Ad hoc On-Demand Distance Vector (AODV) routing protocol is a reactive protocol in Mobile Ad hoc Network (MANET). AODV uses a distance or hop count for determining the best forwarding path and store the sequence number at table entry to ensure the path information is up-to-date. Although the AODV is a better performance compare to other proactive and reactive routing protocol in MANET, this routing still has a limitation and can to be improved.
In this research, two algorithms that enhanced the original AODV are proposed. The first algorithm focuses on the AODV route table update management. The combination metrics of the lifetime and the sequence number in the table entry is used to solve the problem of the discarded active path information when the lifetime is expired. From the performance analysis, the proposed algorithm is successful to enhance the original AODV based on the performance of delay, overhead, packet delivery ratio and packet loss ratio.
The second proposed algorithm is focused on the AODV route discovery. On the original AODV, packets will be allowed to rebroadcast the packet with a minimal lifetime. This will cause an unnecessary packets are discarded from the broadcasting. To solve this problem, Lifetime Ratio (LR) is proposed to reduce the unnecessary packets rebroadcast until it reaches the destination nodes. Based on the performance analysis, LR algorithm enhances the performance of the overhead, packet delivery ratio and packet loss ratio.
The performance analysis of the proposed algorithms was conducted by using the discrete-event simulator, OMNeT++. The simulator was used to simulate the mobility environment and the Open System Interconnections (OSI) layers utilized in wireless simulation. To compare the performance between the original AODV and the proposed algorithms, the performance metrics are based on delay, overhead, packet delivery ratio, packet loss ratio and throughput.
From the extensive simulations based on the performance metrics, the two proposed algorithms have shown distinct improvement and subsequently enhancing the performance of AODV.


Previous research has shown repeatedly that human stature influences mate preferences and mate choice in heterosexuals. In general, it has been shown that tall men and average height women are most preferred by the opposite sex, and that both sexes prefer to be in a relationship where the man is taller than the woman. However, little is known about such partner preferences in homosexual individuals. Based on an online survey of a large sample of non-heterosexual men (N = 541), we found that the majority of men prefer a partner slightly taller than themselves. However, these preferences were dependent on the participant's own height, such that taller men preferred shorter partners, whereas shorter men preferred taller partners. We also examined whether height preferences predicted the preference for dominance and the adoption of particular sexual roles within a couple. Although a large proportion of men preferred to be in an egalitarian relationship with respect to preferred dominance (although not with respect to preferred sexual role), men that preferred a more dominant and more "active" sexual role preferred shorter partners, whereas those that preferred a more submissive and more "passive" sexual role preferred taller partners. Our results indicate that preferences for relative height in homosexual men are modulated by own height, preferred dominance and sex role, and do not simply resemble those of heterosexual women or men.


Steam generators are components in which heat produced in the reactor core is transferred to the secondary side, the steam supply system, of the nuclear power plant (NPP). Steam generators (SGs) have to fulfil special nuclear regulatory requirements regarding their size, selection of materials, pressure loads, impact on the NPP safety, etc. The primary-side fluid is liquid water at the high pressure, and the fluid on the secondary side is saturated water-steam mixture at the pressure twice as low. A special attention is given to preserving the boundary between the contaminated water in the primary reactor coolant system and the water-steam mixture in the secondary system. A brief overview of the SG design, its operation and the mathematical correlations used to quantify heat transfer is given in the chapter. Results of the SG transient behaviour obtained by the simulation with the best-estimate computer code RELAP5, developed for safety analyses of NPPs, are also presented. Two types of steam generators are analyzed: the inverted U-tube SG, which is commonly found in the present-day pressurized water reactors and the helicalcoil SG that is part of the new-generation reactor designs.


Tropical forests are disappearing at unprecedented rates, but the drivers behind this transformation are not always clear. This limits the decision-making processes and the effectiveness of forest management policies. In this paper, we address the extent and drivers of deforestation of the Choco biodiversity hotspot, which has not received much scientific attention despite its high levels of plant diversity and endemism. The climate is characterized by persistent cloud cover which is a challenge for land cover mapping from optical satellite imagery. By using Google Earth Engine to select pixels with minimal cloud content and applying a random forest classifier to Landsat and Sentinel data, we produced a wall-to-wall land cover map, enabling a diagnosis of the status and drivers of forest loss in the region. Analyses of these new maps together with information from illicit crops and alluvial mining uncovered the pressure over intact forests. According to Global Forest Change (GFC) data, 2324 km2 were deforested in this area from 2001 to 2018, reaching a maximum in 2016 and 2017. We found that 68% of the area is covered by broadleaf forests (67,473 km2) and 15% by shrublands (14,483 km2), the latter with enormous potential to promote restoration projects. This paper provides a new insight into the conservation of this exceptional forest with a discussion of the drivers of forest loss, where illicit crops and alluvial mining were found to be responsible for 60% of forest loss.


This author applies Insurance Performance Measure (IPM) to a set of Indian insurance companies over the period 2005–2016. This is the first article published that applies the IPM model on real industry data and studies its implications. The IPM was introduced in a Winter 2002 JACF article by Joseph Calandro, Jr., then at General Star management, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway and by Scott Lane, then an accounting professor at the University of New Haven. Those authors explained why financial reporting for insurance companies was so challenging and presented the IPM metric as a better way to assess industry and company performance. Evaluating P&C companies is difficult because the unique format of insurance company financials does not lend itself to traditional financial accounting analysis and because the industry's preeminent performance measure, the Underwriting Ratio, captures underwriting and claims activity but says nothing about investment and risk distribution (reinsurance). By contrast, the IPM represents the interrelation of underwriting, investment and reinsurance along with a hurdle rate and is quite consistent with Warren Buffett's expressed desire for a balanced overview of industry performance. IPM uses financial data without modification thereby simplifying and fastening computation. Operationally, it could help in negotiations for reinsurance renewals and identify "Maximum Profitable capacity"—the threshold limit for overall profitability.


The author describes a correct medical procedure and what may be called an augmented medical procedure. Reference is made to some of the formal and material conditions and bases of clinical deliberation. It is shown why one should reread Hippocrates, Aristotle and other physicians and philosophers who considered these issues. Thus the author reviews the principles and practices that made humanity and created clinical medicine. The casuistic model of the medical procedure is compared to the so-called model of medicine based on fact. This paper provides a clear position on the value and significance of individual responsibility.


This paper focuses on irrigation, water management, and development in Chitsungo Ward in the Zambezi valley. It is an analysis of how the Dande Irrigation Project, which is mid-way under construction, has and is perceived to affect the local people. The paper focuses on how the potential beneficiaries of the scheme are trying to adapt the project to their life-world. This analysis, therefore, looks into why and how new patterns of relationships shape themselves around crucial resources such as water and land. The contention throughout the paper is that the project structure and organisation should not only be feasible from the technical point of view but must also be sustainable in socio-economic and institutional terms. I argue in the paper that consistent with national policies, interventions must be formulated to enhance cost recovery and cost efficiency while at the same time addressing key institutional issues such as leadership legitimacy, regulations and legislation, responsibility and accountability, and requisite skills within which beneficiary participation is enhanced. It is against this background that water management comes as a central and potentially explosive issue in irrigation management. For practical purposes of policy making, planning and implementing a people-friendly irrigation project, this paper highlights some of the overlooked cultural and social processes of change, together with the consequences and outcomes of such interventions.


The increasing role of electronic media in news and, more generally, in content production is changing the scope and boundaries of the journalism profession and the instruments deployed to regulate the activity. Historically, journalism has primarily been self-regulated. The limits of public legislation, mainly driven by the constitutional constraints posed by the freedom of expression, have created different models of national private regulatory regimes across Europe. Media regulation is a multilevel architecture and national legal systems still play a primary role in designing rules concerning news production. Self-regulation reflects national approaches and varies according to legal and social regulatory cultures. Within the private sphere, different forms of regulation have been implemented reflecting the changing balance between the profession, the industries and the new players which have emerged after the Web revolution. The development of new media poses the following important challenges to that regulatory framework: the criteria to be used to define journalism; the distinction and the boundaries between professional and non-professional journalism; the distinction between commercial and social/not for profit content production. This essay will examine these challenges looking at practice and litigation in European countries, identifying the different conflicting interests generating this litigation and the (private) regulatory responses. It will explore the differences between professional and industry regulation both within and across media: looking at the national and European or transnational regulatory scope of these regimes.


Published data from nearly 2,000 coal samples comprising 250 coal beds from 17 states, representing many of the coal producing horizons in the USA, shows moderate correlation (0.7) between depth and methane content for high volatile coal ranks. Low-volatile rank coals average the highest methane content, 12.74 m?/ton (450 ft?/ton), subbituminous rank coals the lowest, <0.71 m?/ton (<25 ft?/ton). Experimentation under replicated in situ conditions of triaxial stress, pore pressure and temperature on Pittsburgh No. 8 coal indicate permeability decreases with increasing CO2 pressure, with an increase in strain in the coal associated with its swelling.


In recent years online and blended learning has scaled up from being a pilot endeavor driven by pioneers, to constituting a large portion of many institutions of higher education. In the process, the conditions for the online teacher has gradually changed, and the situation of today is in many ways problematic where student interaction and dialogue has to stand back in favor of time consuming content production, material delivery, and technical problem solving. This paper draws on the experiences from a Scandinavian University to illustrate how this transition can be understood in the light of rapid technological development in combination with slow evolution of pedagogical models for online education.


The first principle of the Nuremberg Code (1946) requires the informed consent of the subject. Proxy consent was not addressed until the Declaration of Helsinki (1964). U.S. policies regarding consent for the participation of children in research would not be finalized for almost two more decades (1983) in subpart D of the federal regulations that govern the participation of subjects in research. In October 2000, the Children's Health Act was passed. Title X required the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to conduct a review of the regulations under subpart D and "to consider any modifications necessary to ensure the adequate and appropriate protection of children participating in research, and report the findings of the Secretary to Congress." In this article, I provide a brief overview of the current informed consent requirements in pediatric research, which include requirements for parental permission and the child's assent. I then examine the moral bases for these requirements; whether the current policies are consistent with these moral foundations; and if not, how the policies ought to be modified.I would like to thank Walter Glannon, Ph.D., for reading an earlier version of this paper. The section of this paper entitled "Parental Permission" is based on an editorial: Ross LF. How many parents should be needed to consent to a child's participation in medical research? American Academy of Pediatrics, Section on Bioethics Newsletter May 2002:1, 4. Dr. Ross's research on children in research is funded by an NIH Grant (NLM 1 G13 LM07472-01).


Research indicates that neighborhood context can have a significant effect on the health of older adults. The evidence suggests that there may be physical health benefits afforded to Mexican Americans living in ethnically homogenous neighborhoods, despite the relatively high economic risk in such neighborhoods, but few studies have considered the effect of neighborhood ethnic density on mental health outcomes in older adults. This study evaluated the association between neighborhoods with a high proportion of Mexican Americans and depressive symptoms in very old Mexican Americans. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine data from Wave 5 (2004/05) of the Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly. Subjects included 1,875 community‐dwelling Mexican Americans aged 75 and older living in 386 neighborhoods in five states in the southwestern United States (Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas). Depressive symptoms were measured using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (α=0.88). Results showed that, in very old men, there was a significant negative association between percentage of Mexican Americans in the neighborhood and depressive symptoms (P=.01). In women, the direction of the association was the same, but the effect was not significant. These findings suggest that the proportion of Mexican Americans in the neighborhood matter more for very old Mexican American men than women. Further research may inform screening and treatment for depressive symptoms based on differences in neighborhood composition. Recommendations include culturally customized programs that offer older Mexican Americans greater mobility and access to programs and opportunities in culturally identifiable neighborhoods.


The paper presents a novel GA/PSO self regulating diesel driven AC induction motor controlled drive system using the common AC-DC-AC bus interface for industrial applications and electric vehicle EV-locomotion. The proposed control scheme utilizes the dual regulation multi loop error driven controller using the novel modified proportional plus integral plus derivative PID structure with the added error rate compensating auxiliary loop. The EV-drive is fed from the AC-DC-AC interface of a six-pulse controlled rectifier –DC link and six-pulse voltage source inverter VSI using a coordinated dual action control scheme for firing angle control. The diesel engine is controlled to ensure dynamic of power demand with dynamic voltage and current tracking. A dynamic error driven control scheme is proposed to regulate the motor current to limit any inrush currents and overloading conditions, in addition to motor speed dynamic reference tracking. The Proposed tri loop dynamic error driven self regulated-tuned controllers are also utilized to ensure dynamic energy efficiency, control loop decoupling, drive stability and the unified system efficient energy utilization while maintaining accurate speed reference tracking. The paperpresents soft-computing application of both Multi Objective Particle Swarm Optimization (MOPSO) and Genetic search MOGA optimization and search techniques for dynamic online gain-tuning to optimally adjust the settings of the proposed controllers.


One of the sources of disturbance at intakes is the occurrence of free-surface vortices with
an air core. The most common solution for avoiding air-entrainment is the use of anti-vortex devices
and, especially, plates for large pipe or shaft intakes. If plates are used, then, the geometry and position
of them should be studied experimentally. Since only general guidance for use of plates is available, a
study for the more precise placement of plates is needed. Hence, a comprehensive set of experiments have
been carried out using rectangular plates with dierent dimensions and at various positions with respect
to the vertical outlet pipe intakes and two dierent pipe diameters (D = 75 and 100 mm). The results
of critical submergence with respect to the dimensions and positions of the plates are presented as graphs
and equations. Thus, design guides and recommendations are provided.


Abstract This paper offers a thesis for why the US overtook the UK and other European countries in the 20th century in both aggregate and per capita GDP as a case study of recent models of endogenous growth, where 'human capital' is the engine of growth. By human capital we mean an intangible asset, best thought of as a stock of embodied and disembodied knowledge comprising education, information, entrepreneurship, and productive and innovative skills, which is formed through investments in schooling, job training, and health as well as through research and development projects and informal knowledge transfers (cf. Ehrlich and Murphy 2007). The conjecture is that the ascendancy of the US as an economic superpower in the 20th century owes considerably to its faster human capital formation relative to that of the UK and 'old Europe.' This paper assesses whether the thesis has legs to stand on through both stylized facts and a supplementary quasi-experimental empirical analysis. The stylized facts indicate that the US led other major developed countries in schooling attainments per adult population member, beginning in the latter part of the 19th century and lasting throughout the 20th century, especially at the secondary and tertiary levels. The quasi-experimental analysis constitutes the first attempt to test the hypothesis that the US's ascendancy to a major economic power stems largely from the impact of the first Morrill Act of 1862, which launched the public higher education movement in the US through the establishment of land grant colleges and universities across the nation during the latter part of the 19th century. The higher education movement appears to have spearheaded a higher long-term rate of growth in per capita income in the US relative to the UK and other major European countries.


Femoral nail removal has been suggested as a routine procedure for symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether asymptomatic patients have long-term complaints after femoral nail removal. Additionally, factors that might extend operation time and effect soft tissue healing negatively were analyzed. A retrospective study on the removal of 164 femoral nails after fracture consolidation was done. A review of the patient charts and radiographs was done. Neither the interval between nail implantation and nail removal or the use of an end-cap significantly influenced the operation time. The surgeon's qualification and nail depth were the only variables that influenced operation time. Neither operation time, nail depth, surgeon's qualification, nor the grade of heterotopic ossification significantly influenced the incidence of wound healing problems. One hundred nine patients (73%) were available for the followup interview. Preoperatively, 58 patients (53%) had local complaints. Of these 58 patients, 78% reported improvement and 7% reported an aggravation of their local complaints. Of the 51 patients who were asymptomatic before surgery, 20% reported long-term complaints at followup. Only symptomatic patients should be considered for femoral nail removal.


Heterogeneous cellular networks provide significant improvements in terms of increased data rates and cell coverage, and offer reduced user rate starvation. However, there are important problems to be solved. In this paper, we identify that the cell selection criterion is an important factor determining the user rates especially in the uplink transmissions and apply cell breathing to determine the user and base station assignments. We observe that the proposed interference-based cell selection algorithm provides better load balancing among the base stations in the system to improve the uplink user rates. We present the implementation steps in a typical LTE network and demonstrate the performance improvements through simulations.


This is a chapter in the forthcoming federal courts stories. Ex parte Young is a central part of the federal courts canon, yet the underlying historical details are little known or understood. This is unfortunate. Many cases in the canon are contested by advocates of greater or lesser federal court intervention. Ex parte Young, however, is bedrock, almost universally admired across the ideological spectrum. At the time, though, this decision opening the doors to federal court was widely condemned by progressives who disdained judicial involvement in economic legislation. The Story of Ex Parte Young tells of the cases' origins in Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, shedding light on how we should understand this now widely-accepted decision.


Microbial life thrives in an oily bubble Microorganisms can break down hydrocarbons in oil reservoirs. Microbes grow primarily at the interface between oil and water, where they can find nutrients and dispose of metabolites. Meckenstock et al. now show that tiny water droplets can also provide a suitable home for hydrocarbon-degrading microorganisms. The authors examined oil from Pitch Lake, Trinidad and Tobago, and found that diverse microorganisms thrived in these tiny isolated microhabitats. Science, this issue p. 673 Methanogenic microorganisms living in water droplets may contribute to the degradation of oil reservoirs. Anaerobic microbial degradation of hydrocarbons, typically occurring at the oil-water transition zone, influences the quality of oil reservoirs. In Pitch Lake, Trinidad and Tobago—the world's largest asphalt lake—we found that microorganisms are metabolically active in minuscule water droplets (1 to 3 microliters) entrapped in oil. Pyrotag sequencing of individual droplet microbiomes revealed complex methanogenic microbial communities actively degrading the oil into a diverse range of metabolites, as shown by nuclear magnetic resonance and Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry. High salinity and water-stable isotopes of the droplets indicate a deep subsurface origin. The 13.5% water content and the large surface area of the droplets represent an underestimated potential for biodegradation of oil away from the oil-water transition zone.


ABSTRACT There is a growing interest in mainland China about schools' roles in supporting students to develop positive mental health. However, relatively little data have been collected about mainland Chinese students' mental health. This article reports a collaborative study, by eastern and western researchers, to translate and administer the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and a School Satisfaction Scale (SSS) to students in mainland China. We discuss the possible absence of some western psychological constructs in eastern contexts, and possible cultural differences in the levels of participants' compliant responses. Descriptive results indicated that the mainland Chinese students' SDQ responses were similar to students in comparative countries. Factor analyses indicated that the SDQ needed modification when used with our mainland Chinese sample. Structural equation modelling showed relationships between higher school satisfaction and lower mental difficulties. The study provides baseline data to inform school-based mental health promotion initiatives in mainland China. Broader outcomes are to inform researchers and educators about processes and cautions when using previously validated questionnaires in new cultural contexts. We highlight the need for close east–west researcher collaboration when exporting/importing psychological questionnaires. Graphical Abstract


We propose and investigate Multi-Channel Extremely Opportunistic Routing (MCExOR) which is a protocol that extends Extremely Opportunistic Routing by utilizing multiple RF channels in multi-hop wireless networks. Large numbers of transmissions per end-to-end delivery combined with interference are the main reasons for the low capacity of wireless multi-hop networks. MCExOR reduces the overall number of transmissions in wireless multi-hop networks by opportunistically skipping nodes in a packet's forwarding path. The use of multiple non overlapping RF channels contributes to the reduction of overall interference. In contrast to other approaches MCExOR only needs one RF transceiver per device. We present algorithms for route discovery and packet forwarding. A significant benefit of MCExOR is that the selection of RF channels is independent of the routing function. Finally, with the help of simulations we show that MCExOR outperforms traditional protocols like ad-hoc on-demand distance vector routing through the simultaneous use of multiple RF channels. In combination with realistic radio propagation models an increase in the throughput is observed due to the opportunistic feature of MCExOR. With the increasing number of RF channels the overall throughput increases superproportionally. Unlike other multi channel approaches even a single packet flow can benefit from the existence of multiple channels.


The "San Diego Tribune" called "The Stone Diaries" a "universal study of what makes women tick." With "Larry's Party" Carol Shields has done the same for men. Larry Weller, born in 1950, is an ordinary guy made extraordinary by his creator's perception, irony, and tenderness. "Larry's Party" gives us, as it were, a CAT scan of his life, in episodes between 1977 and 1997, that seamlessly flash backward and forward. We follow this young floral designer through two marriages and divorces, and his interactions with his parents, friends, and a son. Throughout, we witness his deepening passion for garden mazes--so like life, with their teasing treachery and promise of reward. Among all the paradoxes and accidents of his existence, Larry moves through the spontaneity of the seventies, the blind enchantment of the eighties, and the lean, mean nineties, completing at last his quiet, stubborn search for self. Larry's odyssey mirrors the male condition at the end of our century with targeted wit, unerring poignancy, and faultless wisdom.


Victims of human trafficking live in a world of fear and despair. The treatment afforded to these victims when they finally emerge from the violent and brutal cycle of human trafficking tells us something about our own societies. This Study has been undertaken to evaluate the progress made by various developed countries towards implementing their international obligations to protect victims of human trafficking, and to assess the treatment given to these victims in comparison to international best practices.The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime ("Trafficking Protocol") was adopted on November 15, 2000, and came into force on December 25, 2003. With 117 signatories, it has widespread international support. One of its main objectives is to protect and assist trafficking victims.Part I of this Study consists of country narratives that describe and analyze the law and practice of selected jurisdictions with respect to their compliance with Articles 6-8 of the Trafficking Protocol. This Study concludes that Australia, Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden and the United States are generally complying with their international obligations under the Trafficking Protocol related to the protection of victims of human trafficking. However, the United Kingdom has failed to meet these international standards and is currently reviewing its policy in this area in light of its recent ratification of the Trafficking Protocol.Canada has systematically failed to comply with its international obligations under the Trafficking Protocol related to the protection of victims of human trafficking. Canada's record of dealing with trafficking victims is an international embarrassment and contrary to best practices. Since November 2004, The Future Group has been corresponding with the Government of Canada to attempt to obtain information on its compliance with Articles 6-8 of the Trafficking Protocol. In addition to extremely lengthy delays in responding to inquiries, former Liberal Cabinet Ministers passed the buck to each other, ignored the request for information, and failed to detail any steps that Canada has taken whatsoever to meet its international obligations in this regard. The new Conservative Government, under Prime Minister Stephen Harper, which took power in early February 2006, has not yet had an opportunity to announce its policy in this area.Part II of this Study provides a comparative analysis of best practices in the jurisdictions that are under review. Those countries that are global leaders in best practices, as well as those which have fallen short of the mark for the treatment of trafficking victims may be identified. The overall grades awarded in this Study, which are described in further detail in this Study, are as follows: United States-B, Australia-B, Norway-B, Sweden-B, Germany-B, Italy-B, United Kingdom-D


Tailored solutions are one key to the lightweight construction challenges of the future. Only tailored solutions allow the combination of soft and hard zones for the best possible crash performance and minimum weight. The safety cage of future vehicles may completely be designed with hot formed components. In order to achieve the desired properties of the component, a heat treatment operation is necessary, and it comprises a significant part of the hot forming process. This poses additional challenges to the automotive industry as the heat treatment process is a function of many parameters and depends strongly on the forming process. In addition, only perfectly heat-treated parts will fulfill specifications. Virtual Prototyping makes sure that component manufacturing and assembly processes yield the designed tolerances and crash performance. ESI GROUP aims at providing all necessary tools for virtual prototyping of lightweight constructions designed and assembled with tailored solutions, specifically hot forming. This paper outlines what is needed for realistic virtual prototyping, and the status of the simulation solution. Validated realistic engineering examples are used to illustrate the capabilities in the field of virtual die design, forming, quenching, cooling channel engineering, assembly, and product performance.


Circulating biomarkers are on the verge of becoming powerful diagnostic tools for various human diseases. However, the complex sample composition makes it difficult to detect biomarkers directly from blood at the bench or at the point-of-care. Blood cells are often a source of variability of the biomarker signal. While the interference of hemoglobin is a long known source of variability, the release of nucleic acids and other cellular components from hemocytes is a new concern for measurement and detection of circulating extracellular markers. Research into miniaturised blood plasma separation has been thriving in the last 10 years (2006-2016). Most point-of-care systems need microscale blood plasma separation, but developed solutions differ in complexity and sample volume range. But could blood plasma separation be avoided completely? This focused review weights the advantages and limits of miniaturised blood plasma separation and highlights the most interesting advances in direct capture as well as smart blood plasma separation.


In this paper we present our approach to the Bilingual Document
Alignment Task (WMT16), where the main goal was to reach the
best recall on extracting aligned pages within the provided
data. Our approach consists of tree main parts: data
preprocessing, keyword extraction and text pairs scoring based
on keyword matching. For text preprocessing we use the
TreeTagger pipeline that contains the Unitok tool (Michelfeit
et al., 2014) for tokenization and the TreeTagger morphological
analyzer (Schmid, 1994). After keywords extraction from the
texts according TF-IDF scoring our system searches for
comparable English-French pairs. Using a statistical dictionary
created from a large English-French parallel corpus, the system
is able to find comaparable documents. At the end this
procedure is combined with the baseline algorithm and best
one-to-one pairing is selected. The result reaches 91.6% recall
on provided training data. After a deep error analysis (see
section 5) the recall reached 97.4%.


Ginsenoside Rk3 (Rk3) and ginsenoside Rh4 (Rh4) have been reported to have therapeutic effects on a variety of diseases including some hematological diseases. The aim of the present study was to treat ribavirin-induced anemia in mice with Rk3 and Rh4 and explore the therapeutic mechanisms. All the experimental mice were randomly divided into 10 groups (the normal group, the control group, the model group, the erythropoietin (EPO) group, and 6 groups of different doses of Rk3 and Rh4, n = 10 per group). The changes in the hemograms, the content of cytokines, the number of hematopoietic cells and viscera damage were observed in the experiment. The results showed that the red blood cell count, the hemoglobin amount and the hematocrit of mice in the ginsenoside groups could be restored to normal values in a short time, and the effects of both Rk3 and Rh4 are obviously better than those of EPO. Moreover, some positive regulators (EPO, erythroid transcription factor-1, and interleukin-3) related to hematopoiesis increased and some negative regulators (interferon-γ and tumour necrosis factor-α) decreased in vivo after the injection of Rk3 or Rh4. These two ginsenosides did little damage to viscera and produced different degrees of increase in the hematopoietic cells in the bone marrow and spleen, which indicated that Rk3 promoted bone marrow and extramedullary haematopoiesis while Rh4 promoted extramedullary hematopoiesis. Therefore, both Rk3 and Rh4 could be considered new therapeutic drugs for treating anemia.

publisher-specific, author manuscript: http://rsc.li/journals-terms-of-use


The taxonomy of the deep-water homolid crabs Moloha grandperrini Guinot & Richer de Forges, 1995 and M. alisae Guinot & Richer de Forges, 1995 is re-examined, and the types redescribed and figured. Moloha alisae is reported from South Africa for the first time. A new species with an inflated carapace, M. tumida sp. nov., is also described from southern India and compared with its closest congeners.


This dissertation examines archaeological evidence for pet keeping in Britain from the mid-1st Century AD until the 15th Century AD, to investigate past relationships between people and their pets. This thesis focusses on the presence of certain species (rabbits, squirrels) on archaeological sites and compile a spreadsheet with the data gathered, including sex, age, associated deposits and any visible pathologies. Both recent academic work and the documentary evidence show that pet keeping was more popular among children and women, and in the Middle Ages, both male and female members of the clergy; therefore this would suggest that pets are more likely to be present at sites frequented by these social subgroups, e.g. urban and ecclesiastical sites. This thesis will also discuss if the inclusion of pets in their owner's grave would be archaeologically recognisable, and if not then why this would be the case. It also aims to address how common this practise was during the time stretching between the Iron Age to the end of the Middle Ages, and if there are any potential British examples of pet/human burials from this time period.


Participatory mapping was undertaken with single-sex groups of grade 5 and grade 8–9 children in KwaZulu-Natal. Relative to grade 5 students, wide gender divergence in access to the public sphere was found at grade 8–9. With puberty, girls' worlds shrink, while boys' expand. At grade 5, female-defined community areas were equal or larger in size than those of males. Community area mapped by urban grade 8–9 girls, however, was only one-third that of male classmates and two-fifths that of grade 5 girls. Conversely, community area mapped by grade 8–9 boys was twice that of grade 5 boys. Similar differences emerged in the rural site. No female group rated a single community space as more than 'somewhat safe'. Although curtailed spatial access is intended to protect girls, grade 8–9 girls reported most places in their small navigable areas as very unsafe. Expanded geographies of grade 8–9 boys contained a mix of safe and unsafe places. Reducing girls' access to the public sphere does not increase their perceived safety, but may instead limit their access to opportunities for human development. The findings emphasise the need for better violence prevention programming for very young adolescents.


We propose a simple network–based methodology for ranking systemically important financial institutions. We view the risks of firms –including both the financial sector and the real economy– as a network with nodes representing the volatility shocks. The metric for the connections of the nodes is the correlation between these shocks. Daily dynamic centrality measures allow us to rank firms in terms of risk connectedness and firm characteristics. We present a general systemic risk index for the financial sector. Results from applying this approach to all firms in the S&P500 for 2003–2011 are twofold. First, Bank of America, JP Morgan and Wells Fargo are consistently in the top 10 throughout the sample. Citigroup and Lehman Brothers also were consistently in the top 10 up to late 2008. At the end of the sample, insurance firms emerge as systemic. Second, the systemic risk in the financial sector built–up from early 2005, peaked in September 2008, and greatly reduced after the introduction of TARP and the rescue of AIG. Anxiety about European debt markets saw the systemic risk begin to rise again from April 2010. We further decompose these results to find that the systemic risk of insurance and deposit– taking institutions differs importantly, the latter experienced a decline from late 2007, in line with the burst of the housing price bubble, while the former continued to climb up to the rescue of AIG.


In this paper, the wind energy resource in China's oilfields is analyzed, the difference between China's energy consumption structure and that of the world in average is analyzed as well, and the application prospect of wind heating technology in China's oilfields is discussed as an example to reform China's energy consumption structure. It shows that it is possible to use wind energy as an appropriate heat resource or supplementary heat source in some oilfields to supply heat energy for oil heating and living, more room to improve the energy resource utilization in various fields in China remain. It is a benefit to both oilfield and society to improve energy saving and environments.


This study describes the selective recognition of Nd(III) in aqueous solutions in the presence of various lanthanide ions by molecularly imprinted polymers. Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) were prepared by suspension polymerization. N-methacryloylamido folic acid (MAFol) was used as the functional monomer. The effects of different variables such as pH, time, and initial Nd(III) concentration on binding characteristics were investigated. Binding equilibrium time was achieved in 30 min. The maximum binding capacity was found to be 14.6 mg Nd(III) g–1 polymer. Binding studies of Nd(III) in the presence of Ce(III), La(III), and Eu(III) ions were also carried out using Nd(III)-imprinted polymers. The imprinted polymers displayed high selectivity toward Nd(III) ions. The obtained binding order under competitive conditions was Nd(III) > La(III) > Ce(III) > Eu(III).


Comorbidity of substance use disorders and mental disorders is very common, and there is substantial heterogeneity within subgroups in terms of both their characteristics and the nature of causal relationships between the disorders. Assessment and management strategies need to deal with both the size of the problem across the community and its severe impact in some subgroups, including those with psychosis. At this stage, the research base from which we can derive recommendations is very narrow, but it does offer a foundation for preliminary conclusions. This chapter reviews the current evidence and makes some suggestions for assessment and for both psychological and pharmacological management.


Networks-on-chips (NoCs) provide scalable on-chip communication and are expected to be the dominant interconnection architectures in multicore and manycore systems. Power consumption, however, is a major limitation in NoCs today, and researchers have been constantly working on reducing both dynamic and static power. Among the NoC components, links that connect the NoC routers are the most power-hungry components. Several attempts have been made to reduce the link power consumption at both the circuit level and the system level. Most past research efforts have proposed selective on/off link state switching based on system-level information based on link utilization levels. Most of these proposed algorithms focus on a pessimistic and simple static threshold mechanism which determines whether or not a link should be turned on/off. This paper presents an intelligent dynamic power management policy for NoCs with improved predictive abilities based on supervised online learning of the system status (i.e., expected future utilization link levels), where links are turned off and on via the use of a small and scalable neural network. Simulation results with various synthetic traffic models over various network topologies show that the proposed work can reach up to 13% power savings when compared to a trivial threshold computation, at very low (<4%) hardware overheads.


As is known that the Pareto set of a continuous multi-objective optimization problem with m objective functions is a piecewise continuous (m-1)-dimensional manifold in the decision space under some mild conditions. However, how to utilize the regularity to design multi-objective optimization algorithms has become the research focus. In this paper, based on this regularity, a model-based multi-objective evolutionary algorithm with regression analysis (MMEA-RA) is put forward to solve continuous multi-objective optimization problems with variable linkages. In the algorithm, the optimization problem is modelled as a promising area in the decision space by a probability distribution, and the centroid of the probability distribution is (m-1)-dimensional piecewise continuous manifold. The least squares method is used to construct such a model. A selection strategy based the non-dominated sorting is used to choose the individuals to the next generation. The new algorithm is tested and compared with NSGA-II and RM-MEDA. The result shows that MMEA-RA outperforms RM-MEDA and NSGA-II on the test instances with variable linkages. At the same time, MMEA-RA has higher efficiency than the other two algorithm. A few shortcomings of MMEA-RA have also been identified and discussed in this paper


In model-driven engineering (MDE), models constitute the central artifacts in the development process, and thus, are often built by teams of developers. As a consequence, adequate version control for models is crucial to the success of MDE-based projects. Several model versioning systems have been proposed recently. Most of them are generic in the sense that they are agnostic to modeling languages. Although this ensures a wide applicability, important merge issues may not be detected. In this paper, we present an orthogonal extension to generic model versioning systems for enabling the detection of an important subset of language-specific merge issues. Users may enhance the versioning system's capabilities by defining signifiers, which describe the combination of features of a model element type that convey the superior meaning of its instances. Signifiers improve the different phases of the versioning process including comparing and merging models leading to a higher quality of the finally merged models. We showcase the applicability of our approach by enhancing the versioning support for the modeling language Ecore.


ABSTRACT This article focuses on whether the discontinuity in the structure of the Indian economy, which started with the economic reforms of 1991, triggered changes in federal fiscal arrangements. This examination is embedded in a larger overview of the basic fiscal structure, characterized by annual flows from the national government (the "Center") to subnational states that have both statutory (guaranteed and formulaic) and non-statutory (discretionary) components. An unforeseen consequence of trade liberalization was the loss of trade tax revenue, which drove down tax collections at the Center both as a percent of GDP, and relative to states. Four major policy changes initiated after 1991 are attributable to post-reform concerns with efficiency in the fiscal structure. The final shift of indirect taxation to a fully value added configuration, with comprehensive coverage of goods and services, is scheduled for introduction by September 16, 2017.


The present study is dealt with the influence of a variable magnetic field and thermal radiation on three-dimensional flow of incompressible nanofluid over an exponentially-stretching sheet in association with a convective boundary condition. Patel model is employed in this study because this model contributes more thermal conductivity and hence the heat transfer capability of nanofluids compared to the Maxwell and Brinkman model. In the present analysis, base fluids such as water, 30% ethylene glycol, 50% ethylene glycol and nanoparticles such as Cu, Ag and Al2O3 are considered. The transformed governing differential equations are solved using fourthorder Runge-Kutta method along with shooting technique and secant method is employed for better approximation. The significant impact of the variable magnetic field and the thermal radiation on the dimensionless velocity, temperature, skin friction and the Nusselt number has been analyzed. The important outcome of the present study is that the Lorentz force due to the presence of the magnetic field impinges its resistance on the fluid motion leading to diminution of the wall shear stresses(axial as well as transverse) in association with a thinner momentum boundary layer and reduction in the heat transfer rate from the sheet developing thicker thermal boundary layer.


Zaha Hadid: Heydar Aliyev Centre is devoted to the new cultural center designed by Zaha Hadid in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku. As one of the most important cultural centers in the country, the building houses a variety of institutions under one roof. With the design, the renowned architect won the architecture competition in 2007. Inside its surface of fibre-glass reinforced concrete the building contains an auditorium that seats over a thousand, a conference center, a museum, and a library. Its open, inviting, and curvilinear design, which picks up and expands on forms from the surrounding environment, strongly differentiates the building from the city's monumental architecture of the Soviet era. Photographs by Helene Binet and Iwan Baan display the building in all of its facets, making it possible for the reader to experience its formal, haptic, and spatial qualities. Essays explain conceptual and technical aspects of this impressive piece of architecture.


The historic and increasing interdependence of the Latin American and U.S. economies makes an understanding of the political economies of Latin American nations particularly timely and important. After World War II, many nations initially implemented import substituting industrialization policies. Their outcomes, and the shift in policies, are related to the domestic policies and world economic conditions that led to government deficits, inflation, foreign borrowing, debt renegotiation, and renewed emphasis on common markets and other devices to stimulate trade and investment. In The Political Economy of Latin America in the Postwar Period, important policy measures are evaluated, such as indexation of prices and contracts; special provisions for financing the government through the Central Bank; stabilization; and deregulation of the economy. The introduction presents trends in Latin American growth and the factors that influence them. This is followed by parallel studies of the economic development of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru from 1945 to the mid-1990s. Noted experts bring their considerable experience to analyzing the content and impact of the economic theories that guided policymaking and their effects on output, income, and quality of life.


This paper entitled "Writers and Translators: from guilt to gratitude" attempts to switch the emphasis from concept and percept on affect in translation studies. It aims at replacing the translator in all his indissociated roles — reader, critic, interpreter, translator and writer — right within the hazardous responsibility for sense and signification input.It is based on the confessions of some renowned French writers — Jean Anouilh, Gerard de Nerval and Andre Gide — who described the unspoken hardships, loneliness, feelings of guilt and gratitude while translating the very specially inspired giants of universal literature, respectively Shakespeare, Goethe and Rabindranath Tagore.The main idea developed here is that it is certainly more straining, overwhelming and challenging to be the translators of such fabulous masterpieces than being mere writers. For what is at stake for these translators is less equating or overpassing the linguistic means of expression in the original works than meeting the processes of human mind through the exploration of the authors' conscience. In other words, no aesthetic purpose or emotional beauty in translation can be efficiently rendered without the translators peeping into the authors' personal and secret mythology in order to find out the very principles of the creative work's genesis.Translation is also shown as an interactive author-translator's mutual appreciation, both moral and intellectual, the everlasting intellectual balance residing in a fair play between objectivity and subjectivity.


This guide is a starting point for research at the UFV library. If at any time you need more assistance, please contact us.


With development of science and technology, China sports have gradually taken the path to industrial development, sports industry began to be brought into national economic development system. Adopt AHP hierarchical analysis; it exploresChina sports industrial structure correlation problems. According to sports industry each element department primary and secondary differences, it divides sports industry into three large kinds, sports class one industry is sports goods and building; Sports class two industry is commercial sports; sports class three industry is leisure sports. For China sports industryÂ's industrial structure that are industry structure, product structure, employment structure and consumption structure as well as other problems, it makes analysis through establishing analytic hierarchy process model. Research result is that according to received weight, sports goods and buildingweight is 0.29, commercial sportsweight is 0.157, leisure sports weight is 0.553, therefore leisure sports has the maximumcontribution to sports industry, while to leisure sports, it includes sports lottery industry, sports tourism and so on


Islamophobia is the unfounded hostility against Muslims. While anti-Muslim feelings have been explored from many perspectives and in different settings, Internet-based Islamophobia remains under-researched. What are the characteristics of online Islamophobia? What are the differences (if any) between online and offline anti-Muslim narratives? This article seeks to answer these questions through a qualitative analysis of tweets written in the aftermath of the 2016 British referendum on European Union membership (also known as "Brexit"), which was followed by a surge of Islamophobic episodes. The analysis of the tweets suggests that online Islamophobia largely enhances offline anti-Islam discourses, involving narratives that frame Muslims as violent, backward, and unable to adapt to Western values. Islamophobic tweets also have some peculiar characteristics: they foster global networks, contain messages written by so-called "trolls" and "bots," and contribute to the spreading of "fake news." The article suggests that, in order to counteract online Islamophobia, it is important to take into account the networked connections among social media, news media platforms, and offline spaces.


Slides from a presentation given December 6, 2018 at the Library Assessment Conference in Houson, TX. Assessing the library's impact on student success is vital for all library departments, but many assessments exclude nontraditional students. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES, https://nces.ed.gov/pubs/web/97578e.asp), a nontraditional student is defined by many characteristics, such as: delayed enrollment into higher education programs, part-time attendance, working full-time, financial independence from parents, caretaking responsibilities, single parenthood, and having received a GED. Because nontraditional students can feel isolated from campus resources, reaching out to this population of students is crucial. Though there is literature on creating library outreach and instruction to nontraditional students there is a gap in the literature about assessing nontraditional students research needs. Creating assessments that include and focus on nontraditional students is key to improve library resources and services. Two librarians from a midsize public university created assessments focused on two student groups with many nontraditional students: online students and transfer students. Assessing transfer students has been a long-standing strategic mission for this library, and growing assessment to online students is a more recent step. This paper will cover an introduction to nontraditional students, our assessment methodology and approach to these student groups, our findings, and the value of assessing nontraditional students at other institutions. The purposes of these assessments were to target online and transfer students and assess their use and perceptions of library resources and services. This assessment plan to nontraditional students included many approaches. Transfer students were assessed through surveys, pretest and posttest, and focus groups. Assessing transfer students was also expanded under the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) Assessment in Action (AiA) program. Online students were targeted through surveys and usability studies on library websites, as well as evaluating nontraditional student chat transcripts and creating online advisory groups. With all assessments, these librarians collaborated across library departments and across the institution. When assessing online students, public services, technical services, and library information technology teamed up for usability testing and surveys. To create the advisory board for online students, this librarian worked with nonlibrary departments across campus. With transfer students, the librarian teamed up with nonlibrary departments and regional community colleges. The findings of our assessments indicate that better marketing of services is needed to nontraditional students, as well as an outreach plan to reach students at the beginning of their academic careers. Continuing collaboration is key in order to improve our resources, including working with nonlibrary departments to better communicate with nontraditional students to create workshops and orientations geared towards nontraditional students. Both librarians also see in the findings the need to work with regional community colleges to reach out to transfer students and learn from their online learning initiatives. Future directions of our findings indicate that possibly creating a position that would focus on student success, including nontraditional students, would help strengthen these initiatives on campus and regionally.


Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus MRSA is a major life-threatening pathogens causing a variety of serious infections and responsible for the majority of morbidity and mortality in human. Currently, more toxic and more costly antibiotics which are used as last-line agents can only be the choice to cure MRSA infections. Therefore, search for an alternative therapy derived from natural products with effective antimicrobial activity is extensively needed. The aim of this study was to develop a combination therapy for MRSA infection by using naturally derived extract and antibiotic formulation targeting selected infective proteins. The antimicrobial activity of Calligonum comosum methanolic extract (locally known as Arta), a medicinal plant native to Saudi Arabia, was evaluated using Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC), against gram positive and gram negative pathogens. The activity of the extract was determined for various clones of methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). All MSSA and MRSA strains tested were subtyped based on multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and spa typing to differentiate the clones of these strains. Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae were included as negative controls. The present study also verified the interactions between 17 commercial antibiotics representing 12 classes and the methanolic extract of C. comosum against MRSA and MSSA strains. The interaction was assessed using a disc-diffusion test performed on agar plates with or without dilution of C. comosum extract at sub-inhibitory concentrations, and the size of the inhibition zones (diameter) were recorded. The bioassay studies revealed that C. comosum extract showed inhibitory activity only to gram positive strains whereas gram negative organisms, Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumonia , showed resistant phenotypic pattern to the methanolic extract. In vitro , 10 antibiotics (penicillin, oxacillin, cefoxitin, cloxacillin, ceftriaxone, vancomycin, chloramphenicol, clindamycin, tigecycline and rifampicin) given in combination with the methanolic extract exhibited significant synergistic interaction against most of MRSA and MSSA strains (P= 0.05). Namely 4 antibiotics, rifampicin,vancomycin, cefoxitin and tigecycline (P= 0.00), presented the highest synergism rate with the extract in all MRSA and MSSA strains. These antibiotics when exposed in combination with the C. comosum extract showed greater inhibition zones when compared to the zones by single application of the antibiotics or extract. However, 6 other antibiotics had indifferent effects with the methanolic extract against most of MRSA and MSSA strains, while the extract showed antagonistic interaction with gentamicin. In addition to the bioassay experiments, antimicrobial substance activity of C. comosum extract was elucidated for effect on the changes in DNA repair gene ( adaB ) sequence in treated S. aureus strains through PCR and RT-PCR assay. The effect of C. comosum extract inhibitory activity on the selected gene sequence showed several nucleotide changes. The detected changes in nucleotides through substitution, insertion or deletion of the nucleotide base pairs in the adaB gene sequence led to several amino acid substitutions at different positions. Nevertheless, to find out the possibility of using the active compounds in the extract as a new alternative antibacterial agent, cytotoxic activity of C. comosum extract was determined using the MTS assay. The toxic effect of the extract was tested on skin fibroblast cells. Various concentrations were selected to evaluate the IC50 of the extract at various time intervals of 24h and 48h, respectively. As shown in vitro , inhibitory action of the extract used is much lower (250 mg/ml) than that reported for antimicrobials (100 mg/ml) derived naturally. Also, identification of crude extract compounds was carried out using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). GC-MS chromatogram of the given crude sample showed 42 different peaks at various retention times ranging from 5 minutes to 28 minutes for different chemical constituents. GC–MS analysis revealed the presence of 1-((allyloxy)methyl)benzene (18.11%), acetic acid (12.57%), 2-sec-butoxybenzene-1,3-diol (10.61%), formic acid (7.76%), 5-(hydroxymethyl)-2-furancarboxaldehyde (6.67%), 2,3-Dihydro-3,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl-4H-pyran-4-one (5.57%), orthomethoxyphenol (3.71%) and 1-tridecanol (1.27%) as the major components. In conclusion, C. comosum methanolic extract is justified in the present study to be a suitable alternative against MSSA and MRSA based on the inhibiting effect and the low toxicity properties. In addition, the extract in combination with several antibiotics showing synergistic activity further enhances the activity of the extract. The extract also revealed to contain potential antimicrobial chemical compounds. The C. comosum extract warrants further investigation as a drug for anti MRSA and anti MSSA.


Neural posterior estimation methods based on discrete normalizing flows have become established tools for simulation-based inference (SBI), but scaling them to high-dimensional problems can be challenging. Building on recent advances in generative modeling, we here present flow matching posterior estimation (FMPE), a technique for SBI using continuous normalizing flows. Like diffusion models, and in contrast to discrete flows, flow matching allows for unconstrained architectures, providing enhanced flexibility for complex data modalities. Flow matching, therefore, enables exact density evaluation, fast training, and seamless scalability to large architectures--making it ideal for SBI. We show that FMPE achieves competitive performance on an established SBI benchmark, and then demonstrate its improved scalability on a challenging scientific problem: for gravitational-wave inference, FMPE outperforms methods based on comparable discrete flows, reducing training time by 30% with substantially improved accuracy. Our work underscores the potential of FMPE to enhance performance in challenging inference scenarios, thereby paving the way for more advanced applications to scientific problems.


The lactose regulation system of Escherichia coli is known to exhibit a bistable behavior. The stable states correspond to the phenotypical states of the system, induced and uninduced. Stochastic modeling of the system enables us to reproduce an experimentally observed phenomenon of spontaneous transitions between the induced and uninduced states. The average behavior of a colony of a large number of cells can be accurately described by an abstract model of the system, which is a two state Markov chain. In this paper, we consider a control problem that involves regulating the fraction of induction of a colony of Escherichia coli. We use the abstract model to design a feedback controller based on model predictive control strategy. Upon simulation, we show that the model predictive control is superior to other control strategies that we have designed before, in terms of less fluctuation in the control input and less tracking error.


In this paper, an efficient algorithm for texture recognition of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images is developed based on wavelet transform as a feature extraction tool and support vector machine (SVM) as a classifier. SAR image segmentation is an important step in texture recognition of SAR images. SAR images cannot be segmented successfully by using traditional methods because of the existence of speckle noise in SAR images. The algorithm, proposed in this paper, extracts the texture feature by using wavelet transform; then, it forms a feature vector composed of kurtosis value of wavelet energy feature of SAR image. In the next step, segmentation of different textures is applied by using feature vector and level set function. At last, an SVM classifier is designed and trained by using normalized feature vectors of each region texture. The testing sets of SAR images are segmented by this trained SVM. Experimental results on both agricultural and urban SAR images show that the proposed algorithm is effective for classification of different textures in SAR images, and it is also insensitive to the intensity.


The human recognition system has presented the remarkable ability to effortlessly learn novel knowledge from only a few trigger events based on prior knowledge, which is called insight learning. Mimicking such behavior on Knowledge Graph Reasoning (KGR) is an interesting and challenging research problem with many practical applications. Simultaneously, existing works, such as knowledge embedding and few-shot learning models, have been limited to conducting KGR in either "seen-to-seen" or "unseen-to-unseen" scenarios. To this end, we propose a neural insight learning framework named Eureka to bridge the "seen" to "unseen" gap. Eureka is empowered to learn the seen relations with sufficient training triples while providing the flexibility of learning unseen relations given only one trigger without sacrificing its performance on seen relations. Eureka meets our expectation of the model to acquire seen and unseen relations at no extra cost, and eliminate the need to retrain when encountering emerging unseen relations. Experimental results on two real-world datasets demonstrate that the proposed framework also outperforms various state-of-the-art baselines on datasets of both seen and unseen relations.


Over the past decade, a tendency to critically evaluate strategies for economic growth and a closer concern for others (not just economic) fundamentally important for both individuals and society demands that determine the quality of life and well-being are becoming increasingly apparent. This article briefly analyzes the global public policy changes and reveals the contours of the new ideology that focuses on – the people's emotional well-being. The author presents the main characteristics of happiness and key factors that are important for a new approach to policy making. This article aims to discuss the logic of the choice of a broader policy objectives and overview the evolving practice of happiness-oriented policy. Author draws attention to the crucial importance of political leadership and effective cooperation with researchers and other social partners in all levels of public policy.


Studies on the distribution and habitat characteristics of the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis) indicate a general preference toward estuarine environments. However, quantitative connections between this preference and estuarine characteristics are seldom investigated. Distribution of the humpback dolphin in the northern Beibu Gulf, China, was evaluated through systematically designed surveys and was compared to oceanographic characteristics from on-board measured and remotely sensed variables. The humpback dolphins' core distribution zone, measured by the 50% kernel density estimate (50% KDE), was confined to the Dafengjiang River Estuary in a 50.23 km(2) area, with a steep-edged underwater sand bar below and locally high chlorophyll-a concentration. The surface salinity distribution showed an eco-cline environment in which riverine runoff mixes with sea water in the 50% KDE. We found significant relationships between distribution probability and two oceanographic variables: (1) water depth and (2) chlorophyll-a concentration. This associates the distribution preference of humpback dolphins with regional productivity and biodiversity peaks that may facilitate prey aggregation. As humpback dolphins inhabit comparable environments in other locations throughout their range, the oceanographic features of the 50% KDE may help to provide proxies to identify other key habitats over a broader spatial scale.


Among the many conflicts which characterize American culture, few are more deeply rooted than that between the claims of free enterprise and those of social justice. Few contending claims are more difficult to reconcile and also more prone to political smoothing over through rhetorical recourse to "middle-class" values. Perhaps, then, this is the time to look back at the Jacksonian era with a view to suggesting the degree of family resemblance between nineteenth-century entrepreneurship and twentieth-century corporate capitalism. Certainly, the two seem to share a common ideology and a reluctance to consider the psychic cost of economic survival in bourgeois society. No American thinker or artist in either the nineteenth century or up to the present brooded longer or to greater effect upon the tragic paradoxes of American individualism that did Herman Melville. Perhaps because his own coming-of-age was just a step behind that of the nation in the Jacksonian period, Melville was particularly sensitive to the way that the interaction of capitalism and democracy--those bitterly entwined historic siblings--shaped middle-class male identity in America. Redburn (1849), a fictional autobiography set in the Jacksonian era, was his first attempt to explore these issues in a realistic setting, making this work particularly relevant for an understanding of the problems that continue to plague Americans today. Melville intended Redburn to be a "plain, straightforward, amusing narrative" (qtd. in Leyda 306) that would win back the popular audience he had lost with the creatively venturesome, but allegorically turgid Mardi. Recently married and with a first-born son, Melville felt a pressing need for cash. The book that was to help meet the demands of fatherhood is, tellingly, the story of a genteel adolescent boy, Wellingborough Redburn, whose father died a bankrupt (as had Allan Melvill when Herman was twelve) and who, therefore, must leave home and go to sea as a common sailor. Taking the form of a first-person retrospective by the adult Redburn, the novel chronicles the boy's experiences among his illiterate shipmates and the wretched poor of Liverpool, but its emotional center lies in the loss of the father and the role played by Redburn's memory of him in his uncertain sense of place in the world. The deep interconnection in Melville's work between identity formation and sociopolitical consciousness has not gone unnoticed by various critics (see Bercovitch, Rogin, Tolchin). In particular, Michael Bell's "Redburn: Initiation and Authority" focuses on Redburn's struggle with failed authority figures and his ensuing sense of betrayal and isolation. Building on Bell's attention to the problem of manhood in post-Revolutionary America, but grounding my interpretation in recent work by social historians of the Jacksonian period, I wish to argue that the plight of Melville's protagonist is designed to be not merely a moral judgment on the era but a complex response to survival anxieties produced by contradictory pressures within the emerging culture of bourgeois capitalism. Redburn's "First Voyage" (the subtitle emphasizes the initiatory aspect) takes him from his village home in upstate New York to Liverpool and back again. Although the journey motif suggests the typical movement from innocence to experience, this rite of passage is at best equivocal, since the lesson of the voyage is the connection between isolation and self-preservation in a world in which individual survival is ultimately dependent upon an arbitrary fate. As the older narrator asserts at the end of the novel, "But yet, I, Wellingborough Redburn, chance to survive..." (312; emphasis mine). Indeed, Redburn's premature exposure to a heartless world enacts an extreme version of a pattern of filial separation and class dislocation which appears to have been widespread among Jacksonian youth. Joseph Kett has shown that in antebellum America (sources are largely focused on the northeast), leaving home had become a rite of passage for girls and boys at all social levels, many of whom would later meld into the new middle-class culture forming in towns and cities. …


Why are migration policies sometimes heavily contested and high on the political agenda? And why do they, at other moments and in other countries, hardly lead to much public debate? The entrance and settlement of migrants in Western Europe has prompted various political reactions. In some countries anti-immigration parties have gained substantial public support while in others migration policies have been hardly controversial. The Politicisation of Migration examines the differences between seven Western European countries by developing a conceptual framework to empirically explain patterns of politicisation and de-politicisation. The analyses show that over the past decade immigration has been increasingly defined in socio-cultural terms and that it has been receiving less political attention since the economic crisis started in 2007. This book also looks at the role of mainstream parties and political actors in the process of politicisation, and demonstrates how the role of 'challengers' is more limited than often assumed. Contributing to literatures on migration, party politics and agenda-setting, the book will be of interest to students and scholars in the fields of politics and migration studies.


We define semi-valid input coverage (SVCov), the first coverage criterion for fuzz testing. Our criterion is applicable whenever the valid inputs can be defined by a finite set of constraints. SVCov measures to what extent the tests cover the domain of semi-valid inputs, where an input is semi-valid if and only if it satisfies all the constraints but one. We demonstrate SVCov's practical value in a case study on fuzz testing the Internet Key Exchange protocol (IKE). Our study shows that it is feasible to precisely define and efficiently measure SVCov. Moreover, SVCov provides essential information for improving the effectiveness of fuzz testing and enhancing fuzz-testing tools and libraries. In particular, by increasing coverage under SVCov, we have discovered a previously unknown vulnerability in a mature IKE implementation.


The pursuit to combat climate change continues, identifying new methods and technologies
for sustainable energy management. Automakers continue developing battery electric vehicles
while researchers identify new applications and materials for solar photovoltaics. The continued
advancement of technology creates new holes within literature, requiring investigation to
understand the unknown.
Photovoltaic vehicle integration gained popularity during the 1970s but did not
commercialize due to technology, economics, and other factors. By 2021 the idea resurfaced,
showcasing commercial and concept vehicles utilizing photovoltaics. The emergence of new
transparent photovoltaics presents additional options for vehicle integration but lacks literature
analyzing the energy output and economics. The theoretical analysis investigated transparent
photovoltaic replacing a vehicle's windows. The investigation found that transparent photovoltaic
vehicle integration generates energy and financial savings. However, due to high system costs and
location, the system does not provide a financial payback period like other photovoltaic arrays.
Improving cost, location, and other financial parameters create more favorable circumstances for
the photovoltaic system. Furthermore, transparent photovoltaics provide energy saving benefits
and some return on investment compared to regular glass windows.


This paper explores the history of fishing on Lake Baikal in an effort to understand the fish-human nexus, to expand our understandings of the Russian relationship to the environment before the 20th century, and to think about the colonial encounter in Siberia from an environmental angle. Fishing has long been a crucial, life-sustaining, and culturally important component of life at Baikal; and fish and people have long existed in mutually influential and intertwined webs of relations. Fish stocks declined markedly in Baikal from the late 18th century on—a drop that Soviet fishers and policymakers struggled with throughout the 20th century. Notably, this massive population decrease came about before any industrial change affected the area. The changing fate of the fish was more the result of an increase in the Slavic population and of the tax-farming economic structures that the new settlers brought to the practice of fishing. Humans, this story shows, do not need to have industrial machines with their extractive capabilities and pollution by-products in order to bring about systemic ecological changes.


Abstract: This article examines European Union-Russia relations against broader trends in Russian foreign and security policy. It assesses the prospects for a new agreement to replace the EU-Russia Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, analyzes the recently appeared Russian concept of "sovereign democracy," and considers the challenges Moscow's more assertive foreign policy presents to Europe. Keywords: democracy, European Union, foreign policy, Russia, security, sovereignty Introduction How are relations between the European Union and Russia, two entities whose interaction--especially in term of trade, energy markets, and security--is crucial to the future of the continent, conceptualized? On the one hand, positive developments appear to hold out the prospect of Russia's inclusion in a wider European political community. The establishment of high-level institutional arrangements--biannual summits, the Permanent Partnership Council Ministerial, and Ministerial EU Troika-Russia meetings--and the development of an increasingly dense network of contacts between officials and experts across wide areas of sectoral cooperation give Moscow a privileged and perhaps unique position among Brussels's many external partners. Russia's leaders frequently stress the importance of the country's "European choice." On the other hand there are growing strains in the relationship. The lack of a coherent European policy for engagement with Russia or a common strategic vision, particularly regarding their shared neighborhood; a relatively narrow agenda for security cooperation; disputes over trade and energy issues; Moscow's insistence on a partnership between equals and the reluctance of Russian elites to accept the imposition of European norms and models; the "values gap" and concerns among Europe's policymakers about Russia's political, social, and economic development--all of these factors have combined to silence talk of Russia's "systematic integration" into Europe, or of "Europeanizing" Russia, and create a climate of limited pragmatic cooperation. One authoritative Russian commentator, not alone in his assessment, recently characterized the relationship in terms of "economic rapprochement accompanied by complete geopolitical stagnation ... relations [with Europe] are respectable and calm but are not going anywhere in particular." (1) This article identifies the key assumptions underpinning Russia's dealings with the EU and examines them against broader trends in Russian foreign and security policy, which has recently undergone a notable--and perhaps decisive--shift. It falls into three parts. First, a brief critical analysis of the existing basis for EU-Russia relations as contained in the road maps for the four Common Spaces, (2) adopted at the May 2005 summit, and proposals for a new agreement to replace the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA), whose initial term is due to expire at the end of November 2007, are presented and assessed. Second, we investigate the views of Russia's governing elite on the country's role in the international system and examine the ideas underpinning the concept of "sovereign democracy," promoted by some elites as a kind of new national ideology. Finally, the challenges presented to Europe by Moscow's more assertive foreign policy, and particularly the implications for their shared neighborhood, are considered. Russia's foreign policymakers perceive an external security environment where Russian interests and values must be pursued competitively and that the underlying tension--unlikely to be resolved soon--between Moscow's preoccupations with sovereignty and national security on the one hand and, on the other, closer political, economic, and social engagement with Europe will continue to cause problems in the relationship. Beyond the PCA: What Kind of Future Agreement? The Common Spaces format signalled the failure of Brussels's earlier attempts to devise a suitable framework for relations with Russia through the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP)--essentially an attempt to project the integrationist logic of the European project into a wider "external" European security space by promoting convergence with EU norms and models. …


Buying processes of healthy food involve many factors relating to the final decision of the consumers and those aspects influence consumer perceived value and their buying behavior on deciding which type of product they would buy. This study is attempted to gain knowledge about parent intentions towards buying cereal food products. With sample of 300 respondents, consist of parents from selective hypermarket in Kuala Lumpur, the data obtained from the survey were analyzed with reliability test, correlation, t-test and regression analysis. Result from this study indicated that parents are aware about what is happening to the health care of the children with regards to nutritional concerns. The findings indicated that price factor have more impact on parents buying intentions of cereal product rather than labeling factor. Both factors are significantly impact parents buying intentions however the strengths are not too high. It have been noticed that high-income parents more concern on price because they need to feel in a position to justify a product through other gains before they are willing to pay for the price. Hence, this study is expected to provide understanding on the reasons of buying and would probably help marketers of cereal food products to establish a proper communication message to different category of buyers who care much on their family healthy food consumption. The limitation of this study is that the sample was restricted to a single geographic area in Malaysia and one group of consumers. Future research should focus on extended scope to all states in Malaysia and may extend on other marketing aspects such as advertisement, sales promotions and customer relationship management.


Background: Prospective, randomized trials are needed to determine optimal treatment approaches for palliative care problems such as malignant bowel obstruction (MBO). Randomization poses unique issues for such studies, especially with divergent treatment approaches and varying levels of equipoise. We report our experience accruing randomized patients to the Prospective Comparative Effectiveness Trial for Malignant Bowel Obstruction (SWOG S1316) study, comparing surgical and nonsurgical management of MBO. Methods: Patients with MBO who were surgical candidates and had treatment equipoise were accrued and offered randomization to surgical or nonsurgical management. Patients choosing nonrandomization were offered prospective observation. Trial details are listed on www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT #02270450). An accrual algorithm was developed to enhance enrollment. Results: Accrual is ongoing with 176 patients enrolled. Most (89%) patients chose nonrandomization, opting for nonsurgical management. Of 25 sites that have accrued to this study, 6 enrolled patients on the randomization arm. Approximately 59% (20/34) of the randomization accrual goal has been achieved. Patient-related factors and clinician bias have been the most prevalent reasons for lack of randomization. An algorithm was developed from clinician experience to aid randomization. Using principles in this tool, repeated physician conversations discussing treatment options and goals of care, and a supportive team–approach has helped increase accrual. Conclusions: Experience gained from the S1316 study can aid future palliative care trials. Although difficult, it is possible to randomize patients to palliative studies by giving clinicians clear recommendations utilizing an algorithm of conversation, allotment of necessary time to discuss the trial, and encouragement to overcome internal bias.


Edward Scheer  : In part 10 of your manifesto, Parasite Visions, you point out the lack of physicality available to internet users and invoke the future of cybernetic corporeality with a combination of high-end equipment and the ageless figure of the phantom: 'As we hard-wire more high-fidelity image, sound, tactile and force-feedback sensation between bodies, then we begin to generate powerful phantom presences—not phantom as in 'phantasmagorical', but phantom as in 'phantom limb sensation'. The sensation of the remote body sucked onto your skin and nerve endings, collapsing the psychological and spatial distance between bodies on the Net. Just as in the experience of a Phantom Limb with the amputee, bodies will generate phantom partners, not because of a lack, but as extending and enhancing addition to their physiology. Your aura will not be your own.' The 'collapsing' of the 'distance between bodies on the Net' recalls the idea that elsewhere you've called 'intimacy without proximity'. Might this be a solution to the very loss of interpersonal intimacy that some argue is a feature of the information age? Stelarc  : Well, with the internet it's not so much a case of a lack of physicality at all, but an alternate kind of operational system which connects physical bodies and machines with physical bodies in other places. The reference to the phantom is therefore to that which can be generated by more haptic internet interfaces that will also include tactile and force feedback. The cybernetic corporeality that is being suggested is an extended and extruded embodiment that connects a multiplicity of remote bodies, spatially separated, but electronically connected.


This paper provides evidence of segregation-generated differences in political recruitment. Focusing on social-geographical differentiation in the urban landscape, we evaluate—in prior work largely neglected—contextual effects on requests for political participation. Consistent with previous research, our analyses suggest that political activists, who try to convince others to participate, systematically use a set of selection criteria when deciding whom to approach. However, using data based on a sample of inhabitants of Swedish cities and properties of their neighbourhoods, we also present evidence for aggregate-level social exclusion influences on individual-level recruitment efforts. Consistent with our theoretical framework, results indicate that the contextual effect stems both from the disproportional population composition in residential areas, and from recruiters' rational avoidance of areas marked by high levels of social exclusion. The net result, we conclude, is a reinforcement of urban inequalities when it comes to the chances to be invited to political life.


Accidental spills and improper disposal of industrial effluent/sludge containing heavy metals onto the open land or into subsurface result in soil and water contamination. Detailed investigations are carried out to identify the source of contamination of heavy metals in an industrial suburb near Bangalore in India. Detailed investigation of ground water and subsurface soil analysis for various heavy metals has been carried out. Ground water samples were collected in the entire area through the cluster of borewells. Subsurface soil samples were collected from near borewells which were found to contain heavy metals. Water samples and soils samples (after acid digestion) were analysed as per APHO-standard method of analysis. While the results of Zn, Ni and Cd showed that they are within allowable limits in the soil, the ground water and soils in the site have concentration of Cr+6 far exceeding the allowable limits (up to 832 mg/kg). Considering the topography of the area, ground water movement and results of chromium concentration in the borewells and subsurface it was possible to identify the origin, zone of contamination and the migration path of Cr+6. The results indicated that the predominant mechanism of migration of Cr+6 is by diffusion.


We explore an application to the game of Go of a reinforcement learning approach based on a linear evaluation function and large numbers of binary features. This strategy has proved effective in game playing programs and other reinforcement learning applications. We apply this strategy to Go by creating over a million features based on templates for small fragments of the board, and then use temporal difference learning and self-play. This method identifies hundreds of low level shapes with recognisable significance to expert Go players, and provides quantitive estimates of their values. We analyse the relative contributions to performance of templates of different types and sizes. Our results show that small, translation-invariant templates are surprisingly effective. We assess the performance of our program by playing against the Average Liberty Player and a variety of computer opponents on the 9×9 Computer Go Server. Our linear evaluation function appears to outperform all other static evaluation functions that do not incorporate substantial domain knowledge.


Dr Inge Lehmann was born on 13 May 1888 at Osterbro by the Lakes in Copenhagen. She grew up and lived much of her long life there, and for over 50 years, on Kastelvej, Copenhagen. The Lehmann family had its roots in Bohemia; the Danish branch had many influential members of high standing, including barristers, politicians and engineers. Inge Lehmann's paternal grandfather laid out the first Danish telegraph line (opened in 1854) and her great grandfather was Governor of the National Bank. Her mother's father, Hans Jakob T0rsleff, belonged to an old Danish family with a priest in every generation. A granddaughter, Anne Groes, was for a while Minister of Commerce. Inge's childhood was a happy one in the peaceful atmosphere of the 1890s. Her father, Alfred Lehmann, was a professor of psychology at the University of Copenhagen who pioneered the study of experimental psychology in Denmark. He was rarely seen except at mealtimes, though sometimes on Sunday he took the family for a walk. (A fund endowed by her estate makes a travel award each year alternatively to a psychologist and a geophysicist.) She had a sister, Harriet.


The critically acclaimed First Edition of Understanding Uncertainty provided a study of uncertainty addressed to scholars in all fields, showing that uncertainty could be measured by probability, and that probability obeyed three basic rules that enabled uncertainty to be handled sensibly in everyday life. These ideas were extended to embrace the scientific method and to show how decisions, containing an uncertain element, could be rationally made.
Featuring new material, the Revised Edition remains the go-to guide for uncertainty and decision making, providing further applications at an accessible level including:

A critical study of transitivity, a basic concept in probability
A discussion of how the failure of the financial sector to use the proper approach to uncertainty may have contributed to the recent recession
A consideration of betting, showing that a bookmaker's odds are not expressions of probability
Applications of the book's thesis to statistics
A demonstration that some techniques currently popular in statistics, like significance tests, may be unsound, even seriously misleading, because they violate the rules of probability

Understanding Uncertainty, Revised Edition is ideal for students studying probability or statistics and for anyone interested in one of the most fascinating and vibrant fields of study in contemporary science and mathematics.


Neolamprologus timidus, new species, is described from Ulwile Island and adjacent localities on the Tanzanian coast of Lake Tanganyika. The species was observed or collected along about 100 km of coastline from KolwePoint, Cape Mpimbwe, south to Kisi Island. It is distinguished from the most similar species, N. furcifer, by presenceof scales on most of the cheek, long pectoral fin and pelvic fin with the second ray longer than the first. Neolamprologus timidus is sympatric with N. furcifer at Kolwe Point and south to Kampempa Point, and at Lupitaand Ulwile Islands south to Kisi Island, but N. furcifer is otherwise absent from the range of N. timidus. Two morphologically distinct forms are recognized in N. furcifer. Samples of N. furcifer from Ulwile Island and slightly more southern localities possess a caudal fin with rounded lobes and long middle rays, appearing onlyslightly emarginate. Samples of N. furcifer from Udachi and nearby localities possess pointed caudal-fin lobeswith greatly elongated streamers, similar to N. timidus and to N. furcifer from other parts of Lake Tanganyika, including the type specimens from the southern part of the lake. The variation in caudal-fin shape may be an expression of character displacement as it occurs in the area of sympatry between N. timidus and N. furcifer. MitochondrialDNA sequences are nearly identical in samples of N. furcifer with pointed or rounded caudal fin. A molecular phylogenetic analysis of a large set of lamprologin cichlids using two mitochondrial genes corroborates earlier analyses and places N. furcifer and N. timidus in different clades with different species of Neolamprologus, Julidochromis, Chalinochromis, and Telmatochromis despite sharing a unique combination of fin and bodyshape, and colour pattern. A 4648 base-pair multiloci analysis of a smaller number of species using fragments ofthree mitochondrial and two nuclear genes resolves N. furcifer and N. timidus in sister clades, but the N. timidus clade also includes Telmatochromis brachygnathus, and N. furcifer is sister species of Chalinochromis brichardi.


Transport of rock salt brine through a vertical multilayer hydraulic sealing system (HTV‐1) was examined during the saturation process. The HTV‐1 was a semi‐technical‐scale experiment that simulated a shaft sealing. Multilayer drift and shaft sealings are part of the multibarrier system in geologic repositories for hazardous or radioactive waste. In contrast to the usual sealing constructions, the examined system combines sealing bentonite layers (DS) with equipotential layers (ES) of higher hydraulic conductivity that are expected to prevent inhomogeneous liquid transport in barriers independent of the surrounding host rock and formation water. Rock salt brine (density 1.15 g/mL = 4 mol/L) was chosen to simulate natural brines. It was forced through the column with a solution pressure up to 9.3 MPa. No artificial saturation was applied in advance of brine inflow. The experiment was terminated after 1 yr after the brine passed two DS and two ES and reached the upper DS. A detailed snapshot analysis of water and salt distribution and layer geometry was obtained. The salt/water ratio of the initial brine was 0.26 and was evenly detected within the wet ES as well as the wet DS. Thus, the results revealed the functionality of the sandwich‐like sealing system. Natural Ca‐ and Mg‐rich bentonite was partially transformed into its Na‐saturated form depending on exposure time to the brine, but high salt concentration did not prevent swelling. Swelling of the lower bentonite layers caused compaction of the upper bentonite layers, as it was confined from the bottom and by jacket friction.