Background Fibroma, the most common benign pelvic tumor in women, affects 25 to 30% of women of reproductive age. Primary treatment for patients with symptomatic or large fibroma is surgery. Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a single rectal dose of Misoprostol on bleeding during abdominal hysterectomy. Methods This double blind randomized clinical trial was conducted with 80 candidates for abdominal hysterectomy, due to uterine myoma, in the Shahid Sadoughi hospital of Yazd in 2012. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of single rectal dose of Misoprostol on peri-operational abdominal hysterectomy bleeding. Following administration of 400 micrograms of Misoprostol in the case group (n=40), predetermined criteria were compared with control group (n=40). Results Volume of bleeding during the operation was significantly lower in cases where Misoprostol was used. (268.71 ± 156.85 vs. 350.38 ± 152.61 cc in the case and control groups, respectively). Our findings also showed that Hemoglobin (Hb) levels before, 8, and 30 hours following the operation differed significantly (p=0.001), but these changes were similar in both groups. Pre-operative Hb levels were 11.90 ± 1.7 and 11.90 ± 2.0 in the case and control groups, respectively. Conclusion A single rectal dose of Misoprostol has positive effect on reducing peri-operational bleeding in women undergoing abdominal hysterectomy due to symptomatic leiomyoma.


This document details activities of the irradiation processing department during the month of August, 1960. A general summary is included at the start of the report, after which the report is divided into the following sections: Research and Engineering Operations; Production and Reactor operations; Facilities Engineering operation; Employee Relations Operation; and Financial Operation.


Most decisions concerning (self-)insurance and self-protection have to be taken in situations in which a) the effort exerted precedes the moment uncertainty realises, and b) the probabilities of future states of the world are not perfectly known. By integrating these two characteristics in a simple theoretical framework, this paper derives plausible conditions under which ambiguity aversion raises the demand for (self-)insurance and self-protection. In particular, it is shown that in most usual situations where the level of ambiguity does not increase with the level of effort, a simple condition of ambiguity prudence known as decreasing absolute ambiguity aversion (DAAA) is sufficient to give a clear and positive answer to the question: Does ambiguity aversion raise the optimal level of effort?


The rate of new household formation among young adults who live with their parents has decreased in the last twenty years, specially in Southern Europe. At the same time, exposure to the risk that a young adult loses his or her job has increased. We use differences in firing costs across contract types in the Spanish labor market to identify if there is a causal link between both developments. Our first identification strategy exploits a legally-induced sharp increase in firing costs 3 years after the starting of a fixed-term contract between 1987 and 1996. The second uses variation in regional incentives to promote high-firing cost contracts between 1997 and 2001. Both strategies fail to detect a causal impact of job insecurity on the probability of forming a new household. Tentative evidence supports the notion that lower job insecurity has an impact on the form of tenure of the first house of residence, favoring home-ownership over renting.


One of the signal features of contemporary world politics is that intellectual property rights are increasingly an arena for global cooperation and conflict. The proper role, scope, and stringency of international intellectual property (IP) rules are highly contested questions, questions that more and more arouse both passions and interests. Once limited to a set of relatively anemic treaties that lacked an effective means of international enforcement, international IP law has, in the last decade, been transformed by the arrival of a dense array of new institutions and agreements. This dense array of institutions has in turn transformed both the substance and the process of international IP lawmaking. This paper comments on Laurence Helfer's contribution to the 2006 UC Davis Law Review symposium, entitled 'Toward a Human Rights Framework for Intellectual Property'. Helfer's specific focus is the intersection of human rights and IP law. His core claim is that human rights agreements and human rights treaty bodies increasingly engage with questions of IP, and IP institutions and agreements increasingly use human rights language and rhetoric. There is no question that the underlying phenomena Helfer identifies - an increasingly dense system of international institutions, and rising competition and conflict among differing rules and institutions - exist and are growing in importance. In this regard 'Toward a Human Rights Framework' raises important positive and normative points, which I will take up in turn in this short paper. Part I considers the positive claim that the processes by which IP law is made are shifting. I concur with this assessment, and indeed expand upon it by situating the claim within broader trends in international law and politics. Using the concept of a regime complex I argue that international IP law exhibits particular features, features which are explicable only once the impact of institutional density is recognized. Part II then turns to normative questions, and briefly queries whether the marriage of human rights and IP is bound to be a happy one. In particular, I question whether the infusion of human rights concepts and rhetoric will serve, on balance, to make international IP rights more socially just, or just more powerful. I look to recent examples of propertization in traditional knowledge and geographic indications and argue that these cases illustrate some benefits, but also some pitfalls, from the intersection of human rights and IP law.


ABSTRACT In this report, the first installment of a comprehensive revision of the didelphid marsupial genus Marmosops, we revise the species of the subgenus Sciophanes. Based on morphological character variation among almost 300 examined specimens—which we interpret in the context of a previously published analysis of molecular sequence data—this revision recognizes 12 valid species in three monophyletic species groups: the Parvidens Group (including M. pakaraimae, M. parvidens, and M. pinheiroi), the Fuscatus Group (M. carri, M. fuscatus, M. handleyi, and M. invictus), and the Bishopi Group (M. bishopi, M. juninensis, M. ojastii, and two new species). For each species we summarize information about type material, ecogeographic distribution, and diagnostic morphological characters. Despite our diligent search for relevant material in North and South American museums, the absence of any specimens of Sciophanes from vast Amazonian and Andean landscapes with seemingly suitable habitat suggests that significant range extensions and/or new species will result from future inventory fieldwork.


The Great Perfection (rDzogs chen in Tibetan) is a philosophical and meditative teaching. Its inception is attributed to Vairocana, one of the first seven Tibetan Buddhist monks ordained at Samye in the eight century A.D. The doctrine is regarded among Buddhists as the core of the teachings adhered to by the Nyingmapa school whilst similarly it is held to be the fundamental teaching among the Bonpos, the non-Buddhist school in Tibet. After a historical introduction to Tibetan Buddhism and the Bon, the author deals with the legends of Vairocana (Part I), analysing early documents containing essential elements of the doctrine and comparing them with the Ch'an tradition. He goes on to explore in detail the development of the doctrine in the tenth and eleventh centuries A.D. (Part II). The Tantric doctrines that play an important role are dealt with, as are the rDzogs chen theories in relation to the other major Buddhist doctrines. Different trends in the rDzogs chen tradition are described in Part III. The author has drawn his sources mainly from early unpublished documents which throw light on the origins and development, at the same time also using a variety of sources which enabled him to explicate the crucial position which the doctrine occupies in Tibetan religions.


Background and Aim: Magnesium sulphate is used in the field of anaesthesia to increase the quality of anaesthesia. the aim of our prospective randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical trial was to combine MgSO4 with 2% lignocaine in two different concentrations (75 mg and 150 mg) to evaluate the onset, duration and anesthetic efficacy, and postoperative analgesia during routine root canal treatment in patients with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis and symptomatic apical periodontitis Material and Methods: The study consisted of three groups: 1.5 ml of 2% LA only (group 1), 1.5 ml of 2% LA with 0.15 ml of MgSO4 containing an osmolar concentration of approximately 4.060 mosmol/ml that is equivalent to 75 mg of MgSO4 (group 2). Group 3 consisted of 1.5 ml of 2% LA with 0.3 ml of MgSO4 equivalent to 150 mg of MgSO4. Pre-operative vitals and Heft Parker–Visual Analogue Scale (HP-VAS) pain scores were recorded. The onset of anesthesia, anesthetic efficacy, and duration of anesthesia were evaluated post administration of the local anesthetic solution. The postoperative analgesia was examined at intervals of 2, 6, 12, 24, and 48 h. Results: Both experimental groups showed a significant difference in the onset, duration, and anesthetic efficacy compared to the control group. There was no significant difference between groups 2 and 3 in terms of the onset and anesthetic efficacy, but a significant difference was observed in the duration of anesthesia. Friedman non-parametric test showed significant reduction in pain from the 12th hour in the experimental groups. Conclusion: Present study shows that both 75 mg and 150 mg of MgSO4 in combination with LA are more effective than 2% LA alone. The anesthetic duration achieved with 75 mg of MgSO4 is more than adequate for most of the dental procedures. Pertaining to the post-operative analgesia, both 75 mg and 150 mg did not have significant difference from 24 h onwards.


Abstract UK sub-Saharan African immigrants are disproportionably affected by HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) and there is little evidence that they are utilising sexual health facilities effectively. Information is lacking on how African women utilise sexual health services. Research shows that they report late for diagnosis of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) especially HIV. Many are diagnosed in antenatal clinics or general hospital settings rather than in sexual health clinics. These routes of diagnosis have implications for their sexual health well being. First, only pregnant women are likely to be diagnosed early and secondly others are diagnosed late, when they show HIV-related symptoms. They lack up-to-date information regarding STIs including HIV/AIDS. This paper identifies sources of sexual health information available to African women and assesses its effects on their uptake of sexual health services. A two-phase research was conducted with African women living in Scotland. Phase 1 consists of a survey and Phase 2 focus group discussions. We surveyed African women living in Scotland in 2007 aged between 16 and 55. The questionnaire covered knowledge of STIs, perception of risk of infections, attitude and sources of STI information. Of the 700 questionnaires, 96 women from 13 African countries completed the questionnaires. Analysis showed that 79% of the participants have university qualification, 74.2% (employed), 54.4% (married or living with partners), 68.8% had sexual relationships and 47% are recent migrants (<5 years). Their knowledge of STI varied and fewer than 15% use sexual health services. Most (73%) do not perceive themselves to be at risk of infection. Greatest threat to their sexual health is partner's behaviour. Their main source of sexual health information is from non-health care sources. There is very little contact with health professionals. There is urgent need for health promotional activities and research to identify social and cultural issues that contribute to non use of sexual health services.


Thorough data management is crucial for the protection of people who participate in research and the ability for researchers to share results with the public. The impact of inadequate adherence to data management is particularly evident in small field sites and among vulnerable populations partoicipating in Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR). CBPR presents exciting opportunities for multimedia and multi-sectoral dissemination of research results and policy change, especially concerning the impact of research on health equity for underrepresented populations. In this article, we discuss how we defined data boundaries and protections to adhere to ethical standards while also prioritizing data dissemination while using CBPR with American Indians in Arizona. Although complex partnerships can introduce additional risks to data oversight, data management practices can also increase opportunities for wide-reaching dissemination. We hope to contribute to the literature on data sharing in multi-partnership projects to bolster the impact of dissemination while also protecting participants and populations who chose to collaborate in research and policy practices.


Knowledge discovery in databases, also called Data Mining, is an increasing valuable engineering tool. The huge amount of data to process is more and more significant and requires parallel processing. Special interest is given to the search for association rules, and a distributed approach to the problem is considered. Such an approach requires that data be distributed to process the various parts independently. The research for association rules is generally based on a global criterion on the entire dataset. Existing algorithms employ a large number of communication actions which is unsuited to a distributed approach on a network of workstations (NOW). Therefore, heuristic approaches are sought for distributing the database in a coherent way so as to minimize the number of rules lost in the distributed computation.


Objectives (1) Describe outcomes of bronchoscopy with foreign body removal among children on the basis of a large standardized multi-institutional data set. (2) Identify factors associated with 30-day adverse events. Study Design Cross-sectional analysis of a US national database. Setting Public data set from the ACS NSQIP-P (American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program–Pediatric) from 2012 to 2015. Subjects and Methods Children <18 years old who underwent bronchoscopy with removal of foreign body were identified. Patient demographics, comorbidities, hospitalization factors, surgical characteristics, and 30-day postoperative adverse events, including complication and readmission, were analyzed. Multivariate logistic regression identified predictive factors for postoperative complications and prolonged length of stay. Results A total of 275 children underwent bronchoscopic foreign body removal (n = 165 male, 60%; n = 75 nonwhite and/or Hispanic, 27%; mean age, 3.5 years [range, 0.63-17.9; median, 2.0]). Adverse events occurred among 10 children (4%). Seven had pulmonary-related complications, and 1 patient died. Three patients were readmitted; there were no reoperations. On multivariate analysis, preoperative pulmonary disease or need for pulmonary support (odds ratio [OR], 6.42; P = .04) predicted postoperative complications. Preoperative pulmonary compromise (OR, 8.10; P < .01), American Society of Anesthesiologists class 3 or 4 (OR, 4.13; P < .01), and prolonged operative time (OR, 3.05; P = .01) were associated with prolonged hospital stay. Conclusion Bronchoscopy for retrieval of foreign body among children has an overall low incidence of 30-day adverse events. Children with preoperative pulmonary compromise have a significantly higher risk of postoperative complications. These findings may be applied to optimize perioperative care and counsel parents and families.


Resources, Technology and Strategy brings together contributors from Europe, North America and Asia to consider the strategic relationship between technology and other resources, such as production capabilities, marketing prowess, finance and organisational culture. Throughout the book, these experts take a critical approach to RBP (Resource-Based Perspective) in order to assess both its strengths and weaknesses. Case studies also highlight the importance of both having and not having strong technological capabilities in settings as diverse as the US semiconductor industry, small family manufacturing firms in Hong Kong and state-owned enterprises in China.


Background: Disseminated intravascular coagulation is an acquired disorder characterized by intravascular activation of coagulation due to variety of causes. There is excessive thrombin formation leading to fibrin deposition in microcirculation and consequent ischemic organ damage. The diagnosis is essentially clinical supported by laboratory parameters and a scoring system based on these. The mainstay of treatment is correction of underlying cause and haemostatic support with replacement of coagulation factors. Aim: To evaluate the use of ISTH DIC scoring system in patients of clinically suspected Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation. Methods: 60 cases were studied over a period of one year. Patients were selected with a clinical suspicion of DIC who are having an underlying predisposing condition. Clinical signs and symptoms were recorded. Routine investigations and the tests necessary to calculate the ISTH score i.e. platelet count, Prothrombin time; D-dimer and Fibrinogen were done. The scoring criteria of ISTH were applied in these cases. Chi square and Fisher's exact tests were used for analysis of the data. Results: The commonest cause of the underlying disorder in our study was found to be Sepsis (66.7%) followed by trauma (10%), obstetric causes (8.3%) and solid malignancy (6.7%). There was a significant association of ISTH score with outcome of the patients (P value <0.05). Raised APTT and presence of schistocytes also had a significant association with a high ISTH score. Conclusion: ISTH DIC scoring criteria more precisely define clinical and laboratory parameters of DIC. Its clinical utility will improve the timely diagnosis, prediction of severity and will also aid in improving prognosis of DIC patients.


Greigite (Fe3S4), a widely occurring iron thiospinel, was investigated using soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD). XAS and XMCD spectra were recorded at the Fe L2,3 edges for pure synthetic and natural greigite samples. At the Fe L3 edge, the XAS spectra reveal two main absorption peaks at 707.2 and 708.6 eV, which are interpreted to originate from greigite and an oxidized surface layer on greigite crystals. The XMCD spectra, which are dominated by a greigite signal, contain three peaks at 705.3, 706.2, and 707.7 eV, all with the same sign. The expectation is that the spectrum would have two negative peaks representing Fe2+ and Fe3+ in octahedral coordination, and a positive peak representing Fe3+ in tetrahedral coordination, as found in stoichiometric magnetite (Fe3O4). A reasonable fit of the XMCD data can be achieved without the tetrahedral Fe component, which contradicts magnetic structural information provided by neutron diffraction analysis, and uses unreasonable parameters. The conundrum between theory and experimental data may be caused by the strong covalent effect in sulfides, which causes broadening of the hybridized XMCD peaks and also indicates that multiplet calculations cannot fully predict the properties of greigite. Our results indicate covalent 3d states in greigite, which can destroy the half-metallicity that is present in magnetite. Our measurements represent the best available XAS and XMCD spectra for greigite, but further experimental and modeling information are needed to explain the observed XMCD spectra and to understand what it represents in terms of electronic and magnetic structure. This is important because greigite widely contributes to the magnetic properties of sedimentary rocks.


ABSTRACT This thesis describes the design and implementation of a framework that can track and identify multiple people in a crowded scene captured by multiple cameras. A people detector is initially employed to estimate the position of individuals. Those positions estimates are used by the face detector to prune the search space of possible face locations and minimize the false positives. A face classifier is employed to assign identities to the trajectories. Apart from recognizing the people in the scene, the face information is exploited by the tracker to minimize identity switches. Only sparse face recognitions are required to generate identity-preserving trajectories. Three face detectors are evaluated based on the project requirements. The face model of a person is described by Local Binary Pattern (histogram) features extracted from a number of patches of the face, captured by different cameras. The face model is shared between cameras meaning that one camera can recognize a face relying on patches captured by a different camera. Three classifiers are tested for the recognition task and an SVM is eventually employed. Due to the properties of the LBP, the recognition is robust to illumination changes and facial expressions. Also the SVM is trained from multiple views of the face of each person making the recognition also robust to pose changes. The system is integrated with two trackers, the state-of-the-art Multi-Commodity Network Flow tracker and a frame-by-frame Kalman tracker. We validate our method on two datasets generated for this purpose. The integration of face information with the people tracker demonstrates excellent performance and significantly improves the tracking results on crowded scenes, while providing the identities of the people in the scene.


One of the goals in the planning of modern cities would be to provide comfort, safety
and flexibility for people of all ages, sizes and abilities. This concept is known as the
Universal Design or Barrier Free Environments. Yogyakarta was the first city in
Indonesia that introduced and promoted the Barrier Free Environment through the use
of guiding block technique. However, the Malioboro pilot project has not been
effectively utilised by the intended users, which are the visually disabled.
This study aimed to study the effectiveness of the guiding blocks in Malioboro Street.
It attempted to seek ways in which the guiding blocks could be utilised more widely
by users, especially the visually disabled.
This research used a triangulation technique to obtain the data. It consisted of: a)
questionnaire with 150 respondents from 3 groups (50 visually disabled, 50 street vendors and 50 visitors); b) observation, utilising the place mapping centre technique;
and c) interview, with 35 informants ( 1 5 visually disabled, 8 street vendors, 8 visitors,
2 members of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and 2 government officials).
In this study, it was been observed that the guiding blocks were not effectively used by
the visually disabled. This is due to different groups of users of Malioboro Street that
have different perceptions regarding the functions of the guiding blocks on Malioboro
Street; the visually disabled are monitored by a few organizations which are less
influential, and therefore their rights, needs and requirements are not recognized by
others; there is a strong competition for spaces along the street resulting in the visually
disabled facilities being ignored; there is a lack of enforcement on the part of the
authorities; there is not enough awareness campaign being conducted to instil
understanding and respect on the need of the visually disabled to use the guiding
blocks; the spaces along the street are not delineated clearly according to different
users, and there is a lack of political will to ensure that guiding blocks are effectively
utilised. The following recommendations are made to improve the effectiveness of the guiding
blocks for the visually disabled. These are: more involvement of all parties such as
government, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), community, university
students, etc to look into the needs of the visually disabled to use the guiding blocks.
These groups can offer ideas to solve problems arising from the use of the guiding
blocks; there is also a need to provide complimentary facilities which may include ramps, phone booth, rest places and shelter for the visually disabled to function
effectively; there should be a wider and more frequent dissemination of information
on the needs of the disabled to use the guiding blocks; and there should be a effective
law enforcement to assist the visually disabled to use the blocks.


Despite the well recognized fact that a proper control of traffic speed can contribute to both reduction in accidents and efficiency of highway operations, most existing strategies for work-zone speed control in either Europe or the U.S. tend to primarily focus on improving traffic safety. This article presents two online algorithms for variable speed limit (VSL) controls at highway work zones that can take full advantage of all dynamic functions and concurrently achieve the objectives of queue reduction or throughput maximization. To evaluate the effectiveness of these proposed algorithms, this study has conducted extensive experiments based on simulated highway systems that have been calibrated with field data. The results of these simulation analyses have confirmed that VSL algorithms can yield a substantial increase in both work-zone throughputs and reduction in total vehicle delays. Moreover, traffic flows implementing VSL controls tend to exhibit lower speed variances than other non-controlled traffic scenarios. The speed variance reduction may indirectly contribute to improving the overall traffic safety in work zones.


I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public. Abstract Diimide generated from the hydrazine/hydrogen peroxide/catalyst system can be used to hydrogenate unsaturated polymers in latex form. As an economical and environmentally benign alternative to the commercial processes based on hydrogen/transition metal catalysts, this method is of special interest to industry. This thesis provides a detailed description of the diimide hydrogenation process. Reaction kinetics, catalysts and gel formation mechanism have been investigated. Four main reactions and a mass transfer process form three parallel processes in this system: diimide is generated at the interface of the latex particles; diimide diffuses into the organic phase to saturate carbon-carbon double bonds; diimide may be consumed at the interface by hydrogen peroxide, and may also be consumed by the disproportionation reaction in the organic phase. The two side reactions contribute to the low hydrogenation efficiency of hydrogen peroxide. Slowing down hydrogen peroxide addition and using stable interfacial catalysts may totally suppress the side reaction in the aqueous phase. The actual catalytic activity of metal ions in the latex depends on the hydrogen peroxide concentration and the addition procedure of reactants. Cupric ion provides better selectivity for hydrogenation than ferric ion and silver ion do. Boric acid as a promoter provides improved selectivity for hydrogenation and faster diimide generation rate. The side reaction in the rubber phase results in low efficiency and gel formation. The rate constants of the four reactions in this system are estimated. It is shown that the hydrogenation of nitrile rubber latex with an average particle diameter of 72 nm is mainly a reaction-controlled process. Diimide diffusion presents limitation upon hydrogenation at high hydrogenation degree range. Antioxidants can not effectively inhibit gel formation during hydrogenation. Hydrogenation of a core-shell latex with NBR as the shell layer should be able to achieve a higher efficiency, a higher degree of hydrogenation and a lower level of crosslinking.


The classic Devonian fossil fish site at Tynet Burn, Fochabers, NE Scotland has been investigated following recent excavations. The fish assemblage consists of placoderms, acanthodians, an actinopterygian, porolepiforms, osteolepiforms and a dipnoan. The assemblage is typical of the 'Achanarras Fauna' of Eifelian age which is widespread in the Orcadian basin, representing a time of generally high lake levels. The most diverse fauna occurs in the Upper Nodule Bed which can be divided into top and bottom levels, where fish are mainly preserved in calcareous nodules, and a middle level with fish in laminated limestone. Three fluvial to lacustrine cycles are exposed in the Tynet Burn in 27 m of strata. Fish are abundant in the Upper Nodule Bed, and are also sparsely represented in lacustrine strata both above and below this level. The lacustrine laminites of the Upper Nodule Bed were deposited following a rapid rise in lake level. Subsequent fall in lake level resulted in deposition of a thin shallow water massive limestone, prior to exposure and desiccation of the lake floor. Disruption of laminites by sediment sliding and sand intrusion was followed by compaction and concretion formation. Chemotrophic bacteria later invaded open cracks and porosity and partially oxidized the fish remains; the bacterial oxidation event being responsible for the characteristic pink, red and purple colours of fossil fish from Tynet Burn. Subsequent lake level rise resulted in deposition of shales with abundant diagenetic concretions, rarely containing fish. With increasing clastic input alluvial sands prograded over the area from the south. The rapid deepening event associated with the base of the Upper Nodule Bed at Tynet is considered to be synchronous with similar events represented in other Achanarras-equivalent fish beds. However, elements of the Achanarras fish assemblage can be encountered in less persistent lacustrine intervals both above and below this level. Minor cyclicity, superimposed on the main Achanarras event, resulted in repetition of fluvial to lacustrine transitions. The main control on cyclicity is considered to have been climatic, but subsidence and sediment supply rates were also a significant influence.


In 2004 national educational standards for chemistry were implemented in Germany. While the standards describe different competencies to be reached after grade 10, no compulsory contents are defined. The contents are defined by the different German states individually. This means that there are no defined common topics taught in all states that can be used for test items for the evaluation of the standards. As a result, two different types of test items are developed based on a model of competence. One type of items contains chemical content information that can be used to solve the task. The other type of items does not contain this information. The two types of items have different advantages and disadvantages; the first type are more dependent on the reading ability of the students, but their use leads to a fairer test across the different states, whereas the second type are more related to chemical content knowledge but are less fair. The two types of items are compared according to the item difficulty, correlations to reading skills, intelligence and chemical content knowledge. The results of this study can be generalized to other assessments using a similar design.


The objective of this study was to investigate the effect season on sperm quality in fresh and cryopreserved boar sperm. Ejaculates (59) of fertile boars were divided into 4 groups according to season: winter, spring, summer and autumn. Semen volume, sperm motility, sperm concentration, percentage of morphologically abnormal spermatozoa, total number of spermatozoa per ejaculate, sperm motility after 24h storage time and the AST activity before cryopreservation and after thawing in supernatant was assessed. Samples of diluted sperm in a semen-dilution rate of 1+1.5 in Androhep were stored at 17°C until the next day. Sperm was cryopreserved. Straws were thawed in a water bath at 38°C for 40 sec and sperm motility was evaluated immediately. It was recorded that only about 49% of boars were suitable for cryopreservation. Their motility was higher than 30% which is tolerable for AI. Season affected the semen volume, fresh sperm motility, percentage of morphologically abnormal spermatozoa, sperm motility after 24h storage time, AST activity in supernatant, AST activity after thawing and post-thaw sperm motility which was the highest in spring. A significant negative correlation coefficient was noted between sperm motility and AST activity. There was no significant effect of season on sperm concentration and total number of spermatozoa per ejaculate. These data support the notion that cryopreservation of boar semen in spring may yield sperm with greater post-thaw sperm motility.


Judith Farquhar's innovative study of medicine and popular culture in modern China reveals the thoroughly political and historical character of pleasure. Ranging over a variety of cultural terrains--fiction, medical texts, film and television, journalism, and observations of clinics and urban daily life in Beijing— Appetites challenges the assumption that the mundane enjoyments of bodily life are natural and unvarying. Farquhar analyzes modern Chinese reflections on embodied existence to show how contemporary appetites are grounded in history.

From eating well in improving economic times to memories of the late 1950s famine, from the flavors of traditional Chinese medicine to modernity's private sexual passions, this book argues that embodiment in all its forms must be invented and sustained in public reflections about personal and national life. As much at home in science studies and social theory as in the details of life in Beijing, this account uses anthropology, cultural studies, and literary criticism to read contemporary Chinese life in a materialist and reflexive mode. For both Maoist and market reform periods, this is a story of high culture in appetites, desire in collective life, and politics in the body and its dispositions.


We demonstrate stimulated Brillouin scattering compression of diode-pumped Nd:YAG laser pulses with a 3-ns duration into 350-ps pulses at a pulse-repetition rate of 100 Hz for what is believed to be the first time. The output pulse energy was 6.5 mJ, with a beam-quality factor M(2) of 1.15, and after final amplification the energy reached 36 mJ, with M(2) of 2.5.


Environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Malaysia can influence public policymaking through several political tactics. This study surveyed and compared the tactics used by three selected NGOs, namely, the Sahabat A1am Malaysia (SAM), the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Malaysia. The Automobile Association of Malaysia (AAM) was conveniently selected as the control group. Data and information were
gathered through face-to-face interview technique with the chief executive officers of the respective organizations or their representative using a structured questionnaire. The findings reveal that the environmental NGOs are different from the AAM in their choice of tactics of influencing public policy. The former prefer to use direct tactics in influencing policy decisions. Tactics such as conducting and presenting research results, presenting personal viewpoints, lobbying and contacting officials, are often used compared to tactics like letter-writing and telegram campaigns, grassroots lobbying, drafting legislation or organizing conferences. Among the NGOs, the MNS has been the most tactical in the sense that it has used more tactics, both direct and indirect, more often than the SAM or the WWF. The MNS is also the most resourceful of the NGOs and this probably explains its capacity to employ more political tactics. Future studies should use a bigger sample as well as investigate the effectiveness of the various tactics used.


Location systems developed for indoor environments have attracted increasing
interest, as a result of the rapidly growing location and navigation services provided
by the Global Positioning System (GPS). Location information of people and objects
can be used to cooperate with existing communication or database systems to provide
abundant services to system operators and end users. For example, equipment tracking
in hospitals ensure that location of the appropriate equipment can be provided
simultaneously with necessary medical services; attendee tracking at conferences may
encourage more efficient communications and networking; location of valuable assets
in factories or warehouses aids logistics and protects these assets from theft. Since
established global and terrestrial navigation systems cannot provide reliable location
services in indoor environments, these demands are increasingly being met by
wireless indoor location systems.
A review of the existing systems reveals that the current systems are able to provide
either an accurate location service with sophisticated system design at higher cost or a
less accurate location service by means of integrated systems supplemented by
existing facilities.
This thesis presents a novel design of an indoor location system that is based on an
RF-over-fibre backbone network, which is able to provide high location accuracy
while the network infrastructure can be shared with multiple wireless systems. It is the
first such demonstrator in this area. This research has been conducted by the author
through a research project called The Intelligent Airport (TINA), which is the
motivation for this research.
The TINA project seeks to develop a new seamless wireless/wired ubiquitous
infrastructure with high levels of computational capability to meet the application
requirements of future airport environments. In the TINA system, multiple wireless
services are provided through an integrated system supported by an RF-over-Fibre
network, which transports RF signals through optical fibres. The active RFID indoor location unit is an essential part of the TINA system, which will facilitate the
infrastructure to provide location-based services.
The thesis describes the detailed design of the active RFID indoor location system
proposed for the TINA project, and a few key issues discovered during trials of the
demonstration system developed. The overall system design, including ranging
technique, TDOA location finding algorithm, and hardware implementation, is
presented in this thesis. Particular contributions also include a numerical algorithm for
solving target location from TDOA measurement and a technique to determine the
chirp linearity requirement. The field trial results of the system design demonstrate the
principals and their location performance. The system has the potential to be extended
to other scenarios where RF-over-fibre networks are employed and accurate location
ability is desired.


The 1994 Reigle-Neal Act gave multistate bank holding companies the option to convert to an interstate branch bank structure by authorizing the merger of bank subsidiaries across state lines. Over the following five year period, an increasing number of banking companies, including a number of very large ones, have done so. As a result, large companies operating through interstate branches have come to account for a significant share of deposits in many local markets and relatively little research has focused specifically on the competitive effects of this trend. This is a potentially important issue because the performance and competitive effects of large, multistate branch banks could differ from those associated with the operation of separately incorporated bank subsidiaries by multibank holding companies. In this study, measures of competitive rivalry are constructed using Summary of Deposit data for all urban (MSA) markets in the U.S. for each year over the 1995-1999 period. Tobit models are estimated using the data pooled over the entire period to determine whether and how alternative measures of the extent to which multistate banking companies operate in the market influence the rivalry variables. The aim of the analysis is to determine if the results are sensitive to the size of multistate companies, the location of the market (home state vs. out-of-state), or the organizational form used by nonlocal competitors (interstate branches vs. bank subsidiaries). The results show a positive relationship between large multistate multibank holding company (MSMBHC) deposit share and rivalry when a simple linear specification is used. Adding a concentration-MSMBHC share interaction term to the equation reveals that the positive effect of MSMBHC share on rivalry rises with market concentration. This result is largely attributable to the behavior of MSMBHCs operating outside their home state. When the separate effects of interstate branches and out-of-state bank subs are examined, only the former is found to be significantly related to rivalry. And in these equations, the pattern of the estimated coefficients on the aggregate interstate branch deposit share variables is the same as that seen in the other equations (a positive coefficient in the absence of the interaction term, and a positive coefficient on the interaction term when it is included). These results do not change, and in fact, are typically stronger when the deposit shares are calculated using only large multistate holding companies. They also do not change greatly when markets where the identity of the top-tier …


The building codes have been developed by almost all developed countries of the world, these include guide line specifications for design / construction, building regulations etc; Some have even prepared their geotechnical zonation to be used by engineers and geologists. In Pakistan, however, there is not a single map available showing geotechnical variation, starting from hilly area of Gilgit passing through rolling area (of Jhelum, Rawalpindi etc.) and the lower plain areas upto the sea.

In this study Pakistan has been divided into different zones. Subsequently, ten zones between river Chenab and Sutlej were selected for detailed study. Detailed stratigraphies of the study area have been prepared for the first time in order to develop geotechnical zonation maps. This was followed by the preparation of summary sheets and geotechnical evaluation sheets and the preparation of base map and geotechnical map of Pakistan at (1 m) 3 ft depth. The geotechnical zonation maps from surface down to (12.20 m) 40 ft depth were prepared in order to present a clear picture of strata encountered, or likely to be encountered, at different levels. Sub-soil profiles / stratigraphies were prepared along cross sections from the study. area upto sea and longitudinal sections covering all zones and showing the elevation and type of soil according to the Unified Soil Classification System at different depths. Change of fluvial facies with depth is evident from the stratigraphic sheets and depth maps. Some geological and geotechnical correlations were developed between Standard Penetration Test (Number of blows per foot depth), SPT N-values and depth. The study area was contoured for SPT N-values at (0.91, 1.83, 2.74 and 3.66 m) 3, 6, 9 and 12 ft depth. The study area was also contoured for bearing capacity in ton per square foot (kilogram per square centimetre) at (0.91, 1.83, 2.74 and 3.66 m) 3, 6, 9 and 12 ft depth for breadth of footing (0.61,0.91 and 1.22 m) 2,3 and 4 ft.

The most important conclusion drawn is that the SPT N-values increase with an increase in the depth of soil. However it may be noted that in general with increase in depth the amount of clay and silt decreases while sand increases. SPT N-values increase in kankar horizons which develop in mature soils specially in bar uplands. SPT N-values also increase in soils which are over compacted or are otherwise weakly cemented by carbonates and ferruginous material. SPT N-values and other' parameters, bearing capacities for various footing breadths at different depths could be computed with varying levels of confidence. In limited areas, the relationship between engineering properties and fluvial facies could be established in a general way. But this could not be generalized for the entire study area.

The geotechnical zonation maps will facilitate the designer / geotechnical engineer / geologist for preliminary design of foundations, feasibility study, planning of detailed-investigation programmes for major projects and for the preparation of rough cost estimates for projects in Pakistan.


processing will play an increasingly important role in constructing enterprise applications that can immediately react to business critical events. Various technologies have been proposed in recent years, such as event processing, data streams and asynchronous messaging (e.g. pub/sub). We believe these technologies share a common processing model and differ only in target workload, including query language features and consistency requirements. We argue that integrating these technologies is the next step in a natural progression. In this paper, we present an overview and discuss the foundations of CEDR, an event streaming system that embraces a temporal stream model to unify and further enrich query language features, handle imperfections in event delivery, define correctness guarantees, and define operator semantics. We describe specific contributions made so far and outline next steps in developing the CEDR system.


This study was conducted at the Bank X Jakarta, while the samples from this study are on the Net Open Position. The model used in this study is a descriptive study of quantitative models. The study was conducted to measure the risks that may arise from changes in exchange rates based on net open position of 31 December 2007 and calculate Capital Charge based on Net Open Position as of December 31, 2007. Effective risk management requires measurement attempts to determine the amount of capital that must be prepared to cover the risk and be used for strategic planning activities of foreign exchange by the Bank. Selection of study topics is based on the need for measurement methods that banks will be able to measure the potential risk in a comprehensive manner that is able to measure the sensitivity of the potential risk of product or activity of factors - factors that influence it. The maximum loss on risks resulting from changes in exchange rates are calculated through the approach of Value at Risk (VaR) using Historical Simulation method for each foreign currency and in the form of portfolio under the provisions of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) as outlined in the provisions of Basel II, which then adopted by Bank Indonesia in PBI. 5/8/PBI/2003 dated May 19, 2003 and the rules of Bank Indonesia Regulation. 9/13/PBI/2007 about the use of internal methods for measuring market risk. The result of exchange rate risk measurement approach to Value at Risk (VaR) with Historical Simulation method ruing a time horizon of 1 day and performed at the 99% confidence level, the losses that may be suffered by Bank X Jakarta on January 1, 2007 is at a maximum of Rp. 507 322 635 762. And based on the calculation of the percentage of capital charge against capital is known that at 116.92% of the total capital charge compared with the total capital. This amount is still above the limit set by Bank Indonesia, which are as high as 30% of the capital. Keywords: capital charge, exchange rates, value at risk, historical simulation method, foreign currency


The rapid development of angiogenic growth factor therapy for patients with advanced ischemic heart disease over the last 5 years offers hope of a new treatment strategy based on generation of new blood supply in the diseased heart. However, as the field of therapeutic coronary angiogenesis is maturing from basic and preclinical investigations to clinical trials, many new and presently unresolved issues are coming into focus. These include in-depth understanding of the biology of angiogenesis, selection of appropriate patient populations for clinical trials, choice of therapeutic end points and means of their assessment, choice of therapeutic strategy (gene versus protein delivery), route of administration, and the side effect profile. The present article presents a summary statement of a panel of experts actively working in the field, convened by the Angiogenesis Foundation and the Angiogenesis Research Center during the 72nd meeting of the American Heart Association to define and achieve a consensus on the challenges facing development of therapeutic angiogenesis for coronary disease.


Gastric decompression and reduction in gastric volume is routinely practiced in clinical anaesthesiology and intensive care medicine and the use of oro-gastric tube to achieve decompression is widely known technique. Nonetheless, this may be challenging and is concomitant with severe complications including but not restricted to failure to pass the oro-gastric tube beyond crico-pharynx, coiling in oral cavity, upper airway trauma, laryngeal injuries, esophageal perforation, bleeding and post procedure throat discomfort. In clinical anaesthesiology and in intensive care medicine the orogastric tube insertion is mostly done after general anaesthesia induction. The procedure becomes all the more challenging due to the attenuation of airway reflexes and loss of consciousness rendered by general anaesthesia. The present study was conducted in the department of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care at a tertiary care center of Armed Forces to evaluate if the usage of the new gastric tube guide would ease and accelerate the placement of oro-gastric tube while simultaneously reducing the complications arising out of the procedure. Material and Methods: The present study is a first randomized controlled study done on live patients. The study was conducted on the patients undergoing elective laparoscopic surgery who required gastric decompression as the part of the procedure at the Department of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care, of a tertiary care hospital of armed forces. Study Design: Prospective randomized controlled study. Study Location: Tertiary care hospital of armed forces. Study Duration: Aug 2019 to Aug 2020. Sample Size: 100 patients. Subject and Selection Method: After taking ethical approval of the institute and informed consent from patients hundred patients aged between 18 to 65 years of either sex, accepted in Mallampati classification I and II and without any obvious airway abnormalities who were scheduled for elective laparoscopic surgery and required gastric decompression as a part of procedure were included in the study. The participants were then randomly assigned to one of the two groups of 50 patients each to undergo oro-gastric tube insertion using gastric tube guide and those without it. Results: Passage of the oro-gastric tube was successful during the first pass in 38 patients (76%) in the Group A i.e. gastric tube guide group against 15 (30%) patients in the group B i.e. non-gastric guide group. (4%) patients in Group A required three or more attempts against 11 (22%) patients Group B. The mean time taken for the passage of the oro-gastric tube successfully in the Group A was 21.90 ± 16.33 against 80.14 ± 49.78 secs in the group B (p<0.001). The results obtained support the observation that passage of the oro-gastric tube with the gastric tube guide is associated with a higher success rate in first attempt than without it. Moreover, it also shows that the time duration for securing orogastric tube is significantly low using gastric tube guide. Conclusion: The present study it was found that use of gastric tube guide avoids the shambolic and arduous measures of failed nasogastric tube insertions while significantly reducing the duration of procedure.


On the Predictability of Sea Ice Edward Blanchard-Wrigglesworth Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Cecilia M. Bitz Department of Atmospheric Sciences We investigate the persistence and predictability of sea ice in numerical models and observations. We first use the 3rd generation Community Climate System Model (CCSM3) General Circulation Model (GCM) to investigate the inherent persistence of sea-ice area and thickness. We find that sea-ice area anomalies have a seasonal decay timescale, exhibiting an initial decorrelation similar to a first order auto-regressive (AR1, or red noise) process. Beyond this initial loss of memory, there is a re-emergence of memory at certain times of the year. There are two distinct modes of re-emergence in the model, one driven by the seasonal coupling of area and thickness anomalies in the summer, the other by the persistence of upper ocean temperature anomalies that originate from ice anomalies in the melt season and then influence ice anomalies in the growth season. Comparison with satellite observations where available indicate these processes appear in nature. We then use the 4th generation CCSM (CCSM4) to investigate the partition of Arctic sea-ice predictability into its initial-value and boundary forced components under present day forcing conditions. We find that initial-value predictability lasts for 1-2 years for sea-ice area, and 3-4 years for sea-ice volume. Forced predictability arises after just 4-5 years for both area and volume. Initial-value predictability of sea-ice area during the summer hinges on the coupling between thickness and area anomalies during that season. We find that the loss of initial-value predictability with time is not uniform — there is a rapid loss of predictability of sea-ice volume during the late spring early summer associated with snow melt and albedo feedbacks. At the same time, loss of predictability is not uniform across different regions. Given the usefulness of ice thickness as a predictor of summer sea-ice area, we obtain a hindcast of September sea-ice area initializing the GCM on May 1with an estimate of observed sea-ice thickness anomalies. We run the GCM in a slab-ocean model configuration and obtain predictability that is lower than expected from the perfect model fully coupled GCM. We next make use of models submitted to the CMIP5 archive to investigate the spatial and temporal characteristics of ice thickness anomalies, together with the CCSM3, CCSM4 and two forced ice-ocean models, PIOMAS and CCSM4 in ice-ocean mode. We find that there is a wide spread in the characteristics of ice thickness anomalies across models, partially explained by biases in mean thickness. Additionally, forced ice-ocean models show reduced ice-thickness variability. These results have significant implications for the initialization of fully-coupled GCMs from forced GCM output. Finally we investigate the initial-value predictability of Antarctic sea ice in the CCSM3. We find that Antarctic sea-ice anomaly persistence is comparable to that of Arctic sea-ice anomalies. High values of initial-value predictability of sea-ice area can last for up to two years, and tend to advect eastward in time. We also find memory re-emergence that is driven by upper ocean heat anomalies from the melt to the growth season. Unlike the Arctic, we do not find evidence for an ice-thickness driven mechanism of memory re-emergence.


We motivate the Ĝ infrared search for extraterrestrial civilizations with large energy supplies. We discuss some philosophical difficulties of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), and how communication SETI circumvents them. We review "Dysonian SETI," the search for artifacts of alien civilizations, and find that it is highly complementary to traditional communication SETI; the two together might succeed where either one alone has not. We discuss the argument of Hart that spacefaring life in the Milky Way should be either galaxy-spanning or non-existent, and examine a portion of his argument that we call the "monocultural fallacy." We discuss some rebuttals to Hart that invoke sustainability and predict long Galaxy colonization timescales. We find that the maximum Galaxy colonization timescale is actually much shorter than previous work has found (<109 yr), and that many "sustainability" counter-arguments to Hart's thesis suffer from the monocultural fallacy. We extend Hart's argument to alien energy supplies and argue that detectably large energy supplies can plausibly be expected to exist because life has the potential for exponential growth until checked by resources or other limitations, and intelligence implies the ability to overcome such limitations. As such, if Hart's thesis is correct, then searches for large alien civilizations in other galaxies may be fruitful; if it is incorrect, then searches for civilizations within the Milky Way are more likely to succeed than Hart argued. We review some past Dysonian SETI efforts and discuss the promise of new mid-infrared surveys, such as that of WISE.


Objective To compare with placebo the efficacies of once-daily administrations of lacidipine and hydrochlorothiazide separately and in combination to elderly patients with systolic hypertension. Design and methods Nineteen elderly subjects (five men and 14 women, median age 71 years, range 62–79 years) participated in the study, which had a randomized double-blind crossover design. For each subject there were four treatment phases, each of duration 4 weeks. The initial treatments in each phase were 2 mg lacidipine once a day and 25 mg hydrochlorothiazide once a day, separately and in combination, and placebo. Doses of each agent could be doubled after 2 weeks in each phase if the patient's goal systolic blood pressure had not been achieved. The numbers of subjects administered the higher dose of each treatment were 13 for placebo, 14 for lacidipine, 11 for hydrochlorothiazide and eight for lacidipine plus hydrochlorothiazide. Results End-of-phase mean clinic blood pressures were 164/85 mmHg with placebo, 159/82 mmHg with lacidipine, 157/84 mmHg with hydrochlorothiazide and 152/82 mmHg with lacidipine plus hydrochlorothiazide. Systolic blood pressure was significantly reduced during all active treatment phases compared with placebo and that for the lacidipine plus hydrochlorothiazide phase was also significantly less than those for both of the other active treatment phases. There was no difference between sitting and standing blood pressure for any phase. Factorial analysis of the main effects of treatment indicated that the effects of lacidipine and hydrochlorothiazide on clinic blood pressure were additive and also that heart rate was higher when hydrochlorothiazide had been administered. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring confirmed the pattern of the responses of blood pressure and showed that administration of hydrochlorothiazide had a significantly greater effect on systolic blood pressure and a longer duration of action than did administration of lacidipine. There was no difference in the frequency of adverse effects among any of the phases. Conclusions In treating elderly systolic hypertensives the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide is a more effective antihypertensive agent with a longer duration of action than is the calcium channel antagonist lacidipine. In combination the effects of these two drugs on blood pressure are additive.


Fine solid particles, especially nano-particles, are of great interest for the synthesis of new materials. There is also a strong demand for newer and more precise contact technologies of electronic components due to the higher getting integration of electronic devices. These new technologies may be based on submicron conducting particles, e.g. for producing solder pastes. In the present thesis a process was developed for the production of micron and submicron conducting particles by the use of electrostatic atomisation of liquid metals. The atomization process is based on the instability of conducting liquids in a strong inhomogenous electric field. The free liquid surface is transformed into a cone shape, from where a thin liquid jet is emitted. This jet breaks up into a spray of fine unipolary charged droplets immediately after the emission. Under defined circumstances the droplets have a narrow size distribution and can be extracted for other applications without additional classification methods. The rapid solidification leads to defined spherical particles, depending on the used metal, and the unipolar charge to a low agglomeration. The high electrical field, which is necessary for the atomization, causes electrical discharges of the ambient gas and disturbes the atomization process. To reduce these discharges a special pressure chamber was constructed, which is filled with quenching gas as SF6 with over-pressures of up to 12 bar. The electrostatic atomisation was applicated for liquid metals only in an ultra high vacuum up to now. The production of aerosol particles may have advantages not only due to available cheaper online measurement techniques. By the use of aerosol measurement techniques a direct statement about the particle size, the particle number concentration and the mean charge on the particles is possible. The atomization was investigated for metals as well as for eutectic alloys with a low melting point and a low surface tension. The results show, that spherical particles with a diameter down to a few hundred nanometer could be produced. In addition the production of thin and homogenous granular films was possible. To compare and verify the experimental results a simplified numerical model of the spraying process with respect to the space charge was developed. By calculating the particle trajectories from the emission source to the collector plate an estimation of the spray cloud geometry and the emitted electrical current was possible. An interesting observation was the self induced size segregation of the particles, which occurred in the experiments and in the numerical simulations. This effect can be used for a defined expansion or focussing of the deposition area on the target. Here there may be found some interesting applications for the point spraying.


The widespread acknowledgement of the implied contractual obligation of good faith is a relatively recent phenomenon in the American legal landscape. In the paper, I claim that the obligation of good faith in a contract should be a default rule that parties should include in their agreement only when it maximizes the ex-ante value of their contractual relationship. I discuss under what conditions the requirement of good faith proves efficient and propose a basic framework of reference for the parties' decision to include or exclude good faith in their contract. In this framework, the obligation of good faith is conceived as the rule of law that prohibits each contracting party from taking advantage of the contract's incompleteness to expropriate her counterparty's expected contractual benefits. However, I challenge the law-and-economics argument supporting the efficiency of good faith, claiming that parties themselves should decide whether to include or exclude good faith in their agreements. From a practical viewpoint, this means that the interpretative regime should be determined by private autonomy, rather than be a judicial decision based on a-priori assumptions. In the good-faith regime I propose, therefore, parties are free to choose whether (i) to exclude good faith from their contracts and, thereby, opt for a literal interpretative regime in which the contract is the only evidentiary base courts should use in enforcing their agreement; or (ii) to include good faith and opt for a good-faith interpretative regime, giving courts indications on the evidentiary base that should be used to interpret the content of the good-faith obligation.


Service-oriented peer-to-peer architectures combine the benefits of service-oriented architectures and peer-to-peer networks, such as loose coupling and scalability. They also support service composition, the combining of existing services into new ones. Until now, only composition service strategies for a single peer acting as a service composer have been investigated. Therefore, this report investigates the market for composed services. It is shown that this market forms an oligopoly and, thus, requires incentive-compatible service pricing. In consequence, the vickrey procurement auction VETO has been developed determining the pricing mechanism in a fully distributed manner. It is proven that VETO is incentive-compatible and maximizes the market's welfare. Furthermore, the VETO protocol is specified and it is shown that this protocol prevents collusion within the auction. Still, VETO upholds the peer-to-peer paradigm by only relying on the peers which are taking part in the auction, no additional trusted entities or superpeers are required.


Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)-less T2 "ghosts" were prepared by osmotic shock and purified by KBr density gradient centrifugation. Escherichia coli B was treated with these ghosts in inorganic salts-glycerol medium to see which features of phage infection could be elicited by ghosts. At a multiplicity that was just sufficient to block induction of β-galactosidase (EC 126.96.36.199), 89% of the bacteria were killed and the rates of ribonucleic acid (RNA) and DNA synthesis were about 10 to 15% of normal. However, protein synthesis was almost completely blocked but resumed after 30 min. During this period, it was possible to induce messenger RNA (mRNA) from the lactose operon, although this mRNA could not be translated into active β-galactosidase. These results suggest to us that the viable cells surviving ghost infection synthesize nucleic acids at close to a normal rate but are temporarily blocked in protein synthesis. The continued formation of untranslated host mRNA mimics the pattern of bacterial synthesis just after whole-phage infection, and is consistent with the interpretation that the immediate block in the initiation of host translation by these viruses is due to their attachment.


A growing literature on collective action focuses on exploring the conditions that might help or hinder groups to work collectively. In this paper, we focus on community-based forest management in the inner Terai region of Nepal and explore the role of community and user attributes such as group size, social heterogeneities, forest user' perception on forests, and affiliation to the user group, in the collective action of managing community forests. Household surveys were carried out with 180 households across twelve community forest users' groups. We first measured ethnic diversity, income inequality, landholding inequality, and user perception towards the use and management of community forests to understand their effect on the participation of forest users in the management of community forests. Our results show that among the studied variables, group size (number of forest users affiliated to the community forests) and perception of the management of their community forests are strong predictors of forest user participation in community forest management. Income inequality and ethnic diversity were found to have no significant association. Land inequality, however, was found to decrease participation in the management and use of community forests. These community and user attributes play a crucial role in the success of collective action and may vary from community to community. Hence they need to be duly considered by the practitioners prior to any community-based project interventions for stimulating successful collective action.


Persons detained for reasons related to an armed conflict are in a vulnerable position. Deprived of their liberty, they are at the mercy of their captors. Certain groups of detainees are particularly vulnerable. Additionally, the way in which non-international armed conflicts are fought can make it difficult for some parties to the conflict to comply with the rules benefiting particularly vulnerable detainees. This Article identifies groups of particularly vulnerable detainees and analyzes the general and special protections that are afforded to them under the conventional and customary international law of armed conflict. It then considers the realities of detention in armed conflict and sets out different ways in which these realities can be balanced with the importance of the protections for vulnerable groups. Finally, drawing on the law of international armed conflict, the Article considers how possibilities including the release and repatriation of particularly vulnerable detainees and the accommodation of such detainees in a third State could be implemented in a non-international armed conflict.


There is a wealth of theoretical knowledge about the developmental abilities and skills of children. However, this knowledge is not readily accessible to designers of interactive products. In this paper, we present the requirements, design and evaluation of developmentally situated design (DSD) cards. DSD cards are a design tool that makes age specific information about children's developing cognitive, physical, social, and emotional abilities readily accessible for designers. Initial requirements were elicited through interviews with design practitioners and students. The cards were evaluated through a design-in-use study in which design students used the cards to address three different design problems. Our analysis of observational notes and post-design interviews revealed how the cards' characteristics enabled different kinds of uses including framing, orienting, inspiring, informing, integrating and constraining. We conclude with a discussion of possible refinements and an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of our approach.


In Sweden as well as in many other countries, nursing and caring science exist in a health care context that is characterised by increasing reliance on the economics of diagnoses and measureable symptoms. This presents a challenge for caring science to defend person - and lifeworld-centred care. Nursing as a caring science must make clear its position in modern health care. The objective of this paper is to show how health oriented nursing, grounded in caring science, advocates expanded nursing care. The paper revisits the relationship between nursing and caring science, specifically the insights from new caring science research that emphasises carers' capacity for expanded awareness. In addition, the ever-present question of evidence is addressed.


Industeel D2 is an air-hardening, high-carbon (1.5%), high-chromium (12%), alloy cold-work tool steel that also contains molybdenum and vanadium. It is specifically designed to provide high abrasive wear resistance and high hardenability. This grade can be used for cutting and deformation tools submitted to high abrasive wear. It can be used when Type D3 tool steel shows an excessive sensitivity to cracking or chipping. This datasheet provides information on composition, physical properties, hardness, and elasticity. Filing Code: TS-791. Producer or source: Industeel France (a subsidiary of ArcelorMittal.


Activation of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinases (ERK1/2) has emerged as a key signalling event in the modulation of presynaptic plasticity by neurotrophic factors. In this study, we investigated the cross-talk between presynaptic signalling pathways activating PKA or PKC and ERK signalling, underlying the modulation of neurotransmitter release. Purified, isolated cerebrocortical nerve terminals and phosphorylation state-specific antibodies were used to carry out this research. Stimulation of PKA by cAMP, produced in response to p-adrenoreceptor activation by isoproterenol, or direct stimulation of adenylyl cyclase by forskolin, resulted in a substantial increase in ERK phosphorylation/activity. Similarly, stimulation of PKC, by PDBu, also led to stimulation of ERK phosphorylation/activity. Metabotropic glutamate receptor activation by the Group I agonist DHPG, however, led to ERK1/2 phosphorylation which showed a Ca2+ -dependency, though the role of PKC was less clearly defined. A key effector molecule for the regulation of neurotransmitter release by ERK activation is the small synaptic vesicle (SSV) protein synapsin I, which, through alteration in its phosphorylation-state, modulates SSV-actin cytoskeleton interactions and thereby controls the distribution of SSVs between release pools. Accordingly, with both PKA and PKC activation of ERKs, the downstream stimulation of synapsin phosphorylation at specific ERK-dependent sites was also detected. These results suggest that, together with the established roles of PKA and PKC acting on ion- channel targets to modulate of presynaptic excitability and/or voltage-dependent Ca-entry, downstream of these loci, the two kinase cascades may converge at the level of SSV mobilization to regulate the efficacy of glutamate release from cerebrocortical nerve terminals.


We investigate the polarization dependence of eight coexisting four-wave mixing (FWM) signals in a two-level atomic system. The intensities and polarization states of coexisting FWM signals are modulated by the polarization configurations and frequency detunings of the incident fields. The suppression and enhancement due to the dressing effects present different polarization dependences. Both the mutual-dressing effect and the self-dressing effect are considered to explain the observed phenomena.


HSC-SSP is a 3-layered imaging survey aimed at addressing major astrophysical questions such as the nature of dark matter and dark energy. The HSC data have been processed with a version of the LSST stack and a number of scientific papers have been published. I will give an overview of the survey and its fist public data release.


Streptococcus mutans has been implicated as a primary causative agent of dental caries in humans. Bacterial components associated with the adhesion phase of S. mutans include cell-associated and cell-free glucosyltransferases (GTFs), as well as protein antigen c and proteins that bind glucan. At least four types of S. mutans glucan-binding protein (Gbp) have been identified; GbpA, GbpB, GbpC and GbpD. In the present study, GbpA-, GbpB- and GbpC-deficient mutants (AD1, BD1 and CD1, respectively) were constructed, and their cariogenic properties were evaluated by comparing them to those of their parent strain MT8148. All of the Gbp mutants showed lower levels of dextran binding, while the sucrose-dependent adhesion levels of AD1 and CD1 were lower than in the parental strain. The expression of each GTF was detected in the Gbp mutants, however, they had lower levels of cell-free-GTF activity than the parental strain. On the other hand, in acid tolerance assays, BD1 was the most sensitive among all of the tested strains. These results suggest that GbpA and GbpC in S. mutans have strong relationships with cariogenicity, while GbpB may have another biological function.


Cloud computing enables on-demand network access to a shared pool of conquerable computing resources such as servers, storage and applications. These shared resources can be rapidly provisioned to the consumers on the basis of paying only for whatever they use. Cloud storage refers to the delivery of storage resources to the consumers over the Internet. Private cloud storage is restricted to a particular organization and data security risks are less compared to the public cloud storage. Hence, private cloud storage is built by exploiting the commodity machines within the organization and the important data is stored in it. When the utilization of such private cloud storage increases, there will be an increase in the storage demand. It leads to the expansion of the cloud storage with additional storage nodes. During such expansion, storage nodes in the cloud storage need to be balanced in terms of load. In order to maintain the load across several storage nodes, the data need to be migrated across the storage nodes. This data migration consumes more network bandwidth. The key idea behind this paper is to develop a dynamic load balancing algorithm to balance the load across the storage nodes during the expansion of private cloud storage.


Sophisticated cooperative reasoning among agents requires that the agents be able to share models of their reasoning processes. Developing intelligent systems costeffectively necessitates that components be reused. In order to facilitate sharing and reusing knowledge among distributed (knowledge-based) applications, we have been developing a canonical representation for acquiring and transmitting semantics. This representation will include both a scheme for representing semantics and a hierarchy of concepts used to describe predicates. We have been developing and formalizing a hierarchy describing knowledge to facilitate (1) the specification knowledge and assumptions employed by a system, (2) transferring knowledge among agents (applications) in system and (3) for resolving conflicts among these agents (Figure 1). We are utilizing derivatives of object diagrams [Rumbaugh91], semantic networks [CQ69], and conceptual dependencies [SR74] to describe the fundamental concepts which underlay various algorithms and knowledge representations. By formally describing higher level concepts via these fundamental concepts, we intend to reason about the semantics of and translate knowledge among applications employing different knowledge representations. This hierarchy of concepts will be validated by performing analysis on a complex domain (probably plastics manufacturing) to ensure that the formalisms used to describe elements in the hierarchy are sufficient.


The aim of this research is to present and discuss the development and deployment of Lean thinking models and techniques applied to improve the decision-making within the planning and design processes of new infrastructures, within a healthcare organisation.

In the UK, healthcare organisations are responsible for planning, designing, building and managing their own infrastructures, through which their services are delivered to the local population (Kagioglou & Tzortzopoulos, 2010). These processes are long and complex, involving a large range of stakeholders who are implicated within the strategic decision-making. It is understood that the NHS lacks models and frameworks to support the decision-making associated with their new infrastructure development and that ad-hoc methods, used at local level, lead to inefficiencies and weak performances, despite the contractual efforts made throughout the PPP and PFI schemes (Baker & Mahmood, 2012; Barlow & Koberle-Gaiser, 2008). This is illustrated by the long development cycle time – it can take up to 15 years from conception to completion of new infrastructure.

Hence, in collaboration with an NHS organisation, an empirical action research embedded within a mixed-methodology approach, has been designed to analyse the root-cause problems and assess to what extent Lean thinking can be applied to the built environment, to improve the speed and fitness for purpose of new infrastructures. Firstly, this multiphase research establishes the main issues responsible for the weak process performances, via an inductive-deductive cycle, and then demonstrates how Lean thinking inspired techniques: Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) using ER and AHP, Benchmarking and Quality Function Deployment (QFD), have been implemented to optimise the decision-making in order to speed up the planning and design decision-making processes and to enhance the fitness for purpose of new infrastructures.

Academic literatures on Lean thinking, decision theories and built environment have been reviewed, in order to establish a reliable knowledge base of the context and to develop relevant solutions. The bespoke models developed have been tested and implemented in collaboration with a local healthcare organisation in UK, as part of the construction of a £15 million health centre project. A substantial set of qualitative and quantitative data has been collected during the 450 days, which the researcher was granted full access, plus a total of 25 sets of interviews, a survey (N=85) and 25 experimental workshops. This mixed-methodology research is composed of an exploratory sequential design and an embedded-experiment variant, enabling the triangulation of different data, methods and findings to be used to develop an innovative solution, thus improving the new infrastructure development process.

The emerging developed conceptual model represents a non-prescriptive approach to planning and designing new healthcare infrastructures, using Lean thinking principles to optimise the decision-making and reduce the complexity. This Partial & Bespoke Lean Construction Framework (PBLCF) has been implemented as good practice by the healthcare organisation, to speed up the planning phases and to enhance the quality of the design and reduce the development cost, in order to generate a competitive edge. It is estimated that a reduction of 22% of the cycle time and 7% of the cost is achievable. This research makes a contribution by empirically developing and deploying a partial Lean implementation into the healthcare"s built environment, and by providing non-prescriptive models to optimise the decision-making underpinning the planning and design of complex healthcare infrastructure. This has the potential to be replicated in other healthcare organisations and can also be adapted to other construction projects.


The rhodium (Rh) component in automotive three way catalysts (TWC) experiences severe thermal deactivation during fuel shutoff, an engine mode (e.g., at downhill coasting) used for enhancing fuel economy. In a subsequent switch to a slightly fuel rich condition, in situ catalyst regeneration is accomplished by reduction with H2 generated through steam reforming catalyzed by Rh0 sites. The present work reports the effects of the two processes on the activity and properties of 0.5% Rh/Al2O3 and 0.5% Rh/CexOy-ZrO2 (CZO) as model catalysts for Rh-TWC. A very brief introduction of three way catalysts and system considerations is also given. During simulated fuel shutoff, catalyst deactivation is accelerated with increasing aging temperature from 800 °C to 1050 °C. Rh on a CZO support experiences less deactivation and faster regeneration than Rh on Al2O3. Catalyst characterization techniques including BET surface area, CO chemisorption, TPR, and XPS measurements were applied to examine the roles of metal-support interactions in each catalyst system. For Rh/Al2O3, strong metal-support interactions with the formation of stable rhodium aluminate (Rh(AlO2)y) complex dominates in fuel shutoff, leading to more difficult catalyst regeneration. For Rh/CZO, Rh sites were partially oxidized to Rh2O3 and were relatively easy to be reduced to active Rh0 during regeneration.


ABSTRACT The law as a means of sociopolitical control in colonial states has gained significance as an issue in the recent historiography of Africa. This article discusses the making of a criminal case in colonial Kaoko, northwestern Namibia in the 1920s and 30s. It focuses on the problem of African voice and narrative and the ways in which they have been transformed into written evidence in the course of legal investigation. It demonstrates that the archival documents which emerged from this case require careful methodological scrutiny if they are to be used for the reconstruction of the region's past. It goes beyond colonial law as constituting a particular discourse to conceive colonial law as a space for intervention and agency for both colonized and colonizers. The central argument raised in the article is that while the South African administration in northwestern Namibia allegedly aimed at prosecuting culprits and securing evidence for their transgressions, men and women in Kaoko used colonial law as an arena for the negotiation of social and political issues. Concerned with the case's impact on the configuration of gender, the article shows how colonial law became both a site of male representation and power, and a space for female contestation of male claims to sociopolitical mastery.


Drosophila is an important model organism for investigating neural development, neural morphology, neurophysiology, and neural correlates of behaviors. However, almost nothing is known about how electrical signals propagate in Drosophila neurons. Here, we address these issues in antennal lobe projection neurons, one of the most well studied classes of Drosophila neurons. We use morphological and electrophysiological data to deduce the passive membrane properties of these neurons and to build a compartmental model of their electrotonic structure. We find that these neurons are electrotonically extensive and that a somatic recording electrode can only imperfectly control the voltage in the rest of the cell. Simulations predict that action potentials initiate at a location distant from the soma, in the proximal portion of the axon. Simulated synaptic input to a single dendritic branch propagates poorly to the rest of the cell and cannot match the size of real unitary synaptic events, but we can obtain a good fit to data when we model unitary input synapses as dozens of release sites distributed across many dendritic branches. We also show that the true resting potential of these neurons is more hyperpolarized than previously thought, attributable to the experimental error introduced by the electrode seal conductance. A leak sodium conductance also contributes to the resting potential. Together, these findings have fundamental implications for how these neurons integrate their synaptic inputs. Our results also have important consequences for the design and interpretation of experiments aimed at understanding Drosophila neurons and neural circuits.


Rural has always been a centre point in discussions on development. Although much efforts and time have been given in studying various aspects of the rural life, rural problems such as high income disparity between urban and rural still exist as long standing problems that need to be further studied and addressed. The main aim of this study is to look at the rural development problems from the institutional aspects in particular its institutional arrangements as it's has been identified as the most important contributing factor in the problems associated with the agricultural projects by the World Bank. Therefore for the improvement in rural development, effective, well design and suitably targeted institutional arrangements are essential.
For that matter, study on problems faced by the rural communities was carried out in three districts in the West Malaysia that is the District of Kota Tinggi in the State of Johore, the District of Rompin in the State of Pahang and the District of Jempol in the State of Negeri Sembilan. The villagers from these districts comprising of those from various background and the officers of the agencies involved in rural development in the districts were interviewed for clearer picture of the problems faced by the local communities. Face to face interview was applied for the primary data and data form the secondary sources was used as support for the arguments. Qualitative approach in particular thematic analysis was applied in this study in order to develop an understanding of the meaning and experience dimensions of human lives and social worlds in particular the development's problems facing the rural communities. The primary data was analysed using Computer-Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software or CAQDAS, in particular NVivo.
The study as other studies on rural development revealed that rural community in the study areas are facing diverse and complex problems. However, from the perspective of most respondents, the most profound problem faced by the local community in the study areas is weakness of the local economy. It was suggested by 89.8% of the respondents. This was followed by weakness of the rural development agencies (88.1%), weakness of the community based institutions (81.4%), negative attitudes of the local population (76.3%)
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and weakness of the local leadership (74.6%). The study has also demonstrated that the government is very much involved in determining the direction of development in the study areas as the rural people are also dependent on them to bring development to their areas. Although, efforts have been made to develop rural areas through infrastructure, economic and human capital development, continuing emphasis has been given to infrastructure and basic amenities where satisfactory progress has been made in this aspect of development, comparatively less has been achieved in the economic development and human capital development. The study has also illustrated that the development process which involves three main organisations: the state-based agencies, the national-based agencies and the Village Development and Security Committee or the JKKK is ineffective. This is primarily because at the grass roots level, JKKK is a weak community base institution that is unable to play a more significant role in rural development. Agencies are heavily bureaucratic in nature that made their co-operation and co-ordination difficult. Their division in the form of sectoral based agencies has limited their concentration on economic development, mainly on cultivation of commodity crops, while limitations in terms of financial resources and manpower limited the concentration of state-base agencies such as the district office mainly to infrastructure development and basic amenities.
These are the main findings that must be taken into account by the rural practitioners in outlining and implementing plans for rural development. There must be a concentrated political will taken to diversify the rural economy. Emphasis must also be given to empower the community base institution in particular the JKKK so that they can be a strong and effective development institution at grass-root level. Emphasis must also given to improve the co-ordination and co-operation between rural development agencies, as well as providing and encouraging local participation in decision making process at every level. This will eventually lead to the formation of effective institutional arrangement for rural development.


How is knowledge of the external world possible? How is knowledge of other minds possible? How is a priori knowledge possible? These are all examples of how-possible questions in epistemology. Quassim Cassam explains how such questions arise and how they should be answered. In general, we ask how knowledge, or knowledge of some specific kind, is possible when we encounter obstacles to its existence or acquisition. So the question is: how is knowledge possible given the various factors that make it look impossible? A satisfactory answer to such a question will therefore need to do several different things. In essence, explaining how a particular kind of knowledge is possible is a matter of identifying ways of acquiring it, overcoming or dissipating obstacles to its acquisition, and figuring out what makes it possible to acquire it. To respond to a how-possible question in this way is to go in for what might be called a 'multi-levels' approach. The aim of this book is to develop and defend this approach. The first two chapters bring out its advantages and explain why it works better than more familiar 'transcendental' approaches to explaining how knowledge is possible. The remaining chapters use the multi-levels framework to explain how perceptual knowledge is possible, how it is possible to know of the existence of minds other than one's own and how a priori knowledge is possible.


Abstract – Maximizing energy recovery by keeping flue gas temperatures as low as possible is of great interest in the power business, as higher recovery leads to higher plant efficiency. However, minimum allowable temperature is often limited by the presence of sulfuric acid. Condensation of sulfuric acid on steel surfaces could lead to severe corrosion. Hygroscopic deposits may also cause severe corrosion by taking up water and thus leading to wet corrosion. In this study, the risk of sulfuric acid corrosion and corrosion caused by hygroscopic deposits was studied in a full-scale circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boiler. The boiler was run both with and without limestone addition to reveal the effect of limestone on sulfuric acid corrosion and the effect of limestone on wet deposit corrosion. Furthermore, the effect of load on corrosion was studied. The measurements were performed before and after the electrostatic precipitator (ESP). A KCl salt method, which has been developed to detect trace concentrations of gaseous sulfuric acid, was used to study the risk of sulfuric acid corrosion. Furthermore, an acid dew point meter was used to determine the dew point temperature in the flue gases. Additionally, an air-cooled short-term corrosion probe was used to measure the corrosion rate of carbon steel at various material temperatures. Windward, side, and leeward side deposits were collected from the probe and analyzed by means of scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX). Fuel and fly ash samples for the different test cases were collected and analyzed. The work revealed new interesting findings on the causes of low-temperature corrosion in combustion of bituminous coal. The different operational parameters of the boiler had a significant impact on deposit composition and on expected corrosion risk. In this paper, we discuss the risks of sulfuric acid corrosion as well as corrosion caused by hygroscopic deposits. Furthermore, the influence of boiler parameters on deposit composition and chemistry will be discussed.


In the spring of 2009, the Kepler Mission commenced high-precision photometry on nearly 156,000 stars to determine the frequency and characteristics of small exoplanets, conduct a guest observer program, and obtain asteroseismic data on a wide variety of stars. On 2010 June 15, the Kepler Mission released most of the data from the first quarter of observations. At the time of this data release, 705 stars from this first data set have exoplanet candidates with sizes from as small as that of Earth to larger than that of Jupiter. Here we give the identity and characteristics of 305 released stars with planetary candidates. Data for the remaining 400 stars with planetary candidates will be released in 2011 February. More than half the candidates on the released list have radii less than half that of Jupiter. Five candidates are present in and near the habitable zone; two near super-Earth size, and three bracketing the size of Jupiter. The released stars also include five possible multi-planet systems. One of these has two Neptune-size (2.3 and 2.5 Earth radius) candidates with near-resonant periods.


This article presents empirical evidence of credit migrations of commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS). The findings support anecdotal accounts that adverse credit migrations have been highly concentrated in CMBS from single-borrower lease-backed deals from 1993 and 1994. Favorable credit migrations, in contrast, are much more evenly distributed across the CMBS universe. CMBS rated by multiple rating agencies are less likely to suffer adverse credit migrations. In contrast to earlier findings in the area of asset-backed securities, the author finds that the presence of Fitch ratings on CMBS is correlated with generally stronger rather than weaker credit performance.


Ever since Ervin Blank discovered1 the importance of moisturizing the stratum corneum, companies have focused their attention on developing a better surface barrier or improving skin surface moisturization in the outer layers of the stratum corneum. More recently, agents such as peroxisomal proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) ligands have been developed and exploited in moisturizers. These agents assist the cellular differentiation process or act as precursors to vital stratum corneum components. Naturally, the benefits from this latter technology can be delivered directly in terms of barrier functionality. However, the newly synthesized stratum corneum needs to be exposed at the outer layers of the stratum corneum to accrue all of the differentiation benefits. This chapter will review some of the research conducted on moisturization technologies over the last decade and give an opinion on future directions.


In this paper, we examined the effectiveness of deep convolutional neural network (DCNN) for food photo recognition task. Food recognition is a kind of fine-grained visual recognition which is relatively harder problem than conventional image recognition. To tackle this problem, we sought the best combination of DCNN-related techniques such as pre-training with the large-scale ImageNet data, fine-tuning and activation features extracted from the pre-trained DCNN. From the experiments, we concluded the fine-tuned DCNN which was pre-trained with 2000 categories in the ImageNet including 1000 food-related categories was the best method, which achieved 78.77% as the top-1 accuracy for UEC-FOOD100 and 67.57% for UEC-FOOD256, both of which were the best results so far. In addition, we applied the food classifier employing the best combination of the DCNN techniques to Twitter photo data. We have achieved the great improvements on food photo mining in terms of both the number of food photos and accuracy. In addition to its high classification accuracy, we found that DCNN was very suitable for large-scale image data, since it takes only 0.03 seconds to classify one food photo with GPU.