Microstrip antennas are one of the most widely used types of antennas in the microwave frequency range, and they are often used in the millimeter-wave frequency range. Actually as the demand for high data rates grows and microwave frequency bands become congested, the millimeter-wave spectrum is becoming increasingly attractive for emerging wireless applications. The abundance of bandwidth and large propagation losses at millimeter-wave frequencies makes these bands best-suited for short-range or localized systems that provide broad bandwidth. Automotive radar systems including cruise control, collision avoidance and radiolocation with operation up to 10 GHz have a large market potential in the near future of millimetre wave applications.


The objective of this review was to collect reports of keratitis in association with herpes zoster virus (HZV) or varicella zoster virus (VZV) vaccines. HZV vaccination is intended for at-risk adult populations and VZV vaccination is intended for all pediatric patients. We reviewed the literature and reports of keratitis in association with herpes zoster or varicella vaccine from the National Registry of Drug-Induced Ocular Side Effects and the World Health Organization. Twenty-four cases of unilateral keratitis in association with VZV vaccines were collected from the adverse reaction databases and literature. In most cases, the onset of keratitis occurred within days of vaccination and resolved with topical steroid eye drops and oral acyclovir. Data suggest that keratitis in association with herpes zoster or varicella vaccine is rare, is usually self-limited or resolves with treatment. The mechanism may be the persistence of viral antigens in the cornea after VZV vaccination or herpes zoster ophthalmicus. This reaction is probable, given the plausible biological mechanism, the temporal relationship between vaccination and keratitis, and overall patterns of presentation after vaccination.


SPSP is a problem of scheduling the task and employee. SPSP is a NP-hard (Non Polynomial) problem. SPSP is a problem which is related to RCPSP problem. For solving such problem number of model has been developed. Number of Meta heuristic algorithm is also applied to solve such problem (e.g. GA). This paper presents the survey of methods and models that are put into the historical context. SPSP split the task and distribute dedication of employee to task nodes. Author proposes an ACO Meta heuristics approach to solve the SPSP problem. Author use ACO for solving such problem hence he called it as an ACS: SPSP. Result of this paper is compared with GA to solve SPSP. The proposed algorithm is very efficient and promising and obtains more accuracy.


Since the beginning of research on human trafficking, there has been attention paid to the challenges surrounding the illicit economy. In creating new strategies and initiatives on combatting human trafficking, there needs to be more discussion surrounding the legitimate economy and how the business sector can make an impact in the fight against trafficking. Currently, there is a growing movement of businesses that are looking to address human trafficking through training, education, and leadership initiatives; codes of conduct; supply chain management; and financial analysis. This paper will examine the latest in these strategies and approaches by businesses in the global war against human trafficking, in addition to a discussion of a new initiative engaging the private sector co-led by Dr. Louise Shelley and Christina Bain through the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council Network.


It is well established that synthetic peptides containing a centrally positioned Type-I′ or Type-II′ β-turn can form well folded peptide hairpins. Earlier studies from this laboratory have established that D-Pro-Xxx segments nucleate β-hairpin structures, with formation of a central Type-II′ β-turn. The octapeptide (Boc-Leu-Phe-Val-Aib-D-AlaLeu-Phe- Val-OMe) is a rare example of a synthetic peptide hairpin, containing a central Type-I′ β-turn. Hairpins with Type-I′ turns are considerably more twisted than their Type-II′ counterparts. The Aib-Xxx segment has also been shown to adopt a Type-I β- turn structure, resulting in incorporation into the centre of a long synthetic, helical peptide.


This study implements a traditional supervised classification method to an optical image composed of agricultural crops by means of a unique way, selecting the training samples automatically. Panchromatic (1m) and multispectral (4m) Kompsat-2 images (July 2008) of Karacabey Plain (~100km 2 ), located in Marmara region, are used to evaluate the proposed approach. Due to the characteristic of rich, loamy soils combined with reasonable weather conditions, the Karacabey Plain is one of the most valuable agricultural regions of Turkey. Analyses start with applying an image fusion algorithm on the panchromatic and multispectral image. As a result of this process, 1m spatial resolution colour image is produced. In the next step, the four-band fused (1m) image and multispectral (4m) image are orthorectified. Next, the fused image (1m) is segmented using a popular segmentation method, Mean- Shift . The Mean-Shift is originally a method based on kernel density estimation and it shifts each pixel to the mode of clusters. In the segmentation procedure, three parameters must be defined: (i) spatial domain (h s ), (ii) range domain (h r ), and (iii) minimum region (MR) . In this study, in total, 176 parameter combinations ( h s , h r , and MR ) are tested on a small part of the area (~10km 2 ) to find an optimum segmentation result, and a final parameter combination (h s =18, h r =20, and MR=1000) is determined after evaluating multiple goodness measures. The final segmentation output is then utilized to the classification framework. The classification operation is applied on the four-band multispectral image (4m) to minimize the mixed pixel effect. Before the image classification, each segment is overlaid with the bands of the image fused, and several descriptive statistics of each segment are computed for each band. To select the potential homogeneous regions that are eligible for the selection of training samples, a user-defined threshold is applied. After finding those potential regions, the training pixels are automatically selected and labelled. Thereafter, those training pixels are utilized in a traditional Maximum Likelihood Classification to classify five crop types namely; corn, tomato/pepper, rice, sugar beet, and wheat. The accuracy of the classification is evaluated in pixel-based manner with the help of a reference map including crop information of the area. Promising results are achieved for pixel-based approach. Based on the error matrices used in the evaluation, overall accuracy of the pixel-based analysis is computed as 89.31%. Similar to the overall accuracies, high individual class accuracies are obtained as well. The results point out that automatically collecting the training samples by extracting representative homogenous areas significantly increases the speed of the classification and minimizes the human interaction. The results also confirm that the proposed approach is highly appropriate for the extraction of representative homogenous training areas.


The visual analysis of complex geo-spatial data is a challenging task. Typically, different views are used to communicate different aspects. With changing topics of interest, however, novel views are required. This leads to dynamically changing presentations of multiple views. This paper introduces a novel approach to support such scenarios. It allows for a spontaneous incorporation of views from different sources and to automatically layout these views in a multi-display environment. Furthermore, we introduce an enhanced undo/redo mechanism for this setting, which records user interactions and, in this way, enables swift reconfigurations of displayed views. Hence, users can fluently switch the focus of visual analysis without extensive manual interactions. We demonstrate our approach by the particular use case of discussing geo-spatial climate data.


ABSTRACT After infection with RML murine scrapie agent, transgenic (tg) mice expressing prion protein (PrP) without its glycophosphatidylinositol (GPI) membrane anchor (GPI−/− PrP tg mice) continue to make abundant amounts of the abnormally folded disease-associated PrPres but have a normal life span. In contrast, all age-, sex-, and genetically matched mice with a GPI-anchored PrP become moribund and die due to a chronic progressive neurodegenerative disease by 160 days after RML scrapie agent infection. We report here that infected GPI−/− PrP tg mice, although free from progressive neurodegenerative disease of the cerebellum and extrapyramidal and pyramidal systems, nevertheless suffer defects in learning and memory, long-term potentiation, and neuronal excitability. Such dysfunction increases over time and is associated with an increase in gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) inhibition but not loss of excitatory glutamate/N-methyl-d-aspartic acid. Enhanced deposition of abnormally folded infectious PrP (PrPsc or PrPres) in the central nervous system (CNS) localizes with GABAA receptors. This occurs with minimal evidence of CNS spongiosis or apoptosis of neurons. The use of monoclonal antibodies reveals an association of PrPres with GABAA receptors. Thus, the clinical defects of learning and memory loss in vivo in GPI−/− PrP tg mice infected with scrapie agent may likely involve the GABAergic pathway.


In this paper, we present an unobtrusive cuffless blood pressure (BP) monitoring system based on pulse arrival time (PAT) for facilitating long-term home BP monitoring. The proposed system consists of an electrocardiograph (ECG), a photoplethysmograph (PPG), and a control circuit with a Bluetooth module, all of which are mounted on a common armchair to measure ECG and PPG signals from users while sitting on the armchair in order to calculate continuous PAT. Considering the good linear correlation of systolic BP (SBP) and the nonlinear correlation of diastolic BP (DBP) with PAT, a new BP estimation method was proposed. Ten subjects underwent BP monitoring experiments involving stationary sitting on a chair, lying on a bed, and pedaling using an ergometer in order to assess the accuracy of the estimated BP. A cuff-type BP monitor was used as reference in the experiments. Results showed that the mean difference of the estimated SBP and DBP was within 0.2 ± 5.8 mmHg ($p$  < 0.00001) and 0.4 ± 5.7 mmHg ($p$  < 0.00001), respectively, and the mean absolute difference of the estimated SBP and DBP were 4.4 and 4.6 mmHg, respectively, compared to references. Additionally, five subjects participated in data collections consisting of sitting on a chair twice a day for one month. Compared to the reference, the difference did not obviously increase along with time, even though individualized calibration was executed only once at the beginning. These results suggest that the proposed system has quite the potential for long-term home BP monitoring.


This study aims to determine the effect of Location and Marketing Strategies on Purchasing Decisions on Pizza Boy Adam Malik Medan. The population in this study are all consumers who have made purchases at Pizza Boy Adam Malik Medan in 2019. Using the Slovin formula with an error rate of 10%, a total sample of 99 respondents was obtained. The results of the research analysis showed that Location and Marketing Strategies partially and simultaneously have a positive and significant effect on Purchasing Decisions at Pizza Boy Adam Malik Medan. The results of this study are supported by the value of R square (R2) which means that the Location and Marketing Strategy has an effect on the Purchasing Decision at Pizza Boy Adam Malik Medan. While the remaining is effected by other factors originating from outside this research model such as taste quality, service quality, price discounts, advertising, product variations, pricing, consumer behavior, consumer perceptions and product trust.


Large cryogenic pumps are installed in the vessel of large neutral beam injectors (NBIs) used to heat the plasma in nuclear fusion experiments. The operation of such pumps can be compromised by the presence of stray secondary electrons that are generated along the beam path. In this paper, we present a numerical model to analyze the propagation of the electrons inside the pump. The aim of the study is to quantify the power load on the active pump elements, via evaluation of the transmission probabilities across the domain of the pump. These are obtained starting from large datasets of particle trajectories, obtained by numerical means. The transmission probability of the electrons across the domain is calculated for the NBI of the ITER and for its prototype Megavolt ITer Injector and Concept Advancement (MITICA) and the results are discussed.


In [Berta 2014 Entanglement], uncertainty relations in the presence of quantum memory was formulated for mutually unbiased bases using conditional collision entropy. In this paper, we generalize their results to the mutually unbiased measurements. Our primary result is an equality between the amount of uncertainty for a set of measurements and the amount of entanglement of the measured state, both of which are quantified by the conditional collision entropy. Implications of this equality relation are discussed. We further show that similar equality relation can be obtained for generalized symmetric informationally complete measurements. We also derive an interesting equality for arbitrary orthogonal basis of the space of Hermitian, traceless operators.


This thesis braids ethnography with political analysis to explore the nature, scope and breadth of Doukhobor sectarianism in order to illuminate the nuances of difference within the Doukhobor community. A major focus of this study is the development and functioning of the Sons of Freedom (Freedomite) branch's terrorism and its effects on the Orthodox and Independent branches as well as majoritarian society, particularly in Saskatchewan and British Columbia. Another important area of discussion concerns the formulation and application of government policy to Freedomite violence and its effects. Finally, the thesis seeks to isolate the complex factors that brought the violence to an end by focusing on three significant historical events: the violent Freedomite attack on a Saskatchewan Independent leader's home in 1936; the BC government's New Denver forced schooling program (1953-1959); and finally, the trial of Orthodox Doukhobor leader John Verigin in 1979. Ultimately, this work offers ideas and approaches for understanding other sectarian conflicts defined by terrorism.


Background Pseudoephedrine is a sympathomimetic drug widely used as a nasal decongestant. However, it can cause adverse effects, such as voiding dysfunction. The risk of voiding dysfunction remains uncertain in patients without subjective voiding problems. Methodology We prospectively enrolled patients with nasal congestion who required treatment with pseudoephedrine from May to August 2015. All patients denied concomitant subjective voiding problem. The International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) questionnaire was used to evaluate voiding function before and 1 week after the pseudoephedrine treatment. The results of the IPSS questionnaire were analyzed as the total (IPSS-T), voiding (IPSS-V), storage (IPSS-S), and quality of life due to urinary symptom scores. Results We enrolled 131 males with a mean age of 42.0±14.3 years. The IPSS-T, IPSS-V, and IPSS-S scores slightly increased after the medication (IPSS-T increased from 6.49 to 6.77, IPSS-V from 3.33 to 3.53, and IPSS-S from 3.17 to 3.24). The quality of life due to urinary symptom score nonsignificantly decreased from 2.02 to 1.87. We observed that older age and a higher premedication IPSS-V score yielded significant differences (P<0.05) for subclinical voiding dysfunction and unchanged voiding function. In patients aged ≥50 years, the IPSS-T, IPSS-V, and IPSS-S scores significantly increased after the pseudoephedrine treatment (IPSS-T increased from 9.95 to 11.45, IPSS-V from 5.38 to 6.07, and IPSS-S 4.57 to 5.38), whereas the quality of life due to urinary symptom score nonsignificantly decreased from 2.71 to 2.48 (P=0.057). In patients aged <50 years, all scores did not significantly differ. Conclusion Pseudoephedrine treatment for nasal congestion requires extra precautions in males >50 years, even without subjective voiding symptoms.


A practical scheme for maintaining an index for a sliding window in optimal time and space, by use of a suffix tree, is presented. The index supports location of the longest matching substring in time proportional to the length of the match. The total time for build and update operations is proportional to the size of the input. The algorithm, which is simple and straightforward, is presented in detail. The most prominent lossless data compression scheme, when considering compression performance, is prediction by partial matching with unbounded context lengths (PPM). However, previously presented algorithms are hardly practical, considering their extensive use of computational resources. We show that our scheme can be applied to PPM-style compression, obtaining an algorithm that runs in linear time, and in space bounded by an arbitrarily chosen window size. Application to Ziv-Lempel (1977) compression methods is straightforward and the resulting algorithm runs in linear time.


Investigators have dedicated considerable effort to understanding the molecular basis underlying Fanconi Anemia (FA), a rare human genetic disease featuring an extremely high incidence of cancer and many congenital defects. Among those studies, FA group D2 protein (FANCD2) has emerged as the focal point of FA signaling and plays crucial roles in multiple aspects of cellular life, especially in the cellular responses to DNA damage. Here, we discuss the recent and relevant studies to provide an updated review on the roles of FANCD2 in the DNA damage response.


Being able to animate a human character in a way that does not require the expertise of a professional animator can be useful in many different applications: children would be able to animate stories, witnesses would be able to visually describe an accident to lawyers, football fans would be able to re-produce their favorite football plays. These applications and others like them have motivated this thesis: it focuses on the development of methods that given a sketch of the desired motion, can interactively create a physically realistic motion that matches that sketch.
This problem is very hard to solve in part because human-like characters are high-dimensional and therefore the space of their motions also appears to be high-dimensional. However, the high dimensionality of the problem is an artifact of the problem representation because most dynamic human motions are intrinsically low-dimensional with legs and arms operating in a coordinated way. For example, six to eight dimensions' are enough to represent a human jump that looks quite similar to the original high-dimensional version.
In this thesis, we experiment with two different approaches that use this observation to build a compact (reduced-space) representation of the motion based on available motion capture data. In the first part of the thesis we build a continuous low-dimensional representation of the desired motion. By confining the solution to a smaller search space, we are able to synthesize physically realistic motion for a human character that matches a rough sketch provided by the user.
In the second part of the thesis, we build a discrete reduced-space representation of the desired motion. This representation can be viewed as a combination of the motion graph and interpolation techniques. The final motion is an interpolation of k time-scaled paths through the motion graph. We assess its physical correctness using our analysis of the physical correctness of interpolated motions. The optimization in the discrete space supports interactive frame rates and allows for the synthesis of less dynamic motions and motions that are sequences of different behaviors. We also demonstrate how to search a motion graph of a reasonable size for an optimal (or nearly-optimal) solution.
For both, the continuous and discrete optimization approaches the synthesized motion is likely to contain natural coordination patterns because the solution is constrained to a much smaller search space computed based on motion capture data. This objective is difficult to describe mathematically and is often not achieved when optimizing in the full search space. In the last chapter of the thesis, we compare the two approaches and provide some intuition as to when one is more applicable than the another.


Coils and iron cores are the key components of a saturated iron core superconducting fault current limiter (SI-SFCL). They determine the entire performance of SI-SFCLs under both operation modes of fault current limiting and normal power transmission. Besides, they have great impact on scale, weight, and manufacture cost, which are essential factors in developing functional and cost-effective SI-SFCLs. We have intensively investigated the correlation between the design parameters of coils and iron cores and their influence on SI-SFCL characteristics. Theoretical analysis and experimental measurements have been carried out and parameters of nonlinear calculation from theoretical analysis are derived from the results of experiments. A 500-V SI-SFCL was developed and a selection of experiments were designed and completed to prove that an optimized design exists under certain current limiting and voltage drop conditions. Details of methods and results will be presented and discussed in this paper.


The article presents a method of calculating analytically the yield pattern and the spin distribution of the nuclei formed as end products after deexciting a set of nuclei by particle evaporation and gamma emission. Some results from comparisons with experimental spallation data are given.


A case is reported of a patient who experienced sudden onset of severe respiratory failure, shock and coma after first-time intranasal heroin abuse. During the following days full consciousness was restored, revealing persistent oculogyric crises, axial retropulsive dystonia and ataxia. Initially computer tomography (CT) scans of the brain were normal and cerebral spinal fluid examination showed a slight elevation of lactate. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of the brain demonstrated diffuse bilateral subcortical white matter hyperintensities, with sparing of the U-fibers, symmetric bilateral hyperintensities of the globus pallidum and very hyperintensive subcortical foci in the right hemisphere. Differential diagnostic assessment, treatment, clinical and MRI course of a 6-month follow-up are discussed.


Conditions are described for the direct simultaneous determination of zinc, cadmium and lead in process manganese sulphate electrolyte by differential-pulse anodic-stripping voltammetry. The suitability of the technique in this medium is influenced by the solution pH, scan rate and pulse height. Reliable determinations of the elements are accomplished in the concentrated electrolyte at pH 4.1 with a scan rate of 8 mV s–1 and a pulse height of 50 mV. Under these conditions, the limits of detection with a deposition time of 30 min are 0.05, 0.03 and 0.10 µg l–1 for the three elements, respectively. The precision of the method is also satisfactory with relative standard deviations of 0.8, 1.5 and 1.2% for zinc, cadmium and lead, respectively, with 10 samples at the 1 µg l–1 level. However, the high manganese sulphate background is inadequate for copper determination at concentrations less than 50 µg l–1.


A linear correlation between the depth and the length of the weld pool is found in laser beam welding experiments with varied laser beam power and constant welding speed. On the other hand, the weld pool length changes only slightly with increased welding speed and constant laser beam power. The existing analytical and numerical models fail to explain these dependences. The observed effects are essentially conditioned by the fluid flow in the weld pool caused by the thermocapillary effect, by the friction forces of the metal vapour passing through the capillary and by the convexity of weld pool and fusion zone caused by thermal expansion of the weld pool and the joined workpieces. In order to predict the weld pool length more accurately the model developed by Sudnik et al in 1996 is enlarged by the heat transport produced by the recirculating flow in radial sections of the weld pool. Verification of the model for 16MnCr5 steel with sheet thicknesses of 2 and 6 mm shows that it is suitable for predicting the weld pool geometry and for analysing the thermodynamics of the process. In order to gain a better understanding of the structure of heat transport in the weld pool, the different modes of transport are compared in respect of their contribution to the depth-to-length ratio of the weld pool. A calculation of the weld pool length for welding speeds of 1-8 m min-1 with a laser beam power of 2.5 kW shows that the relative contributions of the transport modes are as follows. Approximately 50-90% of the weld pool length (increasing with welding speed) results from conductive and translatory heat transport (with the fusion zone convexity contributing approximately 20-30%). The remaining 50-10% of the weld pool length (decreasing with welding speed) result from convective heat transport. The model predicts the shoulder in the weld pool trough. It also explains the change in the weld pool length by the effect of the gap width, by the transition from through welding to penetration welding and by improvements in beam quality.


The LHC experiments will perform sensitive tests of physics phenomena beyond the Standard Model (BSM). Investigation of decays of beauty hadrons represents an alternative approach in addition to direct BSM searches. The ATLAS efforts concentrate on those B decays that can be selected already at the first and second trigger levels. The most favorable trigger signature will be for B hadrons decaying to J/ψ→ μμ. Using this trigger ATLAS will be able to accommodate unprecedently high statistics in so called Golden LHC channel Bs → J/ψ allowing a measurement of the CP violation effect, where BSM models predicted values are significantly higher than SM. In the rare decays sector, these are purely di-muon decays, and families of semi-muonic exclusive channels. Already with 1 fb-1 the ATLAS sensitivity in the di-muon channels will be comparable to today worlds statistics. The strategy is to carry on the di-muon channel program up to nominal LHC luminosity. In particular the BsμμX signal with 4.3 σ significance can be measured combining low luminosity samples with those of one year of LHC operation at a luminosity of 1034 cm-2s-1. This precision allows excluding or confirming the SM unambiguously.


Abstract Infectious diseases impair Se metabolism, and low Se status is associated with mortality risk in adults with critical disease. The Se status of neonates is poorly characterised, and a potential impact of connatal infection is unknown. We hypothesised that an infection negatively affects the Se status of neonates. We conducted an observational case–control study at three intensive care units at the Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany. Plasma samples were collected from forty-four neonates. On the basis of clinical signs for bacterial infection and concentrations of IL-6 or C-reactive protein, neonates were classified into control (n 23) and infected (n 21) groups. Plasma Se and selenoprotein P (SePP) concentrations were determined by X-ray fluorescence and ELISA, respectively, at day of birth (day 1) and 48 h later (day 3). Se and SePP showed a positive correlation in both groups of neonates. Se concentrations indicative of Se deficit in adults (<20 µg/l) were observed in four infected neonates and one control subject, and three infected neonates had very low SePP concentrations (<0·5 mg/l). The univariate analysis revealed a significant difference in Se and SePP concentrations between the groups. Both parameters correlated inversely to IL-6 in neonates with severe inflammation (IL-6>500 ng/l). During antibiotic therapy, SePP increased significantly from day 1 (1·03 (sd 0·10) mg/l) to day 3 (1·34 (sd 0·10) mg/l), indicative of improved hepatic Se metabolism. We conclude that both Se and SePP are suitable biomarkers for assessing Se status in neonates and for identifying subjects at risk of deficiency.


Background The objective of this study was to investigate the degree of compliance among cardiac patients who attend the health facilities in Kuala Lumpur and Perak, Malaysia. The reasons for non-compliance and recommendations from healthcare professionals were also evaluated. Method A cross-sectional study of 400 patients and 100 healthcare professionals was carried out. This study utilizes variables on external factors and internal factors as the measurement tools. The questionnaire which consists of Morisky self-reported medication adherence questions was administered to patients and causes for noncompliance sought. Questionnaire for healthcare professionals was used to determine strategies that can improve compliance rate. Results The study revealed a 15.8% of high adherence rate, 54.3% of moderate adherence rate and 30% of poor adherence to cardiovascular disease medications. The chi-square tests showed the strong association between dependent and independent variables. The model chosen for testing the patient compliance through external and internal factors gives an R 2 value of 85.0% with an adjusted R 2 of 84.7%. The F value (317.187) was also significant (p=0.000) which means that the variables have better fit in the multivariate model. The major reasons determined for non-adherence were attitudes and beliefs, lifestyle, side effects and cost of medications. The study recommends that pharmacists and dispensing technicians should be adequately qualified to provide proper counselling to cardiac patients on their medicines and disease conditions. Conclusion The result of this study is of value to health care providers. Compliance to cardiovascular medications will avoid treatment failures encountered in therapy.


Commentators were struck by the ambition of the American Jobs Plan, the US$2.6 trillion infrastructure proposals put forward by President Biden during 2021. The article considers the reasons why, despite hyper-partisanship and entrenched institutional obstacles that were to doom many of the proposals, the Biden administration put forward plans on a scale that dwarfed those of earlier reforming presidents. It argues that a large part of the answer lies in the character of framing processes and shifting perceptions of China. A policy that cannot be framed in ways deemed to be credible cannot secure traction. The US turn against Beijing and the concept of 'strategic competition' provided the Biden administration and Democrats with the basis for constructing a frame that legitimized their hopes of modernizing and transforming the structural character of the American economy so as to fend off the economic and strategic challenge posed by China. Although much of the Plan did not come to legislative fruition, this was a frame that the Biden White House saw as a way of building a broad coalitional bloc that could advance a progressive economic agenda.


STUDY OBJECTIVES
To determine (1) whether short sleep has increased over 31 years; (2) whether trends in short sleep differed by employment status; (3) which sociodemographic factors predict short sleep; and (4) how short sleepers spend their time.

DESIGN
Time diaries from eight national studies conducted between 1975 and 2006.

PATIENTS OR PARTICIPANTS
U.S. adults > or = 18 years.

MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS
Short sleepers were defined as those reporting < 6 hours of sleep in their time diary. Unadjusted percentages of short sleepers ranged from 7.6% in 1975 to 9.3% in 2006. The 1998-99 study had the highest odds of short sleep. The odds ratio for the 31-year period predicting short sleep was 1.14 (95% CI: 0.92, 1.50, P = 0.22), adjusting for age, sex, education, employment, race, marital status, income, and day of week. When stratified by employment, there was a significant increase for full-time workers (P = 0.05), who represented over 50% of participants in all studies, and a significant decrease for students (P = 0.01), who represented < 5% of participants. The odds of short sleep were lower for women, those > or = 65 years, Asians, Hispanics, and married people. The odds were higher for full-time workers, those with some college education, and African Americans. Short sleepers in all employment categories spent more time on personal activities. Short sleepers who were full- and part-time workers spent much more time working.

CONCLUSIONS
Based on time diaries, the increase in the odds of short sleep over the past 31 years was significant among full-time workers only. Work hours are much longer for full-time workers sleeping < 6 hours.


Objective:To summarize the experiences of laparoscopy combined with fibercholangioscopy for the treatment of cholecystolithiasis and choledocholithiasis and evaluate the clinical curative effect of the method.Methods:The clinical data of 21 cases undergone laparoscopic choledochotomy and T-tube drainage were retrospectively analyzed.Results:Among 21 cases,4 patients were performed ERCP and EST preoperatively,and operations were succeeded in 20 cases.The operating time was 70-180min(average,120 min).One case was converted to laparotomy because gallbladder mucinous adenocarcinoma was diagnosed by frozen pathological section.T-tube was indwelled in choledochus in 18 cases.Patients could get out of bed and take food on the first day after operation.T-tube visualization and occlusion could be performed in the 12th day,and T-tube was pulled out in 30-40 days(average,34 days)after operation.Bile leakage was found in 2 cases,but no postoperative complications happened in the others,such as stenosis of the biliary tract,hematobilia and residual stone.Calculus of bile duct recurred in 1 case in 2 months after operation,and was removed by fibercholedochoscope through T-tube sinus tract.Conclusions:The laparoscopic choledochotomy has many advantages,such as minor damage,less suffering,rapid recovery and less dysfunction of visceral organs,and can achieve the same effects as laparotomy,and is a better minimally invasive treatment for cholecystolithiasis and complicated choledocholithiasis.


Being a direct result of the wave nature of elementary excitations, the full effect of weak localization is certainly not limited to electrons uniquely. In order to display the phenomenon, the key is in each case to find a time-reversal symmetry-breaking mechanism. A possible way to realize the full effect of weak localization in the case of phonons is here proposed.


The present study was designated to evaluate the antibacterial activities of stem bark and leaves extracts of Ficus mollis Vahl. Ficus mollis (Vahl) belonging to the family Moraceae. Which is a monoecious evergreen large size tree. Branchlets fulvous with small several tomentosa. It is also used as folk medicine. The decoction of leaves of Ficus mollis used for ear ache. The antimicrobial activities of the extracts against 9 laboratory strains belong bacterial species were tested by using disc diffusion assay. Ciprofloxacin used as a standard drug to compare the all extracts of Ficus mollis vahl. All aerial parts of Ficus mollis vahl shows antibacterial activity against the gram positive and gram negative microorganisms. While comparing the leaves and stem bark extracts for anti-bacterial activity, the leaves extract having the better activity. Methanol extract showed stronger and broader spectrum of antimicrobial activity as compared to other extracts.


We study the relationship between catastrophic forgetting and properties of task sequences. In particular, given a sequence of tasks, we would like to understand which properties of this sequence influence the error rates of continual learning algorithms trained on the sequence. To this end, we propose a new procedure that makes use of recent developments in task space modeling as well as correlation analysis to specify and analyze the properties we are interested in. As an application, we apply our procedure to study two properties of a task sequence: (1) total complexity and (2) sequential heterogeneity. We show that error rates are strongly and positively correlated to a task sequence's total complexity for some state-of-the-art algorithms. We also show that, surprisingly, the error rates have no or even negative correlations in some cases to sequential heterogeneity. Our findings suggest directions for improving continual learning benchmarks and methods.


To identify the influencing factors and develop a predictive model for the risk of abnormal liver function in the automotive manufacturing industry works in Chongqing. Automotive manufacturing workers in Chongqing city surveyed during 2019–2021 were used as the study subjects. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify the influencing factors of abnormal liver function. A restricted cubic spline model was used to further explore the influence of the length of service. Finally, a deep neural network-based model for predicting the risk of abnormal liver function among workers was developed. Of all 6087 study subjects, a total of 1018 (16.7%) cases were detected with abnormal liver function. Increased BMI, length of service, DBP, SBP, and being male were independent risk factors for abnormal liver function. The risk of abnormal liver function rises sharply with increasing length of service below 10 years. AUC values of the model were 0.764 (95% CI: 0.746–0.783) and 0.756 (95% CI: 0.727–0.786) in the training and test sets, respectively. The other four evaluation indices of the DNN model also achieved good values.


Purpose: The present paper analyzes the inclusive approach of the MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) and the Seven pillars that play a significant role in promoting Indian health care to achieve Sustainable Development goals. The MSMEs & SME focuses on designing and manufacturing a wide range of medical products or devices, innovative drugs, COVID-19 related products act as a catalyst to bring a social-economic transformation of rural and urban by delivering a new wave ecosystem and also by the new generation entrepreneurship. MSME contributes one-third to India's GDP and is the crater of opportunities, employment and contributes to women empowerment. Digital India promotes ICT-Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Blockchain technology, Make in India in manufacturing indigenization health care innovation to withstand global competition in healthcare products to meet requirements of the society and global demand through the Government Schemes and policies with Partnership and Collaboration Model with support of Unicorn startup to bring the private sector and NGO in providing affordable healthcare infrastructure facilities under National Health Policy, Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY, Budget and Niti Aayog has proved more funds and promoting the health care. The medical device industry contributes very significantly to the top 20 markets for medical devices. MSME contributes 6.11% of the manufacturing GDP, 24.63% of the GDP service activity, and 45% of overall export. The medical technology through Digital India is projected to reach US $50 billion by 2025 band ranked 10th in the Medical Tourism Index (MIT) for 2020-21. Out of 46 destinations, the healthcare market in India is expected to reach US $ 372billion by 2022 and India is among the top 12 destinations for biotechnology and 100% FDI allowed under the automatic route and the largest provider of generic drugs.
Design/methodology/approaches: The study is based on secondary data gathered from diverse sources such as articles published in Journals, government and other web site, newspapers, etc.
Findings and results: Indian economy will contribute to the GDP of the country. Public health is the major factor that we need to take care of then only there will be a possibility of progress in the country.
Originality/value: This study analyzes the seven pillars of healthcare that can be transferred to the healthcare industry and society. The seven pillars are "Economic Growth, Innovation, Digital Technology, Government Scheme and Budget, SME & Unicorn Entrepreneur, healthcare infrastructure and Partnerships and collaboration" are they provide strength to healthcare. The public health care infrastructure in both rural and urban areas is not up to the mark expect private health care. We suggest that more focus on providing primary healthcare with more staff for the large population and more tax rebates on health expenditure and health care schemes to be provided to all sections of the society.
Type of Paper: Research Analysis.


Abstract Astronomical light echoes, the time-dependent light scattered by dust in the vicinity of varying objects, have been recognized for over a century. Initially, their utility was thought to be confined to mapping out the three-dimensional distribution of interstellar dust. Recently, the discovery of spectroscopically useful light echoes around centuries-old supernovae in the Milky Way and the Large Magellanic Cloud has opened up new scientific opportunities to exploit light echoes. In this review, we describe the history of light echoes in the local Universe and cover the many new developments in both the observation of light echoes and the interpretation of the light scattered from them. Among other benefits, we highlight our new ability to classify outbursting objects spectroscopically, view them from multiple perspectives, obtain a spectroscopic time series of the outburst, and establish accurate distances to the source event. We also describe the broader range of variable objects with properties that may be better understood from light-echo observations. Finally, we discuss the prospects of new light-echo techniques not yet realized in practice.


Low mass, low friction and low compression height pistons are vital in order to sustain the drive to obtain utmost fuel economy and design refinement in reciprocating piston engines. Much has already been done and a further step forward in the attainment of the objectives is the introduction of a fully durable two ring piston. Developments at Hepworth and Grandage have led to a successful design which meets the present requirements of engine manufacturers in terms of performance and durability and has the potential to reduce weight and compresion height and probably to reduce friction. The compression ring of the two ring piston system can be used with advantage as the top compression ring of an orthodox three ring piston.


A synthetic method to obtain an arsole-containing π-conjugated polymer by the post-transformation of the organotitanium polymer titanacyclopentadiene-2,5-diyl unit with an arsenic-containing building block is described. The UV/Vis absorption maximum and onset of the polymer were observed at 517 nm and 612 nm, respectively. The polymer exhibits orange photoluminescence with an emission maximum (Emax ) of 600 nm and the quantum yield (Φ) of 0.05. The polymer proved to exhibit a quasi-reversible redox behavior in its cyclic voltammetric (CV) analysis. The energy levels of the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) were estimated to be -5.43 and -3.24 eV, respectively, from the onsets for oxidation and reduction signals in the CV analysis. Further chemical modification of the arsole unit in the π-conjugated polymer by complexation of gold(I) chloride occurred smoothly resulting in the bathochromic shift of the UV/Vis absorption and lowering of the LUMO energy level.


The results of seismic refraction profiles on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia and on the continental shelf off Nova Scotia are presented. Compressional and shear waves have been observed in the crust and mantle and suggest that the thickness of the crust is about 34 km. The compressional wave velocities recorded in the main crust and upper mantle are 6.10 and 8.11 km s−1 respectively. No compressional waves with values of velocity between these values can be identified, and this suggests that any "intermediate" layer is thin or absent. The corresponding shear wave velocities are 3.68 and 4.53 km s−1. Values of Poisson's ratio in the crust and mantle are 0.22 and 0.28. Alternative models of the crust which, on the evidence of travel times, might fit the observed results are discussed.


OBJECTIVES
The structural domains of Ro52, termed the RING, B-box, coiled coil (CC) and B30.2/SPRY are targets of anti-Ro52 in multiple autoimmune disorders. In Sjögren's syndrome patients, the presence of anti-Ro52 is associated with higher disease severity, and in mice, they induce salivary gland hypofunction. This study was undertaken to investigate whether immune responses against different domains of Ro52, influences salivary gland disease in mice.

METHODS
Female NZM2758 mice were immunised with Ro52 domains expressed as recombinant fusion proteins with maltose binding protein (MBP) [MBP-RING-B-box, MBP-CC, MBP-CC(ΔC19), MBP-B30.2/SPRY]. Sera from immunised mice were studied for IgG antibodies to Ro52 by immunoprecipitation, and to salivary gland cells by immunofluorescence. Pilocarpine-induced saliva production was measured to evaluate salivary gland function. Submandibular glands were investigated by histopathology for inflammation and by immune-histochemistry for IgG deposition.

RESULTS
Mice immunised with different Ro52-domains had comparable reactivity to Ro52 and to salivary gland cells. However, only mice immunised with the CC domain and its C-terminal truncated version CC(ΔC19) showed a significant drop in saliva production. None of the mice developed severe salivary gland inflammation. The salivary gland hypofunction significantly correlated with increased intra-lobar IgG deposits in the submandibular salivary glands.

CONCLUSIONS
Our data demonstrate that epitope specificity of anti-Ro52 antibodies plays a critical role in the induction of glandular dysfunction. Clearly, screening Sjögren's syndrome patients for relative levels of Ro52 domain specific antibodies will be more informative for associating anti-Ro52 with clinical measures of the disorder.


Hyperlipidemia is commonly found in normal population associated
With pathologies such as hypertension and atherosclerosis. In pregnant women
However, hyperlipidemia has serious implications. The increased nutritional
Requirement of the fetoplacental unit and the endocrine profile during
Pregnancy could explain the biochemical changes in lipid metabolism of
Pregnancy.
The major lipids of human body are phospholipids, cholesterol,
Triglycerides and cholesteryl esters. These insoluble lipids are transported
Through blood as lipoproteins consisting of lipids and one or more specific
Proteins called apolipoproteins. In pregnancy, increase in female sex hormones,
And lipolysis due to placental lactogen, cause an increase in lipid synthesis and
Metabolism resulting in increased cholesterol, triglycerides and phospholipid
Concentrations.
Ideally, sufficient maternal nutrients provided across uteroplacental
Circulation function efficiently to meet the demands of the growing fetus. If
Balanced interaction between mother and fetus is disturbed it leads to
Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR) which is associated with higher
Perinatal mortality and morbidity. Growth restricted fetuses are those born with
Birth weight 2500g or less.
More studies on biochemical changes in pregnancy are necessary to
Characterise the excessive gestational lipolytic responses. This would enable us
To determine if the changes in lipoprotein profile during pregnancy imply a
Greater atherogenic risk with possible repercussions on fetal growth and
Development. Haemorrheological modifications in growth restricted
Pregnancies are partly secondary to changes in high density lipoprotein
Metabolism. Changes in apolipoprotein A-1 could be a good marker for the
Early detection of intrauterine growth restricted pregnancies.
In this study, the lipid fractions and apolipoprotein A-1 in normal
Pregnancies and pregnancies with intrauterine growth restriction were
Determined and compared.


The piezoelectric coefficient of poly-(acrylonitrile-co-butadiene-co-styrene) (ABS) terpolymer films has been measured as a function of various poling and stretching conditions. has been measured in ABS films for a poling field of about , poling temperature C and stretching ratio 4. The stored polarization in piezo ABS films has been estimated using thermally stimulated depolarization current (TSC) experiments. The contributions of the dimensional effect and the polarization to the piezoelectricity in the ABS films have been determined. Cooperative dipolar behaviour is believed to be involved in the stored polarization.


The vast majority of recommender systems model preferences as static or slowly changing due to observable user experience. However, spontaneous changes in user preferences are ubiquitous in many domains like media consumption and key factors that drive changes in preferences are not directly observable. These latent sources of preference change pose new challenges. When systems do not track and adapt to users' tastes, users lose confidence and trust, increasing the risk of user churn. We meet these challenges by developing a model of novelty preferences that learns and tracks latent user tastes. We combine three innovations: a new measure of item similarity based on patterns of consumption co-occurrence; model for spontaneous changes in preferences; and a learning agent that tracks each user's dynamic preferences and learns individualized policies for variety. The resulting framework adaptively provides users with novelty tailored to their preferences for change per se.


This article analyzes youth collective activism in relation to crime and violence in the context of long-term dominance of "moral panics" discourse, where young people are often framed as a "threat" and "problem." While many prior studies focus on media presentation of youth in single countries, we investigate how youth actors themselves make political claims related to crime and violence, and take a comparative perspective on this question. Based on a unique data on youth-related political claims from the newspapers of nine European countries—France, Greece, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, we demonstrate that youth are rarely present in the public discussions about crime and violence, especially in the countries where youth actors face restricted discursive opportunities in the print media. The dominant "adult view" in claims about crime and violence often connect youth to diverse social problems and attribute blame to youth more often than to adults; the claims made by youth do not make such a difference in blame attribution.


OBJECTIVE
To observe the microstructure and cellular populations of normal human limbal and central corneas using laser confocal microscope.

METHODS
The study was consisted of 28 eyes of 15 examiners (age distribution, 16-61 years). After examinations with slit lamp biomicroscopy and ophthalmoscope, the images of superior, inferior limbus and central cornea were acquired by laser confocal microscope. Corneal microstructure and cell morphology were analyzed, and cell densities were measured.

RESULTS
Lateral (x, y axis) and axial (z axis) images of limbal and central cornea were clear and vivid. Limbal palisades of Vogt were visible at the superior and inferior limbus. The red blood cells in the vessel of limbus were visible. The arrangement of surface epitheliums was rather loose, with bright borders and dark cell bodies. The surface epithelial cell density was (812 +/- 297) cells/mm(2) at the superior limbus and (785 +/- 263) cells/mm(2) at the inferior limbus. There was no statistical difference between the two group (P > 0.05). The bright and dendriform Langerhans cells were readily visible just under the epithelial cells. The Langerhans cell density was (288 +/- 102) cells/mm(2) at the superior limbus and (254 +/- 127) cells/mm(2) at the inferior limbus. There was no statistical difference between the two group (P > 0.05). At central cornea, the surface epithelial cells were loose, the borders of the cell were clear and bright, and the cell bodies were dark. The cell density was (1098 +/- 315) cells/mm(2), there were more cells in central cornea than other area of superior and inferior limbus (P < 0.05). The arrangement of basal epithelial cells was tight. Nerve plexus at subepithelium and anterior stroma were prominent with strong brightness. Langerhans cells were occasionally visible, and cell density cannot be measured. Subepithelial nerve fibers were thin with high tortuosity and a lot of branches, and deeper ones were thick with low tortuosity and few branch. In the stroma, separated keratocytes were visible under dark background, the boundaries were vague, the nucleis were bright and spindly. Hexagonal endothelial cells were arranged in order with light cell bodies and dark borders. The thickness of whole cornea, stroma or epithelium was (543.0 +/- 62.9), (462.0 +/- 69.5), (59.9 +/- 11.2) microm respectively.

CONCLUSIONS
Laser confocal microscopy provides non-invasive, real-time, in vivo images of limbal and central corneas characterized with refined image definition, exact depth localization. It is valuable for basic research and clinical diagnosis of corneal disease.


Does the experience of cultural consumption have its own sui generis attraction and value in itself, or is it an index of external social ranking? Four criteria are proposed that are observable in microsociological detail: (1) bodily self-absorption in the cultural experience, creating an intense internal interaction ritual; (2) collective effervescence among the audience; (3) Goffmanian front-stage self-presentation in settings of cultural consumption; and (4) verbal discourse during and around the cultural experience. Data from highly committed opera fanatics in Buenos Aires are used to document the extreme pole of cultural consumption that rejects external social hierarchies in favor of pure musical experience. This individualized and internal style of music consumption resembles religious mysticism, and what Weber in his typology of orientations to religious experience called virtuoso religiosity, as distinct from typical social class orientations to religion and to music.


BACKGROUND: Population growth is still a global concern. In spite of the decrease in population growth and conception rate, Iran and the world population will grow in coming years. Participation of men in contraception interventions to control population growth is of great importance. METHODS: This is a quasi-experimental study, in which the authors provided group training of contraceptive methods to 53 women, and then evaluated the effect of training on the dependent variable of husbands' participation in family planning. The data was gathered using a questionnaire and a checklist, and then was analyzed using SPSS software, by paired t-test. RESULTS: The results indicated that the mean score of knowledge level of the case group members and their husbands changed significantly after the training program (p < 0.001). Also, it was found that 51% of the participants and their husbands used contraceptive methods after the training program. CONCLUSIONS: Considering the results, providing group training for couples to increase the participation rate of men in family planning programs is recommended.


This article examines the role of employee focus of attention- and the target of this focus-on employee reactions to organizational change efforts. The authors conducted an empirical study of 476 clerical workers in three regional offices of a large insurance company. Subjects were assigned either to an experimental group-which underwent job changes-or a control group, and completed a survey before and after the change effort The authors had hypothesized that employees focusing highly on their jobs would react relatively favorably to the job changes, that those focusing highly on their work units would react relatively little; and that those focusing little on off-the-job factors would reactstrongly. The results provided only mixed support for the first two hypotheses and did not support the third, but indicated that focus of attention indeed moderates the effectiveness of job change interventions for both "soft" dependent variables (e g., satisfaction) and "hard" ones (eg., performance). The authors conclude that organizational change efforts may have strong effects when employees focus on targets of change.


PURPOSE
We describe a multi-step method of coding the strength of 18 alcohol policies included in the Alcohol Policy Information System for each of the 50 states.

METHOD
After thoroughly reviewing each policy area, we chose components that were most important in categorizing the strength or restrictiveness of the policy using the following criteria: overall reach, enforceability, and implementation. We determined a unique coding scheme for each policy area.

RESULTS
The total number of categories per policy area ranged from two to six, with categories numbered in an ordered sequence from least to most restrictive. We provide three examples of our coding schemes: Keg Registration, Underage Possession, and Sunday Sales. We also rank the states on their alcohol policy sum score.

DISCUSSION
This study demonstrates how alcohol policies can be measured quantitatively, an important step for assessing the effects of alcohol policies on various outcomes.


Abstract The critical need to create economic prosperity and ensure inclusive and equitable education and lifelong learning for all, especially in developing countries has been the motivation behind the various advocacies by the policymakers and other stakeholders in these countries to achieve the SDGs comes 2030. Meanwhile, ECOWAS sub region is characterized with the lowest human capital development alongside the highest rates of illiteracy in the world despite the continuous rise in government educational spending over the years. Against this backdrop, the role of government educational spending on human capital development in ECOWAS sub-region has been investigated with a view to driving one of the strategic goals of Sustainable Development- inclusive and equitable education and lifelong learning for all. In order to achieve this, annual data from 1990 to 2019 was utilized using a panel ARDL as a technique of estimation. The findings that emerged in this work are summarized as follows; the relationship between government educational spending and human capital development in ECOWAS sub region is more of a long run phenomenon. Therefore, government educational spending and human capital development have a positive and significant relationship in the long run. In the light of the above findings, this study therefore makes the following recommendations for the policymakers in ECOWAS sub region and by extension developing countries, any time the goal of these policymakers is inclusive and equitable lifelong learning via human capital development, the government at levels should embark on sustainable educational spending. In the same vein, these policymakers should be committed to funding of educational sector as stipulated by both the United Nations and the Abuja declaration of 2001, advocating for 26% of annual budget for educational sector in developing countries.


Microsatellite genotypes can have problems that are difficult to detect with existing tools. One such problem is null alleles. This paper presents a new visualization tool that helps to find and characterize these errors. The paper explains how the tool is used to analyze groups of genotypes and proposes other possible uses.


ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to understand the school and life experiences of refugee young women and to explore the ways in which they individually and collectively cultivated their resilience. It identified the challenges and resources they encountered when negotiating different home and school cultures and the impact on their resilience. It used mixed-methods that incorporated visual approaches to elicit culturally relevant accounts of their home and school lives. The findings suggest that the resilience of these young girls involved a particular set of resources and challenges which oppose the often normative and value laden perspectives that arise from Western constructions of resilience. The recommendations propose the need to reinforce culturally appropriate ways of fostering the capacities of the individual, family and school to enhance the resilience of refugee young women.


The nature of provider-patient relationship (PPR) goes far beyond the simplified paradigm of "chief complaints," "clinical problems" and corresponding "therapeutic solutions." In order to more comprehensively explore the scope of PPR in the context of leadership-based partnership (LBP), various factors and their contributions were researched in terms of both the success and optimization of health-care interactions. This is especially relevant to graduate medical education (GME) and advanced practice (AP) training programs. There are numerous nuances to PPR, including various communication, behavioral, ethical and leadership considerations. Body language and tone of voice are essential in establishing rapport, beginning with the so-called 'first impression,' which serves as a foundation for developing the PPR. Health-care providers (HCPs) with greater ability to empathize with their patients may achieve higher levels of treatment adherence, better clinical outcomes, and ultimately increased patient satisfaction. The inclusion of a patient as a co-leader and an essential member of their health-care team (HCT) should be a natural step and a top priority for GME and AP trainees. Such collaboration requires an open-minded approach by all stakeholders. Finally, recognizing patient well-being in all domains, including physical, emotional and spiritual, is critical to the holistic approach toward maximizing the benefits of an optimal PPR. Same can be said about the HCP. In this chapter, we will explore key aspects of PPR in the context of both the trainee and the patient being co-leaders within the bounds of the LBP framework.


Abstract A critical discussion is presented of the development of planar orientations in various polymer processing operations. These include tubular blown film and subsequently drawn and multiply stretched blown films. The response of polyethylene, various nylons, poly(ethylene terephthalate), cellulose and poly(p-phenylene terephthalamide) are discussed.


In order to improve the efficiency of optical components for microlithography, metrology for comprehensive characterization of DUV and VUV radiation and the related optics has been developed at Laser-Laboratorium Gottingen. The performance of optical components is assessed by measuring absorptance, scatter losses and damage thresholds during ArF and F2 laser irradiation. Absolute linear and non-linear absorption coefficients are determined by high-resolution laser calorimetry, which provides greatly enhanced accuracy as compared to transmissive measurements. This technique accomplishes also fast monitoring of laser induced degradation phenomena. The absorptance data are compared with the results of accompanying high-resolution laser-induced fluorescence measurements. For an assessment of the optical quality of DUV/VUV optics, a specially designed wavefront analyzer based on the Hartmann-Shack principle is employed. This device, which also allows accurate beam characterization of ArF and F2 laser in the near- and far-field, can be used as an alternative to interferometric measurements for "at wavelength" testing of optics, e.g. for on-line monitoring of compaction or lens heating in fused silica.


Due to the high efficiency and compact mechanical structure, direct drive variable speed generators are used for power conversion in wind turbines. The wind energy conversion system (WECS) considered in this paper consists of a permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG), uncontrolled rectifier, dc-dc boost converter controlled with maximum power point tracking (MPPT) and adaptive hysteresis controlled voltage source inverter (VSI). For high utilization of the converter's power capability and stabilizing voltage and power flow, constant DC-link voltage is essential. Step and search MPPT algorithm which senses the rectified voltage (VDC) alone and controls the same is used to effectively maximize the output power. The adaptive hysteresis band current control is characterized by fast dynamic response and constant switching frequency. With MPPT and adaptive hysteresis band current control in VSI, the DC link voltage is maintained constant under variable wind speeds and transient grid currents respectively.


In recent years there has been growing interest in masking that cannot be attributed to interactions in the cochlea-so--called informational masking (IM). Similarity in the acoustic properties of target and masker and uncertainty regarding the masker are the two major factors identified with IM. These factors involve quite different manipulations of signals and are believed to entail fundamentally different processes resulting in IM. Here, however, evidence is presented that these factors affect IM through their mutual influence on a single factor-the information divergence of target and masker given by Simpson-Fitter's da [Lutfi et al. (2012). J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 132, EL109-113]. Four experiments are described involving multitone pattern discrimination, multi-talker word recognition, sound-source identification, and sound localization. In each case standard manipulations of masker uncertainty and target-masker similarity (including the covariation of target-masker frequencies) are found to have the same effect on performance provided they produce the same change in da. The function relating d(') performance to da, moreover, appears to be linear with constant slope across listeners. The overriding dependence of IM on da is taken to reflect a general principle of perception that exploits differences in the statistical structure of signals to separate figure from ground.


: The authors present a case of phlegmonous gastritis in a 65 year old patient. The diagnosis was made in the operating room and the treatment was conservative; no gastric resection was done. This clinical entity is interesting because it is a least frequent pathology, the pathogenic bacteria which was the cause (Pseudomona aeruginosa) has at this time not been reported in the literature, including the favorable outcome of the patient without gastric resection.


Objective/aim: To reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with acute appendicitis, our study aims to identify the factors that contribute to diagnostic delays. Method: This study is a cross-sectional analysis of data collected at a tertiary care facility in Ayyub Teaching Hospital Abbottabad and Timergara Teaching Hospital Dir Lowerover the course of a year January 2022 to June 2022. All patients over the age of 16 who presented to the emergency room with acute appendicitis two or more days after the initial attack and who gave informed consent constituted the study population. All patients under the age of 16 who presented to the emergency room with signs and symptoms of acute appendicitis earlier than two days after the initial attack were excluded from the study. Patients' details were recorded in a standard proforma. Patients' ages, sexes, addresses, delays, doctors' diagnoses, and other relevant details were recorded. SPSS version 23 was used to analyse the data. Results: There were 155 patients in the study, with a mean age of 35±12 years; 95 (65.34%) were male and 60 (40.67%) were female. Forty-seven (32.0%) patients were incorrectly diagnosed by ER doctors and sent home as outpatients; fifty (33.33%) were treated by non-medical professionals such as chiropractic physicians, nurses, patients who self-medicated, spiritual healers, hakeems, and homoeopaths and thirty-two (21.33%) did not seek any medical attention at all during the initial attack of appendicitis. Lack of patient or family financial means was the leading cause of delay (45.34 percent of all cases). Conclusion: Early diagnosis and surgical intervention are critical for the effective care of acute appendicitis, which dramatically reduces complications, morbidity, and death of these patients. An immediate public education effort is required to encourage people to get the care they need at the right time and avoid difficulties. Keywords: Appendicitis, delayed appendicitis, appendicectomy, acute abdomen.


The investigation described in this paper was undertaken in order to test theories of light-scattering by quantitative observations on carbon dioxide, under pressures ranging from 1 to 100 atmospheres, and temperatures from 0° C. to 50° C. The work includes a study of the following cases :—(1) the scattering of light by the unsaturated vapour ; (2) by the saturated vapour in thermal equilibrium with the liquid ; (3) by the liquid under the pressure of its own vapour ; (4) by the liquid under impressed pressure higher than the vapour tension ; (5) by the substance in the vicinity of the critical state ; and (6) by the substance in the gaseous state above the critical temperature. Carbon-dioxide was chosen as a suitable substance for a comprehensive study of this kind for several reasons. The fact that it can be obtained commercially in cylinders in a practically pure condition greatly simplifies the experimental technique, and any pressure within the limits mentioned can be obtained without the use of special compressors. Then, again, the necessary pressure-volume data for the vapour and the gas are available from the work of Amagat and for the liquid from that of Jenkin,f and the variation of its refractive index with density has also been fully studied by various investigators, notably by Phillips. The existence of these data makes a theoretical calculation of the light-scattering possible. Further, carbon dioxide at atmospheric pressure shows a marked imperfection in the polarisation of the transversely scattered light, the ratio of the weak to the strong component of polarisation in the visual region of the spectrum being 10.6 per cent. Hence, it is a very convenient substance for studying the effect of variations of temperature and pressure on the state of polarisation of the scattered light.


Matthew and Mark both conclude their Gospel accounts of the first Mass, the last supper, the same way: "while singing a hymn they went out to the Mount of Olives." Since the beginning of the Christian tradition the Mass has been accompanied by religious song. The structure of the Roman Mass grew, changed, and took its present form over the course of many years from the Ordo romanus I of ad 700 to the modern rite. The movements of the Mass Ordinary were all present in the Roman Mass as early as the 8 th century, while the sections of the Mass Proper took longer to develop. Though early settings of the Ordinary were sung to modal chants, the introduction of organum and polyphony in the 14 th century gave rise to inventions in compositions that continue to influence music history. Numerous composers have composed Mass settings for liturgical use. Through their work, these composers shaped compositional techniques and paved the way for additional settings of the Mass. Many other composers' works have outgrown their liturgical use. Composers have used every form from a cappella missa brevis', large-scale cori spezatti compositions, to orchestral works rarely intended for liturgical use. Following the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) the liturgy could be spoken and set musically in the vernacular creating a new collection of compositions in a variety of languages. Movements from five compositions are the subject of this paper. Each piece was selected to for its compositional techniques from its respective time period and region of the world. The composers represent England, Brazil, Germany, France, and the United States.


Geographical information systems for PCs and mobile devices are rapidly gaining popularity. This paper presents a new server-based GIS architecture which is unique in that it is a totally WAP browser based application with user interface in HTML or WML and J2ME and relying entirely on Internet in mobile devices via wireless LANs or GPRS for accessibility. Wireless Internet-based distributed GIS (WIEOS) is a distributed two tier location information system This distributed GIS architecture is based on a system of Java Servlets deployed in a system with fixed global IP address that regulates the flow of information to clients requesting service from it. The data can be textual or in the form of a map showing the relevant location information A J2ME application, running at the client's handset, is capable of tracking GPS signals, downloading maps and indicating the user's exact position on the downloaded map, thus tracing out his movements. Also, it is possible to simulate a particular client's movements using a JAVA Swing application deployed in the server.


The spatial distribution of an air-gun array and the ghost reflection from the air-water interface cause a directional pattern of the source signature and introduce notches at certain frequencies. This significantly limits the bandwidth of the seismic data and the ability to obtain high-resolution subsurface imaging. With mathematical derivation and numerical simulation, we have determined that the inline directivity relies on the number of air guns and their spacing. Furthermore, the effective width of the take-off angles for an air-gun array is highly correlated with the reciprocal of the distance variance along the inline direction, which is subsequently used for optimizing the source design. For a normal horizontal source, one could adjust the distance between two consecutive air guns to improve the source signature. We optimize the spatial distribution for air guns along the inline and depth directions, that is, by using the synchronized multidepth stimulation mode, to minimize the inline directivity. Simulated results show that a six-gun composed multidepth source could be designed to achieve nearly identical energy distribution with up to ±30° take-off angle for the high-frequency end up to 250 Hz. This represents a significant improvement compared to a normal horizontal source and is more suitable for high-resolution seismic acquisition.


Chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) is a group of primary immunodeficiencies caused by mutations in genes encoding phagocyte nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase subunits (gp91phox, p22phox, p47phox, p67phox, and p40phox). CGD phagocytes do not produce reactive oxygen species, kill microbes poorly and consequently patients are susceptible to recurrent life-threatening bacterial and fungal infections. Aspergillus spp. infections, which cause pneumonia and disseminated disease, are the leading cause of death in CGD patients. Up to now it was unclear how neutrophils control Aspergillus species in healthy individuals. We showed for the first time that the microbicidal pathway through neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) is efficient against A. nidulans conidia and hyphae in vitro, and that restoration of NET formation was achieved by complementation of NADPH oxidase function by gene therapy in a patient with X-linked CGD. This aided clearing severe invasive A. nidulans infection in vivo. We demonstrated the critical role of NET-associate calprotectin for dose-dependent fungistatic of fungicidal anti-Aspergillus activity by Zn2+ sequestration.


The quality score of a biometric sample is expected to predict the sample's utility, but a universally valid definition of utility is missing. A harmonized definition of utility would be useful to facilitate the comparison of biometric sample quality assessment algorithms. This paper generalizes the utility of a biometric sample as normalized difference between the means of non-mated and mated comparison scores with respect to this sample. Using a face image data set, we show that discarding samples with low utility scores determined in this way results in a rapidly declining false non-match rate. The obtained utility scores can be used as ground-truth utility labels for training biometric sample quality assessment algorithms and for summarizing their prediction performance in a single plot and in a single Figure of merit based on the proposed utility score definition.


Abstract. Boreal forests in permafrost regions make up around one-third of the global forest cover and are an essential component of regional and global climate patterns. Further, climatic change can trigger extensive ecosystem shifts such as the partial disappearance of near surface permafrost or changes to the vegetation structure and composition. Therefore, our aim is to understand how the interactions between the vegetation, permafrost, and the atmosphere stabilize the forests and the underlying permafrost. Existing model set-ups are often static or are not able to capture important processes such as the vertical structure or the leaf physiological properties. There is a need for a physically based model with a robust radiative transfer scheme through the canopy. A one-dimensional land surface model (CryoGrid) is adapted for the application in vegetated areas by coupling a multilayer canopy model (CLM-ml v0) and is used to reproduce the energy transfer and thermal regime at a study site (N 63.18946, E 118.19596) in mixed boreal forest in Eastern Siberia. We have in-situ soil temperature and radiation measurements, to evaluate the model and demonstrate the capabilities of a coupled multilayer forest-permafrost model to investigate the vertical exchange of radiation, heat, and water. We find that the forests exert a strong control on the thermal state of permafrost through changing the radiation balance and snow cover phenology. The forest cover alters the surface energy balance by inhibiting over 90 % of the solar radiation and suppressing turbulent heat fluxes. Additionally, our simulations reveal a surplus in longwave radiation trapped below the canopy, similar to a greenhouse, which leads to a comparable magnitude in storage heat flux to that simulated at the grassland site. Further, the end of season snow cover is three times greater at the forest site and the onset of the snow melting processes are delayed.


This paper introduces a new approach to non-local means image denoising. Instead of using all pixels located in the search window for estimating the value of a pixel, we identify the highly corrupted pixels and assign less weight to these pixels. This method is called robust non-local means. Numerical and subjective evaluations using ultrasound images show good performances of the proposed denoising method in recovering the shape of edges and important detailed components, in comparison to traditional ultrasound image denoising methods


By the 1870s photography in Japan came to be called shashin, a term introduced from China and used in Japan since the eighteenth century. This article approaches the history of photography through the conceptual framework that surrounded shashin in the decades before its pairing with photography. What did shashin indicate in the context of the prephotographic production of images? What kinds of meanings were attached to the term that would later resonate with photographic technology? This article considers the study of materia medica in nineteenth-century Japan to explore these questions. It examines various pictorial representations characterized as shashin in nineteenth-century Owari domain to suggest that the term shashin was deployed to articulate, negotiate, and concretize a particular relationship between plants and their illustrations. Shifting focus from the technological history to the conceptual history of photography, this article aims to demonstrate the interrelatedness of methods of picture making and historically situated epistemologies through the concept of shashin.


Two different models for analyzing extreme hydrologic events, based on, respectively, partial duration series (PDS) and annual maximum series (AMS), are compared. The PDS model assumes a generalized Pareto distribution for modeling threshold exceedances corresponding to a generalized extreme value distribution for annual maxima. The performance of the two models in terms of the uncertainty of the T‐year event estimator is evaluated in the cases of estimation with, respectively, the maximum likelihood (ML) method, the method of moments (MOM), and the method of probability weighted moments (PWM). In the case of ML estimation, the PDS model provides the most efficient T‐year event estimator. In the cases of MOM and PWM estimation, the PDS model is generally preferable for negative shape parameters, whereas the AMS model yields the most efficient estimator for positive shape parameters. A comparison of the considered methods reveals that in general, one should use the PDS model with MOM estimation for negative shape parameters, the PDS model with exponentially distributed exceedances if the shape parameter is close to zero, the AMS model with MOM estimation for moderately positive shape parameters, and the PDS model with ML estimation for large positive shape parameters. Since heavy‐tailed distributions, corresponding to negative shape parameters, are far the most common in hydrology, the PDS model generally is to be preferred for at‐site quantile estimation.


The development of market and fair competition is based on the protection of individuals' rights including shareholders' rights. The interests of investors are ensured by solid legal guarantee. It is however important to keep in mind that the important goal of drawing the attention of investors should not jeopardize the rights of minority shareholders. Shareholders' rights drew the attention of scholars from the very beginning. Despite the efforts of numerous authors, development of case-law and several legal reforms, the way to solve the difficulty that arose due to contradiction between the interests of those two groups – minority and majority shareholders – is still missing. After "velvet revolution", in an attempt to create an attractive environment for foreign investors, Georgian legislators went overboard and broke the balance at minority shareholders stake. It is very important to finally find the right balance to protect both groups and also to ensure the normal functioning of the company. The article is focused on the identification of the main problems of the protection of shareholders' rights in Georgian legislation and court practice. It overviews the legal model of regulation and outlines the directions of the necessary legislative reforms. The deficiencies that violate minority shareholders' rights on legislation level by setting unclear and unbalanced procedures were sorted out. The article also offers general directions of legal amendments which are necessary to eliminate flaws in Georgian legislation and court practices.


In this paper we study the variation of the $p$ -Selmer rank parities of $p$ -twists of a principally polarized Abelian variety over an arbitrary number field $K$ and show, under certain assumptions, that this parity is periodic with an explicit period. Our result applies in particular to principally polarized Abelian varieties with full $K$ -rational $p$ -torsion subgroup, arbitrary elliptic curves, and Jacobians of hyperelliptic curves. Assuming the Shafarevich–Tate conjecture, our result allows one to classify the rank parities of all quadratic twists of an elliptic or hyperelliptic curve after a finite calculation.


Recent works in end-to-end control for autonomous driving have investigated the use of vision-based exteroceptive perception. Inspired by such results, we propose a new end-to-end memory-based neural architecture for robot steering and throttle control. We describe and compare this architecture with previous approaches using fundamental error metrics (MAE, MSE) and several external metrics based on their performance on simulated test circuits. The presented work demonstrates the advantages of using internal memory for better generalization capabilities of the model and allowing it to drive in a broader amount of circuits/situations. We analyze the algorithm in a wide range of environments and conclude that the proposed pipeline is robust to varying camera configurations. All the present work, including datasets, network models architectures, weights, simulator, and comparison software, is open source and easy to replicate and extend.


Many environment policies use two categories of instruments: a financial incentive (most often a tax) for "polluters," and direct undertakings or financing of some restorations or maintenances or improvements of environmental qualities. The financial consequences of such policies, when optimum, are important for considerations of public finance, decentralization (financial autonomy), and equity (must polluters pay?). They turn out essentially to depend upon the mathematical structure of, first, the "environment function," i.e., the way in which environment "qualities" depend upon both deteriorating and improving activities, and, second, the various constraints of the problem. Constraints which can be expressed by functions homogeneous of any degree are shown to have no direct financial effect. Apart from the constraints' effects, budgetary equilibrium, surplus or deficit are respectively given by environment functions which present constant, decreasing, or increasing "qualitative returns to scale," i.e., "weighted" homogeneity of degree zero, positive or negative. The opposite polar cases of "cleaning" and "dilution" types of improvement technology are presented, with some other mixed simple cases and a few examples of application of the results.


This study was done in the South coast of Parana State and North coast of Santa Catarina State, Brazil, in two artisanal fishermen communities. Between July, 2001 and March, 2003 the fishing activities were observed aiming to: report the elasmobranchs caught species; report which species are commercialized; observe the seasonal occurrence of the species in the landings; estimate the frequency of capture by different fishing gears; and infer about the reproductive biology of the species. During the studied period were captured: Carcharhinus falciformis, Galeocerdo cuvier, Rhizoprionodon lalandii, R. porosus, Sphyrna lewini, S. zygaena, Squatina guggenheim, Narcine brasiliensis, Rhinobatos percellens, Zapteryx brevirostris, Rioraja agassizii, Dasyatis americana, D. guttata, D. hipostigma, Gymnura altavela, Myliobatis goodei, Rhinoptera bonasus and R. brasiliensis. It was observed that all sharks and only two ray species (R. percellens and Z. brevirostris) are commercialized. In the landings, elasmobranchs were more frequent during winter and spring. Most catches were done by gillnets, while just a few captures were done by shrimp trawls. The data indicated that the studied area is used by G. cuvier, R. lalandii, R. porosus, S. lewini, N. brasiliensis and R. agassizii to give birth; by all species for growing; and during the gestation of R. percellens and Z. brevirostris. It is suggested that actions aiming to protect the species must be taken, without harming and conflicts for the fishermen communities.


The properties of thin hard coatings and consequently their functionality are influenced by microstructural characteristics such as mechanical properties. A variety of interlayers has been used in hybrid coatings for various purposes. The paper presents investigation results of the structure, erosion and corrosion resistance, and mechanical properties of the galvanic Ni/Cr, hybrid Ni/Cr + Zr/ZrN (galvanic + PVD) and monolithic nitride coatings deposited by PVD technique (dc magnetron sputtering) onto brass (CuZn40Pb2) substrates. The ceramic PVD coatings or layers are the Cr-, Ti-, TiAl-, Zr-nitrides. The investigation covered the metallographic analysis on the scanning electron microscope, mechanical properties and erosion test. The corrosion tests were made in a 1 M NaOH solution. It was found out that PVD coatings display high corrosion resistance.


Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of management accounting systems (MAS) in the development of intellectual capital (IC) – i.e. human capital (HC), structural capital (SC) and relational capital (RC) – and the resultant effects on organizational performance.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire was developed to conduct a survey of high-level managers of Portuguese companies. The data collected were analyzed through the use of structural equation modeling with AMOS.

Findings

Statistical support was found for six out of nine hypothesized relationships. The findings confirm the role of MAS in the development of HC and SC. Results also showed positive and statistically significant relationships between the three dimensions of IC, in line with previous research. Finally, results indicated that SC has a positive and significant link with organizational performance, in keeping with some research.

Research limitations/implications

The estimation procedure allowed only a partial validation of the proposed model because, although positive, the relationships between MAS and RC, between HC and performance and between RC and organizational performance were not statistically significant.

Practical implications

The study highlights the role of MAS as information networks that collect, process and communicate information that influences the development of IC, as well as networks of relationships that support the establishment of conditions for the creation and integration of organizational knowledge and the development of IC.

Originality/value

In this research, an arguably more complete framework of the relations between MAS, IC and performance is developed and empirically tested. Despite the existence of some literature addressing the relationship between MAS and IC, this is the first study, of which authors are aware, that focuses specifically on the relationships between MAS and the three dimensions of IC (HC, SC and RC), as well as their effects on organizational performance.


Aim: The aim of this study was to identify and compare birthing complications in women originating from countries where they are at risk (may become victims) of FGM with those of Spanish women, all having given birth from 2012 to 2015 at the "Virgen de la Arrixaca" University Clinical Hospital in Murcia, Spain. Methods: A transversal, observational, quantitative study was carried out, retrospectively, comparing 245 sub-Saharan women originating from countries where FGM is practiced with 490 Spanish women, in terms of obstetric complications. Data collection was performed via electronic clinical records. Results: The sub-Saharan women presented higher rates of intrapartum and emergency caesareans, intense postpartum haemorrhages, concurrent episiotomies and tears (2nd and 3rd degree), failed inductions, and non-progressive labours, and a more severe risk of foetal distress when compared with Spanish women. Conclusions: The fact that the sub-Saharan women originating from countries where FGM is practiced presented a greater number of birthing complications than the Spanish women proves the need for Spanish healthcare professionals to receive training towards cultural competency acquisition, in order to provide a multidisciplinary approach, with standardized action protocols focused fundamentally on prevention.


The growing issue of particulate matter (PM) air pollution has given rise to extensive research into the development of high-performance air filters recently. As the core of air filters, various types of electrospun nanofiber membranes have been fabricated and developed. With the novel poly(acrylonitrile) (PAN)-CuCl2 composite nanofiber membranes as the filter membranes, we demonstrate the high PM removal efficiency exceeding 99% and can last a long service time. The nanoscale morphological characteristics of nanofiber membranes were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and mercury intrusion porosimeter. It is found that they appear to have a special net structure at specific CuCl2 concentrations, which substantially improves PM removal efficiency. We anticipate the PAN-CuCl2 composite nanofiber membranes will be expected to effectively solve some pressing problems in air filtration.


OBJECTIVE
To study the clinical profile and genetic basis of Brugada syndrome in Chinese patients.

DESIGN
Prospective observational study.

SETTING
Seven regional public hospitals, Hong Kong.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
The clinical and follow-up data of 50 patients (47 men, 3 women; mean age, 53 years) were collected, and genetic data of 36 probands and eight family members of three genotyped probands were analysed.

RESULTS
Eight patients survived sudden cardiac death (group A), 12 had syncope of unknown origin but no sudden death (group B), and 30 were asymptomatic before recognition of Brugada syndrome (group C). Programmed electrical stimulation induced sustained ventricular arrhythmias in 88% (7/8), 82% (9/11), and 27% (3/11) of patients in group A, group B, and group C, respectively. New arrhythmic events occurred in 50% (4/8) of patients in group A and 17% (2/12) of patients in group B after a mean follow-up period of 30 (standard deviation, 13) months and 25 (7) months, respectively. All group C patients remained asymptomatic during a mean follow-up period of 25 (standard deviation, 11) months. Five of 36 probands and three of eight family members who underwent genetic testing were found to have a mutation in their SCN5A gene.

CONCLUSIONS
Chinese patients with Brugada syndrome who are symptomatic have a high likelihood of arrhythmia recurrence, whereas asymptomatic patients enjoy a good short-term prognosis. The prevalence of SCN5A mutation among probands is 14%. Thus, Chinese patients with Brugada syndrome share with their western counterparts similar clinical and genetic heterogeneity.


This article analyzes paradata, or data on survey processes, from the 2008 Albany Youth Health Survey to examine the ''usability'' of personal digital assistants (PDAs) in collecting health and behavioral information among inner-city adolescents. Two parallel sets of data analysis were conducted: one at a subject level and a second at a survey question/item level. Outcomes related to usability issues included difficulty with practice questions, time spent on the survey/item, responding before completion of the audio, and revisiting a question. Overall, participants had relatively few usability issues with the PDAs. At the subject level, participants with lower academic performance were more likely to have difficulty with practice questions, revisit a question, and take more time. The variable-level analysis showed that an increasing level of variable type complexity was negatively associated with a question being revisited and positively associated with completion time. This study suggests that PDAs and other types of handheld computers can be used to collect sensitive data among urban adolescents. Increased practice time to orient certain respondents on certain types of questions on PDA-administered surveys may increase the ability to collect valid and reliable data on sensitive topics.


Microorganisms mainly exist within complex networks of ecological interactions. Given that the growth and survival of community members frequently depend on an obligate exchange of essential metabolites, it is generally unclear how such communities can persist despite the destabilizing force of ecological disturbance. Here we address this issue using a population dynamics model. In contrast to previous work that suggests the potential for obligate interaction networks to evolve is limited, we find the opposite pattern: natural selection in the form of ecological disturbance favors both specific network topologies and cooperative cross-feeding among community members. These results establish environmental selection as a key driver shaping the architecture of microbial interaction networks.


Multi-agent applications have recently gained significant popularity. In many computer vision tasks, a network of agents, such as a team of robots with cameras, could work collaboratively to perceive the environment for efficient and accurate situation awareness. However, these agents often have limited computation, communication, and storage resources. Thus, reducing resource consumption while still providing an accurate perception of the environment becomes an important goal when deploying multi-agent systems. To achieve this goal, we identify and leverage the overlap among different camera views in multi-agent systems for reducing the processing, transmission and storage of redundant/unimportant video frames. Specifically, we have developed two collaborative multi-agent video fast-forwarding frameworks in distributed and centralized settings, respectively. In these frameworks, each individual agent can selectively process or skip video frames at adjustable paces based on multiple strategies via reinforcement learning. Multiple agents then collaboratively sense the environment via either 1) a consensus-based distributed framework called DMVF that periodically updates the fast-forwarding strategies of agents by establishing communication and consensus among connected neighbors, or 2) a centralized framework called MFFNet that utilizes a central controller to decide the fast-forwarding strategies for agents based on collected data. We demonstrate the efficacy and efficiency of our proposed frameworks on a real-world surveillance video dataset VideoWeb and a new simulated driving dataset CarlaSim, through extensive simulations and deployment on an embedded platform with TCP communication. We show that compared with other approaches in the literature, our frameworks achieve better coverage of important frames, while significantly reducing the number of frames processed at each agent.