Several suspension-based multiprocessor real-time locking protocols for partitioned fixed-priority (P-FP) scheduling have been proposed in prior work. These protocols differ in key design choices that affect implementation complexity, overheads, and worst-case blocking, and it is not obvious which is "best" when implemented in a real OS. In particular, should blocked tasks wait in FIFO or in priority order? Should tasks execute critical sections locally on their assigned processor, or should resource access be centralized on designated processors? This paper reports on a large-scale, overhead-aware schedulability study comparing four protocols, the MPCP, FMLP+, DPCP, and the DFLP, which together cover each of the four possible combinations. The results are based on a new, linear-programming-based blocking analysis technique, which is explained in detail and shown to offer substantial improvements over prior blocking bounds. The results reveal that priority queuing (MPCP, DPCP) is often preferable if the range of temporal constraints spans (at least) an order of magnitude, whereas FIFO queueing (FMLP+, DFLP) is preferable if the ratio of longest to shortest deadlines is small. Further, centralized resource access (DPCP, DFLP) is found to be preferable to local critical sections (MPCP, FMLP+) for high-contention workloads. Scheduling, cache, and locking overheads were accounted for as measured in LITMUSRT on two 8- and 16-core x86 platforms. In contrast to earlier LITMUSRT-based studies, no statistical outlier filtering was performed, owing to improved tracing support.


High peak power optical pulses are very desirable in industrial, scientific, and military applications. However, maximum peak powers are limited by the damage threshold of the optical materials used and the amount of amplification available. While pulse-pumped amplifiers can achieve high gains, they are typically limited in total average power. Practical pulse trains contain pulses that are 10s of picoseconds in width, repeat every microsecond or faster, and have pulse bursts lasting 1-5ms or longer. Under these conditions a higher average power is needed to sustain the amplification of the pulse train.


OBJECTIVES
To identify the effects of supplemental private health insurance on health care utilization and expenditure under the mandatory National Health Insurance(NHI) system in Korea.

METHODS
The data were collected by the National Cancer Center in Korea. Cancer patients who were newly diagnosed with stomach (ICD code, C16), lung(C33-C34), liver (C22), colorectal cancer(C18-C20) or breast(C50) cancer were included as study subjects. Data were gathered using a structured questionnaire from face-to-face interviews, the hospital Order Communication System (OCS) and medical records. Clinical, socio-demographic and private health insurance related factors were also gathered. The differences of health care utilization and expenditure were compared between those who have private health insurance and those who do not using t-test and multivariable regression analysis.

RESULTS
Individuals with private health insurance spent larger inpatient costs than those without, but no differences were found in utilization in other service such as hospital admissions, hospital days and physician visits.

CONCLUSIONS
We found that private health insurance exerts a significant effect on the health care expenditure in inpatient service. These study results can provide a rational basis to plan a national health policy regarding private health insurance. Further studies are needed to investigate the impacts of private health insurance on cancer patients' outcomes and survival rates.


Can the State reasonably pursue the task of nation-building if governments are not prepared to adapt the machinery of State in step with the evolving nature of society and emerging challenges? Australia's present political system was conceived in, and designed for, the very different social conditions that existed in the early nineteenth century. At that time, the two major parties broadly articulated a real social divide and developed organisational machinery that effectively mobilised the surrounding society: that provided opportunities for debate of emerging issues, engaging activists and providing cues to their followers about how to judge issues. Now the social base of the political system has been transfigured. Domestically, the community is pluralised and differentiated, class identity has decomposed and variety of new issues has undermined both the older collectivist identities and the autonomy of domestic politics. Consequently, the public agenda has expanded, differentiated and become more complex. Over this same period, the party organisational machinery that formerly mediated citizen and activist mobilisation and engagement has been jettisoned. No compensating machinery has been developed. As a result, the public conversation about major emerging issues languishes. How, then, can governments hope to chart a path for nation-building? What institutions will we require to support a truly 'national' dialogue about the meaning of 'nation' and the kind of society we're trying to create? I argue that a reconfigured Parliament might engage citizens and interest groups in 'government by discussion'. For that to occur public disaffection will doubtless need to attain new heights, and new political entrepreneurs will be needed to champion the message that there is another way.


Antonin Scalia is by far the Supreme Court's greatest wit and most colorful personality. His judicial opinions are also remarkably passionate and frank. He has received intense criticism for supposedly being "too political" in some of his opinions, such as his scorching dissent in last year's case about Arizona laws aimed at illegal immigrants or his bitter denunciation of the Court's last major ruling on the detention of suspected terrorists. But what purpose is really served by judges hiding their motivations behind a false veneer of detachment and stilted formalism? Scalia can be so refreshingly candid in his judicial work that it pains me when I see his opposite tendency emerge in other contexts, such as in his response to criticism of the Court's handling of the Bush v. Gore election controversy or in his evasion of responsibility for his remarks about the 14th Amendment's applicability to gender discrimination. If there is anyone in a position of great power in htis country who has the freedom to speak plain truths, it is Scalia and his fellow members of the Supreme Court. If they really want to be persuasive, they might find that straight talk goes a lot further than spin.


Ocean-going ships carry, as ballast, seawater that is taken on in port and released at subsequent ports of call. Plankton samples from Japanese ballast water released in Oregon contained 367 taxa. Most taxa with a planktonic phase in their life cycle were found in ballast water, as were all major marine habitat and trophic groups. Transport of entire coastal planktonic assemblages across oceanic barriers to similar habitats renders bays, estuaries, and inland waters among the most threatened ecosystems in the world. Presence of taxonomically difficult or inconspicuous taxa in these samples suggests that ballast water invasions are already pervasive.


In this study, the material behavior in the T-shape microtube hydroforming (MTHF) of pure copper and stainless-steel SUS304 microtubes with an outer diameter of 500 µm and wall thickness of 100 µm was examined experimentally and numerically. This paper elucidates the basic deformation characteristics, the forming defects, and the forming limit as well as the effects of lubrication/friction and tube length. The hydroformability (bulge height) of the SUS304 microtube was shown to be higher than that of the copper microtube because of the high buckling resistance of SUS304. Good lubrication experimentally led to the high hydroformability of T-shape forming. The length of the microtube significantly affects its hydroformability. Friction resistance increases with increasing tube length and restricts the flow of the microtube material into the die cavity. By comparing the T-shape and cross-shape MHTF characteristics, we verified the hydroformability of the T-shape microtube to be superior to that of the cross-shape microtube theoretically and experimentally. In addition, the process window for T-shape MTHF had a narrower "success" area and wider buckling and folding regions than that for cross-shape MTHF. Furthermore, conventional finite element (FE) modeling without consideration of the grains was valid for MTHF processes owing to the many grains in the thickness direction.


INTRODUCTION Sick leave absenteeism is a recognized problem in all work sectors. The financial impact of sick leave has been well-documented. A profile of sick leave records can establish the extent of the sick leave problem in a workplace, the associated and predisposing factors for sick leave and the patterns of sick leave amongst workers. A baseline profile of the sick leave patterns in a workplace should be a preliminary step toward developing a programme aimed at the improvement of workers' health and attendance at work. AIM OF THE STUDY The aim of this study was to profile recorded sick leave for 2004 amongst permanent workers at the Consul Factory in Olifantsfontein, Midrand, Johannesburg in order to make recommendations to management. METHODS This was a cross-sectional study using a retrospective review of sick leave records of permanent workers at the Consul Glass factory for 2004. Information gathered included the demographic profile of workers who recorded sick leave, the frequency of sick leave, associated factors for sick leave, health care choices of workers with sick leave and the reasons for sick leave. Descriptive and analytic statistics have been presented. RESULTS • Workers over the age of fifty years had sick leave of longer duration compared to those younger than 50 years old (p<0.05). The median hours taken off for sick leave was higher in the male subgroup compared to the female subgroup of workers in the study population (p<0.05); • Workers from the production areas had more sick leave episodes for the year than workers from the non-production areas (p<0.05). Workers with bronchitis working in the production areas of the factory, had longer duration of sick leave compared to workers with bronchitis working in the nonproduction areas of the factory (p<0.05); • Workers on a variable shift schedule took more sick leave on days of the week that were unlinked to weekends and public holidays (p<0.05).A longer duration of sick leave occurred with certified sick leave compared with self reported sick leave (p<0.05); • In the study population, the majority were not medical aid members. Medical aid members had a longer duration of sick leave per episode compared to non-medical aid members (P<0.05); • Respiratory tract infection was the most common reason for sick leave. Of the ten most common reasons for sick leave, there was a significant difference in the mean number of hours of sick leave taken per episode for dental treatment and backache (p<0.05); • There was a significant difference in the mean number of hours of sick leave recommended by the four different sources of sick notes (p<0.05); • There was a significant association for worker interviews/counselling by the Human Resources' Department official and the worker having had four or more episodes of sick leave for the year (p<0.05). CONCLUSION The profile of sick leave at this company identified important associations with sick leave patterns. These significant findings provide management with baseline information, which can be used for the…


Accidents in which buses or coaches are involved cause thousands of injuries and fatalities every year. To reduce their number and severity, this paper describes an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) based on a haptic throttle pedal and emergency braking. It also proposes a computationally efficient algorithm with a methodology based on three main concepts: a simplified but accurate vehicle model, an efficient collision detection system considering the driver's intention and pedestrians wandering around the vehicle, and a risk evaluation system to generate warnings and emergency braking signals. Finally, the performance of the proposed ADAS is validated using a driving simulation cabin with a very realistic urban scenario and original elements from real buses. The results show a statistically significant improvement in safety, as the number of collisions and high-risk situations are clearly minimized, the reaction time to press the brake pedal is improved, and the time to collision increased in emergency situations. Implementation of the proposed ADAS into city buses would potentially improve safety, reducing the frequency and severity of accidents in pedestrians.


Adaptive gain equalizer (AGE) is a commonly used single-channel speech enhancement algorithm. AGE and its variants has been widely used for speech enhancement applications. There are two broad categories of these variants. The first deals with its improvement in time-frequency domain with readjustment of the used parameters and the second one deals with performing the main filtering operation in modulation frequency domain. This paper evaluates the working of AGE in modulation frequency domain with the use of a demodulation technique which solves the demodulation process as a convex optimization problem. The performance of the modified AGE is compared with the traditional AGE and another modulation frequency domain AGE based on demodulation using the spectral center-of-gravity. These used performance measures are Signal to Noise Ratio Improvement(SNRI), Spectral Distortion(SD) and Mean Option Score(MOS).


OBJECTIVE
Our goal was to determine the frequency with which mammography reveals nonpalpable malignancies in women with benign palpable masses and to compare these nonpalpable malignancies with the palpable malignancies and nonpalpable malignancies detected in asymptomatic women.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS
This study of nominally asymptomatic women involved 85,399 consecutive mammographic examinations, of which 3459 (4.1%) examinations were performed on women who had palpable masses identified before or at the time of mammography. A medical outcomes audit identified mammographic examinations after which breast cancer was diagnosed and determined selected surrogate measures for mortality reduction for the mammographically detected malignancies.

RESULTS
Of the 3459 examinations in women with palpable masses, 64 cases of cancer were revealed by mammography. Of these, 54 cases involved palpable malignancies (15.6/1000 examinations) and 10 involved nonpalpable malignancies (2.6/1000 examinations). Of the 81,940 examinations in asymptomatic women, 346 cases of nonpalpable cancer were detected (4.2/1000 examinations). Of the 10 cases of nonpalpable cancer detected in women with benign palpable masses, median tumor size was 13.8 mm, 10% had axillary node metastasis, and 10% were stage 2 or higher. The corresponding surrogate measures for cases of nonpalpable cancer detected in asymptomatic women were median tumor size, 13.6 mm; node metastasis, 7%; stage 2 or higher, 14%. The surrogate measures for the 54 palpable malignancies were median tumor size, 23.7 mm; node metastasis, 31%; stage 2 or higher, 63%.

CONCLUSION
The surrogate measures for the nonpalpable malignancies in women with benign palpable lesions resemble those in asymptomatic women and are much more favorable than those of palpable malignancies. Therefore, in women with a palpable breast mass, it is important to use mammography to screen the remainder of both breasts for nonpalpable cancer.


As cyberspace matures, the international system faces a new challenge in confronting the use of force. Non-State actors continue to grow in importance, gaining the skill and the expertise necessary to wage asymmetric warfare using non-traditional weaponry that can create devastating real-world consequences. The international legal system must adapt to this battleground and provide workable mechanisms to hold aggressive actors accountable for their actions. The International Criminal Court—the only criminal tribunal in the world with global reach—holds significant promise in addressing this threat. The Assembly of State Parties should construct the definition of aggression to include these emerging challenges. By structuring the definition to confront the challenges of cyberspace—specifically non-State actors, the disaggregation of warfare, and new conceptions of territoriality—the International Criminal Court can become a viable framework of accountability for the wars of the twenty-first century.


The goal of loyalty reward program is to retain customers who are profitable to the organization. However most airlines have very little understanding of their customers yet have a little knowledge about their most valuable passengers. This study is aimed to analyze financial aspects of customer value to the company in the context of aviation loyalty reward program in Indonesia. Financial value of customers is analyzed using CLV approach. Modeling of financial value of the members to the airline is developed by performing regression analysis of CLV against RFM and the associated socio-demographic characteristics of the members. This study used secondary data of customer profiles and financial transactions of the Garuda Frequent Flyer members in 2012. The empirical findings observed in this study explain that the financial value of the frequent flyer members to the airline is influenced by RFM, Gender, Age, and Frequent Flyer Tier levels. It is also found that the RFM valuation is aligned with CLV analysis. The result contributes to the knowledge of aviation loyalty program by improving the effectiveness from the aspect of capitalizing on the lifetime value of the members, and to the industry in designing proper marketing strategy and implementing accurate marketing functions in term of Frequent Flyer Program.


The main point of our article 'Hypnotic phenomena and altered states of consciousness: A multilevel framework of description and explanation' was to clarify, explicate and reveal the differences between current theoretical viewpoints in explaining hypnosis. Furthermore, we wanted to present a research programme and propose some experiments that if carried out, might lend decisive support to either the Nonstate View (NSV) or the State View (SV) approaches to hypnosis. The commentaries revealed that the concept of altered state of consciousness (ASC) still lacks a commonly accepted definition and is in need of further clarification. The controversy between NSV and SV of hypnosis seems to boil down to the question concerning the explanatory power of the neural level and especially to what the results at this level tell us. In this reply we further clarify the multilevel framework of explanation, the problems associated with the concept of ASC, and we explain the rationale for our proposal of using virtuosos as a model system in hypnosis research. Copyright © 2005 British Society of Experimental and Clinical Hypnosis


Historically, performance has been the most important feature when optimizing computer hardware. Modern processors are so highly optimized that every cycle of computation time matters. However, this practice of optimizing for performance at all costs has been called into question by new microarchitectural attacks, e.g. Meltdown and Spectre. Microarchitectural attacks exploit the effects of microarchitectural components or optimizations in order to leak data to an attacker. These attacks have caused processor manufacturers to introduce performance impacting mitigations in both software and silicon. To investigate the performance impact of the various mitigations, a test suite of forty-seven different tests was created. This suite was run on a series of virtual machines that tested both Ubuntu 16 and Ubuntu 18. These tests investigated the performance change across version updates and the performance impact of CPU core number vs. default microarchitectural mitigations. The testing proved that the performance impact of the microarchitectural mitigations is non-trivial, as the percent difference in performance can be as high as 200%.


Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), a new type of proton conductor, have undergone rapid development due to their available crystal structure and excellent film-forming ability. However, few MOFs for proton conduction have shown good chemical stability in practical applications, mainly tolerance to water, acid, base and organic solvents, and even if they are stable, their stabilities have been roughly confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD). Herein, we select a chemically stable lanthanide oxalatophosphonate framework with proton conductivity as an example, and present an effective approach to analyzing and evaluating its chemical stability based on the bulk phase and surface structure. More concretely, its framework integrity, complete ratio (of defects), surface morphology and coordination environment have been characterized by using powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), optical microscopy (OM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The study provides a new insight into understanding chemical stability based on the materials themselves and shows a positive result for MOFs and their related materials in industrial applications.


Children who, for some reason, are inferior in performance to their peers in certain domains of development often experience the feeling of falling short. This applies to children who are poor in motor skills and/or in academic skills such as spoken and written language. Although a relatively small group of children is affected by such problems, the problems may have serious implications for those concerned. Some children seem to be affected in the motor domain only, while others seem to experience problems only with relation to spoken and/or written language. Still, the coincidence of motor and language/writing impairments in children is considerable, and too large to be fortuitous. It is believed that intervention and prevention programs will be more effective if based upon knowledge about underlying sources of the observed problems. The aim of the present thesis, therefore, is to do a theoretical and empirical investigation of putative underlying sources of language (including both oral language and reading) and motor impairments in children, from a neuropsychological perspective. To that end, Chapter 1 provides a theoretical introduction to the theme motor/language impairment syndromes and presents different theoretic explanations that has been suggested in the literature, as to why such syndromes often co-occur. From a social scientific point of view, these syndromes may be regarded as indirectly linked mediated by social constraints such as, for example, self-esteem. However, from a neuropsychological perspective, language and motor impairments in children are regarded as directly related, due to a developmental lag or a deficit in the nervous system. That will be the main focus of the present thesis. From this perspective, several underlying neurological deficits that could account for language as well as motor impairments have been suggested. These are related to different neurological sites such as, for example, the cerebellum and the corpus callosum. Cerebellar explanations have been invoked to account for postural problems in language impaired children and dyslexics as well as temporal problems in both the motor and language domains. Bimanual co-ordination problems and other laterality problems observed in dyslexics, language impaired children as well as motor impaired children have been attributed to callosal dysfunction. A more recent theoretical explanation is the magnocellular theory, related to a certain kind of fast conducting nerve cells that bring information from the retina to the visual cortex. This theory was, originally, introduced as an explanatory factor of dyslexia, but was later suggested to play a role in motor impairment as well. Chapter 2 reports an exploratory study using quantitative and qualitative methods in attempt to identify putative neurological deficiencies that may account for the co-occurrence of motor and cognitive (measured as psycholinguistic abilities) impairments in a sample (N = 15) of 6-10 years old (oral) language impaired children. A subgroup of n = 4 children that are week in both language and cognitive functions is identified. The cerebellar deficit hypothesis and the inter/intra-hemispheric deficit hypothesis are discussed as candidate explanations. The inter- versus intra-hemispheric deficit hypothesis is further validated in Chapter 3. The same subgroup of four children as that identified in Chapter 2 is tested on two different movement tasks designed to measure inter- and intra- hemispheric functions. The results are discussed in the light of Liederman's shielding model. This model emphasises the role of the corpus callosum in shielding information between the hemispheres, which is necessary in order to allow for independent processing. In Chapter 4 the focus shifts to motor co-ordination problems per se. A task that is particularly difficult for children with poor motor co-ordination, is that of catching a ball, a task imposed by severe spatial and temporal constraints. It is believed that information about where this task breaks down, at the spatial or temporal component, will provide clues as to what could be the underlying causes of the co-ordination problems. In order to separate out the temporal and spatial aspects of the catching task, two experiments are designed, one emphasising the reaching action (spatial orientation), the other emphasising the grasping action (imposed by temporal constraints). The performance of a sample (n = 8) of 10-11 year old children with poor motor skills is compared to that of an equal sized control group on these tasks. The temporal and spatial deficits discovered are discussed with relation to the distal and proximal proprioceptive systems as well as the visual system. The question whether the underlying problem is related to a visual or proprioceptive deficit, or to a combination of visual and proprioceptive deficits, is further explored in Chapter 5. Chapter 5 is written as a Research Note in extension of Chapter 4, using the same subjects. The groups are compared on two tests of proprioception, designed for the purpose of measuring inter-/ and intra hemispheric information processing (same tasks as those used in Chapter 3), and three different tests of visual perception, designed to measure magno- and parvocellular function. The results are discussed with relation to visual processing and maturation of the corpus callosum. In Chapter 6 the visual perceptual problems suggested in Chapters 4 and 5 are investigated with relation to both motor and reading impairment on an extended group of 10-11 year old children. Three groups of n = 8 children are selected from a larger sample (N = 102), one group which is motor impaired only, one which is both motor and language impaired, as well as a normal control group. These groups are compared on the same visual tests (with the exclusion of one) as those used in Chapter 5. Based on the results from the group comparisons and a correlation analyses, magno- and parvocellular involvement in both motor and reading tasks, as well as in motor and reading impairments, is discussed. Finally, Chapter 7 contains a summary and a general discussion that evaluates the theoretical positions presented in Chapter 1 in the light of the empirical studies reported in Chapters 2 – 6. Conclusions and suggestions for further studies are made.


Is civility dead? Americans ask this question every election season, but their concern is hardly limited to political campaigns. Doubts about civility regularly arise in just about every aspect of American public life. Rudeness runs rampant. Our news media is saturated with aggressive bluster and vitriol. Our digital platforms teem with expressions of disrespect and trolls. Reflecting these conditions, surveys show that a significant majority of Americans believe we are living in an age of unusual anger and discord. Everywhere we look, there seems to be conflict and hostility, with shared respect and consideration nowhere to be found. In a country that encourages thick skins and speaking one's mind, is civility even possible, let alone desirable?In How Civility Works (Stanford University Press, 2016), Keith J. Bybee explores the "crisis" in civility, looking closely at how civility intertwines with our long history of boorish behavior and the ongoing quest for pleasant company. Bybee argues that the very features that make civility ineffective and undesirable also point to civility's power and appeal. Can we all get along? If we live by the contradictions on which civility depends, then yes, we can, and yes, we should.


This study examined recent coccolith surface sediment assemblages across the Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean (from Punta Arenas, Chile to Wellington, New Zealand). Twenty five stations located within 44.4°S to 65.4°S and 80.1°W to 174.5°E were selected in order to assess if and how the surface sediment assemblages reflect the present-day coccolithophore community and surface- water oceanographic conditions. The highest numbers of coccoliths in the surface sediments are reached near the East Pacific Rise and close to the Subtropical Front, at the New Zealand Margin (>6x109 coccoliths/g of sediment). The dominant taxa are Emiliania huxleyi (including types A, B, B/C and C), Calcidiscus leptoporus, Gephyrocapsa spp. (including G. muellerae, G. oceanica and G. ericsonii), Umbellosphaera tenuis and Coccolithus braarudii. Despite the recognition of species morphotypes being hampered by carbonate dissolution at some locations, we observed that numbers generally decrease southward until almost a monospecific and sporadic record of E. huxleyi (types B/C and C) and C. leptoporus south of the Polar Front occurs. The recent coccolithophore distribution was compared to already published living coccolithophore distributions (i.e., water column samples collected at the same specific locations) showing a fairly similar pattern. Combining the numbers of cells/l and coccoliths/g of sediment, different coccolithophore assemblages were established coincidentwith areas bounded by the major surface oceanographic fronts, i.e. the Subantarctic Zone and the Polar Front Zone.


A longitudinal model of parent academic involvement, behavioral problems, achievement, and aspirations was examined for 463 adolescents, followed from 7th (approximately 12 years old) through 11th (approximately 16 years old) grades. Parent academic involvement in 7th grade was negatively related to 8th-grade behavioral problems and positively related to 11th-grade aspirations. There were variations across parental education levels and ethnicity: Among the higher parental education group, parent academic involvement was related to fewer behavioral problems, which were related to achievement and then aspirations. For the lower parental education group, parent academic involvement was related to aspirations but not to behavior or achievement. Parent academic involvement was positively related to achievement for African Americans but not for European Americans. Parent academic involvement may be interpreted differently and serve different purposes across sociodemographic backgrounds.


I argue that free will and determinism are compatible, even when we take free will to require the ability to do otherwise and even when we interpret that ability modally, as the possibility of doing otherwise, and not just conditionally or dispositionally. My argument draws on a distinction between physical and agential possibility. Although in a deterministic world only one future sequence of events is physically possible for each state of the world, the more coarsely defined state of an agent and his or her environment can be consistent with more than one such sequence, and thus different actions can be "agentially possible". The agential perspective is supported by our best theories of human behaviour, and so we should take it at face value when we refer to what an agent can and cannot do. On the picture I defend, free will is not a physical phenomenon, but a higher-level one on a par with other higher-level phenomena such as agency and intentionality.


Abstract. This paper provides an overview of the HLRADIA shortwave (SW) and longwave (LW) broadband radiation schemes used in the HIRLAM numerical weather prediction (NWP) model and available in the HARMONIE-AROME mesoscale NWP model. The advantage of broadband, over spectral, schemes is that they can be called more frequently within the model, without compromising on computational efficiency. In mesoscale models fast interactions between clouds and radiation and the surface and radiation can be of greater importance than accounting for the spectral details of clear-sky radiation; thus calling the routines more frequently can be of greater benefit than the deterioration due to loss of spectral details. Fast but physically based radiation parametrizations are expected to be valuable for high-resolution ensemble forecasting, because as well as the speed of their execution, they may provide realistic physical perturbations. Results from single-column diagnostic experiments based on CIRC benchmark cases and an evaluation of 10 years of radiation output from the FMI operational archive of HIRLAM forecasts indicate that HLRADIA performs sufficiently well with respect to the clear-sky downwelling SW and longwave LW fluxes at the surface. In general, HLRADIA tends to overestimate surface fluxes, with the exception of LW fluxes under cold and dry conditions. The most obvious overestimation of the surface SW flux was seen in the cloudy cases in the 10-year comparison; this bias may be related to using a cloud inhomogeneity correction, which was too large. According to the CIRC comparisons, the outgoing LW and SW fluxes at the top of atmosphere are mostly overestimated by HLRADIA and the net LW flux is underestimated above clouds. The absorption of SW radiation by the atmosphere seems to be underestimated and LW absorption seems to be overestimated. Despite these issues, the overall results are satisfying and work on the improvement of HLRADIA for the use in HARMONIE-AROME NWP system is ongoing. In a HARMONIE-AROME 3-D forecast experiment we have shown that the frequency of the call for the radiation parametrization and choice of the parametrization scheme makes a difference to the surface radiation fluxes and changes the spatial distribution of the vertically integrated cloud cover and precipitation.


Energy and indoor air quality concerns have motivated extensive research on air infiltration and ventilation in buildings. Airflow models have been developed to study the problem and to assist in the building design process. Existing research concentrates on measurements, modelling and predictions of steady-state airflow caused by wind-induced pressures, thermal buoyancy and mechanical ventilation systems. Wind-induced pressures on building envelopes have temporal variations due mainly to the wind gustiness. The resultant airflow has both mean and fluctuating components. Existing research shows discrepancies between the current steady-state airflow predictions and the actual air exchanges influenced by fluctuations. This thesis is devoted to the development of a comprehensive framework and methodology for airflow analysis and design assistance for buildings under both mean and fluctuating driving forces. A building airflow system is seen as two subsystems: steady-state and fluctuating. In the fluctuating airflow system, the temporal variations in wind pressures are taken as driving forces. The predictions of the resultants fluctuating airflow and internal pressures are based on the statistical linearization of flow relations, proper considerations of large openings, the system theoretic approach to governing equation formulations, and, frequency and spectral analyses for solutions. By combining both fluctuating and mean airflow solutions, the total air exchange in a building is obtained. Three types of validation strategies are employed. Numerical simulations are carried out to evaluate the effects of the statistical linearization on solutions. Laboratory experiments are designed, implemented and conducted to validate the fundamental relations. The theoretical predications are also compared to field experimental data. The fluctuating airflow model provides correct predictions for the simulation conditions and the experimental setups. In addition, modelling and sensitivity analysis procedures for steady-state airflow systems using a system theoretic approach are developed to calculate the influences on airflow results of the variations in building and climatic conditions, and to facilitate error analysis and building ventilation designs. Future research directions include: the incorporation into the existing research paradigm of the developed sensitivity analysis procedure and fluctuating airflow model, and the acquisition of more suitable data on characteristics of fluctuating driving forces.


A high-resolution C isotope profile from a fossiliferous section spanning the Precambrian-Cambrian (PC-C) boundary on the Yangtze Platform, southwest China, is used to constrain C isotope chemostratigraphy and its global correlation. The discovery of a strong negative C isotopic anomaly just below the China marker A indicates that this negative anomaly can be correlated globally, and demonstrates that the PC-C boundary of the Chinese successions should be close to marker A. On the basis of C isotope chemostratigraphic constraints and biostratigraphic data, we find that C isotopic peak S2, also first reported here from the Chinese successions, can be correlated with C isotopic peak I in northern Siberia and C isotope feature D in southwest Mongolia. By integrating the data from archaeocyaeothan fauna, the C isotopic peak S3 in the middle Dahai carbonates may be correlative with feature G in the Mongolian section.


We implemented a new experimental scheme for the generation of single-shot extreme-UV continua that exploits a combination of transform-limited 15 fs, 800 nm pulses and chirped 35 fs, 800 nm pulses with orthogonal polarizations. Continua are interpreted as the formation of a single attosecond pulse and attributed to the interplay between polarization, ionization gating, and trajectory selection operated by suitable phase-matching conditions.


Background: The goal of aesthetic otoplasty is the correction of ear deformities by creating harmonious and symmetrical external ears, without visible scars. Otoplasty techniques based on the excision of postauricular skin are associated with high recurrence rates. Modern otoplasty is based on cartilage-cutting and cartilage-sparing techniques, alone or in combination, which lead to lower recurrence rates. Objective: We evaluated the efficacy of otoplasty combined with other techniques in the correction of ear deformities, based on a modified version of the "algorithm for otoplasty at the Craniofacial Center at Texas Children's Hospital". Methods: Forty patients, who underwent otoplasty for prominent ears in our institution between March and September of 2009, were prospectively assessed. The mastoid-helix distance was measured preoperatively (baseline) and at 1, 3, and 6 months postoperatively. Results: The most common deformities were scaphoconchal angle greater than 90° (51.3%, 41/80 ears) and conchal hypertrophy > 2.5 cm (46.3%, 37/80 ears). Recurrence occurred in 2 (5%) patients and partial stenosis of the ear canal in 1 (2.5%). Significant reductions in the mastoid-helix distance were observed at the three time points compared with baseline (P<0.001); a significant reduction was present in the immediate postoperative period (P<0.001), followed by a small increase 3 months postoperatively (P<0.005), which appeared to stabilize between 3-6 months postoperatively (P=0.520). Conclusion: Otoplasty performed according to the modified algorithm resulted in a significant reduction of the mastoid-helix distance, which slightly increased in the early postoperative period, and remained unchanged 6 months postoperatively.


The plasma generating parts of ion sources including their power supplies are usually floated to high potential (ion extraction voltage), thus requiring great insulation efforts and high costs for high-energy ion beams. A new concept for pulsed ion sources is presented in which a single power supply is used to simultaneously produce the plasma and high extractor voltage via a modified Marx generator. Proof-of-principle experiments have been performed with high-current spark discharges in vacuum where multiply charged ions are produced with this Marx-generator based ion source ("Magis"). Using "Magis", it has been demonstrated that pulsed ion beams of very high energies can be obtained with relatively low voltage. For copper, ion of charge states up to 7+ have been found whose energy was 112 keV for a charging voltage of only 10 kV.


Vibrio mimicus is a causative agent of human gastroenteritis and food poisoning, and this species produces an enterotoxic hemolysin (V. mimicus hemolysin) as a virulence determinant. Vibrio mimicus hemolysin is secreted as an 80 kDa precursor, which is later converted to the 66 kDa mature toxin through removal of an N‐terminal propeptide via cleavage of the Arg151–Ser152 bond. In this article, we investigate the role of the endogenous metalloprotease (V. mimicus protease) in the maturation of V. mimicus hemolysin. In vitro experiments using purified proteins showed that, although it activated the precursor at the early stage via cleavage of the Asn157–Val158 bond, V. mimicus protease finally converted the activated and physiologically maturated toxin to a 51 kDa protein through removal of the C‐terminal polypeptide. This 51 kDa derivative was unable to lyse erythrocytes because of its inability to bind to the erythrocyte membrane. Vibrio mimicus protease‐negative strains were found to produce high levels of V. mimicus hemolysin at the logarithmic phase of bacterial growth and maintained high hemolytic activity even at the stationary phase. These findings indicate that, although it is not directly related to toxin maturation in vivo, V. mimicus protease can modulate the activity of V. mimicus hemolysin and/or its precursor through limited proteolysis.


Background The covid-19 pandemic brought negative impacts in almost every country in the world. These impacts were observed mainly in the public health sphere, with a rapid raise and spread of the disease and failed attempts to restrain it while there was no treatment. However, in developing countries, the impacts were severe in other aspects such as the intensification of social inequality, poverty and food insecurity. Specifically in Brazil, the miscommunication among the government layers conducted the control measures to a complete chaos in a country of continental dimensions. Brazil made an effort to register granular informative data about the case reports and their outcomes, while this data is available and can be consumed freely, there are issues concerning the integrity and inconsistencies between the real number of cases and the number of notifications in this dataset. Results We projected and implemented four types of analysis to explore the Brazilian public dataset of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (srag dataset) notifications and the google dataset of community mobility change (mobility dataset). These analysis provides some diagnosis of data integration issues and strategies to integrate data and experimentation of surveillance analysis. The first type of analysis aims at describing and exploring the data contained in both datasets, starting by assessing the data quality concerning missing data, then summarizing the patterns found in this datasets. The Second type concerns an statistical experiment to estimate the cases from mobility patterns organized in periods of time. We also developed, as the third analysis type, an algorithm to help the understanding of the disease waves by detecting them and compare the time periods across the cities. Lastly, we build time series datasets considering deaths, overall cases and residential mobility change in regular time periods and used as features to group cities with similar behavior. Conclusion The exploratory data analysis showed the under representation of covid-19 cases in many small cities in Brazil that were absent in the srag dataset or with a number of cases very low than real projections. We also assessed the availability of data for the Brazilian cities in the mobility dataset in each state, finding out that not all the states were represented and the best coverage occurred in Rio de Janeiro state. We compared the capacity of place categories mobility change combination on estimating the number of cases measuring the errors and identifying the best components in mobility that could affect the cases. In order to target specific strategies for groups of cities, we compared strategies to cluster cities that obtained similar outcomes behavior along the time, highlighting the divergence on handling the disease. Availability https://github.com/YasCoMa/dashboard-srag-mobility


Educating students for higher-order thinking provides them with tools that turn them into more critical thinkers. This supports them in overcoming life problems that they encounter, as well as becoming an integral part of the society. This students' education is attended to by educational organisations that emphasise the positive consequences of educating students for higher-order thinking, including creative thinking. One way to do that is through educational programmes that educate for higher-order thinking. One such programme is the Cognitive Research Trust (CoRT) thinking programme. The present research intended to examine the effect of the participation of Grade 6 students in a CoRT programme on their creative thinking. Fifty-three students participated in the research; 27 participated in a CoRT programme, while 26 did not participate in such programme. The ANCOVA test showed that the students who participated in the CoRT programme outperformed significantly, in creative thinking, the students who did not. Moreover, the students in the CoRT programme whose achievement scores were between 86 and 100 outperformed significantly the other achievement groups of students. Furthermore, students with reported high ability outperformed significantly the other ability groups of students. The results did not show statistically significant differences in students' creativity attributed to gender.


We use fine-detuning of pump wavelengths to adjust the tap phases in a complex-coefficient optical tapped-delay-line that utilizes conversion/dispersion-based delays and nonlinear wave mixing. Full 2π phase tuning is demonstrated by detuning the frequency of laser pumps by <20  GHz, which shows close agreement with theory.


In this paper we introduce R-CARP, a reputation based channel aware routing protocol for underwater acoustic sensor networks (UASNs). While many routing protocols have been proposed for UASNs, solutions to secure routing protocols from attacks such as sinkhole attack and selective forwarding are still overlooked. These routing attacks can dramatically disrupt network performance, especially in some application scenarios such as homeland security and critical infrastructure monitoring, where a high reliability on message delivery is required. Designing secure and reliable protocols for UASNs is particularly challenging due to acoustic modems unique characteristics such as low bandwidth and bit rate, high propagation delays and high energy consumption when in transmit mode. The aim of this work is therefore to propose R-CARP, a secure and reliable routing protocol tailored to such communication constrained environment. R-CARP is an improved version of CARP, the channel aware routing protocol presented in [5], enriched with a reputation based mechanism to contrast malicious node behavior. To secure R-CARP we employ BLS, a short digital signature algorithm, exploiting its aggregation property to reduce the additional communication overhead. By means of simulation based performance evaluation, we show that, under attack, R-CARP is effective at bypassing malicious nodes and outperforms CARP in terms of packet delivery ratio (PDR) and energy per bit (EPB) by a factor of up to 2, at the cost of a slight increment in terms of latency.


- Projected cross point, a new current-mode control technique, is introduced and analyzed in this paper. Despite having an analog nature, the proposed method combines the advantages of both analog and digital control techniques. Unlike the conventional analog control methods, it accurately controls the average value of the inductor current with no need to a current compensator or an external ramp. In addition, while resembling the deadbeat characteristics of digital controllers, projected cross point control does not suffer from computational time delay, limit cycling, and quantization and truncation errors. Dynamic performance of the proposed approach is compared with the existing control methods. Analytical analysis and simulation results show the superior accuracy and transient response of projected cross point control approach.


By utilizing single particle interferometry, the fidelity or coherence of a pair of quantum states is identified with their capacity for interference. We consider processes acting on the internal degree of freedom (e.g., spin or polarization) of the interfering particle, preparing it in states ρA or ρB in the respective path of the interferometer. The maximal visibility depends on the choice of interferometer, as well as the locality or non-locality of the preparations, but otherwise depends only on the states ρA and ρB and not the individual preparation processes themselves. This allows us to define interferometric measures which probe locality and correlation properties of spatially or temporally separated processes, and can be used to differentiate between processes that cannot be distinguished by direct process tomography using only the internal state of the particle.


Background:Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are membrane-enclosed particles released by cells as a means of intercellular communication. They are potential novel biomarkers, as they are readily isolated from body fluids, and their composition reflects disease pathways. Whether these particles are released from sites of intestinal inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has not previously been determined. Methods:EVs were isolated by ultracentrifugation of colonic luminal fluid aspirates and characterized according to surface proteins, and constituent mRNA and proteins. The effects of EVs on colonic epithelial cells and macrophages in culture were assessed at the transcriptional, translational, and functional levels. Results:Intestinal luminal aspirates contained abundant EVs, at a mean concentration of 4.3 × 1011 particles/mL and with a mean diameter of 146 nm. EVs from patients with IBD with a high endoscopic score (≥1) contained significantly higher mRNA and protein levels of interleukin 6 (IL-6), IL-8, IL-10, and tumor necrosis factor &agr; than EVs from healthy controls. EVs were absorbed by cultured colonic epithelial cells, leading to an increased translation of IL-8 protein by recipient cells when treated with EVs from patients with IBD. EVs and EV-treated epithelial cells induced migration of a significantly greater number of macrophages than epithelial cells alone. Conclusions:EVs shed from sites of intestinal inflammation in patients with IBD have a distinct mRNA and protein profile from those of healthy individuals. These EVs have proinflammatory effects on the colonic epithelium, in vitro. Their stability in luminal samples and their mRNA and protein content identify them as a potential fecal biomarker that reflects mucosal inflammatory pathways.


Cold chamber high pressure die casting, (HPDC), is an important commercial process for the production of complex near net shape aluminium and magnesium alloy castings. The work presented in the thesis was aimed at investigating the microstructure formation in this type of casting. The solidification characteristics related to the process and the alloys control the formation of grains and defects. This again has a significant impact on the mechanical properties of the castings.The investigations were carried out mainly using the AM60 magnesium alloy and the A356 aluminium alloy. Two different casting arrangements were used: the cold chamber HPDC and the gravity die casting methods, which allowed for different flow and solidification conditions. The microstructures in the castings were investigated using optical microscopy, image analysis, scanning electron microscopy, electron back scatter diffraction measurements and electron probe microanalysis.In the HPDC experiments, the shot sleeve solidification conditions were investigated primarily by changing the melt superheat on pouring. This significantly affected the microstructures in the castings. The fraction of externally solidified crystals (ESCs) was consistently found to be largest near the gate in both the AM60 and the A356 die castings. This was attributed to the inherent shot sleeve solidification conditions and the flow set up by the plunger movement. When the superheat was increased, a lower fraction of ESCs was found in the castings. Furthermore, a high superheat gave ESCs with branched dendritic/elongated trunk morphology whilst a low superheat generated coarser and more globular ESCs, both in the AM60 and the A356 castings. The ESCs typically segregated towards the central region of the cross sections at further distances from the gate in the die castings.When a thin layer of thermal insulating coating was applied on the shot sleeve wall in the production of AM60 die castings, it nearly removed all ESCs in the castings. Using an A356 alloy, (and no shot sleeve coating), with no Ti in solution gave a significantly lower fraction of ESCs, whereas AlTi5B1 grain refiner additions induced an increase in the fraction of ESCs and a significantly finer grain size in the castings. The formation of globular ESCs was enhanced when AlTi5B1 grain refiner was added to the A356 alloy.In controlled laboratory gravity die casting experiments, typical HPDC microstructures were created by pouring semi-solid metal into a steel die: The ESCs were found to segregate/migrate to the central region during flow, until a maximum packing, (fraction of ESCs of ~35-40%), was reached. The extent of segregation is determined by the fraction of ESCs, and the die temperature affects the position of the ESCs. The segregation of ESCs was explained to occur during flow as a result of lift forces.The formation of banded defects has also been studied: the position of the bands was affected by the die temperature and the fraction of ESCs. Based on the nature of the bands and their occurrence, a new theory on the formation of defect bands was proposed: During flow the solid distribution from the die wall consists of three regions: 1) a solid fraction gradient at the wall; 2) a low solid fraction region which carries (3) a network of ESCs. A critical fraction solid exists where the deformation rate exceeds the interdendritic flow rate. When the induced stress exceeds the network strength, deformation can occur by slip, followed by liquid flow. The liquid flow is caused by solidification shrinkage, hydrostatic pressure on the interior ESC network, and gaps forming which draw in liquid.


The western corn rootworm (WCR - Diabrotica virgifera virgifera Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) is an important maize pest worldwide and the most damaging part of the beetle's life cycle is the below ground feeding of the larvae on the maize roots. The larvae use CO2 to locate maize roots. This orientation cue can be incorporated into the chemical control of the larvae by attracting them to a soil insecticide (Tefluthrin) with CO2 emitting capsules, implementing an "Attract & Kill" (A&K) strategy. This mechanism is eventually aiming at enhancing insecticide activity and reducing the application rate of Tefluthrin. Due to the cryptic feeding habit WCR larvae are difficult to observe, so non destructive methodologies were developed to evaluate larval behaviour, movement and spatial distribution. Furthermore the management of the larvae with the capsules alone and in an "Attract & Kill" combination were tested under semi field and field conditions.
1. Changes in the spatial distribution of WCR larvae were studied in an observation device at a fine scale (resolution 4.5 x 5 cm) and at a semi field scale with soil stratification (resolution 16 x 13 cm) to gain knowledge on basic WCR larval spatial ecology at a plant scale:
a) WCR larvae initially distribute in a major cluster close to their point of insertion and then actively disperse in the root system over time. The overall distribution in the root system remains aggregated.
b) WCR larvae move to more developed root parts around the plant base and also exhibit an increased vertical movement over time.
c) Differences in root phenology have a minor influence on spatial distribution changes.
2. The influence of CO2 emitting capsules on the spatial and temporal distribution of WCR larvae was investigated in an observation device. Mortality rates of WCR larvae with an A&K strategy were analysed at different application rates of Tefluthrin and compared with a conventional treatment of Tefluthrin in the root system:
a) WCR larvae initially aggregate at and around the capsules but move away from the capsules over time.
b) With the addition of Tefluthrin to the capsules, WCR larvae were targeted in an A&K approach. The mortality of WCR larvae significantly increased compared to a conventional treatment of Tefluthrin in the root system at lower insecticide application rates.
3. CO2 emission by the capsules and the control of the larvae with the capsules alone and in an "Attract & Kill" strategy were tested. Under semi field conditions the reduction in larval densities in the greenhouse and under field conditions the reduction in root damage was measured:
a) CO2 levels around the capsules increased in the soil for up to 20 days at greenhouse and 28 days under field conditions.
b) Application of the capsules between the maize rows alone reduced larval densities by up to 17 % under semi field conditions but could not reduce root damage under field conditions.
c) The combination of the capsules with Tefluthrin between the maize rows reduced larval densities by up to 27% under semi field and root damage up to 30% under field conditions. The insecticide activity could not be enhanced compared to a conventional application of Tefluthrin only in the maize rows.
d) The combination of the capsules with Tefluthrin in the maize rows under field conditions could increase the reduction in root damage by up to 15% at a quarter of the standard application of Tefluthrin compared to an application of Tefluthrin only.


This study used a modified White Christmas task to examine reports of electronic voice phenomena (EVP) within random noise. Following familiarization with the concept of EVP, 107 participants listened to an audio track combining white and pink noise. Instructions directed participants to press a keyboard button to indicate if they heard EVP. At the end of the track, participants provided an overall confidence rating of EVP perception. Thirty-nine participants (36%) reported the presence of EVP. Comparisons between EVP experiencers vs. non-experiencers on cognitive-perceptual (schizotypy, hallucinations, and fantasy proneness) and paranormal belief measures (general and haunting) revealed no significant differences. A path analysis indicated that belief in haunting mediated the relations between paranormal belief and hallucination proneness with EVP outcomes (number and confidence). However, fantasy proneness and schizotypy did not have significant relations with EVP. Results were consistent with previous findings, where participants imagine hearing the famous White Christmas song. Within this study, a non-trivial minority of participants experienced EVP as a form of belief congruent hallucination. These findings support the notion that anomalous beliefs provide a framework for structuring unusual cognitions and perceptions.


This short essay, written as an introduction to a symposium on federalism, asks whether there is a judicially enforceable constitutional boundary of exclusive state authority beyond which Congress cannot reach and whether there are areas of state autonomy that may be judicially implied from the nature of our federal system. While the modern Supreme Court's answer to these questions is clearly yes, this essay argues that the text and structure of the Constitution establish that there are no judicially enforceable limits on Congressional power in the cause of federalism, beyond those in the literal text of the Constitution. I do not rely on the political safeguards of federalism. The Framers did provide the States with three important powers to influence the composition and functioning of the federal government - the powers to select Senators, determine the qualifications for voting for Representatives, and determine the method for selecting Presidential electors. But through a wave of constitutional amendments and collective political action, the citizens of the United States have eliminated or practically nullified these state powers. In consequence, the States today constitute one special interest group out of many. The nullification of these constitutional prerogatives that the States once enjoyed argues against implying judicially enforceable states' rights. States' rights federalism may have been necessary in a fragmented country, with an embryonic national identity, where the people of one region were ignorant and suspicious of the people of the others. But as our common national identity took shape, and the bonds of the nation subsumed parochial interests, states' rights federalism became an anachronism. The Constitution does continue to contain several explicit rights in the States that must be honored, but there is no warrant for the Supreme Court to reinstate what has been removed, by creating implied spheres of exclusive state autonomy. In short, it is time to acknowledge what the Constitution, viewed as a whole, now makes clear - that the United States has plenary sovereign powers over the several States.


To assess the effect of pedogenesis on the soil moisture dynamics influencing the character and quality of ecological habitat, we conducted infiltration and redistribution experiments on three alluvial deposits in the Mojave National Preserve: (i) recently deposited active wash sediments, (ii) a soil of early Holocene age, and (iii) a highly developed soil of late Pleistocene age. At each, we ponded water in a 1‐m‐diameter infiltration ring for 2.3 h and monitored soil water content and matric pressure during and after infiltration, using probes and electrical resistivity imaging (ERI). Infiltration and downward flow rates were greater in younger material, favoring deep‐rooted species. Deep‐rooted species tend to colonize the margins of washes, where they are unaffected by sediment transport that inhibits colonization. The ERI results support important generalizations, for example that shallower than 0.5 m, infiltrated water persists longer in highly developed soil, favoring shallow‐rooted species. Soil moisture data for the two youngest soils suggested that saturation overshoot, which may have significant but unexplored hydroecologic and pedogenic effects, occurred at the horizontally advancing wetting front. Spatial heterogeneity of soil properties generally increased with pedogenic development. Evidence suggested that some early‐stage developmental processes may promote uniformity; the intermediate‐age soil appeared to have the least heterogeneity in terms of textural variation with depth, and also the least anisotropy. Lateral heterogeneity was pronounced in older soil, having a multitude of effects on the distribution and retention of soil water, and may facilitate certain water‐conserving strategies of plants over what would be possible in a laterally homogeneous soil.


Judges have a tendency to be more demanding than regulators. In the United States, a majority of the courts has adopted the rule that the unexcused violation of a statutory standard is negligence per se. However, the converse does not hold: compliance with regulation does not relieve the injurer of tort liability. In most European legal systems, the outcome is similar. We use a framework in which, on the one hand, the effects of tort law are undermined by insolvency and evidence problems and, on the other hand, regulation is expensive in terms of monitoring and information gathering. We show that a regulatory standard set below the socially optimal level of care can be sufficient to remove the shortcomings of tort law. In essence, this is because the injurer's cost function may have two local minima that make only major deviations from the socially desirable level of precaution advantageous for the injurer, but not minor violations. This may occur when precaution also or only reduces the magnitude of the harm and under liability for negligence.Thus, minimum regulation can completely restore optimal liability incentives. Conversely, liability reduces the cost of enforcing regulation in two ways: first, enforcing minimum regulation rather than a standard set at the socially optimal level is cheaper because it requires lower monitoring levels; second, tort liability already provides a part of the sanction for sub-optimal behavior, thus allowing for a further reduction in monitoring.Moreover, we show that minimum regulation does not need to be set at a very precise level. On the contrary, any level within a certain range is socially optimal. This allows regulators to further curb their cost by saving on information gathering.We show that an imperfectly working tort system can be fully corrected by minimum regulation in a variety of circumstances (for instance, even if the injurer is unable to compensate for the harm at the optimal level of precaution, and even if the rule in force is strict liability or a cause-in-fact variant of negligence).


This paper examines pain states (and other intransitive bodily sensations) from the perspective of the problems they pose for pure informational/representational approaches to naturalizing qualia. I start with a comprehensive critical and quasi-historical discussion of so-called Perceptual Theories of Pain (e.g., Armstrong, Pitcher), as these were the natural predecessors of the more modern direct realist views. I describe the theoretical backdrop (indirect realism, sense-data theories) against which the perceptual theories were developed. The conclusion drawn is that pure representationalism about pain in the tradition of direct realist perceptual theories (e.g., Dretske, Tye) leaves out something crucial about the phenomenology of pain experiences, namely, their affective character. I touch upon the role that introspection plays in such representationalist views, and indicate how it contributes to the source of their trouble vis-a-vis bodily sensations. The paper ends by briefly commenting on the relation between the affective/evaluative component of pain and the hedonic valence of emotions.


Vaccinium myrtillus L., Vaccinium uliginosum L. and Vaccinium vitis-idaea L. are perennial, coldadapted clonal shrubs distributed throughout Europe, northern Asia and North America. Due to their usage in food (berries) and pharmaceutical industry (berries and leaves), their natural populations are exposed to anthropogenic and other impacts that affect their genetic make-up. We analyzed 14 fragmentary distributed and small-sized peripheral populations of these species from the Balkans, which represents the southeastern-European marginal area of their wide European distributions, using RAPD molecular markers. The contemporary genetic patterns in all three species within the Balkans were generally similar, and in comparison to previous reports on populations of these species found in northward Europe, where they have a more continuous distribution, the levels of genetic diversity were more or less halved, genetic differentiation was several times higher, gene flow exceptionally low, and the expected prevalence of clonal individuals was lacking. The population dynamics of all three species within the Balkans was complex and distinct, and was characterized by a past admixture of individuals from discrete populations of the same species and interspecific hybridisation not only between V. myrtillus and V. vitis-idaea but also between V. uliginosum and V. vitis-idaea, the latter not being reported to date. Conservation measures suitable for preservation of presumably genetically distinct portions of the Balkans' gene pools of studied species have been suggested, while the utility of interspecific hybrids in breeding programs and/ or in food/pharmaceutical industry is yet to be assessed.


This paper is written in Spanish. It analyzes the optimal division of labor between foundations and the public sector. Philanthropists enjoy more personal degrees of freedom than leverage over social systems, because public resources vastly exceed philanthropic resources. Given this dynamic, engaging the public sector is one of the more powerful roles that foundations can play in improving society. Working productively with government has the potential to create massive scale and impact. By nature of the scale and authority of government institutions, changes in the formulation or execution of public policy can contribute to widespread social benefit and systemic change. Many feel that foundations are well-positioned to influence these changes in public policy and can benefit from understanding the range of options and key considerations for engaging the public sector. The paper develops a framework to engage the public sector, based on three interventions: grantmaking, technical assistance, and implementation.


Climate models project increases in globally averaged atmospheric specific humidity that are close to the Clausius–Clapeyron (CC) value of around 7% K −1 whilst projections for mean annual global precipitation ( P ) and evaporation ( E ) are somewhat muted at around 2% K −1 . Such global projections are useful summaries but do not provide guidance at local (grid box) scales where impacts occur. To bridge that gap in spatial scale, previous research has shown that the "wet get wetter and dry get drier" relation, Δ( P − E ) p P − E , follows CC scaling when the projected changes are averaged over latitudinal zones. Much of the research on projected climate impacts has been based on an implicit assumption that this CC relation also holds at local (grid box) scales but this has not previously been examined. In this paper we find that the simple latitudinal average CC scaling relation does not hold at local (grid box) scales over either ocean or land. This means that in terms of P − E , the climate models do not project that the "wet get wetter and dry get drier" at the local scales that are relevant for agricultural, ecological and hydrologic impacts. In an attempt to develop a simple framework for local-scale analysis we found that the climate model output shows a remarkably close relation to the long-standing Budyko framework of catchment hydrology. We subsequently use the Budyko curve and find that the local-scale changes in P − E projected by climate models are dominated by changes in P while the changes in net irradiance at the surface due to greenhouse forcing are small and only play a minor role in changing the mean annual P − E in the climate model projections. To further understand the apparently small changes in net irradiance we also examine projections of key surface energy balance terms. In terms of global averages, we find that the climate model projections are dominated by changes in only three terms of the surface energy balance: (1) an increase in the incoming long-wave irradiance, and the respective responses (2) in outgoing long-wave irradiance and (3) in the evaporative flux, with the latter change being much smaller than the former two terms and mostly restricted to the oceans. The small fraction of the realised surface forcing that is partitioned into E explains why the hydrologic sensitivity (2% K −1 ) is so much smaller than CC scaling (7% K −1 ). Much public and scientific perception about changes in the water cycle has been based on the notion that temperature enhances E . That notion is partly true but has proved an unfortunate starting point because it has led to misleading conclusions about the impacts of climate change on the water cycle. A better general understanding of the potential impacts of climate change on water availability that are projected by climate models will surely be gained by starting with the notion that the greater the enhancement of E , the less the surface temperature increase (and vice versa). That latter notion is based on the conservation of energy and is an underlying basis of climate model projections.


With the widespread availability of cellphones and cameras that have GPS capabilities, it is common for images being uploaded to the Internet today to have GPS coordinates associated with them. In addition to research that tries to predict GPS coordinates from visual features, this also opens up the door to problems that are conditioned on the availability of GPS coordinates. In this work, we tackle the problem of performing image classification with location context, in which we are given the GPS coordinates for images in both the train and test phases. We explore different ways of encoding and extracting features from the GPS coordinates, and show how to naturally incorporate these features into a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), the current state-of-the-art for most image classification and recognition problems. We also show how it is possible to simultaneously learn the optimal pooling radii for a subset of our features within the CNN framework. To evaluate our model and to help promote research in this area, we identify a set of location-sensitive concepts and annotate a subset of the Yahoo Flickr Creative Commons 100M dataset that has GPS coordinates with these concepts, which we make publicly available. By leveraging location context, we are able to achieve almost a 7% gain in mean average precision.


The study examines the contribution of the Greens to the changing nature of West Germany's local politics in the 1980s. The changes correspond broadly to the politicisation and parliamentarisation of a sphere of government traditionally perceived as being "unpolitical". Building upon theories of the New Politics, it is suggested that the varying pace of socio-economic change across the Federal Republic underlies the nonuniform development of its local party systems. The party systems of localities which have witnessed rapid social and economic change are found to be more susceptible to the emergence of a New Politics dimension than those of communities in which change has occurred less rapidly. The thesis continues by addressing aspects of the Greens' role in the development of local party systems across the Federal Republic. Despite the fact that marked differences in the Greens' approach to local political participation are registered in communities of varying socio-economic types, it is argued that the Greens are largely responsible for the introduction of a "New Local Politics" dimension into West Germany's local party systems. In a comprehensive study of the Greens' role in the Mainz party system, the conflicting styles and practices of the Greens and the established political parties in the city are depicted. The failure of the Green Party to form an alliance with the SPD in the city council is attributed to the cleavage between the Greens' New Politics and the SPD's Old Politics approaches. A detailed analysis of the parliamentary initiatives introduced by the four parties represented in the Mainz council between 1984 and 1987 also supports the contention that a New Politics dimension exists in the city's party system. This dimension is identified as representing a significant source of conflict during the period of analysis.


Summary The normal distribution of von Willebrand factor (VWF) levels is wide. Low levels are associated with bleeding symptoms and von Willebrand disease (VWD). We have recently described a high prevalence of bleeding symptoms in a whole age group of young females (n = 1,019) from Malmo, Sweden. It was the objective of the present study to evaluate the distribution of VWF levels in young females with or without bleeding symptoms in this population, and the influence of ABO blood group and promoter haplotypes on VWF levels and to identify a possible increased prevalence of VWD in females with bleeding symptoms. A random selection of the female age group (n = 246), into a study group (n = 176) with, and a control group (n = 70) without bleeding symptoms, was evaluated. Eighteen girls had VWF:RCo below the reference range, of which 17 belonged to the study group (17/176, 9.7%), and one to the control group (1/70, 1.4%) (p = 0.017). Blood group O was found in 14/18 girls with low VWF:RCo. There was a highly significant correlation between VWF:RCo and blood group O and non-O genotypes. Two common VWF promoter haplotypes did not contribute to the VWF:RCo variation. VWF levels did not correlate with time during menstrual cycle, or the use of oral contraceptives. No case fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for VWD. In conclusion, low VWF:RCo was significantly more frequent in females with bleeding symptoms. However, we found no case fulfilling strict diagnostic criteria for VWD. The ABO blood group was a strong modifier, but VWF promoter haplotypes had no association to VWF levels in this population.


Topic models aid analysis of text corpora by identifying latent topics based on co-occurring words. Real-world deployments of topic models, however, often require intensive expert verification and model refinement. In this paper we present Termite, a visual analysis tool for assessing topic model quality. Termite uses a tabular layout to promote comparison of terms both within and across latent topics. We contribute a novel saliency measure for selecting relevant terms and a seriation algorithm that both reveals clustering structure and promotes the legibility of related terms. In a series of examples, we demonstrate how Termite allows analysts to identify coherent and significant themes.


The DSC method has been employed to monitor the kinetics of reticulation of aqueous polyurethane systems without catalysts, and with the commercial catalyst of zirconium (CAT®XC-6212) and the highly selective manganese catalyst, the complex Mn(III)-diacetylacetonemaleinate (MAM). Among the polyol components, the acrylic emulsions were used for reticulation in this research, and as suitable reticulation agents the water emulsible aliphatic polyisocyanates based on hexamethylendoisocyanate with the different contents of NCO-groups were employed. On the basis of DSC analysis, applying the methods of Kissinger, Freeman-Carroll and Crane-Ellerstein the pseudo kinetic parameters of the reticulation reaction of aqueous systems were determined. The temperature of the examination ranged from 50°C to 450°C with the heat rate of 0.5°C/min. The reduction of the activation energy and the increase of the standard deviation indicate the catalytic action of the selective catalysts of zirconium and manganese. The impact of the catalysts on the reduction of the activation energy is the strongest when using the catalysts of manganese and applying all the three afore-said methods. The least aberrations among the stated methods in defining the kinetic parameters were obtained by using the manganese catalyst.


Many networks are available for coruscate secure communication on the wired, wireless, and ad hoc networks. The Central Network Authority Infrastructure (CNAI) is moving towards a new domain of communication such as Wireless Bio Sensor Network (WBSN), perhaps any node communicate with inter or intra region's nodes, the chance to dissemble the packet, route and medium (source and destination). Moreover, other than wired, wireless networks, the WBSN is full of security challenges. For instance, the vulnerability of attack in the form of black hole and wormhole is causes the packet delivery between the medium of CNAI. These causes bring down the secure communication, to blow up drawbacks of security in WBSN, the attacks deduction and reduction is essential. Therefore this paper proposes a rapid response round trip time mechanism to detect the black hole and wormhole attacks. In addition to this, the path assignment protocol used to reduce those attacks and produce the higher efficiency and throughput with cost-effective.


The mountain beaver (Aplodontia rufa (Rafinesque, 1817)), endemic to western North America, is the only ex- tant member of the family Aplodontidae. Limited information on movements and habitat use throughout the species' range is available. We radio-collared 41 mountain beavers to determine home ranges, dispersal, habitat use, and population den- sities on two managed forest sites in coastal Washington. Both sites were recently harvested for timber. The Donovan site (16.6 ha) was treated with herbicide before seedling planting and the Sylvia site (8.9 ha) was not treated. Mountain beaver home ranges (Donovan: 4.18 ± 0.81 ha; Sylvia: 1.39 ± 0.4 ha) were greater than previously reported in the literature (0.02-0.2 ha). Home ranges (P = 0.009) and core use areas (P = 0.05) on the herbicide-treated Donovan site were larger than those observed on the untreated Sylvia site. Mountain beaver population density declined from 2002 (n = 16) to 2003 (n = 8) on the Donovan site, and reinvasion onto the site after removal trapping was low (n = 7). Population density more than doubled on the Sylvia site from 2002 (n = 21) to 2003 (n = 55), and reinvasion was greater (n = 27) than observed at Donovan. In addition, we documented habitat characteristics centered at 9 Donovan and 10 Sylvia nest locations. Sites were similar in most habitat characteristics, but the Sylvia site had more herbaceous forbs, stumps, and woody debris. Our findings suggest that mountain beaver populations and home ranges are affected by availability of forage, such as herba- ceous forbs, after herbicide treatment, as well as by availability of woody cover.


The Works Cited page is the list of sources used in the research paper. It should be its own page at the end of the paper. Center the title, "Works Cited" (without quotation marks), at the top of the page. If only one source was consulted, title the page "Work Cited". Double space the entire list of sources. Use hanging indention for each entry. Begin each entry flush with the left margin; indent all subsequent lines one-half inch. Arrange entries in alphabetical order by the first term in each entry (the first author's last name or the title of the work when there is no author). Continue with the numbering convention used throughout the paper by including your last name and the page number in the upper right-hand corner of the Works Cited page.


Title of Document: COSTUME AS AN INDICATOR OF STATUS IN LATE ANTIQUE MOSAIC PAVEMENTS OF THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN Risa Storlie Zielinski, M.A./M.L.S. 2010 Directed By: Professor Kenneth G. Holum Department of History Romans used everyday costume to indicate status. The evidence analyzed here is mosaic pavements from Roman Syria and Palestine portraying a range of individuals from different social levels. Chapter 1 discusses costume as a means of communication and symbolic behavior, how the Romans used costume to indicate status, and why mosaics are useful in this analysis. Chapters 2 and 3 explore how everyday costume, as represented in mosaics, indicated status by using garment quantity, color, decoration, and jewelry. Chapter 2 analyzes mosaics from the second through fourth centuries AD, chapter 3 those of the fifth and sixth centuries. The main point is to show how costume in mosaics, and presumably in real life, changed in the transition from the High Empire to Late Antiquity. COSTUME AS AN INDICATOR OF STATUS IN LATE ANTIQUE MOSAIC PAVEMENTS OF THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN


Malaria is an infectious disease which poses a major threat to the global health field. The objective of this research paper is to present an analysis on the main machine-learning algorithms for the classification techniques used for malaria-infected red blood cells (MRBCs) and determine the best techniques by comparing classification accuracy. This study uses knowledge discovery to analyses the accuracy achieved by each algorithm and their ability to forecast and predict classification results. The system that demonstrates the computerized methods of image analysis generally involves three main phases. Firstly, data collection, preprocessing and feature extraction are conducted based on the characteristics of normal and MRBCs. Secondly, artificial neural network (ANN) and support vector machine (SVM) classification algorithm are used to classify the data set of 1,000 MRBCs. We use ten-fold cross-validation methods to estimate three prediction models to compare their performance fairly. Thirdly, we investigate the main parameters of numeric and graphical performance to evaluate the classification algorithms. The results indicate that ANN is the best predictor with 94% accuracy in the holdout sample. Where, the model evaluated prediction with a 92.9% ability to distinguish positive and negative classification. Additionally, the model has high reliability at 93%. Keywords— malaria, knowledge discovery, blood cells, microscopic images, classification, feature extraction, ANN, SVM


The flow distortion at core engine entry for a variable pitch fan (VPF) in reverse thrust mode is described from a realistic flow field obtained using an integrated airframe-engine model. The model includes the VPF, core entry splitter, complete bypass nozzle flow path wrapped in a nacelle, and installed to an airframe in landing configuration through a pylon. A moving ground plane to mimic the rolling runway is included. 3D Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) solutions are generated at two combinations of VPF stagger angle and rotational speed settings for the entire aircraft landing run from 140 to 20 knots. The internal reverse thrust flow field is characterized by bypass nozzle lip separation, pylon wake, and recirculation of flow turned back from the VPF. A portion of the reverse stream flow turns 180 deg with separation at the splitter leading edge to feed the core engine. The core engine feed flow exhibits circumferential and radial nonuniformities that depend on the reverse flow development at different landing speeds. The temporal dependence of the distorted flow features is also explored by an unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) analysis. Total pressure and swirl angle distortion descriptors, as defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) S-16 committee, and, total pressure loss into the core engine are described for the core feed flow at different operating conditions and landing speeds. It is observed that the radial intensity of total pressure distortion is critical to core engine operation, while the circumferential intensity is within acceptable limits. Therefore, the baseline sharp splitter edge is replaced by two larger rounded splitter edges of radii, ∼0.1x and ∼0.2x times the core duct height. This was found to reduce the radial intensity of total pressure distortion to acceptable levels. The description of the installed core feed flow distortion, as described in this study, is necessary to ascertain stable core engine operation, which powers the VPF in reverse thrust mode.


An introduction to next-generation web technologies This is a comprehensive, candid introduction to Web 2.0 for every executive, strategist, technical professional, and marketer who needs to understand its implications. The authors illuminate the technologies that make Web 2.0 concepts accessible and systematically identify the business and technical best practices needed to make the most of it. Youll gain a clear understanding of whats really new about Web 2.0 and what isnt. Most important, youll learn how Web 2.0 can help you enhance collaboration, decision-making, productivity, innovation, and your key enterprise initiatives. The authors cut through the hype that surrounds Web 2.0 and help you identify the specific innovations most likely to deliver value in your organization. Along the way, they help you assess, plan for, and profit from user-generated content, Rich Internet Applications (RIA), social networking, semantic web, content aggregation, cloud computing, the Mobile Web, and much more. This is the only book on Web 2.0 that: Covers Web 2.0 from the perspective of every participant and stakeholder, from consumers to product managers to technical professionals Provides a view of both the underlying technologies and the potential applications to bring you up to speed and spark creative ideas about how to apply Web 2.0 Introduces Web 2.0 business applications that work, as demonstrated by actual Cisco case studies Offers detailed, expert insights into the technical infrastructure and development practices raised by Web 2.0 Previews tomorrows emerging innovationsincluding Web 3.0, the Semantic Web Provides up-to-date references, links, and pointers for exploring Web 2.0 first-hand Krishna Sankar, Distinguished Engineer in the Software Group at Cisco, currently focuses on highly scalable Web architectures and frameworks, social and knowledge graphs, collaborative social networks, and intelligent inferences. Susan A. Bouchard is a senior manager with US-Canada Sales Planning and Operations at Cisco. She focuses on Web 2.0 technology as part of the US-Canada collaboration initiative. Understand Web 2.0s foundational concepts and component technologies Discover todays best business and technical practices for profiting from Web 2.0 and Rich Internet Applications (RIA) Leverage cloud computing, social networking, and user-generated content Understand the infrastructure scalability and development practices that must be address-ed for Web 2.0 to work Gain insight into how Web 2.0 technologies are deployed inside Cisco and their business value to employees, partners, and customers This book is part of the Cisco Press Fundamentals Series. Books in this series introduce networking professionals to new networking technologies, covering network topologies, example deployment concepts, protocols, and management techniques. Category: General Networking Covers: Web 2.0 $40.00 USA / $48.00 CAN


A method is presented for modeling a robot environment and structuring its free space in terms of a set of overlapped prime rectangular areas (PRAs) which are suited for path planning and navigation tasks. Next, a connectivity table for the overlapped PRAs is constructed to provide the structure necessary for path-finding. Using the generated overlapped PRAs, a simple and computationally effective online path planning algorithm is proposed to generate the optimal collision-free path in terms of intersected PRAs from the PRA containing a start point to a PRA containing a goal point within the robot's environment. Since the movements between the PRAs cannot have fixed cost distance attached to them, an efficient technique that dynamically allocates cost to path segments as the path develops is proposed. A real-time execution algorithm is developed to control the robot during the execution of the planned path. Experimental examples based on the proposed algorithms with its results are presented for selected environments executed on the mobile robot Yamabico.M (Level-12).<<ETX>>


Several years ago, Nyquist and Potts published a paper on the characteristic frequencies of thiol esters and related compounds, in which they concluded that the C—S stretching frequency of the [Equation] group lies in the 880 to 1030 cm−1 region. Their assignment of the C—S stretch in thiolacetic acid to the band at 993 cm−1 is in conflict with the assignments of Sheppard and Mecke and Spiesecke of 626 cm−1 for this vibration. Other authors have adopted the Nyquist and Potts assignments, but comparisons of the spectra of several compounds have led the present writer to agree with the original assignment.


The study was conducted to assess trace metal contents, biochemical composition and growth performance of axillary seabream (Pagellus acarne Risso, 1827) cultured in a copper alloy mesh cage. A total of 400 axillary seabream (initial mean weight: 176.0±14.0 g), a new candidate species for the Mediterranean aquaculture, were stocked into a high-density polyethylene frame gravity cage and fed a commercial seabream diet for a period of 6 months. At the end of the feeding trial, fish reached a final weight of 264.8±16.8 g with a weight increase of 88.8 g and a feed conversion rate of 2.51. Overall, relative growth rate, specific growth rate and feed conversion ratio were satisfactory and comparable to the pelagic fishes such as gilthead seabream or European seabass, which are presently the main fish species for the Mediterranean aquaculture industry. Trace elements in fish grown in copper alloy net cages over a 6-month period showed satisfactory results, as the metal concentrations in fish tissues such as liver, skin, muscle and gills were below the reported upper limits for human consumption, indicating that copper alloy net is an acceptable and safe material for finfish cage aquaculture. Furthermore, from the growth performance data obtained in the present study, it can be concluded that axillary seabream showed potential for cage farming, and thus is a promising new candidate for the Mediterranean aquaculture industry.


Climate and weather can be predicted statistically via geospatial Maximum Likelihood Estimates (MLE), as an alternative to running large ensembles of forward models. The MLE-based iterative optimization procedure requires the solving of large-scale linear systems that performs a Cholesky factorization on a symmetric positive-definite covariance matrix---a demanding dense factorization in terms of memory footprint and computation. We propose a novel solution to this problem: at the mathematical level, we reduce the computational requirement by exploiting the data sparsity structure of the matrix off-diagonal tiles by means of low-rank approximations; and, at the programming-paradigm level, we integrate PaRSEC, a dynamic, task-based runtime to reach unparalleled levels of efficiency for solving extreme-scale linear algebra matrix operations. The resulting solution leverages fine-grained computations to facilitate asynchronous execution while providing a flexible data distribution to mitigate load imbalance. Performance results are reported using 3D synthetic datasets up to 42M geospatial locations on 130, 000 cores, which represent a cornerstone toward fast and accurate predictions of environmental applications.


Purpose: Cerebral infarction is the most common type of ischemic stroke that is associated with early mortality and decrease functional capacity. Current study aims to compare prognostic characteristics and outcomes of acute cerebral infarction in diabetic and non-diabetic patients.
Methods: A total of 1283 with confirmed diagnosis of cerebral infarction were enrolled in the current study. The patients were followed-up up to 10 y to ascertain the clinical pattern, stroke subtypes and predictors of in-hospital mortality.
Results: The mean age of participants was 66.9 ± 5.3 y and majority 695 (54.1%) were male. Diabetes was diagnosed in one third of study population i.e. 403 (31.4%). Compared to diabetic patients, nondiabetic patients mostly presented with cardioembolic infarcts (28% vs. 17%) and infarcts of unknown cause (16.5% vs. 5.4%) while atherothrombotic (43% vs. 26%) and lacunar infarcts (36% vs. 22%) were more common among diabetics. A total of 210 (16%) cases of in hospital mortality were observed. There was no significant difference in mortality rates of both diabetic and non-diabetics (17.6% vs. 13.6%). Cardioembolic strokes, strokes of unknown cause and unusual etiology and Rankin score<3 were independently associated while age was inversely associated with cerebral infarction in non-diabetic patients. The predictors of mortality included female gender, atrial fibrillation, decreased consciousness, respiratory and cardiac complications.
Conclusion: Compared to diabetic patients, non-diabetic patients with cerebral infarction present with different disease pattern and prognosis. Clinical factors that indicate severity of stroke and predict early mortality might help physicians to assess prognosis of patients more effectively and provide adequate treatment.