions for the probabilities of detection and false alarm in Rayleigh fading channels. The mean acquisition time of the system under consideration is also derived. The performance of the system is analyzed and compared to that of a hybrid single dwell system. Keywords—Adaptive threshold, hybrid double-dwell system, CA-CFAR algorithm, DS-CDMA.


Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the method for mixed-dentition analysis using Cone-Beam Computed Tomography for assessing the diameter of intra-osseous teeth and compare the results with those obtained by Moyers, Tanaka-Johnston, and 45-degree oblique radiographs. Methods: Measurements of mesial-distal diameters of erupted lower permanent incisors were made on plaster cast models by using a digital calliper, whereas assessment of the size of non-erupted permanent pre-molars and canines was performed by using Moyer's table and Tanaka-Johnston's prediction formula. For 45-degree oblique radiographs, both canines and pre-molars were measured by using the same instrument. For tomographs, the same dental units were gauged by means of Dolphin software resources. Results: Statistic analysis revealed high agreement between tomographic and radiographic methods, and low agreement between tomographs and other methods being evaluated. Conclusion: Cone-Beam Computed Tomography was accurate for mixed-dentition analysis in addition to presenting some advantages over compared measurement methods: observation and measurement of intra-osseous teeth individually with the possibility, however, to view them from different prospects and without superimposition of anatomical structures. Abstract


This dissertation consists of three main chapters which investigate the economic implications of monetary and fiscal policies on the macroeconomy. The first main chapter examines the effects of government spending and tax revenue shocks on various macroeconomic aggregates. There is a consensus among academics and practitioners that output reacts positively to fiscal stimulus, but the effects on private consumption, real wage, exchange rate and trade balance are still a matter of debate in both theoretical and empirical literature. In this study, I provide new empirical evidence that may rationalize these disagreements by estimating the effects of government spending and tax shocks on macroeconomic aggregates using vector autoregression model for two industrialized open economies, the United States and the United Kingdom. I show that the recursive and Blanchard-Perotti identification approaches yield similar responses for both economies, but the responses computed under the sign restriction method differs in the short-term. In addition, this study proposes a robust and novel identification specification for open economy variables, namely trade balance and exchange rate. As ancillary analysis, this study finds that (i) government spending yields higher output multiplier compared to tax cuts, and (ii) some of the fiscal stimulus for an open economy is leaked to its trading partners via the trade channel. Finally, I provide additional empirical evidence to the current literature by showing that the effects of government spending shocks on output have weakened in the post-1980s. The second chapter aims to examine the drivers of exchange rate movements and how it affects inflation by evaluating the temporal interrelations between real exchange rate and macroeconomic variables. Understanding what drives exchange rates dynamics is instrumental for both academics and policymakers as they significantly affect a country's trade competitiveness, influence exports, imports, and overall output growth. The exchange rate affects the prices of imported goods and services, which feeds through domestic consumer prices, ultimately determining consumer's purchasing power. Movements in the exchange rate can make it costly (or cheaper) to service foreign denominated debt and can have a substantial impact on foreign investments earnings. In this study, I provide empirical evidence - from a Bayesian time-varying parameter vector autoregression model with stochastic volatility - that real exchange rate movements and volatility increased over time following a monetary policy shock. The simulation results - from the standard two-country New Keynesian dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model -- suggest that price rigidities, exchange rate pass-through, degree of openness to trade, and monetary policy response to inflation and output growth drive most of the movements in the real exchange rate, whereas changes in its volatility can be mainly attributed to feasible calibrations of nominal rigidities and home bias. Finally, the third chapter focuses on the spillovers and spillbacks of monetary policy. On the onset of the Global Financial Crisis, central banks aimed to promote price stability and domestic economic growth by engaging in expansionary monetary policy, which led to significant interest rate differentials between advanced economies and emerging economies. Foreign policymakers, in particular in emerging countries, criticized the Federal Reserve of deliberately weakening the dollar to gain an advantage in trade. Despite a large body of literature in this field, the following question about monetary policy spillovers remain open: Is expansionary monetary policy beggar-thy-neighbor or boost-thy-neighbor? In this study, I show that international trade spillovers of monetary policy in the United States substantially change over time, with a monetary policy tightening leading to more adverse international spillovers during recessions. Using a combination of empirical and theoretical tools, this study documents these findings and explains that during economic downturns, a decline in the trade elasticity and a lower exchange rate pass-through to import prices cause the U.S. trade balance to increase following a monetary policy tightening, despite the appreciation of the U.S. dollar. This occurs through a reduction of the expenditure switching effect. In turn, this lowers foreign GDP. In good times, in contrast, the trade spillovers to the foreign economy following a monetary policy tightening in the United States tend to be favorable and support foreign economic growth. The degree in which countries trade and the extent to which exchange rate movements are reflected in import prices are therefore crucial for the international spillovers and spillbacks of monetary policy. Variation in these key spillovers parameters can explain more generally why the international transmission of monetary policy in the United States changes over time.


Hyperglycemia is common in the intensive care unit (ICU) both in patients with and without a previous diagnosis of diabetes. The optimal glucose range in the ICU population is still a matter of debate. Given the risk of hypoglycemia associated with intensive insulin therapy, current recommendations include treating hyperglycemia after two consecutive glucose >180 mg/dL with target levels of 140-180 mg/dL for most patients. The optimal method of sampling glucose and delivery of insulin in critically ill patients remains elusive. While point of care glucose meters are not consistently accurate and have to be used with caution, continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) is not standard of care, nor is it generally recommended for inpatient use. Intravenous insulin therapy using paper or electronic protocols remains the preferred approach for critically ill patients. The advent of new technologies, such as electronic glucose management, CGM, and closed-loop systems, promises to improve inpatient glycemic control in the critically ill with lower rates of hypoglycemia.


The aim of this research is to develop highly conductive coating compounds for the emergence of comfortable and durable garments with integrated technology. Metals as filler particles for coating and printing pastes are the focus in this work. This, due to that metal provides excellent conductive properties particularly important for producing reliable electronic circuits used in e.g. wearable body monitoring systems. The research presented center on the frequently reported research challenges; to overcome the stiffening effects of metals and the poor mechanical resistance of the conductive film, commonly shown during folding, abrasion and washing [1,2]. This affects the comfort for the wearer and the durability. A prior concern is also the toxicological effects of certain metal particles, possibly leaking out into the environment during washing or wearing. Therefore the mechanical resistance and adhesion of these types of coatings are further investigated.Today, the use of metal compounds for flexible electronic fabrics are frequently reported including their use for electromagnetic shielding and even antimicrobial effects [3]. In this work, conductive coatings containing silver-coated copper flakes are evaluated for their electrically and thermally conductive properties, using square resistance measurements and infrared camera imaging respectively. Different approaches for improving the durability of the conductive films are comprised, such as addition of a cross-linking agent and encapsulation of the conductive film.


For centuries courts across the common law world have developed their systems of law by building bodies of judicial decisions. By deciding individual cases, common law courts settle litigation and move the law in new directions. Apex courts which sit at the apex of common law systems fulfil these standard dispute-resolution and law-development functions, but they also have a unique institutional position. By virtue of their place at the top of the judicial hierarchy, the decisions of apex courts and, in particular, the language used in those decisions, resonate through the legal system. Moreover, members of the legal community – judges, lawyers, legal academics, students and laypeople – often look to apex courts for general guidance.

Accordingly, the institutional position of apex courts may nudge them away from incremental development of the law based on the resolution of individual cases and towards the elaboration of general principles that can unify large areas of the law and provide meaningful guidance to the legal community and the general public. The development of the common law has typically been seen as a 'bottom-up' exercise, with courts proceeding by analogy from case to case without guidance from tablets of stone delivered from on high, whereas an apex court's position in its national legal system may push it to prefer a 'top-down' approach designed to achieve coherence in the application of law by lower courts.

The overarching theme of this collection is the influence of apex courts on the development of the common law. In particular, how the institutional position of apex courts causes them to shape the common law; and conversely how the traditions of the common law shape the way apex courts conceive of their role. Contributors from around the common law world address the overarching theme in three different contexts: first, the particular characteristics of the apex courts of several selected jurisdictions; second, the influence if any of constitutionalism and bills of rights on apex courts' relationships to the common law; and third, how apex courts have treated core concepts such as causation, restitution, good faith and property.

This introduction provides an overview of the major themes of the collection as a whole and of the individual chapters.


Intertidal mangrove forests are harsh environments that can naturally experience hypoxia in association with low tide. However, we know relatively little about dissolved oxygen (DO) fluctuations and DO-induced responses by fish, although DO is a fundamental water quality parameter. This study examines DO as a potential factor regulating the utilisation of 15 intertidal mangrove forests by fish, and consequently their value.widely recognised feeding, refuge and nursery values. We deployed underwater video cameras, coupled with DO and depth loggers, in a mangrove forest to record changes in fish assemblages in response to tidal variations in DO and other associated environmental parameters. Our results indicate that DO underwent extreme tidal fluctuations, reaching levels as low as 14 % saturation. As DO was identified as a significant factor to explain variability in fish assemblage composition, we further investigated fish responses to DO fluctuations. Higher 20 taxonomic richness and frequencies of occurrence were observed once DO reached 70-80 % saturation. More detailed examination revealed species-specific responses. Three distinct patterns of mangrove utilisation in response to DO were identified, driven by apparent taxa's behavioural DO avoidance thresholds. Most taxa did not display any behavioural avoidance, including presence at the lowest DO levels, while other taxa were not observed either below 50-60 % saturation, or below 70-80 % saturation. This implies that tidal migrations, often observed in intertidal environments, could be the result 25 of differential DO tolerances, and not simply initiated by changes in water depth. Taxa remaining in the mangrove forest even at low DO were on average more frequently observed than the other taxa, and were mostly species commonly associated with mangrove habitats. This suggests that being adapted to withstand low DO might be an important condition to use mangrove habitats extensively. The need of being tolerant to low DO could constrain fish utilisation and explain the relatively low species richness often observed in other intertidal mangrove forests. 30


Teenage "sexting"-- the practice of taking nude or semi-nude photographs and distributing them via cell phone text messages -- has been in and out of the media spotlight for several years. While the media often rightly focuses on these incidents from a bullying standpoint, most people are not fully aware of the potentially devastating legal consequences that could stem from these instances of so-called juvenile naivete. Federal and state child pornography laws make it illegal to create, possess, or distribute explicit images of a minor and, while these laws were enacted to protect children from adult predators, there is nothing in the language of most current legislation that prohibits the prosecution of minors -- even those who willingly take and send pictures of themselves. This article attempts to delve deeper into the sexting trend, exploring its psychological motivations and implications, as well as the legal consequences that may stem from pressing "send." Finally, the article proposes a more appropriate way to address sexting -- a combination between criminal sanctions and preventative education -- and suggests redrawing the line that would trigger legal action.


The intensification of Canadian amerindian self-determination movements, combined with the recent publication of a series of government reports detailing the mistreatment of amerindians in the Canadian criminal legal system, has placed the creation of separate, amerindian criminal legal systems at the centre of many self-determination campaigns. As alternatives to involvement in the Canadian legal system, many of these proposed alternative structures purport to embody a return to traditional modes of dispute resolution which are offered as both rationale and blueprint for their modern counterparts. Focusing upon proposals for a separate, traditional legal system offered by two groups within the Kahnawake Mohawk Nation of Quebec, the dissertation juxtaposes these proposals with the traditions of dispute resolution extant in the period of initial contact between Iroquois and European. The early traditional lifestyle of the Kahnawake Mohawks is examined, as is the chronicle of contact and acculturation which eroded their original traditional structures. Replete with gaps, the documented history and "legal traditions" of these Mohawks are revealed to differ significantly from those histories postulated by the competing factions, each of which adopts a history which reinforces both its own position on "legal traditions" and in the proposed "post-internal colonial" context. To the degree that these histories and the "traditions" they legitimate and empower are consciously manufactured, their legitmacy in the eyes of Kahnawake people and the Canadian state is diminished. Concentrating upon what appears to be a consciously manufactured, rather than genuine, link between the "old" and "new" traditions, the proposed traditional legal systems are examined through Hobsbawm's theory of the invention of tradition. This examination leads to the conclusion that, while these "traditional systems" and their supporting histories do contain some invented elements and may thus be criticised as invented rather than genuine, such invention need not constitute a fatal compromise to the integrity of the modern traditional legal form nor to the self-determination aspirations of their proponents.


In recent years, a growing number of historians and sociologists have begun to re-appraise the Iranian encounter with modernity in its early stages. These approaches have ranged from an examination of the 'discourses of modernity' as represented in the writings of a range of Iranian intellectuals and reformers, including writers, diplomats, merchants and travelers in the mid-19th century, to the more imaginative study of how concepts such as 'nation' and 'homeland' begin to be rethought and redefined from the late 18th century onwards. While such studies certainly make a valuable contribution to our understanding of the early attitudes towards modernity, they do not always impart the full picture. That is, they do not necessarily allow us an insight into the broader context where such reformulations were discussed, give us a sense of how pervasive they were, or more importantly, how the wider community may have perceived, understood and absorbed them.

This paper tries to address this lacuna by focusing on the public conversation that came about in the aftermath of the constitutional revolution, in particular between 1907 and 1908, a time which saw the flourishing of independent and critical newspapers. By examining the more popular and renowned newspapers published at this time and focusing on the social and political messages conveyed in their articles as well as the 'open letters' that appeared in their pages, this paper will explore the role that the press may have played in the process of negotiating and defining new concepts and in shaping public opinion in what was widely considered to be a new era.


OBJECTIVE: To evaluate insulinemia in glucocorticoid naïve patients with dermatomyositis and to evaluate insulin resistance using the homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA2-IR). METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 25 dermatomyositis, non-diabetic glucocorticoid naïve patients. The control group consisted of 50 volunteers matched for age, gender, ethnicity, weight and height. The HOMA2IR index was calculated from baseline insulin and glucose data. The International Myositis Assessment & Clinical Studies Group (IMACS) parameters were used to evaluate disease status. RESULTS: Mean age of the patients was 43.5 years and these were predominantly females. Patients had low disease activity according to IMACS parameters. Higher body mass index and waist circumference were observed in the dermatomyositis group compared to the control group. Insulin level and HOMA2-IR were also higher in patients with dermatomyositis. Moreover, analyzing dermatomyositis alone, the HOMA2-IR index correlated positively with weight, body mass index and waist circumference and was independent on disease status parameters. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with dermatomyositis had higher values for basal insulinemia, insulin resistance, body mass index and waist circumference. Moreover, HOMA2-IR moderately correlated with these anthropometric parameters. These metabolic abnormalities are related to the development of metabolic syndrome, one of the main comorbidities observed in dermatomyositis.


QUIC aims to improve performance by multiplexing streams and various
other enhancements [I-D.ietf-quic-transport]. QUIC performs better
than existing transport protocols in most cases. However, its
performance suffers compared to HTTP under very high bandwidth when
large amounts of data needs to be downloaded [MEG2016]. This is
because QUIC is an end to end protocol and provides no means for the
intermediate network elements to contribute to QUIC improvements. This
draft proposes a change to the QUIC protocol header that will allow
session aware routers and other middleboxes to prioritize streams in
QUIC packets, divert high priority streams to low loss paths, and
adjust packet pacing on a per stream basis. This opens the door to
many possible future in-network enhancements.


Outward migration data from the Philippines exhibit spatial clustering. This is likely due to information spillover effects-‐fellow migrants share information with other neighboring migrants, thereby lowering the costs of migration. To verify this, we use spatial econometrics to define a geography-based network of migrants and estimate its effect on the growth in the number of succeeding migrants. We find that current and past migration from one municipality induces contemporaneous and future migration in neighboring municipalities, even while controlling for demographic, economic and institutional factors that may be common across municipalities.