Introduction: Stem cells are a primitive cell type found in all animals and are capable of both self-renewal and differentiation. It is this capacity for self-renewal and for differentiation into repair cells that offers great potential for regenerative medicine.
Background: Cord blood banking and stem cell therapy are fields where there are various researches going on. But knowledge regarding the same is very poor among general public i.e. parents, women etc.
Purpose of the study was to assess the effectiveness of Self Instructional Module (SIM) on knowledge regarding cord blood banking & stem cell therapy among antenatal women in selected health care institutions of Pune city
Material and method: A Quasi-experimental Pre test – post test control group design with Non probability Purposive Sampling method. The tool consisted of section I (demographic data), and section II (structured knowledge questionnaire) to assess the knowledge on cord blood banking & stem cell therapy.
Result: Majority 44% of the control group and 62% of the experimental group participants are in the age group of 21 to 25 years. 32% of participants of control group are educated up to primary level. While in the experimental group most of the participants i.e. 38% have secondary level of education. Most of the participants are housewives / homemakers .i.e. 80% participants from control group and 88% participants from experimental group. 44% of the participants from both the groups had no children.58% participants from control group and 68% from experimental group are Hindus. The mean score of experimental group is less i.e. 1.20 in pretest which has increased to 2.54; this increase is found significant which has determined the effectiveness of Self Instructional Module (SIM). Pre-interventional finding are only associated with the level of education of the participants.
Conclusion: The analysis reveals that Self Instructional Module was helpful to improve the knowledge regarding cord blood banking & stem cell therapy among antenatal women.


Summary Two kinds of hybrid diffractive-refractive ultra-wide-angle (70°) eyepieces are designed which are with considerably reduced apparent size and weight and with comparable or improved aberrations as compared with the conventional refractive countertype. The designing strategy including the consideration and the steps of the optimization, the most important specification of the diffractive efficiency, and the manufacture issues is presented. The structures and the performance merits of the designed systems are given in a comparison of the traditional Scidmore eyepiece. The designed eyepieces have potential applications in various kinds of modern head-mounted displays.


Recording neural activities plays an important role in numerous applications ranging from brain mapping to implementation of brain-machine interfaces (BMI) to recover lost functions or to understand the mechanisms behind the neurological disorders such as essential tremor, Parkinson's disease and epilepsy. It also constitutes the first step of a closed-loop therapy system which employs a stimulator and a decision mechanism additionally. Such systems are envisaged to record neural anomalies and then stimulate corresponding tissues to cease such activities. Methods for recording the neural signals have evolved to its current state since decades, and the evolution still goes on. This thesis focuses on how to eliminate all the wired connections for new generation neural recording systems: implantable wireless neural recording systems with a case study on in-vivo epilepsy monitoring. The scope of the thesis can be defined as wireless power transfer, wireless data communication, biocompatible packaging, and compulsory experiments on the way to human trials. First of all, wireless power transmission is performed using 4-coil resonant inductive link topology which exploits the magnetic coupling phenomena. In addition to power transfer, a reliable DC power supply is generated in the implant by means of a half-wave active rectifier and a low drop-out voltage regulator. The operation frequency, 8.5 MHz, has been optimized by taking tissue absorption and bandwidth limitations for data communication into account. Secondly, wireless data communication solutions have been investigated and two different solutions have been implemented for different application scenarios: First solution is to use load modulation scheme, which actually relies on varying the load according to the incoming neural data. However, there is a trade-off between data rate and power transfer efficiency for this solution, which in return leads us to implement the second solution, dedicated transmitter at a higher frequency. Consequently, a transmitter which can work at MICS (402-405 MHz), ISM (433 MHz) and several MedRadio bands has been implemented to transmit neural data to an external base station which includes a discrete receiver. Following the integration of all electronic circuits which have been fabricated using UMC 180 nm MM/RF technology, the implant has been packaged using biocompatible polymers (PDMS, medical grade epoxy, and Parylene-C). Packaging provides bidirectional diffusion barrier feature which enables in-vitro and in-vivo experiments to be conducted. Finally, three levels of experimentation have been conducted to validate the operation of the system: in air for electrical characterization, in a tissue-mimicking solution in-vitro characterization, and in a mouse brain for in-vivo characterization.


This research was concerned with the collection of empirical data necessary to estimate the effects of decision support tools on the performance of distributed groups. Data was collected in a controlled experimental environment that simulated a geographically-dispersed meeting through the use of videoconferencing and group communication support (GCSS) technology. Results of the use of a Group Decision Support System (GDSS) on group process and outcome variables were mixed. As predicted by the literature the use of a GDSS by distributed groups improved overall group consensus, decision accuracy, and decision effectiveness. The use of a GDSS also increased perceived process structure. Contrary to previous studies, the use of a GDSS increased decision time, and decreased overall satisfaction with the group process. No significant effects were found for perceived consensus, cooperation, amount of information exchange, or confidence in the decision. A strong correlation was found between decision quality and decision time. An even stronger correlation was found between perceived structure of the process and satisfaction with the process. The lack of feedback about the process and its outcomes could explain the lack of a GDSS effect on perceptions of consensus, cooperation, and confidence in the decision. Perception of subjective measures of the process may depend on the presence of the appropriate types of feedback. The results suggest that an increase in structure without a perceived improvement in decision quality (confidence in the decision) tends to reduce group satisfaction. A richer taxonomy for Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) systems is proposed whereby three orthogonal dimensions of group support are defined. These three dimensions of group support are: Communication support, decision support, and presence support. This new taxonomy suggests a number of research directions aimed at the empirical identification of contextual and design factors relevant to distributed group performance and decision making performance in general.


Anycast addressing - assigning the same IP address to multiple, distributed devices - has become a fundamental approach to improving the resilience and performance of Internet services, but its conventional deployment model makes it impossible to infer from the address itself that it is anycast. Existing methods to detect anycast IPv4 prefixes present accuracy challenges stemming from routing and latency dynamics, and efficiency and scalability challenges related to measurement load. We review these challenges and introduce a new technique we call "MAnycast2" that can help overcome them. Our technique uses a distributed measurement platform of anycast vantage points as sources to probe potential anycast destinations. This approach eliminates any sensitivity to latency dynamics, and greatly improves efficiency and scalability. We discuss alternatives to overcome remaining challenges relating to routing dynamics, suggesting a path toward establishing the capability to complete, in under 3 hours, a full census of which IPv4 prefixes in the ISI hitlist are anycast.


One of the founding principles of the Circular Economy is to foster the focus on longer-lasting products. Arguably, extremely few products in the present days last as long as buildings do, yet even so only rarely does the actual end of a building's life correspond with the end of its potential life. In a context where the built environment contributes the most to materials extraction, final energy consumption, GHG emissions, and waste, this puts additional pressure on the natural environment, through unnecessary consumption of finite natural resources and growing generation of waste flows. This paper discusses in what ways and to what extent current LCA and whole life carbon methodologies can be a measure of circularity for buildings. The aim is to develop a framework for circular buildings through a better combined understanding of their design, technical, and cultural life. The paper sets the scene with a reflection on current trends in buildings LCA and the theoretical foundations laid by Frank Duffy and Stewart Brand (shearing layers of buildings) and William McDonough and Michael Braungart (Cradle2Cradle design), as discussed at events in the UK towards the end of 2015. We conclude that in order to bring about circularity in the built environment the greatest challenge is not technological, but rather the necessary behavioural and cultural changes needed in both the design and use of buildings.


Today, the ability to learn is considered a critical factor for an individual's academic and career performance. Educational programs and courses can contribute to this by enabling individuals to develop specific skills and strategies so as to attain specific goals. Academic research has noted that the goal of tertiary education is to foster individuals to become capable, independent, self-regulated and efficient learners. Thus self-efficacy beliefs and self-regulatory practices can be powerful predictors of success in academic and social life. The purpose of this study on 188 students of an Information Technology Department was to determine the relationship of self-regulated strategies and computer self-efficacy in IT courses, as these strategies are considered critical for the individual's development. The effects of the variables such as the year of studies (at the beginning and at the end of studies) in correlation with self-regulated learning strategies and self-efficacy were examined. The results illustrate that there is a correlation between self-regulated strategies (cognitive and meta-cognitive strategies) and computer self-efficacy (beginning, advanced, file and software management skills). These findings are significant in that they may facilitate the construction of efficient academic courses that will enhance the student's strategies and skills.


We analyze the properties of a dual-beam trap of orthogonally intersecting beams in the geometrical optics regime. We derive analytical expressions for the trapping location and stability criteria for trapping a microparticle with uncollimated Gaussian beams. An upper limit for the beam waist is found. Optical forces and particle trajectories are calculated numerically for the realistic case of a microparticle in intersecting liquid-core waveguides.


Abstract. Alluvial and transport-limited bedrock rivers constitute the majority of
fluvial systems on Earth. Their long profiles hold clues to their present
state and past evolution. We currently possess first-principles-based
governing equations for flow, sediment transport, and channel morphodynamics
in these systems, which we lack for detachment-limited bedrock rivers. Here
we formally couple these equations for transport-limited gravel-bed river
long-profile evolution. The result is a new predictive relationship whose
functional form and parameters are grounded in theory and defined through
experimental data. From this, we produce a power-law analytical solution and
a finite-difference numerical solution to long-profile evolution.
Steady-state channel concavity and steepness are diagnostic of external
drivers: concavity decreases with increasing uplift rate, and steepness increases
with an increasing sediment-to-water supply ratio. Constraining free
parameters explains common observations of river form: to match observed
channel concavities, gravel-sized sediments must weather and fine –
typically rapidly – and valleys typically should widen gradually. To match the empirical
square-root width–discharge scaling in equilibrium-width gravel-bed rivers,
downstream fining must occur. The ability to assign a cause to such
observations is the direct result of a deductive approach to developing
equations for landscape evolution.


Eating Frequency, Disease-Related Biomarkers and Appetite Martine Marie Perrigue Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Marian Neuhouser, PhD Nutritional Sciences Observational studies have demonstrated an inverse relationship between eating frequency (EF), obesity, and other markers for disease risk. It has been suggested that consumption of several small, frequent meals may influence physiological mechanisms, reducing the risk for disease and lowering appetite. Participants in this randomized crossover study completed two intervention phases lasting three weeks each: one of low eating frequency ("low-EF"; 3 eating occasions/day) and one of high eating frequency ("high-EF"; 8 eating occasions/day). Fasting C-reactive protein, insulin-like growth factor, and leptin were measured at baseline and endpoint of each phase and an optional subjective appetite testing session lasting four hours was offered at the endpoint of each phase. During appetite testing sessions, participants consumed an amount of food equal in total energy and macronutrient content at either one occasion at 8:00 am ("low-EF" condition) or spread evenly over two smaller eating occasions at 8:00 am and 10:30 am ("high-EF" condition). Ratings of hunger, desire to eat, fullness, thirst, and nausea were made every 30 minutes using paper-and-pencil semi-anchored 100-mm Visual Analog Scales. A composite appetite score was calculated as the mean of hunger, desire to eat, and 100-fullness. The generalized estimating equation modification of linear regression was used to compare fasting plasma biomarkers and mean ratings of subjective appetite. A total of 15 participants completed both study phases (4 males, 11 females). Mean (± SD) age was 28.5 ± 8.70, and mean (± SD) BMI was 23.3 ± 3.4. There was a non-significant, but suggestive trend toward higher plasma hsCRP in the high-EF condition compared to the low-EF condition (p=0.09). Mean IGF-I was lower in the high-EF condition as compared to the low-EF condition (p<0.001). Regression models showed no association between EF and plasma leptin concentrations (p=0.83). Twelve participants completed appetite testing (4 males, 8 females). Mean composite appetite was higher in the high-EF condition for the total testing period baseline through 12:00 pm (p<0.05) and for the time period baseline through 10:30 am (p<0.001). No significant difference was detected between conditions in mean composite appetite for the final hour of testing (p=0.12). Findings suggest that when the energy and macronutrient content of the diet is equal, the consumption of smaller, more frequent meals may not positively impact inflammatory profiles or aid in appetite control. Further studies are needed to confirm the inflammatory impact of more frequent food consumption and to determine the physiological mechanisms driving the relationship between eating frequency and health.


Extracted from text ... IMIESA SEPTEMBER 2005 - 53
MAINTENANCE
Maturity indexing
by Herman Ellis*
Several models of
the maintenance process recognise
the generic concept of maintenance maturity indexing (MMI), which simply means that
the maintenance process and its critical components have
the potential to evolve to an improved state of sustainable performance. MMI is not a maintenance optimisation technique. It is listed in table 1 under
the heading 'Generics', which places it in its proper perspective.
There is a profound 'sequential logic' built into table 1. Before you can 'Operate' your maintenance management system, you ..


Soft drinks are beverages composed of water and other ingredients that provide specific sensorial attributes. Soft drink consumption patterns have recently been changed partially influenced by an increased availability of different types of beverages during the last few years. Consumers' preferences to choose one drink over another are influenced, not only by genetic, psychological and environmental factors, but also by the beverage's specific attributes. In fact, beverage consumption is driven by the sensations it gives. Because the main component of soft drinks is water, an increase in the intake of soft drinks might improve fluid intake and the levels of water in the body if it is regarded as an "essential nutrient".


Intraspecific variation can have important knock-on effects on population dynamics and ecosystem processes. There are good indicators that intraspecific differences may exist in the foraging ecology of kea parrots (Nestor notabilis). Kea breed in two markedly different habitats (alpine and temperate rainforest), and have pronounced sexual size dimorphism of their upper bill, which may indicate niche partitioning between the sexes. Additionally, as a long-lived species, they can potentially acquire a vast amount of information regarding food sources within their environment, suggesting variation between age classes. We used field observations and faecal analysis to investigate the foraging ecology of kea. We found evidence of invertebrate foraging significantly more frequently in temperate rainforest than in alpine regions, where kea foraged more frequently on fruit. In the alpine habitat, kea fed mainly on fruit during summer and autumn, changing primarily to leaves during winter and spring and increasing invertebrate consumption in springtime. Although there was no discernible impact of sex, we found that adult males foraged more on roots and invertebrates than immature kea, possibly because they were able to exploit a more varied diet through experience. Future research should investigate the relationship between invertebrate foraging and breeding ecology in kea.


Glaciated catchments increasingly accommodate rising populations. As glaciers are capable of modifying peak flows and releasing floodwaters, understanding and developing models of subglacial water storage and release has significance to the safety of resident populations and land use decision-making. Glaciological and hydrometeorological processes play a critical role in determining water storage within the subglacial drainage system of Alpine glaciers. However, our understanding of spatial variations of these processes throughout the ablation season remains incomplete. Field results and modelling studies of the glacial hydrological system at Findelengletscher, Canton Valais, Switzerland are presented with a view to improving understanding of physical mechanisms controlling water flow within glacierised catchments. A physically-based model of surface runoff incorporating meltwater and precipitation has been developed. This model has limited data requirements using only air temperature, solar radiation, precipitation and elevation of the transient snow line in a simple, spatially distributed energy balance model. It has been used to predict surface runoff at an hourly resolution for the 1999 ablation season. Methodological advances have been made by creating conceptual models of water flow through the subglacial drainage system. Models are used for semi-quantitative interpretation of water level variations in boreholes, as surrogate measures of subglacial water pressures. The boreholes either directly intersect subglacial channels or hydraulically connect to subglacial channels through a subglacial sediment layer. Variations in borehole water levels are considered at both diurnal and seasonal timescales. Water storage has been calculated within the subglacial drainage network and interpretations are made of temporal variations in subglacial water storage. Borehole water levels indicate that the glacier subsole can be spatially separated into those areas that are hydraulically connected or unconnected to the subglacial drainage system. Hydraulically connected areas may further be subdivided into areas of efficient and inefficient subglacial drainage. These may intermittently connect and influence water balance within a glacier. Increasing and decreasing trends in water balance cycles are initiated by glaciohydrological mechanisms. These control the activity of intermittent hydraulic connections between efficient and inefficient areas of subglacial drainage. Connections form in response to two hydrometeorological factors: high elevation rainfall and short duration decreases in elevation of either the snowline or the 0°C isotherm. Increasing trends in water balance over successive days are associated with preferential routing of inputs into, and retention within, hydraulically inefficient areas of the subglacial drainage system. Occasionally the release of water from temporary subglacial storage is not synchronous with either hydrometeorological causal factor. Measurements of fall-line velocity and vertical displacement suggest that basal sliding may alter preferential subglacial flow pathways. However, uncertainty exists as to whether such changes may be the result of lagged effects of either high water pressures from rainfall or low water pressures from low daily surface runoff. These uncertainties are due to system response times affecting the time taken to transfer longitudinal strain within glacier ice. In the late ablation season the potential for rapid surface runoff over the annual maximum snowfree area within the catchment is high. In the event of a large rainfall event the capacity of a tunnel-conduit system to discharge may have decreased sufficiently to cause temporary retention of a large proportion of surface runoff, predominantly within distributed drainage. Temporary storage followed by re-integration of hydraulic connections formed earlier in the ablation season, increases the potential for proportionally large discharge events (relative to the volumes of inputs) in the late ablation season. Flooding in glacierised basins becomes more likely as a result.


This paper charts the development and delivery of a Web 2.0 informed community engagement tool and application programming interface (API) developed at EDINA in partnership with the National Library of Scotland, as part of the JISC Digitisation and e-Content Programme. The AddressingHistory Web tool enables members of the community, both within and beyond academia (particularly local history groups and genealogists), to enhance and combine data from digitized historical Scottish Post Office Directories with contemporaneous large-scale historical maps. The paper discusses the background of post office directories and the corresponding georeferenced old maps for Scotland, the technical platforms deployed including sustainable software components, and Web applications and services. It also examines issues relating to data parsing, user generated content (UGC) created by the community including georeferencing, and the use of social media amplification for community engagement and future directions. To conclude, the paper argues that to be successful online, crowdsourcing tools such as the one developed for this project require a critical mass of content to fully engage the user community and that such success will ultimately be measured by continual and extended use within the wider community.


This paper presents a novel framework for managing network congestion from an end-to-end perspective. Our work is motivated by trends in traffic patterns that threaten the long-term stability of the Internet. These trends include the use of multiple independent concurrent flows by Web applications and the increasing use of transport protocols and applications that do not adapt to congestion. We present an end-system architecture centered around a Congestion Manager (CM) that ensures proper congestion behavior and allows applications to easily adapt to network congestion. Our framework integrates congestion management across all applications and transport protocols. The CM maintains congestion parameters and exposes an API to enable applications to learn about network characteristics, pass information to the CM, and schedule data transmissions. Internally, it uses a window-based control algorithm, a scheduler to regulate transmissions, and a lightweight protocol to elicit feedback from receivers.We describe how TCP and an adaptive real-time streaming audio application can be implemented using the CM. Our simulation results show that an ensemble of concurrent TCP connections can effectively share bandwidth and obtain consistent performance, without adversely affecting other network flows. Our results also show that the CM enables audio applications to adapt to congestion conditions without having to perform congestion control or bandwidth probing on their own. We conclude that the CM provides a useful and pragmatic framework for building adaptive Internet applications.


The physical effects of fatigue failure caused by cyclic strain are important and for most materials well understood. However, nothing is known about this mode of failure in living cells. We developed a novel method that allowed us to apply controlled levels of cyclic displacement to networks of osteocytes in bone. We showed that under cyclic loading, fatigue failure takes place in the dendritic processes of osteocytes at cyclic strain levels as low as one tenth of the strain needed for instantaneous rupture. The number of cycles to failure was inversely correlated with the strain level. Further experiments demonstrated that these failures were not artefacts of our methods of sample preparation and testing, and that fatigue failure of cell processes also occurs in vivo. This work is significant as it is the first time it has been possible to conduct fatigue testing on cellular material of any kind. Many types of cells experience repetitive loading which may cause failure or damage requiring repair. It is clinically important to determine how cyclic strain affects cells and how they respond in order to gain a deeper understanding of the physiological processes stimulated in this manner. The more we understand about the natural repair process in bone the more targeted the intervention methods may become if disruption of the repair process occurred. Our results will help to understand how the osteocyte cell network is disrupted in the vicinity of matrix damage, a crucial step in bone remodelling.


Manipulation and characterization of information using ultrafast optical signals is critical for numerous applications in telecommunications, biology, quantum information science, spectroscopy, and atomic and molecular physics. Femtosecond pulsed laser sources are available over a wide range of wavelengths and repetition rates, which enable the generation, transmission, and characterization of information at bandwidths beyond 1 THz. In this article, we review the concept of space–time duality as a system design tool for ultrafast optical processing and characterization. The combination of this design framework with recent advances in nonlinear optical devices enables the realization of highly complex signal processing systems that can generate, characterize, and manipulate arbitrary and non-repetitive optical waveforms at unprecedented processing speeds.


The argument that the idea of liberty is "negative" first appeared in the work of three 18th century utilitarian writers – Jeremy Bentham, John Lind, and Richard Hey – who were all involved in arguing against the American Revolution. Quentin Skinner and Philip Pettit have suggested that the utilitarians revived the Hobbesian notion of freedom and utilized it against the neo-classical conception of freedom that was employed in support of the American cause. While acknowledging the similarity between the Hobbesian definition of liberty and the eighteenth century utilitarian definition of liberty, the paper argues for the uniqueness of the latter. Hobbes was arguing for an absolute monarchy, while the eighteenth century utilitarians shared with most advocates of the American cause a respect for the British mixed constitution. In contrast to Hobbes, the utilitarians had an idea of civil or political liberty that included some form of security against the arbitrary will of the government, and they shared the neo-classical idea that protecting the liberty of individuals in society requires a free constitution of government. The paper argues that the utilitarian invention of negative liberty should be understood in the context of a debate in which neo-classical assumptions about freedom and government were, to some extent, shared, and the question at the heart of the debate was the question of democratic participation.


Objectives To estimate the effects of race and ethnicity on suspect injuries during use of force encounters with police in Tucson, Arizona. Methods Data on all use of force cases recorded by the Tucson Police Department from January 2018 to March 2020 were analysed. Logistic regression was used to estimate the effects of race and ethnicity on the likelihood of suspect injuries controlling for a variety of other factors. Results Overall, 28.5% of people who had force used against them by Tucson police were injured. Multivariate analyses reveal that among those who had force used against them, African-American suspects were significantly less likely than white suspects to be injured. The risk of injury for other racial and ethnic groups is about the same as the risk for white suspects. Resisting arrest and seeking to escape from police custody do not increase the risk of injury among suspects, but assaulting officers or other individuals does increase the risk of injury. Certain types of force, such as canines, firearms and TASERs, are associated with significantly elevated risks of injury among suspects. Conclusions Numerous interest groups have raised concerns about the police use of force against minorities. Using publicly available data, this analysis examined the effects of race and ethnicity on risk of injury during the use of force encounters with police in Tucson. The findings reveal that minorities are not injured at elevated rates relative to whites. To the contrary, African-American suspects are less likely to be injured than white suspects are.


Web applications no longer need be powered by any one individual's data, and they don't need to be confined to the desktop. Developers can draw on a wealth of publicly available content, from providers such as Flickr, Amazon, Google, Twitter, and Last.fm, and combine it for use in their own applications. Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR) makes it simple to bring previously web-only applications to the desktop, allowing them to run alongside traditional applications on an end user's computer. In this book, you'll learn how to create mashup applications from the vast array of web services, feeds, and APIs using Adobe Flash and Flex together with HTML and JavaScript (Ajax). You'll be introduced to the various sources of information and the tools necessary to gather and reuse that information, and then you'll learn how to combine that content in a variety of ways. You'll learn how to have desktop applications interact with online services such as Flickr, you'll learn how to use Amazon S3 for enterprise-level data storage, and you'll embrace technologies such as OpenID. In addition, you'll create abstract visualizations based on music sourced from Last.fm and consume Twitter content via RSS. You will also see how to use the Flash-native data format SWX along with PHP to create a Yahoo! weather widget. You'll discover just why you may want to build a widget or a desktop application rather leaving things web-based; then you'll create an application using Flex Builder and AIR and learn how best to distribute it. With so many tools and so much data available, the possibilities for mashup creation are endless. Creating Mashups with Adobe Flex and AIR provides all you need to get you up and running quickly, while also giving you a solid understanding of the technologies involved so you can take things furtherto a place limited only by your imagination. In this book you'll learn how to use Flex 3 in conjunction with ActionScript 3.0 to build powerful applications; how you can use Adobe AIR to take your application from the Web and onto the desktop; the differences between developing for the Web and for the desktop; how you can use the APIs of popular web services such as Flickr, Amazon, Google, Twitter, and Last.fm as data sources for your application; and how to optimize your applications for fast and efficient performance. Summary of Contents Chapter 1 Introduction to Mashups Chapter 2 Technologies to Mash With! Chapter 3 An Introduction to Flex Chapter 4 Flex Components Chapter 5 Flexing Your Muscles Chapter 6 Performance Management in Flex Applications Chapter 7 Debugging Flex 3: The Tried-and-True, Plus the New Chapter 8 Getting the Most out of APIs Chapter 9 Mashing Up Functionality Chapter 10 SWX: A Native Flash Data Format Chapter 11 Taking It to the Desktop Chapter 12 Developing for the Desktop with AIR Chapter 13 Adding More Desktop Elements to the Web Chapter 14 Building a Desktop Experience Chapter 15 Completing the Experience


A sample of 41 male student rugby players (mean age: 21.87 ± 1.39 years) completed the Recovery-Stress Questionnaire (Kellmann & Kallus, 2001), Athlete Burnout Questionnaire (Raedeke & Smith, 2001) and Stellenbosch Mood Scale (Terry et al., 2003) repeatedly over a five-month period. Independent t-tests, oneway analysis of variance and effect sizes were used to indicate significant differences between groups (categorised according to playing position, experience level and starting status). The group of forwards were shown to have significantly (d � 0.5) better results than the backline players for 12 of the 39 tested variables. The group of less experienced players had significantly less General and Sport-specific Stress and negative Mood State scores than their very experienced and novice counterparts, whilst the novice players showed greater General and Sport-specific Recovery scores. Differences in starting status were also observed as the reserve players were shown to have significantly higher General and Sport-specific Recovery scores and better Mood State scores than the regular starters. These results suggest that playing position, experience level and starting status should be considered in player management strategies and during the psycho-social monitoring of players aimed at reducing the onset and development of overtraining and burnout.


Abstract– In this paper, an adaptive detection scheme for fluctuating targets with a swerling I model in AR interference is presented. Since the proposed detector uses more information from the target signal in its structure, it has better performance compared with those detectors which do not use the target amplitude model. Performance improvement of this detector compared with the previously AR model based adaptive detector (ARGLR) is shown by simulation results. Besides, another detector is proposed for the known amplitude situation whose performance can be used as an upper bound for all similar detectors.


Hans Fallada was a drug addict, womanizer, alcoholic, jailbird and thief. Yet he was also one of the most extraordinary storytellers of the twentieth century, whose novels, including "Alone in Berlin", portrayed ordinary people in terrible times with a powerful humanity. This acclaimed biography, newly revised and completely updated, tells the remarkable story of Hans Fallada, whose real name was Rudolf Ditzen. Jenny Williams chronicles his turbulent life as a writer, husband and father, shadowed by mental torment and long periods in psychiatric care. She shows how Ditzen's decision to remain in Nazi Germany in 1939 led to his self-destruction, but also made him a unique witness to his country's turmoil. "More Lives Than One" unpicks the contradictory, flawed and fascinating life of a writer who saw the worst of humanity, yet maintained his belief in the decency of the 'little man'.


A new structure for storing a radio frequency (RF) signal utilising a fibre-optic delay line is presented. It is based on a frequency shifting recirculating delay line loop for the RF pulse storage, which prevents lasing and enables multiple recirculations and long storage time to be realised. The new photonic RF memory (PRFM) can realise a long reconfigurable storage time, wide instantaneous bandwidth and high dynamic range. Experimental demonstration of the frequency shifting loop based PRFM has been carried out for the first time, showing a long and reconfigurable storage time of more than 300 μs with high signal fidelity.


Nowadays, lithium ion batteries (LIBs) are omnipresent on a worldwide level. As a result of their high energy density, high power density and increasing cycling life, LIBs are a well-founded technology for its use on portable electronic devices, electric vehicles (EVs) and electrical energy storage (EES) systems. The extensive use of LIBs accentuates the fact that these power sources are currently playing a crucial role in the commercial and industrial applications. As a result of the rapid growth and substantial interest devoted to LIBs, an increasing number of opportunities in the industrial and research LIB fields are emerging. Fast charging is gaining momentum in order to meet the demands of high power LIB systems. The ability of a LIB to perform fast charging depends on various factors, including cell active materials, and the design of a reliable fast charging protocol. To date, efficient fast charging protocol and procedures to achieve rapid charges remain lacking. In addition, fast charging/high power duty cycling may affect the battery?s performance due to accelerated aging. The effects of battery aging are detrimental to LIB systems, reducing its performance and even causing safety issues. In fact, the aging phenomenon is a key issue in durable applications such as EVs and EES, where long-term cycling and long service life are demanded. Hence, it becomes essential to evaluate the performance and the aging mechanisms ongoing on battery systems. This thesis is focused towards the key field of high power applications of commercial LIBs and the study of the performance and identification of battery aging mechanisms through in situ techniques. A broad analysis of the performance and the degradation mechanisms that various cycling schemes (i.e. standard, fast charging and dynamic stress) cause on commercial high power LiFePO 4 batteries is reported in this work. In addition, an efficient, multistage fast charging protocol is developed and analyzed. In order to identify both qualitatively and quantitatively the aging mechanisms ongoing on the tested batteries, we use in situ analyses, including incremental capacity (IC), peak area (PA), and mechanistic model simulations using the `Alawa toolbox. An innovative approach to attain accurate simulation results is carried out by feeding the toolbox with harvested half-cell data from the actual cells. The results show that the developed fast-charge protocol is efficient, completes full charges within ~22 min and does not cause additional degradation in comparison with standard cycling. The end-of-life both for standard and fast charge cycling schemes surpassed 4500 cycles. The quantitative degradation measured for both cycling schemes is equal, caused by a linear loss of lithium inventory (LLI), coupled with a less degree of linear loss of active material (LAM) on the negative electrode (NE). The dynamic stress cycling caused rapid cell degradation, reaching 1100 cycles at end-of-life. The degradation is caused by large LAM on the NE, and in less degree, LLI. Moreover, the cell exhibited Li plating, which was identified and quantitatively measured using the in situtechniques. To finish the study, prognosis analyses on the fast charging scheme are carried out and we found that the use of fast charging protocol does not risk Li plating after all. In total, this thesis investigates the performance and aging mechanisms in commercial high power LiFePO4 batteries. The in situ, online techniques used in this work provide a systematic methodology to attain battery degradation identification, both qualitatively and quantitatively. The use of these techniques could be quite enlightening for the development of diagnosis and prognosis models for battery management system (BMS) applications to effectively manage and control LIB systems. Finally, the combination of proper cell chemistry and architecture, coupled with the use of an efficient fast charging protocol is key to achieving optimal fast charging in high power LIB applications.


Several political and economic factors are involved in choosing exchange rate policy in Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries. In the present study, these factors have been investigated with an emphasis on OCA and political economic factors during 1990 -2014. The result shows that OCA and political economic factors as well as tradable sector are influential on exchange rate policy in OIC countries. In a way that oil revenue, financial development, GDP, openness of the economy, economic development and political instability all tend to increase the probability of pegging the exchange rate regimes, whereas an increasing industrial sector and size of the economy lead to a decrease in the probability of pegging the exchange rate regimes. Inflation, democracy, political system, legislative system, and monetary crises had no significant effect on the exchange rate regime. Also, the results show that the democracy and oil revenue had the highest impact on choosing exchange rate regime and financial development and monetary crises risk had the least impact on choosing exchange rate regime.


Objective Traditional medical school curricula have not addressed fertility awareness-based methods (FABMs) of family planning. The objective of this study was to assess (1) 3-year medical students' knowledge of FABMs of family planning, (2) their confidence in utilizing that knowledge in patient care, and (3) to implement focused education on FABMs to improve knowledge and confidence. Methods Third-year medical students at one institution in the United States were given a 10-question assessment at the beginning of their OB-GYN rotation. Two lectures about FABMs and their clinical applications were given during the rotation. Students were given the same questions at the end of the rotation. Each questionnaire consisted of eight questions to assess a student's knowledge of FABMs and two questions to assess the student's confidence in sharing and utilizing that information in a clinical setting. McNemar's test was used to analyze the data. Results Two hundred seventy-seven students completed a pretest questionnaire and 196 students completed the posttest questionnaire. Medical knowledge improved from an initial test score of 38.99% to final test score of 53.57% (p < 0.05). Confidence in sharing FABM information with patients (0 = very uncomfortable; 5 = very comfortable) improved from 1.51 to 3.00 (p < 0.05). Confidence in utilizing FABM to diagnose and treat gynecologic/reproductive problems (0 = not very confident and 5 = very confident) improved from 1.01 to 3.15 (p < 0.05). Conclusion Medical schools may not include FABMs in OB-GYN curriculum; however, to patients, these methods remain a sought after and valid form of family planning. This study shows that brief, focused education can increase medical students' knowledge of and confidence with FABMs of family planning.


Universita degli Studi di Milano In some of the most successful and representative popular Hindi films released between the 1990s and the early 2000s, the depiction of amorous feelings often takes traditional forms. The reference here is essentially to those films that come more or less within the broad category of classical family dramas: love stories that come up against all sorts of opposition, characterised by the celebration of the traditional Hindu values and the sacrality of the Indian joint-family institution. A particularly interesting aspect emerging here lies in the way in which the sexual desire of the heroine—typically a chaste and virtuous maiden—finds representation. On the strength of studied re-elaboration of traditional themes and motifs, these films achieve high levels of stylistic inventiveness and poetic refinement, albeit often limited to certain individual sequences. The apparent purpose of this aesthetic sophistication is to endow amorous feelings—always leading inexorably in the direction of marriage—with an aura of purity and authenticity. Indeed, it is a matter of sentiments so noble and intense as to win over the consent and blessing of the families by the end of the film. The paper proposes to identify and analyse the conscious use of these traditional motifs in some of the most representative films in this area.


Abstract. Drought is one of the most common natural disasters with significant negative impacts on socio-economic development and the natural environment. Evaluating this hazard is essential for risk assessment and management. In this study, historical climate data from 1961 to 2010 were used to determine the appropriate timescales for applying the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) to evaluate drought. Simulated representative concentration pathway (RCP) 4.5 and 8.5 climate data for 2011–2099 in China was obtained from the Inter-Sectoral Impact Model Intercomparison Project (ISI-MIP). Then, the Mann–Kendall (M–K) test was used to assess the significance of drought trends. The frequency of three drought grades and duration were chosen to reflect the spatial and temporal variation in drought hazards in three time periods, 2011–2040, 2041–2070 and 2071–2099. Results indicate that 2071–2099 will face the most severe droughts, with the highest frequency (32.54 % for RCP4.5 and 32.55 % for RCP8.5) and longest duration (3.93 months for RCP4.5 and 4.12 months for RCP8.5), followed by 2041–2070 and 2011–2040. In terms of spatial distribution, drought hazards in north China (Medium temperate zone, Warm temperate zone and Plateau temperate zone) will be greater than in south China, especially the non-monsoon region. Comparing the two scenarios, drought hazards from RCP8.5 are higher than that from RCP4.5, i.e., higher frequency (32.35 % for RCP8.5 and 32.26 % for RCP4.5), longer duration of drought (3.84 months for RCP8.5 and 3.76 months for RCP4.5) and more significant drying trends. These results provide a reference for adapting to extreme climate change and the prevention and reduction of disaster risks.


Abstract— The fibrinolytic system may play a role in the pathogenesis of coronary heart disease (CHD), but existing prospective studies have not consistently shown an independent association between fibrinolytic factors and CHD. None has reported an association between plasminogen and CHD incidence. In the prospective Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study of middle-aged adults, we examined the association of incident CHD with several fibrinolytic factors: tissue plasminogen activator antigen, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, plasminogen, and fibrin fragment D-dimer as well as a marker of coagulation activation (prothrombin fragment F1.2). We measured these in stored baseline plasma samples of 326 subjects who developed CHD and, for comparison, a stratified random sample of the entire cohort (n=720). Tissue plasminogen activator and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 antigen levels were associated positively with CHD incidence in analyses adjusted for age, race, and sex but were not associated with CHD after adjustment for other risk factors. Plasminogen and D-dimer levels were associated positively and independently with CHD incidence; the multivariable-adjusted relative risks (95% CIs) for the highest versus lowest quintiles were 2.20 (1.2 to 4.2) for plasminogen and 4.21 (1.9 to 9.6) for D-dimer. F1.2 was not associated with CHD incidence. Our findings lend support for a link between fibrinolytic factors and CHD incidence. A positive association between plasminogen and CHD is seemingly opposite the direction expected but may reflect a compensatory response to impaired plasminogen activation in subjects prone to CHD.


Development of CA6NM cast steel is reported and the present state of the international standards is discussed. The influence of the argon oxygen decarburization (AOD) process on CA6NM is shown by means of a statistical evaluation of preliminary quality-control test specimens from the four year period 1975-1979. The influences of reducing the carbon content to 0.030 percent and the sulfur content to 0.004 percent on the impact energy are given special attention. The impact energy values were improved by 18 to 73 percent, depending on test specimen shape and test temperature. This resulted in a high average value (Charpy V-notch, +20°C: 152 ′ 21 J) even on heavy-walled castings. A further statistical evaluation verifies that CA6NM cast steel with a strength level of 950 MPa also has excellent impact values (Charpy V-notch, +20°C: 67 ′ 19 J). The increase in steel quality due to the AOD refining process becomes evident especially for large cross sections. These have an improved primary structure. By using massive stepped test blocks with step thickness of up to 500 mm, it is shown that the drop in reduction-of-area and elongation values from surface-to-core location observed in earlier investigations on basic electric-arc furnace products disappears completely. In addition, the corrosion fatigue limit values in the core of 500-mm sections are up to 30 percent higher than for good are furnace steel. Since the phosphorus level in the AOD test block was purposely aimed at a relatively high level of 0.021 percent, this effect must be attributed to the very low nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, and sulfur contents in the AOD steel. As a result of the higher degree of cleanliness, the Charpy V-notch upper-shelf energy level as well as the transition temperature show marked improvement even in the core location. The optimum welding conditions are described. The importance of welding electrode quality control and the question of post-weld heat treatment are discussed. To supplement the documentation of the material's potential for low-temperature applications, technical base material data are presented. The conditions for obtaining satisfactory weld properties at temperatures of -110°C, using electrodes of composition similar to the base material, are described. The procedures are applicable for fabrication and repair welding. In light of a possible replacement of austenitic-ferritic castings by CA6NM for parts used in primary cooling loops of nuclear reactors, it is shown that heats with a high initial impact energy undergo in principle the same long-term aging process which occurs for predominately austenitic cast steel.


The ability to perceive and reason about social interactions in the context of physical environments is core to human social intelligence and human-machine cooperation. However, no prior dataset or benchmark has systematically evaluated physically grounded perception of complex social interactions that go beyond short actions, such as high-fiving, or simple group activities, such as gathering. In this work, we create a dataset of physically-grounded abstract social events, PHASE, that resemble a wide range of real-life social interactions by including social concepts such as helping another agent. PHASE consists of 2D animations of pairs of agents moving in a continuous space generated procedurally using a physics engine and a hierarchical planner. Agents have a limited field of view, and can interact with multiple objects, in an environment that has multiple landmarks and obstacles. Using PHASE, we design a social recognition task and a social prediction task. PHASE is validated with human experiments demonstrating that humans perceive rich interactions in the social events, and that the simulated agents behave similarly to humans. As a baseline model, we introduce a Bayesian inverse planning approach, SIMPLE (SIMulation, Planning and Local Estimation), which outperforms state-of-the-art feed-forward neural networks. We hope that PHASE can serve as a difficult new challenge for developing new models that can recognize complex social interactions.


The Philippines has been implementing its Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) for over 40 years now. However, measles outbreaks are still reported. One of the reasons behind this is parental vaccine hesitancy. This study aimed to understand conditions surrounding vaccine hesitancy among mothers in San Antonio, Northern Samar where rubella (German measles) outbreak was reported in 2017. A total of 1 6 mothers and three program implementers served as informants for this study. lt was found that despite the communication strategies used by the EPI program implementers, parental vaccine-hesitancy existed in the municipality. The mothers were considered vaccine-hesitant because of their delay in subjecting their children to measles vaccination. Analysis of the interview transcripts using the Grounded Theory approach revealed a number of conditions surrounding vaccine hesitancy among mothers. These include: (1) preoccupation with household responsibilities, (2) misunderstanding of the information on measles vaccination, (3) influence of social networks on vaccination decisions, and (4) negative perceptions about measles vaccination. The mothers' hesitancy to subject their children to measles vaccination caused their children to be infected with the disease, and had resulted in an outbreak of rubella in the community. The rubella outbreak eventually led to vaccine uptake when parents realized the importance of
subjecting their children to vaccination and when the government implemented mandatory measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination.


We are motivated to better understand how adaptive locomotion (rough terrain locomotion, turning, gait transition, etc) can be realized using a quadrupedal platform with constrained resources. These constraints include computational power limitation, no accurate force/torque sensing, and partial sensing of robot's kinematic states. These constraints arise from the fact that we are designing and experimenting with autonomous light-weight and (comparatively) cheap quadruped robots. The practical benefit of such robots is fast experimentation: experiments can be safely done with presence of one or two humans, and repairs are cheap and quick.


Summary: The incidence of systemic non‐Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) has only slightly decreased since the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), suggesting that current antiretroviral strategies do not eliminate the lymphoma risk. This study evaluates the evolving characteristics of HIV and NHL between the pre‐HAART and the post‐HAART periods in 246 HIV‐infected NHL patients from a single institution. Major HIV‐related characteristics were similar in the two periods. Most patients in the post‐HAART period presented with unknown (23%), untreated (16%), or uncontrolled (37%) HIV infection. Despite an increased frequency of advanced stage IV disease in the post‐HAART period (68% vs. 53%, p = .03), the overall survival has improved, with a 2‐year survival probability of 61.6% versus 35.9%, (p < .001). This was associated with an increased complete remission rate (69% vs. 55%, p = .04) and the generalization of more intensive chemotherapy regimens. Most patients (76%) who developed NHL in the post‐HAART period had uncontrolled HIV replication. However, 27 patients (24%) developed NHL despite an effective viral suppression at NHL diagnosis. Patients who were naive to any antiretroviral therapy at NHL diagnosis had an overall survival probability very similar to that of patients with controlled HIV replication. Improvement in the overall survival rate in the post‐HAART period was associated with more intensive chemotherapy regimens, increased complete remission rate, and a likely benefit of continuation or introduction of HAART.


A series of AlArEt(2)(THF) (Ar = Ph (1a), 4-MeC(6)H(4) (1b), 4-MeOC(6)H(4) (1c), 4-Me(3)SiC(6)H(4) (1d), 2-naphthyl (1e)) were synthesized from reactions of AlEt(2)Br(THF) with ArMgBr. In CDCl(3) solution, the (1)H NMR spectra showed that AlArEt(2)(THF) compounds exist as a mixture of four species of formulas of AlAr(x)Et(3-x) (THF) (x = 0, 1, 2, or 3). AlArEt(2)(THF) compounds were found to be superior and atom-economic reagents for asymmetric aryl additions to organic carbonyls. Aryl additions of AlArEt(2)(THF) to aldehydes catalyzed by the titanium(IV) complex of (R)-H(8)-BINOL were efficient with a short reaction time of 1 h, affording aryl addition products as exclusive or main products in high yields and excellent enantioselectivities of up to 98% ee. Although ethyl additions to aldehydes occurred in minor extent, this study demonstrates that increasing the amount of AlArEt(2)(THF) from 1.2 to 1.4 or to 1.6 equiv significantly improved the aryl addition products of up to >99%. On the other hand, asymmetric arylations of AlArEt(2)(THF) to ketones employing a titanium(IV) catalyst of (S)-BINOL produced optically active tertiary alcohols exclusively in excellent enantioselectivities of up to 94% ee.


Mast cells play a central role in type I hypersensitivity reactions and allergic disorders such as anaphylaxis and asthma. Activation of mast cells, through a cascade of phosphorylation events, leads to the release of mediators of the early phase allergic response. Understanding the molecular architecture underlying mast cell signaling may provide possibilities for therapeutic intervention in asthma and other allergic diseases. Although many details of mast cell signaling have been described previously, a systematic, quantitative analysis of the global tyrosine phosphorylation events that are triggered by activation of the mast cell receptor is lacking. In many cases, the involvement of particular proteins in mast cell signaling has been established generally, but the precise molecular mechanism of the interaction between known signaling proteins often mediated through phosphorylation is still obscure. Using recently advanced methodologies in mass spectrometry, including automation of phosphopeptide enrichments and detection, we have now substantially characterized, with temporal resolution as short as 10 s, the sites and levels of tyrosine phosphorylation across 10 min of FcεRI-induced mast cell activation. These results reveal a far more extensive array of tyrosine phosphorylation events than previously known, including novel phosphorylation sites on canonical mast cell signaling molecules, as well as unexpected pathway components downstream of FcεRI activation. Furthermore, our results, for the first time in mast cells, reveal the sequence of phosphorylation events for 171 modification sites across 121 proteins in the MCP5 mouse mast cell line and 179 modification sites on 117 proteins in mouse bone marrow-derived mast cells.


The use of curve fitting for the analysis and interpretation of voltammetric data obtained while working with micro electrodes is discussed as a useful exercise for introducing students to the principle of problem solving using least-squares curve-fitting techniques. The advantages associated with this approach to data processing over the approach where the limiting current (i L) alone is used are discussed and its limitations are highlighted. This technique was applied to the determination of unknown concentrations of ferrocyanide and the most satisfactory recovery of concentrations was found when both the va1ues of the formal potential (EO') and concentration ( C) were varied to match the experimental results with an equation characterizing the current potential curve for a reversible couple. In this case recoveries of 100% ± 5% were obtained for the concentration range 5 X 10--4 to 1 x 10M . It was also found chat Solver was unable to fit the equation when the sum of squared residuals was <2 X 10-. This technique can be generalized for use with a number of other electrochemical experiments such as polarography, rotating disk electrochemistry, and normal pulse polarography.


We make four contributions in this paper. First, we provide a core of macroeconomic time series usable for systematic research on China. Second, we document, through various empirical methods, the robust findings about striking patterns of trend and cycle. Third, we build a theoretical model that accounts for these facts. Fourth, the model's mechanism and assumptions are corroborated by institutional details, disaggregated data, and banking time series, all of which are distinctive of Chinese characteristics. We argue that preferential credit policy for promoting heavy industries accounts for the unusual cyclical patterns as well as the post-1990s economic transition featured by the persistently rising investment rate, the declining labor income share, and a growing foreign surplus. The departure of our theoretical model from standard ones offers a constructive framework for studying China's modern macroeconomy.


Disasters create an urgent need for people to deal with novel emergent problems. To respond effectively, people require information (about the event, support resources, actions etc.) and the ability to interpret and use available information to deal with diverse, emergent hazard consequences and demands over time. This diversity renders top-down, homogenous approaches to disaster communication ineffective. This paper examines whether a social media-based communication strategy, using Facebook, represents a more effective way of accommodating this diversity (e.g., event impacts, geographical, demographic, social), meeting the information needs of affected populations, and enhancing the quality of disaster communication. Data on how 583 people who used a Facebook page (Tassie Fires - We Can Help) specifically developed to assist response and recovery for the 2011 Tasmanian wildfire/bushfire disaster were obtained using an open-ended questionnaire. The accounts of people's experience of the event and their engagement with the Facebook page obtained from their responses to the questionnaire were analysed using thematic analysis. The paper also discusses evidence regarding how the development of functional social relationships amongst those who engaged via the page enhanced the effectiveness of the disaster communication process. In particular, it discusses how engagement with the page and the way the page was managed by the Administrator facilitated the development of Sense of Community, a social structural characteristic known to influence the quality of disaster communication. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implication of the findings for future research into the relationship between Facebook use, disaster communication and disaster recovery.


How would you like to build an Xbox game, use your Nintendo Wiimote to create an electronic whiteboard, or build your own peer-to-peer application? Coding4Fun helps you tackle some cool software and hardware projects using a range of free Microsoft software. Now you can code for fun with C#, VB, Lua, ASP.NET, WPF, XNA Game Studio, and Popfly. If you love to tinker, but don't have time to figure it all out, this book gives you clear, step-by-step instructions for building ten creative projects, including: Alien Attack: Create a 2D clone of Space Invaders with XNA for the PC, Xbox 360, and Zune LEGO Soldier: Create an action game using Popfly with a custom-built virtual LEGO character World of Warcraft RSS Feed Reader: Use WoW's customizable interface to have feeds pop up while you're gaming InnerTube: Download YouTube videos automatically and convert them to a file format for off-line viewing PeerCast: Stream video files from any PC TwitterVote: Create custom online polls on Twitter WHSMail: Build a website with ASP.NET for Windows Home Server that lets you view the messages stored on a computer with Outlook "Wiimote" Controlled Car: Steer your remote-controlled car by tilting the Wii Remote controller left and right Wiimote Whiteboard: Create an interactive whiteboard using a Wii Remote Holiday Lights: Synchronize your holiday light display with music to create your own light show The perfect gift for any developer, Coding4Fun shows you how to use your programming skills in new and fun ways. "This book is amazing! The scope is so wonderfully broad that anyone who has an interest in designing games at any level should read this book." -- Alex Albrecht, Creator of Diggnation / TotallyRad Show / Project Lore


Mobile Social Networking Services (SNS) are an emerging trend in which individuals of similar interests communicate with one another using mobile phones. In this paper, we calculate the monetary value of customers and their networks in mobile SNS using the official data provided by a service provider. The mobile SNS enable users to create their avatars to communicate with each other via blog comments and communities. The company sells various items for these avatars such as apparel and interiors. This service generates consumer purchase history data and user network data. In previous research, the value of the customer is often estimated using the purchase history, but the network value is neglected. In the field of computer science, the value of the network is evaluated via the network structure, but not much attention is paid to the economic aspect of each node. The aim of this paper is to incorporate the social factor with the customer purchase database and calculate the monetary value of each customer and his or her network. The results of empirical analysis show that our approach is useful in finding valuable customers for marketing activities and outperforms conventional metrics such as degree centrality.


This article proposes a framework for authentic leadership based on: authenticity in leadership actions and interactions; vision derived from the good intentions-intentionality-of committed people; spirituality which is built from engagement in meaningful relationships and from a sense of being connected to something larger than self; and from sensibility to the feelings, aspirations and needs of others, with special reference to the multicultural settings in which many leaders operate, and in the light of the increasing globalization trends in life and work. The authors argue that authenticity in leadership can help restore human, ethical, moral and spiritual dimensions to organizational relationships, thus making organizations better places in which to work, both in terms of productivity and quality of life.


A fundamental understanding of the relationship between the bulk morphology and device performance is required for the further development of bulk heterojunction organic solar cells. Here, non‐optimized (chloroform cast) and nearly optimized (solvent‐annealed o‐dichlorobenzene cast) P3HT:PCBM blend films treated over a range of annealing temperatures are studied via optical and photovoltaic device measurements. Parameters related to the P3HT aggregate morphology in the blend are obtained through a recently established analytical model developed by F. C. Spano for the absorption of weakly interacting H‐aggregates. Thermally induced changes are related to the glass transition range of the blend. In the chloroform prepared devices, the improvement in device efficiency upon annealing within the glass transition range can be attributed to the growth of P3HT aggregates, an overall increase in the percentage of chain crystallinity, and a concurrent increase in the hole mobilities. Films treated above the glass transition range show an increase in efficiency and fill factor not only associated with the change in chain crystallinity, but also with a decrease in the energetic disorder. On the other hand, the properties of the P3HT phase in the solvent‐annealed o‐dichlorobenzene cast blends are almost indistinguishable from those of the corresponding pristine P3HT layer and are only weakly affected by thermal annealing. Apparently, slow drying of the blend allows the P3HT chains to crystallize into large domains with low degrees of intra‐ and interchain disorder. This morphology appears to be most favorable for the efficient generation and extraction of charges.


While technology has been embraced by most of the people, use of smart phones in the classroom has been received with mixed feelings. Some say it enhances learning while others complain that it disturbs instruction. This research wanted to find out the stance of secondary school teachers on this issue in Zimbabwe. A sample of 50 randomly selected teachers from 10 randomly selected secondary schools in Gweru District, Midlands Province in Zimbabwe was used. Data from self-constructed questionnaires were analyzed by SPSS mainly on descriptive statistics and correlation. Findings showed that teachers possess smart phones which they use for researching and other instructional purposes with moderate expertise. Teachers consider smart phones as hand-held computers that can enhance learning for they have high engagement potential and they extend classroom walls allowing students to engage with the global village. A correlation computation showed that there is a significant relationship between perceived problems of smart phones and smart phones integration factors. However, respondents felt that smart phones can cause lower levels of attention during lessons and allows cheating and copying during exams. They also concurred that teachers' technical skills lag behind those of digital native students. Thus, they foresaw instructional problems on the part of the teachers on the use of smart phones in the classroom and were against their use. They doubted if the use of smart phones can improve the pass rate and whether they wanted their students to bring cell phones and use them during lessons for they perceived problems in controlling students using them. They also doubted if schools in Zimbabwe would ever benefit if students are allowed to use their phones in class. The study concluded that teachers in Zimbabwe are not yet prepared to have students use smart phone in the classroom and recommended for further research on the potential benefits of using smart phones in the classroom.


The overarching aim of this thesis was to provide the first quantitative account of the characteristics of the ichthyofaunas over the soft substrata and reefs of inshore waters along a continuous tropical coastline, which covers a substantial latitudinal range and three diverse marine bioregions, and to elucidate the factors that influence those characteristics. Fishes were thus sampled over both habitat types in deep (x = 22 m) and shallow (x = 12 m) inshore waters during both the dry and wet seasons at seven regularly spaced locations along the ~1,500 km coastline of tropical north-western Australia (NWA). The fishes over soft substrata were sampled by otter trawling during the day, while those over adjacent reefs were sampled using traps during both the day and night.

The 110,521 fishes sampled represented 361 species, 197 genera and 85 families. 229 species were caught exclusively over soft substrata and 76 solely over reefs, with only 56 species recorded in both habitat types. The Leiognathidae, Carangidae, Terapontidae and Mullidae collectively contributed 69% to catches over soft substrata, while the Lethrinidae and Lutjanidae dominated catches over reefs (82%). Most species had an affinity with the faunas of the Pacific Ocean, reflecting the connective influence of the polewards-flowing Indonesian Throughflow current (ITF) to the NWA coast.

Species composition over soft substrata and reefs were both influenced more by location than by season and water depth and also than by day vs night in the case of reefs. While ichthyofaunal compositions over both habitat types change progressively with decreasing latitude/water temperature, they differ among the three bioregions, reflecting marked differences in environmental characteristics. Tidal range and turbidity decline 2 markedly with latitude. Rivers and mangrove forests are numerous in the Kimberley Bioregion in the north, but restricted in the Pilbara Bioregion in the south and, to an even greater extent, in the intermediate Canning Bioregion. The fish fauna of the Kimberley is particularly distinctive, containing several species belonging to families adapted for visual acuity and recognition in turbid waters, e.g. Leiognathidae and Lutjanidae.

Species richness and abundance of fishes over soft substrata in deep and shallow waters in the environmentally 'stable' dry season peaked at the northern and southern locations (Kimberley and Pilbara), whereas they essentially declined with latitude during the wet season. In contrast, those biotic variables over reefs rose to a peak in the central locations (Canning Bioregion) and then declined. It is thus relevant that the waters in the central bioregion are relatively low in productivity, a characteristic associated with good reef development, but less so for sustaining the substantial benthic macro-invertebrate fauna that constitutes the prey of many of the fish species found over soft substrata.

Analyses of the composite dataset produced for the ichthyofaunas of the NWA coast during this thesis have led to a greater understanding of the ecology of this important, but relatively little studied, coastline. Furthermore, the thesis has produced the type of crucial baseline data that will enable, in the future, any faunal changes brought about by climate change, increases in fishing pressure and other anthropogenic effects to be detected.


Easily recognized bright events on seismic data can infer a host of phenomena, ranging from lithology interplay to indicating lucrative prospects in relatively greenfield settings. The availability of seismic angle stacks integrated to a geological model afford the petroleum explorationist more options to reduce obviously incorrect conclusions and help to identify the more likely cause(s) of these bright events within the seismic data. A combination of simultaneous seismic inversion, and far and near angle stack comparisons gave more confident deductions on certain recognized seismic features as well as identifying potential interesting prospects to pursue and study in the context of petroleum exploration in offshore Myanmar. In the Bay of Bengal Rakhine Outer Fold Belt, exploration 3D seismic acquisition was carried out in 2010 and a significant gas discovery made in 2012. We present some examples of features that were identified on seismic data and how the range of geological hypotheses could be narrowed by seismic inversion.


When creating highly interactive, direct-manipulation interfaces, one of the most difficult design and implementation tasks is handling the mouse and other input devices. Peridot, a new user interface management system, addresses this problem by allowing the designer of the user interface to demonstrate how the input device should be handled by giving an example of the interface in action. The designer uses sample values for parameters, and the system automatically infers the general operation and creates the code. After an interaction is specified, it can be executed rapid prototyping, since it is very easy to design, implement, and modify mouse-based interfaces. Perudit also supports such additional input devices as touch tablets, as well as multiple input devices operating in parallel (for example, one in each hand) in a natural, easy-to-specify manner. All interaction techniques are implemented using active values, which are like variables except that the objects that depend on active values are updated immediately whenever they change. Active values are a straightforward and efficient mechanism for implementing dynamic interactions.


: Introduction: Apical extrusion of irrigants and debris is an inherent limitation associated with cleaning and shaping of root canals and has been studied extensively because of its clinical relevance as a cause of flare-ups. Many factors affect the amount of extruded intracranial materials. The purpose of this study was to assess the bacterial extrusion by using manual, Mtwo ,NiTi rotary system and V(variable) taper rotary instrumentation techniques. Thirty six human mandibular premolars were inoculated with Enterococcus faecalis. The teeth were divided into 3 experimental groups (n=10) and 1 control group (n=6). The root canals of experimental groups were instrumented according to the manufacturers' instructions by using manual technique, Mtwo NiTi rotary system and V (variable) taper rotary instruments .Sterilized saline was used as an irrigant, and bacterial extrusion was quantified as colony-forming units/milliliter. Results obtained were statistically analyzed with suitable statistical test.


Drawing on a longitudinal study of middle-class and working-class girls growing up, this article focuses on those few working-class young women who managed to get to university and face the prospect of a 'professional' career. The authors examine the concept of 'hybridity' as it is used to understand shifts in the constitution of contemporary feminine subjectivities and argue that although hybridity may be a social and cultural fact, in this psychic economy there are no easy hybrids. The authors explore some of the more difficult emotional dynamics in their families that have nevertheless helped sustain their success; of 'never asking for anything', of parents as burdened, of envy, love and pride. Moving into the intellectual domain is a massive shift for working-class young women who do well at school, requiring an internal and external 'makeover'. It is therefore essential to explore the complexities of the losses as well as the gains involved in educational success and upward mobility for working-class young women if we are serious about the project of equality in education. Without a consideration of the psychodynamic processes involved, the deep and enduring failure of the majority of working-class girls and boys will continue unabated.


This Article challenges the current legislative and scholarly approaches to HIV-exposure crimes and proposes an alternative framework to address their flaws. Twenty-four states criminalize consensual sexual activities of people with HIV. Current statutes and the scholarship that supports them focus on HIV-positive status, sexual activity and knowledge of HIV-positive status as proxies for risk, mental state, and consent to risk. As a result, they are dramatically over- and under-inclusive and stigmatize individuals living with HIV. Criminalization should be limited to circumstances in which a defendant exposed her partner to a substantial degree of unassumed risk and did so with a culpable mental state as to transmission. This approach requires a fact-finder to consider all evidence relevant to the risk of transmission and the victim's understanding of that risk, a modest requirement that would nonetheless invert outcomes in numerous prosecutions. The Article contextualizes these arguments within the larger debate on the use of rules and standards in the criminal law, and explores the implications of its approach for both HIV-exposure criminalization and for any offense drafted in response to an emerging threat.


Discrimination is considered a contextual risk factor for ethnic minority youth, but social support provided in the same context may function to offset the risk or encourage adaptive responses. Per the integrative model of child development (Garcia Coll et al., 1996), experiences in the school, familial, and community settings can foster the development of cognitive, social, and emotional competencies in the presence of racism and discrimination. The current study evaluated how perceptions of discrimination and support in the school setting influenced school belonging, college-going self-efficacy, and depressive symptoms in a sample of Latino youth (N = 179). We distinguished between peers and nonparental adults as the sources of discrimination and support. Overall, peer support was associated with all three outcomes, suggesting peers as a positive resource. Adult support was only significant in the school belonging model. Findings supported a limited moderating role for peer support on peer discrimination, but only for the depressive symptoms outcome. Implications and suggestions for mental health practitioners are offered.


This thesis presents work in digital image cytometry applied to fluorescence microscope images of cultivated cells. Focus has been on the development and compilation of robust image analysis tools, enabling quantitative measurements of various properties of cells and cell structures. A significant part of the work has consisted of developing robust segmentation methods for fluorescently labelled cells. This, in combination with effort applied in the areas of feature extraction and statistical data analysis, has enabled the compilation of a complete chain of processing steps to produce a system capable of performing fully automatic segmentation and classification of fluorescently labelled cells according to their level of activation.Two sequences of processing steps, both leading to automatic cytoplasm segmentation of fluorescence microscopy cell images are presented. In one of the sequences, an additional image of the nuclei of the cells is segmented. The nuclei are then used as seeds for the segmentation of the cytoplasm image. This solves the problem of over-segmentation of the cytoplasms in an efficient way. The other sequence uses merge and split algorithms on the cytoplasm image, in conjunction with statistical analysis of descriptive features. This analysis is used in a feedback system to improve the segmentation performance, and to give an overall quality measure of the segmentation.A classification method that separates individual cells into three classes, depending on their level of activation, is described. The method is based on analysis of time series of images. Using both general purpose features and carefully designed problem specific features, in combination with a floating feature selection procedure, a Bayesian classifier is built. Evaluation showed that the performance of the fully automatic classification procedure was very close to the performance of skilled manual classification.A novel method for performing estimation of intensity nonuniformites of microscope images is presented. Methods to solve many other problems related to image analysis of cell images are discussed and evaluated. All methods presented in this work are applicable to real-world situations. The two main projects of the thesis work have been performed in close cooperation with and according to demands of the biomedical industry.


Researchers have determined that concept maps serve as effective tools in the traditional science classroom. The purpose of this experimental study was to investigate concept mapping as a tool for student knowledge acquisition in 10 th grade science for students in distance learning situations. Research questions were designed to investigate the influence of concept mapping on rate and quality of student knowledge acquisition and retention. This study was a pretest-posttest 2-group comparison study, constructivist in nature and based on the theory of cognitive learning. Participants included 36 students in the 10 th grade at an inner-city school in the United States. Control and treatment groups participated in completing pre and posttesting to establish standards for initial understanding and knowledge acquired. Pretest scores were used in a 2-tailed t test to establish equivalence between groups at the beginning of the study. ANOVA was used with test gains to determine differences between treatment and control groups. Cronbach's alpha was conducted to test for concept map interrater reliability. A 2-tailed t test for matched groups was used with concept map scores and treatment group test gains to determine any relationship. No statistically significant relationship between the use of concept maps and distance learning was found. Recommendations for future research include a wider age range for participants and investigations of academic areas such as reading, writing, mathematics, and language acquisition, native and foreign. Implications for positive social change include research with altered parameters to identify an existing tool that may be used by students in the traditional classroom as well as in distancelearning scenarios. Concept Mapping as a Tool for Enhancing Self-Paced Learning in a Distance Scenario by John A. Richbourg, Jr. MA, University of Texas at San Antonio, 1991 BS, The Citadel, Charleston, SC, 1974 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Educational Technology Walden University May 2015


The evolutionary history of chimpanzees has been widely studied by researchers for a number of years. The number, and evolutionary relationship, of chimpanzee subspecies has been disputed for a number of years. In recent years researchers have used genomic data to investigate these questions. A consensus has emerged that chimpanzees are divided into four subspecies ranging across tropical Africa. However, little is known about underlying evolutionary processes that generated these patterns. Two major mechanisms have been proposed to drive the evolutionary diversification of chimpanzees: (1) isolation and subsequent diversification of taxa in Pleistocene Refugia and (2) isolation on opposite banks of riverine barriers. Additionally, the role of intraspecific differentiation and speciation through divergent selection across habitat gradients has been the focus of several recent studies, but this mechanism is relatively understudied in primates.

Key Concepts:

There have been recent breakthroughs into understanding the genetic differences between chimpanzee populations.

Genomic science has provided a window into the evolutionary history of chimpanzees.

Understanding evolutionary processes is vital to understanding chimpanzee evolution.

Understanding chimpanzee evolutionary history is of great interest to scientists.

Common chimpanzees can be divided into four genetically distinct subspecies.

Keywords:

chimpanzee;
genetics;
subspecies;
genome;
bonobo;
population;
Africa


Technology and innovation play important roles in the approaches to sustainability related problems. An increasing number of companies find Sustainable Development (SD) important; this is mainly due to the growing attention from politics and society. Exchanging of new knowledge and insight is therefore important. Daily practice proves that it is difficult for (small and medium sized) companies to regularly make time to transfer knowledge internally. Therefore it is necessary for companies to have a practical approach on improving the level of knowledge of Sustainable Technological Innovation (STI) within the organisation. Microteaching STI offers a flexible and activating approach focussed on stimulating feedback, coupled on various learning styles and participants. In series of meetings of 15 to 30 minutes, related topics will be taught. The choice of topics covered will be determined by the knowledge requirements of both the employees and the company. The approach is developed and tested in collaboration with six companies in the Netherlands, Delft University of Technology and partners involved in training and Sustainable Development: Innovaders Amsterdam, in corporation with Beco Rotterdam. Learning goals of both participants and company are discussed. Mind maps have been used to indicate the attitude of the companies towards Sustainable Development. Brainstorm meetings with all partners and 'learning by doing' have resulted in a format to support an active learning approach. Other focus points are: Training of the (internal) trainer, choosing the correct active work form, using clear examples, paying attention to feedback, facilitating internal discussion and deepening of knowledge after the teaching.


Peptides corresponding to the calmodulin binding domain of the plasma membrane Ca2+ pump (James et al., 1988) were synthesized, and their interaction with calmodulin was studied with circular dichroism, infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, and fluorescence techniques. They corresponded to the complete calmodulin binding domain (28 residues), to its first 15 or 20 amino acids, and to its C-terminal 14 amino acids. The first three peptides interacted with calmodulin. The K value was similar to that of the intact enzyme in the 28 and 20 amino acid peptides, but increased substantially in the shorter 15 amino acid peptide. The 14 amino acid peptide corresponding to the C-terminal portion of the domain failed to bind calmodulin. 2D NMR experiments on the 20 amino acid peptides have indicated that the interaction occurred with the C-terminal half of calmodulin. A tryptophan that is conserved in most calmodulin binding domains of proteins was replaced by other amino acids, giving rise to modified peptides which had lower affinity for calmodulin. An 18 amino acid peptide corresponding to an acidic sequence immediately N-terminal to the calmodulin binding domain which is likely to be a Ca2+ binding site in the pump was also synthesized. Circular dichroism experiments have shown that it interacted with the calmodulin binding domain, supporting the suggestion (Benaim et al., 1984) that the latter, or a portion of it, may act as a natural inhibitor of the pump.


The coactivator PGC-1alpha mediates key responses of skeletal muscle to motor nerve activity. We show here that neuregulin-stimulated phosphorylation of PGC-1alpha and GA-binding protein (GABP) allows recruitment of PGC-1alpha to the GABP complex and enhances transcription of a broad neuromuscular junction gene program. Since a subset of genes controlled by PGC-1alpha and GABP is dysregulated in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), we examined the effects of transgenic PGC-1alpha in muscle of mdx mice. These animals show improvement in parameters characteristic of DMD, including muscle histology, running performance, and plasma creatine kinase levels. Thus, control of PGC-1alpha levels in skeletal muscle could represent a novel avenue to prevent or treat DMD.


This study developed a multi-ions sensing system that includes pH, potassium, sodium, and chloride ion sensors with a wireless home-care system. The pH sensor was based on a tin oxide (SnO )/indium tin oxide (ITO) glass, and the potassium, sodium, and chloride ion sensors were based on the pH sensor with sensing membrane. The tin oxide (SnO) sensing membrane was deposited on indium tin oxide (ITO) substrate using a sputtering system. The sensing membranes of the ion sensors were prepared by mixing poly (vinyl chloride) (PVC), bis (2-ethylhexyl) sebacate (DOS), ionophores, and additives. According to the experimental results, sensitivities of the sensors all were over the value 51 mV/decade. The linear range of pH sensor was between pH2 and pH12, the linear ranges of potassium, sodium, and chloride sensors all were over from 1 mM to 1 M. Therefore, the multi-ions sensing system is suitable for monitoring of blood electrolytes. The correlations of the multi-ion sensors under different test solutions also were discussed. Moreover, this study also investigated sensors module, portable module, Bluetooth module, personal computer (PC) terminal, and portable unit of the wireless home-care system. A graphical measurement interface for data recorded and measurement results displayed was designed by National Instrument Lab-VIEW software. According to the experimental results, the measurement data by the wireless home-care system are near the real values. The wireless home-care system could successfully monitor and transmitted the sensing signals.


BACKGROUND
Substance abuse has been called the dominant characteristic of families involved in child abuse cases, but the frequency with which childhood victims become adult victimizers remains uncertain.

OBJECTIVE
To examine whether a history of childhood sexual or physical abuse is associated with becoming a victimizer (ie, abusing or assaulting others) as an adult.

METHODS
Interview data were collected from 439 persons in Providence, RI, from July 1997 through March 1998 who had a history of intravenous drug use. Victimizers were defined as adults who had ever physically abused or assaulted a family member or sexual partner (eg, kicked, hit, choked, shot, stabbed, burned, or held at gunpoint). We compared persons who had a history of victimizing others with those who did not have such a history by bivariate and multivariate analyses. Variables included demographic factors as well as a history of sexual or physical abuse before the age of 16 years. abuse was 51% for women and 31% for men. Seventeen percent of our subjects reported being victimizers. Among persons who reported being victims of either physical or sexual childhood abuse, 28% victimized others; among those who denied a history of childhood abuse, 10% victimized others. Two thirds of victimizers reported being intoxicated while assaulting others. When we used logistic regression to control for sex, having children, education, race, and history of incarceration, childhood abuse was significantly and independently associated with becoming a victimizer (odds ratio, 3.6; 95% confidence interval, 2.1-6.1).

CONCLUSIONS
Large numbers of intravenous drug users, both men and women, have victimized family members or sexual partners. We confirm a high rate of childhood abuse among this population and demonstrate that among intravenous drug users past abuse is associated with becoming a victimizer as an adult. Primary care providers should be alert to this cycle of violence.


Many purchase and consumption choices are shaped by clear-cut constraints, either budgetary or temporal. You buy a house, for example, after considering your income, life expectancy, and the size of the mortgage you can obtain. But what about the constraints in smaller but repeated purchase and consumption decisions such as whether to see a movie or open a pack of cigarettes? On a local level, we tend not to make carefully calculated decisions. Rather, we often consume impulsively. This paper reviews emerging empirical evidence of how consumers with self-control problems cope with choice situations in which it is difficult to assess their constraints. It argues that impulsive consumers end up overconsuming their inventories of money, time, and goods when they try to make purchase and consumption decisions that do not involve clear-cut constraints. To protect themselves from overconsumption, they scale down their spending and consumption by self-imposing constraints, such as limiting their liquidity, mental budgeting, self-imposing deadlines, or rationing their purchases. For instance, it's difficult to have a clear temporal or budgetary overview when you're simply deciding whether to buy an expensive magazine, and that makes it all too easy to buy on impulse. However, you might resist temptation by imposing a rule on yourself that you can afford it only if you can pay cash instead of by credit card, or that you can only buy two magazines per week. While framing choices in such narrow terms may often induce economically suboptimal behavior, the local constraints employed by self-rationing can ultimately help consumers compensate for their inability to stick to imperceptible global constraints.


This study investigated the stiffness characteristics of crossed-roller bearings (XRBs) subjected to various loading and boundary conditions. A five-degrees-of-freedom XRB model was adopted that considers the effect of roller roundness deformation, which was developed by the authors in a prior study. The analytical formulation for a fully occupied (5 × 5) stiffness matrix of XRB was obtained. Extended simulations were performed to determine the XRB stiffness and internal load distribution considering the effects of the external loads, axial preloads, axial clearance, and angular misalignment. The numerical results confirmed that the bearing stiffness possessed significant nonlinearity with respect to the external loads. Increasing the axial clearance reduced the stiffness of the bearing under radial and moment loading, but it did not affect the stiffness of the pure axially loaded bearing. The stiffness of the bearing with axial clearance increased consistently with the misalignment angle. The stiffness behavior of the preloaded bearing depended on the misalignment angle.


With the increasing wind penetration, large-scale offshore wind farms exert significant impact on power system security and operation, and thus are required to contribute to system frequency regulation. This paper develops a coordinated control strategy for offshore wind farms with voltage source converter-based HVDC (VSC-HVDC) transmission system to participate in power system frequency regulation. The strategy explores the frequency support capability of offshore wind farms and VSC-HVDC. By implementing the proposed coordinated control, the VSCHVDC link is able to provide quick virtual inertial response to onshore grid frequency drops. Shortly afterwards, the offshore wind farm detects the frequency changes and start to participate in inertial response and primary frequency control. The offshore wind farms, in this study, consist of full-converter wind turbines (FCWTs). Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the frequency regulation capability of VSC-HVDC and validate the effectiveness of the proposed coordinated control strategy.