Successful telehealth business models are a topic of regular discussion in the healthcare industry, and the financial details of telehealth programs, initiatives, and companies are central to program viability and sustainability. Claims and total payments toward telehealth services are rapidly increasing each year; therefore, it is becoming imperative that organizations carefully navigate the regulatory, financial, operational, and technical aspects impacting, and many times determining, the financial health of telehealth programs. The objective of this article is to define and articulate the financial variables and business models that are the lifeblood of today's successful telehealth programs, and also to provide insights and information to assist organizations in navigating the nuances of telehealth financial modeling, monitoring, and management.
The financial and business models surrounding telehealth are unique for a number of reasons, mainly because the calculations and architecture of such models often contain many continuous variables, such as people (clinical providers and patients), geography (rural or metropolitan areas), telehealth governance structure, the service provided, the reimbursement or coverage eligibility, the technology used, the quality of care rendered, and the outcome of the care rendered. In addition, a clear need for a departure from traditional ways of projecting return on investment (ROI) becomes apparent with the layering of additional complexities of restrictive payer requirements, various business models, and the transition from volume to value.


Collagen fiber re-alignment and uncrimping are postulated mechanisms of structural response to load. It has been suggested that fibers re-orient in the direction of load and then "uncrimp" before collagen is tensioned and that in general, the structure is a result of the function tendons perform. However, little is known about how fiber re-alignment and uncrimping change in response to load, how this change relates to tendon mechanical properties, and if these changes are dependent on the underlying structure. Throughout postnatal development, dramatic structural and compositional changes occur in tendon. Postnatal tendons, with immature collagen networks, may respond to load in a different manner and timescale than mature collagen networks. Therefore, the overall objective of this study was to quantify the mechanical properties and structural response to load in a developmental mouse tendon model at 4, 10, 28 and 90 days old. Local collagen fiber re-alignment and crimp frequency were quantified throughout mechanical testing and local mechanical properties were measured. Throughout development, fiber re-alignment occurred at different points in the mechanical testing protocol. At early development, re-alignment was not identified until the linear (4 days) or toe-regions (10 days) of the mechanical test suggesting that fibers required a prolonged exposure to mechanical load before responding and that the immature collagen network present may delay realignment. The uncrimping of collagen fibers was identified during the toe-region of the mechanical test at all ages suggesting that crimp contributes to tendon nonlinear behavior. Additionally, results at 28 and 90 days suggested that collagen fiber crimp frequency decreased with increasing number of preconditioning cycles, which may affect toe-region properties. Mechanical properties and cross-sectional area increased throughout development. The insertion site demonstrated lower moduli values and a more disorganized fiber distribution compared to the midsubstance at all ages suggesting it experiences multi-axial loads. Further, the tendon locations demonstrated different re-alignment and crimp behaviors suggesting that locations may respond to load differently and develop at different rates. Results from this study suggest that structure affects the tendon's ability to respond to load and that the loading protocol applied may affect the measurement of mechanical properties. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Bioengineering First Advisor Louis J. Soslowsky This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/551


Photocatalytic water splitting has been studied extensively as a promising technology for scalable and cost-efficient hydrogen production using solar energy. Although overall water splitting has been achieved under visible light irradiation, significant progress in reaction efficiencies at longer wavelengths is needed to enable practical solar energy conversion. This article reports recent advancements in kinetic investigation and numerical modeling of photocatalytic water splitting to understand problems with existing photocatalysts and develop strategies to boost the reaction efficiency. Kinetic investigation based on cocatalyst loading, light intensity, hydrogen/deuterium isotopes, and reaction temperature suggests that the majority of photoexcited carriers recombine before contributing to the water splitting reaction on the surface in most cases, and that improvement in semiconducting properties of photocatalysts by decreasing defect and donor concentrations is beneficial to boost photocatalytic performance. It is demonstrated that an appropriate material design to suppress generation of donor species actually improves photocatalytic activity. Numerical modeling of steady state carrier concentrations suggests that an asymmetric built-in potential in photocatalyst particles enhances charge separation and thus extends the lifetimes of photoexcited carriers. On the basis of the recent findings, we suggest strategies to improve the reaction efficiency of photocatalytic water splitting.


Dr. Yana Wengel is a critical tourism scholar with research interests revolving around volunteer tourism, non-profit tourism, sustainable development, and creative methodologies. Currently, Yana is a Post Doctoral Research Fellow at the Leeds Beckett University, UK. She works at the International Centre for Research in Events, Tourism and Hospitality (ICRETH) in the "Tourism in Times and Places of Turmoil" project. In 2017, Yana was awarded a Ph.D. from the University of Waikato in New Zealand. Her research project examined the experiences of farmers and volunteers ('WWOOFers') in the Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) programme. In tourism studies, the WWOOF programme has been framed as an alternative form of tourism that networks people interested in participating in sustainable lifestyles on organic farms. Using qualitative methods, that privileged participants' voices, the research found that farmers and WWOOFers socially construct their experiences through being involved in 'dirty activities', crossing various thresholds, and striving for personal ideals (Wengel, McIntosh, & Cockburn-Wootten, 2018). The findings of Yana's research challenge the idealistic aims of volunteer tourism exchange programmes that are usually reported in tourism literature and provides a further understanding of the experiences that shape the image of non-profit tourism exchange programmes. With the aim to introduce creative and innovative tools to a methodologically often traditional landscape in the academic field of tourism, Yana's research employed both LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® (LSP) and Ketso methodologies. Since then, Yana endeavours to inspire fellow academics about the potential use of LSP and Ketso in tourism research during conferences and workshops. Yana used LSP methodology as a tool to construct tourism realities through models made of Lego bricks and their metaphorical explanations created by research participants (Wengel, McIntosh, & Cockburn-Wootten, 2016). Additionally, Yana proposes Ketso as a useful creative tool for qualitative data analysis, which can enhance the clarity of the outcomes produced through thematic analysis. Overall, Yana's research contributes to a greater understanding of the social construction of tourists' experiences, and it further makes methodological contributions to the field. Yana has an emerging record of publishing in top-ranked refereed international journals, such as Annals of Tourism Research, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, and Hospitality & Society, and many conference presentations and workshops. Also, she serves as an ad-hoc reviewer for Tourism Management, Current Issues in Tourism, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, Hospitality and Society, Rural Sociology and is a board member of the Journal On Tourism and Sustainability. Yana embodies the international outlook of her field of research and tourism more generally, having studied, taught and conducted research in Russia, Germany, New Zealand, Nepal, Myanmar, and the UK. Yana did her postgraduate studies in Tourism Development Strategies (M.A.) and Renewable Energy (PGCert) in Germany. She has been invited as a visiting academic to Glasgow University, Kathmandu University and National Management Business College in Myanmar. Yana has thus been able to build up extensive experience in teaching tourism and business subjects at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels to students from a variety of cultural backgrounds. Dedicated to providing a high-quality experience to her students, she obtained the 1 st level of the Postgraduate Certificate in Tertiary Teaching and additionally trained as a Ph.D. Supervisor. Several successful grant applications for external funding further support the current importance of Yana's research. She received grants from the University of Waikato, Trust Waikato, Community Waikato and DAAD - German Academic Exchange. Additionally, she was awarded the Waikato Management School's Outstanding Doctoral Student Award in 2015. In terms of leadership, she held senior roles within the department at the Mandalar Degree College and Waikato University students' organisations. Yana's research and expertise are relevant and valuable to the industry. As certified LEGO® Serious Play® facilitator and Ketso practitioner, she has gained broad consulting experience for a variety of clients. In 2018, she served as an external advisor to Nepal Association of Rafting Agents (NARA) and Nepal Association of Tour & Travel Agents (NATA) members on developing the "Interaction programme on Tourism Policy and Tourism Infrastructure Development" and "Visit Nepal 2020" campaign. In 2016-2017, she worked for the LuxDev Aid and Development agency in Myanmar as part of the "HR Development in Hospitality and Tourism Sector" project. Yana further has been involved in a number of community projects and held seminars and workshops using LSP and Ketso. Dedicated to applying her knowledge and expertise to the benefit of communities, she has volunteered as a scout leader and refugee settlement support volunteer for the New Zealand Red Cross. She also assisted in the building of a successful network that endeavours to link communities and the world of research in New Zealand. Yana's future research agenda is linked to the postdoc project "Tourism in Times and Places of Turmoil", led by Professor Dorina- Maria Buda. This project investigates tourism in times and places of on-going socio-political turmoil and conflicts. In particular, Yana is involved in interdisciplinary research focused on the interconnections between tourist spaces, people and emotions in times and places of socio-political conflict. Her future research includes continued development of the use of creative methodological tools in tourism, and sustainable development in Asia through tourism. In her free time, Yana enjoys outdoors, tramping and climbing. In 2017, she organised an expedition to Mera Peak in Nepal. Yana also enjoys crafts, plays Lego seriously with her son and enjoys practising her (four) languages and learning new ones. References Wengel, Y., McIntosh, A., & Cockburn-Wootten, C. (2018). Tourism and 'dirt': A case study of WWOOF farms in New Zealand. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 35 , 46-55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2018.03.001 Wengel, Y., McIntosh, A. J., & Cockburn-Wootten, C. (2016). Constructing tourism realities through LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®. Annals of Tourism Research, 56 , 161-163. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2015.11.012


The article aims to reflect on the implications of the presence of the category of belief in modernity. Formed in a critical project, which led to its ontological weakening, the notion of belief was fundamental to the modern definition of religion. On the other hand, modernity did not fail to positively incorporate the same notion, which is evident in its stated commitment to the principle of "freedom of belief". The text establishes connections between the senses of the modern definition of belief and the modern construction of the notion of society. In this exploration, themes as freedom and subjection and situations are considered, as well situations as the status of credulity and blasphemy. Its course and its outcome are set in dialogue with the work of two authors, Bruno Latour and Talal Asad.


We present an approximate, but efficient and sufficiently accurate P-wave ray tracing and dynamic ray tracing procedure for 3D inhomogeneous, weakly orthorhombic media with varying orientation of symmetry planes. In contrast to commonly used approaches, the orthorhombic symmetry is preserved at any point of the model. The model is described by six weak-anisotropy parameters and three Euler angles, which may vary arbitrarily, but smoothly, throughout the model. We use the procedure for the calculation of rays and corresponding two-point traveltimes in a VSP experiment in a part of the BP benchmark model generalized to orthorhombic symmetry.


Abstract
Introduction: Acute traumatic coagulopathy (ATC) is a disruption of hemostasis at the moment of impact and is associated with increased mortality. Without quickly available diagnostic tests, risk factors play an important role in identifying those at risk. We aim to determine the incidence of ATC and find its risk factors in a previously unreported population.
Methods: A retrograde analysis of records was done on all severe trauma patients at two major trauma centers in Tehran for whom a coagulation panel had been ordered on admission. Rate of ATC was determined with different definitions and association with outcome measures was analyzed. Association between risk factors and ATC was analyzed first in a cross-sectional manner and then using logistic regression via SPSS21 software.
Results: Overall 246 patients were included (88.2% male). PTratio>1.2 was seen in 11.4% and best predicted outcomes. ISS score>23 (P=0.001), abdominal Abbreviated Injury Score (AIS)>3 (P=0.003), BE more negative than -4 (P=0.019), PR in the ED>90 (P=0.041), pH 90 (P=0.046) were found to be associated with the development of ATC. Of these abdominal AIS more than 3 (P=0.001), and BE more negative than -4 (P=0.011) were found to be independent predictors of ATC in logistic regression.
Conclusion: We determined the rate of ATC for the first time in a Middle Eastern country and found it to be closer to the lower margin of previously reported frequencies. Our findings also cement previous reports that both severe injury and hypoperfusion put patients at risk for ATC.


Executive Summary The UK economy faces more than usually uncertain times. Outside the European Union, and in an increasingly challenging global environment characterised by ageing populations, climate change, populism, protectionism, and more, the country needs to chart a new course. This may well require policymakers to consider unconventional approaches to monetary and fiscal policy and, at the very least argues for important modifications of the current policy regime, including the autonomous mandate of the Bank of England. At some point, there will be a major slowdown in economic activity. Yet the Bank of England has very little leeway to respond by cutting interest rates, and it has already adopted an armoury of unorthodox tools that may be decreasing in effectiveness. More radical monetary approaches would be likely to be politically controversial; and are not without risks. In these circumstances it would be a mistake to rely solely, or even largely, on monetary policy to maintain demand. It would be better to conduct monetary and fiscal policy in tandem, and for discretionary fiscal policy to be required to play a much more active role in demand management than hitherto. This would, for example, imply major extension of the automatic stabilisers and efforts better to calibrate discretionary initiatives with the business cycle. But given the long-term pressures on the public finances, more fundamental changes in the structure of spending and taxation are needed, along with a redrawing of fiscal rules and targets, under independent budgetary oversight. The current, historically low, share in GDP of public spending is itself unsustainable in light of the demand for services of an ageing population; plans should be made to raise it closer to the European average. In the most extreme circumstances it might become necessary to waive the fiscal rules entirely and for the Bank of England directly to underwrite fiscal stimulus in order to sustain aggregate demand. It would be wise for the authorities to consider the options in detail now, while the environment is still relatively stable.


Recently, Wi-Fi has caught tremendous attention for its ubiquity, and, motivated by Wi-Fi's low cost and privacy preservation, researchers have been putting lots of investigation into its potential on action recognition and even identification. In this paper, we offer an comprehensive overview on these two topics in Wi-Fi. Also, through looking at these two topics from an unprecedented perspective, we could achieve generality instead of designing specific ad-hoc features for each scenario. Observing the great resemblance of Channel State Information (CSI, a fine-grained information captured from the received Wi-Fi signal) to texture, we proposed a brand-new framework based on computer vision methods. To minimize the effect of location dependency embedded in CSI, we propose a novel de-noising method based on Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) to eliminate the background energy and effectively extract the channel information of signals reflected by human bodies. From the experiments conducted, we demonstrate the feasibility and efficacy of the proposed methods. Also, we conclude factors that would affect the performance and highlight a few promising issues that require further deliberation.


(No paper) System demands with the City of Phoenix water system are accommodated by utilization of water supplied from several different sources distributed through an interconnected system. The majority of the City of Phoenix water supply is delivered from the Salt River Project (SRP). Landowners within the boundaries of the SRP have historically perpetuated their right to develop and receive water from dams and reservoirs that have been part of the original project definition since the turn of the century. Surface water from the Salt and Verde Rivers is conveyed through the SRP canals and withdrawn at the City's Deer Valley, Squaw Peak and Val Vista water treatment plants. While service to these areas has been identified as on project deliveries, the City also provides service to lands outside the original SRP boundaries in what is termed the off project area.


This dissertation analyzes the over-arching question of how the institutional and social
context of public bureaucracy impact the choices of bureaucrats. These choices are
introduced in the form of inertial-preferences and identity-driven preferences in the
decision-making of bureaucrats. The study proposes theoretical frameworks to explain
policy drift. These frameworks determine how "context-oriented preferences" moderate
the trade-off between budget maximizing motivations and the policy choice of bureaucrats.
In order to understand the context of bureaucratic choices directly stemming from
organizational, institutional and social factors, the study encompasses two generic research
routes that are covered in the three content chapters.
In the first research route, the impact of history on present organizational structures is
investigated with the theory of organizational imprinting. This refers to the process through
which economic, social and institutional factors that prevailed at the time of founding shape
present organizational forms and attributes.
The second research route builds on the notion that a bureaucratic organization is a
formalized social system. The bureaucrats consider it as essential to comply with
organizational goals in order to be considered as a member of the organization. In order to
analytically seize the social context of the bureaucratic organization, the notion of identity
is conceptually integrated into the decision calculus of the bureaucrat.The analyses of the inertial
and identity-driven choices point out that many well-known anomalies in the behaviour of
bureaucrats are best explained with reference to contextual factors. These factors can either
help to produce socially optimal choices or force policy choices that are non-optimal from
a welfare point of view. Consequently, policy interventions might be necessary to enable
bureaucrats to change choices, especially when these factors hinder optimal choices.


We study peer effects in crime by analyzing co-offending networks. We first provide a credible estimate of peer effects in these networks equal to 0.17. This estimate implies a social multiplier of 1.2 for those individuals linked to only one co-offender and a social multiplier of 2 for those linked to three co-offenders. We then provide one of the first empirical tests of the key player policy in a real world setting. This policy defines a micro-founded strategy for removing the criminal from each network that reduces total crime by the largest amount. Using longitudinal data, we are able to compare the theoretical predictions of the key player policy with real world outcomes. By focusing on networks for which the key player has disappeared over time, we show that the theoretical predicted crime reduction is close to what is observed in the real world. We also show that the key player policy outperforms other reasonable police policies such as targeting the most active criminals or targeting criminals who have the highest betweenness or eigenvector centrality in the network. This indicates that behavioral-based policies can be more efficient in reducing crime than those based on algorithms that have no micro-foundation.


The studies described in this thesis aim to assess the importance of normal colour vision in visually demanding, colour-related tasks that are often safety-critical and aim to improve our understanding of how congenital deficiencies can affect the processing of colour signals and the corresponding changes in visual performance.

The first study compares the colour vision requirements within different professional environments. 519 subjects were tested: 141 normal trichromats, 268 deutans and 110 protans. All subjects carried out the Ishihara 38-plate test, the CAD test and the Nagel anomaloscope, and sub-populations were examined with the AO-HRR plates, the Farnsworth D15, the City University test (2nd Ed.), the Holmes-Wright type A and B lanterns. Inconsistencies of outcome amongst the various tests and potential alternative practices are discussed.

The second study focuses on understanding the discrepancies in performance observed on lantern tests when the subject's task is to report the colour of small signal lights presented against a dark background field. These conditions were simulated using a psychophysical luminance pedestal technique. Variations in the measurement of chromatic sensitivity over the visual field, as well as the detection of targets where colours are combined with luminance contrasts, are discussed and explanations considered with regard to underlying retinal physiology.

The last study investigates the use of colour signals in ATC (air traffic control) applications. The work carried out addresses current failings in acceptance criteria for applicants, and provides alternative methods of assessing suitability. The chromatic discrimination thresholds of normal trichromats and colour deficient subjects were related to performance on a set of visual search tasks selected to be more representative of typical colour usage in large field visual displays. Display parameters under which the performance of colour deficient observers could be comparable to that of normal trichromats are examined with regard to updating occupational acceptance criteria.


Banks have historically provided mutual insurance against asset risk, where the insurance arrangement itself was characterized by limited enforcement. This paper shows that a non-trivial interaction between asset and liquidity risk plays a crucial role in shaping optimal banking arrangements in the presence of limited enforcement. We find that liquidity shocks are essential for the provision of insurance against asset shocks, as they mitigate interbank enforcement problems. These enforcement problems generate endogenous aggregate uncertainty as investment allocations depend upon the joint distribution of shocks. Paradoxically, a negative correlation between liquidity and asset shocks ameliorates enforcement limitations and facilitates interbank cooperation.


ABSTRACT Objectives: The objectives were to study changes in morale in individuals 85 years and older, and to assess the effect of negative life events on morale over a five-year follow-up period. Method: The present study is based on longitudinal data from the Umeå85+/GERDA-study, including individuals 85 years and older at baseline (n = 204). Morale was measured with the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale (PGCMS). Negative life events were assessed using an index including 13 negative life events occurring during the follow-up period. Linear regression was used for the multivariate analyses. Results: The majority of the sample (69.1%) had no significant changes in morale during the five-year follow-up. However, the accumulation of negative life events was significantly associated with a greater decrease in PGCMS. A higher baseline PGCMS score did not attenuate the adverse effect negative life events had on morale. Conclusion: Morale seemed to be mainly stable in a five-year follow-up of very old people. It seems, nonetheless, that individuals are affected by negative life events, regardless of level of morale. Preventing negative life events and supporting individuals who experience multiple negative life events could have important implications for the care of very old people.


In this article the authors provide an overview of the situation of women in rural China as a backdrop for the photonovella process and inquiry activities conducted by the first author in three rural sites in China. They describe the key themes identified through analysis of the narrative accounts and photographs presented by groups of rural women. The photonovella enabled rural women to select from their pictures several photos of significance to them to show and describe these to women from other villages and to the researcher. Concerns, interests, hardships, and achievements of the women related to their work, families, and communities were voiced as they showed their photos. This method, used in conjunction with other qualitative methods—including focus group interviews, village visits, and survey data—provided information that complemented and enriched our understanding of rural women's lives in China.


Life behind the Iron Curtain. Art and artifacts from East Germany. The history book to make history. This groundbreaking volume features hundreds of GDR political artifacts, design pieces, and everyday objects from the Wende Museum, Los Angeles, established in 2002 to study the culture of the former Eastern Bloc. From high fashion photography to secret police surveillance equipment, this extraordinary collection reveals the full scope of human experience and potential in a now-vanished world. For 40 years, the Cold War dominated the world stage. East and West Germany stood at the frontlines of the global confrontation, symbolized by the infamous Berlin Wall, which separated friends, families, and countrymen. But while the world teetered on the edge, life went on in the communist East, as it did in the capitalist West. From the outside, it seemed that life behind the Iron Curtain was gray and dull, but beneath the surface of its faded buildings, it was filled with color, texture and deeply-held convictions. The Wende Museum in Los Angeles, California, named after the period of change following the destruction of the Berlin Wall, was created in 2002 to study the visual and material culture of the former Eastern Bloc. With physical and psychic distance from political trauma and personal attachment, it aims to foster multiple perspectives and interpretations of a pivotal and multilayered history that has continues to shape our world. To commemorate the Museum's 10-year anniversary, this unprecedented and encyclopedic volume features thousands of items from its extraordinary collections, including icons of East German design and political advertisement as well as everyday objects and images from a now-vanished world. Never before has a book included this full a spectrum of art, archives, and artifacts from socialist East Germany: official symbols and dissident expressions, the spectacular and the routine, the mass-produced and the handmade, the beautiful and the ugly, and the funny and the tragic. Accompanying the featured collections are illuminating and provocative texts from scholars and specialists from Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Canada, and the United States (Paul Betts, Andreas Ludwig, Josie McLellan, Katherine Pence, Eli Rubin, Jana Scholze, Joes Segal, Edith Sheffer, David Thomson), with themes ranging from the secret police to sexuality, space flight to flight across the border, and from monuments to mental-mapping.


BACKGROUND AND AIM
The HBV covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) is organized into a minichromosome in the nuclei of infected hepatocytes through interactions with histone and nonhistone proteins. Retinoid X receptor a (RXRa), a liver-enriched nu-clear receptor, participates in regulation of HBV replication and transcription through modulation of HBV enhancer 1 and core promoter activity.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
This study investigated RXRa involvement in HBV cccDNA epigenetic modifications. Quantitative cccDNA chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) was applied to study the recruitment of RXRa, histones, and chromatin-modifying enzymes to HBV minichromosome in HepG2 cells after transfection of the linear HBV genome.

RESULTS
RXRa was found to directly bind to HBV cccDNA; recruitment of RXRa to HBV minichromosome paralleled HBV replication, histone recruitment, and histone acetylation in HBVcccDNA. Moreover, RXRa overexpression or knock-down significantly increased or impaired the recruitment of the p300 acetyltransferase to cccDNAminichromosome.

CONCLUSIONS
Our results confirmed the regulation of RXRa on HBV replication in vitro and demonstrated the modulation of RXRa on HBV cccDNA epigenetics. These findings provide a profound theoretical and experimental basis for late-model antiviral treatment acting on the HBV cccDNA and minichromosome.


The SEISMOFAULTS project (www.seismofaults.it) was set up in 2016 with the general plan of exploring the seismicity of marine areas using deep seafloor observatories. The activity of the first two years (Seismofaults 2017 and 2018) consisted of the installation of a geophysical-geochemical temporary monitoring network over the Ionian Sea floor. Eleven ocean-bottom seismometers with hydrophones (OBS/H) and two seafloor geochemical-geophysical multiparametric observatories were deployed to: (1) identify seismically active faults; (2) identify potential geochemical precursors of earthquakes; and (3) understand possible cause–effect relationships between earthquakes and submarine slides. Furthermore, five gravity cores were collected from the Ionian Sea bottom and ~4082 km of geophysical acquisition, including multibeam and single channel seismic reflection data, were acquired for a total of 4970 km 2 high-resolution multibeam bathymetry. Using Niskin bottles, four water column samples were collected: two corresponding at the location of the two multiparametric observatories (i.e., along presumably-active fault zones), one corresponding at a recently discovered mud volcano, and one located above a presumably-active fault zone away from the other three sites. Preliminary results show: (1) a significant improvement in the quality and quantity of seismological records; (2) endogenous venting from presumably active faults; (3) active geofluid venting from a recently-discovered mud volcano; and (4) the correct use of most submarine devices. Preliminary results from the SEISMOFAULTS project show and confirm the potential of multidisciplinary marine studies, particularly in geologically active areas like southern Italy and the Mediterranean Sea.


PURPOSE
Recently the common SIX6 missense variant rs33912345 was found to be highly associated with glaucoma. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between this SIX6 variant and peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness measured by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) in a population setting.

METHODS
Study subjects were enrolled from the Singapore Chinese Eye Study (SCES), a population-based survey of Singaporean Chinese aged 40 years or older. Subjects underwent a comprehensive ocular examination. Spectral-domain OCT was used to measure RNFL thicknesses. Genotyping of SIX6 rs33912345 (Asn141His) was performed using HumanExome BeadChip.

RESULTS
A total of 2129 eyes from 1243 SCES subjects (mean age: 55.0 ± 7.4 years) with rs33912345 genotype data and SD-OCT images were included for the analysis. Of these, 26 eyes of 21 subjects had glaucoma. The frequency of rs33912345 risk variant C (His141) was 80% in the study subjects. Each rs33912345 C allele was associated with a decrease of 1.44 μm in RNFL thickness after adjusting for age, sex, genetic principal components, and axial length (P = 0.001). These associations remained similar in 2096 nonglaucoma eyes in which each C allele was associated with a decrease of 1.39 μm in RNFL thickness (P = 0.001). The strongest association was observed in the superior RNFL sector (a decrease of 2.83 μm per risk allele, P < 0.001) followed by the inferior RNFL sector (a decrease of 2.24 μm per risk allele, P = 0.003), while the association did not reach significance in the nasal and temporal sectors.

CONCLUSIONS
Nonglaucomatous individuals with the SIX6 missense variant have reduced RNFL thickness in regions known to be particularly affected in those with glaucoma. This may be the primary mechanism for increased risk of POAG in individuals who carry the SIX6 His141 risk variant.


Like reform and ambiguity and symmetry and many other things, relevance often is in the eye of the beholder. Chief Justice John Roberts may have been trying to remind scholars of that when he recently said, "Pick up a copy of any law review that you see, and the first article is likely to be, you know, the influence of Immanuel Kant on evidentiary approaches in eighteenth-century Bulgaria, or something. . . ." Not everyone got the joke, or liked it. But the joke was also serious – it was a challenge to the academy to be more helpful to judges and members of the practicing bar. The academy should take Roberts at his word, and direct his Court's attention to helpful scholarship. Professor Sherrilyn Ifill took a step in that direction, in a blog post responding to Roberts's Kantian-Bulgarian-evidence joke. She made a good start, but something more systematic is called for if the Justices are to receive (1) a steady supply of recommendations of legal scholarship likely to be helpful in deciding the unending stream of cases before them, and (2) recommendations that reflect both the diversity of the academy and its collective expertise. To that end, professors should organize a cert pool of a sort for law review articles. They have the knowledge: they know scholarship, good and bad. They have the know-how: they know peer review, pure and corrupt. (Peer review of a sort is at the heart of this project.) And they are in position: they have the tenure that frees them to speak truth not only to power, but also to each other. But rather than giving the Justices stacks of memos evaluating every single law review article (as the clerks in the cert pool do with petitions in every single case), the professors should take a different kind of case-by-case approach. Every time the Court grants a cert. petition or otherwise agrees to hear a case, they should give the Justices a simple, readably short list of those articles most likely to be helpful in deciding that case. Then the Justices or their minions can read the helpful scholarship themselves. Each list should be in the form of (and filed as) an amicus brief – a truly brief "brief of scholarship" rather than a conventional "scholars' brief" (a form whose credibility is limited by the behavior of some scholars who sign such briefs). Producing briefs of that sort would be hard. But there are respectable entities that could do it. Two come immediately to mind.


Early research on urban form in Sweden was undertaken before the First World War. After the Second World War research was influenced by the major criticisms levelled at comprehensive urban renewal and suburban mass housing. These criticisms were particularly on the ground that values embodied in the traditional built environment were being ignored. Increased interest in the study of historical urban fabrics was associated with the development of methodologies reliant on the concepts of typology and morphology. These developments were dependent on the activities of individual researchers until the very recent development of wider co-ordinating research organizations.


Space-frequency transmit diversity (SFTD) and space-code transmit diversity (SCTD), which are both based on space-time block codes (STBC), were applied to time-direction spreading and two-dimensional spreading orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing code-division multiplexing (OFDM-CDM) systems, and the transmission performances were compared by computer simulation. SFTD is designed for space and two adjacent subcarriers whereas SCTD is designed for space and two distinct Walsh-Hadamard (WH) codes. The simulation results show that SCTD applied to time-direction spreading OFDM-CDM was superior to SFTD because frequency selectivity distorted STBC's orthogonality between sub-carriers in SFTD. In contrast, when they were applied to two-dimensional spreading OFDM-CDM, SFTD was superior to SCTD when the number of WH codes belonging to the same mother-code group is small because the frequency diversity provided by SFTD surpassed that provided by SCTD. In addition, both SFTD and SCTD provide high tolerance to large Doppler spread. It can be therefore concluded that both SCTD and SFTD can be used in the same frame by code-multiplexing according to their suitability to physical channels. SCTD is suitable for transmitting high-rate data via time-direction spreading, whereas SFTD is suitable for transmitting control data via two-dimensional spreading.


Building a knowledge base for a given domain traditionally involves a subject matter expert and a knowledge engineer. One of the goals of our research is to eliminate the knowledge engineer. There are at least two ways to achieve this goal: train domain experts to write axioms (i.e., turn them into knowledge engineers) or create tools that allow users to build knowledge bases without having to write axioms. Our strategy is to create tools that allow users to build knowledge bases through instantiation and assembly of generic knowledge components from a small library.In many ways, creating such a library is like designing an ontology: What are the most general kinds of events and entities? How are these things related hierarchically? What is their meaning and how is it represented? The pressures of making the library usable by domain experts, however, leads to departures from the traditional ontology design goals of coverage, consensus and elegance. In this paper we describe our component library, a hierarchy of reusable, composable, domain-independent knowledge units. The library emphasizes coverage (what is an appropriate set of components for our task), access (how can a domain expert find appropriate components) and semantics (what knowledge and what kind of representation permit useful composition). We have begun building a library on these principles, influenced heavily by linguistic resources. In early evaluations we have put the library into the hands of domain experts (in Biology) having no experience with knowledge bases or knowledge acquisition.


This paper presents the software framework JStatCom which is geared towards the development of rich GUI clients for numerical procedures. The concept is to solve all recurring tasks with the help of reusable Java components. Optionally, one can delegate the execution of special numerical algorithms to external programs, for example Gauss or Matlab. This way it is possible to reuse an already existing code base for numerical routines written in different programming languages and to link them with the Java world. A reference application for JStatCom is the econometric software package JMulTi, which will shortly be introduced.


About the book:
Supporting Children's Learning in the Early Years is aimed at early years practitioners who are developing their knowledge and understanding of professional practice through studying at undergraduate level. The book encourages readers to consider their professional development as reflective practitioners, building on and supporting the government agenda to provide quality provision for young children and their families.

Combining theory and practice, and bringing together current research and thinking in a broad range of areas, the book covers:

Learning environments: young children as learners, assessment of learning, well being and children's rights, diversity and inclusion.

Learning and development: children's development including social and emotional development, literacy and mathematical development, the potential of ICT, fostering creativity, musical development and knowledge and understanding of the world.

Reflective practice: the learning environment, safeguarding and wellbeing, the reflective practitioner.


We propose a novel kernel approach to dimension reduction for supervised learning: feature extraction and variable selection; the former constructs a small number of features from predictors, and the latter finds a subset of predictors. First, a method of linear feature extraction is proposed using the gradient of regression function, based on the recent development of the kernel method. In comparison with other existing methods, the proposed one has wide applicability without strong assumptions on the regressor or type of variables, and uses computationally simple eigendecomposition, thus applicable to large data sets. Second, in combination of a sparse penalty, the method is extended to variable selection, following the approach by Chen et al. [2]. Experimental results show that the proposed methods successfully find effective features and variables without parametric models.


Artificial intelligence (AI) is viewed as one of the technological advances that will reshape modern societies and their relations. While the design and deployment of systems that continually adapt hold the promise of far-reaching, positive change, they simultaneously pose significant risks, especially to already vulnerable people.

This work explores the meaning of AI, and the important role of critical understanding and its phenomenological foundation in shaping its ongoing advances. The values, power, and magic of reason are central to this discussion. Critical theory has used historical hindsight to explain the patterns of power that shape our intellectual, political, economic, and social worlds, and the discourse on AI that surrounds these worlds. The authors also delve into niche topics in philosophy such as transcendental self-awareness, post-humanism, and concepts of space-time and computer logic.

By embedding a critical phenomenological orientation within their technical practices, AI communities can develop foresight and tactics that can better align research and technology development with established ethical principles - centering vulnerable people who continue to bear the brunt of the negative impacts of innovation and scientific progress. The creation of a critical-technical practice of AI will lead to a permanent revolution in social, scientific, and political communities. The years ahead will usher in a wave of new scientific breakthroughs and technologies driven by AI research, making it incumbent upon AI communities to strengthen the social contract through ethical foresight, a capability which only phenomenology can deliver, ultimately supporting future technologies that enable greater well-being, with the goal of delivering practical truths.

A Critical Understanding of Artificial Intelligence: A Phenomenological Foundation is an essential read for anyone interested in the complex debate and phenomenology surrounding AI and its growing role in our society.


1. Serum labelled with radioactive iron was adjusted to different degrees of iron saturation and clearance of the tracer from the circulation of rats and its uptake by liver and intestine were followed. 2. The results showed that: (a) plasma iron clearance did not vary according to whether labelled iron was attached to transferrin at high or low iron saturation; (b) uptake of labelled iron by the liver was greater from transferrin at high iron saturation than from transferrin at low saturation. 3. The results suggest the presence of a receptor mechanism in the liver similar to that previously shown in reticulocytes.


Time-correlated imaging is an emerging sensing modality that has been shown to enable promising application scenarios, including lidar ranging, fluorescence lifetime imaging, and even non-line-of-sight sensing. A leading technology for obtaining time-correlated light measurements are single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs), which are extremely sensitive and capable of temporal resolution on the order of tens of picoseconds. However, the rare and expensive optical setups used by researchers have so far prohibited these novel sensing techniques from entering the mass market. Fortunately, SPADs also exist in a radically cheaper and more power-efficient version that has been widely deployed as proximity sensors in mobile devices for almost a decade. These commodity SPAD sensors can be obtained at a mere few cents per detector pixel. However, their inferior data quality and severe technical drawbacks compared to their high-end counterparts necessitate the use of additional optics and suitable processing algorithms. In this paper, we adopt an existing evaluation platform for commodity SPAD sensors, and modify it to unlock time-of-flight (ToF) histogramming and hence computational imaging. Based on this platform, we develop and demonstrate a family of hardware/software systems that, for the first time, implement applications that had so far been limited to significantly more advanced, higher-priced setups: direct ToF depth imaging, non-line-of-sight object tracking, and material classification.


The purpose of this experiment was to investigate whether classroom reverberation influences second-language (L2) listening comprehension. Moreover, we investigated whether individual differences in baseline L2 proficiency and in working memory capacity (WMC) modulate the effect of reverberation time on L2 listening comprehension. The results showed that L2 listening comprehension decreased as reverberation time increased. Participants with higher baseline L2 proficiency were less susceptible to this effect. WMC was also related to the effect of reverberation (although just barely significant), but the effect of WMC was eliminated when baseline L2 proficiency was statistically controlled. Taken together, the results suggest that top-down cognitive capabilities support listening in adverse conditions. Potential implications for the Swedish national tests in English are discussed.


Abstract In this study, a support vector machine (SVM) based multi-species QSAR (quantitative structure–activity relationship) model was developed for predicting the water–plant cuticular polymer matrix membrane (MX) partition coefficient, KMXw of diverse chemicals using two simple molecular descriptors derived from the chemical structures and following the OECD guidelines. Accordingly, the Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. data were used to construct the QSAR model that was externally validated using three other plant species data. The diversity in chemical structures and end-points were verified using the Tanimoto similarity index and Kruskal–Wallis statistics. The predictive power of the developed QSAR model was tested through rigorous validation, deriving a wide series of statistical checks. The MLOGP was the most influential descriptor identified by the model. The model yielded a correlation (r2) of 0.966 and 0.965 in the training and test data arrays. The developed QSAR model also performed well in another three plant species (r2 > 0.955). The results suggest the appropriateness of the developed model to reliably predict the plant chemical interactions in multiple plant species and it can be a useful tool in screening the new chemical for environmental risk assessment.


During their efforts to reformulate and redefine U.S. nuclear non-proliferation policy throughout the 1970s, the Nixon, Ford, and Carter administrations, engaged extensively, on a bilateral basis, with the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran's (AEOI) Director, Dr. Akbar Etemad, in order to pursue an agreement establishing a cooperative relationship in the nuclear energy field. Although the United States attached high strategic importance to maintaining a strong bilateral relationship with Iran, and despite Iranian protestations of discriminatory treatment, the U.S. pursued an increasingly firm position in its negotiations with Iran, by insisting on the inclusion of progressively more restrictive elements to prevent proliferation, in the bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement between the two parties. Although the imposition of stricter conditions frustrated Iran, the US bilateral negotiating position was consistent with its evolving wider nuclear non-proliferation policy. Precisely because of the strong ties and alliance between Iran and the United States at this time, the U.S. --particularly the Carter administration -- wanted to showcase the eventual U.S.-Iranian cooperation agreement as a model for future bilateral nuclear cooperation agreements. The U.S. administrations also aimed to exploit their close relationship with the Shah by using him as an intermediary to advance U.S. proliferation concerns in the region. U.S. foreign policy is complex and multifaceted. As identified by Rosenau and further explored by Wittkopf et al, there are external, societal, governmental, role, and individual sources, contributing to foreign policy. Adapting this approach to a specific aspect of U.S. foreign policy -- that of nuclear non-proliferation policy -- this thesis identifies and examines the various sources contributing to U.S. nuclear non-proliferation policy during the Nixon, Ford and Carter administrations. The analysis is refined further by examining the specific bilateral policy case study in the context of the general U.S. nuclear non-proliferation policy during this period. This comparative approach allows the thesis to identify the objectives of U.S. bilateral nuclear cooperation policy with Iran in a systematic manner and conclude that the bilateral objectives were consistent with general U.S. nuclear non-proliferation objectives, which evolved throughout the three presidencies. This thesis contributes to the literature on U.S.-Iran bilateral foreign policy on nuclear issues in the 1970s and U.S. nuclear non-proliferation policy more broadly. The originality of its contribution resides particularly in its is extensive empirical research using authoritative primary sources, specifically declassified official U.S. government documents sourced from the U.S. National Security Archive, and the relevant presidential libraries. These archival sources are supplemented and supported by existing secondary sources as well as semi-structured interviews of U.S. and Iranian officials.


This paper describes the first data release of the Kepler-INT Survey (KIS) that covers a 116 deg2 region of the Cygnus and Lyra constellations. The Kepler field is the target of the most intensive search for transiting planets to date. Despite the fact that the Kepler mission provides superior time-series photometry, with an enormous impact on all areas of stellar variability, its field lacks optical photometry complete to the confusion limit of the Kepler instrument necessary for selecting various classes of targets. For this reason, we follow the observing strategy and data reduction method used in the IPHAS and UVEX galactic plane surveys in order to produce a deep optical survey of the Kepler field. This initial release concerns data taken between 2011 May and August, using the Isaac Newton Telescope on the island of La Palma. Four broadband filters were used, U, g, r, i, as well as one narrowband one, Hα, reaching down to a 10σ limit of ∼20th mag in the Vega system. Observations covering ∼50 deg2, thus about half of the field, passed our quality control thresholds and constitute this first data release. We derive a global photometric calibration by placing the KIS magnitudes as close as possible to the Kepler Input Catalog (KIC) photometry. The initial data release catalog containing around 6 million sources from all the good photometric fields is available for download from the KIS Web site (www.astro.warwick.ac.uk/research/kis/) as well as via MAST (KIS magnitudes can be retrieved using the MAST enhanced target search page http://archive.stsci.edu/kepler/kepler_fov/search.php and also via Casjobs at MAST Web site http://mastweb.stsci.edu/kplrcasjobs/).


Optical measurements from an untended mooring provide high-frequency observations of in-water optical properties and permit the estimation of important biological parameters contin- uously as a function of time. A 9-month time series, composed of three separate deployments, of optical data from the BIOWATT 1987 deep-sea mooring located in the oligotrophic waters of the Sargasso Sea at 34oN, 70oW are presented. These data have been tested using several bio-optical models for the purpose of providing a continuous estimate of phytoplankton productivity. The data are discussed in the context of contemporaneous shipboard observations and for future ocean color satellite observations. We present a continuous estimation of phytoplankton productivity for the 9-month time series. Results from the first 70-day deployment are emphasized to demonstrate the utility of optical observations as proxy measures of biological parameters, to present prelimi- nary analysis, and to compare our bio-optical observations with concurrent physical observations. The bio-optical features show variation in response to physical forcings including diel variations of incident solar irradiance, episodic changes corresponding to wind forcing, variability caused by advective mesoscale eddy events in the vicinity of the mooring, and seasonal variability corre- sponding to changes in solar radiation, shoaling of the mixed layer depth, and succession of phyto- plankton populations.


This manual addresses problem bank resolution from the time a bank is identified as being in financial trouble through intervention to liquidation. It comes with an interactive CD-ROM from which users can download and tailor documents to use in their own closing processes. The book draws on the author's lengthy career as a bank liquidator for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Resolution Trust Corporation and his worldwide consulting experience with the International Monetary Fund and other international organizations. The chapters examine legal frameworks; the function of deposit insurance during bank failures; the importance of public and media relations; measures and procedures used by a supervisory authority to rehabilitate, restructure, or resolve a problem bank; bank intervention procedures; conservatorship operations; bank resolution alternatives and methods for marketing a problem bank using a purchase and assumption agreement; operations and administrative procedures for bank liquidation or receivership; and asset management and disposition.


As grassland birds of central North America experience steep population declines with changes in land use, management of remaining tracts becomes increasingly important for population viability. The integrated use of fire and grazing may enhance vegetation heterogeneity and diversity in breeding birds, but the subsequent effects on reproduction are unknown. We examined the influence of patch-burn grazing management in shortgrass steppe in eastern Colorado on habitat use and reproductive success of 3 grassland bird species, horned lark (Eremophila alpestris), lark bunting (Calamospiza melanocorys), and McCown's longspur (Rhynchophanes mccownii), at several spatial scales during 2011 and 2012. Although no simple direct relationship to patch-burn grazing treatment existed, habitat selection depended on precipitation- and management-induced vegetation conditions and spatial scale. All species selected taller-than-expected vegetation at the nest site, whereas at the territory scale, horned larks and McCown's longspurs selected areas with low vegetation height and sparse cover of tall plants (taller than the dominant shortgrasses). Buntings nested primarily in unburned grassland under average rainfall. Larks and longspurs shifted activity from patch burns during average precipitation (2011) to unburned pastures during drought (2012). Daily survival rate (DSR) of nests varied with time in season, species, weather, and vegetation structure. Daily survival rate of McCown's longspur nests did not vary with foliar cover of relatively tall vegetation at the nest under average precipitation but declined with increasing cover during drought. At the 200-m scale, increasing cover of shortgrasses, rather than taller plant species, improved DSR of larks and longspurs. These birds experience tradeoffs in the selection of habitat at different spatial scales: tall structure at nests may reduce visual detection by predators and provide protection from sun, wind, and rain, yet taller structure surrounding territories may host nest predators. Patch-burn grazing management in combination with other strategies that retain taller-structured vegetation may help sustain a diversity of breeding habitats for shortgrass birds under varying weather conditions.Published 2017. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.


Removal of mammalian mesopredators is a strategy frequently applied to problems of conservation management, such as protection of rare or endangered species. Effectiveness of predator removal is often dependent on the ease with which additional predators can immigrate into the removal area. We applied cost-distance analysis, coupled to a sensitivity analysis, and least-cost path analysis to raccoons (Procyon lotor) and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) on the Virginia barrier islands to determine the landscape resistance (i.e., difficulty) for mesopredators to reach individual islands from both mainland and island sources, to assess the relative role of mainland versus island populations as sources of immigrants to unoccupied (or depopulated) islands, and to formulate strategies that focus management efforts on a few key predator sources. The minimum energetic resistances to immigration varied over 3 orders of magnitude, making some islands better targets for removal efforts than others. Additionally, because of differences in the distribution of resident populations on the islands, resistance to immigration to a typical island is at least 3 times less for raccoons than for red foxes. Landscape resistance to red fox immigration is typically lower from the mainland, whereas for raccoons inter-island movements are typically less costly. Empirical data from long-term field studies of raccoons and red foxes in this system support the resistance structure identified. Overwater transits made by marked and resighted raccoons all were relatively short and relatively low-cost. Similarly, islands that were recolonized following the removal of raccoons and red foxes all were characterized by very low resistance values. These results are used to identify specific islands for which predator removal efforts are most likely to be successful in aiding the recovery of beach-nesting and colonial waterbirds in this system. A similar approach may be applied in any landscape where there are distinct differences in the costs of traversing different elements of the landscape. © 2015 The Wildlife Society.


During the late 1800s it was known that exposure to high sound levels could lead to permanent hearing loss. Although several U.S. patents were awarded for hearing protective devices in the 1800s, hearing protectors were not generally available until the 1920s. These devices were marketed to help people cope with the high sound levels of the ''big city,'' not to protect against hearing loss. It was not until World War II that hearing‐protective devices became generally available for industrial workers. This paper will present an overview of the major developments in hearing protection in the United States from the 1920s to the present and discuss the forces behind their development. Emphasis will be placed on the availability of different types of hearing‐protective products to industrial workers and consumers.


This research is an attempt to present a proper methodology in data modification by using analytical hierarchy process (AHP) technique and fuzzy c-mean (FCM) model. The continuous data were built from binary data using analytical hierarchy process (AHP). Whereas, the binary data were created from continuous data using fuzzy cmeans (FCM) model. The models used in this research are fuzzy c-regression models (FCRM). A case study in scale of health at an intensive care unit (ICU) ward using the AHP, FCM model and FCRM models was carried out. There are six independent variables involved in this study. There are four cases considered as a result of using AHP technique and FCM model toward independent data. After comparing the four cases, it was found that case 4 appeared to be the best model, having the lowest mean square error (MSE). The original data have the MSE value of 97.33, while the data of case 4 have MSE by 83.48. This means that the AHP technique can lower the MSE, while the FCM model cannot lower the MSE in modelling scale of health in the ICU. In other words, it can be claimed that the AHP technique can increase the accuracy of modelling prediction.


ABSTRACT Adapting to a 'green' agenda requires active engagement of all relevant stakeholders such as societies, national, international and multinational corporations. Within organizations, leaders need to create a conducive organizational culture and identity to inculcate prosocial behaviours for becoming environmentally sensitive and responsible among employees through environmental citizenship. It can be argued that environmental citizenship among employees can enhance an organization's environmental performance and impacts. Linking the notions and theories of social identity and environmental citizenship, this exploratory study examines the perceptions, attitudes and values of managers on engaging employees in green involvement. We also explore the organizational factors that were implemented across the workplace and its underpinning sustainable strategies for green engagement with an overarching research question: How can organizations promote green behaviour and identity among employees and engage them in meeting green targets for organizations? We employed a qualitative method by designing a focus group study. Our findings help us explore factors for promoting a social identity and environmental citizenship in business organizations and to understand specific methods that motivate green behaviours among employees, so that a culture and identity of being green becomes prominent and extends to the homes and wider society of employees.


The importance of restoring filter-feeders, such as the Eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica, to mitigate the effects of eutrophication (e.g. in Chesapeake Bay) is currently under debate. The argument that bivalve molluscs alone cannot control phytoplankton blooms and reduce hypoxia oversimplifies a more complex issue, namely that ecosystem engineering species make manifold contributions to ecosystem services. Although further discussion and research leading to a more complete understanding is required, oysters and other molluscs (e.g. mussels) in estuarine eco- systems provide services far beyond the mere top-down control of phytoplankton blooms, such as (1) seston filtration, (2) benthic-pelagic coupling, (3) creation of refugia from predation, (4) creation of feeding habitat for juveniles and adults of mobile species, and for sessile stages of species that attach to molluscan shells, and (5) provision of nesting habitat.


One hundred and sixteen (116) does from 22 randomly selected smallholder herds in Kano and environs were surveyed to evaluate the goat breeding herd structure and to estimate the repeatability of litter size. The study revealed that the average herd size of smallholder goats in the study area is 15.5 goats. The average breeding male and female per herd buck to doe ratio and litter size per doe was 1.8, 6.5, 4.9 and 1.7 kids, respectively. These characteristics were highly variable (CV = 42 – 70%). The breeding does constituted the majority (78%) of the breeding herd, which increases with herd size. The average buck to doe ratio for the goat herd was 1:5. However, a buck to doe ratio of 1:10 was observed for herd size 21-30 goats, while for herd size ≤ 10 and 1120 goats it was 1:3. The litter size of 1 and 2 was in the majority across the herd sizes. Litter size 4 was rare in the herds (0.3%). Herd size was significantly and positively correlated with the number of breeding males and females in the herd (P<0.01; r =0.40-0.80). The number of breeding males in the herd was significantly and positively correlated with breeding females (P<0.05; r = 0.25) but negatively correlated with mating ratio (P<0.01; r = -0.75). However, mating ratio was significantly and positively correlated with the number of breeding females (P<0.01; r=0.50). Litter size of the doe was not significantly correlated with the measured breeding herd characteristics (P>0.05; r= -0.05 to 0.04). The average repeatability in the herd was 0.41. However, repeatability of litter size decreases with increase in herd size; 0.71, 0.60 and 0.32 for ≤ 10 goats, 11-20 goats and 21-30goats herd size, respectively. The high estimates for litter size obtained in this study suggests that Kano brown goat which is the predominant breed of goats reared in the study area is a highly prolific breed and the moderate repeatability estimate is an evidence that the prolificacy is probably influenced by a single major gene suggesting that an appreciable rate of genetic response in litter size could be achieved through selection.


Foreign sign language instruction is an important, but overlooked area of study. Thus the purpose of this paper was two-fold. First, the researcher sought to determine the level of knowledge and interest in foreign sign language among Deaf teenagers along with their learning preferences. Results from a survey indicated that over a third of the respondents did not realize that American Sign Language was not universally used around the world. Another key finding from the survey is that Deaf students are interested in learning foreign sign languages particularly from the perspective of a potential world traveler and not necessarily from the perspective of someone who wants to formally study the language for college credit. These students further indicated that they would prefer to study a foreign sign language through multimedia formats, including mobile learning, as opposed to a traditional face-to-face class. Thus the second purpose of the study was to design a prototype mobile app to provide foreign sign language learning opportunities for use individually or as part of a high school enrichment program. An emerging technology tool, AppShed, was used to develop the prototype, which is cross-platform. The prototype was designed to feature 25 words and phrases related to travel in four different sign languages. Video clips from native signers were identified for inclusion. In keeping with best practices for mobile language learning, an interactive component was also included in the prototype whereby users could produce their own videos for expressive practice. Further research needs to be conducted on the app's features and potential integration into formal classroom settings.


A crucial aspect of 3D Monte Carlo radiative transfer is the choice of the spatial grid used to partition the dusty medium. We critically investigate the use of octree grids in Monte Carlo dust radiative transfer, with two different octree construction algorithms (regular and barycentric subdivision) and three different octree traversal algorithms (top-down, neighbour list, and the bookkeeping method). In general, regular octree grids need higher levels of subdivision compared to the barycentric grids for a fixed maximum cell mass threshold criterion. The total number of grid cells, however, depends on the geometry of the model. Surprisingly, regular octree grid simulations turn out to be 10 to 20% more efficient in run time than the barycentric grid simulations, even for those cases where the latter contain fewer grid cells than the former. Furthermore, we find that storing neighbour lists for each cell in an octree, ordered according to decreasing overlap area, is worth the additional memory and implementation overhead: using neighbour lists can cut down the grid traversal by 20% compared to the traditional top-down method. In conclusion, the combination of a regular node subdivision and the neighbour list method results in the most efficient octree structure for Monte Carlo radiative transfer simulations.


In this paper, we address the most important issues related to realisation of µ-wave and mm-wave circuits containing power devices in the novel technology of Quasi-Monolithic Integration Technology (QMIT). A finite element simulator (2D and 3D), a scanning probe microscopy (SPM), a nanometer surface profiler (DEKTAK) and a Peltier element (PE) have been used to optimise the standard structure of QMIT with respect to these issues and limitations in fabrication process.
The first important issue is the thermal resistance of QMIT structure. Using a 2D finite element method, the effects of the most important parameters on thermal resistance such as the distance between active device and substrate (W), the thermal conductivity of glue (kepoxy) and use of a heat spreader to decrease thermal resistance have been investigated in detail.
The second important issue is the induced thermal stress in QMIT structure which results from differences in thermal expansion coefficient of materials involved. A 3D finite element simulator, a scanning probe microscopy (SPM) measurements and a nanometer surface profiler (DEKTAK) accompanied with a Peltier element (PE) have been used to simulate and measure the thermal stress distribution in QMIT standard structure. Then, the effect of the most important parameters such as W, baking temperature of epoxy and material properties of epoxy have been described in detail.


Baltimore, Md. Background: This study compared outcomes of bilateral simultaneous endoscopic carpal tunnel release to staged release using the Levine-Katz outcome instrument and physical measurements. Methods: Seventy-one patients were evaluated preoperatively and at 6 months postoperatively. One group underwent simultaneous releases, a second group underwent staged releases 1 to 3 weeks apart, and a third underwent staged releases more than 3 weeks apart. Preoperative data included age, gender, race, medical history, initial symptom severity score, and body mass index. Preoperative and postoperative data included Semmes-Weinstein testing, grip and pinch strength, Tinel's sign, Phalen's test, Levine-Katz questionnaire, occupational history, postoperative complications, and patient satisfaction. Results: Groups were similar demographically except that the simultaneous group had more men and patients were younger. Level of preoperative symptom severity was similar in all groups. Physical measurements were similar for all groups preoperatively and improved similarly at follow-up. All groups improved Levine-Katz mean symptom severity score and functional status score at followup. The groups had no significant difference in number of complications, and patient satisfaction was similar. Conclusions: In selected patients, bilateral simultaneous endoscopic carpal tunnel release has an outcome similar to that for surgery staged weeks apart. However, patients who choose simultaneous surgery may benefit from a shorter postoperative disability period and earlier return to work. (Plast. Reconstr. Surg. 118: 139, 2006.)


Purpose: Sustainable, inclusive progress, accompanied by income growth along with higher opportunities, quality of life, and environmental security, should be recognized as the key goal of any society. Moreover, development must necessarily include quality indicators, which reflect the compliance of the created economic environment with people's expectations. Therefore the aim of this research is to create a comprehensive index that combines quantitative and qualitative development indicators and identifies areas that need further attention and research. Design/Methodology/Approach: Unlike commonly accepted method of element by element development assessment, the method for calculating integrated development index for the EU member-states during 2016-2017s has been proposed in the article as well as the scenario forecasting up to 2020. The study is aimed at a hypothesis testing as: despite high income level, the country may experience low life satisfaction. Findings: Based on the analysis, it has been determined that countries with highest rates of human development occupy lower ranks according to the satisfaction with life index. Our comprehensive development index, which integrates human development index, the satisfaction with life and environmental performance index, has allowed us to identify countries that have balanced development of their economic-human-ecological systems. Practical Implications: Trend of decreasing value of the comprehensive development index of almost all EU member countries due to the reduction of their integrate indicators raise doubts. This may mean that EU member states' development will have slower, and subsequently negative dynamics. The results of scenario forecasting have confirmed it, without changing the priority from quantitative indicators to qualitative ones. Originality/Value: The study proves the need to take into account both objective and subjective development indicators in order to improve them and reach the overall goals of the EU. This will strengthen EU's international status.


Genetic diversity is recognized as a fundamental component of biodiversity and its protection is incorporated in several conventions and policies. However, neither the concepts nor the methods for assessing conservation value of the spatial distribution of genetic diversity have been resolved. Comparative phylogeography can identify suites of species that have a common history of vicariance. In this study we explore the strengths and limitations of Faith's measure of 'Phylogenetic Diversity' (PD) as a method for predicting from multiple intraspecific phylogeographies the underlying feature diversity represented by combinations of areas. An advantage of the PD approach is that information on the spatial distribution of genetic diversity can be combined across species and expressed in a form that allows direct comparison with patterns of species distributions. It also seeks to estimate the same parameter, feature diversity, regardless of the level of biological organization. We extend the PD approach by using Venn diagrams to identify the components of PD, including those unique to or shared among areas and those which represent homoplasy on an area tree or which are shared across all areas. PD estimation should be complemented by analysis of these components and inspection of the contributing phylogeographies. We illustrate the application of the approach using mtDNA phylogeographies from vertebrates resident in the wet tropical rainforests of north‐east Queensland and compare the results to biodiversity assessments based on the distribution of endemic vertebrate species. The genetic vs. species approaches produce different assessments of conservation value, perhaps reflecting differences in the temporal and spatial scale of the determining processes. The two approaches should be seen as complementary and, in this case, conservation planning should incorporate information on both dimensions of biodiversity.


There are still many open questions and needs in important aspects of the scientific area of Large Model Visualization –LMV- for Plant Design. Performance to achieve interactive rates in immersive virtual environments is certainly one of them, especially if resources are limited, but not anymore the most critical one. Surprisingly, the different processes used today to generate the walkthroughs experiences take into account very few explicit semantic considerations. The main approaches presented in the literature in the field of LMV are mainly related to algorithms and compression methods to be applied to the geometric entities that compose the CAD model. However, no sufficient attention is given to the following aspects: (i) These models actually belong to a special engineering domain with related standards; (ii) the different potential users have diverse backgrounds and intentions; and (iii) an adapted visualization walkthrough of the model can be different for a specific user and purpose in that context, in order to use in an optimal way the available resources and techniques. Therefore, the most common situation is that the generation of visual walkthrough experiences is typically not aware (in proprietary systems with links to PDM the situation is better to some extent) that the 3D CAD model of a plant is actually just a geometric representation of a complex engineering system, and this knowledge is not sufficiently exploited in the generation of the walkthrough experience. The consequence is to have advanced VR environments for the interactive exploration of models of millions of triangles, that have little explicit use of the knowledge –and in many cases none- about the domain, users and visualization purposes involved. As a result, the main motivation for the present work is focused on one of this research lines not sufficiently covered so far: The explicit introduction of semantic aspects, pushed from an engineering domain perspective –and strongly complemented with computer graphics and semantic technologies-, in the process of generating visual walkthrough experiences for specific users, visualization purposes and resources in the Plant Design domain.


Urban canyon environments represent a significant challenge to wireless communications, a satisfactory solution for which remains to be proven. We present RF Propagation Environment Awareness (RPEA), utilising 'smart' ad hoc, or self-forming and self-healing networks that are capable of storing and exploiting local propagation geometry information. An empirical radio propagation environment model, comprising a loss model specific to the local urban topology, is used to optimise network operation. This model is constructed over time from prior experience operating in the area of interest, and can be used to estimate the lifetime of a wireless connection, given current node kinematic behaviour, and location relative to attenuating objects in the environment. This lifetime can in turn be used to evaluate Quality of Service parameters for network routes, and to select optimal routes with the longest lifetime. We propose one technique to learn about the RF propagation environment, and evaluate the utility of RPEA.


The authors take a new look at the relationship between regime type and deadly militarized conflict among pairs of states (dyads) in the international system. With the goal of describing the general functional form, they evaluate three perspectives: democratic peace, regime similarity and regime rationality. They employ both standard logistic regression (logit) and a recently developed machine learning technique, a support vector machine (SVM). Logit is dependent on assumptions that limit flexibility and make it difficult to discern the appropriate functional form. SVM estimation, on the other hand, is highly flexible and appears capable of discovering a relationship that is contingent on other variables in the model. SVM results indicate that regime similarity and joint democracy are important in most dyadic interactions. However, for the special but important case of the most dangerous dyads, regime rationality plays a role and the democratic peace effect is dominant. The results suggest that models of international conflict excluding distinct indicators for political similarity, joint democracy and joint autocracy may be misspecified. SVMs are an especially useful complement to conventional statistical methods.


We describe a balloonborne telescope devoted to millimeter observations of diffuse sky radiation and optimized with a custom set of baffles and shields. The basic idea of the shield design is to shape the surfaces as roof mirrors to redirect the stray radiation in the opposite direction of incidence. The baffles are used to stop radiation close to the field of view. In this way we are able to avoid most of the unwanted radiation. We successfully operated this telescope (ARGO) during two flights, in 1989 and 1993, while detecting the faint structures of the cosmic microwave background at degree scale.


------>The heart of the Chicago School's attack on the antitrust laws was a skepticism about the ability of government to improve upon unregulated market outcomes. Although the attack failed to eliminate regulation or antitrust entirely, it has proven so enduringly devastating as an intellectual matter that virtually no proposal for government regulation or increased antitrust enforcement is put forward today without an attempt either to justify the proposed departure from an assumed-legitimate free market baseline or to dismiss Chicago School skepticism as an intellectual plot bankrolled by business elites. Chicago School skepticism has been so devastating because it draws sustenance from an inapt metaphor for the economy: that of evolution through natural selection. The free market is, for the Chicago School, nature itself, and all the glories of life suggest that evolution does just fine when left to its own devices, creating a powerful basis for skepticism regarding the need for government intervention in the economy. Except that evolution never did do anything to promote economic growth, so much as theft, a fact that human beings know well given their status as predators of unparalleled success. Humanity did not escape from the subsistence economics that characterizes all of evolved life until humanity started to exert control over the forces of evolution, which is to say: to regulate.------>A better metaphor for the economy than natural selection is that of a computer running a machine learning algorithm engineered to channel evolutionary forces away from theft and toward growth. The first such algorithm embraced by humanity set evolution aside almost entirely, in favor of identifying optimal productive behaviors directly. That was central planning, which flourished throughout the ancient world and was practiced globally right up to the 19th century. The second such algorithm embraced evolution, but sought to improve upon it by imposing a rule against theft. That was the economic liberalism practiced in the West in the late 19th century. It is also the regime favored by the Chicago School. Approached from the metaphor of the algorithm, the Chicago School's program appears retrograde, rather than foundational, because it amounts to the position that there should be no version 2.0, no further tweaks to the algorithm. But the antitrust laws, in prohibiting behavior that degrades competitors' products, even when the behavior does not amount to theft, improves upon the algorithm that is economic liberalism, better channeling life's evolutionary forces toward productivity and growth, rather than destructive forms of competition.


Multivariate time series may contain outliers of different types. In the presence of such outliers, applying standard multivariate time series techniques becomes unreliable. A robust version of multivariate exponential smoothing is proposed. The method is affine equivariant, and involves the selection of a smoothing parameter matrix by minimizing a robust loss function. It is shown that the robust method results in much better forecasts than the classic approach in the presence of outliers, and performs similarly when the data contain no outliers. Moreover, the robust procedure yields an estimator of the smoothing parameter less subject to downward bias. As a byproduct, a cleaned version of the time series is obtained, as is illustrated by means of a real data example.


We understand the maturity of an industrial enterprise in the context of the fourth industrial revolution as the state of the of internal and external conditions that support basic concepts of Industry 4.0 such as vertical and horizontal integration of production systems and enterprises or digital integration of engineering throughout the value chain. The ongoing trends of digitization and automation are causing many fundamental changes that will affect the entire area of logistics. On the way to Industry 4.0, intelligently controlled machines and robots will take over increasingly challenging tasks from humans. This is good news for logistics, whose complex processes with minimal standardization options are often limiting factors to expanding the automation of logistics and warehousing activities. An important aspect however is the company's readiness for the concept of Industry 4.0. Models of readiness evaluate the maturity of the company and are the main content of this paper, which is mainly of a search nature and compares the existing individual models. The analysis is based on knowledge of the main theoretical topics, which are described in the introductory part. Systematic research and evaluation of literature, comparison and analysis of models and interviews with experts are the basic development phase for the design of a new model of maturity which is focused on the evaluation of internal logistics processes. It is mainly a framework model with the main parameters, which is the subject of further development.


Metric learning has become a widespreadly used tool in machine learning. To reduce expensive costs brought in by increasing dimensionality, low-rank metric learning arises as it can be more economical in storage and computation. However, existing low-rank metric learning algorithms usually adopt nonconvex objectives, and are hence sensitive to the choice of a heuristic low-rank basis. In this paper, we propose a novel low-rank metric learning algorithm to yield bilinear similarity functions. This algorithm scales linearly with input dimensionality in both space and time, therefore applicable to high-dimensional data domains. A convex objective free of heuristics is formulated by leveraging trace norm regularization to promote low-rankness. Crucially, we prove that all globally optimal metric solutions must retain a certain low-rank structure, which enables our algorithm to decompose the high-dimensional learning task into two steps: an SVD-based projection and a metric learning problem with reduced dimensionality. The latter step can be tackled efficiently through employing a linearized Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers. The efficacy of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated through experiments performed on four benchmark datasets with tens of thousands of dimensions.


Sand and fine gravel in streambed sediments are considered to be an overabundant resource for caddisflies that build cases from it. However, larvae of Rhyacophila and Hydropsyche build pupal cases with material collected near the pupation site and typically attach these cases to cobbles in riffles, where the rapid flow facilitates respiration but decreases the availability of case‐building material through erosion. Analyzing mineral grain sizes of the pupal cases and the streambed in samples taken from cobbles in a stream riffle, we found that the overall mass use in pupal cases of Rhyacophila and particularly Hydropsyche significantly increased with local mass availability of building material, indicating that mineral grains can be a limited resource for these taxa. In addition, the most abundant species (Hydropsyche siltalai Döhler) significantly changed the case architecture if the preferred grain fraction (2.5–3.15 mm) was a limited resource. Under resource limitation of the preferred fraction, H. siltalai used the 1.6–2‐mm fraction instead, which could reduce the resistance of the cases to damage resulting from floods that move coarser bottom material. Our findings suggest that, in streams or near shores of lakes and oceans, water currents that modify grain availability can create conflicts in resource requirements for invertebrates, particularly if they need locally available fine grains for the building, coarse grains for attachment, and high oxygen renewal rates for metabolic needs.


Coil-rod-coil amphipathic oligomers composed of a rigid dianthranide unit and a hydrophilic branched oligoether as the coil segment were synthesized. These amphiphilic molecules self-assemble into clew-like aggregates composed of fibres or helical nanofibers in aqueous solution. Subsequently, supramolecular polymers were produced from the above objects through charge-transfer interactions by adding 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (4F-TCNQ). Interestingly, temperature-sensitive supramolecular chirality was induced by lateral methyl units located at the interface of the rigid and flexible segments. However, upon addition of the electron-acceptor molecule, 4F-TCNQ, strong donor-acceptor interactions restrict any change in supramolecular chirality with temperature.


ABSTRACT Membrane-damaging toxins are thought to be responsible for the explosive clinical course of Bacillus endophthalmitis. This study analyzed the contribution of phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC) and phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase C (PC-PLC) to the pathogenesis of experimental Bacillus endophthalmitis. Isogenic mutants were constructed by insertion of lacZ into Bacillus thuringiensis genes encoding PI-PLC (plcA) and PC-PLC (plcB). Rabbit eyes were injected intravitreally with 2 log10 CFU of strain BT407 (wild type), the PI-PLC mutant (BTplcA::lacZ), or the PC-PLC mutant (BTplcB::lacZ). The rates of decrease in retinal responses of eyes infected with the isogenic mutants were similar to that of wild type, with all infections resulting in elimination of retinal function by 18 h. Strain BT407 caused a significant increase in the latency of retinal responses at 6 h, but strains BTplcA::lacZ and BTplcB::lacZ did not. All strains elicited significant inflammatory cell influx into the anterior chamber by 12 h. Histologically, eyes infected with each strain were indistinguishable throughout the infection course. In this model, neither PI-PLC nor PC-PLC had an effect on the course or severity of experimental Bacillus endophthalmitis. Alterations in retinal responses early in infection may mark the beginnings of specific photoreceptor or glial cell dysfunction.


Enzymes group naturally into families according to similarity of sequence, structure, and underlying mechanism. Enzymes belonging to the same family are considered to be homologs --the products of evolutionary divergence, whereby the first family member provided a starting point for conversions to new but related functions. In fact, despite their similarities, these families can include remarkable functional diversity. Here we focus not on minor functional variations within families, but rather on innovations --transitions to genuinely new catalytic functions. Prior experimental attempts to reproduce such transitions have typically found that many mutational changes are needed to achieve even weak functional conversion, which raises the question of their evolutionary feasibility. To further investigate this, we examined the members of a large enzyme superfamily, the PLP-dependent transferases, to find a pair with distinct reaction chemistries and high structural similarity. We then set out to convert one of these enzymes, 2-amino-3-ketobutyrate CoA ligase (Kbl 2 ), to perform the metabolic function of the other, 8-amino-7-oxononanoate synthase (BioF 2 ). After identifying and testing 29 amino acid changes, we found three groups of active-site positions and one single position where Kbl 2 side chains are incompatible with BioF 2 function. Converting these side chains in Kbl 2 makes the residues in the active-site cavity identical to those of BioF 2 , but nonetheless fails to produce detectable BioF 2 -like function in vivo . We infer from the mutants examined that successful functional conversion would in this case require seven or more nucleotide substitutions. But evolutionary innovations requiring that many changes would be extraordinarily rare, becoming probable only on timescales much longer than the age of life on earth. Considering that Kbl 2 and BioF 2 are judged to be close homologs by the usual similarity measures, this result and others like it challenge the conventional practice of inferring from similarity alone that transitions to new functions occurred by Darwinian evolution. [See published correction to this paper:  doi:10.5048/BIO-C.2011.1.e1 ].


Resonant frequencies and quality-factor (Q's) of the morphology-dependent resonances of radially inhomogeneous spherical particles are computed with a Runge–Kutta method. In one type of inhomogeneity the refractive index of the sphere decreases smoothly from a core value of 1.5 to a value of 1.0(0.1)1.4 at the surface. The fraction of the radius over which the refractive index rolls off varies from 0.01 to 0.25. As the refractive index near the surface is decreased, the resonant frequencies shift to higher values and the Q's decrease. Numerical results for modes with Q's in the range of 500–1016 show that, when the change in refractive index occurs in only the outer few percent of the droplet radius, the change in the Q is less than 20%. Calculated resonant frequencies and Q's simulating a refractive index that increases near the surface are also shown.


A field experiment was conducted at the main Field Station, Department of Agriculture, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab during session 2018-2019 on sandy loam soil with ph 7.41 and Ec 0.35(ds m). The study was done to evaluate the "Effect of Fly ash and micronutrients (Zn and Fe) on yield of maize crop." Pioneer 3401 hybrid variety was used. The experiment has seven treatments T1 (RDF), T2(Fly ash 10 t ha), T3(RDF + Zn EDTA 12%), T4(RDF + Fe EDTA 12%), T5(RDF + Fly ash 10 t ha+ Zn EDTA 12%), T6(RDF + Fly ash 10 t ha+ Fe EDTA 12%) and T7(RDF + Fly ash 10 t ha + Zn EDTA 12% + Fe EDTA 12%) and was arranged in RBD design. The different parameters of growth and yield were evaluated. It was reported that T7 shows the maximum records of Number of cobs per plant (1.73), cob length (18.17 cm), cob weight (141.57 g), grains per cob (339.86), cob girth (14.03 cm), grain rows per cob (13.26), 100 seed weight (26 g) and seed yield (70.27q/ha).The least was recorded from T1 treatment. The yield of a crop has shown more responses to the combine application of RDF, Fly ash and foliar spray of Zn and Fe. The combination of fertilizers has an anticipated command on maize cultivar.


Abstract This study aims to examine the performance of Random Forest (RF) and Maximum Likelihood Classification (MLC) method to crop classification through pixel-based and parcel-based approaches. Analyses are performed on multispectral SPOT 5 image. First, the SPOT 5 image is classified using the classification methods in pixel-based manner. Next, the produced thematic maps are overlaid with the original agricultural parcels and the frequencies of the pixels within the parcels are computed. Then, the majority of the pixels are assigned as class label to the parcels. Results indicate that the overall accuracies of the parcel-based approach computed for the Random Forest method is 85.89%, which is about 8% better than the corresponding result of MLC.