Abstract. The representation of soil water movement exposes uncertainties in all model components. We assess the key uncertainties for the specific hydraulic situation of a 1-D soil profile with TDR (time domain reflectometry)-measured water contents. The uncertainties addressed are initial condition, soil hydraulic parameters, small-scale heterogeneity, upper boundary condition, and the local equilibrium assumption by the Richards equation. We employ an ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) with an augmented state to represent and estimate all key uncertainties, except for the intermittent violation of the local equilibrium assumption. For the latter, we introduce a closed-eye EnKF to bridge the gap. Due to an iterative approach, the EnKF was capable of estimating soil parameters, Miller scaling factors and upper boundary condition based on TDR measurements during a single rain event. The introduced closed-eye period ensured constant parameters, suggesting that they resemble the believed true material properties. This closed-eye period improves predictions during periods when the local equilibrium assumption is met, but requires a description of the dynamics during local non-equilibrium phases to be able to predict them. Such a description remains an open challenge. Finally, for the given representation our results show the necessity of including small-scale heterogeneity. A simplified representation with Miller scaling already yielded a satisfactory description.


We present experimental investigations of light self-focusing with the wavelength 633 nm in sillenite-type crystals (BSO) with a rotatory power of 22 deg/mm. The simultaneous effect of the optical activity and the external DC electric field on the light beam and its polarization components is studied.


This paper is based upon the 2021 Miles Conrad Award Lecture that was given by Heather Joseph at the second annual NISO Plus conference held virtually from February 22–25, 2021. The lecture provided a brief look back at the emergence of the Open Access (OA) movement in scholarly communication beginning with the E-biomed proposal in 1999 that was shortly followed by the Budapest Declaration released on February 14, 2002, through how far it has come in almost two decades. The author notes that the initial reaction to OA was often just a quick dismissal of it as an idealistic pipe dream and as the idea began to grow in popularity, skepticism changed into hostility. OA was criticized as being too disruptive to the then-existent publishing paradigm. Yet, far from disappearing, the movement towards the open sharing of knowledge steadily advanced. Today conversations about "why" or "whether" to open up the scholarly communication system have evolved into conversations about how best to do it. The author notes that the Budapest Declaration underscored that the end goal of OA is to empower individuals and communities around the world with the ability to share their knowledge as well as to share in accessing the knowledge of others. She warns that members of the global scholarly communication community must look critically at who currently can participate in the production of knowledge, and whose voices are represented in the "global intellectual conversation" that need to be facilitated. Whose voices are still are left out because structural barriers – be they technical, financial, legal, cultural, or linguistic – prevent them from joining?


Phaeophleospora destructans is a devastating eucalypt pathogen first described in 1990 from 1-3 years old Eucalyptus grandis in Sumatra, Indonesia. Since then it has been recorded from Thailand, East, Timor, Vietnam and China. ITS sequence data of P. destructans on GenBank shows it to be closely related to the type species of the genus Phaeophleospora; P. eugeniae a pathogen of Eugenia uniflora described from Brazil. In order to develop molecular markers to study the rapid movement of P. destructans around Asia, several populations were collected from various regions and isolates sequenced using four protein gene regions; ITS, elongation factor I-alpha, betatubulin and chitin synthetase. The combined gene tree showed that P. destructans is closely related to P. eucalypti but not to P. eugeniae. With the recent redescription of the genus Colletogloeopsis, morphological characters between Phaeophleospora and Colletogloeopsis overlap, so what is Phaeophleospora? DNA based phylogenies has shown that all sequenced Phaeophleospora spp. from eucalypts and all Colletogloeopsis spp. fall in a clade together with Mycosphaerella nubilosa and far from P. eugeniae. We have acquired the original herbarium material for P. delegatensis and P. lilianae, species for which no cultures exist, and have, to date, successfully obtained sequence data for P. delegatensis, which also falls into the M. nubilosa clade. These results highlight the need for a revision of the genus Phaeophleospora, raising several alternative hypotheses. Do we synonymise Phaeophleospora species from eucalypts with Colletogloeopsis or resurrect Kirramyces for long spores species and use Colletogloeopsis for short species or synonymise all Colletogloeopsis and Phaeophleospora species from eucalypts, with Kirramyces (as it is an older genus than Colletogloeopsis)?


Personalized real-time recommendation has had a profound impact on retail, media, entertainment and other industries. However, developing recommender systems for every use case is costly, time consuming and resource-intensive. To fill this gap, we present a black-box recommender system that can adapt to a diverse set of scenarios without the need for manual tuning. We build on techniques that go beyond simple matrix factorization to incorporate important new sources of information: the temporal order of events [Hidasi et al., 2015], contextual information to bootstrap cold-start users, metadata information about items [Rendle 2012] and the additional information surrounding each event. Additionally, we address two fundamental challenges when putting recommender systems in the real-world: how to efficiently train them with even millions of unique items and how to cope with changing item popularity trends [Wu et al., 2017]. We introduce a compact model, which we call hierarchical recurrent network with meta data (HRNN-meta) to address the real-time and diverse metadata needs; we further provide efficient training techniques via importance sampling that can scale to millions of items with little loss in performance. We report significant improvements on a wide range of real-world datasets and provide intuition into model capabilities with synthetic experiments. Parts of HRNN-meta have been deployed in production at scale for customers to use at Amazon Web Services and serves as the underlying recommender engine for thousands of websites.


The result of investigating the performance of handwriting recognition systems using local features, global features and a combination of local and global features is presented. The global features are derived from the shape of the word contour and the local features are derived from the geometric characteristics of the word segments. The global features utilize the centroidal distance of the word contour also known as the polar-radii graph or PRG. The system was trained and tested using the demo version of the publicly available IAM database. Using the local features alone and an HMM recognizer a recognition rate of 58% was achieved using a 20-word vocabulary. Using the PRG of the word contour as a global feature and an MLP classifier a recognition rate of 78% is achieved. The PRG is then combined with the local features using a combined probabilistic framework and the hybrid handwritten word recognition system achieved a recognition rate of 72%. Keywords: HMM, MLP, PRG, Offline Handwriting Recognition


Does altruism exist? Or is human nature entirely selfish? In this eloquent and accessible book, famed biologist David Sloan Wilson provides new answers to this age-old question based on the latest developments in evolutionary science. From an evolutionary viewpoint, Wilson argues, altruism is inextricably linked to the functional organization of groups. "Groups that work" undeniably exist in nature and human society, although special conditions are required for their evolution. Humans are one of the most groupish species on earth, in some ways comparable to social insect colonies and multi-cellular organisms. The case that altruism evolves in all social species is surprisingly simple to make. Yet the implications for human society are far from obvious. Some of the most venerable criteria for defining altruism aren't worth caring much about, any more than we care much whether we are paid by cash or check. Altruism defined in terms of thoughts and feelings is notably absent from religion, even though altruism defined in terms of action is notably present. The economic case for selfishness can be decisively rejected. The quality of everyday life depends critically on people who overtly care about the welfare of others. Yet, like any other adaptation, altruism can have pathological manifestations. Wilson concludes by showing how a social theory that goes beyond altruism by focusing on group function can help to improve the human condition.


SUMMARY We describe the design and evaluation of a hypertext-based tutorial for hypertext authors. This 85-article tutorial represents an innovative application of hypertext to procedural learning. The work has been influenced by Carroll's minimalist model, and by the syntactic/semantic semantic model of user behavior. The usability study involved eight subjects who studied the Hyperties Author Tutorial (HAT) for approximately one hour and then performed a set of authoring tasks in an average of 21 minutes. All users successfully completed the tasks. As a result of the study, we provide a characterization of appropriate uses of hypertext for training, and describe the meaning of a hyper-active environment.


This research explores students' views on the impact and transformations that technology has brought to the learning experience of students in higher education. The students who kindly participated in this study are from: The School of Computer Science and Statistics, Faculty of Engineering, Mathematics and Science, Trinity College Dublin and The Faculty of Business, Dublin Institute of Technology, both based in Dublin City, Ireland. The use of technologies in third level education facilitates flexible learning environments. The pedagogic approach employed by e-learning development officers or lecturers when designing e-learning platforms or learning management systems has the capability totransform student learning. From experience and cases studied there is ample evidence to suggest that the use of technology does not always necessarily meet user requirements. Students are the end users of the technologies educators use to enhance the learning experience. This study was undertaken in two separate third level educational establishments to compare students' views on the impact that technology was having on learning. The first set of students surveyed in 2009 were studying in the College of Business, Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), the second set of students surveyed were studying in the School of Computer Science and Statistics (SCSS), Trinity College Dublin (TCD) in 2010. By analysing students views (as the end users) on educators uses of technologies, feedback is now available to learning designers and educators for the purpose of improving the pedagogical design of e-learning platforms and the use of technologies in higher education. The responses received from students clearly indicate they are of the opinion that the use of technologies in higher education beneficially transforms learning but will never replace lecturers. In essence, the benefits that can be achieved through the use of technologies are totally dependent on the ways they are employed pedagogically by lecturers.


The french industrial project MEGaN targets the development of power module based on GaN HEMT transistors. One of the industrial applications is the aeronautics field with a high-constraint on the galvanic isolation (>100 kV/s) and ambient temperature (200°C). The intent of this work is the power module block (3 phases inverter 650 V 30 A). The goal is to obtain a small footprint module, 30 cm2, with necessary functions such as gate driver, gate driver power supply, bulk capacitor and current phase sensor. This goal implies high efficiency as well as respect of the constraint of galvanic isolation with an optimized volume. This dissertation, besides the state of the art of power modules and especially the GaN HEMT ones, addressed a control signal isolation solution based on coreless transformers. Different prototypes based on coreless transformers were characterized and verified over 3000 hours in order to evaluate their robustness. The different studies realized the characterization of the different market available GaN HEMTs in order to mature a circuit simulation model for various converter topologies. In the collaborative work of the project, our contribution did not focus on the gate driver chip design even if experimental evaluation work was made, but a gate driver power supply strategy. The first gate driver isolated power supply design proposition focused on the low-voltage GaN HEMT conversion. The active-clamp Flyback topology allows to have the best trade-off between the GaN transistors and the isolation constraint of the transformer. Different transformer topolgies were experimentally performed and a novel PCB embedded transformer process was proposed with high-temperature capability. A lamination process was proposed for its cost-efficiency and for the reliability of the prototype (1000 H cycling test between - 55; + 200°C), with 88 % intrinsic efficiency. However, the transformer isolation capacitance was drastically reduced compared to the previous prototypes. 2 high-integrated gate driver power supply prototypes were designed with: GaN transistors (2.4 MHz, 2 W, 74 %, 6 cm2), and with a CMOS SOI dedicated chip (1.2 MHz, 2 W, 77 %, 8.5 cm2). In the last chapter, this dissertation presents an easily integrated solution for a phase current sensor based on the magnetoresistance component. The comparison between shunt resistor and magnetoresistance is experimentally performed. Finally, two inverter prototypes are presented, with one multi-level gate driver dedicated for GaN HEMT showing small switching loss performance.


The United Nations estimates that more than 2 billion people in over 40 countries are negatively affected by water shortages. Increasing demand for water has been identified as one of four major factors that will threaten human and ecological health over the next generation. As public health, development, economy and nature suffer, ensuring access to clean water is rising towards the top of government agendas. Water resources management is the aggregate of policies and activities used to provide clean water to meet human needs across sectors and jurisdictions and to sustain the water-related ecological systems upon which we depend. Knowledge that is crucial for water management is distributed across governments, non-governmental organizations and the water users themselves. In most circumstances, water management aims to address the interests of and integrate usage across hydrologically meaningful units, such as watersheds. Some management aspects, however, such as transboundary flows across multiple basins and inter-basin water transfers via channels or virtual water, may necessitate a broader geographical scope. Public participation aims actively to increase attention to and inclusion of the interests of those who are usually marginalized, e.g. politically disenfranchised minorities or poor people indirectly affected by water management. In this book, the authors identify successful mechanisms, approaches and practices for promoting public involvement in water resources management, including both conventional approaches and those based on information technology.


The views, opinions and/or findings contained in this report are those of the author(s) and should not be construed as an official Department of the Army position, policy or decision unless so designated by other documentation. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of Information including sugoestions for reducing this burden


COLUMN DESCRIPTION. The Public Services Quarterly Internet Resources column is designed to be a clearinghouse for free, online websites; each column will focus on themes relevant to current issues in academic libraries and feature resources selected to make the lives of public services librarians easier. Any comments about the column, including suggestions for future themes or recommendations of web resources, can be directed to Lee Adams at email@example.com


textabstractIn recent decades, adaptive governance has been advocated for meeting the challenges of unpredictable and uncertain dynamics of Social-ecological Systems (SES) (Folke, 2006; Huitema et al., 2009). Scholars ascribe a multitude of virtues to adaptive governance, such as, for example, the preparedness of populations for disturbances associated with climate change (Pahl-Wostl, 2006). Adaptive governance stands for a set of meta-principles of governance which contribute to making societies less vulnerable to various shocks. What adaptive governance should look like has been discussed at length in the literature on SES (e.g. Huitema et al., 2009; Ostrom, 2010; Pahl-Wostl, 2008). However, little is known about how such adaptive governance emerges and how we need to think about purposeful institutional change in its regard. In this chapter, we want to specifically address these two issues. Hereby we argue that work on adaptive governance should to a greater extent focus on the role of agency in the emergence of adaptive governance in order to derive appropriate ways to bring the institutional dimensions of adaptive governance about. We develop this argument about deeper understanding of agency by discussing the emergence and functioning of polycentric governance, which is commonly seen as an essential part of adaptive governance.


Abstract The stress field induced by the half-Sommerfeld pressure distribution in an infinitely elongated bearing is studied in detail. A complex potential formulation for the stress field is employed to solve the elasticity problem, with the intention to compute the required strength according to the classical von Mises criterion. Example contour plots of the yield parameter (√J2)/pm are given and the position and magnitude of the maximum normalized von Mises parameter are determined for a range of working conditions, analytically when they are on the surface, i.e. for eccentricity ratios ε √0.6, and semi-analytically for the cases where they are located subsurface, i.e. ε > 0.6. Surprisingly simple results are obtained for eccentricity ratios lower than about 0.7, namely a maximum of the von Mises parameter proportional to the mean pressure, permitting a simple rule to be developed for the design of bearings against yielding: if the bearing works with eccentricity ratios smaller than 0.7, and the average pressure is smaller than 1.22k, where k is the yield stress of the material in pure shear, then yielding is avoided. When bearings are used in the range of very high eccentricity ratios, a more refined calculation is needed, taking into account the actual value of the maximum von Mises parameter and the paper provides design charts for this purpose.


INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Posterior urethroplasty is the standard of care for pelvic fracture urethral injuries (PFUI). Adjunctive manoeuvres such as corporal splitting, infrapubectomy and corporal rerouting are sometimes necessary to achieve a tension-free anastomosis. Corporal rerouting is rarely necessary, therefore rarely performed. Our objective is to detail the surgical steps and technique for the above-mentioned procedures. METHODS: Our case is that of a 14-year-old boy with PFUI secondary to a motor vehicle accident. The patent was initially managed with a percutaneous suprapubic tube and underwent urethral rest for 3 months. Pre-operative combined retrograde urethrogram and antegrade flexible cystoscopy showed a 6cm distraction defect. Posterior urethroplasty was performed, using corporal splitting, infrapubectomy and corporal rerouting, as detailed in the video. RESULTS: The post-operative course was uneventuful and post-operative imaging perfomed 1 month later showed an open and patient urethra with no extravasation. The patient was doing well at his 6-month post-operative visit. CONCLUSIONS: Adjunctive manoeuvres during posterior urethroplasty may be necessary to obtain a tension-free anastomosis. Knowledge of the surgical techniques is essential for successful surgical outcomes. Source of Funding: None


At physiological concentrations of HC03- and C02, Mn(II) catalyzes disproportionation of H202. This catalase-like activity is directly proportional to the concentra- tions of Mn(II) and H202, and it increases exponentially with increases in pH. The effect of increasing pH is almost com- pletely attributable to the concomitant increase in HC03- concentration. The rate is proportional to the third power of the HCO3- concentration, suggesting that 3 equivalents of HCO3- combine with 1 equivalent of Mn(II) to form the catalytic complex. It is presumed that the redox potential of the Mn(II) = Mn(III) couple in such a complex permits H202 to carry out facile reactions with Mn(II) comparable to those that occur with Fe(III) and Cu(II) chelate complexes, in which OH and 02 are established intermediates. The Mn-catalyzed disproportionation of H202 does not occur at physiological pH in the absence of HCO3-. Hepes, inorganic phosphate, and inorganic pyrophosphate inhibit the reaction catalyzed by the Mn/HC03- system. These results are similar to those of Sychev et al. (Sychev, A. Y., Pfannmeller, U. & Isak, V. G. (1983) Russ. J. Phys. Chem. 57, 1690-1693). The catalase-like activity of Mn(II)-bicarbonate complexes reported here, to- gether with the superoxide dismutase activity of Mn complexes demonstrated by Archibald and Fridovich (Archibald, F. S. & Fridovich, I. (1982) Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 214, 452-463), strengthen the proposition that Mn may play an important role in the protection of cells against oxygen radical-mediated damage.


Manufacturing improvements are becoming a real need in industry. In order to satisfy these industrial requirements, they should be targeted in two different directions: new manufacturing processes and surface optimization through algorithms. On the one hand, Super Abrasive Machining (SAM) is presented as a new manufacturing process combining benefits from milling and grinding technologies. On the other hand, there is a tendency to manufacture non developable surfaces by flank milling and to achieve final dimensional and roughness requirements, by calculating mathematically-optimized tool trajectories. This work presents a design and manufacturing of a free form tool to be used for the manufacturing of a complex surface through Flank SAM (FSAM). Based on the tool requirements, it will cover the following stages: tool geometry design, tool core manufacturing, and electroplating for final abrasive tool generation.


Case series Patient: Female, 67 • Male, 69 • Female, 65 Final Diagnosis: Periampullary diverticulum Symptoms: — Medication: — Clinical Procedure: Magnetic Resonance Imaging Specialty: Radiology Objective: Diagnostic/therapeutic accidents Background: Cystic lesions on the pancreatic head can mimic fluid-filled duodenal or periampullary diverticula. We reviewed a series of cases in which periampullary diverticula were misdiagnosed as cystic pancreatic lesions. Case Report: Case 1. A Chinese woman presented to the surgical outpatient clinic for intermittent upper abdominal discomfort. Contrast-enhanced MRI of the abdomen revealed a cystic-appearing lesion in the region of the pancreatic head, which was reported as a cystic pancreatic lesion. A follow-up scan showed this lesion to be filled with fluid, gas, and debris, suggestive of a periampullary diverticulum. Review of a prior CT scan confirmed a periampullary diverticulum. Case 2. A Chinese man with a history of chronic hepatitis B infection underwent an MRI of the liver, which revealed a cystic-appearing lesion in the region of the pancreatic head, reported as a cystadenoma or pseudocyst. The patient underwent an endoscopic ultrasound. A large periampullary diverticulum was discovered but there was no pancreatic head lesion. Case 3. A Chinese woman with a history total hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy for ovarian malignancy underwent an MRI of the abdomen and pelvis. A cystic-appearing lesion was found in the region of the pancreatic head, which was reported as a cystadenoma or intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm. Follow-up magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography showed a signal void within, suggestive of gas within a periampullary diverticulum. Review of a prior CT scan showed a periampullary diverticulum. Conclusions: Periampullary diverticula, when fluid-filled, can be confused with cystic lesions in the pancreatic head. Radiologists should be aware of this potential pitfall.


A challenging problem of multi-label learning is that both the label space and the model complexity will grow rapidly with the increase in the number of labels, and thus makes the available training samples insufficient for training a proper model. In this paper, we eliminate this problem by learning a mapping of each label in the feature space as a robust subspace, and formulating the prediction as finding the group sparse representation of a given instance on the subspace ensemble. We term this approach as "multi-label subspace ensemble (MSE)". In the training stage, the data matrix is decomposed as the sum of several low-rank matrices and a sparse residual via a randomized optimization, where each low-rank part defines a subspace mapped by a label. In the prediction stage, the group sparse representation on the subspace ensemble is estimated by group lasso. Experiments on several benchmark datasets demonstrate the appealing performance of MSE.


INTERLUDES (2008) for solo piano Brian Dunce's paintings unveil some of the sources that lie embedded in Debussy's Preludes and offer additional references of their own. My Interludes draw on many of these references: highlighting some, hinting at others. The first interlude, The Gust of Wind, tempers Debussy's Le vent dans la plaine and Ce qu'a vu le vent d'ouest with the gentle summer breeze of Renoir's The Gust of Wind (a painting referenced in Brian's La fille aux cheveux de lin painting). I am that merry wanderer of the night is the title of the Arthur Rackham illustration that Debussy used as a source for La danse de Puck. The two Spanish-flavoured interludes, Colloque Sentimental and Le Mezzetin relate to Brian's La serenade interrompue canvas, which in turn, is based on Watteau's painting Le Mezzetin. Watteau was a master of tragic irony – the pathetic guitar player in this painting is faintly absurd in his richly coloured Commedia dell'Arte costume, yet we are left in no doubt that the hopelessness of his love (symbolized by the cold stone statue facing away from him) has the intense pain of the loss of life itself. The musical material for the Colloque Sentimental interlude comes from Debussy's La Puerto del Vino (from Preludes, Deuxieme Livre) and my Le Mezzetin interlude makes subtle references to Bizet's Carmen. In his book Images, the Piano Music of Claude Debussy, Paul Roberts conjectures that La fille aux cheveux de lin might have been at least part-inspired by Wordsworth's The Solitary Reaper. "Debussy, whose identification with exotic, faraway scenes is manifested throughout the Preludes, would have found Wordsworth's evocation of the girl's solitary song, 'Breaking the silence of the seas / Among the farthest Hebrides' deeply satisfying". The Solitary Reaper is a drastically stylised poem. Wordsworth simplifies it by omitting particularities. The girl is seen only in the bold outline of essential gesture. In the interlude Breaking the silence of the seas, I took Wordsworth's poem as a starting point and also borrowed and adapted material from the Pastorale movement of Debussy's Sonata for flute, viola and harp to recreate the pastoral atmosphere of Brian's La fille aux cheveux de lin painting. The next three interludes form a triptych. Baudelaire's pantoun Harmonie du Soir was the source for Debussy's mysterious prelude Les sons et les parfums tournent dans l'air du soir. Debussy's music suggests the faded, half-grasped memory of a popular waltz, which comes and goes throughout the piece. In Scented Waltz, I wanted to reassemble Debussy's elusive dance and place it firmly in the foreground. The Hatter brings Minstrels forward to the time of Miles Davis – who is pictured in Brian's Minstrels canvas. Nocturne in Blue and Silver alludes to Debussy's Voiles prelude, but also extends the Miles Davis connection with a veiled reference to Bill Evans' Blue in Green from Davis' Kind of Blue album. Frozen Lake (Nederland, Colorado) draws on the musical material and desolate atmosphere of Debussy's Des pas sur la neige to portray the bleak emptiness and solitude of the Rocky Mountains. Stephen Goss © 2008 First performance 15th March 2008, Riverhouse Barn, Walton-on-Thames, UK. Published by Cadenza Music © 2008.UK. Recorded on Preludes and Interludes Cadenza Music CACD1208


Vision based motion estimation algorithms are widely used in ground-based and aerial robotics. Combined with inertial measurement units, they have proven to be a precise and low-cost sensor for velocity and pose estimation. In this paper we show that stereo vision based odometry can be used by autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) that navigate close to the seabed for velocity and incremental pose estimation in small areas. We present the integration of two different stereo visual odometry algorithms into an AUV and experiments carried out in laboratory and harbour conditions comparing vision based pose estimates with ground truth.


Artists of all genres express their emotions through their creations and market their works online. We argue that in marketing their work online, it is important to understand not only the emotional responses of the artistic works themselves but also that the sentiment evoked on their websites matters. Developing the correct website sentiment can have favorable consequences. It can increase the interest of potential consumers, assure that appropriate expectations are set for the actual consumption experience, and lead to increased sales and word of mouth marketing. Online sentiment that is ill-aligned to the emotions the actual offering evokes can have adverse consequences, including disappointment with the actual offering and buyer's remorse. To better understand the online sentiment of artists' websites, we begin by briefly revisiting the interplay between art, emotions, and the issue of online "sentiment." Then, we describe a study of a sample of artists' websites that had the objective of gauging both the nature of and the extent of the emotions present in its text, as well as gaining an indication of the sentiment of the website. We describe the use of a relatively new content analysis tool to do this. Following this, we explore the data gathered, with the specific purpose of determining whether the emptions expressed on artists' websites can significantly predict sentiment, if so, which emotions tend to be the strongest predictors. We conclude by discussing some managerial implications of the results and by identifying avenues for future research.


Public e-services are a broad and growing research field in which scholars and practitioners from different domains are involved. However, the increasing attention devoted to public e-services only partially captures the extreme variety of aspects and implications of the diffusion of information and communication technologies at all levels of public administrations. The paper aims to develop a meta-analysis of the literature on the delivery, diffusion, adoption and impact of public e-services and examines current research trends in terms of differences in methodologies, approaches and key indicators across five service platforms: eGovernment, eEducation, eHealth, Infomobility and eProcurement. We examined 751 articles appeared in 2000-2010 in the top international academic journals listed in the Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) of the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI), as classified in the following fields: Communication, Economics, Education, Environmental Studies, Geography, Health Policy & Services, Information Science & Library Science, Law, Management, Planning & Development, Public Administration, Transportation and Urban Studies. We highlight a significant heterogeneity in scientific production across service domains, countries covered by empirical analyses, indicators used, and affiliation of authors. We also show an increasing diffusion of quantitative methods applied to different research fields which still appears to be constrained by data limitations. The overall picture emerging from the analysis is one characterized by largely unexplored service domains as well as scarcely analyzed issues both across and within individual service platforms (e.g. front vs. back office issues). Thus many research opportunities seem to emerge and need to be exploited from different disciplinary perspectives in this field of analysis.


The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of resistance and
endurance concurrent training combined with ingested of L-Carnitine supplementation on hormonal
changes, lipid profile, and body composition in obese men.
Materials & Methods: Twenty four young obese men (age: 23.6±2.4 years and BMI: 32.4±1.6 kg/m2)
volunteered to participate in this study and were randomly divided into two groups of 12 people taking
the supplement and placebo. Both groups performed the same concurrent resistance and endurance
training program (3 times a week for 8 weeks). The supplement group consumed daily 3g of Lcarnitine
and the placebo group ingested the same amount of maltodextrin. Blood samples were
collected before and 36h after completion of the training course in the fasting state. The paired sample
t-test was used to determine differences within a group, and differences between groups were analyzed
using independent t-test.
Results: In both supplement and placebo groups a significant decrease were seen in body weight, fat
mass, body fat percentage, cholesterol, TG and LDL-c after 8 weeks of concurrent training. Moreover,
a significant increase was observed in HDL-c (p≤0.05). After more, a significant increase in cortisol
(in both groups) and testosterone (only in the supplement group) were observed (p≤0.05). However, in
all the variables mentioned, there were significant differences between groups in favor of the group
receiving carnitine at the post-test. In other words, the rate of improvement was significantly greater in
the supplement group compared to the placebo group (p≤0.05).
Conclusion: Although the implementation of a combination of resistance and endurance training for 8
weeks improves body composition, lipid profile and hormonal changes in obese subjects, but the rate
of progress was significantly improved with supplementation of L-carnitine


We live in the midst of the information era, during which organising and indexing information more effectively is a matter of essential importance. With the fast development of digital imagery, how to search images - a rich form of information - more efficiently by their content has become one of the biggest challenges. Content-based image retrieval (CBIR) has been the traditional and dominant technique for searching images for decades. However, not until recently have researchers started to realise some vital problems existing in CBIR systems. One of the most important is perhaps what people call the \textit{semantic gap}, which refers to the gap between the information that can be extracted from images and the interpretation of the images for humans. As an attempt to bridge the semantic gap, automatic image annotation has been gaining more and more attentions in recent years. This thesis aims to explore a number of different approaches to automatic image annotation and some related issues. It begins with an introduction into different techniques for image description, which forms the foundation of the research on image auto-annotation. The thesis then goes on to give an in-depth examination of some of the quality issues of the data-set used for evaluating auto-annotation systems. A series of approaches to auto-annotation are presented in the follow-up chapters. Firstly, we describe an approach that incorporates the salient based image representation into a statistical model for better annotation performance. Secondly, we explore the use of non-negative matrix factorisation (NMF), a matrix decomposition tehcnique, for two tasks; object class detection and automatic annotation of images. The results imply that NMF is a promising sub-space technique for these purposes. Finally, we propose a model named the image based feature space (IBFS) model for linking image regions and keywords, and for image auto-annotation. Both image regions and keywords are mapped into the same space in which their relationships can be measured. The idea of multiple segmentations is then implemented in the model, and better results are achieved than using a single segmentation.


Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) represent a promising sustainable clean technology for simultaneous bioelectricity generation and wastewater treatment. Catalysts are significant portions of the cost of microbial fuel cell cathodes. Many materials have been tested as aqueous cathodes, but air-cathodes are needed to avoid energy demands for water aeration. The sluggish oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) rate at air cathode necessitates efficient electrocatalyst such as carbon supported platinum catalyst (Pt/C) which is very costly. Manganese oxide (MnO2) was a representative metal oxide which has been studied as a promising alternative electrocatalyst for ORR and has been tested in air-cathode MFCs. However the single MnO2 has poor electric conductivity and low stability. In the present work, the MnO2 catalyst has been modified by doping Pt nanoparticle. The goal of the work was to improve the performance of the MFC with minimum Pt loading. MnO2 and Pt nanoparticles were prepared by hydrothermal and sol gel methods, respectively. Wet impregnation method was used to synthesize Pt/MnO2 catalyst. The catalysts were further used as cathode catalysts in air-cathode cubic MFCs, in which anaerobic sludge was inoculated as biocatalysts and palm oil mill effluent (POME) was used as the substrate in the anode chamber. The as-prepared Pt/MnO2 was characterized comprehensively through field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), X-Ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and cyclic voltammetry (CV) where its surface morphology, crystallinity, oxidation state and electrochemical activity were examined, respectively. XPS revealed Mn (IV) oxidation state and Pt (0) nanoparticle metal, indicating the presence of MnO2 and Pt. Morphology of Pt/MnO2 observed from FESEM shows that the doping of Pt change the urchin-like structure of MnO2 into cocoon-like structure of Pt/MnO2. The electrochemical active area of the Pt/MnO2 catalysts has been increased from 276 to 617 m2/g with the increase in Pt loading from 0.2 to 0.8 wt%. The CV results in O2 saturated neutral Na2SO4 solution showed that MnO2 and Pt/MnO2 catalysts could catalyze ORR with different catalytic activities. MFC with Pt/MnO2 (0.4 wt% Pt) as air cathode catalyst generates a maximum power density of 165 mW/ m3, which is higher than that of MFC with MnO2 catalyst (95 mW/m3). There was a slight increase in COD removal efficiency of 0.4 wt% Pt/MnO2 (84%) compared to MnO2 and other Pt loading catalysts. The open circuit voltage (OCV) of the MFC operated with MnO2 cathode gradually decreased during 14 days of operation, whereas the MFC with Pt/MnO2 cathode remained almost constant throughout the operation suggesting the higher stability of the Pt/MnO2 catalyst. Therefore, Pt/MnO2 with 0.4 wt% Pt successfully demonstrated as an efficient and low cost electrocatalyst for ORR in air cathode MFC with higher electrochemical activity, stability and hence enhanced performance as well as higher COD removal efficiency.


Online reviews are a dominant resource for consumer decisions but what leads users to write reviews remains largely unexamined. Extant research on user content generation has primarily focused on what motivates users to contribute content, and less on the effects of informational and social environment surrounding these users. The aim of this study is to examine how a user's contribution to an online review platform is affected by reviews of his/her friends from both informational and social perspectives. We expect that information, reciprocity, and social comparison are primary drivers for contribution. Among friends who wrote reviews, we predict that those who carry redundant information have less effect on the focal user' contribution, whereas those who are strong-tie friends of the focal user have a stronger effect. Furthermore, we expect that users' status moderates these effects such that an elite user responds more positively to friends who carry redundant information, and more negatively to those who are strong-tie friends, compared to non-elite users. Our expected findings hold implications for online review platforms in terms of highlighting the most relevant reviews generated by one's peers.


We quantified the between-village transmission rate, β (the rate of transmission of H5N1 HPAI virus per effective contact), and the reproductive number, Re (the average number of outbreaks caused by one infectious village during its entire infectious period), of H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus in Nigeria using outbreak data collected between December 2005 and July 2008. We classified the outbreaks into two phases to assess the effectiveness of the control measures implemented. Phase 1 (December 2005-October 2006) represents the period when the Federal Government of Nigeria managed the HPAI surveillance and response measures, while Phase 2 (November 2006-July 2008) represents the time during which the Nigeria Avian Influenza Control and Human Pandemic Preparedness project (NAICP), funded by a World Bank credit of US$ 50 million, had taken over the management of most of the interventions. We used a total of 204 outbreaks from 176 villages that occurred in 78 local government areas of 25 states. The compartmental susceptible-infectious model was used as the analytical tool. Means and 95% percentile confidence intervals were obtained using bootstrapping techniques. The overall mean β (assuming a duration of infectiousness, T, of 12 days) was 0.07/day (95% percentile confidence interval: 0.06-0.09). The first and second phases of the epidemic had comparable β estimates of 0.06/day (0.04-0.09) and 0.08/day (0.06-0.10), respectively. The Re of the virus associated with these β and T estimates was 0.9 (0.7-1.1); the first and second phases of the epidemic had Re of 0.84 (0.5-1.2) and 0.9 (0.6-1.2), respectively. We conclude that the intervention measures implemented in the second phase of the epidemic had comparable effects to those implemented during the first phase and that the Re of the epidemic was low, indicating that the Nigeria H5N1 HPAI epidemic was unstable.


PRINCIPLES
Pituitary adenomas are common intracranial neoplasms that generate symptoms as a result of either mass effect or the increased production of pituitary hormones. Although mostly benign, these tumours can be associated with considerable morbidity. We investigated a panel of immunohistochemical preparations to identify potential therapeutic targets and surrogate markers of clinical outcome.

METHODS
Tumour tissue from 25 patients was evaluated for immunohistochemical expression of somatostatin receptors 1‒5, von Willebrand-factor (vWF), interleukin-8 (IL-8), vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR-2), kinesin spindle protein (Eg5) and MIB-1 (Ki-67), and its relationship with clinical features was analysed.

RESULTS
The proliferation marker MIB-1 (Ki-67) was the only marker predictive of adenoma recurrence. Of note, 67% of all relapses were associated with tumours showing luteinising hormone expression. All pituitary adenomas showed variable somatostatin receptor, IL-8, Eg5, vWF and VEGFR-2 expression; a relationship between these parameters and clinical outcome could not be demonstrated in this cohort.

CONCLUSIONS
This study validates MIB-1 (Ki-67) as a reliable marker of tumour recurrence in pituitary adenomas. Considering the consistently increased expression of Eg5, IL-8, VEGFR-2, somatostatin receptors and vWF in these tumours, further investigation as potential therapeutic targets is warranted.


Hybrid and Molecular Plasmonics for Strongly Coupled Nanosystems and Photoelectrochemical Devices by Andrea E. Schlather The field of nanophotonics has realized rapid growth over the past several decades, as novel nanoscale materials are consistently being developed and researched for a wide variety of promising light-driven applications. Plasmonics is a particularly fascinating subset of nanomaterials research, owing to the unique ability of metallic nanostructures to interact with light from areas larger than their physical size, effectively focusing it to dimensions below the diffraction limit. This interaction, called a localized surface plasmon, arises when the electric field of light induces a coherent oscillation of the conduction electrons in the metal. Tuning the geometry and near-field environment of metallic nanostructures allows for controlled light scattering and absorption across a broad spectral range. Moreover, the strong spatial confinement of electric fields near the metal surface can remarkably enhance a host of molecular processes, motivating the development of plasmonic nanomaterials for single molecule sensing, photocatalysis and photoelectrochemical devices. This thesis will focus on two sets of interactions between plasmonic metal nanostructures and molecules in their local environment. Using spectroscopic and electrochemical techniques, the experimental far-field responses are correlated to the calculated near-field properties of the metal nanostructures. This is followed by a demonstration that molecules themselves may sustain plasmon resonances through active electrochemical charging. In the first part of this thesis, the near-field coupling of plasmons and molecular excitons are studied at the single-particle level. Polarization-dependent hyperspectral dark field microspectroscopy is used to probe the far-field scattering response of plasmonic dimers, which is influenced by strong near-field coupling to molecular J-aggregates located in the dimer junction. The coupling strengths are quantified and a rigorous theoretical investigation reveals that the plexcitonic coupling is dependent on the intensity of the plasmonic field enhancement in the dimer junction, which can be tuned by varying the polarization of incident light. These nanostructures represent a class of hybrid plasmonic materials that show reversible, all-optical spectral modulation, a necessary feature for a number of applications ranging from ultrafast optical switches to tactical obscurants. The next part of this thesis investigates the factors influencing the efficiency and kinetics of plasmonic hot carrierdriven redox reactions in an photoelectrochemical cell. Multi-layered Au-SiO2-Au nanoparticles, called nanomatroyshkas (NMs), serve as nanoelectrodes due to their interesting optical properties. Strong light absorption by the NM electrodes leads to the formation of energetic hot electron-hole pairs that can be utilized to drive chemical reactions of surface adsorbates. The photooxidation of citrate by plasmonic hot holes and subsequent reduction of water by hot electrons on the surface of the NM electrodes is studied as a function of excitation wavelength, electrode potential and incident laser power. A qualitative system for optimizing plasmon-enabled photoelectrochemical reactions is presented by considering the interplay between plasmonic absorption and the energy alignment of hot carriers with molecules at the metal-solution interface. This result is an important step toward the ultimate goal of designing optimized nanomaterials for efficient photoelectrochemical devices. In the last part of this thesis, a new class of carbon-based plasmonic materials is proposed by reconsidering our understanding of the nature of optical transitions in charged polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). 2Dgraphene doped with charge carriers has been shown to support a surface plasmon resonance that is opticallyand electricallytunable in the mid-infrared (IR) and terahertz regimes. This study confirms theoretical predictions that spatial confinement of graphene to its smallest dimensions, that is, to individual PAH molecules containing only a few tens of atoms, can result in visible optical transitions when the molecules are charged with single electrons. A custom spectroelectrochemical setup is built to study the visible resonances of a series of PAH molecules in their reduced state, sustained by the absence of water or oxygen in a nonaqueous electrochemical cell. Time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculations provide insight into the origins of the broad, intensely-absorbing experimental optical spectra, which are concluded to be a superposition of light-induced electronic and vibronic transitions that are dipolar in nature. While efforts to fully understand these polarizable molecular transitions are ongoing, a number of research possibilities and potential applications arise from the addition of PAH molecules to the nanophotonics toolbox.


Most Web-based Q/A systems work by finding pages that contain an explicit answer to a question. These systems are helpless if the answer has to be inferred from multiple sentences, possibly on different pages. To solve this problem, we introduce the Holmes system, which utilizes textual inference (TI) over tuples extracted from text.

Whereas previous work on TI (e.g., the literature on textual entailment) has been applied to paragraph-sized texts, Holmes utilizes knowledge-based model construction to scale TI to a corpus of 117 million Web pages. Given only a few minutes, Holmes doubles recall for example queries in three disparate domains (geography, business, and nutrition). Importantly, Holmes's runtime is linear in the size of its input corpus due to a surprising property of many textual relations in the Web corpus---they are "approximately" functional in a well-defined sense.


The Pierre Auger Observatory has been designed to investigate the most energetic particles known, the ultra high energy cosmic rays. The observatory, covering an area of 3000 km^2, combines two different detection techniques to study the huge particle showers created by the interaction of primary cosmic rays with the atmosphere. The analysis of the showers allows one to extract information on the nature of the primary cosmic rays, as well as their origin. Moreover, the study of the interaction of these particles with the atmosphere offers a unique window to study particle physics at an energy more than one order of magnitude above the current highest energy human-made accelerator. In this contribution selected results are presented, with a focus on the primary mass composition, the determination of the number of muons, which is sensitive to the shower hadronic interactions, and the measurement of the proton-air cross-section at sqrt(s) = 57 TeV. For the last topic, a link with the proton-proton cross-section measurements using accelerators will be made. Results on the cosmic ray energy spectrum and on searches for ultra high energy photons and neutrinos, will also be discussed.


The Georgian "Rose Revolution" of 2003 was preceded by events in November 2001, in which students protested against a government raid on a popular TV station, Rustavi 2, and forced then-President Shevardnadze to request the resignation of the Georgian cabinet as the students demanded. This article describes these events in detail to show how political transition in Georgia has been carried out and exemplified by new political rhetorics and metarhetoric that expressly confronted entrenched logics of reception. The article illustrates how shifts in state formation, in postsocialist contexts in particular, are tied to shifts in representational modes.


Patterns in Game Design provides professional and aspiring game designers with a collection of practical design choices that are possible in all types of games. These choices, called patterns, are used to illustrate the varying types of gameplay found in games. For the purposes of this book, gameplay is defined as the structures of player interaction with the game system and CiteULike is a free online bibliography manager. Register and you can start organising your references online. interaction with other players. This includes the possibilities, results, and reasons for players to play. By putting these elements of gameplay into practical patterns, designers have access to a common set of concepts that can be used by all developers, allowing game projects to be approached with more standard tools. These patterns help designers put their concepts and ideas into words, which makes communication between members much easier. The patterns also help with making design choices, understanding how other games work, and inspiring game ideas. The book itself is divided into two main parts. The first part covers the theoretical aspects of describing games and defining the template used to develop the game design patterns. The second part includes the actual patterns divided into chapters based on the aspect of gameplay they cover. The patterns can be used in any order and referenced as you would a dictionary. By studying these various game design patterns, designers learn about the choices they?ll have to make when using a pattern in their own designs, and they?ll gain an understanding of what gameplay is, so that they can design better games. Geschichte_studieren's tags for this article


Silicon is an attractive alloy-type anode material because of its highest known capacity (4200 mAh/g). However, lithium insertion into and extraction from silicon are accompanied by a huge volume change, up to 300%, which induces a strong strain on silicon and causes pulverization and rapid capacity fading due to the loss of the electrical contact between part of silicon and current collector. Si nanostructures such as nanowires, which are chemically and electrically bonded to the current collector, can overcome the pulverization problem, however, the heavy metal current collectors in these systems are larger in weight than Si active material. Herein we report a novel anode structure free of heavy metal current collectors by integrating a flexible, conductive carbon nanotube (CNT) network into a Si anode. The composite film is free-standing and has a structure similar to the steel bar reinforced concrete, where the infiltrated CNT network functions as both mechanical support and electrical conductor and Si as a high capacity anode material for Li-ion battery. Such free-standing film has a low sheet resistance of approximately 30 Ohm/sq. It shows a high specific charge storage capacity (approximately 2000 mAh/g) and a good cycling life, superior to pure sputtered-on silicon films with similar thicknesses. Scanning electron micrographs show that Si is still connected by the CNT network even when small breaking or cracks appear in the film after cycling. The film can also "ripple up" to release the strain of a large volume change during lithium intercalation. The conductive composite film can function as both anode active material and current collector. It offers approximately 10 times improvement in specific capacity compared with widely used graphite/copper anode sheets.


A solar-assisted large-scale cleaning system (SALSCS) is proposed for air pollution abatement. The system consists of a large-scale flat-plate solar collector, a chimney, and a filter bank. In the basic configuration, an air flow is driven exclusively by buoyancy generated in the collector-chimney system, and PM_(2.5) and larger particulate matter is separated from the air in the filter bank. The proof of concept is obtained by means of a transient 3D numerical simulation of fluid and heat flow for a full-scale system, implemented in ANSYS Fluent and performed using high-performance computing techniques. The effects of the filter bank on the system performance including heat transfer and fluid flow characteristics are evaluated by studying two system configurations, without and with a filter bank, respectively. The proposed SALSCS system is predicted to be capable of processing atmospheric air at a flow rate of 2.64 × 10^5 m^3/s, corresponding to the volume of 22.4 km^3 of polluted air remediated in 24 hours.


Instrumental neutron activation analysis has been applied for the determination of up to 40 elements in waters from eleven Norwegian rivers. In order to represent the composition of an average river in the region of Norway and possibly the greater part of the Scandinavian peninsula, weighted mean values are calculated on the basis of geometric mean values and discharge of the individual rivers. Factor analysis shows that Cambro-Silurian sedimentary and vulcanic rocks influence the water composition considerably compared to Precambrian gneisses and granites. An influence of airborne supply is evident in coastal areas. In addition ore deposits are important for Zn and associated elements. Comparison with literature data from Sweden shows good agreement for the elements concerned. The present values concerning alkalies, alkaline earths and halogens are, however, significantly lower than the estimated "world averages". This is probably due to a low abundance of marine deposits and sedimentary rocks in Scandinavia. Low values are also found for elements which are often associated with particulate matter (Fe, Al, V, Mo, As, Sb, Th, U), while the values obtained for rare earths (La, Ce, Sm) and some additional elements (Sc, Mn, Au) are significantly higher than the estimated "world averages".


Introduction: Educational equality is newly considered in social, political and economic system of the nations. Many conventions, treaties & statements in the world emphasizing these rights have been determined and issued. This issue has been considered in politic, economic and social development plans of Iran. Explaining this issue in undeveloped areas such as Ilam province can provide improvement opportunities in developmental plans. So, this study was done to investigate the issue of equality or inequality in educational system of Ilam as one of the under-developed areas in Iran. Methods: This evaluative research was carried on the base of Ilam population and housing census in 1390. The population of Ilam including 503840 subjects was studied. Gender equality in education was assessed with Gender parity index presented by UNESCO and the international institute for educational planning. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 18 through descriptive statistics. Results: Analysis of gender in equality in educational system of Ilam province showed that this index is worse than the country index baseline in junior high school (0.90 to 0.96) and high school (0.84 to 1.01), gender inequality was against girls. In senior high school (1.38) inequality was against boys. Gender equality has been achieved in higher education level (0.99). According to Ilam's counties, Abdanan city had the best gender equality in educational system especially in senior high school. But this index was inappropriate in other cities. There was a large difference in terms of the desired status. Conclusion Given the rural context of Ilam province and the importance of male gender, the inequality against girls during junior high school and high school is justified; because decisions are made inside the family structures in those periods. This status will be reversed in the senior high school. Totally, it is expected that policymakers in education attempt to remove deprivations of the girls, because having equal opportunities ensure them to have a growing healthy society which is based on, a national believes as well as the new social conditions. Citation: of Education 2016; 35-44.


Track and field includes a number of high‐intensity disciplines with many demanding practices and represents a motivational challenge for talented athletes aiming to make a successful transition to the senior elite level. Based on a holistic ecological approach, this study presents an analysis of a particular athletic talent development environment, the IFK Växjö track and field club, and examines key factors behind its successful history of creating top‐level athletes. The research takes the form of a case study. Data were collected from multiple perspectives (in‐depth interviews with administrators, coaches and athletes), from multiple situations (observation of training, competitions and meetings) and from the analysis of documents. The environment was characterized by a high degree of cohesion, by the organization of athletes and coaches into groups and teams, and by the important role given to elite athletes. A strong organizational culture, characterized by values of open co‐operation, by a focus on performance process and by a whole‐person approach, provided an important basis for the environment's success. The holistic ecological approach encourages practitioners to broaden their focus beyond the individual in their efforts to help talented junior athletes make a successful transition to the elite senior level.


Abstract Avoidance of habitat edges may be contributing to reduced densities of grass-land birds in small habitat patches. Nest densities for grassland-nesting Bobolinks (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) were much lower than expected within 25 m of forest edges at three sites in New York, and that pattern ("edge avoidance") extended to 100 m at one site. Nests located within 50 m of forest or wooded hedgerow edges had lower daily survival rates, compared with nests ≥100 m from any habitat edge. Bobolinks tended to move away from forest edges when renesting after nest failure; that pattern was especially evident in females that placed their first nest within 50 m of a forest or wooded hedgerow edge. Second nests of all seven of those females were farther from that edge type than their first nests. However, nest placement in relation to wooded edges did not vary significantly between years for those philopatric females nesting at our study sites for more than one year. Bobolinks also avoided nesting near road edges, even though nest survival rates were not lower near that edge type. However, Bobolinks did not appear to avoid nesting near edges adjacent to old fields or pastures. Nest survival near those edge types was higher than near wooded edges and similar to or higher than survival of nests ≥100 m from any edge. Thus, responses of Bobolinks to habitat edges were inconsistent, and nest success was dependent on type of edge.


The social and economic costs of risks produced by organizations are becoming more and more evident and relevant. Enterprises are expected (and, sometimes, obliged) to become able to efficiently manage the risks they induce: industrial hazards, financial uncertainty, environmental risks, risk to safety and health in the workplace, etc. By adopting an organizational perspective, this contribution investigates the approaches to Occupational Health and Safety risks prevention that are promoted by the law (specifically, by Italian law). The goal of this paper is then to discuss the consistency of the norms with respect to the objectives of risks prevention and to understand their actual and potential impact on business practices.


The genetic code appears to be optimized in its robustness to missense errors and frameshift errors. In addition, the genetic code is near-optimal in terms of its ability to carry information in addition to the sequences of encoded proteins. As evolution has no foresight, optimality of the modern genetic code suggests that it evolved from less optimal code variants. The length of codons in the genetic code is also optimal, as three is the minimal nucleotide combination that can encode the twenty standard amino acids. The apparent impossibility of transitions between codon sizes in a discontinuous manner during evolution has resulted in an unbending view that the genetic code was always triplet. Yet, recent experimental evidence on quadruplet decoding, as well as the discovery of organisms with ambiguous and dual decoding, suggest that the possibility of the evolution of triplet decoding from living systems with non-triplet decoding merits reconsideration and further exploration. To explore this possibility we designed a mathematical model of the evolution of primitive digital coding systems which can decode nucleotide sequences into protein sequences. These coding systems can evolve their nucleotide sequences via genetic events of Darwinian evolution, such as point-mutations. The replication rates of such coding systems depend on the accuracy of the generated protein sequences. Computer simulations based on our model show that decoding systems with codons of length greater than three spontaneously evolve into predominantly triplet decoding systems. Our findings suggest a plausible scenario for the evolution of the triplet genetic code in a continuous manner. This scenario suggests an explanation of how protein synthesis could be accomplished by means of long RNA-RNA interactions prior to the emergence of the complex decoding machinery, such as the ribosome, that is required for stabilization and discrimination of otherwise weak triplet codon-anticodon interactions.


Objective—The prevalence of insulin resistance (IR) is increasing worldwide because of increasing age, obesity, and physical inactivity. Emerging evidence supports a direct proatherogenic effect of IR on the coronary vasculature, but the relation between IR and angiographic atherosclerosis in a real-world clinical setting is uncertain. In this work, we assessed whether IR is independently associated with clinically significant angiographic atherosclerosis in nondiabetic individuals. Approach and Results—We examined the association between IR and the extent of coronary atherosclerosis determined by angiography in 1073 nondiabetic patients surviving acute myocardial infarction. Patients were divided into quartiles on the basis of the homeostasis model assessment grading of IR, and associations between IR and multivessel coronary artery disease, defined as ≥2 arteries with ≥70% stenosis (or ≥50% left main stenosis), were analyzed in bivariate and multivariable modeling. Overall, the cohort had a median age of 56 years; 28.9% women and 21.8% nonwhite. The crude prevalence of multivessel coronary artery disease was 37.8%, 42.3%, 47.2%, and 48.0% for homeostasis model assessment grading of IR quartiles 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively (Ptrend=0.009). In multivariable modeling, compared with quartile 1, both quartile 3 (relative risk [95% confidence interval], 1.31 [1.07–1.60]) and quartile 4 (1.29 [1.03–1.60]) were independently associated with multivessel coronary artery disease. Covariates in the model included patient demographic and clinical characteristics and metabolic factors (low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, triglyceride, glycosylated hemoglobin, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein). Conclusions—We demonstrate an independent association between IR and multivessel coronary artery disease in nondiabetic postmyocardial infarction patients. Our findings strengthen the experimental evidence for a direct atherogenic effect of IR independent of glucose control and other components of the metabolic syndrome.


Inflation forecasting is fundamental to monetary policy. In practice, however, economists are faced with competing goals: accuracy and theoretical consistency. Recent work by Fuhrer and Moore (1995), Gali and Gertler (1999), Gali, Gertler, and Lopez-Salido (2001), Sbordone (2002), and Kozicki and Tinsley (2002a, b) suggests that the two objectives need not be mutually exclusive in the context of inflation forecasts. The New Keynesian Phillips curve is theoretically appealing, because its purely forward-looking specification is based on a model of optimal pricing behaviour with rational expectations. This specification, however, does not properly capture observed inflation persistence. The author estimates three structural models of U.S. inflation that incorporate price frictions to justify the presence of lags in the forward-looking New Keynesian Phillips curve. The models, based on Gali and Gertler (1999) and Kozicki and Tinsley (2002a, b), are tested on the basis of forecast performances. The results show that the new Keynesian hybrid Phillips curve with the output gap as an explanatory variable performs marginally better than the two alternative specifications.


Abstract Globalising dynamics have had wide-ranging and pervasive impacts on nearly every form of human relatedness, which now include the bases upon which states calculate and express their political responsibilities. As the 'reach' of practical and normative pressures extends and their demands intensify, the compass of state responsibility is becoming a key pressure point for facing the challenges and mediating the tensions of our globalised and still globalising world. This theme is examined from a global health perspective. The general disposition of states toward their acknowledged political responsibilities is unlikely to change, but the combination of legal, normative, political and practical dynamics impinging on them have already begun to register, as both states and the international system adjust to a politics that now have global dimensions.


Swelling under carefully controlled conditions has been used to study alterations in the structure of rat liver mitochondria as a result of feeding azo dyes. The changes of the swelling properties of the mitochondria during feeding of the hepatocarcinogenic 3'-methyl-4-dimethylaminoazobenzene are essentially comparable to those observed previously with the microsomes, under the same dietary conditions. These alterations in mitochondrial swelling are not related to changes in the amount of these cell particulates per unit weight of tissue, during feeding of this azo dye. As with the microsomes, feeding of the isomeric but relatively noncarcinogenic 2-methyl-4-dimethylaminoazobenzene does not affect swelling. The structural differences between liver and hepatoma mitochondria show up not only in the rate and extent of swelling but also in the form of the curves of pH dependence. The influence of ketones and sulfhydryl compounds on the swelling of normal liver mitochondria were studied, with particular emphasis to the role of sulfhydryl groups in membrane permeability. The sudden steep rise in the tumor incidence in groups of rats fed 3'-methyl-4-dimethylaminoazobenzene for increasing intervals of time occurs at about 4 weeks. This time correlates with the point of the minimum swelling of microsomes and mitochondria isolated from the livers of rats fed this same dye. Thus, a correlation is established between the alterations of the swelling properties of these particulates and the carcinogenic process.


During the acquisition of spoken language, children learn to distinguish different acoustic stimuli, acquire the phonemes that form the building blocks of language, and associate the combinations of these sounds with meaning. Some of the basic underlying components of auditory discrimination and learning can be studied in animal models. For the first time, we developed a new behavioral paradigm and trained ferrets to discriminate Mandarin Chinese tonal phonemes (a total of eight "tonemes"). In order to discover whether auditory learning could be accelerated, we describe preliminary experimental results using vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) as a tool to explore the role of brain neuromodulators (released by VNS) in enhancing the process of learning complex auditory tasks, including discrimination of Mandarin Chinese tonal phonemes. Previous studies have shown that VNS activates the vagal nerve and that this activation causes the release of brain neuromodulators acetylcholine, norepinephrine and serotonin, all known to modulate attention and synaptic plasticity. We examined the effects of VNS from a dual perspective: both behavioral (task acquisition and performance) and neural (brain activity and plasticity). Our experiments specifically assessed whether stimulation of the external ear concha (auricular VNS or a-VNS), when paired with behavioral training on a complex auditory task, enhanced task acquisition and/or performance. Behavioral data on several auditory tasks in control ferrets (that did not receive aVNS) provided a baseline for comparison with animals trained with a-VNS. Our initial, preliminary results indicate that the learning speed and performance level of ferrets in the control (no-VNS) group and the a-VNS group were not significantly different. However, although we did not find behavioral improvements from a-VNS, we did observe striking effects of a-VNS on neural responses in the primary auditory cortex (A1) of task-naïve ferrets, indicating that the neural representation of sound can be re-shaped, even by brief episodes of VNS.


The aim of this study was to determine concentrations of manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), and strontium (Sr) in the cartilage, compact bone, spongy bone, and cartilage with adjacent compact bone of the domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris). The experiment was carried out on bones from the hip joints of 24 dogs (dogs of 8 years) from northwestern Poland. The concentrations of Mn, Fe, and Sr were assessed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Fe concentration was the highest in the cartilage and compact bone. Mn concentration was the lowest in all three types of bone material and had a significantly lower concentration in spongy bone than in the other bone materials. Sr concentration was the highest in the spongy bone. Age-dependent comparison showed that both Mn and Fe concentration in dogs of 0.70) were found between Mn and Fe and between Mn and Sr concentrations in cartilage, and between Sr concentrations in compact bone and cartilage with adjacent compact bone. In most of the studied dogs, bone Mn, Fe, and Sr concentrations were similar to those found in other canines and different from ungulates and micromammals.


Background Formulation of DNA/cationic lipid complexes (lipoplexes) designed for nucleic acid delivery mostly results in positively charged particles which are thought to enter cells by endocytosis. We recently developed a lipoplex formulation called Neutraplex that allows preparation of both cationic and anionic stable complexes with similar lipid content and ultrastructure. Methodology/Principal Findings To assess whether the global net charge could influence cell uptake and activity of the transported oligonucleotides (ON), we prepared lipoplexes with positive and negative charges and compared: (i) their physicochemical properties by zeta potential analysis and dynamic light scattering, (ii) their cell uptake by fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry, and (iii) the biological activity of the transported ON using a splicing correction assay. We show that positively or negatively charged lipoplexes enter cells cells using both temperature-dependent and -independent uptake mechanisms. Specifically, positively charged lipoplexes predominantly use a temperature-dependent transport when cells are incubated OptiMEM medium. Anionic lipoplexes favour an energy-independent transport and show higher ON activity than cationic lipoplexes in presence of serum. However, lipoplexes with high positive global net charge and OptiMEM medium give the highest uptake and ON activity levels. Conclusions These findings suggest that, in addition to endocytosis, lipoplexes may enter cell via a temperature-independent mechanism, which could be mediated by lipid mixing. Such characteristics might arise from the specific lipoplex ultrastructure and should be taken into consideration when developing lipoplexes designed for in vivo or ex vivo nucleic acid transfer.


Settled people have been forced to move and nomads have been coerced into settling for as long as there has been history. Until the emergence of the Westphalian concept of the nation (where the state corresponded to the nation, groups of people united by language and culture), movement and mobility were largely recognized and accommodated. However, most contemporary academic disciplines as well as public institutions adopt a particular sedentist perspective on the nation-state. It is commonly recognized that people are displaced and move when political states collapse; they return when political security is restored. The liminal "state" outside the defined territory of the nation-state, where the displaced are found, is regarded as a threat to the world order.1 Predominant theory has been that people must be tied to territory, and thus the durable policy solutions advanced are frequently about resettlement. Reality does not support either current forced migration theory or humanitarian aid practices, however, and an epistemological change in thinking about forced migrants is urgently required. This means looking beyond the nationstate— the purview of most academic work in this area— and beyond traditional barriers between disciplines, to give cross-disciplinary attention to the self-expressions and experiences of forced migrants. Furthermore, the forced migrant creates a dilemma in how aesthetic expression is displayed, as their forms of expression cannot be squarely identified with one state or another. The dispossessed and displaced are changed by their experiences in the grey zones between states, and their migrations cannot be neatly catalogued as belonging to one state or culture.


Rett syndrome (RTT) is an X-linked neurodevelopmental disorder caused by mutations in MECP2, encoding methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 (MeCP2). The onset of symptoms in RTT is delayed until 6–18 months and 4–6 months in the Mecp2 2/1 mouse model, corresponding to a dynamic and gradual accumulation of MeCP2 expression in individual neurons of the postnatal brain. Because of X chromosome inactivation (XCI), cells within RTT females are mosaic for expression of the heterozygous MECP2 mutation. Using the targeted Mecp2 mouse model, we investigated the effect of Mecp2 mutation on XCI and developmental MeCP2 expression in wild-type (wt)-expressing neurons by quantitative laser scanning cytometry. Mecp2 2/1 female mice exhibited uniform regional distribution of Mecp2 mutant-expressing cells in brain, but unbalanced XCI in the population, favoring expression of the Mecp2 wt allele. Interestingly, MeCP2 expression in Mecp2 wt-expressing cells from Mecp2 2/1 mice was significantly lower than those from Mecp2 1/1 agematched controls. The negative effect of Mecp2 mutation on wt Mecp2 expression correlated with the percentage of Mecp2 mutant-expressing cells in the cortex. Similar results were observed in two RTT females with identical MECP2 mutations but different XCI ratios. These results demonstrate that Mecp2-mutant neurons affect the development of surrounding neurons in a non-cell-autonomous manner and suggest that environmental influences affect the level of MeCP2 expression in wt neurons. These results help in explaining the role of XCI in the pathogenesis of RTT and have important implications in designing therapies for female RTT patients.


Primary forest extent, loss and degradation within the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) were quantified from 2000 to 2010 by combining directly mapped forest cover extent and loss data (CARPE) with indirectly mapped forest degradation data (intact forest landscapes, IFL). Landsat data were used to derive both map inputs, and data from the GLAS (Geoscience Laser Altimetry System) sensor were employed to validate the discrimination of primary intact and primary degraded forests. In the year 2000, primary humid tropical forests occupied 104 455 kha of the country, with 61% of these forests classified as intact. From 2000 to 2010, 1.02% of primary forest cover was lost due to clearing, and almost 2% of intact primary forests were degraded due to alteration and fragmentation. While primary forest clearing increased by a factor of two between 2000–2005 and 2005–2010, the degradation of intact forests slightly decreased. Fragmentation and selective logging were the leading causes of intact forest degradation, accounting for 91% of IFL area change. The 10 year forest degradation rate within designated logging permit areas was 3.8 times higher compared to other primary forest areas. Within protected areas the forest degradation rate was 3.7 times lower than in other primary forest areas. Forest degradation rates were high in the vicinity of major urban areas. Given the observed forest degradation rates, we infer that the degradation of intact forests could increase up to two-fold over the next decade.


Entry of Shigella flexneri into epithelial cells and lysis of the phagosome involve the IpaB, IpaC, and IpaD proteins, which are secreted by type III secretion machinery. We report here the purification of IpaB and IpaD and the characterization of their lipid-binding properties as a function of pH. The interaction of IpaB with the membrane was quite independent of the pH whereas that of IpaD took place only at low pH. To support the data obtained with the purified proteins, we designed a system in which protein secretion by live bacteria was induced in the presence of liposomes, thereby allowing interaction of proteins with lipids directly after secretion and bypassing any purification step. In these conditions, both IpaB and IpaC, as well as minor amounts of IpaA and IpgD, were associated with the membrane and the ratio of IpaB to IpaC was modulated by the pH. The relevance of these results with respect to the dual roles of IpaB, IpaC and IpaD in induction of membrane ruffles and lysis of the endosomal membrane is discussed.


This paper examines the pragmatic and linguistic problems that come into play in the English translation of one of Naguib Mahfouz's most famous novels The Thief and the Dogs(more than 20 editions in 10 languages). This novel, which was written in 1961, was translated into English in 1984 by Trevor Le Gassick and M.M Badawi.The paper presents evidence that the translators failed to appreciate the importance of context in determining the meaning of the Source Language Text. The paper also shows that the translators sometimes ignored such pragmatic concepts and principles as speech acts, the maxims of the Politeness Principle, conventional implicature, and presupposition. Moreover, some problems rise at the word level and phrase/clause level.Since Mahfouz is a Nobel-laureate whose works are demanded and consumed by avid readers everywhere, such translational problems may distort his works and reduce the enjoyment readers expect from them. The study can also be helpful to future translators in a such a way that they will be aware of the difficulties that await them.


Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) was polymerized with the biological dopants dextran sulphate and chondroitin sulphate. Polymer physical and mechanical properties were investigated using quartz crystal microgravimetry with dissipation monitoring and atomic force microscopy, revealing polymer shear modulus and interfacial roughness to be significantly altered as a function of the dopant species. The adsorption of fibronectin, an important extracellular protein that is critical for a range of cellular functions and processes, was investigated using QCM-D, revealing protein adsorption to be increased on the DS doped PEDOT film relative to the CS doped film. PEDOT films have traditionally been doped with synthetic counterions such as polystyrene sulphonate (PSS), however the incorporation of biological molecules as the counterion, which has been shown to improve polymer biofunctionality, has received far less attention. In particular, there has been little detailed study on the impact of incorporating polyelectrolyte biomolecules into the PEDOT polymer matrix on fundamental polymer properties which are critical for biomedical applications. This investigation provides a detailed characterization of the interfacial and mechanical properties of biologically doped PEDOT films, as well as the efficacy of the composite films to bind and retain extracellular proteins of the type that are critical to the biocompatibility of the polymeric material.


Complementary feeding of breast milk in, infant aged less than 6 months occured because the mother assumes that MP-ASI better than breast milk, and also less undestanding abotu how to give MP-ASI as well as follow the suggestion from a famliy that when the age of 4 months the child must be given a banana pulverized. The purpose of the research is to analyze the factors of knowledge, perception and social culture that affect the behaviour of mothers in feeding of MP-ASI in infants age less than six months.Design of this research are analytic corelational with crossectional approach. The population are all of mother whose have a babies ages 7-12 months as many as 40 mothers. Sample taken with simple random sampling technique as much as 37 respondents. The research variable are Knowledge, perception and social culture as independent variable and behaviour of mother to providing MP-ASI as dependent variable. Data collected with a quesstionaire and tested with regrestion linier test and presented in the form of a frequency distribution table.Regression test results obtained the value of R = 0,717 this shows the relationship of the dependent and independent variables are fairly strongly, where as the value of the coefficient of determinan R Square ar 0,514 or 51,4%, that's meaning are the knowledge of MP-ASI that both can affect the behaviour of the mother in giving MP-ASI because wqith a good knowledge mother can be understand it and ho ti give MP-ASI to their child an also they can give MP-ASI appropriately. Similary to the perception, and social culture tha flourishes in the family enbvironment or society effect the behaviour of the mother.The respondent further to enhance information about MP-ASI to following healt education with healt officer or read a magazine or newspaper so their can be improve their knowledge about MP-ASI and the importance of complementary breast milkKey Words : Knowledge, Perception, Social Culture, Behaviour, MP-ASI


One of the great challenges of long-term treatment of schizophrenia and related disorders is minimizing the medical or psychological burden from persistent side effects. Because of the differences in side effect profiles between the newer and older antipsychotic medications, and distinct differences among the newer agents themselves, the spectrum of side effects associated with antipsychotic therapy has changed tremendously. The authors review changing from one antipsychotic to another ("switching") as a potential treatment strategy for reducing the overall side effect burden of antipsychotic therapy. This review identifies 6 steps to the evaluation of switching antipsychotics because of side effects: (1) Establish a causal attribution that the clinical problem is an adverse effect of the antipsychotic medication; (2) Understand the course of the side effect, especially regarding present and future risks for the individual patient receiving the antipsychotic treatment; (3) Understand the potential risks and benefits of other side effect interventions that do not require switching the antipsychotic; (4) Be aware of the side effect profiles of other possible antipsychotics, with an understanding of the potential effectiveness of changing (switching) to another antipsychotic for this side effect; (5) Calculate the side effect risks of switching antipsychotics; (6) Calculate the efficacy risks of switching antipsychotics. The authors explain how to evaluate the specific side effect in the context of the current medication and the overall management of the patient.


Zinberg's Interaction Model implies that the content of a drug-induced experience is a function of the pharmacological properties of the drug, the set (the user's characteristics e.g. motivation and personality), and the setting (the physical and social context). The current research investigated the function of the set and setting and their role in shaping the psychological effects of 3,4-methylenedioxmethamphetamine (MDMA), as well as their role in reducing the risk of drug abuse.
An online survey was distributed among adult MDMA polydrug users (n = 158) and MDMA-naive controls (alcohol, nicotine and cannabis users, n = 138). Participants answered questions regarding their pattern of drug use, their motivation for MDMA use and the setting (e.g. clubbing, home with friends), as well as the subjective effects of MDMA. Participants also completed a range of self-report measures of self-reflection and insight, emotional intelligence, and personality, as well as a drug dependency measure.
MDMA users displayed higher levels of self-reflection and insight, openness to new experience and lower levels of neuroticism and conscientiousness, in comparison to the control group. The significant predictors of self-reflection and insight were openness, emotional intelligence, MDMA use, extraversion and neuroticism. When the analysis was rerun only for the MDMA group, the significant predictors of self-reflection and insight were openness, emotional intelligence and self-insight effects of MDMA. High levels of self-reported negative effects of MDMA were predictors of a problematic drug use.
These findings suggest that there might be a relationship between MDMA use and higher levels of self-reflection and insight; however, longitudinal studies are required to further investigate the causality of this relationship. The results add to existing evidence that MDMA has potential for altering emotional experiences. Further research utilising a prospective design is warranted.


The determination of the relative value of files is important for an organization while determining a retrieval service level for its files and a corresponding file retention policy. This paper discusses via a literature review methods for developing file retention policies based on the use values of files. On basis of these results we propose an enhanced version of one of them. In a case study, we demonstrate how one can develop a customized file retention policy by testing causal relations between file parameters and the use value of files. This case shows that, contrary to suggestions of previous research, the file type has no significant relation with the value of a file and thus should be excluded from a retention policy in this case. The case study also shows a strong relation between the position of a file user and the value of this file. Furthermore, we have improved the Information Value Questionnaire (IVQ) for subjective valuation of files. However, the resulting method needs software to be efficient in its application. Therefore, we developed a prototype for the automatic execution of a file retention policy. We conclude with a discussion


The prevalence of allergic diseases such as allergic rhinitis, asthma, food allergy, and atopic dermatitis has increased dramatically during the last decades, which is associated with altered environmental exposures and lifestyle practices. The purpose of this review was to highlight the potential role for dietary fatty acids, in the prevention and management of these disorders. In addition to their nutritive value, fatty acids have important immunoregulatory effects. Fatty acid‐associated biological mechanisms, human epidemiology, and intervention studies are summarized in this review. The influence of genetics and the microbiome on fatty acid metabolism is also discussed. Despite critical gaps in our current knowledge, it is increasingly apparent that dietary intake of fatty acids may influence the development of inflammatory and tolerogenic immune responses. However, the lack of standardized formats (ie, food versus supplement) and standardized doses, and frequently a lack of prestudy serum fatty acid level assessments in clinical studies significantly limit our ability to compare allergy outcomes across studies and to provide clear recommendations at this time. Future studies must address these limitations and individualized medical approaches should consider the inclusion of specific dietary factors for the prevention and management of asthma, food allergy, and atopic dermatitis.


In today's age of digital multimedia deluge, a clear understanding of the dynamics of online communities is capital. Users have abandoned their role of passive consumers and are now the driving force behind large-scale media repositories, whose dynamics and shaping factors are not yet fully understood. In this paper we present a novel human-centered analysis of two major photo sharing websites, Flickr and Kodak Gallery. On a combined dataset of over 5 million tagged photos, we investigate fundamental differences and similarities at the level of tag usage and propose a joint probabilistic topic model to provide further insight into semantic differences between the two communities. Our results show that the effects of the users' motivations and needs can be strongly observed in this large-scale data, in the form of what we call Kodak Moments and Flickr Diamonds. They are an indication that system designers should carefully take into account the target audience and its needs.


Nowadays applied work in business and economics requires a solid understanding of econometric methods to support decision-making. Combining a solid exposition of econometric methods with an application-oriented approach, this rigorous textbook provides students with a working understanding and hands-on experience of current econometrics. Taking a 'learning by doing' approach, it covers basic econometric methods (statistics, simple and multiple regression, nonlinear regression, maximum likelihood, and generalized method of moments), and addresses the creative process of model building with due attention to diagnostic testing and model improvement. Its last part is devoted to two major application areas: the econometrics of choice data (logit and probit, multinomial and ordered choice, truncated and censored data, and duration data) and the econometrics of time series data (univariate time series, trends, volatility, vector autoregressions, and a brief discussion of SUR models, panel data, and simultaneous equations). DT Real-world text examples and practical exercise questions stimulate active learning and show how econometrics can solve practical questions in modern business and economic management. DT Focuses on the core of econometrics, regression, and covers two major advanced topics, choice data with applications in marketing and micro-economics, and time series data with applications in finance and macro-economics. DT Learning-support features include concise, manageable sections of text, frequent cross-references to related and background material, summaries, computational schemes, keyword lists, suggested further reading, exercise sets, and online data sets and solutions. DT Derivations and theory exercises are clearly marked for students in advanced courses. This textbook is perfect for advanced undergraduate students, new graduate students, and applied researchers in econometrics, business, and economics, and for researchers in other fields that draw on modern applied econometrics.


Thoroughly revised and updated, the third edition of the best-selling textbook Prison and Jail Administration: Practice and Theory covers all aspects of prison administration, from organizational structure and management accountability to food service, personnel corruption, and the impact of technology on penal institutions. Authored by over sixty leading experts in the field, the text provides students with a unique balance of practice and theory, and includes suggested readings, learning objectives, and discussion questions to help students gain an in-depth understanding of the material. The third edition includes all-new pedagogical features, instructor resources, and new chapters on current topics, such as women offenders, the world of a corrections officer, hiring and retention of staff, institution pre-release programs, and restorative justice. The most comprehensive and accessible prison administration textbook available, Prison and Jail Administration: Practice and Theory, Third Edition is essential reading for students in correctional administration courses.


The arc suppression coil determines whether it can effectively extinguish the arc when it is grounded in the neutral non-effective grounding system. An artificial grounding test is an important way to verify its performance. In this study, 13 substations with the 10 kV system in the Ningxia area were selected and considered. Based on the artificial single-phase grounding test, the residual current, the compensation current and the off-resonance degree were measured in the arc suppression coil, and the performance of the arc suppression coil in the 10 kV system was verified. The experimental results show that the error of arc suppression coil automatic measurement is large, the off-resonance degree is large, the resistive component in the compensation current is excessive, the harmonic component exists in the compensating current and capacitive current. To solve these problems, this paper puts forward the corresponding countermeasures for reference.