Abstract Arctic sea ice extent has been of considerable interest to scientists in recent years, mainly due to its decreasing temporal trend over the past 20 years. In this article, we propose a hierarchical spatiotemporal generalized linear model for binary Arctic sea-ice-extent data, where statistical dependencies in the data are modeled through a latent spatio-temporal linear mixed effects model. By using a fixed number of spatial basis functions, the resulting model achieves both dimension reduction and non-stationarity for spatial fields at different time points. An EM algorithm is proposed to estimate model parameters, and an empirical-hierarchical-modeling approach is applied to obtain the predictive distribution of the latent spatio-temporal process. We illustrate the accuracy of the parameter estimation through a simulation study. The hierarchical model is applied to spatial Arctic sea-ice-extent data in the month of September for 20 years in the recent past, where several posterior summaries are obtained to detect the changes of Arctic sea ice cover. In particular, we consider a time series of latent 2 x 2 tables to infer the spatial changes of Arctic sea ice over time. Abstract Arctic sea ice extent has been of considerable interest to scientists in recent years, mainly due to its decreasing temporal trend over the past 20 years. In this paper, we propose a hierarchical spatio-temporal generalized linear model for binary Arctic sea-ice-extent data, where statistical dependencies in the data are modeled through a latent spatio-temporal linear mixed effects model. By using a fixed number of spatial basis functions, the resulting model achieves both dimension reduction and nonsta-tionarity for spatial fields at different time points. An EM algorithm is proposed to estimate model parameters, and an empirical-hierarchical-modeling approach is applied to obtain the predictive distribution of the latent spatio-temporal process. We illustrate the accuracy of the parameter estimation through a simulation study. The hierarchical model is applied to spatial Arctic sea-ice-extent data in the month of September for 20 years in the recent past, where several posterior summaries are obtained to detect the changes of Arctic sea ice cover. In particular, we consider a time series of latent 2 × 2 tables to infer the spatial changes of Arctic sea ice over time.


Fenton oxidation process is used to degrade the recalcitrant pharmaceutical product ceftriaxone (CF), a commonly-used antibiotic in Malaysia. An effluent containing ceftriaxone antibiotic whose chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total suspended solids (TSS) was found to be 944 mg l−1 and 280 mg l−1 respectively. Physical and chemical treatment methods were employed to find the optimal concentration of Fenton reagent which was needed to degrade the antibiotic to a safe disposal level. Physical treatment included the variation in temperatures (37°C, 42°C, 47°C and 50°C) and pH (2.6, 5.2, 6.1 and 10). The molar concentration of Fenton reagent was varied at 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.35 and 0.4 M. The molar ratio of ferrous ions (Fe2+) to hydrogen peroxide ions (H2O2) in Fenton reagent was varied at 1:2, 1:4, 1:8 and 1:10. The optimum conditions for maximum reduction in COD level were at pH 2.6, 0.4 M of Fenton reagent and Fe/H2O2 ratio of 1:8, reaching 84.6% reduction within 30 min of reaction. The experiment was carried out at ambient temperature 28°C and at atmospheric pressure. A further investigation (pH and temperature variation) was made to deduce the percentage of reduction in terms of COD and TSS level that were obtained by the optimum sample. Findings reveal that a significant decrease of 76.5% was observed at 47°C and pH 5.2. Total suspended solid investigation reveals that a maximum reduction of 93% occurred at 0.4 M of Fenton reagent having the ratio of Fe/H2O2 of 1:2. Furthermore, 8 intermediates (5-thiazolecarboxylic acid, 5-[5-(methoxymethyl)-1,2-oxazol-3-yl]-4H-1,2,4-triazole-3,4-diamine, methanone bis [(methylthio)oxidoamino], 5-{[2,6-dimethyl-4-(2-methyl-2-propanyl)benzyl]sulfonyl}-1pentanol, benzene 5-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-2-[[(2-ethoxyethyl)sulfonyl]methyl]-1,3-dimethyl, 3D 1-(ethylsulfonyl)-5-methoxy-6,6-dimethyl-4-heptanol, 3-{[2,6-dimethyl-4-(2-methyl2-propanyl)benzyl]sulfonyl}-1-propanol and 2R-3-[(S)-{(1R)-1-[4-(2-methyl-2-propanyl) Degradation of the Antibiotic Ceftriaxone 96 phenyl]ethyl}sulfinyl]-1,2-propanediol were identified from the degradation products obtained by LC/MS analysis.


Father Abram J. Ryan (1838--1886) held dual roles in the post--Civil War era: he was at once an architect of ascendant Lost Cause ideology and one of its leading icons. Among Southern sympathizers after the war, his celebrity placed him in a pantheon of Confederate figures that included Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. Lee's surrender at Appomattox catapulted the then twenty-seven-year-old Catholic chaplain to regional and finally national fame. His verses, which investigated faith and propagated a romanticized view of the Southern cause, went through forty-seven editions by the 1930s, and Ryan himself became a near-mythical figure: the celebrated "Poet-Priest of the South." In his eulogy for Father Ryan, Hannis Taylor declared, "The lost cause became incarnate in the heart of Father Ryan, who cherished it as his forefathers had cherished the cause of Ireland." Ryan's deep involvement in a variety of causes-Southern, Catholic, and Irish-brought him into dialogue with cultural movements ranging from Fenianism and public school debates to sentimentalism and female religious orders. He also edited two influential postwar newspapers, and his writings made him familiar to figures ranging from Orestes Brownson and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow to Jefferson Davis and John Mitchel. His posthumous influence extended to such writers as William Faulkner, Margaret Mitchell, O. Henry, and Flannery O'Connor. Praised by President William McKinley, who recited his favorite Father Ryan verses in the White House, and by Joseph Pulitzer, who made a bequest for a Ryan memorial, Ryan was well-loved by those who commemorated a nearly imagined antebellum South-so much so that the myth of Ryan sometimes rivaled the myth of the Old South. A lack of verifiable information about Father Ryan's life aided this mythologizing process. Biographical material lies scattered in archives around the nation and the world, and much is spurious or hagiographical, particularly concerning the nature of Ryan's military service, which has remained (until now) a mystery. The result of meticulous scholarship and decades of careful collecting to create a body of reliable information, this definitive, full-length biography of the enigmatic Confederate poet presents a close examination of the man behind the myth and separates Lost Cause legend from fact. Scholars and students of the Civil War, of the Irish in America, and of American religious history will find this a fascinating examination of a controversial figure. Donald R. Beagle is director of library services at Belmont Abbey College in Charlotte, North Carolina, and curator of the Father Ryan Archive. His many articles have appeared in journals such as Catholic Library World, Journal of Academic Librarianship, and Libri: International Library Review. Bryan A. Giemza is currently the postdoctoral fellow at the University of South Carolina's Institute for Southern Studies. He is the assistant editor of Southern Writers: A New Biographical Dictionary, and his articles on American literature have appeared in a variety of journals. "


Database systems employ physical structures such as indexes and materialized views to improve query performance, potentially by orders of magnitude. It is therefore important for a database administrator to choose the appropriate configuration of these physical structures (i.e., the appropriate physical design) for a given database. Deciding on the physical design of a database is not an easy task, and a considerable amount of research exists on automatic physical design tools for relational databases. Recently, XML database systems are increasingly being used for managing highly structured XML data, and support for XML data is being added to commercial relational database systems. This raises the important question of how to choose the appropriate physical design (i.e., the appropriate set of physical structures) for an XML database. Relational automatic physical design tools are not adequate, so new research is needed in this area. In this thesis, we address the problem of automatic physical design for XML databases, which is the process of automatically selecting the best set of physical structures for a given database and a given query workload representing the client application's usage patterns of this data. We focus on recommending two types of physical structures: XML indexes and relational materialized views of XML data. For each of these structures, we study the recommendation process and present a design advisor that automatically recommends a configuration of physical structures given an XML database and a workload of XML queries. The recommendation process is divided into four main phases: (1) enumerating candidate physical structures, (2) generalizing candidate structures in order to generate more candidates that are useful to queries that are not seen in the given workload but similar to the workload queries, (3) estimating the benefit of various candidate structures, and (4) selecting the best set of candidate structures for the given database and workload. We present a design advisor for recommending XML indexes, one for recommending materialized views, and an integrated design advisor that recommends both indexes and materialized views. A key characteristic of our advisors is that they are tightly coupled with the query optimizer of the database system,


National rates of aquatic food consumption in Pacific Island Countries and Territories are among the highest in the world, yet the region is suffering from extensive levels of diet-related ill health. The aim of this paper is to examine the variation in consumption patterns and in nutrient composition of aquatic foods in the Pacific, to help improve understanding of their contribution to food and nutrition security. For this examination we analysed nutrient composition data and trade data from two novel region-specific databases, as well as consumption data from national and village level surveys for two Melanesian case studies, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands. Results demonstrated that consumption depends on availability and the amount and type of aquatic food consumed, and its contribution to nutrition security varies within different geographic and socio-demographic contexts. More data is needed on locally relevant species and consumption patterns, to better inform dietary guidelines and improve public health both now and into the future. Advice on aquatic food consumption must consider the nutrient composition and quantity of products consumed, as well as accessibility through local food systems, to ensure they contribute to diverse and healthy diets.


The sensitivity of Bayesian implementation to agents' beliefs about others suggests the use of more robust notions of implementation such as ex post implementation, which requires that each agent's strategy be optimal for every possible realization of the types of other agents. We show that the only deterministic social choice functions that are ex post implementable in generic mechanism design frameworks with multidimensional signals, interdependent valuations, and transferable utilities are constant functions. In other words, deterministic ex post implementation requires that the same alternative must be chosen irrespective of agents' signals. The proof shows that ex post implementability of a nontrivial deterministic social choice function implies that certain rates of information substitution coincide for all agents. This condition amounts to a system of differential equations that are not satisfied by generic valuation functions.


Previous studies on the effects of the mobile phone electromagnetic field (EMF) on various event‐related potential (ERP) components have yielded inconsistent and even contradictory results, and often failed in replication. The mismatch negativity (MMN) is an auditory ERP component elicited by infrequent (deviant) stimuli differing in some physical features from the repetitive frequent (standard) stimuli in a sound sequence. The MMN provides a sensitive measure for cortical auditory stimulus feature discrimination, regardless of attention and other contaminating factors. In this study, MMN responses to duration, intensity, frequency, and gap changes were recorded in healthy young adults (n = 17), using a multifeature paradigm including several types of auditory change in the same stimulus sequence, while a GSM mobile phone was placed on either ear with the EMF (902 MHz pulsed at 217 Hz; SAR1g = 1.14 W/kg, SAR10g = 0.82 W/kg, peak value = 1.21 W/kg, measured with an SAM phantom) on or off. An MMN was elicited by all deviant types, while its amplitude and latency showed no significant differences due to EMF exposure for any deviant types. In the present study, we found no conclusive evidence that acute exposure to GSM mobile phone EMF affects cortical auditory change detection processing reflected by the MMN. Bioelectromagnetics 30:241–248, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Estimation of the location of sound sources is usually done using microphone arrays. Such settings provide an environment where we know the difference between the received signals among different microphones in the terms of phase or attenuation, which enables localization of the sound sources. In our solution we exploit the properties of the room transfer function in order to localize a sound source inside a room with only one microphone. The shape of the room and the position of the microphone are assumed to be known. The design guidelines and limitations of the sensing matrix are given. Implementation is based on the sparsity in the terms of voxels in a room that are occupied by a source. What is especially interesting about our solution is that we provide localization of the sound sources not only in the horizontal plane, but in the terms of the 3D coordinates inside the room.


AIM
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) affects 5-10% of women of childbearing age and manifests itself through oligomenorrhea, anovulation, hirsutism, micro-polycystic ovaries. Insulin resistance is a characteristic of PCOS patients and is more pronounced in obese patients. Insulin resistance and consequent hyperinsulinemia are related to many aspects of the syndrome such as hyperandrogenism, reproductive disorders, acne and hirsutism. In the long-term it may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and negatively affect lipid profile and blood pressure. Changes in lifestyle and diet can partially improve these aspects. The use of insulin-sensitizing drugs such as metformin often normalises the menstrual cycle, improving hyperandrogenism and, subsequently, the response to ovulation induction therapies. New molecules have recently been marketed, that produce the same results, but without the side-effects. One of these is myo-inositol, a new insulin-sensitizing molecule which has been successfully administered to women suffering from PCOS. Associations between inositol and other compounds that can increase the therapeutic effect have been proposed. Of these, we found to be interesting the association with monacolin K, a natural statin that reduces cholesterol levels starting point of the synthesis of steroids, including androgens, and lipoic acid, known for its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and insulin-sensitizing activity. We decided to assess the efficacy of the product.

METHODS
We recruited 30 women aged between 24 and 32 years suffering from PCOS with insulin resistance, HOMA index>2.5 and no other endocrine diseases. The following were assessed: Body Mass Index (BMI), characteristics of menstrual cycles, lipid profile (total cholesterol, and HDL), androgens (total testosterone and androstenedione). The patients were also assessed for the degree of hirsutism using the Ferriman-Gallwey Score>8. The subjects were divided into two groups: Group A, treated with an association of 1 g myo-inositol, 5 mg monacolin K and 400 mg lipoic acid for 6 months; Group B, treated with a double dosage of 2 g myo-inositol, 10 mg monacolin K, 800 mg lipoic acid for 6 months.

RESULTS
The results have shown good efficacy of both dosages, although women treated with a double dosage of myo-inositol, monacolin K and lipoic acid showed a significantly greater improvement in terms of lipid parameters and those connected with hyperandrogenism.

CONCLUSION
This new myo-inositol, monacolin K and lipoic acid association contains appropriate substances to contrast various etiopathogenic elements responsible for the onset of PCOS and the symptoms of hyperandrogenism and dyslipidemia related to it.


Randall Jarrell, documentary historian and head of the Regional History Project, conducted seven hours of taped interviews with Sinsheimer, UCSCs fourth chancellor during 1990-91, as part of the Project's University History series. Sinsheimer was appointed chancellor by UC President David Saxon in June, 1977. Formerly chairman of the division of biology at the California Institute of Technology where his work as a molecular biologist had earned him a distinguished international reputation. When approached with an invitation to consider heading UCSC he had come to the end of a long period of research and was receptive to a new challenge. His pre-eminent knowledge of the social implications and potential hazards of recombinant DNA technology and cloning methods in biology had deepened his concern about the necessity of promoting scientific literacy among non-scientists. Thus the UCSC chancellorship appealed to him since as a public institution it would give him a forum in which he could address these concerns. Sinsheimer was UCSC's first chancellor from outside the UC system. His predecessors included founding Chancellor Dean E. McHenry who had presided over the planning and building of the innovative campus from 1961 until his retirement in June, 1974. McHenry was succeeded by Mark Christensen, a professor of geology from UC Berkeley, whose brief tenure was concluded by his resignation in January 1976, after only a year and a half as chancellor. Angus Taylor, a veteran UC administrator, was appointed Chancellor in February 1976, and during his tenure stabilized the fledgling campus while a permanent chancellor was selected. Sinsheimer arrived to find a campus in need of direction with serious systemic problems. As an outsider he saw UCSC's organization and administration undermining its relationship with the larger UC system, of which it was a small and to some, rather insignificant member. UCSC's promising academic reputation and innovative early identity had significantly deteriorated by the time Sinsheimer arrived. The outside world (as well as segments of the Santa Cruz community) had come, however wrongly, to view UCSC as a flakey, hippie school, with a questionable academic reputation. Vietnam War demonstrations, drugs, and the campus's counterculture increasingly strained town-gown relations and UCSC's reputation throughout the state. Enrollment figures were down and there were rumors (unfounded) that the campus would be closed for budgetary reasons. In this volume, Sinsheimer describes why his tenure was a critical decade for the troubled campus. He discusses the many problems he encountered -- the campus's lack of a sense of direction, its ambiguous academic reputation, its complicated administrative structure -- and the changes and reforms he initiated to solve them and bring the campus more into line with the way other UC campuses operated. He also discusses his role as chancellor and the contributions he made to the campus's development, including the Keck Telescope and Human Genome Projects. He also talks frankly about controversies engendered by the Research and Development Park Initiative, college reorganization, the anti-apartheid and divestiture movement, and student activism. His narration includes a prescient analysis of why the UCSC of the 1970s needed to be more closely related to Silicon Valley and the region's proliferating high technology industries. His goal of establishing an engineering school was not realized during his tenure, but the work Sinsheimer accomplished in reorganizing and revitalizing the campus paved the way for one day having such schools at UCSC.


Phthisiosurgery is a medical field in which Russia is in the lead. Today indications for surgical treatment of different forms of pulmonary tuberculosis and principles in choosing various surgical interventions can be forwarded with certainty. Surgery can effectively treat patients with large and multiple caverns, tuberculomas, caseous intrathoracic lymphadenitis and various complications of pulmonary tuberculosis which cannot be eliminated by using antibacterial therapy. Extremely long antibacterial therapy for tuberculosis is frequently inadvisable. While using the strategically required standardized antibiotic treatment regimens, therapeutical policy should be individual for each patient. A protocol for patients with tuberculosis should be agreed upon with a thoracic surgeon if antibacterial therapy is ineffective or low effective and if patients have irreversible or low-reversible morphological changes in the chest organs.


What transpires in the unmediated space-time excess that moves, at once, between and alongside cognition and recognition, between and alongside formation and information, between and alongside prehension and comprehension? Following upon their most recent books—N Katherine Hayles' Unthought: The Power of the Cognitive Unconscious (University of Chicago, 2017) and Tony D Sampson' s The Assemblage Brain: Sense Making in Neuroculture (University of Minnesota, 2016), the convergences and divergences that emerge and weave throughout this conversation are quite revealing.


This article examines the external and internal dimensions of post-conflict reconstruction in Sierra Leone. The United Nations, bilateral donors such as the United Kingdom, and transnational non-governmental organizations and aid agencies have been instrumental in providing much-needed external assistance to Sierra Leone during the latter stages of its civil war and in the immediate post-war period. Although foreign aid is a welcome source of external support for reconstruction efforts, it is finite like any other resource. Reconstruction must also address intangible issues such as corruption as well as the healing of society through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Special Court for Sierra Leone. Diamond exports hold potential as an internal source to spur economic growth and reconstruction. However, as the article illustrates, many obstacles remain, ranging from governance weaknesses in terms of capacity and domestic regulatory schemes on diamonds to the existence of illicit mining and smuggling of diamonds to regional instability.


Carbody tilting is today a mature and inexpensive technology allowing higher speeds in curves and thus reduced travel time. The technology is accepted by many train operators. Today more than 5000 tilting vehicles, defined as tilting carbodies, have been produced world-wide by different suppliers. Tilting trains can be divided into naturally tilted trains and actively tilted trains. However, also natural tilting will often include actuation to ensure satisfactory dynamic performance. The mechanical solutions for tilting involving pendulums or rollers are well proven. They have also become compact enough to avoid passenger area intrusion. The proportion of the lateral acceleration compensated by tilt has decreased over the years. In the early days of tilting train development, it was often assumed that the compensation should be 100%. Compensation of 50–70% are typically used in today's actively tilting trains, while natural tilting ones still retain compensation close to 100%. Recent developments in control have provided the market with more clever systems erasing the former problem with time delays. The result is beneficial for both ride comfort and low risk of motion sickness. As an example, running time simulations on the Swedish mainline Stockholm–Gothenburg have shown that the running time benefit for a tilting train vs. a non-tilting train, both with a top speed 275 km/h, is about 10%.


A key goal of developmental biology is to understand how a single cell transforms into a full-grown organism consisting of many different cell types. Single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) has become a widely-used method due to its ability to identify all cell types in a tissue or organ in a systematic manner 1–3. However, a major challenge is to organize the resulting taxonomy of cell types into lineage trees revealing the developmental origin of cells. Here, we present a strategy for simultaneous lineage tracing and transcriptome profiling in thousands of single cells. By combining scRNA-seq with computational analysis of lineage barcodes generated by genome editing of transgenic reporter genes, we reconstruct developmental lineage trees in zebrafish larvae and adult fish. In future analyses, LINNAEUS (LINeage tracing by Nuclease-Activated Editing of Ubiquitous Sequences) can be used as a systematic approach for identifying the lineage origin of novel cell types, or of known cell types under different conditions.


The main objective of present research investigation is to formulate the Moxifloxacin.HCl Fast Dissolving tablets. Moxifloxacin.HCl, a synthetic fluoroquinolone antibacterial agent, and used to treatacute bacterial sinusitis, acute bacterial exacerbation of chronic bronchitis. The Fast Dissolving tablets of Moxifloxacin.HCl were prepared employing different concentrations of Crospovidone and Croscarmellose sodium in different combinations as a Superdisintegrants by Direct Compression technique using 32 factorial design. The concentration of Crospovidone and Croscarmellose sodium was selected as independent variables, X1 and X2 respectively whereas, wetting time, Disintegration time, t50%, and t90%were selected as dependent variables. Totally nine formulations were designed and are evaluated for hardness, friability, thickness, Assay, Wetting time, Disintegration time, In-vitro drug release. From the Results concluded that all the formulation were found to be with in the Pharmacopoeial limits and the In-vitro dissolution profiles of all formulations were fitted in to different Kinetic models, the statistical parameters like intercept (a), slope (b) & regression coefficient (r) were calculated. Polynomial equations were developed for Wetting time, Disintegration time, t50%, t90%. Validity of developed polynomial equations were verified by designing 2 check point formulations (C1, C2). According to SUPAC guidelines the formulation (F5) containing combination of 7.5% Crospovidone and 7.5% Croscarmellose, is the most similar formulation (similarity factor f2=68.88, dissimilarity factor f1= 3.35& No significant difference, t= 0.00354) to marketed product (AVELOX-400). The selected formulation (F5) follows First order, Higuchi's kinetics, mechanism of drug release was found to be Non-Fickian Diffusion Super Case-II Transport (n= 1.902).


Riazi, S., & MacLean, S. (2016). Young adults' accounts of buying rounds of alcoholic drinks for friends: Implications for harm reduction.  The International Journal Of Alcohol And Drug Research, 5 (3), 125-129. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.7895/ijadr.v5i3.229 Aims: Buying or shouting rounds (purchasing alcoholic drinks for oneself and others at the same time) at on-premise licensed venues, such as nightclubs and bars, is a widespread Australian cultural practice. Our paper aims to provide detailed information on young adults' attitudes and practices concerning round buying. Methods: Thematic analysis of research interviews involving 60 young adults living in Melbourne was conducted using NVivo 10, yielding three key themes. Findings: (1) Contexts where round buying occurred: young adults considered group size and culture, as well as bar activity, when determining whether they should round buy with their friends. In busy venues, round buying conveniently reduced the number of trips to and time waiting at the bar. Round buying was less likely to occur in groups larger than 4-5 people, as beyond this participants found it difficult to control the reciprocity of round buying, cost, and consumption of alcohol. (2) Sociability: while round buying did not occur within the friendship groups of all participants, it was seen by many as an important way of demonstrating connections with friends. (3) Consumption: overwhelmingly, participants believed that round buying increases their overall alcohol intake through implicit and explicit pressures to consume more. Conclusions: Policies that limit round buying may offer a means to reduce alcohol-related harm. In addition, education that challenges round buying rules and expectations may help alleviate pressure on young adults to consume heavily.


Cell Seeding is a key factor for good regeneration in tissue engineering. In order to ensure uniform tissue regeneration, a system has to be found to distribute cells evenly within the scaffold that will carry them in the body. In this extent, this work try to find an accurate description of compression forced induced suction which is a seeding technique with reported satisfying seeding efficiency. This description will take the form of a numerical model with COMSOL Multiphysics and will allow us to maximize the seeding in terms of homogeneity. In order to find the best possible seeding, strains and velocities of the compression will be further analyzed. The scaffold material properties will also be examined in order to have the best possible material for that kind of applications.


Background: Healthcare professionals find breaking bad news difficult and upsetting. Increasing cultural diversity has led to a greater number of patients whose first language differs to that of the healthcare provider, with more patients requiring a translator to facilitate communication. Hospitals often ask non-clinical translators to facilitate breaking bad news. We sought to explore the experiences of translators within a specialist oncology centre. Methods: Following ethical and governance approvals, semi-structured interviews were undertaken with five translators recruited from the specialist oncology centre. Interviews were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. The data were analysed thematically, with major themes and subthemes identified. Setting: Outpatient setting of a regional cancer centre. Participants: Translators serving a regional cancer centre. Main outcome measures: Qualitative data identified through thematic analysis. Results: Major themes included the significant emotional impact of translating distressing information, the challenges of accurately conveying information in a culturally congruent format and the need for formal briefing, debriefing and support. Subthemes included feeling guilty for divulging distressing news, being the focus of patients' distress or anger, and feeling in conflict with the patient or family and issues surrounding confidentiality. Translators also felt a strong sense of advocacy for the patients and found encounters with death and dying emotionally challenging. Conclusions: The increasing use of translators in the care of patients with advanced cancer is increasingly resulting in lay people being subject to similar emotional pressures faced by clinical staff, yet without the necessary formal training or support mechanisms that are recommended for clinicians. This exploratory study highlights the training and support needs of non-clinical staff as identifying a unique set of communication challenges faced by translators.


During infection of plants by Agrobacterium tumefaciens, plants are wounded and then a tumor is induced, which is a source of opines, chemicals that stimulate the production of the quorum-sensing (QS) signal N-(3-oxooctanoyl)homoserine lactone (OC8-HSL). γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is produced by plants as part of the response to wounding. Chevrot et al. show that GABA stimulates expression of the attKLM operon in A. tumefaciens, which produces a lactonase that inactivates OC8-HSL. OC8-HSL was undetectable in cultures of A. tumefaciens exposed to GABA. Proteins encoded by the attKLM operon were identified in a proteomic screen for proteins synthesized in response to the addition of GABA to cultures of A. tumefaciens. The induction of the attKLM operon was also monitored using a reporter assay, and in A. tumefaciens deficient for the GABA transporter system, GABA did not induce the reporter. The importance of GABA for the plant response was verified using a transgenic tobacco that expressed a glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD, the enzyme responsible for GABA synthesis) that was not inhibited by Ca2+/calmodulin (GADΔC). Compared with wild-type tobacco, the plants with the GADΔC mutant developed less severe disease symptoms in two different virulence assays. Thus, GABA appears to serve as a communication signal between the plant and the pathogen. R. Chevrot, R. Rosen, E. Haudecoeur, A. Cirou, B. J. Shelp, E. Ron, D. Faure, GABA controls the level of quorum-sensing signal in Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 103, 7460-7464 (2006). [Abstract] [Full Text]


The novel approach of template carbonization method has been successfully used in this study for the production of porous carbons templated from a Turkish natural zeolite and a microwave-assisted AIPO4-5. The effect of different templating agents and different carbonization temperatures was studied. The carbon precursor used was furfuryl alcohol, FA. The structures of the carbons produced were compared using SEM, EDS, XRD, FT-IR, 13C CPMAS, 29Si CPMAS, 27A1 MAS NMR and 19F MAS NMR and some surface analysis methods. FA was polymerized and carbonized at 700ʻC, 800ʻC, 900ʻC and 1000ʻC in the channels of natural zeolite and AIPO4-5. The doo2 values, stacking heights of graphene sheets, Lc, lateral size, La, number of graphene sheets per stack of resultant carbons were calculated from the Debye-Scherer equation. BET surface areas of natural zeolite templated carbons were 397, 350, 405 and 367 m2/g at 700, 800, 900 and 1000ʻC, respectively. By using sol-gel method, 804 m2/g BET surface area was obtained. EDS analyses showed that 91-99% C was obtained at 700-1000ʻC. In 13C NMR, sp, sp2 and sp3 hybridized carbons were observed. Pore diameters were 11 nm, indicating the mesoporosity. Lc values and average number of graphene sheets per stack were increasing with carbonization temperature. During removal of the zeolite template by washing with HF, some organoaluminium fluoride flower-like structures were observed in the SEM images which consisted of mainly fluorine, carbon and aluminium. According to 19F MAS NMR spectra of these carbons, AI2F2, AIFC3, AIF2C2, and AIF3C groups were observed. In XRD pattern, peaks were belonging to aluminium hydroxide fluoride. The structural differences in the natural zeolite templated carbons obtained after HC1, NaOH, HCl-NaOH, and HF-NaOH washing solutions besides HF were investigated. HF washed porous carbon had the highest surface area with 397 m /g. The systematic study of the parameters of the microwave synthesis of AIPO4-5 was examined for the use of further templating purposes. Powdered AIPO4-5 crystals of high quality could be synthesized using a microwave heating technique. Usage of microwave heating drastically reduced the crystallization times. The crystal growth depended on the nitial gel composition. Perfect hexagonal AIPO4-5 products formed with ca. 5 (u)j,m length with characteristic morphologies of AIPO4-5 crystals. BET surface area of selected AIPO4-5 for the further steps was 107 m /g and average pore diameter was 1.7 nm. ET ur ace areas of AIPO4-5 templated carbons were measured as 149, 125, 122 and 108 m2/g at 700, 800, 900 and 1000ʻC, respectively. The surface areas of natural zeolite templated porous carbons were higher than those of AIPO4-5 templated porous carbons, due to higher accessibility to the pores in natural zeolite. Average pore diameters of AIPO4-5 templated porous carbons were 1.7 nm, indicating microporosity. Carbon contents of the porous carbons detected in EDS were 96-82% at 700-1000ʻC. As observed in the natural zeolite templated carbons, Lc values and average number of graphene sheets per stack were increasing with carbonization temperature. The doo2 values of the AIPO4-5 templated porous carbons synthesized were 0.358-0.363 nm at 700-1000ʻC, respectively. Diffusion of volatile organic chemicals in natural zeolites and natural templated porous carbons was investigated. Diffusion coefficients, mode of transport and activation energies of diffusion of methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, i-propanol and n-butanol into the porous structure of a Turkish natural zeolite and natural zeolite templated porous carbons were measured in the range of 24.0-28.0ʻC. As the molecular weight of the alcohols increased diffusion coefficients into natural zeolite and natural zeolite templated carbons decreased, activation energy for diffusion increased, and time necessary to reach equilibrium increased. The diffusion constants increased linearly with an increase in the temperature. The diffusion of alcohols into zeolite and porous carbons obeyed the anomalous transport mechanism. Diffusion rate constants slightly increased as the temperature was increased. The calculated coefficients of diffusion of volatile molecules in the porous carbons were lower than that of observed in the natural zeolite. It is interesting to compare the activation energies measured in natural zeolite and natural zeolite templated porous carbons. The activation energies for diffusion of methanol were 90.1 kJ/mol and 220.7 kJ/mol for natural zeolite and porous carbon, carbonized at 700ʻC, respectively. This is most likely due to the polarity of alcohols and stronger interaction with carbon surface.


Many researchers have been attracted towards searching of similar moving objects trajectories due to its wide range of real time applications. Searching of similar trajectories of moving objects helps data mining users to take smart decisions and thereby improving the performance of systems. Trajectories are compared for similarity using edit distance measures such as DTW, ERP, EDR, and LCSS. These existing distance measures are popular distance measures and compare trajectories for similarity by computing proximity distance between them. Distance measures DTW, EDR, ERP, and LCSS support scaling and translation property but it does not support rotation invariant property. RI distance measure supports scaling, translation and rotation invariant property and hence RI distance measure is considered to be superior compared to other edit distance measures. Even though RI distance measure is better compared to other edit distance measures, it has two main drawbacks. The first one is, it does not compares trajectories based on the shape and this shape based searching is very much required, since proximity distance is not only the best way to compares trajectories. The second problem, RI is not robust to noise and produces poor results. In this paper, we have proposed Efficient Longest Common Sub-Sequence (ELCSS) distance measure to compares trajectories based on the shape feature. ELCSS distance measure is based on the angular distance of the trajectories. The angular distance captures the shape feature of the trajectory. We have carried out experimental study on the real time and synthetic datasets. Experimental results reveal that our proposed ELCSS distance measure compares the trajectories based on the shape feature. Further, our experimental results reveal that, ELCSS distance measure supports rotation invariant property and very robust to the noise.


Abstract. Low stratospheric temperatures are known to be responsible for heterogeneous chlorine activation that leads to polar ozone depletion. Here, we discuss the temperature threshold below which substantial chlorine activation occurs. We suggest that the onset of chlorine activation is dominated by reactions on cold binary aerosol particles, without the formation of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs), i.e. without any significant uptake of HNO3 from the gas phase. Using reaction rates on cold binary aerosol in a model of stratospheric chemistry, a chlorine activation threshold temperature, TACL, is derived. At typical stratospheric conditions, TACL is similar in value to TNAT (within 1–2 K), the highest temperature at which nitric acid trihydrate (NAT) can exist. TNAT is still in use to parameterise the threshold temperature for the onset of chlorine activation. However, perturbations can cause TACL to differ from TNAT: TACL is dependent upon H2O and potential temperature, but unlike TNAT is not dependent upon HNO3. Furthermore, in contrast to TNAT, TACL is dependent upon the stratospheric sulfate aerosol loading and thus provides a means to estimate the impact on polar ozone of strong volcanic eruptions and some geo-engineering options, which are discussed. A parameterisation of TACL is provided here, allowing it to be calculated for low solar elevation (or high solar zenith angle) over a comprehensive range of stratospheric conditions. Considering TACL as a proxy for chlorine activation cannot replace a detailed model calculation, and polar ozone loss is influenced by other factors apart from the initial chlorine activation. However, TACL provides a more accurate description of the temperature conditions necessary for chlorine activation and ozone loss in the polar stratosphere than TNAT.


Designing algorithms to recommend items such as news articles and movies to users is a challenging task in numerous web applications. The crux of the problem is to rank items based on users' responses to different items to optimize for multiple objectives. Major technical challenges are high dimensional prediction with sparse data and constructing high dimensional sequential designs to collect data for user modeling and system design. This comprehensive treatment of the statistical issues that arise in recommender systems includes detailed, in-depth discussions of current state-of-the-art methods such as adaptive sequential designs (multi-armed bandit methods), bilinear random-effects models (matrix factorization) and scalable model fitting using modern computing paradigms like MapReduce. The authors draw upon their vast experience working with such large-scale systems at Yahoo! and LinkedIn, and bridge the gap between theory and practice by illustrating complex concepts with examples from applications they are directly involved with.


Qualitative Behaviour Assessment (QBA) is whole-animal methodology that assesses the expressive qualities of animal demeanour using descriptors such as 'relaxed', 'anxious' or 'content'. This study aimed to examine the inter-observer reliability of 12 fixed-list QBA descriptors for sheep that had been generated in a previous Free-Choice Profiling study by experienced animal welfare inspectors, based on the same video footage used in the current study. The 12 QBA terms were scored by two different assessor groups consisting of two veterinary science students and four veterinary surgeons (Group 1), and seven farm assurance inspectors (Group 2). The two assessor groups met and received training on different dates, and viewed the same 12 video clips of sheep showing a wide range of behavioural expressions in varying indoor and outdoor situations and housing systems. For each clip assessors scored the sheep expressions on each of the 12 QBA terms using a Visual Analogue Scale. Principal Component Analysis (covariance matrix, no rotation) was used to analyse assessor scores, both for Groups 1 and 2 separately, and together in one all-assessor group. All three analyses identified that over 70% of variance in sheep expression was described by two main components. For the all-assessor analysis the first Principal Component (PC1, 49% of variation) ranged from 'content/relaxed/bright' to 'distressed/dejected/tense', while PC2 (31%) ranged from 'agitated/responsive/anxious' to 'dull/dejected/relaxed'. The 2 Principal Components identified by Groups 1 and 2 when analysed separately, were highly similar. The level of agreement between assessors in each group was evaluated using Kendall's coefficient of concordance (W). This produced W values of 0.83 (PC 1) and 0.84 (PC 2) for the all-assessor group, values of 0.90 (PC 1) and 0.86 (PC 2) for Group and of 0.78 (PC and 0.91 (PC 2) for Group 2. All values were significant at P < 0.001. These results indicate that two trained assessor groups achieved high levels of inter-observer agreement using a list of 12 pre-fixed QBA terms developed for sheep. This study is the first to investigate QBA as a tool for assessing sheep behavioural expression, and its results support further exploration of the feasibility and validity of applying this method to the assessment of sheep welfare.


More than 4 decades have passed since the birth of the first in vitro fertilized baby in 1978. The use of assisted reproductive technology (ART) to overcome infertility has increased steadily with the simultaneous increase in the number of fertility centers in every part of the world. Access to infertility clinics is playing an important role in the treatment of different forms of infertility (like tubal disease, ovarian aging, or ovarian dysfunction).

This book captures the state of current and recent advances in assisted reproduction technology in humans and livestock in an easy and comprehensive way for non-experts and learners. 10 chapters cover the biology of reproduction, and male ART methods (sperm retrieval and freezing) and female ART methods (oocyte activation, and cryopreservation), and finally embryo ARTs (assisted hatching and cloning techniques) with simple definitions and explanations. Tips to overcome problems are also presented where appropriate along with references for further reading.

This book is a simple primer for students who are involved in courses in embryology or reproductive technologies as part of programs in biology, biotechnology, medicine, and physiology.


PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES
To explore interactions among personal, cancer, aging, and symptom variables relative to physical function (PF) in older adult breast cancer survivors to better identify vulnerable subgroups.

DESIGN
Secondary analysis of the American Cancer Society Studies of Cancer Survivors II.

SETTING
U.S. population-based mail and telephone survey.

SAMPLE
2,885 breast cancer survivors from 14 different state cancer registries stratified by cancer type and time since diagnosis. A total of 184 female breast cancer survivors, aged 70 years or older, had complete data on variables of interest and were, therefore, included in this analysis.

METHODS
Chi-Square Automatic Interaction Detector (CHAID) analysis was used to examine variable interactions.

MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES
PF, symptom bother, comorbidity, social support, length of survivorship, treatment, stage, body mass index, physical activity, emotional health, and personal characteristics.

FINDINGS
An interaction effect between symptom bother and comorbidity was found in 39% of older adult breast cancer survivors, and an interaction effect between symptom bother and marital status was found in 40%. The most vulnerable group (8%) had high symptom bother and more than four comorbid conditions.

CONCLUSIONS
Symptom bother, comorbidity, and marital status were found to have significant interactions such that high comorbidity and high symptom bother were significantly related to lower PF. Married participants with lower symptom bother had significantly higher PF scores. Comorbidity may be the best predictor of PF for the extreme ends of the symptom bother continuum. Advancing age alone was not a sufficient predictor of PF in this analysis.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING
Specific attention to symptom reports, comorbidity, and marital status can guide identification of older adult cancer survivors in need of ongoing survivorship care. The findings support use of a comprehensive assessment and tailored approach to care based on factors other than age.

KNOWLEDGE TRANSLATION
CHAID interaction analysis may be useful in exploring complex nursing problems, such as the needs of older adult cancer survivors, and help oncology nurses develop appropriate interventions and referrals.


Measurement of heart rate variability (HRV) is a non-invasive technique that can be used to investigate the functioning of autonomic nervous system, especially the balance between sympathetic and vagal activity. HRV is measured by determining the constantly changing temporal distance between succeeding heartbeats (R-R intervals). Five lacting cows, well trained to blood sampling were challenged with an intramuscular single dose (0.5 μg/kg) of ACTH (Synacthen Depot). HRV was measured for each cow for 5 min, at 0 h (before treatment) and every 30 min for 2 h. HRV parameters were analysed in the time domain, frequency domain and nonlinear components. Blood samples (10 mL) were collected from the coccygeal vein of all cows at 0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 min, after the measurement of HRV, for serum cortisol. The heart rate of cows increased significantly (P<0.05) under the influence of Synacthen administration. All computed time domain parameters declined significantly after ACTH administration. The decline of root mean square of successive interbeat interval differences (RMSSD) was more pronounced than that for standard deviation of all interbeat interval (SDNN), after ACTH administration. The power of lowfrequency component divided by power of the high-frequency band (LF/HF) increased also within 30 min of administration of ACTH. All nonlinear parameters (%DET and %REC) exhibited a significant rise 30 min after ACTH administration. Serum cortisol concentration also increased (P < 0.05) within 30 min of administration in cows. The nonlinear parameters were most important to indicate the level of stress in cows. HRV is a valuable physiological indicator for stress in cows.


Even though overall growth in India has recently accelerated, it has largely bypassed rural areas and agriculture; in fact it is agreed that the ratio of rural to urban poverty has increased. As a consequence, some of the marginalized groups in a society that is already characterized by a high level of inequality in opportunities and segregation along lines of, gender, caste, and social status, are widely reckoned to not have benefited from overall growth. To enable women and backwards castes to expand their livelihood opportunities, a vast range of government programs have been initiated and large amounts of resources are being channeled to poor areas. An increasingly popular approach to do so relies on the concept of Community Driven Development (CDD) whereby resources are made available to encourage formation of savings groups at the local level and, once they have attained a certain degree of maturity, the channeling to such groups of funds (either as a credit or a grant) which they can use for small projects aimed to improve their livelihood. This paper uses one of the earliest projects of this type, the Andhra Pradesh (AP) District Initiatives Project, a US $ 250 Mn intervention that was started in 2000, to provide an initial assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the CDD approach. One of the interesting characteristics of the CDD approach is its desire to combine interventions to increase food security and deal with immediate needs with social mobilization to overcome long-standing patterns of discrimination and prejudices and attention to longer-term economic needs. Two interesting aspects of the AP program that greatly facilitate assessment of impact is the fact that only women's groups were eligible and that even in cases where it built on pre-existing group structures, the project aimed to establish second-tier organizations at the village and mandal (county) level which, by pooling the resources of individual groups aimed to significantly expand their ability to respond to shocks. It is therefore possible to compare between women and men in the project area, as well as between pre-existing groups in areas affected by the project and in areas that were not eligible, to assess project impacts. To do so, we rely on a comprehensive set of surveys that included 2,700 households (with separate questionnaires being administered to men and women in the household), 2,200 self help groups, and 200 village organizations in both project and control areas conducted in mid-2004. In addition to the standard issues, the questionnaire elicited retrospective information on most issues so as to be able to compare differences in differences between project and control areas. It also contained an elaborate section on social empowerment, participation in groups, and actual as well as hypothetical borrowing capacity. The issues to be addressed are, first, to what extent the project succeeded in improving the governance structure of the community organizations involved;, second to what extent women have been empowered to overcome social barriers that have traditionally stymied their economic advancement, and finally to what extent the project has led to an increase in levels of income and productivity. We use simple t-tests of differences in differences to assess whether areas or groups (women) targeted by the project have advanced significantly more than others. For such differences to translate into significant improvements for the poor, it is necessary that the program is able to target poorer segments in the overall population or those who are organized in self-help groups. Participation regressions indeed confirm that, by focusing on the poorest areas and by aiming to include poorer parts of the population, the project has been able to significantly expand the range of households organized in self-help groups and to target support for institutional strengthening towards the most needy. Comparison between pre-existing groups in intervention and control areas points towards significantly different rates of improvements in terms of group management and internal controls (e.g. members being fined for non-attendance, internal bookkeeping being of high quality). These, together with the federated structure, appear to have allowed groups in intervention areas to significantly expand the availability of credit to members and to access loans by other financial institutions. Second-tier institutions in self help group federations were able to take on completely new activities (e.g. taking over distribution of subsidized food grains from "fair price shops" which were had often remained out of the reach of the poor) that significantly improved participants' ability to smooth consumption. This is supported by evidence from the household level suggesting that, even though the incidence of shocks was higher for households in treatment areas than outside, households were able to deal with such shocks more easily than they had been able to in the past. The hypothesis that the improvement in access to credit can be attributed to the project is supported by the finding that the unambiguous and significant increase in the amount which women in areas eligible for the project as compared to those that were not, were able to borrow both from the formal and the informal sector is not matched by a commensurate increase in credit availability for men. To the contrary, credit access for men was higher in areas not eligible for the project (marginally significant) as compared to areas that were eligible. The logic of the project to use improved access to resources to empower women and overcome social barriers is corroborated by the fact that the change in the share of women who receive high respect in their family and who were not subject to domestic violence was indeed significantly lower in control than in intervention areas where women also have significantly higher participation in family matters relating to income generating activities, debt and savings, as well as family planning and the number of children. In fact, the improvements in women's participation seem to transcend the realm of the family and extent to the community level: the change in the share of women who always know of or participate in village assemblies, who are aware of other types of community institutions, and who are able to freely interact with government officials and villagers of other caste or religion is significantly higher in intervention than in control villages. While all of this suggests that the project has not only improved access to credit and risk diversification but also significantly increased women's empowerment, these significant effects were, however, not matched by increased beneficiary savings, possibly because the resources generated by productive activities initiated under the project are yet to mature. To explore this, a closer look at the extent to which the project has increased access of the poor to resources and/or enabled them to use these resources more effectively. Even though productivity of resource use is similar between areas eligible and non-eligible for the project, there is clear evidence that the project has helped to significantly expand the share of households who own productive assets. The key challenge to ensure sustainability and replicability of the intervention is thus to match the rather impressive performance in terms of social empowerment with an equally significant transfer of technical skills that would, by facilitating more productive use of such assets, put participants economic basis on a stronger footing. The ability to use the federated structure to provide effective technical assistance and to liaise with line ministries to ensure that services are available to the poor, the feasibility of which has been demonstrated in a number of individual cases, is likely to be a key issue in doing so.


There is an increasing demand for high-quality genetic samples for biodiversity research as the techniques are rapidly developing and the costs are decreasing. The Finnish Museum of Natural History Luomus, an independent research institute within the University of Helsinki holding and developing the national natural history collections, has joined the Global Genome Biodiversity Network (GGBN; http://www.ggbn.org/ggbn_portal/) and established a Genomic Resources Collection (GRC) in 2018.
 In March 2019, the Luomus GRC comprised 2500 DNA extractions and 4000 vertebrate tissue samples amassed in approximately the last 10 years. The DNA extractions are mainly of lichens, polypores, beetles, flies, molluscs and crustaceans of worldwide origin, reflecting the focal organism groups of research groups in Luomus. The deep-frozen tissue samples are mostly of Finnish birds and mammals, as accessions of vertebrate specimens acquired to Luomus' collections are sampled. High-quality whole-genome DNA extracts will also be prepared. We expect the GRC to increase rapidly in numbers of samples within the coming years. Furthermore, the collection will also serve the many active research groups in the Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences of the University of Helsinki.
 The GRC collection follows the best practices of the Global Genome Biodiversity Network (GGBN) concerning long-term storage and physical quality of samples, and international agreements (the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Nagoya Protocol, CITES) as regards the legitimacy of the samples. The GRC samples are always cross-linked with the taxonomically identified and georeferenced voucher specimen from which it is separated. Each GRC sample gets a Unique Resource Identifier HTTP-URI, which is a derivative of the unique specimen ID used in Luomus' Collection Management System (CMS) 'Kotka'. The sample tubes are cryolabelled with the QR code on the lid of the tube.
 The voucher specimens are deposited in Luomus' collections or in another international public repository. The data on the GRC samples form part of the Open Data distributed through the Finnish Biodiversity Information Facility FinBIF species.fi (Data policy: https://laji.fi/en/about/960), and will be made searchable at the web portal in 2019.
 The specific database functions to meet the needs of Luomus' GRC are developed by Luomus' Biodiversity Informatics Unit and implemented in Kotka. We have already implemented part of the database tools to manage the compliance with the Nagoya protocol. The tool for registering material transactions (donations / loans) makes use of the Application Programming Interface (API) provided by the Access and Benefit Sharing Clearing House (ABS-CH) and includes links to the ABS-CH webpage (https://absch.cbd.int/). The ABS-CH shows the contact person or organization details of the provider country, and the country-specific requirements for access to genetic resources, when present. The necessary information and documentation (letter of Prior Informed Consent, Mutually Agreed Terms, Material Transaction Agreement, and other permits) are linked from the material transactions to the relevant specimens.


The editor muses about studies that might complement and enhance current etiologic studies of psychopathology, many of which focus on monotonically increasing maladaptative outcomes in response to increasing levels of risk/vulnerability. More meaningful and consistent considerations of the resilience counterfactual (e.g., Why are some youth with a given neural deficit unaffected? Why are some youth exposed to a given adversity unaffected?) should strengthen our causal inferences. We might also more frequently test for U-shaped associations with outcome (e.g., Does level of psychopathology predict deleterious outcomes in a dose-response fashion, or is the association curvilinear whereby moderate predict good outcomes?). In line with the latter, we might also more frequently consider the adaptive value of the disorder in evolutionary terms (e.g., Why is this disorder still part of the human repertoire? What might be its adaptive value for the species?).


Analyzing the behavior of neural networks is one of the most pressing challenges in deep learning. Binarized Neural Networks are an important class of networks that allow equivalent representation in Boolean logic and can be analyzed formally with logic-based reasoning tools like SAT solvers. Such tools can be used to answer existential and probabilistic queries about the network, perform explanation generation, etc. However, the main bottleneck for all methods is their ability to reason about large BNNs efficiently. In this work, we analyze architectural design choices of BNNs and discuss how they affect the performance of logic-based reasoners. We propose changes to the BNN architecture and the training procedure to get a simpler network for SAT solvers without sacrificing accuracy on the primary task. Our experimental results demonstrate that our approach scales to larger deep neural networks compared to existing work for existential and probabilistic queries, leading to significant speed ups on all tested datasets.


The recent explosion of country- and region-specific exchange-traded funds (ETFs) has given rise to some basic questions on how to select the right ETF for a specific purpose. ETFs gained tremendous popularity with individual investors and money managers due to their ability to provide investors with diversification at a very low cost of ownership. But just as mutual funds reached a saturation point, have ETFs also reached this point where few, if any, additional ETFs are providing diversification benefits? The question to be answered in the study is whether European ETFs with higher diversification benefits require a cost of ownership premium relative to other ETFs. Using a sample of European country-specific ETFs and continental Europe ETFs, the author finds that ETFs with high expense ratios and high turnover provided a positive and significant diversification benefit to investors. European ETFs with higher fees and turnover experienced lower levels of return correlation with the SPY over the last five years. Unfortunately, those higher expense ratios and turnover levels were not significant in explaining ETF performance, leaving investors with the difficult question, Where do European ETFs fit for an investor seeking diversification?


It is the only anthology which includes all thirty-one English lyrics from MS Harley 2253, all the verses by Friar Herebert printed in Brown XIV, and all the important poems given in Robbins' Secular Lyrics. In all there are 245 lyrics, arranged thematically. To make these delightful poems accessible to the modern reader, the editors have removed many of the orthographic impediments inherent in Middle English verse and have modernized punctuation, capitalization, and obsolete letters while scrupulously seeking to retain the substantive integrity of the poems. "Critical and Historical Backgrounds" are provided in essays by Peter Dronke, Stephen Manning, Raymond Oliver, and Rosemary Woolf. In a special section, six poems are singled out for critical comment by A. K. Moore, Edmund Reiss, D. W. Robertson, Jr., E. T. Donaldson, John Speirs, Thomas Jemielity, D. G. Halliburton, Leo Spitzer, and others. Two of these lyrics, "Maiden in the mor lay" and "I sing of a maiden," are discussed by four different scholars. In all, twenty-five poems are discussed in the essays. The volume also includes a list of Abbreviations, a Table of Textual Sources and Dates, a Select Bibliography, and an Index of First Lines.


In addition to the best model architecture and hyperparameters, a full AutoML solution requires selecting appropriate hardware automatically. This can be framed as a multi-objective optimization problem: there is not a single best hardware configuration but a set of optimal ones achieving different trade-offs between cost and runtime. In practice, some choices may be overly costly or take days to train. To lift this burden, we adopt a multi-objective approach that selects and adapts the hardware configuration automatically alongside neural architectures and their hyperparameters. Our method builds on Hyperband and extends it in two ways. First, we replace the stopping rule used in Hyperband by a non-dominated sorting rule to preemptively stop unpromising configurations. Second, we leverage hyperparameter evaluations from related tasks via transfer learning by building a probabilistic estimate of the Pareto front that finds promising configurations more efficiently than random search. We show in extensive NAS and HPO experiments that both ingredients bring significant speed-ups and cost savings, with little to no impact on accuracy. In three benchmarks where hardware is selected in addition to hyperparameters, we obtain runtime and cost reductions of at least 5.8x and 8.8x, respectively. Furthermore, when applying our multi-objective method to the tuning of hyperparameters only, we obtain a 10\% improvement in runtime while maintaining the same accuracy on two popular NAS benchmarks.


This work introduces, implements and evaluates different adaptive Kalman filtering techniques based on the innovation autocorrelation function. The reason of considering these adaptive techniques is the effect of a wrong noise statistics initialization in a Kalman filter and the resulting estimation errors. Of course, different noise statistics than the actual for the stochastic process under estimation would lead to significant errors. For that reason, it is interesting to have a meaning of the effect of wrong noise statistics and to adapt these quantities when necessary. The adaptive techniques considered within this work are the innovation autocorrelation based methods. The particularity of these methods is that the innovation sequence, defined as the new information introduced by the measurements, is a stationary Gaussian white noise sequence for an optimum filter. Moreover, an estimate of the autocorrelation function of that innovation sequence is obtained easily by using the ergodic property of a stationary sequence. Finally, the Kalman filter is applied to the problem of carrier-phase tracking in a GNSS receiver. Some of the algorithms are evaluated for the case of carrierphase tracking. Different scenarios from different measurement campaigns are used in this later implementation. The results demonstrate the estimated values of the noise variances for a carrier-phase tracking loop.


In image quality assessment, a collective visual quality score for an image or video is obtained from the individual ratings of many subjects. One commonly used format for these experiments is the two-alternative forced choice method. Two stimuli with the same content but differing visual quality are presented sequentially or side-by-side. Subjects are asked to select the one of better quality, and when uncertain, they are required to guess. The relaxed alternative forced choice format aims to reduce the cognitive load and the noise in the responses due to the guessing by providing a third response option, namely, "not sure". This work presents a large and comprehensive crowdsourcing experiment to compare these two response formats: the one with the "not sure" option and the one without it. To provide unambiguous ground truth for quality evaluation, subjects were shown pairs of images with differing numbers of dots and asked each time to choose the one with more dots. Our crowdsourcing study involved 254 participants and was conducted using a within-subject design. Each participant was asked to respond to 40 pair comparisons with and without the "not sure" response option and completed a questionnaire to evaluate their cognitive load for each testing condition. The experimental results show that the inclusion of the "not sure" response option in the forced choice method reduced mental load and led to models with better data fit and correspondence to ground truth. We also tested for the equivalence of the models and found that they were different. The dataset is available at http://database.mmsp-kn.de/cogvqa-database.html.


The genomes of species that are ecological specialists will likely contain signatures of genomic adaptation to their niche. However, distinguishing genes related to their ecological specialism from other sources of selection and more random changes is a challenge. Here we describe the genome of Drosophila montana, the most extremely cold-adapted Drosophila species. We describe the genome, which is similar in size and gene content to most Drosophila species. We look for evidence of accelerated divergence from a previously sequenced relative, and do not find strong evidence for divergent selection on coding sequence variation. We use branch tests to identify genes showing accelerated divergence in contrasts between cold- and warm adapted species and identify about 250 genes that show differences, possibly driven by a lower synonymous substitution rate in cold-adapted species. Divergent genes are involved in a variety of functions, including cuticular and olfactory processes. We also re-sequenced three populations of D. montana representing its ecological and geographic range. Outlier loci were more likely to be found on the X chromosome and there was a greater than expected overlap between population outliers and those genes implicated in cold adaptation between Drosophila species, implying some continuity of selective process at these different evolutionary scales.


This study presents the combination of the prodrug approach with the self-assembly technique by using a poly(ethylene glycol)–paclitaxel (PTX) conjugate as the nanomicellar carrier for delivery of free PTX drugs. The conjugate PEG-PCPGE/PTX readily forms stable micelles in aqueous solution and is used to form an intracellular pool of PTX after the micelles are endocytosed, where encapsulated drug is first released, then destabilized polymer–PTX molecules liberate free PTX following cleavage in the intracellular environment. The use of the conjugate PTX as the core of the micelles provides an ideal affinity site for free PTX, in the mean time, high drug loading and time-programmable delivery are realized.


This Article examines the way legal systems respond to social problems through a discursive analysis of a unique and timely issue: conscientious objection to military service based on political and ideological grounds. It explores how legal systems, conducting criminal justice procedures under conditions of warfare and dissent, attempt to maintain balance between addressing the extra-legal challenges presented to them through conscientious objection, and preserving the prevalence of legal inner logic, classification and interpretation. As opposed to the jurisprudential and philosophical literature about conscientious objection, this Article approaches the issue through an empirical analysis of legal and judicial discourse in a particular case study. It follows the fascinating story of the left-wing conscientious objection movement in Israel, following the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict beginning October 2000. It then examines the two cases that made it to Israeli military courts, analyzing the legal procedures and the verdict language, to learn how the legal system chose to construct its perception of the defendants, their actions, and the desired policy. As the Article claims, while the court seeks to eventually preserve the ethos of military service and to discourage ideological dissent, it also strives to maintain legitimacy for its decisions under heavy media coverage, civilian scrutiny and political unrest. Therefore, it allows the objectors to bring up extra-legal, political, biographical and philosophical issues, and awards them exceeding procedural flexibility. The eventual verdicts, however, reflect the doctrinal-legal tendency to reduce complex personalities and situations into monolithic, mutually-exclusive categories, to facilitate a workable classification of the offenders for normative purposes.


This paper discusses the possibility of quantifying complexity in languages in general, and in creoles in particular. It argues that creoles are indeed different from non-creoles, primarily in being less complex. While this has been argued before, this is the first attempt to prove it through the use of an extensive typological database. It is noteworthy that the diff ering complexity is not related to the relative lack of morphology in creoles, since they are also simpler than analytical languages. Finally, the parallels between pidgins and creoles (and in particular the fact that languages sociologically intermediate between the two categories are also structurally intermediate) support the increasingly questioned belief that pidgins are born out of pidgins.


This paper outlines the findings-to-date of a project to assist in the efforts being made to establish a TREC-like evaluation paradigm within the Music Information Retrieval (MIR) research community. The findings and recommendations are based upon expert opinion garnered from members of the Information Retrieval (IR), Music Digital Library (MDL) and MIR communities with regard to the construction and implementation of scientifically valid evaluation frameworks. Proposed recommendations include the creation of data-rich query records that are both grounded in real-world requirements and neutral with respect to retrieval technique(s) being examined; adoption, and subsequent validation, of a "reasonable person" approach to "relevance" assessment; and, the development of a secure, yet accessible, research environment that allows researchers to remotely access the large-scale testbed collection.


This paper asks if there is a difference in mothers' perceptions of the support they receive about bottle feeding from a range of professional and non-professional sources. The findings are put into the context of associated demographic characteristics. It forms part of a larger study, which was a longitudinal postal survey of 500 childbearing women across two health board regions in Scotland. Women were recruited at 34 weeks gestation by post. The results reported here are from further postal questionnaires at one and three months postnatally. Older women and those with higher education were more likely to initiate and maintain breast feeding, and less likely to introduce solid foods early. Younger women, who were mainly bottle feeding, were more likely to feel they had enough knowledge about feeding their infants than older women and were significantly more likely to feel that relatives were supportive about infant feeding. However, findings suggest that this confidence is largely dependent upon the support provided by relatives. Given the likelihood of misinformation and the potential for passing on inappropriate practices, this issue merits further examination. Health promotion strategies aimed at relatives of new mothers could, therefore, help to redress this and, thereby, promote more health advantages for the infants involved. However, there may be a large number of younger women who do not have knowledgeable support for infant feeding from relatives or friends and for whom access to health professionals for this information is restricted, possibly leading to poor infant-feeding decisions.


--Context--
This project looked at the development of a stereoscopic 3D environment in which a user is able to draw freely in all three dimensions. The main focus was on the storage and manipulation of the 'digital ink' with which the user draws. For a drawing and sketching package to be effective it must not only have an easy to use user interface, it must be able to handle all input data quickly and efficiently so that the user is able to focus fully on their drawing.

--Background--
When it comes to sketching in three dimensions the majority of applications currently available rely on vector based drawing methods. This is primarily because the applications are designed to take a users two dimensional input and transform this into a three dimensional model. Having the sketch represented as vectors makes it simpler for
the program to act upon its geometry and thus convert it to a model. There are a number of methods to achieve this aim including Gesture Based Modelling, Reconstruction and Blobby Inflation. Other vector based applications focus on the creation of curves allowing the user to draw within or on existing 3D models. They also allow the user to create wire frame type models. These stroke based applications bring the user closer to traditional sketching rather than the more structured modelling methods detailed.

While at present the field is inundated with vector based applications mainly focused upon sketch-based modelling there are significantly less voxel based applications. The majority of these applications focus on the deformation and sculpting of voxmaps, almost the opposite of drawing and sketching, and the creation of three dimensional voxmaps from standard two dimensional pixmaps. How to actually sketch freely within a scene represented by a voxmap has rarely been explored. This comes as a surprise when so many of the standard 2D drawing programs in use today are pixel based.

--Method--
As part of this project a simple three dimensional drawing program was designed and implemented using C and C++. This tool is known as Sketch3D and was created using a Model View Controller (MVC) architecture. Due to the modular nature of Sketch3Ds system architecture it is possible to plug a range of different data structures into the program to represent the ink in a variety of ways. A series of data structures have been implemented and were tested for efficiency. These structures were a simple list, a 3D array, and an octree. They have been tested for: the time it takes to insert or remove points from the structure; how easy it is to manipulate points once they are stored; and also how the number of points stored effects the draw and rendering times.

One of the key issues brought up by this project was devising a means by which a user is able to draw in three dimensions while using only two dimensional input devices. The method settled upon and implemented involves using the mouse or a digital pen to sketch as one would in a standard 2D drawing package but also linking the up and down keyboard keys to the current depth. This allows the user to move in and out of the scene as they draw. A couple of user interface tools were also developed to assist the user. A 3D cursor was implemented and also a toggle, which when on, highlights all of the points intersecting the depth plane on which the cursor currently resides. These tools allow the user to see exactly where they are drawing in relation to previously drawn lines.

--Results--
The tests conducted on the data structures clearly revealed that the octree was the most effective data structure. While not the most efficient in every area, it manages to avoid the major pitfalls of the other structures. The list was extremely quick to render and draw to the screen but suffered severely when it comes to finding and manipulating points already stored. In contrast the three dimensional array was able to erase or manipulate points effectively while the draw time rendered the structure effectively useless, taking huge amounts of time to draw each frame.

The focus of this research was on how a 3D sketching package would go about storing
and accessing the digital ink. This is just a basis for further research in this area and many
issues touched upon in this paper will require a more in depth analysis. The primary area of
this future research would be the creation of an effective user interface and the introduction
of regular sketching package features such as the saving and loading of images.


Both natural selection and mutational biases contribute to variation in codon usage bias within Drosophila species. This study addresses the cause of codon bias differences between the sibling species, Drosophila melanogaster and D. simulans. Under a model of mutation-selection-drift, variation in mutational processes between species predicts greater base composition differences in neutrally evolving regions than in highly biased genes. Variation in selection intensity, however, predicts larger base composition differences in highly biased loci. Greater differences in the G+C content of 34 coding regions than 46 intron sequences between D. melanogaster and D. simulans suggest that D. melanogaster has undergone a reduction in selection intensity for codon bias. Computer simulations suggest at least a fivefold reduction in Nes at silent sites in this lineage. Other classes of molecular change show lineage effects between these species. Rates of amino acid substitution are higher in the D. melanogaster lineage than in D. simulans in 14 genes for which outgroup sequences are available. Surprisingly, protein sizes are larger in D. melanogaster than in D. simulans in the 34 genes compared between the two species. A substantial fraction of silent, replacement, and insertion/deletion mutations in coding regions may be weakly selected in Drosophila.


It has often been said that forecasting elections is a dangerous business. Unlike most of what we do as political scientists, forecasting is the one area where you can be proven wrong and quite publicly at that.' As Jay Greene's "Forewarned Before Forecast: Presidential Election Forecasting Models and the 1992 Election" article in the March 1993 issue demonstrates, forecasting elections is even a dangerous business when you are right. By Labor Day, two months before the election, I produced election forecasts from both my national and state level forecast models. Both indicated a Clinton victory of modest proportions. The national model forecast based on the second-quarter change in the economy (GNP) and the Gallup presidential trial-heat poll in early September was the most thoroughly tested of the models (Lewis-Beck 1985; Campbell and Wink 1990). Based on the sluggish economic growth of the second quarter and Clinton's lead over Bush in the early September poll, the equation predicted that Clinton would receive 52.9% of the popular twoparty vote. He actually received 53.5% of the two-party popular vote. The forecast was off by just a bit over half of a percentage point. I should note that the median error of the out-of-sample tests of the model is on the same order, plus or minus one-half of a percentage point. Moreover, to have predicted the incorrect election winner in 1992, the prediction would have had to have been three percentage points off. In the 11 out-of-sample trials, the prediction error only exceeded three percentage points once and otherwise was less than two percentage points off. Several other forecasts were equally successful. Alan Abramowitz's equation, based on the July presidential approval rating, the rate of economic growth over the first half of the year and whether the incumbent presidential party was running for more than a second term, also was right on target. His equation predicted that Clinton would win 53.7% of the vote, just two-tenths of a percentage point off. Even though Lewis-Beck and Rice incorrectly predicted a Bush victory, based on a revised and elaborated model, their original model came pretty close to the vote. Based on only July approval ratings and economic growth in the first half of the election year, the ingredients of their original model (Lewis-Beck and Rice 1984), Clinton should have been expected to win 52.7% of the twoparty popular vote, again an error of less than one percentage point. All of this is to say there were several forecasting models that were quite accurate in their 1992 forecasts. There were models that did not fare well, most notably Ray Fair's equation that primarily depended on incumbents being reelected and to a lesser degree economic conditions (Fair 1988), but with the exception of the overly elaborated Lewis-Beck and Rice model, the political science models proved to be quite accurate.


The use of celebrities as endorser for companies is becoming a popular way for endorsement. This study aims to identify any differences on the impact of celebrity's credibility on attitudes towards endorsement (AAD), brand (AB) and purchase intention (PI) in single and multiple celebrity endorsement formats. Questionnaires were administered on a sample of 79 respondents. The data were analyzed using proportion test and Structural Equation Modeling analysis. The results suggest there were no significant differences in consumer perceptions and attitudes in single and multiple celebrity endorsements. Credible celebrities were proven to have direct effects on positive attitude towards endorsements and purchase intention, but the impacts were inconsistent in influcencing the attitude towards brands. Keywords: celebrity credibility, celebrity endorsement, consumer attitudes, purchase intention


Casey Village and the adjoining part of the U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC) are underlain by the Late Triassic-age Stockton Formation, which consists of a dipping series of siltstones and sandstones. The direction of vertical ground-water gradients in the Stockton Formation varies among well locations and sometimes with time. Vertical gradients can be substantial; the difference in water levels at one well pair (two wells screened at different depths) was 7.1 ft (feet) over a 32-ft vertical section of the aquifer. Potentiometric-surface maps show a groundwater divide that bisects the Casey Village area. For wells screened between 18 and 64 ft below land surface (bls), the general ground-water gradient is to the east and northeast on the east side of the divide and to the south and southwest on the west side of the divide. For wells screened between 48 and 106 ft bls, the general ground-water gradient is to the northeast on the east side of the divide and to the southwest and northwest on the west side of the divide. An aquifer test at one well in Casey Village caused drawdown in wells on the opposite side of the ground-water divide on the NAWC and shifted the ground-water divide in the deeper potentiometric surface to the west. Drawdowns formed an elliptical pattern, which indicates anisotropy; however, anisotropy is not aligned with strike or dip. Hydraulic stress caused by pumping crosses stratigraphic boundaries. Between 1993 and 1996, the trichloroethylene (TCE) concentration in water samples collected from wells in Casey Village decreased. The highest concentration of TCE measured in water from one well decreased from 1,200 μg/L (micrograms per liter) in 1993 when domestic wells were pumped in Casey Village to 140 μg/L in 1996, 3 years after the installation of public water and the cessation of domestic pumping. This suggests that pumping of domestic wells may have contributed to TCE migration. Between 1993 and 1996, the tetrachloroethylene (PCE) concentration in water samples collected from wells in Casey Village decreased only slightly. The highest concentration of PCE measured in water from one well decreased from 720 μg/L in 1993 to 630 μg/L in 1996. The distribution of TCE and PCE in ground water indicates the presence of separate PCE and TCE plumes, each with a different source area. The TCE plume appears to be moving in two directions away from the ground-water divide area. The pumping of a domestic well may have caused TCE migration into the ground-water divide area. From the divide area, the TCE plume appears to be moving both to the east and the west under the natural hydraulic gradient. Aquifer-isolation tests conducted in the well with the highest TCE concentrations showed that concentrations of TCE in water samples from the isolated intervals were similar but slightly lower in the deeper isolated zones than in the shallower isolated zones. Upward flow was measured in this well during geophysical logging. If the source of TCE to the well was from shallow fractures, upward flow of less contaminated water could be flushing TCE from the immediate vicinity of this well. This may help explain why the concentration of TCE in water from this well decreased an order of magnitude between 1993 and 1996.


This article describes a synthesis technique based on the sonification of the dynamic behavior of a quantum particle enclosed in an infinite square well. More specifically, we sonify the momentum distribution of a one-dimensional Gaussian bouncing wave packet model. We have chosen this particular case because of its relative simplicity and interesting dynamic behavior, which makes it suitable for a novel sonification mapping that can be applied to standard synthesis techniques, resulting in the generation of appealing sounds. In addition, this sonification might provide useful insight into the behavior of the quantum particle. In particular, this model exhibits quantum revivals, minimizes uncertainty, and exhibits similarities to the case of a classical bouncing ball. The proposed model has been implemented in real time in both the Max/MSP and the Pure Data environments. The algorithm is based on concepts of additive synthesis where each oscillator describes the eigenfunctions that characterize the state evolution of the wave packet. We also provide an analysis of the sounds produced by the model from both a physical and a perceptual point of view.


The ethanolic extract from Peritrophe bicalyculata leaves was evaluated for the presence of phytochemicals and its antimicrobial activity in vitro against selected bacteria and fungi using the antibiotic gentamycin as control. The extract showed the presence of secondary metabolites such as alkaloid, saponin, tannin and steroid. It also inhibited the growth of the tested microorganisms at different concentrations. However stronger in-vitro activity was recorded against Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella spp, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Aspergillus niger, Asperigillus clavatus and Rhizopus stolonifer. The antimicrobial activity of the plant extract is an evidence of ethnomedicinal potential of the plant.


A study was conducted on the diversity and abundance of insect species at Kota Damansara Community Forest Reserve in order to determine the richness of the forest insect fauna. A total of 774 insects from 13 Orders and 79 Families were recorded. This study shows that Coleoptera (42.63%), Hymenoptera (17.96%), Diptera (10.08%) and Orthoptera (10.85%) were the most dominant Orders in the Forest Reserve. The highest insect diversity was observed in Diptera (Shannon's, H' = 2.67), while Dermaptera, Isoptera, Mantodea and Phasmatodea (Shannon's, H' = 0.00) were the lowest. However, the highest insect evenness was observed in Blattodea (Evenness, E = 0.36). This study also found that the abundance of insects in Kembit zone was the highest (Margalef index, = 8.51) compared to other zone sites.


Document clustering has been applied in web information retrieval, which facilitates users' quick browsing by organizing retrieved results into different groups. Meanwhile, a tree-like hierarchical structure is wellsuited for organizing the retrieved results in favor of web users. In this regard, we introduce a new method for hierarchical clustering of web snippets by exploiting a phrase-based document index. In our method, a hierarchy of web snippets is built based on phrases instead of all snippets, and the snippets are then assigned to the corresponding clusters consisting of phrases. We show that, as opposed to the traditional hierarchical clustering, our method not only presents meaningful cluster labels but also improves clustering performance.


Mixed languages combine significant amounts of grammatical and lexical material from more than one source language in systematic ways. The Australian mixed language, Light Warlpiri, combines nominal morphology from Warlpiri with verbal morphology from Kriol (an English-lexified Creole) and English, with innovations. The source languages of Light Warlpiri differ in how they encode reflexives and reciprocals—Warlpiri uses an auxiliary clitic for both reflexive and reciprocal expression, while English and Kriol both use pronominal forms, and largely have separate forms for reflexives and reciprocals. English distinguishes person and number in reflexives, but not in reciprocals; the other source languages do not distinguish person or number. This study draws on naturalistic and elicited production data to examine how reflexive and reciprocal events are encoded in Light Warlpiri. The study finds that Light Warlpiri combines near-maximal distinctions from the source languages, but in a way that is not a mirror of any. It retains the person and number distinctions of English reflexives and extends them to reciprocals, using the same forms for reflexives and reciprocals (like Warlpiri). Reflexives and reciprocals occur within a verbal structure (perhaps under influence from Warlpiri). The results show that a mixed language can have discrete contributions from three languages, that the source languages can influence different subsystems to different extents, and that near-maximal distinctions from the source languages can be maintained.


Threshold energy of foveal, 2-msec white test flashes was plotted as a function of their timing with respect to sinusoidal fluctuations of nearly achromatic background light. With frequencies of 3.1–10 Hz, modulation near 100%, and peak retinal illuminance of 1280 td, the resulting masking curves are non-sinusoidal. Threshold maxima precede background maxima, whereas threshold minima coincide with background minima. The phase lead of the threshold maxima increases with frequency, but tends to stabilize at about 90° above 5 Hz. Maximal and minimal threshold energies also increase with frequency, but their ratio is nearly constant between 3.1 and 8 Hz. Steady light added to the 1280-td fluctuation elevates threshold minima, but often lowers maxima, and introduces secondary maxima that accompany decrements of background luminance. Generally, thresholds are higher with fluctuating backgrounds than with peak-equivalent steady backgrounds. The data for 1280-td and 128-td fluctuations confirm that masking is a nonlinear function of modulated background luminance, and suggest the presence of unidirectional rate sensitivity. Of several possible physiological correlates discussed, ganglion-cell discharge patterns are most nearly compatible with the masking curves.


Robert A. Dahl, one of the world's most influential and respected political scientists, has spent a lifetime exploring the institutions and practices of democracy in such landmark books as Who Governs?, On Democracy, and How Democratic Is the American Constitution? Here, Dahl looks at the fundamental issue of equality and how and why governments have fallen short of their democratic ideals. At the center of the book is the question of whether the goal of political equality is so far beyond our human limits that it should be abandoned in favor of more attainable ends, or if there are ways to realistically address and reduce inequities. Though complete equality is unattainable, Dahl argues that strides toward that ideal are both desirable and feasible. He shows the remarkable shift in recent centuries toward democracy and political equality the world over. He explores the growth of democratic institutions, the expansion of citizenship, and the various obstacles that stand in the way of gains in political equality. Dahl also looks at the motives, particularly those of emotion and reason, that play such a crucial role in the struggle for equality. In conclusion, Dahl assesses the contemporary political landscape in the United States. He looks at the likelihood of political inequality increasing, and poses one scenario in which Americans grow more unequal in their influence over their government. The counter scenario foresees a cultural shift in which citizens, rejecting what Dahl calls "competitive consumerism," invest time and energy in civic action and work to reduce the inequality that now exists among Americans.