Food waste has emerged as one of the world's most critical issues, as record levels of food waste have resulted in negative outcomes for food security, land use, and methane production associated with climate change. As key institutions in the world's food system, retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers have taken steps to reduce food waste. Yet, while food corporations promote their food waste programs as part of their broader green sustainability initiatives, it is unclear how and why they have developed these initiatives. To fill this research gap, this study examines a US company's food waste reduction programs as a case study. To this end, this study utilises interview data of key stakeholders to examine the ways that food waste is produced, regulated, and reused by food corporations. Research findings point to some positive outcomes, such as the transformation of food waste into alternative energy and increased efficiency in food donation systems. Yet, these positive outcomes may be overshadowed by corporate priorities which privilege profitability, brand enhancement, and short-term high-visibility solutions. This research highlights that the broad and somewhat diffuse definition of sustainability may allow corporations to highlight narrow, company-specific technical fixes rather than do the hard work associated with reducing food waste in their supply chains. Moreover, data suggest that many food corporations use the sustainability trope as a way to ensure that they are recognised as legitimate, ethical, and profitable companies. Thus, while some argue that sustainable development institutionalises important environmental practices into the market, evidence from this study suggests that these corporate practices may be evidence of neoliberal environmental governance which is determined by market logics rather than environmental or social justice. In this way, corporate profitability determines how sustainability is defined, when and where sustainability is implemented, and how sustainability is to be measured.


Theodor W. Adorno (1903–1969) was one of the twentieth century's most important thinkers. In light of two pivotal developments—the rise of fascism, which culminated in the Holocaust, and the standardization of popular culture as a commodity indispensable to contemporary capitalism—Adorno sought to evaluate and synthesize the essential insights of Western philosophy by revisiting the ethical and sociological arguments of his predecessors: Kant, Nietzsche, Hegel, and Marx. This book, first published in Germany in 1996, provides a succinct introduction to Adorno's challenging and far-reaching thought. Gerhard Schweppenhauser, a leading authority on the Frankfurt School of critical theory, explains Adorno's epistemology, social and political philosophy, aesthetics, and theory of culture.

After providing a brief overview of Adorno's life, Schweppenhauser turns to the theorist's core philosophical concepts, including post-Kantian critique, determinate negation, and the primacy of the object, as well as his view of the Enlightenment as a code for world domination, his diagnosis of modern mass culture as a program of social control, and his understanding of modernist aesthetics as a challenge to conceive an alternative politics. Along the way, Schweppenhauser illuminates the works widely considered Adorno's most important achievements: Minima Moralia , Dialectic of Enlightenment (co-authored with Horkheimer), and Negative Dialectics . Adorno wrote much of the first two of these during his years in California (1938–49), where he lived near Arnold Schoenberg and Thomas Mann, whom he assisted with the musical aesthetics at the center of Mann's novel Doctor Faustus .


From her earliest years, Anne of Hanover (1709-1759), the Princess Royal of Great Britain, grew up to be a politically engaged individual. During the stadholdership of her husband, William IV, Prince of Orange (1711-1751), she could give way to her political ambitions. She frequently took part in his meetings, corresponded with her husband's closest advisors, and thereby built up a large network of Dutch regents and international politicians. These contacts came in useful when in October 1751 William IV unexpectedly passed away and Anne took over his political functions. This contribution analyses the ways in which the princess built and unfolded her own British orientated politics and used her network as a means to actively exert political power in the turbulent years 1747-1748 and 1755-1756.


Shor and Preskill (see Phys. Rev. Lett., vol.85, p.441, 2000) have provided a simple proof of security of the standard quantum key distribution scheme by Bennett and Brassard (1984) by demonstrating a connection between key distribution and entanglement purification protocols (EPPs) with one-way communications. Here, we provide proofs of security of standard quantum key distribution schemes, Bennett and Brassard and the six-state scheme, against the most general attack, by using the techniques of two-way entanglement purification. We demonstrate clearly the advantage of classical post-processing with two-way classical communications over classical post-processing with only one-way classical communications in quantum key distribution (QKD). This is done by the explicit construction of a new protocol for (the error correction/detection and privacy amplification of) Bennett and Brassard that can tolerate a bit error rate of up to 18.9%, which is higher than what any Bennett and Brassard scheme with only one-way classical communications can possibly tolerate. Moreover, we demonstrate the advantage of the six-state scheme over Bennett and Brassard by showing that the six-state scheme can strictly tolerate a higher bit error rate than Bennett and Brassard. In particular, our six-state protocol can tolerate a bit error rate of 26.4%, which is higher than the upper bound of 25% bit error rate for any secure Bennett and Brassard protocol. Consequently, our protocols may allow higher key generation rate and remain secure over longer distances than previous protocols. Our investigation suggests that two-way entanglement purification is a useful tool in the study of advantage distillation, error correction, and privacy amplification protocols.


In 2008, 3,095 taxpayers donated 3,158 conservation easements to non-profit organizations worth an aggregate $1.17 billion. For their generosity, these taxpayers have received and will receive myriad tax benefits, including federal income tax deductions for up to the full value of their easements, estate tax benefits for the amount their donations lowered the taxable values of their estates, and numerous other federal exemptions. Depending on where they reside, donors may also receive state income and property tax benefits. This note examines the relationship between the peculiar financial circumstances of an easement donor (namely her income and wealth) and the ultimate value of her tax benefits. Consistent with deductions and exemptions generally, across two donors of identical easements, the Internal Revenue Code provides a greater aggregate subsidy to the donor with higher taxable income and the higher taxable estate. Unlike other deductions and exemptions, however, the differential far exceeds the difference in federal income tax brackets. For the "wealthiest" of donors, the aggregate subsidy approaches, if not exceeds, the full fair market value of the donated easement. For a donor with relatively little taxable income and no estate tax liability, however, the subsidy amounts to small fraction of the value of her easement. Using studies of subjective preferences for non-use environmental goods (which establish that individuals' interest in conservation does not decrease with their income or wealth), I argue that it is inefficient to grant larger incentives to wealthier donors of conservation easements than to poorer donors. I propose granting all donors a tax benefit worth a fixed percentage of the value of their donation and outline specific changes to the Internal Revenue Code that would bring about this change. I further argue that such a change is a prerequisite to the reform of the methodology for valuing conservation easements. I conclude with a discussion of the implications of equalizing incentives for the United States' response to climate change.


In the years leading up to Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence in 1965, its small and transient white population was balanced precariously atop a large and fast-growing African population. This unstable political demography was set against the backdrop of continent-wide decolonisation and a parallel rise in African nationalism within Rhodesia. "The Collapse of Rhodesia" provides a controversial reexamination of the final decades of white minority rule. Josiah Brownell argues that racial population demographics and the pressures they produced were a pervasive, but hidden, force behind many of Rhodesia's most dramatic political events, including UDI. He concludes that the UDI rebellion eventually failed because the state was unable to successfully redress white Rhodesia's fundamental demographic weaknesses. By addressing this vital demographic component of the multifaceted conflict, this book is an important contribution to the historiography of the last years of white rule in Rhodesia.


The simplified analytical method has developed to analyze the effect of bearing geometrical parameters, i.e. eccentricity ratio, journal rotation speed, slenderness ratio, bearing radial clearance, pad pivot offset and the number of pads on tilting pad journal bearing (TPJB) properties, i.e. fluid film thickness, fluid film forces and fluid film stiffness and damping coefficients of TPJB. Reynolds equation was solved for each pad to determine fluid film pressure on pads. The infinite short bearing assumption used to determine pressure distribution on pads integrated over the pad surface to find fluid film forces. The pressure distribution and fluid film forces validated with previous researches. Error bars presented to indicate accuracy measurement. The maximum error found was not more than 6 percent corresponding to loaded pads. The percentage error found maximum when the eccentricity ratio is 0.25 while it found a minimum when the eccentricity ratio is 0.62. The Matlab code has been developed for the solution of non-linear equations. Results produced in the form of design curves which compares changes in fluid film properties corresponding to TPJB geometric parameters. The results obtained in this manuscript are applicable in other similar researches to find appropriate and limiting values of fluid film properties at different geometrical and parametric conditions. The generated plots and data are helpful in dynamic analysis to find the value of a specific parameter corresponding to a specific value of fluid film coefficient, which makes an easier selection of suitable numerical integration technique and boundary conditions to avoid non-significant results, which save time and effort in the nonlinear analysis.


- Alumina-Zirconia is prepared for oil filter. Oil filters are used to separate oil derivatives from each other using separation principles depending on the size of the holes. These filters work on the principle of separation depending on the density and viscosity of liquid or on the difference in impurity crystals size. This work involves preparation of filters from Alumina-Zirconia powder materials by a hybrid freeze casting and space-holder method. These filters have excellent properties such as stability at high temperature, excellent corrosion resistance; withstand static stresses, and other unique thermal properties. Alumina-Zirconia powder is mixed with different amounts of (zero, 15, 25, and 35 vol. %) of starch powder. Powder mixture has been blending with water using an electric mixer to obtain homogeneous slurry. Solid: liquid ratio of slurry of 30:70 is poured in a cylindrical metal molds and freezed by liquid nitrogen chamber. The solidified material was heat treated at 300 °C for 60 min then sintered at 1550 °C, 1600 °C and 1700 °C under vacuum for 120 min. Hot samples were cooled inside furnace until room temperature. The sintered materials were examined to show the effect of starch adding and sintering process on the porous structure and permeability ratio of the fluid using Archimedes method and SEM image analyzed by J-image program. Best permeability and homogeneous porous structure are obtained at 1600 °C sintering temperature with 24 vol. % of starch powder.


This case series describes the development of a novel psychotherapeutic intervention for older adolescents and adults with anorexia nervosa (AN). Emotion acceptance behavior therapy (EABT) is based on a model that emphasizes the role of anorexic symptoms in facilitating avoidance of emotions. EABT combines standard behavioral interventions that are central to the clinical management of AN with psychotherapeutic techniques designed to increase emotion awareness, decrease emotion avoidance, and encourage resumption of valued activities and relationships outside the eating disorder. Five patients with AN aged 17-43 years were offered a 24-session manualized version of EABT. Four patients completed at least 90% of the therapy sessions, and three showed modest weight gains without return to intensive treatment. Improvements in depressive and anxiety symptoms, emotion avoidance, and quality of life also were observed. These results offer preliminary support for the potential utility of EABT in the treatment of older adolescents and adults with AN.


We are concerned with the design of a constitution for a firm -- an ex ante contract which assigns residual rights of control (and possibly residual income rights) without reference to the issue to be decided. We focus attention on two polar constitutions: nonprofit cooperatives and outside ownership. In the former, ownership is shared among a group of consumers on a one member, one vote basis. In the latter, all control rights and rights to residual income are allocated to an outsider. Ex post, agents are assumed to have asymmetric information, which rules out recontracting. We have two main results. First, in the case of perfect competition, an outside owner achieves the first-best; a cooperative typically does not because the rent from any cost advantage relative to the market is used to shield members from competitive pressure, and the median voter's preferences may not reflect average preferences. Second, in the case where the members of a cooperative have common preference orderings they unanimously vote for the first-best; an outside owner typically makes inefficient decisions, tailored to the marginal rather than to the average customer.


The use of average energy aircraft noise contours as the sole means for guiding aircraft noise-based planning around airports is being questioned increasingly. A growing proportion of residents who live in neighbourhoods adjacent to airports are dissatisfied with the averaging procedure that is employed. In their experience of exposure to aircraft noise, particularly in the evening and at night when they are at home, the average energy aircraft noise descriptors are misleading. In order to effectively analyse the socio-spatial interaction of annoyance at and interference by aircraft noise, an alternative approach has been suggested – a supplemental noise perspective. Conventional approaches to aircraft noise land use planning based on average energy noise descriptors run the risk of being ineffectual, or even counterproductive, because they do not consider the central aspects of disturbance, namely the loudness of an event and the number of times events are heard. Consequently, an alternative measure to ameliorate the limitations of average energy noise contours is needed by which airport neighbours, the aviation industry and town planners can better understand the nature of the problem. Although supplemental noise analysis is not new, this study applies it to a South African international airport (OR Tambo) for the first time. The airport's operations are typical of many busy airports close to large urban areas, serving domestic, regional and international routes. Reportedly, there have been few complaints about noise emanating from the airport, but when they are made they are usually about evening and night-time aircraft noise events. In the context of South Africa as a developing society in transition, where growth of urban settlements continues apace, average energy aircraft noise information must be enhanced by providing supplemental noise information. This study investigated the broad issue of land use planning around airports by employing two aircraft noise prediction models, namely the Integrated Noise Model and the Transparent Noise Information Package, to establish the various potential effects and consequences of night-time aircraft noise in noise zones demarcated according to supplemental aircraft noise information. The effects and consequences examined include annoyance, disturbance of sleep, telephone conversations, watching iv television and work or study, and the likelihood that people will move away to escape night-time aircraft noise. The perceptions of residents living in neighbourhoods around the airport were surveyed and the responses analysed according to noise zones classified as supplemental noise information. The results show that the airport's neighbours are annoyed by aircraft noise and that aircraft noise interferes with normal household activities. This annoyance and interference decreases with increasing distance from the airport. Furthermore, reported annoyance and interference is greater in those areas where higher numbers of noise events are encountered, even at relatively low noise levels of 60 LAmax – something not evident from average energy noise contours. This finding strengthens the argument that it is insufficient to provide only average energy aircraft noise information when studying the impact of aircraft noise. To understand the situation more fully, supplemental noise information is essential. The study concludes with a framework constructed to apply supplemental aircraft noise information to the abatement and mitigation measures normally used to deal with aircraft noise.


The dysregulation of the c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) pathway has been increasingly
reported in human malignancies. Aberrant expression of the JNK pathway has also been implicated in
the progression of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (ESCC). However, the specific role and regulatory
mechanisms of JNK2 in ESCC have not been extensively investigated.

In this study, we examined JNK2 expression in patient samples and performed experiments involving
the knockdown and inhibition of the JNK2 in ESCC cell lines.

Higher JNK2 expression was observed in tumor tissues compared to adjacent tissues. JNK2 overexpression
was associated with advanced disease stages and poor prognosis. Furthermore, knockdown or inhibition
of JNK2 in ESCC cell lines resulted in a decrease in cell proliferation and migration.

Additionally, a significant decrease in the expression of β-catenin and vimentin, along with an increase
in the expression of Axin2, was observed upon downregulation of JNK2. Our study provides insight into
the role of JNK2 in ESCC and its potential regulatory mechanism, offering a potential therapeutic strategy
for ESCC patients with aberrant JNK2 expression.


Measuring expired gases (EGs) while performing a maximal (max) effort exercise test is considered the most accurate evaluation of VO2 max. This methodology is not applicable for all populations. Submaximal (submax) protocols not measuring expired gases are more applicable, however their ability to accurately predict VO2max is not clear. PURPOSE: To compare VO2max results from 1) University of Houston Non-Exercise Test (UHNET), 2) McArdle Step Test (MST), 3) Bruce Protocol measuring EGs to max (Bruce-EGs), and 4) Bruce Protocol using time to max (Bruce-TM). METHODS: Recreationally active men and women {n= 24 (16M/8W); age = 25±7.7 years; body mass = 74.5±10.9kg; BMI = 24.3±2.9} completed 4 tests (on the same day) in the following order: 1) UHNET, 2) MST, 3) Bruce-EGs, and 4) Bruce-TM. For the UHNET, participants rated his/her physical activity (PAR). This was followed with a specified equation to estimate the participants VO2 max based on their PAR, age, BMI, and gender. Upon completion of the UHNET, participants performed the MST. The MST required participants to step on a 16.25inch bench at a specific cadence (different for men and women) for 3 minutes. Five seconds following the MST, radial pulse (RP) was assessed for 15 seconds. The radial pulse was converted to HR (beats/min) using the formula (RP*4). To estimate VO2max from the MST, the HR value was applied to a specific equation (different for men and women). Ten minutes after completing the MST, participants performed the Bruce protocol to max. For the Bruce Protocol, VO2max was calculated via 1) measurement of EGs and 2) the time it took to achieve max (TM). Expired gases were measured using a metabolic cart (Parvo Medics TrueOne 2400). To estimate VO2max using TM, the Bruce Protocol Time Formula (different for men and women) was applied. In addition to EGs and TM, HRmax, and Respiratory Exchange Ratio (RER) were assessed. Significant differences (p<.05) between the actual VO2 (Bruce-EGs) and estimated VO2 (UHNET, MST, and Bruce-TM) were determined using a one-way repeated measures ANOVA. Pearson correlations and liner regression were performed to determine the relationship between the estimated and actual VO2, as well as, determine how well the estimated VO2 predicted the actual VO2. RESULTS: For the Bruce protocol, HRmax=192±10.1bpm; RER=1.2±0.1, and TM=11.29±1.5 min. For the MST, the average HR was 144±23.3bpm. The actual VO2 (46.3±9.4 ml•kg-1•min -1) was similar to the estimated VO2 from UHNET (45.7±5.6 ml•kg-1•min-1) (p=.67) and MST (47.7±10.1 ml•kg-1•min-1) (p=.32). However, the VO2 obtained from the Bruce-TM (42.3±6.7 ml•kg-1•min-1) was significantly lower (p<.01) than the actual VO2 . Significant correlations (p<.01) were found between the actual VO2 and all predicted VO2 values. Liner regression equations expressed an R2 of .38, .61, and .65 for UHNET, MST, and Bruce-TM, respectively. CONCLUSION: Bruce-TM provided the most accurate estimation of the actual VO2max. The MST was slightly less predictive of VO2max though still a valid predictor. The results of this study suggest that to accurately predict VO2max, individuals will need to achieve max effort but might not need to have EGs analyzed. The MST results suggest that estimating VO2max on individuals who do not achieve max effort is still a valid option though might not be as accurate as when achieving max effort. These results should be taken with caution. This study was limited by 1) a small sample size, 2) evaluated only 2 modes of exercise, 3) a potential bias due to nonrandomized trials, and 4) evaluated only healthy, active individuals. Increasing the sample size, comparing more methodologies, and randomizing the trials could strengthen the validity of any future investigations.


OBJECTIVE To investigate the relationship between recurrent hypoglycemia and cognitive impairment in insulin-dependent diabetic patients. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Seventy patients who were diagnosed as diabetic at age 18 years or older, were under 55 years old, and had no condition likely to affect cognitive abilities were recruited from a diabetic register. Patients were interviewed to obtain information on the frequency of major and minor hypoglycemia. Their cognitive abilities were assessed on tests of premorbid intelligence, current intelligence, reaction time, concentration, memory, and information processing. RESULTS There was a significant correlation between the apparent decline in intelligence, expressed as the discrepancy between the estimated premorbid and the actual performance intelligence quotient, and the frequency of major hypoglycemic attacks (rs = −0.30; P < 0.01). Comparison of patients with and without recurrent hypoglycemia showed few significant differences in cognitive ability. CONCLUSIONS Results support previous work that suggests that major hypoglycemic attacks have a significant effect on some aspects of cognitive function, but the clinical importance of this finding remains to be determined.


New, innovative technologies developed and integrated within the EU-project COBO (Coastal Ocean Benthic Observatory) will be used to study benthic responses to natural and anthropogenic factors. The primary objective of COBO is to integrate emerging and innovative technologies from different disciplines (physics, chemistry, biology, and imagery) to provide in situ experimentation and monitoring of sediment ecosystems. The Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) leads a workpackage within the COBO-project developing an Integrated Sediment Disturber (ISD), in order to understand the complex interactions between the biota (their functioning and diversity) and environmental pertubations. The ISD frame carries three rotating fork-like disturber units, which will repeatedly rework surface sediments simulating physical disturbances. Disturber arms are 50 cm in length generating a circular reworked area of about 0.75 m². Three disturbed zones and an undisturbed control area will be monitored continuously using a digital camera and a microprofiler with oxygen microelectrodes. To study disturbance effects on the benthic community sediment sampling will be carried out using coring devices handled either by divers or a remotely controlled vehicle (ROV). This will allow the investigation of biodiversity shifts in response to pertubation and the changing chemical condition of the sediment. The ISD frame can be lowered to the seafloor on a wire (shallow-water version), however, there are attachment points for floats allowing to convert the ISD frame into a free-falling device (bottom-lander version). Integrated observations of the natural environment at high spatial and temporal resolution will enable a quantitative description of the fundamental processes governing the interaction between the biota and its chemical environment in the sediment. The ISD will be developed in close cooperation with CEFAS (Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science, UK) and CEA (Commissariat a lŽEnergie Atomique, France).


When a real world problem is formulated as a linear programming model, we are often faced with difficulties in the parameter specification. We might know the plausible values or the possible ranges of parameters, but there still remains uncertainty. The parameter values could be obtained more exactly by experiments, investigations and/or inspections. However, to make such an experiment, investigation or inspection, expenses would be necessary. Because of capital limitations, we cannot invest in all possible experiments, investigations and inspections. Thus, we have a selection problem, which uncertainty reduction is the most profitable.

In this paper, we discuss an analytic approach to the problem. Because of the difficulty of the global analysis, we make a local analysis around appropriate values of parameters. We focus on giving the decision maker useful information for the selection. First, sensitivity analyses with respect to the uncertain parameters are developed. The sensitivities are available only for the marginal domain without changing the optimal basis. The domain is obtained as an interval. The difficulty of the sensitivity analysis is in the cases of degeneracy and multiplicity of the optimal solutions. A treatment of such difficult cases is proposed. Finally, a numerical example is given for illustrating the proposed approach.


Marine borers, particularly the shipworms, as destroyers of timber, par excellence, are well known from very ancient times. They attacked the wooden hulls of ships with such intensity that the weakened bottom planks broke up even due to a mild impact caused by hitting a rock or any floating objects inducing shipwrecks. Even the survival of sunken ships as wrecks depends on the mercy of wood-destroying organisms, which may turn these 'port-holes' to history into meaningless junks. The silent saboteurs, involved in several early shipwrecks, are the molluscan and crustacean borers, aided by bacteria and fungi. This paper presents an account of the marine wood-borers, together with a historical review of literature on their depredation on wooden ships, and on protective methods adopted from antiquity to modern times. The seriousness with which early mariners faced the problem of bio-deterioration and the fear the wood-borers created in their minds have been brought to light with, in some cases, excerpts from their journals and books. The anxiety and concern for protecting the ships from the ravages of wood-borers and for their own safety, as evidenced from their accounts, are discussed. Classification of various groups of marine wood-borers with notes on characters of systematic value and a complete list of species so far recorded in literature have been included under Appendix I and II. Methods employed to prevent damage to the boats included deep-charring, coating with pitch, coal-tar, whale oil and mustard oil with lime; scupper nailing ('filling'); sheathing with animal skin, hair, tarred paper, wooden boards (untreated or soaked in coal tar, Ferrous sulphate, Copper sulphate or Lead monoxide); sheathing with metals (Lead or Copper sheets); plastic, neoprene coated ply-woods; and painting with Copper oxide, Pentachlorophenol or phenylarsenious oxide. None of these imparts complete protection. Recent archaeological investigations carried out in British waters, especially on 'Mary Rose', are also summarised. It is suggested that, though borers are instrumental in inducing ship-wrecks thereby enriching the materials for archaeological studies, excavations at known ship-wreck sites should be augmented to unearth valuable historical data, before they are lost to satisfy the insatiable appetite of these pests.


Book synopsis: Should sight trump the other four senses when experiencing and evaluating art? Art, History and the Senses: 1830 to the Present questions whether the authority of the visual in 'visual culture' should be deconstructed, and focuses on the roles of touch, taste, smell, and sound in the materiality of works of art.
From the nineteenth century onward, notions of synaesthesia and the multi-sensorial were important to a series of art movements from Symbolism to Futurism and Installations. The essays in this collection evaluate works of art at specific moments in their history, and consider how senses other than the visual have (or have not) affected the works' meaning. The result is a re-evaluation of sensory knowledge and experience in the arts, encouraging a new level of engagement with ideas of style and form.


This project provided an early, objective assessment of selected efforts to develop Washington State Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATISs). To accomplish this goal, the study team developed a taxonomy of current ATISs nationwide; this taxonomy was used to develop instruments for the assessment. In addition to the specific assessments done under this project, the taxonomy and assessment tools developed could, with some refinement, be used as a model for iterative, standardized assessment of ATIS projects nationwide. Using these assessment tools, some of the study team's conclusions were as follow: (1) FLOW's system goals are appropriate to the audience but cannot be fully achieved in the location at which it was assessed, and an interactive interface would be more appropriate for the delivery of FLOW's information; (2) Traffic Reporter has a high degree of user acceptance, but it is hindered in achieving its implicit goals because of location; (3) the proposed Canadian Border Crossing ATIS would not achieve its goals with two of the three technologies proposed; and (4) although Bellvue Smart Traveler achieves two of its goals, the other two are not fully achieved, mainly because of an appropriate audience.


The use of touch-based technologies by young children to improve academic skills has seen growth outpacing empirical evidence of its effectiveness. Due to the educational challenges lowincome children face, the stakes for providing instructional technology with demonstrated efficacy are high. The current work presents an empirical study of the use of a touch-based, computerassisted learning system by low-income preschoolers. A description of the system's design is provided with attention to young children's interaction with touch devices, learner engagement, and pedagogically-based delivery of academic content. Children in 18 low-income child-care preschool classrooms were assessed on literacy and math skills in the fall and again in the spring. Target children used the iStartSmart learning system throughout the academic year, while control children did not have access to the system. Compared to controls, children using the learning system made significant gains on external standardized measures of literacy and math. Children who spent more time using the system and those who reached the upper levels of skill understanding showed the strongest improvement in test scores. The findings contribute to the currently sparse literature by illuminating that for at-risk early learners, touch-based, computer-assisted instructional technology shows promise as an educational tool.


In order to overcome the problem of over-segmentation, a novel algorithm of watershed segmentation based on morphological gradient reconstructing is proposed in this paper. In the algorithm, morphological gradient reconstruction is introduced in watershed segmentation, and opening and closing by reconstruction operators are employed to reconstruct gradient image. And then a lot of gradient pixels with low value are removed and some gradient pixels with high value are preserved. Therefore, watershed segmentation arithmetic is developed. The improved algorithm is applied to reconstruct gradient image. The whole segmentation process needs no post-segmentation which reduced the complexity of the segmentation in some degree. The experimental results show that the improved algorithm can efficiently eliminate over- segmentation, and hold the position of region contours without evident bias.


ABSTRACT Fire retardants may considerably improve the reaction to fire properties of wood products, but the long term durability needs to be addressed. Several long term studies of fire retardant treated (FRT) wood products over time are presented. They are performed according to a European system based on earlier Nordic and North American systems and include accelerated aging according to different procedures and natural weathering up to 10 years. Main conclusions are: • products studied and used commercially • The reaction to fire properties of FRT wood may be maintained after accelerated and natural aging if the The hygroscopic properties are unchanged compared to untreated wood for most FRT wood retention levels are high enough, but several products lose most of their improved reaction to fire properties during weathering • Paint systems contribute considerably to weather protection and are usually needed to maintain the reaction to fire performance at exterior applications


Thematic maps show spatial distributions. The theme refers to the phenomena that is shown, which is often demographical, social, cultural, or economic. The best known thematic map type is the choropleth, in which regions are colored according to the distribution of a data variable. The R package tmap offers a coherent plotting system for thematic maps that is based on the layered grammar of graphics. Thematic maps are created by stacking layers, where per layer, data can be mapped to one or more aesthetics. It is also possible to generate small multiples. Thematic maps can be further embellished by configuring the map layout and by adding map attributes, such as a scale bar and a compass. Besides plotting thematic maps on the graphics device, they can also be made interactive as an HTML widget. In addition, the R package tmaptools contains several convenient functions for reading and processing spatial data.


End-to-end deep-learning networks recently demonstrated extremely good performance for stereo matching. However, existing networks are difficult to use for practical applications since (1) they are memory-hungry and unable to process even modest-size images, (2) they have to be fully re-trained to handle a different disparity range. The Practical Deep Stereo (PDS) network that we propose addresses both issues: First, its architecture relies on novel bottleneck modules that drastically reduce the memory footprint in inference, and additional design choices allow to handle greater image size during training. This results in a model that leverages large image context to resolve matching ambiguities. Second, a novel sub-pixel cross-entropy loss combined with a MAP estimator make this network less sensitive to ambiguous matches, and applicable to any disparity range without re-training. We compare PDS to state-of-the-art methods published over the recent months, and demonstrate its superior performance on FlyingThings3D and KITTI sets.


The illuminated manuscript was the primary vehicle of learning, religion, and art during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Within the pages of these hand-painted treasures, medieval civilisation flourished. Of all the illuminated manuscripts from this period, the Book of Hours was, by far, the most popular and among the most exquisitely made. In the words of scholar L. M. J. Delaisse, it was the "best seller" of its time - the most frequently commissioned book by both the aristocracy and the middle classes. A selection of these splendid pages is presented in Time Sanctified, along with a detailed discussion of their importance and their contents. A prayer book for the laity, the Book of Hours contains, at its heart, a series of prayers devoted to the Virgin Mary, which were meant to be recited at seven canonical times (or hours) during the day. The most highly skilled calligraphers and painters were commissioned to execute the finest decoration with the most luxurious materials, such as gold, silver, and lapis lazuli. An understanding of the contents in the Book of Hours, both textually and pictorially, is essential to our understanding of not only late medieval piety, but of late medieval social life as well. The contributions of four authorities on Books of Hours guide the reader: Roger Wieck provides a detailed description of the contents of the Book of Hours, Lawrence Poos discusses its social context, Virginia Reinburg sheds light on the role of the Book of Hours in late medieval, piety, and John Plummer provides essential textual analysis. The images are assembled from the Walters Collection, which contains one of the finest and largest collections of Books of Hours in the world.


The exercise of social control in cities has been linked in a fundamental way to a wide variety of policing mechanisms in urban contexts. This article builds on the literature on urban policing by foregrounding 'masculinities' as a unit of analysis for understanding everyday practices of law enforcement on city streets. It describes quotidian interactions between male public transport vehicle operators and traffic police in contemporary Kolkata, India, to make a set of analytical observations about three interrelated concerns (a) the gendered character of urban policing, (b) the emotional and moral ethos of urban law enforcement, and (c) the production of the city as a male space. Through these analyses the article develops the concept of 'homosocial trust' as an explanatory framework for understanding gendered dimensions of the everyday state, place-making, and mobility in the ordinary city. Such a heuristic draws thought to the vocabulary of masculinity used by men, who are otherwise framed in a conflictual relationship, to transact situational trust and make city streets inhabitable for themselves. The article shifts the emphasis in studies of urban policing away from conflict to mundane collaboration between law enforcement officers and urban publics to highlight the masculinities of everyday state practice through which the city is reproduced as a space of patriarchal power. The article draws on ethnographic interviews with autorickshaw drivers, taxi drivers, traffic police personnel, and participant observation at workshops conducted by the police with transport workers to sensitize them to safe road practices in Kolkata.


For its development, Africa unquestionably needs foreign investments. Consequently, developing global partnerships for economic and social development is high on the agenda of African Governments across the continent. New partnerships with emerging economies have formed alongside traditional ones, and through its investments in African countries, China has become one of Africa's major economic partners. Even though progressively diversifying, Chinese investments have concentrated in the resources and the infrastructure development sectors which are environmentally sensitive. This paper explores Chinese investments in African states from a perspective of norms ('sustainability') and institutions aimed at including the environmental dimension of sustainability. The environmental sustainability of Chinese engagement is discussed with regard to its inclusion or otherwise in incentives and regulations concerning Chinese enterprises and financial lending institutions activities abroad.


After our taxonomic revision of Ootheca Chevrolat, 1837, and the description of Oothecoides Kortenhaus & Wagner, 2011 and Ootibia Kortenhaus & Wagner, 2012, it became clear that a further four galerucine species, closely related to the above named taxa, form a distinct monophyletic group, that constitutes a new genus, Oosagitta gen. nov. with O. anningae sp. nov., O. geescheae sp. nov., O. melanopicta sp. nov. and O. thomasi sp. nov.. Exosoma angolensis Laboissiere, 1939, the type species of the new genus, and Ergana minuta Laboissiere, 1937 are newly transferred to Oosagitta gen. nov. All species of Oosagitta gen. nov. are characterized by a broad body and pronotum, a more or less convex dorsum and short legs, and as such are most similar to the other above named genera. The antennae of Oosagitta gen. nov. are distinctly longer than those of Ootheca , Oothecoides and Ootibia . Genital structures of the males allow a reliable identification of the genus. (Re-)descriptions are given for all species, including semi-schematic illustrations depicting the habitus outline, shape of the basal antennomeres and the median lobe. Photographs of the name-bearing types and distribution maps are provided.


THE DISCOVERY OF PULSARS in 1967 is associated with the names of Anthony Hewish and Jocelyn Bell-Burnell, but the seeds of their achievement were sown long before during the exciting era when radio astronomy developed from a specialist pursuit of physicists and electrical engineers into a key area of contemporary astronomy.After the Second World War, a number of university groups began the investigation of the nature of the cosmic radio emission, which had been discovered by Karl Jansky in 1933. The principal radio groups involved were those at Cambridge, Manchester, and Sydney. The Cambridge efforts were led by Martin RyIe, who assembled a brilliant team of young physicists, including Graham Smith, Tony Hewish, and Peter Scheuer, to attack these problems. The Cambridge efforts were largely devoted to the development of the technique of aperture synthesis as a means of obtaining high angular resolution and sensitivity by combining coherently the radio signals received by arrays of telescopes.HEWISH AND THE SCINTILLATION OF RADIO SOURCESAs part of that effort, Hewish's research involved understanding the nature of the fluctuations, or scintillations, of the intensities of radio sources because of intervening moving plasma clouds. This research followed in the tradition of the Cavendish Radio Group, which, after the war, was led by Jack Ratcliffe, building on the pioneering ionospheric researches of Appleton. Just as stars twinkle even on the clearest nights, so point sources of radio emission are observed to scintillate, particularly at the long radio wavelengths, which were the focus of research in the early days of radio astronomy. The cause of the radio scintillations is the deflections of radio rays when they pass through irregularities in the ionospheric plasma, as illustrated schematically in the diagram (fig. 1).The theory of the process of scintillation was worked out in detail by Hewish in 1951 in a paper entitled "The Diffraction of Radio Waves in Passing through a Phase-Changing Ionosphere" (A. Hewish, Proc. Roy. Soc. 209 [1951]: 81-96). The paper sets out the theoretical background needed to understand the short-term fluctuations in the intensities of radio sources due to irregularities in an ionised plasma. The same concepts and techniques could be applied to the physics of fluctuations due to ionospheric, interplanetary, and interstellar electron density fluctuations. This theoretical paper was followed in 1952 by another entitled "The Diffraction of Galactic Radio Waves as a Method of Investigating the Irregular Structure of the Ionosphere" (A. Hewish, Proc. Roy. Soc. IIA [1952]: 494-514). Applying these concepts to observations of the fluctuating radio signals, Hewish showed that the scale of the irregularities ranged from 2 to 10 km, that the variation of electron content was about 5 × 10^sup 9^ electrons per cm-2, and that the irregularities are at a height of about 400 km. These irregularities moved with a steady wind-like motion at a velocity of the order 100 to 300 m s^sup -1^.The same technique could be used to study the solar corona, the region of hot plasma surrounding the Sun. The radio source Taurus A (the Crab Nebula) was observed at varying angular distances from the Sun, and the variability of the signal could be accounted for by scattering because of the presence of fluctuations of the electron density in the solar corona. In his paper of 1955 "The Irregular Structure of the Outer Regions of the Solar Corona" (A. Hewish, Proc. Roy. Soc. 228 [1955]: 238-51), Hewish derived the sizes and electron densities of coronal irregularities in the distance range 5 to 15 solar radii.THE CONTROVERSY OVER THE RADIO SOURCE COUNTSDuring the 1950s, the first Cambridge catalogues of radio sources were produced, giving rise to the famous controversy concerning the excess of faint radio sources that was observed. Martin RyIe interpreted these data as evidence for an evolving Universe and inconsistent with expectations of steady state cosmology. …


A study was conducted to ascertain the growth and nutritional status of adolescent school girls in rural area. Present study was conducted among adolescent girls studying in 5th to 8th standard (age group of 10 to 14 years) of eighteen government approved school in Dantan-II block, Paschim Medinipur district, West Bengal. Physical growths of total of 3611 girls were assessed through anthropometry. Data on weights and heights of girls were collected using standardized techniques. The extent of malnutrition of adolescent girls was evaluated by well-to-do Indian and NCHS median value. The results revealed that the weights and heights of these girls were below those of standard value. As regards weight for age index, only 28.2% subjects were in the normal category and the percentage of subjects suffering from Grade I (25.7%), Grade II (30.4%), Grade III (13.7%) and Grade IV (1.9%) malnutrition was quite prevalent in present study. With respect to height for age index, 65.2% of the subjects were in the normal category, 32.6% had mild retardation and about 2.2% had poor status. The present study revealed that different grades of malnutrition are widely prevalent among the girls in our study area. All these observations suggest that school going early adolescent girls need better nutrition to combat the problem of under nutrition. Further studies should be made to identify the factors responsible for it.


Although few doubt that good internal governance helps firms perform better, the statistical evidence is actually mixed because the positive effects of good corporate governance matters much more so at some times than others. The statistical link is strongest during "flights to quality," when market sentiment turns bearish and pessimistic but weakens for long periods of time during bull markets and low market volatility. Using more than ten years' evidence from Australian firms, the authors show that internal governance is related to both firm value and performance and that firms with stronger governance are less risky, generate higher equity returns and perform significantly better during market downturns. When risk aversion is high, demand for well‐governed firms increases and investors discount the value of firms with potential agency conflicts. This time‐varying relationship between internal governance and returns may explain both the limited explanatory power of governance on firm value and the mixed empirical evidence reported in previous studies.Firms with strong internal governance do earn significantly higher stock returns compared with firms with weak governance; but that also means that the value of governance is not fully incorporated into prices, thereby explaining the limited explanatory power of governance on firm value.


Football language is arguably the world's most widespread special language, where English has played – and still plays – a dominant role. The present study reports on the influence of English in terms of direct loans in this field, as manifested in 16 European languages. Based on a set of 25 English football words – dribble, goal, offside, hooligan, etc. – the investigation shows that while direct borrowing is common, there is a great deal of variation between the languages studied, Norwegian exhibiting the highest number of foreign loans and Finnish the lowest. The significance of the resulting patterns is discussed, providing some tentative explanations of the phenomena noted, where linguistic, sociolinguistic and cultural factors are taken into account.


ABSTRACT The paper investigates two augmented reality (AR) applications and corresponding consumer responses to their media characteristics. Firstly, it discusses the role of interactivity with AR technology. Secondly, it introduces augmentation as a salient media characteristic of AR applications and tests measurement items of perceived augmentation. Two experimental studies replicate the research design of Van Noort et al. [Van Noort, G., Voorveld, H. A. M., & van Reijmersdal, E. A. (2012). Interactivity in brand web sites: cognitive, affective, and behavioral responses explained by consumers' online flow experience. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 26, 223–234], applying it in the context of AR. The results show that perceived augmentation represents a fitting concept for understanding consumer responses to AR features and, furthermore, that flow mediates effects of perceived augmentation on consumers' affective responses and behavioural intentions. AR features on the other hand do not increase perception of interactivity. Finally, implications of the study and further research directions are discussed.


This study investigated the feasibility of characterising the pressure-leakage response of water distribution systems using the FAVAD (Fixed and Variable Area Discharges) equation, instead of the conventional N1 power equation. The study was based on 300 network models with randomly distributed leaks and 35 networks generated through a sensitivity analysis. It was found that the leakage rate and average zone pressure head (AZP) before and after pressure reduction may be used in conjunction with the FAVAD equation to estimate the initial leakage area ( A0S ) and head-area slope ( mS ) of any system. In addition, A0S and ms were shown to provide good estimates respectively of the sum of the initial areas and head-area slopes of all the individual leaks in the system. The study found that a dimensionless leakage number may be calculated for any system and used to characterise the pressure-leakage response. Finally, the study showed that it is possible to convert between N1 and the leakage number using a simple equation.


Startup organizations are faced with the need to mature along the dimensions of intentionality, resources, boundary and exchange (Katz & Gartner, 1988). Lacking any one of these four dimensions places restraints on the Human Resource management options available to these firms. Specifically, the authors offer a predictive theory of employment mode (hire, develop, contract, or strategic alliance) based on a firm's levels of intentionality, resources, boundary and exchange. Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) is used to test hypotheses based on the theory. Preliminary evidence indicates that levels of intentionality, resources, boundary and exchange may affect employment mode decisions in startup organizations that are in the Construction, Manufacturing, and Transportation industries.


Background Skin flap necrosis is a common complication after mastectomy and breast reconstruction. It has been proven that nitroglycerin ointment, as a topical vasodilator, can decrease the rate of skin flap necrosis after mastectomy and breast reconstruction. However, nitroglycerin can cause several side effects, including headache, dizziness, and hypotension. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the application of a low dose of nitroglycerin ointment reduced the rate of skin flap necrosis in breast reconstruction after skin-sparing or nipple-sparing mastectomy. Methods A total of 73 cases of breast reconstruction after nipple-sparing and skin-sparing mastectomy at our institution from March 2012 to January 2017 were retrospectively studied. Of these patients, 52 received nitroglycerin ointment (4.5 mg) application to the skin around the nipple-areolar complex from August 2015 to January 2017, while 21 received fusidic acid ointment from March 2012 to August 2015. The number of patients who experienced necrosis of the breast skin flap was counted in both groups. Results Skin flap necrosis developed in 2 (3.8%) patients who were treated with nitroglycerin ointment and 5 (23.8%) patients who did not receive nitroglycerin ointment treatment. Patients who did not receive nitroglycerin ointment treatment had a significantly higher risk of mastectomy skin flap necrosis than patients who did (odds ratio=7.81; 95% confidence interval, 1.38 to 44.23; P=0.02). Conclusions Low-dose nitroglycerin ointment administration significantly decreased the rate of skin flap necrosis in patients who underwent breast reconstruction after skin-sparing or nipple-sparing mastectomy, without increasing the incidence of the side effects of nitroglycerin.


The purpose of the study is to review the history of politicization in local government (LG) and determine the major factors that affect local coordination in Bangladesh maintaining the relationships between politics and administration under the changing provisions of the Upazila Parishad (UZP) Act of 2009 and the partisan LG provisions of 2015. The study is entirely based on a literature review where only qualitative data has been explored. Eighteen documents were selected as a data set through searching Web of Science, SCOPUS and Google Scholar databases by using the relevant key-words. The study found a number of factors that are outlined by inter- and intra-organizational perspectives which negatively effect on local coordination in Bangladesh. Among these factors, lack of proper division of work, financial dependency on central government, lack of a chain of command among LG bodies, and the compulsory advisory role of Member of the Parliament (MP) over UZP are found to be major inter-organizational factors, whereas dual loyalty of transferred departments, unequal project distribution among Union Parishads (UP), and the domination of non-elected members in UZP are also identified as intra-organizational factors that are negatively associated with local coordination. Despite these existing problems, recently adapted partisan LG provisions are also creating a huge conflict in not only the local administration but also in local politics. In this regard, the government will have a great opportunity to address these burning issues properly through removing these legal and practical barriers for ensuring better local coordination.


A preferential arrangement of a set is a total ordering of the elements of that set with ties allowed. A barred preferential arrangement is one in which the tied blocks of elements are ordered not only amongst themselves but also with respect to one or more bars. We present various combinatorial identities for $r_{m,\ell}$, the number of barred preferential arrangements of $\ell$ elements with $m$ bars, using both algebraic and combinatorial arguments. Our main result is an expression for $r_{m,\ell}$ as a linear combination of the $r_k$ ($= r_{0,k}$, the number of unbarred preferential arrangements of $k$ elements) for  $\ell\le k\le\ell+m$. We also enumerate those arrangements in which the sections, into which the blocks are segregated by the bars, must be nonempty. We conclude with an expression of $r_\ell$ as an infinite series that is both convergent and asymptotic.


A simple one-dimensional model for plasma deposition in a rectangular showerhead reactor with single side pumping has been developed in order to explain the mechanisms which yield uniform deposition using this gas flow configuration. Although the flow velocity increases linearly with distance towards the pumping side, the solution of the transport equations for the neutral species shows that their number densities are constant throughout the reactor. Consequently, the plasma and surface deposition reactions are independent of position in any arbitrarily-large-area showerhead reactor.


A study of 58 paitents of tinea faciei was conducted. Twenty five (43.1%) patients had history of photosensitivity. Twenty eight (48.2%) patients were applying topical steroids, 2 (3.4%) patients were on 10 mg of prednisolone daily. Associated tinea of other sites were observed in 14 (24.13%). 23 (39.6%) patients had typical circinate, arcuate, annular plaques with raised margin showing vesiculo-pustules. Atypical manifestations were in the form of arcuate plaques on the pinna in 4 patients, erythematous plaques full of vesiculo-pustules without central clearing in 3. Thirty two (55.17%) patients had plaques with broad edges and indistinct central clearing. In 2 patients lesions resembled discoid lupus erythematosus. Skin scrapings for fungus was positive in 36 (62.06%) cases. All patients responded to systemic griseofulvin 10mg/kg with 1% clotrimazole topicaly in 4-8 weeks.


Cryopreserved allografts have demonstrated resistance to infection similar to that of autogenous tissue when used for the treatment of prosthetic arterial bypass graft infections. As the number of hemodialysis access procedures increases, prosthetic hemodialysis graft infection has become a significant problem. We have used the cryopreserved femoral vein as an alternative conduit in the treatment of prosthetic arteriovenous (AV) hemodialysis graft infections. Forty-eight cryopreserved femoral vein AV graft procedures were performed. The 1-year primary graft patency rate was 49%, while the secondary graft patency rate was 75%. No subsequent cryopreserved allograft infections occurred. The cryopreserved femoral vein graft is a safe, durable, and infection resistant conduit for the treatment of prosthetic AV hemodialysis graft infections.


Extracted from text ... B
E-commerce:
the new way of doing business
36 Management Today March 2005
"Everything we said about the internet is happening."
Andy Grove, Intel
Business today is characterised by volatility
and unpredictability while being influenced
by global events. It has become
more competitive and customers and employees
have become more demanding as
a result of being better informed.
In the motor industry specifically there
is little new car inflation resulting in the
used car market reaching a ceiling very
quickly. The well informed buying public
therefore puts increased pressures on car
dealers. "The majority of vehicles buyers
will access the ..


The population of Paphia undulata in Negros Occidental waters continues to decline due to unregulated harvesting because of the increasing demand for this resource. One potential effort to mitigate this problem is reseeding or stock enhancement of the natural population. For these efforts to be effective however, successful laboratory rearing and breeding of this species is a prerequisite. Thus, this study was conducted to describe the embryonic and larval development of P. undulata to provide information on laboratory larval rearing. Broodstock were collected during the natural spawning peak from Hinigaran, Negros Occidental and were maintained in a static system with a mean salinity and temperature of 36 ppt. and 26.7 O C, respectively and were fed with Isochrysis galbana , Chaetoceros calcitrans , and Tetraselmis tetrahele . Fertilized eggs started to divide 30 minutes after fertilization. Ciliated swimming blastulas were observed after 1.5 hours with an average shell length (SL) of 40 µm. These further developed into trocophore larvae (average SL 60µm) after 7 hours and into D-veliger (average SL 80 µm) after 12 hours. Fully developed D-larvae (average SL 90 µm) were attained after 17 hours. Larvae with completely developed umbo were observed on day 9 with an average SL of 140 µm. On day 13, larvae (average SL 220 µm) started to settle and metamorphose. Spontaneous spawning was observed during the peak of reproductive activities of P. undulata showing that collection of broodstock must be conducted during the peak of reproductive season to ensure successful spawning and production of viable gametes under laboratory conditions. Further experiments should be conducted to determine optimum conditions to improve survival rates of the larvae during settlement.  The results corroborate other studies and help explain the derived information on the species' population and reproductive biology.


Food product labelling has become a popular policy tool, particularly with respect to the provision of nutrition and health information. Nutrition labelling is a valuable tool  in learning how to apply nutrition information in a practical way. Nutrition  information on food labels can help consumers to choose healthier food. For  companies competing in the global food and beverage marketplace, understanding local consumer attitudes and purchase behaviour regarding healthy foods, nutrition, and labelling is critically important for success. This study attempts to evaluate the level of knowledge and use of nutrition information on food packages among  consumers in Maseru, Lesotho. A structured questionnaire, covering aspects of knowledge and use of food labels and nutrition information, was used to collect information from two hundred and sixty consumers. The study also included  open-ended questions on what consumers expected to be on the food label, what  they understand by nutrition information, what its importance is, and if they think it  should be included on the food package labels and why. The findings indicate that  the main demographic features of the participants were: 67.3% female, 59.6%  married, 55.9% completed primary, middle or high school, and 68.4% were poor.  Majority (71.2%) of the participants claimed that they use a shopping list. Less  than half of the participants (40.5%) indicated that nutrition information on food  labels, rather than price, taste, appearance, habit, convenience, or brand name, was their main motivator to purchase foods. With regard to food label and nutrition  information knowledge, a majority of the participants said they knew about them (59.6% for food label knowledge, and 69.2% for nutrition information knowledge). The same trend has been observed with respect to use of nutrition information on food labels when shopping, where 63.8% claimed that they utilise that knowledge when shopping. For the lowest income group, food price was the major determining factor of the types of foods they buy. A positive relationship between age of  participants and nutrition information knowledge was observed. It was noted that as the level of education increased, the level of knowledge about food label increased. The level and use of nutrition knowledge when purchasing foods increased with age, education level and family income. Answers to the open-ended questions showed high degree of awareness about nutrition information on food labels, and why it is important to utilise that information. Key words : Consumers, Food packages, Nutrition information


Rainfall and resulting soil moisture are probably the most important of the climatic factors affecting crop production. This is true even in temperate climates, subject as they are to additional hazards of winter temperatures and photo-periodic effects. Agriculturists in countries with a long-established agricultural tradition have the heritage of an accumulated weather knowledge on which to base their agricultural systems. Such information is not, of course, available for new or under-developed countries. In consequence means of rainfall or totals of means have had to be used. As might be expected, with tropical convection storms, such means, without associated statements of variability, may often be misleading. The concept of rainfall expectation at selected levels of probability has been shown to provide a completely objective and reliable estimate of rainfall to be expected, and so to assess long-term crop risk which is not apparent when means alone are used. Minimum and maximum rainfall expectation may be used in the preparation of rainfall maps, either annual, seasonal or even for shorter periods. Brief reference is also made to the application of these confidence limits to problems in agricultural meteorology. Given estimates of water required for optimum crop growth, it is a simple matter to calculate the chances of obtaining such amounts of rainfall. The value of the resulting probabilities in assessing crop risk was demonstrated by their relationship with some yield data. Much of the seasonal variation in cotton yields, itself of the order of some 200%, could be ascribed to the chances of obtaining an amount of rainfall equivalent to the average estimated crop water requirements. Critical examination of these probabilities, either as single or combined seasons, enables the agriculturist to formulate the agricultural system best suited to rainfall expectation of the region. In addition, it is now possible to delineate those areas best suited to perennial or double cropping systems in contrast to those where a single crop and succeeding fallow would make a more efficient use of limited water resources.


Objective Postoperative ileus (POI), the most frequent complication after intestinal surgery, depends on dendritic cells (DCs) and macrophages. Here, we have investigated the mechanism that activates these cells and the contribution of the intestinal microbiota for POI induction. Design POI was induced by manipulating the intestine of mice, which selectively lack DCs, monocytes or macrophages. The disease severity in the small and large intestine was analysed by determining the distribution of orally applied fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran and by measuring the excretion time of a retrogradely inserted glass ball. The impact of the microbiota on intestinal peristalsis was evaluated after oral antibiotic treatment. Results We found that Cd11c-Cre+ Irf4flox/flox mice lack CD103+CD11b+ DCs, a DC subset unique to the intestine whose function is poorly understood. Their absence in the intestinal muscularis reduced pathogenic inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) production by monocytes and macrophages and ameliorated POI. Pathogenic iNOS was produced in the jejunum by resident Ly6C– macrophages and infiltrating chemokine receptor 2-dependent Ly6C+ monocytes, but in the colon only by the latter demonstrating differential tolerance mechanisms along the intestinal tract. Consistently, depletion of both cell subsets reduced small intestinal POI, whereas the depletion of Ly6C+ monocytes alone was sufficient to prevent large intestinal POI. The differential role of monocytes and macrophages in small and large intestinal POI suggested a potential role of the intestinal microbiota. Indeed, antibiotic treatment reduced iNOS levels and ameliorated POI. Conclusions Our findings reveal that CD103+CD11b+ DCs and the intestinal microbiome are a prerequisite for the activation of intestinal monocytes and macrophages and for dysregulating intestinal motility in POI.


Studies examining the impact of different kinds of organisational and institutional reform on service delivery in the health sector in developing countries highlight and explain advances, strengths, weaknesses, shortcomings and failures in delivery. They rarely explore directly the role of the prevailing political arrangements in individual countries, specifically how politics is organised and practised, in influencing approaches to, and the nature and quality of, service delivery. This paper seeks to contribute towards filling the gap. It explores the extent to which the operation of Rwanda's political system in the light of the prevailing political settlement shapes service delivery and outcomes in the health sector. A political settlement begets specific rules of the game and incentives, constraints, opportunities and risks in its own context. All things being equal, in Rwanda's dominant party/dominant leader political settlement, the short- to medium-term prospects of the current government losing power to opposition rivals are slim. Consequently, there is no pressure on the government to deliver on popular expectations or suffer electoral defeat. In the face of marked achievements in recent times, therefore, the paper explores the possible influences on service delivery in post-genocide Rwanda. It argues that the nature of political organisation and how politics works are decisive.


Low-voltage silicon (Si)-based light-emitting diode (LED) is designed based on the former research of LED in Si-based standard complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology. The low-voltage LED is designed under the research of cross-finger structure LEDs and sophisticated structure enhanced LEDs for high efficiency and stable light source of monolithic chip integration. The device size of low-voltage LED is 45.85\times 38.4 (\mu m), threshold voltage is 2.2 V in common condition, and temperature is 27 oC. The external quantum efficiency is about 10^{-6} at stable operating state of 5 V and 177 mA.


ABSTRACT This study investigated attributes of 278 instances of student mathematical thinking during whole-class interactions that were identified as having high potential, if made the object of discussion, to foster learners' understanding of important mathematical ideas. Attributes included the form of the thinking (e.g., question vs. declarative statement), whether the thinking was based on earlier work or generated in the moment, the accuracy of the thinking, and the type of thinking (e.g., sense-making). Findings illuminate the complexity of identifying student thinking worth building on during whole-class discussion and provide insight into important attributes of these high potential instances that could be used to help teachers more easily recognize them. Implications for researching, learning, and enacting the teaching practice of building on student mathematical thinking are discussed.


The current study examined differences in the cardiorespiratory fitness and muscular strength components of physical fitness among college students with and without ADHD. We hypothesized that college students with ADHD would be less physically fit in these domains than their peers without ADHD. Students with ADHD were expected (a) to have significantly lower VO2 max as an indicator of cardiorespiratory fitness following a 3-minute step test and (b) to demonstrate less strength in a handgrip dynamometry test compared to their peers. There were 63 participants in this study between the ages of 18 and 25, both male and female. Approximately half of the participants were in the ADHD group ( n = 31), and half were in the non-ADHD group ( n = 32). To test cardiorespiratory fitness, a 3-minute step test was completed with a 15-second heart rate taken after. Information including heart rate, age, and sex was then used in a validated step test equation to estimate VO2 max. To test muscular strength, participants completed three trials of a handgrip strength test using a dynamometer, and the highest of the three trials was recorded. Descriptive results of independent sample t tests indicated that estimated V02 max in the ADHD group ( M = 38.62, SD = 6.96) was lower compared to the non-ADHD group ( M = 40.34, SD = 7.05). Results for handgrip strength also showed less strength in the ADHD group ( M = 79.75, SD = 26.74) compared to the non-ADHD group ( M = 83.80, SD = 27.29). However, these differences failed to meet statistical significance ( p = .334 , p = .554, respectively). These findings do not support that college students with ADHD are less physically fit in the cardiorespiratory and muscular strength domains of physical fitness than their peers. However, the effect sizes were small ( d = .25, d = .15, respectively), and the study was not powered to detect small effects (only large), suggesting that results should be reevaluated when a larger sample size is attained.


Small chorate dinoflagellate cysts are common in Upper Cretaceous to Quaternary sedimentary successions around the Antarctic margin. Taxonomic confusion surrounding dinoflagellate cysts and acritarchs of similar morphology throughout the southern high palaeolatitudes has hitherto limited investigation of their palaeoecological significance. This study aims to solve the taxonomic problems, and to allow a new assessment of dinoflagellate cyst acmes. A detailed morphological study of new material from the López de Bertodano Formation of Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula, is presented. These dinoflagellate cysts are identified as Impletosphaeridium clavus Wrenn & Hart 1988 emend. nov. Their gross morphology and their vast abundances in the James Ross Basin are strongly suggestive of dinoflagellate blooms. This scenario implies similarities to modern dinoflagellate cysts from the polar regions.


This CPRE report is a reprint of a chapter that originally appeared as Chapter 49 of the Handbook of Education Policy Research, edited by Gary Sykes, Barbara Schneider, and DavidN.Plank and published for theAmerican Educational Research Association by Routledge Publishers in 2009. The reprinted chapter presents key findings from A Study of Instructional Improvement, a study that was conducted under the auspices of the Consortium for Policy Research in Education and directed by Brian Rowan, David K. Cohen, and Deborah Loewenberg Ball (all at the University of Michigan).This study examined the design, implementation, and instructional effectiveness of three of America's most widely disseminated comprehensive school reform programs (the Accelerated Schools Project,America's Choice, and Successful forAll) over a four year period that encompassed the school years 2000–2001 through 2003–2004. During the course of the study, data were collected in 115 elementary schools in every region of the United States,with more than 5,300 teachers, 800 school leaders, and 7,500 students and their families participating.


Improvements in maximal strength may reduce injury risk and improve occupational performance. Women's naturally lower muscular strength compared to men, can be offset through resistance training (RT), but research into its implementation has been limited. Therefore, the time-course of muscular adaptations is of interest, with evidence suggesting adaptations in size and strength are detectable as early as 3-4 weeks, concomitant with an attenuation of RT induced muscle damage. This evidence offers a reduction in the time commitment of RT that may enhance readiness for physically demanding activity, but functional adaptations have yet to be explored. The purpose of this thesis is to explore measurement techniques, moderators of baseline variation and responses to unaccustomed heavy-load RT in civilian women representative of individuals entering physically demanding occupations. Specifically, high reliability and acceptable validity as a measure of maximal strength was established for the isometric mid-thigh pull, now a UK Armed Forces entrance test, in non-athlete females. Next, the influence of physical characteristics, previous sporting activity, and single nucleotide polymorphisms on variation in strength was assessed. The ongoing final study aims to assess the efficacy of a 4-week heavy compound RT program on improving performance and biochemical adaptations.


The effective use of services to compose business processes in services computing demands that the Quality of Services (QoS) meet consumers' expectations. Automated web-based negotiation of Service Level Agreements (SLA) can help define the QoS requirements of critical service-based processes. We propose a novel trusted Negotiation Broker (NB) framework that performs adaptive and intelligent bilateral bargaining of SLAs between a service provider and a service consumer based on each party's high-level business requirements. We define mathematical models to map business-level requirements to low-level parameters of the decision function, which obscures the complexity of the system from the parties. We also define an algorithm for adapting the decision functions during an ongoing negotiation to comply with an opponent's offers or with updated consumer preferences. The NB uses intelligent agents to conduct the negotiation locally by selecting the most appropriate time-based decision functions. The negotiation outcomes are validated by extensive experimental study for Exponential, Polynomial, and Sigmoid time-based decision functions using simulations on our prototype framework. Results are compared in terms of a total utility value of the negotiating parties to demonstrate the efficiency of our proposed approach.


This essay explores the goals, challenges and outcomes associated with a course titled The Global Workplace, which the author taught in May–June 2007 as part of Thomas Jefferson School of Law's inaugural Study Abroad in China Program. Although she had previously taught a similar course, this was her first experience with a cross–cultural, cross–national classroom. The essay reviews the goals the author had for the course, aspirations that did not differ in content from what she ordinarily hopes to achieve when teaching the course: (1) introducing students to international workplace law principles and international organizations, such as the International Labour Organization (ILO); (2) comparing several national systems so that students achieve insight into how common workplace problems are addressed differently in different countries; and (3) creating creative, open–minded future transnational lawyers through respectful discussion of policy and the tools available to facilitate transnational legal practice. Next, she describes three challenges attendant to teaching international and comparative workplace law in a foreign country. These challenges were: (1) language–related, because the Chinese students were not used to speaking and reading English on a regular basis; (2) pedagogical, in that the Chinese method of law instruction is typically lecture–based rather than interactive and Socratic; and (3) political, because some of the issues in the course implicate Chinese and American foreign policy and workplace conditions. Finally, the essay reviews the outcomes achieved during the author's three weeks in China. By the end of the course, the author felt she had: (1) piqued the students' interest and increased their knowledge in the course subject matter; (2) facilitated cross–cultural appreciation and the development of friendships between the Chinese and American students; and (3) achieved a depth and balance in her teaching that had perhaps been more difficult to achieve when teaching on American soil.


Recent advances in technology have enabled the combination of positron emission tomography (PET) with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). These PET-MRI scanners simultaneously acquire functional PET and anatomical or functional MRI data. As function and anatomy are not independent of one another the images to be reconstructed are likely to have shared structures. We aim to exploit this inherent structural similarity by reconstructing from both modalities in a joint reconstruction framework. The structural similarity between two modalities can be modelled in two different ways: edges are more likely to be at similar positions and/or to have similar orientations. We analyse the diffusion process generated by minimizing priors that encapsulate these different models. It turns out that the class of parallel level set priors always corresponds to anisotropic diffusion which is sometimes forward and sometimes backward diffusion. We perform numerical experiments where we jointly reconstruct from blurred Radon data with Poisson noise (PET) and under-sampled Fourier data with Gaussian noise (MRI). Our results show that both modalities benefit from each other in areas of shared edge information. The joint reconstructions have less artefacts and sharper edges compared to separate reconstructions and the ℓ2-error can be reduced in all of the considered cases of under-sampling.


Liquid crystal in a nematic liquid crystal cell surface with two crossed-grating surface substrates can be oriented along the normal grating direction with given geometric parameters of groove and anchoring strength. This display is equivalent to multi-domain vertical-alignment mode. It has a relatively wide viewing angle. In this letter, we investigate the viewing angle characteristics of this kind of cell. The viewing angle dependence of contrast ratio is obtained using the extended Jones matrix method, which also considers the flexoelectric effect. The viewing angle is dependent on the geometric parameter of grating surface, the flexoelectric coefficients, and the anchoring strength. Therefore, appropriate value for each factor needs to be selected to obtain a better viewing angle of this cell.


The first-ever annotated edition of the beloved classic, beautifully illustrated and brilliantly brought to life for a new generation of readers.. Flatland is a unique, delightful satire that has charmed readers for over a century. Published in 1884 by the English clergyman and head-master Edwin A. Abbott, it is the fanciful tale of A. Square, a two-dimensional being who is whisked away by a mysterious visitor to The Land of Three Dimensions, an experience that forever alters his worldview. By contemplating the notion of dimensions beyond their own, Abbott's Victorian readers were exposed to the then-radical idea of a fourth dimension-preparing them for Einstein's spectacular theories of relativity.Like the book itself, Ian Stewart's commentary takes readers on a strange and wonderful journey. With clarity and wit, Stewart illuminates Abbott's numerous Victorian references, weaves in little-known biographical information about Abbott and his intellectual circle-elucidating Abbott's remarkable connections to H. G. Wells and the mathematician George Boole-and traces the scientific evolution of geometric forms and dimensions. In addition, Stewart provides an extensive bibliography of Abbott's work and that of Charles Howard Hinton, whose wild but ingenious speculations about the fourth dimension undoubtedly inspired Abbott's fable. Touching on such diverse topics as ancient Babylon, Karl Marx, the Indian Mutiny of 1857, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the Gregorian calendar, Mount Everest, and phrenology, Stewart makes fascinating connections between Flatland and Edwin A. Abbott's life and times. The result is a classic to rival Abbott's own, and a book that will inspire and delight curious readers for generations to come.


We consider a downlink multiuser MISO system with bounded errors in the channel state information at the transmitter (CSIT). We first look at the robust design problem of achieving max-min fairness amongst users (in the worst-case sense). Contrary to the conventional approach adopted in literature, we propose a rather unorthodox design based on a rate-splitting (RS) strategy. Each user's message is split into two parts, a common part and a private part. All common parts are packed into one super common message encoded using a public codebook, while private parts are independently encoded. The resulting symbol streams are linearly precoded and simultaneously transmitted, and each receiver retrieves its intended message by decoding both the common stream and its corresponding private stream. For CSIT uncertainty regions that scale with SNR (e.g., by scaling the number of feedback bits), we prove that a RS-based design achieves higher max-min (symmetric) degrees of freedom (DoF) compared with conventional designs (NoRS). For the special case of nonscaling CSIT (e.g., fixed number of feedback bits), and contrary to NoRS, RS can achieve a nonsaturating max-min rate. We propose a robust algorithm based on the cutting-set method coupled with the weighted minimum mean-square error (WMMSE) approach, and we demonstrate its performance gains over state-of-the-art designs. Finally, we extend the RS strategy to address the quality of service (QoS) constrained power minimization problem, and we demonstrate significant gains over NoRS-based designs.


While group differences in violence have long been a key focus of sociological inquiry, we know comparatively little about the trends in criminal violence for whites, blacks, and Hispanics in recent decades. Combining geocoded death records with multiple data sources to capture the socioeconomic, demographic, and legal context of 131 of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States, this article examines the trends in racial/ethnic inequality in homicide rates since 1990. In addition to exploring long-established explanations (e.g., disadvantage), we also investigate how three of the most significant societal changes over the past 20 years, namely, rapid immigration, mass incarceration, and rising wealth inequality affect racial/ethnic homicide gaps. Across all three comparisons—white-black, white-Hispanic, and black-Hispanic—we find considerable convergence in homicide rates over the past two decades. Consistent with expectations, structural disadvantage is one of the strongest predictors of levels and changes in racial/ethnic violence disparities. In contrast to predictions based on strain theory, racial/ethnic wealth inequality has not increased disparities in homicide. Immigration, on the other hand, appears to be associated with declining white-black homicide differences. Consistent with an incapacitation/deterrence perspective, greater racial/ethnic incarceration disparities are associated with smaller racial/ethnic gaps in homicide.


Hypertension affects more than 1 billion people worldwide, and is a major risk factor for coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, cardiac failure, stroke, cerebrovascular events including dementia, atherosclerosis and the development of renal failure. It is also associated with dyslipidaemia, diabetes and obesity. The incidence of hypertension, and in particular systolic hypertension, increases with age. It is estimated that 60% of the world's adult population are hypertensive as defined by "The World Hypertension Society/International Society of Hypertension" (WHO/ISH).


The study begins with explanation of I-O tables, intertemporal stability of its coefficients, and logic of updating techniques. Following a literature review, nine non-survey updating methods are selected and utilized to update the actual 1966 table of the Soviet Union to the target year of 1972. Next, the data and simulation procedure are specified and justified. The concept of matrix comparison along with methods to accomplish this task are discussed. Then, the resultant updated matrices are compared with the actual data, via employment of 25 criterions. Accordingly, RAS and Friedlander procedures are ranked as top performers. The results, while reasonable in holistic sense, are not impressive partitively. Exogenous estimation of a subset of coefficients is considered next. Several possibilities for "selective targeting" are investigated, and three such criterions, namely "key," "most important," and "largest" coefficients are adopted. These criterions, then are used to modify RAS, Friedlander, and NAIVE methods via incorporation of exogenous data. An additional approach, Residual Minimum method, is also employed. Thus, ten "modified" estimates are obtained and compared with the actual table. The outcome indicates substantial improvements in the RAS and Friedlander updates, particularly when exogenously estimated subset consists of the largest, or the "most important" coefficients. NAIVE method displays reasonable improvement. Inclusion of prior information, however, in some instances leads to deterioration of individual estimates for the remaining coefficients. Finally, sectoral aggregation and its effects on the performances of updating methods are addressed. Aggregated estimates at three levels of sectoral details, i.e., 36, 16, and 6 sectors, are obtained and comparisons are performed. The results indicate that, generally the performances of the updating methods, as well as the intertemporal stability of coefficients, are direct functions of the level of sectoral detail. No change in ranking occurs due to aggregation, Conclusions of this research may be used for selection of updating methods, as well as in construction phase of tables, to identify and focus on the most influential coefficients. Throughout, a rather detailed presentation of methods and statistical tools are offered. All experiments are conducted for both direct and inverse matrices. NAIVE, (constant coefficient), is added for comparative purposes.


The global rising incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which parallels the increase of hepatitis C virus (HCV) prevalence, has sparked a renewed interest in discovering additional HCC serum markers. In this study, we investigated the clinical use of serum E-cadherin, ICAM, MMP-2, VEGF, OPN and β-catenin as potential diagnostic makers for HCV/genotype 4-associated HCC. Twenty cases of healthy subjects, 11 cases with asymptomatic HCV/genotype 4 carriers (ASC), 28 chronic hepatitis (CH) cases and 32 patients with HCC were enrolled in this study. Serum levels of proteins were measured by a sandwich-enzyme-linked (ELISA) assay. The diagnostic accuracy of each candidate marker was evaluated using receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, reporting the area under the curve (AUC) and its 95% confidence interval (CI). We demonstrated that serum β-catenin levels were significantly elevated in patients with HCC compared to those with CH, ASC and healthy controls. Among the six studied markers, β-catenin was also found to be the only marker that can significantly discriminate between patients with HCC and those with CH; therefore, β-catenin could be considered as a potential marker for early diagnosis of HCV-associated HCC in patients infected with HCV genotype 4.


The modernization of the National Air Traffic Control System is on the horizon, and with it, the possible introduction of autonomous air vehicles into the national airspace. Per the FAA Aerospace Forecast (FAA, 2013), U.S. carrier passenger traffic is expected to average 2.2 percent growth per year over the next 20 years with government statistics indicating that the average domestic load factor for airlines in 2014 was approximately 84.4 percent (US Department of Transportation, 2015). Adding to that demand, the potential introduction of unmanned and autonomous air vehicles motivates reconsideration of control schemes. One of the proposed solutions (Eby, 1994) would involve a decentralized control protocol. Equipping each aircraft with the information necessary to navigate safely through integrated airspace becomes an information sharing problem: how much information about other aircraft is required for a pilot to safely fly the gamut of a heavily populated airspace and what paradigm shifts may be necessary to safely and efficiently utilize available airspace? This thesis describes the development of a tool for testing alternative traffic management systems, centralized or decentralized, in the presence of uncertainty. Applying a computational fluid dynamics-inspired approach to the problem creates a simulation tool to model both the movement of traffic within the airspace and also allows study of the effects of interactions between vehicles. By incorporating a Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) based model, discrete "particle" aircraft each carry a set of unique deterministic and stochastic properties. With this model, aircraft interaction can be studied to better understand how variations in the nondeterministic properties of the system affect its overall efficiency and safety. The tool is structured to be sufficiently flexible as to allow incorporation of different collision detection and avoidance rules for aircraft traffic management.


The role of robots in society keeps expanding and diversifying, bringing with it a host of issues surrounding the relationship between robots and humans. This introduction to human-robot interaction (HRI), written by leading researchers in this developing field, is the first to provide a broad overview of the multidisciplinary topics central to modern HRI research. Students and researchers from robotics, artificial intelligence, psychology, sociology, and design will find it a concise and accessible guide to the current state of the field. Written for students from diverse backgrounds, it presents relevant background concepts, describing how robots work, how to design them, and how to evaluate their performance. Self-contained chapters discuss a wide range of topics, including the different communication modalities such as speech and language, non-verbal communication and the processing of emotions, as well as ethical issues around the application of robots today and in the context of our future society.


Colleges, universities, and many high schools are expressing their mission in terms of creating social change or contributing to the common good. Such a mission suggests that if they are going to graduate students who will fulfill this mission, they will need to consider how they will best prepare students to do this. The conceptual framework for a curriculum in social change in this article offers a holistic approach, taking into account what a student should know, be able to do, and what values and attitudes should be nurtured. To that end, the article identifies three competencies in the knowledge domain (scholarship, systemic thinking, and reflection), four in the skills domain (application, advocacy, collaboration, and political engagement), and three in the affective domain (ethics, commitment, and courage). Each of the competencies is supported by theory and illustrated in practice.


Some regions of objects will be measured incorrectly or can't be measured in optical 3D measurement system based on coded structured light, due to occlusion, shadow, transfer function of measurement system and noise etc. To obtain 3D data as much as possible and as correctly as possible, we proposed a method using improved binary spatio-temporal encoded illumination and voting algorithm. Firstly, the BSE pattern is improved with a redundancy encoding method. One code is assigned to two adjacent sections and distinguished with their temporal coordinates. The redundancy encoding method provides more cues for code correcting and retrieving. Secondly, symbols are estimated according to four coding cues -- code redundancy, continuity of stripes, intensity variation in temporal direction and neighbor symbols in sequence. Finally, a voting algorithm is adopted to obtain final symbols. A plaster model of human head was measured to validate the method. The experimental results reveal that more valid points can be obtained and the reliability of the decoding results is improved.


The essential problem in the design of high-performance schedulers for input-queued switches is the determination, in each time slot of a good matching between inputs and outputs for the transfer of packets. The rapid increase of line rates is making this very difficult: finding good matchings takes time, and there is very little time at the highest line speeds. A similar difficulty arises when designing schedulers for switches with a large number of ports. Randomized algorithms have proved particularly effective in providing good scalable solutions to problems where decisions need to be made within a limited amount of time and/or with little information. The main idea of randomized algorithms is simply stated: Basing decisions on a few randomly chosen samples is often a good surrogate for basing decisions with complete knowledge of the state. This paper is about the design of randomized algorithms for switch scheduling. We begin by examining the difficulty of implementing well known deterministic solutions like the maximum weight matching algorithm, discuss a simple randomized proposed by L. Tassiulas (1998), develop a suite of novel randomized algorithms, and discuss their theory and performance.