In this work we hypothesize that giving students a reflective reading after spoken dialog tutoring in qualitative physics will improve learning. The reading is designed to help students compare similar aspects of previously tutored problems, and to abstract their commonalities. We also hypothesize that student motivation will affect how well the text is processed, and so influence learning. We find that the beneficial effects of the reflective text significantly interact with motivation, such that moderately motivated students learn significantly more from the reflective text than from a non-reflective control text. More poorly or highly motivated students did not benefit from reflective text. These results demonstrate that implicit reflection can improve learning after dialog tutoring with a qualitative physics tutor. They further demonstrate that this result can be obtained with a reflective/abstractive text without recourse to dialog, and that the effectiveness of the text is sensitive to the motivation level of the student. Copyright © 2011, Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence. All rights reserved.


Effectively representing graph node sequences in the form of vector embeddings is critical to many applications. We achieve this by (i) first learning vector embeddings of single graph nodes and (ii) then composing them to compactly represent node sequences. Specifically, we propose SENSE-S (Semantically Enhanced Node Sequence Embedding - for Single nodes), a skip-gram based novel embedding mechanism, for single graph nodes that co-learns graph structure as well as their textual descriptions. We demonstrate that SENSE-S vectors increase the accuracy of multi-label classification tasks by up to 50% and link-prediction tasks by up to 78% under a variety of scenarios using real datasets. Based on SENSE-S, we next propose generic SENSE to compute composite vectors that represent a sequence of nodes, where preserving the node order is important. We prove that this approach is efficient in embedding node sequences, and our experiments on real data confirm its high accuracy.


Grating-based differential phase-contrast X-ray is a novel imaging modality with excellent soft-tissue contrast. Besides standard X-ray attenuation, it provides complementary information on the differential phase shift and the dark-field signal, which reveals structure variations at (sub-)micron scale. Current experimental setups suffer from a narrow field of view of 2-4cm. Thus, multiple exposures have to be stitched together to image larger objects. However, individual exposures are inherently affected by intensity variations, such that tiling artifacts corrupt the stitched projection. These artifacts are most severe in the differential phase image and highly impact their diagnostic value. To address this issue, we propose a novel optimization-based algorithm for fully compensating these tiling artifacts. Our algorithm estimates a smooth bias field for each individual exposure with a global objective function that minimizes the intensity distortion within and across different tiles in the projection. Compared to a currently widely used heuristic, our algorithm leverages the information available from all exposures to estimate the individual bias fields. The evaluation shows the superiority of the proposed algorithm, as it produces bias-free images. To our knowledge, this is the first bias correction algorithm for differential phase images that yields images with nearly imperceptible transitions between individual exposures.


Current screen-reader program used by the blind people to access the Internet inflicts navigation restrictions since the blind users can only perceive the content in serial mode. The serialized access using screen-reader program restricts the blind users from having the multi-dimensional effects required to fully understand the page layout. We believe that by accessing web pages using bi-modal interaction, a blind user would be able to perceive a two-dimensional perspective of a web page in his or her mental model. The purpose of this st udy is to investigate the differences in the mental models created by blind people from a two-dimensional web page using two different means: one using a screen-reader only and the other using a touch screen with audio feedback. Ten blind people and thirty sighted blindfolded participants participated in this study. This study employed within-subjects repeated measures experiments together with observations, verbal protocols and semi-structured questionnaires to achieve the objectives of the study. Besides, the influence of user's spatial ability on the user's performance was investigated using Tactual Performance Test (TPT). The study revealed that using touch screen with audio feedback; the blind people achieved more accurate orientation. However, the accuracy seems to be affected by page complexity. In addition, investigation of blind users' spatial ability on users' sense of position revealed that using touch screen with audio feedback, blind participants with lower spatial ability took longer time to locate information. Therefore, users' spatial ability plays an important determinant for the Web navigability using touch screen with audio feedback.


Mobile technologies offer great opportunities for improving business users' productivity and for running business processes more effectively and efficiently. This particularly applies to service and maintenance processes which are highly information-intensive. Mobile services enable technicians to directly capture information more quickly and more precisely, while they are performing maintenance, inspection or repair tasks. Despite the increasing proliferation of mobile business applications, most of the existing empirical studies still focus on consumer-oriented mobile services. Thus, this study's objective is to gain a better understanding of mobile business applications' success in service and maintenance processes. For this purpose, we adapt the DeLone and McLean IS Success Model to this particular context. The model is validated with survey data from 374 mobile service users. Our results indicate that, besides system quality, the process support quality is the main determinant of individual benefits from using the mobile devices. The study's findings support practitioners in explaining the levers with which mobile business applications can be improved. By empirically validating a success model, the study's results advance theoretical development in the area of mobile service and maintenance systems, and present a basis for further research in this field.


129 Until 1956 the underground details of areas around Pokljuka were practically unknown due to the area's non-karstic outward appearance. However, the presence of karst phenomena on this Alpine plain is undoubtedly indicated, primarily by the absence of a surface drainage network. A mathematical model was made of the Medvedova konta pothole, in which two different sets of material properties were used, corresponding to the Triassic limestone that forms the bedrock under the greater part of Pokljuka. The model simulates the gradual thinning of the ceiling of the underground hall, from the surface downwards, until its collapse. The paper presents a stability appraisal of the Medvedova konta pothole in Pokljuka.


Although the free energy perturbation procedure is exact when an infinite sample of configuration space is used, for finite sample size there is a systematic error resulting in hysteresis for forward and backward simulations. The qualitative behavior of this systematic error is first explored for a Gaussian distribution, then a first-order estimate of the error for any distribution is derived. To first order the error depends only on the fluctuations in the sample of potential energies, {Delta}E, and the sample size, n, but not on the magnitude of {Delta}E. The first-order estimate of the systematic sample-size error is used to compare the efficiencies of various computing strategies. It is found that slow-growth, free energy perturbation calculations will always have lower errors from this source than window-growth, free energy perturbation calculations for the same computing effort. The systematic sample-size errors can be entirely eliminated by going to thermodynamic integration rather than free energy perturbation calculations. When {Delta}E is a very smooth function of the coupling parameter, {lambda}, thermodynamic integration with a relatively small number of windows is the recommended procedure because the time required for equilibration is reduced with a small number of windows. These results give a method of estimatingmore » this sample-size hysteresis during the course of a slow-growth, free energy perturbation run. This is important because in these calculations time-lag and sample-size errors can cancel, so that separate methods of estimating and correcting for each are needed. When dynamically modified window procedures are used, it is recommended that the estimated sample-size error be kept constant, not that the magnitude of {Delta}E be kept constant. Tests on two systems showed a rather small sample-size hysteresis in slow-growth calculations except in the first stages of creating a particle, where both fluctuations and sample-size hysteresis are large.« less


The present study sought to determine the effects of Mindful Sport Performance Enhancement (MSPE) on runners. Participants were 25 recreational long-distance runners openly assigned to either the 4-week intervention or to a waiting-list control group, which later received the same program. Results indicate that the MSPE group showed significantly more improvement in organizational demands (an aspect of perfectionism) compared with controls. Analyses of pre- to postworkshop change found a significant increase in state mindfulness and trait awareness and decreases in sport-related worries, personal standards perfectionism, and parental criticism. No improvements in actual running performance were found. Regression analyses revealed that higher ratings of expectations and credibility of the workshop were associated with lower postworkshop perfectionism, more years running predicted higher ratings of perfectionism, and more life stressors predicted lower levels of worry. Findings suggest that MSPE may be a us...


The industrial journalist has a basic responsibility to promote good relationships between employer and employee. Efficient two-way communication through the house journal is of vital interest to the modern company or organisation to ensure mutual understanding goodwill and appreciation. Managements must inform and motivate their employees at all times, drawing them closer to the heart of the company or organisation through messages conveyed by management supporting their job security, remuneration and recognition and increasing their insight and knowledge of the total work environment. Managements should also be susceptible to their fears or desires in the labour context, allowing the employee to express his views and opinions in a responsible, loyal fashion to his fellow-employees and to management. Silence in the work situation no longer implies consent.


OCUP 2 Certification Guide: Preparing for the OMG Certified UML 2.5 Professional 2 Foundation Exam both teaches UML® 2.5 and prepares candidates to become certified. UML® (Unified Modeling Language) is the most popular graphical language used by software analysts, designers, and developers to model, visualize, communicate, test, and document systems under development. UML® 2.5 has recently been released, and with it a new certification program for practitioners to enhance their current or future career opportunities. There are three exam levels: Foundation, Intermediate, and Advanced. The exam covered in this book, Foundation, is a prerequisite for the higher levels. Author Michael Jesse Chonoles is a lead participant in the current OCUP 2 program?not only in writing and reviewing all the questions, but also in designing the goals of the program. This book distills his experience in modeling, mentoring, and training. Because UML® is a sophisticated language, with 13 diagram types, capable of modeling any type of modern software system, it takes users some time to become proficient. This effective resource will explain the material in the Foundation exam and includes many practice questions for the candidate, including sample problems similar to those found in the exam, and detailed explanations of why correct answers are correct and why wrong answers are wrong.Written to prepare candidates for the OCUP 2 Foundation level exam while they learn UML®Illustrated with UML® diagrams to clarify every concept and techniqueOffers hints for studying and test-taking based on the specific nature and structure of the Foundation Level examIncludes practice exam material, sample questions and exercises, warnings, tips, and points to remember throughout


SUMMARY The use of selective breeding to reduce methane (CH4) emissions is an option for reducing carbon emissions from livestock farming systems. The current study models UK lowland terminal sire (meat) sheep production systems to study the impacts of including CH4 emissions and/or feed intake as breeding objective and selection criteria traits in sheep breeding systems, on the predicted genetic responses of production traits. Nine breeding goal traits and 15 selection index traits were modelled in a Suffolk breeding flock with a deterministic model of trait economic values (EVs). Methane was given an EV equivalent to a carbon price varying from £0 to £538/t CO2-e. When currently used selection indices added feed intake as a breeding objective, CH4 reductions of 0·15 and 0·05 kg CO2-e/sheep/year were predicted when intake was, or was not, measured, respectively, with a zero carbon price. These reductions were relatively insensitive to carbon price. Overall economic (index) response to selection was insensitive to carbon price and increased with higher feed costs, when neither CH4 nor feed intake was measured. When CH4 and/or intake were measured, overall economic responses increased with higher carbon prices, when feed costs were zero. Methane and intake responses were only sensitive to carbon price (whether CH4 and intake were measured or not) when feed costs were zero. To achieve a desired reduction of 0·1 kg CH4/head/year (cumulative 30% reduction in 20 years) when feed costs were zero, CH4 and/or intake needed to be measured. If CH4 was measured, carbon price needed to be >£50/t CO2-e; if intake was measured carbon price needed to be >£100/t CO2-e. Including feed intake as a breeding objective trait with non-zero feed costs should assist in reducing CH4 in breeding programmes. Selective breeding of terminal sheep by index selection has the potential to contribute a reduction of up to 0·27 kg CO2-e per ewe per annum, depending on the traits measured, feed costs and carbon price. This would help meet the UK Government's greenhouse gas reduction targets for farming systems.


Background. A new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 was associated with a newly identified respiratory syndrome, COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in early December 2019. SARS-CoV-2 rapidly spread across the globe resulting in 117 million cases and 2.59 million deaths by March 2021. Rapidly increased numbers of COVID-19 cases overwhelmed public health systems across the world, imposing increased working hours and workloads for health care workers. Here, we have evaluated the prevalence of health outcomes and associated factors of interns and resident physicians in Panama. Methods. A cross-sectional study was undertaken during July 23, 2020, to August 13, 2020, to evaluate the prevalence of health outcomes and associated factors in interns and residents across Panama. Snowball sampling was used to recruit participants. Then an electronic questionnaire with scales to evaluate anxiety disorders (GAD-7), depression (PHQ-9) and post-traumatic stress (IES-R) was evaluated. In addition, socio-demographic variables, clinical history of mental disorders and COVID-19 exposure were evaluated. Independent analyses for each mental health outcome were undertaken using a logistic regression analysis. Results. A total of 517/1205 (42.9%) interns and residents were nationwide recruited. Of these 274 (53.0%) were interns and 243 (47.0%) residents. The overall prevalence of depression symptoms was 25.3%, 13.7% anxiety and 12.2% post-traumatic stress. At least, 9.3% participants reported having suicidal ideation. The most parsimonious model showed females had a higher prevalence of mental health disorders, in all results and the married participants were more likely to present depression (OR, 1.73; 95% CI, 1.03-2.91; P = 0.039) or at least one alteration to mental health (OR, 1.66; 95% CI, 1.03-2.68; P = 0.039). Resident physicians in surgical specialties were less likely to have post-traumatic stress (OR, 0.20; 95% CI, 0.06-0.63; P = 0.006) or at least one mental health disturbance (OR, 0.46; 95% CI, 0.26-0.83; P = 0.010). A history of psychological trauma and psychiatric pathology were risk factors for most of the disorders investigated. Conclusions. A high prevalence of mental health disorders was found, showing the need to mitigate this emotional burden among healthcare workers in the current context of the COVID-19 pandemic.


We investigate wage effects of deviations from peer group body mass index (BMI) to evaluate the influence of social norms on wages. Our approach allows for disentangling the influence of the social norm from any (anticipated) productivity effects associated with deviations from a clinically recommended BMI. Estimates of between effects models for 9 European countries for the years 1998-2001 suggest that the influence of the social norm varies considerably between countries and wage penalties are rather found for upward deviations from the norm and for men.


A BSTRACT A number of study find that clinically and complication of Chronic Suppurative Otitis Media (CSOM) related with tipe of bacterial and change of bacterial adherence resulting biofilms. CSOM characterized by purulent discharge from perforated tympanic membrane that occur more than 2 months intermittent or persistent.  There was new pattern of bacterial adherence with host.  Bacterial adherence result a biofilms.  Biofilms is slow growth bacterial colonies and enveloped  by glycoplysacaride layer that called glycocalyx.  Various methods to detect biofilm are Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Confocal Scanning Laser Microscopy (CSLM) and  Calgary Biofilm Device Assay modification, tissue culture plate, tube method and congo red agar. Keywords: Chronic suppurative otitis media, biofilm


As applied by courts, the Hand Rule balances the injurer's burden of precaution and the victims' reduction in risk. In this application, risk to oneself does not increase the duty owed to others. Economists, however, use the Hand Rule to minimize social costs, which requires balancing the burden of precaution against the reduction in risk to everyone. For economists, risk to oneself counts in determining the duty owed to others. In cases where precaution reduces joint risk (risk to oneself and others), the usual legal interpretation underestimates the reduction in risk relative to the economic interpretation, often by 50 percent. The consequence is a lower standard of legal care than required to minimize social costs. Judges should reconceptualize the Hand Rule so that risk to oneself increases the care owed to others.


Western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis var. occidentalis) is undergoing rapid rates of expansion, and human activities (domestic livestock grazing, fire suppression) are typically presented as the primary agents of change. To determine the importance of active disturbance as a vehicle for these major ecosystem changes (e.g., a near doubling of western juniper cover at some locales over a recent 30-yr period), we conducted a comparative study of western juniper establishment at matched disturbed and less-disturbed sites in Oregon (USA). We used dendroecological techniques to randomly sample and cross-date 160–200 trees per site from five Research Natural Areas (RNAs) or proposed RNAs, and from areas adjacent to these RNAs that are actively disturbed. For each location we determined the density of adult and juvenile western juniper and created a timeline of tree establishment. We discuss the probable causes of these establishment pattern changes. Recent increases in establishment could best be described as geometric on the disturbed sites. While trees on the less disturbed sites are generally older and have a more consistent establishment history, they also are experiencing increasing rates of establishment. Disturbance does appear to accelerate rates of establishment of western juniper, especially with domestic livestock grazing on sites that are downslope from established woodlands. Climatic changes, a lack of high-severity fires, an increasing seed rain, and atmospheric carbon dioxide enrichment are more recent causal mechanisms contributing to establishment. The driving forces proffered to explain the late 1800s to early 1900s pulse of establishment for western juniper (e.g., favorable climatic conditions, domestic livestock grazing) appear to be operative at the majority of our study sites. Conversely, a second pulse of establishment (post 1940s) occurred during a period that was not characterized by climatic conditions favorable for above-average radial growth of western juniper. Because our results show that rates of establishment are generally accelerating regardless of the disturbance regime, we suggest that active human disturbance is not a required element for these ecosystem changes to occur, and that other agents of change have either appeared or become more dominant in recent decades.


Hip fractures constitute a large public health problem. Norway is among the countries with the highest incidence of such fractures. Women, in particular elderly women, are at higher risk than men. Preventing hip fractures presupposes broad knowledge about risk factors which may or may not be related to osteoporosis, magnitude of the problem, and long term consequences. Through this work we wanted to make a contribution to the knowledge about incidence, seasonal variation and mortality related to hip-fractures among elderly women in Nord- Trondelag. Additionally, we wanted to evaluate the effect of dairy products on bone mass density and fracture risk. Data used in this thesis are based on information from the osteoporosis and fracture study in the second health survey in the county of Nord Trondelag (HUNT 2). A total of 8,824 women aged 65 or more when participating in HUNT 2 have been followed prospectively. Of these, 5,661 had their forearm bone mineral density (BMD) measured at baseline. From the two hospitals in the county, hip fractures were registered until 31.12.2004. The overall hip fracture incidence rate between 1997 and 2004 was 13.1 per 1000 person years (95 % CI 12.2-14.1). This is lower than rates reported from other parts of Norway. The fracture incidence remained stable during the 9 years of follow up. We also found seasonal variation, with higher fracture rates during the winter months. Women who sustained a hip fracture had excess mortality at three months after hip fracture compared with women without fracture (HR 6.5, 95 % CI 4.2 – 9.6). The excess mortality persisted for at least five years after the event. Excess mortality associated with hip fractures did not seem to be explained by pre-fracture conditions (diabetes, stroke, cancer, angina,myocardial infarction), body mass index (BMI), smoking habits and estrogen use. We found no association between BMD and increased risk of mortality. Dairy food intake was positively associated with BMD, and displayed a dose-response pattern. However, we found no dose response association between amounts of dairy products consumed and hip fracture risk. The few women in the study (1.9 %), who did not consume dairy products daily, did not have increased fracture risk. In conclusion, the fracture rates remained stable during the follow-up period, and a higher fracture rate was observed in the winter. Excess mortality after hip fractures persisted for at least five years after the event, and could not be explained by pre-fracture morbidity. We found no dose-response association between amount of dairy products consumed and risk of hip fractures.


Several high value exotic tropical timber trees have been screened in irrigated species selection experiments, on both predominant soil types (the Cununurra clay and Cockatoo sand), as potential plantation species for the Ord River Irrigation Area (ORIA), northern Western Australia, over the past ten years. Santalum album (Indian sandalwood) has demonstrated potential as a plantation species on the flood irrigated Cununurra clay sites. S. album, a root hemi-parasite, requires a range of host species over its entire rotation length. Consequently, a relatively complex multi-species plantation system has been developed to maintain high plantation productivity. Wood quality issues, plantation policy and environmental implications of irrigated ORIA S. album plantations are also discussed. Damage from Mastotermes darwiniensis prevents long term survival of S. album and many other hardwoods on light textured soils in the region. The re-investigation into the reforestation of these soils has commenced with a range of previously untested species. The early performance of a species selection experiment on a trickle irrigated Cockatoo sand site is presented. At seven months of age Tectona grandis (teak), Pterocarpus macrocarpus (Burma padauk) and Khaya senegalenesis (African mahogany) exhibit good survival and growth.


We develop in this paper a theoretical framework for the topological study of time series data. Broadly speaking, we describe geometrical and topological properties of sliding window embeddings, as seen through the lens of persistent homology. In particular, we show that maximum persistence at the point-cloud level can be used to quantify periodicity at the signal level, prove structural and convergence theorems for the resulting persistence diagrams, and derive estimates for their dependency on window size and embedding dimension. We apply this methodology to quantifying periodicity in synthetic data sets, and compare the results with those obtained using state-of-the-art methods in gene expression analysis. We call this new method SW1PerS which stands for Sliding Windows and 1-dimensional Persistence Scoring.


Abstract. The name "plume" has been given to a variety of plasma structures in the Earth's magnetosphere and ionosphere. Some plumes (such as the plasmasphere plume) represent elevated plasma density, while other plumes (such as the equatorial F region plume) represent low-density regions. Despite these differences these structures are either directly related or connected in the causal chain of plasma redistribution throughout the system. This short review defines how plumes appear in different measurements in different regions and describes how plumes can be used to understand magnetosphere–ionosphere coupling. The story of the plume family helps describe the emerging conceptual framework of the flow of high-density–low-latitude ionospheric plasma into the magnetosphere and clearly shows that strong two-way coupling between ionospheric and magnetospheric dynamics occurs not only in the high-latitude auroral zone and polar cap but also through the plasmasphere. The paper briefly reviews, highlights and synthesizes previous studies that have contributed to this new understanding.


Methods: The frequency, nature, relationship to systemic features, value of investigation findings and outcomes for a cohort of patients with neurosarcoidosis (NS) were studied by performing a retrospective survey of case records from nine District General or Regional Centre hospitals in south-west England and south Wales over a 12-year period (1990–2002). Thirty patients (29 Caucasians) were included—16 (53%) males and 14 (47%) females, including 13 with histological confirmation of CNS disease, making this one of the largest series of biopsy-confirmed NS; the remaining cases had "Probable" NS according to the Zajicek criteria. The male preponderance is of interest particularly considering the female predominance of systemic sarcoidosis. Results: The indicative prevalence of NS in this geographical area was estimated at one per 100 000, given an approximate population of 3 million. The most frequent features were headaches, visual failure, ataxia and vomiting. Cranial neuropathy occurred in 80% of patients, and as a presenting feature in 50%—though facial nerve involvement was seen in only 23%, and in none of those with definite disease. Unsurprisingly, no diagnostic clinical patterns emerged overall when only definite cases were analysed, but within our definite group of patients, meningeal and/or parenchymal lesion enhancement was observed in all but one case, while distinction from multiple sclerosis might also be aided by the observation that in all NS cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples with positive oligoclonal bands (27%), banding was accompanied by elevations of CSF protein. Conclusion: From a prognostic perspective, the reported association of seizures in NS with a poor long-term outcome was not supported, while the suggestion that myelopathy also predicts an adverse prognosis was confirmed.


Wireless networking plays a vital role in our daily life style and has tremendous applications in almost all fields of the economy. The wireless medium is a shared medium and, hence, user-scheduling is needed to allow multiple users access the channel jointly. Furthermore, the wireless channel is characterized by its time-based and location-based variations due to physical phenomena such as multi-path propagation and fading, etc. Therefore, unlike the traditional persistent round-robin scheduling schemes, the current standards of telecommunication systems support channel-aware opportunistic scheduling in order to exploit the varying channels of the users when they are at their peak conditions. The advantages of these schemes in enhancing the prospected throughput of the networks are evident and demonstrated. However, these schemes are basically based on selecting a single user to access a certain frequency sub-channel at a given time in order to avoid creating interference if more than one user access the same channel. Nevertheless, allowing multiple users to access the same channel can be feasible by using special coding techniques such as superposition coding with successive interference cancellation at the receivers. The main advantage of this is to improve the spectral efficiency of the precious wireless spectrum and to enhance the overall throughput of the network while maintaining the quality-of-service requirements of all users. Despite their advantages, multiple-users scheduling schemes require the use of proper resource allocation algorithms to process the channel conditions measurements in order to decide which users should be served in a given time slot and frequency sub-channel and the allocated data rate and power of each link in order to maximize the transmission efficiency. Failure to use a suitable resource allocation and scheduling scheme can degrade the performance significantly. We design and analyze the performance of efficient multiple-users scheduling schemes for wireless networks. One scheme is proven theoretically to be the most efficient one. However, the algorithm computation load is significant. The other scheme is a sub-optimal scheme that has low computation load to run the algorithm and it achieves very good performance which is comparable to the optimal scheme. Furthermore, we evaluate the performance gains of multiple-user scheduling over the conventional single-user scheduling under different constraints such as hard fairness and proportional fairness among the users and for fixed merit weights of the users based on their service class. In all of these cases, our proposed schemes can achieve a gain that may exceed 10% in terms of the data rate (bits/sec). This gain is significant taken into consideration that we use the same air-link and power resources of the conventional single-user scheduling schemes.


Message Sequence Charts (MSCs) are an attractive visual formalism widely used to capture system requirements during the early design stages in domains such as telecommunication software. It is fruitful to have mechanisms for specifying and reasoning about collections of MSCs so that errors can be detected even at the requirements level. We propose, accordingly, a notion of regularity for collections of MSCs and explore its basic properties. In particular, we provide an automata-theoretic characterization of regular MSC languages in terms of finite-state distributed automata called bounded message-passing automata. These automata consist of a set of sequential processes that communicate with each other by sending and receiving messages over bounded FIFO channels. We also provide a logical characterization in terms of a natural monadic second-order logic interpreted over MSCs. A commonly used technique to generate a collection of MSCs is to use a Message Sequence Graph (MSG). We show that the class of languages arising from the so-called locally synchronized MSGs constitute a proper subclass of the languages which are regular in our sense. In fact, we characterize the locally synchronized MSG languages as the subclass of regular MSC languages that are finitely generated.


PURPOSE
To develop a respiration-phase-matched digital tomosynthesis (DTS) technique to monitor moving targets, and to evaluate its accuracy for various imaging parameters and anatomical characteristics.

METHODS
Previously developed 3D-DTS techniques, registering onboard DTS (OB-DTS, reconstructed from onboard projections) to reference DTS (R-DTS, reconstructed from DRRs of 3D reference CT), are inadequate to monitor moving targets. The authors' proposed respiration-phase-matched DTS technique registers OB-DTS to R-DTS reconstructed from DRRs generated by the same phase images of 4D reference CT as the corresponding onboard projections. To evaluate the improved accuracy of the author's technique, the authors performed thoracic phantom studies using (1) simulation with the 4D digital extended-cardiac-torso (XCAT) phantom, and (2) experiments with an anthropomorphic motion phantom. The studies were performed for various: respiratory cycle (RC), scan angle, and fraction of RC contained therein. Also, the authors assessed the accuracy of their technique relative to target size/location, and respiration inconsistencies from the R-DTS to OB-DTS.

RESULTS
In both simulation and experimental studies, the respiration-phase-matched DTS technique is significantly more accurate in determining moving target positions. For 324 different scenarios simulated by XCAT, the respiration-phase-matched DTS technique localizes the 3D target position to errors of 1.07 ± 0.57 mm (mean ± S.D.), as compared to (a) 2.58 ± 1.37 and (b) 7.37 ± 4.18 mm, for 3D-DTS using 3D reference CT of (a) average intensity projection and (b) free-breathing CT. For 60 scenarios evaluated through experimental study, the uncertainties corresponding to those above are 1.24 ± 0.87, 2.42 ± 1.80, and 5.77 ± 6.45 mm, respectively. For a given scan angle, the accuracy of respiration-phase-matched DTS technique is less dependent on RC and the fraction of RC included in the scan. Increasing scan angle improves its accuracy. For different target locations, the targets near the chest wall or in the middle of lung provide higher registration accuracy compared to those near the mediastinum and diaphragm. Larger targets provide higher registration accuracy than small targets. Different respiratory cycle inconsistencies from R-DTS to OB-DTS minimally affect the registration accuracy. Increasing the respiratory amplitude inconsistencies will decrease the accuracy.

CONCLUSIONS
The respiration-phase-matched DTS is more accurate and robust in determining moving target positions than 3D-DTS. It has potential application in pretreatment setup, post-treatment analysis, and intrafractional target verification.


Purpose: The explanation of entrepreneurial choices is relevant for efficient resource allocation and wealth of individuals and societies. The economics and management studies in entrepreneurship present both complementary and alternative views on the antecedents of entrepreneurial decisions and actions. This paper aims to synthesize this discussion, propose the processual and configurational approach that bridges the extant views, as well as to present the contribution of the papers in this issue to exploring the link between entrepreneurial cognition and choices. Methodology: Based on the narrative literature review, we present the major constructs describing how entrepreneurs make judgments under uncertainty and select particular decisions and actions. Then, we suggest how these differing assumptions can be adopted within processual view, as well as based on the configurational approach to judgments and actions of entrepreneurs. Findings: The research included in this issue treats the concepts of entrepreneurial discovery and creation as complementary rather than alternative. Moreover, the referred studies acknowledge the role of capabilities, personal traits and entrepreneurial cognition in enterprise performance and intentions to run a business. Additional value of this issue is a broad picture of the context and related contingencies, such as geographical location, industrial and firm idiosyncrasies, as well as economic development and social awareness levels in particular locations. Implications for theory and practice: This paper synthesizes the extant discussion on the antecedents of entrepreneurial choices, and proposes processual and configurational approaches to bridge theoretical perspectives in this research field. Originality and value: We contribute to the literature on entrepreneurial choices by proposing the conceptual links between judgments and behaviors in economics and management studies, and by highlighting how the research in this thematic issue explains the referred links.


We read with interest the article titled ''Emergence of hepatitis B virus S gene mutants in patients experiencing HBsAg seroconversion after peginterferon therapy'' by Hsu and Yeh. In this study, the authors found different substitutions within and outside the ''a'' determinant. They further tested the reactivity of those mutations. However, variations in the hepatitis B virus (HBV) surface protein (HBs) have also been reported in chronic carriers who did not receive vaccine/drug, with a frequency of 11% in spite of the presence of antibody to HBs (anti-HBs). Due to the quasispecies nature of HBV, the finding of different variants in a viral pool by molecular cloning is not surprising. Further, the authors did not test the patient's samples before the treatment (or sequential samples during the study), and therefore, they cannot be sure those mutations arose after interferon therapy. We believe that the variants found in the study by Hsu et al. could have emerged during the natural chronic course of HBV infection, regardless of pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN) therapy. Although the immune modulatory effect of drugs on anti-HBs seroconversion cannot be ignored, the anti-HBs in these patients may be possibly directed against the epitopes outside the ''a'' determinant, such as d/y or w/r subtype determinants. It seems that the consequence of selection pressure posed by natural antibodies would be the emergence of immune escape mutations which no longer could be recognized by the host immune system. Interestingly, patients with both HBs antigen (HBsAg) and anti-HBs–positive have been reported in 10%-25% of chronic active, hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive patients. In our study of HBsAg mutants in 310 chronic HBsAg treatment-naive patients, we found numerous point mutations in 11% within the surface protein. Overall, 32 amino acid substitutions were found in the ''a'' determinant. A portion of those patients experienced anti-HBs seroconversion, but yet were still positive for HBV DNA (unpublished data). Therefore, the data suggest that escape mutations could be induced by an immunological pressure exerted on the major hydrophilic region (within or upstream and downstream of the ''a'' determinant), even in patients who are found to be negative for serum HBsAg by use of the routine assay.


The paper describes the analysis of user location and time stamp information automatically logged when students receive and interact with electronic updates from the University's virtual learning environment. The electronic updates are sent to students' mobile devices using RSS feeds. The mobile reception of such information can be received in three dimensions of context: time, location and activity. Fifteen students took part in this study with the three dimensions of context evenly distributed. The study aims to identify how users can engage with electronic updates related to teaching material, course work feedback, and general announcements from teaching staff across the University's academic departments. As well as user profiling when reading the updates under these three dimensions of context, early investigations show that there exists peak times when users read these updates. All three dimensions exhibited a similar trend with activity being the highest. Initial results indicate that interactions occurred generally during office hours and within the confines of the campus environment, although uses of the activity based application were recorded also in informal locations outside of the working hours.


Objectives To examine demographic, environmental and clinical factors associated with severe bronchiolitis in infants admitted to hospital and quantify the independent effects of these factors. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting Alder Hey Children's Hospital, Liverpool, United Kingdom. Participants 378 infants admitted to hospital with a diagnosis of bronchiolitis, of whom 299 (79%) were antigen positive to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Outcome Severity of disease during admission, defined as "no need for supplemental oxygen" (reference group), "any need for supplemental oxygen" and "any need for mechanical ventilation". Results Univariate analysis found male sex (p = 0.035) and tobacco smoking by a household member (p<0.001) were associated with need for both supplemental oxygen and mechanical ventilation. Premature birth, low gestation, low birth weight, low admission weight and low corrected age on admission were also associated with need for mechanical ventilation (all p≤0.002). Deprivation scores (IMD 2004) were significantly higher in households where a member smoked compared to non-smoking households (p<0.001). The odds of smoking predicted by deprivation were 7 times higher (95%CI (3.59, 14.03)), when comparing the least and most deprived quintiles of the study population. Family history of atopic disease and deprivation score were not associated with severe disease. Multivariate multinomial logistic regression which initially included all covariates, found household tobacco smoking (adjusted OR = 2.45, 95%CI (1.60, 3.74) predicted need for oxygen supplementation. Household tobacco smoking (adjusted OR = 5.49, (2.78, 10.83)) and weight (kg) on admission (adjusted OR = 0.51, (0.40, 0.65)) were both significant predictors in the final model for mechanical ventilation. The same associations and similar size of effects were found when only children with proven RSV infection were included in analysis. Conclusions Low admission weight and householder tobacco smoking increased the risk of severe bronchiolitis in infants admitted to hospital. These effects were independent of a standard deprivation measure. NIHR Study Ref. DHCS/G121/10.


Understanding and defining the meaning of "action" is substantial for robotics research. This becomes utterly evident when aiming at equipping autonomous robots with robust manipulation skills for action execution. Unfortunately, to this day we still lack both a clear understanding of the concept of an action and a set of established criteria that ultimately characterize an action. In this survey, we thus first review existing ideas and theories on the notion and meaning of action. Subsequently, we discuss the role of action in robotics and attempt to give a seminal definition of action in accordance with its use in robotics research. Given this definition we then introduce a taxonomy for categorizing action representations in robotics along various dimensions. Finally, we provide a meticulous literature survey on action representations in robotics where we categorize relevant literature along our taxonomy. After discussing the current state of the art we conclude with an outlook towards promising research directions.


The paper argues that understanding the ways in which criminals interact with state and non-state actors is crucial to construct a more accurate picture of how local governance arrangements are unfolding in urban policy-making in Latin America. Based on the experience of Medellin, Colombia, it is discussed that alongside decades of violence, rapid urbanisation and economic liberal reforms, the local state has built capacity for service provision and new governance arrangements. But this capacity has not weakened criminal actors' operations and interactions with society and state actors. By focusing on the neighbourhood level, the paper demonstrates the existence of different strategies that have allowed criminals to benefit from governance arrangements, originally created to promote participatory democracy and urban development. The paper calls for studies to incorporate the role of criminals in contexts where boundaries between illegal and legal spheres of action, and formal and informal arrangements are continuously blurred.


Paul Rudolph, one of the 20th century's most iconoclastic architects, is best knownand most malignedfor his large "brutalist" buildings, like the Yale Art and Architecture Building. So it will surprise many to learn that early in his career he developed a series of houses that represent the unrivaled possibilities of a modest American modernism. With their distinctive natural landscapes, local architectural precedents, and exploitation of innovative construction materials, the Florida houses, some eighty projects built between 1946 and 1961, brought modern architectural form into a gracious subtropical world of natural abundance. Like the locally inspired desert houses of another modern master, Albert Frey, Rudolph's Florida houses represent a distillation and reinterpretation of traditional architectural ideas developed to a high pitch of stylistic refinement. "Paul Rudolph: The Florida Houses" reveals all of Rudolph's early residential work. Along with Rudolph's personal essays and renderings, duotone photographs by Ezra Stoller and Joseph Molitor, and insightful text by Joseph King and Christopher Domin, this compelling new book conveys the lightness, timelessness, strength, materiality, and transcendency of Rudolph's work.


Summary Protection of animals immunized against Bacillus anthracis is usually demonstrated by challenging with an appropriate dose of a strain of Bacillus anthracis that is lethal to unvaccinated animals inoculated at the same time. In this study the protective efficacy in anthrax vaccine (34F2 sterne strain spore) was evaluated in sheep, goats and guinea pigs challenged with subcutaneous inoculation of a highly virulent Bacillus anthracis spores recently isolated from soil in Iran. This strain has been shown that it is lethal for sheep, goats and guinea pigs in very low dose. It was found that the vaccine provides highly protection (100%) after challenging the immunized animals against this strain in sheep, goats and guinea pigs. So, indicates the superior protective efficacy of the vaccine. The authors recommend that this strain can be used instead of other strain which has been used previously for challenging the immunized animals, and also guinea pig is a good substitution for evaluating anthrax vaccine.


Purpose of this paper : This paper aims to provide an insight into the dominant arguments in generic corporate identity literature – and offers evidence of the presence of generic corporate identity in professional services industry. Design/method/approach : Existing literature on generic corporate identity is reviewed leading towards the development of three conceptual perspectives of generic corporate identity, namely active , passive and parenthetic . The weakness of existing theoretical literatures (in relation to their inability to explicate how generic corporate identity develops) is highlighted. Consequently, a new process model grounded on the notion of institutional isomorphism is presented to fill this gap. A semiotic deconstruction of corporate identity statements in annual report and accounts of the big four professional services firms in the United States is presented to provide evidence of the presence and emergence of generic corporate identity in professional services firms. Findings : A number of findings emerged in this study. First are three pedagogical themes of generic corporate identity. Second is a four stage generic identity development process model, which explicates how generic corporate identity emerges. Third, a semiotic deconstruction of some sections of annual report and accounts of the big four professional services firms in the United States supports the presence and emergence of generic corporate identity in professional services firms. Theoretical implication : The introduction of a generic corporate identity process model in this study clarifies how generic corporate identity evolves. This clarification aids the understanding of the development process of generic corporate identity, which until date remains vague, fuzzy and unclear. In addition, the semiotic deconstruction of texts, which gives insight into the presence of generic corporate identity in Professional Services Firms (PSF), takes the argument in marketing literature a step further. Specifically, the outcome of the deconstruction of texts indicates that the problem of generic corporate identity is not a banking problem alone but a professional services issue as well. The study adds to existing knowledge on the theory of generic corporate identity and contributes towards an understanding of corporate identity theory in general. Practical implications : Insights into the elements that influence the development of a generic corporate identity imply that managers can map out plans that enable firms or clients to challenge or avoid the acquisition of generic corporate identities. By circumventing the development of generic corporate identity, firms develop distinct corporate identities, which position them competitively in the business environment. Limitation of study and future research direction : The empirical evidence presented in this study merely supports the presence of generic corporate identity in professional services firms. The study does not address this issue in other service industries such as tourism, hospitality, information technology. The inability to pursue this study in these industries presents an opportunity for future research. Originality and value of paper: The review of literature indicates that existing studies on corporate identity has focused mainly of the factors that trigger the development of a generic corporate identity without a detailed explanation how this concept emerged. This paper makes a departure from extant theory and adds an original contribution to existing literature by providing a theoretical analysis, which gives an insight into the stage by stage processes that trigger the development of a generic corporate identity.


Many attempts weremade to improve roughness of titaniumimplants which is important for early fixation and long-term mechanical stability of the prosthesis. In the present work microstructure, surface roughness and hardness of titaniumbiomaterialwere investigated before and after exposure to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and gamma radiation. It was found that microstructure, (crystallinty, crystal size and orientation), of titanium biomaterial was changed after exposure to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and gamma radiation. Roughness parameter (Ra) was significantly increased after exposure to magnetic resonance imaging and gamma radiation. However, Vickers hardness number of titaniumwas significantly decreased.


The impact of parenthood on leaving a street gang is not well understood. This is likely because researchers in prior studies have not accounted for multiple dimensions of gang exit, possible gender differences, and potential selection bias. In this study, we use a sample of 466 male and 163 female gang members from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1997 to consider the within-individual relationship between changes in parenthood and changes in claiming gang membership and offending. These data offer the opportunity to consider gender differences and birth parity (i.e., first or second child). The results from a series of fixed-effects models reveal that motherhood is associated with enduring reductions in both the odds of claiming gang membership and the rate of offending, whereas fatherhood has a temporary beneficial impact on gang membership and offending only for those fathers who reside with their children. In most cases, the beneficial effect of having a child rests in becoming a parent for the first time. On the whole, our study findings demonstrate that parenthood serves as a turning point for a particular group of noteworthy offenders—gang members.


In this paper we challenge the common interpretation of Rawls' Theory of Justice as Fairness by showing that this Theory, as outlined in the Restatement (Rawls 2001), goes well beyond the definition of a distributive value judgment, in such a way as to embrace efficiency issues as well. A simple model is discussed to support our interpretation of the Difference Principle, by which inequalities are shown to be permitted as far as they stimulate a greater effort in education in the population, and so economic growth. To our knowledge, this is the only possibility for the inequality to be `bought' by both the most-, and above all, the least-advantaged individual as suggested by the Difference Principle. Finally, by recalling the old tradition of universal ex-post efficiency (Hammond 1981), we show that a unique optimal social contract does not exist behind the veil of ignorance; more precisely, the sole set of potentially optimal social contracts can be identified a priori, and partial justice orderings derived accordingly.


A wide range of machine learning applications such as privacy-preserving learning, algorithmic fairness, and domain adaptation/generalization among others, involve learning invariant representations of the data that aim to achieve two competing goals: (a) maximize information or accuracy with respect to a target response, and (b) maximize invariance or independence with respect to a set of protected features (e.g., for fairness, privacy, etc). Despite their wide applicability, theoretical understanding of the optimal tradeoffs -- with respect to accuracy, and invariance -- achievable by invariant representations is still severely lacking. In this paper, we provide an information theoretic analysis of such tradeoffs under both classification and regression settings. More precisely, we provide a geometric characterization of the accuracy and invariance achievable by any representation of the data; we term this feasible region the information plane. We provide an inner bound for this feasible region for the classification case, and an exact characterization for the regression case, which allows us to either bound or exactly characterize the Pareto optimal frontier between accuracy and invariance. Although our contributions are mainly theoretical, a key practical application of our results is in certifying the potential sub-optimality of any given representation learning algorithm for either classification or regression tasks. Our results shed new light on the fundamental interplay between accuracy and invariance, and may be useful in guiding the design of future representation learning algorithms.


Creativity, technology and innovation are the main driving forces of our modern world and they often trigger behavioural and cultural changes in our societies. Several studies on creative collaborations emphasise the interconnection between the creation of innovation and interdisciplinarity as they both focus on the exploration of complex matters. Studying the interdisciplinary processes through which innovation is generated is thus of fundamental importance. This research investigates the intrinsic correlation between group dynamics in interdisciplinary teams and creative processes. It explores how high-risk strategies, conflict and acceptance of failure, can finally shape different level of originality and innovation of the final outputs. This is an attempt to identify meaningful behavioural patterns in relation to specific phases of a creative process. Creative Connectivity is a collaborative research project between the Institution 1, the Institution 2 and the Institution 3. The project research has its origins in the philosophy of the Omitted for review programme, which has long been based on the relation between interdisciplinarity and innovation. Taking that programme as a case study, the research addresses the need to develop a more rigorous understanding of the creation of innovation fostered by diversity and a risk-taking culture. A novel approach combining data science and network theory has been developed to monitor, quantify and analyse specific dynamics of interdisciplinary groups of students of the Omitted for review programme. More specifically the project was based on the acquisition of multiple-source data by a web application allowing the authors to send/notify students with questionnaires and retrieve information from a slack as well, and on the analysis of the obtained data in the forms of networks by using cutting-edge methods of network science, such as multilayer networks and temporal networks. The main and novel focus was to investigate the network contribution to the performance of a team in an environment that is naturally interdisciplinary by using data respectively from a bespoke developed web application and conversation activity monitoring devices. Initial findings have shown the potential of this approach to unveil the hidden mechanisms behind creativity and the production of innovation, and the contributions of interdisciplinarity. The results of this research can be useful to universities, research centers, start-ups incubators, and policymakers who want to foster creativity and trigger innovative processes.


This study investigated microbial metabolism in fault-associated cool and hydrothermal springs in western Turkey in an effort to bridge thermodynamic predictions of favorable metabolic pathways with observations in vitro and the presence of diagnostic functional genes. Doing so will help constrain the utility of calculations of Gibbs free energies of reaction as predictive tools for microbial ecology, aiding future studies investigating the habitability of astrobiological targets such as Mars or Europa. Modern-day serpentinization and related weathering processes occur in the subsurface of ophiolite-hosted spring systems in Turkey, prompting two exploratory field surveys of several springs in both northwest and southwest Turkey. Both hydrothermal activity and serpentinization provide a source of reduced compounds and are thought to be important for energy generation on early Earth, as well as other rocky planets. The geochemistry of spring fluids is impacted by both hydrothermal alteration and the weathering of ultramafic reservoir rocks, producing chemically distinct systems with a diverse suite of metabolic options.
Cultivation of native microorganisms from sampled spring fluids in targeted growth media, in conjunction with taxonomic affiliations with known organisms based on 16SrRNA bacterial phylogeny, is used to assess the metabolic diversity in each system. These findings are compared with calculated Gibbs free energies of reaction for several chemosynthetic metabolic pathways to assess whether or not they are consistent with actual metabolic capacity. Nitrogen-cycling functional genes are detected and related to growth in targeted media. Evidence for partial denitrification within a biofilm supported by fluid discharging from an actively burning methane vent in the Tekirova ophiolite (Yanartas, southwest Turkey) is substantiated by geochemical and isotopic evidence, as well as observations in culture and the presence of functional nitrogen-cycling genes, substantiating thermodynamic predictions that some exergonic metabolic pathways are utilized in situ. Data obtained on taxonomic relationships and observations in vitro of heterotrophic, thermophilic enrichment cultures from hot springs in northwest Turkey sheds new insight onto the functional diversity of fault-associated hydrothermal and cool spring systems. These findings support a correlation between thermodynamics and metabolic potential, though environmental factors (e.g. availability of organic carbon and nitrogen) may limit metabolic functioning in situ.


Northland College is a small environmental liberal arts college in northern Wisconsin near Lake Superior. In the fall of 2007 and 2008 students in a mixed science majors/non-majors introductory biology course engaged in a semester-long, service-learning project to monitor E. coli in city stormwater draining into Bay City Creek, a small stream that flows through campus and the town of Ashland before flowing into Lake Superior. Such monitoring is beyond the budget of most municipalities, but is an important public health and aesthetic issue for Ashland and Lake Superior. Our hypothesis was that this service-learning research project would have a positive impact on student learning and student perception of science, and the project would generate useful information for city leaders. Students collected and processed water samples using a standard protocol, analyzed the effect of stormwater on stream water quality, and presented their data in the form of posters to the mayor, a city administrator, and the Provost. Student learning was assessed by a poster-grading rubric, and by online and Northland College instruments. Student perceptions of science were found to be more positive than in the year preceding this project, even when clear answers were not found from their scientific investigation, and there appeared to be no distinction in responses between science majors and non-majors.


Design of foundations in earthquake prone areas needs special considerations. Shallow foundations may experience a reduction in bearing capacity and increase in settlement and tilt due to seismic loading. The reduction in bearing capacity depends on the nature and type of soil and ground acceleration parameters. In the case of piles, the soil-pile behavior under earthquake loading is generally nonlinear. The nonlinearity must be accounted for by defining soil- pile stiffness in terms of strain dependent soil modulus. A comparison of observed and predicted pile behavior under dynamic loads has attracted the attention of several investigators. The lateral dynamic pile response of single piles predicted by analytical models often yields higher natural frequencies and lower resonant amplitudes compared to those determined from field tests in horizontal vibrations only. This has been found to be due to overestimated shear modulus and radiation damping of the soil. The authors made an investigation to determine a simple method to improve the theoretical predictions of piles embedded in fine soils. Based upon this investigation shear strain dependent reduction factors are proposed for determining the shear modulus and damping for pile response calculations.


Can you find your digital photographs when you need them, or do you spend more time rifling through your hard drive and file cabinets than you'd like? Do you have a system for assigning and tracking content data on your photos? If you make a living as a photographer, do your images bear your copyright and contact information, or do they circulate in the marketplace unprotected? As professional photographer and author Peter Krogh sees it, "your DAM system is fundamental to the way your images are known, both to you and to everyone else." DAM, or Digital Asset Management, in the world of digital photography refers to every part of the process that follows the taking of the picture, through final output and permanent storage. Anyone who shoots, scans or stores digital photographs, is practicing some form of digital asset management. Unfortunately, most of us don't yet know how to manage our files (and our time) very systematically, or efficiently. In The DAM Book: Digital Asset Management for Photographers, Krogh brings clarity to the often overwhelming task of managing digital photographs, with a solid plan and practical advice for fellow photographers on how to file, find, protect and re-use photographs. Following a thorough overview of the DAM system and de-mystifications of metadata and digital archiving, Krogh focuses on best practices for digital photographers using Adobe Photoshop CS2. He explains how to use Adobe Bridge, the new CS2 navigational software that replaces the File Browser introduced in Photoshop 7, with full details on integrating Bridge, Camera Raw and Digital Asset Management software. Compellingly presented in four-color format, The DAM Book: Digital Asset Management for Photographers brings Krogh's award-winning creative approach to a subject that could have been technically intimidating. Instead, Krogh's twenty years of experience and instructive visual storytelling make this material not only accessible, but compulsory reading for serious digital photographers.


Abstract. Latitudinal and altitudinal gradients can be utilized to forecast the impact of climate change on forests. To improve the understanding of how these gradients impact forest dynamics, we tested two hypotheses: (1) the change of the tree growth–climate relationship is similar along both latitudinal and altitudinal gradients, and (2) the time periods during which climate affects growth the most occur later towards higher latitudes and altitudes. To address this, we utilized tree-ring data from a latitudinal gradient in Finland and from two altitudinal gradients on the Tibetan Plateau. We analysed the latitudinal and altitudinal growth patterns in tree rings and investigated the growth–climate relationship of trees by correlating ring-width index chronologies with climate variables, calculating with flexible time windows, and using daily-resolution climate data. High latitude and altitude plots showed higher correlations between tree-ring chronologies and growing season temperature. However, the effects of winter temperature showed contrasting patterns for the gradients. The timing of the highest correlation with temperatures during the growing season at southern sites was approximately 1 month ahead of that at northern sites in the latitudinal gradient. In one out of two altitudinal gradients, the timing for the strongest negative correlation with temperature at low-altitude sites was ahead of treeline sites during the growing season, possibly due to differences in moisture limitation. Mean values and the standard deviation of tree-ring width increased with increasing mean July temperatures on both types of gradients. Our results showed similarities of tree growth responses to increasing seasonal temperature between latitudinal and altitudinal gradients. However, differences in climate–growth relationships were also found between gradients due to differences in other factors such as moisture conditions. Changes in the timing of the most critical climate variables demonstrated the necessity for the use of daily-resolution climate data in environmental gradient studies.


The relationship between candidates' position on a ballot paper and vote rank is explored in the case of 5000 candidates for the UK 2010 local government elections in the Greater London area. This design study uses hierarchical spatially arranged graphics to represent two locations that affect candidates at very different scales: the geographical areas for which they seek election and the spatial location of their names on the ballot paper. This approach allows the effect of position bias to be assessed; that is, the degree to which the position of a candidate's name on the ballot paper influences the number of votes received by the candidate, and whether this varies geographically. Results show that position bias was significant enough to influence rank order of candidates, and in the case of many marginal electoral wards, to influence who was elected to government. Position bias was observed most strongly for Liberal Democrat candidates but present for all major political parties. Visual analysis of classification of candidate names by ethnicity suggests that this too had an effect on votes received by candidates, in some cases overcoming alphabetic name bias. The results found contradict some earlier research suggesting that alphabetic name bias was not sufficiently significant to affect electoral outcome and add new evidence for the geographic and ethnicity influences on voting behaviour. The visual approach proposed here can be applied to a wider range of electoral data and the patterns identified and hypotheses derived from them could have significant implications for the design of ballot papers and the conduct of fair elections.


This article is concerned with the introduction of the agenda of New Public Management (NPM) within the board of a UK Hospital Trust: West London Hospital (WLH). We discuss the literature on New Public Management, including its limitations for analysing the organizational reality of implementing NPM. But we will also be drawing on discourse theory and the literature on rhetoric. The main argument in this article is that in order to understand the reality of the NPM paradigm, we need to study the rhetorical strategies of protagonists involved in the negotiation of the NPM agenda. Rhetorical strategies are means of making general viewpoints more convincing, for example, by comparing 'our' organization with similar organizations. Rhetorical strategies show patterns, which reappear in conversations and arguments made by protagonists. Specifically, we identified three rhetorical strategies justifying why and what kind of a more 'rounded picture' was required: widening the argument to include national productivity comparisons with other hospitals; widening the argument away from a narrow focus on finance toward a strategic and political perspective; and, lastly, widening the argument to look at innovation in the whole clinical process.


Title of dissertation: INVESTIGATIONS INTO MECHANISMS UNDERLYING EXTREME WAVE FORMATIONS AND COMPUTATIONALLY INTENSIVE SIMULATIONS Ayan Moitra, 2016 Dissertation directed by: Professor Balakumar Balachandran Department of Mechanical Engineering Various mechanisms have been proposed to explain extreme waves or rogue waves in an oceanic environment including directional focusing, dispersive focusing, wave-current interaction, and nonlinear modulational instability. The BenjaminFeir instability (nonlinear modulational instability), however, is considered to be one of the primary mechanisms for rogue-wave occurrence. The nonlinear Schrödinger equation is a well-established approximate model based on the same assumptions as required for the derivation of the Benjamin-Feir theory. Solutions of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation, including new rogue-wave type solutions are presented in the author's dissertation work. The solutions are obtained by using a predictive eigenvalue map based predictor-corrector procedure developed by the author. Features of the predictive map are explored and the influences of certain parameter variations are investigated. The solutions are rescaled to match the length scales of waves generated in a wave tank. Based on the information provided by the map and the details of physical scaling, a framework is developed that can serve as a basis for experimental investigations into a variety of extreme waves as well localizations in wave fields. To derive further fundamental insights into the complexity of extreme wave conditions, Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) simulations are carried out on an advanced Graphic Processing Unit (GPU) based parallel computational platform. Free surface gravity wave simulations have successfully characterized waterwave dispersion in the SPH model while demonstrating extreme energy focusing and wave growth in both linear and nonlinear regimes. A virtual wave tank is simulated wherein wave motions can be excited from either side. Focusing of several wave trains and isolated waves has been simulated. With properly chosen parameters, dispersion effects are observed causing a chirped wave train to focus and exhibit growth. By using the insights derived from the study of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation, modulational instability or self-focusing has been induced in a numerical wave tank and studied through several numerical simulations. Due to the inherent dissipative nature of SPH models, simulating persistent progressive waves can be problematic. This issue has been addressed and an observation-based solution has been provided. The efficacy of SPH in modeling wave focusing can be critical to further our understanding and predicting extreme wave phenomena through simulations. A deeper understanding of the mechanisms underlying extreme energy localization phenomena can help facilitate energy harnessing and serve as a basis to predict and mitigate the impact of energy focusing. INVESTIGATIONS INTO MECHANISMS UNDERLYING EXTREME WAVE FORMATIONS AND COMPUTATIONALLY INTENSIVE SIMULATIONS


experimental setup DTU Orbit (09/12/2018) Method for calculating thermal properties of lightweight floor heating panels based on an experimental setup Lightweight floor heating systems consist of a plastic tube connected to a heat distribution aluminium plate and are used in wooden floor constructions. The thermal properties of lightweight floor heating systems cannot be described accurately. The reason is a very complex interaction of convection, radiation and conduction of the heat transfer between pipe and surrounding materials. The European Standard for floor heating, EN1264, does not cover lightweight systems, while the supplemental Nordtest Method VVS127 is aimed at lightweight systems. The thermal properties can be found using tabulated values or experiments. Neither includes dynamic properties. This article describes a method to find steady-state and dynamical thermal properties in an experimental setup based on finding a characteristic thermal resistance between pipe and heat transfer plate, which can be directly implemented in a numerical simulation model. It has been shown that the method is accurate with an error on the heat fluxes of less than 5% for different supply temperatures. An error of around 5% is also recorded when comparing measurements to calculated heat flows using the Nordtest VVS 127 method based on the experimental setup presented here. Consequently, the test setup can also be used to for tests based on Nordtest VVS 127. The advantage of using the method developed here is that it can be used directly for building energy simulations, while the drawback is the need to build a test setup to find the contact resistance. However, if measurements are performed for several types of lightweight floor heating, this method will become more general.


Engineering operations in space require the optimization of a wide variety of procedures and the design of new, lighter and more durable materials. One of the main concerns of human-operated space activities is exposure to radiation, attaining doses that may eventually exceed those considered within safety limits. Polymers are perhaps the most promising materials for radiation absorption (due to their relatively high hydrogen content), generally low specific weight and wide variety of mechanical properties. Their response to space environment is, however, greatly dependent on factors such as chemical composition, thermal treatment and stress state under service conditions. Their structural makeup can lead to a decrease in durability, especially under harsh radiation (e.g. ultraviolet) and/or chemical (e.g. ozone)attack. It is known that the response of different kinds of polymers can be very different, from generation of surface roughness (and subsequent increase in surface area) to breakup and disintegration. This work aims to study in a systemic way the effects of combined ultraviolet/ozone irradiation on the surface properties of a variety of polymers, in order to shed light on the nanoscale mechanisms of surtface modification. Treated and reference samples will be studied by means of Atomic Force Microscopy and both optical (interferometric) and mechanical profiling. Images obtained will be processed with professional software in order to obtain quantitative parameters to assess the level of (nano)modification in each case. This information will eventually be useful for the assessment of different applications of polymer materials in the space environment.


This IDEAS study of interactions between families and frontline workers and coverage of critical interventions for mothers and newborns was conducted between May-June 2012 and May-June 2015 across four regions of Ethiopia.

The aim was to estimate changes in maternal and newborn health care in areas where implementation projects funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation were operating. In 2012 the study methods were defined to include a sub-set of areas where the Last Ten Kilometers (L10K) project was operating, run by John Snow Incorporated.

Over the last two decades maternal, newborn and child survival has improved from very high levels of mortality. The maternal mortality ratio declined from an estimated 1,400 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 1990 to 420/100,000 in 2014, although this falls short of the 2015 target of 350/100,000.

Child mortality rates declined from 204 child deaths per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 59/1,000 in 2015, meeting 2015 targets. And neonatal mortality declined from 61 deaths in the first 28 days of life per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 28/1,000 in 2015. The country has set ambitious goals to build on these gains even further.

Key Messages

-While improvements are still needed, access to antenatal and intrapartum health care has increased on a large scale in Ethiopia. Simultaneously, there have been improvements in the readiness of the health system to provide quality care

- The data collection period coincided with a period of remarkable activity in the Ethiopian health system with government led health system strengthening being implemented throughout the country

- Across the continuum of care we observe large gains in coverage of life saving interventions being made amongst the most poor women, with coverage among all sub-groups increasing

- Yet, coverage of postnatal checks for the mother and the newborn remain extremely low and represent a problem needing urgent attention


"The Marchesa Casati" is a visual biography told through a collection of photographs, paintings and illustrations of the legendary and eccentric socialite Marchesa Luisa Casati. Known for her extravagant lifestyle and strange beauty, Casati was the muse for a number of influential photographers, painters and designers throughout the 20th century. During the first half of the twentieth century, Marchesa Luisa Casati (1881-1957) was Europe's most notorious celebrity. Her eccentric personality and scandalous escapades captivated some of the most influential artists of her time. She was painted by Boldini, sketched by Drian and photographed by Man Ray, among others. Jack Kerouac dedicated poems to her; Fortuny, Poiret and Erte dressed her. She continues to inspire top designers today. "The Marchesa Casati" is a visual biography, telling Casati's captivating life story alongside the art and designs she has inspired, featuring over 150 images. Family photographs, paintings, sculptures and photographs illustrate the artistic and cultural legacy she left behind. This book also includes an introductory essay by acclaimed New Yorker writer Judith Thurman and an afterword by Lady Moorea Black, Casati's granddaughter and only living relative.


Abstract For complex tasks such as parse selection, the creation of labelled training sets can be extremely costly. Resource-efficient schemes for creating informative labelled material must therefore be considered. We investigate the relationship between two broad strategies for reducing the amount of manual labelling necessary to train accurate parse selection models: ensemble models and active learning. We show that popular active learning methods for reducing annotation costs can be outperformed by instead using a model class which uses the available labelled data more efficiently. For this, we use a simple type of ensemble model called the Logarithmic Opinion Pool (LOP). We furthermore show that LOPs themselves can benefit from active learning. As predicted by a theoretical explanation of the predictive power of LOPs, a detailed analysis of active learning using LOPs shows that component model diversity is a strong predictor of successful LOP performance. Other contributions include a novel active learning method, a justification of our simulation studies using timing information, and cross-domain verification of our main ideas using text classification.


We analyze the non-Gaussian density perturbations generated in ekpyrotic/cyclic models based on heterotic M theory. In this picture, two scalar fields produce nearly scale-invariant entropic perturbations during an ekpyrotic phase that are converted into curvature modes after the ekpyrotic phase is complete and just before the big bang. Both intrinsic nonlinearity in the entropy perturbation and the conversion process contribute to non-Gaussianity. The range of the non-Gaussianity parameter f{sub NL} depends on how gradual the conversion process is and the steepness of the scalar field potential during the ekpyrotic phase. Although a wider range is possible, in principle, natural values of the ekpyrotic parameters combined with a gradual conversion process lead to values of -50 < or approx. f{sub NL} < or approx. +200, typically much greater than slow-roll inflation but within the current observational bounds.


Mobility, safety performance and environmental sustainability are priorities in the geometric design of roundabouts. This thesis presents a multi-objective optimization methodology for the geometric design of single-lane roundabouts. Mobility is defined in terms of roundabout delay and modeled using the (UK) empirical model. The collision frequency represents the safety objective, and modeled using the methodology outlined in the Highway Safety Manual. Environmental sustainability is represented by NOX, HC, CO2, and CO vehicle emissions and is modeled using the vehicle specific power (VSP) methodology. The presented model directly identifies the optimal geometric parameters of roundabouts. Traffic data, site conditions, and guidelines limitations were used as input data while the output decision values that minimize delay, collisions, and vehicle emissions are the optimal geometric parameters. The practical application of the proposed model is illustrated using an application example. The model was validated using an actual location, and a sensitivity analysis was conducted.


Knowledge creation today increasingly takes place within the overlapping areas between universities, industry and government. One model explored for the processes taking place has been the triple helix model. In this paper we address our understandings and experiences of the triple helix-figuration. We formulate situated knowledges about how to start building a local innovation system, NetPort.Karlshamn, in a small town in the south of Sweden. The practices within NetPort.Karlshamn can exemplify one way of understanding a triple helix system and why this kind of cooperation is important and a prerequisite for becoming functional, innovative and developmentally strong. We recognize the necessity for a co-evolution process, where relevance and situated knowledges compose keystones. We notice the transformation of the situated knowledge production in our context to move from contract negotiation focus towards co-evolution focus. The theoretical frame is reinforced by technoscientific reflections.


The second-century (b.c.e.) Maccabean revolt against Seleucid oppression was a watershed event in early Jewish history and Second Maccabees is an important testimony to the revolt and its aftermath. Robert Doran's commentary on 2 Maccabees explores the interplay between history and historiography in the document. Providing detailed philological analysis of the elegant Greek of the text, Doran carefully sifts the evidence for the historicity of the events recounted, while giving full attention to the literary and rhetorical qualities that mark this dramatic narrat


Although records of intense spiritual experiences in nature exist throughout history, the phenomenon remains a little-investigated question. This article is the first in a series describing empirical findings on intense spiritual experiences in nature. Three data points were established including: 1) a cognitive analysis of forest attitude research interviews; 2) a cognitive analysis of nature authors who write about forests; and 3) a broad review of literature drawn primarily from research in neuroscience, psychology, medicine, consciousness studies, and philosophy. The findings suggest that intense spiritual experience in nature has two variations: mystical and traumatic experience. The positive (mystical) and negative (traumatic) variation share seven physiological and psychological characteristics, with each characteristic providing adaptive, evolutionary advantages. Although partial and preliminary, the data offers compelling evidence demonstrating the existence of certain basic properties of the role of nature in intense spiritual experience. The findings suggest that natural selection may favor intense spiritual experiences in nature.


One of the main concerns of the universities that have economical resources for research, is related to the way how the processes can be evaluated and carried out by the research groups in terms of their inputs, outputs, outcomes and impacts. The measurement systems for research and development are focused on the results achieved by groups in terms of production regardless of the processes, outcomes and impacts achieved, so that, in general, society does not value the real scope and significance of the research function. This work considers learning as one of the important outcomes of the investigative processes mentioned and seeks to determine how it occurs within the research groups of a public university in each of three levels: individual, group and organizational, with a sample formed by 111 members of research groups recognized by Colciencias ,using a descriptive cross-sectional method. For this purpose there was adapted and applied an instrument developed by Castaneda and Fernandez (2006), which identifies how learning occurs in each of these three levels, and in-depth interviews were conducted. The information was analysed with the statistical package SPSS 11.5 V. The results obtained allowed the determination that the learning in this University occurs in the three levels considered, however, organizational learning that occurs in the research groups is not optimal, the knowledge of the researchers is not used to improve the processes of the University or to generate new products and services. In the same way the learning of the university in the face of the pressures from the environment is casual. Accordingly, the University should consider improving it's capacity of response towards the environment, with elements that it has through the knowledge that the researchers apply.


Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) is an exciting new technology with applications in military, industry, and healthcare. These applications manage sensitive information in potentially hostile environments. Security is a necessity, but building a WSN protocol is difficult. Nodes are energy and memory constrained devices intended to last months. Attackers are physically able to compromise nodes and attack the network from within. The solution is Centralized Secure Low Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy (CSLEACH). CSLEACH provides security, energy efficiency, and memory efficiency. CSLEACH takes a centralized approach by leveraging the gateways resources to extend the life of a network as well as provide trust management. Using a custom event based simulator, I am able to show CSLEACH's trust protocol is more energy efficient and requires less memory per node than Trust-based LEACH (TLEACH). In terms of security, CSLEACH is able to protect against a wide range of attacks from spoofed messages to compromised node attacks and it provides confidentiality, authentication, integrity and freshness.


Background. Oncogenic human papillomaviruses (HPVs), especially HPV type 16, cause anogenital epithelial cancers and are suspected of causing epithelial cancers of the head and neck. Material and methods. In order to examine the relation between head and neck cancers and HPVs, we performed a nested case-control study in a joint Nordic cohort in which serum samples were collected from almost 900,000 subjects. Samples collected at enrollment from 292 persons in whom squamous-cell carcinoma of the head and neck developed, on average 9.4 years after enrollment, and from 1,568 matched controls were analyzed for antibodies against HPV16, HPV-18, HPV-33 and HPV-73 and for cotinine levels as a marker of smoking habits. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis for HPV DNA were performed in tumour tissue from 160 of the study patients with cancer. Results. After adjustment for cotinine levels, the odds ratio for squamous-cell carcinoma of the head and neck in subjects who were seropositive for HPV-16 was 2.2 (95 % confidence interval, 1.4 to 3.4). No increased risk was observed for other HPV types. PCR analysis is revealed HPV16DNA in fifty percent of oropharyngeal and 14 percent of tongue cancers. Interpretation. HPV-16 infection may be a risk factor for squamous-cell carcinoma of the head and neck.


The relationships between food systems, law, and the environment are strong. The ecological costs of modern industrial and large scale food production are driven by greenhouse gas emissions, fertilizers and pesticides, and food miles, as well as agricultural law. Food choices contribute to the climate crisis, cause species loss, impair water and air quality, and accelerate land use degradation. For example, "An estimated 25 percent of the emissions produced by people in industrialized nations can be traced to the food they eat." The ecological costs of the modern industrial, carbon heavy food system are well‑chronicled. Chemical inputs, in the form of fertilizers and pesticides, have the potential, through runoff, to pollute groundwater and streams, to cause algae blooms and oxygen depletion in waterways, contribute to soil acidification, kill beneficial insects, and potentially poison wildlife and their reproductive systems. Industrial farming techniques such as over‑tilling, a lack of crop rotation, inorganic fertilizers, pesticides, and monoculture mines the soil of its natural nutrients, destroys soil biota and its habitat, and increases erosion. And contributing to the climate crisis, fossil fuels remain the single most important ingredient in the modern food system, not only used as fuel for transportation and production of food, but also to produce fertilizers and pesticides. In an effort to change food choices and inform consumers of the environmental impacts of food, I have already argued for creation of an eco‑label for food, based on environmental life‑cycle analysis from production to use to distribution, building on existing organic and carbon labeling programs. But improved eco‑labeling is only a start, since it only provides information to consumers on available food products that are often industrially produced and processed. It does not directly improve and increase the supply of and access to ecologically friendly food products (though may do so indirectly due to consumer demand). Both informational regulation that helps influence consumer choice and structural changes that provide consumers with better access to better choices are necessary for a sustainable food system to develop. Thus, in addition to improving labeling schemes to support environmentally‑friendly food consumption, the market of available food products must be improved. Public law and policy drives American food choices and, in turn, fosters environmental degradation. Legal policies might better support a low‑input, more local and less processed market. Already significant efforts are underway to build a more community‑driven food system that would reduce food miles, decrease consumption of processed foods that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, and lessen the impacts of chemicals on the environment. While overarching changes in national agricultural law and policy are necessary, beginning with the Farm Bill, second‑best solutions like eco‑labels and creating new food markets are useful steps. Such steps are even more important given that the organic market is becoming dominated by actors of industrial agriculture, and "the organic sector is coming increasingly to resemble other sectors of commodity‑driven agriculture." This Article considers legal, theoretical, and practical steps to a more sustainable food model. Part I of this Article discusses the underlying reasons for problems in the current food system, including those manifested in law, and the perceived benefits of creating a new agricultural paradigm. Part II discusses the major agricultural and food programs that have become more common in shaping a different food system model, specifically focusing on direct marketing (e.g., farmers markets and community‑supported agriculture) and the organic movement as it relates to small farmers. Part III argues that in order to change modern American food consumption, two changes must take place‑increased awareness and increased availability. This Article reiterates the need to increase available information about the consequences of food choices, and argues that structural changes in the food system are necessary to increase access to sustainable foods by building on current efforts to increase direct marketing by farmers and organic certification, creating better food system planning through state food policy councils and municipal planners, building on existing interests in intrastate and regional efforts supporting local food and local economies, and improving management of existing alternative agricultural distribution and production systems.


For most of the past sixty years, the United States and Europe have led, independently and collectively, the international legal system. Yet, the rise of the BRICs over the past decade has caused a profound transformation of global politics. This paper examines the implications of this redistribution of power for international law. While international lawyers have long debated the ability of law to constrain state behavior, this paper shifts the debate from the power of law to the role of power within international law. It first advances a structural argument that the diffusion, disaggregation, and issue-specific asymmetries in the distribution of power are giving rise to a multi-hub structure for international law, distinct from past structures such as bipolarity and multipolarity. This multi-hub structure increases pluralism within the international legal system. It also creates downward pressure on international legal processes to migrate from the global level toward a number of flexible, issue-specific subsystems. The paper then proceeds to demonstrate that the anticipated pluralism is emerging at three substantive tension points as some rising powers articulate distinct preferences with respect to sovereignty, legitimacy, and the role of the state in economic development. At each of these tension points, rising powers are reasserting the preeminence of the state in international law, leading to a gradual turning away from the individualization of international law championed by the US and Europe back toward the Westphalian origins of the international legal system. Notwithstanding this turn, the United States stands to benefit from the new multi-hub structure of international law.


The emergence of smart factories, cities, homes and mobile are driving shifts in system architectures and new applications that require intelligence at the edge. Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning solutions are essential to meeting the requirements for this new generation AI-based edge computing applications. Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) has been widely used in image classification and object recognition. Low power, low latency and mobile applications is pushing further research on reducing the computational complexity and memory requirements. One breakthrough involves the use of binary weights and activation, which is known as Binary Neural Network (BNN). Binarized neural network replaces all multiply-accumulate operations by simple XNOR-addition operations. This architecture is implemented on a low power Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) for Speech Recognition application using the proprietary Mobile Development Platform with CNN accelerator cores.