ABSTRACT Nasopharyngeal carcinoma, Kaposi's sarcoma, and B-cell lymphomas are human malignancies associated with gammaherpesvirus infections. Members of this virus family are characterized by their ability to establish latent infections in lymphocytes. The latent viral genome expresses very few gene products. The infected cells are therefore poorly recognized by the host immune system, allowing the virus to persist for long periods of time. We sought to identify the cell-specific factors that allow these viruses to redirect their life cycle from productive replication to latency. We find that the cellular transcription factor NF-κB can regulate this process. Epithelial cells and fibroblasts support active (lytic) gammaherpesvirus replication and have low NF-κB activity. However, overexpression of NF-κB in these cells inhibits the replication of the gammaherpesvirus murine herpesvirus 68 (MHV68). In addition, overexpression of NF-κB inhibits the activation of lytic promoters from MHV68 and human gammaherpesviruses Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). In lymphocytes latently infected with KSHV or EBV, the level of NF-κB activity is high, and treatment of these cells with an NF-κB inhibitor leads to lytic protein synthesis consistent with virus reactivation. These results suggest that high levels of NF-κB can inhibit gammaherpesvirus lytic replication and may therefore contribute to the establishment and maintenance of viral latency in lymphocytes. They also suggest that NF-κB may be a novel target for the disruption of virus latency and therefore the treatment of gammaherpesvirus-related malignancies.


Pre-trained language models induce dense entity representations that offer strong performance on entity-centric NLP tasks, but such representations are not immediately interpretable. This can be a barrier to model uptake in important domains such as biomedicine. There has been recent work on general interpretable representation learning (Onoe and Durrett, 2020), but these domain-agnostic representations do not readily transfer to the important domain of biomedicine. In this paper, we create a new entity type system and training set from a large corpus of biomedical texts by mapping entities to concepts in a medical ontology, and from these to Wikipedia pages whose categories are our types. From this mapping we derive Biomedical Interpretable Entity Representations(BIERs), in which dimensions correspond to fine-grained entity types, and values are predicted probabilities that a given entity is of the corresponding type. We propose a novel method that exploits BIER's final sparse and intermediate dense representations to facilitate model and entity type debugging. We show that BIERs achieve strong performance in biomedical tasks including named entity disambiguation and entity label classification, and we provide error analysis to highlight the utility of their interpretability, particularly in low-supervision settings. Finally, we provide our induced 68K biomedical type system, the corresponding 37 million triples of derived data used to train BIER models and our best performing model.


Terminology as a subject for research has been around for centuries. Even terminology-related tasks have been carried out for many years. The profession of terminologist in the localization industry has been emerging and taken on a more distinct profile, as localization is maturing as an industry. This paper defines the profile of a terminologist in the localization industry. First, it sets important definitions, and then describes terminology work as an essential ingredient in the localization process, and conceptual analysis, in turn, as the essence of successful terminology work. It then gives examples of companies that employ terminologists and concludes by juxtaposing seemingly contradictory characteristics and skills of multilingual terminologists in localization settings. This article is made available under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license.


Shortly after the Second World War Trevor Pearcey joined the Radiophysics Division of the Australian Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the predecessor of today's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO). He designed the first Australian electronic computer, which was constructed in the Division. By 1951 this machine was functioning, but three years later a decision was made to discontinue work on computer development in CSIRO. Pearcey however went on to play a vital role in Australian computing, both in CSIRO and in academia. This paper tells something of Pearcey's early contribution to Australian computing. It also takes a fresh look at some of the factors involved in the 1954 decision to terminate computer development in CSIRO.


Sebastin-Galls et al. [The influence of initial exposure on lexical representation: Comparing early and simultaneous bilinguals. Journal of Memory and Language, 52, 240255, 2005] contrasted highly proficient early Spanish-Catalan and Catalan-Spanish bilinguals, using Catalan materials in a lexical decision task (LDT). They constructed two types of experimental pseudowords, substituting Catalan phoneme /e/ for Catalan //, or vice versa. Catalan-dominant bilinguals showed a performance asymmetry across experimental conditions, making more mistakes for ///e/ changes, than for /e/// ones. This was considered evidence of a developed acceptance of mispronounced Catalan //-words, caused by exposure to a bilingual environment where mispronunciations by Spanish-dominant bilinguals using their /e/-category abound. Although this indicated modified or added lexical representations, an open issue is whether such lexical information also modifies phoneme categories. We address this using a biophysically realistic neurodynamic model, describing neural activity at the synaptic and spiking levels. We construct a network of pools of neurons, representing phonemic and lexical processing. Carefully analyzing the dependency of network dynamics on connection strengths, by first exploring parameter space under steady-state assumptions (mean-field scans), then running spiking simulations, we investigate the neural substrate role in a representative LDT. We also simulate a phoneme discrimination task to address whether lexical changes affect the phonemic level. We find that the same network configuration which displays asymmetry in the LDT shows equal performance discriminating the two modeled phonemes. Thus, we predicted that the Catalan-dominant bilinguals do not alter their phoneme categories, although showing signs of having stored a new word variation in the lexicon. To explore this prediction, a syllable discrimination task involving the /e/-// contrast was set up, using Catalan-dominants displaying performance asymmetry in a repetition of the original LDT. Discrimination task results support the prediction, showing that these subjects discriminate both categories equally well. We conclude that subjects often exposed to dialectal word variations can store these in their lexicons, without altering their phoneme representations.


This paper investigates the process by which East German enterprises have been privatized and their resulting ownership and control structure. A corporate system with a very high level of concentration of ownership has been created. This is particularly closely associated with ownership and direct control by West German companies. The paper argues that this has allowed East German enterprises to gain access to finance, markets, and managerial skills which they might otherwise have been denied. The resulting "insider" system of corporate control will over time allow East German companies to participate in the control of their own and West German companies. The Treuhandanstalt has organized the privatization process to achieve certain industrial and social objectives. It has broken up the large multiplant enterprises to an extent that East German enterprises are now smaller than their West German counterparts. It has used informal liquidations rather than formal bankruptcies to be able to achieve its objectives. Privatizations have not involved the flotation of companies on the stock market. Instead, the Treuhand has arranged share and asset transfers on a scale which is in excess of merger activity commonly observed in the West.


Although the main mechanisms of generating ground vibrations at source, e.g. by rail and road traffic, are now well understood, there are still very few investigations aimed to protect the affected buildings by influencing the propagation of ground vibrations, mainly Rayleigh surface waves, from a source to a receiver. A promising and cost effective method of screening the affected properties can be using heavy masses placed on the ground surface near the road (e.g. concrete or stone blocks, specially designed brick walls, etc). The principle of operation of such masses is based on the fact that their natural frequencies of vibration, which depend on the mass value and on the local ground stiffness, can be chosen within the frequency range of railway- or road-generated ground vibrations (normally from 5 to 50 Hz). When the mass is shaken under the impact of incident Rayleigh surface waves, it scatters the incident waves into the depth of the ground and at different directions on the surface, thus resulting in noticeable resonant attenuation of transmitted ground vibrations. Using suitable combinations of such mass scatterers, one can expect to achieve efficient vibro-isolation of affected buildings. While some initial efforts have been made in the past to investigate the above-mentioned mass scatterers, largely by means of numerical calculations, very little progress in understanding their behaviour has been made so far. The aim of the present paper is to give a brief introduction to the theory of resonant mass scatterers and to discuss some problems that still need to be considered to achieve a fuller understanding of their operation as means of damping of low frequency ground vibrations.


Julien Levy (1906--1981) was one of the most influential proponents of photography and Surrealism during the second quarter of the twentieth century. In his gallery, which operated from 1931 to 1949, Levy hosted the first New York exhibition devoted to Surrealism and presented early solo exhibitions of many photographers now considered iconic in their field, including Henri Cartier-Bresson, Walker Evans, Clarence John Laughlin, George Platt Lynes, and Lee Miller. He also developed close relationships with artists Salvador Dali, Max Ernst, and Man Ray, among others, and is credited with discovering Joseph Cornell. This handsome book is published to commemorate the centenary of Levy's birth and to celebrate the Philadelphia Museum of Art's major acquisition of more than 2,500 photographs from his collection. With some 300 illustrations, including many unfamiliar works by well-known artists, the catalogue presents a stunning survey of this collection, long hidden from public view. Essays illuminate Levy's pivotal role in promoting both photography and Surrealism in the United States and his impact as a gallerist and tastemaker at a crucial juncture in the development of photography. The publication also includes illustrations of rich archival material related to Levy's gallery and collection.


Scan-matching based on data from a laser scanner is frequently used for mapping and localization. This paper presents an scan-matching approach based instead on visual information from a stereo system. The scale invariant feature transform (SIFT) is used together with epipolar constraints to get high matching precision between the stereo images. Calculating the 3D position of the corresponding points in the world results in a visual scan where each point has a descriptor attached to it. These descriptors can be used when matching scans acquired from different positions. Just like in the work with laser based scan matching a map can be defined as a set of reference scans and their corresponding acquisition point. In essence this reduces each visual scan that can consist of hundreds of points to a single entity for which only the corresponding robot pose has to be estimated in the map. This reduces the overall complexity of the map. The SIFT descriptor attached to each of the points in the reference allows for robust matching and detection of loop closing situations. The paper presents real-world experimental results from an indoor office environment


In this paper we present a framework for building prob-abilistic automata parameterized by context-dependent probabilities. Gibbs distributions are used to model state transitions and output generation, and parameter estimation is carried out using an EM algorithm where the M-step uses a generalized iterative scaling procedure. We discuss relations with certain classes of stochastic feedforward neural networks, a geometric interpretation for parameter estimation, and a simple example of a statistical language model constructed using this methodology .


A study to investigate the abundance and diversity of insects in forest habitat of different age after logging was conducted in the Sungai Lalang Forest Reserve, Selangor, Malaysia. The main objectives of the study were to determine (i) the dominant insect in different forest habitats, (ii) the biodiversity of insects, and (iii) the assemblage of insects that can be used as bioindicator. Three different forest habitats were selected, namely: Primary forest, Five-year-old logged forest and Ten-year-old logged forest.

Various trapping methods were used to collect insects, namely: pitfall trap, yellow-pan trap, malaise trap, window trap, and sticky trap. A total of 269,547 individuals comprising of 17 orders and 361 morphospecies were collected. Four majors order represented by Diptera, Hymenoptera, Collembola and Coleoptera were recorded. The number of Diptera and Coleoptera was higher in five-year old logged forest than ten-year old logged and primary forests. The abundance of Hymenoptera was high in ten-year old logged forest, while Collembola was abundant in primary forest. These results suggest that Diptera, Hymenoptera and Coleoptera could adapt to the logged forests and they were able to utilize available resources from those forests. The richness and diversity of Hymenoptera and Coleoptera were higher in primary forest compared to both logged forests. Moreover, Collembola and Diptera had high richness and diversity index in logged forests, however the abundance, richness and diversity of insects differ among forest habitats.

At the family level, Formicidae was the most dominant insect in the three forest habitats. In addition to Formicidae, Ichneumonidae, Braconidae, Phoridae, and Chrysopidae were also found in high number. The abundance of Formicidae and Ichneumonidae was higher in primary forest than in both logged forests, while Phoridae, Braconidae and Chrysopidae was higher in ten-year old logged forest than in primary and five-year old logged forests. Formicidae and Phoridae diversity and richness was higher in primary forest than both logged forests, while Braconidae and Ichneumonidae were higher in five-year old logged forest than in primary and ten-year old logged forests.
Composition of Formicidae was dominated by Pheidole sp and Odontomachus sp in logged forest, while in primary forest was dominated by Camponotus sp. Microgastrinae sub-family (Braconidae) and Cryptinae sub-family (Ichneumonidae) was abundant in logged forest, while Orthocentrinae sub-family (Ichneumonidae) was numerous in primary forest. The phorid in the logged forest was abundantly represented by Megaselia, Woodiphora and Puliciphora.

Of the measured habitat variables, relative humidity and litter layer were important factors affecting the abundance of Diptera, Hymenoptera, Collembola and Coleoptera in five-year old logged forest. In primary forest, litter layer was the most important factor affecting Collembola, Diptera and Hymneoptera, while canopy cover was important for Coleoptera and Collembola. Environmental factors, litter layer, relative humidity, canopy cover and understorey plant could be use as potential predictor for Diptera, Hymenoptera, Collembola and Coleoptera. Those variables, as well temperature, light intensity and rainfall, were also significant factors for Formicidae, Phoridae, Braconidae, Ichneumonidae and Chrysopidae.

The composition of insects was found to be different in the three study areas. The relatively high number of insect biodiversity in the logged forest was due to the differences in habitat condition between logged and primary forest. The number of trees and understorey plants were significantly different among habitats. Apparently, after forest logging, some undisturbed forest fragment patches contribute to the higher number of species in the logged forest. This difference was also evident in species richness, abundance, composition and diversity that corresponded to the intensity level of logging, age of the logged forest, proximity of other forest habitats and the insects' adaptability in the logged habitats.

The results presented in this study show that surveys of insect should be conducted using as wide a variety of methods as possible because every method undoubtedly has at least one advantage over the other. Pitfall and yellow-pan traps had collected ground insects, such as Collembola and Coleoptera while malaise trap and window trap collected had flying insect, particularly Hymenoptera, Diptera and Coleoptera.

Moreover, the high abundance of Phoridae, Formicidae, Ichneumonidaea and Braconidae, and Chysopidae in all habitats, suggested that further studies should be concentrated on this group for possible useful indicators of forest condition.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a novel systemic cognitive behavior therapy-based intervention for carers of people with anorexia nervosa (AN). The intervention provides information and promotes skills development in managing the illness. Carers were also offered professional support.

METHOD
Twenty-seven carers were recruited. Outcomes measuring carer distress, experience of care-giving, level of expressed emotion and problem solving were measured pre- and post-intervention and at follow-up. Carers also gave feedback.

RESULTS
There was a significant reduction in carers' anxiety and depression, negative experiences of caregiving and expressed emotion and a significant increase in positive experiences in caregiving after the intervention. Most improvements were maintained at follow-up. The intervention was well received.

DISCUSSION
The results of this pilot study indicate that the intervention is acceptable to carers and may have a positive impact on carers' mental health and experience of care-giving. Further investigation of the intervention is warranted.


Research on the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) and its function and development spans over a century. However, researchers are limited in their ability to conduct experimentation on this highly specialized synapse between motor neurons and muscle fibers, as NMJs are not easily accessible outside the body. The aim of this work is to provide a reliable and reproducible muscle sheet model for in vitro NMJ study. A novel culture system was designed by engineering a method for the directional growth of myofiber sheets, using muscle progenitor cells cultured on electrospun fiber networks. Myoblastic C2C12 cells cultured on suspended aligned fibers were found to maintain directionality, with alignment angle standard deviations approximately two-thirds lower on fibers than on regular culture surfaces. Morphological studies found nuclei and cytoskeleton aspect ratios to be elongated by 20 and 150%, respectively. Furthermore, neurons were shown to form innervation patterns parallel to suspended fibers when co-cultured on developed muscle sheets, with alignment angle standard deviations three times lower compared with those on typical surfaces. The effect of agrin on samples was quantified through the slow release of agrin medium, encapsulated in alginate pellets and imbedded within culture chambers. Samples exposed to agrin showed significantly increased percentage of AChR-covered area. The developed model has potential to serve as the basis for synaptogenesis and NMJ studies, providing a novel approach to bio-artificial muscle alignment and setting the groundwork for further investigations in innervation. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 106A: 1165-1176, 2018.


This article offers an alternative to the current method of calculating damages in instances of pre-contractual misrepresentation inducing a contract which is subsequently upheld by the misrepresentee (while answering objections to this approach gleaned from certain key cases), and suggests a solution that is simple, fair and reasonable. The article does not deal with pre-contractual fraud in general, but looks specifically at the issue of a false representation pertaining to a contractual term, which legal practitioners and courts find difficult to classify. Is it a delict, a breach of contract, or a contractual delict?


Finite element method and ultrafast thermoelasticity model are combined to simulate the microbump formation irradiated by a femtosecond laser. It has been shown that the effect of microbump formation is related to the characteristic of incident femtosecond laser and the thermoelasticity properties of the film. The numerical results exhibit good agreements with the experimental results in both the shape and height of the conical microbump structure, which verify the effectiveness of the ultrafast thermoelasticity model in experiments. It should be helpful for selecting appropriate materials for nanotexturing of thin films by ultrafast lasers.


"Plant transformation research has achieved outstanding progress in the development of transgenic crops over the past decades, and the research results have been spread through journal publications and patents. With the recent emergence of stronger intellectual property rights, investments in crop research and the landscape of plant transformation research have changed, along with the patterns of knowledge dissemination. In this paper, we discuss the recent trends in plant transformation research by examining patent and journal publication data during the last decade. The data analysis shows that there have been significant shifts toward applied research by developing countries and toward patenting as a means of knowledge dissemination during the past few decades, reflecting the increasing role of the private sector in developing countries in crop improvement research." from authors' abstract


The potential for reunification of the two Koreas, whether in the short or long term, argues for a comprehensive look at policy and planning issues that encompass the peninsula as a whole. This book deals with spatial policy issues in both South and North Korea in a broad and non-political way.


Grasping the dynamic of the institutionalization process of the anti-bribery collaboration from the FCPA to the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention is critical for the next step of analyzing the actual performance of these laws. Previous works, grounded in realist ideology, often reduce the dynamic process to a question of states' free will and rational responses to expected payoffs in relative legislative strategies. This realist approach offers only speculative and inaccurate explanations that cannot sustain an understanding of the operation of the anti-bribery collaboration at successive stages. Instead, this study employs a historical approach, stressing how decision makers were constrained by existing and evolving institutions through analyzing the process of intertwined interactions among involved political parties, and concludes that the institutionalization process is composed of a sequence of unavoidable choices by decision makers in a concrete, historical context. A lawmaking game among rational parties in an evolving context may plausibly result in altruistic consequences.


The presentation examines and contextualizes practice-led research into the production of interactive heritage guides undertaken as part of the Northern Ireland Peace Process. The project developed two prototype pilot demonstrators providing interactive mobile guides to the Drogheda Viaduct (built in 1855) and the site of the Battle of the Boyne (1690). Based upon historical and ethnographic research with local inhabitants as well as the members of re-enactment groups, the overall aim of the productions is to enable visitors to historical sites to access multi-perspective, contested or contradictory accounts and conjecture: from widely different points of view.For this Visual Research Conference presentation, I shall examine specific ethnographic video interviews produced for the programmes. The clips concentrate on different approaches to reminiscing, including personal reminiscences, social memory and a diachronic method of relating to the past. The discussion considers how personal memory relates to cultural memory, how the 'objects of memory' can be drawn upon and how they can inspire narrativity. For example, the function of photographic-based images as memory aids, or as stimuli for reminiscing, is placed in the context of stories that can be constructed around the image. The presentation explores the wider theoretical, methodological, and empirical aspects of the re-presentation of contested histories, identity, and heritage, and their contemporary political ramifications. In particular, it will assess the role and benefits of visualization and re-enactment in the formation of community identity and in fostering social cohesion. The presentation will be complemented by audiovisual excerpts from the productions.


Author(s): Staadt, Oliver G. | Abstract: In this thesis we present a wavelet-based geometry compression pipeline in the context of hierarchical surface and volume representations. Due to the increasing complexity of geometric models used in a vast number of different application fields, new methods have to be devised that enable one to store, transmit and manipulate large amounts of data. Based on a multi-resolution wavelet representation, we have developed a complete compression pipeline suitable for geometric data on uniform grids in two and three dimensions. Local and global oracles in wavelet space are employed to control the approximation error in lossy compression settings. Two novel geometry simplification schemes, which are able to build hierarchical mesh representations, are an essential part of the pipeline. The first method, a bottom-up vertex removal scheme, analyzes the detail information of the data at different levels after reconstruction from wavelet space. The resulting hierarchical quadtree data structure is triangulated subsequently using a look-up-table that stores the necessary connectivity information. The second method implements a topdown vertex insertion strategy that is capable of progressively reconstructing the model. Vertex connectivity is derived using Delaunay triangulation. This approach provides high flexibility for the construction of adaptive surface and volume approximations. Furthermore, it is possible to extract high quality iso-contours and to compress texture attributes along with the geometric surface model. In contrast to the two wavelet-based approximation schemes, we have devised the progressive tetrahedralization method, an extension of the popular progressive meshes into volumetric settings. These strategies can be used to transform unstructured input meshes into special representations which enable a model to be reconstructed progressively. In the volumetric setting, using tetrahedral mesh approximations, we have to account for potential mesh inconsistencies arising frequently during the course of the transformation. All methods developed in this dissertation have been implemented utilizing a software component-based approach. Several hundred components at different abstraction levels can be combined to build powerful prototype applications with high flexibility. We compare the three approximation schemes with each other using several two- and three-dimensional geometric models and provide an extensive error and performance analysis. These results emphasize the individual strengths of each of the introduced methods and concepts.


Purpose: The main goal of the research presented in this paper was to assess the factors determining the quality of services provided by an insurance agent with particular emphasis on the importance of an employee's competencies. Design/Methodology/Approach: To this end, the Servqual method was employed to survey the clients of insurance agents. This method evaluates the quality of the experienced service and that of the expected service and identifies discrepancies in the customers' expectations. The customers assessed five dimensions (tangibles, reliability, responsiveness to the customer's expectations, assurance, and empathy), to which 22 factors have been assigned. Findings: The survey results proved the assurance and tangibles to be the most and the least essential dimensions. The factors that were of vital importance to the customers included building trust by a sales employee and a high level of his/her knowledge and flawless documentation. The most significant gap between the actual and the expected quality was noticed for the following factors: ensuring the best satisfaction of customer needs and providing services effectively and on time. Practical Implications: The conducted research has confirmed that the quality of provided services requires constant monitoring, verifying the market situation, and improving employees' competencies in the sustainable development of the economy. The insurance awareness of a Polish customer increases; therefore, agents should improve their skills to meet customers' requirements, striving to ensure their satisfaction. Originality/Value: The paper adds to the discussion on the competencies of sales employees as a determinant of the quality of provided services based on the insurance market. It broadens knowledge on the relationship between competencies of sales employees and quality of services.


The purpose of this paper is to study how a software product company can expand its product-based business with the Software as a Service (SaaS) model in the mobile setting. In this research study we examine how the SaaS model can be implemented by a software company with existing PC-based software business and conduct a case study on F-Secure and its mobile security as a service offering. The differences between the product and service business are considerable and the change of focus from one to the other is not easily done. For example, the scale economies, which are associated with product business, are not easily achieved in service business. However, the SaaS business model has many benefits to offer to SaaS providers. To providers, SaaS offers e.g. expanded customer base, lowered production and distribution costs, more predictable cash flows, and shortened sales cycle. Our findings include that by successfully solving the risks associated with the SaaS model and by fulfilling the customers' demands of customization and at the same time benefiting from economies of scale, scope, and aggregation, F-Secure has managed to leverage its domain area expertise with its SaaS offering: F-Secure has expanded its PC-based antivirus and security application business to cover also mobile devices. F-Secure has also increased its potential customer base amongst smart phone users (both end-users and businesses) with the help of its partners: mobile operators and handset manufacturers.


Monitoring cotton status during the growing season is critical in increasing production efficiency. The water status in cotton is a key factor for yield and cotton quality. Stem water potential (SWP) is a precise indicator for assessing cotton water status. Satellite remote sensing is an effective approach for monitoring cotton growth at a large scale. The aim of this study is to estimate cotton water stress at a high temporal frequency and at a large scale. In this study, we measured midday SWP samples according to the acquisition dates of Sentinel-2 images and used them to build linear-regression-based and machine-learning-based models to estimate cotton water stress during the growing season (June to August, 2018). For the linear-regression-based method, we estimated SWP based on different Sentinel-2 spectral bands and vegetation indices, where the normalized difference index 45 (NDI45) achieved the best performance (R2 = 0.6269; RMSE = 3.6802 (-1*swp (bars))). For the machine-learning-based method, we used random forest regression to estimate SWP and received even better results (R2 = 0.6709; RMSE = 3.3742 (-1*swp (bars))). To find the best selection of input variables for the machine-learning-based approach, we tried three different data input datasets, including (1) 9 original spectral bands (e.g., blue, green, red, red edge, near infrared (NIR), and shortwave infrared (SWIR)), (2) 21 vegetation indices, and (3) a combination of original Sentinel-2 spectral bands and vegetation indices. The highest accuracy was achieved when only the original spectral bands were used. We also found the SWIR and red edge band were the most important spectral bands, and the vegetation indices based on red edge and NIR bands were particularly helpful. Finally, we applied the best approach for the linear-regression-based and the machine-learning-based methods to generate cotton water potential maps at a large scale and high temporal frequency. Results suggests that the methods developed here has the potential for continuous monitoring of SWP at large scales and the machine-learning-based method is preferred.


I have just a few comments. The first comment is a contribution to the ''analytic" question posed by Professor Black's work and made explicit by Professors Peller and Tushnet's paper. To make the case for the constitutional status of welfare rights, I do not think it is sufficient-although it may well be necessary-to show that the "state action" problem is merely a pseudo-problem, whatever the reason for finding it not to be a problem. I do not agree with one of the claims put forward by Peller and Tushnet,' that Black's perceptive analysis of the state action problem in his article, Foreword: "State Action," Equal Protection, and California's Proposition 14, is in some way the "same thing" or the "same issue" as his appeal to the country and the Court twenty years later to construct an argument for the constitutional protection of social welfare rights. Even if Black, Peller and Tushnet are right to claim that the state action "problem" is a pseudo-problem, one still must make the case for social welfare rights. Whereas Black believed this, Peller and Tushnet clearly do not. I side with Black.The second comment is intended to extend the affirmative argument for welfare rights beyond the barebones account provided in Peller and Tushnet's paper. Here, I draw on and add to Black's technical views regarding state action and his utopian views regarding the status of welfare entitlements.The third comment is aimed at redirecting this conversation away from law and toward politics, while keeping our attention focused on the Constitution. I suggest that the case for welfare rights must be made politically, but that the Constitution should inform political argument. We are wrong to think of the Constitution as something that should guide only the deliberations of courts. With respect to welfare rights in particular, the constitutional case for welfare rights is strong, but it is one that must and should be directed to legislatures. However, this does not make the case for welfare rights any less constitutional. In this last comment, I will reflect on some of the advantages and disadvantages of engaging in a constitutionalized political discourse about welfare, rather than either a constitutionalized legal discourse on the one hand, or a purely political conversation – untouched by constitutional tropes, metaphors, or guidance – on the other.


Children's voices and their perceptions of healthy behaviours have been argued as critical for understanding health policy and program design that affect them (Mcwhirter et al., 2000; Nic Gabhainn and Sixsmith, 2006). This study was conducted to elucidate and define the concept of health among Indigenous children in their own dynamic environment, which remains an ever-evolving culture. Through the use of photographic research methodology, middle-school children among one Indigenous (Native American) tribe defined their concept of health by taking photographs in their environment utilizing photovoice methods. The participants remained actively involved in the study as they assisted in consolidating and organizing their ideas. The location of each photograph was identified along with the environmental attributes depicting the location as healthy, unhealthy, or both. Findings were presented to tribal community leaders and stake holders to inform childhood health programs and policies. The findings indicate a complex, evolving, and culturally relevant idea of health that is tied to the current cultural environment in which Indigenous (Native American) children and their families live.


The study presented a case of lung squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) with de novo c-Met amplification. Four cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy were administered and partial response was achieved. Surgery was performed and the surgical margin was positive. Pathological diagnosis was lung SCC with c-ros oncogene 1 (ROS1) (+, 5%) and c-Met (++, 20%). The ROS1 rearrangement and c-Met amplification were detected using fluorescence in situ hybridization, and the result showed c-Met amplification positive and ROS1 negative. Four weeks after surgery, thoracic computed tomography scan showed a relapse of hilar and mediastinal lymph nodes. After three days, the patient died of hemoptysis.


How can government do a better job at contracting out? Steven Globerman and Aidan Vining argue that contracting out is justified only when one can expect to lower the sum of production costs and the costs of managing the relationship [between government and the contractee (transaction costs). While contracting out can usually reduce production costs, its value depends on whether it can reduce combined transaction costs and production costs. However, most transaction costs can be anticipated before contracting out. The article provides a logical taxonomy that lays out the main issues which determine the feasibility and likely success of contracting out. The key issues in assessing contract design are task complexity, contestability and asset specificity. Potential strategies are available to modify each of these determinants. The authors offer some illustrations from information technology. Contracting out has been recommended as a way to reduce governmental costs (Saves, 1982; Butler, 1985; Osborne and Gaebler, 1992), although the recommendation has its critics (e.g., Sullivan, 1987).(1) There are certainly contracting-out "horror stories" in which governments appear to have been victimized by opportunistic or incompetent contractees. High-profile examples can be found in information technology (IT) contracting out. One such recent example involves the federal government of Canada's contract with Hughes Aircraft of Canada to modernize Canada's air traffic control system. The project ran years late and hundreds of millions of dollars in excess of original cost estimates with original technical specifications still failing to be met. Although complex contracting out will always present significant risks to a government purchaser, the thesis of this article is that such risks can be effectively mitigated by identifying the precise nature of the risks and implementing appropriate strategies to cope with them. Information Technology is a good test of the viability of effective contracting-out mechanisms, because it often involves a highly complex transacting environment. It is also worthy of analysis in itself given the growth of IT expenditures in the public sector. However, all of the important issues in contracting out are also generic to simpler activities such as office cleaning or food preparation. Therefore, the prescriptions presented here should be useful to all public sector managers engaged in contracting out. Contracting out is now fairly common at the state and local government levels (Touche Ross, 1987, 1989). However, for contracting out to save societal resources, several issues must be confronted. First, the objective of governmental contracting out must be clean Second, an appropriate framework must be developed. Third, it must be shown that such a framework can be applied to real contracting-out problems. The objective of the public sector should be to minimize the costs of delivering any given quantity and quality of service(s).(2) Costs, in turn, consist of resource expenditures for inputs (production costs) and the costs associated with "governing" the production process. The evidence suggests that contracting out has a potential for lowering the first set of costs (to be discussed below), but these savings might be more than offset by increases in governance costs.(3) Our major purpose of this article is to suggest a framework to address two fundamental issues: How can government assess before the event, or ex ante, the potential governance costs that arise with contracting out? How, and under what circumstances, can governance costs be reduced? The framework proposed does not provide a detailed recipe for mitigating all governance costs. However, it does identify alternative instruments that are more or less effective depending upon the relevant circumstances, and it provides a basis for meaningfully categorizing them (Figure 1).(4) [Figure 1 ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The framework is illustrated with reference to contracting for IT services, that is, any service relating to the design, development, implementation, operation, and maintenance of information technology systems, including service bureau services and facilities management. …


We study, experimentally and numerically, the increase of the stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) threshold in dispersion-shifted fibers (DSFs) by applying three different tensile-strain distributions. The best results are obtained with a 40-step stair-ramp distribution, for which we demonstrate a 8-dB SBS threshold increase in a 580-m DSF. The Brillouin frequency is observed to shift as a function of the strain at a rate of 0.464 GHz/%. We discuss the potentials and drawbacks of this technique for application in nonlinear devices.


We consider an empirical model of worldwide airline alliances that we apply to a large set of companies for the period 1995-2000. Using observations at the companies level, we estimate a cost, capacity, and demand system that accounts for cross-price elasticities. From the estimates, we shed light on the fact that many airlines involved in the same alliances are potential substitutes. We also test for the effects of alliances on airlines' fares and suggest that airlines inside alliances cut prices by 5% on average compared to airlines outside alliances. Finally, we construct price-cost margins for each airlines and suggest that current pricing habits are not uniform and vary from one alliance to another.


Subjects were presented with videotaped expressions of 10 classic Hindu emotions. The 10 emotions were (in rough translation from Sanskrit) anger, disgust, fear, heroism, humor-amusement, love, peace, sadness, shame-embarrassment, and wonder. These emotions (except for shame) and their portrayal were described about 2,000 years ago in the Natyasastra, and are enacted in the contemporary Hindu classical dance. The expressions are dynamic and include both the face and the body, especially the hands. Three different expressive versions of each emotion were presented, along with 15 neutral expressions. American and Indian college students responded to each of these 45 expressions using either a fixed-response format (10 emotion names and "neutral/no emotion") or a totally free response format. Participants from both countries were quite accurate in identifying emotions correctly using both fixed-choice (65% correct, expected value of 9%) and free-response (61% correct, expected value close to zero) methods.


This article focuses on women's use of pornography in modern Taiwan, with an eye to making sense their "claimed" preference for American pornography. Our research shows that men and women display vast differences in pornography use and pornography preference with men tending to identify with Japanese adult videos and women with American pornography. Such gendered use of pornography has been substantially documented and examined through multiple disciplinary lenses. While illuminating, these studies tend not to examine further how such gender differences come about. It fosters an impression that gender can be used to explain away the reasons that men and women will differ in pornography use and sex. Gender is thus seen as universally applicable and able to explain everything without providing any concrete explanations. From this vantage, the specific, concrete gender norms that gave rise to the differences in pornography use in different cultures are dismissed as just manifestations of their genders. This article therefore aims to recover the specific gender norms and politics in Taiwan, which are often lumped together and explained away as gender inclinations and see how these specific contents gave rise to gender differences in pornography use. To understand how these gender differences ultimately come about, one needs to first explore how and why men and women consume pornography, respectively. Elsewhere, we have explored Taiwanese men's use of, and preference for, pornography. This article therefore aims to examine Taiwanese women's use of pornography with reference to gender norms in Taiwan.


Abstract. The Wordie Ice Shelf–Fleming Glacier system in the southern Antarctic
Peninsula has experienced a long-term retreat and disintegration of its ice
shelf in the past 50 years. Increases in the glacier velocity and dynamic
thinning have been observed over the past two decades, especially after 2008
when only a small ice shelf remained at the Fleming Glacier front. It is
important to know whether the substantial further speed-up and greater
surface draw-down of the glacier since 2008 is a direct response to ocean
forcing, or driven by feedbacks within the grounded marine-based glacier
system, or both. Recent observational studies have suggested the
2008–2015 velocity change was due to the ungrounding of the Fleming Glacier
front. To explore the mechanisms underlying the recent changes, we use a
full-Stokes ice sheet model to simulate the basal shear stress distribution
of the Fleming system in 2008 and 2015. This study is part of the first high
resolution modelling campaign of this system. Comparison of inversions for
basal shear stresses for 2008 and 2015 suggests the migration of the
grounding line ∼9 km upstream by 2015 from the 2008 ice front/grounding
line positions, which virtually coincided with the 1996 grounding line
position. This migration is consistent with the change in floating area
deduced from the calculated height above buoyancy in 2015. The retrograde
submarine bed underneath the lowest part of the Fleming Glacier may have
promoted retreat of the grounding line. Grounding line retreat may also be
enhanced by a feedback mechanism upstream of the grounding line by which
increased basal lubrication due to increasing frictional heating enhances
sliding and thinning. Improved knowledge of bed topography near the grounding
line and further transient simulations with oceanic forcing are required to
accurately predict the future movement of the Fleming Glacier system
grounding line and better understand its ice dynamics and future contribution
to sea level.


The effect of the TCP congestion control mechanism over rapidly fluctuating wireless links is a deterioration of the TCP performance. The utilization of multi-radio accesses in future networks by means of packet scheduling and dynamic access selection enriches the arsenal of solutions that mitigate radio channel variations. Packet scheduling over multiple radio accesses at link level provides a novel diversity scheme referred to as Multi-Radio Transmission Diversity (MRTD). This work evaluates, through simulations, the effects of different MRTD schemes for TCP flows over heterogeneous radio links. Results indicate that MRTD schemes provide substantial gains in terms of goodput and show a significant reduction in file download times. These gains are due to the diversity obtained and the suppression of the unwanted duplicate acknowledgements that frequently cause degradation in TCP performance over a radio channel.


TT virus (TTV), a recently discovered DNA virus, has been implicated as a cause of non-A to non-C posttransfusion hepatitis. The frequency of TTV in persons considered at high risk for sexual and parenteral infection was investigated (52 prostitutes, 81 homosexual men, 65 intravenous drug users) to assess its mode of transmission. TTV DNA was assayed by polymerase chain reaction using primers from conserved regions in the N22 clone. Viremia frequency was 4.5%-13.0% in study subjects, not significantly different from that in low-risk controls (2 [4.5%] of 44). The frequency of TTV viremia increased significantly with age (P=.018) but was not associated with human immunodeficiency virus coinfection. The low frequency of infection detected in both risk groups suggests that spread by sexual contact or by intravenous drug use is relatively inefficient and unlikely to account for the high prevalence of TTV observed worldwide.


The purpose of this study is to evaluate the ability of quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to discriminate between skin biopsies from individuals with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) and skin biopsies from individuals without OI. Skin biopsies from nine controls (unaffected) and nine OI patients were imaged to generate maps of five separate MR parameters, T1, T2, km, MTR and ADC. Parameter values were calculated over the dermal region and used for univariate and multiparametric classification analysis. A substantial degree of overlap of individual MR parameters was observed between control and OI groups, which limited the sensitivity and specificity of univariate classification. Classification accuracies ranging between 39% and 67% were found depending on the variable of investigation, with T2 yielding the best accuracy of 67%. When several MR parameters were considered simultaneously in a multivariate analysis, the classification accuracies improved up to 89% for specific combinations, including the combination of T2 and km. These results indicate that multiparametric classification by quantitative MRI is able to detect differences between the skin of OI patients and of unaffected individuals, which motivates further study of quantitative MRI for the clinical diagnosis of OI.


The study of vocal emotions poses different methodological problems, especially regarding the style of speech analyzed. If spontaneous speech on the one hand guarantees data authenticity, on the other hand does not allow to control the variables affecting spoken communication. Recited speech allows to control the verbal content of emotional productions and obtain easily comparable data. Dubbed speech represents another feasible alternative. The task of a dubber is to use a different language to vehiculate the same emotional state expressed in the original version, to sound as natural as possible. The present study has twofold objective: firstly it aims to describe the prosodic characteristics of dubbed speech, to evaluate its effectiveness for the cross-linguistic analysis of vocal emotions; secondly it is intended to verify if romance and non-romance languages present similar prosodic patterns in the expression of different emotional states. To reach these goals, sequences taken from the original and the dubbed versions (Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese and German) of "Titanic" have been the object of perceptive tests and a spectro-acoustic analysis. The strategies used by romance and nonromance languages to obtain synchrony and the acoustic correlates of five perceived basic emotions (anger, joy, sadness, fear and surprise) have been identified and discussed in details.


Abstract : The Air Logistics Centers (ALC) represent the Air Force's largest Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) Operations. The ALCs strive to become leaner by reducing Work In Progress (WIP) inventory, reducing flow times, and increasing product quality to meet aircraft and engine demand levels. The Toyota Production System (TPS) is considered the best example of lean manufacturing by many. TPS utilizes the ingenuity of Toyota employees to generate Continuous Process Improvement (CPI). Achieving CPI can aid the ALCs in reducing operating capital while providing increased levels of service. The Air Force as a whole has made several attempts to get lean. Implementing lean tools without fully understanding their underlying philosophy has made it difficult to sustain process improvements. This thesis explores the softer, less tangible conditions that predicate successful CPI. A theoretical model was tested at Tinker ALC to identify focus areas for management. The researcher hypothesized that increased levels of the seven conditions tested would be positively correlated with successful CPI. Focusing on creating these conditions may aid in sustaining improvements. There was no evidence to suggest that any of the seven conditions are not positively correlated with CPI, although the degree of that relationship is very low. The data suggest that having Structured Improvement Processes most significantly impacts successful CPI. Anecdotal evidence also suggest that Drive for Improvement and Direction for Improvement also support CPI, although these conclusions were not supported by the data. Air Logistics Center managers should focus on those three conditions to aid successful CPI efforts in the future.


Anti-CD31 antibody conjugation can enhance nanoparticle accumulation in the vascular endothelium of human kidneys during ex vivo normothermic machine perfusion. Particle perfusion for organ transplant Ischemia-reperfusion injury, which occurs when a tissue or organ is temporarily cut off from blood flow, is a major issue limiting organ viability for transplantation. Tietjan et al. devised a way to target the injury-sensitive endothelium of organs during ex vivo perfusion. Using nanoparticles conjugated to an antibody targeting a protein expressed on endothelial cells, the authors demonstrated that they could perfuse human kidneys and that nanoparticles accumulated in kidney endothelial cells. In addition to expanding the pool of viable organs for transplant, this approach could potentially be used to deliver targeted therapies to organs during ex vivo perfusion rather than treating the transplant recipient systemically. Ex vivo normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) is a new clinical strategy to assess and resuscitate organs likely to be declined for transplantation, thereby increasing the number of viable organs available. Short periods of NMP provide a window of opportunity to deliver therapeutics directly to the organ and, in particular, to the vascular endothelial cells (ECs) that constitute the first point of contact with the recipient's immune system. ECs are the primary targets of both ischemia-reperfusion injury and damage from preformed antidonor antibodies, and reduction of perioperative EC injury could have long-term benefits by reducing the intensity of the host's alloimmune response. Using NMP to administer therapeutics directly to the graft avoids many of the limitations associated with systemic drug delivery. We have previously shown that polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) can serve as depots for long-term drug release, but ensuring robust NP accumulation within a target cell type (graft ECs in this case) remains a fundamental challenge of nanomedicine. We show that surface conjugation of an anti-CD31 antibody enhances targeting of NPs to graft ECs of human kidneys undergoing NMP. Using a two-color quantitative microscopy approach, we demonstrate that targeting can enhance EC accumulation by about 5- to 10-fold or higher in discrete regions of the renal vasculature. In addition, our studies reveal that NPs can also nonspecifically accumulate within obstructed regions of the vasculature that are poorly perfused. These quantitative preclinical human studies demonstrate the therapeutic potential for targeted nanomedicines delivered during ex vivo NMP.


Solid waste management is challenging in Phnom Penh city, Capital of Cambodia. The only one formal treatment taken is the final disposal of mixed waste into an open dumpsite. The current study analyses the physical and chemical characteristics of municipal solid waste disposed of in the dumpsite to assess their suitable handling methods. The current study found that the major compositions of waste are food waste (49.18%) and plastic (21.13%), and recyclable waste shares about 17.28% of the total. On average, it contains 60.92% moisture, 35.89% combustible, 3.19% ash, 58.32% carbon and 1.05% nitrogen. High calorific value is 10.03 MJ/kg when the low calorific value is 7.77 MJ/kg. The moisture content is too high to meet the technology demands, especially in the rainy season. It seems workable for incineration without energy recovery. Gasification for melting and incineration with energy recovery are only suitable for the dry season. If the solid waste is well pre-separated, material recovery could be one of the suitable handling methods. Food waste, wood and leave could be digested in the one-stage continuous wet system and co-composted, and plastic is appropriate for refuse-derived fuel generation. The current study recommends that the waste pre-separation should be requisite for any handling methods.


The United States government provides no comprehensive health care system for its citizens. Although the federal Medicare and Medicaid programs have made health insurance available to the elderly and poor, the majority of working Americans depend on their employers to provide health insurance to defray the costs of medical care. However, Merlis (1993) indicates that nearly one-third of the U.S. work force is employed by firms that do not offer health care benefits to employees. The rapid changes in the medical field have placed small businesses in the center of public policy discussions. According to Wilcox (1992), most of the 35 million people who lacked health insurance coverage in 1992 were small business employees or their dependents. Although small businesses traditionally have offered fewer benefits to employees, health care benefits have become increasingly important because of the increasing costs of medical care. Bernstein (1990) believes that small businesses are not likely to increase their health benefits coverage under current conditions because of the costs associated with providing the benefits. Fuchs (1993) indicates that the cost containment strategies used by many employers may not be feasible for small businesses because they face higher per worker premiums, have relatively greater worker turnover rates, and tend to have narrower profit margins from which to pay higher premiums. The purpose of this article is to extend and refine the research that has been directed toward investigating the availability and extent of health care coverage and to investigate the relationships between the demographic characteristics of small businesses such as size, industry, and type of ownership on the provision of health insurance and the owners' attitudes toward this benefit. LITERATURE REVIEW A number of studies have dealt with various aspects of health care benefits in the United States. Robertson (1992) contends that technology and new medical procedures have contributed to the high costs of medical services. Eastaugh (1991) claims that medical malpractice litigation has further contributed to the rising costs of health care. Thompson (1990) indicates that health insurance is expensive because individual states have mandated that companies offer certain types of insurance. Policies that dictate coverage for chemical dependency, psychiatry, and length of hospital stay drive up the cost of insurance. Yearly increases in health insurance premiums of up to 20 percent a year have become an established pattern for purchasers of health care. For small business owners, however, these increases range even higher, from 30 to 40 percent (U.S. Small Business Administration 1991). There has been limited effort to identify factors that significantly influence a small business owner's decision to provide health coverage to employees. Fuchs (1993) indicates that cost and availability are two factors that significantly influence this decision. The small business owner must find an insurer willing to provide coverage at a price that is attractive to his own business. Kathawala, Elmuti, and Roszkowski (1993) conducted an exploratory study among small firms largely headquartered in Illinois and found insufficient profits, high insurance costs, and unavailability of group coverage as the primary reasons for not offering health benefits. According to a 1989 survey of employers by the Health Insurance Association of America, firms with 25 or fewer employees are far less likely to offer health insurance than firms with more than 25 employees (Merlis 1993). The U.S. Congress is considering a range of proposals with regard to health care provisions and spending. One receiving wide attention is "managed competition," under which consumers would choose from among competing health plans and would be given financial incentives to select the most cost-effective (Steinmetz 1993). Managed competition played a part in President Clinton's proposed health reform package. …


Plato's Republic, one of the most important texts in the Western canon, is also one of the most widely taught. This guide, designed to be read alongside the original, offers a range of interpretive possibilities that allow readers to become meaningfully and confidently conversant with Plato's text. It provides key insights into style, vocabulary, arguments, and philosophical content of the Republic. No other guide is more suitable for beginning students.


Expressions for the neoclassical resistivity and the bootstrap current coefficients in terms of aspect ratio and collisionality are widely used in simulating toroidal axisymmetric equilibria and transport evolution. The formulas used are in most cases based on works done 15-20 years ago, where the results have been obtained for large aspect ratio, small or very large collisionality, or with a reduced collision operator. The best expressions to date and to our knowledge are due to Hirshman [S. P. Hirshman, Phys. Fluids 31, 3150 (1988)] for arbitrary aspect ratio in the banana regime and Hinton-Hazeltine [F. L. Hinton and R. D. Hazeltine, Rev. Mod. Phys. 48, 239 (1976)] for large aspect ratio and arbitrary collisionality regime. A code solving the Fokker-Planck equation with the full collision operator and including the variation along the magnetic field line, coupled with the adjoint function formalism, has been used to calculate these coefficients in arbitrary equilibrium and collisionality regimes. The coefficients have been obtained for a wide variety of plasma and equilibrium parameters and a comprehensive set of formulas, which have been fitted to the code results within 5%, is proposed for evaluating the neoclassical conductivity and the bootstrap current coefficients. This extends previous works and also highlights inaccuracies in the previous formulas in this wide plasma parameter space. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S1070-664X(99)03907-5].


Studying human-animal interactions in domestic species and how they affect the establishment of a positive Human-Animal Relationship (HAR) may help us improve animal welfare and better understand the evolution of interspecific interactions associated with the domestication process. Understanding and describing the quality of an HAR requires information on several aspects of the animal biology and emotional states (social, spatial and postural behaviours, physiological and cognitive states). Growing evidence shows that acoustic features of animal vocalisations may be indicators of emotional states. Here, we tested the hypothesis that vocal structure may indicate the quality of HAR. At weaning, 30 piglets were positively handled by an experimenter who talked to and physically interacted with them three times a day, while 30 other piglets only received the contact necessary for proper husbandry. After two weeks, we recorded the behaviours and vocalisations produced in the presence of the static experimenter for 5 min. We repeated this test two weeks later, after a conditioning period during which human presence with additional positive contacts was used as a reward for all piglets. We hypothesized this conditioning period would lead to a positive human-piglet relationship for all piglets. As expected, piglets that were positively handled at weaning expressed a higher attraction toward the experimenter, and, after the conditioning, piglets that were not positively handled at weaning expressed a similar level of attraction than the positively handled ones. Piglets positively handled at weaning produced shorter grunts than the other ones, regardless of the context of recording, which may indicate a more positive affect. During reunions with the static experimenter, a more positive HAR was associated with a decrease in vocal reactivity to human proximity. However, during reunions with the experimenter providing additional positive contacts and over the conditioning, proximity to the human systematically triggered shorter and higher pitched grunts, indicator of positive a emotional state. Results first show that changes in vocal structure are consistent with indicators of positive states in the presence of a human. Second, these changes are stronger when the human positively interact with the piglets, supposedly emphasizing a higher positive arousal state during these interactions. We show that vocalisation structure may be a promising indicator of the quality of human-pig relationship.


This article examines the categories of victim and perpetrator testimony in relation to the writing contained in the Salamander Oasis Trust archive in the Imperial War Museum at Duxford. In Dimensions of the Holocaust, Elie Wiesel famously commented that the Holocaust produced the new literary genre of testimony. Although critics — such as James Young in Writing and Rewriting the Holocaust — have pointed out that testamentary accounts abound in relation to many other wars and atrocities, studies of testimony have — following Wiesel — mainly focused on the Holocaust. In this article, I explore British soldiers' poetic accounts of the Second World War in the Oasis archive, which contains around 20,000 items by over 200 authors. The concepts of victim and perpetrator testimony are both relevant and problematized in relation to soldier testimony. Clearly, the origin of the terms "victim" and "perpetrator" lies in a judicial context, but with the development of critical discussions about testimony outside the courtroom — as in the notion of literary testimony — the efficacy of these terms has been questioned. For Primo Levi, the trace of legal discourse is important, since it allows us to distinguish his tormentors from his fellow prisoners. However, Levi himself introduced the notion of the "grey zone" in which the "guilt" of, for example, the Sonderkommando does not sit easily with legal notions of criminality. In relation to soldier testimony, these categories are similarly vexed, since — as the variety of writing in the Oasis archive attests — an Allied recruit, as a reluctant conscript, or subsequently traumatized individual, or even a violator of the Geneva Convention, could be considered a victim. Sometimes the categories blur within an individual poem, as when Oasis writers celebrate the killing of German soldiers, but then also engage with troubling memories that surface in relation to such events after the war. Who (or what) is a perpetrator in the context of soldier testimony (as opposed to a perpetrator of genocide)? Should the term only be used in a legal sense, or should critical discussions of literary testimony draw on the dictionary definition of a perpetrator as an instigator of (potentially heinous) acts, which may include — whatever the pertinent definition of criminality — the killing of others in combat (OED, 2nd ed.)? Is a soldier only ever a victim (a common descriptor of soldiers after Vietnam and the advent of PTSD in 1980) or something between these two testamentary categories? And — most pertinent for this article — is there such a thing as a perpetrator voice, perspective, or aesthetic when the poet dispassionately records enemy deaths, or — as in Keith Douglas's "Elegy for an 88 Gunner" — voyeuristically mulls over the corpse of an enemy soldier? This article addresses such questions in relation to both the canonical poet Keith Douglas and other, relatively unknown, writers in the Oasis archive.


Abstract. Sea surface temperatures (SST) in the Guiana Basin over the last 140 ka were obtained by measuring the C37 alkenone unsaturation index Uk'37 in the sediment core MD03-2616 (7° N, 53° W). The resulting data set is unique in the western tropical Atlantic region for this period. The SSTs range from 25.1 to 28.9 °C, i.e. glacial–interglacial amplitude of 3.8 °C, which is in the range of change of other tropical areas. During the last two interglacial stages (marine isotope stages; MIS1 and MIS5e) and warm long interstadials (MIS5d-a), a rapid transmission of climate variability from Arctic–tropical latitudes is recorded. During these periods, the MD03-2616 SSTs show a conspicuous parallelism with temperature changes observed in Greenland and SST records of North Atlantic mid-latitude cores (Iberian Margin 38° N, Martrat et al., 2007). The last deglaciation in the Guiana Basin is particularly revealing. MIS2 stands out as the coldest period of the interval analysed. The events recorded in Guiana parallel northern latitude events such as the Bolling–Allerod warming and the Younger Dryas cooling which ensued. These oscillations were previously documented in the δ18O of the Sajama tropical ice core (Bolivia) and are present in Guiana, with rates of ca. 6 °C ka−1 and changes of over 2 °C. During the glacial interval, significant abrupt variability is observed, e.g. oscillations of 0.5–1.2 °C during MIS3, which is about 30 % of the maximum glacial–interglacial SST change. In the MD03-2616 record, it is possible to unambiguously identify either the Dansgaard–Oeschger oscillations described in northern latitudes or the SST drops associated with the Heinrich events characteristic of North Atlantic records. Although these events form the background of the climate variability observed, what truly shapes SSTs in the Guiana Basin is a long-term tropical response to precessional changes, which is modulated in the opposite way to Northern Hemisphere variability. This lack of synchrony is consistent with other tropical records in locations to the north or south of the Guiana Basin and evidences an Arctic–tropical decoupling when a substantial reduction in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) takes place.


Novel management practices are needed to improve the declining dryland crop yields and soil organic matter contents using conventional farming practices in the northern Great Plains. We evaluated the 21-yr effect of tillage and cropping sequence on dryland grain and biomass (stems + leaves) yields of spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), and pea (Pisum sativum L.) and soil organic matter at the 0- to 20-cm depth in eastern Montana, USA. Treatments were no-tilled continuous spring wheat (NTCW), spring-tilled continuous spring wheat (STCW), fall- and spring-tilled continuous spring wheat (FSTCW), fall- and spring-tilled spring wheat-barley (1984-1999) followed by spring wheat-pea (2000-2004) (FSTW-B/P), and the conventional spring-tilled spring wheat-fallow (STW-F). Spring wheat grain and biomass yields increased with crop growing season precipitation (GSP) and were greater in STW-F than in FSTCW and FSTW-B/P when GSP was <250 mm. Although mean grain and biomass yields were greater, annualized yields were lower in STW-F than in other treatments. In FSTW-B/P, barley and pea grain and biomass yields also increased with increased GSP. Soil organic C and total N were lower in STW-F than in other treatments and linearly related (R 2 = 0.64 to 0.78) with total annualized biomass residue returned to the soil from 1984 to 2004. Alternate-year summer fallowing increased spring wheat grain and biomass yields compared with annual cropping but reduced annualized yields and soil organic matter. For sustaining dryland crop yields and soil organic matter, no-tillage with annual cropping system can be adopted in the northern Great Plains.


When viewing aid advertising portraying people living in poverty it is easy to automatically activate stereotypes. This can be uncomfortable and people may consciously attempt to avoid using those stereotypes. However, it has been shown that suppressing such stereotypes can rebound and lead to greater subsequent negative stereotypic behaviour. Recent research suggests rebound responses differ according to stereotype content (Kennedy & Hill, 2009). The current experiment compared behaviour in those who suppressed use of stereotypes of two dissimilar social outgroups: people living in poverty and people living in wealth. Effects differed; suppressors tended to be more negatively stereotypical when writing about the wealthy and less negatively stereotypical when writing about those in poverty. Behavioural measures (seating) also tended to diverge. Suppression appears to exaggerate later behavior and raises the possibility that viewers of aid advertising who avoid thinking stereotypically may find that their subsequent behaviour is more strongly driven by their stereotypes of people living in poverty than they may have wished, which in some cases can lead to greater negativity and a reduction of support.


Evolutionary divergence in competitive male mating success correlates with the load of deleterious recessive mutations. Despite heritable variation for univariate sexually selected traits, recent analyses exploring multivariate traits find evidence consistent with the lek paradox in showing no genetic variation available to choosy females, and therefore no genetic benefits of choice. We used the preferences of Drosophila melanogaster females to exert bidirectional selection on competitive male mating success to test for the presence and nature of genetic variation underlying this multivariate trait. Male mating success diverged between selection regimens, and flies from success-selected lines had a smaller burden of deleterious, recessive mutations that affect egg-to-adult viability, were better sperm competitors (sperm offence), and did not demonstrate reduced desiccation resistance or components of female fitness (traits thought to trade off with attractiveness) relative to flies from failure-selected populations. Mating success remained subject to inbreeding depression in success-selected lines, suggesting that variation in mating success remains, thanks to numerous genes of small effect. Together, our results provide unique evidence for the evolutionary divergence in male mating success, demonstrating that genetic variation is not exhausted along the axis of precopulatory sexual selection and that female mating biases align with the avoidance of bad genes.


Interest in multiobjective permutation flow shop scheduling (PFSS) has increased in the last decade to ensure effective resource utilization. This study presents a modified self-adaptive local search (MSALS) algorithm for the biobjective permutation flow shop scheduling problem where both makespan and total flow time objectives are minimized. Compared to existing sophisticated heuristic algorithms, MSALS is quite simple to apply to different biobjective PFSS instances without requiring effort or time for parameter tuning. Computational experiments showed that MSALS is either superior to current heuristics for Pareto sets or is incomparable due to other performance indicators of multiobjective problems.


The purpose of this study was to examine the problem of practice of the decline in student engagement from the perceptions of secondary school learners as they proceed throughout their educational experience. According to researchers, learners who are engaged— meaning those who are committed and connected in active relationships with teachers, other learners, the learning environment, learning interests and ideas, the curriculum, and learning goals, are more likely to enjoy and be in control of their own learning [student agency]. This study is significant because of its potential to provide new understandings of the problem of a decline in student engagement from the perceptions of learners themselves. Therefore, this study qualitatively explored a purposeful sample of secondary school learners' perceptions regarding the phenomenon of student engagement during their secondary school experience. The purpose of a phenomenological qualitative research approach is to understand and describe the essence of some phenomenon by capturing the common experience of the phenomenon among a group of research participants. Subsequently, meaning can be constructed out of the common experience of the group. By listening to the voices of learners, a greater understanding could be developed for confronting the life-altering concern of a lack of student engagement in learning during the secondary school experience. Since researchers have found student engagement in school can transfer to academic, emotional, economic, and social success in school, college, career, and life, understanding what personally engages learners holds significant weight for all students. Gaining a clearer picture in the local context of what engages secondary students from the perceptions of learners could provide a deeper understanding for establishing access to personalized student learning environments, experiences, and opportunities. ©2018 by Bryan Bronn All Rights Reserved


Between the early 1900s and the late 1950s, the attitudes of white Californians toward their Asian American neighbors evolved from outright hostility to relative acceptance. Charlotte Brooks examines this transformation through the lens of California's urban housing markets, arguing that the perceived foreignness of Asian Americans, which initially stranded them in segregated areas, eventually facilitated their integration into neighborhoods that rejected other minorities. Against the backdrop of Cold War efforts to win Asian hearts and minds, whites who saw little difference between Asians and Asian Americans increasingly advocated the latter group's access to middle-class life and the residential areas that went with it. But as they transformed Asian Americans into a "model minority," whites purposefully ignored the long backstory of Chinese and Japanese Americans' early and largely failed attempts to participate in public and private housing programs. As Brooks tells this multifaceted story, she draws on a broad range of sources in multiple languages, giving voice to an array of community leaders, journalists, activists, and homeowners - and insightfully conveying the complexity of racialized housing in a multiracial society.


The Zika virus (ZIKV) spread rapidly in Brazil in 2015 and 2016. Rio de Janeiro was among the Brazilian cities which were hit the hardest, with more that a hundred thousand confirmed cases up to the end of 2016. Given the severity of the neurological damage caused by ZIKV on fetuses, we wondered whether it would also cause an increase in the number of miscarriages, especially very early ones. As early miscarriages are unlikely to be recorded as a health event, this effect – if it occurred – would only show up as a reduction in the number of live births. In this paper we show that there was a 15% drop in live births between September and December 2016 compared to the previous year, and that this sharp drop from epidemiological week 33 onward is strongly correlated with the number of recorded cases of Zika about 40 weeks earlier. We postulate that ZIKV is directly responsible for this drop in the birth rate. Further work is required to ascertain whether other factors such the fear of having a microcephaly baby or the economic crisis are having a significant effect.


Valuing credit risk sensitive instruments is one of the major growth areas in derivatives research. Two main approaches are being thoroughly explored. Merton's "structural" approach models the stochastic evolution of total firm value, and default occurs if firm value hits a prespecified lower bound. In the "reduced form" approach, default is a random exogenous event, typically modeled as a Poisson process. The latter camp contains a variety of models that appear to handle the important parameters, jump intensity, the recovery rate in case of default, and riskless interest rates, very differently. In this article, Cheng presents a straightforward synthesis of the reduced form credit risk modeling framework and proves that the major existing models can all be seen as special cases of his general approach. This is extremely useful, both because it leads to a general valuation method, and also simply because it shows that the different existing models should all produce the same results with respect to such things as default probabilities implied by market prices for vulnerable instruments.


It is now possible to carry out Monte Carlo uncertainty studies with large photochemical grid models such as UAM-IV. The current study uses information on the effects of uncertainties in 109 input variables on UAM-IV model predictions of maximum daily one-hour averaged ozone concentrations at 29 monitoring sites in the New York City UAM domain for the 8 July 1988 ozone episode. Fifty Monte Carlo runs were made with the UAM-IV model making use of simple random sampling from assumed distributions for each input variable. The resulting sets of 50 predicted values of ozone concentration allowed Cumulative Distribution Functions (CDFs) to be determined for each site. These CDFs were typically log-normal with a standard deviation of about -10% or -20%. Note that these uncertainties are due only to uncertainties in input variables and do not include contributions due to errors in model physics or stochastic fluctuations. The Lewellen-Sykes-Parker (LSP) model evaluation methodology has been applied to the predictions of maximum daily one-hour averaged ozone concentrations at the 29 monitoring sites using the CDFs from the Monte Carlo study. The assumption is tested that the model prediction is correct, in the sense that the observations are not significantly different from the predictions. The hypothesis is tested that the Monte Carlo CDFs of predicted concentrations represent a set of 50 realisations from the population of observed concentrations. Therefore the Monte Carlo results were used to generate many possible realisations of CDFs of model residuals, i.e. observed minus predicted concentration, which were then compared with the actual CDF of model residuals at the 29 sites. It was found, as expected, that the single actual CDF line for the model residuals covered a slightly broader range (a standard deviation of about 20% compared to about 10%) than the 95% confidence intervals for the CDFs from the 50 Monte Carlo runs.


By encoding time series as a string of numerical digits, we can frame time series forecasting as next-token prediction in text. Developing this approach, we find that large language models (LLMs) such as GPT-3 and LLaMA-2 can surprisingly zero-shot extrapolate time series at a level comparable to or exceeding the performance of purpose-built time series models trained on the downstream tasks. To facilitate this performance, we propose procedures for effectively tokenizing time series data and converting discrete distributions over tokens into highly flexible densities over continuous values. We argue the success of LLMs for time series stems from their ability to naturally represent multimodal distributions, in conjunction with biases for simplicity, and repetition, which align with the salient features in many time series, such as repeated seasonal trends. We also show how LLMs can naturally handle missing data without imputation through non-numerical text, accommodate textual side information, and answer questions to help explain predictions. While we find that increasing model size generally improves performance on time series, we show GPT-4 can perform worse than GPT-3 because of how it tokenizes numbers, and poor uncertainty calibration, which is likely the result of alignment interventions such as RLHF.


Section 1 of this article presents a mathematical analysis of the longterm global urbanization dynamics and demonstrates that it could be described as a series of phase transitions between attraction basins. This makes it possible to suggest new approaches to the analysis of global social macroevolution. Section 2 presents a threestage model of the macroevolution of the World System statehood (early – developed – mature state) that, we believe, describes the main features of political macroevolution better than the twostage model proposed by Claessen and Skalnik (early – mature state). This model has been used as a basis for the analysis of changes in the development of political structures from the prestate polities and the most primitive early states (and their analogues) till the modern supercomplex states. In this section we also analyze the relationship between the growth of the territory controlled by the World System states and the growth of the statehood complexity. Finally, Section 3 attempts at the detection of the correlation between the global evolution of political structures and global urbanization processes. This study confirms the presence of a system of attraction basins and phase transitions within the World System macroevolutionary development field, as well as the presence of mathematically interpretable correlations and interrelations between the analyzed global processes – political, urbanizing, demographic, technological, and sociostructural.


There is increasing interest in expanding Medicare health insurance coverage in the United States, but it is not clear whether the current program is the right foundation on which to build. Traditional Medicare covers a uniform set of benefits for all income groups and provides more generous access to providers and new treatments than public programs in other developed countries. We develop an economic framework to assess the efficiency and equity trade-offs involved with reforming this generous uniform structure. We argue that three major shifts make a uniform design less efficient today than when Medicare began in 1965. First, rising income inequality makes it more difficult to design a single plan that serves the needs of both higher- and lower-income people. Second, the dramatic expansion of expensive medical technology means that a generous program increasingly crowds out other public programs valued by the poor and middle class. Finally, as medical spending rises, the tax financing of the system creates mounting economic costs and increasingly untenable policy constraints. These forces motivate reforms that shift toward a more basic public benefit that individuals can "top up" with private spending. If combined with an increase in other progressive transfers, such a reform could improve efficiency and reduce public spending while benefiting low-income populations.


We explore strategic trade in short-lived securities by agents who possess long-term information. Trading short-lived securities is profitable only if enough of the private information becomes public prior to contract expiration; otherwise the security will worthlessly expire. We highlight how this results in trading behavior fundamentally different from that observed in standard models of informed trading in equity. Specifically, we show that informed agents are more reluctant to trade shorter-term securities too far in advance of when their information will necessarily be made public, and that existing positions in a shorter-term security make future purchases more attractive. Because informed agents prefer longer-term securities, this can make trading shorter-term contracts more attractive for liquidity traders. We characterize the conditions under which liquidity traders choose to incur extra costs to roll over short-term positions rather than trade in distant contracts, providing an explanation for why most longer-term derivative security markets have little liquidity and large bid-ask spreads.


Title: Job characteristics, wellness and work-home interaction in the mining industry Kev terms: Work-home interaction, Survey Work-Home Interaction Nijmegen (SWING), validity, equivalence, reliability, group differences, job demands, job resources, ill health, negative work-home interference, mining industry The mining industry is driven by performance and intense working environments, accompanied by high demands, hazardous working conditions and socially undesirable working hours. These factors could impact on the interaction between work and home, as well as contributing to health problems of employees. The objectives of this research were to test the construct validity, construct equivalence and reliability of a work-home interaction measuring instrument, the Survey Work-Home Interaction NijmeGen (SWING), to determine if work-home interaction differences exist between different demographical groups, and to test a structural model of job characteristics (job demands and job resources), ill health and negative work-home interference. Random samples (n = 320) were taken from employees working in the mining industry (gold, platinum and phosphate mines) in the Gauteng, North West and Northern provinces. The SWING, a self-developed job characteristics questionnaire and an adapted version of the General Health Questionnaire were administered. Structural equation modelling, descriptive statistics, Cronbach alpha coefficients, Pearson product-moment correlations, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to analyse the data. Structural equation modelling confirmed the four-factor structure of the SWING and the construct equivalence for two language and ethnic groups. The four factors showed acceptable internal consistencies. Statistically significant differences were found based on age, ethnicity, gender, qualification, marital and parental status, language, flexibility at work and whether individuals had a partner with a paid job. Regarding the structural model, the results showed that job demands and job resources have an impact on ill health, and that ill health is associated with negative WHI. It was also found that job demands and job resources have a direct relationship with negative WHI on their own, but when both high demands and a lack of resources are present, only an indirect relationship with negative WHI exists though ill health.


The articles in this symposium are peppered with numerous recent incidents of political incivility ranging from physical scuffles at town hall meetings to the now-infamous accusation shouted at president Barack Obama during a nationally televised address before a joint session of Congress. Name calling and ad hominem attacks that were once associated with talk radio and cable television pundits have made their way into the halls of governing institutions, which no longer serve as sacred spaces one-step removed from bare-knuckled politics. Indeed, divisive views have even made inroads into "safe" topics for discussion—the weather and sports. Forget the intensity of debate over climate change. Democrats were actually 10% more likely to claim that the 2012 winter season was warmer than were their Republicans counterparts (Newport 2012). Sports no longer offers a neutral conversation starter, as 27% of Republicans view Tim Tebow as their favorite quarterback compared to only 9% of Democrats (Public Policy Polling 2011). Vitriol, combined with legislative gridlock and the uproar of protestors—not only in Washington, DC, but also in state capitals and prominent cities across the country—has shifted our discipline's attention to the role of political civility in sustaining a healthy democracy.


Hydrochloric acid (HCl) secretion assists protein digestion by activating pepsinogen to pepsin, renders the stomach sterile against orally-ingested pathogens, prevents bacterial or fungal overgrowth of the small intestine, encourages the flow of bile and pancreatic enzymes, and facilitates the absorption of a variety of nutrients, including folic acid, ascorbic acid, beta-carotene, non-heme iron, and some forms of calcium, magnesium, and zinc. Numerous studies have shown acid secretion declines with advancing age and impaired HCl production and secretion is seen in a variety of clinical conditions. While the underlying etiological factors leading to impaired or complete lack of HCl secretion are not well understood, long term supplementation is safe and may be effective in certain patient populations and clinical conditions. (Alt Med Rev 1997; 2(2):116-127)


Abstract This study compared the richness of saproxylic beetle species and the composition of species assemblages between the major forests types of the south‐east of France. The forests differed by their geographical position and their composition in tree species. The results confirmed the existence of a clear local identity of the saproxylic beetles communities. This identity combined three geographical and ecological factors: the geographical position, the altitude and the dominant species of trees. Surprisingly, the period length since the last important perturbation of the stand was not a determinant factor to explain the composition of the saproxylic communities. Selective logging and deadwood retention favoured the increase of the diversity of saproxylic species. This diversity reached a maximum during the first 10 years following the perturbation, was the lowest 30 years after the stand perturbation, but increased again after 50 years with a different species composition.


[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] Evolutionary comparative genomics is one of the most studied areas in the computational biology. With ever increasing speed of newly sequenced microbial genome deposition, the study of the evolutionary relationships among microbes has becoming more and more imperative. Using complete genome sequences to infer large scale multi-furcating microbial phylogeny without relying on MSA (multiple sequence alignment) is greatly needed. In this dissertation work, we present two applications, ComPhy (composite distance phylogeny) and PolyPhy (phylogeny reconstruction with polytomy identification), which are intend to target two separate issues in microbial phylogeny. ComPhy uses a composite distance matrix calculated from whole-genome structural features derived by comparing the physical locations of the complete gene sets between genome pairs to produce a bifurcating phylogeny, avoiding possible incongruence introduced by MSA on selected genes. While PolyPhy employs a machine learning technique, BLR (Bayesian logistic regression) classifier to identify possible bifurcating subtrees as polytomies or not from the result trees generated from ComPhy. We have developed a set of two phylogenetic analysis applications, which are fast and robust for genome-wide inference of evolution relationships among microbial genomes.


OBJECTIVE
The incidence of blunt cerebrovascular injury (BCVI) has not been well characterized in the pediatric population. The goal of this study was to describe the incidence, patient characteristics, and risk factors for pediatric patients with cerebrovascular injuries.

METHODS
The authors collected data from the Kids' Inpatient Database (KID), a nationally representative database of pediatric admissions, for years 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009, and 2012.

RESULTS
Among an estimated 646,549 admissions for blunt trauma, 2150 were associated with BCVI, an overall incidence of 0.33%. The incidence of BCVI nearly doubled from 0.24% in 2000 to 0.49% in 2012. Patients 4 to 13 years of age were less likely to have BCVI than those in the youngest (0-3 years) and oldest age groups comprising adolescents (14-17 years) and young adults (18-20 years). BCVIs were associated with cervical (adjusted OR [aOR] 4.6, 95% CI 3.8-5.5), skull base (aOR 3.0, 95% CI 2.5-3.6), clavicular (aOR 1.4, 95% CI 1.1-1.8), and facial (aOR 1.2, 95% CI 1.0-1.5) fractures, as well as intracranial hemorrhage (aOR 2.7, 95% CI 2.2-3.2) and traumatic brain injury (aOR 2.0, 95% CI 1.7-2.3). Mechanism of injury was also independently associated with BCVI: motor vehicle collision (aOR 1.7, 95% CI 1.3-2.2) and struck pedestrian (aOR 1.4, 95% CI 1.0-1.9). Among pediatric patients with BCVI, 37.4% had cerebral ischemic infarction with an in-hospital mortality of 12.7%, and patients with stroke had 20% mortality.

CONCLUSIONS
The incidence of pediatric BCVI is increasing, likely due to increased use of screening, but remains lower than that in the adult population. Risk factors include the presence of cervical, facial, clavicular, and skull base fractures, similar to that of the adult population. Diagnosed BCVI is associated with a relatively high incidence of stroke with increased morbidity and mortality. The use of adult screening criteria is likely reasonable given the similarity in the risk factors identified in this study. Further studies are needed to investigate the role of treatment with antiplatelet agents or anticoagulation.