IMPORTANCE
Gaucher disease type 1 is characterized by hepatosplenomegaly, anemia, thrombocytopenia, and skeletal disease. A safe, effective oral therapy is needed.

OBJECTIVE
To determine whether eliglustat, a novel oral substrate reduction therapy, safely reverses clinical manifestations in untreated adults with Gaucher disease type 1.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
Phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted at 18 sites in 12 countries from November 2009 to July 2012 among eligible patients with splenomegaly plus thrombocytopenia and/or anemia. Of 72 patients screened, 40 were enrolled.

INTERVENTIONS
Patients were stratified by spleen volume and randomized 1:1 to receive eliglustat (50 or 100 mg twice daily; n = 20) or placebo (n = 20) for 9 months.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES
The primary efficacy end point was percentage change in spleen volume in multiples of normal from baseline to 9 months; secondary efficacy end points were change in hemoglobin level and percentage changes in liver volume and platelet count.

RESULTS
All patients had baseline splenomegaly and thrombocytopenia (mostly moderate or severe), most had mild or moderate hepatomegaly, and 20% had mild anemia. Least-square mean spleen volume decreased by 27.77% (95% CI, -32.57% to -22.97%) in the eliglustat group (from 13.89 to 10.17 multiples of normal) vs an increase of 2.26% (95% CI, -2.54% to 7.06%) in the placebo group (from 12.50 to 12.84 multiples of normal) for an absolute treatment difference of -30.03% (95% CI, -36.82% to -23.24%; P < .001). For the secondary end points, the least-square mean absolute differences between groups all favored eliglustat, with a 1.22-g/dL increase in hemoglobin level (95% CI, 0.57-1.88 g/dL; P < .001), 6.64% decrease in liver volume (95% CI, -11.37% to -1.91%; P = .007), and 41.06% increase in platelet count (95% CI, 23.95%-58.17%; P < .001). No serious adverse events occurred. One patient in the eliglustat group withdrew (non-treatment related); 39 of the 40 patients transitioned to an open-label extension study.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
Among previously untreated adults with Gaucher disease type 1, treatment with eliglustat compared with placebo for 9 months resulted in significant improvements in spleen volume, hemoglobin level, liver volume, and platelet count. The clinical significance of these findings is uncertain, and more definitive conclusions about clinical efficacy and utility will require comparison with the standard treatment of enzyme replacement therapy as well as longer-term follow-up.

TRIAL REGISTRATION
clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00891202.


Many mesothermal gold-quartz deposits are localized along high-angle reverse or reverse-oblique shear zones within greenstone belt terrains. Characteristically, these fault-hosted vein deposits exhibit a mixed "brittle-ductile" style of deformation (discrete shears and vein fractures as well as a schistose shear-zone fabric) developed under greenschist facies metamorphic conditions. Many of the vein systems are of considerable vertical extent (>2 km); they include steeply dipping fault veins (lenticular veins subparallel to the shear-zone schistosity) and, in some cases, associated flats (subhorizontal extensional veins). Textures of both vein sets record histories of incremental deposition. We infer that the vein sets developed near the roofs of active metamorphic/magmatic systems and represent the roots of brittle, high-angle reverse fault systems extending upward through the seismogenic regime. Friction theory and field relations suggest that the high-angle reverse faults acted as valves , promoting cyclic fluctuations in fluid pressure from supralithostatic to hydrostatic values. Because of their unfavorable orientation in the prevailing stress field, reactivation of the faults could only occur when fluid pressure exceeded the lithostatic load. Seismogenic fault failure then created fracture permeability within the rupture zone, allowing sudden draining of the geopressured reservoir at depth. Incremental opening of flats is attributed to the prefailure stage of supralithostatic fluid pressures; deposition within fault veins is attributed to the immediate postfailure discharge phase. Hydrothermal self-sealing leads to reaccumulation of fluid pressure and a repetition of the cycle. Mutual crosscutting relations between the two vein sets are a natural consequence of the cyclicity of the process. Abrupt fluid-pressure fluctuations from this fault-valve behavior of reverse faults seem likely to be integral to the mineralizing process at this structural level.


Co-design with communities interested in heritage has oriented itself towards designing for polyvocality to diversify the accepted knowledges, values and stories associated with heritage places. However, engagement with heritage theory has only recently been addressed in HCI design, resulting in some previous work reinforcing the same realities that designers set out to challenge. There is need for an approach that supports designers in heritage settings in working critically with polyvocality to capture values, knowledges, and authorised narratives and reflect on how these are negotiated and presented in the designs created. We contribute "Designing with Genius Loci" (DwGL)—our proposed approach to co-design for polyvocality. We conceptualised DwGL through long-term engagement with volunteers and staff at a UK heritage site. First, we used ongoing recruitment to incentivise participation. We held a series of making workshops to explore participants' attitudes towards authorised narratives. We built participants' commitments to collaboration by introducing the common goal of creating an interactive digital design. Finally, as we designed, we enacted our own commitments to the heritage research and to participants' experiences. These four steps form the backbone of our proposed approach and serve as points of reflexivity. We applied DwGL to co-creating three designs: Un/Authorised View, SDH Palimpsest and Loci Stories, which we present in an annotated portfolio. Grounded in research through design, we reflect on working with the proposed approach and provide three lessons learned, guiding further research efforts in this design space: (1) creating a conversation between authorised and personal heritage stories; (2) designing using polyvocality negotiates voices; and (3) designs engender existing qualities and values. The proposed approach places polyvocality foremost in interactive heritage interpretation and facilitates valuable discussions between the designers and communities involved.


Drug utilization review is 'an authorized, structured, ongoing review of prescription, dispensing and medicine use' facilitating rational drug use. Antibiotics and analgesics are common and frequently prescribed in orthopedic department. We aimed to evaluate the usage of antibiotics & analgesics in orthopedics department. Six month prospective case observational study was conducted in Orthopedics Department, Gandhi hospital, Secunderabad with approval from Institutional Ethical committee, CMR College of Pharmacy. Final outcome obtained by statistical analysis using ANOVA. In this study, male gender of 20-40 yrs was pre-dominant with common diagnosis; fractures and trauma. Common antibiotic prescribed were; Ceftriaxone, Cephalexin & Amikacin and analgesics; Paracetamol & Diclofenac. A total of 311 times antibiotic and 222 times Analgesic were prescribed in collected cases respectively. 3 antibiotics and 2 analgesics per case were predominant. Antibiotic & analgesic drug switch were also seen in study. Drug utilization review indicates 83% and 88% rationality of antibiotics and analgesics respectively. Slight irrationality was observed, those mainly due to insufficient lab data. Overall utilization of both antibiotic and analgesic was approximately in rational manner in Orthopedics department. Inclusion of regular lab test will make the prescription more appropriate, ultimately leading to better patient care.


Design and Curation of the GF Smith Heritage Show at the University of Ulster, Belfast Campus, May 2010. A touring exhibition of classic paper promotion design from the GF Smith archive.Launched at the Edinburgh School of Art in October 2009, the tour commenced in January at The Glasgow School of Art, and continued to tour the countries leading Universities throughout 2010. The Belfast Campus was the venue of a curated showcase and launch talk in May 2010.For over a hundred years GFSmith has consistently worked with the best graphic designers, photographers and artists. These collaborations have resulted in a catalogue of truly groundbreaking and iconic promotional materials.The event was a retrospective of that body of work and a rare chance to study this visual story of extraordinary design and marketing innovation. Showcasing material which encompasses both European and American promotions, featuring work from contributors such as Saul Bass, Milton Glaser, Paul Rand, Bill McKay and SEA Design and verifying the cultural and commercial significance of visual communication in society as part of an ongoing archive that contributes to our understanding of this role with reference to visual heritage in national and global contexts.


Structural equation models (SEMs) make it possible to estimate the causal relationships, defined according to a theoretical model, linking two or more latent complex concepts, each measured through a number of observable indicators, usually called manifest variables. Traditionally, the component-based estimation of SEMs by means of partial least squares (PLS path modelling, PLS-PM) assumes homogeneity over the observed set of units: all units are supposed to be well represented by a unique model estimated on the overall data set. In many cases, however, it is reasonable to expect classes made of units showing heterogeneous behaviours to exist.

Two different kinds of heterogeneity could be affecting the data: observed and unobserved heterogeneity. The first refers to the case of a priori existing classes, whereas in unobserved heterogeneity no information is available either on the number of classes or on their composition.

If a group structure for the statistical units is given, the aim of the analysis is to search for any differences in the behaviours of the a priori given classes. In PLS-PM this would mean studying the effect of directly observed moderating variables, i.e. estimating as many (local) models as there are classes.

Unobserved heterogeneity, instead, implies identifying classes of units (a priori unknown) having similar behaviours. Such heterogeneity is captured by an unobserved (latent) discrete moderating variable defining both the number of classes and the class membership.

A new method for unobserved heterogeneity detection in PLS-PM is proposed in this paper: response-based procedure for detecting unit segments in PLS-PM (REBUS-PLS). REBUS-PLS, according to PLS-PM features, does not require distributional hypotheses and may lead to local models that are different in terms of both structural and measurement models. An application of REBUS-PLS on real data will be shown. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Contemporary Turkey witnesses various ways in which the neoliberal understandings of subjectivity interpenetrate surging neoconservative discourses on gender. This study looks into the constructions of gender difference and female subjectivity in Turkey's Islamic-oriented self-help literature, which has gained remarkable popularity in the past 2 decades. Relying on a discourse analysis of 5 books published in Turkish between 2010 and 2018, the study suggests that this literature combines references to Islamic sources, globally circulating concepts of Western secular self-help culture, and New Age spirituality. In doing that, Islamic-oriented self-help literature articulates neoconservative discourses on gender difference and female subjectivity with neoliberal conceptions of self-monitoring individuals. Gender difference is posited as a natural, God-given disposition ( fitrat ) that individuals need to find within their "core, authentic selves" to attain individual happiness. Accordingly, "healthy" female subjectivity is only possible within the contours of family and motherhood, and women are advised to monitor themselves to make sure they act according to their fitrat .


The background of this work is the media discussion about the effect of cultivation on peat
soils on greenhouse gas emissions. It has been argued that row sown and intensively
cultivated crops such as carrots are more likely to emit carbon dioxide than for example grass
leys. The association KRAV (an association promoting organic farming) shall, from this year
adapt their environmental policy to be more climate smart and have asked the question if the
cultivation of some crops is more climate smart than others? Carbon dioxide emissions from
soil are due to degradation of organic material and the rate is controlled by microbial activity.
The microbial activity is determined by a variety of factors such as temperature, soil organic
matter quality and water content. I have measured the carbon dioxide emission from four
different crops at two different farms. At Aloppe which is an organic farm, I have compared
carbon dioxide emission from grass leys and carrot grown on peat soil. At Ekhaga which is
SLU's experimental farm for organic farming; I have compared spring wheat and potatoes
grown on gyttja soil. The results show no significant difference in carbon dioxide emissions
when growing these crops on organic soils. The emission levels where the same on both soil
types. The amount of water in the soil and the temperature affect the carbon dioxide emission
but the results are very uncertain. Biological systems usually have a peak activity range when
all environmental factors are optimized, and so does this system. A moderate amount of water
and air in the soil and a high enough soil temperature resulted in the highest carbon emission.
I also studied how the above-ground biomass reflects the underground biomass, knowledge
that can be used to get an idea of the crop root respiration. Because carbon dioxide emissions
depend on many factors, you need to have a comprehensive view on cultivation practices.
With an open mind you can go far in today's environmentally conscious society.


Let G be a connected, real, semisimple Lie group contained in its complexification GC, and let K be a maximal compact subgroup of G. We construct a KC-G double coset domain in GC, and we show that the action of G on the K-finite vectors of any irreducible unitary representation of G has a holomorphic extension to this domain. For the resultant holomorphic extension of K-finite matrix coefficients we obtain estimates of the singularities at the boundary, as well as majorant/minorant estimates along the boundary. We obtain L ∞ bounds on holomorphically extended automorphic functions on G/K in terms of Sobolev norms, and we use these to estimate the Fourier coefficients of combinations of automorphic functions in a number of cases, e.g. of triple products of Maas forms.


The library automation industry is in a time of rapid technological transition: cloud-deployed services, web-based software, and digital systems which were all unimaginable only a few years ago. A steadily decreasing number of vendors continue to compete in a vicious oligopoly, while at the same time, a booming number of open-source projects are challenging established business models.

Within this environment, libraries are facing massive budgetary cuts, staffing freezes, and increasing technology licensing costs as vendors seek to retain profit margins. While libraries reluctantly weigh their vendor relationships, lack of funding for open-source software development makes for a frustrating lack of options in a shrinking industry. Much like the serials crisis before, the de facto "wait-and-see" stance has become untenable for systems librarians.

We now need to search for sustainable and scalable business models that can disrupt the existing market and provide much-needed alternatives. A startup is "a partnership or temporary organization designed to create new products or services under conditions of extreme uncertainty." And yet, in a time that seems ripe for a surge of library startups, we are yet to see more than a handful. Why?

How can we balance organizational agility and sustainability? Whose responsibility is it to develop technology solutions? How do we minimize risk while incentivizing innovation? Where is the support for startups who can disrupt the library technology sector? This presentation will explore these questions from the perspective of a young startup trying to navigate such treacherous waters.


The European Sustainable Cities and Towns Campaign was launched at the end of the First European Conference on Sustainable Cities and Towns that took place in Aalborg, Denmark in 1994. The Conference adopted the Aalborg Charter (pdf~30K) which provides a framework for the delivery of local sustainable development and calls on local authorities to engage in Local Agenda 21 processes. Nearly 2,000 local authorities in Europe participate in the Campaign. A group of 10 networks of cities and towns active in different aspects of sustainable development have joined together to form the Campaign and support local authorities in their work on local sustainable development.

The campaign has organised 4 regional conferences on sustainable cities and towns in 1998 and 1999 (Turku, Sofia, Seville and the Hague). It has also organised 3 further European Sustainable Cities and Towns Conferences (Lisbon 1996, Hanover 2000 and Aalborg +10 in 2004).

 The 4th European Sustainable Cities and Towns Conference ("Aalborg +10") adopted the Aalborg +10 Commitments. These commitments are an important step forward in turning sustainable urban development from words into real actions. The then Environment Commissioner, Margot WALLSTROM, said at the conference "the Aalborg +10 Commitments are a courageous initiative".

By signing the Commitments, cities voluntary agree to undertake a baseline environmental review of their city within the first 12 months. Within 24 months, cities must have identified targets for action, in consultation with stakeholders, for a range of environmental issues. Cities must monitor progress in delivering the targets and make regular reports to their citizens.


This sole-author chapter investigates how people learn in and from museums, through encounters with artefacts that are mediated by portable digital technologies. It provides evidence that technology can help manage the amount of information visitors encounter, instead of increasing it, through specially designed activities that structure the use of technology. One such activity – visitor-constructed trails through museums – is discussed in depth, with attention to how (and to what extent) the activity is structured, the contexts in which it takes place, and how various tools and resources mediate and support the activity.

This research was cited in the 2013 UNESCO report The Future of Mobile Learning: Implications for Policy Makers and Planners (http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0021/002196/219637E.pdf), a series seeking better understanding of how mobile technologies can be used to improve educational access, equity and quality around the world, comprising 14 individual papers published in 2012 and 2013. The publication is also used in teacher training at the Institute of Education, University of London.

This research is grounded in a conceptual model iteratively developed in three studies involving different visitor and museum types. Trails were investigated in art, science and history museums, with adults, primary school pupils and teenagers, and some value was demonstrated in all these cases; overall, trails were found to be effective for structuring meaning making by visitors when they had a clear goal, limited scope, and well-defined product, and were conducted entirely in the museum, without the need for post-visit editing. One contribution to museum education is the validation of technology-mediated trails as an activity for visitors' meaning making from artefacts. Value was also demonstrated with simple, common technologies that visitors already carry, including digital audio player/recorders and mobile phones. Evidence was provided that digital technologies can help bridge contexts of visitors and artefacts.


The sparse inverse covariance estimation problem arises in many statistical applications in machine learning and signal processing. In this problem, the inverse of a covariance matrix of a multivariate normal distribution is estimated, assuming that it is sparse. An l1 regularized log-determinant optimization problem is typically solved to approximate such matrices. Because of memory limitations, most existing algorithms are unable to handle large scale instances of this problem. In this paper we present a new block-coordinate descent approach for solving the problem for large-scale data sets. Our method treats the sought matrix block-by-block using quadratic approximations, and we show that this approach has advantages over existing methods in several aspects. Numerical experiments on both synthetic and real gene expression data demonstrate that our approach outperforms the existing state of the art methods, especially for large-scale problems.


With rising utility cost, concerns over availability of natural resources, and environmental impacts of our energy production and use, a push has been made to design buildings to minimize energy consumption in an attempt to work towards more sustainable communities. Creating more thermally efficient building enclosures is a necessary part of achieving this goal. The thermal resistance provided by insulating a stud cavity is limited by the standard framing sizes currently used in the United States and Canada. The options therefore are to either increase the depth of the studs used, add insulation to the interior of the wall assembly, or t o add extra insulation to the exterior of the assembly. Providing rigid insulating sheathing to the exterior of a wall assembly is a technique that has been used in cold climates for more than 40 years. Recently it has begun to be integrated into enclosure designs in all climates. As with any newly adopted technology, there can be concerns for its proper application. This paper examines methods of incorporating insulating sheathing into the thermal and moisture management systems of the building enclosure in a variety of climate zones across North America. This is done through examining t he material properties of the various products and how these properties can be used to achieve an energy efficient and durable building enclosure design, while avoiding problems relating moisture accumulation and degradation of materials.


Abstract This paper may be summarized by the following points. First, the crisis of the liberal world order arises from a misalignment of our social, economic and political domains of activity, along with a resulting destabilization of our physical environment. The integration of the global economy has generated problems that extend beyond our current bounds of social and political cooperation. Second, extending our social cooperation – on which basis our political cooperation can be extended as well – requires the creation of the appropriate moral narratives. These narratives must guide business strategies, public policies and civic activities. Third, these narratives must be supplemented by multilevel governance structures that address challenges at the scale – micro, meso and macro – at which these challenges arise. Finally, past human experience in developing moral narratives, supported by multilevel governance structures, suggests guidelines for a future form of multilateralism that enables us to meet this challenge.


Telomeres are complex DNA–protein structures located at the end of eukaryotic chromosomes. Telomere length shortens with age in all replicating somatic cells. It has been shown that tobacco smoking enhances telomere shortening in circulating lymphocytes. The present study investigated whether this effect was further amplified in smokers who develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Telomere length was determined by fluorescence in situ hybridisation in circulating lymphocytes harvested from 26 never-smokers, 24 smokers with normal lung function and 26 smokers with moderate-to-severe airflow obstruction (forced expiratory flow in one second 48±4% predicted). In contrast to never-smokers, telomere length significantly decreased with age in smokers. There was also a dose–effect relationship between the cumulative long-life exposure to tobacco smoking (pack-yrs) and telomere length. The presence and/or severity of chronic airflow obstruction did not modify this relationship. The results of the current study confirm that smoking exposure enhances telomere shortening in circulating lymphocytes. It also demonstrates a dose–effect relationship between exposure to tobacco smoking and telomere length, but failed to show that this effect is amplified in smokers who develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.


Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified common variants that predispose individuals to a higher body mass index (BMI), an independent risk factor for endometrial cancer. Composite genotype risk scores (GRS) based on the joint effect of published BMI risk loci were used to explore whether endometrial cancer shares a genetic background with obesity. Genotype and risk factor data were available on 3,376 endometrial cancer case and 3,867 control participants of European ancestry from the Epidemiology of Endometrial Cancer Consortium GWAS. A BMI GRS was calculated by summing the number of BMI risk alleles at 97 independent loci. For exploratory analyses, additional GRSs were based on subsets of risk loci within putative etiologic BMI pathways. The BMI GRS was statistically significantly associated with endometrial cancer risk (P = 0.002). For every 10 BMI risk alleles a woman had a 13% increased endometrial cancer risk (95% CI: 4%, 22%). However, after adjusting for BMI, the BMI GRS was no longer associated with risk (per 10 BMI risk alleles OR = 0.99, 95% CI: 0.91, 1.07; P = 0.78). Heterogeneity by BMI did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.06), and no effect modification was noted by age, GWAS Stage, study design or between studies (P≥0.58). In exploratory analyses, the GRS defined by variants at loci containing monogenic obesity syndrome genes was associated with reduced endometrial cancer risk independent of BMI (per BMI risk allele OR = 0.92, 95% CI: 0.88, 0.96; P = 2.1 x 10−5). Possessing a large number of BMI risk alleles does not increase endometrial cancer risk above that conferred by excess body weight among women of European descent. Thus, the GRS based on all current established BMI loci does not provide added value independent of BMI. Future studies are required to validate the unexpected observed relation between monogenic obesity syndrome genetic variants and endometrial cancer risk.


Various control algorithms have been developed for fleets of autonomous vehicles. Many of the successful control algorithms in practice are behavior-based control or nonlinear control algorithms, which makes analyzing their stability difficult. At the same time, many system theoretic approaches for controlling a fleet of vehicles have also been developed. These approaches usually use very simple vehicle models such as particles or point-mass systems and have only one coordinate system which allows stability to be proven. Since most of the practical vehicle models are six-degree-of-freedom systems defined relative to a body-fixed coordinate system, it is difficult to apply these algorithms in practice. In this paper, we consider a formation regulation problem as opposed to a formation control problem. In a formation control problem, convergence of a formation from random positions and orientations is considered, and it may need a scheme to integrate multiple moving coordinates. On the contrary, in a formation regulation problem, it is not necessary since small perturbations from the nominal condition, in which the vehicles are in formation, are considered. A common origin is also not necessary if the relative distance to neighbors or a leader is used for regulation. Under these circumstances, the system theoretic control algorithms are applicable to a formation regulation problem where the vehicle models have six degrees of freedom. We will use a realistic six-degree-of-freedom model and investigate stability of a fleet using results from decentralized control theory. We will show that the leader-follower control algorithm does not have any unstable fixed modes if the followers are able to measure distance to the leader. We also show that the leader-follower control algorithm has fixed modes at the origin, indicating that the formation is marginally stable, when the relative distance measurements are not available. Multi-vehicle simulations are performed using a hybrid leader-follower control algorithm where each vehicle is given a desired trajectory to follow and adjusts its velocity to maintain a prescribed distance to the leader. Each vehicle is modeled as a three-degree-of-freedom system to investigate the vehicle's motion in a horizontal plane. The examples show efficacy of the analysis.


Gravitational wave detectors require linearly polarized single-frequency laser sources with a high fractional TEM 00 mode content. We investigated the modal decomposition of a polarization maintaining photonic crystal fiber with a mode field diameter of 29 µm, operating in a single-frequency master-oscillator power-amplifier scheme, with respect to the TEM nm modes. Low degradation of the beam quality with increasing pump power could be observed, while a maximum power in the TEM 00 mode of 203 W was achieved.


The CSISM project is designing and implementing an automated cyberdefense decision-making mechanism with expert-level ability. CSISM interprets alerts and observations and takes defensive actions to try to ensure the survivability of the computing capability of the network. The project goal is a difficult one: to produce expert-level response in realtime with uncertain and incomplete information. Our approach is to emulate human reasoning and learning abilities by using a cognitive architecture to embody the reasoning of human cyberdefense experts. This paper focuses on the cognitive reasoning component of CSISM.


We investigate the generation of amplitude-squeezed states with degenerate optical parametric amplifiers that are pumped by focused Gaussian beams. We present a model that facilitates the calculation of the squeezing level for an experimentally realistic configuration in which there is a Gaussian input signal beam that has the same confocal parameter and waist location as the Gaussian pump beam, with no restriction on the interaction length-to-confocal parameter ratio. We show that the 3-dB squeezing limit that was thought to be imposed by the Gaussian pump profile can be exceeded in the (previously uninvestigated) tight-focusing regime. We find the maximum possible amplitude squeezing in this regime to be 4.65 dB. However, it is possible to increase the squeezing level further by spatially filtering the tails of the output signal beam, resulting in squeezing levels in excess of 10 dB.


More than 300 million barrels of saltwater is produced everyday from oil and gas production wells. Most of this volume is injected through either saltwater disposal wells or used for water flooding and enhanced recovery purposes. Usually, the regulations require the injection to be conducted through the injector well tubing that is isolated from the well annulus to protect the underground source of drinking water (USDW) by preventing any possible leak through the well casing. Monitoring of the annulus pressure during injection ensures the well integrity. The annulus pressure changes can occur by one of the following mechanisms: thermal expansion of the annulus fluid; ballooning of the injection tubing; communication between the tubing and the annulus; or fluid migration behind the casing. Determining the communication mechanism can be a complex process and a need may arise to run several testing procedures and inspect all the wellbore components. Successful evaluation of the annulus pressure values and trends can directly identify the root cause of the annulus pressure buildup and simultaneously save time and reduce the cost associated with the workover operations. The seven case studies presented in this paper focus on the details pertaining to the annulus pressure buildup under different well conditions and purposes the interpretation technique for each case.


Abstract. This paper describes the coupling of the Community Atmosphere Model (CAM) version 5 with a unified multi-variate probability density function (PDF) parameterization, Cloud Layers Unified by Binormals (CLUBB). CLUBB replaces the planetary boundary layer (PBL), shallow convection, and cloud macrophysics schemes in CAM5 with a higher-order turbulence closure based on an assumed PDF. Comparisons of single-column versions of CAM5 and CAM-CLUBB are provided in this paper for several boundary layer regimes. As compared to large eddy simulations (LESs), CAM-CLUBB and CAM5 simulate marine stratocumulus regimes with similar accuracy. For shallow convective regimes, CAM-CLUBB improves the representation of cloud cover and liquid water path (LWP). In addition, for shallow convection CAM-CLUBB offers better fidelity for subgrid-scale vertical velocity, which is an important input for aerosol activation. Finally, CAM-CLUBB results are more robust to changes in vertical and temporal resolution when compared to CAM5.


Many flows of engineering interest are bounded by surfaces that exhibit roughness with thermal conductivities much lower than common metals and alloys. Depending on the local roughness element convection coefficients, the low thermal conductivities of the roughness elements may create situations where temperature changes along the heights of the elements are important and must be considered in predicting the overall surface convection coefficient. The discrete-element model (DEM) for flows over rough surfaces was recently adapted to include the effects of internal conduction along the heights of ordered roughness elements. While the adapted DEM provided encouraging agreement with the available data, more data are required to validate the model. To further investigate the effects of roughness element thermal conductivity on convective heat transfer and to acquire more experimental data for DEM validation, four wind tunnel test plates were made. The test plates were constructed using Plexiglas and Mylar film with a gold deposition layer creating a constant flux boundary condition with steady state wind tunnel measurements. The four test plates were constructed with hexagonal distributions of hemispheres or cones made of either aluminum or ABS plastic. The plates with hemispherical elements had element diameters of 9.53 mm and a spacing-to-diameter ratio of 2.099. The plates with conical elements had base element diameters of 9.53 mm and a spacing-to-base-diameter ratio of 1.574. An infrared camera was used to measure the temperature of the heated plates in the Baylor Subsonic Wind Tunnel for free stream velocities ranging from 2.5 m/s to 35 m/s (resulting in Reynolds number values ranging from 90,000 to 1,400,000 based on the distance from the knife-edge to the center of the infrared camera image) in turbulent flow. At lower Reynolds numbers, the thermal conductivity of the roughness elements is a primary factor in determining the heat transfer enhancement of roughness distributions. At the higher Reynolds numbers investigated, the hemispherical distribution, which contained more sparsely spaced elements, did not exhibit a statistically significant difference in enhancement for the different thermal conductivity elements used. The results of the study indicate that the packing density of the elements and the enhancement on the floor of the roughness distribution compete with the roughness element thermal conductivity in determining the overall convection enhancement of rough surfaces.


Typestate systems ensure many desirable properties of imperative programs, including initialization of object fields and cor rect use of stateful library interfaces. Abstract sets with cardinali ty constraints naturally generalize typestate properties: relationship s between the typestates of objects can be expressed as subset and disjointness relations on sets, and elements of sets can be represented as sets of cardinality one. In addition, sets with cardinality cons traints provide a natural language for specifying operations and invariants of data structures. Motivated by these program analysis applications, this paper presents new algorithms and new complexity results for constraints on sets and their cardinalities. We study several classes of constraints and demonstrate a trade-off between their expressive power and their complexity. Our first result concerns a quantifier-free fragment of Boole an Algebra with Presburger Arithmetic. We give a nondeterministic polynomial-time algorithm for reducing the satisfiability of sets with symbolic cardinalities to constraints on constant car dinalities, and give a polynomial-space algorithm for the resulting problem. The best previously existing algorithm runs in exponential space and nondeterministic exponential time. In a quest for more efficient fragments, we identify several subclasses of sets with cardinality constraints whose sati sfiability is NP-hard. Finally, we identify a class of constraints t hat has polynomial-time satisfiability and entailment problems an d can serve as a foundation for efficient program analysis. We give a system of rewriting rules for enforcing certain consistency pr operties of these constraints and show how to extract complete information from constraints in normal form. This result implies the soundness and completeness of our algorithms.


The problem of channel estimation for Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) systems in fast time-varying and frequency selective radio channels has attracted the attention of scientists and receiver manufacturers. The wireless communication suffers from Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN), fading due to the multipath nature of the channel and spectral dispersion caused by the relative movement of the receiver with respect to the transmitter. In this paper a novel channel estimator for the Next Generation Terrestrial Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB-T2) is proposed. It is based on the estimation of the Doppler Shift (DS) from the variations of the envelope of the edge pilots (EP), in order to estimate the time interval where the channel could be considered as flat and then adaptively adjusting a buffer where the scattered pilots (ScP) carried within the received OFDM symbols during this time interval, are stored and averaged. Because the noise is considered AWGN with zero mean, the averaging process discards the noise and by interpolating the pilots an estimation of the channel is obtained.


We develop a systematic approach for simultaneous extraction of the dispersion relations and profiles of multiple modes in periodic waveguides though a special global optimization procedure applied to near-field electric field measurements in the waveguide plane. We apply this method to perform in-depth analysis of experimental data on wave propagation close to an interface between waveguide sections with different dispersion characteristics, and we successfully identify several modes contributing to the experimentally measured fields. We find clear evidence that when the group velocity is reduced across the interface, evanescent modes that facilitate the excitation of propagating slow-light waves appear, confirming previous theoretical predictions.


A balanced optical discriminator for detection of angle modulation on a light beam is discussed. The device is similar, in principle, though different in form, to bridge-type microwave discriminators and optical birefringent crystal discriminators. An angle-modulated system at optical frequencies, employing a balanced discriminator, has advantages over intensity modulated systems which are familiar at radio frequencies. In addition, an angle modulated system is not as sensitive to strains, due to heating or crystal growth, in the modulating medium or to inhomogeneities in the transmission medium.


We propose a new design of optical nanoantennas and numerically study their optical properties. The nanoantennas are composed of two cylindrical metal nanorods stacked vertically with a circular dielectric disk spacer. Simulation results show that when the dielectric disk is less than 5nm in thickness, such nanoantennas exhibit two types of resonances: one corresponding to antenna resonance, the other corresponding to cavity resonances. The antenna resonance generates a peak in scattering spectra, while the cavity resonances lead to multiple dips in the scattering spectra. The cavity resonant frequency can be tuned by varying the size of the dielectric disk. The local field enhancement inside the cavity is maximized when the diameter of the dielectric disk is roughly half that of the rod and when the cavity and antenna resonant frequencies coincide with each other. This new nanoantenna promises applications in single molecule surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) owing to its high local field enhancements and large scale manufacturability.


Abstract. The development and decay of the southern equatorial anomaly night-time peak in electron density as seen at a number of ionosonde reflection points extending from New Guinea and Indonesia into northern Australia was examined in terms of the characteristic rise and fall in height associated with the sunset ionisation-drift vortex at the magnetic equator. The observations relate to measurements made in November 1997. Following sunset, the ionospheric profile was observed to narrow as the maximum electron density increased during a fall in height that took the peak of the layer at Vanimo and Sumedang down to some 240 km. The fall was followed by a strong rise in which the electron density sub-peak profile expanded from a slab width (as given by POLAN) of 20 km to over 100km with no corresponding change in peak electron density. The post-sunset equatorial fall in height and associated changes in profile density and thickness continued to be seen with diminishing amplitude and increasing local time delay in moving from the anomaly peak at Vanimo to the southernmost site of observation at Townsville. Secondary events on a lesser scale sometimes occurred later in the night and may provide evidence of the multiple vortices suggested by Kudeki and Bhattacharyya (1999). Doppler measurements of vertical velocity as seen at Sumedang in Java are compared with the observed changes in electron density profile in the post-sunset period. The normal post-sunset variation in ionospheric parameters was disrupted on the night of 7 November, the night before a negative ionospheric storm was observed.


Socioeconomic deprivation (SED) is inversely associated with mortality. The most deprived are at a higher risk of all cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality. However, only limited study of the relationship between SED and non-fatal cardiovascular disease has been previously undertaken. In those studies that have examined the relationship between SED and non-fatal cardiovascular disease, analyses have been limited to one form of cardiovascular disease (CVD), such as myocardial infarction or stroke and often prevalent disease. Furthermore, these studies have often failed to examine the association between SED and CVD whilst adjusting analyses for cardiovascular risk factors which are more prevalent in the most deprived. The aim of this work was to examine the association between SED and a number of cardiovascular outcomes after adjusting for the traditional cardiovascular risk factors of age, sex, smoking, blood pressure, diabetes mellitus and cholesterol. To determine is SED is in fact a risk factor for CVD after adjustment for these other risk factors, the relationship between SED and a number of fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular outcomes was examined. A number of forms of CVD were examined, including all coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction, stroke and heart failure
A cohort of over 15,000 men and women who participated in the Renfrew Paisley cohort study was examined. These individuals were enrolled between 1974 and 1976 and underwent comprehensive screening for cardiorespiratory risk factors. They have since been followed for hospitalisations and deaths for 28 years. SED was measured using the Registrar General's social class system and the Carstairs Morris index of deprivation. Rates of fatal and non-fatal outcomes were calculated, as were a number of composite outcomes. Adjusted analyses using multivariable regression were conducted to account for the risk factors of age, sex, smoking, blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol. Further adjustment for the risk factors of lung function as measured by forced expiratory volume in 1 second, cardiomegaly on chest x-ray, body mass index, and a history of bronchitis was also made. The association between SED and the risk of recurrent cardiovascular hospitalisations, the burden of cardiovascular disease, as well as mortality and premature mortality was assessed for SED.
I found that SED was associated with higher rates of hospitalisation for CVD disease in men and women irrespective of the measure of SED, either social class or the area based score of the Carstairs Morris index. This association persisted after adjustment for the traditional cardiovascular risk factors of age, sex, smoking, systolic blood pressure and diabetes and cholesterol. Further adjustment for lung function, the presence of bronchitis, body mass index and cardiomegaly on a chest x-ray did not explain the relationship between SED and each outcome. This risk was long lasting and persisted to the end of follow up. The strength of association of SED with coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction and stroke and all cause mortality was similar.
The risk of a recurrent CVD hospitalisation was not higher in the most deprived after adjustment for CVD risk factors. However, I observed that SED was associated with higher mortality following an admission to hospital with CVD, before and after adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors of age, sex, smoking, systolic blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes and after adjusting for the year of first developing cardiovascular disease.
All cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality was highest in the most deprived. Again this association persisted after adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors. The most deprived also experienced longer hospital stays than the least deprived for a number of cardiovascular diseases including myocardial infarction and stroke. As a result the costs associated with cardiovascular disease admissions to hospital were highest in the most deprived despite their higher risk of dying during follow up. The cost differential was also explained by the finding that the most deprived experienced a higher number of admissions per person. Finally, the population attributable risk associated with SED is comparable to that of other traditional cardiovascular risk factors.
In conclusion, I have found that the risk of CVD in the most deprived is higher even after adjustment for a number of cardiovascular risk factors. The numbers of hospitalisations, costs and mortality are also highest in the most deprived. Efforts are required to redress this imbalance. This can be achieved at the level of the individual through health care interventions to reduce the absolute burden of cardiovascular risk factors and to treat disease. However, societal level interventions are also required to tackle this problem as SED exerts complex effects on health that seem to also be independent of risk factors.


A Haskell system that includes both the Foreign Function Interface and the Concurrent Haskell extension must consider how Concurrent Haskell threads map to external Operating System threads for the purposes of specifying in which thread a foreign call is made.Many concurrent languages take the easy route and specify a one-to-one correspondence between the language's own threads and external OS threads. However, OS threads tend to be expensive, so this choice can limit the performance and scalability of the concurrent language.The main contribution of this paper is a language design that provides a neat solution to this problem, allowing the implementor of the language enough flexibility to provide cheap lightweight threads, while still providing the programmer with control over the mapping between internal threads and external threads where necessary.


CiscoASA All-in-One Next-Generation Firewall, IPS, and VPN Services, Third Edition Identify, mitigate, and respond to todays highly-sophisticated network attacks. Today, network attackers are far more sophisticated, relentless, and dangerous. In response, Cisco ASA: All-in-One Next-Generation Firewall, IPS, and VPN Services has been fully updated to cover the newest techniques and Cisco technologies for maximizing end-to-end security in your environment. Three leading Cisco security experts guide you through every step of creating a complete security plan with Cisco ASA, and then deploying, configuring, operating, and troubleshooting your solution. Fully updated for todays newest ASA releases, this edition adds new coverage of ASA 5500-X, ASA 5585-X, ASA Services Module, ASA next-generation firewall services, EtherChannel, Global ACLs, clustering, IPv6 improvements, IKEv2, AnyConnect Secure Mobility VPN clients, and more. The authors explain significant recent licensing changes; introduce enhancements to ASA IPS; and walk you through configuring IPsec, SSL VPN, and NAT/PAT. Youll learn how to apply Cisco ASA adaptive identification and mitigation services to systematically strengthen security in network environments of all sizes and types. The authors present up-to-date sample configurations, proven design scenarios, and actual debugsall designed to help you make the most of Cisco ASA in your rapidly evolving network. Jazib Frahim, CCIENo. 5459 (Routing and Switching; Security), Principal Engineer in the Global Security Solutions team, guides top-tier Cisco customers in security-focused network design and implementation. He architects, develops, and launches new security services concepts. His books include Cisco SSL VPN Solutions and Cisco Network Admission Control, Volume II: NAC Deployment and Troubleshooting. Omar Santos, CISSP No. 463598, Cisco Product Security Incident Response Team (PSIRT) technical leader, leads and mentors engineers and incident managers in investigating and resolving vulnerabilities in Cisco products and protecting Cisco customers. Through 18 years in IT and cybersecurity, he has designed, implemented, and supported numerous secure networks for Fortune500 companies and the U.S. government. He is also the author of several other books and numerous whitepapers and articles. Andrew Ossipov, CCIE No. 18483 and CISSP No. 344324, is a Cisco Technical Marketing Engineer focused on firewalls, intrusion prevention, and data center security. Drawing on more than 16 years in networking, he works to solve complex customer technical problems, architect new features and products, and define future directions for Ciscos product portfolio. He holds several pending patents. Understand, install, configure, license, maintain, and troubleshoot the newest ASA devices Efficiently implement Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting (AAA) services Control and provision network access with packet filtering, context-aware Cisco ASA next-generation firewall services, and new NAT/PAT concepts Configure IP routing, application inspection, and QoS Create firewall contexts with unique configurations, interfaces, policies, routing tables, and administration Enable integrated protection against many types of malware and advanced persistent threats (APTs) via Cisco Cloud Web Security and Cisco Security Intelligence Operations (SIO) Implement high availability with failover and elastic scalability with clustering Deploy, troubleshoot, monitor, tune, and manage Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) features Implement site-to-site IPsec VPNs and all forms of remote-access VPNs (IPsec, clientless SSL, and client-based SSL) Configure and troubleshoot Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Use IKEv2 to more effectively resist attacks against VPNs Leverage IPv6 support for IPS, packet inspection, transparent firewalls, and site-to-site IPsec VPNs


This study aimed to contribute to the small evidence-base on the Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) programme. SEAL is a school-based approach to developing children's social and emotional skills. It was launched by the government in 2005 and has been adopted by schools across the UK. This study focused on the small group aspect of SEAL, which is aimed at children who are targeted for additional practice with their social and emotional skills. The researcher used a non-equivalent control group quasi-experimental design to evaluate the effectiveness of two of the small group SEAL interventions, New Beginnings and Getting On and Falling Out. Pupils, parents and teachers completed questionnaires before and after the interventions and, in the case of New Beginnings, around six weeks after the intervention ended. The level of fidelity to the government guidance was assessed through observations and interviews. No positive results were found for the New Beginnings intervention group in comparison with the control group, but there was some support for the Getting On and Falling Out intervention; with improvements in teacher-rated empathy, total emotional literacy and pro-social behaviour. In common with previous research, no effects were found for parent-ratings or for children who had been selected to take part in the interventions as role models. The results are discussed in terms of implications for practitioner educational psychologists and suggestions are made for further studies in this under-researched area.


A Simplified Performance-Based Procedure for the Prediction of Lateral Spread Displacements Levi Thomas Ekstrom Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, BYU Master of Science Characterization of the seismic hazard and ground-failure hazard of a site using traditional empirical lateral spread displacement models requires consideration of uncertainties in seismic loading, site conditions, and model prediction. Researchers have developed performance-based design methods to simultaneously account for these sources of uncertainty through the incorporation of a probabilistic analytical framework. While these methods can effectively handle the various sources of uncertainty associated with empirical lateral spread displacement prediction, they can be difficult for engineers to perform in a practical manner without the use of specialized numerical tools. To make the benefits of a performance-based approach accessible to a broader audience of geotechnical engineers, a simplified performancebased procedure is introduced in this paper. This map-based procedure utilizes a reference soil profile to provide hazard-targeted reference displacements across a geographic area. Equations are provided for engineers to correct those reference displacements for site-specific soil conditions and surface geometry to produce site-specific, hazard-targeted estimates of lateral spread displacement. The simplified performance-based procedure is validated through a comparative study assessing probabilistic lateral spread displacements across several cities in the United States. Results show that the simplified procedure closely approximates the results from the full performance-based model for all sites. Comparison with deterministic analyses are presented, and the place for both in engineering practice are discussed.


Contemporary research suggests that a path is now open for critical dialogue between mysticism and mental health. Data are accumulating regarding the frequency with which mystical experience occurs in the general population. Social science researchers are undertaking studies to determine whether people can knowledgably differentiate between the presence of a mystical experience and other types of experience that occur in their lives. Psychologists are developing clinical criteria by which the mystical and psychotic experience can be differentiated. Neuropsychiatric researchers are exploring the effect of the mystical experience by way of enhanced brain imagery. Theologians are opening up the received wisdom of the mystical tradition and applying it to the present historical context. This paper drew these diverse disciplines together to demonstrate an emerging consensus with respect to the efficacy of mysticism in the field of mental health.


The value of soil-test information in planning fertilizer application levels is determined by using agricultural field-plot data to estimate the posterior distribution of mean soil-nitrate concentrations at a given location. Optimal decisions concerning fertilizer application levels are made with respect to this posterior distribution. Average reductions in fertilizer application rates range from 15 to 41 percent, depending on the form of prior information that is available.


Mounting evidence linking gaze reinstatement- the recapitulation of encoding-related gaze patterns during retrieval- to behavioral measures of memory suggests that eye movements play an important role in mnemonic processing. Yet, the nature of the gaze scanpath, including its informational content and neural correlates, has remained in question. In the present study, we examined eye movement and neural data from a recognition memory task to further elucidate the behavioral and neural bases of functional gaze reinstatement. Consistent with previous work, gaze reinstatement during retrieval of freely-viewed scene images was greater than chance and predictive of recognition memory performance. Gaze reinstatement was also associated with viewing of informationally salient image regions at encoding, suggesting that scanpaths may encode and contain high-level scene content. At the brain level, gaze reinstatement was predicted by encoding-related activity in the occipital pole and basal ganglia, neural regions associated with visual processing and oculomotor control. Finally, cross-voxel brain pattern similarity analysis revealed overlapping subsequent memory and subsequent gaze reinstatement modulation effects in the parahippocampal place area and hippocampus, in addition to the occipital pole and basal ganglia. Together, these findings suggest that encoding-related activity in brain regions associated with scene processing, oculomotor control, and memory supports the formation, and subsequent recapitulation, of functional scanpaths. More broadly, these findings lend support to Scanpath Theory's assertion that eye movements both encode, and are themselves embedded in, mnemonic representations.


This paper extends a previous simulation study (1, 2) of the effect of higher order probe modes when the spherical numerical software uses the orthogonality approach to solve for the spherical modes of the AUT. In this commonly used approach, the probe is assumed to have only modes for μ = ±1, and if the probe has higher order modes, errors will be present in the calculated AUT spherical coefficients and the resulting far-field parameters. In the previous studies, a computer simulation was developed to calculate the output response for an arbitrary AUT/probe combination when the probe is placed at arbitrary locations on the measurement sphere. The planar transmission equation was used to calculate the probe response using the plane wave spectra for actual AUTs and probes derived from either planar or spherical near-field measurements. The positions and orientations of the AUT and probe were specified by a combination of rotations of the antenna's spectra and the x, y, z position of the probe used in the transmission equation. The simulation was carried out for rectangular Open Ended Waveguide (OEWG) probes using all of the higher order modes and also for the same probe where only the μ = ±1 modes were used to calculate the probe patterns. The parameter that was used to estimate the error in the measured near-field data was the RMS combination of the complex differences between near-field polarization curves over a χ rotation span of 100o. This RMS combination represented the estimated error signal level relative to the peak near-field amplitude. Using two different AUTs, different measurement radii and a sequence of θ-positions on the measurement sphere, the error signal levels were between -35 and -80 dB and the initial conclusion was that the effect of the higher order modes on typical measurements using OEWG probes would be smaller than other typical measurement errors and therefore have little practical effect on far-field results. In this phase of the study the goal was to develop general guidelines to predict the error signal level for a given AUT/probe/measurement radius combination. The same simulation software was used in this study with the following changes and additions. Rather than use all of the points in the polarization curves to derive an RMS error signal level, only the χ-rotation angles of 0o and 90o were used since these are the only two probe rotation angles used in a typical spherical near-field measurement. In addition to deriving the error estimates for specific spherical angles and measurement radii, complete sets of near-field data were derived for some cases, the far-fields calculated and compared to derive estimates of far-field error levels. The results of these simulations are presented and guidelines developed to aid in the choice of spherical near-field probes and measurement radii for typical antennas.


Purpose: Arbitration—a binding private third-party adjudication—has been the primary legal way for resolution of consumer disputes. Consumers, however, rarely use arbitration to resolve their disputes while evidence suggests that their disputes remain unresolved. Contrary to the current prevailing emphasis on who's winning in arbitration, our study establishes that consumers believe that the court is more just than arbitration, regardless of the outcome. Our study further establishes that consumers' perceived poor legitimacy and lack of familiarity, not cost calculation, are what drive their justice perception.

Methodology: In three experimental studies, participants were presented with scenarios in which they were to envision themselves amidst a consumer dispute. The scenarios were followed by survey questions that examined individuals' perceptions of justice. Three mediating variables of legitimacy, cost and familiarity were also examined.

Findings: The results suggest that consumers hold a high perception of justice for court as opposed to arbitration. Even though a favorable outcome increases consumers' perception of justice, the results suggest that consumers find courts to be fairer regardless of the outcome. Familiarity and legitimacy mediate this relationship, not cost.

Originality: Current research does not provide an adequate explanation for consumers' underutilization of arbitration nor does it focus on correct factors. Studies in psychology and law primarily focus on ex post feelings of individuals after dispute resolution, ex post favorable outcomes, and ex ante cost-benefit analysis. The present study for the first time analyzes ex ante consumer perception of justice.


"Lynching is a terror that has many forms; there is the lynching of men's spirits as well as their bodies." -- Richard Wright In January 2010, a 9-year old boy named Montana Lance hung himself in a bathroom at the Texas elementary school he attended. Although certainly shocking, such acts are unfortunately becoming less and less unusual. In fact, the suicide of Montana Lance is very reminiscent of what happened in April 2009 when two 11-year-old boys, one in Massachusetts and one in Georgia, likewise committed suicide just days apart. What would cause these children to end their lives? The answer in each case is the same: all three suffered extreme levels of victimization at the hands of school bullies - bullying that others have described as involving "relentless homophobic taunts." And, as we can see from the fate of these three little boys, this form of harassment was obviously very traumatic. In this article, I look at the growing problem of school bullying in America today. Now, almost all children are teased and most will even face at least some form of bullying during their childhood. However, studies reveal that some children will unfortunately become chronic victims of school bullying. Chief among that group are those children whose gender expression is at odds with what society considers "appropriate." As my article explores, the gender stereotypes that exist within our society are frequently to blame for the more extreme levels of bullying currently being carried out in our nation's schools. And the impact this bullying has on its victims is staggering. Earlier I mentioned three children who took their own lives as a result of bullying. These are but three examples of those who have lost their lives to gender-based bullying. However, there are countless other victims who, although not paying with their lives, are nonetheless paying dearly in other ways. Specifically, the psychological literature on the emotional impacts that befall these chronic victims of bullying reveals a whole host of resulting problems - debilitating consequences that can last a lifetime. As a result, my article argues that bullying on the basis of gender non-conformity is, in essence, a form of lynching. First, both are driven by unwritten social codes - in one instance, white supremacy; in the other, gender stereotypes. Second, both are carried out by perpetrators who do not act in isolation but with the support and sometimes involvement of the larger community. As I explain, one of the reasons gender-based bullying is so frequent is the degree to which peers and school administrators ignore such behavior and, in some instances, even become active participants. Third, both result in extreme harm - lynching, in its most basic form, resulted in dead bodies; however, a lynching need not be defined so narrowly. In the case of segregation, for example, we had living children with "lynched" spirits. As one commentator describes, "these children [who endured racial segregation] were truly lynched spiritually, emotionally, and mentally." As noted above, and as discussed quite extensively in my article, chronic bullying on the basis of gender stereotypes carries similar results. Finally, both lynching and gender-based bullying achieve maximum effectiveness by the way in which they generate fear in others. The clear message of both is the same: obey the "code" or become the next victim. Although other scholars have addressed the topic of bullying, none have taken the approach that it is 1) heavily based on gender stereotypes and 2) as such, is in essence a form of lynching given the extreme harms it can cause. As a result, many articles propose remedies that focus more on the need for greater legal intervention. I argue that, first, only by recognizing this form of bullying for what it is - a form of lynching - can we even attempt to craft a solution to the problem. Second, given the degree to which social norms relating to gender animate this form of bullying, legal solutions alone will be inadequate absent some means of changing society's adherence to these rigid and unforgiving stereotypes. Accordingly, I conclude by discussing ways in which litigation, legislation and education can work together to help try and effectuate some form of social change.


This chapter addresses a number of topics and strategies for managing the septic patient in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). It focuses on the interaction of malaria and HIV infection with invasive bacterial infections, and highlights the need for different strategies regarding diagnosis and treatment of sepsis due to lack of resources when compared to resource-rich regions where comprehensive but heavily resource-dependent early goal-directed therapy and sepsis "bundles" are the standard of care. The authors of this chapter show that, among Ugandan patients presenting with sepsis, those with the highest expected mortality can be quickly identified through use of a handheld lactate monitor. In a study of lactate in Ugandan septic patients, it was found that a point-of-care device produced more reliable results than standard results from a local private laboratory due to increased discrepancies at higher lactate concentrations. Potential benefits of distributing miniaturized devices and systems designed specifically for low-income countries (LICs) include access to diagnostic tools not previously available and, thus, faster and more accurate diagnoses; better epidemiological data that can be used for disease modeling and vaccine introduction; better utilization of minimally trained healthcare workers; and better use of existing therapeutics. After antimicrobial therapy is begun, the cornerstone of sepsis management is early and adequate fluid resuscitation. Recent animal studies have shown the potential benefit of artemisinins as adjunctive therapy for sepsis. Attention to source control, including drainage of abscesses, may eradicate a nidus of infection.


Unlike traditional pressure sensitive adhesives, the natural setal arrays of gecko lizards achieve dry adhesion with stiff, keratinous material. This remarkable property has inspired a new class of adhesive and high friction microstructures composed of stiff materials that, like natural setae, have an elastic modulus greater than 1 GPa. In contrast to softer materials, such as rubber and low molecular weight acrylates, stiff materials have the advantage of wear and creep resistance and represent a wide range of polymers, metals, and ceramics that include materials that are also temperature resistant and biocompatible. This work presents progress in the design and fabrication of synthetic gecko adhesives with particular attention to the principles of contact mechanics and elasticity that are essential in formulating accurate design criteria.


Advances in technology and biomaterials have dramatically expanded the possibilities for esthetic optimization in restorative dentistry. Too often, however, such treatment focuses exclusively on the dental area and fails to consider the overall facial composition. This easy-to-read text provides the clinician with a systematic approach to facial evaluation during esthetic treatment planning. Separate chapters guide the reader to an understanding of the esthetic parameters involved in facial, dentolabial, phonetic, dental, and gingival analysis. Each chapter presents prosthetic considerations and applications that allow the clinician to formulate an optimal treatment plan based on the individual clinical situation of the patient. Also provided is an esthetic checklist that allows the clinician to apply the principles described in the text to everyday practice. Amply illustrated, this text is an invaluable tool for all clinicians practicing esthetic and restorative dentistry.


In recent years, the quality of non-clinical elements of health care has been challenged in the UK. While dimensions such as the environment, communications, reliability, access, etc., all contribute to making patients feel more at ease during a time when they are at their most vulnerable, they often fall short of what they should be. This paper supports the shift towards greater emphasis on understanding the functional elements of health services in an effort to improve patient experience and outcomes. While there is an abundance of literature discussing the evaluation of service quality, much of this focuses on the SERVQUAL model and, although there is increasing debate about its relevance across sectors, no alternative has been offered. This paper argues that the model lacks substance as a tool to evaluate quality in the complex environment of health care.
The study embraced multiple methods to acquire a greater understanding of service quality constructs within the health care sector. It was carried out in three phases. The first comprised critical incident interviews with service users, which highlighted both successes and failings in their care. This was followed by staff interviews and focus groups representing a cross section of the public, providing an insight into how different groups perceive quality. The data was used in the design of a detailed questionnaire which attracted in excess of 1,000 responses. Factor analysis was then used to develop a framework of key elements relevant both to hospital settings and to those services provided in the community such as general practice.
The findings provide a four-factor model comprising: trust, access, a caring approach and professionalism, three of which are comprised primarily of human interactions. These findings suggest that although the original SERVQUAL ten-item model does have some relevance, with the adapted five-item model being far too simplistic, neither fully addresses the needs of a sector as unique and high contact as health care. The results point the way for further research to develop a detailed model to evaluate service quality in health care settings.


There is a growing interest in combining different levels of detail of biological phenomena into unique multi-scale models that represent both biochemical details and higher order structures such as cells, tissues or organs.

The state of the art of multi-scale models presents a variety of approaches often tailored around specific problems and composed of a combination of mathematical techniques. As a result, these models are difficult to build, compose, compare and analyse.

In this thesis we identify process algebra as an ideal formalism to multi-scale modelling of biological systems.

Building on an investigation of existing process algebras, we define process algebra with hooks (PAH), designed to be a middle-out approach to multi-scale modelling. The distinctive features of PAH are: the presence of two synchronisation operators, distinguishing interactions within and between scales, and composed actions, representing events that occur at multiple scales. A stochastic semantics is provided, based on functional rates derived from kinetic laws.
A parametric version of the algebra ensures that a model description is compact.

 This new formalism allows for: unambiguous definition of scales as processes and interactions within and between scales as actions, compositionality between scales using a novel vertical cooperation operator and compositionality within scales using a traditional cooperation operator, and relating models and their behaviour using equivalence relations that can focus on specified scales.

Finally, we apply PAH to define, compose and relate models of pattern formation and tissue growth, highlighting the benefits of the approach.


The way of functioning of commercial banks remained unchanged over the years
– from the institutions involved in the distribution of financial products and services
turned into organizations aspiring to the title of socially responsible entities.
This means that its activities include the interests of many groups, such as customers,
employees, shareholders, local communities and contractors. The result is
those banks that want to be recognized as socially responsible, take numerous
initiatives in areas not related to the sale, such as protection of the environment,
voluntary or society.
The directions of banks' activity are determined by the key values, formulated
in the mission, which defines the core of the organization and lets them stand
out from the competitors. Institutions socially responsible also in this area should
take into account the concept of CSR by pointing to various interest groups and
taking various forms of activity.
The aim of the publication is to analyse the content of the missions of selected
commercial banks from the perspective of the various levels of responsibility
and groups of interest. The article hypothesized that not all of the analysed commercial
banks include in their missions the idea of corporate social responsibility,
and those that do are limited to specific areas of action and specific stakeholder
groups. The analysis was conducted on the basis of the contents available on the
websites of the 10 largest financial institutions in Poland in terms of assets.


Search-based software testing uses meta-heuristic search techniques to automate or partially automate testing tasks, such as test case generation or test data generation. It uses a fitness function to encode the quality characteristics that are relevant, for a given problem, and guides the search to acceptable solutions in a potentially vast search space. From an industrial perspective, this opens up the possibility of generating and evaluating lots of test cases without raising costs to unacceptable levels. First, however, the applicability of search-based software engineering in an industrial setting must be evaluated. In practice, it is difficult to develop a priori a fitness function that covers all practical aspects of a problem. Interaction with human experts offers access to experience that is otherwise unavailable and allows the creation of a more informed and accurate fitness function. Moreover, our industrial partner has already expressed a view that the knowledge and experience of domain specialists are more important to the overall quality of the systems they develop than software engineering expertise. In this paper we describe our application of Interactive Search Based Software Testing (ISBST) in an industrial setting. We used SBST to search for test cases for an industrial software module and based, in part, on interaction with a human domain specialist. Our evaluation showed that such an approach is feasible, though it also identified potential difficulties relating to the interaction between the domain specialist and the system.


Fisheries management in Chesapeake Bay, and globally, is based upon single-species plans
(FWs) that often have neglected biological interactions such as predator-prey relationships or the
so-called technical interactions (e.g. bycatch, discards) that affect yields, productivity,
profitability, and which may have implications for the broad ecosystem management goals of the
Chesapeake Bay Program. A workshop was convened in Solomons, Maryland, 1-3 April 1998,
to consider the potential and advisability of moving towards multispecies fisheries management or
of adopting approaches that are clearly compatible with an ecosystem management philosophy.
International experts joined regional scientists and managers to explore multispecies issues in
plenary sessions and focused working groups. This report contains the workshop's findings and
recommendations.


Conducting pairwise comparisons is a widely used approach in curating human perceptual preference data. Typically raters are instructed to make their choices according to a specific set of rules that address certain dimensions of image quality and aesthetics. The outcome of this process is a dataset of sampled image pairs with their associated empirical preference probabilities. Training a model on these pairwise preferences is a common deep learning approach. However, optimizing by gradient descent through mini-batch learning means that the "global" ranking of the images is not explicitly taken into account. In other words, each step of the gradient descent relies only on a limited number of pairwise comparisons. In this work, we demonstrate that regularizing the pairwise empirical probabilities with aggregated rankwise probabilities leads to a more reliable training loss. We show that training a deep image quality assessment model with our rank-smoothed loss consistently improves the accuracy of predicting human preferences.


The field of adaptive robotics involves simulations and real-world implementations of robots that adapt to their environments. In this article, I introduce adaptive environmentics -- the flip side of adaptive robotics -- in which the environment adapts to the robot. To illustrate the approach, I offer three simple experiments in which a genetic algorithm is used to shape an environment for a simulated khepera robot. I then discuss at length the potential of adaptive environmentics, also delineating several possible avenues of future research.


We propose to extend the use of penalized likelihood based variable selectionmethods to hierarchical generalized linear models (HGLMs) for jointly modellingboth the mean and variance structures. We are interested in applying these newmethods on multilevel structured data, hence we assume a two-level hierarchicalstructure, with subjects nested within groups. We consider a generalized linearmixed model (GLMM) for the mean, with a structured dispersion in the formof a generalized linear model (GLM). In the first instance, we model the varianceof the random effects which are present in the mean model, or in otherwords the variation between groups (between-level variation). In the second scenario,we model the dispersion parameter associated with the conditional varianceof the response, which could also be thought of as the variation betweensubjects (within-level variation). To do variable selection, we use the smoothlyclipped absolute deviation (SCAD) penalty, a penalized likelihood variable selectionmethod, which shrinks the coefficients of redundant variables to 0 and at thesame time estimates the coefficients of the remaining important covariates. Ourmethods are likelihood based and so in order to estimate the fixed effects in ourmodels, we apply iterative procedures such as the Newton-Raphson method, inthe form of the LQA algorithm proposed by Fan and Li (2001). We carry out simulationstudies for both the joint models for the mean and variance of the randomeffects, as well as the joint models for the mean and dispersion of the response,to assess the performance of our new procedures against a similar process whichexcludes variable selection. The results show that our method increases both theaccuracy and efficiency of the resulting penalized MLEs and has 100% successrate in identifying the zero and non-zero components over 100 simulations. Forthe main real data analysis, we use the Health Survey for England (HSE) 2004dataset. We investigate how obesity is linked to several factors such as smoking,drinking, exercise, long-standing illness, to name a few. We also discover whetherthere is variation in obesity between individuals and between households of individuals,as well as test whether that variation depends on some of the factorsaffecting obesity itself.


To examine the effects of peer pressure on outputs under symmetric and asymmetric information, we define a peer pressure function representing psychological costs and incorporate it into the agent's utility function. Under symmetric information, an efficient agent who is averse to inequity (i.e., suffering from being ahead) produces less than he does without peer pressure whereas an inefficient agent suffering from being behind produces more such that the output gap between the two types of agents is lessened. Moreover, overproduction in total output will occur if the inefficient agent's disadvantage inequity aversion is greater than that of the efficient agent's. However, as the information structure becomes asymmetric, the overproduction disappears because the information rent paid to the efficient agent becomes too burdensome so that it countervails the active peer pressure effect. These results are consistent with previous findings from empirical and experimental studies.


Abstract We analysed the supportive social networks associated with the conservation of six threatened Australian bird taxa, in one of the first network analyses of threatened species conservation programmes. Each example showed contrasting vulnerabilities. The Alligator Rivers yellow chat Epthianura crocea tunneyi had the smallest social network and no real action was supported. For the Capricorn yellow chat Epthianura crocea macgregori the network was centred on one knowledgeable and committed actor. The orange-bellied parrot Neophema chrysogaster had a strongly connected recovery team but gaps in the overall network could limit communication. The recovery teams for the swift parrot Lathamus discolor and Baudin's black-cockatoo Calyptorhynchus baudinii had strong links among most stakeholders but had weak ties to the timber industry and orchardists, respectively, limiting their capacity to manage threatening processes. Carnaby's black cockatoo Calyptorhynchus latirostris seemed to have the most effective social network of any of the taxa studied but may be vulnerable to skill shortages. In each case the network analysis pointed to gaps that could be filled to enhance the conservation effort, and highlighted the importance of recovery teams. The research suggests that formal network analysis could assist in the design of more effective support mechanisms for the conservation of threatened species.


Advances in information-processing technology have significantly eroded the advantages of small scale and proximity to customers that traditionally enabled community banks and other small-scale lenders to thrive. Nonetheless, U.S. credit unions have experienced increasing membership and market share, though consolidation has reduced the number of credit unions and increased their average size. We investigate the evolution of the efficiency and productivity of U.S. credit unions between 1989 and 2006 using a new methodology that benchmarks the performance of individual firms against an estimated order-α quantile lying "near" the efficient frontier. We construct a cost analog of the widely-used Malmquist productivity index, and decompose the index to estimate changes in cost and scale efficiency, and changes in technology, that explain changes in cost-productivity. We find that cost-productivity fell on average across all credit unions but especially among smaller credit unions. Smaller credit unions confronted an unfavorable shift in technology that increased the minimum cost required to produce given amounts of output. In addition, all but the largest credit unions became less scale efficient over time. JEL classification nos.: C13, C14, G21


We quickly form first impressions about newly encountered people guiding our subsequent behaviour (approach, avoidance). Such instant judgments might be innate and automatic, being performed unconsciously and independently to other cognitive processes. Lying detection might be subject to such a modular process. Unfortunately, numerous studies highlighted problems with lying detection paradigms such as high error rates and learning effects. Additionally, humans should be motivated doing both detecting others' lies and disguising own lies. Disguising own lies might even be more challenging than detecting other people's lies. Thus, when trying to disguise cheating behaviour, liars might display a mixture of disguising (fake) trust cues and uncontrolled lying cues making the interpretation of the expression difficult (perceivers are guessing). In two consecutive online studies, we tested whether seeing an increasing amount (range 0–4) of lying cues (LC) and non-lying cues (NLC) on a standard face results in enhanced guessing behaviour (studies 1 and 2) and that enhanced guessing is accompanied by slower responding (study 2). Results showed that pronounced guessing and slowest responding occurred for faces with an intermediate number and not with the highest number of LC and NLC. In particular, LC were more important than NLC to uncertain lying decisions. Thus, only a few LC may interfere with automatic processing of lying detection (irrespective of NLC), probably because too little lying cue information is yet available.


Nephrolithiasis is a multifactorial disease caused by environmental, hormonal, and genetic factors. Genetic polymorphisms of ORAI1, which codes for the main subunit of the store-operated calcium (SOC) channel, were reported to be associated with the risk and recurrence of calcium nephrolithiasis. Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) 3-kinase C (ITPKC) is a negative regulator of the SOC channel-mediated signaling pathway. We investigated the association between calcium containing nephrolithiasis and genetic variants of ITPKC gene in Taiwanese patients. 365 patients were recruited in this study. Eight tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms of ITPKC were selected for genotyping. ITPKC genotypes were determined by TaqMan assay. ITPKC plasmids were transfected into cells to evaluate the intracellular calcium mobilization. Our results indicated that rs2607420 CC genotype in the intron region of the ITPKC gene is associated with a lower eGFR by both Modification of Diet in Renal Diseases (P = 0.0405) and Cockcroft-Gault (P = 0.0215) equations in patients with calcium nephrolithiasis. Our results identify a novel polymorphism for renal function and highlight the importance of ITPKC as a key molecule to regulate calcium signaling.


What is art? The contributors to "Theories of Art Today" address the assertion that the term art no longer holds meaning. They explore a variety of issues including: aesthetic and institutional theories of art, feminist perspectives on the philosophy of art, the question of whether art is a cluster concept, and the relevance of tribal art to philosophical aesthetics. Contributors to this book include such distinguished philosophers and historians as Arthur Danto, Joseph Margolis, and George Dickie."


Comprehensive disease gene discovery in both common and rare diseases will require the efficient and accurate detection of all classes of genetic variation across tens to hundreds of thousands of human samples. We describe here a novel assembly-based approach to variant calling, the GATK HaplotypeCaller (HC) and Reference Confidence Model (RCM), that determines genotype likelihoods independently per-sample but performs joint calling across all samples within a project simultaneously. We show by calling over 90,000 samples from the Exome Aggregation Consortium (ExAC) that, in contrast to other algorithms, the HC-RCM scales efficiently to very large sample sizes without loss in accuracy; and that the accuracy of indel variant calling is superior in comparison to other algorithms. More importantly, the HC-RCM produces a fully squared-off matrix of genotypes across all samples at every genomic position being investigated. The HCRCM is a novel, scalable, assembly-based algorithm with abundant applications for population genetics and clinical studies.


Learn all you need to know about seven key innovations disrupting business analytics today. These innovationsthe open source business model, cloud analytics, the Hadoop ecosystem, Spark and in-memory analytics, streaming analytics, Deep Learning, and self-service analyticsare radically changing how businesses use data for competitive advantage. Taken together, they are disrupting the business analytics value chain, creating new opportunities. Enterprises who seize the opportunity will thrive and prosper, while others struggle and decline: disrupt or be disrupted. Disruptive Business Analytics provides strategies to profit from disruption. It shows you how to organize for insight, build and provision an open source stack, how to practice lean data warehousing, and how to assimilate disruptive innovations into an organization. Through a short history of business analytics and a detailed survey of products and services, analytics authority Thomas W. Dinsmore provides a practical explanation of the most compelling innovations available today. What You'll Learn Discover how the open source business model works and how to make it work for you See how cloud computing completely changes the economics of analytics Harness the power of Hadoop and its ecosystem Find out why Apache Spark is everywhere Discover the potential of streaming and real-time analytics Learn what Deep Learning can do and why it matters See how self-service analytics can change the way organizations do business Who This Book Is For Corporate actors at all levels of responsibility for analytics: analysts, CIOs, CTOs, strategic decision makers, managers, systems architects, technical marketers, product developers, IT personnel, and consultants.


Food preferences are considered an important factor contributing to "risky" dietary behaviour. The amount of data on the nutritional behaviour of the adolescent population is scarce. The aim of this study was to analyse food preferences and their projection into food consumption in a cohort of adolescents of Central-European origin. The sample included 1,615 15-year-olds who were asked to indicate their like or dislike of 59 food and drink items, evaluating them on a scale of 1 = "I dislike" to 10 = "I love". Food consumption was studied using a frequency questionnaire which included the same items and a 5-grade frequency scale. Compliance with nutritional recommendations was assessed, as were gender differences; the relationship between preferences and consumption was subsequently analysed. Preferences were found to differ significantly between the genders, with results indicating less healthy choices in the case of boys. However, the established preferences were not completely projected into actual consumption, which in fact appears to be healthier than the preferences imply. Study results thus indicate that food preferences are not necessarily being projected into the actual consumption of the Central-European adolescent population.


This thesis presents a novel bilateral teleoperation algorithm for n degree of freedom nonlinear manipulators connected through time delays. Teleoperation has many practical uses, as there are many benefits that come from being able to operate machines from a distance. For instance, the ability to send a remote controlled robotic vehicle into a hazardous environment can be a great asset in many industrial applications. As well, the field of remote medicine can benefit from these technologies. A highly skilled surgeon could perform surgery on a patient who is located in another city, or even country. Earth to space operations and deep sea exploration are other areas where teleoperation is quite useful. Central to the approach presented in this work is the use of second order sliding mode unknown input observers for estimating the external forces acting on the manipulators. The use of these observers removes the need for both velocity and force sensors, leading to a lower cost hardware setup that provides all of the advantages of a position-force teleoperation algorithm. Stability results for this new algorithm are presented for several cases. Stability of each of the master and slave sides of the teleoperation system is demonstrated, showing that the master and slave are both stabilized by their respective controllers when the unknown input observers are used for state and force estimation. Additionally, closed loop stability results for the teleoperation system connected to a variety of slave side environments are presented. Delay-independent stability results for a linear spring-damper environment as well as a general finite-gain stable nonlinear environment are given. Delay-dependent stability results for the case where the slave environment is a liner spring-damper and the delays are commensurate are also presented. As well, stability results for the closed loop under the assumption that the human operator is modeled as a finite-gain stable nonlinear environment are given. Following the theoretical presentation, numerical simulations illustrating the algorithm are presented, and experimental results verifying the practical application of the approach are given.


Background:
Vulvovaginal atrophy is an inflammatory condition linked with estrogenic
deficiency, as well as decreased lubrication. The study aimed at the objective
measurements of vaginal moisture (RH%), in fertile women and in postmenopausal
women before and during treatment with a non-estrogenic moisturizing gel. Methods:
The study followed a stepwise design. Acute: 5 women with postmenopausal
vaginal dryness were measured their RH% at baseline and 30 minutes after the
application of a moisturizer. Fertile Controls: 20 women were measured in the
follicular phase and20 inthe luteal phase. Chronic: Forty postmenopausal women with mild/moderate
vaginal dryness were randomly assigned to treatment (once/day for the first
week and twice/week for the following 11 weeks) or untreated control group. Primary
parameter was RH%, done by means of a vaginal hygrometer manufactured and
validated for the specific purpose. Secondary parameters were the evaluation of
erythema and oedema, scored for severity. Results: Fertile women showed an
average 93/95 RH%, independently on the cycle phase. Postmenopausal women had
49/69 RH% in absence of any treatment. A 37% increased RH% was observed 30 min
after a single application. During chronic treatment, RH% measured not
earlier than 2 hours after the application of the product, resulted 7.8% to
10.4% higher than baseline (p


Mr Prendergast, an elderly Anglo-Irishman, is living out his last years in the decaying splendour of his family mansion. As his mind wanders through the gloom he finds it peopled with memories of his neglected wife, his pale shadow of a father, his icily glamorous mother and Alexander, the son she so jealously loved, killed in the First World War. With only his ill-tempered alcoholic gardener left to attend to him, Mr Prendergast is content to pass his days in such ghostly company. Until young Diarmid arrives, keen-eyed and carrot-haired, to disperse the gathering darkness with curiosity, and the promise of friendship.