The mixed ligand complexes of Co(II), Ni(II) and Cu(II) with Sulfadoxine and 1,10-phenanthroline were synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, Infrared (IR), mass spectrometry, 1H-NMR, and Ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy. Some physical parameters were obtained using molar conductance measurement and melting point determination. Based on the analytical and spectroscopic data, the complexes were proposed to have the formula [M L1 L2 Cl2].nH2O, where M= Co, Ni or Cu; L1= sulfadoxine, L2=1,10- phenanthroline, n = 0 and 2. The spectroscopic data showed that sulfadoxine coordinated through (N-H) and (O=S=O), while1,10- phenanthroline coordinated through two nitrogen atoms making them bidentate ligands. The kinetic and thermodynamic parameters such as: activation energy (Ea), enthalpy of reaction (?H*), entropy change (?S*) and free energy change (?G*) were estimated from the differential thermal analysis curves. Free ligand 1,10-phenanthroline showed antibacterial activity, but sulfadoxine had no effect and all complexes showed antibacterial activity.


Objectives: To evaluate the feasibility and impact of a health education intervention promoting partner notification for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Methods: The research setting was a busy public health clinic in a rural district in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. A before/after quantitative study design was used to measure the effect of an audiovisual presentation of a compelling love drama, posters, and pamphlets. Measures collected from all consenting STD index patients during a 6 week pre-intervention (control) phase were compared with those collected during a 6 week intervention phase. A qualitative evaluation assessed whether the intervention accurately portrayed the intended educational messages. Results: 150 index patients (55% female) were interviewed in the control phase and 185 index patients (64% female) in the intervention phase. The intervention phase showed improvements on several measures of self efficacy about notifying casual partners, such as a belief among index patients that a greater proportion of their casual partners would see the importance of seeking treatment as a result of their notification interaction. The rate of contact cards returned per index patient was 0.27 in the intervention phase, compared with 0.20 in the control phase (95% CI for the rate difference: −0.05, 0.17). The qualitative research found that the intervention was thoroughly enjoyed by patients and clinicians, but a fundamental problem with it was that patients received confused messages about the relation between HIV/AIDS and other STDs. This has potentially negative consequences for partner notification. Conclusion: The intervention needs further development, and then could provide a highly acceptable, cost effective model for health education in clinics in developing countries.


Science Fiction and Fantasy Research Collection: Cushing Memorial Library Main Website: Library portal at Select "Special & Archival Collections." 5000 TAMU Libraries College Station, TX 77843-5000 Cushing Library Phone: (979) 845-1961 The Cushing Memorial Library at Texas A&M University houses the special collections of the school, ranging from rare books and manuscripts to film and art media. All collections reflect the varied interests of students, alumni, faculty, staff, and Friends of the University. Altogether the collections comprise some 21,000 linear feet of manuscripts, 170,000 printed volumes, over 50,000 photographs, over 200 original works of art, and hundreds of individual artifacts. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Research Collection makes up a significant portion of the collection with some 44,800 pieces, including 26,844 monographs, the majority of the English-language magazines, 125 linear feet of manuscripts and author collections, and 40 linear feet of collected papers. In 1970 two A&M librarians--Vicki Anders and Hal Hall--became aware of a science fiction collection being offered at a low price to the library. After conferring with faculty in the English Department and the Engineering Department (where there resided additional aficionados), it was agreed that there would be quite a bit of interest from faculty and students in using the collection, and it was purchased. In the years since, the collection has grown to be one of the larger collections in the United States and one of the most used collections at Cushing Library. Holdings Books and Monographs: The strength of the monograph collection is in the novels and collections published from 1960 to the present. The collection contains important historical items such as Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, represented by the 1932 third edition, and a first edition of H. G. Wells's Time Machine. The collection includes hard cover editions, trade paperbacks, and mass market paperbacks. Although predominantly in English, representative materials in French, German, and Italian are included. In addition to the fiction, a substantial portion of the collection consists of history and criticism volumes. History volumes discuss classical precursors from ancient Greece and the storytelling practices of ancient peoples through science fiction's inception (as we know it today) in the 1920s. Literary criticism by its nature covers a multitude of topics, but particular themes of criticism include studies of utopias and dystopias, gender studies, and critical companions to various authors and their works. Some groundbreaking works in the field include J. O. Bailey's Pilgrims Through Space and Time and Stanislaw Lem's Fantastyka i Futurologia. An additional strength of the collection is a focus on anthologies. By the nature of the genre, the predominant fictional form is that of short story, novelette, or novella. In the early part of the twentieth century, many stories made their debut appearances in magazines that would later be either rebound or reprinted into books. More recent anthologies focus on "themed" collections such as alternate history stories, time travel stories, and pretty much any other topic one can think of! In addition, many popular authors now have volumes collecting their shorter works together in one volume as well. The monograph collection now contains over 26,500 titles. Periodicals: The periodicals section is a major strength of the collection as a whole. It includes about 90% of the English-language science fiction and fantasy magazines, primarily from 1923 to the present. Notable are the complete runs of Amazing Stories, Astounding/Analog, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and Galaxy, and a near complete run of Weird Tales. The scarce first issues of Amazing, Astounding, and Weird Tales are in the collection. …


The article reviews the process of transformation of management strategies of politic-management elite in the regions of North Caucasus. The scientific analysis is carried out in the context of social conditions of modern value-institutional crisis. The author considers the changes in values of North Caucasus peoples and inner and outer factors that lead to the modification in the character of managing these regions. The article studies the practices of power transition and making an own system of power by new leaders. It deals with such factors influencing the management of regions as increasing the meaning of religion and religious extremism, the meaning of ethnic mobilization strife mechanisms. The influence of these factors is shown on the examples of the Republics of North Ossetia-Alania, Dagestan, Kab ardino Balkaria, Chechnya, Ingushetia. The author examines the possible strategies of how Russian federal authorities may react on conflicts in regional elite and principles of their interaction with regional elite.


In Pacific Asia, globalization has resulted in rapidly growing international flows of goods, portfolio capital, and direct investments. At the same time, several countries shift from a command to market economy. Against this background, we analyze the perhaps most popular model used to depict the process of economic integration and development in Pacific Asia, the flying geese pattern of shifting comparative advantage. Our point of departure is that economic and other social processes are best understood in relation to one another. We confine ourselves to intraregional patterns of trade and investment but locate them within the broader framework of global trends.


Our understanding of information and information dynamics has outgrown classical information theory. The theory does not account for the value or influence of information within the context of a system or network and does not explain how these properties might influence how information flows though and interacts with a system. The invited chapters in this collection present new theories, methods, and applications that address some of these limitations. Dynamics of Information Systems presents state-of-the-art research explaining the importance of information in the evolution of a distributed or networked system. This book presents techniques for measuring the value or significance of information within the context of a system. Each chapter reveals a unique topic or perspective from experts in this exciting area of research. These newly developed techniques have numerous applications including: the detection of terrorist networks, the design of highly functioning businesses and computer systems, modeling the distributed sensory and control physiology of animals, quantum entanglement and genome modeling, multi-robotic systems design, as well as industrial and manufacturing safety.


With the increasing deployment of wireless networks, network management and configuration of wireless Access Points (APs) has become one of the main concerns of network operators. While statistics and measurements regarding the overall usage of individual APs are readily available, the limited knowledge of the wireless traffic demand in terms of the type of application hinders efficient network provisioning. This paper provides an extensive application-based characterization of a large-scale wireless network, going beyond the port-number limitation, across three levels, namely, network, clients, and APs. We found that the most popular application types, in terms of the number of flows, bytes, and clients, are web and peer-to-peer; and while the majority of APs is dominated by them, APs of the same building type have large differences in their traffic mix. File transfer flows, such as FTP and P2P, are heavier in wired than in wireless networks. Finally, an interesting dichotomy among APs, in terms of their dominant application type and downloading and uploading behavior was observed.


Depression is a disorder that affects thoughts feelings, motivations and behavior of looking at ourselves, the environment and the future with negative cognitive schema (pessimistic). Depression is marked by profound sadness, feelings of hopelessness, withdrawal from social environment, sleep disturbance, eating and decreased sexual drive and loss of interest and pleasure in usual activities undertaken. While stroke is one of the deadly disease caused by a brain hemorrhage or brain due to constriction of blood pembulih brain embolism or thrombosis. Depression in patients with stroke associated with mood disturbances, appetite and sleep or other daily activities. Depression is one of the effects of stroke with an estimated 26-60% patients after stroke This study aimed to reveal the background and causes of depression in stroke patients, and the reactions and symptoms caused and the efforts made to overcome depression. Research conducted by observation and interviews to reveal the background and life adjustment stroke
patients with depression accompanied by the provision of Beck Depression Inventory to determine the level of depression subjects. Then do the crosscheck the results of research by interviewing study subjects. The conclusion that can be drawn from studies of depression in stroke patients due to the failure of adjustment after retirement (post-power syndrome) and lack of self-acceptance of the disability suffered by the subjects after stroke. There is support, attention and affection from family members subject to overcome depression petrified, on the contrary sense of loneliness, not required, the lack of social support would be difficult for stroke patients with depression to overcome depression.


Mobile banking is an emerging service that not only facilitates our life, but also creates great opportunities for mobile operators, device manufactures, and especially for banks. To better understand individual's intention to adopt mobile banking, this paper integrates trust into Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), and examined the role of trust based on a multi-dimensional perspective. Results from a survey of 438 respondents indicated that: 1) trust primarily works as an indirect antecedent of user's intention to adopt mobile banking through its impact on perceived usefulness (PU), which is the primary direct indicator of intention; 2) the shape of individual's general trust is mainly affected by three dimensions (trust in technologies, trust in vendors and structural assurance); 3) structural assurance is the most important facets of individual's general trust. Finally, implications for improving the adoption of mobile banking are discussed.


The use of information and communications technology (ICT) has become integral to health professions education worldwide. The incorporation of online facility and maintaining of face-to-face element make blended learning the "best of both worlds." Blogs can be used to create a relatively learner-centred environment that allows students to learn at their own pace. Though blended learning has been proved to be appropriate in higher learning institutions, it comes with challenges and opportunities. Our study intended to highlight the challenges and identify opportunities encountered by an Evidence Based Practice (EBP) postgraduate class who used the blended learning model of learning. An action based research methodology was utilized in this study. This involved data gathering, action planning, action taking and action evaluation. Data was gathered through the use of a blog that was accessed by all participants. They made comments which were reflecting their perceptions on the model that was used for the course. The students gave consent to participate while permission from the physiotherapy head of department was also acquired. Deductive analysis was used for data analysis. The information from the blog was extracted and converted into text files. Coding and analysis into opportunities and challenges as expressed by the participants was performed. Theoretical saturation through every reviewer's agreement and satisfaction about the information was included. The data consisted of 94 postings made of primary postings (22) and responses (72). All the authors acted as reviewers. Certainty was achieved by discussing any ambiguity in coding. Any necessary amendments were made. The participants reported to have experienced some challenges pertaining to blended learning. The blog that was used as a media between students and the facilitator was inefficient in some way. Some students could not access it when required and some resources in the blog were inaccessible. The wireless internet connection mainly used in this model was not reliable. However, there were opportunities experienced by the learners. These included easy interaction between the learners and the facilitator at anytime. The model also reduced instructor dependence and made the learners more responsible of their work. The blog appeared as a resource base for skills development. Timely feedback involving solving the problems students encountered during the course improved the communication skills between the students and the facilitator. However, technology constraints involving the blog and the internet connection were overwhelming among the students while writing up the tasks allocated to them. Despite the fact that students faced some challenges, facilitators of blended learning such as the interaction between the students and the facilitator of the course were motivating to keep the course interesting. While students experienced some opportunities about blended learning, its future rests on averting the challenges associated with it more especially in developing countries. If the challenges reported would be addressed in developing countries, blended learning can be effective in building student's engagement and relieving of overcrowded classrooms in higher learning institutions.


Smart environments with ubiquitous computers are the next generation of information technology, which requires improved human--computer interfaces. That is, the computer of the future must be aware of the people in its environment; it must know their identities and must understand their moods. Despite the great effort made in the past decades, the development of a system capable of automatic facial emotion recognition is still rather difficult. In this paper, we challenge the benchmark algorithm on emotion classification of the Extended Cohn-Kanade (CK$+)$ database, and we present a facial component-based system for emotion classification, which beats the given benchmark performance: using a 2D emotional face, we searched for highly discriminative areas, we classified them independently, and we fused all results together to allow for facial emotion recognition. The use of the sparse-representation-based classifier allows for the automatic selection of the two most successful blocks and obtains the best results by beating the given benchmark performance by six percentage points. Finally, using the most promising algorithms for facial analysis, we created equivalent facial component-based systems and we made a fair comparison among them.


WHERE DOES TECHNOLOGICAL progress come from and what determines its rate of advance? In answering these questions, it is useful to decompose technological progress into the invention of new techniques and products and the improvement of existing ones. Roughly speaking, the economist sees invention as the result of research and development, and improvement as the result of experience-learning by doing. Because productivity growth on any single process is likely to be bounded, invention is the origin of long-run productivity growth. But the "level" effects of improvement on productivity have, in some activities, been found to be huge-on the order of several hundreds of percentage points. Thus understanding how the process of improvement works will help us better account for growth. This paper concerns itself with a simple model of one of the forces involved in improvement, namely, the improvement in productive efficiency that occurs as a joint product with output, or learning by doing.


Airlines are corporately socially and environmentally responsible (CSER). Unlike predecessor 'CSR', CSER acknowledges the importance of the environment. CSER-managed airlines obey the law, service customers safely, manage employees fairly, reward owners appropriately, pay suppliers promptly and mitigate environmental impacts. Unlike philanthropy (i.e. CSERplus), airlines' CSER-management is underpinned by economics – the optimal allocation of resources. External pressures push airlines to go beyond economically-viable, strategic investments to make philanthropic donations which are voluntary, discretionary contributions purportedly to further their interests. If the CSERplus philanthropic contributions are non-strategic they could increase costs without any benefit. Husted and Salazar (2006) determined three motivations for corporate entities to engage in strategic CSERplus (philanthropic) activities: either to (a) prevent unfavourable government intervention (b) create product differentiation to increase sales or (c) trigger cost reductions. Content and theme analysis of the top 10 airlines' CSER reports indicated that none of the three motivations applied to their philanthropic contributions. Philanthropy appeared to support the altruistic or egoistic interests of managers rather than the airlines. There were no success measures. In fact, philanthropic donations appeared to increase costs at a time when many airlines were reducing services and products to remain competitive. The conclusion is that airline philanthropy is an expense rather than an investment. This paper contributes to the paucity of current literature on philanthropic motivations and airline CSER management.


Transfer ribonucleic acid (tRNAs) decode the genetic code and carry attached amino acids to the growing protein chain on the ribosome. With the availability of the complete sequence of the human genome, at least 497 tRNA genes have been identified (which include some gene duplications). With the exception of the UGA-decoding tRNA that inserts selenocysteine into protein under special circumstances, no tRNAs were found that decode stop codons. This opens up the possibility of using nonsense codons for insertion of nonnatural amino acids into selected proteins, to facilitate structural and functional analyses of these proteins. This has been accomplished by evolving tRNA:aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase pairs in which the synthetase recognises a nonnatural amino acid and attaches it to its partner nonsense-suppressor tRNA and no other tRNAs.

Key Concepts:

tRNAs are grouped into families of isoacceptors, with each family recognised by a single cognate aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase.

All tRNAs conform to a secondary structure described as a 'cloverleaf', and fold in three-dimensional space into an 'L-shaped' molecule, in which the amino acid and the anticodon are at opposite ends of the molecule.

The 3′ end of all tRNAs have the sequence CCA, with the amino acid attached by the tRNA synthetase to the terminal adenosine residue. In eukaryotic cells, the 3′ terminal CCA is not encoded but is enzymatically added posttranscriptionally.

The anticodon of the tRNA decodes a complementary codon on mRNA in an antiparallel fashion.

Wobble between the third codon position in an mRNA and the first anticodon position in the tRNA extends allowable base-pairing.

There are extensive modifications of the bases in tRNAs, with functional importance.

During protein synthesis, tRNAs interact with the ribosomal 'A' (aminoacyl), 'P' (peptidyl) and 'E' (exit) sites.

All organisms exhibit preferred 'codon bias', in which certain synonymous codons are preferred over others, generally corresponding to cognate tRNA abundance.

The human genome has 497 identified tRNA genes and 324 putative tRNA pseudogenes. There are no tRNAs that decode stop codons.

Dedicated, unique tRNA: aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase pairs have been developed for insertion of nonnatural amino acids into protein.

Keywords:

tRNA structure;
tRNA function;
diversity of tRNA genes;
tRNA properties;
expansion of the genetic code;
insertion of nonnatural amino acids into protein


This article examines both the legal and constitutional validity of the various actions pertaining to the emergency rule in Plateau State, Nigeria. The article argues that the presidential constitutions of Nigeria, namely 1979 and 1999, lay down procedures for the exercise of legislative and executive powers. Furthermore, the article underlines the procedures which were clearly exploited by the President in the declaration of a state of emergency in Plateau State. Relying on constitutional instruments and case law, the article argues that the President has powers to declare a state of emergency but the constitution does not give the President unqualified discretion as there are procedures to be followed in the exercise of those powers. While calling for bold judicial review that would give primacy to due process, the article concludes by noting that no where in the constitution is the President of Nigeria granted powers to remove elected officers from office. Thus, by declaring a state of emergency, he acted against the letter and spirit of the constitution.


Purpose: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) harbors highly metastatic properties, accounting for postoperative recurrence and metastasis. However, the mechanisms for metastasis and recurrence remain incompletely clear. This study aimed to investigate the role of hsa-miR-487a (miR-487a) in promoting the proliferation and metastasis of HCC and to elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms. Experimental Design: 198 HCC samples were analyzed for association between miR-487a expression and patient clinicopathological features and prognosis. The roles of miR-487a in proliferation and metastasis were validated both in vivo and in vitro. The upstream regulator and downstream targets of miR-487a were determined using a dual luciferase reporter assay, chromatin immunoprecipitation and immunohistochemistry. Results: Our results demonstrate that upregulated miR-487a correlates with a poor prognosis for HCC patients. miR-487a enhances proliferation and metastasis of HCC cells by directly binding to sprouty-related EVH1 domain containing 2 (SPRED2) or phosphoinositide-3-Kinase regulatory subunit 1 (PIK3R1). Interestingly, miR-487a mainly promotes metastasis via SPRED2 induced mitogen activated protein kinase signaling and promotes proliferation via PIK3R1 mediated AKT signaling. Transcription of miR-487a was found to be activated by up-regulated heat shock factor 1, which we previously demonstrated to be an important metastasis-associated transcription factor in a previous study. Phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomers effectively silenced miR-487a and inhibited HCC tumor progression in mouse models. Conclusions: Our findings show that miR-487a, mediated by heat shock factor 1, promotes proliferation and metastasis of HCC by PIK3R1 and SPRED2 binding, respectively. Our study provides a rationale for developing miR-487a as a potential prognostic marker or a potential therapeutic target against HCC. Clin Cancer Res; 23(10); 2593–604. ©2016 AACR.


As reliance on social media, mobile devices, and computers has grown in developed nations worldwide, data centers have become an important, but poorly understood, part of this digital age. These massive structures, which are increasingly built in rural areas, store digital files and images. Despite the clear importance of cloud computing, geographers have not studied this infrastructure or its effect on nearby communities and the physical environment. This project examines the social and environmental impacts of the development and operation of data centers, using a Facebook data center in Prineville, Oregon as a case study. It explores what impact the technology industry has on local social and natural environment, as well as the broader implications of data center operations. It also seeks to situate data centers within increasingly common visions of sustainable businesses and 'greening' capitalism. Through interviews with Facebook managers, town officials, and local citizens, I came to several conclusions about such data centers. First, big data companies have tried to accommodate local concerns about the facilities and to integrate them within the social fabric of the communities where they are built and operated. Consequently, in the short-term, they appear to have little or no impact on the social life of local citizens. Second, the environmental impacts of data centers are difficult to determine at a global scale. While big data companies invest in 'green' energy, they share little information about their waste disposal and recycling, and the amount of space these buildings require is growing. Finally, by following the tenets of sustainable enterprise, these companies have sought to minimize potential negative social and environmental impacts of data center operation, resulting in greater profits and sustainability, as well as a more positive public image. CATCHING THE CLOUD AND PINNING IT DOWN: THE SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF DATA CENTERS By Heather A. Ipsen B.S. Gettysburg College, 2015 THESIS Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Geography Syracuse University May 2018 Copyright © 2018 Heather Ipsen All Rights Reserved


We studied the effect of 3, 4, 5, 3', 4'-pentachlorobiphenyl (PenCB) on lipid metabolism by determining the level of triacylglycerol and total cholesterol in rats and guinea pigs. Male Wistar rats and male Hartley guinea pigs received PenCB in corn oil one at a dose of 25 mg/kg i.p. and 0.5 mg/kg i.p., respectively. Pair-fed control group of both species were treated with the vehicle and given the amount of chow matched with that taken by the PenCB-treated animals. Free-fed control group was treated with vehicle and was given the chow ad libitum. The plasma was collected on the day 5 after the treatment and the liver was removed. The plasma triacylglycerol level in guinea pigs treated with PenCB was significantly higher than those in free- and pair-fed controls, whereas no significant difference was observed in PenCB-treated rats from both control groups. The plasma cholesterol level was also higher in PenCB-treated guinea pigs than in the two control groups, though the level in rats was significantly lower than the corresponding control values. The hepatic triacylglycerol and cholesterol levels were increased significantly in both species by the PenCB treatment. Although lipid metabolism was disordered in both animals by treatment with PenCB, the responsiveness was remarkably different between guinea pigs and rats. These differences could be associated with species difference in susceptibility toward toxic chlorinated aromatic hydrocarbons.


Eucalyptus gomphocephala (tuart) is an ecologically and culturally important woodland and forest tree native to south-western Australia. Unfortunately, tuart has been markedly declining in recent decades, and the mortality rate is as high as 90% in some populations. The cause of tuart decline is still poorly understood and we know nothing about how the decline changes populations of organisms such as ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi and beneficial bacteria. Therefore, this study investigated aspects of mycorrhizal fungal mats under healthy tuart, including effects on forest soil properties, and presence of beneficial bacteria.

A common mat morphotype (grey, hydrophobic) was chosen for this research and the ECM fungus was identified as a Hysterangium sp. based on fungal morphology, ECM structure and ITS gene region analysis. The effect of the ECM mats on soil moisture, nutrients, microbial biomass (ninhydrin-reactive N) and microbial community (Biolog Ecoplate) was investigated. Potential PGPR with ability to solubilize phosphate (hydroxylapatite-Ca5HO13P3), produce IAA and use ACC acid as the sole carbon source were screened. Hysterangium mats significantly improved soil moisture, soil pH, nutrient level and microbial biomass compared to non-mat soils, however, there was no evidence of any difference in microbial diversity and activity between mat and non-mat soils. Twenty eight IAA producing bacterial isolates, 7 phosphate solubilizing isolates and 2 ACC deaminase producing isolates were screened from mat and non-mat soils.

Interactions among beneficial bacteria, ECM fungi and eucalypt seedlings were then investigated. ECM synthesis was also conducted between Hysterangium MURU6276 and E. gomphocephala seedlings in vitro. The plant growth promoting ability of bacteria to eucalypt seedlings was assessed through a bioassay using petri dishes containing MMN medium overlaid with cellophane. Half plate petri dishes were used to screen for mycorrhiza helper bacteria. ECM association between Hysterangium MURU6275 and E. gomphocephala seedlings was confirmed in vitro. Most bacterial isolates from under tuart had stimulating or inhibiting effects on the root growth of E. gomphocephala and/or E. grandis. The best 6 growth promoting isolates were T1M3, T1N2, T2N7, T3N4, T4N4 and T4N6. However, there was no evidence of the presence of mycorrhiza helper bacteria amongst the isolated bacteria.

These findings provide the basis for further detailed research on biochemical processes and the diversity and functions of bacterial populations under Hysterangium mats associated with tuart. Areas for further study are suggested.


BACKGROUND There is no consensus as to the optimal treatment paradigm for patients presenting with hemorrhage from severe pelvic fracture. This study was established to determine the methods of hemorrhage control currently being used in clinical practice. METHODS This prospective, observational multi-center study enrolled patients with pelvic fracture from blunt trauma. Demographic data, admission vital signs, presence of shock on admission (systolic blood pressure < 90 mm Hg or heart rate > 120 beats per minute or base deficit < −5), method of hemorrhage control, transfusion requirements, and outcome were collected. RESULTS A total of 1,339 patients with pelvic fracture were enrolled from 11 Level I trauma centers. Fifty-seven percent of the patients were male, with a mean ± SD age of 47.1 ± 21.6 years, and Injury Severity Score (ISS) of 19.2 ± 12.7. In-hospital mortality was 9.0 %. Angioembolization and external fixator placement were the most common method of hemorrhage control used. A total of 128 patients (9.6%) underwent diagnostic angiography with contrast extravasation noted in 63 patients. Therapeutic angioembolization was performed on 79 patients (5.9%). There were 178 patients (13.3%) with pelvic fracture admitted in shock with a mean ± SD ISS of 28.2 ± 14.1. In the shock group, 44 patients (24.7%) underwent angiography to diagnose a pelvic source of bleeding with contrast extravasation found in 27 patients. Thirty patients (16.9%) were treated with therapeutic angioembolization. Resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta was performed on five patients in shock and used by only one of the participating centers. Mortality was 32.0% for patients with pelvic fracture admitted in shock. CONCLUSION Patients with pelvic fracture admitted in shock have high mortality. Several methods were used for hemorrhage control with significant variation across institutions. The use of resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta may prove to be an important adjunct in the treatment of patients with severe pelvic fracture in shock; however, it is in the early stages of evaluation and not currently used widely across trauma centers. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Prognostic study, level II; therapeutic study, level III.


Abstract. Wind and turbulence estimated from MST radar observations in Kiruna, in Arctic Sweden are used to characterize turbulence in the free troposphere using data clustering and fuzzy logic. The root mean square velocity, νfca, a diagnostic of turbulence is clustered in terms of hourly wind speed, direction, vertical wind speed, and altitude of the radar observations, which are the predictors. The predictors are graded over an interval of zero to one through an input membership function. Subtractive data clustering has been applied to classify νfca depending on its homogeneity. Fuzzy rules are applied to the clustered dataset to establish a relationship between predictors and the predictant. The accuracy of the predicted turbulence shows that this method gives very good prediction of turbulence in the troposphere. Using this method, the behaviour of νfca for different wind conditions at different altitudes is studied.


The inherent regularities of hydrological processes will not be stationary under the changing environment, making the evaluation of hydrological characteristics and trend forecasting face great uncertainty. Based on the observed streamflow series in the Poyang Lake catchment during the period 1960–2013, this study investigated the evolution characteristics and future trend of water resources. The extracted trend component by wavelet decomposition and the reliability of trend forecasting by rescaled range analysis (R/S analysis) were verified and assessed by a non-parametric statistical test. Results indicate a change point at 1995 when the trend of annual streamflows across the catchment changed. Periodic components indicated that the lake basin seems to enter into an increasing process under inter-decadal scale, while decreasing under inter-annual scale in the near future. R/S analysis revealed that annual streamflow series of most stations in Poyang Lake show 'weaker' or 'very weak' persistence. For the whole study period, Hurst exponents of most stations are less than 0.5 (0.224–0.339), therefore, opposite from the increasing trend of historical series, decreasing trend is forecasted for the basin. However, due to the effect of intensified human activities in the Fuhe sub-basin, the reliability of R/S analysis on trend forecasting is disturbed at Lijiadu station.


The number of species of dragonflies and damselflies recorded in the Kruger National, South Africa, was 103 in April 2018. This figure was based on a database containing 2,817 records of Odonata, made since 1980, from the 52 quarter degree grid cells which intersect with the Kruger National Park. Records were available for 41 of the 52 grid cells. The most frequently recorded species were Red-veined Dropwing Trithemis arteriosa (167 records) and the Orange-veined Dropwing Trithemis kirbyi (144 records), both recorded in 33 grid cells, and Southern Banded Groundling Brachythemis leucosticta (175 records) and Broad Scarlet (141 records) both in 29 grid cells. Based on records up to April 2018, the median date of the most recent record for species was September 2017, so that half of the 103 species had been recorded during summer 2017/18. This report could be used to motivate the proclamation of the river and wetland systems of the Kruger National Park as a "Wetland of International Importance" in terms of the Ramsar Convention. Two-thirds of the Odonata of South Africa, and one-eighth of the Odonata of Africa, have been recorded in the Kruger National Park.


While advantages of literacy in the home language have been widely documented, the Australian education system has not been proactive in providing institutional support for its development. This paper investigates the impact of (il)literacy in the home language on the academic, affective, and social development of bilingual/multilingual children and proposes principles that home-language-literacy programs should meet to be effective. It discusses programs that, although designed to develop literacy or second-language proficiency mainly in classroom contexts, could be easily adapted to address the needs of the linguistically and culturally diverse Australian context. We argue that the cost of not investing in successful home-language-literacy programs will be higher in the long run than their implementation costs and recommend that Australia should consider supporting grassroots home-language-literacy programs in a push to improve overall literacy outcomes for Australian home-language speakers.


Growing evidence has linked center-based early care and education settings to improvements in children's cognitive skills. Additional research is needed to more carefully delineate when and for whom these associations are most pronounced. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (N ≈ 6,350; Flanagan & West, 2004), this study examined whether the beneficial effects of center-based care settings for children's cognitive skills at age 5 differ by the age at which children experience these settings and for subgroups based on household income, parental education, and quality of the home learning environment. The results suggest that center-based preschool was supportive of the math and reading skills development of the sample as a whole. However, both center- and home-based care for 2-year-olds as well as 4-year-olds were beneficial for children from lower income, less educated, and less enriching family contexts, helping to diminish the cognitive skills gap between more and less advantaged children.


The high prevalence of osteolysis and aseptic loosening associated with the wear particles of conventional metal-on-UHMWPE (MoP) total hip replacements (THRs), and concerns over the release of metal wear particles and metal ions around the body from metal-on-metal (MoM) THRs, led to the development of alternative ceramic-on-ceramic (CoC) THRs. CoC bearings are of great interest due to their superior wear properties, compared to MoP and MoM bearings. Historically, ceramic THRs had a reputation for fracture, and recent issues have centred around surgical positioning and squeaking. The development of improved manufacturing methods allowed major improvements of ceramics which led to the introduction of composite ceramics for example, zirconia-toughened, platelet reinforced alumina or ZTA, otherwise commercially known as BIOLOX® Delta. The wear performance of composite CoC THRs such as those using BIOLOX® Delta has been extensively investigated, however no studies have reported the combined characteristics and biocompatibility of the wear debris generated from these bearings.
Understanding wear particle characteristics and their biological activity is an essential step in the pre-clinical testing of joint replacements. However, currently for composite ZTA CoC bearings there is a lack of relevant studies, due to difficulties in generating high volumes of clinically-relevant ceramic wear debris in vitro, in addition current particle isolation methods are not sensitive enough to reliably isolate wear particles from hip simulator lubricants, due to the inherent low wear rates of the composite ZTA ceramics. Hence, the particles have not been systematically characterised and therefore little is known about their size, morphology and biological responses. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the characteristics and biological activity of wear particles generated from composite BIOLOX® Delta ZTA CoC THRs.
This study developed a two-step particle isolation method and subsequently applied it to hip simulator lubricants for the isolation of composite ceramic wear particles generated from BIOLOX® Delta CoC bearings tested under edge loading conditions. The high sensitivity of this new particle isolation method coupled with its effective removal of protein, allowed the successful recovery and characterisation of very low volumes of both micro and nano-scale wear particles, generated from composite ZTA CoC hip replacements for the first time. The recovered wear particles demonstrated a bimodal size range, which has been previously reported for wear particles generated from alumina ceramic hip replacements.
A comprehensive evaluation of the biological impact of commercially-obtained composite BIOLOX® Delta ZTA ceramic model particles and clinically-relevant composite BIOLOX® Delta ZTA ceramic wear particles was investigated in terms of cytotoxicity, inflammation, genotoxicity and oxidative stress. The clinically-relevant composite ZTA ceramic wear particles were generated in water lubricant using a hip simulator under severe edge loading conditions. The biological impact of the ceramic particles was assessed using L929 fibroblast cells and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNCs) isolated from healthy human donors. Both the model and clinically-relevant BIOLOX® Delta ceramic wear particles demonstrated significant reduction in the viability of L929 fibroblast cells at very high doses (500µm3 of particles per cell), however no cytotoxic effects were observed at the lower clinically-relevant doses (0.5-0.05µm3 per cell). The BIOLOX® Delta ZTA ceramic model particles failed to stimulate an inflammatory response in terms of TNF-α release and did not cause any significant DNA damage or production of reactive oxygen species (oxidative stress) in PBMNCs from all donors. However, high doses (50µm3 per cell) of clinically-relevant BIOLOX® Delta ZTA ceramic wear particles caused significantly elevated levels of TNF-α release from PBMNCs. But, there were no significant effects in terms of DNA damage and oxidative stress in PBMNCs from all donors. This study demonstrated that there was a threshold volume of clinically-relevant ceramic wear particles required to stimulate significant TNF-α release from PBMNCs. However, these doses were not clinically-relevant and highly unlikely to occur in vivo due to the extremely low wear rates of CoC bearings. This comprehensive study indicated that composite ZTA Delta ceramic hip replacements had a low biological impact, which may enhance long-term clinical performance. The results from this study are only relevant for BIOLOX® Delta ZTA ceramics and not other manufacturers ceramics.


The idea of fanaticism as a deviant or extreme variant of an already irrational set of religious beliefs is today invoked by the West in order to demonize and psychologize any non-liberal politics. Alberto Toscano's compelling and erudite counter-history explodes this accepted interpretation in exploring the critical role fanaticism played in forming modern politics and the liberal state. Tracing its development from the traumatic Peasants' War of early sixteenth-century Germany to contemporary Islamism, Toscano tears apart the sterile opposition of 'reasonableness' and fanaticism. Instead, in a radical new interpretation, he places the fanatic at the very heart of politics, arguing that historical and revolutionary transformations require a new understanding of his role. Showing how fanaticism results from the failure to formulate an adequate emancipatory politics, this illuminating history sheds new light on an idea that continues to dominate debates about faith and secularism.


The author uses the ancient Greek ideal of learning "the true, the good and the beautiful" to form a basis from which legal education can produce lawyers who will be more valuable to their clients and more fulfilled in their twenty-first century careers. To begin, the Article advocates that law schools can foster the Greek ideal of learning "the true" by increasing its focus on "collaborative advocacy" in the core curriculum instead of relying so heavily on "adversarial advocacy" that dominates the required curricula at most law schools. To pursue learning outcomes that are better aligned with the skills needed to practice law in the twenty-first century, legal institutions should require courses that teach collaborative advocacy, such as negotiation and mediation. In a profession that is traditionally defined by its winners and losers, the modern legal arena is shifting toward being open to working with one's opponent to find a mutually agreeable solution earlier in the dispute, which saves the client time and money. Next, the Author discusses how law school students can achieve "the good" through their legal education. Ethical education remains a staple of law school curriculum. Yet, most institutions require their students to learn only the black-letter ethical rules. When encountering difficult ethical dilemmas, however, lawyers often must decide between two or more competing values that require them to make moral choices about which the black-letter law provides little guidance. A law school curriculum that also fosters thinking about the moral dimension of legal ethics and the psychology of ethical decision-making can help aspiring attorneys to become conscientious practitioners who make better ethical, moral and strategic decisions for their client, themselves and the legal profession. Finally, the Article examines how law schools can help their students embrace "the beautiful" in legal practice. Today, lawyers need the ability to propose creative, efficient and cost-effective solutions to their clients' problems. As intelligent technology and foreign labor performs a growing percentage of routine legal tasks cheaper, attorneys must find new, smarter ways to provide value to their clients. Law schools can help future lawyers succeed in this economically and technology driven atmosphere by embracing the increasing role that creativity will play in modern legal practice and integrating more creative problem solving techniques into their core curricula. By molding their curricula with guidance from the ancient Greek ideal of learning "the true, the good and the beautiful," law schools can develop lawyers who can more effectively meet the demands of the twenty-first century legal practice.


Photocatalysis comprises a variety of light-driven processes in which solar energy is converted into green chemical energy to drive reactions such as water splitting for hydrogen energy generation, degradation of environmental pollutants, CO2 reduction and NH3 production. Electrochemically engineered nanoporous materials are attractive photocatalyst platforms for a plethora of applications due to their large effective surface area, highly controllable and tuneable light-harvesting capabilities, efficient charge carrier separation and enhanced diffusion of reactive species. Such tailor-made nanoporous substrates with rational chemical and structural designs provide new exciting opportunities to develop advanced optical semiconductor structures capable of performing precise and versatile control over light–matter interactions to harness electromagnetic waves with unprecedented high efficiency and selectivity for photocatalysis. This review introduces fundamental developments and recent advances of electrochemically engineered nanoporous materials and their application as platforms for photocatalysis, with a final prospective outlook about this dynamic field.


Invigorated Project Delivery (IPD) is one of the newest delivery methods within the construction industry. This new approach revolutionizes the way projects are conducted by creating a collaborative work environment that harnesses the resources of its participants to create a finished product that is both of a higher quality and cheaper. This is made possible through the delivery method's unique focus which prides itself on its reputation for increasing efficiency levels and reducing project waste. Even though IPD is wonderful delivery method that looks great on paper, it does not change the fact that the delivery method is currently struggling to produce successful projects. Many professionals ignore the issues surrounding failed projects and merely push IPD off as a failed process. These individuals believe it is the delivery methods fault by claiming the process is flawed. However, such individuals are neglecting to consider alternative issues surrounding their failed projects. After all, the delivery method is not the only piece of the project delivery puzzle. The IPD contract provides detail on how a project will be delivered. Essentially everything there is to know will be located within a project's contract. My theory is IPD contracts are limiting the success of this delivery method. This research thesis will set out to accomplish two goals: First, determine if IPD contracts are limiting the delivery methods success. Upon determining the merit of this claim, the research will then tum to the areas of the contracts that may be responsible for limiting IPD's success. IPD is currently believed to be a failed method. I hope this thesis shows otherwise. Degree Type Open Access Senior Honors Thesis Department Engineering Technology First Advisor Benedict D. Ilozor This open access senior honors thesis is available at DigitalCommons@EMU: http://commons.emich.edu/honors/294


This study was carried out to detect the concentration of heavy metals (Ni, V, Cu, Pb) in the muscle, gills and hepatopancreas tissues of female and male of Metapenaeus affinis in Bahrekan Bay. Sampling was conducted in 15 stations in triplicate, on which the samples collected by Trawl net. After separation of tissues, samples were digested by acid digestion with nitric and percloric acid and hydrogen peroxide. The analyses for the detection of heavy metals were carried out by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The highest concentration of metals in gills, hepatopancreas and muscle was related to Cu (in males: 9.06 ±0.15 mg/kg), (in males: 26.80± 0.20 mg/kg), (in females: 16.83±0.76 mg/kg), respectively while the lowest one found for V in gills and hepatopancreas, respectively in male: Correspondence Department of Environmental Pollution, Ahvaz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz, Iran (email: firstname.lastname@example.com) 1.26± 0.20 mg/kg and (in females: 1.40± 0.10 mg/kg). Ni, V and Pb were no detected in all muscle samples. The alteration process of Cu in both sexes in the selected tissues order as hepatopancreas > muscle > gills. The alteration process of Pb, Ni and V in both sexes in the selected tissues order as hepatopancreas > gills> muscle. Significant differences (P<0.05) were recorded between the metal concentrations in all tissues except muscle.


This paper presents hardware-oriented symbolic execution that uses a recursive algorithm to find, and generate exploits for, vulnerabilities in hardware designs. We first define the problem and then develop and formalize our strategy. Our approach allows for a targeted search through a possibly infinite set of execution traces to find needle-in-a-haystack error states. We demonstrate the approach on the open-source OR1200 RISC processor. Using the presented method, we find, and generate exploits for, a control-flow bug, an instruction integrity bug and an exception related bug.


Recently, legal controversies have arisen regarding the scope of greenhouse gas emissions that should be considered in environmental reviews of fossil fuel extraction and transportation proposals under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The key question is whether and how agencies should account for emissions from activities that occur "downstream" from the proposed action, such the combustion of fossil fuels, and emissions from activities that occur "upstream" of the proposed action, such the extraction of fossil fuels. This question is important, because consideration of such emissions can alter the balance of costs and benefits for a proposed project, and the agency's ability to justify approving the project in light of that balance.This Article argues that such emissions do typically fall within the scope of indirect and cumulative impacts that must be evaluated under NEPA, and provides recommendations on how agencies should evaluate such emissions in environmental review documents. To support the argument and recommendations, the Article makes several unique contributions to the growing literature on NEPA and climate change. First, we describe how federal approvals of fossil fuel extraction and infrastructure contribute to global climate change, and we explain why federal agencies have ample discretion to account for these impacts when deciding whether to issue such approvals. Second, we conduct an in-depth examination of NEPA's requirements as they pertain to the analysis of upstream and downstream emissions, focusing in particular on the requirements to evaluate indirect effects, cumulative effects, and effects from related actions. Third, we describe how federal agencies currently account for upstream and downstream greenhouse gas emissions in their NEPA reviews, and we find that there are major inconsistencies in the analytical approaches both within and across agencies, but many agencies are nonetheless beginning to recognize that upstream and downstream emissions fall within the scope of impacts that should be reviewed under NEPA. Fourth, we synthesize all of the existing case law on this subject, and we find that courts have generally treated such emissions as the type of indirect effects that must be evaluated in a NEPA reviews. Finally, we outline an approach for evaluating upstream and downstream emissions that would improve the quality of federal decision-making, shield agencies from litigation, and provide much-needed information about the indirect and cumulative effects of fossil fuel development on global climate change.


The treatment of pulmonary hypertension (PH) secondary to bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in infants has evolved in recent years, improving both quality of life and survival for patients. One of the potential agents for this condition is sildenafil, a phosphodiesterase-V inhibitor with proven efficacy within the idiopathic PH population. However, only limited evidence exists for its use as either monotherapy or part of a combination approach towards the management of PH in BPD. This review summarises the evidence base for sildenafil alone and in combination with other recognised therapeutic agents for ameliorating paediatric PH in the presence of BPD. It also examines the suitability for current practice with the aim of clarifying regimens that produce improved patient outcomes. We conclude that sildenafil is both safe and effective in this utility. Doses should be started at 0.5 mg/kg every 8 h before titrating up towards 2 mg/kg every 6 h to effect reductions in pulmonary vascular resistance and arterial pressure. Evidence suggests that if continued until PH resolution, this improves survival from 61% to 81% at 12 months. Furthermore, there are also data suggesting that in treatment refractory PH cases, the addition of endothelin antagonists and prostacyclin analogues to sildenafil therapy can also be considered.


Summary

This paper examines the nature of the political struggle over the status, role and identity of women in Egypt in between the two revolutions (January 2011 and June 2013). It presents a situational analysis of the various actors, relations and agendas that have both informed the backlash against women's rights and the mass movements of resistance. It acknowledges that while women's rights have historically suffered as a consequence of a hostile political will of the ruling authority and parts of political and civil society that are inimical to expanding women's rights (and sometimes mobilise around revoking what already exists), women's rights faced new threats after January 2011 because of the political settlement between the Supreme Council for Armed Forces and the Muslim Brotherhood. The threats to women's rights worsened under President Morsi's regime and while they were not the prime reason why women mobilised in the largest numbers ever to oust the president in June 2013, encroachments on their freedoms was a catalysing factor.

The paper's principle argument is that while a constellation of factors influence prospects of advancing women's equality in Egypt, collective action matters both for policy and for building constituencies that grant legitimacy to the cause being championed. The fragmentation and internal rivalry that characterised the myriad civil society organisations and coalitions during Mubarak's reign left advocates of gender equality unequipped to exploit the (few) opportunities of influencing the political configuration of power after the revolution of 2011. The threats to women's rights thereafter propelled old and newly formed non-state actors into a mass mobilisation of resistance. This represented a case where collective action in its various forms succeeded in challenging the status quo in critical ways. However, the political polarisation between supporters and opponents of the outcome of the 30 June revolution has led to a de-collectivisation of efforts. If the opportunities for influence are to be seized, and threats to influencing a progressive gender agenda challenged in the next phase, prioritising local pathways of re-building and strengthening collective action is of primary importance.


The need of vibration control has been spreading in the last two decades to new application fields such as in the dynamic response of civil engineering structures. In this specific field a promising new technology for control of structural vibrations is based on the use of magnetorheological (MR) fluid devices in the so-called MR dampers. The present work describes part of the R&D on using a semi-active structural control technique in a civil engineering experimental model frame equipped with a MR damper, developed within COVICOCEPAD project approved in the framework of Eurocores program S3T. Some results are provided associated with the calibration of a MR damper at FEUP as well as on the experimental modal identification of the dynamic properties of a small-scale metallic frame, without and with inclusion of a specific MR device. Some numerical results of the controlled frame under simulated earthquakes are given, to be later compared with the experimental results of such frame installed in a Quanser shaking table.


Survival of society has always been dependent on ensuring that a balance is continually maintained between the variables of social needs, resources and the environment. The difficulty is that these three elements are more often than not in conflict with each other. Arguably without such conflicts environmental decision making would be far simpler in the knowledge that the potential solution, although not pleasing everyone would be capable of responding to a range of ecological and economic concerns. Environmental decision making requires a structured holistic approach that allows for the evaluation of alternative solutions against an array of often conflicting objectives, although no specific decision making structure is advocated multi criteria objective decision making provides a means to achieve such ends. The methodology provides for the identification of all objectives which are then used to evaluate alternative scenarios or solutions against. The following research report seeks to identify the environmental criteria that would need to be considered as part of a multi-criteria decision making structure. The report highlights the complexities and often conflicting elements that exist even within the narrow scope of environmental objectives. All discussions are made with specific reference to Eskom's requirement to comply to future air quality legislation and the potential requirement to install flue gas desulphurisation technologies on its Medupi Power Station. Legislative, technological, water and air quality issues are identified and explored as to how they should be evaluated as part of the overall environmental decision making criteria. Through the identification of the environmental criteria it is hinted that Eskoms narrow mandate of electricity production at the lowest cost could potentially prevent the organisation of fully engaging in a holistic decision making process.


In this paper the reasons for studying local areas are examined, and in particular the context of the recent Changing Urban and Regional System Initiative in the United Kingdom. The focus is especially on the sociopolitical context of those studies. The argument is that the reasons for studying localities were in this case both historically and geographically specific. Some confusions around locality studies are also examined, in particular their incorrect equation with concrete research, description, the impact of the spatial on the social, and the postmodern. The discussion then turns to some recent arguments, especially those of Harvey, which imply that local foci are not progressive; the various strands of this position are examined and debated. All this raises the more fundamental question of what is meant by the terms place and locality.


Stroke is one of the leading causes of death in industrialized countries for people older than 65 years of age. The reasons are still unclear. A reduction of endogenous mechanisms against ischemic insults has been proposed to explain this phenomenon. The "cerebral" ischemic preconditioning mechanism is characterized by a brief episode of ischemia that renders the brain more resistant against subsequent longer ischemic events. This ischemic tolerance has been shown in numerous experimental models of cerebral ischemia. This protective mechanism seems to be reduced with aging both in experimental and clinical studies. Alterations of mediators released and/or intracellular pathways may be responsible for age-related ischemic preconditioning reduction. Agents able to mimic the "cerebral" preconditioning effect may represent a new powerful tool for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke in the elderly. In this article, animal and human cerebral ischemic preconditioning, its age-related difference, and its potential therapeutical applications are discussed.


Who speaks in federal court for the structural principles of the federal Constitution? Under familiar practice — endorsed by the Supreme Court in its 2011 decision Bond v. United States — it is not solely the institutions empowered directly by federalism or the separation of powers but also individual litigants who can raise structural constitutional objections. Such individual standing for the structural constitution is unusual because, in effect, it enables a species of third-party standing elsewhere condemned by the Court. This Article analyzes individual standing for the structural constitution from both doctrinal and political economy perspectives. Such individual standing, I contend, conflicts with Article III's larger ambition to exclude from federal court those controversies with excessive externalities. Consideration of structural litigation's political economy further shows that enlarging the pool of litigants by allowing individual as well as institutions to sue is unlikely to yield closer conformity to the Constitution given interest group dynamics. As an alternative to the current regime, the Article specifies a straitened regime of narrow justiciability that is more harmonious with Article III goals and more likely to secure fidelity to the structural constitution.


This paper shows that the probability of detecting an object with a stereobinocular thermal viewer (ThV) is higher than with a pseudobinocular viewer. It can be assumed that the most efficient way to use stereobinocular devices is to search for and observe various objects. Results are given for the modelling of a stereoscopic thermal-vision image, and studies of prototypes of the main functional units of a stereoscopic ThV in a portable implementation with a mass of up to 3.5 kg are also described.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Several studies have been published on trends in childhood cancer incidence, with different patterns being reported. We present an analysis of cancer incidence trends in Piedmont (Italy) in 1967-2001 for the major categories of childhood malignant neoplasms.

DESIGN AND METHODS
The population-based Childhood Cancer Registry of Piedmont has recorded incident cases of malignant neoplasm in children (age 0-14) since 1967. Procedures for data collection and coding have been uniform throughout the study period. We calculated incidence rates per million children per year by sex and age-group. Trends were estimated using Poisson regression analysis, adjusted for age and sex and presented as the annual percent change (APC).

RESULTS
Significant increases were observed for all malignant neoplasms combined (3360 cases, APC:1.3%, 95% CI:1.0% to 1.6%), leukemia (APC: 1.0%, 95% CI: 0.4% to 1.6%), central nervous system (CNS) tumors (APC of 2.3%, 95% CI: 1.6% to 3.1%) and neuroblastoma (APC: 2.3%, 95% CI: 1.0% to 3.5%). Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (APC 1.2%, 95% CI: 0.2% to 2.3%), and Acute non-lymphoblastic leukemia (APC 1.7%, 95% CI-0.6%, 4.1) both increased over time. Differences by age groups were observed for some tumor types, such as for neuroblastoma in infants (4.8% increase per year), leukemia in children aged 1-4 years (1.2%) and CNS tumors in children aged 10-14 (3.4%).

INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS
Our data suggest an increasing incidence of childhood cancer in general, and specifically for leukemia, CNS tumors and neuroblastoma in Piedmont in 1967-2001. The observed trends are unlikely to be explained by random variation, changes in exhaustiveness or quality of data collection and registration.


Consumer protection in most domains of financial regulation centers on transparency. Broadly construed, transparency involves making relevant information available to consumers as well as others who might act on their behalf, such as academics, journalists, newspapers, consumer organizations or other market watchdogs. By contrast, command and control regulation that affirmatively limits financial firms' products or pricing is relatively uncommon. This Article describes a remarkable inversion of this pattern: while state insurance regulation frequently employs aggressive command and control consumer protection regulation, it typically does little or nothing to promote transparent markets. Rather, state lawmakers routinely either completely ignore transparency-oriented reforms or implement them in a self-evidently flawed manner. While acknowledging the limits of transparency-oriented consumer protection regulation, this Article argues that the lack of transparent insurance markets reflects a pervasive and unappreciated flaw in state insurance regulation. Despite their limitations, transparency-oriented regulatory strategies are an important complement to other more aggressive regulatory tools, as they can promote consumer choice, harness market discipline, and ensure regulatory accountability in ways that more aggressive regulatory tools often cannot. In order to promote more transparent insurance markets, the Article argues that the jurisdiction of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau should be expanded to encompass consumer protection in insurance.


Households across the developed world cumulatively spend many millions of dollars annually on feeding garden birds. While beneficial effects on avian assemblages are frequently claimed, the relationships between levels of garden bird feeding and local avian populations are unknown. Using data from a large UK city, we show that both avian species richness and abundance vary across different socioeconomic neighbourhood types. We examined whether patterns in bird feeding could explain this variation. The density of bird feeding stations across the urban environment was strongly positively related to avian abundance, after controlling for differences in habitat availability. This effect was almost exclusively driven by the abundance of those species known to utilize garden feeding stations frequently. In contrast, the density of feeding stations had no effect on avian species richness. We also examined variation in the proportion of households in different communities that provide food for birds, a factor that is not correlated with feeder density. The prevalence of bird feeding across different neighbourhoods declined as socioeconomic deprivation increased, and increased with avian species richness and abundance. Our results suggest that the provision of supplementary food for birds by multiple landowners across a city can impact the status of urban bird populations. The potential for harnessing these actions for conservation needs to be explored.


Fluidic Self-Assembly (FSA) is a newly developed, high productivity method to assemble millimeter and submillimeter size silicon electronic components (blocks) into circuit boards. Large numbers of thin, truncated pyramid shaped components are released in water and move gravitationally down inclined substrates to fall into indentations (receptors) of complementary shape. To increase the rate of receptor filling and improve the process efficiency, the probability of proper alignment between blocks and receptors must be maximized. The present paper reports an experimental study aimed at determining the preferential orientation of the blocks in a practical FSA process. Blocks ranging in size from 1050 to 3050 microns were tested for: (i) in-plane orientation angle during their motion, and (ii) right-side-up (RSU) versus up-side-down (USD) landing upon dispensing. Results indicate that blocks exhibit a high degree of in-plane angular self-orientation, which depends on the block aspect ratio. Spatial orientation of blocks at the release point is a decisive factor on their correct (RSU) landing on the substrate. Based on this observation, an original dispensing strategy was developed that increased the RSU fraction to values typically over 90%.Copyright © 2005 by ASME


OBJECTIVE
To determine whether pigs can be infected with strains of vesicular stomatitis virus New Jersey (VSV-NJ) and vesicular stomatitis virus Indiana (VSV-I) isolated during recent vesicular stomatitis outbreaks that primarily involved horses in the western United States and determine the potential for these viruses to be transmitted by contact.

ANIMALS
128 pigs.

PROCEDURE
Pigs were challenged with VSV-NJ or VSV-I from the 1995 and 1997 outbreaks of vesicular stomatitis in the western United States, respectively, or with VSV-NJ (OS) associated with vesicular stomatitis in feral pigs on Ossabaw Island, Ga. Pigs (3/group) were inoculated with each virus via 3 routes and evaluated for viral shedding, seroconversion, and the development of vesicular lesions. In another experiment, the potential for contact transmission of each virus from experimentally infected to naïve pigs was evaluated.

RESULTS
Infection of pigs was achieved for all 3 viruses as determined by virus isolation and detection of seroconversion. In inoculated pigs, all 3 viruses were isolated from multiple swab samples at concentrations sufficient to infect other pigs. However, compared with results obtained with the 2 VSV-NJ strains, viral titers associated with VSV-I were low and the duration of virus shedding was reduced. Results from the contact transmission trials were consistent with these results; virus transmission was detected most frequently with the VSV-NJ strains.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Pigs can be infected with VSV-NJ and VSV-I. Differences in the extent of viral shedding and potential for contact transmission were apparent between serotypes but not between the VSV-NJ strains investigated.


This book examines how international judicial and non-judicial bodies in Europe address the needs of the families of forcibly disappeared persons. The needs in question are returning the remains of disappeared persons; the right to truth; the acceptance of responsibility by states; and the right to compensation. These have been identified as the four most commonly shared basic and fundamental needs of families in which an adult was disappeared many years previously and is now assumed to be dead, which is representative of the situation of the vast majority of families of disappeared persons in Europe. The analysis covers the judgments and decisions of the European Court of Human Rights, the UN Human Rights Committee, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the Human Rights Chamber for Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Human Rights Advisory Panel in Kosovo, as well as the activities of the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus, the Special Process on Missing Persons in the Territory of former Yugoslavia, the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances and the International Commission on Missing Persons. In so doing, the book demonstrates whether, how, and based on what principles these four needs of the families of disappeared persons can constitute a claim based on international human rights law.


Studies show that many established Japanese companies use Target Cost Management (TCM) as a profit planning management tool and a competitive tool for pricing their prod-ucts. Despite the proven benefits of TCM as a key competitive tool, studies also show that many companies, especially in developing countries, still lag behind in the implementation of TCM. Furthermore, even if implemented, TCM practices outside of Japan are a standalone process and the fundamental characteristics of TCM practices in these compa-nies are not the same as in the Japanese companies. Nevertheless, due to the lack of studies on TCM outside of Japan, there is still a lack of understanding concerning how different are the TCM practices compared to the Japanese TCM theoretical model, why the differences occur, and what enablers positively associated with TCM practices in non-Japanese envi-ronment. By using the contingency theory and dynamic capabilities theory as underpinning theories, this study attempts to examine in-depth how different are the TCM practices in non-Japanese environment compared to the Japanese theoretical model, to identify the causes of differences and to determine what enablers have a positive association with the successful implementation of TCM. The research was carried out at Company A, a Malay-sian-Japanese joint venture automotive company. It used the single embedded case study method of K. Yin (2003) with multiple sources of data collection by using qualitative and quantitative approach. Based on previous TCM case studies conducted at Japanese automotive companies, a conceptual framework was developed as the case study guidelines. As for TCM enablers that have a positive association with the successful implementation of TCM, a theoretical framework was developed to find the statistical relationships. The findings showed that the basic fundamental concept of TCM in the case company was similar to the practices in Japanese automotive companies. Nevertheless, the case company coordinated and reconfigured its resources to adapt to the contextual constraints, which caused some differences in the TCM practices. Among nine proposed enablers, only top management support and commitment, training and teamwork were regarded as the key enablers that positively associated with the successful implementation of TCM. This research strength-ens the body of knowledge relating to TCM practices in non-Japanese context particularly in terms of in-depth understanding on TCM practice at Malaysia, how TCM practice was adjusted to fit the contextual constraints, and the critical enablers that support the TCM im-plementation in Malaysia automotive industry context.


With the problems of high speed and asynchronism in a multi-channel video, a video monitor system based on FPGA and SRAM is designed and implemented. The system adopts the method of time-division multiplexing to realize the function of four-channel video parallel acquisition. The synchronization between four-channel video is achieved by using the field-selected algorithm. The four-channel video can be outputted to LCD with the technique of ping-pang cache. The LCD display sequences are generated by the finite state machine using Verilog HDL. The system is simple, flexible and with high-quality, and it has a broad application prospect.


OBJECTIVE
To describe preschool malnutrition prevalence and trends in Mexican children for the 1988, 1999 and 2006 Mexican National Nutrition Surveys using WHO-2006 standards and National Center for Health Statistics/WHO (NCHS/WHO) references.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Prevalence of undernutrition (< minus 2 z-score for weight/age, height/age and weight/height) and overweight (> plus 2 z-score for weight/height) were calculated.

RESULTS
Height/age and weight/height have increased over time (p< 0.05). Using WHO-2006 standards, stunting in children less than 5 years years old was 26.9%, 21.5% and 15.5% in 1988, 1999 and 2006, respectively; values for wasting were 6.2%, 2.1% and 2.0%, respectively. Wasting in the very young (< 6 mo) in 2006 is high (4.9%). Overweight increased from 1988 to 1999 (6.1% to 7.5%) and stabilized in 2006 (7.6%). Gaps among ethnic and socioeconomic groups have decreased over time.

CONCLUSIONS
Stunting has decreased markedly but continues to be the main malnutrition problem. Overweight has emerged as a public health problem in the young. Lower NCHS/WHO estimates previously published underestimated true prevalence. Length deviations in attained height after 12 months indicate poor infant feeding practices, probably coupled with early infections. Results reinforce the need to improve the quality of nutrition programs and to promote adequate lactation and infant feeding practices in Mexico.


Interactions between curvature-induced secondary flow, streamwise flow and bed morphology in open-channel bends lead to the development of a typical bar-pool bed morphology, shaped by scour at the outer bank and deposition at the inner bank. This typical bar-pool bed morphology may endanger the stability of the outer bank or reduce the navigable width of the channel. Preliminary laboratory experiments in a sharply curved channel with a fixed horizontal bottom (Blanckaert et al. 2008) have shown that a bubble screen located near the outer bank can generate secondary flow with a sense of rotation opposite to the curvature-induced secondary flow. The reported study investigates the application of bubble screens in configurations with mobile-bed morphology under live-bed and clear-water scour conditions. Velocity measurements show that the bubble-induced secondary flow decreases the strength of the curvature-induced secondary flow, and shifts it in inwards direction. Maximum scour occurs where the curvature-induced and bubble-induced secondary flow cells meet. At this same location, the maximum streamwise velocities and maximum vertical velocities impinging on the bed occur, which indicates their importance with respect to the formation of bend scour. The application of the bubble screen resulted in a reduction of the maximum bend scour by about 50%. Moreover, the location of maximum scour is shifted away from the outer bank and does not endanger its stability anymore. These preliminary experiments show the potential of a bubble screen to influence and modify the bed morphology.


OBJECTIVE: The cranio-orbitozygomatic (COZ) approach improves the surgical exposure by providing the shortest possible route to the lesion. We discussed the microsurgical anatomy of the region and described the steps for a safe COZ approach. METHODS: The COZ approach and its modifications were performed in 21 cases between November 2004 - December 2005 for lesions involving the skull base and brainstem. We analyzed each of the operative procedures retrospectively and discussed the technical difficulties in the light of the microsurgical anatomy of the region. RESULTS: The two-piece COZ approach provides the removal of a considerable amount of orbital roof and lateral wall and the craniotomy can safely be extended into the superolateral border of the superior orbital fissure. The sequences of the orbital and zygomatic osteotomies can be standardized regardless of the exposure of the inferior orbital fissure, which depends on the distance between its anterolateral edge and the frontozygomatic suture. The orbitopterional modification of the COZ, in which the removal of the zygoma is omitted, can be used when the lesion is located primarily anteriorly and when the subtemporal approach is unnecessary. CONCLUSIONS: The technical difficulties and complications related to the COZ approach can be minimized by understanding the regional microsurgical anatomy in relation to the orbital and zygomatic osteotomies, all of which should be performed in a rational fashion.


Background: There have been few previous studies on the health needs of police detainees. London's Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) uses health screening procedures which have not yet been evaluated. The objective of this study is to determine the extent of health problems and 'mental vulnerability' in detainees in police custody, and the efficacy of current health screening procedures. Methods: Custody records from five London Boroughs were reviewed. Prevalence data for health problems and mental vulnerability was obtained from the anonymised records of 307 detainees who were referred to the Forensic Medical Examiner (FME). Data were analysed for the identification of physical and psychiatric morbidity. Results: Injuries, epilepsy and asthma were the most common physical health problems noted. Drug and alcohol issues were also frequently encountered along with depression and self-harming behaviour and suicidal ideation. Morbidity was lower than that reported in other, interview based studies. Less than 2% of detainees were thought to require an Appropriate Adult to be present during police interview. Conclusions: A significant amount of health morbidity is present among detainees in police custody. Our findings suggest that current police screening procedures detect only a proportion of this. Further research is warranted to evaluate the effectiveness of health screening in police custody.


The efficiency of ultrabroad-band wavelength conversion using orthogonal-pump four-wave mixing in a semiconductor optical amplifier is measured for the wavelength shifts from 1500 to 1640 nm. The variation of conversion efficiency is <0.9 dB over the wavelength range from 1530 to 1560 nm (C-band), and <4.5 dB over the wavelength range from 1560 to 1610 nm (L-band). The maximum conversion efficiency is about -8.7 dB.


Nature utilizes solar energy to extract electrons and release protons from water, a process called photosynthetic water oxidation or oxygen evolution. This sunlight-driven reaction is vital to the planet because it directly produces dioxygen and couples with photosystem I to generate the reducing equivalents for the reduction of carbon dioxide to carbohydrates (also known as CO2 fixation). Inspired by this natural process, people are intensely interested in water splitting using sunlight to convert and store solar energy into chemical energy, which is believed to be able to ultimately solve the energy problem that we are facing. Water splitting can be separated into two half reactions, namely water oxidation and water reduction, and they can be studied individually. Catalysts are very helpful in both reactions. Recent progress in finding new highly efficient water oxidation catalysts (WOCs) has shed light on this complicated four-electron/four-proton reaction and made it possible to catalyze water oxidation using mononuclear metal complexes. This article focuses on molecular catalysts that are able to perform catalytic water oxidation at single metal sites. Different series of catalysts (or precatalysts) made of ruthenium, iridium and earth abundant elements (iron, cobalt, and manganese) that can be applied in chemical, electrochemical and photochemical (light-driven) water oxidation are summarized, and their catalytic mechanisms are discussed in detail. Finally, the future outlook and perspective to design and develop catalysts that are efficient, cheap and stable are presented.


In a July 2014 Nature Communications paper, Denkmayr et al. claim to have instantiated the so-called quantum Cheshire Cat experiment using neutron interferometry. Crucial to this claim are the weak values which must imply the quantum Cheshire Cat interpretation, i.e., "the neutron and its spin are spatially separated" in their experiment. While they measured the correct weak values for the quantum Cheshire Cat interpretation, the corresponding implications do not obtain because, as we show, those weak values were measured with both a quadratic and a linear magnetic field Bz interaction. We show explicitly how those weak values imply quantum Cheshire Cat if the Bz interaction is linear and then we show how the quadratic Bz interaction destroys the quantum Cheshire Cat implications of those weak values. Since both linear and quadratic Bz interactions contribute equally to the neutron intensity in this experiment, the deviant weak value implications are unavoidable. Because weak values were used successfully to compute neutron intensities for weak Bz in this experiment, it is clearly the case that one cannot make ontological inferences from weak values without taking into account the corresponding interaction strength.


Abstract. High-grade dysplasia (HGD) in Barrett's esophagus (BE) poses increased risk for developing esophageal adenocarcinoma. To date, early detection and treatment of HGD regions are still challenging due to the sampling error from tissue biopsy and relocation error during the treatment after histopathological analysis. In this study, CP-A (metaplasia) and CP-B (HGD) cell lines were used to investigate the "seek-and-treat" potential using 5-aminolevulinic acid-induced protoporphyrin IX (PpIX). The photodynamic therapy photosensitizer then provides both a phototoxic effect and additional image contrast for automatic detection and real-time laser treatment. Complementary to our studies on automatic classification, this work focused on characterizing subcellular irradiation and the potential phototoxicity on both metaplasia and HGD. The treatment results showed that the HGD cells are less viable than metaplastic cells due to more PpIX production at earlier times. Also, due to mitochondrial localization of PpIX, a better killing effect was achieved by involving mitochondria or whole cells compared with just nucleus irradiation in the detected region. With the additional toxicity given by PpIX and potential morphological/textural differences for pattern recognition, this cellular platform serves as a platform to further investigate real-time "seek-and-treat" strategies in three-dimensional models for improving early detection and treatment of BE.


Above the Kerguelen Plateau in the Southern Ocean natural iron fertilization sustains a large phytoplank- ton bloom over 3 months during austral summer. During the KEOPS1 project (KErguelen Ocean and Plateau com- pared Study1) we sampled this phytoplankton bloom dur- ing its declining phase along with the surrounding high- nutrient-low-chlorophyll (HNLC) waters to study the effect of natural iron fertilization on the role of viruses in the mi- crobial food web. Bacterial and viral abundances were 1.7 and 2.1 times, respectively, higher within the bloom than in HNLC waters. Viral production and virus-mediated mor- tality of bacterioplankton were 4.1 and 4.9 times, respec- tively, higher in the bloom, while the fraction of infected cells (FIC) and the fraction of lysogenic cells (FLC) showed no significant differences between environments. The present study suggests viruses to be more important for bacterial mortality within the bloom and dominate over grazing of heterotrophic nanoflagellates (HNFs) during the late bloom phase. As a consequence, at least at a late bloom stage, vi- ral lysis shunts part of the photosynthetically fixed carbon in iron-fertilized regions into the dissolved organic matter (DOM) pool with potentially less particulate organic carbon transferred to larger members of the food web or exported.


The role of information technology (IT) is transmitting from a support tool into a source of competitive advantages. Continuous change in business performance raises the pressure on IT to change at the same speed. To create sustainable value, it is necessary for organizations to link the development of an IT strategy to the business strategy. In this paper the authors address the issue of implementing IT Governance into the organizational context by introducing a decision support framework. The basic research framework is the IT Governance model by Weill and Ross (2004) with its five decision fields: IT principles, IT architecture, IT infrastructure, business applications, IT investment and prioritization. Using survey data from 480 large organizations in German-speaking countries (Austria, Germany, Switzerland), this paper investigates the use of IT Governance initiatives and their implementation. A decision support framework for organizations was developed to implement IT Governance successfully in the country-specific context.


When fruits ripen, microbial communities start a fierce competition for the freely available fruit sugars. Three yeast lineages, including baker's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, have independently developed the metabolic activity to convert simple sugars into ethanol even under fully aerobic conditions. This fermentation capacity, named Crabtree effect, reduces the cell-biomass production but provides in nature a tool to out-compete other microorganisms. Here, we analyzed over forty Saccharomycetaceae yeasts, covering over 200 million years of the evolutionary history, for their carbon metabolism. The experiments were done under strictly controlled and uniform conditions, which has not been done before. We show that the origin of Crabtree effect in Saccharomycetaceae predates the whole genome duplication and became a settled metabolic trait after the split of the S. cerevisiae and Kluyveromyces lineages, and coincided with the origin of modern fruit bearing plants. Our results suggest that ethanol fermentation evolved progressively, involving several successive molecular events that have gradually remodeled the yeast carbon metabolism. While some of the final evolutionary events, like gene duplications of glucose transporters and glycolytic enzymes, have been deduced, the earliest molecular events initiating Crabtree effect are still to be determined.


The availability of valid, comparable, and standardized public debt data is essential for the implementation of sound policies in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). This is why at the core of the LAC Debt Group initiative is the development of a standardized sovereign debt database to help debt managers, policy makers, and other actors of financial markets analyze the evolution and composition of public debt in LAC and conduct cross-country comparisons. The information of the database is provided by the public debt offices of LAC countries in response to a questionnaire specifically designed to allow comparability of data. The questionnaire, whose response is non-compulsory, is intended to compile up-to-date standardized statistics for objective and homogeneous definitions of public debt.


Abstraction and realization are bilateral processes that are key in deriving intelligence and creativity. In many domains, the two processes are approached through rules: high-level principles that reveal invariances within similar yet diverse examples. Under a probabilistic setting for discrete input spaces, we focus on the rule realization problem which generates input sample distributions that follow the given rules. More ambitiously, we go beyond a mechanical realization that takes whatever is given, but instead ask for proactively selecting reasonable rules to realize. This goal is demanding in practice, since the initial rule set may not always be consistent and thus intelligent compromises are needed. We formulate both rule realization and selection as two strongly connected components within a single and symmetric bi-convex problem, and derive an efficient algorithm that works at large scale. Taking music compositional rules as the main example throughout the paper, we demonstrate our model's efficiency in not only music realization (composition) but also music interpretation and understanding (analysis).


Research evaluation, undertaken throughout the life of the research activity, is an important tool for research managers. When correctly implemented, research evaluation can help to increase the success of existing and future research projects and programs, thereby increasing the social, economic and/or environmental impact of the research. The relationship between the life-cycle of the research project and the type of evaluation determines the appropriate type of evaluation to be undertaken. Given the value of research evaluation, and the recent development of user-friendly evaluation procedures and models, management of a R&D portfolio can benefit from increased evaluation effort at the project, program and organisational levels.


The impact of exposure to violence in the context of families, neighborhoods, and peer groups on pre-adolescents and adolescents has been widely studied. However, very little is known on the effect of exposure to political conflict and violence on children and youth. The literature is specially lacking studies assessing these last effects while controlling for exposure to violence in other contexts. This study evaluates the cumulative impact on Israeli children's aggression of exposure to violence in four social ecological settings: family, school, neighborhood and political conflicts. The effects of exposure to violence in these settings were analyzed separately for the two major ethnic communities in Israel: Jewish and Arab. We examine data collected using face-to-face interviews with children and parents, from the two samples, each of 450 dyads with three age cohorts of children – 8 year olds, 11 year olds, and 14 year olds in 2007. We test the effect of exposure to each type of violence on aggressive behavior while controlling for a variety of personal and demographic covariates. Though both Israeli Arab and Jewish children report considerable exposure to various types of political violence, Jewish children were significantly more exposed to political violence (all types). On the other hand, Arab children were exposed to more community and family conflict and violence. In both ethnic groups, exposure to political violence and to violence in the other ecological contexts had a greater effect on children's aggression than did their demographic characteristics. Gender was the only significant demographic variable in both groups, and parents' income affected (negatively) only Jewish children's aggression. The study highlights the detrimental impact of exposure to political conflict and violence on both Arab and Jewish Israeli children's aggression.


Before delegating a task to an autonomous system, a human operator may want a guarantee about the behavior of the system. This paper extends previous work on conformal prediction for functional data and conformalized quantile regression to provide conformal prediction intervals over the future behavior of an autonomous system executing a fixed control policy on a Markov Decision Process (MDP). The prediction intervals are constructed by applying conformal corrections to prediction intervals computed by quantile regression. The resulting intervals guarantee that with probability $1-\delta$ the observed trajectory will lie inside the prediction interval, where the probability is computed with respect to the starting state distribution and the stochasticity of the MDP. The method is illustrated on MDPs for invasive species management and StarCraft2 battles.