This paper reports on one phase of a long-term research and development project that is creating video game modules for middle-school science classrooms. The games are intended to help teachers address common scientific misconceptions by providing students with opportunities to interact with visualizations of otherwise abstract or inaccessible concepts or phenomena that are the source of those misconceptions. The visualizations serve as metaphors for natural phenomena, and linking activities help teachers build connections between the visualizations and the targeted concepts. Findings presented here are derived from formative research conducted to inform the development of a game and associated classroom materials that address genetics and heredity. The paper discusses how teachers in our sample typically teach this material in seventh grade, student expressions of common misconceptions about genetics and heredity, and how an initial design for the game responds to and addresses those misconceptions. Students' misconceptions were associated with the concepts of randomness of inheritance, gene expression, and natural selection.


OBJECTIVE
The increasing use of primary gamma-knife radiosurgery (GKS) for the treatment of vestibular schwannoma (VS) has led to a concomitant increase in the number of patients requiring salvage surgery for GKS failure. When patients underwent GKS as the primary treatment, it is known that dissecting tumor from adjacent nerves during salvage surgery is more difficult. In this report, we share our clinical experience with such patients and analyze the clinical findings of patients with tumor regrowth/recurrence.

STUDY DESIGN
Retrospective chart review.

SETTING
Tertiary center.

PATIENTS
Nine patients who underwent salvage surgery for VS regrowth/recurrence after GKS or microsurgery were enrolled.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Symptom progression, radiological changes, intraoperative findings, and surgical outcomes were evaluated and compared.

RESULTS
Six patients with previous GKS and three with previous microsurgery underwent salvage microsurgery. The most obvious symptom of tumor regrowth was aggravation of hearing loss. Salvage surgery in all patients was limited to subtotal or near-total resection via a translabyrinthine/transotic approach. Severe adhesion, thickening, and fibrosis were more prominent findings in the GKS than in the previous microsurgery group. Dissection of the tumor from the facial nerve was more difficult in the GKS than in the microsurgery patients. Despite anatomical preservation of the facial nerve in all the six patients, three in the GKS group, but none in the revision microsurgery group, had worsening of facial nerve function.

CONCLUSION
Salvage microsurgery of VS after failed GKS is more difficult than revision microsurgery, and the facial nerve outcomes are relatively poor. Therefore, the primary method of VS treatment should be carefully chosen. Additional imaging studies are recommended in patients with a sudden change in hearing loss who underwent GKS.


Although the market for biometric technologies is expanding, the existing biometric systems present still some issues that the research community has to address. In particular,
in adverse environmental conditions (e.g., low quality biometric signals), where the error rates increase, it is necessary to create more robust and dependable systems. In the literature on biometrics, the integration of multiple biometric sources has been successfully used to improve the recognition accuracy of the unimodal biometric systems. Multibiometric
systems, by exploiting more information, such as different biometric traits, multiple
samples, multiple algorithms, make more reliable the biometric authentication. Benefits of multibiometrics depend on the diversity among the component matchers and also, on the competence of each one of them. In non-controlled conditions of data acquisition, there is a degradation of biometric signal quality that often causes a significant deterioration of recognition performance. It is intuitive the concept that, the classifier having the higher quality is more credible than a classifier operating on noisy data. Then, researchers started to propose quality-based fusion schemes, where the quality measures of the samples have
been incorporated in the fusion to improve performance. Another promising direction in multibiometrics is to estimate the decision reliability of the component modality matcher based on the matcher output itself. An interesting open research issue concerns how to estimate the decision reliability and how to exploit this information in a fusion scheme.
From a security perspective, a multimodal system appears more protected than its unimodal components, since spoofing two or more modalities is harder than spoofing only one.
However, since a multimodal system involves different biometric traits, it offers a higher number of vulnerable points that may be attacked by a hacker who may choice to fake only a subset of them. Recently, researchers investigated if a multimodal system can be deceived by spoofing only a subset but not all the fused modalities. The goal of this thesis is to improve the performance of the existing integration mechanisms in presence of degraded
data and their security in presence of spoof attacks. Our contribution concerns three important issues: 1) Reducing verification errors of a fusion scheme at score level based on the statistical Likelihood Ratio test, by adopting a sequential test and, when the number of training samples is limited, a voting strategy. 2) Addressing the problem of identification errors, by setting up a predictor of errors. The proposed predictor exploits ranks and scores generated by the identification operation and can be effectively applied in a multimodal scenario. 3) Improving the security of the existing multibiometric systems against spoof attacks which involve some but not all the fused modalities. Firstly, we showed that in such a real scenario performance of the system dramatically decrease. Then, for the fingerprint modality, we proposed a novel liveness detection algorithm which combines perspirationand morphology-based static features. Finally, we demonstrated that, by incorporating our algorithm in the fusion scheme, the multimodal system results robust in presence of spoof
attacks.


Flexible manufacturing system (FMS) has been introduced by the researchers as an
integrated manufacturing environment. Automated guided vehicles (AGVs)
introduced as the main tool of material handling systems in FMS. While the
scheduling of AGVs and machines are highly related; simultaneous scheduling of
machines and AGVs has been proposed in the literature. Genetic algorithm (GA)
proposed as a robust tool for optimization of scheduling problems. Setting the proper
crossover and mutation rates are of vital importance for the performance of the GA.
Fuzzy logic controllers (FLCs) have been used in the literature to control key
parameters of the GA which is addressed as fuzzy GA (FGA). A new application of
FGA method in simultaneous scheduling of AGVs and machines is presented. The
general GA is modified for the aforementioned application; more over an FLC is
developed to control mutation and crossover rates of the GA. The objective of
proposed FGA method is to minimize the makespan, production completion time of all jobs that they are produced simultaneously. An optimal sequence of operations is
obtained by GA. There is a heuristic algorithm to assign the AGVs to the operations.
As the main findings, the performance of GA in simultaneous scheduling of AGVs
and machines is enhanced by using proposed method, furthermore a new mutation
operator has been proposed. Several experiments have been done to the proposed test
cases. The results showed that tournament selection scheme may outperform roulette
wheel in this problem. Various combinations of population size and number of
generations are compared to each other in terms of their objective function. In large
scale problems FGA method may outperforms GA method, while in small and
medium problems they have the same performance. The fluctuation of obtained
makespan in FGA method is less than GA method which means that it is more
probable to find a better solution by FGA rather than GA.


The purpose of the present paper is primarily methodological. It provides evidence that a research question investigated in a corpus can produce different results according to the software adopted, queries the comparability of the results, and shows that the whole picture is more than one piece of software can reveal. The field of research is a corpus of Letters to Shareholders referring to 2008, the year the current financial crisis began, compared to identically constructed corpora from the same companies, referring to 2006 and 2010. The paper argues that the macro analysis of key words and key semantic domains needs to be complemented by close phraseological analyses, since it is in the phraseology of the texts that the nuances of a message are to be found.


This paper explores the relationship between unemployment (U) and job vacancies (V) in the Singapore labour market. Empirical analysis using the framework of the UV Curve (also known as the Beveridge Curve) indicates that Singapores labour market appears to have improved in its matching efficiency as compared to other East-Asian countries. However, detailed study of Beveridge Curve for the Singapore economy reveals that it has become more inelastic since the Asian crisis, thereby suggesting that the labour market is less responsive in recent years. This might suggest the possibility that employers are now more cautious and selective in their employment decisions.


This article is an introduction to the work of electronic sound artist Scanner, which explores the place of memory, the cityscape and the relationship between the public and the private within contemporary sound art. Beginning with a historical look at his CD releases a decade ago, the article explores his move from his cellular phone works to his more collaborative digital projects in recent times. With descriptions of several significant performance works, public art commissions and film soundtrack work, the piece explores the resonances and meanings with the ever-changing digital landscape of a contemporary sound artist.


corporate entrepreneurship is one tool for established companies to strengthen their capabilities for strategic renewal and innovativeness. The question, however, which factors are influencing the success of a corporate entrepreneurship initiative requires further attention. The corporate entrepreneur who is acting as both the leader of embedded entrepreneurial teams and linking pin to the corporate, is providing one possible perspective. Based on 6 interviews conducted in 6 German organizations this study contributes to the understanding of the role of the corporate entrepreneur and how this role can be distinguished from other roles in the context of innovation.


Alcohol is not only big business. It is an essential part of social relations in so many cultures that its global importance may be outdistancing its critics. What does sake tell us about Japan or burgundy about France? How does consuming or indeed abstaining from alcohol tie in with self-presentation, ethnicity, class and culture? How important is alcohol to feelings of belonging and notions of resistance? Answering these intriguing questions and many more, this timely book looks at the meanings of alcohol consumption across cultures. Contributors look at the interplay of culture and power in bars and pubs, the significance of advertising symbols, the role of drink in day-to-day rituals and much more. The result is the first sustained, cross-cultural study of the profound impact alcohol has on national identity throughout the world today.


In every federal civil case, a defendant must raise its affirmative defenses in the pleading that responds to a plaintiff's complaint. According to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(c), failure to properly plead, for example, a statute of limitations defense, waives the defense for good. Rule 8(c) does not exempt any category of affirmative defense, nor does it forgive unintentional omissions of certain defenses. It also does not prefer governmental defendants to others. Yet in habeas corpus cases, the most significant affirmative defenses to habeas petitions need not comply with Rule 8(c). Instead, federal courts may raise the affirmative defenses of statute of limitations, exhaustion of state remedies, procedural default and nonretroactivity sua sponte even if the defense would otherwise be waived pursuant to Rule 8(c). This Article contends that habeas litigation is the worst place to grant State respondents any sort of procedural favor. Habeas cases implicate criminal convictions that are fundamentally unfair. And habeas petitioners need all the help they can get--since the passage of *179 the 1996 Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA), the odds of winning habeas relief are akin to the odds of winning the lottery. After examining the history of affirmative defenses, the Article next describes the purpose behind Rule 8(c) and argues that the rule was meant to be strictly applied. It next explains how federal courts' willingness to take sua sponte action on behalf of habeas respondents violates both the spirit and the letter of Rule 8(c). It further argues that the Supreme Court's reliance on comity and other policy-based justifications do not suffice to overcome the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which apply without regard to what sort of case is being heard. In light of the curtailed substantive paths to habeas relief, it also contends that habeas cases are the worst candidates for aggressive sua sponte advocacy that revives affirmative defenses at the expense of those imprisoned unfairly. With respect to Rule 8(c), habeas respondents should be treated similarly to, not differently from, every other civil defendant. The Article concludes that assisting respondents with sua sponte action in habeas cases conflicts with the purpose of an adversarial system by giving an unfair advantage to defendants who need it the least.


Carnival performances and their political implications underwent
significant transformations in nineteenth- and twentieth-century
Guinea-Bissau, West Africa. By focusing on two periods of colonization,
this article examines carnival as an event that involves a multitude
of meanings and forms of imitation that could imply resistance to
colonialism, but were by no means limited to critique and upheaval.
Colonizers, colonized, and the people mediating and situated between
these overarching categories could ascribe various meanings to specific
performances, thereby underlining the multi-dimensional character of
carnivalesque rituals and their heterogeneous significations. In these
performances, mimicking the colonizers was an active, creative, and
ambiguous undertaking that repeatedly and increasingly challenged
colonial representation. However, the colonial state proved to be far less
controlling and totalizing than is often assumed.


In this Essay, I will illustrate how I experience a spiritual life as a human being, how language is limited to transmit or transfer this experience and yet, once imparted to the human being, it plays a relevant role to either support or interfere with the awareness of a spiritual dimension in human life. I will also show how some of the recent findings in Cognitive Science are clarifying what it means to be spiritually aware in relationship to body functioning, and human creative capacities and how they relate to my own experience.


This thesis studies movement operations in natural languages. It is observed that certain heads – C° , v°, and, in most languages, P° – cannot be stranded; the complements of these heads never move without pied-piping the heads in question. This is surprising since (a) extraction out of CP, vP, and PP is possible in principle and (b) the complement categories of these heads, TP, VP, and DP or PP, are movable. Evidence for the more contentious of these claims is provided in chapters 3 and 4. Chapter 4 also investigates the ramifications of these facts for theories of adposition stranding. All heads in question have independently been argued to project what Chomsky (2000) calls 'phases'. The generalization is that phase heads cannot be stranded. Chapter 2 derives the ban against stranding phase heads within a derivational model of the grammar. The effect of phases on successive cyclicity is the following: To be licit, movement out of a phase must pass through the specifier position of that phase. The idea of the account is that every step of movement must establish a relation between the moved item and some other element in the phrase marker which is in a well-defined sense closer than the relation they were in prior to movement. Movement from complement to specifier position within the same phrase never achieves this. In fact, any movement within the same phrase is in effect too short to achieve this. There are then well-defined anti-locality effects, which fallout from considerations of local economy. The ban against stranding phase heads now follows. A category can leave its containing phase only by passing through its specifier position. Since complements cannot reach the specifier position in the same phrase, the complements of phase heads cannot move away. Head Movement is prohibited by the same economy based reasoning. Chapter 5 focuses on Head Movement, advocating a version of Brody's (2000) Mirror Theory. In contrast to standard theories of Head Movement, Mirror Theory predicts what looks like downward Head Movement to be possible. Data from VP-ellipsis in English show that this prediction of Mirror Theory is correct.


Three different trajectory schemes for oceanic and atmospheric general circulation models are compared in two different experiments. The theories of the trajectory schemes are presented showing the differential equations they solve and why they are mass conserving. One scheme assumes that the velocity fields are stationary for set intervals of time between saved model outputs and solves the trajectory path from a differential equation only as a function of space, i.e. "stepwise stationary". The second scheme is a special case of the stepwise-stationary scheme, where velocities are assumed constant between general circulation model (GCM) outputs; it uses hence a "fixed GCM time step". The third scheme uses a continuous linear interpolation of the fields in time and solves the trajectory path from a differential equation as a function of both space and time, i.e. a "timedependent" scheme. The trajectory schemes are tested "offline", i.e. using the already integrated and stored velocity fields from a GCM. The first comparison of the schemes uses trajectories calculated using the velocity fields from a high-resolution ocean general circulation model in the Agulhas region. The second comparison uses trajectories calculated using the wind fields from an atmospheric reanalysis. The study shows that using the time-dependent scheme over the stepwise-stationary scheme greatly improves accuracy with only a small increase in computational time. It is also found that with decreasing time steps the stepwisestationary scheme becomes increasingly more accurate but at increased computational cost. The time-dependent scheme is therefore preferred over the stepwise-stationary scheme. However, when averaging over large ensembles of trajectories, the two schemes are comparable, as intrinsic variability dominates over numerical errors. The fixed GCM time step scheme is found to be less accurate than the stepwisestationary scheme, even when considering averages over large ensembles.


Ack/Ack1 is a nonreceptor protein tyrosine kinase that comprises a tyrosine kinase core, an SH3 domain, a Cdc42-binding region, a Ralt homology region, and a proline-rich region. Here we describe a detailed characterization of the Ack protein as well as the chromosomal localization of human Ack (chromosome 3q29) and the primary structure of murine Ack. We demonstrate that Ack is ubiquitously expressed, with highest expression seen in thymus, spleen, and brain. Activation of integrins by cell adhesion on fibronectin leads to strong tyrosine phosphorylation and activation of Ack. Upon cell stimulation with EGF or PDGF, Ack is tyrosine-phosphorylated and recruited to activated EGF or PDGF receptors, respectively. A pool of endogenous Ack molecules is constitutively tyrosine-phosphorylated, even in starved cells. Moreover, tyrosine-phosphorylated Ack forms a stable complex with the adapter protein Nck via its SH2 domain. Finally, we have characterized a membrane-targeting sterile alpha motif-like domain in the amino terminus of Ack. Using several Ack mutants, we show that the amino-terminal and CRIB domains are necessary for Ack autophosphorylation, whereas the SH3 domain appears to have an autoinhibitory role. These experiments suggest a functional role for Ack as an early transducer of multiple extracellular stimuli.


Ongoing occurrence of elevated levels of lead in bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) following the ban on lead shot for waterfowl hunting led us to hypothesize that spent lead from ammunition, which is present in fi eld residues of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), represented a source of lead exposure in eagles. We conducted a case-control study using data from 1,277 bald eagles admitted for rehabilitation from January 1996 through December 2009. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to predict the odds of elevated lead levels using admission date in relation to deer hunting season, recovery location in relation to deer hunting zones, and age as predictors. We also assessed mean liver copper concentrations from eagles with elevated lead levels and from eagles with background lead levels, because most high velocity rifl e bullets that are used for deer hunting are jacketed in copper. We found 334 bald eagles with elevated lead levels out of 1,277 bald eagles we examined. We detected signifi cantly increased odds for elevated lead levels based on season (late fall and early winter), deer hunting rifl e zone, and age (adult birds). The mean liver copper concentration was higher (P = 0.02) in eagles with elevated lead levels. These combined results supported our hypothesis that eagles are acquiring lead from hunter-shot deer. Further research is needed to determine whether this exposure to lead is having a population-level impact.


This paper gives a surview on the theories existing today for damping of oscillating solids. The oldest are the purely formal representations of solids by Maxwell or Kelvin elements, today extended to a point where the solid is considered as a parallel wiring of such elements with a finite or infinite number of different relaxation times. From a physical point of view it must be distinguished between damping effects depending on the shape of the oscillating solids like damping by macroscopic heat currents and such effects due to the oscillating matter alone. For these latter Prandtl has elaborated a theory starting from the fact that matter consists of molecules; this theory has been extended and brought into a shape clearer from a mathematical point of view by Eyring. It includes as special cases damping independent of frequency and the true relaxation phenomena of which the most important are discussed.


NQO1 (NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase-1) is a cytosolic flavoprotein that catalyses the two-electron reduction of endogenous and environmental quinones. NQO1 plays a prominent role in protecting cells from the toxic effects of quinones, oxidative stress and more recently, the stabilisation of p53. Paradoxically, NQO1 is a target for anti-cancer drug development as reduction of certain quinones can generate cytotoxic species. Polymorphic variants of NQO1 have been characterised, two of which are known to cause a significant reduction in NQO1 protein (609C>T and 465C>T termed NQO1*2 and NQO1*3,respectively). The incidence of the NQO1*2 allele is high in certain ethnic groups and the loss of NQO1 activity has potential implications for both the cancer susceptibility and the efficacy of quinone based anticancer drugs. Toxicity following exposure to benzene increases with lowered NQO1 activity and epidemiological evidence suggests that NQO1*2 is associated with an increased risk of developing certain types of cancer. Mitomycin C (MMC) is the major quinone based compound in routine clinical use and initial reports of reduced MMC efficacy in patients with the NQO1*2 allele are emerging. However, the role of NQO1 in metabolising MMC is complex and the relationship between NQO1 activity and response is controversial. It therefore remains to be determined whether NQO1 genotyping will significantly influence clinical decision making with respect to MMC therapy. Genotyping for NQO1 polymorphisms is however likely to play a significant role in the development and evaluation of other quinone based bioreductive drugs where NQO1 plays a more prominent role in drug activation.


Topography and vegetation play a major role in sub-pixel variability of Arctic snowpack properties but are not considered in current passive microwave (PMW) satellite SWE retrievals. Simulation of sub-pixel variability of snow properties is also problematic when downscaling snow and climate models. In this study, we simplified observed variability of snowpack properties (depth, density, microstructure) in a two-layer model with mean values and distributions of two multi-year tundra dataset so they could be incorporated in SWE retrieval schemes. Spatial variation of snow depth was parameterized by a log-normal distribution with mean (μsd) values and coefficients of variation (CVsd). Snow depth variability (CVsd) was found to increase as a function of the area measured by a remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS). Distributions of snow specific surface area (SSA) and density were found for the wind slab (WS) and depth hoar (DH) layers. The mean depth hoar fraction (DHF) was found to be higher in Trail Valley Creek (TVC) than in Cambridge Bay (CB), where TVC is at a lower latitude with a subarctic shrub tundra compared to CB, which is a graminoid tundra. DHFs were fitted with a Gaussian process and predicted from snow depth. Simulations of brightness temperatures using the Snow Microwave Radiative Transfer (SMRT) model incorporating snow depth and DHF variation were evaluated with measurements from the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager and Sounder (SSMIS) sensor. Variation in snow depth (CVsd) is proposed as an effective parameter to account for sub-pixel variability in PMW emission, improving simulation by 8 K. SMRT simulations using a CVsd of 0.9 best matched CVsd observations from spatial datasets for areas> 3 km2, which is comparable to the 3.125 km pixel size of the Equal-Area Scalable Earth (EASE)-Grid 2.0 enhanced resolution at 37 GHz.


The objective of this study is to examine the relationship between brand awareness, attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control and purchase intention towards halal cosmetics among Muslim women in Indonesia. The questionnaires were distributed to 304 Muslim women at Medan, Banda Aceh, and DKI Jakarta within end of January until early February 2019. To investigate the relationships between factors; the structural equation modelling (SEM-PLS) version 2.0 was used to analysed the data. The finding of this study has found that two components of TPB (attitude, perceived behavioural control) and brand awareness are positively related with purchase intention towards halal cosmetics, while subjective norm is found to be insignificant. The result shows that positive attitude is the most important factor to increase consumer purchase intention toward halal cosmetics. The result of this study provides information to cosmetics' firm that Muslim women with high brand awareness, attitude and perceived behavioral control will have high purchase intention toward halal cosmetic products. The findings of this study contribute valuable information to scholars, policy makers and firms in order to understand Muslim customers in Indonesia. Research paper  Keywords: Corporate Governance, Firm Values, Firm Size, Gender, Tobin Q, Board Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Kamalul Ariffin, S., Fadhilah Azra, W., Abdul Wahid, N., & Yen Nee, G. (2019). Investigating the Factors Affecting Purchase Intention of Muslim Women Towards Halal Cosmetics, Journal of Entrepreneurship, Business and Economics , 7 (2s), 78–105.


This thesis describes investigations into the optical and structural properties of strained-layer superlattices. The purpose of the work was twofold: to establish the merits of strained-layer structures in applications, particularly to optoelectronics; and to examine structural characteristics of superlattices in which the lattice-mismatch between adjacent layers is large. Optical properties of CdTe/ZnTe superlattices have been examined through photoluminescence experiments. Observed band gaps have been compared with those expected from calculations of electronic band structure, including effects that are due to strain. Band gaps of a variety of II-VI superlattices have been calculated based on the agreement between theory and experiment in the CdTe/ZnTe system. The accommodation of lattice mismatch has been investigated for CdTe/ZnTe and Ge0.5Si0.5/Si superlattices. The assumptions behind traditional single-film critical thicknesses and their extensions to multilayer structures were of particular interest in these studies.

In Chapter 2 we use photoluminescence experiments to examine the optical properties of CdTe/ZnTe superlattices grown on a variety of CdxZn1-xTe buffer layers. The work was motivated by interest in wide-band-gap II-VI's as possible visible light emitters and detectors and, more generally, by interest in the effects of strain and dislocations on the optical properties of strained-layer superlattices. Photoluminescence from the superlattices is observed to be several orders of magnitude more intense than from a Cd0.37Zn0.63Te alloy. Spectra are dominated by Gaussian distributions of excitonic lines. The 20-30meV widths of these distributions show that superlattice layer thicknesses were controlled to approximately one monolayer. Identifying the superlattice band gaps as the high-energy edges of the observed excitonic luminescence yields sample energy gaps substantially lower than expected for alloys. Observed gaps are in excellent agreement with those calculated from a [k • p] model, assuming strain appropriate to a free-standing structure. This configuration is one in which dislocations at the superlattice/buffer-layer interface have redistributed strain within an otherwise dislocation-free superlattice in manner that minimizes the elastic strain energy within the structure. The free-standing configuration is argued to be plausible in view of calculated critical thicknesses and strain relaxation rates. Calculations of the effects of a free-standing strain on the electronic band structure of CdTe/ZnTe superlattices show that strain can substantially reduce band gaps (on the order of 100meV for a 6% mismatch), and causes transitions from type-I to type-II band alignments. Attempts to observe laser oscillation in these CdTe/ZnTe superlattice structures have proven unsuccessful to date, although Cd0.25Zn0.75Te/ZnTe structures have recently been reported to lase.

Chapter 3 describes a structural study of the CdTe/ZnTe superlattices examined in Chapter 2. Strain fields and dislocation densities are inferred from x-ray diffraction, in situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). All of our samples are observed to exceed the critical thickness for the nucleation of misfit-accommodating dislocations. Although each of the structures appears to be highly defective, the free-standing limit appears to be plausible, as defect densities drop substantially within a micron of the superlattice/buffer-layer interface, regardless of the buffer layer used. Although several samples substantially exceed predicted critical thicknesses, the sample that shows the smallest degree of residual strain lies below limits derived from a previous empirical study. This result demonstrates that dislocation formation in superlattices is not appropriately characterized by applying traditional critical thickness models to an alloy of equivalent total thickness and average composition. Variations in strain fields appear to be correlated with sample growth conditions. As growth parameters are neglected in traditional energy-balancing models of critical thickness, it is argued that activation barriers associated with the nucleation or glide of dislocations can substantially inhibit the relaxation of strain beyond the equilibrium limits.

In Chapter 4 we demonstrate that the accommodation of lattice mismatch in Ge0.5Si0.5/Si superlattices is highly dependent on the conditions under which a sample is grown. Dislocation densities of 1.5 x 10[5]cm[-1] drop to levels undetectable by TEM (<10[5]cm[-2] as the growth temperature of compositionally identical superlattices is lowered from 530°C to 365°C. Thus, by lowering growth temperatures, it is possible to freeze a structure in a highly strained metastable state well beyond the critical thickness limits calculated by equilibrium theories. There appears to be a large kinetic barrier blocking dislocation nucleation or glide; the effect we observe cannot be explained by mismatched thermal expansion coefficients alone. These results are contrary to initial studies of GexSi1-x alloys, which appear to display critical thicknesses relatively independent of temperature over the ranges described here. Recognizing that defect creation can be inhibited in severely mismatched superlattices should be important in growing heavily strained films of high quality.

Finally, the Appendix contains maps of band gap as a function of layer thicknesses for a variety of II-VI superlattice systems, calculated using the Bastard model described in Chapter 2. Agreement with experiment is good for the CdTe/ZnTe superlattices examined here. As mentioned in Chapter 1, comparison of these calculated gaps with those measured experimentally leads to a prediction of [delta]Ev=1.0 ± 0.1eV for the ZnSe/ZnTe valence band offset.


In this paper our experimental on comparison of supercontinuum (SC) generation based Q-switched Mode-locked (QML) and continuous wave mode-locked (CWML) are demonstrated using a passively mode locked EDFL, which is amplified by an EDFA as a pump source. The QML EDF laser generates a pulse train operating at 1560.5 nm is amplified up to 18 dBm of average power by the EDFA to produce SC ranging from about 1350 nm to 1900 nm. On the other hand, SC generated by CWML operating at 1565, the SC ranging from about less than 1200 nm to 1950 nm, shows a better performance compared to QML.


The article is opened with an account of the state ot the art concerning vocabulary studies within Applied Linguistics in the late 1970s, which shows that experiments in the classroom, i.e. in situ, are the best alternative to formulating and testing hypotheses based on non-existent or unproven theories. One's breadth of option in the matter of experiments in situ is very limited 'indeed (control and manipulation of dependent and inde-pendent variables, and setting up control groups being virtually impossible). An Adequacy study is proposed with the following features: analyses and comparison of (a) curriculum input, and (c) native speaker output. The article goes on to concentrate on (b), i.e. two longitudinal studies and one cross-sectional study of second-year students of English, and is then narrowed down to a report on one of the two longitudinal studies.It is shown that this one student did a great deal of incidental learning. A careful reconstruction of his workbook shows that he was a late bloomer: he had a 96-page personal vocabulary file which at first he hardly put to productive use. Then in the second semester there was a sudden lexical outburst, which proves that it is motivation and dogged determination that lead to lexical resource utilization. Other students' comments ('slogger/ toiler/fanatic') express a dubious attitude to vocabulary learning. This case-study also shows that lexis is part and parcel of communication strategies, a point which is obvious enough, though cheerfully overlooked by too many students. In quantitative and qualitative terms this student is shown to be a very good lexical performer. His output in the 10.000+ Frequency range is superior (percentage-wise), and his versati-lity in the matter of idiomatic English and number of exclusive items is manifest.With specific reference tot the 25-student cross-sectional study the important conclusion is drawn that at university level one has a very long way to go lexically speaking.


The spotlight on Genesis 1-3 : a report on shifts in mind-set and beliefs
The author narrates how his views concerning Gen 1-3 have changed over the past forty years. He enrolled for theological training at the University of Stellenbosch during the seventies of the previous century and had to study the book Hoe lezen wij Genesis 2 en 3? ("How should we read Genesis 2 and 3?"). The book had been written by B. J. Oosterhoff, a Dutch scholar who argued a case for a symbolic reading of the text. Since then the author has become acquainted with the paradigm change in the study of the OT (1880-1900) and he has accepted the view that the biblical documents were written by ordinary human beings whose worldview differs radically from people living in the 21st century. His understanding of Gen 1-3 has changed accordingly and he has taken leave of the grand narrative of Christianity, which can be summarized as Fall-Redemption-Judgement. Genesis 1-3 does not concern a perfect creation and a Fall from grace. It consists of two creation myths that reflect the ancient Israelites' understanding of their world and what it entails to be a human being. If scholars keep this in mind a stalemate between science and religion may be prevented and theology may even be able to contribute to the discussions concerning the current ecological crisis.


Considerable effort has been directed towards the development of tools for the inherently complex task of software programming. One method to assist a programmer is to integrate several language specific tools into one intgrated language oriented environment; a execution. We propose a uniform specification framework for the generation of language-oriented environments for visual programming languages. Visual programming languages are specified by their abstract syntax, concrete syntax, static and dynamic semantics as well as edit semantics. In this paper , we introduce an extension to attribute grammars: attributed graph-link grammars (AGLGs). In an AGLG, non-local productions define graph-links, and graph-link attributes define non-local attribute dependencies. We also present a visualization model for AGLG's where the visualization process is regarded as a composition of mappings from attribute values to colors on a viewing surface. Further, a specialization of structural operational semantics is developed which is espesially tuned for the dynamic semantics of visual language.


This Research work explores the effective teaching method using a single case study design and produces a plenty of information about students requirements, teachers recommendations and some teaching methods and learning styles .The resulting analysis provides a complete teaching method that may develop teacher student learning interface as well as may satisfy both student's requirements and the recommendations of teacher. The analysis also specifies the component essential to develop the relationship between teacher and students as well as the learning environment. In this analysis at first some literature review is done to know the aspects of teaching and learning methods and also different types of teaching and learning methods. From this it is easy to understand what should be the focus of learning and the strategy that can help students to empower themselves with their own thinking power .Then the survey is done among 250 students of Rajshahi University of Engineering and Technology to know the students requirements and teachers recommendation is also brought from the discussion with the teachers of this institute. After that according to the students requirements and teachers recommendation the candidates of teaching method is selected. And finally the Fuzzy Topsis Set Theory is applied to find out the effective teaching method which satisfies the student requirements. The characteristics and advantages are also mentioned which are able to alleviate the gaps that exist in the previous teaching methods.


A fabrication process of dense arrays of one‐dimensional diamond nanostructures (diamond nanopillars) integrated on nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) membranes is implemented with an etched‐through marker hole in the membrane in the center of the array. NCD films deposited on silicon substrates are used as starting material. The main fabrication steps consist of structuring the NCD film by electron beam lithography (EBL) applying aluminum as a hard mask and subsequent inductively coupled O2 plasma reactive ion etching (ICP RIE), followed by structuring of the silicon substrate from the backside to open a NCD membrane. The developed fabrication procedure for nanostructured membranes can be transferred to monocrystalline diamond and implemented for deterministic single ion implantation into the nanopillars for generation of nitrogen‐vacancy (NV) or silicon‐vacancy (SiV) centers. For this purpose, the etched marker hole can be applied for alignment in the implantation process. Such diamond nanostructures with integrated color centers could play an important role in the development of novel quantum memory devices.


From a typological perspective, Chinese meteorological expressions are argument-oriented. However, using a lexical semantic approach, based on corpus data as well as dictionaries and Chinese WordNet, a taxonomical lexical field can be established to further analyze the basic level items. Five main clusters of meteorological expressions are identified: precipitation, wind, thunder, sunshine and cloud. A comparison of these clusters with frames derived from the English FrameNet shows that Chinese has a narrower conception of weather phenomena than English. There is significant influence from the script on the linguistic system, at least in relation to meteorological expressions. It is shown that Chinese uses iconicity in its writing system where it is lacking in its phonology. A special case study are weather-related ideophones, where two strata are found: those that are phonologically and semantically motivated and receive iconic support from the writing system vs. those that do not receive this support.


For what purposes are public libraries established? Who do the founders intend to reach with the activities of the libraries? How does the question of goals of public library work develop over time? These are important questions to analyse but first we have to demarcate. The paper treats public libraries and their forerunners in Sweden. The focus is on class and libraries and especially workers and libraries. Three phases are studied. The first is the founding phase of the modern public libraries in Sweden. What was the opinion about the existing popular libraries at that time and how was the discussion about developing the libraries to modern public libraries related to the question of workers and libraries? The second phase is the establishing of libraries within the labour movement during mainly the first half of the 20th century. What can explain the swift development of these workers' libraries and why did they finally get absorbed into the library organisations of the municipalities? The third phase is the last quarter of the 20th century. This period started with a rapid expansion of outreach activities. One of them was books at places of work. The intention of the service was to reach workers, who used the public library in only a limited way. What happened with that service later on? This is analysed in relation to the development in society and especially within the public library sector.


Stochastic programming and robust optimization are disciplines concerned with optimal decision-making under uncertainty over time. Traditional models and solution algorithms have been tailored to problems where the order in which the uncertainties unfold is independent of the controller actions. Nevertheless, in numerous real-world decision problems, the time of information discovery can be influenced by the decision maker, and uncertainties only become observable following an (often costly) investment. Such problems can be formulated as mixed-binary multi-stage stochastic programs with decision-dependent non-anticipativity constraints. Unfortunately, these problems are severely computationally intractable. We propose an approximation scheme for multi-stage problems with decision-dependent information discovery which is based on techniques commonly used in modern robust optimization. In particular, we obtain a conservative approximation in the form of a mixed-binary linear program by restricting the spaces of measurable binary and real-valued decision rules to those that are representable as piecewise constant and linear functions of the uncertain parameters, respectively. We assess our approach on a problem of infrastructure and production planning in offshore oil fields from the literature.


The use of implants to replace congenitally missing teeth is a-predictable esthetic Solution that is, paradoxically less invasive than the traditional reliance on bridges to supply the missing elements because it demands little or no sacrifice of dental tissue. But this noble goal cannot be achieved unless we can assure prospective patients that the results will be stable and esthetically satisfying over the long term. This is an issue of primordial importance in view of the tender age of the patients that are the usual candidates for this treatment modality for agenesis. And no such assurance can be proffered unless we deal with the problem in a multi-disciplinary fashion from the very outset of treatment planning. We must evaluate the space needed for a replacement not just from the standpoint of the prosthetic requirements alone but also with an assessment of the associated osseous and gingival tissues in the framework of a tri-dimensional implant placement.


Orientation: Job characteristics (consisting of job demands and job resources) have an impact on burnout. However, it is unclear whether recovery strategies might influence this relationship amongst staff members at a tertiary education institution in South Africa. Research purpose: The primary objective of this study was to determine whether recovery strategies influence and moderate the relationship between job demands, job resources and burnout. Motivation for the study: Recovery strategies may influence and buffer the negative effects of job demands on burnout and may influence and enhance the positive influence of job resources on burnout. Research approach, design and method: Cross-sectional data was collected amongst employees at a tertiary education institution ( N = 366). Main findings: The results of the structural equation modelling revealed significant positive relationships between work pressure, emotional demands and a lack of social support with burnout. Also, work pressure was related to all four recovery strategies and different job resources were associated with different recovery strategies. Finally, mastery experiences were the only recovery strategy that significantly predicted burnout. Practical/managerial implications: Employees are encouraged to engage in recovery strategies that will reduce their burnout levels, especially mastery experiences. Contribution/value-add: This study adds to the body of literature on effort recovery in South Africa. Very little empirical research has been done in South Africa regarding the use and benefits of different recovery strategies. Recommendations for future research are made.


The species composition of the understory can be a key indicator of successional trajectories in the absence of disturbance at forested sites. We surveyed species composition and percent cover in the understory of 132 closed-canopy stands of 41 woody weed species throughout New Zealand as a first step in understanding potential successional trajectories in these weed populations. Twenty-seven weed species had zero, or very few, conspecific seedlings or saplings present beneath their own canopy. Fourteen weed species had medium to high numbers of conspecific seedlings and/or saplings present. Some weed species had variable understory regeneration, with high numbers of conspecific seedlings and saplings present at some sites, but none at others. Twenty-eight weed species had native understory cover of ≥ 50% at one or more sites. Native understory cover was higher at sites close to remnants of native vegetation compared to sites distant from native vegetation. Overall, many more native than non-native species were present in woody weed understories. Melicytus ramiflorus (māhoe) was the most common native species, present at 67% of sites. At least 76 other native species were recorded at five or more sites. Our results demonstrate that (1) woody weed species vary in the extent to which they regenerate under their own canopy, and (2) closed canopy woody weed stands frequently have a predominantly native understory. Further research to determine whether the composition of the understory can be used to predict successional trajectories in woody weed populations would be valuable.


There is a big difference between Chinese and English. There are quite a few studies on the neural mechanism of Chinese developmental dyslexia. As the reading process is inseparable from working memory, inhibition, and other higher cognitive processes, the deep cognitive processing defects that are associated with dyslexia may be due to defective distraction inhibition systems. We used event-related potential technology to explore the source of negative priming effects in children with developmental dyslexia and in a group of healthy children for comparison. These results indicate that there are deficits in distraction inhibition in children with developmental dyslexia. In terms of the time course of processing, inhibition deficits in the dyslexia group appeared during early-stage cognition selection and lasted through the response selection phase. The results of our study may help further our understanding of the intrinsic causes of developmental dyslexia.


Abstract  We compared bottle traps to 4-unit multiple-funnel traps (both baited with ethanol and conophthorin) for relative efficacy in catching ambrosia beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) at four locations in the eastern United States. Our results were geographically inconsistent for three target species. Catches of Xylosandrus germanus (Blandford) in Ohio were greater in bottle traps than in funnel traps while the opposite occurred in Virginia, with no difference in Indiana. Catches of Xyleborinus saxesenii (Ratzeburg) were greater in funnel traps than in bottle traps in Georgia, Indiana, and Virginia but no different in Ohio. Similarly, catches of Xylosandrus crassiusculus (Motschulsky) were greater in funnel traps than in bottle traps in Georgia and Virginia but not in Indiana. Bottle traps caught more Anisandrus maiche Stark in Ohio and Anisandrus sayi (Hopkins) in Indiana whereas more of the following species were caught in funnel traps: Ambrosiophilus atratus (Eichhoff) in Virginia, Cyclorhipidion bodoanum (Reitter) and Dryoxylon onoharaense (Murayama) in Georgia, Euwallacea validus (Eichhoff) in Ohio, and Cyclorhipidion pelliculosum (Eichhoff) and Monarthrum fasciatum (Say) in Indiana. Catches of Cnestus mutilatus (Blandford) in Georgia and Monarthrum mali (Fitch) in Indiana were unaffected by trap type. Differences in trap height, bottle size, and forest composition may have contributed to between-site variability in trap type preferences, thereby requiring further research to resolve these issues.


Background: Clinical pathology laboratories increasingly use complex instruments that incorporate chromatographic separation, e.g. liquid chromatography, with mass detection for rapid identification and quantification of biochemicals, biomolecules, or pharmaceuticals. Electronic data management for these instruments through interfaces with laboratory information systems (LIS) is not generally available from the instrument manufacturers or LIS vendors. Unavailability of a data management interface is a limiting factor in the use of these instruments in clinical laboratories where there is a demand for high-throughput assays with turn-around times that meet patient care needs. Materials and Methods: Professional society guidelines for design and transfer of data between instruments and LIS were used in the development and implementation of the interface. File transfer protocols and support utilities were written to facilitate transfer of information between the instruments and the LIS. An interface was created for liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectroscopy and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy instruments to manage data in the Sunquest® LIS. Results: Interface validation, implementation and data transfer fidelity as well as training of technologists for use of the interface was performed by the LIS group. The technologists were familiarized with the data verification process as a part of the data management protocol. The total time for the technologists for patient/control sample data entry, assay results data transfer, and results verification was reduced from approximately 20 s per sample to <1 s per sample. Sample identification, results data entry errors, and omissions were eliminated. There was electronic record of the technologist performing the assay runs and data management. Conclusions: Development of a data management interface for complex, chromatography instruments in clinical laboratories has resulted in rapid, accurate, verifiable information transfers between instruments and LIS. This has eliminated manual data entry that is prone to errors and enabled technologists to focus on analytical applications on the instruments.


The aim of this study is to determine the optimum stock level in the forest. In this research, a goal programming method was used to estimate the optimal stock level of different tree species considering environmental, economic and social issues. We consider multiple objectives in the process of decision-making to maximize carbon sequestration, net present value and labour. We used regression analysis to make a forest growth model and allometric functions for the quantification of carbon budget. Expected mean price is estimated using wood price and variable harvesting costs to determine the net present value of forest harvesting. The fuzzy analytic hierarchy process is applied to determine the weights of goals using questionnaires filled in by experts in order to generate the optimal stock level. According to the results of integrated goal programming approach and fuzzy analytic hierarchy processes, optimal volume for each species was calculated. The findings indicate that environmental, economic and social outcomes can be achieved in a multi-objective forestry program for the future forest management plans.


In the past few decades, the petroleum industry has seen great exploration successes in petroliferous sedimentary basins worldwide; however, the net volume of hydrocarbons discovered each year has been declining since the late 1970s, and the number of new field discoveries per year has dropped since the early 1990s. We are finding hydrocarbons in more difficult places and in more subtle traps. Although geophysical and engineering technologies are crucial to much of the exploration success, fundamentally, the success is dependent on innovative play concepts associated with spatial and temporal relationships among deformation, deposition, and hydrocarbon accumulation. Unraveling the dynamic interplay among tectonics, sedimentation, and petroleum systems in the subsurface is a challenge and relies on an integrated approach that combines seismic imaging, well logging, physical and/or computational modeling, as well as outcrop analogs. In recent decades, an increasing coverage of high-quality three-dimensional (3-D) seismic data, along with state-of-the-art 3-D visualization technologies, extensive well tests, sophisticated modeling capabilities, and field (outcrop) analogs, has significantly added to our understanding of subsurface complexities in structure, stratigraphy, and petroleum systems. This volume is intended to provide a snapshot of the most recent advances in petroleum exploration by presenting state-of-the-art reviews and overviews, current case studies, and the latest modeling results. The reviews and overviews offer the current status of knowledge in extensional, strike-slip, and contractional tectonic settings, as well as their influence on sedimentation and hydrocarbon accumulation. The case studies cover diverse geologic settings, with special reference to the most prolific high-profile frontier sedimentary basins, such as those in west Africa, east Africa, east Brazil, Gulf of Mexico, South China Sea, Russian Arctic, and the Mediterranean Sea. The models provide both numerical and physical simulations of basin structures as well as their spatial variation and temporal evolution in response to different tectonic processes. The objective of this volume is to contribute toward an enhanced understanding of the spatial and temporal relationships among tectonics of different structural styles, syntectonic sedimentation, and hydrocarbon accumulation. Achieving this objective is the key to overcoming the challenges that we face in the exploration for hydrocarbons in complex reservoirs, subtle traps, and in increasingly difficult places at a time of growing global demand for energy.


Assertions of extraterritorial jurisdiction have become increasingly frequent in the 21st century. Although a useful response to transnational crime, such assertions are often highly politicised and used by states to further unilateral foreign policy objectives. Further, some assertions of extraterritoriality undermine the rule of law and do not provide adequate procedural fairness. While principles such as comity and reasonableness may assist in protecting the rights of states, they do not adequately protect the rights of individuals. Therefore, this article argues that extraterritoriality should be treaty-based rather than unilateral, and domestic constitutional guarantees must apply equally to extraterritorial assertions of jurisdiction and territorial assertions. Further, principles to guide exercises of prosecutorial discretion in relation to an assertion of extraterritoriality need to be developed and made available in the form of a model law.


The Hippo pathway inhibits metastasis of breast cancer cells, a role that is stimulated by the LIF receptor and inhibited by miR-9. By decreasing the abundance of the adhesion molecule E-cadherin, the microRNA miR-9 promotes the metastasis of breast carcinoma cells. Chen et al. (see also Piccolo) found that stable expression of miR-9 enabled SUM159 breast cancer cells, which are E-cadherin–negative and normally nonmetastatic, to metastasize in a xenograft tumor model. Gene expression profiling of miR-9–expressing SUM159 cells revealed reduced expression of the gene encoding leukemia inhibitory factor receptor (LIFR), which contained a miR-9–binding site in its 3′ UTR and showed decreased expression in various cancers, including breast cancer. E-cadherin and LIFR were more abundant in nonmetastatic tumor cell lines than in metastatic cell lines. Increasing the abundance of LIFR through ectopic expression in metastatic 4T1 or MDA-MB-231 cells attenuated metastasis of these cells when introduced into mice. Stimulation of the Hippo pathway results in the phosphorylation, nuclear exclusion, and inhibition of the transcriptional coactivator Yap, and LIF-treated 4T1 or MDA-MB-231 cells showed increased phosphorylation of Hippo pathway kinases (which indicates increased activity) and Yap (which indicates inhibition). The membrane-localized pool of the adaptor protein Scribble promotes signaling through the Hippo pathway by acting as a scaffold for Hippo pathway kinases and Yap, and membrane localization of Scribble was increased in 4T1 cells by expression of LIFR and decreased in SUM159 cells by expression of miR-9. Metastasis of SUM159 cells injected into mice was increased by expression of a short hairpin RNA (shRNA) directed against LIFR. The increased metastasis of LIFR shRNA-expressing SUM159 cells was attenuated by coexpression of an shRNA directed against Yap, an effect that was blocked by reexpression of a phosphorylation-deficient mutant of Yap but not wild-type Yap. In various human cancer data sets, LIFR abundance was lower in tumor tissue, including invasive breast cancer, than in normal tissue, and immunohistochemistry revealed that ductal carcinoma in situ and invasive breast carcinoma showed low abundance of LIFR compared with normal mammary tissue. Furthermore, lymph node metastasis in invasive breast cancer inversely correlated with the abundance of LIFR. Retrospective analysis indicated that decreased abundance of LIFR correlated with development of metastases to distant sites or lymph nodes, reduced recurrence, and poorer overall survival. Thus, in addition to its function in limiting cell proliferation and tissue growth, the Hippo pathway also inhibits metastasis, a role that is stimulated by LIFR and inhibited by miR-9. D. Chen, Y. Sun, Y. Wei, P. Zhang, A. H. Rezaeian, J. Teruya-Feldstein, S. Gupta, H. Liang, H.-K. Lin, M.-C. Hung, L. Ma, LIFR is a breast cancer metastasis suppressor upstream of the Hippo-YAP pathway and a prognostic marker. Nat. Med. 18, 1511–1517 (2012). [PubMed] S. Piccolo, LIF-ting Hippo averts metastasis. Nat. Med. 18, 1463–1465 (2012). [PubMed]


The International Encyclopedia of Media Studies brings together over 175 critical essays to redraw the boundaries of this rapidly evolving and dynamically complex area. Global in scope, wide-ranging in its inclusion of topics, and edited by an international team of the world's best scholars, this is the definitive resource for the field. Includes more than 175 essays written by over 200 leading and emerging scholars from across the globe Arranged across 6 thematic volumes edited by an international team of expert scholars Accessible volume introductions provide overviews of key themes The most definitive resource available in this complex, heterogeneous, multi-methodological and multi-theoretical interdisciplinary field Explores media as it is being practiced, produced, and analyzed in Asia, Africa, the Americas, Australia, and Europe All volumes pay close attention to issues of gender and ethnicity so necessary to understanding contemporary media Probes the many dimensions of the subject: history, production, content, audiences, effects, and futures


This paper focuses on the circulation of the Testament of Abraham (TAbr) within its Romanian sociohistorical context in an effort to determine how it is this first-century Alexandrian Jewish narrative found cultural relevance in eighteenth-century Romanian society. Textual analysis shows this Greek apocryphon to have been thoroughly "romanianized," reflecting a high degree of interaction between its narrative and social worlds. TAbr circulated outside the monasteries, suggesting that monks intended this text to be read by members of the literate boier, or noble class, who might find in Abraham the model of an exemplary "noble man" and remember the impoverished populace living on their own estates.


This article presents the effect of laser radiation on the color of ornamental granites used for external cladding. The laboratory experimentation was undertaken on a widely used coarse-grain granite commercially known as Rosa Porrino. The irradiation was carried out with a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser at 1064 nm and several energy densities (fluences) on polished surfaces, dry and wet, uncoated, and artificially coated-simulating a black crust. Laser effects on the granite surface were determined by color measurements with a colorimeter. These measurements made possible to determine probable damage due to laser radiation and the diverse response of different minerals. The analysis of the data also suggests potential causes for the color change and applicability limits of the technique. The a*-parameter, or red–green component, is the most affected, leading to a change in hab (hue) and was interpreted as a result in variations in the Fe compounds, which strongly condition stone color. No significant changes in L* (luminosity or lightness) or Cab* (chroma) may indicate no relevant alterations in the surface polish. When using laser irradiation to remove black layers on granite surfaces, variations of L* can be indicative of the cleaning effectiveness. This research results may be useful to select laser parameters when managing ornamental granite cleaning operations. However, they also suggest the need of further experimentation in specific techniques of analysis as well as different laser wavelengths. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 32, 152 – 159, 2007


This study aims to estimate the economic efficiency of using economic resources to produce broad bean crop with their technical and allocation efficiency . It also aims to do a comparison between the optimum quantities and the actual quantities of used resources. Data were collected through a questionnaire of 20 crop growers in the Al-Qadisiyah province / Al -Badair county during 2017 planting season. This research Using data envelopment analysis in the assessment of economic efficiency and the separation of its components into technical and allocation efficiencies in achieving its objectives. Input oriented models are used under constant and variable Scale returns in the technical efficiency calculation. Variable Scale return is used in allocation efficiency and cost efficiency calculation. capacity efficiency average was 77%, and technical efficiency reached an average of about 81%. This indicates that the sample farmers can achieve the same level of production using 77% of the production resources with maintaining the current level of production. Cost efficiency averaged about 40%, which indicating that the sample bear additional costs of 40%. The research reached many results related to economic efficiency, including the waste of economic resources resulting in cost increases. Therefore, the research recommends to use of production inputs according to the scientifically recommended quantities and ways, especially the quantity of seeds and fertilizers, in line with the crop needs to reach optimum efficiency.


Abstract:Over the past decade, the international backlash against liberal democracy has grown and gathered momentum. Authoritarians have experimented with and refined a number of new tools, practices, and institutions that are meant to shield their regimes from external criticism and to erode the norms that inform and underlie the liberal international political order. These global political changes and systemic shifts have produced new counternorms that privilege state security, civilizational diversity, and traditional values over liberal democracy. The effects of these changes are most visible in the narrower political space that nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are facing, the shifting purposes that regional organizations are embracing, and the rising influence of non-Western powers as international patrons.


ABSTRACT Inclusion is positioned at the forefront of global educational reform. The study reported focused on a national Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme for Inclusive Physical Education (IPE) in England. The research was designed to critically explore how CPD providers (i.e. tutors) variously conceptualised and practiced inclusion in the context of running a day-long CPD course for physical education teachers. Using qualitative methodology, data were collected via course observations (n = 27), informal interviews with tutors (n = 10), and a tutor questionnaire (n = 18). Findings suggest that although tutors' theoretical interpretations of inclusion were largely consistent with contemporary, broad understandings, there was notable variability and inherent tensions in the ways they talked about and enacted inclusion in practice. In many instances, inclusion was infused with particular perceptions about ability and ability grouping. Only a small number of tutors encouraged teachers to question and 'disturb' their current practices. Findings from this research extend insights into the contested nature of inclusion in contemporary PE and highlight the need for research to engage with multiple stakeholders in physical education teaching and CPD. This research reflects that CPD providers have a key role to play in extending teachers' understandings of inclusive pedagogy.


This article deals with several related questions in harmonic analysis which are well understood for non-degenerate curves in ℝn, but poorly understood in the degenerate case. These questions invariably involve a positive 'reference' measure on the curve. In the non-degenerate case the choice of measure is not particularly critical and it is usually taken to be the Euclidean arclength measure. Since the questions considered here are invariant under the group of affine motions (of determinant 1), the correct choice of reference measure is the affine arclength measure. We refer the reader to Guggenheimer [8] for information on affine geometry. When the curve has degeneracies, the choice of measure becomes critical and it is the affine arclength measure which yields the most powerful results. From the Euclidean point of view the affine arclength measure has correspondingly little mass near the degeneracies and thus compensates automatically for the poor behaviour there. This principle should also be valid for general submanifolds of ℝn but alas the affine geometry of submanifolds is itself not well understood in general.


Milner Ball occupies a unique place in American legal thought. Over the decades, in many articles and four books, he has developed a coherent and critical theology of American law. He combines philosophical sophistication with a suspicion of the natural law tradition often invoked by philosophers and theologians in their understandings of law. This essay shows how Ball's contributions in three areas are animated by an underlying vision. The first section focuses on his conversations with Hannah Arendt. He generally agrees with Arendt in her skepticism about natural law and the importance of narrative and, in particular, the narrative of beginnings. On the other hand, he criticizes her account of the American beginning and her conviction that the Biblical tradition is politically irrelevant. The second section discusses Ball's account of the importance of story and theatre in American law, the centrality of finding the right metaphors for understanding law, his emphasis on legal rhetoric and legal practices, and his sharp criticism of the rule of law as the law of rules. The final section of the essay links both his narrative understanding of foundations and his theatrical account of legal procedures to the form of "religionless Christianity" he developed from two of his primary theological sources, Karl Barth and Dietrich Bonhoeffer.


In an increasing number of practical situations, the quality of a process or product can be effectively characterized and summarized by a profile. A profile is usually a functional relationship between a response variable and one or more explanatory variables which can be modeled frequently using linear or nonlinear regression models. In this paper, we study the effect of non-normality on profile monitoring in Phase II when within or between autocorrelation is present. Different levels of autocorrelation and skewed and heavy-tailed symmetric nonnormal distributions are used in our study to evaluate the performance of three existing monitoring schemes numerically. Simulation results indicate that the non-normality and autocorrelation can have a significant effect on the in-control performances of the considered schemes. Results also indicate that the out-of-control performances of the schemes are not very sensitive to low and moderate levels of autocorrelation in moderate and large shifts.


Hollywood---that seller of dreams---has filled our heads with an American-exceptionalism-esque belief that we are entitled, even obligated, to strive and ultimately triumph when we are clearly outmanned, outgunned, and outclassed. Melanie Griffith lands her dream job in Working Girl. The Pretty Woman is rescued by a (metaphorical) knight on a white horse. The nerds of Tri-Lambs get their revenge and defeat the other fraternity. Sure, Rocky, the Bad News Bears, and the Spartans all lose but what we remember is how hard they tried. Hollywood has successfully promulgated the values of having heart and dreaming big, not only for Americans or even the West, but ultimately for everyone.

If we use that cultural framing, maybe some of the things that the design communities are spending time on would make more sense. By "design communities" I'm referring to the software and product people---industrial designers, user experience designers, interaction designers, information architects, content strategists, and what have you. I'll even throw my tribes in there: user researchers, ethnographers, and strategists.

Lately, these folks---us---are taking on audaciously challenging problems. The sexiest endeavors are those tackling the systemic "wicked problems" in government, healthcare, education, homelessness, civic life, and beyond. Of course the genuine passion and compassion is to be commended, but I'm feeling worried. Let me tell you why.


Abstract: Young children from around the world are accessing the internet in ever increasing numbers. The rapid increase in internet activity by children aged 4–5 years in particular is due to the ease access enabled them by touchscreen internet‐enabled tablet technologies. With young children now online, often independently of adult supervision, the need for early childhood cyber‐safety education is becoming urgent. In this paper, we report the early findings from a project aimed at examining the development of cyber‐safety education for young children. We argue that cyber‐safety education for young children cannot be effectively developed without first considering young children's thinking about the internet. In this paper, we use Vygotsky's ideas about the development of mature concepts from the merging of everyday and scientific concepts. We identify the potential range of everyday concepts likely to form the basis of young children's thinking about the internet as a platform for cyber‐safety education in the early years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]


This research aims to enhance the current level of knowledge from supply chain planning (SCP) by analyzing the importance of collaboration, information exchange and a supporting information system in its successful execution. These are examined through a case study from international manufacturing company, which operates in automotive industry with its global manufacturing network. Research reveals that collaboration is a complex and important issue of SCP, and occurs simultaneously in vertical and horizontal dimensions. It is important to select strategic partners and to develop a structured work processes and routines. The main objective of collaboration is to determine common goals and objectives and to facilitate the exchange of information; these together drive the performance of a supply chain higher. A sufficient information system supporting the SCP is vital to facilitate collaboration, and information exchange between the different supply chain participants. However, currently in the case company quite many phases of SCP are completed without appropriate and integrated information systems and the process itself contains several manual phases.


This numerical investigation deals with the capability of unsteady modelling to predict the mixing between the mainstream and the coolant exiting the trailing edge cutback slots in a high pressure turbine nozzle guide vane. The trailing edge cooling features a pressure side cutback with 8 film cooling slots, stiffened by evenly spaced ribs in an inline configuration. Several values of the coolant-to-mainstream mass flow ratio were considered, i.e. MFR = 1.05%, 1.44% and 2%, under incompressible-flow assumption. With a focus on the cases at medium and high MFR, results from the Scale-Adaptive Simulation (SAS) and Detached Eddy Simulation (DES) were compared with experimental measurements including not only cooling effectiveness distributions over the cutback surface but also data from PIV and flow visualizations, with the aim of documenting the inherent instability of the coolant/mainstream flow downstream of the cutback lip. Vortex shedding and cooling effectiveness in the cutback region were reasonably predicted by SAS and DES. However, the simulated thermal coverage at the trailing edge was overestimated for the highest MFR


The purpose of this thesis was threefold – First to investigate the emergence from the existing health system of nurse practitioners as a new occupation. Second to make sense of how nurse practitioners developed as primary care providers in the province of Ontario. Third to understand the nature and development of the intra-professional relationship between primary care nurse practitioners and physicians in local practice settings. I used a case study approach, with both historical (document review) and empirical (ethnography and interview) components. The empirical data was analyzed from an interpretive perspective using thematic analysis. A number of theoretical perspectives were drawn on, including Kingdon's Agendas, Alternatives and Public Policy model, Abbott's Occupational Jurisdiction model, Van de Ven et al's Innovation Journey model, and Closure Theory. The study makes 3 contributions to new knowledge. First it documents the unfolding of events and actions over time, and thus serves as a historical summary. Second it adds an analysis of the case of nurse practitioners as an emergent occupation to the existing body of sociological analyses of professions. Third, it provides insight into how nurse practitioner physician relationships are impacted at the local level because nurse practitioners are obligated to develop a relationship with a physician in order to be able to deliver comprehensive primary care services. The empirical component of the thesis analyzes and describes the nature of this relationship at a practice level. It also describes the use of 'workarounds' to bypass legislated restrictions in nurse practitioners' scope of practice. It analyzes how structural differences in the manner of regulation, payment, and employment status between nurse practitioners and family physicians contribute to different styles of practice and perpetuate the hierarchical relationships between nurses and physicians.


In Paradoxes of Nostalgia; Penny M. Von Eschen offers a sweeping examination of the cold war's afterlife and the lingering shadows it casts over geopolitics, journalism, and popular culture. She shows how myriad forms of nostalgia across the globe—from those that posit a mythic national past to those critical of neoliberalism that remember a time when people believed in the possibility of a collective good—indelibly shape the post-cold war era. When Western triumphalism moved into the global South and former Eastern bloc spaces, many articulated a powerful sense of loss and a longing for stability. Innovatively bringing together diplomatic archives, museums, films, and video games, Von Eschen shows that as the United States continuously sought new enemies for its unipolar world, cold war triumphalism fueled the ascendancy of xenophobic right-wing nationalism and the embrace of authoritarian sensibilities in the United States and beyond. Ultimately, she demonstrates that triumphalist claims that capitalism and military might won the cold war distort the past and disfigure the present, undermining democratic values and institutions.


Oldest adults (80 years and over) are the fastest growing group in the total world population. This is putting pressure on national healthcare budgets, as the distribution of healthcare expenses is strongly age-dependent. One way of mitigating this burden may be to let older adults contribute to their own health directly by using self-management health systems (SMHS). SMHS might help older, including oldest, adults gain insight into their health status, and invite them to take action. However, while many studies report on user evaluations of older adults with one specific sensor system, fewer studies report on older adults' uses and attitudes towards integrated SMHS. Moreover, most studies include participants with mean ages of 65 rather than 80. In this paper, we report on a qualitative study, consisting of a focus group interview and a user evaluation of an SMHS by 12 participants with a median age of 85 years. Three main findings were derived: Older adults (1) showed heterogeneity in computer skills, (2) found health technologies useful for others – not yet for themselves, and (3) perceived health technologies as a threat to social interaction. These findings suggest that health technologies are not ready for adoption by older adults yet, and further research on making them more accessible and desirable is required.


This richly coloured memoir chronicles the exploits of a flamboyant Jewish family, from its bold arrival in cosmopolitan Alexandria to its defeated exodus three generations later. In elegant and witty prose, Andre Aciman introduces us to the marvellous eccentrics who shaped his life: the strutting daredevil, soldier, salesman, and spy; the two grandmothers, the Princess and the Saint, who gossip in six languages; and Aunt Flora, the German refugee who warns that Jews lose everything "at least twice in their lives." And through it all, we come to know a boy who, even as he longs for a wider world, does not want to be led, forever, out of Egypt.


Automatic photo quality assessment emerged as a hot topic in recent years for its potential in numerous applications. Most existing approaches to photo quality assessment have predominantly focused on image content itself, while ignoring various contexts such as the associated geo-location and timestamp. However, such a universal aesthetic assessment model may not work well with significantly different contexts, since the photography rules are always scene and context dependent. In real cases, professional photographers use different photography knowledge when shooting various scenes in different places. Motivated by this observation, we leverage the geo-context information associated with photos for visual quality assessment. Specifically, we propose in this paper a Scene-Dependent Aesthetic Model (SDAM) to assess photo quality, by jointly leveraging the geo-context and visual content. Geo-contextual leveraged searching is performed to obtain relevant images with similar content to discover the scene-dependent photography principles for accurate photo quality assessment. To overcome the problem that in many cases the number of the contextually searched images is insufficient for learning the SDAM, we adopt transfer learning to utilize auxiliary photos within the same scene category from other locations for learning photography rules. Extensive experiments shows that the proposed SDAM scheme indeed improves the photo quality assessment accuracy via leveraging photo geo-contexts, compared with traditional universal aesthetic models.


Additional retrospective testing of the gum leaf skeletoniser (Uraba lugens) biological control agent Cotesia urabae was conducted against the endemic moth Celama parvitis. Although this native was included in host specificity testing before EPA approved the parasitoid's release, this work aimed to increase the sample size to better assess the potential risk posed. The effect that different periods of host deprivation and prior oviposition experience had on the parasitoid's readiness to attack, was examined in a sequence of no-choice tests. No parasitoids emerged from the 52% of larvae that survived to pupation, thus, confirming C. parvitis as a non-host. Dissections of larvae that died during laboratory rearing revealed that 63% had contained a parasitoid, but no C. urabae parasitoid larvae developed beyond the second instar. Significant differences were found in the attack times according to the parasitoid's deprivation levels (age), and it was also observed that the duration until first attack significantly decreased after each non-target presentation.


In recent years, the size of combinatorial applications and the need to produce high-quality solutions quickly have increased steadily, providing significant challenges for optimization algorithms. This paper addresses this issue for large-scale vehicle routing problems with time windows, a class of very difficult optimization problems involving complex spatial and temporal dependencies. It proposes a randomized adaptive spatial decoupling (RASD) scheme for vehicle routing with time windows in order to produce high-quality solutions quickly. Experimental results on hard instances with 1,000 customers and 90 vehicles show that the RASD scheme, together with large neighborhood search, significantly improves the quality of the solutions under time constraints. Interestingly, the RASD scheme, when allowed to run longer, also improves the best available solutions in almost all the tested instances.


The etiopathogenesis of acute pneumonia, the second most important cause of mortality among Peruvian neonatal alpacas, is still poorly understood. The objective of this study was to characterize gross and histopathology lesions, as well as to identify viruses [parainfluenza type 3 (PI-3) and bovine respiratory syncytial (BRS)] by direct immunofluorescence test, and isolate bacteria [Pasteurella multocida (PM) and Mannheimia haemolytica (MH)] from 24 fatal acute pneumonia cases of 7-39 days-old neonates. At necropsy the gross lesions corresponded to moderate purulent focal bronchopneumonia or severe necrotic purulent fibrinous (n=13), and moderate to severe pulmonary congestion and edema (n=11). Histopathological analysis revealed: acute, severe, and diffuse necrotizing, fibrinous, suppurative bronchopneumonia (n=3), acute mild to moderate and focally diffuse suppurative bronchopneumonia (n=10), and acute, moderate to severe diffuse congestion and pulmonary edema (n=11). Among these 24 cases, 22 yielded virus identification and/or bacterial isolation. Eight cases were positive to one pathogen (5 for viruses and 3 for bacteria), 10/22 were positive for two pathogens [BRSV plus bacteria (n=7), PI-3 plus bacteria (n=2), and one for both bacteria)], and 4/22 positive for 3 pathogens [BRSV, PI-3 plus bacteria (n=3), and PI-3 plus both bacteria (n=1)]. Among the affected lung tissue, virus was identified 19 times (13 positive for BRSV, 9 for PI-3, and 3/19 for both viruses) whereas bacteria was isolated 14 times [P. multocida (n=8), M. haemolytica (n=6), and both bacteria (n=2)]. The presence of multiple pathogens was observed in 14/22 positive cases with an observation of virus-bacteria association in 13/14 of the cases. The coexistence of BRSV-PM was the most frequently observed (6/13), followed by the simultaneous presence of BRSV-MH (4/13) and PI-3 PM or MH (4/13). The results appear to indicate that acute pneumonia in alpaca neonates may well result from virus and bacterial interactions in a similar way to pneumonic lesions of other ruminants.


Objective: The recent study aimed to investigate the effects of chronic aerobic activity on the plasma levels of orexin A, leptin, glucose, insulin, and insulin resistance in males with type 2 diabetes. Materials and Methods : Twenty subjects randomly assigned into control and experimental groups, involving 10 people in each group. Exercise protocol consisted of eight session aerobic exercise. Each session was done between 15 to 30 minutes so that in earlier weeks started with 50% of maximum heart rate for 15 minutes per day and continued with 80% of maximum heart rate for 30 minutes per day in last week. The heart rate was measured using heart rate monitor. Before the start of training and 48 hours after the last training session, blood samples were taken from both groups. Results: the mean age of participants was 45.40 ± 5.42 year, mean weight was 80.91 ± 6.35 kg, the mean of body mass index was 25.41 ± 2.76 kg/m 2 .The analysis of findings in the P≤0.05 indicated that chronic aerobic exercise caused a significant increase in plasma leves of orexin A and significant decrease in insulin and insulin resistance, and leptin . Conclusion: Chronic aerobic exercise can decrease the insulin resistance in people with type 2 diabetes via increasing the plasma levels of orexin A and decreasing in plasma level of glucose and insulin.


Abstract: The extensive P–T stability and the high chemical variability of tourmaline (Tur) together with its common occurrence in metasediments proves its high potential for petrological and (isotope) geochemical studies on fluid–rock interaction in subduction- and collision-related rocks. This paper reviews the occurrence, major element chemistry and boron isotopic composition of Tur in high- and ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic (UHPM) rocks. In addition, it presents a new discovery of coesite-bearing Tur (schorl) from the Erzgebirge (Germany), as well as Tur (dravite) related to the retrograde history of coesite- and diamond-bearing rocks from the Erzgebirge and the Kokchetav Massif (Kazakhstan). The scarce data on worldwide occurrences of (U)HPM Tur reveal a high occupation of the crystallographic X-site (dominated by Na) and the possible presence of excess B, with little further distinctiveness in its major element composition when compared with Tur from medium-grade rocks. High K2O contents in Tur are probably not related to UHP growth or equilibration. The B isotopic composition of (U)HPM Tur ranges in δ11B from −16 to +1‰, with many samples in or below the range of continental crust. In contrast, Tur formed during retrograde fluid influx typically shows high δ11B values (up to +28‰), suggesting heavy-B fluids infiltrating the exhuming (U)HPM units. Coesite inclusions in Tur, characterized by Raman spectroscopy, are regarded as the best indicator for its UHP stability. Supplementary material: Analytical methods, tourmaline compositions and boron isotope values are available at http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18354.


This thesis describes the development of a laser-cooling experiment aimed at efficient transfer of cold atoms over a short distance, for loading into a conservative atom trap. We detail the construction of a 3D magneto-optical trap (MOT) and perform characterisation measurements to optimise the number and temperature of the cold atoms. The atoms are launched vertically in a fountain from the MOT using a 'moving molasses' technique and a red-detuned far-off-resonant laser beam is used to guide them into an UHV chamber. Loading into the guiding beam is optimised with respect to the beam and MOT parameters. We demonstrate a maximum loading of 20% and guiding over a distance of more than 10 cm without loss of atoms. The atoms are delivered to the UHV chamber in a cloud with a transverse dimension of order 200 µm. We discuss the extension to continuous operation of the guided atomic fountain. The 3D MOT is replaced by a funnel with 2D trapping and 3D cooling which continuously extracts the cold atoms using moving molasses. A comparison between the flux of guided atoms obtained in a pulsed fashion from the 3D MOT and continuously from the funnel indicate that the pulsed case is a factor of ten more efficient. The difference is due to inferior loading from the funnel. The optically guided fountain is used to load an optical dipole trap in the UHV chamber, using an 'optical trap door'. No additional cooling is required. The dynamics of the atoms in the optical dipole trap are studied. We discuss multiple loading of a conservative trap with the view of accumulating more atoms than can be obtained in a MOT.


We investigate the effect of nozzle on the particle transport in the SMBI experiments for optimization of fueling in the GAMMA 10 tandem mirror. The diffusion particle during SMBI was evaluated from the emission intensity captured by the fast camera. Compared with the results without nozzle, the particle diffusion was more convergent in the case using the straight nozzle. Simulation results by using Monte-Carlo simulation code (DEGAS) roughly reproduce the 2-D image captured by the fast camera.


Context. Massive stars are extremely important for the evolution of the galaxies; there are large gaps in our understanding of their properties and formation, however, mainly because they evolve rapidly, are rare, and distant. Recent findings suggest that most O-stars belong to multiple systems. It may well be that almost all massive stars are born as triples or higher multiples, but their large distances require very high angular resolution to directly detect the companions at milliarcsecond scales. Aims. Herschel 36 is a young massive system located at 1.3 kpc. It has a combined smallest predicted mass of 45 M . Multi-epoch spectroscopic data suggest the existence of at least three gravitationally bound components. Two of them, system Ab, are tightly bound in a spectroscopic binary, and the third one, component Aa, orbits in a wider orbit. Our aim was to image and obtain astrometric and photometric measurements of components Aa and Ab using, for the first time, long-baseline optical interferometry to further constrain its nature. Methods. We observed Herschel 36 with the near-infrared instrument AMBER attached to the ESO VLT Interferometer, which provides an angular resolution of 2 mas. We used the code BSMEM to perform the interferometric image reconstruction. We fitted the interferometric observables using proprietary IDL routines and the code LitPro. Results. We imaged the Aa + Ab components of Herschel 36 in H and K filters. Component Ab is located at a projected distance of 1.81 mas, at a position angle of 222 east of north, the flux ratio between components Aa and Ab is close to one. These findings agree with previous predictions about the properties of Herschel 36. The small measured angular separation indicates that system Ab and Ab may be approaching the periastron of their orbits. These results, only achievable with long-baseline near-infrared interferometry, constitute the first step toward a thorough understanding of this massive triple system.


This article examines the customs of conflict management among executives at the tops of two large business organizations. The argument advanced here derives from the notion that conflict management varies with the informal norms that govern interpersonal networks. Ethnographic, social network, and perceptual data collected in the present investigation suggest that where executives experience fragmented and atomized interpersonal networks, they are more likely to manage conflict without confrontation than in networks of strongly and densely connected individuals. The results of this study carry implications for the relationship between attitudes and behaviors among corporate managers regarding conflict management, for the normative bases of decision making, and for the "fit" between social context and routine conflict management.


Though US cellular networks currently lack the capacity for widespread distribution of unsolicited wireless advertising (wireless spam), these advertisements are already well known in Japan and Europe, where they have proven to be a significant burden on cellular users. This iBrief examines the recently ratified legislation in Japan and Asia that have attempted to stop the glut of wireless advertisements, as a foreshadowing of the problems and questions that will soon have to be addressed in the United States.


The purpose of this work was to develop an accurate prediction model which can process information contained in antenatal databases to determine whether a baby will be born prematurely. The focus was on improved data preprocessing to add to methods developed by previous students in the Carleton MIRG (Medical Information technology Research Group) lab. The machine learning classifiers used included Decision Tree (DT) classifiers (for feature reduction) and the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) classifier (for model evaluation). Missing values and class imbalance was dealt with by applying software packages in the R statistical programming language. The final sensitivity and specificity results for the BORN (Better Outcomes Registry and Network) database were: Parous 89.2%, and 67.8%, Nulliparous 89.0% and 71.5%, and for PRAMS (Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System) database: Parous 84.1% and 71.4%, Nulliparous 83.8% and 76.0%. An accurate predictive tool will allow caregivers to implement preventative treatment strategies.