Light sheet microscopy is a powerful method for three-dimensional imaging of large biological specimens. However, its imaging ability is greatly diminished by sample scattering and aberrations. Optical clearing, Bessel light modes, and background rejection have been employed in attempts to circumvent these deleterious effects. We present an in situ wavefront correction that offers a major advance by creating an "optimal" light sheet within a turbid sample. Crucially, we show that no tissue clearing or specialized sample preparation is required, and clear improvements in image quality and depth resolution are demonstrated both in Gaussian and Bessel beam-based light sheet modalities.


There is broad consensus that timber harvesting must be improved to achieve sustainable forest management. Reduced impact logging (RIL) is a key component of better forest management. Its implementation is largely contingent on satisfying economic and institutional concerns. In tropical forests, RIL has been tested and applied on a small scale for more than a decade. Various timber-producing countries in Asia and the Pacific have recognized its potential for advancing sustainable forest management. Yet many questions remain and the lack of sound and appropriate information continues to impede the widespread application of RIL. This publication helps fill that critical information gap. It includes a wealth of information that was presented during the International conference on the application of reduced impact logging to advance sustainable forest management, held from 26 February to 1 March 2001, in Kuching, Malaysia. The conference assessed past and ongoing efforts to implement RIL and considered options for future application. This publication reflects an important milestone in the efforts to improve forest management in the region. While acknowledging that considerable challenges lie ahead, it provides reason for cautious optimism concerning the wider application of RIL in the future. (Resume d'auteur)


John 3:1-4 NIV Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him." Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.


After earlier success, growth performance in most Caribbean countries has been disappointing since the early 1990s. With slower growth, output has fallen behind that of relevant comparator countries. This paper analyzes the growth experience of the Caribbean countries from a cross country perspective. Three findings stand out. First, the slowdown in growth is explained more by a decline in productivity rather than a lack of investment. Second, tourism has been a significant contributor to higher growth (through both capital accumulation and productivity) and lower output volatility, and in many countries there is scope for further expansion of this sector. Third, the small size and the fact that most of these countries are islands have limited growth. Policies aimed at improving productivity, further development of the tourism sector, and regional integration could pay dividends in terms of higher growth in the region.


ABSTRACT The article explores possible cultural approaches to new-media art aesthetics and criticism through an in-depth appraisal of recent works by three contemporary practitioners from Asia and the Pacific: Lisa Reihana, Vernon Ah Kee and Qiu Zhijie. Particular attention is paid to the issues of place, location and cultural practice in their work, issues currently under-examined in new-media art discourse. The analysis pays close attention to the operationality of the works, the influence of pre-digital aesthetic histories and the richly locative and virtual schemas of indigenous epistemologies that serve to meaningfully expand Euro-American notions of locative media art.


Throughout the years, study on pre-colonial Southeast Asian international relations has not garnered major attention because it had long been seen as an integral part of the China-centred tribute system. There is a need to provide greater understanding of the uniqueness of the international system as different regions have different ontologies to comprehend its dynamics and structures. This paper contributes to the pre-colonial Southeast Asian literature by examining the interplay that had exist ed between pre-colonial Southeast Asian empires and the hierarchical East Asian international society , in particular during the 13 th -16 th Century. The paper argues that Southeast Asian international relations in pre-colonial time were characterized by complex political structures with the influence of Mandala values. In that structural context, the Majapahit Empire, one of the biggest empires at that time had its own constitutional structures of an international society, albeit still sought close relations with China.


© OECD 2004. Introduction Radio frequency identification, or RFID, has sprung into prominence in the last five years with the promise of providing a relatively low-cost means for connecting nonelectronic objects to an information network. In particular, the retail supply chain has been established as a key sector for a major deployment of RFID technology. This chapter provides a background to the technology and its position with regard to competing technologies. A range of applications is reviewed and the chapter concludes with some comments on the likely societal impact of RFID and potential barriers to deployment. The report is aimed at a nontechnical audience - namely, senior staff from a spectrum of areas including insurance, banking, telecommunications, government institutions and academia. It does not cover any technologies other than RFID, and in particular does not address technologies that may be candidates for tracking people.


FUNCTIONAL REDISTRIBUTION OF HIPPOCAMPAL CANNABINOID CB1 RECEPTORS IN THE RAT PILOCARPINE MODEL OF ACQUIRED EPILEPSY Katherine W. Falenski, B.S. A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2006 Director: Dr. Robert J. DeLorenzo, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H George Bliley Professor Department of Neurology Cannabinoids, such as the marijuana derivative a9-THC, are known to have CBI receptor-mediated anticonvulsant effects in several animal models of seizures and epilepsy, including the rat pilocarpine model of acquired epilepsy. However, the distribution of CBI receptor expression and function in brains of epileptic rats has not been characterized. Therefore, this dissertation was initiated to evaluate the effect of epileptogenesis on the distribution and function of the endogenous CBI receptor system in the rat pilocarpine model, a well-established model of acquired temporal lobe epilepsy. xvi Using in~munohistochemistry, we demonstrated that chronically epileptic rats exhibit a unique, long-term, and specific redistribution of hippocampal CBl receptors when compared to controls, with concurrent layer-specific increases and decreases in CB1 receptor expression within the hippocampus. In addition, studies in this dissertation demonstrated using ['HI WIN^ 5,2 12-2 autoradiography and agonist-stimulated ['"IGTP~S autoradiography that this CB1 receptor-specific reorganization results in corresponding functional changes manifested by alterations in CB1 receptor binding and G-protein activation. These regionally selective changes were dependent on NMDA receptor activation during the initial insult of pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus (SE), and were independent of seizure suppression produced with phenobarbital administration in epileptic rats. Furthermore, time-course studies utilizing these techniques demonstrate that within a week following SE, a widespread loss of CB1 receptor expression and function occurs throughout the hippocampus. The subsequent redistribution of CB1 receptors that occurs temporally correlates with the emergence of spontaneous recurrent seizures, and is still observed up to 1 year following SE. Overall, the reorganization of cannabinoid receptors in epilepsy implicates the endocannabinoid system in modulating neuroexcitability in the epileptic state. This CBl receptor redistribution represents an essentially permanent neuronal plasticity change associated with epileptogenesis, and could account for the anticonvulsant effect of cannabinoids observed in this model.


The tradition of portraiture in Latin America is astonishingly long and rich. For over 2,000 years, portraits have been used to preserve the memory of the deceased, bolster the social standing of the aristocracy, mark the deeds of the mighty, advance the careers of politicians, record rites of passage, and mock symbols of the status quo. This beautiful and wide-ranging book--the first to explore the tradition of portraiture in Latin America from pre-Columbian times to the present day--features some 200 works from fifteen countries. Retratos (Portraits) presents an engaging variety of works by such well-known figures as Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Fernando Botero, and Jose Campeche as well as stunning examples by anonymous and obscure artists. Distinguished contributors discuss the significance of portraits in ancient Mayan civilizations, in the world of colonial Iberians, in the political struggles of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and in a remarkable range of other times and locations. With a wealth of informative details and exquisite color illustrations, Retratos invites readers to appreciate Latin American portraits and their many meanings as never before.


This thesis presents theoretical formulations and numerical computations for predicting first- and second-order hydrodynamic forces on a marine vehicle advancing in waves. The theoretical formulation starts with the derivation of the governing equations for the boundary-value problem of potential flow and its consequence leads to linearised radiation and diffraction problems using the peturbation expansion technique. Solutions of these two problems are obtained by solving the three-dimensional Green function integral equations over the mean wetted body surface. The forward speed free surface Green function representing a translating pulsating source potential for infinite water depth and finite water depth is derived using double Fourier transformation technique. This source potential reduces to an oscillating source at zero speed or to a Kelvin source at zero frequency. In order to solve the three-dimensional Green function integral equations efficiently, symmetry properties of the Green function and the body surface are exploited in the numerical implementation. Using a fully submerged ellipsoid and a half-submerged ellipsoid as examples, the free surface and forward speed effects on hydrodynamic coefficients are investigated. Their cross coupled hydrodynamic coefficients calculated by the present theory satisfy with Timman-Newman relationships. Numerical results for the first-order hydrodynamic coefficients, the wave excitation loads and the resulting motion responses of surface ships are presented. For zero speed case excellent correlations between the calculated and experimental results are found. For the forward speed case, the three-dimensional translating pulsating source modelling and three-dimensional oscillating source modelling with simple speed corrections on the linearised body boundary condition for pitch and yaw motions are used for a realistic ship. When the calculated results are compared with available experimental data, the three-dimensional translating pulsating source, modelling gives better correlations than the three-dimensional oscillating source modelling. Based on the first-order solutions, the mean second-order forces and moments are obtained by direct integrating second-order pressures over the mean wetted body surface. Using zero speed horizontal drifting forces and mean yaw moment as examples, the predictions of the mean second-order forces and moments are compared with available experimental results and found good agreement. For forward speed case the numerical computations for the added resistances of surface ships in head waves are performed by the three-dimensional translating pulsating source modelling and three-dimensional oscillating source modelling. The performance of the former is much better than the latter in comparison with available experimental results. It is found that the successful prediction of the peak of the added resistance is critically dependent upon the motion response results, especially in pitch. Effects of ship heading, forward speed, water depth on the first-order and second-order hydrodynamic forces are investigated.


Advanced LIGO's second observing run (O2), conducted from November 30, 2016 to August 25, 2017, combined with Advanced Virgo's first observations in August 2017 witnessed the birth of gravitational-wave multi-messenger astronomy. The first ever gravitational-wave detection from the coalescence of two neutron stars, GW170817, and its gamma-ray counterpart, GRB 170817A, led to an electromagnetic follow-up of the event at an unprecedented scale. Several teams from across the world searched for EM/neutrino counterparts to GW170817, paving the way for the discovery of optical, X-ray, and radio counterparts. In this article, we describe the online identification of gravitational-wave transients and the distribution of gravitational-wave alerts by the LIGO and Virgo collaborations during O2. We also describe the gravitational-wave observables which were sent in the alerts to enable searches for their counterparts. Finally, we give an overview of the online candidate alerts shared with observing partners during O2. Alerts were issued for 14 candidates, six of which have been confirmed as gravitational-wave events associated with the merger of black holes or neutron stars. Eight of the 14 alerts were issued less than an hour after data acquisition.


SUMMARY
The advent of information technology and intense global competition has enticed many world-class manufacturers and service providers into adopting an integrated strategic approach to supply chain management. Although many supply chain management efforts have failed to achieve the desired results, it has become a significant strategic tool for firms striving to achieve competitive success. Using a survey of senior supply and materials management professionals in the United States, this study investigates the contemporary practices and concerns of supply chain management. This study also relates the practices and concerns to firms' performance by means of bivariate correlation and multiple linear regression analysis. A general conclusion is that all of the significant supply chain management practices positively impact performance.


[1] A common practice in sea level research is to analyze separately the variability of the steric and mass components of sea level. However, there are conceptual and practical issues that have sometimes been misinterpreted, leading to erroneous and contradictory conclusions on regional sea level variability. The crucial point to be noted is that the steric component does not account for volume changes but does for volume changes per mass unit (i.e., density changes). This indicates that the steric component only represents actual volume changes when the mass of the considered water body remains constant. This is for instance the case of thermal expansions/contractions due to surface heat fluxes. Conversely, salinity changes are often linked to net mass changes and therefore not only affect the steric component but also imply a change in the mass component that must be considered when quantifying the overall sea level budget. In this paper, we clarify the interpretation of the steric and mass components by identifying the main physical processes contributing to each of them, with particular emphasis on the role of salinity. The case of the Mediterranean Sea is examined as a paradigmatic example of a semienclosed basin where sea level components must be carefully interpreted. Because of the significant salinity changes shown by most projections of the Mediterranean climate, a misinterpretation of the steric and mass components can lead to underestimations of ~40 cm in the sea level of the Mediterranean Sea projected for the end of the 21st century.


In the forty-year span between 1968 and 2008, the United States underwent great change in nearly every avenue of life --economics, social mores, demographics, technology, and, of course, politics. The way Americans chose Richard Nixon as their president was very different from the way they chose Barack Obama. The process of selecting Obama was more open and inclusive in a number of ways. In Grant Park , Candice J. Nelson examines the democratization of the presidential election process over four turbulent decades. Nelson examines her topic through the metaphor of Chicago's famous Grant Park. During the tumultuous Democratic Party convention of 1968, thousands of young people and African Americans rioted in Grant Park after being excluded from the nomination process. In 2008, on the other hand, thousands again jammed the park, but this time they were celebrating the convincing victory of their first African American president. A lot had to happen in American politics during that forty-year period before Obama could emerge victoriously from the Windy City. In Grant Park , Nelson explains how changes in technology, finance laws, party rules, political institutions, and the electorate itself produced the stunning turnaround, and how presidential selection might change again heading toward November 2012 and beyond. "The presidential election of 2012 will bear little resemblance to the 1968 election. Americans will have more opportunities to participate in the election, and the electorate will be more diverse. While the campaign finance system continues to challenge the democratization of presidential elections, the overall picture of presidential elections is one much more democratic than demonstrators faced in Grant Park in the summer of 1968." --From Grant Park


Despite growing interest in management strategies for climate change adaptation, there are few methods for assessing the ability of stands to endure or adapt to projected future climates. We developed a means for assigning climate "Compatibility" and "Adaptability" scores to stands for assessing the suitability of tree species for projected climate scenarios. We used these scores to determine whether mixed hardwood-softwood stands or "mixedwoods" were better suited to projected future climates than pure hardwood or pure softwood stands. We also examined the quantity of aboveground carbon (C) sequestered in the overstory of these mixtures. In the four different mixedwood types that we examined, we found that Pinus echinata-Quercus mixtures in the Ozark Highlands had greater Compatibility scores than hardwood stands and greater Adaptability scores than pure Pinus echinata stands; however, these mixtures did not store more aboveground overstory C than pure stands. For Pinus strobus-Quercus rubra, Picea-Abies-hardwood, and Tsuga canadensis-hardwood mixtures, scores indicated that there were no advantages or disadvantages related to climate compatibility. Those mixtures generally had greater Adaptability scores than their pure softwood analogs but stored less aboveground overstory C. Despite the many benefits of maintaining mixedwoods, regenerating and/or recruiting the softwood component of these mixtures remains a persistent silvicultural challenge.


Objective : To document prevalence of, and association between, substance use and HIV risk behaviours among primary care patients. Method : Cross-sectional survey. Four primary care clinics in Cape Town. We selected clinics using stratified sampling, and systematically selected 131 patients from attendance logs. We assessed substance use with the Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test, and HIV risk with items addressing injection drug use, blood-sharing rituals, and sexual risk behaviours. Results : Substances most used at hazardous levels were tobacco (28.2%) and alcohol (14.8%). Among possible HIV risk factors, highest prevalence was participation in blood-sharing rituals (25%), and having had an STI (19.8%). An association between substance use and sexual risk behaviours was only found among those aged 18-24. Conclusion : In younger patients, presence of substance use or HIV risk behaviours increases the probability that the other is present. Keywords : substance abuse, HIV risk behaviours, primary care South African Psychiatry Review Vol. 8(4) 2005: 160-165


Objective Patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) are followed serially by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) for surveillance of RV dilation and dysfunction. We sought to define the prevalence of progressive RV disease and the optimal time interval between CMR evaluations. Methods Candidates were selected from a multicentre TOF registry and were included if ≥2 CMR studies performed ≥6 months apart were available without interval cardiovascular interventions. Patients with 'disease progression' (defined as increase in RV end-diastolic volume index (RVEDVi) ≥30 mL/m2, decrease in RVEF ≥10% or decrease in LVEF ≥10%) were compared with those with 'disease non-progression' (defined as RVEDVi increase ≤5 mL/m2, RVEF decrease ≤3% and LVEF decrease ≤3%). Results A total of 849 CMR studies in 339 patients (median age at first CMR 23.6 years) were analysed. Over a median interval of 2.2 years between CMR pairs, RVEDVi increased 4±18 mL/m2 (p<0.001), RV end-systolic volume index increased 3±13 mL/m2 (p<0.001), RVEF decreased 1%±6% (p=0.02) and LVEF decreased 1%±6% (p=0.001). Disease progression was observed in 15% (n=76) and non-progression in 26% (n=133). There were no significant differences between those with and without progression in baseline demographic, anatomic, ECG, exercise or baseline CMR characteristics. The optimal time interval between CMR studies for detection of progression was a 3-year interval (63% sensitivity, 65% specificity, area under the receiver operating characteristic curve 0.65). Conclusions Although progressive RV dilation and decline in biventricular systolic function occur at a slow pace in the majority of adults with repaired TOF, 15% of patients experience rapid disease progression. The results of this study support the practice of serial CMR examinations to identify progressive disease at a time interval of up to 3 years.


Among the several control methods developed during the last two decades, robustness has been the most emphasized characteristic in general. Recently, the compromise between robustness and performance has motivated new studies, considering the natural opposition between then. Structure variable control is a distinguished method because of its remarkable simplicity. Despite it has been developed long ago, it has attracted the attention recently due to its inherently robustness, and also because it is equally applied to linear and nonlinear systems. The basic idea is to restrict the state space of a given plant through a so called sliding surface, whose dynamics is simpler than the original plant dynamics. Enforcing a state space trajectory from the initial conditions to reach the surface, once there the plant dynamics is substituted by the surface dynamics. For adequately designed surfaces, they present the invariance property, guaranteeing an intrinsic robustness, because the new dynamics does not depend on the plant parameters. Associating this method to artificial neural networks, some of the proposed configurations may present simultaneously performance and robustness. In this work, a new configuration is proposed, implementing a neuro-adaptive control method using the variable structure approach to adjust the neural network weights, and consequently presenting also robustness. The central idea is to add a second control signal to a regular controller, generated through a neural network, whose online learning is also robust. It is expected that the controller performance will be maintained, independently of perturbations caused by structural or parametric variations. The configuration is explored through three different cases. These cases and also the robust learning technique are presented. Numerical simulations presenting good results justify the expectations for the configuration.


The Multi-Resource Server (MRS) technique has been proposed to enable predictable execution of memory intensive real-time applications on COTS multi-core platforms. It uses resource reservation approaches in the context of CPU-bandwidth and memory-bus bandwidth reservations to bound the interference between the applications running on the same core as well as between the applications running on different cores. In this paper we present a complete composable local and global schedulability analysis for the Multi-Resource Server technique. Based on the proposed analysis, we further provide an experimental study that investigates the behaviour of the MRS and identifies the factors that contribute mostly on the overall system performance.


OBJECTIVE
To compare the 3-D motion of the pelvic limb among clinically normal dogs and dogs with cranial cruciate ligament (CCL)-deficient stifle joints following tibial plateau leveling osteotomy (TPLO) or lateral fabellar-tibial suture (LFS) stabilization by use of an inverse dynamics method.

ANIMALS
6 clinically normal dogs and 19 dogs with CCL-deficient stifle joints that had undergone TPLO (n = 13) or LFS (6) stabilization at a mean of 4 and 8 years, respectively, prior to evaluation.

PROCEDURES
For all dogs, an inverse dynamics method was used to describe the motion of the pelvic limbs in the sagittal, frontal, and transverse planes. Motion and energy patterns for the hip, stifle, and tibiotarsal (hock) joints in all 3 planes were compared among the 3 groups.

RESULTS
Compared with corresponding variables for clinically normal dogs, the hip joint was more extended at the beginning of the stance phase in the sagittal plane for dogs that had a TPLO performed and the maximum power across the stifle joint in the frontal plane was greater for dogs that had an LFS procedure performed. Otherwise, variables in all planes were similar among the 3 groups.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Gait characteristics of the pelvic limb did not differ between dogs that underwent TPLO and dogs that underwent an LFS procedure for CCL repair and were similar to those of clinically normal dogs. Both TPLO and LFS successfully provided long-term stabilization of CCL-deficient stifle joints of dogs with minimal alterations in gait.


Corona pandemic has affected the whole world, and it is a highly researched area in biological sciences. As the current pandemic has affected countries socially and economically, the purpose of this bibliometric analysis is to provide a holistic review of the corona pandemic in the field of social sciences. This study aims to highlight significant, influential aspects, research streams, and themes. We have reviewed 395 journal articles related to coronavirus in the field of social sciences from 2003 to 2020. We have deployed 'biblioshiny' a web-interface of the 'bibliometrix 3.0' package of R-studio to conduct bibliometric analysis and visualization. In the field of social sciences, we have reported influential aspects of coronavirus literature. We have found that the 'Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report' is the top journal. The core article of coronavirus literature is 'Guidelines for preventing health-care-associated pneumonia'. The most commonly used word, in titles, abstracts, author's keywords, and keywords plus, is 'SARS'. Top affiliation is 'The University of Hong Kong'. Hong Kong is a leading country based on citations, and the USA is on top based on total publications. We have used a conceptual framework to identify potential research streams and themes in coronavirus literature. Four research streams are found by deploying a co-occurrence network. These research streams are 'Social and economic effects of epidemic disease', 'Infectious disease calamities and control', 'Outbreak of COVID 19,' and 'Infectious diseases and the role of international organizations'. Finally, a thematic map is used to provide a holistic understanding by dividing significant themes into basic or transversal, emerging or declining, motor, highly developed, but isolated themes. These themes and subthemes have proposed future directions and critical areas of research.


This presentation discusses Singapore's economic performance and industrial strategy of the past and the future. Their changing industrial strategy and structure includes the promotion of restructuring away from labor intensive and technologically simple towards technology intensive knowledge-based industries, as well as the creation of industry and services clusters. This presentation was presented at the Latin America/Caribbean and Asia/Pacific Economics and Business Association (LAEBA)'s 2nd Annual Meeting held in Buenos Aires, Argentina on November 28th-29th, 2005.


Title of Dissertation: TREATMENT OF STORMWATER RUNOFF BY GEOTEXTILE FILTERS VIA SUSPENDED SOLIDS CAPTURE Carmen Ann Franks, Doctor of Philosophy, 2012 Dissertation directed by: Professor Allen P. Davis Associate Professor Ahmet H. Aydilek Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Suspended solids in stormwater runoff create a range of water quality problems; their removal lessens the deleterious impact of stormwater runoff on aquatic ecosystems. In this study, three geotextiles were tested in laboratory column tests with influent suspensions having hydraulic loading rates, total suspended solids (TSS) concentrations, and particle size distributions (PSDs) similar to those reported for urban highway stormwater runoff. After a short ripening period, the geotextile filters removed TSS from 100-200 mg/L to below a target concentration of 30 mg/L. A lower geotextile permittivity resulted in an increased percentage of TSS captured by the filter; however, the total mass of solids captured was unaffected because lower permittivity resulted in lower total solids loaded to the filter overall. In general, the effectiveness of the geotextile filter at retaining suspended solids increased as filter opening sizes decreased and as influent particle sizes increased. The hydraulic conductivity of a geotextile filter, which was related to TSS captured via a power function, was higher for geotextiles with higher permittivity and larger opening sizes and for larger influent particle sizes. Overall, the filter with the second highest permittivity (0.8 s -1 ), NW2, was the most successful geotextile tested. TSS removal in the geotextile laboratory tests was comparable to reported values from sand filters in literature under similar loading conditions. Sand filters in laboratory tests had greater TSS removal than geotextile filters. However, the sand filters clogged at a lower total solids loading than the geotextiles. The applicability of existing filtration criteria for geotextiles for stormwater treatment is addressed, and four new retention criteria ratios specifically for stormwater filtration which use two filter opening sizes and two particle diameters, such as (095/D60)/(O30/D10) > 0.05, are introduced. Results from field testing are analyzed; the geotextile filter reduced TSS concentrations in runoff by an average of 84% with input TSS event mean concentrations (EMCs) ranging from 22 – 185 mg/L and output EMCs ranging from 1.7 – 22 mg/L. A mathematical model is developed which estimates hydraulic conductivity as a function of solids captured. The model and filtration criteria are used to assess the field testing results. TREATMENT OF STORMWATER RUNOFF BY GEOTEXTILE FILTERS VIA SUSPENDED SOLIDS CAPTURE


Although there is a consensus on the instructional potential of Serious Games (SGs), there is still a lack of methodologies and tools not only for design but also to support analysis and assessment. Filling this gap is one of the main aims of the Games and Learning Alliance (http://www.galanoe.eu) European Network of Excellence on Serious Games, which has a focus upon pedagogy-driven SGs. This paper relies on the assumption that the fundamental aspect of SG design consists in the translation of learning goals/practices into mechanical element of gameplay, serving to an instructional purpose beside that of play and fun. This paper proposes the Learning Mechanics–Game Mechanics (LM-GM) model, which supports SG analysis and design by allowing reflection on the various pedagogical and game elements in an SG. The LM-GM model includes a set of pre-defined game mechanics and pedagogical elements that we have abstracted from literature on game studies and learning theories.

Designers and analysts can exploit these mechanics to draw the LM-GM map for a game, so as to identify and highlight its main pedagogical and entertainment features, and their interrelations. The tool may also be useful for teachers to evaluate the effectiveness of a given game and better understand how to implement it in educational settings. A case study is reported to illustrate the framework's support in determining how gameplay and pedagogy intertwine in an SG. Finally, the paper presents the results of two comparative user tests demonstrating the advantages of the proposed model with respect to a similar state-of-the-art framework.


This discussion paper sets out the global, African, and South African contexts within which both urban development and food security agendas in Africa are framed. It argues that the pervasive rural bias and anti-urbanism identified in the international and regional food security agendas in the first decade of the 21st century have persisted into the second. In examining whether the last decade has brought any significant changes to the dominant discourse and its accompanying sidelining of urbanization and urban food security in policy debate and formulation, the authors find that there are promising signs for cracks in the edifice but that rural bias remains the dominant feature of current thinking about food security policies. Although researchers have begun to press for the urban to be included in the food security agenda, and food to be included in the urban agenda, there has been limited policy uptake to date at the international level and very little at the municipal level. If urban food security is addressed in a substantive manner, it will probably be indirectly, through the actions of the influential global nutrition lobby.


Information on the amount of genetic diversity in switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is necessary to enhance the effectiveness of breeding programs and germplasm conservation efforts. This study characterized and assessed genetic diversity by means of RAPD markers among 14 populations representing upland and lowland switchgrass ecotypes. Forty-five of 128 primers produced polymorphic markers among sets of genomic DNA pooled from individual genotypes of each population. Five primers were selected to amplify a total of 91 polymorphic loci among genotypes. The RAPD markers were scored for presence or absence of bands to generate distance matrices for cluster analysis. Overall similarity was 65% among population compared to 81% within populations. Blackwell and Caddo were the most similar populations (78%) based on RAPD markers, whereas Alamo and Forestburg were the most divergent (53%). Cluster analysis clearly segregated populations into two main groups (putatively based on ecotype) and united individual genotypes within a population into discrete groups within the larger clusters. Although the relationship between ploidy level and ecotype remained unclear, RAPD profiles can be used to identify switchgrass populations and may be useful in predicting relationship between experimental germplasm sources and released populations. 50 refs., 2 figs., 2 tabs.


A quantitative damage assessment methodology for composite materials has been achieved using Thermoelastic Stress Analysis (TSA). The TSA technique provides fullfield data which is collected in a non-contacting and real time manner. The damage assessment methodology proposed requires a means of calibrating and temperature correcting the thermoelastic signal; these are developed and presented in this thesis. The thermoelastic theory for calibrating thermoelastic data from orthotropic bodies has traditionally been based on a stress formulation. There are difficulties in calibrating orthotropic materials in this manner and an alternative calibration routine has been devised and validated. The calibration routine provides the thermoelastic theory as a function of strain and permits a simplified calibration route as the laminate strains are the basis and can be measured in a straightforward manner. During damage propagation in laminated structures the specimen heats. The increase in temperature has a significant effect on the thermoelastic data and necessitates that the thermoelastic data be corrected to remove the effect of temperature from the data. A routine is developed that enables the correction of the thermoelastic data in a point-bypoint manner. By combining the strain calibration and temperature correction procedures a damage assessment methodology has been devised. The application of the methodology is demonstrated on glass / epoxy laminate specimens that are fatigue damaged and the damage state assessed using this method; the extent and type of damage is verified qualitatively using visual inspection methods. The work described is applicable to any orthotropic material. The effect of fatigue damage is assessed by periodically collecting thermoelastic data during the specimen life. This data is analysed using damage metrics based on the calibrated strain obtained from the TSA. The wider application of the TSA damage assessment methodology is considered by assessing the ability to locate subsurface damage. A complementary IR technique is used in conjunction with TSA known as Pulse Phase Thermography (PPT). Initial studies demonstrate the ability to resolve the spatial extents of subsurface damage. The purpose of this step is to guide TSA to areas of concern that can subsequently be assessed using the damage metrics to characterise the effect of damage on the residual life of the component. The strain calibration and temperature correction methods that enable TSA to be applied quantitatively to damaged composite materials have not been accomplished prior to this work. They provide novel methods by which TSA data can be assessed, and their application is not restricted to damage studies alone. The ability to temperature correct TSA data has been shown to be of vital importance if thermoelastic data is to be compared in a quantitative fashion. The strain calibration procedure presented will enable thermoelastic studies to be reported quantitatively and expand the application of TSA particularly in validation studies. The damage assessment methodology presented represents a step forward in the application of TSA to the damage assessment of composite materials.


Togo is having around 232.5MW [1] of power-installed capacity from different sources and importing about 85% of its power requirement from neighboring countries (2015) [2]. As of July 2017, no wind turbine installation existed in Togo. Current Global wind energy installed capacity is 486.8GW [3]. It is right time for Togo to go for energy production from wind, which is clean and green source of power and wind resource assessment is the precursor for wind farm development, which has not been studied till now. This paper aims to showcase a study and evaluation of the wind energy potential of Togo at 10m and 80m and develop initial Wind Resource Map for the country. As per the study of IRENA [4], Annual average wind speed of Togo is ranging from 2.35-5.67 m/s at 80m and 2.3-5.46 m/s at 10m agl. More than 34226.66 Km2, that is, 60.47% of the area of Togo, corresponds to areas where the average annual wind speed at 10m agl is between 3.5-5.5 m/s. The study demonstrates that 60.47% of Togo's total area is eligible for small wind turbine installation. However, the wind speeds allow for large wind turbines installation in approximately 2% of the country's available land.


The innovation of the Chief Scientific Editor producing the annual Editorial in partnership with one of the Assistant Editors has been one of my contributions during my term of office, but it seems right that I should take on the task on my own for Volume 50. The past year saw several significant events for me, as well as for the Journal. In January 2016, Brian Hawkins passed away. I had known him throughout most of my career, and he helped me publish my first journal paper in QJEG (as it was then) back in 1978. Later, Brian Hawkins became the Chief Editor (1988–1993). I first met him while on a field visit with my fellow MSc students from Imperial College to the then brand-new Bath University, where he described the cambering found during the construction of the approach road.


This paper extends Svensson and Razin's two period analysis of the Laursen-Harberger-Metzler effect to the important case where labour supply and output are variable. A terms of trade shift alters the relationship between the product and the consumption wage and so induces a change in output. This extension substantially enriches their analysis. A temporary current terms of trade deterioration has an ambiguous effect on the current account, but their finding that a future deterioration leads to an improvement in the current account is strengthened. The effect of a permanent terms of trade shift in a stationary state depends not only on the rate of time preference, but also on the strength of intertemporal substitution effects. In the canonical case of a constant rate of time preference the current account deteriorates in response to a permanent terms of trade deterioration if the degree of intertemporal substitution in consumption exceeds that in leisure, or equivalently whether the wealth effect on consumption exceeds that on labour supply. The model is then extended to an infinite horizon by embedding it in an overlapping generations framework. Intergenerational linkages through the labour market are now the source of some complex dynamics. From an initial position of balance on current account an anticipated temporary terms of trade deterioration leads to a period of steadily increasing surplus a deficit on impact, and a further period of declining surpluses. A permanent deterioration in the terms of trade leads to a similar period of anticipatory surpluses, followed by a period of declining deficits after impact.


Hydroxyapatite (HA) ceramics have been recognized as bone substitute materials in orthopedic and dental applications because of their chemical and biological similarity to human bone. Porous HA ceramics can be used as scaffold materials, if their microstructure is controlled in terms of pore size and porosity. The objective of the present work was to produce tubular-shaped HA scaffolds for biomedical applications using the cost-effective technique of electrophoretic deposition (EPD) which enables various 3D shapes to be produced. Nano HA powders were produced and mixed with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) by a hydrothermal process. Calcium acetate (Ca(CH3COO)2), and phosphoric acid (H3PO4) were used as starting materials for the synthesis of the nano HA powders. Porous HA coatings were deposited on carbon rods by EPD at 60V using a butanol suspension mixture containing nano HA powders and MWCNTs. Nano composite coatings produced were sintered at 1200°C for 60min to burn-out the carbon rod and MWCNTs. It was shown that MWCNTs provided crack-free coating layers after coating and a porous structure after sintering. The porous HA coatings obtained were coated using different EPD parameters in terms of applied voltage and deposition time. EPD provides a coating thickness of ³310¯m for a deposition time of 480s. This method enabled the formation of coatings with variable thickness, depending on the duration of coating and applied DC voltage. Hydrothermal mixing of HA/MWCNTs and the mechanism of deposition are also discussed. The methods can produce 3Dshaped HA scaffolds for clinical applications. The results demonstrate that the HA tubes obtained are candidate materials as scaffolds for bone repairing and generation.


Abstract In studies of the fragmentation and internationalization of production, most value chain approaches consider the inter-firm balance of power as the critical dynamic in development. With the firm as the primary unit of analysis, research long held out two promises: first, bridging the 'micro-macro gap' in development theory, meaning making valid inferences from micro-level actors (firms) to macro-sociological outcomes; and second, reconciling its firm-level organizational approach with institutionalism. This paper argues, first, that the literature is artificially constrained in bridging the micro-macro gap due to its delimited conceptualization of 'power', based on the 'agentic-strategic' behaviour of firms. It argues for broadening the notion of power to bridge the levels of analysis, based on the concept of 'emergence'. Second, while institutional critics are correct in criticizing value chain scholarship for its neglect, this paper finds that the effects of institutions are not as consistent or determinative as suggested, and hence it seeks to expand the scope for incorporating institutionalism. These points are illustrated through an intra-industry comparative study of three textile agro-industries in China.


In this paper, we propose a new framework to tackle the double-talk (DT) problem in acoustic echo cancellation (AEC). It is based on a frequency-domain adaptive filter (FDAF) implementation of the so-called prediction error method adaptive filtering using row operations (PEM-AFROW) leading to the FDAF-PEM-AFROW algorithm. We show that FDAF-PEM-AFROW is by construction related to the best linear unbiased estimate (BLUE) of the echo path. We depart from this framework to show an improvement in performance with respect to other adaptive filters minimizing the BLUE criterion, namely the PEM-AFROW and the FDAF-NLMS with near-end signal normalization. One of the contributions is to propose the instantaneous pseudo-correlation (IPC) measure between the near-end signal and the loudspeaker signal. The IPC measure serves as an indication of the effect of a DT situation occurring during adaptation. We motivate the choice of FDAF-PEM-AFROW over PEM-AFROW and FDAF-NLMS with near-end signal normalization, based on performance, computational complexity and related IPC measure values. Moreover, we use the FDAF-PEM-AFROW framework to improve several state-of-the-art variable step-size (VSS) and variable regularization (VR) algorithms. The FDAF-PEM-AFROW versions significantly outperform the original versions in every simulation. In terms of computational complexity, the FDAF-PEM-AFROW versions are themselves about two orders of magnitude cheaper than the original versions.


Most speech recognition applications in use today rely heavily on confidence measure for making optimal decisions. In this paper, we aim to answer the question: what can be done to improve the quality of confidence measure if we cannot modify the speech recognition engine? The answer provided in this paper is a post-processing step called confidence calibration, which can be viewed as a special adaptation technique applied to confidence measure. Three confidence calibration methods have been developed in this work: the maximum entropy model with distribution constraints, the artificial neural network, and the deep belief network. We compare these approaches and demonstrate the importance of key features exploited: the generic confidence-score, the application-dependent word distribution, and the rule coverage ratio. We demonstrate the effectiveness of confidence calibration on a variety of tasks with significant normalized cross entropy increase and equal error rate reduction.


Since the late 1990s, multiculturalism has been on the decline. In 1999, Will Kymlicka announced that "multiculturalism had won the day" (Kymlicka 1999a, 113; cf. 1998, 144; 2001, 32), but when examined against the landscape of political philosophy over the last decade, Kymlicka's assessment does not reflect reality. As Christian Joppke observes, the use of 'multiculturalism' has recently declined at the levels of both theory and policy (Joppke 2004). The liberal critique of the concept began as early as 1997 with the publication of Susan Okin's "Is Multiculturalism Bad for Women?" In this paper, Okin objects to multiculturalism on feminist grounds by arguing that, from a gender perspective, multiculturalism is not always in the best interest of women.1 Okin followed up on this theme in "Feminism and Multiculturalism: Some Tensions" (Okin 1998) and in '"Mistresses of tiieir Own Destiny': Group Rights, Gender, and Realistic Rights of Exit" (Okin 2002). In 2007, in Multiculturalism Without Culture, Anne Phillips addresses the competing equality claims of multiculturalism and feminism and defends "a multiculturalism that dispenses with the reified notions of culture that feed those stereotypes to which so many feminists have objected, yet retain enough robustness to address inequalities between cultural groups" (Phillips 2007, 8).2In this article, I will first briefly describe the "multicultural" position developed and defended by Kymlicka. I will focus on those aspects of multiculturalism that has to do with accommodating for special group rights ('polyethnic' rights or 'accommodation' rights) in order to protect the distinct culture of a group, or the survival and flourishing of "ways of life" within the group, from the surrounding (majority) culture (Kymlicka 1995, ch. 2; Okin 1998). Then, I will provide a detailed discussion and assessment of Okin's and Phillips's critiques. Finally, I will discuss the possible shortcomings of the feminist critique of multiculturalism and suggest how to address these shortcomings.1. Kymlicka and the Rise of MulticulturalismTo evaluate the recent critique of multiculturalism, we must examine the factors that led to the rise of multiculturalism. Therefore, die purpose of this section is to provide the necessary background to a discussion of multiculturalism. To do so, I will focus on the works of Kymlicka (1989; 1995; 2001; 2007).Kymlicka has written extensively on minority rights, ethnic and cultural diversity, nationalism, and multicultural citizenship. In his 1989 piece Liberalism, Community and Culture, Kymlicka identifies some of the questions that arise in relation to cultural diversity. He does not use the term "multiculturalism," and his objective is to address the "communitarian" critique of Michael Sandel and Charles Taylor. Nevertheless, Kymlicka appropriately stresses the importance of the idea of cultural membership when he asks:What does it mean for people to 'belong' to a cultural community - to what extent are individuals' interests tied to, or their very sense of identity dependent on, a particular culture? And do people have a legitimate interest in ensuring the continuation of their own culture, even if other cultures are available in the political community - is there an interest in cultural membership which requires independent recognition in a theory of justice? (Kymlicka 1989, 3)When the issue is framed in this manner, it is clear that liberal theories must confront the challenge of cultural pluralism. All people are interested in leading a good life. If liberalism is meant to accommodate this interest and if "cultural membership" is a condition of a good life, then liberalism must pay attention to "cultural community." However, Kymlika also notes that we participate in two communities, the political community and the cultural community, which may be a source of conflicting interests. Although the political community and the cultural community may be coextensive, these communities do not coincide in multinational and culturally plural states. …


This paper aims to take a step forwards making the term "intrinsic motivation" from reinforcement learning theoretically well founded, focusing on curiosity-driven learning. To that end, we consider the setting where, a fixed partition Ƥ of a continuous space χ being given, and a process v defined on χ being unknown, we are asked to sequentially decide which cell of the partition to select as well as where to sample v in that cell, in order to minimize a loss function that is inspired from previous work on curiosity-driven learning. The loss on each cell consists of one term measuring a simple worst case quadratic sampling error, and a penalty term proportional to the range of the variance in that cell. The corresponding problem formulation extends the setting known as active learning for multi-armed bandits to the case when each arm is a continuous region, and we show how an adaptation of recent algorithms for that problem and of hierarchical optimistic sampling algorithms for optimization can be used in order to solve this problem. The resulting procedure, called Hierarchical Optimistic Region SElection driven by Curiosity (HORSE.C) is provided together with a finite-time regret analysis.


In 2016, the Liberian government delegated management of 93 randomly selected public schools to private providers. Providers received US$50 per pupil, on top of US$50 per pupil annual expenditure in control schools. After one academic year, students in outsourced schools scored 0.18 σ higher in English and mathematics. We do not find heterogeneity in learning gains or enrollment by student characteristics, but there is significant heterogeneity across providers. While outsourcing appears to be a cost-effective way to use new resources to improve test scores, some providers engaged in unforeseen and potentially harmful behavior, complicating any assessment of welfare gains. (JEL H41, I21, I28, O15)


Since the 1990s, the Ecuadorian Indigenous movement has transformed the nation's political landscape. CONAIE, a nationwide pan-Indigenous organization, and its demands for plurinationalism have been at the forefront of this process. For CONAIE, the demand for a plurinational refounding of the state is meant as both as a critique of and an alternative to what the movement perceives to be an exclusionary and Eurocentric nation-state apparatus. In this paper, my focus is twofold. I first focus on the role of CONAIE as the central actor in organizing and mobilizing the groundswell of Indigenous activism in Ecuador. After an analysis of the historical roots of the movement, I trace the evolution of CONAIE from its rise in the 1990s, through a period of decline and fragmentation in the early 2000s, and toward possible signs of resurgence since 2006. In doing so, my hope is to provide a backdrop from which to better make sense both of CONAIE's plurinational project and of the implications of the 2008 constitutional recognition of Ecuador as a plurinational state. Second, I focus on an analysis of CONAIE's vision for a plurinational and intercultural Ecuador. While much has been written about the successes and failures of CONAIE, the literature that exists has tended to concern itself almost exclusively with questions of how and why the movement emerged or of which factors facilitate or hinder the movement's success. Missing from this scholarship is any serious attempt to engage the intellectual content of the movement's demands, their struggles, or their visions for the future. Rather than remain narrowly focused on these issues of coherence and efficacy, my analysis highlights the intellectual contributions of these activists. I argue that CONAIE's plurinational project represents a new vision of national unity and social inclusion that: 1) is based on the principles and values of Indigenous epistemologies; 2) simultaneously demands both the direct participation in state policy and communal territorial autonomy of Indigenous communities; and iv 3) illustrates a bottom-up attempt to reconstruct the state in such a way as to promote the common good while protecting the interests of particular groups.


In this thesis we present parallel self-organizing, hierarchical neural networks with fuzzy input signal representation, competitive learning and safe rejection schemes (FCSNN). A computational scheme of the partial degree of match (DM) in fuzzy expert classification systems and a method for the automatic derivation of the membership functions for fuzzy sets are proposed. The derived fuzzy sets and the computational scheme of the degree of match are used together for the fuzzy representation of input information in neural networks, not only for improving the classification accuracy but also for being able to classify objects whose attribute values do not have clear boundaries. The original input is converted into multidimensional values using the fuzzy input signal representation scheme.
A new learning algorithm with competitive learning and multiple safe rejection schemes is proposed and used as the learning algorithm of the parallel self-organizing, hierarchical neural network (PSHNN) to get around disadvantages of both supervised learning algorithms and competitive learning algorithms. After reference vectors are computed using competitive learning in a stage neural network, the safe rejection schemes are constructed. The basic idea of safe rejection schemes is to reject the vectors so that there are no misclassified training vectors. Two different kinds of safe rejection schemes, RADPN and RAD, are developed and used together. The next stage neural network is trained with nonlinearly transformed values of only those training vectors that were rejected in the previous stage neural network.
Experimental results comparing the performance of the proposed learning algorithm with those of the backpropagation network and the PSHNN with the delta rule learning algorithm are discussed. The proposed learning algorithm produced higher classification accuracy and much faster learning. Learning of reference vectors were done by two methods and their classification accuracies were compared. When the reference vectors are computed separately for each class (Method II), higher classification accuracy is obtained as compared to the method in which reference vectors are computed together for all the classes (Method I). This conclusion has to do with rejection of hard vectors, and is the opposite of what is normally expected. Method II has the advantages of parallelism by which the reference vectors for all the classes can be computed simultaneously.
Experiments with the fuzzy input representation in comparison to the input representation of the original decimal values indicated the superiority of representation of the transformed inputs using the computational scheme of the partial degree of match.


The introduction of flat panel displays that are fabricated with thin-film-transistor liquid-crystal displays (TFT LCDs) has changed human's lifestyle very significantly. Traditionally, the revolution of the TFT LCD technology has been presented by the timeline of product introduction. Namely, it first started with audio/video (AV) and notebook applications in the early 1990s, and then began to replace cathode-ray tubes (CRTs) for monitor and TV applications. Certainly, TFT LCDs will continue to expand in all areas of our daily life in the future. Here a new concept of the revolution of the TFT LCD technology is presented for the major TFT LCD makers. In this new concept, there are four waves of technology revolution with the following themes, respectively: 1) product introduction; 2) performance enrichment; 3) power and material utilization; and 4) functions for human interface. The role of the LCD-TV in the revolution is also discussed.


Purpose: Based on the current evidence, the effect of implant macrogeometry has a significant influence on osseointegration. Thus, this study evaluated histomorphometrically and histologically the bone response to acid-etched in comparison to grit-blasted/acid-etched (GB) and machined control (C) surfaced implants possessing identical macrogeometry placed in high-density bone. Materials and Methods: Implant surface topography of the 3 different surfaced implants has previously been characterized. The macrogeometry of the implants were conical, and healing chambers were created in the cortical regions. The 3 groups were placed in the external mandibular body of adult male sheep (n = 5). After 6 weeks in vivo, all samples were retrieved for histologic observation and histomorphometry (eg, bone-to-implant contact [BIC] and bone area fraction occupancy [BAFO]). Results: No statistical difference was observed for BIC and for BAFO, although there was a tendency that the mean values for BAFO was higher for the textured surface groups. Conclusions: It is suggested that the effect of surface topography is minimal in high-density bone and osseointegration seemed to be macrogeometry dependent.


Ternary erbium doped BiVO4/TiO2 complexes are synthesized by means of a simple impregnation method with good photoactivities under sun-like excitation for the degradation of phenol. From the structural and morphological characterization it has been stated that the presence of Er3+ induces a slight stabilization of the tetragonal phase probably due to its incorporation in the BiVO4 lattice. Therefore a ternary heterostructured material has been obtained. The best photocatalytic performance was attained for the samples with 1 wt% of Er3+-doped BiVO4 content with respect to TiO2. The occurrence of a complex structural mixture with the adequate band position leads to effective charge pair separation which induces higher photocatalytic activities.


For models with only additive direct genetic effects, the rules of Westell combined with the Q-P transformation can be used to calculate the coefficients of mixed-model equations corresponding to the inverse elements of the numerator relationship matrix and group effects that are used to account for selection on ancestors that do not have records. Groups generally can be assigned on the basis of most recent ancestors without records. When maternal effects are in the model, most recent female ancestors without records contribute maternal effects to their progeny. If the vectors for additive direct and maternal effects do not include the same animals, numerator relationship matrices for direct and maternal effects and between direct and maternal effects are different. Even if they are the same, the Q-P transformation and Westell's rules do not lead to simplification for calculation of the coefficient matrix unless group assignment is the same for direct and maternal effects. This result can be achieved by including each female ancestor with offspring having records in both vectors and by assigning both of her parents to the same group she would have been assigned for a model including only direct effects. This strategy is equivalent to assigning group effects similarly for both direct and maternal effects and allows making use of the computational efficiency available from the Q-P transformation and Westell's rules, which are similar to Henderson's rules for calculating the inverse of the numerator relationship matrix. (


The cloud services together with the huge size datasets are driving demand for bandwidth in datacenters [1]. The 400 Gbps client-side links are demanding cost efficient solution: to reduce the number of lanes and increase the bandwidth for a single lane. The intensity modulation and direct-detection systems together with integrated semiconductor lasers and modulators appear as promising solution in four optical lanes at 100G since it reduces complexity, power consumption and costs [2]. However, it requires silicon and InP opto-electronic components with more than 70 GHz bandwidth [3]. In this talk, we report on a cost-efficient integrated externally modulated laser (EML) with high bandwidth for record high-speed intensity modulation and direct detection system demonstration with up to 100G OOK, PAM4/8 and duobinary signaling, as well as analog modulations e.g. DMT, paving the way for high speed multilevel modulation formats [4–6]. Related techniques including digital signal processing algorithms for timing recovery, adaptive/static equalization are also discussed in terms of practical implementation and complexity. In addition, techniques constructively using time domain super-Nyquist image induced aliasing for mitigating modulator driver nonlinearity for high speed DMT transmission will be presented [6], [7].


The study of self has taken an important position in the recent context. The difference between the 'Non-Western' and the 'Western' self has played its role and we have ended up by putting nomenclatures of individualistic societies to some nations, and collectivistic to others. But is the discussion of self only limited to the notion of individualism and collectivism, and if not, then what are the other implications on the study of self? This paper talks about how self has been talked about in theory, how temporally a shift has happened in the notion of self and the factors that have an impact on the construction of self.


I still think about Peter, the man I loved most in the world, all the time. At two in the afternoon, when he would come and pick me up and take me for rides; at five, when I would read to him, head on his chest; in the despair at seven p.m., when he would hold me and rub my belly for an hour; in the despair again at nine p.m. when we would go for a night ride, down to the Royal Cliffs Diner in Englewood Cliffs where I would buy a cup of coffee with precisely seven sugars and a lot of cream. We were friends, soul mates and lovers. I was seven. He was fifty-one.


Performance analysis helps to understand how a particular invocation of an algorithm executes. Using the information provided by specific tools like the profiler tool Perf or the Performance Application Programming Interface (PAPI), the performance analysis process provides a bridging relationship between the algorithm execution and processor events according to the metrics defined by the developer. It is also useful to find performance limitations which depend exclusively on the code. Furthermore, to change an algorithm in order to optimize the code requires more than understanding of the obtained performance. It requires understanding the problem being solved. In this work we evaluate the performance achieved by a suffix array over a 32-core platform. Suffix arrays are efficient data structures for solving complex queries in a number of applications related to text databases, for instance, biological databases. We perform experiments to evaluate hardware features directly aimed to parallelize computation. Moreover, according to the results obtained by the performance evaluation tools, we propose an optimization technique to improve the use of the cache memory. In particular, we aim to reduce the number of cache memory replacement performed each time a new query is processed.


Scientific advancements, their application through technological development, and world politics have been long acknowledged as affecting each other, and are today more than ever at the heart of global policy. Speaking of 'science diplomacy' as the encounter of world politics and the world of science at the heart of these advancements might be a unique window into our time. This potential is what prompts this special issue to gather views from a variety of scholarly and practical viewpoints, linking the well‐established world of reflective practitioners in science diplomacy to the growing field of international relations (IR) scholars theorising this realm. Can speaking of 'science diplomacy' situate our attention at the crossroads of science and international relations, and spur greater appreciation for their intersections? This introduction to the special issue summarises the rise of science diplomacy as field of inquiry, and casts questions as to the need to advance, where not reform, these conceptualisations. It defines science diplomacy as a 'boundary problem' par excellence and emphasises its 'productive tension' that emerges between the various ways of knowing of actors belonging to 'different social worlds', seeking to gather a productive tension of views on this theme in the issue.


A Companion to Greek Mythology presents a series of essays that explore the phenomenon of Greek myth from its origins in shared Indo-European story patterns and the Greeks' contacts with their Eastern Mediterranean neighbours through its development as a shared language and thought-system for the Greco-Roman world. * Features essays from a prestigious international team of literary experts * Includes coverage of Greek myth's intersection with history, philosophy and religion * Introduces readers to topics in mythology that are often inaccessible to non-specialists * Addresses the Hellenistic and Roman periods as well as Archaic and Classical Greece


A novel correspondence-less approach is proposed to find a thin plate spline map between a pair of deformable 3D objects represented by triangular surface meshes. The proposed method works without landmark extraction and feature correspondences. The aligning transformation is found simply by solving a system of nonlinear equations. Each equation is generated by integrating a nonlinear function over the object's domains. We derive recursive formulas for the efficient computation of these integrals. Based on a series of comparative tests on a large synthetic dataset, our triangular mesh-based algorithm outperforms state of the art methods both in terms of computing time and accuracy. The applicability of the proposed approach has been demonstrated on the registration of 3D lung CT volumes.


Purpose: Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is a highly aggressive pediatric brain tumor, for which no effective therapeutic options currently exist. We here determined the potential of inhibition of the maternal embryonic leucine zipper kinase (MELK) for the treatment of DIPG. Experimental Design:We evaluated the antitumor efficacy of the small-molecule MELK inhibitor OTSSP167 in vitro in patient-derived DIPG cultures, and identified the mechanism of action of MELK inhibition in DIPG by RNA sequencing of treated cells. In addition, we determined the blood–brain barrier (BBB) penetration of OTSSP167 and evaluated its translational potential by treating mice bearing patientderived DIPG xenografts. Results: This study shows that MELK is highly expressed in DIPG cells, both in patient samples and in relevant in vitro and in vivo models, and that treatment with OTSSP167 strongly decreases proliferation of patient-derived DIPG cultures. Inhibition of MELK in DIPG cells functions through reducing inhibitory phosphorylation of PPARg , resulting in an increase in nuclear translocation and consequent transcriptional activity. Brain pharmacokinetic analyses show that OTSSP167 is a strong substrate for both MDR1 and BCRP, limiting its BBB penetration. Nonetheless, treatment ofMdr1a/b;Bcrp1 knockout mice carrying patient-derived DIPG xenografts with OTSSP167 decreased tumor growth, induced remissions, and resulted in improved survival. Conclusion: We show a strong preclinical effect of the kinase inhibitor OTSSP167 in the treatment of DIPG and identify the MELK–PPARg signaling axis as a putative therapeutic target in this disease. Clin Cancer Res; 1–13. 2018 AACR.


I order to better understand the process of learning a complex motor skill, an effort was done to identify principles of movement reorganization. However, many studies refuted the existence of generalized invariant "strategies" for mastering the redundant degrees of freedom and emphasized the importance of the constraints especially those linked to the task itself. We aimed to identify common characteristics in movement reorganization when 7 participants practiced (4 sessions) a new gait pattern at speeds higher than that of the preferred walk-to-run transition by placing biomechanical constraints on distal lower joints (i.e. racewalking regulations). Movement analysis was performed on kinematic variables computed from a whole-body model (VICON). First, using ANOVAs we assessed practice-related changes in spatiotemporal parameters, angular displacements and relative phases (inter-/intra-limb coordination). Results indicated an immediate reorganization incoordinative patterns (e.g., relative phases and stride frequency) accompanied by a general decrease in the initial movement variability (i.e., standard deviation of many key variables). However, the large number of studied variables made it difficult to put forward common "strategies" used by participants. Second, we ran principal component analyses (PCA) on 8 major angular displacement variables for all participants, trials and sessions. PCA were used to evaluate the coupling in the motion of body segments that synchronize in different components (dimensions), each believed to be controlled by the CNS as one unit. Results indicated that the majority of participants immediately recruited an additional task-specific control dimension compared to normal walking. Moreover, this analysis revealed a gradual synchronization of the knee joint motion with that of the early established pelvis transverse plane rotation.


The U.S.-Mexico borderlands have been the focus of research for many years, with themes and topics as varied and diverse as the border region itself. The Journal of Borderlands Studies has played a vital role in the dissemination of this research, and scholars and readers owe much to the journal's singular focus on borderlands studies across the globe. With this special volume, the JBS once again demonstrates its commitment to bringing forward critical issues that apply to borderlands. We have assembled an impressive collection of articles that explore the dimensions of colonias in the southwest U.S. and northern Mexico. Here we introduce colonias to a broad audience that may know less about them, and explain why they warrant a special volume.


No matter what DBMS you are usingOracle, DB2, SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQLmisunderstandings can always arise over the precise meanings of terms, misunderstandings that can have a serious effect on the success of your database projects. For example, here are some common database terms: attribute, BCNF, consistency, denormalization, predicate, repeating group, join dependency. Do you know what they all mean? Are you sure?The New Relational Database Dictionary defines all of these terms and many, many more. Carefully reviewed for clarity, accuracy, and completeness, this book is an authoritative and comprehensive resource for database professionals, with over 1700 entries (many with examples) dealing with issues and concepts arising from the relational model of data. DBAs, database designers, DBMS implementers, application developers, and database professors and students can find the information they need on a daily basis, information that isnt readily available anywhere else.


This paper investigates the effect of firm-specific characteristics on debt maturity in Malaysia.We examine the impact of Shari'ah compliance on debt maturity structure by grouping companies based on compliance status as governed by the Securities Commission of Malaysia over the sample period of 2007 to 2016.The results indicate that Shari'ah compliant firms tend to have longer debt maturity structure indicating that the nature of compliance determines the maturity structure of companies in Malaysia as managers of these firms tend to focus on mitigating liquidity risks potentially faced. In addition, Shari'ah compliant firms also tend to have lower bankruptcy costs.Contrary to their non-compliant counterparts, managers of Shari'ah compliant firms tend to change debt maturity structure as a signaling tool whilst opting for longer structures in periods of positive share price performance. We also find that Shar'iah compliance has no impact on firms' strategy of matching debt to asset maturity structure.


Task-based language teacher education can assist participants in adopting (a) roles and responsibilities based on their needs, (b) collaborative approaches to professional development, and (c) communicative language teaching practices. The classroom study presented in this chapter examines aspects of novice teacher cognition among 15 participants in a one-semester, task-based, undergraduate seminar on language teaching methods. A mixed-methods investigation included retrospective comments, classroom discourse, and survey results as data on the effectiveness of the task-based teacher education approach. Findings of the study indicated that seminar participants both gained and shared knowledge related to teaching practice through classroom tasks. In addition, participants and their peers rated various recommended instructional practices from the task-based language teaching (TBLT) literature highly. The chapter discusses the potential of task-based teacher training to support curricular innovation initiatives like TBLT designed to enhance language education in the Japanese EFL setting.


Background: Postmenopausal bleeding might occur due to many benign and malignant underlying diseases. Differentiating between these diseases poses a great importance. This study was designed to compare the diagnostic value of pipelle endometrial sampling and curettage in patients with postmenopausal bleeding. Further, the results were compared with hysterectomy if performed. Materials and Methods: Eighty-seven patients with postmenopausal bleeding were included. Pipelle sampling endometrial biopsy was performed for patients in office, and then, patients were transferred to the operation room for dilatation and curettage. Pathology results of pipelle sampling were compared with curettage method. If hysterectomy was performed due to any reason, it was compared as well. Results: The pipelle sampling biopsy diagnosed 94.1% of malignant tumors, and curettage sampling biopsy diagnosed 100% of malignant tumors. The sensitivity and specificity of pipelle compared to curettage were 94.12% and 100%, respectively, for the diagnosis of malignant tumors. Based on the Kappa test, the agreement between pipelle and curettage sampling biopsy was statistically significant (P < 0.001). Conclusion: The endometrial sampling with pipelle is safe and cost-effective in patients referred with postmenopausal bleeding. This might avoid the need for general anesthesia for the detection of endometrial hyperplasia and endometrial malignancy.


R&D collaboration facilitates pooling of complement ary skills, learning from the partner as well as sharing risks and costs. Research therefore repeatedly stressed the positive relationship between collaborative R&D and innovation performanc e. Fewer studies addressed potential drawbacks of collaborative R&D. Collaborative R&D c omes at the costs of coordination and monitoring, requires knowledge disclosure and invol ves the risk of opportunistic behaviour by the partners. Thus, while the net gains from collab r tion can be high initially, cost may start to outweigh those benefits if firms engage in multi ple collaborative projects simultaneously. This study explicitly considers a firm's collaborat ion intensity, that is, the share of collaborative R&D projects in the firms' total R&D project portfolio. For a sample of 2,891 firms located in Germany, active in abroad range of manufacturing and service sectors and of which 86% are SMEs, we indeed find that increasing the share of collaborative R&D projects in total R&D projects is associated with a higher p robability of product innovation and with a higher market success of new products. While we can confirm previous findings in terms of gains for innovation performance, we also find that collaboration has decreasing and even negative returns on product innovation if its inten sity increases above a certain threshold. Consequently, the relationship between collaboratio n ntensity and innovation has an inverted-U shape. In particular, costs start outwei ghing benefits if a firm pursues more than about two thirds of its R&D projects in collaborati on. This result is robust to conditioning market success to the introduction of new products and to accounting for the selection into collaborating.


Heterogeneous platforms play an increasingly important role in modern computer systems. They combine high performance with low power consumption. From mobiles to supercomputers, we see an increasing number of computer systems that are heterogeneous. The most well-known heterogeneous system, CPU+GPU platforms have been widely used in recent years. As they become more mainstream, serving multiple tasks from multiple users is an emerging challenge. A good scheduler can greatly improve performance. However, indiscriminately allocating tasks based on availability leads to poor performance. As modern GPUs have a large number of hardware resources, most tasks cannot efficiently utilize all of them. Concurrent task execution on GPU is a promising solution, however, indiscriminately running tasks in parallel causes a slowdown. This thesis focuses on scheduling OpenCL kernels. A runtime framework is developed to determine where to schedule OpenCL kernels. It predicts the best-fit device by using a machine learning-based classifier, then schedules the kernels accordingly to either CPU or GPU. To improve GPU utilization, a kernel merging approach is proposed. Kernels are merged if their predicted co-execution can provide better performance than sequential execution. A machine learning based classifier is developed to find the best kernel pairs for co-execution on GPU. Finally, a runtime framework is developed to schedule kernels separately on either CPU or GPU, and run kernels in pairs if their co-execution can improve performance. The approaches developed in this thesis significantly improve system performance and outperform all existing techniques.


A close look at many existing systems reveals their two- or multi-layer nature, where a number of coexisting networks interact and depend on each other. For instance, in the Internet, any application-level graph (such as a peer-to-peer network) is mapped on the underlying IP network that, in turn, is mapped on a mesh of optical fibers. This layered view sheds new light on the tolerance to errors and attacks of many complex systems. What is observed at a single layer does not necessarily reflect well the state of the entire system. On the contrary, a tiny, seemingly harmless disruption of one layer, may destroy a substantial or essential part of another layer, thus making the whole system useless in practice. In this thesis we consider such two-layer systems. We model them by two graphs at two different layers, where the upper-layer (or logical) graph is mapped onto the lower-layer (physical) graph. Our main goals are the following. First, we study the robustness to failures of existing large-scale two-layer systems. This brings us some valuable insights into the problem, e.g., by identifying common weak points in such systems. Fortunately, these two-layer problems can often be effectively alleviated by a careful system design. Therefore, our second major goal is to propose new designs that increase the robustness of two-layer systems. This thesis is organized in three main parts, where we focus on different examples and aspects of the two-layer system. In the first part, we turn our attention to the existing large-scale two-layer systems, such as peer-to-peer networks, railway networks and the human brain. Our main goal is to study the vulnerability of these systems to random errors and targeted attacks. Our simulations show that (i) two-layer systems are much more vulnerable to errors and attacks than they appear from a single layer perspective, and (ii) attacks are much more harmful than errors, especially when the logical topology is heterogeneous. These results hold across all studied systems. A natural next step consists in improving the failure robustness of two-layer systems. In particular, in the second part of this thesis, we consider the IP/WDM optical networks, where an IP backbone network is mapped on a mesh of optical fibers. The problem lies in designing a survivable mapping, such that no single physical failure disconnects the logical topology. This is an NP-complete problem. We introduce a new concept of piecewise survivability, which makes the problem much easier in practice. This leads us to an efficient and scalable algorithm called SMART, which finds a survivable mapping much faster (often by orders of magnitude) than the other approaches proposed to date. Moreover, the formal analysis of SMART allows us to prove that a given survivable mapping does or does not exist. Finally, this approach helps us to find vulnerable areas in the system, and to effectively reinforce them, e.g., by adding new links. In the third part of this thesis, we shift our attention one layer higher, to the application-over-IP setting. In particular, we consider the design of Application-Level Multicast (ALM) for interactive applications, where a single source sends a delay-constrained data stream to a number of destinations. Interactive ALM should (i) respect stringent delay requirements, and (ii) proactively protect the system against overlay node failures and against (iii) the packet losses at the IP layer. We propose a two-layer-aware approach to this problem. First, we prove that the average packet loss rate observed at the destinations can be effectively approximated by a purely topological metric that, in turn, drops with the amount of IP-level and overlay-level path diversity available in the system. Therefore, we propose a framework that accommodates and generalizes various techniques to increase the path diversity in the system. Within this framework we optimize the structure of ALM. As a result, we reduce the effective loss rate of real Internet topologies by typically 30%-70%, compared to the state of the art. Finally, in addition to the three main parts of the thesis, we also present a set of results inspired by the study of ALM systems, but not directly related to the 'two-layer' paradigm (and thus moved to the Appendix). In particular, we consider a transmission of a delay-sensitive data stream from a single source to a single destination, where the data packets are protected by a Forward Error Correction (FEC) code and sent over multiple paths. We show that the performance of such a scheme can often be further improved. Our key observation is that the propagation times on the available paths often significantly differ, typically by 10-100ms. We propose to exploit these differences by appropriate packet scheduling, which results in a two- to five-fold improvement (reduction) in the effective loss rate.


Usability inspection methods, such as heuristic evaluation, the cognitive walkthrough, formal usability inspections, and the pluralistic usability walkthrough, were introduced fifteen years ago. Since then, these methods, analyses of their comparative effectiveness, and their use have evolved in different ways. In this paper, we track the fortunes of the methods and analyses, looking at which led to use and to further research, and which led to relative methodological dead ends. Heuristic evaluation and the cognitive walkthrough appear to be the most actively used and researched techniques. The pluralistic walkthrough remains a recognized technique, although not the subject of significant further study. Formal usability inspections appear to have been incorporated into other techniques or largely abandoned in practice. We conclude with lessons for practitioners and suggestions for future research.


Magnetically controlled accretion of disk material onto the surface of Classical T Tauri stars is the dominant paradigm in our understanding of how these young stars interact with their surrounding disks. These stars provide a powerful test of magnetically controlled accretion models since all of the relevant parameters, including the magnetic field strength and geometry, are in principle measureable. Both the strength and the field geometry are key for understanding how these stars interact with their disks. This talk will focus on recent advances in magnetic field measurements on a large number of T Tauri stars, as well as very recent studies of the accretion rates onto a sample of young stars in NGC 2264 with known rotation periods. We discuss how these observations provide critical tests of magnetospheric accretion models which predict a rotational equilibrium is reached. We find good support for the model predictions once the complex geometry of the stellar magnetic field is taken into account. We will also explore how the observations of the accretion properties of the 2264 cluster stars can be used to test emerging ideas on how magnetic fields on young stars are generated and organized as a function of their internal structure (i.e. the presence of a radiative core). We do not find support for the hypothesis that large changes in the magentic field geometry occur when a radiative core appears in these young stars.


Abstract:Seeking to close the gap in higher education achievement, we created the nahongvita model—a model that would intersect the roles of home environments, academic environments, community, and history to empower American Indian students from rural communities to succeed in higher education. Interweaving our individual and collective voices throughout the article, we provide a glimpse of our Hopi and Fort Peck Assiniboine identities to describe and further define the concepts of "Home," "home," "history," and "community." We introduce selected work by our colleagues who presented models or concepts that support American Indian students' pursuit of higher education. In doing so, we depict a history of what transitions to higher education institutions have meant for American Indian students and why the nahongvita model is important in a contemporary context. The nahongvita model provides a unique platform in that it is broadly applicable to Indigenous communities; it empowers students to utilize their own experiences to define "Home" and "home" communities.


"Millions of the rural poor now participate in collaborative forest management schemes under a variety of tenurial and organizational arrangements.We examine those arrangements and ask whether local people have indeed gained more access to benefits from and control over forests. Our findings suggest that most co-management projects actually maintain and even extend central government control." from Text.


Background: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder that starts in childhood and frequently persists in adults. Electrophysiological studies in children with ADHD provide evidence for abnormal performance monitoring processes and familial association of these processes with ADHD. It is not yet known whether these processes show the same abnormalities and familial effects in adults. Method: We investigated event-related potential (ERP) indices of performance monitoring in adults with ADHD compared to age matched control participants. We subsequently investigated whether the ERP indices showed a familial association with ADHD by investigating these processes in first degree relatives of children with ADHD. This was achieved using an arrow flanker task presented to 21 adults with ADHD, 20 fathers of children with ADHD and 20 control participants. Results: Compared to the control group, both adults with ADHD and fathers of children with ADHD dis2 ndophenotype played significantly weaker error and conflict monitoring, as indexed by the smaller error negativity (Ne) and the N2 components. These two components were highly correlated within each of the three groups (r = 0.53–0.65). The groups did not differ on the error positivity (Pe). Conclusions: These findings closely resemble those previously found in children with ADHD, suggesting that conflict monitoring and early error processing are also abnormal in adults with ADHD; and share ADHD may familial influences with performance monitoring


Using the Information-Motivation-Behavioural Skills Model, the present study examined the relationship between condom use motivation and behavioural skills and their independent and joint influence on condom use consistency among adolescent heterosexual males. Participants were 98 currently sexually active, heterosexual males aged 18-23 (M = 18.5). Each participant was given a series of questionnaires to measure 5 dimensions od Attitudes Towards Condoms, Perceptions of Social Norms, condom use consistency, 3 types of condom-obtaining negotiation strategies, and 4 types of condomavoiding negotiation strategies. Results indicated that the Pleasure dimension of Attitudes towards condoms, was positively correlated with condom use and the condom obtaining strategy Risk Information/Request, and negatively correlated with the condom avoiding strategies Dislike of condoms and Seduction. Perceptions of Social Norms were also positively correlated with condom use and the condom-obtaining strategies Risk Information/Request and Direct Verbal/Nonverbal Communication, while negatively correlated with the condom avoiding strategies Dislike of Condoms and Seduction. Furthermore, these condom negotiation strategies partially mediated the respective relationships between motivational constructs and condom use consistency. Overall, these findings promote the need for intervention strategies that focus on dyadic negotiation and communication as a predictor for condom use, and implications for future research were discussed.


We take our world to be an objective reality, but is it? The assumption that the physical world exists in and of itself has struggled to assimilate the findings of modern physics for some time now. For example, an objective space and time would just "be", but in relativity, space contracts and time dilates. Likewise objective "things" should just inherently exist, but the entities of quantum theory are probability of existence smears, that spread, tunnel, superpose and entangle in physically impossible ways. Cosmology even tells us that our entire physical universe just "popped up", from nowhere, about 14 billion years ago. This is not how an objectively real world should behave! Yet traditional alternatives don't work much better. That the world is just an illusion of the mind doesn't explain its consistent realism and Descartes dualism, that another reality beyond the physical exists, just doubles the existential problem. It is time to consider an option we might normally dismiss out of hand. This essay explores the virtual reality conjecture, that the physical world is the digital output of non-physical quantum processing. It finds it neither illogical, nor unscientific, nor incompatible with current physics.


In order to characterize the hepatic effects of phenobarbital (PB) and clofibrate (CPIB) in dogs, PB and CPIB were administered to male beagle dogs for 14 days, and biochemical and histopathological examinations and comprehensive genomic and proteomic analyses, including GeneChip analysis and proteomics analysis using the 2-dimension difference gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE) technique, were performed. Both compounds caused centrilobular hepatocellular hypertrophy, which were related to smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER) proliferation in PB-treated dogs and to mitochondrial proliferation in CPIB-treated dogs. In the PB-treated dogs, drug-metabolizing enzyme induction was observed by Western blot and genomic analyses. CYP proteins could not be detected by the 2D-DIGE analysis, but increases in several endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-related proteins were observed. In the CPIB-treated dogs, drug-metabolizing enzyme induction was not clearly observed by any of Western blot, genomic and proteomic analyses. Genomic and proteomic analyses revealed that mitochondrial genes and proteins, including carnitine palmytoiltransferase II, acyl-CoA deheydrogenase and hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase, pyruvate carboxylase and ATP synthase beta chain were induced. There is a relatively good correlation among the morphology and the genomic and proteomic data, but some differences exist between the genomic and proteomic data. Comprehensive evaluation using these techniques in addition to morphological evaluation may provide a useful tool for safety assessment of the liver.


This thesis focuses on the collaborative action planning for humanoid robot agents alone with each other or with a human agent. The action performed by these agents consists of exchanging a small deformable monochrome object using one arm. This situation occurs for instance when robots are employed to help elderly or disabled persons at home or retirement houses get an object difficult to reach, tidy rooms,etc. The used robots are NAOs made by Aldebaran Robotics.The thesis covers details about behavior trees which are a formal method used to plan the exchange and synchronize the NAOs, the Robot Operating System ROS which gives a global structure for the computer code, and NAOs with their software environment.This work also focuses on the image processing algorithms (HSV-lters, Connected-Components Labeling and Union-Find) that were used to detect an object and get its contour in the NAO's camera image, and the geometric applications that allow to get the 3D-position of a quasi-spherical object, knowing its dimensions and its projection on a camera focal plane.