Abstract: As part of a larger summative evaluation of a foreign language department and a two-year foreign language core competency, the researcher investigated fourth-semester student self-efficacy (a person's belief, rooted in experience, that they can do something) and future expectancy of second language use. In effect, this was also an evaluation of program theory, which sought to determine what faculty members thought second-year learners ought to know and be able to do at the end of their study, and the extent to which those learners felt they knew and could do these activities. Using questionnaire data from 150 students in nine divisions (Arabic, Chinese [Mandarin], French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish), this study found that learners had at least a modicum of self-efficacy for the things that faculty members and instructors thought they ought to know and be able to do. It was recommended that (1) practice and language use opportunities probably require more attention within divisions so that learner self-efficacy might be further developed, and (2) divisions and students might benefit from having instructors more explicitly connect potentially undiscussed classroom processes (staying in the second language [L2], interacting with classmates in the L2) with successful class outcomes. Key words: learner variables, program evaluation, self-efficacy Language: relevant to all languages Introduction In January 2008, a major accrediting body presented a large, southwestern U.S. university with the dismaying news that it was on probation. Unless the university provided satisfactory evidence that its students had achieved core competency goals set for the core curriculum (multicultural, mathematics, communication, etc.) by the following September, the institution might lose its accreditation (Texas Tech University SACS-COC Task Force, 2008). The university responded quickly to the situation and formed Core Competency Teams comprising faculty members with expertise in the core competencies. The nine teams were charged with the task of formulating sources of data that would provide reasonable, theory-driven evidence that undergraduate students had achieved stated core competencies. Second languages (L2s), which are considered an institution-optional core competency, were included in the accreditation response process. Because L2s had never been included in university-wide discussions of core competencies, the five faculty members on the L2 core competency team were charged with an extra task: Formulate core competency statements, then create measurements for them and collect evidence that students had these competencies. Cross-Divisional Assumptions About Learning Outcomes This allowed for a unique opportunity for a department- wide, cross-divisional examination of assumptions and outcomes concerning student learning at the end of the university-required two years of L2 study. Thus, the faculty members on the core competency team for L2s planned and carried out an evaluation, with the help of 30 faculty members and instructors, and 612 U.S. undergraduate students, of core competencies in Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. In line with extant standards (National Standards in Foreign Language Education Project, 2006), proficiency guidelines (ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines,. 1999), and theoretically informed assumptions about the nature of language as a communication of meaning, core competencies were stated, stipulating that students be able to express and interpret language, and appreciate basic aspects of the cultures where the languages being learned were used. An additional, unexpected core competency emerged: Students of Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish will demonstrate confidence in using the second language in their language classrooms, and their future expectancies of their ability to use the second language in real-life contexts. …


Background: DM is associated with structural skin changes. However, few studies have investigated changes in dermal water and specifically its relationship to glucose control as measured by HbA1c. Our goal was to test the hypothesis that skin water, assessed by its tissue dielectric constant (TDC), is inversely related to HbA1c. Methods: Water content of 3 skin sites (forearm, lower leg, and foot dorsum) of 50 persons with DM was estimated by measuring TDC at 300 MHz. TDC is the ratio of tissue dielectric constant to vacuum and depends on free and bound water in the measured volume. TDC was measured in triplicate to 4 depths, 0.5. 1.5, 2.5, and 5.0 mm to include different skin components. Results: At each site increased measurement depth showed (1) a significant decrease in absolute TDC values and (2) a significant increase in foot-to-arm TDC ratios. TDC values at forearm were shown to be greater than at either leg or foot. However, testing of these 50 patients at 3 sites and 4 skin depths did not show any significant relationship between TDC and HbA1c or fasting glucose. Conclusions: The data indicate no relationship between TDC values, as indices for skin water, and HbA1c or fasting glucose. This implies that skin TDC values to assess skin property features and changes in persons with DM are not sensitive to recent glucose control. Furthermore, the results introduce a newly applied TDC technology useful to assess skin properties of persons with DM.


A large body of research has found an association between short birth intervals and the risk of infant mortality in developing countries, but recent work from highly developed countries has called these claims into question, arguing that previous estimates have been biased by a failure to adequately control for unobserved heterogeneity. This study addresses this issue by estimating within-family models on a sample of 4.5 million births from 77 countries at various levels of development. We show that even after controlling for unobserved maternal heterogeneity, intervals less than 24 months substantially increase the probability of infant death, and this relationship is present in all countries in our analysis. We do show, however, that the importance of birth intervals as a determinant of infant mortality varies inversely with maternal education. Finally, we demonstrate that the mortality-reducing effects of longer birth intervals are strong at low levels of development but decline steadily towards zero as populations become healthier and wealthier. These findings offer a clear way to reconcile previous research showing that birth intervals are important for infant mortality in low-income countries, but much less consequential in high-income settings.


We introduce a framework for automated market making for prediction markets, the volume parameterized market (VPM), in which securities are priced based on the market maker's current liabilities as well as the total volume of trade in the market. We provide a set of mathematical tools that can be used to analyze markets in this framework, and show that many existing market makers (including cost-function based markets [Chen and Pennock 2007; Abernethy et al. 2011, 2013], profit-charging markets [Othman and Sandholm 2012], and buy-only markets [Li and Vaughan 2013]) all fall into this framework as special cases. Using the framework, we design a new market maker, the perspective market, that satisfies four desirable properties (worst-case loss, no arbitrage, increasing liquidity, and shrinking spread) in the complex market setting, but fails to satisfy information incorporation. However, we show that the sacrifice of information incorporation is unavoidable: we prove an impossibility result showing that any market maker that prices securities based only on the trade history cannot satisfy all five properties simultaneously. Instead, we show that perspective markets may satisfy a weaker notion that we call center-price information incorporation.


A combination of experimental and simulation procedures identify important factors in an Illinois cash grain farmerÂ's machinery investment decisions. In an experiment setting, a panel of farmers based investment decisions on their own expectations, farm situations, and varying policy scenarios. In general, the results show investment levels statistically related to the tenure and leverage of operators, the economic conditions they faced, and the age of existing machinery. Alternative public policies of lower commodity price supports, tax reform, and interest rate subsidies influenced the timing of purchases but did not alter total investment amounts.


An important element in the discussion regarding sustainable development in our part of the world is directed towards the large growth in private consumption, and the clash of interests that arises between this growth and sustainable development requirements. A considerable part of private consumption can be related to our houses and the living situations of which they are part. It is of considerable interest to obtain more knowledge about the variations in patterns and volumes of consumption between different living situations, as well as to explore the important factors behind these variations. The acquisition of this type of empirical knowledge is an important aim in the present study. It is based on the superior thesis that it is possible through land use and housing planning to achieve substantial changes in living situations and thus contribute to a development in a direction of "sustainable production and consumption". The article first sums up the state-of-art regarding research on relations between physical planning, household consumption and environment. A theoretical framework and the methods applied in a Norwegian research project acquiring new empirical knowledge into these relations are also presented. The project was intended to be finished by the end of year 2000. Parts of the investigations are, however, completed and the material has been analysed. Two different types of urban structure, Oslo and a small rural town, are included in the investigations. The article presents some of the findings and relates them to former research.


This report explores strengths-based approaches to shifting the deficit narrative in the Australian aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector. Studies, including a companion report to this one entitled Deficit Discourse and Indigenous Health: How Narrative Framings of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People are Reproduced in Policy, have identified a prevalent 'deficit discourse' across Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health policy and practice. There is evidence that deficit discourse has an impact on health itself - that it is a barrier to improving health outcomes. Accordingly, there are growing calls for alternative ways to think about and discuss Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing. This report builds on Deficit Discourse and Indigenous Health by reviewing and analysing a growing body of work from Australia and overseas that proposes ways to displace deficit discourse in health, or that provides examples of attempts to do so. The most widely accepted approaches to achieving this come under the umbrella term 'strengths-based', which seek to move away from the traditional problem-based paradigm and offer a different language and set of solutions to overcoming an issue.


It is fair to say that Pompeii is the most studied archaeological site in the world. Beyond the extensive remains of the city itself, the timing of its rediscovery and excavation place it in a unique historiographical position. The city has been continuously studied since the 18th century, with historians and archaeologists constantly reevaluating older sources as our knowledge of the ancient world expands. While several studies have approached the city from a data driven perspective, no studies of the city have taken a quantitative holistic approach on the scale of the VR Pompeii project. Hyper-specificity has been the order of the day, leaving our knowledge of the city structure incomplete. The VR Pompeii project at the University of Arkansas aims to address this by performing, in concert, topographical network analysis of houses and neighborhoods, convolutional neural network identification and categorization of wall images, and analysis of space usage through subject tracking and electroencephalogram (EEG) data. Coordination of this data to maintain search-ability for non-technical scholars is a major challenge. To this end, the purpose of this research has been to design and then implement a database that allows for all of the VR Pompeii project data to be accessed together, with room for expansion, while maintaining a simple user interface to empower non technical users to ask questions that no researcher has been able to ask about the ancient city of Pompeii. The ancient city of Pompei


The Affordable Care Act includes several provisions designed to encourage greater coordination and integration among health care providers, including the promotion of accountable care organizations and health homes. While much discussion has focused on how these strategies might be adopted by Medicare and private insurers, little attention has focused on their application among safety-net health care providers. Such providers face particular challenges in coordinating care for their low-income and uninsured patients, and no single approach is likely to meet their diverse needs. Successful efforts will require federal, state, and local financial resources to sustain the safety net and make the investments needed to upgrade capabilities. In addition, they will require flexible strategies that can accommodate variations in community and state needs.


Introduction Battle-Pieces' place in the context of Herman Melville's work and nineteenth century American poetry, especially Civil War poetry, has long been both seriously undervalued and uncertain. The main reason for this uncertainty is the work's unconventional aspects of style, as well as Mellville's use of a wide variety of subjects, characters, and tones, which bewildered critics and obscured the book's unity. Critics were content to deal briefly with aspects of style in which they were interested, or to approach the poetry in terms of generalizations, reducing it to misleading formulae. This latter aspect in particular led many critics to miscomprehend the very essence of Mellville's poetry--the way in which it deliberately encompasses a wide range of viewpoints and voices that interact with or work against each other and defy simple categorizations. This essay explores the relationship between Melville the poet and Melville the novelist in Battle-Pieces, and how the interpenetration of both created a poetry of multiple genres, different from most lyric poetry, in the sense that it is a fundamentally polyphonic or dramatic poetry which adopts, as its basic technique, the creation of characters and dramatic voices. In this respect the collection, Battle-Pieces, foreshadows, in form and style, a great deal of twentieth century poetry. From this collection, one particular poem, because of its concept and qualities of technique and style, has been chosen as representative for the purposes of this essay. The Conflict of Convictions. (1860-1.) On starry heights A bugle wails the long recal; Derision stirs the deep abyss, Heaven's ominous silence over all. Return, return, O eager Hope, 5 And face man's latter fall. Events, they make the dreamers quail; Satan's old age is strong and hale, A disciplined captain, gray in skill, And Raphael a white enthusiast still; 10 Dashed aims, at which Christ's martyrs pale, Shall Mammon's slaves fulfill? (Dismantle the fort, cut down the fleet - Battle no more shall be! 15 While the fields for fight in the aeons to come Congeal beneath the sea.) The terrors of the truth and dart of death To faith alike are vain; Though comets, gone a thousand Years, 20 Return again, Patient she stands-she can no more- And waits, nor heeds she waxes hoar. (At a stony gate, A statue of stone, 25 Weed overgrown- Long `twill wait!) But God his former mind retains, Confirms his old decree; The generations are inured to pains, 30 And strong Necessity Surges, and heaps Time's strand with wrecks. The people spread like a weedy grass, The thing they will they bring to pass, And prosper to the apoplex. 35 The rout it herds around the heart, The ghost is yielded in the gloom; Kings wag their heads - Now save thyself Who wouldst rebuild the world in bloom. (Tide-mark 40 And top of the ages' strife, Verge where they called the world to come, The last advance of life - Ha ha, the rust on the Iron Dome!) Nay, but revere the hid event; 45 In the cloud a sword is girded on, I mark a twinkling in the tent Of Michael the warrior one. Senior wisdon suits not now, The light is on the youthful brow. 50 (Ay, in caves the miner see: His forehead bears a blinking light; Darkness so he feebly braves - A meagre wight!) But He who rules is old - is old; 55 Ah ! faith is warm, but heaven with age is cold. (Ho ho, ho ho, The cloistered doubt Of olden times Is blurted out!) 60 The Ancient of Days forever is young, Forever the scheme of Nature thrives; I know a wind in purpose strong - It spins against the way it drives. What if the gulfs their slimed foundations bare. 65 So deep must the stones be hurled Whereon the throes of ages rear The final empire and the happier world. …


A novel concept that prevents dust particles, which are often formed in wet/dry ambient cycles, from contaminating microstructure surfaces is presented. It is shown that a geometrical combination of hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces can prevent the contamination on a part of the hydrophobic surface. The driving force of the mechanism is generated by the surface tension force of condensed water on the surface. Formation of isolated water droplets which become nuclei of contamination is prevented by controlling the dynamic behavior of the condensed water. It is also shown that the hydrophilic surface can be realized by forming concave patterns on a hydrophobic surface with conventional silicon etching. This greatly reduces the fabrication steps of the hybrid surface, making the proposed technique realistic.


Purpose
This paper aims to present four blue-sky ideas for lowering the cost of the Government of Canada's debt without increasing the debt's risk profile.

Design/methodology/approach
The authors argue that each idea would improve the secondary-market liquidity of government debt, thereby increasing the demand for government bonds, and thus, lowering their cost at issuance.

Findings
The first two ideas would improve liquidity by enhancing the active management of the government's debt through market operations used to support the liquidity of outstanding bonds. The second two ideas would simplify the set of securities issued by the government, concentrating issuance in a smaller set of bonds that would each be more highly traded.

Originality/value
The authors discuss the ideas and give an account of the political, legal and operational impediments.


Aim: Sharp penetrating objects such as pins, needles, and toothpicks, once penetrating the gastric wall, continue to be a problem in endoscopy. Patients: We report five cases of extraction of such objects; three of them were seen on plain X-ray films over few weeks without changing in their position. Three objects were penetrating the stomach and two the duodenum; including three metal pins and two wooden toothpicks. Using conscious sedation in endoscopy unit, the sharp object was seen embedded in the wall. Results: After freeing them from the wall; by snare or biopsy forceps, all were retrieved from the stomach by the jumbo biopsy forceps without over tube or protective hood. This was accomplished simply by using the jumbo biopsy forceps to grasp the penetrating end of sharp-pointed objects and securing them in the gastroscope working channel; and then extracting the gastroscope with the pin or toothpick under direct vision. Conclusion: This is a safe and effective way of retrieving sharp objects and decreases the likelihood of esophageal injury and the side effects of over tube. Keyword: sharp-pointed objects, penetrating sharp object, Stomach and Duodenum, endoscopy.


Abstract Background: A tool to determine the probability of mortality for severely injured geriatric patients is needed. Objective: We sought to create an easily calculated geriatric trauma prognostic score based on parameters available at the bedside to aid in mortality probability determination. Methods: All patients ≥65 years of age were identified from our Level I trauma center's registry between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2013. Measurements included age, Injury Severity score (ISS), units of packed red blood cells (PRBCs) transfused in the first 24 hours, and patients' mortality status at the end of their index hospitalization. As a first step, a logistic regression model with maximum likelihood estimation and robust standard errors was used to estimate the odds of mortality from age, ISS, and PRBCs after dichotomizing PRBCs as yes/no. We then constructed a Geriatric Trauma Outcome (GTO) score that became the sole predictor in the re-specified logistic regression model. Results: The sample (n=3841) mean age was 76.5±8.1 years and the mean ISS was 12.4±9.8. In-hospital mortality was 10.8%, and 11.9% received a transfusion by 24 hours. Based on the logistic regression model, the equation with the highest discriminatory ability to estimate probability of mortality was GTO Score=age+(2.5×ISS)+22 (if given PRBCs). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for this model was 0.82. Selected GTO scores and their related probability of dying were: 205=75%, 233=90%, 252=95%, 310=99%. The range of GTO scores was 67.5 (survivor) to 275.1 (died). Conclusion: The GTO model accurately estimates the probability of dying, and can be calculated at bedside by those possessing a working knowledge of ISS calculation.


Elemental Carbon (EC) has a significant impact on human health and climate change. In order to evaluate the size segregation of EC emission in the EUCAARI inventory and investigate its influence on the simulation of EC long-range transportation in Europe, we used the fully coupled online Weather Research and Forecasting/Chemistry model (WRF-Chem) at a resolution of 2 km focusing on a region in Germany, in conjunction with a high-resolution EC emission inventory. The ground meteorology conditions, vertical structure and wind pattern were well reproduced by the model. The simulations of particle number and/or mass size distributions were evaluated with observations at the central European background site Melpitz. The fine mode particle concentration was reasonably well simulated, but the coarse mode was substantially overestimated by the model mainly due to the plume with high EC concentration in coarse mode emitted by a nearby point source. The comparisons between simulated EC and Multi-angle Absorption Photometers (MAAP) measurements at Melpitz, Leipzig-TROPOS and Bosel indicated that the coarse mode EC (ECc) emitted from the nearby point sources might be overestimated by a factor of 2–10. The fraction of ECc was overestimated in the emission inventory by about 10–30 % for Russia and 5–10 % for Eastern Europe (e.g., Poland and Belarus). This incorrect size-dependent EC emission results in a shorter atmospheric life time of EC particles and inhibits the long-range transport of EC. A case study showed that this effect caused an underestimation of 20–40 % in the EC mass concentration in Germany under eastern wind pattern.


The purchase timing decision is an important component of the dynamics of a household's purchase behavior. This decision is influenced by marketing and other variables, and the modeling of this dependence has recently received attention in the literature. In this paper, we build on previous studies and develop a comprehensive stochastic model that incorporates the major factors influencing interpurchase times. Specifically, we use a generalized version of Cox's proportional hazard model to test among competing probability distributions for the interpurchase times while incorporating effects due to marketing variables, observed household characteristics, and unobserved heterogeneity across households.

The empirical finding from analyzing the IRI coffee data, suggests that the interpurchase times cannot be adequately described by probability distributions such as exponential, Erlang-2 or Weibull. The effects of unobserved heterogeneity are significant, and they impact the estimates of the effects of the covariates. We also find that a nonparametric procedure for estimating the effects of unobserved heterogeneity provides the best overall fit to the data and yields covariate estimates that are more consistent with prior expectations. Our model is validated by replicating the substantive empirical findings on an additional product category.


In recent years, a handful of countries have converted the financing of their social security systems from pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) to partial or full funding. Privatization is viewed as one way to insulate social security from the political and demographic pressures that currently threaten the financial stability of PAYGO systems. However, privatization would improve a nation's situation only if such a reform increases domestic saving. In this paper I use evidence from Chile, where social security was privatized in 1981, to assess the impact of such a reform on household saving rates. I find that the reform provided a significant stimulus for saving among higher income households, increasing their saving rates by more than seven percentage points. This increase in saving at the household level translates into an increase in national saving of more than two percent of GDP.


We propose a low-power, analog and mixed-mode, implementation of particle filters. Low-power analog implementation of nonlinear functions such as exponential and arctangent functions is done using multiple-input translinear element (MITE) networks. These nonlinear functions are used to calculate the probability densities in the particle filter. A bearings-only tracking problem is simulated to present the proposed low-power implementation of the particle filter algorithm.


Foam cells are lipid-laden macrophages that contribute to the inflammation and tissue damage associated with many chronic inflammatory disorders. Although foam cell biogenesis has been extensively studied in atherosclerosis, how these cells form during a chronic infectious disease such as tuberculosis is unknown. Here we report that, unlike the cholesterol-laden cells of atherosclerosis, foam cells in tuberculous lung lesions accumulate triglycerides. Consequently, the biogenesis of foam cells varies with the underlying disease. In vitro mechanistic studies showed that triglyceride accumulation in human macrophages infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis is mediated by TNF receptor signaling through downstream activation of the caspase cascade and the mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1). These features are distinct from the known biogenesis of atherogenic foam cells and establish a new paradigm for non-atherogenic foam cell formation. Moreover, they reveal novel targets for disease-specific pharmacological interventions against maladaptive macrophage responses.


Obesity, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes, three strongly interrelated diseases, are associated to increased morbidity and mortality worldwide. The pathogenesis of obesity-associated disorders is still under study. Secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC) is a matricellular glycoprotein expressed in many cell types including adipocytes, parenchymal, and non-parenchymal hepatic cells and pancreatic cells. Studies have demonstrated that SPARC inhibits adipogenesis and promotes insulin resistance; in addition, circulating SPARC levels were positively correlated with body mass index in obese individuals. Therefore, SPARC is being proposed as a key factor in the pathogenesis of obesity-associated disorders. The aim of this study is to elucidate the role of SPARC in glucose homeostasis. We show here that SPARC null (SPARC-/-) mice displayed an abnormal insulin-regulated glucose metabolism. SPARC-/- mice presented an increased adipose tissue deposition and an impaired glucose homeostasis as animals aged. In addition, the absence of SPARC worsens high-fat diet-induced diabetes in mice. Interestingly, although SPARC-/- mice on high-fat diet were sensitive to insulin they showed an impaired insulin secretion capacity. Of note, the expression of glucose transporter 2 in islets of SPARC-/- mice was dramatically reduced. The present study provides the first evidence that deleted SPARC expression causes diabetes in mice. Thus, SPARC deficient mice constitute a valuable model for studies concerning obesity and its related metabolic complications, including diabetes.


The Edifice of Hiuchi Volcano was founded on the Mokake ignimbrite plateau which is directly underlain by the Nanairi pumice. They erupted from near the present summit successively about 350ka. On the plateau, the Ozorizawa cone was first established about 100 ka. Next, the Shibayasugura cone having twin peaks, Shibayasugura (2, 356 m) and Manaitagura (2, 346 m), was built shifting slightly southeast. At 19ka, the Jubeike lava flow and Kumazawa Tashiro lava dome were issued from the northeastern flanks. The latter was accompanied by a devastating blast. Southward-opening horseshoe depression is source of the Nushiri debris avalanche, which dammed up the Nushiri River and formed the Oze marsh about 8ka. The Akanagure lava dome and flows immediately occupied the depression. The youngest volcanic feature at Hiuchi is the Miike lava dome, 300m south of the Manaitagura peak. It emplaced during the 16th century, just before the Shirohikemizu flood descended the Hinoemata River on July 28, 1544. Hiuchi Volcano has erupted 17 × 1012 kg of magma since its birth, 350 thousand years ago. Average discharge rate is 4.9 × 1010 kg per thousand years, an order of magnitude smaller than that of the most active Japanese volcanoes.


Qualitative methodologies continue to proliferate in social sciences such as sociology and anthropology. Yet, despite this uptake they currently exist on the margins of entrepreneurship research. Indeed, Rae (2001) criticised entrepreneurship researchers for failing to make fuller use of sophisticated qualitative methodologies in researching at the frontiers of entrepreneurship. This chapter argues that there are valid structural and career orientated reasons why this is so. We argue that qualitative researchers often have to ˜dare to be different. Writing up qualitative research is difficult because a judgement call has to be made whether to tailor the research towards a standard journal article or whether to allow the research to dictate the style and presentation of the finished article. ˜Daring to be different may be a valued entrepreneurial trait and hence should be one that was appreciated by journal editors or reviewers in the field " alas, it is rarely so. Academic careers and reputations are built upon the reputation of achieving repeated publication in respected journals and by adhering to the conformity of accepted disciplinary peer conventions. Consequentially, this chapter documents the development of a research and publication strategy of one of its authors, suggesting some alternative publication strategies. Furthermore, it is an Impressionistic tale in the style of VanMaanen (1988), written in a dialogic, conversational style with a colleague.


Objective We aim to study the effect of persistent post-concussive symptoms on cognitive performance of elite athletes, based on the hypothesis that persistent symptoms could impair athletes' cognitive performances and functional outcomes. Design Prospective observational and longitudinal case control study. Setting University research centre, single centre. Participants 7 athletes with persistent symptoms (>2 weeks, assessed at median 31 days post-concussion), 10 athletes with brief symptoms (<3 days, assessed within a week, median 3.5 days), and 9 age-matched healthy volunteers. Inclusion criteria: male/female athletes (aged 18–40) in contact sports who sustained concussion(s) recently, being symptomatic with normal neuro-radiological findings at enrolment. Intervention Independent variables: post-concussive symptom scores and duration of symptoms. Outcome measures Multi-dimensional scores from Sport Concussion Assessment Tool III, Immediate Post-concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing, WAIS symbol search and digit span backward tests. Main results Patients with persistent symptoms scored less in the symbol search test than those with brief symptoms and the healthy volunteers (grouping effect p=0.006; post hoc tests p=0.039 and 0.004, respectively). In all 17 patients, symptom scores correlated with reaction time (ρ=−0.61, p=0.009), and visual motor speed correlated with symbol search scores (ρ=0.59, p=0.013). 6 patients who completed follow-up assessments when symptom-free showed improvement in their symbol search scores (p=0.042) and visual memory (p=0.028). Conclusions Concussed athletes with persistent symptoms performed poorly in visual perception/analysis and information processing. Persistent post-concussive symptoms could affect athletes' visual memory, perception/analysis, reaction time and information processing speed, thus precipitating them to further injuries should they return to play prematurely. Competing interests None.


This presentation highlights results from an action research project in a Swedish primary school. The aim of the project is to investigate digitally-based musical settings with young children in need of special support. Various digital-based music instruments were used to facilitate performing, creating and learning music, alone or in small groups. The theoretical background of the project is found in sociocultural educational theories, health theories and musicology. To engage in musicking is to take part in any kind of musical event such as performing, listening, practicing or providing material for musical activities. The Zone of Proximal Development describes how the learner with guidance can improve his or her social interaction with more competent peers. Physical and psychological tools mediate the world to individuals engaged in practical activities such as musicking. The research method is inspired by ethnographical methods and performed in collaboration between a music educator and the researcher. Data was collected mainly through participant observations, field notes, audio and video recordings. Preliminary results of the study demonstrate that even very young children quickly learn how to use digitally-based instruments for playing and creating music. Open-ended apps seemed to catch the participants' interest, whereas in some cases they soon lost interest in ready-made apps. Results furthermore imply that a musical setting might be regarded as a combination of cultural, musical, technical, physical, psychological and personal resources. The digitally-based instruments were found in many cases to enhance autonomy and latitude for children in need of special support. This may be of even greater importance for the participants with Swedish as their second language. To participate in musicking and to learn music creates a sense of ownership that is of great importance for the individual not only from an educational, but also from a democratic perspective. (Less)


This thesis is to upgrade low-rank coal to high-quality thermal fuel that can be burnt at high-efficiency and low-emission for power generation, via leaching out the troublesome alkali and alkaline earth metals to reduce its fouling propensity. It gives a good contribution to the understanding of both recyclabilities of leaching reagents and chloride waste treatment in an efficient and environmentally-benign manner. Apart from intensive experimental investigations, underpinning mechanisms are explored via model development or/and atomic structure analyses.


Understanding the relative effectiveness of different media for marketing communications has always been challenging. As for Amanah Saham Nasional Berhad, seminars aggressively had been done all over Malaysia; still the impact toward the number of new investors is disappointing. Recently they have organized seminars in Insititut Perguruan Perempuan Melayu (IPPM), Melaka but the results gained also quite disappointed. Thus, in this study we will examine the effectiveness of six marketing communications tools which are personal selling, advertising, sales promotions, sponsorship marketing, publicity and point-of-purchase communications by applying the Hierarchy of Effects Model that were designed by Robert J. Lavidge and Gary A. Steiner in 1961, towards IPPM. Due to low impact on the personal selling for ASB schemes towards IPPM, the researcher identified level of effectiveness of marketing communication tools that had been done factors that will make the messages sent to the audiences more efficiently. For the purpose of this study, descriptive, exploratory and causal research is applied. The researcher also applied self-administered interview to 135 respondents which gone through Stratified Sampling Technique. Moreover, data analysis, cross tabulation, correlation, hypotheses testing and regression gathered through the use of Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS). Finally, the finding of the results concludes that personal selling is the most influence factor to the marketing communications effectiveness, which it is correlated to four other factors which are advertising, sales promotions, sponsorship marketing and publicity.


While 5G wireless networks are expected to handle ever growing data avalanche, classical deployment/optimization approaches such as hyper- dense deployment of base stations or having more bandwidth are cost-inefficient, therefore seen as stopgaps. In this regard, context-aware approaches which exploits human predictability, recent advances in storage, edge/cloud computing and big data analytics are needed. In this article, we approach to this problem from a proactive caching perspective where gains of cache-enabled base stations in 5G wireless are studied. In particular, huge amount of real data from a telecom operator in Turkey is collected/processed on a big data platform, and an analysis is carried out for content popularity estimation for caching, aiming to improve users' experience in terms of request satisfactions and offload the backhaul. Subsequently, with this mobile traffic data collected from many base stations within several hours of time interval and estimation of content popularity via machine learning tools, we investigate the gains of the proactive caching via numerical simulations. The results show that proactive caching fulfils 100% of user request satisfaction and offloads 98% of the backhaul, in a setting of 16 base station with 15.4 Gbyte of storage size (87% of the total catalog size) and 10% of content ratings.


Objectives: The diagnostic sequence and costs for arrhythmia detection utilizing Holter ambulatory ECG monitoring have not been well studied. The objective of the current study was to characterize the number of patients and associated costs incurred in the diagnosis, additional monitoring, clinical events and sequelae after an initial Holter monitor in Medicare patients with arrhythmia—the diagnostic odyssey. Methods: We performed a retrospective, longitudinal claims analysis using a 5% random sample of Medicare beneficiaries' claims from the Fee-for-Service (FFS) Standard Analytic Files. The analysis was limited to patients with full benefits for 1 year prior and 2 years post the index 24- or 48-hour Holter event, no prior arrhythmia or Holter. Results: The group of greatest interest was the "No results" category, since these 1,976 patients (11.1% of the total 17,887 patients evaluated) reflected the failure of repeat Holter monitoring to either detect clinical events or diagnose disease. In spite of this failure, there was a total allowed charge of more than $45 million or slightly more than $23,000 per involved patient. When extrapolated over the entire Medicare FFS population, this category was estimated to cost more than $900 million over the 2-year study period. Conclusions: Additional diagnostic paradigms need to be explored to improve upon these patient and system outcomes, where repeat monitoring frequently did not yield a diagnosis and patients continued to experience clinical events.


Deep reinforcement learning has demonstrated increasing capabilities for continuous control problems, including agents that can move with skill and agility through their environment. An open problem in this setting is that of developing good strategies for integrating or merging policies for multiple skills, where each individual skill is a specialist in a specific skill and its associated state distribution. We extend policy distillation methods to the continuous action setting and leverage this technique to combine expert policies, as evaluated in the domain of simulated bipedal locomotion across different classes of terrain. We also introduce an input injection method for augmenting an existing policy network to exploit new input features. Lastly, our method uses transfer learning to assist in the efficient acquisition of new skills. The combination of these methods allows a policy to be incrementally augmented with new skills. We compare our progressive learning and integration via distillation (PLAID) method against three alternative baselines.


This presentation comes from the Managing the Investment Firm conference held in New York, New York, on March 28, 1991.


Treatment success and potential relapse of intracranial aneurysms need to be followed-up by regular imaging. However, the metallic material inside treated aneurysms can cause artifacts in MRI, CT and DSA possibly compromising clinical interpretation. Furthermore, frequent follow-ups with X-ray based imaging methods seriously increase the patient's exposure to ionizing radiation. Thus, magnetic particle imaging (MPI) may be beneficial for patients with treated aneurysms. The purpose of this work was to demonstrate the capability of MPI to depict the change of the contrast agent dynamics of aneurysms after treatment. Realistic aneurysm models before and after treatment by different means were connected to a peristaltic pump with a physiologic flow (250 ml/min) and pulsation rate (70/min). Contrast agent curves over time were measured during injection of a 3 ml bolus within 3 s of an aqueous solution of 50 mmol(Fe)/L. MPI was able to detect the expected delay and dispersion of the contrast agent in the treated aneurysm as well as a less filling with contrast agent, if densely packed material was present inside the aneurysm. The delay was estimated based on the MPI contrast agent curves to be in the order of about 1 s. Thus, MPI is capable to detect delay and dispersion of the contrast agent dynamics after aneurysm treatment with clinical standard metallic material.


Abstract : The importance of URLs in the representation of a document cannot be overstated. Shorthand mnemonics such as wiki or blog are often embedded in a URL to convey its functional purpose or genre. Other mnemonics have evolved from use (e.g., a Wordpress particle is strongly suggestive of blogs). Can we leverage from this predictive power to induce the genre of a document from the representation of a URL? This paper presents a methodology for webpage genre classification from URLs which, to our knowledge, has not been previously attempted. Experiments using machine learning techniques to evaluate this claim show promising results and a novel algorithm for character n-gram decomposition is provided. Such a capability could be useful to improve personalized search results, disambiguate content, efficiently crawl the Web in search of relevant documents, and construct behavioral profiles from clickstream data without parsing the entire document.


Objectives: Snail-schistosome interactions in relation to immunological, and biochemical changes induced in the host's tissues by the developing intramolluscan stages of the parasite form an integral part in understanding the biology of infection. This study focused on determining whether there are induced proteins in an infected snail haemolymph and to determine the cross reactivity of the proteins with antibodies raised against the cercariae and worm antigens. Methodology and results: Proteomic analysis was carried out to analyze differentially expressed proteins. This was done by separation of proteins by SDS-PAGE and 2D electrophoresis on infected snail haemolymph. Later western blotting was done to check for cross reactivity of induced proteins and antibodies. The protein profiles in SDS-PAGE revealed a complex mixture of polypeptides some of which were induced or suppressed on specific days during the infection period. Separation of haemolymph proteins by 2D electrophoresis analysis revealed a progressive increase of expressed proteins during the parasite's developmental period in the snail, however there was no specific trend in distribution of the acidic or basic proteins. Finally, haemolymph proteins from infected snails and the control (uninfected) snails were not recognized by antibodies raised against S. mansoni antigens namely Soluble Worm Antigen (SWAP) and Soluble Cercariae Antigen (SCA). Conclusions and application of findings: Snailschistosome interaction leads to suppression and induction of proteins. This is important in understanding stage specific interactions of the parasite during intramolluscan development. Lack of cross reactivity was an indication that these proteins could not be used as immunogens for vaccine design.


This book deals with two different pragmatic approaches to textual communication: (i) the mainstream approach followed by the 'Ash'ari s, Hanafi s and Mu'tazili s, (ii) the salafite approach followed mainly by the Hanbali s, defended and elaborated by Ibn Taymiyyah. One of the primary aims of the book is to explore and formulate several Muslim legal theorists' pragmatic theories, communicative principles and linguistic views, construct them in the form of models and set them within a general uniform framework. Another aim is to reveal a corpus of information and data which, though highly relevant to modern pragmatics, is still unknown. This study, which can be seen as an extensive introduction to 'medieval Islamic pragmatics', is the first attempt to examine the approaches followed by the Salafi s or the mainstream from a pragmatic viewpoint. There has been no attempt to explain the principles and the strategies utilised by the medieval Sunni Muslim legal theorists in their account of how communication works and how successful interpretation is achieved. Of course, a lot of work has been done on different Islamic sects and their different positions over the interpretation of the Quran and Sunnah, but these studies fall short of delving into the underlying communicative principles that motivate their differences over interpretation. The author's formulation of the Muslim legal theorists' views is enhanced by setting up a reliable theoretical foundation and by delving into their underlying philosophical principles. This involves relating the legal theorists' insights into interpretation and communication to their relevant ontological, epistemological and theological outlooks, and comparing these insights with their modern pragmatic counterparts.


In the 18th century Britain frequently issued lottery loans, selling bonds whose size was determined by a draw soon after the sale. The probability distribution was perfectly known ex-ante and highly skewed. After the draw the bonds were identical (except for size) and indistinguishable from regular bonds. I collect market prices for the lottery tickets and show that investors were paying a substantial premium to be exposed to this purely artificial risk. I show that investors were well-to-do and included many merchants and bankers. I turn to cumulative prospect theory to make sense of these observations and estimate the equilibrium model of Barberis and Huang (2008). The preference parameters can account for the level of the lottery premium but cannot always match the systematic rise of prices over the course of the draws.


This study presents EPG (electro-palatographic) data on (alveo-)palatal consonants from two Australian languages, Arrernte and Warlpiri. (Alveo-)palatal consonants are phonemic for stop, lateral and nasal manners of articulation in both languages, and are laminal articulations. However, in Arrernte, these lamino-(alveo-)palatals contrast with lamino-dental consonants for all three manners of articulation (i.e., it is a double-laminal language), whereas in Warlpiri this laminal contrast does not exist (i.e., it is a single-laminal language). Data are analyzed according to manner of articulation, vowel context and phrase position. Results suggest that in the double-laminal language Arrernte, the (alveo-)palatal articulation is further back than in the single-laminal language Warlpiri, presumably due to the presence of the lamino-dental in the Arrernte phoneme inventory. The lateral has the least contact in the back regions of the palate for both languages, but there is no significant difference in contact pattern between the stop and the nasal. However, results tentatively suggest that the nasal (alveo-)palatal is the most likely to show effects of prosodic or vocalic context, and it is suggested that this is due to the less strict airflow requirements for the nasal than for the stop or the lateral.


Extracted from text ... To the Editor: The article 'Ethical issues in forensic medicine'
by M A Dada and D J McQuoid-Mason in the March
2006 issue of CME refers. The paragraph, left bottom corner,
page 139, is not quite clear.
It implies that all district surgeons complied with political
pressure, resulting in the violations mentioned. While this
may be true of some, it is certainly not applicable to all or
even the majority of district surgeons - during my limited
experience of 38 years. I hope the implication was not
intentional.
Without going into detail, the commonest clashes with the
police were when ..


Learning from successes in agricultural development is now more urgent than ever. Progress in feeding the world's billions has slowed, while the challenge of meeting future food needs remains enormous and is subject to new uncertainties in the global food and agricultural systems. In the late 1950s around a billion people were estimated to go hungry every day. Scientists, policymakers, farmers, and ordinary people initiated a concerted push to boost agricultural production and productivity in developing countries. Great strides were also made in improving the quality of food and the ability of vulnerable people to access food needed for survival. All these efforts have done more than just feed millions. They have also demonstrated that agriculture can be a key driver of growth and development for many of the world's poorest countries.


Reproductive cycle of gafftopsail catfish (Bagre marinus) and its relation to environmental variables were analyzed, based on specimens collected randomly from commercial landings of long line artisan fleet of the Chiltepec Barrier, Tabasco State. Gonadosomatic index showed that this species had one reproductive period per year (May - August). Reproduction occurs in shallow coastal waters at high temperatures (27.0 - 29.0°C) under heavy precipitation conditions (170- 333 mm). Female condition factor had a similar behavior than the gonadosomatic index, reaching high values (0.61 to 0.63) during May through July, although a high value of 0.64 was observed during March. A decrease on the condition factor in males from July (0.55) to October (0.50) was related to the energetic cost of oral incubation. This finding was consistent with a decrease in the proportion of captured males during these months (from 50.7% in July to 23.9% in November) when males migrated from fishing areas to estuarine zones to release their progeny. Gafftopsail catfish presents a synchronic ovocitary development in two groups with total spawning. The species is characterized by low fecundity. The mean number of mature hydrated oocytes per female was 33, ranging from 21 to 62, which is related to the mouth brooding tactic wich allowed ariid species to survive under a variety of environmental conditions. Gafftopsail catfish take advantages of the different habitats present in its distribution area, by using a reproductive strategy with local seasonal migrations.


Ecosystems are the basis of life and all human activities. Conservation of biological diversity is very important for the proper functioning of the ecosystem and for delivering ecosystem services. Maintaining high biodiversity in agroecosystems makes agricultural production more sustainable and economically viable. Agricul‐ tural biodiversity ensures, for example, pollination of crops, biological crop protec‐ tion, maintenance of proper structure and fertility of soils, protection of soils against erosion, nutrient cycling, and control of water flow and distribution. The effects of the loss of biodiversity may not be immediately apparent, but they may increase the sensitivity of the ecosystems to various abiotic and biotic stresses. The combination of biodiversity conservation with profitable food production is one of the tasks of modern sustainable agriculture that faces the necessity of reconciling the productive, environmental, and social goals. As further intensification of production and increase in the use of chemical pesticides, fertilizers, and water to increase yields are increas‐ ingly criticized, global agriculture is looking for other biological and agrotechnical methods in order to meet the requirements of global food production.


In this paper, maneuverability measure of master control devices considering the musculo-skeletal model of operators is proposed. The original maneuverability measure of master arms considering the operator dynamics is extended by introducing a muscle tension space instead of the joint torque space of an operator so that the maneuverability is evaluated under a constant muscle stress condition which is related to muscle fatigue. Unidirectionality of muscle tension forces as well as the gravity effects acting on the master device and the operator arm are explicitly considered to get a correct evaluation. As a numerical example, the effect of a movable armrest installed on a master arm is evaluated based on the proposed measure. It is shown that the armrest is effective to reduce muscle fatigue by not only lowering the gravity loads for the operator but also reducing the gripping force necessary to maneuver the device. Experiments are also conducted to verify the result of this numerical example.


DESCRIPTION Unsaturated Soil Mechanics is the first book to provide a comprehensive introduction to the fundamental principles of unsaturated soil mechanics. * Offers extensive sample problems with an accompanying solutions manual. * Brings together the rapid advances in research in unsaturated soil mechanics in one focused volume. * Covers advances in effective stress and suction and hydraulic conductivity measurement.


Stochastic dynamics of classical degrees of freedom, defined on vertices of locally tree-like graphs, can be studied in the framework of the dynamic cavity method which is exact for tree graphs. Such models correspond for example to spin-glass systems, Boolean networks, neural networks, and other technical, biological, and social networks. The central objects in the cavity method are edge messages—conditional probabilities of two vertex variable trajectories. In this paper, we discuss a rather pedagogical derivation for the dynamic cavity method, give a detailed account of the novel matrix product edge message (MPEM) algorithm for the solution of the dynamic cavity equation as introduced in Barthel et al (2018 Phys. Rev. E 97 010104 (R)), and present optimizations and extensions. Matrix product approximations of the edge messages are constructed recursively in an iteration over time. Computation costs and precision can be tuned by controlling the matrix dimensions of the MPEM in truncations. Without truncations, the dynamics is exact. Data for Glauber–Ising dynamics shows a linear growth of computation costs in time. In contrast to Monte Carlo simulations, the approach has a much better error scaling. Hence, it gives for example access to low probability events and decaying observables like temporal correlations. We discuss optimized truncation schemes and an extension that allows to capture models which have a continuum time limit.


This article examines recent research on the influence of various forms of economic uncertainty on the performance of different classes of monetary policy rules: from simple rules to fully optimal monetary policy under commitment. The authors explain why uncertainty matters in the design of monetary policy rules and provide quantitative examples from the recent literature. They also present results for several policy rules in ToTEM, the Bank of Canada's main model for projection and analysis, including rules that respond to price level, rather than to inflation.


A 62-year-old lady presented with a large, right-sided orbital mass. It started as a small mass in the right lower lid 4 years back, which slowly grew in size. At presentation, she had no perception of light in the right eye. On examination, there was a 40×60 mm multilobulated intraorbital mass, causing massive proptosis and upward displacement of the globe. There was marked stretching and thinning of both the upper and lower lids and widening of the horizontal palpebral aperture. The tumour had a bluish colour at places and prominent vessels that were evident through the thinned out lids. The overlying skin was normal. On palpation, there was no tenderness or pulsations. The cornea was hazy precluding optimal posterior segment examination. The left eye had corneal opacity with cataract. The draining lymph nodes were not enlarged.

CT and subsequent MRI of the orbit were done (figure 1A–C). Fine needle aspiration for cytology revealed serosanguineous fluid. Preoperatively, we aspirated 20 ml of serosanguineous fluid from the tumour, thus decompressing it. The tumour was excised piecemeal via anterior orbitotomy. As the orbital walls were extremely thinned out on imaging, we did not attempt to dissect the tumour from the periorbita that appeared to be intact even in areas of herniation. Therefore, some residual tumour was left behind. Excess of lid tissue was resected. Intraoperatively, we found large tortuous blood vessels within the tumour. Histopathological findings were diagnostic (figure 2).

Figure 1
A) CT scan of the orbit (parasagittal) showing large, expansile, heterogeneous …


Social media has become a crucial feature of the Pacific islands in the twenty-first century, providing people with the means to demand greater accountability and transparency, and offering an alternative platform through which to engage in policy processes, dialogue and debate. Increasing social media access and use, has altered the existing media and communications landscape, with implications for mainstream media reporting, censorship and citizen voice. This paper explores this phenomenon through an examination of the digital activism practices of a group of women's rights activists in Fiji. In doing so, this paper explores how social media is being used as an online platform for information dissemination and debate, as well as the implications this is having 'offline' as part of efforts to influence policymaking.


Antinuclear antibodies (ANA) and extractable nuclear antigens (ENA) are instrumental biomarkers crucial in the detection of autoimmune disorders (AID) such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), Sjogren syndrome, etc.. In the present study, an assessment of the most frequent ANA patterns associated with most detectable ENA that could be used as efficient prognostic markers in the diagnosis of autoimmune diseases was conducted. Data was retrospectively analyzed from AID patients, retrieved from the medical records of King Fahad Medical City, Riyadh, KSA, from January 2016 to October 2018 who underwent ANA immunofluorescence of HEp-2 cells and their ENA detection was studied. Of the 453 total patients, 39/55 AID males (71%) and 332/398 AID females (83.4%) exhibited ANA positivity. The most common pattern was speckled S-ANA (32.4%) in females and homogenous H-ANA pattern (25.4%) in males. The histones were found at higher frequency in different ANA patterns. anti-Sjogren syndrome related antigen A (SSA), anti-ribonucleoprotein antibody (RNP-Sm), and histones were observed to be associated with homogenous and speckled nuclear patterns. Frequencies of ENA in all ANA patterns were found significant at p < 0.05 in males and p < 0.001 in females. Spearman's rank correlation of ENA within and among the ANA patterns was non-significant. SSA was significantly correlated with RNP-Sm and Sm at p < 0.05 and p < 0.01, respectively. The extractable nuclear antigens SSA, RNP-Sm, and histones were found associated with the S-ANA and H-ANA patterns. These correlations are of relevance for the accurate diagnosis of autoimmune diseases.


The ever-increasing number of third-party applications developed for Android devices has resulted in a growing interest in the secondary activities that these applications perform and how they affect a user's privacy. Unfortunately, users continue to install these applications without any concrete knowledge of the breadth of these activities; hence, they have little insight into the sensitive information and resources accessed by these applications. In this paper, we explore users' perception and reaction when presented with a visual analysis of Android applications activities and their security implications. This study uses interactive visual schemas to communicate the effect of applications activities in order to support users with more understandable information about the risks they face from such applications. Through findings from a user-based experiment, we demonstrate that when visuals diagrams about application activities are presented to users, they became more aware and sensitive to the privacy intrusiveness of certain applications. This awareness and sensitivity stems from the fact that some of these applications were accessing a significant number of resources and sensitive information, and transferring data out of the devices, even when they arguably had little reason to do so.


The present study investigates the different uses of causative/transitive directionals in Mon and the functional differences between the basic and causative forms. Dealing with a typologically rare phenomenon, this study adds to our understanding of complex verbal predicates and transitivity not only in the Southeast Asia context, but also cross-linguistically. The study is based on original data collected in Thailand and Myanmar from different varieties of Mon, supplemented by published texts such as journal articles and short stories, as well as elicited data.


EVIDENCE-BASED STUDY OF MEDICATION COMPLIANCE PROJECT IN HIV PREVENTION USING PRE-EXPOSURE PROPHYLAXIS (PREP) ANTIVIRALS FOR HIV-NEGATIVE MALES In 2012, emtricitabine/tenofovir was the only Food and Drug Administration-approved medication for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) used in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention. To date, there is little research on open-label and mixed-payer characteristics supporting medication compliance of men who have sex with men (MSM). The purpose of this research was to describe individual demographic variables associated with PrEP medication adherence and to examine the effect of a follow-up phone call from a nurse once a month for 3 months. A total of 30 MSM were recruited and data were collected using a demographic questionnaire, medication adherence tool and follow-up phone calls. Data were analyzed using a statistical package. Spearman's rho correlations demonstrated high medication adherence in single men (rs (28) = −.375, p < .05) with no mental health issues (rs (28) = .426, p < .05) and a higher educational level (rs (28) = −.431, p < .05). A between group Chi-square demonstrated men with high medication adherence and medium medication adherence did not statistically differ over 3 months (χ2 (2, N = 28) = .668, p = .71). Individuals who exhibited higher PrEP use in an open-label and mixed-payer structure appeared to be young, single, well educated, and employed Caucasian gay males with multiple partners. More information will be needed from ethnically diverse populations, especially non-Caucasians. Finally, clinical nurses, by supplying accountability by phone calls, could improve PrEP compliance by providing planned monthly reminders. Ming-Chun Ho May 2018 EVIDENCE-BASED STUDY OF MEDICATION COMPLIANCE PROJECT IN HIV PREVENTION USING PRE-EXPOSURE PROPHYLAXIS (PREP) ANTIVIRALS FOR HIV-NEGATIVE MALES


Abstract Mapping the complex temporalities set in motion by Partition for film representation and production, this article explores the aesthetic and narrative choices in vernacular cinema from early Pakistan. Here both émigré and 'indigenous' film-makers in post-Partition Lahore embraced Punjabi to safely negotiate a regional market, revealing continuity with pre-national film output. Thematically, these films drew on folk tales and legends (qissa – dastan) popular in the subcontinent for centuries, whilst deploying mystical Sufism to fashion a distinctive form, that of the rustic release. Rustic both in narrative content and technical treatment, these films reveal an imagery fabricated by infrastructural constraints. Visuals of an agrarian and highly stratified society are crafted commensurate with vernacular literary output from the region, and imbued with Sufi tropes of healing mystics, charismatic transgressors and annihilating love. Reading the partition classic Kartar Singh (Saifuddin Saif, 1959), the author follows the crystallisation of a local aesthetic, through the interplay of location, film apparatus, contingency (Partition) and image, thus bringing forth the manner in which Lahore films are simultaneously products and re-enactments of Partition.


Well-being has been strongly linked to many important life facets ranging from physical and mental health to social relationships to academic and work performance. Not only has it been associated with many beneficial outcomes across these realms, but it has also been demonstrated to predict positive changes in these key areas of functioning. In this article, we will review the benefits of high subjective well-being (high positive affect and life satisfaction and low negative affect) for health, resilience, work performance, and social relationships. Using multi-method assessments and approaches as well as cross-cultural findings, we review the evidence which vastly supports a strong link between well-being and crucial life domains. Gaps in our understanding of this connection and areas for future research to address the limits of our knowledge assessing the beneficial outcomes of well-being will be discussed. Implications of the link between well-being and important life outcomes for practical applications including interventions and preventative policy work are provided.


We assume that perfectly patient agents estimate the value of future events by generating noisy, unbiased simulations and combining those signals with priors to form posteriors. These posterior expectations exhibit as-if discounting: agents make choices as if they were maximizing a stream of known utils weighted by a discount function, D(t). This as-if discount function reflects the fact that estimated utils are a combination of signals and priors, so average expectations are optimally shaded toward the mean of the prior distribution, generating behavior that partially mimics the properties of classical time preferences. When the simulation noise has variance that is linear in the event's horizon, the as-if discount function is hyperbolic, D(t)=1/(1+a t). Our agents exhibit systematic preference reversals, but have no taste for commitment because they suffer from imperfect foresight, which is not a self-control problem. In our framework, agents that are more skilled at forecasting (e.g., those with more intelligence) exhibit less discounting. Agents with more domain-relevant experience exhibit less discounting. Older agents exhibit less discounting (except those with cognitive decline). Agents who are encouraged to spend more time thinking about an intertemporal tradeoff exhibit less discounting. Agents who are unable to think carefully about an intertemporal tradeoff – e.g., due to cognitive load – exhibit more discounting. In our framework, patience is highly unstable, fluctuating with the accuracy of forecasting.


Purpose Transplantation of limbal stem cells is a promising therapy for limbal stem cell deficiency. Limbal cells can be harvested from either a healthy part of the patient's eye or the eye of a donor. Small explants are less likely to inflict injury to the donor site. We investigated the effects of limbal explant size on multiple characteristics known to be important for transplant function. Methods Human limbal epithelial cells were expanded from large versus small explants (3 versus 1 mm of the corneal circumference) for 3 weeks and characterized by light microscopy, immunohistochemistry, and transmission electron microscopy. Epithelial thickness, stratification, outgrowth, ultrastructure and phenotype were assessed. Results Epithelial thickness and stratification were similar between the groups. Outgrowth size correlated positively with explant size (r = 0.37; P = 0.01), whereas fold growth correlated negatively with explant size (r = –0.55; P < 0.0001). Percentage of cells expressing the limbal epithelial cell marker K19 was higher in cells derived from large explants (99.1±1.2%) compared to cells derived from small explants (93.2±13.6%, P = 0.024). The percentage of cells expressing ABCG2, integrin β1, p63, and p63α that are markers suggestive of an immature phenotype; Keratin 3, Connexin 43, and E-Cadherin that are markers of differentiation; and Ki67 and PCNA that indicate cell proliferation were equal in both groups. Desmosome and hemidesmosome densities were equal between the groups. Conclusion For donor- and culture conditions used in the present study, large explants are preferable to small in terms of outgrowth area. As regards limbal epithelial cell thickness, stratification, mechanical strength, and the attainment of a predominantly immature phenotype, both large and small explants are sufficient.


Global demand for freshwater has led to unprecedented levels of water abstraction from riverine systems. This has resulted in large alterations in natural river flows. The deleterious impacts of reduced flows on fish and macroinvertebrate abundances have been thoroughly investigated; in contrast, there is a limited understanding of the potential for changes in the abundance of nuisance benthic algal/cyanobacterial blooms. In New Zealand, Phormidium sp. blooms are common in numerous rivers during summer low flows. In this study, an in‐stream habitat assessment is used to examine the relationship between Phormidium habitat availability and reducing flows. Over 650 observations of Phormidium mats, from seven sites (Hutt River, lower North Island, New Zealand), were used to construct habitat suitability curves for depth, velocity and substrate. Preference curves were fitted using both the 'forage ratio' and 'quantile regression' methods. Phormidium growth, observed at all seven sites, increased significantly from upstream (uppermost site, 5.2% mat cover) to downstream (63.5%). The habitat suitability curves revealed Phormidium had a large tolerance to velocity, depth and substrate type. Consequently, decreases in flow had only negligible effects on available Phormidium habitat. During periods of stable flow, Phormidium abundance positively correlated with increased nitrogen concentrations, potentially explaining the large variation in Phormidium cover from upstream to downstream. Quantile regression generated habitat suitability criteria were a more accurate predictor of available Phormidium habitat than the forage ratio criteria. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


There is an extensive amount of research on career development, but most of the constructs studied have focused on content-oriented variables rather than process-oriented variables. While some of the studies have examined samples from ethnic minority populations, the majority of studies use ethnic minority populations as comparison groups, studying between-group differences as opposed to within-group differences. The literature is especially deficient in the are of Latino career development. The current study will examine how family and culture influence the career development of Latino emerging adults. This study will explore the influence of socioeconomic status and acculturation on the career salience and career maturity of Latino emerging adults. The quality of the parent-emerging adult relationship will also be explored for its influence on career development outcomes in this population. One hundred fifty Latino undergraduate students ages 18-24 will be recruited for participation in this study. The participants will complete questionnaires regarding demographic information, acculturation, the quality of the parent-emerging adult relationship, career salience, and career maturity.


Renaissance Italians pioneered radical changes in ways of helping the poor, including orphanages, workhouses, pawnshops, and women's shelters. Nicholas Terpstra shows that gender was the key factor driving innovation. Most of the recipients of charity were women. The most creative new plans focused on features of women's poverty like illegitimate births, hunger, unemployment, and domestic violence. Signal features of the reforms, from forced labor to new instruments of saving and lending, were devised specifically to help young women get a start in life. Cultures of Charity is the first book to see women's poverty as the key factor driving changes to poor relief. These changes generated intense political debates as proponents of republican democracy challenged more elitist and authoritarian forms of government emerging at the time. Should taxes fund poor relief? Could forced labor help build local industry? Focusing on Bologna, Terpstra looks at how these fights around politics and gender generated pioneering forms of poor relief, including early examples of maternity benefits, unemployment insurance, food stamps, and credit union savings plans.


Navigators: African American Musicians, Dancers, and Visual Artists in Academe, by Theresa Jenoure. New York: State University of New York Press, 1999. 225 pp. $17.95, paper. Reviewed by Beti Ellerson, Howard University. What are the influences and experiences that have shaped Black artists? How are these experiences reflected in their work, classrooms, and studios? What are the advantages or obstacles to being an African American artist/teacher? These are some of the questions that Theresa Jenoure explores in Navigators: African American Musicians, Dancers, and Visual Artists in Academe. Although the artists/teachers profiled in this book are each based at TWIs (traditionally White institutions) serving predominantly White student populations, Jenoure posits that the dual role of the Black artist/teacher may be traced to the first art programs, schools, and institutions established for Black people interested in studying art. As she maintains, the pioneer Black artists/teachers of the first half of the 20th century mainly served the artistic needs and interests of Black students. Names such as Augusta Savage, Lois Mailou Jones, James A. Porter, Alma Woodsley Thomas, and Hilda Wilkinson Brown are on her extensive list of pioneering Black art educators who taught and founded these early art spaces. Navigators does not reveal Jenoure's reason for choosing only teachers from TWIs, but each of the artists/educators who are the focus of this work impart stirring experiences about the frustrations and pleasures of teaching at their respective institutions. Navigators combines first-person narratives, stories about the artists, imaginary group conversations (called "riffs") conjured from individual interviews, and the author's own analyses and explications of the artists and their work with paradigms she has developed over time to understand and interpret Black creative expression. The uniqueness of the book lies in the way Jenoure brings together the distinctive voices of the artists and intertwines their experiences in different modes of creative expression with the teaching lessons they have each gained from their respective art forms. In the Preface, for example, she shares a short recollection of her own evolution as artist and scholar before moving on to the riffs and artists' stories and concluding with a proposal for a "creation pedagogy" that can guide further study of African American art and artists. …


The recently proposed hybrid Green's function method is designed to combine the advantages of both deterministic and stochastic approaches to simulating broadband ground motion when records of small events are not available. The method has the flexibility of incorporating complexities in the source, wave path, and local- site effects into strong ground motion simulations. In this article we analyze its effectiveness at simulating near-fault ground motions by comparisons with the em- pirical source time function method, empirical ground-motion-attenuation relations, and recorded near-fault ground motion. We present a simple model for introducing the effect of the radiation pattern to the stochastic Green's functions in the inter- mediate frequency range (1-3 Hz). The numerical test results of the method and the generally good agreement between simulated and recorded ground motion from the 17 January 1995 Kobe earthquake shown in this study indicate that the technique has the capability of reproducing the main characteristics of near-fault ground mo- tion.


Abstract. A two-dimensional reconstruction of past sea level is proposed at yearly interval over the period 1950–2003 using tide gauge records from 99 selected sites and 44-year long (1960–2003) 2°×2° sea level grids from the OPA/NEMO ocean general circulation model with data assimilation. We focus on the regional variability and do not attempt to compute the global mean trend. An Empirical Orthogonal Function decomposition of the reconstructed sea level grids over 1950–2003 displays leading modes that reflect two main components: (1) a long-term (multi-decadal), regionally variable signal and (2) an interannual, regionally variable signal dominated by the signature of El Nino-Southern Oscillation. Tests show that spatial trend patterns of the 54-year long reconstructed sea level significantly depend on the temporal length of the two-dimensional sea level signal used for the reconstruction (i.e., the length of the gridded OPA/NEMO sea level time series). On the other hand, interannual variability is well reconstructed, even when only ~10-years of model grids are used. The robustness of the results is assessed, leaving out successively each of the 99 tide gauges used for the reconstruction and comparing observed and reconstructed time series at the non considered tide gauge site. The reconstruction performs well at most tide gauges, especially at interannual frequency.


Abstract Lipase B from Candida antarctica (CALB) immobilized on octyl-agarose (OC) was submitted to coating with polyethylenimine (PEI) and dextran sulfate (DS). Using lowly loaded enzyme preparations, the properties of OC-CALB preparations hardly improved, suggesting too large the distance between enzyme molecules. However, using OC-CALB preparations with maximum loading, CALB stability was greatly improved in different conditions after PEI coating. Moreover, the CALB release from the OC support in the presence of detergents, or during thermal or organic solvent inactivations was greatly reduced after this treatment (PEI plus DS coating). The results pointed that the main positive effect of this coating could be derived from the physical intermolecular crosslinking of the CALB molecules with the polymers that reduce the enzyme desorption from the support. The coating of OC-CALB-PEI with DS only produced a minimal improvement on enzyme performance. Even though the enzyme release was much more difficult after physical crosslinking, all enzyme molecules could be released from the OC support combining an ionic detergent (SDS), high buffer concentration, pH 3 and 45 °C, while using the OC-CALB just 2% SDS at pH 7 and 25 °C was enough to release all enzyme. The support could be reused several cycles. Thus, this strategy permitted to greatly reduce the enzyme desorption during operation and to improve enzyme stability while keeping the enzyme immobilization reversibility.


The task of root cause analysis (RCA) is to identify the root causes of system faults/failures by analyzing system monitoring data. Efficient RCA can greatly accelerate system failure recovery and mitigate system damages or financial losses. However, previous research has mostly focused on developing offline RCA algorithms, which often require manually initiating the RCA process, a signif-icant amount of time and data to train a robust model, and then being retrained from scratch for a new system fault. In this paper, we propose CORAL, a novel online RCA framework that can automatically trigger the RCA process and incrementally update the RCA model. CORAL consists of Trigger Point Detection, Incremental Disentangled Causal Graph Learning, and Network Propagation-based Root Cause Localization. The Trigger Point Detection component aims to detect system state transitions automatically and in near-real-time. To achieve this, we develop an online trigger point detection approach based on multivariate singular spectrum analysis and cumulative sum statistics. To efficiently update the RCA model, we propose an incremental disentangled causal graph learning approach to decouple the state-invariant and state-dependent information. After that, CORAL applies a random walk with restarts to the updated causal graph to accurately identify root causes. The online RCA process terminates when the causal graph and the generated root cause list converge. Extensive experiments on three real-world datasets with case studies demonstrate the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed framework.


Abstract Background Severe anemia is common among children infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The choice of antiretroviral (ART) regimen needs careful consideration. No information is available regarding the initial ART regimens used in the Asia-Pacific region and the rate of switch of ART regimens in HIV-infected children with severe anemia. Objectives To study the initial ART regimens and the rate of switch of ART regimens used during the first 36 months in HIV-infected children with severe anemia and to evaluate their clinical and laboratory outcomes. Methods We analyzed regional cohort data of 130 Asian children aged <18 years with baseline severe anemia (hemoglobin <7.5 g/dl) who started antiretroviral therapy (ART) between January 2003 and September 2013. Results At ART initiation, median age was 3.5 years old (interquartile range (IQR) 1.7 to 6.3) and median hemoglobin was 6.7 g/dL (IQR 5.9-7.1, range 3.0-7.4). Initial ART regimens included stavudine (85.4%), zidovudine (13.8%), and abacavir (0.8%). In 81 children with available hemoglobin data after 6 months of ART, 90% recovered from severe anemia with a median hemoglobin of 10.7 g/dL (IQR 9.6-11.7, range 4.4-13.5). Those starting AZT-based ART had a mortality rate of 10.8 (95% confidence interval (CI) 4.8-23.9) per 100 patient-years compared to 2.7 (95% CI 1.6-4.6) per 100 patient-years among those who started d4T-based ART. Conclusion With the phase-out of stavudine, age-appropriate non-zidovudine options are needed for younger Asian children with severe anemia.


This Article analyzes — through the lens of securities regulation — the contributions of Haim Bodek, an advocate of reforming the securities market structure and a whistleblower who brought attention to several questionable practices of high-frequency traders and trading venues, including their use of complex and, arguably, nontransparent order types. More specifically, the Article addresses several key issues raised and discussed by Haim Bodek, such as the order type controversy and its implications for high-frequency traders, the status of self-regulatory organizations, trading obligations and privileges of market makers, and the duty of best execution, and aims to fit these issues into the evolving boundaries of civil liability under federal securities law and the reach of a private right of action.


3GPP TS 33.179 defines the group services and system aspects for the Security of Mission Critical Push-To-Talk (MCPTT) service. To create a group's security association, a Group Master Key (GMK) and associated identifier (GMK-ID) is distributed to MCPTT User Equipment (UE) by a Group Management Server (GMS). The GMK is distributed encrypted specifically to a user and signed using an identity representing the Group Management Server. The GMK is distributed within a Group Key Transport payload, which is a MIKEY-SAKKE I_MESSAGE, as defined in RFC 6509, which ensures the confidentiality, integrity and authenticity of the payload. In order to convey the MCPTT specific service in the MIKEY-SAKKE I_MESSAGE, this document defines new values for the Type field of the General Extensions Payload Field defined for MIKEY in RFC 3830 the ID Role field in RFC 6043 and the ID Scheme field in RFC 6509.


This paper proposes a new computational approach based on the Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) in order to apply the polynomial chaos theory to the problem of parameter estimation, using direct stochastic collocation. The Kalman filter formula is used at each time step in order to update the polynomial chaos of the uncertain states and the uncertain parameters. The main advantage of this method is that the estimation comes in the form of a probability density function rather than a deterministic value, combined with the fact that simulations using polynomial chaos methods are much faster than Monte Carlo simulations. The proposed method is applied to a nonlinear four degree of freedom roll plane model of a vehicle, in which an uncertain mass with an uncertain position is added on the roll bar. A major drawback was identified: the EKF can diverge when using a high sampling frequency, which might prevent the use of enough data to obtain accurate results when a low sampling frequency is necessary. When applying the polynomial chaos theory to the EKF, numerical errors can accumulate even faster than in the general case due to the truncation in the polynomial chaos expansions, which is illustrated on a simple example. An alternative EKF approach which consists of applying the filter formula on all the observations at once usually yields better results, but can still sometimes fail to produce very accurate results. Therefore, using different sampling rates in order to verify the coherence of the results and comparing the results to a different approach is strongly recommended.


Despite the perceived advantages of student centred learning (SCL) in higher education, novice teaching academics' attempts to implement such approaches may be thwarted by a lack of experience with teaching in general and with SCL in particular, difficulties locating suitable practical advice on SCL, and the demands of early career academic workloads. This article seeks to provide practical assistance to teaching academics seeking to implement SCL into traditional teaching environments. It synthesizes current literature to provide an overview of 3 broad SCL strategies: inquiry learning, concept checks and just-in-time teaching. Key considerations for implementing each of these strategies are identified and the authors discuss four observations about the implementation of SCL, in context.


Sc has been employed as an electron contact to a number of two-dimensional (2D) materials (e.g. MoS2, black phosphorous) and has enabled, at times, the lowest electron contact resistance. However, the extremely reactive nature of Sc leads to stringent processing requirements and metastable device performance with no true understanding of how to achieve consistent, high-performance Sc contacts. In this work, WSe2 transistors with impressive subthreshold slope (109 mV dec−1) and ION/IOFF (106) are demonstrated without post-metallization processing by depositing Sc contacts in ultra-high vacuum (UHV) at room temperature (RT). The lowest electron Schottky barrier height (SBH) is achieved by mildly oxidizing the WSe2 in situ before metallization, which minimizes subsequent reactions between Sc and WSe2. Post metallization anneals in reducing environments (UHV, forming gas) degrade the ION/IOFF by ~103 and increase the subthreshold slope by a factor of 10. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicates the anneals increase the electron SBH by 0.4–0.5 eV and correspondingly convert 100% of the deposited Sc contacts to intermetallic or scandium oxide. Raman spectroscopy and scanning transmission electron microscopy highlight the highly exothermic reactions between Sc and WSe2, which consume at least one layer RT and at least three layers after the 400 °C anneals. The observed layer consumption necessitates multiple sacrificial WSe2 layers during fabrication. Scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy elucidate the enhanced local density of states below the WSe2 Fermi level around individual Sc atoms in the WSe2 lattice, which directly connects the scandium selenide intermetallic with the unexpectedly large electron SBH. The interface chemistry and structural properties are correlated with Sc–WSe2 transistor and diode performance. The recommended combination of processing conditions and steps is provided to facilitate consistent Sc contacts to WSe2.


Darren Shan, Mr Crepsley and Vancha Marsch, are the hunters of the dusk. Their quarry - the Vampaneze Lord. But friends old and new may stand in their way...It is six years after Darren was made a Vampire Prince and following a grim prophesy made by Mr Tiny, the vampires know the ascension of the Vampaneze Lord is at hand. Mr Tiny warns the vampires that there will be only three opportunities for the Vampaneze Lord to be vanquished and only three vampires who may succeed: Vancha Marsch, Larten Crepsley...and Darren Shan. Leaving the enclave of Vampire Mountain, Harkat, Darren and Mr Crepsley are shadowed by a creature of the night, do battle with the vampaneze, meet the mysterious Evanna and pay a visit to some old friends at the Cirque Du Freak. But no friend can prevent the bloody trail of bodies - the Vampaneze Lord may be more than a match for the hunters of the dusk.


Generalized Mie theory is employed to study the reflection and transmission properties of finite-sized spherical arrays of nanoparticles based on aperiodic geometries. To simulate realistic experimental conditions, a circular aperture is used to create an incident field with a finite beamwidth. The diffracted fields from the circular aperture are expanded in terms of vector spherical wave harmonics, which are then employed to derive the scattered fields using the generalized Mie theory. Expansion of diffracted fields in terms of spherical harmonics also led to new analytical expressions for two important integrals involving Bessel, associated Legendre, and trigonometric functions, which arise in electromagnetic diffraction problems. Subsequently, generalized scattering parameters were defined in terms of far-field specular energy fluxes. To verify the results, the method was applied to a truncated periodic array of spherical gold nanoparticles for which the generalized scattering parameters were compared and found to agree with the scattering parameters obtained for an infinite planar structure subject to periodic boundary conditions. The method was then applied to an aperiodic array of gold nanoparticles based on a Penrose geometry, and the lowest-order photonic resonances were observed in the predicted regions. Furthermore, it was shown that by proper scaling, the photonic resonances can be strategically placed in the plasmonic region of the gold, where they are enhanced due to strong coupling between the plasmonic and photonic modes.


We argue that prevailing definitions of Berkeley's idealism fail to rule out a nearby Spinozist rival view that we call 'mind-body identity panpsychism.' Since Berkeley certainly does not agree with Spinoza on this issue, we call for more care in defining Berkeley's view. After we propose our own definition of Berkeley's idealism, we survey two Berkeleyan strategies to block the mind-body identity panpsychist and establish his idealism. We argue that Berkeley should follow Leibniz and further develop his account of the mind's unity. Unity—not activity—is the best way for Berkeley to establish his view at the expense of his panpsychist competitors.


This document proposes a new revenue source for the IETF to support
standardization activities: protocol field naming rights, i.e., the
association of commercial brands with protocol fields. This memo
describes a process for assignment of rights and explores some of the
issues associated with the process. Individuals or organizations that
wish to purchase naming rights for one or more protocol fields are
expected to follow this process. This memo provides information for
the Internet community.


Computer cartographic techniques were used to produce historical shoreline change maps for two study areas: (1) an eight kilometer section of Calvert County, Maryland; and (2) an eight kilometer section of Cape May County, New Jersey. The shorelines were digitized from historical Nation Ocean Service (NOS) T-sheets, and historical and current aerial photography. Erosion rates and concomitant uncertainty ranges (i.e., ± erosion rate error bars) were calculated from these data sets using pairs of endpoint shorelines spanning several different time-frames. For each time-frame, the total number of erosion rates falling within the error bars was tallied. The results demonstrate that: (1) the uncertainty range is usually less when calculating erosion rates from long-term (greater than 60 years) endpoint data, than when calculating rates from short- to medium-term (less than 60 years) endpoint data. This is true even though historical (pre-1930) T-sheets may have a greater potential for shoreline location error than do more modern data (such as post-1930 T-sheets and air photos); and (2) the percent of erosion rate data falling within the uncertainty range increases dramatically as time-frames are decreased. In summary, the confidence level of long-term erosion rate data will usually be much greater than the confidence level of short- to medium-term data.


Abstract The stalagmites collected from Donnehue's Cave, south‐central Indiana, may record seismic events near the Wabash Valley fault system located in the midwestern United States. Results of uranium–thorium disequilibrium dating of four stalagmites showing pronounced shifts in their central growth axes, episodes of growth initiation/cessation, and results of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of flood deposits within the cave reveal both the possibilities and problems associated with using stalagmites as indicators of seismic events. The first of a set of twin stalagmites, initiated about 300,000 yr B.P., recorded a major flood event (correlated with an OSL dated flood deposit) at about 246,000 yr B.P. as a central growth‐axis shift and stopped growing at about 170,000 yr B.P. Other shifts present within this stalagmite contained embedded fine sediments associated with flooding. Its twin began growing at about 170,000 yr B.P., contained no shifts, and stopped growing at about 100,000 yr B.P. Both stalagmites resumed growing at about 6000 yr B.P. that overlaps in time, within sampling and analytical error, with an M w  7.1–7.3 event recorded by liquefaction features dated, by others, at 6100±200  yr B.P. Another stalagmite began growing at about 55,000 yr B.P. and recorded multiple central growth‐axis shifts showing dissolution and fine sediment layers associated with flood events within the cave. The third and youngest stalagmite contained no evidence of flooding and was initiated about 1800 yr B.P. (the same time, within error, as an M w  6.2 seismic event recorded in the Wabash Valley sediments). This stalagmite had shifts in its central growth axis that occurred at the same time (within statistical error) as New Madrid seismic zone events at A.D. 660 and 900, and contained a shifted regrowth layer that may be coincident with either the A.D. 1811–1812 series or the A.D. 1895 event. Online Material: Photographs of in situ stalagmites and of locations of flood deposit samples.


Stable matchings can be computed by deferred acceptance (DA) algorithms. However such algorithms become incomplete when complementarities exist among the agent preferences: they can fail to find a stable matching even when one exists. In this paper we examine stable matching problems arising from labour market with couples (SMP-C). The classical problem of matching residents into hospital programs is an example. Couples introduce complementarities under which DA algorithms become incomplete. In fact, SMP-C is NP-complete.

Inspired by advances in SAT and integer programming (IP) solvers we investigate encoding SMP-C into SAT and IP and then using state-of-the-art SAT and IP solvers to solve it. We also implemented two previous DA algorithms. After comparing the performance of these different solution methods we find that encoding to SAT can be surprisingly effective, but that our encoding to IP does not scale as well. Using our SAT encoding we are able to determine that the DA algorithms fail on a non-trivial number of cases where a stable matching exists. The SAT and IP encodings also have the property that they can verify that no stable matching exists, something that the DA algorithms cannot do.