Received:Mar 3, 2016 Accepted: May 28,2016 Introdouction: Parotid Stafne bone defect is a very rare and infrequent variant, which is located on the buccal or lingual surface of the mandibular ascending ramus. In this paper, a case of parotid Stafne defect, which was incidentally discovered during dental radiographic examination, is reported. This bone defect was observed as a lucent oval-shaped defect on the lingual aspect of the right mandibular ramus. Parotid Stafne bone defect is a rare entity that should not be misinterpreted by radiologists.


Abstract. Rapid improvements in the precision and spatial resolution of distributed temperature sensing (DTS) technology now allow its use in hydrological and atmospheric sciences. Introduced by ) is the use of DTS for measuring the Bowen ratio (BR-DTS), to estimate the sensible and latent heat flux. The Bowen ratio is derived from DTS-measured vertical profiles of the air temperature and wet-bulb temperature. However, in previous research the measured temperatures were not validated, and the cables were not shielded from solar radiation. Additionally, the BR-DTS method has not been tested above a forest before, where temperature gradients are small and energy storage in the air column becomes important. In this paper the accuracy of the wet-bulb and air temperature measurements of the DTS are verified, and the resulting Bowen ratio and heat fluxes are compared to eddy covariance data. The performance of BR-DTS was tested on a 46 m high tower in a mixed forest in the centre of the Netherlands in August 2016. The average tree height is 26 to 30 m, and the temperatures are measured below, in, and above the canopy. Using the vertical temperature profiles the storage of latent and sensible heat in the air column was calculated. We found a significant effect of solar radiation on the temperature measurements, leading to a deviation of up to 3 K. By installing screens, the error caused by sunlight is reduced to under 1 K. Wind speed seems to have a minimal effect on the measured wet-bulb temperature, both below and above the canopy. After a simple quality control, the Bowen ratio measured by DTS correlates well with eddy covariance (EC) estimates (r2 = 0.59). The average energy balance closure between BR-DTS and EC is good, with a mean underestimation of 3.4 W m−2 by the BR-DTS method. However, during daytime the BR-DTS method overestimates the available energy, and during night-time the BR-DTS method estimates the available energy to be more negative. This difference could be related to the biomass heat storage, which is neglected in this study. The BR-DTS method overestimates the latent heat flux on average by 18.7 W m−2, with RMSE = 90 W m−2. The sensible heat flux is underestimated on average by 10.6 W m−2, with RMSE = 76 W m−2. Estimates of the BR-DTS can be improved once the uncertainties in the energy balance are reduced. However, applying, for example, Monin–Obukhov similarity theory could provide independent estimates for the sensible heat flux. This would make the determination of the highly uncertain and difficult to determine net available energy redundant.


Genome size evolution is a fundamental problem in molecular evolution. Statistical analysis of genome sizes brings new insight into the evolution of genome size. Although the variation of genome sizes is complicated, it is indicated that the genome size evolution can be explained more clearly at taxon level than at species level. I find that the genome size distribution for species in a taxon fits log-normal distribution. And I find a relationship between the phylogeny of life and the statistical features of genome size distributions among taxa. I observed different statistical features of genome size distributions between animal taxa and plant taxa. A log-normal stochastic process model is developed to simulate the genome size evolution. The simulation results on the log-normal distributions of genome sizes and their statistical features agree with the observations.


The present study aims to examine the claim that the preverbal particle qad in the perfective is an aspectual marker of near past in Arabic, hence it corresponds to the present perfect in English. The authentic translational corpus drawn from two works (journalistic/scientific and literary discourse) clearly indicates that the preverbal qad is employed as a cohesive marker whose main function is to smooth and naturalize Arabic discourse. The study demonstrates that the translator's choice between an Arabic simple past with or without qad is governed by the requirements of the flow of discourse rather than by aspectual marking. Failure to account for this discursive function of qad when translating from English into Arabic would in Arabic translations produce cohesion gaps which in English are usually taken care of by punctuation.


Introduction The aim of prenatal diagnosis is to detect fetal structural and genetic abnormalities. Some changes can be registered on chromosome level (chromosome mutations) or at the level of DNA (genetic or genomic mutations), which in turn can produce somatic malformations. When amniocentesis for fetal karyotyping was first performed it was limited to gestations at or beyond 16 weeks because it was associated with higher failure rate in obtaining amniotic fluid at earlier gestation. A major disadvantage of second trimester amniocentesis is late diagnosis beyond 17 weeks' gestation, when surgical termination of pregnancy becomes risky. Earlier options include chorionic villus sampling (CVS) and early amniocentesis. Early amniocentesis (9 to 14 weeks' gestation) was introduced in the late 1980s. It is technically the same as a 'late' procedure, except that less amniotic fluid is removed which reported to result in laboratory failure varied between 0% and 20%, however such observation decreased with advanced genetic technologies and experience of the practetioners. Objectives To study the feasibility and reproducibility of early amniocentesis (define as below 15 weeks) by studying the failure rate of the Amniocytes culture and the need to repeat the procedure. The aim is to fine an alternative way of invasive testing in case of difficult CVS and need for early diagnosis. Material and methods. It is a retrospective study. Diamniotic twins case were collected in the period from of September 2003 to October 2014, these cases were seen in the Feto-Maternal Unit which I specialized unit in the Obstetrics and Gynecology department started on 2003 and serving high risk pregnancies, including fetal anomalies, maternal diseases and prenatal intervention.. etc After obtaining permission for the Medical Research Center. The ultrasound data was collected form the ultrasound software (Astraia. Astraia Software GmbH Occamstr.20, 80802 Munich Germany). Data were collected and kept in password protected Excel sheet (© 2010 Microsoft Corporation) and the analysis carried using online statistics tools (http://www.numberempire.com/statisticscalculator.php, http://www.evanmiller.org/ab-testing/), P value below 0.05 was considered for statistical significance. Results Total of 1263 amniocentesis was done during the study period, of them 50 cases was done before 15 weeks (encompass), 9 case excluded due to incomplete data. The mean gestational age at the procedure was 14 weeks and 2 day (SD of 4 days), median was 14 weeks and 3 days (Range of 2 weeks and 5 days). There were 11 cases (26.8%) under 14 weeks (between 12 weeks+1 day and 13 weeks+6 days. The indications of the prenatal testing was high nuchal translucency or cystic hygroma in 32%, fetal anomaly in 27%, previous baby with genetic disease (mainly trisomy 21, Thalasimia, sickle cell disease, …etc) in 19%, Maternal age (more than 40 years) in 17 %, and family history of genetic diseases in 5% (Mucolipidosis, Hematological diseases) Placenta was anterior in 22 cases (53.6%) and posterior in 19 (46.4%) with no statistical deference (p value 0.51), however the approach was Transamniotic in 33 cases (80.5%) and Transplacental in 8 cases (19.6%). Among all the case only one case (2.4%) of Amniocytes culture failure was reported with need to repeat the test after 15 weeks, she had a family history of thalassemia and the procedure was Transplacental with bloody stained fluid; processed in the genetic lab and the results were inconclusive. The rest was reproducible with 13 cases showed abnormal karyotype and managed accordingly. There were no reported cases of miscarriages after the procedure (excluding 10 cases "those who had an elective termination due to positive genetic diseases after ethical committee approval) Conclusion Early amniocentesis is a feasible and reproducible procedure with very minimal failure rate and in an experienced hand and with advanced genetic technology can substitute difficult CVS after proper counseling.


A new analytic scheme, which uses a sequence of image segmentation and recognition algorithms, is proposed for the off-line cursive handwriting recognition problem. First, some global parameters, such as slant angle, baselines, stroke width and height, are estimated. Second, a segmentation method finds character segmentation paths by combining gray-scale and binary information. Third, a hidden Markov model (HMM) is employed for shape recognition to label and rank the character candidates. For this purpose, a string of codes is extracted from each segment to represent the character candidates. The estimation of feature space parameters is embedded in the HMM training stage together with the estimation of the HMM model parameters. Finally, information from a lexicon and from the HMM ranks is combined in a graph optimization problem for word-level recognition. This method corrects most of the errors produced by the segmentation and HMM ranking stages by maximizing an information measure in an efficient graph search algorithm. The experiments indicate higher recognition rates compared to the available methods reported in the literature.


Background Diet, Body Mass Index (BMI), physical activity and smoking are among the most important lifestyle factors that influence global disease burden. In this thesis we investigate the relations of these factors with total disease burden in a large Dutch population, the EPIC-NL cohort. In this cohort lifestyle data were collected between 1993-7 and participants were followed for diseases until December 31, 2007.

We defined five different dietary patterns and we expressed disease burden in Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs). DALYs are the sum of Years Lost due to Disability and the Years of Life Lost due to premature mortality. The advantage of this summary health measure is that in the outcome morbidity as well as mortality of several diseases are combined. Lifestyle factors that have small effects on several diseases will be more easily identified as important for public health. Furthermore, DALYs help estimating the overall effect habits that have opposing effects on different diseases.

MethodsThe DALYs are estimated for 33,066 healthy men and women aged 20-70 years at recruitment into the EPIC-NL study. BMI, physical activity, diet and smoking are investigated separately and combined into a health behaviour score. We selected 5 dietary patterns that are relevant for the Dutch EPIC-NL population: 1. the Dutch guidelines for a healthy diet (Dutch Healthy Diet-index (DHD-index)), 2. the dietary guidelines proposed by the WHO (Healthy Diet Indicator (HDI)), 3. a Mediterranean Style Diet (modified Mediterranean Diet Score (mMDS)), and the a posteriori defined 4. prudent and 5. Western-type dietary pattern.

ResultsOur study shows that never smoking, a BMI lower than 25, being physically active and consuming a healthy diet all result in a longer healthy life. Persons who adhere to all four healthy lifestyle factors live approximately two years longer in good health. Higher adherence to any of the studied dietary patterns with the exception for the Western dietary pattern is related to lower disease burden. Persons who reported at baseline stronger adherence to the mMDS or prudent dietary pattern lived on average 2 months longer in good health (per standard deviation increase in score). We find a more modest association between the HDI and the DHD-index and overall disease burden: per standard deviation higher adherence was associated with approximately 1 month longer in good health.

ConclusionOur results show a beneficial impact on total disease burden when adhering to a healthy diet, specifically when adhering to a Mediterranean type of diet, including limited meat and meat products, plenty of fruit, nuts, fish and unsaturated fat and a limited amount of alcohol. Next to a healthy diet a combination of healthy lifestyle behaviours is important for a longer life in good health. Due to the underestimation of DALYs the estimates we reported should be considered the minimum estimate. Longer follow-up, a more complete assessment of disabilities and more insight in the impact of comorbidity of disability weights will give a more complete picture and a better insight into the association between lifestyle factors and disease burden.


A large cluster of High-Performance Computing (HPC) equipment at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California was retrofitted with an Asetek cooling system. The Asetek system is a hybrid scheme with water-cooled cold plates on high-heat-producing components in the information technology (IT) equipment, and with the remainder of the heat being removed by conventional air-cooling systems. In order to determine energy savings of the Asetek system, data were gathered and analyzed two ways: using top-down statistical models, and bottom-up engineering models. The cluster, "Cabernet", rejected its heat into a facilities cooling water loop which in turn rejected the heat into the same chilled water system serving the computer-room air handlers (CRAHs) that provided the air-based cooling for the room. Because the "before" and "after" cases both reject their heat into the chilled water system, the only savings is due to reduction in CRAH fan power. The top-down analysis showed a 4% overall energy savings for the data center (power usage effectiveness (PUE) —the ratio of total data center energy to IT energy— dropped from 1.60 to 1.53, lower is better); the bottom-up analysis showed a 3% overall energy savings (PUE from 1.70 to 1.66) and an 11% savings for the Cabernet system by itself (partial PUE of 1.51). Greater savings, on the order of 15-20%, would be possible if the chilled water system was not used for rejecting the heat from the Asetek system. About 37% of the heat from the Cab system was rejected to the cooling water, lower than at other installations.


Natural rubber is an indispensable commodity used in approximately 40,000 products and is fundamental to the tire industry. Among the species that produce latex, the rubber tree [Hevea brasiliensis (Willd. ex Adr. de Juss.) Muell-Arg.], a species native to the Amazon rainforest, is the major producer of latex used worldwide. The Amazon Basin presents optimal conditions for rubber tree growth, but the occurrence of South American leaf blight, which is caused by the fungus Microcyclus ulei (P. Henn) v. Arx, limits rubber tree production. Currently, rubber tree plantations are located in scape regions that exhibit suboptimal conditions such as high winds and cold temperatures. Rubber tree breeding programs aim to identify clones that are adapted to these stress conditions. However, rubber tree breeding is time-consuming, taking more than 20 years to develop a new variety. It is also expensive and requires large field areas. Thus, genetic studies could optimize field evaluations, thereby reducing the time and area required for these experiments. Transcriptome sequencing using next-generation sequencing (RNA-seq) is a powerful tool to identify a full set of transcripts and for evaluating gene expression in model and non-model species. In this study, we constructed a comprehensive transcriptome to evaluate the cold response strategies of the RRIM600 (cold-resistant) and GT1 (cold-tolerant) genotypes. Furthermore, we identified putative microsatellite (SSR) and single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. Alternative splicing, which is an important mechanism for plant adaptation under abiotic stress, was further identified, providing an important database for further studies of cold tolerance.


Counterfactual Regret Minimization (CFR) is the leading framework for solving large imperfect-information games. It converges to an equilibrium by iteratively traversing the game tree. In order to deal with extremely large games, abstraction is typically applied before running CFR. The abstracted game is solved with tabular CFR, and its solution is mapped back to the full game. This process can be problematic because aspects of abstraction are often manual and domain specific, abstraction algorithms may miss important strategic nuances of the game, and there is a chicken-and-egg problem because determining a good abstraction requires knowledge of the equilibrium of the game. This paper introduces Deep Counterfactual Regret Minimization, a form of CFR that obviates the need for abstraction by instead using deep neural networks to approximate the behavior of CFR in the full game. We show that Deep CFR is principled and achieves strong performance in large poker games. This is the first non-tabular variant of CFR to be successful in large games.


Background Knee injuries often occur due to biomechanical factors such as knee joint laxity. Individuals with Generalised Joint Hypermobility (GJH) frequently have knee joint hypermobility. Thus, GJH has been proposed as an intrinsic risk factor for knee injuries in adults and adolescents. To potentially compensate for reduced passive joint stability, adequate neuromuscular knee joint control is required before and during loading of the lower extremities. Objective To determine whether there is a difference in the neuromuscular pre and post activation landing patterns of the knee in adolescents with GJH and without GJH (NGJH) in the Single leg Hop for Distance test. Design Case-control study with groups matched on age and sex. Participants 54 adolescents (10–15 years), 25 with GJH and 29 with NGJH. GJH inclusion criteria were Beighton score ≥5/9 and hypermobility of at least one knee, and no current pain in the lower extremities. Main outcome measurements EMG of Vastus Medialis (VM), Vastus Lateralis (VL), Biceps Femoris (BF), Semitendinosus (ST), Gastrocnemius Medialis (GM) and Lateralis (GL) of the most hypermobile knee for the GJH group was used to determine pre- and post impact activation levels in % MVE before and during landing of the Single leg Hop for Distance test. Results Age and sex-adjusted analysis showed that GJH pre-activated ST 30% less compared with NGJH (22.1 (±12.6) vs 31.4 (±16.6.), P=.02). Conversely, GJH had a 28% higher GM pre-activity level than NGJH (32.5 (±14.8) vs 23.2 (±15.6), P=.02). There was no difference in performance (P=.67). Conclusions Lower ST but higher GM pre-activation levels were found in adolescents with GJH and knee joint hypermobility compared with NGJH. This latter is likely a compensatory strategy to enhance joint stability. For adolescents with GJH and knee joint hypermobility, intensive knee injury preventive training could be important, focusing among others on the ST.


In broadband communications, the long channel delay spread, defined as the duration in time, or samples, over which the channel impulse response (CIR) has significant energy, is too long and results in a highly-frequency-selective channel frequency response. Hence, a long CIR can spread over tens, or even hundreds, of symbol periods and causes impairments in the signals that have passed through such channels. For instance, a large delay spread causes inter-symbol interference (ISI) and inter-carrier interference (ICI) in multi-carrier modulation (MCM). Therefore, long finite impulse response (FIR) equalizers have to be implemented at high sampling rates to avoid performance degradation. However, the implementation of such equalizers is prohibitively expensive as the design complexity of FIR equalizers grows proportional to the square of the number of nonzero taps in the filter. Sparse equalization, where only few nonzero coefficients are employed, is a widely-used technique to reduce complexity at the cost of a tolerable performance loss. Nevertheless, reliably determining the locations of these nonzero coefficients is often very challenging. In this work, we first propose a general framework that transforms the problem of design of sparse single-input single-output (SISO) and multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) linear equalizers (LEs) into the problem of sparsest-approximation of a vector in different dictionaries. In addition, we compare several choices of sparsifying dictionaries under this framework. Furthermore, the worst-case coherence of these dictionaries, which determines their sparsifying effectiveness, are analytically and/or numerically evaluated. Second, we extend our framework to accommodate SISO and MIMO non-linear decision-feedback equalizers (DFEs). Similar to the sparse FIR LEs design problem, the design of sparse FIR DFEs can be cast into one of sparse approximation of a vector by a fixed dictionary whose solution can be obtained by using either greedy algorithms, such as Orthogonal Matching Pursuit (OMP), or convex-optimization-based approaches, with the former being more desirable due to its low complexity. Third, we further generalize our sparse design framework to the channel shortening setup. Channel shortening equalizers (CSEs) are used to ensure that the cascade of a long CIR and the CSE is approximately equivalent to a target impulse response (TIR) with much shorter delay spread. Channel shortening is essential for communication systems operating over highly-dispersive broadband channels with large channel delay spread. Fourth, as an application of recent practical interest for power-line communication (PLC) community, we consider channel shortening for the impulse responses of medium-voltage power-lines (MV-PLs) with length of 10 km and 20 km to reduce the cyclic prefix (CP) overhead in orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) and, hence, improves the data rate accordingly. For all design problems, we propose reduced-complexity sparse FIR SISO and MIMO linear and non-linear equalizers by exploiting the asymptotic equivalence of Toeplitz and circulant matrices, where the matrix factorizations involved in our design analysis can be carried out efficiently using the fast Fourier transform (FFT) and inverse FFT with negligible performance loss as the number of filter taps increases. Finally, the simulation results show that allowing for a little performance loss yields a significant reduction in the number of active filter taps, for all proposed LEs and DFEs design filters, which in turn results in substantial complexity reductions. The simulation results also show that the CIRs of MV-PLs with length of 10 km and 20 km can be shortened to fit within the broadband PLC standards. Additionally, our simulations validate that the sparsifying dictionary with the smallest worst-case coherence results in the sparsest FIR filter design. Furthermore, the numerical results demonstrate the superiority of our proposed approach compared to conventional sparse FIR filters in terms of both performance and computational complexity. Acknowledgment: This work was made possible by grant number NPRP 06-070-2-024 from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation). The statements made herein are solely the responsibility of the authors.


We describe a method for prediction of linguistic structure in a language for which only unlabeled data is available, using annotated data from a set of one or more helper languages. Our approach is based on a model that locally mixes between supervised models from the helper languages. Parallel data is not used, allowing the technique to be applied even in domains where human-translated texts are unavailable. We obtain state-of-the-art performance for two tasks of structure prediction: unsupervised part-of-speech tagging and unsupervised dependency parsing.


Methods of risk assessment for alien species, especially for nonagricultural systems, are largely qualitative. Using a generalizable risk assessment approach and statistical models of fish introductions into the Great Lakes, North America, we developed a quantitative approach to target prevention efforts on species most likely to cause damage. Models correctly categorized established, quickly spreading, and nuisance fishes with 87 to 94% accuracy. We then identified fishes that pose a high risk to the Great Lakes if introduced from unintentional (ballast water) or intentional pathways (sport, pet, bait, and aquaculture industries).


Despite the fact that haemodialysis requires that spouses support and assist their partner during the treatment period, little attention has been focused on their health. The aim of this study was to explore experiences of health in everyday life among spouses of haemodialysis patients. The study had an explorative and descriptive design based on content analysis. Thirteen participants were interviewed in their home without the presence of the patient. The results show that arduousness was experienced when that spouses' everyday life was taken up by caring for the patient at the expense of his/her own health. Spouses exhibited stamina and neglected their own health when focusing on the patient and minimising their own condition. Independence in everyday life revealed that spouses who cared about themselves and looked after their own health experienced relaxation and happiness, which protected their health. Clinical interventions should include an assessment of the spouses' health and everyday life in order to plan the care to ensure that it is directed towards increasing their independence. Instruments need to be developed that assess when and how spouses experience the greatest sense of well-being, if they have scope for relaxation and recovery, and what type of support they require in their everyday life.


Bitter melon, Momordica charantia L, is a popular traditional
medicinal fruit in tropical and subtropical countries. It has been linked with
therapeutic effects, some of which are likely due to its flavonoids. To
determine its total flavonoid content (TFC) and to prepare extracts for use as
nutritional supplements or ingredients for nutraceutical functional foods,
various solvents have been used, including water, which is the preferred
solvent because it is inexpensive, safe and environmentally friendly. The study
aimed to extract bitter melon, using five solvents (ethanol, methanol,
n-butanol, acetone and water) before and after the optimal conditions for water
were determined in terms of extraction temperature, time, ratio of water to
bitter melon (mL/g) and number of times the same material was extracted. The
TFC of six varieties of bitter melon was also determined. Acetone was the best
of the five solvents for extracting flavonoids from the Moonlight variety (23.2
mg Rutin Equivalents (RE)/g). Even after increasing the extraction by 88% (1.24
vs 0.66 mg RE/g) using optimised conditions for the aqueous extraction (two
extractions at 40℃ for 15 min at a ratio of 100:1 mL/g of bitter melon
powder), the flavonoids extracted from the Moonlight variety using water was
very little (5.4%) compared to acetone. Furthermore, using acetone, it was
shown that the Moonlight variety (23.2 mg RE/g) bought at a local market had
higher levels of flavonoids than the greenhouse-grown Jade (15.3 mg RE/g), Niddhi
(16.9 mg RE/g), Indra (15.0 mg RE/ g), Hanuman
(3.9 mg RE/g) and White (6.9 mg RE/g) varieties. Therefore, acetone was the
best solvent for extracting flavonoids from bitter melon and the aqueous
extraction could only be improved to extract 5.4% of the flavonoids extracted
with acetone from the Moonlight variety, which had the highest TFC of the six
varieties of bitter melon.


The Late Paleozoic glaciation of Gondwanaland comprised two short episodes, in the Famennian (I) and Visean (II) confined to Brazil and adjacent northwest Africa, and a long episode that started in the Namurian (IIIA) of eastern Australia and Bolivia/Argentina, expanded to cover much of Gondwanaland in the Stephanian/Asselian (IIIB), and collapsed in the early Sakmarian (IIIC). Dropstones in eastern Australia indicate that small ice centers lingered to the Kazanian. Across the belt of low latitudes north of Gondwanaland, short-ranging fossils in widespread shallow-marine and paralic deposits indicate synchronous deposition of transgressive-regressive sequences in different parts of Euramerica. These sequences correlate with glacial events in Gondwanaland at three levels: (a) four major regressions in Euramerica, in the Famennian (1), Visean (2), Namurian (3), Stephanian (4), and the Tastubian transgression that preceded the Sterlitamakian regression (5), also recorded in Gondwanaland, correlate with glacial episodes I, II, and IIIA, IIIB, and IIIC; (b) the time-interval of cyclothemic deposition in Euramerica (Brigantian or latest Visean to Sterlitamakian) correlates with that of glacial episode III; and (c) the dominant period of the Euramerican cyclothems, as estimated from the Middle and Late Pennsylvanian deposits of the mid-continent of North America, and of the thickest known Gondwanaland glacigenic sediment (the earliest Permian Lyons Group of Western Australia) is 0.4 Ma, equivalent in turn to the long orbital-eccentricity period of the Quaternary ice age, and the dominant period of fluctuation of the late Miocene Antarctic ice cap. The three levels of correlations confirm Wanless and Shepard9s (1936) hypothesis that the Late Paleozoic cyclothems are controlled largely by sea-level fluctuations related to the Gondwanaland glaciation.


Despite efforts to redesign an urban teacher education program for social justice and equity, faculty became aware of racialized issues teacher candidates of color faced in the program.  Therefore, this study examined the perspectives of teacher candidates to learn about how race is impacting teaching and learning for pre-service teachers.  Overall, we discovered the dominant narratives, often called majoritarian stories (Love, 2004), were extremely difficult to disrupt and essentially remained largely intact for teacher candidates in our program.  In addition, we found that majoritarian stories helped to maintain a level of superficiality for teacher candidates regarding issues of race.  For this reason, we argue that there is a need to "Push it real good!" using Critical Whiteness to engage in deeper level work with teacher candidates in order to help develop strong teacher activists with the skills, dispositions, and knowledge necessary to substantially disrupt the inequitable status quo in education.


This paper investigates "slacking with Internet technologies" in a classroom environment. Rooted in the literature on social loafing, we develop a model linking attributes of the context, the individual, and technology to "intention to cyber-slack" and its influence on the effective use of Internet technology. Using data collected from 128 student respondents, we empirically test our model using the Partial Least Squares approach to structural equation modeling. Our analysis found support for many of the relationships in the theoretical model. Specifically, we found that personal innovativeness with IT and multi-tasking with internet applications contribute to cognitive absorption, while cognitive absorption and subjective norms contributed to the intention to cyberslack. Further, we found that intention to cyber-slack accounted for a large amount of the variance in effective use of Internet technologies. The paper concludes with a discussion of implications for research and practice.


We utilize a microfluidic constriction to demonstrate two new mechanisms of in situ foam generation in porous media. The initial foam was generated using a flow-focusing geometry with co-flowing gas and surfactant solution streams and then flowed through a microfluidic constriction. By varying the gas and surfactant solution flow rates, different types of monodisperse foams were generated in which two bubbles (2-bubble foam), three bubbles (3-bubble foam), or more than three bubbles (>3-bubble foam) spanned the channel width. It was expected that the bubbles would snap off upon passing through the constriction; however, in our system, the snap-off mechanism was observed only under unstable conditions, namely, when the foam was wet and had a large bubble size. Instead, the following behaviors were observed as stable foam passed through the constriction: no change, reorientation, and pinch-off, which included two newly observed mechanisms (neighbor–wall pinch-off and neighbor–neighbor pinch-off). Neighbor–wall pinch-off occurs as a bubble is pinched between the surfaces of a neighboring bubble and the curved wall of the constriction. Neighbor–neighbor pinch-off occurs as a bubble is pinched off between two adjacent neighboring bubbles. The width of the pinched bubble as a function of time before pinch-off was found to scale as a power law with exponents of 0.523 ± 0.06 and 1.004 ± 0.05 for neighbor–wall and neighbor–neighbor pinch-off, respectively.


Southern Ocean waters are highly productive and contain important food resources for many indigenous predators, including humans. Management of these resources has fallen under the regulation of the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which has identified a suite of predators as indicator species for monitoring ecosystem fluctuations, including crabeater seals. For crabeater seals to fulfil this role, however, they must respond predictably to fluctuations in krill distribution and abundance. Here, we investigated the validity of using the diving behaviour of this species as an indicator of krill distribution and abun- dance. We used behavioural data collected from 23 crabeater seals fitted with satellite-linked time- depth recorders off eastern Antarctica to quantify habitat use as a function of the amount of time they spent within geographic regions with varying environmental characteristics. This was then linked with diving behaviour in those regions. By integrating geographic location and diving parameters, we demonstrated that habitat use and foraging behaviour within eastern Antarctic waters fluctuated in response to seasonal and spatial environmental variability. Our attempts to use oceanographic variables to develop models of crabeater seal habitat use and behaviour demonstrated real limitations in inferring behaviour from a simple set of environmental factors, but we identified ocean depth and the proximity to the ice edge as factors influencing seasonal habitat use and diving behaviour. Whilst our understanding of the influences driving crabeater seal distribution has improved as a result of telemetry studies, it would appear premature to infer cross-species patterns in distribution and abun- dance with krill given the low predictive power of models derived in the present study. Furthermore, the dynamic and regionally variable use of pelagic habitat by this widely abundant Antarctic preda- tor has important implications for the estimation of crabeater seal biomass.


In the last decade hydraulic fracturing for natural gas has exploded on the Barnett Shale in Texas. The region is now home to the most intensive hydraulic fracking and gas production activities ever undertaken in densely urbanized areas. Faced with minimal state and federal regulation, Texas cities are on the front line in the effort to figure out how best to balance industry, land use, and environmental concerns. Local governments in Texas, however, do not currently have the regulatory authority, capacity, or the information required to close the regulatory gap. Using the community experience on the Barnett Shale as a case study, this article focuses on the legal and regulatory framework governing air emissions and proposes changes to the current regulatory structure.Under both the state and federal programs, the regulation of hazardous air emissions from gas operations is based largely on questions of cost and available technology. There is no comprehensive cumulative risk assessment to consider the potential impact to public health in urban areas. Drilling operations are being conducted in residential areas. Residents living in close proximity to gas operations on the Barnett Shale have voiced serious concerns for their health, which have yet to be comprehensively evaluated. Given the complexity of the science, and the dearth of clear, transparent, and enforceable standards, inadequate studies and limited statistical analysis have been allowed to provide potentially false assurances. The politically expedient bottom line dominates with little attention paid to the quality of the science or the adequacy of the standards.Determining and applying comprehensive health-based standards for hazardous air pollutants has been largely abandoned at the federal level given uncertainties in the science, difficulties of determining and measuring "safe" levels of toxic pollutants, and the potential for economic disruption. Neither the state nor the federal government has set enforceable ambient standards for hazardous air pollutants. Identifying cumulative air pollution problems that may occur in urban areas, the State of California has called upon local governments to identify "hot spots" and to consider air quality issues in their planning and zoning actions. In Texas, however, preemption discussions dominate the analysis. Any local government regulation that might provide protection from toxic air emissions otherwise regulated by the State must be justified by some other public purpose.Texas should consider authorizing and encouraging local level air quality planning for industrial activities, similar to what California has done. Care should be taken to separate these facilities from sensitive receptors and "hot spots" that may already be burdened with excessive hazardous air emissions. Given the difficulty of the task, there is also an important role for the state and federal governments in working to establish ambient standards for hazardous air pollutants, as well as standards for health based assessment and public communication. The uncertainty inherent in any of these standards should be made clear and accessible to local governments so that it may be considered in making appropriate and protective land use decisions. Texas should consider allowing local governments to have the power to establish ambient air quality standards, emissions limitations, monitoring, reporting, and offsets for hazardous air pollutants, following the model applied to conventional air pollutants pursuant to the federal program.


Information-based studies that use people's health data and biospecimens are set to play an important role in 21st-century biomedical discovery, public health, and healthcare system improvement. There is wide agreement that the Common Rule needs to be modernized to provide better protection for people whose data and biospecimens are used in such studies. Unfortunately, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) is in the position of trying to keep the Common Rule up-to-date using authorities granted by an outdated statute. This article explores statutory constraints that appear to limit the Secretary's authority to make some of the changes proposed in the July 2011 ANRPM. Some of the proposed revisions to the Common Rule seemingly would require legislative action to alter the Secretary's rulemaking authority. This does not, however, mean that it will be impossible to modernize the Common Rule in the absence of legislative action. As noted at the end of this article, the Secretary of HHS has significant discretion to make the Common Rule function better without amending the regulatory text itself. The Common Rule is hard to amend, but there are promising pathways for implementing improved policies within the framework of the existing regulation. Skillful use of these other approaches may avoid the need for hasty regulatory amendments that may, in the end, prove unlawful.


As a waste‐derived soil amendment with a long history, biochar has received extensive attention for its capability to improve soil fertility/health; remove or immobilize contaminants in soil, water and air; and mitigate climate change. With the aim of producing engineered biochars with excellent performances, new trends in biochar pyrolytic production and modification strategies have emerged. This review critically summarizes novel pyrolysis methods (e.g., microwave‐assisted pyrolysis, co‐pyrolysis and wet pyrolysis) and modification approaches (e.g., mineral modification, photocatalytic modification, electrochemical modification) with a focus on (a) the mechanisms involved in environmental remediation processes including soil immobilization, contaminant adsorption and catalytic oxidation; (b) effects of feedstock and pyrolysis conditions on physicochemical properties; (c) sustainability considerations in novel modification and pyrolysis strategies; and (d) the feasibility of extrapolating the results from wastewater treatment to soil remediation. It is argued that in order to achieve the maximum net environmental benefits, 'greener' modification methods are warranted, and the risks associated with pyrolysis of contaminated feedstock in soil amendment and contaminant sorption can be minimized through various novel approaches (e.g., co‐pyrolysis). Furthermore, novel pyrolysis methods can be combined with emerging modification strategies to synthesize more 'effective' biochars. Considering the similar aims of modification (e.g., increase surface area, introduce oxygen‐containing functional groups, increase aromaticity), the applicability of several novel approaches could in future can be expanded from contaminant adsorption/degradation in aqueous media to soil remediation/fertility improvement.


Although details remain uncertain, the father of Omar Mateen has claimed that his son's murderous acts in Orlando's Pulse nightclub last Saturday may have been inspired by the sight of two men kissing. In response, a twitter campaign with the hashtag #TwoMenKissing has encouraged men to tweet photographs of themselves kissing another man. This is an act of pride and defiance in the face of violent oppression. It also reveals the ongoing politics of men kissing in public.


Using a combination of modeling and online water quality instrumentation, utilities can produce real-time predictions of trihalomethane (THM) formation in their distribution system. In this study, an empirical model was used to predict THM formation and embedded into a full-scale supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system. Online water quality instrumentation provided input values to the THM model for total organic carbon (TOC), pH, and temperature. A hydraulic model was also embedded in SCADA, and provided residence time input values for the wholesale portion of the distribution system, which included large lateral pipelines, reservoirs, and pump forebays. Results from a 3-year evaluation showed that predicted THM concentrations were within 10 μg/L of the measured value 81% of the time. Real-time model predictions can provide an effective way to monitor the formation of THMs in a full-scale distribution system.


UĞURLU, M., I. KAYA and M. SARAY, 2016. Effects of some environmental factors on calf birth weight and milk yield of Anatolian Water Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis). Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 22: 995–998 This research was conducted to determine the effects of some environmental factors on calf birth weight, milk yield and lactation length in Anatolian Water Buffalo. The data on birth weight of 1006 buffalo calves, 470 total milk yields and 470 lactation lengths were from the records of the Anatolian Water Buffalo Breeding Association in Giresun Province in Turkey. The effects of calving season, age at calving and lactation length on birth weight and total milk yield were assessed. The records, four calving seasons were established; winter, spring, summer and fall. Age was divided into three groups: 3-4, 5-6 and 7 yrs and older. Lactation length was divided into fi ve groups 101-150, 151-200, 201-250, 251-300 and 301-350 days. Least square analyses were used for statistical analyzes. Statistical signifi cances among subgroups were determined with the Tukey Multiple Range Test. The overall means of calf birth weight, total milk yield and lactation length were 26.95 kg, 925.43 kg and 231.89 days, respectively. Birth weight was signifi cantly infl uenced by sex of calf (P < 0.05) and age of dam (P < 0.001), and increased with the age of dam. There was no signifi cant effect of age on the total milk yield and lactation length (P>0.05). The total milk yield (P < 0.01) and lactation length (P < 0.001) of dams calving in winter-spring were higher than for summer-autumn. In conclusion, calf birth weight and total milk yield in Giresun province is satisfactory for Turkish conditions. Births of calves should be planned for winter due to buffaloes calving in winter-spring producing the highest total milk yield.


Quantitative proteomics by mass spectrometry is widely used in biomarker research and basic biology research for investigation of phenotype level cellular events. Despite the wide application, the methodology for statistical analysis of differentially expressed proteins has not been unified. Various methods such as t test, linear model and mixed effect models are used to define changes in proteomics experiments. However, none of these methods consider the specific structure of MS-data. Choices between methods, often originally developed for other types of data, are based on compromises between features such as statistical power, general applicability and user friendliness. Furthermore, whether to include proteins identified with one peptide in statistical analysis of differential protein expression varies between studies. Here we present DEqMS, a robust statistical method developed specifically for differential protein expression analysis in mass spectrometry data. In all data sets investigated there is a clear dependence of variance on the number of PSMs or peptides used for protein quantification. DEqMS takes this feature into account when assessing differential protein expression. This allows for a more accurate data-dependent estimation of protein variance and inclusion of single peptide identifications without increasing false discoveries. The method was tested in several data sets including E. coli proteome spike-in data, using both label-free and TMT-labeled quantification. Compared with previous statistical methods used in quantitative proteomics, DEqMS showed consistently better accuracy in detecting altered protein levels compared with other statistical methods in both label-free and labeled quantitative proteomics data. DEqMS is available as an R package in Bioconductor.


In Buy It Now , Michele White examines eBay and its emphasis on community and social norms, revealing the cultural assumptions about gender, race, and sexuality that are reinforced throughout the site. She shows how instructional texts, rule systems, and advertisements "configure the user," allowing eBay to indicate how the site is supposed to function while also upholding particular values and practices. White details how eBay reinforces stereotypes about gender and sexuality, looking, for example, at descriptions included in wedding dress listings, and how eBay directs individuals to the "Adult Only" part of the website when they use the search terms "gay" and "lesbian." She discloses the ways that eBay promises a caring community but its "Black Americana" category reproduces racism by allowing sellers' narratives that excuse and romanticize slavery and insult African Americans. White also looks at how participants challenge eBay's categories, rules, and values, examining widely used strategies of resistance by sellers and buyers in the lesbian and gay interest listings. By analyzing the organizational and cultural logics present in eBay, White emphasizes how other Internet settings, including craigslist, are not as transparent, community-oriented, and empowering as they claim. She proposes methods for researching and reconceptualizing new media sites.


This paper presents the application of a new approach, territorial intelligence modelling for energy development (TIMED), developed in response to growing concerns about the social acceptance of wind farms. Project development is based on procedure transparency and involvement of all stakeholders. To do this, the TIMED approach involves two multi-criteria methods: multi-criteria decision aid (MCDA) and participatory and collaborative geographic information systems (GIS). The model was tested in the Baie-des-Sables wind farm plan located in Quebec, Canada. This was done as an academic research and did not impact the current operation of the farm, which started back in November 2006. If this approach requires more efforts from the wind farm developer at the preparation stage it has the advantages of reducing the risks and overall duration of the infrastructure launching.


ABSTRACT The deconstruction of the moral polity around forced migration proposed by Thomas Faist in his article "The moral polity of forced migration" can, in some ways, be interpreted as an analysis of the failure of global migration governance. In this comment, I review the challenges faced by those claiming their human rights, suggesting – in addition to Faist's explanations – some further causes of and consequences for the current situation. I then explore the type of claim made by refugees in their protests, using the concept of weak agency, which relativizes the statement made by Faist that their claim is not subversive.


This chapter explores how when learners as well as teachers are engaged in analysing their own classroom practices, the potential to sustain motivation is enhanced. Using an inclusive approach to creating shared understandings of 'successful' learning (the LOCIT process), learners and teachers research and reflect on their own teaching and learning in practical, co-constructed ways. This approach is built on the premise that classroom conditions are dynamic and that learning has to be 'owned' and understood by learners if progression and challenge are to impact on motivation. The chapter draws on studies in CLIL classrooms, where languages other than English are used as the medium for learning. However, the ideas and evidence presented could also be applied to language learning classrooms.


This paper is designed as a tutorial to highlight some recent developments for visualizing the relationships among response and predictor variables in multivariate linear models (MLMs), and implemented in convenient packages for R. These models include multivariate multiple regression analysis (MMRA), multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA). The methods we describe go well beyond what can be understood and explained from simple univariate graphical methods for the separate response variables. We describe extensions of these methods for the case of more than just a few response variables, where the important relationships can be readily seen in the low-dimensional (2D) space that accounts for most of the relevant information. As befits the tutorial nature of this paper, we analyze some sample psychological research studies utilizing these multivariate designs, showing examples in R. In the process, we also take up several practical problems related to the assumptions of MLMs, and how these can be dealt with using graphical methods. Finally, we provide guidelines to aid researchers in conducting multivariate research, pertaining to the analysis, visualization, and reporting of such designs. The graphical and statistical methods described here are all freely available and implemented in the R packages candisc, car, heplots, andmvinfluence.


1. We assessed the efficacy of nitrogen absorption from luminal L-leucine (1.2 and 12 mmol/l) and from isonitrogenous L-leucyl-L-leucine (0.6 and 6.0 mmol/l) in a preparation of vascularly and luminally perfused rat small intestine by measuring luminal leucyl-leucine disappearance and venous leucine appearance. 2. No intact dipeptide was found in the vascular perfusate. Leucine-nitrogen absorption, as judged by venous leucine appearance, was as efficient from free leucine (29 +/- 3 and 245 +/- 19 ng-atom min-1 g-1) as from leucyl-leucine (27 +/- 4 and 211 +/- 58 ng-atom min-1 g-1). It was not reduced in the presence of glycyl-L-proline or of the brush-border dipeptidase inhibitors alanine-beta-naphthylamide and cilastatin. 3. After one passage of the whole small intestine, only trace amounts of dipeptide, but large amounts of free leucine, were detected in the luminal effluent. Peptidase activity in the luminal effluent was demonstrated in 100,000 g supernatant and was inhibited by p-hydroxy-mercuribenzoate, but not by brush-border dipeptidase inhibitors. 4. We propose that nitrogen absorption from luminal leucyl-leucine may proceed predominantly via intraluminal peptide hydrolysis and subsequent transport of free leucine. Nevertheless, our findings and conclusions are at variance with previous observations and current opinion on intestinal handling of dipeptides, which may be due, in part, to the different methodological approach.


Lighting design is a complex but fundamental task in computer cinematography, involving the adjustment of light parameters to define final scene appearance. Many user interfaces have been proposed to simplify lighting design. They can be generally categorized in three paradigms: direct light parameter manipulation, indirect light feature manipulation (e.g., shadow dragging), and goal-based optimization of lighting through painting. To this date, no formal evaluation of the relative effectiveness of these paradigms has been performed. In this paper, we present a first step toward evaluating the benefits of these three paradigms in the form of a user study with a focus on novice users. 20 subjects participated in the experiment by performing various trials on simple scenes with up to 8 point lights, designed to test two lighting tasks: precise adjustment of lighting and the artistic exploration of lighting configurations. We collected objective and subjective data and found that subjects can light well with direct and indirect interfaces, preferring the latter. Paint-based goal specification was found to be significantly worse than the other paradigms, especially since users tend to sketch rather than accurately paint goal images, an input that painting algorithms were not designed for. We also found that given enough time, novices can perform relatively complex lighting tasks, unhindered by geometry or lighting complexity. Finally, we believe that our study will impact the design of future lighting interfaces and it will serve as the basis for designing additional experiments to reach a comprehensive evaluation of lighting interfaces.


In this book, first published in 1985, Ernest G. Bormann explores mass persuasion in America from 1620 to 1860, examining closely four rhetorical communities: the revivals of 1739-1740, the hot gospel of the postrevolutionary period, the evangelical revival and reform of the 1830s, and the Free Soil and Republican parties. Each community varies greatly, but Bormann asserts that each succeeding community shares a rhetorical vision of restoring the "American Dream" that is essentially a modification of the previous visions. Thus, they form a family of rhetorical visions that constitutes a rhetorical tradition of importance in nineteenth-century American popular culture.


Abstract The Amboseli landscape in Kenya has long been facing persistent challenges regarding conservation and development. To mitigate these problems and contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), various policy interventions have been initiated, mostly in the form of partnership arrangements. This article examines two such partnerships, the Amboseli Ecosystem Trust (AET) and the Big Life Foundation (BLF), to understand how they contribute to the governance of the Amboseli landscape, and the intrinsic link to power and politics. The research findings, based on document analysis, interviews and focus-group discussions, reveal that the partnerships have performed complementing landscape governance roles. Whereas AET focused on policy development, agenda-setting and meta-governance, BLF concentrated on policy implementation and meta-governance in relation to wildlife security. The way the partnerships performed these governance roles can be explained through the four faces of power, which reveal BLF's compulsory power and AET's institutional power. Nevertheless, the partnerships have only partially managed to bridge conflicting conservation and development discourses illustrating that the concept of sustainable development appears to hold little productive power on the ground. Overall, the article provides important insights into the contributions that partnerships can make to the SDGs, but also their limitations.


The zeta subunit of the T cell antigen receptor (TCR) exists primarily as a disulfide-linked homodimer. This receptor subunit is important in TCR-mediated signal transduction and is a substrate for a TCR-activated protein tyrosine kinase. The zeta chain was found to undergo ubiquitination in response to receptor engagement. This posttranslational modification occurred in normal T cells and tumor lines. Both nonphosphorylated and phosphorylated zeta molecules were modified, and at least one other TCR subunit, CD3 delta, was also ubiquitinated after activation of the receptor. These findings suggest an expanded role for ubiquitination in transmembrane receptor function.


Carbon catabolite repression (CCR) mediated by CRE1 in Trichoderma reesei emerged as a mechanism by which the fungus could adapt to new environments. In the presence of readily available carbon sources such as glucose, the fungus activates this mechanism and inhibits the production of cellulolytic complex enzymes to avoid unnecessary energy expenditure. CCR has been well described for the growth of T. reesei in cellulose and glucose, however, little is known about this process when the carbon source is sophorose, one of the most potent inducers of cellulase production. Thus, we performed high-throughput RNA sequencing to better understand CCR during cellulase formation in the presence of sophorose, by comparing the mutant ∆cre1 with its parental strain, QM9414. Of the 9129 genes present in the genome of T. reesei, 184 were upregulated and 344 downregulated in the mutant strain ∆cre1 compared to QM9414. Genes belonging to the CAZy database, and those encoding transcription factors and transporters are among the gene classes that were repressed by CRE1 in the presence of sophorose; most were possible indirectly regulated by CRE1. We also observed that CRE1 activity is carbon-dependent. A recent study from our group showed that in cellulose, CRE1 repress different groups of genes when compared to sophorose. CCR differences between these carbon sources may be due to the release of cellodextrins in the cellulose polymer, resulting in different targets of CRE1 in both carbon sources. These results contribute to a better understanding of CRE1-mediated CCR in T. reesei when glucose comes from a potent inducer of cellulase production such as sophorose, which could prove useful in improving cellulase production by the biotechnology sector.


This Major Research Paper (MRP) investigates how mental illness and physical illness are portrayed in Canadian print media and analyzes if and how this contributes to the social stigmatization of mental illness. The MRP explores the following questions: What metaphoric and figurative language is used by the Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail to depict cancer and mental illness? How is authority depicted in newspaper articles about mental illness and physical illness in the Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail? What types of stories about cancer and mental illness are most commonly published by the Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail? A discourse analysis was used to analyze the ways both illnesses were consciously and unconsciously characterized in 58 articles from two of Canada's most widely circulated newspapers. The quoted authorities and dominant story types were recorded in an attempt to further reveal how both illnesses are framed by the Canadian news media. The results indicated that the most commonly used metaphor within the cancer discourse was the war metaphor. Mental illness was commonly characterized as a loss of control. Patients were quoted significantly more often in articles about cancer than mental illness, suggesting that those with mental illness are not given a prominent voice in characterizing their own illness. Cancer stories were often related to new research. However, crime was most commonly associated with mental illness. These results frame cancer as illness that can be heroically battled collectively. On the contrary, mental illness is framed as a hopeless, personal affliction. These results may suggest that news media depictions of mental illness contribute to the stigmatization of the illness.


The Southeastern Black Sea coastal region in Turkey and Georgia is under threat of severe coastal erosion and shoreline recession. The main reason for this problem is the response of the coast to human activities. While water discharge rates were reduced by dams by approximately 7% only, about 98% of the suspended sediment is being captured by the dams, leading to reservoir siltation over time in the southern Black Sea Region Rivers in Turkey. About 83% of the total suspended sediments are carried by the Coruh River to its mouth, which determines the characteristics of the river and the shape of the coastal region. In this study, the effect of water runoff and sediment transport to the Black Sea Coast was investigated.


The Next Steps in Signaling (NSIS) Working group was officially formed in November 2001 to standardize a new IP signaling protocol suite. Six years have now passed and the first actual protocol specifications have been finalized. The purpose of this draft is to give an overview of what has been achieved, how the industry can make use of the new protocols, and how the research community can further extend the designs.


We devise a method to detect and estimate forces in a heterogeneous environment based on experimentally recorded stochastic trajectories. In particular, we focus on systems modeled by the heterogeneous overdamped Langevin equation. Here, the observed drift includes a "spurious" force term when the diffusivity varies in space. We show how Bayesian inference can be leveraged to reliably infer forces by taking into account such spurious forces of unknown amplitude as well as experimental sources of error. The method is based on marginalizing the force posterior over all possible spurious force contributions. The approach is combined with a Bayes factor statistical test for the presence of forces. The performance of our method is investigated analytically, numerically and tested on experimental data sets. The main results are obtained in a closed form allowing for direct exploration of their properties and fast computation. The method is incorporated into TRamWAy, an open-source software platform for automated analysis of biomolecule trajectories.


Thermal noise of optical reference cavities sets a fundamental limit to the
 frequency instability of ultrastable lasers. Using Levin's formulation of the
 fluctuation-dissipation theorem, we correct the analytical estimate for the spacer
 contribution given by Numata et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett.93, 250602
 (2004)]. For detailed analysis,
 finite-element calculations of the thermal noise focusing on the spacer geometry,
 support structure, and the usage of different materials have been carried out. We
 find that the increased dissipation close to the contact area between spacer and
 mirrors can contribute significantly to the thermal noise. From an estimate of the
 support structure contribution, we give guidelines for a low-noise mounting of the
 cavity. For mixed-material cavities, we show that the thermal expansion can be
 compensated without deteriorating the thermal noise.


Translucent materials are ubiquitous, and simulating their appearance requires accurate physical parameters. However, physicallyaccurate parameters for scattering materials are difficult to acquire. We introduce an optimization framework for measuring bulk scattering properties of homogeneous materials (phase function, scattering coefficient, and absorption coefficient) that is more accurate, and more applicable to a broad range of materials. The optimization combines stochastic gradient descent with Monte Carlo rendering and a material dictionary to invert the radiative transfer equation. It offers several advantages: (1) it does not require isolating singlescattering events; (2) it allows measuring solids and liquids that are hard to dilute; (3) it returns parameters in physically-meaningful units; and (4) it does not restrict the shape of the phase function using Henyey-Greenstein or any other low-parameter model. We evaluate our approach by creating an acquisition setup that collects images of a material slab under narrow-beam RGB illumination. We validate results by measuring prescribed nano-dispersions and showing that recovered parameters match those predicted by Lorenz-Mie theory. We also provide a table of RGB scattering parameters for some common liquids and solids, which are validated by simulating color images in novel geometric configurations that match the corresponding photographs with less than 5% error. CR Categories: I.3.7 [Computer Graphics]: Three-Dimensional Graphics and Realism—Raytracing;


Acanthamoeba spp are single-cell organisms that are commonly encountered in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Their role in our natural environment is mainly as bacterial consumer although some of them can become pathogens and infect humans and animals. Heavy metals such as mercury, cadmium, lead and zinc are dangerous pollutants and often its dissolved form enters the aquatic environment and affects the organisms in the food web of aquatic ecosystem including amoebae. A study on the cytotoxic effect of mercury, cadmium, lead and zinc on Acanthamoeba castellanii was conducted in order to understand more about their toxicity on the amoeba by looking at their EC50 and effect on the amoeba cell morphology. The results of this study indicated that mercury is the most toxic metal since its EC50 is only 2.0 ppm, followed by Cd (13.4 ppm), Pb (23.8 ppm) and Zn (143.3 ppm). The amoeba cells were observed to be smaller in size and stained orange with AOPI indicating the cells lost its cell membrane integrity which eventually lead to the cell death by necrosis when being exposed to the heavy metals.


Mastering and effective exploration of the web environment needs new ideas, adaptation of known methods as well as application of sophisticated and robust technical implementations. Among new research directions present in relation to Web applications, a remarkable place is occupied by intelligent methods defining the topic of soft computing. This edited book includes reports from the front of diverse fields of the Web: application of artificial intelligence, design, information retrieval and interpretation, user profiling, security, engineering, etc. The material has been presented at the 5th Atlantic Web Intelligence Conference AWIC 2007 held in Fontainbleau (France) and organized by Esigetel, Technical University of Lodz, and Polish Academy of Sciences.


The advertising industry serves an important purpose in our society by acting as the main source of information for consumers about products. Global advertisement spending reaches into the hundreds of billions of dollars annually. Because advertising plays such a large role in the economy, regulators across the globe have increasingly sought to promote truth in advertising. As a result, advertising regulation has exploded in the recent decades. Recently, the beauty and fashion industries have come under fire from advertising regulatory bodies, most notably in Europe, for misleading and offensive advertising practices. Regulators and interest groups are concerned by the unrealistic portrayals of models in these advertisements and the effects these portrayals have on consumers, young women in particular. While the call for heavier regulation of beauty and fashion advertising has picked up steam in countries across the world, the United States has been more reluctant to regulate. The protection of commercial speech under the First Amendment makes it more difficult to enact such regulations in the United States than in other countries that have more regulatory-friendly cultures. Despite the hesitation by U.S. regulators to police advertising practices in the beauty and fashion industries, U.S. advertisers must take note of the global advertising trend and alter their advertising practices to conform to the growing cultural concern about misleading advertising. Taking such steps is necessary for U.S. companies to maintain their foothold with consumers in foreign markets.


Abstract Banks supply liquidity to insure individuals against possible short-term consumption shocks. The higher this level of illiquidity insurance the lower the investments in long run assets, and the higher the risk of a bank run generated by a real negative shock. If individuals are sufficiently risk averse, competitive banks trade off liquidity insurance for portfolio risk. High growth expectations, typical of emerging economies, increase the optimal liquidity supply even when this increases the risk of a bank run. On the contrary, deposit contracts offered when economic performances are very uncertain (like in less developed economies), and where output fluctuations are milder (like in developed economies), are less exposed to the risk of a bank run. In this setting, a bail-out in case of crisis is ex-ante Pareto efficient even if it always increases the risk of crisis.


Gołaś, A, Wilk, M, Stastny, P, Maszczyk, A, Pajerska, K, and Zając, A. Optimizing half squat postactivation potential load in squat jump training for eliciting relative maximal power in ski jumpers. J Strength Cond Res 31(11): 3010-3017, 2017-Training load manipulation in a single workout session can increase or decrease training effectiveness in terms of athletes' strength or power gains. In ski jumping, the complex training that elicits maximal power gains may take advantage of the postactivation potentiation (PAP) mechanism. The aim of this research was to evaluate the changes in rate of force development (RFD), rate of power development (RPD), and jump height during a complex training session consisted of the barbell half squat (Sq) as a conditioning exercise with loads ranged between 60 and 100% of 1 repetition maximum (1RM), followed by a body weight squat jump (SqJ) as a performance task. The study was conducted with 16 elite athletes from the Polish National Ski Jumping Team, age 23 ± 8 years, body mass 56 ± 9 kg, and height 172 ± 12 cm. Complex training session started with the Sq at 60% of 1RM as the conditioning exercise, followed by 3 minutes of rest and the SqJ. The conditioning barbell half Sq was performed with 70, 80, 90, and 100% of 1RM with 5 minutes of rest. The differences in RFD occurred between an SqJ following the application of 80% of 1RM and all other SqJs (p = 0.01), and in RPD between SqJ without conditioning, SqJ after 60% of 1RM and 80% of 1RM (p = 0.02). On average, the most effective load in inducing PAP during ski jumpers' SqJ training is 80% of 1RM. The intensity of the conditioning exercise that elicits the greatest PAP effect should be individualized (60-100% 1RM), as it is dependent on the level of maximal strength.


Objective To define the anatomy of the lateral antebrachial cutaneous nerve (LABCN) and the cephalic vein (CV) in the anterior forearm region of living humans using ultrasonography for preventing LABCN injury during cephalic venipuncture. Methods Thirty forearms of 15 healthy volunteers were evaluated using ultrasonography to identify the point where the LABCN begins to contact with the CV, and the point where the LABCN separates from the CV. The LABCN pathway in the forearm in relation to a nerve conduction study was also evaluated. Results The LABCNs came in contact with the CV at a mean of 0.6±1.6 cm distal to the elbow crease, and separated from the CV at a mean of 7.0±3.4 cm distal to the elbow crease. The mean distance between the conventionally used recording points (point R) for the LABCN conduction study and the actual sonographic measured LABCN was 2.4±2.4 mm. LABCN usually presented laterally at the point R (83.3%). Conclusion The LABCN had close proximity to the CV in the proximal first quarter of the forearm. Cephalic venipuncture in this area should be avoided, and performed with caution if needed.


Muscadine grapes are native to the southern United States, where they have been grown and consumed for generations. Apart from extensive coverage provided in scientific research concerning their healthy properties, to date very little has been researched about other areas of the muscadine grapes, muscadine wines and related products. For example, in an era when the 'local' aspect of foods can have a strong impact on both consumers and food growers, very little has been researched from an entrepreneurial, marketing and (wine) tourism perspective. In this context, academic literature investigating winery operators' efforts in promoting and selling muscadine products through the cellar door is almost inexistent. The present study examines this area from the perspective of 31 operators of family-run wineries located in several southern states. The findings demonstrate agreement among respondents about the critical need to promote the 'local' aspect of muscadine wines, as well as other value-added muscadine products. Some operators refer to the need to support local/state farmers following 'buy local' slogans, while others are reacting at consumers' demands for local products. Arguably, as more muscadine wineries are established in some of the southern states, muscadine wines may become more popular and more accepted by mainstream consumers. However, muscadine winery operators are confronted by several challenges such as the lack of resources and support to invest in or expand their promotional efforts; in some cases, state legislation prevents operators from distributing their products outside the cellar door. With so many wines and other beverages consumers can find in retail stores and in the hospitality industry today, the strengthening of current promotional efforts at the cellar door and introducing consumers to a relatively unknown local product (as compared with Vitis vinifera wines) become critical for southern winery operators.


Health is a topic that affects everyone either through their own personal experiences or those of a family member, friend or work colleague, so it is not surprising to hear that there is increasing interest in online health information. For example, a national survey in 2013 into internet use in the United States showed that 59 per cent of people had searched for health information on the internet, and that six out of 10 respondents said the information they found online affected their decision about how to treat an illness or a medical condition. The downside is that there is a saturation of health topics and this makes it hard to maintain interest and also credibility, especially when many health stories promote contradictory advice. This paper provides a brief snapshot into the shortcomings of online health information and suggests some ways to improve both the content and its credibility.


This document holds a description of the assignment, objective, tasks and position of the Information Strategy Board of the NISV. The Board consists of management and policy representatives from all NISV units en is responsible for the validation and quality assurance of the overarching information policy and the IT policy of the institute, as these are developed and maintained for the core archival functions and processes (ingest, storage, preservation, access) as well as for the supporting systems (the networks and the application environment).


The Multi-Armed Bandits (MAB) framework highlights the trade-off between acquiring new knowledge (Exploration) and leveraging available knowledge (Exploitation). In the classical MAB problem, a decision maker must choose an arm at each time step, upon which she receives a reward. The decision maker's objective is to maximize her cumulative expected reward over the time horizon. The MAB problem has been studied extensively, specifically under the assumption of the arms' rewards distributions being stationary, or quasi-stationary, over time. We consider a variant of the MAB framework, which we termed Rotting Bandits, where each arm's expected reward decays as a function of the number of times it has been pulled. We are motivated by many real-world scenarios such as online advertising, content recommendation, crowdsourcing, and more. We present algorithms, accompanied by simulations, and derive theoretical guarantees.


This paper presents a process, voltage and temperature (PVT) compensation method for a cascode modulated polar power amplifier (PA). It is shown that it is possible to create a baseband replica circuit of the PA that has the same AM-AM nonlinearity as the PA itself. The replica circuit, that represents a transistor level model (empirical model) of the cascode modulated PA, is utilized in a PA analog predistorter. The analog predistorter linearizes and compensates for PVT variation of the cascode modulated PA. The empirical model is placed in the negative feedback of an operational transconductance amplifier. The predistorted varying envelope signal is applied to the cascode gate of the PA. It is shown that the proposed PVT compensation technique significantly reduces the PVT spread of the PA linearity indicators and improves the PA linearity. Simulations were performed in a 0.13 μm CMOS process.


Fixed segmentism is the phenomenon whereby a reduplicative morpheme contains segments that are invariant rather than copied. We investigate it within Optimality Theory, arguing that it falls into two distinct types, phonological and morphological. Phonological fixed segmentism is analyzed under the OT rubric of emergence of the unmarked. It therefore has significant connections to markedness theory, sharing properties with other domains where markedness is relevant and showing context-dependence. In contrast, morphological fixed segmentism is a kind of affixation, and so it resembles affixing morphology generally. The two types are contrasted, and claims about impossible patterns of fixed segmentism are developed.


CollageMachine synthesizes artistic and computational practices in order to represent media from the World Wide Web (WWW). It functions as a process-based art work, and as a special browser which can be useful for searching. Media elements are pulled from Web pages and composed into a collage which evolves over time. The evolving art work / browsing session can be shaped by the user. The temporal composition of the collage develops with relation to its visual composition and semantic content. The CollageMachine engine combines structured randomness and the user's expression of preferences and interests with design rules and semantic rules to make decisions about the collage's layout, and about which media to retrieve. My approach in blending music composition strategies, visual art aesthetics, and computer science techniques into this interactive environment arises through application of the theory of Interface Ecology.


NEW EDITION, REVISED AND UPDATED

 Since employees who walk out the door cost their companies up to 200 percent of their annual salaries to replace, retention is one of the most important issues facing businesses today. And with so many surveys reporting that employees are unhappy and not working up to their full potential, engagement is a second serious and costly issue. The latest edition of this Wall Street Journal bestseller offers twenty-six simple strategies—from A to Z—that managers can use to address their employees' real concerns and keep them engaged. The fifth edition has been revised and updated throughout and includes many more international examples, reflecting the fact that Love 'Em or Lose 'Em is available in twenty-two languages, from Albanian and Arabic to Thai and Turkish. Its message is truly one that spans continents and cultures.


The Families Matter initiative was designed as a major, multi-year undertaking to develop legal practice methods and approaches to reduce the destructive consequences of the family legal process. The initiative was intended to respond to the need for deep and meaningful reform of the family law process. Convened in June 2010 by the University of Baltimore School of Law Sayra and Neil Meyerhoff Center for Families, Children and the Courts (CFCC), the Families Matter Symposium brought together an interdisciplinary group of family law experts for two days at the University of Baltimore to identify problems regarding the practice of family law and to make recommendations about promising solutions. The best outcomes for family law cases require a combination of lawyers and mental health professionals, social scientists, mediators, judges, academics, policymakers and financial experts, among others. In addition, Symposium participants acknowledged that the resolution of family law cases must not be "win or lose" and that a major shift in tone is needed. The main question was, "How do we radically transform a family court system from one that disrupts and tears apart families to one that helps heal them?" The Families Matter initiative intended to help develop and support a family justice system with an interdisciplinary, holistic and therapeutic focus; to make a broad range of family and individual services available to separating families; to foster greater use of alternative dispute resolution at the earliest stages of a case; and to encourage training law students, lawyers, judges, and court personnel toward a less adversarial, therapeutic, holistic focus when dealing with family law matters. This report provides a summary and overview of the Symposium discussions and the suggestions for reform that emerged from those discussions.


Black shank [caused by Phytophthora parasitica (Dast.) var. nicotianae (B. de Haan) Tucker] is one of the most devastating diseases in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.). Phytophthora parasitica var. nicotianae race 1 is the most damaging race of this fungus. The objective of this study was to identify the Nicotiana species that are resistant to P. parasitica var. nicotianae race 1 as part of the effort to develop Nicotiana-based plant varieties for applications in the production of plant-made pharmaceuticals (PMPs). The roots of approximately 26-d-old growth room-grown plants were inoculated with zoospores of an isolate of P. parasitica var. nicotianae race 1 by a dipping procedure. The percentage of plants that were free of symptoms 10 to 14 d after inoculation was taken as a measure of resistance to the fungus. We evaluated a total of 97 Nicotiana accessions from 37 species from the USDA collection and other sources. Among the 97 accessions, three from N. debneyi Domin, two from N. repanda Willd. ex Lehm., and one each from N. megalosiphon Van Heurck & Mull. Arg., N. plumbaginifolia Viv., N. suaveolens Lehm., and N. sylvestris Speg. & Comes were found to be resistant. Their resistances were further confirmed after they were evaluated for an additional three times. These nine accessions were then challenged by another isolate of race 1. All accessions except for the N. sylvestris accession were found to be resistant. Nicotiana debneyi, N. megalosiphon, and N. suaveolens were not previously reported to be resistant to P. parasitica var. nicotianae race 1. Our study indicated that the undomesticated Nicotiana species constitute a rich genetic source for resistance to the tobacco disease black shank.


Abstract. Understanding the criteria that bicyclists apply when they choose their routes is crucial for planning new bicycle paths or recommending routes to bicyclists. This is becoming more and more important as city councils are becoming increasingly aware of limitations of the transport infrastructure and problems related to automobile traffic. Since different groups of cyclists have different preferences, however, searching for a single set of criteria is prone to failure. Therefore, in this paper, we present a new approach to classify trajectories recorded and shared by bicyclists into different groups and, for each group, to identify favored and unfavored road types. Based on these results we show how to assign weights to the edges of a graph representing the road network such that minimumweight paths in the graph, which can be computed with standard shortest-path algorithms, correspond to adequate routes. Our method combines known algorithms for machine learning and the analysis of trajectories in an innovative way and, thereby, constitutes a new comprehensive solution for the problem of deriving routing preferences from initially unclassified trajectories. An important property of our method is that it yields reasonable results even if the given set of trajectories is sparse in the sense that it does not cover all segments of the cycle network.


Ultrasonic flow meters are commonly used in wastewater management. Under certain circumstances, a reduction in the flow meter range may occur and cause significant error in the flow rate measurement. Attenuation due to suspended particles is one of the phenomena capable of reducing the flow meter range. The present paper examines attenuation resulting from re-suspended pond sediment over a wide range of concentration values. It appears that a formula established for sand suspensions provides a good estimate of ultrasound attenuation for these types of particles as well. Experiments conducted for wastewater under particle concentrations commonly encountered in sewer networks demonstrate that the attenuation by particles only contributes to a negligible extent towards intensity decay, in accordance with theoretical predictions. We also theoretically determine herein the operating conditions under which the range of an ultrasonic flow meter would be significantly reduced due to particle attenuation.


Background Primarily impacting poor, rural populations, the zoonotic malaria Plasmodium knowlesi is now the main cause of human malaria within Malaysian Borneo. While data is increasingly available on symptomatic cases, little is known about community-level patterns of exposure and infection. Understanding the true burden of disease and associated risk factors within endemic communities is critical for informing evidence-based control measures. Methodology/Principal findings We conducted comprehensive surveys in three areas where P. knowlesi transmission is reported: Limbuak, Pulau Banggi and Matunggung, Kudat, Sabah, Malaysia and Bacungan, Palawan, the Philippines. Infection prevalence was low with parasites detected by PCR in only 0.2% (4/2503) of the population. P. knowlesi PkSERA3 ag1 antibody responses were detected in 7.1% (95% CI: 6.2–8.2%) of the population, compared with 16.1% (14.6–17.7%) and 12.6% (11.2–14.1%) for P. falciparum and P. vivax. Sero-prevalence was low in individuals <10 years old for P. falciparum and P. vivax consistent with decreased transmission of non-zoonotic malaria species. Results indicated marked heterogeneity in transmission intensity between sites and P. knowlesi exposure was associated with agricultural work (OR 1.63; 95% CI 1.07–2.48) and higher levels of forest cover (OR 2.40; 95% CI 1.29–4.46) and clearing (OR 2.14; 95% CI 1.35–3.40) around houses. Spatial patterns of P. knowlesi exposure differed from exposure to non-zoonotic malaria and P. knowlesi exposed individuals were younger on average than individuals exposed to non-zoonotic malaria. Conclusions/Significance This is the first study to describe serological exposure to P. knowlesi and associated risk factors within endemic communities. Results indicate community–level patterns of infection and exposure differ markedly from demographics of reported cases, with higher levels of exposure among women and children. Further work is needed to understand these variations in risk across a wider population and spatial scale.


Geographic location is a key component for information retrieval on the Web, recommendation systems in mobile computing and social networks, and place-based integration on the Linked Data cloud. Previous work has addressed how to estimate locations by named entity recognition, from images, and via structured data. In this paper, we estimate geographic regions from unstructured, non geo-referenced text by computing a probability distribution over the Earth's surface. Our methodology combines natural language processing, geostatistics, and a data-driven bottom-up semantics. We illustrate its potential for mapping geographic regions from non geo-referenced text.


Context. The ocean mass of the Earth is only 2.3 × 10−4 of the whole planet mass. Even including water in the interior, the water fraction would be at most 10−3−10−2. Ancient Mars may have had a similar or slightly smaller water fraction. What controlled the amount of water in these planets has not been clear, although several models have been proposed. It is important to clarify the control mechanism to discuss water delivery to rocky planets in habitable zones in exoplanetary systems, as well as that to Earth and Mars in our solar system.
Aims. We consider water delivery to planets by icy pebbles after the snowline inwardly passes planetary orbits. We derive the water mass fraction (fwater) of the final planet as a function of disk parameters and discuss the parameters that reproduce a small value of fwater comparable to that inferred for the Earth and ancient Mars.
Methods. We calculated the growth of icy dust grains to pebbles and the pebble radial drift with a 1D model, by simultaneously solving the snowline migration and dissipation of a gas disk. With the obtained pebble mass flux, we calculated accretion of icy pebbles onto planets after the snowline passage to evaluate fwater of the planets.
Results. We find that fwater is regulated by the total mass (Mres) of icy dust materials preserved in the outer disk regions at the timing (t = tsnow) of the snowline passage of the planetary orbit. Because Mres decays rapidly after the pebble formation front reaches the disk outer edge (at t = tpff), fwater is sensitive to the ratio tsnow∕tpff, which is determined by the disk parameters. We find tsnow∕tpff < 10 or > 10 is important. By evaluating Mres analytically, we derive an analytical formula of fwater that reproduces the numerical results.
Conclusions. Using the analytical formula, we find that fwater of a rocky planet near 1 au is similar to the Earth, i.e., ~10−4−10−2, in disks with an initial disk size of 30–50 au and an initial disk mass accretion rate of ~(10−8−10−7) M⊙ yr−1 for disk depletion timescale of approximately a few M yr. Because these disks may be median or slightly compact/massive disks, our results suggest that the water fraction of rocky planets in habitable zones may often be similar to that of the Earth if icy pebble accretion is responsible for water delivery.


Shiga toxin-converting bacteriophages (Stx phages) are present as prophages in Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) strains. Theses phages can be transmitted to previously non-pathogenic E. coli cells making them potential producers of Shiga toxins, as they bear genes for these toxins in their genomes. Therefore, sensitivity of Stx phage virions to various conditions is important in both natural processes of spreading of these viruses and potential prophylactic control of appearance of novel pathogenic E. coli strains. In this report we provide evidence that virions of Stx phages are significantly more sensitive to UV irradiation than bacteriophage λ. Following UV irradiation of Stx virions at the dose of 50 J/m2, their infectivity dropped by 1–3 log10, depending on the kind of phage. Under these conditions, a considerable release of phage DNA from virions was observed, and electron microscopy analyses indicated a large proportion of partially damaged virions. Infection of E. coli cells with UV-irradiated Stx phages resulted in significantly decreased levels of expression of N and cro genes, crucial for lytic development. We conclude that inactivation of Stx virions caused by relatively low dose of UV light is due to damage of capsids that prevents effective infection of the host cells.


In this paper the influence of radiative heat transfer on convective flows in aircraft cabins is considered. The results show that in thermally driven flows radiation heat transfer have an essential impact on the flow and must be considered for accurate flow predictions. A parallel Discrete Transfer Radiation Method (DTRM) for the simulation of the surface to surface radiation heat transfer is coupled with the DLR THETA code. Besides the standard boundary condition for wall heat radiation, a special treatment for transparent boundaries is implemented. It offers the possibility to specify the radiation heat flux and the direction of incidence of the sun through the cabin window. The energy is then distributed in the cabin by the DTRM. The DLR THETA code is an unstructured incompressible Navier-Stokes-Solver developed by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). It supports convective heat transport, very large grids, highly complex geometries and massive parallel computations.


Open data initiatives are critical to open government policies which promote transparency, citizen engagement and collaboration. However, they face challenges in realizing their potential benefits through citizens' active engagement. Despite the sharp rise of social media use by governments or quasi-governmental organizations to engage citizens in transforming public service quality and offers, very little has been written on enabling roles of social media in influencing the outcome of open data initiatives. This research examines the potential enabling roles of social media in motivating and having citizens' engagement easier in open data environments. Specifically, we present social media use in supporting citizen-sourcing initiatives in response to an open data initiative. We examined the 2014 Indonesian presidential voting results by the Indonesia General Election Commission as the case study context. Our study proposes two complementary roles of social media in enabling the realization of the benefits from opening election voting results transparent.


For the first time in forty years, the national incarceration rate is flattening out, even falling in state prisons. For the first time in three decades, the number of adults under any kind of correctional supervision — in prison or jail or on probation or parole — fell in 2009. At the same time, legal reforms that might have seemed impossible in prior years have increasingly been adopted, reducing penalties for certain crimes, eliminating mandatory sentencing for others, and increasing expenditures for reintegration of prisoners into society. And racial disparities, a persistent and deep-rooted problem in the American criminal justice system, after rising for decades, have begun to drop from their highest levels.This essay examines these trends and asks what might be done to accelerate them. I survey the reforms that states and Congress have adopted and look at the interplay of such reforms with the historic racial disparities that have characterized the criminal justice system. I then speculate about the forces that have contributed to these developments, including drops in crime rates, budget pressures, and, paradoxically, the war on terror.We still have a long way to go. If we are to reduce incarceration in any significant measure, it is essential that legislatures (1) authorize more non-incarceration responses to low-level crimes, especially drug offenses; (2) shorten sentences substantially for crimes generally, to bring them more in line with those of other industrialized nations; and (3) invest in inner-city communities where children face the biggest barriers to achieving law-abiding, productive careers. In the essay's final section, I discuss strategies that might encourage such developments.