This thesis considers the effects of women's political participation on gender dynamics in the context of the local community. A broad definition of politics is used, which has allowed the research to investigate and analyse the effects of participation in both NGO- initiated women's groups and Panchayati Raj institutions (village/local level councils). The central discussion, therefore, focuses on the extent to which these different types of participation have been or can be empowering for women as individuals and as a group. In relation to this, different conceptualisations of power and the meanings and uses of empowerment and participation are explored. Research data was collected in five villages, a peri-urban area and one town in Bikaner District, Rajasthan, India. Ethnographic data was collected which the researcher uses to stress the importance of disaggregating women not only along the lines of caste, class, religion and so forth but also according to generation and familial position, when considering their changing roles and status in society. While acknowledging that certain aspects of political participation can have empowering effects the thesis argues that political participation is not necessarily empowering for women and in some cases may have the reverse effect. The dangers of instrumentalist arguments used to encourage and initiate women's political participation are highlighted. It is argued that 'empowering' women to participate is not enough to increase their status, quality of life or life choices if disempowering processes and structures within institutions are not also challenged and overcome. The thesis makes the case that family and community members generally support increases in women's political participation so long as it is only certain women who participate in a certain manner. It also argues for the greater inclusion of men into projects aiming to challenge detrimental gender norms.


The current study examined the influence of symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) on student academic achievement in reading and in mathematics in a sample of 146 first- through fourth-grade students, 103 of which were identified as having ADHD and academic problems in reading and/or math. A theoretical model was examined using structural equation modeling wherein student academic enablers (motivation, study skills, interpersonal skills, and engagement) and prior academic achievement served as mediators of the relationship between ADHD and academic achievement in mathematics and reading. Results of these analyses indicate that after controlling for the influence of prior achievement, ADHD influences motivation, which influences study skills to promote academic achievement. The article concludes with a discussion of the practical implications of these findings and how they extend prior research on the relationship between ADHD and academic achievement.


Flooding in the rapidly urbanizing city of Birendranagar, Nepal has been intensifying, culminating in massive loss of life and property during July and August 2014. No previous studies have monitored underlying land-cover dynamics and flood hazards for the area. This study described spatiotemporal urbanization dynamics and associated land-use/land-cover (LULC) changes of the city using Landsat imagery classifications for five periods between 1989 and 2016 (1989–1996, 1996–2001, 2001–2011, 2011–2016). Areas with high flood-hazard risk were also identified on the basis of field surveys, literature, and the Landsat analysis. The major LULC changes observed were the rapid expansion of urban cover and the gradual decline of cultivated lands. The urban area expanded nearly by 700%, from 85 ha in 1989 to 656 ha in 2016, with an average annual growth rate of 23.99%. Cultivated land declined simultaneously by 12%, from 7005 ha to 6205 ha. The loss of forest cover also contributed significantly to increased flood hazard. Steep topography, excessive land utilization, fragile physiographic structure, and intense monsoonal precipitation aggravate hazards locally. As in Nepal generally, the sustainable development of the Birendranagar area has been jeopardized by a disregard for integrated flood-hazard mapping, accounting for historical land-cover changes. This study provides essential input information for improved urban-area planning in this regard.


We present 6-PACK, a deep learning approach to category-level 6D object pose tracking on RGB-D data. Our method tracks in real time novel object instances of known object categories such as bowls, laptops, and mugs. 6-PACK learns to compactly represent an object by a handful of 3D keypoints, based on which the interframe motion of an object instance can be estimated through keypoint matching. These keypoints are learned end-to-end without manual supervision in order to be most effective for tracking. Our experiments show that our method substantially outperforms existing methods on the NOCS category-level 6D pose estimation benchmark and supports a physical robot to perform simple vision-based closed-loop manipulation tasks. Our code and video are available at https://sites.google.com/view/6packtracking.


Kakataibo (a Panoan language spoken in Peru) encodes emotional meanings by means of various morphological and prosodic devices. Some of them may be related to pragmatic implications (like the expression of affection by the diminutive), but others constitute dedicated emotional markers (as is the case of the illocutionary suffixes, augmentative nominalizers and nasalized imperatives). The fact that almost all the emotional markers carry nasalization is interpreted here as a possible case of language-internal sound-symbolism between nasalization and (negative) emotional meanings. This paper also shows that in Kakataibo we find a systematic pattern according to which dedicated emotional markers express negative emotions and never positive ones. Both the phonological and the semantic systems described in this paper may reveal patterns relevant for the cross-linguistic research on the grammar of emotions.


Abstract This study characterises rates of physical and sexual violence against adolescent girls and compares rates of violence against girls who are enrolled versus unenrolled in school, to contribute to an understanding of the relative risks associated with school attendance. We look at rates of violence across countries that together represent 80 per cent of sub-Saharan Africa's girls aged 15–19. The analysis shows high rates of violence overall: 28.8 per cent of girls report having experienced physical or sexual violence. However, in none of the 20 countries do adolescent girls enrolled in school report a statistically significantly higher likelihood of having been sexually assaulted than girls not enrolled in schools. Another source of data sees significantly higher rates in just one country. This pattern of results is robust to the inclusion of a range of control variables, and to analysis using different sub-groups. The evidence on physical violence is more mixed. Girls face significant rates of physical and sexual violence whether they are enrolled in school or not. These findings underline the importance of confronting violence against girls both in school and in the community, with tailored programs appropriate to each setting.


This collection of essays looks at the issue of human well-being from the point of view of environmental aesthetics. Questions addressed include: What role do aesthetic values have in advancing well-being? Are there environments that are particularly supportive of well-being? What is the place of aesthetic factors in environmental and city planning? The authors of the first part of the book illuminate the relationship between aesthetics and well-being by discussing such notions and ideas as aesthetic well-being, interactive environmental planning, aesthetic quality in urban planning, aesthetic footprint, and ecological aesthetics. The authors of this part also engage with many topical questions in environmental and everyday aesthetics. For example, Yuriko Saito's idea of green aesthetics as well as Allen Carlson's science-based model of the aesthetic appreciation of nature are critically examined.


The National Compensation Survey, conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is an establishment survey sampled yearly from a national frame using probability proportionate to establishment employment size. The national frame is developed from administrative files maintained quarterly by the States for the Unemployment Insurance program. Each establishment on the frame is assigned a measure of employment size equal to the employment in the third month of the frame quarter. In 2011, approximately 15% of the establishments in the frame, which includes seasonal businesses, reported an employment of zero, an employment that must be adjusted to ensure that the establishment has a chance of selection. In the past, establishments with zero employment have been assigned an employment equal to one employee, with some cases resulting in large weights for the occupations selected from these companies. The large weights lead to an over-representation of these occupations in the sample. This paper presents alternative measures of size values and discusses the options for best determining the measure of size for all establishments in the frame.


Foreign aid is now a $100bn business and is expanding more rapidly today than it has for a generation. But does it work? Indeed, is it needed at all? Other attempts to answer these important questions have been dominated by a focus on the impact of official aid provided by governments. But today possibly as much as 30 percent of aid is provided by Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and over 10 percent is provided as emergency assistance. In this first-ever attempt to provide an overall assessment of aid, Roger Riddell presents a rigorous but highly readable account of aid, warts and all. Does Foreign Aid Really Work? sets out the evidence and exposes the instances where aid has failed and explains why. The book also examines the way that politics distorts aid, and disentangles the moral and ethical assumptions that lie behind the belief that aid does good. The book concludes by detailing the practical ways that aid needs to change if it is to be the effective force for good that its providers claim it is.


Abstract Background Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) against HIV infection is available for people at risk of acquiring HIV infection and who are not positive for HIV infection. It is proven to be effective at preventing HIV infection in many studies in various populations. However, due to lack of knowledge or due to attitudes towards PrEP, this mode of prevention may be underutilized by people at risk and their providers. Our aim is to assess the baseline knowledge of, attitudes towards and practice of medical providers at Tufts Medical Center. Methods survey of 80 medical providers at Tufts Medical Center with a short questionnaire. Results The median age of the participants were 31 years old (IQR 28–34.5, range 22–71). 38.75% were male. Ethnicity were White (60%), Asian (20%), and others (20%). Fifty-five percent were Doctor of Medicine or Doctor of Osteopathic (MD/DO), 20% Physician assistant (PA), 8.75% Registered nurse (RN) and 7.5% were medical students. Other groups included Nurse practicioner (NP), medical assistant, research coordinator and PA student. Knowledge. Approximately two-third (67.5%) of study participants heard of PREP. In MD/DO group, 81.81% (36/44) heard about PREp. 46.26% responded correctly that PREP should be given daily. 68.75% answered correctly that Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate plus emtricitabine (TDF/FTC; Truvada) is the standard regimen. Attitude. 31.81% of the MD/DO group were not comfortable prescribing PREP. Top three barriers perceived for prescribing PREP were "Not enough knowledge" 72.5%; "Lack of experience" 56.25% and "Not covered by insurance" 17.5%. Practice. Of 61 participants who are eligible to prescribe medications (MD/DO, PA, NP), 15.27% prescribed PREP prior to the survey. Over 75% would refer patients to infectious diseases or other providers to prescribe PREP. Conclusion There are some knowledge and practice gap of PREP. Most are not comfortable prescribing PREP thus will refer patients to infectious diseases. It is essential to promote knowledge and attitude about PREP in medical providers who have an important role in advising at-risk patients about PrEP which will lead to a better practice. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
The detection of recombinant human erythropoietin (r-HuEPO) abuse by athletes remains problematic. The main aim of this study was to demonstrate that the five indirect markers of altered erythropoiesis identified in our earlier work were reliable evidence of current or recently discontinued r-HuEPO use. A subsidiary aim was to refine weightings of the five markers in the initial model using a much larger data set than in the pilot study. A final aim was to verify that the hematologic response to r-HuEPO did not differ between Caucasian and Asiatic subjects.

DESIGN AND METHODS
Recreational athletes resident in Sydney, Australia (Sydney, n = 49; 16 women, 33 men) or Beijing, China (Beijing, n=24; 12 women, 12 men) were randomly assigned to r-HuEPO or placebo groups prior to a 25 day administration phase. Injections of r-HuEPO (or saline) were administered double-blind at a dose of 50 IU/kg three times per week, with oral iron (105 mg) or placebo supplements taken daily by all subjects. Blood profiles were monitored during and for 4 weeks after drug administration for hematocrit (Hct), reticulocyte hematocrit (RetHct), percent macrocytes (%Macro), serum erythropoietin (EPO) and soluble transferrin receptor (sTfr), since we had previously shown that these five variables were indicative of r-HuEPO use.

RESULTS
The changes in Hct, RetHct, %Macro, EPO and sTfr in the Sydney trial were qualitatively very similar to the changes noted in our previous administration trial involving recreational athletes of similar genetic origin. Statistical models developed from Fisher's discriminant analysis were able to categorize the user and placebo groups correctly. The same hematologic response was demonstrated in Beijing athletes also administered r-HuEPO.

INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS
This paper confirms that r-HuEPO administration causes a predictable and reproducible hematologic response. These markers are disturbed both during and for several weeks following r-HuEPO administration. This work establishes an indirect blood test which offers a useful means of detecting and deterring r-HuEPO abuse. Ethnicity did not influence the markers identified as being able to detect athletes who abuse r-HuEPO.


Objective The search for genetic vulnerability factors in cocaine dependence has focused on the role that neuroplasticity plays in addiction. However, like many other drugs, the ability of an individual to metabolize cocaine can also influence susceptibility to dependence. Butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) metabolizes cocaine, and genetic variants of the BChE gene (BCHE) alter its catalytic activity. Therefore, we hypothesize that cocaine users with polymorphisms in BCHE can show diverse addictive behaviors due to differences in effective plasma concentrations of cocaine. Those polymorphisms might also influence users to prefer one of the two main preparations (crack or powder cocaine), despite having equal access to both. The present work investigates polymorphisms in BCHE and if those genetic variants constitute risk factors for cocaine dependence and for crack cocaine use. Methods A total of 1,436 individuals (698 cocaine-dependent patients and 738 controls) were genotyped for three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in BCHE: rs1803274, rs4263329, and rs4680662. Results For rs4263329, a nominal difference was found between cases and controls. For rs1803274 (the functional SNP), a statistically significant difference was found between patients who used crack cocaine exclusively and those who used only powder cocaine (P = 0.027; OR = 4.36; 95% CI = 1.18–16.04). Allele frequencies and genotypes related to other markers did not differ between cases and controls or between the two cocaine subgroups. Conclusions Our findings suggest that the AA genotype of rs1803274 is a risk factor for crack cocaine use, which is more addictive than powder cocaine use. Further studies are needed in order to confirm this preliminary result and clarify the role of BCHE and its variants in cocaine dependence.


BACKGROUND
Fatherhood status has been hypothesized to affect prostate cancer risk but the current evidence is limited and contradictory.

METHODS
We prospectively evaluated the relationship between offspring number and the risk of prostate cancer in 161,823 men enrolled in the National Institues of Health - American Association of Retired Persons Diet and Health Study. Participants were aged 50-71 years without a cancer diagnosis at baseline in 1995. Analysing 8134 cases of prostate cancer, Cox regression was used to estimate the association between offspring number and prostate cancer incidence while accounting for socio-demographic and lifestyle characteristics.

RESULTS
When examining the entire cohort, there was no relationship between fatherhood and incident prostate cancer [hazard ratio (HR) 0.94, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.86-1.02]. However, after stratifying for prostate cancer screening, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) unscreened childless men had a lower risk of prostate cancer (HR 0.73, 95% CI 0.58-0.91) compared with fathers due to the interaction between PSA screening and fatherhood (P for interaction < 0.01). A trend for the lower risk of prostate cancer among unscreened fathers compared with childless men was seen for low-grade prostate cancer (HR 0.78, 95% CI 0.61-1.01), high-grade prostate cancer (HR 0.62, 95% CI 0.37-1.04) and even fatal prostate cancer (HR 0.28, 95% CI 0.07-1.12). The number of children fathered was not related to prostate cancer (P(trend) = 0.17). In addition, men's inability to sire female offspring showed a weak positive association with prostate cancer in the PSA unscreened study subjects.

CONCLUSIONS
Our findings suggest fatherhood status and offspring gender is associated with a man's prostate cancer risk.


The unvarnished truth about the media family that created and cashed in on the Los Angeles Times. Here is the riveting story of how a second-rate newspaper rose to national greatness, only to become a casualty of war-a civil war within the family that owned it. Told in a hard-edged, investigative style, it spans the American Century, from 1884, when the Chandler family gained control of the just-born daily, through April 2000, when they sold it to the Tribune Company. Above all, Privileged Son chronicles the life of Otis Chandler, the Times' chief architect after 1960, whose flamboyant exploits in and out of the publisher's suite changed the perspective of the newspaper, and Los Angeles, forever. Using scores of insider sources, Dennis McDougal, the best-selling author of The Last Mogul, will surprise readers with his findings, including accounts of political graft and early mob connections among one of L. A. 's most prominent families. The Chandlers, who helped establish the national careers of Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and several other major political figures, controlled Los Angeles and the Times Mirror Corporation with a capriciousness that is seldom seen, even in the most dysfunctional media dynasties. Privileged Son is a thoroughly compelling page-burner that will keep readers engaged from its opening paragraphs. But it is also a numbing morality tale that extends far beyond Otis Chandler to highlight the greed that brought down one of America's richest family dynasties and one of its most prominent newspapers.


Abstract The setup adjustment problem occurs when a machine experiences an upset at setup that needs to be compensated for. In this article, feedback methods for the setup adjustment problem are studied from a small-sample point of view, relevant in modern manufacturing. Sequential adjustment rules due to Grubbs (Grubbs, F. E. (1954). An optimum procedure for setting machines or adjusting processes. Industrial Quality Control 07) and an integral controller are considered. The performance criteria is the quadratic off-target cost incurred over a small number of parts produced. Analytical formulae are presented and numerically illustrated. Two cases are considered, the first one where the setup error is a constant but unknown offset and the second one where the setup error is a random variable with unknown first two moments. These cases are studied under the assumption that no further shifts occur after setup. It is shown how Grubbs' harmonic rule and a simple integral controller provide a robust adjustment strategy in a variety of circumstances. As a by-product, the formulae presented in this article allow to compute the expected off-target quadratic cost when a sudden shift occurs during production (not necessarily at setup) and the adjustment scheme compensates immediately after its occurrence.


This paper presents a new method for the estimation of surface temperature of a sheet using temperature sensors at different positions of the sheet. The proposed method is developed and designed in such a way that it can estimate the temperature profile over the entire sheet through its spatial harmonics and control the spatial harmonics to obtain the desired temperature profile. Computational cost is also considered during the development of the proposed method. A PI controller is used to control each spatial harmonic to achieve the desired temperature profile over the sheet. The proposed estimation method of the temperature profile is based on the two-dimensional FFT. Each component of the two-dimensional space temperature harmonics is controlled by adjusting the heater temperatures. The performance of the proposed temperature estimation technique is tested in simulation for different desired temperature profile to compare with a simple method of temperature estimation based on the weighted average temperature of the sensors surrounding the location of interest. Thereafter, the performance of the proposed temperature control technique based on the spatial harmonics is compared with the conventional control technique in simulation. The superiority of the proposed method for the estimation of temperatures and hence the accuracy of the developed controller and its prospective real-time application is evidenced by the results.


La "leggenda nera" dello stalinismo. Intorno a un dibattito storiografico ed ad alcune rese dei conti - In the first part, the article analyzes Domenico Losurdo's book on Stalinism. He characterizes Stalinist repressions as above all a response to internal opposition and attacks from foreign nations. Losurdo points out how, in the 20th century, all kinds of regimes resorted to extreme forms of violence. The author of the present article, even though he recognizes the validity of some of the arguments, criticizes the way Losurdo uses contextualization and comparison as ways of diminishing political and moral responsibilities. In the second part of the article the author analyzes the debate in «Liberazione», the newspaper of the Rifondazione Comunista Party. In reviewing Losurdo's book, the newspaper has stirred up an outcry among some of the editors, generating a debate about some still unresolved crucial questions connected to Stalinism, and above all, questions linked to the cultural and political identity of the party itself. Key words: Stalinism, Domenico Losurdo, Communism, Rifondazione Comunista, «Liberazione »; historical comparison. Parole chiave: stalinismo, Domenico Losurdo, comunismo, Partito della Rifondazione Comunista, «Liberazione», comparazione.


Korea with its over 40 million population and small forest land base relies heavily on imports for its wood consumption. Korea is usually the second largest log importer in the world after Japan. Since the worsening importing conditions in the traditional log suppling countries, Korea has always looked for alternative supply sources which could provide logs with better conditions. The Russian Far East has emerged as a new source of supply which could meet the conditions Korea looks for since Korea established diplomatic ties with the former Soviet Union in 1990.

The purpose of this paper is to help Russian forest sector best prepared for Korean market, since Korean market is relatively new to Russia but the market is growing and has a large potential for Russian logs. This paper includes two major parts: Korean forest sector and market potential for Russian logs in Korea. In the first, Korean forest sector is introduced of its resource base, demand and supply structure, and forest product industries. In the second part, Korean market is analyzed for characteristics of the market, imports of Russian logs, Russian logs substitutability for competitor logs, and limiting factors to increase the exports to Korea. This paper attempted to project an outlook of Russian log imports to Korea by year 2000 based upon three price scenarios.

This paper concludes that growing wood consumption in Korea and Russian logs superior wood properties to competitor logs will positively affect the outlook of using Russian logs in Korea. This paper also indicated that unification of two Koreas will be another positive factor to increase the level of imports of Russian logs to Korea.


Objectives To investigate the role of storage mites in the development of allergic diseases among ham production workers, and to search for early alterations in lung function tests and early inflammation markers in exhaled air. Respiratory allergies due to storage mites have been reported in people with various occupations but, although such mites are unavoidable when curing ham, there are no published data concerning ham production workers. Setting Secondary care. Design Experimental cross-sectional study. Participants 220 participants (110 ham production workers and 110 controls) were recruited. Primary and secondary outcome measures Workers answered a medical questionnaire, and underwent spirometry and fraction of exhaled nitric oxide at 50 mL/s (FeNO50) measurements. Those with allergic symptoms also underwent skin prick tests to determine their sensitisation to airborne allergens. A methacholine test was performed in symptomatic participants when spirometry was normal to assess airways hyper-responsiveness. Results Symptomatic storage mite sensitisation was observed in 16 workers (14.5%) (rhinoconjunctivitis in 15 (63%) and asthma in (4%)) and 2 controls (1.8%; p=0.001). Higher FeNO50 values in exposed symptomatic workers compared with healthy control participants (34.65±7.49 vs 13.29±4.29 ppb; p<0.001) suggested bronchial and nasal involvement, although their lung function parameters were normal. Regardless of exposure, a FeNO50 value of 22.5 ppb seems to be 100% sensitive and 99.4% specific in distinguishing allergic and non-allergic participants. Multivariate analysis of FeNO50 values in the symptomatic participants showed that they were positively influenced by IgE-mediated allergy (p=0.001) and reported symptom severity (p=0.041), and negatively by smoking status (p=0.049). Conclusions Ham processing workers, as well as workers involved in any meat processing work that includes curing, should be informed about the occupational risk of sensitisation to mites.


Aspergillus fumigatus is an opportunistic fungus that mainly affects immunocompromised patients. Due to significant immunosuppressive therapy, patients who undergo orthotopic heart transplant have an increased risk of infection. Aspergillosis is the most common fungal infection in orthotopic heart transplant recipients (70%) and usually presents as invasive aspergillosis, which has a rapidly progressive course and is highly fatal. In heart transplant patients with invasive aspergillosis, overall mortality may range from 53% to 78%. Aspergillus mediastinitis infection is somewhat rare in orthotopic heart transplant recipients, with only 6 reported cases. Treatment may require early surgical drainage and antifungal therapy. We present the case of a 50-year-old man who developed Aspergillus mediastinitis 1 year after heart transplant surgery. This case illustrates the diagnostic challenge of an atypical presentation of Aspergillus mediastinitis and the importance of multiple drainage procedures in refractory disease, combined with long-term antifungal therapy.


In this modern world, automation has become the basic purpose for any new device. Sensors always make us a step closer towards automation and thus sensors have been an integrated part of the human life these days. Any small device or fully automated equipments, irrespective of the field of application, requires the use of sensors that allows the individuals to meet their demands. MEMS has been a super sensor these days. In most of the devices and equipments, MEMS act as an effective integration as per requirements. In country like India where 2.1% of population is suffering from chronic mobility impairment, it was a thought to integrate MEMS along with some other modules into a domestic locomotive vehicle. This MEMS and sensor based domestic locomotive vehicle is a wheelchair namely "IntelliWheelZ" that provides the differently able people with a solution for autonomous locomotion both at indoor and outdoor conditions. IntelliWheelZ is a low cost multi-module battery operated autonomous wheelchair with simple user friendly ergonomics. IntelliWheelZ consists of four modules. Firstly, Micro Electro Mechanical Sensor (MEMS) is best suited for those kind of disable people who have any one working joint in their body. Secondly, Voice Recognition system allows the wheel chair to move on the basis of voice command fed into it as per requirement. Remote Control System is the third module that controls the motion of wheel chair through switches of a remote controlled device on the principle of remote sensing and relay circuit. The final module of the wheel chair is the Obstacle Sensing and Detection Mechanism that senses and detects the obstacle on the path and avoids the wheel chair from accidents. Incorporating all these modules the total expenditure of IntelliWheelZ is less than 10% of the cost of autonomous wheel chairs presently available in the market. Hence the autonomous mobility and its low cost allow us to say: "IntelliWheelZ" – A MEMS based multi module low cost Autonomous Wheel Chair for effective domestic locomotion.


Jousting was for some 500 years the major spectator sport in western Europe. And yet, despite its enormous popularity in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, very little is known about its practicalities. How was the score determined and kept? How and why did jousting armour evolve, how effective was it, and how did it differ from the field armour worn by knights in battle? What constituted technical virtuosity in the lists? And why did jousting die out? This book uses previously untapped Iberian source material to provide answers to such questions. It focuses on three jousting manuals, written by practising champions at the time: Ponc de Menaguerra's Lo Cavaller ('The Knight', 1493); Juan Quijada de Reayo's Doctrina del arte de la cavalleria ('Doctrine of the Art of Chivalry', 1548); and Luis Zapata's Del Justador ('On the Jouster', c.1589-93). As well as editions, with the first English translation, of these important texts, it includes introductions and an analytical study; there are also chapters on the arms and armour of the joust. Nearly 200 colour and black-and-white illustrations, many never previously published, illuminate the sometimes complex technical terminology of these authors, and provide further evidence of how weapons and armour were actually used. Noel Fallows is Professor of Spanish and Associate Dean, University of Georgia.


Fruit flies recognize hundreds of ecologically relevant odors and respond appropriately to them. The noise, redundancy and interconnectedness of the olfactory machinery complicate efforts to pinpoint the functional contributions of any component neuron or receptor to behavior. Some contributions can only be elucidated in flies that carry multiple mutations and transgenes, but the production of such flies is currently labor-intensive and time-consuming. Here, we describe a set of transgenic flies that express the Saccharomyces cerevisiae GAL80 in specific olfactory sensory neurons (OrX-GAL80s). The GAL80s effectively and specifically subtract the activities of GAL4-driven transgenes that impart anatomical, behavioral, and physiological phenotypes. OrX-GAL80s can allow researchers to efficiently activate only one or a few types of functional neurons in an otherwise nonfunctional olfactory background. Such experiments will improve our understanding of the mechanistic connections between odorant inputs and behavioral outputs at the resolution of only a few functional neurons.


Nowadays, direct-acting antivirals (DAA) have been used for hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment leading to cure in 90–95% of non-cirrhotic patients depending on genotype, treatment experience, and regimen used. It was observed rates of antiviral response above 90% in compensated cirrhotic patients that should be treated for long time and/or ribavirin may be required. Metabolic syndrome, obesity, and insulin resistance are increasing worldwide and further contribute to hepatic steatosis and have long been recognized as a cause of lipid deposition in the liver. These factors affect the rate of antiviral response to interferon-based therapy, but it seems not impact DAA treatment. The effect of HCV eradication on hepatic steatosis and progression to fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma warrants further study in the era of direct-acting antivirals. Other factors that could be related to increase liver damage are vitamin D and associated polymorphisms. Patients with low concentration of total vitamin D [25(OH)D] presented high degree of fibrosis and high values of total cholesterol and triglycerides. In this chapter, we review the challenges and metabolic pathology associated with HCV infection and, discuss the influence of some metabolic factors which can cause liver damage.


Art continues to prove itself a sound, not to mention exhilarating and satisfying investment. "The International Art Markets" shows like no other book the huge scope for diversification within that market. Despite economic uncertainty, in just over two years average prices in the top 10 per cent of the art market have risen by over 150 per cent in real US dollar terms. In some art market sectors the rise has been longer and almost as dramatic - American paintings have risen seven times since 1994 and Chinese ceramics four times in the last nine years. Further trading opportunities are now greater than ever. In 43 chapters, written by 58 mostly locally-based experts from the art trade, it covers 21 countries from Europe, 12 from Asia and Australasia, five from South America, four from the Middle East and Africa, and two from North America. It deliberately gives equal weighting to each art market, despite the predominance of the USA and Britain. Each chapter provides the following essential information you need to understand the market in each country: art market history including taste, fashion, value, artists, art types, subjects, sales, prices and records; market structure and performance including auctioneers, dealers, trade associations, museums, exhibitions, fairs, training and education; and, tax and regulation. Comprehensive, informed and packed with valuable information, "The International Art Markets" will be the first point of reference for art collectors and investors and anyone who wants to understand the enormous breadth and complexity of the world's art markets.


This report is a B.Sc. Forestry thesis work at the school for Forest Management, SLU.
The work was an assignment from the forest owners' association Mellanskog.
The aim of the work where to investigate the economical result of removing undergrowth trees before first thinning, and a follow-up of the contractors and their compliance with Mellanskog standards.
This thesis work was divided in three parts: The first was to find a relation between the net volume from the first thinning and the cost of cleaning undergrowth trees. Secondly there was a follow-up in the field, to investigate whether the contractors have done the undergrowth cleaning according to Mellanskog's directives. The last part of the assignment was an inquiry examination to both thinning machine contractors and cleaning contractors, including interviews with some of them.
One hypothesis, which we shared with our assigner (Mellanskog), was that all contractors didn`t follow the directives. According to the directive all obstructive undergrowth up to 8 cm diameter in breast height (1,3 meters above the ground) should be removed. Trees with a breast height diameter <8 are common in first thinning stands after cleaning, which is unprofitable for all links of the forest supply chain.
Results from the field investigation, shows that 17 % of all remaining trees after cleaning are less than 8 cm breast height diameter. The history of forest management plays a crucial role for the result of undergrowth cleaning. If cleaning has been made once or twice earlier in the stand, the contractor`s job is easier since selection of main stems is already done. Otherwise the contractors made a god job according Mellanskog's directive.
The investigations show that there is a connection between average stem volume (solid under bark) and the cost of cleaning. If the average stem is small the cost will be high and vice versa. Result from the inquiry shows that the contractors understand well how the undergrowth cleaning should be done in theory, in practice, result shows that the contractors does not comply with the directive, i.e. to remove all obstructive undergrowth up to 8 cm diameter in breast height (according to the machine contractors). One positive observation is that the machine contractors have also experienced an obvious improvement of the undergrowth cleaning in the last years.


In recent forecasting competitions, algorithms of Support Vector Regression (SVR) and Neural Networks (NN) have provided some of the most accurate time series predictions, but also some of the least accurate contenders failing to outperform even simple statistical benchmark methods. As both SVR and NN offer substantial degrees of freedom in model building (e.g. selecting input variables, kernel or activation functions, etc.), a myriad of heuristics and ad-hoc rules have emerged which may lead to different models with substantial differences in performance. The heterogeneity of results impairs our ability to compare the adequacy of a class of algorithms for a given dataset, and fails to develop an understanding of their presumed nonlinear and non-parametric capabilities. In order to determine a generalized estimate of performance for both SVR and NN in the absence of an accepted 'best practice' methodology, this paper seeks to compute benchmark results employing a naïve methodology which attempts to mimic many of the common mistakes in model building. The naive methodologies serve primarily as a lower error bound, representative of a within class benchmark for both algorithms in predicting the 66 time series of the NNGC Competition. In addition, their discussion aims to draw attention to the most common mistakes in modelling that regularly lead to model misspecification of MLPs and SVRs in time series forecasting.


We have succeeded in achieving high-quality thin InN films (<500 nm) by low-plasma-power growth. In this study, we investigated the thickness dependence of the structural and electrical properties of relatively thin InN films grown by radio-frequency plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (RF-MBE). InN films were grown by RF-MBE on GaN/sapphire templates at 80 W, which is lower than that for conventional InN growth (200 W). The films had thicknesses of 5, 20, 100, 200, and 460 nm. The mobility and carrier concentration of InN degraded with decreasing InN film thickness, although even 200-nm-thick InN demonstrated relatively good characteristics (µ= 1540 cm2 V-1 s-1 and n= 2.1 ×1018 cm-3). On the other hand, the FWHM values of the (002) and (302) X-ray rocking curves (XRCs) were minimum in 5-nm-thick InN and increased with film thickness up to approximately 100–200 nm. This seems to be due to the formation of small grains with better crystal quality at the initial stage. It is also suggested that these grain structures with poor coalescence and roughness caused the deterioration of InN electronic properties in a very thin region.


This paper is focused on the 5G-Crosshaul Packet Forwarding Element (XPFE), which is the packet forwarding element of the 5G-Crosshaul network architecture. The XPFE integrates multiple technologies which allow to transport traffic from multiple tenants and of different nature over the same infrastructure. Hence, the paper is focused on the performance of this essential element of our network, providing some end-to-end delay measurements and analyzing the behavior of this delay. Likewise, we have fitted the appropriate probability distribution for these measurements, which allows us to infer some confidence intervals for the prediction of the maximum number of hops supported by delay-sensitive fronthaul traffic before being processed in a 5G-Crosshaul Processing Unit.


Metabolic adaptation to environmental alterations is fundamental for long term survival of the organism. Genetic and environmental manipulations proved that several signaling pathways are capable of regulating aging in response to environmental and physiological cues. The first example of a signaling module controlling longevity came from studies in Caenorhabditis elegans. Single mutations reducing insulin/IGF-1 signaling had a great potential to extend the lifespan of adult worms. Importantly, this effect turned out to be mediated by Forkhead Box O (FOXO) transcription factors, which become active upon inhibition of insulin/insulin growth factor 1 (IGF-1) signaling. The insulin/IGF-1/FOXO pathway is evolutionarily conserved and it appears now that it can also control the lifespan of higher organisms including humans. The capability of FOXO transcription factors to promote longevity is closely associated with their ability to respond to the elevated levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) within the cell. This in turn results in transactivation of several antioxidants in a FOXO–dependent manner, which is associated with oxidative stress resistance. Previously, it has been shown that increased ROS levels induce several posttranslational modifications on FOXO proteins, including phosphorylation, acetylation and ubiquitination. Moreover, FOXOs specifically interact with other proteins in a ROS-dependent manner. Nevertheless, how FOXO activity is controlled under conditions of elevated ROS is still only partially understood. In this thesis, we have further investigated the molecular mechanisms underlying FOXO signaling in response to elevated cellular ROS and we focused our research on the FOXO family member FOXO4. We describe Nemo-like kinase (NLK) as a novel regulator of FOXO transcriptional activity. NLK binds to and phosphorylates FOXO1, FOXO3a, and FOXO4 on multiple residues. This co-occurs with inhibition of FOXO4 monoubiquitination. In the past, we have shown that oxidative stress-induced monoubiquitination of FOXO4 stimulates its nuclear retention. This correlates with increased transactivation of FOXO4, towards at least some of its target genes, and therefore might be important for the activation of antioxidant defensive programs. Conversely, NLK-dependent modulation of FOXO4 activity may also provide a means to downregulate this defensive program, when oxidative stress reaches a level beyond which repair is no longer feasible and cells need to undergo apoptosis. Furthermore, we identified Myb-binding protein 1a (MYBBP1a) as a novel interactor of FOXO4. Binding of MYBBP1a to FOXO4 is induced in response to elevated ROS levels and correlates with decreased acetylation of FOXO4. Since acetylation has been previously shown to inhibit FOXO activity, this consecutively promotes the activity of FOXO4 in a luciferase reporter assay. Interestingly, ectopic expression of MYBBP1a inhibits FOXO4-induced transactivation of the endogenous p27kip1 promoter, which might be the result of altered acetylation of histones. It has been indicated previously that association of FOXO with acetyl transferases can serve to acetylate histones and thereby open up the chromatin. Thus, in addition to decreasing the acetylation of FOXO4, MYBBP1a might hinder the acetylation of histones and thereby inhibit transcription. Previous in vivo studies revealed that FOXO proteins are redundant tumor suppressors, which might correlate with the promotion of longevity. However it becomes evident now that different FOXO proteins exhibit unique functions in the regulation of diverse physiological processes. Nevertheless, the understanding of the specific functions of FOXO4 is rather limited. Thus, to get a better insight into this issue we generated GFP-FOXO4 knock-in mice in order to examine the in vivo FOXO4 expression patterns. We were able to detect expression of FOXO4 only in progenitors of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) however the biological relevance of it needs to be determent.


The Highland Plateau region, in San Luis Potosi, involves particular dynamics and needs from those presented within the rest of the state; its culture, vocation, mineral resources and territory, converge to give rise to a unique and particular region. The connectivity within the region has been decisive for its development, since two of the largest and most important national roads in go through this territory.
Despite comprehending about a half of the state's territory, this region has not managed to truly influence the state statistics neither economically nor socially; on the contrary, the employment rate has significantly decreased significantly, and also its population number.
Accordingly, this research aims to analyze the connectivity system within this region to strengthen and complement the development tools of these communities in a sustainable manner and, in this way, increase the welfare of the Highland Plateau population.
Throughout this investigation, it will be possible to understand how the location of this physical network, as well as for the use of resources for the satisfaction of the inhabitants, has been reflected in the communities within this region. Likewise, the statements made by state directors in charge of the economy, road network and social development within the region, will be studied. These statements will also be combined with a "functional grid analysis", the connectivity between communities and their basic needs.


Introduction Maximum oxygen consumption shows the maximum oxygen rate of muscle oxygenation that is acceptable in many cases, to measure the fitness between person and the desired job. Given that medical emergencies are important, and difficult jobs in emergency situations require people with high physical ability and readiness for the job, the aim of this study was to evaluate the maximum oxygen consumption, to determine the ability of work type among students of medical emergencies in Qazvin in 2016. Methods This study was a descriptive – analytical, and in cross-sectional type conducted among 36 volunteer students of medical emergencies in Qazvin in 2016. After necessary coordination for the implementation of the study, participants completed health questionnaires and demographic characteristics and then the participants were evaluated with step tests of American College of Sport Medicine (ACSM). Data analysis was done by SPSS version 18 and U-Mann-Whitney tests, Kruskal-Wallis and Pearson correlation coefficient. Results Average of maximum oxygen consumption of the participants was estimated 3.15±0.50 liters per minute. 91.7% of medical emergencies students were selected as appropriate in terms of maximum oxygen consumption and thus had the ability to do heavy and too heavy work. Average of maximum oxygen consumption evaluated by the U-Mann-Whitney test and Kruskal-Wallis, had significant relationship with age (p<0.05) and weight groups (p<0.001). There was a significant positive correlation between maximum oxygen consumption with weight and body mass index (p<0.001). Conclusion The results of this study showed that demographic variables of weight and body mass index are the factors influencing the determination of maximum oxygen consumption, as most of the students had the ability to do heavy, and too heavy work. Therefore, people with ability to do average work are not suitable for medical emergency tasks.


Versatility is important for a wearable exoskeleton controller to be responsive to both the user and the environment. These characteristics are especially important for subjects with spinal cord injury (SCI), where active recruitment of their own neuromuscular system could promote motor recovery. Here we demonstrate the capability of a novel, biologically-inspired neuromuscular controller (NMC) which uses dynamical models of lower limb muscles to assist the gait of SCI subjects. Advantages of this controller include robustness, modularity, and adaptability. The controller requires very few inputs (i.e., joint angles, stance, and swing detection), can be decomposed into relevant control modules (e.g., only knee or hip control), and can generate walking at different speeds and terrains in simulation. We performed a preliminary evaluation of this controller on a lower-limb knee and hip robotic gait trainer with seven subjects (N = 7, four with complete paraplegia, two incomplete, one healthy) to determine if the NMC could enable normal-like walking. During the experiment, SCI subjects walked with body weight support on a treadmill and could use the handrails. With controller assistance, subjects were able to walk at fast walking speeds for ambulatory SCI subjects—from 0.6 to 1.4 m/s. Measured joint angles and NMC-provided joint torques agreed reasonably well with kinematics and biological joint torques of a healthy subject in shod walking. Some differences were found between the torques, such as the lack of knee flexion near mid-stance, but joint angle trajectories did not seem greatly affected. The NMC also adjusted its torque output to provide more joint work at faster speeds and thus greater joint angles and step length. We also found that the optimal speed-step length curve observed in healthy humans emerged for most of the subjects, albeit with relatively longer step length at faster speeds. Therefore, with very few sensors and no predefined settings for multiple walking speeds or adjustments for subjects of differing anthropometry and walking ability, NMC enabled SCI subjects to walk at several speeds, including near healthy speeds, in a healthy-like manner. These preliminary results are promising for future implementation of neuromuscular controllers on wearable prototypes for real-world walking conditions.


While many countries in the Pacific region fear tsunamis, the island nation of Singapore fears a different type of tsunami: the silver tsunami. The term refers to the rapidly increasing population of senior citizens, which is expected to increase from 8.7 percent of the population to nearly 20 percent by 2030. By 2030, it is predicted that every 1 in 5 Singaporeans will be above the age of 65. In a nation already experiencing a slowing fertility rate, such a rapid increase in the elderly population threatens to place great pressure on the social services to which Singaporean citizens are entitled. The increasing elderly population brings urgency to certain topics, such as immigrant employment, that will need to be addressed more quickly in the coming decade. The global economic downturn has exacerbated the effects of such a rapidly aging demographic. The population pyramid of Singapore is changing such that a much larger elderly population will have to be supported by a much smaller workforce. During the economic downturn, as greater pressures were exerted on the work-force, this dependence of the elderly on the workforce became a concern. In response, the Singaporean government has had to both design new interventions to provide security to this population, as well as bolster existing social security schemes. An existing tenet of the Singaporean welfare system is the Central Provident Fund (CPF). Established in 1955, the CPF provides citizens and permanent residents returns on their savings, and further allocates workers' savings towards areas such as medical costs and retirement. In a nation awash with shopping malls, the CPF enforces saving among Singaporean citizens. In addition to CPF, a more recent scheme developed has been the ElderShield Program. By providing a monthly payment towards care, ElderShield provides financial security for the elderly as well as the disabled who may incur costs for necessary long-term care. Yet, as people live longer and the composition of the population shifts, there will also be an increasing number of people requiring long-term care. Not only will this place pressure on the aforementioned financial security programs, but it will also challenge the fundamental values on which Singaporean society operates. As a modern society rooted in traditional Asian values, Singapore generally places the responsibility of caring for elders in the hands of their family members. However, the silver tsunami threatens to raze this system. In a traditional household, the wife would typically stay at home to take care of the children as well as aging parents. However, in this modern day, highly urbanized society, there are more and more families in which both the husband and wife work full time. The nuclear family is changing, and it no longer permits the devotion of time and service to extended family members. At the same time, Singapore is experiencing a strain on its long-term care facilities. …


CYP1A2 is involved in the metabolism of several widely used drugs and endogenous compounds, and in the activation of procarcinogens. Both genetic and environmental factors influence the activity of this enzyme. The current knowledge regarding factors influencing the activity of CYP1A2 is summarized in this review. Substrates, inhibitors and inducers of CYP1A2 activity, as well as phenotyping probes, are discussed. The functional significance and clinical importance of CYP1A2 gene polymorphisms are reviewed and interethnic differences in the distribution of CYP1A2 variant alleles and haplotypes are summarized. Finally, future perspectives for the possible clinical applications of CYP1A2 genotyping are discussed.


Beyond their focus on Pynchon's fiction, Alan W. Brownlie's Thomas Pynchon's Narratives and Charles Clerc's Mason & Dixon & Pynchon have little in common: they address different novels; they take different approaches; they seem to have different purposes. But in reading them, I found myself pondering the same issue: the idea of audience. When we, the community of Pynchonians, write, for whom, exactly, are we writing? The easy answer, of course, is each other–scholars who have chosen to devote a good part of their professional activity to studying, interpreting and teaching Pynchon's work. This audience is pretty well represented, I imagine, by the regular readers of this journal. A second audience is students, those studying Pynchon in hopes of joining the above-mentioned community and those studying him, perhaps, but not always, with less enthusiasm, for a graduate or undergraduate course while on their way to other professional goals. After that, the idea of audience gets a little murky. We might imagine an audience of nonacademic readers, but the many Pynchon enthusiasts I know who are not professional scholars have little interest in (if not outright contempt for) academic writing. We might imagine an audience of readers we can initiate into Pynchon fandom. (When I was writing my dissertation on Gravity's Rainbow, my director suggested I write about my subject in such a way that my readers would want to run out and buy the book.) This is a noble idea, and I have often heard conference papers on books I hadn't read that inspired me to get them; but practically speaking, I doubt the ranks of new readers are especially swollen because of books by academic specialists.


ABSTRACT This article discusses the establishment and development of the Laboratory for Analytic Sciences (LAS), a unique site of academic–industry–intelligence collaboration, established in 2013 by the National Security Agency (NSA) and located on the campus of North Carolina State University. Since 2014, the authors have been participant-observers of LAS research teams. This article describes how inter-institutional, interdisciplinary collaboration has developed at LAS, drawing on multi-year data involving observations, surveys, and interviews that the authors have collected. LAS provides an opportunity to study the operationalization of an academic–intelligence collaboration and gather lessons learned in order to inform future collaborative efforts by the U.S. intelligence community. What this article reveals is the importance of organizational innovation and adaptation in light of various challenges that emerge in inter-institutional and interdisciplinary collaboration.


The Food and Agriculture Research Program at IIASA deals with the world's food problems on two fronts: firstly it analyzes future food problems by building a system of national policy models and secondly, it studies production factors of agriculture aimed at improving technologies and solving the world's food problems. Fertilizers play an important role among the production factors in agriculture, and their growing use in the future will contribute to higher food level supplies both in developed and developing countries.

The fertilizer model presented here was constructed for alternative long-range projection, consumption, and world trade and can be linked to agricultural, industrial and global models. The author helped to develop the Hungarian national policy model on food production at IIASA and is therefore acquainted with the efforts, principles and methodological procedures used to develop both global models. He hopes that the publication of this document on future fertilizers problems by IIASA will contribute to a better understanding of world food problems in the future.


Radial forearm fl aps. Experience in ten patients Background: Radial forearm fl ap is extraordinarily versatile thanks to its irrigation by the radial artery and its minor pedicles. It provides assorted alternatives for the reconstruction of proximal or distal defects of the arm and can be used as a free fl ap in head, neck, posterior trunk region, lower limb, esophagus and penis. It allows the incorporation of bone, tendons, nerves and muscle for complex lesion repair. Aim: To report our experience with radial forearm fl ap. Patients and Methods: Ten patients aged 20 to 65 years (four women) are reported. The lesions repaired were traumatic in four, infectious in three, secondary to tumors in two (a squamous intra oral adenocarcinoma in both patients) and vascular in one patient. Results: No patient had a partial or total loss of the fl ap. Five patients required complementary dermo epidermic grafts in a second intervention. Mean hospital stay was 30 days. All patients reported a favorable degree of satisfaction with the procedure. Conclusions: Radial forearm fl aps are a good alternative for the repair of a great variety of lesions.


Exogenously added phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PtdInsP2) is rapidly associated with cerebral-cortical membranes. Substrate association with membranes was promoted by Mg2+, but inhibited by bivalent chelators. Once associated with the membrane, the PtdInsP2 was resistant to displacement by EDTA. The apparent phospholipase C activity was dependent on the degree of association of substrate with membranes. After preincubation of membranes with substrate, PtdInsP2 hydrolysis was independent of the incubation volume, indicating that substrate and membrane-associated phospholipase C were not independently diluted. Hydrolysis of the membrane-associated substrate was stimulated by Ca2+, guanosine 5'-[beta gamma-imido]triphosphate (p[NH]ppG), guanosine 5'[gamma-thio]triphosphate and carbachol in the presence of p[NH]ppG. Carbachol in the absence of guanine nucleotides, GDP, GTP, ATP and pyrophosphate was ineffective. These results demonstrate that exogenously added PtdInsP2 substrate is rapidly associated with membranes and hydrolysed by a phospholipase C whose activity is regulated by guanine nucleotides and agonist in the presence of guanine nucleotides. Use of exogenously added substrate for studies on the regulation of membrane phospholipase C requires consideration as to possible effects of incubation conditions on the partitioning of substrate into membranes.


Annuities could benefit retirees, but these products can also be costly. Yet, despite significant changes in factors that can affect annuity pricing and value, the money's worth of individual annuities in the United States has not been addressed in the research literature in 25 years. This paper revisits this topic to: 1) identify underlying pricing trends as interest rates and mortality rates have declined; 2) evaluate new products, such as deferred and indexed annuities; and 3) explore the implications of the divergent trends in mortality by socioeconomic status (SES). The analysis involves not only calculating the present value of payments relative to premiums but also estimating the welfare gains from such longevity insurance. The results show that money's worth and wealth equivalence have remained stable over time despite dramatic changes in mortality and interest rates; that deferred annuities provide better longevity insurance than immediate annuities and, therefore, involve higher premiums; and that growing gaps in mortality across SES groups yield widening gaps in the value of immediate annuities across racial and educational groups.


Object localization is an image annotation task which consists of finding the location of a target object in an image. It is common to crowdsource annotation tasks and aggregate responses to estimate the true annotation. While for other kinds of annotations consensus is simple and powerful, it cannot be applied to object localization as effectively due to the task's rich answer space and inherent noise in responses. We propose a probabilistic graphical model to localize objects in images based on responses from the crowd. We improve upon natural aggregation methods such as the mean and the median by simultaneously estimating the difficulty level of each question and skill level of every participant. We empirically evaluate our model on crowdsourced data and show that our method outperforms simple aggregators both in estimating the true locations and in ranking participants by their ability. We also propose a simple adaptive sourcing scheme that works well for very sparse datasets.


While the real and perceived excesses of 'binge drinking' have received considerable attention in policy, media and academic debates, the concept of 'sensible drinking' is poorly defined and has rarely been subject to empirical analysis. Using qualitative research, this article explores the drinking discourses of ale enthusiasts as a means of highlighting how understandings of sensible drinking draw on notions of taste, sociability and self-control. Drawing on Elias's concept of the 'civilizing process', the article analyses how these narratives highlight self-control and social regulation as central features of acceptable drinking practices. Emerging from these accounts is a rejection of elements of the night-time economy and the unruly and hedonistic 'determined drunkenness' often associated with it.


System monitoring has recently emerged as an effective way to analyze and counter advanced cyber attacks. The monitoring data records a series of system events and provides a global view of system behaviors in an organization. Querying such data to identify potential system risks and malicious behaviors helps security analysts detect and analyze abnormal system behaviors caused by attacks. However, since the data volume is huge, queries could easily run for a long time, making it difficult for system experts to obtain prompt and continuous feedback. To support interactive querying over system monitoring data, we propose ProbeQ, a system that progressively processes system-behavioral queries. It allows users to concisely compose queries that describe system behaviors and specify an update frequency to obtain partial results progressively. The query engine of ProbeQ is built based on a framework that partitions ProbeQ queries into sub-queries for parallel execution and retrieves partial results periodically based on the specified update frequency. We concretize the framework with three partition strategies that predict the workloads for sub-queries, where the adaptive workload partition strategy (AdWd) dynamically adjusts the predicted workloads for subsequent sub-queries based on the latest execution information. We evaluate the prototype system of ProbeQ on commonly used queries for suspicious behaviors over real-world system monitoring data, and the results show that the ProbeQ system can provide partial updates progressively (on average 9.1% deviation from the update frequencies) with only 1.2% execution overhead compared to the execution without progressive processing.


Nontuberculous mycobacterial infection in an immunocompetent young patient complicated with empyema and pneumothorax is rarely reported. A 36-year-old man presented to the emergency department with a history of worsening dyspnea and pleuritic chest pain. The patient had unstable vital signs on presentation, and was referred to the resuscitation area on a monitored bed. The patient had a chest x-ray (CXR) performed on a prior occasion at a primary health clinic, revealing pneumothorax and some fluid at the left costophrenic angle. On arrival at the hospital, bedside ultrasound was performed which confirmed the diagnosis of pneumothorax. His vital signs were pulse 153, BP 88/62, RR 50 breaths per minute and his oxygen saturation on air was 92%. Tension pneumothorax was diagnosed based on clinical presentation and given vital signs. It was managed immediately with needle decompression followed by chest tube insertion. The patient improved dramatically after needle decompression with stabilization of vital signs. A CXR was repeated post-needle decompression which showed an incompletely resolved pneumothorax with an increase in the size of the effusion. Iatrogenic haemothorax was a possible explanation for this increase in effusion size. Chest tube was successfully inserted in the fourth intercostal space just anterior to the midaxillary line under full aseptic precautions. The chest tube drained 1.4 liters of blood, which on analysis showed a low pH and elevated adenosine deaminase level. Two out of three sputum samples sent from the medical ward were positive for mycobacteria other than tuberculosis as confirmed on culture. The patient's symptoms improved with percutaneous tube drainage of hemopneumothorax and antituberculous medications.


The author studies the development of the single, multiracial Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) into a "family" of 10 racially separated churches, especially in the light of the findings of the Tomlinson Report, published in 1955. The Commission wanted to bring the relationship between mission policy and state policy in South Africa (SA) into line with (and indeed under control of) the apartheid policy of the National Party. The author concludes that the DRC instituted the first racially separated church in 1881 on the basis of the practical situation whereby black and white members had grown into separate congregations as a result of the 1857 decision. In the 1940s and 1950s an ideological-theological justification started developing based on German missiological thinking as articulated especially by Keysser and Gutmann. The author finds that the Tomlinson Commission based their findings and recommendations on a mistaken view of African Christianity in South Africa at that time. The findings of the Tomlinson Report did, however, seem to confirm the ideological development taking place, thus strengthening the hand of those wishing to introduce a theological justification for racially separated churches ex post facto. As a result serious damage was done to the credibility of the Church and Christian mission in South Africa.


This research paper focuses on the art of three women artists – Fatima Abu-Roomi, Samah Shihadi and Fatma Shanan. The research paper focuses on the work of three women artists who are 'double-minority'—Fatima Abu-Roomi, Samah Shihadi, and Fatma Shanan. Their 'doubleminority' status comes from being Arab women, raised in patriarchal communities as Muslims (Abu-Roomi and Shihadi), or Druze (Shanan), who live and work among a Jewish majority in the Western-based environment of Israel. The objectives of this research are to point out the significance of their art as an innovative and unique voice within the Israeli art scene that reflect the conditions of young Arab women living in Israel today. Through analysis of their art, the research will aim to explore the artistic strategies, topics, and styles, as a means of negotiating their identity as a 'double-minority'. A feminist reading of the artwork will be followed by another theoretical point of view from the psychoanalyst Donald W. Winnicott who coined the term "potential space". In different "potential spaces", the artists question cultural boundaries, national issues of colonialism, and gender roles. Choosing art as an ideological site, as well as a practical platform, allows them to widely investigate their identity in a complex minority situation and formulate a path for social change.


3D image stacks are routinely acquired to capture data that lie on undulating 3D manifolds yet processed in 2D by biologists. Algorithms to reconstruct the specimen morphology into a 2D representation from the 3D image volume are employed in such scenarios. In this paper, we present FastSME, which offers several improvements on the baseline SME algorithm which enables accurate 2D representation of data on a manifold from 3D volumes, however is computationally expensive. The improvements are achieved in terms of processing speed (3X-10X speed-up depending on image size), minimizing sensitivity to initialization, and also increases local smoothness of the recovered manifold resulting in better reconstructed 2D composite image. We compare the proposed FastSME against the baseline SME as well as other accessible state-of-the-art tools on synthetic and real microscopy data. Our evaluation on multiple metrics demonstrates the efficiency of the presented method in maintaining fidelity of manifold shape and hence specimen morphology.


Annexin A2 (AnxA2) is a multifunctional Ca(2+)-dependent phospholipid-binding protein, and its overexpression is implicated in malignant transformation of several cancers. In prostate cancer, however, the expression of AnxA2 is lost in prostate intraepithelial neoplasia and reappears in the high-grade tumors, suggesting a complex regulation of AnxA2 in the prostate microenvironment. Since a majority of the biological functions of AnxA2 are mediated by its interaction with other proteins, we performed a yeast two-hybrid assay to search for novel interactors of AnxA2. Our studies revealed that signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 (STAT6), a member of the STAT family of transcription factors, is a binding partner of AnxA2. We confirmed AnxA2-STAT6 interaction by in vitro co-immunoprecipitation and fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) studies and demonstrated that AnxA2 interacts with phosphorylated STAT6. Furthermore, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay revealed that AnxA2 is associated with the STAT6 DNA-binding complex, and luciferase reporter assays demonstrated that AnxA2 upregulates the activity of STAT6. Upon interleukin-4 treatment, AnxA2 stabilizes the cytosolic levels of phosphorylated STAT6 and promotes its nuclear entry. These findings suggest that AnxA2-STAT6 interactions could have potential implications in prostate cancer progression. This report is the first to demonstrate the interaction of AnxA2 with STAT6 and suggests a possible mechanism by which AnxA2 contributes to the metastatic processes of prostate cancer.


PREFACE ix CONTRIBUTORS xiii PART I 1 X-Ray Crystallography of Biological Macromolecules: Fundamentals and Applications 3 Antonio L. Llamas-Saiz and Mark J. van Raaij 2 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Methods for Studying Soluble, Fibrous, and Membrane-Embedded Proteins 23 Victoria A. Higman 3 Small-Angle X-Ray Scattering Applied to Proteins in Solution 49 Leandro Ramos Souza Barbosa, Francesco Spinozzi, Paolo Mariani, and Rosangela Itri 4 Analyzing the Solution State of Protein Structure, Interactions, and Ligands by Spectroscopic Methods 73 Veronica I. Dodero and Paula V. Messina 5 Resolving Membrane-Bound Protein Orientation and Conformation by Neutron Reflectivity 99 Hirsh Nanda 6 Investigating Protein Interactions at Solid Surfaces In Situ, Nonlabeling Techniques 113 Olof Svensson, Javier Sotres, and Alejandro Barrantes 7 Calorimetric Methods to Characterize the Forces Driving Macromolecular Association and Folding Processes 139 Conceic, ao A.S.A. Minetti, Peter L. Privalov, and David P. Remeta 8 Virtual Ligand Screening Against Comparative Models of Proteins 179 Hao Fan 9 Atomistic and Coarse-Grained Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Membrane Proteins 193 Thomas J. Piggot, Peter J. Bond, and Syma Khalid PART II 10 Preparation of Nanomaterials Based on Peptides and Proteins 209 Yujing Sun and Zhuang Li 11 Natural Fibrous Proteins: Structural Analysis, Assembly, and Applications 219 Mark J. van Raaij and Anna Mitraki 12 Amyloid-Like Fibrils: Origin, Structure, Properties, and Potential Technological Applications 233 Pablo Taboada, Silvia Barbosa, Josue Juarez, Manuel-Alatorre Meda, and Vyctor Mosquera 13 Proteins and Peptides in Biomimetic Polymeric Membranes 283 Alfredo Gonzalez-Perez 14 Study of Proteins and Peptides at Interfaces By Molecular Dynamics Simulation Techniques 291 David Poger and Alan E. Mark 15 A Single-Molecule Approach to Explore the Role of the Solvent Environment in Protein Folding 315 Katarzyna Tych and Lorna Dougan 16 Enhanced Functionality of Peroxidases By Its Immobilization at The Solid Liquid Interface of Mesoporous Materials and Nanoparticles 335 Jose Campos-Teran, Iker Inarritu, Jorge Aburto, and Eduardo Torres 17 Superactivity of Enzymes in Supramolecular Hydrogels 353 Ye Zhang and Bing Xu 18 Surfactant Proteins and Natural Biofoams 365 Malcolm W. Kennedy and Alan Cooper 19 Promiscuous Enzymes 379 Luis F. Olguin 20 Thermodynamics and Kinetics of Mixed Protein/Surfactant Adsorption Layers at Liquid Interfaces 389 Reinhard Miller, E.V. Aksenenko, V.S. Alahverdjieva, V.B. Fainerman, C.S. Kotsmar, J. Kragel, M.E. Leser, J. Maldonado-Valderrama, V. Pradines, C. Stefaniu, A. Stocco, and R. Wustneck 21 Application of Force Spectroscopy Methods to the Study of Biomaterials 429 Chuan Xu and Erika F. Merschrod S. 22 Protein Gel Rheology 437 Katie Weigandt and Danilo Pozzo 23 Exploring Biomolecular Thermodynamics in Aqueous and Nonaqueous Environments using Time-Resolved Photothermal Methods 449 Randy W. Larsen, Carissa M. Vetromile, William A. Maza, Khoa Pham, Jaroslava Miksovska INDEX 473


Present-day software systems have to fulfill an increasing number of requirements, which makes them more and more complex. Many systems need to anticipate changing contexts or need to adapt to changing business rules or requirements. The challenge of 21thcentury software development will be to cope with these aspects. We believe that the role concept offers a simple way to adapt an object-oriented program to its changing context. In a role-based application, an object plays multiple roles during its lifetime. If the contexts are represented as first-class entities, they provide dynamic views to the objectoriented program, and if a context changes, the dynamic views can be switched easily, and the software system adapts automatically. However, the concepts of roles and dynamic contexts have been discussed for a long time in many areas of computer science. So far, their employment in an existing object-oriented language requires a specific runtime environment. Also, classical object-oriented languages and their runtime systems are not able to cope with essential role-specific features, such as true delegation or dynamic binding of roles. In addition to that, contexts and views seem to be important in software development. The traditional code-oriented approach to software engineering becomes less and less satisfactory. The support for multiple views of a software system scales much better to the needs of today's systems. However, it relies on programming languages to provide roles for the construction of views. As a solution, this thesis presents an implementation pattern for role-playing objects that does not require a specific runtime system, the SCala ROles Language (SCROLL). Via this library approach, roles are embedded in a statically typed base language as dynamically evolving objects. The approach is pure in the sense that there is no need for an additional compiler or tooling. The implementation pattern is demonstrated on the basis of the Scala language. As technical support from Scala, the pattern requires dynamic mixins, compiler-translated function calls, and implicit conversions. The details how roles are implemented are hidden in a Scala library and therefore transparent to SCROLL programmers. The SCROLL library supports roles embedded in structured contexts. Additionally, a four-dimensional, context-aware dispatch at runtime is presented. It overcomes the subtle ambiguities introduced with the rich semantics of role-playing objects. SCROLL is written in Scala, which blends a modern object-oriented with a functional programming language. The size of the library is below 1400 lines of code so that it can be considered to have minimalistic design and to be easy to maintain. Our approach solves several practical problems arising in the area of dynamical extensibility and adaptation.


There is a steady call for policies and programs to help small business lead the charge in hiring more workers and helping to restore prosperity to areas that have been hurt by the recession. To be successful, however, it is time for academics, policymakers, investors, community leaders, and business owners to have a more fruitful discussion about what small business actually needs. Such a discussion is imperative now, during a time of financial crisis, but it is also necessary if we are to help move the sector forward in the coming years. In this paper, we are proposing that we adopt a common language based on a new small business taxonomy that can make this conversation more productive by bridging the communication gaps between various stakeholders. In an effort to create that common language, support policy creation, and enhance future discussions, this paper lays out a a system of policies and programs – a support structure – for small business using a simple taxonomy of small-business categories based on revenue. Ideally, this will lead to more efficient models for small business growth, including much needed job growth as the nation emerges from the recession.


Background : As many as 80%-90% of cervical cancers tend to occur in women aged 30-55 years. Most cervical cancer are detected already in a late stage. Servical cancer prevention efforts can be done through health promotion using interactive discussions and audio visual media aid to promote an individual early detection efforts by pap smear or visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA). Objective : To determine the effect of health promotion through the media of audio-visual aid and interactive discussion in improving knowledge, attitude and behavior of As-Sakinah Recitation member in Banguntapan Subdistrict on an effort of cervical cancer early detection. Methods : Qualitative research used action research approached. The sampling method applied by the purposive sampling with women's criteria are As Sakinah recitation members who had never undergone a hysterectomy (surgical removal of the uterus), had married (ever married), willing to become as an informant. Data was collected by in-depth interview to reveal in detail the opinions of someone about cervical cancer and its early detection efforts. Data analysis used was open code program. Results: Health promotion using the audio-visual film and interactive discussions on the forum are limited and have personal ties among the participants, effective for increasing knowledge and positive attitudes towards cervical cancer and early detection. The behavior of mothers early detection of cervical cancer by an individual (alone) is not ready (unfavorable) because they feel shame and no sense of worry about the results of early detection if it turns out the results tested positive. They are willing to (favorable) early detection collectively. Efforts to maintain reproductive health is done by avoiding risk factors pray and worship (prayers). Conclusions : The audio visual media and also interactive discussion in health promotion could improve knowledge and positive attitude towards early detection of cervical cancer on the women's member of As Sakinah recitation. Knowledge and positive attitude toward the urgency of cervical cancer early detection could not guarantee the occurring of early detection behavior. The member of As Sakinah recitation was had no early detection personally because shy and afraid with the result of early detection. They are willing to do a joint (collective) and facilitated in the neighborhood.


DRAM memory is playing an increasingly important role in the overall power profile of latest-generation servers with multicore processors. With many power saving techniques adopted into processor design, memory power consumption can now exceed processor power consumption when a system runs memory-intensive workloads. There is an urgent need to fully evaluate the memory power profile of contemporary DRAM memories and to re-investigate DRAM memory designs, configurations, and optimizations from both power and performance perspectives. This study fills the gap by studying the performance and power consumption of multicore systems with DDR3 memory under different configurations. It includes comprehensive results regarding memory power breakdown, including background, operation, read/write, and I/O power, as well as performance. Comparisons with DDR2 and FB-DIMM are also included. The results show clearly that DRAM system configurations, including page policy, power mode, device configuration, burst length, channel organization, and the selection of DRAM technology, affects the memory power consumption significantly besides the performance. The optimal choice of some configurations is application-dependent, suggesting that reconfigurable or hybrid configurations are worth further studies.


The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a heart rate measurement system on student motivation and parent satisfaction of the information obtained. Participants (n=27) either took a survey as a parent/guardian (n=11) or were interviewed as a student (n=16). The survey was based on a qualitative measure and used to determine the parents' view of the importance of physical activity and physical education (PE) as an academic course. Additionally, feedback that parents received from PE teachers and what feedback they would like to receive in the future was analyzed. The student interview gauged the participants' views on motivation, including if they were motivated intrinsically or extrinsically. Questions were also asked regarding physical activity, the use of a heart rate measurement system in PE classes, and the use of heart rate monitors outside of PE. The results showed that all parental participants completing the survey believed PE to be an important class for their child. However, 64% stated that they received no or little feedback regarding their child's progress in their PE classes. During the interview, 63% of the student participants viewed motivation to be more internal. When asked if they were more concerned with their own heart rate or another student's heart rate, 69% determined that they were solely concerned with their own heart rate. Findings revealed that the use of a heart rate measurement system had an overall positive impact on students' view of physical activity. Students believed it would be beneficial to perform more activities with a heart rate measurement system, and parents viewed PE positively, but would like to receive more feedback and information about the activities


In 2004, roughly 25 makeover-themed reality shows aired on U.S. television. By 2009, there were more than 250, from What Not to Wear and The Biggest Loser to Dog Whisperer and Pimp My Ride . In Makeover TV , Brenda R. Weber argues that whether depicting transformations of bodies, trucks, finances, relationships, kids, or homes, makeover shows posit a self achievable only in the transition from the "Before-body"—the overweight figure, the decrepit jalopy, the cluttered home—to the "After-body," one filled with confidence, coded with celebrity, and imbued with a renewed faith in the powers of meritocracy. The rationales and tactics invoked to achieve the After-body vary widely, from the patriotic to the market-based, and from talk therapy to feminist empowerment. The genre is unified by its contradictions: to uncover your "true self," you must be reinvented; to be empowered, you must surrender to experts; to be special, you must look and act like everyone else.

Based on her analysis of more than 2,500 hours of makeover TV, Weber argues that the much-desired After-body speaks to and makes legible broader cultural narratives about selfhood, citizenship, celebrity, and Americanness. Although makeovers are directed at both male and female viewers, their gendered logic requires that feminized subjects submit to the controlling expertise wielded by authorities. The genre does not tolerate ambiguity. Conventional (middle-class, white, ethnically anonymous, heterosexual) femininity is the goal of makeovers for women. When subjects are male, makeovers often compensate for perceived challenges to masculine independence by offering men narrative options for resistance or control. Foregoing a binary model of power and subjugation, Weber provides an account of makeover television that is as appreciative as it is critical. She reveals the makeover show as a rich and complicated text that expresses cultural desires and fears through narratives of selfhood.


The goal of this research is to develop agents that are adaptive and predictable and timely. At first blush, these three requirements seem contradictory. For example, adaptation risks introducing undesirable side effects, thereby making agents' behavior less predictable. Furthermore, although formal verification can assist in ensuring behavioral predictability, it is known to be time-consuming.

Our solution to the challenge of satisfying all three requirements is the following. Agents have finite-state automaton plans, which are adapted online via evolutionary learning (perturbation) operators. To ensure that critical behavioral constraints are always satisfied, agents' plans are first formally verified. They are then reverified after every adaptation. If reverification concludes that constraints are violated, the plans are repaired. The main objective of this paper is to improve the efficiency of reverification after learning, so that agents have a sufficiently rapid response time. We present two solutions: positive results that certain learning operators are a priori guaranteed to preserve useful classes of behavioral assurance constraints (which implies that no reverification is needed for these operators), and efficient incremental reverification algorithms for those learning operators that have negative a priori results.


The extent to which selection and demography impact patterns of genetic diversity in natural populations of Drosophila melanogaster is yet to be fully understood. We previously observed that the pattern of LD at scales of ~10 kb in the Drosophila Genetic Reference Panel (DGRP), consisting of 145 inbred strains from Raleigh, North Carolina, measured both between pairs of sites and as haplotype homozygosity, is elevated above neutral demographic expectations. Further, we demonstrated that signatures of strong and recent soft sweeps are abundant. However, the extent to which this pattern is specific to this derived and admixed population is unknown. Neither is it clear whether such a pattern may have arisen as a consequence of the extensive inbreeding performed to generate the DGRP data. Here we analyze > 100 fully sequenced strains from Zambia, an ancestral population to the Raleigh population, that has experienced little to no admixture and was generated by sequencing haploid embryos rather than inbred strains. This data set allows us to determine whether patterns of elevated LD and signatures of abundant soft sweeps are generic to multiple populations of D. melanogaster or whether they are generated either by inbreeding, bottlenecks or admixture in the DGRP dataset. We find an elevation in long-range LD and haplotype homozygosity in the Zambian dataset, confirming the result from the DGRP data set. This elevation in LD and haplotype structure remains even after controlling for many sources of LD in the data including genomic inversions, admixture, population substructure, close relatedness of individual strains, and recombination rate variation. Furthermore, signatures of partial soft sweeps similar to those found in the DGRP are common in Zambia. These results suggest that while the selective forces and sources of adaptive mutations may differ in Zambia and Raleigh, elevated long-range LD and signatures of soft sweeps are generic in D. melanogaster.


Interferometric measurements of saturation of the nonlinear index of refraction in a semiconductor-doped glass (Schott OG 550) are reported. The index change, measured at a wavelength of 532 nm, reaches a maximum value of ~1.5 × 10−4 at high intensity. It is shown that the magnitude of the corresponding third-order susceptibility, χ(3), is determined mainly by the absorption change. Furthermore, the effective nonlinearity is dramatically reduced by the darkening effect when the glass is exposed to an intense laser beam.


The c-Jun-N-terminal kinase (JNK) is a member of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) family. Upon activation, JNK regulates various cellular responses, such as differentiation, proliferation, migration, the immune reaction and cell death.1 JNK activation is also involved in multiple pathways in liver physiology and disease pathogenesis.2

There are three isoforms of JNK in mammals. Whereas JNK3 is mainly expressed in the brain, heart and testis, JNK1 and JNK2 are expressed in most cells, including hepatic parenchymal and non-parenchymal cells. JNK1 and JNK2 have typically been considered to have overlapping or redundant functions. However, it is becoming more and more evident that the JNK isoforms exhibit diverse effects in various cell types, depending on the magnitude and duration of activation.1

Hepatic fibrosis is a complex and tightly regulated process that involves various cell types and pathomechanisms. It can be considered as a dysregulated wound healing response to chronic hepatic injury. Activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) are the primary effector cells responsible for the extensive extracellular matrix accumulation and scar formation. However, the situation is more complex, as several additional cell types, including parenchymal, non-parenchymal, immune infiltrating and bone marrow cells, play an important role in both the pathogenesis and resolution of liver fibrosis.3 Furthermore, hepatocellular proliferation and apoptosis are critical for tissue regeneration and repair, but when dysregulated, these processes contribute to the malignant transformation of hepatocytes and the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).3 ,4

Therefore, it is critical to understand the function of distinct JNK isoforms during the various phases and in the various cell types involved in hepatic fibrosis. Examining jnk1 and jnk2 …


In natural conversation and interaction, our hands often overlap or are in contact with each other. Due to the homogeneous appearance of hands, this makes estimating the 3D pose of interacting hands from images difficult. In this paper we demonstrate that self-similarity, and the resulting ambiguities in assigning pixel observations to the respective hands and their parts, is a major cause of the final 3D pose error. Motivated by this insight, we propose DIGIT, a novel method for estimating the 3D poses of two interacting hands from a single monocular image. The method consists of two interwoven branches that process the input imagery into a per-pixel semantic part segmentation mask and a visual feature volume. In contrast to prior work, we do not decouple the segmentation from the pose estimation stage, but rather leverage the per-pixel probabilities directly in the downstream pose estimation task. To do so, the part probabilities are merged with the visual features and processed via fully-convolutional layers. We experimentally show that the proposed approach achieves new state-of-the-art performance on the InterHand2.6M [33] dataset. We provide detailed ablation studies to demonstrate the efficacy of our method and to provide insights into how the modelling of pixel ownership affects 3D hand pose estimation.


We introduce the concept of 4D model flow for the precomputed alignment of dynamic surface appearance across 4D video sequences of different motions reconstructed from multi‐view video. Precomputed 4D model flow allows the efficient parametrization of surface appearance from the captured videos, which enables efficient real‐time rendering of interpolated 4D video sequences whilst accurately reproducing visual dynamics, even when using a coarse underlying geometry. We estimate the 4D model flow using an image‐based approach that is guided by available geometry proxies. We propose a novel representation in surface texture space for efficient storage and online parametric interpolation of dynamic appearance. Our 4D model flow overcomes previous requirements for computationally expensive online optical flow computation for data‐driven alignment of dynamic surface appearance by precomputing the appearance alignment. This leads to an efficient rendering technique that enables the online interpolation between 4D videos in real time, from arbitrary viewpoints and with visual quality comparable to the state of the art.


Broadly, telemedicine refers to the use of information and telecommunication technologies to distribute information and/or expertise necessary for healthcare service provision, collaboration and/or delivery among geographically separated participants, including physicians and patients. Evaluation of telemedicine systems success or effectiveness is a fundamental challenge to healthcare organizations. A review of previous telemedicine research suggests a focused evaluation approach, thus offering limited discussion of comprehensive views of systems success or systematic and practical guidance to its evaluations. Based on a prevalent information systems success model, this paper proposes and describes a revised model for evaluating telemedicine systems success in clinical and organizational settings. Plausible applications of the proposed model are illustrated using teleradiology as an example. In addition, several future research directions that extend the reported study are also highlighted.


This study aims at detecting plagiarism and patchwritting in Iraqi EFL students' graduation research papers. To accomplish this aim, five graduation research papers were analyzed. Findings indicate that Iraqi EFL students when writing from sources commit extensive copying from the source (plagiarsism) or stitching sentences together to form a paragraph (patchwriting). So instead of  writing about the source they find themselves coping from it. The researchers find that this misuse of sources is due to many reasons that were revealed in a questionnaire conducted throughout the study on 20 Iraqi fourth stage University students, exploring why they commit direct coping from their sources. Figures indicate evidently that (60%) of the students expressed their  lack of knowledge in the possible techniques that could be used when writing from sources like summarizing and paraphrasing. This lack of knowledge plays an essential role in the difficulty students face in their research writing process. To avoid plagiarism and patchwriting, further research is most definitely urgent so that the Iraqi students might be more aware of their misuses of sources and of the misconducting techniques they employ in writing their graduation research papers. Keywords: Plagiarism, Patchwriting , Writing from sources, Paraphrasing, Summarizing.