Abstract The current infrafamilial taxonomy of the Iridaceae recognizes four subfamilies; Isophysidoideae (1: 1); Nivenioideae (6: ca. 92), Iridoideae (29: 890), and Crocoideae (29: 1032). Phylogenetic analyses of sequences of five plastid DNA regions, rbcL, rps4, trnL–F, matK, and rps16, confirm most aspects of this classification and the evolutionary patterns that they imply, importantly the sisiter relationship of Isophysidoideae to the remainder of the family and the monophyly of Iridoideae. Subfamily Nivenioideae is, however, paraphyletic; Crocoideae is consistently found nested within it, sister to the core Nivenioideae, the woody Klattia, Nivenia, and Witsenia. This clade is sister to Aristea, which in turn is sister to the Madagascan Geosiris, and then to the Australasian Patersonia. We treat Aristea, Geosiris, and Patersonia as separate subfamilies, Aristeoideae and the new Geosiridaceae and Patersonioideae, rendering Nivenioideae and Crocoideae monophyletic. The alternative, uniting a widely circumscribed Nivenioideae and Crocoideae, seems undesirable because Nivenioideae have none of the numerous synapomorphies of Crocoideae, and that subfamily includes more than half the total species of Iridaceae. Main synapomorphies of Crocoideae are: pollen operculate; exine perforate; ovule campylotropous; root xylem vessels with simple perforations; rootstock a corm; inflorescence usually a spike; plants deciduous. Four more derived features of Crocoideae are shared only with core Nivenioideae: flowers long-lived; perianth tube well developed; flowers sessile; and septal nectaries present. The genera of the latter subfamily are evergreen shrubs, have monocot-type secondary growth, tangentially flattened seeds, and the inflorescence unit is a binate rhipidium. The latter feature unites core Nivenioideae with Aristea, Geosiris, and Patersonia, which have fugaceous flowers and, with few exceptions, a blue perianth. Molecular-based phylogenetic trees using sequences from five plastid DNA regions now show discrete generic clusters within Crocoideae and Iridoideae, the foundation for the tribal classification. The five tribe classification of Iridoideae, initially based on morphological characters and subsequently supported by a four plastid DNA region sequence analysis, continues to receive support using additional DNA sequences. Application of molecular clock techniques to our phylogeny indicates that the Iridaceae differentiated in the late Cretaceous and diverged from the next most closely related family, Doryanthaceae circa 82 mya, thus during the Campanian. The Tasmanian Isophysis is the only extant member of the clade sister to the remainder of the Iridaceae, from which it may have diverged 66 mya, in the Maastrichtian. The generic phylogeny shows the proximal clades of the family are all Australasian, which corroborates past hypotheses that the Iridaceae originated in Antarctica-Australasia, although its subsequent radiation occurred elsewhere, notably in southern Africa and temperate and highland South America at the end of the Eocene or later.


This memorandum states: We, scientists, engineers, experts, industrialists – representatives of 28 countries, participants of the 5th International IAHE Conference 'Hydrogen Economy and Hydrogen Treatment of Materials, HTM-2007' (21?25 May 2007, Donetsk, Ukraine), representatives of the older and younger generations of the World Hydrogen Movement, taking into account that: the global energy and environment problems caused by fossil fuels continue to grow; fossil fuel resources are limited and Hubbert's peak will be reached in the near future; and the world scientific and cultural community is separated and consider the problems above from different (sometimes antithetical) viewpoints – and being active members of the World Hydrogen Movement and wishing to be of assistance in consolidating the world scientific and cultural community to successfully solve the problems above, discussed and adopted this full-scale memorandum on historical IAHE activities and the IAHE prognosis of the future humankind transition to the era of hydrogen civilisation and call on the world community to concentrate attention and activity on some new challenges of the present day.


This thesis further defines how to reach Interactional Empowerment through design for users. Interactional Empowerment is an interaction design program within the general area of affective interaction, focusing on the users' ability to reflect, express themselves and engage in profound meaning-making.This has been explored through design of three systems eMoto, Affective Diary and Affective Health, which all mirror users' emotions or bodily reactions in interaction in some way. From these design processes and users' encounters with the system I have extracted one experiential quality, Evocative Balance, and several embryos to experiential qualities. Evocative Balance refers to interaction experiences in which familiarity and resonance with lived experience are balanced with suggestiveness and openness to interpretation. The development of the concept of evocative balance is reported over the course of the three significant design projects, each exploring aspects of Interactional Empowerment in terms of representing bodily experiences in reflective and communicative settings. By providing accounts of evocative balance in play in the three projects, analyzing a number of other relevant interaction design experiments, and discussing evocative balance in relation to existing concepts within affective interaction, we offer a multi-grounded construct that can be appropriated by other interaction design researchers and designers.This thesis aims to mirror a designerly way of working, which is recognized by its multigroundedness, focus on the knowledge that resides in the design process, a slightly different approach to the view of knowledge, its extension and its rigour. It provides a background to the state-of-the-art in the design community and exemplifies these theoretical standpoints in the design processes of the three design cases. This practical example of how to extend a designer's knowledge can work as an example for design researchers working in a similar way.


The Swedish book business began as a poorly developed market with serious economic, social, and infrastructural issues, but transformed over the course of two centuries into a well-functioning, albeit small, market with strong international ties. The 19th-century book market was hampered by poor infrastructure and underdeveloped publishing and book sales. Technological innovations in printing techniques and the new wood-based pulps for paper, in combination with better infrastructure, improved matters. The book business was increasingly professionalized at every stage, and by the turn of the 20th century could fairly be described as industrial and modernized. Access to forestry (and hence inexpensive pulp), inexpensive hydroelectric power, and strong industrial growth have been important factors in the advances in the Swedish book trade: they contributed to making printing cheaper and faster and thus paved the way for the low-priced books that were to dominate the business throughout the two centuries. Regardless of the era or the ideologies and purposes involved, cheap books have always driven the industry and have also been one of the most important factors in breaking down the social and cultural barriers to reading.Developments in Sweden's book trade generally followed the same course as socioeconomic history, with the notable exception that Sweden's book trade has always been more liberal and commercial than other forms of trade and industry. The book market was regulated through trade agreements between 1843 and 1970. These created a stable, but strictly controlled, market. A deregulation of the trade in 1970 saw the pendulum swing far back. In comparison with other Western European countries since 1970, Sweden has had fewer restrictions and regulations and thus a highly commercial and price-conscious market.A further notable aspect of the Swedish book trade is that despite the smallness of the country in terms of population and language, exports and imports have been far larger than most comparable countries. The international ties in terms of business-to-business relations, translations, and foreign rights sales remain strong, with the Swedish book trade very dependent on the international trade. (Less)


ABSTRACT Two ongoing and recurrent debates in the employment of academic staff are (1) how much industry experience should faculty staff have? and (2) what priority is given to research, teaching or both? Such debates take place worldwide and are particularly relevant to vocational subject areas. Through a statistical analysis of circa 200 job adverts for lecturer / assistant professor, senior lecturer / associate professor, and professor / full professor positions in Construction and Engineering posts in the UK, this paper investigates the essential and desirable attributes required for 'research', 'teaching' and 'overall requirements'. The analysis shows institutions unmistakably focus on, and coherently recruit for research, but demonstrate very little reasoned approach to recruiting for teaching. Indeed, findings identify 'administration' as the key teaching priority. Further empirical analysis demonstrates no significant difference in recruitment strategy before and after the introduction of the Teaching Excellence Framework, despite its aim to put teaching excellence to the fore.


A peculiar dedolomitization phenomenon is associated with the supergene alteration of Zn-Pb sulfide ores, resulting in the precipitation of newly formed carbonate phases. In addition to the deposition of calcite and several metal carbonates, this phenomenon results in a widespread replacement of host-rock dolomites by zincian dolomite phases. Dolomite samples have been collected in the oxidation zone of the mining districts of southwestern Sardinia (Italy), Yanque (Peru), and Jabali (Yemen), and the results compared with data sets from Upper Silesia (Poland) and Namibia. In all districts Zn dolomite (as much as 20% ZnO) replaces the previous dolomite phases through fractures and along crystal growth zones, and smithsonite (ZnCO 3 ) may be high in Mg (to 15% MgO). Zn dolomites are produced by the reaction of metal-carrying and O-rich meteoric fluids with preexisting dolomite bodies hosting Zn sulfide ores, subjected to active weathering. Their occurrence in the oxidation zone of the sulfide deposits corroborates their supergene origin. The ample extent of the Zn dolomite replacement bodies, underestimated so far, is important for the exploration of nonsulfide Zn ores, because it may lead to an incorrect evaluation of the extractable metallic resources calculated from the assay data.


This Article advocates passage of a law requiring members of Congress to disclose the amount of time they spend fundraising. In the wake of Citizens United and other court decisions severely limiting lawmakers' ability to regulate campaign spending, many scholars have turned their focus to campaign finance disclosure laws. According to some, laws requiring campaigns and donors to reveal the source of contributions and expenditures are the last bastion of federal campaign finance law. Yet despite a history of broad acceptance, disclosure laws rest on an increasingly shaky foundation. The most troubling aspect of current disclosure law is that it contains loopholes so obvious and irresistible that many political players choose to spend dark money, the source of which is unidentified. Further, some argue that even when the source of political spending is disclosed, the information provided to the electorate is of questionable usefulness for a host of reasons. Finally, opponents of disclosure laws point to their potential chilling effect and threats of retaliation that can occur when the public learns who supported a certain candidate or ballot measure. Even those who support disclosure laws have recently conceded that perhaps the law should encompass only large spenders rather than those contributing only a few hundred dollars. For these reasons, there have been calls to reform federal disclosure law so it is more properly tailored to serve its goals without chilling speech. Many have proposed effective, intelligent changes that would improve the disclosure regime greatly. However, the current discussion about disclosure largely ignores the fact that there is a gaping hole in disclosure requirements: While the electorate receives some information about a candidate's financial backers and can learn about a legislator's votes and other activities, voters cannot discover how much time their representatives spend raising money. Information about legislators' fundraising time is critically important: the average member of Congress spends between thirty and seventy percent of their time seeking money. The aim of requiring disclosure of fundraising time would be twofold: First, it would supplement current disclosure law by providing new, valuable information about legislators that is less susceptible to avoidance, is more useful to voters, and would not risk chilling speech. Second, it would discourage legislators from spending egregious amounts of time fundraising, thereby encouraging them to devote more time to the jobs they are elected to do. Though this Article focuses on the discrete proposal of requiring disclosure of time spent fundraising, it also advocates further scholarly examination of enhanced disclosure of legislators' activities. Such requirements, like the one proposed here, provide greater benefits and often lack the drawbacks of disclosure laws that seek information from nongovernment actors.


Mobile wireless networks are gaining increasing interest as an alternative to infrastructure-based wired networks. For this to take place, applications running over traditional networks should also be applicable over wireless networks with a reasonable quality. One of the popular applications of networking are streaming multimedia applications. A better support of streaming multimedia applications over wireless networks will speed up the spreading of such networks. In this paper, we present a framework for streaming video over mobile multi-hop wireless networks. The framework is composed of three components handling all problems of video streaming. However, we focus in this paper on the congestion control component, realized through augmented functionality of intermediate nodes. We also present some experimental results with which we tried to identify the causes of the deterioration in quality, when streaming video in a wireless network.


Background. The psychological effects of war trauma are well-documented, but comparatively little research has focused on the mechanisms underlying intergenerational impacts of war and displacement. Specifically, the effects of armed conflict on family processes such as parenting behavior, and subsequent impacts on child psychosocial outcomes, are less understood. Methods. This study tests a conceptual model linking past war trauma and current displacement-related stressors to maternal mental health, parenting behavior, and child psychosocial problems. Cross-sectional data were collected in 2016–2017 from a sample of 291 Syrian refugee mothers in Lebanon. We used structural equation modeling to examine associations between war trauma, daily stressors, mothers' general psychological distress and post-traumatic stress (PTS), negative parenting, and child psychosocial problems. Results. Exposure to war-related events was directly associated with maternal PTS and general psychological distress, as well as indirectly via daily stressors. Mothers' general psychological distress, but not PTS, was directly associated with negative parenting and child psychosocial difficulties. Negative parenting mediated the association between maternal general psychological distress and child psychosocial problems. Model fit statistics indicate that the measurement and structural models provided a good fit to the data. Conclusions. Results suggest that the adverse effects of past war trauma and ongoing displacement on refugee mothers' general mental health can increase the risk of negative parenting behavior, and in turn contribute to poorer psychosocial outcomes for children. Interventions should focus on psychosocial and parenting support for war-affected caregivers, as well as address structural challenges that debilitate caregiver and child mental health.


Volunteering in late life is associated with health benefits such as reduced risk of hypertension, improved self-related health and well-being, delayed physical disability, enhanced cognition, and lower mortality. Although the mechanisms of these correlations are not clear, increases in physical activity, cognitive engagement, and social interactions likely play contributing roles. Volunteers are typically thought to represent a select group, often possessing higher levels of education and income, good health, and strong social networks. However, group evidence indicates that there are many members of groups of lower socioeconomic status (SES), including elderly adults, who serve their communities on a regular basis and in high-priority programs. We propose that the impact of volunteering in an aging population be recognized and invested into, and that effective programs harness social capital of older adults to address critical societal needs and also improve the well-being of older adults. While members of low-SES groups are less likely to volunteer, they exhibit disproportionately great benefits. The Experience Corps represents a model of an effective volunteerism program, in which elders work with young schoolchildren. Existing federal initiatives, in cluding the Foster Grandparent Program and Senior Companion Program – which target low-income elders – have had low participation with long waiting lists. Given the proven benefits and relatively low proportion of older persons who volunteer, enhancement of elder volunteerism presents a significant opportunity for health promotion and deserves consideration as a national public health priority.


Equipment has been developed to facilitate supplying a soil column with water or draining a soil column under conditions of constant head while the soil column is under centrifugal forces in a geotechnical centrifuge. Accurate monitoring of the water mass transfer is also facilitated by the equipment. At the completion of a modelling sequence, the soil column may be partitioned for moisture content and chemical analysis with minimal disruption of the moisture content profile. Some preliminary modelling results are included in the paper.


Although cigarette smoking is decreasing in the U.S., hookah tobacco smoking (HTS) is an emerging trend associated with substantial toxicant exposures. While HTS is popular among various socio-demographic groups, it is most common among university students. Therefore, three interrelated studies were conducted to better understand this health behavior and inform future interventions to reduce it.

Cross-sectional data from over 100,000 students in 152 U.S. universities participating in the National College Health Assessment during 2008-2009 were analyzed. These data demonstrated that 30.5% and 8.4% of the sample reported HTS ever and in the past 30 days, respectively, making HTS the second most common source of tobacco. Fully adjusted multivariable models accounting for clustering of individuals within institutions showed that HTS was most strongly associated with younger age, male gender, white race, fraternity/sorority membership, and non-religious institutions in large cities in the western United States.

The sample was then partitioned using two-step cluster analysis according to current use of HTS, cigarettes, cigars, marijuana, and alcohol. A 6-cluster solution was found, and in one cluster all members had used HTS in the past 30 days. Three individual factors (gender, undergraduate status, and fraternity/sorority membership)—but no institutional factors—were significantly associated with cluster membership.

Finally, municipal, county, and state legal texts from the largest 100 cities in the U.S. were examined in order to characterize each city's policies related to HTS. Although 73 of the 100 largest cities in the U.S. have laws that disallow cigarette smoking in bars, HTS may be allowed due to exemptions in 69 of these 73 cities. Multinomial logistic regression was used to demonstrate that, compared with cities without clean air legislation, the cities in which HTS may be exempted had denser and more politically liberal populations.

These findings suggest that, after cigarettes, HTS is now the most common form of tobacco use among university students. Because hookah use affects groups with a wide variety of individual and institutional characteristics, and because the current policy environment is permissive, it should be included with other forms of tobacco in efforts related to tobacco surveillance and intervention.


MJA 199 (11) · 16 December 2013 754 Before impeaching facet joint injections and medial branch blocks, and thereby medial branch neurotomies, as well as lumbar transforaminal epidural steroid injections, Harris and Buchbinder should consider: • interprofessional patient-centred approaches are key; • pharmacological management is often ineffective; • their view does not reflect the current practice of Australian pain medicine physicians; • these procedures help people struggling to continue in social roles and maintain quality of life, so they help to reduce the economic impact of spinal pain on Australian society. We support education to improve evidence-based practice of interventional procedures.


Background: Psoriasis vulgaris is a common chronic and inflammatory disease of skin that its etiology is not completely known. However, it seems that genetic and environmental factors play a role in this disease. In vitro studies show that prolactin as a neurohormone has an etiologic effect on psoriasis. This study aimed to compare serum prolactin levels in psoriatic patients with control group. Method: Prolactin level in serum was measured with ELISA method in 30 patients with psoriasis vulgaris and in 30 healthy persons as control group, which they had been matched with a view to age and sex. Result: Mean serum prolactin level in psoriatic patients was not significantly higher than control group. However, there was statistically significant relation between severity of disease and serum prolactin levels (r= 0.521, p=0.003). Conclusion: Positive relation between severity of psoriasis vulgaris and serum prolactin levels may suggest that prolactin is an index that shows severity of disease. (Iran J Dermatol 2009;12: 79-81)


This checklist of Thomas Hollis' gifts to Harvard College Library documents the generosity and the motives of one of the earliest and one of the greatest donors to Harvard University. Promoting civil and religious liberty, Hollis distributed books in his distinctive binding across Britain, Europe, and the American colonies. Hollis' aims for Harvard College have received careful attention from historians and bookmen, but the full extent of his donations has not been clear until now. Thomas Hollis and his books were the subject of William Bond's 1982 Sandars Lectures in Bibliography at Cambridge University.


Few of us spend much time thinking about courage, but we know it when we see it - or do we? Is it best displayed by marching into danger, making the charge, or by resisting, enduring without complaint? Is it physical or moral, or both? Is it fearless, or does it involve subduing fear? Abner Small, a Civil War soldier, was puzzled by what he called the "mystery of bravery"; to him, courage and cowardice seemed strangely divorced from character and will. It is this mystery, just as puzzling in our day, that William Ian Miller unravels in this meditation. Miller culls sources as varied as soldiers' memoirs, heroic and romantic literature, and philosphical discussions to get to the heart of courage - and to expose its role in generating the central anxieties of masculinity and manhood. He probes the link between courage and fear, and explores the connection between bravery and seemingly related states: rashness, stubbornness, madness, cruelty, fury; pride and fear of disgrace; and the authority and experience that minimize fear. By turns witty and moving, inquisitive and critical, his inquiry takes us from ancient Greece to mediaeval Europe, to the American Civil War, to the Great War and Vietnam, with sidetrips to the schoolyard, the bedroom and the restaurant. Whether consulting Aristotle or private soldiers, Miller elicits consistently compelling insights into a condition as endlessly interesting as it is elusive.


The discussion focused on the proposed solutions to unemployment presented by the three speakers in the session. The participants agreed that there is clearly no simple fix to unemployment, and that any solution must encompass a number of different elements. There was disagreement among the participants, however, on the necessary components of the package. Participants agreed that maintaining an appropriate rate of growth is a key element of any package to reduce unemployment. However, participants were divided on the extent to which growth alone could contribute to a further reduction in unemployment in Australia at the moment. All the participants agreed that it was important to consider the interaction of the social security system with the labour market in any reform package. High effective marginal tax rates could pose a significant hurdle if the welfare system is not adjusted in line with developments in the labour market. Some participants argued that the earned-income tax credit is worth examining in this respect. However, it is important to consider the degree of taper in such a system taking into account both the disincentives from the high marginal tax rates, and the possible fiscal cost. The means by which a reduction in the level of real wages could be achieved generated much discussion. Some participants argued that freezing award wages at their current level would not have a large impact because of the relatively small share of the labour force directly covered by the basic awards. Thus to achieve a given reduction in the average wage would require a larger reduction in wages at the lower end of the wage distribution. Other participants noted that there needed to be a shift in the balance of bargaining power from the employed to the unemployed, although, again, the mechanism by which this could be achieved was not obvious. Finally, some participants suggested that it might be worth considering policy measures which focus more on changing the cost of employing workers to the firm such as changes in payroll taxes. In considering the equity impact of a decline in wages, participants noted that it is important to consider the welfare of the unemployed. While the decline in wages would disadvantage the already employed, it would be beneficial to those who entered employment. Given that the evidence suggests that low-wage earners are spread out across the household income distribution whereas the unemployed tend to be concentrated at …


Ex Vivo Biomechanical Testing to Examine the Etiology of Low Back Pain as a Result of Whole Body Vibrations Lovenoor Singh Aulck Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Research Associate Professor Randal Preston Ching Mechanical Engineering An association between occupational whole body vibration (WBV) exposure and the development of lower back pain (LBP) has been established through numerous epidemiological studies. However, the etiological and biomechanical mechanisms of how WBV contributes to LBP and injury are not well understood. Using field-measured occupational WBV exposures in a controlled laboratory setting, this study attempted to expose the human lumbar spine to occupational WBV exposures to better understand the mechanisms of WBV-related low back injury. The occupational exposures selected for this study were those encountered by bus drivers, who are known to have a high prevalence of LBP. Continuous and impulsive WBV accelerations collected at the floor of a bus traversing a standardized route in the Seattle metro area were played into a six-degree of freedom hydraulic shaker platform. Twelve professional drivers sat on an air suspension seat mounted to a six-degree of freedom hydraulic shaker platform. The drivers' response to the continuous and impulsive exposures at the seat and sternum were recorded. The difference between seatand sternum-measured accelerations were used to calculate the displacement of the spine during the vibrations encountered during continuous and impulsive exposures. Based on these two exposure patterns for the bus drivers, six human lumbar functional spine units (FSUs) were placed in a servohydraulic testing system and continuously exposed to one of the two vibration signatures. A unique staining technique was used to visually differentiate preexisting intervertebral disc damage and damage brought on by cycling the FSU. No discernible damage was found for discs exposed to the continuous WBV while exposing FSUs to the impulsive WBV resulted in endplate fractures and damage to the annulus fibrosis of the intervertebral disc. These findings indicate that, for equal drive times, a more impulsive and intermittent loading signature is more likely to cause injury to components of the low back than a relatively less impulsive and more continuous signature.


Finite Element (FE) modelling is used to determine the effect of fibre volume fraction, aspect ratio and polymer matrix stiffness on the d(33) coefficients of 1-3 connectivity piezoelectric fibre composites. The aim is to use these observations as a means of determining the d(33) of fine scale lead zirconate titanate (PZT) fibres. Results from a I-D analytical model fit well with FE predictions for low aspect ratios. Two commercially available PZT-5A fibres, produced via the viscous suspension spinning process (VSSP) and an extrusion process, were fabricated into 1-3 composites with varying fibre volume fi-actions. The composite d(33) measurements are compared to the model predictions and used to determine the d(33) coefficients of the fibers. The d(33) of the VSSP fibres and extruded fibres is measured as 365 pCN(-1) and 235 pCN(-1) respectively using this method. The large difference in the piezoelectric coefficients is possibly linked to the grain size and porosity, which is examined using scanning electron microscopy.


The aerosol deposition of continental material and its partial dissolution in the surface ocean exerts an important control on the distribution of iron and other potentially limiting trace metal (TM) micronutrients in the open ocean. This dust deposition has implications for the regulation of global climate through the coupling of biolimiting TM cycles, marine productivity, and the global carbon cycle. Thus, it is important to determine the locations of dust deposition in the open ocean and to quantify the magnitude and subsequent dissolution of the dust. At present, there are too few dust deposition estimates and solubility measurements in the open ocean to adequately constrain this key source term in global biogeochemical models. While early sampling efforts were invaluable in highlighting the importance of TMs in regulating nutrient cycling and phytoplankton productivity in vast ocean regions, they lacked the spatial resolution and global coverage required to constrain model simulations and identify features that illuminate the processes controlling TM distributions. Starting in 2003, the US Climate Variability and Predictability (CLIVAR)-CO2 Repeat Hydrography Program provided an hour of ship time for dedicated TM sampling at every degree of latitude or longitude along selected cruise tracks. The principal goals for CLIVAR TM sampling were to produce a high-resolution dissolved iron (Fe) and aluminum (Al) data set with global coverage to better understand upper-ocean Fe biogeochemistry, determine patterns of atmospheric dust deposition based on surface dissolved Al levels, and improve our estimates of the fractional solubility of aerosol TMs using a dedicated shipboard aerosol sampling program. This paper describes recent advances in our understanding of dust deposition and the solubility of aerosol material resulting from 10 years of collaborative work under the US CLIVAR-CO2 Repeat Hydrography Program.


Antarctica was the centerpiece of the Gondwana supercontinent. About 13,900 km of Antarcticas 15,900-km-long continental margins (87 percent) are of rifted divergent type, 1600 km (10 percent) were converted from a subduction type to a passive margin after ridge-trench collision along the Pacific side of the Antarctic Peninsula, and 400 km (3 percent) are of active convergent type. In recent years the volume of geophysical data along the continental margin of Antarctica has increased substantially, which allows differentiation of the crustal characteristics of its continent-ocean boundaries and transitions (COB/COT). These data and geodynamic modeling indicate that the cause, style, and process of breakup, separation and shelf formation were quite different along the Antarctic margins. A circum-Antarctic map shows the crustal styles of the margins and the location and geophysical characteristics of the COT. The data indicate that only a quarter of the rifted margins are of volcanic type. About 70 percent of the rifted passive margins contain extended continental crust stretching between 50 and 300 km oceanward of the shelf edge. Identifications of the COT/COB and an understanding of its process of formation and crustal thinning have consequences for plate-kinematic reconstructions, geodynamic syntheses and the generation of paleobathymetric and paleotopographic grids for paleo-climate simulations.


Introduction: There is a strong commitment in pursuing reconstructive solutions for areas of skin or muscular loss that require covering or stable cavity filling. The anterolateral thigh flap, described in China by Song et al. (1984), is considered by many as the optimal flap in large reconstructions. Objective: To report the applicability of the anterolateral thigh flap, as a versatile resource in reconstructions of the abdominal wall. Methods: Two patients were submitted to tumoral resection of the right colon with invasion of the abdominal wall by a team of oncologic surgeons in conjunction with the plastic surgery team that was responsible for the reconstruction of the abdominal wall. In both cases, the pedicled anterolateral thigh flap was used, which was transposed to the defect after partial resection of the abdominal wall at the same surgical time. A PROCEEDTM surgical mesh was fixed between the abdominal viscera and the flap to reinforce the abdominal wall. Results: Both patients had good postoperative evolution and are in follow-up, with no signs of tumor recurrence and with a good quality of life. Conclusion: The anterolateral thigh flap is a useful resource for the reconstruction of the abdominal wall due to large tumor resections in oncology. ■ ABSTRACT


The
recent push for more detailed graphics and realistic visuals in animated
productions has sparked much debate around the new films' photorealistic visual
style. Some critics argue that the new "live-action" versions of movie classics
such as the Lion King are not as visually stylish as the original ones, and the
photorealistic characters are not as likeable, fun and intriguing as their
stylized counterparts. This paper reports ongoing research whose goal is to
examine whether it is possible to apply traditional animation principles to
photorealistic animated animal characters in order to make them more
expressive, convincing and ultimately entertaining. In particular, the study
reported in the paper investigated the extent to which varying degrees of
exaggeration affect the perceived believability and appeal of a photorealistic,
anthropomorphic cat character performing a series of actions in a high detail
environment. The study included 82 participants and compared three levels of
exaggeration applied to the cat's motions, e.g. no exaggeration, low
exaggeration and high exaggeration. Findings show that subjects found the
no-exaggeration clip more appealing and believable than the exaggerated
versions, although the difference in appeal was not statistically significant.
When comparing the two exaggerated clips, participants rated the high
exaggeration clip higher for believability and appeal than the low exaggeration
one.


After the 1990's, the changes in the football world had helped to develop and to grow the economy of football rapidly. The development of digital broadcasting led to build a bigger commercial structure. With the effect of those changes, commercial incomes, sponsor revenues, stadium and facilities incomes, and betting incomes have increased over time. This rapid change also brings several problems. UEFA has published their criteria in order to protect football's sustainability and viability in a long term. Depending on license criteria that is published by UEFA, it has used a road map for football clubs, regarding of corporate structure of UEFA to work, that identified the general rules like in a company structure and management that should be all the necessary factors of production in a systematic and effective way in order to transform football clubs to a corporate organization and make them sustainable. Football clubs are determinedly founded and play an important role in the improvement of the football player. However, few resources are available for those responsible for organizing, developing, and managing club sports. With this out of the common guide explains readers how to run a club in today's demanding, high competitive and high-tech environment and, establish its brand, and bring in the revenue required to ensure long-term success. Those who manage and lead clubs will find that they can improve a successful business plan of their club mission and have the instruments to develop and sustain organizations that are feasible and financially wealthy and that satisfy the needs of footballer and those who support them.  Article visualizations:


Although the Russian media apparatus is subject to considerable scrutiny in the West, it is much less so in other regions of the world, in particular in Africa. Consequently, at a time when Russia appears to be attempting to regain footing on the continent, it seemed necessary to undertake a preliminary exploration of the role that this country can play in the African information space, with particular focus on the French-speaking countries of Africa. This paper presents the results of a quantitative study of the distribution and propagation of information content produced by the Russian news agencies RT (Russia Today) and Sputnik News. On the basis of the data collected, it has been possible to establish an initial general map of the circulation paths of this content, its relays and the discursive strategies used by the various players involved. In addition to its empirical value as an aid to understanding the real state of Russian implantation in the information space of the French-speaking African world, this paper also aims to highlight the methodological possibilities available, by explaining the methods used here, at the intersection of geopolitics and big data.


Abstract. India's cooperation with International Space faring nations has a long legacy of cooperation. As India moves towards realizing its space aspirations, its co-operation for outreach and capacity building with international partners will increase. This cooperation is reflected in all spheres of national development, security and space exploration of both the primary as well as partnering nation. Policy considerations and directives acts as a key to define the future course of action for such cooperation. The paper attempts to present parameters for evaluating policy options of India's international space cooperation with an example of India-Israel space cooperation. The paper uses fuzzy logic modeling for scoring parametric valuation for pursuing cooperation. This valuation can assist in making feasibility analysis for a collaborative mission or project with a partnering nation. These parameters include the erstwhile and ongoing collaborations and cooperation, economics of the collaborative project, security considerations, technical considerations & space ambitions. The output delivers aggregated value for 'checks and balance' derivatives for informed decision making.


Forty-four conodont species are documented from the Dawangou section in the Tarim Basin, which spans the Darriwilian to Sandbian interval and is the global auxiliary stratotype for the base of the Upper Ordovician. Five conodont zones are recognized in this section, including the Yangtzeplacognathus crassus, Histiodella holodentata and H. kristinae zones in the upper part of the Dawangou Formation, the Pygodus anserinus Zone from the upper part of the Saergan Formation to the lower part of the Kanling Formation, and the Baltoniodus alobatus Zone in the upper part of the Kanling Formation. Presence of the P. serra Zone is based on occurrences of this species on shale bedding planes in the lower and middle Saergan Formation, but could not be confirmed in acid-leached samples studied from this interval. The Middle/Upper Ordovician boundary occurs within graptolitic black shale of the upper Saergan Formation. Although the boundary interval was intensively sampled, conodonts were very rare, probably due to stagnant or stratified basinal environments. This documentation of the conodont faunas and biostratigraphy of the Dawangou section is considered preliminary and more detailed conodont studies are required, but the remoteness of the site hinders the further extensive sample collection needed for this purpose.


We present a method for reinforcement learning of closely related skills that are parameterized via a skill embedding space. We learn such skills by taking advantage of latent variables and exploiting a connection between reinforcement learning and variational inference. The main contribution of our work is an entropyregularized policy gradient formulation for hierarchical policies, and an associated, data-efficient and robust off-policy gradient algorithm based on stochastic value gradients. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our method on several simulated robotic manipulation tasks. We find that our method allows for discovery of multiple solutions and is capable of learning the minimum number of distinct skills that are necessary to solve a given set of tasks. In addition, our results indicate that the hereby proposed technique can interpolate and/or sequence previously learned skills in order to accomplish more complex tasks, even in the presence of sparse rewards.


Abstract A second order, semi-implicit numerical method for solving the multigroup nonstationary transport equation and corresponding code is developed in two-dimensional R-Z geometry. Finite difference meshes are formed by arbitrary convex quadrangles. The conservative finite difference scheme is derived by the integro-interpolation method. The balance equation is augmented by linear approximations. The proposed additional relationships provide the second order of approximation at any side-visible cases using a corresponding choice of the weights of scheme. The number of additional relationships in spatial variables, as well as their form, depends on how many visible sides are under consideration. The additional relationships in time and angle variables are diamond-difference-like approximations relating the edge values to the cell-centered values. An analytical test problem is used to demonstrate the second order of spatial approximation of the proposed method. To test the algorithm for solving the stationary transport equation, we compare the numerical results, obtained by the developed technique, with the results produced by one-dimensional (1-D) codes such as KIN1D (The Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics, Russia) and ANISN (U.S.) by using spherical symmetrical 1-D problems. Special analytical benchmarks are developed to test the nonstationary technique. The tests have shown good agreement of the results.


If agents are to negotiate automatically with one another they must share a negotiation mechanism, specifying what possible actions each party can take at any given time, when negotiation terminates, and what is the structure of the resulting agreements. Current standardization activities such as FIPA [2] and WS-Agreement [3] represent this as a negotiation protocol specifying the flow of messages. However, they omit other aspects of the rules of negotiation (such as obliging a participant to improve on a previous offer), requiring these to be represented implicitly in an agent's design, potentially resulting incompatibility, maintenance and re-usability problems. In this chapter, we propose an alternative approach, allowing all of a mechanism to be formal and explicit. We present (i) a taxonomy of declarative rules which can be used to capture a wide variety of negotiation mechanisms in a principled and well-structured way; (ii) a simple interaction protocol, which is able to support any mechanism which can be captured using the declarative rules; (iii) a software framework for negotiation that allows agents to effectively participate in negotiations defined using our rule taxonomy and protocol and (iv) a language for expressing aspects of the negotiation based on OWL-Lite [4]. We provide examples of some of the mechanisms that the framework can support.


Resource Description and Access (RDA) is the new cataloguing standard that will replace the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (AACR). The 2010 release of RDA is not the release of a revised standard; it represents a shift in the understanding of the cataloguing process. Author Chris Oliver, Cataloguing and Authorities Coordinator at the McGill University Library and chair of the Canadian Committee on Cataloging, offers practical advice on how to make the transition. This indispensible Special Report helps catalogers by: Concisely explaining RDA and its expected benefits for users and cataloguers, presented through topics and questions, Placing RDA in context by examining its connection with its predecessor, AACR2, as well as looking at RDA's relationship to internationally accepted principles, standards and models, Detailing how RDA positions us to take advantage of newly emerging database structures, how RDA data enables improved resource discovery, and how we can get metadata out of library silos and make it more accessible, No cataloger or library administrator will want to be without this straightforward guide to the changes ahead.


Global climate models forced by sea surface temperature are standard tools in seasonal climate prediction and in projection of future climate change caused by anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases. Assessing the ability of these models to reproduce observed atmospheric circulation given the lower boundary conditions, and thus its ability to predict climate, has been a recurrent concern. Several assessments have shown that the performance of models is seasonally dependent, but there has always been the assumption that, for a given season, the model skill is constant throughout the period being analyzed. Here, it is demonstrated that there are periods when these models perform well and periods when they do not capture observed climate variability. The variations of the model performance have temporal scales and spatial patterns consistent with decadal/interdecadal climate variability. These results suggest that there are unmodeled climate processes that affect seasonal climate prediction as well as scenarios of climate change, particularly regional climate change projections. The reliability of these scenarios may depend on the time slice of the model output being analyzed. Therefore, more comprehensive model assessment should include a verification of the long-term stability of their performance.


In order to investigate the possibilities for the generation of digital elevation models with a height uncertainty of 20 mm or less using unmanned aerial vehicles, a survey with a fixed‐wing aircraft was carried out over a gravel quarry in Gävle, Sweden. At flying heights of about 80 and 160 m, the resulting imagery had ground sample distances of 24 and 50 mm, respectively. The data was processed in two different software suites – computer‐vision‐based PhotoScan and photogrammetric RapidStation/RapidTerrain. The results show that PhotoScan was more effective in flat terrain, with height uncertainties of 10 and 17 mm compared with 30 to 40 mm for RapidTerrain, whereas the latter had a clear advantage over undulating terrain.


Stainless steel does not readily corrode, rust or stain with water as ordinary steel does. However, it is not fully stainproof in low-oxygen, high-salinity, or poor air-circulation environments.[2] There are different grades and surface finishes of stainless steel to suit the environment the alloy must endure. Stainless steel is used where both the properties of steel and corrosion resistance are required.


The solution of large sparse linear systems arises in many applications, such as computational fluid dynamics and oil reservoir simulation. In realistic cases the matrices are often so large that they require large scale distributed parallel computing to obtain the solution of interest in a reasonable time. In this paper we discuss the design and implementation of the AmgX library, which provides drop-in GPU acceleration of distributed algebraic multigrid (AMG) and preconditioned iterative methods. The AmgX library implements both classical and aggregation-based AMG methods with different selector and interpolation strategies, along with a variety of smoothers and preconditioners, including block-Jacobi, Gauss--Seidel, and incomplete-LU factorization. The library contains many of the standard and flexible preconditioned Krylov subspace iterative methods, which can be combined with any of the available multigrid methods or simpler preconditioners. The parallelism in the aggregation scheme exploits parallel...


Abstract Asean's political elites appear to lack the will to pressure the SPDC regime into resolving the political crisis in Burma through democratic means. To better understand Asean's position, the factors that have underpinned Asean's commitment to preserve its principle of nonintervention and state sovereignty despite repeated human rights violations in Burma are analyzed. To what extent is Asean's commitment to the principle of nonintervention in keeping with the dominance of authoritarian states in the otherwise less than cohesive regional body? Is the recently unveiled Asean Charter an elite-driven initiative that is not intended to challenge the nonintervention principle? In addition to addressing these questions, this essay will conclude by analyzing the dynamics underpinning Singapore-Burma relations with a view to highlighting Asean's fragmented community that is dominated by authoritarian states not committed to promoting democracy and human rights, much less to resolving the political crisis in Burma.


Two different finite difference schemes for solving the two-dimensional parabolic inverse problem with temperature overspecification are considered. These schemes are developed for indentifying the control parameter which produces, at any given time, a desired temperature distribution at a given point in the spatial domain. The numerical methods discussed, are based on the (3,3) alternating direction implicit (ADI) finite difference scheme and the (3,9) alternating direction implicit formula. These schemes are unconditionally stable. The basis of analysis of the finite difference equation considered here is the modified equivalent partial differential equation approach, developed from the 1974 work of Warming and Hyett [17]. This allows direct and simple comparison of the errors associated with the equations as well as providing a means to develop more accurate finite difference schemes. These schemes use less central processor times than the fully implicit schemes for two-dimensional diffusion with temperature overspecification. The alternating direction implicit schemes developed in this report use more CPU times than the fully explicit finite difference schemes, but their unconditional stability is significant. The results of numerical experiments are presented, and accuracy and the Central Processor (CPU) times needed for each of the methods are discussed. We also give error estimates in the maximum norm for each of these methods.


Variability is a key performance index of a factory. In order to characterize variability of a factory, definitions of bottleneck, utilization, and variability of a single machine are reexamined and clarified. The clarification leads to the introduction of a detail expression for the relationship between cycle time and work-in-progress. In order to quantify variability for factories, the author uses a single machine system to gauge the behaviors, and subsequently derives an explicit expression for the variability, of a simple factory, making use of analogy and the clarified definitions. The obtained results can be applied to many subjects in the field of manufacturing management, such as factory performance analysis, capacity planning, and cycle time reduction. With the derived results, properties of variability for a simple factory in the aspects of utilization versus throughput bottlenecks and nonthroughput bottlenecks, gap effects, and bounds on variability, are examined in detail to shed light on the insights of the stochastic behaviors of a complex factory.


Western Sahara: The Refugee Nation. By Pablo San Martin. Iberian and Latin American Studies. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 2010. Pp. xiv, 226; map, photographs, bibliography, index. $35.00 paper.The history of the Western Sahara conflict, having lasted over thirty -five years, is well known. The territory's independence movement, the Polisario Front, is unable to exert sufficient influence to tilt the political process in its favor and lacks the kinds of state and non-state allies that might help make this possible. The occupying power, Morocco, together with its allies France and the United States, sees little incentive to compromise except to attempt to sell an internal "autonomy" plan for the former Spanish colony; a plan that would amount to little more than full permanent Morocco control under a slightly different name. The United Nations lacks the will to compel an up-or-down independence referendum or to compel Morocco to treat Polisario as an equal and legitimate negotiating partner. The UN has also had problems in the last several years maintaining a semblance of impartiality. This is evidenced by the omission of the words "self-determination" (i.e., the possibility of an independent Western Sahara) in a draft report by the UN secretary-general in April 2012. Moreover, the UN's peacekeeping mission in the territory, extant since 1991, glaringly lacks a human rights monitoring component, a situation that does not exist with any other mission undertaken by the world body.With all the commentary on political questions, there has been comparatively little coverage in recent years of the social and economic conditions and development in the territory, focusing on the Sahrawi refugee camps located in the vicinity of Tindouf in the far southwest of Algeria, Polisario's safe haven since late 1975. But Pablo San Martin, a writer and consultant on security and development issues, succeeds- despite some shortcomings- in giving the interested reader a credible history and analysis of the ways in which the Sahrawis, from Spanish colonial times to the present, have come to see themselves and have coped with the often-wrenching changes to their environment.San Martin begins with a historical survey of Spain's history in Western Sahara (which it nominally acquired in the 1880s but did not fully administer until the mid- 1930s) in Chapter 1, and then moves to the early 1970s in Chapter 2. He establishes that Madrid discovered that many Sahrawis had ceased to identify themselves by tribe or clan group. This was because their traditional tribal elders had been discredited by their association with the Francoist colonial government. In other words, the drift away from tribalism in the colony began in advance of Polisario's later resolutely anti-tribal attitudes, although it was very much in harmony with the thinking of early Sahrawi nationalist activists and thinkers, including Mohamed Sidi Ibrahim Bassiri, who was presumed murdered by the Spanish authorities after he organized an anti-colonial demonstration in the Western Sanaran capital of El-Ayoun. At the same time, economic factors came into play. Primary among these was the establishment of a major phosphate mining operation at about the same time the inhabitants of the territory were becoming less nomadic and more urbanized owing to the destructive droughts that beset the region starting in the late 1960s. This section of Chapter 2 is one of the most useful in the volume, as it is based on a series of moving interviews with Sahrawis who vividly recalled those peaceful and relatively prosperous times. In some fascinating passages (pp. 54-55) San Martin describes how the Sahrawis' formative years were also positively influenced by the infusion of Western popular culture and dress into Western Sahara. …


To explore if MGMT promoter methylation changes have a role in cisplatin chemoresistance, first we study its methylation status in cisplatin sensitive and resistant paired human non-seminomatous germ cancer cell lines. Secondly in xenograft paired tumors and after in human non-seminomatous germ cell primary tumors, from patients treated with cisplatin based chemotherapy. In general we found that cisplatin sensitive samples are related with MGMT promoter hypermethylation associated with its loss of expression. Resistance is present when MGMT promoter is not methylated and expressed. Clinically, the presence of MGMT promoter methylation is related with better overall survival (p = 0.025) in patients with testicular germ cell cancer. Inhibition of MGMT with O6-benzylguanine in vitro or in vivo increases the sensitivity to cisplatin and temozolomide, being this a possible chemotherapeutic approach to re-sensibilize human non-seminomatous germ cell refractory tumors. Citation Format: Catia Moutinho, Xavier Garcia-del-Muro, Elisabet Guino, August Vidal, Sara Puertas, Clara Munoz, Josep Piulats, Alberto Villanueva, Manel Esteller. Loss of MGMT promoter methylation and resistance to cisplatin in non-seminomatous germ cell tumors. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 432.


First, we should recall that a rhetorical dimension is forcibly present in the performance of dialog, if we understand dialog both as an invitation and as a reciprocal openness for a constructive process; it can be demonstrated if we look at some proposals of dialog (Buber 1922, and more recently Isaacs 1999). Usually the refusal to consider that there is a rhetorical aspect aims to keep a specific communication process protected against undue manipulation or abuse; but a false assumption is then made. To guard us against such a slope, many authors have pleaded for a rhetorical ethic or an ethic of the rhetoric (Johannesen 19964). We should discuss whether some distinction should be made between valid and non valid forms of rhetoric, review the conditions of an ethical rhetoric, ask how and if they could be meaningfully used as criteria of exclusion (of the nonrhetorical as non-ethical and vice-versa).


Tumor-derived mutant KRAS (v-Ki-ras-2 Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene) oncoprotein is a critical driver of cancer phenotypes and a potential biomarker for many epithelial cancers. Targeted mass spectrometry analysis by multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) enables selective detection and quantitation of wild-type and mutant KRAS proteins in complex biological samples. A recently described immunoprecipitation approach (Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci.2011, 108, 2444-2449) can be used to enrich KRAS for MRM analysis, but requires large protein inputs (2-4 mg). Here, we describe sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis-based enrichment of KRAS in a low molecular weight (20-25 kDa) protein fraction prior to MRM analysis (GeLC-MRM). This approach reduces background proteome complexity, thus, allowing mutant KRAS to be reliably quantified in low protein inputs (5-50 μg). GeLC-MRM detected KRAS mutant variants (G12D, G13D, G12V, G12S) in a panel of cancer cell lines. GeLC-MRM analysis of wild-type and mutant was linear with respect to protein input and showed low variability across process replicates (CV = 14%). Concomitant analysis of a peptide from the highly similar HRAS and NRAS proteins enabled correction of KRAS-targeted measurements for contributions from these other proteins. KRAS peptides were also quantified in fluid from benign pancreatic cysts and pancreatic cancers at concentrations from 0.08 to 1.1 fmol/μg protein. GeLC-MRM provides a robust, sensitive approach to quantitation of mutant proteins in complex biological samples.


Recently the Supreme Court has placed new limits on both the substance of the Fourth Amendment and the exclusionary that serves as the principal remedy for Fourth Amendment violations. In this Article we briefly summarize these limitations and then argue that the curtailment of the exclusionary rule has the potential to ameliorate substantive Fourth Amendment doctrine. The limited reach of the modern exclusionary rule provides the Court with license to develop an expansive new substantive framework free of the specter of a correspondingly expansive remedial framework. One point on which nearly all jurists and commentators agree is that current Fourth Amendment doctrine is a mess. We argue that the Court's exclusionary rule cases, while frustrating and ill-conceived if viewed in isolation, provide the Court with an opportunity to revisit problematic Fourth Amendment doctrine that was born under a very different remedial regime. Such an approach would allow the Court to adhere to its current view of the exclusionary rule as a remedy of last resort while creating a Fourth Amendment with teeth. The goal is a Fourth Amendment right that is more substantial and clearly defined, but a remedy that remains limited to egregious violations of clear substantive rules. The time is now to lift the Fourth Amendment fog.


Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is associated with obesity and considered an inflammatory disease. Soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) is a major enzyme hydrolyzing epoxyeicosatrienoic acids and attenuates their cardiovascular protective and anti-inflammatory effects. We examined whether sEH inhibition can protect against high-fat (HF)-diet–induced fatty liver in mice and the underlying mechanism. Compared with wild-type littermates, sEH-null mice showed lower diet-induced lipid accumulation in liver, as seen by Oil-red O staining and triglycerides levels. We studied the effect of sEH inhibition on diet-induced fatty liver by feeding C57BL/6 mice an HF diet for 8 weeks (short-term) or 16 weeks (long-term) and administering t-AUCB, a selective sEH inhibitor. sEH inhibition had no effect on the HF-diet–increased body and adipose tissue weight or impaired glucose tolerance but alleviated the diet-induced hepatic steatosis. Adenovirus-mediated overexpression of sEH in liver increased the level of triglycerides in liver and the hepatic inflammatory response. Surprisingly, the induced expression of sEH in liver occurred only with the long-term but not short-term HF diet, which suggests a secondary effect of HF diet on regulating sEH expression. Furthermore, sEH inhibition attenuated the HF-diet–induced increase in plasma levels of proinflammatory cytokines and their mRNA upregulation in adipose tissue, which was accompanied by increased macrophage infiltration. Therefore, sEH inhibition could alleviate HF-diet–induced hepatic steatosis, which might involve its anti-inflammatory effect in adipose tissue and direct inhibition in liver. sEH may be a therapeutic target for HF-diet–induced hepatic steatosis in inhibiting systemic inflammation.


Consider key agreement by two parties who start out knowing a common secret (which we refer to as "pass-string", a generalization of "password"), but face two complications: (1) the pass-string may come from a low-entropy distribution, and (2) the two parties' copies of the pass-string may have some noise, and thus not match exactly. We provide the first efficient and general solutions to this problem that enable, for example, key agreement based on commonly used biometrics such as iris scans. The problem of key agreement with each of these complications individually has been well studied in literature. Key agreement from low-entropy shared pass-strings is achieved by password-authenticated key exchange (PAKE), and key agreement from noisy but high-entropy shared passstrings is achieved by information-reconciliation protocols as long as the two secrets are "close enough." However, the problem of key agreement from noisy low-entropy pass-strings has never been studied. We introduce (universally composable) fuzzy password-authenticated key exchange (fPAKE), which solves exactly this problem. fPAKE does not have any entropy requirements for the pass-strings, and enables secure key agreement as long as the two pass-strings are "close" for some notion of closeness. We also give two constructions. The first construction achieves our fPAKE definition for any (efficiently computable) notion of closeness, including those that could not be handled before even in the high-entropy setting. It uses Yao's Garbled Circuits in a way that is only two times more costly than their use against semi-honest adversaries, but that guarantees security against malicious adversaries. The second construction is more efficient, but achieves our fPAKE definition only for pass-strings with low Hamming distance. It builds on very simple primitives: robust secret sharing and PAKE.


Large numbers of studies, mostly from the U.S., have addressed the effects of parental separation and divorce, pointing to disadvantages of children and adolescents growing up in separated families. However, evidence on this topic varies across countries and is limited for Germany. Using longitudinal data from waves 1 and 3 of the German Family Panel pairfam, we investigated differences in adolescents' well-being by comparing stable nuclear families (n = 1968), single mother families (n = 360), and stepfather families (n = 214), as well as an additional smaller group of adolescents whose parents separated between waves 1 and 3 ("prospective separators"; n = 76). Adolescents' satisfaction with different domains of life (family, education/work, and their general life satisfaction) as well as their self-esteem were used as indicators of well-being. A series of multiple regression analyses tested the effects of family structure on well-being at T1 and changes in well-being over time, controlling for various background factors. Furthermore, likely mediation effects of infrequent contact to the non-resident father and economic strain were tested. The findings show (relatively minor) effects of parental separation, namely lower well-being among youth1 in single mother families compared to nuclear families. Disadvantages of youth in single mother families could only be partly explained by the higher financial strain generally experienced in these families. Youth in stepfather families reported a similar overall well-being as adolescents in nuclear families, but indicated a greater decrease in family satisfaction over time. Pre-separation disadvantages among prospective separators were limited to greater dissatisfaction with school. Infrequent contact with the non-resident father did not affect adolescents' well-being. Effects of family structure did not differ between boys and girls, but maternal education moderated the effects of family structure on adolescents' life satisfaction. Overall, the findings are in line with other evidence from Germany, which points towards only limited disadvantages of youth in separated or divorced families.


Purpose
The 2011 and 2013 Queensland, Australia flood events caused massive infrastructure damage for low-level stream crossings such as floodways and culverts in regional Queensland. Failures of newly built floodways during the 2013 Queensland flood event in the Lockyer Valley Regional Council area raised significant concerns with respect to floodway design practices adopted in Australia and attracted significant research interest to enhance the resilience of floodways. Review of existing floodway design guidelines indicates that floodway design process is closely related to hydraulic and hydrological aspects. However, conducting a hydrological analysis is a challenging in rural areas, mainly owing to information scarcity. Floodways in rural areas often require a simple and economical solution contrast to more detailed hydrological analysis approaches adopted in urbanised areas. This paper aims to identify and apply the rational method to estimate maximum flood discharges at selected floodway locations in the Lockyer Valley Regional Council area. The paper further attempts to provide the first insight of flood characteristics during the 2011 and 2013 Queensland flood events at three catchment outputs across the selected case study area. It also highlights modern day challenges for practising engineers and researchers when estimating flood characteristics in rural areas. The paper shows that cross-cultivation of advancement in engineering practices and traditional approaches can promote quantitative approaches when assessing floodway damage in regional areas.

Design/methodology/approach
The research identifies limitations when assessing flood impact in rural regions in collaboration with experience from industry partners and authors themselves. The authors developed a framework to overcome those limitations arising from information scarcity to minimise the trial and error design approaches utilised in the current design practices for floodways.

Findings
This paper developed a simple and effective hydrological method with minimum inputs. It also provides an example on collating available but scattered resources and traditional method to quantitatively assess flood discharges of a rural catchment in Australia. Flood discharges at three catchment outlets along the Left-Hand Branch Road in the Lockyer Valley Region during both 2011 and 2013 Queensland flood events are estimated for the first time. The findings highlight the impact of flood discharges and flooded period on floodway failures.

Research limitations/implications
The current research is based on a selected case study area in Australia. However, similar challenges are expected all across the world, due to the scarcity of rainfall and flood measurement gauges.

Practical implications
Floodway designers can apply similar framework to estimate the flood discharges instead of current practice of trial and error process. This will provide more scientific and reliable estimation and assessment process.

Social implications
One of the social impacts identified in the broader research is the community outrages and disagreement between floodway design engineers and the community. Following the developed framework in the manuscript, design engineers will be able to justify their assumptions and design work.

Originality/value
The paper presents a novel framework on collating different and scattered information towards estimating flood discharges in rural areas. The manuscript presents the first insights on estimated flood discharges in the selected case study area during the 2011 and 2013 Queensland flood events. This will enable further research to be performed in a quantitative manner rather than the present approach of qualitative manner.


A sparse or compressible signal can be recovered from a certain number of noisy random projections, smaller than what dictated by classic Shannon/Nyquist theory. In this paper, we derive the closed-form expression of the mean square error performance of the oracle receiver, knowing the sparsity pattern of the signal. With respect to existing bounds, our result is exact and does not depend on a particular realization of the sensing matrix. Moreover, our result holds irrespective of whether the noise affecting the measurements is white or correlated. Numerical results show a perfect match between equations and simulations, confirming the validity of the result.


Positive relationships between instructors and students are critical to effective learning in the classroom. Rooted in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), and centered at the crossroads of interpersonal communication and instructional communication (Affective Learning Model), this study examines how instructors in a Taiwan ESL school build relationships with Taiwanese students. Instructors were interviewed regarding the behaviors they use to build rapport with their students. Results show that instructors build rapport with their students using several specific techniques: uncommonly attentive behaviors, common grounding behaviors, courteous behaviors, connecting behavior, information sharing behavior, a balancing of connection and authority, adaptation of rapport to student level, and provision of a respite to norms. The findings provide specific examples of how instructors can build rapport in intercultural classrooms.


Seventeen species of southeastern Wisconsin mammals were found to 6e infected with arthropod ectoparasites other than fleas. One host species was infested with one species of biting lice (Mallophaga), five with five species of sucking lice (Anoplura), ten with at least 16 species of mites (Acari) and nine with six species of hard ticks (Ixodidae). Many new state and/or host records are reported. Host specificity was very pronounced in lice but less marked in ticks and mites particularly in the more common species, ex. Androlaelaps fahrenholzi (Berlese) and Ixodes cookei Packard, respectively.


Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), a chronic disease associated with increased morbidity and mortality, historically has not been a pediatric concern. However, the prevalence of the disease in youth is rising at a startling rate, paralleling increasing rates of pediatric overweight. The heterogenic etiology of T2DM in youth calls for a comprehensive approach to prevention, beginning with an analysis of the factors that contribute to the main modifiable risk factor of obesity. Primarily individual- and family-level, or microsystemic, risk factors are associated with childhood overweight, with key risk factors for childhood overweight being considered modifiable. The current study conceptualizes the family as central to the etiology, maintenance, and treatment of overweight in youth. Key non-modifiable (age, sex, ethnicity, household income) and modifiable risk factors (parental nurturance, risk perceptions, limit setting, and parent BMI status) at the microsystemic level that contribute to childhood overweight (and thus T2DM), are considered within the context of the Biopsychosocial (BPS; Engel, 1977) Model. The overall goal of this study is to expand research evaluating modifiable parental variables, with a particular focus on parental perceptions of risk for T2DM, and the degree to which these variables are predictive of adolescent BMI within the context of T2DM prevention. Seventy caregiver-adolescent pairs participated in the study, the majority of which were African-American (90.0%). The total adolescent sample consisted of 41 females (58.6%) and 29 males (41.4%) ranging in age from 11 to 16 years (M = 12.6, SD = 1.34) with 70% of the total adolescent sample classified as overweight or obese. Anthropometric measures and self-report measures were administered, and BMI was calculated for both adolescents and caregivers. Measures administered to parents included subscales from the following well-validated instruments: the Parenting Dimensions Inventory-Short Version (PDI-S) to assess parental nurturance; the Parenting strategies for Eating and Activity Scale (PEAS) to assess parents' use of appropriate boundaries for sedentary behavior; and a modified version of the Risk Perception Survey for Developing Diabetes (mRPS-DD) to assess parental risk perceptions for T2DM. Results of a set of hierarchical linear regressions indicated the overall variance accounted by the complete model, including both non-modifiable and modifiable risk factors was .36. Key modifiable risk factors accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in adolescent BMI above and beyond what was predicted by the non-modifiable risk factors, R2 = .20. Parental nurturance, parental risk perceptions, limit-setting, and parent BMI status all significantly predicted adolescent zBMI. These findings suggest the importance of isolating change possibilities at the microsystemic level in order to inform effective intervention practices.


ABSTRACT This article analyses Philo of Alexandria's and Josephus Flavius's interpretations of Sarah from the viewpoint of social and political power attached to her. Both ascribe the figure royal attributes (i.e. she is depicted as a princess or queen) and other features that promote her as a virtuous model and an individual of public standing. A variety of emphases, philological and philosophical interpretations alike, jointly serve to construct Sarah's exemplarity. The aim of this article is to demonstrate that different dimensions of biblical female figures may be revealed when their role as spouses and mothers is not taken as the starting point of analysis in studies concerning the reception history of biblical women.


This paper presents the state-of-the-knowledge on herpetofauna (reptiles and amphibians) of Bhutan. Through a comprehensive review of literature, the paper identifies 84 snakes, 23 lizards, 20 tortoises and turtles, 56 anurans, one caecilian and a Himalayan Salamander known to occur in Bhutan. Based on the author's field work, six previously unreported species of herpetofauna viz. Russel's Kukri (Oligodon taeniolatus), Yunnan Bamboo Pit Viper (Trimeresurus cf. stejnegeri yunnanensis), Tibetan Pit Viper (Trimeresurus cf. tibetanus), Blue Fan Throated Lizard (Ptyctolaemus gularis), Annandali's Paa (Nanorana annandalii), and Pygmy Leaf Frog (Chiromantis vittatus) bring the total number of species known in Bhutan to 191. Two previously reported species, Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) and the American Bull Frog (Lithobates catesbeianus) are removed from the list. The paper highlights which species need further confirmation, and which warrant further research or special conservation protection status.


Ocean eddies can both trigger mixing (during their formation and decay) and effectively shield water encompassed from being exchanged with ambient water (throughout their lifetimes). These antagonistic effects of eddies complicate the interpretation of synoptic snapshots typically obtained by ship-based oceanographic measurement campaigns. Here we use a coupled physical–biogeochemical model to explore biogeochemical dynamics within anticyclonic eddies in the eastern tropical South Pacific Ocean. The goal is to understand the diverse biogeochemical patterns that have been observed at the subsurface layers of the anticyclonic eddies in this region. Our model results suggest that the diverse subsurface nutrient patterns within eddies are associated with the presence of water masses of different origins at different depths.


We describe the use of various silicon photonic device technologies to implement microwave photonic filters (MPFs). We demonstrate four-wave mixing in a silicon nanowire waveguide (SNW) to increase the number of taps for MPFs based on finite impulse response filter designs. Using a 12 mm long SNW reduces the footprint by five orders of magnitude compared to silica highly nonlinear fiber while only requiring approximately two times more input power. We also demonstrate optical delays based on serial sidewall Bragg grating arrays and step-chirped sidewall Bragg gratings in silicon waveguides. We obtain up to 63 ps delay in discrete steps from 15 ps to 32 ps over a wide bandwidth range from 33 nm to at least 62 nm. These components can be integrated with other silicon-based components such as integrated spectral shapers and modulators to realize a fully integrated MPF.


Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome (KTS) is an uncommon congenital condition, resulting in vascular malformations affecting capillary, venous, and lymphatic systems and bone and/or soft tissue hypertrophy. Magnetic Resonance Angiography (MRA) may be useful in assessing the severity of the disease and for treatment planning. We present two cases of two white men with the typical clinical presentation of Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome i.e. vascular malformations (capillary, venous and lymphatic) and localized bone and/or soft tissues hypertrophy. Splenic hemangiomas were evidenced in both patients and MRA was helpful in assessing and delineating the abnormal venous drainage system. KTS is a complex disorder whose true prevalence and etiology are still unknown. In most cases the emblematic clinical manifestation consisting in vascular malformations and extremity overgrowth is represented. KTS may be associated with several different conditions including scoliosis and splenic hemangiomas. The presence of the lateral marginal vein (LMV) is pathognomonic. Imaging is fundamental in confirming the diagnosis and for therapeutic strategies. An effective treatment does not exist to date and a multidisciplinary approach is usually required to prevent complications.


Near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) is one of the most recent scanning probe techniques. In this technique, an optical probe is brought in the vicinity of the sample surface, in the near-field zone. The microscope can either work in illumination mode, in which the probe consists of a sub-wavelength light source, or in collection mode, in which the probe acts as a sub-wavelength detector. By scanning the probe over the sample surface and measuring the optical signal at each position, an optical image can be created. Because the probe has to be kept in the near-field zone at constant distance to the sample, in order to avoid intensity changes, a probe-sample distance regulation scheme is used to maintain a constant distance between probe and sample. The application of a distance regulation scheme results in the capability to measure a topographical image simultaneously with the optical image, an important asset of a near-field scanning optical microscope.
This thesis reports the development of two types of illumination mode near-field scanning optical microscopes. The microscopes use aperture type near-field probes, consisting of a sub-wavelength aperture which is illuminated from one side. The light transmitted through the aperture serves as sub-wavelength light source illuminating the sample.
Chapter 1 presents a brief introduction into the theory of optical image formation, leading to the resolution limit in conventional far-field optical microscopy. A near-field scanning optical microscope overcomes this limit by probing the near-field over the sample surface. A short overview of the instrumental and experimental accomplishments in nearfield optical microscopy is given in section 1.4. One of the most important parts of the near-field scanning optical microscope is the optical probe. In the experiments metal coated tapered fibers as well as newly designed cantilever probes, with a subwavelength aperture, have been used. Chapter 2 describes the fabrication process and emission characteristics of metal coated tapered optical fibers. Additionally, the micromechanical fabrication of a new type of probe, based on atomic force microscope probes, is described. The probe consists of a silicon nitride cantilever with a solid transparent conical tip. The probes are tested in a newly built near-field scanning optical microscope system. Although the prospects of using cantilever type probes are good, fiber probes are still favored because of the superior optical properties of the aperture.
The distance regulation scheme in a fiber based near-field microscope, the shear-force control mechanism, is examined in chapter 3. The dynamics of this shear-force feedback system, based on piezoelectric quartz tuning forks, has been investigated. In this system the fiber is attached to the tuning fork and excited externally at its resonance frequency. Experiments reveal that the resonance frequency of the tuning fork changes upon approaching the sample. Both amplitude and phase of the oscillation of the tuning fork can be used as distance control parameter in the feedback system. Using amplitude a second-order behavior is observed while with phase only a first-order behavior is
observed. The topography of a sample consisting of DNA strands on mica was imaged using phase feedback. A near-field scanning optical microscope with two polarization detection channels, operating with tuning fork shear-force feedback, has been used to observe rotational and translational diffusion of single molecules. The molecules were dispersed on glass or embedded in
polymer. In successive images the fluorescence of single molecules was followed over about one hour, with 10 ms integration time, until photodissociation. The orientation of the in-plane emission dipole of all molecules in one image could be directly determined with an accuracy of a few degrees. Different sets of molecules could be selectively excited by rotating the excitation polarization. Monitoring DiI molecules in PMMA over one hour, rotation of less than 10 degrees for the majority of molecules was found, while incidental fast rotation and transition to a dark state occurred. The fluorescence intensity was observed to be molecule dependent, which is an indication for out-of-plane orientation and different local photophysical environment.
Interactions between sample and probe, other than due to the light source character of the probe, have been observed in some of the single molecule experiments. Chapter 5 shows some examples of these interactions, such as sample manipulation by the probe and fluorescence quenching.
Finally, the results in this thesis are discussed in a broader perspective and an outlook into future developments in near-field optical microscopy is given.


BACKGROUND
The survival rates for patients with advanced cancer have increased over time. Many patients experience symptoms and functional limitations that impair activities of daily living and limit quality of life. A number of these health problems are amenable to physical therapist treatment. However, physical therapists caring for patients with advanced cancer require special training and skills.

OBJECTIVE
The study aimed to assess the educational needs and clinical uncertainties of Dutch physical therapists in relation to treatment of patients with advanced cancer.

DESIGN
This was a mixed methods study.

METHODS
A survey and 2 focus groups were conducted among physical therapists working in primary care who had previously received at least basic oncology training.

RESULTS
A total of 162 physical therapists completed the survey. The most frequently reported educational needs were related to effective interprofessional collaboration (61.7%), knowledge of medical treatment (49.4%), and current evidence on physical therapist interventions in this population (49.4%). In the focus groups, physical therapists (n = 17) voiced uncertainties about treating patients with bone metastases, setting realistic goals, when and how to end a treatment episode, interprofessional collaboration, finding and using evidence, and using clinimetrics.

CONCLUSION
These results support the need for specific education programs for physical therapists working with advanced cancer patients to increase the availability of high-quality oncology rehabilitation for this population.


The majority of modern urban developments are designed to be sustainable and smart. Lusail City is one of the world's largest urban development projects. Located in the north of Qatar's capital Doha, it will be home to 250,000 people once completed. A project of this size means substantial challenges in planning and coordinating the design, construction and operation to create an environment with enhanced quality of life and sustainable living. Therefore, it is vital to have a structured and consistent knowledge collection and information base. The base of a sustainable and smart city is the utilization of that knowledge and information. 3D asset management enables the utilization of information from all project phases and the management of the entire project life cycle. Mobile viewers are used to facilitate the cooperation, communication and data collection on-site in real time. Equipped with GIS, the mobile viewers deliver any location-enriched data, from any place, at any time. During the presentation, we will aim to cover the following topics: (1) reaching required goals to be a sustainable and smart city; (2) defining data standards; (3) data collection; (4) implementing intelligent software solutions. Towards the end of the presentation, we will showcase the potential outcome by using a clearly structured information base. HOCHTIEF ViCon is the leading service provider and consultant for virtual construction and Building Information Modeling (BIM). According to our principle "build digitally first", we advise and assist our clients in the use of intelligent 3D computer models in order to minimize risks early on, communicate effectively, and save cost. We have gained experience on more than 450 projects in Europe, MENA, Americas, and Australia.


Much of America seemed to be captivated - or horrified - last year by the saga concerning Theresa Marie Schiavo and her approach to the end-of-life. One of the most unusual events in a story filled with them was Congressional passage of Public Law 109-03, An Act for the Relief of the Parents of Theresa Marie Schiavo. The Act, which provided a federal forum to consider the constitutional issues related to the removal of Ms. Schiavo's feeding tube, was widely derided, a position with which I agree as a policy matter. However, there were also strident assertions that this Congressional action was unconstitutional. These arguments variously contended that the Act violated principles of federalism, separation of powers and/or constitutional protections of individual liberties. This Article considers the claim that the Act violated the structural constitutional principles concerning separation of powers and federalism. I ultimately conclude that it does not. In fact, I assert that understanding why the Act is consistent with the Constitution tells one a great deal about the American constitutional order.


One of the more puzzling features of published claims for cost-effectiveness is the popularity of claims presented in terms of quality adjusted life years (QALYs). Despite the popularity of QALYs as the 'gold standard' outcome measures among academic audiences, professional groups and a number of single payer health care systems, there is no evidence to suggest that cost-per-QALY based claims have ever been assessed, either through experimentation or observation, to support formulary decisions. In part this stems from the fact that cost-per-QALY claims are typically not expressed in evaluable terms; it also stems from the fact that, despite the plethora of QALY publications, QALYs are not collected on a regular basis by any health care system as part of administrative claims or electronic medical records. In the US QALYs have typically been ignored by health care decision makers. Given this, the continuing popularity of utility-based measures for studies published in the leading pharmacoeconomics journals is difficult to understand. One possible explanation is that those promoting QALY claims are locked into a relativist position that defends the publication of nontestable product claims. A position that is reinforced by recommendations from 'peer organizations' such as the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) in their promotion of their Format for Formulary Submission standards which support the role of lifetime cost-per-QALY modeled imaginary worlds or thought experiments. Another explanation is that QALYs have been taken at face value with little though given to how they might be implemented to support both initial formulary decisions as well as ongoing disease area therapeutic class reviews. The purpose of this review is to put the case that the continued emphasis on cost-per-QALY claims has no practical benefit in formulary decision making.

Type: Commentary


We demonstrate and characterize the generation of single-tone frequency-modulated and frequency-doubled radiation at 400 MHz and 430 nm. We obtained the radiation at 430 nm by frequency doubling light from a current-modulated 860-nm diode laser, using noncritical type I phase matching in a KNbO(3) crystal. The optical spectrum of the doubled light was found to be in keeping with our expectations based on the measured frequency- and amplitude-modulation indices of the fundamental radiation. The experimentally measured diode laser and crystal parameters were used to simulate the in-phase and quadrature signals that would be observed in a single-tone frequency-modulation spectroscopy experiment.


This paper examines identification power of the instrument exogeneity assumption in the treatment effect model. We derive the identification region: The set of potential outcome distributions that are compatible with data and the model restriction. The model restrictions whose identifying power is investigated are (i)instrument independence of each of the potential outcome (marginal independence), (ii) instrument joint independence of the potential outcomes and the selection heterogeneity, and (iii) instrument monotonicity in addition to (ii) (the LATE restriction of Imbens and Angrist (1994)), where these restrictions become stronger in the order of listing. By comparing the size of the identification region under each restriction, we show that the joint independence restriction can provide further identifying information for the potential outcome distributions than marginal independence, but the LATE restriction never does since it solely constrains the distribution of data. We also derive the tightest possible bounds for the average treatment effects under each restriction. Our analysis covers both the discrete and continuous outcome case, and extends the treatment effect bounds of Balke and Pearl(1997) that are available only for the binary outcome case to a wider range of settings including the continuous outcome case.


Mangrove ecosystems are one of the habitats that host high environmental diversity at the level of physical, geomorphological and biological features in arid regions. In Saudi Arabia, mangrove ecosystems are heavily threatened by both natural hazards and human pressure. The total estimated area of mangroves in Safwa Al Khurais, Saudi Arabia, is approximately 20 000 ha in extent and comprises two species: Avicennia marina and Rhizophora mucronata . They supply detritus to the marine food web and play a significant role in the conservation of biological diversity. The main objective of this study was to analyse the demographic population sensitivity of A. marina in two representative sites on the Red Sea and the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia. A sensitivity analysis was used to assess the contributions of the inputs to the total uncertainty in the analysis outcomes. Demographic features affecting mangroves in Saudi Arabia are complex and include various aspects. The phenological phase, tree size, density, cover, number of dead trees and pneumatophore characteristics were considered in this study. A comparative analysis of Gaussian process emulators for performing a global sensitivity analysis was used to conduct a variance-based sensitivity analysis to identify which uncertain inputs drive the output uncertainty. The results showed that the interconnections between different demographic features were predictable, but that the extent of the sensitivity was uncertain. Findings from the current study are anticipated to contribute significantly towards an inclusive mangrove demographic features assessment, and towards the subsequent conservation of mangroves in Saudi Arabia. Conservation implications: The findings of the current research are discussed in light of the application of sensitivity analyses outputs in the conservation and management of mangrove ecosystems at a national level


Pavement assessment is a crucial process for the maintenance of municipal roads. However, the detection of pavement distress is usually performed either manually or offline, which is not only time-consuming and subjective, but also results in an enormous amount of data being stored persistently before processing. State-of-the-art pavement image processing methods executed on a CPU are not able to analyse pavement images in real time. To compensate this limitation of the methods, we propose an automated approach for pavement distress detection. In particular, GPU implementations of a noise removal, a background correction and a pavement distress detection method were developed. The median filter and the top-hat transform are used to remove noise and shadows in the images. The wavelet transform is applied in order to calculate a descriptor value for classification purposes. The approach was tested on 1549 images. The results show that real-time pre-processing and analysis are possible.