We need young people to be civically engaged in order to define and address public problems. Their participation is important for democracy, for institutions such as schools, and for young people themselves, who are more likely to succeed in life if they are engaged in their communities. In "The Future of Democracy", Peter Levine, scholar and practitioner, sounds the alarm: in recent years, young Americans have become dangerously less engaged. They are tolerant, patriotic, and idealistic, and some have invented such novel and impressive forms of civic engagement, as blogs, "buycott" movements, and transnational youth networks. But most lack the skills and opportunities they need to participate in politics or address public problems. Levine's timely manifesto clearly explains the causes, symptoms, and repercussions of this damaging trend, and, most importantly, the means whereby America can confront and reverse it. Levine demonstrates how to change young people's civic attitudes, skills, and knowledge and, equally importantly, to reform our institutions so that civic engagement is rewarding and effective. We must both prepare citizens for politics and improve politics for citizens.


A steam jacketed autoclave of orthodox design was fabricated from mild steel for a working pressure of 320 psi. The only unusual feature in its construction was a protective layer of weld metal, which was deposited on the internal surface of the upper half of the 1 in. thick shell. The first indication of latent trouble was provided by the bolts which attached the stirring paddles to the shaft and the stationary scraper blades to the shell, either failing in service or breaking off when an attempt was made to remove them. It was the practice to renew them all annually. Microscopic examination of a failed bolt showed the path of the fracture and the secondary cracking associated with it were intergranular, suggesting that failure resulted from stress corrosion. A steel of the rimming type had been used to make the bar from which the bolt was forged. Cracks which originate at the root of threads generally result from fatigue but, in this instance, their intergranular mode of progression indicated that they were due to stress-corrosion. Examination of shell material showed that the cracks in the vessel were wholly intergranular. It was apparent from this evidence that this cracking was also due to stress-corrosion.


The direct sampling technique, belonging to the family of multiple-point statistics, is proposed as a nonparametric alternative to the classical autoregressive and Markov-chain-based models for daily rainfall time-series simulation. The algorithm makes use of the patterns contained inside the training image (the past rainfall record) to reproduce the complexity of the signal without inferring its prior statistical model: the time series is simulated by sampling the training data set where a sufficiently similar neighborhood exists. The advantage of this approach is the capability of simulating complex statistical relations by respecting the similarity of the patterns at different scales. The technique is applied to daily rainfall records from different climate settings, using a standard setup and without performing any optimization of the parameters. The results show that the overall statistics as well as the dry/wet spells patterns are simulated accurately. Also the extremes at the higher temporal scale are reproduced adequately, reducing the well known problem of overdispersion.


As in other aspects of society (politics, economics), the film industry appears to be undergoing a process of decentralization (still in its infancy) by which Asia is, if not overtaking, at least matching its level of influence with that of European and American powers. Much of the impetus shifting this balance corresponds to China. The spectacular growth of China"s domestic market is concentrating a substantial part of the global film business within this Asian giant, resulting in the still sector leader, the United States, conditioning its production in order to maximize profits in that territory. Resolute internationalization policies are also helping Chinese companies gain a foothold in Western countries conditioning film content there, although paradoxically their audiences remain unwilling to consume cinema that is culturally foreign. This essay will attempt to explain how all this has occurred.


Feedback from post graduate domestic and international students has highlighted the difficulties many have in coping with academic expectations of critical analytical thinking, reading and writing skills, academic language, referencing and expectations surrounding plagiarism and assessment. Many international students indicate that these concepts are unique to Australian tertiary institutions and that they struggle with their application. For these reasons, in late 2007 under the auspices of a Law Faculty Scholarship, the Centre for Transnational Crime Prevention (CTCP) commenced collaborative work with the University of Wollongong's Centre for Educational Development and Interactive Resources (CEDIR), the Learning Development Support Centre, the University Library, Information Technology Section (ITS) and the Student Equity and Diversity Liaison Office (SEDLO) to develop an online student teaching and learning (resources) toolbox. The objective of this program was to promote student skills development in critical areas of learning and facilitate delivery of support services to students, particularly those studying overseas. Early indications are that the program is being well received by students (both domestic and international), and that it has had a significant impact on improving academic literacy and lowering the levels of plagiarism detected within the targeted student populations.


Grafting with interspecific hybrid rootstock is effective for tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) growers looking to reduce soilborne disease in the southeastern United States. However, production with grafted tomato has not been tested in the central United States, where soilborne disease pressure is low. Smallacreage growers would like to produce grafted plants themselves, but many have difficulty with propagation due to water stress in the scion postgrafting and/or high temperatures. Removing the upper portion of the scion to reduce leaf area during the grafting procedure [shoot removal (SR)] could help to reduce water stress postgrafting, but there are no data available that indicate what effect this practice has on tomato yield. Five high tunnel trials and one open-field trial were conducted in 2011 and 2012 to investigate potential yield effects related to the use of two rootstocks and SR during the grafting procedure. The implementation of grafting with rootstocks significantly increased fruit yield in five of the six trials (P < 0.05). The average yield increases by 'Maxifort' and 'Trooper Lite' tomato rootstocks were 53% and 51%, respectively, across all trials. SR during the grafting process may penalize tomato yield and our results suggest that rootstock vigor plays a role. Plants grafted with 'Maxifort' across all of the trials consistently increased shoot biomass in four of five of the high tunnel trials compared with nongrafted plants (P < 0.05), whereas plants grafted with 'Trooper Lite' rootstock increased shoot biomass in one trial. Similarly, the SRmethod penalized the total fruit yield of plants grafted with 'Trooper Lite' more often than those that were grafted with 'Maxifort'. Our results suggest that plant growth and ultimately tomato fruit yield is affected negatively by using the SR grafting technique, particularly when less vigorous rootstock is used.


Abstract. The Sahel is the semi-arid transition zone between arid Sahara and humid tropical Africa, extending approximately 10–20° N from Mauritania in the West to Sudan in the East. The African continent, one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change, is subject to frequent droughts and famine. One climate challenge research is to isolate those aspects of climate variability that are natural from those that are related to human influences. Therefore, the study of climatic conditions before mid-19th century, when anthropogenic influence was of minor importance, is very interesting. In this work the frequency of extreme events, such as droughts and floods, in Western Sahel from the 16th to 18th centuries is investigated using documentary data. Original manuscripts with historical chronicles from Walata and Nema (Mauritania), Timbuktu and Arawan (Mali), and Agadez (Niger) have been analyzed. Information on droughts, intense rainfall, storms and floods, as well as socioeconomic aspects (famines, pests, scarcity, prosperity) has been codified in an ordinal scale ranging from −2 (drought and famines) to +2 (floods) to obtain a numerical index of the annual rainfall in the region. Results show wet conditions in the 17th century, as well as dry conditions in the 18th century (interrupted by a short wet period in the 1730s decade).


This study evaluates a two-day train the trainer program designed to provide instructors from diverse backgrounds with the tools needed to teach financial literacy to individual debtors. Trained teachers reported satisfaction with their training and felt prepared to teach; they also provided constructive feedback. Pre- and post-test questionnaires reveal a 9% increase in financial knowledge and positive changes in attitude. Observations reveal that skills learned in training transferred to desired teaching behavior in the classroom. This paper addresses the implications of our findings for both the training literature and the implementation and operation of the recently passed 2005 bankruptcy legislation.


Background: Female genital mutilation (FGM), is a social traditional practice performed by cutting parts of the external female genitalia. Garissa county in north eastern Kenya has the highest prevalence of FGM in Kenya at 94%.  This practise was illegalised in Kenya in 2011. The aim of the study was to assess the successes of anti-FGM programs in Garissa County.Methods: This was a cross sectional study involving 108 participants of both genders and different age groups. Questionnaires were used in data collection. Obtained data was analyzed using SPSS version 25. Chi square was used to compare characteristics between female participants who had undergone FGM and participants not circumcised.  Results: Of the 108 participants, 53.7% were females. The median age of participants was 23 years [Interquartile range (IQR])15-40]. The prevalence of FGM was 62% with the mean age at circumcision being 8.34 years (SD=2.69 years). Being of Muslim faith was associated with practice of FGM (p<0.001). There was high level of awareness of the anti-FGM law among youths at 84%. Two thirds of participants did not support FGM. Excision was the main type of FGM practiced. Among those circumcised, 14.7% were circumcised by trained nurses.Conclusions: Introduction of the anti-FGM law, and its advocacy by NGOs has led to a reduction in the practice of FGM in Garissa county. There is an increase in the medicalization of FGM in Garissa with evidence of the practice going underground. This study recommends NGOs to have a clearer focus on the method chosen for use in advocating for the abandonment of FGM.


Introduction The rising number of obese and/or physically inactive individuals might negatively impact human lifespan. This study assessed the association between height, body mass index (BMI) and non-occupational physical activity and the likelihood of reaching 90 years of age, in both sexes separately. Methods Analyses were conducted using data from the Netherlands Cohort Study. Participants born in 1916–1917 (n=7807) completed a questionnaire in 1986 (at age 68–70 years) and were followed up for vital status information until the age of 90 years (2006–2007). Cox regression analyses were based on 5479 participants with complete data to calculate risk ratios (RRs) of reaching longevity (age 90 years). Results In women, we observed significant associations between reaching longevity and height (RR: 1.05 per 5 cm increment; 95% CI 1.00 to 1.09), BMI at baseline (≥30vs18.5–<25 kg/m2; RR: 0.68; 95% CI 0.54 to 0.86) and BMI change since age 20 years (≥8vs0–<4 kg/m2; RR: 0.81; 95% CI 0.66 to 0.98). In men, height and BMI were not associated with reaching longevity. In women, non-occupational physical activity showed an inverse U-shaped association with reaching longevity, with the highest RR around 60 min of physical activity per day. In men, a positive linear association was observed between physical activity and reaching longevity. Conclusion This study indicates that body size and physical activity are related to the likelihood of reaching 90 years of age and that these associations differ by sex.


Abstract. Groundwater contaminated with nitrate poses a serious health risk to infants when this contaminated water is used for culinary purposes. To avoid this health risk, people need to know whether their culinary water is contaminated or not. Therefore, there is a need to design an effective groundwater monitoring network, acquire information on groundwater conditions, and use acquired information to inform management options. These actions require time, money, and effort. This paper presents a method to estimate the value of information (VOI) provided by a groundwater quality monitoring network located in an aquifer whose water poses a spatially heterogeneous and uncertain health risk. A decision tree model describes the structure of the decision alternatives facing the decision-maker and the expected outcomes from these alternatives. The alternatives include (i) ignore the health risk of nitrate-contaminated water, (ii) switch to alternative water sources such as bottled water, or (iii) implement a previously designed groundwater quality monitoring network that takes into account uncertainties in aquifer properties, contaminant transport processes, and climate (Khader, 2012). The VOI is estimated as the difference between the expected costs of implementing the monitoring network and the lowest-cost uninformed alternative. We illustrate the method for the Eocene Aquifer, West Bank, Palestine, where methemoglobinemia (blue baby syndrome) is the main health problem associated with the principal contaminant nitrate. The expected cost of each alternative is estimated as the weighted sum of the costs and probabilities (likelihoods) associated with the uncertain outcomes resulting from the alternative. Uncertain outcomes include actual nitrate concentrations in the aquifer, concentrations reported by the monitoring system, whether people abide by manager recommendations to use/not use aquifer water, and whether people get sick from drinking contaminated water. Outcome costs include healthcare for methemoglobinemia, purchase of bottled water, and installation and maintenance of the groundwater monitoring system. At current methemoglobinemia and bottled water costs of $ 150/person and $ 0.6/baby/day, the decision tree results show that the expected cost of establishing the proposed groundwater quality monitoring network exceeds the expected costs of the uninformed alternatives and there is no value to the information the monitoring system provides. However, the monitoring system will be preferred to ignoring the health risk or using alternative sources if the methemoglobinemia cost rises to $ 300/person or the bottled water cost increases to $ 2.3/baby/day. Similarly, the monitoring system has value if the system can more accurately report actual aquifer concentrations and the public more fully abides by manager recommendations to use/not use the aquifer. The system also has value if it will serve a larger population or if its installation costs can be reduced, for example using a smaller number of monitoring wells. The VOI analysis shows how monitoring system design, accuracy, installation and operating costs, public awareness of health risks, costs of alternatives, and demographics together affect the value of implementing a system to monitor groundwater quality.


River impoundments are commonly cited as key disturbances to freshwater aquatic ecosystems. Dams alter natural hydrological regimes, homogenize river system dynamics at a global scale, can act as barriers for migratory species and may facilitate species invasions. In this synthesis, we examined the short- and long-term effects of impoundment on fish population dynamics and community structure. At the population level, we tested the "trophic surge hypothesis", which predicts a hump-shaped response of fish abundance through time after impoundment. We tested the hypothesis on 40 recruitment time series and 125 adult abundance time series from 19 species and nine reservoirs distributed in temperate and boreal regions. At the community level, we compared diversity metrics (richness, evenness, diversity) on two datasets: 1) between reservoirs and reference ecosystems (lakes, rivers, and streams) and 2) over time (before and after impoundment and over time). At the population level, the trophic surge hypothesis was supported in more than 55% of the time series but we observed significant variation across species, reservoirs and regions. Fish recruitment increased substantially during reservoir filling and shortly after impoundment, and was usually followed by an increase in adult fish. The surge was transient and vanished after 3-4 years for recruits and after 10 years for adults. However, we are lacking long time series to conclude about population patterns in the trophic equilibrium phase. At the community level, we did not find any strong directional patterns in species diversity metrics when comparing reservoirs to reference lakes but found higher diversity and evenness in reservoirs and impounded streams/rivers relative to unimpounded streams/rivers. We did not find directional patterns when looking at a change over time. Variability in the reported diversity results across studies may be related to the ability to tease apart the unique effects of impoundment and water regulation from other stressors such as propagule pressure and eutrophication, as well as the comparability of the reference system. In conclusion, fish populations benefited quickly but transiently from impoundment, and longer time series are needed to conclude about population dynamics and equilibrium in aging reservoirs in order to develop management recommendations.


Information Technology (IT) jobs are in demand in the United States and rural Appalachian communities are attracting IT businesses. The need to fill IT jobs creates a workforce opportunity for these communities where students have limited access to academic and career resources. The Upward Bound and Talent Search programs respond to the academic and career needs of disadvantaged students and aim to educate students about high skills jobs but little is known about interest in IT careers among middle and high school students in rural Appalachia. This study validates models of IT career interest and parental support of IT careers in girls and boys enrolled in Upward Bound or Talent Search in rural communities in Virginia using the theoretical framework of self-authorship. The theory of self-authorship explores the development of meaning-making in individuals and offers a context-specific way to study interest in IT careers. Results indicate interest in IT careers but the path to IT career interest is different among girls and boys. Girls are relying on others for career advice more often than boys and there is direct association between the information sources and interest in IT careers. Parental support is important in IT career interest for both girls and boys. Other important variables indicating an interest in IT careers are computer use and positive attitudes toward IT workers. Receiving information from sources such as parents, teachers, counselors, and friends is especially important to girls. Findings from this study can be used to inform practices and policies for Upward Bound and Talent Search.


Abstract. This work describes the NASA Atmospheric CO2 Observations from Space (ACOS) XCO2 retrieval algorithm, and its performance on highly realistic, simulated observations. These tests, restricted to observations over land, are used to evaluate retrieval errors in the face of realistic clouds and aerosols, polarized non-Lambertian surfaces, imperfect meteorology, and uncorrelated instrument noise. We find that post-retrieval filters are essential to eliminate the poorest retrievals, which arise primarily due to imperfect cloud screening. The remaining retrievals have RMS errors of approximately 1 ppm. Modeled instrument noise, based on the Greenhouse Gases Observing SATellite (GOSAT) in-flight performance, accounts for less than half the total error in these retrievals. A small fraction of unfiltered clouds, particularly thin cirrus, lead to a small positive bias of ~0.3 ppm. Overall, systematic errors due to imperfect characterization of clouds and aerosols dominate the error budget, while errors due to other simplifying assumptions, in particular those related to the prior meteorological fields, appear small.


Although many augmented tabletop systems have shown the potential and usability of finger-based interactions and paper-based interfaces, they have mainly dealt with each of them separately. In this paper, we introduce a novel method aimed to improve human natural interactions on augmented tabletop systems, which enables multiple users to use both fingertips and physical papers as mediums for interaction. This method uses computer vision techniques to detect multi-fingertips both over and touching the surface in real-time regardless of their orientations. Fingertip and touch positions would then be used in combination with paper tracking to provide a richer set of interaction gestures that the users can perform in collaborative scenarios.

http://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/131126/files/TEI camera ready 16 Dec 23h final camera ready.pdf?version=1


Islamic banking, a niche financial sector that has captured the imagination of the financial elite and ordinary consumers alike, is unique in its regulation through the shariah. Primarily, it presents an added-value derived from its prohibition of riba (interest) in favour of profit from trade (al Bay) or leasing (ijarah).
This thesis aims to explain Malaysia's success in promoting Islamic banking products to a critical mass of consumers. More specifically, it seeks to explain the development and growth ineveryday Islamic banking practices amongst the Malay community in Kuala Lumpur. The thesis is based on a sociological framework that does not aim to explain the development and growth of Islamic banking in terms that are principally about religion.
I argue that the development of Islamic banking in Malaysia is the result of a top-down strategy driven by the economic and political interests of Malaysia's ruling elites. Following the crisis of trust in the political-economic model of development deployed up to the crisis of 1997-1998, Islam's vast repertoire of ideas, language and symbols are a powerful and dexterous foundation of a strategy that simultaneously problematises 'conventional' banking and offers an alternative course through Islamic banking. Nevertheless, Islamic banking practices are not given and cannot be taken-for-granted. Thus, in seeking to understand why increasingly consumers trust Islamic banking's promise of economic advantage with the added value of religious compliance, the study seeks to interpret Islamic banking practices from the perspective of the 'ordinary' consumer. Everyday Islamic banking practices are viewed in this thesis, as embedded within broader, historically determined, closely intertwined, social, economic, cultural and political circumstances. This study views the aforementioned circumstances that consumers find themselves in, on the one hand, and the banking practices they participate in, on the other, as interacting elements of a socially determinate whole. Trust, I suggest, is the common thread underpinning the everyday banking practices within the interacting elements of a socially determinate whole.
Three ideal types that emerged from the data, the virtuoso, pragmatist and sceptic, are a used as a heuristic device to characterise the various interests driving trust in Islamic banking, and illustrate the heterogeneity of Islamic banking practices. More specifically, based on an analysis of the consumers' account of their Islamic banking practices, the choice of Islamic over 'conventional' banking is based on two important factors. First, for those who perceive and are attracted to the added value of Islamic banking, trust in the shariah regulation and expertise, as
underwritten by the state, is the first condition to their choice. Trust lubricates their choice by reducing complexity, mitigating risk and bridging the gap between knowledge and faith. Second, the personalised trust that characterises thick social ties bolsters confidence in Islamic banking. In rating Islamic banking as the most socially acceptable choice, family and peers are signalling confidence in the value and values of Islamic banking and are unwitting allies of the state and banks. Last, the study notes that shariah regulation has contradictory corollary effects: it is both functional and dysfunctional. Whilst it functions in enabling the growth of Islamic banking, it also contributes to social fragmentation within Malaysian society.


Abstract. Antique maps are full of engraved geohistorical features. They provide representations of past states of the geographical space and are favored by historians and social scientists for their uniqueness and coherence. Working on a GIS dedicated to the history of the French territory, we extracted spatial information from the Cassini Carte de France (full name Carte Générale & Particulière de la France) as vector data. Based on the first geodetic survey of France [1, 4], this well-known and monumental map has been drawn on 182 paper sheets of size 610 × 955 mm at the scale of 1:86,400 or 1 line for 100~toises (1 inch to 1.36 miles). It depicts the French territory with fine-grained information about populated and named places, settlements, landscape features, hydrographic, ecclesiastical and road networks [3, 5, 6, 7]. As a case study, the sheet numbered 52 provided more than 6 800 spatial footprints that we have stored as a geographic database. Following the distinction made by Cassini himself between "geometric" and "topographic" entities, our geographical database is composed of two families of data, namely Triangulated Geographical Entities ("geometric" entities in Cassini's own terms) whose geodetic properties are partly documented and Relative Geographical Entities ("topographic" in Cassini's terms) which are dependent on and located relative to the former (Fig. 1). Those entities are analytically distinct but come together from a single artifact: the primary source they are engraved in during the mapmaking process. Because this process of embeddedness is not fully documented, retrieving both classes of entities called for a cautious cartographic visualisation with similar semiological rules and aesthetics as the original historical map (Fig. 2). This "Cassini map style" preserves the cartographic properties of the geohistorical data extracted from this primary source: generalisation, scale, spatial granularity and the overall intentions of the mapmakers [2]. Often neglected, such properties are constitutive components and dimensions of the mapping style which forms the context and gives crucial information on the accuracy and the relationships between geo-historical data enclosed in. Our poster provides a renewed cartographic visualisation of the sheet 52nd sheet of the Carte de France, centred on the french cities of Clermont, Riom and Thiers. It reveals unnoticed cartographic entities that were hardly legible in the original map. The historiography of cartography has been largely, and for a long time, based on critical edition of old maps published as non-georeferenced facsimile . We propose to renew this approach by producing digital maps from vector geographic databases that combine the aesthetics and semiology of old map styles with the modelling capabilities of modern GIS.


This is the first study for the analysis of heavy metal in marine sediments, seawater and fish at Single Buoy Mooring (SBM3) in the Mina Al Fahal of Sultanate of Oman. For the purpose of establishing baseline, as well as the assessment of marine contamination due to heavy metals, in sediments, seawater were collected from six different stations at SBM3 of the Mina Al Fahal. This took place between June 2009 and during the mid of April 2010. The heavy metals analyzed were cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), lead (Pb) and vanadium (V), using Inductively Coupled Plasma Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (GF-AAS) techniques. Based on the experimental results, the mean concerntrations for heavy metal content Cd, Pb, Cu and V recorded at six different Stations at SBM3 for the sediments exist in the order (V>Cu>Pb>Cd). The mean concentrations for heavy metals Cd,Pb,Cu and V, over the entire span of the sampling sites in whole tissue of one of the popular, namely the grouper fish Epinephelus coioides exist in the order: (Cu>Pb>Cd>V). Generally, the results of mean concentrations for heavy metal content (Pb,Cd,V and Cu) suggest that the SBM3 marine sediment, seawater and fish are of good quality as the mean concerntrations of the metal reported in the studied areas were basically below or within acceptable limits set by European Commission (EC) and Omani legislation, as well as other studies carried out in the coast of Oman and the results published for internationally reported values in the Arabian Gulf and Arabian Sea and they posed no threat to public health, with the exception of vanadium (V) in the subtidal sediments at SBM3. There are speculation that the presence of vanadium (V) in the subtidal sediments at SBM3. There are speculations that the presence of vanadium is perhaps as a result of the accumulation of chronic levels wastes discharged by passing tanker traffic.


We review the main results on the generalization of the DGLAP evolution equations within the cut Mellin moments (CMM) approach, which allows one to overcome the problem of kinematic constraints in Bjorken $x$. CMM obtained by multiple integrations as well as multiple differentiations of the original parton distribution also satisfy the DGLAP equations with the simply transformed evolution kernel. The CMM approach provides novel tools to test QCD; here we present one of them. Using appropriate classes of CMM, we construct the generalized Bjorken sum rule that allows us to determine the Bjorken sum rule value from the experimental data in a restricted kinematic range of $x$. We apply our analysis to COMPASS data on the spin structure function $g_1$.


This letter provides an overview of the Quantitative Undergraduate Biology Education and Synthesis (QUBES) Project funded through the National Science Foundation. The project has five distinct, but interdependent, initiatives which work together to support faculty and students in the teaching and learning of quantitative biology (QB). QUBES has adopted an integrated strategy to improving the frequency and effectiveness of QB instruction that includes coordinating a broad consortium of professional stakeholders, supporting faculty development and the implementation of new teaching practices, providing an infrastructure for collaboration and access to high quality materials, establishing new metrics for faculty teaching scholarship and documenting the project outcomes.


Introduction: Aging is often associated with decreased serum triiodothyronine levels. There is growing evidence that critical illness can cause thyroid dysfunction and nonthyroidal illness syndrome. Elderly patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations may be more prone to thyroid function impairment. We evaluated nonthyroidal illness syndrome incidence in elderly patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease during severe exacerbations and the possible impact on short-term prognosis. Materials and Method: Elderly patients (≥65 years) admitted with a diagnosis of acute respiratory failure due to an acute exacerbation were included in the study. All patients were evaluated for thyroid function and its relationship with clinical outcomes. Results: Forty-four patients with a median age of 71.5 years were included. Nonthyroidal illness syndrome incidence was 65.9% (n = 29) and it was related with increased noninvasive ventilation failure rate (p=0.04). Compared with survivors, nonsurvivors had lower triiodothyronine levels (p=0.02). Only the Glasgow coma score and noninvasive ventilation failure were found to be independent predictors of hospital mortality in logistic regression analysis. Conclusion: In this study, nonthyroidal illness syndrome was found to be relatively common in elderly patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease having severe exacerbations. The presence of nonthyroidal illness syndrome in these high-risk patients may affect response to treatment, and eventually, outcomes.


In this work, we analyze the vulnerability of tourism to climate change in 53 Swiss alpine regions. We analyzed in particular the impacts generated by changes in climate suitability for tourism activities, snowpack reduction, glaciers melting, permafrost melting, natural hazards, water scarcity and changes in landscape and scenic beauty. We selected 70 indicators describing the exposure, the sensitivity and the adaptive capacity of each of these areas. Simulations on the possible impacts and statistical data were collected for the different regions. The obtained results consent to identify the most important drivers influencing vulnerability. They moreover permit to assess spatial heterogeneity in vulnerability. Finally, they allow recognizing hotspots – areas where the implementation of adaptation measures is


Why surviving? It sounds rather ominous, perhaps calling to mind technology rising up to subdue the humans who created it. Our intent is not to paint an apocalyptic picture for language educators. Quite the contrary, while technologies continue to develop and permeate an ever-increasing area of the human sphere, they also get deprecated, deactivated, and dethroned. Think of all the changes you've seen as an educator in just the last two decades. Change upon change (often, it seems, simply for the sake of change) has found its way into our classrooms through recommendation, institutional promotion, or plain desperation. Do you find it challenging to keep up with the ever-growing — and shrinking — list of technology aids that are supposed to make teaching more effective and learning easier, quicker, and better? Does it ever seem like the technology designed to facilitate your work has turned into just another responsibility or pedagogical innovation with which you must keep up? If so, you're not alone. For adults who have seen the more rudimentary versions of it, technology now seems to equate to life itself. It is almost impossible for those born after the advent of the World Wide Web and iPhone to imagine life without them. As a result, one could say that 'technology is life,' or at least, that technology impacts every life.


Despite emerging study of business initiatives that attempt to support local peace and development, we still have significant knowledge gaps on their effectiveness and efficiency. This article builds theory on business engagements for peace through exploration of the Footprints for Peace (FOP) peacebuilding project by the Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia (FNC). FOP was a business-peace initiative that attempted to improve the lives of vulnerable populations in conflict-affected regions. Through 70 stakeholder interviews, we show how FOP operationalized local peace and development in four conflict-affected departments of Colombia, and examine FNC's motivations for and effectiveness of its peacebuilding activities. Our main finding is that FOP's success supported several existing theories on business engagement in peace both in terms of peacebuilding by business and for local economic and societal development, providing evidence in support of development–business collaborations and local peacebuilding by business under certain targeted circumstances. We relate these findings to existing literature, highlighting where existing business-peace theory is supported, where FOP challenged assumptions, and where it illuminated new research gaps. These findings serve to take business-peace theory forward and improve our understandings of what can constitute success for business-peace initiatives in Colombia and possibly other conflict-affected regions.


This paper addresses the execution of inherently sequential linear algebra algorithms namely LU factorization, tridiagonal reduction and the symmetric QR factorization algorithm used for eigenvector computation, which are significant building blocks for applications in our target image processing and analysis domain. These algorithms present additional difficulties to optimize the processing time due to the fact that the computational load for data matrix columns increases with their index, requiring a fine tuned load assignment and distribution. We present an efficient methodology to determine the optimal number of processors to be used in a computation, as well as a new static load distribution strategy that achieves better results than other algorithms developed for the same purpose.


Crop canopy temperature is useful as an indicator of plant water stress and possibly a good measurement to use as an irrigation schedule initiator. To help determine the feasibility of using canopy temperature to control irrigation events, 26 infrared thermometers (IRTs) were mounted along the main structure of a 3tower, 137-m center pivot irrigation machine. The center pivot provided a platform to conduct spatial canopy temperature measurements over a 6-ha field that contained 12 different soil mapping units. The IRTs were mounted in pairs, for thirteen, 9.1-m segments along the center pivot. During the 1999 corn growing season, data were acquired on eight separate days during the grain fill period of an irrigation and nitrogen fertilizer rate experiment that consisted of 396 plots arranged in randomized blocks within the 12 soil mapping units. The IRT data were collected during a single pass of the center pivot, at mid-day during mostly sunny conditions. Data were collected and stored using a data logger and a PC mounted on the center pivot. Individual canopy temperature values were stored and later corrected using calibration values for each IRT. Data were then adjusted for temporal data slew caused by time-of-day effects. Measurement techniques, data adjustment algorithms, and sample data are reported. The quadratic relationship of adjusted canopy temperature and irrigation rate, for a day when the non-irrigated plots were under stress, indicates that approximately 65 to 95% of the variation across the 12 mapping units could be explained. For data acquired two days after a 41-mm rain, the relationship explained approximately 30 to 80% of the variation across the soil mapping units. Hence, there is a possibility of determining the relative soil water status using multiple, inexpensive IRTs.


Each new generation of law students presents its own set of challenges for law teachers seeking to develop competent and committed members of the legal profession. This article aims to train legal educators to recognize their students' generational learning style and to deliver a tailored education that supports the development of skilled attorneys. To help legal educators better understand the newest generation of law students, this article explores the traits associated with the Millennial Generation of law students, including their perspective on themselves and others, on education and on work. It then provides detailed and specific strategies for teaching millennial students. Though we developed these strategies in a clinical setting, they apply in both the clinical and classroom setting. As this article demonstrates, if well supported and motivated, the Millennial Generation will include extraordinary attorneys who advance the legal profession to new heights.


This article assesses the structure and operation of the International Criminal Court by setting out a case for the defence of the Court, a case for its prosecution and a verdict. Defenders of the Court suggest it has had a positive impact because: it has accelerated moves away from politics and towards ethics in international relations; it goes a long way towards ending impunity; it is a significant improvement on the previous system of ad hoc tribunals; it has positive spill-over effects onto domestic criminal systems; and because the courage of the prosecutor and trial judges has helped to establish the Court as a force to be reckoned with. Opponents of the Court see it as mired in power politics, too reliant on the United Nations Security Council and on state power to be truly independent; failing to bring peace and perhaps even encouraging conflict; and starting to resemble a neo-colonial project rather than an impartial organ of justice. The verdict on the Court is mixed. It has gone some way to ending impunity and it is certainly an improvement on the ad hoc tribunals. However it is inevitably a political body rather than a purely legal institution, its use as a deterrent is as yet unproven and the expectation that it can bring peace as well as justice is unrealistic.


The potential of using chemical modification as a tool to determine structure-function relationships was examined using one standard protein namely bovine serum albumin. The chemical modifications investigated included succinylation with succinic anhydride; thiolation, using N-acetyl homocysteine thiolactone; guanidination with O-methylisourea; the addition of cysteine hydrochloride; attachment of valine using an N-carboxyl anhydride derivative and of butylamine, putrescine and lysine via carbodiimide mediated condensation reactions. The native and modified proteins were subjected to a set of standard tests including assessment of amino, sulphydryl and hydrophobic groups and changes in the pH titration curve, amino acid composition, electrophoretic patterns and circular dichroism spectra. The functional properties examined included gelling, whipping and emulsification. The blocking of amino groups by succinylation and thiolation resulted in reduced functional properties whereas the addition of the hydrophobic amino acid valine resulted in improved functional properties. Improved whipping resulted when succinylated BSA was inadequately purified and in the presence of calcium the gelling strength of succinylated protein was significantly increased compared to the native BSA. In addition, ultrafiltration decreased the gelling properties of BSA. Cysteine modified samples showed little change in physicochemical or functional properties. A limited modification by guanidination or by carbodiimide condensation showed improved functional properties whereas an extensive modification resulted in poor functional properties. This was thought to be due to detrimental conformational changes in the extensively modified samples. A positive interaction between modified samples was shown to be dependent on the availability of amino groups and not the difference in charge as was expected. All modified samples showed little improvement in emulsification properties. In conclusion, the analysis of chemical modifications in the evaluation of certain structure-function relationships proved useful, but in order to elucidate the precise mechanisms involved, the information obtained from other methods of evaluation will be required.


In cognitive radio networks, cooperative spectrum sensing (CSS) has been a promising approach to improve sensing performance by utilizing spatial diversity of participating secondary users (SUs). In current CSS networks, all cooperative SUs are assumed to be honest and genuine. However, the presence of malicious users sending out dishonest data can severely degrade the performance of CSS networks. In this paper, a framework with high detection accuracy and low costs of data acquisition at SUs is developed, with the purpose of mitigating the influences of malicious users. More specifically, a low-rank matrix completion based malicious user detection framework is proposed. In the proposed framework, in order to avoid requiring any prior information about the CSS network, a rank estimation algorithm and an estimation strategy for the number of corrupted channels are proposed. Numerical results show that the proposed malicious user detection framework achieves high detection accuracy with lower data acquisition costs in comparison with the conventional approach. After being validated by simulations, the proposed malicious user detection framework is tested on the real-world signals over TV white space spectrum.


Metastatic carcinoma is known to be the most common intraocular malignant tumor, and primary breast carcinoma is the tumor most frequently responsible for choroidal metastases. 1 Metastatic tumor shrinkage in response to chemotherapy alone has been only occasionally reported. Consequently, radiotherapy is usually the first-line treatment for choroidal metastases. We used chemotherapy to treat a woman with breast cancer and a high estrogen-receptor titer who presented with decreased visual acuity secondary to a choroidal metastasis. The result was complete resolution of the lesion. Report of a Case. —A 52-year-old postmenopausal black woman with a history of metastatic left breast cancer to bone and lung was seen in consultation for decreased visual acuity in the right eye. Two and one half years before consultation she had been diagnosed with left infiltrative ductal breast cancer and had undergone a left modified radical mastectomy. Her laboratory results revealed the following: high estrogen receptor


One major challenge to the improvement of regional climate scenarios for the northern high latitudes is to understand land surface feedbacks associated with vegetation shifts and ecosystem biogeochemical cycling. We employed a customized, Arctic version of the individual-based dynamic vegetation model LPJ-GUESS to simulate the dynamics of upland and wetland ecosystems under a regional climate model–downscaled future climate projection for the Arctic and Subarctic. The simulated vegetation distribution (1961–1990) agreed well with a composite map of actual arctic vegetation. In the future (2051–2080), a poleward advance of the forest–tundra boundary, an expansion of tall shrub tundra, and a dominance shift from deciduous to evergreen boreal conifer forest over northern Eurasia were simulated. Ecosystems continued to sink carbon for the next few decades, although the size of these sinks diminished by the late 21st century. Hot spots of increased CH4 emission were identified in the peatlands near Hudson Bay and western Siberia. In terms of their net impact on regional climate forcing, positive feedbacks associated with the negative effects of tree-line, shrub cover and forest phenology changes on snow-season albedo, as well as the larger sources of CH4, may potentially dominate over negative feedbacks due to increased carbon sequestration and increased latent heat flux.


The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is a great concern in the global health sector This isdueto the large number of people infected within a wide area The possibility of transmission from one person to anotherraises the need for isolation or restrictions in terms of physical and social interactions within the community This study aims to determine the extent of community compliance in conducting Physical Distancing The research design was observational analytic, using cross sectional method,and was performed with 753 respondents In addition, data was collected using internet-based questionnaire in the first Government Emergency Response period from March 23 to April 11, 2020 The information obtained includes demographics, physical social compliance variables and risk level Therefore, qualitativeanalysis was performed to evaluate the frequency distribution, while the relationship between risk categories with Covid 19 cases was determined using chi square The results showed the majority of respondents performedoutdoor activities (60 4%), althoughwith good health protocol awareness Also, mostparticipants wear masks (75 6%), conductgoodhand washing habit (86 6%), always use hand sanitizers (76 5) and maintain a distance from others (87%) Furthermore, the risk categories of respondents were low (95 2%),hence a relationship is established between Covid 19 cases and risk categories This is reflectedin physical and social distancing compliance (p <0 00001),classified in the moderate category,with an odd ratio value of 9 42 (CI: 4 45-19 97) In conclusion, moderate physical and social distancing compliance poses a greater risk for covid19 cases, thus the need to increase discipline with Large Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB) implementation © 2020 Ubiquity Press All rights reserved


It is a truism that new technologies are remaking the tactical and legal landscape of armed conflict. While such statements are undoubtedly true, it is important to separate genuine trends from scholarly exaggeration. The following Essay, an introduction to the Drone Wars Symposium for the Journal of International Criminal Justice, catalogues today's most pressing disputes regarding International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and their consequences for criminal responsibility. These include: (i) the triggering and classification of armed conflicts with non-state actors; (ii) the relative scope of IHL and international human rights law (IHRL) in asymmetrical conflicts; (iii) the targeting of suspected terrorists under conduct- or status-based classifications that render them subject to lawful attack; (iv) the legal fate of CIA drone operators who participate in armed conflict without the orthodox privilege of combatancy conferred on members of the armed forces; and (v) the principle of proportionality as it applies to drone strikes that produce collateral damage. What emerges from this survey is a portrait of drones as a technological development that has radically escalated pre-existing tensions in IHL that first emerged with manned aerial attacks and artillery. As conflicts with non-state actors proliferate and intensify, these pre-existing tensions will continue to transform, via state practice, the reciprocity usually associated with orthodox IHL.


ABSTRACT Victim impact statements (VISs) are said to introduce restorative elements into the sentencing hearing for the benefit of victims. Roberts and Erez (2004) argue that a key restorative feature of VISs is their potential to generate reciprocal communication between judge and victim: victims have the opportunity to speak about the impact of the crime and the court has the opportunity to acknowledge the harm suffered and validate victims' experiences. Drawing from the findings of a small qualitative study of VISs in homicide sentencing hearings in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, this paper examines the communicative potential of VISs. While the institutional context of VISs in common law jurisdictions constrains their communicative capacities, nonetheless oral VISs provide victims with a valuable opportunity to speak and be heard. Furthermore, while in the hearings studied there was little direct communication between judge and victim, this study reveals that VISs provide a context in which other, more indirect communications can occur.


This paper presents a particle method designed for high-dimensional state estimation. Instead of weighing ran- dom forecasts by their distance to given observations, the method samples an ensemble of particles around an opti- mal solution based on the observations (i.e., it is implicit). It differs from other implicit methods because it includes the state at the previous assimilation time as part of the optimal solution (i.e., it is a lag-1 smoother). This is accomplished through the use of a mixture model for the background dis- tribution of the previous state. In a high-dimensional, lin- ear, Gaussian example, the mixture-based implicit particle smoother does not collapse. Furthermore, using only a small number of particles, the implicit approach is able to detect transitions in two nonlinear, multi-dimensional generaliza- tions of a double-well. Adding a step that trains the sampled distribution to the target distribution prevents collapse during the transitions, which are strongly nonlinear events. To pro- duce similar estimates, other approaches require many more particles.


This rewarding work is the product of sustained observation of and reflection on phenomena arising out of three broad topics in the field of analytical psychology. Firstly it analyses and evaluates the ambiguity in Jung's definitions and metaphors about the self, while at the same time expounding the theory of the self as a dynamic system, evolving through deintegration and reintegration processes during early infancy and childhood. Secondly it investigates the relation of the ego to the self, giving notable consideration to psychoanalytic work. Finally the presence of the self, behind or within both the religious and the alchemical experience, is explored. Fordham's innovative and original view of the self further extends our understanding of its dynamics and helps to establish some sense of the complementariness as well as differences between Jung and Klein.


Measurement noise is one of the main sources of errors in currently available quantum devices based on superconducting qubits. At the same time, the complexity of its characterization and mitigation often exhibits exponential scaling with the system size. In this work, we introduce a correlated measurement noise model that can be efficiently described and characterized, and which admits effective noise-mitigation on the level of marginal probability distributions. Noise mitigation can be performed up to some error for which we derive upper bounds. Characterization of the model is done efficiently using Diagonal Detector Overlapping Tomography – a generalization of the recently introduced Quantum Overlapping Tomography to the problem of reconstruction of readout noise with restricted locality. The procedure allows to characterize k-local measurement cross-talk on N-qubit device using O(k2klog(N)) circuits containing random combinations of X and identity gates. We perform experiments on 15 (23) qubits using IBM's (Rigetti's) devices to test both the noise model and the error-mitigation scheme, and obtain an average reduction of errors by a factor >22 (>5.5) compared to no mitigation. Interestingly, we find that correlations in the measurement noise do not correspond to the physical layout of the device. Furthermore, we study numerically the effects of readout noise on the performance of the Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm (QAOA). We observe in simulations that for numerous objective Hamiltonians, including random MAX-2-SAT instances and the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick model, the noise-mitigation improves the quality of the optimization. Finally, we provide arguments why in the course of QAOA optimization the estimates of the local energy (or cost) terms often behave like uncorrelated variables, which greatly reduces sampling complexity of the energy estimation compared to the pessimistic error analysis. We also show that similar effects are expected for Haar-random quantum states and states generated by shallow-depth random circuits.


Protein reabsorption in the renal proximal tubule (PT) is a vitally important process which prevents the loss of filtered proteins and provides their participation in subse quent metabolism. Despite considerable changes in renal structure and function in the process of evolution, very little is known about the functional similarities or specifics of tubular protein reabsorption in the kidney of lower vertebrates compared with the mammalian and human kidney. This article presents an overview of our recent studies on protein reabsorption in the kidney of amphibians, which are used as one of the main animal models for current biological and biomedical research. In frogs, newts, and rats, the absorption capacity of epithelial PT cells was studied after the introduction of green fluorescent protein (GFP), yellow fluorescent protein (YFP), and lysozyme. Molecular mechanisms of receptor-mediated protein endocytosis were also investigated by immu - nohisto- and immunocytochemistry, electron, fluorescent, and laser scanning confocal microscopy.


Recent studies have established distinctive serum polypeptide patterns through mass spectrometry (MS) that reportedly correlate with clinically relevant outcomes. Wider acceptance of these signatures as valid biomarkers for disease may follow sequence characterization of the components and elucidation of the mechanisms by which they are generated. Using a highly optimized peptide extraction and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) MS-based approach, we now show that a limited subset of serum peptides (a signature) provides accurate class discrimination between patients with 3 types of solid tumors and controls without cancer. Targeted sequence identification of 61 signature peptides revealed that they fall into several tight clusters and that most are generated by exopeptidase activities that confer cancer type-specific differences superimposed on the proteolytic events of the ex vivo coagulation and complement degradation pathways. This small but robust set of marker peptides then enabled highly accurate class prediction for an external validation set of prostate cancer samples. In sum, this study provides a direct link between peptide marker profiles of disease and differential protease activity, and the patterns we describe may have clinical utility as surrogate markers for detection and classification of cancer. Our findings also have important implications for future peptide biomarker discovery efforts.


College of Equine Internal Medicine (ECEIM) provide the veterinary community with up-to-date information on the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of clinically important animal diseases. The ACVIM Board of Regents oversees selection of relevant topics, identification of panel members with the expertise to draft the statements, and other aspects of assuring the integrity of the process. The statements are derived from evidence-based medicine whenever possible and the panel offers interpretive comments when such evidence is inadequate or contradictory. A draft is prepared by the panel, followed by solicitation of input by the ACVIM membership which may be incorporated into the statement. It is then submitted to the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, where it is edited prior to publication. The authors are solely responsible for the content of the statements.


The BB2 receptor, belonging to the Bombesin receptor family, has been shown to be highly over expressed in a variety of cancer cell lines, including human prostate cancer. Our laboratory have been involved, for over a decade, in synthesizing Bombesin analogues that target the BB2 receptor for the purpose of developing radiopharmaceuticals for diagnostic and/or therapeutic treatment of cancer. Radiopharmaceuticals based on Bombesin are typically composed of a chelator, isotope, linking group and targeting vector [See Bifunctional Conjugate Design [figure below]. Previous studies by our group and others have shown that variations in linking groups affect the retention time of the bifunctional conjugate in prostate cancer (PC-3) cells. Higher retention time allows for more efficacious therapeutic benefits and enhanced diagnostic imaging capabilities. In this study, we seek to determine the pharmacokinetic benefits achieved in altering the linking group using aliphatic and aromatic linking groups. In-vitro analysis of the radiopharmaceuticals studied found that the Bombesin derivative with the aliphatic linking group demonstrated a slightly higher affinity for the BB2 receptor compared to the Bombesin analogs containing aromatic linking groups. In vivo pharmacokinetic and imaging studies were performed using pre-clinical models of prostate cancer. The tumor uptake of the Bombesin derivatives with the aromatic linking groups were found to be significantly higher compared to that of the Bombesin derivative with the aliphatic linking group. In contrast, the aromatic Bombesin analogs also exhibited higher amounts of undesirable accumulation in the kidneys and other non-target tissues. In conclusion, we found that the aliphatic compounds were more appropriate for diagnostic imaging of prostate cancer due to the reduced nontarget retention. The Bombesin analogs with aromatic linking groups showed potential for use as therapeutic agents for prostate cancer treatment.


This article looks at the problem of historical narrative painting in terms of the idealisation of Raphaelesque conventions. It deals with the neglected "Raphaelitism" that Pre-Raphaelitism claimed to reject, seeking to articulate what is termed here an aesthetic of intimacy in contrast to the alienating surface complexity of Pre-Raphaelite art. The aesthetic of intimacy downplays pictorial surface but plays on the ideal of the penetration of surface itself as a revelation of the form of truth to which art gestures. O'Neil's paintings use the model of Raphael's pictorial "softness" in order to develop a pictorial strategy in which the viewer is encouraged to attend to the subtle variations of body language. The article appeared in a themed issue of Visual Culture in Britain that was edited by Barlow himself. It is part of the same broad project as Barlow's monograph, Time present and time past: The Art of John Everett Millais, namely the re-examination of models of "progressive" art by exploring ways in which artists formerly deemed to be "academic" were engaging in complex ways with the problems of representation and tradition. Barlow's Introduction and the issue as a whole addresses the question of modernity in relation to the conceptualisation of history painting. In this instance, however, the intent is to examine the problem further by looking at an artist who specifically positioned himself as an enemy of stylistic innovation.


The analysis of the infrastructure for radioactive waste management in Indonesia has been studied using several parameters, i.e. policy, regulatory authorities and their regulations, implementing organizations and financial system. By considering the international trends and the Indonesian program to utilize nuclear power, the infrastructure of radioactive waste management needs to be improved. The Act No. 10/1997 on Nuclear Energy for the future beneficence will have to be amended to incorporate several missing key points on waste management, such as definition of radioactive waste, disposal of Low and Intermediate Level Waste (LILW), and classification of waste. Full involvement of some important stakeholders, especially the State Ministry of Environment, on the radioactive waste management infrastructure is required since some radioactive waste is generated from non nuclear waste. Assigning full authority to the State Ministry of Environment for regulating radioactive waste generated by non nuclear facilities may be more effective, whereas BAPETEN is still holding onto control over the waste generated from nuclear facilities. In the near future, several regulations on clearance level, classification of waste, NORM/TENORM, and financial system are expected to be set up for urgent need. By considering the high risk for handling of radioactivity, including for transportation and storage, the liability or assurance of the safety for such activities must be accounted for. Finally, establishment of financial system for long term waste management in Indonesia needs to be implemented to ensure that the radioactive waste will not be the burden on future generations. Received: 21 April 2009; Revised: 18 August 2009; Accepted: 25 August 2009


The results from exploration geochemical stream sediment surveys of the central Wales lead-zinc orefield by undergraduates from the University of Portsmouth between 1979 and 2003 are now available on open access at www.geologis.com for further investigation. Details are given here of the procedures of collection, preparation and chemical analysis of the samples together with an estimate of analytical precision. Log-probability plots for different sub-areas give different results depending on the proportion of anomalous to background values. Important details are lost when undivided data for the whole study area are used. Comparison of repeat surveys of the same area shows that the findings obtained are consistent even though sampling sites differ. The Portsmouth results are compared with those of the British Geological Survey's G-BASE survey for the area. The two sets of data are compatible and the Portsmouth data enhance the utility of the G-BASE survey. The value of the Portsmouth database for environmental studies and for mineral exploration is illustrated with examples, demonstrating that undergraduate training can, over a period of time, provide an important source of data.


The cool temperate rainforests of the Southern Hemisphere are noteworthy for the remarkable diversity and luxuriance of their lichen floras, and Tasmania is endowed with a rich and complex array of lichen species. This bok provides an insight into this realm of beautiful and unusual plants, frequently overlooked but so rich in colour and form. Only the most conspicuous species, termed macrolichens, are dealt with here. More than 200 species have been recorded in Tasmania's rainforest, and 127 are illustrated in this volume. Many also occur in the cool temperate rainforests of southeastern Australia or New Zealand. The book, beautifully illustrated in colour, provides introductory chapters on the nature of lichens, the composition of the lichen flora in Tasmania, and the distribution and ecology of lichens in rainforest. With some experience and familiarity, many of the macrolichen species can be identified with the naked eye or with the aid of a hand lens. The photographic section should thus provide a ready introduction for the amateur naturalist, botanist or bushwalker. For the more determined user, or specialist, an identification key, accompanied by a glossary of technical terms, is also provided.


In this compelling narrative, Michael L. Buckler draws readers into the challenging, yet rewarding world of the Peace Corps. Inspired by his journals, the book recounts his life as a Peace Corps teacher after a heartbreaking divorce and a demanding legal career prompted him to make a change. Assigned to a village school in Malawi, Buckler opens his tiny home to three boys, embarking with them on a journey of cross-cultural discovery, personal sacrifice, and transformative growth. Determined to help his village, Buckler collaborates with community leaders to build a boarding school for girls. As momentum builds, a powerful bureaucrat tries to shut down the project and Buckler becomes discouraged. As he agonizes over whether to leave, the village takes matters into its own hands in a moving display of the persistent, courageous spirit of Malawi.


Alkaline pretreatment with NaOH under mild operating conditions was used to improve ethanol and biogas production from softwood spruce and hardwood birch. The pretreatments were carried out at different temperatures between minus 15 and 100ºC with 7.0% w/w NaOH solution for 2 h. The pretreated materials were then enzymatically hydrolyzed and subsequently fermented to ethanol or anaerobically digested to biogas. In general, the pretreatment was more successful for both ethanol and biogas production from the hardwood birch than the softwood spruce. The pretreatment resulted in significant reduction of hemicellulose and the crystallinity of cellulose, which might be responsible for improved enzymatic hydrolyses of birch from 6.9% to 82.3% and spruce from 14.1% to 35.7%. These results were obtained with pretreatment at 100°C for birch and 5°C for spruce. Subsequently, the best ethanol yield obtained was 0.08 g/g of the spruce while pretreated at 100°C, and 0.17 g/g of the birch treated at 100°C. On the other hand, digestion of untreated birch and spruce resulted in methane yields of 250 and 30 l/kg VS of the wood species, respectively. The pretreatment of the wood species at the best conditions for enzymatic hydrolysis resulted in 83% and 74% improvement in methane production from birch and spruce.


Background
Every year, about half a million people die world-wide due to poisoning. A poison information center is a specialized unit that advises on or assists with, the prevention, diagnosis and management of poisoning. Currently, Forensic Medicine and Toxicology subject has been taught in 2nd MBBS in India but topic of poison information centre is usually not given importance at undergraduate level and due to this reason we undertook present study to assess knowledge and awareness of 2nd MBBS students regarding poison information centre.
Materials and Methods
Total 145 medical students of 2nd MBBS were exposed to pre-tested and pre-validated Likert scale type questionnaire regarding knowledge and awareness of poison information centre after obtaining their informed written consent. Data obtained were analyzed via median score and tabulated.
Results
Most of the students were heard the term of poison information centre which many students were not sure that poisons are detected by poison information centre. Almost all students had poor knowledge and awareness regarding functions, location, role of poison information centre. Almost none had visited poison information centre ever neither they knew the concept of poison information centre.
Conclusion
Knowledge and awareness regarding poison information centre is very poor among 2nd MBBS students which in turn may lead to poor utilization of facilities provided by poison information centre in future.


The multiple, active, computer-generated hologram (MACH) is a novel device combining the attributes of electrically controllable diffraction gratings and computer-generated holograms. The version discussed here consists of a surface relief transmitting structure immersed in a nematic liquid crystal and sandwiched between two, planar indium tin oxide electrodes. Under control of a single applied voltage, the device can selectively generate any one of a number of desired, uncorrelated optical wave fronts. The device principles are discussed and experimental results presented. There is a brief discussion of the relative merits of the MACH and electrically addressed spatial light modulators.


Modeling and simulation play an important role in transportation networks analysis. In the literature, authors have proposed many traffic and mobility simulations, with different features and corresponding to different contexts and objectives. They notably consider different scales of simulations. The scales refer to the represented entities, as well as to the space and the time representation of the transportation environment. However, we often need to represent different scales in the same simulation, for instance to represent a neighborhood interacting with a wider region. In this paper, we advocate for the reuse of existing simulations to build a new multi-scale simulation. To do so, we propose a middleware model to couple independent mobility simulations, working at different scales. We consider all the necessary processing and workflow to allow for a coherent orchestration of these simulations. We also propose a prototype implementation of the middleware. The results show that such a middleware is capable of creating a new multi-scale mobility simulation from existing ones, while minimizing the incoherence between them. They also suggest that, to have a maximal benefit from the middleware, existing mobility simulation platforms should allow for an external control of the simulations, allowing for executing a time step several times if necessary.


The digital repository serves as a Green Open Access solution to globally share scholarship produced by the university community. Both Pittsburg State University (PSU) and Fort Hays State University (FHSU) previously used CONTENTdm (CDM) as their primary digital repository. In 2015, both PSU and FHSU purchased and launched Bepress Digital Commons (DC), a more robust repository. Considering global discoverability, unlimited storage, efficient technical support, and the ability to share a wide range of file formats in one interface, Digital Commons by Bepress is the most reliable for small institutions. This paper is based on the presentation delivered by PSU and FHSU at the Kansas Library AssociationCollege and University Library Section Spring Conference, April 21-22, 2016. This paper will address the experiences of adapting and implementing the IR at small institutions and the challenges associated with IR initiatives including marketing, workflow, and collection development. This paper will also compare and contrast advantages and disadvantages of the two platforms, CONTENTdm and Bepress Digital Commons.


The beam-beam interaction is one of the most severe limitations on the performance of circular colliders, as it is an unavoidable strong nonlinear effect. As one aspires for greater luminosity in future colliders, one will simultaneously achieve stronger beam-beam interactions. We study the limitations caused by strong incoherent head-on beam-beam interactions, using a new code (CABIN) that calculates on a graphics processing unit (GPU), allowing for a detailed description of the long-term particle trajectories in 6D phase space. The evolution of the beam emittance and beam intensity has been monitored to study the impact quantitatively, while frequency map analysis has been performed to understand the impact qualitatively. Results from CABIN have shown good quantitative agreement with dedicated experiments in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). For large beam-beam tune shifts, alternatives to the LHC tunes have been found to improve the beam quality. Schemes devised to cancel beam-beam driven resonances, by use of specific intermediate phase advances between the interaction points, work very well with zero crossing angle, and the accuracy required is achievable. Due to lack of symmetry, these schemes have an almost negligible impact with a significant crossing angle. The hourglass effect has been found to reduce the detrimental effects caused by the chromaticity and vice versa. The optimal level of the hourglass effect has been achieved when β 1⁄4 1.5σs. The ultimate parameters of the Future Circular Hadron Collider (FCC-hh) seem within reach, in absence of residual odd resonances.


The modernism of the future will not look like the modernism of the past. Over the past twenty years, W. B. Yeats, James Joyce, T. S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, and other major figures of the modernist movement have been subject to postmodernist critiques that have seen them as reactionary upholders of oppressive class, gender, racial, or other hierarchies; these critiques have permanently altered conceptions of the program and the canon of modernism. Today, revolutions in editing and publishing seem likely to transform them still further.The contributors to "The Future of Modernism" take these sea-changes into account, acknowledging and learning from the developments of recent years. Some interrogate the antithesis between modernism and postmodernism, showing that the former contains many features commonly claimed for the latter. Other essays dissociate modernism from the New Critical formalism with which it is often confused. Still others explore the modernist legacy of engagement with political and social events, challenging characterizations of modernism as an ahistorical, universalistic ideology.Together, these eleven essays by distinguished scholars contest facile dismissals of modernist writing and affirm an unshakable conviction of its continuing relevance and value. Although they project no unified vision or prophecy, the essays suggest a variety of lively trajectories into the next century.Hugh Witemeyer is Professor of English, University of New Mexico.


This article utilises the new reading of Marx found in the work of Michael Heinrich to analyse the creative industries. It considers the role played in the production of value by the labour that takes place in the sphere of circulation. The specific focus is on creative industries such as graphic design, advertising, and branding. It applies Heinrich's conceptualisation of "social validation" to these sectors. This suggests that valorisation depends upon goods and services attaining commodity status by selling for money. Value is subject to this validation. The capitalist use of advertising, graphic design and branding guarantees the possibility of this validation. Using Heinrich, it re-evaluates claims made about the creative industries and cognate fields in three main respects. First, it exposes as inadequate certain Marxist understandings of productive and unproductive labour and the place of circulation activities within this distinction. Second, it refutes autonomist Marxist claims as to the immeasurability of immaterial labour and the redundancy of the law of value. Third, it suggests that creative industries possess a significant role in a capitalist economy blighted by a necessity towards the overproduction of commodities.


The incidence of mole pregnancy appears to be higher in Iran than in Europe or North America. This gave us an opportunity to study a number of biochemical measurements related to the thyroid. In 14 patients with hydatiform mole, the T3 resin uptake, serum thyroxine (T4), ETR, T3 RIA, human serum TSH (hTSH) and serum human Chorinic gonadotropin (hCG) were measured. Of the 14 patients 6 showed clinical symtoms of hyperthyroidism. The TBG was increased in all cases, as expected in pregnancy. The T3 resin uptake was low in 4 of the 6 hyperthyroid cases, while the T4 was evevated in all 6 cases. As measured by RIA, each of the 6 hyperthyroid women had high values of T3 (greater than 3 ng/ml). The ETR was elevated in all 6 patients. The hTSH was normal in the 14 cases of mole pregnancy. After removal of the mole, the hTSH slightly rose in the 6 previously hyperthyroid cases. The hCG lev-', was high in all 14 individuals, due to the molar pregnancy. However, it was not significantly higher in the 6 patients with clinical hyperthyroidism. There was not a direct correlation between the level of hCG and the degree of hyperthyroidism. The hCG fell to zero after removal of the mole. We conclude that a significant portion (6/14) of women with mole pregnancy in Iran have clinical evidence of hyperthyroidism. This does not directly correlate with the total hCG level, but might be related to individual variability in the TSH-like effects of hCG or in sensitivity of the thyrotropin effects of hCG.


It is sometimes difficult to differentiate between innocent murmurs and pathological murmurs during auscultation. In these difficult cases, an intelligent stethoscope with decision support abilities would be of great value. In this study, using a dog model, phonocardiographic recordings were obtained from 27 boxer dogs with various degrees of aortic stenosis (AS) severity. As a reference for severity assessment, continuous wave Doppler was used. The data were analyzed with recurrence quantification analysis (RQA) with the aim to find features able to distinguish innocent murmurs from murmurs caused by AS. Four out of eight investigated RQA features showed significant differences between innocent murmurs and pathological murmurs. Using a plain linear discriminant analysis classifier, the best pair of features (recurrence rate and entropy) resulted in a sensitivity of 90% and a specificity of 88%. In conclusion, RQA provide valid features which can be used for differentiation between innocent murmurs and murmurs caused by AS.


Six months after starting my first faculty position, I lost consciousness while speaking with my students and postdocs. I hit my head on a lab bench as I fell to the floor. A few minutes later, utterly bewildered, I woke up to see the unfamiliar faces of the emergency medical team, as well as the scared faces of my mentees. At the hospital, doctors performed a battery of tests, collecting my spinal fluid and scanning my brain. Later, they told me that I'd suffered a grand mal seizure; it was the first seizure I'd ever had. I was diagnosed with epilepsy at 34 years of age—and my career hasn't been the same ever since.

> "Every seizure took my confidence in my ability to run a lab down a notch."

When I had my first seizure, I'd toiled in academia for 14 years, working my way up the academic ladder. I'd always been laser focused on the next step in what I imagined would be a very linear career trajectory—Ph.D., postdoc, faculty job, tenure. Then, less than 1 year after starting my dream job as a tenure-track professor, health complications disrupted my path.

I decided not to read much about epilepsy. Learning about my condition would be a distraction from my own research. I also wanted to show my trainees and colleagues that all was well. I was on medication, after all, so there was no reason to worry. I thought I could get away with making minimal lifestyle changes—more sleep, no driving—and leave it at that.

For 1 year it worked, and life went on as normal. But then, out of nowhere, I started to have recurrent seizures. I fell in my department's bathroom, where a graduate student found me. I had a seizure while traveling home from a lecture in Europe. I had several seizures in front of my 3-year-old daughter at home, where I awoke to see her staring at me and crying.

It's hard to describe the feeling of having a seizure, of coming back to reality and finding yourself confused, lost, and completely vulnerable. I had to take higher doses of my medication, which caused side effects such as fatigue, anxiety, and hostility. The fatigue reduced my focus, at times preventing me from writing grants or even reading papers. Leading my research team became a challenge. Often I was physically unable to stay in the lab for long hours, and mentally unable to focus during meetings with my trainees. Every seizure took my confidence in my ability to run a lab down a notch.

Yet, thanks to an amazing group of trainees and collaborators, my lab remained productive and well-funded. My epilepsy became a challenge we all face together. My trainees now understand that sometimes I won't be in the lab, possibly for a prolonged period. But we stay in constant touch through email and phone calls. I know I can count on them to keep the lab running in my absence. They know I have faith in them and that I am available when they need me.

I am still afraid. Afraid of what's next. Afraid of having a seizure during a conference talk. Afraid of traveling. Afraid of forgetting people's names. Afraid of forgetting deadlines. Afraid of not looking forward to the next step in my career path.

It's difficult. But I've also started to realize that most people outside the orderly world of academia deal with similar fears about the future every day. I've learned that it's OK to give myself some slack—to deviate from the linear career path I once imagined I was on. I work fewer hours. I have to take more notes to avoid forgetting things. I am less efficient. I am still afraid. But that doesn't stop me from traveling, giving talks, and writing grants and papers. After every seizure, I still think of quitting. But I don't. I adapt.

So, if something unexpected derails your ideal career path, find an alternate route. Accept that you have to do things differently. Don't be afraid to ask for help, and don't compare yourself with others. Surround yourself with positive people and learn how to carry on. Linear or not, a career in the sciences is still an amazing privilege that no seizure will erase.


A judge's obligation to consult precedent before deciding a case has been a core feature of the Rule of Law in the United States, whether the relevant source of law at issue is statutory, constitutional, or common law. If there is general agreement that a court's prior precedent has some significance for future decisions, there is virtually none about the extent to which the later court is obligated to defer to the earlier precedent. This article, written for a symposium dedicated to the topic, "Originalism and Precedent," suggests that conclusions about the founding era's commitment to stare decisis are seriously incomplete without studying the practices of state courts with respect to economic expectation interests. (Other contributors to this symposium include Steve Smith, University of San Diego School of Law, Gary Lawson, Boston University, and Stephen B. Presser, Northwestern University School of Law.) The earliest articulations of the concept of precedent in the United States explicitly link stare decisis to property rules. In the formative era, state court judges invoked the predominant property discourse of vested rights and the Contracts Clause to preserve property rules that they believed necessary to avoid disrupting settled transactions, at least when property reliance interests were at stake. This is important because most civil cases of that period involved property or contract disputes, and these judges tended to view the common law as a mechanism for ordering relations between individuals in terms of property rights. Many judges imposed upon themselves external limits on discretion to change law, and these limits are readily linked to political rhetoric from the founding era emphasizing the sanctity of private property. This historical understanding of the role of precedent is equivalent to the modern "judicial takings" debate, which asks whether state courts can effectively police their own boundaries with respect to the settled property expectations that legislatures are constitutionally bound to respect. The rhetoric used in the post-founding period through the Civil War suggests many state court judges believed that they should. Many state courts recognized the possibility that changes to common-law rules could deprive citizens of property interests, and sought to guard against it. The rhetoric of courts in the formative era makes clear that the stare decisis property rule had an ideological purpose - a pragmatic concern for economic stability.


Introduction . The high prevalence of obesity among children of Mexican descent, living in either Mexico or the United States (US), might indicate they are at a higher risk when compared to other groups. Previous mental health studies have had conflicting outcomes, which may be the result of considering these children as a homogeneous group (by race or ethnicity) instead of considering intra-racial group disparities (e.g. socio-economic status, adversities). Objective: To compare the psychosocial profile by weight category (normal weight, overweight, or obese) of impoverished Mexican descendent children in a clinical setting. Objective . To compare the psychosocial profile by weight category (normal weight, overweight, or obese) of impoverished Mexican descendent children in a clinical setting. Method . The study design was cross sectional. Information was retrieved from medical records (N = 2237) that were obtained from five university-based clinics in a large metropolitan area on the US-Mexico border from May 2009 to August 2010. Results . Psychosocial and behavioral problems were present among this intra-racial group of Mexican-American children, with higher scores in the overweight and obese children than in the normal-weight children. Discussion and conclusion . Intra-racial differences among obese and overweight children could account for variation in results regarding the mental health of Mexican American children. Considering intra-racial group disparities when providing healthcare may improve delivery and promote better mental and health outcomes because some groups may need more attention than others. In addition, considering these groups when designing studies, may improve the accuracy and precision of study result interpretations.


This is an overview of a Joint Research Project within the Scientific co-operation between Eastern Europe and Switzerland (SCOPES) Program of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNFS) and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). Within the SP2 SCOPES Project on Speech Prosody, in the course of the following two years, the four partners aim to collaborate on the subject of speech prosody and advance the extraction, processing, modeling and transfer of prosody for a large portfolio of European languages: French, German, Italian, English, Hungarian, Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Montenegrin, and Macedonian. Through the intertwined four research plans, synergies are foreseen to emerge that will build a foundation for submitting strong joint proposals for EU funding.


Objective—Binding of nitric oxide (NO) to soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC) leads to increased cGMP synthesis that activates cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG). Herein, we tested whether sGC activity is regulated by PKG. Methods and Results—Overexpression of a constitutively active form of PKG (&Dgr;PKG) stimulated 32P incorporation into the α1 subunit. Serine to alanine mutation of putative sites revealed that Ser64 is the main phosphorylation site for PKG. Using a phospho-specific antibody we observed that endogenous sGC phosphorylation on Ser 64 increases in cells and tissues exposed to NO, in a PKG-inhibitable manner. Wild-type (wt) sGC coexpressed with &Dgr;PKG exhibited lower basal and NO-stimulated cGMP accumulation, whereas the S64A α1/β1 sGC was resistant to the PKG-induced reduction in activity. Using purified sGC we observed that the S64D α1 phosphomimetic /β1 dimer exhibited lower Vmax; moreover, the decrease in Km after NO stimulation was less pronounced in S64D α1/β1 compared to wild-type sGC. Expression of a phosphorylation-deficient sGC showed enhanced responsiveness to endothelium-derived NO, reduced desensitization to acute NO exposure, and allowed for greater VASP phosphorylation. Conclusions—We conclude that PKG phosphorylates sGC on Ser64 of the α1 subunit and that phosphorylation inhibits sGC activity, establishing a negative feedback loop.


NEUROSCIENCE
During early brain development hippocampal activity is driven by two excitatory neurotransmitters, glutamate and GABA. Because GABA does not have the usual inhibitory function it has in the mature brain, other systems need to be in place to stabilize the activity of neuronal networks and prevent the potential danger of runaway excitation that may lead, for example, to epileptic activity. Potential candidates for such a system are the endocannabinoids: endogenously produced metabolites capable of activating the brain's cannabinoid (CB) receptors. Bernard et al. investigated endocannabinoid signaling during the first postnatal week in the rat hippocampus, an age that corresponds, in terms of brain development and physiological activity, to the last trimester of pregnancy in humans. Endocannabinoids were released by both interneurons and pyramidal cells in the CA1 region of the hippocampus, activating CB1 receptors and reducing GABA release. Interfering with endocannabinoid signaling during pregnancy either by smoking cannabis or by using recently developed CB1 receptor antagonists may thus affect the normal brain development of the fetus and the newborn child. — PRS

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A . 102 , 9388 (2005).


BACKGROUND
Supratentorial diffuse low-grade gliomas in adults extend beyond maximal visible MRI-defined abnormalities, and a gap exists between the imaging signal changes and the actual tumor margins. Direct quantitative comparisons between imaging and histological analyses are lacking to date. However, they are of the utmost importance if one wishes to develop realistic models for diffuse glioma growth.

METHODS
In this study, we quantitatively compared the cell concentration and the edema fraction from human histological biopsy samples (BSs) performed inside and outside imaging abnormalities during serial imaging-based stereotactic biopsy of diffuse low-grade gliomas.

RESULTS
The cell concentration was significantly higher in BSs located inside (1189 ± 378 cell/mm(2)) than outside (740 ± 124 cell/mm(2)) MRI-defined abnormalities (P = .0003). The edema fraction was significantly higher in BSs located inside (mean, 45% ± 23%) than outside (mean, 5 %± 9%) MRI-defined abnormalities (P < .0001). At borders of the MRI-defined abnormalities, 20% of the tissue surface area was occupied by edema and only 3% by tumor cells. The cycling cell concentration was significantly higher in BSs located inside (10 ± 12 cell/mm(2)), compared with outside (0.5 ± 0.9 cell/mm(2)), MRI-defined abnormalities (P = .0001).

CONCLUSIONS
We showed that the margins of T2-weighted signal changes are mainly correlated with the edema fraction. In 62.5% of patients, the cycling tumor cell fraction (defined as the ratio of the cycling tumor cell concentration to the total number of tumor cells) was higher at the limits of the MRI-defined abnormalities than closer to the center of the tumor. In the remaining patients, the cycling tumor cell fraction increased towards the center of the tumor.


Abstract

The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank are key actors in global energy governance and in Asia, spreading new ideas about technology, regulation, policy and service delivery as they invest in new energy infrastructure. They have encouraged market approaches to energy around the world. They are increasingly being held accountable for the environmental and social impacts of their investments. Many are looking to the Multilateral Development Banks to leverage their financing and expertise to facilitate low-carbon development in Asia. Climate change is a growing priority for these institutions, but energy security remains a primary concern for Asian member countries. A role for the MDBs in climate finance has been controversial because of their governance, which is perceived to prioritize developed country interests, as well as a poor record of consistently integrating environmental and social considerations into their engagement. Efforts to reform MDB governance to give developing countries more voice, however, do not guarantee greater transparency and accountability in energy governance, or the prioritization of increasingly urgent environmental social issues. This article considers the implications of a growing role for Asian countries in the governance of the MDBs.

Policy Implications

•
 The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank have been highly influential actors in global energy governance and in Asia, spreading new ideas about technology, regulation, policy and service delivery as they invest in new energy infrastructure.

•
 They have not always effectively reconciled competing environmental, social, economic and geopolitical dimensions of energy governance, however. Their knowledge, technical expertise, finance and convening power can be better harnessed to address these complex challenges. It remains to be seen whether the growing influence of Asian countries over the priorities of the MDBs will allow such opportunities to be seized.

•
 Investments in the leadership and staff of the MDBs to equip and incentivize them to make creative investments that more effectively address issues of equity and environmental sustainability will be integral to strengthening their role in the governance of energy.

•
 Reforms that make the MDBs more accountable to a diverse cross-section of stakeholders within member countries through improved inclusiveness, transparency and accountability are also imperative. Such reforms are at least as important as reforms aimed at giving developing country governments greater vote and voice in the governance of these institutions.


The study of human factors in the frame of interaction studies has been relevant for usability engi-neering and ergonomics for decades. Today, with the advent of wearable eye-tracking and Google glasses, monitoring of human factors will soon become ubiquitous. This work describes a computer vision system that enables pervasive mapping and monitoring of human attention. The key contribu-tion is that our methodology enables full 3D recovery of the gaze pointer, human view frustum and associated human centred measurements directly into an automatically computed 3D model in real-time. We apply RGB-D SLAM and descriptor matching methodologies for the 3D modelling, locali-zation and fully automated annotation of ROIs (regions of interest) within the acquired 3D model. This innovative methodology will open new avenues for attention studies in real world environments, bringing new potential into automated processing for human factors technologies.


Abstract : Cooperative localization is a useful way for nodes within a network to share location information in order to better arrive at a position estimate. This is handy in GPS contested environments (indoors and urban settings). Most systems exploring cooperative localization rely on special hardware, or extra devices to store the database or do the computations. Research also deals with specific localization techniques such as using Wi-Fi, ultra-wideband signals, or accelerometers independently opposed to fusing multiple sources together. This research brings cooperative localization to the smartphone platform, to take advantage of the multiple sensors that are available. The system is run on Android powered devices, including the wireless hotspot. In order to determine the merit of each sensor, analysis was completed to determine successes and failures. The accelerometer, compass, and received signal strength capability were examined to determine their usefulness in cooperative localization. Experiments at meter intervals show the system detected changes in location at each interval with an average standard deviation of 0.44m. The closest location estimates occurred at 3m, 4m and 6m with average errors of 0.15m, 0.11m, and 0.07m respectively. This indicates that very precise estimates can be achieved with an Android hotspot and mobile nodes.