Abstract Do infants learn their early words in semantic isolation? Or do they integrate new words into an inter-connected semantic system? In an infant-friendly adaptation of the adult lexical priming paradigm, infants at 18 and 24 months-of-age heard two words in quick succession. The noun-pairs were either related or unrelated. Following the onset of the target word, two pictures were presented, one of which depicted the target. Eye movements revealed that both age groups comprehended the target word. In addition, 24-month-olds demonstrated primed picture looking in two measures of comprehension: Named target pictures preceded by a related word pair took longer to disengage from and attracted more looking overall. The finding of enhanced target recognition demonstrates the emergence of semantic organisation by the end of the second year.


Since the 1970's, a debate has raged concerning the abandonment of the Anasazi, Hohokam, and Paquimé regions of the American Southwest and northern Mexico (a region which I call Oasis America, which is characterized by oasis and rivers in a desert environment). Drought, famine, erosion, deforestation, salinity, soil infertility, warfare, cannibalism, and general resource depletion have all been proposed as causes for the desertion. For the most part, these reasons have been found not to be a primary cause of abandonment. I concur, after thoroughly researching each of these issues, that all of these "causes," taken together, very likely contributed to the severe dietary stress of the Anasazi/Hohokam/Paquimé cultures but were not the primary causes. In a related debate, Marvin Harris proposed that a lack of "red meat" might have been a causation. He argued that a simple diet of corn and beans was not adequate to support complex, high-density cultures. Later, Louis E. Grivetti demonstrated that corn and beans did provide the adequate essential amino acids necessary for basic nutrition in pre-Columbian North America but does not address the general health of the population required for large building projects such as Pueblo Bonito at Chaco Canyon utilizing these very limited dietary resources. I would argue that a very specific lack of dietary iron was the ultimate root cause of the abandonment. I further propose that this might also be interpreted as the cause of the scientifically validated cannibalism in the Anasazi areas (Turner and others). It is widely accepted by archaeologists and anthropologists that preColumbian North Americans, in fact, had very few domestic animals. Harris correctly points out that these domestic animals competed with humans for the basic foods: corn, beans, and wild red meat. The lack of red meat and animal fats, due to the severe depletion of locally available wildlife, was a significant challenge to complex, high-density cultures such as that at Chaco Canyon. I agree, as well, with Grivetti that corn and beans would have provided the essential amino acids but the evidence demonstrates they could not provide the absolutely necessary dietary iron. I propose that it was the essential lack of dietary iron that presented the Anasazi with a final and insurmountable obstacle to high-density, complex culture without resorting to cannibalism. I further observe that some groups of the Anasazi and others resorted to cannibalism (as did the Aztecs), but this practice was rejected by the majority of the population. It is noted from the following paper that Chaco Canyon has the highest rate of anemia when compared to the other Anasazi sites. Considering the bone evidence for the very poor nutritional status at Chaco Canyon, it is surprising that the Chacoans were able to accomplish any vigorous tasks at all. This contradiction highlights the very poor understanding of Chaco Canyon agriculture and lifestyles currently. My proposals provide the key for pursuing the resolution of this mystery. Health and Disease in the Prehistoric Southwest a summary of key writings on Anemia "Mesa Verde has yielded an abundant amount of skeletal remains (500 or so) from numerous excavated sites dating from 600 B.C. to A.D. 1300. Most of the remains are from the later time periods (A.D. 1000-1300) ... a low life expectancy as indications of a stressed population. According to Akins, Chaco Canyon Anasazi suffered from what she terms "subsistence stress" as indicated by growth disruption, high rates of nutritional anemia, and degenerative diseases (1986:135). ... "authority-holding elites had greater access to nutritional resources and enjoyed better health (1986:137-140). Bone density in adult males and females is the lowest during the abandonment phase, which probably reflects poor overall nutritional quality at that time. ... In addition to studies on the Mesa Verde and Chaco burials, human skeletal remains from the Kayenta region have also been analyzed. .. Similar to previous studies, Wade suggests that health was poor, with a slight trend toward increased stress in the later time period. Ryan (1977) used Wade's Puerco Valley sample but combined it with burials from several other Kayenta Anasazi sites (A.D. 750-1300) and one historic Hopi site (Old Walpi, A.D. 1300-1700). His sample consisted of 353 burials representing Pueblo II through Pueblo IV occupation. ... Ryan suggests that health status dramatically decreased during the final stages of occupation. ... the study by Palkovich (1980) of 120 burials from Arroyo Hondo, located in central New Mexico in the Rio Grande area. This enormous site was occupied during two separate periods referred to as Component I (A.D. 1300-1330) and Component II (A.D. 1370-1420). Each occupation shows growth, prosperity, and sudden decline. ... Palkovich paints a harsh picture of the Arroyo Hondo Anasazi. Most individuals were afflicted with some pathology, and infant mortality was very high. Of the 54 subadults aged to 10 years, she further documents a very high rate of active infections and anemia in infants under the age of one (Palkovich 1987). ... Palkovich speculates that Arroyo Hondo infants have immediately acquired infections from their mothers, implying that maternal health was greatly compromised during pregnancy. the study of Arroyo Hondo ethnobotanical reconstruction of food and diet, suggests strongly the presence of endemic malnutrition. ... One common finding almost all the paleopathological studies reviewed here is the presence of nutritional anemia. El-Najjar and colleagues (1976) compared numerous Southwest skeletal populations based on dependency on maize (which is assumed to be a poor source of iron, protein, and other nutrients). Their sample was drawn primarily from Chaco and Kayenta sites, and they divide them into two ecological types: canyon bottom sites (maize-dependent subsistence) and sage plains sites (mixed maize subsistence). The study documents much higher frequencies of nutritional anemia in the canyon bottom sites and concludes that maize dependence in marginal areas such as those found in the Southwest predisposes individuals, particularly children, to health problems. ... Walker expanded this Porotic hyperostosis in the orbital


The objective of this thesis is to optimize an existing design exploiting the potential of additive manufacturing to a case study. The evolution of the additive manufacturing (AM) technology has opened the opportunity to combine topology optimization and additive manufacturing to develop new designs to be lighter, cheaper and more efficient. This thesis work is inserted in a design review where the opportunity to assist to the development of every phase of the design process, which goes from the identification of suitable candidates for AM, is associated to the exploration of different concepts, the design of the definitive concept, and finally the definition of the topology optimization and the smoothing. The thesis first presents a classification of the various technologies for AM, focusing more in the powder bed fusion of metals. These technologies are likely to replace the current manufacturing process and a balance with advantages and disadvantages is made. Subsequently, different types of structural optimization are presented as they are likely to be combined with AM. From all the available options presented, topology optimization is applied to the case study. The main driver for optimization has been to reduce mass with maintained or even improved mechanical properties as a constraint. This has been combined as well with design guidelines for AM to respect the manufacturing limiting parameters. Structural optimization has demonstrated to be an outstanding tool in the design process. Nevertheless it is still the designer's task to assess and interpret the results from optimization to identify the most effective application of all of these techniques, while obviously as in every structural analysis, to apply loads and boundary conditions properly making the correct considerations.


In this work, thermal adaptation characteristics and thermal comfort zones were investigated in urban semi-outdoor environments in Tokyo. Four spaces with different levels of environmental control, i.e., heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) spaces and non-HVAC spaces, were selected for the seasonal field surveys lasting over a period of 80 days. The survey consisted of the thermal environment measurement, questionnaire survey, and observation of occupancy conditions. The occupants were adapting themselves to fit within a certain range of standard effective temperature (SET∗). Clothing adjustment was the principal form of behavioral adaptation. The dominant factor affecting the clothing adjustment was the daily mean outdoor temperature, and not the immediate environment, in both the non-HVAC and the HVAC spaces. The total number of occupants and the mean occupancy period of the day had a strong linear relationship with the daily mean air temperature of the occupied zone in the non-HVAC spaces. No correlation was found between the thermal environment and the occupancy conditions in the HVAC spaces. Adaptive thermal comfort zones, not comfort temperatures, were derived directly from the subjective votes. The comfort zone in SET∗ was found to be 23–28°C for the predicted percentage of dissatisfied (PPD), 18–29°C for HVAC spaces, and 14–32°C for non-HVAC spaces. Occupants in semi-outdoor environments were tolerant to their thermal environment two to three times wider in range than the one predicted by the PPD. These findings are expected to be useful in the design and assessment of urban semi-outdoor environments.


The worldwide rise of the Value-Added Tax (VAT) over the last half-century is emblematic of the paradox in modern tax systems: their remarkable similarity in the face of divergent political, cultural and social systems. However, efforts to introduce VAT-style taxes have frequently been accompanied by fierce localized resistance. The histories of VAT reform in Australia, Canada and the United States encapsulate the tension that arises from a tendency among developed tax systems to converge against frequent and often fierce localized opposition. This tension speaks to a key debate in the public policy and comparative law literature concerning the transferability of policy ideas or legal instruments across jurisdictions. The Article details the history of VAT reform in Australia, Canada and the United States over a period of four decades, 1965-2005, where the global uptake of the VAT was at its highest, but where VAT reform in each jurisdiction was highly controversial. The Article concludes with an assessment of the factors that contribute towards tax policy convergence and localized resistance.


BACKGROUND
Oral antibiotics are commonly prescribed for moderate or severe acne, but there may be limitations due to concerns about side effects associated with systemic treatments.

OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the efficacy and safety of a fixed combination clindamycin phosphate 1.2% and benzoyl peroxide 2.5% (clindamycin-BP 2.5%) aqueous gel in the treatment of moderate or severe acne subpopulations.

METHODS
Two multicenter, double-blind studies randomized 2,813 subjects with moderate or severe acne to clindamycin-BP 2.5% gel, each active ingredient, or vehicle gel, once daily for 12 weeks. Efficacy evaluations included inflammatory and non-inflammatory lesion counts and evaluator's global severity score at baseline and weeks 4, 8 and 12. Adverse events and subjects' evaluations of product tolerability were also monitored. Subpopulation efficacy and safety analyses by baseline acne severity were performed for the combined data from the two phase 3 studies.

RESULTS
Clindamycin-BP 2.5% gel significantly reduced inflammatory, non-inflammatory and total lesions compared with each active ingredient and vehicle in subjects with moderate acne and compared with vehicle in severe acne subjects at week 12. Significant improvements in evaluator's global severity score were evident for subjects with moderate acne in the clindamycin-BP 2.5% group compared with each active ingredient and vehicle and compared with vehicle in subjects with severe acne at week 12. Rates of adverse events were low and similar between treatment groups and baseline acne severity.

CONCLUSION
Clindamycin-BP 2.5% aqueous gel is an effective and safe once-daily treatment for moderate or severe acne.


We study the use of games as a metaphor for building social interaction in norm-governed multi-agent systems. As part of our research we propose MAGE (Multi-Agent Game Environment) as a logic-based framework that represents complex agent interactions as games. MAGE seeks to (a) reuse existing computational techniques for defining event-based normative system and (b) complement these techniques with a coordination component to support complex interactions. A game in MAGE is defined by a state, a set of normative rules describing the valid moves at different states and a set of effect rules describing how the state evolves as a result of a move taking place. Given a specification of the normative rules, in the implementation of a game, we use game containers as components that mediate the moves of players by checking their compliance with the rules of the game and by maintaining the state of the game. The reuse part of MAGE relates physical actions that happen in an agent environment to valid moves of a game representing the social environment of an application. MAGE allows to model complex interactions from simpler atomic sub-games. In this context, we investigate how coordination patterns can be used to dynamically play more than one game in parallel, change the status of games or choose amongst games. For this purpose, we examine how to define compound games from atomic sub-games. Compound games are build by describing the conditions and the patterns that activate a subgame and the coordination mechanisms of MAGE ensure that sub-games are activated according to how interactions are specified to evolve at run-time. To illustrate the MAGE approach, we discuss how to use the framework to specify the social interaction in two different scenarios: (i) Open-PacketWorld a simple simulation where agents compete to collect and deliver packets in a grid and (ii) an earth-observation application where agents represent services, both for clients and providers, and negotiate the provision of these services by combining argumentation and communication protocols. We also use the Open-Packet-World scenario to evaluate the effectiveness of the framework. We show that we can effectively support at run-time a largescale multi-agent systems regulated by norms. We conclude the dissertation by summarising our contributions and identifying areas for future work.


This thesis represents an attempt to complete the history of the Van Diemen's Land Company from its foundation in 1824 to the dismissal of its first Chief Agent, Edward Curr, in 1842 which was begun by A.L. Meston and to carry the story on to 1860 by which time the Company had assumed what was essentially its final form.
At his death Meston had completed his history only up to 1828 although two topics, the location of the grant and the Company's relations with the aborigines are carried through to their conclusion, the former in 1847 and the latter in 1842. Meston deals in considerable detail with the foundation of the Company, the exploration of the area in which the grant was to be located and attempts to change the grant and therefore these topics have here been dealt with only briefly; much of the material Meston used for his section on the foundation of the Company is in any case located in London. Meston's papers, including the incomplete manuscript (which was later published) and notes and references for the whole period the work was intended to cover are now in the possession of the University of Tasmania Library; the latter are not very detailed and it proved necessary to go through the outgoing dispatches, incoming dispatches and annual reports again. These records, now located in the Tasmanian State Archives, are the main sources for this thesis, together with the various returns of employees and livestock and minutes of the Court of Directors and colonial Board of Consultation which were consulted where relevant. The outgoing dispatches are by far the most important of the Company's records as they describe in great detail everything that took place on the Company's estates; the incoming dispatches and the annual reports are less valuable as they tend to reflect what the Directors wanted to happen rather than what actually did happen, the annual reports in particular often showing a distressing ignorance of the Company's colonial environment and operations and a tendency to distort facts and figures.
The Company began with a colossal blunder in taking a grant of 250,000 acres in an area about which nothing was really known. The information given to the Directors about the north-western part of the island was admittedly misleading but they must have known that none of their informants had actually seen the area; the Directors appear to have convinced themselves that the whole of Van Diemen's Land was first-class sheep country because that is what they wanted to believe and had it not been for the doubts expressed about the north-west by the Government it is probable that they would have consulted even fewer "authorities" on the island than they did. It soon transpired that north-western Van Diemen's land was quite unsuited to large-scale sheep-rearing and the Company after making many unsuccessful attempts to change the grant, was forced to save what it could from the wreck of the capital invested in the grant, first by selling livestock for breeding purposes and later by leasing and selling its land to private settlers; the latter, together with farming operations on a small scale, has kept the Company in existence to this day.


This research on mapping and urgency of handling of social problems in industrial area in Indonesia aims to determine the geographical, demographic, psychographic, economic and socio-cultural conditions as well as the urgency of handling social problems. The study used 120 respondents consisted of 20 respondents for each of 6 urban villages (3 coastal areas and 3 non coastal areas). Data analysis was conducted used descriptive and the analysis of SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis. SWOT matrix has been largely used as a strategic planning tool used to identify the internal and external conditions. This tool is also useful for mapping project planning and business competition. The study was conducted in Gresik industrial are, one of the largest industrial areas in Indonesia. The general condition of respondent living environment includes the land altitude between 3-4 meters from sea level, rarely rain, lowland, and hot weather, densely populated with female population almost equal to men. The results also show that the community actively learn and carry out religious activities adopted by the facilities and infrastructure of religious worship that has been good and complete; most of the conditions of the region have not supported the welfare of the population and regional development. In terms of leadership, village heads have a big influence and high role for society. In the context of weakness and threats, each region has urgency handling different problems but the main problem that must be handled is the environment, lack of development of SMEs, and facilities and infrastructure that have not been adequate.


Some resource-rich developing countries are in the process of harnessing immense mining resources towards inclusive growth and prosperity. Nevertheless, tapping into natural resources could be challenging given the large front-loaded investment, volatile capital flows and exposure to global commodity markets. Public investment is needed to remove the often-large infrastructure gap and unlock the economic potential. However, too rapid fiscal outlays could push the economy to its limit of absorptive capacity and increase macro-financial vulnerabilities. This paper utilizes a structural model-based approach to analyze macroeconomic impacts of different public investment strategies on key fiscal and non-fiscal variables such as debt, consumption, sovereign wealth fund, and real exchange rates. We apply the model to Mongolia and draw policy recommendations from the analysis. We find that fiscal policy adjustment, particularly moderating infrastructure investment and optimizing investment efficiency is needed to maintain macroeconomic and external stability, as well as to boost the long-term sustainable growth for Mongolia.


A year after the Aquino administration was established, it has yet to produce results in addressing the call for a firm agrarian reform agenda. Costs of agricultural production and rural poverty levels remained as they were before the February revolution. Agrarian reform simply became one of the many programs inserted in the overall proposals of two agencies, NEDA and PCGR. Both agencies proposal put the land tillers at the receiving end of the reforms but it has yet to be acted upon by Malacanang. A result partly of Aquino's reluctance to wield the powers of the president's office and of the conservative liberals and rightwing elements influence to make sure that she does not go too far in reforming society. Agrarian unrest continued with farmers seizing idle and abandoned land or land owned by previous Marcos cronies. Various NGOs, farmer support institutions and concerned individuals organized themselves to come up with an alternative agrarian reform proposal. The indecision and halfheartedness on people's basic demands eventually paved the way for the Mendiola killings. It was only afterwards that the Aquino administration paid real attention towards agrarian reform. However, there are already pitfalls foreseen in this move as the legislation, the Congress, is dominated by landed elites, there are questions about how their interests can resolve the issue of agrarian reform.


The enterprise is the most important component of the economy and of the society as well. The paper studies the weights of SME sector in different countries, focusing on topical operational issues for financing SMEs. In Romania, these are mainly shareholders' credits; own resources, loans, European Union or EBRD funds, etc. Some analysts consider that the growth of SMEs is impeded by an insufficient supply of capital. In Romania as in other states, the public authorities have interceded to fill this equity gap by increasing the supply of funds. Furthermore, managerial opinions concerning the obstacles faced by their firms reveal some potential growth factors for SMEs: the size of loans, the amount of reinvested profit, well-educated human resources and technical assistance, all critical to the success of SME's in exploiting, indeed surviving, the rapid globalization of markets.


Objective: To assess the outcome of conservative management by trial without catheter (TWOC) of patients subsequent to acute urinary retention due to bladder outlet obstruction caused by benign prostatic enlargement and to identify factors favouring positive result thereof. Methods: All patients presenting in emergency department with primary acute urinary retention caused by benign prostatic enlargement underwent trial without catheter, after initial catheterization to relieve retention. The duration and type of any previous lower urinary tract symptoms, prior retention episodes, associated anticholinergic medication, any precipitating cause of AUR, urine drained on catheterization and prostate size were recorded. Those who voided successfully after removal of catheter were followed up and their urinary flow rate measurement and ultrasonographic measurement of the post-void residual urine were recorded. Results: Of the 99 patients, 68 (68.6%) voided spontaneously after removing the catheter and continued to do so with mean peak flow rates of 10.3 mL/s and mean PVRs of 114 mL over a follow-up period of 5-13 months. These men had a mean prostate size of 39.2 gm and a mean catheterized residual volume of 731 mL, while in those who had unsuccessful TWOC the mean prostate size was 63.7 gm (p=0.006) and a mean post catheterized residual volume of 1153 mL (p=0.08). Conclusion: Trial without catheter is an acceptable protocol in management of patients after an episode of acute urinary retention due to benign prostatic enlargement. Most significant factor for predicting the outcome of such a trial is size of prostate.
Pak J Physiol 2018;14(4):36–9


The prevailing complex geological and ecological conditions of Taiwan have drawn considerable attention from various geo-ecological communities because of their vulnerability to produce various natural hazards at different scales. Located in the tropical/subtropical zone of the Pacific Rim, its ecological and rugged mountainous properties are environmentally sensitive making monitoring and observations especially difficult because of the high population density. For example, in terms of natural hazard mitigation tectonically active regions are used for analyzing the cause of abundant risk events, such as earthquakes, landslides and land subsidence. In fact Taiwan is well suited as a test site for studying those geologically disastrous processes. Implementing novel techniques of space remote sensing has proved to be an effective means in recent years for greatly improving our understanding of these phenomena. In this paper we report on the monitoring of such events using multi-modal polarimetric and/or interferometric SAR images at C and L band from ERS, JERS-1, RADARSAT-1, ENVISAT, and from the recent ALOS satellite. For crustal and surface deformation, we used radar image pairs with long temporal baselines and large areas of coverage for investigating deformation over Western Taiwan. Pre-seismic and co-seismic deformation patterns are spatial-temporally analyzed. The other topic deals with the coastline changes observed from a sequence of ERS-1/2 SAR images within the years of 1996 to 2005. Waterlines were extracted using multi-scale procedures of edge detection and were corrected with tidal motion data. Substantial analyses were carried out in conjunction with ground surveys and lidar mapping. The topographic feature changes due to large scale landslides triggered by torrential rains were also monitored. In addition, the SAR interferograms were used to analyze the deposition changes along the riverbeds and riverbanks for short-intervals using optimal baselines. Summary and remarks on the implementation of such multi-modal polarimetric and/or interferometric SAR imagery for environmental monitoring are provided.


In the recent years, laser machining technology has been used widely in industrial applications usually with the aim of increasing the production capability of mass production lines - especially for fast marking, engraving type of applications where speed is an important concern - or manufacturing quality of a certain facility by increasing the level of accuracy in material processing applications such as drilling, cutting; or any scientific research oriented work where high precision machining of parts in sub millimeter scale might be required. A galvanometric scanner is a high precision device that is able to steer a laser beam with a mirror attached to a motor, whose rotor angular range is usually limited with tens of degrees in both directions of rotation; and position is controlled either by voltage or current. Due to their lightness, the rotor and the mirror can move very fast, allowing fast marking (burning out) operation with the laser beam. This can be evaluated as a great advantage compared to slower mechanical appliances used for cutting/machining of different materials. This study concentrates on the analysis of galvanometric scanner system components; and the design and implementation of a hardware and software based control system for a dual-axis galvo setup; and their adaptation for use in laser micromachining applications either as a standalone system or a modular subsystem. Analysis part of the thesis work contains: evaluation of dominant laser micromachining techniques, an overview of the galvanometric scanner system based approach and related components (e.g. electromechanical, electrical, optical), understanding of working principles and related simulation work, compatibility issues with the target micromachining applications. Design part of the thesis work includes: the design and implementation of electronic controller board, intermediate drive electronics stage, microcontroller programming for machining control algorithm, interfacing with graphical user interface based control software and production of necessary mechanical parts. The study has been finalized with experimental work and evaluation of obtained results. The results of these studies are promising and motivate the use of laser galvanometric scanner systems in laser micromachining applications.


Objective: SPECT data from myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) are normally displayed as a set of three slices orthogonal to the left ventricular (LV) long axis. For data presentation, the images are orientated about the LV long axis. Therefore, radial slices provide a suitable alternative to standard orthogonal slices, with the advantage of requiring fewer slices to adequately represent the data. In this study, a semi-automatic method is developed for displaying MPI SPECT data as a set of radial slices orientated about the LV axis. The aim is to reduce the number of slices viewed without loss of information and independently from the heart size. Method: Standard short axis slices, orientated perpendicular to the LV axis, are utilized.The skeleton of the segmented myocardium is found and the true LV axis is determined in each central long slice. The LV axis of the whole volume is determined by aligning the axes of all slices. Result: Radial slices centered about this axis were generated by integration over a sector equal to the resolution of the imaging system which was of the order of 1.2 cm. Therefore, assuming a mean LV diameter of 8 cm, 20 slices were sufficient to represent a non-gated study. Gated information could be adequately displayed with 4 slices integrated over an angle of 45. Conclusion: A semi-automatic method for generating radial slices from SPECT MPI short axis slices has been developed.


This work focuses on the area of authentication and machine binding using either smart card or trusted platform module (TPM) technology, or a combination thereof. It is the major objective to demonstrate the value of each of these technologies based upon selected business scenarios. Underlying trust models and architectural requirements are discussed, and theoretical background of these technologies is provided to accommodate readers with the relevant terms to follow the subsequent discussion. The major part of this thesis consists of the research, comparison and analysis of existing publications and other sources—scientific, commercial, qualified journalistic or other—to gather a foundation of information on the subject topic. The problem cases or scenarios for applicability of smart card or TPM technology are based upon that research as well as the professional experience of the author and are not selected at random. This thesis shall provide interested readers with a decision base for the selection of protection mechanisms based upon either smart cards or TPM, or both.


Progresses of 5-year-long government-supported R&D program launched in 2007, aiming at all-optical RAM buffer will be presented. Focuses are on nano-structured optical bit memory for RAM, the optical interfaces such as serial/parallel converter and optical addressor as well as architecture design of optical packet switch with small-size buffers and the performance evaluation.


This literature review focuses the research conducted on Information and Communication Technology in English as a Foreign Language Teaching and Learning. It reviews various aspects of ICT integration, ICT tools, barriers and challenges to ICT integration, teachers' perceptions and views about ICT and advantages and benefits of ICT integration in education. The factors effecting pre-service and in-service teachers and student teachers' perceptions, views and confidence about ICT integration are also discussed and analyzed. This review further discusses the gaps in the studies and establishes a theoretical background for further studies specifically in Oman.


Background— Approximately 268 000 Fidelis leads were implanted worldwide until distribution was suspended because of a high rate of early failure. Careful analyses of predictors of increased lead failure hazard are required to help direct future lead design and also to inform decision making on lead replacement. We sought to perform a comprehensive analysis of all potential predictors in a multicenter study. Methods and Results— A total of 3169 Sprint Fidelis leads were implanted in 11 centers with a total of 251 failures. Lead failure rates at 3, 4, and 5 years were 5.3%, 10.6%, and 16.8%, respectively. The rate of lead failure continues to accelerate (P<0.001). There were 4 independent predictors of failure: center, sex, access vein, and previous lead failure. Women had a higher hazard of failure (hazard ratio 1.51; 95% confidence interval, 1.14–2.04; P=0.005). Both axillary and subclavian access increased the hazard of failure (P=0.007); hazard ratio for axillary was 1.94, (95% confidence interval, 1.23–3.04) and for subclavian 1.63 (95% confidence interval, 1.08–2.46). Previous lead failure increased the hazard of a subsequent Fidelis failure with a hazard ratio of 3.12 (95% confidence interval, 1.80–5.41; P<0.001). Conclusions— The rate of Fidelis failure continues to increase over time, with failures approaching 17% at 5 years. Women, patients with leads inserted via the subclavian or axillary vein, and those with a previous lead fracture were at greatest risk of Fidelis failure. Our data suggest that Fidelis replacement should be strongly considered at the time of generator replacement.


On May 25, 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) went into effect in the twenty-eight countries of the European Union and the EFTA countries, effective creating European-wide data protection law modernized for the age of the Internet. One of the key aspects of the GDPR is that it applies to non-European entities that processes personal data of EU consumers. Unlike the Data Directive of 1995 that it supplanted, the GDPR applies to U.S data controllers outside the EU. Many academic and industry commentators claim that the GDPR will drive a wider gulf between U.S. and EU data protection law because of the GDPR's aggressive extraterritorial rules.
This Article rebuts the widespread assertion that recent EU updates to its data protection law will drive a disruptive wedge between EU and U.S. data privacy laws. Instead, the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) creates convergences between EU/U.S. data protection law that overshadows the divergences. The GDPR is said to be a foremost example of the Brussels Effect because it unilaterally imposes EU privacy law on the United States. We acknowledge a Brussels Effect on U.S. privacy law but there is also an overlooked D.C. Effect reflected in many GDPR provisions. The European Commission imported many privacy rights first developed in the U.S. into this wide-ranging EU-wide legislation. U.S. privacy law had already recognized the duty of the processor to obtain consent, a data subject's right to access, data minimization, and the right to notice in the aftermath of a data security breach.
The GDPR adopts deterrence-based fines and other long-established U.S. tort law remedies. U.S. tort concepts such as collective redress, wealth-based punishment, arming data subjects with the right to initiate public enforcement are recognized for the first time in European history in this comprehensive statute. Under the GDPR, the EU Commission adopted privacy by design and security breach notification obligations, innovations first instituted in the U.S. The net effect is a bilateral transatlantic privacy convergence, rather than a divide, which is rapidly evolving into a global data protection standard. Nations around the world, some U.S. states, and the major U.S.-based data processors are instituting policies conforming to the GDPR. We argue that the GDPR has the potential to not only bring an end to the transatlantic data privacy wars, but to become the foundation of a worldwide "gold standard" for information privacy.


This study analyzes deterrence schemes and their impact on stealing. The results confirm Becker's deterrence hypothesis. Moreover, crowding out of pro-social behavior occurs due to deterrence incentives: when deterrence incentives first exist and are removed later on, subsequent behavior is more selfish than without this deterrence history. This study offers evidence that (part of this) crowding out takes place via change of emotions. Without deterrence incentives in place, in a variant of the dictator game, players with pro-social emotions steal less. When players face expected punishment, pro-social emotions are deactivated and do not decrease stealing; in this case, self-centered emotions get activated and motivate greater stealing. This study provides support for theories on emotions in behavioral criminal law and economics and offers new insights for deterrence policy. (JEL C91, D63, K42)


This paper investigates how the retirement of one spouse affects the division of household labor in couples. Two streams of theory can be found explaining the division of household labor. The economic theories predict that the spouse – women or men - how earns less money on the labor market will have higher share of domestic labor. The value based theories explain the division of household labor with shared norms and customs. In couples with conservative values women do most of the household labor, while in modern couples the division is more equal. Applying these two streams of theories to the retirement process two hypotheses are stated: 1) The retirement of a spouse does not affect the division of household labor. 2) The retirement of a spouse does affect the division of household labor. The hypotheses are tested using fixed-effect models and SOEP data. Results show that the share of household labor increases after retirement for men and women alike.


Abstract The breeding behaviour and ecology of the Kentish Plover, Charadrius alexandrinus Linnaeus, were investigated in three consecutive years in the Farasan Islands, Saudi Arabia, where the species breeds either under halophytic bushes or in exposed sites where ground temperatures may reach 60°C. Three aspects make the Farasan Island population distinct from most other Kentish Plover populations studied to date. First, incubating plovers appear to prefer nesting under halophytic bushes rather than in exposed sites, since 65.1% of nests were under bushes, whereas 34.9% of nests were in fully exposed sites. Second, both mate fidelity and nest-site fidelity were high, and pairs stayed within short distances from their previous nest sites. Third, brood desertion was very rare in the Farasan Islands – unlike most other populations where the female or the male deserts the brood shortly after hatching of the eggs – since in 95% of broods both parents attended the chick(s) (n=153 broods). We suggest that these social traits are driven by the extreme hot environment that requires parental cooperation, although adaptation to island-dwelling and corresponding changes in life-history traits cannot be ruled out.


Exploitation of plastic waste is current issue in part of recycling in this present. Current recycling appears possibility of manufacturing of composite materials WPC (woodplastic composite). While a few decades ago as a plastic matrix used thermosets, currently often is using thermoplastics. The reason among other things is also able recycling these composite materials. The most common example exploitation of plastics is currently PVC, PE and PP. Application of construction thermoplastics (PA, POM, PET) is limited with increased processing temperature, at which there is a degradation of lignin in the wood. The problem of exploitation of thermoplasts in comparison with thermosets is high viscosity of thermoplastic melt and decrease of wettability whit wood sawdust. For this reason is increasing of attention for determine of maximum quantity of filler wooden components.


This study will focus on the educational and social experiences of mixed race Filipinx PEP (Pin@y Educational Partnerships) instructors in the San Francisco/Bay Area and the connection of these various, lived experiences to their teaching pedagogy and praxis in Ethnic Studies curriculum. The main purpose of this research is to create additional evidence for the need of critical mixed race studies and acknowledgement of mixed race students' unique experiences to be valued and included in Ethnic Studies curriculum. In addition, the research will also serve as reaffirmation of not only the efficacy of Ethnic Studies curriculum but also the need for Ethnic Studies at a national and global level for every student regardless of race or cultural background. This research will also examine the ways in which knowing ourselves in connection to our personal histories, ethnicities, and traditions can not only create a stronger sense of identity but also provide the transformation needed for social justice education and activism. When an individual is able to self-actualize and evolve through education, decolonization, and identity formation, they are potentially in a space where they can utilize this knowledge through education and social justice initiatives to teach youth along with connecting and contributing to their local communities. By conducting detailed qualitative interviews with mixed race PEP teachers, I aim to further reconcile what it means to be a mixed race Filipinx individual specifically teaching Filipinx history and culture in connection to the larger conceptualization of mixed race identity being integrated into Ethnic Studies curriculum. Through the various experiences of PEP instructors, what does it mean to be a mixed race PEP teacher, teaching Filipinx history while grappling with their own identify formation, and how does that play a role into how they teach? Because of the complex nature of mixed race individual experiences, research suggests that mixed race experiences are not yet fully captured by the existing critical theories because a majority of these theories cater to monoracial identities and realities. This study aims to disrupt and dispel stereotypical notions of race, recognize the lived experiences of mixed race individuals, and push forward Ethnic Studies curriculum for all students at all levels. CRITICAL MIXED RACE STUDIES FOR LIBERATION AND SOCIAL JUSTICE EDUCATION viii


Snow water equivalent (SWE) is important for investigations of annual to decadal-scale changes in Arctic environment and energy-water cycles. Passive microwave satellite-based retrieval algorithm estimates of SWE now span more than three decades. SWE retrievals by the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for the Earth Observation System (AMSR-E) onboard the NASA-Aqua satellite ended at October 2011. A critical parameter in the AMSR-E retrieval algorithm is snow density assumed from surveys in Canada and Russia from 1940s-1990s. We compare ground SWE measurements in Alaska to those of AMSR-E, European Space Agency GlobSnow, and GIPL model. AMSR-E SWE underperforms (is less than on average) ground SWE measurements in Alaska through 2011. Snow density measurements along the Alaska permafrost transect in April 2009 and 2010 show a significant latitude-gradient in snow density increasing to the Arctic coast at Prudhoe Bay. Large differences are apparent in comparisons of our measured mean snow densities on a same snow cover class basis March-April 2009-2011 Alaska to those measured in Alaska winter 1989-1992 and Canadian March-April 1961-1990. Snow density like other properties of snow is an indicator of climate and a non-stationary variable of SWE.


OBJECTIVE To study the use of autologous bone marrow transplantation to treat acute myeloid leukaemia when complete remission had been achieved and when no human leukocyte antigen matched related donor was available. DESIGN Prospective follow-up study. SETTING Government hospital, Hong Kong. PATIENTS Eight patients (median age, 34 years [range, 16-45 years]) with acute myeloid leukaemia in whom complete remission had been achieved. INTERVENTION Conditioning regimen of carmustine, amsacrine, etoposide VP-16, cytarabine, and infusion of unpurged marrow. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Median time taken to reach neutrophil and platelet counts of > or =0.5 x 10(9) /L and > or = x 10(9) /L, respectively; mortality and relapse rates; and follow-up regimens used. RESULTS Engraftment was successfully achieved in all patients and there were no early procedure-related mortalities. The median times required to reach a neutrophil count of > or =0.5 x 10(9) /L and a platelet count of > or =20 x 10(9) /L were 30 days (range, 18-36 days) and 38 days (range, 15-53 days), respectively. The median duration of hospital stay was 37 days (range, 25-43 days). Two patients died of a relapse of leukaemia at 6 and 9 months post-transplantation. Two patients experienced relapses: one at 8 months post-transplantation, for which conventional chemotherapy was restarted, and one at 18 months; treatment with all-trans-retinoic acid and conventional chemotherapy achieved a third complete remission in the latter patient, who had acute promyelocytic leukaemia. Continuous remission has been achieved in four of the eight patients after a median follow-up duration of 26 months (range, 6-43 months). CONCLUSION Autologous bone marrow transplantation is an acceptable treatment for patients with acute myeloid leukaemia who lack a human leukocyte antigen-matched related donor.


Scaring revelations about global climate change and its effects have necessitated adoption of sustainable approaches in most of the human activities. Property development is one of the activities which are increasingly embracing sustainable technologies. Sustainability in property development, sometimes referred to as green building, is rapidly gaining attention worldwide. It is however true that some parts of the world have not accomplished much on the ground. Tanzania is one of the countries in which evidence of concerted efforts towards green building can hardly be seen. Although green building entails extra initial costs, its long term benefits far outweigh the costs. Besides, some countries like Tanzania are endowed with most of the natural resources needed for green building. For instance, Tanzania has abundant sources of wind energy, solar energy, bio energy and hydro energy. Availability of a variety of local construction materials and cheap labour is another clear opportunity. This study first identifies opportunities for green building in Tanzania before assessing green building awareness amongst key professionals and property owners. The study further examines sustainability aspects in some selected buildings completed during the past decade in Dar es Salaam city. The data for this study was collected using a questionnaire which was administered to 50 key informants comprising architects, engineers, property managers and property owners. Results show that most of the architects, engineers and property managers are aware of the advantages of green building and the opportunities available in Tanzania. It is also revealed that most of the property owners are inadequately informed about the advantages of green building and the opportunities available in Tanzania. Results also show that that most of the buildings completed within the past decade are not built with green building requirements in mind.


Abstract We assess the effect of income inequality on life expectancy by performing separate estimations for developed and developing countries. Our empirical analysis challenges the widely held view that inequality matters more for health in richer countries than for health in poorer countries. Employing panel cointegration and conventional panel regressions, we find that income inequality slightly increases life expectancy in developed countries. By contrast, the effect on life expectancy is significantly negative in developing countries. Even though the quantitative effects are small, the contrast between the two country groups proves to be robust to modifications in measurement, specification and methodological choices.


The Reliability and Validity of Measuring Devices for Measuring Mechanical Power The primary purpose of this paper is to validate a 3-D motion capture system as a reliable and valid measurement tool to be used in the practical setting for measuring bar velocity and mechanical power output. One resistance-trained, male college student participated in this study, performing ten sets of one repetition at loads of 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80% of his 1 repetition maximum (1 RM) for the barbell back squat exercise. Each repetition was simultaneously recorded with a 3-D camera (EliteForm PowerTracker; EliteForm, Lincoln, Nebraska), a tether based position transducer (gold standard), and a tether-based external dynamometer. Power values were derived using the bar velocity and the system mass (external load + 88% of body mass). Both Mean and Peak Velocity and Mean and Peak Power values were used to compare the measurement devices. In addition to linear regression, and correlation data, Bland-Altman plots (Tukey mean difference analyses) were created to measure agreement in the relative difference of values from each system. There were significant correlations (r > .80) between all 3 methods, but were highest in mean velocity and peak velocity. Mean velocity and mean power are shown to be within the limits of agreement when comparing the 3-D camera system and LPT, while peak velocity and peak power are outside of the limits of agreement. However, a comparison of 3-D camera system and external dynamometer, shows that all 4 variables were within 95% limits of agreement. Overall, the technology in question offers a reliable means of assessing velocity and power measurements in the practical setting.


In this work, we present a neutron Larmor diffraction study of the rare-earth pyrochlores R2Ti2O7 with R = Tb, Dy, Ho. We measured the temperature dependence of the lattice parameter with precision 10(-5), between 0.5 and 300 K in each of the three compounds. The lattice parameter of the spin ices Dy2Ti2O7 and Ho2Ti2O7 enters into the derivation of the charge of the emergent magnetic monopole excitations suggested to exist in these materials. We found that throughout the range of applicability of the theory of emergent monopoles in the spin ices there will be no renormalization of the monopole charge due to lattice contraction. In Tb2Ti2O7, strong magnetoelastic interactions have been reported. We found no sign of the previously reported negative thermal expansion, but did observe anomalies in the thermal expansion that can be correlated with previously observed interactions between phonon and crystal-field excitations. Other features in the thermal expansion of all three compounds can be related to previously observed anomalies of the elastic constants, and explained by the phonon band structure of the rare-earth titanates. The temperature dependence of the lattice strain in all three compounds can be correlated with the thermal population of excited crystal-field levels.


The New York City Composers' Forum-Laboratory was created in 1935 as part of the Music Education Division of the Federal Music Project (FMP), under the auspices of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), funded by Roosevelt's Depression-era New Deal. The Forum was a unique phenomenon in the history of American music. For the first time in American history, the federal government played an active and enthusiastic role in sponsoring and funding the arts. The federally funded Music Project--along with the Federal Writers Project, Federal Theater Project, and Federal Arts Project--was initiated as part of the larger Works Progress Administration (later renamed the Works Projects Administration) in order to get artists and musicians off the streets, out of the breadlines, and into jobs. Yet many people in the musical commu-nitv fervently hoped and believed that it would develop into a permanently funded arts program. A popular venue for the performances of new music, the Composers' Forum thrived from 1935 to 1940. Weekly--and later, biweekly--concerts introduced an exceptional variety of composers to a newly developing audience. Each Forum featured one or two composers, among them Amy Marcy Beach, Aaron Copland, Henry Cowell, Ruth Crawford, Roger Sessions, and Elie Siegmeister. Admission was free. Question-and-answer sessions between composers and audience followed the conceits, prompting discussions on a range of topics: modernism, politics, gender, representations of race, Jewish music, American identity, jazz, and other art forms. A stenographer took careful and thorough transcripts of the discussions, and these survive in the National Archives II, in College Park. Maryland. The success of the New York City Composers' Forum prompted cities across the country to institute similar programs. Boston and Philadelphia established flourishing forums that met weekly. Forums in Los Angeles and Chicago were only slightly less active, while cities like Detroit, Cleveland, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, and San Francisco held forums from time to time. Other activities by the New York branch included a collaboration with Lincoln Kirstein's Ballet Caravan to present an evening of "All-American" ballets--Virgil Thomson's Filling Station, Robert McBride's Showpiece, and Paul Bowles's Yankee Clipper. A special summer season of concerts, produced in conjunction with the 1939-40 New York World's Fair, was broadcast over WNYC, and a series of the regular concerts was broadcast over WQXR. Under the auspices of the Forum, Roy Harris presented a lecture series entitled Let's Make Music over WNYC, which attracted thousands of active listeners. After 1939, federal support for the Forums ceased and various organizations assumed responsibility for maintaining the Forum, which exists to this day (1) THE DOCUMENTARY IMPULSE The careful documenting of Composers' Forum post-concert discussions makes this series particularly valuable for musicological research today. At no other time in American musical history were the reactions and thoughts of the audience documented so extensively and systematically. This emphasis on documentation reflected a wider American phenomenon of the thirties. As William Stott observes, a documentary motive was at work throughout the culture of the time: in the rhetoric of the New Deal and the WPA arts projects; in painting, dance, fiction, and theater; in the new media of radio and picture magazines; in popular thought, education, and advertising. (2) The goal of this documentary work was to record the American experience. The America of the 1930s was engaged in a cultural revolution. Not only did America own a cultural identity, it was a culture that needed to be shared with a broad new public. The documentary motive broughtcomposers and listeners face-to-face for the first time, and recorded the result. Audience reactions, thoughts, and attitudes, usually so elusive, are represented in the Forum documents in abundance, providing a compelling testament to the power of reception and to the dynamic relationship between composer and listener. …


Digital image analysis could be a rapid and precise technique for estimating legume proportions in grass swards. In 2004, we conducted apot study to evaluate a digital image analysis DIA) system for estimation of legume dry mat:er (DM) contribution in legume-grass mixtures. Examination of pure swards and binary legumegrass mixtures of red clover (Trifolium pratense L.), white clover (T. repens L.), alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), and perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) took place after 35, 49, and 63 d of growth. To estimate the cover percentage of legumes in the swards, a total of 64 digital pictures were taken. The DM contribution of legumes (% of total biomass) showed a significant relationship with the proportion of image area covered by legumes (% of total area), which was classified visually. A DIA system for grayscale images was developed with the software Optimas. We found that DIA could be used to accurately predict legume contribution in mature swards. Legume contribution, as estimated by DIA, was significantly correlated with DM contribution of red clover R 2 = 0.87), white clover (R 2 = 0.85), and alfalfa R 2 = 0.79). Bare ground reduced the predictive ability of DIA in young or open swards. Use of DIA may be limited until we refine the method to deal with bare ground and different leaf shapes associated with various weed species.


Abstract This article reports round-robin tests dealing with static light scattering (LS), size exclusion chromatography (SEC), and viscometry measurements of 10 reference materials of various polymer classes: poly(styrene)s (PS), poly(methyl methacrylate)s (PMMA), poly(ethylene oxide)s (PEO), and poly(lactide)s (PLA). In the certificates, molar masses and intrinsic viscosities as well as their uncertainties are specified. Additional values from nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), infrared spectroscopy (IR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), melt flow index (MFR), and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS), which were determined exclusively in BAM laboratories are given, as well. These results represent the base for the BAM certification work of creating polymer reference materials according to the BAM Guidelines for the Production and Certification of BAM Reference Materials, a version of the European guidelines (BCR/01/97). These samples are available for third-party user.


Tourism is an important sector contributing 19% to New Zealand's export revenue. At the same time, tourism is extremely dependent on oil for both travel to and within New Zealand. While forecasts for future tourism growth are generally optimistic, they fail to take into account potential changes in global oil price and effects on arrival numbers. It might be timely to consider how tourism might change given incremental or rapid increases in oil price. This research will develop a Tourism Sector Model that allows investors, operators and policy makers to assess such changes and develop adaptation measures for mitigating associated risks. To this end, a five-step methodology will be presented in this paper. Ultimately, the research seeks to answer how travel behaviour will change under various oil price scenarios, what types of tourists, products and destinations are most at risk, and what adaptation measures could be put in place to manage those risks.


Article history: Received: September 2014 Received in the revised form: November 2014 Accepted: December 2014 The paper verifies usefulness of the high frequency trading model developed by Marco Avellaneda and Sasha Stoikov, used in simulation of turnover with futures contract securities of one of agricultural commodities on the selected commodity stock exchange. Accuracy of provided signals of purchase and sale signals was verified on authentic quotations – the futures contract for coffee prices of the London Stock Exchange. Results of ten subsequent session days was analysed in detail. Quality of the assumed investment algorithm was determined with the use of stock exchange ratios: Information Ratio and Maximum Drawdown. A short discussion was conducted, which compared a standard investing method and the analysed model of algorithmic trading. In conclusion, all most important statements and conclusions were made, which confirmed usefulness of the HFT model developed by Marco Avellaneda and Sasha Stoikov for turnover of futures contract securities for agricultural commodities.


There has been a massive growth in trade and communication between Ireland and China in the past decade. Under such influence, Irish third level institutions have established Chinese or Chinese-related degree programmes, and post-primary schools have been offering Chinese courses as Transition Year1 modules. However, the continuous development of Chinese language education in Ireland also faces many challenges. Though the Junior Cycle Short Course2 in Chinese has been designed and published for three years now, there are still very few schools offering this course for a variety of educational and sociocultural reasons. In higher education, Chinese programmes are showing decreasing enrolment, and learners were found to suffer from demotivation issues. This paper briefly reviews the development of Chinese language education in Ireland in the past decade. It aims to suggest means of addressing some existing issues from three general perspectives regarding the course syllabi and materials, the Chinese teachers and the relevant research in an Irish context.


The Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP) is the large igneous province (LIP) that coincides with the breakup of the supercontinent Pangea. Major and trace element data, Sr‐Nd‐Pb radiogenic isotopes, and high‐precision olivine chemistry were collected on primitive CAMP dikes from Virginia (VA). These new samples were used in conjunction with a global CAMP data set to elucidate different mechanisms for supercontinent breakup and LIP formation. On the Eastern North American Margin, CAMP flows are found primarily in rift basins that can be divided into northern or southern groups based on differences in tectonic evolution, rifting history, and supercontinental inheritance. Geochemical signatures of CAMP suggest an upper mantle source modified by subduction processes. We propose that the greater number of accretionary events, or metasomatism by sediment melts as opposed to fluids on the northern versus the southern Laurentian margin during the formation of Pangea led to different subduction‐related signatures in the mantle source of the northern versus southern CAMP lavas. CAMP samples have elevated Ni and low Ca in olivine phenocrysts indicating a significant pyroxenite component in the source, interpreted here as a result of subduction metasomatism. Different collisional styles during the Alleghanian orogeny in the North and South may have led to the diachroneity of the rifting of Pangea. Furthermore, due to a low angle of subduction, the Rheic Plate may have underplated the lithosphere then delaminated, triggering both the breakup of Pangea and the formation of CAMP.


This paper addresses the issue of robust and progressive transmission of signals (e.g., images, video) encoded with variable length codes (VLCs) over error-prone channels. This paper first describes bitstream construction methods offering good properties in terms of error resilience and progressivity. In contrast with related algorithms described in the literature, all proposed methods have a linear complexity as the sequence length increases. The applicability of soft-input soft-output (SISO) and turbo decoding principles to resulting bitstream structures is investigated. In addition to error resilience, the amenability of the bitstream construction methods to progressive decoding is considered. The problem of code design for achieving good performance in terms of error resilience and progressive decoding with these transmission strategies is then addressed. The VLC code has to be such that the symbol energy is mainly concentrated on the first bits of the symbol representation (i.e., on the first transitions of the corresponding codetree). Simulation results reveal high performance in terms of symbol error rate (SER) and mean-square reconstruction error (MSE). These error-resilience and progressivity properties are obtained without any penalty in compression efficiency. Codes with such properties are of strong interest for the binarization of-ary sources in state-of-the-art image, and video coding systems making use of, for example, the EBCOT or CABAC algorithms. A prior statistical analysis of the signal allows the construction of the appropriate binarization code.


We analyze the relationship between the intensity of banks' use of soft-information and household bankruptcy patterns. Using a unique data set on the universe of Canadian household bankruptcies, we document that bankruptcy rates are higher in markets where the collection of soft, or qualitative locally gathered information, is the weakest. Using two Canadian bank mergers as exogenous variation in local market structure, we show that the differences in bankruptcy rates are not due to changes in the supply of credit. Our findings indicate that screening via hard-information is not a perfect substitute for soft-information. Instead, the two appear to be complements.


A number of isolated teeth of gulper sharks (genus Centrophorus Muller & Henle, 1837) have been recovered from Neogene sands in the Antwerp area, marking the first occurrence of the genus Centrophorus in the fossil record of Belgium and the North Sea Basin. The precise stratigraphic origin of these teeth could not be established, but the taphonomic condition strongly suggests a Late Miocene or Early Pliocene age, although reworking from older Miocene strata cannot be excluded. These teeth are remarkable for the presence of serrated cutting edges of both upper and lower teeth as well as their large size. The teeth, that measure up to 1 cm, are the largest fossil Centrophorus reported in literature. The subtle differences between the teeth of different Centrophorus species and the paucity of comparative extant material prohibit specific attribution, but the teeth pertain to individuals that equalled the largest extant species. The occurrence of these large Centrophorus in the Belgian deposits is remarkable as Centrophorus usually prefers deeper waters


Fisheries bycatch is a primary driver of population declines in several species of marine megafauna (e.g., elasmobranchs, mammals, seabirds, turtles). Characterizing the global bycatch seascape using data on bycatch rates across fisheries is essential for highlighting conservation priorities. We compiled a comprehensive database of reported data on marine turtle bycatch in gillnet, longline, and trawl fisheries worldwide from 1990 to 2008. The total reported global marine turtle bycatch was ∼85,000 turtles, but due to the small percentage of fishing effort observed and reported (typically <1% of total fleets), and to a global lack of bycatch information from small‐scale fisheries, this likely underestimates the true total by at least two orders of magnitude. Our synthesis also highlights an apparently universal pattern across fishing gears and regions where high bycatch rates were associated with low observed effort, which emphasizes the need for strategic bycatch data collection and reporting. This study provides the first global perspective of fisheries bycatch for marine turtles and highlights region–gear combinations that warrant urgent conservation action (e.g., gillnets, longlines, and trawls in the Mediterranean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean) and region–gear combinations in need of enhanced observation and reporting efforts (e.g., eastern Indian Ocean gillnets, West African trawls).


Study Design. Economic evaluation alongside a pragmatic multicenter randomized controlled trial from the National Health Service (NHS) and societal perspective. Objective. To perform a cost-utility analysis of routine physiotherapy treatment compared with an assessment session and advice from a physiotherapist for patients with subacute and chronic low back pain. Summary of Background Data. Lack of evidence for some types of physiotherapy intervention and a paucity of cost-effectiveness data for treatment of low back pain has led to controversy and uncertainty within the medical and allied professions. Patients and Methods. A total of 286 patients with low back pain of more than a 6-week duration were randomized to physiotherapy treatment or advice on remaining active from a physiotherapist. Data were collected on back pain-related NHS and patients' costs over a 12-month post randomization period. The primary outcome measure was the Oswestry Disability Index at 12 months, with additional Oswestry Disability Index measures at 2 and 6 months. The EuroQol EQ-5D was used to calculate quality adjusted life years. Cost-effectiveness was expressed as the incremental cost per quality adjusted life year gained. Uncertainty was handled using confidence ellipses for the ratio and cost-effectiveness acceptability curves. Results. The total NHS costs were not significantly different at £179 (£221) for physiotherapy and £159 (£260) for the advice group. However, patients in the physiotherapy group had significantly higher out-of-pocket health care expenditure (£40, 95% confidence interval £9 to £71). Utility levels improved in both groups from baseline to 12 months, with no significant differences between groups. Conclusions. The results indicate no significant differences in either NHS costs or effects. However, the significantly higher out-of-pocket expenses incurred by patients receiving routine physiotherapy suggests that advice given by a physiotherapist should be considered as the first-line treatment for patients with this level of back pain disability.


Dioxin (2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, TCDD), a widespread environmental contaminant, may elicit its effects by altering gene expression in susceptible cells. Five TCDD-responsive complementary DNA clones were isolated from a human keratinocyte cell line. One of these clones encodes plasminogen activator inhibitor-2, a factor that influences growth and differentiation by regulating proteolysis of the extracellular matrix. Another encodes the cytokine interleukin-1 beta. Thus, TCDD alters the expression of growth regulatory genes and has effects similar to those of other tumor-promoting agents that affect both inflammation and differentiation.


In 2006, the Al Jazeera network expanded operations into global, English-language broadcasting, but Al Jazeera English (AJE) has faltered in its move into North American markets. Why? This article tracks the institutional reception of AJE in North America from 2006 to 2011 using regulatory documents and industry publications to examine its organizational globalization as well as the institutional responses to this growth in the United States and Canada. Al Jazeera's expansion provides a case study of the ability of developed media markets in liberal democracies to incorporate new voices. The research suggests public policy measures to supplement public access to international news resources.


Summary Background: Clinical decision support systems (CDSS) are a method used to support prescribing accuracy when deployed within a computerized provider order entry system (CPOE). Divergence from using CDSS is exemplified by high alert override rates. Excessive cognitive load imposed by the CDSS may help to explain such high rates. Objectives: The aim of this study was to describe the cognitive impact of a CPOE-integrated CDSS by categorizing system use problems according to the type of mental processing required to resolve them. Methods: A qualitative, descriptive design was used employing two methods; a cognitive walk-through and a think-aloud protocol. Data analysis was guided by Norman's Theory of Action and a theory of cognitive distances which is an extension to Norman's theory. Results: The most frequently occurring source of excess cognitive effort was poor information timing. Information presented by the CDSS was often presented after clinicians required the information for decision making. Additional sources of effort included use of language that was not clear to the user, vague icons, and lack of cues to guide users through tasks. Conclusions: Lack of coordination between clinician's task-related thought processes and those presented by a CDSS results in excessive cognitive work required to use the system. This can lead to alert overrides and user errors. Close attention to user's cognitive processes as they carry out clinical tasks prior to CDSS development may provide key information for system design that supports clinical tasks and reduces cognitive effort.


This paper presents a new physical layer demonstrator for Optical Local Area Network. It offers a large total capacity to a large number of connected nodes without requiring optical amplifiers and achieves high modularity and scalability. A new multichannel Ethernet protocol tailored to the physical layer is also proposed. The physical layer configuration is based on a passive star coupler and combines the advantages of Frequency Division Multiplexing techniques and coherent heterodyne detection. Our experimental demonstrator is based on a 9*9 star coupler and a shared Local Oscillator. Two nodes are implemented and data are ASK modulated at 140 Mbit/s. Emission and detection schemes are simple: only one laser and one photodetector per node are required. Degradation caused by crosstalk has been measured and found to be negligible when channel separation is four times the bitrate. Experimental results show that our system has a potential total capacity of 6.5 Gbit/s and that more than 100 users can be connected to the network. The new multichannel Ethernet protocol simulations indicate considerable improvement of the performance when compared to a single Fast Ethernet channel protocol with the same total capacity.


Long-standing wastewater and reclaimed water irrigation systems degrade groundwater quality and thus pose great risks to local soils and even to human health. In this study, seasonal variations in hydrochemical characteristics of groundwater were assessed to determine possible processes that induce groundwater degradation. Beijing was used as the focus area. A total of 82 wells at the southeast irrigation region of Beijing were investigated in 2014. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, Piper diagram, and saturation indices were used to distinguish seasonal variations in hydrochemistry in shallow and deep groundwater and possible reclaimed water irrigation effects. The main natural controlling processes include mineral precipitation and dissolution, cation exchange reactions, and dilution effects in shallow and deep groundwater. However, cation exchange reactions are considered to be intense in deeper aquifer. Additionally, shallow groundwater sites subjected to salinization and nitrate contamination were associated with intensive agricultural input and reclaimed water leaching. Sites continuously contaminated by nitrate were mainly distributed on highly permeable sediments. Irrigation with deep groundwater may reduce soil drainage conditions due to a high percentage of sodium. Overall, seasonal replenishment for subterranean quaternary aquifers from rainfall or irrigation plays a vital role in seasonal variation in shallow groundwater hydrochemistry.


Pituitary Adenomas (PA) are a group of benign tumors with diverse biological behavior including different hormonal secretion, cavernous sinus invasion and considerable rates of relapse. The aim of the study was to evaluate the benefits of the Endoscopic Endonasal Transsphenoidal (EET) approach for managing hormonal producing Pituitary Adenomas (PA) in terms of achieving clinical remission in comparison to the Microscopic Endonasal Transsphenoidal (MET) approach. During the period 2014 to 2017 a series of 128 patients with PA were operated on via MET (n=62) and EET (n=66) approach. Endocrinological, neuro-ophthalmic and MRI examinations were assessed preoperatively and postoperatively at 3rd and 12th month. Thirty-two patients were diagnosed with growth-hormone secreting adenomas (GH), 25 with Adrenocorticotropic Hormone secreting adenomas (ACTH), 17 with Prolactin-secreting adenomas (Prl) and 54 with non-secreting pituitary adenomas. The endoscopic group had higher levels of remission in comparison to the microscopic group (81.8% vs. 70.9%), however no significant difference was observed (?=0.128). PA with invasiveness to the cavernous sinus from the endoscopic group had significantly better remission rates opposed to the microscopic group (p 0.05). The use of endoscopic endonasal transphenoidal approach provides better remission rates in invasive PA compared to the conventional microsurgical approach. A long-term follow-up is still needed for further evaluation of our results.


Past research has revealed that a person's rhythmic limb movements become spontaneously entrained to an environmental rhythm if a.) visual information about the environmental rhythm is available and b.) its frequency of the environmental rhythm is near that of the person's movements. Further, this research has demonstrated that if the eyes track the environmental stimulus, the spontaneous entrainment to the environmental rhythm is strengthened. Experiments were performed to investigate two hypotheses that could explain this eye-tracking enhancement of spontaneous entrainment. One hypothesis is that eye tracking allows for the pick up of important coordinative information at the turn-around points of a movement trajectory. Another hypothesis is that the limb movements entrain to the moving eyes through a neuromotor synergy linking the eyes and limb. Results of these experiments will help delineate the informational and dynamical constraints that can impact the acquisition of skilled actions.


Background: Since the 2012 approval of shaped implants, their use in breast reconstruction has increased in the United States. However, large-scale comparisons of complications and patient-reported outcomes are lacking. The authors endeavored to compare surgical and patient-reported outcomes across implant types. Methods: The Mastectomy Reconstruction Outcomes Consortium database was queried for expander/implant reconstructions with at least 1-year postexchange follow-up (mean, 18.5 months). Outcomes of interest included postoperative complications, 1-year revisions, and patient-reported outcomes. Bivariate and mixed-effects regression analyses evaluated the effect of implant type on patient outcomes. Results: Overall, 822 patients (73.5 percent) received round and 297 patients (26.5 percent) received shaped implants. Patients undergoing unilateral reconstructions with round implants underwent more contralateral symmetry procedures, including augmentations (round, 18.7 percent; shaped, 6.8 percent; p = 0.003) and reductions (round, 32.2 percent; shaped, 20.5 percent; p = 0.019). Shaped implants were associated with higher rates of infection (shaped, 6.1 percent; round, 2.3 percent; p = 0.002), that remained significant after multivariable adjustment. Other complication rates did not differ significantly between cohorts. Round and shaped implants experienced similar 2-year patient-reported outcome scores. Conclusions: This prospective, multicenter study is the largest evaluating outcomes of shaped versus round implants in breast reconstruction. Although recipients of round implants demonstrated lower infection rates compared with shaped implants, these patients were more likely to undergo contralateral symmetry procedures. Both implant types yielded comparable patient-reported outcome scores. With appropriate patient selection, both shaped and round implants can provide acceptable outcomes in breast reconstruction. CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic, III.


The influence of Greek sources on the Arab philosophers is both obvious and important. What is less clear is how the quality of the translations from which the philosophers worked affected their understanding of the points that the Greek writers were making. This article investigates one small but self-contained topic from within the field of translation literature, covering the translations of poetic quotations in the Rhetoric of Aristotle in its Arabic translation, together with an analysis of the types of mistakes to be found there. In itself this is of no more than curiosity value, but an application of the lessons to be learnt here to a linguistic study of Arabic philosophical commentaries, and, by extension, to philosophical theory, will be of clear importance.


Previous studies have demonstrated that the specific activities of several proximal small intestinal mucosal enzymes fall in the aging rat. This reduction was due to a delay in the full expression of activity of these enzymes during epithelial cell transit from the crypt onto the intestinal villus. We now show in the ad libitum fed Fischer 344 rat that jejunal sucrase, maltase, and alkaline phosphatase specific activities do not fall gradually throughout the life span, but are reduced during senescence. Caloric restriction to 60% of ad libitum intake (DR) abolishes or delays this fall in enzyme activity. Jejunal mucosal immunoprecipitable sucrase-isomaltase (S-I) content also falls with age, but sucrase specific activity per molecule of S-I is less in the older ad libitum fed (approximately 45) than in the DR rats (approximately 60). Jejunal lactase activity falls gradually throughout the life span of ad libitum and DR rats, but lactase activity consistently was higher in DR animals. These observations indicate that DR alters the age-related changes in the activity of several enzymes in the rapidly replicating gut mucosa.


A significant and prevalent aspect of human behavior (as opposed to attitudes and beliefs) which is affected by cultural differences is communication style. We have been developing computational models of an important culturallyvarying aspect of communication: "politeness" and "etiquette" in social interactions and its role in establishing and managing power and familiarity relationships, urgency, indebtedness, etc. A valid computational model of such interactions would enable the creation of better simulations and games for language and culture training, as well as aid in the design of materials and machines to better serve members of a given culture. We have developed such a model based on a rich, universal theory of human-human politeness and "etiquette". This model links observable and inferred aspects of social context (power and familiarity relationships, imposition, knowledge about character), which have culture-specific values, to produce expectations about politeness behaviors (also culturally defined). By using observations of politeness behaviors (or their lack), the same model permits inferences and updates about those attributes. We briefly describe the algorithm we have developed and describe results from two validation experiments involving first trained, and later untrained raters. We have used this model in other work to guide simulated game agents in interpreting etiquette directed at them and in generating politeness behaviors in response. While other methods of interactive behavior generation are available (e.g., behavior scripting) our modular, computational approach shows promise for reducing software development costs and/or increasing the breadth of an agent's social interaction behavior through the creation of modular, cross-cultural etiquette libraries.


This paper presents a case study about the evaluation and optimisation of GSM network in Jenien City, Palestine. Two approaches are used to evaluate the network performance, namely: key performance indicators KPIs and drive test. The initial evaluation of the network showed that about 0.76% of the initiated connections are dropped. In addition, about 7.76% of the collected samples from the drive test lie in level 4 which is the worst level in terms of signal quality and signal strength. Moreover, only 65.5% of the collected samples lie in level 1 which is the best level in terms of signal quality and strength. A new traffic channel TCH and broadcast control channel BCCH frequency plans are proposed to decrease TCH drop rate, reduce interference level and boost signal quality. The proposed plans are implemented into the network. Two kinds of optimisation procedures are adopted. The first one is manual optimisation while the second one is by using specific optimisation tools. According to the comparative study, we carried-out between the performance of the network before and after optimisation, the average TCH drop rate is reduced from 0.76% to 0.62%. In addition, the percentage of samples in level 1 is increased from 65.5% to 76.8% while the percentage of samples in level 4 is decreased from 7.76% to 5.16%.


Scene parsing is a technique that consist on giving a label to all pixels in an image according to the class they belong to. To ensure a good visual coherence and a high class accuracy, it is essential for a scene parser to capture image long range dependencies. In a feed-forward architecture, this can be simply achieved by considering a sufficiently large input context patch, around each pixel to be labeled. We propose an approach consisting of a recurrent convolutional neural network which allows us to consider a large input context, while limiting the capacity of the model. Contrary to most standard approaches, our method does not rely on any segmentation methods, nor any task-specific features. The system is trained in an end-to-end manner over raw pixels, and models complex spatial dependencies with low inference cost. As the context size increases with the built-in recurrence, the system identifies and corrects its own errors. Our approach yields state-of-the-art performance on both the Stanford Background Dataset and the SIFT Flow Dataset, while remaining very fast at test time.


Objective: Hydrocephalus is one of the most common complications of tuberculous meningitis. Various cerebrospinal fluid diversion procedures, endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) and shunt surgery, are performed for the management of the hydrocephalus associated with tuberculous bacterial meningitis (TBM). There is decreased clarity on the type of procedure to be done. So, this study aims at generating knowledge to understand the conditions in which either of the two procedures, ETV and shunt surgery, is a better option and to develop good practice guidelines for the treatment of tubercular meningitis hydrocephalus (TBMH). Materials and Methods: A systematic search of literature was performed by using PubMed and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) for articles published from January 2001 to April 2020. A total of 15 studies were included irrespective of their design and having diagnosis with TBMH treated with ventriculoperitoneal shunt surgery (VPS) or ETV. Then, a systemic review was done regarding outcomes, complications, and recommendations made in different studies. Results: The total number of patients diagnosed with TBMH was 603; among them, 348 patients had VPS and 255 patients had ETV. In the VPS group, the patient's good outcome varied from 25% to 68% and complication rate ranged from 10% to 43.8%. The average percentage of good outcome in the VPS group was 51.8%. In the ETV group, the patient's good outcome varied from 41% to 77% and complication rate ranged from 10% to 23.5%. The average percentage of good outcome in the ETV group was 68%. There was a significant difference in the average percentage of good outcome in the ETV versus the VPS shunt group (P-value was 0.008). Conclusion: There was a significant difference in the average percentage of good outcome after ETV than VPS, and complication rate was also slightly lower after ETV than VPS during the chronic phase of illness. So during the acute phase of illness VPS placement is preferred whereas in the chronic burnout phase ETV is preferred because poor anatomy leads to more complications with ETV during the acute phase of the disease.


The classic Acrobat and PDF reference, updated to cover the latest release Consistently the most authoritative and comprehensive resource on Acrobat and PDF format, this standard reference returns with in-depth coverage of the newest version of Acrobat. Written by bestselling author Ted Padova, this book is packed with real-world insights and techniques gained from Padovas daily use of Acrobat and PDF under deadline constraints. You'll discover everything there is to know about using Acrobat and PDF for print prepress, the Internet, CD-ROMs, and other forms of media. Popular author Ted Padova shares everything you need to know about the latest release of Acrobat and PDF Explores the updated functions of the new Acrobat and using it for print prepress, the Internet, CD-ROMs, and more As the ultimate resource for all things Acrobat and PDF-related, Adobe Acrobat CS5 Bible is an update of a classic. Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.


One of the goals of creating global agoras is the conscious evolution of society and this must include a conscious attempt to engage with history. The North East Asian Dialog which is in its second year is an attempt to begin such a global agora. In the first boundary spanning dialog a year ago, barriers to communication in the region was the main topic. Lack of a common understanding of history was identified as a key barrier to communication. So, 2006 ICU North East Asian Dialog focused on the diverse understanding of the history of North East Asia by all the peoples living in the geographic region. There are obvious disputes at the governmental level over history textbooks in public schools focusing on what happened and the magnitude of various events. There are also hidden and personal histories that are unknown across the wide range of the territory. From open dispute to private story, there is no common view of the region for all of the regions people. This paper describes the focus on history and the conceptualization of history that is emerging from the dialogues and through the virtual history space being created. It describes the creation of a global agora to support an emergent history of the region

The participants gathered for three days at the International Christian University campus in Tokyo, in January 2006. There were representatives from 7 countries and various cultural and ethnic backgrounds. The majority language was Japanese, although the common language of the conference was English. Participants gathered in four groups the share their narratives and all the presentations were videoed. Additionally, a web design team participated and developing the virtual space as the physical presentations were going on. This allowed participants to give instant feedback and critique the virtual space that was being created. The provided great synergy for both the participants and the technical team. This is important since the intent was to create a virtual space that extended the face to face discussions.

The dialog developed a view of history as the sum of all the personal experiences or stories of all the individuals. Rather than taking a broad look at the political movements, wars, social errands and such that are the fodder of most histories, we are providing a space where individuals can share their stories of the times. By sharing our personal stories, we come to a larger understanding of the region and its history. The idea is to create a web of narrative that builds a common understanding. As this understanding grows, it can counter the history imposed by experts or authorities. The history is emergent from the experiences of the participants

There are a variety of technological issues. The narratives are presented in five languages: Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean and Russian. Some of the narratives are submitted in two languages. Various versions of a narrative must be linked as well as links between the various narratives within languages. The intent is for readers of one script can search through the various narrative space using their own language first. Later, as links are established for key topics, geographical places, and major events across the narratives and the various languages, a network of connections will begin to emerge.

The history of the region can then be explored through the narratives of the citizens. Students can read history though data mining the narrative space and the historical web that emerges from that space. With a common understanding of the complexities of history, the foundation of a global agora for the region becomes possible.


The paper discusses the limits to markets as a means of overcoming 'durable inequalities' which reflect long-established power relations and the need for public action by states and civil society to address these underlying causes. The paper sketches out a number of areas where policies could make a difference, including a difference on the terms on which women can participate in, contribute to and benefit from processes of economic growth. They include; building women's human capital and capabilities, redistributing reproductive responsibilities, equalising property rights, mainstream women into the financial system and promoting gender-aware social protection.


In this paper we develop an original approach to evaluate the costs and benefits associated to a generic promotion program using an application to Bordeaux wines. The benefit is computed from the marginal impact of the collective reputation of the program on the individual reputation of its members. These different marginal impacts are estimated using detailed survey data about the image of Bordeaux wines in seven European countries. We find positive and significant spillover effects from the umbrella reputation (Bordeaux) that moreover increase with the individual reputation level of the wine. Controlling for the natural endogeneity of the collective reputation in this setup, we capture the important fact that this relationship is faced with marginal diminishing returns. These spillover effects, when significantly positive, vary from a minimum of 5% to a maximum of 15% of additional favorable quality opinions. We then show that some subregions are more likely to benefit from generic promotion programs, suggesting that fees should be established on a benefit-cost basis.


The Solar Probe Plus (SPP) spacecraft will fly further into the Sun's corona than any previous mission, reaching a minimum perihelion at 9.5 solar radii from the center of the Sun. The solar arrays powering the spacecraft will operate under unusually high irradiances and temperatures. The array design, material choices, and necessary test facilities for SPP are therefore quite different from those used on traditional space panels. This paper gives an overview of the high-irradiance high-temperature vacuum (HIHT-Vac) reliability testing completed to date at Emcore on three small-scale coupons representing two competing SPP-array technologies. Both technologies successfully passed the HIHT-Vac test with no measurable performance, visual or mechanical degradation, reaching a key milestone in the development of the SPP array.