ANTI-PREDATOR BEHAVIOR OF SQUID THROUGHOUT ONTOGENY Carly Anne York Old Dominion University, 2016 Director: Dr. Ian K. Bartol Multiple sensory modalities and a complex array of escape behaviors have evolved as components of anti-predator responses in squids. The goals of this study include: (1) examine the role of the lateral line analogue and vision in successful predator evasion; (2) measure kinematics of escape jetting; (3) document how chromatic patterning, posturing and inking in squid change in response to predators; and (4) investigate escape jet hydrodynamics of squid. Given that squids undergo considerable morphological, ecological, and behavioral changes throughout ontogeny, the goals above were all investigated across different life history stages. To test the respective roles of vision and the lateral line analogue, squid of different life stages were recorded in the presence of natural predators under light and dark conditions with their lateral line analogue intact and ablated via a pharmacological technique. Anti-predator behaviors of squid throughout ontogeny were studied in a series of predator-prey trials using high-speed videography. Additionally, the hydrodynamics and kinematics of high velocity escape jets in squid were examined using a combination of 2D/3D velocimetry. The lateral line analogue played a role in initiation of an escape response at the earliest life stages, and continued to contribute to successful evasion by aiding visual cues in juvenile/adult squid. Paralarvae relied heavily on stereotyped swimming behaviors and translucent coloration to avoid capture, while juvenile and adults used multiple cues associated with the predator's approach to determine whether posturing or inking and escape jetting is the most suitable anti-predator behavior. Throughout ontogeny, squid produced two escape jet patterns: (1) escape jet I characterized by short rapid pulses resulting in vortex ring formation and (2) and escape jet II characterized by long high volume jets, often with a leading edge vortex ring. Paralarvae exhibited significantly higher propulsive efficiency (94.55%) than adult squid (87.71%) during jet ejection. These results indicate that all life stages of squid are well adapted for predator avoidance; they employ multiple sensory modalities for predator detection, use a variety of anti-predator behavioral responses, and utilize a highly efficient and flexible escape jet to maximize escape from predation.


In a competitive area such as medical aesthetics, first impressions count. Ensuring that each patient's initial consultation is successful can make all the difference to the way they share their experience with others and encourage them to come back for more treatments. Leslie Fletcher shares her top tips on consulting with the aesthetic patient and recommends key questions to ask during their first appointment


Crocus sativus (saffron) is traditionally used to relieve several ailments. Experimental researches have also investigated applications of saffron and its active constituents for the treatment of a wide spectrum of disorders. This review discusses pharmacological/therapeutic properties of saffron and its main components on memory function, learning ability and seizures, to highlight their merit for alleviating these disorders. An extensive literature review was carried out using various databases including ISI Web of Knowledge, Medline/PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus, Google Scholar, Embase, Biological Abstracts, and Chemical Abstracts. The growing body of evidence showed the value of saffron and its' components, alone, or in combination with the other pharmaceuticals, for improving learning and memory abilities and controlling seizures. These findings may provide pharmacological basis for the use of saffron in cognitive disturbance and epilepsy. However, further preclinical and clinical studies are necessary.


This paper examines the threat of freely available information on critical infrastructure protection (CIP) efforts. Critical infrastructure are the services required to maintain the stability and security of a country, and comprise both physical and cyber infrastructures. These interdependent entities must be protected from natural disasters, accidental errors, and deliberate attacks. The CIP process typically includes vulnerability assessment, risk assessment and risk management, and has been a global concern for many years; the concern now amplified in Australia due to a number of recent events such the 9/11 attacks, and the Bali bombings. The events have called into question the role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in both preventing, and aiding such activities. ICTs, primarily the Internet, provide a means of gathering public data. Public data refers to 'sensitive but unclassified' information; that is, information that may not on its own appear harmful, but when compiled with other data can be truly revealing about an individual or critical infrastructure. The paper presents the risk of 'sensitive but unclassified' data being available in the public arena (on the CIP process). There is an evident need for increased awareness of this issue throughout Australia. Additionally, further research must be conducted into the topic, in an attempt to achieve a balance between providing data publicly and restricting access in the interest of national security.


Under the U.S. Constitution, is the executive branch unitary, and if so, in what sense? For many decades, there has been a sharp dispute between those who believe in a strongly unitary presidency, in accordance with the idea that the president must have unrestricted removal power over high-level officials entrusted with implementation of federal law, and those who believe in a weakly unitary presidency, in accordance with the view that Congress may, under the Necessary and Proper Clause, restrict the president's removal power, so long as the restriction does not prevent the president from carrying out his constitutionally specified functions. Both positions can claim support from the original understanding of relevant clauses; both can claim to keep faith with constitutional commitments in light of dramatically changed circumstances, above all the rise of the modern administrative state. In Seila Law v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a sharply divided Court enthusiastically embraced the strongly unitary position, in an ambiguous opinion that might be read to preserve the constitutionality of independent multimember commissions, but that also left a great deal of room for constitutional challenges to such commissions in their present form. The Court's analysis purports to be rooted in the original understanding of the constitution, and not implausibly so; but the Court relies so heavily on abstract principles, such as "liberty" and "accountability," that its analysis is not easily distinguishable from a dynamic constitutionalism suffused with political morality. The Court's holding and analysis can thus be seen as a direct outgrowth of modern anxiety, rooted in structural concerns, about the threats posed by a powerful, discretion-wielding administrative apparatus, and a belief that presidential control is an essential safeguard.


According to the U.S. Census of Agriculture, 25% of Missouri Latino farmers and rancher stopped farming and ranching operations from 2002 to 2007, even though the population of Latinos was increasing across the state. One possibility was that Latino farmers and ranchers were not effectively accessing USDA support programs. In order to better understand this dramatic decline in the number of Latino farmers and ranchers and to identify ways to improve access and use of USDA programs by Latino farmers and ranchers, 30 farmers and ranchers and five USDA agents were interviewed in southwest, Missouri. Factors such as cultural influence, English communication, insufficient network connections, poor business literacy and a lack of technical knowledge on farming and ranching, constrained the farmers and ranchers from maintaining a productive and sustainable relationship with the USDA. These factors were mentioned by all of the individuals interviewed. In addition, they agreed that one of the main challenges is to create a communication bridge that begins to explore and analyze Latino farmers and ranchers qualifications for access and use of USDA programs. This bridge may facilitate a better understanding of the need for Latino farmers and ranchers to access and use USDA programs, as well as improve their understanding of programs and services offered by the USDA. Improving relationships between Latino farmers and ranchers and USDA resource agencies can assist these producers with establishing and growing their enterprises, as well as influence the Latino farmers and ranchers socioeconomic integration into the broader community. www.cambio.missouri.edu/Library/


This thesis is mainly focused on the development of new palladium catalyzed transformations using so-called "pincer" complexes. These complexes were applied as catalysts in two important areas of organometallic chemistry: substitution of propargylic substrates by dimetallic reagents; and allylation of aldehydes and imines by allylstannanes. In addition, this thesis includes studies on Lewis acid mediated cyclization reactions of allylsilanes with aldehydes. Pincer complex catalyzed substitution of various propargylic substrates could be achieved under mild conditions using tin and silicon based dimetallic reagents to obtain propargyl- and allenylstannanes and silanes. The regioselectivity of the substitution reaction strongly depends on the steric and electronic effects of the propargylic substrate. According to our mechanistic studies the key intermediate of the reaction is an organostannane (or silane) coordinated pincer complex. DFT modeling studies on the transfer of the trimethylstannyl functionality to the propargylic substrate revealed a novel mechanism, which is based on the unique topology of the pincer-complex catalysts. Our further studies showed that palladium pincer complexes can be employed as efficient catalysts for electrophilic allylic substitution of allylstannanes with aldehyde and imine substrates. In contrast to previous applications for electrophilic allylic substitutions via bis-allylpalladium complexes, this reaction involves mono-allylpalladium intermediates which were observed by 1H-NMR spectroscopy. The last chapter of this thesis is focused on Lewis-acid mediated cyclization of hydroxy functionalized allylsilanes, which afford tetrahydropyran derivatives with a high stereoselectivity.


The aim of this article is to present the role of the quality and environmental management systems in the evaluation of suppliers. This evaluation is perceived by many economic entities as one of the key stages of the sourcing process in the B2B market. The conducted analysis indicates that the evaluation of suppliers allows a significant reduction of the level of risk related to the quality of both products and processes.  Activities undertaken by enterprises in the evaluation of suppliers were the subject of empirical research carried out between October and November 2017, through the use of the Computer Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI) technique. The research covered 300 producers that were suppliers for enterprises from the automotive, metal and chemical sectors. The results of the empirical research indicate that companies operating in Poland and wanting to shape partner relations with suppliers conduct their evaluation focused mainly on ensuring the quality of products, improvement of operational processes, as well as limiting the negative impact on the environment through the implementation of management system solutions.
Key words: supply chain, supplier relationship, quality and environmental management, supplier evaluation


Children and young persons face a risky world from birth. How best to enhance their personal resilience and survival skills?
Although rarely discussed in mainstream risk literature, this has been a topic of considerable controversy with apparently large variability in attitudes to children's risk exposure across Europe and beyond. The importance of raising capable and resilient children is of course self evident (Sandseter and Kennair, 2011).
In the UK this conflict led in 1993 to the creation of a multi-actor body known as the Play Safety Forum (PSF, 1993), which has sought to promote a balanced approach to children's play. The PSF comprises a consortium of the four UK national play agencies, safety and child welfare organisations, and other agencies with interests in children and play including industry and standards-setting bodies. Major achievements include the publication of 'Managing risk in play provision' (PSF, 2008a), 'Design for play' (PSF, 2008b) and the introduction of risk-benefit assessment (PSF, 2015), the latter as a means of safeguarding what some regard as the essential and unavoidably risky elements of play.
This paper will describe the history of these developments before discussing current challenges. In particular, the PSF has recently been concerned by proposals to rewrite or modify international Standards on play safety as promulgated by the ASTM in the USA and CEN in Europe in relation to surfacing requirements for fixed equipment, unsupervised, outdoor locations. Although this can involve highly technical considerations, playground standards on issues such as surfacing requirements do have major public policy implications for play provision both directly, through their significant cost implications and their sometimes detrimental effects on children and teenagers' play experiences, and indirectly, via their inherent philosophical leanings (Ball, 2004).
Policy decisions should, of course, incorporate technical considerations, but also need to be sensitive to the wider aims and needs, in this case of developing children. This undoubtedly requires a multi-stakeholder approach drawing on expertise from widely different domains ranging over engineering, trauma, child development and health, with inputs from the social and natural sciences.


Agency regulations are full of examples. Regulated parties and their advisors parse the examples to develop an understanding of the applicable law and to determine how to conduct their affairs. However, neither the legal nor theoretical literature contains any study of regulatory examples or explains how they might be interpreted. This Article fills this gap. In this Article, we explore regulatory examples and set forth a theory for how to interpret them. We examine how regulatory examples, like common law cases, serve as data points that help communicate legal content. We argue that regulatory examples are best understood through analogical, or common law, reasoning, and illustrate this through a variety of examples. Since regulatory examples are part of a broader regulatory and statutory scheme, the legal content of examples must also be reconciled with the rest of that law. We show how this reconciliation can be done through a variety of background interpretive approaches such as textualism or purposivism, and we argue for a default rule that treats the legal content in regulatory examples as co-equal with the non-example portion of the regulation. By acknowledging and exploring how regulatory examples communicate law, our theory places regulatory examples in dialogue with their broader regulatory and statutory schemes. This both empowers and constrains courts, agencies, and regulated parties in their efforts to understand the meaning of regulations


A red oak glued-laminated beam combination was developed to achieve a bending strength of 16.5 MPa (2,400 psi) and a modulus of elasticity of 12.4 GPa (1.8 ¥ 106 psi). Thirty beams of two sizes were evaluated to determine the adequacy of ASTM D 3737 (ASTM, 1992a) procedures for prediction of glued-laminated beam design stress and stiffness, and to verify the volume effect equation currently in use. Lumber properties were recorded prior to beam manufacture for use in the ASTM D 3737 analysis. Data were analyzed using both knot data collected for each lamination grade, and for the pooled knot data of combined lamination grades to increase knot data sample size. Beam data were normalized to distinguish the difference in bending strength due to volume effect from the difference in bending strength due to lumber properties. Beam strengths from pooled knot data were not normalized. Beam tests indicate that ASTM D 3737 can be used to satisfactorily predict the strength and stiffness of red oak glued-laminated beams, and that the current volume effect model adequately predicts the behavior of red oak glued-laminated beams.


For transition economies, sustainable development of agriculture can be most effectively achieved by aggressive steps to increase the role of markets in resource allocation and distribution, according to this paper. Using resources efficiently and producing the foods and services most highly valued by consumers can take agriculture a long way toward the goal of sustainable development. Leaders in transition economies have the difficult task of orchestrating the change of an economic system, but an unusual and perhaps one-time opportunity for carrying reforms.


With deeper and faster VLSI technologies, on-chip inductance has gained significance in the design of high-speed interconnects. This work reviews the importance of on-chip inductance, its useful effects and the associated negative drawbacks. It also gives an overview of the existing RC/RLC interconnect delay models and repeater insertion methodologies. The rapid growth in the VLSI technology has led to continuos reduction in the feature size of the VLSI devices and thus to higher levels of integration. The increased speed of on-chip circuitry has caused the time required for a signal to travel through the long onchip interconnects to become a significant portion of the total delay in a processing unit. Repeaters are now widely used to enhance the performance of these interconnects in CMOS SoC. For RC-modeled interconnects, parallel repeaters have proved to be superior to their serial counterparts. In this thesis, a Variable-Repeater Regeneration Technique (VRRT) and the associated mathematical models for the delays are presented. These models are used to confirm the speed optimality of the interconnects resulting from VRRT. The mathematical formulation is based on modeling the repeater resistance in series with the interconnect and also based on the first and second moment analysis, which takes into account the inductive effects of the interconnects. The main focus of this dissertation is to present a theory in parallel repeater modeling for repeater-insertion regeneration strategies. Hence, in order to avoid the fundamental weaknesses associated with the serial modeling of a parallel repeater, we carry out a new mathematical modeling for parallel repeater-insertion methodologies in SoC Interconnects. The proposed methodology is based on modeling the repeater pull-down resistance in parallel with the interconnect. Also, to account for the effect of interconnect inductance, two moments are used in the transfer function, as opposed to the previously reported Elmore delay models, which consider only one moment for the RC interconnects. The new parallel modeling technique is applied to both the Variable-Segment Regeneration Technique (VSRT) and Variable-Repeater Regeneration Technique. A direct consequence of this new type of modeling is an increased challenge in the mathematical modeling of the interconnects. HSpice electrical and C++/MATLAB simulations are conducted to assess the performance of the proposed optimization methodology using 0.25-micron CMOS technology. Simulation results show that the proposed repeater-insertion methodology can be used to optimize SoC interconnects in terms of propagation delay, and provide the VLSI/SoC designers with optimal design parameters, such as type, position and size of the repeaters, to be used for the interconnect regeneration, faster than by using the conventional HSpice simulations. Also in this dissertation, a new technique of regeneration, the Hybrid Regeneration Technique (HRT), is introduced. This technique is expected to perform better than the VSRT and VRRT, since it combines the advantages of the latter two techniques. Both the serial and parallel repeater modeling techniques are applied to HRT. Finally, a framework for a CAD tool based on the serial and parallel modeling of repeaters is presented


Labour mobility creates economic benefits for the EU at large and the mobile workforce. The same can be said for the special case of posted workers – a form of labour mobility that is crucial to the functioning of the internal market for services. Moreover, the number of posted workers is set to grow if the single market is further deepened. However, regulating the cross-border posting of workers – and ensuring a notion of 'fair mobility' – also epitomises the inherent difficulties in squaring the differences of 28 different sets of labour market regimes and regulations with the freedom to provide services in situ. In addition, the regulation has to work effectively in countries with large differences in income levels and social policies. This paper reviews the state of play with regard to posted workers and spell out the trade-offs involved to be kept in mind when considering the targeted revision of the posted workers Directive.


Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a disease in which the motor neurons die in a progressive manner, leading to paralysis and muscle wasting. ALS is always fatal, usually through respiratory failure when the disease reaches muscles needed for breathing. Most cases are sporadic, but approximately 5–10% are familial. The first gene to be linked to familial ALS encodes the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase-1 (SOD1). Today, more than 160 different mutations in SOD1 have been found in ALS patients. The mutant SOD1 proteins cause ALS by gain of a toxic property that should be common to all. Aggregates of SOD1 in motor neurons are hallmarks of ALS patients and transgenic models carrying mutant SOD1s, suggesting that misfolding, oligomerization, and aggregation of the protein may be involved in the pathogenesis. SOD1 is normally a very stable enzyme, but the structure has several components that make SOD1 sensitive to misfolding. The aim of the work in this thesis was to study misfolded SOD1 in vivo. Small amounts of soluble misfolded SOD1 were identified as a common denominator in transgenic ALS models expressing widely different forms of mutant SOD1, as well as wild-type SOD1. The highest levels of misfolded SOD1 were found in the vulnerable spinal cord. The amounts of misfolded SOD1 were similar in all the different models and showed a broad correlation with the lifespan of the different mouse strains. The misfolded SOD1 lacked the C57-C146 intrasubunit disulfide bond and the stabilizing zinc and copper ions, and was prinsipally monomeric. Forms with higher apparent molecular weights were also found, some of which might be oligomers. Misfolding-prone monomeric SOD1 appeared to be the principal source of misfolded SOD1 in the CNS. Misfolded SOD1 in the spinal cord was found to interact mainly with chaperones, with Hsc70 being the most important. Only a minor proportion of the Hsc70 was sequestered by SOD1, however, suggesting that chaperone depletion is not involved in ALS. SOD1 is normally found in the cytoplasm but can be secreted. Extracellular mutant SOD1 has been found to be toxic to motor neurons and glial cells. Misfolded SOD1 in the extracellular space could be involved in the spread of the disease between different areas of the CNS and activate glial cells known to be important in ALS. The best way to study the interstitium of the CNS is through the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), 30% of which is derived from the interstitial fluid. Antibodies specific for misfolded SOD1 were used to probe CSF from ALS patients and controls for misfolded SOD1. We did find misfolded SOD1 in CSF, but at very low levels, and there was no difference between ALS patients and controls. This argues against there being a direct toxic effect of extracellular SOD1 in ALS pathogenesis. In conclusion, soluble misfolded SOD1 is a common denominator for transgenic ALS model mice expressing widely different mutant SOD1 proteins. The misfolded SOD1 is mainly monomeric, but also bound to chaperones, and possibly exists in oligomeric forms also. Misfolded SOD1 in the interstitium might promote spread of aggregation and activate glial cells, but it is too scarce to directly cause cytotoxicity.


Sexual violence within intercollegiate athletics is an understudied area of research in social work. Feminist theorists suggest that sexual violence reinforces male dominance as a result of living in a patriarchal society. Male college athletes participating in commercialized sports develop a sense of entitlement due to public admiration for their heroic athleticism. The college sports culture at large Division I universities sets the stage for sexual aggression and exploitation of women. This article seeks to identify themes of male athletic entitlement that perpetuates violence against women through a feminist perspective. Using a historical qualitative analysis, articles from major newspapers were collected from 1950 to 2016 that reported on incidents of sexual assault committed by male college athletes. Several themes emerged including multiple perpetrator sexual assaults, recruiting parties, recruitment of athletes with a violent past, racial hierarchies, threats to victims, and organizational culture's mishandling of sexual assault. Even though these trends provide a glimpse into the college sports broadcasted by the media, they highlight the underlining structures that enable gender-based violence. Gaining a better understanding of these trends will allow social workers to address sexual violence perpetration by male college athletes in big-time college sports.


Importance Postmarket evidence generation for medical devices is important yet limited for prosthetic aortic valve devices in the United Kingdom. Objective To identify prosthetic aortic valve models that display unexpected patterns of mortality or reintervention using routinely collected national registry data and record linkage. Design, Setting, and Participants This observational study used data from all National Health Service and private hospitals in England and Wales that submit data to the National Adult Cardiac Surgery Audit (NACSA). All patients undergoing first-time elective and urgent aortic valve replacement surgery (with or without coronary artery bypass grafting) with a biological (n = 15 series) or mechanical (n = 10 series) prosthetic valve from 5 primary suppliers, and satisfying prespecified data quality criteria (n = 43 782 biological; n = 11 084 mechanical) between 1998 and 2013 were included. Valves were classified into series of related models. Outcome tracking was performed using multifaceted record linkage. The median follow-up was 4.1 years (maximum, 15.3 years). Cox proportional hazards regression with random effects (frailty models) were used to model valve effects on the outcomes, with and without adjustment for preoperative and intraoperative covariates. Main Outcomes and Measures Time to all-cause mortality or aortic valve reintervention (surgical or transcatheter). There were 13 104 deaths and 723 reinterventions during follow-up. Results Of 79 345 isolated aortic valve replacement procedures with or without coronary artery bypass grafting, 54 866 were analyzed. Biological valve implantation rates increased from 59% in 1998 and 1999 to 86% in 2012 and 2013. Two series of valves associated with significantly increased hazard of death or reintervention were identified (first series: frailty, 1.18; 95% prediction interval [PI], 1.06-1.32 and second series: frailty, 1.19; 95% PI, 1.09-1.31). These results were robust to covariate adjustment and sensitivity analyses. There were 3 prosthetic valves with a significant reduction in hazard (valve 1: frailty, 0.88; 95% PI, 0.80-0.96; valve 2: frailty, 0.88; 95% PI, 0.80-0.96; and valve 3: frailty, 0.88; 95% PI, 0.78-0.98). Conclusions and Relevance Meaningful evidence from the analysis of routinely collected registry data can inform postmarket surveillance of medical devices. Although the findings are associated with a number of caveats, 2 specific biological aortic valve series identified in this study may warrant further investigation.


Aim: Volume status of haemodialysis patients can be evaluated by trained doctors using ultrasound (US) of the inferior vena cava (IVC). To date, renal nurses have not been taught this skill. As part of a larger study exploring the use of US by renal nurses we developed an educational program to ensure that renal nurses received adequate US training to attain competence in IVC ultrasound (IVC-US). Methods: The educational program was divided into four parts. Initially a clinical US expert delivered the necessary theoretical and then practical components of the program. After this the nurse undertook a period of self-directed US practice (100 scans). During this period three formative reviews of the recorded scan clips with feedback occurred. Specific feedback covered US technique, image optimisation and acquisition and image interpretation. Finally, as a summative assessment the nurse performed and interpreted 60 scans on 10 dialysis patients. These scans were independently assessed for quality and the nurse interpretations reviewed for accuracy, prior to deeming the candidate competent to independently perform IVC-US. Findings: Ultrasound education involves knowledge and skill acquisition. Initial theoretical and practical education must be translated into competence through task repetition and targeted feedback. A staged educational program that involves these components is likely to be successful. The rate for US skill acquisition varies and a summative assessment ensuring competence prior to independent scanning is important. Conclusions: This four-step program demonstrated that it is feasible to educate a renal nurse in IVC-US for intravascular volume assessment.


Background: Partial splenic embolization (PSE) has been proposed in patients with cirrhotic hypersplenism in cases when thrombocytopenia causes clinical manifestations or if there are contraindications to subsequent therapeutic procedures. We provide a retrospective review of the safety and favorable treatment results of 80% splenic embolization in patients with cirrhotic hypersplenism in our institute. Methods: Thirteen consecutive patients with cirrhotic hypersplenism were included in a 4-year study period. The indications for PSE were as follows: percutaneous treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (n = 3), transarterial chemoembolization plus hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy for HCC (n = 2), preparation for major surgery (n = 5), and severe purpura (n = 3). PSE was performed with up to 80% reduction of splenic blood flow by radiological intervention. A tight protocol of prophylactic antibiotics was introduced. Patient demographics, procedure-related complication, and efficacy of PSE were analyzed. Results: The mean follow-up time was 26.1 ± 12.3 months. All the patients tolerated the procedure. The minor complication of postembolization syndromes such as fever and abdominal pain occurred in 38.5% and 61.5% of patients, respectively. Only a major complication of transient ascites needs diuretic therapy occurred in two patients. Pre-PSE platelet count was 35,077 ± 11,049/mm3, and it significantly increased 1 week after PSE, with a mean increase of platelet count to 384% of pre-PSE level (P < 0.001). The effect of PSE sustained to maintain the platelet count significantly at a mean level of 112,636 ± 33,341/mm3, 114,571 ± 30,696/mm3, and 118,000 ± 31,035/mm3 at 12, 24, and 36 months, respectively. Conclusion: Our series demonstrated that 80% PSE is a safe and effective method to treat patients with cirrhotic hypersplenism. It could not only increase the platelet count within a short period of time but also maintain it at an acceptable level for a long duration. Under a tight protocol of prophylactic antibiotic and delicate technique of PSE, there was no any septic complication developed in our series.


Adaptive gradient methods have shown excellent performances for solving many machine learning problems. Although multiple adaptive gradient methods were recently studied, they mainly focus on either empirical or theoretical aspects and also only work for specific problems by using some specific adaptive learning rates. Thus, it is desired to design a universal framework for practical algorithms of adaptive gradients with theoretical guarantee to solve general problems. To fill this gap, we propose a faster and universal framework of adaptive gradients (i.e., SUPER-ADAM) by introducing a universal adaptive matrix that includes most existing adaptive gradient forms. Moreover, our framework can flexibly integrate the momentum and variance reduced techniques. In particular, our novel framework provides the convergence analysis support for adaptive gradient methods under the nonconvex setting. In theoretical analysis, we prove that our SUPER-ADAM algorithm can achieve the best known gradient (i.e., stochastic first-order oracle (SFO)) complexity of ˜ O ( (cid:15) − 3 ) for finding an (cid:15) -stationary point of nonconvex optimization, which matches the lower bound for stochastic smooth nonconvex optimization. In numerical experiments, we employ various deep learning tasks to validate that our algorithm consistently outperforms the existing adaptive algorithms. Code is available at https://github.com/LIJUNYI95/SuperAdam


The present study was undertaken in patients of ovarian malignancy to evaluate the status of oxidative stress and antioxidant defence mechanisms undergoing chemotherapy treatment. Circulating plasma lipid peroxides as malondialdehyde [MDA] and activities of the defensive enzymes (Superoxide Dismutase [SOD] and Catalase [CAT]) were measured. Blood samples were collected before treatment and within 24 hours and six weeks after polychemotherapy consisting of doxorubicin, cisplatin and cyclophashamide. Material and methods: Newly diagnosed women with ovarian carcinoma (N=30), 30-60 years of age and age- matched clinically healthy women (N=20) were included in the present study. Circulating plasma lipid peroxides were quantified according to the method of Okhawa et al (1979) with modifications as described by Sanacka et al (1996) using thiolbarbuturic acid. Activities of the defensive enzymes SOD and CAT were evaluated by the method of McCord and Fridovin (1969) and Aebi and Suter (1974) respectively. Result: MDA level was found to be markedly elevated at 24 hours after therapy which decreased significantly (p<0.001) after six weeks of chemotherapy. CAT and SOD activities were significantly lower at 24 hours which significantly increased (P<0.001) after six weeks of polychemotherapy. Conclusion: Fall in MDA and rise in the activities of antioxidants SOD and CAT after six weeks of chemotherapy indicate long term protective and curative effect of above treatment modalities mediated through antioxidant defence processes


Video surveillance is active research topic in computer vision research area for humans & vehicles, so it is used over a great extent. Multiple images generated using a fixed camera contains various objects, which are taken under different variations, illumination changes after that the object's identity and orientation are provided to the user. This scheme is used to represent individual images as well as various objects classes in a single, scale and rotation invariant model.The objective is to improve object recognition accuracy for surveillance purposes & to detect multiple objects with sufficient level of scale invariance.Multiple objects detection& recognition is important in the analysis of video data and higher level security system. This method can efficiently detect the objects from query images as well as videos by extracting frames one by one. When given a query image at runtime, by generating the set of query features and it will find best match it to other sets within the database. Using SURF algorithm find the database object with the best feature matching, then object is present in the query image. Keywords— Image recognition, Query image, Local feature, Surveillance system, SURF algorithm.


Rhapidosomes are tubular microstructures composed of proteins that are found in a variety of bacteria and algae. These structures, which are resistant to disruption by many denaturing agents, have potential application as a biomaterial and may serve as a new model for the study of self assembly. When rhapidosomes were purified and analysed by SDS-PAGE the presence of three proteins with molecular masses of 53, 29 and 18 kDa was revealed. However, lysozyme treatment of the rhapidosome preparations containing the three proteins resulted in the selective release of the 18 kDa protein from the rhapidosome complex. N-Terminal sequence analysis and amino acid composition analysis were performed on all three proteins. The amino acid composition of the 18 kDa protein closely matched the amino acid composition of protein H (a peptidoglycan-associated protein from Pseudomonas aeruginosa). These results suggest that the 18 kDa protein may be a contaminating peptidoglycan-associated protein and not part of the rhapidosome structure. Western blot analysis using antisera raised against rhapidosomes revealed that the 53 kDa component protein does not react with the antisera. We speculate that the 53 kDa protein may form the inner core of the rhapidosomes, whilst the 29 kDa protein forms the outer sheath of these structures.


Having a free-speech conversation with avatars in a virtual environment can be desirable in virtual reality applications, such as virtual therapy and serious games. However, recognizing and processing free speech seems too ambitious to realize with the current technology. As an alternative, pre-scripted conversations with keyword detection can handle a number of goal-oriented situations, as well as some scenarios in which the conversation content is of secondary importance. This is, for example, the case in virtual exposure therapy for the treatment of people with social phobia, where conversation is for exposure and anxiety arousal only. A drawback of pre-scripted dialog is the limited scope of the user's answers. The system cannot handle a user's response that does not match the pre-defined content, other than by providing a default reply. A new method, which uses priming material to restrict the possibility of the user's response, is proposed in this paper to solve this problem. Two studies were conducted to investigate whether people can be guided to mention specific keywords with video and/or picture primings. Study 1 was a two-by-two experiment in which participants (n 20) were asked to answer a number of open questions. Prior to the session, participants watched priming videos or unrelated videos. During the session, they could see priming pictures or unrelated pictures on a whiteboard behind the person who asked the questions. The results showed that participants tended to mention more keywords both with priming videos and pictures. Study 2 shared the same experimental setting but was carried out in virtual reality instead of in the real world. Participants (n 20) were asked to answer questions of an avatar when they were exposed to priming material, before and/or during the conversation session. The same results were found: the surrounding media content had a guidance effect. Furthermore, when priming pictures appeared in the environment, people sometimes forgot to mention the content they typically would mention.


Multiwavelength observations of the high-frequency-peaked blazar 1ES 2344+514 were performed from 2007 October to 2008 January. The campaign represents the first contemporaneous data on the object at very high energy (VHE, E >100 GeV) γ-ray, X-ray, and UV energies. Observations with VERITAS in VHE γ-rays yield a strong detection of 20σ with 633 excess events in a total exposure of 18.1 hr live time. A strong VHE γ-ray flare on 2007 December 7 is measured at F(>300 GeV) = (6.76 ± 0.62) × 10−11 photons cm−2 s−1, corresponding to 48% of the Crab Nebula flux. Excluding this flaring episode, nightly variability at lower fluxes is observed with a time-averaged mean of F(>300 GeV) = (1.06 ± 0.09) × 10−11 photons cm−2 s−1 (7.6% of the Crab Nebula flux). The differential photon spectrum between 390 GeV and 8.3 TeV for the time-averaged observations excluding 2007 December 7 is well described by a power law with a photon index of Γ = 2.78 ± 0.09stat ± 0.15syst. On the flaring night of 2007 December 7 the measured VHE γ-ray photon index was Γ = 2.43 ± 0.22stat ± 0.15syst. Over the full period of VERITAS observations contemporaneous X-ray and UV data were taken with Swift and RXTE. The measured 2–10 keV flux ranged by a factor of ∼7 during the campaign. On 2007 December 8 the highest ever observed X-ray flux from 1ES 2344+514 was measured by Swift X-ray Telescope at a flux of F(2–10 keV) = (6.28 ± 0.31) × 10−11 erg cm−2 s−1. Evidence for a correlation between the X-ray flux and VHE γ-ray flux on nightly timescales is indicated with a Pearson correlation coefficient of r = 0.60 ± 0.11. Contemporaneous spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of 1ES 2344+514 are presented for two distinct flux states. A one-zone synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) model describes both SEDs using parameters consistent with previous SSC modeling of 1ES 2344+514 from non-contemporaneous observations.


In 1950 Richard Doll and Bradford Hill (later Sir Austin Bradford Hill; FRS 1954) showed that smoking was a cause, and an important cause, of the rapidly increasing epidemic of lung cancer in the UK. In 1951 they started the prospective study of smoking and mortality in British doctors that Doll continued for 50 years, showing that half of all smokers are eventually killed by their habit and that stopping smoking is remarkably effective. Between 1950 and 2005, overall UK death rates decreased by half in middle age; more than half of this decrease was due to the decrease in mortality from smoking.


The aim of the paper, based on empirical research in Brazil, is to investigate how supply chains have evolved over time, what factors have driven this evolution and also how a specific set of contractual practices along these chains is linked to access to international markets. The two selected case studies in the field of agriculture and aeronautics permit comparison between different modes of accessing international markets and GVCs; they illustrate the roles of transnational corporations and those of public institutions both at domestic and international levels in promoting access and determining its modes and potential spillover effects onto local production systems. More specifically, the research identifies the alternative channels of access to GVCs and international markets, and the institutional, legal and economic obstacles which prevent access or make it very costly. It looks at the role of intermediaries who control access to international markets, examining when they operate as gateways and when as bottlenecks. It examines both private and public actors, trying to disentangle when they facilitate and when they hinder access. It focuses on the most relevant factors that may attract foreign direct investments in human and physical capital to Brazil.


The vertical distribution of methane- and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (MOB and AOB, respectively), and the physicochemical conditions in the chemocline of Lake Kinneret (Israel) were studied at a resolution of 10 cm from 16.2 to 17.7 m depth. Profiles of the chemical parameters indicated decreasing concentrations of methane (from 22.4 to 0.11 mu mol l(-1)) and ammonia (from 14.2 to 8.4 mu mol l(-1)) towards the water surface and in close proximity to the chemocline, The disappearance of methane coincided with methane oxidation that could be corroborated throughout this layer with highest rates at 17.4 to 17.6 m. Disappearance of ammonia could not be linked to ammonia oxidation exclusively. The genes pmoA and the homologous amoA (coding for subunit a of the methane and ammonia monooxygenase, respectively) were amplified by PCR. The products were analyzed by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) and sequencing of clone libraries. The results demonstrated that different MOB and AOB communities are established along the concentration gradient within the narrow layer of the metalinmetic chemocline. Changes in the intensity of the T-RFLP peaks and the frequency of different groups of alpha- and gammaproteobacterial MOB, and betaproteobacterial AOB, coincided with the concentration gradients of methane, ammonia, nitrate, and oxygen in the chemocline. This suggests that different communities of MOB, and to a lesser extent AOB, contribute to the formation of chemical gradients of their particular substrates in the chemocline.


PRINCIPLES, FUNCTIONS AND CONCEPTS FOR COMPLIANT MECHANICALLY REACTIVE ARMOR ELEMENTS Cameron S. Andersen Department of Mechanical Engineering Master of Science There exists a great need for armor systems with greater mass efficiencies and ballistic limits. This thesis explores the development of a new field of armor capable of satisfying the increased demand for modern armor: Mechanically Reactive Armor or MRA. More specifically, the thesis focuses on Compliant MRA or CMRA. From the physics governing projectile-armor interactions, principles governing successful design of MRA are identified and presented. These principles or design approaches focus primarily on rejecting, minimizing, or absorbing the incoming projectile's kinetic energy. After identifying these principles, the specific mechanical functions required by the principles are isolated. These functions represent the physical behavior and capabilities of real mechanisms that satisfy the specific design principles. Using these mechanical functions and other benchmark concepts as a guide, established concept generation methodology is used to identify families of CMRA concepts that could supply the identified mechanical functions. These concept families are then narrowed by comparison of their respective ability to supply the required mechanical functions. The remaining concepts are selected for further study and simulation. In order to provide more detailed insight into the behavior of specific designs of these concepts, a quantitative model is developed. This simplified model is capable of predicting the behavior of the CMRA system when impacted by a ballistic projectile. After development, the model is then implemented to search the design space of the narrowed concepts. The search of the design space reveals important trends to be used in the design of CMRA elements. Finally, the feasibility of the specific designs is evaluated to judge their practicality in terms of practical materials and dimensions. It is shown that the concepts hold significant promise but require further design and development to provide the most desirable performance.


From the Proceedings of the 1987 Meetings of the Arizona Section - American Water Resources Association, Hydrology Section - Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science and the Arizona Hydrological Society - April 18, 1987, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona


Liquid droplet interactions with solid surfaces are fundamental to a wide range of phenomena from novel manufacturing processes, ice accretion on surfaces, to ablation and fouling build-up when droplets are carried with fluid flow along a flow path. Computational fluid-dynamics based simulations offer a controlled environment in which to explore the details of the droplet motion, deformation, or break-up and solidification and melting as droplet impingement on a surface occurs. The operating, material, or geometric conditions can be altered and the resulting changes in the droplet related phenomena can be used to gain the information needed to control the droplet related processes for an intended purpose. The present work investigates the sensitivity of the predicted splat development as a single copper droplet impact upon a cool copper substrate to variations in a volume of fluid based computational modeling method.
 One liquid copper droplet is assigned an initial velocity and temperature and is set to impact a cold solid copper surface. The splat profile, as time progresses, is compared to the results in the literature. Among the computational modeling method changes investigated are the surface tension treatment, the solution method for the volume fraction equation, the volume fraction time sub-step calculation method, the volume fraction cut-off value and Courant number, the frequency of the volume fraction updates, the volume fraction discretization method, the mushy zone parameter, and mesh refinement. The study results can be used to provide information to aid in the generation of the models that can more accurately interrogate droplet-surface interactions.


Lynch syndrome, an autosomal dominant cancer predisposition caused by mutations in DNA mismatch repair (MMR) genes, mainly mainly mutL homolog 1, OMIM 120436 (MLH1) and mutS homolog 2, OMIM 609309 (MSH2), encompasses a tumor spectrum including primarily gastrointestinal, endometrial, and ovarian cancer. This study aimed at clarifying the heavily debated issue of breast cancer being part of Lynch syndrome. Detailed clinical data on cancer occurrence in Swiss female MLH1/MSH2 mutation carriers were gathered, all available breast cancer specimens assessed for molecular evidence for MMR deficiency (i.e., microsatellite instability (MSI), MMR protein expression, and somatic (epi)genetic MMR gene alterations) and compiled with the scarce molecular data available from the literature. Seventy unrelated Swiss Lynch syndrome families were investigated comprising 632 female family members at risk of which 92 were genetically verified mutation carriers (52 MLH1 and 40 MSH2). On contrast to endometrial and ovarian cancer, which occurred significantly more often and at younger age in MLH1/MSH2 mutation carriers (median 50.5 and 49.0 years; P < 0.00001), overall cumulative breast cancer incidence closely mirrored the one in the Swiss population (56.5 years). Six (85.7%) of seven breast cancer specimens available for molecular investigations displayed the hallmarks of MMR deficiency. Combined with data from the literature, MSI was present in 26 (70.3%) of 37 and altered MMR protein expression in 16 (72.7%) of 22 breast cancer specimens from MLH1/MSH2 mutation carriers. These findings, thus, provide strong molecular evidence for a pivotal role of MMR deficiency in breast cancer development in Lynch syndrome. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


We present an algorithm for the stochastic simulation of gene expression and heterogeneous population dynamics. The algorithm combines an exact method to simulate molecular-level fluctuations in single cells and a constant-number Monte Carlo method to simulate time-dependent statistical characteristics of growing cell populations. To benchmark performance, we compare simulation results with steady-state and time-dependent analytical solutions for several scenarios, including steady-state and time-dependent gene expression, and the effects on population heterogeneity of cell growth, division, and DNA replication. This comparison demonstrates that the algorithm provides an efficient and accurate approach to simulate how complex biological features influence gene expression. We also use the algorithm to model gene expression dynamics within "bet-hedging" cell populations during their adaption to environmental stress. These simulations indicate that the algorithm provides a framework suitable for simulating and analyzing realistic models of heterogeneous population dynamics combining molecular-level stochastic reaction kinetics, relevant physiological details and phenotypic variability.


Several factors suggest that meaningful network neutrality rules will not be enshrined in near-term U.S. telecommunications policy. These include disagreements over the need for such rules as well as their definition, efficacy and enforceability. However, as van Schewick (2005) has demonstrated in the context of the Internet, network providers may have economic incentives to discriminate in welfare-reducing ways; in addition, network operators may continue to possess market power, particularly with respect to a terminating monopoly. On the other hand, the literature on two-sided markets, the challenge of cost-recovery in the presence of significant fixed and sunk costs, and the changing nature of Internet traffic all provide efficiency-enhancing rationales for discriminatory pricing and traffic management. Thus, policy-makers face a daunting challenge: discriminatory behavior is likely to occur and distinguishing between good and bad discriminatory behavior is difficult.Assuming that various forms of network-based discrimination are likely to occur, broadband end-users may employ a variety of technical and nontechnical strategies to counteract its effects, which in turn, will likely elicit further responses from the network operators. The goal of this paper is to characterize the resulting arms race by examining scenarios for how downstream end-users of broadband, sometimes in conjunction with upstream players (e.g. content providers), might respond to limit the potential harm from network-based discrimination. We identify three classes of end-user responses: (1) infrastructure-based bypass (e.g., municipal open access networks, mesh networking, or multi-homing); (2) technical and non-technical counter-measures (e.g., letter writing campaigns, end-to-end encryption, or onion routing); and (3) living with the differentiation (e.g., time-shifting and DVR buffering to use low-grade transport to view high-quality content).Our analysis suggests several implications for policy-makers. First, even in the absence of network neutrality regulation, end-users (and upstream providers) have a range of technical and market-based strategies for responding to discrimination. Second, providers may find it difficult to maintain forms of discrimination that are associated with positive externalities, such as an expanded user base or less congested networks.Thus, a priori, the welfare implications of end-user responses are ambiguous. Third, the availability and effectiveness of responses to discrimination are likely to vary not only by geography but also by the level of skill and economic resources available to particular customers, raising potential equity issues. Moreover, the effectiveness of end-user strategies depends critically on the mode of behavior adopted by the operator. We conclude that end-user responses are not sufficient in themselves to render concerns of non-neutral operator behavior mute. Finally, the outcome of the resulting network neutrality arms race is uncertain and reflects the dynamic nature of the Internet. Where or if this race will end, whether regulatory intervention to steer its progress is desirable, and if so, how to intervene efficiently remain complex questions that require further research and discussion.


ABSTRACT Drawing on interview data with second homeowners, this article identifies and explains diverging modes of second homeowner engagement in Boston, Massachusetts. Though recent scholarship suggests that second homeowners' primary form of engagement is through financial transactions in real estate, this analysis uncovers 2 kinds of second homeowners—whom I call city speculators and city specters—who engage with the city in other, yet consequential ways. City speculators engage in city-building projects through direct civic and political participation and place-entrepreneurial activities and are motivated to do so by the pursuit and promise of economic capital. City specters more inconspicuously shape the contours of urban life through donations to and participation in elite, high cultural institutions. Specters suggest that they are not motivated by economic capital but by the high cultural value that their second home engagements afford. Documenting these differences sheds light on a growing group of urban dwellers, demonstrates and explains the heterogeneity of affluent in-migrants' practices and variable place-making projects, and underscores the complex set of challenges that cities face today.


This essay addresses the difficulties that sociology as a discipline continues to experience in grasping the relations between technology, science and the social. I argue that these difficulties stem from a resolute centering of sociology on the social, which follows a generically Durkheimian blueprint. I elaborate a response to these difficulties which derives from recent lines of work in science and technology studies, and which entails a decentering of the social relative to the material and the conceptual, in terms of both objects of analysis and explanatory formats. In order to display the direct sociological relevance of this approach, I move to the macro level, developing the conceptual apparatus of a decentered social theory via the discussion of a historical example of major sociological significancethe systematic gearing together of scientific research, technological innovation and industrial production that originated in the synthetic dye industry in the second half of the nineteenth century. Besides the interest of the topic itself, the aim is thus to exemplify in some detail what a decentered sociology might look like, both empirically and conceptually.


This article explores alcohol industry attempts to frame the debate about pricing and promotions policy in the United Kingdom. Framing theory, it is argued, offers us important insights into the dynamics of the policymaking process as a contest between competing conceptualizations of both problems and solutions. Drawing on a documentary analysis and a series of interviews with policymakers, public health advocates and alcohol industry actors, it argues that industry actors framed the policy debate in ways which were consistent with their underlying commercial interests. A clear challenge was posed to the industry by the shift towards whole-population interventions favored by the Scottish government. This led to a reassertion of the industry frame in which alcohol-related harm is limited to a small minority of the population and which advocates targeted interventions.


Farmer-led irrigation is far more extensive in Zimbabwe than realised by planners and policymakers. This paper explores the pattern of farmer-led irrigation in neighbouring post-land reform smallholder resettlement sites in Zimbabwe's Masvingo district. Across 49 farmer-led cases, 41.3 hectares of irrigated land was identified, representing two per cent of the total land area. A combination of surveys and in-depth interviews explored uses of different water extraction and distribution technologies, alongside patterns of production, marketing, processing and labour use. In-depth case studies examined the socio-technical practices involved. Based on these data, a simple typology is proposed, differentiating homestead irrigators from aspiring and commercial irrigators. The typology is linked to patterns of investment, accumulation and social differentiation across the sites. The results are contrasted with a formal irrigation scheme and a group garden in the same area. Farmer-led irrigation is more extensive but also more differentiated, suggesting a new dynamic of agrarian change. As Zimbabwe seeks to boost agricultural production following land reform, the paper argues that farmerled irrigation offers a complementary way forward to the current emphasis on formal schemes, although challenges of water access, environmental management and equity are highlighted.


Between October and December 2010 the world witnessed China's reaction to the Nobel Prize Committee's decision to award Liu Xiaobo its annual Peace Prize. Ironically, China has been longing for the award of a Nobel Prize for decades, yet this particular honour bestowed for the first time on a Chinese citizen has proved to be less than welcome to the government in Beijing. After all, Liu Xiaobo had been sentenced in 2004 to spend 11 years in prison for subversive activities, such as a plea for government reforms and human rights. Yet it is still surprising that in the view of the Chinese government the award was nothing less than "an obscenity." Beijing accused the Nobel Prize Committee of interference in China's internal affairs and infringement of China's judicial sovereignty. At the same time China warned the Norwegian government that it would have to face serious consequences for permitting the award to be bestowed in this manner. The Chinese government also prevented Liu Xiaobo and his family from attending the ceremony, launched a campaign in order to boycott the award, and imposed a blackout on BBC and CNN coverage of the ceremony in Norway. In addition, the Chinese government hastily created its own Confucius Peace Prize, awarded immediately prior to the 2010 Nobel Prize ceremony.


Intellectual Property Law is the definitive textbook on the subject. The authors' all-embracing approach not only clearly sets out the law in relation to copyright, patents, trade marks, passing off, and confidentiality, but also takes account of a wide range of academic opinion enabling readers to explore and make informed judgements about key principles. The particularly clear and lively writing style ensures that even the most complex areas are lucid and comprehensible


This paper explores McQuire's concept of "relational space", a term he uses to describe the transformed horizon of social relationships within the smart city. Although there is no exact definition, the smart city is predicated on both the rise of digital technology and ubiquitous wireless connectivity. The city, of course, has always been intimately connected with technology. Yet it is clear that this most recent innovation constitutes a significant reconfiguration of the urban experience. Possibilities abound in terms of how citizens might interact with services, the environment and each other. Yet, this paper argues that these transformations are intimately linked to wider changes in thought and experience. As post-industrial cities become more complex, and their communities more dispersed, questions such as "where is home?" and "where and how do I belong?" become increasingly pertinent for a deeper, more sustained understanding of "relational space" and its impact on how we might experience our lives. This paper, drawing on the outcomes of a small project, argues that creative writing can play a fundamental role within the development of the smart city, empowering citizens to redefine "relational space" in terms of our deeper need for "home".


Numerous studies investigated physiological correlates of the processing of musical information in adults. How these correlates develop during childhood is poorly understood. In the present study, we measured event-related electric brain potentials elicited in 5and 9-year-old children while they listened to (majorminor tonal) music. Stimuli were chord sequences, infrequently containing harmonically inappropriate chords. Our results demonstrate that the degree of (in) appropriateness of the chords modified the brain responses in both groups according to music-theoretical principles. This suggests that already 5-year-old children process music according to a well-established cognitive representation of the majorminor tonal system and according to music-syntactic regularities. Moreover, we show that, in contrast to adults, an early negative brain response was left predominant in boys, whereas it was bilateral in girls, indicating a gender difference in children processing music, and revealing that children process music with a hemispheric weighting different from that of adults. Because children process, in contrast to adults, music in the same hemispheres as they process language, results indicate that children process music and language more similarly than adults. This finding might support the notion of a common origin of music and language in the human brain, and concurs with findings that demonstrate the importance of musical features of speech for the acquisition of language.


The purpose of this paper is to connect Minsky's (1986) financial instability hypothesis which reveals the inherent endogenous destabilizing forces of monetary production to a social provisioning approach outlined by feminist economists (Jullie Nelson 1993; Hutchinson et al 2002; Power 2004). The paper builds more specifically on Power's (2004) delineation of social provisioning as a framework for feminist analysis; delineates the emergence of similar elements from Minsky's structural analysis of financial instability, and concludes that these frameworks are mutually enhancing. The implications are that such bridges in heterodox inquiry provide better understanding of the causes and effects of financial crises, and a basis for more comprehensive policy formulation.


This study explores the use of SenseCam images to measure the environment. SenseCam images were collected in two neighbourhoods and annotated using a comprehensive list of features in the built, natural, and social environments. Several issues arose during this process. Some, were common to all SenseCam use (time to annotate images, obscured images, annotation error), and others were specific to using SenseCam to assess environmental features (difficult to identify features, directionality, annotator familiarity, uncertainty about which features to annotate, assessing quantity/density of features). Despite these issues SenseCam images complement existing methods of measuring the environment and allow researchers to capture the environment the wearer is exposed to. This data can then be linked to behaviour data and data from other wearable sensors.


Introduction. Researchers, practitioners and policymakers make decisions at all levels – from local to international. Accessible, integrated and up-to-date evidence is essential for successful and responsive decision-making. A current trials register of randomised and clinically controlled trials of HIV/AIDS interventions can provide invaluable
information to decision-making processes. Using the newly emerging geographical information systems (GIS) technology, we have developed a tool which assists such decisions. Objective. To demonstrate how the tool provides consistent, quantitative information in an accessible format, making it a key tool in evidence-based decision-making.
Methods. We identified all HIV/AIDS trials in relation to publications for the period 1980 - 2007, using both electronic and manual search methods. To facilitate searching the trials register, studies were coded by using a comprehensive but user-friendly coding sheet. We captured the geographical co-ordinates for each trial and used the ArcGIS 9 mapping software to design and develop a geodatabase of trials. Results. The geodatabase delivered the complete requirements for a data-driven information system, featuring
the following functions: (i) a clear display of the spatial distribution of HIV/AIDS trials around the world; (ii) identification of and access to information about any particular trial on a map; and (iii) a global resource of potential information on the safety and efficacy of prevention and treatment measures. Conclusions. The building of a functioning HIV/AIDS trials management system can provide policymakers, researchers and practitioners with accessible, integrated and up-to-date evidence that is essential to successful and
dynamic decision-making. Southern African Journal of HIV Medicine Vol. 9 (2) 2008: pp. 58-62


In this study, the growth and viability status of Listeria monocytogenes were investigated during the ripening and storage period of sucuk (Turkish dry fermented sausage) produced using different lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus plantarum Lb 8 and L. plantarum Lb 75, Pediococcus acidilactici Lb 626, P. pentosaceus Lb 1010, L. sakei 706 and L. sakei 706-B). The initial inoculum of L. monocytogenes into sucuk dough was 104 cfu/g. There was a significant increase in the L. monocytogenes counts during the first 3 days of ripening of sucuk produced without starter culture. A similar result was observed in sucuk fermented with L. plantarum Lb 8. However, no growth was detected in the P. pentosaceus Lb 1010, bacteriocin negative L. sakei Lb 706-B or L. plantarum Lb 75 starter containing sucuk samples. L. monocytogenes counts decreased rapidly in the antagonistic starter (L. sakei Lb 706, P. acidilactici Lb 628) applied sucuks. There was a 1 log unit decrease in the L. sakei Lb 706 applied sucuks. Spontaneously fermented sucuks had a pH value of 5.23 on the 3rd day of ripening, whereas this was 5.14 in the L. plantarum Lb 8 containing samples. The pH values of other samples were under 5.0. aw values of sucuk samples were between 0.886 and 0.890 on the 12th day of ripening.


Fission track (FT) analyses on unannealed detrital min- erals provide a powerful tool both for refining provenance models de- rived from traditional methods and for collecting information about erosion rates of the source area. Their power is increased if they are coupled with the study of zircon morphology. This combination of methods is applied to the Chattian-Aquitanian (25-23 Ma) Macigno turbidite complex. Basin-fill patterns and petrographical studies con- sistently identify the uplifting western Central Alps as the main source region for the Macigno Formation. Most zircon grains fall into a young age cluster ( ; 40-30 Ma), de- rived from a rapidly exhuming crystalline source region with a high cooling rate. Within this cluster, two age subgroups can be distin- guished at 30 and 40 Ma. In the younger subgroup, the zircon mor- phology supports the presence of two main populations: (1) from ig- neous rocks (S-type euhedral zircons), which appear to be partly de- rived from airborne tuffs; and (2) from metasedimentary units. In huge volumes of these metamorphic rocks, mica Ar-Ar and zircon fission- track thermochronometers have been reset, because of high geothermal gradients in the vicinity of the Periadriatic intrusives in mid-Oligocene times. At the present surface of the Alps, zircon FT ages around and slightly less than 30 Ma are reported in the Sesia-Lanzo zone, the Gran Paradiso Massif, the Upper Pennine nappes, the Monte Rosa Massif, and the Dent Blanche complex. The older subgroup of the Tertiary zircons (40 Ma) may have been supplied by metamorphic and mig- matitic rocks affected by an Eocene high-temperature phase. A Late Cretaceous age cluster ( ; 70-60 Ma) is related to cooling after the main Austroalpine metamorphic event at 110-100 Ma. Most of the recently exposed Austroalpine nappe complex displays mica cooling ages and zircon FT ages between 95-70 Ma and 99-55 Ma, respectively. Finally, an ill-defined Jurassic age cluster, with a mean in Late Ju- rassic times, is related to rift-shoulder heating of the Austroalpine/ South-Alpine crystalline basement due to rifting of the Pennine oceanic domain. Presently, the Silvretta nappe complex, situated at the western termination of the Austroalpine realm, and the South-Alpine basement west of the Canavese Line, display similar zircon FT ages. Therefore, a westward continuation of the Silvretta complex prior to deep Neo- gene erosion is suggested.


Abstract. China and India are the two largest anthropogenic aerosol generating countries in the world. In this study, we develop a new inventory of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and primary carbonaceous aerosol (i.e., black and organic carbon, BC and OC) emissions from these two countries for the period 1996–2010, using a technology-based methodology. Emissions from major anthropogenic sources and open biomass burning are included, and time-dependent trends in activity rates and emission factors are incorporated in the calculation. Year-specific monthly temporal distributions for major sectors and gridded emissions at a resolution of 0.1°×0.1° distributed by multiple year-by-year spatial proxies are also developed. In China, the interaction between economic development and environmental protection causes large temporal variations in the emission trends. From 1996 to 2000, emissions of all three species showed a decreasing trend (by 9 %–17 %) due to a slowdown in economic growth, a decline in coal use in non-power sectors, and the implementation of air pollution control measures. With the economic boom after 2000, emissions from China changed dramatically. BC and OC emissions increased by 46 % and 33 % to 1.85 Tg and 4.03 Tg in 2010. SO2 emissions first increased by 61 % to 34.0 Tg in 2006, and then decreased by 9.2 % to 30.8 Tg in 2010 due to the wide application of flue-gas desulfurization (FGD) equipment in power plants. Driven by the remarkable energy consumption growth and relatively lax emission controls, emissions from India increased by 70 %, 41 %, and 35 % to 8.81 Tg, 1.02 Tg, and 2.74 Tg in 2010 for SO2, BC, and OC, respectively. Monte Carlo simulations are used to quantify the emission uncertainties. The average 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) of SO2, BC, and OC emissions are estimated to be −16 %–17 %, −43 %–93 %, and −43 %–80 % for China, and −15 %–16 %, −41 %–87 %, and −44 %–92 % for India, respectively. Sulfur content, fuel use, and sulfur retention of hard coal and the actual FGD removal efficiency are the main contributors to the uncertainties of SO2 emissions. Biofuel combustion related parameters (i.e., technology divisions, fuel use, and emission factor determinants) are the largest source of OC uncertainties, whereas BC emissions are also sensitive to the parameters of coal combustion in the residential and industrial sectors and the coke-making process. Comparing our results with satellite observations, we find that the trends of estimated emissions in both China and India are in good agreement with the trends of aerosol optical depth (AOD) and SO2 retrievals obtained from different satellites.


[1] On 11 September 2000, a NASA ER-2 aircraft underflew the Terra spacecraft during the Southern Africa Regional Science Initiative (SAFARI) 2000 field experiment. The Scanning High Resolution Interferometer Sounder (S-HIS), Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Airborne Simulator (MAS), and Cloud Physics Lidar (CPL) instruments onboard the ER-2 have provided a data set for a first look at the accuracy of the Collect 3 (L1B Version 3.X) Terra MODIS L1B radiances for the thermal infrared (TIR) bands. Based on comparisons between MODIS and S-HIS nadir viewing data and an estimation of the existing uncertainties, the radiances of most MODIS TIR bands are found to be very near or within specification. There does not appear to be a significant influence by electronic cross talk on the midwave IR (MWIR) bands for the low reflectance, flat thermal scenes used in the evaluation. Longwave IR (LWIR) split window band residuals are within 0.1 K with an estimated uncertainty of ±0.13 K, raising confidence in their accuracy. Midtropospheric water vapor band residuals are also within specification, despite known detector striping in these bands. Residuals in the LWIR upper tropospheric CO2 bands 34–36 exceed specification. However, these are not considered strong indications of L1B performance issues due to possible undocumented uncertainty in the altitude correction for the unmeasured atmosphere above the ER-2 aircraft level.


Several studies have shown that the revenues of wind and solar power generators on spot markets ("market value") decline with increasing deployment. This "value drop" is often discussed quantitatively but infrequently analytically, a gap that this paper aims to fill. We derive a formal expression of the market value as a function of the penetration rate. At low deployment, the market value is driven by the covariance over time between winds or sunshine and electricity consumption. In countries where power demand peaks at noon during summer, the value of solar power is initially high; the equivalent is true for wind power in those regions where stormy winters coincide with periods of high demand for heating. As deployment increases, however, we show that the market value declines linearly with the penetration rate in energy terms (market share). The slope of the decline is determined by the relative variance of wind or sun: the more the output is concentrated in a few hours of the year, the steeper the drop in value. It is in this sense that variability (intermittency) "causes" the value drop. A drop in market value is also a feature of a power generation technology that operates constantly, but the drop is smaller in size.


This report is a terminal evaluation of a UN Environment project implemented between 2010 and 2016. The project's overall development goal was to strengthen the capacity of countries that are particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts, to build ecosystem resilience for promoting ecosystem based adaptation options and to reduce the vulnerability of communities, with particular emphasis on mountain ecosystems. The evaluation sought to assess project performance (in terms of relevance, effectiveness and efficiency), and determine outcomes and impacts (actual and potential) stemming from the project, including their sustainability. The evaluation has two primary purposes: (i) to provide evidence of results to meet accountability requirements, and (ii) to promote learning, feedback, and knowledge sharing through results and lessons learned among UN Environment, UNDP, IUCN, the Government of Germany and the relevant agencies of the project participating countries.


El General (2009) Directed by Natalia Almada Distributed by Women Make Movies www.wmm.com Run Time: 83 minutes Based on audio taped interviews of her grandmother, Natalia Almada's documentary £/ General stands as a fascinating and lyrical portrait of Mexico's revolutionary past and of the formation of historical memory. The tapes were recorded in 1978 by Alicia Calles, Almada's grandmother, along with her friend, Mauricio Gonzalez de la Garza, to serve as the basis of a book. While the book was never written, Almada uses the interviews to narrate a visual history of post-Revolutionary Mexico that extends from the 1920s through the turmoil surrounding the contested 2006 presidential election. Calles's personal reminiscences would be of interest in their own right, but they take on even greater significance for the history of the nation, given that their focus rests mainly on the life and political career of her father, former Mexican President Plutarco Elias Calles, or "El General." The presidency of the elder Calles occurred at a crucial moment in Mexico's post-revolutionary history, and his legacy is often mired by his overreaches in power and anti-clericalism. What is fascinating about the younger Calles's memories of her father is the way in which Almada presents them as being fluid, rather than fixed, and subject to change in response to the process of their telling. These conversations are juxtaposed with Almada's own interviews of contemporary Mexicans. What results is a stunning portrait of the multiple, overlapping ways in which Mexico's recent political history gets woven into narratives of an essentially unknowable past. Serving as narrator of her film, Almada presents excerpts of Alicia Calles's remembrances - along with family photographs and films, both fictional and archival - of revolutionary Mexico. Calles's story begins with the end of the Mexican Revolution and her family's relocation to Mexico City. During this part of the tapes, she recalls a father who was rarely home and who she seems to hardly know. Many of these early reminiscences are played over scenes from Sergei Eisenstein's unfinished film Que Viva Mexico! The footage allows Almada to imagine what the Mexican Revolution meant to Eisenstein and the young Calles, given that they both lacked first hand knowledge of revolutionary events. Like the film, which is missing key scenes, Calles's memories preserve a narrative that is "full of silences and half-said things." Her stories contains starts and stops, repetitions, and apologies where she admits that she cannot seem to remember everything that she would like to say. As Calles continues her story, she seems to mourn for the parts of her life that remain forgotten, and worries that she is "inefficient" at saying what really she means. By presenting Calles's tapes as they are, incomplete and fragmentary, Almada makes a valuable point about the difficulties inherent in preserving our own personal narratives and calls in to question what we can learn from oral history. The tapes may reveal a story that is more fragmentary than most, but they should give historians pause and serve as a reminder of the vagaries of memory in their subjects of study. Alicia Calles's story though is not just one of omission but of creation. She forgets, but she also presents conclusions about her father and about herself that seem to solidify through the act of conversation. Particularly illuminating is an exchange between Calles and de la Garza, as they talk about the elder Calles's relationship to assassinated ex-President Alvaro Obregon. Here, Calles states clearly that she has concluded that the two ex-presidents deeply trusted one another but that she imagines her information comes from half remembered, overheard things. …


Introduction: After all large-scale disasters multiple papers are published describing the shortcomings of the triage methods utilized. This paper uses medical provider input to help describe attributes and patient characteristics that impact triage decisions. Methods: A survey distributed electronically to medical providers with and without disaster experience. Questions asked included what disaster experiences they had, and to rank six attributes in order of importance regarding triage. Results: 403 unique completed surveys were analyzed. 92% practiced a structural triage approach with the rest reporting they used "gestalt".(gut feeling) Twelve per cent were identified as having placed patients in an expectant category during triage. Respiratory status, ability to speak, perfusion/pulse were all ranked in the top three. Gut feeling regardless of statistical analysis was fourth. Supplies were ranked in the top four when analyzed for those who had placed patients in the expectant category. Conclusion: Primary triage decisions in a mass casualty scenario are multifactorial and encompass patient mobility, life saving interventions, situational instincts, and logistics.


The author argues that jurists should engage directly and empathetically with violent offenders. The paper focuses on two prevalent narratives about Myra Hindley in order to prove this point. The structure of the paper is as follows. Part I recounts the narratives surrounding the lead-up to the capture of the Moors Murderers and the facts of the jury trial. In Part II, the author focuses on the two narratives: the first (and most widespread) contends that Hindley is an icon of evil and that she was, by inference, rightly accorded no compassion; the second positions Hindley as a victim of an abusive upbringing and of Brady's influence. Part III of the paper looks at the reasons for Hindley's life-long imprisonment in the context of English and European law. The author contends that Hindley's case reveals a feminist-infused narrative that compels an empathetic response to violent offenders who have been used as political pawns in criminal sentencing strategies.


This paper tests the influence of the training dataset dimension on a recently proposed orthographic learning system, inspired from biological sequence analysis and successfully applied to cognate identification. This system automatically aligns a given set of cognate pairs producing a meaningful training dataset, learns from it substitution parameters using a PAM-like technique and utilises them to recognise cognate pairs. The results show no difference in the performance when training the system with about 650 cognate pairs extracted from 6 Indo-European languages or with about 62,000 cognate pairs extracted from 76 Indo-European languages. In both cases the system outperforms all comparable orthographic and phonetic methods previously proposed in the literature. This paper also investigates the statistical significance of these results when compared with earlier proposals. The outcome confirms that the performance reached by this system with both training datasets is significantly higher than the one achieved by all the other methods. Indeed, the training dataset dimension seems not to influence either the accuracy or the statistical significance of this learning system that needs only a very small amount of data to reach an outstanding performance.


An investigation has been made of the distribution of development centers among the grains of a simple experimental emulsion and of the influence of sulfur sensitization on this distribution. The distribution of image centers among the grains which have not been deliberately chemically sensitized is not random, but shows instead a strong preference for only one center per grain, regardless of the intensity of the exposing light. For low-intensity exposure, the same emulsion after sulfur sensitization still shows only one development center per grain. At higher intensities, the number of development centers increases. The transition in the distribution of centers in the sensitized emulsion coincides with the onset of high-intensity, reciprocity-law failure. At very high intensity, the observed distribution agrees with the Poisson formula for a random distribution. Latensification with a gold solution, which eliminates high-intensity, reciprocity-law failure, does not affect the form of the speck distribution. This difference resulting from sulfur sensitization is most easily explained in terms of an increase in stability at the sites where latent-image centers form, e.g., an increase in electron trap depth.Although the emulsion does not solarize, an examination of the development centers reveals that prolonged, low-intensity exposure of the sulfur-sensitized emulsion causes regression of all but one center per grain.


The artificial pancreas is a long-awaited goal for the management of type 1 diabetes, and its development was recently triggered by the development of continuous glucose sensors. Developing the artificial pancreas is a control engineering problem that is challenged by the large delays in insulin absorption, variability in system dynamics between patients and within the same patient, meals, exercise, and sensor errors. Model predictive controllers are at the forefront of current research due their ability to accommodate input constraints, insulin absorption delays, meals, and insulin boluses. Controller designs need to focus on the balance between system complexity, clinical benefits, and patient convenience. Randomized controlled clinical trials are the gold standard to assess artificial pancreas systems, but feasibility trials may be useful to assess the practicality of novel controllers and systems. Mathematical modeling and computer simulations may also accelerate the development of the artificial pancreas and allow optimization of controller designs prior to clinical testing. Topics of future research include artificial pancreas for type 2 diabetes, combining adjunctive therapies with novel artificial pancreas systems, and learning and adaptive algorithms.


In traditional societies, knowledge is organized in hierarchical chains through which authority is legitimated by custom. Because the majority of the population is illiterate, sacred knowledge is conveyed orally and ritualistically, but the ultimate source of religious authority is typically invested in the Book. The hadith (sayings and customs of the Prophet) are a good example of traditional practice. These chains of Islamic knowledge were also characteristically local, consensual and lay, unlike in Christianity, with its emergent ecclesiastical bureaucracies, episcopal structures and ordained priests. In one sense, Islam has no church. While there are important institutional differences between the world religions, network society opens up significant challenges to traditional authority, rapidly increasing the flow of religious knowledge and commodities. With global flows of knowledge on the Internet, power is no longer embodied and the person is simply a switchpoint in the information flow. The logic of networking is that control cannot be concentrated for long at any single point in the system; knowledge, which is by definition only temporary, is democratically produced at an infinite number of sites. In this Andy Warhol world, every human can, in principle, have their own site. While the Chinese Communist Party and several Middle Eastern states attempt to control this flow, their efforts are only partially successful. The result is that traditional forms of religious authority are constantly disrupted and challenged, but at the same time the Internet creates new opportunities for evangelism, religious instruction and piety. The outcome of these processes is, however, unknown and unknowable. There is a need, therefore, to invent a new theory of authority that is post-Weberian in reconstructing the conventional format of charisma, tradition and legal rationalism.


The IIUM Tracer Study 2016: Follow Up is the third report of the Tracer Study 2016 project conducted by the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) under the purview of the Alumni and Global Network Division (AGND). This project is a substantial initiative and effort by AGND that receives a strong support from the University to publish a well comprehensive quantitative data report about IIUM's graduates in collaboration with the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE).
The objective of the survey is to update the employment status of IIUM graduates (Class of 2016). The data was collection 6-months after their graduation (May – October 2017). A total of 4,481 graduates participated in the study, involving 3,815 First Degree graduates and 666 Postgraduate. The respondents for the study were the graduates of the 32nd IIUM Convocation. They include;
1. Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws (AIKOL),
2. IIUM Institute of Islamic Banking and Finance (IIiBF),
3. International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilisation (ISTAC),
4. International Institute for Halal Research and Training (INHART)
5. Kulliyyah of Allied Health Science (KAHS),
6. Kulliyyah of Architecture and Environmental Design (KAED),
7. Kulliyyah of Dentistry (KOD),
8. Kulliyyah of Engineering (KOE),
9. Kulliyyah of Economics and Management (KENMS),
10. Kulliyyah of Education (KOED),
11. Kulliyyah of Information and Communication Technology (KICT),
12. Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences (KIRKHS),
13. Kulliyyah of Language and Management (KLM)
14. Kulliyyah of Medicine (KOM),
15. Kulliyyah of Nursing (KON),
16. Kulliyyah of Pharmacy (KOP), and
17. Kulliyyah of Science (KOS).
Given that the Tracer Study series have yielded important employment related findings and facts that provide useful information to the University in particular and the nation in general, it is hoped that this particular Report will continue to provide useful, comprehensive and exhaustive information to all, particularly to IIUM and MOHE.


Study Design. Multicenter ambispective cohort analysis. Objective. The purpose of this study is to determine whether applying Enneking's principles to surgical management of primary bone tumors of the spine significanti decreases local recurrence and/or mortality. Summary of Background Data. Oncologic management of primary tumors of spine has historically been inconsistent, controversial, and open to individual interpretation. Methods. A multicenter ambispective cohort analysis from 4 tertiary care spine referral centers was done. Patients were analyzed in 2 cohorts, "Enneking Appropriate" (EA), surgical margin as recommended by Enneking, and "Enneking Inappropriate" (EI), surgical margin not recommended by Enneking. Benign tumors were not included in mortality analysis. Results. Two cohorts represented an analytic dataset with 147 patients, 86 male, average age 46 years (range: 10-83). Median follow-up was 4 (2–7) years in the EA and 6 (5.5–15.5) years in the EI. Seventy-one patients suffered at least 1 local recurrence during the study, 57 of 77 in the EI group and 14 of 70 in the EA group. EI surgical approach caused higher risk of first local recurrence (P < 0.0001). There were 48 deaths in total; 29 in the EI group and 19 in the EA. There was a strong correlation between the first local recurrence and mortality with an odds ratio of 4.69, (P < 0.0001). EI surgical approach resulted in a higher risk of mortality with a hazard ratio of 3.10, (P = 0.0485) compared to EA approach. Conclusion. Surgery results in a significant reduction in local recurrence when primary bone tumors of the spine are resected with EA margins. Local recurrence has a high concordance with mortality in resection of these tumors. A significant decrease in mortality occurs when EA surgery is used.


The present exploratory study compares the distribution of clicks and inbreaths in the productions of French students in two different communication settings (semiread oral class presentations vs spontaneous dyadic conversations). Grounded in a conversation analytic and discourse-pragmatic approach, mixing qualitative and quantitative methods, this study looks at the functions of clicks and inbreaths as well as accompanying kinetic behaviors (e.g swallowing, facial expressions, hand movement) in discourse. Preliminary results show a higher rate of pre-utterances clicks and inbreaths during oral presentations, which reflects the type of talk produced (structured and clear, which requires planning and preparation). And the qualitative analyses illustrate the ways speakers blend vocal and kinetic activities when producing clicks and inbreaths.


Heterogeneous multi-robot systems offer the potential to support complex missions, such as those needed for persistent autonomy in underwater domains. Such systems enable each robot to be optimised for specific tasks to better manage dynamic situations. In this context, temporal planning can generate plans to support the execution of multi-robot missions. However, the task distribution quality in the generated plans is often poor due to the strategies that existing planners employ to search for suitable actions, which do not tend to optimise task allocation. In this paper, we propose a new algorithm called the Decentralised Heterogeneous Robot Task Allocator (DHRTA) which enhances goal distribution by considering task spatial distribution, execution time, and the capabilities of the available robots. DHRTA is the first phase of our decentralised planning strategy which supports individual robot plan generation using temporal planners. Experiments illustrate the robustness of the approach and indicate improvements in plan quality by reducing the planning time, mission time and the rate of mission failures.


: While digital transformation creates opportunities across all industries, many businesses still do not know how to embark on this journey and hesitate to commit resources to such an unclear initiative. By using the interpretive case study method, this paper investigates how Digital Kaizen – a philosophy that focuses on making continuous digital improvements – could guide large-scale digital transformation activities in incremental steps . Our findings show that the adoption of Digital Kaizen has urged the investigated organization to continuously address cross-functional issues that are aligned with their strategic business goals, through implementing incremental digital changes that improve business processes and people engagement. Subsequently, these activities lead to sustainable and scalable digital transformation success that re-defines the orga nization's value creation processes and identity. This research suggests a new strategy for conducting large-scale digital transformation, by integrating Kaizen philosophy into digital transformation practices.


This work proposed the development of a methodology for risk management in airports for ICAO's State Safety Programmes (SSP). To do so we investigated the nature of the airport safety events occurred in busiest Brazilian airports and proposed a risk index capable to provide the Acceptable Level of Safety Performance (ALoSP) ICAO demands to their signatory States. The approach allowed us to rank airports per their risk in relation to the ALoSP calculated and proposed State optimized regulatory actions to where the risk is. Research found the high concentration on risk recurrence among 31 airports. Only 4 concentrated 30% of all the recurrence of risk, 8 were responsible for 50% and 17 represented approximately 80% of the total risk load in Brazilian airport operations. Five groups of airports are proposed as per their safety performance (Safety+2, Safety+1, Neutral, Safety-1 and Safety-2). Their measured performance showed statistically significant differences. Safety+1 group presented a safety performance 1.49 times better than ALoSP and 3.52 times better than worst group of airports (Safety-2). The Safety+2 group is 3.76 times safer than ALoSP and 8.88 times safer than Safety-2 group. Safety-1 group presented a risk level 1.51 times higher than ALoSP and Safety-2 performed 2.35 times riskier than the ALoSP. This matrix way of problem solving brings more effectiveness and rationality to the SSP's, amplifying their effectiveness.