We demonstrate how conservation of longitudinal magnetization can have pronounced effects on both stability and structure of vortices in the atomic spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensate by providing a systematic characterization of nonsingular and singular vortex states. Constructing spinor wave functions for vortex states that continuously connect ferromagnetic and polar phases, we systematically derive analytic models for nonrotating cores of different singular vortices and for composite defect states with distinct small- and large-distance topology. We explain how the conservation law provides a stabilizing mechanism when the coreless vortex imprinted on the condensate relaxes in the polar regime of interatomic interactions. The resulting structure forms a composite defect: The inner ferromagnetic coreless vortex deforms toward an outer singly quantized polar vortex. We also numerically show how other even more complex hierarchies of vortex-core topologies may be stabilized. Moreover, we analyze the structure of the coreless vortex also in a ferromagnetic condensate and show how reducing magnetization leads to a displacement of the vortex from the trap center and eventually to the deformation and splitting of its core where a singular vortex becomes a lower-energy state. For the case of singular vortices, we find that the stability and the core structure are notably less influenced by the conservation of magnetization.


Economic liberalisation of the economy in the 1980s the New Zealand housing market has undergone significant transformations. Since the early 1990s home ownership in New Zealand has been in decline and the role of the private rental market has become increasingly significant, particularly in the Auckland region. Rapid house price inflation post-2000 has adversely affected first-time buyers and there is evidence that the traditional etransitionali role of the private rental market is changing, as the rental market increasingly incorporates older and wealthier households. This paper examines issues relating to house prices and housing affordability in Auckland and reflects on the long term economic and policy implications of the rising importance of the private rental market in the housing system.


It is a foundational principle of administrative law that a reviewing court should not dispose of a petition for review or appeal on grounds not relied upon by the agency, and should not reach issues in the first instance not addressed administratively. In such circumstances, there is a strong presumption that the reviewing court should remand the case to the agency for further proceedings rather than reach out to decide the disputed issues. The United States Supreme Court explicitly extended operation of the "ordinary remand rule" to the immigration context in its 2002 decision in INS v. Ventura. Notwithstanding subsequent Supreme Court clarifications of how this rule operates in immigration law, several federal courts of appeals have begun to develop a jurisprudence of futility, declining to remand cases to the Board of Immigration Appeals, despite errors in the underlying decision, in certain set circumstances.This article assesses this evolving jurisprudence with the aim of discerning whether it is somehow complementary to the "ordinary remand rule," or runs afoul of the general remand prescription. In fact, many of the cases in which courts have held remand would be futile have little, or nothing to do with the courts' authority to remand, while a number of the other cases surveyed represent legitimate exercises of the courts' discretion to decline remand. Nonetheless, several decisions either explicitly contradict the Supreme Court's remand directive, or give hints that, in certain cases, the court would feel free to decide an issue delegated to the agency's discretion, even in the absence of an administrative decision in the first instance. Although the decision of whether to hold and decide a case, or whether to remand to the agency for further proceedings, is necessarily a subjective and discretionary determination, the article concludes that there are broad operating procedures that may appropriately govern the exercise of this discretion, ensuring that both reviewing courts and administrative agencies fulfill their mandates.


The Southern Ocean (SO) contributes most of the uncertainty in contemporary estimates of the mean annual flux of carbon dioxide CO2 between the ocean and the atmosphere. Attempts to reduce this uncertainty have aimed at resolving the seasonal cycle of the fugacity of CO2 (fCO2). We use hourly CO2 flux and driver observations collected by the combined deployment of ocean gliders to show that resolving the seasonal cycle is not sufficient to reduce the uncertainty of the flux of CO2 to below the threshold required to reveal climatic trends in CO2 fluxes. This was done by iteratively subsampling the hourly CO2 data set at various time intervals. We show that because of storm‐linked intraseasonal variability in the spring‐late summer, sampling intervals longer than 2 days alias the seasonal mean flux estimate above the required threshold. Moreover, the regional nature and long‐term trends in storm characteristics may be an important influence in the future role of the SO in the carbon‐climate system.


The current API standards and technical reports for Subsea Equipment which fall under API SC 17; especially relevant to Subsea Trees and Wellheads; do not particularly provide the design methods for Extreme and Survival load conditions. As the industry continues moving forward with the High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) application it has increased the attention towards safety, and design precautions have the utmost priority. Hence, the industry is redoubling its focus on the Extreme and Survival load conditions for the Subsea Equipment, especially for HPHT conditions. The recently published API TR 1PER15K-1 and in-work API TR 17TR8 address the design methods for Subsea HPHT equipment but do not specifically provide the design methods for Extreme and Survival load conditions. API RP 17G, recommended practice for completion/workover risers addresses these loading scenarios by providing the design condition factors, but suggests testing for plastic collapse load. API RP 2RD, recommended practice for Design of Risers for Floating Production Systems and TensionLeg Platforms, recommends the consideration of these load conditions, but does not provide specific design rules. This paper posits a design method for Subsea Equipment governed by API SC 17 particularly for API 17D, Subsea Trees and Wellhead under Extreme and Survival Load conditions. The proposed method combines the Elastic-Plastic design analysis method from ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (BPVC), Section VIII, Div. 2 and 3 and the API RP 17G Structural Resistance Methods. It combines the API RP 17G Design Condition Factors with the ASME Section VIII BPVC Div. 2 and 3, Load and Resistance Factor for Design (LRFD) to establish new LRFDs for Extreme and Survival Load conditions. Fatigue life estimation is also addressed for these conditions. An example analysis of a Subsea Tree component is reviewed, evaluating its combined load capacity for normal, extreme and survival conditions. Additionally, the review includes the fatigue life cycle estimation for this component.


The 'club versus country' debate, which refers to an individual's allegiance to their respective club and national teams, has become an increasingly popular topic for debate in the context of English football. Whilst prior work in this area has focused on the tensions between club officials and national associations, this study investigated the attitudinal and behavioural loyalty of fans towards club and national teams. Data were collected from 647 football fans across 16 English club teams utilizing a survey approach. Findings suggest that those with high levels of loyalty to their club are more likely to be loyal to the national team, questioning whether this is a 'versus' debate at all from the fan perspective. In addition, Premier League fans display lower levels of attitudinal loyalty to the national team than lower league fans, which may reflect underlying concerns that club players may sustain injuries in national team matches.


The geometric and kinematic evolution of the south Urals foreland thrust and fold belt appears to have been quite simple. Despite this simplicity, there are several key differences when compared with foreland thrust and fold belts developed in other orogens, in particular the anomalously small amount of shortening (14 %), and the location and geometry of the basal thrust in the basement. To understand the possible reasons that led to its evolution, the critical wedge model was applied to try and determine the relative contribution of the mechanical factors that acted on the wedge during its development. The south Urals foreland thrust and fold belt appears to be a 'snapshot' of a developing wedge that is preserved in the subcritical field. In recent years significant advances have been made in the understanding of the geometric, kinematic, and mechanical development of foreland thrust and fold belts. These advances have largely come about due to the development of section balancing techniques (e.g. Dahlstrom 1969; Hossack 1979), kinematic modelling (e.g. Geiser 1988), and critical wedge modelling (Davis et al. 1983; Dahlen et al. 1984). Whether applied individually or together these techniques are powerful tools for investigating the frontal parts of orogenic belts. They have demonstrated that a number of general features are found in many of the worlds foreland thrust and fold belts (e.g. Rodgers 1990) that reflect their mechanical development, although there are many notable exceptions (e.g. Rodgers 1991). Section balancing and kinematic modelling have shown that foreland thrust and fold belts


This paper presents an evaluation of the framework SDDD through teaching information systems development module. The framework combined techniques from Soft Systems Methodology (SSM), the Unified Modelling Language (UML), and an implementation pattern. The evaluation is done to find the applicability of the framework as an approach for teaching and developing information systems. Feedback from Msc students of the module "Methods and Modeling" and reflections from the lecturers are presented. Feedback received from all participants are used to enhance the framework development. The results are supported by our previous work proposing the integrated framework as an approach to enhance the understanding of the systems modeling and implementation skills and as an approach for ISD teaching.


Background— Marfan syndrome (MFS) is a heritable disorder of connective tissue, affecting principally skeletal, ocular, and cardiovascular systems. The most life-threatening manifestations are aortic aneurysm and dissection. We investigated changes in the proteome of aortic media in patients with and without MFS to gain insight into molecular mechanisms leading to aortic dilatation. Methods and Results— Aortic samples were collected from 46 patients. Twenty-two patients suffered from MFS, 9 patients had bicuspid aortic valve, and 15 patients without connective tissue disorder served as controls. Aortic media was isolated and its proteome was analyzed in 12 patients with the use of 2-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry. We found higher amounts of filamin A C-terminal fragment, calponin 1, vinculin, microfibril-associated glycoprotein 4, and myosin-10 heavy chain in aortic media of MFS aneurysm samples than in controls. Regulation of filamin A C-terminal fragmentation was validated in all patient samples by immunoblotting. Cleavage of filamin A and the calpain substrate spectrin was increased in the MFS and bicuspid aortic valve groups. Extent of cleavage correlated positively with calpain 2 expression and negatively with the expression of its endogenous inhibitor calpastatin. Conclusions— Our observation demonstrates for the first time upregulation of the C-terminal fragment of filamin A in dilated aortic media of MFS and bicuspid aortic valve patients. In addition, our results present evidence that the cleavage of filamin A is highly likely the result of the protease calpain. Increased calpain activity might explain, at least in part, histological alterations in dilated aorta.


Class actions are among the most public forms of civil litigation, especially because a judge must review and approve a proposed class settlement following public notice and a public hearing. Ironically, however, a veil of secrecy can fall over class action litigation the moment the judge signs off on the agreement and ultimately, little information is available about how many class members actually received compensation and to what degree. This lack of transparency is especially troubling because of evidence that aggregate payments in class settlements sometimes constitute a mere fraction of the compensation fund extolled by the parties at the time of settlement review. This paper examines the extent to which claiming data are available and recommends ways to increase transparency in this area. We reviewed the official court files in a sample of 31 class action settlements and we also made direct inquiries to the judges, lawyers, and settlement administrators in another set of 57 cases. Searching through the case files and communicating with the participants, we were able to gain access to data in fewer than one of five closed cases. Despite the significant time and effort we put into the task, the final outcomes of four of five class action cases were beyond our discovery. It is not that the data are non-existent - claims administrators or parties certainly have them - it is, rather, that they are secreted away. The outcomes of publicly approved settlements lie locked in private files. We argue that this is a problem for three reasons: because the case outcomes might not be all that they purport to be; because the lessons that they could teach - for example, about which approaches work best - are lost to secrecy; and because the public record is unnecessarily incomplete and public access unnecessarily thwarted. We end the paper by proposing a set of solutions, including requiring parties to report back to the court on the final claiming data, publicizing this data, and creating a central repository for it.


Objective: To report a case of Parkinsonism rapidly responsive to intravenous replacement of vitamin C and zinc. Case Summary: A 66-year-old man with Parkinsonism, pleural effusion, and bipolar disorder was found to have low serum vitamin C and zinc levels. Intravenous replacement of these micronutrients led to resolution of the movement disorder in less than 24 hours. Discussion: Parkinsonism has been associated with vitamin C deficiency, and recent cases of scurvy complicated by Parkinsonism have responded well to intravenous replacement of vitamin C. In this case, deficiency of zinc may have contributed to the development of a movement disorder. The likely pathophysiology of, and treatment recommendations for, Parkinsonism linked to deficiencies of vitamin C and zinc are reviewed. Conclusions: Whereas vitamin C has a strong link with Parkinsonism, the potential role of zinc has only been suspected. This case report highlights some of the potential links between zinc deficiency and Parkinsonism.


This paper investigates the large current account deficits observed in most new EU member states using an intertemporal model. The standard model is extended to include: (1) the persistence of current account positions and (2) the relevance of the fiscal balance. Specifically, a closed form solution for consumption in the presence of habit persistence and liquidity constraints is derived, yielding a dynamic model for the current account where fiscal deficits have an effect. The model is estimated for a panel of 33 countries. A key finding is that current accounts in most new EU member states are broadly in line with their structural current account positions.


The first application of polarization-sensitive multiplex coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (MCARS) in the absence of resonance enhancement to the resolution of the secondary structure of a protein in solution is reported. Polarization MCARS spectra of bovine albumin in D2O were obtained in the range 1370 to 1730 cm−1 with the aid of the background suppression technique. The spectra were fitted simultaneously with a single set of parameters (band positions, bandwidths, amplitudes, and depolarization ratios). Polarized Raman spectra simulated with these parameters revealed a good correspondence with the spontaneous Raman spectra measured. The broad amide I′ band was decomposed assuming the three major secondary conformations of protein, of which the contribution of β-sheet structure was found to be negligible. Relative weights of α-helix and random coil conformations agree well with the estimates obtained with Raman and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopies.


As exchanges around the world look to merge and consolidate, the structure of the overall global equities marketplace continues to be flawed for institutional investors. But there is a new structure emerging that provides for institutions to trade among themselves in a safe and efficient institutional venue alongside the retail market, without the information leakage and competing interests generally found when executing directly on exchanges.


We have investigated the generation of new undesirable frequencies in a two-pump optical parametric amplifier, which are generated by the four-wave mixing of a signal or idler with one of the strong pump waves. The powers of the new frequencies impose upper bounds on the device gain and output power if cross talk is to be avoided. In the parametric amplifier we investigated, however, we found that, for 7.5 dB of gain and −3.5 dBm of output power, the ratio of power in the new frequencies and the signal is less than −30 dB. This demonstrates that cross talk is acceptable for low gain and output power applications of these devices such as frequency conversion. We present simple scaling relationships for the power in the new undesirable frequencies that can be used to help design optical parametric amplifiers.


Integrated enzyme production in the biorefinery can significantly reduce the cost of the entire process. The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the production of two hydrolyzing enzymes (amylase and xylanase) by an edible fungus used in the biorefinery, Neurospora intermedia. The enzyme production was explored through submerged fermentation of synthetic media and a wheat-based waste stream (thin stillage and wheat bran). The influence of a nitrogen source on N. intermedia was investigated and a combination of NaNO3 and yeast extract has been identified as the best nitrogen source for extracellular enzyme production. N. intermedia enzymes showed maximum activity at 65 °C and pH around 5. Under these conditions, the maximum velocity of amylase and xylanase for starch and xylan hydrolysis was found to be 3.25 U mL−1 and 14.77 U mL−1, respectively. Cultivation of N. intermedia in thin stillage and wheat bran medium resulted in relatively high amylase (8.86 ± 0.41 U mL−1, 4.68 ± 0.23) and xylanase (5.48 ± 0.21, 2.58 ± 0.07 U mL−1) production, respectively, which makes this fungus promising for enzyme production through a wheat-based biorefinery.


A manager who understands the ins and outs of his company's compensation system is more likely to be able to retain his best people, keep them motivated, and ensure that they continue to produce outstanding results. Written by compensation experts at the Hay Group--one of the most respected consulting firms in the world--The Manager's Guide to Rewards reveals how to: * motivate and keep the best people despite company pay limits * get employees to understand the connection between what they achieve and the bonus or salary increases they are paid * use base salary, short and long-term incentives, benefits, perks, and non-monetary rewards more effectivelyDecisions about rewards are not just in the hands of HR professionals. This important book shows that managers have more power than they may think to use rewards creatively and keep their most valuable employees happy and productive.


The objective of high performance computing (HPC) is to ensure that the computational power of hardware resources is well utilized to solve a problem. Various techniques are usually employed to achieve this goal. Improvement of algorithm to reduce the number of arithmetic operations, modifications in accessing data or rearrangement of data in order to reduce memory traffic, code optimization at all levels, designing parallel algorithms with smaller span or reduced overhead are some of the attractive areas that HPC researchers are working on. In this thesis, we investigate HPC techniques for the implementation of basic routines in computer algebra targeting hardware acceleration technologies. We start with a sorting algorithm and its application to sparse matrix-vector multiplication for which we focus on work on cache complexity issues. Since basic routines in computer algebra often provide a lot of fine grain parallelism, we then turn our attention to many-core architectures on which we consider dense polynomial and matrix operations ranging from plain to fast arithmetic. Most of these operations are combined within a bivariate system solver running entirely on a graphics processing unit (GPU).


We present an exploration of generative probabilistic models for multi-document summarization. Beginning with a simple word frequency based model (Nenkova and Vanderwende, 2005), we construct a sequence of models each injecting more structure into the representation of document set content and exhibiting ROUGE gains along the way. Our final model, HierSum, utilizes a hierarchical LDA-style model (Blei et al., 2004) to represent content specificity as a hierarchy of topic vocabulary distributions. At the task of producing generic DUC-style summaries, HierSum yields state-of-the-art ROUGE performance and in pairwise user evaluation strongly outperforms Toutanova et al. (2007)'s state-of-the-art discriminative system. We also explore HierSum's capacity to produce multiple 'topical summaries' in order to facilitate content discovery and navigation.


Context. Chemical element abundances for distant Galactic globular clusters (GCs) hold important clues to the origin of the Milky Way halo and its substructures. Aims. We study the chemical composition of red giant stars in Pal 4 – one of the most remote GCs in the Milky Way – and compare our abundance measurements to those for both low surface brightness dwarf galaxies, and GCs in the inner and the outer halo. Methods. By co-adding high-resolution, low-S/N Keck/HIRES spectra of 19 stars along the red giant branch, we estimate chemical abundance ratios of 20 α-, iron peak-, and neutron-capture elements. Our method gives total uncertainties on most element-to-iron ratios of typically 0.2 dex. Results. We measure [Fe/H] = -1.41 ± 0.04 (statistical) ± 0.17 (systematic) and an α-enhancement of [α/Fe] = +0.38 ± 0.11 dex, which is consistent with the canonical value of ~+0.4 dex found for Galactic halo field stars and most halo GCs at this metallicity. Although Pal 4 has higher enhancements in the heavier elements with respect to the halo, the majority of the element ratios are, within the measurement errors, consistent with those for local halo field stars. We find, however, evidence for a lower [Mg/Ca] ratio than in other halo clusters. Conclusions. Based on the available evidence, we conclude that the material from which Pal 4 and the Galactic halo formed experienced similar enrichment processes, despite the apparently younger age of this cluster. Within the limitations of our methodology we find no significant indication of an iron spread, as is typical of genuine GCs of the Milky Way. However, abundance ratios for individual stars in Pal 4 and other distant satellites are urgently needed to understand the relationship, if any, between remote GCs and other halo substructures (i.e., luminous and ultra-faint dwarf spheroidal galaxies).


Technical standard setting, though conducted largely through private organizations, possesses many attributes of a public function. By and large, SDO policies operate effectively to enable competitors to collaborate to develop standards that produce network effects and yield significant social welfare gains. At times, however, internal policing and enforcement mechanisms may not be sufficient to curb abusive behavior by SDO participants, particularly behavior that tends to diminish the value of patent-related commitments made by participants. In these cases, the intervention of public law principles may be appropriate. But while public law regimes such as antitrust and competition law may offer effective means for addressing the most egregious abuses of these commitments, it may be preferable for public agencies to promote legal measures assuring the enforceability of these private commitments on their own terms. Legal support for the enforcement such commitments, and the avoidance of new legal duties, should result in more adaptable and predictable mechanisms for ensuring the continued effective operation of private standardization systems, while the public character of standard setting should continue to be recognized when applicable legal rules call for consideration of the public interest.


Tremors, which refer the trembling or shaking of body parts, are caused by the involuntary contractions of muscles and are one of the most common movement disorders that often reduce individuals' the levels of the hand functions and also affect their independent body movements adversely. "Extended Hand (EH)" is an augmented body technology, which visually extends the length of a user's arm by a spatial augmented reality. It could facilitate individuals whose reaching areas are limited by body movement disorders to interact with distant objects. However, the technology is currently limited, because any trembling of the hands contacting with the touch panel of the EH system is amplified, causing EH to shake in the physical world as well. To make EH benefit individuals whose hands and body are disabled by tremors, we proposed methods for stabilizing the movements and gestures of the EH to allow EH controlled steadily by their trembling hands. We developed a hand tremor simulator by which trembling hands interacting with EH were imitated, and investigated the effectiveness of stabilization methods by conducting a series of pointing and grasping experiments. The stabilization method composed of Kalman filter and Hysteresis was confirmed to be effective in reducing the unstable translation and unstable stationary state of EH, and the method combining the stabilization of the distances from the fingertips to their centroid and the analysis of the change in low frequency components of the touching areas effectively enable trembling hands to control the EH gestures steadily.


Nitrous oxide is produced in soil by nitrifying and denitrifying microorganisms. Most of the N2O produced in soil is reduced to N2 in the final step of denitrification, and only a fraction is released into the atmosphere. No reliable methods exist, however, to quantify N2O reduction and its controlling parameters in soil. In this study, we investigated: (i) a novel method to quantify the reduction of N2O in soil as it diffuses upward; and (ii) the effects of soil moisture content on N2O reduction. We developed a setup where a silicone tube coil permeable to N2O linked to an N2O reservoir simulated a subsoil with a known, artificial N2O source. A soil core filled with repacked sandy soil (a Typic Endoaquoll) was placed on top of the silicone coil. Experimental treatments included water‐filled pore space (WFPS) levels of 60, 75, and 90%, as well as a quartz sand treatment at 90% WFPS that served as an abiotic control. Soil surface N2O emissions were measured for 21 d, and after the experiment, residual N2O in the system was determined. During the experiment, 41, 39, and 0% of the applied N2O was emitted as soil surface flux for the 60, 75, and 90% WFPS treatments, respectively. In the 90% WFPS treatment, 52% of applied N2O was reduced to N2. We conclude that our method enables us to quantify N2O reduction in soil columns. Our results further show that wet soils can be effective in reducing N2O to N2 during upward diffusion from the subsoil.


Abstract Limited data are available on hemodynamic responses to anesthetic protocols in wild-born chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Accordingly, this study characterized the heart rate (HR) and blood pressure responses to four anesthetic protocols in 176 clinically healthy, wild-born chimpanzees undergoing routine health assessments. Animals were anesthetized with medetomidine–ketamine (MK) (n = 101), tiletamine–zolazepam (TZ) (n = 30), tiletamine–zolazepam–medetomidine (TZM) (n = 24), or medetomidine–ketamine (maintained with isoflurane) (MKI) (n = 21). During each procedure, HR, systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were regularly recorded. Data were grouped according to anesthetic protocol, and mean HR, SBP, and DBP were calculated. Differences between mean HR, SBP, and DBP for each anesthetic protocol were assessed using the Kruskall–Wallis test and a Dunn multiple comparisons post hoc analysis. To assess the hemodynamic time course response to each anesthetic protocol, group mean data (±95% confidence interval [CI]) were plotted against time postanesthetic induction. Mean HR (beats/min [CI]) was significantly higher in TZ (86 [80–92]) compared to MKI (69 [61–78]) and MK (62 [60–64]) and in TZM (73 [68–78]) compared to MK. The average SBP and DBP values (mm Hg [CI]) were significantly higher in MK (130 [126–134] and 94 [91–97]) compared to TZ (104 [96–112] and 58 [53–93]) and MKI (113 [103–123] and 78 [69–87]) and in TZM (128 [120–135] and 88 [83–93]) compared to TZ. Time course data were markedly different between protocols, with MKI showing the greatest decline over time. Both the anesthetic protocol adopted and the timing of measurement after injection influence hemodynamic recordings in wild-born chimpanzees and need to be considered when monitoring or assessing cardiovascular health.


It is recognised through current literature that contaminantin trusion is a primary threat leading to degradation of water quality and threat to human health. The problem is more serious in
developing countries where the water supply is intermittent and water distribution system
crisscross with sanitary systems. Therefore there is a need to develop the methodology that
enables the decision makers and engineers to undertake actions to minimise the risk of
contamination of water. The researchs tudy presentedin this thesis addresses these water quality issues by developing the appropriate modelling tools to minimize the risk of contaminant
intrusion. The conceptual framework proposed in this study consists of a risk based approach
where the process of contaminant intrusion into the systems is traced to know the hazards of
contaminant intrusion and vulnerability of the system. The risk of contaminant intrusion into the pipes of a water distribution system is then estimated as the function of hazards and vulnerability.
A suit of four models is developed based on this framework.
The first model is a water distribution pipe condition assessment model that simulates the
potential pathway for contaminant ingress into water pipes by relating it to the
deterioration/condition of the pipes. The condition of each pipe is assessed by means of numerous factors related to physical, environmental and operational aspects of the water distribution system. These factors are grouped into different indicators at three levels, depending on the nature of
influence of each factor on the deterioration process of the pipe. The uncertainties inherent in these pipe condition indicators are described with fuzzy set theory. A distance based multi-criteria decision making method-fuzzy composite programming has been applied to combine the multilevel pipe condition indicators to form a single indicator to rank the condition of the pipes.
The second model is a water flow and contaminant transport modelling tool. This model predicts the envelope of pollution emanating from pollution sources (contaminant zone) and simulates the
seepage and contaminant transport in this zone. It is assumed that the seepage of contaminant
from pollution sources such as unlined canal/drains and surface water bodies follow saturated
flow while from pollution sources such as sewer pipelines, lined canals/drains follow unsaturated flow. Accordingly Richard/Green Ampt equations (unsaturated flow) and Darcy's equation (saturatedf lows) are coupled with advection-diffusion equations that account for water flow and contaminant transport respectively. The third model, the contaminant ingress model, identifies sections of pipe of water distribution system within contaminant zone by combining the outputs from the contaminant seepage model with spatial analysis. The fourth model, the risk assessment model, identifies the risk of
contaminant intrusion into a water distribution system from the outputs of the above three models, namely the vulnerability of the water distribution pipe (pipe condition assessment model), the
contaminant concentration(contaminant seepage model) and section of pipe in contaminant zone (contaminant ingress model).
All these models have been integrated into ArcView GIS to form a decision support system
(Improved Risk Assessment of Water Distribution System) and applied to a real water distribution system in Guntur, India for which water pipe network data and data for pollution sources were collected. The modelling results are presented as risk maps that show the potential areas that are
under threat of contamination with relative risk scores. It is envisaged that the developed
modelling tools will be used by water utilities in developing countries to improve the water
quality management by identifying vulnerable areas and understanding threats that exist to the water distribution systems.


Abstract Cruising speeds of Mesozoic marine reptiles have been estimated in the past by using a mathematical model of energetic equilibrium during steady swimming. This method suffered from a significant tendency to overestimate speeds of extant cetaceans for no clear reason, which raised questions about the validity of the approach itself. The present study identifies the factors that caused this shortcoming and proposes corrections and some additional modifications. These include the use of more accurate body shape models, updated metabolic rate models, and optimal rather than critical swimming speeds. The amended method successfully approximates published optimal speeds of several extant marine vertebrates, including cetaceans, showing that the basic framework of the energetic approach is valid. With this confirmation, the method was applied to Mesozoic marine reptiles, by assuming three different metabolic rate categories known in extant swimming vertebrates (i.e., average ectothermic, raised ectothermic, and marine endothermic levels). The results support previous inferences about the relative cruising capabilities of Mesozoic marine reptiles (i.e., ichthyosaurs > plesiosaurs > mosasaurs). Stenopterygius, a thunniform ichthyosaur, was probably capable of cruising at a speed at least comparable to those reported for some extant thunniform teleosts with similar diets (∼1 m/second).


Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is a potentially important climate strategy for attaining low climate stabilization objectives. However, climate analysis has indicated a possible weakening of the ocean carbon sinks -the largest in the world- in relation to CDR deployment. Here, we provide an economic appraisal to assess the sensitivity of CDR and conventional abatement to CO2 outgassing from the oceans. We develop a theoretical framework to study the impact of the ocean-to-atmosphere transfer on the optimal mitigation strategies under different regimes that control the relationship between CO2 outgassing and the amount of CDR. We show that the optimal levels of emissions and CDR are correlated to the effectiveness of CDR expressed as a linear function of atmospheric concentrations. We incorporate this effect into an integrated assessment model of climate and economy (DICE model) and confirm the theoretical findings with numerical simulations. Further, we perform a sensitivity analysis to find the range of optimal abatement and CDR actions under different values of the CDR effectiveness coefficient.


In statistics and machine learning, classification studies how to automatically learn to make good qualitative predictions (i.e., assign class labels) based on past observations. Examples of classification problems include email spam filtering, fraud detection, market segmentation. Binary classification, in which the potential class label is binary, has arguably the most widely used machine learning applications. Most existing binary classification methods target on the minimization of the overall classification risk and may fail to serve some real‐world applications such as cancer diagnosis, where users are more concerned with the risk of misclassifying one specific class than the other. Neyman‐Pearson (NP) paradigm was introduced in this context as a novel statistical framework for handling asymmetric type I/II error priorities. It seeks classifiers with a minimal type II error subject to a type I error constraint under some user‐specified level. Though NP classification has the potential to be an important subfield in the classification literature, it has not received much attention in the statistics and machine learning communities. This article is a survey on the current status of the NP classification literature. To stimulate readers' research interests, the authors also envision a few possible directions for future research in NP paradigm and its applications. WIREs Comput Stat 2016, 8:64–81. doi: 10.1002/wics.1376


Collaborative and market-oriented conservation interventions aim to achieve conservation and livelihood improvement outcomes by bringing people together over win–win solutions. Based on intensive interviews and document analysis, this study examines an effort to establish a new protected area in Yunnan Province, China, as an attempt at collaboration to establish a market-based conservation intervention that would include and benefit protected area residents. The result, Pudacuo National Park, is a tourism attraction that creates large revenues for the local government, has ambiguous conservation impact, and sidelines residents. While different collaborators provided resources that enabled the project to proceed, the project was ultimately co-opted by an alliance of state and tourism industry actors. Explicitly addressing power and inequality may assist conservation promoters who wish to facilitate collaborative conservation projects.


In the past decade, the countries of Southeast Asia and other regions have made siginificant progress on the health care front. Thanks to a substantial expansion in the provision of health care as a result of rapid economic development, infant and maternal mortality has fallen, life expectancy has increased, total fertility rates are down, and population growth has declined. That expansion is particularly evident in the greater numbers of physicians and nurses per thousand population and in the growing share of total health expenditures in gross domestic product. ALthough health status in the region could be improved even further - through the extension of primary health care to still disenfranchised groups and an effort to reduce the use of tobacco products - it is clear that much has been and will continue to be accomplished in both preventive and curative health care. Perhaps the greates problem countries have experienced thus far lies in financing the costs of such care. To address this problem, many countries have moved to implement various forms of cost recovery. Because of equity considerations, health insurance is one option that is receiving particularly close attention. This volume opens with a discussion of the important role of health insurance at this time in developing countries. Attention is also given to the macroeconomic context in which health financing takes place in developing countries, the growth of the health sector as development progresses, and the linkages between health financing, health status, and indicators of development. Other chapters are devoted to health financing and the use of health insurance in a set of six countries. Their experience provides public policy officials in other countries with considerable insight into the fundamental ingredients of an effective health financing strategy.


Rene Girard holds up the gospels as mirrors that reveal our broken humanity, and shows that they also reflect a new reality that can make us whole. Like Simone Weil, Girard looks at the Bible as a map of human behavior, and sees Jesus Christ as the turning point leading to new life.The title echoes Jesus' words: "I saw Satan falling like lightning from heaven". Girard persuades us that even as our world grows increasingly violent the power of the Christ-event is so great that the evils of scapegoating and sacrifice are being defeated even now. A new community, God's nonviolent kingdom, is being realized -- even now.


Systems of justice based on lay juries are meant to ensure a close link between the law and the community it serves: jurors represent the values of the community and these are fed back into the legal system. However, juries can only arrive at legally fair decisions if they have managed to understand and apply the law relating to the case. Yet legal systems in common law countries have paid scant attention to whether legal instructions delivered by the judge are actually conveyed effectively to the jury. This chapter considers the process of jury instruction from linguistic and communicational perspectives. It draws a key distinction between 'jury instructions', or the legal texts produced by judicial committees and delivered by judges, and 'jury instruction', or the process of communicating the relevant law to a specific jury in the context of a specifictrial. While the comprehension of specific instructions can be improved by rewriting them in plain English, the overall process of instruction requires much more radical revision if we want to ensure that lay juries will bring in true and just verdicts which reflect both the law and the values of the community.


SUMMARY. Calea clematidea and Calea uniflora are native shrubs found in the southern Brazil. In previous study, C. zacatechichi extracts showed psychopharmacologic properties. The aim of this paper is to investigate the effect of these two plants on CNS and genotoxic effects in rats. Methanolic extracts of C. clematidea and C. uniflora showed apparent efficacy in decreasing the number of entries in closed arms, but no species tested affected the number of entries or time spent in the open arms in the elevated plusmaze test. C. clematideae and C. uniflora did not change the number of crossings and rearings performed in the open field task. Both extracts did not induce DNA damage in brain tissue from treated animals, assessed by comet assay. The results suggest C. clematidea and C. uniflora do not induce anxiolytic and genotoxic effects, nor do they alter locomotor activity in rats.


SummaryAutomatic natural language processing systems require dictionaries of compound words in order to recognize these words when analyzing text automatically. This article presents the electronic dictionary of compound words in Modern Greek. This morphological dictionary contains around 28þ000 entries associated with a flexional code and filters. The flexional codes are used to describe flexional vectors, the presence of variants or accent displacements. The filters are used to describe the inflection of the words (simple or compound), meaning the cases or genders allowed in order to obtain every possible form of the word. This study is part of the work carried out jointly by the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and Marne-la-Vallee University with a view to developing a complete and formalized description of the Greek language.


The adsorption abilities of bio-sorbents derived from plant materials towards polluting ions is one of the highly thrust areas of pollution control research and is being intensively probed in developing simple, efficient and ecofriendly methodologies in the removal of hazardous ions. In the present work, bio-adsorbents derived from leaves of Croton tiglium and Cassia occidentalis, have been investigated for their adsorption nature towards Chromium (VI) ions. The effects of various physicochemical parameters viz., equilibration time, pH and sorbent concentration, on the extraction of Chromium (VI) have been studied and optimized. Common cation ions (in tenfold excess) normally present in natural waters, viz., Ca2+, Mg2+, Cu2, Zn2+, Ni2+ and Fe2+ are found to have synergistic effect in increasing the % removal of Chromium. Anions like Phosphate, SO4 2- and Carbonate are found to be interfering in the order: PO4 3- > SO4 2- > CO3 2-. The monovalent ions: NO3-, Chloride, and Fluoride are found to have marginal interference. More than 90.0% extraction of Chromium (VI) is observed with the developed active sorbents. The methodologies developed are applied to real samples of industrial effluents and polluted lakes and found be remarkably successful.


Lithofacies heterogeneity in channel sandstones in a labyrinth-type reservoir outcrop are expressed by the nested correlation structure of experimental permeability semivariograms. First-rate correlation lengths are related to average set size or the average thickness of laterally accreted beds, second-rate correlation lengths to the average spacing of cosets or beds, and third-rate correlation lengths to the average spacing of surfaces truncating individual point bars within a meander loop. Three flow units are defined. Flow unit I comprises ribbon sandstone bodies and is characterized by large trough cross-stratified sets. Second-order bounding surfaces are dominant. Permeability is interdependent between two second-order bounding surfaces. Flow unit II comprises the lower part of meander loop sandstone bodies without grain size differences visibly expressed at the lateral accretion surfaces. Lithofacies and permeability characteristics are similar to flow unit I although the average set size and mean permeability are low. The average volume of flow unit II is largest. Flow unit III comprises the heterolithic upper part of meander loop sandstone bodies built up by ripple lamination in laterally accreted beds with distinct grain size changes. The latter form pronounced bounding surfaces and, significantly, determine two-dimensional permeability interdependency. The mean permeability is three times smaller than that of flow unit I. The spatial distribution of the flow units is mainly determined by climatic fluctuations from relatively humid to relatively arid conditions.


Background and Aims: Fentanyl-induced cough is found to occur more often in females and it has been observed to be a risk factor for post-operative nausea and vomiting (PONV). We studied the effect of pre-emptive Huff's manoeuvre and acupressure in reducing incidence of PONV in patients who had fentanyl-induced cough (FIC). Methods: This prospective, experimental and randomised study was conducted on 336 patients who were randomly divided into three groups. Group A (n = 112): acupressure was applied, Group B (n = 112): Huff's manoeuvre was performed and Group C (n = 112) was the control group. Thereafter the patients were given a rapid bolus of injection fentanyl at a dose of 2 μ/kg before induction of anaesthesia. Any episode of cough within 60 seconds of fentanyl administration was classified as FIC, and the severity was graded based on the number of coughs (mild 1 – 2, moderate 3 – 4, and severe 5 or more). The occurrence of PONV was recorded. Statistical analysis done using ANOVA test, Kruskal Wallis. Results: Incidence of FIC was 8%, 7.1%, and 25.9% in Acupressure, Huff's and control group respectively. The incidence of PONV was found to be higher in patients who had FIC rather than the patients who did not have FIC. Conclusion: We conclude that use of Acupressure and Huff's manoeuvre have been demonstrated to be efficacious in reducing FIC and also have an impact in reducing PONV.


The Large Eddy Simulation (LES) technique with the Smagorinsky-Lilly dynamic
subgrid model and two-equation Standard k-ω Transitional turbulence model are
applied to investigate non-spiral and spiral blood flow through three dimensional
models of arterial stenosis and aneurysm. A spiral pattern of blood flow is thought to
have many beneficial effects on hemodynamics. Previous computational studies on
spiral blood flow involve only steady spiral flow in a straight stenosed pipe without
considering an upstream curved section of the artery. But a spiral pattern in the
blood flow may exist due to the presence of an upstream curved section in the artery.
On the other hand, pressure is generally considered a constant quantity in studies on
pulsatile flow through either arterial stenosis or aneurysm; however, blood pressure
is a waveform in a physiological flow.
Although cosine-type or smooth regular stenoses are generally taken in investigations
of blood flow in a three-dimensional model of arterial stenosis, in reality,
stenoses are of irregular shape. Besides stenosis and aneurysm, another abnormal
condition of the artery is the presence of stenosis with an adjacent aneurysm in the
same arterial segment, especially in the posterior circulation. A study on (steady or
pulsatile) flow through such arterial stenosis with an adjacent aneurysm in the same
arterial segment is not available so far.
Therefore, taking above things into consideration, thorough investigations of
steady and unsteady pulsatile non-spiral and spiral blood flow in three-dimensional
models of stenosis and aneurysm are needed to give a sound understanding of the
transition-to-turbulence of blood flow due to stenosis and aneurysm and to study the
the effects of spiral velocity on the transition-to-turbulence.
The LES technique has mostly been used to investigate turbulent flow in engineering
fields other than bio-fluid mechanics. In the last decade, LES has seen its
excellent potential for studying the transition-to-turbulence of physiological flow in
bio-fluid mechanics. Though the k-ω Transitional model is used in few instances,
mainly LES is applied in this study.
Firstly, investigations of steady non-spiral and spiral blood flow through threedimensionalmodels
of cosine-type regular stenosed tube without and with upstream
curved segment of varying angles of curvature are performed by using the k-ω Transitional
model and LES. A fully developed Poiseuille velocity profile for blood is
introduced at the inlets of the models. To introduce a spiral effect at the inlet, onesixth
of the bulk velocity is taken as the tangential velocity at the inlet along with
the axial velocity profile there.
Secondly, physiological pulsatile non-spiral and spiral blood flow through a
three-dimensional model of a straight tube having cosine-type regular stenosis are
investigated by using mainly LES. A two-equation k-ω Transitional model is also
used in one non-spiral flow case. The first four harmonics of the Fourier series of
pressure pulse are used to generate physiological velocity profiles at the inlet. At the
outlet, a pressure waveform is introduced. The effects of percentage of area reduction
in the stenosis, length of the stenosis, amplitude of pulsation and Womersley
number are also examined.
Thirdly, transient pulsatile non-spiral and spiral blood flow through a threedimensional
model of irregular stenosis are investigated by applying LES and comparison
is drawn between non-spiral flow through a regular stenosis and that through
an irregular stenosis.
Lastly, pulsatile non-spiral and spiral blood flow through a three-dimensional
model of irregular stenosis with an adjacent post-stenotic irregular aneurysm in the
same arterial segment are studied by applying LES and the k-ω Transitional model.
The effects of variation in spiral velocity are also examined.
The results presented in this thesis are analysed with relevant pathophysioloical
consequences. In steady flow through the straight stenosed tube, excellent agreement
between LES results for Re = 1000 and 2000 and the corresponding experimental
results are found when the appropriate inlet perturbations are introduced.
In the models with an upstream curved segment, no significant effect of spiral flow
on any flow property is found for the investigated Reynolds numbers; spiral pattern
disappears before the stenosis – which may be due the rigid wall used in the models
and/or a steady flow at the inlet. The effects of the curved upstream model can be
seen mainly in the maximum turbulent kinetic energy (TKE), the maximum pressure
drop and the maximum wall shear stress (WSS), which in the curved upstream
models generally increase significantly compared with the corresponding results in
the straight stenosed tube.
The maximumcontributions of the SGS motion to the large-scale motion in both
non-spiral and spiral flow through a regular stenosis, an irregular stenosis and an irregular
stenosis with an adjacent post-stenotic irregular aneurysm are 50%, 55%and
25%, respectively, for the highest Reynolds number investigated in each model. Although
the wall pressure and shear stress obtained from the k-ω Transitional model
agree quite well with the corresponding LES results, the turbulent results obtained
from the k-ω Transitional model differ significantly from the corresponding LES
results – this shows unsuitability of the k-ω model for pulsatile flow simulation.
Large permanent recirculation regions are observed right after the stenosis throat in
both non-spiral and spiral flow, which in the model of a stenosis with an adjacent
post-stenotic aneurysm are stretched beyond the aneurysm and the length of the
recirculation regions increases with spiral velocity. This study shows that, in both
steady and unsteady pulsatile flow through the straight tube model having either a
stenosis (regular or irregular) or an irregular stenosis with an adjacent post-stenotic
irregular aneurysm, the TKE rises significantly at some locations and phases if a
spiral effect is introduced at the inlet of the model. However, the maximum value
of the TKE in a high spiral flow drops considerably compared with that in a low
spiral flow. The maximum wall pressure drop and shear stress occur around the
stenosis throat during all the phases of the pulsatile cycle. In the model of a stenosis
only, the wall pressure rises in the immediate post-stenotic region after its drop at
the stenosis throat. However, in the model of a stenosis with an adjacent aneurysm,
the wall pressure does not rise to regain its undisturbed value before the start of the
last quarter of the aneurysm. The effects of the spiral flow on the wall pressure and
WSS are visible only in the downstream region where they take oscillatory pattern.
The break frequencies of energy spectra for velocity and pressure fluctuations from
−5/3 power slope to −10/3 power slope and −7/3 power slope, respectively, are
observed in the downstream transition-to-turbulence region in both the non-spiral
and spiral flow. At some locations in the transition region, the velocity spectra
in the spiral flow has larger inertial subrange region than that in non-spiral flow.
The effects of the spiral flow on the pressure spectra is insignificant. Also, the
maximum wall pressure drop, the maximum WSS and the maximum TKE in the
non-spiral flow through the irregular stenosis rise significantly compared with the
corresponding results in the non-spiral flow through the regular stenosis.
When the area reduction in the stenosis is increased, the maximum pressure
drop, the maximumWSS and the TKE rise sharply. As for the effects of the length
of the stenosis, the maximum WSS falls significantly and the maximum TKE rises
sharply due to the increase in the length of the stenosis; but the maximum pressure
drop is almost unaffected by the increase in the stenosis length. The increase in
the amplitude of pulsation causes both the maximum pressure drop and the maximum
WSS to increase significantly under the inlet peak flow condition. While
the increased amplitude of pulsation decrease the maximum TKE, it is nonetheless
responsible for the sharp rise in the TKE found at some places in the transition-toturbulence
region. The decrease in the Womersley number causes the maximum
TKE to increase dramatically; however, the maximum pressure drop and the maximum
WSS decrease slightly under the inlet peak flow condition as a result of the
decrease in the Womersley number.
The author does believe that the present study makes a breakthrough in understanding
the non-spiral and spiral transient blood flows through arteries having a
stenosis and a stenosis with an adjacent post-stenotic aneurysm. The findings of the
thesis would, therefore, help the interested groups such as pathologists,medical surgeons
and researchers greatly in gaining better insight into the transient non-spiral
and spiral blood flow through models of arterial stenosis and aneurysm.


The crystal lattice energy of π-molecules is dominated by weak and anisotropic intermolecular interactions ranging in energy from 1 to ∼20 kJ mol−1, which can be tuned by the introduction of specific interaction sites to the parent π-molecular core. In various types of π-molecular crystals, supramolecular approaches using directional hydrogen-bonding, halogen bonding, π-stacking, host–guest, and hydrophobic interactions have been effectively used to achieve lattice dynamics including proton transfer, ionic transport, and molecular rotations in the closest-packing molecular assemblies. Such approaches enable the formation of dynamic multi-functional intrinsic π-electronic materials with electrical conductivity, magnetism, and unique optical responses. Short-range collective proton transfer occurs along intermolecular hydrogen-bonding networks and is correlated with the dipole inversion and ferroelectricity, whereas long-range proton transport is directly associated with bulk protonic conduction. Dynamic proton and ionic transport in the molecular assemblies can be designed for protons via hydrogen bonding and for Li+ and/or Na+ via ionic channels, where the freedom of motion is coupled with the intrinsic π-electronic properties. When the dynamic molecular rotation of the polar structural unit is controllable by an outer electric field, the dipole inversion and dielectric responses of the molecular assemblies are associated with ferroelectricity. Careful design of the polar rotary unit has the potential to create artificial molecular motors or futuristic molecular assembly machines. These dynamic molecular assemblies can be coupled with intrinsic π-electronic functions, offering a new direction in the future of materials chemistry.


Vibrodynamical behavior of bulb units, due to specific design and operating conditions, depend very much on the relative position of the rotor and stator as well as the bearings. Due to the horizontal shaft layout and the fact that the unit is submerged, rotor sag and construction thermal conditions have a large impact on the machine dynamic condition. On two bulb units at the same plant, the condition was monitored for several years, with the purpose of investigating the correlation of excessive events (instabilities) to operating and start-up conditions. The monitoring system included rotor vibrations, air gap and flux, rotor pole temperatures, stator winding temperatures, axial displacements and process operating quantities (e.g. active and reactive power) as well as electrical values. Especially prominent were the problems on unit B where cracks on the rotor rim appeared that could have been related to vibrations in combination with manufacturing defects. The monitoring system's comprehensive database enabled cross correlation of different values to assist in identifying the root cause of this instability, which appeared to happen quite unexpectedly. Detailed analysis of the data recorded by the monitoring system showed that the described vibrational instabilities were the result of the rotor thermal deformations and rotor's thermal imbalance likely related to the attachment between the rotor poles and the rotor rim.


New surface treatments, novel material developments, and improved quality control procedures and advanced metrology instrumentation create a possibility to further develop competitiveness by the selection of "optimal" surface features", to a product. The customers first apprehension of a product and the creation of desire is a very complex, but tempting process to learn more about. The interaction between the added quantitative-and the qualitative direct impressions with the customers known and unknown functional demands, social background, and expectations results in sensation and perception, partly possible to quantify and to great extent impossible to pin-down as numbers. Customer sensation and perception are much about psychological factors. There has been a strong industrial-and academic need and interest for methods and tools to quantify and linking product properties to the human response but a lack of studies of the impact of surfaces. This paper aims to introduce a novel approach to develop and join a human sensoric inspired metrology frame-work with qualitative gradings of apprehended impressions of products with varying surface properties. The aim is to establish the metrology framework to link measurable-and unmeasurable impressions of product surfaces to customer FEELING as exemplified by a set of industrial applications. In conclusions of the study, future research in Soft metrology is proposed to allow understanding and modelling of product perception and sensations in combination with a development of the Kansei Surface Engineering methodology and software tools.


Introduction: A faculty member in a medical university is infused with the responsibility to perform research. The majority of the faculties are inclined to conduct studies more in line with their specialty but less with regard to education, which is itself a major responsibility of them. Accordingly, this study examined the relationship between structural and managerial factors influencing the increase in educational research. Methods: This is a descriptive, analytic study. The population included all the faculty members in Birjand University of Medical Sciences. Cochran formula was used to determine the sample size as 100 subjects who were selected by stratified random sampling method. To collect data, a 19-item researcher-made questionnaire was used, which had two subscales. Validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by experts, and its internal consistency was calculated as 81% by Cronbach's alpha. For data analysis, descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, and frequency) and inferential statistics (t single sample, independent t-test, and ANOVA) were used. The significant level was considered at 0.05. Results: The results showed that, respectively, the University structural (4.24±1.42) and University managerial (3.89±0.835) correlated with increase in education-oriented research projects. The role of each of the influential factors on research was sex-dependent (Pvalue < 0.05). Conclusion: Structural and administrative reforms, as well as changes in policy research could lead to increased research in education.


The main purpose of this paper is to show what kind of category adverbs form. It is demonstrated that the words of a language are in general categorized in two different ways, based on different properties and serving different purposes. First, they form a small set of part-of-speech categories which are prototypical in nature, serve the cognitive structuring of the lexical inventory of a language, but as such have no single grammatical function. Second, they form numerous syntactic distributional categories whose members share a fixed set of syntactically relevant properties that determine their distribution. It is argued that adverbs are also subject to both types of categorization, though with particular properties that explain their often-stated heterogeneity.


The consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with increased energy intake, weight gain, overweight and obesity more than for any other food or beverage as well as with the development of several non-communicable diseases and poor oral health. Already, more than half of all Estonians are overweight or obese, and the numbers are rising rapidly, especially among children and adolescents. The brief focuses on children, as beverage preferences and consumption patterns develop early in childhood and can persist over time. Four policy options were selected for reducing the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and their negative health effects: regulation of food advertising, labelling of sugar-sweetened beverages and raising awareness about their health effects, school interventions and nutrition policies, and imposing taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages, subsidizing other food groups and/or substituting alternative beverages. Based on the findings it was concluded that the four policy options complement each other and, if implemented in combination, would help to reach the goal of better health outcomes. Comprehensive, multicomponent interventions will reduce the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and their negative health effects.


Prolonged periods of sitting have been shown to reduce cerebral blood flow and autoregulation, which may subsequently impair executive function. Similarly, the consumption of a high-fat diet can negatively impact cerebral perfusion. However, whether prolonged sitting combined with a high fat meal additionally impairs both executive function and cerebral perfusion is unknown.

PURPOSE: To investigate the effects of consuming a high-fat meal followed by 3 hours of prolonged sitting on executive function and cerebral perfusion.

METHODS: Five young healthy males (Age: 22.8 ± 2.9 yrs; stature 177.7 ± 6.4 cm; mass 78.9 ± 14.3 kg), from a target of 18, were recruited. Following familiarisation, participants completed two randomised sessions of 3 hours of prolonged sitting following the consumption of a high-fat (HF) and low-fat (LF) meal. Each visit was separated by a minimum of 2 and maximum of 7 days. Participants completed a Stroop test (containing both congruent and incongruent trials) and trail-making test (TMT) both pre- and post- sitting period. The TMT consists of two parts, A and B. Continuous wave near-infrared spectroscopy (cw-NIRS) was used to measure cerebral perfusion at AF4 both before (baseline) and throughout each trial. Data was analyzed using two-way repeated measures analysis of variance. Alpha was set at P < 0.1 a priori for preliminary analyses.

RESULTS: There were no significant differences between or within trials for completion time for Stroop and TMT part A. Completion time for TMT part B was significantly (p = 0.078, d = 2.2) faster in the low-fat condition compared to HF condition (16.4 ± 4 s vs. 21.6 ± 0.7 s). There were no significant differences in cerebral perfusion between or within groups (p = 0.201).

CONCLUSIONS: These preliminary findings suggest that the consumption of a high-fat meal may negatively impact core executive functions measured by TMT Part B, namely working memory and task-switching ability. However, cerebral perfusion, as measured by cw-NIRS, failed to identify a mechanism. This may be a consequence of limited statistical power given the sample size, or uncertainties regarding the sensitivity of cw-NIRS when measuring cerebral perfusion.


Abstract When dealing with the moving worlds of migration among the Persian diaspora in Australia, memories cannot simply be removed to dusty attic boxes to be stored as an archive. Rather, this analysis takes the body and its sensory engagement with the world as a central focus, arguing that memories are crafted, tasted, smelt and touched in everyday temporalities. In the kitchens and lounges of Persian migrant women the lived past refuses to become undone from the countless revolutions of food, talk and domestic activity that are central to the patterning of memory. In this paper, we argue that these intimate practices have references beyond their domestic dimensions, for they point to a worldly movement of life writ domestically small. It is via a sensory network that the spatially and temporally disparate worlds of homeland and new homes are remembered and forgotten, and where miniature worlds call out to the movement of migration.


In spite of the proliferation of online learning, creating online courses can still evoke a good deal of frustration, negativity, and wariness in those who need to create them. The second edition of Essentials of Online Course Design takes a fresh, thoughtfully designed, step-by-step approach to online course development. At its core is a set of standards that are based on best practices in the field of online learning and teaching. Pedagogical, organizational, and visual design principles are presented and modeled throughout the book, and users will quickly learn from the guides hands-on approach. The course design process begins with the elements of a classroom syllabus which, after a series of guided steps, easily evolve into an online course outline. The guides key features include: a practical approach informed by theory clean interior design that offers straightforward guidance from page one clear and jargon-free language examples, screenshots, and illustrations to clarify and support the text a checklist of online course design standards that readers can use to self-evaluate. a Companion Website with examples, adaptable templates, interactive learning features, and online resources: http://essentialsofonlinecoursedesign.com Essentials of Online Course Design serves as a best practice model for designing online courses. After reading this book, readers will find that preparing for online teaching is a satisfying and engaging experience. The core issue is simply good design: pedagogical, organizational, and visual.


Structural changes in resistance vessels have been considered an important factor in triggering and maintaining chronic hypertension in humans and in experimental animals. To determine whether the increased forearm vascular resistance observed following vasodilator maneuvers in hypertensive patients is predominantly due to structural or to functional changes, we examined the influence of different vasodilator stimuli on forearm blood flow and blood pressure in 22 male patients with established essential hypertension and in 22 age-matched normotensive men (age range, 28-52 years). Blood pressure was measured directly, and blood flow was measured by venous occlusion plethysmography. The maneuvers applied were 1) arterial occlusion combined with handgrip exercise and local heating, 2) intra-arterial infusion of the calcium entry blocker nifedipine, 3) intra-arterial infusion of the nonspecific vasodilator sodium nitroprusside, 4) arterial occlusion initiated after intra-arterial infusion of nifedipine. Vascular resistance during vasodilation induced by arterial occlusion or infusion of nifedipine or sodium nitroprusside remained significantly higher in the hypertensive than in the normotensive subjects. However, the maximal vasodilation achieved by the combination of arterial occlusion and nifedipine resulted in a similar resistance in both groups (1.6 +/- 0.2 in the hypertensive vs 1.4 +/- 0.2 mm Hg/ml/min/100 ml tissue in the normotensive subjects. These data suggest that there is an important functional component of the elevated resistance in patients with essential hypertension.


We study experimentally the incoherent, interaction of optical solitons excited in different gaps of the transmission spectrum of a periodic photonic structure. For the first time to our knowledge, we observe the mutual focusing of different Floquet-Bloch modes and formation of a multi-gap vector optical soliton.


The noble Cavendishes were one of the most influential families in the politics and culture of early modern England and beyond. A Companion to the Cavendishes offers a comprehensive account of the Cavendish family's creative output and cultural significance in the seventeenth century. It discusses the writings of individuals including William and Margaret Cavendish, and William's daughters Jane and Elizabeth; family members' work and patronage in other media such as music, architecture, and the visual arts; their participation in contemporary developments in politics, philosophy, and horsemanship; and the networks in which they moved both in England and in continental Europe. It also covers the work of less well-known family members such as the poet and biographer George Cavendish and the composer Michael Cavendish. This volume combines path-breaking scholarship with discussion of existing research, making it an invaluable resource for all those interested in this fascinating and diverse group of men and women.


Inelastic scattering off magnetic impurities in a spin-chiral two-dimensional electron gas, e.g., the Rashba system, is shown to generate topological changes in the spin texture of the electron waves emanating from the scattering center. While elastic scattering gives rise to a purely in-plane spin texture for an in-plane magnetic scattering potential, out-of-plane components emerge upon activation of inelastic scattering processes. This property leads to a possibility to make controlled transitions between trivial and nontrivial topologies of the spin texture.


We introduce a deep, generative autoencoder capable of learning hierarchies of distributed representations from data. Successive deep stochastic hidden layers are equipped with autoregressive connections, which enable the model to be sampled from quickly and exactly via ancestral sampling. We derive an efficient approximate parameter estimation method based on the minimum description length (MDL) principle, which can be seen as maximising a variational lower bound on the log-likelihood, with a feedforward neural network implementing approximate inference. We demonstrate state-of-the-art generative performance on a number of classic data sets, including several UCI data sets, MNIST and Atari 2600 games.


This is a sweeping journey through the history of Japanese animation, tracing this cultural phenomenon from its origins in traditional art to the present day. A dominant force in its home country since the 1970s, Japanese animation has become a global phenomenon in recent years. But far from being a contemporary invention, anime draws on the same centuries-old artistic traditions that form the basis of manga. Widely disparaged when it first appeared in the West, today the real value of Japanese animation is recognized, and it has inspired international film directors. Fairytale, romance, adventure, fantasy, science-fiction: anime encompasses many genres and its current creativity knows no bounds. The author studies the evolution of Japanese animation through the centuries, retracing its history from painted scrolls to woodblock prints, to animated films, first in black and white, and then in color. A number of prominent artists are showcased including Tezuka Osamu, the godfather of anime and Hayao Miyazaki, founder of the world-renowned Studio Ghibli and creator of films such as "Spirited Away" the first anime film to win an Academy Award. Illustrated with over five hundred images, many rarely seen in the West, this book bridges the gap between art history and pop culture.


Economic crisis in Indonesia since 1997 had big effect to some sectors, like economies. This condition happened to investor who invest their capital. Their business didn't get a profit and had a big liability. To anticipate this problem, portofolio analysis can be used. The analysis used to look for profit in some stocks with made an individual investment for every stock that analyze. Methodology of this research gets some data form internet of 15 companies. This research begin from analysis about individual investment that its goal to see if individual investment can be used to be portfolio invest from every individual got expected return and risk to see deviancy standart. The result of this research is that investment of stocks not always gets a high profit. If investor got a high profit, they were get a high risk and high loose for investment that their invest. It can be happened if investor can't manage a risk in their stocks. Investor can do investment diversification of their stocks to get a high profit with to do diversification in portfolio.


We analyze consequences of changing the terms of trade between agriculture and industry on capital accumulation and on welfare of workers in different sectors. The issue was central to Soviet industrialization debate and it remains important in today's developing world. Through a simple general equilibrium model, we show that a price squeeze on peasants increases accumulation (as Preobrazhensky argued), but it makes both urban and rural workers worse-off (contrary to Preobrazhensky's contention). The desirable changes in terms of trade are shown to depend on intertemporal valuations, but, within a range, not on rural-urban welfare trade-off. Our characterization of the optimal terms of trade is remarkably simple, in which the roleof welfare weights and of relevant empirical parameters are easily as certained.We then extend our analysis to economies with labor mobility and unemployment and, using a simple model with rigid industrial wage, show that the optimal terms of trade entail a tax on urban sector,a subsidy to rural sector, and a level of urban employment such that the urban wage exceeds the marginal product of urban worker.


The starting point of our analysis is to present the grounds of a jurisprudential solution issued by the French Court of Cassation, in the Decision no. 573 of June the 3rd 2010, considered in doctrine as a true "reversal" in the light of the new interpretation of the ethical foundation and of the legal consequences regarding the lack of information towards the patient. If until now, it was considered that only those situations where lack of information resulted in a "loss of a chance" entitles the patient to claim compensation, these compensations being only in proportion to his loss, this time it moved forward, stating that in case the doctor is guilty only of failing to inform his patient he may be responsible for the moral damage caused to the patient, on the basis of tort liability. For the first time, the solution of the Court brings into question the ethical and legal foundation of responsibility the lack of respect for human dignity, by disregarding the individual as patient. Thus, the lack of information acquires new dimensions, of ethical nature, much deeper and with complex meanings. Following these coordinates, the paper proposes a new approach to the doctor's obligation to inform his patient, this time from an ethical perspective, related to the respect owed to human beings, especially those in need – the suffering. Respecting dignity is an inherent right of every human being, free to decide his own destiny. The patient, a person so vulnerable to his inevitable fate, is entitled to know his illness diagnosis, the intervention and treatment options, the risks that the patient could be exposed to, when expressing freely and in full knowledge the "assent on basis of information". The failure of its information on certain aspects which, if they were known, would be likely to offer the possibility to choose a particular solution, is not only a breach of a professional duty, which involves not only tort liability, but also an ethical misconduct by ignoring his dignity as a human being. Information is closely linked to the trust that the patient offers to a specialist, in order to apply the method of prevention or treatment that is best suited for his health condition, displaying the lowest risk. If, however, the doctor acts without correctly and fully informing the patient, he betrays his patient's trust, the patient being unable to choose the best solution, according to his own will.


Protein crystallization continues to be a major bottleneck in X‐ray crystallography. Previous studies suggest that symmetric proteins, such as homodimers, might crystallize more readily than monomeric proteins or asymmetric complexes. Proteins that are naturally monomeric can be made homodimeric artificially. Our approach is to create homodimeric proteins by introducing single cysteines into the protein of interest, which are then oxidized to form a disulfide bond between the two monomers. By introducing the single cysteine at different sequence positions, one can produce a variety of synthetically dimerized versions of a protein, with each construct expected to exhibit its own crystallization behavior. In earlier work, we demonstrated the potential utility of the approach using T4 lysozyme as a model system. Here we report the successful application of the method to Thermotoga maritima CelA, a thermophilic endoglucanase enzyme with low sequence identity to proteins with structures previously reported in the Protein Data Bank. This protein had resisted crystallization in its natural monomeric form, despite a broad survey of crystallization conditions. The synthetic dimerization of the CelA mutant D188C yielded well‐diffracting crystals with molecules in a packing arrangement that would not have occurred with native, monomeric CelA. A 2.4 Å crystal structure was determined by single anomalous dispersion using a seleno‐methionine derivatized protein. The results support the notion that synthetic symmetrization can be a useful approach for enlarging the search space for crystallizing monomeric proteins or asymmetric complexes.


Walking requires a constant adaptation of locomotor output from sensory afferent feedback mechanisms to ensure efficient and stable gait. We investigated the nature of the sensory afferent feedback contribution to the soleus motoneuronal drive and to the corrective stretch reflex by manipulating body load and ankle joint angle. The volunteers walked on a treadmill ( approximately 3.6 km/h) connected to a body weight support (BWS) system. To manipulate the load sensitive afferents the level of BWS was switched between 5 and 30% of body weight. The effect of transient changes in BWS on the soleus stretch reflex was measured by presenting dorsiflexion perturbations ( approximately 5 degrees, 360-400 degrees/s) in mid and late stances. Short (SLRs) and medium latency reflexes (MLRs) were quantified in a 15 ms analysis window. The MLR decreased with decreased loading (P = 0.045), but no significant difference was observed for the SLR (P = 0.13). Similarly, the effect of the BWS was measured on the unload response, i.e., the depression in soleus activity following a plantar-flexion perturbation ( approximately 5.6 degrees, 203-247 degrees/s), quantified over a 50 ms analysis window. The unload response decreased with decreased load (P > 0.001), but was not significantly affected (P = 0.45) by tizanidine induced depression of the MLR (P = 0.039, n = 6). Since tizanidine is believed to depress the group II afferent pathway, these results are consistent with the idea that force-related afferent feedback contributes both to the background locomotor activity and to the medium latency stretch reflex. In contrast, length-related afferent feedback may contribute to only the medium latency stretch reflex.


Background: Dadih (fermented buffalo milk) is a traditional Indonesian food originating from West Sumatra province. The fermentation process is carried out by lactic acid bacteria (LAB), which are naturally present in buffalo milk.  Lactic acid bacteria have been reported as one of potential producers of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA). GABA acts as a neurotransmitter inhibitor of the central nervous system. Methods: In this study, molecular identification and phylogenetic analysis of GABA producing LAB isolated from indigenous dadih of West Sumatera were determined. Identification of the GABA-producing LAB DS15 was based on conventional polymerase chain reaction. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis was used to identify LAB DS15. Results: PCR of the 16S rRNA gene sequence of LAB DS15 gave an approximately 1400 bp amplicon.  Phylogenetic analysis showed that LAB DS15 was Pediococcus acidilactici, with high similarity of 99% at 100% query coverage to Pediococcus acidilactici strain DSM 20284. Conclusions: It can be concluded that GABA producing LAB isolated from indigenous dadih was Pediococcus acidilactici.


Studies on noninductive current drive (CD) and development of an integrated steady-state high performance operation in JT-60 are reviewed. Experiments on lower hybrid current drive (LHCD) in JT-60 have shown a large noninductive current up to 3.6 MA, high current drive efficiency of 3.5 × 1019 m-2A/W, and a flexible current profile control. Basic studies on LH waves, such as an effect of accessibility condition, fast electron behaviors, and so on, in JT-60 have contributed to understanding LHCD physics. Significant progress in neutral beam current drive (NBCD) has been made in JT-60 by testing the performance of negative ion-based (N) neutral beam injection (NBI) (N-NBI). The CD efficiency of ~1.5 × 1019 m-2A/W and negative ion-based neutral beam (N-NB) driven current of ~1 MA have been demonstrated in N-NBCD. Strongly localized noninductive driven current by electron cyclotron current drive (ECCD) was identified with a fundamental O-mode scheme from a low field side injection. ECCD in JT-60 has shown CD efficiency of 0.5 × 1019 m-2A/W and EC-driven current of 0.2 MA. Modification of local current profile was demonstrated and was used for suppression of neoclassical tearing mode. Based on these developments, two integrated steady-state operation scenarios were developed in JT-60, which are reversed magnetic shear (R/S) plasmas and high βp ELMy H-mode. In these operation regimes, discharges have been sustained near the steady-state current profile under full noninductive current drive (High βp; HHy2 ~ 1.4 and βN ~ 2.5 with N-NB, R/S; HHy2 ~ 2.2 and βN ~ 2 with fBS ~ 80%). High performance plasmas with a high nDoτETio and at high normalized density were also produced under fully noninductive condition in high βp ELMy H-mode and R/S mode.


To artificially activate embryos in somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), chemical treatment with ionomycin has been used to induce transient levels of Ca(2+) and initiate reprogramming of embryos. Ca(2+) oscillation occurs naturally several times after fertilization (several times with 15- to 30-min intervals). This indicates how essential additional Ca(2+) influx is for successful reprogramming of embryos. Hence, in this report, the experimental design was aimed at improving the developmental efficiency of cloned embryos by repetitive Ca(2+) transients rather than the commonly used ionomycin treatment (4 min). To determine optimal Ca(2+) inflow conditions, we performed three different repetitive ionomycin (10 µM) treatments in reconstructed embryos: Group 1 (4-min ionomycin treatment, once), Group 2 (30-sec treatment, 4 times, 15-min intervals) and Group 3 (1-min treatment, 4 times, 15-min intervals). Pronuclear formation rates were checked to assess the effects of repetitive ionomycin treatment on reprogramming of cloned embryos. Cleavage rates were investigated on day 2, and the formation rates of blastocysts (BLs) were examined on day 7 to demonstrate the positive effect of repeated ionomycin treatment. In Group 3, a significant increase in BL formation was observed [47/200 (23.50%), 44/197 (22.33%) and 69/195 (35.38%) in Groups 1, 2 and 3, respectively]. Culturing embryos with different ionomycin treatments caused no significant difference among the groups in terms of the total cell number of BLs (164.3, 158.5 and 145.1, respectively). Additionally, expression of the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 gene and MnSOD increased significantly in Group 3, whereas the expression of the pro-apoptotic Bax decreased statistically. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that repeated ionomycin treatment is an improved activation method that can increase the developmental competence of SCNT embryos by decreasing the incidence of apoptosis.


The prevalent c.903+469T>C mutation in MTRR causes the cblE type of homocystinuria by strengthening an SRSF1 binding site in an ESE leading to activation of a pseudoexon. We hypothesized that other splicing regulatory elements (SREs) are also critical for MTRR pseudoexon inclusion. We demonstrate that the MTRR pseudoexon is on the verge of being recognized and is therefore vulnerable to several point mutations that disrupt a fine-tuned balance between the different SREs. Normally, pseudoexon inclusion is suppressed by a hnRNP A1 binding exonic splicing silencer (ESS). When the c.903+469T>C mutation is present two ESEs abrogate the activity of the ESS and promote pseudoexon inclusion. Blocking the 3′splice site or the ESEs by SSOs is effective in restoring normal splicing of minigenes and endogenous MTRR transcripts in patient cells. By employing an SSO complementary to both ESEs, we were able to rescue MTRR enzymatic activity in patient cells to approximately 50% of that in controls. We show that several point mutations, individually, can activate a pseudoexon, illustrating that this mechanism can occur more frequently than previously expected. Moreover, we demonstrate that SSO blocking of critical ESEs is a promising strategy to treat the increasing number of activated pseudoexons.


The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the World Health Organization concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Dotted lines on maps represent approximate border lines for which there may not yet be full agreement. The mention of specifi c companies or of certain manufacturers' products does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by the World Health Organization in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. Errors and omissions excepted, the names of proprietary products are distinguished by initial capital letters. The World Health Organization does not warrant that the information contained in this publication is complete and correct and shall not be liable for any damages incurred as a result of its use. The views expressed in this document do not necessarily refl ect the stated policy of the World Health Organization.


In this chapter we survey the voluminous literature on migration affecting trade and the somewhat less developed literature linking aid flows to migration. We aim to guide the reader through the two literatures, highlighting key contributions and identifying important lines of enquiry. Simmering below the surface of both literatures is the issue of causation. Given the macroeconomic nature of the global flows under examination and the numerous direct and indirect links that potentially exist between them, establishing causality proves particularly problematic and is thus an issue that we pay close attention to throughout. The evidence from the trade and migration literature, in which causality has been more concretely established, suggests an almost ubiquitous positive effect of migration on trade, although exceptions exist; this suggests that richer data might be required to delve even deeper into the trade-migration nexus. While policymakers often wish that aid reduced migration, the literature suggests the opposite - namely that aid increases emigration. The mechanism has yet to be resolutely established in this literature, however, which suggests a need for future research.


Geometrical phase or the fourth generation (4G) optics enables realization of optical components (lenses, prisms, gratings, spiral phase plates, etc.) by patterning the optical axis orientation in the plane of thin anisotropic films. Such components exhibit near 100% diffraction efficiency over a broadband of wavelengths. The films are obtained by coating liquid crystalline (LC) materials over substrates with patterned alignment conditions. Photo-anisotropic materials are used for producing desired alignment conditions at the substrate surface. We present and discuss here an opportunity of producing the widest variety of "free-form" 4G optical components with arbitrary spatial patterns of the optical anisotropy axis orientation with the aid of a digital spatial light polarization converter (DSLPC). The DSLPC is based on a reflective, high resolution spatial light modulator (SLM) combined with an "ad hoc" optical setup. The most attractive feature of the use of a DSLPC for photoalignment of nanometer thin photo-anisotropic coatings is that the orientation of the alignment layer, and therefore of the fabricated LC or LC polymer (LCP) components can be specified on a pixel-by-pixel basis with high spatial resolution. By varying the optical magnification or de-magnification the spatial resolution of the photoaligned layer can be adjusted to an optimum for each application. With a simple "click" it is possible to record different optical components as well as arbitrary patterns ranging from lenses to invisible labels and other transparent labels that reveal different images depending on the side from which they are viewed.


We present the first method that automatically transfers poses between stylized 3D characters without skeletal rigging. In contrast to previous attempts to learn pose transformations on fixed or topology-equivalent skeleton templates, our method focuses on a novel scenario to handle skeleton-free characters with diverse shapes, topologies, and mesh connectivities. The key idea of our method is to represent the characters in a unified articulation model so that the pose can be transferred through the correspondent parts. To achieve this, we propose a novel pose transfer network that predicts the character skinning weights and deformation transformations jointly to articulate the target character to match the desired pose. Our method is trained in a semi-supervised manner absorbing all existing character data with paired/unpaired poses and stylized shapes. It generalizes well to unseen stylized characters and inanimate objects. We conduct extensive experiments and demonstrate the effectiveness of our method on this novel task.


OBJECTIVE
Acupuncture has become an important provider-based complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatment. To improve understanding of its role in personal health care, an analysis of national data was conducted to examine user sociodemographics, conditions treated, and the relationship of use with conventional Western medical care.

DESIGN
A nationally representative cross-sectional survey.

SETTING
The 2002 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), conducted in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

PARTICIPANTS
Thirty-one-thousand and forty-four (31,044) adults who completed the NHIS Sample Adult Core.

OUTCOME MEASURES
The primary outcome measure was recent use of acupuncture, defined as use within the previous 12 months.

RESULTS
In the 2002 NHIS sample, 4.1% of the respondents reported lifetime use, and 1.1% (representing 2.13 million Americans) reported recent use of acupuncture. Recent use (n = 327) was positively associated with being an Asian female, living in the West or Northeast, having poorer self-reported health status, a higher level of education, and being an ex-smoker. Among recent users, the most typical treatment regimen was two to four treatments (34.5%), with musculoskeletal complaints being the most frequently reported conditions, led by back pain (34.0%). Reports of perceived benefit were generally high. Respondents indicated that acupuncture was used both as an alternative and as a complementary therapy. A reasonable number also reported being referred to acupuncture by a conventional medical professional (25.3%). The cross-sectional nature of the data precluded analysis of transitions in health care use (between conventional and CAM treatments) over time.

CONCLUSIONS
Utilization of acupuncture was somewhat lower than expected given its significant national and international recognition and its visibility in the media. This may in part be a function of provider availability and cultural factors.


A passively mode-locked grown-together composite YVO4/Nd:YVO4 crystal laser is demonstrated with a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror by 880-nm laser-diode direct pumping. Under the absorbed pump power of 24.9 W, a maximum output power of 10.5 W at the repetition rate of 77 MHz is obtained, corresponding to the optical-optical conversion efficiency of 42.1% and the slope efficiency of 53.4%. The pulse width measured is 33 ps at the output power of 10 W.