Abstract The purpose of lifelogging is to help users collect data for self-monitoring and reflection. We have in this study explored how lifelogging technology (a camera and a heart rate monitor) can change user experience (UX) research, and we describe a novel approach. Data was collected for three days with four participants, and a 4–6-hours co-creation workshop with stimulated recall interview was held with each of them to create an experience timeline. The timeline includes self-reported key experiences, lifelog stimulated experiences, heart rate, decisions, and valence. The results show that the number of experiences in the timeline that come from data points stimulated by the lifelogging, are as many as the self-reported data points. Lessons learned include that the use of lifelogging produces highly detailed UX research, but it is very time consuming, due to the sheer amount of data.


Motivation De novo assembly of whole genome shotgun (WGS) next-generation sequencing (NGS) data benefits from high-quality input with high coverage. However, in practice, determining the quality and quantity of useful reads quickly and in a reference-free manner is not trivial. Gaining a better understanding of the WGS data, and how that data is utilised by assemblers, provides useful insights that can inform the assembly process and result in better assemblies. Results We present the K-mer Analysis Toolkit (KAT): a multi-purpose software toolkit for reference-free quality control (QC) of WGS reads and de novo genome assemblies, primarily via their k-mer frequencies and GC composition. KAT enables users to assess levels of errors, bias and contamination at various stages of the assembly process. In this paper we highlight KAT's ability to provide valuable insights into assembly composition and quality of genome assemblies through pairwise comparison of k-mers present in both input reads and the assemblies. Availability KAT is available under the GPLv3 license at: https://github.com/TGAC/KAT. Contact firstname.lastname@example.com Supplementary Information Supplementary Information (SI) is available at Bioinformatics online. In addition, the software documentation is available online at: http://kat.readthedocs.io/en/latest/.


Acoustic filters have a wide range of applications, yet customizing them with desired properties is difficult. Motivated by recent progress in additive manufacturing that allows for fast prototyping of complex shapes, we present a computational approach that automates the design of acoustic filters with complex geometries. In our approach, we construct an acoustic filter comprised of a set of parameterized shape primitives, whose transmission matrices can be precomputed. Using an efficient method of simulating the transmission matrix of an assembly built from these underlying primitives, our method is able to optimize both the arrangement and the parameters of the acoustic shape primitives in order to satisfy target acoustic properties of the filter. We validate our results against industrial laboratory measurements and high-quality off-line simulations. We demonstrate that our method enables a wide range of applications including muffler design, musical wind instrument prototyping, and encoding imperceptible acoustic information into everyday objects.


This paper reviews the interaction between environmental and investment law obligations in investment treaty arbitrations. Given the hybrid character of investment disputes, where state measures are alleged to breach investment treaty standards, it is inevitable that environmental measures might be caught in the web of obligations contained in the applicable investment instruments. The normative conflicts that might ensue have attracted attention both within and outwith the investment community. Within the investment community, there have been rising concerns about the implications of this normative dissonance for legal certainty and standards of protection available to investors; on the other hand, the need has been expressed for reaffirming the necessity of an adequate regulatory space for states in the pursuit of environmental policies. The debates have often assumed confrontational tones and raised arguably unjustified fears. Accusations of statism and disguised protectionism have been met with counter-claims of pro-investment bias and 'legitimacy deficit'. This paper will avoid to engage with these debates and concentrate instead on the practical, system-specific tools available to arbitrators for the harmonisation of potentially conflicting obligations. This can be accomplished principally through the application of express provisions contained in the relevant investment treaty, by interpretation of the investment instrument in light of general international law, including environmental law, and, procedurally, by inclusion of third parties in the proceedings. Express provisions (carve-out clauses, exceptions clauses or balancing clauses) allow for environmental obligations to be raised as legitimate defences by the host state. Additionally, either conflict clauses expressly included in the investment instrument, or general conflict rules applicable to the resolution of the dispute, can be employed by the tribunals in order to avoid or solve potential conflicts of obligations. Submissions by environmental interveners can provide the tribunal with information not available from the parties, and guarantee, if not that public interest concerns are taken into account in the proceedings, at least that they are voiced. The analysis reveals that the avenues for fruitful interaction between these distinct legal regimes are available to the investment arbitrators. However, the story of 'investment and its others' is mostly a story of miscommunication and disconnect. In its second part, we will attempt to come to grips with these structural failures of communication and provide a plausible explanation for them. As already stated, this paper argues that endogenous, system-internal solutions for the co-ordination of environmental and investment obligations are already available within the investment system: as a successful example of how this can be accomplished, the paper will conclude by examining the recent Chemtura award, where, it is submitted, the arbitrators stroke a reasonable balance between the judicious application of the investment instrument and the careful consideration of the defences raised by the state in relation to their international and domestic obligations to implement environmental measures.


ABSTRACT Gypsophila farsensis Falat., Assadi & F. Ghahrem., sp. nov. is described as a new endemic species of the Center of Iran. Morphological evidences (dichasial inflorescence, tubular-campanulate calyx with wide hyaline intervals, petals two to two and a half times as the calyx with distinct limb and claw, ovules 17–27) support taxonomic placement of the new taxon in Gypsophila L. subgenus Pseudosaponaria Williams. Gypsophila farsensis, sp. nov. is close to G. platyphylla Boiss., but it differs with having shorter habit, thinner stems, glandular-hairy lower internodes, shorter internodes, linear-lanceolate leaves with less width and spatulate petals. Moreover, G. boissieriana Hausskn. & Bornm. is proposed as a synonym of G. platyphylla Boiss. Micromorphology of seeds and pollen grains is described and compared between the described taxa.


This paper presents the results from an investigation to assess the development of a Cabernet Sauvignon wine bottled with different closures including a screw cap (ROTE, roll-on-tamper-evident) and different ullage volumes (4, 16 and 64 mL of air). The wines were filled manually, sealed using commercial equipment and stored under controlled temperature and humidity conditions. The concentration of free and total SO2, and phenolic compounds including anthocyanins, selected pigments, pigmented polymers and tannins, and colour measurements using spectral and CIELAB methods, have been determined in the wines over a two-year storage period. In addition, sensory analysis of the aroma and palate properties of the wines was performed after 6, 9, 11, 18 and 24 months' storage. The wines sealed under the screw cap with either 4 or 64 mL ullage volumes were clearly different from each other and the other treatments in the study, and these differences were seen within the first year after bottling. The wines bottled under the more commercially relevant conditions, screw cap with 16 mL headspace, synthetic closure or natural bark closure, were more similar in both composition and sensory characters, although subtle differences between different closures were evident. 'Rubbery' and 'struck flint' like aromas (generically termed reduced aroma) were detected in some of the wines in the study but were not a large or dominating character. The scores for this character were highest in the wine sealed under the screw cap with the smallest ullage volume.


Summary Th e aim of this study was to analyze the chemical composition of apple purees of four diff erent apple varieties: 'Golden Delicious', 'Idared', 'Jonagold' and 'Cripps Pink', in the fresh state (FP) and aft er thermal treatment by process of pasteurization with added green (PG) or white stevia powder (PW) derived from the leaves of the stevia plant. Also, to determine whether there is a signifi cant infl uence of sweetening with stevia on the change of analyzed nutritional parameters of apple purees based on the results. Signifi cant increase of dry matter content in PG and PW samples of apple purees was determined for approximately 10%, and also for total soluble solid content for 1%. High increase of natural invert content, for approximately fi ve times higher, and some lower increase of total invert content of analyzed purees was determined in PG and PW samples in comparison with the FP samples. Total acid content and pHvalue did not show any signifi cant change during the process of pasteurization and sweetening with stevia. The pasteurization signifi cantly infl uenced the slight vitamin C reduction as well as the high reduction of total phenols in PG and PW samples. Based on the obtained results it can be concluded that the thermal processing by pasteurization signifi cantly affects the degradation of high antioxidant activity compounds. Adding a green and white stevia powder signifi cantly infl uenced the alterations of some nutritional components analyzed in apple purees: the dry matter content, soluble solids, and natural invert content (sugar glucose). It is important to emphasize, that the main effect of green and white stevia powder was the increase of natural invert content i.e. content of glucose and fructose, thereby increasing the sweetness of product, without increasing the content of "harmful" sugars e.g. sucrose.


A new survey of Drombeg Stone Circle and accurate analysis of shadow effects beginning at particular sunrises of the calendar year has led to a breakthrough in the understanding of lithic symbolism and the intentions behind the construction of this and other Irish monuments including Knowth and Newgrange that also have astronomical alignments.
At Drombeg specific standing stones play critical roles at sunrise for all eight of the festival dates as known traditionally and historically for agricultural communities and as now inferred for prehistoric times following the present observation-based analysis.
Crucial for Drombeg in the summer half of the year is the positioning of a tall straight-sided portal stone such that its shadow at midsummer sunrise encounters an engraving on the recumbent stone diametrically opposite. During subsequent minutes the shadow moves away allowing the light of the sun to fall on the carved symbol. It is the same for sunrises at Beltane (May Day), Lughnasadh (Lammas), and the equinoxes when shadows from other perimeter stones achieve the same coupling with the same image, each time soon replaced by sunlight. For the winter half of the year which includes dates for Samhain, the winter solstice and Imbolc, the target stone for shadow reception at sunrise is a huge lozenge-shaped megalith, artificially trimmed. Moreover, for 22 March and 21 September there is notable dramatic action by shadow and light between a precisely positioned narrow pillar stone and the lozenge stone.
As a result, at sunrise at Drombeg eight calendrical shadow events have been witnessed and photographed. This attests to the precision of Neolithic planning that determined the stone positions, and demonstrates the antiquity of the calendar dates for these traditional agricultural festivals. Discussion is held as to what the concept of shadow casting between shaped or engraved stones at the time of sunrise may have meant in terms of lithic symbolism for the planners and builders. This leads to a possible explanation in terms of the ancient worldview known as the hieros gamos or the Marriage of the Gods between Sky and Earth.


Background: Abnormalities in amygdala volume are well-established in schizophrenia and commonly reported in bipolar disorders. However, the specificity of volumetric differences in individual amygdala nuclei is largely unknown. Methods: Patients with schizophrenia disorders (SCZ, n=452, including schizophrenia, schizoaffective and other psychotic disorders, mean age 30.7{+/-}9.2 (SD), females 44.4%), bipolar disorders (BP, n=316, including bipolar I and II, 33.7{+/-}11.4, 58.5%) and healthy controls (n=753, 34.1{+/-}9.1, 40.9%) underwent T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. Total amygdala and nuclei volumes as well as intracranial volume (ICV) were estimated with Freesurfer (v6.0.0). Analysis of covariance and multiple linear regression models, adjusting for age, age2, ICV and sex, were fitted to examine diagnostic group and subgroup differences in volume, respectively. Results: Bilateral total amygdala and all nuclei volumes, except the medial and central nuclei, were significantly smaller in patients relative to controls. The largest effect sizes were found for the basal nucleus, accessory basal nucleus and cortico-amygdaloid transition area (partial {eta}2 > 0.02). The diagnostic subgroup analysis showed that reductions in amygdala nuclei volume were most widespread in schizophrenia, with the lateral, cortical, paralaminar and central nuclei being solely reduced in this disorder. The right accessory basal nucleus was marginally smaller in SCZ relative to BP (t = 2.32, p = 0.05). Conclusions: Our study is the first to demonstrate distinct patterns of amygdala nuclei volume reductions in a well-powered sample of patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorders. Volume differences in the basolateral complex (lateral, basal, accessory basal nuclei) may be putative neuroimaging markers for differentiating schizophrenia and bipolar disorders.


Metamorphosed and deformed A-type granites ranging in age from 1087 to 1119 Ma occur in strike-slip and reverse-slip shear zones of the Ubendian and Irumide belts of northern Malawi. Peak metamorphic conditions in the granites and their wallrocks reached about 12–13 kbar and 680–740°C. Microstructures reveal that the granites experienced a seemingly progressive deformation from magmatic to solid state. Magmatic deformation is manifested by the coexistence of aligned magmatic potassium feldspar, plagioclase, amphibole, biotite and ilmenite with undeformed quartz and schlieren structures. High-temperature solid-state deformation is characterized by widespread grain-boundary migration, dynamic recrystallization and myrmekitic potassium feldspar replacement. The tectonic foliation is generally subparallel to the magmatic foliation in the granites and also subparallel to the borders of the plutons and to the foliation in the wallrock. Kinematic indicators in both granite and wallrock reveal sinistral movement in the Ubendian-belt shear zones and top-to-the-ESE thrusting in the Irumide-belt shear zones. The overall parallelism of magmatic and tectonic foliations would suggest syntectonic emplacement of the granites with respect to a c. 1100 Ma Irumide orogeny. However, similar deformation patterns of granite-related dykes and some Pan-African pegmatites and geochronologic work suggests that the first deformation of the granites, their related dykes and some of the pegmatites occurred during the Pan-African orogeny. This study implies that a purely structural approach to distinguish syn- and pretectonic granites is rendered difficult when post-emplacement deformation occurred under high-grade metamorphic conditions. Strongly heterogeneous deformation with a pronounced degree of coaxial flattening in the granites allows magmatic structures to be preserved in low-strain zones and to be passively rotated into parallelism with penetrative deformation structures. Our work also implies that there was no Irumide orogen in northern Malawi.


ABNORMAL NEUROMUSCULAR FATIGUE AND MOTOR PERFORMANCE OF THE KNEE EXTENSORS POST STROKE Henry R. L. Kuhnen Marquette University, 2012 Stroke causes paresis in leg muscles, such as the knee extensors, that significantly impairs motor control and function during tasks such as walking. Reduced endurance and increased kinematic asymmetries during walking over time indicate paretic musculature may fatigue more quickly than non-paretic musculature. The primary purpose of this study was to identify abnormalities in neuromuscular fatigue (reduction in force over time) of the paretic knee extensors and associate them with motor performance. We investigated the effects of repeated six second isometric submaximal (30% of maximum voluntary contraction) knee extensor fatiguing contractions on task failure and motor performance in ten chronic stroke subjects and compared them to ten, healthy controls. A systematic criterion determined task failure. We recorded knee extensor torque, stretch reflex responses, surface electromyography (EMG) of agonist (rectus femoris and vastus medialis) and antagonist (medial hamstring) knee extensor muscles, and muscle fiber conduction velocity (CV) of the vastus lateralis muscle as interpretive measures of neuromuscular fatigue. A power spectral density analysis of the intermittent target torque estimated the effect of fatigue on force fluctuations. Two isometric submaximal torque tracking tasks performed before and after fatigue provided direct measures of fatigue on force variability and error. Stroke subjects failed the fatiguing task significantly sooner than control subjects. In controls, averaged rectified EMG amplitude significantly increased and CV significantly reduced with fatigue, while no changes occurred in stroke. Fatigue caused a spectral shift toward higher force fluctuation frequencies in control but not stroke subjects. Time to task failure in stroke subjects negatively correlated with their walking speed. Additionally, pre-fatigue torque variability and error was greater in stroke than control subjects, and increased significantly with fatigue. In summary, paretic knee extensors have increased neuromuscular fatigability of the paretic knee extensors which relates to walking speed. The interpretative measures suggest that central factors may contribute more to time-to-task failure as compared to peripheral (muscular factors) in stroke survivors. Performance data demonstrate pre and post-fatigue impairments in sub-maximal force regulation. Taken together, these data demonstrate previously un-described impairments in paretic knee extensor force generation and regulation that could contribute to motor dysfunction post stroke.


Railway-generated ground vibrations cause significant disturbance for residents of nearby
buildings even when generated by conventional passenger or heavy-freight trains [1,2]. If
train speeds increase, the intensity of railway-generated vibrations generally becomes larger.
For modern high-speed trains the increase in ground vibration intensity is especially high
when train speeds approach certain critical velocities of waves propagating in a track-ground
system. The most important are two such critical velocities: the velocity of Rayleigh surface
wave in the ground and the minimal phase velocity of bending waves propagating in a track
supported by ballast, the latter velocity being referred to as track critical velocity. Both these
velocities can be easily exceeded by modern high-speed trains, especially in the case of very
soft soil where both critical velocities become very low.
As has been theoretically predicted by the present author [3,4], if a train speed v exceeds
the Rayleigh wave velocity cR in supporting soil a ground vibration boom occurs. It is
associated with a very large increase in generated ground vibrations, as compared to the case
of conventional trains. The phenomenon of ground vibration boom is similar to a sonic boom
for aircraft crossing the sound barrier, and its existence has been recently confirmed
experimentally [5,6] (see also chapter 11). The measurements have been carried out on
behalf of the Swedish Railway Authorities when their West-coast Main Line from
Gothenburg to Malmo was opened for the X2000 high-speed train. The speeds achievable by
the X2000 train (up to 200 km/h) can be larger than lowest Rayleigh wave velocities in this
part of Sweden characterised by very soft ground. In particular, at the location near Ledsgard
the Rayleigh wave velocity in the ground was around 45 m/s, so the increase in train speed
from 140 to 180 km/h lead to about 10 times increase in generated ground vibrations [5] (see
chapter 11). The above mentioned first observations of ground vibration boom indicate that
now one can speak about "supersonic" ("superseismic") or, more precisely, "trans-Rayleigh"
trains [7-9]. The increased attention of railway companies and local authorities to ground
vibrations associated with high-speed trains stimulated a growing number of theoretical and
experimental investigations in this area (see, e.g. [10-13]).
2
If train speeds increase further and approach the track critical velocity, then rail
deflections due to applied wheel loads may become essentially larger. Possible very large rail
deflections around this speed may result even in train derailment, thus representing a serious
problem for train and passenger safety [6,14-16]. From the point of view of generating
ground vibrations outside the track, these large rail deflections can be responsible for an
additional growth of ground vibration amplitudes, as compared to the above mentioned case
of ground vibration boom [7,9,17].
In the present paper we review the current status of the theory of ground vibration boom
from high-speed trains. Among the problems to be discussed are the quasi-static pressure
generation mechanism, effects of Rayleigh wave velocity and track wave resonances on
generated ground vibrations, effects of layered geological structure of the ground, and
waveguide effects of the embankments. The results of theoretical calculations for TGV and
Eurostar high-speed trains travelling along typical tracks are compared with the existing
experimental observations.


The Spanish Influenza pandemic of 1918-19 was the worst pandemic of modern times, claiming over 30 million lives in less than six months. In the hardest hit societies, everything else was put aside in a bid to cope with its ravages. It left millions orphaned and medical science desperate to find its cause. Despite the magnitude of its impact, few scholarly attempts have been made to examine this calamity in its many-sided complexity.
On a global, multidisciplinary scale, the book seeks to apply the insights of a wide range of social and medical sciences to an investigation of the pandemic. Topics covered include the historiography of the pandemic, its virology, the enormous demographic impact, the medical and governmental responses it elicited, and its long-term effects, particularly the recent attempts to identify the precise causative virus from specimens taken from flu victims in 1918, or victims buried in the Arctic permafrost at that time.


This paper puts forward the potential for designing a parrot-inspired robot and an indirect teaching technique, the adapted model-rival method (AMRM), to help improve learning and social interaction abilities of children with autism spectrum disorder. The AMRM was formulated by adapting two popular conventional approaches, namely, model-rival method and label-training procedure. In our validation trials, we used a semi-autonomous parrot-inspired robot, called KiliRo, to simulate a set of autonomous behaviors. A proposed robot-assisted therapy using AMRM was pilot tested with nine children with autism spectrum disorder for five consecutive days in a clinical setting. We analyzed the facial expressions of children when they interacted with KiliRo using an automated emotion recognition and classification system, Oxford emotion API (Application Programming Interface). Results provided some indication that the children with autism spectrum disorder appeared attracted and happy to interact with the parrot-inspired robot. Short qualitative interviews with the children's parents, the pediatrician, and the child psychologist who participated in this pilot study, also acknowledged that the proposed parrot-inspired robot and the AMRM may have some merit in aiding in improving learning and social interaction abilities of children with autism spectrum disorder.


The Steens Basalt, southeast Oregon, USA, initiated at 17 Ma as the earliest pulse of the Columbia River Flood Basalt of the northwestern USA. New and existing stratigraphically controlled data reveal temporal changes in lava flow character, and whole-rock and mineral compositions, which we use to evaluate how the balance of magma differentiation processes change in time. Temporal petrochemical variations in the Steens Basalt are analogous to the transition from Imnaha Basalt to Grande Ronde Basalt units of the Columbia River Flood Basalt and have parallels to the temporal evolution of the Deccan and Siberian traps, in India and Russia, respectively, as well as to the stratigraphic sequences of the Bushveld, of South Africa, and Stillwater, in southern Montana, USA, layered mafic intrusions. The excellent stratigraphic control from the Steens Basalt provides a detailed record for comparison across this variety of large mafic systems, providing ability to focus on commonalities among differentiation processes in time. Chemostratigraphic excursions and volcanological characteristics in the Steens Basalt record a three-stage history. A minimally exposed early stage preserved in the lower A Steens Basalt section is characterized by heterogeneity (3–8 wt% MgO) collapsing to homogeneity (~5 wt% MgO), suggesting crystal fractionation outpaces recharge. Sparse weathering horizons indicate some time elapses between eruptions. The second stage, lower B Steens Basalt, is volumetrically dominant and represents waxing of the basaltic pulse. Flows are stacked immediately upon one another without evidence of weathering or intervening sedimentary horizons, indicating high-eruptive frequency. Compositions oscillate over a ΔMgO of ~4–5 wt% between lowand highMgO basalt, both of which become more magnesian up section, signaling a period dominated by recharge. This stage closes with declining oscillations to produce homogeneous compositions (6–8 wt% MgO). The waning stage of eruption is represented by the upper Steens Basalt section, where thin intercalated weathering horizons occur especially high in the section. The upper Steens Basalt is characterized by overall declining MgO and increasing incompatible element concentrations confirming the dominance of crystal fractionation accompanied by crustal assimilation. In detail, the upper Steens Basalt initiates with a small stack of heterogeneous flows (5–8 wt% MgO), followed by a period of relatively homogeneous flows (~6 wt% MgO) and closes with highly variable basalts to trachybasaltic andesites. These compositional characteristics coupled with a change in average flow thickness from lower to upper Steens Basalt of <5 m to 5–10 m illustrate a shift to more silicic compositions and higher viscosity up section. The chemical changes up section in other large igneous provinces record similar variations in differentiation processes through time, suggesting that these large volume systems share similar evolutionary histories: the earliest records suggest the magmatic systems are initially more ephemeral and compositionally variable as magma traverses relatively cool crust. With waxing, a transition to regimes of high thermal and mass input results in a stage where recharge outpaces crystal fractionation. Thermal priming of the crust during these events coupled with waning input yields magmas in which fractionation plus crustal assimilation dominates over recharge late in the system; pulses of later stage felsic magmatism in many large mafic provinces are consistent with this evolution. Using layered mafic intrusions as an analog for intrusive, cumulus-dominated residua of voluminous fractionation, as well as oceanic large igneous provinces as an analog for total magma volumes in continental flood basalt regimes, leads to the suggestion that 50%–85% of the total magma volume in a flood basalt remains in the crust, effectively remaking the crust in these regions.


Development economists disfavour with services as a viable engine of growth has been expressed both through theoretical and empirical analysis. One of the stylized facts of development economics is that share of services in employment increases only with the rise in per capita incomes. The skepticism emanates from the observed relatively jobless nature of service sector growth, in particular in the low- and middle-income developing countries. However, given that services have becomes the main source of growth in even the lowest income developing countries, new empirical evaluation of this thesis has become crucial. A second stylized fact openly acknowledges trade as a source of growth and development. International trade in services, and in particular in the developing countries, has remained significantly lower in comparison to its share in global output. Further, one of the notable trends in recent years has been the increasing importance of cross-border supply of services in economic activities of countries. But is this a sustainable and viable model of development? In view of the above, this paper reviews Indias experience to understand how services sector liberalisation can generate (welfare) gains for developing countries, in particular vis--vis its employment generation potential. The analysis has been based on Indias experience of an increasingly open service sector and reviews the different channels through which economic gains are garnered from openness to trade in services. But the lessons from this analysis extend far beyond India and are of interest to both developed and developing countries policymakers concerned about sustaining the competitiveness of their domestic economy.


Shapes incorporate geometry as well as semantics and can be defined in 2D, 3D or higher dimensions. Geometric models can be structured in such a way that they can provide a relevant framework to insert semantic information or view dependent information about a product to form features. Combining such features with an immersive environment allows the user to interact more efficiently with an object. This framework will be illustrated in the context of free-form surface modelling for aesthetic design and in the context of engineering and simulation, both among the research themes of the network of excellence AIM@SHAPE. Virtual environments can also contribute to the efficiency of the design process through appropriate models of interaction between the objects contributing to a given simulation environment (a maintenance task, a surface deformation process for aesthetic design for example). To this end, virtual humans bring new capabilities to enhance simulations though they require new models of interaction to incorporate the appropriate semantics during an object manipulation. This third aspect is also part of the ongoing research actions of AIM@SHAPE and will be addressed to show how it is complementary to the previous one. As a result, this set of contributions demonstrates how various categories of semantic can enhance the design process within virtual environments.


Autontibodies to a wide variety of antigens are associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and the Antiphospholipid Syndrome (APS). Previous studies have demonstrated the importance of somatic mutations and arginine residues in the complementarity determining regions (CDRs) of pathogenic anti-dsDNA and antiphospholipid antibodies. This thesis describes the study of two human monoclonal IgG antibodies, B3 (anti-DNA) and IS4 (antiphospholipid) that were derived from a patient with active SLE and primary APS respectively. I have demonstrated in-vitro expression and mutagenesis of B3 and IS4 and used this expression system to investigate the importance of the arginine residues in B3VH and IS4VH. The mutant heavy chains, as well as the wild-type VH were expressed with different light chains and the resulting antibodies assessed for binding to nucleosomes, alpha-actinin, cardiolipin (CL), phosphatidylserine (PS), beta-2-glycoprotein I (foGPI), and the N-terminal domain of p2GPI (Domain I) using direct binding assays. The results obtained have shown that the presence of arginine at position 53 in B3VH was essential but not sufficient for binding to dsDNA and nucleosomes. Conversely, the presence of this arginine reduced binding to alpha-actinin, pzGPI and Domain I of P2GPI. The fact that the arginine to serine substitution at position 53 in B3VH significantly alters binding of B3 to different clinically relevant antigens, but in opposite directions implies that this arginine residue plays a critical role in the affinity maturation of the antibody B3. Furthermore, of four arginine residues in IS4VH CDR3 substituted to serine, two at positions 100 and 100g reduced binding to all antigens, while two at positions 96 and 97 reduced binding to fcGPI but increased or decreased binding to CL and PS. Only one H/L chain combination bound neutral phospholipid and none bound dsDNA hence, these effects are particularly relevant to antigens important in APS. Therefore, my findings suggest that these four arginine residues have developed as a result of somatic mutations driven by an antigen containing both phospholipid and frGPI. These results extend our knowledge of the structure-function relationship of human anti-DNA and anti phospholipid antibodies and aid in our understanding of how these antibodies lead to pathogenicity and what we need to target in the future for possible therapies.


Three and four-point bend end-notched flexure tests, comprising a number of different test geometries, are performed on two different graphite/epoxy composites, and the toughnesses are obtained by a compliance calibration method of data reduction. The coefficient of friction along the crack plane and the flexural modulus of each material are then determined experimentally and used with nonlinear finite-element analyses to simulate these same test configurations. By using the mean experimentally observed critical load, these simulations are used to obtain the materials' toughnesses by three different methods. The first uses a previously developed `direct energy balance approach,' which is assumed to produce the `true' toughness. The second is by a simulated compliance calibration procedure, which is used to obtain the perceived toughness for an infinitely stiff fixture. In the third approach, experimentally determined fixture compliances, as a function of the test geometry, specimen, and crack length, are used along with the simulated compliance calibration procedure to obtain a perceived toughness that accurately accounts for the effects of friction, geometric nonlinearities, and fixture compliance. The perceived toughnesses as obtained by these simulations are shown to accurately recreate the perceived values of toughness that are obtained from the physical tests. Moreover, the finite-element simulations indicate that the true toughness values are essentially constant for a given material, and that the three-point bend end-notched flexure test will provide perceived toughnesses that correspond quite closely to the true value, whereas the four-point bend test often will not. For these reasons, the three-point bend configuration was found to be the more preferable of the two tests.


The English discourse marker after all and the
 Japanese discourse marker datte have been commonly claimed to
 give a reason or justification to the preceding utterance, and therefore, these
 two expressions are regarded as the equivalent translation counterparts to each
 other. This paper first attempts to propose that such an equated account is
 motivated by these two discourse markers constructing a similar inferential
 schema involved in the interpretation of the utterance including them. In fact,
 datte and after all make manifest similar
 polyfunctions according to the syntactic position although they encode different
 lexical information. This is because these two discourse markers are indicators
 that contribute to the inferential phase of communication by various degrees of
 modulation of a cognitive gap between two different assumptions. Another aim of
 this paper is to differentiate a procedural constraint these two indicators
 encode on the interpretation of the utterance.


The collapse of Mount St. Helens (United States) on 18 May 1980 is one of the only incidents of its kind that was visually witnessed and instrumentally recorded. Previous analyses determined that the northern flank of the mountain failed, which resulted in a rockslide, and disintegrated during its mobilization to form a blocky facies and hummocky terrain in the downslope region. Gary Rosenquist9s iconic photographs of the initial 18 May collapse were here analyzed by using a modern photogrammetric method to track portions of the moving flank across the photographs in the sequence. Thirty years after the 1980 Mount St. Helens rockslide, the digital image correlation technique enabled a precise investigation of the associated displacement vectors and strain. A listric basal detachment and several associated faults at the lateral edge of the rockslide were identified. In addition, the heterogeneous movements and a number of shear zones were detected within the sliding block, which had previously been assumed to be cohesive. The results of my study demonstrate the value of using optical images for strain analyses of active volcanoes—even decades after recording.


In recent years, more and more information systems are proliferating that gather, process and analyze data about the environment they are deployed in. This data oftentimes refers to individuals using these systems or being located in their surroundings, in which case it is referred to as personal information. Once such personal information is gathered by an information system, it is usually out of a users' control how and for which purpose this information is processed or stored. Users are well aware that this loss of control about their personal information can be associated with negative long-term effects due to exploitation and misuse of the information they provided. This makes using information systems that gather this kind of information a double-edged sword. One can either use such systems and realize their utility but thereby threaten ones' own privacy, or one can keep ones' privacy intact but forego the benefits provided by the information system. The decision whether to adopt this type of information system therefore represents a tradeoff between benefits and risks. The vast majority of information systems privacy research to date assumed that this tradeoff is dominated by deliberate analyses and rational considerations, which lead to fully informed privacy-related attitudes and behaviors. However, models based on these assumptions often fail to accurately predict real-life behaviors and lead to confounding empirical observations. This thesis therefore investigates, in how far the risk associated with disclosing personal information to privacy-invasive information systems influences user behavior against the background of more complex models of human decision-making. The results of these investigations have been published in three scientific publications, of which this cumulative doctoral thesis is comprised. These publications are based on three large-scale empirical studies employing experimental approaches and being underpinned by qualitative as well as quantitative pre-studies. The studies are guided by and focus on different stages of the process of perceiving, evaluating and mentally processing privacy risk perceptions in considerations whether to disclose personal information and ultimately use privacy-invasive information systems. The first study addresses different conceptualizations of privacy-related behaviors, which are oftentimes used interchangeably in privacy research, despite it has never been investigated whether they are indeed equivalent: Intentions to disclose personal information to an information system and intentions to use an information system (and thereby disclose information). By transferring the multiple-selves-problem to information systems privacy research, theoretical arguments are developed and empirical evidence is provided that those two intentions are (1) conceptually different and (2) formed in different cognitive processes. A vignette-based factorial survey with 143 participants is used to show, that while risk perceptions have more impact on disclosure intentions than on usage intentions, the opposite holds for the hedonic benefits provided by the information system. These have more impact on usage intentions than on disclosure intentions. The second study moves one step further by addressing systematically different mental processing of perceived risks and benefits of information disclosure when considering only one dependent variable. In particular, the assumption that the perceived benefits and risks of information disclosure possess additive utility and are therefore weighted against each other by evaluating a simple utility function like "Utility = Benefit – Cost" is investigated. Based on regulatory focus theory and an experimental pre-study with 59 participants, theoretical arguments are developed, that (1) the perception of high privacy risks evokes a state of heightened vigilance named prevention-focus and (2) this heightened vigilance in turn changes the weighting of the perceived benefits and risks in the deliberation whether to disclose personal information. Results from a second survey-based study with 208 participants then provide empirical evidence, that perceptions of high risks of information disclosure in fact evoke a prevention focus in individuals. This prevention focus in turn increases the negative effect of the perceived risks and reduces the positive effect of the perceived benefits of information disclosure on an individuals' intention to disclose personal information. Instead of investigating the processing of risk perceptions, the third study presented in this thesis focuses on the formation of such perceptions. The focus is therefore on the process of selecting, organizing and interpreting objective cues or properties of information systems when forming perceptions about how much privacy risk is associated with using the system. Based on an experimental survey study among 233 participants the findings show, that individuals in fact have difficulties evaluating privacy risks. In particular, (1) the formation of privacy risk perceptions is dependent on external reference information and (2) when such external reference information is available, individuals are enabled to form more confident risk judgments, which in turn have a stronger impact on an individual's privacy-related behavior. These findings suggest a reconceptualization of privacy risks as not only being characterized by an extremity (how much risk is perceived) but also the dimension of confidence in ones' own risk perception. Overall, the research findings of the three studies presented in this thesis show, that widely accepted assumptions underlying information systems privacy research are severely oversimplified. The results therefore contribute significantly to an improved understanding of the mental processes and mechanisms leading to the acceptance of privacy-invasive information systems.


Stream Restorat Approaches, Anal Geophysical Mon Copyright 2011 b 10.1029/2011GM The connection between stream restoration and sediment budgeting runs both ways: stream restoration is proposed as a means to reduce sediment yields, but an accurate understanding of sediment supply is necessary to design an effective project. Recent advances in monitoring technology, geochemical techniques, high-resolution topography data, and numerical modeling provide new opportunities to estimate sediment erosion, transport, and deposition rates; upscale them in a geomorphically relevant fashion; and synthesize sediment dynamics at watershed scales. For practical application at large scale, watershed models used to predict yield often do not resolve lower-order channels, leaving an essential "blind spot" regarding sediment processes. We illustrate the challenges and emerging approaches for estimating sediment budgets using examples from two very different physiographic settings: the Mid-Atlantic Piedmont and the agricultural plains of southern Minnesota. We highlight common challenges and themes in defining an effective watershed sediment model. In both cases, reliable estimates of sediment yield depend essentially on the accurate identification of sediment sources and sinks and, hence, require careful delineation of landscape units and identification of dominant sediment sources and sinks. The primary elements needed to bridge the gap between sediment budgeting, watershed modeling, and stream restoration are (1) specificity regarding location, mechanism, and rates of erosion, (2) accurate accounting of sediment storage, (3) appropriate methods for upscaling local observations, (4) efficient means for incorporating multiple lines of evidence to constrain budget estimates, and (5) stream restoration methods that incorporate sediment supply in assessment and design procedures.


The strain (i.e. deformation) history influences the degree of mineralization of cortical bone (DMB) as well as its osteonal microstructure. This study aimed first to examine the relationships of stress and strain distributions with the variations in DMB and the osteonal orientations in the cortical bone of the human mandibular condyle. It was hypothesized that strains are inversely proportional to local DMB and that the principal strains are oriented parallel to the osteons. To test this, ten human mandibular condyles were scanned in a microCT system. Finite element models were created in order to simulate static clenching. Within each condyle, 18 volumes of interest were selected to analyze regional differences in DMB, stress and strains. Subchondral bone showed a lower equivalent strain (2652±612 μe) as compared to the anterior (p=0.030) and posterior cortex (p=0.007) and was less mineralized. Contrary to our hypothesis, the results show that strains correlated positively with regional variations in DMB (r=0.750, pb0.001). In the anterior and the posterior cortex, the first principal strain was parallel to the cortical surface and oriented supero-inferiorly with a fan-like shape. In subchondral bone, the first and the second principal strain were parallel to the surface and oriented antero-posteriorly and medio- laterally, respectively. It was concluded that the strain distributions, by themselves, cannot explain the regional differences found in DMB. In agreement with our second hypothesis, the orientation of the osteonal network of the mandibular condyle was closely related to the strain orientations. The results of this study suggest that the subchondral and the cortical bone are structured to ensure an optimal load distribution within the mandibular condyle and have a different mechanical behaviour. Subchondral bone plays a major role in the transmission of the strains to the anterior and posterior cortex, while these ensure an optimal transmission of the strains within the condylar neck and, eventually, to the mandibular ramus.
Bone remodelling is also affected by muscular activity. Bone remodelling at the attachment site of the lateral pterygoid muscles was also assessed, by measuring the degree of mineralization of bone (DMB), in order to test to which extent muscular activity might influence bone turnover in a certain location. Ten left mandibular condyles were obtained from ten embalmed human male cadavers (mean age ± SD: 69.8±14.4 years, range: 43 to 92 years). A high-resolution microCT system was used to obtain three-dimensional reconstructions of the condyles. For each condyle the attachment site of the lateral pterygoid muscle was identified, and the degree of mineralization measured in that location and compared to a control region were no muscle was attached. At the attachment site the DMB was lower (1036.5±70.3 mg HA/cm3) than in the posterior control region (1079.3±62.3 mg HA/cm3, p=0.003). The mineralization in the lateral subregions of the attachment(1052.2±74 mg HA/cm3) was significantly higher (p=0.016) than in the medial subregions (1004±66.8 mg HA/cm3).
The result of this study show that bone remodelling is higher at the attachment site of the lateral pterygoid muscle. Hence, muscular activity sensibly affect bone turnover.


Ivanova et al. ( ) proposed that the aluminides we described in the Khatyrka meteorite fragments, both crystal and quasicrystal metal phases, were derived from industrial materials used during placer gold mining and that these had been shredded and blast‐propelled into natural meteoritic material that happened to be at the site. The blast hypothesis was not supported by evidence that metal shrapnel or metal parts from mining operations (or from any other industrial use) occur at the site that are similar in composition to the aluminides that we described in Khatyrka; we doubt such compositions would exist because alloys with the compositions we reported have no known industrial applications. We further show that this hypothesis cannot be reconciled geologically, chemically, or physically with our observations. These observations demonstrate that the fragments central to our study have been embedded below gold‐bearing fluvial gravels in undisturbed sediment for at least ~6670 to 8004 14C years before mining operations commenced. The case presented here thus specifically rules out the blast hypothesis and also presents a challenge to other anthropogenic explanations. We also address each of Ivanova et al.'s points challenging our conclusion that the silicates attached to the aluminides were CV3 chondritic minerals.


The purpose of this study is to present the results arrived at as a result of the implementation and evaluation of an experimental program of psychomotor education for preschool children. The research sample was 116 children aged 58 - 69 months old (M = 62.72, SD =3.41) who were attending public preschool classes in Iraklio and Rethymno during the school year 2001 - 2002. The children were split in two groups (experimental and control group). The research process was comprised by three phases: psychomotor skills testing at the beginning of the year, implementation of the psychomotor program in the experimental group (for 12 consecutive weeks), and further psychomotor testing which evaluated the effectiveness of the program. Data collection was carried through the 'checklist of psychomotor ability' which we have constructed ourselves. The research results showed that the experimental program of psychomotor education, which was followed for the experimental group, resulted in the improvement of psychomotor skills assessed by the checklist (those were body concepts and skills, space concepts, and time concepts) in comparison with the control group which followed a typical preschool class schedule. The overall progress of the experimental group was statistically significant (t = 9.441, df = 114, p < .001). The findings of this research showed that psychomotor education can play a decisive role in the development of fundamental concepts such as body, space, time which are also fundamental for cross thematic and interdisciplinary teaching in the preschool class.


: The present piece, first presented on 19 November 2016 at the Centre Léon Robin (CNRS-Univ. Paris-Sorbonne-ENS Ulm) as part of the "Présocratiques" Seminar, is an investigation of the relationship between Empedocles and Freud. The analysis is divided into three parts: the first section examines the nature of Freud's engagement with Empedocles; next, consideration is given to the similarities between their doctrines, based on the extant fragments of the Empedoclean corpus; finally, I offer a series of observations about Empedocles' poetic style, which shares strong affinities with the spoken word in a manner typical of the oral tradition and is freighted with corporeal and emotional significance. It is here that we see the emergence of one of the key concepts of psychoanalysis: the relationship between logos and alogon, between that which can be rationally analysed and that which can be intuited but which eludes the domain of logos.


Pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) exist in multiple stable states, each with specific cellular properties and molecular signatures. The process by which pluripotency is either maintained or destabilized to initiate specific developmental programs is poorly understood. We have developed a model to predict stabilized PSC gene regulatory network (GRN) states in response to combinations of input signals. While previous attempts to model PSC fate have been limited to static cell compositions, our approach enables simulations of dynamic heterogeneity by combining an Asynchronous Boolean Simulation (ABS) strategy with simulated single cell fate transitions using Strongly Connected Components (SCCs). This computational framework was applied to a reverse-engineered and curated core GRN for mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) to simulate responses to LIF, Wnt/β-catenin, FGF/ERK, BMP4, and Activin A/Nodal pathway activation. For these input signals, our simulations exhibit strong predictive power for gene expression patterns, cell population composition, and nodes controlling cell fate transitions. The model predictions extend into early PSC differentiation, demonstrating, for example, that a Cdx2-high/Oct4-low state can be efficiently and robustly generated from mESCs residing in a naïve and signal-receptive state sustained by combinations of signaling activators and inhibitors. One Sentence Summary Predictive control of pluripotent stem cell fate transitions


To his mother, Joey seems an ordinary six-year-old boy - special to her, but to no one else. To the Servants of Twilight, however, he is an evil presence who must be destroyed - an Anti-Christ who must die. The terrifying ordeal for Joey and his mother begins in the supermarket car park where an old woman accosts them and pursues them with her terrible threats. Christine's world is turned into a nightmare of terror. Only her love for her child, and the support of the one man who believes her, gives her the chance to survive the Servants of Twilight...This book was originally published under the pseudonym Leigh Nichols.


A metasurface consisting of an infinite array of square loops was designed for maximal absorptivity for s-polarized light at a wavelength of 10.6 µm and 60 degrees off-normal. We investigate the effects of array truncation in finite arrays of this design using far-field FTIR spectroscopy and scattering scanning near-field optical microscopy. The far-field spectra are observed to blue-shift with decreasing array size. The near-field images show a corresponding decrease in uniformity of the local electric field amplitude and phase spatial distributions. Simulations of the far-field absorption spectra and local electric field are consistent with the measured results.


This National Level Conference on Sustainable Civil Engineering Materials and Structures (SCMS – 2018) will be held in Dr. N.G.P. Institute of Technology from April 5th& 6th, 2018. Progress of science and technology in the past decades has made enormous contributions to all walks of life. Research has played an indispensable role in many useful developments. Pursuit of newer and innovative ideas has no limits and therefore activities of research have to continue and grow. The aim of this conference is to discuss topics ranging from technical in Civil Engineering concepts to social and economic issues, and to exchange experience and knowledge between people from industry and academia around the world. The different themes of the conference have been selected accordingly.


Heterogeneous land-covers induce the formation of secondary flows and small-scale boundary layer processes. While turbulent fluxes over a continuous snow cover are mostly governed by the spatial variability of wind velocity and solar radiation, local advection of sensible heat and boundary layer decoupling become additionally important for the surface energy exchange over patchy snow covers. Furthermore, evolving katabatic and anabatic winds strongly change the mean flow patterns over snow free and snow covered areas causing positive and negative buoyancy production. In this study we use an atmospheric model (Advanced Regional Prediction System) to investigate boundary layer processes over patchy snow covers in an alpine catchment. The model is initialized with low to high snow cover ratios based on field measurements of snow distribution. We particularly analyse the effect of heat advection, boundary layer decoupling and changing patterns of secondary flows on the energy balance at the local and catchment scale. The numerical results show that the changing land-cover controls the length scale of internal boundary layers, while secondary flows drive the strength of boundary layer decoupling and heat advection. The relative importance of boundary layer processes depend on the snow patch size distribution and the synoptic wind. Stronger synoptic winds and low snow cover ratios increase the effect of heat advection and decrease the impact of boundary layer decoupling on the catchment`s melt behaviour. The typical lengths of stable internal boundary layers coincide with snow patch size distribution, which is consistent with typical length scales of snow accumulation patterns. As those length scales are in the order of tens of meters for the studied alpine catchment, very small grid sizes (below 10 m) are required to adequately model boundary layer processes which are shown to significantly alter the energy balance over patchy snow covers.


Several recently proposed stochastic optimization methods that have been successfully used in training deep networks such as RMSProp, Adam, Adadelta, Nadam are based on using gradient updates scaled by square roots of exponential moving averages of squared past gradients. In many applications, e.g. learning with large output spaces, it has been empirically observed that these algorithms fail to converge to an optimal solution (or a critical point in nonconvex settings). We show that one cause for such failures is the exponential moving average used in the algorithms. We provide an explicit example of a simple convex optimization setting where Adam does not converge to the optimal solution, and describe the precise problems with the previous analysis of Adam algorithm. Our analysis suggests that the convergence issues can be fixed by endowing such algorithms with `long-term memory' of past gradients, and propose new variants of the Adam algorithm which not only fix the convergence issues but often also lead to improved empirical performance.


Abstract: This study proposes a novel chaotic quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization (CQPSO) algorithm for solving shortterm hydrothermal scheduling problem with a set of equality and inequality constraints. In the proposed method, chaotic local search technique is employed to enhance the local search capability and convergence rate of the algorithm. In addition, a novel constraint handling strategy is presented to deal with the complicated equality constrains and then ensures the feasibility and effectiveness of solution. A system including four hydro plants coupled hydraulically and three thermal plants has been tested by the proposed algorithm. The results are compared with particle swarm optimization (PSO), quantum-behaved particle swarm optimization (QPSO) and other population-based artificial intelligence algorithms considered. Comparison results reveal that the proposed method can cope with short-term hydrothermal scheduling problem and outperforms other evolutionary methods in the literature.


The visual perception of independent 3D motion from a moving observer is one of the most challenging tasks in computer vision. This paper presents a powerful fusion of depth and motion information for image sequences. For a large number of points, 3D position and 3D motion is simultaneously estimated by means of Kalman Filters. The necessary ego-motion is computed based on the points that are identified as static points. The result is a real-time system that is able to detect independently moving objects even if the own motion is far from planar. The input provided by this system is suited to be used by high-level perception systems in order to carry out cognitive processes such as autonomous navigation or collision avoidance.


The primary objective of this project was to construct, classify, and exploit
invariants for discriminating information systems that are based on abstracted
structural descriptions. This main objective was split into three smaller objectives:
(1) Construct invariants for information systems that exploit coarse and multiscale structural specifications about their underlying network or communication topology,
(2) Classify the semantic and dynamic features of the systems that these in-
variants consider, and
(3) Exploit the classification results to provide actionable design and analysis
rules that can be incorporated into experimental and simulation workflows.
All of these objectives were met. Several interesting (and potentially important) discoveries were made as a result of the project. These discoveries have
been reported to the scientifi c community, and they are being written as articles
for archival journals. In addition, the Principal Investigator (PI), Prof. Michael
Robinson, completed a draft of a manuscript entitled Topological Signal Processing that can be used to teach the techniques discovered on this project to beginning
graduate student researchers. Finally, Prof. Robinson's research group grew from
one student at the start of the project to ve students (partially funded by this
project), partially as a means to apply the new algorithmic techniques discovered
on this program.


This thesis presents the results of a concerted effort to understand the complex array of physical properties exhibited by the BaVS3 family of materials. As a 3d1 system, BaVS3 displays a unique collection of correlation-driven phenomena, including a metal-insulator transition driven by spin-density waves and or charge-density waves as well as a pressure-dependent crossover between the non-Fermi-liquid and Fermi-liquid behaviors. In an attempt to better understand these and many other properties, we have undertaken a systematic experimental study of BaVS3 and related compounds. The primary measurements carried out were those of the transport properties, resistivity and thermoelectric power (TEP). Through the construction of specialized measuring apparatuses, we were able to measure simultaneously these transport properties under conditions of variable temperature (from 2 to 600 K), pressure (up to 3 GPa) and magnetic field (up to 12 T). At ambient pressure and in the range of 250 to 600K, BaVS3 shows nearly isotropic but poor metallic behavior with linear temperature dependences of resistivity and TEP and a Curie-like magnetic susceptibility. The nearly isotropic conductivity contrasts with the 1D 2kF fluctuations observed by lowering the temperature below 250 K (at which the first Jahn-Teller structural phase transition occurs) deep in the metallic phase. The fluctuations reveal the 1D aspects of the electronic character, originating from the chain like structure of the material. The salient feature of BaVS3 at ambient pressure is the second order metal-to-insulator (MI) transition at TMI = 69 K, accompanied by the tetramerization (doubling of the 2V unit cell in the chain direction). In addition to the transport measurements, the strong changes in the electrical and magnetic properties of the system around TMI were followed by magnetic susceptibility, angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy and frequency-dependent conductivity. By increasing the pressure, the three-dimensionality of BaVS3 is enhanced and the MI phase transition is suppressed to lower temperatures. TEP and magneto TEP measurements in this pressure range revealed the existence of polarons and of spin fluctuations in the metallic phase. The latter can be identified as precursors to the MI transition. Around 1.8 GPa, where TMI ~15 K, the system enters a strongly fluctuating regime, highly sensitive to the magnetic field, the amplitude and the frequency of the measuring current and to a further increase of the pressure. Closely related to these features, the phase boundary collapses and a hysteretic behavior appears in the transport properties and their magnetic-field-dependent counterparts. At a critical pressure of ~2 GPa, a non-Fermi liquid (NFL) state arises (with n~1.5 in the Tn resistivity law between 1 and 15 K) in relation to the proximate Quantum Critical Point. The p-H-T phase diagram of BaVS3 in this region has been explored in some detail with particular emphasis placed upon the relevance of the spin degrees of freedom (on the insulator side) and the role of quantum fluctuations above the critical pressure. Finally, as the pressure is increased further, the conventional Fermi-liquid exponent of n = 2 is obtained. In order to delve further into the subtleties of the MI transition and the NFL behavior, a comparative study was carried out on the sister compounds Bax-1SrxVS3 and BaVSe3 and on sulfur-deficient BaVS3. From this study it became apparent that the imposed chemical substitution manifests itself as an additional effective pressure. The inherent disorder of these samples was observed to affect the NFL behavior by reducing the exponent n towards a value of 1, while the apparent ferromagnetic order below 15 K was seemingly independent of pressure. All the observed features are consistent with a relatively simple two-band tight-binding, vanadium-based, model consisting of a wide quasi one-dimensional band hybridized with a rather isotropic narrow band. Within this context, it is concluded that the MI transition is controlled by the Coulomb-interacting electrons of the wide quasi one-dimensional band. Based on this model a new description of the NFL regime has been proposed.


Deficits in visual backward masking (VBM) may be a stable marker (i.e. endophenotype) of schizophrenia: it is present in patients, their relatives, and healthy individuals (mainly women) scoring high in "cognitive disorganisation" (CD), a schizotypal feature (Cappe et al., 2012). Schizotypy is a nonclinical thinking style commonly assessed in the healthy population. The thought content is qualitatively similar yet quantitatively milder to the one reported from patients with schizophrenia. To test whether VBM as a function of CD is evident in both men and women, we investigated VBM in 29 men and 27 women varying in their selfreported schizotypy (short O-LIFE questionnaire), together with a control task (Wisconsin Card Sorting Task; WCST). We replicated VBM deficits as a function of elevated CD, but only in women. WCST performance was unrelated to sex and schizotypy. Results support the view that VBM, but not WCST, is a potential endophenotype. The current sex difference in VBM launches questions regarding possible hormonal effects or even sex-specific self-report measures biases.


Over the last few decades the number of women becoming pregnant later on in life has markedly increased. Medical experts have raised concerns about the increase in the number of women having babies later, owing to evidence that suggests that advancing maternal age is associated with both a decline in fertility and an increase in health risks to both mother and baby. In recognition of these risks, experts have warned that women should aim to have their children between the ages of twenty and thirty-five. As a consequence, women giving birth past the age of thirty-five have typically been positioned as "older mothers." In this paper we used a social constructionist thematic analysis in order to analyse how "older mothers" are represented in newspaper articles in the British press. We examined how the topics of "choice" and "risk" are handled in discussions of delayed motherhood, and found that the media position women as wholly responsible for choosing the timing of pregnancy and, as a consequence, as accountable for the associated risks. Moreover, we noted that newspapers also constructed a "right" time for women to become pregnant. As such, we discuss the implications for the ability of women to make real choices surrounding the timing of pregnancy.


Reactive oxygen metabolites are potent inflammatory mediators that may be involved in tissue injury in inflammatory bowel disease. To evaluate their role in inflammatory bowel disease, we investigated the effects of lowering the activities of reactive oxygen metabolites in experimental colitis induced by intracolonic administration of acetic acid in rats. Intracolonic administration of 5% acetic acid caused severe inflammation (mean (SEM) inflammatory score was 24.3 (0.7) of a maximum score of 32). Acetic acid at 2.5% produced moderate inflammation (score = 17 (1.4) v 4.0 (0.5) in control rats). This lower dose was used for subsequent experiments. Specific superoxide anion scavenger methoxypolyethylene glycol:superoxide dismutase, and reactive oxygen metabolites scavenger, sulfasalazine, significantly decreased the severity of inflammation (scores: 8 (4.4) and 9.8 (2.2) respectively). The xanthine oxidase inhibitors, tungsten and pterin aldehyde, failed to improve inflammation but another xanthine oxidase inhibitor, allopurinol, a compound with known superoxide anion scavenging effect, did limit the inflammation (10(2)). Inhibition of hydroxyl radical production by deferoxamine or lowering hydroxyl radical values by a scavenger, dimethyl sulfoxide, did not affect the severity of inflammation. These data suggest: (1) that reactive oxygen metabolites play an important role in experimental colitis, (2) that the xanthine oxidase pathway is not a major source of reactive oxygen metabolites in colitis, and (3) that tissue injury in experimental colitis is not caused by generation of hydroxyl radicals.


Abstract : At the request of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics (USD(AT and L)), the Defense Science Board (DSB) conducted a study on the applicability of autonomy to Department of Defense (DoD) missions. The study concluded that there are both substantial operational benefits and potential perils associated with the use of autonomy. Autonomy delivers significant military value, including opportunities to reduce the number of warfighters in harms way, increase the quality and speed of decisions in time-critical operations, and enable new missions that would otherwise be impossible. Autonomy is by no means new to the DoD. Fielded capabilities demonstrate ongoing progress in embedding autonomous functionality into systems, and many development programs already underway include an increasingly sophisticated use of autonomy. Autonomy also delivers significant value across a diverse array of global markets. Both enabling technologies and commercial applications are advancing rapidly in response to market opportunities. Autonomy is becoming a ubiquitous enabling capability for products spanning a spectrum from expert advisory systems to autonomous vehicles. Commercial market forces are accelerating progress, providing opportunities for DoD to leverage the investments of others, while also providing substantial capabilities to potential adversaries. This study concluded that DoD must accelerate its exploitation of autonomy both to realize the potential military value and to remain ahead of adversaries who also will exploit its operational benefits.


This paper deals with the occurrence of Giardia and Cryptosporidium in the water sources available for the Goreangab Reclamation Plant (GRP) and the subsequent removal during treatment at the reclamation plant. Giardia is detected more often than Cryptosporidium. 60% of the time it is detected in the samples from the dam and in 55% of the samples from the maturation pond effluent. During the investigation, Giardia was detected in the final water 5% of the time and Cryptosporidium 2% of the time. The maximum Giardia cysts detected in a sample was 30, the 99% percentile was 20 and the 97% percentile 10 cysts. A maximum of 20 Cryptosporidium oocysts was detected in a sample. The 99% percentile counted 6.2 oocysts arid the 97% percentile 0 oocysts. From the data presented it is clear that the polluted dam water has the same risk level of Giardia and Cryptosporidium pollution as treated wastewater effluent. This emphasises the fact that the sources should be monitored continuously for these parasites. The sporadic high counts of Giardia and Cryptosporidium in the raw water sources indicate that a multiple-barrier approach must be followed to ensure the safe operation of even conventional treatment plants using polluted source water. No correlation could be found between cyst and oocyst removal and other water quality parameters. The advocating of a final water turbidity ol 0.1 NTU and the use of particle counters can only be supported by these findings, as it is possible to achieve a turbidity of less than 0.1 NTU at the sand filter outlet, even in a developing country like Namibia. The challenge lies with the maintenance of equipment and vigilance of the operators.


Fragmentation functions represent a key ingredient to address the proton spin structure in semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering and proton-proton collisions. They can not be determined from perturbative Quantum Chromodynamics and have to be extracted from experimental data in different processes. The COMPASS experiment at CERN provides a large data sample and covers a wide kinematic range for precise measurement of hadron multiplicities, directly connected to fragmentation functions. Recent, full-differential results on pion and kaon multiplicities are presented and discussed


This thesis is a collection of four essays dealing with issues on the verge of macroeconomics and finance. The first two chapters are joint with Bianca De Paoli. In the first one, we try to analyze factors causing risk premia to vary over time. The second one is an attempt to understand how these factors - manifesting themselves through swings in the desire to save for precautionary reasons - affect monetary policy. We show analytically that in endowment economies, procyclical recession expectations can 'outweigh' countercyclical changes in 'risk-aversion' - generating counterfactual risk-premium behavior. However, allowing shocks or habits to be sufficiently persistent, or explicitly accounting for the impact of habits on consumption, suffices to generate countercyclical recession risks and risk premia. We also show that taking note of precautionary saving motives justifies an accommodative policy bias in the face of persistent, adverse disturbances. Equally, policy should be more restrictive - i.e. 'lean against the wind' - following positive shocks. Both of these essays rely on approximate solutions to a simple, external habit model. In the third chapter, I derive closed form formulae for the model's solution. I then use these formulae to estimate the model and analyze its ability to jointly fit consumption growth and asset price data. I find no specification capable of simultaneously matching these data and argue that 'exotic' shock distributions are an unlikely panacea. In general, however, closed form formulae for asset prices cannot be derived analytically and need to be approximated. The final chapter proposes a method of doing exactly that. In contrast to several alternative approaches, the approximating function is not restricted to be a polynomial in state variables. This flexibility and efficient use of nested solutions can allow 'low-order' formulae to exceed the accuracy of higher-order perturbation approximations.


Karraker and Coleman (2006) [1], extensively discussed that in recent years, research has been invested in expanding an understanding of the many individual and environmental factors impacting parenting and the influences of the differences in parenting styles on child developmental consequences (Karraker and Coleman, 2006) [1]. When I (Anat) began my psychotherapeutic practice, I worked with children in their natural environment, utilizing the ReachingOut approach, including work with parents as part of the therapeutic process. Early in my practice, I identified that when parents undergo a transformation as part of the process, their children quickly respond to the transformation. As a result, the change in children's behavior and wellbeing was quicker and more efficient than when I worked only with children. Following this as discussed in our previous publications, I concluded that the parent's involvement in the process was the most significant factor influencing change in children [2]. It is our basic assumption that if we wish to supply the compatible conditions to the specific needs of the child, we should shift the focus from our parenting aspirations which construct our attitudes and behaviors toward the child's specific individual needs. This shift will force the parent to engage in constant internal awareness with regard to the notion that he is always driven by his psychic needs and fantasies which although unconscious may nevertheless be crucial in guiding his decision-making process. We are therefore suggested to shift towards "conscious parenting" in terms of actions and reactions towards the children, based on a decision-making process of choosing the action and reaction which promotes in the best possible way the development of the child with his specific characteristics.


Novel experiments with Ultrasound Associated with High Frequency Electromagnetic Field (UAHFEMF) irradiation on rats and mice found evidences of characteristic Alzheimer's disease (AD) degenerations including neurite plaques, beta-amyloid, TAU plaque and deposition in cells, Neuro-Fibrillary Tangle and Paired Helical Filament (PHF) with rats and mice irradiated up to 2454 hours. Concomitant passive avoidance test was performed on six mice, and all showed signs of visual and auditory agnosia and lost cognition of threatening condition. The post section Thioflavin-S fluorescent microscopy found dilated ventricles and dense amyloid-deposition in Ca3 and dentate gyrus. In addition, PHF was identified in the 2454 hours-irradiated rat brain by electron microscope. A human T-cell activation RhoGTPase-activating protein (TAGAP) isoform b homolog (GenBank accession # P84107) induced in the UAHFEMF-treated rat brain was identified using electron spray ionization (ESI) liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). We hypothesized that one of the causes of AD can be the UAHFEMF discharges in human brain.


The present study examined the effects of exercise utilising traditional resistance training (leg press) or 'cardio' exercise (recumbent cycle ergometry) modalities upon acute physiological responses. Nine healthy males underwent a within session randomised crossover design where they completed both the leg press and recumbent cycle ergometer conditions. Conditions were approximately matched for effort and duration (leg press: 4 × 12RM using a 2 s concentric and 3 s eccentric repetition duration controlled with a metronome, thus each set lasted 60 s; recumbent cycle ergometer: 4 × 60 s bouts using a resistance level permitting 80–100 rpm but culminating with being unable to sustain the minimum cadence for the final 5–10 s). Measurements included VO2, respiratory exchange ratio (RER), blood lactate, energy expenditure, muscle swelling, and electromyography. Perceived effort was similar between conditions and thus both were well matched with respect to effort. There were no significant effects by 'condition' in any of the physiological responses examined (all p > 0.05). The present study shows that, when both effort and duration are matched, resistance training (leg press) and 'cardio' exercise (recumbent cycle ergometry) may produce largely similar responses in VO2, RER, blood lactate, energy expenditure, muscle swelling, and electromyography. It therefore seems reasonable to suggest that both may offer a similar stimulus to produce chronic physiological adaptations in outcomes such as cardiorespiratory fitness, strength, and hypertrophy. Future work should look to both replicate the study conducted here with respect to the same, and additional physiological measures, and rigorously test the comparative efficacy of effort and duration matched exercise of differing modalities with respect to chronic improvements in physiological fitness.


The pinoresinol unit is one of the principal interunit linkages in lignin. As such, its chemistry and properties are of major importance in understanding the behavior or the polymer. This work examines the homolytic cleavage of the pinoresinol system, representing the initial step in thermal degradation. The bond dissociation enthalpy of this reaction has been evaluated using M06-2X density functional calculations. Products that allow for extensive electron delocalization are energetically favored. Calculations on subsequent reactions reveal a preference of intermediates with two unpaired electrons over a proposed four unpaired electron structure.


Depending on the type of equation, finding the solution of a time-dependent partial differential equation can be quite challenging. Although modern time-stepping methods for solving these equations have become more accurate for a small number of grid points, in a lot of cases the scalability of those methods leaves much to be desired. That is, unless the timestep is chosen to be sufficiently small, the computed solutions might exhibit unreasonable behavior with large input sizes. Therefore, to improve accuracy as the number of grid points increases, the time-steps must be chosen to be even smaller to reach a reasonable solution. Krylov subspace spectral (KSS) methods are componentwise, scalable, methods used to solve time-dependent, variable coefficient partial differential equations. The main idea behind KSS methods is to use an interpolating polynomial with frequency dependent interpolation points to approximate a solution operator for each Fourier coefficient. This dissertation will discuss two techniques that were developed to eliminate error in the low frequency components of the solution computed using KSS methods. These two methods are a multigrid inspired technique (coarse grid residual correction) and developing a step size controller using the residual as an error approximation (adaptive time stepping).


Ok murky in alter all end, unpredictable day, with rainshine any degree night, the sun kin warm and hot. Enough stone or other jugs lineup of whatever is In Through Out That s light as much as known Differences evanesce Like, where and/or what on the equator might be french or spanish Longitude and latitude, yep yep sure Americana. Larry Eigner, commentary on a selection from Gertrude Stein s "Tender Buttons" This selection of essays and poetry from the first three volumes of L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E magazine discusses a spectrum of writing that places its attention primarily on language and ways of making meaning, that takes for granted neither vocabulary, grammar, process, shape, syntax, program, nor subject matter. (Bernstein and Andrews) The various writers shun labels, slogans, or catch-phrases; their exploration of the ways that meanings and values are revealed through the written word is intended to open the field of poetic activity, not close it. The common thread of these essays is the multitude and scope of words referential powersdenotative, connotative, and associational; and studying these powers is ultimately a social and political activity as well as an aesthetic one."


The object of this study is an analysis of the lexical means employed in the naming of colors, focusing especially on the form, function, and meaning of these color terms in the German language. Fashion magazines were used as source material for the research. The choice of magazines was determined by the high frequency of color terms. The basic color terms proved to be the most frequently exploited lexical means to describe one color, although it had been hypothetically assumed that there would be a quantitative preponderance of word formation structures, syntactic groups, and transferred designations. The decisive factor in the high frequency of basic color terms is their ability to function in a variety of ways. Not only as they describe a particular color of a garment, they are also increasingly used to express prediction and color trends, which is achieved by nominalization. But the goal has not always been a denotative correctness – rather the conveying of positive connotation.


The eighteenth century saw a development of a stratified system of institutions for the poor in different social classes in Norwegian cities. This paper analyses its foundation through a cooperation of private donations and city authorities' management and it argues that donations to private almshouses aimed at safeguarding the social position of special groups in the city, while the city's poorhouse was responsible for the paupers from the lower classes. While charity to please God and secure a place in the afterlife was an old motive, the wish to protect the social group, relatives or personal servants is a striking phenomenon at the end of the eighteenth century. Citizens with burgher rights by virtue of their craft or commerce defended their position against non-skilled workers. Private gifts to supplement the public poorhouses helped securing this aim. The paper shows that donations to institutions in Trondheim fall into a general picture of social stratification, not only in society at large, but among the poorer parts of the population as well.


This study investigated the effects of workshop and lecture methods on pastoralists' learning in Ilam Province, west of Iran. A quasi-experimental research method and non-equivalent control group design was used. Sixty pastoralists participated in this study. An open-ended questionnaire was used as the instrument of the study and found to have content validity and inter-rater reliability. Findings of the study showed a significant difference between effectiveness of lecture and workshop through pre- and post-tests. In general, the workshop method was proven to be more effective in improving pastoralists' learning with regard to preservation, renovation, and utilization of rangelands due to better decision making about their rangeland management practices. Most importantly, the workshop method also seemed to have established the behavioral mapping of these factors to a greater degree for participants.


The prospect of detecting the first galaxies by observing their impact on the intergalactic medium as they reionized it during the first billion years leads us to ask whether such indirect observations are capable of diagnosing which types of galaxies were most responsible for reionization. We attempt to answer this by considering a set of large-scale radiative transfer simulations of reionization in sufficiently large volumes to make statistically meaningful predictions of observable signatures, while also directly resolving all atomically-cooling halos down to 10^8 M_solar. We focus here on predictions of the 21-cm background, to see if upcoming observations are capable of distinguishing a universe ionized primarily by high-mass halos from one in which both high-mass and low-mass halos are responsible, and to see how these results depend upon the uncertain source efficiencies. We find that 21-cm fluctuation power spectra observed by the first generation EoR/21-cm radio interferometer arrays should be able to distinguish the case of reionization by high-mass halos alone from that by both high- and low-mass halos, together. Some reionization scenarios yield very similar power spectra and rms evolution and thus can only be discriminated by their different mean reionization history and 21-cm PDF distributions. We find that the skewness of the 21-cm PDF distribution smoothed over LOFAR-like window shows a clear feature correlated with the rise of the rms due to patchiness. Measurements of the mean photoionization rates are sensitive to the average density of the regions being studied and therefore could be strongly skewed in certain cases. (abridged)


Background: Comparing the
efficacy and safety of gemcitabine at a fixed-dose rate (FDR) infusion (10 mg/m2/min)
with the standard dose rate infusion in patients with locally advanced and metastatic
non-small squamous cell carcinoma (NSCLC). Methods: The study randomized 60
patients with confirmed diagnosis of NSCLC to receive gemcitabine at a dose of
1000 mg/m2 on days 1 and 8 given as a 30-min infusion (Arm A) or at
a rate of 10 mg/m2/min (Arm B). Cisplatin 75 mg/m2 was
administered intravenously on day 2 in both arms. Results: No difference in
overall response rate (46.6% versus 43.3%). Median time to progression for Arm
A was 7 months (95% CI, 6.207 - 7.793 months), versus 6 months for Arm B (95%
CI, 4.990 - 7.010 months). Median survival time was comparable [12 months (95%
CI, 8.588 - 15.412 months) versus 11 months (95% CI, 9.066 - 12.934 months)]
respectively. Two-year survival (18% versus 11%, p = 0.38) was detected. No treatment related deaths
occurred. Main hematological toxicities were grade I and II neutropenia, in
36.7% and 53.3% respectively (p = 0.044). Grade III anemia was observed in 10% and
6.7% in both arms respectively (p = 0.024). Grade I and II nausea and vomiting was
observed in 50% and 46.7%. Conclusions: FDR gemcitabine in combination with
cisplatin had equivalent efficacy and more severe hematologic toxicities
compared to the standard 30-min gemcitabine infusion with cisplatin in patients
with advanced NSCLC.


As an increasing part of everyday life becomes connected with the web in many areas of the globe, the question of how the web mediates political processes becomes still more urgent. Several scholars have started to address this question by thinking about the web in terms of a public space. In this paper, we aim to make a twofold contribution towards the development of the concept of publics in web science. First, we propose that although the notion of publics raises a variety of issues, two major concerns continue to be user privacy and democratic citizenship on the web. Well-known arguments hold that the complex connectivity of the web puts user privacy at risk and enables the enclosure of public debate in virtual echo chambers. Our first argument is that these concerns are united by a set assumptions coming from liberal political philosophy that are rarely made explicit. As a second contribution, this paper points towards an alternative way to think about publics by proposing a pragmatist reorientation of the public/private distinction in web science, away from seeing two spheres that needs to be kept separate, towards seeing the public and the private as something that is continuously connected. The theoretical argument is illustrated by reference to a recently published case study of Facebook groups, and future research agendas for the study of web-mediated publics are proposed.


IS AUDITING is an innovative and cutting edge product, which provides students anunderstanding of how to audit accounting information systems, including such new and expandedcoverage of enterprise systems, fraud and fraud detection topics as continuous onlineauditing. Its organization and its integration of ACL software within the package ensure asolid background in traditional auditing as well as in the auditing of accounting informationsystems. The combination of text and software create a double learning environment in whichstudents will gain a true understanding of how these audits take place in the real world.


In plants, several signal transduction pathways are influenced by the small guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) Rop. Wu, Li, and Yang identified five Rop GTPase-activating proteins (RopGAPs) by two-hybrid analysis and by searching for proteins with sequence similarity. The proteins all have a conserved GAP motif, a Rho GTPase-binding Cdc42/Rac-interactive binding (CRIB) domain, and an SH3 domain. Unlike mammalian CRIB domain-containing proteins, which inhibit GAP activity, the GAP activity of the RopGAPs required the CRIB domain, which appeared to enhance the interaction between Rop and the GAP protein. Experiments with the CRIB domain or GAP domain fused with maltose-binding protein showed that the interaction of the GAP domain with Rop depended on the activation state of Rop; however, the CRIB domain interacted with both active and inactive forms of Rop. Rop complexes with aluminum tetraflouride mimic the transition state of Rop. They enhanced the interaction of CRIB and GAP domains with Rop, suggesting that both of these parts of RopGAP bind to the transition state of Rop. Wu, G., Li, H., and Yang, Z. (2000) Arabidopsis RopGAPs are a novel family of Rho GTPase-activating proteins that require the Cdc42/Rac-interactive binding motif for Rop-specific GTPase stimulation. Plant Physiol. 124: 1625-1636. [Abstract] [Full Text]


Precise triple oxygen isotope compositions of 32 Allende bulk chondrules (ABCs) are determined using laser‐assisted fluorination mass spectrometry. Various chemically characterized chondrule types show ranges in δ18O that vary from −4.80‰ to +1.10‰ (porphyritic olivine; PO, N = 15), −3.10‰ to +1.50‰ (porphyritic olivine pyroxene; POP, N = 9), −3.40‰ to +2.60‰ (barred olivine; BO, N = 4), and −3.60‰ to +1.30‰ (porphyritic pyroxene; PP, N = 3). Oxygen isotope data of these chondrules yield a regression line referred to as the Allende bulk chondrule line (ABC line, slope = 0.86 ± 0.02). Most of our data fall closer to the primitive chondrule minerals line (PCM line, slope = 0.987 ± 0.013) and the carbonaceous chondrite anhydrous mineral line (CCAM line, slope = 0.94 ± 0.02) than the Allende anhydrous mineral line (AAML, slope = 1.00 ± 0.01) with a maximum δ18O value (+2.60‰) observed in a BO chondrule and a minimum δ18O value (−4.80‰) shown by a PO chondrule. Similarly, these chondrules depict variable ∆17O values that range from −5.65‰ to −3.25‰ (PO), −4.60‰ to −2.80‰ (POP), −4.95‰ to −3.00‰ (BO), −5.30‰ to −3.20‰ (PP), and −4.90‰ (CC). A simple model is proposed for the Allende CV3 chondrite with reference to the AAML and PCM line to illustrate the isotopic variations occurred due to the aqueous alteration processes. The estimated temperature ranging from 10 to 130 °C (mean ~60 °C) implies that the secondary mineralization in Allende happened in a warmer and relatively dry environment compared to Murchison. We further propose that thermal metamorphism could have dehydrated the Allende matrix at temperatures between >150 °C and <600 °C.


Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Role of Practice and Mental Imagery on Hand function improvement in stroke survivors
Method: We conducted systematic review of the previous studies and searched electronic databases for the years 1995 to 2016, studies were selected according to inclusion criteria, and critical appraisal was done for each study and summarized the use of mental practice for the improvement in hand function in stroke survivors.
Results: Studies differed in the various aspects like intervention protocols, outcome measures, design, and patient's characteristics. The total number of practice hours to see the potential benefits from mental practice varied widely. Results suggest that mental practice has potential to improve the upper extremity function in stroke survivors.
Conclusion: Although the benefits of mental practice to improve upper extremity function looks promising, general guidelines for the clinical use of mental practice is difficult to make. Future research should explore the dosage, factors affecting the use of Mental Practice, effects of Mental Therapy alone without in combination with other interventions.