Within the framework of an outdoor active noise control project, a need arose, namely to establish whether electrodynamic loudspeakers are likely to be affected by the primary noise or by the interactions between them. The aim of this thesis is therefore to provide computation and measurement methods allowing to predict whether the effects of an incident sound field on a loudspeaker have to be taken into account. The study comprises two main parts involving modelling, theory and calculations for the first part, and experimental validations in an anechoic chamber for the second one. The equivalent circuit modelling of an electrodynamic loudspeaker shows that its behaviour can be completely determined from its input impedance. The thesis starts with the reflection that the modifications in loudspeaker behaviour due to the presence of an incident sound pressure applied on its radiating membrane could then also be analysed in the same way. The chosen process then consists in analysing the loudspeaker modifications in behaviour, no longer as variations of its radiation impedance, but as variations of its volume velocity and input impedance. The latter, which is located at the electrical loudspeaker terminals, offers the advantage of being easily measurable. Within the scope of this thesis, the loudspeakers are assumed to behave like flat rigid pistons. Based on Thiele and Small parameters and using Rayleigh's surface integral and the unified and geometrical theories of diffraction, the calculations enable input impedance, volume velocity, near and far field sound pressure, as well as medium reaction force and radiation impedance to be obtained for each loudspeaker. Taking into account interaction effects, they also enable the modifications of all these quantities in modulus and phase to be predicted. A discrete approach is chosen in order to minimize the computation time. The calculations were however fine tuned in such a way as to ensure sufficient accuracy in relation to measurement uncertainties. In order to evaluate the orders of magnitude of the modifications in loudspeaker behaviour, some preliminary calculations are first carried out in the simple case of two closed-box loudspeakers mounted in the same infinite baffle. This part also leads to understand how input impedance and volume velocity modifications vary according to excitation ratio, excitation difference of phase and distance between piston centres. Then and in order to get closer to realistic configurations, the calculations are carried out in the cases of two adjacent and distant closed-box loudspeakers. A test bench enables then the effects of an incident sound field on a closed-box loudspeaker to be measured. The configuration is chosen in order to eliminate any diffraction and significant mutual effects likely to distort the results. The aim of this first experiment is to highlight every potential measurement difficulty in order to determine the measurement setup, as well as to validate the choice of the measured quantities (input impedance and volume velocity). Once the orders of magnitude of the modifications in loudspeaker behaviour are evaluated, the study focuses on three different loudspeaker configurations beginning with the most simple case of two closed-box systems mounted in a baffle, and ending with most realistic ones, corresponding to the configurations of loudspeakers mounted in an array (two adjacent and distant closed-box systems). It is worth noting here that the measurement accuracy of the Thiele and Small's parameters plays an essential role in this study. The results of the measurements carried out in each configuration are finally compared to the theoretical predictions, enabling calculation methods to be validated.


Question: Small and marginal forest populations are a focus of attention because of their high biodiversity value as well as the risk of population decline and loss. In this context, we ask to what extent a small, marginal Quercus suber (Cork oak) population located in the eastern Iberian Peninsula (Valencia, Spain) has the capacity for self-regeneration and what are the factors that determine its recruitment variability. Location: Quercus suber forest in Pinet (Valencia, Spain). Methods: We performed a spatially explicit sampling both of the recruitment and of the potential parameters that could account for the recruitment variability. Using regression techniques we model the recruitment occurrence and abundance, and then we test to what extent the model obtained is still constrained by the spatial dependence. Results: Quercus suber recruitment density ranges from 0 to 18.66 individuals/25m 2 (mean = 1.46, SD = 2.8), with a very skewed distribution. Recruitment is similar under Q. suber forests and under Pinus forests, but it is almost absent under shrublands. Thus the parameters that explain most of the recruitment variability in local vegetation types are: the presence and cover of shrubs (negative relationship with recruitment), the basal area of Q. suber and Pinus and the amount of bare soil (all positively related to recruitment). These parameters are strongly related to the ecological processes driving recruitment (i.e. dispersal and predation) and they remove most of the spatial dependence of recruitment. Most recruiters, however, are small, forming a seedling bank rather than growing to successfully colonize new habitats. Conclusion: The results suggest that although recruitment densities are not very high, they do not limit potential regeneration in the Pinet Q. suber forest. However, successful regeneration is not observed. If we aim to increase the Pinet Q. suber population size, land management measures need to provide appropriate conditions for both seedling establishment in shrublands (e.g. shrub clearing) and seedling growth in woodlands (e.g. Pinus logging).


The focus of this report is a capacity analysis of two long-term urban freeway Work Zones. Work Zone #1 tapered four mainline lanes to two, using two separate tapers; Work Zone #2 tapered two mainline lanes to one. Work Zone throughput was analyzed throughout the day over multiple days and traffic operations conditions were analyzed up to a distance of five miles upstream of the Work Zone entrance. Historical data from pavement-embedded detectors were used to analyze traffic conditions. The database consisted of five-minute volume, speed and occupancy data collected from 78 detectors for a total of 50 days. Congestion during each analyzed Work Zone existed for more than 14 hours each day; Work Zone impacts adversely affected freeway operations over distances of 3.7 to 4.2 miles. Speed and occupancy conditions further upstream were, however, not affected, or even improved due to significant trip diversion. Work Zone capacity was defined based on the maximum traffic flows observed over a one-hour period; throughput values were also compiled over longer periods of time when traffic was within 90% of the maximum observed one-hour flows, as well as over the multi-hour mid-day period. The Highway Capacity Manual freeway capacity definition based on the maximum observed 15-min period was not used, since it would have no practical application in estimating Work Zone throughput when congested conditions prevail for the majority of the hours of the day. Certain noteworthy changes took place for the duration of the analyzed Work Zones: per-lane throughput dropped; morning peak periods started earlier, evening peak periods ended later and lasted longer; mid-day volumes dropped accompanied by the highest occupancies of the day. Trip diversion was evident in lower volumes entering the analyzed freeway corridor, higher volumes using off-ramps and lower volumes using on-ramps upstream of the Work Zones. The majority of diverted traffic comprised smaller vehicles (vehicles up to 21 feet in length); combination truck volumes increased and their use of the median lane increased, contrary to smaller vehicles that shifted toward a heavier use of the shoulder lane.


This paper presents a search for a new heavy particle produced in association with a top or antitop quark. Two models in which the new heavy particle is a color singlet or a color triplet are considered, decaying, respectively, to (t)over-barq or tq, leading to a resonance within the t(t)over-bar + jets signature. The full 2011 ATLAS pp collision data set from the LHC (4.7 fb(-1)) is used to search for t(t)over-bar events produced in association with jets, in which one of the W bosons from the top quarks decays leptonically and the other decays hadronically. The data are consistent with the Standard Model expectation, and a new particle with mass below 430 Gev for both W' boson and color triplet models is excluded at 95% confidence level, assuming unit right-handed coupling.


Recently continuous welded rail is generally used to ensure running performances and to overcome the problems such as structural vulnerability and fastener damage at the rail expansion joint. Though the use of continuous welded rail on bridge has the advantage of decreasing the vibration and damage of rail, it still the risk of buckling and breaking of rail due to change of temperature, starting and/or breaking force, axial stress concentration and so on. So, UIC code and many methods has been developed by researchers considering rail-bridge interaction. Although there are many research concerning stability of continuous welded rail about temperature change on bridge and starting and/or breaking force, the study of continuous welded rail for earthquake load is still unsufficient. In this study, the nonlinear seismic response analysis of continuous welded rail on bridge considering soil-structure interaction, geotechnical characteristic of foundation and earthquake isolation equipment has been performed to examine the stability of continuous welded rail.


This paper reports results from a project that aims at investigating if and in which way the introduction of national tests in science education influence teachers' opinions of what is "good" education in science and how this influence teachers' instruction and assessment of students. National tests in biology, physics and chemistry were introduced in 2009 in year 9 in Swedish compulsory school. Some of the governing arguments for introducing national tests are that they will work exemplary for teachers and create a more equal and fair assessment and grading of students. A survey among Swedish science teachers were performed regarding various aspects of their practice. Selected teachers were then interviewed about their teaching. Analyses of the actual national tests were also carried out. The results showed that different teachers do put emphasis on different goals, contents, and assessment in their classroom practices and that these aspects can be systematically grouped as teaching traditions. Nevertheless, there were no significant differences in how teachers in different teaching traditions responded to national tests. Therefore it is discussed whether the use of national tests is a feasible way to generate a more equal and fair education.


This article presents an implementation of an artificial neural network (ANN) which performs unsupervised detection of recognition categories from arbitrary sequences of multivalued input patterns. The proposed ANN is called Simplified Adaptive Resonance Theory Neural Network (SARTNN). First, an Improved Adaptive Resonance Theory 1 (IARTl)-based neural network for binary pattern analysis is discussed and a Simplified ARTl (SART1) model is proposed. Second, the SARTl model is extended to multivalued input pattern clustering and SART" is presented. A normalized coefficient which measures the degree of match between two multivalued vectors, the Vector Degree of Match (VDM), provides SARTNN with the metric needed to perform clustering. Every ART architecture guarantees both plasticity and stability to the unsupervised learning stage. The SARTNN plasticity requirement is satisfied by implementing its attentional subsystem as a self-organized, feed-forward, flat Kohonen's ANN (KANN). The SARTNN stability requirement is properly driven by its orienting subsystem. SARTNN processes multivalued input vectors while featuring a simplified architectural and mathematical model with respect to both the ARTl and the AkT2 models, the latter being the ART model fitted to multivalued input pattern categorization. While the ART2 model exploits ten user-defined parameters, SARTNN requires only two user-defined parameters to be run: the first parameter is the vigilance threshold, p, that affects the network's sensibility in detecting new output categories, whereas the second parameter, T, is related to the network's learning rate. Both parameters have an intuitive physical meaning and allow the user to choose easily the proper discriminating power of the category extraction algorithm. The SARTNN performance is tested as a satellite image clustering algorithm. A chromatic component extractor is recommended in a satellite image preprocessing stage, in order to pursue SARTNN invariant pattern recognition. In comparison with classical clustering algorithms like ISODATA, the implemented system gives good results in terms of ease of use, parameter robustness and computation time. SARTNN should improve the performance of a Constraint Satisfaction Neural Network (CSNN) for image segmentation. SARTNN, exploited as a self-organizing first layer, should also improve the performance of both the Counter Propagation Neural Network (CPNN) and the Reduced connectivity Coulomb Energy Neural Network (RCENN).


Life satisfaction emerged from the surface of the needs or expectations. If the person's needs and expectations that can be achieved, then it can achieve the desired satisfaction. Life satisfaction is achieved and the individual will be able to overcome various problems in his life, if life has meaning. Self-esteem is one of the most important aspect of personality, because the self-esteem is very influential on a person's behavior. This is because self-esteem plays a role in the process of thinking, emotions, ideals, and goals to be reached someone. The importance of self-esteem needs can be achieved with a confidence that is competent and able to overcome the problems of life. Having a fragile self-esteem means do not get along with life and feel guilty about themselves. This research is a regression that aims to determine the effect self-esteem on life satisfaction in women working and unemployed women. The subject of this study were 60 women with purposive random sampling technique. Methods of data collection is done by using a scale of self-esteem and life satisfaction scale. Test the validity of using the technique and reliability test product moment menggiunakan cronbach while data analysis technique used is regression. From the regression analysis in general for all women the value of F = 101.473; sig / p = 0.000 to disimpulakan that independent variables have a significant influence on the dependent variable while the analysis in particular, namely self-esteem and life satisfaction in women working and women do not work F value obtained, respectively, 62.735 and 42.080 and the value of r2 0.691 and 0.600. The effective contribution obtained was 69.1% in self-esteem and life satisfaction in women working and 60% in women does not work while the rest was influenced by other factors had not been examined.


The American Housing Survey (AHS) added six questions about disability in the 2009 survey. The questions were taken from the American Community Survey (ACS) and the same questions have been used in other Federal surveys. This report compares the treatment of disability in the AHS with these and other Federal surveys. It notes that the AHS shows substantially lower incidence of persons and households with disabilities than the ACS. Part of the reason for this may be differences in the way AHS and ACS administer the surveys and the fact that ACS imputes missing values, while AHS does not. There is still an unexplained gap between AHS and ACS so the report recommends further analysis. The report notes the relative frequency of different disability measures in the AHS and the patterns of measures that are found together. The report shows that the incidence of disability is higher among households living in mobile homes, non metropolitan areas, and older units. It also shows that the incidence of disability increases monotonically as severity of rent burden increases. The report corroborates how disability limits the income earning of any household, especially one-member households who represent one third of all households with disabilities. On the positive side, the report confirms that people with disabilities are more likely to live in assisted housing. It provides guidance as to which source of disability data a research should use, depending on his or her objective. An appendix duplicates much of the household-level analysis of the main report at the person level and finds much the same results.


For many years now, since the authorization of NCLB, this country has been putting a tremens amount of emphasis on teacher evaluation, recognizing the teacher's critical role in children's learning--seemingly to the exclusion of all other educators who have an impact on school success. Yet we all know that the nation's 95,000 principals have a great influence over the teachers and students in their schools--not to mention the approximately 15,000 superintendents who exert influence over the entire district. You yourself may have had the experience in your career of working under a great principal or superintendent who mentored staff and supported innovation. But then a new, less competent leader took charge. Teacher morale decreased. Innovative programs disappeared. The entire education climate was negatively impacted even though the staff and students had not changed. So it's not news that leadership is critical to the success of schools and districts, but it is news that the federal government is including the evaluation of school leaders as a new requirement in their funding programs. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Last month we wrote about how Race to the Top competition for districts (RttT-D) requires that applicants must annually evaluate both principals and superintendents. The proposed legislation for the 2013 budget is set to revise the Teacher Quality funding to include leadership evaluation as well. We can expect to see leadership evaluation continue to be part of any new school improvement legislation. There is real money attached to these evaluations. In addition to RttT-D, which will grant 20 to 25 awards of $5 million to $40 million over a four-year grant period, the current FY12 budget includes Effective Teachers and Leaders State Grants that will distribute $2.5 billion. The Teacher and Leader Innovation Fund has an additional $500 million to distribute. For the FY13 budget, the Title II Teacher Quality grants are proposing three separate programs, each including principal evaluation. These include: * Effective Teaching and Learning for a Well-Rounded Education--$90 million * Effective Teaching and Learning: Literacy--$187 million * Effective Teaching and Learning: STEM--$150 million So, if you want your district to be eligible for any of these federal monies, you must be prepared to add leader evaluation to your systematic review of school progress. What Does Leadership Evaluation Look Like? Even though most, if not all, districts evaluate principals, there's no real agreed-upon set of criteria across districts and states for determining school-building leadership quality. As for superintendents, up to this point it's mostly the local school board who has been responsible for the evaluation, the results of which are usually not made public unless they are released as part of the superintendent's dismissal (and sometimes not even then). [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] As a way to start creating a national consensus on quality school leadership, the US Department of Education (ED) is calling for every district to adopt of a set of policy guidelines and best practices that go beyond student test scores to evaluate school culture, professional growth and learning, and other aspects of the learning environment that school leaders influence. Under the federal requirements, principal and superintendent evaluations should include multiple measures, each with a three-level (minimum) performance rubric. These measures must be used to make personnel decisions such hiring, salary increases, placement, termination, and so forth. Principals and superintendents should participate in the development of these evaluation systems. The multiple measures that school leaders are evaluated against should be determined by the districts themselves, but the ED has made recommendations for what these criteria might include. …


This work was commissioned by Peng Yu of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, for her to play with the Austrian/Czech pianist Wolfgang Mastnak, a professor in Shanghai as well as at the Munich Hochschule. They performed it in the Great Hall of the Conservatory in September 2010, with an audience of about 350. There is a possibility of a further performance in Germany in 2012.

Shanghai is the most European of Chinese cities, and although Peng Yu's original expectation was for a piece for piano and western percussion, the possibility of bridging the two sound worlds and cultural traditions seemed more interesting. There are surprisingly few works for piano and percussion duo (the only one by a major composer being Birtwistle's The Axe Manual), and even fewer for piano and Chinese percussion which tend to be arrangements of Chinese traditional songs, rather than original compositions.

Considering the 'West-ostliche Divan' nature of the project, it was decided to use the trigrams that form the basis of the ancient Chinese Book of Changes, the I CHING (YIJING), to create the structures of the composition. Hesse used the same text in another 'West-ostliche Divan' work, Das Glasperlenspiel. The result is a set of ternary forms, rounded off by a binary finale. Throughout the work the percussion represents the Yang lines of the trigrams and the piano the Yin lines so that in each movement, one or other instrument must dominate, and it is only in the finale that an equilibrium between the players is established. The order of the movements is not specified; players are invited to use the ancient method of dividing yarrow stalks to determine the order of performance. However, the final movement is fixed, albeit with an opening improvised section, so the work as a whole balances an eastern indeterminacy with western ideas of structure.


Microwave energy has previously been shown to have a major influence on the comminution behaviour of minerals and ores. Significant reductions in strength have been observed for microwave-treated ores. Other workers have reported increases in liberation after treatment. However, the majority of the work has been carried out at energy inputs too high for economic implementation. Whilst it was thought that the weakening and enhanced liberation was due to differential expansion of the heated constituent phases resulting in increased predominance of inter-granular fracture, the exact mechanisms have been poorly understood. Due to difficulties in measuring events inside a microwave cavity and inside the material being irradiated, it was suggested that numerical modelling could be used to simulate a simplified system in order to determine the underlying mechanisms. The model was used to examine the development of stresses as heat was applied to certain mineral phases. No heat was applied directly to the matrix component of the simulated ore. Given sufficient energy input, the stresses would exceed the strength of the material. It was found that the shear stresses in particular were likely to be highest at the edges of the grain boundaries of 2-D circular heated particles inside an unheated (microwave-transparent) matrix. This explained the increased occurrence of inter-granular fracture which has led to observations of enhanced liberation. It was also discovered that weakening is facilitated at very high microwave power densities, due to the increased magnitude of expansion and subsequent forces generated. The overall energy balance can be made favourable by using microwave exposure times of less than 0.1 seconds. Shorter exposure times result in less time for conduction to occur from the heated phase into the unheated phase, and temperature gradients are maximised leading to elevated shear stresses and increased likelihood of fracture.


Attorney Genenal Mukasey surprised and outraged the immigration law community with his decision in Matter of Compean. In his decision, adopted in January 2009, during his last days of holding the position, Mukasey ruled that "aliens do not have a constitutional right to effective legal representation in removal proceedings" under the Fifth Amendment. In June 2009, Attorney General Holder vacated Matter of Compean and restored Matter of Lozada and Matter of Assaad. Holder also directed the Acting Director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) to initiate a rule-making procedure to evaluate the Lozada framework in order to propose a final rule. This "final rule" is extremely important because the circuit courts are currently divided regarding the adjudication of motions to reopen in cases of ineffective assistance of counsel.


My goal in this paper is to revisit a classic text that raises the most contemporary of issues: Marco Polo's stereotyped, highly influential, and highly prejudicial description of the "Old Man of the Mountain," a text of virtually mythic status and power. Having invoked the category of "myth," however, in a context where it is not commonly applied, it is useful to indicate how I use this term and why it seems appropriate. To begin, I would reject three widely accepted notions. First, myths are not sacred narratives. Although many myths claim sacred status, in this they misrecognize their own nature, for they are human stories, like any other. They simply make more exaggerated claims to a more elevated kind of authority. Second, myths are not collective narratives or the speech of any group as a whole. Rather, they are stories that are told and retold in countless variants. Often the authorship of these variants is unacknowledged, forgotten, or deliberately hidden, but in its details each variant advances the specific interests of those responsible for its production, revision, and circulation. These anonymous agents and absent authors misrepresent themselves—and those for whom they speak—as the group as a whole. Third, myths are neither false stories, nor true, but simply stories that claim to speak with authority about issues of deep importance. Sometimes these claims succeed and sometimes they fail, and the same story can change its status over time from myth to fable and back again, since such status is a function of reception.


Abstract. One of the main features of the oceanic circulation along Antarctica is the Antarctic Slope Current (ASC). This circumpolar current flows westwards and contributes to communication between the three major oceanic basins around Antarctica. The ASC is not very well known due to remote location and the presence of sea ice during several months, allowing in situ studies only during summertime. Moreover, only few modelling studies of this current have been carried out. Here, we investigate the sensitivity of this simulated current to four different resolutions in a coupled ocean-sea ice model and to two different atmospheric forcing sets. Two series of simulations are conducted. For the first series, global model configurations are run at coarse (2°) to eddy-permitting (0.25°) resolutions with the same atmospheric forcing. For the second series, simulations with two different atmospheric forcings are performed using a regional circumpolar configuration (south of 30° S) at 0.5° resolution. The first atmospheric forcing is based on a global atmospheric reanalysis and satellite data, while the second is based on a downscaling of the global atmospheric reanalysis by a regional atmospheric model calibrated to Antarctic meteorological conditions. Sensitivity experiments to resolution indicate that a minimum model resolution of 0.5° is needed to capture the dynamics of the ASC in terms of water mass transport and recirculation. Sensitivity experiments to atmospheric forcing fields shows that the wind speed along the Antarctic coast strongly controls the water mass transport and the seasonal cycle of the ASC. An increase in annual mean of easterlies by about 30 % leads to an increase in the mean ASC transport by about 40 %. Similar effects are obtained on the seasonal cycle: using a wind forcing field with a larger seasonal cycle (+30 %) increases by more than 30 % the amplitude of the seasonal cycle of the ASC. To confirm the importance of wind seasonal cycle, a simulation without wind speed seasonal cycle is carried out. This simulation shows a decrease by more than 50 % of the amplitude of the ASC transport seasonal cycle without changing the mean value of ASC transport.


Do online consumer reviews affect restaurant demand? I investigate this question using a novel dataset combining reviews from the website Yelp.com and restaurant data from the Washington State Department of Revenue. Because Yelp prominently displays a restaurant's rounded average rating, I can identify the causal impact of Yelp ratings on demand with a regression discontinuity framework that exploits Yelp's rounding thresholds. I present three findings about the impact of consumer reviews on the restaurant industry: (1) a one-star increase in Yelp rating leads to a 5-9 percent increase in revenue, (2) this effect is driven by independent restaurants; ratings do not affect restaurants with chain affiliation, and (3) chain restaurants have declined in market share as Yelp penetration has increased. This suggests that online consumer reviews substitute for more traditional forms of reputation. I then test whether consumers use these reviews in a way that is consistent with standard learning models. I present two additional findings: (4) consumers do not use all available information and are more responsive to quality changes that are more visible and (5) consumers respond more strongly when a rating contains more information. Consumer response to a restaurant's average rating is affected by the number of reviews and whether the reviewers are certified as "elite" by Yelp, but is unaffected by the size of the reviewers' Yelp friends network.


Integrating subsistence producers from developing and emerging countries with the world market is seen as a way out poverty. Market integration analyses have been predominately the domain of economists who generally indicate that only socioeconomic and institutional factors such as cost of doing business and trade liberalizations exert influence on subsistence producers integration with markets. The extant literature has however overlooked the role of market orientation (MO) as a main driver of market integration of subsistence producers. Based on three streams of literatures (market integration, MO and embeddedness literatures), this study develops a framework in which MO is on the one hand seen as an antecedent of market integration and on the other hand rooted in embeededness of transaction and social relationships. A distinction is made between reactive and proactive MO. The framework is tested on data obtained from a sample of 183 shrimp fishers from Benin using a structural equation modeling. The results show that not proactive but reactive MO is the main driver of export market integration. In turn export market leads to better livelihood performance of shrimp fishers. Results also show that both MO dimensions are embedded-dependent, with favor support to reactive MO.


As a potential explanation to measured inconsistencies between stated privacy concerns and actual disclosing behavior, denoted as the "privacy paradox", scholars have proposed a systematic distinction between situational privacy considerations and pre-existing, superordinate factors that shape the decisive situation without being directly connected to the situation itself. Deploying an experimental approach, we explored the dynamics of two types of such pre-existing factors, namely (1) pre-existing attitudes (such as general privacy concerns and general institutional trust) and (2) pre-existing emotional states (such as an individual's current mood) in shaping situation-specific risk and benefit considerations (i.e., a situational privacy calculus). Compared to a negative emotional state, individuals in a positive emotional state were found to perceive lowered situation-specific privacy risks, even if the sources of this state were unrelated to the decisive situation at hand. Moreover, results indicated that pre-existing attitudes may be partially or even fully overridden by situational risk and benefit considerations. Adopting a differentiated view on privacy decision-making, these findings imply that the privacy paradox could be driven by a gap between pre-existing cognitive and affective factors on the one side, and situation-specific considerations and decisions on the other. Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed.


Wari', the last viable language of the Chapakuran family of Brazil and Bolivia, manifests a typologically and theoretically interesting construction for expressing intentional states. I refer to this construction as the Intentional State Construction. The special interest of this construction is that it simultaneously manifests properties of both words and clauses, yet seems difficult to subsume under common definitions of Complex Predicates, mixed categories, or within theories of syntax based strictly on endocentricity. It is argued that these constructions are handled straightfowardly by Role and Reference Grammar (Van Valin & LaPolla 1997), in which they are dominated by a non-projecting node (NUC) heading an exocentric unit, Clause.


Since the chance of swaying the outcome of an election by voting is usually very small, it cannot be that voters vote solely for that purpose. So why do we vote? One explanation is that smarter or more educated voters have access to better information about the candidates, and are concerned with appearing to have better information about the candidates through their choice of whether to vote or not. If voting behavior is publicly observed then more educated voters may vote to signal their education, even if the election itself is inconsequential and the cost of voting is the same across voters. I explore this explanation with a model of voting where players are unsure about the importance of swaying the election and high type players receive more precise signals. I introduce a new information ordering, a weakening of Blackwell's order, to formalize the notion of information precision. Once voting has occurred, players visit a labor market and are paid the expected value of their type, conditioning only on their voting behavior. I find that in very large games, voter turnout and the signaling return to voting remains high even though the chance of swaying the election disappears and the cost of voting is the same for all types. I explore generalizations of this model, and close by comparing the stylized features of voter turnout to the features of the model.


We have investigated the thermal stability of femtosecond laser modification inside fused silica. Raman and FL spectroscopy show that fs-laser induced non-bridging oxygen hole center (NBOHC) defects completely disappear at 300 °C, whereas changes in Si-O ring structures only anneal out after heat treatment at 800-900 °C. After annealing at 900 °C optical waveguides written inside the glass had completely disappeared whereas more significant damage induced in the glass remained. The results are related to different types of bond rearrangements in the glass network.


Scholars in both digital humanities and media studies have noted an apparent disconnect between computation and the interpretive methods of the humanities. Alan Liu has argued that literary scholars employing digital methods encounter a "meaning problem" due to the difficulty of reconciling algorithmic methods with interpretive ones. Conversely, the media scholar Friedrich Kittler has questioned the adequacy of hermeneutics as a means of studying computers. This paper argues that that this disconnect results from a set of contingent decisions made in both humanistic and mathematical disciplines in the first half of the nineteenth century that delineated, with implications that continue to resonate in the present day, which aspects of human activity would come to be formalized in algorithms and which would not. I begin with a discussion of Nicolas de Condorcet, who attempted, at the height of the 1789 revolution, to turn algebra into a universal language; his work, I argue, exemplifies the form of algorithmic thinking that existed before the Romantic turn. Next, I discuss William Wordsworth's arguments about the relationship of poetry and science. While Wordsworth is sometimes viewed as a critic of science, I argue that his polemic is specifically targeted at highly politicized projects like Condorcet's that sought to supplant existing modes of thought with scientific rationality. Finally, I demonstrate the importance of Romantic thought for George Boole, creator of the logic system that would eventually form the basis of digital electronics. The reason Boole was able to succeed where Condorcet had failed, I argue, was that Romantic notions of culture enabled him to reconcile a mechanical view of mathematical reasoning with an organic view of the development of meaning—a dichotomy that remains a key assumption of computer interfaces in the twenty-first century.


The assembly and function of key photoreceptor proteins in neonatal mouse retinas is mediated by the protein ankyrin-G. In the retina, cyclic nucleotide–gated (CNG) channels initiate the electrical response to light in the sensory cilia of the rods. The channels are exclusively localized to outer segments of the cilia, but how they are positioned has been largely unknown. Working on Xenopus, Kizhatil et al. showed that the CNG-β subunit bound to ankyrin-G, a membrane scaffolding protein, is required not only for post-Golgi transport of CNG channels but also for rod outer segment development. A human mutation in the CNG-β subunit disrupts this targeting mechanism and is associated with retinitis pigmentosa. Similar ankyrin-G–based mechanisms may occur in olfactory cilia, in the sperm flagella, and at other sites. K. Kizhatil, S. A. Baker, V. Y. Arshavsky, V. Bennett, Ankyrin-G promotes cyclic nucleotide–gated channel transport to rod photoreceptor sensory cilia. Science 323, 1614–1617 (2009). [Abstract] [Full Text]


Osteoma is a benign osteogenic tumour, commonly involving the craniofacial bones. It is characterized by excessive proliferation of cortical or cancellous bone. It can be of the central, peripheral or extraskeletal variety. Peripheral osteoma arises from the periosteum and is usually asymptomatic, however, can attain large size in the involved bone. In this paper, we report two cases of peripheral osteoma and review the literature related to the pathological condition. Two patients reported with a chief complaint of asymptomatic slow-growing swelling over the mandibular body region. Radiographic examination revealed a lobulated pedunculated radiopaque mass. It was excised surgically, and no recurrence was noted on follow-up visits. Osteoma involving the jaws is not common and can be associated with Gardner's syndrome thereby requiring regular follow-up and thorough examination. Surgical excision is the treatment of choice and recurrence is rare.


Postcolonial theory has tended to focus on those spaces where European colonialism has had a territorial and political history. This is unsurprising, as much of the world is in this sense 'postcolonial'. But not all of it. This article focuses on Poland, often theorised as peripheral to 'old Europe', and explores the application of postcolonial analyses to this 'other' place. The article draws upon reflections arising from a study of responses to ethnic diversity in Warsaw, Poland. In doing so we conclude that postcolonialism does indeed offer some important insights into understanding Polish attitudes to other nationalities, and yet more work also needs to be done to make the theoretical bridge. In the case of Poland we propose the 'triple relation' be the starting point for such work.


The main objective of this research was to examine the importance of recruitment and selection procedure and policies in the organization. Recruitment and selection is the most imperative for the organization effectiveness. Recruitment and selection is focus on the present as well as future task and activities. Recruitment and selection is one of most important tool of HRM to increase organization's effectiveness and competencies. This research is quantitative and secondary in nature. The data was collected from banking sector of Pakistan. The 200 sample size is used. This study concludes that there is a huge impact of recruitment and selection policies and procedure in the effectiveness of the organization. Also it identify that the capability and expertise of employee is helpful for the performance of organization and the skillful employees comes from the best recruitment and selection policies and procedure.


We present an algorithm for fully automatic hp-adaptivity for finite element approximations of elliptic and Maxwell boundary value problems in three dimensions. The algorithm automatically generates a sequence of coarse grids, and a corresponding sequence of fine grids, such that the energy norm of the error decreases exponentially with respect to the number of degrees of freedom in either sequence. At each step, we employ a discrete optimization algorithm to determine the refinements for the current coarse grid such that the projection-based interpolation error for the current fine grid solution decreases with an optimal rate with respect to the number of degrees of freedom added by the refinement. The refinements are restricted only by the requirement that the resulting mesh is at most 1-irregular, but they may be anisotropic in both element size h and order of approximation p.
While we cannot prove that our method converges at all, we present numerical evidence of exponential convergence for a diverse suite of model problems from acoustic and electromagnetic scattering. In particular we show that our method is well suited to the automatic resolution of exterior problems truncated by the introduction of a perfectly matched layer. To enable and accelerate the solution of these problems on commodity hardware, we include a detailed account of three critical aspects of our implementation, namely an efficient implementation of sum factorization, several efficient interfaces to the direct multi-frontal solver MUMPS, and some fast direct solvers for the computation of a sequence of nested projections.


The use of visual technology has become a significant medium of communication for churches in New Zealand. Its accessibility, coupled with market forces that rely on advertising to attract congregants, means some churches have increasingly felt the need to adapt, even adopt, secular practices to appear contemporary and thereby offer a culturally relevant message. Pentecostal churches are some of the most adept at utilising and absorbing these visual technologies into their own organisational systems. This is particularly evident amongst large Pentecostal churches, which put a lot of effort and energy into impression management. The aim of this project is to ask: in New Zealand, to what extent are these visual technologies shaping a Pentecostal ecclesia and the behavioural patterns of its participants? This research acknowledges the emergence of visual culture and the importance of images. It explores the role of images and how advertising uses visual technologies, promoting particular consumptive ideals in the process. I explore these issues by examining data gathered through interviews and observation from Elim Christian Centre – East (EE). The thesis argues that while EE is very effective in communicating its identity and vision, its absorption of advertising practices makes it vulnerable to forces contrary to the gospel, which may in time undermine the integrity of its own vision. Further, I argue that, in adopting the strategies of the advertising world, the congregation of EE will likely end up adopting the values of the advertising world without knowing it is happening. I use semiotic and consumption theory to explore these concerns, and I make recommendations to the congregation towards a more considered approach.


It has been commonly accepted that crop rotations reduce risk compared with monoculture systems. Quantifying this phenomenon requires that effects of yield stability on risk (positive or negative) arising from rotating crops be separated from other risk elements. Using an ARS-University of Nebraska series of yields for corn (Zea mays L.) and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] grown over a 14-yr period, both in rotation and in monoculture, the impact of crop rotation on risk was isolated and estimated. Risk was defined as the failure to meet an annual per-hectare net return target. A corn-soybean rotation had significantly less risk than monoculture practices. Diversification was found to contribute to part of this reduction while higher yields and reduced cost contributed to the remainder. This reduction in risk occurred even though the corn-soybean rotation had a higher yield variance.


During the period between 1806 and 1809, Mary and Charles Lamb coauthored children's literature for William Godwin's Juvenile Library. Tales from Shakespear, designed for the use of Young Persons was issued in two volumes and "embellished with Copper Plates" in January of 1807. In second and third editions, Godwin affixes a publisher's note. The tales are not precisely for "the amusement of mere children, but for "young ladies advancing to the state of womanhood."(1) As Mary had explained in the 1807 Preface, "For young ladies too, it has been the intention chiefly to write," since boys "frequently have the best scenes of Shakespeare by heart, before their sisters are permitted to look into this manly book."(2) "Chiefly" written for the benefit of young women, Mary's retelling of A Midsummer Night's Dream (Mary writes the comedies and romances, Charles the tragedies), offers insight into the relationship between the imagination and the developing female intellect. Her tale of midsummer magic comes at a time when many early nineteenth-century educators, influenced by emerging tenets of English Romanticism, saw "the imagination as a vitally constructive part of human nature."(3) For Romantic writers, as I will show, the ephemeral but opulent world of A Midsummer Night's Dream is a vital allegory for the creative energy of the young poetic mind, so that the play's fairies represent, or rather personify, the native faculty of imagination. Mary's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" reminds her audience that Shakespeare's plays are, among other virtues, "enrichers of the fancy" (xiv). However, her tale, when read against the conventional nineteenth-century reading of the play, betrays an anxiety about the role of fancy in young women's educational development. Romantic writers frequently interpreted A Midsummer Night's Dream as a referential touchstone of poetic invention. The play was an important example of artistic ingenuity, and, as Jonathan Bate notes, eighteenth-century critics often cited Theseus's "shaping fantasies" speech as a "proof text" of the creative mind.(4) By comparison, we will see that Mary's tale opens up the question of whether the imaginative realm is indeed a suitable place for young women to dwell. In "A Midsummer Night's Dream," the role of the imagination comes into sharper focus when compared to interpretations of the play by Mary's brother Charles and his poet-friend, Thomas Hood. In both versions, the imagination figures forth as the primary focus, and both writers find in Shakespeare's fairy landscape an allegory of the creative process. "The Plea of the Midsummer Fairies," the title poem of Hood's 1827 book of poetry, is dedicated to Charles Lamb, for he possesses an "intense yet critical relish for the works of our great Dramatist, and for that favourite play in particular which has furnished the subject of my verses."(5) For Hood, the fairies who haunt the pages of A Midsummer Night's Dream stand for "those pretty children of our childhood." The dedication explains that, they belong, as the mites upon the plumb, to the bloom of fancy, a thing generally too frail and beautiful to withstand the rude handling of time: but the Poet has made this most perishable part of the mind's creation equal to the most enduring. (110) The fairies nurture invention, the "bloom of fancy," which is first nursed in infancy, but subject to neglect in maturity. Hence, "The Plea of the Midsummer Fairies" begins with a narrator who, retreating "To some unwasted regions" of his mind (2.15), receives visions of queen Titania in fairyland: "she was gracious to my childish years, And made me free of her enchanted round" (6.50-51). The reverie is cut short when the narrator witnesses a conflict between the woodland fairies and the figure of Time who calls for their destruction. Titania apostrophizes their plight: Frail feeble sprites!--the children of a dream! Leased on the sufferance of fickle men, Like motes dependent on the sunny beam, Living but in the sun's indulgent ken, And when that light withdraws, withdrawing them; So do we flutter in the glance of youth And fervid fancy,--and so perish when The eye of faith grows aged;--in sad truth, Feeling the sway, O Time! …


According to the Qur'an, God created two parallel species, man and the jinn, the former from clay and the latter from fire. Beliefs regarding the jinn are deeply integrated into Muslim culture and religion, and have a constant presence in legends, myths, poetry, and literature. In "Islam, Arabs, and the Intelligent World of the Jinn", Amira El-Zein explores the integral role these mythological figures play, revealing that the concept of jinn is fundamental to understanding Muslim culture and tradition. Examining closely a wide range of sources, from the fields of law, theology, and folklore, El-Zein clearly places the status of the jinn in the metaphysical and cosmological economy of Islam. The author also illuminates the Islamic concept of the jinn by comparing it to other similar concepts in different religions and mythologies. She probes the complex relationships between the jinn and humans, as well as the jinn and animals, providing critical insights into the function of the jinn in the process of poetic and cultural creation. The author's access to Arabic sources and her ability to contextualize them make this a compelling and thorough account, enriching our knowledge of Islamic religion and tradition.


Abstract. The summer enhancement of diurnal tidal currents at the shelf break in the southern Weddell Sea is studied using velocity measurements from 29 moorings during the period 1968 to 2014. Kinetic energy associated with diurnal tidal frequencies is largest at the shelf break and decreases rapidly with distance from it. The diurnal tidal energy increases from austral winter to summer by, on average, 50 %. The austral summer enhancement is observed in all deployments. The observations are compared to results from an idealised numerical solution of the properties of coastal trapped waves (CTWs) for a given bathymetry, stratification and an along-slope current. The frequency at which the dispersion curve for mode 1 CTWs displays a maximum (i.e. where the group velocity is zero and resonance is possible) is found within or near the diurnal frequency band, and it is sensitive to the stratification in the upper part of the water column and to the background current. The maximum of the dispersion curve is shifted towards higher frequencies, above the diurnal band, for weak stratification and a strong background current (i.e. austral winter-like conditions) and towards lower frequencies for strong upper-layer stratification and a weak background current (austral summer). The seasonal evolution of hydrography and currents in the region is inferred from available mooring data and conductivity–temperature–depth profiles. Near-resonance of diurnal tidal CTWs during austral summer can explain the observed seasonality in tidal currents.


Methods for noise cleaning have great significance in classification tasks and in situations when it is necessary to carry out a semi-supervised learning due to importance of having well-labeled samples (prototypes) for classification of the new patterns. In this work, we present a new algorithm for detecting noise in data streams that takes into account changes in concepts over time (concept drift). The algorithm is based on the neighborhood criteria and its application uses the construction of a training set. In our experiments we used both synthetic and real databases, the latter were taken from UCI repository. The results support our proposal of noise detection in data streams and classification processes.


Since the first contact and fusion of an egg and sperm and throughout development, a cell lives a life of constant communication with its environment. Cells interact with the external environment via a layer of proteins and respond to not only biochemical cues but also physical properties including stiffness and topography of adjacent surfaces. However, even though polymeric biomaterials have been described as one of the cornerstones of tissue engineering, the effect of an intrinsic polymer property known as mobility on cell behaviour is poorly characterised. Mobility is a physical property of polymers inversely proportional to the glass transition temperature (Tg); the temperature at which polymers undergo a transition between a rubbery viscous state to a glassy brittle solid. Therefore, films of four poly(alkyl acrylates) with similar surface chemistry but different glass transition temperatures achieved by varying branch chain lengths (1, 2, 4 or 6 methyl groups) were used in this work to investigate the role of polymer mobility on cell behaviour. I verified using atomic force microscopy the similarity in topography and stiffness between the four substrate surfaces and ascertained that fibronectin molecules adsorb in a globular conformation on the polymer with the shortest side chain (1 methyl group) compared with a more extended conformation on the rest of the polymers. My study of the fibronectin coatings using fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) on the different polymer surfaces suggested that the mobility of the polymer substrate is translated to the interfacial protein layer. This interesting finding highlighted a possible pathway for cells cultured on fibronectin coated polymer surfaces to detect the underlying polymer mobility via the fibronectin coating. The interaction of cells with surfaces occurs via membrane proteins which interact with specific structural sites within extracellular matrix proteins; these include the cell binding site (RGD: Arginine Glycine Aspartic acid amino acid motif) and the Synergy site (PHSRN: Proline Histidine Serine Asparagine amino acid motif). My ELISA analyses indicated a higher exposure of these important cell-binding sites on the more extended fibronectin compared with the globular one however, this did not correlate to the mobility of polymers or the mobility of the fibronectin layer. This was also the case for myogenic cell differentiation, which was indiscriminately higher on polymers with extended fibronectin, however, cytoskeletal contractility was found to play an essential role in the myogenic differentiation of cells on these polymers in a mobility dependent manner. We then sought to understand the role of
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mobility in modulating osteogenic differentiation of human MSCs in the presence and absence of stimulation with BMP-2. The Fibronectin network-forming polymer with the lowest mobility (side chain of 2 methyl groups) induced the highest expression of osteogenic markers in the absence of BMP-2 stimulation. My mechanistic studies using specific inhibitors also revealed that the Erk1/2 pathway was required for this increase in osteogenic markers, while contractility, unlike in myogenesis produced only minimal effects on osteogenic differentiation. In this set of polymers, mobility increases with side chain length, while all the polymers with more than one methyl group in their side chain induced the independent formation fibronectin networks upon adsorption. The polymer with two methyl groups in its side chain is characterised with the lowest mobility among the three fibrillogenesis - inducing polymers, and the highest expression of osteogenic markers in the absence of BMP-2. In the presence of BMP-2, smad phosphorylation was also higher on this polymer suggesting a combined synergistic effect towards osteogenic differentiation provided by the simultaneous activation of the Erk1/2 pathway and high phosphorylation of smad1/5/8. My observations suggest that fibronectin fibrils coating a polymer with low mobility may be most suited for osteogenic differentiation of hMSCs by simultaneously exposing cell-binding sites to a higher degree. Thus, inducing Erk1/2 signalling and presenting BMP-2 in a manner that stimulates the highest phosphorylation of smad1/5/8 hence achieving a stronger synergistic effect on the overall expression of osteogenic markers. The findings from this work strongly support previous studies suggesting that polymer mobility is a subtle change in the substrate with significant downstream biological significance and is crucial to understand to improve the application of polymeric biomaterials.


Often, teachers struggle with a way to introduce students to a large canon (such as Victorian Literature) without overwhelming them with a heavy reading load. Many teachers can also not expect that students will read outside of class, and cannot devote great swaths of time to in-class reading. This lesson seeks to introduce students to some exemplary representational examples of Victorian literature by reading a portion of the novel's first chapter, and allowing them to discuss what they have seen, analyze, make predictions, and draw conclusions, based on their reading. This lesson is most suitable for students who have already done some critical reading in their English courses, and are positioned to make predictions about characters, plot development, atmosphere, and literary styles.


Utility regulators frequently attempt to use tariff structures to pursue both distributional and efficiency goals. Efficiency necessitates setting prices as close to marginal costs as possible while still allowing the firm to cover its costs. The common distributional goal is to protect low-income customers from high prices. Perhaps nowhere is the conflict between these goals greater than in the use of increasing-block residential utility pricing, in which the marginal price to the customer increases as the customer's usage rises. Since the 2000-01 California electricity crisis, the state has adopted some of the most steeply increasing-block tariffs in electric utility history, but the distributional and efficiency effects have not been analyzed in detail. Using a novel approach for matching customer bill data with census data on area income distributions, I derive estimates of the income redistribution effected by the increasing-block tariffs used by California regulated electric utilities. I find that the rate structure does redistribute income to lower-income groups, but that the effect is fairly modest, particularly compared to a means-tested program also in use. While the distributional impact of these tariffs do not seem to be large, the efficiency costs may not be great either. Examining the distribution of customer demand quantities, I find preliminary evidence that customers do not respond to the increasing marginal prices they face.


The design of time-invariant beamformers is often posed as an optimization problem using practical design constraints. In many scenarios it is sufficient to assume that the microphones have an omnidirectional directivity pattern, a flat frequency response in the range of interest, and a 2D environment in which wavefronts propagate as a function of azimuth angle only. In this paper we consider a generalized solution for those cases in which one or more of these assumptions do not hold, yielding a beamformer that is optimized on measured directivity patterns as a function of azimuth, elevation and frequency. A comparative study is made with the 4-element cardioid microphone array employed in Microsoft Kinect for Windows, whose beamformer weights are calculated with directivity patterns using (a) 2D cardioid models, (b) 3D cardioid models and (c) 3D measurements. Results on a recorded noisy speech corpus show similar PESQ and speech recognition accuracy comparing (a) and (b), but a 50% relative improvement in word error rate using measured directivity patterns.


The aim of the dissertation is to describe and analyze the practice and meaning of Middle Eastern dance through the study of a number of performers in Stockholm. In particular, this study emphasises the ways in which the performers seek, create and defend values such as femininity, authenticity, empowerment and respectability in and through their dancing.Data for this study consists of field notes from participant observation in dance classes, festivals and gatherings; in-depth interviews and written material, such as leaflets and Internet material. Field notes from a trip to Lebanon with a group of Swedish dancers are also included.The performance of Middle Eastern dance in Stockholm may be seen as a way for Swedish women to find new femininities. They strive to combine a glamorous hyper-femininity with strength and respectability. This is a difficult task. The dancers constantly have to maintain a balance. While enjoying the hyper-femininity of oriental dance they must avoid being too sexy and thereby running the risk of being reduced to the position of sexual objects. To avoid losing control of the situation performing in public the dancers use different tactics. Many try to make the performance a clearly bounded event and make distinctions between themselves as individuals and the personas they embody on stage. This gives the performers a chance to playfully embody hyper-femininity. Other dancers have changed the dance itself, removing all movements and costumes that could be perceived as sexually inviting or aiming to please.


The principles and implementation of a phasor decomposition method for analyzing signals in tunable diode laser spectroscopy with wavelength modulation are described. This new technique enables recovery of the isolated and normalized residual amplitude modulation (RAM) signal from measured first harmonic signals at any chosen fundamental modulation frequency. Like the previously reported RAM technique, this new approach is absolute, yielding gas absorption line shape functions, concentrations and pressures without the need for calibration, under certain defined operating conditions. It represents an advancement of the RAM technique in that it obviates the need to operate at a specific high frequency to achieve phase quadrature between the RAM and derivative signals: the signals may be recovered at their maximum levels at any frequency. Measurements of the 1650.96 nm and the 1666.2 nm rotation/vibration absorption line shape functions for 1% and 10% methane in nitrogen at various pressures are compared to theoretical predictions derived from HITRAN data. The excellent agreement confirms the validity of the new technique. Further measurements of concentration and pressure confirm the efficacy of the technique for determining concentration in industrial process environments where the pressure may be unknown and changing. With the above features this new method is particularly suited to stand alone instrumentation for on-line deployment in industrial processes where the calibration factors in the conventional approach would present significant difficulties.


For decades it has been established that the amount of energy released by solar flares excites the acoustic oscillations propagating on the surface of the Sun (Wolff 1972). It is believed that these flares can excite velocity oscillations in active regions, especially those regions where a higher class solar flare has taken place (Kumar 2006). However, questions arise as to how the behaviors of acoustic oscillations within such a chaotic environment can birth other waves of the MHD type. Can we observe such events?


In recent decades, revisionist challenges to the traditional "declension hypothesis" have generated a much more nuanced and positive approach to the Black Power movement. However, attempts to explain the narrative's initial popularity have too often focussed on the latter half of the decade and blamed a media-assisted white backlash or the inflammatory rhetoric of Black Power activists. Concentrating instead on the earlier half of the decade, this article examines the media strategies of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and demonstrates how its public approach to nonviolence and interracial organizing purposefully hid developments within the movement that were seen to be at odds with the dominant discourse. By highlighting the ways in which the early media strategies of a militant organization like SNCC strengthened and legitimized a misleading movement narrative, this article challenges scholars to be more critical of early movement rhetoric and re-examine how and why Black Power was portrayed as a fundamental break with the past.


Title of Thesis: THE NOVELTY SEARCH OF PRIOR ART REQUIRES A LAWYER Mark Earnhart, Masters of Fine Art, 2013 Thesis Directed By: Professor Foon Sham Department of Art "Things are complicated" is a very true statement in which the vagueness is fitting, the utterance reprehensible and the implications impossible. But, things are complicated. They are not simply objects, although they might take the form; they might have mass and volume, substance and presence. But the object is tied to the act of perception, the thing is not; the thing can exist in no physical way but still maintain presence. What happens when encountering a thing? Does one rely on the tools of perception solely? Or is there something immeasurable in combination with what is present? Encountering a thing requires an ability to make connections, relate personally and internalize the situation. If the thing is known we put to work a relation of familiarity and if unknown the mechanism required for retrieval becomes infinitely complex.


Introduction: Even though modern technology progresses so rapidly, annals of otology are replete with so many challenging article, which often compare various types of prosthesis. Since there has not been a prospective randomized clinical trial study which compares the hearing result of total ossicular replacement prosthesis made of Titanium with omega connector and Polycel in the literature, we decided to perform a study encompassing this issue. Materials and Methods: 105 patients, who were in the 2nd stage of their operation and who needed total ossicular replacement prosthesis, were included in this prospective single blind randomized clinical trial study. Patients were classified in two groups: titanium Kurz (TTP™ -Vario system, Kurz GmbH, Dusslingen, Germany) with omega connector and Polycel (Sheehy Plastipore Polycel, Medtronic Xomed Inc). The duration of the follow up was 6-12 months. In order to evaluate hearing results, pure tone audiometric in 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 kHz were checked. In addition, speech reception threshold was recorded. A successful surgery was defined as having a postoperative air–bone gap within 20 dB. Results: We accomplished successful hearing in 64.4% of patients with titanium and 65% of patients with a Polycel prosthesis.Improvement in speech reception threshold was 11.5 dB in the titanium group and 13 dB in the Polycel group. In other words, there was no significant difference between the two groups. In addition, air-bone gap improvement after ossiculoplasty was 11.2 dB in the patients with a titanium prosthesis and 12.4 dB in the Polycel group. In fact, the difference was not significant. Conclusion: We found that both the titanium and the Polycel prosthesis improve speech reception threshold and air-bone gap closure in a similar manner.


Research on the learning and teaching of science is an important field for scholarly inquiry by faculty in science departments. Such research has proved to be an efficient means for improving the effectiveness of instruction in physics. A basic topic in introductory physics is used to illustrate how discipline-based education research has helped identify certain conceptual and reasoning difficulties that are common among university students and pre-university teachers. The results have been used to guide the design of instruction that has brought about a significant improvement in learning. The type of research illustrated requires a deep knowledge of physics and ready accessibility to students as they study that subject. Both of these conditions are usually present only in physics departments, not in departments in which the primary focus is on educational theory and methodology. Although the context of this paper is physics, analogies can readily be made to other sciences.


This paper reviews a number of recently developed stereo matching algorithms and representations. It focuses on techniques that are especially well suited for image-based renderingapplications such as novel view generation and the mixing of live imagery with synthetic computer graphics. The paper begins by reviewing some recent approaches to the classic problem of recovering a depth map from two or more images. It then describes a number of newer representations (and their associated reconstruction algorithms), including volumetric representations, layered plane-plus-parallax representations, and multiple depth maps. Each of these techniques has its own strengths and weaknesses, which are discussed.


With the commercial and institutional building sectors using approximately 29% and 34% of all electrical energy consumption in Canada and the United States, respectively, saving electrical energy in commercial and institutional buildings represents an important challenge for both the environment and the energy consumer. Concurrently, a rapid decline in the cost of microprocessing and communication has enabled the profileration of smart meters, which allow a customer to monitor energy usage every hour, 15 minutes or even every minute. Algorithmic analysis of this stream of meter readings would allow 1) a building operator to predict the potential cost savings from implemented energy savings measures without engaging the services of an expensive energy expert; and 2) an energy expert to quickly obtain a high-level understanding of a building's operating parameters without a time-consuming and expensive site visit. This thesis develops an algorithm that takes as input a stream of building meter data and outputs a building's operating parameters. This output can be used directly by an energy expert to assess a building's performance; it can also be used as input to other algorithms or systems, such as systems that 1) predict the cost savings from a change in these operating parameters; 2) benchmark a portfolio of building; 3) create baseline models for measurement and verification programs; 4) detect anomalous building behaviour; 5) provide novel data visualization methods; or 6) assess the applicability of demand response programs on a given building. To illustrate this, we show how operating parameters can be used to estimate potential energy savings from energy savings measures and predict building energy consumption. We validate our approach on a range of commercial and institutional buildings in Canada and the United States; our dataset consists of 10 buildings across a variety of geographies and industries and comprises over 21 years of meter data. We use K-fold cross-validation and benchmark our work against a leading black-box prediction algorithm; our model offers comparable prediction accuracy while being far less complex.


How quickly can we expect human mobility to resume to pre-pandemic levels after lockdowns? Does pandemic severity affect the speed of post-lockdown recovery? Using real-time cross-city human mobility data from China and a difference-in-difference-in-differences framework, we find that mobility in most cities resumed to normal six weeks after reopening. In contrast, the epicenter cities, those with the worst outbreaks, were slow to recover;twelve weeks after reopening, mobility had not returned to the pre-pandemic levels. We provide suggestive evidence that relatively undiminished pandemic concerns may have slowed down mobility recovery in the epicenter region. Our findings imply that a severe pandemic experience impedes post-lockdown mobility recovery. From a policy perspective, this study suggests that it is important to successfully contain the pandemic to achieve a faster post-lockdown recovery.


It is crucial to know cutting and filling volumes in many surveys, mining, quarry and engineering field of works like dredging and embankment project. Generally, volume calculation is completed using conventional surveying methods. The trapezoidal method and classical cross sectioning have been presented in the literature. In other way around, by using conventional surveying methods, the volume calculation required a lot of time, laborers and risky as the big machineries running around the work areas. Digital close range photogrammetry has been insufficient for the volume calculation of the material need to calculation of volume in risk areas or in short time. In this case, long range surveying and scanning method is an alternative method to volume calculation. By the development of scanning and imaging technologies, Topcon Imaging Station (IS) used for three dimensional modeling (3D) surveying of objects in many field such as topographic survey, mining, construction and as-built survey, etc disciplines has become a productive, faster and accurate method. This study concern is getting the stockpile volume by using Topcon IS known as advanced technology instrument which promotes both scanning and long-range surveying. The instrument, a highly-developed technology specialized with Image Master Software; distinctive software that provides capabilities to reconstructed 3D modeling after the volume data was processed. Three dimensional (3D) surfaces are created through Triangulated Irregular Network (TIN) method that supports time saving and more accurate volume calculation. The volume calculated by Image Master (IM) then compared with the volume calculated by 12D software which the data obtained by using total station and prism. The results have been analyzed with respect to different volumes, density factor, three dimensional (3D) models of stockpile and time taken for data acquisition and data processing.


Over the past decades, Linear Programming (LP) has been widely used in different areas and considered as one of the mature technologies in numerical optimization. However, the complexity offered by state-of-the-art algorithms (i.e. interior-point method and primal, dual simplex methods) is still unsatisfactory for problems in machine learning with huge number of variables and constraints. In this paper, we investigate a general LP algorithm based on the combination of Augmented Lagrangian and Coordinate Descent (AL-CD), giving an iteration complexity of O((log(1/∊))2) with O(nnz(A)) cost per iteration, where nnz(A) is the number of non-zeros in the m x n constraint matrix A, and in practice, one can further reduce cost per iteration to the order of non-zeros in columns (rows) corresponding to the active primal (dual) variables through an active-set strategy. The algorithm thus yields a tractable alternative to standard LP methods for large-scale problems of sparse solutions and nnz(A) ≪ mn. We conduct experiments on large-scale LP instances from l1 -regularized multi-class SVM, Sparse Inverse Covariance Estimation, and Nonnegative Matrix Factorization, where the proposed approach finds solutions of 10-3 precision orders of magnitude faster than state-of-the-art implementations of interior-point and simplex methods.1


textabstractFrontotemporal dementia (FTD) is the second most common type of early-onset dementia, in which symptoms commonly become apparent before the age of 65. The clinical spectrum is heterogeneous, ranging from a predominant behavioural manifestation (behavioural variant FTD; bvFTD) to progressive language deterioration (primary progressive aphasia; PPA) and parkinsonism. 10-30% of FTD cases have an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance. Mutations in the progranulin (GRN) and microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT) genes, and a repeat expansion in chromosome 9 open reading frame 72 (C9orf72) are the three most common causes. Familial FTD allows the identification of pathogenic mutation carriers in their presymptomatic phase – a critical time-window for treatment as the pathological damage is at its minimum and potentially still reversible. However, with promising avenues opening for disease-modifying therapies in clinical trials, we currently lack robust biomarkers for (familial) FTD. These biomarkers will be essential for improving diagnostic accuracy, staging and prognosis, onset prediction, and monitoring disease progression and treatment response. In this thesis, we have therefore investigated potential neuroimaging and neuropsychological biomarkers in the familial and sporadic FTD spectrum.


The Spanish flu pandemic killed between 50-100 million people worldwide in 1918-19. This article discusses Spanish flu in Norway between 1918-19 from three different approaches. How did Spanish flu affect Norway? Spanish flu was probably imported to Norway across the North Sea from Britain. From the middle of June 1918, Spanish flu swept across the country in three different waves: the summer epidemic of 1918, the autumn epidemic of 1918 and the winter epidemic of 1918-19. In Norway 13,000-15,000 died, most of them during the autumn of 1918 and mostly from pneumonia or pulmonary complications. What were the consequences? Most deaths occurred in young adults; many families experienced tragedies. Spanish flu is considered the worst demographic crisis of the twentieth century. The additional costs to the public purse were huge after the epidemic. Why was it that Spanish flu had such devastating effects? The virus causing the pandemic was very virulent and resulted in a higher mortality rate than that experienced during other pandemics. These characteristics may be explained by genetic features of the 1918 virus. This article points at conditions in Norway at the time of Spanish flu that may have contributed to the severity of the outbreak.


A practical and efficient procedure for evaluation of drilled shafts at the service limit state is proposed. The procedure uses Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) concepts to achieve target probabilities of failure without requiring case-specific probabilistic analyses. Proposed resistance factors are primarily dependent on four parameters: the normalized load, the coefficient of variation of the geomaterial strength, the target probability of failure, and the shaft length-to-diameter ratio. The proposed procedure can be implemented using several charts or analytical equations provided.


We present a survey and taxonomy of gesture-based computer interactions motivated by a literature review of over 40 years of gesture based interactions. This work presents a unique perspective on gesture-based interactions, categorized in terms of four key elements: gesture styles, the application domains they are applied to, input technologies and output technologies used for implementation. The taxonomy provides a means of addressing gestures as an interaction mode across the different application domains so that researchers and designers can draw on the vast amount of research that has been addressed within the literature from an interaction perspective.


The plant embryo is supported by a lifeline known as a suspensor that acts like an umbilical cord, connecting the embryo to surrounding tissues in the seed and ferrying in vital nutrients and growth factors. Although scientists have for a century known that the suspensor is a temporary organ, the molecular trigger for its demise was unknown. Now Meng-xiang Sun at Wuhan University in China and his colleagues have uncovered one key way this programmed cell death is controlled — a pair of proteins that antagonistically balance each other, with one spurring death and the other preventing it.

Plant embryos are supported by a temporary organ called a suspensor that connects embryos to surrounding nutrient-providing tissues. The suspensor dies early in embryonic development due to the actions of a protein pair that antagonistically balance each ...

After a plant egg cell is fertilized, it divides to become what is called a proembryo, which possesses two kinds of daughter cells with profoundly different fates. One, the smaller cell sitting at its tip, becomes the embryo, while the other, the larger cell resting at its base, develops into the suspensor that anchors the embryo to the parent plant. The suspensor, which occurs in a dazzling variety of shapes and sizes in the plant kingdom, is required only in the early stages of embryonic development — the disintegration of suspensor cells marks the earliest instance of programmed cell death in a plant's life.

To help solve the mystery behind the suspensor's downfall, researchers experimented with tobacco plants, whose suspensors are relatively easy to study, made up as they are of just simple columns of about four cells that develop through a well-known, precisely timed sequence of cell divisions. The suspensor begins to die once the embryo reaches the 32-celled stage, with death beginning at its base and progressing up to its tip, with all the contents of its cells slowly digested from within.

The scientists focused on a tobacco gene they named NtCYS. Genetic analysis revealed this gene is seen only in the basal cells that develop into suspensors — its activity is greatest during the eight- to 32-celled stage of the embryo, after which its levels decrease dramatically.

The researchers discovered the natural onset of suspensor degeneration coincided with a steady decrease in NtCYS activity. When they artificially silenced NtCYS activity with interfering RNA molecules early on in plant development, premature cell death occurred in the basal cell lineage, which in turn killed off embryos. By contrast, overexpressing NtCYS profoundly delayed cell death in the suspensor. All in all, these findings revealed NtCYS suppresses cell death.

NtCYS encodes a kind of protein known as a cystatin, which typically inhibit enzymes known as cysteine proteases. Genetic analysis revealed 20 genes encoding cysteine proteases that were active in the two-celled proembryo. Of those, NtCYS apparently interacted with six cathepsins, proteases linked with cell death; moreover, NtCYS was found in the same locations in the cell as one of those cathepsins named NtCP14, suggesting NtCYS targeted that enzyme.

The scientists discovered that overexpressing NtCP14 triggered precocious cell death in the basal cell lineage, causing massive embryonic death, while silencing NtCP14 delayed suspensor cell death. In other words, whereas NtCYS is anti-death, NtCP14 is pro-death.

It remains a puzzle as to what molecule or molecules naturally set off the rapid decrease of NtCYS activity that kills off suspensors. Since the ephemeral organ's programmed cell death starts at its base, the signal might come from cells at the micropyle, the opening through which the pollen tube penetrates into the ovule, the female part of the plant. Alternatively, the signal might come from the embryo itself, a possibility supported by the fact that suspensor programmed cell death always starts when the embryo reaches a very specific point in its life, its 32-celled stage.

In addition to analyzing what controls the activity of NtCYS and NtCP14, future research can also pinpoint what they control. The investigators discovered that increasing NtCP14 activity in the two-celled proembryo correspondingly increased the activity of molecules similar to caspases, enzymes linked with programmed cell death in animals.

Zhao P, Zhou X-M, Zhang L-Y, Wang W, Ma L-G, et al. (2013) A Bipartite Molecular Module Controls Cell Death Activation in the Basal Cell Lineage of Plant Embryos. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1001655


An analysis of the sequence information contained in a compilation of published binding sites for E. coli integration host factor (IHF) was performed. The sequences of twenty-seven IHF sites were aligned; the base occurrences at each position, the information content, and an extended consensus sequence were obtained for the IHF site. The base occurrences at each position of the IHF site were used with a program written for the Apple Macintosh computers in order to determine the similarity scores for published IHF sites. A linear correlation was found to exist between the logarithm of IHF binding and functional data (relative free energies) and similarity scores for two groups of IHF sites. The MacTargsearch program and its potential usefulness in searching for other sites and predicting their relative activities is discussed.


Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been recommended for staging and surgical planning in cats with injection site sarcomas (ISS). The purpose of this retrospective study was to describe low-field MRI characteristics of confirmed injection site sarcomas in a group of cats. Low-field MR images, thoracic radiographs, histopathology findings, and medical records of cats that fulfilled histological criteria of injection site sarcoma were retrieved and reviewed retrospectively. Presence or absence of tumor mineralization and pulmonary metastases were recorded from thoracic radiographs. Characteristics recorded from low-field MRI studies included tumor number, volume (ellipsoid method), intensity relative to surrounding musculature, homogeneity, regions of signal void (mineralization) or cavitation, degree and pattern of contrast enhancement, tumor margination, presence of a peripheral T2W hyperintense zone, and bone contact. A total of 19 cats met inclusion criteria. Cats with multiple tumors were more likely to have had previous excisional biopsy, and were less likely to undergo definitive surgery. All tumors were hyperintense relative to surrounding musculature on T1W and T2W images. Larger tumors were more likely to exhibit mineralization (P < 0.05). Tumor volume could not predict tumor-free margins at definitive surgery. The majority of tumors showed moderate to marked heterogeneous contrast enhancement. Infiltrative margins and the presence of a peripheral T2W hyperintense zone were more prevalent following excisional biopsy, while cavitation was more prevalent following incisional biopsy. Findings indicated that low-field MRI characteristics of injection site sarcoma may vary widely and may be affected by prior incisional or excisional biopsy.


Methods for sequential decision-making are often built upon a foundational assumption that the underlying decision process is stationary. This limits the application of such methods because real-world problems are often subject to changes due to external factors (passive non-stationarity), changes induced by interactions with the system itself (active non-stationarity), or both (hybrid non-stationarity). In this work, we take the first steps towards the fundamental challenge of on-policy and off-policy evaluation amidst structured changes due to active, passive, or hybrid non-stationarity. Towards this goal, we make a higher-order stationarity assumption such that non-stationarity results in changes over time, but the way changes happen is fixed. We propose, OPEN, an algorithm that uses a double application of counterfactual reasoning and a novel importance-weighted instrument-variable regression to obtain both a lower bias and a lower variance estimate of the structure in the changes of a policy's past performances. Finally, we show promising results on how OPEN can be used to predict future performances for several domains inspired by real-world applications that exhibit non-stationarity.


The anisotropy in the central part of the inner core has been difficult to study because of the paucity of PKP data at antipodal distances, especially for those paths running nearly north-south (polar paths). In this paper, we systematically search through the International Seismological Center (ISC) picks of PKIKP travel times for polar paths at near-antipodal distances reported recently by Su and Dziewonski [1995]. Corresponding seismograms were obtained from the Worldwide Standardized Seismographs Network (WWSSN) film chip library at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. By using seismograms, we can impose quality control on the data, measure differential times (AB-DF in this case) by cross correlation and use long-period waveforms if available. Nonpolar paths at near-antipodal distances are assembled as well, to address biases from lateral variation in the lowermost mantle on AB-DF times. Our results show large AB-DF residuals of 2 to 8 s for the polar paths at near-antipodal distances. Moreover, the absolute DF travel times for the polar paths exhibit fast anomalies of the same magnitude relative to nonpolar paths, while AB times show no obvious difference between polar and nonpolar paths. These observations are consistent with an axisymmetric anisotropy of ∼3% around the spin axis throughout the bulk of the inner core, with the possibility of even stronger anisotropy near Earth's center. This degree of anisotropy is still greater than what the most recent models based on normal modes would indicate.


The Mediterranean region stands as one of the most sensitive to climate change, both in terms of warming and drying. On shorter time‐scales, internal variability has substantially affected the observed climate and in the next decade might enhance or compensate long‐term trends. Here we compare the multi‐model climate predictions produced within the framework of the CMIP5 (Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5) project with historical simulations to assess the level of multi‐year climate prediction skill in the Mediterranean region beyond that originating from the model accumulated response to the external radiative forcings. We obtain a high and significant skill in predicting 4‐year averaged annual and summer mean temperature over most of the study domain and in predicting precipitation for the same seasons over northern Europe and sub‐Saharan Africa. A lower skill is found during the winter season but still positive for temperature. Although most of this high skill originates from the model response to the external radiative forcings, the initialization contributes to the temperature skill over the Mediterranean Sea and surrounding land areas. The high and significant correlations between the observed Mediterranean temperatures and the observed Atlantic multidecadal oscillation (AMO) in the summer and annual means are captured by the CMIP5 ensemble which suggests that the added skill is related to the ability of the CMIP5 ensemble to predict the AMO. Such a link to the AMO seems restricted to western Africa and summer means only for the precipitation case.


on Coronary Artery Calcium Scoring by Computed Tomography in Global Cardiovascular Risk Assessment and in Evaluation of Patients With Chest Pain A Report of the American College of Cardiology Foundation Clinical Expert Consensus Task Force (ACCF/AHA Writing Committee to Update the 2000 Expert Consensus Document on Electron Beam Computed Tomography) Developed in Collaboration With the Society of Atherosclerosis Imaging and Prevention and the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography


Abstract. Cell phones have become an inherent part of human life and have grown rapidly in the last decade. In India, there are nearly 120 crore cell phone users which require setting up of cell phone tower at an appropriate location to transmit the signals. A signal strength that is measured in (dBm) keeps on varying from one location to another. Over the decades, there has been a great deal of concern about placing a cell phone tower to manage adequate signal strength for an area. During transmission, the signals get affected by the position of building, ground and the distances the signals need to travel before reaching any receiver or user location. Existing researches focus on the requirement of a suitable number of cell phone towers for a big area in a GIS environment. Depending on the building and other infrastructure present in an area an optimal location can be determined for setting up the cell phone tower. However, the detailed 3D data is required for it. In this paper, a LiDAR-based technique is attempted. Using the point cloud data of the RGIPT campus, features like building, ground, obstruction points, etc are extracted. To determine the transmission paths for the signal, building/object boundary(es), etc. coming in the path(s) between the cell phone tower and the receiver location are determined. Once the detailed paths for the signal transmission i.e, direct path, or path after diffraction (around the buildings), and/or reflection (from the wall and ground) are determined, terrain parameters (distance, path difference, attenuation, etc) are ascertained. These are then used to model and determine the relative signal strength for any receiver location. The position of cell phone tower is then tested for optimal XY, and Z position to ascertain the best location for setting up the cell phone tower. The method is verified against various path determination algorithms. A centroid and viewshed based approach is adopted here. The technique is generic, novel and essentially work with LiDAR point data without needing DEM and can be applied for any terrain condition.


The research question that was examined in this research study is whether or not The Center for Child and Family Advocacy's adult male sex offender group is effective in lowering risk responsibility and criminality, and increasing treatment cooperation, selfmanagement, and social ability and supports. The specific program material used in this treatment group is The Road to Freedom, by Morin and Levenson (2002). This experimental study utilized a paired-sample t-test to examine the differences between the first measurement and second measurement of three groups: current client, completed clients, and all clients. The results demonstrated that this particular treatment program had statistically significant improvements between the total scores of first measurements and second measurements. This proves that the agency's program is effective overall. More specifically, it is effective in lowering risk responsibility and criminality, and increasing treatment cooperation and self-management. There is some limited support for the program increasing social stability and supports. There were many limitations based on inconsistencies with the data. Consequently, there were several implications for policy and practice. There are many current research studies regarding sex offender treatment in general, but there was a lack of research specifically relating The Raod to Freedom program, as well as specifically relating to the Sex Offender Treatment Intervention and Progress Scale (SOTIPS). More research is needed


"The New Manager's Handbook" provides 24 lessons for mastering your new role. You've been promoted to manager - and that puts you in a whole different ballgame. From difficult employees to demanding bosses, you never know where your next problem is coming from. What you do know is that you'll be expected to solve that problem - and solve it quickly and effectively. "The New Manager's Handbook" explains the rules of this new game, and gives you invaluable tips and pointers for teaming with your employees while inspiring them to breakthrough performance and results. Let the two dozen rules and guidelines in this quick-hitting manual show you the best ways to: delegate review performance; think strategically; lead great meetings; give and get results-oriented feedback; provide direction; speak with power; criticize with honesty and tact; ask the right questions; motivate average performers; and prepare for change.As a new manager in today's no-room-for-error workplace, you will be challenged and tested every day. Unlike previous positions, however, your success will judged by the performance of others. Give yourself every opportunity to succeed, and learn how to win the respect of both your employees and your supervisors, with the time-tested and field-proven techniques in "The New Manager's Handbook".


This report presents the results of a study that investigated the reinforcement function of geosynthetics for typical Minnesota low volume roadways. Researchers conducted a series of numerical simulations using the finite difference program FLAC. The numerical tests consisted of a static, circular nine kip loading over a variety of typical surfaced and unsurfaced road cross sections that were reinforced with geotextiles and geogrids. Researchers used elastic and elasto-plastic models with frictional interfaces to simulate the layered roadway system. The results of the study indicate that the addition of a geosynthetic does provide reinforcement to the roadway as long as the geosynthetic is stiffer than the subgrade material. However, for most of the cases studied, the benefit in terms of deflection reduction, was very small. Only for the poorest subgrades was the reinforcement benefit substantial.


Viruses account for most respiratory tract infections. However, antibiotics continue to be prescribed and utilised inappropriately. Indiscriminate prescribing and patient noncompliance contribute to the rising prevalence of antibiotic resistance. Only 15 (out of 167) new antibiotic agents are being developed that have a new mechanism of action. It is imperative that healthcare professionals adhere to the rational use of antibiotics, and advise their patients accordingly.