Food is one of the most basic needs for human survival. Access to it is a basic human right. Moreover, the pursuit of the Millennium Development Goal to cut hunger requires a sound understanding of the related food security issues. For these reasons, accurate measurement of the food security status of populations—or their ability to gain access to sufficient high-quality food to enable them to live an active, healthy life—is imperative to all international development efforts. It is necessary for effectively targeting food-insecure populations, researching and planning appropriate interventions, and monitoring progress. As past efforts have shown, accurately estimating the amount of food people eat is costly in terms of time and money, and such measurements have thus been carried out mostly in small populations. Where measurement has been extended to large populations, such as entire countries, it has been necessary to rely on less accurate, indirect techniques based on the availability of food at the national level. This technical guide presents a new avenue for measuring food security, for both small and large populations, based on the data collected as part of household expenditure surveys on the quantities of food acquired by households. It shows how these data can be used to measure a variety of food security indicators, including the prevalence of food energy deficiency and indicators of dietary quality and economic vulnerability to food insecurity. In keeping with the approach of IFPRI's Food Security in Practice series for practitioners, the manual guides readers step by step through the process of assessing the food security status of a population. It begins by offering guidance on choosing an appropriate strategy for calculating quantities of foods acquired by households, given time constraints, financial constraints, and the nature of the population's diet. The guide then leads the practitioner through the steps of collecting the data, processing and cleaning the data, and calculating the indicators. It concludes by illustrating how to conduct some basic food security analyses. I hope that this guide will assist practitioners in increasing the accuracy of the measurement of food insecurity for a greater number of populations, including those at the country level. Greater accuracy at the country level will provide the necessary foundations for overcoming food insecurity globally


Spectrum sharing systems have been introduced to alleviate the problem of spectrum scarcity by allowing secondary unlicensed networks to share the spectrum with primary licensed networks under acceptable interference levels to the primary users. In this paper, we develop interference-aware random beam selection schemes that provide enhanced throughput for the secondary link under the condition that the interference observed at the primary link is within a predetermined acceptable value. For a secondary transmitter equipped with multiple antennas, our schemes select a random beam, among a set of power- optimized orthogonal random beams, that maximizes the capacity of the secondary link while satisfying the interference constraint at the primary receiver for different levels of feedback information describing the interference level at the primary receiver. For the proposed schemes, we develop a statistical analysis for the signal-to-noise and interference ratio (SINR) statistics as well as the capacity of the secondary link. Finally, we present numerical results that study the effect of system parameters including number of beams and the maximum transmission power on the capacity of the secondary link attained using the proposed schemes.


The theme of the current paper has arisen from the context of teaching literature to undergraduates in Japan. I will base my discussion on several examples of visual translation done by my students. They were asked to visualise what seems most crucial to them in the story they read in the literature class. The paper explores the relationship between the choice of represented participants and what is perceived as a salient element in the story; namely, how written words in literary texts can be translated into visual manifestations and most importantly how the given visualisation is motivated by the reader and what it indicates about their interpretation of the written text. The paper first gives a brief outline of some issues of reading in the age of the internet and its impact on reading in general in terms of social semiotics. It will then draw attention to some specific data in order to explore the relationship between the affordances of two modes. What is there to tell the story and show the world-view of the reader? The data shows how different readers position their point of view, from which the story is appreciated. By looking at how the given text can contribute to a more active understanding of the story. The paper therefore explores some positive outcomes of a multimodal reading of literary texts. My proposal here is that the approach can actually enhance awareness towards language use rather than pushing it aside – in order to visually translate the verbal narrative, one needs to have a precise focus or a specific perspective from which the story is read and interpreted. The current research demonstrates the potential of reading as a more open-ended and creative sign-making activity.


Developing and training faculty members to integrate cyberspace technology into the classroom for student learning is basically a necessity in today's competitive world of education, but many educators fear or resist it due to lack of effective training. As such, administrators should focus on the effective development, training, and retaining of qualified educators to teach in various distance learning modalities (online, on-ground, and blended formats) using cyberspace technology while focusing on effectively achieving learning outcomes. An emersion model of training used for "training-the-trainers" in the corporate arena as well as for faculty development is presented for application and benchmarking. Personal experiences and best practices gleaned from different universities (business programs using cutting edge technologies) and corporate computer-based training are discussed. Also, best practices and suggestions for effective faculty compensation and teaching load in distance education are explored. Furthermore, administrators must ask for participation and interaction of experienced educators in order to glean and highlight their successes as well as challenges they face currently in serving the needs of diverse student populations in distance education. Both means and processes for effective faculty development and training in a just-in-time basis with least cost and expenditure should be implemented by the administration.


Ribavirin (RBV) has been widely used as an antiviral reagent, specifically for patients with chronic hepatitis C. We previously demonstrated that adenosine kinase, which monophosphorylates RBV into the metabolically active form, is a key determinant for RBV sensitivity against hepatitis C virus RNA replication. However, the precise mechanism of RBV action and whether RBV affects cellular metabolism remain unclear. Analysis of liver gene expression profiles obtained from patients with advanced chronic hepatitis C treated with the combination of pegylated interferon and RBV showed that the adenosine kinase expression level tends to be lower in patients who are overweight and significantly decreases with progression to advanced fibrosis stages. In our effort to investigate whether RBV affects cellular metabolism, we found that RBV treatment under clinically achievable concentrations suppressed lipogenesis in hepatic cells. In this process, guanosine triphosphate depletion through inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase inhibition by RBV and adenosine monophosphate‐activated protein kinase‐related kinases, especially microtubule affinity regulating kinase 4, were required. In addition, RBV treatment led to the down‐regulation of retinoid X receptor α (RXRα), a key nuclear receptor in various metabolic processes, including lipogenesis. Moreover, we found that guanosine triphosphate depletion in cells induced the down‐regulation of RXRα, which was mediated by microtubule affinity regulating kinase 4. Overexpression of RXRα attenuated the RBV action for suppression of lipogenic genes and intracellular neutral lipids, suggesting that down‐regulation of RXRα was required for the suppression of lipogenesis in RBV action. Conclusion: We provide novel insights about RBV action in lipogenesis and its mechanisms involving inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase inhibition, adenosine monophosphate‐activated protein kinase‐related kinases, and down‐regulation of RXRα. RBV may be a potential reagent for anticancer therapy against the active lipogenesis involved in hepatocarcinogenesis. (Hepatology Communications 2017;1:550–563)


Vitrification procedure for embryos has not been used massively because there is not a standard protocol according to species. We evaluated reproductive efficiency of vitrified embryos in plastic tips of micropipettes. Estrous cycles of 36 Criolla goats (donors, n = 10; recipients, n = 26) and 48 Merino sheep (donors, n = 10; recipients, n = 38) were synchronized by sponges containing 60mgof MAP (Progespon®). At sponge removal (goats, Day 18; sheep, Day 14), recipients received 200 UI of eCG (Novormon®, Syntex, Argentina). Sheep and goat donors were superovulated with a total of 80 (igpFSH (Folltropin V®, Bioniche, Canada) every 12 h in 6 decreasing doses (18, 18, 14, 14, 8, 8) during the last 3 days of progestagen treatment. A dose of eCG (200 UI, Novormon®) was applied at progestagen removal. Donors of both species were inseminated by laparoscopy with frozen/thawed semen (200 × 106 spz) 12 to 14h after the onset of estrus. Embryo recovery was done by surgical prepubic laparotomy, and uterine horns were flushed with PBS + 10% SFB at Day 8 after sponge withdrawal. Before vitrification, embryos were kept in commercial embryo holding medium (Syngro, Bioniche, USA) at 25°C. Vitrification solutions were prepared using holding solution (HS) contents, PBS + 20% FBS. Embryos were maintained at 25°C and processed according to the following procedures: (1) HS + 10% glycerol (G) for 5 min, (2) HS +10% G + 20% ethylene glycol (EG) for 5 min, and (3) HS + 25% G + 25% EG for 30 s. Embryos were aspirated in 1 μL of solution 3, into the center of a plastic micropipette tip (0.36 mm inner diameter), and plunged into a cryotube filled with liquid nitrogen. Before embryo transfer, tips were warmed with fingers for 10 s and immersed in 4 dilution steps during 5 min each with 2.5 mL of HS containing (1) 12.5% G+ 12.5% EG+ 0.5 M of sucrose (S), (2) 0.5 M S, (3) 0.25 M S, and (4) HS alone at 25°C. In both species, at Day 8 after sponge withdrawal, 2 embryos of similar stage were transferred. Under laparoscopy view, the tip of the uterine horn was exteriorized by a nontraumatic clamp, through a 1-cm-long midline incision. The embryos were placed into the uterine lumen after punction and the uterine horn was allowed to return to the abdomen (semi-laparoscopic technique). Pregnancy was diagnosed by ultrasonography (Aloka 500) at Day 28 after being transferred. Reproduction efficiency in both species is shown in Table 1. This technique proves to be simple and efficient for both ovine embryo stages but only for goat blastocysts and can be used by veterinarians in field conditions at a very low cost. Differences of morulae survival between species require further study. Table 1.Reproductive efficiency after vitrified/warmed embryo transfer in sheep and goats according to the embryo stage


In the light of the recent growth of artificial intelligence (AI), and of its implications for understanding human behaviour, this paper evaluates the prospects for an association between sociology and artificial intelligence. Current presumptions about the distinction between human behaviour and artificial intelligence are identified through a survey of discussions about AI and `expert systems'. These discussions exhibit a restricted view of sociological competence, a marked rhetoric of progress and a wide variation in assessments of the state of the art. By drawing upon recent themes in the social study of science, these discussions are shown to depend on certain key dichotomies and on an interpretive flexibility associated with the notions of intelligence and expertise. The range of possible associations between sociology and AI reflects the extent to which we are willing to adopt these features of AI discourse. It is suggested that one of the more important options is to view the AI phenomenon as an occasion for reassessing the central axiom of sociology that there is something distinctively `social' about human behaviour.


Objectives Specific objectives were to examine the following: (1a) how results of Bayesian mixed treatment comparison (MTC) methods compare with several commonly considered frequentist indirect methods; (1b) how Bayesian MTC methods perform for different evidence network patterns; (2) how meta-regression can be used with Bayesian MTC meta-analysis to explore heterogeneity; and (3) how findings of Bayesian MTC meta-analyses compare for different numbers of studies and different network pattern assumptions. For objectives 1 and 2, we aimed to conduct case studies using data from two recent comparative effectiveness reviews (CERs). For objective 3, we aimed to use simulated data. Methods For objectives 1 and 2, we used data from CERs that examined second-generation antidepressants (SGAs) and biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). For objective 1, we compared results of Bayesian MTC methods with those of three frequentist indirect methods: meta-regression, the Bucher method, and logistic regression for dichotomous and continuous outcomes. For objective 2, we conducted two types of meta-regression. One explored subgroup effects with a binary covariate to assess whether efficacy of SGAs differs between older adults (≥55 years) and adults of any age. The other explored a continuous covariate to assess whether treatment efficacy varies by disease duration of RA. For objective 3, we used simulated data to examine the Bayesian MTC method's ability to produce valid results for two data scenarios when varying numbers of studies were available for each comparison for various network patterns. Results Bayesian MTC methods permitted the calculation of results for more comparisons of interest than frequentist meta-regression or the Bucher method (when applied as they would typically be used). When comparisons were calculated, the findings generally agreed but differed for a small proportion (less than 10%) of comparisons. Regarding precision, logistic regression produced the most precise estimates, followed by the Bayesian MTC method. Our meta-regressions found a trend toward lesser efficacy for SGAs in older adults and a trend toward greater efficacy of biologic DMARDs for those with greater mean disease duration. Our simulations supported the validity of Bayesian MTC methods for star and ladder network patterns but raised some concerns about one closed loop (and possibly loop) network patterns. Simulations generally found similar probabilities for which drug was the best treatment for scenarios when only 1 study was available for each comparison and those when more studies (2, 3, 5, or 10) were available; precision increased as the number of available studies increased. Conclusions Bayesian MTC methods offer several advantages over frequentist indirect methods, including the ability to produce results for all comparisons of interest in a single analysis. Results of Bayesian MTC methods and those of frequentist indirect methods may differ for a small proportion of comparisons, which could lead to differences in conclusions when using different methods. Our findings raise some concerns about the validity of the results of Bayesian MTC methods for certain network patterns. Further research is needed to explore additional real-world datasets and simulated data to determine if our findings are reproducible or generalizable and to better understand the validity of Bayesian MTC methods for various scenarios.


Osteochondral lesions of the talus are generally the result of trauma and often result in persistent pain and disability. Various treatment options have evolved to treat these challenging problems, ranging from conservative management to marrow stimulation and cartilage or chondrocyte transplantation. Microfracture is the first line of treatment for many of these lesions. However, there is concern that microfracture results in fibrocartilage, which has inferior wear characteristics when compared with native hyaline cartilage. We describe the use of cartilage extracellular matrix and bone marrow aspirate to augment this procedure in hopes of producing a more hyaline-like cartilage with improved wear characteristics. Level of Evidence: Diagnostic Level 3. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.


Credibility is fundamental to news media, without it journalism cannot exist. In recent years many practitioners and researchers have proposed that a new norm, transparency, is changing the way journalism builds credibility. Moreover, it is also suggested that transparency actually improves journalistic credibility and that users will put greater trust in news media as a results of this shift in journalistic practice. Previous research on transparency has investigated journalists' attitudes and news production settings as well as to what extent transparency is employed in the actual news contents. Although transparency is beginning to be explored on the production and content side, and often praised, no study so far have investigated if different forms of transparency have uniform, if any, effect on user perceptions. Thus, a vital link is missing in exploring if a movement towards a transparency norm is likely or even desirable. In this study we try to address this, by employing a web-based experimental study to investigate if, and to what extent, different frequently used transparency techniques – such as corrections, timestamps and different forms of user-generated contributions – impinge on journalistic credibility. Consequently, the results will inform what, if any, forms of transparency that could be eligible in journalism practice.


Psychophysical methods used to evaluate the chemical senses have been instrumental for investigations of pain and pain treatment. The evaluation of chemosensory quality has a direct parallel in the use of instruments that aid diagnosis of pain and choice of treatment by the determination of pain quality, such as pulling, throbbing, radiating and burning. The use of hedonic psychophysics in the chemical senses recognizes that tastes and smells can be described by two principal dimensions. The first is the intensity of the sensation, which is the target of most psychophysical methods. The second is the hedonic valence associated with the sensation, i.e., the degree of pleasantness or unpleasantness. These hedonic dimensions are sensitive to internal state; for example, the pleasantness of sugar solutions increases during hunger and decreases during satiety. The concept of hedonics has been successfully applied to pain, albeit with only a negative valence. The dimensions of pain intensity and unpleasantness have been shown to be independent and changes in internal state can modify unpleasantness without altering sensory intensity. In addition, the amount of unpleasantness for a given intensity has been shown to vary over painful conditions (low in childbirth, high in cancer) with consequences for treatment strategy. Methods used for olfaction have been applied to healthy control subjects using experimentally applied painful stimulation and more recently these methods have been applied directly to patients, providing information about the many unknown mechanisms of pain, and the development of more effective treatments. This chapter will describe similarities in the measurement of pain and olfaction and highlight important differences in the evaluation of these two sensory modalities.


MK-927 [5,6-dihydro-4H-4(isobutylamino)thieno(2,3-B)thiopyran-2-sul fonamide -7,7 dioxide], a potent carbonic anhydrase inhibitor, contains a chiral center and is a mixture of two forms, R-(-)- and S-(+)-enantiomer. The latter has recently been designated as MK-417. Following iv administration of each enantiomer (0.05 mg/kg), dogs, rabbits, and rats cleared the R-(-)-enantiomer more rapidly than the S-(+)-enantiomer. The elimination clearance of the R-(-)-enantiomer was 2.01 +/- 0.34, 30.0 +/- 2.1, and 53.6 +/- 6.4 ml/hr/kg for dogs, rabbits, and rats, respectively. The corresponding values for the S-(+)-isomer were 0.0380 +/- 0.008, 1.15 +/- 0.20, and 1.29 +/- 0.09 ml/hr/kg. The ratio of the clearance of the R-(-)-enantiomer to that of the S-(+)-isomer was approximately 53 for the dog, 42 for the rat, and 26 for the rabbit, indicating that the degree of stereoselectivity in elimination kinetics of MK-927 enantiomers was species-dependent. Binding of the enantiomers to erythrocytes, presumably carbonic anhydrase, was also stereoselective and species-dependent; the S-(+)-enantiomer was bound more strongly than the R-(-)-isomer in all species. For both enantiomers, binding to carbonic anhydrase was found to be more extensive in dogs than in other species studied. The elimination clearance of the enantiomers in all species was roughly related to their binding affinity, greater Kd1 values being associated with more rapid clearance. However, binding data alone cannot quantitatively explain the degree of the species-dependent stereoselectivity in the elimination kinetics; other factors may also contribute.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


This paper briefly reviews the theory of Testability Transformation and outlines its implications for and relationship to refactoring for testing. The paper introduces testability refactorings, a subclass of Testability Transformations and discusses possible examples of testability refactorings. Several approaches to testability refactoring are also introduced. These include the novel concept of test-carrying code and the use of pare to optimization for balancing the competing needs of machine and human in search based testability refactoring.


The aim of this study was to evaluate treatment with dry needling (AS) in the masseter muscle of patients diagnosed with myofascial pain as the pain symptoms and the mouth opening (AB). After sample size calculation, we selected 10 patients referred for treatment of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) diagnosed with MP, with or without limited mouth opening according to Axis I of the RDC/TMD, who underwent six DN sessions, once a week. Pain measurement using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and an evaluation of the extent of mouth opening were done. All participants were female and the average age was 39.2 years, with 8 (80%) having a diagnosis of myofascial pain with limited mouth opening and 2 (20%) with only myofascial pain. Maximum unaided opening without pain before treatment was 31.9 mm and went to 36.2 mm, and the maximum unaided opening went from 39.6 mm to 43.1 mm. In both, however, could not find statistical significance (p> 0.05). Regarding the mean weekly VAS value, this went from 8.3 before treatment to 2.3 a week later, with statistically significant results (p < 0.05). In this study, the AS in the masseter muscle presented is a therapeutic alternative in the treatment of myofascial pain. Keywords Temporomandibular joint; Temporomandibular Joint Disorders; Dry needling; Trigger points; Myofascial pain.


In many applications data are collected sequentially in time with very short time intervals between observations. If one is interested in using new observations as they arrive in time then nonsequential Bayesian inference methods, such as Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling, can be too slow. Increasingly, state space models are being used to model nonlinear and nonGaussian systems. The structure of state space models allows for sequential Bayesian inference so that an approximation to the posterior distribution of interest can be updated as new observations arrive. In special cases, the exact posterior distribution can be updated through conjugate Bayesian inference. However, for the general state space model this is not possible. In quantitative finance hidden Markov models have been used to analyze and forecast percent log returns of an asset or a group of assets. In this thesis the Liu and West [2001] auxiliary particle filter is applied to sequentially update the posterior distribution of a hidden Markov model with unknown state and observation distribution parameters.


Dynamic path planning is one of the key procedures for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to successfully fulfill the diversified missions. In this paper, we propose a new algorithm for path planning based on ant colony optimization (ACO) and artificial potential field. In the proposed algorithm, both dynamic threats and static obstacles are taken into account to generate an artificial field representing the environment for collision free path planning. To enhance the path searching efficiency, a coordinate transformation is applied to move the origin of the map to the starting point of the path and in line with the source-destination direction. Cost functions are established to represent the dynamically changing threats, and the cost value is considered as a scalar value of mobile threats which are vectors actually. In the process of searching for an optimal moving direction for UAV, the cost values of path, mobile threats, and total cost are optimized using ant optimization algorithm. The experimental results demonstrated the performance of the new proposed algorithm, which showed that a smoother planning path with the lowest cost for UAVs can be obtained through our algorithm.


A widely held view is that openness to international trade leads to higher GDP volatility, as trade increases specialization and hence exposure to sector-specific shocks. We revisit the common wisdom and argue that when country-wide shocks are important, openness to international trade can lower GDP volatility by reducing exposure to domestic shocks and allowing countries to diversify the sources of demand and supply across countries. Using a quantitative model of trade, we assess the importance of the two mechanisms (sectoral specialization and cross-country diversification) and provide a new answer to the question of whether and how international trade affects economic volatility.


Two different procedures for effecting a frequency analysis of a time-dependent signal locally in time are studied. The first procedure is the short-time or windowed Fourier transform; the second is the wavelet transform, in which high-frequency components are studied with sharper time resolution than low-frequency components. The similarities and the differences between these two methods are discussed. For both schemes a detailed study is made of the reconstruction method and its stability as a function of the chosen time-frequency density. Finally, the notion of time-frequency localization is made precise, within this framework, by two localization theorems. >


1 This work was supported by a grant from the National 863 Program :No. 2008AA01A316, 2007AA01Z222, 2006AA01Z229. EU FP7 Project EFIPSANS (No, 215549) and Sino-Swedish Strategic Cooperative Programme on Next Generation Networks (2008DFA12110) Abstract Heterogeneous wireless access has become an ordinary scenario in the future wireless communications. A multi-interface mobile terminal may use different types of network interfaces to obtain services seamlessly and continuously. Therefore, the multi-interfaces mobile terminal needs a mechanism to select the optimal interface for the communication. Meanwhile, autonomicity feature is being introduced for autonomy and effectiveness in managing more dynamic and heterogeneous networks. An Autonomic Interface Selection Architecture (AISA) is proposed in this paper to select a servicing interface dynamically and automatically. The AISA can select a suitable interface among several available interfaces, for every application based on different autonomic decision policies. This architecture can sense and interpret contextual changes in the network, and can adapt to meet changing network environment and user requirements in selecting an interface. The simulation result shows that AISA can utilize human experience to select the most favorable interface for an application in an autonomic way.


Ambulatory blood pressure measurement (ABPM) is being used increasingly in clinical practice. In recognition of this the British Hypertension Society has published recommendations for the use and interpretation of ABPM in clinical practice,1 and the European Society of Hypertension has published recommendations on blood pressure measuring devices, including devices for ABPM.2 Importantly, the technique has finally been approved for reimbursement in the USA.3 So with worldwide acceptance of the technique, it is timely to reappraise the reasons why ABPM has at last become an indispensable technique for the management of hypertension, and to summarise current recommendations for its use in clinical practice.

The evidence that ABPM gives information over and above conventional blood pressure measurement (CBPM) has been growing steadily over the past 25 years.w1 There are a number of obvious advantages: the technique simply gives more measurements than CBPM, and the real blood pressure is reflected more accurately by repeated measurements4; ABPM provides a profile of blood pressure away from the medical environment, thereby allowing identification of individuals with a white coat response5; ABPM shows blood pressure behaviour over a 24 hour period rather then giving a snapshot of blood pressure; ABPM can demonstrate the efficacy of antihypertensive medication over a 24 hour period rather than making a decision based on one or a few CBPMs confined to a short period of the diurnal cycle4; ABPM can identify patients whose blood pressure does not reduce at night-time—the non-dippers—who are probably at high risk6; and finally, the technique can demonstrate a number of patterns of blood pressure behaviour that may be relevant to clinical management—isolated systolic hypertension, hypotension, dipping and non-dipping, etc.w2 These advantages should have brought ABPM into much wider clinical use many years ago. However, …


ABSTRACT: The collaboration of music therapists, occupational therapists, and classroom teachers can provide innovative, effective, and evidence-based interventions that support independence in basic self-care tasks for young children with autism. This case study investigated the effectiveness of adding songs embedded in ongoing classroom routines as structural prompts to increase the independence of a 3-year-old boy with autism during multi-step self-care tasks (i.e., hand-washing, toileting, and cleaning up). The effectiveness of the musical versus verbal presentations of the task sequence were compared using an alternating treatment design replicated across three tasks. The teacher effectively embedded both forms of the presented sequencing in the ongoing classroom routines and results indicated that the implementation of both forms of the intervention were successful in increasing the child's independent performance for each task though task-specific differences were noted. When considered from a purely technical perspective, the performance of basic self-care tasks seems concrete and selfexplanatory (Frank & Stein, 2000). These tasks are embedded in everyday routines, follow a relatively predictable sequence to completion, and typically require few materials or tools. However, examined contextually and from the perspective of the performer, these same tasks take on individual meaning and importance and are orchestrated to meet the unique needs of the individual in terms of habits, preferences, and social roles. The performance of self-care tasks facilitates both the independence of the individual (Christiansen, 2000; Kellegrew, 1998) and the inclusion of that individual in a social context or group. In a Western culture in which independence is highly valued, the ability to perform self-care tasks, indeed, reflects an important aspect of the "self" as separate and sufficient. At the same time, our society has cultural norms about cleanliness and appearance, and while those norms may vary within smaller segments of that society, adherence to those norms is among the expectations people have for others in order to attain or maintain group membership or acceptance (Christiansen & Baum, 2005). In addition, health standards for child care, preschool, and school are provided by state and national licensing bodies. For instance, teaching proper handwashing techniques is part of the National Health Education Standards and consequently part of the preschool health and hygiene curriculum (Fanjul & Ball, 1995; Joint Commission on Health Education Standards, 1995). Therefore, the ability of a child to learn and refine performance of simple self-care tasks holds meaning not only for the child but also for the adults who provide care for that child, including parents, other family members, and teachers. Children express unique aspects of their identity in the way in which they enact preferences within the performance of self-care tasks (e.g., "I only want the blue toothpaste!"), and in the outcomes (e.g., the striped t-shirt with the flowered shorts). As the child develops skills and independence in the performance of self-care tasks, the patterns of activity and social participation change not only for that child but for the adults as well (Kellegrew, 1998, 2000). Adults change their roles, their use of time, the type and amount of assistance they offer, and their own perception of meaning in the activity. For the adults, the independence of the child not only reflects valued learning but also frees the adult to engage in other activities during the time that previously had been spent in assisting the child. For many children and adults, the changes in a child's self-care performance typically follow a natural process from being an occupation primarily of the adult as caregiver to a co-occupation as the child begins to perform tasks with less help to an event which is largely the occupation of the child. Each step toward independent self- care represents a milestone, which is expected and valued (Rogoff, 1993). …


This thesis is motivated by the necessity to understand the flow structure of turbulent flows in bends encountered in many technical applications such as heat exchangers, nuclear reactors and internal combustion engines. Flows in bends are characterised by strong secondary motions in terms of counter-rotating vortices (Dean cells) set up by a centrifugal instability. Specifically the thesis deals with turbulent flows in 90° curved pipes of circular cross-section with and without an additional motion, swirling or pulsatile, superposed on the primary flow. The aim of the present thesis is to study these complex flows in detail by using time-resolved stereoscopic particle image velocimetry to obtain the three-dimensional velocity field, with complementary hot-wire anemometry and laser Doppler velocimetry measurements.In order to analyse the vortical flow field proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) is used. The so called ``swirl-switching'' is identified and it is shown that the vortices instantaneously, ``rock'' between three states, viz. a pair of symmetric vortices or a dominant clockwise or counter-clockwise Dean cell. The most energetic mode exhibits a single cell spanning the whole cross-section and ``rolling'' (counter-)clockwise in time. However, when a honeycomb is mounted at the inlet of the bend, the Dean vortices break down and there is strong indication that the ``swirl-switching'' is hindered.When a swirling motion is superimposed on the incoming flow, the Dean vortices show a tendency to merge into a single cell with increasing swirl intensity. POD analysis show vortices which closely resemble the Dean cells, indicating that these structures co-exist with the swirling motion. In highly pulsating turbulent flow at the exit of a curved pipe, the vortical pattern is diminished or even eliminated during the acceleration phase and then re-established during the deceleration.In order to investigate the effect of pulsations and curvature on the performance of a turbocharger turbine, highly pulsating turbulent flow through a sharp bend is fed into the turbine. Time-resolved pressure and mass-flow rate measurements show that the hysteresis loop in the pressure-ratio-mass-flow plane, may differ significantly between straight and curved inlets, however the mean operating point is only slightly affected.


Incorporating annotators' knowledge into a machine-learning framework for detecting psychological traits using multimodal data is an open issue in human communication and social computing. We present a model that is designed to exploit the subjective judgements of multiple annotators on a social trait labeling task. Our two-stage model first estimates a ground truth by modeling the annotators using both the annotations and annotators' self-reported confidences. In the second stage, we train a classifier using the estimated ground truth as labels. We also define ways to verify the consistency of our model and validate it using annotations and nonverbal cues for a dominance estimation task in a group interaction scenario on the publicly available DOME corpus, in addition to synthetically generated data. Our models give satisfactory results, outperforming the commonly used majority voting as well as other approaches in the literature.


Small-scale farmers in low- and middle-income countries face vastly different realities, which translate into diverse challenges and opportunities. Some businesses, governments and development agencies have been promoting smallholder inclusion in global value chains and smallholder commercialisation as an essential part of addressing challenges and creating opportunities. This is happening against a backdrop of growing corporate concentration in agri-food markets, which affords large companies influence over value chain relations and public policy. This context raises important questions over the ability of small-scale farmers or farmer groups to exercise agency – that is, to make choices and influence decisions that shape their worlds. This report summarises lessons from the Empowering Producers in Commercial Agriculture (EPIC) project – an action-research initiative that combined international evidence gathering and lesson sharing with the testing of diverse agency- enhancing approaches to support small-scale farmers in Malawi and Nepal. These included efforts by producers to access information and develop collective analysis of challenges and opportunities; strengthen their representative organisations; and engage with other actors – from buyers and input suppliers to government agencies at local to national levels – in order to change trading practices and influence policies. Though these approaches are context-specific and reflect diverse political and socio-economic realities and farmers' starting points, the report shares learning generated through the project, to stimulate critical reflection by development actors working in the arenas of small-scale farming, agrarian change, agri-food markets and food systems. Small-scale farmers in low- and middle-income countries face vastly different realities, which translate into diverse challenges and opportunities. Some businesses, governments and development agencies have been promoting smallholder inclusion in global value chains and smallholder commercialisation as an essential part of addressing challenges and creating opportunities. This is happening against a backdrop of growing corporate concentration in agri-food markets, which affords large companies influence over value chain relations and public policy. This context raises important questions over the ability of small-scale farmers or farmer groups to exercise agency – that is, to make choices and influence decisions that shape their worlds. This report summarises lessons from the Empowering Producers in Commercial Agriculture (EPIC) project – an action-research initiative that combined international evidence gathering and lesson sharing with the testing of diverse agency-enhancing approaches to support small-scale farmers in Malawi and Nepal. These included efforts by producers to: access information and develop collective analysis of challenges and opportunities; strengthen their representative organisations; and engage with other actors – from buyers and input suppliers to government agencies at local to national levels – in order to change trading practices and influence policies. Though these approaches are context-specific and reflect diverse political and socio-economic realities and farmers' starting points, the report shares learning generated through the project, to stimulate critical reflection by development actors working in the arenas of small-scale farming, agrarian change, agri-food markets and food systems.


With 350 million people affected in the world, depressive disorder is one of the top 20 causes of the overall global burden of disease.1 The high costs, both direct and indirect, of major depressive disorder are largely due to the significant deficits in treatment provision2 and therefore remediable with current therapies. A key international challenge is to determine how best to implement currently available and effective treatments.

There are a number of efficacious pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions for depressive disorder.3 Antidepressant drugs are recommended and frequently used as first-line therapy for adults with moderate to severe depressive disorder, and in the UK, about 80% of people in primary care receive an antidepressant prescription in the first year of diagnosis.4 However, a significant proportion of these prescriptions are for less than 30 days, while an adequate trial of antidepressants is generally recommended to be 6–8 weeks before changing or stopping the medication.3 A too short duration of treatment limits both the therapeutic effect 5 6 and increases the risk of withdrawal symptoms.

A number of factors contribute to the suboptimal treatment duration of antidepressant drugs, and the two most recognised contributing factors include the …


It is recognized that the cost of artificial fish feed makes a significant contribution to the costs of an aquaculture operation. In order to decrease the dietary costs an alternative protein source to traditional fish meal is needed. Silage is often used, however there is a lack of research on the utilization of silage as a main source of protein in fish diets in the Northeast of Brazil. Hence, this thesis was undertaken to determine the growth and apparent protein digestibility of tambaqui, Coiossoma rnacropomun, when fed diets based on formic acid and biological fermented silage compared to a control fishmeal diet. -- Fish silage was obtained by the addition of formic acid to minced tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus. Lactobacillus plantarum was used as inoculum and molasses as the carbohydrate source. Chemical composition, pH, total and free amino acid of the silages were determined. Formic acid and biologically fermented silage stored for 4 and 30 days were co-dried with wheat bran and incorporated into the diet of juvenile tambaqui as the main source of protein. The control diet was formulated using fishmeal as the main source of protein. The 5 experimental diets and the control diet were isocaloric and isonitrogenous. -- The growth experiment used fifteen round concrete tanks (3 for each diet) with 15 fish per tank. Fish were fed twice a day at a rate of 3% of body weight. The fish were weighed every 15 days to determine the amount of food to be given, and to calculate growth parameters such as; average daily gain, specific growth rate, feed conversion rate and protein efficiency rate. Fifteen aquaria were used for the digestibility experiment. Each aquarium was stocked with 5 juvenile tambaqui. Chromic oxide was used as a marker and feces were collected from the bottom of the water column twice daily. -- Results showed that both acid and biological silages had good storage properties. The variations in moisture, protein, lipid and ash between the four silages (formic acid silage stored for 4 and 30 days and biological silage stored for 4 and 30 days), that were included in the fish diets, did not induce any significant change in the amino acid profile of silage diets and the amino acids requirements for tambaqui were met. Although formic acid silage, stored for 4 and 30 days, showed higher protein solubilization and higher levels of free amino acid at the end of the 30 days storage period compared to the biologically fermented silage, there was no significant difference in growth and digestibility between treatments. -- Based on the excellent acceptability of all diets tested by juvenile tambaqui, good protein digestibility and the satisfactory growth performance obtained in this study, we concluded that co-dried tilapia fish silage could be successfully utilized as an alternative protein source for fishmeal in fish diets. In this way, it is possible to utilize processing wastes for producing valuable animal protein and, furthermore, make a contribution to the protection of the environment.


Background & Objectives : Local exhaust ventilation system (LEV) is one of the most common engineering controls methods for the chemical agents in workplaces. This study aimed to determine the efficiency assessment of the LEV system for control of Fe2O3 dust in the process of oxide screen unit at iron making in steel industry. Methods : The LEV system with an extensive network of ducting including 17 hoods was investigated in a cross-sectional study. The First, variations and contradictions of the system and process were compared versus documentation (system plans), then hood Efficiency Assessment accomplished by using of the dust concentration measurement besides of the each hood (source), at two status ON and OFF of LEV system (Repeat three times), by NIOSH 500 method. Results : Result of statistical test between the concentration of pollutants at two status ON/OFF of LEV system, in 7 of 17 hoods, didn't show significantly different (P <0.05). Enclosed hood at the material falling from the tank to the feeder, with 85% efficiency and 3.3±1.5mg/m3 concentration at ON status was the highest efficiency. Two hoods, one enclosed hood at material falling from the Feeder into the screen and other unenclosed at material falling from conveyor to conveyor (small size at below screen), both with 2% efficiency and the 243.2±73.5 and 3462.4±1339 mg/m3 concentration demonstrated the lowest efficiency at ON status. Also the highest concentration of contaminants was at the unenclosed hood installed in the place of pellets falling from the conveyor into the tank with 5.03g/m3 and efficiency of 7%. Conclusion : The few hoods of the investigated LEV did not have appropriate performance and had different efficiency. Even, some hoods (branches) show negative efficiency due to return of contaminant from the hood to workplace area.


The authors estimate a small monthly macroeconometric model (BEAM, for bonds, equity, and money) of the Canadian economy built around three cointegrating relationships linking financial and real variables over the 1975–2002 period. One of the cointegrating relationships allows the identification of a supply shock as the only shock that permanently affects the stock market, and a demand shock that leads to important transitory stock market overvaluation. The authors propose a monetary policy reaction function in which the impact of a permanent inflation shock on the overnight rate is simulated and the future path of the overnight rate adjusted accordingly, to prevent any forecast persistent deviation from the inflation target. They introduce a technical innovation by showing under which conditions permanent shocks can be identified in a vector error-correction model with exogenous variables.


Access to credit is considered vital for small business survival. Many small-business owners in the United States indicate that one major obstacle to entry or expansion of their small business is the availability of sufficient intermediate and long-term capital to support their working capital and fixed-assets requirements. Relying on small business lending data from 2003 to 2009 collected under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), the paper examines small and medium-sized enterprise access to credit in the United States and makes policy and research recommendations. Data show that the number of loans, the average loan amount and the number of dollars available in credit to small business declined dramatically between 2007 and 2009. The paper addresses the concern that in reducing the ranks of the banking industry, the mortgage crisis and ensuing recession may have also pared small business lending.


Extracted from text ... T
Lasting leadership:
what the top business leaders can
teach the ordinary business leader
22 Management Today June 2005
Prof Tersia Brevis is research editor of Management Today and professor of management
in the College of Economic and Business Science at Unisa.
"I see the rational kind of command and control structure - where everything is
hierarchical - as working less and less well. What's really valued in leadership
is not just execution, but also vision and inspiration and driving commitment."
Michael Dell
The Nightly Business Report (the number
one daily TV business news programme
in the USA) and Knowledge@Wharton ..


Since declaring independence in 1957, the Republic of Ghana has become a stable constitutional democracy. Ghana's economy has grown substantially over the past decade, yet remains primarily agrarian, accounting for 50% of the total employment and 25% of the country's Gross Domestic Product. Smallholder rain-fed farming using rudimentary technologies dominates the agricultural sector accounting for 80% of total agricultural production. Approximately 90% of smallholder farms are less than two hectares in size, and produce a diversity of crops. The major crops cultivated in Ghana include numerous cereal, root and tuber, leguminous, fruit, vegetable and industrial crops. Maize is the most widely cultivated crop in Ghana, and accounts for a significant proportion of the daily caloric intake. However, significant yield gaps exist where actual maize yields are 50 to 80% less than achievable yields. The following document was written after conducting a three month 2012 summer internship in Ghana as an agronomic expert volunteer for the Ghana Agricultural Development and Value Chain Enhancement (ADVANCE) Project. My primary objectives included monitoring ADVANCE crop production demonstration plots and farmers' fields to diagnose and address crop health issues, with the goal of identifying why smallholders in the north continue to get lower than expected yields even when good agronomic practices (GAPs) are being implemented. Observations indicate GAPs are not being adopted, partly because they are not often being implemented correctly at demonstration plots. The benefits of GAPs can be better realized through improved planning, communication, cooperation and education among all participants. This document is divided into four chapters. The first chapter is an introduction to the Republic of Ghana. Chapter 2 is a brief introduction to agriculture production in Ghana, emphasizing agriculture in the northern savannah and the major challenges facing development in the north. Chapter 3 is a detailed summary of my experience working on the ADVANCE Project. The final chapter discusses how agricultural development—in particular maize productivity—can be improved in the northern savannah of Ghana.


The assumption that pragmatic processes are inferential is standardly held by Gricean and post-Gricean pragmatic theories. Recently, however, it has been challenged by accessibility-based approaches to pragmatics. Recanati (2002, 2004) proposes that primary pragmatic processes (i.e. processes that contribute to the recovery of the explicit content of the utterance) are underpinned by a simple dynamics of activations-and-associations, with no need for any further (specifically inferential) step or 'confirmatory stage' to warrant the selected interpretation. Mazzone (2009, 2011) extends this account to secondary pragmatic processes (i.e. processes of implicature derivation): the recovery of the explicit and implicit content of the utterance is the result of a unified associative comprehension process. This paper argues that, on close analysis, the role played by information about the speaker's mental states (i.e. her beliefs and intentions) indicates that inference is indispensable in an adequate account of pragmatic processing.


This paper describes the design and performance of a frequency-modulated 10watt S-band transmitter. Analogue frequency response is in excess of 7 Mc and digital signals at rates up to 10 megabits per second are transmitted satisfactorily. This extra wideband transmitter, ruggedized for space applications, utilizes a solid state exciter for signal generation, a traveling wave tube amplifier for power amplification, and a solid state traveling wave tube power supply that will withstand critical atmospheric pressures. A detailed analysis of rf bandwidth requirements and the state of the semiconductor art at the time of transmitter design resulted in the exciter taking the form of a 70 Mc voltage controlled oscillator whose output is amplified and converted to the S-band output frequency by means of broadband varactor harmonic generators. Production versions of this transmitter have consistently demonstrated satisfactory orbital operation. Laboratory data has indicated a minimum rf power output of 10 watts at base-plate temperatures ranging from -35E to +75E Centigrade. Baseband response is from 10 cycles to more than 7 Mc at ±6 Mc frequency deviation.


Despite the great success of word embedding, sentence embedding remains a not-well-solved problem. In this paper, we present a supervised learning framework to exploit sentence embedding for the medical question answering task. The learning framework consists of two main parts: 1) a sentence embedding producing module, and 2) a scoring module. The former is developed with contextual self-attention and multi-scale techniques to encode a sentence into an embedding tensor. This module is shortly called Contextual self-Attention Multi-scale Sentence Embedding (CAMSE). The latter employs two scoring strategies: Semantic Matching Scoring (SMS) and Semantic Association Scoring (SAS). SMS measures similarity while SAS captures association between sentence pairs: a medical question concatenated with a candidate choice, and a piece of corresponding supportive evidence. The proposed framework is examined by two Medical Question Answering(MedicalQA) datasets which are collected from real-world applications: medical exam and clinical diagnosis based on electronic medical records (EMR). The comparison results show that our proposed framework achieved significant improvements compared to competitive baseline approaches. Additionally, a series of controlled experiments are also conducted to illustrate that the multi-scale strategy and the contextual self-attention layer play important roles for producing effective sentence embedding, and the two kinds of scoring strategies are highly complementary to each other for question answering problems.


Aims. We evaluate the prospects of performing automatic taxonomic classification of asteroids in a proposed broad and medium band photometric system of Gaia . Methods. The study is based on asteroid colors from the Eight-Color Asteroid Survey (ECAS) and CCD spectra from the Small Mainbelt Asteroid Spectral Survey II (SMASSII). The success of the Gaia photometric systems for taxonomic classification is evaluated using supervised classification techniques and mean taxonomic class spectra in the Tholen and Bus&Binzel taxonomic systems. Our supervised classification method is based on rms differences between individual asteroid spectra and taxonomic mean spectra and provides probability estimates of membership in all taxonomic classes. Results. We find that both photometric systems of Gaia are able to discriminate between all of the twelve Tholen asteroid classes for noise-free data. The medium band system is able to discriminate between the majority of the 26 SMASSII asteroid classes in case of high quality photometric data. For both the Tholen and Bus & Binzel taxonomies we find that about 25% of the asteroids are spectrally more similar to another taxonomic class in a best-fit sense, though the differences within the three major complexes (C, S and X) are 1–10%. Conclusions. Among the two main existing taxonomies, the Gaia photometric system is found to be best suited for the Bus & Binzel taxonomy. The medium band system is the preferred system for all but the faintest objects. The classification method employed here results in more concentrated taxonomic class domains in principal component space, and mean taxonomic spectra that are formed from less divergent class members, than the case for the nominal classification systems. It provides statistical probability estimates for class memberships and naturally reflects the fact that asteroid spectral shapes form a continuum in principal component space.


Serum response factor (SRF) controls transcription of numerous immediate early
and muscle-specific genes by its association with diverse co-activators. Amongst the
SRF binding regulators are the TCF family proteins, including Elk1, SAP1 and SAP2
and the myocardin-related transcription factor (MRTF) family proteins including MAL
and MAL16. Both types of transcriptional coactivators form a complex with SRF,
which binds to serum response elements (SREs) upon serum activation by different
upstream signal transduction pathways. While SRF activation by TCFs occur through
the MAP kinase pathway, MRTFs regulate SRF specifically through the RhoA
pathway.
MAL, a G-actin binding protein, continuously shuttles between cytoplasm and
nucleus in many unstimulated cells and appears cytoplasmic. Upon RhoA-induced actin
polymerization, MAL nuclear export is blocked due to disruption of the MAL-actin
interaction. MAL accumulates in the nucleus where it binds to SRF, which results in
target gene expression.
Although many of the pathway components are already known, it is probable that
there are still uncharacterized factors that regulate SRF. Therefore this thesis addresses
the identification of new regulators of SRF that are specifically dependent on the RhoA
pathway.
Since the interaction of MAL with SRF and actin represents an evolutionarily
conserved regulatory mechanism between Drosophila and human and the Drosophila
genome lacks much of the genetic redundancy observed in human, a genome-wide
RNA interference (RNAi) screen in cultured Drosophila cells was performed to identify
key regulators of SRF.
Using RNAi, 295 proteins in Drosophila cells were identified, of which 50 were
further validated in human cells. Amongst the final confirmed hits, eukaryotic
elongation translation factor (eEF1A) was a promising regulator for RhoA induced SRF
activation. eEF1A2 was shown to interact with MAL and depletion of eEF1A2 in
unstimulated cells led to nuclear accumulation of MAL, suggesting its role as a MAL
regulator. Potential roles of the remaining hits confirmed in the rescreen are also
discussed in this thesis.


Value-added traits of alfalfa are needed to provide farmers new high value profitable products. Processing alfalfa to obtain value added products includes three different fractionation methods: 1) wet fractionation; separation into juice fraction and a fiber fraction, 2) dry fractionation; separation into leaves and stems, and 3) fractionation by passage of the whole herbage through the digestive systems of ruminant animals, leaving a high fiber residue. Phytase from transgenic alfalfa has been tested in poultry and swine rations. Chicks supplemented with phytase from transgenic alfalfa juice or leaf meal had growth equal to chicks fed phosphorus supplemented rations. The manure from these chicks supplemented with alfalfa phytase contained less than half the phosphorus levels of manure from chicks fed inorganic phosphorus supplements. The economic value of phytase alfalfa product could generate $750 to $1500/A income from alfalfa grown in the Midwest. Alfalfa hay can be fractionated to yield stems and leaf meal. Alfalfa leaf meal has been shown to be acceptable supplement to replace a portion of alfalfa hay and soybean meal in diets of lactating dairy cattle, replace protein supplement in beef cow diets, finishing steer diets and diets of growing turkeys. Current energy costs in this country limit the use of alfalfa stems to generate electricity from gasification. The fiber portion of alfalfa can produce lactic acid and ethanol. The fiber from alfalfa manure has yielded press board and water filters capable of removing heavy metals from contaminated water.


This study touched a specific and sensitive question: the implementation of sustainability policies regarding forestry of leading companies in a forestry-related sector. Due to a lack of reference and previous researches, it appeared that this was the first time such a kind of study was carried out.
Five companies including Home Depot, Carrefour, B&Q, IKEA and Wal-Mart were chosen for
this study based on the following conditions: they are multinationals, they have long tradition in business in forest selected sector and they are major global competitors in the retailer market for home improvement and wood furniture. In this study different approaches such as survey with questionnaires, sustainability report analysis, web impression analysis, communication friendliness analysis and Google search statistic were used for getting data.
The study found that the two US-based companies (Home Depot and Wal-Mart) are worse not
only in providing, presenting the information regarding forestry but also in communicating with researcher. Based on analyses of different approaches it was proved that all selected companies have clear sustainability policies and sustainability reports regarding forestry as an obligatory part in their activities. While study could indicate that three EU-based companies (Carrefour, B&Q, IKEA) have implemented key policies in their supply chains (e.g. start-up requirements to wood suppliers, compulsory documents for clarifying wood sources and procedure of auditing) as efforts to prevent illegal timber, it could not conclude that two US-based companies have the same motivation due to the lack of information and communication from them. All selected companies have used certified raw material and planned to use majority of certified wood products in the
business, and FSC scheme was preferred by these companies because of its credibility.
Some more interesting findings are being paid attention. Firstly, all informants chosen for survey were not full ready for such a kind of sensitive topics. Secondly, while companies avoided presentation of negative information on themselves, it was easy to find ebullient debate about their involvement in illegal logging. Thirdly, the study results showed the difference between two groups companies in dealing with sustainability regarding forestry: three EU-based companies performed better than their two US-based competitors, and this picture was comparable to what have been found by other previous researches investigating sustainability in general in these 3 groups. Since the topic was quite sensitive and specific for everyday business in selected multinationals, there were a great deal of issues to be discussed regarding the methodology and reliability of data.


Recently, the Federal Crop Insurance Program (FCIP) has come under fire from both popular press (e.g. Nixon 2012), the academic press (e.g. Hennessy 2011; Wright and Wimberly 2013), and this criticism is reflected in government publications (e.g. Shields 2012; US GAO 2007). The common argument is that subsidized crop insurance encourages expansion of cropping onto otherwise unsuitable land. In particular, the argument equates low productivity or high yield risk with environmental sensitivity (Nixon 2012; Hennessy 2011). In part, this conflation is due to the concern over land use change from the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) to cropping. CRP was, by construction, designed to take low productivity land out of production. In addition to CRP conversion, concern has focused on grassland conversion to crop land (Archer 2011; Johnston 2011; Hennessy 2011; Wright and Wimberly 2013). The United States Government Accountability Office recognized the land use change and the possibility that federal programs were influencing land use choices and recommended that the executive branch investigate. The environmental effects of increased cropping use of environmentally sensitive land include erosion (which would lead to increased nutrient and sediment pollution), carbon release in conversion and reduction in carbon sequestration in future This paper will empirically test the assertion that crop insurance, broadly stated, is a causal factor in increased cropping land use. Data from The United States Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), The United States Department of Agriculture's Risk Management Agency (RMA), The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Climatic Data Center, The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City was compiled in Stata® for use in this analysis. This data was collected covering the period between 1981 and 2013 for Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Oklahoma, and Missouri. In 2013, these states grew twenty percent and eighteen percent of the corn and soybean, respectively, production in the US. Corn and Soybean production made up fifty and twenty-two percent of these states total crop production. These states are important to national production of corn and soybeans and these two crops are important to these states. If we accept that environmentally sensitive and marginal land are the same, as the press suggesting the existence of a link propose, one should expect that county yields would fall with higher levels of insurance participation. Further, if the effect is linear one would expect a statistically significant negative link between the proportion of land enrolled in crop insurance and county yields. The obvious dependent variable would look at acres, however with the length of CRP contracts, crop rotation, and the possibility of grassland or woodlot conversion to cropland suggested that the dependent variable would have to measure the quality of production rather than the acres carried out on. Supposing the relationship to be linear, a robust random effects generalized least squares regression model was built to test for the relationship between enrollment and yield. Results indicate that the link between crop insurance participation and yield is negative and statistically significant. It does appear that crop insurance participation has something to do with increased cropping of environmentally sensitive land, but further research is needed to confirm this result.


A surprising finding in analyses of the effects of immigration is that immigrants generally have a limited effect on local labor market outcomes. One reason that has been hypothesized is that immigration generates an offsetting labor demand, as immigrants seek new homes and local goods. One important immigration study, Hunt (1992), uses French Census data to examine the impact of the Algerian repatriates to France on the local labor force in the 1960s. Hunt finds that the influx of immigrants had next to no impact on unemployment or wages. In my analysis, I build on Hunt's labor market study by using a different dataset (INSEE Employment Survey) and two new measures of repatriates, as well as Hunt's measure, and by measuring an individual's own immigration status, as well as proportion immigrant by region. I then test the offsetting labor demand hypothesis by analyzing housing conditions and housing market outcomes in France after the arrival of the repatriates. I find, as Hunt did, that the presence of repatriates had a minimal impact on the local labor market. Residents of regions with more repatriates did not work fewer hours and there were only small effects on unemployment. I also find that repatriates did have a higher probability of being unemployed. Using three measures of the housing market crowding, new home status, and employment in construction, I find evidence that housing demand was elevated in areas where there were more repatriates. From 1964 to 1970, crowding in areas with more repatriates generally decreased, more new homes were built in these regions, and the number of construction workers increased. The magnitudes of these effects are sensitive to my specification of repatriation.


Finance scholars' approach to capital-structure issues reflects a progression of thought over time. This note provides an overview of the current state of capital-structure theory. One perspective on capital-structure choice is to view it as posing trade-offs among five elements: (1) the tax benefits of financing, (2) the explicit costs of financial distress, (3) the agency costs of debt (including an array of indirect costs linked to financial distress), (4) the agency costs of equity, and (5) the signaling effect of security issuance. The first two elements reflect the "modern, traditional" balancing theory of capital structure. The third and fourth build on agency theory and imperfect information and emphasize the individual incentives of decision makers. The fifth element recognizes that the very act of issuing a security can convey new information to investors when there is imperfect information. While newer theories provide a rich array of insights into aspects of financial policy beyond how much debt the firm should undertake, the downside is that at present there is no overarching synthesis of these theories. As a result, practical application requires careful identification of how these particular theories are relevant to the business, the markets, and the situation at hand. This note is well suited to an advanced corporate-finance course after students have been exposed to the basic theory.


Functional linear regression analysis aims to model regression relations which include a functional predictor. The analog of the regression parameter vector or matrix in conventional multivariate or multiple-response linear regression models is a regression parameter function in one or two arguments. If, in addition, one has scalar predictors, as is often the case in applications to longitudinal studies, the question arises how to incorporate these into a functional regression model. We study a varying-coefficient approach where the scalar covariates are modeled as additional arguments of the regression parameter function. This extension of the functional linear regression model is analogous to the extension of conventional linear regression models to varying-coefficient models and shares its advantages, such as increased flexibility; however, the details of this extension are more challenging in the functional case. Our methodology combines smoothing methods with regularization by truncation at a finite number of functional principal components. A practical version is developed and is shown to perform better than functional linear regression for longitudinal data. We investigate the asymptotic properties of varying-coefficient functional linear regression and establish consistency properties.


This paper addresses Web performance over satellite using the SPDY protocol. SPDY is a new application technology, introduced by Google, to accelerate Web transfers over common terrestrial links. Most of the SPDY techniques (i.e. header compression, pushing and multiplexing) have been usually included in satellite Performance Enhancing Proxies (PEPs) to optimize performance. Therefore, SPDY over satellite is expected to provide good performance without requiring any specific modification over the network. Proof of such an improvement is revolutionary for the role of satellite in the future Internet, since it could be considered as a transparent link, which does not need of ad-hoc protocol adaptations. Performance assessment relies on a satellite emulator that reproduces in software a DVB-RCS link while running real implementations of both TCP/IP stacks and SPDY.


Infectious diseases are currently, one of the greatest global challenges in medicine. Rapid and precise diagnosis and identification of pathogen is important for timely initiation of appropriate antimicrobial therapy. However, many patients with infectious diseases receive empirical treatment rather than appropriate pathogen-directed therapy. As a result antimicrobials have been overused and/or misused, which has ultimately led to antimicrobial resistance (AMR). AMR is broadly considered as the most significant public health threat facing the world today. Policy makers from all over the world have recognised the urgent need for rapid point-of-care (POC) diagnostics that would not only identify pathogens but also provide antimicrobial susceptibility profiles in meaningful timeframe to initiate appropriate antimicrobial therapy and thereby, prevent AMR. Traditional culture-dependent diagnostic methods are still considered as gold standard methods. But they are very slow and generally require 18 to 48 hours with further 8 to 48 hours to perform antibiotic susceptibility test. Among culture-independent methods, PCR and ELISA are label-based, costly, laborious and require specialised equipment and trained personnel to operate them. Lateral flow assays (LFAs) that are low-cost, simple, rapid and paper-based portable detection platforms are very popular, as they can be applied at the POC. [Continues.]


Topological phases, such as Chern insulators, are defined in terms of additive indices that are stable against the addition of trivial degrees of freedom. Such topology presents an obstruction to any Wannier representation, namely, the representation of the electronic states in terms of symmetric, exponentially localized Wannier functions. Here, we address the converse question: Do obstructions to Wannier representation imply stable band topology? We answer this in the negative, pointing out that some bands can also display a distinct type of "fragile topology." Bands with fragile topology do not admit any Wannier representation by themselves, but such a representation becomes possible once certain additional trivial degrees of freedom are supplied. We construct a physical model of fragile topology on the honeycomb lattice that also helps resolve a recent puzzle in band theory. This model provides a counterexample to the assumption that splitting of an "elementary band representation" introduced in [B. Bradlyn et al., Topological quantum chemistry, Nature (London) 547, 298 (2017)] leads to bands that are individually topological. Instead, half of the split bands of our model realize a trivial band with exponentially localized symmetric Wannier functions, whereas the second half possess fragile topology. Our work highlights an important and previously overlooked connection between band structure and Wannier functions, and is expected to have far-reaching consequences given the central role played by Wannier functions in the modeling of real materials.


1. Executive summary
1) Post-war agricultural intensification has resulted in the loss of habitats and species from the countryside. Conservation Grade is an industry-led assured produce scheme which aims to reverse these declines through the creation of carefully targeted wildlife habitat on land removed from agricultural production.
2) The aim of this project was to scientifically evaluate a range of core Conservation Grade habitats for enhancing wildlife and determine their optimum location in a typical farming situation.
3) In autumn 2006 an experiment was established on four arable fields of 5-6 ha each growing Conservation Grade oats on the Upton Estate, Warwickshire.
4) One of four habitat types (crop, natural regeneration, wild bird seed mix and wildflower seed mix) was established in the corner of each field using a latin-square design with four replicates. Identical habitats were established on the north- and south-facing field margins separating each corner using the same design.
5) The effect of habitat type and location was recorded on plants, flower resources, pollinating insects, other insects and birds using standard methodologies.
6) There were a large number of differences in the value of difference Conservation Grade habitats for wildlife over the 2 years.
7) Few species were found in the intensively managed cereal crop.
8) Allowing vegetation to regenerate naturally resulted in tall, competitive vegetation dominated by undesirable grass weeds and thistles. However, these were attractive to bumblebees.
9) The most effective treatments (wildflower and wild bird seed mix) were those specifically targeted to the requirements of declining wildlife groups.
10) Sowing an annual mix of seed-bearing crops was a very effective means of providing food resources for farmland birds during the winter.
11) Sowing a mixture of perennial wildflowers proved to be a reliable and rapid means of creating a diverse and weed-free vegetation community which was most attractive to bees, butterflies and other invertebrates.
12) Habitat location (margin or corner) had relatively few effects on abundance and diversity of wildlife after 2 years. However, habitat location may become more important as vegetation communities become established and colonised by species with more exacting habitat requirements.


Fascist Ideology is a comparative study of the expansionist foreign policies of fascist Italy and Nazi Germany from 1922-1945. Fascist Ideology provides a comparative investigation of fascist expansionism by focusing on the close relations between ideology and action under Mussolini and Hitler. With an overview of the ideological motivations behind fascist expansionism and their impact on fascist policies, this book explores the two main issues which have dominated the historiographical debates on the nature of fascist expansionism: whether Italy's and Germany's particular expansionist tendancies can be attributed to a set of generic fascist values, or were shaped by the long term, uniquely national ambitions and developments since unification; whether the pursuit of expansion was opportunistic or followed a grand design in each case.


CONTEXT
Hip fracture incidence has been declining and life expectancy improving. However, trends of postfracture outcomes are unknown.

OBJECTIVES
The objective of the study was to compare the refracture risk and excess mortality after osteoporotic fracture between two birth cohorts, over 2 decades.

DESIGN
Prospective birth cohorts were followed up over 2 decades (1989-2004 and 2000-2014).

SETTING
The study was conducted in community-dwelling participants in Dubbo, Australia.

PARTICIPANTS
Women and men aged 60-80 years, participating in Dubbo Osteoporosis Epidemiology Study 1 (DOES 1; born before 1930) and Dubbo Osteoporosis Epidemiology Study 2 (DOES 2; born after 1930) participated in the study.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE
Age-standardized fracture and mortality over two time intervals: (1989-2004 [DOES 1] and 2000-2014 [DOES 2]) were measured.

RESULTS
The DOES 2 cohort had higher body mass index and bone mineral density and lower initial fracture rate than DOES 1, but similar refracture rates [age-standardized refracture rates per 1000 person-years: women: 53 (95% confidence interval [CI] 42-63) and 51 (95% CI 41-60) and men: 53 (95% CI 38-69) and 55 (95% CI 40-71) for DOES 2 and DOES 1, respectively). Absolute postfracture mortality rates declined in DOES 2 compared with DOES 1, mirroring the improvement in general-population life expectancy. However, when compared with period-specific general-population mortality, there was a similar 2.1- to 2.6-fold increased mortality risk after a fracture in both cohorts (age-adjusted standardized mortality ratio, women: 2.05 [95% CI 1.43-2.83] and 2.43 [95% CI 1.95-2.99] and men: 2.56 [95% CI 1.78-3.58] and 2.48 [95% CI 1.87-3.22] for DOES 2 and DOES 1, respectively).

CONCLUSION
Over the 2 decades, despite the decline in the prevalence of fracture risk factors, general-population mortality, and initial fracture incidence, there was no improvement in postfracture outcomes. Refracture rates were similar and fracture-associated mortality was 2-fold higher than expected. These data indicate that the low postfracture treatment rates are still a major problem.


This work is focused on the simulation of the type of ICCP system in which a grid of anode ribbons and distribution bars, buried below the base of a tank, is supplied with power from a transformer rectifier unit. Current flows from the anode ribbons through the wet sand in which they are embedded, to the base of the tank, and then back to the TRU. The ICCP system is represented mathematically as a circuit including the TRU, distribution cables connecting it to a number of distribution bars, an array of anode ribbons welded to the distribution bars, and the return cable connecting the tank base to the return of the TRU. The electrical circuit equations are solved to determine current flow and electrical potential throughout the grid of anode ribbons and distribution bars. Current flow from the surfaces of the anode ribbons into the surrounding electrolyte, and from the electrolyte into the surface of the tank base, is described using polarization curves, which encapsulate the non-linear relationship between current density and potential difference across the metal / adjacent electrolyte junction. Current flowing through the electrolyte is determined by solving the Laplacian equation, using the boundary element method. The entire process is non-linear, and is solved iteratively. The results of the mathematical modelling include current density and protection potentials on all parts of the tank base, as well as power loss, current and potential throughout the circuit. Using the boundary element method means that potential and current density can be accurately calculated anywhere inside the sand, so providing information about the potential at any reference electrode position. Although modelling a fully functioning system allows assessment of whether or not a particular ICCP design will work, it is valuable in addition to be able to determine the effects of damage or degradation of system components. Consideration is made in the paper of the effects of poor welds and broken connections for a particular ICCP system, with the aims firstly of determining whether the system can perform properly despite the damage, and secondly of evaluating effects of remedial modifications to the system. Investigation is made into the TRU output required to provide some minimum level of protection everywhere on the tank base, and corresponding reference electrode readings are established. Finally, the paper compares performance of a number of different ICCP system designs applied to protection of a tank, and attempts to select the "best" design based on considerations like uniformity of potential, and greatest degree of over-protection.


Deep equilibrium networks (DEQs) are a new class of models that eschews traditional depth in favor of finding the fixed point of a single nonlinear layer. These models have been shown to achieve performance competitive with the state-of-the-art deep networks while using significantly less memory. Yet they are also slower, brittle to architectural choices, and introduce potential instability to the model. In this paper, we propose a regularization scheme for DEQ models that explicitly regularizes the Jacobian of the fixed-point update equations to stabilize the learning of equilibrium models. We show that this regularization adds only minimal computational cost, significantly stabilizes the fixed-point convergence in both forward and backward passes, and scales well to high-dimensional, realistic domains (e.g., WikiText-103 language modeling and ImageNet classification). Using this method, we demonstrate, for the first time, an implicit-depth model that runs with approximately the same speed and level of performance as popular conventional deep networks such as ResNet-101, while still maintaining the constant memory footprint and architectural simplicity of DEQs. Code is available at https://github.com/locuslab/deq .


This paper is motivated by the fact that there were about 1.5 million disabled persons in Thailand in 2011. A year later, 234,390 of them had died; many of the deaths were premature. The major causes of their deaths could be traced back to deprived socioeconomic conditions. At present, registered disabled persons are entitled to a monthly payment of 500 Baht (17 USD), and have access to low cost medical services. It is inevitable that a new initiative is needed to promote better quality of life. Access to tertiary education is one of the viable options. Disabled persons are usually credit constrained; access to sufficient student loans is, therefore, a pre-requisite to access tertiary education. Using a unique health literacy data set of Thai persons with disabilities, this paper examines how different student loan sizes affect returns on tertiary education. Propensity Score Matching is used to estimate the differences in the log of earnings between disabled persons with tertiary degrees, and disabled persons with basic education qualifications. A subsequent exercise on the effects of different loan sizes is conducted using the Thai Student Loans Fund (SLF) arrangement. The exercise reveals that rates of returns do not vary significantly with loan sizes. These findings suggest that promoting greater access to tertiary education for disabled persons will be beneficial to individuals, as well as the society at large. Supplementary in-depth interviews highlight the importance of post-graduation placement services.


Reducing the emissions and fuel consumption for IC engines are no longer the future goals; instead they are the demands of today. People are concerned about rising fuel costs and effects of emissions on the environment. The major contributor for the increased levels of pollutants is the Diesel engines. Diesel engine finds application in almost in all fields, including transportation sector such as buses, trucks, railway engines, etc. and in industries as power generating units. In the present work an attempt is made for effective utilization of diesel engine aiming for reduction in fuel consumption and smoke density. This is achieved by some minor modifications in diesel engine, so as to run the existing diesel engine as a LPG-Diesel dual-fuel engine with LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) induction at air intake. The important aspect of LPG-Diesel dual-fuel engine is that it shows significant reduction in smoke density and improved brake thermal efficiency with reduced energy consumption. An existing 4-S, single cylinder, naturally aspirated, water-cooled, direct injection, CI engine test rig was used for the experimental purpose. With proper instrumentation the tests were conducted under various LPG flow rates, loads, and injection timings. The influence of the diesel replacement by LPG on smoke density, brake specific energy consumption and brake thermal efficiency were studied. The optimal diesel replacement pertaining to the maximum allowable LPG gas flow limits could be assessed with these experiments. The influence of the injection timing variation on the engine performance and smoke density were analyzed form the experimental results. It was also observed that beyond half load operation of the dual-fuel engine, the brake thermal efficiency increases with diesel replacement, and at full load up to 4% improvement was observed compared to full diesel operation. At full load reduction in smoke density up to 25–36% was observed compared to full diesel operation. At advance injection timing of 30°btdc the performance was better with lower emissions compared to normal and retarded injection timings.© 2003 ASME


This work is an introductory chapter for a forthcoming book on Understanding International Criminal Law to be published by Aspen Publishers as part of Aspen's Essentials series. This chapter presents a succinct definition of international criminal law (ICL), situating it within the fields of public international law, transnational law, international human rights, and international humanitarian law. Additional chapters in the text will address the history of ICL, the sources of ICL, the major international crimes and defenses, and ICL reasoning and rhetoric. Publication is expected in 2007 for adoption in 2008.


The decades from 1500 to 1550 in Florence encompassed one of the most original and outstanding periods in the entire history of art. This gloriously illustrated book gathers and describes many of the beloved paintings, drawings, and sculptures created by the greatest masters of the period along with less familiar but equally beautiful and intriguing works. The contributors to the volume explore the masterpieces of Florence and challenge conventional interpretations of the evolution of this art. The book outlines the historical context of the Florentine High Renaissance and then discusses drawings, paintings, and sculpture in turn. Focusing on major artists and their contemporaries and allies, the authors demonstrate the great importance of drawing during this period and show that there was a consistency in the brand of creativity found in such artists as Michelangelo, Fiorentino, Cellini, and Bronzino. The authors question the relevance of terms like High Renaissance and Mannerism, and they contend that, contrary to commonly held assumptions, there was no strong stylistic division between art produced in Florence before and after the death of Raphael in 1520.


A technique for precisely measuring hyperfine structure of any level of neutral uranium which can be excited by a single or multistep transition from the ground or a low-lying-metastable state has been developed. Numerous spectra were measured and fit to obtain precise hyperfine splitting constants. In particular, measurements on the 31 869-cm−1 odd level have determined the following: J = 6, magnetic dipole constant A = −47.2 ± 0.6 MHz and electric quadrupole constant B = 1892 ± 26 MHz. Structure of serveral excited states of known configuration were measured including the 15 632-cm−1f2d2s2(5L7) and the 16 930-cm−1f3dsp (7K5) levels.


The selection, composition and integration of Transport Telematic Services (TTSs) is crucial for achieving cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS). To enable future adaptation, models for selecting and composing TTSs needs to take into account possible future modifications, upgrades or downgrades of different TTSs without tipping off the benefit edge. To achieve this, a Strategic Service Selection Problem (SSSP) for TTSs is presented in this article. The problem involves selecting a set of TTSs that maximizes net societal benefits over a strategic time period, e.g., 10 years. The formulation of the problem offers possibilities to study design alternatives taking into account future modifications, extensions, upgrades or downgrades of different TTSs. Two decisive factors affecting the choices and modifications of TTSs are studied: 1) the effects of allowing market forces to drive the choices of TTSs, and 2) the effect of using Governmental policies to mandate the introduction of TTSs, e.g., Road User Charging and eCall. Case study results indicate that in determining combinations of TTSs that can be deployed in a period of 10 years, enforcing too many TTSs can retard the ability of the market to generate net benefits even though the results could be that more TTSs will be deployed.


Traditional folk treatment from wild plants has always guided researchers to search for novel medications to develop healthy life for humans and animals. Like most other plants Abrus precatorius contain various secondary metabolites with great potentials. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the phytochemicals, antioxidants and antimicrobial activity against veterinary pathogens by using quantitative and qualitative analysis of Hexane, Chloroform and Methanol with the help of standard techniques. The findings from quantification and phytochemical screening showed the presence of flavonoids, glycosides, cardiac glycosides, phenols, tannins, saponins, Proteins, Steroids and quinones. The in vitro antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of the specie, Abrus precatorius clearly demonstrated that whole plant have prominent antioxidant and antimicrobial properties.


This paper depicts the experimental study of the input parameters of EDM i.e. current, pulse on time and pulse off time on output parameters material removal rate (MRR), tool wear rate (TWR) and surface roughness (SR). The workpiece materials selected was AISI D2. The aluminium used as tool electrode and EDM oil as dielectric fluid. Taguchi, method was used to perform experiments, L9 orthogonal array was applied using MINITAB software. Signal to Noise (S/N) ratio and ANOVA were employed for parameter optimization and to achieve max MRR, min SR and TWR. The results indicate that the most prompting factor for MRR is Pulse off time. For TWR, the most influencing factor is current. For SR, the most prompting factor is pulse on time. Optimization is done by using Taguchi method on MINITAB 17 software


Particulate matter (PM) air pollution is a leading public health concern across most of the populated world. Elevated PM levels cause both acute increases in cardiovascular mortality and the development of long-term neurological pathology. Upon inhalation, PM reaches the brain through entry into pulmonary capillaries and directly through the olfactory mucosa. Population-based and animal studies reveal decreases in brain size and increases in inflammatory markers following long-term exposure to elevated PM concentrations. In vitro, cell culture studies indicate that components of PM air pollution are neurotoxic. In addition to direct effects on the central nervous system (CNS), PM induces aberrant local and systemic inflammatory responses that can induce and exacerbate cerebral injury. Hypertension and decreased cerebral blood flow velocity are observed within days of increased PM exposure and may contribute to short-term rises in mortality rate. Substantial epidemiological evidence links PM concentration with both short-term and long-term risk of stroke. It has been suggested that the increased stroke risk is due to potentiation of cerebrovascular inflammation, endothelial cell dysfunction, reactive oxygen species production, and atherosclerosis. This review examines the pathophysiological mechanisms by which PM damages the CNS and the cerebrovasculature.


Adsorption properties of bottle-brush polyelectrolytes have been investigated using dual polarization interferometry (DPI), which provides real time monitoring of adsorbed layer thickness and refractive index. The adsorption on silicon oxynitride was carried out from aqueous solution with no added inorganic salt, and the adsorbed polyelectrolyte layer was subsequently rinsed with NaCl solutions of increasing concentration. The bottle-brush polyelectrolytes investigated in this study have different ratios of permanent cationic charged segments and uncharged PEO side chains. Both the cationic groups and the PEO side chains have affinity for silica-like surfaces, and thus contribute to the adsorption process that becomes rather complex. Adsorption properties in water, responses to changes in ionic strength of the surrounding medium, adsorption kinetics and the layer structure are all strongly dependent on the ratio between backbone charges and side chains. The results are interpreted in terms of competitive adsorption of segments with different chemical nature. The adsorption kinetics is relatively fast, taking only tens to hundreds of seconds when adsorbed from dilute 100 ppm solutions. The DPI technique was found to be suitable for studying such rapid adsorption processes, including determination of the initial adsorption kinetics. We expect that the effects observed in this study are of general importance for synthetic and biological polymers carrying segments of different nature.