The coordinated motion of a group of autonomous mobile robots for the achievement of a coordinated task has received significant research interest in the last decade. Avoiding the collisions of the robots with the obstacles and other members of the group is one of the main problems in the area as previous studies have revealed. Substantial amount of research effort has been concentrated on defining virtual forces that will yield reference trajectories for a group of autonomous mobile robots engaged in coordinated behavior. If the mobile robots are nonholonomic, this approach fails to guarantee coordinated motion since the nonholonomic constraint blocks sideway motions. Two novel approaches to the problem of modeling coordinated motion of a group of autonomous nonholonomic mobile robots inclusive of a new collision avoidance scheme are developed in this thesis. In the first approach, a novel coordination method for a group of autonomous nonholonomic mobile robots is developed by the introduction of a virtual reference system, which in turn implies online collision-free trajectories and consists of virtual mass-spring-damper units. In the latter, online generation of reference trajectories for the robots is enabled in terms of their linear and angular velocities. Moreover, a novel collision avoidance algorithm, that updates the velocities of the robots when a collision is predicted, is developed in both of the proposed models. Along with the presentation of several coordinated task examples, the proposed models are verified via simulations. Experiments were conducted to verify the performance of the collision avoidance algorithm. BIR GRUP OTONOM MOBIL ROBOTUN KOORDINELI HAREKETININ MODELLENMESI VE KONTROLU


BACKGROUND
Individuals with HIV infection often lose weight during the course of their disease. Furthermore, low serum concentrations of testosterone are common in individuals with HIV infection, particularly those with weight loss. Treatment of weight loss with anabolic steroids in HIV-infected individuals may be beneficial.

OBJECTIVES
Our objectives were to assess the efficacy and safety of anabolic steroids for the treatment of weight loss in adults with HIV infection.

SEARCH STRATEGY
We searched the following databases: Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, AIDSLINE, AIDSearch, EMBASE, CINAHL, Current Contents, and the National Library of Medicine Gateway Abstracts for controlled trials up to April 2005. We also searched the bibliographies of the identified studies and review the articles. In addition, pharmaceutical manufacturers of anabolic steroids were contacted.

SELECTION CRITERIA
Randomized controlled trials that compared the use of an anabolic steroid to placebo to treat weight loss in adults with HIV were included. Randomized controlled trials that compared the use of anabolic steroids to placebo for the treatment of weight loss in adults with HIV were selected. Change from baseline in lean body mass or in body weight was reported as on outcome measure.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Two reviewers independently assessed the trials for quality of randomization, blinding, withdrawals, and adequacy of allocation concealment. For continuous data, weighted mean differences (WMD) were calculated. For dichotomous outcomes, risk differences, were calculated. Because of uncertainty as to whether consistent true effects exist in such different populations and treatments, the authors decided a priori to use random effects models for all outcomes.

MAIN RESULTS
Thirteen trials met the inclusion criteria. Two hundred ninety-four individuals randomized to anabolic steroid therapy and 238 individuals randomized to placebo were included in the analysis of efficacy for change from baseline in lean body mass. Three hundred forty-three individuals randomized to anabolic steroid and 286 randomized to placebo were included in the analysis of efficacy for change from baseline in body weight. The mean methodologic quality of the included studies was 4.1, of a maximum 5 points. Although significant heterogeneity was present for both outcomes, the average change in lean body mass was 1.3 kg (95% CI: 0.6, 2.0), while the average change in total body weight was 1.1 kg (95% CI: 0.3, 2.0). A total of eight deaths occurred during the treatment period; four in the anabolic steroid treatment groups and four in the placebo-treatment groups (risk difference 0.00, 95% CI -0.03, 0.03). The risk difference for withdrawals or discontinuations of study medication due to adverse events was 0.00 (95% CI: -0.02, 0.03).

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
Although the results of the trials were heterogeneous, on average, the administration of anabolic steroids appeared to result in a small increase in both lean body mass and body weight as compared with placebo. While these results suggest that anabolic steroids may be useful in the treatment of weight loss in HIV infected individuals, due to limitations, treatment recommendations cannot be made. Further information is required regarding the long-term benefit and adverse effects of anabolic steroid use, the specific populations for which anabolic steroid therapy may be most beneficial, and the optimal regime. In addition, the correlation of improvement in lean body mass with more clinically relevant endpoints, such as physical functioning and survival, needs to be determined.


Aim/Purpose: Limited research exists on the perceived value that a doctoral degree has on higher education administrators' goals; therefore, this collective case study had two purposes. The first was to assess qualitatively the perceptions of four doctorate-holding higher education administrators to explore the potential value associated with their degrees, and the second was to determine whether they perceived that their degree attainments influenced the achievement of their professional goals, if at all.

Background: Understanding goal attainment and the value associated with obtaining a doctoral degree is important to recognize the needs of doctoral students and to inform how to support degree-seeking professionals in achieving their professional goals. Building upon the conceptual model of doctoral value, as defined by Bryan and Guccione (2018), the researchers also utilized Becker's (1964) human capital theory as the framework for understanding the perceptions of select administrative professionals who have completed their doctoral degrees in higher education.

Methodology: Because this was a collective case study, four doctorate-holding higher education administrators were selected, through convenience sampling, to engage in a formal semi-structured face-to-face interview. Interview responses were evaluated using ethnographic analysis (i.e., domain analysis, taxonomic analysis, and componential analysis).

Contribution: Findings from this research can be used to better understand the perceptions of graduates who earned a doctoral degree in education, particularly with an increase in the number of doctoral degrees in that field. The results from this study align with findings from previous studies.

Findings: The ethnographic analysis of the data indicated that the administrators perceived their doctoral degree as a way to advance professionally (e.g., career opportunities and research publication) and as a way to improve personally (e.g., increased confidence and becoming a role model). Two domains emerged: attainment of goals and perceptions of doctoral degree value. The taxonomic analysis revealed that the attainment of goals included personal and professional goals. Lastly, the componential analysis led to the discovery of nine attributes associated with obtaining a doctoral degree.

Recommendations for Practitioners: Administrators in higher education degree programs should understand the needs of their students while they are participating in doctoral studies. By knowing what doctoral students expect to gain after obtaining a doctoral degree, doctoral-program administrators might consider tailoring courses and support programs to meet doctoral student needs.

Recommendation for Researchers: Additional longitudinal studies should be undertaken to understand better how doctoral graduates view the value of their degree many years later. Do their perceptions change over time, or are they solidified?

Impact on Society: With an increasing number of individuals obtaining doctoral degrees in higher education, departments, colleges, and universities need to understand whether graduates find that their degree has been useful. Because there is a demand for agencies to emphasize skills and work-related training, the perceived value of the degree can inform policymakers on changes in curriculum and programming to increase the perceived value of the doctoral degree.

Future Research: Future research should expand upon the number of students who are interviewed, and students in other academic programs may be interviewed to understand similarities and differences. Longitudinal studies should be conducted to understand if the perception of degree value changes over time.


The aim of this study is twofold: explore how people use specific gestures to serve important dialogue functions and show evidence that it is possible to measure and quantify their extent. The paper focuses both on the presentation of the method used for the recording, coding and measurement of gestures and on the discussion on the obtained results. Gestures, mainly head movements, were selected from naturally elicited dialogues ad-hoc recorded in lab-environment. The recordings consisted both of audio-video data and data measurements obtained with a motion tracking system. Most of the analyzed head movements are produced to give feedback and the results show that it is possible to identify a specific pattern for a specific movement and that movements can be easily measured and their extent can be quantified. The results obtained with our method might eventually be implemented to improve the naturalness in animated talking heads.


Abstract. With the development of LiDAR and photogrammetric techniques, more and more point clouds are available with high density and in large areas. Point cloud interpretation is an important step before many real applications like 3D city modelling. Many supervised machine learning techniques have been adapted to semantic point cloud segmentation, aiming to automatically label point clouds. Current deep learning methods have shown their potentials to produce high accuracy in semantic point cloud segmentation tasks. However, these supervised methods require a large amount of labelled data for proper model performance and good generalization. In practice, manual labelling of point clouds is very expensive and time-consuming. Active learning can iteratively select unlabelled samples for manual annotation based on current statistical models and then update the labelled data pool for next model training. In order to effectively label point clouds, we proposed a segment based active learning strategy to assess the informativeness of samples. Here, the proposed strategy uses 40% of the whole training dataset to achieve a mean IoU of 75.2% which is 99.1% of the accuracy in mIoU obtained from the model trained on the full dataset, while the baseline method using same amount of data only reaches 69.6% in mIoU corresponding to 90.9% of the accuracy in mIoU obtained from the model trained on the full dataset.


Texts are a group of letters which are printed or displayed in a particular style and size. In the course of the fast speed of technological development everywhere and expanding use of computer based instruction such as online courses, students spend more time on a computer screen than printed media. Texts have been the main element to convey messages. It has also been a significant component for learning. The main goal of this research is to measure the effects of font type and spacing of on screen text and its readability in improving and boosting the learner's ability to read easily, recall information, and enhance their reading speed and comprehension from on screen text with different topics. The readability of text on screens is necessary to ensure effective engagement in order to enhance the level of students' readability. For this purpose two font types were selected, Times New Roman (serif) and Verdana (san serif) for the respondents. Verdana was designed only for computer screens display. Readability test on a computer screen was conducted on 30 postgraduate students. Overall, the results showed that there was a significant difference between the readability of serif and san serif font type of on-screen display. The research findings suggest Verdana font type as a better choice in displaying long text for on-screen display.


Abstract. Quantification of soil roughness, i.e. the irregularities of the soil surface due to soil texture, aggregates, rock fragments and land management, is important as it affects surface storage, infiltration, overland flow, and ultimately sediment detachment and erosion. Roughness has been measured in the field using both contact methods (such as roller chain and pinboard) and sensor methods (such as stereophotogrammetry and terrestrial laser scanning (TLS)). A novel depth-sensing technique, originating in the gaming industry, has recently become available for earth sciences: the Xtion Pro method. Roughness data obtained using various methods are assumed to be similar; this assumption is tested in this study by comparing five different methods to measure roughness in the field on 1 m2 agricultural plots with different management (ploughing, harrowing, forest and direct seeding on stubble) in southern Norway. Subsequently, the values were used as input for the LISEM soil erosion model to test their effect on the simulated hydrograph at catchment scale. Results show that statistically significant differences between the methods were obtained only for the fields with direct seeding on stubble; for the other land management types the methods were in agreement. The spatial resolution of the contact methods was much lower than for the sensor methods (10 000 versus at least 57 000 points per square metre). In terms of costs and ease of use in the field, the Xtion Pro method is promising. Results from the LISEM model indicate that especially the roller chain overestimated the random roughness (RR) values and the model subsequently calculated less surface runoff than measured. In conclusion, the choice of measurement method for roughness data matters and depends on the required accuracy, resolution, mobility in the field and available budget. It is recommended to use only one method within one study.


Abstract Earth materials have been used in the form of adobe or rammed products for the construction of load-bearing walls in buildings. In Portugal, the adobe has been used predominantly on the central coast, particularly in the Aveiro district. Although many old adobe buildings in Aveiro have been abandoned, some of them can be refurbished with minor maintenance and repair works. Representative samples from typical adobe blocks, from various constructions in the region were collected and characterized for their mineralogical composition, particle size, aggregate content, water uptake, durability and strength. These basic properties provide a basis for the development of adequate interventions, preserving the characteristics of the buildings. This study compares the main characteristics of adobes from two different locations (Anadia and Murtosa). The most important differences between the two groups of adobes are the particle size distribution, the mineralogical composition, the water absorption and the mechanical and durability properties. The study improved the knowledge of the traditional construction methods and will enable decisions for rehabilitation of adobe buildings to be made. Knowledge of the main characteristics of adobes allows those participating in the rehabilitation process to obtain the basis for the rehabilitation and conservation of old buildings.


The brown planthopper [BPH; Nilaparvata lugens (Stal.)] is one of the most destructive insect pests in Asian rice-growing areas. Two genes conferring resistance to BPH, BPH25(t) and BPH26(t) derived from a BPH-resistant indica rice cultivar, Oryza sativa ADR52, have been identified. However, they are linked to genes conferring late heading and hybrid spikelet sterility. To eliminate these unfavorable traits (linkage drag), we generated BC6F1 populations carrying BPH25(t) or BPH26(t) in a BPH-susceptible japonica cultivar, Taichung 65, through marker-assisted selection. We selected three near-isogenic lines (NILs) carrying BPH25(t) without late heading date and one NIL carrying BPH26(t) without spikelet sterility from BC6F2 progeny that showed between 96.3 and 99.8% of the Taichung 65 genetic background through whole-genome survey. In antibiosis testing, the rates of surviving insects and of females with swollen abdomens were lower on the NILs than on Taichung 65, indicating that bph25(t) and Bph26(t) alleles from ADR52 controlled the resistance to BPH. The NILs will serve as useful resources for (1) monitoring BPH virulence and for (2) increasing resistance to BPH.


The Giant Mascot Ni-Cu-PGE deposit is the only past-producing nickel mine (1958–1974) in the Canadian Cordillera of British Columbia, Canada, with ~4.2 Mt of ore grading 0.77% Ni and 0.34% Cu (Ni/Cu = 2.3). The deposit is part of an emerging class of convergent margin Ni-Cu-PGE sulfide deposits where the host rocks are characterized by abundant orthopyroxene and magmatic hornblende. The Giant Mascot intrusion is a crudely elliptical, 3- × 2-km plug composed of ultramafic arc cumulates (olivine-orthopyroxene, hornblende-clinopyroxene) that intruded the Late Cretaceous Spuzzum dioritic pluton. The ores are contained within subvertical pipe-like, lensoid, and tabular bodies ( n = 28), interpreted to represent mineralized conduits and consist of pyrrhotite, pentlandite (+argentopentlandite), chalcopyrite, minor pyrite, troilite, and Pt-Pd-Ni bismuthotellurides. The sulfides have moderate tenors (3–14 wt % Ni, 0.1–17.1 wt % Cu, 84 ppb to 5 ppm total PGE), and variations in PGE concentrations distinguish two geographic mineralized zones (western and eastern). Sulfur isotopes for sulfides span a restricted range of δ 34 S values (−3.4 to −1.3‰) and overlap with analyses from locally pyritiferous Settler schist (−5.4 to −1.2‰). Olivine chemistry reveals a wide range of both Fo (80–89 mol %) and Ni contents (336–3,859 ppm) and provides evidence that Ni contents of olivine were locally upgraded during equilibration with sulfide liquid. Sulfide saturation in the Giant Mascot parental magma(s) was triggered in response to (1) reduction of an oxidized, mantle-derived arc magma, producing ores that formed at an oxidation state of ~ ΔQFM +1; (2) addition of external sulfur and silica by assimilation of Settler schist and Spuzzum diorites; and (3) fractional crystallization of olivine ± orthopyroxene. The presence of high-tenor sulfides in the Giant Mascot deposit indicates that orthomagmatic Ni-Cu-PGE deposits in convergent margin tectonic settings may be of significance to future global exploration.


Nursing homes are arguably the most criticized sector of the US health care system. In fact, the nursing home industry's entire history has been marked by cycles of public clamor for improvement and ineffective governmental responses. Over the past century, multiple attempts to improve the quality of nursing home care have had limited success. This article reviews these initiatives from the era of the poorhouse to the most recent reform law, implemented during the last decade. An analysis suggests that the historical reliance on government regulation has not ensured nursing home quality. Future efforts should address the most glaring weaknesses of nursing home regulation, including the lack of standardization of the survey and enforcement processes. In addition, new strategies are needed beyond a reformed inspection system. This article demonstrates that while the exact path to nursing home quality is somewhat uncertain, retracing history's steps will not lead nursing homes in the desired direction.


The effect of tea on iron absorption was studied in human volunteers. Absorption from solutions of FeCl3 and FeSO4, bread, a meal of rice with potato and onion soup, and uncooked haemoglobin was inhibited whether ascorbic acid was present or not. No inhibition was noted if the haemoglobin was cooked. The effect on the absorption of non-haem iron was ascribed to the formation of insoluble iron tannate complexes. Drinking tannin-containing beverages such as tea with meals may contribute to the pathogenesis of iron deficiency if the diet consists largely of vegetable foodstuffs.


Because the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) lacks sufficient resources to enforce the OSH Act effectively in all workplaces, OSHA must rely on workers to bring hazardous conditions to the agency's attention. Section 11(c) of the Act is designed to protect workers who face retaliation because of safety-related activities. This article provides an analysis of this provision, including a review of administrative interpretations, data on cases that are processed by OSHA, and a summary of the remarkably sparse litigation under this statutory section. The article then compares Section 11(c) to other whistleblower laws that are investigated by OSHA and explores the statute's troubling weaknesses. Of these weaknesses, the most important is that complainants have no right to pursue a claim on their own after exhausting administrative remedies, and therefore must rely on the Solicitor of Labor to file claims in federal court. A very short statute of limitations and relatively heavy burden of proof for complainants further weaken the effectiveness of this law. While common law or state remedies may be available to employees facing retaliation in some states, the federal statute is a key component of the federal occupational safety and health regulatory regime, and it is in need of amendments that would make it consistent with the stronger whistleblower laws that have been enacted since 1970. In the alternative, OSHA preemption does not preclude states from extending legal protections to safety whistleblowers.


Since 1994, the National Immunization Survey (NIS) has been collecting data to monitor childhood immunization coverage. This report describes the 2009 NIS coverage estimates for children born during January 2006--July 2008 and focuses on the more recently recommended vaccines (i.e., hepatitis B [HepB] vaccine birth dose, hepatitis A vaccine [HepA], pneumococcal conjugate vaccine [PCV], and rotavirus vaccine) for children aged 19--35 months. The most recent NIS data indicate that vaccination coverage increased in 2009 compared with 2008 for HepB birth dose (from 55.3% to 60.8%) and HepA (from 40.4% to 46.6%), but coverage for PCV (≥4 doses) remained stable (80.4%). Full coverage for rotavirus vaccine was 43.9% among children born within 2 years of licensure. Coverage for poliovirus (92.8%), measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) (90.0%), hepatitis B (HepB) (92.4%), and varicella (VAR) (89.6%) vaccines continued to be at or near the national health objective of 90%, although coverage for MMR and HepB vaccines decreased slightly in 2009. The percentage of children who have not received any vaccines remained low (<1%). Parents and primary-care providers continued to ensure that children were vaccinated, in spite of interim recommendations to suspend the booster dose of Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine (Hib) because of a national shortage, and heightened public awareness of controversies in vaccine safety.


This paper examines critically whether e-government initiatives can be conceived of as representing a shift from a bureaucratic to a citizen-centric institutional logic. We draw upon a longitudinal study of a Greek e-government initiative that introduced one-stop shops for the delivery of government services. Based on institutional theory, we provide a framework that illustrates the domains of institutional change that accompany e-government projects and show how such institutional change can be understood as complex imbrications of contrasting institutional logics rather than one institutional logic displacing another. We argue that imbricated logics may have many unintended consequences which are not simply the outcome of either of the logics but are emergent from the imbrication.


Abstract. Recent studies show that surface ozone levels at rural sites in Greece are generally high when compared with rural ozone measurements at northern European sites. The area of SE Europe, including Greece, is not very well monitored regarding rural ozone in comparison to central and northern Europe. In order to have the best possible picture of the rural surface ozone climatology in the area, based on the available data-sets of long-term continuous monitoring stations, the 10-year measurement records (1987-1996) of the Athens peripheral station of Liossia, (12 km N of the city center) and the urban background station of Geoponiki (3 km W) as well as the 4-year record (1996-1999) of the rural station of Aliartos (100 km NW of Athens), are analyzed in this paper. The data for Liossia and Geoponiki stations are screened for cases of strong airflow from rural areas (N-NE winds stronger than 5 m/s). The variation characteristics of the average rural ozone afternoon levels (12:00-18:00), with the best vertical atmospheric mixing, are mainly examined since these measurements are expected to be representative of the broader area. In all three stations there is a characteristic seasonal variation of rural ozone concentrations with lowest winter afternoon values at about 50 μg/m3 in December-January and average summer afternoon values at about 120 μg/m3 in July-August, indicating that high summer values are observed all over the area. The rural summer afternoon ozone values are very well correlated between the three stations, implying spatial homogeneity all over the area but also temporal homogeneity, since during the 13-year period 1987-1999 the rural afternoon ozone levels remained almost constant around the value of 120 μg/m3.


At a time of slow growth in several advanced and emerging countries, calls for more structural reforms are multiplying. However, estimations of the short- and medium-term impact of these reforms on GDP growth remain methodologically problematic and still highly controversial. We contribute to this literature by making a novel use of the non-parametric Synthetic Control Method to estimate the impact of 23 wide-reaching structural reform packages (including both real and financial sector measures) rolled out in 22 countries between 1961 and 2000. Our results suggest that, on average, reforms started having a significant positive effect on GDP per capita only after five years. Ten years after the beginning of a reform wave, GDP per capita was roughly 6 percentage points higher than the synthetic counterfactual scenario. However, average point estimates mask a large heterogeneity of outcomes. Benefits tended to materialise earlier, but overall to be more limited, in advanced economies than in emerging markets. These results are confirmed when we use a parametric dynamic panel fixed effect model to control for the rich dynamics of GDP, and are robust to a variety of alternative specifications, placebo and falsification tests, and to different indicators of reform. JEL Classification: E65, O11, O43, O47


Abstract The timing and quantity of fresh water flowing into the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, southwest Florida, have been altered by channelization of natural watershed sheetflow and increases in freshwater storage for aquifer recharge and irrigation. As part of the ongoing Everglades Restoration Initiative, the Southern Golden Gate Estates (SGGE) Restoration and Henderson Creek Freshwater Inflow Restoration Projects are opportunities to re-establish watershed sheetflow and restore the natural timing and quantity of fresh water flowing into the Reserve's estuaries. For 3 years, data loggers have been used to record water quality at continuous half-hour intervals, and Hester-Dendy artificial substrates have been used to sample oyster reef crab populations each month in four estuaries managed by the Reserve. These four estuaries differ in their seasonal and annual salinity patterns because of varying degrees of anthropogenically altered freshwater inflow. Our observations indicate that the relative abundances of the euryhaline (Eurypanopeus depressus) and stenohaline (Petrolisthes armatus) crab populations provide a useful biological performance measure to guide freshwater inflow restoration projects. This manuscript examines this metric as applied to the SGGE and Henderson Creek Freshwater Inflow Restoration Projects.


In recent times, violent communal and religious conflicts have become regular features of social life in Nigeria. These conflicts result from different value systems, aggressive competition for land, water and political resources, and unhealthy competition of some leaders. There is hardly a year when there is no major violent conflict. Conflict in this respect, especially in Northern part of the country has varied in scope, intensity and nature, and has taken immeasurable toll on human lives, leaving many dead, maimed and numerous others displaced, as a result of the involvement of small arms illegally acquired. To this end, this study seeks to find out the sources of illegal small arms in Kaduna metropolis and examine the impacts of ethno-religious conflicts on proliferation of illegal small arms. In collecting data for this study, two complementary modes of data collection – survey and in depth interviews were used, and the data generated were synergized. The data revealed that, smuggling from neighboring states/countries, politicians, local manufacturers, arms dealers, theft of security forces arms constitute the major sources of illegal small arms in Kaduna metropolis. Of equal importance is the revelation that prevalence of internal conflicts is responsible for continued proliferation of illegal small arms in the State. It was also found out that during conflicts, the use of illegal small arms destroy lives and properties, cause injuries and maiming, displace people and create general sense of insecurity. In conclusion, the study recommended the need to take decisive measures to reduce the spate of ethno-religious conflicts in Kaduna metropolis in particular and Nigeria in general as a way of arresting the illegal use of small arms.


The U.S. beer industry has shifted dramatically over the past two decades from a highly concentrated and homogeneous industry to one composed of thousands of small, heterogeneous producers, primarily focused on local markets. This shift evokes the question: how much do consumers prefer locally produced craft beer? I use large, newly developed datasets, based on beer reviews and observations of weekly sales, to explore the market for craft beer in America and address this question. Analysis of ratings data provides clear evidence of preferences for local and independently owned craft beer among avid craft beer drinkers. Examination of sales data extends these results to the general U.S. population, also showing that consumer demand is less price elastic for local beer than nonlocal beer. In econometric analysis, "natural experiments" created by mergers and acquisitions act as exogenous shifts in localness, and they are found to cause reductions in ratings but mixed changes in demand. Finally, ratings and sales are combined to infer an implicit value for local preferences.


The Stuart period is particularly rich in the variety of dress among the wealtheir classes, ranging from the complex, sometimes 'metaphysical' clothing of the Jacobean elite and the romance of Arcadia at the court of Charles I to the influence of Puritan moral and religious discourses, the extravagance of Restoration fashion and new concepts of gentility and modernity in the early eighteenth century. Relatively few garments survive from before the eighteenth century, and the history of costume in the preceding centuries therefore has to rely to a great extent on literary and visual evidence. This book, the first of its kind, examines Stuart England through the mirror of dress. It argues that both artistic and literary sources can be read and decoded for information on dress and on the way it was perceived in a period of immense political, social and cultural change. Focusing on the rich visual culture of the age, including portraits, engravings, fashion plates and sculpture, and on the many and varied literary sources - poetry, drama, essays, sermons - the distinguished historian of dress, Aileen Ribeiro, creates a fascinating account of Stuart dress and reveals the ways in it reflects and influences society. Supported by a wealth of telling images, she outlines the main narrative of clothing, as well as exploring such themes as court costumes, the masque, fanciful and 'romantic' concepts, the ways in which political and religious ideologies could be expressed in dress, and the importance of London as a fashion centre. This beautiful book will be indispensable to historians of the art and dress of the period as an authoritative and up-to-date account of what people wore and how it related to the country's cultural climate.


This paper investigates the nature of volatility spillovers between stock returns and precious metals returns for the G-7 countries over the 1995-2006 period. We divide our sample into a number of sub periods, prior to, during and after the Asian crisis, with the objective to provide a wide analysis of the behaviour of these two markets taking into account the effects of the Asian crisis; we use EGARCH modelling which takes into account whether bad news has the same impact on volatility as good news. The results show that there is no evidence of volatility persistence from stock returns to precious metals returns, but overall the results are significant in the other way around. In terms of volatility spillovers effects, the main findings are that there is evidence of volatility spillovers running in a bidirectional way in almost all the cases. And finally, the results from asymmetric spillover effects show that negative news have a stronger impact in these financial markets than positive news.


Social care and health services are fundamental issues used to situate the aging identities that people who require such services in occidental societies. Both contain changing vehicles that arbitrate relations between older people and health and social care professionals underpinned by politics and policy and the communities they live in and the interactions with family members and friends. However, they also represent an increase in professional power that can be exerted on old age, and thus, the deep layers of meanings associated with that part of understanding aging. The article presents a analytical framework based on a critical re-interpretation of the work of critical French philosopher Michel Foucault as applied to aging, care and health in communities and impact on families and informal carers. It identifies the interrelationship between care managerialism and older people in terms of a conceptual understanding of medicalization and surveillance and the crucial point is that they are relevant in theorizing power relations between health and care professionals and older people under the rubric of new policies such as integrated care. However, health spending still dominates and social care is chronically under funded, highlighting a huge disparity in policy domains of what is said and what is delivered. Post BREXIT, it is possible it will become clear that the funding for social care from the Boris Johnson administration (2019-) in the UK will fit with the neo-liberal project of putting the emphasis on care onto families, informal carers in communities and older people themselves.


We combine Kepler photometry with ground-based spectra to present a comprehensive dynamical model of the double red giant eclipsing binary KIC 9246715. While the two stars are very similar in mass ( M 1 = 2.171 − 0.008 + 0.006 M ⊙ ?> , M 2 = 2.149 − 0.008 + 0.006 M ⊙ ?> ) and radius ( R 1 = 8.37 − 0.07 + 0.03 R ⊙ ?> , R 2 = 8.30 − 0.03 + 0.04 R ⊙ ?> ), an asteroseismic analysis finds one main set of solar-like oscillations with unusually low-amplitude, wide modes. A second set of oscillations from the other star may exist, but this marginal detection is extremely faint. Because the two stars are nearly twins, KIC 9246715 is a difficult target for a precise test of the asteroseismic scaling relations, which yield M = 2.17 ± 0.14 M⊙ and R = 8.26 ± 0.18 R⊙. Both stars are consistent with the inferred asteroseismic properties, but we suspect the main oscillator is Star 2 because it is less active than Star 1. We find evidence for stellar activity and modest tidal forces acting over the 171 day eccentric orbit, which are likely responsible for the essential lack of solar-like oscillations in one star and weak oscillations in the other. Mixed modes indicate the main oscillating star is on the secondary red clump (a core-He-burning star), and stellar evolution modeling supports this with a coeval history for a pair of red clump stars. This system is a useful case study and paves the way for a detailed analysis of more red giants in eclipsing binaries, an important benchmark for asteroseismology.


This study tested the hypothesis that activity of the enzyme N-acetyltransferase (NAT) in the Harderian gland of the Syrian hamster is regulated both by androgens and by hormones of the pituitary-thyroid axis. To test the effects of castration and hypothyroidism, intact or castrated male hamsters were given either tap water or methimazole in their drinking water for 3 weeks. Methimazole suppresses iodination of thyroglobulin, thereby decreasing circulating levels of thyroid hormones and increasing TSH levels. Hypothyroidism or castration caused elevated or depressed Harderian gland NAT activities respectively, compared with euthyroid controls. When castration and hypothyroidism were combined, the animals exhibited high NAT activity compared with castrated euthyroid males. To test the effects of castration and hyperthyroidism, male hamsters were given daily injections of thyroxine (T4) or diluent and were either castrated or left intact for 4 weeks. Intact animals given T4 had depressed Harderian NAT activity; serum thyroid hormone levels were elevated and TSH levels were depressed compared with those of intact controls. Castrated animals had depressed NAT activity below that of intact controls; serum thyroid hormone levels were normal but TSH levels were depressed. Castrated animals given T4 injections had NAT activity similar to that of euthyroid castrated hamsters; thyroid hormone levels were elevated but TSH levels were similar to those seen in euthyroid castrated hamsters. In another experiment, both T4 and tri-iodothyronine (T3) were equally effective in decreasing NAT activity in intact males. To determine the effects of the removal of pituitary influences, male hamsters were hypophysectomized. NAT activity in the Harderian glands of these animals was reduced compared with intact controls.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


To improve desktop wireless internet access, two patch antenna configurations were investigated in order to find an alternative for a dipole antenna, which is commonly used for Wi-Fi access. A Linksys WMP54G pci-card wireless adapter was used to test three antennas for 802.11g communications. The standard WMP54G dipole antenna and two patch antenna configurations were tested for Wi-Fi signal strength. The antennas were also tested in Cal Poly's anechoic chamber to obtain resonant frequency and gain measurements. A 2.437 GHz center frequency, 72 MHz bandwidth antenna consisting of a single microstrip patch was constructed. After the patch antenna was determined to operate over the frequency range, an array of four patch elements on a single substrate was constructed. Although the patch array did not match the calculated gain, beamwidth and sidelobe radiation level improvements over a single patch design were achieved. Both patch antenna configurations had greater gain over the WMP54G dipole antenna, however improved Wi-Fi signal strength was only accomplished when used in direct line of sight communications. In conditions where obstructions, such as walls, prevented line of sight, the dipole antenna achieved greater signal strength. Line of sight connections favored the directional antennas.


BACKGROUND: Noncardiac surgery (NCS) following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with stenting is sometimes associated with major adverse cardiac events (MACEs). Second-generation drug-eluting stents (DES) were developed to decrease the incidence of MACE seen with bare metal and first-generation DES. METHODS: The medical records of all adult patients who underwent second-generation DES placement between July 29, 2008 and July 28, 2011 followed by NCS between September 22, 2008 and July 1, 2013 were reviewed. All episodes of MACE following surgery were recorded. RESULTS: A total of 282 patients (74.8% male) were identified who underwent NCS after PCI with second-generation DES. MACE occurred in 15 patients (5.3%), including 11 deaths. The incidence of MACE changed significantly with time from PCI to NCS: 17.1%, 10.0%, 0.0%, and 3.1% for patients undergoing NCS at 0–90, 91–180, 181–365, and ≥366 days, respectively. Compared with those having NCS ≥366 days after PCI, the odds ratio for MACE (95% confidence interval) was 6.4 (1.9 to 21.3) at 0–90 days and 3.4 (0.8 to 15.3) at 91–180 days. Seven days prior to NCS, 146 (52%) patients were on dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT), 106 (38%) were on aspirin, and 30 (11%) did not receive antiplatelet therapy. Excessive surgical bleeding occurred in 19 cases (6.7%). While observed bleeding rates were lowest in those not receiving antiplatelet therapy, there were no statistically significant differences based on the presence or absence of antiplatelet therapy (3% [1/30] for no antiplatelet therapy compared to 6% [6/106] for aspirin monotherapy and 8% [12/146] for DAPT; Fisher exact test: P = .655). CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of MACE in patients with second-generation DES undergoing NCS was 5.3% and was highest in the first 180 days following DES implantation. The rate of excessive surgical bleeding was 6.7% with the highest observed rate in those on DAPT. However, differences by the presence or absence of antiplatelet therapy were not significant, and future large observational studies will be necessary to further define bleeding risk with continued DAPT.


A proposed experimental setup for study and demonstration of the pressure distribution and load capacity of hydrodynamic bearings was developed. Various conceptual designs for producing thin full film lubrication conditions and enabling gap geometry control and pressure and force measurements were produced and assessed. Relative motion for the interacting bearing surfaces was found promising to be achieved by a smooth rotating belt. A simple height control arrangement for the stationary surface is also found to be facilitating the gap control between the two surfaces. Alternative direct and indirect techniques for measuring pressure and force were pointed out. Topology and dimensions of the proposed design were suggested as a basis for a physical setup realization.


In this paper I study two major themes in Marguerite Duras's Indochinese texts — i.e. the works set in French Indochina during colonial rule and inspired by the author's own childhood: Un barrage contre le Pacifique (1950), L'Eden cinema (1977), L'amant (1984) and L'amant de la Chine du Nord (1991). The themes that interest me in particular are interculturality and transculturality. The first term involves contact and interaction between cultures — in this case focus is on the white and the nonwhite population in the colonial society. By the second term I mean the crossing of cultural boundaries and the various kinds of assimilation with "the Other" that appear in Duras's texts. I show how Marguerite Duras describes French Indochina as a thoroughly hierarchic and even racist society, founded on white domination and on the strict separation of ethnic communities. The only tolerated contact between the two groups is that of the white master and the coloured servant. In different ways, the author illustrates how the colour of the skin, in this milieu, becomes the most important factor in an individual's identity construction. However, at the same time Duras lets us see how this colonial law can be broken. I take the central textual motif of an interracial relationship between a young French girl and her Chinese lover as a starting point for my investigation of transculturality in the works — where fusion and hybridisation become key concepts.


Abstract The main purpose of this article is to present the test results of the hypothesis that the use of one's own (and foreign) database (used by investment portfolio managers to create indicators of individual stock analyses) has an effect on the accuracy of forecasting future movements of investment portfolio value. In addition to the use of different indicators and methods of stock analysis, the creation of an optimal investment portfolio requires assessment of the suitability and adequacy of the database used in investment portfolio managers′ decisionmaking process; in other words, it is necessary to determine which stocks are to be included in the specific investment portfolio and which are not. The problem of the selection and use of different databases is linked to the question of determining the importance of numerous relevant elements when creating an optimal investment portfolio.


Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides detailed anatomical images of the prostate (PR) and its zones. The importance of segmenting the prostate and the prostate zones, such as the central zone (CZ) and the peripheral zone (PZ) lies in the fact that the diagnostic guidelines differ depending on in which zone the lesion is located. Thus, automatic prostate and prostate zone segmentation from MR images is an important topic for many diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. However, the prostate tissue heterogeneity and the huge varieties of prostate shapes among patients make this task very challenging. Therefore, we propose a new neural network named Dense U-net inspired by the state-of-the-art DenseNet and U-net to automatically segment prostate and prostate zones. It was trained on 141 patient datasets and tested on 47 patient datasets with axial T2-weighted images in four-fold cross-validation manner. The network can successfully segment the gland and its subsequent zones. This Dense U-net compared with the state-of-the-art U-net achieved an average dice score for the whole prostate of 91.2± 0.8% vs. 89.2 ± 0.8%, for CZ of 89.2± 0.2% vs. 87.4 ± 0.2%, and for PZ of 76.4± 0.2% vs. 74.0± 0.2%. The experimental results show that the developed Dense U-net was more accurate than the state-of-the-art U-net for prostate and prostate zone segmentation.


Brown algae could be found growing as an extensive seaweed beds along the coastal areas in Sabah. Present investigation was initiated to better understand their chemical/nutritive contents and their possible utilization in neutraceutical product development. In this study, brown seaweeds Padina boryana, Dictyota dichotoma, Sargassum sp 1, Sargassum siliquosum, and Sargassum polycystum were harvested
from Sepanggar Bay, Kota Kinabalu. The investigated biochemical aspects were moisture (78.9 ~ 91.60 %fw), ash (20.66 ~ 52.17 %dw), lipid (0.20 ~ 5.80 %dw), protein (9.15 ~ 25.76 %dw), alginate (4.07-13.95 %dw), and phenolic (0.64 ~ 3.14mg Phloroglucinol/ g dw); values showed variation among the species and/or among the sampling months in certain parameters. Each order in brown seaweed has
distinctive features in the fatty acids composition. Detail analyses revealed palmitic acid as the highest type in Sargassum spp with a distinct variation. Other predominant
acids present in Sargassum spp were C16:1, C18:1n9c, C22:1n9, C18:3n6, C18:2n6c, and C20:5n3. In Padina boryana, C8:0, C11:0, C20:0, C18:2n6t, C18:1n9c and C22: 1n9 were predominant while C22:2 and C18: 1n9c were predominant in Dictyota dichotoma. Good correlations were observed between the antioxidant activities and total phenolic content of the crude extracts. The strongest free radical-scavenging
activity was exhibited by Padina boryana (59.84 ~ 85.53 %), followed by Sargassum spp. (10.3 ~ 52.53 %) and weakest activities being found in Dictyota dichotoma (2.78 ~ 8.37 %). Most of the algal extracts displayed variation activity against assay organisms in this study with 25 ~ 50 % activities against marine environmental bacterial, pathogenic strain and yeast. Dicytota dichotoma possess the greatest antibacterial potential (35 ~ 50 %), followed by Sargassum spp. (35 ~ 45 %) and Padina boryana (25 %). Isolation of the active compound from Sargassum duplicatum (which collected from Tanjung Menggalum, Kudat) was done via bioassay-guided isolation. A mixture of polyunsaturated fatty acids (8.6 %) which were oleic acid
(C18: 1n9c) and eicosatrienoic acid (C20:3n6), was isolated and exhibited MIC value of 30I¼g/disc against Clostridium cellobioparum, Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Escherichia
coli. Sargassum duplicatum was then subjected to three drying process, 1) room drying, 2) sun-drying, and 3) roasting, in an effort to develop seaweed tea. Desiccation
of seaweeds does affect the total fatty acids where sun-dried seaweed has lower level (480.76 I¼g/g). The major fatty acids present in these processed seaweeds were similar
with the fatty acids mentioned earlier in Sargassum. Roasted seaweed had greater extractability of protein and alginate as well as better antioxidant and antibacterial activities. On the contrary, room-dried seaweed tea infusion have better phenolic content and antioxidant potential but much lower compared to the commercial tea hich are green tea, Pu Er and Sabah tea.


This Article addresses the rapid growth of what the military and intelligence community refer to as "biometric-enabled intelligence." This newly emerging intelligence system is reliant upon biometric databases — for example, digitalized collections of scanned fingerprints and irises, digital photographs for facial recognition technology, and DNA. This Article introduces the term "biometric cyberintelligence" to describe more accurately the manner in which this new tool is dependent upon cybersurveillance and big data's mass-integrative systems.To better understand the legal implications of biometric cyberintelligence, this Article advances three primary claims. First, it argues that the technological and programmatic architecture of biometric cyberintelligence can be embedded within the data collection and data analysis protocols of civilian governance and domestic law enforcement activities. Next, to demonstrate the potential lethality of this emerging technological and policy development, this Article illustrates how biometric data may be increasingly integrated into drone weaponry, including targeted killing and drone strike technologies. Finally, this Article argues that the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, designed to limit the deployment of federal military resources in the service of domestic policies, may be impotent in light of the growth of cybersurveillance.Maintaining strict separation of data between military and intelligence operations on the one hand, and civilian, homeland security, and domestic law enforcement agencies on the other hand, is increasingly difficult as cooperative data sharing increases. The Posse Comitatus Act and constitutional protections such as the Fourth Amendment's privacy jurisprudence, therefore, must be reinforced in the digital age in order to appropriately protect citizens from militarized cyberpolicing, i.e., the blending of military/foreign intelligence tools and operations and homeland security/domestic law enforcement tools and operations. The Article concludes that, as of yet, neither statutory nor constitutional protections have evolved sufficiently to cover the unprecedented surveillance harms posed by the migration of biometric cyberintelligence from foreign to domestic use.


INTRODUCTION
The intersecting vulnerabilities of migrant agricultural workers (MAWs) impact both their health and their access to health care in rural areas, yet rural clinicians' voices are rarely documented. The purpose of this study was to explore health professionals' perspectives on health care for MAWs in sending countries and rural Ontario, Canada.

METHODS
Qualitative research design occurred over three distinct projects, using a multi-methodological approach including semi-structured interviews in Mexico, Jamaica and rural Ontario (n=43), and session field notes and questionnaires administered to healthcare providers (n=65) during knowledge exchange sessions in rural Ontario. A systematic analysis of these data was done to identify common themes, using NVivo software initially and then Microsoft Excel for application of a framework approach.

RESULTS
Structural challenges posed by migrant workers' context included difficulties preventing and managing work-related conditions, employers or supervisors compromising confidentiality, and MAWs' fears of loss of employment and return to countries of origin prior to completing treatments. Structural challenges related to health services included lack of adequate translation/interpretation services and information about insurance coverage and MAWs' work and living situations; scheduling conflicts between clinic hours and MAWs' availability; and difficulties in arranging follow-up tests, treatments and examinations. Intercultural challenges included language/communication barriers; cultural barriers /perceptions; and limited professional knowledge of MAWs' migration and work contexts and MAWs' knowledge of the healthcare system. Transnational challenges arose around continuity of care, MAWs leaving Canada during/prior to receiving care, and dealing with health problems acquired in Canada. A range of responses were suggested, some in place and others requiring additional organization, testing and funding.

CONCLUSION
Funding to strengthen responses to structural and intercultural challenges, including research assessing improved supports to rural health professionals serving MAWs, are needed in rural Canada and rural Mexico and Jamaica, in order to better address the structural and intersecting vulnerabilities and the care needs of this specific population.


In "Day of Deceit, " Robert Stinnett delivers the definitive final chapter on America's greatest secret and our worst military disaster. Drawing on twenty years of research and access to scores of previously classified documents, Stinnett proves that Pearl Harbor was not an accident, a mere failure of American intelligence, or a brilliant Japanese military coup. By showing that ample warning of the attack was on FDR's desk and, furthermore, that a plan to push Japan into war was initiated at the highest levels of the U.S. government, he ends up profoundly altering our understanding of one of the most significant events in American history.


Introduction: It has been suggested that oxidative stress has a crucial role in the pathophysiology of preeclampsia. In the present study, the effect of tempol, a synthetic antioxidant, on kidney injuries and oxidative stress was investigated in an experimental model of preeclampsia in rats. Methods: Preeclampsia was induced by oral administration of L-NAME to the rats on the day 10 of pregnancy. Animals were randomly divided into six groups (10-15 rats in each group); (I) normal pregnant (II) preeclamptic (III, IV, V) preeclamptic + tempol 20, 60 and 180 mg/kg/day, respectively, (VI) preeclamptic + hydralazine 10 mg/kg/day. Urine levels of sodium, potassium, creatinine, lactate dehydrogenase and 24 h protein, blood levels of creatinine and urea, in addition to malondialdehyde concentration in blood and kidney, as well as histological glomeruli changes were assessed. Results: L-NAME administration caused proteinuria and glomerular pathological changes. Tempol (20 and 60 mg/kg/day) significantly reduced plasma and renal (P<0.001) malondialdehyde levels and proteinuria (the biggest calculated P-value was less than 0.05) in preeclamptic rats. Tempol at the dose of 20 mg/kg/day improved the histological changes in preeclamptic animals, but the dose of 60 mg/kg/day restored histological findings. L-NAME did not change the other measured parameters. Hydralazine and highest dose of tempol (180 mg/kg/day) failed to affect biochemical and histological changes in experimental preeclampsia. Conclusion: Renal complications of experimental preeclampsia such as proteinuria and glomerular injuries can be prevented by tempol. The desired effects of tempol depend on its dose. Physiology and


Data center networks often have errors in the forwarding tables, causing packets to loop indefinitely, fall into black-holes or simply get dropped before they reach the correct destination. Finding forwarding errors is possible using static analysis, but none of the existing tools scale to a large data center network with thousands of switches and millions of forwarding entries. Worse still, in a large data center network the forwarding state is constantly in flux, which makes it hard to take an accurate snapshot of the state for static analysis.

We solve these problems with Libra, a new tool for verifying forwarding tables in very large networks. Libra runs fast because it can exploit the scaling properties of MapReduce. We show how Libra can take an accurate snapshot of the forwarding state 99.9% of the time, and knows when the snapshot cannot be trusted. We show results for Libra analyzing a 10,000 switch network in less than a minute, using 50 servers.


Background: Arterial hypertension and its organ sequelae show characteristics of T cell mediated inflammatory diseases. Experimental anti-inflammatory therapies have been shown to ameliorate hypertensive end-organ damage. Recently, the CANTOS study targeting interleukin1β demonstrated that anti-inflammatory therapy reduces cardiovascular risk. The gut microbiome plays pivotal role in immune homeostasis and cardiovascular health. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) are produced from dietary fiber by gut bacteria and affect host immune homeostasis. Here, we investigated effects of the SCFA propionate in two different mouse models of hypertensive cardiovascular damage. Methods: To investigate the effect of SCFA on hypertensive cardiac damage and atherosclerosis, wild-type NMRI (WT) or ApoE deficient mice received propionate (200mM) or control in the drinking water. To induce hypertension, WT mice were infused with Angiotensin (Ang)II (1.44mg/kg/d s.c.) for 14 days. To accelerate the development of atherosclerosis, ApoE mice were infused with AngII (0.72mg/kg/d s.c.) for 28 days. Cardiac damage and atherosclerosis were assessed using histology, echocardiography, in vivo electrophysiology, immunofluorescence, and flow cytometry. Blood pressure was measured by radiotelemetry. Regulatory T cell (Treg) depletion using PC61 antibody was used to examine the mode of action of propionate. Results: Propionate significantly attenuated cardiac hypertrophy, fibrosis, vascular dysfunction, and hypertension in both models. Susceptibility to cardiac ventricular arrhythmias was significantly reduced in propionate-treated AngII-infused WT mice. Aortic atherosclerotic lesion area was significantly decreased in propionate-treated ApoE. Systemic inflammation was mitigated by propionate treatment, quantified as a reduction in splenic effector memory T cell frequencies and splenic T helper 17 cells in both models, and a decrease in local cardiac immune cell infiltration in WT mice. Cardioprotective effects of propionate were abrogated in Tregdepleted AngII-infused mice, suggesting the effect is Treg-dependent. Conclusions: Our data emphasize an immune-modulatory role of SCFAs and their importance for cardiovascular health. The data suggest that lifestyle modifications leading to augmented SCFA production could be a beneficial non-pharmacological preventive strategy for patients with hypertensive cardiovascular disease.


Two major types of services in sepak takraw are kuda and sila services. Even though both services are delivered at high speed, each is composed of different kinematic features. As a result, the receiver in the game is constantly playing under severe time constraint in his effort to intercept the service action from the opponent. The purpose of the study was to determine the fundamental differences in perceptual strategies in anticipating the kuda and sila services. It was hypothesized that players would employ different perceptual strategies to overcome the time constraint.
The receiver of the game in sepak takraw makes decisions under severe time constraint in both spatial and temporal uncertainty. Previous research showed that success in the game depended on visual perception of the players as well as the efficiency and accuracy of the interceptive actions. There were also evidence of players using advance visual kinematic cues to guide their anticipatory responses. The ability to use kinematic cues is extremely crucial in ballistic sports where speed of the game and velocity of the ball dictate the decision which must often be made ahead of time. Thus, this study was conducted on the premise that anticipation depends upon kinematic information. In turn, kinematic information induces varying anticipatory demands.
To test the research hypotheses, the study was conducted in two phases; (i) temporal analyses of the kuda and sila services and (ii) visual perceptual strategies in anticipating the kuda and sila services. Kinematic data for the first phase of the study was obtained from a video recording of a sepak takraw match during the Kuala Lumpur Sea Games 2001. Peak Motus 7.0 software was used to perform a three dimensional temporal analysis on 50 randomly selected services of each type. The main focus of the first phase of the study was to conduct temporal analyses on the movements for each type of services based on pre determined temporal phases. The second phase of the study examined two groups of 12 players each; the experts and the novices. Players'/ The visual perceptual displays in anticipation of the kuda and sila services were prompted using video stimulations consisting of 7 temporal occlusions t1 (240 milliseconds at pre-contact), t2 (160 milliseconds at pre-contact), t3 (80 milliseconds at pre-contact, t4 (0 millisecond at contact), t5 (80 milliseconds at post-contact), t6 (160 milliseconds at post-contact), and t7 (no occlusion).
The findings of the study revealed that there were significant differences in the temporal features of kuda and sila services during the pre-contact [F(1,99) = 3421.25; p< .05], contact [F(1,99) = 31.96; p< .05], post-contact [F(1,99) = 91.93; p< .05], and movement time of the receiver [F(1,99) = 409.39; p< .05]. Confidence interval analyses showed significant differences among experts in anticipating kuda service at t1. Significant differences amongst expert players in anticipating kuda and sila services were at t1 [F(14,180) = 2.37; p< .05], t2 [F(14,180) = 5.60; p< .05], t3 [F(14,180) = 3.81; p< .05] dan t4 [F(14,180) = 2.00; p< .05]. Similar comparisons at t5, t6, and t7 did not yield any significant differences. In addition, there were significant differences amongst novice players in anticipating kuda and sila services at t2 t2 [F(14,180) = 2.27; p< .05], t3 [F(14,180) = 1.94; p< .05], t4 [F(14,180) = 2.61; p< .05], and t5 [F(14,180) = 9.38; p< .05]. However, significant differences were not observed at t1, t6, and t7 amongst these same players.
Two hypothetical models have been established from the study of temporal analyses, namely Hypothetical Model of the Kuda Service and Hypothetical Model of the Sila Service. The study showed that expert players found it harder to anticipate kuda service compared to sila service at t1. Hence, the kuda service is more difficult to anticipate than sila service. The participants of this study demonstrated a more effective/ efficient visual perceptual strategy to counterattack a sila service than they would a kuda service. Finally, it is proposed that a combination of spatial occlusion and point light display be utilized to identify the types of information that players should focus on as anticipatory cues. Future study should look into the combination of both motor and perceptual skills in facilitating better decision making by players. In addition, further exploration using semi-longitudinal study, 3D image technique, and varying time frames is strongly recommended.


Author(s): Kelly, Joshua Terence | Advisor(s): Gontz, Allen M | Abstract: Understanding how shoreline positions change in response to the variability of multitemporal climate and weather phenomena is essential for predicting the impact of future climate extremes. This dissertation aims to provide the first quantitative assessment on the relative influence of climate phenomena operating in the southwest Pacific region, i.e. El Nino-Southern Oscillation, on coastal morphodynamics along the southeast Queensland coast on a yearly to decadal timescale. Morphodynamic changes occurring at the timescale of days are also assessed in response to Tropical Cyclone Oma striking the region in February 2019. Previous attempts at directly correlating climate to natural shoreline evolution elsewhere were limited in their ability to observe the geomorphic changes as they relied on infrequent aerial photography, isolated beach profile data, or morphodynamic modeling results with no ground trothing. In an effort to capture intra-annual shoreline variability across large spatial scales (100's km), shorelines are mapped using historical Landsat imagery. The accuracy of shorelines mapped automatically using spectral water indices was assessed by comparison to two contemporaneous GPS-surveyed intertidal zones, which represents the true position of the shoreline interface, which were conducted in Brazil and Massachusetts. The Modified Normalized Difference Water Index was determined to be the best index for automated shoreline mapping based on its superior accuracy and repeatable threshold value. MNDWI was used to automatically map over 9,000 km of historical shoreline positions along Queensland using Google Earth Engine. Shoreline change curves were generated using the USGS Digital Shoreline Analysis System and corrected for tidal variations using in situ gauge data and seasonal intertidal widths estimated from equilibrium beach profiles. Cross correlations between the shoreline dataset and the various climate indices were calculated using a 20 month maximum lag. Correlations suggest a bimodal climate control on shoreline change whereby El Nino-Southern Oscillation has the largest influence during negative Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation with the Subtropical Ridge becoming dominant during positive IPO. As observed using revolutionary PlanetScope satellite imagery, longshore transport along SE Queensland turned northwards in response to a significant anti-clockwise rotation of incident wave direction during Oma with erosion peaking at 41 m along the Sunshine Coast.


Genetic diversity was assessed among 32 advanced wheat breeding lines included in the National Uniform Wheat Yield Trials (2006-07) of Pakistan using molecular (DNA) and biochemical (SDS-PAGE) markers. Of the 72 RAPD primers used for initial screening, 15 were found polymorphic. A total of 140 bands (61.4% polymorphic) were generated by the 15 random decamer primers. Genetic similarity coefficients ranged from 0.81 to 0.94 for rainfed and from 0.70 to 0.93 for the normal seeding date group. Cluster analysis using the unweighted pair group method of arithmetic averages (UPGMA) clustered the 32 advanced wheat breeding lines into one major and three small groups. Maximum level of polymorphism (90%) was observed for the primer OPA-05. Lines N9 and N11 showed the least genetic similarities (0.70-0.82 and 0.71-0.83, respectively) with rest of the lines studied. Line RF1 had the maximum similarity (0.81-0.94) with other lines. Wheat lines included in the normal seeding date were relatively distantly related than those in the rainfed group. Seed storage protein analysis produced 19 subunits ranging from 29-120KDa. Similarity coefficients ranged from 0.53 to 1.0 for the normal seeding date and from 0.47 to 1.0 for the rainfed group. High molecular weight subunits (particularly 120KDa) showed greater polymorphism than the lower molecular weight subunits. Narrow genetic base was observed in wheat lines included in the rainfed group. DNA fingerprinting of advanced breeding lines may help to avoid release of varieties with narrow genetic base in the future.


An increasing feature of public policy, especially in relation to older people, is to adopt a more person-centred approach to welfare provision. The establishment of deliberative forums is seen as one way in which services can be made more responsive to users. The membership of such forums include, in addition to older people, a range of stakeholders from the statutory (local government and health) and third sectors.

This paper draws upon a collaborative research project, 'Older People, Regeneration and Health and Well-Being', based in Manchester, Salford and Newcastle and has a general concern with mapping out the processes through which older people become involved in deliberative forums This paper, though, concerns only the Manchester research site.

Since 2003 there has been a multi agency Valuing Older People initiative in Manchester which aims to put older individuals at the centre of plans to regenerate and reshape the city. This initiative is organised around a number of themes, one of which is a positive images of ageing campaign. One part of this is the production of a calendar containing thirteen photographs which aim to question stereotypes of older people. Four calendars have been produced, each with different themes.

This paper presents a selection of these visual images to examine the extent to which 'heroic'/ 'marvelling' or 'ordinary' images are presented and how such images represent the ageing body


INTRODUCTION
Little is known about the scope of the tribally manufactured cigarette market. This study illuminates the topic by examining the Master Settlement Agreement Compliance Tobacco Directories, regularly updated documents that list the cigarette manufacturers and brand families that can be legally sold within participating states.

METHODS
In July 2014, the latest Tobacco Directories were identified for 43 states and the District of Columbia. Colorado archival tobacco directories were extracted, by month since 2003. Tribal manufacturers and brands were identified in the directories and mapped by state.

RESULTS
A total of 11 tribal manufacturers and 39 tribal cigarette brand families were identified in publicly available tobacco directories. Total unique brands were tallied by state, ranging from 1 to 24 unique brands. Historical data from Colorado showed that tribal manufacturers, as a percentage of all manufacturers, increased from 3.2% in 2003 to 20.6% by mid-2014.

DISCUSSION
Analysis of Tobacco Directories offers an innovative approach to better understand the tribally manufactured cigarette market. More research is needed to understand reporting and compliance to the Tobacco Directories by manufacturers and retailers, and their usefulness as a research tool to the tobacco control community.

IMPLICATIONS
This study aims to make three contributions to the literature: (1) identify tribal tobacco manufacturers and brands in the Master Settlement Agreement Compliance documents; (2) highlight the presence and scope of the tribally manufactured cigarette brands across the United States; and (3) observe any upward or downward trends in tobacco brands and manufacturers since the directories' implementation.


Always at the centre of cultural change and excitement, the Irish writer George Moore enjoyed a sixty-year literary career during which he wrote prolifically, befriended artists and authors from Paris to London to Dublin, and rejected marriage though never the company of women. This book - the first full, documentary biography of Moore since 1936 - tells the remarkable story of a high-spirited man and his pathbreaking innovations as a writer. Adrian Frazier has mined letters, memoirs, society journals, writings not previously attributed to Moore, and other archives to reveal new information about Moore's early life, his ostensibly promiscuous bachelor days, and his complex career as an author. The book provides an engaging account of Moore's pursuit of his passions, from his early, failed attempt to become an artist in Paris in the 1870s through his long career as an author. Moore wrote plays, poetry, criticism, short stories, and sixteen novels, among them his best-known Esther Walters. His experiments in style ranged from the naturalistic A Mummer's Wife to the stream of consciousness prose of The Lake to the seamless, fluent narratives of his late manner - the comic Hail and Farewell and the epic The Brook Kerith. Frazier records the relationships between Moore and his well-known friends - Yeats, Joyce, Archer, Shaw, Frank Harris, Sickert, Whistler, and others - and with the many women in his life, including his greatest love, Lady Cunard. At the end of his life, Moore sought, without success, a biographer who would candidly tell the story of his life, loves, and art. Adrian Frazier has written that story.


Objective—Metal constituents of tobacco have long been suspected to contribute to cardiovascular diseases. In this study, we determined the serum concentrations of aluminum, cadmium (Cd), cobalt, copper, iron, manganese, nickel, lead, strontium (Sr), and zinc of young nonsmokers, passive smokers, and smokers. Methods and Results—Cd and Sr were found to be significantly increased in smokers compared with nonsmokers. The effects of these metals on primary arterial endothelial cells were then assessed using microarray technology and real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The data showed that Sr does not interfere with endothelial cell transcription. In contrast, the effects of Cd in amounts delivered to the human body by smoking were dramatic. Conclusions—Arterial endothelial cells responded to Cd exposure by massively upregulating metal and oxidant defense genes (metallothioneins) and by downregulating a number of transcription factors. In addition, the mRNA of the intermediate filament protein vimentin, crucial for the maintenance of cellular shape, was reduced. Surprisingly, a number of pro-inflammatory genes were downregulated in response to Cd. The present data suggest that by delivering Cd to the human body, smoking deregulates transcription, exerts stress, and damages the structure of the vascular endothelium; furthermore, in contrast to the effects of cigarette smoke as a whole, Cd seems to possess anti-inflammatory properties.


Author(s): Borgman, Christine L. | Abstract: The more value that is placed on research data as a commodity to be shared, sustained, and reused, the greater the need to assure the quality of those data. Data repositories—whether domain-specific or generic across domains—are essential gatekeepers of data sustainability. Data quality is a consideration throughout the research process. To what extent should responsibility for assuring data quality be the responsibility of the investigators; of publishers, editors, and peer reviewers; of data repositories; of data librarians or data scientists; or of later reusers of those data? Considerations for data quality vary throughout the lifecycle of data handling. These questions have neither simple nor generic answers. In this Webinar, Prof Christine Borgman (UCLA), author of 'Big Data, Little Data, noData: Scholarship in the Networked World' (MIT Press, 2015), will explore these issues of responsibility for data quality in conversation with Dr Andrea Scharnhorst, head of the research and innovation group at DANS, an institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.


OBJECTIVES
To assess whether multiple observers can identify the same pigmented lesion(s) as being different from a patient's other moles ("ugly duckling" [UD] sign) and to explore whether the UD sign is sensitive for melanoma detection.

DESIGN
Baseline back images of 12 patients were obtained from a database of standardized patient images. All patients had at least 8 atypical moles on the back, and in 5 patients, one of the lesions was a histologically confirmed melanoma. The overview back images were supplemented with close-up clinical images of lesions. Participants were asked to evaluate whether the images showed any lesions on the back that differed from other nevi.

SETTING
Dermatology clinic specializing in pigmented lesions.

PARTICIPANTS
Images were evaluated by 34 participants, including 8 pigmented lesion experts, 13 general dermatologists, 5 dermatology nurses, and 8 nonclinical medical staff.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
A lesion was considered a generally apparent UD if it was perceived as different by at least two-thirds of the participants. Sensitivity was defined as the fraction of melanomas identified as different.

RESULTS
All 5 melanomas (100%) and only 3 of 140 benign lesions (2.1%) were generally apparent as different. The sensitivity of the UD sign for melanoma detection was 0.9 for the whole group, 1.0 for experts, 0.89 for general dermatologists, 0.88 for nurses, and 0.85 for nonclinicians. A limitation of the study is that assessment was done in virtual settings.

CONCLUSIONS
In the present study, melanomas were generally apparent as UDs. The potential of the UD sign for melanoma screening should be further assessed.


The cornea is physiologically devoid of blood and lymphatic vessels. However, severe inflammation can result in a secondary ingrowth of both vessel types, a process termed "corneal neovascularization". Macrophages seem to play an important role in this process, although the underlying mechanisms are not well defined. Corneal blood vessels lead to reduced visual acuity when they grow into the optical center, and lymphatic vessels contribute to corneal transplant rejection, dry eye disease, or ocular allergy. In this regard, lymphatic vessels facilitate antigen presenting cell trafficking to the lymph nodes, where accelerated sensitization against allo- or autoantigens occurs. Thus, persistent corneal neovascularization is considered as harmful, and anti(lymph)angiogenic therapy has recently emerged as a novel approach in the treatment of several inflammatory corneal diseases. One aim of this work was to identify targets for anti(lymph)angiogenic therapy at the cornea and to identify effective anti(lymph)angiogenic compounds, which might be used to treat corneal neovascular diseases. Using a mouse model of sterile corneal inflammation, we found that glucocorticosteroids are strong Inhibitors of corneal (lymph)angiogenesis. Glucocorticosteroids suppressed macrophage infiltration into the cornea and inhibited pro-inflammatory cytokine expression in macrophages. Furthermore, we identified insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1) as a mediator of inflammatory corneal (lymph)angiogenesis. IRS-1 was expressed by corneal macrophages, and inhibition of IRS-1 reduced vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A, VEGF-C and VEGF-D expression in these cells. Consistently, treatment of inflamed corneas with GS-101, an antisense oligonucleotide directed against IRS-1, strongly inhibited inflammatory corneal (lymph)angiogenesis. Another aim of this study was to analyze whether corneal lymphangiogenesis might also have beneficial functions, as studies in extraocular tissues had demonstrated that lymphatic vessels are also important to terminate inflammatory responses. However, studies showing similar functions for corneal lymphatic vessels were missing and the mediators of this putative anti-inflammatory process were unknown. Here, we analyzed the role of Interleukin-10 (IL-10), a primarily antiinflammatory cytokine, in the regulation of inflammatory corneal lymphangiogenesis. IL-10 was expressed in inflamed corneas by infiltrating macrophages. Furthermore, macrophages treated with IL-10 upregulated pro-lymphangiogenic VEGF-C expression, which is known to induce lymphatic vessel growth. IL-10 deficiency or conditional ablation of IL-10 signaling specifically in myeloid cells lead to reduced inflammatory corneal lymphangiogenesis and prolonged corneal Inflammation, whereas treatment with IL-10 promoted lymphangiogenesis and faster egress of macrophages from inflamed corneas. These results collectively indicate that IL-10 indirectly regulates corneal lymphangiogenesis and resolution of corneal inflammation via macrophages, which is the first report of a beneficial function of corneal lymphangiogenesis in (sterile) corneal inflammation. Taken together, we have identified novel anti(lymph)angiogenic compounds, which mainly affect the contribution of macrophages to inflammatory corneal lymphangiogenesis. Furthermore, we have described a novel anti-inflammatory role for corneal lymphangiogenesis, which is mediated by macrophages. Our work highlights the importance of macrophages for corneal lymphangiogenesis, and might contribute to future immunomodulatory therapeutic strategies promoting corneal repair or preventing disease.


ABSTRACT Tunisia is the only Arab Spring country that has been able to manage peaceful regime change. Western know-how support and financial assistance have been crucial in this process. However, while often celebrated for its liberal achievements, Tunisia's young democracy is still fragile and faces the imminent risk of sliding back towards authoritarian tendencies. Multiple terrorist attacks in 2015 have triggered an atmosphere of securitization. The fight against extremism has legitimized the curtailment of newly gained democratic rights and the return of the practices of the national security state of the Ben Ali era. President Essebsi has used the fight against extremism as an excuse to expand his prerogatives at the expense of parliament and independent bodies. Moreover, the government's counterterrorism policies have also diverted large amounts of the country's budget away from the fight against poverty and youth unemployment, to military armament and surveillance technologies. Instead of addressing pressing socio-economic issues, the government's policies have rather securitized 'problematic', disenfranchised social groups. Western criticism of Tunisia's strategies against extremism has been scarce. After all, many of the government's measures have corresponded to Western security interests. Considering that the threat of terrorism is likely to continue, there is a serious risk that the exceptional measures taken in the name of counterterrorism will become a default technique of governing. The profile article warns that instead of being consolidated, Tunisia's transition may end up in a political grey zone somewhere between a democracy and authoritarianism.


As in any emergency or disaster, institutional agreement over the statistics of the Covid-19 pandemic is incredibly important. During the crisis, President Trump has questioned federally requested research around the spread of the pandemic and the amount of equipment needed to tackle it. Philip Rocco writes on how Trump's efforts to undermine a common understanding of ... Continued


We show a principled way of deriving online learning algorithms from a minimax analysis. Various upper bounds on the minimax value, previously thought to be non-constructive, are shown to yield algorithms. This allows us to seamlessly recover known methods and to derive new ones, also capturing such "unorthodox" methods as Follow the Perturbed Leader and the R2 forecaster. Understanding the inherent complexity of the learning problem thus leads to the development of algorithms. To illustrate our approach, we present several new algorithms, including a family of randomized methods that use the idea of a "random playout". New versions of the Follow-the-Perturbed-Leader algorithms are presented, as well as methods based on the Littlestone's dimension, efficient methods for matrix completion with trace norm, and algorithms for the problems of transductive learning and prediction with static experts.


Background: International and UK data suggest that Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups are at increased risk of infection and death from COVID-19. We aimed to explore the risk of death in minority ethnic groups in England using data reported by NHS England. Methods: We used NHS data on patients with a positive COVID-19 test who died in hospitals in England published on 28th April, with deaths by ethnicity available from 1st March 2020 up to 5pm on 21 April 2020. We undertook indirect standardisation of these data (using the whole population of England as the reference) to produce ethnic specific standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) adjusted for age and geographical region. Results: The largest total number of deaths in minority ethnic groups were Indian (492 deaths) and Black Caribbean (460 deaths) groups. Adjusting for region we found a lower risk of death for White Irish (SMR 0.52; 95%CIs 0.45-0.60) and White British ethnic groups (0.88; 95%CIs 0.86-0.0.89), but increased risk of death for Black African (3.24; 95%CIs 2.90-3.62), Black Caribbean (2.21; 95%CIs 2.02-2.41), Pakistani (3.29; 95%CIs 2.96-3.64), Bangladeshi (2.41; 95%CIs 1.98-2.91) and Indian (1.70; 95%CIs 1.56-1.85) minority ethnic groups. Conclusion: Our analysis adds to the evidence that BAME people are at increased risk of death from COVID-19 even after adjusting for geographical region. We believe there is an urgent need to take action to reduce the risk of death for BAME groups and better understand why some ethnic groups experience greater risk. Actions that are likely to reduce these inequities include ensuring adequate income protection (so that low paid and zero-hours contract workers can afford to follow social distancing recommendations), reducing occupational risks (such as ensuring adequate personal protective equipment), reducing barriers in accessing healthcare and providing culturally and linguistically appropriate public health communications.


When epitaxially growing III–V compound semiconductors on Si substrates the mismatch of coefficients of thermal expansion (CTEs) between III–V and Si causes stress and wafer bow. The wafer bow is deleterious for some wafer-scale processing especially when the wafer size is large. Strain engineering was applied in the epitaxy of InGaP films on 200 mm silicon wafers having high quality germanium buffers. By applying compressive strain in the InGaP films to compensate the tensile strain induced by CTE mismatch, wafer bow was decreased from about 100 μm to less than 50 μm. X-ray diffraction studies show a clear trend between the decrease of wafer bow and the compensation of CTE mismatch induced tensile strain in the InGaP layers. In addition, the anisotropic strain relaxation in InGaP films resulted in anisotropic wafer bow along two perpendicular (110) directions. Etch pit density and plane-view transmission electron microscopy characterizations indicate that threading dislocation densities did not change significantly due to the lattice-mismatch applied in the InGaP films. This study shows that strain engineering is an effective method to control wafer bow when growing III–V semiconductors on large size Si substrates.


This research has been initiated to assist the fish scales entrepreneur in Malaysia
into getting a consistent fish scales dye process. Several tests on colouring dyes
have been conducted to establish a suitable dye with consistent measuring
techniques.
With the above objectives in mind, the researcher hoped to establish a colour
guideline in form of colour tones thus provides a wider choice of colour selection
to these entrepreneurs.
John Snapper or Golden Snapper " Jenahak" from (Lutjanus johni family),
Malabar Red Snapper "Merah" from (Lutjanus malabaricus family), Threadfish
Bream" Kerisi" from (Nemipteridae family) and Herring or Toli Shad" Terubok"
from (Clupeidae family) were the four types of salt water fish selected for their
scales for this research as they are the most caught by Malaysian fishermen.
In the early stage of this experiment the researcher tried to find a suitable cleaning
substance and process to wash these fish scales. Three types of cleaning agent
were then tested such as detergent, lime juice and bleach. Ofthe three, lime juice
produced the best result.
Some other experiments conducted were the crushing test, burning test, pounding
test and baking test. They are to determine the durability quality of these fish
scales.
The fish scales were then tested for colouring suitability. Five different types of
fabric dyes were selected such as disperse dye, reactive dye, vat dye, pigment dye
and natural dye. Out of these five types, Cool Reactive dye from Remazol brand
gave the best colour reaction on these scales. The weighing technique was then
established using grams for colours and litre for measuring water. Prior to this the
researcher had used a spoon for measuring the colour quantity and cups for
measuring the amount of water where it produced an inconsistent colour
tones.Based on the colour tones obtained from the experiments, the researcher
were able to establish an array ofcolours in the form of colour codes.
A colour fastness test were conducted on these coloured scales using test methods
such as rubbing test, daylight test and soaking in sulphuric acid.
Apart from the above discoveries, the researcher was also able to find other
valuable information to be shared with. They include the size, shape, thickness
and texture of the scales which were different for all the four types of fish. The
resilient characteristic of the scales made it difficult to tear or crushed. However,
the colour absorption on these fish scales is being influenced by its thickness.
As for the recommendation, this research can be used as reference for producing
wider range of handicraft products and products in form ofjewelleries or sequins.
The colours can further be experimented using natural dye on other types of salt
water or fresh water fish. Batik decoration techniques can be applied on a bigger
size fish scales.


Over the last several years, VDI has been developing THz sources based on microwave frequency amplifiers and a cascaded series of frequency multipliers. These are intended to be used as local oscillator sources for astronomical receivers, such as those on the SOFIA airborne observatory. In 2010 a 1.9 THz source with greater than ten microwatts output at room temperature was presented at this conference. VDI has now completed the initial development of similar sources for use at 2.5 and 2.7 THz. The measured output power is about 3 microwatts and is sufficient to fully pump an HEB mixer. This effort required the development of improved millimeter-wave varactor multipliers with better thermal grounding for greater power handling, the optimization of the THz multipliers for operation at low power levels and the development of improved assembly and testing techniques. This paper discusses some of the challenges of achieving useful sources at such high frequency and reviews the results that have been achieved to date, with emphasis on the new 2.51THz source that has recently been used on the SOFIA aircraft for astronomical observations.


The quality of service in direct-sequence code-division multiple access (DS-CDMA) can be controlled by a suitable selection of processing gain and transmission powers. In this paper, distributed control of rate and power for best effort data services is considered. In particular, we elaborate on the problem of how to control the transmission rates for maximizing system throughput while simultaneously minimizing the transmission powers. We assume a practical scenario, where every user has a finite set of discrete transmission rates and propose a simple heuristic rate allocation scheme, greedy rate packing (GRP), applicable in both up- and downlink. The scheme can be interpreted as a practical form of water-filling, in the sense that high transmission rates are allocated to users having high link gains and low interference. We show that under certain conditions, GRP will give maximum throughput and that it can be extended to guarantee a minimum data rate while maximizing network excess capacity. We suggest and analyze a distributed power control algorithm to control the intercell interference when GRP is applied to a multicellular system. Numerical results show that the proposed transmission scheme can significantly decrease the power levels while maintaining high throughput.


Teodora Radeva-Bork. Single and double clitics in adult and child grammar. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 2012. [xvi] + 230 pp. Clitics have intrigued linguists for decades. By definition, they occupy an intermediate position between words and affixes (e.g., 's in English). They fulfill syntactic roles but do not carry stress and form a phonological unit with the preceding or following word. In Single and double clitics in adult and child grammar, Teodora Radeva-Bork presents fresh observations and new data on the topic. The main contribution of the work is empirical data on the acquisition of direct-object clitics and direct-object clitic doubling in Bulgarian. The book, however, makes important theoretical contributions to the understanding of these phenomena cross-linguistically. While the intended audience of the book is scholars of syntax and first-language acquisition, the book is accessible also to non-experts. Chapter 1 provides a useful overview of the book, chapter 2 goes into depth in the definition of clitics and the evolution of theoretical thinking about them, and chapter 7 presents a bullet-point summary of the main arguments and findings. Extensive cross-referencing within and between chapters also contributes to the clarity and coherence of the work. The core is clearly organized, presenting two pairs of a theory-focused chapter and an empirical chapter. The first pair (chapters 2 and 3) focuses on single clitics, and the second (chapters 4 and 5) on clitic doubling. Chapter 2 provides an overview of the definition of clitics, their spread, and the current theoretical landscape with respect to single clitics. Bulgarian has direct-object clitics, indirect-object clitics, and auxiliary clitics, but the book concentrates on direct-object clitics. The chapter develops the idea that Bulgarian direct-object clitics ("clitics" henceforth) are case markers (K heads) but that they also have agreement properties. Chapter 3 begins by shedding light on an intriguing pattern in the crosslinguistic data on the acquisition of clitics. In some languages Catalan, French, Italian, and European Portuguese) clitics emerge around age three and go through a stage during which children omit them. In other languages (Spanish, Romanian, Greek, and Croatian), children begin to produce clitics around age two and make few errors. Unlike other scholars, who have focused on explaining clitic acquisition in a single language (usually one showing a late emergence pattern), Radeva-Bork looks for an explanation of the cross-linguistic pattern. She suggests that the explanation can be found in the Unique Checking Constraint (Wexler 1998). On the basis of this constraint, she suggests that Bulgarian children should show early emergence of clitics, even though other recent data have suggested that this is not the case (Ivanov 2008). But Radeva-Bork supports her prediction with data from two elicited production studies with Bulgarian two- to four-year-old children, the data for which are extensively presented and discussed. The children show practically error-free use of the clitics, a pattern indistinguishable from adult performance. Clitic doubling refers to the doubling of a verbal argument by a weak pronoun (the clitic) within the same clause. Chapter 4 overviews the spread of this phenomenon (with a focus on the Balkans) and its current treatments. Radeva-Bork argues that, unlike in Romance languages where clitic doubling may result from left or right dislocation of an argument, in Bulgarian it is genuine clitic doubling. This is shown by the lack of a prosodic boundary between the clitic and its adjacent associate. The chapter also makes the case that there are three types of triggers of clitic doubling in Bulgarian: object marking (especially when non-SUBJ-first word order is used), topic marking, and accusative or dative experiencers (again conditioned by word order). (1) Previously research has emphasized semantic factors, and RadevaBork presents data suggesting that syntactic conditions and information structure are stronger constraints on clitic doubling in colloquial Bulgarian. …