Beta-glucuronidase (βG) is a potential biomarker for cancer diagnosis and prodrug therapy. The ability to image βG activity in patients would assist in personalized glucuronide prodrug cancer therapy. However, whole-body imaging of βG activity for medical usage is not yet available. Here, we developed a radioactive βG activity–based trapping probe for positron emission tomography (PET). We generated a 124I-tyramine–conjugated difluoromethylphenol beta-glucuronide probe (TrapG) to form 124I-TrapG that could be selectively activated by βG for subsequent attachment of 124I-tyramine to nucleophilic moieties near βG-expressing sites. We estimated the specificity of a fluorescent FITC-TrapG, the cytotoxicity of tyramine-TrapG, and the serum half-life of 124I-TrapG. βG targeting of 124I-TrapG in vivo was examined by micro-PET. The biodistribution of 131I-TrapG was investigated in different organs. Finally, we imaged the endogenous βG activity and assessed its correlation with therapeutic efficacy of 9-aminocamptothecin glucuronide (9ACG) prodrug in native tumors. FITC-TrapG showed specific trapping at βG-expressing CT26 (CT26/mβG) cells but not in CT26 cells. The native TrapG probe possessed low cytotoxicity. 124I-TrapG preferentially accumulated in CT26/mβG but not CT26 cells. Meanwhile, micro-PET and whole-body autoradiography results demonstrated that 124I-TrapG signals in CT26/mβG tumors were 141.4-fold greater than in CT26 tumors. Importantly, Colo205 xenografts in nude mice that express elevated endogenous βG can be monitored by using infrared glucuronide trapping probes (NIR-TrapG) and suppressed by 9ACG prodrug treatment. 124I-TrapG exhibited low cytotoxicity allowing long-term monitoring of βG activity in vivo to aid in the optimization of prodrug targeted therapy. Mol Cancer Ther; 13(12); 2852–63. ©2014 AACR.


The role of nano-electronic systems is rapidly expanding in every facet of modern life. Testing the analog, mixed-signal, and RF (AMS/RF) functions of such systems is considered one of the major bottlenecks and is an area of focus and innovation. Testing is required both in post-manufacturing to guarantee outgoing quality while not sacrificing yield and during the lifetime of operation to detect early reliability hazards and obtain feedback so as to apply corrective actions and continue uninterrupted operation. This talk will cover (a) applications of machine learning and data mining in testing aiming at implicitly predicting AMS/RF performances from low-cost measurements with high confidence; (b) integrated design-for-test and built-in self-test techniques for AMS/RF circuits aiming at reducing the cost of test, facilitating self-calibration and self-healing, and performing on-line test towards achieving fault tolerance; (c) probabilistic test metrics estimation (e.g. defect coverage and yield loss) aiming at evaluating alternative low-cost test solutions during the test development phase before moving to high-volume production; and (d) fault diagnosis for AMS/RF functions aiming at identifying the source of system failure down to transistor level and, thereby, providing feedback for yield enhancement and for avoiding failure reoccurrence. The concepts and methodologies will be demonstrated on industry data sets and on measurements from fabricated circuits.


Preliminary study was carried out to determine the suitable fish valualy to be added
in the biscuit formulations, Sciaenidae (Sin croaker) and Carangidae (Shortfin scad).
Based on physicochemical analysis and sensory evaluation, Sin croaker was chosen
for the study because of the mild flavor of fish. Basic formulation of biscuit was
developed by addition of Sin croaker powder and yam powder. A biscuit with
proportion of 9% fish powder and 7% yam powder were found to be the best
formulation of fish-yam biscuit through a sensory evaluation. Evaluation of small
deformation of biscuit dough revealed that, the storage modulus and loss modulus
increased with increase in frequency. The gradients n of the plot of log G' versus log
frequency showed that the dough with 9% fish and 7% yam were the highest
indicating that the interactions between fish and yam with other ingredients in biscuit
dough were the lowest. Determination of texture indicated that there were textural
changes in dough and biscuit baked with addition of fish and yam powder in
formulation. The results showed that the hardness of dough decreased as the
proportion of fish powder in formulations was increased. On the contrary, other
parameters of dough increased when the addition of fish powder in dough increased.
Meanwhile, hardness, fracturability and breaking point of baked biscuit decreased as
the proportion of fish powder in formulation increased. Similarly, the addition of
yam powder in dough formulation results increases in hardness, adhesiveness,
springiness and cohesiveness of dough. Furthermore, increasing the amount of yam
powder in the formulations will increased the hardness, fracturability and breaking
point of the biscuits. Evaluation of correlation between dough and biscuit with
different proportion of fish powder showed hardness of the dough highly positively
correlated with hardness, breaking point and fracturability of final baked biscuit.
However, evaluation of correlation between dough and biscuit with addition of
different amount of yam powder showed that hardness of dough positively correlated
with hardness and breaking point of final baked biscuit. The findings in this study
revealed that, biscuit with addition of fish and yam was acceptable. Biscuit
developed in this study will increase the usage of fish and yam and also could
provide biscuit with high nutritional value.


The debate over staggered boards is heating up, largely because of the appearance of novel studies—including our own prior research—that challenge the results of earlier works documenting a negative impact of staggered boards on firm value. Meanwhile, a third way has appeared in this debate. In a recent article in the University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Settling the Staggered Board Debate, Professors Amihud, Schmid, and Davidoff Solomon (ASDS) purport to settle this debate, arguing that neither the position in favor or against staggered boards "has empirical support and, on average, a staggered board has no significant effect on firm value." This Essay addresses the ASDS study and shows that the staggered board debate is very much alive rather than settled. It does so in two ways. First, it shows that our prior result that the adoption of a staggered board is associated with a positive increase in firm value is robust to the criticism in ASDS. Second, this Essay shows that ASDS's conclusion that staggered boards have no significant association with firm value is based on statistical tests that have "poor power," that is, tests that are unlikely to find a robust association even if such association is actually supported by the data. In contrast, the tests that indicate that our earlier results are robust have both much better statistical power and good "size," making it unlikely that we can find a positive association between staggered boards and firm value if no such association exists in the data.


Background : Aggressive periodontitis is associated with the presence of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans , a leukotoxin (Ltx)-producing periodontal pathogen. Ltx has the ability to lyse white blood cells including neutrophils. Objectives : This study was aimed at investigating the interactions between neutrophils and Ltx with regard to the chemotactic properties of Ltx and the release of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). Methods : Neutrophils from healthy blood donors were isolated and incubated for 30 min and 3 h with increasing concentrations of Ltx (1, 10, and 100 ng/mL) as well as with A. actinomycetemcomitans strains (NCTC 9710 and HK 1651) producing different levels of Ltx. Formation of NETs and cell lysis were assessed by microscopy, fluorescence-based assays, and measurement of released lactate dehydrogenase. Neutrophil migration in response to different Ltx gradients was monitored by real-time video microscopy, and image analysis was performed using ImageJ software. Results : Although Ltx (10 and 100 ng/mL) and the leukotoxic A. actinomycetemcomitans strain HK 1651 lysed some neutrophils, other cells were still capable of performing NETosis in a concentration-dependent manner. Low doses of Ltx and the weakly leukotoxic strain NCTC 9710 did not lead to neutrophil lysis, but did induce some NETosis. Furthermore, all three concentrations of Ltx enhanced random neutrophil movement; however, low directional accuracy was observed compared with the positive control (fMLP). Conclusions : The results indicate that Ltx acts both as a neutrophil activator and also causes cell death. In addition, Ltx directly induces NETosis in neutrophils prior to cell lysis. In future studies, the underlying pathways involved in Ltx-meditated neutrophil activation and NETosis need to be investigated further.


One of the most complex configuration to model in detail, both in the dynamic simulation of buildings and in the analytical quasi steady-state calculations, is the thermal dispersion through the walls and the floor in contact with the ground. The problem consists in determining the boundary conditions of the external wall surface directly exposed to the soil, whose temperature cannot be considered undisturbed. Different studies, both experimental and numerical, have been carried out in the last decades in order to determine the ground boundary conditions, some of which have been used to elaborate the technical standard EN ISO 13370. This standard gives some indications about the conditions to be considered in the use of quasi steady-state methods and within the dynamic simulation. The evaluation of the simulation software in the specific context of the ground heat transmission, has also driven the IEA to define a specific series of validation cases, the BESTEST In-depth ground coupled heat transfer tests. The present research aim is to test implement reliable calculation procedures for the thermal dispersion through the building envelope towards the ground, in dynamic simulation modelling systems. In this work, a test case of the EN ISO 13370 standard has been modelled with FEM codes, both in steady-state conditions and also in periodic external conditions. Different types of floor have been considered, with different thickness and position of the insulation layer. The results have been compared with those calculated following the prescriptions of the standard EN ISO 13370.


Sinemurian ostracodes from the Lusitanian Basin (western Portugal, Iberian Peninsula) were studied using twelve samples from the marl-limestone succession of the Coimbra Formation at S. Pedro de Moel, north of Lisbon. The detailed taxonomical study identified 11 genera and 14 species, among which 3 are new species: Phraterfabanella boomeri Cabral and Colin n. sp., Klieana? coimbraensis Cabral and Colin n. sp. and "Klinglerella" roselinae Cabral and Colin n. sp.. The recognized ostracode species are particularly similar to those described from the uppermostHettangian-Sinemurian offshore Southwest Ireland (Fastnet Basin) and France (Normandy, Central France and Quercy). Overall, the assemblages include four brackish species (one clearly dominant) and ten marine species. The paleoecological analysis of the assemblages allowed a detailed paleoenvironmental reconstruction, reflecting frequent variations from brackish to restricted marine to slightly more open marine settings, which is supported by sedimentological and other paleontological data.


BACKGROUND
During the initial phases of the vaccination campaign worldwide, nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) remained pivotal in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. In this context, it is important to understand how the arrival of vaccines affected the adoption of NPIs. Indeed, some individuals might have seen the start of mass vaccination campaigns as the end of the emergency and, as a result, relaxed their COVID-safe behaviors, facilitating the spread of the virus in a delicate epidemic phase such as the initial rollout.

OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to collect information about the possible relaxation of protective behaviors following key events of the vaccination campaign in four countries and to analyze possible associations of these behavioral tendencies with the sociodemographic characteristics of participants.

METHODS
We developed an online survey named "COVID-19 Prevention and Behavior Survey" that was conducted between November 26 and December 22, 2021. Participants were recruited using targeted ads on Facebook in four different countries: Brazil, Italy, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. We measured the onset of relaxation of protective measures in response to key events of the vaccination campaign, namely personal vaccination and vaccination of the most vulnerable population. Through calculation of odds ratios (ORs) and regression analysis, we assessed the strength of association between compliance with NPIs and sociodemographic characteristics of participants.

RESULTS
We received 2263 questionnaires from the four countries. Participants reported the most significant changes in social activities such as going to a restaurant or the cinema and visiting relatives and friends. This is in good agreement with validated psychological models of health-related behavioral change such as the Health Belief Model, according to which activities with higher costs and perceived barriers (eg, social activities) are more prone to early relaxation. Multivariate analysis using a generalized linear model showed that the two main determinants of the drop of social NPIs were (1) having previously tested positive for COVID-19 (after the second vaccine dose: OR 2.46, 95% CI 1.73-3.49) and (2) living with people at risk (after the second vaccine dose: OR 1.57, 95% CI 1.22-2.03).

CONCLUSIONS
This work shows that particular caution has to be taken during vaccination campaigns. Indeed, people might relax their safe behaviors regardless of the dynamics of the epidemic. For this reason, it is crucial to maintain high compliance with NPIs to avoid hindering the beneficial effects of the vaccine.


Recent investigations have focused on the potential role of gastrointestinal (GI) abnormalities in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). The 'dual-hit' hypothesis of PD speculates that a putative pathogen enters the brain via two routes: the olfactory system and the GI system. Here, we investigated (1) whether local exposures of the neurotoxin rotenone in the gut or the brain of mice could induce PD-like neurological and GI phenotypes as well as a characteristic neuropathology in accordance with this 'dual-hit hypothesis' and (2) the effects of a diet containing uridine and fish oil providing docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), in both models. Mice were given rotenone either orally or by an injection in the striatum. Dietary interventions were started 1 week before rotenone exposures. We found that (1) both oral and intrastriatal administration of rotenone induced similar PD-like motor deficits, dopaminergic cell loss, delayed intestinal transit, inflammation, and alpha-synuclein accumulation in the colon; (2) the uridine and DHA containing diet prevented rotenone-induced motor and GI dysfunctions in both models. The models suggest possible bidirectional communication between the gut and the brain for the genesis of PD-like phenotype and pathology. The dietary intervention may provide benefits in the prevention of motor and non-motor symptoms in PD.


The aim of this study was to compare the effect of the topical application of co-amoxiclav gel with placebo in the treatment of adult periodontitis by conducting clinical, microbiological and radiologic measurements. A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial design was employed. Subjects were12 patients with adult periodontitis divided into two control and experimental groups both initially received subgingivalscaling and root planning therapy.Clinical, microbiological andradiologic examinations were carried out before treatment and on days 15, 45, and 90 after gel treatment in the experimental group. Radiographic analysis was performed using Trophy radiovisiography (RVG) system determining bone density and bone loss in the study sites. Paired-t test, Wilcoxon matched-pairs test, and binominal test were used for statistical analysis. The statistical analyses showed that both treatments were effective in reducing PPD and BOP over the 3-month period.At the end of follow-up period, the mean reduction in PPD and BOP were1.71 mm and 54.83%, respectively.The increase in mean of alveolar bone crest density (38.16mm) was statistically significant in gel treatment (p<0.03) but it was not significant in placebo group. There was a significant difference between the two treatments with respect to the reduction inproportions of anaerobic gram-negative bacilli during 0-15 and 0-90 day periods. It was concluded that the useof a topically appliedco-amoxciclav 25% gel seems to be effective as aconventionalmechanical therapy in the treatment of adult periodontitis.


The laws of thirty eight states expand the age of health care insurance coverage for dependent children according to a report just released by Rutgers University researchers [2]. These policies are appealing to state policymakers as young adults, 19 to 29 years, are more likely to lack health insurance coverage than any other age group. The report analysis found a small increase in coverage of young adults as dependents, but also showed declines in other sources of coverage, resulting in a finding that these laws did not decrease the likelihood of young adults being uninsured. The authors urge lawmakers to consider states' experience when considering expanding dependent coverage in either federal or state law.


As less developed countries experience lower fertility, the age/parity distribution of
pregnancies may shift. While these shifts may affect maternal mortality levels, their exact
impact remains largely unknown. The aim of this thesis is to quantify the impact of fertility
changes on maternal mortality.
First, the literature was systemically reviewed for the strength of association between
maternal age/parity and the maternal mortality ratio. Second, a retrospective cohort study
utilised data from Matlab, Bangladesh to investigate the relationship between maternal
age/gravidity and the pregnancy-related mortality ratio (PRMRatio) using logistic regressions.
Lastly, the impact of observed (in Matlab) and theoretical shifts in childbearing composition on
pregnancy-related mortality indicators was modelled using a compartmental model.
The systematic review, including 62 studies, found that the risk of maternal death was higher
for very young adolescents, older women and nulliparas. However, it was difficult to
disentangle the confounding effect of age and parity.
The retrospectivec ohort study found that the odds of pregnancy-relatedd eath was four times
higher for women at the extreme maternal ages, even after adjustment for confounders,
including gravidity. Nulligravidas were at increased risk of pregnancy-related death (adjusted
OR=1.63, Cl: 1.24-2.16), but multigravidas were not. The adverse effect of first pregnancies
was more pronounced for older women.
The compartmental model suggests that the fertility decline in Matlab between 1983-1993 and
2000-2005 accounted for a 30% reduction in the pregnancy-related mortality rate (PRMRate).
However, it made no contribution to the reduction in the PRMRatio observed during this
period.
Reducing or eliminating pregnancies at extreme ages and high gravidity could reduce the
PRMRatio by 1-17% and the PRMRate by 1-50%. If all women had a maximum of one
pregnancy each, the PRMRate would decrease by 74%. However, the PRMRatio would increase
by 32% due to higher risk of first pregnancies.
Fertility changes have limited impact on maternal mortality ratios, but can have substantial
effect on the maternal mortality rate.


This paper reports the findings of an exploratory study of engineering students' perceptions of reflection and independent learning before and after taking a mandatory technical communication course titled Professional and Technical Oral Communication for Engineers in their first semester of study at a university in Hong Kong. Three kinds of research instruments were used to generate data for analyses: preand post-questionnaire surveys, semi-structured interviews, and students' reflection and self-access records. The study's findings show encouraging results in three ways: (1) the course participants were generally receptive to the ideas of reflection and independent learning in the context of technical communication; (2) those who had had prior experience in reflection and independent learning continued to appreciate the value they brought to learning; and (3) the course participants' pre-conception that reflection and independent learning were only 'one-man shows' was changed and they began to value the involvement of their 'significant social others' in these learning pursuits. Index Terms – Independent learning, reflection, technical communication


Kevin De Ornellas argues that in Renaissance England the relationship between horse and rider works as an unambiguous symbol of domination by the strong over the weak. There was little sentimental concern for animal welfare, leading to the routine abuse of the material animal. This unproblematic, practical exploitation of the horse led to the currency of the horse/rider relationship as a trope or symbol of exploitation in the literature of the period. Engaging with fiction, plays, poems, and non-fictional prose works of late Tudor and early Stuart England, De Ornellas demonstrates that the horse – a bridled, unwilling slave – becomes a yardstick against which the oppression of England's poor, women, increasingly uninfluential clergyman, and deluded gamblers is measured. The status of the bitted, harnessed horse was a low one in early modern England – to be compared to such a beast is a demonstration of inferiority and subjugation. To think anything else is to be naive about the realities of horse management in the period – and is to be naive about the realities of the exploitation of horses and other mammals in the present-day world.


Plant growth rate has frequently been associated with herbivore defence : a large investment in quantitative defence compounds occurs at the expense of growth. We tested whether such a relationship also holds for growth rate and pathogen resistance. For 15 radish (Raphanus sativus L.) cultivars, we determined the potential growth rate and the resistance to fungal wilt disease caused by Fusarium oxysporum. We subsequently aimed to explain a putative negative relationship between growth rate and resistance based on plant chemical composition. Both growth rate and resistance level varied greatly among cultivars. Moreover, there was a strong negative correlation between growth rate and resistance, i.e. there are costs associated with a high resistance level. Roots of slow-growing, resistant cultivars have a higher biomass density. Using pyrolysis mass spectrometry, we partly explained variation in both growth rate and resistance in terms of the same change in chemical composition. Leaves of slow-growing, resistant cultivars contained more cell wall material. Surprisingly, roots of slow-growing, highly resistant cultivars contained significantly less cell wall material, and more cytoplasmic elements (proteins). We speculate that this higher protein concentration is related to high construction and turn-over costs and high metabolic activity. The latter in turn is thought to be responsible for a rapid and adequate resistance reaction, in which phenols may be involved.


In the 1990s, several states adopted community rating to improve perceived inefficiencies in their nongroup health insurance markets. Using data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation, Lo Sasso and Lurie find that community rating was associated with older, unhealthier individuals being more likely to be covered by nongroup health insurance. By contrast, among younger, healthier individuals, community rating was associated with a reduction in the likelihood of being covered by nongroup insurance. Conversely, they find that community rating was associated with a rise in uninsurance rates for younger, healthier individuals and a reduction in uninsurance rates for older, unhealthier individuals. The results suggest that the enrollees as a group were sicker after community rating was implemented. The authors also find evidence of insurers trying to alter their products to regain a measure of risk selection ability after community rating eliminated medical underwriting as a market segmentation tool. They find that HMO penetration in the nongroup market increased disproportionately in states that implemented community rating relative to states that did not.


Background : The composition and activities of indigenous intestinal microbiota are of paramount importance to human immunity, nutrition, and pathological processes, and hence, the health of the individual. It is well established that the intestine is an important site for local immunity. It is known that the effect of probiotics increases beneficial microbiota and improves chronic conditions such as atopic diseases, irritable bowel disease, and obesity. However, as there are so many probiotics, it is unknown which probiotics might have more of an impact upon intestinal microbiota. Objective : To understand how two different types of probiotics influence human intestinal microbiota, we analyzed human fecal microbiota after taking each of the probiotics. Methods : Five outpatients from Yoko Clinic (1 male and 4 females; aged between 34–46 years old) were enrolled in this study. None of the subjects had cancer or any active inflammatory diseases. The five patients took Lactobacillus buchneri (SU) for 4 weeks, no probiotics the following week, and mixed probiotics (NS) which are Lactobacillus plantarum (NS-5), Lactobacillus rhamnosus (NS-11), Lactobacillus delbruekii (NS-12), Lactobacillus helveticus (NS-8), Lactobacillus fermentum (NS-9) for the following 4 weeks. Fecal samples were collected before and after the outpatients took each of the two probiotics, and were then analyzed using a kit from Techno Suruga Laboratory Co., Ltd. The analysis of the microbiota was performed by targeting bacterial 16S rRNA genes with a terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis program (Nagashima method). Results : Three patients of the five patients decreased the percentage of beneficial bacteria ( Lactobacillales , Bifidobacteria ) after taking SU (13.7 ± 7.1% to 4.0 ± 3.5%), whereas the remaining two patients showed an increased percentage of beneficial bacteria (16.8 ± 3.4% to 30.4 ± 4.6%). After taking NS, the three patients who decreased the percentage of beneficial bacteria after taking SU increased their beneficial bacteria (4.0 ± 3.5% to 8.0 ± 2.1%), whereas the two patients who increased beneficial bacteria after taking SU showed a decreased percentage of beneficial bacteria (30.4 ± 4.6% to 16.4 ± 7.4%). Conclusion : This study demonstrated that the two probiotics had different influences. Probiotics should be selected not only for their quality but also for compatibility with each intestinal bacterial flora. Key words : probiotics, intestine, microbiota


Landslide had long been regarded as one of the major geohazard in Sabah. Intense tropical climate of the region act as a catalyst that speed up the weathering process
resulting in the decreasing resistance in rock mass and the formation of clay. Clay mineral in soil is a product of weathering process that contributes to the occurrence
of landslides because of their properties. Due to constant heavy downpour that acts as the main triggering factor, it causes a decrease in strength of soil. The objective
of the study is to determine the effects of moisture and clay minerals on the strength of soil. The research area is located along Kota Belud - Ranau Road in Tamparuli, Sabah. The study area is underlain prominently by Crocker Formation
aged from Late Eocene to Early Miocene. Soil of the area is a weathering product from the exposed sedimentary rock formation known as Crocker, the alternating different lithology of this formation from one sampling station to another reflects the diversity in terms of engineering properties. Moisture data obtained from the Proctor Compaction Test was applied using the manipulation of Unconfined Compression Test by treating the samples with S% of increment and decrement of moisture from the optimum moisture content. The analysis yielded the strength of
soil ranges from 49.S kPa to 114.5 kPa for optimum moisture, 12.5 kPa to 50 kPa for 5% increment and 77 kPa to 222 kPa for 5% decrement. The term Compressive Strength Difference is introduce in this research, it is defined as the percentage of compressive strength difference of the manipulated samples to its compressive strength at optimum moisture. Sample with clayey material scored 75%, the
highest percentage of compressive strength difference loss when treated with 5% increase of moisture. Whilst, sample with sandy material scored 145%, the highest percentage of compressive strength difference gain when treated with 5% decrease of moisture. Clay mineral analysis was executed by X-Ray Diffraction Analysis (XRD) and yielded clay minerals such as halloysite, montmorillonite, illite-montmorillonite
and illite, which are Significant in all the samples. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) observation shows Illite, illite-montmorillonite and montmorillonite is often observed and characterized by their unique features. It is concluded that engineering properties of soil in the study area provide variety of results and this mainly controlled by the type of soil. This research shows that effect of moisture
and clay mineral to the properties of the sample has a direct impact on the compressive strength of soil


The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the short-run and long-run impact of financial deepening on inflation in Nigeria from 1980 to 2012 using open economy model. Data was collected from Central Bank of Nigeria Statistical Bulletin (2012) and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Volume index. The study employed the use of Auto-regressive Distributed Lag Model (coefficient Diagnostic Wald test and Variance Decomposition Test), to enable us achieve our objectives. The result shows that import volume index (IMPV) and exchange rate (EXCR) in lags 1 & 2 respectively are significant to explain variations in the consumer price index (CPI) in the short-run while all other variable have no significant impact on CPI. Also the short –run result indicates that financial deepening variables; MS2/GDP ratio (Fd1) and PSC/GDP ratio (Fd2) have no significant impact on consumer price index. While in the long-run, import volume index (impv), prime lending rate (prim) and exchange rate (excr) are significant with P-values of 0.0002, 0.0017 and 0.0010 respectively.  The coefficients of FD1(-1)  and FD2(-1) designated with C(16) and C(17) was tested together using Wald Coefficient Diagnostic Test to see the impact of financial depth on the price level, and the result indicates a positive and significant impact of financial deepening on Consumer Price Index (CPI).  Meaning that, increase in money supply to GDP ratio (MS2/GDP) and private sector credit to GDP ratio (PSC/GDP) together generated consequent increases in price. The variance decomposition test indicates that shocks to FD1 can rarely cause variation in price level while shocks to PSC/GDP ratio (FD2) can cause variations in prices more than any other variable both in the short-run and long – run. Standing on our findings, appropriate monetary and exchange rate policies should be ensured as Nigeria move towards achieving her financial depth goals by the year 2020. Keywords: financial deepening, Money supply, Private sector credit, Real Gross Domestic Product, Autoregressive model, inflation, Classical Economics, financial Development.


Despite the resurgence of music video clips in the YouTube era, they have not received attention as a specific subject of inquiry in either cultural or urban geography. This article is aimed at providing a full consideration of music videos with a focus on the urban realm. In particular, the paper concentrates on how neoliberal iconic buildings and city skylines emerge in music videos by using London as a case study. Drawing from recent developments within architectural geography and urban morphology, as well as in the geocultural subfields of music geography, media geography and film geography, the paper shows how a partial return to critical traditional interests and text-based research styles could be still useful to appreciate the mutable, fluid, and affective ways in which skylines are mediated. The empirical part of the paper provides an analysis of three music videos set in London and with lyrics and music that refer to a mood or feeling ascribed to London's iconic architecture.1


In this paper, a number of problems of conventional automated software engineering support environments are described. These problems are related to the functional approach these environments take, the lack of initiative these systems exhibit and the causal connection gap between design information and the operational entity. As an alternative, we suggest an autonomous agent approach. Each artifact is modelled as an autonomous agent that is responsible for its own development. Artifacts are organised in specialisation hierarchies which can be traversed by agents. As a consequence, the methodology needs to be inverted, i.e. specified from the artifact's perspective rather than from the software engineer's perspective.


Abstract. Ecosystem responses to a changing climate and human-induced climate forcings (e.g. deforestation) might amplify (positive feedback) or dampen (negative feedback) the initial climate response. Feedbacks may include the biogeochemical (e.g. carbon cycle) and biogeophysical feedbacks (e.g. albedo and hydrological cycle). Here, we first review the most important feedbacks and put them into the context of a conceptual framework, including the major processes and interactions between terrestrial ecosystems and climate. We explore potential regional feedbacks in four hot spots with pronounced potential changes in land-use/management and local climate: sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), Europe, the Amazon Basin and South and Southeast Asia. For each region, the relevant human-induced climate forcings and feedbacks were identified based on published literature. When evapotranspiration is limited by a soil water deficit, heat waves in Europe are amplified (positive soil moisture-temperature feedback). Drought events in the Amazon lead to further rainfall reduction when water recycling processes are affected (positive soil moisture-precipitation feedback). In SSA, the adoption of irrigation in the commonly rainfed systems can modulate the negative soil moisture-temperature feedback. In contrast, future water shortage in South and Southeast Asia can turn the negative soil moisture-temperature feedback into a positive one. Further research including advanced modeling strategies is needed to isolate the dominant processes affecting the strength and sign of the feedbacks. In addition, the socio-economic dimension needs to be considered in the ecosystems-climate system to include the essential role of human decisions on land-use and land-cover change (LULCC). In this context, enhanced integration between Earth System (ES) and Integrated Assessment (IA) modeling communities is strongly recommended.


The precipitation of the y', y" and 6 phases in a spray-formed version of IN 7 18 has been studied by hardness measurement and metallographic examination of samples subjected to solution treatment at 1025°C followed by isothermal treatments between 620 and 1010°C up to 100 h. The precipitation processes were compared to those in a wrought (ring-rolled) version of the alloy subjected to the same heat treatments. Time-temperature-hardness diagrams for the two alloys were constructed. Small differences were observed between the two materials but these can at least partly be attributed to differences in composition. For the spray-cast material the &phase solvus temperature was determined and the growth kinetics of the y" phase established Suprralloys 71 8 . 625. 706 and Various Der ivat i~cs Edited b) E..-\. Loria TLIS (Thc Minerals. hletals LP: ~ ~ l a t r r i a l s Societ>,). 2001


We present a novel form of explanation for Reinforcement Learning, based around the notion of intended outcome. These explanations describe the outcome an agent is trying to achieve by its actions. We provide a simple proof that general methods for post-hoc explanations of this nature are impossible in traditional reinforcement learning. Rather, the information needed for the explanations must be collected in conjunction with training the agent. We derive approaches designed to extract local explanations based on intention for several variants of Q-function approximation and prove consistency between the explanations and the Q-values learned. We demonstrate our method on multiple reinforcement learning problems, and provide code to help researchers introspecting their RL environments and algorithms.


The Cell Broadband Engine is a hybrid processor which consists of a Pow- erPC core and eight vector co-processors on a single die. Its unique design poses a number of language design and implementation challenges. To begin exploring these challenges, we have ported the Transterpreter to the Cell Broadband Engine. The Transterpreter is a small, portable runtime for concurrent languages and can be used as a platform for experimenting with language concepts. This paper describes a pre- liminary attempt at porting the Transterpreter runtime to the Cell Broadband Engine and explores ways to program it using a concurrent language.


The downstream of tyrosine kinase (Dok) protein family has seven members, Dok 1-7.
The precise role of these proteins is not entirely clear although some authors have suggested a potential tumour suppressor role. The aims of this clinically oriented PhD were to determine the expression profile and role of DOK7 in human colorectal cancer, to determine whether DOK7 expression is associated with tumour pathology and clinical outcome data, to determine the functional role of DOK7 in colorectal cancer cells and to evaluate DOK7 coordinated cell signalling in colorectal cancer.
Initial work revealed that DOK7 mRNA expression is significantly reduced in colorectal cancer tissue compared with normal colorectal tissue and is associated with overall survival in patients with colorectal cancer. DOK7 is variably expressed in colorectal cancer cell lines with high expression in HRT-18 cells and low expression in HT-115 and RKO cells. Difficulties in obtaining DOK7 knockdown and expression subsequently revealed that DOK7 has several splice variants coding for different isoforms. Further work investigating DOK7 variants 1-3 (DOK7V1-3) revealed that DOK7V1 mRNA expression is significantly reduced in colorectal cancer tissue compared with normal colorectal tissue and is associated with disease-free status and length of diseasefree survival. In contrast, DOK7V2 and DOK7V3 mRNA expression is significantly increased in colorectal cancer tissue compared with normal colorectal tissue.
Functional assays using a DOK7V2 overexpression model did not show a significant difference in colorectal cancer cell growth, adhesion or invasion in RKO DOK7V2 overexpression cells compared to the control cell line. However, antibody based protein microarray revealed that DOK7V2 overexpression is associated with significant changes in the expression and phosphorylation (activation) of numerous proteins in RKO cells. Cell signalling pathways potentially implicated include PI-3K-Akt, mTOR, MAPK, Jak/STAT and angiogenesis signalling pathways.
Our findings suggest that DOK7 plays an important role in colorectal carcinogenesis and that DOK7 isoforms may ply different and possibly opposing roles. Protein microarray data provides a number of potential avenues for further work to elucidate the interaction of Dok7 with other cell signalling proteins and may help identify future potential therapeutic targets.


Launius, Roger D., and David H. DeVorkin, editors. Hubble's Legacy: Reflections by Those Who Dreamed It, Built It, and Observed the Universe with It. xvi + 220 pages, 78 figures, 2014.—The development and operation of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) have resulted in many rich legacies, most particularly in science and technology—but in culture as well. It is also the first telescope in space that has been utilized as effectively as if it were situated on a mountaintop here on earth, accessible for repair and improvement when needed. This book, which includes contributions from historians of science, key scientists and administrators, and one of the principal astronauts who led many of the servicing missions, is meant to capture the history of this iconic instrument. The book covers three basic phases of HST's history and legacy: (1) conceiving and selling the idea of a large orbiting optical telescope to astronomers, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the U.S. Congress, its creation as the HST, and its definition as a serviceable mission; (2) its launch, the discovery of the flawed mirror, the engineering of the mirror fix, subsequent servicing missions, decisions on upgrades, and the controversy over a "final" servicing mission; and (3) HST's public image after launch—how the mirror fix changed its public image, how the HST then changed the way we visualize the universe, and how the public saved the final HST servicing mission. Collectively, this work offers a measured assessment of the HST and its contributions to science over more than 23 years. It brings together contributions from scholars, engineers, scientists, and astronauts to form an integrated story and to assess the long-term results from the mission.


With smart phones being deployed widely, interactive in-store Mobile Shopping Assistant (MSA) systems can be considered as an effective way for assisting in-store shopping and can become potentially the pervasive personalized services that both consumers and merchant can trust. However, few studies have focused on investigating the adoption of in-store MSA. Therefore, this study examined the consumers' attitude and acceptance toward in-store MSA services under the framework of the technology acceptance model (TAM). The findings imply that attitude, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, environmental variables, perceived quality of the MSA system, social influence, and user satisfaction are some determinant factors. In addition, significant differences exist between female and male consumers.


The visual threshold of the fovea is raised by a surrounding 'glare' ring of bright light. If this is due entirely to scattered light, then the equivalent uniform background that raises the threshold equally will bleach the cone pigments equally. The equivalence of bleaching was measured by two different techniques: retinal densitometry, and the effect on subsequent dark adaptation. Both agree that the background which matches the glare in raising the threshold for foveal cones also matches it (correct to 0.1 log unit) in bleaching the pigment in those same cones.


Abstract Indentation size effects (ISEs) are well known in static indentation of materials that deform by dislocation-based mechanisms. However, whilst instrumented indentation techniques have become rapidly established as a means of determining the near-surface mechanical properties of materials, scratch testing has been much less widely used. Hardness is used in wear models as a proxy for the yield stress, and the design of materials and hard coatings has often sought to exploit size-derived performance enhancements through length-scale engineering. Yet, it is not known directly whether (or not) length-scale effects also apply to scratch (and thus wear) performance at small scales, or what the functional form of this effect is. This work directly demonstrates that there is a lateral size effect (LSE) and shows that there are questions to be answered if the use of hardness as an indicator of wear performance is to remain valid. We report on constant load scratch experiments using a Berkovich indenter on single-crystal, annealed copper, using a range of applied normal forces and compare results from three scratch hardness calculation methods to indentation hardness (ISO 14577:2002) measured on the same sample at the same loads. Scratch tests were performed with the Berkovich indenter aligned either edge forward or face forward to the scratch direction. In all cases, we demonstrate that there is a very significant (approximate factor of two) effect of scratch size (an LSE) on scratch hardness. The results also show that the deformation mechanisms occurring in scratch tests are different to those occurring beneath a static indentation and that different mechanisms dominated for different stylus orientations (face-forward vs. edge-forward orientation). This is, to our knowledge, the first direct demonstration of an LSE akin to the ISE in metallic materials. The results have significant implications for using static indentation as a predictor of deformation during wear processes.


The separating turbulent flow in a plane asymmetric diffuser with 8.5 degrees opening angle is investigated experimentally and computationally. The considered flow case is suitable for fundamental studies of separation, separation control and turbulence modelling. The flow case has been studied in a specially designed wind-tunnel under well controlled conditions. The average velocity and fluctuation fields have been mapped out with stereoscopic particle image velocimetry (PIV). Knowledge of all velocity components allows the study of several quantities of interest in turbulence modelling such as the turbulence kinetic energy, the turbulence anisotropy tensor and the turbulence production rate tensor. Pressures are measured through the diffuser. The measured data will form a reference database which can be used for evaluation of turbulence models and other computational investigations. Time-resolved stereoscopic PIV is used in an investigation of turbulence structures in the flow and their temporal evolution. A comparative study is made where the measured turbulence data are used to evaluate an explicit algebraic Reynolds stress turbulence model (EARSM). A discussion regarding the underlying reasons for the discrepancies found between the experimental and the model results is made. A model for investigations of separation suppression by means of vortex generating devices is presented together with results from the model in the plane asymmetric diffuser geometry. A short article on the importance of negative production-rates of turbulent kinetic energy for the reverse flow region in separated flows is presented. A detailed description of the experimental setup and PIV measurement procedures is given in a technical report.


Abstract An organic carbon (Corg) and sulphur (S) storage inventory for Holocene sediments in the Humber Estuary is established; sources of organic matter and their variation over time are identified, and with chronological control, the importance of estuarine sediments as Corg and S stores is demonstrated. Humber Holocene sediments are grouped into seven widespread environmental facies with statistically significant geochemical data sets: (1) oak-hazel fenwood (OHF); (2) alder carr (AC), appearing as peats in core; (3) river channel muds or sands (Rcm/s); (4) high saltmarsh (HSM); (5) low saltmarsh (LSM); (6) intertidal mudflat (ITMF); and (7) a sandy facies (S). Carbon, nitrogen and sulphur (CNS) abundances show that these facies have diagnostic geochemical signatures and δ13C values for bulk organic matter exhibit a range of average values: −28‰ (terrestrial peats), −27‰ (HSM), and −24.5‰ (ITMF) reflecting the up core transition from terrestrial peats through saltmarshes to more open marine mudflat environments as regional sea-level rose. Chronology and average sedimentation rates are partly constrained by radiocarbon dates; palaeomagnetic techniques helped define discrete sediment packages and discontinuities (time gaps). Although the Humber Holocene sediment record is not continuous, long-term sedimentation rates (about 1 mm a−1) show that sediment accretion kept pace with regional sea-level rise between 6 and 2 cal. ka BP. This sedimentation rate, combined with core evidence to allow a geographic reconstruction of the palaeo-Humber (3–2cal. ka BP), is used to calculate storage values for Corg and S in the various environments of the palaeo-Humber. Comparison of the Corg and S sedimentation and storage terms for the palaeo-Humber with modern values highlights the impacts of reclamation and commercial/urban development in the estuary in the last 300 years. OHF and AC peats, which were the largest Corg and S stores in the palaeo-estuary, are now absent (reclaimed), while saltmarshes are no longer widespread. Conservative calculations show a net decrease in Corg deposition from about 3.2 × 105 tonne in the palaeo-estuary to no more than 2.5 × 103 tonne today, a >99% reduction in potential Corg storage capacity. The total modern yearly S deposition is approximately 2% of its value 2ka ago. Removal of saltmarsh and associated brackish-freshwater wetland suggests that suspended sediment and associated Corg and S are currently bypassing former (Holocene) storage areas and may be impacting North Sea biogeochemical cycling.


This paper proposes a step-by-step approach for developing modular and reusable logic controllers of mechatronic systems. Following that, it presents the results of employing three distributed control methods, including master-slave, peer-to-peer and independent controllers on a pick-and-place robot as a simple showcase of implementing a distributed control system on industrial applications, using the emerged IEC 61499 standard. Moreover, it addresses possibilities and challenges of using each approach.


Abstract. The Great Salt Lake is a modern hypersaline lake, in which an extended modern and ancient microbial sedimentary system has developed. Detailed mapping based on aerial images and field observations can be used to identify non-random distribution patterns of microbial deposits, such as paleoshorelines associated with extensive polygons or fault-parallel alignments. Although it has been inferred that climatic changes controlling the lake level fluctuations explain the distribution of paleoshorelines and polygons, straight microbial deposit alignments may underline a normal fault system parallel to the Wasatch Front. This study is based on observations over a decimetre to kilometre spatial range, resulting in an integrated conceptual model for the controls on the distribution of the microbial deposits. The morphology, size and distribution of these deposits result mainly from environmental changes (i.e. seasonal to long-term water level fluctuations, particular geomorphological heritage, fault-induced processes, groundwater seepage) and have the potential to bring further insights into the reconstruction of paleoenvironments and paleoclimatic changes through time. New radiocarbon ages obtained on each microbial macrofabric described in this study improve the chronological framework and question the lake level variations that are commonly assumed.


OBJECTIVE: To assess whether catheter ablation of fascicular tachycardia can be facilitated by the recording of sharp deflections arising from the mid-septum---inferior apical septum of the left ventricle. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Seven consecutive patients (mean age 29 (range 16-43) years) with ventricular tachycardia originating from the left posterior fascicle underwent electrophysiology study and detailed mapping of endocardial activation. Selection of ablation sites in the last five patients was based on the recording, during left posterior fascicular tachycardia and sinus rhythm, of a discrete potential preceding the earliest ventricular electrogram, which was thought to represent conduction through the posterior fascicle. RESULTS: Patients were treated with low energy direct current or radiofrequency current ablation. The median fluoroscopy and procedure times were 23 (range 6-42) min and 110 (range 50-176) min, respectively. In a follow up period of 4 to 16 months, six patients were asymptomatic and one had minor symptoms. No patient had any change in intraventricular conduction. Similar potentials were also recorded from the left posterobasal septum in three of eight patients who underwent catheter ablation of left free wall accessory pathways. CONCLUSION: Fascicular potentials can be reproducibly recorded in left posterior fascicular tachycardia and may serve as a reliable marker for successful ablation procedures. The relation of these potentials with the substrate of the tachycardia, however, remains obscure.


THE references in the following bibliography from the literature on exceptional children are classified as follows: materials concerned with (i) subnormal, backward, and dull-normal children, (2) behavior and problem cases and dependent children, (3) juvenile delinquency, (4) superior and gifted children, (5) blind and partially seeing children, (6) crippled children, (7) deaf and hard-of-hearing children, (8) delicate children, (9) speech defectives, and (io) general references. The references in the first four of these classifications were compiled and annotated by Dr. Hildreth; those in the remainirig classifications, by Dr. Ingram.


This guide provides a brief bibliography of books with links to Google Books searches of their titles as well as websites and database search results for Fair Use content in books, on the web and in sources found by databases.


The efficiency of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) technique in cattle reproduction is limited by the necessity for additional oocyte activation step before or after the ICSI procedure. Induced activation is required for oocyte to progress beyond the pronuclear stage and subsequent embryo development. Therefore, three experiments were conducted to study the fertilisability and development of oocytes following ICSI. In experiment 1, calcium ionophore A23187 was used to activate oocytes and determine its effect on the subsequent development of oocytes following ICSI. Amongst the treatments, either preor post-oocyte calcium ionophore activation treatment was more effective than a combination of both treatments. In Experiment 2, the status of uncleaved zygotes with or without polar bodies was evaluated following ICSI. The majority of fertilisation and development failures in oocytes with or without polar bodies were related to either the failure of sperm head decondensation and male pronucleus formation despite activation and development of ICSI oocytes. In Experiment 3, the pregnancy rates of recipient dams following transfer of ICSIand in vivo-derived embryos were 25% and 50% respectively. In conclusion, a 5 μM calcium ionophore A23187 treatment before or after ICSI could induce oocytes activation that resulted in pregnancy of recipient dams.


We present a new technique for direct measurements of degenerate two-photon absorption (TPA) spectra of two-photon absorbing materials including non-fluorescent samples. This technique is based on the use of an intense single continuum-generation beam as the coherent whitelight source with specially flattened spectral distribution. The different spectral components of the continuum beam are spatially dispersed and then passed through the sample material along different pathways so that nondegenerate TPA processes among different input spectral components can be avoided. By comparing the input and transmitted continuum spectral distributions, the TPA spectrum for a given sample can be obtained. As an example, the continuous TPA spectrum (from 550 to 1000 nm) is measured for a novel two-photon-absorbing compound (AF-389) which exhibits an extremely high TPA cross-section value of ~1x10-20 cm4/GW, or ~249 GM, around ~800-nm spectral range in femtosecond regime.


The problem raised in the study relates to the eating habits of students and their relations with the body mass index (BMI). The effect of selected sociodemographic variables (sex, place of residence, material status, field of study) on eating habits of the respondents was also analysed. The structure of the Dietary Behaviour Index (DBI) was proposed and its relations to the BMI were established. Material and methods. The study covered 508 students of state and private universities in Poznan (Poland) of whom 73% were female and 27% male. The study used an anonymous questionnaire poll on the basic dietary habits developed on the basis of the Food Pyramid guidelines as well as the Golden Charter of Correct Nutrition. The BMI was calculated on the students' self-reported weight and height. Results. 15% of the participating students are overweight or obese. The distribution of the BMI differs between men and women (p<.000). Particularly unfavourable behaviour was noted in terms of the consumption of legumes (72% of respondents), fish (53%), dairy products (36%), vegetables (29%) and fruit (27%). Beneficial trends relate to the everyday consumption of breakfast (63%), the number of meals per day (59%), limiting the consumption of red meat (59%), including vegetable fats in the daily diet (56%). The difference in the way of eating described by the DBI is related to the field of study (p<.001) as physical education students had the best indicators. Conclusions. In the studied group of students overweight and obesity are not as frequent as in other countries of Western Europe or America. We noted a number of dietary mistakes made by the respondents, which can lead to adverse health consequences in the future. During the university studies, not only in the fields related to health, information promoting pro-health lifestyle should appear more often.


External environment of tourism company is composed from economic, technical, socialdemographic, juridical, ecological and management factors that can influence directly or indirectly the company evolution. In the present, the target of strategic management of external environment investigation is to know and understand the context and competition forces that act upon the tourism company. Also, anticipates and administrates the changes that take place, and realize a relation between company vocation, strategic capability and forecasted evolution of external environment factors.


Commercial and academic communities use private rules to regulate everything from labor conditions to biological weapons. This self-governance is vital in the twenty-first century, where private science and technology networks cross so many borders that traditional regulation and treaty solutions are often impractical. Self-Governance in Science analyzes the history of private regulation, identifies the specific market factors that make private standards stable and enforceable, explains what governments can do to encourage responsible self-regulation, and asks when private power might be legitimate. Unlike previous books which stress sociology or political science perspectives, Maurer emphasizes the economic roots of private power to deliver a coherent and comprehensive account of recent scholarship. Individual chapters present a detailed history of past self-government initiatives, describe the economics and politics of private power, and extract detailed lessons for law, legitimacy theory, and public policy.


AIMS
To elucidate bone mineral density (BMD) and bone turnover in an un-selected group of patients with Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) in national based registry.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
All patients who have been diagnosed with SSc in Iceland were invited to participate in the study. Participants underwent standardized interview and delivered urine and blood samples for measurements of various bone metabolites (e.g. PTH, osteocalcin, Cross Laps, PINP, IGF-1, Cystatin-C and 25-OH-vitamin-D), before they underwent measurement of BMD with DEXA (QDR 4500 Elite).

RESULTS
Twenty-four individuals, 20 female and four male, of 29 diagnosed patients with SSc in Iceland accepted to participate in the study (83%). The mean age was 60 +/- 15 years. Seventeen of 20 females were postmenopausal. Twelve patients had history of fractures. Only four patients were on treatment with bisphosphonate. All measured bone metabolites were in normal ranges, but U-calcium was in the lower ranges. According to DEXA, eight patients had osteopenia (T-value = -1.0 - -2.5) and three osteoporosis (T-value <---2.5), while six patients had BMD more than one standard deviation below the mean of age matched controls.

CONCLUSION
Although the majority of patients with SSc have normal bone turnover and BMD, every fourth patient may have low BMD. No single pathogenic factor was observed, however, several individuals are in calcium saving stages reflected in low urinary calcium excretion. This may be result of defects in intestinal absorption of calcium due to gastrointestinal involvement of the disease. This study does not give opportunity to evaluate effects of treatment on BMD in this group of patients. Thus, individual evaluation concerning osteoporosis is recommended in patients with SSc.


Concussions result in a multitude of somatic, cognitive, and/or emotional symptoms as well as physical and behavior changes and disturbances in balance, cognition, and sleep. Moreover, some concussed athletes can experience these symptoms, changes, and disturbances for extended periods of time. This qualitative study explored the coping skills used by five female university athletes who suffered persistent concussion symptoms for more than 6 weeks. Our analysis of the interview data indicated that the athletes used emotion-focused coping strategies, such as avoidance and acceptance, throughout their recovery. In addition, the lack of perceived control over their injuries, a lack of a symptom-specific treatment protocol, and the type of social support they received influenced their coping abilities. These results add to the limited, yet growing, body of literature on the psychology of sport-related concussions, particularly with respect to identifying the types of resources that athletes may use to cope and manage concussion symptoms.


Applications of the non-line-of-sight vapor deposition techniques, such as chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and atomic layer deposition (ALD), offer unique opportunities to produce well-defined high surface area current collectors, thin films or various nanostructures of active (ion-storage) materials, protective coatings, solid electrolytes and improved separators. These features hold significant promise for solving emerging issues in advanced LiBs and supercapacitors. This paper reviews recent developments and applications of CVD and ALD for these energy storage devices, providing selected examples and outlining critical challenges for further exploration.


The new civil war in South Sudan began in December 2013. It soon proved to be a disaster for the population, a threat to the integrity of the world's youngest state and an embarrassment and conundrum to the international community. The article surveys the first year of this war. It outlines the course of military engagements, the consequences of the war for the people of South Sudan and the ways in which a peaceful settlement has been sought. During 2014 external initiatives and threats of sanctions were employed to prod the warring parties into a productive process, but with only limited success because each side entrenched itself while waiting for the other to collapse. Developments in January 2015 indicate that the time might be ripe for a negotiated settlement: the parties have reached military stalemate and negotiations have sketched the contours of a settlement. What remains is the haggling over the finer points of a political compromise. However, mediators and the parties must pick up the pace because yet another year of war will possibly result in the disintegration of South Sudan as a polity.


Abstract The vapor explosion phenomenon is investigated experimentally for a geometrical arrangement in which a cold liquid (water) jet is injected into a hot liquid surface (tin). Medium-scale experiments using 1 kg of molten tin were performed in an open geometry experiment system. In the first phase of the research, the influence of the injection mass flow rate on the likelihood of vapor explosion was investigated in order to map the various relevant regimes. In the second phase, the influence of some selected parameters on the interaction was studied to characterize the relevant parameters of the vapor explosion phenomenon. The range of the initial tin and water temperatures that leads to vapor explosion has been determined in order to define the thermal interaction zone. It is noticed that vapor explosion can occur at high water temperatures even near the saturation point. The delay time for the explosion to occur and the degree of the interaction violence were correlated with the initial tin and water temperatures. We also clarified the triggering point and noted a correlation between the quench temperature and the likelihood of the vapor explosion occurrence.


Six buildings in the Wellington region and the upper South Island, instrumented as part of the GeoNet Building Instrumentation Programme, recorded strong motion data during the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake. The response of two of these buildings: the Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) Harbour Quays, and Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment (MBIE) buildings, are examined in detail. Their acceleration and displacement response was reconstructed from the recorded data, and their vibrational characteristics were examined by computing their frequency response functions. The location of the BNZ building in the CentrePort region on the Wellington waterfront, which experienced significant ground motion amplification in the 1–2 s period range due to site effects, resulted in the imposition of especially large demands on the building. The computed response of the two buildings are compared to the intensity of ground motions they experienced and the structural and nonstructural damage they suffered, in an effort to motivate the use of structural response data in the validation of performance objectives of building codes, structural modelling techniques, and fragility functions. Finally, the nature of challenges typically encountered in the interpretation of structural response data are highlighted.


In this work we review the symmetry breaking mechanism of gauge theories. On the first chapters of this thesis, we review the concept of symmetry as the action of a group that leaves an object invariant, in particular Lagrangians and actions, and then develop the corresponding globally and gauge symmetric theories and the relationship between them. It also reviewed the concept and general framework of the spontaneous breaking of a symmetry for renormalizable potentials. Correspondingly, two main results for global symmetries, Noether's theorem and Goldstone's Theorem, are reviewed in a general setting. Chapter 3 is the most important part of this work. The Brout-Englert-Higgs mechanism is explained and used to retrieve the symmetry breaking patterns for the vector and all the second rank tensor irreducible representations of the O(n) and SU(n) groups. In general we will retrieve the vacuum expectation value (vev) for the particular representation and value of the parameters of the potential. Then, for this vev, we calculate the number of massive vector bosons of the theory. Following BEH mechanism and Goldstone's theorem, this number is equal to the number of broken generators delining thus the particular symmetry breaking pattern. Chapter 4 is a review of the Standard Model with an aim towards Grand Unified Theories (GUTs). Lastly in Chapter 5 we review the group theory of the minimal model SU(5) in a very exhaustive way and use the results of Chapter 3 to see the breaking patterns for this particular GUT.


This paper presents the biogas yield of various de-oiled cake wastes like groundnut de-oiled cake; coconut de-oiled cake, mustard de-oiled cake, and sesame de-oiled cake under anaerobic digester process in a floating dome type gas digester of 0.5 m3 capacity. The working parameters such as concentration of slurry, total solids, pH, temperature, carbon nitrogen ratio and the effectiveness of inoculums for biogas production was investigated in a batch type process for fixed hydro retention time. Hence, the best deoiled waste materials, that can produce the maximum amount of bogus and percentage of methane fraction from each waste material has been found in a mesophilic temperature range (28oC to 40oC). The results show that groundnuts de-oiled and coconuts de-oiled cakes waste yield the maximum volume of biogas generated from the four substrates are 21.28, 25.26, 19.2 and 16.37 liters, respectively. Quantity of methane fraction was an analysis of the biggest yield has also been carried out along with comparing the four types De-oiled cake waste slurry. The results show that the maximum of 67% of methane fraction for coconut de-oiled cake waste followed by 58% methane fraction for ground de-oiled cake, when compared with other two de-oiled cake wastes.


The following question is investigated in this study: Are there significant deviations in the distribution of the 1st and 2nd digits of state public spending from the behavior predicted by the Newcomb-Benford Law (NB-Law)? The goal of this study is to detect the occurrence of significant deviations in the distribution of the 1st and 2nd digits of state public spending compared to the standard distribution defined in the NB-Law. This study develops an interdisciplinary and exploratory methodology to analyze 134,281 contracts issued by 20 management units in two states. An accounting model based on hypothesis testing was applied to analyze the data, thereby evaluating the conformity between the observed distribution and that predicated by NB-Law. This study showed that there were significant differences in the distribution of digits; the numbers 7 and 8 had excess occurrences, and 9 and 6 were rare occurrences compared to the proportions expected by the NB-Law for the 1st figure. This behavior denoted a tendency to avoid conducting the bidding process. The analysis of the 2nd digit, unprecedented for the Brazilian case, showed a significant excess of occurrences for the numbers 0 and 5, which indicated the use of rounding in determining the value of contracts. We show the feasibility, usefulness, and practicality of applying the NB-Law to the action of oversight bodies, particularly when planning an audit and determining the audited sample.


Biological membranes are often described as 'self-sealing' structures. If indeed membranes do have an inherent capacity for repair, does this explain how a cell can rapidly reseal a very large (1-1000 microm(2)) disruption in its plasma membrane? It is becoming increasingly clear that, in nucleated animal cells, the cytoplasm plays an active and essential role in resealing. A rapid and apparently chaotic membrane fusion response is initiated locally in the cytoplasm by the Ca(2+) that floods in through a disruption: cytoplasmic vesicles are thereby joined with one another (homotypically) and with the surrounding plasma membrane (exocytotically). As a consequence, internal membrane is added to cell surface membrane at the disruption site. In the case of large disruptions, this addition is hypothesized to function as a 'patch'. In sea urchin eggs, the internal compartment used is the yolk granule. Several recent studies have significantly advanced our understanding of how cells survive disruption-inducing injuries. In fibroblasts, the lysosome has been identified as a key organelle in resealing. Protein markers of the lysosome membrane appear on the surface of fibroblasts at sites of disruption. Antibodies against lysosome-specific proteins, introduced into the living fibroblast, inhibit its resealing response. In gastric epithelial cells, local depolymerization of filamentous actin has been identified as a crucial step in resealing: it may function to remove a barrier to lysosome-plasma membrane contact leading to exocytotic fusion. Plasma membrane disruption in epithelial cells induces depolymerization of cortical filamentous actin and, if this depolymerization response is inhibited, resealing is blocked. In the Xenopus egg, the cortical cytoskeleton has been identified as an active participant in post-resealing repair of disruption-related damage to underlying cell cortex. A striking, highly localized actin polymerization response is observable around the margin of cortical defects. A myosin powered contraction occurring within this newly formed zone of F-actin then drives closure of the defect in a purse-string fashion.


Recent research has suggested that the reduction of entry regulation can promote firm entry and job creation, but little is known about the quality of firms and jobs created through these reforms. To shed light on this question, we employ data from Portugal, a country which implemented one of the most dramatic and thorough policies of entry deregulation in the industrialized world. The impact of these major changes can be traced with a matched employer-employee database that provides unusually rich information on the quality of founders and employees associated with the new firms. Our assessment indicates that the short term consequences of the reform were just as one would predict with a standard economic model of entrepreneurship: The reform resulted in increased firm formation and employment, but mostly among "marginal firms" that would have been most readily deterred by existing heavy entry regulations. These marginal firms were typically small, owned by relatively poorly-educated entrepreneurs, operating in the low-tech sector (agriculture, construction, and retail trade). These firms were also less likely to survive their first two years than comparable firms that entered prior to the reform. The social impact of entry deregulation may be limited by the quality of the firms it creates.


Rift-drift processes associated with the Mesozoic break-up of Gondwana and subsequent collisional events involving rifted crustal blocks from Gondwana in Tethys led to the formation and emplacement of allochthonous terranes in fold and thrust mountain belts. These terranes include small allochthonous continental blocks (ca. 1000 km2) and allochthonous exotic blocks that may exceed 200 km2. Other processes consequent upon the break-up of Gondwana and subsequent plate convergence between Gondwana and Asia include the emplacement of suprasubduction zone ophiolites as allochthonous terranes superimposed on the continental margin. The accretion of oceanic plateaus to continental and arc terranes in the Western Pacific have resulted from trenches and strike-slip faults being deflected by crustal heterogeneities. Indonesian and Western Pacific regions display allochthonous terranes forming and being emplaced at rates similar to plate movements. Many allochthonous terranes of the SW Pacific and eastern Indonesia have been accreted during the past 3 Ma and, being so young, have not suffered overprinting by later tectonic and thermal events. Furthermore, we can trace some of the very young nappes into their roots and trace some accretionary processes into zones where, at present plate convergence rates, the collision and hence accretion will not occur for about another 1 Ma. These active regions reveal the importance of local events affecting less than about 1000 km of plate boundary over a period of 1-2 Ma.


The accurate prediction of hurricane track and intensity is an important endeavor for improvement of public safety during hurricane season. Our overall goal in this research is to assess the potential role that different sources of real-time satellite data can provide to improve hurricane intensity forecasts. We focus on investigating the role that ocean features played in the intensity changes that transpired during the passages of five major hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) between 2004 and 2008 (Ivan, Katrina, Rita, Gustav, Ike). Research has shown that intensity is partially controlled by the underlying ocean temperature and mixed layer ocean heat content (OHC). In the Gulf, regions of high OHC (the Loop Current and warm-core eddies) have the potential of increasing hurricane intensity, whereas regions of low OHC (cold-core eddies) have the potential of decreasing hurricane intensity. An essential ingredient of air-sea interactions is the hurricane's production of a "cool wake", a region near its path that has the potential of providing negative feedback to intensity. We investigate the development and characteristics of the five cool wakes in detail. In this endeavor, we used several sources of satellite measurements available in near-real-time: infrared measurements and night-time composites of sea surface temperature (SST) from GOES-12, gridded sea surface height (SSH) maps derived from multiple-satellite altimetry, and microwave SST measurements from TMI and AMSR-E. Atmospheric data included the National Hurricane Center storm track and maximum sustained wind speeds; scatterometer wind measurements; and GOES-12 satellite-tracked winds. Our analysis demonstrated that three of the five hurricanes intensified over the Loop Current and WCEs while three of the hurricanes weakened in close proximity to the cool wakes that they generated. We found that each cool wake was unique. In all cases, areas of maximum cooling were co-located with regions of cyclonic circulation close to the hurricane's track. Cool wake generation was clearly dependant upon the path of the hurricane in relationship to the position and strength of ocean cyclones. We observed no correlation between hurricane intensity and either the magnitude of temperature change, minimum temperature generated, or size of the cool wake. Based on our results, we conclude that the surveillance of ocean features in the GoM is essential for the advancement of hurricane intensity modeling and prediction. Further study of cool wakes and intensity changes is recommended. Advancement of hurricane intensity prediction would benefit from improved ocean mesoscale sampling afforded by more operational satellite altimeters on orbit.


Due to annually recurring mass gatherings in Makkah, Saudi Arabia could be a hot spot for the collection of multidrug-resistant strains such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa). The various genotypes of extended spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) are SHV, TEM, CTX-M types VEB, PER, BEL-1, BES-1, ESBL enzymes in P. aeruginosa. The present study aimed to identify the prevalence these genes in P. aeruginosa isolates in Makkah hospitals. A total of 108 non-duplicated P. aeruginosa clinical isolates were identified in Makkah hospitals. ESBL production was confirmed using double disc synergy methods. All of ESBLs producer's isolates were submitted to PCR technique for detection for various ESBLs genes. Selected strains were subjected to whole genome sequencing. About 28 (25.9%) of P. aeruginosa isolates were confirmed as ESBL producers. Also, 78.6% of ESBLs producer carried blaGES gene while blaPER, blaCTX-M, bla VEB, blaOXA-10, blaOXA-4 genes appeared in 22.4%, 10.7%, 10.7%, 7.1% and 3.6% respectively. It was concluded that the incidence of ESBLs encoding genes among P. aeruginosa isolates in Makkah is near to the global prevalence. Continuous surveillance is essential to monitor the ESBLs producing P. aeruginosa. Also introduction of whole genome sequencing was found to be useful for both species and resistance genes identification.


This study compared Major Adverse Cardiac Event in patient with Acute Coronary Syndromes undergoing PCI with Drug Eluting Stents Vs Bare Metal Stents. A retrospective, observational study was carried out in an inpatient setting of the private tertiary care hospital. Patients with >18 years, diagnosed for Acute Coronary Syndromes (ACS), required intervention in coronary artery with implantation of Drug Eluting Stents (DES) or Bare Metal Stents (BMS) were recruited in the study. The data had been collected from file or database of the hospital. All subjects were followed for major adverse cardiac event. Result. A total of 202 patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were enrolled into DES group (N=101) and BMS group (N=101).  All patients were followed up at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months & 12 months for Major Adverse Cardiac Events (MACE). Clinical outcomes during 12 months were compared between DES group & BMS group. There was no significant difference in baseline parameters including demographic, risk factors of ACS, diagnosis, angiographic parameters between both groups. Overall MACE rates were reported non-significantly high in BMS group patients (14.85%) compare to DES group patients (8.91%) (P=0.458). However, DES group had lower rates of death (0.99% vs 1.98%, P=0.57), rate of MI (3.96% vs 4.95% P=0.73), rate of revascularization (1.98% vs 3.96% p=0.42) & rate of sub acute thrombosis (1.98% vs 3.96% P=0.42) and higher rate of bleeding (1.98% vs 0.99% p=0.57) compare to cohort-II. Conclusion. The use of DES in the setting of Acute Coronary Syndrome is associated with lower Major Adverse Cardiac Event (MACE) rate compared to BMS without compromising the overall safety over the course of one-year follow-up. The long-term safety of drug-eluting stents needs to be ascertained in large, randomized trials. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11591/ijphs.v1i2.1252


summary This article discusses the arguments for and against the inclusion of 'non‐target' households in BRAC's Rural Development Program (RDP). Using data collected from Matlab Thana in Bangladesh, the article finds that a sizeable proportion of members are officially 'non‐target'. These 'non‐target' households are part of the 'marginal farmer' group who join after poorer 'target group' households have entered the programme. There is no evidence that these 'non‐target' households affect the borrowing behaviour of 'target group' members. The article argues that the inclusion of 'non‐target' households is not necessarily a programme weakness. The latter depends on the proportion of 'non‐target' households, the extent that they are 'non‐target', the extent that they benefit relative to, and at the expense of, 'target' households and the relative importance of reducing poverty incidence versus severity.


With the publication of "Ceremony" in 1977, a strikingly original voice appeared in Native American fiction. These thirteen essays, the first collection devoted entirely to Silko's work, present new perspectives on her fiction and provide a deeper understanding of her work. From her engagement with the New Mexico landscape to her experiments with cross-cultural narratives and form to her apocalyptic vision of race relations in "Almanac of the Dead," Silko has earned her place as a significant contemporary American writer. All of Silko's important short fiction, her nonfiction essays, and her novel "Almanac of the Dead" are examined here. The critical approaches range from close reading to the postmodern. This collection is essential for all serious students of Silko's writings.


A Very Early–warning Smoke Detection Apparatus (VESDATM) detects the earliest traces of smoke by continuously sampling the air from a designated area. Air sampling is achieved by use of a system of long pipes containing numerous small inlet orifices termed as sampling holes. The air samples are drawn to the detector by means of an aspirator.
In spite of the high sensitivity of the detector, much of this advantage can be lost if the smoke transport time within the pipe network is excessive. Consequently there has
been a legislation introduced by Standards such as AS 1670 and BS 5839 stating the maximum transport time to be within 60 seconds of entering that extremity of a pipe system of 200 meters aggregate length, and the suction pressure was to be no less than 25 Pascals.
Once the pipe network is installed, it is impractical and often impossible to test the transport time and suction pressure drop of every sampling hole in a complex network
of pipes. Therefore, a software modelling tool is required to accurately predict these parameters to 90% of measured value with high accuracy.
The flow regimes within the sampling pipes proved complex, involving frequent transitions between laminar and turbulent flows due to disturbances caused to the main flow by jet flows from the sampling holes. Consequently, the published equations to determine friction factors does not predict pressure loss and transport time results to an acceptable accuracy for this thesis.
Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations were carried out at various magnitudes of disturbances similar to the effects in VESDA pipe network. The data from the CFD
were analysed and the results were used as a guide to develop mathematical models to calculate the friction factor in flow regimes where jet disturbances are present.
The local loss coefficients of fittings such as bends and couplings were experimentally determined for all types of fittings used in VESDA pipe networks.
The local loss coefficients that were determined made significant improvements in calculating pressure losses compared to the results obtained when commonly used
loss coefficient values were used.
The characteristics of the VESDA aspirators of all models were determined. The experiments were carefully set up to ensure the apparatus did not have any influence on the aspirator performance. Mathematical models were developed for each VESDA model.
A relationship between the magnitude of disturbance and the delay it caused for the smoke to travel from one segment to the next was established. From this relationship, a new transport time mathematical model was developed.
Validations of all mathematical models were carried out in different pipe configurations. In all cases the results calculated were within 90% or better compared to the measured results.


We present unique survey data on the migration predictions of 400 households in two extremely climate exposed unions of coastal Bangladesh. We have four main findings. First, despite having prospects no better than many low-lying pacific islands, few households in our two locations expect to relocate elsewhere over the coming five-year period. Second, to the extent that households predict they will move in the near future, they believe that fast onset events such as cyclones will be a main reason - not slow changing environmental factors like increasing soil salinity. Third, household migration predictions correlate non-linearly with household assets; the poorest and the richest households are the most likely to move. Fourth, results from an embedded discrete choice experiment suggest that the poor are more likely to migrate in scenarios where their wages are low, while the rich are more likely to migrate in scenarios where their earnings are high. One possible interpretation of these results is that the poor expect to migrate because and when they have to, while the rich expect to migrate because and when they can. Our discrete choice experiment confirms that households expect to move if there is considerable destruction of property from fast onset events, but not due to gradual erosion of environmental conditions. In sum, our results suggest that households in climate exposed regions to a limited extent perceive migration as an adaptation strategy to climate change. Acknowledgements The authors thank Rune Jansen Hagen, Katrin Millock and Solomon Walelign for helpful suggestions and comments.


Fonts are ubiquitous across documents and come in a variety of styles. They are either represented in a native vector format or rasterized to produce fixed resolution images. In the first case, the non-standard representation prevents benefiting from latest network architectures for neural representations; while, in the latter case, the rasterized representation, when encoded via networks, results in loss of data fidelity, as font-specific discontinuities like edges and corners are difficult to represent using neural networks. Based on the observation that complex fonts can be represented by a superposition of a set of simpler occupancy functions, we introduce \textit{multi-implicits} to represent fonts as a permutation-invariant set of learned implict functions, without losing features (e.g., edges and corners). However, while multi-implicits locally preserve font features, obtaining supervision in the form of ground truth multi-channel signals is a problem in itself. Instead, we propose how to train such a representation with only local supervision, while the proposed neural architecture directly finds globally consistent multi-implicits for font families. We extensively evaluate the proposed representation for various tasks including reconstruction, interpolation, and synthesis to demonstrate clear advantages with existing alternatives. Additionally, the representation naturally enables glyph completion, wherein a single characteristic font is used to synthesize a whole font family in the target style.


Synthetic biology is typically exploited to endow bacterial cells with new biosynthetic capabilities. It can also serve to create "smart" bacteria such as probiotics that detect and treat disease. Here, we show how minimally rewiring the genetic regulation of bacterial cells can enable their ability to recognize and report on chemical herbicides, including those routinely used to clear weeds from gardens and crops. In so doing, we demonstrate how constructs of synthetic biology, in this case redox-based synthetic biology, can serve as a vector for information flow mediating molecular communication between biochemical systems and microelectronics. We coupled the common genetic reporter, β-galactosidase, with the E. coli superoxide response regulon promoter pSoxS, for detection of the herbicides dicamba and Roundup. Both herbicides activated our genetic construct in a concentration dependent manner. Results indicate robust detection using spectrophotometry, via the Miller assay, and electrochemistry using the enzymatic cleavage of 4-aminophenyl β-d-galactopyranoside into the redox active molecule p-aminophenol. We found that environmental components, in particular, the availability of glucose, are important factors for the cellular detection of dicamba. Importantly, both herbicides were detected at concentrations relevant for aquatic toxicity.


Chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) represents the optically active fraction of the bulk dissolved organic matter (DOM) pool. Recent evidence pointed towards a microbial source of CDOM in the aquatic environment and led to the proposal that phytoplankton is not a direct source of CDOM, but that heterotrophic bacteria, through reprocessing of DOM of algal origin, are an important source of CDOM. In a recent experiment designed at looking at the effects of elevated pCO2 on blooms of the coccolithophorid alga Emiliania huxleyi, we found that despite the 3 different pCO2 levels tested (190, 414 and 714 ppm), no differences were observed in accumulation of CDOM over the 20 d of incubation. Unlike previous mesocosm experiments where relationships between CDOM accumulation and bacterial abundance have been observed, none was observed here. These results provide some new insights into the apparent lack of effect of pCO2 on CDOM accumulation in surface waters, and question the previously proposed mechanisms and rates of CDOM production in natural phytoplankton blooms.


Two special calorimeters are foreseen for the instrumentation of the very forward region of the ILC detector, a luminometer designed to measure the rate of low angle Bhabha scattering events with a precision better than 10−3 and a low polar angle calorimeter, adjacent to the beam-pipe. The latter will be hit by a large amount of beamstrahlung remnants. The amount and shape of these depositions will allow a fast luminosity estimate and the determination of beam parameters. The sensors of this calorimeter must be radiation hard. Both devices will improve the hermeticity of the detector in the search for new particles. Finely segmented and very compact calorimeters will match the requirements. Due to the high occupancy fast front-end electronics is needed. The design of the calorimeters developed and optimised with Monte Carlo simulations is presented. Sensors and readout electronics ASICs have been designed and prototypes are available. Results on the performance of these major components are summarised.


Active2010 and the Ontario School System: A Top-Down Implementation Analysis In 2004, the Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion and Sport (MHPS) established Active2010: Ontario's Sport and Physical Activity Strategy. Active2010 demonstrates a strong provincial government policy emphasis regarding sport participation and physical activity (PA), and identifies the school system as a primary vehicle for enhancing PA levels. This study examines the sport and PA initiatives MHPS is undertaking within the school system. Theoretical context regarding neo-liberalism in Canada and Canadian sport frames this study, while a revised version of Van Meter and Van Horn's (1975) topdown model of policy implementation guides the research process. A case study of the school-based PA system is conducted which relies on the analysis of 11 semi-structured interviews and 47 official organizational documents. Four emergent categories of Jurisdictional Funding, Coercive Policy, Sector Silos, and Community Champions are identified. Additional insight is provided regarding neo-liberalism, provincial level government, interministerial collaboration, and government/non-profit sector partnership.


Classroom discipline is undoubtedly the key to effective teaching and learning in any class. EFL (English as a foreign language) classes are no exception. Although literature abounds with prescriptive rules as to how to provide and maintain discipline in EFL classes, little is known as to EFL teachers' and learners' views about classroom discipline. Prompted by this, the study attempted to investigate EFL teachers' and learners' perspectives on classroom discipline. The participants of the study were 50 high school EFL learners and 35 EFL teachers. Data for the study were largely obtained by means of learner and teacher questionnaires. Interviews were also held with the participants to gain in-depth insights into the issue under examination. The study revealed intriguing information as to EFL teachers' and learners' views as to how discipline should be maintained in language classrooms.


Classification algorithms are frequently used on data with a natural hierarchical structure. For instance, classifiers are often trained and tested on trial-wise measurements, separately for each subject within a group. One important question is how classification outcomes observed in individual subjects can be generalized to the population from which the group was sampled. To address this question, this paper introduces novel statistical models that are guided by three desiderata. First, all models explicitly respect the hierarchical nature of the data, that is, they are mixed-effects models that simultaneously account for within-subjects (fixed-effects) and across-subjects (random-effects) variance components. Second, maximum-likelihood estimation is replaced by full Bayesian inference in order to enable natural regularization of the estimation problem and to afford conclusions in terms of posterior probability statements. Third, inference on classification accuracy is complemented by inference on the balanced accuracy, which avoids inflated accuracy estimates for imbalanced data sets. We introduce hierarchical models that satisfy these criteria and demonstrate their advantages over conventional methods usingMCMC implementations for model inversion and model selection on both synthetic and empirical data. We envisage that our approach will improve the sensitivity and validity of statistical inference in future hierarchical classification studies.