Consider the stories of two banks that went public recently. 1. Citizens National Bank of Texas went public because the $370 million-assets bank's board and management had decided to grow by buying other community banks. This expansion program, plus the desire to provide more liquidity for the bank's nearly 500 shareholders, says Ralph Williams, president and CEO, was enough to convince everyone that the time was ripe. The bank's IPO, handled by Legg Mason Wood Walker Inc., went off well, pricing at $10.50. The company's shares hit a high of $17 not long after, but then fell during the slump that hit smaller bank stock prices last year. Since then, the shares, which trade under the symbol CNBT on NASDAQ, levelled off at between $10 and $11. What's more, while extra liquidity, and new capital resulted from the offer, the original plan for using the capital fell by the wayside, because asking prices for target banks were higher than anticipated. The bank has since shifted its strategy, using the additional capital raised to site and build de novo branches in new markets. Meanwhile, Williams says going public brought more rules and more audits. "I'm still glad we did it," he says, "but I'm not as glad as I was in the beginning." 2. In February, the IPO of CNB, Inc., Lake City, Fla., closed. The community banking company, seeing opportunities in the Jacksonville market resulting from the merger of large banks, planned to use the proceeds of its offering to relocate headquarters to Jacksonville, and to expand operations into markets contiguous to its original sites. G. Thomas Frankland, chief financial officer, says the company considered alternatives to an IPO prior to going ahead with the offering. A debt offering was considered, for instance, but the 11-year-old, $290 million-assets, company had not had debt up until then and going into debt went against the grain. Furthermore, says Frankland, "we wanted to take the company to the next level and create a currency out of our stock for acquisitions." The IPO completed earlier this year wasn't the bank's first attempt at the process. An IPO was originally slated for last summer, but Frankland says that the bank pulled the plug on it when the stock market dipped. Price levels came back sufficiently to convince the company that there was no point to putting off its plans any longer. The company trades on the NASDAQ under the symbol of CNBB. Now, then, or not at all? A historically high number of community banks did IPOs last year (see chart, p.18)--some right along with the launch of their charters and others, like the preceeding banks, after years of being closely held. But since then activity has slowed down somewhat, according to market watchers. In the Internet world, it seems like one hot IPO is announced every hour, but the outlook for bank IPOs isn't nearly so optimistic. The consensus right now is that the decision to go for an IPO depends very much on your bank's plans and aspirations. "Quite simply, the answer is 'maybe'," says Steve Nelson, an investment banker in the Chicago office of the Washington, D.C.,-based Hovde Financial, Inc. The decision, ultimately, revolves around timing versus your bank's business plan, or lack thereof; its tolerance for what comes along with going public; and your bank's consideration of alternatives to doing an IPO. There is also the matter of paying the freight. Going public requires the talents of several disciplines, including investment banking and the law, and a community bank raising, say $5 million to $10 million in an IPO can expect to pay between $500,000 and $600,000. Hovde's Nelson puts the numbers in the chart into perspective. Up until the third quarter of 1998 bank and thrift stocks were hot; suddenly, in the third quarter and continuing into the fourth, the market turned on them. "The segment just got hammered," explains Nelson. …


This paper quantifies the impact of international transport time on bilateral trade flows in goods using previously unexploited information drawn from a large dataset on international parcel delivery times. In line with previous work, we find that an extra day spent in international transit reduces bilateral trade by just under one percent at the sample median. In addition, and for the first time in the literature, we examine the impact of time-related uncertainty, which requires traders to hold costly inventories or build costly redundancies into supply chains. We find that a one day increase in international transport time uncertainty reduces bilateral trade flows by just over one percent. Splitting the sample into developing and developed countries shows that international transit time matters primarily for SouthSouth trade, whereas uncertainty is relatively more important for North-North trade. Using new data on trade in intermediate versus final goods, we also find some evidence that time and uncertainty both matter more for movements of intermediates of the type that takes place within global value chains. JEL Classification: F13 ADBI Working Paper 673 Ansón, Arvis, Boffa, Helble, and Shepherd


To be a fan of something often indicates an over-attachment, an excessive engagement that goes beyond the intellectual. The idea of a 'fan of feminism' will, for some, conjure up negative associations: of obsession, of embarrassing desire, and of a loss of perspective. Why then try out this idea, of being a fan of feminism?

Over the last decade feminism has gradually crept back into view in the work of a number of contemporary artists, particularly as a historical moment or mode of collective production, focused on second-wave feminist art and activism. The 1970s as a fertile feminist moment has been highlighted recently by the huge wave of debate generated by the exhibition WACK!, Art and the Feminist Revolution, that opened at Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 2007 and then toured the USA. Coinciding with the opening of the Elizabeth Sackler Feminist Art Center at the Brooklyn Museum, whose centrepiece is the permanent installation of Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party, 1974–1979, the art press in both the USA and the UK covered page after page on the subject of feminism in contemporary art, and the relationship to a feminist history. Special issues and sections on feminism were produced in magazines from Frieze to Art in America, with articles ranging from influential writers such as Lucy Lippard and Carol Armstrong to the opinions of a younger generation of critics such as Polly Staple.1 If second-wave feminism was now fashionable, what was it that drew such interest? Books and exhibitions on feminist art during the 1990s had not generated such discussion and when projects such as Amelia Jones' Sexual Politics: Judy Chicago's Dinner Party, 1996, had been looked at, it was in the context of the problems and arguments that had been provoked, rather than an appraisal of feminist art history in a positive light.


For most QA leads or managers, it's always difficult to get the project manager (PM) to invest in test automation. The term project manager refers to the person who manages the project funding and expenses. Sometimes program manager or project sponsor owns the function of managing the funding and resources. Project management as a function exists in both traditional and agile environments, as project cost management is not in scope for most agile development practices including Scrum. It's important to learn how project managers and stakeholders view test automation and what the impediments in investing in test automation are. Test automation costs are mainly associated with resources, training and tools. For example, a senior program manager once said, "Test automation is great thing to have, but not a great thing to invest in". This paper looks into how project managers view test automation and try to measure its value or ROI (Return on Investment). This paper also offers guidance to QA and Testing teams on how to show the value of test automation in the terms that project managers can easily understand. Project managers view the project from the classic triple constraint model that mainly includes Scope, Cost (Resources + dollars), Schedule, and Quality management. Project managers don't see a direct correlation between these four project variables with investing in test automation and are usually reluctant to invest in test automation. Investing in test automation has a measureable value on at least 3 out of 4 project attributes and individual metrics can be created for each attribute to show that overall ROI can be in positive territory over time. With the right metrics PMs can be more confident in investing in test automation. To make a case for investing in the test automation, the QA lead needs to translate investments and ongoing costs for test automation into positive impact on project attributes: Cost, Schedule, Quality and Risk. Once the decision is made to invest in test automation, the QA lead needs to provide an individual metric for each of the four projects' attributes that shows tangible and measurable value to project managers in the terms they most care about. This paper tries to offer methods, examples and metrics to QA and test leads to show the value of test automation in both traditional and agile environments, with a focus to get the project and program managers to invest and trust in automation efforts.


To study the effects of any changes to a room or setting on the room acoustics, a framework was developed that enables immediate acoustic and visual feedback to the user. This is achieved by running interactive room acoustics simulations and auralizations in real-time. Physically based binaural room impulse responses (BRIRs) are calculated using the image source method and ray tracing and are divided into direct sound, early reflections and late reverberation. Any part of the BRIR is updated as quickly as possible depending on the user's interaction with the scene. This includes changes to sources and receivers (positions/orientations/directivities/HRTF), to surface materials and to the room geometry itself. Using streaming low-latency convolution, an immediate feedback is provided to the user. A parallelization concept features multi-threading and networked PC-clusters, so that the workload can be effectively distributed, offering a scalability to simulate small to huge scenes, depending on the available computation power. For convenient scene design and interaction, a plug-in for Trimble SketchUp was developed that enables real-time room acoustics and room acoustics parameter visualization to this easy-to-use CAD modeling tool.


This paper reviews the progress made over the past few years in evaluating and controlling for spatial heterogeneity in stated preference valuation, focussing on applications to environmental valuation. Spatial heterogeneity can strongly impact value estimates, so failure to account for it can compromise their validity and reliability. Incorporating spatial factors into valuation studies not only helps to control for some potential biases, but also produces more precise evaluation of amenities that have mixed use and non-use values. For these reasons and considering the ever-growing need for non-market valuation studies, spatial heterogeneity deserves more attention in the stated preference valuation literature. In this review we discuss the current state-of-knowledge and identify some of the main issues that have been raised in the literature in relation to spatial heterogeneity in stated preference valuation, including distance-decay, substitution, embedding effects and scale factors. We present several techniques that have been used so far, mostly originating from spatial econometrics and spatial statistics, to control for spatial heterogeneity. Some of the ongoing challenges that require further attention are also highlighted. We conclude by suggesting potential directions for future research in light of recent progress made in related disciplines and the evolution of modern technologies.


Probiotics has gained momentum only recently with considerable and significant advances in functional and health food market across the world. The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on Evaluation of Health and Nutritional Properties of Probiotics in Food held in Cordoba, Argentina from 14 October, 2001 recognized the need for guidelines to set out a systematic approach for the evaluation of probiotics in food leading to the substantiation of health claims. The Global Standards for Evaluation of Probiotics are : identification of the genus and species of the probiotic strain, in vitro testing to delineate the mechanism of the probiotic effect and substantiation of the clinical health benefit of probiotic agents with human trials. In the EU there is no legal definition of the term probiotic, no specific legislation governing them, but there are regulations which lay down some general principles and requirements of EU food law. In the U.S the use of probiotics in products can result in several regulatory categories. In Japan reference for legislation on the subject of functional foods is made to the Japanese system of Foods for Specified Health Use (FOSHU).The main purposes of the Codex Alimentarius Commission are protecting health of the consumers, ensuring fair trade practices in the food trade, and promoting coordination of all food standards work undertaken by international governmental and nongovernmental organizations. The Indian Council of Medical Research, along with the Department of Biotechnology of the Ministry of Science and Technology have proposed 'Guidelines for Evaluation of Probiotics in Food in India', which articulates the base for the law to govern probiotics. Multinational companies have found the Indian market very challenging in the past owing to supply shortages, poor cold chain, storage facilities, poor infrastructure, and underdeveloped and complicated distribution channels. There are many aspects pertaining to the regulation of functional foods, such as probiotic. The regulatory framework to be established should include issues related to probiotics, such as efficacy, safety, labeling, fraud and claims.


A lot of activity is currently going on to replace the SNMP management architecture with a solution better suited to managing modern IP networks and systems. New candidates include Management by delegation, active networks, and Web-based management. In this exercise, the management community runs the risk of throwing the baby out with the bath water by focusing too much on a few well-known problems exhibited by SNMP (e.g., its poor scalability) and neglecting most of its other characteristics, including those that contributed to its success (e.g., the reasons why it is simple). One way to avoid this is to explicitly capture the experience gained in the management of IP networks and systems with SNMP. In this paper, we make one step in this direction by studying the SNMP management architecture through a software engineer s eyes: we identify in SNMP some of the fundamental architectural and design patterns defined in the literature. Patterns are schematic, proven solutions to recurring problems. By characterizing the current management architecture in terms of patterns, we help retain the strengths of SNMP-based management in future management architectures. We also make it easier for new software engineers to move to network and systems management by characterizing this application domain in standard pattern terms, as opposed to using the jargon understood solely by the SNMP community.


Ab s t r Ac t Aim: The aim of the present study was to develop and validate the psychometric properties of the questionnaire (POCTOIR-30) for the evaluation of the perception of clinical training and future goals of residents of oral implantology. Materials and methods: The development of the questionnaire followed the process of five phases: (a) preparation of the instrument, (b) validation of the content, (c) validity of the construct, (d) evaluation of internal consistency and reliability, (e) evaluation of the level of knowledge, for which an instrument on implant training of residency programs was used as a reference. To evaluate the sensitivity and validity of the questionnaire, a pilot sample of 20 residents between 20 years and 50 years of a residency program in oral implantology was used. Results: The factor analysis of the data and the adjustment statistics process resulted in the quality care of 4 factors and 30 questions that were included in the present questionnaire (POCTOIR), which covers: logistics and infrastructure (five items), training in oral implantology (10 items); information on the postgraduate program (seven items) and accessibility and sustainability of care (ten items) and future goals after postgraduate studies (five items). Content validity was measured using the index that combines the ease of calculation and the evaluation of results at the statistical level (κ 0.833). The reliability of the instrument was evaluated to measure the degree of internal correlation (Cronbach's α 0.738). Finally, the reliability was evaluated to measure the constancy of the responses repeatedly with the same subjects (intraclass correlation 0.74). Conclusion: This study showed that the POCTOIR-30 instrument has adequate levels of validity and reliability to be used in residents of areas related to oral implantology in new research. Clinical significance: The impact of the academic training of the residents in oral implantology significantly influences their performance at the time of performing the surgical and prosthetic protocols. Therefore, this research validates statistically the perception of academic training and future goals of postgraduate residents in order to quantify and apply improvement strategies during their years of study.


In an increasingly competitive marketplace for gas turbines, highly efficient and validated computational tools are of paramount importance for reducing the time to market of gas turbine components. Historically, heat transfer has been an area where turbine design has predominantly used onedimensional correlations, which are based on expensive and very time-consuming rig experiments. With today's available computing power, Conjugate Heat Transfer (CHT) Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations allow the characterization of complete sections of gas turbine components, greatly speeding up the design cycle time and reducing the Research and Development (R&D) effort. In this computational paradigm, the quality of the design has to rely on an extensive validation of the CFD tool that becomes an essential part of the design effort. This paper presents a unique CHT CFD process based on Siemens PLM software and the validation of classical cooling flows (turbulators, impingement and pin fins) and full components tested in engines. We show the effect of mesh discretization and turbulence models in producing good engineering results.


A weight of evidence approach was evaluated in the Mvoti Estuary, which is affected by point and non-point sources of contaminants. Four sites were sampled in 2005 and assessed along the standard sediment quality triad lines of evidence: sediment chemistry, benthic diversity and sediment toxicity, as well as for bioaccumulation, in order to determine if this approach can be used to assess sediment quality in an estuarine environment. Benthic species composition showed a strong relationship with salinity gradient. Toxicity did not exhibit acute effects (>50% mortality) and total metal concentrations in the sediment were below available probable effects levels. Changes in the benthic community could not be directly correlated with contaminant levels due to the naturally stressed benthic environment which exists in estuaries. The study showed that, when applying the weight of evidence approach in an estuary, it is necessary to include bioaccumulation data with benthic community structure results. Without this integration, there is increased uncertainty when determining the potential for effects using the metal concentrations. The inclusion of the bioaccumulation data ensures that the information gathered during sediment quality assessments is interpreted correctly, by taking potential and current ecological effects into account.


Double space combined spinal epidural anaesthesia (CSEA) is one of the techniques of anaesthetic armamentarium, which can be used as the sole technique of anaesthesia and continued for relief of postoperative pain. A prospective, randomized, and controlled study was conducted involving 90 patients of ASA physical status I& II coming for elective lower limb orthopaedic surgeries, carried under spinal anaesthesia with 2.5 ml bupivacaine heavy(0.5%) given intrathecally. Epidurally,0.125% bupivacaine alone, or along with morphine 2.5 mg or tramadol 75 mg was administered postoperatively, at two segment sensory regression. The duration of analgesia or the time to first top-up dose in the study groups were 206.8 ± 97.5minutes, 507.3 ± 228.6 minutes and 399.3 ± 152.1 minutes respectively, in bupivacaine group, morphine-bupivacaine group and tramadol-bupivacaine group. None of the patients in the study groups demonstrated motor block after 2 hours of observation period. None of the patients in the study groups had respiratory depression. The double space technique is also economical to the patients, which is a major advantage in our country.


The purpose of this paper is to investigate the mechanisms underlying the relationship between automation and labor market polarization. To do so, we build an agent-based model (ABM) in which workers, heterogeneous in nature and level of skills, interact endogenously on a decentralized labor market with firms producing goods requiring specific set of skills to realize the tasks necessary for the production process. The two scenarios considered, with and without automation, confirm that automation is indeed a key factor in polarizing the structure of skill demand and increasing wage inequality. This result emerges even without reverting to the routine-based technical change (RBTC) hypothesis usually found in the literature, giving some support to the complexity-based technical change (CBTC) hypothesis. Finally, we also highlight that the impact of automation on the distribution of skill demand and wage inequality is correlated with the velocity of technical change.


Land use land cover (LULC) of city regions is strongly affected by urbanization and affects the thermal environment of urban centers by influencing the surface temperature of core city areas and their surroundings. These issues are addressed in the current study, which focuses on two provincial capitals in Pakistan, i.e., Lahore and Peshawar. Using Landsat data, LULC is determined with the aim to (a) examine the spatio-temporal changes in LULC over a period of 20 years from 1998 to 2018 using a CA-Markov model, (b) predict the future scenarios of LULC changes for the years 2023 and 2028, and (c) study the evolution of different LULC categories and investigate its impacts on land surface temperature (LST). The results for Peshawar city indicate the significant expansion in vegetation and built-up area replacing barren land. The vegetation cover and urban area of Peshawar have increased by 25.6%, and 16.3% respectively. In contrast, Lahore city urban land has expanded by 11.2% while vegetation cover decreased by (22.6%). These transitions between LULC classes also affect the LST in the study areas. Transformation of vegetation cover and water surface into built-up areas or barren land results in the increase in the LST. In contrast, the transformation of urban areas and barren land into vegetation cover or water results in the decrease in LST. The different LULC evolutions in Lahore and Peshawar clearly indicate their effects on the thermal environment, with an increasing LST trend in Lahore and a decrease in Peshawar. This study provides a baseline reference to urban planners and policymakers for informed decisions.


This paper evaluates the historical influence of energy prices on a series of measures of environmental and economic performance for a panel of French manufacturing establishments over the period 1997-2010. The focus on energy prices is motivated by the fact that changes in environmental and energy policies have been dominated by substantial reductions in discounts for large consumers, making the evaluation of each policy in isolation exceedingly difficult. To identify price effects, we construct a shift-share instrument that captures only the exogenous variation in establishment-specific energy prices. Our results highlight a trade-off between environmental and economic goals: although a 10 percent increase in energy prices brings about a 6 percent reduction in energy consumption and an 11 percent reduction in CO2 emissions, such an increase also has a modestly negative impact on employment (-2.6 percent) and very small impact on wages and productivity. The negative employment effects are mostly concentrated in energy-intensive and trade-exposed sectors. Simulating the effect of a carbon tax, we show that job losses for the most exposed sectors can be quite large. However, these effects are upper bounds and we show that they are significantly mitigated in multi-establishment firms by labor reallocation across establishments.


The time-dependent inverse source problem with far-field data is investigated within a limited-view Radon inversion framework, analogous to that of a limited-view computed tomography reconstruction problem. We investigate the domains in the Radon and Fourier spaces within which data are available for the reconstruction of the space–time structure of the source. Using a linear inversion formalism we derive a filtered backprojectionlike procedure to reconstruct the minimum-energy source consistent with prescribed far-field data. The source inversion technique developed in the paper is illustrated with a numerical example. The paper also contains a new description of nonradiating sources in the time domain.


The establishment of global helicopter linear model is very precious and useful for the design of the linear control laws, since it is never afforded in the published literatures. In the first principle approach, the mathematical model was developed using basic helicopter theory accounting for particular characteristic of the miniature helicopter. No formal system identification procedures are required for the proposed model structure. The relevant published literatures however did not present the linear models required for the design of linear control laws. The paper presents a step by step development of linear model for small scale helicopter based on first-principle approach. Beyond the previous work in literatures, the calculation of the stability derivatives is presented in detail. A computer program is used to solve the equilibrium conditions and then calculate the change in aerodynamics forces and moments due to the change in each degree of freedom and control input. The detail derivation allows the comprehensive analysis of relative dominance of vehicle states and input variables to force and moment components. Hence it facilitates the development of minimum complexity small scale helicopter dynamics model.


The western winter-spring cohort of neon flying squid, Ommastrephes bartramii , is targeted by Chinese squidjigging fisheries in the northwest Pacific from August to November. Because this squid has a short lifespan and is an ecological opportunist, the dynamics of its stock is greatly influenced by the environmental conditions, which need to be considered in its assessment and management. In this study, an environmentally dependent surplus production (EDSP) model was developed to evaluate the stock dynamics of O. bartramii . Temporal variability of favourable spawning habitat with sea surface temperature (SST) of 21-25°C ( P s ) was assumed to influence carrying capacity ( K ), while temporal variability in favourable feeding habitat areas with different SST ranges in different months ( P f ) was assumed to influence intrinsic growth rate ( r ). The parameters K and r in the EDSP model were thus assumed to be linked to temporal variability in the proportion of Ps and Pf, respectively. According to Deviance Information Criterion values, the estimated EDSP model with Ps was considered to be better than the conventional surplus production model or other EDSP models. For this model, the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) varied from 210000 to 262500 t and biomass at MSY level varied from 360000 to 450000 t. The fishing mortality rates of O. bartramii from 2003 to 2013 were much lower than the fishing mortality at target level and MSY level (F tar and F MSY ) and stock biomass was higher than B MSY , suggesting that this squid was not in the status of overfishing and stock was not overfished. The management reference points in the EDSP model for O. bartramii were more conservative than those in the conventional model. This study suggests that the environmental conditions on the spawning grounds should be considered in squid stock assessment and management in the northwest Pacific Ocean.


Participating in civic life is an important developmental task of adolescence and a central tenet of democracy. What motivates diverse youth in the United States to become involved in civic life? Using a mixed-method and person-centered approach, the authors (1) identified subgroups of participants based on their motivations for political and nonpolitical volunteering and (2) explored differences in civic motivations by ethnic and immigration backgrounds among Asian and Latino adolescents. Using latent class analysis, the authors identified four classes of motivation for political (n = 414) and nonpolitical volunteer (n = 1,066) activities: helping identity, instrumental, personal issue, and weak motivation. Overall, first- and second-generation Latino and Asian youth and nonimmigrants showed more similarities than differences in civic motivations. Survey and interview data revealed that youth from immigrant backgrounds were more motivated to volunteer by instrumental reasons compared to nonimmigrants. Qualitative analyses also revealed that immigrant youth from Mexican backgrounds were mobilized around issues of immigration reform whereas youth from Asian backgrounds were concerned with issues in their local communities.


This paper examines the effect of infinitesimal functional variations in a rigid rotor He–H2 potential surface on several different levels of observables: inelastic cross sections, rate constants, and energy level populations. Equations are derived for the functional derivatives of these observables with respect to a variation in the potential surface. Sensitivities are presented with respect to the entire potential surface, as well as the individual Legendre components Vn(r). The dynamical and kinetic observables studied were found to be most sensitive to the V2(r) term in the potential with the region of highest sensitivity dependent upon the energy or temperature as well as the states related by the individual observable. Sensitivity to the entire surface tends to show more structure due to interference among sensitivities to the individual components. While the main information on the underlying potential is retained, some information loss has been observed in the transition from the microscopic obser...


Literature in Britain and Ireland is a survey of literature on the British Isles since the time of the Anglo-Saxons. Despite this wide angle, the linguistic, regional and ethnic differentiations in each particular period are being emphasised.
Because of its combination of traditional and innovative components of English Studies, this history of literature is useful as a study book accompanying courses as well as an incentive for discoveries while reading. The chapters are systematically structured to allow profiles along the history of genres.
In addition to poetry, drama, short stories and the novel, different forms of non-fictional prose are being highlighted, too. Innovative tendencies in teaching English literature are taken into account beyond the consideration of popular and contemporary literature.


Mid-infrared (MIR) emissions of 2.4 and 3.5 m from Tm3+:LiYF4 single crystals attributed to 3H4->3H5 and 3H5->3F4 transitions as well as MIR emissions of 4.2, 4.3, and 4.5 \mu m from Nd3+: LiYF4 lasers attributed to 4I15/2->4I13/2,4I13/2->4I11/2, and 4I11/2->4I9/2 transitions, respectively, are observed. LiYF4 single crystals possess high transmittance of over 85% in the 2.5-6 \mu m range. The large emission crosssections of Tm-doped crystals at 2.4 \mu m (1.9\times 10-20 cm2) and Nd-doped crystals at 4.2 \mu m (0.84\times 10-20cm2) as well as the high rare-earth doping concentrations, excellent optical transmission, and chemicalphysical properties of the resultant samples indicate that Nd3+ and Tm3+ singly doped crystals may be promising materials for application in MIR lasers.


Background Solid aneurysmal bone cyst or reparative granuloma of bone is a rare tumorlike condition that primarily affects the bone. It was first described by Jafe et al. as a non-neoplastic giant cell reparative granuloma of bone. Patients and methods This study included nine patients, with five males. Age ranged from 6 to 34 years at presentation, with mean age of 15.5 years. Femur was affected in three patients, where two of them was in the trochanteric region, and the third ones showed a recurrent distal femoral lesion; followed by distal tibia in two cases, where one of them also was a recurrent lesion; and a single case each in proximal tibia, distal ulna, clavicle, and pelvis. All cases were histologically diagnosed by either incisional biopsy (five cases) or after final treatment. Some cases had radiological and pathological differential diagnoses such as giant cell tumor, hyperparathyroidism, and osteosarcoma. Seven cases were treated by thorough curettage and hydrogen peroxide lavage, with an autologous nonvascularized fibula in two cases. Two cases were managed by en block excision. Follow-up period ranged from 18 to 50 months, with mean follow-up of 33.6 months. Results All curetted cases healed completely without local recurrence. All cases had excellent functional outcome. Conclusion Solid aneurysmal bone cyst is slightly different from ordinary type as it has wider age incidence, and it might have serious differential diagnosis as osteosarcoma, but it is treated almost the same way.


Spermatogenesis relies on the function of germ-line stem cells, as a continuous supply of differentiated spermatids is produced throughout life. In Drosophila, there must also be somatic stem cells that produce the cyst cells that accompany germ cells throughout spermatogenesis. By lineage tracing, we demonstrate the existence of such somatic stem cells and confirm that of germ-line stem cells. The somatic stem cells likely correspond to the ultrastructurally described cyst progenitor cells. The stem cells for both the germ-line and cyst lineage are anchored around the hub of non-dividing somatic cells located at the testis tip. We then address whether germ cells regulate the behavior of somatic hub cells, cyst progenitors and their daughter cyst cells by analyzing cell proliferation and fate in testes in which the germ line has been genetically ablated. Daughter cyst cells, which normally withdraw from the cell cycle, continue to proliferate in the absence of germ cells. In addition, cells from the cyst lineage switch to the hub cell fate. Male-sterile alleles of chickadee and diaphanous, which are deficient in germ cells, exhibit similar cyst cell phenotypes. We conclude that signaling from germ cells regulates the proliferation and fate of cells in the somatic cyst lineage.


Some will have it, that I often write to my sell and am the only punctual correspondent I have. This objection would indeed be material, were the letters I communicate to the public stuffed with my own commendations, and if, instead of endeavouring to divert or instruct my readers, I admired in them the beauty of my own performances. --Joseph Addison, Spectator 271 In an area of historical inquiry that has traditionally been resistant to theory, the post-Restoration periodical has suffered from acute neglect by the practitioners of rhetorical or formalist cultural studies. There are important exceptions to this rule, to be sure, but their scarcity indexes the power of the historicist rule from which they deviate. (1) In a recent article in PMLA, Sean Latham and Robert Scholes offer an incisive assessment of both the promising and the potentially troubling dimensions of what they term "The Rise of Periodical Studies." Ultimately, though, their account of this emerging field of inquiry perpetuates a number of unquestioned assumptions about how these textual objects should be interpreted and why they should be of interest to scholars invested in a cultural-studies approach to the early Enlightenment. (2) In the course of celebrating and suggesting improvements for the increasing digitization of the periodical archive, Latham and Scholes repeatedly (and rightly, I think) insist that these recovered documents should be viewed as coherent cultural objects in their own right, requiring "new methodologies" and "new types of collaborative investigation." (3) The authors imagine a brave new world of academic research organized in "genuinely interdisciplinary or even multidisciplinary" spaces that could be thought of as "humanities labs" modeled after those in the sciences, places where "collaborative networks of researchers and institutions [would] lend their collective expertise to textual objects that would otherwise overwhelm single scholars." (4) As exciting as this new model of scholarly inquiry sounds, it turns out to be motivated by assumptions about the referential epistemological status of the periodical that have remained unchanged for hundreds of years--assumptions about the "factual" quality of these textual representations that were created by the early periodicalists themselves as an effective and fundamentally misleading strategy for marketing their wares. For Latham and Scholes, periodicals function as "containers of discrete bits of information" for scholars "to mine," or, in a much more elaborate trope, as time-travel-inducing "windows" onto the cultures of the past: in the rapturous conclusion to their otherwise brilliant analysis of how advertising and moralizing get jumbled together on the folio pages of Spectator 75 (May 25, 1711), the authors cannot refrain from claiming of this archival document that "Queen Anne's England is here, and we are invited to enter it through this precious door, which periodical studies can open for us." (5) These metaphors of the mine and the window simply reinforce the longstanding notion that the essays of writers like Addison and Steele are useful primarily as repositories of sociohistorical data about early eighteenth-century English life. According to this commonly-held understanding, periodicals function as a kind of textualized living museum, with narrators like the genial Mr. Spectator leading us through Addison's London as if he were its Virgilian docent. Donald Bond, editor of the standard five-volume Spectator papers, anticipates exactly the kind of language used by Latham and Scholes when he argues for present-day interest in early eighteenth-century periodicals based on the "vivid picture" they give of "ordinary life," how they provide "an inexhaustible source of information on the way people lived ... and re-create the world of Queen Anne's day before our eyes." The "truth" of the Spectator papers lies in their material-cultural details, in pictures so powerful that Bond compulsively re-displays their contents in a catalog of his own--"the size of the hoop-petticoat," "the pinch of Barcelona and the ounce of right Virginia," "the laced and knotted cravat," and "the beaver hat edged with silver"--because these "bits," as he puts it, are the essayistic means through which the world of the periodical is "re-created" for readers. …


The need to optimize vaccine potency while minimizing toxicity in healthy recipients has motivated studies of the formulation of vaccines to control how, when, and where antigens and adjuvants encounter immune cells and other cells/tissues following administration. An effective subunit vaccine must traffic to lymph nodes (LNs), activate both the innate and adaptive arms of the immune system, and persist for a sufficient time to promote a mature immune response. Here, we review approaches to tailor these three aspects of vaccine function through optimized formulations. Traditional vaccine adjuvants activate innate immune cells, promote cell-mediated transport of antigen to lymphoid tissues, and promote antigen retention in LNs. Recent studies using nanoparticles and other lymphatic-targeting strategies suggest that direct targeting of antigens and adjuvant compounds to LNs can also enhance vaccine potency without sacrificing safety. The use of formulations to regulate biodistribution and promote antigen and inflammatory cue co-uptake in immune cells may be important for next-generation molecular adjuvants. Finally, strategies to program vaccine kinetics through novel formulation and delivery strategies provide another means to enhance immune responses independent of the choice of adjuvant. These technologies offer the prospect of enhanced efficacy while maintaining high safety profiles necessary for successful vaccines.


Online education is no longer a trend, rather it is mainstream. In the Fall of 2012, 69.1% of chief academic leaders indicated online learning was critical to their long-term strategy and of the 20.6 million students enrolled in higher education, 6.7 million were enrolled in an online course (Allen & Seaman, 2013; United States Department of Education, 2013). The advent of online education and its rapid growth has forced academic institutions and faculty to question the current styles and techniques for teaching and learning. As developments in educational technology continue to advance, the ways in which we deliver and receive knowledge in both the traditional and online classrooms will further evolve. It is necessary to investigate and understand the progression and advancements in educational technology and the variety of methods used to deliver knowledge to improve the quality of education we provide today and motivate, inspire, and educate the students of the 21st century. This paper explores the evolution of distance education beginning with correspondence and the use of parcel post, to radio, then to television, and finally to online education.


The paper discusses the legendary transfer of the Holy House from Nazareth (Palestine), via Croatian coast to the town of Loreto in Italy. According to legend, the transfer took place at the end of the 13th century, and it was depicted on several maps, including the cartographic representation from Loreto called Descriptio translationis Sanctæ Domus Beatissimæ Virginis e Nazareth in Dalmatiam et inde Lavretv[m] which was probably made at the end of the 16th century. Regardless of the authenticity of the relic, the fact that the content of the legendary transfer was depicted cartographically on one of the most valuable works of art of the Loreto Marian shrine witnesses the need for spatial identification of imaginary geography, but it also indicates the importance and influence of cartography of that time, because maps were important sources of spatial data and means of geographic expression.


The attitude towards grammatical exercises of a foreign language is one of the fundamental pillars upon which differences and changes of methods are historically produced. It's like an image of teaching practice. Switching from the traditional approach to the direct method, from the audio-visual method to the actual communicative methods through natural access is complemented by grammar with its own activities as a concrete way to develop language, as well as a way to see how it can be best learned. The place where grammatical activities can be developed, "the auditorium" where the student learns being a participant and cooperating with other students, with the teacher in the real process of research and joint construction of knowledge in personal and relevant social issues. The teaching process of foreign languages may take place in various forms: linguistic projects, occasional texts analysis, solution of situations or problems or preparation of topics that may arise during scientific activity. The grammar of Spanish language is consulted between lecturers who define a basic method that serves to orientate, but in many cases it happens that each of the teachers uses methods that are considered appropriate based on the requirements and capacities of students' learning process who are participants in the auditorium.


Causal explanations of corruption and governance abound in the literature, as well as studies about the effects upon outcomes such as economic growth, political equilibrium and social equality. When countries are confronted with failed reforms and corruption scandals, this can aggravate the economic crisis. European countries vary enormously in the extent to which politicians or public officials abuse their powers for private gain. In this context, of greater intellectual interest are those methods or strategies by which one could tackle the challenge of reform in order to reduce the severity of corruption. In this regard, this article aims to shape and improve the literature that deals with corruption and provides ways to reduce this widespread phenomenon.


We present a novel system of drifting pelagic baited stereo-video cameras that operate in deep-water, topographically complex environments typically considered inaccessible for sampling. The instruments are portable, semi-autonomous and inexpensive, allowing the recording of high-definition video footage in near-real time and over broad stretches of ocean space. We illustrate their benefits and potential as non-extractive monitoring tools for offshore marine reserves with a pilot study conducted within the newly established Perth Canyon Commonwealth Marine Reserve, southwestern Australia (32° S, 115° E). Using occupancy and maximum entropy models, we predict the distribution of midwater fishes and sharks and show that their most suitable habitat encompasses a wider fraction of the canyon head than is covered by park boundaries. Our proof-of-concept study demonstrates that drifting pelagic stereo-video cameras can serve as appropriate field platforms for the construction of species distribution models with...


Binary keypoint descriptors provide an efficient alternative to their floating-point competitors as they enable faster processing while requiring less memory. In this paper, we propose a novel framework to learn an extremely compact binary descriptor we call BinBoost that is very robust to illumination and viewpoint changes. Each bit of our descriptor is computed with a boosted binary hash function, and we show how to efficiently optimize the different hash functions so that they complement each other, which is key to compactness and robustness. The hash functions rely on weak learners that are applied directly to the image patches, which frees us from any intermediate representation and lets us automatically learn the image gradient pooling configuration of the final descriptor. Our resulting descriptor significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art binary descriptors and performs similarly to the best floating-point descriptors at a fraction of the matching time and memory footprint.


For some people a science, for other people just an art, steganography is in fact an ancient method of embedding a message into an apparently uninteresting carrier. Aiming to protect information, steganography is considered to be a close relative of encryption although they have different approaches. While encryption scrambles the message based on a certain algorithm so it can't be understood by anyone that does not hold the unscrambling key, steganography works on hiding the message without the need to deteriorate it. Minor alteration of the carrier file is accepted since steganography does not affect its useful content. Actually, steganography exploits file redundancy, file headers or, in case of multimedia content, replaces information that can't be used or perceived by the human eyes or ears. In this paper, a combination of image based steganography with encryption is presented. The encryption and decryption are based on two different files in which, by steganographic means, important information is hidden. The original message (the secret message) can be restored only if both files arrive safe at destination. There are no constraints regarding the image file types. The most important contribution resides in how the original information is encrypted and embedded into different graphic files, sent to the destination through different channels and then restored. Comparative performance tests were performed.


In this article I ask how moral relativism applies to the analysis of responsibility for mass crime. The focus is on the critical reading of two influential relativist attempts to offer a theoretically consistent response to the challenges imposed by extreme criminal practices. First, I explore Gilbert Harman's analytical effort to conceptualize the reach of moral discourse. According to Harman, mass crime creates a contextually specific relationship to which moral judgments do not apply any more. Second, I analyze the inability thesis, which claims that the agents of mass crime are not able to distinguish between right and wrong. Richard Arneson, Michael Zimmerman and Geoffrey Scarre do not deny the moral wrongness of crime. However, having introduced the claim of authenticity as a specific feature of the inability thesis, they maintain that killers are not responsible. I argue that these positions do not hold. The relativist failure to properly conceptualize responsibility for mass crime follows from the mistaken view of moral autonomy, which then leads to the erroneous explanation of the establishment, authority and justification of moral judgments.


IP Geolocation is a term used for finding the geographical location of an IP node. In this paper, we study the Internet communication properties and their use for client-independent Geolocation - finding the location without assistance of the node being located. We present and discuss the communication properties dependence on geographical aspects such as the geographical distance, differences between the source and destination country, and country population density and country ICT development index. For the study, we used a large set of data captured between the nodes geographically distributed across Europe. Based on the results, we propose an algorithm for a final location estimation within the delimited geographical area. The proposed algorithm improves the location accuracy when compared with the current techniques. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.itc.45.1.11062


Multi-objective problems are a category of optimization problem that contain more than one objective function and these objective functions must be optimized simultaneously. Should the objective functions be conflicting, then a set of solutions instead of a single solution is required. This set is known as Pareto optimal.

Multi-objective optimization problems arise in many real world applications where several competing objectives must be evaluated and optimal solutions found for them, in the presence of trade offs among conflicting objectives. Maximizing returns while minimizing the risk of stock market investments, or maximizing performance whilst minimizing fuel consumption and hazardous gas emission when buying a car are typical examples of real world multi-objective optimization problems. In this case a number of optimal solutions can be found, known as non-dominated or Pareto optimal solutions. Pareto optimal solutions are reached when it is impossible to improve one objective without making the others worse.

Classical ways to address this problem used direct or gradient based methods that rendered them insufficient or computationally expensive for large scale or combinatorial problems. Other difficulties attended the classical methods, such as problem knowledge, which may not be available, or sensitivity to some problem features. For example, finding solutions on the entire Pareto optimal set can only be guaranteed for convex problems. Classical methods for generating the Pareto front set aggregate the objectives into a single or parametrized function before search. Thus, several runs and parameter settings are performed to achieve a set of solutions that approximate the Pareto optimals.

Subsequently new methods have been developed, based on computer experiments with meta-heuristic algorithms. Most of these meta-heuristics implement some sort of stochastic search method, amongst which the 'Evolutionary Algorithm' is garnering much attention. It possesses several characteristics that make it a desirable method for confronting multi-objective problems. As a result, a number of studies in recent decades have developed or modified the MOEA for different purposes. This algorithm works with a population of solutions which are capable of searching for multiple Pareto optimal solutions in a single run. At the same time, only the fittest individuals in each generation are offered the chance for reproduction and representation in the next generation. The fitness assignment function is the guiding system of MOEA. Fitness value represents the strength of an individual.

Unfortunately, many real world applications bring with them a certain degree of noise due to natural disasters, inefficient models, signal distortion or uncertain information. This noise affects the performance of the algorithm's fitness function and disrupts the optimization process. This thesis explores and targets the effect of this disruptive noise on the performance of the MOEA.

In this thesis, we study the noisy MOP and modify the MOEA/D to improve its performance in noisy environments. To achieve this, we will combine the basic MOEA/D with the 'Ordinal Optimization' technique to handle uncertainties. The major contributions of this thesis are as follows. First, MOEA/D is tested in a noisy environment with different levels of noise, to give us a deeper understanding of where the basic algorithm fails to handle the noise.

Then, we extend the basic MOEA/D to improve its noise handling by employing the ordinal optimization technique. This creates MOEA/D+OO, which will outperform MOEA/D in terms of diversity and convergence in noisy environments. It is tested against benchmark problems of varying levels of noise.

Finally, to test the real world application of MOEA/D+OO, we solve a noisy portfolio optimization with the proposed algorithm. The portfolio optimization problem is a classic one in finance that has investors wanting to maximize a portfolio's return while minimizing risk of investment. The latter is measured by standard deviation of the portfolio's rate of return. These two objectives clearly make it a multi-objective problem.


Adolescence can be said to be a period of storm and stress, which is characterized by disequilibrium or imbalance of attitudes and emotions, which makes adolescents easily change, fluctuate, and uncertain. Adolescence is also a period of transition where at that time it was necessary to adjust from childhood to adulthood. Adolescents who have not been able to solve the problems experienced will lead to prolonged conflict, the inability to face existing problems can cause frustration and bring up aggressive reactions. The purpose of this study is to find out the factors related to the aggressiveness of adolescents who live in the boarding school. This study uses a descriptive correlation design using a cross sectional approach. The study was conducted in Islamic boarding schools with a sample of 150 santri. The sampling technique used was proportionate stratified random sampling. The measuring instrument used is a questionnaire that has been tested for validity and reliability. This study uses univariate and bivariate analysis using chi-square test. The results of the study revealed that there was a significant effect (P value <0.05) between parenting (p value = 0.000), and the aggressive behavior of adolescents in boarding schools. And there was a significant effect (P value <0.05) between peers (p value = 0.003), with the aggressive behavior of adolescents in boarding schools. The environment has a large influence on adolescent behavior. With the imitation process they learn to do the same thing as they can witness with their aggressive behavior.


This research presents findings from secondary analysis of qualitative interviews with adults bereaved through substance use. As the first half of a two-phase piece of work, this analysis aimed to: • explore how families of people with alcohol/drug use problems experience their relative's end of life; • examine the extent to which services recognised or responded to the whole family's needs; and • inform design and delivery of primary qualitative data collection (the second half of the two-phase piece of work). The research team accessed interview transcripts from an ESRC funded research project on Bereavement Through Substance Use, where 102 people talked about the deaths of 93 relatives/friends.


This capstone paper will explore the different theories surrounding the development of leadership in students. Students will learn skills beginning from leadership vocabulary to living and practicing the leadership habits daily. Examining data from several schools that have successfully implemented leadership culture, I assess which models have had the best impact on student success. Drawing on the current research, I argue that the development and implementation of a leadership culture in grade school has a number of positive outcomes including attendance, increased results in literacy and numeracy achievement, behavioural improvements, future success in the workplace and for life. The capstone places particular interest in how leadership affects at risk populations such as First Nations, Metis and Inuit Learners and English Language Learners. Student leadership culture is an opportunity to give all students the chance to be leaders and develop lifelong leadership skills to benefit them throughout their lives. Table of


Abstract RNAi - RNA interference is a regulatory mechanism which is found in most eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. This mechanism can directly cause blockage of gene activity through double stranded siRNAs homologous sequences. Edru Fire and Craig Mello's discovery of RNAi in the 90s refers to the presence of double stranded micro molecules within the eukaryotic cells named siRNAs. The RNAi mechanism  is led by basic dsRNA. In the cytoplasm, this dsRNA is recognized by Dicer protein, through which dsRNa is transfered into smaller micro siRNAs carrying  the main inhibitory role. Furthermore, this siRNAs, found within the RISC system, with the participation of Ago2 enzymes associates with  the previously recognized target iRNA and blocks the activity of their genes.  Pharmaceutical companies are developing strategies for the formulation of therapeutics that have the basis of a RNAi mechanism. About 360 million of the Earth's population are infected with chronic hepatitis B virus. Due to its high specificity and risk of death,  numerous in vitro and in vivo clinical methods are researched to find out possibilities of treatment for the chronic hepatitis B with RNAi. According to this, the main purpose of this project would be to thoroughly examine the molecular way of RNAi, as well as to explore the opportunities for its therapeutic application in chronic hepatitis B. With the investigated in vitro and in vivo RNAi studies in chronic hepatitis B, it is perceived that the success of the treatment requires a combination of siRNA or shRNA sequences. In order to achieve a greater efficiency, reliability and duration of treatment, it is eminently important to develop an appropriate distributive pattern of these micro molecules to the liver cells. Studies of Arrowhead Research Corporation and Nucleonics Biotechnology confirm that the treatment based on RNAi for chronic hepatitis successfully allows a virus reduction in serum. From the research we can deduce that the general reduction of the virus is performed with suppression of the genes which are  responsible for DNA replication, as well as suppression  of the genes which are responsible for encoding HbsAg and HbeAg. If these therapies are used appropriately with the prescribed therapeutic doses, the effect will be visible after a month-long therapy and with long-lasting effect.  RNAi therapeutics are expected to appear on the market in 2018. Keywords: RNA interference (RNAi), siRNAs, chronic hepatitis B virus, gene- therapy, DPC delivery model, LNP delivery model.


Environmental and water quality monitoring is key to measuring and understanding the chemical and biological quality of water and for taking reactive remedial action. Over the coming years, monitoring of water bodies will increase within Europe, in order to comply with the requirements of the Water Framework Directive (WFD, Council Directive 2000/60/EC), and globally owing to pressure from climate change. The establishment of high quality long-term monitoring programmes is regarded as essential if the implementation of the WFD is to be effective. However, the traditional spot/grab sampling using conventional sampling and laboratory based techniques can introduce a significant financial burden, and is unlikely to provide a reasonable estimate of the true maximum and/or mean concentration for a particular physico-chemical variable in a water body with marked temporal variability. When persistent fluctuations occur, it is likely only to be detected through continuous measurements, which have the capability of detecting sporadic peaks of concentration. The aim of this work is to demonstrate the potential for continuous monitoring data in decision support as part of a smart city project. The multi-modal data system shows potential for low-cost sensing in complex aquatic environments around the city. Continuous monitoring data from both visual and water quality sensors is collected and data from grab samples collected support the observations of trends in water quality.


Jonathan Williams's poetry has been described as brilliant, sensuous, lyrical, quirky, suave, vital, joyful, sardonic, melodious, passionate, alive, pyrotechnic. This new, much enlarged edition of Blues and Roots displays all of the above. Williams has tramped the Appalachian Trail for decades, botanizing, jotting down specimens of authentic American speech, graffiti, superstitions, and nostrums—always curious, alert, and affectionately attentive. Blues and Roots focuses on the linguistic horizon of Appalachia in lyrics of wonder and light, of wit and comic incongruity, in found poems of the speech of his mountain neighbors. Publishers Weekly said of the earlier edition, "One of the most beautiful and evocative tributes to the Appalachians and its people yet published." Blues and Roots is a fine celebration; Wiliams is a joyful ringmaster.


We discuss dynamical systems approaches and methods applied to flat Robertson-Walker models in f(R)-gravity. We argue that a complete description of the solution space of a model requires a global state space analysis that motivates globally covering state space adapted variables. This is shown explicitly by an illustrative example, f(R) = R + α R2, α > 0, for which we introduce new regular dynamical systems on global compactly extended state spaces for the Jordan and Einstein frames. This example also allows us to illustrate several local and global dynamical systems techniques involving, e.g., blow ups of nilpotent fixed points, center manifold analysis, averaging, and use of monotone functions. As a result of applying dynamical systems methods to globally state space adapted dynamical systems formulations, we obtain pictures of the entire solution spaces in both the Jordan and the Einstein frames. This shows, e.g., that due to the domain of the conformal transformation between the Jordan and Einstein frames, not all the solutions in the Jordan frame are completely contained in the Einstein frame. We also make comparisons with previous dynamical systems approaches to f(R) cosmology and discuss their advantages and disadvantages.


Background: Whether the use of the radial artery (RA) can improve clinical outcomes in coronary artery bypass graft surgery remains unclear. The ART (Arterial Revascularization Trial) was designed to compare survival after bilateral internal thoracic artery (BITA) over single left internal thoracic artery (SITA). In the ART, a large proportion of patients (≈20%) also received an RA graft instead of a saphenous vein graft (SVG). We aimed to investigate the associations between using the RA instead of an SVG to supplement SITA or BITA grafts and outcomes by performing a post hoc analysis of the ART. Methods: Patients enrolled in the ART (n=3102) were classified on the basis of conduits actually received (as treated). The analysis included 2737 patients who received an RA graft (RA group; n=632) or SVG only (SVG group; n=2105) in addition to SITA or BITA grafts. The primary end point was the composite of myocardial infarction, cardiovascular death, and repeat revascularization at 5 years. Propensity score matching and stratified Cox regression were used to compare the 2 strategies. Results: Myocardial infarction, cardiovascular death, and repeat revascularization cumulative incidence was 2.3% (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1–3.4), 3.5% (95% CI, 2.1–5.0), and 4.4% (95% CI, 2.8–6.0) in the RA group and 3.4% (95% CI, 2.0–4.8), 4.0% (95% CI, 2.5–5.6), and 7.6% (95% CI, 5.5–9.7) in the SVG group, respectively. The composite end point was significantly lower in the RA group (8.8%; 95% CI, 6.5–11.0) compared with the SVG group (13.6%; 95% CI, 10.8–16.3; P=0.005). This association was present when an RA graft was used to supplement both SITA and BITA grafts (interaction P=0.62). Conclusions: This post hoc ART analysis showed that an additional RA was associated with lower risk for midterm major adverse cardiac events when used to supplement SITA or BITA grafts. Clinical Trial Registration: URL: https://www.situ.ox.ac.uk/surgical-trials/art. Unique identifier: ISRCTN46552265.


In this paper, we propose a new model for lane tracking and curve detection. We use a linear-parabolic model for each lane boundary, and apply constraints to link both lane boundaries based on the expected geometry of the road. The parabolic part of the model, which fits the far field, is then used to analyze the geometry of the road ahead (straight, right curve or left curve), with applications in driver's assistance systems and road inspection. Experimental results indicate that introduced geometric constraints result in a more consistent fit if compared to the individual fitting of each lane boundary, and that the parabolic part of the model can be effectively used to keep the driver informed about the geometry of the road in front of him/her.


The alternatives used for minimizing the usage of chlorine dioxide in bleaching sequences included a hot acid hydrolysis (Ahot) stage, the use of hot chlorine dioxide (Dhot) and ozone stages at medium consistency and high consistency (Zmc and Zhc), in addition to stages with atmospheric hydrogen peroxide (P) and pressurized hydrogen peroxide (PO). The results were interpreted based on the cost of the chemical products, bleaching process yields and on minimizing the environmental impact of the bleaching process. In spite of some process restrictions, high ISO brightness levels were kept around 90 % brightness. Additionally, the inclusion of stages like acid hydrolysis, pressurized peroxide and ozone in the bleaching sequences provided an increase in operating flexibility, aimed at reducing environmental impact (ECF Light). The Dhot(EOP)D(PO) sequence presented lower operating cost for ISO brightness above 92 %. However, this kind of sequence was not allowed for closing the wastewater circuit, even partially. For ISO brightness level around 91%, the AhotZhcDP sequence presented a lower operating cost than the others.


The central importance of xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH) and xanthine oxidase (XO) in the pathobiochemistry of a number of clinical disorders underscores the need for a comprehensive understanding of the regulation of their expression. This study was undertaken to examine the effects of cytokines on XDH/XO activity and gene expression in pulmonary endothelial cells. The results indicate that IFN-gamma is a potent inducer of XDH/XO activity in rat lung endothelial cells derived from both the microvasculature (LMVC) and the pulmonary artery. In contrast, interferon-alpha/beta, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-1 or -6, lipopolysaccharide and phorbol myristate acetate have no demonstrable effect. The increase in XDH/XO activity requires new protein synthesis. By Northern analysis, IFN-gamma markedly increases the level of the 5.0-kb XDH/XO mRNA in LMVC. The increase is due, in part, to increased transcription rate of the XDH/XO gene. Transcriptional activation does not require new protein synthesis. The physiologic relevance of these observations was evaluated by administering IFN-gamma to rats. Intraperitoneal administration leads to an increased XDH/XO activity and XDH/XO mRNA level in rat lungs. In sum, IFN-gamma is a potent and biologically relevant inducer of XDH/XO expression; the major site of upregulation occurs at the transcriptional level.


The rapid global spread of artificial light at night is causing unprecedented disruption to ecosystems. In otherwise dark environments, street lights restrict the use of major flight routes by some bats, including the threatened lesser horseshoe bat Rhinolophus hipposideros, and may disrupt foraging. Using radio tracking, we examined the response of individual female R. hipposideros to experimental street lights placed on hedgerows used as major flight routes. Hedgerows were illuminated on one side over four nights using lights with different emission spectra, while the opposite side of the hedge was not illuminated. Automated bat detectors were used to examine changes in overall bat activity by R. hipposideros and other bat species present. R. hipposideros activity reduced significantly under all light types, including red light, challenging a previously held assumption that red light is safe for bats. Despite this, R. hipposideros rapidly adapted to the presence of lights by switching their flight paths to the dark side of the hedgerow, enabling them to reach foraging sites without restriction. Red light had no effect on the activity of the other species present. Slow‐flying Myotis spp. avoided orange, white and green light, while more agile Pipistrellus spp. were significantly more active at these light types compared to dark controls, most probably in response to accumulations of insect prey. No effect of any light type was found for Nyctalus or Eptesicus spp. Our findings demonstrate that caution must be used when promoting forms of lighting that are thought to be safe for wildlife before they are tested more widely. We argue that it is essential to preserve dark corridors to mitigate the impacts of artificial light at night on bat activity and movements.


The performance of electron and photon reconstruction and identification has been studied at ?s = 7 TeV. Reconstruction and identification variables as well as isolation and photon conversion rejection variables, in the case of electrons, have been compared between data and Monte Carlo for signal and background. Electron and photon identification efficiency, electron fake rate and photon purity have been determined and compared with Monte Carlo predictions. For electrons the momentum resolution as well as charge identification have also been studied. Level 1 Trigger and High Level Trigger efficiencies have been measured.


Richard Rahl has traveled far from his roots as a simple woods guide. Emperor of the D'Haran Empire, war wizard, the Seeker of Truth--none of these roles mean as much to him as his newest: husband to his beloved Kahlan Amnell, Mother Confessor of the Midlands. But their wedding day is the key that unlocks a spell sealed away long ago in a faraway country. Now a deadly power pours forth that threatens to turn the world into a lifeless waste. Separated from the Sword of Truth and stripped of their magic, Richard and Kahlan must journey across the Midlands to discover a dark secret from the past and a trap that could tear them apart forever. For their fate has become inextricably entwined with that of the Midlands--and there's no place so dangerous as a world without magic...in Terry Goodkind's spellbinding Soul of the Fire.


The influence of the thermal cycle and austempering treatment on the mechanical behavior of a 0.56C–1.43Si–0.58Mn–0.47Cr (wt%) steel has been investigated. The thermal cycle consisted of heating the steel to 800°C or 900°C, in the intercritical and austenitic region respectively, fast cooling down to 600°C or 400°C, followed by 300 s hold. After austempering the materials were cooled at different rates and then submitted to tensile testing. The total elongation of 15–20% and tensile strength of 1300–1400 MPa were reached after heating to 900°C and transformation at 400°C. The strain-induced austenite transformation to martensite during the plastic deformation (Transformation Induced Plasticity Effect) is responsible for this combination of high strength and ductility. Silicon acts to stabilize the austenite during austempering. However, the stabilized austenite can be transformed and the microstructure modified, resulting in the formation of others constituents such as bainitic ferrite, upper bainite and martensite.


Recent years have witnessed the dramatic popularity of online social networking services, in which millions of members publicly articulate mutual "friendship" relations. Guided by ethnographic research of these online communities, we have designed and implemented a visualization system for playful end-user exploration and navigation of large scale online social networks. Our design builds upon familiar node link network layouts to contribute customized techniques for exploring connectivity in large graph structures, supporting visual search and analysis, and automatically identifying and visualizing community structures. Both public installation and controlled studies of the system provide evidence of the system's usability, capacity for facilitating discovery, and potential for fun and engaged social activity


Water has become a critically important resource in Beijing. In this study, a systematic analysis of changes in conditions related to water resources in Beijing since 1949 was performed. These include changes in water quantity and quality, water disasters, as well as an analysis of the evolution of water resource planning in Beijing over this period of time. Also, past approaches to urbanization have been looked at to see whether they exacerbated Beijing9s water issues. The aggravating water issues were found to be associated with water resource planning in five ways. Water supply and flood protection projects have failed to control the complex water system and have exacerbated water shortages. Excessive project-oriented water diversion efforts and a lack of resource-oriented water conservation have allowed aquatic environments to deteriorate. Water supply planning has been based on demand that has intensified a lowering of the groundwater table. Improper measures that allowed wastewater to be used for irrigation of agricultural soils have aggravated water pollution. In general, water resource planning has not necessarily been conducive to solving water problems; it has even exacerbated Beijing9s water crisis. The results and recommendations of this study may serve as a reference for future water resource planning in Beijing.


Osteoarticular manifestations of tuberculosis are the third manner of presentation of extrapulmonary tuberculosis with a frequency less than 5%, being the main site affected the axial skeleton. This is known as tuberculous spondylodiscitis or Pott's disease, preferably appearing in the dorsal region (1,2). Pott's disease was first described in 1799 by Percivall Pott as " That kind of palsy of lower limbs witch is frequently found to accompany a curvature of the spine "; but it is known to be one of the oldest diseases to mankind dating back to Egyptian mummies in 3400 BC.


In his work on Sufi mystics, Henry Corbin uses the term mundus imaginalis to designate the psychic space in which the "super-sensible" reality of dreams, theophanies and spiritual beings are manifested, in a visionary sense, to the individual. This is the "intermediate place" in the neoplatonic cosmos of emanation from spirit to matter where the former is given a perceptible form through an image, and the latter loses the density of embodiment and is "seen through" to its immaterial essence. This is the place revealed through the symbolic image and perceived by the corresponding soul activity of the active imagination, an approach which has been developed extensively by C.G. Jung and James Hillman through the disciplines of depth and archetypal psychology. In this paper I want to consider the possibility of a "methodology of the imagination" as a basis for the symbolic interpretation of texts and images in an academic context. Such an imaginal methodology would honour, and speak from, this meeting place of literal and spiritual realities. Corbin's articulation of this world (which is described as more "real" than that of sense-perception alone) is of primary importance for studies in traditional cosmology and divinatory or magical practice. It grants the creative imagination an interpretative function in the realm of visionary experience, whether this is entered through divinatory methods or spontaneous intuitive insight. It allows imaginal perception to be understood as engendering a kind of knowledge which arises from


Athapaskan languages comprise one of the largest, most geographically distributed, and most culturally diverse families in North America. Nevertheless, each daughter language features a set of classificatory verb stems which, semantically, focus less on signaling a relational predication than on some physical attribute of a prominent relational participant. Consequently, most consumption expressions focus on the marking of the theme; that is, on the type of object consumed, the manner in which the consumption happens, or the extent of the dissipation of the object through a combination of classificatory verb stems and adverbial prefixes. Unlike what is found in many languages, there is no appreciable focus on the agent/consumer or on the benefits or detriments associated with the acts of eating or drinking.


While important for their antinociceptive properties in medicine, opioids are commonly abused in America due to easily accessible opiate prescription pain medication. Classic opioids can induce adverse side effects such as gastrointestinal dysfunction and fatal respiratory depression, the latter of which is a key underlying factor contributing to the rising rates of lethality of opioid abuse. New synthetic opioids are emerging on the black market, many of which have not been characterized for structure activity relationships at human mu‐opiate receptors (hOPRM1). The rise of new synthetic opioids complicates the opioid crisis in America as they often escape the traditional illicit drug classifications established by law enforcement and may be more potent and lethal than conventional molecules. In this study, we developed a stable amino terminal HA‐tagged hOPRM1 expressing human fibrosarcoma (HT1080) cell line for determining the pharmacology of a panel of opioids analogs derived from synthetic opioids AH‐7921 and U‐47700. Expression of hOPRM1 was verified by Western blot and immunocytochemistry. Assessing the morphine response in this cell line revealed that morphine EC50 (39.3 nM) was comparable to published findings and were naloxone reversible, thereby validating this cell line. The analogs were assessed for their ability to suppress forskolin‐induced cyclic AMP (cAMP) levels in a hOPRM1‐dependent manner revealing a subset of structurally‐related analogs showing functional activity. The preliminary results found in this study indicate that some of the synthetic opioid analogs are likely to have abuse potential based on their ability to bind to and activate the human OPRM1 receptor.


Since the 1980s, multinational corporations (MNCs) have increasingly invested in production and service facilities in developing countries. In the meantime, developing countries adopted preferential policies to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) in the hope that FDI can bring in advanced technology. However, FDI is a double-edged sword, generating positive as well as negative technology spillovers. Extant studies focus on the simple issue of whether the presence of FDI affects domestic firms, and have limited policy implications for developing countries. This paper is intended to fill this research gap. Differing from extant studies, the paper tries to identify the individual channels through which positive and negative FDI technology spillovers take place in different entry modes, and draws practical implications for developing countries in making policies on MNC entry modes and investment priorities. The paper distinguishes between different forms of FDI presence, including tangible assets and intangible assets, exported products and domestically sold products, new products and traditional products, employment of skilled workers and employment of unskilled workers, and takes them as different channels by which FDI technology spillovers take place. Meanwhile, the paper distinguishes between wholly foreign owned enterprise and joint venture, and takes the two entry modes as different organizational settings in which FDI technology spillovers occur. The paper then examines how FDI technology spillovers take place through each of these channels under each of the entry modes, and tests hypotheses against firm-level data from China. The study finds that positive FDI technology spillovers take place through tangible rather than intangible assets, domestically sold rather than exported products, traditional rather than new products, and employment of unskilled rather than skilled workers in joint ventures. In contrast, negative FDI technology spillovers take place through exported products and employment of skilled workers in wholly foreign owned enterprises. The findings suggest that developing countries should encourage MNCs to enter their markets in the form of joint ventures rather than wholly foreign owned enterprises. Moreover, they should encourage MNCs to invest in tangible assets, production of domestically-consumed products and traditional products, and employment and training of unskilled local workers in joint ventures. Furthermore, they should help domestic firms overcome the adverse effect of market stealing and skill stealing generated by wholly foreign owned enterprises.


The main question of this study is the present and future challenges that influence Taiwan's development and competitiveness. From among these traits the issue of the high exposition (especially in terms of FDI) and growing dependence on mainland China (the People's Republic of China), the need for a shift in terms of the main drivers of the future economic development and to mitigate the risks of brain drain and social unrest. Taiwan needs to give up insisting to the principle of low labour costs, and this may give impetus to the two-decades long salary stagnation and to the domestic consumption. Taiwan can be competitive by increasing its focus to the domestic R&D and innovation in the new industries and also puts more emphasis on sustainability. It may give Taiwanese economy a chance to remain competitive and successful. The study gives a brief overview on the main characteristics and figures of the Taiwan-EU economic and trade relationship from which it can well be seen that while in a 10 years period (2004-2015) the European exports to Taiwan grew by around 50 % in value, Taiwanese exports to the EU countries more or less remains stagnant during the same period. It illustrates and emphasizes the fact that Taiwanese economy needs stimulus to regain its competitiveness. Within the frames of the Taiwan-EU economic relations the paper gives a brief insight into the Hungaro-Taiwanese trade issues too. Keyword: Taiwan, economic development, competitiveness, European Union JEL Classification: R11, F14, F54, F59, N45, O53, O57 LCC: HF1021-1027; HF1701-2701


Effects of zinc supply on the distribution of zinc and dry weight among plant parts were examined during the first 55 days of vegetative development of Seaton Park subterranean clover grown in a zinc-deficient soil in a glasshouse. Symptoms of zinc deficiency first appeared in young trifoliate leaves. Zinc deficiency decreased the expansion of blades and petioles, delayed the development of leaves and lateral branches, depressed dry weights of roots and shoots, and increased the proportion of plant dry weight in roots and leaf blades. In each treatment and at each harvest, zinc concentrations varied widely amongst plant parts and with their physiological age. Plant parts also differed widely in the response of their dry matter and zinc concentrations to both zinc treatment and harvest time. It is suggested that these complex relationships explain why plant samples consisting of composite plant parts are not suitable for diagnosis of zinc deficiency. In the present experiment, zinc concentration in whole shoots was unsatisfactory for diagnosing zinc deficiency since concentrations were higher in young, zinc-deficient plants than in older, zinc-adequate plants. In young leaf blades of the same physiological age, zinc concentrations showed reasonably constant relationships with plant growth throughout the entire experiment. However, they varied two- to three-fold in leaves of different ages from the same plants. The results show the importance for diagnosis of zinc deficiency of selecting as a sample a single organ of defined physiological age. The youngest open leaf blade is recommended for diagnosis of zinc deficiency in subterranean clover.


This study compares the experiences of students in face-to-face (in class) discussions with threaded discussions and also evaluates the threaded discussions for evidence of higher-order thinking. Students were enrolled in graduate-level classes that used both modes (face-to-face and online) for course-related discussions; their end-of-course evaluations of both experiences were grouped for analysis and themes constructed based on their comments. Themes included the "expansion of time," "experience of time," "quality of the discussion," "needs of the student," and "faculty expertise." While there are advantages to holding discussions in either setting, students most frequently noted that using threaded discussions increased the amount of time they spent on class objectives and that they appreciated the extra time for reflection on course issues. The face-to-face format also had value as a result of its immediacy and energy, and some students found one mode a better "fit" with their preferred learning mode. The analysisof higher-order thinking was based on a content analysis of the threaded discussions only. Each posting was coded as one of the four cognitive-processing categories described by Garrison and colleagues: 18% were triggering questions, 51% were exploration, 22% were integration, and 7% resolution. A fifth category – social – was appropriate for 3% of the responses and only 12% of the postings included a writing error. This framework provides some support for the assertion that higher-order thinking can and does occur in online discussions; strategies for increasing the number of responses in the integration and resolution categories are discussed.


A method for using gray-scale statistics for the inspection of assemblies is described. A test image of an assembly under inspection is registered with a model image of a nondefective assembly and the two images are compared on the basis of two statistical tests: a Χ2 test of the two marginal gray-level distributions and the correlation coefficient of the joint distribution. These tests are made in local subareas that correspond to important structure, such as parts and subassemblies. The subareas are compiled in an off-line training phase. The Χ2 measure is most sensitive to missing or damaged parts, whereas the correlation coefficient is most sensitive to mispositioned parts. It is also possible to detect overall lighting changes and misregistration with these measures. Two examples are presented that show how the tests detect two types of defects.


This paper constructs the framework of the reproducing kernel Hilbert space for multiple kernel learning, which provides clear insights into the reason that multiple kernel support vector machines (SVM) outperform single kernel SVM. These results can serve as a fundamental guide to account for the superiority of multiple kernel to single kernel learning. Subsequently, the constructed multiple kernel learning algorithms are applied to model a nonlinear blast furnace system only based on its input-output signals. The experimental results not only confirm the superiority of multiple kernel learning algorithms, but also indicate that multiple kernel SVM is a kind of highly competitive data-driven modeling method for the blast furnace system and can provide reliable indication for blast furnace operators to take control actions.


In this paper, we propose that in Stau (Rgyalrongic, Sino-Tibetan) there is a system of four vowel pairs (/i/-/ə/,
 /e/-/ɛ/, /æ/-/ɑ/, /u/-/o/) that undergo regressive vowel harmony. This system of vowel harmony produces root morpheme forms such as [æCæ]
 and [ɑCɑ], whereas forms like [æCɑ] or [ɑCæ] are remarkably absent. Vowel harmony is also observed when combining morphemes to create
 complex words. Unambiguous cases show that the vowel of the first morpheme assimilates to the vowel of the second (e.g. /æCɑ/ → [ɑCɑ]), if
 the vowels of the two morphemes belong to the same vowel pair set (e.g. /æ/-/ɑ/). At the same time, there are several situations where vowel
 harmony is consistently not observed. Notable among these blocking mechanisms are lexemes that contain semantically-heavy first syllables.
 In this situation, we observe the interplay of semantics and phonology. Analysis of the vowel harmony system in Stau yields a way to measure
 the distance between morphemes.


Deposition of Co on Cu(111) substrate by laser ablation changes the morphology, structure and magnetic properties of Co ultrathin films. The pulsed laser deposition method induces a good layer-by-layer growth of Co films and delays the face centred cubic to hexagonal close packed structural phase transition in the films. As a result, the pulsed laser deposited films retain an in-plane easy axis of magnetization at all thicknesses investigated (0-15 monolayers Co) while the thermally deposited films also exhibit a hysteresis loop in the perpendicular direction as soon as the hexagonal close packed structure is dominant in the film. In addition, the suppression of hexagonal close packed stacking in the pulsed laser deposited films leads to a complete antiferromagnetic coupling in Co/Cu/Co/Cu(111) trilayers for both in-plane and out-of-plane magnetization directions.


This study analyzes the feasibility of optimal equilibrium between antitrust exigencies and patent law necessities, when it comes to transnational investments in energy and sustainability global market. In doing so, the study first briefs on the ambits encircling the several interconnected subject-matters of law and economy associated with its general topic. Having scrutinized the current state of antitrust-patent intersection at WTO forum, the study moves on towards landmark literature and national practices and precedents regarding the interactivity of antitrust policy and patent law. With that backset, the specific antitrust problems of foreign direct investment in the global market of energy and sustainability products are explored in details. Based on all the argumentations and analyses provided, the study proposes a solution to the antitrust problem of foreign direct investment vis-à-vis energy and sustainability patents. Using mathematical schemes for decision-making, the proposed solution aims at introducing a fuzzjective efficiency test implementation for energy and sustainability patents. Lastly, the study portrays the orbits, components, and participants of a functional constitutive structure in which such decision-makings are to be carried out.


Abstract:The relative importance of racial and class inequality in incarceration in the United States has recently become the subject of much debate. In this paper, we seek to give this debate a stronger empirical foundation. First, we update previous research on racial and class inequality in people's likelihood of being imprisoned. Then, we examine racial and class inequality in people's risk of having a family member imprisoned or living in a high-imprisonment neighborhood. We find that racial inequality in prison admissions has fallen in the twenty-first century, while class inequality has surged. However, in recent years, Black people with high levels of education and income were more likely than white people with low levels of education and income to experience the imprisonment of a family member or to live in a neighborhood with a high imprisonment rate. These seemingly contradictory conclusions can be reconciled by the fact that enduring structures of racial domination have made class boundaries among Black people more permeable than they are among white people. Imprisonment in the United States is increasingly reserved for the poor. But because Black Americans are disproportionately connected to the poor through their families and neighborhoods, racial inequality exceeds class inequality in people's indirect experiences with imprisonment.


This paper analyses the climate projections over the Koshi river basin obtained by applying the delta method to eight CMIP5 GCMs for the RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios. The GCMs were selected to cover the full envelope of possible future ranges from dry and cold to wet and warm projections. The selected coarse resolution GCM outputs were statistically downscaled to the resolution of the historical climate datasets. The scenarios were developed based on the anomaly between the present reference period (1961-1990) and the future period (2021-2050) to generate transient climate change scenarios for the eight GCMs. The analyses were carried out for the whole basin and three physiographic zones: the trans-Himalaya, high-Himalaya and middle mountains, and southern plains. Future projections show a 14% increase in rainfall during the summer monsoon season by 2050. The increase in rainfall is higher over the mountains than the plains. The meagre amount of rainfall in the winter season is projected to further decrease over both the mountain and southern plains areas of the basin for both RCPs. The basin is likely to experience warming throughout the year, although the increase in winter is likely to be higher. The highest increase in temperature is projected to be over the high Himalayan and middle mountain area, with lower increases over the trans-Himalayan and southern plains areas.


Physically-based models derive from first principles (e.g. physical laws) and rely on known variables and parameters. Because these have physical meaning, they also explain the underlying relationships of the system and are usually transportable from one system to another as a structural entity. They only require model parameters to be updated. Data-driven or regressive techniques involve data mining for modelling and one of the major drawbacks of this is that the functional form describing relationships between variables and the numerical parameters is not transportable to other physical systems as is the case with their classical physically-based counterparts. Aimed at striking a balance, Evolutionary Polynomial Regression (EPR) offers a way to model multi-utility data of asset deterioration in order to render model structures transportable across physical systems. EPR is a recently developed hybrid regression method providing symbolic expressions for models and works with formulae based on pseudo -polynomial expressions, usually in a multi-objective scenario where the best Pareto optimal models (parsimony vs. accuracy) are selected from data in a single case study. This article discusses the improvement of EPR in dealing with multi-utility data (multi-case study) where it has achieved a general model structure for asset deterioration prediction across different water systems.


Research Findings: Under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), children have the right to express their views on all matters affecting them and to have those views given due weight. This right applies in the context of research; however, examples of young children being engaged as co-researchers remain rare. Practice or Policy: This article examines the implications of adopting an explicit UNCRC-informed approach to engaging children as co-researchers. It draws on a research project that sought to ascertain young children's views on after-school programs and that involved a university-based research team working along with 2 groups of co-researchers; each composed of 4 children aged 4 to 5. The article discusses the contribution made by children to the development of the research questions and choice of methods and their involvement in the interpretation of the data and dissemination of the findings. It suggests that, although there are limits to what young children can and will want to do in the context of adult-led research studies, an explicit UNCRC-informed approach requires the adoption of supportive strategies that can assist children to engage in a meaningful way, with consequent benefits for the research findings and outputs.