OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to describe outcomes in a series of dichorionic triplet pregnancies.

STUDY DESIGN
All triplet pregnancies evaluated in our obstetric sonography unit from 1993 to 2000 were identified. Those containing a monochorionic twin pair were included. Prenatal and neonatal records were reviewed. Statistical comparison was performed by using Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-ranked sum test.

RESULTS
Seventeen cases met inclusion criteria. Two pregnancies (11.8%) were delivered spontaneously before viability, at 22 and 21 weeks. Twin-twin transfusion syndrome was diagnosed in the second trimester in the monochorionic pair in 3 pregnancies (17.6%). In the remaining 12 pregnancies, mean gestational age at delivery was 33.5 +/- 2.3 weeks. The median birth weight of 23 neonates from individual monochorionic twin pairs was 1810 g (interquartile range, 1540-2180 g), which was significantly lower than the median birth weight of 12 triplets supplied by a separate placenta, 2125 g (interquartile range, 1762-2390 g) (P =.01).

CONCLUSION
Twin-twin transfusion syndrome or spontaneous loss before viability complicated approximately 30% of dichorionic triplet pregnancies. Lower birth weights were noted in triplets from monochorionic twin pairs.


Algorithms that can efficiently recover principal components in very high-dimensional, streaming, and/or distributed data settings have become an important topic in the literature. In this paper, we propose an approach to principal component estimation that utilizes projections onto very sparse random vectors with Bernoulli-generated nonzero entries. Indeed, our approach is simultaneously efficient in memory/storage space, efficient in computation, and produces accurate PC estimates, while also allowing for rigorous theoretical performance analysis. Moreover, one can tune the sparsity of the random vectors deliberately to achieve a desired point on the tradeoffs between memory, computation, and accuracy. We rigorously characterize these tradeoffs and provide statistical performance guarantees. In addition to these very sparse random vectors, our analysis also applies to more general random projections. We present experimental results demonstrating that this approach allows for simultaneously achieving a substantial reduction of the computational complexity and memory/storage space, with little loss in accuracy, particularly for very high-dimensional data.


This book has two related purposes. The first is to demonstrate the extent and importance of language play in human life; the second is to draw out the implications for applied linguistics and language teaching. Language play should not be thought of as a trivial or peripheral activity, but as central to human thought and culture, to learning, creativity, and intellectual enquiry. It fulfils a major function of language, underpinning the human capacity to adapt: as individuals, as societies, and as a species.


This article examines what appears to be the most important factor shaping file sharing: the failure of traditional cultural markets to efficiently supply the demand in the online environment. Its findings are based on tracking the traffic of movies on three Hungarian P2P networks. This dataset is then matched with cinematic distribution data of the films tracked in P2P transactions. Central to our analysis is the assessment of two piracy paradigms: substitution and shortage, that is, whether pirated content is available through legal or only illegal channels. Shortage-driven downloaders are found to outnumber those downloading only current theater releases. Nonetheless, the supply of films available for downloading is more affected by parameters of cinematic distribution than it is by box office success. Therefore, part of the sales effort directly contributes to propping up piracy.


An annotated account of Hyphomycetes from Mil Cumbres Conservation Area, Pinar del Rio province, Western Cuba, is given. Eighty-nine species belonging to 68 genera were compiled from short-term mycological field work carried out from 1998 to 2000, mycological literature and IES Mycology Department Data Bases. Dictyochaeta assamica, Menisporopsis novae-zelandiae and Ramoconidiifera verrucosa are recorded for the first time from Cuba. A new combination Solicorynespora garciniae (Peck) Delgado & J. Mena is proposed. Comments about the taxonomy, ecology and geographic distribution of interesting species are included.


When we examine the field of gender psychology closely, we note that much of what the popular media tells us about women and men does not hold up to research scrutiny. This handbook helps to replace media stereotypes and myths with realities and shows us that there are more similarities between the sexes than differences. The contributors to this handbook have a highly practical and readable approach that will prompt readers to examine their self-awareness and social tolerance to biases against women and men in our social institutions such as schools and workplaces. They also reveal that the increased participation in courses and reading of literature on gender has improved gender role attitudes and behavior, causing both sexes to treat each other with more respect and dignity. The contributors to this volume focus on gender role development and multicultural issues throughout the lifecyle. They also emphasize the empowerment of both sexes. The gender-related topics in this handbook include: Teacher socialization of girls and boys; Women's and men's verbal and nonverbal communication skills; Women's and men's voting patterns; Sexual violence; The gender wage gap; Women's and men's friendships and sexual relationships; Parents' communication of masculinity and femininity to their children.


Previous research on memory for music has typically measured RT and accuracy in tests of recall and recognition of songs. Little research, however, has focused on the ability of people to switch their attention between various parts of a song to answer questions about those parts. One hypothesis is that, because music unfolds in time, one's ability to consider different parts of a song might be influenced by where in the song someone begins their consideration, and also in which direction they are then asked to switch their attention, with the overriding bias being in a forwards direction. The current study tested this forward bias hypothesis. Fifty people were asked to identify whether the second excerpt (target line) of a pair of excerpts taken from a song came 'before' or 'after' the first excerpt (probe line) in the normal course of the song. Seven pairs of excerpts, three pairs falling before the target line, and four pairs occurring after the target line, were presented for each of 8 popular and 2 new songs. It was predicted that RTs for identifying the target lines occurring 'after' the probe line would be shorter than those coming 'before' the probe line. Results supported this hypothesis. The familiarity of a song did not affect this result. A companion experiment that compared performance on this task for musicians and non-musicians replicated these results, but indicated no effect of musical expertise. These results support the hypothesis that memory for songs is biased in a forward direction.


The present study investigated the antiapoptotic and antigenotoxic capabilities of N-acetyl cysteine- (NAC-) containing polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) resin. An in vitro Transwell insert model was used to mimic the clinical provisional restorations placed on vital teeth. Various parameters associated with cell apoptosis and genotoxicity were investigated to obtain a deeper insight into the underlying mechanisms. The exposure of human dental pulp cell (hDPC) cultures to the PMMA resin (Unifast Trad™) resulted in a rapid increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) level beginning at 1 h, which was followed by time-dependent cell detachment and overt death. The formation of γ-H2AX and cell cycle G1 phase arrest indicated that oxidative DNA damage occurred as a result of the interactions between DNA bases and ROS, beyond the capacities of cellular redox regulation. Such oxidative DNA damage triggers the activation of p53 via the ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) signaling pathway and the induction of intrinsic mitochondrial apoptosis. Oxidative stress, cell apoptosis, and DNA damage induced by the PMMA resin were recovered to almost the level of untreated controls by the incorporation of NAC. The results indicate that the PMMA resin induced the intrinsic mitochondrial apoptosis as a consequence of p53 activation via the ATM pathway in response to oxidative DNA damage. More importantly, the incorporation of NAC as a novel component into the Unifast Trad™ PMMA resin offers protective effects against cell apoptosis and genotoxicity. This procedure represents a beneficial strategy for developing more biocompatible PMMA-based resin materials.


Why are some regions and cities so good at attracting talented people, creating high-level knowledge, and producing exciting new ideas and innovations? What are the ingredients of success? Can innovative cities be created and stimulated, or do they just flourish by mere chance? This book analyses the development and management of innovation systems in cities, in order to provide a better understanding of what makes such systems perform. The book opens by developing a conceptual model that combines insights from urban economics with economic geography, urban governance and place marketing. This highlights the relevance of path dependence, different types of proximity (and the role of clusters, networks and platforms), institutional conditions, place attractiveness and place identity in the evolution of local innovation systems. The authors then draw on this conceptual framework to structure empirical case studies in three cities with a relatively high innovation performance: Eindhoven (the Netherlands), Stockholm (Sweden) and Suzhou (China). Through these case studies they provide a detailed analysis of how successful innovation systems evolve and what makes them tick. Unique to this book is the linking of analysis to concrete policy and management responses. The book ends with a discussion on six themes in the development of successful urban innovation systems: firm-capabilities and leader firms, higher education and research, attractive environment, place branding, institutional environment and entrepreneurship. Each theme is examined fully, drawing lessons from the case studies, and from recent insights and other cases discussed in the literature. This title will be of interest to students, researchers and policymakers involved in regional innovation systems, knowledge locations and cluster development.


The U.S. approach to armed conflict has recently undergone a profound shift as policymakers and military commanders have been forced to seek solutions to the seemingly intractable problems associated with developing countries and their relative instability. This focus on reconstruction and stabilization has led to the rise of "stability operations" – a relatively new addition to the military lexicon. Moreover, what is now called "stability operations" is a hybrid area that fuses a core military mission with a field of knowledge and experience that is dominated, at least in theory, by civilians. In that regard, there is another grey area surrounding the question of what conduct disqualifies a civilian from the protections and immunity traditionally given to civilians during armed conflict. The resultant lack of clarity can translate into significant legal consequences – both for civilians who are mobilized pursuant to such an effort and for U.S. policymakers who seek to criminalize the conduct of terrorists and insurgents. This article explores the phenomenon of U.S. government civilians who engage in stability and reconstruction operations in conflict zones and their legal status under the law of armed conflict, paying specific attention to the corps of federal civilians being developed for this specific purpose: the Civilian Response Corps. Because the field of stability operations is a hybrid area that requires both civilian and military resources to attain a common objective, the objectives of each are conflated and, thus, necessarily colors the civilians engaging in such work with a belligerent hue. Ultimately, this article posits that the complex nature of civilian operations is such that neither the military nor civilians can be extricated from it and, as such, U.S. interests are best served by articulating a single, formal, and more restrictive interpretation of what it means to "directly participate in hostilities".


Black Americans were sustained and healed and nurtured by the translation of their experience into art above all in the music. That was functional.... My parallel is always the music because all of the strategies of the art are there. All of the intricacy, all of the discipline. All the work that must go into improvisation so that it appears that you've never touched it. Music makes you hungry for more of it.... It slaps and it embraces, it slaps and it embraces. The literature ought to do the same thing. I've been very deliberate about that.... I have wanted always to develop a way of writing that was irrevocably black. I don't have the resources of a musician, but I thought that if it was truly black literature, it would not be black because I was, it would not even be black because of its subject matter. It would be something intrinsic, indigenous, something in the way it was put together--the sentences, the structure, texture and tone--so that anyone who read it would realize [it].... Sometimes I hear blues, sometimes spirituals or jazz and I've appropriated it. I've tried to reconstruct the texture of it in my writing--certain kinds of repetition--its profound simplicity.... What has already happened with the music in the States, the literature will do one day and when that happens, it's all over. Toni Morrison (1) During my first semester as a graduate student, I had a conversation with Professor P. Sterling Stuckey that--unbeknownst to me--was to change the direction of my graduate studies. He asked me how it came to be that I so readily accepted the critical importance of Africa in the study of the Americas generally, and in the study of American slavery in particular. I responded, "it never occurred to me that it could be any other way." Later, I realized something of the immensity of the debt that my response implied. While reading Stuckey's seminal article "Through the Prism of Folklore," I came to understand the manner in which Stuckey, and a mere handful of others, so resolutely--and in the face of tremendous opposition--proclaimed the absolute necessity of Africa for American slavery studies. (2) Only those monumental efforts allowed me to speak of Africa's importance so easily, so casually. In the years since our first meeting, Professor Stuckey has revealed to me in innumerable ways not only the importance of history, but more importantly, the importance of memory--the importance of remembering. The following, then, is intended as a reflection on the memories mobilized by enslaved Africans, and of our memories of them. To begin, we are well to remember that things had been very different. One historian argued in the first decades of the 20th century that enslaved Africans' engagements with Christianity were primarily mimetic, that "the [N]egroes merely followed and enlarged upon the example of some of the whites." (3) By mid-century, scholars still asserted that most so-called Africanisms were lost within a generation because of the general decay of African culture in the Americas. Of those aspects of slave spirituality that ran counter to evangelical Christianity, one historian wrote: "There is no need to trace back to Africa the slave's ... dread of witches, ghosts, and hobgoblins, his confidence in good-luck charms, his alarm at evil omens, his belief in dreams, and his reluctance to visit burying grounds after dark. These superstitions were all firmly rooted in Anglo-Saxon folklore." (4) To the contrary, Stuckey argued, nearly twenty years ago, in Slave Culture, "Christianity provided a protective exterior beneath which more complex, less familiar (to outsiders) religious principles and practices were operative." (5) In the singing of the Spirituals, the dance that characterized worship, and even in the baptismal ritual itself, Africans in the Americas engaged in a Christianity imbued with "deeper African religious concerns. …


As of mid-2014, the authors estimate that there are approximately 16,300 nuclear weapons located at some 98 sites in 14 countries. Roughly 10,000 of these weapons are in military arsenals; the remaining weapons are retired and awaiting dismantlement. Approximately 4,000 are operationally available, and some 1,800 are on high alert and ready for use on short notice. The largest concentrations of nuclear weapons reside in Russia and the United States, which possess 93 percent of the total global inventory. The United States today stores nuclear weapons at 18 sites, including 12 sites in 11 states in the United States and another six sites in five European countries. There is considerable uncertainty about the number of Russian nuclear weapons storage sites, but the authors estimate that Russia today stores nuclear weapons permanently at 40 domestic locations.


Sheppard, JM, Cormack, S, Taylor, K-L, McGuigan, MR, and Newton, RU. Assessing the force-velocity characteristics of the leg extensors in well-trained jumping athletes: the incremental load power profile. J Strength Cond Res 22: 1320-1326, 2008-The purpose of this research project was to evaluate the methodology of an iso-inertial force-velocity assessment utilizing a range of loads and a group of high-performance athletes. A total of 26 subjects (19.8 ± 2.6 years, 196.3 ± 9.6 cm, 88.6 ± 8.9 kg) participated in this study. Interday reliability of various force-time measures obtained during the performance of countermovement jumps with a range of loads was examined, followed by a validity assessment of the various measures' ability to discriminate among performance levels, while the ability of the test protocol to detect training-induced changes was assessed by comparing results before and after an intensive 12-week training period. Force and velocity variables were observed to be reliable (intraclass correlation coefficient 0.74-0.99). Large effect size statistic (ES > 0.50) differences among player groups were observed for peak power (1.36-2.25), relative peak power (1.57-2.42), and peak force (0.74-0.95). Significant (p < 0.05) and large (ES > 0.50) improvements were observed in the kinetic values after the intensive training period. The results of this study indicate that the incremental load power profile is an acceptably reliable, valid, and sensitive method of assessing force and power capabilities of the leg extensors in high-performance and elite volleyball players.


Platooning/car following has been considered as a promising approach for improving vehicle efficiency due to the reduction of aerodynamic force when closely following a pilot vehicle. However, safety is a major concern in the close car platooning/following. This paper investigates the minimum inter-vehicle distances required for a passenger vehicle to safely travel behind a heavy-duty truck with three different types of emergency maneuvers. The three emergency maneuvers considered are braking only, steering only, and braking then steering, where steering refers to a single lane change maneuver. Numerical analysis is conducted for deriving the clearance space in the braking only scenario. In addition, simulations are conducted in MATLAB/Simulink, using a bicycle model for the vehicle dynamics, to examine the minimum safe following distance for the other two scenarios. The simulation results show that, for initial vehicle speeds greater than 8 m/s, a lane change maneuver requires the shortest safety distance. Braking followed by lane changing usually requires the largest minimum safety distance.


This is the second edition of this textbook, the original of which was published in 2007. Initial undergraduate studies in physics are usually in an organized format devoted to elementary aspects, which is then followed by advanced programmes in specialized fields. A difficult task is to provide a formative introduction in the early period, suitable as a base for courses more complex, thus bridging the wide gap between elementary physics and topics pertaining to research activities. This textbook remains an endeavour toward that goal, and is based on a mixture of simplified institutional theory and solved problems. In this way, the hope is to provide physical insight, basic knowledge and motivation, without impeding advanced learning. The choice has been to limit the focus to key concepts and to those aspects most typical of atoms, molecules and compounds, by looking at the basic, structural components, without paying detailed attention to the properties possessed by them. Problems are intertwined with formal presentations of the arguments presented, designed as an intrinsic part of the pathway by which the student should move in order to grasp the key concepts. The purpose of the blend of intuition - theory exercises in this text is to favour the acquisition of basic knowledge in the wide and wonderful field of condensed matter, with an emphasis on how phenomenological properties originate from the microscopic, quantum features of nature. The text has been completely revised. The subject index has been considerably extended and some figures amended in order to help the reader to better perceive the physical issues. However, the general purpose of this text remains the same as in the first edition.


Adult education in the Western tradition goes back at least to the craft guilds of the Middle Ages; however, the adult education movement, that is, organized attempts to promote and gain support for the practice, had its origins in Canada, at least, in the late 1920s and petered out in the 1990s. Part I of this article traces the development of that movement and includes brief references to the pre-movement years and comments on the periods identified as the Idealistic Period (the late 1920s to 1950) and the Professionalized Period (the early 1950s to the end of the 1980s). Part Two explores the causes of the movement's demise and speculates about its revival.


The recent increase of data volumes raises new challenges for itemset mining algorithms. In this thesis, we focus on transactional datasets (collections of items sets, for example supermarket tickets) containing at least a million transactions over hundreds of thousands items. These datasets usually follow a "long tail" distribution: a few items are very frequent, and most items appear rarely. Such distributions are often truncated by existing itemset mining algorithms, whose results concern only a very small portion of the available items (the most frequents, usually). Thus, existing methods fail to concisely provide relevant insights on large datasets. We therefore introduce a new semantics which is more intuitive for the analyst: browsing associations per item, for any item, and less than a hundred associations at once.To address the items' coverage challenge, our first contribution is the item-centric mining problem. It consists in computing, for each item in the dataset, the k most frequent closed itemsets containing this item. We present an algorithm to solve it, TopPI. We show that TopPI computes efficiently interesting results over our datasets, outperforming simpler solutions or emulations based on existing algorithms, both in terms of run-time and result completeness. We also show and empirically validate how TopPI can be parallelized, on multi-core machines and on Hadoop clusters, in order to speed-up computation on large scale datasets.Our second contribution is CAPA, a framework allowing us to study which existing measures of association rules' quality are relevant to rank results. This concerns results obtained from TopPI or from jLCM, our implementation of a state-of-the-art frequent closed itemsets mining algorithm (LCM). Our quantitative study shows that the 39 quality measures we compare can be grouped into 5 families, based on the similarity of the rankings they produce. We also involve marketing experts in a qualitative study, in order to discover which of the 5 families we propose highlights the most interesting associations for their domain.Our close collaboration with Intermarche, one of our industrial partners in the Datalyse project, allows us to show extensive experiments on real, nation-wide supermarket data. We present a complete analytics workflow addressing this use case. We also experiment on Web data. Our contributions can be relevant in various other fields, thanks to the genericity of transactional datasets.Altogether our contributions allow analysts to discover associations of interest in modern datasets. We pave the way for a more reactive discovery of items' associations in large-scale datasets, whether on highly dynamic data or for interactive exploration systems.


In Mobile Ad hoc network (Manet), to solve the problems of the message receiver privacy exposure and signcryption (decryption) unfairness in existing signcryption schemes, a new ID- based multi-receiver signcryption scheme based on bilinear pairings is proposed. We also analyzed its security and efficiency. The result shows that the new scheme is provable secure in the random oracle model. It is significantly efficient and with low computation cost and is very suitable for secure communication in Manet. Then, the scheme can avoid the destruction of the malicious nodes. This scheme can satisfy the requirement of security and efficiency in real network environment, it is more propitious to applications in practice.


Background: Nuclear respiratory factor 1 (NRF-1) is a critical component of the energy-sensing mechanism in mammalian cells, and translates physiological signals (particularly those induced by exercise) into increased capacity for mitochondrial biogenesis and oxidative phosphorylation. Objective: To study the possible association between rs2402970, rs6949152 and rs10500120 NRF-1 genotypes and several phenotypes indicative of maximum (VO2max) and submaximum aerobic capacity (ventilatory threshold (VT) and metabolic cost of submaximum running at 12 km/hour (running economy; RE)) both at baseline and in response to a 18-week endurance training programme in young Chinese men of Han origin (n = 102; 19 (SD 1) years). Results: For rs2402970, a significant genotype effect was seen for VT (p = 0.004) and RE (p = 0.027). For rs6949152, a significant interaction (genotype×training) effect (p = 0.047) was found for VT. Conclusions: There is an association between NRF-1 genotypes (rs2402970 and rs6949152 polymorphisms) and the baseline and/or training response of human aerobic capacity. More research is needed to corroborate our data in other ethnic groups with lower fitness levels at the pre-training state (particularly Caucasians) and to identify the molecular mechanisms involved in the genotype–phenotype associations we found.


The Ashgate Research Companion to Lesbian and Gay Activism provides scholars and students with a comprehensive and authoritative state-of-the-art review of the current research in this subject. Each of the 22 specially commissioned chapters develops and summarises their key issue or debate in relation to activism-that is the claims, strategies and mobilisations (including internal debates and divisions, impediments and state responses) of the lesbian and gay movement. By drawing together leading scholars from political science, sociology, anthropology and history this companion provides an up to the minute snapshot of current scholarship as well as signposting several fruitful avenues for future research. This book is both an invaluable resource for scholars and an indispensable teaching tool for use in the classroom.


In this paper, we propose training very deep neural networks (DNNs) for supervised learning of hash codes. Existing methods in this context train relatively "shallow" networks limited by the issues arising in back propagation (e.g. vanishing gradients) as well as computational efficiency. We propose a novel and efficient training algorithm inspired by alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) that overcomes some of these limitations. Our method decomposes the training process into independent layer-wise local updates through auxiliary variables. Empirically we observe that our training algorithm always converges and its computational complexity is linearly proportional to the number of edges in the networks. Empirically we manage to train DNNs with 64 hidden layers and 1024 nodes per layer for supervised hashing in about 3 hours using a single GPU. Our proposed very deep supervised hashing (VDSH) method significantly outperforms the state-of-theart on several benchmark datasets.


The neural representation of sound in the auditory cortex is not invariably predetermined by its acoustical properties, but it is constantly reshaped while the listener acquires new experiences. Such plastic changes are a prerequisite for lifelong learning and allow some degree of rehabilitation after brain injuries. Several neurotransmitter systems modulate these plastic changes. In this paper, we focus on how the neurotransmitter dopamine modulates learning-related plasticity in auditory cortex, and how animal and human research can complement each other in providing an experimental approach that has relevance for studying mechanisms of recovery of function.


The goal of this research is to identify factors that influence placelessness of a public place and to better understand its effect to residents. In order to determine residents opinions related to these issues, a semi structured interview was conducted amongst a random sample of young adult to elderly residents in a historic town inscribed by UNESCO Heritage List - Georgetown, Penang. A content analysis was done to extract and determine the factors involved and how these had affected the residents. Discontinuity of experiences, insecurity and change of environment and physical character are three underlying dimensions identified to be of significance factors attributed to placelessness. This information is hoped can aid in determining public willingness and government support to incorporate preservation of public place as important scheme in planning report and plan. Simultaneously, this research may support communities in ensuring the continuity of place identity and quality of life.


Given the increasingly global stresses on forests, many ecologists argue that managers must maintain ecolog- ical resilience: the capacity of ecosystems to absorb disturbances without undergoing fundamental change. In this re- view we ask: Can the emerging paradigm of natural-disturbance-based management (NDBM) maintain ecological resilience in managed forests? Applying resilience theory requires careful articulation of the ecosystem state under con- sideration, the disturbances and stresses that affect the persistence of possible alternative states, and the spatial and temporal scales of management relevance. Implementing NDBM while maintaining resilience means recognizing that (i) biodiversity is important for long-term ecosystem persistence, (ii) natural disturbances play a critical role as a gener- ator of structural and compositional heterogeneity at multiple scales, and (iii) traditional management tends to produce forests more homogeneous than those disturbed naturally and increases the likelihood of unexpected catastrophic change by constraining variation of key environmental processes. NDBM may maintain resilience if silvicultural strate- gies retain the structures and processes that perpetuate desired states while reducing those that enhance resilience of undesirable states. Such strategies require an understanding of harvesting impacts on slow ecosystem processes, such as seed-bank or nutrient dynamics, which in the long term can lead to ecological surprises by altering the forest's capacity to reorganize after disturbance.


Flexible sensors have attracted significant attention due to their currently desirable properties and possibility to be applied to any surface and conditions such as wearable electronic devices. Therefore, we prepared volatile organic compound (VOC) sensors based on WO3·0.33H2O nano-needles and their composites with reduced graphene oxide (RGO) on flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates. The materials were synthesized via a combination of the ultrasonic spray nozzle (USN) and microwave-assisted hydrothermal (MAH) methods to obtain a single WO3·0.33H2O orthorhombic crystalline phase. The VOC sensing properties of the materials deposited on PET electrodes were studied at room temperature (22 °C) and 55% relative humidity. The materials were exposed to acetone, ethanol, isopropanol, acetic acid, and methanol to determine their selectivity. The materials exhibited a good selectivity for isopropanol. The 5%RGO–WO3·0.33H2O composite presented a superior isopropanol-sensing performance, with a response of 4.96 to 100 ppm, which was ∼1.6 times higher than that of the pure WO3·0.33H2O nano-needles. The materials behaved as p-type semiconductors due to an inversion of the sensitive layer promoted by the adsorption of water molecules on the surface of the material.


Development Control in England is an important element of the Town and
Country Planning process and the economic structure of the country: it is the
process which approves or prevents development. Despite this, there is
comparatively little research into the processes involved in, and the
management of, the decision making process, and there are difficulties
effectively researching the process.
The Development Control process lies within a changing environment, both with
regards to its political and economic influences, but it is vital that it remains
effective and efficient throughout changes in its situation. Historically, it has
struggled to adapt to these changes, such as the increased demand on its
services throughout the 2000's when it was subject to criticism in particular in
relation to housing supply.
This study presents a unique examination of Development Control services in
England. It examines the barriers which present themselves in the research of
its processes, developing a methodology based on the Viable Systems Model of
Stafford Beer to overcome these barriers and, most significantly, it successfully
applies this methodology, providing a structured examination of the ability of the
system to adapt to changes in its environment.
This examination is highly original in both its subject matter and its methodology
and is, as such, a significant contribution to both the fields of Development
Control and the Viable Systems Model. It contributes to the limited research
within Development Control, extends the fields to which the Viable Systems
Model has been applied and demonstrates the presence of features of the
Viable Systems Model in an existing high performing authority.
The analysis identified important areas of both good and bad practice and led to
recommendations which can assist Development Control services strengthen
their ability to recognise and adapt to change. Furthermore, the methodology
and recommendations have potential to be applied throughout local authority
services, and in other Government provision, to enable services to be effective
throughout future changes in their political and economic environments.


ABSTRACT Under what circumstances does human development facilitate or constrain emigration? Moreover, under what conditions is migration a driver for rather than an obstacle for development? Empirical evidence identifying the drivers of the two-way relationship between migration and development is still rather mixed, in part also because of conceptual and methodological shortcomings of the methods generally applied to this subject matter, which often cannot handle the complex links and interactions between migration and development. This paper engages with the opportunities and challenges of investigating the migration–development nexus using Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) as a methodological approach to explore the complex configurational two-way relationship between migration and development processes. We hereby address a methodological gap in the scientific literature investigating the migration-development nexus and propose QCA as a method for enriching the empirical base and expanding our knowledge and understanding of this complex relationship.


A broadcast mode may augment peer-to-peer overlay networks with an efficient, scalable data replication function, but may also give rise to a virtual link layer in VPN-type solutions. We introduce a generic, simple broadcasting mechanism that operates in the prefix space of distributed hash tables without signaling. This paper concentrates on the performance analysis of the prefix flooding scheme. Starting from simple models of recursive $k$-ary trees, we analytically derive distributions of hop counts and the replication load. Further on, extensive simulation results are presented based on an implementation within the OverSim framework. Comparisons are drawn to Scribe, taken as a general reference model for group communication according to the shared, rendezvous-point-centered distribution paradigm. The prefix flooding scheme thereby confirmed its widely predictable performance and consistently outperformed Scribe in all metrics. Reverse path selection in overlays is identified as a major cause of performance degradation.


OF DISSERTATION SEGMENTATION STRATEGIES FOR ROAD SAFETY ANALYSIS This dissertation addresses the relationship between roadway segment length and roadway attributes and their relationship to the efficacy of Safety Performance Function (SPF) models. This research focuses on three aspects of segmentation: segment length, roadway attributes, and combinations of the two. First, it is shown that choice of average roadway segment length can result in markedly different priority lists. This leads to an investigation of the effect of segment length on the development of SPFs and identifies average lengths that produce the best-fitting SPF. Secondly, roadway attributes are filtered to test the effect that homogeneity has on SPF development. Lastly, a combination of segment length and attributes are examined in the same context. In the process of conducting this research a tool was developed that provides objective goodness-of-fit measures as well as visual depictions of the model. This information can be used to avoid things like omitted variable bias by allowing the user to include other variables or filter the database. This dissertation also discusses and offers examples of ways to improve the models by employing alternate model forms. This research revealed that SPF development is sensitive to a variety of factors related to segment length and attributes. It is clear that strict base condition filters based on the most predominant roadway attributes provide the best models. The preferred functional form was shown to be dependent on the segmentation approach (fixed versus variable length). Overall, an important step in SPF development process is evaluation and comparison to determine the ideal length and attributes for the network being analyzed (about 2 miles or 3.2 km for Kentucky parkways). As such, a framework is provided to help safety professionals employ the findings from this research.


The initiative of our research is to build a geo-writable web, using open source technologies for people's participation online. This paper is the key underpinning for the new emerging trend "online community mapping" as a conceptualized model combined with information/computer science, geography, and sociology, which we have proposed recently. In particular, we argue that public access to geospatial datasets and tools, as well as mechanism design of collaborative and social software, are crucial factors. We envisage the web as a medium of places, people, and participation (3P), and we outline in this paper an implementation strategy for this vision. A prototype called Web3P is being built to experiment with various design elements and implementation techniques to further facilitate an "online community mapping" process. Note: As of September 12, 2006, the Web3P prototype mentioned in this paper now resides at the following URL: <http://pomelo.iis.sinica.edu.tw/project/maps/>.


Sensitivity analysis of uncertain nonlinear systems plays an important role in analyzing chemical engineering process models. Even though a variety of different techniques exists for analyzing nonlinear systems, these methods often do not update the parameter distribution using available measurement data. This forms the motivation behind this work as a sensitivity analysis procedure is introduced that deals with nonlinear systems and uncertainty in model parameters, and also incorporates the use of available data. The technique computes two covariance matrices: a covariance matrix that describes the effect that changes of the parameters values, sampled from a prior distribution, have on the outputs, and a covariance matrix that determines the effect of available data on the posterior distribution of the parameters using a Markov chain Monte Carlo method. The information contained in these two covariance matrices is then simultaneously evaluated by balancing the two matrices. The results returned by this t...


This paper challenges the conclusions of an econometric analysis by Daniel Ortega and Francisco Rodriguez on the effects on literacy of the Mision Robinson program in Venezuela. Their analysis concludes "most of our estimates of program impact represent qualitatively small and rarely statistically significant effects of Robinson, while some point estimates are actually negative." This CEPR paper shows that the econometric analysis used by Ortega and Rodriguez does not provide statistical evidence regarding the size of the Mision Robinson national literacy program in Venezuela, partly because the Household Survey data on which the authors relied are too crude a measure to make such an estimate. In addition, the statistical tests the authors used are not appropriate to test (falsify) the hypothesis that the program was a large-scale program.


Optical links for the transmission of analog signals have continued to expand thanks to its simplicity, low loss, large bandwidth, low cost, and immunity to electromagnetic interference from external RF sources. However, due to the lack of economic analog transceiver which has the highest operation frequency between 3 to 10 GHz in current market, the applications within this band need to use the 10 GHz transceiver product, which inevitably complicates the system design and increases the associated cost.

In this thesis, a cost effective 6 GHz 20 Km reach optical analog transceiver is proposed, designed, and experimentally demonstrated. Theoretical analysis and design of the system is performed through the power budget analysis, bandwidth budget analysis, noise analysis, linearity analysis, and economic consideration. Several criteria for choosing components are proposed accordingly. An OptiSystem RoF application simulation is conducted to verify the analysis results. After choosing components and fabricating the circuit, we perform DC and AC test for both transmitter and receiver, link S parameter measurement, SFDR measurement by two tone test, and 20 Km fiber transmission UWB OFDM single channel test and multi-channel test, the result demonstrates that the proposed transceiver has more than 6 GHz 3-dB gain bandwidth with -10 dB link gain and very good match at its input and output impedances, 31 dB link noise figure, -9 dBm output P1dB, 10 dBm OIP3 and 102 dB SFDR, and it's an ideal option for OFDM UWB RoF systems.

In RoF system, a post amplifier is almost following the optical receiver. It boosts the output RF signal power to facilitate the further use of the signal. A proposed 6 GHz 30 dB gain 1 Watt power amplifier is also designed, fabricated, and experimentally demonstrated within this thesis.

Finally, the further search for better components to improve the transceiver performance, the size optimization of the transceiver, and the design of an adaptor for LC receptacle and LC connector are proposed as future research topics.


The mollusk "Anadara tuberculosa (Sowerby, 1833) (Arcidae)", known in Ecuador with the common name of "Concha Prieta", in Mexico as the clam "Pata de Mula", in France with the name "Arche Noire" and in England as "Blood Cockle", is a mangrove bivalve exploited all along the Pacific coast. It is a species with great possibilities for fishing development. In its adult phase, it lives only in mangrove swamps, always associated with the red mangrove "Rhizophora mangle" in the intertidal zone, where it grows almost completely buried in the mud. In Colombia, where it is called "Piangua", it is one of the most exploited bivalve species on the Pacific coast. The artisanal activity which benefits the communities is usually performed by families that collect these mollusks for food or to commercialize them in the local market. Currently, the resource, besides being used for consumption and local commerce, is being exported from Colombia to Ecuador. In Ecuador, a constant extraction has been maintained during the period 2004-2008, with an estimated total landing of 55.3 million shells among all receiving ports. In the Province of El Oro, the extraction and commercialization of Anadara tuberculosa is an economic activity with low performance and absence of added value in the production chain. The objective of this research is to explore the problem of agribusiness in the value chain of the bivalve mollusk Anadara tuberculosa. Specifically, to establish its possible causes and consequences, as part of a broader research oriented towards the development of an agribusiness management model that promotes its sustainable exploitation and entry into international markets, in particular the European market, in which consumers of Latin American origin, represent a segment that could be interested in its intake, complying with the added value standards and quality required.


Crises impose vast demands on political leaders' communicative abilities in terms of explaining the causes of the problem at hand as well as showing a plausible way out of the situation. These challenges become even more complex in connection with climate change induced compounded crises. These crises touch upon a broad range of issues, such as economic, environmental, social and energy policies. Drawing upon previous research on political crisis communication, this article aims to examine political actors framing strategies in connection with compounded crises and how these are affected by the media context in which they are communicated. The study rests on a case study examining The Australian's reporting of the drought in the Murray—Darling Basin in terms of how various actor groups portrayed in the reporting framed crisis responsibility. The article ends by proposing propositions for further research on responsibility framing in climate change induced compounded crises.


We investigate the welfare impact of parallel imports using a large panel dataset containing monthly information on sales, ex-factory prices, and further product characteristics for all 649 anti-diabetic drugs sold in Germany between 2004 and 2010. We estimate a two-stage nested logit model of demand, and on the basis of an oligopolistic model of multi-product firms, we then recover the marginal costs and markups. We finally evaluate the effect of the parallel imports' policy by calculating a counterfactual scenario without parallel trade. According to our estimates, parallel imports reduce the prices for patented drugs by 11% and do not have a significant effect on prices for generic drugs. This amounts to an increase in the demand-side surplus by €19 million per year (or €130 million in total), which is relatively small compared with the average annual market size of around €227 million based on ex-factory prices. The variable profits for the manufacturers of original drugs from the German market are reduced by €18 million (or 37%) per year when parallel trade is allowed, yet only one third of this difference is appropriated by the importers.


This manual is a guide to the most important legal procedures that control imports. It is likely to be of most use to practitioners who are not yet experts in the field, corporate counsel in both domestic and foreign companies whose products are sold across national borders, and students learning about these complicated regulatory laws. Each chapter is written by experienced counsel in Washington, DC - some of whom have inside experience from working in the government agencies that administer the laws they are writing about. The authors have incorporated practical advice - "practice comments" - in their description of how these laws work. It is the intention of both the authors and editors to supplement the manual with updated material from time to time, which will be available online.


We determine at NNLO (3-loop) of QCD the dynamical parton distributions of the nucleon generated radiatively from valencelike positive input distributions at an optimally chosen low resolution scale (Q_0^2 1 GeV^2). The NNLO corrections imply in both approaches an improved value of \chi^2, typically \chi^2_{NNLO} \sim 0.9\chi^2_{NLO}. The dynamical NNLO uncertainties are somewhat smaller than the NLO ones and both are, as expected, smaller than those of their "standard" counterparts. The dynamical predictions for F_L(x,Q^2) become perturbatively stable already at Q^2 = 2 - 3 GeV^2, where precision measurements could even delineate NNLO effects in the very small-x region. Using these NNLO dynamical parton distributions in the FFNS as input, we generate radiatively parton distributions in the "variable flavor number factorization scheme" (VFNS) as well, where also the heavy quark flavors (c,b,t) become massless partons within the nucleon. Only within the VFNS are NNLO calculations feasible at present, since the required partonic subprocesses are available only in the approximation of massless initial-state partons. The NNLO predictions for gauge boson production are typically larger (by more than 1 sigma) than the NLO ones, and rates at LHC energies can be predicted with an accuracy of about 5%, whereas at Tevatron they are more than 2 sigma above the NLO ones. The NNLO predictions for SM Higgs boson production via the dominant gluon fusion process have a total (PDFs and scale) uncertainty of about 10% at LHC which almost doubles at the lower Tevatron energies; these predictions are typically about 20% larger than the ones at NLO but the total uncertainty bands overlap.


Ever since Isaac Newton in 1687 posed the N-body problem, astronomers have been looking for its solutions in order to understand the evolution of dynamical systems, such as our own solar system, star clusters and galaxies. The main difficulty is that small errors grow exponentially, so that numerical solutions diverge easily from the mathematical solution.

This thesis presents two new state of the art N-body algorithms, one of which is designed for high precision (Brutus) and the other for speed (Sakura). The assumption that N-body results are accurate in a statistical sense, is put to the test for three-body configurations. Finally, a new mathematical model is constructed that describes the origin of chaos in a dynamical systems, and explains the short Liapounov time of Comet Halley's orbit.


Reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) refers to mobilization of cholesterol on HDL particles (HDL-C) from extravascular tissues to plasma, ultimately for fecal excretion. Little is known about how HDL-C leaves peripheral tissues to reach plasma. We first used two models of disrupted lymphatic drainage from skin -one surgical and the other genetic- to quantitatively track RCT following injection of [3H]cholesterol-loaded macrophages upstream of blocked or absent lymphatic vessels. Macrophage RCT was markedly impaired in both models, even at sites with a leaky vasculature. Inhibited RCT was downstream of cholesterol efflux from macrophages, since macrophage efflux of a fluorescent cholesterol analogue (BODIPY-cholesterol) was not altered by impaired lymphatic drainage. We next addressed whether RCT was mediated by lymphatic vessels from the aortic wall by loading the aorta of donor atherosclerotic apoE-/- mice with [2H]6-labeled cholesterol and surgically transplanting these aortas into recipient apoE-/- mice that were treated with anti-VEGFR3 mAb to block lymphatic regrowth or with control mAb to allow such regrowth. [2H]-Cholesterol was retained in aortas of anti-VEGFR3 treated mice. Thus, the lymphatic vessel route is critical for RCT from multiple tissues, including the aortic wall. Therefore, supporting lymphatic transport function may facilitate cholesterol clearance in therapies aimed at reversing atherosclerosis.


As levels of agricultural productivity increase, there is also an increase in land area not utilized for food production. This area can be used for growing energy crops, including grasses. When land is set aside for grassing, or when the potential of perennial grasses is not utilized due to reductions in cattle herds, there is also an increased amount of grass that can be utilized for energy purposes. Experiments were carried out on the principle of single-stage anaerobic digestion within the mezophyle range. During the experiments, we measured the cumulative production of biogas and its composition. The processed grass was disintegrated by pressing and cutting. This adaptation of the material resulted in increased biogas production. The optimum proportion of grass dry matter is from 35 to 50 % in the total d.m. The results of the experiments proved the suitability of grass phytomass as a material for biogas production.


Objective To better understand the importance of monitoring responders during public health emergencies and to learn how the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) developed and deployed an electronic responder monitoring tool. Introduction During an emergency, the state of Georgia depends on public health staff and volunteers to respond. It is imperative that staff are safe before, during and after deployment. Emergency response workers must be protected from the hazardous conditions that disasters and other emergencies create 1 . In October 2016 and September 2017, Hurricanes Matthew and Irma caused widespread evacuation of Georgia residents, initiating a tremendous sheltering effort. Hundreds of public health responders were deployed to assist with sheltering and other aspects of the response. DPH rapidly developed a novel electronic Responder Safety, Tracking and Resilience module, which was used to track public health responders and monitor their health and safety while deployed. Methods DPH rapidly developed a novel electronic Responder Safety, Tracking, and Resilience module (R-STaR), within the existing State Electronic Notifiable Disease Surveillance System to monitor the health and safety of responders. R-STaR was originally used during Hurricane Matthew, where it was launched the day of the storm, and was launched again four days before Hurricane Irma made landfall. Responders were emailed a web-based link to register, indicating demographic information, contact information, work location, subject area, vaccination status, and whether they considered themselves mentally and physically fit to deploy. Responders then received a daily email with a link to document their daily deployment location, duties, and whether they had any hazardous exposures, illness, or injuries while deployed. A post-deployment survey was sent to responders after Hurricane Matthew to solicit feedback about the responder safety module. Results During Hurricane Matthew, 128 responders representing 11 Georgia Public Health Districts registered in R-STaR. Seven responders reported illness or injury and were contacted to determine if medical services were needed; all remained healthy post-deployment. During Hurricane Irma, 1240 responders representing DPH and 16 Public Health Districts, and other employers, including law enforcement, fire, and education, registered in R-STaR. Of 472 responders completing daily health checks during their Irma deployment, 48 reported an injury, illness, or exposure, and were contacted to determine if services were needed. The daily health checks led to the identification of an outbreak of influenza in one of the shelters and resulted in vaccination or antiviral prophylaxis administration to 76 responders. Fifty responders to Hurricane Matthew completed the post-deployment survey; 95% found R-STaR easy to use, and 92% indicated that they liked being monitored. Supervisors indicated that the module could be used to: 1) roster and credential responders prior to an event; 2) track where responders are, monitor their health and safety during an event, and quantify the human resources deployed during a declared emergency; and, 3) to distribute post-response responder resources, monitor responder health, and gather information for after-action reports. Conclusions R-STaR was widely used and well received despite being implemented with no prior training, with a dramatic increase in the number of responders registering from the first implementation in 2016 to the second implementation in September 2017. Monitoring responder health and safety is crucial to responding to and preventing outbreaks during a response, and ensuring responders get appropriate mental and physical support after a deployment. Lessons learned from both events will be used to create a just-in-time training curriculum, and develop a more robust R-STaR, which will enable responder rostering, credentialing, tracking and monitoring before, during, and after an event to ensure the health and safety of our responders as well as for future planning. References 1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2017). EMERGENCY RESPONDER HEALTH MONITORING AND SURVEILLANCE (ERHMS) . Retrieved from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/erhms/default.html.


ABSTRACT We designed a new genetic tool to detect plasmid transfer under anaerobic and aerobic conditions. The system is based on the T7 RNA polymerase gene and a T7 promoter-driven oxygen-independent green fluorescent protein, evoglow, alone or in combination with red fluorescent protein DsRed. Constructs are available as plasmids and mini-mariner transposons.


Objectives This paper examines the link between personnel and teacher smoking on school grounds, and student smoking in 62 low-income and middle-income countries. Methods We use a two-part model to estimate the effect of smoking by school personnel on youth smoking. In the first part, we model the decision to smoke for all students, using a linear probability model. In the second part, we estimate cigarette consumption among smokers. We employ country fixed effects to address country-level time-invariant unobservable factors and control for an array of local-level variables to address local-level heterogeneity. Results We find that smoking by personnel and teachers on school grounds is associated with higher smoking prevalence among all youths, and higher cigarette consumption among female smokers. Our findings suggest that consumption among female smokers is primarily affected by smoking among female personnel, and that younger personnel/teachers appear to be more influential in determining behaviours among young people. In addition, we find that smoking restrictions on staff are associated with reductions in average consumption among female students. Conclusions Low-income and middle-income countries may reduce smoking among young people by banning smoking for teachers and school personnel on school grounds.


New method for characterization of coating microstructures and for evaluation of coating property by means of surface morphology has been proposed. In this paper, the distribution of shape and dimensions of splat was examined using quantitative analysis of scanning electron microscope images from the surface of spray pattern as well as the surface of coating. Results obtained in this study indicate that it is necessary to analyze the spray pattern as well as the surface morphology in order to estimate the coating property by means of the distribution of splat which composes the coating. Moreover, the splats, which are in the interface between the substrate and the coating, should have the same morphology as those of the coating surface. The relationship between splat morphology and the property of coatings was discussed.


Al Capone famously boasted of his criminal empire: "Some call it bootlegging. Some call it racketeering. I call it a business." Treasury Agent Frank Wilson and Prosecutor George Johnson put Capone behind bars not by disputing his characterization and pursuing murder or assault or RICO charges, but by accepting it and enforcing its tax implications. Irrespective of their legality, Capone's businesses were profitable, and Capone had not reported their profits for tax purposes. A simple application of bedrock tax law achieved what other legal routes failed to achieve and sent Capone to Alcatraz. The trick was to see the tax argument.

Policymakers should use a similar approach to curtail the excessive, exploitative, and anticompetitive use of employment noncompete agreements. Currently, nearly one in five (or thirty million) American workers is bound by an employment noncompete. Employers claim that they adequately compensate employees for noncompete restrictions with higher wages, bigger raises, and/or more generous bonuses. Policymakers scoff at this claim and use contract law to attack them. Unfortunately, employment noncompetes are like Al Capone in that they have flourished despite the law's efforts to restrain them. Recently, the largest study of noncompetes in U.S. history paradoxically found that their prevalence is unaffected by their enforceability. In states like California that refuse to enforce employment noncompetes, they are as common as in states that uphold them. Contract law has proved ill-equipped to respond to the pervasive, expanding, and damaging use of noncompetes.

This Article is the first to shift the focus and to argue that employment noncompetes, as employers currently use them, constitute tax evasion and should be attacked as such. If employers pay employees for noncompetes through compensation, then by employers' own account, this compensation is not purely an expense associated with immediate benefits; rather, it is an expenditure associated with future benefits — benefits that the employer will enjoy years after payment. Thus, the IRS should stop allowing employers to fully immediately deduct the compensation they pay to employees subject to noncompetes and instead should require that an adequate portion of total compensation be allocated to the noncompete and amortized over the restricted period, beginning when employment ends.


The analysis of hidden power constellations in any translation process between cultures–in this special case between Asia and Europe–is an emerging feature in (trans-)cultural studies. However, with a strong focus on texts and images, techniques of direct material translation–such as plaster casts–are rarely discussed. And even if the cultural-historical value of this form of physical copying in European museum collections was rediscovered in the last decade, the analysis of their relevance in colonial translation politics has yet to be assessed.This paper focuses on the cultural-political history of French plaster casts. It is particularly interested in those made of the Cambodian temple of Angkor Vat during early French explorative missions, museum displays, and universal/colonial exhibitions (from the 1860s to 1930s). It explores the hypothesis that plaster casts were a powerful 'translation tool' to appropriate local, built heritage in the Indochinese colonies for global representation.


Models with sticky prices predict that monetary policy changes will affect relative prices and relative quantities in the short run because some prices are more flexible than others. In U.S. micro data, the degree of price stickiness differs dramatically across consumption categories. This study exploits that diversity to ask whether popular measures of monetary shocks (for example, innovations in the federal funds rate) have the predicted effects. The study finds that they do not. Short-run responses of relative prices have the wrong sign. And monetary policy shocks seem to have persistent effects on both relative prices and relative quantities, rather than the transitory effects one would expect from differences in price flexibility across goods. The findings reject the joint hypothesis that the sticky-price models typically employed in policy analysis capture the U.S. economy and that commonly used monetary policy shocks represent exogenous shifts.


This study compares the perspectives of 19 pathological gamblers with those of 13 pathological gamblers' spouses ( N = 31) with regard to family (i.e., family functioning and quality of life), marital variables (i.e., dyadic adjustment and marital satisfaction) and individual variables (i.e., congruence, differentiation of the self and psychopathological symptomatology). Regarding individual functioning, the gamblers and spouses presented with psychological symptomatology, as both had values that are typical for emotionally disturbed populations. Moreover, the gamblers showed additional difficulties with regard to congruence. The results show that the gamblers' perspectives on family and marital life were less affected by difficulties, yet this difference was most pronounced in marital life. The primary limitations of the current study are regarding the independence of the subsamples (i.e., the participants were married or had marital life partners but were not couples) and the small sample size. Nevertheless, the current results call into question the 'truths' that are taken for granted by previous literature (e.g., gambler's perceptions of marital problems) and highlight the challenges that couples' therapists face regarding perspective differences in couples experiencing a gambling problem.


Trbakovic, A. 2018. Clinical and experimental studies of bone substitutes and dental implants in compromised bone sites. Digital Comprehensive Summaries of Uppsala Dissertations from the Faculty of Medicine 1515. 82 pp. Uppsala: Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis. ISBN 978-91-513-0501-1. Background: With an ageing population, an increase of more challenging implant treatments is expected. In this thesis, we evaluate the outcome of two faster implant protocols, in patients with compromised alveolar bone. We examine the bone integrating abilities of two new synthetic bone substitute materials and in another paper, we discuss the effects of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAID) on bone healing. Aim: In paper I we investigate implant survival and effect of reduced implant-tooth distance. In paper II we evaluate the long-term implant survival and function of immediately loaded implants. In paper III & IV, we analyse if added NSAID reduce postoperative pain and if it has a reduced effect on new bone formation in a rabbit sinus lift model. We also investigate if a ceramic compound (CPC, granules) and hydrogel (HABPCaP) result in a similar or larger bone amount, in comparison with bovine bone mineral. In Paper V we assess new bone formation adjacent to a hollow CPC implant. Material & Methods: Paper I present a clinical and radiological follow-up, performed on subjects that previously received 3.0-3.3 mm diameter implants in the aesthetic area. In paper II, clinical and radiographic examinations were performed on subjects that had received six implants each with immediate loading in the maxilla 8-11-year ago. For paper III-IV, pain was assessed by clinical examination and scoring of facial expressions from photos. Histomorphometry and histology evaluations were performed. In paper V, a critical radius defect was created and either replaced by particulate autologous bone (AB) or a CPC implant. Qualitative and quantitative radiographic and histology evaluations were performed. Results: In paper I, an implant survival of 97.2% up to 124 months was shown with a toothimplant distance in many cases of <1.5 mm. Discoloration and recession of the buccal gingiva was the most frequent patient concern. In paper II a cumulative implant survival rate was 81.9 % at the final follow-up. In paper III and IV it was shown that NSAID had no effect on pain relief or bone formation. No difference was shown between CPC and control, but both showed larger bone amount and BIC than HABPCaP. In paper V new bone was seen in sites throughout the entire CPC implant. Conclusion: Satisfactory long-term dental implant results can be obtained without bone augmentation in most patients with atrophic alveolar bone, but there is still a minority in this group that may benefit of bone enhancement prior to implant treatment. To avoid the negative effects of autologous bone grafting, synthetic materials as the presented CPC, have shown promising results as a solution or alternative to existing bone substitutes in animal models.


Abstract Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine reported infant feeding practice with reference to exclusive breastfeeding, exclusive formula feeding and mixed feeding at six weeks postpartum among women attending a postnatal clinic in the Tswaing subdistrict of North West province, and the strength of the association between maternal human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status and exclusive breastfeeding. Design: Three hundred and eighty-six randomly selected women from seven primary healthcare clinics in Tswaing subdistrict, who were in their sixth postnatal week between November 2009 and February 2010, were enrolled in this study. Data were collected using a researcher-formulated questionnaire to ascertain demographics, including HIV status, as well as reported infant feeding practice. Secondary analysis was carried out to determine the strength of the association between the HIV status of the subjects and exclusive breastfeeding Setting and subjects: This study was conducted among women over the age of 18 years attending their first six weeks postnatal visit in seven primary healthcare clinics that provide postnatal care in the rural Tswaing subdistrict of the North West Province. Outcome measures: The self-reported infant feeding practice at six weeks postpartum, demographic determinants of reported infant feeding practice, and the strength of the association between maternal HIV status and reported infant feeding practice, particularly exclusive breastfeeding, constituted the main outcome measures. Results: Comparatively, more HIV-negative (n = 157), than HIV-positive women (n = 43), reported that they were breastfeeding exclusively and had received infant feeding counselling (n = 258 vs. n = 65, p-value < 0.05). Exposure to infant feeding counselling and a negative HIV status were associated with higher exclusive breastfeeding rates. Conclusion: HIV-positive women are still at risk of transmitting HIV to their nursing infants on account of suboptimal infant feeding methods in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) context. This calls for further research in this area, and in the interim, more support to pregnant and nursing HIV-positive mothers, with a view to achieving the aims of the PMTCT programme


The Cocos plate experiences extensional faulting as it bends into the Middle American Trench (MAT) west of Nicaragua, which may lead to hydration of the subducting mantle. To estimate the along strike variations of volatile input from the Cocos plate into the subduction zone, we gathered marine seismic refraction data with the R/V Marcus Langseth along a 396 km long trench parallel transect offshore of Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Our inversion of crustal and mantle seismic phases shows two notable features in the deep structure of the Cocos plate: (1) Normal oceanic crust of 6 km thickness from the East Pacific Rise (EPR) lies offshore Nicaragua, but offshore central Costa Rica we find oceanic crust from the northern flank of the Cocos Nazca (CN) spreading center with more complex seismic velocity structure and a thickness of 10 km. We attribute the unusual seismic structure offshore Costa Rica to the midplate volcanism in the vicinity of the Galápagos hot spot. (2) A decrease in Cocos plate mantle seismic velocities from ∼7.9 km/s offshore Nicoya Peninsula to ∼6.9 km/s offshore central Nicaragua correlates well with the northward increase in the degree of crustal faulting outboard of the MAT. The negative seismic velocity anomaly reaches a depth of ∼12 km beneath the Moho offshore Nicaragua, which suggests that larger amounts of water are stored deep in the subducting mantle lithosphere than previously thought. If most of the mantle low velocity zone can be interpreted as serpentinization, the amount of water stored in the Cocos plate offshore central Nicaragua may be about 2.5 times larger than offshore Nicoya Peninsula. Hydration of oceanic lithosphere at deep sea trenches may be the most important mechanism for the transfer of aqueous fluids to volcanic arcs and the deeper mantle.


Many claim that meditation is effective in the treatment of many ailments associated with stress and high blood pressure, and in the management of pain. While there are many popular books on meditation, few embrace the science as well as the art of meditation. In this volume, Shapiro and Walsh fill this need by assembling a complete collection of scholarly articles--Meditation: Classic and Contemporary Perspectives. From an academic rather than a popular vantage, the volume takes the claims and counterclaims about meditation to a deeper analytical level by including studies from clinical psychology and psychiatry, neuroscience, psychophysiology, and biochemistry. Each selection is a contribution to the field, either as a classic of research, or by being methodologically elegant, heuristically interesting, or creative. Original articles cover such topics as the effects of meditation in the treatment of stress, hypertension, and addictions; the comparison of meditation with other self-regulation strategies; the adverse effects of meditation; and meditation-induced altered states of consciousness. Concluding with a major bibliography of related works, Meditation offers the reader a valuable overview of the state and possible future directions of meditation research. Today, in the popular media and elsewhere, debate continues: Is meditation an effective technique for spiritual and physical healing, or is it quackery? Meditation: Classic and Contemporary Perspectives weighs in on this debate by presenting what continues to be the most complete collection of scholarly articles ever amassed on the subject of meditation.


Objectives The purpose of this study was to examine the combined effects of Prism Adaptation (PA) plus functional electrical stimulation (FES) on stroke patients with unilateral neglect, and suggest a new intervention method for acute-phase stroke patients. Methods There were 30 patients included in this study from April to October 2016 that had unilateral neglect whilst hospitalized following a stroke (diagnosed by a professional). The participants, who were patients receiving occupational therapy, understood the purpose of the study and agreed to participate. The patients were randomly divided into 3 groups: PA plus FES group (Group A), PA group (Group B), and FES group (Group C). Treatments lasted for 50 minutes per day, 5 times per week, for 3 weeks in total. Reevaluation was conducted after 3 weeks of intervention. Results All 3 groups showed unilateral neglect reduction after the intervention, but PA plus FES (complex intervention method) was more effective than PA or FES alone [effect size: Motor-free Visual Perception Test (0.80), Albert test (0.98), CBS (0.92)]. Conclusion The results of this study support further studies to examine complex intervention for the treatment of unilateral neglect.


Aims: To determine the prevalence and characteristics of smokers who experience smoking-induced deprivation (SID), and to examine its effect on quit attempts, relapse and cessation. Methods: Waves 2 and 3 (2003–5) of the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Survey were used, which is a prospective study of a cohort of smokers in the US, Canada, UK and Australia. SID was measured with the question "In the last six months, have you spent money on cigarettes that you knew would be better spent on household essentials like food?" A total of 7802 smokers participated in the survey in wave 2, of whom 5408 were also interviewed in wave 3. Findings: The proportion of smokers who reported SID was highest in Australia (33%) and lowest in the UK (20%). Younger age, minority status and low income were associated with a higher probability of SID. Some of the other factors related to a higher probability of SID were higher level of nicotine dependence, having an intention to quit, and smoking to help one socialise or control weight. The relationship between SID and quit attempt was mediated by having an intention to quit and worrying that smoking would damage health and reduce the quality of life. The relationship between SID and relapse was mediated by perceived stress. SID was not associated with successful cessation. Conclusions: Many smokers experience deprivation that is the result of their smoking. Strategies to reduce the prevalence of smoking probably effect a general improvement in standards of living and reduction in deprivation.


Crescent-shaped bedforms with wavelengths from 20 to 80 m, amplitudes to 2.5 m, and concave down-canyon crests occur in the axial channel of Monterey Canyon (offshore California, USA) in water depths from 11 to more than 350 m. The existence of these features may be an important new clue as to how sediment moves through submarine canyons. Three complementary studies were initiated in 2007 to understand the origin and evolution of these bedforms. (1) Vibracoring. Three transects of closely spaced remotely operated vehicle–collected vibracores were obtained across these bedforms. The seafloor underneath these features is composed of gravity-flow deposits. (2) Acoustic array. Three boulder-sized concrete monuments containing acoustic beacons were buried just below the surface of the canyon floor in ∼290 m water depth and their locations were redetermined on 17 subsequent occasions. Although the beacons became more deeply buried >0.6 m below the seafloor, they still could be tracked acoustically. Over a 26-month period the position of 1 or more of the beacons moved down-canyon during at least 6 discrete transport events for a total displacement of 994–1676 m. The movement and burial of the monuments suggest that the seabed was mobilized to >1 m depth during gravity-flow events. (3) Autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) repeat mapping. AUV-acquired high-resolution multibeam mapping, and CHIRP (compressed high-intensity radar pulse) subbottom profiling surveys of the seafloor in the active channel were repeated four times in the first half of 2007. In addition, the movement of large instrument frames deployed in 2001–2003 within the axis of Monterey Canyon in the area now known to be associated with the crescent-shaped bedforms is documented. The fate of the frames has helped elucidate the frequency, transport potential, and processes occurring within the axis of Monterey Canyon associated with these bedforms. The crescent-shaped bedforms appear to be produced during brief gravity-flow events that occur multiple times each year, commonly coincident with times of large significant wave heights. Whether the bedforms are generated by erosion associated with cyclic steps in turbidity flows or internal deformation associated with slumping during gravity-flow events remains unclear.


Abstract The Earth-Moon-Mars Radiation Environment Module (EMMREM) is a numerical model for characterizing the time-dependent radiation environment in the Earth-Moon-Mars and interplanetary space environments. In this work we demonstrate the capabilities of the module for performing analyses of time-dependent exposures from solar energetic particle (SEP) events near Earth and Mars by calculating time-dependent dose rates, dose equivalent rates, and accumulated dose and accumulated dose equivalents for surrogates of the skin and the blood forming organs (BFOs) of crew members shielded by as much as 10 g/cm2 of aluminum shielding for the January 15, 2005, SEP event. The motivation for the development of EMMREM is the need to better understand the radiation hazards in deep space and near Earth and other planetary bodies, in near real time in support of possible future space exploration by manned and unmanned spacecraft. Characterizing the radiation environment for different locations on and close to Earth for SEP events is fairly well developed. However, estimating the probable radiation environment near Mars and other locations throughout the solar system is not currently supported for SEP events. Such capability is critical for future human exploration of the Moon and Mars in the upcoming decades. The calculated doses for the skin and BFO surrogates are compared with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's short-term permissible exposure limits.


A new anionic pillared-layer cobalt(II) metal–organic framework combining 4,4′,4′′-nitrilotribenzoic acid (H3ntb) as a linker and terephthalic acid (H2bdc) as a pillar-ligand with the formula {((CH3)2NH2)2[Co3(ntb)2(bdc)]}n (JUMP-1, JUMP = Jena University Magnetic Polymer) has been solvothermally synthesized and characterized. The crystal structure of JUMP-1 was determined to belong to the orthorhombic space group Cmca. It displays a three-dimensional (3D) framework for which the topological analysis revealed a 3,8-connected net with a tfz-d topology. The 3-connected organic node is linked to an 8-connected secondary building unit composed of a linear trinuclear cobalt(II) cluster with a mixed arrangement of coordination geometries (Td–Oh–Td) leading to two-dimensional layers which are further linked by terephthalic acid to give the pillared-layer arrangement. The magnetic properties are characterized by an antiferromagnetic coupling between a central octahedrally coordinated cobalt(II) ion and two outer tetrahedral cobalt(II) centers, whereas only a very weak inter-cluster coupling is observed. Moreover, a moderate zero-field splitting is detected for the tetrahedral cobalt(II) ions. The organic counterions could successfully be exchanged by lithium ions under retention of the anionic 3D network leading to JUMP-1(Li). For both compounds JUMP-1 and JUMP-1(Li), N2 and CO2 adsorption isotherms were measured. The pore distribution analyses revealed improved microporosity for the lithium exchanged MOF.


A new method of efficient sum-frequency generation for broadband input fields is proposed and analyzed. It involves the mixing of controlled phase-modulated waves for phase matching over a broad bandwidth. Regardless of the form of the modulation, phase matching can be maintained over the whole pulse duration, provided that the ratio of the chirp parameters of the incident waves is correctly chosen, thereby driving highly efficient sum-frequency generation. The case of 1.05-μm frequency tripling with KDP crystals is analyzed in detail and is shown to be applicable to the efficient generation of either broadband nanosecond pulses or ultrashort and intense pulses at 351 nm.


It is difficult to pick up any professional publication in the field of Human Resource Management (HRM) today without noticing the number of web pages available on-line for the use of personnel professionals, or without seeing advertisements by private companies touting the latest advances in software developments for a Human Resource Information System (HRIS). Computer technology has been available now for several decades, and HRM offices in the public and private sectors have increasingly made use of the new technology. There is also considerable literature available on the basic differences and similarities between management and administration in the public and private sectors or our economy.1 Although authors may disagree about the significance of many of the differences between the two sectors, not many disagree that substantial differences exist. Few studies have focused on the differences between the two sectors in the use of general informational technology,2 and none have focused specifically on differences between the two sectors in the use of HRIS and the Internet. This manuscript examines the extent to which HRM professionals in both the public and private sectors are using HRIS systems to carry on basic and advanced personnel processes, and the extent to which they are employing the Internet as an information resource to help them solve HRM problems. Using results from a national questionnaire sampling human resource professionals in both sectors, this study seeks to bring some data to bare on the types of software applications taking place, the integration of HRM activities and computer software, rates of satisfaction with the use of computer software in HRM applications, rates of computer and Internet training across both sectors, and the use of the Internet as an information resource in HRM decision-making and problem solving. Data were obtained from a questionnaire mailed to human resource professionals in public and private sector organizations during the summer months of 1996. The response rate for the public sector group was 54% (n=77), and for the private sector group was 29% (n=77). There was a total response rate of 38% with 154 usable questionnaires. For a more detailed breakdown of the sample please see appendix A. Editor's Note: See "Why There Are Five Million Types of Statistics," (Volume 28, Number 1, Spring 1999) for a statistical significance overview. Survey Results Types of Software Applications According to Mayer and De Luca,3 "Finding the appropriate software and applications is the most important part of the system. A computer that runs faster with a great deal of storage space and high-resolution graphics capability is useless without software that fits the organization's needs." According to Table 1 there is widespread acknowledgment among organizations in both sectors on the most needed software applications. Windows programs for word processing, creating databases, and creating spreadsheets are the three most commonly used programs. In contrast, both sectors in our sample are less likely to use statistics applications (more so in private organizations). A chi- square test was employed in order to test for significant differences in mean scores of each particular category of software between the two sectors. The results of the comparisons reveal that most software applications used in both sectors are not significantly different except statistics and utility programs (chisq value p= 14.535; p-value 0.001 for statistics programs and chisq value 8.472; p-value = 0.004 for utility programs). The lack of differences for most programs can be explained because such applications are ubiquitous and are widely used for the same HRM purposes.4 Table 1. Software and Applications Government Business Total (N=77) (N=77) (N=154) Word Processing 100% (77) 99% (76) 99% (153) Spreadsheet 95% (73) 100% (77) 97% (150) Windows 94% (72) 99% (76) 96% (148) DOS 91% (70) 84% (65) 88% (135) Database 90% (69) 81% (62) 85% (131) Graphics 81% (63) 77% (59) 79% (122) Utility Programs 78% (60) 56% (43) 67% (103) Telecommunications 77% (59) 65% (50) 71% (109) Statistics 41% (41) 23% (18) 38% (59) Integration of HRM Activities and Computer Software Now that we have established that there are a wide variety of software applications being used to perform numerous activities by the organizations in our sample, let us turn to the HRM function. …


Human life is engaged in a continual process of mapping and modelling the external universe. From the immediate level of sensation to more abstract forms of emotional and cognitive mapping, the human organism builds a web of inner experience which forms the basis for the construction/perception of "reality." This act of learning forms the genetic, neural, linguistic, and social programing by which individual and collective subjectivity is constructed. Theories in philosophy and science are simply more abstract higher- level models of reality akin to our neuro-semantic mappings. They are similar to cultural, artistic, and religious stories in that their modelling includes not only process but the organized gestalt of content which endows the model with meaning in inner experience. If we move to a higher level of modeling by metamodeling we can understand how various theories of human life have mapped reality. The transversal linking of various theories or models allows us to create clearer maps about process and to transcend the differences resulting from content which supply meaning to inner subjectivity and which organize theories, disciplines, and practices like religious belief systems. Schizoanalytic metamodeling engages this transversal process of communication by which two or more different perspectives of the real - two or more subjectivities or realities - are transcended by moving to the next higher logical level in a nested hierarchy of organization. Schizoanalysis was one of the names Felix Guattari and Gilles Deleuze gave to their lifelong project of reinventing psychoanalysis and therapeutic practice and extending it into the material and social field. By giving a name to this practice and outlining its essence they began to gather together the work of various clinicians, artists, philosophers, and scientists who - though isolated - were already engaged in such a project of transforming human experience and whose history has just begun to be told. The present work continues the development of schizoanalysis as a clinical and cultural practice.


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to analyze angiographic and clinical results before and after additional endovascular therapy in patients with previously coiled but reopened cerebral aneurysms and to identify possible risk factors for retreatment of an aneurysm. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Follow-up with selective digital subtraction angiography was performed in 323/596 (54.2%) patients harboring 342 aneurysms with a mean follow-up time of 28.6 months. The patients were divided into 3 groups: group A, who remained stable after initial treatment; group B, who showed minor morphologic changes; and group C, who underwent repeat treatment. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were performed to determine possible risk factors for aneurysmal retreatment. RESULTS: Single or multiple retreatment was performed in 33 of 323 (10.2%) patients. Retreatment of small aneurysms (≤10 mm) with small necks (≤4 mm) was performed in 6 of 214 aneurysms. When summarizing all other aneurysms as a "risk group" (n = 128), the odds ratio (OR) for retreatment in the "risk group" was 3.11 (95% CI: 1.43–6.75; P = .004). In patients with residual aneurysm after the first treatment, OR for retreatment was 3.96 (95% CI: 1.48–10.65; P = .006), whereas a neck remnant, clinical presentation, and aneurysmal localization were not predictive. We observed no resulting morbidity and mortality from the 33 retreatment procedures. CONCLUSION: In our series, the retreatment of aneurysmal recurrences was a safe procedure. The best single predictors of aneurysmal recurrence were aneurysmal anatomy (neck width >4 mm and diameter >10 mm) and the presence of a residual aneurysm after initial treatment. A limitation in our study was the significant number of patients lost to follow-up (22.7%).


By sharing injecting equipment, blood borne infections are spread among Injecting Drug Users (IDU). One infection that affects many IDU is the Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), which can cause liver cirrhosis and liver carcinoma. The virus that causes AIDS, HIV, is also spread by this route. In this thesis, the simultaneous spread of HCV and HIV among IDU is addressed using mathematical modelling.

Policy aimed at reducing the damage that drug users cause to themselves and to society is denoted by Harm Reduction. This includes educating drug users and providing them with clean injection equipment or substitution therapy. Recently, much attention is given to the concept of treatment as prevention. HIV medication strongly lowers infectiousness of an individual, and HCV may be cured, also stopping any further transmission. We addressed the impact of such measures.
We used several quite different types of models, which were useful for studying different types of questions. We first developed a deterministic model of the spread of both HIV and HCV among IDU. This showed how the eventual HIV to HCV prevalence ratio is determined by the distribution of risk-behaviour within a population.

In order to evaluate the effects of Harm Reduction policy in Amsterdam, we created a highly detailed model, describing the spread of HIV and HCV among IDU in this town within the past fifty years. For this individual-based model, parameters were informed by the Amsterdam Cohort Studies among IDU. We could not show large policy effects; although syringe sharing may have been lowered substantially, much of the noted decline in viral spread could be explained by ageing of the population and the natural progression of the epidemics.

Next, we adapted this individual based model to analyse the impact that starting HIV-treatment in an earlier stage of infection could have. Such policy may strongly impact the number of HIV cases, if implemented within the first few years of an HIV outbreak. Treatment effects were overestimated when we assumed that all IDU share syringes equally often.

To study per individual benefits of intervention or treatment, we used probability calculation. This included the likelihood of preventing infection for the individual under intervention, as well as the expected number of prevented infections to other IDU. Targeting interventions by syringe sharing risk-behaviour of IDU could make policy much more effective, but who are best targeted may depend on the infection and circumstances under consideration. For example, who are best treated first for HCV was found to be determined by the HCV prevalence; only at higher prevalence are lowest-risk-behaviour IDU best treated.

Syringe sharing risk-behaviour is likely to be highly variable among IDU, and this heterogeneity will impact on the effects of policy aimed at lowering the spread of infections. To properly judge the impact of past policy this heterogeneity, as well as demographic changes over time, should not be ignored. Worryingly, ignoring risk heterogeneity in models may lead to overly optimistic expectations of future interventions. However, policies may also be improved by targeting IDU of certain risk-level.


During the COVID-19 pandemic, urban green spaces were considered less prone to contagion, and thus people adopted them as alternative sites for improving mental health. The One Health concept advocated by health organizations worldwide supports the idea that the well-being of urban residents is strongly linked with physical activity in green areas. As the world grapples with the physical and mental health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, it becomes clearer that access to urban green spaces is a human rights issue. This study compared previously-mapped urban green spaces in five metropolitan regions in Brazil with the results of an extensive survey of municipal managers concerning possible increase in demand of population for green spaces. Urban green spaces of over 625 m2 were mapped in 117 municipalities, the total area of 4170 km2 representing 37.4% of the urban spaces analyzed in the five  metropolitan regions. Out of these 117 municipalities, 49 had data available concerning demands of green spaces in the pandemic context. Overall, 20 municipalities (representing all five metropolitan regions) stated that there was an increase in visitation in urban green spaces, and 13 more indirectly suggested possible demands. When sustainability transitions are understood as geographical processes that happen in concrete places, urban green spaces then represent real locations where sustainable transitions can begin. The unequal distribution of these spaces also brings into consideration a social justice perspective, as well as aspects of public health that involve climate change resilience and epidemiological risk (SDG 11).


Intersystem mobility having no awkward transitions or indications of disparity, roaming across wireless access networks is one of the main features of Mobile WiMAX. In this paper, we propose a mobility prediction method based on fuzzy logic control and an algorithm similar to the fuzzy c- mean partitioning to predict the movement patterns and handover times by measuring mobile users' velocity and monitoring the received signal strength of the serving base stations and target base stations simultaneously. With the help of the prediction, reserving the required amount of resources for the upcoming handover event at the target base station can occur before handover initiation and execution. This would grant mobile users of high priority connections (e.g., UGS based VoIP connection) accessibility to the target base station with no connection termination at various loading situations. The viability and efficiency of the method is demonstrated through experiments conducted with system parameters and propagation model defined by WiMAX Forum. This is to show that the prediction of the future handover times based on predicted received signal strength trend is accurate to maintain the promised QoS level and to reduce the total handover delays caused by layer-3 handover initiation. This allows Layer-3 handover initiation to occur before Layer-2 initiation.


The 2012 virtual reality technical achievement award goes to Dieter Schmalstieg of Graz University of Technology, Austria, in recognition of his seminal contributions to Augmented Reality. Prof. Schmalstieg has been working on Augmented Reality, graphics and visualization problems for almost 20 years. The IEEE VGTC is pleased to award Dieter Schmalstieg the 2012 Virtual Reality Technical Achievement Award.