This study aimed to analyse the emergence and development of Disability Hate Crime as a policy area in the criminal justice system in England and Wales. It did this through building an understanding of the contributory factors including the challenges within the criminal justice system, wider government and politics, the independent statutory sector and disabled peoples organisations that led to the emergence and development of Disability Hate Crime policy and practice. This study contributes the first comprehensive analysis of the emergence and development of Disability Hate Crime in England and Wales to hate crime studies. Using a case study approach the thesis triangulates evidence from interviews in activist, policy and political streams, from hate crime cases and analysis of policy documents to chart this policy journey. It analyses the journey from agenda invisibility through agenda triggering to significant institutionalised actions on Disability Hate Crime in the criminal justice system, showing the roles of activism, politics and policy making in shaping this policy process. It underscores the analysis of this policy journey with a key focus on problematisation in policy making on Disability Hate Crime. This study found that Disability Hate Crime has faced challenges in its emergence and development as a policy area in the criminal justice system. It has faced challenges at each stage of the policy journey from initial agenda triggering, through agenda setting and onto agenda institutionalisation. This study concludes that Disability Hate Crime is an unsettled and unsettling policy agenda with agenda institutionalisation, as an established predictable area of policy and practice, some way off, despite legislation in 2003. The study found that: - Disability Hate Crime remains an unsettled policy agenda in that it displays an unsettled discourse, varied ways of responding, a need for ongoing national strategic action, and limited transition into day-to-day routine business. - Disability Hate Crime is an unsettling policy agenda in that it challenges understandings of hostility and prejudice beyond direct manifestations of hostility. It is also unsettling in that it raises a dual problematisation of targeted crimes against disabled people as either hostility targeting or vulnerability targeting. This reflects a wider dual problematisation of disability as either an issue of welfare or as an issue of rights. - Current understandings of disability hostility reflect under recognition of disability discrimination and linked ideologies of ableism and disablism. This under recognition of disability hostility lead to justice failures in Disability Hate Crime cases. Constructions of the targeting of disabled people in crime as based on vulnerability lacks recognition of such targeting as biased, hostile targeting of disabled people. This study reconceptualises disability hostility as hostility including vulnerability targeting. Arising from these conclusions, on an optimistic note, this study recommends a change to hate crime law which recognises that disability hostility can be based on hostility demonstration, a hostility motivation or hostile targeting because of disability. This study concludes that rather than institutionalisation of Disability Hate Crime as day-to-day hate crime business, it still remains unusual business. This study contributes a reconceptualization of the concept of disability hostility to include targeting because of disability – 'disability vulnerability'. It makes the case for varied legal provisions to reflect the protection requirements of different hate crime strands. It adds to the body of case studies on public policy making. Finally, it illuminates the influence of equality law on Disability Hate Crime policy making.


Magneto-active Polymers (MAP) are smart materials whose mechanical characteristics, such as elastic and shear moduli, may be controllable by means of an externally applied magnetic field.

 Various additives may be used to influence the characteristics of the polymer matrix whilst a suspension of soft and/or hard magnetic particles determine the magnetic properties of the composite. Both pre-cure and post-cure magnetization is possible.

 A range of control strategies have been investigated for evaluation of the system using fluids of differing kinematic viscosity.

 Depending on the degree of magnetic field homogeneity, magneto-deformation and magnetostriction contribute to MAP actuation. This paper presents a novel application in the form of a peristaltic MAP tube system, applicable to flow control and pumping of hemorheological fluids in blood circulatory systems for biomedical research purposes.


Aim: A successful restoration is the result of the proper adhesion between dental tissue, cement and restoration material. The long-term durability of this bond is mandatory for clinical success. The aim of the present study is to investigate the influences of three different thermal cycle applications on resin cement-glass ceramic shear bond strength.
Methodology: In the present study, a single CAD/CAM glass ceramic block and five different resin cements (Panavia V5, RelyX U200, G-CEM LinkForce, RelyX Veneer,and Variolink Esthetic) were used. A total of 240 sections 2 mm in thickness were obtained under water cooling in a precision cutting machine with the aid of a diamond saw. Cementation of glass ceramic samples was conducted in accordance with the instructions of the manufacturer, and the cemented samples were incubated at 37 °C for 24 hours. Afterwards, samples were randomly divided into four groups according to thermal cycle: control group, 1750, 3500 and 7000 cycles (n = 12). Following aging procedures, the samples were tested for shear bond. Statistical analyses were done by using the IBM SPSS 20.0 program. While the ANOVA test was used for intra-group statistical analyses, LSD multi-comparison analysis was used for detection of the inter-group differences. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.
Results: Although an overall reduction was seen in shear bond of all cement groups following thermal cycle applications, this reduction was found to be statistically significant for Panavia V5, RelyX Veneer and Variolink Esthetic (p<0.05). Following 1750 cycles of thermal cycle application, Panavia V5 and G-Cem LinkForce with dual-cure property showed higher shear bond strength than RelyX Veneer and Variolink Esthetic with light-cure structure (p<0.05).
Conclusion: The reduction in bond strength following the thermal cycle procedure is associated with water absorption in the resin cement-glass ceramic interface. So resin cement preferred for cementation of restorations is among the key parameters for clinical success.

How to cite this article: Eskitaşçıoğlu M, Bozbay R, Ünalan Değirmenci B. Effects of accelerated aging cycles on resin cement-glass ceramic bond strength. Int Dent Res 2021;11(2):121-8. https://doi.org/10.5577/intdentres.2021.vol11.no2.10

Linguistic Revision: The English in this manuscript has been checked by at least two professional editors, both native speakers of English.


The motion and structural response to wave loading are studied experimentally for a large ship modeled with multiple segments and beams of variable cross-sections. As opposed to the traditional method with small number of segments and beams of uniform cross-section, the multi-segmented model with beams of variable cross-sections can more accurately simulate some of the hull properties that will otherwise be neglected.In this paper, the design method for the multi-segmented model is presented, and the model test results for the multi-segmented model with variable cross-section beams are compared with the traditional uniform beams and less segmented model for calm water, regular and irregular wave conditions. The influences of the segment number, variable cross-section, vessel speed and wave height are investigated using the load forecasting methods based on the rigid body and hydroelastic theories. It has been found that using variable cross-section beams can simulate hull stiffness of each section more accurately, and with the increase of the segment number in the ship model, the high frequency characteristics of the bending response are better reflected. Furthermore, the calculation results agree well with the experimental data, and the hydroelastic theory is found to be able to predict the higher frequencies of the hull structural responses. At the same time, with the increase of the vessel speed and wave height, the bending moment and wave height show an obvious nonlinear relationship.The methods and results presented in this paper have a certain guiding significance for the tank model tests and design of large ship structures.Copyright © 2014 by ASME


Feature hashing, also known as {\em the hashing trick}, introduced by Weinberger et al. (2009), is one of the key techniques used in scaling-up machine learning algorithms. Loosely speaking, feature hashing uses a random sparse projection matrix $A : \mathbb{R}^n \to \mathbb{R}^m$ (where $m \ll n$) in order to reduce the dimension of the data from $n$ to $m$ while approximately preserving the Euclidean norm. Every column of $A$ contains exactly one non-zero entry, equals to either $-1$ or $1$.
Weinberger et al. showed tail bounds on $\|Ax\|_2^2$. Specifically they showed that for every $\varepsilon, \delta$, if $\|x\|_{\infty} / \|x\|_2$ is sufficiently small, and $m$ is sufficiently large, then $$\Pr[ \; | \;\|Ax\|_2^2 - \|x\|_2^2\; | < \varepsilon \|x\|_2^2 \;] \ge 1 - \delta \;.$$ These bounds were later extended by Dasgupta \etal (2010) and most recently refined by Dahlgaard et al. (2017), however, the true nature of the performance of this key technique, and specifically the correct tradeoff between the pivotal parameters $\|x\|_{\infty} / \|x\|_2, m, \varepsilon, \delta$ remained an open question.
We settle this question by giving tight asymptotic bounds on the exact tradeoff between the central parameters, thus providing a complete understanding of the performance of feature hashing. We complement the asymptotic bound with empirical data, which shows that the constants "hiding" in the asymptotic notation are, in fact, very close to $1$, thus further illustrating the tightness of the presented bounds in practice.


A recommendation system can be used to help mobile device users for content filtering. However, there are problems related to sparsity of information from a first-time user. The problem is also regarding to initial rating of the content in an early stage of the system. Therefore, mobile content filtering is necessary for user to obtain personalised content delivery. This paper proposes the integrated mobile content recommendation method by combining classification and association rule techniques to establish model for new users and first rater on mobile content. The model also enhances the recommendation system in an early stage by recommending relevant items. The experiment has shown that the integrated method can perform better than the other compared methods. This can address the problem of sparsity for mobile content recommendation systems.


Death by stroke occurs every four minutes to human beings. Strokes cause necrosis within the tissue of the brain due to deprivation of oxygen. Perfluorocarbons have the ability to transport oxygen to tissue and in return decrease cell death. Dodecafluoropentane (DDFP) is a volatile fluorocarbon and collection in vivo can be a challenge since this compound evaporates at room temperature. There is currently not an efficient collection method in vivo for compounds that are volatile. Without a method to collect DDFP it is impossible to be approved for clinical use since exact concentrations of the drug within the body will be unknown. The current in vitro work demonstrates that microdialysis can collect volatile organic compounds, isoflurane (a standard inhalation anesthetic) and DDFP. Different perfusion fluids and flow rates were tested for optimal analyte collection through the microdialysis membrane. Instead of utilizing an aqueous perfusion fluid safflower oil and air was passed through the microdialysis probe. The perfusion fluid and flow rate of choice for isoflurane sampling was safflower oil at 0.5 μL/min, respectively. For DDFP there was no significance in flux between flow rates and air was a more suitable perfusate. Since oil was a potential candidate as a perfusion fluid through the microdialysis probe, the oil/air partition coefficients (KOil/Air) were calculated. KOil/Air was determined because the analyte in the air phase will partition into the oil phase that is being perfused through the microdialysis probe. The average calculated KOil/Air for Isoflurane and DDFP was 10.62 and 0.53, respectively. These values lead to isoflurane partitioning more into oil vs. air and DDFP partitioning more into air vs. oil. The new analytical method described here shows that VOC's can be collected with microdialysis sampling technique and thus serves as a starting point for in vivo collections has been found.


Pervasive computing services exploit information about the physical world both to adapt their own behavior in a context-aware way and to deliver to users enhanced means of interaction with their surrounding environment. The technology to acquire digital information about the physical world is becoming more available, making services at risk of being overwhelmed by such growing amounts of data. This calls for novel approaches to represent and automatically organize, aggregate, and prune such data before delivering them to services. In particular, individual data items should form a sort of self-organized ecology in which, by linking and combining with each other into sorts of "knowledge networks" (KNs), they are able to provide compact and easy-to-be-managed higher level knowledge about situations occurring in the environment. In this context, the contribution of this paper is twofold. First, with the help of a simple case study, we motivate the need to evolve from models of "context awareness" toward models of "situation awareness" via proper self-organized "KN" tools, and we introduce a general reference architecture for KNs. Second, we describe the design and implementation of a KN toolkit that we have developed, and we exemplify and evaluate algorithms for knowledge self-organization integrated within it. Open issues and future research directions are also discussed.


Medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the United States. Medical errors also incur significant cost ramifications due to increased hospital length of stay and fines. Medication errors, a type of medical error, are one of the most common types of inpatient errors. Nurses are most often are responsible for medication administration, but safety during medication administration should be a priority of all hospital personnel. Avoidable interruptions during medication administration contribute to medical errors. Decreasing interruptions require increased nurse assertiveness during medication administration, interdisciplinary cooperation and unit culture change. This project identified that educating the unit clerk of their role in triaging phone calls and call lights can decrease nurse interruptions during medication administration. When the unit clerk discerned which phone calls were emergent and non-emergent and fielded non-nurse necessary calls to appropriate staff, there was a 43% decrease in nurse interruptions. This is encouraging data and further progress towards patient safety can be made with the collaboration of other hospital staff.


A man in his late 60s was found to have lymphadenopathy and splenomegaly on routine CT. This progressed for 6 months, and a lymph node biopsy revealed monomorphic small B lymphocytes. Bone marrow aspirate showed minimal (5%) infiltration, and immunophenotyping confirmed a small population of clonal B cells. Stage IIIS B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) was diagnosed and a "watch and wait" policy adopted. He developed abdominal pain, anorexia, weight loss, diarrhoea, pruritus and night sweats and was given chlorambucil, to which he had a good response. Nine months later, he developed lymphadenopathy in the left groin, and a biopsy confirmed CLL. Second-line chemotherapy with fludarabine, cyclophosphamide and rituximab was started. As there was no response, high-dose methylprednisolone was given. There was no 17p deletion, and molecular analysis of the immunoglobulin locus was normal. CT of the abdomen 6 months later showed progression, and biopsy of the abdominal mass confirmed Richter's transformation (large B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL)). He was therefore given cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisolone and rituximab, which lead to a clinical and radiological response.

Neurological symptoms developed after the fourth cycle of cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisolone and rituximab with 2 weeks of ascending numbness and 2 days of unsteadiness with increasing fatigue. On examination, tone and power were normal. Reflexes were difficult to elicit, …


A rich and diverse literature exists on the effects that human interviewers can have on different aspects of the survey data collection process. This research synthesis uses the Total Survey Error (TSE) framework to highlight important historical developments and advances in the study of interviewer effects on a variety of important survey process outcomes, including sample frame coverage, contact and recruitment of potential respondents, survey measurement, and data processing. Included in the scope of the synthesis is research literature that has focused on explaining variability among interviewers in these effects and the different types of variable errors that they can introduce, which can ultimately affect the efficiency of survey estimates. We first consider common tasks with which human interviewers are often charged and then use the TSE framework to organize and synthesize the literature discussing the variable errors that interviewers can introduce when attempting to execute each task. Based on our synthesis, we identify key gaps in knowledge and then use these gaps to motivate an organizing model for future research investigating explanations for interviewer effects on different aspects of the survey data collection process.


This study inquires into the ways sick and disabled bodies bear a sexually politicized thrust within several dramatic and poetic works of the English Renaissance. I would like to add to the growing conversation concerning literary interpretations of disability by suggesting that disabled embodiment was often rationalized within early modern literature as a force of subversive sexual power—embodiment figured as not only improperly sexual but also, at times, hypersexual, threatening to the sociopolitical environments of the textual worlds I examine. To make this argument, I consider three Renaissance works—William Shakespeare's problem-play All's Well That Ends Well, Richard Barnfield's pastoral poem The Affectionate Shepherd, and Thomas Heywood's domestic tragedy A Woman Killed with Kindness. The social arenas depicted in these texts demand bodies to acquire able-bodiedness and, by consequence, sexual use-value and productivity, employing efforts of medicalization and social erasure to make this happy ending a happy reality.


This systematic review assesses weight loss interventions in young adults (18–25 years), who are vulnerable to weight gain. This age group experience critical life course points (leaving home for higher studies or job, pregnancy, cohabitation) and develop/establish lifestyle and behavioural patterns making this an opportune intervention period. Medline, Embase, Cinahl, PsychINFO and Cochrane Library were searched (1980 to March 2008). All trials and cohort studies with control groups that assessed weight loss interventions in this specific age group were included finally identifying 14 studies. Before and after comparison of behavioural/motivational interventions (−2.40 kg; 95% CI −5.4 to 0.6) and combination interventions (−2.96; 95% CI −4.4 to −1.5) consistently showed weight loss. Behavioural/motivational interventions increased self‐efficacy, the desire to control weight, boosted self‐esteem, and increased satisfaction with body areas and appearance. Interventions also showed improvements in HDL cholesterol, insulin, glucose and maximum oxygen uptake. However, recruitment to participation in interventions was a barrier for this age group with small sample sizes and short‐term interventions. There may be gender differences in preference to participation in certain type of interventions. Further research to understand attitudes towards healthy lifestyle and preferences of interventions is needed to develop suitable interventions for this vulnerable age group.


The concept of flow injection analysis (FIA) was introduced in the mid-seventies. It was preceded by the success of segmented flow analysis, mainly in clinical and environmental analysis. This advance, as well as the development of continuous monitors for process control and environmental monitors, ensured the success of the FIA methodology. As an exceptionally effective means of mechanization for various procedures of wet chemical analysis, the FIA methodology, in use with a whole arsenal of detection methods of modern analytical chemistry, proved to be of great interest to many.The fast and intensive development of the FIA methodology was due to several factors essential for routine analytical determinations, such as very limited sample consumption, the short analysis time based on a transient signal measurement in a flow-through detector and an on-line carrying out difficult operations of separation, preconcentration or physicochemical conversion of analytes into detectable species.Twenty-year studies by numerous research groups all over the world have provided significant progress in the theoretical description of dispersion phenomena in FIA and various operations of physicochemical treatment of the analyte. This volume is devoted to the presentation of the current status of development of the instrumentation for FIA and the many fields of its practical applications, based on an extensive bibliography of original research publications.


We propose a general and model-free approach for Reinforcement Learning (RL) on real robotics with sparse rewards. We build upon the Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient (DDPG) algorithm to use demonstrations. Both demonstrations and actual interactions are used to fill a replay buffer and the sampling ratio between demonstrations and transitions is automatically tuned via a prioritized replay mechanism. Typically, carefully engineered shaping rewards are required to enable the agents to efficiently explore on high dimensional control problems such as robotics. They are also required for model-based acceleration methods relying on local solvers such as iLQG (e.g. Guided Policy Search and Normalized Advantage Function). The demonstrations replace the need for carefully engineered rewards, and reduce the exploration problem encountered by classical RL approaches in these domains. Demonstrations are collected by a robot kinesthetically force-controlled by a human demonstrator. Results on four simulated insertion tasks show that DDPG from demonstrations out-performs DDPG, and does not require engineered rewards. Finally, we demonstrate the method on a real robotics task consisting of inserting a clip (flexible object) into a rigid object.


This paper discusses questions associated with the added noise of blurred and/or defocused images. The sequence of filtering the noise on such images—before eliminating the blurring/defocusing, or after it—is analyzed. The concepts of preliminary and subsequent filtering of noise are introduced. The blurring/defocusing of a series of images was eliminated by the methods of parametric Wiener filtering and Tikhonov regularization, while the noise was filtered out by the methods of adaptive Wiener filtering and median filtering.


A Raman gain spectral profile has been measured in a phosphosilicate fiber at high pump and Stokes (signal) wave powers by a coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) technique. It has been shown that the profile saturates homogeneously. The main saturation mechanism is proved to be the pump depletion; i.e., the Raman gain coefficient gR does not depend on the pump and signal wave power of several watts. The possible influence of stimulated Brillouin scattering and four-wave mixing is discussed. In addition, a transient regime of the CARS signal has been experimentally observed and theoretically explained.


A theory to treat the propagation of an intense pump pulse and a weak probe pulse in nonlinear media is presented. We give a general formalism applicable to the pump–probe propagation in a variety of nonlinear optical media. Based on this formalism, we obtain first an analytic, closed-form solution of pump–probe propagation in a third-order nonlinear medium, including linear absorption, nonlinear refraction, and two-photon absorption. The effects of velocity mismatch are also considered in our results. The general formalism leads further to analytic results for pump–probe propagation in a medium with both third- and fifth-order nonlinearity.


We present a study on the use of optical waveguides in readout units for optical recording. Optical waveguides can be used to increase the storage capacity of optical recording, which is limited by diffraction. Optical waveguides are attractive for application in readout units of optical recording systems because it is possible to make compact configurations where the amplitude and the phase of an optical signal can be detected. We propose a couple of different detection schemes for reading out data recorded in an optical disc using waveguides. The potential of these detection methods has been investigated using numerical calculations, which are presented and discussed.


Background & Objectives : Considering the prevalence of Alopecia areata, , failure of treatment, and the unknown pathogenesis of this illness, a comparative study was performed by using topical Minoxidil 2% and topical rosemary solution alone and in combination to treatment this disease. Materials & Methods: This study is a clinical trial performed on 200 patients with Alopecia areata referring to Hamzeh clinic of Fasa during the years 2012 and 2013. They were divided into four groups by random permutation, each group contained 50 patients. Group one received the combination of topical Minoxidil 2% and topical rosemary, group two received only topical Minoxidil 2% solution, group three received only topical rosemary solution and the fourth group, the case-control group, did not receive any medication and were just advised to rub the site of the disease for the same period of time. The patients were under observation for one year. Results : The Results of this investigation showed that the best remissions after treatments were as follow (respectively): combination of topical Minoxidil 2% and topical rosemary (27 patient=54 %), Minoxidil 2% solution (23 patients =46%), rosemary solution (21 patients =42%), and case- control group (9 patients =18%). These results showed that despite better response to the combination of rosemary and Minoxidil solutions in comparison to the two other treated groups, the changes were minimal and statistically insignificant (P-value =0.0411). Conclusion : Using the combination of both rosemary and Minoxidil is more effective than the individual one on treatment of Alopecia areata.


Society delegates responsibility for the selection and preservation of records of continuing value to archivists. In accepting this charge, the archival profession enters into a relationship with society in which ensuring public trust through accounting to society for the responsible management of records becomes essential. For archivists to maintain this public trust and to be accountable for appraisal, they must create, maintain, and provide access to documentation of how this process is carried out and of why particular disposition decisions are reached. Documentation that reflects that archivists have weighed relevant legislation, institutional policies, professional best practice, and societal values during the appraisal decision-making process enables archivists to demonstrate that they have arrived at responsible decisions in their selection of records for disposal or for continued retention in archives. Appraisal documentation serves as a safeguard which ensures that disposition of records occurs according to standard procedures and protects against the arbitrary and capricious destruction of records. This dissertation explores the relationship between appraisal documentation and archival accountability through a comparative case study of the units tasked with making disposition decisions at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in the United States, Library and Archives Canada (LAC), and the National Archives of Australia (NAA). The research developed detailed descriptions of how appraisal is documented at each of the host institutions. Using a content analysis of documentation and interviews with archivists at NARA, LAC, and NAA regarding the appraisal documentation produced by their respective institutions, the study also assessed archivists' views regarding what constitutes documentation of appraisal that is adequate to permit archivists to be held accountable for appraisal in government archives. This comparative analysis produced preliminary guidelines for accountable documentation of appraisal that serve as a starting point for future research related to archival accountability for this core professional function.


Whole-cell bio-chips for functional sensing integrate living cells on miniaturized platforms made by micro-system-technologies (MST). The cells are integrated, deposited or immersed in a media which is in contact with the chip. The cells behavior is monitored via electrical, electrochemical or optical methods. In this paper we describe such whole-cell biochips where the signal is generated due to the genetic response of the cells. The solid-state platform hosts the biological component, i.e. the living cells, and integrates all the required micro-system technologies, i.e. the micro-electronics, micro-electro optics, micro-electro or magneto mechanics and micro-fluidics. The genetic response of the cells expresses proteins that generate: a. light by photo-luminescence or bioluminescence, b. electrochemical signal by interaction with a substrate, or c. change in the cell impedance. The cell response is detected by a front end unit that converts it to current or voltage amplifies and filters it. The resultant signal is analyzed and stored for further processing. In this paper we describe three examples of whole-cell bio chips, photo-luminescent, bioluminescent and electrochemical, which are based on the genetic response of genetically modified E. coli microbes integrated on a micro-fluidics MEMS platform. We describe the chip outline as well as the basic modeling scheme of such sensors. We discuss the highlights and problems of such system, from the point of view of micro-system-technology.


Adaptive features of plants of the Great Basin are reviewed. The combination of cold winters and an arid to semiarid precipitation regime results in the distinguishing features of the vegetation in the Great Basin and Colorado Plateau. The primary effects of these climatic features arise from how they structure the hydrologic regime. Water is the most limiting factor to plant growth, and water is most reliably available in the early spring after winter recharge of soil moisture. This factor determines many characteristics of root morphology, growth phenology of roots and shoots, and photosynthetic physiology. Since winters are typically cold enough to suppress growth, and drought limits growth during the summer, the cool temperatures characteristic of the peak growing season are the second most important climatic factor influencing plant habit and performance. The combination of several distinct stress periods, including low-temperature stress in winter and spring and high-temperature stress combined with drought in summer, appears to have limited plant habit to a greater degree than found in the warm deserts to the south. Nonetheless, cool growing conditions and a more reliable spring growing season result in higher water-use efficiency and productivity in the vegetation of the cold desert than in warm deserts with equivalent total rainfall amounts. Edaphic factors are also important in structuring communities in these regions, and halophytic communities dominate many landscapes. These halophytic communities of the cold desert share more species in common with warm deserts than do the nonsaline communities. The Colorado Plateau differs from the Great Basin in having greater amounts of summer rainfall, in some regions less predictable rainfall, sandier soils, and streams which drain into river systems rather than closed basins and salt playas. One result of these climatic and edaphic differences is a more important summer growing season on the Colorado Plateau and a somewhat greater diversification of plant habit, phenology, and physiology.


A fire truck characterized by its reduced operating noise level and improved drive train includes a frame having front and rear regions. An occupant cab is mounted upon the frame front region, and the engine is located at the rear region having a transmission associated therewith. A gear box mounted upon the frame intermediate the front and rear regions includes a close coupled fire pump attached thereto and the gear box includes an input shaft directly connected to the engine transmission. An output shaft of the gear box is directly connected to the differential associated with the vehicle rear wheels, and shifting means within the gear box selectively connects the engine and transmission to the differential or the fire pump. The fire pump gear box eliminates an intermediary transfer case and provides significant cost and weight advantages as well as eliminating the need for special power transmitting components.


Public users represent a small but growing clientele in academic libraries. Many academic librarians grapple with the issue of serving public users, partially because of shrinking academic library budgets and growing user demands. This article presents data from a 2002 survey about public access in Florida academic libraries. A Web-based survey consisting of nine questions was sent to sixty-six libraries, of which thirty-six responded. Results show that while a majority of publicly and privately funded academic libraries allow public users to access their resources and services, many do not actively promote themselves to the community at large. ********** This article presents results from a 2002 survey of Florida academic libraries about the resources and services they make available to public (unaffiliated) users. The main mission of academic libraries is to serve affiliated users, such as students, faculty, and staff. These patrons have full access to their institution's library resources and services. Academic library policies for collection development, technical services, interlibrary loan, circulation, and reference services are based upon the curriculum and research interests of affiliated user groups. Background Bangert, in her study of fifty-eight California academic libraries' (university, college, and special) mission statements found that "when analyzing the language content across the university, college, and specialized institutional library mission statements ... supporting the curriculum, providing access, and improving institutional outcomes are the purposes expressed 40 percent or greater by the three institutional types."(1) In other words, these three points were the ones most frequently occurring in the content of the fifty-eight mission statements. A few Florida academic library mission statements express academic libraries' support of services to their affiliated users in terms of institutional outcomes. For example, in Florida Atlantic University's (FAU) mission statement, the first line states, "The Libraries at Florida Atlantic University support the University's instructional, research, and service activities through provision of access to information and materials, assistance and instruction in their use, and preservation of collections for use by future generations of students and scholars."(2) The University of Miami Libraries Visitor Services Web site states, "The Otto G. Richter Library of the University of Miami is a private research library with the mission of meeting the research needs of students, faculty, and staff of the University." (3) Academic library administrators usually do not give much consideration to serving unaffiliated users or public users. This group of patrons consists of general interest users, primary and secondary school students, professionals from the community, independent scholars, and students, faculty, and staff from other universities and colleges. Budget cuts to public and academic libraries combined with growing demands for information are forcing academic librarians to reconsider who they should or can serve. Bobp and Richey rhetorically asked whether undergraduate libraries have the resources to continue offering unconditional access and service to everyone. (4) The author designed a survey to ascertain how Florida academic libraries serve public users. Little data exists on the impact of public patrons who use resources and services found in academic libraries. Only a few statewide and regional studies have been done on this topic and none in the state of Florida. A reason for this lack of research lies in the fact that higher education in Florida is newer than in most of the eastern United States. In January 1853, Florida Governor Thomas Brown signed a bill that provided public support to higher education. The University of Florida opened later that year as East Florida Seminary, while Florida State University opened as a state seminary for boys in 1857. …


Abstract Citizen participation is usually seen as a vital aspect of democracy. Many theorists claim that citizen participation has positive effects on the quality of democracy. This article examines the probability of these claims for local participatory policymaking projects in two municipalities in the Netherlands. The article focuses on the relations between citizens and government from a citizens' perspective. The findings show that the role of citizens in these projects is limited, serving mainly to provide information on the basis of which the government then makes decisions. Nevertheless, the article argues that citizen involvement has a number of positive effects on democracy: not only do people consequently feel more responsibility for public matters, it increases public engagement, encourages people to listen to a diversity of opinions, and contributes to a higher degree of legitimacy of decisions. One negative effect is that not all relevant groups and interests are represented. The article concludes that for a healthy democracy at the local level, aspects of democratic citizenship are more important than having a direct say in decision-making.


Cyberbullying is becoming a major concern surrounding the adolescent population because of the increased use in the internet and social networking sites. Studies show that cyberbullying can cause mental health concerns in adolescents who have been victimized, leaving them feeling lonely, depressed, and rejected. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of high school students who have been victimized by cyberbullying and to explore the relationship between cyberbully victimization and suicide. An anonymous mixed methods study was utilized and formatted with both quantitative and qualitative questions. The survey was distributed by email to students enrolled in the Bachelors of Social Work program at the University of St. Thomas and St. Catherine University and asked respondents specific questions in regards to their personal experience being victimized by cyberbullying and the impacts it had on them. The results were analyzed quantitatively using descriptive statistics and independent t-test and analyzed qualitatively using a content analysis approach. Results indicated that high school students who were victimized by cyberbullying experienced negative emotional impacts including feeling sad, helpless and hopeless, frustrated, and low self-esteem. The results of this study did not find a significant relationship between cyberbully victimization and suicide but did find that respondents reported feeling suicidal in the open-ended responses. Results from this study were consistent with pre-existing literature. CYBERBULLYING: IMPACTING TODAY'S 2


This paper presents a new method to correct for measurement error in wage data and applies this method to address an old question: How much downward wage flexibility is there in the United States? We apply standard methods developed by Bai and Perron to identify structural breaks in time series data. Applying these methods to wage histories allows us to identify when each person experiences a change in nominal wages. The length of the period of constant nominal wages is left unrestricted and is allowed to differ across individuals, as are the size and direction of the nominal-wage change. We apply these methods to data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation. The evidence we provide indicates that the probability of a cut in nominal wages is substantially overstated in data that are not corrected for measurement error.


Non-traditional design of multi-layered solar energy converters is proposed, with electrically independent p-i-n junctions. This new approach allows utilization of cheap and abundant II-VI, IV and IV-VI materials instead of III-V ones, using also cheap and economic deposition techniques like Chemical Bath Deposition (CBD) or Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) instead of expensive Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE). The CVD reactor with three atomic sources was built and used. II-VI and IV-VI semiconductor materials were prepared either in CVD reactor, or by CBD techniques. Besides, the original two-stage technology was employed: first the precursor oxide/hydroxide film of corresponding metal (like cadmium oxide/hydroxide) was prepared by some variety of CBD methods, and at the second stage, in CVD reactor the non-metallic component of precursor film was substituted by chalcogen, producing materials like CdS, CdSe, PbTe, etc. The semiconductor materials thus produced were of high quality, with basic parameters corresponding to those for the single crystals. Several experimental multilayered converters were constructed (in particular, with CdS/CdTe, CdS/PbS and Si/PbTe active bilayers). The preliminary results of their studying have shown that these and similar devices can be used in solar cells and photo sensors with satisfactory efficiency, and have great potential for improvement. development of efficient and economic solar energy converters.


Lindholm et al. report the cloning, molecular characterization, and tissue expression of a member of a new family of neurotrophins. Through sequence analysis, they identified a gene similar to that encoding mesencephalic-astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor (MANF, also known as ARMET) and named the new protein conserved dopamine neurotrophic factor (CDNF, which in genomic databases was called ARMETL1 for ARMET-like 1). CDNF was secreted when heterologously expressed in human cultured cell lines or the insect cell line Sf9. Electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry analysis of the secreted protein indicated that the protein formed four disulfide bridges with the eight conserved cysteines. Transcript analysis in mice revealed that CDNF was expressed in several tissues during embryogenesis and postnatally. In the brain, in situ protein analysis showed that the protein was present in the somas of neurons. Although MANF was previously reported to promote survival of dopaminergic neurons in vitro, Lindholm et al. show that in a rat model of Parkinson's disease, injection of CDNF before or after exposure to the neurotoxin prevented or ameliorated symptoms and reduced the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. P. Lindholm, M. H. Voutilainen, J. Laurén, J. Peränen, V.-M. Leppänen, J.-O. Andressoo, M. Lindahl, S. Janhunen, N. Kalkkinen, T. Timmusk, R. K. Tuominen, M. Saarma, Novel neurotrophic factor CDNF protects and rescues midbrain dopamine neurons in vivo. Nature 448, 73-77 (2007). [PubMed]


Development and implementation of electrified transportation systems, particularly those that integrate with renewable-based vehicle charging systems are supposed to continue attracting the interest of the researchers in the future. Electric utilities have to develop integrated solutions to take the advantage of the opportunities that transportation electrification offers, in addition to design and planning of their supply needs. In this context, storage capacity of electric vehicles (EVs) offer a new and effective distributed storage capacity for evolving power grids. It is clear that an effective storage can be achieved by aggregating the single EVs. Commercial car parks and parking lots of several public and private companies can be used for these purposes. This paper presents improved car arrival/departure patterns to asses more realistic storage capacity models for an EVPL. Real car arrival/departure data of a representative PL, provided by The Chief Management of Istanbul Car Parking Corporation is used in the studies. In addition, future car arrival/departure patterns are estimated using the available data and PL storage capacity is obtained for those future patterns.


Fore-arc regions, whether accretionary, erosional or composite, vary greatly both along strike and through time, in the geometries which they assume in response to subduction. There is no well-studied modern/Neogene margin which can be established as the 'type' accretionary prism. All are individual in some respect or other. Nor is there an example of a well-studied modern/Neogene accretionary margin which can be compared closely to the Southern Uplands, though there are several good analogues for particular stages of its history. Accretion took place along the Southern Uplands margin for c. 50 million years. The range of geometries on modern/Neogene accretionary active margins, and the extent to which the behaviour of those margins can change during periods as long as 50 million years, is reviewed, emphasizing the accretionary prisms of Mexico, SW Japan and the Makran. The interpretation of the Southern Uplands as an accretionary prism, as presented in the late 1970s and early 1980s, is reassessed in the light of advances made subsequently in understanding modern/Neogene prisms. The recent alternative model of Stone et al. for the Southern Uplands envisages that the terrane evolved by the opening and closure (by arc-subduction) of a marginal basin. The new model draws heavily on arc-type detritus derived from the oceanward side of the ancient Southern Uplands trough. There are areas along the SW Japan fore-arc where oceanward-derived tubidites are accumulating in a trench (Nankai Trough), and where active submarine arc-type volcanism is occurring outboard of a currently growing accretionary prism. Such features in an ancient terrane like the Southern Uplands do not necessarily mean that an alternative model must be sought involving whole new arc systems. Furthermore, analysis of the life-spans and sedimentary fills of modern/Neogene marginal basins begs the conclusion that the Southern Uplands' strata were not deposited in a marginal basin. It is most unlikely that the c. 50 Ma history of pelagic sedimentation preserved there can be manifesting anything other than the closure of a sizeable ocean basin, of a scale exceeding any known western Pacific-type marginal basin, and with a different sedimentation history from any such marginal basin.


The EU financial crisis has generated a range of economic, political and legal responses. This article focuses on one such response, the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance (the TSCG), which was signed by 25 contracting states in March 2012. The discussion begins with the political background to the TSCG, which is essential in order to understand its legal form and content. This is followed by an outline of its principal provisions. There is then more detailed discussion of the core elements of the TSCG, the "balanced budget" rule and the correction mechanism, in order to determine what they add to the existing rules and assess their efficacy.The focus then shifts to broader issues of principle. The TSCG is of interest not merely for those concerned with economic and monetary union. It raises more fundamental issues of principle concerning the legitimacy of states, together with EU institutions, proceeding outside the confines of the Lisbon Treaty to attain goals that cannot be achieved through normal methods of Treaty amendment. It generates important inquiries concerning the extent to which a Treaty outside the confines of the Lisbon Treaty can confer new powers on EU institutions, and whether existing powers of EU institutions can be used in such a context. It entails significant issues concerning the way in which we interpret provisions of the Lisbon Treaty concerning the European Court of Justice (ECJ) that are directly relevant to the schema of the TSCG. The article concludes by reflecting on some broader legal and political ramifications of the TSCG.


Between November 1943 and June 1946, at least 16 geologists assisted the Inter-Service Topographical Department (ISTD), a British military unit primarily of geographers, under Royal Navy auspices, to prepare reports and geotechnical maps to guide planning of Allied military operations. Reports assessing terrain factors were generated with geologist assistance for parts of Italy, France, Germany, Austria, the Low Countries and the Balkan region; also for Malaya, parts of Indonesia, Thailand, Indo-China, Formosa, Hainan, Hong Kong and the nearby Chinese mainland. The Geological Section ISTD, as it was officially designated from August 1944, based at Oxford, had an authorized establishment of four Royal Engineers officers (briefly assisted by a few US, Canadian and Dutch military personnel), but simultaneously involved up to 12 earth scientists or engineers by August 1945; it was the only team of British military geologists to be constituted (except in India) in either World War. Its work marks a significant if largely unknown phase in the development of engineering and hydrogeological terrain evaluation skills prior to the evolution of terrain analysis as a major discipline postwar, revealed by declassified reports now preserved in the UK within the National Archives and the Royal Geographical Society's library; maps at the British and the Bodleian libraries; and documents in the University of Birmingham's Lapworth Museum of Geology.


The Research Unit for Political Economy's (RUPE's) brief historical account here of the origins of the Marxist theory of imperialism constitutes a crucial corrective to common errors regarding that history. In my article, "The Imperialist World System: Paul Baran's Political Economy of Growth After Fifty Years" (Monthly Review, May 2007), I began by pointing out that Baran's book was an outgrowth of classical Marxist thought—the ideas of Marx, Lenin, and Luxemburg. At the same time it represented a sharp departure from the rigid orthodoxy of linear development that had come to characterize so much of socialist (as well as bourgeois) thought—often presented in terms of Horace's phrase, quoted by Marx, "the tale is told of you." Baran's treatment of the imperialist world system was a startling contribution at the time that his book appeared, challenging the conventional assumptions of both the right and an increasingly calcified leftThis article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.


We present a Neural Program Search, an algorithm to generate programs from natural language description and a small number of input/output examples. The algorithm combines methods from Deep Learning and Program Synthesis fields by designing rich domain-specific language (DSL) and defining efficient search algorithm guided by a Seq2Tree model on it. To evaluate the quality of the approach we also present a semi-synthetic dataset of descriptions with test examples and corresponding programs. We show that our algorithm significantly outperforms a sequence-to-sequence model with attention baseline.


Chapter 1. School-based positive psychology interventions (PPIs) which focus on building resilience and promoting children's social and emotional wellbeing are becoming more evident in practice and within the research base (Shankland & Rosset, 2017). The main goal of PPIs are to cultivate positive emotions, cognitions and behaviours (Sin & Lyubomirsky, 2009). Anxiety in youth can be understood within a risk and resilience framework comprising of factors which prevent, buffer and reduce the risk of developing an anxiety condition. The broaden-and-build theory (Fredrickson, 1998; 2001) suggests that positive emotions, in contrast to negative emotions, broaden the mind set and action responses which over time leads to the building of personal resources and resilience. The resiliency theory presents that promotive factors are an important element of universal, preventative interventions which aim to promote resilience and positive functioning (Zimmerman, 2013). A systematic search of the literature base yielded 13 studies. These were analysed in terms of their methodological quality and their effectiveness to increase resilience and reduce anxiety in children and adolescents. Findings showed that universally delivered interventions are effective in reducing anxiety symptoms in children and adolescents. Targeted interventions also showed potential, although due to the small number of studies included in the review, these findings cannot be applied more widely. There was limited evidence to suggest that PPIs increase resilience in young people which is a contrasting finding to previous reviews. Implications for practice, strengths and limitations of the current evidence base, and future directions for research are explored.

Chapter 2. Gratitude has been found to be associated with various positive wellbeing outcomes for young people (Renshaw & Olinger-Steeves, 2016). It can be v described as a cognitive-affective state which arises in response to aid or a benefit (Emmons & Stern, 2013) and through the appreciation of positive aspects of life (Wood, Froh & Geraghty, 2010). The practice of gratitude has been suggested to broaden cognitive and behavioural tendencies, which over time can build positive psychological and social resources (Fredrickson, 1998, 2001). Grateful recounting may also enhance an individual's ability to appraise situations in a more positive way which in turn may lead to improvements in anxiety and sleep quality (Watkins, Uhder & Pichinevskiy, 2015; Wood, Joseph, Lloyd & Atkins, 2009). The current study explored the effectiveness of a gratitude diary intervention carried out across six primary schools in South-East England. Year 6 pupils (n = 164) were randomly allocated to either a gratitude diary writing condition in which they were asked to record three things they were thankful for or to an event diary writing condition whereby they were asked to record three neutral events from their school day. It was hypothesised that keeping a daily gratitude diary would lead to improvements in anxiety, school belonging and sleep. Self-report measures assessed gratitude proneness, anxiety and school belonging across three time points. Parents (n = 58) completed pre- and post-intervention measures to assess children's sleep quality. Results showed significant group differences for anxiety, gratitude proneness and school belonging in favour of the intervention group. No significant group differences for sleep quality were found. A school-based gratitude diary intervention could be an effective way to promote school belonging and reduce anxiety in a youth population. The findings, implications for practice and directions for future research are discussed.


Those over the age of 65 years old and the "baby boomers" regard oral health, including oral/dental/facial aesthetics, as part of their overall health and wellness. Over 65% of discretionary wealth in the United States belongs to those over the age of 50. In many instances, they have had to deny their own needs for those of their families and are now at a point where their dental issues can finally be addressed. Aesthetic dentistry offers the opportunity to reverse the signs of aging and restore a youthful appearance. A smile can be the most eye-catching feature of a face and therefore should blend in or harmonize with facial appearance. Advances in aesthetic dentistry, such as porcelain veneers, bonding, periodontal surgery, and dental implants, have shown great efficacy and reliability when used properly. Aesthetic dentistry offers the opportunity for the aged population to have a more youthful, harmonious smile with improved function and optimum oral health.


Federal employees with permanent appointments are eligible for retirement and disability benefits under either the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) or the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS). All federal employees initially hired into permanent federal employment on or after January 1, 1984, are covered by FERS. Employees hired before January 1, 1984, are covered by CSRS unless they chose to switch to FERS during open seasons held in 1987 and 1998. Both FERS and CSRS provide survivor benefits for spouses and dependent children of employees and retirees. Survivors who had been participating in the Federal Employees' Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) can continue to do so. The federal government pays compensation to dependent survivors of federal civilian employees who are killed while performing their duties; however, a survivor eligible for both an annuity under CSRS or FERS and for survivor compensation cannot receive both.


TECHNOLOGY RESOLVED: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC APPROACH TO INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN WITHIN URBAN MIDDLE SCHOOL DEBATE by Dana M. Bryant Technology literacy is the latest achievement benchmark for 8 grade public school students under No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Although necessary for contemporary academic and professional success (Selfe, 1999; Pearson & Young, 2002), this benchmark is at odds with the legacy and current state of social inequities within American public education, as all students have not been provided with equal opportunities for engaging and safe learning environments (Kozol, 1991; DarlingHammond, 2006)—much less technology enabled ones. The purpose of this qualitative study was to design culturally informed technology activities for urban middle school students in the Computer Assisted Debate (CAD) after school program and then observe the consequences of these activities within the community. The guiding research questions are: (1) What occurs in a CAD program community when an ethnographic approach to instructional design is implemented? (2) What is the impact of the culturally informed technology activities on the students and faculty within the CAD program community? Taking an ethnographic approach to instructional design, the researcher observed and participated in CAD after-school sessions at one urban middle school for 7 months. Data sources for the study included field notes, student artifacts, student and faculty interviews, and surveys. Evidence regarding their existing technology literacy knowledge base revealed varying levels of skills among the debate students, and that students themselves may not be able to calibrate what they know versus what they do not. Findings also revealed that the introduction of the activities influenced student participants' technology literacy by allowing them to demonstrate web-based research skills. Other emergent topics regarding impact of the activities included classroom management, faculty curriculum materials, and visual instruction. Among other recommendations, the researcher found that activities should be designed to elicit a high level of student engagement and motivation, which tend to be unique for distinct student groups. The research findings contribute to scholarly literature regarding (1) developing innovative educational technology strategies to help urban kids learn and (2) instructional strategies within urban debate. Future studies should more closely examine consistent technology supported instruction over time and within urban debate, and debate faculty experiences regarding teaching with technology.


The nonenzymatic oxidation of wine has profound effects on its sensory attributes and, thus, perceived quality. While wine oxidation has been studied for centuries, only recently has the role of free radical intermediates in wine aging been seriously addressed. In this study, the effect of various wine components on the formation or suppression of free radicals was investigated. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spin trapping was used to detect, quantify, and identify factors that alter the major radical species formed in actual wine systems. In all cases and across all treatments, the 1-hydroxyethyl radical was the sole spin adduct detected, suggesting that the Fenton reaction (i.e., formation of the hydroxyl radical and its subsequent oxidation of ethanol) is the major route for oxidation in wine. The addition of either iron, copper, or iron and copper in combination to a red wine resulted in a marked increase in observed spin adducts, demonstrating that trace levels of metals are essential catalysts in the oxidation of wine. The addition of catechin to a white wine containing excess sulfur dioxide had no effect on the initial rate of radical formation, but was prooxidative in the latter stages of the experiment. Finally, sulfur dioxide was shown to inhibit radical formation in a concentration-dependent manner.


Since the third quarter of 2000, the U.S. economy began to experience a slowdown in its rate of growth. This slowdown serves as a reminder that the business cycle is still alive and raises the following questions: What do we know about the driving forces behind the business cycle? What should policymakers do in the face of economic fluctuations? ; The authors examine two explanations for business cycles that are well-known in academic circles: the animal spirits theory and the real business cycle theory. The former is closely connected with the Keynesian economic tradition and identifies market participants' mood swings as the key source of economic fluctuations. The second explanation is rooted in the classical economic tradition and views productivity shocks as the driving force behind economic fluctuations. The article then looks at what these theories suggest about countercyclical policies, which try to eliminate business cycle fluctuations or insulate market participants from their effects. The authors conclude that neither theory makes an unambiguous case supporting countercyclical policies. ; This conclusion may come as a surprise to government and business economists who have an ingrained belief in the benefits of such policies. It is important to remember, however, that attempts to understand business cycles and the effects and desirability of policies that may (or may not) moderate them are still at a very early stage.


This paper presents an elastic post-buckling analysis of an axially loaded beam-plate with two central across-the-width delaminations located at arbitrary depths. The analysis is based on the nonlinear beam equations, combined with the appropriate kinematic continuity and equilibrium conditions. A perturbation technique is employed, which transforms the nonlinear equations into a sequence of linear equations. An asymptotic solution of the post-buckling behavior of the plate is thus obtained. It is shown that with two delaminations, both the maximum deflection and the internal load of the first buckled (top) subplate increase as the external load increases. Of particular interest is the redistribution of load among subplates, which keeps the increase rate of internal load of the top buckled subplate much less than that of the external load. In other words, the load of the buckled subplate is close to the critical value even though the externally applied load is much larger than the critical load. In addition to the two-delamination configuration, a single delamination case is studied based on the present approach in order to verify the accuracy of the method. Also, a comparison with available finite element results is performed.


Identification and translation of different driving maneuver are some of the key elements to analysis driving risky behavior. However, the major obstacles to maneuver identification are the wide variety of styles of driving maneuver which are performed during driving. The objective in this contribution through the paper is to automatic identification of driver maneuver e.g., driving in roundabouts, left and right turns, breaks, etc. based on Inertia Measurement Unit (IMU) and Global Positioning System (GPS). Here, several machine learning (ML) algorithms i.e., Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), K-nearest neighbor (k-NN), Hidden Markov Model (HMM), Random Forest (RF), and Support Vector Machine (SVM) have been applied for automatic feature extraction and classification on the IMU and GPS data sets collected through a Naturalistic Driving Studies (NDS) under an H2020 project called SimuSafe1. The CNN is further compared with HMM, RF, ANN, k-NN and SVM to observe the ability to identify a car maneuver through roundabouts. According to the results, CNN outperforms (i.e., average F1-score of 0.88 both roundabout and not roundabout) among the other ML classifiers and RF presents better correlation than CNN, i.e., MCC = −0.022.


Several spatiotemporal feature point detectors have been used in video analysis for action recognition. Feature points are detected using a number of measures, namely saliency, cornerness, periodicity, motion activity etc. Each of these measures is usually intensity-based and provides a different trade-off between density and informativeness. In this paper, we use saliency for feature point detection in videos and incorporate color and motion apart from intensity. Our method uses a multi-scale volumetric representation of the video and involves spatiotemporal operations at the voxel level. Saliency is computed by a global minimization process constrained by pure volumetric constraints, each of them being related to an informative visual aspect, namely spatial proximity, scale and feature similarity (intensity, color, motion). Points are selected as the extrema of the saliency response and prove to balance well between density and informativeness. We provide an intuitive view of the detected points and visual comparisons against state-of-the-art space-time detectors. Our detector outperforms them on the KTH dataset using nearest-neighbor classifiers and ranks among the top using different classification frameworks. Statistics and comparisons are also performed on the more difficult Hollywood human actions (HOHA) dataset increasing the performance compared to current published results.


BACKGROUND
Sleep-disordered breathing, including obstructive sleep apnoea and central sleep apnoea, is a common disorder among patients with chronic heart failure. Obstructive sleep apnoea is often treated with continuous positive airway pressure, but central sleep apnoea lacks a clear treatment option. Knowledge of how sleep-disordered breathing is experienced (e.g. difficulties and care needs) and handled (e.g. self-care actions) by the patients is limited, but needed, to provide patient-centred care.

AIM
To explore how newly verified sleep-disordered breathing is experienced by patients with chronic heart failure.

METHODS
Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analysed with qualitative content analysis. Seventeen participants (14 men, three women), mean age 60 years (range 41-80) diagnosed with chronic heart failure and objectively verified sleep-disordered breathing (nine obstructive, seven central and one mixed) were strategically selected from heart failure outpatient clinics at two Norwegian university hospitals.

RESULTS
Patients with chronic heart failure and newly verified sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) described experiences of poor sleep that had consequences for their daily life and their partners. Different self-care strategies were revealed, but they were based on 'common sense' and were not evidence-based. The awareness of having SDB was varied; for some, it gave an explanation to their trouble while others were surprised by the finding.

CONCLUSION
Patients with chronic heart failure and sleep-disordered breathing experienced reduced sleep quality, influencing their daily life. Possible underlying causes of disrupted sleep, such as sleep-disordered breathing, should be identified to establish proper patient-centred treatment strategies. There is a need for new strategies to approach patients with chronic heart failure (i.e. those with central sleep apnoea) who are not subject to continuous positive airway pressure treatment for their sleep-disordered breathing.


Most errors in spreadsheets are formula-based. Referenced cells in formulas are normally presented using the traditional A1 cell referencing style. A spreadsheet user has to therefore mentally map referenced cells to their corresponding labels in order to comprehend a formula in the context of the problem domain. In this paper, we give a detailed description of an algorithm that can be used to dynamically translate traditional spreadsheet formulas to their problem domain equivalents which are easier to understand. The translation is done as one accesses a formula cell in a spreadsheet. The formula translation is based on inferred labels of referenced cells in the formula. The aim of the translation is to ease the cognitive load on the spreadsheet user and hence improving the error-prone spreadsheet development process. The paper also highlights some factors that need to be taken into consideration when dynamically translating spreadsheet formulas. The number of referenced cells in a formula and the distance of labels from referenced cells will determine the speed of the translation process hence affecting system responsiveness as one navigates through a spreadsheet. Unpredictable spatial arrangement of data in spreadsheets (spreadsheet layout) can also pose a challenge to the translation algorithm which may lead to mis-translation of spreadsheet formulas. These challenges might increase the cognitive load on the spreadsheet user hence negating the purpose of dynamically translating spreadsheet formulas.


Abstract. Nowadays, the nature of land title and cadastral (LTC) data in the Turkey is dynamic from a temporal perspective which depends on the LTC operations. Functional requirements with respect to the characteristics are investigated based upon interviews of professionals in public and private sectors. These are; Legal authorities, Land Registry and Cadastre offices, Highway departments, Foundations, Ministries of Budget, Transportation, Justice, Public Works and Settlement, Environment and Forestry, Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Culture and Internal Affairs, State Institute of Statistics (SIS), execution offices, tax offices, real estate offices, private sector, local governments and banks. On the other hand, spatio-temporal LTC data very important component for creating infrastructure of Land Administration Model (LADM). For this reason, spatio-temporal LTC data needs for LADM not only updated but also temporal. The investigations ended up with determine temporal analyses of LTC data, traditional LTC system and tracing temporal analyses in traditional LTC system. In the traditional system, the temporal analyses needed by all these users could not be performed in a rapid and reliable way. The reason for this is that the traditional LTC system is a manual archiving system. The aims and general contents of this paper: (1) define traditional LTC system of Turkey; (2) determining the need for spatio-temporal LTC data and analyses for core domain model for LADM. As a results of temporal and spatio-temporal analysis LTC data needs, new system design is important for the Turkish LADM model. Designing and realizing an efficient and functional Temporal Geographic Information Systems (TGIS) is inevitable for the Turkish LADM core infrastructure. Finally this paper outcome is creating infrastructure for design and develop LADM for Turkey.


Federalism remains a highly contentious issue in the United Kingdom, but however suspect the 'F' word may be, a substantial amount of devolution has already become part of the local landscape and more may yet follow. With the competence for a number of policies thus shifting from Westminster to Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and in future perhaps even within England itself, foreign experience with federal and regional structures becomes a valuable source of ideas. In a series of contributions, distinguished experts from a wide range of legal systems including Canada, the United States, Germany, South Africa and the European Union present their experience, criticisms, and views concerning, inter alia, the distribution of power, judicial review and human rights protection in federalised and regionalised states. The book contains the papers from a conference jointly organised by the Institute of Global Law (UCL) and the Institute of Transnational Law (The University of Texas at Austin).


India took a decisive step towards universal basic education by proclaiming a constitutionally-guaranteed Right to Education (RTE) Act in 2009 that called for full access of children aged 6-14 to free schooling. This paper considers the offsetting effects to RTE from induced expansion of private tutoring in the educationally competitive districts of India. We develop a unique database of registrations of new private educational institutions offering tutorial services by local district between 2001-2015. We estimate the causal impact of RTE on private supplemental education by comparing the growth of these private tutorial institutions in districts identified a priori as having very competitive educational markets to those that had less competitive educational markets. We find a strong impact of RTE on the private tutoring market and show that this holds across alternative definitions of highly competitive districts and a variety of robustness checks, sensitivity analyses, and controls. Finally, we provide descriptive evidence that these private tutoring schools do increase the achievement (and competitiveness) of students able to afford them.


Lattice sieving is asymptotically the fastest approach for solving the shortest vector problem (SVP) on Euclidean lattices. All known sieving algorithms for solving the SVP require space which (heuristically) grows as $2^{0.2075n+o(n)}$
 , where $n$
 is the lattice dimension. In high dimensions, the memory requirement becomes a limiting factor for running these algorithms, making them uncompetitive with enumeration algorithms, despite their superior asymptotic time complexity. We generalize sieving algorithms to solve SVP with less memory. We consider reductions of tuples of vectors rather than pairs of vectors as existing sieve algorithms do. For triples, we estimate that the space requirement scales as $2^{0.1887n+o(n)}$
 . The naive algorithm for this triple sieve runs in time $2^{0.5661n+o(n)}$
 . With appropriate filtering of pairs, we reduce the time complexity to $2^{0.4812n+o(n)}$
 while keeping the same space complexity. We further analyze the effects of using larger tuples for reduction, and conjecture how this provides a continuous trade-off between the memory-intensive sieving and the asymptotically slower enumeration.


Multiple myeloma has a chronic progressive course if not adequately treated.
Standard treatment with melphalan and prednisone is inferior to current therapies.
Thalidomide combined with dexamethasone is the treatment of choice for induction therapy.
High-dose melphalan with stem cell rescue induces high complete remission rates and prolongs overall survival.
Maintenance thalidomide should be given post stem cell transplant.
Proteosome inhibitors are currently reserved for the relapsed refractory patients.
Patients who do not qualify for stem cell transplant should receive melphalan and prednisone combined with thalidomide.
Complete remission should be the goal of therapy.


Since beginning school at the University of Arkansas in 2008 I have learned many lessons both in and outside the classroom. To date, the most challenging lessons have been those that I have learned about myself. The manifestation of the person that I am today has been an adventure with many twists and turns. This piece aims to capture the essence of some of the lessons that I have learned. Each poem offers the product of that lesson. The movement entitled "Memories" has a subdued joy in its message. The poem offers nostalgia to begin the piece with. However, it is also a commentary on my own struggles with memory loss. The following movement, "The Musicians' Wife," is an exploration of relationships. While the external message may focus on the relationship with another person, the internal message is about the relationship with the self. The third movement, "The Road Not Taken," is a poem by Robert Frost. The poem's message is to encourage individuals to walk a different path than everyone else The fourth and fifth movement are centered around the idea of how I personally have come to learn the various lessons that life has offered. The projected message is that the most valuable lessons are those not easily learned. Finally, "O Me! O Life!" utilizes a Walt Whitman poem for the music. The poem, like the corresponding music, asks many hard questions. As it concludes the movement provides a simple and serene answer. The music written is not to accompany each of the poems. Rather, the poems are to accompany the music. The orchestration for any performances can be any instrument in any amount per part. When performing this piece, the musicians should not be formally dressed, except for the individual reciting the poetry. If the ensemble wishes to add a visual element to the performance, they may allow individuals to wander the stage and isles and pose pensively to further the reflective mood. Table of


In most social, information, and collaboration systems the complex activity of agents generates rapidly evolving time-varying networks. Temporal changes in the network structure and the dynamical processes occurring on its fabric are usually coupled in ways that still challenge our mathematical or computational modelling. Here we analyse a mobile call dataset describing the activity of millions of individuals and investigate the temporal evolution of their egocentric networks. We empirically observe a simple statistical law characterizing the memory of agents that quantitatively signals how much interactions are more likely to happen again on already established connections. We encode the observed dynamics in a reinforcement process defining a generative computational network model with time-varying connectivity patterns. This activity-driven network model spontaneously generates the basic dynamic process for the differentiation between strong and weak ties. The model is used to study the effect of time-varying heterogeneous interactions on the spreading of information on social networks. We observe that the presence of strong ties may severely inhibit the large scale spreading of information by confining the process among agents with recurrent communication patterns. Our results provide the counterintuitive evidence that strong ties may have a negative role in the spreading of information across networks. keywords: Network models, Data science, Information diffusion


This paper outlines an approach to the analysis of topoi that rests on a notion of topos as a synonym for "argumentation pattern". The approach is embedded within the overall theoretical and methodical considerations of the discourse linguistic "school" called "linguistic discourse history" or "historic discourse semantics". After explaining the background of topos analysis, several examples from migration-related public discourse will be used to illustrate the scope and limits of the approach proposed in the paper. A special focus will be given to two partial results of a study of the public discourse on work-related migration between 1960 and 1985 (cf. Wengeler 2003), supplemented by the treatment of the same topic around the year 2000. Within our analysis of the discourse on migration, manifold argumentation patterns will be highlighted in the different periods pointing to the heterogeneity of common sense functionalised for argumentative purposes.


Distributed and hierarchical models of control are nowadays popular in computational modeling and robotics. In the artificial neural network literature, complex behaviors can be produced by composing elementary building blocks or motor primitives, possibly organized in a layered structure. However, it is still unknown how the brain learns and encodes multiple motor primitives, and how it rapidly reassembles, sequences and switches them by exerting cognitive control. In this paper we advance a novel proposal, a hierarchical programmable neural network architecture, based on the notion of programmability and an interpreter-programmer computational scheme. In this approach, complex (and novel) behaviors can be acquired by embedding multiple modules (motor primitives) in a single, multi-purpose neural network. This is supported by recent theories of brain functioning in which skilled behaviors can be generated by combining functional different primitives embedded in "reusable" areas of "recycled" neurons. Such neuronal substrate supports flexible cognitive control, too. Modules are seen as interpreters of behaviors having controlling input parameters, or programs that encode structures of networks to be interpreted. Flexible cognitive control can be exerted by a programmer module feeding the interpreters with appropriate input parameters, without modifying connectivity. Our results in a multiple T -maze robotic scenario show how this computational framework provides a robust, scalable and flexible scheme that can be iterated at different hierarchical layers permitting to learn, encode and control multiple qualitatively different behaviors.


This software was developed for the NPOESS (National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System) Preparatory Project (NPP) Science Data Segment. The purpose of this software is to compare HDF5 (Hierarchical Data Format) files specific to NPP and report whether the HDF5 files are identical. If the HDF5 files are different, users have the option of printing out the list of differences in the HDF5 data files. The user provides paths to two directories containing a list of HDF5 files to compare. The tool would select matching HDF5 file names from the two directories and run the comparison on each file. The user can also select from three levels of detail. Level 0 is the basic level, which simply states whether the files match or not. Level 1 is the intermediate level, which lists the differences between the files. Level 2 lists all the details regarding the comparison, such as which objects were compared, and how and where they are different. The HDF5 tool is written specifically for the NPP project. As such, it ignores certain attributes (such as creation_date, creation_ time, etc.) in the HDF5 files. This is because even though two HDF5 files could represent exactly the same granule, if they are created at different times, the creation date and time would be different. This tool is smart enough to ignore differences that are not relevant to NPP users.


Teachers' work has during the last ten years gone through great changes. The effects of postmodern society has made the work more and morecomplex and difficult to handle and understand for those involved as well as outsiders. Researchers are trying to keep up with things. The developmentof knowledge of teachers' work takes place on different levels, in separate disciplines, from various starting-points and with different foci.To be able to describe, understand and explain the »new« work of teachers in a vigorous way there is need of getting these research initiativestogether. Arenas should be established where interchanges and coordination between researchers could take place. In order to make this happen wehave the intention of building a Swedish (our aim is to expand the network to the Nordic countries after the establishment in Sweden) network ofresearch on teachers' professional lives.Besides presenting the intention and design of our network we also bring along some examples of research projects in line with the network ideas.


A reverse transcription reaction allows the production of complementary DNA (cDNA) using an RNA template and relies on polymerases displaying reverse transcriptase (RT) activity. This process, with major applications in both research and in medical diagnostics, is often limited by the nature of the RTs available. RNA secondary structure can prove problematic where mesophilic retroviral RTs are used while the alternative approach, using thermophilic DNA polymerases with RT activity, often results in error-prone cDNA production. This project recognised the need to study other possible sources of thermophilic RTs and outlines the study of four previously uncharacterised Group II Intronencoded proteins (IEP), with RT domains, from thermophilic bacteria. While cloning of the IEP genes and their expression on a small scale proved successful, difficulties were encountered when attempting purification. Despite a lack of overall purity, samples containing IEPs from Thermosinus carboxydivorans and Petrotoga mobilis were shown to have RT activity but characterisation of these IEPs was not carried out. However, an IEP from Bacillus caldovelox proved to be an excellent candidate for characterisation as successful purification was achieved. Enzyme engineering was also performed, fusing a Sac7d domain onto the C-terminus of this protein. These enzymes were shown to have optimum RT activity at 54oC with activity still being displayed at 76oC. Other studies on these enzymes showed that, unlike the retroviral RTs, the IEPs displayed no DNA-dependent DNA polymerase activity. The Sac7d fusion protein was also studied in terms of possible enhancements to the RT activity of an IEP. However, preliminary studies showed that, although this domain did not prove to be detrimental to the enzyme, it had little effect on improving the processivity of the RTs. Although this class of RT looks promising in terms of use as an alternative thermophilic RT, the IEPs studied in this report did incur major limitations during cDNA synthesis, which included lower than expected optimum reaction temperatures, very low fidelity and an inability to synthesise cDNA using complex RNA templates.


SCOPE
Obesity is associated with elevated serum ferritin and increased macrophage activation and infiltration; however, the causal mechanisms underlying this relationship remain undefined.

METHODS AND RESULTS
Serum ferritin and soluble P-selectin glycoprotein ligand (sPSGL)-1 level were higher in obese adolescents and patients with moderate nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) compared with controls (all p < 0.05). Multivariate linear regression revealed that serum ferritin was independently associated with sPSGL-1 (B = 0.249, 95% confidence interval: 0.011-0.487, p = 0.041) after adjustment for covariates. The messenger (m) RNA expression of GRP78/Bip, ferritin, and PSGL-1 in leukocytes was greater in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease than in controls. An animal study showed that a tunicamycin injection (an endoplasmic reticulum stress inducer) triggered serum sPSGL-1 and ferritin elevation (all p < 0.01). An in vitro study revealed that serum ferritin and apoferritin induced tumor necrosis factor-α and sPSGL-1 secretion (all p < 0.01). A wound healing assay showed that PSGL-1 blocking inhibited apoferritin-mediated macrophage migration. GRP78/Bip knockdown by the endotoxin EGF-SubA completely inhibited apoferritin-mediated macrophage migration and PSGL-1 expression at the protein and mRNA levels (all p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION
ER stress associated mechanisms are required for apoferritin-/ferritin-mediated macrophage migration via the PSGL-1-dependent pathway.


Just as liquids adapt their shape to the one of their container, liquid architectures feature a high degree of adaptability so that they can provide scalability to applications as they are executed on a wide variety of heterogeneous deployment environments. In this paper we enumerate the properties to be guaranteed by so-called liquid service-oriented architectures and define a set of design constraints that make up a novel architectural style for liquid architectures. These constraints drive the careful construction of a pattern, the Restful Actor (Reactor), which enables to deliver the required scalability by means of replication of its constituent parts. Reactors feature a Restful Web service interface and a composable architecture which is capable of delivering scalability and high performance in a way that is independent from the chosen deployment infrastructure. We discuss how the Reactor can be deployed to run on distributed (shared-nothing) execution environments typical of virtualized Cloud computing environments as well as on modern multicore processors with shared memory architectures.


The transport of Fe(III)-siderophore complexes and vitamin B12 across the outer membrane of Escherichia coli is an active transport process requiring a cognate outer membrane receptor, cytoplasmic membrane-derived proton motive force, and an energy-transducing protein anchored in the cytoplasmic membrane, TonB. This process requires direct physical contact between the outer membrane receptor and TonB. Previous studies have identified an amino-terminally located region (termed the TonB box) conserved in all known TonB-dependent outer membrane receptors as being essential for productive energy transduction. In the present study, a mutation in the TonB box of the ferric enterochelin receptor FepA resulted in the loss of detectable in vivo chemical cross-linking between FepA and TonB. Protease susceptibility studies indicated this effect was due to an alteration of conformation rather than the direct disruption of a specific site of physical contact. This suggested that TonB residue 160, implicated in previous studies as a site of allele-specific suppression of TonB box mutants, also made a conformational rather than a direct contribution to the physical interaction between TonB and the outer membrane receptors. This possibility was supported by the finding that TonB carboxyl-terminal truncations that retained Gln-160 were unable to participate in TonB-FepA complex formation, indicating that this site alone was not sufficient to support the physical interactions involved in energy transduction. These studies indicated that the final 48 residues of TonB were essential to this physical interaction. This region contains a putative amphipathic helix which could facilitate TonB-outer membrane interaction. Amino acid replacements at one site in this region were found to affect energy transduction but did not appear to greatly alter TonB conformation or the formation of a TonB-FepA complex. The effects of amino acid substitutions at several other TonB sites were also examined.


Aim: The purpose of the present study is to examine the prevalence of active commuting and factors associated with participation in active commuting in the municipality of Karlskrona, Sweden. Active commuting is defined here as walking or cycling to and from school/work for at least 15 minutes one-way. Method: A cross-sectional study was carried out, which included baseline data from parents-to-be. Pregnant females and their partners were invited to participate in the study when they contacted either of the municipality's two antenatal clinics. Data collection ran from March 2008 to February 2009. When completing the questionnaire, the participants were asked to reflect on their situation one month before the female became pregnant. The final sample consisted of 432 participants (response rate 51.9% for females and 85.0% for males). Results: The main mode of commuting was motor vehicle (63.0%), with active commuters forming a minority (8.3%). The main facilitating factor for active commuting was living in an urban as opposed to a rural area. Regular participation in outdoor recreational physical activity was significantly positively associated with active commuting. Being Swedish and being surrounded by a green space environment were significantly negatively associated with active commuting. Conclusions: This study found that the number of people who are active commuters is modest and other modes of transportation are preferred. Several facilitating and impeding factors associated with active commuting were also found, indicating the importance of applying a broad health-promoting approach to encouraging active commuting.


[1] Analysis of five-year records of temperatures and currents collected at Moorea reveal strong internal wave activity at predominantly semi-diurnal frequencies impacting reef slopes at depths ≥30 m around the entire island. Temperature changes of 1.5°C to 3°C are accompanied by surges of upward and onshore flow and vertical shear in onshore currents. Superimposed on annual temperature changes of approximately 3°C, internal wave activity is high from Oct–May and markedly lower from Jun–Sep. The offshore pycnocline is broadly distributed with continuous stratification to at least 500 m depth, and a subsurface fluorescence maximum above the strong nutricline at approximately 200 m. Minimum buoyancy periods range from 4.8 to 6 min, with the maximum density gradient occurring at 50 to 60 m depth in summer and deepening to approximately 150 to 200 m in winter. The bottom slope angle around all of Moorea is super-critical relative to the vertical stratification angle suggesting that energy propagating into shallow water is only a portion of total incident internal wave energy. Vertical gradient Richardson numbers indicate dominance by density stability relative to current shear with relatively limited diapycnal mixing. Coherence and lagged cross-correlation of semi-diurnal temperature variation indicate complex patterns of inter-site arrival of internal waves and no clear coherence or lagged correlation relationships among island sides. Semi-diurnal and high frequency internal wave packets likely arrive on Moorea from a combination of local and distant sources and may have important impacts for nutrient and particle fluxes in deep reef environments.


Article history: Received October 3, 2016 Received in revised format: October 22, 2016 Accepted December 12, 2016 Available online December 12 2016 Nowadays efficiency measurement is considered as one of the most important methods for performance assessment of the organizations. Assessment of academic education and research system is a vital factor for education and research promotion and also is a panoramic mirror for education and research activities. The aim of this research is to assess the efficiency measurement of Shiraz university colleges over the period 2009 – 2014. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) as one of the most important methods of efficiency measurement has two limitations: First, it calculates cross-sectional efficiency values and second, it may consider many units as an efficient unit. Window Data Envelopment Analysis (WDEA) is used for eliminating the first limitation and similarly double frontier analysis is used to overcome the second limitation. The results show that proposed WDEA method with double frontier in comparison with traditional analysis, provides more accurate results. Growing Science Ltd. All rights reserved. 7 © 201


Crash severity is an important predictor of injury outcome for vehicle occupants involved in crashes. The best measures of crash severity are ∆v or equivalent barrier speed. Both these measures require detailed inspection and measurement of the vehicles involved in the crash. These methods are resource intensive and limit the ability to include crash severity as a variable in mass crash data bases. This paper presents the results of a multivariate analysis of factors predicting injury outcome in restrained child occupants. The analysis is based on a sample of 152 children aged between 2 and 8 years collected through retrospective review of medical records at a children's hospital over a 30 month period. The crash severity measure used was based on the rating of ambulance officers attending the scene of the crash. Ambulance officers rated the crash as minor, moderate or severe based on visual assessment of the damage to the vehicle, and reported impact speeds. The analysis demonstrates a significant association between crash severity measured in this manner and injury severity, before and after adjustment for other potential confounders. This association reveals the potential for more widespread use of this relatively simple measure to obtain a de facto estimate of crash severity. Together with a previously reported validation exercise, these results indicate that a visual estimation of crash severity made by on-scene emergency personnel may be an under-utilized source of data. This issue warrants further investigation by those interested in collecting and analyzing mass crash data.