Plant phenologies are key components of community assembly and ecosystem function, yet we know little about how phenological patterns differ among ecosystems. Community-level phenological patterns may be driven by the filtering of species into communities based on their phenology or by intraspecific responses to local conditions that shift when species flower. To understand the relative roles of filtering and shifting on community-level phenological patterns we compared patterns of first flowering dates (FFD) for herbaceous species at Konza Prairie, KS, USA with those from the colder Fargo, ND, USA area and from Chinnor, England, which has a less continental climate. Comparing patterns of FFD supports that Konza's flowering patterns are potentially influenced both by filtering species that flower early in the growing season and by phenological shifting. Konza species flowering dates were earlier in the spring and later in the fall compared to Fargo, but were not shifted compared to Chinnor, which had a unique suite of early-flowering species. In all, comparing flowering phenology among three sites reveals that intraspecific responses to climate can generate phenological shifts that compress or stretch community-level phenological patterns, while novel niches in phenological space can also alter community-level patterns. Community flowering patterns related to climate suggest that climatic warming has the potential to further distribute flowering of the Konza flora over a longer period, but also could further open it to introductions of non-native species that have evolved to flower early in the season.


Wunderlich syndrome (WS) is an uncommon cause of flank pain wherein spontaneous bleeding occurs into the subcapsular and perirenal spaces of the kidney. İt is most commonly attributed to renal tumors, especially angiomyolipomas. We report a case of a patient who presented to an emergency department (ED) with flank pain and symptoms of hemodynamic instability; radiologic imaging led to the diagnosis of WS. The patient's condition was managed conservatively first; then, selective embolization was performed. For patients who present to ED with flank pain and negative hematuria, an important diagnosis that can be fatal, if not recognized early, is WS. İt is classically presented with acute flank pain, flank mass, and hypovolemic shock, together known as Lenk's triad. İt can be fatal if not recognized and managed early, and radiological confirmation is required for accurate diagnosis.Therefore, physicians in ED should keep this syndrome in mind to prevent misdiagnosis (for e.g., as renal colic pain); and thereby the mortality.


"Perhaps the most urgentand complextask facing American education today is to figure out how to hold schools accountable for improved academic achievement. In this important new work, Helen Ladd and her colleagues describe the options available to policymakers, weigh their respective strengths and pitfalls, and lay out principles for creating schools where learning is the number one objective. This book should be at the top of the reading list for anyone seriously interested in transforming the quality of American schools."Edward B. Fiske, Former Education Editor, The New York Times A central theme of current efforts to reform elementary and secondary education in the United States is a more explicit focus on the outcomes of the educational system. This volume examines efforts throughout the country to hold schools accountable for the academic performance of their students. Researchers from various disciplinesmost notably, economics, educational policy and management, and political scienceaddress a range of questions related to performance- based strategies for reforming education. The authors describe and evaluate programs that recognize and reward the most effective schools, discuss the costs of achieving high performance, summarize what is known about parental choice as an accountability mechanism, and provide new evidence on the relationship between school inputs and educational outcomes. Grounded in the actual experiences of various states and school districts, the book provides a wealth of new information and provocative insights. Contributors argue that programs to hold schools accountable for student performance must be carefully designed to assure that schools are treated fairly; that vouchers, if used, should be directed toward low-income families; that resources do indeed matterpoor school districts may well require additional funding to increase student learning. In addition to the editor, the contributors include Charles T. Clotfelter, David K. Cohen, Richard F. Elmore, Ronald F. Ferguson, Susan H. Fuhrman, Eric A. Hanushek, Caroline Minter Hoxby, Richard J. Murnane, John F. Witte, and John McHenry Yinger."


The concept of personalised diagnostics is to direct accurate clinical decisions based on an individual's unique disease molecular profile. Lab-on-a-chip (LOC) systems are prime personalised diagnostics examples which seek to perform an entire sample-to-outcome detection of disease nucleic acid (NA) biomarkers on a single miniaturised platform with minimal user handling. Despite the great potential of LOC devices in providing rapid, portable, and inexpensive personalised diagnosis at the point-of-care (POC), the translation of this technology into widespread use has still been hampered by the need for sophisticated and complex engineering. As an alternative miniaturised diagnostics platform free of precision fabrication, there have been recent developments towards a solution-based lab-in-a-drop (LID) system by which an entire laboratory-based diagnostics workflow could be downscaled and integrated within a singular fluid droplet for POC detection of NA biomarkers. In contrast to existing excellent reviews on miniaturised LOC fabrication and individual steps of NA biomarker sensing, we herein focus on miniaturised solution-based NA biosensing strategies suited for integrated LID personalised diagnostics development. In this review, we first evaluate the three fundamental bioassay steps for miniaturised NA biomarker detection: crude sample preparation, isothermal target amplification, and detection readout of amplicons. Then, we provide insights into research advancements towards a functional LID system which integrates all three of the above-mentioned fundamental steps. Finally, we discuss perspectives and future directions of LID diagnostic platforms in personalised medicine applications.


Many allege multinationals are exporting' U.S. jobs when they expand operations abroad. This paper investigates the extent to which expansion of offshore production by U.S. multinationals reduces labor demand at home and at other offshore locations, using a panel on U.S. multinationals and their foreign affiliates between 1983 and 1992. The results suggest that foreign affiliate employment substitutes modestly at the margins for U.S. parent employment. There is much stronger substitution between workers at affiliates in alternative low wage locations. In contrast, activities performed by affiliates at locations with different workforce skill levels in the same region appear to be complements. The results suggest a vertical division of activities among countries with different workforce skill levels, where workers in developing countries compete with each other to perform the activities most sensitive to labor costs. When wages in developing countries, such as Mexico, fall 10 percent, U.S. parent employment falls 0.17 percent, while affiliates in other developing countries, such as Malaysia, lay off 1.6 percent of their workforce.


ABSTRACT Despite the growing interest in and literature regarding practitioner research in human resources (HR), not much is known about the factors that play a role in the actual practice by HR practitioners. This article describes an explorative study to gain empirical insight into the use and quality of practitioner research in HR practice. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 21 Dutch HR practitioners from diverse backgrounds, posing questions about (1) their definitions of practitioner research, (2) the characteristics of the research they perform, (3) the quality and usability of the research projects in which they have taken part, and (4) the forces that drive or hinder practitioner research. We constructed theory-based coding schemes to analyse the data. To assess the quality and usability of the research performed by participants, we constructed a quality framework. Our findings show that all participants were more or less involved in HR-related practitioner research, but the quality and usability of that research could be improved. We report several causes and influencing factors. Our findings complement previous research on evidence-based HR and other practitioner research approaches and provide new insights. Based on our findings, we discuss implications for further research and practice.


The present contribution aims at creating color images printed with fluorescent inks that are only visible under UV light. The considered fluorescent inks absorb light in the UV wavelength range and reemit part of it in the visible wavelength range. In contrast to normal color printing which relies on the spectral absorption of light by the inks, at low concentration fluorescent inks behave additively, i.e. their light emission spectra sum up. We first analyze to which extent different fluorescent inks can be superposed. Due to the quenching effect, at high concentrations of the fluorescent molecules, the fluorescent effect diminishes. With an ink-jet printer capable of printing pixels at reduced dot sizes, we reduce the concentration of the individual fluorescent inks and are able to create from the blue, red and greenish-yellow inks the new colorants white and magenta. In order to avoid quenching effects, we propose a color halftoning method relying on diagonally oriented pre-computed screen dots, which are printed side by side. For gamut mapping and color separation, we create a 3D representation of the fluorescent ink gamut in CIELAB space by predicting halftone fluorescent emission spectra according to the spectral Neugebauer model. Thanks to gamut mapping and juxtaposed halftoning, we create color images, which are invisible under daylight and have, under UV light, a high resemblance with the original images.


The conversation on global warming started in 1896, when a physical chemist estimated that the mean global temperature would rise several degrees if the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was doubled. The topic eventually became one of the most passionate in the history of science. The author points out that climate experts were initially strongly skeptical of the theory of global warming; it took a variety of evidence to gradually convince them that warming due to human emissions was likely. The public, however, was guided away from this conclusion by a professional public relations effort, motivated by industrial and ideological concerns. Deniers of the scientific consensus avoided normal scientific discourse and resorted to ad hominem attacks that cast doubt on the entire scientific community—while disrupting the lives of some researchers. The author points out that scientists have failed to mount a concerted public relations campaign to defend their position. When trust is lost, he asserts, a determined effort is needed to restore it.


Exposure to cadmium (Cd) has been associated with development of chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD). The mechanisms and signaling pathways whereby Cd causes pathological peribronchiolar fibrosis, airway remodeling, and subsequent airflow obstruction remain unclear. We aimed to evaluate whether low-dose Cd exposure induces vimentin phosphorylation and Yes-associated protein 1 (YAP1) activation leading to peribronchiolar fibrosis and subsequent airway remodeling. Our data demonstrate that Cd induces myofibroblast differentiation and extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition around small (<2 mm in diameter) airways. Upon Cd exposure, α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) expression and the production of ECM proteins, including fibronectin and collagen-1, are markedly induced in primary human lung fibroblasts. Cd induces Smad2/3 activation and the translocation of both Smad2/3 and Yes-associated protein 1 (YAP1) into the nucleus. In parallel, Cd induces AKT and cdc2 phosphorylation and downstream vimentin phosphorylation at Ser39 and Ser55, respectively. AKT and cdc2 inhibitors block Cd-induced vimentin fragmentation and secretion in association with inhibition of α-SMA expression, ECM deposition, and collagen secretion. Furthermore, vimentin silencing abrogates Cd-induced α-SMA expression and decreases ECM production. Vimentin-deficient mice are protected from Cd-induced peribronchiolar fibrosis and remodeling. These findings identify two specific sites on vimentin that are phosphorylated by Cd and highlight the functional significance of vimentin phosphorylation in YAP1/Smad3 signaling that mediates Cd-induced peribronchiolar fibrosis and airway remodeling.


Introduction:Manipulation of images using three-dimensional multiplanar reconstruction algorithms (3D MPR) and maximum intensity projection (MIP) is dependent on prior understanding of the method's true validity and its superiority over traditional semi-digital or analog methods of measurement.Objective:To assess the understanding of doctors who attended the course of the methodology they routinely employed for planning endovascular surgery before taking the course and determine their choice of method after completion of the course.Methods:A survey was conducted with the students who took the course using an intranet questionnaire.Results:One hundred and sixty-one participants responded to the questionnaire. In relation to their prior knowledge, 38.8% reported no knowledge, 45.6% reported little knowledge, 15% reported basic knowledge and just 0.6% considered their prior knowledge was advanced. With respect to the measurement method used, 12.5% relied on the measurements in the radiologist's report, 14% used printed plates and manual compasses, 36.8% used axial images to take measurements, 11.8% used axial images in OsiriX, 14% used the 3D MPR method and 11% used the 3D MPR method and 3D MPR combined with MIP. Additionally, 81.5% of the participants stated that they repeated measurements intraoperatively using a centimeter pigtail catheter, despite having taken measurements in advance using one of the methods listed above.Conclusion:The study showed that continuing education in specialized course was effective for imparting understanding of the importance of the three-dimensional multiplanar reconstruction image analysis method and of image optimization algorithms.


textabstractPerforming a computer experiment can be viewed as observing a mapping between the model parameters and the corresponding model outputs predicted by the computer model. In view of this, experimental design for computer experiments can be thought of as devising a reliable procedure for finding configurations of design points in the parameter space so that their images represent the manifold parametrized by such a mapping (i.e., computer experiments). Traditional space-filling designs aim to achieve this goal by filling the parameter space with design points that are as "uniform" as possible in the parameter space. However, the resulting design points may be non-uniform in the model output space and hence fail to provide a reliable representation of the manifold, becoming highly inefficient or even misleading in case the computer experiments are non-linear. In this paper, we propose an iterative algorithm that fills in the model output manifold uniformly---rather than the parameter space uniformly---so that one could obtain a reliable understanding of the model behaviors with the minimal number of design points.


The Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) is a bio-electrochemical transducer converting waste products into electricity using microbial communities. Cellular Automaton (CA) is a uniform array of finite-state machines that update their states in discrete time depending on states of their closest neighbors by the same rule. Arrays of MFCs could, in principle, act as massive-parallel computing devices with local connectivity between elementary processors. We provide a theoretical design of such a parallel processor by implementing CA in MFCs. We have chosen Conway's Game of Life as the 'benchmark' CA because this is the most popular CA which also exhibits an enormously rich spectrum of patterns. Each cell of the Game of Life CA is realized using two MFCs. The MFCs are linked electrically and hydraulically. The model is verified via simulation of an electrical circuit demonstrating equivalent behaviours. The design is a first step towards future implementations of fully autonomous biological computing devices with massive parallelism. The energy independence of such devices counteracts their somewhat slow transitions—compared to silicon circuitry—between the different states during computation.


This article presents an overview of the Alternate Reality Kit, an animated environment for creating interactive simulations. ARK is built upon a physical-world metaphor: All objects have an image, a position, a velocity, and the ability to experience forces. Users manipulate objects with a mouse-operated "hand," which enables them to carry and throw objects, press buttons, and operate sliders. The interface features are discussed in light of a general user interface tension between literalism and magic. Literal features¿defined as those that are true to the interface's metaphor¿enhance an interface's learnability. Magical features are defined as those capabilities that deliberately violate the metaphor in order to provide enhanced functionality. Discussion of each ARK feature includes informal observations of early ARK users, and an assessment of the feature's learnability, its usefulness, and its position on the magical-literal axis. Despite ARK's magical features, applications-level users have been trained in a few minutes. Although this article is about ARK, the tension between literalism and magic raises some interesting questions on its own. Some of these questions are presented briefly in the conclusion.


The Uniform Probate Code was drafted to facilitate modernization, simplification, and uniformity of state inheritance laws. Since its approval by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws and by the American Bar Association in August 1969, the Code has been enacted in various forms by 11 states. In this Article, the Authors analyze significant deviations from the recommended version of article II in the first nine enactments of the UPC. The Authors argue that all but exceptionally meritorious changes in enacted versions of the UPC should give way to the goal of state uniformity in inheritance laws, and find the majority of the changes to be unjustifiable. In evaluating the merits of the changes, the authors consider UPC policies behind individual sections of the Code as well as state reasons for deviations.


Abstract Whistleblower protection is increasingly important for detection and rectification of wrongdoing in and by organisations, and enforcement of citizen and worker rights. However the form of legal protections remains contentious, with the search for 'ideal' or 'model' laws complicated by the diversity of approaches attempted by jurisdictions; frequent lack of evidence of their success; and the lack of a common conceptual framework for understanding approaches across different legal systems. This article seeks to aid understanding of the ways in which different policy purposes, approaches and legal options can be combined in the design of better legislation, using Australia's recently passed Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 (Cth) . It provides a guide to key elements of the new legislation, as an example of legislative development taking place over a long period, informed by different trends. In particular, it is one of the first national laws to seek to integrate divergent approaches to the 'anti-retaliation' model of whistleblower protection, including its place in the employment law system; sets new standards for the role of 'public whistleblowing' in such a regime; and provides new responses on basic questions of coverage, including which individuals are able to gain the benefit of the legislation (who is a 'whistleblower'?). This provides lessons as to how different legal approaches might be better integrated, in pursuit of a clearer understanding of the interface between whistleblowing and other integrity reforms. Keywords: whistleblowing, Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013, whistleblowing legislation, worker retaliation, employment law, public interest


Objects obscured by occluders are considered lost in the images acquired by conventional camera systems, prohibiting both visualization and understanding of such hidden objects. Non-line-of-sight methods (NLOS) aim at recovering information about hidden scenes, which could help make medical imaging less invasive, improve the safety of autonomous vehicles, and potentially enable capturing unprecedented high-definition RGB-D data sets that include geometry beyond the directly visible parts. Recent NLOS methods have demonstrated scene recovery from time-resolved pulse-illuminated measurements encoding occluded objects as faint indirect reflections. Unfortunately, these systems are fundamentally limited by the quartic intensity fall-off for diffuse scenes. With laser illumination limited by eye-safety limits, recovery algorithms must tackle this challenge by incorporating scene priors. However, existing NLOS reconstruction algorithms do not facilitate learning scene priors. Even if they did, datasets that allow for such supervision do not exist, and successful encoder-decoder networks and generative adversarial networks fail for real-world NLOS data. In this work, we close this gap by learning hidden scene feature representations tailored to both reconstruction and recognition tasks such as classification or object detection, while still relying on physical models at the feature level. We overcome the lack of real training data with a generalizable architecture that can be trained in simulation. We learn the differentiable scene representation jointly with the reconstruction task using a differentiable transient renderer in the objective, and demonstrate that it generalizes to unseen classes and unseen real-world scenes, unlike existing encoder-decoder architectures and generative adversarial networks. The proposed method allows for end-to-end training for different NLOS tasks, such as image reconstruction, classification, and object detection, while being memory-efficient and running at real-time rates. We demonstrate hidden view synthesis, RGB-D reconstruction, classification, and object detection in the hidden scene in an end-to-end fashion.


A crisis, even one as long-standing as this, is a fluid situation. Although foreclosure and delinquency rates are still high by historical standards, they are trending lower. Prices have increased dramatically from the trough. In the meantime, a new set of players, the investment funds, has a significant role in lower priced single-family markets. Now seems like the appropriate time for thinking about the next phase of this housing cycle. While the work on loan modifications and other resolutions of individual hardships must continue, the new and important challenge in this next phase will be to recapture investor-owned housing units in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods.


At the heart of Mari Luomi's salutary book is whether oil- and gas-dependent authoritarian monarchies can keep their natural resource use and the environment in balance. She argues that the Gulf monarchies have already reached their limits of 'natural sustainability', given that several of them are dependent on natural gas imports. Water resources are dwindling, and food import dependence is high and rising. Qatar's per capita emission of CO2 is ten times the global average. As a result of their booming economies, the Gulf monarchies' surging electricity and water demand have exerted unexpected pressures on domestic energy supply. Simultaneously, the consolidation of climate change on the international agenda has created a new uncertainty for local rulers whose survival depends on sales of oil and gas. Meanwhile domestic resource consumption, together with climate change, are putting unprecedented stress on the region's fragile desert environment. The Gulf is under stress, but so too are its states' power, wealth and ecosystems. Luomi reveals how Abu Dhabi and Qatar have responded to these new natural re- source-related pressures, particularly climate change, and how their responses are inextricably linked with elite legitimacy strategies and the 'natural unsustainability' of their political economies.


Many users communicate with chatbots and AI assistants in order to help them with various tasks. A key component of the assistant is the ability to understand and answer a user's natural language questions for question-answering (QA). Because data can be usually stored in a structured manner, an essential step involves turning a natural language question into its corresponding query language. However, in order to train most natural language-to-query-language state-of-the-art models, a large amount of training data is needed first. In most domains, this data is not available and collecting such datasets for various domains can be tedious and time-consuming. In this work, we propose a novel method for accelerating the training dataset collection for developing the natural language-to-query-language machine learning models. Our system allows one to generate conversational multi-term data, where multiple turns define a dialogue session, enabling one to better utilize chatbot interfaces. We train two current state-of-the-art NL-to-QL models, on both an SQL and SPARQL-based datasets in order to showcase the adaptability and efficacy of our created data.


Abstract Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease of the human central nervous system. It is one of the most common neurological disorders around the world and there is still no complete cure for MS. Purification of a terpenoid from Capparis ovata was carried out and its structure was elucidated as stigmast-5,22-dien-3β-ol, myristate (3β,22E-stigmasteryl myristate; SDM) by NMR and mass spectral analyses. No information regarding its any health effect is available in the literature. In the present study, we have described its effects on inflammatory factors such as the expression levels of cytokines, chemokines and adhesion molecules as well as apoptosis/infiltration and myelination in SH-SY5Y cells. The expression levels of proinflammatory or inflammatory cytokines and chemokines such as NF-κB1, CCL5, CXCL9, CXCL10 and HIF1A along with T-cell activating cytokines such as IL-6 and TGFB1 were significantly downregulated with SDM treatment. Moreover, the expression levels of the main myelin proteins such as MBP, MAG and PLP that are essential for healthy myelin architecture were significantly up-regulated. The results presented in this study strongly suggest that the SDM offers a unique possibility to be used with autoimmune diseases, including MS due to its activity on the manipulation of cytokines and the promotion of myelin formation.


The method used by the teacher is one of the reasons that led to the success in the learning process. Therefore the method is one of the pillars in education. It has been proven that a good and appropriate way it can assist teachers in addressing gaps in the implementation of the curriculum, can also facilitate students in understanding the subject matter, and can detect weaknesses of students in learning Arabic literary texts, thus can find a solution to solve it. So also with teaching Arabic literary texts to the students, teachers should use appropriate methods in teaching it, so that the students easy to understand explanation of the teacher. Therefore, researchers have taken the title of this study is "a method of teaching literary texts ideal in Indonesia" with the main objective of this study is to detect what the most suitable method to be applied in Indonesia in the teaching of literary texts.


In order for solid tumors to metastasize, tumor cells must acquire the ability to invade the surrounding tissue and intravasate into blood- or lymph vessels, survive in the circulation and then extravasate at a distant site to form a new tumor. Overexpression of the glycosaminoglycan hyaluronan, and its adhesion receptor CD44, correlate with breast cancer progression. This thesis focuses on the role of hyaluronan in tumor invasion and metastasis.In paper I, we demonstrated that upregulation of the hyaluronan synthesizing enzyme hyaluronan synthase 2 (HAS2) was crucial for transforming growth factor β (TGFβ)-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in mammary epithelial cells. In paper II, we further demonstrated that silencing of HAS2 decreased the invasive behavior of bone-metastasizing breast cancer cells, via upregulation of tissue inhibitor for metalloproteinase 1 (TIMP1), and dephosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK).During tumorigenesis, stromal cells, such as fibroblasts, play important roles and several growth factors are synthesized, promoting crosstalk between different cell surface receptors. In paper III, we investigated the crosstalk between the hyaluronan receptor CD44 and the receptors for TGFβ and platelet-derived growth factor BB (PDGF-BB) in dermal fibroblasts. We found that the receptors for the three molecules form a ternary complex, and that PDGF-BB can activate the Smad pathway downstream of TGFβRI. Importantly, CD44 negatively modulated the signaling of both PDGF-BB and TGFβ.In paper IV, we studied the process by which breast cancer cells invade blood-vessels and the role of hyaluronan and CD44 in angiogenesis. Importantly, CD44, or the hyaluronan degrading enzyme hyaluronidase 2 (HYAL2), decreased the capacity of endothelial cells to form tubes in a 3D in vivo-like assay. Collectively, our studies add to the understanding of the role of hyaluronan in tumor progression.


In~[1] a cluster algorithm for graphs was introduced called the Markov cluster algorithm or MCL~algorithm. The algorithm is based on simulation of (stochastic) flow in graphs by means of alternation of two operators, expansion and inflation. The results in~[2] establish an intrinsic relationship between the corresponding algebraic process (MCL~process) and cluster structure in the iterands and the limits of the process. Several kinds of experiments conducted with the MCL~algorithm are described here. Test cases with varying homogeneity characteristics are used to establish some of the particular strengths and weaknesses of the algorithm. In general the algorithm performs well, except for graphs which are very homogeneous (such as weakly connected grids) and for which the natural cluster diameter (i.e. the diameter of a subgraph induced by a natural cluster) is large. This can be understood in terms of the flow characteristics of the MCL~algorithm and the heuristic on which the algorithm is grounded. A generic performance criterion for clusterings of weighted graphs is derived, by a stepwise refinement of a simple and appealing criterion for simple graphs. The most refined criterion uses a particular Schur convex function, several properties of which are established. A metric is defined on the space of partitions, which is useful for comparing different clusterings of the same graph. The metric is compared with the metric known as the equivalence mismatch coefficient. The performance criterion and the metric are used for the quantitative measurement of experiments conducted with the MCL~algorithm on randomly generated test graphs with 10000 nodes. Scaling the MCL~algorithm requires a regime of pruning the stochastic matrices which need to be computed. The effect of pruning on the quality of the retrieved clusterings is also investigated. [1] A cluster algorithm for graphs. Technical report INS-R0010, National Research Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science in the Netherlands, Amsterdam, 2000. [2] A stochastic uncoupling process for graphs. Technical report INS-R0011, National Research Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science in the Netherlands, Amsterdam, 2000.


The development of three cell lines initiated from the late embryonic stages of Drosophila melanogaster is described. The primary cultures consisted of trypsinized fragments from embryos 20–24 h old. The length of time between primary culture and subsequent subculture varied from 8 months for the first line to 3 weeks for the third. All three lines have been maintained in vitro for more than a year. The characteristics of each line are given and evidence is presented that at least one line is derived from imaginal disc cells. A few comments on insect tissue culture in general are also made.


This thesis presents a newly developed recommender system for recommending high school courses in The Netherlands. The recommender system recommends a complete set of courses to a student, based on the choices of similar students that have already completed high school. A large historical database containing information of more than 20% of all new Dutch high school students was used for this recommender.
The methodologies used are a structured literature review, interviews for requirements, design of the system and o�ine (with a historical dataset containing grades from tens of thousands students) and online (with on-site experiments
at 4 high schools) experiments.
The main �ndings of this report are the following:
� There is a de�nite need for an objective recommendation of high school
courses by students and school counselors;
� The recommendations are not accurate;
� The recommendations received good reviews in the online experiment;
� The recommendations did not outperform the random recommendation
in the online experiment;
� A serendipitous results: the o�ine tests have shown that recommenders
can predict future exam grades with high accuracy.
Our recommendation to Topicus, based on these findings, is not to implement the recommender system. Instead, a broader search could be started, to find other possible solutions for the need for objective recommendations. One technique that could be explored further, is the prediction of grades for single courses. We expect that school counselors will �nd such a tool helpful in advicing students which courses to take.


The synthesis, structure, and reactivity of titanium complexes supported by the bicyclic guanidinate ligand derived from 1,3,4,6,7,8-hexahydro-2H-pyrimido[1,2-a]pyrimidine (hppH) are described. In situ reaction between a THF solution of the lithium salt, (hppLi)n, and titanium chloride starting materials afforded the series of compounds Ti(hpp)nCl4-n(THF)x [n = 1, x = 1 (1); n = 2, x = 0 (3); n = 3, x = 0 (4)]. The dimeric, base-free complex [Ti(hpp)Cl2(-Cl)]2 (2) was synthesized from the reaction of the silylated ligand precursor, hppSiMe3, with TiCl4 in CH2Cl2. Preliminary olefin polymerization studies of 1-3 using MAO as activator indicated low activities. The reaction between 3 and 2 equiv of AlMe3 resulted in formation of a novel trimetallic Ti(III) species, Ti{AlMe2(hpp)2}Cl(-Cl)AlMe3 (5), highlighting the noninnocent behavior of the ligands. The bis(benzyl) complex Ti(hpp)2(CH2Ph)2 (6) was synthesized from the alkane elimination reaction between the neutral ligand precursor, hppH, and Ti(CH2Ph)4. Attempted generation of the corresponding mono-benzyl cation through reaction with the neutral borane B(C6F5)3 again afforded reduced species. The synthesis of titanium tert-butylimido compounds [Ti(-NtBu)(hpp)Cl]2 (7) and [Ti(NtBu)(hpp)(-hpp)]2 (8) from the salt metathesis reaction of 1 and 2 equiv of (hppLi)n, respectively, with Ti(NtBu)Cl2(py)3 is reported. The molecular structures of compounds 2 and 3 and 5-8 are reported, and the distribution of -electron density throughout the guanidinate ligands is discussed in detail.


New Zealand has had free, state, secular education since 1877, but just what is meant by secularism is changing. Since the 1980s the growth of Maori education initiatives has mushroomed and these place emphasis on Maori values and beliefs, including spirituality. In addition, in 1999 a definition and statement on spirituality appeared in the health and physical education national curriculum document. This statement referred to values, beliefs, meaning and purpose. It also incorporated a Maori model of well‐being which places the spiritual alongside other dimensions of humanity. This article explores the concept of spirituality in secular schooling in New Zealand. Some influences from Maori culture are explored with particular reference to values, ethical decision‐making and spirituality. Interviews with Maori teachers highlight how moral decisions often reflect spiritual beliefs and practices. It is argued that schooling has a moral obligation to reflect indigenous values if understanding, respect and cul...


Using a conventional microwave photonic technique, we demonstrate lightwave switching in laterally coupled GaAs-AlGaAs microring resonators by free carrier injection. The ring waveguide is optically pumped just above its bandgap energy, which results in a temporal tuning of the microring resonant wavelengths by the refractive index change due to the induced free carriers. Both the transmission and the phase function of the resonators are investigated and used to demonstrate all-optical switching. The switching time, limited by surface recombination of carriers, is 20 ps. A switching energy of a few picojoules shifts the microring resonance by 1.2 nm.


Machine learning models depend on the quality of input data. As electronic health records are widely adopted, the amount of data in health care is growing, along with complaints about the quality of medical notes. We use two prediction tasks, readmission prediction and in-hospital mortality prediction, to characterize the value of information in medical notes. We show that as a whole, medical notes only provide additional predictive power over structured information in readmission prediction. We further propose a probing framework to select parts of notes that enable more accurate predictions than using all notes, despite that the selected information leads to a distribution shift from the training data ("all notes"). Finally, we demonstrate that models trained on the selected valuable information achieve even better predictive performance, with only 6.8%of all the tokens for readmission prediction.


Ligand-exchange reactions of [Mo3S4(tu)8(H2O)]Cl4·4H2O (tu = thiourea) with (PhCH2CH2)2PCH2CH2SR ligands, where R = Ph (PS1), pentyl (PS2) or Pr (PS3), afford new complexes isolated as [Mo3S4Cl3(PS1)3]PF6 ([1]PF6), [Mo3S4Cl3(PS2)3]PF6 ([2]PF6) and [Mo3S4Cl3(PS3)3]PF6 ([3]PF6) salts in 30–50% yields as the major reaction products. The crystal structures of [1]PF6 and [2]PF6 were determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Each of the three phosphine-thioether ligands is coordinated in a bidentate chelating mode to a different molybdenum atom of the Mo3S4 trinuclear cluster; herein, all the phosphorus atoms of the phosphino-thioether ligand are located trans to the capping sulfur (μ3-S). A second product that forms in the reaction of [Mo3S4(tu)8(H2O)]Cl4·4H2O with PS1 corresponds to the neutral [Mo3S4Cl4(PS1)2(PS1*)] complex. Its XRD analysis reveals both bidentate (PS1) and monodentate (PS1*) coordinating modes of the same ligand. In the latter mode the phosphine-thioether is coordinated to a Mo atom only via the P atom. All compounds were characterized using 1H and 31P{1H} NMR spectroscopy, electrospray-ionization (ESI) mass spectrometry and cyclic voltammetry (CV). Reactions of [1]PF6, [2]PF6 and [3]PF6 with an excess of Bu4NCl in CD2Cl2 were followed by 31P{1H} NMR spectroscopy. The spectra indicate equilibrium between cationic [Mo3S4Cl3(PSn)3]+ and neutral [Mo3S4Cl4(PSn)2(PSn*)] (n = 1, 2) species. The equilibrium constants were determined as 2.5 ± 0.2 × 103 M−1, 43 ± 2 M−1 and 30 ± 2 M−1 (at 25 °C) for [1]PF6, [2]PF6 and [3]PF6, respectively, indicating quantitative differences in the hemilabile behaviors of the phosphino-thioether ligands, depending on the substituent at the sulfur. Clusters [1]PF6, [2]PF6 and [3]PF6 were tested as catalysts in the reduction of nitrobenzene to aniline with Ph2SiH2 under mild conditions. Significant differences in the catalytic activities were observed, which can be attributed to different hemilabile behaviors of the PS1 and PS2/PS3 ligands.


This paper studies the distributional effects of the implementation of a marine protected area (MPA) for the North-East Atlantic cod stock. A bioeconomic cohort model with two agents targeting different age groups is used to examine how the establishment of an MPA may affect the payoffs to the two main vessel types used to exploit cod, namely, trawlers and coastal vessels. Cooperative and non-cooperative behaviour between the management of the two vessel groups are used to describe the existence or non-existence of efficient management in the fishable area. The model includes a shock in the form of a recruitment failure. A key result that emerges from this contribution is that depending on the ex ante status quo and ex post management, we may observe win-win, lose-lose or win-lose situations as a result of an MPA implementation. For instance, when the ex post management is cooperation, both agents in our model gain, while ex post non-cooperative behaviour results in gains only to the coastal fleet with the implementation of MPAs. The study also shows that even without cooperation outside the MPA, both groups would prefer a 50% reserve to the non cooperative outcome in the absence of an MPA. This is an indication that a reserve may well be preferred to a badly managed non-reserve fishery even when management outside the reserve is non-existent.


The last decade has witnessed the development of methodologies for the post‐flood documentation of both hydrogeomorphological and social response to extreme precipitation. These investigations are particularly interesting for the case of flash floods, whose space–time scales make their observations by conventional hydrometeorological monitoring networks particularly challenging. Effective flash flood documentation requires post‐flood survey strategies encompassing accurate radar estimation of rainfall, field and remote‐sensing observations of the geomorphic processes, indirect reconstruction of peak discharges—as well eyewitness interviews. These latter can give valuable information on both flood dynamics and the related individual and collective responses. This study describes methods for post‐flood surveys based on interdisciplinary collaborations between natural and social scientists. These surveys may help to better understand the links between hydrometeorological dynamics and geomorphic processes as well as the relationship between flood dynamics and behavioral response in the context of fast space–time changes of flooding conditions.


At this time, a move resumed to develop the basin of the Mekong River, the largest river in Southeast Asia and a lifetime in the region, following suspension of such a movement in the 1950s. Activities to develop the Mekong River Basin have resumed from the first half of the 1990s, as the area stabilized politically through the end of the Cambodian civil war, the open policies of Myanmar and Laos, the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the Peoples Republic of China, and the gradual incorporation of the region into the worldwide economy. In recent years, much of the support for the Mekong River Basin Development has been undertaken under the auspices of the ADB (Asian Development Bank). The Mekong River Basin Development suffered a setback following the financial crisis in East Asia that began in July 1997. Recently, however, as the economies in the region overcame the financial difficulties and showed signs of recovery, the efforts to develop the Basin have become active again. With all the nations in the region joining ASEAN except for China, the region has become even more important and is expected to witness accelerated economic development backed up by repercussions of economic growth. It is in this context that this paper takes a look at the current situation.


When former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden leaked a massive trove of information about secret intelligence-collection programs implemented under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act in the summer of 2013, U.S. surveillance activities were thrust to the forefront of public debate. This debate included the question of whether and how to reform the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA Court), the statutorily created secret court that reviews government applications to conduct surveillance in the United States. This discussion, however, has largely missed a critical feature of the way the FISA Court works. As this Article will show, since 9/11, the FISA Court has been playing not only its traditional role of "gatekeeper," but also the additional — and entirely different — role of "rulemaker." This is the first scholarly examination of this dichotomy and its implications for reform. Further, the Article is particularly timely in providing an assessment of the recently enacted USA Freedom Act of 2015, Congress' attempt to reform the Court. I argue that, viewed through the lens of the Court's dual roles, the scholarly and public conversation has fallen short in two important respects. First, it has failed to give the Court sufficient credit for its laudable performance as gatekeeper, and second, it has ignored the implications that the gatekeeper/rulemaker dichotomy has for reform. As a result, I conclude that the USA Freedom Act is not only woefully inadequate to remedy the problems that it targets but also fails entirely to address additional problems with the FISA Court. In light of these conclusions, the USA Freedom Act represents a missed opportunity. In not fully appreciating or accounting for the unique challenges that the Court's rulemaking function poses, the Act does not go nearly far enough in bolstering the Court's rulemaking competence. Moreover, the Act neglects (as has the public debate) a critical area for reform: ensuring sufficient flow of information from the executive branch to the FISA Court. I therefore explore the nature of this challenge and offer some additional reform ideas for consideration.


Do social policies in Latin America promote or discourage distribution? And if they do promote distribution, are coalitions a prerequisite? Drawing from a typology of welfare regimes elaborated for 18 Latin American countries, this article explores responses to these questions by addressing three emblematic cases: Chile, Costa Rica and El Salvador -that is, countries where the management of social risks primarily revolves around markets, states and families, respectively. Although the article is exploratory, findings suggest that societal coalitions have been, and are likely to continue to be, weak in market welfare regimes, strong in state welfare regimes and contingent to policy sectors in familialistic welfare regimes. © Journal compilation


The Existence of Rule No.32 / 2004 and Rule No.33 / 2004 as revision to the existence rule. Section 215 verse (1) Rule No.32 / 2004 in explicit way stated that village development which was done by residence / city and third party stated village and village Provisional People's
Assembly. Then Government rule No.72 / 2005 about Village clearly rule about Village government, including regional government duty to formulate Regional Rule about Village
budget allocation. Beside, Domestic Department has issued Rule No.140/640/SJ, March 2005 about Village budget allocation from Residence / city rule to the village government. That was the reason Sumenep residence issued Head of Residence Rule No.3 / 2007 about the Guidance of
Village Budget Allocation.
Based on several law which ruled about the village rights, there showed that village budget allocation was not fund which was received by residence's mercy, but constitutional rights which should be given to the villages for one of the village income's source. The villages in Sumenep were often confuse about application and report of village budget allocation. The writer would like to discuss about the policy implementation and find out the village budget allocation at Sumenep residence.
The research used descriptive research and research location were done at Regional Secretary of Sumenep. Data source used primary data from law and village government source. Secondary data was found from documentation and archive. The data collection technique used qualitative
analysis technique.
After the research from data presented and analyzed, village budget allocation, distribution mechanism, coordination. For them, socialization was done by inviting all village budget allocation officer to Sumenep residence for illumination and explanation by the residence and
guided by village budget allocation book. Monitoring didn't reach the field or village, only stopped in sub-residence.
From above explanation, there could be concluded that socialization was ineffective, proven from the difficult of village to apply and report since the socialization was only done face to face, that's why in the next effort, regional government and sub-district as guidance did fixation on the problem. Monitoring didn't get to the field. That's why there needed responsibility of the
applicant. The writer suggest to optimize socialization of village budget allocation according to the duty as stated in head of residence rule. That's why regional government should be consistent to the monitoring of village budget allocation by the policy in whole.


BACKGROUND
Gaucher disease is an autosomal recessive lysosomal glycosphingolipid storage disorder resulting from a deficiency of lysosomal enzyme acid β-glucosidase (glucocerebrosidase). This partial enzyme deficiency results in accumulation of glycosphingolipid-laden macrophages (Gaucher cells) throughout the liver, spleen, bone marrow, skeleton, lungs and brain (only in types 2 and 3).

OBJECTIVE
These guidelines aim to provide a standard of care for patients with Gaucher disease in keeping with international standards, but also realistic for South Africa, and to provide a shared-care model for treating physicians and funders regarding care for these patients.

RECOMMENDATIONS
All healthcare professionals involved in the diagnosis and management of Gaucher disease should take note of and implement these guidelines in clinical practice as far as possible.

VALIDATION
These guidelines were developed through consensus by the Lysosomal Storage Disorder Medical Advisory Board. They are largely based on the UK 2005 National Guidelines for Gaucher Disease, but include new treatment recommendations for enzyme replacement therapy based on subsequent publications. The Southern African Society for Human Genetics (SASHG) (who have endorsed the guidelines) and the National Osteoporosis Foundation of South Africa (NOFSA) provided valuable input. GUIDELINES SPONSOR: Genzyme initiated the project and sponsored the meetings of the Advisory Board and all costs generated by these meetings.

CONCLUSION
It is intended that these guidelines will enable all patients suffering from Gaucher disease to be diagnosed and offered the best possible care available.


The Wuppertal Institute developed, in the early 1990s, an input-oriented lifecycle-wide resource accounting method, the "Material Input per Service-Unit" concept (MIPS), today also referred to as "Material Footprint". The official handbook applicable to products, services, and processes describes a MS Excel-based sequential approach for calculating MIPS. Today's computing power, available to every researcher, and access to software and databases dedicated to lifecycle analysis make calculating MIPS using matrix inversion possible. This also opens up possibilities for enhancing MIPS-models programmatically: parameterizing the foreground and background systems, batch modeling for producing time series, and computational algorithms enhancing interpretation. The article provides (1) an overview of the methods and tools used for calculating MIPS from its origins to today, and (2) demonstrates some of the programmatically enhanced capabilities offered to MIPS-practitioners.


Water taro root plants are wild plants mostly found abundantly in swamp area in the middle of the jungle and along the Kapuas river bank. Taro root plants are like creeping roots on trees with the roots dangling down along the tree height, with an estimate length 3 up to 7 metres. The shapes of these plants resemble stem nut, and if the inside part of taro root plants are pared, there is strong root of taro root plants to bind off. At a glance, the plants look like processed rattan, but taro root plants are much better due to their smooth and strong texture of the roots which makes the plants easy to be plaited into various handicraft. These plants are suitable as raw materials for webbing. For webbing handicraft, taro root plants are the typical commodity from West Kalimantan especially because of the raw matarials of these plants can only be found in Pontianak, West Kalimantan. Having seen a huge market opportunity in Pontianak, this business in promosing. Akadir Bag handmade product with the best servise and a good quality of raw materials can give satisfaction to the consumers. This is the main goal of promoting this product and introduce it as unique bag, and interesting webbing with taro root plants-the typical plant from West Kalimantan as the raw materials to the society.. This activity is conducted by the university students to encourage their spirit of creation, art, creativity, and enterpreneurship who are capable to see the market opportunity for the sake of gaining profits. Keywords : Water taro root webbing, West Kalimantan typical handicraft, Akadir Bag.


The innovation in information technology, particularly computers, has enabled a
new system to deliver educational, training and learning programs. The development of
the programmed courseware is based upon learning theories and principles that have
been applied in traditional learning environment. On the other hand, attitude has long
been recognized as important prerequisite of learning. The problem here is whether the
principles and theories applied in the development of Computer-Based Training
coursewares facilitate favourable learning from learners' point of view.
The main purpose of this research is to identify factors associated with learners'
attitudes towards Computer-Based Training using CD-ROM Coursewares. Specifically,
this research seeks to determine: (i) learners' attitudes towards learning through CD-ROM
coursewares; (ii) the relationships between learners' characteristics and learners'
attitude toward learning through CD-ROM courseware; and (iii) the relationships
between courseware characteristics and learners' attitude towards learning through CD-ROM
coursewares. The respondents were the employees of Binariang Berhad who had taken any
CD-ROM courseware at the Discovery Centers of Binariang Berhad and went to any
Discovery Center during 27th July to 22nd August 1998. The research instrument was a
set of questionnaire.


The purpose of model selection algorithms such as All Subsets, Forward Selection and Backward Elimination is to choose a linear model on the basis of the same set of data to which the model will be applied. Typically we have available a large collection of possible covariates from which we hope to select a parsimonious set for the efficient prediction of a response variable. Least Angle Regression (LARS), a new model selection algorithm, is a useful and less greedy version of traditional forward selection methods. Three main properties are derived: (1) A simple modification of the LARS algorithm implements the Lasso, an attractive version of ordinary least squares that constrains the sum of the absolute regression coefficients; the LARS modification calculates all possible Lasso estimates for a given problem, using an order of magnitude less computer time than previous methods. (2) A different LARS modification efficiently implements Forward Stagewise linear regression, another promising new model selection method; this connection explains the similar numerical results previously observed for the Lasso and Stagewise, and helps us understand the properties of both methods, which are seen as constrained versions of the simpler LARS algorithm. (3) A simple approximation for the degrees of freedom of a LARS estimate is available, from which we derive a Cp estimate of prediction error; this allows a principled choice among the range of possible LARS estimates. LARS and its variants are computationally efficient: the paper describes a publicly available algorithm that requires only the same order of magnitude of computational effort as ordinary least squares applied to the full set of covariates.


BACKGROUND
The normal colonic microbiota is associated with the etiology of ulcerative colitis (UC). Several bacterial species are associated with the initiation and amplification of disease process. However, the etiology and mechanism of UC are poorly understood. The present study aimed to investigate, characterize, and compare the main composition of the mucosa-associated intestinal microflora in colonoscopic biopsy specimens of UC and non-UC patients.

METHODS
Aerobic and facultative-anaerobic mucosa-associated bacteria were isolated and diagnosed from colonoscopic biopsy specimens of 40 UC patients and 40 patients without UC. Patients were selected as control from the same centers and colonoscopy was carried out for other reasons (mainly colorectal screening). Isolation and characterization for aerobic and facultative-anaerobic intestinal bacteria were carried out by conventional culture techniques. DNA extraction from biopsies and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of bacterial 16S rRNA with gene-targeted and species-specific primers was performed for detection of anaerobic bacterial species.

RESULTS
Several species of mucosa-associated aerobic and facultative anaerobic bacteria were found in biopsy specimens and there were no significant differences between UC patients and non-UC patients. Our investigation for detection of the anaerobic intestinal flora showed Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Prevotella, and Peptostreptococcus productus were the predominant microflora in controls and have significant differences (P = 0.002, 0.025 and 0.039, respectively).

CONCLUSION
This is the first investigation of the intestinal mucosa-associated microflora in patients with UC in Iran. These results, although limited by sample size, allow a better understanding of changes in mucosa-associated bacterial flora in these patients, showing that decrease of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Provetella, and Peptostreptococcus productus in the intestinal tract may translate into a reduction in the important role of this beneficial bacterial species, which can lead to reduced protection of the gut mucosa and UC development.


This is the fifth management case study in our series. Each one highlights situations and problems that health information managers may face in their work. The series is interactive: readers are invited to comment on the case study and suggest strategies for dealing with the problems it reveals.


Dopamine is a neurotransmitter affecting motor function, and the dopamine system is the focus of abnormality in dyskinetic diseases. An important side effect of many psychotropic drugs possessing dopamine activity is the production of movement disorders; this potential problem needs to be examined carefully with any new central nervous system drug, such as the azapirone anxiolytic drugs. The pharmacology of the azapirones, represented by the prototype, buspirone, involves several different neuroreceptor systems. Current evidence indicates that buspirone's anxiolytic activity is mediated through serotonergic mechanisms. It also displays some binding affinity for dopamine receptors, which necessitates comparisons between buspirone and neuroleptic agents in preclinical tests, clinical studies, and case reports. Although similarities occurred in some biochemical studies, neuroleptics, and not buspirone, caused an increase in dopamine receptors with chronic use. Neuroleptics typically produce this change after long-term use, which is thought to be a key factor leading to tardive dyskinesia. In standard animal behavior studies, buspirone's profile failed to match neuroleptic agents. Most notably, neuroleptics produce catalepsy; however, buspirone failed to induce catalepsy and instead reversed this effect. Isolated case reports have described buspirone as causing movement disorders, but these patients were previously exposed to neuroleptic agents. Furthermore, buspirone has been used successfully to treat anxiety in parkinsonism without exacerbating existing movement problems. In psychotropic drug use, careful patient monitoring, complete drug histories, and a full appreciation for a drug's pharmacology are necessary to decipher any likelihood of a drug relation with an adverse effect.


In this paper, we analyze the implications of combining public real estate with a direct real estate allocation. Using an actual fund rather than index data, the historic performance of blended portfolios has been simulated and the resulting risk and return characteristics analyzed. The results show that the public real estate component has been accretive to performance in blended real estate portfolios. When accounting for valuation smoothing and the non-normal characteristics of private real estate returns, we show that risk contributions were consistent with asset allocations. In addition, the blended portfolio still provided the multi-asset benefits of private real estate exposure.


Thermally activated shape memory alloy (SMA) actuators are direct-driven and produce high power density with design versatility. However, beyond their linear actuation in spring forms there is little variety and their application in robotics is limited by the challenging characterization of the actuator. In this paper we introduce a novel low-profile torsional SMA actuator design, and its comprehensive mechanical performance characterization for centimeter-scale robotic applications. We determine the thermo-mechanical model of the actuator with full characterization experiments with load, without load, and in blocked conditions to analyze actuator performance in robotic applications. We also illustrate its application in an origami robot with closed-loop control of the actuators. From the performance tests we have modeled and demonstrated the functional capacity of this low weight torsional actuator and have possibly shown the maximum physical and material limits of an SMA that produces 34.1 mNm torque and has a torque-to-weight ratio of 486 mNm/g.


To evaluate the factors affecting post operative st ress-related urinary incontinence (POSUI), as well as the treatment and prevention of POSUI. F our hundred and eighty-nine patients were retrospectively reviewed between February 1, 2 007 and December 31, 2009 who were with grade 2 or greater uterine and/or vaginal vaul t prolapse without urinary incontinence. Patients merely with pelvic organ prolapse (POP) we r performed surgical repair, and concomitant surgical corrections of patients with occult incontinence were performed by modified TVT-O procedure. Age, vaginal parity, body mas index, menopausal statusand operation methods were recorded. After a follow-up of one year, lower incidence of POSUI occurred in patients underwent TVT-O procedure together with surgical repair than those merely underwent surgical repair (OR=0.58, p=0.000). It is worthwhile to identify whether patients have occult incontinence before operation. Performing TVT-O procedure together with surgical repair of POP proves to be effective to prevent POSUI.


ABSTRACT

In October 1900 Henry Hadow delivered a damning appraisal of Stainer's Hymn Tunes, and in so doing, castigated an earlier generation of Victorian poets and composers who had been inspired by the Tractarian revival. Hadow's aesthetic judgment was formed by a new generation intent on the promulgation of 'good taste' which regarded the hymn repertoire of earlier Victorians as insincere, cloying and sentimental, with little regard for craftsmanship, artifice or spiritual expression.
 The objective of this thesis is to examine in detail the genre of the 'Tractarian hymn' in terms of its theological origins and content and its musical manifestations. The first half is essentially a discussion of Tractarianism as a revival movement (and precursor to the Oxford Movement) and how it found its roots in the political reaction to state interference in ecclesiastical affairs (the 'Erastian Sacrilege'). The Tracts for the Times, which were widely disseminated, are used as a basis for a more thorough investigation of Anglicanism's revival in the 1830s and renewal of commitment to liturgical order, the authority of the church (through the agency of the Book of Common Prayer) and personal holiness of life, as well as to the appropriateness of music to divine service. Tractarianism rapidly spawned an artistic creativity which, through its natural affinity with Romanticism, excited a major movement in religious poetry, much in evidence in Keble's compendium The Christian Year but also in a generation of Tractarian poets such as Caswall, Faber, Lyte, Elliott, Chandler, Thring, Neale, Ellerton, Chatterton Dix, Plumptre and Baker, and in the benchmark publication of Hymns Ancient & Modern in 1861.
 The second half of the thesis is devoted exclusively to a detailed musical analysis of hymns from this period in order to assess the appropriateness of the musical response to the poetry. Initially a discussion is devoted to the evolution of the hymn from its origins in metrical psalmody (in Redhead, Gauntlett, Elvey and Ouseley), to increasingly more sophisticated organic examples by Monk, E. J. Hopkins, A. H. Brown and Oakeley where the influence of song and the expressive capacity of chromaticism are in evidence. Moreover, in conjunction with this artistic development, the concurrent evolution of the choir, organ and the imperative of harmony are discussed as a major factor in the expansion of the genre. Central, however, to the model of the Tractarian hymn was John Bacchus Dykes. His settings of Tractarian poetry brought the hymn more readily within the confines of Romantic art music with their reference not only to broader mainland European influences (especially in terms of harmony) but to other genres as partsong, oratorio chorus, lieder and chant. Using the model of Dykes, a later generation of 'professional' composers – Barnby, Stainer and Sullivan – were ready to continue the transformation of the Tractarian hymn still further, with more marked reference to secular influences. In Stainer's case, the hymn became more of a cerebral vehicle in which musical artifice and contrivance played a major role. In this regard, Stainer's promotion of the genre confirmed it as a serious form of composition, worthy of Ruskinian artistic ethics of the time. In summary, the hymns of Dykes, Stainer, Barnby and Sullivan, with their earnest attention to harmony, form and genre, serve both to accentuate the sophistication of Tractarian hymnody and refute Hadow's accusation of superficiality.


The Encyclopedia of Taoism provides comprehensive coverage of Taoist religion, thought and history, reflecting the current state of Taoist scholarship. Taoist studies have progressed beyond any expectation in recent years. Researchers in a number of languages have investigated topics virtually unknown only a few years previously, while others have surveyed for the first time textual, doctrinal and ritual corpora. The Encyclopedia presents the full gamut of this new research. The work contains approximately 1,750 entries, which fall into the following broad categories: surveys of general topics; schools and traditions; persons; texts; terms; deities; immortals; temples and other sacred sites. Terms are given in their original characters, transliterated and translated. Entries are thoroughly cross-referenced and, in addition, 'see also' listings are given at the foot of many entries. Attached to each entry are references taking the reader to a master bibliography at the end of the work. There is chronology of Taoism and the whole is thoroughly indexed. There is no reference work comparable to the Encyclopedia of Taoism in scope and focus. Authored by an international body of experts, the Encyclopedia will be an essential addition to libraries serving students and scholars in the fields of religious studies, philosophy and religion, and Asian history and culture.


In this work a conceptual design of a conformal antenna array is presented for a millimeter-wave antenna system, optimized for low-cost mass production in PCB technology. The conformal array is constituted by four cube faces with two antennas realized on each face. A printed circuit board (PCB) laminate material was chosen for developing this integrated 60 GHz antenna solution. The beamforming capabilities of the 1 × 8 antenna array were validated using similar array topology but at frequency of 17.2 GHz. The proposed array enables the formation of a steerable high gain beam, significantly compensating the channel loss or shadowing in body area network (BAN), thus offering more robust, higher speed performance. The array topology is easily scalable and the antenna gain up till 12.2 dB is reachable. On one side such high gain combined with an agile beam steering is a significant power saving solution for RF front-end. On the other side a use of 60 GHz frequency band makes the antenna array extremely small and thus easily embeddable into wearable medical or commercial devices.


Applications implemented as distributed systems must withstand network partitioning faults, which split the system into two or more components. Though processes in the same component can communicate with each other, they cannot communicate with processes in other components. If processes continue to operate in the disconnected components, they might perform incompatible operations and make the application data inconsistent. A real-world business cannot stop operating if the network partitions. The authors have developed a strategy that permits processing to continue in all components of a partitioned network. The processes in the disconnected components generate and queue fulfilment transactions that record the actions taken while the network is partitioned. When communication is restored and the components remerge, the fulfilment transactions are dequeued and processed to obtain a consistent state of the application data. Fulfilment transactions allow continued operations, require little additional infrastructure, incur little additional overhead, and are programmed just like other types of transactions.


Summary

Numerous public health initiatives have been proposed in an attempt to reduce the number of overweight and obese children nationally. The success of such strategies is heavily reliant upon families recognising and becoming engaged with the issue. It is therefore important to understand parents' perceptions of excess weight in children and which preventive strategies would be most acceptable to them. The present paper describes the development of a focus group approach designed to explore these important research questions and illustrates techniques that can be readily implemented and replicated to explore complex and sensitive issues. Some of the potential difficulties of focus group research are also detailed, together with suggestions for successfully overcoming these obstacles. It is also demonstrated that both quantitative and qualitative methods can work in partnership, informing each other, and a combination of these approaches is necessary for future research if public health messages are to be successfully and effectively communicated.


For billions of people coming online around the world many in Africa mobile phones (and increasingly smartphones) is their point of entry to the internet. This is true in both developed and developing countries. However, the user experience on a smartphone is very different from that on a PC or a feature phone. The different affordances and limitations of each device shape how people interact with information, and even one's conceptualization of the internet itself. Mobile-specific tendencies include: interacting through apps versus a browser, coming online via a handful of "walled garden" applications, information consumption rather than production, and a focus on social activities over more "serious" uses. In order to take advantage of the benefits that information and communication technologies (ICTs) offer, one must have the skills and knowledge to do so. Digital and information literacy skills are critical to fully realize the potential of technologies. Yet the research and practice around digital and information literacy has largely failed to account for these differences. A review of information and digital literacy frameworks, for instance, illustrates a PC-centric orientation. One consequence is a dearth of digital literacy courses and other learning programs developed for smartphone-centric users. This has many important implications for how people get online, including how they access and experience the internet, how much they produce and consume information, and more. Mobile Information Literacy a combination of digital, internet, and information literacies for smartphone-first and smartphone-centric populations fills a critical gap between access alone and realization of the benefits mobile technologies and applications can have. Through a process of reviewing existing PC-based digital and information literacy frameworks and curricula and identifying the specific needs and information behavior differences among mobile-first and mobile-centric users, we have created Mobile Information Literacy (MIL) curricula and trainings for various geographies and audiences, taking into account local contexts and conditions. This paper details why MIL is important and needed, describes the process of developing and implementing the curriculum, explains how it is currently being adapted for public libraries in another setting, and concludes with next steps for Mobile Information Literacy. The paper also highlights lessons we have learned along the way and changes we have made as we adapt the curriculum.


The informal sector is often associated with micro- and family-based firms. In West Africa, however, some informal firms are very large. Based on detailed surveys and interviews carried out in Benin, Burkina Faso and Senegal, we compare the characteristics of formal, large informal and small informal firms. This paper discusses the survey methodology, the main industries in which large informal firms operate, and the characteristics and functioning of firms. It shows that large informal firms have some features of both their formal and small informal counterparts, but in terms of management structure and functioning they are more like informal firms than formal firms. Policy should adopt a differentiated approach towards large versus small informal firms, as they have different effects on poverty alleviation and economic development.


Abstract We report results of a survey explicitly focused on ocean quahog recruitment in the Mid-Atlantic Bight. The recruitment survey resampled all NMFS survey sites south of Hudson Canyon and a selection of sites north and east of Hudson Canyon off the Long Island coast over the entire depth range of this species with the exception of the most inshore reaches off Long Island. More ocean quahogs were encountered, on a per tow basis, in the vicinity of and north of Hudson Canyon. The proportion of recruits in the size-frequency distribution was higher in the south and the most recent recruitment events were concentrated there. Analysis of the 104 size-frequency distributions delineated regions of recent recruitment, areas that have not seen significant recruitment for many decades and areas that received heavy recruitment some decades previously but not recently. Overall, the survey suggests that three regionally distinctive processes determine the size-frequency distributions of ocean quahog assemblages and recruitment therein. The area northeast of Hudson Canyon is unique in the regionally extensive uniformity of size-frequency distributions among sampled assemblages, the near absence of recent recruitment and the presence of large numbers of older recruits, 65–80 mm in size. The inshore (by ocean quahog standards) area off New Jersey is unique in the dominant presence of the largest size classes of ocean quahogs and the remarkable absence of significant recruitment over an extraordinary time span. The area south of 39°N is unique in the widespread presence of relatively young recruits, including some animals with ages within the time span of the present fishery. Recruitment events in ocean quahog populations, although rare in the sense of occurring only once in a score or two of years, are frequent in the context of the +200-year life span of this species, yet also rare in the context of stock survey timing and fishery dynamics. This study strongly supports the assumption that long-lived species recruit successfully only rarely when at carrying capacity. This study also suggests that the history of recruitment over the last perhaps two-score years, revealed by this survey, may be a poor measure of the recruitment dynamics to be anticipated over the next two-score years when the population abundance is reduced to what is anticipated to approximate the biomass at maximum sustainable yield. Given the long time span required for ocean quahogs to grow to fishable size, a substantive disequilibrium may exist between the recruitment anticipated from the relationship of adult biomass to carrying capacity and the contemporaneous number of recruits for minimally 20 y after adult abundance is reduced from circa-1980 carrying capacity to biomass, maximum sustainable yield.


The interpretation of natural and cultural heritage is an increasingly popular form of raising visitors' awareness of the importance of heritage for future generations. This manual presents the differentiation between natural and cultural heritage. It includes the benefits of interpretation and the process of planning it. The ecomuseum is illustrated as a successful example of merging natural and cultural heritage. The interpretative infrastructure differs outdoors and indoors. Special emphasis has been placed on personal interpretation with a presented example of an interpretative presentation. Interpretations are also becoming frequently included into festival events, performances, creative workshops, temporary and traveling exhibitions, artistic residency programs, scientific and research activities as well as sports programs and events. The final section of the manual contains writing aids, where the emphasis is on the fundamentals of writing and constructing an interpretative text and also features some tips for interpretative writing. The presented visual image also plays an important role in the interpretation.


Become a savvy Microsoft Excel user. Pivot tables are a great feature in Excel that help you organize and analyze data, but not many Excel users know how to use pivot tables. Pivot Table Data Crunching offers a comprehensive review of all the functionalities of Pivot Tables from author Bill Jelen, otherwise known as Mr. Excel from www.mrexcel.com, and Michael Alexander, a Microsoft Certified Application Developer. The authors' practical scenarios and real-world advice demonstrate the benefits of Pivot Tables and how to avoid the common pitfalls of every day data crunching. Each solution presented in the book can be accomplished with resources available in the Excel interface, making Pivot Table Data Crunching a beneficial resource for all levels of Excel users.


The Twenty Year Vision Document is valuable step in directing the countries activities to attain development. One of the important high lights of the Document is paying particular attention to science and technology in 1404. To achieve the goals of the document an integrated overall management is needed for science and technology and identifying most important factors and designing proper plans are needed. Since the Document has future looking nature, it is necessary to use related future and foresight methods to monitor the proper directing of policies and quality of the plans. In the present work, which is a step in this regard, after an extensive literature survey and compiling experts opinion, important factors affecting the future of science and technology were identified, prioritized, and the probability of them being challenged in the time frame of the Document i.e. 1404 is evaluated by comparing the opinions of scientists and policy makers active in field of science and technology. The outcomes show that the forecast by each group is under the influence of their field of expertise. The results not only present the convergent points of views, but also explain the underlying reasons for differing views, which can be used to correct the policies and plans. In overall policy makers show more optimism that the specialists.


IMPORTANCE
Evidence supports interventions for work and social participation for adults with multiple sclerosis (MS).

OBJECTIVE
To systematically collect and evaluate the evidence for the effectiveness of interventions within the scope of occupational therapy practice to improve or maintain the performance of and participation in education, work, volunteering, leisure, and social participation among adults with MS.

DATA SOURCES
MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, OTseeker, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews searches for articles published from January 2011 to December 2018. Study Selection and Data Collection: Two independent reviewers analyzed articles using Cochrane methodology. Articles were assessed in terms of inclusion and exclusion criteria, quality, and risk of bias.

FINDINGS
Although the review was developed to address education, work, volunteering, leisure, and social participation, only work and social participation outcomes were found in the literature. Six hundred eighteen articles were reviewed, and 4 articles met the inclusion criteria. One Level 1b study and 1 Level 3b study provided moderate strength of evidence with moderate risk of bias for an online work intervention to improve self-esteem and better understand career goals. One Level 3b study provided low strength of evidence for interdisciplinary rehabilitation to address work. Finally, 1 Level 1b study with a yoga group intervention provided moderate strength of evidence with low risk of bias to improve social participation.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
This review highlights the lack of evidence related to various types of participation for adults with MS. The evidence focused on work and social participation was limited. What This Article Adds: This review highlights the need for interventions within the scope of occupational therapy for increased participation for adults with MS.


This paper presents the results of an investigation into the attitudes of School Administrators to the relationship between formal school registration and school improvement. It concerns a mandatory inspection-type registration process for all Non-Government Schools in Western Australia. Part of the aim of this registration process was to help schools improve twelve educational and administrative aspects. These were: (1) School Governance, (2) School Financial Viability, (3) Enrolments & Attendance, (4) Number of Students, (5) Instructional Time, (6) School Staff, (7) School Infrastructure, (8) School Curriculum, (9) Student Learning Outcomes, (10) Care for Students, (11) Disputes and Complaints, (12) Legal Compliance. A questionnaire based on these twelve aspects was designed with five items per aspect (60 items total), conceptually ordered from easy to hard, and given to 110 administrators. It was completed by 65 administrators for a useable, response rate of 59%. The data were analysed with the Rasch model computer program RUMM2030 which accommodated the small numbers by estimating parameters even when some response cell frequencies are zero or low. It does this by re-parameterising the thresholds into principal components (not the factor analysis kind), but components that make up the structure of the threshold parameters where there are data. The frequencies are not used directly, but rather functions of the frequencies are used as the sufficient statistics for these parameters and the thresholds are recovered from� these.� A� unidimensional,� linear� scale,� School� Administrators'� Beliefs That Actual School Improvements Were Due to Formal School Registration, was created with 48 items. The Person Separation Index of 0.86 was highly satisfactory. The item-trait interaction was 83.76, df=96 with p=0.81 supporting the creation of a unidimensional scale. The results showed that there was a group of items that administrators said were relatively easy to say that actual school improvements were due to formal registration and another group that administrators said were very hard to say that actual school improvements were due to formal registration. This study produced a new Rasch measurement for a key aspect of school improvement. It provides new insight into the policy and practice of school registration.


Evolutionary algorithms are heuristic methods that operate on a population of individuals, which represent candidate solutions to optimization problems. Individuals with better quality, or fitness, are reproduced at a higher rate than less fit individuals by recombination and mutation. This process of selection and reproduction, based on fitness, models competition between individuals and leads to survival-of-the-fittest. Although this process lays at the foundation of evolutionary algorithms, the simplistic assumption that a single criterion can describe the quality of individuals is often unmet in real world problems, where multiple objectives or constraints have to be combined in the same fitness function. Furthermore, in nature, survival-of-the-fittest does not derive uniquely from competition, but is better seen as the outcome of an ongoing process of competition in parallel to a process of elimination of non-fit individuals. To resolve this mismatch and model different criteria for individuals separately, the Viability Evolution paradigm has been proposed in the literature. While the idea was previously introduced at a conceptual level, it had not yet been put to the test and lacks experimental validation. Here, we bridged this gap and tested whether viability-inspired evolutionary algorithms could confer advantages over the traditional evolutionary computation paradigm based on fitness. We started by investigating the evolutionary dynamics of a simple viability evolutionary method, and we analyzed the diversity of evolving populations. We also showed that the additional information available to a viability-based algorithm, such as the number of non-viable individuals for each viability criteria, can be exploited during the search for achieving better performance on optimization problems. In particular, we devised viability algorithms for constrained optimization, which outperformed current state-of-the-art methods on a well-known set of constrained optimization benchmarks. Furthermore, we embedded one of our algorithms into a novel framework for predicting structures of protein assemblies at atomic resolution. Finally, we used evolutionary methods to optimize neural networks in the context of a neuroscience investigation on the role of noise in animal behaviors. Noise is a ubiquitous feature of neural systems, but how it affects behaviors is far from being fully understood. After collecting large-scale measurements of Drosophila walking, we used evolutionary algorithms to search for neural networks that could match observed patterns of Drosophila spontaneous and odor-induced walking. By combining dynamical systems analysis and simulations, we showed how a noise-mediated memory of odor exposure accounts for the observed responses. In conclusion, this thesis contributes to evolutionary computation by testing the Viability Evolution paradigm and by proposing efficient viability evolutionary algorithms for constrained optimization. Furthermore, this thesis contributes to biology, by providing a new viability-based framework for predicting protein assemblies and by elucidating a mechanism through which neural noise may shape animal behaviors.


Szulc, P. and J. BocianowSki, 2013. Monitoring of biogenic element concentrations in drainage water of the production field. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 19: 472-478 Studies on the monitoring of biogenic element content concentrations in drainage water were carried out on a production field in 2009-2010 belonging to the Experimental and Didactic Station of the Poznan University of Life Sciences, with a branch in Swadzim. During the two years of the research, it was found that the amount of N-NO 3 , P, K, Mg, Ca, and the salinity of drainage water from the production field depended on the time when the water was collected for analysis.


This paper examines the flexibility of wages across industries inthe U.S. and seeks to determine the potential impact which changes in the industrial wage structure may have for employment. With regard to the flexibility of wages across industries, we find that the U.S., alone among the major OECD countries, has experienced substantial changes in the industry wage structure since 1970, with the variation of log wages among industries increasing dramatically, particularly in the 1970s. This represents a widening of the gap between wages in the high and low wage sectors. In order to evaluate these changes, we estimate equations linking changes in industry wages over an extended period of time to a variety of potential wage determining characteristics. We find that industrial wages are positively correlated with value productivity per worker, even after controlling for institutional and supply side factors which may have contributed to the increased dispersion of wages in the 1970s. Our results are not consistent with the standard competitive model of industry labor markets, in which wages and productivity are uncorrelated across sectors and wages depend on aggregate, rather than sectoral conditions.With regard to the impact of a flexible industry wage structure on employment, we evaluate the circumstances under which flexible wages among industries may be employment enhancing, and the set of circumstances under which flexible wages are likely to be employment reducing. For the U.S.economy in the 1970s we find that the data support the latter set of circumstances. The bottom line of the U.S. experience is that flexible wages by industry have not contributed to employment growth.


The Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center (ZOC), established by Professor Yaozhen Chen (Eugene Chan) and Professor Wenshu Mao (Winifred Mao) in October 1965, has enjoyed worldwide fame due the good performance and professional skills of the faculty. The past 55 years have witnessed huge successes for the ZOC from one generation to another, including individuals such as Prof. Shaozhen Li, Prof. Jiaqi Chen, Prof. Jian Ge, Prof. Minbin Yu and Prof. Yizhi Liu, etc. The Center was the first 3-A-Class ophthalmic hospital in China, the only State Key Laboratory for Ophthalmology in China and was ranked first for nine consecutive years in the ophthalmology category for the Specialized Department List for Chinese Hospitals. At present, it has become a "Whampoa military academy" training center for Chinese ophthalmologists, and numerous ophthalmologists are proud of being born in "ZOC".


We present a Non-parametric Network for 3D point cloud analysis, Point-NN, which consists of purely non-learnable components: farthest point sampling (FPS), k-nearest neighbors (k-NN), and pooling operations, with trigonometric functions. Surprisingly, it performs well on various 3D tasks, requiring no parameters or training, and even surpasses existing fully trained models. Starting from this basic non-parametric model, we propose two extensions. First, Point-NN can serve as a base architectural framework to construct Parametric Networks by simply inserting linear layers on top. Given the superior non-parametric foundation, the derived Point-PN exhibits a high performance-efficiency tradeoff with only a few learnable parameters. Second, Point-NN can be regarded as a plug-and-play module for the already trained 3D models during inference. Point-NN captures the complementary geometric knowledge and enhances existing methods for different 3D benchmarks without retraining. We hope our work may cast a light on the community for understanding 3D point clouds with non-parametric methods. Code is available at https://github.com/ZrrSkywalker/Point-NN.


Common spatial patterns (CSP) is a popular feature extraction method for discriminating between positive andnegative classes in electroencephalography (EEG) data.Two probabilistic models for CSP were recently developed: probabilistic CSP (PCSP), which is trained by expectation maximization (EM), and variational BayesianCSP (VBCSP) which is learned by variational approx-imation. Parameter expansion methods use auxiliaryparameters to speed up the convergence of EM or thedeterministic approximation of the target distributionin variational inference. In this paper, we describethe development of parameter-expanded algorithms forPCSP and VBCSP, leading to PCSP-PX and VBCSP-PX, whose convergence speed-up and high performanceare emphasized. The convergence speed-up in PCSP-PX and VBCSP-PX is a direct consequence of parame-ter expansion methods. The contribution of this study is the performance improvement in the case of CSP,which is a novel development. Numerical experimentson the BCI competition datasets, III IV a and IV 2ademonstrate the high performance and fast convergenceof PCSP-PX and VBCSP-PX, as compared to PCSP andVBCSP.


New energy power supply system (NEPSS) is a promising development trend of small and medium-sized island power system. NEPSS has three major characteristics. First, there is a high proportion of new energy generation (NEG) in the NEPSS. Second, NEPSS is exposed to more natural disasters. Third, autonomous operation is widely adopted in the NEPSS. In this paper, energy management system architecture is designed for NEPSS. In the architecture, there are seven modules: bad data identification and repair module, state estimation and pattern recognition module, load and NEG forecasting module, security early warning and protecting module, dispatch plan module, disaster assessment and disposal module, and black-start decision support module. The NEPSS dispatch plan is specifically discussed in term of different horizons and operation modes. Finally, a rolling method for adjustments of dispatch plans is proposed.


Planning a response to an outbreak of a pandemic strain of influenza is a high public health priority. Three research groups using different individual-based, stochastic simulation models have examined the consequences of intervention strategies chosen in consultation with U.S. public health workers. The first goal is to simulate the effectiveness of a set of potentially feasible intervention strategies. Combinations called targeted layered containment (TLC) of influenza antiviral treatment and prophylaxis and nonpharmaceutical interventions of quarantine, isolation, school closure, community social distancing, and workplace social distancing are considered. The second goal is to examine the robustness of the results to model assumptions. The comparisons focus on a pandemic outbreak in a population similar to that of Chicago, with ≈8.6 million people. The simulations suggest that at the expected transmissibility of a pandemic strain, timely implementation of a combination of targeted household antiviral prophylaxis, and social distancing measures could substantially lower the illness attack rate before a highly efficacious vaccine could become available. Timely initiation of measures and school closure play important roles. Because of the current lack of data on which to base such models, further field research is recommended to learn more about the sources of transmission and the effectiveness of social distancing measures in reducing influenza transmission.