We present implemented concepts and algorithms for a simulation approach to decision evaluation with second-order belief distributions in a common framework for interval decision analysis. The rationale behind this work is that decision analysis with interval-valued probabilities and utilities may lead to overlapping expected utility intervals yielding difficulties in discriminating between alternatives. By allowing for second-order belief distributions over interval-valued utility and probability statements these difficulties may not only be remedied but will also allow for decision evaluation concepts and techniques providing additional insight into a decision problem. The approach is based upon sets of linear constraints together with generation of random probability distributions and utility values from implicitly stated uniform second-order belief distributions over the polytopes given from the constraints. The result is an interactive method for decision evaluation with second-order belief distributions, complementing earlier methods for decision evaluation with interval-valued probabilities and utilities. The method has been implemented for trial use in a user oriented decision analysis software.


A multiscale information measure (MIM), calculable from per-pixel wavelet coefficients, but relying on global statistics of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image, is proposed. It fully exploits the variations in speckle pattern when the image resolution varies from course to fine, thus it can capture the intrinsic texture of the scene backscatter and the texture due to speckle simultaneously. Graph spectral segmentation methods based on MIM and the usual similarity measure are carried out on two real SAR images. Experimental results show that MIM can characterize texture information of SAR image more effectively than the commonly used similarity measure.


The problem of generating a smooth two-dimensional curve through a set of sample points is examined. Such curve generation techniques can be used in curve coding for transmission (e.g. `Telewriting?) and in curve design. The paper examines some parametric interpolators which will generate such curves, with emphasis on techniques based on the Hermite cubic (or cubic subspline) interpolator. A new method is presented which gives the interpolator a performance similar to that obtained with finite impulse response (FIR) filtering. Comparisons are made with existing techniques using both visual results and computational complexity measures. The new method is found to have better locality, smoothing characteristics and a lower computational cost than alternative approaches.


* Provides an in-depth analysis of case law such as the Pinochet, Jones, Al-Adsani, the Arrest Warrant, and Taylor cases. * The first comprehensive treatment of the subject for both civil and criminal proceedings The development of international human rights law and international criminal law has triggered the question whether states and their officials can still shield themselves from foreign jurisdiction by invoking international immunity rules when human rights issues are involved. The Pinochet case was the first case that put this issue in the limelight of international attention. Since then, the question has been put to several domestic and international courts, and has engaged the minds of scholars and politicians around the world. This book examines the tension between international immunity rules, international human rights law, and international criminal law. The progressive development of a normative system of international human rights law and international criminal law without the simultaneous development of international institutional enforcement mechanisms had brought the question of the role of national courts in the application of these norms to the fore and has made the question as to the relation between immunity rules and human rights and international criminal law an immediate one. The tension between the centuries old immunity rules and the relatively recent developments in international human rights law and international criminal law presents itself in two distinct forms. In the first place it can be questioned whether immunity rules as such are compatible with certain fundamental rights of individuals under international law such as the rights of access to court, the right to a remedy, or the right to effective protection. Secondly, it can be questioned whether immunity rules apply unabridged in proceedings concerning grave human rights abuses. In its examination of these two questions this book sets out to clearly distinguish the different scope and nature of the rule of state immunity, the rule of functional immunity and the personal immunity of diplomatic agents and heads of state. While strong arguments against certain applications of immunity rules can be derived from international human rights law and international criminal law, this book argues that an unqualified attack on immunity rules risks casting a shadow over all human rights based arguments.


Although lacking in kinase activity, crystal structures reveal that the pseudokinase STRADα adopts a conformation resembling that of an active kinase. The kinase LKB1, which is a tumor suppressor and activates AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), is activated by interacting with two additional proteins, STRAD (Ste-related adaptor) and MO25. STRAD (one of two isoforms) is a pseudokinase, meaning that critical conserved residues required for catalytic activity are missing, and MO25 (one of two isoforms) is a scaffolding protein. Zeqiraj et al. characterized the crystal structure of STRADα (the pseudokinase domain, residues 59 to 431) and full-length MO25α. In the structure, STRADα adopted a conformation similar to that of an active kinase and bound an ATP molecule. In contrast to catalytically active kinases, ATP binding did not require coordination with Mg2+; instead, STRADα appeared to position the ATP through interactions with specific amino acids (Arg215 and His200 for the β-phosphate and Lys197 for the γ-phosphate). In addition to the known interaction between the STRADα WEF motif and MO25α, the structure revealed extensive interactions between MO25α on its concave surface and STRADα; the importance of these interactions for formation of a stable complex was confirmed by mutational analysis. Comparison of the structure of STRADα when bound to MO25α resembled that of CDK1 (cyclin-dependent kinase 1) bound to cyclin A and a complex between an active epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and an EGFR in the inactive conformation, with the conformation characterized as "closed and active." Various biochemical assays demonstrated that MO25α increases the affinity of STRADα for ATP and that ATP increases the affinity of STRADα for MO25α. Interactions with LKB1 permit MO25α and STRADα to form a heterotrimeric complex even when the interaction between MO25α and STRADα is disrupted by mutation. However, STRADα mutants that could not bind either MO25α or ATP failed to activate LKB1 even though they could form the heterotrimeric complex. Thus, ATP and MO25α appear to allosterically modulate STRADα, allowing it to adopt the closed and active conformation that is necessary for LKB1 activation. A mutation that produces a truncated STRADα is associated with polyhydramnios, megalencephaly, symptomatic epilepsy syndrome, and this would be expected to produce a functionally inactive form of STRADα due to loss of the C-terminal domain of the pseudokinase domain. Expression of this truncated form in cultured cells showed that the protein was less stable than full-length STRADα and failed to interact with or activate LKB1. E. Zeqiraj, B. M. Filippi, S. Goldie, I. Navratilova, J. Boudeau, M. Deak, D. R. Alessi, D. M. F. van Aalten, ATP and MO25α regulate the conformational state of the STRADα pseudokinase and activation of the LKB1 tumour suppressor. PLoS Biol. 7, e1000126 (2009). [PubMed]


This paper outlines resources for economists on the Internet, the large and very rapidly expanding computer network that is revolutionizing research in many fields. Even at this early stage, there are a number of very useful resources (such as large databases and mailing lists) for economists. Directions are given on how to retrieve the complete and current list of resources for economists, and the paper also contains a minimal set of directions on how to use the Internet. References are also given to more detailed general guides on the Internet.


It's the early 1990s and three young people are looking to change their lives, and perhaps also the world. Attracted to the ambitious global peacekeeping work of the UN, Andrew, Ken and Heidi's paths cross in Cambodia, from where their fates are to become inextricably bound. Over the coming years, their stories interweave through countries such as Rwanda, Bosnia, Somalia and Haiti - war-torn, lawless places where the intervention of the UN is needed like nowhere else. Driven by idealism, the three struggle to do the best they can, caught up in an increasingly tangled web of bureaucracy and ineffectual leadership. As disillusionment sets in, they attempt to keep hold of their humanity through black humour, revelry and 'emergency sex'. Brutal and moving in equal measure, Emergency Sex (And Other Desperate Measures) explores pressing global issues while never losing a sense of the personal. Deeply critical of the West's indifference to developing countries and the UN's repeated failure to intervene decisively, the book provoked massive controversy on its initial publication. Kofi Annan called for the book to be banned, and debate was sparked about the future direction of the UN. Brilliantly written and mordantly funny, it is a book that continues to make waves.


Background: Alstonia scholaris is an important herbal plant. It is commonly used as astringent, rheumatism, antiseptics, anti leprotic, ulcer, and to diverse inflammatory chronic skin diseases, rheumatic pain. general tonic, aphrodisiac, anticholenergic, antidysentery, antipyretic, emmenagogue, vulnerary agents, fatigue, irregular menses, liver disease, dysentery, malaria, diabetes, anthelmintic, Stomachache, skin diseases, swelling, malaria fever, bone fracture, urinary infections. Objective- Present study deals the development of standardization parameters of Alstonia scholaris. Material and method: In the present study, a coarse powder of Alstonia schloaris leaves was prepared by grinding method and standardization parameter were was performed in the laboratory like LOD (Loss of drying), Ash value, Acid insoluble ash, water soluble ash, Extractive value, Solubility test, Phytochemical screening test, U.V. spectrum. Results: The value of physiochemical parameter was calculated. Conclusion: the use of herbal drug are also interrupted due to use of various adulterants so various quantitative and qualitative parameter are use to set the standardization parameter of herbal drugs.This standardization parameters can help to identify and choose appropriate species of selected plants. This parameter also provides information related to purity and efficacy.


Begging intensity per nestling is thought to increase with brood size as a result of intra-brood competition for the resources brought by the parents. This in turn should increase the extent of call overlap within the brood. The overlap of calls from different individuals will create an acoustical interference resulting in a masking effect of the acoustic signal. Begging call overlap may also increase the overall volume of the begging calls, potentially magnifying the effect of the begging message to the receptor (parent). On the other hand, this may increase the risk of the nest being detected by a predator. In this study we describe the effect of brood size on nestling vocal begging behaviour in the Spanish Sparrow Passer hispaniolensis. We tested the hypothesis that chicks in larger broods would show a lower per capita begging rate, duration and vigour. Indeed, both the vigour of the initial response to the arrival of the parents and the vocal begging intensity per nestling were lower in larger broods. This would result in lower call overlap in larger broods, but since nestlings in larger broods called longer, the extent of call overlap per nestling did not vary with brood size. Although not final, these results seem to support a possible effect of acoustic interference in nestling vocal begging behaviour. Nevertheless, this is only one possible explanation and some of the findings could also be the result of cooperative synchronization of sibling calls to increase parental care.


In South Africa, the most common method of mealybug control has been the use of chemical insecticides. Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) of the of the families Heterorhabditidae and Steinernematidae potentially can be used within an integrated pest management scheme to control Planococcus ficus, the vine mealybug, which occurs on all parts of grapevine, including the roots. When Steinernema yirgalemense was applied to the soil of two vineyards with P. ficus, contained in pierced Eppendorf tubes, buried at a depth of 15 cm in the soil, mortalities of up to 50% were obtained after 48 h. The persistence of S. yirgalemense, measured using codling moth larval mortality was found to be zero in one vineyard, while in the other it was 70%, 12 weeks after application. Tests were conducted to establish the production of scavenger deterrent factors by H. zealandica and S. yirgalemense. Of the cadavers that were presented six days after nematode infection, 49% of the H. zealandica- and 60% of the S. yirgalemense-infected cadavers were left intact. Olfactometry tests indicated a significant difference concerning the number of S. yirgalemense infective juveniles (IJs) that were attracted to damaged Vitis vinifera roots and P. ficus, indicating active movement of the IJs and the attractive ability of organic compounds produced by the roots. This study shows that EPNs, and specifically S. yirgalemense, have promising potential as biological control agents for the control of P. ficus soil populations, and investigates some influential factors affecting EPNs as biocontrol agents in the agro-ecosystem.


During the July Monarchy, a fictional hunchback dwarf named Mayeux (fig. 1) became a popular commentator on political and social life in France.(1) Much like England's John Bull, Mayeux represented the silent majority of the French population, which was dissatisfied with the past but afraid of the future. Artists and writers quickly seized upon the popular icon of Mayeux to interpret for their audience the significance of the trois glorieuses. As a popular icon, Mayeux's image appeared in lithographic prints, books, pamphlets, journals, plays, and song sheets, and he was immortalized in the form of statuettes, candlesticks, and other decorative art objects. In prints and literature Mayeux was used both to poke fun and to provoke awareness of political and social issues. His repeated appearance in serials and novels appealed to a wide audience that eagerly followed his thoughts and adventures. Although he was an unlikely "hero," the hunchback dwarf was uniquely qualified to address issues critical of the July Monarchy, from government censorship of the press to intimate relations between the sexes, to the utopian social system of Henri de Saint-Simon. The artists and writers who created Mayeux strategically imbued him with an appearance and motivations that would make him function as a popular hero for the French public after the July Revolution. [Figure 1 ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Charles-Joseph Travies (1804-1859), J. J. Grandville (1803-1847), and Honore Daumier (1808-1879) were among the many artists who drew Mayeux. Dozens of anonymous authors wrote about him or were influenced by this phenomenon. The list includes Eugene Sue (1804-1857), who based his character La Mayeux in Le Juif errant on this well-known figure.(2) Honore de Balzac (1799-1850) featured Mayeux in two of his earliest articles in La Silhouette and La Caricature.(3) In Les Miserables, which takes place during the July Monarchy, Victor Hugo (1802-1885) noted that "Paris a un Esope qui est Mayeux."(4) Hugo was likely influenced by Mayeux's popularity when developing his protagonists Quasimodo for Notre Dame de Paris (1831) and Triboulet for Le Roi s'amuse (1832), and he specifically featured the hunchback in his Chansons des rues et des bois (1865).(5) Both Champfleury (1821-1889) and Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867) described the Mayeux character as a "type" within the history of caricature while Theophile Gautier reviewed the theatrical production Les Caravanes de Mayeux in 1843. By the time Edmond de Goncourt (1822-1896) recalled Mayeux in his Journal in 1883 and in 1885, any person with a hunchback could be called a mayeux.(6) One index of Mayeux's popularity is that his image appeared in nearly three hundred different lithographs. In 1831 alone, 25 per cent of the entries in the Autorisation d'estampes avec ou sans texte contained at least one print of Mayeux.(7) In that same year, a crucial period in the development and use of Mayeux, more than forty thousand books and pamphlets were printed featuring him as the central character. More than thirty articles about Mayeux of supposedly "written" by him were published in journals such as Le Figaro, Le Temps, La Silhouette, La Caricature, Le Charivari, Le Siecle, Le Corsaire, and La Charge from 1830 to 1833. The journals Mayeux and Le Veritable Mayeux each circulated two thousand copies per issue.(8) Again in 1831, five different theatrical productions featured Mayeux as a central character or included him in a supporting role. Careful examination of current productions listed in the Courrier des Theatres reveals that in the first half of 1831, scarcely a night went by when a production featuring Mayeux was not performed. Mayeux's origin can be traced to a long line of hunchbacks, court fools, and clowns in European culture. A prevalent ancestral figure is doubtless found in the writings of Rabelais. Mayeux, as a nineteenth-century icon, might be viewed in terms of updating Rabelaisian tradition -- still linking popular culture, verbal and visual caricature, scatological imagery and the psychology of laughter, though in more restrained and less poetic terms. …


Nature‐based approaches to flood risk management are increasing in popularity. Evidence for the effectiveness at the catchment scale of such spatially distributed upstream measures is inconclusive. However, it also remains an open question whether, under certain conditions, the individual impacts of a collection of flood mitigation interventions could combine to produce a detrimental effect on runoff response. A modelling framework is presented for evaluation of the impacts of hillslope and in‐channel natural flood management interventions. It couples an existing semidistributed hydrological model with a new, spatially explicit, hydraulic channel network routing model. The model is applied to assess a potential flood mitigation scheme in an agricultural catchment in North Yorkshire, United Kingdom, comprising various configurations of a single variety of in‐channel feature. The hydrological model is used to generate subsurface and surface fluxes for a flood event in 2012. The network routing model is then applied to evaluate the response to the addition of up to 59 features. Additional channel and floodplain storage of approximately 70,000 m3 is seen with a reduction of around 11% in peak discharge. Although this might be sufficient to reduce flooding in moderate events, it is inadequate to prevent flooding in the double‐peaked storm of the magnitude that caused damage within the catchment in 2012. Some strategies using features specific to this catchment are suggested in order to improve the attenuation that could be achieved by applying a nature‐based approach.


Flooding in urbanized areas has become a very important issue around the world. The level of service (or performance) of urban drainage systems (UDS) degrades in time for a number of reasons. In order to maintain an acceptable performance of UDS, early rehabilitation plans must be developed and implemented. In developing countries the situation is serious, little investment is done and there are smaller funds each year for rehabilitation. The allocation of such funds must be "optimal" in providing value for money. However this task is not easy to achieve due to the multicriteria nature of the rehabilitation process, taking into account technical, environmental and social interests. Most of the time these are conflicting, which make it a highly demanding task. The present book introduce a framework to deal with multicriteria decision making for the rehabilitation of urban drainage systems, and focuses on several aspects such as the improvement of the performance of the multicriteria optimization through the inclusion of new features in the algorithms and the proper selection of performance criteria. The use of Genetic Algorithms, parallelization and application in countries like Brazil, Colombia y Venezuela are treated in this book.


Common Culture's Comic Battle. 3 screen video projection.In a Brighton pub, three British comedians were hired to tell jokes in response to topics suggested by Common Culture and each was simultaneously filmed as they battled for attention. Our interest in British comedians focuses on the raw competition between them, their performative skill and their ability to construct particular cultural identities through the articulation of global and local issues.Too Early for Vacation, A short introduction to the project of e v+ a 2008, Limerick, Ireland, March - May 2008 by Hou Hanru Conventionally, Ireland has been seen as an exotic, idyllic and even somehow spiritual destination for vacation… Limerick, a "remote" city situated in the Mid-West of the country, is certainly one of the most desired places on the tourist map. For the last decade, this city and the surrounding region, like the whole country itself, have entered a process of renaissance, thanks to their embracing of new technologies and integration in global economy. But, few have imagined that this rather small city can be a vibrant site of production of contemporary art. However, for the last three decades, Limerick has been holding the most significant contemporary art event in Ireland. Over the years, e v+ a has become a major and unique international exhibition. Remaining relatively modest, the event has persistently been rooted in the local context. The artists involved, coming from Ireland and all around the world by invitation or by selection via public calls for applications, are encouraged to create and present their works in context-specific manners in order to integrate their imaginations and creativities with the real life of the locality. Specific sites have been selected to host the presentation of the works. The sites are not only "backdrops" for the works but integrated physical conditions for their formations and significations. In the process of the formations and significations, the local populations are often called in to provide their parts of contributions… e v+ a is an extraordinary event at once modest, intimate, ambitious, and generous. Ultimately, it's systematically engaged with the local reality that is continuously evolving and reinvented in its negotiation with global influences, including new ideas, projects and energies brought in by artists from different parts of the world. Interestingly, one can observe that contemporary art has become much more popular, presented in numerous cultural institutions, market places and mass media, and increasingly turned into a part of the mainstream entertainment system and tourist industry. This fundamental change of the nature of contemporary art from quasi-underground, activist and avant-garde activities in the 1970s when e v+ a was founded to a part of the late-capitalist and consumerist cultural establishment has actually launched an intellectual, ethic and even political challenge to the art world itself. Then, what's the real social significance of contemporary art today? How can a firmly grass-rooted event like e v+ a can still make sense in the age of globalisation, dominated by certain established but limited models of production, representation and consumption, and continue to engage itself in the transformation of local reality? In this context, coming to work for and appreciate e v+ a today needs even more intimate and active engagement with the local reality, both physical and cultural, both personal and social… certainly it involves travels from different parts of the world and introductions of various forms of creation. However, it's by no means a simple vacation to be spent in this beautiful town of Ireland – vacation in a double implication: holidays and vacating (escaping) from reality. Instead, it must be actions of engagement… Pressing issues related to the transformation of today's globe such as border crossing, migration, travel, exchange with the other, cultural and geopolitical confrontation and dialogue, etc. are obviously occupying the centre of this kind of local-based interventions. Welcome to Limerick. But, it's too early for vacation… or it'll never be a vacation.CuratorHou Hanru (China/France/USA)Participating ArtistsSelected Artists: Alan Bulfin (Ireland); Mark Clare (Ireland); Martina Cleary (Ireland); Common Culture (Ian Brown, David Campbell, Mark Durden)(UK); Angela Darby & Robert Peters (Northern Ireland); Aideen Doran (Northern Ireland); James Gormley (Ireland); Ailbhe Greaney (Ireland); Fiona Hackett (Ireland); Henna-Riikka Halonen (Finland / UK); James Hayes (Ireland); Catherina Hearne (Ireland); Nina Hochtl (Austria); Emma Houlihan (Ireland); Sarah Hurl (Ireland); Ruth LeGear (Ireland); Terry Markey (Ireland); Tricia McCarthy & Vertigo Smyth (Ireland); Mairead McClean (UK); Maeve McElligott (Ireland); Dara McGrath (Ireland); David O'Kane (Ireland); John Reardon (UK)Invited Artists: Jennifer Allora & Guillermo Calzadilla (USA / Cuba); Chen Shaoxiong & Gimhongsok & Ozawa Tsuyoshi (China, Korea, Japan); Chen Wenbo (China); Allan de Souza (Kenya /UK / USA); Latifa Echakhch (Morocco / France); Malachi Farrell (Ireland / France); Seamus Farrell (Ireland / France); Ian Kiaer (UK); Ni Haifeng (China / Netherlands); Ozawa Tsuyoshi (Japan); Adrian Paci (Albania / Italy); Taro Shinoda (Japan); Shahzia Sikander (Pakistan / USA / Germany); Haegue Yang (Korea / Germany); Yang Jiechang (China / France)


Identifying multivariate anomalies from geochemical exploration data in a complex geological setting is very challenging because the complex geological setting may lead to an unknown high-dimensional distribution of the geochemical exploration data. One-class support vector machine (OCSVM) can give useful results in outlier detection in high-dimension or without any assumptions on the distribution of data. Thus, we applied the OCSVM model to identify multivariate geochemical anomalies from stream sediment survey data of the Lalingzaohuo district, an area with complex geological setting, in Qinghai Province, China. The performance of the OCSVM model was compared with that of continuous restricted Boltzmann machine (CRBM) in terms of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, area under curve (AUC) and data-processing efficiency. The results show that the two models perform similarly well in terms of ROC and AUC; while their data-modeling processes spent 6.06 and 279.36 s, respectively. The anomalies identified by the OCSVM model occupy 19% of the study area and contain 82% of the known mineral deposits; and the anomalies identified by the CRBM model occupy 35% of the study area and contain 88% of the known mineral deposits.


In Soundtracks of Asian America , Grace Wang explores how Asian Americans use music to construct narratives of self, race, class, and belonging in national and transnational spaces. She highlights how they navigate racialization in different genres by considering the experiences of Asians and Asian Americans in Western classical music, U.S. popular music, and Mandopop (Mandarin-language popular music). Her study encompasses the perceptions and motivations of middle-class Chinese and Korean immigrant parents intensely involved in their children's classical music training, and of Asian and Asian American classical musicians whose prominence in their chosen profession is celebrated by some and undermined by others. Wang interviews young Asian American singer-songwriters who use YouTube to contest the limitations of a racialized U.S. media landscape, and she investigates the transnational modes of belonging forged by Asian American pop stars pursuing recording contracts and fame in East Asia. Foregrounding musical spaces where Asian Americans are particularly visible, Wang examines how race matters and operates in the practices and institutions of music making.


The ability to predict transmission loss or field strength distribution is crucial for determining coverage in planning personal communication systems. This paper presents a practical method to accurately predict entire average transmission loss distribution in complicated urban environments. The method uses a 3D propagation model based on radiosity and a simplified city information database including surfaces of roads and building groups. Narrowband validation measurements with line-of-sight (LOS) and non-line-of-sight (NLOS) cases at 1800 MHz give excellent agreement in urban environments.


There is a growing demand for human-friendly robots that can interact and work closely with humans. Such robots need to be compliant, lightweight and equipped with silent and soft actuators. Electroactive polymers such as conducting polymers (CPs) are "smart" materials that deform in response to electrical simulation and are often addressed as artificial muscles due to their functional similarity with natural muscles. They offer unique possibilities and are perfect candidates for such actuators since they are lightweight, silent, and driven at low voltages. Most CP actuators are fabricated using electrochemical oxidative synthesis. We have developed new CP based fibres employing both vapour phase and liquid phase electrochemical synthesis. We will present the fabrication and characterisation of these fibres as well as their performance as linear actuators.


Ace the CompTIA Security+ exam with over 700 practice exam questions written using the style and format of the Security+ exam
Key Features
Get a detailed breakdown of the type of questions and the exam environment

Discover a step-by-step process that guides you through the study process week-by-week

Reinforce your learning by solving 100 questions for each domain
Book Description
Security+ certification is the most popular entry-level certification for cybersecurity professionals. It has no work experience requirement, making it accessible to everyone willing to put in the time to prepare for the exam. Security+? Practice Tests are the perfect tools to prepare for the CompTIA Security+ exam.

The first six chapters each cover one of the six Security+ domains. Each of those chapters contains around 100 practice test questions covering the material from that domain. The last two chapters each contain a full-length Security+ practice test that's designed to assess your readiness to take the actual test. At the end of each chapter, you'll find the answers to all of the questions along with detailed explanations to help reinforce your learning of the material.

By the end of the book, you'll have enough practice to easily ace the CompTIA Security+ exam.
What you will learn
Familiarize yourself with the format of the Security+ exam

Target your test preparation on each of the Security+ domains

Brush up on your understanding by testing yourself on realistic practice questions

Discover areas for improvement by comparing your responses to the answers provided

Measure your readiness with full-length practice tests

Know what to expect on test day and

Learn helpful strategies for tackling the different question types
Who this book is for
This book is designed for service desk analysts, system support engineers, and other IT professionals who want to start their career in managing the IT infrastructure of an organization. Basic knowledge of hardware, software, other relevant components of the IT industry will help you easily grasp the concepts explained in this book.


While much research has been performed on lightweight concrete and self-consolidating concrete (SCC), the knowledge of prestress losses in lightweight self-consolidating concrete (LWSCC) is still limited. LWSCC has the benefits of increased flowability, reduced placement labor, and decreased shipping cost compared to conventional concrete. This research program included the study of 14 SCC beams cast with expanded clay, expanded shale, and limestone aggregates. Strains in the beams were measured with vibrating-wire strain gages, and the measured prestress losses were compared with current AASHTO methods for calculating prestress losses. The AASHTO approximate method better predicted actual losses than did the AASHTO refined method. In addition, the AASHTO approximate method gave more accurate results for the LWSCC beams than it did for the normalweight SCC beams. This research showed that the AASHTO refined method is overly sensitive to the concrete compressive strength and modulus of elasticity at release. The properties associated with the researched concrete mixes were also studied, and their effects on prestress losses are discussed. Companion cylinders were used for compressive strength and modulus of elasticity testing. Shrinkage prisms were also cast. The total prestress losses were greater for the LWSCC which had lower modulus of elasticity than the normalweight SCC. Less shrinkage occurred in the LWSCC mixtures than the SCC due to internal curing. This thesis is approved for recommendation to the Graduate Council.


Abstract Geomorphic gradients of landforms and associated soil catenas in the Central Desert region of Baja California produce complex but repeatable patterns of plant community distribution and a diversity of plant functional groups distributed unequally over the gradient. We measured plant diversity and made three assessments of plant dominance in six plant communities associated with a gradient of geomorphic landforms. Dominance was assessed by plant cover, aboveground biomass, and aboveground water mass held by vegetation. Perennial plant cover was highest on northeast-facing rocky pediment slopes (54.6%) and lower bajada slopes (45.7%), and lowest on creosote bush flats (19.2%). The highest aboveground biomass of any community (25.07 t ha−1) was present in wash woodlands heavily dominated by Prosopis glandulosa. This was more than ten times the biomass present in the creosote bush flats. The highest aboveground water mass contained in vegetation was present on the northeast- and southwest-facing rocky pediment slopes which each held more than 30.0 t H2O ha−1. This water mass was heavily contained in just two species of arborescent stem succulents, Pachycormus discolor and Fouquieria columnaris, neither of which utilizes crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM). High amounts of standing water mass on upper and lower bajada slopes were held by the arborescent cactus Pachycereus pringlei. The changing pattern of relative dominance of plant functional groups across this gradient of desert landforms reflects the morphological and ecophysiological traits associated with each group, and indicates strong assembly rules of community composition.


Wavelength conversion efficiency to the UV region is limited by a host of factors. To overcome several of these constraints, we use a fluxless-grown BBO crystal for fourth harmonic conversion of a linearly polarized Nd:YAG microchip laser, passively Q-switched with [110] cut Cr4+:YAG. The high quality BBO crystal used in the picosecond pulse width regime enables 60% conversion efficiency to give 3.4 MW peak power, 250 ps, 100 Hz pulses at 266 nm.


Background Tuberculosis is a very common disease worldwide. In 2010 there were 71000 cases reported in Brazil. The genital presentation has a prevalence of 8–10 million cases worldwide. The vulvar/vaginal involvement is less than 2% of the cases. The clinical presentation can be variable and genital ulcers(GU) can be confused with sexually transmitted diseases(STD) such as syphilis and chancroid. Methods/results(case report) MJS, 73y, G9P9, rural worker, attended at a clinic specialised in genital infections at the State University of Campinas-(UNICAMP)-Brazil with dysuria and pain/burning in the vulva for 3months. Physical examination revealed ulceration of 3cm in small genital right lip with bilateral inguinal painless adenopathy. The ulcer biopsy showed chronic granulomatous inflammation and search for AFB and fungi by techniques of Gomori and Ziehl-Nielssen were negative. Vaginal bacterioscopy and serologies were regular. Vaginal wall biopsy with search and culture resulted positive for complex M.tuberculosis. The Mantoux test resulted in strong reaction-13mm and the AFB sputum (3samples) was negative. Chest radiography showed no abnormalities. It was introduced the treatment with isoniazid+rifampicin for 6months. After 60 days the pacient presented ulcer resolution. Conclusion The authors describe an unusual presentation of the disease, a painless chronic ulcer, for which differential diagnosis of GU by STD should be clarified. The isolation of M.tuberculosis in the culture of the ulcer is the gold standard for the diagnosis of genital tuberculosis. The ulcers caused by herpes virus, syphilis or chancroid are common, but it is essential to think of an infection by M.tuberculosis, especially in countries where the prevalence of the disease is high. It was suggested that the sputum of a subject with pulmonary tuberculosis when used as a lubricant during intercourse can transmit genital disease, making it an eventual STD. Chronic GU should be biopsied and the possibility of unusual etiologies should be considered.


Mubanga, M. 2018. Dog Ownership and Cardiovascular Disease. Digital Comprehensive Summaries of Uppsala Dissertations from the Faculty of Medicine 1490. 70 pp. Uppsala: Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis. ISBN 978-91-513-0418-2. The relationship between pet ownership and human health has been studied extensively; however, the effect of dog ownership on human health has had conflicting results. The overall aim of this research project was to investigate the impact of dog ownership, and the death of the dog, on human cardiovascular health and all-cause mortality. Study I was a population-based study investigating the association between dog ownership with the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and death. Of 3,432,153 individuals included, dog ownership (13.1%) was associated with a lower risk of CVDand all-cause death by 23% and 20%, respectively. In single-person households, there was an inverse association between dog ownership and incident CVD, as well as a stronger inverse association with CVD-death and all-cause death. Study II was a population-based study investigating the association between dog ownership and initiation of treatment for cardiovascular risk factors in 2,026,865 adults. Dog ownership (14.6%) was associated with a slightly elevated risk of initiating treatment (2%) for hypertension and dyslipidaemia, but not for diabetes mellitus. However, some evidence for residual confounding was found. Study III investigated the risk of death after hospitalization for a first-ever acute myocardial infarction (n=181,696) or first-ever ischemic stroke (n=157,617) in two population-based cohorts. Dog ownership was associated with a 20% to 24% lower risk of all-cause mortality and CVD-death, respectively. In Study I-III, ownership of hunting breed dogs was associated with the lowest risk of the outcomes, while owning dogs of mixed pedigree was associated with worse cardiovascular health. Study IV found evidence of an increased risk of CVD after the loss of a life-insured pet (dog or cat; n=147,251) during the first week, 3-6 months after and 6-12 months after pet-loss. This thesis has used the Swedish population and health registers to investigate the relationship between various aspects of dog ownership and cardiovascular risk. By using defined, quantifiable end-points and robust statistical methods, this project has made an important contribution to the body of research underlying the positive relationship between dog ownership and cardiovascular health, paving the way for further research into causal mechanisms.


The 900-km-long right-slip Red River fault of southernmost China and northern Vietnam is a profound structural discontinuity that is mechanically associated with the collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates. Although history records no large earthquakes resulting from slippage along at least the principal segment of the fault in China, youthful landforms and disruptions of young sedimentary rocks indicate that it has generated large earthquakes during the Pleistocene and Holocene epochs. The historic quiescence thus must be regarded as being indicative of a current seismic gap, although the recurrence interval between major earthquakes is evidently much longer than for many other major active fault systems.

That recent displacement has been primarily right lateral is indicated by consistently displaced drainages, ranging in offset from 9 m to 6 km, and the freshness of the smallest and most recent offsets implies repeated Holocene movements. Although physiographic features typical of active faulting such as scarps and drainage diversions are present throughout, the general absence of sag ponds reflects both the high rate of dissection of the fault by the Red River and its tributaries and the lower degree of activity as compared to highly active faults such as the San Andreas fault of California.

In its middle 170 km, the fault zone is made up of two branches. The range-front branch demarcates the northeastern base of the Ailao Mountains and, at least locally, has an appreciable component of dip slip. The mid-valley branch, in large part previously unrecognized, traverses principally deeply dissected Cenozoic valley fill northeast of the range-front fault and has undergone almost pure lateral slip. Lateral postfill offsets along the range-front branch diminish toward the southeast, whereas those along the mid-valley branch diminish northwestward; the net effect is that the total postfill offset across both branches is almost uniform.

The Red River and its major tributaries appear to have experienced about 5.5 km of right slip since the beginning of a major episode of incision that continues to the present day. Restoration of this offset provides a remarkable alignment of most large tributaries as well as removing a major kink in the course of the Red River itself. Using maximum credible rates of incision, we estimate an average fault-slip rate of 2 to perhaps 5 mm/yr. At this long-term rate of slip, the smallest offsets observed along the fault (9 m) would occur no more frequently than every 1,800 to 4,500 yr on the average. This is consistent with the historical record of fault dormancy for the past 300 yr.

North of the Red River fault, there is a large seismically active region laced with numerous faults of north and northwesterly trends. Several of these faults display clear and even spectacular evidence of youthful normal faulting, and some appear to have left-lateral components as well. These faults, as well as the Red River fault itself, are accommodating regional east-west crustal extension and north-south shortening.


Background/Aim: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an established neurosurgical treatment that can be used to alleviate symptoms in essential tremor (ET) and other movement disorders. The aim was to develop a method and software tool for the prediction of effective DBS electrode contacts based on probabilistic stimulation maps (PSMs) in patients with ET treated with caudal zona incerta (cZi) DBS. Methods: A total of 33 patients (37 leads) treated with DBS were evaluated with the Essential Tremor Rating Scale (ETRS) 12 months after surgery. In addition, hand tremor and hand function (ETRS items 5/6 and 11–14) were evaluated for every contact during stimulation with best possible outcome without inducing side effects. Prediction of effective DBS electrode contacts was carried out in a retrospective leave-one-out manner based on PSMs, simulated stimulation fields, and a scoring function. Electrode contacts were ranked according to their likelihood of being included in the clinical setting. Ranked electrode contacts were compared to actual clinical settings. Results: Predictions made by the software tool showed that electrode contacts with rank 1 matched the clinically used contacts in 60% of the cases. Contacts with a rank of 1–2 and 1–3 matched the clinical contacts in 83 and 94% of the cases, respectively. Mean improvement of hand tremor and hand function was 79 ± 21% and 77 ± 22% for the clinically used and the predicted electrode contacts, respectively. Conclusions: Effective electrode contacts can be predicted based on PSMs in patients treated with cZi DBS for ET. Predictions may in the future be used to reduce the number of clinical assessments that are carried out before a satisfying stimulation setting is defined.


A spectrochemical source for optical emission spectrometry, based on an atmospheric-sampling glow discharge, is described. Operating parameters that affect the performance of the glow discharge are investigated; the most important is the source pressure. Helium and argon are studied as plasma support gases. Simple to build and operate, the glow discharge is fairly robust to introduced organic vapors and produces equivalent signals from carbon-containing species regardless of the original molecular form of the carbon.


Today Americans are used to keeping tabs on inflation through the use of price indexes and interest rates, and to restraining it through the use of Federal Reserve monetary policy. No tabs, however, are kept on other kinds of inflation, of symbols other than money. Klapp looks into what the inflation of value might mean and how it occurs in social relations, popular culture, mass contagions, fads and fashions, even smiles and kisses. In Klapp's view, symbolic or cultural inflation applies to all social processes in which enlargement, expansion, or oversupply leads to the diminishing of value of a symbol. Its symptoms have been noted in the arts, in communications, and in politics, but there have been few, if any, attempts to analyze the mechanism by which such inflation occurs. The author attempts such an analysis, structuring it around those mechanisms he terms "social magnifiers." On the simplest level, there is mere overstatement, the exaggeration of claims that lose credibility as the reality is seen to fall short. More socially complex are types of magnifiers that involve shared cultural values and large groups of people. These include "crusading," the rhetorical inflation of a conflict into a war of good versus evil; emotional contagion, which through uncritical suggestibility draws large numbers of people into actions that exaggerate value; and self-expansion through identification with others, the vicarious triumphs and careers of heroes and celebrities, a process Klapp terms "emotional hitchhiking. "Finally, there is the market-like type of cultural inflation in which oversupply of a symbol leads to a weakening of its power to elicit desired responses. Klapp demonstrates how this market concept applies to such symbols as credentials, medals, smiles, kisses, greeting cards, religious tokens, fashions, and finally to information itself. The result of Klapp's study is to bring into focus this vast, pervasive, largely unwitting sort of inflation that eats away at cultural values that carry no price in the money market and to isolate various conditions--massness, egalitari-anism, loss of scarcity--that favor social inflation and thereby help us to understand (even to control?) it as a source of disappointment in modern society. This book will be of interest to sociologists, economists, and students of American culture concerned with the erosion of values in an information age.


This study explored the effect of the gendered structure of siblings in
intact and non-intact families, on family relations, social support, perceived
control, and psychological distress in a sample of 708 young adults (294 males
and 414 females) aged between 18 - 21 years. Of the sample 96 were singletons,
208 had both a brother and sister, 206 had a brother and no sister, and 198 had
a sister and no brother. While the results show that both the gender of the
participants and the gender of the sibling seem to impact on distress and its
mediators; the more important factor is the gender of siblings. In essence the
presence of a female sibling is associated with more perceived support, control
and optimism, and with lower pessimism and psychological distress. The presence
of a female is also associated with better family relations overall and it is
suggested that the main mechanism for this positive impact of female siblings
is through the lowered conflict and increased expressiveness and cohesion
experienced in female versus male dominated sibling groups.


Background: Sperm freezing method is used frequently in assisted reproductive techniques, on the other hand in different studies negative effect of freezing have been shown on different sperm parameters.
Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of saffron extract as an antioxidant, on the different sperm parameters in men with normal spermatogenesis after freezing-thawing process.
Methods: In this case-control study, collecting of samples was done in 2015 year from the Infertility Treatment Center, ACECR Branch of Qazvin, Qazvin, Iran. These men had normal spermatogenesis and their spouse had infertility problem. Semen samples was divided in two groups, control without saffron extract, and case with 50 mg/ml saffron extract. Then, samples freezed with snap freezing method. After two weeks, they were thawed and different sperm parameters were assessed. Data were analyzed by two-tail T test.
Findings: Our results showed, mean percent of viability (72 ± 0.99), motility (87 ± 0.43), and the number of sperm cells (62.5 ± 3.8) in treaded group was elevated significantly (P<0.01) compared to
the control group (46.6±1.1), (62.3 ± 0.33), and (45 ± 4.3) respectively. However, about the morphology we don't observed significant difference (P>0.05).
Conclusion: Our results showed that possibly antioxidant agents of saffron extract could scavenge free radicals and thus, optimize different sperm parameters (viability, motility, and number) after freezing and thawing.
Keywords: Saffron extract, Freezing, Thawing, Sperm parameters


The chapters in this monograph are based on papers presented by experts from various fields and disciplines during a conference hosted by the ISS on the regulation of the private security sector in Africa, which was held from 5 to 6 March 2008 at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It would not have been possible to successfully publish this well-researched and informative monograph without the generous support of the ISS project funders, namely the International Development Research Council (IDRC) and United Nations University (UNU).


A description is given of the microprocessor configurer system, or Micon, which was designed to provide support for computer hardware designers. The objective of Micon is to reduce the time required to construct a hardware system. The approach to achieving this objective rests on two points: capturing and disseminating design expertise in a format that actively assists designers, and providing a tool environment that supports all aspects of computer design. Artificial intelligence provides design synthesis and the acquisition of design expertise. Databases provide consistent views of data to all tools. Networking allows the system to efficiently share common resources, such as the database, across many users of the system. Micon is compared to related design systems, its architecture is described, examples of its use are given, and a set of experiments to test its viability is described.<<ETX>>


We review the relationship between energy efficiency improvement measures and productivity in industry. We review over 70 industrial case studies from widely available published databases, followed by an analysis of the representation of productivity benefits in energy modeling. We propose a method to include productivity benefits in the economic assessment of the potential for energy efficiency improvement. The case-study review suggests that energy efficiency investments can provide a significant boost to overall productivity within industry. If this relationship holds, the description of energy-efficient technologies as opportunities for larger productivity improvements has significant implications for conventional economic assessments. The paper explores the implications this change in perspective on the evaluation of energy-efficient technologies for a study of the iron and steel industry in the US. This examination shows that including productivity benefits explicitly in the modeling parameters would double the cost-effective potential for energy efficiency improvement, compared to an analysis excluding those benefits. We provide suggestions for future research in this important area.


Exposure to sunlight, specifically ultraviolet B (UVB), is essential for cutaneous vitamin D synthesis. Despite significant daily sunlight availability in Africa and the Middle East, persons living in these regions are frequently vitamin D insufficient or deficient. Vitamin D insufficiency (25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) between 15 and 20 ng/mL (37.5-50 nmol/L)) has been described in various population groups, ranging from 5% to 80%. Risk factors include traditional dress and avoidance of sunlight exposure, and multiple dietary factors as a result of specific cultural beliefs. Vitamin D resistance due to calcium deficiency mechanisms has been described in similar population groups, which may lead to hypovitaminosis D. Should the new diseases related to hypovitaminosis D prove to be truly associated, Africa and the Middle East will become an epicentre for many of these conditions. Urgent attention will need to be paid to cultural dress and dietary behaviours if hypovitaminosis D is to be taken seriously. Should such factors not be correctable, new strategies for supplementation or food fortification will have to be devised.


The deformation behaviour of chrome tanned crust leather (with or without fatliquor) and finished leather has been measured in three-point bend, tensile and compression tests. Relations between the experimental results and the perceived softness of the leather were investigated. The instrumentally assessed softness of a set of leathers was represented by parameters obtained from these tests and compared with a quantified subjective assessment. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) was used to analyse the water status in crust leathers. The influence of water content prior to staking on its softening effect was investigated. An orthogonal experiment was applied to investigate the influence of various factors (e.g. amplitude and frequency) on the softening effect of mechanical action to obtain an optimum combination of these factors.
The bending force, F, increased in a linear way with increasing sample width, w, in accordance with the standard theory of beam bending. However the change in F with increasing sample thickness, t, departed (markedly in some cases) from the standard theory. The theory of laminated materials offered a quantitative description of the dependency provided that the grain and corium layers were regarded as the laminae. F was approximately proportional to the actual bending length, 1, raised to a power between -2 and -3.
An empirical equation based on the results of the bend testing was developed. A parameter, Se/t', can be used to rank the softness of leather, where Se is equivalent to the bending stiffness in standard bending theory, and ii is the approximate index in the power function describing the relationship of the bending force F to the sample thickness t (F t'1) for a particular type of leather.
A model describing the compression behaviour of crust leather is proposed which involves four stages of compression: (i) hair-like fibres being bent flat onto the surface and buckling of vertical fibre bundles, (ii) closing up of voids between fibre bundles, (iii) closing up of voids between fibres, and (iv) compressing of solid fibres.
DSC results indicate that water has a stronger interaction with collagen molecules in an unfatliquored leather than in a fatliquored one. Fatliquor appears to function as a shield between water and collagen.
The influence of water content prior to staking on the resulting softening effect was clearly reflected in bending and tensile tests, but was not nearly so evident in a compression test. It is shown that a maximum softening effect can be obtained in the staking process when moisture content is about 30 - 40%


In December 1999 during the Helsinki European Council summit Greece consented to the Turkish candidacy for EU membership in what has been greeted as a remarkable shift in Greek policy towards Turkey. The argument of this thesis is that the so-called "Helsinki strategy" constituted the culmination of Greek Prime Minister Simitis' attempts to pursue what he referred to as the "communitisation" of Greco-Turkish relations. Simitis believed that Greece should allow Turkey to develop its relations with the EU within a framework of EU rules for Turkey's behaviour towards Greece. According to the former Prime Minister, if Greece could establish such rules at the EU level, the EU would assume responsibility for ensuring Turkey's compliance. The argument emphasises the causal significance of domestic sources of foreign policy and leadership style in particular. "Communitisation" was an internal, pre-conceived task, to the completion of which Simitis remained unequivocally committed throughout the period under investigation even in the face of severe constraints and evidence that challenged the necessity of the task. The argument was tested against three alternative explanations that incorporated all the explanatory variables discussed in the literature, including shifts in Greece's relative power position, the increasing economic costs of Greek policy, an external shock that demonstrated policy failure and the establishment of relevant EU foreign policy practices. Empirical testing of the four alternative explanations was based on process-tracing their observable implications for three dimensions of the policy making process: the definition of the policy problem the Helsinki strategy was intended to address, the alternative courses of action Greek foreign policy makers considered and finally the manner in which they were assessed. The theoretical framework constructed to resolve this empirical puzzle can be fruitfully applied to the study of several EU member-states' foreign policies, thus advancing the theoretically informed empirical study of foreign policy.


Abstract. This work addresses the design and numerical characterization of a new exoskeleton solution for human leg motion assistance and rehabilitation. The exoskeleton solution is anthropomorphic, simple, low cost and easy to adapt on the human subject. The design aspect concerns the exoskeleton mechatronic structure, achieved in SolidWorks virtual environment. Numerical simulation is performed in MSC.ADAMS simulation environment. Obtained results for the exoskeleton computed motion are compared with those obtained from experimental walking of healthy subject. The prototype feasibility is studied both for design and operation aspect.


Supplementing high levels of dietary crude protein in the absence of amino acid balance and enough energy in fish diets may results in reduced growth, improper feed intake and poor protein utilization efficiency coupled with unviable feed costs and adverse environmental effects due to high nitrogen excretion. It is necessary to improve the dietary protein quality to avoid unnecessary nitrogen excretion, and the use of protein as an energy source by fish, quality and determine proper dietary protein to energy (DP:DE) ratios in order to maximize protein utilization efficiency. It will help the aquaculture sector to obtain better growth response at a low-cost and without any adverse environmental effects. In the present article, we have deliberated in detail the previous and ongoing researches about protein research in fish nutrition. Besides, we have made a comparison between two so far commonly used methods in protein research, i.e ., the graded supplementation and diet-dilution technique. According to the data presented here, is focusing on the formulation of balanced diets, the diet-dilution technique seems to be more accurate than the graded supplementation method. Thus, future studies should be focused on the use of diet-dilution technique along with proper dietary protein to energy ratios in order to formulate well-balanced diets. These attempts will significantly improve the protein and energy research in aquaculture nutrition. Moreover, feed industries will become able to formulate biologically balanced and environment-friendly diets at a low cost.


Innovation diffusion theory provides a useful perspective on one of the most persistently challenging topics in the IT field, namely, how to improve technology assessment, adoption and implementation. For this reason, diffusion is growing in popularity as a reference theory for empirical studies of information technology adoption and diffusion, although no comprehensive review of this body of work has been published to date. This paper presents the results of a critical review of eighteen empirical studies published during the period 1981-1991. Conclusive results were most likely when the adoption context closely matched the contexts in which classical diffusion theory was developed (for example, individual adoption of personal-use technologies), or when researchers extended diffusion theory to account for new factors specific to the IT adoption context under study. Based on classical diffusion theory and other recent conceptual work, a framework is developed to guide future research in IT diffusion. The framework maps two classes of technology (ones that conform closely to classical diffusion assumptions versus ones that do not) against locus of adoption (individual versus organizational), resulting in four IT adoption contexts. For each adoption context, variables impacting adoption and diffusion are identified. Additionally, directions for future research are discussed.


The deployment of machine learning algorithms on resource-constrained edge devices is an important challenge from both theoretical and applied points of view. In this brief, we focus on resource-efficient randomly connected neural networks known as random vector functional link (RVFL) networks since their simple design and extremely fast training time make them very attractive for solving many applied classification tasks. We propose to represent input features via the density-based encoding known in the area of stochastic computing and use the operations of binding and bundling from the area of hyperdimensional computing for obtaining the activations of the hidden neurons. Using a collection of 121 real-world data sets from the UCI machine learning repository, we empirically show that the proposed approach demonstrates higher average accuracy than the conventional RVFL. We also demonstrate that it is possible to represent the readout matrix using only integers in a limited range with minimal loss in the accuracy. In this case, the proposed approach operates only on small ${n}$ -bits integers, which results in a computationally efficient architecture. Finally, through hardware field-programmable gate array (FPGA) implementations, we show that such an approach consumes approximately 11 times less energy than that of the conventional RVFL.


One of Elizabeth Bowen's earliest published Irish short stories, "Her Table Spread" (1930), merits serious attention for two central reasons: not only is it an engrossing and rewarding work of art but it also reveals yet one more Irish fiction writer contemporary with James Joyce who was clearly influenced by him. Moreover, Bowen's story demonstrates surprisingly similar aesthetic and social attitudes - despite obvious differences in the authors' social classes and general cultural upbringing - which are a testament to how strong an influence Joyce was. Bowen's Court and the streets of Dublin are as strikingly diverse raw materials of experience as one may imagine in Ireland. At first Her Table Spread" would appear to have nothing Joycean about it, since it involves Ireland's Protestant upper class during the twenties; Dublin's slums and middle-class neighborhoods are nowhere in sight. However, further connections do exist once we consider certain significant subtleties of symbol, theme, and technique - all of which Bowen successfully adapts to suit her own purposes. Not much has been written on Bowen's short stories, and precious little is dedicated to the study of her Irish stories. Antoinette Quinn, the only recent scholar to focus specifically on Bowen's Irish stories, unfortunately restricts herself to the period 1939 to 1945. Heather Jordan, however, not only lists Joyce among those authors Bowen most admired (75) but also reminds us that Bowen's first published book, a volume of short stories, was titled Encounters (69) - a fact of some significance for two fairly obvious reasons: it echoes the title of Joyce's second Dubliners story, "An Encounter," and it suggests Joyce's epiphanic method in his collection, a method utilized by Bowen in "Her Table Spread" to imbue the story with significant depth and poignancy. Mary Jarrett has noted Bowen's use of paralysis as spiritual metaphor in another of her stories, "The Dancing Mistress," likening it to something out of Dubliners (74); the same metaphor is clearly at work in "Her Table Spread," whose protagonist has much in common with Gabriel Conroy of "The Dead" both in terms of character traits and in the narrator's rhetorical stance toward the protagonist. Bowen makes it very clear throughout her story that she is criticizing not only a handful of upper-class individuals, and one in particular, but also the remnants of Ireland's formerly powerful ascendancy as a whole. In fact, Bowen's story seems the logical ending point of a tradition in Irish fiction concerned with exposing the ascendancy's ailing spiritual condition. Beginning with George Moore's A Drama in Muslin (1886) and continuing through Seumas O'Kelly's The Lady of Deerpark (1917) and various short stories by Daniel Corkery, Brinsley MacNamara, and others, this tradition has always emphasized the ascendancy's paralysis in parallel fashion to the better known tradition that criticizes Ireland's other classes for having the same disease - as manifested in Dubliners, its most salient example. Even though Valeria Cuffe may own her palatial home while Joyce's Misses Morkan merely rent their sprawling second-floor middle-class apartment, considerable similarities exist between the dinner parties in the two stories, especially since the events presented at each party occupy the bulk of each story. The party in Bowen's story is something of a reduced version of the one in Joyce's, for it involves far fewer participants. Still, when the story's protagonist, Mr. Alban, plays the piano, no one listens; Mr. Rossiter, Bowen's version of Mr. Browne, drinks to excess and has some ridiculous flirtation -or worse - going on with the parlor maid; and the general veneer of good manners hides only temporarily the underlying indelicacies of human nature. The role of Mr. Rossiter, who conceals his bottle of whiskey in the most undetectable places, seems to be to show the debauched and seedy side of the self-consciously polite aristocracy - to expose the falseness skulking behind refined airs. …


Optical properties of a nearly ferroelectric superconductor in the dielectric response are theoretically investigated based on the electrodynamics of the nearly ferroelectric superconductors. The optical reflectance and transmittance of TE and TM waves are calculated and analyzed for two model structures, a superconductor occupying the half-space and a superconducting film of finite thickness. At the oblique incidence to a free-space-superconductor interface, it is found that the Brewster angle of a TM wave is close to the grazing angle of incidence. In the transmittance spectrum for a superconducting film, a sharp comblike distribution of the resonance peaks is found. These peaks are not regularly spaced in the frequency domain. The number of peaks increases substantially with an increase in the thickness of the film. In addition, the effect of the oblique incidence on this anomalous comblike distribution in a TM wave is stronger than that of a TE wave.


Numerous studies emphasize the application of music therapy and music medicine in the treatment of pain. The MUSIC CARE© app that was designed at the University Hospital of Montpellier applies the U-shape music composing technique taking into account the available evidence of the literature on relaxation paradigms. The main objective of this article is to summarize recent research on the standardization and evaluation of this new app of music medicine in the treatment of pain. Following a comprehensive review of the literature, a series of controlled, randomized, multi-centered studies were conducted including patients seeking care in such diverse setting as rheumatology, functional rehabilitation, oncology, geriatrics, anesthesiology and intensive care, neurology, obstetrics, pediatrics and general pain treatment. The effect of the MUSIC CARE© app has been evaluated on different types of acute and chronic pain of various origins (i.e. mechanical, inflammatory and neurological fibromyalgia). Physiological effects on hemodynamic and respiratory markers as well as psychological outcomes, including the relationship between care-provider and patient have been emphasized within multiple trials. The MUSIC CARE© app reduces pain, anxiety and depression to a significant degree and decreases the need for anxiolytics and antidepressants. Our first randomized controlled trials demonstrate the benefit of using MUSIC CARE© application in the management of pain. Future directions for the use of the app in various settings are discussed.


Low temperature processing of Dye-sensitized Solar Cells (DSCs) is essential to enable commercialization with low cost plastic substrates and diminish the overall manufacturing cost. We report a low temperature processing route for photoanodes where thin ZnO nanoshell is deposited by atomic layer deposition at 150 degrees C, on a mesoporous insulating template. We found that a 6 nm ZnO overlayer on a 3 mu m mesoporous nanoparticle Al2O3 template shows a power conversion efficiency of 4.3% with the standard organic sensitizer (coded Y123) and cobalt bipyridine redox mediator. (C) 2014 Sharif University of Technology. All rights reserved.


TITLE OF DISSERTATION: BREAKING THE CYCLE OF HATE: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF TEACHERS' LIVED EXPERIENCES AS BOTH OTHER AND OTHERER Alison Laurie Milofsky Mojto, Doctor of Philosophy, 2009 Dissertation Directed by: Professor Francine Hultgren Department of Education Policy Studies In this phenomenological study I explore the lived experiences of five k-12 teachers around prejudice and discrimination, both in their lives and in the school context. My research question asks, What is the lived experience of teachers s both other and otherer, as target and perpetrator? Embedded in this larger question are two sub-questions: 1) What are the teachers' experiences participating in and mi tigating othering in the classroom? and 2) In what manner do they understand the shaping of their prior experiences as they participate in and mitigate oth ring in the classroom? My research is grounded in the philosophical writings of Levinas and Derrida, and I rely on van Manen to guide me through the methodology of phenomenology. I listen to the stories of teachers who share their personal experiences aroun d othering, digging for meaning that contributes to my understanding of the process. In my preliminary conversations I explore the role of place and emotions in our rela tions with the other. The complexity of identity begins to unfold. The five participants in my study share vivid experiences around thering. Through their stories I come to understand that our experiences around othering have very much to do with our sense of self. My participants do not have consistent relationships with others. Their interactions seem very much influenced by their own identity development, their relationship to the other, and the strength of their memories. In the school context, my participants experience othering from parents, students, and colleagues, and they, too, other, but they remain committed to challenging acts of bias in the school. They move beyond the self, reaching out to their students-asothers, forming relationships that transform the classroom from a place of learning to a place of living, seeing, and being seen. Finally, from my participants' words, I draw implications for pre-service and in-service education programs, imagining how we can prepare teachers to re flect critically, thinking about their personal experiences around othering in ways that enable them to teach for transformation in their classrooms. BREAKING THE CYCLE OF HATE: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF TEACHERS' LIVED EXPERIENCES AS BOTH OTHER AND OTHERER


Described herein is a case of primary breast lymphoma (PBL) that underwent spontaneous regression (SR). A 71‐year‐old woman visited hospital because of the rapid growth of a tumor in her left breast. On imaging, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a discrete solid nodule was detected, which suggested malignant tumor. Histology of the following core needle biopsy (CNB) specimen indicated diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The patient had no past history of lymphoma and there was no evidence of systemic lymph nodes enlargement. After CNB, however, the patient noticed that her breast nodule gradually decreased in size without any specific treatment. Subsequent MRI showed an ill‐defined nodular area suggesting a regressing tumor. Excisional biopsy indicated fibrotic mammary tissue devoid of large neoplastic lymphoid cells. The patient has remained well without evidence of recurrent lymphoma more than 18 months after her original diagnosis. This case is considered to be unique in a PBL showing SR, probably induced by an intervention of CNB and histologically confirmed on sequential examinations in addition to illustrative before‐and‐after imaging. To the best of the authors' knowledge no other PBL of DLBCL has been reported as undergoing a complete SR in the English‐language literature.


This paper introduces the case of an interactive technology enhanced learning model, its contexts and infrastructure at a public university in the Bologna era. From a socio-technological perspective, it takes a look at the conditions and challenges under which this flexible learning model for the social sciences has been developed. Furthermore, selected evaluation results, including experiences and expectations of social science students, are discussed. The paper concludes that it is possible, with the appropriate didactical model, to create and facilitate interactive student-centered learning situations, even in "mass lectures".


Overview These notes are intended to maximize the likelihood that you will pass the AMS CBM evaluation on your first attempt. Typically half of first-time applicants pass the evaluation. There is no minimum on-air experience necessary to apply for the AMS CBM, but weathercasters do improve with experience. It is generally advisable to have 1-2 years of onair experience before applying, although less experience is no guarantee that you will fail, nor is more experience a guarantee that you will pass. A friend who has already earned the AMS CBM can provide guidance as to when you are ready to apply. A positive informal review by a friend with the AMS CBM will not guarantee a passing grade by the Broadcast Board members who review your weathercasts officially, but it is useful nonetheless. Since you select the weathercasts that are submitted, the Board will assume that these represent your best work. Therefore, make sure they are! If you are marginal in a particular category, the benefit of doubt will go against you, because the Board will assume that weathercasts from other days are no better. TV meteorologists often work under various restrictions and requirements imposed by those in authority at their stations. Please mention all of these restrictions when you submit your weathercasts so that the panel can take into consideration when evaluating your work. For instance, if you cannot show a time stamp on your radar loop, or you are forbidden from showing the almanac within your weathercast, letting the panel know of these restrictions will give them a better sense of why certain elements were or were not within your weathercasts. All actively employed meteorologists MUST submit on-air weathercasts. "Off-air" weathercasts will only be accepted from applicants not currently employed. In this case, to better simulate the "on-air experience," a single take with no post-production is required, and it must be recorded with current rather than archived data. If preparing simulated weathercasts, please make them 3-4 minutes for each day and aim them at a general audience, not the AMS Broadcast Board. Present the kind of weathercasts you wish you could air for the general public if you operated under no restrictions other than time. When submitting off-air weathercasts for evaluation, include the specific reasons why the option is being used (e.g. employment status.). Failing to do so will adversely affect your application. As you watch current CBM holders to determine what is necessary to earn a CBM, you should not assume that everything they do is ideal because they themselves may be working under some restrictions or requirements that they wish they could change. There is no minimum or maximum duration for the weathercasts you submit. Nonetheless, it is often difficult to include adequate explanations if you have less than roughly two and a half minutes per weathercast, and reviewers prefer to see no more than 5 minutes for each day. Whether your weathercasts are short or long, time must be managed carefully. Those whose weathercasts are short in time, but frequent in number (morning shows, cable news, etc.), may wish to include several consecutive segments, that approximate a single "full weathercast" when combined, for each day. Anyone exercising this option must clearly state such when submitting their weathercasts. Submissions should include any "tosses" at the beginning and end of each weathercast and should exclude commercials. Before sending your submissions, make sure that the audio and video are recorded properly. You will be instructed on how to upload your weathercasts when you formally apply. Applicants are responsible for the technical quality of their submissions. The remainder of this essay looks at the various evaluation categories for the AMS CBM review and explains what is sought in each. Certainly, it would be desirable if a checklist could be developed for scoring weathercasts that was so explicit that applicants could know even before submitting their weathercasts whether they had passed. Unfortunately, that is impossible because of the many differences that exist from applicant to applicant, such as the length of weathercasts, restrictions and requirements at stations, available graphics, and the variation in weather from area to area, season to season, and day to day that affects how the weather is presented. That is why the American Meteorological Society relies on the collective judgment of a group of reviewers, each with considerable experience in weathercasting. The American Meteorological Society's Board of Broadcast Meteorologists prizes individuality and creativity and firmly believes that there are many ways of doing good weathercasts.


The areas of Bena-Bakolobi are located in the eastern part of the Kedougou-Kenieba in layer. This sector contains several deposits of gold, including the mines of Sadiola, complex Gara-Yalea and Gounkoto, gold mines of Tabakoto and the gold deposit of Fekola, all located around the (SMS) Senegalo Malian shear zone. The work carried out is summarized in two parts: The first part is based on the detailed mapping of the Bena and Bakolobi target. It was necessary to make a detailed mapping in order to understand and assess the target. The second part is to determine the term and the litho-structural control of gold mineralization. This study is based on lithology, alteration, structures and mineralization of the two areas. The ultimate purpose is to draw a regolith map for a future research program. Two types of alteration affect the rock formations of the two zones: weathering (supergene) that consists in hematization, limonitisation and the kaolinitization. The hydrothermal alteration consists in albitization, chloritisation, the sericitization, the tourmalinisation, the sulphidation, silicification and carbonation. This paper improves structural and lithological study of gold mineralization in the areas of Bena and Bakolobi. The analysis of the results of the work carried out in the two zones allowed us to have an overview on the geology of these two zones, which are located in the Kedougou-Kenieba window in the volcano-sedimentary rocks of Proterozoic Formation of Kofi. The lithological and structural studies carried out in the area have demonstrated the relationship between structures and mineralization and/or lithology.


Abstract While plasma concentration kinetics has traditionally been the predictor of drug pharmacological effects, it can occasionally fail to represent kinetics at the site of action, particularly for solid tumors. This is especially true in the case of delivery of therapeutic macromolecules (drug‐loaded nanomaterials or monoclonal antibodies), which can experience challenges to effective delivery due to particle size‐dependent diffusion barriers at the target site. As a result, disparity between therapeutic plasma kinetics and kinetics at the site of action may exist, highlighting the importance of target site concentration kinetics in determining the pharmacodynamic effects of macromolecular therapeutic agents. Assessment of concentration kinetics at the target site has been facilitated by non‐invasive in vivo imaging modalities. This allows for visualization and quantification of the whole‐body disposition behavior of therapeutics that is essential for a comprehensive understanding of their pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. Quantitative non‐invasive imaging can also help guide the development and parameterization of mathematical models for descriptive and predictive purposes. Here, we present a review of the application of state‐of‐the‐art imaging modalities for quantitative pharmacological evaluation of therapeutic nanoparticles and monoclonal antibodies, with a focus on their integration with mathematical models, and identify challenges and opportunities. This article is categorized under: Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Nanomedicine for Oncologic Disease Diagnostic Tools > in vivo Nanodiagnostics and Imaging Nanotechnology Approaches to Biology > Nanoscale Systems in Biology


In this letter, we address the problem of urban-area extraction by using a feature-free image representation concept known as ldquoVisual Words.rdquo This method is based on building a ldquodictionaryrdquo of small patches, some of which appear mainly in urban areas. The proposed algorithm is based on a new pixel-level variant of visual words and is based on three parts: building a visual dictionary, learning urban words from labeled images, and detecting urban regions in a new image. Using normalized patches makes the method more robust to changes in illumination during acquisition time. The improved performance of the method is demonstrated on real satellite images from three different sensors: LANDSAT, SPOT, and IKONOS. To assess the robustness of our method, the learning and testing procedures were carried out on different and independent images.


The hydrogen and methane were produced from wastewater sludge using a Clostridium strain. The original sludge and the pre-treated (acidified, sterilized, freeze/thawed, and sonicated) sludges were tested. Some pre-treatment could enhance hydrogen yield, and the other tests could enhance methane yield. Hydrogen yield followed freeze/thawed>acidified>sterilized>original sludge>sonicated; while methane yield followed sonicated> freeze/thawed>sterilized>acidified>original sludge. The production and consumption of acetate correlated closely with the trends in both yields.


To explore the differences in the main nutritional composition of 23 kinds of common edible fungi in the market, the moisture, ash, protein, fat, dietary fiber, carbohydrates, polysaccharides, and energy were analyzed using national standard methods. The results showed that the 23 kinds of edible fungi varied greatly in nutritional composition. Based on dry weight, the moisture content was 6.9∼15.5 g/100 g, the ash content ranged from 1.3 to 10.1 g/100 g, the protein content ranged from 8.5 to 36.9 g/100 g, the fat content was 0.5∼3.9 g/100 g, the dietary fiber content was between 14.4∼70.2 g/100 g, the carbohydrate content is 0.5∼37.3 g/100 g, the polysaccharide content was 2.1∼8.3 g/100 g, and the energy is about 751∼1322 100 g/kJ. All the 23 kinds of edible fungi can be regarded as high-protein low-fat foods, which have their own advantages in terms of nutritional value. This study provides reference for people to use edible fungi in a more scientific and reasonable way.


A methodology for deriving a surface wave impedance that can be used within an asymptotic UTD ray-tracing model of surface wave diffraction is described in this paper. Fock theory can be used to calculate electromagnetic surface wave propagation on non-conducting, convex surfaces that are represented by an impedance boundary condition. A numerical estimate of the surface wave impedance presented to TE electromagnetic radiation propagating over a conducting, convex surface uniformly coated with a thin, lossy layer can be found from a 2D finite element time domain analysis. Surface wave impedance values derived from the CEM modelling are subsequently plugged into an asymptotic model in order to produce comparative prediction data with which to validate the approach. Simple curve-fitting procedures can be used to characterise the impedance over a range of frequencies and material properties for which the impedance boundary approximation is valid. The material corrections for the TM polarisation state are an order of magnitude smaller than the standard Fock theory predictions for a perfectly conducting body and have therefore been neglected. The problem is relevant to the performance prediction of antennas installed on non-perfectly conducting, coated bodies on which impedance boundary conditions apply. Only surfaces with constant curvature that were uniformly coated with linear, isotropic homogeneous materials were considered for this study.


Language Translation for Mental Health Materials: A Comparison of Current Back-Translation and Skopostheorie-Based Methods Amelia Kathleen Black Department of Counseling Psychology and Special Education, BYU Doctor of Philosophy As mental health professionals seek to disseminate information in many languages in order to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse population, it is important to consider the methods of written translation that the field is choosing to employ. The method chosen for translation can affect the accuracy and usability of the translated text. This study begins with a survey of current literature, the results of which suggest that the most popular translation method in the mental health field is back-translation, a translation method based in the premise that translating a text back into its original English after it has been translated into a second language provides an accurate indication of the success of the translation. This study then compares back-translation with an alternative translation approach based in skopostheorie, an area of translation theory that asserts that translational activity should be ultimately grounded in the purpose of the translation rather than the objective equivalency of the source and target texts. Each of the two approaches is applied separately in the translation of the Centers for Disease Control's handout, "Helping Parents Cope with Disaster," into Spanish and Chinese. The two resulting target texts for each language are compared in terms of linguistic equivalence by review committees and compared in terms of usability by individuals from the target audiences. Feedback from reviewers and audience members in both languages suggest that the skopostheorie based approach to translation may facilitate higher quality translation than backtranslation in terms of both equivalence and usability. Suggestions for mental health professionals engaging in translation are then offered, as well as directions for future research.


In cases where patient portable bronchoscopy is damaged or absance, a process that we think can be used endotracheal intubation method to treat total atelectasis . Total preliminary unprepared 10-15 minutes can be done with an experienced team. It is a process that can be carried out with mild sedation and patient is able to maintain saturation 90-95 with nasal oxygen after the procedure. In the absence of treatment of the patient with total or near total atelectasis , due to respiratory failure and aggravated pneumonia and mortality rates will increase. This article, when intensive care unit (ICU) bronchoscopy is impaired we performed three patients with right and left lung total atelectasis pre and post interventional procedure chest radiographs were evaluated.


OBJECTIVE
The number of children and adolescents (hereafter referred to as "children") who have been prescribed second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs) has increased over the last decade, but little is known about monitoring practices in pediatric patients who are vulnerable to adverse effects. We examined factors associated with psychiatrists' self-reported monitoring of children who were prescribed SGAs.

METHODS
A survey was mailed to a national, randomly selected sample of 1600 child and adolescent psychiatrists from the American Medical Association mailing list. Using logistic regression, we tested whether psychiatrist characteristics, attitudes, and practice characteristics were associated with monitoring (baseline and/or periodic) the following: Patient history, height and weight, blood pressure, waist circumference, lipid and glucose levels, and electrocardiogram.

RESULTS
Among the analytic sample of 308, at least two thirds reported monitoring patient history, height and weight, blood pressure, and fasting plasma lipids and glucose; 23% reported monitoring waist circumference; and 12% reported conducting an electrocardiogram. More than one third stated that they routinely monitored thyroid levels and more than half reported monitoring complete blood count and electrolytes/blood urea nitrogen. Psychiatrists reporting that they were able to measure vital signs on site were more likely to measure height and weight. Those who reported feeling comfortable conducting a physical examination were more likely to measure blood pressure. Those answering that the risk of metabolic syndrome was low were less likely to measure blood pressure and waist circumference. Being board certified and able to measure vital signs on site were associated with more monitoring of glucose and lipid levels. Conversely, years in practice and feeling that patients were nonadherent with blood work were associated with less monitoring of glucose and lipid levels.

CONCLUSIONS
In this sample, inconsistent monitoring patterns of children prescribed SGAs were found. Efforts to communicate guidelines' evidence base and improve office capacity to measure and track adverse effects are needed to increase appropriate adverse effect monitoring in children who have been prescribed SGAs.


Introduction Private university students are a unique population in Nigeria. The organization and administration of these institutions, the mode of admission, and facilities in place account for the uniqueness of their students compared with their counterparts in government institutions. Students in private institutions are provided with facilities that will enhance their academic performance, which includes hostel accommodation, sporting activities, a well-equipped library, information and communication technology (Internet access), and others. Payments for such facilities are always included in tuition fees. It is the aim of this research to determine the level of accessibility and use of Internet services in these universities. Objectives This study has the following objectives: 1. to determine if there are Internet facilities for students of private universities in Ogun State 2. to determine the level of accessibility of Internet facilities by students of private universities in Ogun State. 3. to identify for the purposes for which Internet facilities are used by students of private universities in Ogun State. Literature Review Gatenby (2003) states that the greatest phenomenon of recent years has been the explosion of the Internet. Salaam (2003), in a survey of the use of Internet services in Nigerian university libraries, found that access to Internet services in the libraries surveyed was restricted to staff only. The survey further identifies a poor telecommunication system, unreliable electrical supply, lack of Internet service providers in some parts of the country, and poor funding of the university system as major problems militating against access and use of Internet facilities. Akporido (2005) in research carried out on Internet use in a Nigerian suburban setting- Abraka, Delta State, observes that in order to enable students at Delta State University, Abraka to use the Internet, users must pay for access in cybercafes. They are usually given a ticket password that is keyed into the system before getting access. As soon as the access time paid for expires, the system automatically logs the user off. Jones (2002), in research carried out on the Internet and American life, found that college students use the Internet more to communicate socially than they do for academic work. Nwokedi (2007) posits that lack of searching skills is still hindering good use of Internet. He asserts that acquisition of Internet skills can lead to discovery of valuable research and teaching resources, which would in turn cause the users to use the Internet to enhance their research and learning capabilities. Internet access ability would be expected to stimulate regular use of the Internet and minimize the perceived barriers to its use. Methodology A survey research design was adopted for this study. The research instrument is a questionnaire. The study population includes 120 undergraduate students of 4 private universities in Ogun State, Nigeria. A systematic random sampling method was also used. The readers service librarian of each of the universities was solicited to administer the questionnaire to the undergraduate students. There were 113 respondents, giving a response rate of 94.2 percent. Data Analysis and Discussion About half the respondents (58, 51.32%) were female, and about half (55, 48.67%) were males. A majority (70, 61.94%) were age 15-20, with 36 (31.85%) between 21 and 25, and 7 (6.19%) 31-35. More than one-third (44, 38.93%) are in their second year in the university and 51 (38%) spend more than one hour on the Internet each day. About one-third access the Internet in the university library (30.13%), and about one-third (34%) have been using Internet facilities provided by their institutions since being admitted to the university. All the universities studied make Internet facilities available for their students. …


This article explores the problem of seemingly bad acts that go unpunished because the actor lacked knowledge of some fact necessary for conviction, most particularly in circumstances in which the harm done and the actor involved seem precisely those that the crime was intended to address. It first dissects an emotionally compelling rape case in which courts used a variety of theories to inculpate a defendant who did not have the mens rea required for the crime. In this first part, it explores the very confused state of the law regarding the mens rea of rape. In the second part, this rape case and other examples are used to analyze the larger problem of noncriminal bad acts. The article investigates the cause of this phenomenon and several possible remedies, including: lowering the mens rea of all knowledge level crimes; manipulating the doctrine of willful blindness, sometimes used as a knowledge substitute; and formulating a new mens rea of culpable "indifference." It concludes that none of these suggestions proves entirely satisfactory, and that attempts to correct this particular problem could result in even greater injustice.