Image segmentation and object classification processes are gaining importance in image processing applications such as in agricultural area. In general, image segmentation divides a digital image into multiple areas while object classification classifies objects into the correct categories. However, segmentation and classification processes arechallenging for images captured in natural environment due to the existence of non-uniform illumination.Different illuminations produce different intensity on the object surface and thus lead to inaccurate segmented images. The low quality of segmented images may lead to inaccurate classification. Therefore, this thesis focuses on the improvement of segmentation methods and development of classification model for images captured in natural environment. Based on the previous researches, most existing segmentation methods are unable to accurately segment images under natural illumination. Therefore, this research has developed three improved methods which are able to segment images acquired in natural environment satisfactorily.The first method is an improved thresholding-based segmentation (TsN), which adds algorithms of inverse process and adjustment on threshold value. However, there is some inconsistency in the segmentation of lighter colourimages such as green, yellow, and yellowish-brown. Therefore, another segmentation method has been developed to address the problem. The new method, named as Adaptive K-means, is developed based on clustering approach. This method adds separation and inverse processes to the algorithm in order to produce the best segmented images. However, Adaptive K-means has limitation in segmenting black images. Therefore, the improved thresholding-based segmentation (TsN) is integrated with the Adaptive K-means thus resulting in rule-based segmentation namely TsNKM method. This robust method is able to segment images for all categories of objects at a commendable percent accuracy rate. For object classification, some methods have the ability to identify objects as good as human experts who normally classify objects based on visual perception. However, classifying objects in natural environment is difficult due to the presence of direct illumination on the object surface.Therefore, this research has developed a semi-supervised Fuzzy c-means (FCM) and neural network (NN) model that are able to classify objects based on their surface colour. The result of the NN model shows that, with the network configuration of 6-7-4, the NN model works very well for objects exposed to the natural illumination.To justify our proofof- concept, the proposed segmentation methods and classification model are tested on jatropha fruit images and the results show that the developed methods and model are able to improve the segmentation and classification accuracy, respectively.


This thesis discusses development of a future visioning system model that can be adopted to create new product concepts for consumer electronics companies operating in a highly competitive business environment. The research work investigates consumer electronic product companies and their market environment to identify problematic issues and indicates that a proactive new product strategy which opens new markets through developing concept-led products is a strategic priority, thus the concept development stage in new product development process is in need of improvement. An evaluation of existing concept development tools for the purpose of proactive product strategy is presented and concludes that future visioning procedure is the most appropriate tool. To develop a future visioning system model as a concept development tool, the theoretical future visioning system models are analysed and mapped to extract essential structure and contents of future visioning procedure. The consequent future visioning system model is then revised according to the findings and suggestions from the field research work which investigated four major consumer electronics product companies in practice. The findings also validates the necessity of adopting a proactive product strategy and evaluates acceptability of the future visioning system model for practical use. The final future visioning system model is defined after the opinions of the design managers are considered and applied. The major suggestions from the research findings are: (1) Executing proactive product strategy can be a valuable strategic tool (2) A new process is necessary for the companies to create one-step-ahead product (3) Future visioning system is recommended as an advanced approach that creates new product concept. (4) Future visioning system model should consist of eight stages: project initiation, environmental scanning, future visioning, generating product concepts, scenario planning, concept testing, concept visualisation, and finalized concepts. (5) Product concepts can be generated from future vision by applying backcasting. (6) Scenario planning should be used in the future visioning system model as a concept testing tool providing objective validating criteria. (7) Executing a future visioning system model creates new roles for the designer such as information integrator, process moderator, and futurist.


The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has posted five Web casts covering various aspects of the Medicare Rx drug benefit. The Web site is at http://cms.archivevideo.com. The training sessions include an overview of the Rx coverage and information resources, the enrollment process and resource kit, how to use the on-line Prescription Drug Plan Finder tool, and two open Ask the Experts Q&A sessions.


Paleosol-bearing alluvial strata of latest Cretaceous and earliest Tertiary age are continuously exposed along Dawson Creek, in Big Bend National Park, west Texas, U.S.A., and exhibit a three-tier hierarchy of depositional cyclicity. Meter-scale, fluvial aggradational cycles (FACs) occur as fining-upward successions that are gradation- ally overlain by paleosols or are sharply overlain by the coarser- grained base of the succeeding FAC without an intervening paleosol. FACs stack into decameter-scale, fluvial aggradational cycle sets (FAC sets) that also fine upward, and from base to top contain either a grad- ual upsection increase in soil maturity and soil drainage or a somewhat symmetrical pattern of increasing and decreasing paleosol maturity. Longer-period trends of FAC thickness, lithologic proportions, paleosol maturity, and paleosol drainage indicate that two complete, and two partial, hectometer-scale fluvial sequences occur within the study in- terval. From base to top, each sequence is characterized by an asym- metric increase and decrease in FAC thickness, a decrease in the pro- portion of sand-prone fluvial facies, an increase in paleosol maturity, and better paleosol drainage. Whereas FACs and FAC sets are interpreted to record cyclic epi- sodes of channel avulsion and stability, and longer-term avulsive chan- nel drift within the alluvial valley, respectively, fluvial sequences may coincide with third-order sea-level changes within the North American Western Interior Seaway. As such, the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) transition within the Tornillo Basin may provide an example of me- gascale stratigraphic cyclicity that is controlled by eustatic sea level within a fully fluvial succession. Thickening and thinning successions of FACs record a third-order period of accelerating (transgressive- equivalent) and decelerating (highstand-equivalent) base-level rise, and subsequent base-level fall (falling stage- to lowstand-equivalent). Se- quence boundaries are placed at the sharp inflection between thinning and thickening FACs. Sand-prone facies and immature, more poorly- drained paleosols are associated with the transgressive-equivalent por- tion of each sequence, and mudrock-dominated overbank facies and their associated mature, well-drained paleosols are associated with the highstand- and falling stage-equivalent.


Behavioral economics can be understood as a paradigm change within economics. The impression of revolution is especially apt in finance, where the participation of individuals has been omitted from the equation for too long. The collapse of Lehman Brothers seriously damaged trust in financial institutions: The stock market crisis became a trust crisis highlighting the significance of trust within investment decisions. Advisors work to create trust for potential investors, while institutions offering this service play an important role within investment decision-making. However, bad decisions ultimately damaged trust in advisors. Here the model of trust intermediaries by Coleman is transferred to investment advisory services. TOPICS: Wealth management, long-term/retirement investing Key Findings • Investment decisions are both emotional and rational (as known from behavioral finance), but there is also an often disregarded relational aspect. • Invest advisory service is more than a specialist consultancy containing only objective facts; it is trust intermediation as modeled by James S. Coleman. • Investment advisors play an important role in the process of trust repair after financial crises.


Ecological and physiological comparisons were made mainly between two populations of Primula farinosa Linn, from northern England and some of their closely related arctic-alpine species:- P. frondosa, P. darialica, P. halleri, P. laurentiana, P. modesta, P. scotica, P. scandinavica, and P. stricta, which have contrasting habitats and natural distribution. The germination of primulas showed a negative or neutral response to the density of seeds sown. They also showed intrinsic seed-dormancy which can be overcome by chilling treatment. Most of the species tested had significantly higher percentage germination in a diurnally fluctuating temperature regime than at 15oC constant temperature. The results from analyses of leaf characteristics showed significant variation between species studied. Significant correlations were found between chromosome numbers of the species studied and some leaf characteristics, e.g. cell size, stomatal index. Plant growth analyses were investigated along an altitudmal gradient in the north of England. Both vegetative and reproductive growth was clearly affected by microclimate. The primulas showed more sensitive responses to drought than frost as regards to their survival. They responded to water stress by accumulating proline as well as increasing their total protein contents. Photosynthesis measurements showed optimum temperature for O(_2) evolution at warm temperatures of 20-25oC. The difference in physiological performances of the primulas is discussed in relation to their leaf characteristics, ploidy levels and habitats of origin. This study demonstrates clearly that the two populations of P. farinosa differed in a number of morphological and physiological characteristics; some of which could make it possible for the different races to occupy different ecological habitats.


As a key driver of innovation and economic growth, university-industry technology transfer has attracted significant attention. Formal technology transfer, which encompasses patenting and licensing university inventions, is often characterized as proceeding according to market principles. According to this dominant conception, patents help commodify academic inventions, which universities then advertise and transfer to private firms in licensing markets. This Article challenges and refines this market-oriented view of technology transfer. Drawing from empirical studies, it shows that effective technology transfer often involves long-term personal relationships rather than discrete market exchanges. In particular, it explores the significant role of tacit, uncodified knowledge in effectively exploiting patented academic inventions. Markets, patents, and licenses are ill-suited to transferring such tacit knowledge, leading licensees to seek direct relationships with academic inventors themselves. Drawing on the theory of the firm, this Article then explores the role of organizational integration in transferring patented technologies and associated tacit knowledge to private companies. Presenting a descriptive theory of university-industry technology transfer, it argues that the difficulties of conveying tacit knowledge encourage various forms of organizational integration by which licensees directly absorb academic human capital. From consulting arrangements to seats on boards of directors, licensees are bringing faculty inventors (and their tacit knowledge) "in house" to aid in commercialization. Turning from the descriptive to the normative, this Article provides prescriptions for enhancing tacit knowledge transmission and technology transfer. It concludes by exploring the implications of tacit knowledge for patent theory and the organization of technology commercialization efforts.


Between October 1976 and July 1977 a northern rubble mound jetty was constructed at the mouth of the Hastings River, transforming the entrance from a single to a double jettied system. Prior to the jetty construction the entrance was characterised by the presence of a substantial swash bar (alternatively called an ebb delta marginal shoal) which was a continuous feature over 100 years of hydrographic survey records. However, construction of the northern jetty triggered an unprecedented onshore movement of the swash bar. This movement was well documented by a field monitoring programme incorporating hydrosurveys, aerial* photographs, tidal gaugings, sediment sampling, float tracking and nearby wave rider buoy information. A semi-quantitative model was developed to aid understanding and quantification of the macro sedimentary processes associated with this phenomenon. The model demonstrated that the sudden reduction of the swash bar was due to the disruption of a circulation of sand which had previously aided the dynamic stability of the bar. The quantitative predictions of the model agreed well with subsequent entrance behaviour. The philosophical development of the model and its findings are discussed in detail. In the literature there is a general lack of attempts to quantify the sediment transport relationships between the gross morphologic features of tidal entrances. This paper presents a methodology for assessing the sedimentary process at tidal entrances.


GEO SIDS Outlook is a contribution to the 2014 Third International UN Conference on Small Island Developing States, which has an overarching theme of the sustainable development of Small Island Developing States through genuine and durable partnerships. It is also an important and new contribution to UNEP's Global Environment Outlook that looks at the drivers for change and highlights opportunities and challenges for SIDS in a rapidly changing world. GEO SIDS GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT OUTLOOK


Software has become an indissociable support of technical and scientific knowledge. The preservation of this universal body of knowledge is as essential as preserving research articles and data sets. In the quest to make scientific results reproducible, and pass knowledge to future generations, we must preserve these three main pillars:  research articles that describe the results, the data sets used or produced, and the software that embodies the logic of the data transformation.
The collaboration between Software Heritage (SWH), the Center for Direct Scientific Communication (CCSD) and the scientific and technical information services (IES) of The French Institute for Research in Computer Science and Automation (Inria) has resulted in a specified moderation and curation workflow for research software artifacts deposited in the HAL the French global open access repository. The curation workflow was developed to help digital librarians and archivists handle this new and peculiar artifact - software source code. While implementing the workflow, a set of guidelines has emerged from the challenges and the solutions put in place to help all actors involved in the process.


Quantifying actual and theoretical ethanol yields from biomass conversion processes such as simultanteous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) requires expensive, complex fermentation assays, and extensive compositional analyses of the biomass sample. Near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) is a non-destructive technology that can be used to obtain rapid, low-cost, high-throughput, and accurate estimates of agricultural product composition. In this study, broad-based NIRS calibrations were developed for switchgrass biomass that can be used to estimate over 20 components including cell wall and soluble sugars and also ethanol production and pentose sugars released as measured using a laboratory SSF procedure. With this information, an additional 13 complex feedstock traits can be determined including theoretical and actual ethanol yields from hexose fermentation. The NIRS calibrations were used to estimate feedstock composition and conversion information for biomass samples from a multi-year switchgrass ( Panicum virgatum L.) biomass cultivar evaluation trial. There were significant differences among switchgrass strains for all biomass conversion and composition traits including actual ethanol yields, ETOHL (L Mg − 1 ) and theoretical ethanol yields, ETOHTL (L Mg − 1 ), based on cell wall and non-cell wall composition NIRS analyses. ETOHL means ranged from 98 to 115 L Mg − 1 while ETOHTL means ranged from 203 to 222 L Mg − 1 . Because of differences in both biomass yields and conversion efficiency, there were significant differences among strains for both actual (2,534 – 3,720 L ha − 1 ) and theoretical (4,878 – 7,888 L ha − 1 ) ethanol production per hectare. It should be feasible to improve ethanol yields per hectare by improving both biomass yield and conversion efficiency by using NIRS analyses to quantify differences among cultivars and management practices.


Purpose To investigate the response of carotenoid supplementation in different phenotypes of early age-related macular degeneration (AMD) by measuring macular pigment optical density (MPOD) and retinal sensitivity. Methods Consecutive patients with only medium/large drusen and only reticular pseudodrusen (RPD) and age-matched and sex-matched controls were enrolled. At baseline, participants underwent a complete ophthalmological examination including measurement of best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), MPOD and retinal sensitivity. Patients were put on vitamin supplementation (lutein 10 mg/day, zeaxanthin 2 mg/day) and 3 months later underwent a repeated ophthalmological examination. Results Twenty patients with medium/large drusen, 19 with RPD and 15 control subjects were included. At baseline, in controls, mean MPOD and BCVA were significantly higher compared with RPD (p=0.001 and p=0.01) but similar to medium/large drusen (p=0.9 and p=0.4). Mean retinal sensitivity was significantly higher in controls compared with RPD and medium/large drusen (for all p<0.0001). After 3 months of carotenoid supplementation the mean MPOD significantly increased in RPD (p=0.002), thus showing no more difference compared with controls (p=0.3); no significant changes were found in mean retinal sensitivity and BCVA (p=0.3 and p=0.7). Medium/large drusen did not show significant changes on MPOD, retinal sensitivity and BCVA (p=0.5, p=0.7 and p=0.7, respectively). Conclusions Patients with early AMD, especially RPD phenotype, show lower macular sensitivity and MPOD than controls. After supplementation, MPOD significantly increased in RPD. These results suggest different pathophysiology for RPD as compared with medium/large drusen and may open new ways to identifying further therapeutic targets in this phenotype of early AMD.


Overweight and obesity prevention efforts focused on pre-adolescent girls are justified because the health of future mothers can significantly impact the health of their future offspring.

Aims and Objectives
This thesis aimed to investigate the role of community readiness in the prevention of overweight and obesity in pre-adolescent girls within the Charnwood Borough (Leicestershire) community. Specifically the objectives of this research were to: 1) further the understanding of the concept of community , 2) identify, using focus groups, the key informants and other ecological influences acting on pre-adolescent girls health behaviours, 3) employ the Community Readiness Model (CRM), using key informant interviews, to assess the Charnwood Borough community s knowledge, awareness and readiness to adopt behaviours associated with the prevention of overweight and obesity in pre-adolescent girls, 4) evaluate the usefulness of the CRM for this task and 5) form recommendations for a tailored intervention.

Methods
This research used focus groups with pre-adolescent girls to identify the key informants who influence their lifestyle choices regarding dietary and physical activity behaviours. The study recruited 56 female participants aged between 6-11 years from 8 primary schools. In total 13 focus groups with between 2 to 7 participants per group were performed. To assess the level of community readiness, 33 key informants identified as informing the health behaviours of pre-adolescent girls were recruited. Semi-structured interviews followed an adapted version of the CRM. The model consists of six dimensions: community efforts; community knowledge of efforts; leadership; community climate; community knowledge of the issue and resources which are scored on a scale of 1 (no awareness) to 9 (high level of community readiness). The average of these scores is the community readiness stage.

Findings
In relation to the first objective, the definition of a community given by those residing in the Charnwood Borough community included: people and groups of people (e.g. school; religious and parents community groups); characteristics (i.e. geographical area; where people reside; buildings; institutions and the size of the community); sense of belonging and the attempt to improve the community for its members. By valuing the perspectives of pre-adolescent girls, a deepened understanding of the broad range of key informants (Dinner staff, Doctors and dentists, Head teachers, Girl Guide leaders, Government, Grandparents, Neighbours, Parents, Peer group, School cooks, Shop keepers, Siblings, Sports Coaches and Teachers) acting on their health behaviours was achieved (Objective 2). The community readiness score relating to healthy eating and drinking corresponded to the Preparation Stage (Objective 3), whereby influential community members have begun planning efforts by deciding what to do and who will do it and the community offers modest support of efforts promoting healthy dietary behaviours. The community readiness score for physical activity was higher corresponding to the Initiation Stage where there is enough information available to justify efforts and activities are underway to support healthy physical activity behaviours. Qualitatively, the key findings from applying the CRM are that: the effectiveness of community initiatives promoting healthy behaviours can be improved; there are varying levels of concern and awareness regarding unhealthy behaviours and child weight status in the community; social disparities are perceived to exist in community health behaviours; communication between schools and parents are seen as important for the success of school policies; parental attitudes and behaviours inform child behaviours; enjoyment is an important predictor of girls activity levels and aspects of the Charnwood Borough s environment do not support healthy behaviours. The CRM was shown to be an appropriate tool for assessing community readiness (Objective 4) providing the qualitative strengths of the model are emphasised. The community readiness score and the qualitative analysis informed the recommendations for an intervention in the Charnwood Borough (Objective 5). Key aspects of these recommendations include: raising the community s awareness of pre-adolescent girls health behaviours; ensuring all initiatives are accessible and appealing to low income families by working directly with these groups; fostering a greater sense of community through increased community cohesion and social interaction; placing social interaction and enjoyment at the centre of all activities, and attempting to make the healthier option the easier choice through modifications to the environment.

Conclusions
This thesis is the first to apply the Community Readiness Model to the prevention of overweight and obesity in pre-adolescent girls in the UK and has demonstrated the value of applying a community readiness assessment prior to the implementation of interventions.


Time plays a fundamental role in both the benefits and challenges of using online discussions as a pedagogical tool. This makes temporal considerations critical both for conducting analyses of how learning takes places through online discussions, and for designing effective structures to support discussion activity. However, despite the importance of temporal considerations for online discussions, the majority of research on online discussions and guidance for design does not explicitly address issues of time. This chapter provides an initial foundation for researchers, designers and instructors of online discussions to engage in temporally‐aware analysis and design. We begin with an overview of the general temporal characteristics of online discussions and the analytic considerations they raise in terms of timescales, data aggregation and units of analysis. We then use the categories of Duration, Sequence, Pace and Salience as a framework for unpacking the temporal aspects of online discussions in more detail, providing guidance for designers and instructors to manage temporal challenges and harness temporal opportunities. We conclude with a call for greater theorization of temporal properties, processes, and their effects on learning to support more informed analysis and design of online discussions.


In this work we use random walks on expanders in order to relax the properties of hitting sets required for partially derandomizing one-side error algorithms. Building on a well-known probability ampliication technique AKS87, CW89, IZ89], we use random walks on expander graphs of subexponential (in the random bit complexity) size so as to avoid particular sets of \misleading" strings, while reducing the random bit complexity of the algorithm. Then, we introduce the idea of conditional hitting sets in order to avoid the remaining \mis-leading" strings. In particular, given a set C , a C 1 C , and an s 6 2 C 1 , we suggest to exploit s for constructing a hitting set for C. Furthermore, we show how to combine random walks on expanders of subexponential size with conditional hitting sets so as to reduce the random bit complexity of any one-side error randomized algorithm. On the other hand, an application to PCP systems for NP suggests that, if our techniques can substantially reduce the random bit complexity of arbitrary probabilistic systems, then NP has subexponential deterministic simulations.


Natural resources have not been well managed in Madura and the low level of human resources leads to ethnic Madurese communities abroad to obtain a decent life by applying a high work ethic. This research aims to know the work ethic of ethnic Madurese in Central merchant Wholesale Surabaya reviewed from Islamic business ethics. Approach used in this research is qualitative approach to method case study is descriptive. Data done with interview observation and documentation against traders ethnic madura in central wholesale Surabaya. For data advocates derived from data given by centers management wholesale Surabaya. Besides is also study library and literature about ethos work ethnic Madurese and Islamic business ethics. The results obtained are the informants argued most of the Madurese ethnic merchants in wholesale center Surabaya interpret and apply the Madurese ethnic work ethic that is hard work and wander, as well as in implementing the work ethic they comply with Islamic business ethics.


Upgrade your system and embrace the exciting new features of the Lotus Notes and Domino 8.5.1 platform Upgrade to the latest version of Lotus Notes and Domino Understand the new features and put them to work in your business Thoroughly covers Domino Attachment Object Service (DAOS), Domino Configuration Tuner (DCT) and iNotes Explore other useful Lotus products, such as Lotus Sametime, Lotus Quickr, Lotus Connections, and IBM WebSphere Portal Packed with expert tips and useful screenshots In Detail With Lotus Notes and Domino 8.5.1, IBM has once again provided business users with an intuitive, fully integrated platform to enhance each user's experience with business communications, while reducing Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and increasing Return on Investment (ROI). You can create and share information effectively to make quick business decisions and streamline the way they work. It is no longer just an email tool, but a means of extending business communications to a new level. In order to utilize all the powerful features of the new release, you need to upgrade your existing system to Lotus Notes and Domino 8.5.1. Written by senior architects and specialists of IBM Software Services for Lotus, this book will be your guide and enable you to quickly upgrade your existing system and leverage the full capabilities of Lotus Notes 8.5.1. The authors explore the enhanced productivity tools available with this release by integrating word processing, presentations, and spreadsheets into a seamless unit with your messaging and collaboration solution. The book starts with an overview of Lotus Notes and Domino, including all the exciting features in the new version. You will learn to utilize the efficient productivity tools that are shipped with Lotus Notes client, and discover the updates in Domino server. You will learn the specific steps needed to upgrade to Lotus Notes 8.5.1 with detailed explanations so that you can upgrade from any previous Lotus Notes and Domino release. Additional focus emphasizes the enhanced features available in 8.5.1 from a Domino perspective to reduce the overall costs of managing and deploying the Domino infrastructure. The Domino environment has been enhanced to leverage new technologies to increase performance, reduce storage costs, and provide a robust environment to surface information via the web browser or the rich client. Integration with other Lotus and IBM products - including Lotus Quickr, Lotus Connections, and Lotus Sametime - is covered later in the book. These products are all converging to become the next generation of people productivity solutions. This book shows you how to delve into the world of SOA, as the authors demonstrate how Lotus Notes can be part of a SOA strategy that can accelerate business integration and generate value. You will realize the value of your investment in Lotus Notes 8.5.1 when you learn to leverage the full capabilities of Lotus Notes 8.5.1 and quickly move from your existing technology base to this new feature-rich platform. What you will learn from this book Explore the new features in Domino Designer 8.5.1 that help build business and collaboration applications quickly Get to grips with features including security, mail, calendar, and contacts Get solutions to issues that you may encounter during the upgrading process Quickly examine coexistence issues involved in running Notes/Domino in a mixed environment and solve them efficiently Discover add-on products such as Lotus QuickPlace/Quickr and Lotus Sametime for a typical Notes/Domino infrastructure Review iNotes updates and explore its new features in full mode Integrate Lotus Domino 8.5.1 with IBM servers and tools Save disk space by managing attachments on a per server basis using Domino Attachment and Object Service (DAOS) Integrate Service Oriented Architectures (SOAs) with Lotus Notes 8.5.1 Roll out your new deployment with ease by using enhancements, dynamic settings, and the Database redirect policies of Notes/Domino 8.5.1 Approach This book walks through the new features of the Lotus Notes/Domino 8.5.1 suite and documents technical features in a descriptive way, with examples and useful screenshots. The book also discusses likely problems you might face while upgrading, and shows how to get the most out of the exciting new features. Who this book is written for This book is for Lotus Notes power users, administrators, and developers working with any version of Lotus Notes/Domino, who want to upgrade to Lotus Notes/Domino 8.5.1. Additionally, it can be leveraged by management to gain a high-level understanding of the new features and capabilities offered within the products.


We present a detailed theoretical investigation on the Gaussian beam Z scan for arbitrary aperture and arbitrary nonlinear refraction phase shifts, based on the Gaussian decomposition method, including cases when the medium exhibits the single (2n+1)th-order nonlinear refraction effect and the simultaneous third- and fifth-order nonlinear refraction effects. We find the optimum sum upper limit, which is of great importance to fit the Z-scan traces and extract the nonlinear refraction coefficients related to the third- and fifth-order effects. This method has not only a high accuracy but is also time saving. We also discuss the influence of two-photon absorption on the Z-scan traces when materials possess the simultaneous third- and fifth-order nonlinear refraction effects associated with the two-photon absorption using the fast Fourier transform.


In structured output prediction tasks, labeling ground-truth training output is often expensive. However, for many tasks, even when the true output is unknown, we can evaluate predictions using a scalar reward function, which may be easily assembled from human knowledge or non-differentiable pipelines. But searching through the entire output space to find the best output with respect to this reward function is typically intractable. In this paper, we instead use efficient truncated randomized search in this reward function to train structured prediction energy networks (SPENs), which provide efficient test-time inference using gradient-based search on a smooth, learned representation of the score landscape, and have previously yielded state-of-the-art results in structured prediction. In particular, this truncated randomized search in the reward function yields previously unknown local improvements, providing effective supervision to SPENs, avoiding their traditional need for labeled training data.


A preterm infant with signs of non-immune hydrops was born at 30 weeks gestation to a 34-year-old mother after an uneventful pregnancy with normal antenatal fetal ultrasound scans. Physical examination revealed generalized hydrops with hepatomegaly and ascites. Extensive investigations identified an elevated -fetoprotein. An abdominal ultrasound scan showed a huge primary solid mass in the liver that compressed the inferior vena cava, with evidence of significant arterio-venous shunting suggestive of hepatoblastoma. Liver biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of hepatoblastoma with a fetal epithelial pattern.


Transport properties of polymer nanocomposites become increasingly important for range applications with many outstanding questions remaining. Thermal conductivity is especially important in applications like temperature sensing and packaging. We chose isotactic PolyPropylene (iPP) as one of the most widely used polymers and created nano-colloidal dispersions at different weight percent concentration of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). We oriented the thin-film samples using melt-shear at 200°C and 1Hz in a Linkam microscope shearing hot stage. Thermal conductivity measurements were performed at room temperature on two iPP/CNT sheared thin-film samples (1% and 5% CNT content) both parallel and perpendicular to the shear direction as well as a pure iPP sheared thin-film, prepared using the same process. Our findings indicate that the CNTs enhance kappa by 12% for the 1% CNT sample and 35% by the 5% CNT sample compared to that measured for pure iPP. Additionally, the CNTs under shear induce a novel anisotropy to the thermal conductivity in iPP/CNTs nano-composites. We introduce an approach to extract the shear induced orientational order of thermal conductivity by the dispersed CNTs.


When a single Cloud service (i.e., a software image and a virtual machine), on its own, cannot satisfy all the user requirements, a composition of Cloud services is required. Cloud service composition, which includes several tasks such as discovery, compatibility checking, selection, and deployment, is a complex process and users find it difficult to select the best one among the hundreds, if not thousands, of possible compositions available. Service composition in Cloud raises even new challenges caused by diversity of users with different expertise requiring their applications to be deployed across difference geographical locations with distinct legal constraints. The main difficulty lies in selecting a combination of virtual appliances (software images) and infrastructure services that are compatible and satisfy a user with vague preferences. Therefore, we present a framework and algorithms which simplify Cloud service composition for unskilled users. We develop an ontology-based approach to analyze Cloud service compatibility by applying reasoning on the expert knowledge. In addition, to minimize effort of users in expressing their preferences, we apply combination of evolutionary algorithms and fuzzy logic for composition optimization. This lets users express their needs in linguistics terms which brings a great comfort to them compared to systems that force users to assign exact weights for all preferences.


The optical constants for thin layers of strained InAs, AlAs, and AlSb have been investigated by spectroscopic ellipsometry and multi‐sample analyses. These materials are important for high‐speed resonant tunneling diodes in the AlAs/InAs/In0.53Ga0.47As and AlSb/InAs material systems. Understanding the optical properties for these thin layers is important for developing in situ growth control using spectroscopic ellipsometry. Ex situ room‐temperature measurements were made on multiple samples. The resulting fitted optical constants are interpreted as apparent values because they are dependent on the fit model and sample structure. These apparent optical constants for very thin layers can be dependent on thickness and surrounding material, and are generally applicable only for layers found in a similar structural context. The critical point features of optical constants for the strained layers and for the thin unstrained cap layers were found to differ from bulk values, and three principle effects (strain, quantum confinement, and thin‐barrier critical‐point broadening) have been identified as responsible. Of these three, the broadening of the E1 and E1+Δ1 critical points for thin barrier material is the newest and most pronounced. This thin barrier effect is shown to be a separate effect from strain, and is also observable for the AlAs/GaAs system.The optical constants for thin layers of strained InAs, AlAs, and AlSb have been investigated by spectroscopic ellipsometry and multi‐sample analyses. These materials are important for high‐speed resonant tunneling diodes in the AlAs/InAs/In0.53Ga0.47As and AlSb/InAs material systems. Understanding the optical properties for these thin layers is important for developing in situ growth control using spectroscopic ellipsometry. Ex situ room‐temperature measurements were made on multiple samples. The resulting fitted optical constants are interpreted as apparent values because they are dependent on the fit model and sample structure. These apparent optical constants for very thin layers can be dependent on thickness and surrounding material, and are generally applicable only for layers found in a similar structural context. The critical point features of optical constants for the strained layers and for the thin unstrained cap layers were found to differ from bulk values, and three principle effects (strain,...


Carotid bodies were removed from cats, fixed in buffered 1 per cent osmic acid, embedded in deaerated, nitrogenated methacrylate, and cut into thin sections for electron microscopic study. The carotid body is seen to be composed of islands of chemoreceptor and sustentacular cells surrounded by wide irregular sinusoids. These cells are separated from the sinusoids by relatively broad interstitial spaces which are filled with collagen, fibroblasts, and many unmyelinated nerve fibers with their Schwann cell sheaths. The chemoreceptor cells are surrounded by the flattened, multiprocessed sustentacular cells which serve to convey the axons from an interstitial to a pericellular location. These sustentacular cells are assumed to be lemmoblastic in origin. Relatively few axons are seen to abut on the chemoreceptor cells. The cytoplasm of the chemoreceptor cell is characterized by numerous small mitochondria, units of granular endoplasmic reticulum, a small Golgi complex, and a variety of vesicles. There are many small vesicles diffusely scattered throughout the cytoplasm. In addition, there is a small number of dark-cored vesicles of the type which has been previously described in the adrenal medulla. These are usually associated with the Golgi complex. These findings are discussed in relation to the concepts of the origin of the chemoreceptor cell and the nature of the synapse.


. The semantics of local cases in the framework of the theory of cognitive linguistics has got an internal organization in the form of a matrix of cognitive domains, wherein each of them demonstrates the schematization of the choice of some concrete situation. The zones of its crossing indicate on the parts of the transition from one domain to another. Partial usages of cases belonging to transitional parts are peripheral in respect to prototypical ones. Space has got the central place in the matrix of cognitive domains being the basic cognitive fi eld for all local cases. Anyway, all the other cognitive domains are somehow connected with space having got more or less similarity with it. I'm trying to perform a matrix of cognitive domains for spatial cases of the Komi language analogically with the analysis of cognitive domains of external local cases in the Estonian language (see Vainik 1995).


BACKGROUND
Idiopathic hypertrophic cranial pachymeningitis (IHCP) is a very infrequent disorder that causes a localized or diffuse thickening of the dura mater. The main clinical features of IHCP at presentation are headache, cranial nerve involvement, ataxia, and seizures. Transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) have not previously been reported as a main clinical manifestation. We present a case with TIA as the main clinical manifestation and investigated the treatment of the case.

CASE REPORT
A 33-year-old male complaining of recurrent left hemiparesis for 22 days was admitted into our hospital. The clinical characteristics and CT, MRI, and pathological data were investigated carefully. IHCP was diagnosed and pulse corticosteroid therapy was used to treat this case. Headache, neck pain and recurrent episodes of weakness and numbness in the left limbs were the main clinical manifestations. CT and MRI revealed thickening of the dura along the falx and tentorium. Meningeal biopsy showed diffused thickening of the dura, consisting of collagen in concentric form with inflammatory cell infiltrating and fibrinoid necrosis, confirmed to be dura mater by histopathological examination. Treatment with an antiplatelet drug, low molecular heparin and herbs did not prevent the attacks. Pulse corticosteroid therapy was used and good efficiency was achieved.

CONCLUSIONS
Recurrent episodes of TIAs can be the main clinical manifestations of IHCP, and pulse corticosteroid therapy was effective.


The Joint Report on MDB Climate Finance captures a particular context of activities that Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) carry out in developing and emerging economies. The context is built on the premise that development finance is being provided in a world shaped by climate change. This is the fourth year that MDBs have carried out joint reporting on climate finance. The report is based on the joint MDB approach for climate finance tracking and reporting, for which details are provided in Section 2. The MDBs have worked consistently to improve this joint approach and refine reporting. This year's report was coordinated by the World Bank Group and prepared by professional staff from the following MDBs: African Development Bank (AfDB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), European Investment Bank (EIB), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and the International Finance Corporate (IFC) and World Bank (WB) from the World Bank Group (WBG)- all together referred in the report as the MDBs.


Targeting the mutant BRAF protein is an accepted approach to the treatment of metastatic melanoma. Potent and specific BRAF inhibitors like vemurafenib and dabrafenib are superior to chemotherapy in treatment of BRAF mutant melanomas which represent nearly 50% of all melanomas. Previous studies have shown that certain isoforms of vitamin E and statins can have synergistic anti-cancer activity. We determined whether a combination of delta-tocotrienol (DT3), an unsaturated vitamin E isoform, and simvastatin, an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor, can exert an anti-neoplastic activity on BRAF-mutated SK-MEL-28 and BRAF-wild type SK-MEL-2 melanoma cell lines and whether a differential effect would be evident. MTS assays were used to analyze cytotoxicity. SK-MEL-28 and SK-MEL-2 cells were cultured in MEM media containing 10% serum and plated in 96-well culture plates for 24 hours then treated with DT3 (0-40 μM), simvastatin (0-5 μM), or a combination and dosed again at 48 hours. SK-MEL-28 and SK-MEL-2 cells grown in 60 mm plates and were treated with DT3 at concentrations of 40, 30, 20 μM, simvastatin at a concentrations of 20, 10, 5 μM or dissolution vehicle as a control for 6 h. Protein concentration of cell lysates was measured spectrophotometrically (GLO Max Multi+, Promega), using a BCA protein assay kit. The samples were run in SDS PAGE and blotted onto nitrocellulose membranes. Membranes were incubated with antibodies against Hsp 70 (Enzo Life Sciences, Farmingdale, NY), Hsp 90 (Santa Cruz, Dallas, TX), pS6 and pBAD (Cell Signaling, Danvers, MA). Using MTS assay, we found that DT3 (IC50 38.8 μM) and simvastatin (IC50 22.7μM) have cytotoxic effects on melanoma cell line SK-MEL-28, but on the SK-MEL-2 cells DT3 does not have an effect at the concentrations studied (10-40 μM DT3) yet simvastatin (IC50 16.9 μM) does have cytotoxicity. Further studies determined that combinations of these drugs display a synergistic effect on SK-MEL-28 by inhibition of pS6 and pBAD and subsequent apoptosis. However, these effects are not observed in SK-MEL-2 cells; treated SK-MEL-2 cells show over-expression of Hsp70 and Hsp90 suggestive of a rescue effect leading to lesser cytotoxic activity. The selective cytotoxicity observed in BRAF-mutated cells and not in wild type BRAF melanoma cell lines by both DT3 and simvastatin warrants further research into the potential therapeutic use of these combinations. This observation has added importance in the light of recent findings that show the acquisition of BRAF mutation is an early event in melanogenesis and hence these compounds may have a key role in chemoprevention approaches to melanoma. Citation Format: Kelley Cross, Victoria Palau, Marianne Brannon, Janet Lightner, Megan Dycus, William Stone, Koyamangalath Krishnan. Delta-tocotrienol and simvastatin induce cytotoxicity and synergy in BRAF mutant SK-MEL-28 but not in wild type BRAF SK-MEL-2 melanoma cancer cells. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 3568.


Suppose that lambda = mu^+. We consider two aspects of the square property on subsets of lambda. First, we have results which show e.g. that for aleph_0 <= kappa =cf (kappa)< mu, the equality cf([mu]^{<= kappa}, subseteq)= mu is a sufficient condition for the set of elements of lambda whose cofinality is bounded by kappa, to be split into the union of mu sets with squares. Secondly, we introduce a certain weak version of the square property and prove that if mu is a strong limit, then this weak square property holds on lambda without any additional assumptions


Introduction: On Sudden death of a medical student (20 year old girl) of National Institute of Medical Science autopsy materials along with site of injection were sent to F.S.L. It was informed during investigation that the girl took tetanus vaccine before death. In crime scene investigation Forensic Team observed that it was a case of gross negligence of dispensing wrong injection. Material: Tests were performed on viscera material viz., liver, spleen, kidney, lungs, brain, skin and blood etc. Mystery of suspected death was solved when a new GC-MS application was designed to get the unknown drug and various fragments of extracted material were studied. Method: A new method was developed on gas-chromatography-mass spectrophotometer and TL.C using various solvent systems is explained. Results: Metabolite fragments of vecuronium bromide a muscle relaxant were surprisingly observed in Viscera material, Blood sample and Skin piece from Left cubital fossa from this young girl, whose death is questioned. Conclusion: Structural elucidations of fragments provide a new approach to toxicokinetics. The explanation of fragments obtained were structurally compared with other neuromuscular blocking groups like atracurium and succinyl choline The presence of bromide attached cholest-5-en-Br, hydroxylated cholest-5-en-ol as hydroxylated product, acetylated fragments as cholest-5-enacetate and piperidone-2-one present in visceral samples indicates structural part obtained from vecuronium bromide drug. These metabolites studies makes the case studies highly informative. Beside this new method of extractions, TLC systems and colouring reagents are also explained.


Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella) colonies are found on sub-Antarctic islands around the continent. These islands experience a range of conditions in terms of physical and biological habitat, creating a natural laboratory to investigate local genetic adaptation. One striking habitat difference is in the availability of Euphausia superba krill as prey, which has led to A. gazella exhibiting a range of diets. A. gazella in some colonies consume exclusively krill, while their conspecifics in other colonies feed mainly on fish and consume few to no krill. To investigate potential adaptations to these different prey fields, reduced representation genome sequencing was conducted on A. gazella from the 8 major colonies. Twenty-seven genomic regions exhibiting signatures of natural selection were identified. Two of these genomic regions were clearly associated with seals living in krill-dominated areas or those in fish-dominated areas. Twenty-two additional genomic regions under selection showed a pattern consistent with prey differences as the driver of selection after historical migrations from krill-dominated habitats where lineages evolved to present krill-poor habitat areas were taken into account. Only 1 of the genomic regions identified appeared to be explained by any other environmental variable analysed (depth). Genomic regions under prey-driven selection included genes associated with regulation of gene expression, skeletal development, and lipid metabolism. Adaptation to local prey has implications for spatial management of this species and for the potential impacts of climateor harvest-driven reductions in krill abundance on these seals.


This special issue brings together contributions from cultural geographers, design historians and literary scholars analysing J.G. Ballard's 1974 novel Concrete Island (Ballard 2008), in order to situate it within its historical and political contexts and to consider its relevance to contemporary debates on architecture, landscape and cultural practice. Separately and together, the articles gathered here, inter alia, trace the literary genealogies of the novel; illuminate the historical and political contexts that the novel comments on; explicate the ambivalences of the various discursive and technological modernities acting within the narrative; focus on the distinctive island materialities which Ballard sketches throughout the text, and explore the heightened embodied sensibilities through which its architect protagonist, Maitland, navigates this unintentional landscape. In so doing, the articles collected here advance new readings of the novel that build on the extant Ballard literature, and the special issue as a whole reasserts the prominence of Concrete Island within the wider contexts of Ballard's career and the culture of the period in which he was writing. We conclude by suggesting that Ballard's novel presents us with an anamorphic portrait that complicates and strains contemporaneous narratives of English modernity, consumer culture and technological progress.


Antisense nucleic acids function on the basis of Watson-Crick hybridisation with a target sequence and induce changes in the flow of information from gene sequence to protein. There are various outcomes from these interactions, depending upon the mechanism through which a particular antisense molecule induces its effect. These may include the targeted degradation of RNA products, redirection of natural splicing mechanisms, the induced correction of genomic mutations (gene correction) or the inhibition of translational events. We have investigated three different mechanisms of antisense action and compared their ability to induce transient suppression of the products of the myostatin gene. This gene product is known to be a negative regulator of muscle growth that inhibits myoblast proliferation and may potentially be a target with which to investigate antisense effects in muscle. In this study, we compare three different antisense strategies that are known to invoke fundamentally different mechanisms. These are: 1) the phosphorothioate deoxyoligoribonucleotides (PS-ODN) known to activate the ubiquitous RNAseH enzyme and induce targeted destruction of DNA-RNA hybrid molecules 2) the 2'-O-methyl oligoribonucleotides (2OMeAO) that redirect nuclear splicing events to exclude exons from the mRNA transcript 3) A dsRNA molecule with 2'ACE chemistry that is reported to induce a potent silencing pathway in plant and mammalian systems. Transient suppression of the myostatin product could result in hyperplasia and/or hypertrophy of muscle and this may hold potential as a treatment for patients with muscle wasting conditions.


More than 50 years ago the discovery of scrolls in eleven caves beside the Dead Sea ignited the imagination of the world - and launched a vast academic field. Expectations abounded that the scrolls would reveal actual contemporaneous accounts of the birth of Christianity, perhaps even of the life of Jesus. The research that followed - its inner logic, and what its impassioned and often highly controversial theories reveal about the framing of facts and the interpreting of texts - is what interests philosopher Edna Ullmann-Margalit in this thoroughly absorbing book. Since the inception of Dead Sea Scrolls research, a central theory has emerged. Known as the Qumran-Essene Hypothesis, it asserts that the scrolls belonged to the Essenes, a sect whose centre was at the nearby site of Qumran. In "Out of the Cave", Ullmann-Margalit focuses on this theory and the vicissitudes of its career. Looking at the Essene connection, the archaeology of Qumran, and the sectarian nature of the scrolls community, she explores the different arenas, and ways, in which contesting theories of the scrolls do battle. In this context, she finds fascinating examples of issues that exercise philosophers of science as well as the general public - issues that only amplify the already intrinsic interest of the Dead Sea scrolls.


There is now ample evidence to support the notion that a lack of oxygen (hypoxia) within the tumour adversely affects the outcome of radiotherapy and whether a patient is able to remain disease free. Thus, there is increasing interest in accurately determining oxygen concentration levels within a tumour. Hypoxic regions arise naturally in cancerous tumours because of their abnormal vasculature and it is believed that oxygen is necessary in order for radiation to be effective in killing cancer cells. One method of measuring oxygen concentration within a tumour is the Eppendorf polarographic needle electrode; a method that is favored by many clinical researchers because it is the only device that is inserted directly into the tumour, and reports its findings in terms of oxygen partial pressure (PO2). Unfortunately, there are often anomalous readings in the Eppendorf measurements (negative and extremely high values) and there is little consensus as to how best to interpret the data. In this thesis, Bayesian methods are applied to estimate two measures commonly used to quantify oxygen content within a tumour in the current literature: the median PO2, and Hypoxic Proportion (HP5), the percentage of readings less than 5mmHg. The results will show that Bayesian methods of parameter estimation are able to reproduce the standard estimate for HP5 while providing an additional piece of information, the error bar, that quantifies how uncertain we believe our estimate to be. Furthermore, using the principle of Maximum Entropy, we will estimate the true median PO2 of the distribution instead of simply relying on the sample median, a value which may or may not be an accurate indication of the actual median PO2 inside the tumour. The advantage of the Bayesian method is that it takes advantage of probability theory and presents its results in the form of probability density functions. These probability density functions provide us with more information about the desired quantity than the single number that is produced in the current literature and allows us to make more accurate and informative statements about the measure of hypoxia that we are trying to estimate.


Abstract The Mid North Sea High (MNSH) is located on the UKCS in quadrants 35–38 and 41–43. It is a large structural high that is flanked by the mature hydrocarbon provinces of the Central North Sea (CNS) to the NE and the Southern North Sea (SNS) to the SE. In the MNSH region, the source and reservoir intervals that characterize the SNS (Westphalian, Lower Permian) are absent and therefore the area is relatively underexplored compared to the SNS Basin ( c . one well per 1000 km 2 ). Nevertheless, two discoveries in Dinantian reservoirs (Breagh and Crosgan) prove that a working petroleum system is present, potentially charged either via lateral migration from the SNS or from within the lower Carboniferous itself. Additionally, gas was found in the Z2 carbonate (lower Zechstein Group) in Crosgan, with numerous other wells in the area reporting hydrocarbon shows in this unit. The results of the interpretation of recently acquired 2D and 3D seismic reflection datasets over parts of UKCS quadrants 36, 37 and 42 are presented and provide insight into both the geology and prospectivity of this frontier area. This study suggests that intra-Zechstein clinoform foresets represent an attractive, hitherto overlooked, exploration target. The Zechstein Group sits on a major unconformity, probably reflecting Variscan-related inversion and structural uplift. Below it, fault blocks and faulted folds occur, containing pre-Westphalian Carboniferous and Devonian sediments, both of which contain potential reservoirs. In the lower Zechstein, a large build-up is observed, covering a total area of 2284 km 2 . This is bounded on its margins by seismically defined clinoforms, with maximum thicknesses of 0.12 s two-way time ( c. 240–330 m). This rigid, near-tabular unit is clearly distinguished from the overlying deformed upper Zechstein evaporites. In map-view, a series of embayments and promontories are observed at the build-up margins. Borehole data and comparisons with nearby discoveries (e.g. Crosgan) suggest this build-up to represent a Z1–Z2 sulphate–carbonate platform, capped by a minor Z3 carbonate platform. Interpreted smaller pinnacle build-ups are observed away from the main bank. The seismic character, geometry, size and inferred composition of this newly described Zechstein platform are similar to those of platforms hosting notable hydrocarbon discoveries in other parts of the Southern Permian Basin. The closest of these discoveries to the study area is Crosgan, which is characterized by the Z2 carbonate clinothem (Hauptdolomit Formation) as a proven reservoir.


Via a photographic examination of post-World War II "Cinderella"-style houses of Albuquerque, New Mexico, this research investigates notions of the "ideal" American home and the modern-day realities facing Western middle-class families. Never before the subject of a published work of photographic art, these houses are now studied through an extended series of more than 40 original photographic works that focus primarily on the houses' exteriors. The images reach beyond depiction, however, to act as metaphorical family portraits, the cumulative details outside the homes reflecting those who live and have lived inside. Together these photographs prompt significant questions concerning Western constructions of family, home, and history, and the ways those perceptions have shifted as the economy has fluctuated and the model of the nuclear family has come under increasing scrutiny. Contextual grounding for this work lies principally in images made by the American photographers of the New Topographics movement beginning in 1975. In deadpan photographs, Robert Adams, Lewis Baltz, Henry Wessel Jr. and others examined the ways Americans utilized and characterized their landscapes, neighbourhoods, and homes. However, Bill Owen's work Suburbia (published 1973) also has a direct connection to my research as it photographically interrogates ideas and trends that affected American families at home. More recent work around similar themes can be located in Martin Parr's photographs of English prefab homes and Alejandro Cartegena's Suburbia Mexicana. My photographic research is underpinned by my PhD research, which focused on reflections of home via the photographic diary. While there is no autobiographical text with this work, it does focus on ways Westerners understand, depict, and reflect on home. My photographs carry on from the formal depictions of the New Topographics movement to include images that reach beyond the deadpan style to represent the homes in a more interpretive way, one designed to emphasize and question the particular myths of home reinforced in the Cinderella style. As of 2012 the production of the research is culminating. However, the dissemination of the research, and its impact, are just beginning to be visible. To date three group exhibitions have included the work. My intent is to publish a book in 2013 and to hang exhibitions in connection with the book's publication. I believe the research will have a diverse international audience. It will appeal to audiences interested in pop culture, architecture, photography, community planning, and cultural anthropology, among other things. I also plan to investigate possibilities for collaborative exhibitions and events that incorporate cross-disciplinary dialogue.


Abstract Politicians have been shown to benefit electorally from an attractive physical appearance. Employing data on 614 German MPs, this note explores whether it also affects their success/failure in the market for extra-parliamentary activities. An attractive physical appearance is found to mainly benefit female MPs, especially for private-sector jobs. This is particularly driven by MPs' perceived likability. While MP's perceived beauty is shown to have no direct effects for extra-parliamentary activities, our findings suggest important indirect effects.


Reading is often one of the first visual tasks that is compromised when visual function is impaired. However, reading is a complex sensorimotor, cognitive, and even possibly eyehand coordination in people with visual impairments. Psychophysics research has begun the process of understanding the visual function requirements and environmental conditions for reading with visual impairments. The hope is that this research will enhance the ability of clinicians and rehabilitation specialists to provide rehabilitation strategies for people with visual disabilities in reading.


In this study, we evaluate the quantile forecasts of the daily equity returns on three of the most liquid stocks traded on the Prague Stock Exchange. We follow the recent findings that consider the potential value of intraday information for volatility forecasting and, instead of proxying volatility using daily squared returns, we use both the intraday returns as well as their lower frequency aggregate (realized volatility) to forecast volatility and ultimately the quantiles of the distributions of future returns under different scenarios. We find that a simple autoregressive model for realized volatility together with the assumption of a normal distribution for expected returns results in VaR forecasts that are no worse than those based on other models (HAR, MIDAS) and/or other methods of computing the distribution of future returns. In fact, similar results obtain across the different forecast horizons and at both 2.5% and 5% VaR levels despite superior performance of HAR model in out-of-sample volatility forecasts.


Rising Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol concentrations in modern cannabis invites investigation of the teratological implications of prenatal cannabis exposure. Data from Colorado Responds to Children with Special Needs (CRCSN), National Survey of Drug Use and Health, and Drug Enforcement Agency was analyzed. Seven, 40, and 2 defects were rising, flat, and falling, respectively, and 10/12 summary indices rose. Atrial septal defect, spina bifida, microcephalus, Down's syndrome, ventricular septal defect, and patent ductus arteriosus rose, and along with central nervous system, cardiovascular, genitourinary, respiratory, chromosomal, and musculoskeletal defects rose 5 to 37 times faster than the birth rate (3.3%) to generate an excess of 11 753 (22%) major anomalies. Cannabis was the only drug whose use grew from 2000 to 2014 while pain relievers, cocaine, alcohol, and tobacco did not. The correlation of cannabis use with major defects in 2014 (2019 dataset) was R = .77, P = .0011. Multiple cannabinoids were linked with summary measures of congenital anomalies and were robust to multivariate adjustment.


This paper considers the question of adopting 'dynamic' revenue estimation methods, which would incorporate the predicted macroeconomic effects of policies. It describes the current revenue estimation process and how these estimates are used in the formation of policy. It then evaluates this process as an exercise in forecasting, considering not only its methodology but also its performance. This evaluation illustrates some of the difficulties that would accompany attempts to use dynamic methods. Finally, the paper relates the choice among different revenue estimation procedures to the political process and the use to which the revenue estimates are put.


This article discusses data security in Knowledge Discovery Systems (KDS). In particular, we presents the problem of confidential data reconstruction by Chase (Dardzinska and Ras, 2003c) in KDS, and discuss protection methods. In conventional database systems, data confidentiality is achieved by hiding sensitive data from unauthorized users (e.g. Data encryption or Access Control). However, hiding is not sufficient in KDS due to Chase. Chase is a generalized null value imputation algorithm that is designed to predict null or missing values, and has many application areas. For example, we can use Chase in a medical decision support system to handle difficult medical situations (e.g. dangerous invasive medical test for the patients who cannot take it). The results derived from the decision support system can help doctors diagnose and treat patients. The data approximated by Chase is particularly reliable because they reflect the actual characteristics of the data set in the information system. Chase, however, can create data security problems if an information system contains confidential data (Im and Ras, 2005) (Im, 2006). Suppose that an attribute in an information system S contains medical information about patients; some portions of the data are not confidential while others have to be confidential. In this case, part or all of the confidential data in the attribute can be revealed by Chase using knowledge extracted at S. In other words, self-generated rules extracted from non-confidential portions of data can be used to find secret data. Knowledge is often extracted from remote sites in a Distributed Knowledge Discovery System (DKDS) (Ras, 1994). The key concept of DKDS is to generate global knowledge through knowledge sharing. Each site in DKDS develops knowledge independently, and they are used jointly to produce global knowledge without complex data integrations. Assume that two sites S1 and S2 in a DKDS accept the same ontology of their attributes, and they share their knowledge in order to obtain global knowledge, and an attribute of a site S1 in a DKDS is confidential. The confidential data in S1 can be hidden by replacing them with null values. However, users at S1 may treat them as missing data and reconstruct them with Chase using the knowledge extracted from S2. A distributed medical information system is an example that an attribute is confidential for one information system while the same attribute may not be considered as secret information in another site. These examples show that hiding confidential data from an information system does not guarantee data confidentiality due to Chase, and methods that would protect against these problems are essential to build a security-aware KDS.


Proceedings: AACR 103rd Annual Meeting 2012‐‐ Mar 31‐Apr 4, 2012; Chicago, IL

Background. The first-in-man phase 1-2 clinical study (ASET study) of the cell-based therapeutic cancer vaccine MGN1601 included patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) who failed previous therapies and had no further standard therapy available. MGN1601 consists of two active pharmaceutical ingredients in fixed combination: fourfold gene-modified allogeneic tumor cells expressing IL-7, GM-CSF, CD80 and CD154 through MIDGE® vectors and a TLR-9 agonist, the DNA-based immunomodulator dSLIM®. Methods. The ASET study is conducted as a multicentric, open, single-arm Phase 1-2 clinical trial. Clinical response (PD, SD, PR, CR) was evaluated using CT scans according to RECIST 1.1 criteria and immune related Response Criteria (irRC). The efficacy data were evaluated in terms of progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) for the intended to treat (ITT) and the treated per protocol (TPP) populations of patients.Immune response was determined by the following parameters: ELISA of serum cytokines and chemokines, DTH to MGN1601, LTT assay to standard antigens, frequency and activation of plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC), myeloid dendritic cells (mDC), monocytes, natural killer cells (NK), NKT-, B-, and T cells. Blood mRNA and frequency of cytotoxic T cells by ELISPOT as well as tumor tissue were analyzed in a patient subgroup. Results. Nineteen patients, who had advanced stage RCC and failed up to 7 previous therapy lines (median 3 lines), were included. Nine of these patients completed the treatment phase per protocol (TPP), the others discontinued the study earlier due to PD. Currently, one patient is still in treatment phase. Median PFS in the TPP group was 12 weeks (3 months) and OS (not reached yet) 45 weeks (11 months). Three patients achieved disease control (one PR and two SD) after 12 weeks according to RECIST 1.1 criteria. Two patients are continuing treatment in the extension phase and are progression free since 37 and 46 weeks, respectively. Re-evaluation of tumor response data using irRC revealed one additional patient, who had a delayed tumor response 4 weeks after stop of treatment. Herewith, 4 out of 9 TPP patients (45%) achieved disease control. Of six patients receiving a targeted therapy following progress, four had substantial objective responses, suggesting that the study drug rendered their tumors more vulnerable to subsequent therapies. Immune analysis of the cell populations after 12 weeks showed trends towards increases of T cell, NKT-cell and pDC frequencies in those patients with clinical responses to the therapy, indicating anti-tumor immunity due to the study treatment. Conclusions. The therapeutic cancer vaccine MGN1601 shows promising efficacy in late stage mRCC patients. Results warrant further clinical studies with MGN1601.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-233. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-LB-233


In eighteenth-century America, fashion served as a site of contests over various forms of gendered power. Here, Kate Haulman explores how and why fashion--both as a concept and as the changing style of personal adornment--linked gender relations, social order, commerce, and political authority during a time when traditional hierarchies were in flux. In the see-and-be-seen port cities of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Charleston, fashion, a form of power and distinction, was conceptually feminized yet pursued by both men and women across class ranks. Haulman shows that elite men and women in these cities relied on fashion to present their status but also attempted to undercut its ability to do so for others. Disdain for others' fashionability was a means of safeguarding social position in cities where the modes of dress were particularly fluid and a way to maintain gender hierarchy in a world in which women's power as consumers was expanding. Concerns over gendered power expressed through fashion in dress, Haulman reveals, shaped the revolutionary-era struggles of the 1760s and 1770s, influenced national political debates, and helped to secure the exclusions of the new political order.


Appalachia has played a complex and often contradictory role in the unfolding of American history. Created by urban journalists in the years following the Civil War, the idea of Appalachia provided a counterpoint to emerging definitions of progress. Early-twentieth-century critics of modernity saw the region as a remnant of frontier life, a reflection of simpler times that should be preserved and protected. However, supporters of development and of the growth of material production, consumption, and technology decried what they perceived as the isolation and backwardness of the place and sought to 'uplift' the mountain people through education and industrialization.Ronald D Eller has worked with local leaders, state policymakers, and national planners to translate the lessons of private industrial-development history into public policy affecting the region. In "Uneven Ground", Eller examines the politics of development in Appalachia after World War II with an eye toward exploring the idea of progress as it has evolved in modern America. Appalachia's struggle to overcome poverty, to live in harmony with the land, and to respect the diversity of cultures and the value of community is also an American story. In the end, Eller concludes, 'Appalachia was not different from the rest of America; it was in fact a mirror of what the nation was becoming'.


Efforts to detect ultrahigh energy neutrinos are driven by several objectives: What is the origin of astrophysical neutrinos detected with IceCube? What are the sources of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays? Do the ANITA detected events point to new physics? Shedding light on these questions requires instruments that can detect neutrinos above $10^7$ GeV with sufficient sensitivity - a daunting task. While most ultrahigh energy neutrino experiments are based on the detection of a radio signature from shower particles following a neutrino interaction, we believe that the detection of Cherenkov and fluorescence light from shower particles is an attractive alternative. Imaging air showers with Cherenkov and fluorescence light is a technique that is successfully used in several ultrahigh energy cosmic ray and very-high energy gamma-ray experiments.
We performed a case study of an air-shower imaging system for the detection of earth-skimming tau neutrinos. The detector configuration we consider consists of an imaging system that is located on top of a mountain and is pointed at the horizon. From the results of this study we conclude that a sensitivity of $3\cdot10^{-9}$ GeV cm$^{-2}$s$^{-1}$sr$^{-1}$ can be achieved at $2\cdot10^8$ GeV with a relatively small and modular system after three years of observation.
In this presentation we discuss key findings of our study and how they translate into design requirements for an imaging system we dub Trinity.


This work reformulates the nonlinear differential equations associated with time varying resistance in minimal cardio-vascular system models into a system of linear equations with an analytical solution. The importance of including time varying resistance is shown for a single chamber model where there is a 17.5% difference in cardiac output when compared with a constant resistance model. However, the increased complexity has significant extra computational cost. This new formulation provides a significant computational saving of 15x over the previous method. This improvement enables more physiological accuracy with minimal cost in computational time. As a result, the model can be used in clinical situations to aid diagnosis and therapy selection without compromising on physiological accuracy.


Introduction High turnover of caregiving staff in nursing facilities and poor quality of care have been reoccurring matters of public concern, policy debate, and research for several decades (Eaton, 2000; Mukamel et al., 2012; Rosen, Stiehl, Mittal, & Leana, 2011; Walshe, 2001). Since the 1970s, studies have reported average annual turnover rates for registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and certified nursing assistants (CNAs) ranging from 55 to 100%, with turnover rates as high as 400% for CNAs in some facilities (Castle & Engberg, 2005; Mukamel et al., 2009). Because CNAs function as "frontline" caregivers, the effects of high turnover among these workers are particularly pervasive and include compromised quality of care, high replacement costs, lost productivity, and low morale (Stearns & D'Arcy, 2008). Due to the important role that CNAs play in the nursing facility care continuum, nearly all state Medicaid agencies and departments of aging consider CNA turnover to be a major workforce issue (Castle, 2008). In response, various interventions have been implemented to reduce CNA turnover and improve quality of care in nursing facilities (Lehning & Austin, 2010; Mukamel et al., 2009). The present study was undertaken to evaluate one such intervention, entitled the Virginia Gold Quality Improvement Program, implemented by the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services (i.e., Virginia Medicaid) in five nursing facilities. The evaluation had three unique features. First, the study represented a longitudinal qualitative evaluation of Virginia Gold because it was a continuation of an earlier investigation (Craver & Burkett, 2012). Second, the evaluation assessed the overall influence of Virginia Gold on turnover and care quality from the perspectives of both CNAs and residents and supplemented this assessment with quantitative data. Finally, the evaluation examined efforts by managers at the nursing facilities to continue the quality improvement projects one year following Virginia Gold's culmination. Background Nursing facility care is labor intensive and time consuming because the individuals who reside in these facilities are mostly frail adults with cognitive and/or physical disabilities that become more individualized as they age. Complicating this further is that many residents have at least one comorbid chronic disease along with an accompanying set of unique social circumstances that require continuous attention if they are to achieve an acceptable quality of life (McConnell, Lekan, & Corazzini, 2010). Within nursing facilities, CNAs provide approximately 80% of the paid care (e.g., measuring vital signs) and personal assistance (e.g., assistance with eating, bathing, and dressing) that residents need (Castle, 2012). While they perform an important role in the nursing facilities, many CNAs experience stressful working conditions that require a considerable amount of emotional labor on a near-constant basis, receive low pay and limited benefits, and have few opportunities for career advancement or alternative employment (Eaton, 2000; Morgan & Konrad, 2008). Not surprisingly, these conditions contribute to unstable workforce recruitment and retention problems for nursing facilities that manifest themselves in high CNA turnover rates (Stearns & D'Arcy, 2008). Many observers view high CNA turnover as a significant public policy issue that will likely increase as the demand for nursing facility services intensifies due to the growing number of aging baby boomers in the United States (Dill, Morgan, & Konrad, 2010; Lehning & Austin, 2010; Rosen et al., 2011; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [USDHHS], 2011). High CNA turnover has several far-reaching consequences, such as increased costs for nursing facilities, but the most serious consequence is the potential for adverse health outcomes for residents because high turnover can influence quality of care through several mechanisms. …


The influence of floating seaweed patches on the distribution and behaviour of seabirds was investigated using the European Seabirds At Sea database (ESAS). The percentage of observations that seabirds were observed with floating seaweed differed among species, depending on the mode of foraging. The results indicate that surface feeding species that make shallow dives (terns and Red-breasted Mergansers Mergus serrator) benefit most from the presence of floating seaweeds and their associated macro- and ichthyofauna. Species hunting for pelagic and bottom-dwelling prey (divers, Guillemots Uria aalge, Razorbills Alca torda, Puffins Fratercula arctica, Gannets Sula bassana and Cormorants Phalacrocorax carbo), and especially benthos feeders (Common Scoters Melanitta nigra and Eiders Somateria mollissima) were frequently seen in association with floating seaweeds, while opportunists and scavengers like gulls and skuas were recorded on few occasions. Petrels and shearwaters (surface-seizing, pursuit-plunging, pursuit-diving) were seldomly seen in association with floating seaweeds. The most common behavioural activities of the birds associated with floating seaweed were found to be surface pecking, actively searching, and pursuit plunging.


Variation in the ability to cope with infection among individuals helps ensure the success of a given population. Extensive polymorphism in the genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) are consistent with control of resistance, either through the presentation of different foreign peptides by MHC proteins, the selection of distinct repertoires of T cells during development, or through both processes. Messaoudi et al. observed a great divergence in the response to viral infection in two strains of mice carrying a four-amino acid difference in one MHC gene, but which were otherwise genetically identical. T cells in both strains focused on the same dominant viral peptide, which bound with equal affinity to each MHC variant. However, T cells responsible for better viral clearance in the resistant strain showed greater diversity of T cell receptor usage and improved recognition of antigen. Thus, MHC polymorphism may influence different responses to infection through the repertoire of T cells they select. I. Messaoudi, J. A. G. Patiño, R. Dyall, J. LeMaoult, J. Nikolich-Žugich, Direct link between mhc polymorphism, T cell avidity, and diversity in immune defense. Science 298, 1797-1800 (2002). [Abstract] [Full Text]


This article is devoted to the analysis of the gauge-fixed BRST cohomology complex for a matrix model endowed with a $U(2)$-gauge symmetry. After a brief introduction on the BV construction and the gauge-fixing procedure in the setting of finite-dimensional gauge theories, we apply these constructions to the model, with the purpose of explicitly determining and computing the corresponding gauge-fixed BRST cohomology groups. In the second part of this article, we introduce a notion of generalized Lie algebra cohomology, which allows the gauge-fixed BRST cohomology complex for a new description, able to detect a double complex structure.


Objective: To assess the changing antibiotic sensitivity pattern in Uropathogenic E. coli over a period of time (2013–2017) with a special emphasis on ESBL-producing E. coli. Methods: This retrospective study was carried out in the Department of Microbiology, Kasturba Medical College, Ambedkar Circle, Mangalore. A retrospective time bound analysis of 500 samples/year was performed. The urine samples received from the suspected cases of urinary tract infection (UTI) were processed. Wet mount examinations of urine samples were done. The urine culture was done by a semi-quantitative method on Mac Conkey's agar, Cysteine Lactose Electrolyte Deficient (CLED) medium, and UTI Chrome agar. Culture plates were incubated for 18–24 hours at 37°C. Urine samples with a colony count of ≥105 CFU/ml were considered significant. The uropathogens were identified by their biochemical reactions. The antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) was carried out using a Vitek Compact 2 system and Modified Kirby Bauer disc diffusion method. Results: Antibiotic resistance of Uropathogenic E.coli to cephalosporins increased from 51 to 58%, Cotrimoxazole: 52 to 59%, Piperacillin tazobactam 9.4 to 23%, Carbapenems 0 to 5.9%. Antibiotic resistance to netilmicin has reduced from 8 to 6.5%, and norfloxacin 59 to 48%. The rates of ESBL production have increased from 45.2 to 59.6% in the 5 years. Conclusion: The increasing antibiotic resistance trends in UTI patients indicate that it is vitally important to use them conservatively. Proper guidelines, management of antibiotic usage, and constant information to the clinicians regarding the sensitivity pattern can help to prevent drug resistance.


The Akkadian Empire was the first united empire in Mesopotamia and was established at 4.6 kyr B.P. (where present is A.D. 1950). The empire abruptly collapsed in 4.2 ± 0.2 kyr B.P. Seasonal-scale climatic dynamics behind this collapse have not yet been resolved. Here, we present monthly climatic parameters (temperature and hydrology) inferred from fossil Omani corals that lived between 4.5 and 2.9 kyr B.P. Winter temperatures derived from a modern Omani coral correlate with winter shamal (western Asian dust storm) frequency. A fossil coral from 4.1 kyr B.P. shows a prolonged winter shamal season with frequent shamal days. This likely caused agricultural failures in Mesopotamia and contributed to the Akkadian Empire collapse, as this region depends on winter rainfall.


An earthquake of magnitude Mw 7.8 struck mid-western Nepal on April 25 2015, followed by hundreds of aftershocks. This earthquake level is not uncommon in Nepal, where several events of magnitude 8 or even greater have occurred in the past. The earthquake destroyed approximately half a million houses and damaged another quarter million; it also damaged or destroyed part of the seven Cultural World Heritage Sites located in the Kathmandu Valley. Following the seismic event, several field surveys were performed, which provided clear evidence to construction technologies commonly employed in the earthquake stricken areas. Specifically, interesting data have been collected about the use of wood and bricks: two kinds of bricks of different quality are traditionally employed for the masonry internal side and for the external one, respectively; masonry walls, indeed, are normally constituted by three layers, with the middle core filled with lower quality material. In relation to the use of wood as a construction material, timber elements are widely present both in vernacular and monumental architecture as well, mainly because of the large material availability; they are typically used not only for floor and roof structures, but also for the framing of openings. All this applies to the case of temple structures as well, which are extremely significant from both the historical and architectural point of view, since they reflect high quality handcraft and the use of the best materials and workmanship available at the time of construction. In this work, attention is focused on the specific case of pagoda temples, which were destroyed in a limited number of cases, whereas most of them survived the earthquake with limited damage. A specific building technology has been observed in these structures, which deserves special attention. Pagoda temples, indeed, exhibit specific characteristics, related to the response to earthquake motion: lack of continuity of the masonry walls in the vertical direction, conical configuration of the internal masonry structure, open spaces at the ground level, poor connections between structural elements. In order to interpret the dynamic behavior of a pagoda in a Buddist monastery in Lalitpur, Kathmandu Valley, information on recent renovation interventions have been collected. On the basis of available information on the structure geometry, construction details and material properties, a numerical model has been developed. Dynamic analyses performed in the linear range indicated the interest for more sophisticated computations, based on the recognition and the analysis of specific local collapse mechanisms.


Human language seems to have arisen roughly within the last 50-100,000 years. In evolutionary terms, this is the mere blink of an eye. If this is correct, then much of what we consider distinctive to language must in fact involve operations available in pre-linguistic cognitive domains. In this book Norbert Hornstein, one of the most influential linguists working on syntax, discusses a topical set of issues in syntactic theory, including a number of original proposals at the cutting edge of research in this area. He provides a theory of the basic grammatical operations and suggests that there is only one that is distinctive to language. If this theory is correct then this narrows the evolutionary gap between verbal and non-verbal primates, thus facilitating the rapid evolutionary emergence of our linguistic capacity.


Typical high school physics experiments that investigate friction coefficients usually use a weighted mass that is dragged across a surface and is attached to a spring scale; the spring scale measures the frictional force occurring in the system. In such an experiment, a constant velocity (zero net force) is necessary in order to ensure that the measured force is only the friction force. While this configuration is simple to conduct and construct, it can be rather difficult to maintain a constant velocity of the weighted mass and to read the moving spring scale at the same time, which may result in large errors. We attempted to solve these issues by designing a new friction-coefficient experiment involving only static measurements. To conduct our experiment, we slid a block down a sloped surface and observed where the block landed. By measuring the horizontal distance of the block's landing location, we could definitively derive the kinetic friction coefficient between the wood block and the sloped board. The standard deviation from our newly designed experiment is ~3 times smaller than that of the traditional experiment, which demonstrates that our experiment may be a viable replacement for standard high school physics experiments on kinetic friction. This experiment can also enhance the learning of physics topics like Newton's second law, motion in two dimensions, friction, and programming.


Remotely sensed image classification techniques are very useful to understand vegetation patterns and species combination in the vast and mostly inaccessible arctic region. Previous researches that were done for mapping of land cover and vegetation in the remote areas of northern Alaska have considerably low accuracies compared to other biomes. The unique arctic tundra environment with short growing season length, cloud cover, low sun angles, snow and ice cover hinders the effectiveness of remote sensing studies. The majority of image classification research done in this area as reported in the literature used traditional unsupervised clustering technique with Landsat MSS data. It was also emphasized by previous researchers that SPOT/HRV-XS data lacked the spectral resolution to identify the small arctic tundra vegetation parcels. Thus, there is a motivation and research need to apply a new classification technique to develop an updated, detailed and accurate vegetation map at a higher spatial resolution i.e. SPOT-5 data. Traditional classification techniques in remotely sensed image interpretation are based on spectral reflectance values with an assumption of the training data being normally distributed. Hence it is difficult to add ancillary data in classification procedures to improve accuracy. The purpose of this dissertation was to develop a hybrid image classification approach that effectively integrates ancillary information into the classification process and combines ISODATA clustering, rule-based classifier and the Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) classifier which uses artificial neural network (ANN). The main goal was to find out the best possible combination or sequence of classifiers for typically classifying tundra type vegetation that yields higher accuracy than the existing classified vegetation map from SPOT data. Unsupervised ISODATA clustering and rule-based classification techniques were combined to produce an intermediate classified map which was used as an input to a Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) classifier. The result from the MLP classifier was compared to the previous classified map and for the pixels where there was a disagreement for the class allocations, the class having a higher kappa value was assigned to the pixel in the final classified map. The results were compared to standard classification techniques: simple unsupervised clustering technique and supervised classification with Feature Analyst. The results indicated higher classification accuracy (75.6%, with kappa value of .6840) for the proposed hybrid classification method than the standard classification techniques: unsupervised clustering technique (68.3%, with kappa value of 0.5904) and supervised classification with Feature Analyst (62.44%, with kappa value of 0.5418). The results were statistically significant at 95% confidence level.


Introduction: The objective of the present investigation was to compare two techniques for pediatric tonsil surgery with respect to postoperative pain and morbidity and changes in sleep behavior, health related quality of life (HRQL) and benefit due to surgery. Methods: 67 children (4,5-5,5 years) with tonsillar hypertrophy and obstructive sleep related distress with or without recurrent tonsillitis were randomized to either regular tonsillectomy (TE)(n=32) or intracapsular tonsillectomy/tonsillotomy (TT) (n=35) with Radiofrequency surgical technique (Ellman Int) Before TT/TE, the parents completed a validated Quality of Life survey of pediatric obstructive sleep apnea, the OSA18 (Obstructive Sleep Apnea-18) and a standardized assessment of their children-s behavior with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Six months after surgery, the parents repeated these measurements, and assessed the health related benefits of the surgery using the Glasgow Children´s Benefit Inventory (GCBI). Results: In the TT group, the children recorded less pain from the first day after surgery onwards, used fewer doses of painkillers and were pain-free 3 days earlier than the children in the TE group. Six months after surgery, there was no significant difference between TT and TE with regard to snoring and ENT-infections. The differences were all significant in the total scores and in all the individual domains between the initial OSA-18 and post-surgery scores (p<0.0001). The improvement in the total problem score measured with CBCL was also significant (p<0.01) and there were no differences between the TT and TE children. The improvements in all sub scores of the GCBI indicated a significant health benefit of both TT and TE. Conclusions: TT with RF-surgery is a safe method, which causes less pain and postoperative morbidity than regular TE and has a similar effect on snoring and recurrent infections. Young children with tonsillar hypertrophy and different degrees of obstructive sleep related distress all show an impact on HRQL and behavior. All improve dramatically after a tonsillar operation-improving just as much after TT as after TE. Based on these results, TT should be the first choice for treatment of these small children. Support: Financial support from the Research Council of South East Sweden (FORSS).


In this paper we lay out the computational challenges involved in effectively simulating complex phenomena such as sequestering CO2 in oil and gas reservoirs. The challenges arise at multiple levels: (i) the computational complexity of simulating the fundamental processes; (ii) the resource requirements of the computationally demanding simulations; (iii) the need for integrating real-time data (intensive) and computationally intensive simulations; (iv) and the need to implement all of these in a robust, scalable and extensible approach. We will outline the architecture and implementation of the solution we develop in response to these requirements, and discuss results to validate claims that our solution scales to effectively solve desired problem sizes and thus provides the capability to generate novel scientific insight.