Vehicles, infrastructure, fuel systems and other energy-driven systems that serve public transport are complex with many resource inputs and outputs, and involve many processes. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Costing (LCC) helps analyzing those by quantifying environmental and economic effects, but will not in themselves provide a full systems perspective. Swedish authorities have set ambitious national goals, and many regions targets a 100% increase in public transport by 2020. The medium sized city of Karlskrona (36,000 inhabitants), that is included in this study together with Sundsvall and Jonkoping, embraces those goals too. This study analyzes relevant differences between bus solutions, to investigate a change to more sustainable bus propulsion systems. The study zooms down to compare energy carriers (diesel, biodiesel, biogas, and electricity) in different powertrain combinations (combustion engines, electric hybrids, and pure electric). The Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) where principles are defining a sustainable future is used to broaden from a cost and environmentally shortsighted perspective to a long-term sustainability perspective with systems thinking. The Strategic Life Cycle Assessment (SLCA) is first used to give a quick full scope of sustainability challenges in each bus life cycle stage from extraction to end of life. Then LCA and LCC approaches are used to" dig deeper" into prioritized identified challenges. Initial study results suggest that electric drivetrains would be preferable in city buses within the coming decade - both from an economic and a sustainability perspective. It not only lowers emissions and energy usage, but also provides a platform for future promising energy carriers.


Automation is advancing relentlessly. Already decades ago, digitization was its partner. In the industry, innovative robots, for example co-robots, are used. Service robots begin to spread in various areas. Systems of artificial intelligence perform tasks of all sorts, even creative activities. The studies on the development of the labor market reach different results. In any case, it can be said that certain jobs will disappear and many people will have to do without their familiar work. It can also be assumed that in many areas less human work has to be performed on behalf (e.g., for customers and employers). As possible solutions to economic and social problems, an unconditional basic income and a robot tax are suggested. This paper presents, discusses and criticizes these approaches in the context of automation and digitization. Moreover, it develops a relatively unknown proposal, unconditional basic property, and presents its potentials as well as its risks.


Securitized real estate shares constitute an important investment vehicle for institutional investors and households. Investors both hold real estate shares directly or indirectly through for instance real estate mutual funds as well as real estate ETFs. Therefore it is interesting to study the inter-relationship between listed property share indexes and other major stock and bond market sector indexes. We apply different econometrics methods and models on daily data from the Stockholm Stock Exchange, to study the interaction between daily return figures for listed real estate share index series, and other major stock and bond market sector indexes. We find evidence that some stock and bond market sector indexes are especially inter-related with the real estate stock market index.


This paper compares partial and general equilibrium effects of alternative financial aid policies intended to promote college participation. We build an overlapping generations life-cycle, heterogeneous-agent, incomplete-markets model with education, labor supply, and consumption/saving decisions. Altruistic parents make inter vivos transfers to their children. Labor supply during college, government grants and loans, as well as private loans, complement parental transfers as sources of funding for college education. We find that the current financial aid system in the U.S. improves welfare, and removing it would reduce GDP by two percentage points in the long-run. Any further relaxation of government-sponsored loan limits would have no salient effects. The short-run partial equilibrium effects of expanding tuition grants (especially their need-based component) are sizeable. However, long-run general equilibrium effects are 3-4 times smaller. Every additional dollar of government grants crowds out 20-30 cents of parental transfers. JEL Classification: E24, I22, J23, J24.


Semantic-based technologies have been steadily increasing their relevance in recent years in both the research world and business world. Considering this, the present article discusses the process of design and implementation of a competency management system in information and communication technologies domain utilizing the latest Semantic Web tools and technologies including D2RQ server, TopBraid Composer, OWL 2, SPARQL, SPARQL Rules and common human resources related public vocabularies. In particular, the paper discusses the process of building individual and enterprise competence models in a form of ontology database, as well as different ways of meaningful search and retrieval of expertise data on the Semantic Web. The ontological knowledge base aims at storing the extracted and integrated competences from structured, as well as unstructured sources. By using the illustrative case study of deployment of such a system in the Human Resources sector at the Mihajlo Pupin Institute, this paper shows an example of new approaches to data integration and information management. The proposed approach extends the functionalities of existing enterprise information systems and offers possibilities for development of future Internet services. This allows organizations to express their core competences and talents in a standardized, machine processable and understandable format, and hence, facilitates their integration in the European Research Area and beyond.


A science education center at a university medical school had grant funding to develop a genetics curriculum unit but needed a dissemination plan. A statewide science teacher organization that provided professional development training was facing decreased funding. These two groups combined their efforts, and created a unique partnership, called BEGIN (Biotechnology, Ethics and Genetics Instructional Network) that has brought together university medical and science faculty and high school biology teachers. The main goal of this partnership is to provide high school biology teachers with new instructional tools to face the challenges of teaching genetics and bioethics in a manner that is content-rich, research and standards-based, and relevant to students' lives. This article describes the BEGIN partnership and summarizes the tiered approach used for designing, pilot-testing, and disseminating a new problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum module on the bioethics of DNA testing for Huntington's disease. The article also provides some preliminary data on the effectiveness of this approach in transforming teacher practice. BEGIN: A Unique Partnership Between University Faculty & Science Teachers BEGIN was launched in 2003 using grant funding from the National Institutes of Health's National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI). This collaborative partnership brings together faculty and staff of the Life Sciences Learning Center (a hands-on science education laboratory located at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry) and science educators from the New York State Biology-Chemistry Professional Development Network. The goal of this project is to develop and disseminate PBL-based activities that introduce high school students to the ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) of genetic testing. BEGIN focuses on curriculum and professional development, working primarily with high school teachers who teach biology courses based on the New York State Living Environment core curriculum (NYSED). In order to increase the likelihood that teachers will adopt new curricula and instructional practices, BEGIN uses an ongoing, multi-year process of curriculum development and professional development with teachers from the New York State Biology-Chemistry Professional Development Network. The process introduces PBL and other instructional strategies that are based on current educational research on effective, best practices. The centerpiece of the BEGIN partnership is a five-part PBL curriculum module called Family Secrets (Markowitz et al., 2006). This module engages students in constructing knowledge about DNA testing, Huntington's disease, and the bioethics of genetic testing. Using PBL strategies, students access and interpret relevant scientific information and data, collaborate with other students, and develop ownership of their "solution" to a real-life problem. These skills are all key characteristics of science inquiry, and correlate with the inquiry skills found in the National Science Education Standards (NRC, 1996). Family Secrets is the result of a three-year process of curriculum development, statewide pilot-testing, dissemination, and feedback. Family Secrets was created by a Development Team of master teachers from the New York State BiologyChemistry Professional Development Network, and scientists, a pediatric geneticist, and a bioethicist from the University of Rochester. A group of ten biology Pilot Mentors from throughout New York State pilot-tested the initial version of Family Secrets in their classrooms, and provided year-long feedback to the Development Team. A revised version of Family Secrets was then introduced to 62 statewide Biology Mentors at a four-day summer institute at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Mentors field-tested the revised curriculum, and provided the Development Team with preliminary evaluation data to assess the impact of Family Secrets and the PBL process on classroom instruction and student learning. …


From 1989 through 1992, preserved insect fauna of Knife Point, Bull Lake, and Upper Fremont glaciers (Wind River Range, Fremont County, Wyoming) was examined. Knife Point Glacier contained the first intact, glacially preserved grasshopper specimens found in the past 40 yr. These specimens were found below a crevassed region, and available evidence indicates that they may have been concentrated and preserved within a crevasse 140 ± 50 yr ago. Morphological assessments of these bodies and cluster analyses of mandible and tibia measurements established that all but one or two of the exposed deposits were comprised of the extinct Rocky Mountain locust, Melanoplus spretus Walsh. Examination of distinct summer-melt strata indicates that this species was deposited at random intervals over a period of 300 yr. The Boating section of strata also contained the first known glacial remains of swarms of the extant migratory grasshopper, Melanoplus sanguinipes (F.), and the first record of an insect other than grasshoppers (a parasitic wasp, Copidosoma sp.) having been periodically deposited. A total of six insect orders was found on this glacier. Aerial and runoff samples indicated that the rate of accidental insect deposition on the glacier is very low, and the rate of loss of material from the surficial runoff may exceed a million specimens per year. Bull Lake Glacier also contains at least one very rich deposit of well-preserved M. spretus , but other grasshopper remains appear to be widely scattered across the surface. Grasshopper remains from ice cores of Upper Fremont Glacier were dated from as early as 840 ± 85 yr before the present, making this the oldest known glacially preserved insect deposit.


This research guide is to help you find resources to prepare for your trip to Window Rock. Most of the resources may be accessed either here or while you're on the reservation.


Evidence-based practice in the nursing profession is gaining wider popularity as shown by the increasing number of nursing conferences with an evidence-based theme, journals that feature "evidence-based, best practices in healthcare", professional nursing organisations that are developing or promoting clinical practice guidelines, and subscription to this journal by over 8000 nurses from around the world. As we begin our fifth year of production of Evidence-Based Nursing (EBN), it is useful to look back at developments that have occurred over the past 4 years. In this editorial, we will describe the involvement of our many colleagues in the production of this journal, identify the journals from which we abstract the most studies, highlight the purposes of our editorials, and update our readers about our website.

The production of this journal relies on many nursing colleagues from around the world. Once studies have been screened for methodological quality, the studies of most relevance to nursing practice are identified. Although the 3 editors are able to identify many of these, we rely heavily on colleagues to review qualitative studies and studies in areas of nursing in which we do not have expertise. We enjoy the commitment and assistance of a panel of judges who review all the qualitative studies both for methodological quality and for nursing relevance. Additionally, colleagues in clinical areas such as critical care, neonatology, surgery, and advanced practice nursing review select studies for quality and relevance.

Once an abstract is written, an associate editor reviews the abstract for accuracy and identifies a nurse with expertise in the topic area to write a brief commentary about the study, highlighting its strengths, limitations and clinical applicability. When the commentary is completed, the associate editor, through exchanges with the commentator, fine tunes the abstract and commentary. Our team of associate editors has grown …


High-volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing of shale formations has the potential to make natural gas a significant, economical energy source, but the potential for harm to human health is often dismissed by proponents of this method. While adverse health outcomes of medical conditions with long latency periods will not be evident for years and will depend on the exposure, duration of exposure, dose, and other factors, we argue that it would be prudent to begin to track and monitor trends in the incidence and prevalence of diseases that already have been shown to be influenced by environmental agents. The dirty downside of modern, unconventional natural gas development, as well as the potential for harm, is discussed.


The EU member states have implemented excise duties on fuel and electricity according to the EU Energy Tax Directive. The purpose of these measures is to motivate a reduction in energy consumption by internalizing external costs of energy. The taxes on energy have success in inciting energy savings. Simultaneously, the price levels of energy in the EU member states have increased to levels significantly higher compared to other countries in the region and the world. The price increase is the result of a cumulative effect of excise duties and other taxes and mechanisms including feed-in tariffs and quota policies. While the Energy Tax Directive gives the member states a level of freedom in setting the exact duty rates, the minimal rates enforced on all member states are relatively high. The policy intends to limit competition between the states on low energy prices and arbitrage trading between countries. We examine the purchasing power for energy products relative to the per capita GDP for a wide set of countries countries within the EU and in the rest of the world. We can identify several groups or clusters of countries based on their GDP per capita and energy prices. The new member states of the EU face a unique combination of low or moderate GDP per capita and very high energy prices. Their relative purchasing power for energy is degraded to levels comparable or lower than the purchasing power in developing countries with significantly lower GDP per capita and underdeveloped energy infrastructure. The calibration of energy taxation in the EU at high price levels suitable for Western European economies with high per capita GDP is leading to strong negative social effects and increasing poverty in Eastern European member states. The current implementation of these policies does not recognize to a sufficient extent income levels, regional social inequalities, and the low price elasticity of demand for energy.


Both protein ingestion and amino acid infusion are known to stimulate insulin secretion. The mechanism of this response has been attributed to increased plasma amino acid concentration. The present studies were undertaken to determine whether this-secretory response is due to a direct effect of amino acids on the islet cells or whether it is mediated through some other indirect mechanism. Accordingly, pancreatic infusion studies were conducted to help resolve this question. Casein hydrolysate (1 gm.) infused into the pancreatico-duodenal artery of dogs for one-half hour provoked an immediate secretion of insulin into the portal vein. Femoral arterial insulin concentration also rose within five minutes, although hyperglycemia was not observed until the end of the infusion. An insulin response of similar magnitude was achieved by pancreatic glucose infusion (1 gm.). Simultaneous administration of epinephrine (30 μg.) inhibited the insulin responses to both glucose and amino acid. Combined infusion of casein hydrolysate and glucose (0.5 gm. each) produced a greater insulin response than the sum of the individual responses, suggesting glucose-amino acid synergism. Intraportal infusion of casein hydrolysate produced no significant insulin response in either portal venous or femoral arterial plasma. These studies suggest that the insulin response associated with ingested or parenteral protein represents a direct amino acid effect on the islets of Langerhans. They also suggest that the amino acid concentration in the pancreas may be as important as glucose in control of insulin secretion.


Chlorine on its own is adequate for many, if not most, potable water pre-oxidation and disinfection systems at plants where the application is straightforward. Similarly, most wastewater plants can be disinfected by chlorine in one of its commercially available forms. However, when more intense pre-oxidation is required or significant iron or manganese is present in a potable supply, the use of alternative disinfectants is often preferable. Similarly, when secondary problems are present in wastewater effluent, such as high ammonia, a stronger oxidant may be preferable. Hitherto, the use of stronger oxidants has been limited to large works due to the complexity of the operational processes required. Recently, the use of ozone has spread to smaller works as new developments in equipment have become available. However, chlorine dioxide has not been used in small works until now. This paper provides details regarding a product which is simply dissolved in water in tablet or granular form and generates chlorine dioxide on solution in water. The solution is stable over weeks or even months and can be used for disinfection and or pre-oxidation purposes. The chemical was assessed in a series of tests. The performance of the chlorine dioxide product was compared against sodium hypochlorite, for different water types. The reduction in microbial counts was monitored in a secondary effluent sample and a high-ammonia secondary effluent sample. The oxidation ability in a high iron and manganese water was also assessed. A cost assessment was carried out and compared to the use of sodium hypochlorite. Other factors such as safety ease of use, and storage requirements are discussed. Keywords: chlorine, chlorine dioxide, oxidant, iron, manganese


As design moves into the realm of intelligent products and systems, interactive product behavior becomes an ever more prominent aspect of design, raising the question of how to design the aesthetics of such interactive behavior. To address this challenge, we developed a conception of aesthetics based on Pragmatist philosophy and translated it into a design approach. Our notion of Aesthetic Interaction consists of four principles: Aesthetic Interaction (1) has practical use next to intrinsic value, (2) has social and ethical dimensions, (3) has satisfying dynamic form, and (4) actively involves people's bodily, cognitive, emotional and social skills. Our design approach based on this notion is called 'designing for Aesthetic Interaction through Aesthetic Interaction', referring to the use of aesthetic experience as a design mechanism. We explore our design approach through a case study that involves the design of intelligent lamps and outlines the utilized design techniques. The paper concludes with a set of practical recommendations for designing the aesthetics of interactive product behavior.


A top–bottom paleolimnological analysis of 30 undisturbed lakes in the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA) in northwest Ontario showed marked increases in the relative abundance of colonial scaled chrysophyte taxa in most lakes since pre-industrial times. The increase in abundance of colonial taxa was primarily driven by Synura sphagnicola in small, high-nutrient, and warm lakes. The colonial taxa Synura petersenii and Synura echinulata also increased in the deeper study lakes. Detailed analysis of sediment cores from six lakes revealed that these changes occurred in the early to mid-1900s. Based on the modern distribution of scaled chrysophytes relative to lake physicochemical data, we propose multiple processes that may be contributing to these changes, such as changes in lake thermal properties and historical changes in the flux of important particles and solutes to lakes. Additional mechanisms that may contribute to the observed changes are discussed, including trophic interactions and changes in limnetic pCO2. Because the ELA is relatively undisturbed, our findings provide important information on the drivers responsible for increases in colonial chrysophyte abundance, which have been documented in studies of lakes in central Ontario and northeast United States.


There is extensive literature dedicated to investigating the effects of exclusion on interpersonal behaviours and emotions. Standard exclusion procedures typically involve, face to face, imagined and anticipated exclusion. Although more recently, research has begun to focus on the effects of rejection through technology (for example, being ignored by peers over the internet). To extend this emerging trend of research, the current thesis looked at exclusion by technology in the form of a Baxter robot. The procedure involved having participants play a game of Connect4 with "Baxter" and 1 in 3 being they were boring to play with, prosocial behaviour and self-esteem was subsequently measured. Anthropomorphism was also captured as a potential moderator for exclusion. It was predicted that, following rejection, people would be less likely to volunteer and have lower self-esteem compared with accept and control conditions with outcomes exaggerated for those high in the tendency to anthropomorphise. As hypothesised self-esteem decreased following exclusion however, there was no significant effect of pro-social behaviour and anthropomorphism. Results and implications are discussed further.


Mountain regions have been identified as especially vulnerable areas to climate change. Changes in snowfall, glacier retreat and shifts in biodiversity amount and distribution are some examples of the sensitivity of mountain ecosystems. Moreover, in many mountain economies, reliable snow cover plays a key role as an important resource for the winter tourism industry, the main income source and driving force of local development in such regions. This study presents a georeferenced agent-based model to analyze the climate change impacts on the ski industry in Andorra and the effect of snowmaking as future adaptation strategy. The present study is the first attempt to analyze the ski industry in the Pyrenees region and will contribute to a better understanding of the vulnerability of Andorran ski resorts and the suitability of snowmaking as potential adaptation strategy to climate change. This study projects a reduction on the ski season length and the drop of the number of skiers especially in the lowest elevation ski resort of this region. Moreover, this work indicates that snowmaking cannot completely solve the problem of ensuring snow cover at low elevation ski resorts and should be considered as a suitable short-term strategy, but not as a sustainable long-term adaptation strategy. The resulting model can be used as a planning support tool to help local stakeholders understand the vulnerability and potential impacts of climate change and in the decision-making process of designing and developing appropriate sustainable adaptation strategies to future climate variability


The United States Environmental Protection Agency has promulgated the Total Maximum Daily Load process to achieve the goals of the Clean Water Act. The TMDL processis applied to water bodies in which water quality standards are not achieved for one or more water quality parameters (pollutants). Nationally, the EPA has listed more than 20,000 water bodies as impaired for supporting designated uses such as aquatic life propagation, contact recreation, and human health including special uses such as drinking water supply. This process establishes pollutant load reductions from individual point and non-point sources of pollution required to restore designated uses. The TMDL process becomes very complicated when the pollution sources include urban wet weather discharges such as combined sewer overflows (CSO), sanitary sewer overflows(SSO), and stormwater discharges. The pollutant loads from these sources are large but intermittent in nature. Many municipalities served by combined sewer systems have completed or are in the process of developing long-term control plans in accordance with the presumptive or demonstrative approaches outlined in the National CSO Control Policy. Similarly, the municipalities with separate sewers have been addressing the stormwater and SSO issues throughthe Phase I/II and CMOM programs. The challenge from a municipality's perspective is to establish pollution control plans that identify infrastructure requirements and management practice needs before major capital improvement programs can begin. Consequently, many municipalities have delayed implementation of the CSO controls identified in their LTCPs. Others have pursued pollution control programs limited to the achievement of high-priority objectives such as sensitive water bodies (e.g., bathing beaches) and sensitive or vulnerable populations (e.g., endangered species). One of the recent EPA initiatives is watershed-based permitting, which accounts for influences from all contributing point and non-point sources of pollution in a watershed in the World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2008 Ahupua'a 2008 ASCE permitting process. This can be a successful mechanism for communities with wet weather discharges, however, it can be a myth or reality depending on the surrounding technical and policy considerations. In this paper, some of these considerations will be discussed with specific examples and technical approaches to support adoption of this permitting process that can help achieve the goals of the Clean Water Act sooner.


The palmaris longus muscle is widely recognized for its notable variability in living humans. These variations include not only muscle belly reversal, distinct double muscle bellies, duplication and triplication, but also total uni-or bilateral agenesis (absence). A review of the literature and data novel to this study illustrate that different populations of humans exhibit remarkable variation in the frequency of palmaris longus agenesis, from less than 5% of Chinese to nearly 65% of Indians. Comparative dissection-derived data reveal substantial variation in palmaris longus agenesis (PLA) in populations of extant humans (H. sapiens), chimpanzees (Pan spp.), and gorillas (Gorilla spp.) - but not orangutans (Pongo spp.), which apparently always develop this muscle. From this pattern, we infer that palmaris longus is undergoing non-adaptive, stochastic evolution in the extant African Homininae, while it continues to have adaptive purpose in Pongo, likely due to the orangutans' greater degree of arboreality than the African apes and humans. Clinical evidence supports this conclusion, at least as it applies to humans. This study highlights the utility of comparative soft tissue data collection and interpretation in elucidating the evolution of anatomical structures that do not fossilize.


This article examines the neurobiological basis of the healing power attributed to shamanic practices in the Andes and Brazil in light of the pharmacology of neurotransmitters and the new technological explorations of brain functioning. The psychotropic plants used in shamanic psychiatric cures interfere selectively with the intrinsic neuromediators of the brain. Mainly they may alter: (1) the neuroendocrine functioning through the adrenergic system by controlling stressful conditions, (2) the dopaminergic system in incentive learning and emotions incorporation, (3) the serotoninergic system in modulating behaviors, and mood, and (4) basic functions implied in anxiety or depression. PET scans and functional magnetic resonance imaging studies of hypnotic trance and altered states of consciousness may provide a useful model for the neurophysiological phenomena of shamanic drum-and-dance trance. The reorganization of cortical areas and the direct interconnections between the prefrontal cortex and the dopaminergic reward centers in the limbic system are of particular significance for human social judgment and symbolic processing. Those centers—including the hypothalamus and the amygdala (associated with psychosomatic equilibrium, memory, and emotion) are enhanced. This arousal may be amplified in order to induce a cathartic crisis—the shamanic trance. It is suggested that through this holistic approach the shaman empirically interferes in neurobiological dysfunctions.


In the present work, the degradation of phenol from aqueous solutions was investigated using periodate/zero valent iron nanoparticle (nZVI) in the presence of ultrasound at a batch reactor. The Experimental tests were carried out using pre-designated amounts of nZVI, periodate, and pH ranging from 1-7 mM, 0.5-5 mM, 3-11 respectively. During the all experimental tests the ultrasonic reactor was operated at a fix frequency (40 kHz), temperature (33±1) and power (350 W). The results of nZVI/periodate/ultrasound system on degradation of phenol showed that the removal efficiency was frankly affected by the amount of produced free radicals to initiate the oxidative decomposition of phenol. As, with enhancing the nZVI loading to 3 mM and periodate concentration to 3 mM, the removal efficiency of phenol was increased. Besides, the acidic pH (pH=3) was found to be more effective than neutral and alkaline pH in degradation of phenol.


The number of patients attending our Emergency Department (ED) with acute asthma has increased from 3300 patient/year in 1980 to 15364 in 2003. Short acting bronchodilators (albuterol/ipratropium) administered in wet nebulizations, a resource consuming procedure, were our main initial treatment in 2002. To improve treatment goals, we switched the method of bronchodilator delivery to metered dose inhalers (MDI) in 2003. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of this change in the bronchodilator delivery system. We compared 90 patients with acute asthma treated with MDls in December 2003 with a similar number treated with wet nebulizers in December 2002 matched for sex, age, height, and FEV, on admission. Treated with MDls resulted in significant reduction of length of stay in the ED (median 3 vs 4 hs - quartiles 2-4.75 vs 1-6 hs, p=0.01) and an increase in the number of discharges in the first 2 hours of treatment (48 vs 31% p = 0.03). Overall, patients in the MDl's group received 87% of the scheduled bronchodilator doses, while patients in the wet nebulizer's group received only 37% of the prescribed doses. Although there was a trend towards better FEV, at discharge in the MDI's group, the difference was not statistically significant (78% ± 17% vs 73% + 17% p=0.09). Percentage of patients finally discharged from the ED was similar in both groups (96 vs 94%). Patients treated with bronchodilators delivered by MDI improved faster and had better fulfillment of treatment standards.


In this paper, we describe a novel Internet radio recommendation system called MeUse. We use the Shoutcast API to collect historical data about the artists that are played on a large set of Internet radio stations. This data is used to populate an artist-station index that is similar to the term-document matrix of a traditional text-based information retrieval system. When a user wants to find stations for a given seed artist, we check the index to determine a set of stations that are either currently playing or have recently played that artist. These stations are grouped into three clusters and one representative station is selected from each cluster. This promotes diversity among the stations that are returned to the user. In addition, we provide additional information such as relevant tags (e.g., genres, emotions) and similar artists to give the user more contextual information about the recommended stations. Finally, we describe a web-based user interface that provides an interactive experience that is more like a personalized Internet radio player (e.g., Pandora) and less like a search engine for Internet radio stations (e.g., Shoutcast). A smallscale user study suggests that the majority of users enjoyed using MeUse but that providing additional contextual information may be needed to help with recommendation transparency.


Together with scattering, the process of absorption determines the propagation of light within the water column. It is influenced by the concentration and composition of optically active substances (phytoplankton, chromophoric-dissolved organic matter, and non-living particles). For this reason, the absorption coefficients of a water sample can provide corresponding information. However, the accurate determination of absorption coefficients in natural waters is often difficult due to the usually low concentration of absorbing material and the errors that scattering on particles introduce in the measurements. These problems can be overcome by instruments based on integrating cavities like the point-source integrating-cavity absorption meter (PSICAM). The accuracy of PSICAM measurements is to a large degree related to the accuracy of the measurement of the reflectivity inside its cavity, as this determines its mean optical path length. A reflectivity measurement ('calibration') is usually carried out by measuring a liquid dye (nigrosin) with known absorption coefficients, followed by bleaching and rinsing of the cavity. The procedure requires additional equipment like spectrophotometers and handling of a liquid standard. Therefore, it might be difficult or at least non-convenient under field conditions and is additionally a major obstacle for a potential automation of these systems. In the present study, an alternative calibration approach for a PSICAM is evaluated, taking advantage of a solid standard. The standard is characterized and its suitability for calibration is compared to that of a conventional, nigrosin-based reflectivity measurement. Furthermore, the application in an automated flow-through PSICAM system (HyAbS) used in the field is tested. The results show that the performance of the solid standard calibration is comparable to that of the nigrosine-based calibration. Furthermore, it improves the measurements of the automated system. Thus, due to its simplicity, the solid standard calibration might foster the use of PSICAM systems, which allow a more accurate determination of absorption coefficients in natural water samples compared to conventional spectrophotometric techniques. Furthermore, it will potentially facilitate further approaches to automate of these instruments.


Abstract Primary objective: To assess conversational synchrony in moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Conversational synchrony, assessed by the similarity and co-ordination of words and words per turn, allows for effective and efficient communication and enhances the development of rapport. Research design: Eighteen participants with TBI (seven females) and 19 healthy comparison participants (CP; eight females) engaged in a 10-minute conversation with an unfamiliar partner. Methods and procedures: Conversational synchrony was assessed in these conversations by measuring the degree to which the participants' productions of words and words per turn became more similar to one another over the course of the session. Main outcomes and results: Significantly more sessions with participants with TBI (11/18 for words, 9/18 for words per turn) compared to CP sessions (5/19 for words, 4/19 for words per turns) did not display conversational synchrony. Likewise, synchrony was significantly correlated with subjective ratings of the interaction from raters who were blind to participant status and the study hypotheses. Conclusions: These results suggest that TBI can disrupt conversational synchrony and can, in turn, negatively impact social perceptions. The relationship between impaired conversational synchrony and other social communicative deficits in TBI warrants further study.


The production of pseudorecombinant viruses following exchange of cloned genomic components of the distinct geminiviruses Sida golden mosaic virus (SiGMV-Co) and Abutilon mosaic virus (AbMV) has been investigated. The pseudorecombinant virus produced by DNA A of AbMV and DNA B of SiGMV-Co was infectious in various host plants, although showing a limited host range compared with the two parental viruses. The reciprocal exchange of genomic components did not result in an infectious pseudorecombinant virus. However, in leaf disks SiGMV-Co DNA A was able to trans-replicate the heterogenomic AbMV DNA B component.


With limited financial sophistication, entrepreneurial consumers approach the financial marketplace more like retail financial consumers than business customers. However, the assumption of both legislators and regulators is that business-borrowers are more financially savvy than consumer-borrowers, and thus do not require as broad-reaching protections. This gap between marketplace policy protections and the lived reality of the vast majority of small business entrepreneurs sets the stage for entrepreneurial consumers to fall through the regulatory cracks and sets the stage for possible exploitation and abuse. This situation is potentially exacerbated for minority entrepreneurs who belong to protected classes that are generally more vulnerable to exploitation in the marketplace including the small business lending marketplace. In this paper, we highlight the current state of this policy gap in the marketplace relative to minority entrepreneurial consumers and present a matched-paired mystery shopping study that demonstrates the critical need for reliable, primary data to inform regulatory agencies as they work to implement available protections to ensure equal access to credit within the small business lending marketplace.


Analyses of mitochondrial DNA variation in archaeological samples of Rattus exulans obtained during the 1997 excavations at Emily Bay, Norfolk Island suggest a high degree of variation in the prehistoric populations on the island. The ten samples sequenced produced five unique haplotypes. This result is consistent with a scenario of multiple introductions of the species to the island. There are clear affiliations with East Polynesian and New Zealand samples, however other lineages also appear to be present on Norfolk Island. Three haplotypes that had previously not been identified in tropical East Polynesia appear on Norfolk. One of these has also been identified in an archaeological sample from New Zealand. The other two haplotypes have yet to be identified elsewhere.


Pressure–volume–temperature (PVT) properties of crude oil are considered the most important properties in petroleum engineering applications as they are virtually used in every reservoir and production engineering calculation. Determination of these properties in the laboratory is the most accurate way to obtain a representative value, at the same time, it is very expensive. However, in the absence of such facilities, other approaches such as analytical solutions and empirical correlations are used to estimate the PVT properties. This study demonstrates the combined use of two machine learning (ML) technique, viz., functional network (FN) coupled with particle swarm optimization (PSO) in predicting the black oil PVT properties such as bubble point pressure (Pb), oil formation volume factor at Pb, and oil viscosity at Pb. This study also proposes new mathematical models derived from the coupled FN-PSO model to estimate these properties. The use of proposed mathematical models does not need any ML engine for the execution. A total of 760 data points collected from the different sources were preprocessed and utilized to build and train the machine learning models. The data utilized covered a wide range of values that are quite reasonable in petroleum engineering applications. The performances of the developed models were tested against the most used empirical correlations. The results showed that the proposed PVT models outperformed previous models by demonstrating an error of up to 2%. The proposed FN-PSO models were also compared with other ML techniques such as an artificial neural network, support vector regression, and adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system, and the results showed that proposed FN-PSO models outperformed other ML techniques.


Background: There is considerable variation in hypertension prevalence and awareness, and their correlates, across different geographic locations and ethnic groups. We performed this cross-sectional analysis on data from the Golestan Cohort Study (GCS). Methods: Enrollment in this study occurred in 2004–2008, and included 50 045 healthy individuals from Golestan Province in northeastern Iran. Hypertension was defined as a SBP at least 140 mmHg, a DBP at least 90 mmHg, a prior diagnosis of hypertension, or the use of antihypertensive drugs. Potential correlates of hypertension and its awareness were analyzed by logistic regression adjusted for sex, age, BMI, place of residence, literacy, ethnicity, physical activity, smoking, black and green tea consumption and wealth score. Results: Of the total cohort participants, 21 350 (42.7%) were hypertensive. Age-standardized prevalence of hypertension, using the 2001 WHO standard world population, was 41.8% (95% confidence interval: 38.3–45.2%). Hypertension was directly associated with female sex, increased BMI, Turkmen ethnicity, and lack of physical activity, and inversely associated with drinking black tea and wealth score. Among hypertensive patients, 46.2% were aware of their disease, 17.6% were receiving antihypertensive medication, and 32.1% of the treated patients had controlled hypertension. Hypertension awareness was greater among women, the elderly, overweight and obese patients, and those with a higher wealth score. Conclusion: Hypertension is highly prevalent in rural Iran, many of the affected individuals are unaware of their disease, and the rate of control by antihypertensive medications is low. Increasing hypertension awareness and access to health services, especially among less privileged residents are recommended.


Proper hematopoietic cell fate decisions require co-ordinated functions of transcription factors, their associated co-regulators, and histone-modifying enzymes. Growth factor independence 1 (GFI1) is a zinc finger transcriptional repressor and master regulator of normal and malignant hematopoiesis. While several GFI1-interacting proteins have been described, how GFI1 leverages these relationships to carry out transcriptional repression remains unclear. Here, we describe a functional axis involving GFI1, SMYD2, and LSD1 that is a critical contributor to GFI1-mediated transcriptional repression. SMYD2 methylates lysine-8 (K8) within a -(8)KSKK(11)- motif embedded in the GFI1 SNAG domain. Methylation-defective GFI1 SNAG domain lacks repressor function due to failure of LSD1 recruitment and persistence of promoter H3K4 di-methyl marks. Methylation-defective GFI1 also fails to complement GFI1 depletion phenotypes in developing zebrafish and lacks pro-growth and survival functions in lymphoid leukemia cells. Our data show a discrete methylation event in the GFI1 SNAG domain that facilitates recruitment of LSD1 to enable transcriptional repression and co-ordinate control of hematopoietic cell fate in both normal and malignant settings.


One of the major branches of the field of law and literature is often described as "law as literature." Scholars of law as literature examine the law using the tools of literary analysis. The scholarship in this subfield is dominated by the discussion of narrative texts: confessions, victim-impact statements, and, above all, the judicial opinion. This article will argue that we can use some of the same tools to help us understand non-narrative texts, such as law codes and statutes. Genres create expectations. We do not expect a law code to be literary. Indeed, we tend to dissociate the law code from the kind of imaginative fiction we expect to find in a narrative text. This article will take a historical example, the medieval Icelandic legal manuscript known as Konungsbok, and examine it for its fictional elements. This article will examine Konungsbok for the ways in which it creates an imagined world, populated by free, equal householders, a world that was very different from the Iceland in which its creator lived. Its creator may have created it less to tell his reader anything about the law as it stood in thirteenth-century Iceland than as an elegy to a world he thought he had lost. It therefore stands as a testament to the law code's literary potential.


Interest in high-resolution satellite imagery (HRSI) is spreading in several application fields, at both scientific and commercial levels. A fundamental and critical goal for the geometric use of this kind of imagery is their orientation and orthorectification, the process able to correct the geometric deformations they undergo during acquisition. One of the main objectives of the studies about orthorectification is the definition of an effective methodology to assess the spatial accuracy achievable from orthorectified imagery. Currently, the most used method (hold-out validation HOV) to compute this accuracy just consists in partitioning the known ground points in two sets, the first used into the orientation-orthorectification model (GCPs – Ground Control Points) and the second to validate the model itself (CPs – Check Points); in this respect, the accuracy is just the RMSE of residuals between imagery derived coordinates with respect to CPs coordinates. However this method has some drawbacks: it is generally not reliable and it is not applicable when a low number of ground points is available. First of all, once the two sets are selected, accuracy estimate is not reliable since it is strictly dependent on the points used as CPs; if outliers or poor quality points are included in the CPs set, accuracy estimate is biased. In addition, when a low number of ground points is available, almost all of them are used as GCPs and very few CPs remain, so that RMSE may be computed on a poor (not significant) sample. In these cases accuracy assessment with the usual procedure is essentially lost. In the present work we propose an alternative to the previously described method to perform a spatial accuracy assessment, that is the use of the Leave-one-out crossvalidation (LOOCV) method for the orientation and orthorectification of HRSI. The method consists in the iterative application of the orthorectification model using all the known ground points (or a subset of them) as GCPs except one, different in each iteration, used as CP. In every iteration the residual between imagery derived coordinates with respect to CP coordinates (prediction error of the model on CP coordinates) is calculated; the overall spatial accuracy achievable from the orthorectified image may be estimated by calculating the usual RMSE or, better, a robust accuracy index like the mAD (median Absolute Deviation) of the prediction errors on all the iterations. In this way we solve both mentioned drawbacks of the classical procedure: it is a reliable and robust method, not dependent on a particular set of CPs and on outliers, and it allows us to use each known ground point both as a GCP and as a CP, capitalising all the available ground information. To test this method we modified the software SISAR, developed by the Geodesy and Geomatics Team at the University of Rome "La Sapienza" to perform rigorous orientation of HRSI, integrating it with a module suited to carry out iteratively the core algorithm with point configurations required to apply the Leave-one-out method. The software was tested on EROS-A1 and Quickbird imagery, 7th International Symposium on Spatial Accuracy Assessment in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences. Edited by M. Caetano and M. Painho. 534 confirming the good features of the Leave-one-out method. Moreover SISAR was compared to the world recognized commercial software OrthoEngine v. 10 (PCI Geomatica), which required manual iterations to realize the Leave-one-out procedure; this comparison showed the quite good performances of the SISAR rigorous model.


Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 produces seven to eight major extracellular proteins (EXPs) in a minimal medium inducing hrp genes. Using a polyclonal antibody against DC3000 EXPs, we have determined that the production and secretion of five EXPs (EXP-60, EXP-45, EXP-43, EXP-22, and EXP-10) are under the control of the Hrp regulation and secretion system.


Hypervisor-based fault tolerance (HBFT), which synchronizes the state between the primary VM and the backup VM at a high frequency of tens to hundreds of milliseconds, is an emerging approach to sustaining mission-critical applications. Based on virtualization technology, HBFT provides an economic and transparent fault tolerant solution. However, the advantages currently come at the cost of substantial performance overhead during failure-free, especially for memory intensive applications. This paper presents an in-depth examination of HBFT and options to improve its performance. Based on the behavior of memory accesses among checkpointing epochs, we introduce two optimizations, read-fault reduction and write-fault prediction, for the memory tracking mechanism. These two optimizations improve the performance by 31 percent and 21 percent, respectively, for some applications. Then, we present software superpage which efficiently maps large memory regions between virtual machines (VM). Our optimization improves the performance of HBFT by a factor of 1.4 to 2.2 and achieves about 60 percent of that of the native VM.


Testing the cointegrating rank of a vector autoregressive process that may have a deterministic linear trend is considered. Previous proposals for dealing with such a situation are either to allow for a deterministic trend term in computing a suitable test statistic or else to remove the linear trend first and then derive the test statistic from the trend‐adjusted data. In this study the latter approach is considered and a new method for trend removal is proposed that is based on estimating the trend parameters under the null hypothesis. Likelihood ratio and Lagrange multiplier type test statistics are derived on the basis of the trend‐adjusted data and their asymptotic distributions are considered under the null hypothesis and under local alternatives. A simulation comparison with other proposals is performed.


Group‐IIIE iron meteorites can be ordered into four categories reflecting increasing degrees of shock alteration. Weakly shocked samples (Armanty, Colonia Obrera, Coopertown, Porto Alegre, Rhine Villa, Staunton, and Tanokami Mountain) have haxonite within plessite, unrecrystallized kamacite grains containing Neumann lines or possessing the ɛ structure, and sulfide inclusions typically consisting of polycrystalline troilite with daubréelite exsolution lamellae. The only moderately shocked sample is NWA 4704, in which haxonite has been partially decomposed to graphite; the majority of the kamacite in NWA 4704 is recrystallized, and its sulfide inclusions were partly melted. Strongly shocked samples (Cachiyuyal, Kokstad, and Paloduro) contain graphite and no haxonite, suggesting that pre‐existing haxonite fully decomposed. Also present in these rocks are recrystallized kamacite and melted troilite. Residual heat from the impact caused annealing and recrystallization of kamacite as well as the decomposition of haxonite into graphite. Severely shocked samples (Aliskerovo and Willow Creek) have sulfide‐rich assemblages consisting of fragmental and subhedral daubréelite crystals, 1–4 vol% spidery troilite filaments, and 30–50 vol% low‐Ni kamacite grains, some of which contain up to 6.0 wt% Co; haxonite in these inclusions has fully decomposed to graphite. The wide range of impact effects in IIIE irons is attributed to one or more major collision(s) on the parent asteroid that affected different group members to different extents depending on their proximity to the impact point.


This paper contends that knowledge-making is a political act. In reflecting on the nature of personal narrative and its uses for refugee research, three insights emerge: first, just as the personal is political, so too, the political is personal; next, any storytelling is political in its attention to audience, and is inflected by the discourses available at the time; and finally, researchers must understand that if storying is to grapple with the richness and complexity of lived experience, it will probably be chaotic and messy, as well as clear and straightforward. Researchers wanting to investigate the sociology of refugee experiences might be well advised to ensure that the stories they gather from research participants are not too neat, too straightforward, too much reduced to bare essentials in their telling, lest the chance to allow the stories to become personally and politically resonant be lost. Further, researchers who are conscious of the political resonance of narrative are advised to ensure that they draw attention to the narrative element embedded in their research reports and papers by finding ways to communicate the narratives directly to the commissioning policy makers and politicians through verbal and pictorial seminar presentations, as well as through the reports themselves. These insights have implications for research processes (the gathering and analysis of data) and for the presentation and writing up of research documents.


SEG's second decade began with a clear signal that applied geophysics had evolved into a mature scientific discipline—the nearly simultaneous appearance of three text books by widely recognized experts ( Exploration Geophysics by J.J. Jakowsky, Geophysical Exploration by C.A. Heiland, and Geophysical Prospecting for Oil by L.L. Nettleton). The page count of these three books was an indication of just how fast and how far geophysics had advanced in the 16 years since the first time that a geophysical survey had led to the discovery of commercial quantities of petroleum. Nettleton's book (perhaps because it was limited to oil exploration) was the runt of the litter at a mere 650 pages. Jakowsky's book was 786 pages and included a list of patents at the end of each chapter (interestingly, patents had already been granted in the USA, UK, Canada, France, and USSR). The book by Heiland, the leading geophysical educator of the time in the United States, was a gargantuan 1013 pages and that drew both praise and criticism in the review by E.A. Eckhardt which appeared in the January 1941 issue of Geophysics :


The light emitting diode (LED) packaging problems associated with high cost, high junction temperature, low luminous efficiency, and low reliability have to be resolved before the LED gaining more market acceptance. In this paper, chip-on-plate (CoP) LED packages with and without phosphors are evaluated in terms of thermal resistance and reliability under wet and high-temperature operation life (WHTOL) and thermal shock tests. The WHTOL test is with the condition of 85°C/85%RH and 350 mA of forward current for 1008 h, while thermal shock test is with 200 cycles at temperature ranging from -40°C to 125°C. The thermal behavior of the CoP packages was analyzed by 1-D thermal resistance circuit (1-D TRC) with and without spreading angle, 3-D TRC method, and 2-D axisymmetric finite element method. The feasibility of these analyses was evaluated and discussed in detail by comparing those results with experimental measurements. The reliability results indicated that all CoP packages with phosphors in the silicone encapsulant failed after 309 h in the WHTOL test, but all those without phosphors still survived after 1008 h. The failure modes were found to be the debonding of the aluminum wire from the chip or copper pad of the substrate. However, after the aluminum wire was replaced by gold wire, all the packages with and without phosphors passed after 1008 h. For these survival packages in the WHTOL test, their thermal resistances of junction-to-air and junction-to-aluminum substrate increased by about 12 and 9°C/W, respectively. Moreover, it was also found that there is a difference of 38°C/W in the junction-to-air thermal resistances for the packages between under natural and forced convections in the chamber during the WHTOL test. This might yield the different reliability data, unless the flow conditions in the test chamber are specified in this standard test. Furthermore, all the packages with and without phosphors could pass 200 cycles in thermal shock test, with minor changes in the thermal resistances. However, the degradation of luminous flux in the packages with phosphors was found to be greater than those without phosphors by 14% vs. 9%.


BACKGROUND
The number of foreign-born people who do not share a common language has increased due to extensive international migration, which will increase in the future. There is limited knowledge about the users' perceptions of interpreters in health care.

AIM
To describe how individuals from former Yugoslavia, living in Sweden, perceived the use of interpreters in Swedish healthcare services.

METHOD
A phenomenographic approach was employed. Data were collected by semi-structured interviews during 2006-2007 with 17 people, aged 29-75 years, from former Yugoslavia, living in Sweden.

FINDINGS
Three descriptive categories were identified: (1) prerequisites for good interpretation situations; (2) the interpretation situation - aspects of satisfaction or dissatisfaction; and (3) measures to facilitate and improve the interpreter situation. The interpreter's competence, attitude, appearance and an appropriate environment are important prerequisites for interpretation. The interpreter was perceived as being a communication aid and a guide in the healthcare system in terms of information and practical issues, but also as a hindrance. A desirable professional interpreter was perceived as highly skilled in medical terminology and language, working in face-to-face interaction.

CONCLUSION
Using an interpreter was perceived as a hindrance, though also needed in communication with healthcare staff and as a guide in the healthcare system. Face-to-face interaction was preferred, with the interpreter as an aid to communication. As part of individual care planning it is important to use interpreters according to the patients' desires. Healthcare organizations and guidelines for interpreters need to be developed in order for patients to have easy access to highly skilled professional interpreters.


Abstract To study the kinetics of the spinel-to-garnet transformation in peridotite, we conducted reaction experiments in the garnet peridotite stability field (3.2 GPa, 1020–1220 °C, for 0.6–30 h) using a single spinel crystal embedded in monomineralic orthopyroxene powder or in a mixture of powdered orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene. The growth textures observed in the reaction rim between the spinel crystal and the polycrystalline pyroxenes show that the reaction rim grew in both the spinel and pyroxenes directions, suggesting mobility of both SiO2 and R2O3 components (where R is a trivalent cation). Olivine grains formed only in the presence of monomineralic orthopyroxene and were present in some domains without forming reaction rims. Based on a diffusion-controlled growth model, the growth kinetics of the garnet reaction rim can be described by [x(t)]2 = k0 exp(–H*/RT)t, where x(t) is the rim width at time t, R is the gas constant, T is the absolute temperature, and H* is the activation enthalpy of reaction; k0 and H* are, respectively, k0 = 10−19.8 ± 4.9 m2/s and H* = 171 ± 58 kJ/mol. The development of a garnet reaction rim around a spinel core has been observed in alpine-type peridotitic rocks and mantle xenoliths. The reaction rims experimentally produced in this study are characteristic of corona textures observed in natural rocks, and the experimentally measured growth rate of the rims places important constraints on dynamic transformation processes involving spinel and garnet in peridotite. However, to reconstruct the P-T-t history of the corona texture based on these elementary processes, additional detailed studies on the textural evolution and quantitative kinetics of the garnetrim growth stage are required.


Proposals have been made for a common currency for East Asia, but the countries preparing to participate need to be in a state of economic convergence. We show that at least six countries of East Asia already satisfy this condition. There also needs to be a mechanism by which the new currency relates to other reserve currencies. We demonstrate that a numeraire could be defined solely from the actual worldwide consumption of food and energy per capita, linked to fiat currencies via world market prices. We show that real resource prices are stable in real terms, and likely to remain so. Furthermore, the link from energy prices to food commodity prices is permanent, arising from energy inputs in agriculture, food processing and distribution. Calibration of currency value using a yardstick such as our SI numeraire offers an unbiased measure of the consistently stable cost of subsistence in the face of volatile currency exchange rates. This has the advantage that the participating countries need only agree to currency governance based on a common standards institution, a much less onerous form of agreement than would be required in the creation of a common central bank.


The magnetic fabric of mudrock samples from the Westbury Member of the Penarth Group (Rhaetian), the Blue Lias Formation (Hettangian to Sinemurian) and the Oxford Clay (Callovian to Oxfordian) has been measured, using a high field torque magnetometer. The magnetic susceptibility anisotropy of these mudrocks originates from paramagnetic phyllosilicate minerals, of which the most important is considered to be detrital chlorite. The magnetic fabric preserves both a lineation and a foliation, which are of a primary style. This magnetic fabric is sensitive to the effects of recent weathering, due to the ease with which chlorite is oxidized during weathering. A model is proposed utilizing compaction, to explain the acquisition of this magnetic fabric. This model infers that the magnetic fabric represents, in both degree and direction, a measure of the preferred crystallographic orientation of the paramagnetic phyllosilicate minerals. The magnetic fabric data suggest that the Kmax direction corresponds with the quartz grain long-axis preferred orientation, and therefore may be used as a palaeocurrent indicator as in titanomagnetite-bearing sediments. Evidence is presented to suggest that paramagnetic susceptibility anisotropy may be common in other mudrocks.


Summary

1
 Identifying the resources that limit growth of animal populations is essential for effective conservation; however, resource limitation is difficult to quantify. Recent advances in geographical information systems (GIS) and resource modelling can be combined with demographic modelling to yield insights into resource limitation.

2
 Using long-term data on a population of black bears Ursus americanus, we evaluated competing hypotheses about whether availability of hard mast (acorns and nuts) or soft mast (fleshy fruits) limited bears in the southern Appalachians, USA, during 1981–2002. The effects of clearcutting on habitat quality were also evaluated. Annual survival, recruitment and population growth rate were estimated using capture–recapture data from 101 females. The availability of hard mast, soft mast and clearcuts was estimated with a GIS, as each changed through time as a result of harvest and succession, and then availabilities were incorporated as covariates for each demographic parameter.

3
 The model with the additive availability of hard mast and soft mast across the landscape predicted survival and population growth rate. Availability of young clearcuts predicted recruitment, but not population growth or survival.

4
 Availability of hard mast stands across the landscape and availability of soft mast across the landscape were more important than hard mast production and availability of soft mast in young clearcuts, respectively.

5
 Synthesis and applications. Our results indicate that older stands, which support high levels of hard mast and moderate levels of soft mast, should be maintained to sustain population growth of bears in the southern Appalachians. Simultaneously, the acreage of intermediate aged stands (10–25 years), which support very low levels of both hard mast and soft mast, should be minimized. The approach used in this study has broad application for wildlife management and conservation. State and federal wildlife agencies often possess long-term data on both resource availability and capture–recapture for wild populations. Combined, these two data types can be used to estimate survival, recruitment, population growth, elasticities of vital rates and the effects of resource availability on demographic parameters. Hence data that are traditionally used to understand population trends can be used to evaluate how and why demography changes over time.


We report an ab initio study on the electronic properties of 5f states in UX 3 ( X=Al,Sn) by full-potential linear muffin tin orbitals L(S)DA calculations. The r elativistic effects which are quite remarkable for heavy atoms such as U, have b een treated by using scalar relativistic and spin-orbital coupling corrections. The calculations presented in this article have addressed following issues:first ly, the numerical results illustrates the different U 5f itineracy in UAl 3 and USn 3 qualitatively, and then the heavy fermion behavior of USn 3 ;secondly, u sing Stuttgart-fatband analysis, we have confirmed the above conclusion quantita tively. In addition to the above results, the calculation involved in this resea rch has resolved the discrepancy between previous density functional theory stud ies on these compounds, especially the band structure dispersion in M-X directio n of simple cubic USn 3 . In conclusion, this study has approached a mo re precis e description for these uranium compounds on the basis of modern density functio nal theory calculation and described USn 3 as a heavy fermion system d ue to its localized U 5f electronic states theoretically.


The efficient dichlorination of benzynes prepared by the hexadehydro-Diels-Alder (HDDA) reaction is reported. Cycloisomerization of a triyne substrate in the presence of dilithium tetrachlorocuprate is shown to provide dichlorinated products A by capture of the benzyne intermediate. A general strategy for discerning the kinetic order of an external aryne trapping agent is presented. It merely requires measurement of the competition between bimolecular vs unimolecular trapping events (here, dichlorination vs intramolecular Diels-Alder (IMDA) reaction to give A vs B, respectively) as a function of the concentration of the trapping agent.


Abstract Too much medicine is an increasingly recognised problem, and one manifestation is inappropriate polypharmacy in older people. Polypharmacy is usually defined as taking more than five regular prescribed medicines. It can be appropriate (when potential benefits outweigh potential harms) but increases the risk of older people experiencing adverse drug reactions, impaired physical and cognitive function, and hospital admission. There is limited evidence to inform polypharmacy in older people, especially those with multimorbidity, cognitive impairment, or frailty. Systematic reviews of medication withdrawal trials (deprescribing) show that reducing specific classes of medicines may decrease adverse events and improve quality of life. Two recent reviews of the literature on deprescribing stressed the importance of patient involvement and shared decision making. Patients and clinicians typically overestimate the benefits of treatments and underestimate their harms. When they engage in shared decision making they become better informed about potential outcomes and as a result patients tend to choose more conservative options (eg, fewer medicines), facilitating deprescribing. However, shared decision making in this context is not easy, and there is little guidance on how to do it. We draw together evidence from the psychology, communication, and decision making literature (see appendix on thebmj.com). For each step of the shared decision making process we describe the unique tasks required for deprescribing decisions; identify challenges for older adults, their companions, and clinicians (figure); give practical advice on how challenges may be overcome; highlight where more work is needed; and identify priorities for future research (table).


Spatial and temporal variations in the physical, chemical and biological composition of Lake Ōkaro were measured over 16 months. Lake Ōkaro is a small (0.32 km 2 ) hypertrophic, monomictic lake located in the Central Volcanic Zone of the North Island, New Zealand. Vertical profiles of temperature, chlorophyll fluorescence, dissolved oxygen concentration (DO), pH, specific conductance, photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and nutrient species, including ammonium-nitrogen (NH4-N), nitrite-nitrogen (NO2-N), nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N) and phosphate-phosphorus (PO4-P), were collected at up to nine stations at weekly to monthly frequencies. High-frequency variability was assessed during two separate 24-hour monitoring periods, coinciding with an Anabaena spiroidesdominated surface bloom, and a Ceratium hirundinella-dominated deep chlorophyll maximum. Additional data for wind direction and velocity, incident solar irradiance and rainfall was sourced from a meteorological weather station and a lake monitoring buoy at Rotorua, 20 km north of the lake. Spatial variability was more pronounced during summer. Observed vertical gradients in chlorophyll fluorescence, DO, specific conductance and nutrient species were closely linked to thermal stability of the water column. There were large variations in chlorophyll fluorescence amongst stations in summer, which related to displacement of the metalimnion and associated changes in chlorophyll fluorescence. Winter mixing was characterised by relative homogeneity of the water column. Nutrient concentrations were elevated at all depths whereas high concentrations had previously been confined to lower depth strata (the hypolimnion). iv Temperature profiles in summer displayed clear vertical gradients with a welldefined metalimnion that increased in depth until winter mixing generated isothermal conditions. Chlorophyll fluorescence profiles were characterised by the formation of a DCM that was recurrent over both summer periods, and was strongly statistically related to the depth of the thermocline for the duration of stratification. Dissolved oxygen, specific conductance and pH were relatively uniform horizontally, though pH was consistently lower at a well-sheltered nearshore station. All variables showed strong variations with depth during the stratified period. Dissolved oxygen was negligible or zero below the thermocline for much of the stratified period while specific conductance was lowest above or at the thermocline. There were also strong vertical gradients in nutrient concentrations in summer, with concentrations below the thermocline often an order of magnitude higher than those above. The representativeness of fluorescence at a central station to a whole-lake scale was assessed using a vertical integrated value and the standard error derived from up to eight other stations. Values at the single station frequently deviated from the mean fluorescence of the wider lake, particularly at the DCM which suggests that extrapolating single-station measurements to a whole lake could provide highly exaggerated values of lake fluorescence. High-frequency sampling during the A. spiroides-dominated surface bloom showed diel temperature variations attributed mostly to solar irradiance. There was high light attenuation from the high phytoplankton biomass and consistently elevated pH and DO. Fluorescence profiles suggested that the phytoplankton population was strongly buoyant and did not undergo diel vertical migration. v High-frequency sampling during a period when there was a dinoflagellatedominated DCM showed two coinciding fluorescence peaks had formed at 6-7 and 7-8 m depth and contained morphologically and physiologically distinct taxa. The 6-7 m DCM was predominantly Ceratium hirundinella, while the 7-8 m DCM was composed of C. hirundinella and unidentified colonial picoplankton. Fluorescence profiles suggested diel vertical migration was not taking place, and strong gradients in light, nutrient availability and the relative biomass of the dominants suggested that the 6-7 and 7-8 m DCM populations potentially differed in their modes of nutrition, light history and susceptibility to grazing. This research illustrates the degree of spatial variability that can exist in a small, monomictic hypertrophic lake at a given time, and highlights some of the potential limitations of using single-site monitoring stations to represent the physical, chemical and biological conditions of a whole lake. This information may be used to critically evaluate the reliability of phytoplankton biomass estimates that have been derived from spatially-limited sampling methods. This study further illustrates the role that thermal stratification plays in creating vertical gradients in a number of biological and chemical variables, and demonstrates that parallels exist with regard to DCM formation in oligotrophic and hypertrophic lakes, relating to the interplay between light, chlorophyll fluorescence and thermal stratification. Evidence is also provided showing that diel-scale variations in phytoplankton biomass can differ markedly between a cyanobacteria-dominated surface bloom and a dinoflagellate-dominated DCM, which further highlights the value of high-frequency sampling when seeking to estimate phytoplankton biomass using in situ methods.


Abstract PC-based software applications have enabled effective use of digital log data, particularly in the reservoir-engineering realm. Geologic applications are typically focused on reservoir geometry that is then "filled" with generalized lithofacies based on limited subjective observations. Developing lithofacies-robust geologic models for reservoir analysis of large heterogeneous reservoirs like the Panoma Field is impractical by traditional methods. In this study, a neural network implemented in the Excel add-in Kipling.xla was used to predict lithofacies from a large set of digital well logs. The Panoma (Council Grove) Field in southwest Kansas lies stratigraphically subjacent to the more prolific Hugoton (Chase) Field, and has recovered 2.8 TCF of gas from 2,600 wells since its discovery in the early 1960's. Gas comes from the upper seven fourth-order sequences of the Permian Council Grove Group. Lithofacies controlled petrophysical properties dictate gas saturations and accurate discrimination of lithofacies reduces error in predicted permeability and gas volume. The neural network function of Kipling.xla was "trained" on data from eight wells including half-foot digital rock descriptions of two thousand feet of core and digital wireline logs. Neural network models were optimized for lithofacies prediction by varying neural network parameters, lithofacies lumping and judicious selection of seven predictor variables. Digital logs from 530 wells were batch-processed and lithofacies and probabilities predicted at half-foot resolution for use in a detailed reservoir model. Techniques employed here could be applied to other large and complex reservoirs where accurate representation of lithofacies heterogeneity in the 3D volume is key to realistic reservoir analysis.


Decisions shape personal and organizational outcomes, and both researchers and practitioners look for ways to enhance decision making prowess. In this chapter, we explore whether and how mindfulness might help at various stages of decision making. We suggest that mindfulness may help notice when a decision should or could be made, increase goal awareness, enhance consistency of the decision with one's fundamental values, facilitate option generation, reduce the sunk cost bias, and help recognize ethical challenges of decisions. We further argue that while mindfulness may diminish the scope of information search, it may also improve the quality of information used to make a decision. It may also reduce confirmation bias and overconfidence, allow decision makers to better differentiate between relevant and irrelevant information, reduce reliance on stereotypes, help appreciate uncertainty and productively deal with it, and reduce illusory pattern detection. Furthermore, mindfulness is likely to facilitate resolving trade-offs and help effectively reconcile intuition with analysis thereby reducing procrastination. Finally, mindful decision makers are more likely to learn to make better decisions over time because they are more open to feedback and less prone to misinterpret it by making self-serving attributions. The potential of mindfulness to improve judgment and decisions provides many promising opportunities for future research.


Tuberculosis again is about to be as nightmare that troubles slumber of the most advanced societies furthermore developing and nondeveloped societies. The main goal of the present study was to determine the correlation between the polymorphism in the promotor region of IFN-γ gene and IFN-γ receptor with TB outcome. Seventy-four cases were collected in the Institute of the Tuberculosis and Chest Disease – Basra city as confirmed cases with TB. Genomic DNA was extracted from 74 patients and equal number of healthy persons as control. IFN-γ promotor and IFN-γ receptor were amplified by conventional PCR by using two sets of specific primers. As result, there were nine single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) found in IFN-γ promotor of patients but were not found control. It appeared that (G→T) SNPs were the most common SNP in patients with a percentage of (33.5%) of all SNPs, followed by (G→C) SNPs and (G→A) each SNP with a percentage of (19%). For Interferon gamma receptor1, the results showed there was relationship between the number of CA motifs and susceptibility to infection with TB. Only eight microsatellites were recorded in the patients. The allele (CA)12 had no effect on susceptibility with TB infection, while the individuals which had (CA)17 and (CA)22 cleared to be the most apt to infection with (TB), but the alleles (CA)13, (CA)14 and (CA)19 repeats were responsible for protective against tuberculosis. The mean IFNg serum level was significantly depressed in Patients (26.92±5.29 pg. / ml), compared with healthy control (28.40 ±10.73pg/ml). From current study, we concluded that there is a genetic defect in IFN-γ genes was came from present of SNPs and variation in (CA) repeats the mater which had made some people more susceptible to infection than others with TB, this clarify re-outbreaks of infection from time to time. We strongly recommended doing additional study on other genetic factors that lead to increasing the susceptibility to tuberculosis disease in Iraqi community.


The thesis aims to investigate the farmer's perception of currency hedging and interest
rate bonds and to investigate the farm size of companies categorized by number of acres,
has no effect on this. The work also aims to gain an insight into what active farmers
consider to be important what to consider when they choosing a bank and a personal
banker.

The work is based on the survey and has been supplemented by a literature review on the
subject. For the survey were selected out randomly 50 farmers with Agriculture and
Rural Management education.
The requirement of the farmers was that they should be farmers by profession, and also
made sure that the farmers of various sizes came with. We got a total of 32 responses
within the set response time we said, which was better response than we expected.
When the final result came we ranged the farms in a size range.

We found out that all farmers in the study diligently follow the market and are easy to
assimilate new ideas, providing opportunities to profitability of their business with the
different instruments that are available on both the financial level and farm level.
The investigation revealed that the major in favor of having a personal banker.

They think it´s good to have a special plug to turn to who has knowledge and experience
of how the agriculture sector operates. If the personal banker would switch bank the
majority would remain at their old bank if the bank could replace the banker with an
equivalent banker. The majority of the farmers in this thesis with farms in the size range
of 251- 500 hectares that they would comply with their personal banker if he/ she would
switch bank.

Of those who have gone on the seminar on currency hedging and the like, over 85%
decided to hedge all or part of payment, while it was 65% which was hedged by those
who had not attended a seminar or similar.
In addition, investigation showed that many farmers are at a low rate fixed interest rates
on their mortgages and many planned to remain at the level they are currently in force
bound / floating interest rate.
The question that received the greatest response was spread on farms wanted payment
paid in Euros or in SEK.
Finally it emerged from the survey that farmers are generally good at following the
trends and have good eye on what's happening in the market, and they are often quick to
embrace the new ideas.
The farmers thought we missed that question on focused mortgage, leasing, financing of
machinery and futures on fertilizer and seed.


[1] Multiple data sets, mostly from satellite observations, are used to evaluate the performance of the Weather Research and Forecasting model with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) in simulating the distribution and evolution of aerosol, clouds, precipitation and chemistry during the dry season in South America. A 9-day WRF-Chem simulation with 36 km horizontal resolution is performed from 15 to 24 September 2006, during which frequent biomass burnings were observed. It is shown that the model reproduces the spatial distribution of aerosols produced by biomass burning and approximately captures convective transport of trace gases (e.g., CO and O3) into the upper troposphere. Surface precipitation is also in reasonable agreement with observation. The model simulations overestimate the magnitude of water vapor in the upper troposphere while the magnitude of cloud water content is lower than measurements from satellites, which may indicate problems in the cumulus and microphysical parameterizations. The model simulations capture temporal variations of outgoing longwave radiation at the top of atmosphere and downward shortwave radiation at the surface shown in the NASA GEWEX SRB data set. A sensitivity run at 4 km horizontal resolution shows similar results to the 36 km simulation, with a high bias of precipitation. The uncertainty and weakness in both satellite observations and model simulations are identified. This study demonstrates that satellite data are valuable to the evaluation of regional model simulations for climatologically important processes such as deep convection and biomass burning, especially in regions with little in situ observation.


To improve visual tracking, a large number of papers study more powerful features, or better cue fusion mechanisms, such as adaptation or contextual models. A complementary approach consists of improving the track management, that is, deciding when to add a target or stop its tracking, for example, in case of failure. This is an essential component for effective multiobject tracking applications, and is often not trivial. Deciding whether or not to stop a track is a compromise between avoiding erroneous early stopping while tracking is fine, and erroneous continuation of tracking when there is an actual failure. This decision process, very rarely addressed in the literature, is difficult due to object detector deficiencies or observation models that are insufficient to describe the full variability of tracked objects and deliver reliable likelihood (tracking) information. This paper addresses the track management issue and presents a real-time online multiface tracking algorithm that effectively deals with the above difficulties. The tracking itself is formulated in a multiobject state-space Bayesian filtering framework solved with Markov Chain Monte Carlo. Within this framework, an explicit probabilistic filtering step decides when to add or remove a target from the tracker, where decisions rely on multiple cues such as face detections, likelihood measures, long-term observations, and track state characteristics. The method has been applied to three challenging data sets of more than 9 h in total, and demonstrate a significant performance increase compared to more traditional approaches (Markov Chain Monte Carlo, reversible-jump Markov Chain Monte Carlo) only relying on head detection and likelihood for track management.


This thesis is of originality and value as it is the first piece of research to explore whether older male prisoners are satisfied with quality of life (QoL) and wellbeing and if the most appropriate prison regime for an older prison population could be identified. The thesis offers the most recent insight into the experience of being older in prison across three prison regimes, high secure, training, and open.

A mixed methodology explored older male prisoners' satisfaction with QoL and wellbeing and is the first research study to adopt this approach with an older prison population. The mixed methodology consisted of two phases, the first phase, a quantitative questionnaire to assess QoL and wellbeing was circulated to all older male prisoners aged 50 years and over across three prison regimes. The quantitative results were then analysed via descriptive and inferential statistics. The second phase, qualitative interviews with older male prisoners and prison staff, explored their experiences of being older in prison and aspects of prison life that reduced and increased their satisfaction with QoL and wellbeing. Interviews were then analysed using thematic analysis.

The main quantitative findings suggest older prisoners are more satisfied with their QoL and wellbeing in an open prison regime than training and high secure. The main qualitative findings illustrate aspects of humanity and the opportunity to promote positive identities contribute to a good QoL and high wellbeing in the older prison population. However, the experience of constraints within the prison regime limits older prisoners' potential and subsequently reduces their satisfaction with QoL and wellbeing. These original findings are discussed in reference to previous academic literature on older prisoners and recommendations for prison policy are made to ensure older male prisoners are located within an age appropriate prison regime that accentuates the positive aspects of being older in prison.


Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) describes a condition of hyperpnea-triggered airway narrowing that occurs in susceptible individuals during or after physical exercise. The pathogenesis of EIB is multifactorial and not completely understood, but it seems that inflammation of the airways plays a major role. EIB is present in a large number of otherwise healthy athletes. Studies suggest that the prevalence in the athletic population ranges between 10 and 50%.
Key symptoms of EIB include dyspnea, cough, wheezing and chest tightness.
Pulmonary function tests with pharmacological (e.g. metacholine, carbachol, mannitol) or non-pharmacological (e.g. eucapnic voluntary hyperpnea) challenges are the principal diagnostic tools for the diagnosis of EIB.
The therapy for EIB involves preventive / non-pharmacological (e.g. warm up exercise, avoidance of triggers) and pharmacological (e.g. inhaled corticosteroids and β2 mimetics) approaches. For the latter, the current anti-doping guidelines must be respected.


Cyclic data structures, such as cyclic lists, in functional programming are tricky to handle because of their cyclicity. This paper presents an investigation of categorical, algebraic, and computational foundations of cyclic datatypes. Our framework of cyclic datatypes is based on second-order algebraic theories of Fiore et al., which give a uniform setting for syntax, types, and computation rules for describing and reasoning about cyclic datatypes. We extract the "fold" computation rules from the categorical semantics based on iteration categories of Bloom and Esik. Thereby, the rules are correct by construction. We prove strong normalisation using the General Schema criterion for second-order computation rules. Rather than the fixed point law, we particularly choose Bekic law for computation, which is a key to obtaining strong normalisation. We also prove the property of "Church-Rosser modulo bisimulation" for the computation rules. Combining these results, we have a remarkable decidability result of the equational theory of cyclic data and fold.


Multimodal biometric systems use multiple biometrics traits to increase the recognition rate. The fusion module plays a key role in multi-biometric system performance. This paper presents a novel multimodal rank reinforcement approach based on the prior resemblance probability distribution of each identity in the training data. The resemblance probability distribution is used before the fusion to reinforce the rank list of each biometric matcher. In this paper, we developed a multimodal biometric system based on the frontal face, the profiles face, and the ear. The experimental results show the ability of the prior reinforcement in increasing the accuracy of unimodal biometrics systems as well as increasing the recognition rate of various rank level fusion approaches.


BACKGROUND
The accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) leads to the loss of dendritic spines and synapses, which is hypothesized to cause cognitive impairments in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. In our previous study, we demonstrated that a novel mercaptoacetamide-based class II histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACI), known as W2, decreased Aβ levels and improved learning and memory in mice. However, the underlying mechanism of this effect is unknown.

OBJECTIVE
Because dendritic spine formation is associated with cognitive performance, here we investigated whether HDACI W2 regulates dendritic spine density and its molecular mechanism of action.

METHODS
To examine the effect of HDACI W2 on dendritic spine density, we conducted morphological analysis of dendritic spines using GFP transfection and Golgi staining. In addition, to determine the molecular mechanism of W2 effects on spines, we measured the levels of mRNAs and proteins involved in the Ras signaling pathway using quantitative real-time PCR, immunocytochemistry, and western analysis.

RESULTS
We found that HDACI W2 altered dendritic spine density and morphology in vitro and in vivo. Additionally, W2 increased the mRNA or protein levels of Ras GRF1 and phospho-ERK. Moreover, knockdown of RasGRF1 and inhibition of ERK activity prevented the W2-mediated spinogenesis in primary hippocampal neurons.

CONCLUSION
Our Class II-selective HDACI W2 promotes the formation and growth of dendritic spines in a RasGRF1 and ERK dependent manner in primary hippocampal neurons.


In this study the formation of CO from soot in the hot gas layer has been examined. The investigation has been made predominantly for rich mixtures, with equivalence ratios from 1.0 to 3.0. To study the soot particle growth as a function of equivalence ratio and residence time, equivalence ratios from 0.5 to 4.0 and residence times from 0.25 s to 10 s, respectively, have been used. The gas phase chemistry has been calculated using the Sandia CHEMKIN code [1]. The perfectly stirred reactor (PSR) concept has been used to model the hot gas layer. The input gas temperature, equivalence ratio and residence have been varied to investigate the thermochemical environment at a given location in the gas layer. Ethene, C2H4, was chosen as the fuel, as it has the necessary carbon/hydrogen ratio to form soot precursors. The chemical kinetic model used consists of gas phase chemistry including reactions for aromatic chemistry, soot particle coagulation, soot particle aggregation and soot surface growth. The gas phase chemistry has been calculated using the GRI-Mech 1.2 scheme [2] for smaller hydrocarbon reactions. The reaction scheme was modified to take higher hydrocarbon reactions (aromatic chemistry) into account. Benzene and phenyl formation are modelled by reactions of C4Hx with acetylene and by cyclization reactions of C6Hx species and recombination of propargyl radicals [3]. Reactions up to four aromatic rings, i.e. pyrene are included in the gas phase aromatic chemistry [4]. The pyrene formation is started from benzene following the HACA (hydrogen abstraction carbon addition) reaction sequence via formation of biphenyl (i.e. "ring-ring condensation"). The total number of reaction steps is 542 in the gas phase scheme. The soot particle coagulation dynamics is described by the method of moments [5] having altogether 6 moments. The soot surface growth mechanism is described using a 6-step reaction mechanism, which resembles the HACA mechanism for PAH [3, 6]. Soot formation starts at an equivalence ratio of 1.0 and increases linearly with equivalence ratio. The particle size increases with increased residence time. Reaction between soot and CO2, resulting in CO, occurs at temperatures higher than 950°C. The higher the temperature and equivalence ratio the higher is the CO formation via this mechanism. Addition of extra CO2 into the mixture increases the formation of CO and decreases the soot volume fraction. This effect increases with increasing temperature and equivalence ratio. Identification this "new" source of CO increases our knowledge of the production of CO in hot gas layers. The results can be used to predict CO formation in vitiated room fires.


Abstract: Nowadays Internet is an excellent priority base source for everyone for sales and distribution and everything for digital assets, but because of this world wide sharing of digital information now there is an issue of copyright compliance and content management can be a challenge for us. Now a digital information can be used everywhere very easy way with or without using consent. Digital image Watermarking is an ultimate solutions that can add an extra security layer of protection for a digital images. In a digital image watermarking technique an image or an object embedded with some information carrying watermark, this object may be audio or video. These watermarking embedded techniques based on DWT –Twin Encoding technique drive the benefits from random sequence generated by Arnold and Chaos transformations. The proposed system before sending the multimedia data it apply the composite partition algorithm, watermark optimization techniques and the resulting file is Encrypted using RSA algorithm with public key and send it to the client side. Simulation result shows the performance of watermarking of image against different attacks. In the end, the performance of the proposed technique will be measured on the basis of PSNR, and NCC.