Regularization by denoising (RED) is a recently developed framework for solving inverse problems by integrating advanced denoisers as image priors. Recent work has shown its state-of-the-art performance when combined with pre-trained deep denoisers. However, current RED algorithms are inadequate for parallel processing on multicore systems. We address this issue by proposing a new asynchronous RED (ASYNC-RED) algorithm that enables asynchronous parallel processing of data, making it significantly faster than its serial counterparts for large-scale inverse problems. The computational complexity of ASYNC-RED is further reduced by using a random subset of measurements at every iteration. We present complete theoretical analysis of the algorithm by establishing its convergence under explicit assumptions on the data-fidelity and the denoiser. We validate ASYNC-RED on image recovery using pre-trained deep denoisers as priors.


Increased availability of emergency contraception could advance the Vietnamese Governments goal of reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies. Moreover these methods are already available in Viet Nam from pharmacists as well as health care providers. A series of focus group discussions and in-depth interviews conducted in 1995-96 with hospital-based family planning workers from Ho Chi Minh City Viet Nam revealed widespread support for the concept of emergency contraception but a lack of accurate information about method use. Emergency contraception was regarded as especially appropriate for rape victims unmarried adolescents those not in a permanent union and perimenopausal women. Providers from eight of the nine hospital sites had heard of or used Postinor (a levonorgestrel-only regimen) while participants at seven sites were familiar with the Yuzpe regimen (ethinyl estradiol and either norgestrel or levonorgestrel) and postcoital insertion of a copper-bearing IUD. Providers typically learned about postcoital methods during medical school or at a continuing education seminar. However even those aware of emergency contraception had substantial misinformation about dosages intervals between doses and the maximum length of time after intercourse that the regimen can be initiated. Moreover they tended to exaggerate side effects and specify unnecessary contraindications. All participants expressed a need for more comprehensive training. Because these methods are often available from pharmacies respondents urged that druggists be trained to counsel women about the correct use of emergency contraception and suggested that the regimens be specially packaged with clear simple instructions.


Learn more about a promising follow-up, participatory group process designed to document the results of Extension educational efforts within complex, real-life settings. The method, known as Ripple Effect Mapping, uses elements of Appreciative Inquiry, mind mapping, and qualitative data analysis to engage program participants and other community stakeholders to reflect upon and visually map the intended and unintended changes produced by Extension programming. The result is not only a powerful technique to document impacts, but a way to engage and re-energize program participants.


Previous oral calcified-tissue laser ablations have yielded inadequate results because of the difficulty in producing a desired effect on a surface without concomitant pulp or osseous damage. The purpose of this study was to characterize a new modality of ablating teeth using argon and diode lasers (488.5 nm, 805 nm) in combination with the repetitive placement of specific photoabsorptive dyes. In this design, energy from laser light, that would otherwise be reflected, is coupled to the tooth-dye interface. Thirty-two specimens of recently extracted human enamel were sectioned and prepared into 3 x 2 x 2 rectangular blocks and smoothed with a polishing point. Two-microliter droplets of dye were placed on the external enamel surface and subsequently air-dried. Specimens were then ablated with the laser-dye combinations, producing craters approximately 100-200 mum in depth and devoid of visual carbonization. Similar irradiations were performed on enamel specimens without dye application, and displayed no cavitation or surface carbonization. SEM studies showed evidence of crater formation within the enamel surface. Optimization of laser parameters integrated with specific dispensing of dye is necessary before this technique can be studied further.


Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) and diabetic kidney disease (DKD) are common diabetic complications with limited treatment options. Experimental studies show that targeting inflammation using chemokine receptor (CCR) antagonists ameliorates DKD, presumably by reducing macrophage accumulation or activation. As inflammation is implicated in DPN development, we assessed whether CCR2 and CCR5 antagonism could also benefit DPN. Five‐week‐old ob/ob mice were fed a diet containing MK‐0812, a dual CCR2‐CCR5 receptor antagonist, for 8 weeks; DPN, DKD and metabolic phenotyping were then performed to determine the effect of CCR inhibition. Although MK‐0812 reduced macrophage accumulation in adipose tissue, the treatment had largely no effect on metabolic parameters, nerve function or kidney disease in ob/ob mice. These results conflict with published data that demonstrate a benefit of CCR antagonists for DKD and hyperglycaemia. We conclude that CCR signaling blockade is ineffective in ob/ob mice and suspect that this is explained by the severe hyperglycaemia found in this model. It remains to be determined whether MK‐0812 treatment, alone or in combination with improved glycaemic control, is useful in preventing diabetic complications in alternate animal models.


Non-invasive Radiologic Evaluation of Intermittent CSF Rhinorrhea
Background: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) fistulae that present as intermittent rhinorrhea can be a diagnostic challenge. Many imaging modalities are currently used for detection of a CSF fistula, including invasive techniques such as CT Cisternography and Radionuclide Cisternography. The purpose of this study is to present our experience with non-invasive imaging of intermittent CSF rhinorrhea.
Methods: Retrospective chart review of New York University Medical Center patient database with suspected intermittent CSF rhinorrhea.
Results: Nine patients were included in this study; a β2-transferrin assay was performed when possible. All patients had imaging that included High-Resolution CT (HRCT), MR Cisternography (MRC), or a combination of the two. When HRCT was combined with MRC the sensitivity and accuracy of detecting and localizing a CSF fistula were both 100%.
Conclusion: Intermittent CSF rhinorrhea may be evaluated with HRCT and MR Cisternography, as these two modalities have good reliability and are non-invasive techniques.


The emergence of the discipline of public administration had long been attributed to Wilson. Martin (1987 and 1988) manifested that the discipline originated in France and consequently passed to USA. However, Wilson's 1887 article "The Study of Administration" points to the fact that he based the administration-politics dichotomy on German Bluntschli. This showed that it was essential to analyze the German influence on and, in particular, Bluntschli's contribution to the birth of the discipline of public administration. The present study focuses on Seckendorf, Wolff, Hegel and Stein's theoretical contributions to the emergence of public administration in Europe and intends to investigate each of them with a particular emphasis on Bluntschli's influence. It has appeared that the politics-administration dichotomy, which had a great effect on Wilson, was prevalent in the works of Bluntschli, in which the term primary is used for politics to refer to the former and secondary for administration to refer to the latter. Although politics administration difference was expressed in the French literature of public administration, it was concluded that the German effect was significant in the emergence of public administration and its spread to USA.


Elsie B. Michie, "Envious Reading: Margaret Oliphant on George Eliot" (pp. 87–111)
 This essay maps out a model of influence that is not deterministic but instead addresses historical "conditions," the proximity of authors' lives to their work, the relationship among texts, and how we read (or fail to read) all those interactions. Using the work of Sianne Ngai and other theoreticians of envy, it presents envy as a productive emotion that drives authors to contemplate the circumstances that make their lives and writing both similar to and different from those of their rivals. It tracks the workings of envy through Margaret Oliphant's relation to George Eliot, arguing that in the novel Hester: A Story of Contemporary Life (1883) Oliphant created a story centered on envy in order to work through her relation to her more powerful and famous precursor. Depicting two hostile women, who are gradually brought close by being forced to understand each other's circumstances, Oliphant also used Hester to rework the Eliot novel she loved best, The Mill on the Floss (1860), such that it reflected the circumstances of her own life as much as Eliot's. Oliphant's envious reading of Eliot reconfigures the relation between authors, between texts, between lives and works, between readers and what they read. Replacing the linear, generational conception of influence as indebtedness with an image of circumstances that ebb and flow, envious reading opens up a space of creative flux and contingency that points to the present and future as much as to the past.


Stereo matching techniques aim at reconstructing disparity maps from a pair of images. The use of stereo matching techniques in embedded systems is very challenging due to the complexity of the state-of-the-art algorithms. An efficient local stereo matching algorithm has been chosen from the literature and implemented on a c6678 DSP. Arithmetic simplifications such as approximation by piecewise linear functions and fixed point conversions are proposed. Thanks to factorisation and precomputing, the memory footprint is reduced by a factor 13 to fit on the memory footprint available on embedded systems. A 14.5 fps speed (factor 60 speed-up) has been reached with a small quality loss on the final disparity map.


In this paper we propose that the differences between ser 'beSER' and estar'beESTAR' predications traditionally associated with the individual-level/stagelevel(IL/SL) distinction (having to do with their differing combinations withadverbs quantifying over situations, locative and temporal modifiers, etc.) canbe explained without arguing that ser 'beSER' and estar 'beESTAR' sentences havedifferent event/aspect/Aktionsart-related properties. Specifically, we claim thatin copular sentences with adjectival complements, the different kinds of elementsthat build up the comparison class needed to evaluate adjectival propertiescan account for the IL/SL character of the predication and that, specifically,the IL/SL distinction is linked to the relative/absolute distinction. This proposal,together with the hypothesis that relative adjectives trigger by default an inferenceof temporal persistence, can account for all the aforementioned differencesbetween ser 'beSER' and estar 'beESTAR' sentences. We thus argue for an extensionof the explanatory value of the individual/stage-level distinction to the domainof gradability.


Treatment with the growth factor IGF1 and the β2-adrenergic receptor agonist clenbuterol may benefit patients with Rett syndrome. Mutations in methyl-CpG–binding protein 2 (MECP2), a gene located on the X chromosome, are responsible for the neurodevelopmental disorder Rett syndrome that occurs mostly in females. MECP2 regulates gene expression through multiple mechanisms, including altering the abundance of microRNAs that control the abundance of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) is another growth factor that is produced in the brain and the periphery and can cross the blood-brain barrier. Clinical trials for safety and efficacy of IGF1 in treating Rett syndrome are under way. Studies by Castro et al. and Mellios et al. showed the efficacy of recombinant human IGF1 (rhIGF1) and a β2-adrenergic receptor agonist, clenbuterol, in ameliorating Rett-like symptoms in a mouse model of Rett syndrome. Castro et al. found that circulating IGF1 was less in male Mecp2–/y mice than in wild-type mice and that daily intraperitoneal injection of rhIGF1 into these Mecp2–/y mice, starting at postnatal day 14 (P14), increased life span, improved respiratory patterns and heart rate, and increased locomotor activity. Additionally, the treated mice had improved social behaviors and reduced behaviors associated with anxiety. Delayed maturation of synapses and neuronal circuits may contribute to Rett syndrome symptoms, and female Mecp2–/+ mice exhibited an extended period of ocular dominance plasticity, which was corrected by treatment with rhIGF1. The density of postsynaptic spines in the visual cortex and miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents were also normalized in male Mecp2–/y mice following rhIGF1 treatment. Mellios et al. investigated whether the deficits in adrenergic signaling associated with Rett syndrome and Mecp2-deficient mice could be therapeutically targeted. Clenbuterol is a β2-adrenergic receptor–specific agonist that can cross the blood-brain barrier and stimulate BDNF production. Male Mecp2–/y mice injected intraperitoneally, starting at P14 with clenbuterol with a 5-day injection followed by 2-day off regimen, had increased survival and improved respiratory function, motor coordination, and social behaviors. Clenbuterol also improved respiratory function, cognitive function, and motor coordination when administered to symptomatic female Mecp2–/+ mice (6 to 12 months old), suggesting that the symptoms of Rett syndrome may be at least partially reversed. Combined administration of clenbuterol and rhIGF1 to male Mecp2–/y mice produced a greater enhancement in life span than clenbuterol alone. Analysis of the cerebellum of male Mecp2–/y mice revealed a decrease in Bdnf expression and protein abundance, and clenbuterol treatment increased the amount of pCREB, the transcription factor that stimulates Bdnf expression, and Bdnf and Igf1 mRNAs in the cerebellum. One target of BDNF is the microRNA-processing protein LIN28A, which decreases the abundance of microRNAs of the let-7 family. In the cerebellum, LIN28A abundance was lower in Mecp2-deficient mice, and clenbuterol treatment normalized the abundance of LIN28A and let-7f that targets IGF1. Overexpression experiments in cultured cell lines indicated that LIN28A enhanced IGF1 production and that let-7f reduced IGF1 production and confirmed that let-7f could repress gene expression of a reporter with the 3′-untranslated region of Igf1 that contains a let-7f consensus site. Thus, one possible mechanism for the action of clenbuterol in ameliorating Rett syndrome–like phenotypes may be the activation of CREB to increase BDNF, which increases the abundance of LIN28A, thereby reducing the abundance of the microRNA let-7f and restoring IGF1 production. J. Castro, R. I. Garcia, S. Kwok, A. Banerjee, J. Petravicz, J. Woodson, N. Mellios, D. Tropea, M. Sur, Functional recovery with recombinant human IGF1 treatment in a mouse model of Rett syndrome. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 111, 9941–9946 (2014). [Abstract] [Full Text] N. Mellios, J. Woodson, R. I. Garcia, B. Crawford, J. Sharma, S. D. Sheridan, S. J. Haggarty, M. Sur, β2-Adrenergic receptor agonist ameliorates phenotypes and corrects microRNA-mediated IGF1 deficits in a mouse model of Rett syndrome. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 111, 9947–9952 (2014). [Abstract] [Full Text]


The efficacy of interventions might be underestimated or even go undetected as a main effect when it is hidden in gene-by-environment (G×E) interactions. This review moves beyond the problems thwarting correlational G×E research to propose genetic differential susceptibility experiments. G×E experiments can test the bright side as well as the dark side of the moderating role of genotypes traditionally considered to represent vulnerability to negative conditions. The differential susceptibility model predicts that carriers of these risk genotypes profit most from interventions changing the environment for the better. The evolutionary background of G×E and differential susceptibility is discussed, and statistical methods for the analysis of differential susceptibility (versus diathesis stress) are reviewed. Then, based on results from 22 randomized G×E experiments, meta-analytic evidence for the differential susceptibility model is presented. Intervention effects are much stronger in the susceptible genotypes than in the nonsusceptible genotypes. The final sections suggest possibilities to broaden the G component in the G×E equation by including genetic pathways, and to broaden the E component by including methylation level and gene expression as promising ways to probe the concept of the environment more deeply and address the perennial issue of what works for whom.


In this paper presents improving the steady state error and convergence based on variable step size modulation (VSS-CMA) blind equalization algorithm. In the past, constant-modulus algorithm (CMA) has low convergence rate and high error rate. In CMA has less step size can decrease the convergence rate, but at the same time it decrease the steady-state error. This paper propose a new variable step size constant-modulus algorithm (new VSS-CMA) with an adjustable step size that greatly increases the convergence rate for noise colorings with large eigenvalue spreads. A new VSS-CMA is simpler in computational requirements, faster convergence and lower steady state error and compare to conventional CMA, and VSSCMA. The experimental results shows that the proposed VSSCMA algorithm has considerably better performance than the conventional CMA and VSS-CMA. Index term: Cross correlation, VSS-CMA, blind equalization, adaptive blind training.


Microsoft's Shared Source CLI (code-named "Rotor") is the publicly available implementation of the ECMA Common Language Infrastructure (CLI) and the ECMA C# language specification. Loaded with three million lines of source code, it presents a wealth of programming language technology that targets developers interested in the internal workings of the Microsoft .NET Framework, academics working with advanced compiler technology, and people developing their own CLI implementations. The CLI, at its heart, is an approach to building software that enables code from many independent sources to co-exist and interoperate safely. Shared Source CLI Essentials is a companion guide to Rotor's code. This concise and insightful volume provides a road map for anyone wishing to navigate, understand, or alter the Shared Source CLI code. This book illustrates the design principles used in the CLI standard and discusses the complexities involved when building virtual machines. Included with the book is a CD-ROM that contains all the source code and files. After introducing the CLI, its core concepts, and the Shared Source CLI implementation, Shared Source CLI Essentials covers these topics: The CLI type systemComponent packaging and assembliesType loading and JIT CompilationManaged code and the execution engineGarbage collection and memory managementThe Platform Adaptation Layer (PAL): a portability layer for Win32®, Mac OS® X, and FreeBSD Written by members of the core Microsoft® team that designed the .NET Framework, Shared Source CLI Essentials is for anyone who wants a deeper understanding of what goes on under the hood of the .NET runtime and the ECMA CLI. Advanced .NET programmers, researchers, the academic community, and CLI implementers who have asked hard questions about the .NET Framework will find that this behind-the-scenes look at the .NET nucleus provides them with excellent resources from which they can extract answers.


Abstract To argue that the concept of hierarchy is a profoundly theological concept is peculiarly difficult at the present time in which there is a general assumption that all hierarchies are hierarchies of power, intrinsically oppressive, and incompatible with human freedom. Consequently there is a deep-seated suspicion of the notion whenever it is invoked – not least in the context of church 'order'. Such a suspicion would have been inexplicable to those writers from whom we gain our earliest knowledge of the Christian Church. Though we cannot, nor should we try to, recreate the conditions of earlier ages in which the concept was understood with a richness and depth that are lacking in our own age, it is vital to expose the contemporary misuse and degradation of the concept and see that, in the life of the Church, the concept of hierarchy is not intended to be an articulation of power, but an eschatological expression of order. The recognition of the inhuman abuse of the concept down the ages should not blind us to the truth that its purpose is to act sacramentally as a sign of the heavenly kingdom.


Vehicular ad-hoc network (VANET)-based multimedia applications are considered to play a very important role in the future of intelligent transportation systems and vehicular infotainment systems. Socio-economic issues are identified among the main challenges in VANET-based multimedia applications. In response to these challenges, this paper proposes a novel user-oriented cluster-based multimedia delivery solution over VANETs that is able to address vehicle passenger preferences and deliver multimedia content of their interest. Such a solution will support various value added services in the vehicles, e.g. touristic video guide, news, entertainment, etc. In this paper the architecture of the proposed solution is presented together with the cluster-based mechanism employed for multimedia transmissions and the cluster head selection algorithm required for delivery infrastructure management. Simulation-based testing demonstrate how this solution increases system stability resulting in a longer life of the elected cluster head compared to the classic Lowest-ID cluster head algorithm, fact that positively influences the quality of the multimedia transmission.


Recent trend has made it clear that the processor makers are committed to the multi-core chip designs. The number of cores per chip is increasing, while there is little or no increase in the clock speed. This parallelism trend poses a significant and urgent challenge on computer software because programs have to be written or transformed into a multi-threaded form to take full advantage of future hardware advances.
Task parallelism has been identified as one of the prerequisites for software productivity. In task parallelism, programmers focus on decomposing the problem into sub-computations that can run in parallel and leave the compiler and runtime to handle the scheduling details. This separation of concerns between task decomposition and scheduling provides productivity to the programmer but poses challenges to the runtime scheduler.
Our thesis is that work-stealing schedulers with adaptive scheduling policies and locality-awareness can provide a scalable and robust runtime foundation for multi-core task parallelism. We evaluate our thesis using the new Scalable Locality-aware Adaptive Work-stealing (SLAW) runtime scheduler developed for the Habanero-Java programming language, a task-parallel variant of Java.
SLAW's adaptive task scheduling is motivated by the study of two common scheduling policies in a work-stealing scheduler, specifically, the work-first and the help-first policy. Both policies exhibit limitations in performance and resource usage in different situations. The variances make it hard to determine the best policy a priori. SLAW addresses these limitations by supporting both policies simultaneously and selecting policies adaptively on a per-task basis at runtime. Our results show that SLAW achieves 0.98× to 9.2× speedup over the help-first scheduler and 0.97× to 4.5× speedup over the work-first scheduler. Further, for large irregular parallel computations, SLAW supports data sizes and achieves performance that cannot be delivered by the use of any single fixed policy.
SLAW's locality-aware scheduling framework aims to overcome the cache unfriendliness of work-stealing due to randomized stealing. The SLAW scheduler is designed for programming models where locality hints are provided to the runtime by the programmer or compiler. Our results show that locality-aware scheduling can improve performance by increasing temporal data reuse for iterative data-parallel applications.


The aim of this thesis was to examine the possibility that sub-mechanisms of Short-Term or Working Memory (WM) can be selectively affected by task variables such as processing requirements, or situational variables such as positive or negative mood. The model of WM, developed by Baddeley and colleagues (Baddeley and Hitch, 1974; Baddeley, 2000) was taken as the basis for conceptualising the componential architecture of WM. It is proposed that individual WM components, i.e. the executive attention component, the verbal and the spatial storage components, could be systematically modulated by emotions.

The first 2 studies investigate the differential involvement of the Central Executive component in tasks that have been reported to be differentially affected by mood. It has been argued that analytical tasks make greater demands on the Central Executive (CE) and therefore alternative demands on the CE will disrupt such tasks. The detrimental effect of positive mood on analytical tasks is due to the disruptive effect of this type of mood on CE function. Using a dual-task paradigm, it was demonstrated that an analytical reasoning task was more disrupted by a concurrent WM task than was a creative task, i.e. a demonstration that the CE is more involved in analytical tasks. Measures of brain electrical potentials demonstrated a parallel effect at the cortical level.

The following studies examined other WM components, the verbal and spatial "slave" mechanisms and the possibility that they may be differentially modulated by emotion. Recent behavioural, psychophysiological and neuroimaging evidence suggests that spatial but not verbal, WM system is largely reliant on visual attention. It has also been shown that certain emotions, i.e. anxiety or fear, may be intrinsically associated with visual attention. On the basis of this overlap, it was predicted that induced anxiety/ fear would selectively modulate spatial WM, with little effect on verbal WM performance. An n-back task allowing of fine-grained dissociation of verbal and spatial WM was developed and three studies examined the effects of threat of shock on verbal and spatial n-back WM performance. The studies confirmed the prediction, showing that spatial WM performance was impaired in conditions of threat, while verbal WM performance remained unchanged. A number of analyses emphasised the relationship between anxiety and the decrement in spatial n-back performance. The presence of anxiety was objectively validated via physiological recordings.

The literature contains suggestions that, in contrast to the selective disruption of spatial WM in threat-anxiety observed in our studies, trait and test anxiety tend to affect verbal WM more than spatial WM. Therefore, in a subsequent study verbal and spatial n-back WM performance was contrasted in high vs. low trait anxiety individuals. It was found that verbal and spatial WM were not differentially disrupted in individuals high with trait anxiety.

The final study aimed to determine whether interhemispheric asymmetry models in emotion and WM could serve as a neuroanatomical explanation of the selective effect of anxiety on spatial WM. The study employed neuroimaging technology to compare the activation of regions of the frontal cortex in the two hemispheres in the verbal and spatial n-back tasks employed earlier. The anatomical regions of interest were chosen on the basis of neuroanatomical models of brain laterality in emotion. The results do not contain reliable patterns of frontallateralization. Hence, they provide little support to laterality-based accounts of the interaction between spatial WM and anxiety.

These findings support the hypothesis that WM components can be selectively modulated by factors such as affective state. They also suggest that attentional-executive mechanisms may not be fully distinct from the storage systems, as claimed in the original characterisation of WM.


This paper investigates the effectiveness of the management and control of the NEPAD strategy. Mere cooperation has been replaced by mutually binding commitments or partnerships. This and the global agenda are used to establish a mutually beneficial partnership with the developed world to identify a niche and to achieve its aims. This article concludes that the disadvantages of NEPAD outweigh the advantages. The SMME example shows that the NEPAD policy is too general to address specific problems. Africa faces capacity constraints in many fields and no real effort has been made to prioritise the challenges. It is also not clear what NEPAD can do independently of the AU.


The importance of innovation as an academic research field and for
society in general is stated, and existing definitions of the concept
discussed. A new definition is proposed emphasizing the social nature
of innovation and distinguishing it from creativity and non-innovative
change. The innovation research literature is reviewed in relation to
the two main approaches: 'antecedent factors' and 'process'.
Conclusions from these reviews, and from a preliminary study of
experiences of innovation, guide the design of the main research
program. Three field studies are described. The first, carried out in
two Homes for the Elderly, examines the sequence of the innovation
process, influences on it, and staff attitudes towards it. Data are
collected through semi-structured interviews, incorporating verbally administered questionnaires. Findings regarding the effect of
involvement in the innovation process upon attitudes towards
innovations are followed up in the second study, again in two Homes
for the Elderly. A longitudinal questionnaire design is used. The
third study is in a psycho-geriatric ward, using a participant
observation methodology to follow the development of innovations as
they occur. An overview of all the findings is presented in the final
discussion chapter. Three areas are highlighted. (1) Attitudes to
innovation: the primary importance of involvement in change processes
is emphasized. (2) Influences on the innovation process: differences
in perceptions according to phase of the process, and between staff
groups, are interpreted in terms of individual and group role in the
process. Possibilities of attributional bias are also raised. (3) The
development of the process: the problems in identifying discrete
stages are discussed and variations in the process for different
innovation types are described. Building on these findings, especially
in the third area, a general model of the innovation process is
proposed. Its implications for future research are outlined.


This thesis is about the development of the MARS camera: a standalone portable digital x-ray camera with spectral sensitivity. It is built for use in the MARS Spectral system from the Medipix2 and Medipix3 imaging chips. Photon counting detectors and Spectral CT are introduced, and Medipix is identified as a powerful new imaging device. The goals and strategy for the MARS camera are discussed. The Medipix chip physical, electronic and functional aspects, and experience gained, are described. The camera hardware, firmware and supporting PC software are presented. Reports of experimental work on the process of equalisation from noise, and of tests of charge summing mode, conclude the main body of the thesis. The camera has been actively used since late 2009 in pre-clinical research. A list of publications that derive from the use of the camera and the MARS Spectral scanner demonstrates the practical benefits already obtained from this work. Two of the publications are firstauthor, eight are co-authored, and a further four acknowledge use of the MARS camera as part of the MARS scanner. The work has been presented at three MARS group meetings, two departmental conferences, and at an internal Medipix3 collaboration meeting hosted by ESRF in Grenoble.


PURPOSE
This article reports baseline data from a randomized controlled trial investigating the impact of a specialist cardiometabolic healthcare nurse on physical health care.

DESIGN AND METHODS
Survey of community-based mental health consumers randomized to a cardiometabolic health nurse intervention.

FINDINGS
Findings show a high prevalence of respiratory conditions, hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, and low quality of life. Participants reported regular blood pressure but infrequent cholesterol and blood glucose testing. Few received advice about smoking cessation, diet, or physical activity. Participants were mostly satisfied with physical healthcare provision; however, positive health behaviors are lacking.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS
An individualized intervention based on knowledge and attitudes may be necessary.


Autonomous vehicles have become a reality, many vehicles have implemented some features to allow partial or full autonomy; however, full autonomous driving near the limit of friction still presents many obstacles, especially near the limit of friction. Autonomous test vehicles are expensive to build and maintain, running the vehicles usually requires highly specialized training, and testing can be dangerous. Research has shown that small sized scaled vehicles may be used as an alternative to full size vehicle testing. The first part of this thesis presents the construction of a 1/5 scaled vehicle testbed. This testbed is inexpensive to construct, easy to maintain, and safe to test compared to full size vehicles. In the linear region, the dynamic response of the tires also closely mimics full size tires and the Dugoff tire model. The small sized testbed is therefore an ideal alternative to full size vehicles. The interaction between the road and the tires remains a challenge to estimate, but a requirement for effective control. Tire dynamics are highly non-linear, and are dependent on many variables. Tire slip angles are difficult to estimate without expensive sensors set-up. Many linear and non-linear estimation methods have been developed to tackle this problem, but each having its limitations. The second part of the thesis presents a method for slip angle estimation, and proposes an observer design which integrates a linear component with the Dugoff tire model and a pneumatic trail estimator. This design is fast to operate, and does not require expensive sensors. With the addition of the pneumatic trail block, accurate slip angles can be obtained in the tires linear and saturation regions equally. Controlling near the limit of friction requires consistently accurate tire states, which is difficult to achieve with slip angles. With the margin of error under a degrees, a slight error in slip angle estimates while operating at the limit of friction may result in loss of control. The final contribution of this thesis proposes a simplified feedforward lateral controller based on the concept of Centre of Percussion (COP), and a longitudinal controller that operates based on lateral acceleration. This control scheme avoids using slip angles, but still pushes the vehicle performance to the limit of friction. The architecture is validated in high fidelity simulations.


Hedging an option is easy in the basic Black-Scholes world. The only stochastic variable is the stock price, and by holding a short position in the stock equal to minus the partial derivative of the call price with respect to the stock, a momentarily riskless hedge of a call option is achieved. With no transactions costs or impediments to trading, the hedge can be rebalanced continuously through the entire life of the option. But delta hedging like this isn't possible in the real world, where it only makes sense to rebalance a hedge periodically, and the change in the delta as the stock price moves—the option's gamma—becomes a source of unhedged risk. Delta–gamma hedges can manage both delta risk and the change in the delta, but volatility also changes over time, necessitating another Greek letter (or quasi-Greek in this case)—and vega was invented. As consideration extended to further higher-order derivatives, it put such a terrific strain on the Greek alphabet that an extension of the partial derivative naming convention was required. For example, "charm" is the derivative of delta with respect to time. And as this article shows, in an option hedge, charm becomes as important a risk factor as gamma close to maturity. The delta of an in-the-money (out-of-the-money) call converges rapidly to +1.0 (0.0) right at maturity, so a delta-hedged position can quickly become quite unhedged in the last few days. When charm is large, a more accurate hedge can be achieved using a modified hedge ratio, different from the standard delta.


ABSTRACT Packaging and more specifically environmentally friendly packaging has received considerable attention over the years. This paper seeks to provide an investigation into the issue of overpackaging regarding the outer paper packaging box and the various implications coming from the use of overpackaging in a company's operations. A practical case study has been analysed in which two paper packaging design options of the same corrugated box are investigated in terms of: paper quality and final packaging cost. The case study is followed by a detailed comparison between two selected options, in order to show the strengths and weaknesses involved in each case. The results provide significant evidence that a thorough investigation of the overpackaging issue, has the potential to bring economic benefits to a company where the protection of the product carried is ensured, the logistics activities are facilitated, the informative role of packaging is to the required standard and the cost is maintained low. The paper contributes by providing an environmentally and economically sustainable solution to paper packaging companies interested in improving the outer packaging design. The paper brings theoretical consideration to the issues of overpackaging by moving forward the research agenda of economically and environmentally sustainable packaging.


The author starts by noting that governance structures dealing with management of a family's investment assets are subjects of much recent attention. He suggests that whatever the vehicle for professional management of a family's assets-be it a corporate or individual fiduciary, a family office, or any other type of wealth manager-engagement of the members of the family through a family council will provide a useful adjunct to the functions of the professional. The article begins by explaining the reasons for and benefits to be derived from a family council and then proceeds to discuss various issues relating to its structure, composition, and the conduct of family council meetings.


The complexity and variability of multi-species, perennial systems creates a challenge for the design of sustainable agroforestry systems that need to be applicable in practice. Combining numerical models with farmers' participation could help design systems that find optimal solutions for balancing different performance requirements, as well as being acceptable by the farmers who be implementing these new systems. We used a working coffee/shade tree agroforestry model, CAF2007, to search for scenarios where farmers could increase shade tree density in order to decrease runoff and erosion, while maintaining coffee yields. Nineteen coffee farmers, divided into four groups according to their farming practices, were invited to attend five interactive work sessions. We evaluated the effect of introducing a numerical model on the scope and detail of a discussion around design of cropping systems for mitigating erosion at the plot scale. Participants in all groups actively engaged with the model, which served as a support for discussing the processes and parameters affecting soil erosion, including shade tree management. As the study area was located in a highly productive coffee zone, fertilization was also a topic of major interest. Farmers compared simulation outputs to their own observations on the field; feedback on model performance suggested that model sensitivity to certain parameters such as N input and shade tree density needed to be improved. Overall, 78% of participants identified at least one change in practices that they wished to try on their field; the majority concerned changes in the amount and frequency of fertilization applications and/or change in shade tree pruning levels. This study showed that a) numerical models can be a valuable tool for facilitating discussion of the function of complex systems and encouraging on-farm trial of new/modified practices; and b) feedback from such interactions yields valuable information on necessary improvements to the model. (Resume d'auteur)


We study the complexity of invariant inference and its connections to exact concept learning. We define a condition on invariants and their geometry, called the fence condition, which permits applying theoretical results from exact concept learning to answer open problems in invariant inference theory. The condition requires the invariant's boundary---the states whose Hamming distance from the invariant is one---to be backwards reachable from the bad states in a small number of steps. Using this condition, we obtain the first polynomial complexity result for an interpolation-based invariant inference algorithm, efficiently inferring monotone DNF invariants with access to a SAT solver as an oracle. We further harness Bshouty's seminal result in concept learning to efficiently infer invariants of a larger syntactic class of invariants beyond monotone DNF. Lastly, we consider the robustness of inference under program transformations. We show that some simple transformations preserve the fence condition, and that it is sensitive to more complex transformations.


Children with conduct problems are at greater risk for internalizing problems. The objectives of this study were to (1) examine trajectories of internalizing problems among children with and without clinically significant conduct problems during the transition to adolescence; and (2) identify how academic achievement, peer rejection, parent socioeconomic status, maternal distress, parental warmth, child temperament, and receptive verbal functioning explained differences between the two groups. Children with conduct problems (N = 388, 45% girls) and a comparison sample without conduct problems (N = 299, 52% girls) were recruited from Quebec, Canada, when they were between the ages of 7 and 10 years, and were followed across 4 years. Mothers and teachers provided information on internalizing problems each year. Having clinically significant conduct problems was associated with higher initial levels of internalizing problems according to mothers and teachers, but not with changes in internalizing problems over time. With regards to teacher ratings, academic achievement, peer rejection, and negative emotionality partially explained differences in internalizing problems for youth with and without conduct problems. For mother ratings, maternal distress, negative emotionality, and peer rejection completely explained the association for girls, and partially explained the association for boys. Findings supported a multi-rater approach for understanding risk for internalizing problems among children with and without conduct problems. In particular, they highlight the importance of differences across context for understanding factors associated with vulnerability to internalizing problems.


This work deals with methods for finding optimal neural network architectures to learn particular problems. A genetic algorithm is used to discover suitable domain specific architectures; this evolutionary algorithm applies direct codification and uses the error from the trained network as a performance measure to guide the evolution. The network training is accomplished by the back-propagation algorithm; techniques such as training repetition, early stopping and complex regulation are employed to improve the evolutionary process results. The evaluation criteria are based on learning skills and classification accuracy of generated architectures


Borehole EIT measurements in a broad frequency range (mHz to kHz) are used to study subsurface geophysical properties. However, accurate measurements have long been difficult because the required long electric cables introduce undesired inductive and capacitive coupling effects. Recently, it has been shown that such effects can successfully be corrected in the case of single-borehole measurements. The aim of this paper is to extend the previously developed correction procedure for inductive coupling during EIT measurements in a single borehole to cross-borehole EIT measurements with multiple borehole electrode chains. In order to accelerate and simplify the previously developed correction procedure for inductive coupling, a pole–pole matrix of mutual inductances is defined. This consists of the inductances of each individual chain obtained from calibration measurements and the inductances between two chains calculated from the known cable positions using numerical modelling. The new correction procedure is successfully verified with measurements in a water-filled pool under controlled conditions where the errors introduced by capacitive coupling were well-defined and could be estimated by FEM forward modelling. In addition, EIT field measurements demonstrate that the correction methods increase the phase accuracy considerably. Overall, the phase accuracy of cross-hole EIT measurements after correction of inductive and capacitive coupling is improved to better than 1 mrad up to a frequency of 1 kHz, which substantially improves our ability to characterize the frequency-dependent complex electrical resistivity of weakly polarizable soils and sediments in situ.


This paper reports results of an experimental programme to measure changes in bond characteristics of plain round reinforcement as a result of corrosion. Principal parameters included in the investigation are the amount of corrosion, the presence of confining reinforcement in the form of links, cover thickness and the initial condition of the reinforcement. In the absence of confining links, bond strength of bars cast near the bottom of a pour is found to reduce with increasing corrosion. However, although top-cast bars were initially weaker, small amounts of corrosion were sufficient to raise bond strength to that of bottom-cast bars. With increasing corrosion, strength reduced in a similar manner to bottom-cast bars. Confining reinforcement had little influence on bond strength prior to the onset of corrosion, but plays an important role in maintaining strength once corrosion becomes established. Results from these tests suggest that surface crack width may provide a better parameter than section loss or corrosion penetration through which to assess residual bond strength. The reasons for this are explained, and empirical relationships for residual strength are derived.


Studies of response to advertising images follow parallel streams: one treats visuals as sensory data; the other, operating under rhetorical theory, presumes that images are communicative artifacts. By revisiting a seminal article by Mitchell and Olson, we empirically demonstrate an alternative explanation for results under the sensory approach, while also establishing the basis for complex statements like tropes. We argue that consumers read product attributes from pictures based on an emergent writing system made possible by recent communication technologies. Our theory is consistent with the historical record of communication technology and with the trajectory of research in fields that study writing systems.


Abstract Due to high activity of cobalt metal in syngas conversion to higher hydrocarbons and long chain normal paraffins, supported cobalt catalysts have been widely used for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) reaction. We investigated effect of pretreatment procedures on catalytic performance of 15wt% Co/Al2O3 catalyst prepared by incipient wetness impregnation (IWI). Catalyst was characterized by different methods such as BET, XRD, TPR, TGA, H2-TPD and TPH/TPO-MS. FTS was performed in a fixed-bed reactor at the following conditions: 593 K, 20 bar, H2/CO = 2 and gas space velocities of 3.85 NL/g-cat/h. The catalyst was activated in situ with either hydrogen at 648 K for 12 h, or syngas (CO/H2/He) or 10%CO/Ar at 623 K for 12 h. BET surface areas of calcined catalyst was 154 m2/g. XRD pattern of calcined catalyst showed existence of cubic Co3O4 in addition to -Al2O3 phase. Metallic cobalt (Co fcc) was found after H2 reduction. Co°(fcc and hcp) and CoxC (x = 2, 3) were found in samples activated in syngas and 10%CO/Ar. Two step reduction of Co3O4 was observed in TPR and TGA experiments. Carbon deposition was observed during TGA using 10%CO/Ar as reducing agent. Degree of reduction was about 83% (H2-TPR following H2 isothermal activation) and dispersion 9.8%. Corrected value of crystallite sizes from combination of chemisorption and H2-TPR following hydrogen isothermal activation was 9.8 nm. TPH/TPO-MS results indicate existence of CoxC and different types of deposited carbon including graphitic carbon after syngas-activation. CO conversion of 10%CO-activated catalyst was very low (7.4%) whereas the H2-activated catalyst was the most active (CO conversion of 58.8%). CH4 selectivity decreased and C+ selectivity increased, with increasing amount of H2 in the reducing gas. Moreover, the hydrogen reduced catalyst had the highest 1-olefin selectivity (C3-H5 hydrocarbons). These results show that surface carbide sites (created after 10%CO/Ar and syngas pretreatments) favor methane production and secondary hydrogenation of 1-olefins. In conclusion, H2-activated 15wt% Co/Al2O3 catalyst had the best performance due to high degree of reduction and dispersion.


For plants, light is the source of energy and the most relevant regulator of growth and adaptations to the environment by inducing changes in gene expression at various levels, including alternative splicing. Chloroplasts trigger retrograde signals that control alternative splicing in leaves and roots in response to light. Here we provide evidence suggesting that sugars, derived from photosynthesis, act as mobile signals controlling alternative splicing in roots. The inhibition of TOR kinase activity diminishes the alternative splicing response to light and/or sugars in roots, showing the relevance of the TOR pathway in this signaling mechanism. Furthermore, disrupting the function of the mitochondria abolishes alternative splicing changes supporting a key role for these organelles in this signaling axis. We conclude that sugars can act as mobile signals coordinating alternative splicing responses to light throughout the whole plant, exerting this function in roots by activating the TOR pathway. Graphical Abstract


Primordial prevention is an important aspect of the health system, but its role is less known. It is the
most basic level of the health prevention pyramid and has important role in control of
cardiovascular diseases. Primordial prevention focuses on creating and maintaining conditions that
minimize the emergence of risk factors of disease. Healthy behaviors and lifestyle modifications are
considered to be the key interventions in primordial prevention.
Keywords: Health care system, Primordial prevention, Risk factors, Cardiovascular diseases


Background Changes in reflexive emotional responses are hallmarks of depression, but how emotional reflexes make an impact on adaptive decision-making in depression has not been examined formally. Using a Pavlovian-instrumental transfer (PIT) task, we compared the influence of affectively valenced stimuli on decision-making in depression and generalized anxiety disorder compared with healthy controls; and related this to the longitudinal course of the illness. Method A total of 40 subjects with a current DSM-IV-TR diagnosis of major depressive disorder, dysthymia, generalized anxiety disorder, or a combination thereof, and 40 matched healthy controls performed a PIT task that assesses how instrumental approach and withdrawal behaviours are influenced by appetitive and aversive Pavlovian conditioned stimuli (CSs). Patients were followed up after 4–6 months. Analyses focused on patients with depression alone (n = 25). Results In healthy controls, Pavlovian CSs exerted action-specific effects, with appetitive CSs boosting active approach and aversive CSs active withdrawal. This action-specificity was absent in currently depressed subjects. Greater action-specificity in patients was associated with better recovery over the follow-up period. Conclusions Depression is associated with an abnormal influence of emotional reactions on decision-making in a way that may predict recovery.


Abstract Introduction: We recently uncovered a signaling mechanism by which the endocannabinoid anandamide mediates the action of oxytocin, a neuropeptide that is crucial for social behavior, to control social reward. Oxytocin signaling has been implicated in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and social reward is a key aspect of social functioning that is thought to be disrupted in ASD. Therefore, as a proof of principle for the core component of ASD—social impairment—we tested an endocannabinoid-enhancing compound on two widely studied mouse models of ASD, the BTBR and fmr1−/− (model of Fragile X Syndrome). Methods: We used the established three-chambered social approach test. We specifically increased the activity of anandamide by administering the compound URB597, a selective inhibitor of fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), the hydrolytic enzyme for anandamide. Results: Remarkably, we found that FAAH blockade completely reversed the social impairment in both mouse models. CB1 receptor blockade prevented the prosocial action of FAAH inhibition in BTBR mice. These results were likely independent of effects on anxiety, as FAAH inhibition did not alter the performance of BTBR mice in the elevated plus maze. Conclusions: The results suggest that increasing anandamide activity at CB1 receptors improves ASD-related social impairment and identify FAAH as a novel therapeutic target for ASD.


This paper addresses the relationship between the value of data and KPs as they relate to the sustainability of knowledge management (KM). Numerical data are compelling metrics to persuade executives and management in the organization of the significance of Knowledge Management. External statistics are usually less impactful than internal data. Nonetheless, and in the absence of internal data at the early phases of KM projects, many companies collect published data for comparable industries. In the present case, we compiled information from previous experiences of companies in the same line of business; therefore, management by-in was secured, and the KM project was, to some extent, successfully implemented. However, there was a need to generate in-house numbers to support promises and claims of KM benefits, and persuade all KM players from the technician to the organisation president; the ultimate objective is to have a sustainable Knowledge Management project across the organization, with visible, concrete, and quantifiable results. Equipped with the assertion "data is power", Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and other metrics were devised and integrated into our KM processes; these measurements are being pulled out systematically, and published to the whole audience. KPIs measured included the effect of KM on (i) customer satisfaction, (ii) business impact (i.e. savings), (iii) number of projects completed on time, (iv) and the number of technical reports generated per unit of research area. Over the past few years, the data we generated shows a considerable increase in customer satisfaction with our research and technical services; significant savings were obtained each year; project timely completion indicator rose to high levels as compared to previous yearly data; the electronic technical and scientific library experienced a build up of valuable know-how reports. Knowledge re-use as shown by reliance on internal resources was the standard and routine practice. On the other hand, many other qualitative observations, like effect on health, safety, and the environment are being quantified for inclusion in the KPI reporting. Based on the accumulated data, we believe that numerical values coupled with other tangible solid results will ensure a viable and sustainable KM in our organization. This hypothesis is supported by five year data and trend analysis. It confirms that internally generated statistics is a powerful tool to sway and re-assure the organization that KM can indeed increase efficiency, enhance customer satisfaction, and drive savings.


Aim of this paper is to prove the second order differentiation formula along geodesics in compact $RCD^*(K,N)$ spaces with $N<\infty$. This formula is new even in the context of Alexandrov spaces. We establish this result by showing that $W_2$-geodesics can be approximated up to second order, in a sense which we shall make precise, by entropic interpolation. In turn this is achieved by proving new, even in the smooth setting, estimates concerning entropic interpolations which we believe are interesting on their own. In particular we obtain:
- equiboundedness of the densities along the entropic interpolations,
- equi-Lipschitz continuity of the Schr\"odinger potentials,
- a uniform weighted L2 control of the Hessian of such potentials.
Finally, the techniques used in this paper can be used to show that the viscous solution of the Hamilton-Jacobi equation can be obtained via a vanishing viscosity method, in accordance with the smooth case.


Introduction The anomalous pattern traced on the map by the Huangho suggests that the history of the river is a complex one. In particular, the great Ordos loop seems out of keeping with any simple development of normal drainage. One theory is that the present headwaters originally followed a less circuitous route, emptying directly into the Wei Valley in Kansu instead of flowing northeast past Lanchow. Another suggests a previous outflow directly to the east from the Ordos Desert. Similarly, diversion still higher up stream has been invoked to account for the acute or reverse bends of the upper course in western Kansu. Yet again, two ideas may be combined by assuming double capture; the first, north of the gorges which separate Shensi and Shansi, and the second in central Kansu. Color is lent to these suggestions by the obviously youthful character of the gorges, by the contrasting size and . . .


BACKGROUND
Predicting expected survival time in acutely hospitalised older patients is a clinical challenge.

OBJECTIVE
To examine if activities of daily living (ADL) assessed by Barthel-Index-100 (Barthel-Index) at hospital admission adds useful information to clinicians on expected survival time in older patients.

METHODS
A nationwide population-based cohort study was used. All patients aged ≥65 years in the National Danish Geriatric Database from 2005 to 2014 were followed up until death, emigration or study termination (31 December 2015). Individual data were linked to national health registers. Barthel-Index was categorised into five-point subcategories with a separate category of Barthel-Index = 0. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to assess crude survival proportions (95% CI) and Cox regression to examine association of Barthel-Index and mortality adjusting for age, Charlson comorbidity index, medication use, BMI, marital status, prior hospitalisations and admission year.

RESULTS
In total, 74,589 patients (63% women) aged (mean (SD)) 82.5(7.5) years with Barthel-Index (median (IQR)) 54(29-77) were included. In patients with Barthel-Index = 100-96 crude survival was 0.96(0.95-0.97) after 90-days, 0.88(0.87-0.89) after 1-year, and 0.79(0.78-0.80) after 2-years. Corresponding survival in patients with Barthel-Index = 0 was 0.49(0.47-0.51), 0.35(0.34-0.37) and 0.26(0.24-0.27). Decreasing Barthel-Index was associated with increasing mortality in the multivariable analysis. In women with Barthel-Index = 0, the mortality risk (HR (95% CI)) was 14.74(11.33-19.18) after 90-days, 8.40(7.13-9.90) after 1-year and 6.22(5.47-7.07) after 2-years using Barthel-Index = 100-96 as reference. In men, the corresponding risks were 11.36(8.81-14.66), 6.22(5.29-7.31) and 5.22(4.56-5.98).

CONCLUSIONS
ADL measured by Barthel-Index provides useful, easily accessible and independent information to clinicians on expected survival time in patients admitted to a geriatric department.


The trend to collaborative business processes requires ways to identify and configure collaborative technologies to support such processes. Collaborative business processes are usually open in the sense that the process steps followed cannot be completely predefined and emerge over time. They must, however, be aligned to organizational goals. The paper suggests that modeling concepts used to develop well defined systems are not applicable for designing collaborative systems and alternative concepts are needed to do so. The paper defines collaborative concepts to model collaborative systems and ways to support them using software agents. It defines software requirements and stresses the need to provide software agents to assist system evolution as collaborative processes emerge and an approach to analyzing agent requirements.


Opinion leadership is typically conceptualised as a continuous personality trait. However, many authors adhere to the view of qualitatively different opinion leadership types and apply arbitrary criteria to split continuous trait scores into two groups (i.e., opinion leaders vs. non-leaders). The present study is the first to empirically evaluate this approach. A sample of N = 3812 adults (67% women) was administered a validated opinion leadership scale. Finite mixture models examined whether the latent trait distribution can be represented by a set of discrete trait levels that reflected distinct opinion leadership types. The results did not give support to a discrete typology that distinguished leaders from non-leaders. Rather, opinion leadership was best characterised as a continuous trait.


The paper studies the effects of Familias en Acción, a conditional cash transfer program implemented in rural areas in Colombia since 2002, on school enrollment and child labor. Using a difference‐in‐difference framework, our results show that the program increased school participation of 14–17‐year‐old children quite substantially, by between 5 and 7 percentage points and had lower effects on the enrollment of younger children, in the region of 1–3 percentage points. The effects on work are largest in the relatively more urbanized parts of rural areas and particularly for younger children, whose participation in domestic work decreased by around 13 percentage points after the program, as compared to a decrease of 10 percentage points for older children in these same areas. The program had no discernible impacts on children's work in more rural areas. Participation in income‐generating work remained largely unaffected by the program. We also find evidence of school and work time not being fully substitutable, suggesting that some, but not all, of the increased time at school may be drawn from children's leisure time.


The IT consultancy industry is characterized by knowledge intensive implementation projects related to varying levels of standardized information system software. When faced with a large implementation project at a previously unknown customer various assessments is usually conducted to identify the level of fit between the software and organization in order to plan and structure the implementation process. However, there are several aspects of the customer organization that potentially can affect the end result as well as the implementation process that is unrelated to the fit between the software and the implementation organization as well as the potency of the implementation method. By conducting measurements of these maturity factors within the customer organization the implementing procedure can be modified based on the customer maturity level in order to become more aligned with the capabilities present in the customer organization. Research question: Which aspects need to be covered by a Customer Maturity Analysis Tool (CMAT) in order to evaluate the pre implementation maturity for potential customers of our case company and how should these aspects be organized and measured? The first task of the research process was to create an underlying model of maturity perspectives and aspects to structure the literature review as well as the empirical data collection. It was decided to adhere to a deductive approach where the theoretical model would be validated and if necessary modified in accordance to feedback from potential users of the CMAT within the case company. This procedure was repeated in the creation of measurements and maturity levels for the aspects to be used in the tool. The research process would therefore transition from a general model based on literature review, through a iterative feedback loop to a final model tailored to the specific requirements of the case company. The final CMAT ended up containing four main perspectives of customer maturity; IT infrastructure, Culture, Process and Business Governance. These four perspectives were in turn divided into subgroups in order to be able to aggregate and compare different aspects of the perspectives with each other.


Chi square tests, tests chi square origin, and correlation coefficient based on decreasing error of estimate can be used to determine whether there is any correlation between nominal variables, if so, direction and degree of it. Nominal correlation measures used in crosstab and advantages-disadvantages of them were given in the study. Correlation measures were determined by taking the size of variables and measure degrees into consideration, and with the help of these correlation measures, it was tried to determine the effect of province size, regions and political parties on municipality web services. According to the results of the analyses; firstly, whereas 61% of web services were not affected by the province size, 39% of them were, secondly, 86% of them were not affected by the region while 14% of them were, and finally, whereas 92% of them were not affected by political parties, 8% of them were.


We used the line intercept method of vegetation analysis to quantify the distribution and abundance of plant species at a brackish and a salt marsh at Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge in southernmost Texas, where native vegetation is preserved. Each of the marshes was sampled with three line transects in 1996 and 1999 so that we could compare the magnitude of variation between transects, years and marshes. Species richness in 1996 and 1999 was 23 and 22 species in the brackish marsh and 24 and 32 species in the salt marsh. Community similarity was greater between years within a marsh than between marshes within a year. Forty-seven species were present in the two marshes, but only 15 were common to both. Monanthochloe littoralis and Batis maritima were the dominant species in the brackish marsh and Spartina spartinae was dominant in the salt marsh. In both marshes, four species contributed from 73% to 86% of the cover. Consequently, most species contributed little to vegetation abundance and community structure. There were no significant differences in species diversity within marshes between years or between marshes within a year. H' values ranged from .731 to .883. The vegetation was clearly zoned along an elevation gradient in both marshes. The sequence of dominant species in the brackish marsh from low to higher elevations was Batis maritima, Monanthochloe littoralis and Spartina spartinae. The horizontal sequence in a salt marsh was B. maritima, S. spartinae and M. littoralis but elevation determinations showed that the elevation where M. littoralis was dominant was lower than that where S. spartinae was dominant.


This study was intended to evaluate the efficacy of homoeopathic simillimum in the treatment of premenstrual syndrome (PMS). The sample group consisted of women between the ages of eighteen and forty, living in the greater Durban area. PMS is a condition characterized by nervousness, irritability, anxiety, depression, and possibly headaches, oedema, and mastalgia, occurring during the 7 to 10 days before and usually disappearing a few hours after the onset of menses (Beers and Berkow, 1999:1932-1933). 75% of all women suffer from PMS to some degree (Hayman, 1996). A total of 39 participants with PMS were selected for the study on the basis of inclusion and exclusion criteria (Chapter 3). Participants were randomly divided into 2 groups (treatment and placebo) according to the randomisation sheet. There were 12 withdrawals from the study. 27 of the participants completed the study of which, 14 were on placebo treatment and 13 on active treatment. The treatment followed the initial consultation, which consisted of 3 powders containing either active ingredient (i.e. simillimum) or matching placebo and a 20ml bottle of liquid containing either active ingredient or placebo. Each participant was required to take one powder daily for three days from day 10 of their menstrual cycle followed by liquid treatment daily till onset of menstruation. Each participant had 3 consultations with the researcher over a 3 month period; each consultation a month apart. Menstrual Distress Questionnaires (Appendix A) were completed by the participants at each consultation. The data accumulated via the questionnaires was evaluated using non-parametric tests and analyzed statistically using the Wilcoxon's Signed rank iv test and the Kruskal Wallis test. The results were analysed at a 95% confidence rating with p ≤ 0.05. Data was analysed using the SPSS (version 15.1 ®) for Windows ® statistical software suite. The intra-group analysis showed statistically significant changes in the subgroups of water retention (p=.020) and appetite changes (p=.010) in the Treatment Group. The Placebo Group showed statistical significant changes in the subgroups of concentration (p=.029), autonomic reaction (p=.013) and appetite changes (p=.035). The inter-group analysis failed to reveal any statistical significance. Therefore, the conclusion is that homoeopathic simillimum was not effective in the treatment of premenstrual syndrome (PMS). There were clinical improvements noted by participants during the study which suggest that more research into the treatment of PMS should be conducted. Studies with a larger sample group over a longer time frame with daily outcome measures would give a better indication of the efficacy of the homoeopathic simillimum on premenstrual syndrome.


Using a master equation with cooperative interaction of radiative nature included, we demonstrate the generation and relaxation characteristics of the coherent population trapping state. We also show how the microscopic master equation in the mean field approximation leads to density matrix equations obtained from local field considerations.


Mobile mechanical manipulators are one of the automation aspects which were revealed in last years of twentieth century. These machines assume the responsibility of human and gradually expand the domain of their activities in industry. This paper is a presentation of the Sweeper Robot designed in the Robotic Laboratory of Iran University of Science and Technology. The original design of this robot allowing to its gripper to constantly remain parallel to the ground is presented. The dynamic and kinematical models of the robot have been computed. A software was developed in MATLAB to validate the kinematical and dynamic models of the robot by comparison with the experimental results. Once the robot was built and its systematic odometric error estimated by experiment, a control scheme for linear motions was developed to deal with this error. The approach is based on the introduction of an initial rectifying offset motion before starting the linear motion. Eventually, classical line tracking and image processing algorithms were used to complete our robot and the efficiency of our design to achieve its mission in picking and placing different objects according to various algorithms.


Digital technologies may make some tasks, jobs, and firms more resilient to unanticipated shocks. We extract data from over 200 million U.S. job postings to construct an index for firms' resilience to the COVID-19 pandemic by assessing the work-from-home (WFH) feasibility of their labor demand. Using a difference-in-differences framework, we find that public firms with high pre-pandemic WFH index values had significantly higher sales, net incomes, and stock returns than their peers during the pandemic. Our results indicate that firms with higher digital resilience, as measured through our pre-pandemic WFH index, performed significantly better in general, and in non-essential industries in particular, where WFH feasibility was necessary to continue operation. The ability to use digital technologies to work remotely also mattered more in non-high-tech industries than in high-tech ones. Lastly, we find evidence that firms with lower pre-pandemic WFH feasibility attempted to catch up to their more resilient competitors via greater software investment. This is consistent with a complementarity between digital technologies and WFH practices. Our study's results are robust to a variety of empirical specifications and provide a first look at how WFH practices improved resilience to a major, unanticipated social and economic shock.


The accumulation of the β-amyloid peptide (Aβ) is a central event in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Aβ removal from the brain by immune therapy shows promising potential for the treatment of patients with AD, although the mechanisms of the antibody action are incompletely understood. In this study we compared the biological activities of antibodies raised against various Aβ fragments for Aβ reduction in vitro and in vivo. Antibodies against Aβ enhanced the uptake of Aβ42 aggregates up to 6-fold by primary microglial cells in vitro. The kinetics of Aβ42 uptake varied considerably among antibodies. Based on the activity to mediate Aβ42 uptake by microglial cells, we identified a bioactive antibody that significantly reduced Aβ42 levels in the brains of transgenic mice with neuronal expression of an AD-related mutated amyloid precursor protein. This effect depended on the epitopes recognized by the antibody. Our data suggest that the ability to facilitate Aβ42 uptake by primary microglia cells in vitro can be used to predict the biological activity of the antibody by passive immunization in vivo. This protocol may prove useful for the rapid validation of the activity of antibodies designed to be used in immune therapy of AD.


Abstract. The degree of glaciation of mixed-phase clouds constitutes one of the largest uncertainties in climate prediction. In order to better understand cloud glaciation, cloud spectrometer observations are presented in this paper, which were made in the mixed-phase temperature regime between 0 and −38 °C (273 to 235 K), where cloud particles can either be frozen or liquid. The extensive data set covers four airborne field campaigns providing a total of 139 000 1 Hz data points (38.6 h within clouds) over Arctic, midlatitude and tropical regions. We develop algorithms, combining the information on number concentration, size and asphericity of the observed cloud particles to classify four cloud types: liquid clouds, clouds in which liquid droplets and ice crystals coexist, fully glaciated clouds after the Wegener–Bergeron–Findeisen process and clouds where secondary ice formation occurred. We quantify the occurrence of these cloud groups depending on the geographical region and temperature and find that liquid clouds dominate our measurements during the Arctic spring, while clouds dominated by the Wegener–Bergeron–Findeisen process are most common in midlatitude spring. The coexistence of liquid water and ice crystals is found over the whole mixed-phase temperature range in tropical convective towers in the dry season. Secondary ice is found at midlatitudes at −5 to −10 °C (268 to 263 K) and at higher altitudes, i.e. lower temperatures in the tropics. The distribution of the cloud types with decreasing temperature is shown to be consistent with the theory of evolution of mixed-phase clouds. With this study, we aim to contribute to a large statistical database on cloud types in the mixed-phase temperature regime.


Prefabricated vertical drains made from natural materials such as jute and coir are fast emerging as a practical alternative to synthetic drains because they have excellent engineering properties and they are biodegradable and environment friendly. While previous studies indicate that the biodegradation of drains can sometimes be exacerbated when they are exposed to adverse environmental conditions, thus making the dissipation of excess pore pressure considerably retarded, those which use numerical modelling to incorporate the implications on soil consolidation are limited. This study therefore aims to carry out a numerical investigation based on the Finite Element Method (FEM) to evaluate how biodegradation affects consolidation via a subroutine which can capture the reduction in drain permeability over time and incorporate it into the FEM. Unlike conventional methods which do not consider the drain degradation, the results of this study reveal that the dissipation of excess pore pressure can be retarded when a drain decays rapidly. Subjected to different degradation characteristics such as the degradation with and without an initial intact period, soil consolidates at different rates although the discharge capacity in those cases decreases to the same final value. The numerical solution is also applied to model a laboratory study, and the result shows a certain agreement with experimental data, indicating that FEM with support from the subroutine can capture the influence of drain degradation on soil consolidation well.


The task of designing secure software systems is fraught with uncertainty, as data on uncommon attacks is limited, costs are difficult to estimate, and technology and tools are continually changing. Consequently, experts may interpret the security risks posed to a system in different ways, leading to variation in assessment. This paper presents research into measuring the variability in decision making between security professionals, with the ultimate goal of improving the quality of security advice given to software system designers. A set of thirty nine cyber-security experts took part in an exercise in which they independently assessed a realistic system scenario. This study quantifies agreement in the opinions of experts, examines methods of aggregating opinions, and produces an assessment of attacks from ratings of their components. The authors show that when aggregated, a coherent consensus view of security emerges which can be used to inform decisions made during systems design.


It is a well-known fact that a great majority of countries implement agricultural input subsidies as a tool to boost agricultural productivity and output. However, even though this practice is widely spread and represents a large part of the agricultural budget, little emphasis has been placed on the evaluation of the effectiveness of such schemes. This paper aims to shed light on this issue by exploring the impact of agricultural input subsidies on agricultural productivity. Using a quasi experimental approach (Propensity Score Matching), this study estimates the impact of receiving an agricultural input donation on the value of production per hectare as a measure of the effect on agricultural productivity. To this end, data from the "Encuesta Permanente de Hogares" of Paraguay, a nationally representative household survey collected in 2012, was utilized. The results provide evidence that agricultural input donations do not have an impact on agricultural productivity or input utilization.


This paper reports a gyroscope-free inertial measurement unit (GF-IMU) built with four 3-axial accelerometers to directly measure the transversal acceleration as well as the angular acceleration and velocity of human body. This design achieves much lower power consumption and lower cost than traditional inertial sensor systems. It can be utilized to analyze the translation and rotation of human body for the purpose of gesture recognition and motion detection. The experiment result demonstrates the possibility of using this GF-IMU system to detect human hand motion. doi: 10.12783/SHM2015/115


ABSTRACT In the transition from a command economy based on a strong, socio-political ideology to a free market economy, the entrepreneur or corporate executive finds himself in an environment in which the values fundamental to business are questioned and questionable. Entrepreneurial opportunities to profit in the near term tend to obscure the tong term need for a corporate societal strategy in order to sustain and maximize future profit potential. Many of the issues facing joint ventures and enterprises in China stem from this situation. An examination of business performance in China spotlights the need for developing strategies to bind profit maximization to societal value. Recent studies in ethical decision making indicate that a convergence of societal values is in process. INTRODUCTION Transition from a command economy based on strong, socio-political ideology to a free market economy, creates an environment in which the values fundamental to business operations are both questioned and questionable. Gross market imperfections, which may be viewed as the product of the uncertainty surrounding socio-economic values, characterize the transition and appear to provide tremendous numbers of opportunities for firms to earn instant profits. (Shi, 1996.) In transitional economies, and in particular in China, it is the perception of profit potential that attracts international joint-venture investment. (Yan, 1995.) The expectation of many Western joint venture participants (and their governments) is that as profits are made, as market practices and systems are established, the popular political conscience will necessarily become democratized. In other words, the value set that underlies Western market capitalism will be validated and adopted. Speaking before the Asia Society's "Asia Goes Global Conference in Seoul, Madame Li Guohua, Vice-Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, reported a 16.5% annual rate of expansion for China's economy. She credited foreign investment and joint ventures as the engine driving this growth. By the end of 1995, a total of 120,000 projects with foreign investment had started operation with paid-in investment amounting to $135.4 billion USD. "China must stick to the policy of reform and opening--up in order to keep the momentum of the Chinese economy only by maintaining social and political stability can we guarantee the success of up-up." The implication was, that if growth falters, frustration of popular expectations of middle class life styles coupled with growing political consciousness would result in social and political unrest. To keep power in the hands of the current regime, China will continue to improve the investment climate, perfect relevant laws and regulations, and enable foreign invested enterprises to gradually enjoy national treatment." At the same time, the government will stay active in the loop in that: Industrial guidance and regional orientation of foreign investment will be put into practice." (Li, 1996.) Growth and profitability are the means to an end rather than the end itself. The theory of corporate societal strategy suggests that maximization of current profit and the optimization of future profit potential are dependent on the ability of the enterprise to balance power and to develop legitimacy by satisfying stakeholder aspirations and expectations (Ansoff, 1979; 1985) Raymond Kao suggests that, in as much as "a corporation is a community of entrepreneurs created for the purpose of creating wealth for the individual and adding value for society", part of the mandate of corporate strategy is the linking of the corporation to the environment through the establishment of understandable realistic stakeholder expectations. From this perspective, the joint venture corporation plays a significant and active role in determining the new value set and preferred rules of the game that will evolve from the transition. …


World is shrinking day by day with the advancement of technology. The expectations of human beings are rising. Economic liberalization is finding greater roots. Globalization of economy is becoming a worldwide phenomenon. It is however established that survival and economic growth of any country will depend on increase of productivity. This is particularly important in developing countries because of higher population growth, declining GDP, growing debt, higher interest burden, rising inflation, domestic and international competition, scarcity of raw materials, balance of payment problem, fiscal deficit etc. Some of these problems can be overcome by paying greater attention to managing productivity. Productivity has different meanings to different people. It is perhaps one of the most widely discussed subjects. However, its real meaning and interpretation is still not clearly understood.

During 2005-06 the manufacturing sector of Pakistan is estimated to grow by 8.6 percent against the target of 11.0 percent. Large-scale manufacturing (LSM) is estimated to exhibit growth of 9.0 percent on the basis of July-March 2005-06 data. The growth shows a mixed trend during the current year. The items, which exhibited negative growth, are sugar (-2.40 %), jute goods (-2.47 %), coke (-77.39 %), pig iron (-43.99 %), billets (-47.95 %), HR/CR sheets (-22.83 %). Some of the items, which have shown positive growth during July-March 2005-06, are cotton yam (11.16 %), LCVs/Jeeps (33.3%), tractors (16.34 %), trucks (58.30%), cement (9.75 %), fertilizer phosphate (12.03 %), paper and paperboard (11.85 %), vegetable ghee (13.16 %). (Government of Pakistan, Economic survey of Pakistan and Annual Plan 2006-07, planning commission of Pakistan)

In the face of approaching limits to further availability of resources i.e. raw material, loan, skilled labor, capital, much of the future manufacturing growth has to come, from increased manufacturing productivity.

In this thesis, we estimate total factor productivity indices for the large scale-manufacturing sector to study the underlying sources of productivity growth from 1975 to 2001. We have used different approaches to measure productivity. Different concepts of productivity being used by Economists and Management Scientists have been underlined in the thesis. We have used three approaches to measure the productivity. In the first approach classical models are being used and results of four models are compared. In Arrow model, productivity is measured with different intensities of labor. The estimates show that TFP has grown positively with changes occurring in intensity of labor. While the productivity gains in the mid period, taken for analysis were lower than the remarkable growth in the end period.

In the second Phase simultaneous equation approach has been used for the large-scale manufacturing sector of Pakistan. The objective to use this approach is to measure the contribution of factors affecting the productivity of LSM. Positive contribution of labor force has been observed in Production while contribution of labor force in per capita is observed negative. Different variables like gross national product , and gross fixed capital formation are contributing positively to volume of production and per capita income.

In third Phase Autoregressive models are being used to forecast the productivity of large scale manufacturing sector of Pakistan. To illustrate the mechanics, we initially used two lags (k=2) of each variable. By using EVIEWS, we obtained the estimates of the parameters of the equations. Based on only two lags of each endogenous variable, the results show that the productivity regression, the one-period lagged productivity variable and both lagged per capita income terms are individually statistically significant. In the per capita income, both lagged productivity terms and lagged per capita terms (at about 5% level) are individually significant. On the basis of results, we conclude that some of the variables are not individually statistically significant, but collectively all the lagged terms are statistically significant.

Overall results show that productivity is affected by a number of factors like labor, capital, GNP, and per capita income. Causal relationship among different variables does exist. Our analysis depicts that different economic models are applicable and predictable to the data of LSM sector of Pakistan. Macroeconomic policies may help improving productivity of the LSM sector.

Productivity management encompasses all facts related to the art and practice of productivity. For its successful implementation it is necessary to have an organization, an audit system and a monitoring plan. For improvement of productivity an organization requires improvement plans identifying actions desired, fixing responsibilities and laying down of time schedules.


The widening gap between processor and memory speeds renders data locality optimization a very important issue in data-intensive embedded applications. Throughout the years hardware designers and compiler writers focused on optimizing data cache locality using intelligent cache management mechanisms and program-level transformations, respectively. Until now, there has not been significant research investigating the interaction between these optimizations. In this work, we investigate this interaction and propose a selective hardware/compiler strategy to optimize cache locality for integer numerical (array-intensive), and mixed codes. In our framework, the role of the compiler is to identify program regions that can be optimized at compile time using loop and data transformations and to mark (at compile-time) the unoptimizable regions with special instructions that activate/deactivate a hardware optimization mechanism selectively at run-time. Our results show that our technique can improve program performance by as much as 60% with respect to the base configuration and 17% with respect to a non-selective hardware/compiler approach.


The establishment of parasite infection within the human erythrocyte is an essential stage in the development of malaria disease. As such, significant interest has focused on the mechanics that underpin invasion and on characterization of parasite molecules involved. Previous evidence has implicated a presenilin‐like signal peptide peptidase (SPP) from the most virulent human malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, in the process of invasion where it has been proposed to function in the cleavage of the erythrocyte cytoskeletal protein Band 3. The role of a traditionally endoplasmic reticulum (ER) protease in the process of red blood cell invasion is unexpected. Here, using a combination of molecular, cellular and chemical approaches we provide evidence that PfSPP is, instead, a bona fide ER‐resident peptidase that remains intracellular throughout the invasion process. Furthermore, SPP‐specific drug inhibition has no effect on erythrocyte invasion whilst having low micromolar potency against intra‐erythrocytic development. Contrary to previous reports, these results show that PfSPP plays no role in erythrocyte invasion. Nonetheless, PfSPP clearly represents a potential chemotherapeutic target to block parasite growth, supporting ongoing efforts to develop antimalarial‐targeting protein maturation and trafficking during intra‐erythrocytic development.


. Abstract In Algeria, there is a lack of information about the frequency and etiology of abortions in breeding cattle. In order to improve this situation, we sent a questionnaire to veterinary practitioners, and followed it up with a serological survey on two dairy farms (A and B) that had reported abortions. The serological survey was undertaken to detect the main abortive agents with particular emphasis on Neospora caninum , a parasite presently classified as one of the most important abortive entities globally, but still ignored in our country. The results of the questionnaire showed that when an abortion occurs, no particular measure is taken by practitioners as a diagnosis of the causative agent is very difficult to achieve due to lack of resources. The serological survey showed an average positive rate of 0, 32.8, 37.5 and 50% respectively for brucellosis, neosporosis, candidiasis and bovine rhinotracheitis in both herds and a rate of 3.2, 9.6 and 29% respectively, for chlamydiasis, salmonellosis and Q fever in farm (B) alone. This preliminary study, therefore, indicates for the first time that neosporosis exists in some Algerian farms and may contribute, either individually or in association with other agents to abortions in breeding cattle.