Abstract
 Higher education must improve student retention and graduation rates to meet increased demand for STEM degrees in the workforce projected for the next ten years. The high rate of attrition among STEM students entering college compels institutions to implement strategies that improve student retention because more states now employ performance-based funding models with increased pressures to improve student outcomes, such as first- and second-year retention rates. We piloted a two-year hierarchical mentoring model as part of a first-year experience course developed for biology students (BioSkills) to increase retention rates among first-time-in-college (FTIC) students. We describe the mentoring structure we adopted and how the design of BioSkills supports and educates future biology professionals. Our findings show that FTIC students who participated in this program earned significantly higher first-year GPAs and were retained at higher rates than students who did not participate, which documents the impact of BioSkills as a successful first-year intervention. However, we were surprised that the benefit of BioSkills was not replicated among under-represented minority (URM) students. We briefly speculate on explanations for this finding. Lastly, we offer best practice suggestions for future implementation.


Pavements are constructed on compacted soils that are typically unsaturated. The negative pore-water pressure (soil suction) due to the ingress of water in between soil particles has a significant effect on pavement foundation stiffness and strength. The study characterized the effects of soil suction on shear strength and resilient modulus of four soils representing different regions of Minnesota. The deviator stress in shear strength measurements followed a power function relationship with soil suction. Resilient modulus also followed the power function relationship with suction but these relationships fell within a narrow range. The authors present models for incorporating suction effects in shear strength and resilient modulus measurements of highly compacted subgrade soils. They also briefly outline a framework for incorporating these models in the resistance factors of MnPAVE. Since soil water content and the resulting soil suction under the pavement varies with season, adjustments are needed to account for increased strength and stiffness of the material as a result of unsaturated soil conditions. These adjustments will not only reflect the more realistic field conditions but will result in more reliable performance predictions than the current pavement design method.


This paper analyzes quantitative findings on the innovative behavior of firms in the production chains of pisco and shoe manufacture in Peru, which are served by the network of Technological Innovation Centers (CITEs), the most important technology policy instrument available in Peru. These two chains, in low and medium-technology industries, are representative of Peru's manufacturing sector. Of particular interest is the role of technical standards as a means of technological diffusion, which is stressed in the work of the CITEs. For the pisco chain, that role involves the definition of the product itself, for which Peru is seeking a World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) denomination. In the shoe chain, the technical standard should act as a coordination mechanism that will help increase efficiency throughout the chain, which at present is often fractured.


Background Reformulating opioid analgesics to deter abuse is one approach toward improving their benefit-risk balance. To assess sentiment and attempts to defeat these products among difficult-to-reach populations of prescription drug abusers, evaluation of posts on Internet forums regarding reformulated products may be useful. A reformulated version of OxyContin (extended-release oxycodone) with physicochemical properties to deter abuse presented an opportunity to evaluate posts about the reformulation in online discussions. Objective The objective of this study was to use messages on Internet forums to evaluate reactions to the introduction of reformulated OxyContin and to identify methods aimed to defeat the abuse-deterrent properties of the product. Methods Posts collected from 7 forums between January 1, 2008 and September 30, 2013 were evaluated before and after the introduction of reformulated OxyContin on August 9, 2010. A quantitative evaluation of discussion levels across the study period and a qualitative coding of post content for OxyContin and 2 comparators for the 26 month period before and after OxyContin reformulation were conducted. Product endorsement was estimated for each product before and after reformulation as the ratio of endorsing-to-discouraging posts (ERo). Post-to-preintroduction period changes in ERos (ie, ratio of ERos) for each product were also calculated. Additionally, post content related to recipes for defeating reformulated OxyContin were evaluated from August 9, 2010 through September 2013. Results Over the study period, 45,936 posts related to OxyContin, 18,685 to Vicodin (hydrocodone), and 23,863 to Dilaudid (hydromorphone) were identified. The proportion of OxyContin-related posts fluctuated between 6.35 and 8.25 posts per 1000 posts before the reformulation, increased to 10.76 in Q3 2010 when reformulated OxyContin was introduced, and decreased from 9.14 in Q4 2010 to 3.46 in Q3 2013 in the period following the reformulation. The sentiment profile for OxyContin changed following reformulation; the post-to-preintroduction change in the ERo indicated reformulated OxyContin was discouraged significantly more than the original formulation (ratio of ERos=0.43, P<.001). A total of 37 recipes for circumventing the abuse-deterrent characteristics of reformulated OxyContin were observed; 32 were deemed feasible (ie, able to abuse). The frequency of posts reporting abuse of reformulated OxyContin via these recipes was low and decreased over time. Among the 5677 posts mentioning reformulated OxyContin, 825 posts discussed recipes and 498 reported abuse of reformulated OxyContin by such recipes (41 reported injecting and 128 reported snorting). Conclusions After introduction of physicochemical properties to deter abuse, changes in discussion of OxyContin on forums occurred reflected by a reduction in discussion levels and endorsing content. Despite discussion of recipes, there is a relatively small proportion of reported abuse of reformulated OxyContin via recipes, particularly by injecting or snorting routes. Analysis of Internet discussion is a valuable tool for monitoring the impact of abuse-deterrent formulations.


Nominally herbivorous fish play a variety of functional roles that are important in maintaining coral reef resilience, yet are major targets of spear fisheries in Micronesia. Although protection is afforded to iconic species in some areas, impacts of the fishery on the ecosystem are poorly understood. The goal of this study was to locate the major potential ecological threats from the fishery by integrating catch data with species-specific metrics of ecological importance and vulnerability to fishing. Region-wide and country-specific grounds for ecological concern were identified. The heavy exploitation of Naso unicornis was the most serious regional concern — not only was it the most vulnerable species involved in the fishery, but it plays a low-redundancy functional role (i.e. macroalgal browsing) in the ecosystem. The parrotfishes Cetoscarus bicolor, Scarus rubroviolaceus and Chlorurus microrhinos were also implicated in ecological risks (most noticeable in Palau), and the large proportion of immature catch aggravated the concerns found in Pohnpei. An interview-based assessment of species desirability among fishers highlighted the challenges managers may meet locally in diverting attention away from heavily harvested spe- cies. Opportunities to alleviate the ecological risks posed by a significant sector of the Micronesian fisheries were identified. Inducing changes in fishers' targeting behaviour towards opportunis - tically-caught species may prove feasible in most countries, and if enacted, may reduce fishing pressure in low-redundancy functional roles. The effectiveness of the policy options supported by the present approach in sustaining reef function and resilience has yet to be assessed. However, we anticipate that informing fishers about the implications of their selectivity may achieve tangible progress in conservation of the species. Therefore, policies which moderate catch rates of highly desirable species, as well as efforts to promote more conscious targeting behaviours, may complement the benefits of the existing networks of marine protected areas.


We consider tests for structural change, based on the SupF and Cramer-von-Mises type statistics of Andrews (1993) and Nyblom (1989), respectively, in the slope and/or intercept parameters of a predictive regression model where the predictors display strong persistence. The SupF type tests are motivated by alternatives where the parameters display a small number of breaks at deterministic points in the sample, while the Cramer-von-Mises alternative is one where the coeffi cients are random and slowly evolve through time. In order to allow for an unknown degree of persistence in the predictors, and for both conditional and unconditional heteroskedasticity in the data, we implement the tests using a fixed regressor wild bootstrap procedure. The asymptotic validity of the bootstrap tests is established by showing that the asymptotic distributions of the bootstrap parameter constancy statistics, conditional on the data, coincide with those of the asymptotic null distributions of the corresponding statistics computed on the original data, conditional on the predictors. Monte Carlo simulations suggest that the bootstrap parameter stability tests work well in finite samples, with the tests based on the Cramer-von-Mises type principle seemingly the most useful in practice. An empirical application to U.S. stock returns data demonstrates the practical usefulness of these methods.


OBJECTIVE
This study evaluated the proficiency in executing closed, fluoroscopic-assisted reduction of unicondylar humeral fractures. The following were hypothesised: experienced surgeons would be highly successful in performing closed reduction; body weight, time to surgery and surgeon experience would influence the reduction method; and the reduction method would not affect technical aspects of the repair.

METHODS
All unicondylar humeral fractures stabilised between January 2007 and January 2017 were reviewed. Signalment and time to surgery, experience of the attending surgeon, and the initial and definitive reduction methods were recorded. Initial and subsequent postoperative radiographs were used to assess fracture reduction, implant placement and complications. Univariate polychotomous logistic regressions, Fisher's exact test, Kruskal-Wallis rank sums non-parametric test or equivalence tests were used to compare parameters evaluated based on the approach employed (P < 0.05 significant).

RESULTS
A total of 36 dogs with 37 fractures were identified (median weight: 5.4 kg; median time to surgery: 3 days). Of these, 11 of 15 attempted closed reductions were successful. Successful closed reductions had shorter times to surgery than limited open or open reductions (P = 0.009). Age, weight and surgeon experience did not influence the definitive reduction method. Technical aspects of reduction and stabilisation were similar among the reduction methods. Surgery times were shorter for closed reductions (P = 0.034). Of the fractures, 75% healed without complications and 85% had excellent long-term function.

CONCLUSION
The results suggested that closed, fluoroscopic-assisted reduction is a proficient (73% successful) and efficient (shorter surgery times with comparable technical results compared with other limited open and open reduction) means of stabilising acute unicondylar humeral fractures.


Many of the small island democracies of the South Pacific are natural laboratories for constitutional and electoral experimentation, but have tended to be ignored by comparative political science research. This article examines one apparently unknown case of electoral innovation from the region: the use of Borda count voting procedures for elections in the Pacific Island states of Nauru and Kiribati. It introduces the basic concept of the Borda count and its relation to other electoral systems, and surveys arguments about the virtues and drawbacks of Borda count electoral systems. It then discusses in some detail the way that the Borda count is used for elections in Nauru and Kiribati, including the political impact of the system, and empirical examples of different types of strategic behaviour at work. It concludes by examining the broader significance of these cases for comparative studies of democracy, elections, social choice, and voting theory.


Given a compensated Poisson process $(X_t)_{t \geq 0}$ based on $(\Omega, \mathcal{F}, \mathbb{P})$, the Wiener-Poisson isomorphism $\mathcal{W} : \mathfrak{F}_+(L^2 (\mathbb{R}_+)) \to L^2 (\Omega, \mathcal{F}, \mathbb{P})$ is constructed. We restrict the isomorphism to $\mathfrak{F}_+(L^2 [0,1])$ and prove some novel properties of the Poisson exponentials $\mathcal{E}(f) := \mathcal{W}(e(f))$. A new proof of the result $\Lambda_t + A_t + A^{\dagger}_t = \mathcal{W}^{-1}\widehat{X_t} \mathcal{W}$ is also given. The analogous results for $\mathfrak{F}_+(L^2 (\mathbb{R}_+))$ are briefly mentioned.

The concept of a compensated Poisson process over $\mathbb{R}_+$ is generalised to any measure space $(M, \mathcal{M}, \mu)$ as an isometry $I : L^2(M, \mathcal{M}, \mu) \to L^2 (\Omega,\mathcal{F}, \mathbb{P})$ satisfying certain properties. For such a generalised Poisson process we recall the construction of the generalised Wiener-Poisson isomorphism, $\mathcal{W}_I : \mathfrak{F}_+(L^2(M)) \to L^2 (\Omega, \mathcal{F}, \mathbb{P})$, using Charlier polynomials. Two alternative constructions of $\mathcal{W}_I$ are also provided, the first using exponential vectors and then deducing the connection with Charlier polynomials, and the second using the theory of reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces.

Given any measure space $(M, \mathcal{M}, \mu)$, we construct a canonical generalised Poisson process $I : L^2 (M, \mathcal{M}, \mu) \to L^2(\Delta, \mathcal{B}, \mathbb{P})$, where $\Delta$ is the maximal ideal space, with $\mathcal{B}$ the completion of its Borel $\sigma$-field with respect to $\mathbb{P}$, of a $C^*$-algebra $\mathcal{A} \subseteq \mathfrak{B}(\mathfrak{F}_+(L^2(M)))$. The Gelfand transform $\mathcal{A} \to \mathfrak{B}(L^2(\Delta))$ is unitarily implemented by the Wiener-Poisson isomorphism $\mathcal{W}_I: \mathfrak{F}_+(L^2(M)) \to L^2(\Delta)$. This construction only uses operator algebra theory and makes no a priori use of Poisson measures.

A new Fock space proof of the quantum Ito formula for $(\Lambda_t + A_t + A^{\dagger}_t)_{0 \leq t \leq 1}$ is given. If $(F_{\ \! \! t})_{0 \leq t \leq 1}$ is a real, bounded, predictable process with respect to a compensated Poisson process $(X_t)_{0 \leq t \leq 1}$, we show that if $M_t = \int_0^t F_s dX_s$, then on $\mathsf{E}_{\mathrm{lb}} := \mathrm{linsp} \{ e(f) : f \in L^2_{\mathrm{lb}}[0,1] \}$, $\mathcal{W}^{-1} \widehat{M_t} \mathcal{W} = \int_0^t \mathcal{W}^{-1} \widehat{F_s} \mathcal{W} (d\Lambda_s + dA_s + dA^{\dagger}_s),$ and that $(\mathcal{W}^{-1} \widehat{M_t} \mathcal{W})_{0 \leq t \leq 1}$ is an essentially self-adjoint quantum semimartingale. We prove, using the classical Ito formula, that if $(J_t)_{0 \leq t \leq 1}$ is a regular self-adjoint quantum semimartingale, then $(\mathcal{W} \widehat{M_t} \mathcal{W}^{-1} + J_t)_{0 \leq t \leq 1}$ is an essentially self-adjoint quantum semimartingale satisfying the quantum Duhamel formula, and hence the quantum Ito formula. The equivalent result for the sum of a Brownian and Poisson martingale, provided that the sum is essentially self-adjoint with core $\mathsf{E}_{\mathrm{lb}}$, is also proved.


This paper deals generally with the creation, structuring and behavior of innovation ecosystems, i.e. a network of diverse actors, including emerging young firms, as well as established medium-size and large enterprises, NGOs, and government. More specifically, the paper explores these basic issues using the example of smart grid development, which is now taking place in the cleantech/renewable energy field. To examine and compare smart grid innovation ecosystems being assembled by GE, IBM and Cisco Systems, our study assembles data on ecosystem membership, provides metrics on key parameters, and generates "maps" of these smart grid innovation ecosystems. These ecosystems are also analyzed and compared using social networking analysis, focusing in particular on the parameters of diversity, centrality (degree, betweenness and closeness) and density. Generally, our results show that innovation ecosystem strategies constitute a key approach for entering and innovating in the smart grid arena.


Asian American literature has now been in production for over a century, (1) and recent decades have shown an exponential increase in its publication. With this critical mass firmly in place, Asian American literary criticism continues to grow as a field. Interestingly enough, this field of inquiry, is still fairly nascent and has only recently experienced a significant increase in terms of full-length texts. Of course, the connection between Asian American literature as a cultural production and Asian American literary criticism is quite explicit and symbiotic. The work of literary critics has been crucial to the ways that Asian American literatures have been defined, archived, re-issued, and taught at universities in the United States and internationally. At the same time, the heated pace of publication of Asian American writing expands the scope of literary criticism. In this examination of Asian American literary criticism over time and across general thematics, we posit tentatively three distinct, but not wholly partitioned, temporal phases and five thematic categories. These three phases of literary critical studies are: pre-1982, between 1982 and 1995, and from 1995 to the present. The appearance of thematic categories takes prominent shape in the third temporal phase. We begin with a short exploration of three anthologies published in the seventies and move to examinations of the first Asian American critical texts that appear in the eighties and early nineties. In the third temporal phase, we begin to fully differentiate the thematic categories that emerge. Finally, we conclude with a foray into the gaps within Asian American literary criticism, which leaves this field open to new avenues of study. The five thematic categories that have been codified within the critical texts are: the problematics of defining Asian American literature, especially in relation to discourses on nation/transnation/globalization; studies on gender and sexuality; examinations of genre and form; single-author studies; and finally, meta-critical studies of Asian American literary criticism. A murky sixth category comes in the form of a separate listing of edited anthologies whose placement within a particular thematic context is difficult considering the myriad critical strategies included in those collections. Ultimately, these categories and temporal phases clarify and problematize the greater rubric under which Asian American literary criticism works. Whereas we fully understand the limitations and problematics involved with taxonomies, (2) the current study provides a jumping-off point for scholars to contextualize and negotiate an understanding of Asian American literary criticism. While a number of critics provide partial constructions of the critical terrain, we discuss texts and arguments by those we see as the luminaries and strong contributors to the field of Asian American literary criticism. In doing so, we have restricted our study mainly to full-length texts such as edited collections and single-authored literary critical books. We hope to offer a useful tool for understanding the manner in which the field has taken shape and continues to evolve today. The first historical appearances of what can be viewed as Asian American literary criticism took place prior to 1982 in the introductions of edited collections of creative writing by Asian Americans. These edited collections began the controversial dialogue of constituting an "Asian American literature," which was defined by the inclusion or exclusion of certain Asian American ethnic groups. Much of the published creative work at that time was limited to what these editors considered worthy or could have accessed, which by the 1970s was composed primarily of works by writers of Japanese, Korean, Filipino, and Chinese descent. Not surprisingly, the first collection of edited work, Kai-Yu Hsu and Helen Palubinskas's Asian-American Authors (1972), contains references to only three ethnic groups within Asian American literature: Chinese, Filipino, and Japanese American. …


Fa tty acids are the primary fuel source for cardiac tissue in both humans and animals. These become especially important during times of starvation and long bouts of exercise. Fatty acids are broken down into smaller, useable acyl-CoA subunits through a process called beta-oxidation. The first step in this process must be catalyzed by one of four acyl-CoA dehydrogenase enzymes depending on the length of the fatty acid to be metabolized. The enzyme that catalyzes the breakdown oflong-chainfatty acids, long-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (LCAD), was examined. The objective of this study was to determine how a single bout of endurance exercise impacts cardiac function in LCAD deficient mice as well as to assess whether recovery from exercise is adversely affected. Mice were separated into four groups for testing: LCAD, non-exercised; LCAD, exercised; control, non-exercised; and control, exercised. Mice were exercised by forced running at a speed of 31m/min with increasing grade (2%) each 20 min. Twentyfour hours post-exercise, the mice were anesthetized with sodium pentobarbital (40 ml/kg body weight,) and ejection fraction, fractional shortening, and cardiac output values were determined in both groups. It was determined that exercise had no effect on cardiac function or recovery in either the LCAD or control group. There was, however, a significant difference between the LCAD and control group for fractional shortening (p<0.05) and cardiac output (p<0.05). It was concluded that a single bout of endurance exercise had no significant effect on the cardiac fimction of LCAD dificient mice during recovery, although the disease did negatively affect cardiac function when compared to the control group.


Objective: Diabetes mellitus is a disease associated with dysfunction of pancreatic β-cells and oxidative stress. A treatment which can reduce the impact of oxidative stress may be beneficial in the treatment of diabetes. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect of gambier extract on the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and blood glucose level (BGL) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).Methods: This research was a randomized clinical study consisted of two groups, namely placebo group (n=10) and gambier group (n=6). The blood samples were collected from the vein after fasting overnight and before consuming 100 g white bread to measure the levels of MDA, SOD, and BGL. The same procedure was conducted after fasting and 2-h postprandial on day 1 and day 14. The data obtained were analyzed with Student's t-test with a statistical significance level of p<0.05.Results: The results showed that there was no change in MDA levels in the placebo group during the observation, but there was a significant decrease in MDA levels in the gambier group on day 14. In contrast, SOD levels increased in all measurements although there was no change on day 1 in the placebo group. The present study also found a significant increase of BGLs after consuming 100 g bread in both groups, but less BGL elevation in the gambier group.Conclusion: It is concluded that gambier extract has special mechanisms in the treatment of T2DM as an antioxidant and BGLs reduction.


Geographical factors play a critical role in determining how a civil war is fought and who will prevail. Drawing on the PRIO/Uppsala Armed Conflict dataset covering the period 1946-2000, the authors have determined the location of all battle-zones for all civil wars in this time period, thereby identifying the geographic extent and the center point of each conflict. Using ordinary least squares (OLS) and three-stage least squares (3SLS) estimation techniques, factors are analyzed that determine the scope of the conflict (area of the conflict zone) and the location of the conflict relative to the capital. It is found that in addition to geographical factors such as the total land area of the country, scope is strongly shaped by such factors as the adjacencies of a border of a neighboring country, the incidence of natural resources in the conflict zone, and the duration of the conflict. The distance of the conflict zone from the capital is influenced by the scope of the conflict, the size of the country, whether or not the objective of the rebels is to secede, and whether or not the rebel group has a religious or ethnic identity. Also, evidence is found of an endogenous relationship between scope and location.


Context: The adolescent period of human life is one of the vital times when most of the body growth and development occur. Nearly 35% of the global burden of disease has its root emergence in adolescence. Overweight and obesity are defined as "abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health." Aims: The present study aims to measure the prevalence of overweight and obesity among adolescent students (aged 10-18 years) in Pondicherry. Settings and Design: The study was conducted as a cross-sectional study among 10-18-year-old students in Pondicherry. The study was conducted among 2,465 students from 5 schools and 2 polytechnic colleges. Materials and Methods: The students were classified as "overweight" or "obese" based on the Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) age- and gender-specific body mass index (BMI) guidelines. Statistical Analysis Used: Data entry was done in MS Excel 2013 and Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21 was used for the statistical analysis. Chi-square test was used to identify statistical difference in proportions. Results: The study results showed that the prevalence of overweight and obesity in our study population was 9.7% and 4.3%, respectively. There was no difference in prevalence between males and females. The prevalence of overweight/obesity increased as the age advanced. Conclusions: The prevalence of overweight and obesity was predominant among the students of private schools in the urban region in our study population.


Around 125,000 people volunteer in hospices each year in the UK, and due to the predicted increase in the UK ageing population within the next 20 years (AgeUK, 2016), the recruitment and retention of volunteers is crucial in the future development of palliative care. To date, there is a distinct lack of literature regarding the experiences of hospice volunteers. Therefore, the present qualitative study aims to (a) explore how hospice volunteers' experiences have influenced their perceptions of palliative care; (b) identify the potential stressors experienced by volunteers and the way in which they cope and adapt; and (c) provide recommendations for the hospice with regards to improving well-being and role satisfaction in volunteers. Six hospice volunteers were interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule. Interviews were analysed from an interpretative phenomenological framework. Three master themes were identified: 1) psychosocial constructs of death and dying; 2) protection of self; and 3) self-esteem. The analysis revealed that volunteers experienced mortality salience, which stemmed from society's perceptions of death and dying. This was demonstrated as a perceived role hierarchy within certain areas of the hospice. The way in which volunteers cope with the confrontation of mortality varied dependent upon their levels of self-esteem. Further research into hospice volunteers is discussed and improvements regarding emotional support and staff communication are explored.


This review describes the recent history and latest developments in gas detection at Southampton University, using real-time correlation spectroscopy. The general approach has been to use a gas sample as a matched optical filter, to selectively detect similar absorption spectra of the same gas in a measurement region. All variations of the method exhibit excellent selectivity whenever the gases have narrow line spectra, even when simple broadband sources are used for illumination. Several have been employed in laboratory tests, for remote detection over optical fibre leads. The paper describes work in four main areas. Firstly, our earliest work on a pressure modulation for methane detection is briefly reviewed, secondly a Stark modulation method to form an optical hygrometer is described, thirdly a multi-line light source (formed by combining a broadband optical source with a Michelson interferometer, having a gas cell in one arm) is discussed and, finally the most recent progress with a complementary modulated beam system, using either alternately-chopped or intensity modulated light sources, is described.


This paper discusses the possibility of obtaining one-dimensional photonic crystals based on a
system of periodically etched channels in Si . The characteristic matrix method is
used to calculate their reflection spectra, which display wide secondary maxima along with the
fundamental photon zone. Structures have been fabricated with a period of 4A¢Â€Â"16 um,
and their reflection spectra have been studied. It is shown that the experimental spectra coincide
with the calculated values in the measurement region of Lambda= 2A¢Â€Â"16 um.


There are media whose main value is simply the close
relationship their proximity provides for and with their
audiences. Local and community media are often praised for
giving voice to the voiceless, namely invisible local community
members. Although being largely ignored by communication
researchers, these small-scale media are undoubtedly an
irreplaceable part of all media systems and fulfil important
functions in society (e.g. the construction of community).
Compared to other types of media, they have certain distinctive
features, which always made them – as existing research shows –
remarkably viable and vulnerable. Despite recent studies on
local journalism, community media, audience participation in
public communication and the relationship between local media
and local politics, much research remains to be done with
regard to the fundamental questions regarding media and
closeness. These include: What are the contemporary local and
community media functions in society? How has the contemporary
media development transformed local and community media, and
more broadly media closeness? How, if at all, has the
priorities of audiences regarding local and community media
changed? These and similar questions are among the main
concerns of the Media and closeness ECREA pre-conference. To
stimulate further international academic discussion in this
area, we expect to publish the best papers as part of a special
issue or edited book.


In keeping with the spirit of Romanticism, Hector Berlioz has always been something of a rogue figure. Works like Lelio, Romeo et Juliette and La damnation de Faust, which Daniel Albright refers to as 'semi-operas', occupy an uncomfortable place within the concert hall. The intersections between song, symphony, opera and the spoken word that form these works immediately pose questions concerning musical unity, narrative interpretation, issues of genre, and performance style. While the musical and literary aspects of the three compositions have been the subject of scholarly attention, this study turns its gaze onto the various visual dimensions that are present within Lelio, Romeo et Juliette and La damnation de Faust. By emphasising the presence of spectacle in Berlioz's compositions, questions soon arise concerning the implications of these visual elements for performance. Berlioz's relatively early work, Lelio, illustrates the extent to which the composer is already concerned with how the visual suppression of performing bodies can create and change narrative meanings. Romeo et Juliette raises the curtains that hide Lelio's musical forces. Rather than simply distilling Shakespeare's drama into music, Berlioz relies instead on a visual memory of Romeo and Juliet to replace the absence of physical characters within his 'symphonie dramatique', thus creating an aural rendition of a past theatrical event. Through an exploration of the spectacle within Lelio and Romeo et Juliette, we see how Berlioz has constructed a visually detailed imaginary theatre that resides within the score. An understanding of this imaginary theatre is integral in the subsequent analysis of Berlioz's controversial and wonderfully diabolical La damnation de Faust. This work is performed as often in the opera house as it is in the concert hall. However, an in-depth analysis of the libretto and score reveals curious and occasionally contradictory visual implications. The impact that these contradictions have on the visual dimension in the performance of La damnation de Faust will be explored through a reading of two ground-breaking productions: Raoul Gunsbourg's La damnation de Faust from 1893 - the first production to treat Berlioz's score as an opera; and Robert Lepage's mixed-media production of La damnation. The work of these two directors serves to highlight, perhaps inadvertently, the problematic effects of Berlioz's imaginary theatre on the necessarily more concrete realisations of La damnation when confined within the opera house. However, the cinematic approach of Lepage suggests another avenue of performance that has the potential to reveal new dimensions of Berlioz's unique dramatic-symphonic works. Ultimately, it may be that the supreme technicolour nature of Berlioz's music always functions to transport us beyond our own mundane experiences and forever challenges us to seek something beyond the limits of the possible, however much those limits might change.


The full potential of geophysics in engineering investigations is yet to be realised. With investigative capabilities ranging from the detail of well-logging to the long traverses of studies of geological structure, the many available techniques can provide important information about the ground, its mass properties, its small-scale variations, and its anomalies of structure or content. The advantage of a geophysical survey is that it enables information to be obtained for large volumes of ground that cannot be investigated by direct methods because of the costs involved. The applications of geophysics in the characterisation of contaminated land, eg the distribution and migration of pollutants in the ground and groundwater, are still developing, but with great potential. These are still insufficiently or inappropriately used in engineering and the newer capabilities are not appreciated. There is a need for up-to-date guidance about how to apply geophysical investigations. The underlying aims of this report, therefore, are to prepare guidance for civil and geotechnical engineers, and their clients on: the integration of geophysical investigations into the design and construction process the use of geophysics for determining engineering parameters the capabilities of geophysics for investigating ground contamination and grouion. 1.1 ABOUT THIS REPORT This report was prepared jointly by CIRIA and a working party of the Engineering Group of the Geological Society. In the mid-1990s, the Engineering Group of the Geological Society re-convened the working party to update its report, Engineering geophysics, which was published in the Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology in


PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES
To understand the experiences of women undergoing antiestrogen therapy (AET) to treat breast cancer.

RESEARCH APPROACH
Content analysis of tape-recorded focus group interviews.

SETTING
Breast oncology center of a large medical center in the northeastern United States.

PARTICIPANTS
Purposive sample of 21 women undergoing AET to treat breast cancer.

METHODOLOGIC APPROACH
A nonexperimental qualitative, descriptive design using open-ended interviews and content analysis to isolate themes.

MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES
Women's experiences with AET.

FINDINGS
Five themes were isolated and were focused on the overall experience of having breast cancer: symptoms related to AET, shared decision making, being strong for others, discovering new priorities, and recognizing vulnerability.

CONCLUSIONS
Oral therapies are an increasingly popular treatment option for various types of cancer, particularly in women with estrogen-sensitive breast cancer. Although this type of treatment has been efficacious in terms of disease-free and overall survival, women undergoing AET face many challenges related to treatment. Healthcare providers need to understand women's perceptions of AET and its effects as a first step in the process of developing interventions to improve care.

INTERPRETATION
More research is needed to distinguish whether the presence of preexisting chronic illness, differences in type of AET, age, and ethnicity impact the overall experience of women on AET. Individual interviews may be necessary to fully explore the experience. Oncology nurses should implement surveillance care to explore the effects of AET on women with breast cancer.


After being destroyed by a binary supermassive black hole, a stellar density cusp can regrow at the center of a galaxy via energy exchange between stars moving in the gravitational field of the single, coalesced hole. We illustrate this process via high-accuracy N-body simulations. Regeneration requires roughly one relaxation time, and the new cusp extends to a distance of roughly one-fifth the black hole's influence radius, with density ρ ~ r-7/4; the mass in the cusp is of the order of 10% of the mass of the black hole. The growth of the cusp is preceded by a stage in which the stellar velocity dispersion evolves toward isotropy and away from the tangentially anisotropic state induced by the binary. We show that density profiles similar to those observed at the center of the Milky Way and M32 can regenerate themselves in several Gyr following the infall of a second black hole; the presence of density cusps at the centers of these galaxies can therefore not be used to infer that no merger has occurred. We argue that ρ ~ r-7/4 density cusps are ubiquitous in stellar spheroids fainter than MV ≈ -18.5 that contain supermassive black holes, but the cusps have not been detected outside of the Local Group, since their angular sizes are less than ~0.″1. We show that the presence of a cusp implies a lower limit of ~10-4 yr-1 on the rate of stellar tidal disruptions and discuss the consequences of the cusps for gravitational lensing and the distribution of dark matter on subparsec scales.


This work presents a techno-economic parametric study of an innovative central receiver solar thermal power plant layout that applies the combined cycle (CC) as thermodynamic power cycle and a multi-tower solar field configuration together with open volumetric air receivers (OVARs). The topping gas turbine (GT) is powered by an air – air heat exchanger (two heat exchanger trains in the case of reheat). In order to provide dispatchability, a high-temperature thermocline TES system is placed upstream the gas turbine. The aim is threefold, (i) investigating whether the multi-tower concept has a techno-economic advantage with respect to conventional single-tower central receiver plants, (ii) indicating the techno-economic optimum power plant configuration, and (iii) benchmarking the techno-economic optimum of the CC plant against that of a conventional single-cycle Rankine steam plant with the same receiver and TES technology. It is concluded that the multi-tower configuration has a techno-economic advantage with respect to the conventional single-tower arrangement above a total nominal solar power level of about 150 MW. However, the benchmarking of the CC against a Rankine single-cycle power plant layout shows that the CC configuration has despite its higher solar-to-electric conversion efficiency a higher LCOE. The gain in electricity yield is not enough to outweigh the higher investment costs of the more complex CC plant layout.


Human capabilities in dexterously manipulating many different tools suggest modular neural organization at functional levels, but anatomical modularity underlying the capabilities has yet to be demonstrated. Although modularity in phylogenetically older parts of the cerebellum is well known, comparable modularity in the lateral cerebellum for cognitive functions remains unknown. We investigated these issues by functional MRI (fMRI) based on our previous findings of a cerebellar internal model of a tool. After subjects intensively learned to manipulate two novel tools (the rotated mouse whose cursor appeared at a rotated position, and the velocity mouse whose cursor velocity was proportional to the mouse position), they could easily switch between the two. The lateral and posterior cerebellar activities for the two different tools were spatially segregated, and their overlaps were <10%, even at low statistical thresholds. Activities of the rotated mouse were more anterior and lateral than the velocity mouse activities. These results were consistent with predictions by the MOdular Selection And Identification Controller (MOSAIC) model that multiple internal models compete to partition sensory-motor experiences and their outputs are linearly combined for a particular context.


Kuala Lumpur, like other cities in a tropical environment faces serious environmental degradation of urban heat island, atmospheric pollution, traffic congestion and high
energy consumption due to its rapid development and urbanisation. Unlike cities with a cool temperate climate and made worse by being in a valley set up, Kuala Lumpur
outdoor living comfort is seriously affected by accumulation of heat and generation of dust and smoke. All these have resulted in a decrease in outdoor living comfort and quality, making outdoor life quite miserable, deterioration in public health and is even life threatening.
 This thesis aims to provide a basis for understanding and create awareness on the importance of comfortable outdoor living environment for comfortable human life and living with serious attention on issues of urban heat and the effective use of natural elements such as plants and water as heat ameliorator. This will hopefully be a new tool to the city managers, planners, architects, engineers and even landscape architects to integrate the concern of their built environment with sustainable natural landscape development toward sustainable and comfortable outdoor living environment. This thesis is based on data obtained from survey questionnaires, site observations,field measurements and professional interviews. The data were analysed as to determine the needs and preferences of the outdoor users towards their outdoor comfort. Interviews were being justified through site observations and field measurements. Relevant professional groups were interviewed to gauge their understanding and views on their current approaches in planning, designing and managing the city outdoor environment. The results showed that the temperature and humidity readings taken at vegetated and densely built-up areas in Kuala Lumpur city, showed a difference of an increase of 5°C to 8°C temperature and a reduction of 10% to 14% humidity. The general public displayed a lack of understanding and awareness on the impact of heat to their outdoor comfort. The professionals gave priority to requirements and guidelines in their own professional area rather than looking at the urban environment in total during the designing and implementation stage.The research recommends continuous massive tree-planting programmes,encouragement of more vertical landscape or rooftop gardens and more moving water features to be the basis to ameliorate the urban heat while the professionals should integrate the their built environment with sustainable natural eco system. Political leaders, policy makers and the public need to understand and be more aware of the issue of the outdoor living comfort and how nature can help to comfort mankind and sustain a good outdoor living environment.


Objective: To determine the prevalence of multimorbidity in primary care, by age, sex, and socio-economic class, and to analyse the trend in multimorbidity over the last 20 years. Methods: We performed an observational study using data from the Continuous Morbidity Registration (CMR) Nijmegen. This registration includes approximately 13 500 enlisted patients. To study the distribution of multimorbidity by age, sex, and socio-economic class, we analysed all patients enlisted in the CMR in 2005. To analyse the trend of multimorbidity over time, we studied the prevalence of multimorbidity from 1985 to 2005. Results: We found that increasing age, female sex, and low socio-economic class are associated with an increasing number of patients with multimorbidity. The prevalence of chronic diseases doubled between 1985 and 2005. The proportion of patients with four or more chronic diseases increased in this period by approximately 300%. Conclusion: The increasing amount of multimorbidity in primary care as well as the increasing number of chronic diseases per patient leads to more complex medical care. The general practitioner needs guidelines focusing on multimorbidity to support this care. The registration of chronic diseases by the general practitioner will become more complex and time-consuming.


Objectives This study aims to overcome some of the limitations of previous studies investigating the effects of fee removal, by looking at heterogeneity of effects within countries and over time, as well as the existence of spillover effects on groups not targeted by the policy change. Methods Using routine district health services data before and after recent abolitions of user charges in Zambia and Niger, we examine the effects of the policy change on the use of health services by different groups and over time, using an interrupted timeseries design. Results Removing user fees for primary health care services in rural districts in Zambia and for children over five years old in Niger increased use of services by the targeted groups. The impact of the policy change differed widely across districts, ranging from 112% and 1194% in Niger to 239% and 1108% in Zambia. Eighteen months after the policy change, some of these effects had been eroded. There was evidence that abolishing user fees can both have positive and negative spillover effects. Conclusion These results highlight the importance of paying attention to implementation challenges and monitoring the effects of policy reforms which are often more mixed and complicated that they appear. The comparison of these reforms in two countries also sheds light on the potentially different ways in which free care can be used as a tool to improve access.


This chapter offers an overview of UN approaches to women's lives in legal instruments. It begins by describing the engagement of women's organizations with international institutions from the start of the twentieth century, particularly the League of Nations. It then moves to UN treaties dealing with women. Its focus is the major UN treaty in this area, the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and the work of its monitoring body, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (. The chapter also describes the extensive reservations states parties have entered to the Convention. It discusses the different accounts of nondiscrimination and equality that emerge in UN treaties. The international sphere illustrates the paradox for feminists of, on the one hand, insisting that differences between women and men should be irrelevant in claiming political rights; while, on the other hand, acting in the name of the category of women, thus bolstering the idea of difference. One strand of provisions in UN treaties aims to eradicate differences in the treatment of women, compared to men. Another strand has sought to recognize the particularity of women's lives, calling for special treatment and often endorsing a rather limited notion of womanhood in the process. These two strands coexist and are regularly included in the same treaty, even though they can be in normative tension.


Engineering educators call for a widespread implementation of hybrid learning to respond to rapidly changing demands of the 21st century [1]. In response to this call, a junior-level course in the Construction Engineering program entitled Construction Equipment and Heavy Construction Methods was converted into a hybrid learning model. The overarching goal in the hybrid course development was to take the content that can be engaged outside the class to an online platform so that class time can be used more efficiently for authentic and realistic open-ended problems included in-class and homework assignments. This study reports the design, development, and evaluation of this hybrid course and provides practical implications for hybrid course development.


Multispectral satellite images are tools that allow the analysis of phenomena developed on the Earth's surface without being in contact. It is a raster model so it is possible to decompose it into a digital signal. There is a certain data that presents alterations (noise) due to errors caused by the sensors, atmospheric conditions, among others. Such examples affect its use and its derived products. Satellite images by their nature present difficulty in their processing and handling due to the considerable weight they have; whose problem justified the present work. The objective is to minimize white noise and to compress the image with the least possible loss of information through the Multiresolution Analysis (MRA) technique and Wavelet transformation. The images worked belong to the National Recreation Area "El Boliche" (Ecuador) that is next to the Cotopaxi volcano. Through a standard deviation evaluation of the obtained wavelet coefficients, the order of the "Discrete Wavelet Transform" (DWT) was established in the Daubechies (db) and Haar families. With db3 level 4, obtained a compression of 11.268% in respect to the original weight and with Haar level 4 11.288% as the best results. The wavelet db is more effective than the Haar type for the treatment of multispectral satellite images in the elimination of white noise and compression by means of the MRA, with a reconstruction of the signal without loss of information due to the type of wavelet used, which is evidenced in the image. Key-words: wavelets, MRA, satellite image, noise, compression.


OBJECTIVE
To compare replication of bluetongue virus (BTV) and epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) in pulmonary artery endothelial cells (ECs) obtained from juvenile cattle, sheep, white-tailed deer (WTD; Odocoileus virginianus), and black-tailed deer (BTD; O hemionus columbianus).

SAMPLE POPULATION
Cultures of pulmonary artery ECs obtained from 3 cattle, 3 sheep, 3 WTD, and 1 BTD.

PROCEDURE
Purified cultures of pulmonary artery ECs were established. Replication, incidence of infection, and cytopathic effects of prototype strains of BTV serotype 17 (BTV-17) and 2 serotypes of EHDV (EHDV-1), and (EHDV-2) were compared in replicate cultures of ECs from each of the 4 ruminant species by use of virus titration and flow cytometric analysis.

RESULTS
All 3 viruses replicated in ECs from the 4 ruminant species; however, BTV-17 replicated more rapidly than did either serotype of EHDV. Each virus replicated to a high titer in all ECs, although titers of EHDV-1 were significantly lower in sheep ECs than in ECs of other species. Furthermore, all viruses caused extensive cytopathic effects and a high incidence of cellular infection; however, incidence of cellular infection and cytopathic effects were significantly lower in EHDV-1-infected sheep ECs and EHDV-2-infected BTD ECs.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
There were only minor differences in replication, incidence of infection, and cytopathic effects for BTV-17, EHDV-1, or EHDV-2 in ECs of cattle, sheep, BTD, and WTD. It is not likely that differences in expression of disease in BTV- and EHDV-infected ruminants are attributable only to species-specific differences in the susceptibility of ECs to infection with the 2 orbiviruses.


BackgroundPatients with mechanical heart valve prostheses may experience valve thrombosis and subsequent systemic embolism for which they are treated with oral anticoagulant therapy. It is essential to know reliable estimates of the risks and benefits of this therapy in order to answer a number of clinical questions rationally. We sought to obtain more precise estimates of the risks and benefits by combining the data from individual studies by using meta-analysis. Methods and ResultsWe searched for studies in which the incidences were reported of embolic or bleeding complications in patients with mechanical heart valve prostheses. They were collected from the Medline and Current Contents database and by cross-references between 1970 and 1992. Since most studies vary greatly in many respects, we used a number of inclusion criteria, thus selecting comparable studies of acceptable quality only. The influence of antithrombotic therapy, valve position, and valve type was analyzed by univariate and by multivariate analysis with Poisson regression techniques. Forty-six studies were found, including 13 088 patients studied for 53 647 patient-years. We found an incidence of major embolism in the absence of antithrombotic therapy of 4 per 100 patient-years. With antiplatelet therapy this risk was 2.2 per 100 patient-years, and with cumarin therapy it was reduced to 1 per 100 patient-years. This risk varied with the type and the site of the prosthesis. A prosthesis in mitral position increased the risk almost twice as compared with the aortic position. Tilting disc valves and bileaflet valves showed a lower incidence of major embolism than caged ball valves. An incidence of major bleeding was found in patients treated with cumarin derivatives of 1.4 per 100 patient-years. The incidence of bleeding became significantly higher with the addition of antiplatelet therapy, although this did not decrease the risk of thromboembolism any further. ConclusionsThese data provide a reference for future studies and give adequate risk estimates for clinical decision making.


This book discusses the Partially Observable Markov Decision Process (POMDP) framework applied in dialogue systems. It presents POMDP as a formal framework to represent uncertainty explicitly while supporting automated policy solving. The authors propose and implement an end-to-end learning approach for dialogue POMDP model components. Starting from scratch, they present the state, the transition model, the observation model and then finally the reward model from unannotated and noisy dialogues. These altogether form a significant set of contributions that can potentially inspire substantial further work. This concise manuscript is written in a simple language, full of illustrative examples, figures, and tables.


High-precision (10(-5) g/ml) mass density measurements on human blood, plasma, plasma ultrafiltrate (using PM-10 membranes), and erythrocyte concentrate samples were performed with the mechanical oscillator technique. Measurement temperatures varied between 4 and 48 degrees C and were accurate to +/- 1 X 10(-2) K. The coefficient of thermal expansion (beta), defined as relative volume change with temperature, was calculated. It was shown that beta increases with temperature in these fluid samples over the entire temperature range investigated; the magnitude of this increase declines with increasing temperature; beta increases with density at temperatures below 40 degrees C but is independent of density above 40 degrees C; and the beta of the intracellular fluid has about twice the value of the beta for extracellular fluid at low (4-10 degrees C) temperatures but is equal for both fluids at greater than or equal to 40 degrees C. The mechanical oscillator technique provides data with an accuracy sufficient to perform precise (10(-5) K) calculations of beta of small volumes of biological fluids.


Seite 1 Until now, wastewater treatment plants have not been able to sufficiently filter out tiny microplastics in wastewater, but this could soon change: The first laser-drilled microplastic filter is being tested in a wastewater treatment plant. It contains sheets with extremely small holes just 10 micrometers in diameter. The technology to efficiently drill millions of such holes was developed at the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT, and now the institute's engineers are scaling up ultrashortpulse (USP) laser technology in the kW range. Visitors can learn more about the microplastic filter and ultrashortpulse lasers at the Fraunhofer booth A6.441 at LASER World of PHOTONICS.


The present undergraduate project has been done to determine the impact of using audiovisuals in communicative activities in the classroom to activate speaking in students of two levels, level I and level III from beginner"s English students into the English teaching and learning process in a free course. There are two main categories of authentic materials, prints and auditory. The print authentic material is the one that the researcher team used in few times, we use magazines, newspapers, greeting cards, calendars, report cards, etc. the team developed some topics to put into practice those strategies in order to they got the class" objectives. Each activity was designed according to the topic. For an instance, many examples gathered from the theory of the audio-visual material were developed in every single class that the team shared with students. One of the activities developed to carry out this research was when the researchers introduced the topic "Wild Animals". In this case the team used auditory and prints authentic materials because the researchers worked with movies, videos and DVDs, podcasts, taking into consideration an authentic practice. Also, it is important to mention that a "gallery art" about animal was interactive since students had the opportunity to move around the classroom and listen, talk, know and ask interesting information about each animal. The strategies were adapted with the only purpose of students to learn. Another example of this strategies is when the team played a video in a class the video was related to a birthday party, they learned different ways to ask for a dessert and drinks by watching a video, then having the practice with a real party in the classroom using the vocabulary learned from the video.


HT-7U is a fully superconducting tokamak. All of the toroidal field and poloidal field superconducting magnets are made of NbTi superconductor and are designed to operate at 3.8 K in the steady-state operation mode. The magnet system will be cooled with forced-flow supercritical helium to this temperature level with an equivalent refrigeration capacity of ~2 kW/4.4 K. To satisfy this requirement, a helium refrigerator is designed to be able to provide the cooling power at 3.5, 4.5, and 80 K for the coils, supports, and thermal shields. The refrigerator can also produce liquid helium for the cooling of the current leads. This paper describes the cryogenic system of HT-7U, the refrigeration process and helium plant, and the forced-flow cooling requirement of the superconducting magnets.


Doing open science is to collaborate with others in a scientific endeavor and to share the outcomes of the scientific process. However, there are many dimensions of openness. Thus when analyzing concrete open science initiatives one finds a full lot of hybrid forms of openness. We identify and discuss different elements of open science and their benefits, under the contention that benefits are related to how openness is achieved. We propose a bi-dimensional framework to characterize openness along research stages, which allows anticipating expected benefits. The first dimension accounts for the characteristics of the collaboration, while the second for aspects of access to shared outputs. We illustrate our framework by discussing four Argentinean open science initiatives.


This paper treats a study of computing vibratory analysis and its comparison with measurements for the earthquake-responses on an actual 19 storied pure frame-structure with its height of about 65 meters above ground and a massive rigid body embedded 15 meters underground in the form of a large parallelepiped concrete box having two basement-floors and soil mass within. For its analysis in this case, the author follows the theoretical formula derived by Dr. H.Tajimi. lt deals with dynamic analysis on a rigid cylindrical body embedded in an elastic stratum for the investigation of the radiation damping due to the interaction between soil and rigid body combining with a multi-masses structural system on it. In order to adapt this case for the Tajimi's theory its embedded parallelepiped body is approximately replaced by an equivalent circular cylindrical body. Then the solution for the quake-response is carried out using the Fourier Transformation method through complex valuables for the interactive problem inclusive of upper multimasses response system. On the other hand, for knowing the actual earthquake-response behavior an automatic measuring system controlled by two microcomputers has been installed (Ref.2.5). In this place the simulated structural response-waves enforced by the actual waves acquired at the underground level of 59 meters are compared with those measured waves at the level of GL-24m, GL-12m and GL+60m. Finally the author concludes the computational results after the Tajimi's theory will be able to give a comprehensible approximation as a whole when compared with the actual behavior, if the parameters related would be decided properly to the structural system.


In this article, we explain the com-ABSTRACT. As offshore wind energy production increases, the number of subsea cables will proliferate along with associated electromagnetic field (EMF) emissions. Understanding how EMF interactions (a potential pressure) affect resource species (receptor) requires an improved knowledge base to aid management decisions. Within the framework of a potential effect on a receptor, we review key aspects of assessing EMF exposure. From the vantage point of the receptor species, we consider how their perception of EMF varies through time as a consequence of species' sensory biology, life history theory, and movement ecology. We review known effects of EMFs on species and consider EMF interactions with benthic, bentho-pelagic, and migratory species, focusing on functional roles of electro-and magneto-reception at different life stages. We must move our understanding from individual effects to population-level impacts. The present knowledge base has been drawn from a diverse range of laboratory and field approaches, which can be better integrated to address gaps and reach the desired knowledge base. Improving models of future scenarios depends on taking a more systematic and consistent approach to measuring and modeling alternating current and direct current EMFs and accounting for cable properties and local environmental characteristics. We make recommendations to help decipher receptor species' responses. Acquiring such knowledge will enable us to translate EMFs, and their effects and encounter rates, into impact assessments for resource species to inform appropriate management.


Pragmatic aspect of second language (L2) as a component of communicative competence has recently received more attention. Many research studies have investigated the gap between native and nonnative speakers' command of L2 pragmatics. However, development of L2 pragmatics has been the focus of few studies. In this study, how coursebooks can help both nonnative teachers and learners develop L2 pragmatics was investigated. It was suggested that teachers' books can act as a medium for developing both language teachers and learners' L2 pragmatic competence. Therefore, one of the popular English coursebook series, Top Notch (1st and 2nd eds.) teachers' books, were examined in order to find instances of metapgarmatic information. The results showed that, both editions provided metapragmatic information for teachers and that Top Notch second edition teachers' books provided more metapragmatic information than the first edition. The implications of such findings are discussed at the end of this paper.


Background: Obesity is a major threat to public health given its strong links with cardiometabolic morbidity and premature mortality. One-third of obese adults are metabolically healthy, but little is known about modifiable determinants of this state or its progression over time. Aims: To determine whether physical activity and sedentary behaviour distinguish healthy from unhealthy obesity, and whether healthy obese adults have increased risk for developing metabolic ill-health and type 2 diabetes. Methods: Data were drawn from up to 5427 men and women participating in the Whitehall II cohort study. Normal-weight, overweight, and obese adults were considered healthy if they had <2 of 5 metabolic risk factors (hypertension, low HDL-cholesterol, high triglycerides, high blood glucose, and insulin resistance). Associations of self-reported moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and leisure sitting time with prevalence and 15-year incidence of metabolic risk factor clustering were examined among healthy obese adults. Differences in accelerometer-assessed total physical activity were also examined between healthy and unhealthy obese groups. Metabolic risk factor incidence among initially healthy obese adults was described, and published risk estimates of incident type 2 diabetes were systematically searched and meta-analysed. Results: Neither high self-reported moderate-to-vigorous physical activity nor low self-reported leisure sitting was associated with health among obese adults. Higher total physical activity among healthy versus unhealthy obese adults was evident through accelerometer assessment only (p=0.002). After 20 years, 52% of initially healthy obese adults were unhealthy obese, with insulin resistance being most commonly incident. Meta-analyses of 8 studies indicated that healthy obese adults have 4.03 (95% CI=2.66-6.09) times greater risk of incident type 2 diabetes than healthy normal-weight adults. Conclusions: Higher physical activity rather than lower sedentary behaviour distinguishes healthy from unhealthy obesity. Healthy obesity is strongly linked with future insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, suggesting that it is not a harmless condition.


The United States and Canada may be friends and allies, but the two countries' approaches to the regulation of marijuana agriculture has not evolved in tandem. On the contrary, their respective paths toward legalization and regulation of marijuana agriculture are remarkably divergent. In the United States, where marijuana remains a federally prohibited and tightly-controlled substance, legalization and regulation has remained the province of state legislatures and their administrative agencies for decades. In Canada, a succession of court cases paving the way toward medicinal marijuana use has prompted the federal government to develop a national framework committed to "legalize, regulate, and restrict access" to marijuana.

Many jurisdictions attempting to regulate (or exploring the possibility of regulating) the marijuana industry struggle to address the first step in the supply chain – agriculture. This essay will compare and contrast the experiences of the United States and Canada in the regulation of marijuana agriculture. It is evident that there is more than one regulatory approach that can provide a safe and sustainable product to consumers while promoting equity among farmers. Nonetheless, the trials and tribulations of pioneering governments can illuminate the pitfalls, consequences, and drawbacks policymakers are likely to encounter in the future.


A pilot study examined the extent to which eye movements occurring during interpretation of digitized breast biopsy whole slide images (WSI) can distinguish novice interpreters from experts, informing assessments of competency progression during training and across the physician-learning continuum. A pathologist with fellowship training in breast pathology interpreted digital WSI of breast tissue and marked the region of highest diagnostic relevance (dROI). These same images were then evaluated using computer vision techniques to identify visually salient regions of interest (vROI) without diagnostic relevance. A non-invasive eye tracking system recorded pathologists' (N = 7) visual behavior during image interpretation, and we measured differential viewing of vROIs versus dROIs according to their level of expertise. Pathologists with relatively low expertise in interpreting breast pathology were more likely to fixate on, and subsequently return to, diagnostically irrelevant vROIs relative to experts. Repeatedly fixating on the distracting vROI showed limited value in predicting diagnostic failure. These preliminary results suggest that eye movements occurring during digital slide interpretation can characterize expertise development by demonstrating differential attraction to diagnostically relevant versus visually distracting image regions. These results carry both theoretical implications and potential for monitoring and evaluating student progress and providing automated feedback and scanning guidance in educational settings.


Basin-fan systems are very dynamic environments in which erosion, transfer and depositional processes are strictly interconnected. In 1996, NRC introduced the term "alluvial fan flooding" to indicate a particular type of flood that occurs only on alluvial fans. The intensity of the flood depends on the flow processes, which can range from water-flood to debris flow (Wells & Harvey, 1987; Costa, 1988). Differentiation between these processes is essentially dependent on the relative concentration of the water and solid components (Costa, 1988; Blair & McPherson, 1994a,b). The increase in the relative proportion of sediments induces an increase in viscosity and shear strength of the flowing mixture. As a consequence, flows on fans may be characterized by different velocities, types of transported material and depositional behavior. This leads to deposits with different size and sedimentary facies and to fans with different slope and morphology (Blair & McPherson, 1994a).
Debris flow fans may be subject to violent surges with high sediment concentration, often carrying large boulders and tree trunks, which can be very destructive and affect any part of a fan surface. They are mainly related to massive depositional processes, resulting in weak stratification, lack of sorting, and to the presence of matrix-supported angular to sub-angular clasts (Blair, 1999a; Sorriso-Valvo et al., 1998). Generally these fans are fed by small and step catchments and are characterized by small dimension and step gradients. Geomorphological evidence of debris flow transport is often represented by the occurrence depositional lobes (Marchi et al., 1993; Wilford et al., 2004; De Scally & Owens, 2004, De Scally et al., 2010).
Water flood fans are usually bigger than previous fans and characterized by lower gradients. Their facies features include a crude horizontal stratification with alternating beds of cobble, gravel and sand to fine gravel (Blair & Pherson, 1994a,b, Blair, 1999a; Sorriso Valvo et al., 1998; Sohn et al., 1999; Wilford et al., 2004; De Scally et al., 2010). They presents magnitudes and peak discharges from 5 to 40 times lower than debris flow (Kellerhalls & Church, 1990; Hungr et al., 2001; Wilford et al., 2004). This explains why identification of fans that can be reached by debris flows is important for hazard evaluation because they are a much more destructive phenomenon than fluvial floods. Mitigation of the hazard in debris flow fans requires a very peculiar approach (Jackson, 1987; Jackson et al., 1987; Kellerhals & Church, 1990; Wilford et al., 2004).
In last few decades several studies pointed out on the possibility to define statistically significant relationships between morphometrical parameters of the basin-fan system and the main depositional process (Melton, 1965; Pasuto et al., 1992, Marchi et al., 1993; Calvache et al., 1997; Guzzetti et al., 1997; Crosta & Frattini, 2004; De Scally & Owens, et al., 2004; Saito & Oguchi, 2005; De Scally et al., 2010).
The present study refers to the geomorphological and morphometric analysis of 102 basin/fan systems, located along the border slopes of the carbonate massifs of Southern Apennines (Matese Mts, Taburno Mts, Caserta Mts, Picentini Mts and Maddalena Mts). These areas are prime spots for urban development and are generally considered to be safer than the valley floors. As a result, villages and towns have been built on alluvial fans which, during intense storms, may be affected by flooding and/or debris flow processes. The main goal is to define the most significant morphometric features of these systems that can be used to classify the fans in terms of transport process (debris flow or water flood). This discrimination may be useful to analyze the susceptibility distribution to alluvial fan flooding in the region.
The investigation was carried out by means of a multidisciplinary approach, integrating stratigraphic, morphologic, morphometric, historical and statistical analysis. Particularly, field survey was aimed to find stratigraphic logs and morphological evidences that may be useful to evaluate the main depositional process.
In order to investigate the relation between depositional process and the morphometry of the basin/fan sytems, 10 variables were determined for each basin-fan system (basin area, basin length, mean basin inclination, feeder channel length, mean feeder channel inclination, basin relief, Melton index, fan area, fan length and main fan inclination). The values were calculated by building up a DTM (resolution 0f 5m) from the contour lines and the point elevation derived from 1:5,000 topographic maps. It was interpolated with the Regularized Spline method by means of ArcGIS Spatial Analyst.
The statistical analysis of these variables was carried out by means of Erre software and elaboration of multivariate techniques (Fisher linear discriminant analysis; Logistic Binomial Regression model; Principal Components Analysis; Cluster analysis). Fisher linear discriminant analysis was applied, using as training data the set represented by the 46 systems whose main type of transport was determined by field survey. In addition, the Logistic Binomial Regression model was analyzed in order to find the simplest and most powerful set of predictor variables. The main result was that the best discrimination between debris flow and water flood processes is achieved by means of only two variables, one for the basin (feeder channel inclination) and one for the fan (fan length).
Among the 102 systems studied, 68 were classified as debris flow dominated and 34 as water flood dominated, with a probability of a correct classification higher than 90 %. The results obtained were validated by comparison with field data and the descriptions of historical floods. They allowed to detect where alluvial fan flooding might occur and give information on the different degrees of danger, thus contributing to the knowledge of the susceptibility distribution at a regional scale. Regrettably, urban development in recent decades has failed to take the presence of such alluvial fans into account due to the relatively long return time between floods, with consequent loss of historical memory by the local community. This has served only to increase the territorial vulnerability. The results of this thesis may represent a useful tool for further studies aiming at hazard mapping and civil protection interventions.


ABSTRACT Motivated by the addition of a curriculum standard for active citizenship into New Jersey's social studies standards a group of educators and researchers set out to integrate an action research curriculum, based on a youth participatory action research (YPAR) model, into social studies classrooms. Adapting YPAR, with its promising blend of critical thinking, civic engagement, and democratization, for use as in the classroom is appealing to those seeking to use education as a means of social change. But activism does not always translate neatly to the classroom; melding multiple purposes into one approach, particularly amidst the current push for standardization and accountability measures, is complex. This analysis considers three challenges to navigate when reshaping YPAR into a curriculum for classroom use - preserving authenticity, conflicting aims, and tensions around authority. Drawing upon qualitative data from the social studies classrooms of two public high schools, this article engages directly with the difficulties inherent in adapting a methodology premised on action, authenticity, and youth empowerment to the adult driven, extrinsically oriented, skills and content-focused world of the classroom. Understanding this shift, and the epistemological tensions underlying it, is essential for those wishing to integrate action research with youth into social studies classrooms.


This wide-ranging 1979 interview in eight sessions with Carl D. Anderson, Board of Trustees Professor of Physics, emeritus and Nobel laureate, begins with his recollections of his undergraduate years at Caltech (1923-1927), and the influence of Arthur Amos Noyes and Ira Sprague Bowen. He recalls courses with Earnest Watson, Morgan Ward, Richard Chace Tolman, J. R. Oppenheimer. He offers his early and ongoing impressions of Robert A. Millikan as chairman of physics division and head of Caltech, and of Millikan's work on cosmic rays. He recalls his own postdoctoral work at Caltech on cosmic rays, and his discovery of the positron in 1932 and the mu-meson, or muon, in 1936, and on contemporary developments in nuclear physics. He comments on his Nobel Prize (1936). He discusses his contacts with Enrico Fermi's group at Chicago in the early 1940s and Caltech's rocket projects during World War II at China Lake and Goldstone, including the contributions of Charles Lauritsen, I. S. Bowen, and Seth Neddermeyer. He offers recollections of postwar Caltech, the increase in research funds and undergraduate enrollment, the rise of particle physics and the advent of the large accelerator era. He discusses his stint as chairman of the Division of the Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy (1962-1970) and concludes by commenting on the current state of physics research.


Cycle time is one of the viable parameters which needs to be optimised as much as possible whenever the manufacturing industry is trying to improve efficiency, cost base and customer responsiveness. This systematic study presents on the reduction of cycle time for productivity improvement in the manufacturing industry. In industries, cycle time should be focused due to the high need of balancing man, machine, materials, methods and management. It must be renowned that the reduction of cycle time is not an easy task. Productivity improvement process involves many factors in achieving the maximum reduction of unnecessary time for higher improvement. The appropriate approaches to be implemented includes lean manufacturing tools, value stream method, method-time measurements, just in time for inventory control, motion study, process study, VAT plant classification, total productive maintenance, improved MRP (material requirements planning)-based production planning, theory of constraint, linear programming and other simulation related techniques. The V, A or T types of plant classification can also be classified using optimisation production technology (OPT).


Potato leafroll virus (PLRV) is one of the most destructive potato viruses in South Africa. In order to establish resistance against PLRV in commercial potato cultivars, the coat protein (CP) gene of the virus was previously isolated, cloned and subcloned into the plant expression vector pBI121 in both the sense and antisense orientations (BURGER, unpublished results). The pBI121 constructs containing the PLRV-CP gene were subsequently transferred to Agrobacterium tumefaciens LBA 4404 in a triparental mating process with the helper plasmid pRK2013. Two A. tumefaciensmediated transformation methods for potatoes were investigated, viz. vacuum infiltration and leaf disk transformation. In addition, optimal transformation and regeneration conditions were identified for potato cultivars Late Harvest and BP l' In total, 27 transgenic potato lines containing the PLRV-CP, B-glucoronidase (GUS) and nptII (neomycin phosphotransferase II) trans genes were generated under kanamycin selection. Transgenic plants grown in the glasshouse appeared to be phenotypically normal, and no differences in ploidy level in comparison to non-transformed plants could be established. Stable transgene insertion into the genome of the transgenic plants was verified using PCR and Southern blot analysis. Expression of the GUS transgene was investigated using a fluorometric assay (JEFFERSON et al. 1987), and it was found that orientation of the inserted PLRV-CP gene upstream from the GUS gene had a direct influence on the levels of GUS expression. The expression of the PLRV-CP gene was analysed using DAS-ELISA and immunoblot detection. Coat protein could not be detected in either assay. RNA dot blots were used successfully to show PLRV-CP expression in transgenic potato plants at the mRNA level.


This research paper explores how mortgage market channels interacted with localized social networks to shape loan outcomes for historically disadvantaged borrowers. How did borrowers decide on their choice of lender? What loan products were they offered, and how knowledgeable were they about their loan terms? Were loans in lower-income and minority communities "sold or sought?" To answer these questions, the paper relies on in-depth interviews, local data on mortgage lending and foreclosures, and analysis of the institutions and marketing practices in two communities that represent the two faces of the mortgage crisis in California: an older, predominantly minority neighborhood with an older housing stock (Oakland), and a fast growing suburban area characterized by new construction (Stockton). This research can inform the policy debate around consumer protection regulations and fair lending laws, as well as help local practitioners such as homeownership counselors understand how borrowers access and make decisions about mortgage credit.


Through an examination of Bourdieu's Algerian fieldwork the article raises general questions regarding the place of photography in sociological research. In the midst of a colonial war Bourdieu used photography to make visual fieldnotes and record the mixed realities of Algeria under colonialism. Bourdieu also used photography to communicate to the Algerians an ethical and political commitment to their cause and plight. It is argued that his photographs do not simply portrayal or communicate the realities of Algeria. They are, paradoxically, at the same time full of information and mysterious and depthless. In order to read them it is necessary to ethnographically situate them in their social and historical context. It is suggested that the photographs can also be read as an inventory of Bourdieu's attentiveness as a researcher, his curiosity and ultimately his sociological imagination. They betray his concerns as a researcher but also can be used to raise ethical and political questions beyond Bourdieu's own attempts at reflexive self-analysis. The article concludes with a discussion of how Bourdieu's sociological life might contribute to the craft of sociology today.


Ecotourism may be regarded as a protected area management tool that aims to reconcile both conservation and development goals. Local participation is considered one of the main features of sustainable ecotourism development. This study was aimed at investigating how ecotourism provides a sustainable option for the local community in terms of local economic development opportunities. The study also sought to examine what local benefits accrue to the community and the level at which they participate in ecotourism. The study further identified alternative coping strategies that locals are engaged as a means of survival. Investigating the opportunities for and constraints on local participation, and how to draw benefits from biodiversity conservation in protected areas have been a primary concern of this study. This study also sought to examine the extent of stakeholder collaboration in the planning and management of ecotourism.The study adopted a political ecology approach to understand the underlying power relations and resource-related conflicts that exist among local actors involved in biodiversity conservation. The study also applied participatory and community-conservation approaches to provide further understanding based on the shift in developmental thinking regarding protected area management from fortress conservation approaches to conservation and development approaches. This has entailed a shift from top-down planning to bottom-up planning for development. The current approaches to conservation place their focus on locals as instruments for sustainable conservation and use of resources such as wildlife. Local participation provides a means whereby local development can occur with community involvement in the conservation of natural resources. Its absence has meant that the wellbeing of the locals is therefore not supported. The lack of adequate local participation has continued to contribute to tensions and conflict among local actors in protected area management where biodiversity conservation is of concern. The study adopted a qualitative approach. The methods used included interviews, focus group discussion, direct observations and text analysis of documents.This study identified several constraints that have limited active local participation in ecotourism such as local actor conflicts, capacity-building needs, inequitable access to benefits and use of resources, lack of land rights and others. The argument of this thesis is that while locals are encouraged to participate the means whereby this participation should occur should be well developed if the two-fold goals of conservation and development in ecotourism are to be achieved. The thesis argues for the need to increase opportunities for active local participation in protected area management. An increase in incentives, rights and local power to own, use, and control resources was identified as essential for the Kafinda community in order to participate actively in ecotourism. The Kafinda community may then also have an opportunity to realize the developmental potential that lies in the conservation of natural resources such as wildlife in the Kasanka National Park.


Using a spatial econometric model this article studies the determinants and spatial spillovers of firm productivity in China's electric apparatus industry over the period of 1999–2007. We apply Kelejian's FE-2SLS procedure to a higher-order spatial autoregressive model and estimate the spatial dependence of firm-level TFP within and across regional borders. The model demonstrates positive and significant intra-regional technological spillovers among firms. It also provides direct evidence that technological spillovers attenuate rapidly in spatial distance. We find that firm productivity benefits from own R&D and export activities, employment density, market competition and public expenditure. Further analyses show that the strength of spillover effects is affected by a broad range of factors, including the surface area of the region, administration type, border effect, transport and ICT infrastructure, FDI intensity, the financial sector, the utility service sector, and human capital. Factors that facilitate long-distance economic connections in general make inter-regional spillovers stronger but intra-regional spillovers weaker.


Introduction: The demand for aesthetic plastic surgery has increased steadily mainly for the appearance of new surgical techniques and these procedures greater social acceptance. Most frequent procedures are: breast surgery (augmentation or reduction), liposuction, tummy tuck surgery and facial surgery. Acute appendicitis is the most common cause of acute abdomen. The appendectomy constitutes one of the most common surgery performed worldwide. Appendicitis has a high incidence among young white adult men. We report a case of acute appendicitis as a complication after liposuction, emphasizing such complication correlation with the surgical procedure. Methods: We searched scientific data from June to December 2015 indexed in Medline/PubMed database related to complications in liposuction, especially cases associated with appendicitis. Conclusion: Postoperative complications are distressing for both patient and physician. The number of plastic surgeries is still rising and procedures are becoming more frequent, therefore, procedure-related facts should be further study. The development of predictive score of complications in plastic surgery would help surgeons to define preventive measures, take best choices and perform better discussion related to risks of the patient already in the postoperative period. ■ ABSTRACT


ABSTRACT Slumped glacial delta sands and silts exhibit flexural slip folds and low-angle thrust faults where the beds remained coherent during slump deformation. Alternating cross-cutting relationships between fl and fr fold axial planes indicate that these fold groups are conjugate sets, related to the same slump movement. Analysis of slump fold axis orientations by the separation-angle method yields the fold slip plane and fold slip line. A deformation fabric reference diagram, deduced from fold and thrust fault data, shows a vertical deformation plane that is defined by the pole to the fl and fr fold slip planes, pole to rotated bedding, pole to thrust faults, and the fold slip lines. Central tendency estimators, , , and P50, of distributions of fold azimuths show close agreement, as do dispersion indicators , derived from L values, and (P84-P16)/2. Fold axis orientations in the slumped mass are normally distributed, but the perpendiculars to deduced slip lines have consistently higher azimuth values than other central tendency values. These results may indicate that the sampling plain biased the populations. In this case, the vector mean is not perpendicular to the deduced slip line. Silt intraclast breccias, containing slump overfolds, appear to have been deposited as noncoherent grain flows in the slump depression subsequent to slump deformation. The distribution of overfold axis orientations is not significantly different from random distributions. Separation-angle analysis of the same lower breccia data yields a valid slip line solution.


OBJECTIVE
To estimate the annual cost of infections attributable to porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) virus to US swine producers.

DESIGN
Economic analysis.

SAMPLE POPULATION
Data on the health and productivity of PRRS-affected and PRRS-unaffected breeding herds and growing-pig populations were collected from a convenience sample of swine farms in the midwestern United States.

PROCEDURE
Health and productivity variables of PRRS-affected and PRRS-unaffected swine farms were analyzed to estimate the impact of PRRS on specific farms. National estimates of PRRS incidence were then used to determine the annual economic impact of PRRS on US swine producers.

RESULTS
PRRS affected breeding herds and growing-pig populations as measured by a decrease in reproductive health, an increase in deaths, and reductions in the rate and efficiency of growth. Total annual economic impact of these effects on US swine producers was estimated at dollar 66.75 million in breeding herds and dollar 493.57 million in growing-pig populations.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
PRRS imposes a substantial financial burden on US swine producers and causes approximately dollar 560.32 million in losses each year. By comparison, prior to eradication, annual losses attributable to classical swine fever (hog cholera) and pseudorabies were estimated at dollar 364.09 million and dollar 36.27 million, respectively (adjusted on the basis of year 2004 dollars). Current PRRS control strategies are not predictably successful; thus, PRRS-associated losses will continue into the future. Research to improve our understanding of ecologic and epidemiologic characteristics of the PRRS virus and technologic advances (vaccines and diagnostic tests) to prevent clinical effects are warranted.


Respiratory trees of holothurians are blind-ended evaginations of the posterior digestive system that are rhythmically inflated with seawater via the anus, and are considered to have respiratory and excretory functions. We tested the assimilatory capability of the respiratory tree epithelium by exposing adults of the oral deposit-feeding aspidochirotid sea cucumber Parastichopus californicus to (1) 14C-labeled unicellular algae and (2) iron-containing macromolecules, and then following the distribution of the labels in various body regions. The abundance of the 14C (nmol 14C g wet weight−1) varied among body regions. The majority of the label was associated with the respiratory trees. The next greatest concentration was in the rete mirabile of the hemal system. The amount of 14C within samples of the anterior digestive system, posterior digestive system, and body wall muscle at each sampling time was lower than that of the respiratory trees. The presence and abundance of the 14C label in samples of the hemal system and the physical association between the respiratory tree and the rete mirabile suggest initial uptake by the respiratory tree and subsequent transfer to the hemal system. The iron label from the protein ferritin and the polysaccharide iron dextran entered cells of the respiratory tree luminal epithelium. The presence of the iron label in mesenchyme cells within the connective tissue compartment of the respiratory trees exposed to ferritin further suggests directional transfer of materials. Holothurians with respiratory trees are nutritionally bipolar; the anus serves as a second mouth.


The Ferret copy detector has been used for some years on English texts to find plagiarism in large collections of students' coursework. This article reports on extending its application to Chinese, which differs from English in many respects: the sequence of characters that make up a Chinese text do not have word boundaries marked, there is a vast Chinese "alphabet", or number of different characters, and they are represented with multi-byte encoding. We discuss issues of representation, focus on the effectiveness of a sub-symbolic approach, and show how the Ferret can circumvent the classic problem of finding word boundaries with an automated system. Corpora of students' coursework from two Chinese universities have been collected, and we apply Ferret to investigate the detection of plagiarism. Our experiments show that Ferret can find both artificially constructed plagiarism as well as actually occurring, previously undetected plagiarism. We also investigate the parameters of the system, and report on typical optimum settings. Experiments reported in this article show that Ferret can work well on Chinese texts, and achieve a consistent performance. The investigation into the representation of written Chinese is likely to be of use in other language processing tasks.


We investigate a vocoder based on artificial neural networks using a phonological speech representation. Speech decomposition is based on the phonological encoders, realised as neural network classifiers, that are trained for a particular language. The speech reconstruction process involves using a Deep Neural Network (DNN) to map phonological features posteriors to speech parameters - line spectra and glottal signal parameters - followed by LPC resynthesis. This DNN is trained on a target voice without transcriptions, in a semi-supervised manner. Both encoder and decoder are based on neural networks and thus the vocoding is achieved using a simple fast forward pass. An experiment with French vocoding and a target male voice trained on 21 hour long audio book is presented. An application of the phonological vocoder to low bit rate speech coding is shown, where transmitted phonological posteriors are pruned and quantized. The vocoder with scalar quantization operates at 1 kbps, with potential for lower bit-rate.