Cu, Cd, Zn, Pb and Se concentrations were measured in the bivalve mollusc Saccostrea glomerata(Iredale and Roughly) from two uncontaminated locations, Clyde River Estuary, Batemans Bay and Moona Moona Creek, Jervis Bay, to determine natural variability of metals associated with mass, gender, age, tissue type and site within location. Trace metals were also measured in the Clyde River Estuary over an 11 year period and in five other NSW estuaries (Hastings River, Hunter River, Georges River, Tillgerry Creek and Lake Pambula) over a 13-month period to determine temporal variability and if diploid and triploid oysters accumulate trace metals differently. There were few significant relationships between trace metal concentrations and mass and no significant differences in trace metal concentrations between female and male oysters. Younger oysters (1.3 years) had significantly higher copper concentrations and higher trace metal variability than mature oysters (3 years). Different tissues have different trace metal concentrations with muscle tissues having lower concentrations. Considerable inherent variability occurs in oyster cohorts. Analysing specific tissues did not reduce variability of trace metal concentrations. Comparison of trace metal concentrations at two sites within the Clyde Estuary showed a significant difference in zinc concentrations. Cu, Cd, Zn and Se concentrations were generally higher and less variable in triploids than diploids. Pb had a variable pattern of accumulation with no consistent elevation in diploids or triploids. Inter annual variability of trace metal concentrations was considerable and trace metal concentrations also fluctuated throughout an annual cycle with no clear seasonal trends. Measurement of trace metals at known contaminated locations showed that Saccostrea glomerata accumulates metals in response to contamination. Saccostrea glomerata meet most of the requirements to be a biomonitor of trace metal contamination as they are abundant, sessile/sedentary, easy to identify, provide sufficient tissue for analysis, and accumulate trace metals in response to contamination. However, as trace metal concentrations can vary with mass, age, estuary position, ploidy type and temporally, care must be taken to collect individual organisms of similar mass, age and ploidy type to minimise variability, and from similar consistent positions and times to allow for seasonal changes in environmental conditions. Trace metal concentration variability is higher in young animals, thus to reduce variability, older mature animals could be selected. However, with immature oysters there are no complications because of the effects of spawning i.e. sudden loss of trace metals or body mass.


The United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) requires reference spectra to support its gas chromatography/Fourier transform infrared (GC/FT-IR) routine environmental monitoring program. Although on-the-fly (OTF) techniques are needed to satisfy the Agency's high sample throughput requirements, the FT-IR vapor-phase reference spectra produced by the Agency thus far have been measured under static conditions. Accordingly, the OTF spectra of 47 environmentally important compounds have been measured by packed-column GC/FT-IR under carefully controlled conditions. The compounds selected for spectral measurement are currently regulated by the U.S. EPA and generally represent compound classes which are absent, or poorly represented, in the current U.S. EPA data base (e.g., organochlorine and organophosphorus pesticides). Where feasible, the Co-blentz Society guidelines for the measurement and recording of vapor-phase infrared reference spectra and supporting data were followed. The sensitivity order of the reference compounds as determined by the strongest spectral band and the quantity of compound injected on-column was, organophosphorus and thio-organophosphorous > aliphatic organochlorine ≥ polynuclear aromatic.


In "Reliving Golgotha", Richard Trexler brings a new perspective to religious spectacle in an exploration of the annual passion play at Iztapalapa, the largest and poorest borough of Mexico City. After tracing the history of European passion theatre, Trexler examines the process by which representations of the passion were established in the Americas, especially in New Spain. Indeed, the Iztapalapan pageant can only be understood in the full historical context of Mexican church and state relations. Originally, this passion was a quintessential means by which the increasingly marginalized indigenous population marked its own culture from the mestizo ruling class. Early 20th-century reenactments offered a tenaciously traditional spectacle, featuring Nahuatl-speaking actors, for a local audience who embraced it as a living protest against the pervasive power of the Church. A century later, political disorder and a suspicious church hierarchy often forced the suspension of the play in the aftermath of the Revolution. But by the middle of the century, political and religious authorities encouraged its development as a tourist event, and changes wrought by media coverage and the impact of government funding have further fractured the play's local identity. In addition to offering valuable insights into the political, social and psychological meanings of religious spectacle, Trexler illuminates the strong cultural forces that have helped provide a voice for some of Mexican society's most powerless members.


Interferometric inspection of optical surfaces and wavefronts requires permanently increasing accuracy. Therefore interferometric equipment is being improved and improved continuously. Point-diffraction interferometers (PDI) with an "inbuilt" reference wavefront originating from light diffraction by a pinhole aperture are potentially capable to produce the highest possible accuracy of a surface figure or wavefront characterization. The most mentioned configurations and their versions like Linnik-Smart and Sommargren schemes produce low-contrast spare-striped fringe patterns instead of full-contrast distinct interferograms, like e.g. produced by Fizeau interferometers, with clear phase shifting (PS) data flow. The concept of a PDI presented in this paper is to provide two perpendicularly outgoing wavefronts – test and reference ones – with mutual intensity regulation and arbitrary and stable phase shifts of one wavefront relative to the other. Such concept is also targeted to provide user-friendly measuring conditions similarly to interferometers which are in common use. Advantages of such arrangement of the PDI are: high numerical aperture (NA = 0.55), clear fringe patterns of high contrast, high accuracy of surface figure testing with wave-front RMS error 0.125 nm and wave-front RMS repeatability 0.05 nm. Performance of the PDI is illustrated by tables of repeatability and test surface profile plots for different azimuthal angles.


The most comprehensive, up-to-date guide to and analysis of the Clean Air Act (CAA) is now available from the Environmental Law Institute. Authored by George Washington University Law School Prof. Arnold W. Reitze, Jr., one of the most noted authorities on the Act, this second edition of Air Pollution Control Law explains the legislative provisions, regulatory requirements, and court decisions that constitute the body of air pollution control law. In twenty detailed chapters, with more than twenty thousand useful references, Professor Reitze provides a thorough, understandable guide to the legal, technical, scientific, and policy issues surrounding the CAA. No other book so thoroughly summarizes in one volume the complex yet vitally important maze of statutory provisions, regulations, and permitting requirements that characterize CAA implementation. The book includes completely up-to-date discussions of current controversial issues such as greenhouse gas controls, utility emission regulation, the "grandfathering" of existing facilities, and mobile source emissions. The book is designed and organized both to facilitate an understanding of the Act and its requirements and to provide guidance on methods of compliance and enforcement.


Estimation of configurational entropy from molecular dynamics trajectories is a difficult task which is often performed using quasi-harmonic or histogram analysis. An entirely different approach, proposed recently, estimates local density distribution around each conformational sample by measuring the distance from its nearest neighbors. In this work we show this theoretically well grounded the method can be easily applied to estimate the entropy from conformational sampling. We consider a set of systems that are representative of important biomolecular processes. In particular: reference entropies for amino acids in unfolded proteins are obtained from a database of residues not participating in secondary structure elements; the conformational entropy of folding of β2-microglobulin is computed from molecular dynamics simulations using reference entropies for the unfolded state; backbone conformational entropy is computed from molecular dynamics simulations of four different states of the EPAC protein and compared with order parameters (often used as a measure of entropy); the conformational and rototranslational entropy of binding is computed from simulations of 20 tripeptides bound to the peptide binding protein OppA and of β2-microglobulin bound to a citrate coated gold surface. This work shows the potential of the method in the most representative biological processes involving proteins, and provides a valuable alternative, principally in the shown cases, where other approaches are problematic.


This thesis contains a description of SAS processing algorithms, offering improvements in Fourier-based reconstruction, motion-compensation, and autofocus. Fourier-based image reconstruction is reviewed and improvements shown as the result of improved system modelling. A number of new algorithms based on the wavenumber algorithm for correcting second order effects are proposed. In addition, a new framework for describing multiple-receiver reconstruction in terms of the bistatic geometry is presented and is a useful aid to understanding. Motion-compensation techniques for allowing Fourier-based reconstruction in widebeam geometries suffering large-motion errors are discussed. A motion-compensation algorithm exploiting multiple receiver geometries is suggested and shown to provide substantial improvement in image quality. New motion compensation techniques for yaw correction using the wavenumber algorithm are discussed. A common framework for describing phase estimation is presented and techniques from a number of fields are reviewed within this framework. In addition a new proof is provided outlining the relationship between eigenvector-based autofocus phase estimation kernels and the phase-closure techniques used astronomical imaging. Micronavigation techniques are reviewed and extensions to the shear average single-receiver micronavigation technique result in a 3–4 fold performance improvement when operating on high-contrast images. The stripmap phase gradient autofocus (SPGA) algorithm is developed and extends spotlight SAR PGA to the wide-beam, wide-band stripmap geometries common in SAS imaging. SPGA supersedes traditional PGA-based stripmap autofocus algorithms such as mPGA and PCA—the relationships between SPGA and these algorithms is discussed. SPGA's operation is verified on simulated and field-collected data where it provides significant image improvement. SPGA with phase-curvature based estimation is shown and found to perform poorly compared with phase-gradient techniques. The operation of SPGA on data collected from Sydney Harbour is shown with SPGA able to improve resolution to near the diffraction-limit. Additional analysis of practical stripmap autofocus operation in presence of undersampling and space-invariant blurring is presented with significant comment regarding


This study compared the root surface characteristics produced by Minocycline HCl, Citric acid and Tetracycline HCl. when used as a root conditioner. This study included 5 groups of 10 extracted teeth each with advanced periodontal disease. Diseased root surfaces of group B,C,D and E were planed with Gracy curets and solutions of Citric acid, Tetracycline HCl, Monocycline Hcl and Tween 80 of PH 2.5, were applied to the surface in respective groups with cotton pellets for 5 mts. Group A was not subjected to root planning or application of any root conditioner and was used as a control. The teeth in all five groups were then washed, sectioned processed and examined under scanning electron microscope. These results revealed that the surfaces of acid treated sites differed from each other and with specimens treated sites differed from each other and with specimens treated with root panning alone. The efficacy of Minocycline and tetracycline in the removal of smear layer and exposure of dentinal tubules were comparable and Minocycline HCl though not as effective as Citric acid can probably be recommended in view of its antibactrial activity, anti collagense and substantivity properties.


The advent of the X-ray free electron laser (XFEL) in the last decade created the discipline of serial crystallography but also the challenge of how crystal samples are delivered to X-ray. Early sample delivery methods demonstrated the proof-of-concept for serial crystallography and XFEL but were beset with challenges of high sample consumption, jet clogging and low data collection efficiency. The potential of XFEL and serial crystallography as the next frontier of structural solution by X-ray for small and weakly diffracting crystals and provision of ultra-fast time-resolved structural data spawned a huge amount of scientific interest and innovation. To utilize the full potential of XFEL and broaden its applicability to a larger variety of biological samples, researchers are challenged to develop better sample delivery methods. Thus, sample delivery is one of the key areas of research and development in the serial crystallography scientific community. Sample delivery currently falls into three main systems: jet-based methods, fixed-target chips, and drop-on-demand. Huge strides have since been made in reducing sample consumption and improving data collection efficiency, thus enabling the use of XFEL for many biological systems to provide high-resolution, radiation damage-free structural data as well as time-resolved dynamics studies. This review summarizes the current main strategies in sample delivery and their respective pros and cons, as well as some future direction.


Abstract. Deep learning (DL) methods are used for identifying objects in aerial and ground-based images. Detecting vehicles, roads, buildings, and crops are examples of object identification applications using DL methods. Identifying complex natural and man-made features continues to be a challenge. Oil pads are an example of complex built features due to their shape, size, and presence of other structures like sheds. This work applies Faster Region-based Convolutional Neural Network (R-CNN), a DL-based object recognition method, for identifying oil pads in high spatial resolution (1m), true-color aerial images. Faster R-CNN is a region-based object identification method, consisting of Regional Proposal Network (RPN) that helps to find the area where the target can be possibly present in the images. If the target is present in the images, the Faster R-CNN algorithm will identify the area in an image as foreground and the rest as background. The algorithm was trained with oil pad locations that were manually annotated from orthorectified imagery acquired in 2017. Eighty percent of the annotated images were used for training and the number of epochs was increased from 100 to 1000 in increments of 100 with a fixed length of 1000. After determining the optimal number of epochs the performance of the algorithm was evaluated with an independent set of validation images consisting of frames with and without oil pads. Results indicate that the Faster R-CNN algorithm can be used for identifying oil pads in aerial images.


Systemic intervention focuses on both methodological pluralism and boundary critique which makes explicit the need to explore issues and people included, excluded, or marginalised in the systemic analysis. This research perspective also concerns about the agent identities. Within a systemic intervention there is a need to surface different interpretations of agent identities. Although some attempts to analyse agent identities have been proposed, there is still a need to generate analytical frameworks about identity within a systemic intervention, taking into account the social learning process of those agents involved in the intervention. This paper thus presents a conceptual framework that includes the social aspects of learning, in particular the Communities of Practice - CoP analytical framework - within a systemic intervention approach. In doing so, the paper aims to enrich the systemic intervention perspective considering the CoP perspective about participants' identities and the constitutive elements of social learning. The CoP view of identity is that formed by the negotiation of experience, community membership, learning trajectory, the nexus of multimembership, the process of participation between and within communities, and the acknowledgement that non-participation can take many forms and these forms also define identity. Hence, the CoP analytical framework is proposed to help with the boundary and issue reflections regarding agent identities. This could be seen as a synergy for systemic interventions. To describe this synergy first, the paper presents the bases of the systemic intervention framework and previous proposals about managing identity issues. Then, it presents the conceptual framework of CoP. Finally, there is an explanation of how to work with this framework, and some reflections about this proposal.


A new IEA publication explores the case for deregulating the gambling market Executive summary: The 2005 Gambling Act was intended to modernise gambling in the United Kingdom by replacing the anachronistic 1968 Gaming Act with legislation better suited to the twenty-first century. The 1968 Act had placed tight restrictions on the number of casinos that could open and these were limited to specified towns and regions. Gambling machines and jackpots were also strictly limited. The Blair government originally endorsed extensive liberalisation of the casino industry which would have effectively allowed the market to dictate how many casinos were in operation, subject to permission from local authorities and the Gambling Commission. It would have permitted a larger number of high stake jackpot and virtual gambling machines and would have allowed the creation of large entertainment complexes ('resort casinos') of the type seen overseas. In the months leading up to the 2005 General Election, sections of the media, faith groups and parts of the incumbent gambling industry led a campaign against the Gambling Bill which focused on so-called 'Las Vegas style super-casinos' and their supposed threat to British society. Faced with this backlash, the government hastily rewrote parts of the draft legislation pertaining to casino regulation. Limits were placed on the number of new casinos that could be opened and the number of resort casinos was reduced, ultimately to zero. By the time the legislation received Royal Assent in April 2005 it had not only been stripped of its boldest attempts at liberalisation but had also lost many of the uncontroversial reforms needed to allow casinos to compete in a rapidly changing marketplace. Specifically, it maintained the prohibition on opening casinos across large tracts of the country and failed to allow casino licences to be transferred from one region to another. As a consequence, many large towns are still unable to open casinos, regardless of public demand, and dozens of licences remain dormant. Seven years later, only one of the 16 casino licences created by the Act is in use. The 2005 Act placed new restrictions on the number of gambling machines that could be hosted in casinos and strictly limited the types of games and prizes available. Although casino regulation (and taxation) has always placed casinos at the top of the regulatory pyramid, current legislation is no longer commensurate with their status as 'the safest place to gamble'. Although casinos cannot offer online gaming or betting on horse-racing, for example, most casino games can now be played on the high street, on a mobile phone and on the internet for similar, or even higher, stakes. No one wants to see 'blackjack on every street corner', as the Daily Mail once put it, but there is no obvious reason why a reasonably sized town or city should not be able to host at least one small casino if the community is in accord. A more coherent regulatory structure would allow casinos to offer games, stakes and prizes which are consistent with their position at the top of the pyramid. The law should allow British casino operators to tailor their offering to consumer preference as their international competitors do. No new legislation would be required to fix the regulatory inconsistencies that the 2005 Act created and the economic benefits in terms of job creation and tax revenues would not be trivial.


MOTIVATION
Computational methods are essential to extract actionable information from raw sequencing data, and to thus fulfill the promise of next-generation sequencing technology. Unfortunately, computational tools developed to call variants from human sequencing data disagree on many of their predictions, and current methods to evaluate accuracy and computational performance are ad hoc and incomplete. Agreement on benchmarking variant calling methods would stimulate development of genomic processing tools and facilitate communication among researchers.

RESULTS
We propose SMaSH, a benchmarking methodology for evaluating germline variant calling algorithms. We generate synthetic datasets, organize and interpret a wide range of existing benchmarking data for real genomes and propose a set of accuracy and computational performance metrics for evaluating variant calling methods on these benchmarking data. Moreover, we illustrate the utility of SMaSH to evaluate the performance of some leading single-nucleotide polymorphism, indel and structural variant calling algorithms.

AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION
We provide free and open access online to the SMaSH tool kit, along with detailed documentation, at smash.cs.berkeley.edu


Digital games are part of our culture and have gained significant attention over the last decade. The growing capabilities of home computers, gaming consoles and mobile phones allow current games to visualise 3D virtual worlds, photo-realistic characters and the inclusion of complex physical simulations. The growing computational power of those devices enables the usage of complex algorithms while visualising data. Therefore, opportunities arise for developers of interactive products such as digital games which introduce new, challenging and exciting elements to the next generation of highly interactive software systems. Two of those challenges, which current systems do not address adequately, are design support for creating Intelligent Virtual Agents and more believable non-player characters for immersive game-play. We start in this thesis by addressing the agent design support first and then extend the research, addressing the second challenge. The main contributions of this thesis are: - The POSH-SHARP system is a framework for the development of game agents. The platform is modular, extendable, offers multi-platform support and advanced software development features such as behaviour inspection and behaviour versioning. The framework additionally integrates an advanced information exchange mechanism supporting loose behaviour coupling. - The Agile behaviour design methodology integrates agile software development and agent design. To guide users, the approach presents a work-flow for agent design and guiding heuristics for their development. - The action selection augmentation ERGo introduces a "white-box" solution to altering existing agent frameworks, making their agents less deterministic. It augments selected behaviours with a bio-mimetic memory to track and adjust their activation over time. With the new approach to agent design, the development of "deepagent" behaviour for digital adversaries and advanced tools supporting their design is given. Such mechanisms should enable developers to build robust non-player characters that act more human-like in an efficient and robust manner. Within this thesis, different strategies are identified to support the design of agents in a more robust manner and to guide developers. These discussed mechanisms are then evolved to develop and design Intelligent Virtual Agents. Because humans are still the best measurement for human-likeness, the evolutionary cycle involves feedback given by human players.


Gaussian processes provide an approach to nonparametric modelling which allows a straightforward combination of function and derivative observations in an empirical model. This is of particular importance in identification of nonlinear dynamic systems from experimental data. 1) It allows us to combine derivative information, and associated uncertainty with normal function observations into the learning and inference process. This derivative information can be in the form of priors specified by an expert or identified from perturbation data close to equilibrium. 2) It allows a seamless fusion of multiple local linear models in a consistent manner, inferring consistent models and ensuring that integrability constraints are met. 3) It improves dramatically the computational efficiency of Gaussian process models for dynamic system identification, by summarising large quantities of near-equilibrium data by a handful of linearisations, reducing the training set size - traditionally a problem for Gaussian process models.


Objective Increased hepatic de novo lipogenesis (DNL) is suggested to be an underlying cause in the development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and/or insulin resistance. It is suggested that omega-3 fatty acids (FA) lower hepatic DNL. We investigated the effects of omega-3 FA supplementation on hepatic DNL and FA oxidation using a combination of human in vivo and in vitro studies. Research design and methods Thirty-eight healthy men were randomized to take either an omega-3 supplement (4 g/day eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)+docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) as ethyl esters) or placebo (4 g/day olive oil) and fasting measurements were made at baseline and 8 weeks. The metabolic effects of omega-3 FAs on intrahepatocellular triacylglycerol (IHTAG) content, hepatic DNL and FA oxidation were investigated using metabolic substrates labeled with stable-isotope tracers. In vitro studies, using a human liver cell-line was undertaken to gain insight into the intrahepatocellular effects of omega-3 FAs. Results Fasting plasma TAG concentrations significantly decreased in the omega-3 group and remained unchanged in the placebo group. Eight weeks of omega-3 supplementation significantly decreased IHTAG, fasting and postprandial hepatic DNL while significantly increasing dietary FA oxidation and fasting and postprandial plasma glucose concentrations. In vitro studies supported the in vivo findings of omega-3 FAs (EPA+DHA) decreasing intracellular TAG through a shift in cellular metabolism away from FA esterification toward oxidation. Conclusions Omega-3 supplementation had a potent effect on decreasing hepatic DNL and increasing FA oxidation and plasma glucose concentrations. Attenuation of hepatic DNL may be considered advantageous; however, consideration is required as to what the potential excess of nonlipid substrates (eg, glucose) will have on intrahepatic and extrahepatic metabolic pathways. Trial registration number NCT01936779.


In these notes we reformulate the classical Hilbert-Mumford criterion for GIT stability in terms of algebraic stacks, this was independently done by Halpern-Leinster. We also give a geometric condition that guarantees the existence of separated coarse moduli spaces for the substack of stable objects. This is then applied to construct coarse moduli spaces for torsors under parahoric group schemes over curves.


Much like in the arctic, organisms inhabiting alpine ecosystems are living at the edge of their environmental tolerances, and are thus sensitive to small changes in climate. Algal communities of alpine lakes are particularly useful as indicators of environmental change due to the fact that they are typically diverse and rapidly respond to environmental changes over short time scales. During the summer of 2014, an aquatic mesocosm experiment was conducted using cattle tanks at the Niwot Ridge Long Term Ecological Research Site (NWTLTER) in the Colorado Front Range. The purpose of the experiment was to examine the effects of increased temperature and nitrogen deposition on alpine phytoplankton communities and dissolved organic matter (DOM). Phytoplankton communities from the mesocosms were characterized using Flow Cytometer and Microscope, and the DOM produced in the mesocosms was analyzed using fluorescence spectroscopy and parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) modeling. The results of the experiment suggest that the temperature treatment, the nitrogen additions, and combinations of both treatments, had no significant effects on the algal communities in the mesocosms. In our experiment, the abundance of Daphnia increased significantly in the low temperature mesocosms, and only slightly in the high temperature mesocosms. The PARAFAC results indicate that the DOM in the mesocosm is terrestrial in origin, with fluorescence index (FI) vales ranging from just over 1.5 to just below 1.3. In the low temperature mesocosms, the FI decreased as the experiment progressed. This decrease in FI in the low temperature mesocosms may be explained by a top-down control by Daphnia on microzooplankton, which feed on the bacteria that consume the DOM that is released by phytoplankton. This likely limited the accumulation of extracellular quinone-containing organic compounds that can contribute to a more microbial FI signal. The top-down control by the Daphnia on the microbial loop could explain the shift in DOM quality, the predominantly terrestrial FI values, and the increased freshness observed in the low temperature mesocosms. It is important to understand the dynamics of DOM in alpine watersheds because DOM is potential precursors for the formation of disinfection byproducts (DBPs) resulting from water treatment practices


Cardiovascular disease plays an important role regarding the morbidity and mortality in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Sympathetic overactivity has been suggested to underpin the association between COPD and the development of cardiovascular disease. However, the pathophysiological basis by which sustained sympathetic overactivity affects cardiovascular function in patients with COPD is complex and incompletely understood. Different simple and more sophisticated measures of sympathetic activity, such as assessment of heart rate, blood pressure variability, and baroreflex sensitivity, provide information on the potential dysregulation of the autonomous nervous system. This review summarizes the findings from studies in animal models and humans on the potential relationship between COPD, sympathetic overactivity, and cardiovascular disease. There is preliminary evidence of sympathetic overactivity in COPD. However, direct evidence of a cause-effect relationship between sympathetic overactivity and cardiovascular disease from studies in COPD patients is lacking. Data from large cohorts of COPD patients and well-designed interventional studies looking at the relationship between COPD and autonomic nervous system function are urgently needed, hopefully leading to novel therapeutic and preventive approaches in the care of patients with COPD.


The speed control of DC motors is very crucial especially in applications where precision
and protection are of importance. This work investigates and implements a
microcontroller-based adjustable speed drive system for a DC shunt motor. The theory of
the armature voltage control algorithm in a closed loop system has been successfully
implemented.
An IGBT switch is used in buck configuration to control the armature voltage of the
motor. The PWM signal that controls the IGBT is generated from a Motorola 68HC11
microcontroller. The speed of the motor is measured by a shaft encoder and directly fed
to the microcontroller along with a speed reference signal.A data acquisition routine reads the measured speed and the reference speed in digital
format and generates the error value signal. The error value signal is directly fed into the
proportional controller routine to commute the controller output.
Finally, the controller output is used to generate a PWM, which completes the loop by
controlling the switch. To protect the motor from high current, a current monitoring
routine is implemented to read the motor current through a Hall effect sensor. If the
motor current is higher than its rated current halting the PWM generation routine will
stop it.
Experimental results obtained have supported the idea of the design. The speed of the
motor could be controlled over a wide range using the dc chopper and the PWM.
Employment of a microcontroller has shown a great improvement in the acceleration,
speed reduction, and deceleration and over current protection of a dc motor.


We present a novel pseudo-Banyan optical packet switching system (SBOPSS) for optical wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) networks. The system includes a group of pseudo-Banyan space switches together with single-stage downsized fiber-delay-line-based optical buffers. SBOPSS is scalable, with the result that each pseudo-Banyan space switch performs packet switching only for a cluster of wavelengths. The downsized optical buffers that are shared by output ports via the use of a small number of internal wavelengths result in efficient reduction in packet loss. Essentially, SBOPSS employs a packet scheduling algorithm, referred to as the parallel and incremental packet scheduler (PIPS). Given a set of newly arriving packets per time slot, PIPS determines a maximum number of valid paths (packets) to be scheduled with the current bufferspsila state taken into account. The algorithm aims at maximizing the system throughput subject to satisfying three constraints, which are switch-contention free, buffer-contention free, and sequential delivery. Significantly, we prove that PIPS is incremental in the sense that the computed-path sets are monotonically nondecreasing over time. We then propose a hardware parallel system architecture for the implementation of PIPS. As is shown, PIPS achieves a near-optimal solution with an exceptionally low computational complexity, O(IPItimeslog2(NMW)), where P is the newly-arriving-packet set, N the number of input ports, and M and W the numbers of internal and external wavelengths, respectively. From simulation results that pit the PIPS algorithm against four other algorithms, we show that PIPS outperforms these algorithms on both system throughput and computational complexity.


System integration is the elephant in the china store of large-scale cyber-physical system (CPS) design. It would be hard to find any other technology that is more under- valued scientifically and at the same time has bigger impact on the presence and future of engineered systems. The unique challenges in CPS integration emerge from the heterogeneity of components and interactions. This heterogeneity drives the need for modeling and analyzing cross-domain interactions among physical and computational/networking domains and demands deep understanding of the effects of heterogeneous abstraction layers in the design flow. To address the challenges of CPS integration, significant progress needs to be made to- ward a new science and technology foundation that is model based, precise, and predictable. This paper presents a theory of composition for heterogeneous systems focusing on stability. Specifically, the paper presents a passivity-based design ap- proach that decouples stability from timing uncertainties caused by networking and computation. In addition, the paper describes cross-domain abstractions that provide effective solution for model-based fully automated software synthesis and high-fidelity performance analysis. The design objectives demonstrated using the techniques presented in the paper are group coordination for networked unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) and high-confidence embedded control software design for a quadrotor UAV. Open problems in the area are also dis- cussed, including the extension of the theory of compositional design to guarantee properties beyond stability, such as safety and performance.


Assessment of research products is a crucial issue for universities and research institutions faced with internationalization and competition. Disciplines are reacting differently to this challenge, and planning, in its various forms – from urban design to processoriented sectors – is under strain because the increasingly common assessment procedures based on the number of articles published in ranked journals and on citation data are not generally accepted. The reputation of journals, the impact of publications, and the profiles of scholars are increasingly defined by means of indexes such as impact factor and citations counts, but these metrics are questioned because they do not take account of all journals and magazines – in particular those published in languages other than English – and they do not consider teaching and other activities typical of academics and which have a real impact on planning practices at the local level. In Italy the discussion is particularly heated because assessment procedures are recent, the disciplinary community is not used to publishing in ranked international journals, and the Italian literature is not attuned to the international quality criteria. The paper reviews the recent debate on planning journals and research assessment. It focuses on the Italian case from the perspective of improving current practices.


— Via interconnects in multilayer substrates, such as chip scale packaging, ball grid arrays, multichip modules, and printed circuit boards (PCB) can critically impact system performance. Lumped-circuit models for vias are usually estab- lished from their geometries to better understand the physics. This paper presents a procedure to extract these element values from a partial element equivalent circuit type method, denoted by CEMPIE. With a known physics-based circuit prototype, this approach calculates the element values from an extensive circuit net extracted by the CEMPIE method. Via inductances in a PCB power bus, including mutual inductances if multiple vias are present, are extracted in a systematic manner using this approach. A closed-form expression for via self inductance is further derived as a function of power plane dimensions, via diameter, power/ground layer separation, and via location. The expression can be used in practical designs for evaluating via inductance without the necessity of full-wave modeling, and, predicting power-bus impedance as well as effective frequency range of decoupling capacitors.


The purpose of this Study is to contribute to the Impact Assessment of a possible revision of Council Directive 1992/83/EEC on the harmonisation of the structure of excise duty on alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The Study includes a baseline assessment of a series of issues emerged from the previous evaluation of the Directive and analyses how these problems may evolve if no EU action is taken. Secondly, the Study formulates a set of possible policy options to address these problems, assesses their likely impacts (legal certainty, market functioning, administrative costs, tax revenues, alcohol control policies, fraud etc.), and compares the outcome with the baseline situation.
The main issues analysed in this Study includes: the uncertainties in the excise duty classification of certain new 'borderline' products; the functioning of Article 27 concerning the exemptions extended to denatured alcohol; the reduced rates applicable to low-strength alcoholic beverages and to small producers; the exemption for private production and home consumption; and the disparities of methods for measuring the Plato degree of sweetened and flavoured beer. The underlying evidence is based on the triangulation of in-depth interviews with stakeholders from the Member States, the results of an open public consultation online, a quantitative analysis of the market, and the review of other literature and documentary sources.


Can the Downing Street Declaration bring an end to centuries of conflict and 25 years of war in the North of Ireland? In this book, the author addresses these crucial questions. Criticizing the narrow presentation of the Irish conflict as the legacy of ancient and tribal hatreds, Ryan shows how international developments have shaped Irish politics, past and present. The author explores the unique significance of Ireland to the world's first superpower and explains Britain's dogged determination in hanging onto its oldest colony. In this context, Ryan demonstrates that the Downing Street Declaration marks a significant shift in British policy with serious implications for the stability of the Union. The politics of republicanism, which culminated in its 1992 peace strategy, are explored in detail, and for the first time, Irish historical revisionism is examined in the light of the new politics of the Irish Republic.


This article examines the extent to which economic or political factors shaped government preferences in the reform of the Economic Monetary Union. A multilevel analysis of European Union member governments' preferences on 40 EMU reform issues negotiated between 2010 and 2015 suggests that countries' financial sector exposure has significant explanatory power. Seeking to minimize the risk of costly bailouts, countries with highly exposed financial sectors were more likely to support solutions involving high degrees of European integration. In contrast, political factors had no systematic impact. These findings help to enhance our understanding of preference formation in the European Union and the viability of future EMU reform.


This study investigated the effects of feeding system on diurnal enteric methane (CH4) emissions from individual cows on commercial farms. Data were obtained from 830 cows across 12 farms, and data collated included production records, CH4 measurements (in the breath of cows using CH4 analysers at robotic milking stations for at least seven days) and diet composition. Cows received either a partial mixed ration (PMR) or a PMR with grazing. A linear mixed model was used to describe variation in CH4 emissions per individual cow and assess the effect of feeding system. Methane emissions followed a consistent diurnal pattern across both feeding systems, with emissions lowest between 05:00 and 08:59, and with a peak concentration between 17:00 and 20:59. No overall difference in emissions was found between feeding systems studied; however, differences were found in the diurnal pattern of CH4 emissions between feeding systems. The response in emissions to increasing dry matter intake was higher for cows fed PMR with grazing. This study showed that repeated spot measurements of CH4 emissions whilst cows are milked can be used to assess the effects of feeding system and potentially benchmark farms on level of emissions.


Cassava brown streak disease (CBSD) of cassava ( Manihot esculenta ) caused by cassava brown streak virus (CBSV) has been known in Tanzania since the 1930s, but has not been recorded previously in Mozambique. A virus disease survey of cassava was undertaken, therefore, in 1999 in Zambezia and Nampula Provinces, which are the main areas of production in Mozambique. During the survey, CBSD was identified for the first time in these areas of Mozambique. Disease incidences in some fields in coastal areas reached 80-100% and many of the main cassava cultivars were affected. Cassava is the staple crop for most of the rural population in northern Mozambique where food security is threatened by these high incidences of CBSD.


Young Criminal Lives is the first cradle-to-grave study of the experiences of some of the thousands of delinquent, difficult and destitute children passing through the early English juvenile reformatory system. The book breaks new ground in crime research, speaking to pressing present-day concerns around child poverty and youth justice, and resonating with a powerful public fascination for family history. Using innovative digital methods to unlock the Victorian life course, the authors have reconstructed the lives, families and neighbourhoods of 500 children living within, or at the margins of, the early English juvenile reformatory system. Four hundred of them were sent to reformatory and industrial schools in the north west of England from courts around the UK over a fifty-year period from the 1860s onwards. Young Criminal Lives is based on one of the most comprehensive sets of official and personal data ever assembled for a historical study of this kind. For the first time, these children can be followed on their journey in and out of reform and then though their adulthood and old age. The book centres on institutions celebrated in this period for their pioneering new approaches to child welfare and others that were investigated for cruelty and scandal. Both were typical of the new kind of state-certified provision offered, from the 1850s on, to children who had committed criminal acts, or who were considered 'vulnerable' to predation, poverty and the 'inheritance' of criminal dispositions. The notion that interventions can and must be evaluated in order to determine 'what works' now dominates public policy. But how did Victorian and Edwardian policy-makers and practitioners deal with this question? By what criteria, and on the basis of what kinds of evidence, did they judge their own successes and failures? Young Criminal Lives ends with a critical review of the historical rise of evidence-based policy-making within criminal justice. It will appeal to scholars and students of crime and penal policy, criminologists, sociologists, and social policy researchers and practitioners in youth justice and child protection.


This paper introduces the concept of adaptive temporal compressive sensing (CS) for video. We propose a CS algorithm to adapt the compression ratio based on the scene's temporal complexity, computed from the compressed data, without compromising the quality of the reconstructed video. The temporal adaptivity is manifested by manipulating the integration time of the camera, opening the possibility to realtime implementation. The proposed algorithm is a generalized temporal CS approach that can be incorporated with a diverse set of existing hardware systems.


Trust is the expectation of a person about another person's behavior. Trust is important for many security related decisions about, e.g., granting or revoking privileges, controlling access to sensitive resources and information, or evaluating intelligence gathered from multiple sources. More often than not, the issue is complicated even further because the person making the decision has no direct trust relationship with every single subject whose trustworthiness needs to be evaluated. So, the decision maker needs to rely on recommendations by others, and then somehow aggregate the trust related information that is collected. In this work we provide an algebraic framework in which we can describe multiple ways that trust related information can be aggregated to form a single value. We show the similarities and differences that the various so called trust computation algorithms have, and associate these with the algebraic properties of the framework that we consider.


Mandal et al. used a mitotic recombination screen to identify a mutation that gave rise to a Drosophila eye phenotype associated with loss of cells derived from those that divide during the second mitotic wave of third instar eye disc development. Analysis of BrdU incorporation revealed that mutant cells proliferated normally during the first rounds of cell division but eventually arrested in G1. The mutation, which they named tenured, mapped to a deletion in the gene encoding the cytochrome c oxidase subunit Va (CoVa,) resulting in a null allele; somatic mutants of other mitochondrial genes yielded a similar phenotype. Block of cell cycle progression appeared to be specific: tenured mutant cells differentiated, underwent appropriate morphological changes, and did not show enhanced apoptosis. Cyclin E abundance (but not expression of the cyclin E transcript) was reduced in tenured mutant cells, whereas that of cyclins A and B was normal. When Drosophila S2 cells were treated with CoVa dsRNA, cellular ATP slowly decreased to about 43% of that in wild-type cells, and attenuation of cell proliferation paralleled this decrease. The loss of ATP was accompanied by an increase in adenosine monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation (phosphorylation), and mutational analysis in vivo indicated that AMPK acted downstream of tenured. Further analysis of S2 cells treated with dsRNA and of double mutants in vivo indicated that p53 acted downstream of AMPK to regulate cyclin E abundance and G1 to S progression. Thus, the authors conclude that ATP production by the mitochondria regulates cell cycle progression through a specific signaling pathway. S. Mandal, P. Guptan, E. Owusu-Ansah, U. Banerjee, Mitochondrial regulation of cell cycle progression during development as revealed by the tenured mutation in Drosophila. Dev. Cell 9, 843-854 (2005). [PubMed]


The phenolic acid profile of honey depends greatly on its botanical and geographical origin. In this study, we carried out a quantitative analysis of phenolic acids in the ethyl acetate extract of 12 honeys collected from various regions in Greece. Our findings indicate that protocatechuic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, vanillic acid, caffeic acid and p-coumaric acid are the major phenolic acids of the honeys examined. Conifer tree honey (from pine and fir) contained significantly higher concentrations of protocatechuic and caffeic acid (mean: 6640 and 397 µg/kg honey respectively) than thyme and citrus honey (mean of protocatechuic and caffeic acid: 437.6 and 116 µg/kg honey respectively). p-Hydroxybenzoic acid was the dominant compound in thyme honeys (mean: 1252.5 µg/kg honey). We further examined the antioxidant potential (ORAC assay) of the extracts, their ability to influence viability of prostate cancer (PC-3) and breast cancer (MCF-7) cells as well as their lowering effect on TNF- α-induced adhesion molecule expression in endothelial cells (HAEC). ORAC values of Greek honeys ranged from 415 to 2129 µmol Trolox equivalent/kg honey and correlated significantly with their content in protocatechuic acid (p<0.001), p-hydroxybenzoic acid (p<0.01), vanillic acid (p<0.05), caffeic acid (p<0.01), p-coumaric acid (p<0.001) and their total phenolic content (p<0.001). Honey extracts reduced significantly the viability of PC-3 and MCF-7 cells as well as the expression of adhesion molecules in HAEC. Importantly, vanillic acid content correlated significantly with anticancer activity in PC-3 and MCF-7 cells (p<0.01, p<0.05 respectively). Protocatechuic acid, vanillic acid and total phenolic content correlated significantly with the inhibition of VCAM-1 expression (p<0.05, p<0.05 and p<0.01 respectively). In conclusion, Greek honeys are rich in phenolic acids, in particular protocatechuic and p-hydroxybenzoic acid and exhibit significant antioxidant, anticancer and antiatherogenic activities which may be attributed, at least in part, to their phenolic acid content.


This paper presents the concepts of fairness, rights and justice in human resource management through an examination of ethical theories and their application to managerial challenges which typically confront human resource managers in Kenya and in other countries. The main research drivers were focused on the personnel compensation, fair treatment in promotion among genders, rewarding and appraisal performance and provision of environment for employee's growth and advancement. The literature review employed various theories such as: Virtue Theory, Utilitarian Theory, Rawlsian Theory of Justice, and Kantian Theory. Of course, these approaches are considered in relation to the HRM implications. Purpose: The main purpose of the paper was to investigate the role of ethical consideration in Kenyan human resource management trends. Methodology and Research design: The paper employed a case research design. A survey of the selected study population from Nairobi Province of Kenya was carried out by the use of questionnaires through focus group discussions. The sample size of this research was estimated at 149 participants Findings: The findings suggest that the current human resource management is weak and should therefore employ ethical consideration to reengineer itself. Conclusion: This study is focused on the ethical considerations in human resource management in Kenya. Taken as a whole, our findings suggest that, there are some impediments associated with the current management and thus ethical consideration could help revamp the whole system. Keywords : Ethical consideration, Human resource management, Theories and principles, Kantian theory, Aristotelian ethics, Utilitarian Principle


Written specifically with sufferers and carers in mind, to help them understand and apply the basic concepts of cognitive therapy for psychosis. • Illustrates what it is like to have common psychosis and how people's lives can be restored using therapy. • Increases understanding of how the psychosis started, and the factors that worsen symptoms or increase the likelihood of relapse. • Helps the sufferer learn how to control symptoms and delay or prevent relapse. • Includes features and exercises to help sufferers explore their own beliefs and feelings to reflect on the way they cope. • Helps carers know what to say and what to do. • Provides a resource for mental health professionals working with patients, to introduce the approach, support ongoing therapy and make the most efficient use of appointment time.


Fuzzy clustering assigns a probability of membership for a datum to a cluster, which veritably reflects real-world clustering scenarios but significantly increases the complexity of understanding fuzzy clusters. Many studies have demonstrated that visualization techniques for multi-dimensional data are beneficial to understand fuzzy clusters. However, no empirical evidence exists on the effectiveness and efficiency of these visualization techniques in solving analytical tasks featured by fuzzy clusters. In this paper, we conduct a controlled experiment to evaluate the ability of fuzzy clusters analysis to use four multi-dimensional visualization techniques, namely, parallel coordinate plot, scatterplot matrix, principal component analysis, and Radviz. First, we define the analytical tasks and their representative questions specific to fuzzy clusters analysis. Then, we design objective questionnaires to compare the accuracy, time, and satisfaction in using the four techniques to solve the questions. We also design subjective questionnaires to collect the experience of the volunteers with the four techniques in terms of ease of use, informativeness, and helpfulness. With a complete experiment process and a detailed result analysis, we test against four hypotheses that are formulated on the basis of our experience, and provide instructive guidance for analysts in selecting appropriate and efficient visualization techniques to analyze fuzzy clusters.


The development of miniaturized chromatographic systems localized within individual polymer microspheres and their incorporation into a bead-based cross-reactive sensor array platform is reported. The integrated chromatographic and detection concept is based on the creation of distinct functional layers within the microspheres. In this first example of the new methodology, complexing ligands have been selectively immobilized to create "separation" layers harboring an affinity for various metal cations. Additionally, a broadly responsive compleximetric dye is used to yield the "detection" layers that exhibit optical responses in the presence of a wide range of metal cations. Information concerning the identities and concentrations of solution-dissolved metal cations can be drawn from the temporal properties of the beads' optical responses. Varying the nature of the ligand in the separation shell yields a collection of cross-reactive sensing elements well-suited for use in array-based micrototal analysis systems. Accordingly, such beads have been incorporated into the "Electronic Taste Chip" platform and used for discriminating among aqueous metal cation solutions.


Henoch–Schönlein purpura (HSP) is a systemic small-vessel leucocytoclastic vasculitis with deposition of immune complexes containing Immunoglobulin A (IgA). IgA Nephropathy (IgAN) is a glomerulonephritis caused by mesangial deposition of IgA. The onset of HSP, but not IgAN, has been linked to influenza vaccination. We report the first case of HSP with glomerular involvement, in a renal transplant recipient following influenza vaccination. The patient had prior end-stage renal failure (ESRF) secondary to IgAN, without clinical evidence of IgAN recurrence after transplantation. This is of clinical relevance as influenza vaccination is regarded safe, effective, and recommended after renal transplantation. Nephrologists should be aware of the potential for influenza vaccination to have adverse effects in renal transplant recipients, especially if the primary renal disease is HSP or IgAN.


Many well-read students, historians, and loyal aficionados of Texas Ranger lore know the name of Texas Ranger Captain Frank Jones (1856-1893), who died on the Texas-Mexico border in a shootout with Mexican rustlers. In Six-Shooters and Shifting Sands, Bob Alexander has now penned the first full-length biography of this important nineteenth-century Texas Ranger.
At an early age Frank Jones, a native Texan, would become a Frontier Battalion era Ranger. His enlistment with the Rangers coincided with their transition from Indian fighters to lawmen. While serving in the Frontier Battalion officers' corps of Company D, Frank Jones supervised three of the four "great" captains of that era: J.A. Brooks, John H. Rogers, and John R. Hughes. Besides Austin Ira Aten and his younger brothers Calvin Grant Aten and Edwin Dunlap Aten, Captain Jones also managed law enforcement activities of numerous other noteworthy Rangers, such as Philip Cuney "P.C." Baird, Benjamin Dennis Lindsey, Bazzell Lamar "Baz" Outlaw, J. Walter Durbin, Jim King, Frank Schmid, and Charley Fusselman, to name just a few.
Frank Jones' law enforcing life was anything but boring. Not only would he find himself dodging bullets and returning fire, but those Rangers under his supervision would also experience gunplay. Of all the Texas Ranger companies, Company D contributed the highest number of on-duty deaths within Texas Ranger ranks.
The contents include: "Dragged to the ground lanced and scalped" -- "Beneath the heel of an indignant legislature" -- "We fought under the black flag" -- "Several shots and run him into the river" -- "Sworn enemy to Rangers and sheriffs" -- "Sixty thousand dollars to spend" -- "Most bold, high-handed murder" -- "Damnable act of savagery" -- "He caught for a pistol" -- "A strong undercurrent of excitement" -- "By God, they will never come back" -- "Just plain legal assassination" -- "The shooting was promiscuous and lively" -- "We have been compelled to do some killing" -- "Boys, I am killed".


The goal of this paper is to determine how widespread the presence of a code of ethics is and the possible relationship between the presence of a code of ethics in Czech companies and the positive economic results of those companies over the last five years. The number of companies that are introducing ethical management continues to grow globally, including in the Czech Republic. A code of ethics is a tool with which to determine the ethical infrastructure of a company, as well as manage it. However, expert opinions on the possible economic impact of ethical management differ considerably. A statistical analysis of the results obtained from a questionnaire survey conducted among a sample of 297 companies showed that the presence of a code of ethics, or a lack thereof, has no demonstrable impact on the economic results of a company regardless of its size.


Mental health disorders are the signature wounds of war resulting from extended U.S. Military conflicts in the Middle East [1]. In an effort to abate the number of Service Members that develop mental health disorders in these conflicts, USC-ICT has created the Stress Resilience in Virtual Environments (STRIVE) project, a set of highly realistic virtual reality combat scenarios and resilience-building sessions designed for pre-deployed military personnel. This short-paper looks at self-reported differences in personality, emotion control, and presence between two different groups, pre-military and non-military, of pilot subjects that tested a prototype of the first four modules of STRIVE.


IMPORTANCE
The effect of surgical complications on hospital finances is unclear.

OBJECTIVE
To determine the relationship between major surgical complications and per-encounter hospital costs and revenues by payer type.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
Retrospective analysis of administrative data for all inpatient surgical discharges during 2010 from a nonprofit 12-hospital system in the southern United States. Discharges were categorized by principal procedure and occurrence of 1 or more postsurgical complications, using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, diagnosis and procedure codes. Nine common surgical procedures and 10 major complications across 4 payer types were analyzed. Hospital costs and revenue at discharge were obtained from hospital accounting systems and classified by payer type.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES
Hospital costs, revenues, and contribution margin (defined as revenue minus variable expenses) were compared for patients with and without surgical complications according to payer type.

RESULTS
Of 34,256 surgical discharges, 1820 patients (5.3%; 95% CI, 4.4%-6.4%) experienced 1 or more postsurgical complications. Compared with absence of complications, complications were associated with a $39,017 (95% CI, $20,069-$50,394; P < .001) higher contribution margin per patient with private insurance ($55,953 vs $16,936) and a $1749 (95% CI, $976-$3287; P < .001) higher contribution margin per patient with Medicare ($3629 vs $1880). For this hospital system in which private insurers covered 40% of patients (13,544), Medicare covered 45% (15,406), Medicaid covered 4% (1336), and self-payment covered 6% (2202), occurrence of complications was associated with an $8084 (95% CI, $4903-$9740; P < .001) higher contribution margin per patient ($15,726 vs $7642) and with a $7435 lower per-patient total margin (95% CI, $5103-$10,507; P < .001) ($1013 vs -$6422).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
In this hospital system, the occurrence of postsurgical complications was associated with a higher per-encounter hospital contribution margin for patients covered by Medicare and private insurance but a lower one for patients covered by Medicaid and who self-paid. Depending on payer mix, many hospitals have the potential for adverse near-term financial consequences for decreasing postsurgical complications.


OBJECTIVE--To examine the effect of physical training on physical fitness and blood pressure in children aged 9-11 years. DESIGN--Prospective randomised controlled intervention study of a sample of children drawn from a population survey of coronary risk factors in children. SETTING--Odense, Denmark. SUBJECTS--69 children with mean blood pressure greater than or equal to 95th centile (hypertensive group) and 68 with mean blood pressure less than 95th centile (normotensive group), randomly selected from a population of 1369 children. INTERVENTION--67 children were randomised to receive three extra lessons a week of an ordinary school physical education programme for eight months. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Physical fitness assessed by calculation of maximum oxygen uptake and blood pressure recorded by one unblinded observer. RESULTS--After three months neither blood pressure nor physical fitness had changed significantly. After adjustment for values in weight, height, heart rate, and the variable in question before training physical fitness rose significantly at the end of eight months' training, by 3.7 mlO2/kg/min (95% confidence interval 2.2 to 5.3) in the normotensive training subgroup and by 2.1 mlO2/kg/min (0.1 to 4.2) in the hypertensive training subgroup compared with that in the controls. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures in the training subgroups fell significantly by 6.5 mm Hg (3.2 to 9.9) and 4.1 mm Hg (1.7 to 6.6) respectively in the normotensive group and by 4.9 mm Hg (0.7 to 9.2) and 3.8 mm Hg (0.9 to 6.6) respectively in the hypertensive group. CONCLUSIONS--Physical training lowers blood pressure and improves physical fitness in children and might have implications for an important non-pharmacological approach to primary prevention of essential hypertension.


Recent studies point to climate change being one of the long-term drivers of agricultural market uncertainty. To advance in the understanding of the influence of climate change on future agricultural market developments, we compare a reference scenario for 2030 with alternative simulation scenarios that differ regarding: (1) emission scenarios; (2) climate projections; and (3) the consideration of carbon fertilization effects. For each simulation scenario, the CAPRI model provides global and EU-wide impacts of climate change on agricultural markets. Results show that climate change would considerably affect agrifood markets up to 2030. Nevertheless, market-driven adaptation strategies (production intensification, trade adjustments) would soften the impact of yield shocks on supply and demand. As a result, regional changes in production would be lower than foreseen by other studies focused on supply effects.


ABSTRACT Past research on environmental justice concerns has focused primarily on the siting of hazardous waste facilities. Less research has been done on other aspects of environmental policy in which concerns of racial or other injustices arise. This study shows that environmental injustice is not limited to the sitting of hazardous facilities or the occurrence of pollution, but occurs also at the policy formation and implementation stages in other areas such as solid waste management. To study this issue, this study focuses on the implementation of the Illinois Solid Waste Management Act of 1988, in two counties in north-eastern Illinois, Kankakee and Will. In neither of the two counties were minorities included in the planning process, and out of a total of 91 advisory committee members, minority interests were represented by only one black male. At the same time racial minorities made up about 15 percent of the total population in the two counties. The study shows that the main reason for this lack of representation is not a lack of environmental concern among blacks. Nor can it be explained by a lack of interest in participation in environmental decision-making among blacks. Rather, the study shows that the process is led by misconceptions among planners and decision-makers who generally believe that blacks are not interested in environmental issues and therefore not interested in participating in environmental decision-making. The conclusion of this study is that it is the belief held by local planners and decision-makers that there is a lack of interest in environmental issues among blacks, that produced a planning process in which the interest of minorities were not represented.


Recently, person-organization fit has been shown to relate to a number of positive workrelated outcomes. However, the relationship between fit and career success has not yet been directly examined. The present study provides the first investigation of this relationship. Graduates from industrial relations programs in two large universities were surveyed to assess their preferences for particular organizational environments, the level of career success they had attained, and the nature of the organizational environments in which they worked. Results indicated that person-organization fit was a significant predictor of both extrinsic measures of success (salary, job level attained, and number of promotions received), and intrinsic measures of success Gob and life satisfaction). Implications of the results for individuals and organizations are discussed.


Firms tend to cluster in close geographic proximity to each other to benefit from reduced transport costs, shared inputs, and productivity spillovers due to learning and technology transfers. Evidence from low-income countries suggests that such agglomeration economies may be substantial in endogenously formed clusters. This raises the question of whether spatial industrial policies can be designed to facilitate clustering. In this paper, we consider the case for creating Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in Africa. We document at the country level the state of current SEZ programmes and the policy measures in place for their promotion. We give an overview of the evidence on their success and provide a set of policy recommendations to improve SEZs performance.


This work presents the first field trial using the return-to-zero differential-phase-shift-keying (RZ-DPSK) modulation format. A 96/spl times/10-Gb/s RZ-DPSK field trial was conducted over a 13 100-km optical undersea path by double passing the installed 6550-km underwater link which was deployed with non-slope-matched submarine fibers. All channels performed with more than a 3-dB forward-error correction margin, including channels that accumulated over /spl plusmn/13 000ps/nm of dispersion. It is also shown that the RZ-DPSK format has similar residual dispersion and channel power tolerance for both slope-matched and non-slope-matched fibers. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the chirped RZ-DPSK format could further improve system performance by 1-2 dB.


All service organizations seek to deliver the customer experience they planned. No organization is perfect, though, and so the best of them plan for inevitable failures. Since the experience exists in the minds of customers who individually determine its quality and value, service organizations must not only plan the service delivery system thoroughly, but create ways for it to heal when it breaks. Any delivery system that relies heavily on employees for its success will need to include the means for those employees to find and fix the problems that arise. The process presented here is a systematic approach to assessing customer satisfaction before, during, and after the service experience. Designing the system requires that you study your customers in intimate detail, build a service delivery system that will deliver the experience they expect from your organization, monitor that system closely, create accurate early warning measures for each of the many possible failure points, engage everyone in the organization in watching those measures, and follow up on everything that doesn't meet your customers' expectations. The techniques that constitute this process ensure that service organizations both systematically plan for customer satisfaction and ensure that there are ways to heal any part of the service delivery system that is broken. A "self-healing system" allows employees to override the delivery system and fix customer problems when they occur and ensures that the system designers improve it to prevent it from failing again in the same way.


We study a stylized theory of the volatility reduction in the U.S. after 1984—the Great Moderation—which attributes part of the stabilization to less volatile shocks and another part to more difficult inference on the part of Bayesian households attempting to learn the latent state of the economy. We use a standard equilibrium business cycle model with technology following an unobserved regime-switching process. After 1984, according to Kim and Nelson (1999a), the variance of U.S. macroeconomic aggregates declined because boom and recession regimes moved closer together, keeping conditional variance unchanged. In our model this makes the signal extraction problem more difficult for Bayesian households, and in response they moderate their behavior, reinforcing the effect of the less volatile stochastic technology and contributing an extra measure of moderation to the economy. We construct example economies in which this learning effect accounts for about 30 percent of a volatility reduction of the magnitude observed in the postwar U.S. data.


Negative medical findings are prevalent in clinical reports, yet discriminating them from positive findings remains a challenging task for in-formation extraction. Most of the existing systems treat this task as a pipeline of two separate tasks, i.e., named entity recognition (NER)and rule-based negation detection. We consider this as a multi-task problem and present a novel end-to-end neural model to jointly extract entities and negations. We extend a standard hierarchical encoder-decoder NER model and first adopt a shared encoder followed by separate decoders for the two tasks. This architecture performs considerably better than the previous rule-based and machine learning-based systems. To overcome the problem of increased parameter size especially for low-resource settings, we propose the Conditional Softmax Shared Decoder architecture which achieves state-of-art results for NER and negation detection on the 2010 i2b2/VA challenge dataset and a proprietary de-identified clinical dataset.


This study aimed to solicit the perspective of tourism, hotel and restaurant management students and graduates of a state-run university in Eastern Visayas, Philippines on how they should be taught, what should be given more emphasis and importance in the courses that are included in the programs' curricula, if the existing curricular program will make them ready and prepared for the actual work. The designers of the curriculum for the course are claiming that the degree should be geared toward preparing the graduates to become managers in the industry and so therefore managerial aspects should be given more weights rather than emphasizing the technical-vocational features of the course. However, it is a given fact that the technical aspect could not be detached from the curriculum as dictated by the skills needed by the industry. Views of the students were solicited via face-to-face interview and the use of social media. Two major competencies have been exemplified in the hospitality management curricula of the university, the technical and managerial skills and the students were agreeable that both competencies are necessary to develop and prepare them for the actual work in the industry.


1 Casa di Cura Villa Pia, Rome, Italy 2 Health Center Bios Due, Rome, Italy 3 Mathsly, Milan, Italy Abstract This study evaluated the oral administration of a new supplement containing a combination of bioactive agents (hyaluronic acid, glucosamine sulfate, chondroitin sulfate, alpha-lipoic acid, methylsulfonylmethane and vitamins A, C and E). The objective of the study was to demonstrate that the oral administration of this product combats vulvovaginal atrophy in young women. This observational study recruited 32 women of fertile age with vaginal dryness, post-coital cystitis and/or dyspareunia (painful intercourse). Patients were evaluated using the VHI scale and the FSFI at baseline and at each follow-up. All patients took one tablet of the supplement twice daily (morning and evening) for two months. After two months, 28 patients (87%) showed an improvement in symptoms and reported complete remission. At the first follow-up at three months, that is, one month after stopping treatment, no substantial changes were reported. At the second follow-up at four months, that is, two months after stopping treatment, vaginal dryness had recurred, and patients were asked to re-start the therapy. We can conclude that this product is highly effective in young women suffering from vaginal dryness and sexual dysfunction caused by oxidative stress.


ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION I. REVIEW OF EMPIRICAL STUDIES A. Study 1 B. Study 2 C. Study 3 D. Interpretation II. ARE THE REGULATIONS A SUCCESS? A. Debate Preceding Bill C-91 B. "Original Policy Intent" C. "Patent-Specific" Analysis D. Statutory Interpretation E. Revisiting the Empirical Data III. IMPLICATIONS FOR PHARMACEUTICAL LAW AND POLICY A. Theory of Linkage-Based Drug Development B. Globalization of Pharmaceutical Linkage SUMMARY & CONCLUSIONS INTRODUCTION The Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations (NOC Regulations) (1) came into force in 1993 as part of Canada's perceived obligations under TRIPS and NAFTA to support the domestic pharmaceutical industry. (2) The original policy intent of the regulations, as outlined in successive government Regulatory Impact Analysis Statements (RIAS), was to encourage the development of new and innovative drugs and facilitate the timely market entry of generic drugs, and thus, to balance the goals and objectives of food and drug law with those of patent law. Prior to the linkage regime coming into force, drug regulation and drug patenting represented distinct goals and policy objectives. (3) This balancing exercise is a familiar one to the intellectual property bar owing to the quid pro quo of the traditional patent bargain. Thus, under the terms of the linkage regime, there must be a specific functional legal nexus between approved drugs and patent protection for those drugs pursuant to the NOC Regulations. As appreciated in the early literature on topic, (4) it was not output metrics but a combination of lobbying by the U.S. pharmaceutical industry, its hopeful domestic university funding partners, and a federal government bent on harmonizing the Canadian system of intellectual property with that of the United States that led to enactment of the NOC Regulations. Once the domestic U.S. policy environment was recalibrated away from nascent support for a Canadian-based system of price controls and towards preventing nations such as Canada from having systems of intellectual property law that were perceived to be based on "rights piracy," (5) stronger patent protection in Canada was inevitable. However, with one notable exception,6 few independent observers would have guessed during the debate on patent reform that the linkage regime would potentially tip so far to the rights-protection end of the spectrum. It has now been almost two decades since the regulations were enacted subsequent to Canada's perceived obligations under NAFTA and TRIPS. Given the continuing public debate over high drug prices, (7) the large fraction of research and development carried out by publicly-funded institutions that is ultimately enveloped within commercialized products, (8) and wide criticism of the failings of the patent system to promote innovation, (9) it is an excellent time to assess whether the NOC Regulations have satisfied the twin policy goals of encouraging new and innovative drug development and the timely market entry of generic drugs. We have chosen as the vehicle of our investigation, the growing field of empirical legal research. The empirical work reviewed and discussed here was designed to investigate whether and how the NOC Regulations have encouraged the development of new and innovative drugs since being enacted. The importance of empirical studies to assessing the efficiency and effectiveness of policy levers such as intellectual property law and regulations cannot be overstated. As noted by some of the most prominent economists, innovation scholars, and patent scholars over the last decades, (10) robust conclusions regarding the consequences for technological innovation of changes in patent law and policy are few and far between. This is due primarily to a fundamental lack of relevant empirical data. The same applies in the reverse, as governments have specific legal and policy goals in mind when drafting law and regulations, which are then reviewable by the courts in judicial review proceedings. …


Background JAMA introduced a requirement for independent statistical analysis for industry-funded trials in July 2005. We wanted to see whether this policy affected the number of industry-funded trials published by JAMA. Methods and Findings We undertook a retrospective, before-and-after study of published papers. Two investigators independently extracted data from all issues of JAMA published between 1 July 2002 and 30 June 2008 (i.e., three years before and after the policy). They were not blinded to publication date. The randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were classified as industry funded (IF), joint industry/non-commercial funding (J), industry supported (IS) (when manufacturers provided materials only), non-commercial (N) or funding not stated (NS). Findings were compared and discrepancies resolved by discussion or further analysis of the reports. RCTs published in The Lancet and NEJM over the same period were used as a control group. Between July 2002 and July 2008, JAMA published 1,314 papers, of which 311 were RCTs. The number of industry studies (IF, J or IS) fell significantly after the policy (p = 0.02) especially for categories J and IS. However, over the same period, the number of industry studies rose in both The Lancet and NEJM. Conclusions After the requirement for independent statistical analysis for industry-funded studies, JAMA published significantly fewer RCTs and significantly fewer industry-funded RCTs. This pattern was not seen in the control journals. This suggests the JAMA policy affected the number of submissions, the acceptance rate, or both. Without analysing the submissions, we cannot check these hypotheses but, assuming the number of published papers is related to the number submitted, our findings suggest that JAMA's policy may have resulted in a significant reduction in the number of industry-sponsored trials it received and published.


Aim:
Forest height, an important biophysical property, underlies the distribution of carbon stocks across scales. Because in situ observations are labour intensive and thus impractical for large-scale mapping and monitoring of forest heights, most previous studies adopted statistical approaches to help alleviate measured data discontinuity in space and time. Here, we document an improved modelling approach which links metabolic scaling theory and the water–energy balance equation with actual observations in order to produce large-scale patterns of forest heights.
Methods:
Our model, called allometric scaling and resource limitations (ASRL), accounts for the size-dependent metabolism of trees whose maximum growth is constrained by local resource availability. Geospatial predictors used in the model are altitude and monthly precipitation, solar radiation, temperature, vapour pressure and wind speed. Disturbance history (i.e. stand age) is also incorporated to estimate contemporary forest heights.
Results:
This study provides a baseline map (c. 2005; 1-km^2 grids) of forest heights over the contiguous United States. The Pacific Northwest/California is predicted as the most favourable region for hosting large trees (c. 100 m) because of sufficient annual precipitation (> 1400 mm), moderate solar radiation (c. 330 W m^(−2)) and temperature (c. 14 °C). Our results at sub-regional level are generally in good and statistically significant (P-value < 0.001) agreement with independent reference datasets: field measurements [mean absolute error (MAE) = 4.0 m], airborne/spaceborne lidar (MAE = 7.0 m) and an existing global forest height product (MAE = 4.9 m). Model uncertainties at county level are also discussed in this study.
Main conclusions:
We improved the metabolic scaling theory to address variations in vertical forest structure due to ecoregion and plant functional type. A clear mechanistic understanding embedded within the model allowed synergistic combinations between actual observations and multiple geopredictors in forest height mapping. This approach shows potential for prognostic applications, unlike previous statistical approaches.


Aviation is one of the most regulated industries in the world. The massive expansion and growth of aviation in the South-East Asia region has brought up many challenges in ensuring airworthiness of aircraft, both in the civil and military aviation domain. These challenges not only affect the safe operations of aircraft but also result in various issues in the areas of cost, infrastructure, human capital and resources. From the point of view of civil aviation, local authorities in the region have taken several initiatives to tackle these challenges, based on the foundations laid out by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). When it comes to military aviation, agencies, such as the Directorate General Technical Airworthiness (DGTA) of Malaysia, have initiated the regulation of the compliance of military aircraft operations. There has also been an increased focus on awareness of the importance of airworthiness and safety as well as the development of a risk-based approach which is both proactive and cost-efficient.


Discourse particles have been a topic of interest in the research community for decades. Despite the vast number of scholarly outputs dedicated to this area, it appears that little has been done on the use of discourse particles by non-native speakers. This paper attempts to address this largely neglected issue by examining the use of well as a discourse particle by Hong Kong Chinese speakers of English in a series of a TV current affairs talk show. Results show that contrary to the prevalent view in the Hong Kong educational setting that discourse particles are a sign of dysfluent speech, the discourse particle well in the data fulfils a wide range of functions which are crucial for participants to sail through different situations. This raises the question whether the status of discourse particles in second language learning, if they have any, should be re-assessed.


Cross-correlator plays a significant role in many visual perception tasks, such as object detection and tracking. Beyond the linear cross-correlator, this paper proposes a kernel cross-correlator (KCC) that breaks traditional limitations. First, by introducing the kernel trick, the KCC extends the linear cross-correlation to non-linear space, which is more robust to signal noises and distortions. Second, the connection to the existing works shows that KCC provides a unified solution for correlation filters. Third, KCC is applicable to any kernel function and is not limited to circulant structure on training data, thus it is able to predict affine transformations with customized properties. Last, by leveraging the fast Fourier transform (FFT), KCC eliminates direct calculation of kernel vectors, thus achieves better performance yet still with a reasonable computational cost. Comprehensive experiments on visual tracking and human activity recognition using wearable devices demonstrate its robustness, flexibility, and efficiency. The source codes of both experiments are released at https://github.com/wang-chen/KCC.


Excerpt] Many people do not receive the social benefits to which they are entitled. Benefit systems differ considerably among EU Member States, but such 'non-take-up' (or 'non-give-out') seems to be common across the EU. This study investigates the extent of non-take-up and seeks to explain it. It further explores how non-take-up can be addressed, presenting case studies from 10 Member States: Austria, Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands, France, Romania, Slovakia and the UK. The focus is on non-take-up of monetary social benefits that support people in vulnerable situations, including minimum income, housing, health, old-age, heating, child, unemployment, disability and care benefits. The study takes the magnitude and entitlement criteria of the benefits as a given, determined by governments.


: The deep ocean hosts a large diversity of azooxanthellate cold-water corals whose associated microbiomes remain to be described. While the bacterial genus Endozoicomonas has been widely identified as a dominant associate of tropical and temperate corals, it has rarely been detected in deep-sea corals. Determining microbial baselines for these cold-water corals is a critical first step to understanding the ecosystem services their microbiomes con-tribute, while providing a benchmark against which to measure responses to environmental change or anthropogenic effects. Samples of Acanthogorgia aspera , A. spissa , Desmophyllum dianthus , and D. pertusum (Lophelia pertusa) were collected from western Atlantic sites off the US east coast and from the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. Microbiomes were characterized by 16S rRNA gene amplicon surveys. Although D. dianthus and D. pertusum have recently been combined into a single genus due to their genetic similarity, their microbiomes were significantly different. The Acanthogorgia spp. were collected from submarine canyons in different regions, but their microbiomes were extremely similar and dominated by Endozoicomonas . This is the first re port of coral microbiomes dominated by Endozoico monas occurring below 1000 m, at temperatures near 4°C. D. pertusum from 2 Atlantic sites were also dominated by distinct Endozoicomonas , unlike D. pertusum from other sites described in previous studies, including the Gulf of Mexico, the Mediterranean Sea and a Norwegian fjord.


I. Hydrogen and fuel cell technologies are being championed as the way to further environmental and national security policy objectives.1 The widespread enthusiasm accompanying these technologies is apparent in recent policy initiatives.2 For example, in his 2003 State of the Union Address, President Bush proposed $1.2 billion in funding to develop "clean hydrogen-powered" automobiles.3 In January 2002, Secretary Abraham of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the Administration's plan to develop a hydrogen fueled "Freedom CAR."4 State governments5 and a number of industrial firms6 are also involved. These programs have created a fervor where potential obstacles to widespread deployment of hydrogen technologies to the general public are rarely discussed and liability implications are seldom considered. Furthermore, none of the current studies or policy initiatives on the hydrogen economy address tort liabilities that could be associated with the unique physical properties of hydrogen. The unique physical properties of hydrogen lead to significant differences in the use, hazard detection, and likelihood of injuries as compared to other conventional or alternative fuels. Therefore, consideration of tort law issues associated with hydrogen, including negligence, products liability, and abnormally dangerous activity could impose additional operational costs as insurance premiums or in the management of potentially adverse publicity. These additional costs have yet to be considered in the discussion of the hydrogen economy. II. The heart of the hydrogen economy is the fuel cell. Fuel cells are similar to batteries in that they chemically combine two reactants to generate electricity.7 In a battery, the reactants and reaction products are permanently contained. Some batteries can be recharged with an external power supply that drives the discharge chemical reactions in reverse. A fuel cell differs from a battery because it does not permanently contain either the reactants or reaction products.8 A fuel cell operates by pumping reactants into the cell, as reaction products are vented and electricity is generated. Fuel cells are not electrically rechargeable but, in principle, can operate indefinitely as additional reactants are supplied. The reactants used in virtually all fuel cells are oxygen, obtained from air, and hydrogen, with water as the reaction product. A few experimental systems substitute methanol for hydrogen because engineering the reactant storage system for direct methanol fuel cells is simplified as methanol is a liquid at room temperatures.9 These systems, however, have lower current densities than hydrogen fuel cells and produce carbon dioxide (CO2). Furthermore, there are serious concerns that because methanol is water soluble, leaks in storage tanks associated with the distribution infrastructure could contaminate groundwater supplies.10 Some engineers have proposed hydrogen distribution systems based on chemical compounds such as sodium hydride.11 However, at least a few of these systems involve recycling procedures that are subject to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and are burdened with compliance costs for Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations associated with the handling of hazardous wastes.12 Devices called reformers, designed to convert gasoline or methanol to hydrogen (and CO2) on demand, are being developed, because they take advantage of the existing energy infrastructure.13 However, it will be a challenge for those self-contained chemical plants, combined with already expensive fuel cells, to compete with conventional or alternative fuel systems (e.g., natural gas, batteries) in terms of cost, weight, or packaging volume. Certain characteristics of hydrogen are attractive and widely touted. Unlike petroleum or other hydrocarbon fuels, hydrogen used in vehicles or stationary fuel cell applications produces only water vapor emissions. …


Creativity is a talent that undergirds invention and innovation, making it an important skill in today's society. Although students are often told to "be creative," they many times do not know how and have little practice in this skill. This document presents an analysis of 33 creative products made by adult participants at a state conference for educators working with preK-12 gifted students or their teachers as a model for what teachers can do in their classrooms to allow students to practice creative thinking. During the conference presentation, Torrance's creative strengths were reviewed with photographic examples, definitions, and suggestions printed on handouts. For the problem-solving game, each participant was given an identical set of recycled/craft materials, and about 30 minutes to create an object or scene fitting with a given theme. This presentation was delivered each of the two days of the conference with a different theme each day: "under water" was the theme the first day and "cool space" was the theme for the products on the second day. Participants each created an object that exhibited creative strengths and followed game-rules using the additional tools of scissors, glue, markers, and thread. Photographs of the final products are shown with their creative strengths identified. Most participants were successful in developing products that showed five creative strengths as required by the game rules. The most common approach to making a creative product that exhibited creative strengths was to tell an original story involving some motion that was detailed, artistically appealing, or humorous, and contained characters with emotional expressions. Because of the success and enthusiasm of participants for the game, the authors recommend it for students, clubs, and recreational activities. [7 Tables, 33 Figures, 6 References]


Approaches to determining the factuality of diagnoses and findings in clinical text tend to rely on dictionaries of marker words for uncertainty and negation. Here, a method for semi-automatically expanding a dictionary of marker words using distributional semantics is presented and evaluated. It is shown that ranking candidates for inclusion according to their proximity to cluster centroids of semantically similar seed words is more successful than ranking them according to proximity to each individual seed word.


In this study, the corrosion behavior of steel in mortars with fly ash was investigated. Electrochemical measurements including the half-cell potential, current density, anodic polarization and cathodic polarization were performed. The test results showed that corrosion current densities in chloride contaminated fly ash mortars with longer curing are within the passivity limit. Also, from the anodic polarization curves, the passivity grades in chloride contaminated fly ash mortars with longer curing were the same as Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) mortars which indicates that mortars with this binder can provide passivity to steel bars as effective as OPC mortars. Moreover, by cathodic polarization test, fly ash mortars exhibited the ability to reduce oxygen availability which leads to enhancement in corrosion performance.