Although the effect of working memory (WM) load on the degree of distractor processing has been investigated in a number of paradigms, a common feature in prior research is that the target and distractors pertain to different objects. The present experiments examine the effect of WM load on distractor interference when the relevant and irrelevant features belong to the same object. In Experiment 1, participants saw stimulus displays that consisted of a memory set followed by a Stroop stimulus, whose colour and meaning were either unrelated or incongruent. The task was to make a speeded response to the colour of the target while holding either one or six digits in memory. Although a signifi cant Stroop interference effect was found, its magnitude was not infl uenced by WM load. Experiment 2 manipulated the size of attentional focus in addition to WM load and the response congruency between the relevant and irrelevant features of Stroop stimuli. Again, there was a strong Stroop interference effect, but no effect of WM load or attentional focus. These results suggest that the effect of WM load on selective attention may be more complex than was previously conceived. They also emphasize the importance of stimulus structure in understanding the effect of WM load on selective attention.


Software-intensive embedded systems are characterized by an increasing number of features that implement complex safety-critical functionalities. These systems are more and more developed in a model-based fashion that has been considered as a central design approach to deal with the increase in software complexity. These kinds of embedded systems always require multiple constraints both functional and non-functional ones. AUTOFOCUS3 is a model-based development framework using tightly integrated models that enable to perform design space exploration for multi-criteria problems. Finding suitable deployments, meaning the (efficient) assignment of software components to hardware components, is one of these problems. This paper illustrates how such a Design Space Exploration approach in a model-based framework can support the system designer in a (semi-) automatic way, enabling to compare different valid design solutions, w.r.t. a set of given system requirements. We propose a visualization technique to efficiently guide the system designer through such a calculated solutions space. The presented approach has been implemented in the AutoFOCUS3 framework.


Purpose – Various types and implementations of crowdsourcing have emerged on the market; many of them are related to logistics. While we can identify plenty of crowd logistics applications using information technology capabilities and information sharing in practice, theories behind this phenomenon have received only limited attention. This paper accounts for filling this research gap by analyzing the crowd's contributions in logistics of goods and information. Thereby, this paper aims to provide the necessary basis for a novel interdisciplinary research field. Design and Methodology – This paper is part of an ongoing research endeavor in the field of location-based crowdsourcing (LBCS). It represents conceptual work that builds on a literature review enriched with an in-depth analysis of real-world examples in the field of crowd logistics. Using a scoring method, we provide an example how a company may evaluate the alternatives of crowd logistics. Approach – The main approach is an analysis of variants of how the social crowd may be integrated in logistics processes. The work is conceptual in its core. Thereby, we use real-world examples of crowdsourcing applications to underpin the evaluated variants of crowd logistics. Findings – The paper presents relevant theoretical background on crowd logistics. We differentiate between variants of crowd logistics with their flow of materials, goods, and information. Thereby we zoom in the type, significance, and process flow of the crowd's contributions. We discuss potential advantages and challenges of logistics with the performing crowd and deeply discuss opportunities and challenges from a business and from an individual's perspective. Finally, we highlight a route map for future research directions in this novel interdisciplinary research field. Limitations of the research – As this work is conceptual in its core, generalizations may be drawn only with great care. Still, we are in a position to propose a route map for further research in this area in this paper. Also the integration of an analysis of a scale of real-world applications allows us to highlight our research's practical relevance and implications. Contributions – The main contribution of this paper is an in-depth analysis and consolidation of innovative crowd logistics applications in order to provide an overview on recent implementations. We propose a categorization scheme and contribute with a route map for further research in the field of crowd logistics.


This dissertation consists of three essays. In Chapter 1, we proposes a dynamic multi-sector production network model in which firms receive news on the future product-specific demand of a representative household. Since production takes time and firms in the production sectors are connected via input-output links, news on the future final demand of an individual product changes firms' forecasts of their future sales, creating economy-wide effects named as forecast shocks. Forecast shocks are transferred upwards through the supplier-customer connections in the network, from the buyer of an input good to the producer. The model explains the asymmetry in the transmission of individual shocks in the network and how shocks to the expectations generate real, persistent effects. The equilibrium is analytically solved and calibrated to the U.S. economy. Quantitative analysis then follows to examine the model performance. In Chapter 2, we incorporate a firm's project choice decision into a firm dynamics model with business cycle features to explain this empirical finding both qualitatively and quantitatively. In particular, all projects available have the same expected flow return and differ from one another only in the riskiness level. The endogenous option of exiting the market and limited funding for new investment jointly play an important role in motivating firms' risktaking behavior. The model predicts that relatively small firms are more likely to take risk and that the crosssectional productivity dispersion, measured as the variance/standard deviation of firm-level profitability, is larger in recessions. In Chapter 3, we consider the impact of job rotation in a directed search model in which firm sizes are endogenously determined, and match quality is initially unknown. In a large firm, job rotation allows the firm to at least partially ameliorate losses from mismatches of workers to jobs. As a result, in the unique equilibrium, large firms have higher labor productivity and lower separation rate. In contrast to the standard directed search model with multi-vacancy firms, this model can generate a positive correlation between firm size and wage without introducing exogenous productivity shocks or a non-concave production function. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Economics First Advisor Dirk Krueger Subject Categories Economics This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/1470 FIRM AND INDUSTRIAL DYNAMICS OVER THE BUSINESS CYCLES


The purpose of this volume is to treat the progress of history, civilization and urban development of China together in order to demonstrate the unique qualities of Chinese civilization.The author uses historical dynasties as the vertical dimension, starting from the pre-urban origin of round-moat village settlements of the Yangshao Period, until the most recent transitional city under the present "socialist market system." There are a total of 13 chapters, covering a time-span of roughly 6,000 years.The book also discusses the theoretical context of the uniqueness of Chinese urban evolution and compares it with experiences in the West. It comprehensively treats major events, economic developments, territorial changes, and developments in technology, art and culture, military as well as administrative systems in the dynasties as urban change dynamics. The material therefore succinctly covers 6,000 years of Chinese cultural history.Besides using a large amount of Chinese literature - including materials on recent archeological finds - the volume explores substantial Western literature on relevant issues with the purpose of putting the Chinese experience in a global context. The author has included in the volume over 100 maps and line drawings selected from his collection accumulated over 30 years as a university lecturer and researcher of urban geography and the Chinese city. They provide vivid illustrations for illuminating key points on the structure of the Chinese city and the geopolitical situation of China in major historical periods. They also add exquisite detail through graphic techniques to the textual treatment of the subject matters, and are in themselves visually appealing, adding unique dimension to the volume.


A simple means of functional classification of the individual patient has been devised. The performance of a forced flow-volume manoeuvre in concert with a single-breath nitrogen washout procedure in 54 comprehensively investigated patients with chronic airflow limitation yielded two parameters which could be employed in classification. A normalized alveolar nitrogen slope (FEV1/FVC X delta N2%) greater than 4.0% per litre clearly delineated emphysema. The peak flow ratio (PEFR/PIFR%) categorized other subgroupings: a value in excess of 100% strongly suggests primary bronchial disease, while a lower value almost certainly indicates a mixed functional disorder.


Abstract New fault data are presented for the Karasu Valley, southern Turkey. Field measurements concentrate on the Eocene–Miocene (c. 48–7 Ma) sediments exposed on the south-western rift margin, in order to investigate the early development of this basin. Fault data show two trends in orientation NW–SE and NE–SW with a subordinate north–south trend. Stress inversions combined with field relationships indicate at least three phases of faulting. Firstly, an extensional event characterized by NE–SW and NW–SE normal faults, which are interpreted to have formed owing to flexural uplift in the forebulge region to the Bitlis–Zagros collisional front prior to the Middle Miocene. Secondly, north–south normal faults invert to give a stress ratio [R=(σ2 – σ3/σ1 – σ3)] indicative of an extensional stress regime, transitional to strike-slip faulting. The final stress phase (Pliocene–Recent) is of strike-slip faulting and east–west-trending normal faulting. This stress regime is interpreted as the result of the propagation of the Dead Sea Fault or East Anatolian Fault. Previous models of rift formation have invoked either transpressional or transtensional origins for the area; the new data presented here indicate that the southernmost Karasu Valley developed through extension followed by transtension. Supplementary material: The fault data (including location, orientation, kinematic information) used in this study are available at www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18532.


With the rise of mobile Internet and cloud computing new ubiquitous medical services will emerge coinciding with changes in demographics and social structures. Mobile e-health and Wellness applications can help relieving the burden of accelerating health care costs due to aging societies. In order to leverage these new innovations a holistic approach must be considered. Facilitating user centered design, acceptance models for user diversity and cultural as well as hedonic aspects can lead to development of services that improve therapy compliance and can even change the youth's lifestyle. An overview of such applications is presented and put into a cultural context.


The U.S. agricultural economy continued to struggle in 2016 as prices and incomes fell for the third straight year following an unprecedented sustained period of growth during the 2007-2013 period. The USDA is projecting 2016 net farm income to total $67 billion, down 17% from 2015 and 46% off the record high established in 2013. Given yields trending up, lower production expenses, and higher government payments, the downturn in the ag economy is due solely to significantly lower prices as the markets react to mounting global supplies and depressed/stagnant demand. U.S. agricultural exports have declined from record high levels in response to a strengthening U.S. dollar, sluggish economic growth overseas, and abundant supplies. Land values and crop rents appear to be slowly adjusting to the declining ag economy. Despite the sharp downturn in the U.S. ag economy, lenders are reporting that the financial position of U.S. agriculture as a whole is still relatively strong following a period of extraordinarily high income levels. However, concerns are mounting for some high debt/younger farming operations given current cash flow/working capital issues and the continued depressed outlook for most U.S. agricultural sectors.


A sinusoidal phase-modulating (SPM) laser diode (LD) interferometer for real-time surface profile measurement is proposed and its principle is analyzed. The phase signal of the surface profile is detected from the sinusoidal phase-modulating interference signal using a real-time phase detection circuit. For 60*60 measurement points of the surface profile, the measuring time is 10 ms. A root mean square (RMS) measurement repeatability of 3.93 nm is realized, and the measurement resolution reaches 0.19 nm.


Winner of the Nobel Prize for literature and acknowledged as one of the greatest writers of our time, Samuel Beckett has had a profound impact upon the literary landscape of the twentieth century. In this one-volume collection of his fiction, drama, poetry, and critical writings, we get an unsurpassed look at his work. Included, among others, are: - The complete plays Waiting for Godot, Krapp s Last Tape, Cascando, Eh Joe, Not I, and That Time- Selections from his novels Murphy, Watt, Mercier and Camier, Molloy, and The Unnamable- The shorter works Dante and the Lobster, The Expelled, Imagination Dead Imagine, and Lessness- A selection of Beckett s poetry and critical writings With an indispensable introduction by editor and Beckett intimate Richard Seaver, and featuring a useful select bibliography, I Can t Go On, I ll Go On is indeed an invaluable introduction to a writer who has changed the face of modern literature."


"A must-have for anyone who is new and serious about exporing the subject further. Also recommended for advanced practitioners who may want to 'brush-up' on their Sanskrit." -- Yoga Magazine UK "This slim volume is a lot more than its title lets on." -- The Asian Reporter "...A joy to read: it has accuracy in its translations, beauty in its presentation, and conveys the spiritual richness of the yogic tradition. It will definitely enrich the life of many yoga teachers and students." -- Ascent Magazine Joseph Campbell called Sanskrit "the great spiritual language of the world." Designed by ancient Indian holy men to express the states of enlightened consciousness through syllabic sounds, Sanskrit is widely used in the West during yoga practice to channel spiritual pathways and to discuss important meditative and philosophical concepts. This book introduces 180 Sanskrit words (including chakra, karma, om, namaste, veda, nirvana) with Devanagari scripts, pronunciations, chants and brief cultural/historic explanations. A practical reference that makes an excellent gift book for any student of yoga, meditation or Eastern religion. Leza Lowitz is a much-published writer and director of Sun and Moon Yoga Studio in Tokyo. Reema Datta grew up in India and teaches Ashtanga yoga and Ayurvedic cooking in San Francisco.


Secondary agricultural education has consistently faced a shortage of teachers for the past several decades. Because there are not enough newly qualified teachers certified annually to fill all the vacancies, attrition must be addressed. The purpose of this research was to develop and pilot test an attrition risk assessment instrument. Items were written and included in a preliminary instrument based on existing literature as well as a qualitative study we conducted previously. Principal components analysis resulted in a 25-question instrument, with 17 questions measuring attrition risk in four constructs including alternative career opportunities, expectations versus realities, passions, and people frustrations. Cronbach's alpha indicated overall instrument reliability was α = .76. Individual construct reliabilities ranged from α = .57 to α = .85. Recommendations include further development and refinement of constructs and questions. Additionally, longitudinal data should be collected in order to identify the threshold magnitude of each risk factor that results in actual exit of a teacher from the profession. Finally, implementation of the instrument could assist researchers and teacher educators in identifying the most prevalent risks contributing to teacher attrition in a population.


This study attempts to analyze construct in supply chain and to determine which construct contribute to performance of agricultural cooperatives in Malaysia. The primary data is collected via questionnaire from top level management of agricultural cooperatives using 5-item Likert scale. Factor analysis and structural equations modeling were used to analyze the data. Findings show that cooperatives places importance on quality and technology, logistic, supplier and governance. As a whole, supply chain is significance in determining performance. However, governance alone is not significant in determining performance. The empirical result could be used to improve further studies in supply chain management.


Background: The number of adults affected by diabetes mellitus in developing countries, such as South Africa, is projected to grow by 170%, from 84 to 228 million people between 1995 and 2025 .This high and increasing prevalence of diabetes worldwide, and the economic burden of diabetes on developing countries like South Africa emphasizes the importance of ensuring good glycemic control so as to slow down the rate of disease progression and prevent complications. The district health care facilities are the foundation of the health care system of South Africa. The current practice is that diabetics have a point of care random blood glucose (RBG) done on the morning of their clinic appointment and this is used as a form of assessment of glycemic control during the consultation. For further clinical decision making a HbA1c is done once a year as a benchmark of glycemic control. The practical clinical question that arises is whether the assumptions underlying local clinical decision making using the RBG are valid and to what extent RBG can be used to guide clinical management.

Aim and Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the strength of the correlation between RBG and HbA1c and to make recommendations for the interpretation of RBG results in adult patients with Type 2 Diabetes taken at Karl Bremer District Hospital out-patient department. The objectives were: To determine glycaemic control in the study population and compare differences between age, sex and racial groups , and determine the RBG cut-off with the best sensitivity and specificity for predicting poor glycaemic control (HbA1c > 7.0% ) as well as the predictive value, likelihood ratio and pre/post-test odds and probability at this cut off.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of existing hospital data and the HbA1c tests requested from the NHLS by Karl Bremer Hospital over the 2011 year period. The data was analysed by means of a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis to determine the value of RBG with the best combination of sensitivity and specificity to predict poor control of diabetes. A p-value of 7% poor control.

Results: Data was obtained on 349 diabetic patients of whom 203 (58.2%) were female and 146 (41.8%) male. This study population had a mean age of 54.7 years, mean RBG of 13.0mmol/l and mean HBA1c of 9.4%. The total number of black patients was 79 (23%), coloured patients 147 (42%) and white patients 122 (35) % and their mean RBG were 15.4 mmol/l, 12.8 mmol/l and 11.9 mol/l respectively. There was a statistically significant correlation between increasing RBG and increasing HbA1c (p 7.0%, was found to be 9.8mmol/l and this RBG had a sensitivity of 77% , specificity of 75% and positive predictive value of 88%. Significant differences were found in pre- and post -test probability for different racial groups. Point of care testing using this level of RBG for clinical decision making will inappropriately categorise 23% of patients in this population and therefore introducing point of care testing for HbA1c is recommended.


Collaborative filtering or recommender systems use a database about user preferences to predict additional topics or products a new user might like. In this paper we describe several algorithms designed for this task, including techniques based on correlation coefficients, vector-based similarity calculations, and statistical Bayesian methods. We compare the predictive accuracy of the various methods in a set of representative problem domains. We use two basic classes of evaluation metrics. The first characterizes accuracy over a set of individual predictions in terms of average absolute deviation. The second estimates the utility of a ranked list of suggested items. This metric uses an estimate of the probability that a user will see a recommendation in an ordered list.

Experiments were run for datasets associated with 3 application areas, 4 experimental protocols, and the 2 evaluation metr rics for the various algorithms. Results indicate that for a wide range of conditions, Bayesian networks with decision trees at each node and correlation methods outperform Bayesian-clustering and vector-similarity methods. Between correlation and Bayesian networks, the preferred method depends on the nature of the dataset, nature of the application (ranked versus one-by-one presentation), and the availability of votes with which to make predictions. Other considerations include the size of database, speed of predictions, and learning time.


During August 1971 three horses died and one human infant became ill during an outbreak of Eastern equine encephalomyelitis in Upstate New York. Fifteen of 93 wild avian sera collected in the area reacted in hemagglutination-inhibition (HI) tests with Eastern equine encephalomyelitis (EEE). EEE virus was isolated from four avian specimens (White-throated Sparrow, Towhee, Baltimore Oriole, Cedar Waxwing) and 5 of 159 arthropod pools (3 from Culiseta morsitans and 1 each from Culex territans and Culex restuans). Sera from 54 humans and 89 healthy equines were HI-negative for EEE. It is believed that southward moving Baltimore Orioles and White-throated Sparrows carried the virus into the area from an unknown location to the north. Virus circulation in the avian population is attributed to C. morsitans. The vector to equines and humans is unknown.


We studied Rhinicthys osculus and its close relatives to discover evolutionary processes that operated to produce this widespread, polytypic fish group in an intermountain landscape of hundreds of small, isolated drainages. This group has attracted study because of its many ambiguously distinctive populations, in which homoplastic traits are shared across local geographic barriers. The observed morphological ambiguity is clarified by phylogenetic analyses of mtDNA data from 73 locations, which show deep divergences separating several dozen hypothetically monophyletic groups. Calibration of genetic distances with fossil age estimates permits identification of three groups that originated in the late Miocene —centered in the Columbia-Snake, Colorado, and Lahontan drainage basins. These mtDNA groups contain Late Pliocene lineages within the Columbia and Snake rivers, upper Green River, Lower Colorado River, Humboldt River, Death Valley, and ancient connectives. Each of these clades accumulated local, differentiated populations by subdivision in Pleistocene internal drainages, but each also shows many populations transferred to neighboring basins by stream diversions, headwater captures, and pluvial lake overflows, which are consistent with geological evidence. Population groups defined by molecular analysis correspond only approximately to named or morphologically recognized taxa. Morphological analysis of 88 samples found no unique phenotypes. Three potential explanations (independently or in concert) may explain the evolution of the Rhinichthys osculus complex in the west: (1) Scores of drainage changes have alternated aquatic dispersal routes with long periods of isolation resulting in vicariant divergence. Drainage and fish transfers following long periods of isolation include, for example, the connection of the Upper to Lower Colorado River Basins (~5 Ma), the connection of the Snake River to the Columbia River (~3 Ma), many lake overflows among Pleistocene Lahontan basins documented by Marith Reheis and her colleagues, and the Lake Bonneville spillover to the Snake River and the Pacific (~15 Ka). Prior to such large connection events, basins and drainages were arranged differently and sometimes isolated for periods of 104 106 years or more, permitting accumulation of differences. (2) Alternating pluvial and arid stages associated with more than 20 glacial cycles and over 100 subcycles over the past 3 million years subjected populations to periodically intense selection for expansion in well-watered habitats, alternating with isolation in small populations in desert habitats. (3) Pluvial overflows created secondary contact and frequent genetic mixing, leaving only one form in the basin or stream; only two instances of sympatric species persist, both in large waters of the climatically more stable Columbia and Snake River drainages. Some traits that distinguish large-river species in the north also exist in southern desert populations, but with inconsistently mixed or convergent characteristics.


Direct use of diffraction phenomena at an irregularity in a lossy object such as a head is described. The source is an external magnetic field directed into the skull, creating a circulating current inside the object by which surface waves are avoided. The receiving E-field probe is a 3D resonant structure being selectively sensitive to the desired deflected electric field component from the surface.


A disintegrin and metalloproteinase 10 (ADAM10) is a ubiquitous transmembrane protein that functions as a "molecular scissor" to cleave the extracellular regions from its transmembrane target proteins. ADAM10 is well characterized as the ligand-dependent activator of Notch proteins, which control cell fate decisions. Indeed, conditional knockouts of ADAM10 in mice reveal impaired B-, T-, and myeloid cell development and/or function. ADAM10 cleaves many other leukocyte-expressed substrates. On B-cells, ADAM10 cleavage of the low-affinity IgE receptor CD23 promotes allergy and asthma, cleavage of ICOS ligand impairs antibody responses, and cleavage of the BAFF–APRIL receptor transmembrane activator and CAML interactor, and BAFF receptor, reduce B-cell survival. On microglia, increased ADAM10 cleavage of a rare variant of the scavenger receptor triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 may increase susceptibility to Alzheimer's disease. We and others recently showed that ADAM10 interacts with one of six different regulatory tetraspanin membrane proteins, which we termed the TspanC8 subgroup, comprising Tspan5, Tspan10, Tspan14, Tspan15, Tspan17, and Tspan33. The TspanC8s are required for ADAM10 exit from the endoplasmic reticulum, and emerging evidence suggests that they dictate ADAM10 subcellular localization and substrate specificity. Therefore, we propose that ADAM10 should not be regarded as a single scissor, but as six different scissors with distinct substrate specificities, depending on the associated TspanC8. In this review, we collate recent transcriptomic data to present the TspanC8 repertoires of leukocytes, and we discuss the potential role of the six TspanC8/ADAM10 scissors in leukocyte development and function.


Conventionally, rail tracks are positioned on ballast due to economy, rapid drainage and high shear strength. However, the ballast becomes fouledand degraded as track ages. In order to identify the risk associated with fouling, it is important to accurately assess the amount of fouling using volume based parameter, Void Contaminant Index (VCI). A series of isotropically consolidated drained triaxial tests using a large scale triaxial apparatus were conducted on both clean and fouled ballast with varying VCI to establish the relationship between the amountof fouling and the strength-deformation characteristics. Based on the laboratory findings, an empirical relationship between the peak deviator stress and VCI is proposed to assist in preliminary track assessment. Based on laboratory findings, a non-linear shear strength envelope for fouled ballast is presented. Disciplines Engineering | Science and Technology Studies Publication Details Nimbalkar, S. S., Tennakoon, N. & Indraratna, B. (2015). Effects of fouling and degradation on geotechnical behaviour of railway ballast. 50th Indian Geotechnical Conference (pp. 1-10). This conference paper is available at Research Online: http://ro.uow.edu.au/eispapers/4971 EFFECTS OF FOULING AND DEGRADATION ON GEOTECHNICAL BEHAVIOUR OF RAILWAY BALLAST S. S. Nimbalkar, N. Tennakoon, B. Indraratna


Background Aerosolization of respiratory droplets is considered the main route of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Therefore, reducing the viral load of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) shed via respiratory droplets is potentially an ideal strategy to prevent the spread of the pandemic. The in vitro virucidal activity of intranasal Povidone-Iodine (PVP-I) has been demonstrated recently to reduce SARS-CoV-2 viral titres. This study evaluated the virucidal activity of the aqueous solution of Iodine-V (a clathrate complex formed by elemental iodine and fulvic acid) as in Essential Iodine Drops (EID) with 200 μg elemental iodine/ml content against SARS-CoV-2 to ascertain whether it is a better alternative to PVP-I. Methods SARS-CoV-2 (USAWA1/2020 strain) virus stock was prepared by infecting Vero 76 cells (ATCC CRL-1587) until cytopathic effect (CPE). The virucidal activity of EID against SARS-CoV-2 was tested in three dilutions (1:1; 2:1 and 3:1) in triplicates by incubating at room temperature (22 ± 2°C) for either 60 or 90 seconds. The surviving viruses from each sample were quantified by a standard end-point dilution assay. Results EID (200 μg iodine/ml) after exposure for 60 and 90 seconds was compared to controls. In both cases, the viral titre was reduced by 99% (LRV 2.0). The 1:1 dilution of EID with virus reduced SARS-CoV-2 virus from 31,623 cell culture infectious dose 50% (CCID50) to 316 CCID50 within 90 seconds. Conclusion Substantial reductions in LRV by Iodine-V in EID confirmed the activity of EID against SARS-CoV-2 in vitro, demonstrating that Iodine-V in EID is effective at inactivating the virus in vitro and therefore suggesting its potential application intranasally to reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission from known or suspected COVID-19 patients.


Northern Sweden is a traditionally multilingual region. In addition to Swedish, several indigenous Saami languages, Finnish, and a local variety of Finnish called Meankieli are spoken in the area. Even quite recently some of the villages have been monolingual in a minority language while others have been bi- and even trilingual. Nowadays, however, a rapid language shift to Swedish is remarkably changing the sociolinguistic situation. During the last two or three decades there have been attempts to revitalize the minority languages. One result of this is that Meankieli has gained the official status of a language, and a literary standard is being currently created for it. However, the local population's opinions are divided on whether Meankieli should be considered a language of its own or a dialect of Finnish. The Saami languages of the region are in an uneven situation: the status of North Saami, the largest Saami language, is relatively good and it also gets support from the Norwegian side of Saami land. Lule Saami, on the other hand, has only a few hundred speakers and very few young speakers. My ongoing Ph.D. research focuses on bi- and multilingualism among young people in Northern Sweden. The aim is to find out to what extent the minority languages are still known by young speakers, how they are learned and in which domains they are used, how do the speakers themselves report their knowledge of languages, and what kind of language attitudes and linguistic identities there are in the region. Questions centering on these themes are used to assess the ethnolinguistic vitality of minority languages among young speakers. The gathering of data takes place in fall 2008 through a web-based questionnaire, which will be filled out by all high school students in the five northernmost municipalities of Sweden. From this data it will be possible to study the language attitudes of both the minority-language speakers themselves as well as the dominant Swedish-speaking population. In my presentation I will examine the historical background of the linguistic situation in Northern Sweden, and discuss the future and ethnoliguistic vitality of minority languages in the region in light of data gathered through the questionnaire. I will also report my experiences on using web-based questionnaire, and discuss how the chosen set of questions has worked in the assessment of ethnolinguistic vitality.


The accuracy of supervised image classification is highly dependent upon several factors such as the design of training set (sample selection, composition, purity and size), resolution of input imagery and landscape heterogeneity. The design of training set is still a challenging issue since the sensitivity of classifier algorithm at learning stage is different for the same dataset. In this paper, the classification of RapidEye imagery with balanced and imbalanced training data for mapping the crop types was addressed. Classification with imbalanced training data may result in low accuracy in some scenarios. Support Vector Machines (SVM), Maximum Likelihood (ML) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) classifications were implemented here to classify the data. For evaluating the influence of the balanced and imbalanced training data on image classification algorithms, three different training datasets were created. Two different balanced datasets which have 70 and 100 pixels for each class of interest and one imbalanced dataset in which each class has different number of pixels were used in classification stage. Results demonstrate that ML and NN classifications are affected by imbalanced training data in resulting a reduction in accuracy (from 90.94% to 85.94% for ML and from 91.56% to 88.44% for NN) while SVM is not affected significantly (from 94.38% to 94.69%) and slightly improved. Our results highlighted that SVM is proven to be a very robust, consistent and effective classifier as it can perform very well under balanced and imbalanced training data situations. Furthermore, the training stage should be precisely and carefully designed for the need of adopted classifier.


ABSTRACT This study identifies a population of students who have an intermediate amount of relevant content knowledge and skill for working with data, and characterizes their approach to interpreting a challenging data-based visualization. Thirty-three undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory environmental science course reasoned about salinity data as shown in map and vertical profiles from the Mediterranean while thinking aloud and being eye-tracked. Students reasoned about 2D and 3D interpretations in the context of two hypothesis arrays (a suite of potential interpretations about a set of data). Findings suggest the students have some effective strategies in reading data: They look at cartographic elements, correctly identify the image as a salinity map, and draw inferences from the data. Common looking strategies include scanning along the salinity gradient, comparing areas of interest, and aligning the color bar with the map. Individual differences emerge in the interpretation of the data, with no interpretations being fully aligned with the scientifically normative explanation. Post hoc analyses identify reasoning tasks and spontaneous behaviors related to a construct we refer to as "data expertise," which is intended to capture the degree of conceptual sophistication and resourcefulness in reasoning about data. A data expertise scale was developed, with scores ranging from zero (weak) to six (strong) that were normally distributed. Our findings suggest that appropriately coordinating data with a model, comparing and contrasting across data representations from different times or places, and extracting 3D structure from 2D representations are associated with data expertise.


The real-estate market is "where" a multiplicity of economic, cultural, social and demographic factors are synthesised with respect to choices regarding the qualitative and locational aspects of a property. The spatial analysis of the real-estate market and, in particular, of the factors which contribute to determining prices, is a very useful instrument in outlining the geography of the economic development of vast areas. The aim of the paper is the construction of a simulation model, on a spatial level, of real-estate values with reference to the housing market in the urban area of the city of Treviso (I). The model was built using a neural network which gives the possibility of analysing the marginal contribution of single real-estate characteristics independently of the a priori choice of the interpolation function; at the same time it works well even in the presence of statistical correlation among the explicative variables, a serious drawback in multiple regression models. The work is divided into several parts. First, a synthetic picture of the real-estate market of the area studied has been drawn up with reference to the main conditioning factors. Then the problem of the selection of a neural network model for the appraisal of property values is presented. Finally, there is the description of the procedure for the spatialization of obtained results from the neural model for the definition of a values map. The results shows the notable interpretative and predictive capacity of the neural model and it seems very useful in appraisals. Furthermore, the mapping of value fluctuations enables first-hand verification of the "goodness" of the assessed model and its capacity to portray the real situation. The general approach presented seems, therefore, useful both as an instrument of support for urban and territorial planning, as well as a permanent monitoring system of the real-estate market with the aim of creating an informative system of support for the analysis of real-estate investment.


A number of health professional groups have been looking at alternative models to the traditional 1:1 model of practice education in order to meet the increasing shortage of practice placements for pre‐registration students. One such model that has been explored recently is the 2:1 or collaborative model where one practice educator takes responsibility for the education of two or more students. This paper presents the findings of a small research study undertaken to explore facilitation of learning in 2:1 collaborative models of physiotherapy practice education, and focuses on the potential for reflection with particular emphasis on peer reflection within the collaborative model. The study adopted a qualitative approach. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with thirteen educators and eighteen third year physiotherapy students at a number of different NHS practice sites in southeast England. Additional focus groups were held with academic tutors and students at the end of the placement period. Findings from the study indicated that learning was facilitated in a variety of ways with students benefiting from peer learning and teaching approaches. Opportunities for peer reflection appeared to be increased in the 2:1 model. However, some practice educators highlighted the need for further guidance when promoting reflective practice. Further research into the role of reflection within 2:1 models and the facilitation of reflection during clinical education placements is needed.


The purpose of this study was to explore faculty members' perceptions of community college Centers for Teaching and Learning (CTLs); whose main purpose is to promote, facilitate, and honor excellence in teaching and learning through the support of full-time and adjunct faculty, at all career stages. A generic qualitative study with a grounded theory approach was conducted to understand faculty members' perceptions and to develop recommendations for community college CTL directors, administrators, and faculty. Focus group interviews were conducted with groups of faculty at each of three Midwestern U.S. community colleges. Faculty were placed in one of three groups; frequent interaction with the CTL, less frequent interaction, or infrequent or no interaction. Fifty-four participants were involved in this study; 51 faculty members and three CTL directors. Five major categories emerged as a result of axial coding: CTL Director's Professionalism, CTL Atmosphere, CTL Relationship to the Institution, CTL Programming, and CTL Impact on Teaching and Perceived Impact on Student Learning. The categories were related to each other and through selective coding, a theoretical scheme emerged: the director's professionalism determines the CTL's atmosphere, programming, and relationship to the institution. Through these three avenues, the director facilitates the CTL's impact on teaching and student learning. The findings demonstrate how CTLs can bring about a change in culture from a teacher-centered paradigm to a learner-centered paradigm. Additionally, the findings indicate that effective directors utilize a leadership style in which they reach out to others at all levels within the organization. Further, the findings support the use of professional Frey, Sandra, 2012, UMSL, p. iii development, including short duration programs delivered through CTLs, to impact changes in teaching and learning at community colleges in the United States. Frey, Sandra, 2012, UMSL, p. iv


Abstract Decision making in an emotionally conflicting situation is important in social life. We aimed to address the similarity and disparity of neural correlates involved in processing ambivalent stimuli in patients with schizophrenia and patients with depression. Behavioral task-related hemodynamic responses were measured using [15O]H2O positron emission tomography (PET) in 12 patients with schizophrenia and 12 patients with depression. The task was a modified word-stem completion task, which was designed to evoke ambivalence in forced and non-forced choice conditions. The prefrontal cortex and the cerebellum were found to show increased activity in the healthy control group. In the schizophrenia group, activity in these two regions was negligible. In the depression group, the pattern of activity was altered and a functional compensatory recruitment of the inferior parietal regions was suggested. The prefrontal cortex seems to be associated with the cognitive control to resolve the conflict toward the ambivalent stimuli, whereas the cerebellum reflects the sustained working memory to search for compromise alternatives. The deficit of cerebellar activation in the schizophrenia group might underlie the inability to search and consider compromising responses for conflict resolution. (JINS, 2009, 15, 990–1001.)


In 1687, Isaac Newton published the universal law of gravitation stating that two bodies attract each other with a force proportional to the product of their masses and the inverse square of the distance. The constant of proportionality, G, is one of the fundamental constants of nature. As the precision of measurements increased the disparity between the values of G, gathered by different groups, surprisingly increased. This unique situation was reflected by the 1998 CODATA decision to increase the relative G uncertainty from 0.013% to 0.15 %. Our repetitive measurements of the gravitational constant (G) show that G varies significantly with the orientation of the test masses relative to the system of fixed stars, as was predicted by the Attractive Universe Theory. The distances between the test masses were in the decimeter range. We have observed that G changes with the orientation by at least 0.054%.


Wealthy nations must step up support for Africa and vulnerable countries in addressing past, present and future impacts of climate change.


Abstract : This collection of monographs has been assembled from the 42 Personal Experience Monographs written by the U.S. Army War College (USAWC) Class of 1998. The Personal Experience Monograph program was instituted immediately after the Gulf War with the original purpose of capturing first-person histories of various aspects of that war. The program rapidly expanded to include any military experience that might prove useful to others. When the USAWC Class of 1998 arrived, it was evident that a great many had recent experience in Bosnia that might prove useful to others who would eventually serve there. The collection assembled here was chosen for the wide variation of branch functions and the centrality of the initial deployment issues addressed. The authors speak for themselves with minimal editorial interference.


Neonatal severe hyperparathyroidism is a rare life-threatening disorder characterized by very high serum calcium concentrations (> 15 mg/dl). Many cases have occurred in families with familial hypocalciuric hypercalcemia, a benign condition transmitted as a dominant trait. Among several hypothesized relationships between the two syndromes is the suggestion that neonatal severe hyperparathyroidism is the homozygous form of familial hypocalciuric hypercalcemia. To test this hypothesis, we refined the map location of the gene responsible for familial hypocalciuric hypercalcemia on chromosome 3q. Analyses in 11 families defined marker loci closely linked to the gene responsible for familial hypocalciuric hypercalcemia. These loci were then analyzed in four families with parental consanguinity and offspring with neonatal severe hyperparathyroidism. Each individual who was homozygous for loci that are closely linked to the gene responsible for familial hypocalciuric hypercalcemia had neonatal severe hyperparathyroidism. The calculated odds of linkage between these disorders of > 350,000:1 (lod score = 5.56). We conclude that dosage of the gene defect accounts for these widely disparate clinical phenotypes; a single defective allele causes familial hypocalciuric


Decision Support for Water Framework Directive Implementation:Volume 3 is a concrete outcome from the Harmoni-CA concerted action as part of a 4-volume series of Guidance Reports that guide water professionals through the implementation process of the Water Framework Directive, with a focus on the use of ICT-tools (and in particular modelling). They are complementary to the Guidance Documents produced by the EU Directorate General for Environment.

Water resources planning and management and the development of appropriate policies require methodologies and tools that are able to support systematic, integrative and multidisciplinary assessments at various scales. It also requires the quantification of various uncertainties in both data and models, and the incorporation of stakeholders participation and institutional mechanisms into the various tools and risk assessment methodologies, to help decision makers understand and evaluate alternative measures and decisions.

This title belongs to Water Framework Directive Series .

ISBN: 9781843393276 (Print)

ISBN: 9781780400976 (eBook)


In this paper we examine the likelihood of multiple real steady states in deterministic exchange economies with overlapping generations. There is a single good and a single agent per generation with constant relative risk aversion expected utility. In order to test for multiple equilibria we employ methods from computational algebraic geometry. In our examples, we find that multiplicity becomes less likely as the life span of agents increases but becomes more likely as the coefficient of risk aversion increases. For moderate values of risk aversion, multiplicity is very unlikely when agents live for five or more periods. (JEL: C61, C63, D50, D58) (c) 2010 by the European Economic Association.


We present a practical technique for image-based relighting under environmental illumination which greatly reduces the number of required photographs compared to traditional techniques, while still achieving high quality editable relighting results. The proposed method employs an optimization procedure to combine spherical harmonics, a global lighting basis, with a set of local lights. Our choice of lighting basis captures both low and high frequency components of typical surface reflectance functions while generating close approximations to the ground truth with an order of magnitude less data. This technique benefits the acquisition process by reducing the number of required photographs, while simplifying the modification of reflectance data and enabling artistic lighting edits for post-production effects. Here, we demonstrate two desirable lighting edits, modifying light intensity and angular width, employing the proposed lighting basis.


In this study, we investigated how pre-existing Ab immunity to influenza virus established from prior immunizations affects the development of CD8+ T cell responses evoked after vaccination with a live attenuated vaccine. Using a mouse model and a panel of live attenuated influenza virus vaccine candidates (cold adapted and single cycle), we show that pre-existing influenza-specific Abs directed against the vaccine backbone attenuate the size and quality of the vaccine-induced CD8+ T cell response. Importantly, we show that increasing the vaccine dose can overcome this impediment, resulting in improved vaccine-induced circulating and tissue-resident memory CD8+ T cell responses, which were protective against heterologous influenza challenge. Thus, the reduced size and quality of the T cell response elicited by a live attenuated influenza virus vaccine imparted by the influenza-specific Ab landscape of the vaccinee can be overcome by increasing vaccine dose. Key Points Influenza-reactive Abs block CD8+ T cell responses to an LAIV. High-dose LAIV immunization overcomes Ab-mediated block in CD8 T cell priming. The immunological landscape of a vaccinee can impact LAIV-induced T cell responses.


The study evaluated Microfinance as a tool for poverty reduction in Ghana using central region as a case study. A survey design involving quantitative, qualitative and participatory methods within the framework of impact assessment techniques was used. Simple random and stratified sampling methods were employed to select five Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) and one hundred microcredit beneficiaries. The study made use of both primary and secondary data. It was found out that though there are challenges microfinance has a positive impact on poverty reduction. Among the recommendations were that microfinance clients should be trained before and after disbursement of the loan; and also they should be effectively monitored. In addition to the above recommendations it was concluded that if the challenges facing the Microfinance sector (eg; inappropriate institutional arrangement, poor regulatory environment etc) are addressed microfinance will be a potent tool for poverty reduction not only in Ghana but all developing countries at large.


New payload concepts of low cost earth stations for future mobile satellite communications can only be realised by using dedicated on-board processing satellites. The satellite uplink and downlink are optimised by the use of FDMA/SCPC for uplink and TDM on the down link. This scheme allows mobile transmitters to transmit a narrow band, low power signal, resulting in smaller dishes and HPAs with lower output power. On the uplink, there are hundreds of FDM channels to be demodulated on-board. The most promising approach is the use of all-digital multicarrier demodulators (MCDs), where analogue and digital hardware are efficiently shared amongst the channels and digital signal processing is used at an early stage to take advantage of VLSI technology. A MCD consists of a channeliser for separation of FDM channels followed by individual demodulators for each channel. The major research areas in MCD's are efficient implementation of channelisers and the optimal demodulation algorithms for the demodulator. This thesis is focused on the demodulator part of an MCD using OQPSK modulation which haye received attention recently due to its spectral advantages in non-linear mobile satellite channels. Most of the research carried out on the OQPSK modulation has been addressed to its spectral performance under satellite channel non-linearities, but little attention has been paid to efficient receiver designs. The most important requirements of the demodulator in a mobile environment is fast acquisition with minimum overhead. This over-head includes long preambles in data frames to aid the acquisition of the carrier and the symbol timing recovery loops. In this thesis, research on preambleless all-digital demodulators for OQPSK has been carried out. The performance of the most suitable OQPSK synchronisation algorithms have been evaluated using extensive computer simulations. These algorithms have been selected after a comprehensive survey of digital synchronisation techniques. It is shown how these algorithms are related to the maximum likelihood (ML) principle and these algorithms are classified according to their technique of parameter extraction from the likelihood function. The synchronisation problems associated with OQPSK are pointed out with possible solutions. On the basis of the performance results of individual synchronisers, various demodulation algorithms for OQPSK have been developed for fixed, mobile and deep space applications. The DSP implementation of the all- digital OQPSK demodulator developed for the MCD for mobile applications is described in detail and its performance compared with simulation results.


Under conditions of crystal growth by layering at room temperature, 1,4-bis(n-hexoxy)-2,5-bis(4,2′:6′,4′′-terpyridin-4′-yl)benzene (4) or 1,4-bis(n-decoxy)-2,5-bis(4,2′:6′,4′′-terpyridin-4′-yl)benzene (5) reacts with ZnCl2 to yield [Zn2Cl4(4)]n or [Zn2Cl4(5)·2MeOH]n. The compounds crystallize in the C2/c space group with 2-dimensional (4,4) nets which interpenetrate in a 2D → 2D parallel manner. The ligands act as planar 4-connecting nodes linked through the zinc(II) centres. In contrast, 1,4-bis(3-phenylpropoxy)-2,5-bis(4,2′:6′,4′′-terpyridin-4′-yl)benzene (6) reacts with ZnBr2 to give [Zn2Br4(6)·H2O]n which crystallizes in the trigonal R space group with a 3D assembly consisting of 2-fold interpenetrating nbo nets. Ligand 6 acts as a 4-connecting node and the zinc(II) centres are linkers. The pendant phenyl rings in 6 lie over the 4,2′:6′,4′′-tpy domains in an adjacent net and the resulting close association of the interpenetrated nets leads to a highly porous network.


Although it has been well documented that elevated body weight in middle- and older-aged populations is associated with multiple morbidities, the influence of childhood body weight on health endpoints other than coronary heart disease is not well understood. Accordingly, using a subsample of 4,620 participants (2,288 women) from the Scottish Mental Survey of 1947, we examined the association between body mass index measured at 11 years of age and future risk of 9 independent health endpoints as ascertained from national hospital admissions and cancer registers until 2014 (up to age 77 years). Although there was some evidence of a relationship between elevated childhood body mass index and higher rates of peripheral vascular disease (per each 1-standard deviation increase in body mass index, hazard ratio = 1.21, 95% confidence interval: 1.07, 1.37) and smoking-related cancers (per each 1-standard deviation increase in body mass index, hazard ratio = 1.09, 95% confidence interval: 1.01, 1.17), there was no apparent association with coronary heart disease, stroke (including ischemic stroke), heart failure, or carcinomas of the colorectum, stomach, lung, prostate, or breast. In conclusion, a relationship between childhood body weight and later morbidity was largely lacking in the present study.


In this paper, a novel face recognition system for face recognition and identification based on a combination of Principal Component Analysis and Kernel Canonical Correlation Analysis (P-KCCA) using Support Vector Machine (SVM) is proposed. First, the P-KCCA method is utilized to detect and extract the important features from the input images. This method makes it possible to match the 2D face image with enrolled 3D face data. The resulting features are then classified using the SVM method. The proposed methods were tested on TEXAS database with 200 subjects. The experimental results in the TEXAS face database produce interesting results from the point of view of recognition success, rate, and robustness of the face recognition algorithm. We compare the performance of our proposed face recognition method to other commonly-used methods. The experimental results show that the combination of P-KCCA method using SVM achieves a higher performance compared to the alone PCA, CCA and KCCA algorithms.


In this paper, we present a transmission polarization digital holographic microscope (Pol-DHM) that allows for imaging the state of polarization of a wave front with the acquisition of a single hologram. This apparatus records, using a CCD camera, the interference in off-axis geometry between two orthogonally polarized reference waves and an object wave transmitted through a microscopic sample and magnified by a microscope objective. Since the reference waves have orthogonal polarizations, they do not interfere and the hologram results in two different fringes patterns, which can be separately filtered in the spatial Fourier domain and reconstructed separately to compute the amplitude and phase of two wave fronts. These four images allow computing the polarization ellipse azimuth and the phase difference associated with the polarization state of the object wave. The method is illustrated by imaging the strain induced in a polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) sample and in a bended optical fiber.


Comprehensive gait analysis usually includes kinematics, kinetics, and electromyography. A complex instrumentation is thus required that only can be installed in a dedicated laboratory. These techniques are valuable to support clinical decisions and to evaluate the results. However, in several instances, a simplified analysis, concentrated on few selected gait parameters, can be valuable as well. One problem, however, is to ascertain that the computed parameters are correct and correspond to what could be measured by other, more complicated methods. A second point is to verify the feasibility of the measurement in pathologic cases. A third point is to understand the validity and the usefulness of the computed parameters to demonstrate the benefit for the clinical practice. In this study we describe an ambulatory system for temporal parameters estimation using gyroscopes. The accuracy of the measurement was assessed using a standard provided by an Elite system. To show the effectiveness of the method, gait parameters were obtained in patients with hip osteoarthrosis and after arthoplasty


Ivabradine is a specific heart rate-reducing agent approved as a treatment of chronic stable angina. Its mode of action involves a selective and specific block of HCN channels, the molecular components of sinoatrial "funny" (f)-channels. Different studies suggest that the binding site of ivabradine is located in the inner vestibule of HCN channels, but the molecular details of ivabradine binding are unknown. We thus sought to investigate by mutagenesis and in silico analysis which residues of the HCN4 channel, the HCN isoform expressed in the sinoatrial node, are involved in the binding of ivabradine. Using homology modeling, we verified the presence of an inner cavity below the channel pore and identified residues lining the cavity; these residues were replaced with alanine (or valine) either alone or in combination, and WT and mutant channels were expressed in HEK293 cells. Comparison of the block efficiency of mutant vs WT channels, measured by patch-clamp, revealed that residues Y506, F509 and I510 are involved in ivabradine binding. For each mutant channel, docking simulations correctly explain the reduced block efficiency in terms of proportionally reduced affinity for ivabradine binding. In summary our study shows that ivabradine occupies a cavity below the channel pore, and identifies specific residues facing this cavity that interact and stabilize the ivabradine molecule. This study provides an interpretation of known properties of f/HCN4 channel block by ivabradine such as the "open channel block", the current-dependence of block and the property of "trapping" of drug molecules in the closed configuration.


For over three decades, an Ideological Surround Model (ISM) has pursued theoretical and methodological innovations designed to enhance the 'truth' and 'objectivity' of research into psychology and religion. The foundational argument of the ISM is that psychology as well as religion unavoidably operates within the limits of an ideological surround. Methodological theism, therefore, needs to supplement the methodological atheism that dominates the contemporary social sciences. Methodological theism should operationalize the meaningfulness of religious traditions and demonstrate empirically that the influences of ideology cannot be ignored. The ISM more generally suggests that contemporary social scientific rationalities need to be supplemented my more complex dialogical rationalities. Beliefs in secularization should also be supplemented by beliefs in trans-rationality.


This report summarizes the placement of sulfur extended asphalt (SEA) paving mixtures at two test sites near Pullman, Washington. One site was on an existing state highway and the other made use of the Washington State University Test Track. The report includes the preliminary mix designs, pavement thickness determination, construction details and initial performance data for the test pavements. A major experimental feature of the study was the use of 0/100 (conventional asphalt concrete), 30/70 and 40/60 SEA binder ratios in the experimental paving mixtures.


Liquid sloshing noise from an automotive fuel tank is becoming increasingly important during frequent accelerating/decelerating driving conditions. It is becoming more apparent due to significant decrease in other noise sources in a vehicle, particularly in hybrid vehicles. As a step toward understanding the dynamics of liquid sloshing and noise generation mechanism, an experimental study was performed in a partially filled rectangular tank. A systematic study was performed to understand the effects of critical parameters like fill level and acceleration/deceleration magnitude. Response parameters like dynamic pressure, dynamic force, dynamic acceleration and sound pressure levels along with high speed video images were recorded. The proposed experimental setup was able to demonstrate major events leading to sloshing noise generation. These events in the sloshing mechanism have been analysed from the dynamic sensor data and correlated with high speed video images.


Nature conservation is fundamentally about managing people. Consequently, the effectiveness of conservation interventions depends largely on people's compliance with regulations. However, noncompliance with environmental regulations is common, as illustrated by the following examples. In the worldwide timber trade, roughly 20% to 50% of all timber is of illegal origin (INTERPOL & The World Bank, 2010). Meanwhile, in the world's industrial fisheries, estimates of nearly 20% of reported catch being illegal are probably conservative (Agnew et al., 2009). Poaching has militarized the struggle between poachers and rangers (Kalron, 2013; Stiles, 2013) with deadly consequences: more than half of the world's ranger deaths can be attributed to poachers (IUCN, 2014). Financially, illegal wildlife trade, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, and illegal timber trade are amongst the largest illicit activities in the world (Haken, 2011). Noncompliance with environmental regulations is a critical problem to address because it threatens not only the environment, but also social and economic prosperity.

In this thesis I investigate compliance through the lens of fishers' compliance, particularly with marine protected areas (MPAs). MPAs are widely used tools for marine conservation and fisheries management (Lester & Halpern, 2008). Studies show that compliance can be a strong predictor of fish biomass within MPAs (Ayling & Choat, 2008; Cudney- Bueno & Basurto, 2009; Guidetti et al., 2008). Hence, fishers' compliance is critical for MPA effectiveness. However, although there is a growing interest on the topic, there currently few empirical studies looking into fishers' compliance with MPAs. Without such information, conservation practitioners1 have limited opportunities to provide effective interventions. Through a series of studies, mostly in Costa Rica, I contribute theoretical and practical advances in the field of compliance with nature conservation rules.

The overarching research questions of my thesis are: (1) How can we better understand fishers' compliance with MPAs? and (2) How can we better manage fishers' compliance with MPAs? As it will become apparent throughout my thesis, both questions could apply to other contexts, including terrestrial conservation. This thesis is composed of six core chapters, each with specific research questions or purposes (Table 1). My interest in the field of compliance led me to approach the research questions through multiple contexts and scales: from nature conservation in general (Chapter 2), coastal MPAs and artisanal fisheries (Chapters 4 and 6), offshore MPAs and longline fishing (Chapter 5), and industrial tuna fishing (Chapter 7). Throughout my PhD I have endeavoured to make my work relevant and useful for practitioners while maintaining scientific rigour and novelty. Below I describe the core chapters of this thesis.

In Chapter 2 I review and integrate key concepts and tools about compliance from different fields in an effort to guide compliance management in the conservation context. First, I address the understanding of compliance by breaking it down into five key questions: who?, what?, when?, where?, and why? A special focus is given to 'why?' because understanding the reasons for compliance (and noncompliance) is critical for designing management interventions. Second, I review compliance management strategies, from voluntary compliance to coerced compliance. Finally, I suggest a system, adapted from research on tax compliance, to balance these multiple compliance management strategies. I provide a broad yet practical perspective on theory and tools for understanding and managing compliance in the nature conservation context.

In Chapter 3 I condense relevant information about Costa Rica. I provide an overview of conservation and marine protected areas in Costa Rica with the objective of giving the reader contextual information to better understand the subsequent chapters. Costa Rica has been renowned for its rich biodiversity and for being a leader in nature conservation. Even though this might be true to some extent, here I argue that the country is currently lacking the strong leadership that it had decades ago, and that the marine realm in particular is in urgent need of attention. Costa Rica's marine area is almost 11 times larger than its land area, and marine resources and services are critical for the country's development and well-being. Nevertheless, the lack of policies and actions aimed at marine conservation is now evidenced by factors such as overfishing, poorly planned conservation initiatives, a neglected nautical sector, conflict between stakeholders, and as discussed in the following chapters, illegal fishing. I anticipate, however, that the perilous state of marine affairs has created a new wave of interest in Costa Ricans for marine conservation that will lead to positive changes, resembling the similar cycle experienced in the country during the 1970s and 1980s with rampant deforestation followed by energetic terrestrial conservation.

In Chapter 4 I look at enforcement in MPAs. Enforcement, although not the only tool for managing compliance, is common and usually necessary to ensure compliance. Enforcement, however, is expensive and must be optimized. In this Chapter I present a case study of how enforcement could be optimized in Cocos Island National Park, an offshore MPA and World Heritage Site. By analysing several years of patrol records I determined the spatial and temporal distribution of illegal fishing, and its relationship to patrol effort. Illegal fishing was concentrated on a seamount within the Park and peaked during the third year-quarter, probably as a result of oceanographic conditions. The lunar cycle in conjunction with the time of year significantly influenced the occurrence of incursions. The predictability of illegal fishing in space and time facilitates the optimization of patrol effort. Repeat offenders are common in the Park and I suggest that unenforced regulations and weak governance are partly to blame. I provide recommendations for efficient distribution of patrol effort in space and time, establishing adequate governance and policy, and designing marine protected areas to improve compliance. My methods and recommendations from this Chapter could be applicable to other protected areas and managed natural resources.

In Chapter 5 I study strategies that illegal fishers use to avoid being detected by authorities, and I provide countermeasures that managers can use against these strategies. Detection-avoidance strategies are common in the context of nature conservation, yet they remain largely unstudied and are scarcely addressed in the peer-reviewed literature. Even though enforcement can be greatly improved (as discussed in Chapter 5), patrol effectiveness also depends on knowing and countering detection-avoidance strategies. First, I discuss detection-avoidance strategies in the nature conservation context. Second, by drawing on evidence collected in Costa Rica, I describe a series of detection-avoidance strategies used by small-scale fishers. And third, I provide countermeasures that can help prevent or neutralize these strategies.

Chapter 6 is a short account of how existing fisheries information collected by Regional Fisheries Management Organizations and coastal states can be used to expose illegal fishing. Here I draw on a little-known report, published in Spanish in Costa Rica, which reveals potential cases of illegal fishing from foreign tuna purse seiners. The cases, still pending action on behalf of the authorities, involve fishing without a licence, and the illegal use of fish aggregating devices. I discuss the broader implications of these cases, and suggest recommendations that could be adopted by Regional Fisheries Management Organizations and coastal states.

In Chapter 7 I explore the levels and drivers of fishers' compliance with MPAs. By studying 12 coastal MPAs in Costa Rica, I investigate the roles of different variables in influencing fishers' compliance with MPAs. Particularly, I found that compliance levels perceived by resource users were higher in MPAs: (1) with multiple livelihoods, (2) where government efforts against illegal fishing were perceived to be effective, (3) where fishing was allowed but regulated, (4) where people were more involved in decisions, and (5) that were smaller. I also provide a novel and practical measure of compliance: a compound variable formed by the number of illegal fishers and their illegal fishing effort. This study underlines the centrality of people's behaviour in nature conservation, and the importance of grounding decision-making on the social and institutional realities of each location.

Overall, my thesis features the relevance of integrating compliance management into conservation interventions. Without compliance, conservation fails. Conservation interventions such as MPAs can be effective. However, many of them are failing (Jones et al., 2011; Mora et al., 2006), and the growing interest in creating more MPAs calls for a critical evaluation of planning and management strategies, giving special consideration to compliance. My thesis builds on previous work, offering new concepts, methods and results that can contribute to enhanced nature conservation through better compliance management.


A novel, to our knowledge, method of distortion-invariant three-dimensional (3-D) pattern recognition is proposed. A single two-dimensional synthetic discriminant function is employed as a reference function in the 3-D correlator. Thus the proposed system is able to identify and locate any true-class object in the 3-D scene. Preliminary simulation and experimental results are presented.


BACKGROUND: Adrenal myelolipoma is a rare benign tumor formed by hematopoietic tissue and mature adipose tissue. Usually is insidious and found occasionally on image exams, therefore is also called incidentaloma. Image studies and anatomopathological exam are important to define the diagnosis of adrenal myelolipoma. This study's objective was to report the case of this rare adrenal tumor and its main diagnostic means.
CASE: It was report case about a 72-year-old patient, whose initial symptom was diffuse abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, diagnosed with adrenal myelolipoma after image studies even in the absence of laboratory abnormalities, and submitted at a private hospital at Belem-PA.
CONCLUSIONS: The adrenal myelolipoma, due its usual asymptomatic characteristics or its no-specifics symptoms, requires a meticulous analysis concerning both diagnosis and treatment. Thus, our case report corroborates the importance of the image studies in front of an obscure and difficult diagnosis, especially the computed tomography, and anatomopathological evaluation, since they are essential to the best decision making and consequently a better prognosis of the patient.


The main premise of Vygotsky's cultural-historical theory is that to promote learning, and thus development, educators must intervene in, and change, the students' socio-cultural context. Vygotsky's theory, however, has been misinterpreted and the opposite approach has been accepted: the teaching is adapted, according to the context. The result is widespread failure in schools. This article reclaims the true transformative meaning of Vygotskian theory and shows how successful schools in several countries implement various actions to transform their social and cultural environment. Data is presented from six case studies of successful schools conducted in five European countries. The analysis shows that these actions improve instrumental learning and, consequently, cognitive development. All these efforts focus on teaching methods that aim to increase the amount that students learn.


Recent years have seen the enactment of new legislation governing corporate liability for death caused by gross negligence through business activities. The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 has been heralded as an important development in corporate criminal liability. Our research examines the potential impact of the Act, upon companies and their directors in the UK. The paper considers recent cases where there has been a fatality in the workplace due to gross negligence of the management, and examines the evolving approach of the prosecuting authorities and courts. From our investigations it would appear that the potential net of corporate criminal liability has now been spread further. If prosecutions are successful, large corporations may face severe fines; however it is small companies and their directors that will usually bear the burden of increased penalties for corporate failure.


Motivated by the well‐known identification problems in telephone communication, this study investigates the influence of filtering on the aural differentiation of related speakers (e.g., father and son). Speech samples of couples of related speakers were presented to 30 listeners in 14 sessions (1 couple/session). Each session started with a reference sample to acquaint the listeners with one speaker of the couple. Subsequently the listeners received samples of both speakers and had to detect the samples belonging to the acquainted speaker. Additionally they gave information about the certainty of their decision using the terms ''surely,'' ''probably,'' or possibly.'' The following speech samples were used: voiced vowels and (unknown) sentences, unfiltered and filtered with several bandpass filters; voiced vowels without higher formants (only F1 left), and whispered vowels. In an additional opinion test the similarity of both voices of each couple was rated. The rates of false identifications depend clear...


L itter can be a personal issue. for some, the shock of seeing sea lions munching on plastic bags spurs the urge to volunteer for beach clean-ups. for others, the importance of keeping our water clean hits home when family members get sick after a swim at a contaminated beach. but for many, soda bottles, food wrappers, and cigarette butts are just bits of muck that hit the street and wash away, forgotten. That waste doesn't just disappear, though, and it is can be costly to clean up. as revealed in a new report produced on behalf of the Natural resources Defense Council by Kier associates, California cities, towns, and taxpayers are shouldering $428 million per year in costs to stop litter from becoming pollution that harms the environment, tourism and other economic activity. NRDC: Waste in Our Waterways Unveiling the Hidden Costs to Californians of Litter Clean-Up (PDF)


Middle-Late Jurassic Cimmerian events in Turkey have been actively discussed in the past three decades, but proposed tectonic models associated with magmatism, metamorphism, and stratigraphic features remain controversial. To address this issue, Upper Jurassic mafic lavas are investigated at three locations (Alucra, Gümüşhane, and Olur) in the eastern Sakarya Zone, northeastern Turkey. These lavas are submarine and form planar flows parallel with the bedding plane in the Upper Jurassic carbonate sequence near the base or just below in the clastic sedimentary rocks. The basaltic lavas show calc-alkaline features and possess Nb-Ta values and Nb/U, Nb/La, and Ce/Pb ratios that are greater than those of island arc basalts. Multielement patterns are almost hump shaped, similar to ocean island basalts, which experience Pb depletion and weak negative Nb-Ta, Zr-Hf, and Ti anomalies. The low initial (87Sr/86Sr) ratios (0.70372–0.70554), positive initial εNd values (+2.7 to +4.4), and initial Pb isotope ratios that plot between mid-ocean-ridge and ocean island basalts are consistent with a melt derived from subcontinental lithospheric mantle, metasomatized by earlier fluids from subducted sediments and plume materials from the asthenosphere. Moderate Dy/Yb ratios with an average value of 1.8 imply partial melting in the spinel-garnet transition zone at depths of ∼70–100 km. Slab breakoff is suggested as a geodynamic mechanism that accounts for these geochemical signatures. This inference is also favored by stratigraphic and sedimentologic evidence from the Upper Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous sedimentary rocks, which is consistent with short-lived vertical (epirogenic) movements in the region. Lower-Middle Jurassic sequences are transgressive, suggesting that subduction-related extension opened a backarc basin (Neotethys) in the south of the Sakarya Zone. Upper Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous carbonates point tectonically to tranquility during carbonate deposition in the Neotethys Ocean, which seems to have been achieved by complete closure of the Paleotethys in the north. About 15–20 m.yr. later (Kimmeridgian), after first carbonate deposition, intraplate-type mafic lavas ascended up to the shelf surface of the Neotethys. This was followed by formation of disconformity surfaces and then accumulation of coarse clastic sediments. All this points to a short-lived epirogenic movement that we ascribe to the breakoff of the southward-subducting Paleotethyan oceanic lithosphere in the Late Jurassic.


Microsoft Project 2010 is a powerful application that allows you to plan, resource, manage and report on a project no matter how large. In project 2010 you can create projects which can be managed across continents via the Internet or intranet. This ebook is the first part of a series of two ebooks which will teach you how to work with Microsoft Project. This part contains a brief introduction to Microsoft Project. As well you find an overview of the basic functions. In the last chapter of this ebook you will start with planning your first project!


Sounds of the Borderland is the first book-length study of how popular music became a medium for political communication and contested identification during and after Croatia's war of independence from Yugoslavia. It extends existing cultural studies literature on music, politics, and the state, which has largely been grounded in Western European and North American political systems. It also responds to an emerging fascination with the culture and politics of contemporary south-east Europe, expanding scholarship on the post-Yugoslav conflicts by going on to encompass significant social and political changes into the present day. The outbreak of war in 1991 saw almost every professional musician in Croatia take part in a wave of patriotic music-making and the powerful state television system strive to bring popular music under its control. As the political imperative shifted from securing national survival to consolidating a homogenous nation-state, the music industry responded with several strategies for creating a national popular music, producing messages about the nation and, in the ongoing debates over the origins of the folk music that inspired many songs, a way to define the nation by expressing what Croatia was not. The war on ethnic ambiguity which cut through individuals' social and creative lives played out across the airwaves, sales racks and gossip columns of a small country that imagined itself a historical and cultural borderland. These explicit and implicit narratives of nationhood connect many political phases: the months of fiercest fighting, the stabilised front, the uneasy post-war years when the symbolic frontline region of eastern Slavonia had still not returned to Croatian sovereignty, the euphoria and instability after the end of the Tudjman regime in 2000, and Croatia's fraught journey towards the European Union. Baker's book provides valuable insight into the role of music in a wartime and post-conflict society and will be essential reading for researchers and students interested in south-east Europe or the transformation of entertainment during and after conflict.


The integration of MEMS transducers in photonic integrated circuits provides opportunities for high efficiency photonic modulation and dynamic routing on-chip. We here present an electrostatically actuated, silicon photonic MEMS $2 \times 2$ power coupler, fabricated in IMEC's iSiPP50G platform followed by a dedicated MEMS release sequence. The in-plane, mechanical tuning mechanism provides analog power coupling between waveguides in a small form factor. With our experimental demonstration of broad, > 30 nm optical bandwidth, high extinction ratio of > 27 dB, and a low actuation voltage of only 6 V, the coupler fulfills the requirements for large-scale integration in next generation reconfigurable PICs.


A simple, nonparametric and distribution free method was developed for quick identification of the most meaningful biomarkers among a number of candidates in complex biological phenomena, especially in relatively small samples. This method is independent of rigid model forms or other link functions. It may be applied both to metric and non-metric data as well as to independent or matched parallel samples. With this method identification of the most relevant biomarkers is not based on inferential methods; therefore, its application does not require corrections of the level of significance, even in cases of thousands of variables. Hence, the introduced method is appropriate to analyze and evaluate data of complex investigations in clinical and pre-clinical basic research, such as gene or protein expressions, phenotype-genotype associations in case-control studies on the basis of thousands of genes and SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphism), search of prevalence in sleep EEG-Data, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) or others.


This thesis examines the history and development of the Picturesque, its definition, theoreticians, and practitioners; and its influence on romanticism. The focus is the correction of pejorative and negative assessments common in modern literary studies which provide a misleading interpretation of both the Picturesque and its influence. The goal is a broader understanding which suggests the necessity of a new evaluation of Wordsworth's "groundbreaking" contribution to literary development. Accordingly, an extensive introductory section examines pre-Picturesque and Picturesque painting, outlining the beginnings of a new and particularly English aesthetic. Also, an exploration of pre-Picturesque poetry and formative Picturesque poetry reveals the literary ramifications of this aesthetic. Finally, Wordsworth and Keats are canvassed within the Picturesque context: Wordsworth to demonstrate the origins and erroneousness of the modern critical bias and the way his poetry was often formulated according to Picturesque principles; Keats to demonstrate the longevity and continuing importance and influence of the Picturesque. Conclusions are conclusive.


The 2018 release of the DoD's Digital Engineering (DE) strategy and the success of applying DE methods in the mechanical and electrical engineering domains motivate application of DE methods in other product development workflows, such as systems and/or software engineering. The expected benefits of this are improved communication and traceability with reduced rework and risk. Organizations have demonstrated advantages of DE methods many times over by using model-based design and analysis methods, such as Finite Element Analysis (FEA) or SPICE (Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis), to conduct detailed evaluations earlier in the process (i.e., shifting left). However, other domains such as embedded computing resources for cyber physical systems (CPS) have not yet effectively demonstrated how to incorporate relevant DE methods into their development workflows. Although there is broad support for SysML and there has been significant advancement in specific tools (e.g., MathWorks ® , ANSYS ® , and Dassault tool offerings) and standards like Modelica and AADL, the DE benefits to CPS engineering have not been broadly realized. In this paper, we will explore why CPS developers have been slow to embrace DE, how DE methods should be tailored to achieve their stakeholders' goals, and how to measure the effectiveness of DE-enabled workflows.


BACKGROUND
There is an interest in noninvasive measurement of body fat in newborns and infants. Measurement of skinfold thickness (SFT) is a simple clinical method.

OBJECTIVE
We correlated fat mass (FM) values of neonates and infants predicted from SFT measurements and compared them with FM values measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), a validated in vivo method for determining body fat.

DESIGN
The weight, length, body composition (DXA measurement of FM and percentage of body fat), and SFT of 104 healthy term and preterm infants were measured at 0, 2, and 4 mo of age.

RESULTS
Mean (+/- SD) FM determined by DXA increased from 440 +/- 220 g at birth to 1310 +/- 450 g at 2 mo of age and to 2170 +/- 605 g at 4 mo of age. The percentage of body fat increased from 13.3% at birth to 24.5% and 31.2% at 2 and 4 mo of age, respectively. An equation was developed to calculate FM (in g) in newborns by using the sum of SFT measurements (in mm) and body length (l; in cm): FM = 68.2 x SigmaSFT((0.0162) x l) - 172.8 (R(2) = 0.948, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS
With the use of statistical bootstrap analysis, the results provide an in vivo validation of SFT measurements against DXA for newborns and young infants. Body fat measurements by SFT correlate with FM values determined by DXA (R(2) = 0.936). Estimation of nutritional status is possible with errors (SD) of +/- 75, +/- 170, +/- 300, and +/- 380 g for infants with an FM <or= 500, 501-1000, 1001-2000, or > 2000 g, respectively.


While the effects of wind farms on bats are widely studied, effects of small wind turbines (SWTs, here <25 m hub height) remain understudied. SWTs are installed in a wider range of habitats compared to wind farms and their effect on wildlife can therefore be different. While single SWTs can adversely affect bat activity in their immediate vicinity, they are often installed in clusters, and to date, no data are available on whether installation of more than one turbine increases the likelihood of adverse effects on bats. Here, we test whether (1) SWT installations affect the activity of two species of bat (the common pipistrelle Pipistrellus pipistrellus and soprano pipistrelle P. pygmaeus) on a landscape scale (here defined as up to 500 m from SWTs) and (2) such an effect is stronger when multiple (2–4) SWTs are installed. We show that, after accounting for potentially confounding effects (e.g. variation in habitat and weather), (1) mean P. pipistrellus activity is lower at 0–100 m compared to 200–500 m from SWTs and (2) the effect on P. pygmaeus activity tends to be similar and stronger in multiple SWT sites, although evidence for the latter is limited. We conclude that in some cases, adverse effects of SWTs on bat activity may be measurable over longer spatial scales (within 100 m) than previously thought. However, combined with earlier findings, it is likely that the bulk of such effects operate within relative close proximity of SWTs (<25 m). Moreover, although these effects may be species‐specific, with, for example, P. pygmaeus potentially more strongly affected by multiple SWT sites, this requires further data. These findings are highly relevant to decision‐making aimed at minimizing any adverse effects of wind turbines, specifically single‐ versus multiple SWT developments, on wildlife.


We introduce a Content-based Document Alignment approach (CDA), an efficient method to align multilingual web documents based on content in creating parallel training data for machine translation (MT) systems operating at the industrial level. CDA works in two steps: (i) projecting documents of a web domain to a shared multilingual space; then (ii) aligning them based on the similarity of their representations in such space. We leverage lexical translation models to build vector representations using TF×IDF. CDA achieves performance comparable with state-of-the-art systems in the WMT-16 Bilingual Document Alignment Shared Task benchmark while operating in multilingual space. Besides, we created two web-scale datasets to examine the robustness of CDA in an industrial setting involving up to 28 languages and millions of documents. The experiments show that CDA is robust, cost-effective, and is significantly superior in (i) processing large and noisy web data and (ii) scaling to new and low-resourced languages.


The trigger for biomineralization of metazoans in the terminal Ediacaran, ca. 550 Ma, has been suggested to be the rise of oxygenation or an increase in seawater Ca concentration, but geochemical and fossil data have not been fully integrated to demonstrate cause and effect. Here we combine the record of macrofossils with early marine carbonate cement distribution within a relative depth framework for terminal Ediacaran to Cambrian successions on the eastern Siberian Platform, Russia, to interrogate the evolution of seawater chemistry and biotic response. Prior to ca. 545 Ma, the presence of early marine ferroan dolomite cement suggests dominantly ferruginous anoxic "aragonite-dolomite seas", with a very shallow oxic chemocline that supported mainly soft-bodied macrobiota. After ca. 545 Ma, marine cements changed to aragonite and/or high-Mg calcite, and this coincides with the appearance of widespread aragonite and high-Mg calcite skeletal metazoans, suggesting a profound change in seawater chemistry to "aragonite seas" with a deeper chemocline. By early Cambrian Stage 3, the first marine low-Mg calcite cements appear, coincident with the first low-Mg calcite metazoan skeletons, suggesting a further shift to "calcite seas". We suggest that this evolution of seawater chemistry was caused by enhanced continental denudation that increased the input of Ca into oceans so progressively lowering Mg/Ca, which, combined with more widespread oxic conditions, facilitated the rise of skeletal animals and in turn influenced the evolution of skeletal mineralogy.


Context.In our Paper I, by using statistical deconvolution methods, extended kinematics maps ofGaia-DR2 data have been produced in a range of heliocentric distances that are a factor of two to three larger than those analyzed previously by theGaiaCollaboration with the same data. It added the range of Galactocentric distances between 13 kpc and 20 kpc to the previous maps.Aims.Here, we investigate the dynamical effects produced by different mechanisms that can explain the radial and vertical components of these extended kinematic maps, including a decomposition of bending and breathing of the vertical components. This paper as a whole tries to be a compendium of different dynamical mechanisms whose predictions can be compared to the kinematic maps.Methods.Using analytical methods or simulations, we are able to predict the main dynamical factors and compare them to the predictions of the extended kinematic maps ofGaia-DR2.Results.The gravitational influence of Galactic components that are different from the disk, such as the long bar or bulge, the spiral arms, or a tidal interaction with Sagittarius dwarf galaxy, may explain some features of the velocity maps, especially in the inner parts of the disk. However, they are not sufficient in explaining the most conspicuous gradients in the outer disk. Vertical motions might be dominated by external perturbations or mergers, although a minor component may be due to a warp whose amplitude evolves with time. Here, we show with two different methods, which analyze the dispersion of velocities, that the mass distribution of the disk is flared. Despite these partial explanations, the main observed features can only be explained in terms of out-of-equilibrium models, which are either due to external perturbers or to the fact that the disk has not had time to reach equilibrium since its formation.