Background. Prior studies have shown that lack of knowledge and training, incorrect behaviours and attitudes put Intensive care unit (ICU) patients at risk. The aim of this study was to assess knowledge, attitudes and professional behaviour of Italian nurses towards preparation and administration of intravenous medications in ICUs. Reliability and validity of the questionnaire were assessed as well.Methods. A survey was conducted on a sample of Italian nurses in 2015 through a self-administered questionnaire. Reliability was tested and content validity was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha. Multiple logistic regression models were built to identify predictors of knowledge, attitudes and behaviours.Results. In total, 123 nurses completed the questionnaire. For the variable 'adequate knowledge' nurses were divided in those who had correctly answered 7 of 8 questions on knowledge and everyone else, while for 'attitudes and professional behaviour' responders were grouped into those who showed a positive attitude and appropriate behaviour and everyone else. Results of the multiple logistic regression analyses show some association, although not statistically significant, between correct behaviour, positive attitudes and the years of work experience. It is interesting to note that appropriate knowledge weighs negatively on correct behaviour (OR 0.06, 95% CI 0.04-0.42). Moreover, graduate nurses have more appropriate knowledge than those who are not. A high level of interest for specific training was reported by almost all responders. Cronbach's alpha for all three sections together resulted in a value of 0.49.Conclusions.This pilot study demonstrated the need to amend the questionnaire, especially the knowledge and behaviour sections, in which the Cronbach's alpha was less than 0.7. Targeted educational programs are needed to improve the expertise of nurses to reduce medication errors during preparation and administration of IV medications in the ICU.


Chemistry is an experimental subject, and what can be more stimulating than carrying out a laboratory experiment where the results are memorable either by their visual nature or by their tying together of theory. This collection of 100 chemistry experiments has been developed with the help and support of teachers throughout the UK. Each student worksheet is accompanied by a teachers' notes sheet which gives details for teachers and technicians on apparatus and chemicals, timing, context, teaching tips, background theory and answers to any questions on the student worksheets. The student worksheets are also available on the web, and can be downloaded or adapted as necessary by teachers. Classic Chemistry Experiments is designed as a teaching aid to help communicate the excitement and wonder of chemistry to students, and is ideal for both experienced chemistry teachers and to scientists from other disciplines who are teaching chemistry. Additional resources can be downloaded from: http://www.rsc.org/learn-chemistry/resource/res00001938/classic-chemistry-experiments-book#!cmpid=CMP00000454


Intravaginal practises are widespread in sub-Saharan Africa. They may increase HIV transmission and interfere with the acceptability and efficacy of barrier methods of HIV prevention. This survey provides detailed quantitative descriptions of intravaginal practises, and predictors and reasons for such practises, in a cohort of Zimbabwean women. Finger-cleansing and wiping were extremely common, practised an average of once or twice per day, and considered an essential part of a woman's routine hygiene. The insertion of traditional substances, mostly used to dry and tighten the vagina, was less common and practised less frequently. Users were more likely than non-users to be of lower socio-economic status, and in search for a steady partner or marital stability. The relationship between intravaginal practises and condom use was unclear, because condom use was rare and strongly associated with sex work in this cohort. The need to determine how much lubrication women and men desire and tolerate during sex in different parts of the world is discussed. We recommend to take intravaginal practises into account when developing new methods of HIV prevention (such as topical vaginal microbicides), and when designing HIV prevention programmes.


Finally a social skills program that covers all the bases! Whether it's learning how long one can look at somebody without being accused of staring; how to shift topics, despite one's desire to stick with that all-consuming special interest; how to say no to peer pressure; or dealing with a sensitive topic - it's all here... and more. In this comprehensive and user friendly book, the author translates years of experience working with students wiht Asperger Syndrome and social-communication difficulties. After brief introductory chapters on skills to target, instructional strategies, behavior management, promoting generalization, etc., as well as a special chapter by Brenda Smith Myles on relevant characteristics of autism spectrum disorders, the reader is presented with the essence of this must-have resource: 70 of the skills that most commonly cause difficulty for individuals with autism spectrum disorders and social-communications problems. The presentation of each skill consists of a reproducible skill handout, as well as activity sheets listing ways teachers and parents can demonstrate, practice, and reinforce the skill in the classroom and at home. A concluding chapter on promoting peer acceptance offers sensitivity training programs for both students of various age groups and school staff, making this a complete social skills training package for students of all ages.


Our society puts a premium on youthfulness, and nowhere is this more evident than in mass media and in marketing. But with the so-called longevity revolution and the increasing awareness of social gerontology, not to mention the vast improvement in health care, is there a possibility that the Filipino elderly may yet be the embodiment of Deepak Chopra's "ageless body, timeless mind"? Or will the images of the helpless, unproductive, and senile individual persist? This study takes a look at the Filipino elderly's characteristics and their perceptions of aging. It also seeks to find out their patterns of mass media consumption and how the mass media can possibly contribute to the formation of their self-concepts.


Generalisations of linear discriminant functions are introduced to tackle problems in pattern classification, and associative memory. The concept of a point rule is defined, and compositions of global linear maps with point rules are incorporated in two distinct structural forms—feedforward and feedback—to increase classification flexibility at low increased complexity. Three performance measures are utilised, and measures of consistency established. Feedforward pattern classification systems based on multi-channel machines are introduced. The concept of independent channels is defined and used to generate independent features. The statistics of multi-channel classifiers are characterised, and specific applications of these structures are considered. It is demonstrated that image classification invariant to image rotation and shift is possible using multi-channel machines incorporating a square-law point rule. The general form of rotation invariant classifier is obtained. The existence of optimal solutions is demonstrated, and good sub-optimal systems are introduced, and characterised. Threshold point rules are utilised to generate a class of low-cost binary filters which yield excellent classification performance. Performance degradation is characterised as a function of statistical side-lobe fluctuations, finite system space-bandwidth, and noise. Simplified neural network models are considered as feedback systems utilising a linear map and a threshold point rule. The efficacy of these models is determined for the associative storage and recall of memories. A precise definition of the associative storage capacity of these structures is provided. The capacity of these networks under various algorithms is rigourously derived, and optimal algorithms proposed. The ultimate storage capacity of neural networks is rigourously characterised. Extensions are considered incorporating higher-order networks yielding considerable increases in capacity.


The objectives of this thesis are twofold. The^r^i and primary objective is the identification of
the most appropriate doctrinal approach which courts must adopt in reviewing exercises of the
constitutional amendment power in managed investment schemes. The second objective is to
evaluate the adequacy of the applicable law in protecting the legitimate rights and interests of
the scheme participants. The discussion further provides a medium upon which various
underlying themes are explored. These themes include the nature of judicial review upon abuse
of power generally by both fiduciaries and non-fiduciaries, the analogy between corporations
and managed investment schemes, and the division of power between the two primary scheme
organs, being the responsible entity and scheme members in a general meeting.
Managed investment schemes are investment arrangements in which participants forgo control
over their capital contributions in consideration for a bundle of rights, derived from the
Corporations Law, the scheme constitution as a commercial contract, and the law of equity.
Neither the contractual nor the equitable rights of members are indefeasible, as the scheme
constitution may be amended, either unilaterally by the responsible entity, or by a special
resolution of scheme members.
Exercises of the constitutional amendment power are subject to various restraints, similarly
derived from legislation, contract and equity. In relation to unilateral amendments, the
Corporations Law provides that an amendment can only be effected where the responsible
entity reasonably considers the amendment will not adversely affect members' rights.
Restraints are also imposed by equity, such as the responsible entity's obHgation to exercise its
powers for a proper purpose, being based on the equitable doctrine oi fraud on the power.
Further equitable restraints placed on the responsible entity are drawn from its position as
trustee of the scheme assets, such as the requirement that it act in the best interests of scheme
members and treat them impartially. Amendments by members' resolution are similarly open
to judicial review based on equitable obligations drawn from a company law context, being
namely the requirement that the amendment not involve afraud on the minority.
The adequacy of the above restraints is judged both by applying the identified law to various
hypothetical amendment which may be instigated by scheme participants, as well as by way of
a comparative analysis with the protection afforded to company shareholders. It is concluded
that the interplay between exphcit statutory controls and the various equitable obligations
provides the appropriate balance between investor protection and allowing sufficient flexibility
in order to facihtate the efficient commercial operation of the scheme.


Modeling Channel Erosion in Cohesive Streams of the Blackland Prairie, Texas at the Watershed Scale Stephanie V. Capello, M.S. Mentor: Peter M. Allen, Ph.D. Stream bank erosion is a product of submerged and subaerial processes. The goal of this research was to assess the application of the submerged jet test to predict erosion of cohesive stream banks in the Blackland Prairie of North Central Texas, an area with over 40% of the State's population. In situ erosion monitoring was conducted by utilizing erosion pins and water level loggers at seven field sites with contributing drainage areas of 5-239 square kilometers. Erosion pins were placed at two locations on the cutbank wall and monitored over one year. Erosion rates during the monitoring period were a function of bank height and flow duration. Submerged jet test values from samples taken at the same locations as the erosion pins predicted erodibility of the material ranged from 0.0034-0.0065 cm/N-s. Erosion pins indicated 30.35-572.00 mm of loss. The predicted erosion coefficients from the jet test, tractive force, and cumulative flow duration was within 31% of the field erosion. This study evaluates the first in situ testing of the erodibility of cohesive stream banks with cumulative flow duration, cumulative tractive force, and subaerial processes.


Malnutrition has long been recognized as a potential source of increased morbidity and mortality in patients with various disorders, including those undergoing hepatobiliary surgery. To elucidate the role of malnutrition in postoperative complications in hepatobiliary surgery, the nutritional status of 73 patients was evaluated with the Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI) devised by Dr. Mullen. PNI was calculated based on the following parameters: albumin, transferrin, triceps skin folds and delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity (DH). DH was performed with four skin antigens: candida, trichophyton, streptokinase/streptodornase and PPD. Based on the results the patients were stratified into two groups, a low-risk group with PNI less than 40 and a high-risk group with PNI greater than or equal to 40. Complications occurred in 10 of 34 patients (29%) in the low-risk group and in 15 of 39 patients (38%) in the high-risk group. There were 2 deaths in the latter and none in the former group, the difference was not statistically significant. We conclude that PNI fails to predict postoperative complications in hepatobiliary surgery patients. Either the formula of PNI, which is derived from gastrointestinal surgery patients, is not applicable to patients undergoing hepatobiliary surgery, or factors other than nutrition are involved in the development of postoperative complications in hepatobiliary surgery.


"The Gambler and Other Stories" is Fyodor Dostoyevsky's collection of one novella and six short stories reflecting his own life - indeed, "The Gambler", a story of a young tutor in the employment of a formerly wealthy Russian General, was written under a strict deadline so he could pay off his roulette debts. This volume includes "Bobok", the tale of a frustrated writer visiting a cemetery and enjoying the gossip of the dead; "The Dream of a Ridiculous Man", the story of one man's plan to commit suicide and the troubling dream that follows, as well as "A Christmas Party and a Wedding", "A Nasty Story" and "The Meek One".


Composite films of copper and aluminium were deposited by reactive direct current co-sputtering of copper and aluminium. The number of copper pieces was varied during deposition which made it possible to vary the composition of the films. In order to understand the optical behaviour of the coatings, the optical constants were determined by fitting model dielectric functions to the transmittance and the near normal reflectance spectra in the wavelength range 300-2500 nm. The thicknesses of the layers obtained by modeling were confirmed by surface profilometry. The XPS studies of the samples reveal that the number of copper pieces used during co-sputtering control the formation of copper oxide. Computer simulations on layers of Cu-Al composites on metallic substrate with anti-reflection coatings were carried out to optimize solar absorptance using the optical data from the model. Solar absorptance as high as 0.91 with anti-reflectance coating was obtained from the simulation.


A three part investigation into the effects of riparian reforestation on small streams demonstrated the timing, nature, and processes of morphologic change. First, measurements of two small streams in northeastern Vermont collected in 1966 and 2004 – 2005 documented considerable change in channel width following a period of passive reforestation. Channel widths of several tributaries to Sleepers River were measured in 1966 when the area had more non-forested riparian vegetation than today. A longitudinal survey in 2004 of two of these tributaries, followed by detailed measurements at specific reaches in 2005, provided information on channel size, large woody debris (LWD), and riparian vegetation. Reforested reaches have widened and incised markedly since 1966. Reaches with the oldest forest were widest for a given drainage area, and the non-forested reaches were substantially narrower. A conceptual model was developed that describes a multi-phase process of incision, widening, and recovery following riparian reforestation of non-forested areas. Second, a fixed-bed hydraulic model of one of the streams was developed to evaluate the impact of forested riparian vegetation on near-bank turbulence during overbank flows. Flume experiments with kinematic similitude and a 1:5 scale represented half a channel and its floodplain, mimicking the size of a non-forested reach. Two types of vegetation were simulated: non-forested, with synthetic grass carpet; and forested, where wooden dowels were added. Three-dimensional velocities were measured with an acoustic Doppler velocimeter. Velocities, turbulent kinetic energy (TKE), and Reynolds shear stress showed significant differences between forested and non-forested runs. Forested runs exhibited a narrow band of high TKE in the near-bank region that was roughly two times greater than in non-forested runs. Hydraulic characteristics of forested runs appear to create an environment with higher erosion potential, thereby indicating a possible driving mechanism for channel widening in reforesting stream reaches. Third, Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data from Chittenden County were analyzed to develop a method capable of classifying riparian buffers into broad classes according to forest type and age. The geospatial characteristics of the LiDAR data in forested areas were explored using semivariogram analysis, and LiDAR-based metrics were derived in a geographic information system (GIS) to quantify vegetation height and variance. The LiDAR-based metrics were then used in two discriminant analysis procedures that distinguished: 1) forest type as deciduous or coniferous; and 2) forest age in four age classes. With the resulting linear discriminant functions, a GIS-based classification method was developed. The classification method was highly successful at determining forest type but only moderately successful at determining forest age.


We report an electro-optic directed logic circuit which can implement the AND/NAND operations based on two parallel microring resonators. PIN diodes are embedded around microring resonators to achieve the carrier-injection modulation, two electrical pulse sequences regarded as the two operands of the operations are employed to modulate two microring resonators through the plasma dispersion effect. The operation results are obtained at the optical output ports in the form of light. Microheaters fabricated on the top of the microring resonators are employed to compensate two microring resonators resonance mismatch caused by the fabrication errors through the thermo-optic effect. The AND/NAND operations with the operation speed of 100Mbps are demonstrated simultaneously.


The rough fescue grasslands are important for livestock grazing as well as other values such as wildlife habitat, recreational opportunities, and watershed properties. The impact of livestock on these grasslands must be better understood in order to manage grazing for optimal use of the resource. A study was conducted from 1992 to 1994 on the rough fescue grassland near Stavely, Alberta, to determine forage selection by cattle in the winter and summer and the effect of canola supplementation on forage selection. Twelve 1.7-ha paddocks were stocked with 2 cows (Hereford) at 3.2 animal-units-months ha-1 in winter; canola supplements (0.0, 0.4, 0.8, and 1.2 kg animal-1 day-1) were applied in a randomized complete block design. Three additional 1.7-ha paddocks were similarly stocked but grazed in the summer with out canola supplements. Forage availability, utilization, and relative preference were estimated for 4 major plant species. In both winter and summer, rough fescue (Festuca campestris Rydb.) was utilized most (P < 0.05) and Idaho fescue (Festuca idahoensis Elmer) and smooth aster (Aster laevis L.) were utilized the least. Of total forage utilized, rough fescue and Parry oat grass (Danthonia parryi Scribn.) contributed about 90 and 9%, respectively, in winter and about 62 and 32%, respectively, in summer. In summer, Parry oat grass was utilized in proportion to its availability. Rough fescue was the preferred species in both winter and summer. Percent forage utilization in winter was not affected by supplementation with canola. The high preference for rough fescue appeared to be determined by the accessibility of the large tufted plants to cattle. This was particularly evident in winter when access to plants was impaired by snow cover. Successful winter grazing on these grasslands is enhanced with a large proportion of rough fescue plants in the stand.


The study examines civil society agency for social inclusion among Associations Founded on Ethnic Grounds (AFEGs), focusing on their engagement for combating discrimination and enhancing migrant incorporation into the Swedish labour market. The overall rationale of the study investigates the complex institutional conditionality of AFEGs for developing their agency as social movement and civil society actors. The main aim of this study has been to understand how anti-discrimination agencies run by AFEGs, with subsidy support by the state, describe their experiences, and which implications the subsidy may have for the orientation and direction of their actions. The study comprises primarily interviews with anti-discrimination lawyers and heads of two agencies, but also interviews with representatives for the Equality Ombudsman. The greatest challenge for the agencies has been caused by subsidy cutbacks, which have affected both the working conditions of the agencies and other engagements of the AFEGs, such as educational courses among their members, awareness raising concerning the issues of anti-discrimination among different officials, in municipalities, trade unions and among employers. Due to the cutbacks, the civil society actors such as AFEGs have been forced to adapt to market principles by becoming entrepreneurs specialised, in this case, in the field of anti-discrimination law. The study further analyses the effects of this development as well as opportunity structures for collaboration with trade unions and the Equality Ombudsman. Even though these partnerships reveal relational asymmetries, the authors call attention to current and possible future openings in opportunity structures for wider collaboration between AFEGs, trade unions and the Equality Ombudsman.


Rate allocation is a fundamental problem in the operation of a wireless network because of the necessity to schedule the operation of mutually interfering links between the nodes. Among the many reasons behind the importance of efficiently determining the membership of an arbitrary rate vector in the feasibility region, is its high relevance in optimal cross layer design. A key feature in a wireless network is that links without common nodes can also conflict (secondary interference constraints). While the node exclusive model problem has efficient algorithms, it has long been known that this is a hard problem with these additional secondary constraints. However, wireless networks are usually deployed in geographic areas that do not span the most general class of all graphs possible. This is the underlying theme of this paper, where we provide algorithms for two restricted instances of wireless network topologies. In the first tractable instance, we consider nodes placed arbitrarily in a region such that (a) the node density is bounded, and (b) a node can only transmit or interfere with other nodes that are within a certain limited radius. We obtain a simple (1 - epsi) polynomial-time approximation scheme for checking feasibility (for any epsi > 0). The second instance considers the membership problem of an arbitrary rate-vector in the feasible set, where the nodes are distributed within a slab of fixed width (there are no density assumptions). Specifically, the results in [13] are shown to extend to a much more general class of graphs, which we call the (dmin,dmax) class of graphs, and this generalization is used to obtain a strongly polynomial time algorithm that decides membership of a rate-vector where the hosts are distributed within an infinite corridor with fixed cross-section.


CA9 is a membrane-tethered, carbonic anhydrase (CA) enzyme, expressed mainly at the external surface of cells, that catalyzes reversible CO2 hydration. Expression is greatly enhanced in many tumors, particularly in aggressive carcinomas. The functional role of CA9 in tumors is not well established. Here we show that CA9, when expressed heterologously in cultured spheroids (0.5-mm diameter, ∼25,000 cells) of RT112 cells (derived from bladder carcinoma), induces a near-uniform intracellular pH (pHi) throughout the structure. Dynamic pHi changes during displacements of superfusate CO2 concentration are also spatially coincident (within 2 s). In contrast, spheroids of wild-type RT112 cells lacking CA9 exhibit an acidic core (∼0.25 pHi reduction) and significant time delays (∼9 s) for pHi changes in core versus peripheral regions. pHi non-uniformity also occurs in CA9-expressing spheroids after selective pharmacological inhibition of the enzyme. In isolated RT112 cells, pHi regulation is unaffected by CA9 expression. The influence of CA9 on pHi is thus only evident in multicellular tissue. Diffusion-reaction modeling indicates that CA9 coordinates pHi spatially by facilitating CO2 diffusion in the unstirred extracellular space of the spheroid. We suggest that pHi coordination may favor survival and growth of a tumor. By disrupting spatial pHi control, inhibition of CA9 activity may offer a novel strategy for the clinical treatment of CA9-associated tumors.


PURPOSE
To evaluate the prevalence of postoperative magnetic resonance (MR) imaging findings in asymptomatic and symptomatic patients after resection of Morton neuroma.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
This study was approved by the institutional review board. Informed consent was obtained from each participant. Fifty-eight consecutive patients (46 women, 12 men) who had undergone resection of a painful Morton neuroma (90 Morton neuromas were removed in 66 feet), pre- and postoperative MR imaging, and clinical follow-up for a minimum of 2 years after surgery were identified. Two experienced musculoskeletal radiologists evaluated MR images with regard to the presence of presumed recurrent Morton neuroma, scar, or intermetatarsal bursitis. The prevalence of abnormalities in asymptomatic and symptomatic intermetatarsal spaces was determined. The results of the second radiologist were used only to determine interobserver reliability. The kappa statistics were obtained to assess interobserver agreement. Seven patients with presumed recurrent Morton neuroma underwent repeat surgery.

RESULTS
Clinically speaking, 68 intermetatarsal spaces (44 of 58 patients [76%], 47 feet) were asymptomatic at follow-up and 22 (14 of 58 patients [24%], 19 feet) were symptomatic. A presumed Morton neuroma was found in 18 (26%) of the asymptomatic spaces and 11 (50%) of the symptomatic spaces. A presumed scar was found in six (9%) of the asymptomatic spaces and two (9%) of the symptomatic spaces. A presumed intermetatarsal bursitis was found in six (9%) of the asymptomatic spaces and six (27%) of the symptomatic spaces. Interobserver agreement for presumed recurrent Morton neuroma was substantial (kappa = 0.64). Histologic examination of presumed recurrent Morton neuroma revealed fibrous tissue but no sign of peripheral neural tissue.

CONCLUSION
MR imaging after Morton neuroma resection commonly reveals Morton neuroma-like abnormalities in asymptomatic and symptomatic intermetatarsal spaces.


The Veteran's Administration (VA), recognizing the potential influence that nurturing interior environments may have on patient well–being, has been designing and constructing mental health settings intended to calm, restore, and revive. Unfortunately, limited research investigates the links between the interior environment and mental health outcomes that can be used for guiding the design for these facilities. This paper seeks to provide a framework for designing person–centered mental health interiors that would be supportive of human factors for a healthcare organization's clinical and operational staff as well as Veterans. The framework is intended to assist healthcare providers in achieving mental health aims through thoughtful, evidence–based, person–centered design. Based on a review of the literature and case study investigations of three VA acute inpatient mental health units in the United States, the framework is comprised of six domains: Involve, Protect, Engage, Comfort, Personalize, and Sustain. These domains, informed by existing credible research and best practices, were vetted through post–hoc analysis of qualitative data gathered from interviews, focus groups, and/or listening sessions conducted with the three sites. The resultant Framework for Designing Person–Centered Mental Health Interiors for Veterans, developed based on the data and methodologies used in conducting this study, is meant as a complementary resource for informing future research, planning, design, and operation of acute inpatient mental health spaces. The research team's aim was to develop an accessible set of evidence–based environmental planning considerations to aid in the prioritization and development of person–centered mental health environments.


The use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) by adults with learning disabilities has been positively promoted over the past decade. More recently, policy statements and guidance from the UK government have underlined the importance of ICT for adults with learning disabilities specifically, as well as for the population in general, through the potential it offers for social inclusion. The aim of the present study was to provide a picture of how ICT is currently being used within one organisation providing specialist services for adults with learning disabilities and more specifically to provide a picture of its use in promoting community participation. Nine day and 14 residential services were visited as part of a qualitative study to answer three main questions: What kinds of computer programs are being used? What are they being used for? Does this differ between day and residential services? Computers and digital cameras were used for a wide range of activities and 'mainstream' programs were used more widely than those developed for specific user groups. In day services, ICT was often embedded in wider projects and activities, whilst use in houses was based around leisure interests. In both contexts, ICT was being used to facilitate communication, although this was more linked to within-service activities, rather than those external to service provision.


There is growing international interest in the role that hospital boards of directors play in improving the quality of health care. In England the National Health Service created a program to help boards become more effective at ensuring quality. We sought to evaluate how boards at English hospitals are engaged in quality, and we conducted the first national survey of the governance practices of the chairpersons of English hospitals. The survey was completed by 132 of 171 board chairs. We compared the results to those of a survey of the chairs of US hospital boards that we published in 2010. We found that English board chairs had more expertise in quality-of-care issues and spent a greater proportion of their time on quality of care than their US counterparts. At the same time, the association in England between hospital performance on quality metrics and board engagement in quality was generally not as substantial as was evident in our earlier US survey. English board chairs tend to greatly overestimate the quality performance of their hospitals, much as their US counterparts do. Our analysis suggests that there is room for improvement in both countries to bolster board expertise and focus on key quality metrics, and to hold managers accountable for the delivery of safe, effective health care.


Abstract. A research-level retrieval algorithm for cloud optical and microphysical properties is developed for the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) aboard the Terra satellite. It is based on the operational MODIS algorithm. This paper documents the technical details of this algorithm and evaluates the retrievals for selected marine boundary layer cloud scenes through comparisons with the operational MODIS Data Collection 6 (C6) cloud product. The newly developed, ASTER-specific cloud masking algorithm is evaluated through comparison with an independent algorithm reported in [Zhao and Di Girolamo(2006)]. To validate and evaluate the cloud optical thickness (τ) and cloud effective radius (reff) from ASTER, the high-spatial-resolution ASTER observations are first aggregated to the same 1000 m resolution as MODIS. Subsequently, τaA and reff,  aA retrieved from the aggregated ASTER radiances are compared with the collocated MODIS retrievals. For overcast pixels, the two data sets agree very well with Pearson's product-moment correlation coefficients of R > 0.970. However, for partially cloudy pixels there are significant differences between reff,  aA and the MODIS results which can exceed 10 µm. Moreover, it is shown that the numerous delicate cloud structures in the example marine boundary layer scenes, resolved by the high-resolution ASTER retrievals, are smoothed by the MODIS observations. The overall good agreement between the research-level ASTER results and the operational MODIS C6 products proves the feasibility of MODIS-like retrievals from ASTER reflectance measurements and provides the basis for future studies concerning the scale dependency of satellite observations and three-dimensional radiative effects.


Chemical solution methods for thin-film deposition constitute an affordable alternative to high-vacuum physical technologies, like Sputtering, Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) or Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE). Particularly, chemical methods have proven to be very suitable for producing functional films over large areas, especially in the relatively thick range, from >100 nm to microns. Also, their versatile ability to synthesize different types of materials, i.e. carbides, silicides, pnictides, oxides or chalcogenides, makes them very attractive for a wide range of applications and studies. However, problems with surface/interface roughness, control of stoichiometry in multicationic or precisely-doped materials, and a lack of accurate control of the thickness in the thin limit range (<20 nm) has reduced the competitiveness of these processes over high vacuum physical methods. This is particularly true in the case of multicationic oxide thin-films, which have experienced frantic research activity in recent years associated with phenomena of interactions across atomically sharp interfaces; the vast majority of oxide thin films used in these studies were deposited under high vacuum. Here, we review the Polymer Assisted Deposition (PAD) of epitaxial thin-films, with particular emphasis on the case of oxides. As we will show in this review, PAD is very versatile for producing different structural phases (perovskites, spinels, garnets, etc.), demonstrating its competitiveness in producing oxide thin-films with the quality required for fundamental studies and applications, as well as its complementarity to physical methods for stabilizing metastable materials and composite heterostructures. We also provide a detailed step by step description of the most relevant chemical aspects of the method, in order to make it reproducible and attractive to laboratories with little experience in complex chemistry tasks.


Objectives Biomarkers have been developed in emergency medicine to improve decision at bedside using Bayesian approach. We intend to determine the cognitive process actually utilised by emergency physicians to incorporate biomarkers in clinical reasoning. Design We invited eight emergency physicians to answer eight script concordance tests. Interviews were tape-recorded and qualitatively analysed using predetermined categories until saturation. Results Emergency physicians mainly mobilised intuition and non-Bayesian reasoning to incorporate biomarkers for diagnosis or treatment strategies. Conclusions Although biomarkers have been developed to be used in a Bayesian approach, emergency physicians mainly use other analytical and non-analytical cognitive processes to introduce these tools in their clinical reasoning.


Network monitoring is necessary so as to ensure high reliability and availability in telecom networks. One of the main challenges posed by state‐of‐the‐art monitoring tools is the creation of network baselines. Such baselines include thresholds that can be used to determine whether monitored values (with a given context, e.g., time) represent normal network operation or not. The size and complexity of current (and future) networks make it infeasible to manually determine and set baselines for each network operator and metric, let alone adapting the thresholds to changes in network conditions. This leads to the use of default baselines and/or setting baselines only once and never changing them throughout the lifetime of network elements. This does not only cause inefficient operation but could have implications for network reliability and availability. In this paper, we present the design, implementation, and evaluation of DARN: a collection of analytics and machine learning‐based algorithms aimed at ensuring that network baselines are automatically adapted to different metric evolution. DARN has been comprehensively evaluated on a deployment with real traffic to confirm accuracy of generated baselines, a 22% improvement in accuracy due to baseline adaptation and a 72% reduction in false alarms.


Generally, slaughterhouses have the largest consumption of fresh water and thus generate large quantities of high strength wastewater, which can be treated successfully using low cost biological treatment processes. In this study, the feasibility of using an expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB) anaerobic reactor coupled with anoxic and aerobic bioreactors for the treatment of poultry slaughterhouse wastewater was investigated. The poultry slaughterhouse was characterized by high chemical oxygen demand (COD), 2 to 6 g/L, with average biological oxygen demand of 2.4 g/L and average fats, oil and grease (FOG) being 0.55 g/L. A continuous EGSB anaerobic reactor was operated for 26 days at different hydraulic retention times (HRT), i.e. 7, 4, 3 days, and organic loading rates (OLR) of 0.5, 0.7 and 1.0 g COD/L.day, respectively, to assess the bioremediation of the poultry slaughterhouse wastewater. The average COD removal from the EGSB was 40%, 57% and 55% at the different OLR and HRT assessed. At high OLR of 1.0 g COD/L.day, the overall COD removal from the system (EGSB-anoxic/ aerobic) averaged 65%. The system experienced periodical sludge washout during high FOG and suspended solids loading. It was concluded that the EGSB system requires a dissolved air flotation system, for FOG/suspended solid reduction, as the performance of the overall system was observed to deteriorate over time due to the presence of a high quantity of FOG including suspended solids.


The Devonian rock succession in the southern part of the District of Mackenzie consists of
interbedded evaporites and carbonates, fossiliferous carbonates and shales.
Inthe study areathe Devonian succession unconformably overlies LowerPaleozoic orPrecambrian
strata and thins in a northeastward direction because of truncation below the pre-Cretaceous
unconformity. The Lower and lower Middle Devonian parts of the succession have a restricted
distribution and onlap Tathlina Uplift, a pre-Devonian paleotopographic high area situated in the
southern part of the Great Slave Plain. They include detrital, carbonate and evaporitic facies. The
upper Middle and Upper Devonian parts of the succession are widely distributed. They consist of
carbonates and shales.
The Devonian succession includes seven stratigraphic sequences separated by slight angular
unconformities or depositional hiati. Sequence 1 includes Lower Devonian evaporites and
carbonates of the Camsell and Tsetso formations and their equivalents. The sequence accumulated
in Root Basin, a tectonic depression along a shelf edge that formed an embayment northwest of an
ancient landmass situated in the Great Slave Plain.
The Middle Devonian succession can be subdivided into five stratigraphic sequences, each
including fondo-, clino- and undathem deposits. The two older sequences of the Middle Devonian
succession (including in sequence 2, the Sombre, Arnica, Fort Norman and Mirage Point
formations and in sequence 3 the Funeral and Landry formations) accumulated during periods of
relative sea level rise on the northern flank ofTathlina Uplift. The three younger sequences are part
ofthe Elk Point Group of Alberta and accumulated in the northern part ofthe Elk Point Basin during
subsequent relative rises in sea level. Sequence 4 includes the Headless, Nahanni, Hume and
Lonely Bay formations and the Hom Plateau and Pine Point reef mounds. Sequence 5 consists of
the Pine Point Assemblage, the lower part of the Undivided map unit and the Muskeg Formation
ofAlberta. Sequence 6 comprises the upper part ofthe Undivided map unit, and the Watt Mountain,
Fort Vermilion and Slave Point formations.
Middle and Upper Devonian strata are included in sequence 7. Only the lower part is preserved
in the District ofMackenzie. It includes the Spence River, Fort Simpson, Hay River formations and
the formations of the Grumbler Group.
Information from regional and structural geology suggests that the Devonian sediments and
evaporites accumulated in slowly subsiding embayments. A comparison between the textures and
sedimentary structures of Recent sediments and Devonian rocks indicates that the Devonian rocks
have undergone many diagenetic changes. It is speculated that these changes were brought about
by burial during the Late Paleozoic Era; by the episodes of uplift, erosion, subsidence and renewed
burial during the Mesozoic and Cenozoic Eras; and by the effects of the Laramide Orogeny


The discovery of cell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA) in maternal blood has the potential to dramatically change the current practice of prenatal diagnosis. Scientists have recently used it to develop reliable genetic tests that offer non-invasive prenatal diagnosis (NIPD) as early as seven weeks gestation. In December 2010, two independent laboratories have demonstrated that a full genome-wide analysis of the fetus could be performed from a sample of maternal blood, making fetal diagnostic testing possible in the future for any known genetic condition. The convergence of cffDNA testing with low cost genomic sequencing will enable prospective parents to have relatively inexpensive access to a wide range of genetic information about their fetus from as early as seven weeks gestation. In addition, by eliminating many of the risks associated with current forms of prenatal diagnosis, NIPD has the potential to be offered to a much higher percentage of pregnant women. While a major medical advance, NIPD also raises significant challenges. Initially, physicians and pregnant women will need guidance on which tests are appropriate for prenatal use, how to determine what tests each woman would like to receive, how to interpret the results, and finally, what options are available after testing. This article examines a range of ethical, legal and social implications associated with introducing NIPD into prenatal practice, and offers a novel solution to assist physicians and patients in making informed choices regarding reproductive genetic testing. Finally, the article poses future questions regarding the long-term societal implications of widespread NIPD use.


The UK economy is in serious difficulties, notwithstanding some improvements in 2012. Pursuing a strategy of cuts, in order to reduce the deficit that the country faces, further benefit cuts are scheduled by HM Government, including cuts to the National Health Service. The concept of the 'Big Society' has been presented in order to alleviate the impact of the
current fiscal crisis in public health. The authors explore the development of the concept of 'Big Society' and see its roots within 19th Century ideas of voluntarism and philanthropy. Although there is merit in the Big Society's call for voluntary sector support, beyond the support provided by the State, the
authors show that the reality of the Big Society is nonetheless flawed, and suggest that there is a need for mini-scale rather than macro-scale voluntarism and participation in civic society, a 'Little Society' rather than a big one.


The healthcare industry produces a huge amount of data and information. The growing of number of patients, diseases, medical research areas as well as the rapid changes in the healthcare environment result in demands for better provision of quality healthcare information. Healthcare organisations use various information systems to support the management of knowledge and one example of such system is Medical Records System (MRS). In this paper we look at the extent doctors and medical practitioners use MRS to manage their knowledge and the challenges they face in doing so. Through an exploratory case study of a large Australian metropolitan hospital, a set of key factors was identified that may influence and inhibit knowledge management (KM) processes in health practices. These factors were then mapped onto the functionality of MRS providing a better understanding of the role of patients' medical records as part of a comprehensive KM system.


A <3 mm thick, intensely brecciated layer associated with Marinoan (c. 635 Ma) glacial striations on a Neoproterozoic sandstone pavement is documented. Only instantaneous solidification could have preserved the breccia in situ. Glacier speeds of c. 0.3 m s−1 would have induced peak flash temperatures sufficient (>1130 °C) to cause partial frictional welding of the deformed quartzitic bedrock beneath an ice-loaded clast. These results support suggestions that glacial seismicity is due to episodic very rapid shifts of large ice masses over the substrate (stick–slip movement). They also indicate that significant effective normal stresses occur at the base of glaciers.


Key changes in ecological niche space are often critical to understanding how lineages diversify during adaptive radiations. However, the converse, or understanding why some lineages are depauperate and relictual, is more challenging, as many factors may constrain niche evolution. In the case of the insect order Grylloblattodea, highly conserved thermal breadth is assumed to be closely tied to their relictual status, but has not been formerly tested. Here, we investigate whether evolutionary constraints in the physiological tolerance of temperature can help explain relictualism in this lineage. Using a comparative transcriptomics approach, we investigate gene expression following acute heat and cold stress across members of Grylloblattodea and their sister group, Mantophasmatodea. We additionally examine patterns of protein evolution, to identify candidate genes of positive selection. We demonstrate that cold specialization in Grylloblattodea has been accompanied by the loss of the inducible heat shock response under both acute heat and cold stress. Additionally, there is widespread evidence of selection on protein‐coding genes consistent with evolutionary constraints due to cold specialization. This includes positive selection on genes involved in trehalose transport, metabolic function, mitochondrial function, oxygen reduction, oxidative stress, and protein synthesis. These patterns of molecular adaptation suggest that Grylloblattodea have undergone evolutionary trade‐offs to survive in cold habitats and should be considered highly vulnerable to climate change. Finally, our transcriptomic data provide a robust backbone phylogeny for generic relationships within Grylloblattodea and Mantophasmatodea. Major phylogenetic splits in each group relate to arid conditions driving biogeographical patterns, with support for a sister‐group relationship between North American Grylloblatta and Altai‐Sayan Grylloblattella, and a range disjunction in Namibia splitting major clades within Mantophasmatodea.


In recent years, much interest has focused on the significance of inducing not only systemic immunity but also good local immunity at susceptible mucosal surfaces. A new field of mucosal immunity has been established as information accumulates on gut-associated lymphoid tissue, bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue and nasal-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT, BALT and NALT, respectively) and on their role in both local and systemic immune responses. This project, following the line of investigation started by other workers, was designed to study the use of microspheres to deliver antigens by the mucosal routes (oral and nasal). Antigen-containing microspheres were prepared with PLA and PLGA, by either entrapment within the particles or adsorption onto the surface. The model protein antigens used in this work were mainly tetanus toxoid (TT), bovine serum albumin (BSA) and γ-globulins.In vitro investigations included the study of physicochemical properties of the particulate carriers as well as the assessment of stability of the antigen molecules throughout the formulation procedures. Good loading efficiencies were obtained with both formulation techniques, which did not affect the immunogenicity of the antigens studied. The influence of the surfactant employed on the microspheres' surface properties was demonstrated as well as its implications on the adsorption of proteins. Preparations containing protein adsorbed were shown to be slightly more hydrophobic than empty PLA microspheres, which can enhance the uptake of particles by the antigen presenting cells that prefer to associate with hydrophobic surfaces. Systemic and mucosal immune responses induced upon nasal, oral and intramuscular administration have been assessed and, when appropriate, compared with the most widely used vaccine adjuvant, aluminium hydroxide. The results indicate that association of TT with PLA microspheres through microencapsulation or adsorption procedures led to an enhancement of specific mucosal IgA and IgG and systemic IgG responses to the mucosal delivered antigens. Particularly, nasal administration of TT produced significantly higher serum levels of specific IgG in test animals, as compared to control groups, suggesting that this is a potential route for vaccination. This implies the uptake and transfer of particles through the nasal mucosa, which was further demonstrated by the presence in the blood stream of latex particles as early as 10 min after nasal administration.


We present an exploratory method for simultaneous parcellation of multisubject fMRI data into functionally coherent areas. The method is based on a solely functional representation of the fMRI data and a hierarchical probabilistic model that accounts for both inter-subject and intra-subject forms of variability in fMRI response. We employ a Variational Bayes approximation to fit the model to the data. The resulting algorithm finds a functional parcellation of the individual brains along with a set of population-level clusters, establishing correspondence between these two levels. The model eliminates the need for spatial normalization while still enabling us to fuse data from several subjects. We demonstrate the application of our method on a visual fMRI study.


This Essay responds to comments by Wayne Barnes, Ian Huyett, and David Smolin on my prior Article, Separation of Church and State: Jefferson, Lincoln, and the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., Show It Was Never Intended to Separate Religion From Politics. Part II, although noting a few disagreements with Huyett and Smolin, principally argues that they strengthen the case for the appropriateness of religious arguments in the public square. Part III evaluates Wayne Barnes's contention that Christian doctrine requires separating religion from politics.


The characteristics of the alkaline degradation process and the mechanical properties of polyester blends of poly (L-lactic acid) (PLLA) and poly (butylene succinate) (PBSU) were studied. The blends were immiscible in the amorphous states from the DSC measurement results. The elongation of PLLA/PBSU blends were large (several hundred percent), however the elongation of PLLA was small (several percent). In regard to the weight decrease of alkaline hydrolysis tests, PLLA had the fastest rate of decrease and PBSU had the slowest rate of decrease. The degradation rate of PLLA/PBSU 75/25 blends and 50/50 blends were close to PLLA. A weight decrease was observed in the PLLA/PBSU 25/75 blends. The degradation rate can be adjusted by blending the PLLA in the PBSU. The results from the measurements of DSC and WAXD showed that the increase of degree of crystallinity was very limited. The characteristic globular cracks of the child (fractal) forms were observed in degraded pure PLLA by means of a scanning electron micrograph. The surfaces with the general unevenness were seen in degraded pure PBSU. The special structures (which were mixed hierarchically) were seen in the blends. Although PLLA/PBSU blends were immiscible, the blends had the structures which were hierarchical. It may contribute to the mechanical properties.


During the last one and a half decades, wireless sensor networks have witnessed significant growth and tremendous development in both academia and industry.The Art of Wireless Sensor Networks: Volume 1: Fundamentals focuses on the fundamentals concepts in the design, analysis, and implementation of wireless sensor networks. It covers the various layers of the lifecycle of this type of network from the physical layer up to the application layer. Its rationale is that the first volume covers contemporary design issues, tools, and protocols for radio-based two-dimensional terrestrial sensor networks.All the book chapters in this volume include up-to-date research work spanning various classic facets of the physical properties and functional behavior of wireless sensor networks, including physical layer, medium access control, data routing, topology management, mobility management, localization, task management, data management, data gathering, security, middleware, sensor technology, standards, and operating systems. This book will be an excellent source of information for both senior undergraduate and graduate students majoring in computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering, or any related discipline. In addition, computer scientists, researchers, and practitioners in both academia and industry will find this book useful and interesting.


Extracted from text ... Moneyweb's PERSONAL FINANCE December 2005 11
RETAIL THERAPY
The psychology of
shopping
Have you ever wondered why shops and shopping centres
are laid out in a particular manner? It's no accident.
There's a lot of psychology behind those clever
designs. We take an irreverent swipe at shopping culture
as the consumer fights back
By STEVEN JONES
LIKE many South Africans who
live in urban areas, my wife and I
are "mall rats", spending many an
hour at one of the many shopping
centres dotted around the landscape
of Greater Johannesburg. In fact,
in return for the amount of money ..


Aim: This ex vivo study compared the efficiency of Er:YAG laser to remove calcium hydroxide from root canal walls, especially from the apical third, with manual and ultrasonic irrigation technique by using a scanning electron microscopic (SEM). Materials and methods: Sixty-four single-rooted teeth were divided into 3 groups of 20 teeth each. The rest 4 teeth were used as control groups (2 positive and 2 negative control group). After coronal access, all teeth were instrumented by Protaper Next rotary files (Dentsply-Maillefer, Ballaigues, Switzerland) up to size F3, followed an irrigation protocol and filled with pure calcium hydroxide powder mixed with saline. Teeth were stored in an incubator for 7 days and then calcium hydroxide was removed using 3 techniques: Manually (group I), by ultrasonic irrigation (group II), by laser Er:YAG and x-pulse tip (group III). The teeth of control groups were instrumented as the experimental groups; no removal technique was applied in positive group, whereas in negative one, the root canals were left empty. Teeth were sectioned longitudinally and observed under SEM. Results were statistically analyzed with the Kruskal–Wallis test and Mann–Whitney test. Results: The results showed significant difference between laser and the other two groups in coronal and middle root third, but no statistic difference in apical third. Conclusion: Laser improved the removal of calcium hydroxide in comparison with conventional techniques.


The Earth is a unique rocky planet with liquid water at the surface and an oxygen-rich atmosphere, consequences of its particular accretion history. The earliest accreting bodies were small and could be either differentiated and undifferentiated; later larger bodies had formed cores and mantles with distinct properties. In addition, there may have been an overall trend of early reduced and later oxidized material accreting to form the Earth. This paper provides an overview—based on natural materials in our Earthbound sample collections, experimental studies on those samples, and calculations and numerical simulations of differentiation processes—of planetary accretion, core–mantle equilibration, mantle redox processes, and redox variations in Earth, Mars, and other terrestrial bodies.


Introduction : Reducing unnecessary laboratory tests is an essential issue in the Intensive Care Unit. One solution for this issue is to predict the value of a laboratory test to specify the necessity of ordering the tests. The aim of this paper was to propose a clinical decision support system for predicting laboratory tests values. Calcium laboratory tests of three categories of patients, including upper and lower gastrointestinal bleeding, and unspecified hemorrhage of gastrointestinal tract, have been selected as the case studies for this research. Method : In this research, the data have been collected from MIMIC-II database. For predicting calcium laboratory values, a Fuzzy Takagi-Sugeno model is used and the input variables of the model are heart rate and previous value of calcium laboratory test. Results : The results showed that the values of calcium laboratory test for the understudy patients were predictable with an acceptable accuracy. In average, the mean absolute errors of the system for the three categories of the patients are 0.27, 0.29, and 0.28, respectively. Conclusion : In this research, using fuzzy modeling and two variables of heart rate and previous calcium laboratory values, a clinical decision support system was proposed for predicting laboratory values of three categories of patients with gastrointestinal bleeding. Using these two clinical values as input variables, the obtained results were acceptable and showed the capability of the proposed system in predicting calcium laboratory values. For achieving better results, the impact of more input variables should be studied. Since, the proposed system predicts the laboratory values instead of just predicting the necessity of the laboratory tests; it was more generalized than previous studies. So, the proposed method let the specialists make the decision depending on the condition of each patient.


The ability to model and simulate the rise and fall of core body temperature is of significant interest to a broad spectrum of organizations. These organiza-tions include the military, as well as both public and private health and medical groups. To effectively use cold models, it is useful to understand the first principles of heat transfer within a given environment as well as have an understanding of the underlying physiology, including the thermoregulatory responses to various conditions and activities. The combination of both rational or first principles and empirical approaches to modeling allow for the development of practical models that can predict and simulate core body temperature changes for a given individual and ultimately provide protection from injury or death. The ability to predict these maximal potentials within complex and extreme environments is difficult. The present work outlines biomedical modeling techniques to simulate and predict cold-related injuries, and discusses current and legacy models and methods.


Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) have been successful in producing outstanding results in areas as diverse as image, video, and text generation. Building on these successes, a large number of empirical studies have validated the benefits of the cousin approach called Wasserstein GANs (WGANs), which brings stabilization in the training process. In the present paper, we add a new stone to the edifice by proposing some theoretical advances in the properties of WGANs. First, we properly define the architecture of WGANs in the context of integral probability metrics parameterized by neural networks and highlight some of their basic mathematical features. We stress in particular interesting optimization properties arising from the use of a parametric 1-Lipschitz discriminator. Then, in a statistically-driven approach, we study the convergence of empirical WGANs as the sample size tends to infinity, and clarify the adversarial effects of the generator and the discrimi-nator by underlining some trade-off properties. These features are finally illustrated with experiments using both synthetic and real-world datasets.


A criticism of the extant sports expertise literature has been the reliance placed upon retrospective methods to scrutinise the developments of elite sports performers. The aim of this study was to compare volumes and intensities of golf activities performed by nine aspiring elite adolescent golfers over a nine-month period with what they recalled once the study was terminated. Over a seven-day period on four separate occasions, participants recorded the participation trends and intensities of all golf activities undertaken in self-report diary logs. One week after the final data collection period, participants were guided through a retrospective interview schedule which focussed on retrieving data which highlighted patterns, volumes and intensities of golf activity undertaken throughout the previous nine months. Interview and diary data were compared to establish the accuracy of retrospective recall. Recalled and diary data were found to be very similar which supports the idea that retrospective recall is a dependable method to accurately determine the nature of golf activities undertaken over the course of a nine-month time frame. This finding has important practical implications for future talent development research which may wish to retrospectively examine the nature of developments on a more frequent basis as opposed to periods of 10 years and longer that are commonplace within the existing literature.


Many businesses track repeat transactions on a discrete-time basis. These include (1) companies for whom transactions can only occur at fixed regular intervals, (2) firms that frequently associate transactions with specific events (e.g., a charity that records whether supporters respond to a particular appeal), and (3) organizations that choose to utilize discrete reporting periods even though the transactions can occur at any time. Furthermore, many of these businesses operate in a noncontractual setting, so they have a difficult time differentiating between those customers who have ended their relationship with the firm versus those who are in the midst of a long hiatus between transactions. We develop a model to predict future purchasing patterns for a customer base that can be described by these structural characteristics. Our beta-geometric/beta-Bernoulli (BG/BB) model captures both of the underlying behavioral processes (i.e., customers' purchasing while "alive" and time until each customer permanently "dies"). The model is easy to implement in a standard spreadsheet environment and yields relatively simple closed-form expressions for the expected number of future transactions conditional on past observed behavior (and other quantities of managerial interest). We apply this discrete-time analog of the well-known Pareto/NBD model to a data set on donations made by the supporters of a nonprofit organization located in the midwestern United States. Our analysis demonstrates the excellent ability of the BG/BB model to describe and predict the future behavior of a customer base.


This paper presents the first conceptual study into creating a Plantae-inspired vascular network within a fibre-reinforced polymer composite laminate, which provides an ongoing self-healing functionality without incurring a mass penalty. Through the application of a 'lost-wax' technique, orthogonal hollow vascules, inspired by the 'ray cell' structures found in ring porous hardwoods, were successfully introduced within a carbon fibre-reinforced epoxy polymer composite laminate. The influence on fibre architecture and mechanical behaviour of single vascules (located on the laminate centreline) when aligned parallel and transverse to the local host ply was characterized experimentally using a compression-after-impact test methodology. Ultrasonic C-scanning and high-resolution micro-CT X-ray was undertaken to identify the influence of and interaction between the internal vasculature and impact damage. The results clearly show that damage morphology is influenced by vascule orientation and that a 10 J low-velocity impact damage event is sufficient to breach the vasculature; a prerequisite for any subsequent self-healing function. The residual compressive strength after a 10 J impact was found to be dependent upon vascule orientation. In general, residual compressive strength decreased to 70 per cent of undamaged strength when vasculature was aligned parallel to the local host ply and a value of 63 per cent when aligned transverse. This bioinspired engineering study has illustrated the potential that a vasculature concept has to offer in terms of providing a self-healing function with minimum mass penalty, without initiating premature failure within a composite structure.


Whether birds of a feather flock together or opposites attract is a classical research question in social and personality psychology. In most existing studies, correlation-based techniques are commonly used to study the similarity/dissimilarity among social entities. Social network data comprises two primary components: actors and the possible social relations between them. It, therefore, has observations on both the dyads with and without social relations. Because of the availability of the baseline group (dyads without social relations), it is possible to contrast the two groups of dyads using social network analysis techniques. This study aims to illustrate how to use social network analysis techniques to address psychological research questions. Specifically, we will investigate how the similarity or dissimilarity of actor's characteristics relates to the likelihood for them to build social relations. By analyzing a college friendship network, we found the quadratic relations between personality similarity and friendship. Both very similar and very dissimilar personalities boost friendship among college students.


THIS series gives readers the opportunity to consider and contribute to discussion of some of the ethical dilemmas that can arise in veterinary practice. Each month, a case scenario is presented, followed by discussion of some of the issues involved. In addition, a possible way forward is suggested; however, there is rarely a cut-and-dried answer in such cases, and readers may wish to suggest an alternative approach. This month's dilemma, 'Advice requested via social media', was submitted and is discussed by Andrew Knight. Readers with comments to contribute are invited to send them as soon as possible, so that they can be considered for publication in the next issue. The series is being coordinated by Steven McCulloch, a practising vet with a PhD in the ethics of veterinary policy. It aims to provide a framework that will help practitioners find solutions when facing similar dilemmas.


Optical reflection properties of strongly absorbing dye-aggregate films are discussed with respect to spectroscopic experiments and numerical calculations based on classical wave optics. The dye-aggregate films exhibit enhanced reflection in the wavelengths of the absorption bands and exhibit reflection spectra analogous in profile to the absorption spectra. Although film thickness is much smaller than the wavelength of light, the simple simulations based on a dielectric model reproduced well the essential features of the reflection spectra. The macroscopic analysis, which involved using a complex refractive index, indicates that the enhanced reflection can be expressed by increasing the extinction coefficient with respect to absorption. The spectrally distinct behaviors of reflection at low absorption on wavelengths on either side of the absorption bands are attributed to the changing refractive index with an anomalous dispersion due to the absorption bands.


Soil carbon (C) stocks consist of inorganic and organic components, ~1.7 times larger than the total of the C stored in vegetation and the atmosphere together. Significant soil C losses could thus offset any C sink in vegetation, creating a positive feedback to climate change. However, compared with the susceptible sensitivity of organic matter decay to climate warming, soil inorganic carbon (SIC) stocks are often assumed to be relatively stable. Here, we evaluated SIC changes across China's grasslands over the last two decades using data from a recent regional soil survey during 2001–2005 and historical national soil inventory during the 1980s. Our results showed that SIC stocks in the top 10 cm decreased significantly between the two sampling periods, with a mean rate of 26.8 (95% confidence interval: 15.8–41.7) g C m−2 yr−1. The larger decreases in SIC stocks were observed in those regions with stronger soil acidification and richer soil carbonates. The lost SIC could be released to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide, redistributed to the deeper soil layer, and transferred to the nearby regions. The fraction of soil carbonates entering into the atmosphere may diminish the strength of terrestrial C sequestration and amplify the positive C‐climate feedback.


Unemployment insurance (UI) provides an important cushion for workers who lose their jobs. In addition, UI may act as a macroeconomic stabilizer during recessions. This chapter examines this UI's macroeconomic stabilization role, considering both the regular UI program which provides benefits to short-term unemployed workers as well as automatic and emergency extensions of benefits that cover long-term unemployed workers. We make a number of analytic points concerning the macroeconomic stabilization role of UI. First, recipiency rates in the regular UI program are quite low. Second, the automatic component of benefit extensions, Extended Benefits (EB), has played almost no role historically in providing timely, countercyclical stimulus while emergency programs are subject to implementation lags. Additionally, except during an exceptionally high and sustained period of unemployment, large UI extensions have limited scope to act as macroeconomic stabilizers even if they were made automatic because relatively few individuals reach long-term unemployment. Finally, the output effects from increasing the benefit amount for short-term unemployed are constrained by estimated consumption responses of below 1. We propose five changes to the UI system that would increase UI benefits during recessions and improve the macroeconomic stabilization role: (I) Expand eligibility and encourage take-up of regular UI benefits. (II) Make EB fully federally financed. (III) Remove look-back provisions from EB triggers that make automatic extensions turn off during periods of prolonged unemployment. (IV) Add additional automatic extensions to increase benefits during periods of extremely high unemployment. (V) Add an automatic federally financed increase in the weekly UI benefit amount during recessions. We caution that these reforms may not by themselves have a large macroeconomic impact. Still, they would help to better align the UI system with its microeconomic objective. and, together Together with other policy reforms to automatic stabilizers, these proposed changes to the UI system would could help to mitigate future recessions.


Purpose In the recent antiretroviral therapy (ART) era, a large proportion of Korean patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection were shown to have low CD4 cell counts at diagnosis and during ART initiation. We investigated the survival trends in patients living with HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in Korea who started ART in the 2000s, and evaluated the risk factors for mortality to elucidate the association between survival and low CD4 cell counts at ART initiation. Materials and Methods Patients with HIV infection who were aged >18 years and had started ART between 2001 and 2015 in the Korean HIV/AIDS cohort study were enrolled. We compared the clinical characteristics, mortality, and causes of death among the enrolled subjects based on the time of ART initiation. Cox regression analysis was used to estimate the adjusted hazard ratios of mortality based on the time of ART initiation. Results Among the 2474 patients enrolled, 105 (4.24%) died during the follow-up period of 9568 patient-years. Although CD4 cell counts at the time of ART initiation significantly increased from 161 [interquartile range (IQR), 73.5–303] in 2001–2003 to 273 (IQR, 108–399) in 2013–2015 (p<0.001), they remained low during the study period. The incidence of all-cause mortality was 10.97 per 1000 patient-years during the study period. There was no decreasing trend in mortality between 2001 and 2015. Age >40 years [adjusted hazard ratio, 3.71; 95% confidence interval (CI), 2.35–5.84] and low CD4 counts (<100 cells/mm3: adjusted hazard ratio, 2.99; 95% CI, 1.44–6.23) were significant risk factors for mortality. Conclusion Despite excellent HIV care available in the recent ART era, the survival of patients with HIV/AIDS undergoing ART did not improve between 2001 and 2015 in Korea.


Objective:To describe the sociodemographic and clinical profile of people with traumatic brain injury (TBI) in home care, nursing homes, and complex continuing care settings in a national sample. Methods:Cross-sectional study using available Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI 2.0 and RAI Home Care [HC]) national databases in Canada from 1996 to 2011. The profile of people with TBI was compared with patients with and without prespecified neurological conditions within each setting. Participants:Adults 18 years and older identified with TBI (n = 10 878) and adult patients with other neurological (n = 422 300) and nonneurological (n = 571 567) conditions. Main Measures:Demographic and clinical characteristics, functional characteristics, mood and behavior, and treatment and medication variables. Data from Canadian home care (RAI-HC), mental health (RAI-MH), nursing home, and complex continuing care facilities (RAI Minimum Data Set 2.0). Results:Patients with TBI were significantly different on almost all items. They were among the youngest in care settings, and psychotropic drug use by this population was among the highest in at least 2 settings. Conclusion:These data can inform the planning for appropriate care and resources for patients with TBI in a range of settings.


AIM
To investigate healthcare professionals' perceptions of caring for people from ethnic minorities with poor or no English language skills when accessing health care.

METHOD
Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 34 healthcare professionals to identify their perception of barriers encountered by those with poor or no English language skills.

FINDINGS
Five main themes were identified in relation to barriers in accessing health care: language; low literacy; lack of understanding; attitudes, gender attitudes and health beliefs; and retention of information.

CONCLUSION
It is essential that all individuals are able to interact effectively with healthcare services. New and innovative approaches are necessary to meet the needs of people from ethnic minorities accessing health care.


The electrical membrane properties of the marine (brackish-water) ciliate Paramecium calkinsi were investigated under constant-current and voltage-clamp conditions, using two intracellular microelectrodes. The action potential and membrane currents were extremely tolerant to changes in the salinity of the bathing medium. Current-voltage relationships exhibited a moderate inward-going rectification of the membrane upon hyperpolarization, and a prominent outward-going rectification upon depolarization of the membrane. Ion substitution experiments showed that the electrically excitable response is a graded Ca 2+ -action potential, similar to that found in freshwater ciliates.


In the present article, we argue for a combination of reader reception studies and discursive psychology that we would like to call discursive reception studies: that is, discursive-psychological analyses of reader reception data. Such approaches provide possibilities to analyse the role of social interaction in the co-construction of the reading of a given book (or talk on a film or other reader reception data). Drawing on detailed analyses of video-recorded teacher-led booktalk sessions in grades 4—7, pupils' self presentations and other types of co-construed categorizations of readers are examined and discussed in relation to the pupils' and teachers' co-construction of two contrasting categories of reader positions: avid readers (bokslukare ; literally, book-devourers), on the one hand, and struggling readers , on the other. These categorizations in turn involve two different sets of continua in terms of the participants' (pupils') spontaneous positionings: one based on motivation (willing versus unwilling readers) and one based on reading speed (fast versus slow readers). Both sets of contrasting categories involve implicit local hierarchies, yet these two continua do not necessarily overlap. An important finding is that the position of a fast reader does not imply the position of a book-lover. Through detailed examinations of the participants' co-construed local hierarchies in booktalk, this study documents ways in which discursive reception studies may contribute to a deeper understanding of reading as a situated social practice. Our findings have implications for teacher training, with respect to the promotion of literary reading among children.


This article proceeded from the assumption that the theme of service delivery in present-day South Africa could well be qualified by the notion of 'crisis', to the extent that this qualification, from a theological perspective and on the basis of comparative social analysis, well recalls the statements in such critical and profound theological documents as The Kairos Document and Evangelical Witness in South Africa on the 'crisis' in the latter years of apartheid. The further recognition that the theme of service delivery constitutes an essentially new focus for practical-theological scholarship in South Africa led the author, who has a pertinent interest in the field of Christian diaconia , to thereupon go the full circle of practical-theological interpretation in developing such a focus. This was done by, firstly, attempting to develop a deeper contextual understanding of the problem of service delivery in the country on the basis of the prevailing debate on service delivery in South Africa, after which the ideas from conceptualisations of two different modes of diaconal practice within contexts of endemic poverty in the practical-theological literature were explored. The discussion concluded with a more pertinent consideration of the extent to which these two conceptualisations could be taken as providing direction in conceptualising a transformational diaconal response to the current service-delivery problem.


Suppose a learner is faced with a domain of problems about which it knows nearly nothing. It does not know the distribution of problems, the space of solutions is not smooth, and the reward signal is uninformative, providing perhaps a few bits of information but not enough to steer the learner effectively. How can such a learner ever get off the ground? A common intuition is that if the solutions to these problems share a common structure, and the learner can solve some simple problems by brute force, it should be able to extract useful components from these solutions and, by composing them, explore the solution space more efficiently. Here, we formalize this intuition, where the solution space is that of typed functional programs and the gained information is stored as a stochastic grammar over programs. We propose an iterative procedure for exploring such spaces: in the first step of each iteration, the learner explores a finite subset of the domain, guided by a stochastic grammar; in the second step, the learner compresses the successful solutions from the first step to estimate a new stochastic grammar. We test this procedure on symbolic regression and Boolean circuit learning and show that the learner discovers modular concepts for these domains. Whereas the learner is able to solve almost none of the posed problems in the procedure's first iteration, it rapidly becomes able to solve a large number by gaining abstract knowledge of the structure of the solution space.


Many organisms, including plants, microbes and invertebrates produce compounds called
as natural products. The production of natural products often confers some advantage to the
producing organism such as chemical defense from predators. Other natural products can have a
different role in the producing organism such as preventing or limiting ultraviolet light damage
from the sun. Such sun screens are found in microalgae and vascular plants. These natural
products have been shown to display cytotoxicity, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral, and antiparasitic
activity. Due to the biological activity shown by many natural products, these molecules
have been used in our pharmacopia. Compounds like penicillin, isolated from a fungus, and nonpharmaceutical
compounds such as ginseng from green tea are natural products used by humans
to benefit human health. As the investigation of natural products has resulted in a remarkable
number of compounds of benefit to humankind, the continued study of secondary metabolism
and natural products has and continues to be of great importance. This thesis describes an
investigation of the secondary metabolites of selected marine fungi to identify anti-microbial
natural products as well as the UV protecting compounds of the endangered sea grass Halophila
johnsonii. Although no novel compounds could be characterized from the marine fungi, a
collection of flavonoid derivatives was identified in Halophila johnsonii.


There is no international regulation for the frontal collision of the buses, protecting their occupants and partners in traffic. There are some regulation such as ECE R-80 which deals with strength of seat structure of the coaches and their anchorages strength. There is increasing need to focus issues like occupant protection and full scale crash testing regulation for buses. This thesis attempts to collect possible subjects required for international regulation required for crashworthiness of transit buses. This research attempts to develop and validate a model of transit bus for all three impact conditions. The full finite element model is developed with help hypermesh software and its validation and analysis is done with help Ls-Dyna nonlinear finite element solver. The cost of actual testing and secrecy maintained by manufacturers make research process difficult and increase the importance of computer simulations. To boost the research of crash worthiness of transit need for computer model is felt. This thesis examines several frontal crash test procedures and evaluates how well each procedure meets the objective. This validated model is used to analyze various real world impact scenarios and its analysis with European and federal regulation. This validated model is used to extract crash pulses of various impact scenarios at the center of gravity of the bus. These extracted crash pulses are applied to the madymo model to estimate the injuries to occupants of the bus. This thesis discusses the design aspects of bus frontal impact behavior as one of the main subjects of bus crashworthiness and results of previous full scale tests comparing the Fem simulation results carried out on the transit bus.


The policy to change the medium of instruction in the teaching of Mathematics and Science from Bahasa Melayu (Malay Language) to English in 2003 is an important innovation affecting not only the students but also teachers of Mathematics and Science. However, how far do the changes affect the teachers is the issue addressed in the paper. In fact the objectives of the study were to investigate the reaction of the mathematic and science teachers to using English as the medium of instruction, the problems encountered by these teachers in using English in the classroom and the availability of language support systems. A study was conducted on a group of pre-university educators in the northern part of Malaysia who have undergone language enhancement courses known as English for the Teaching of Mathematics and Science (ETeMS). The study reveals that teachers of mathematics and science are generally perceptive of the change in the medium of instruction but needing some sustainable measures to not only improve their language ability and delivery. Thus it is hope that certain measures would be taken to address on teachers struggle to ensure the success of the policy.


We study acquisition functions for active learning (AL) for text classification. The Expected Loss Reduction (ELR) method focuses on a Bayesian estimate of the reduction in classification error, recently updated with Mean Objective Cost of Uncertainty (MOCU). We convert the ELR framework to estimate the increase in (strictly proper) scores like log probability or negative mean square error, which we call Bayesian Estimate of Mean Proper Scores (BEMPS). We also prove convergence results borrowing techniques used with MOCU. In order to allow better experimentation with the new acquisition functions, we develop a complementary batch AL algorithm, which encourages diversity in the vector of expected changes in scores for unlabelled data. To allow high performance text classifiers, we combine ensembling and dynamic validation set construction on pretrained language models. Extensive experimental evaluation then explores how these different acquisition functions perform. The results show that the use of mean square error and log probability with BEMPS yields robust acquisition functions, which consistently outperform the others tested.


The Falkland Islands lie on a displaced crustal block presently forming part of the South American plate. The islands possess two roughly orthogonal structural grains, the relative chronology of which is here unequivocally established for the first time. D1 structures form a southerly verging, Permo-Triassic age fold belt, striking E–W to WNW–ESE, which represents a displaced segment of the Gondwanian orogenic belt. The strike swing from E–W to WNW–ESE is coincident with a decrease in deformation intensity toward the west. On West Falkland, D1 folds are superimposed by the early Mesozoic D2, NE–SW-trending, Hornby Mountains anticline, producing localized kilometre-scale Type I and III fold interference patterns. The Hornby Mountains anticline is interpreted to be the result of dextral transpressive reactivation of a pre-existing NE–SW basement fault. If the Falkland Islands are rotated 180°, the structure of the D1 fold belt, and tectono-sedimentary features of the Permian age Lafonian Supergroup, display a remarkable correlation with the structural style and tectonic evolution of the eastern Cape Fold Belt of South Africa. Our data, therefore support a 180° tectonic rotation of the Falkland Islands and reaffirm their pre-Gondwana break-up position adjacent to the southeast coast of South Africa. In such a reconstruction the Falkland Islands constrain the easterly extension and eventual lateral termination of the Cape Fold Belt.


This article sites psychotherapy as a 'dialogue' between polarised opposites: the necessary impossibility of communication between the conscious and unconscious; the exclusion and allure of a strange language; the scientific and the artistic; knowledge and experience; knowing and wondering; assuredness and inarticulacy. It then extends these ideas and makes a link between psychotherapeutic practice (and particularly hypnotherapy) and the 'eternal golden braid' of 'mascirelgic' (religion-magic-science). The conjecture is that the 'imaginative aspects of reason' underlie the creative processes involved in making positive and lasting psychotherapeutic change. The modern bedrock of these ideas is to be found in the philosophy of Wittgenstein whose later work might be paraphrased as saying that therapeutic understanding cannot be conveyed 'scientifically' in direct, literal language, but in a manner more similar to poetry. This praxis and understanding allows us to enhance both intrapersonal communication 'within the self' and interpersonal communication between people. By then utilizing Psycho-chaotic Semiotic, and Neuro-linguistic tools we can change core beliefs and values from those indoctrinated by the prevailing cultural ideologies, and can learn to fill the resulting 'vacuum of choice' with empowering personal logo-myths.


We introduce two-player games which build words over infinite alphabets, and we study the problem of checking the existence of winning strategies. These games are played by two players, who take turns in choosing valuations for variables ranging over an infinite data domain, thus generating multi-attributed data words. The winner of the game is specified by formulas in the Logic of Repeating Values, which can reason about repetitions of data values in infinite data words. We prove that it is undecidable to check if one of the players has a winning strategy, even in very restrictive settings. However, we prove that if one of the players is restricted to choose valuations ranging over the Boolean domain, the games are effectively equivalent to single-sided games on vector addition systems with states (in which one of the players can change control states but cannot change counter values), known to be decidable and effectively equivalent to energy games. Previous works have shown that the satisfiability problem for various variants of the logic of repeating values is equivalent to the reachability and coverability problems in vector addition systems. Our results raise this connection to the level of games, augmenting further the associations between logics on data words and counter systems.


PURPOSE
MRI-linac therapy is a rapidly growing field, and requires that conventional linear accelerators are operated with the fringe field of MRI magnets. One of the most sensitive accelerator components is the electron gun, which serves as the source of the beam. The purpose of this work was to develop a validated finite element model (FEM) model of a clinical triode (or gridded) electron gun, based on accurate geometric and electrical measurements, and to characterize the performance of this gun in magnetic fields.

METHODS
The geometry of a Varian electron gun was measured using 3D laser scanning and digital calipers. The electric potentials and emission current of these guns were measured directly from six dose matched true beam linacs for the 6X, 10X, and 15X modes of operation. Based on these measurements, a finite element model (FEM) of the gun was developed using the commercial software opera/scala. The performance of the FEM model in magnetic fields was characterized using parallel fields ranging from 0 to 200 G in the in-line direction, and 0-35 G in the perpendicular direction.

RESULTS
The FEM model matched the average measured emission current to within 5% across all three modes of operation. Different high voltage settings are used for the different modes; the 6X, 10X, and 15X modes have an average high voltage setting of 15, 10, and 11 kV. Due to these differences, different operating modes show different sensitivities in magnetic fields. For in line fields, the first current loss occurs at 40, 20, and 30 G for each mode. This is a much greater sensitivity than has previously been observed. For perpendicular fields, first beam loss occurred at 8, 5, and 5 G and total beam loss at 27, 22, and 20 G.

CONCLUSIONS
A validated FEM model of a clinical triode electron gun has been developed based on accurate geometric and electrical measurements. Three different operating modes were simulated, with a maximum mean error of 5%. This gun shows greater sensitivity to in-line magnetic fields than previously presented models, and different operating modes show different sensitivity.


Multiple-wavelength optical fields on a detecting plane of an interferometer are generated from the interference signals detected for an object surface. The generated optical fields are backpropagated along the optical axis. An optical field along the optical axis is reconstructed by summing the backpropagated fields over the multiple wavelengths. The intensity and phase distributions of the reconstructed optical field provide the position of the object surface with an accuracy of a few nanometers.


The Cove: a Legacy Trust UK funded collaborative dance/art performance project building on research established during Vertical.Nature.Base – VNB (2011).My contribution to The Cove further developed the conceptual and physical framework from VNB.The research developed the embodied strategies established at the public, 3week residential VNB project located at a remote cove on the Donegal coastline involving members of the public, dancers and climbers. The experiential nature of living and working in this environment led to various outcomes including 'Platform' and 'Public Art Commission HVS 4a+'. 'Platform' was a temporary interactive art installation - an aluminium platform built in the cove. 'Public Commission HVS 4a+' is a new rock climbing route - a concrete and conceptual public artwork with a QR code to a digital presence and history. Both outcomes were later re-published; 'Platform' in a public exhibition in Derry (Echo Echo) and 'Public Commission HVS 4c+' as part of the Artlink Public art commissions (100x100 Inishowen) and also as an online entity http://www.danshipsides.com/DshipsidesWeb/publicCommission.htmlWith additional funding Echo Echo and I further took the context and research of this process and developed a touring dance performance titled 'The Cove'. My role was in developing the platform installation as an interactive artwork acting as dynamic set for this new phase. The production has toured 7 venues in Northern Ireland and the ROI and is intended to be toured nationally and internationally. The platform is also intended to be shown in other contexts as an autonomous artwork in itself – outcomes pending.The 3 year research development is also published online: http://verticalnaturebase.blogspot.com/FundingACNI / Legacy Trust UK:The Cove. £42,000 Vertical.Nature.Base. £24,000 VenuesPort a Doris, Donegal: VNB residential public project, Public Commission HVS 4c+Echo Echo Studios, Derry: VNB Exhibition and performances.The Cove Tour:http://verticalnaturebase.blogspot.co.uk/p/tour-dates.html.Restaged in 2014 at Echo Echo Dance Theatre.Reviewed:Irish Times 11th Oct pg 13.Irish Theatre Magazinehttp://www.irishtheatremagazine.ie/Reviews/Current/The-CoveCulture Northern Irelandhttp://www.culturenorthernireland.org/article/5285/dance-review-the-cove


Sleep/wake-up scheduling is one of the fundamental problems in wireless sensor networks, since the energy of sensor nodes is limited and they are usually unrechargeable. The purpose of sleep/wake-up scheduling is to save the energy of each node by keeping nodes in sleep mode as long as possible (without sacrificing packet delivery efficiency) and thereby maximizing their lifetime. In this paper, a self-adaptive sleep/wake-up scheduling approach is proposed. Unlike most existing studies that use the duty cycling technique, which incurs a tradeoff between packet delivery delay and energy saving, the proposed approach, which does not us duty cycling, avoids such a tradeoff. The proposed approach, based on the reinforcement learning technique, enables each node to autonomously decide its own operation mode (sleep, listen, or transmission) in each time slot in a decentralized manner. Simulation results demonstrate the good performance of the proposed approach in various circumstances.


This paper presents results of a multi-visit, longitudinal experiment on the academic and social-emotional effects of arts-based field trips. We randomly assign fourth and fifth grade students to receive arts-based field trips throughout the school year or to serve as a control. Treatment students express greater tolerance for people with different opinions and a desire to consume arts. Additionally, treatment students have fewer behavioral infractions, attend school more frequently, score higher on their end-of-grade exams, and receive higher course grades. Effects are strongest when students enter middle school. We find no effect on students' desire to participate in the arts, empathy, or social perspective taking.