Background Medical concepts are inherently ambiguous and error-prone due to human fallibility, which makes it hard for them to be fully used by classical machine learning methods (eg, for tasks like early stage disease prediction). Objective Our work was to create a new machine-friendly representation that resembles the semantics of medical concepts. We then developed a sequential predictive model for medical events based on this new representation. Methods We developed novel contextual embedding techniques to combine different medical events (eg, diagnoses, prescriptions, and labs tests). Each medical event is converted into a numerical vector that resembles its "semantics," via which the similarity between medical events can be easily measured. We developed simple and effective predictive models based on these vectors to predict novel diagnoses. Results We evaluated our sequential prediction model (and standard learning methods) in estimating the risk of potential diseases based on our contextual embedding representation. Our model achieved an area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) of 0.79 on chronic systolic heart failure and an average AUC of 0.67 (over the 80 most common diagnoses) using the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care III (MIMIC-III) dataset. Conclusions We propose a general early prognosis predictor for 80 different diagnoses. Our method computes numeric representation for each medical event to uncover the potential meaning of those events. Our results demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed method, which will benefit patients and physicians by offering more accurate diagnosis.


When systemic differences between languages preclude the possibility of a truly "faithful" translation, the translator may choose to preserve either the form of the original, that is its syntactic structure, or its function, which includes not only the meaning but also stylistic effects such as the degree of markedness. Faithfulness to the original form may result in a different degree of markedness in translation, or even in a reinterpretation of the structure, with a concomitant change in meaning. On the other hand, the preservation of the original function by introducing structural devices congenial to the target language may obscure the original cohesive devices, including figures. Since the balance between form and function is particularly delicate in poetry, this paper examines the choices between them in two English translations of "Belo", a free verse poem by the contemporary Slovenian poet Dane Zajc. The central issue discussed is the ordering of constituents, which is dominated by different principles in the two languages. Since both form and function play a vital role in poetry, such an analysis cannot yield a formula for each type of translation problem; nevertheless, it can locate the points of divergence in the source and target languages, as well as use the translators' choices to draw conclusions about the nuances of acceptability in the target language.


Geophysical methods are useful for mapping the boundary between fresh and saline water in
coastal areas. However, the existence of karstic formations increases the uncertainty on geophysical
sections and complicates the interpretation of geophysical data. In this paper, a systematic geophysical
methodology for imaging saline water intrusion, in complex geological structure is being presented. We
applied three methods for the inversion of resistivity data, as well as multi array data joint inversion and
time lapse tomography. For the interpretation of the geophysical data we combined seismic velocity and
resistivity sections. This integrated geophysical survey revealed saline water zones in the investigated area
and verified that a major normal NE-SW fault zone is mainly responsible for the groundwater salinization
in the Stylos area.


Background: In order to determine the impact of the severity of ischemia on malignant edema formation, we investigated various degrees of perfusional deficit by 11C-flumazenil PET in patients with large middle cerebral artery (MCA) infarction. Methods: 17 patients with large MCA stroke were included. Cerebral blood flow (CBF) was measured 15.9 ± 6.4 h after the ictus. Patients were divided into a malignant (n = 9) and a benign group (n = 8) as a function of their clinical courses and edema. Edema was measured as maximal midline shift on follow-up CTs. Total hypoperfusion volume was divided into different subvolumes according to the degree of CBF reduction. Results: Subvolumes of severe ischemia relative to total ischemic area were significantly larger in the malignant group than in the benign group and were significantly correlated with edema formation. The highest correlation and best predictive values for edema formation with a sensitivity, specificity, and a positive and negative predictive value of 100% were found for subvolumes with severe ischemia. Correlation coefficients and prediction decreased for subvolumes with less severe perfusional deficit, pointing to the risk of misclassifying patients when relying on the volume of total perfusional deficit alone. Conclusions: Malignant MCA infarction seems to be determined more by the volume of severe perfusional deficit than that of total perfusional deficit. Assessment of severely ischemic areas allows prediction of malignant edema formation and might help to select candidates for hemicraniectomy.


A field experiment was conducted to investigate the spatial distribution of nutsedge (Cyperus spp) during rice growing season using geostatic in 2011 at Sari Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University. At the first field was divided into 36 grids (2.5×2.5 meter) after the final preparation. Grid intersection points were determined and marked. All samples were taken from these points during the crop season. The sampling from seed banks was performed in two stages before the field preparing and after the rice harvesting. Also weed density were determined using square quadrate (50×50 cm) in three different dates during the growing season. All data were transferred to the RockWork99 software for drawing maps of weed and seedling distribution. The results showed that the highest amount of weed population was belong to nutsedge. There was strong and medium spatial correlation as spherical and exponential variogram model between weed and seedling nutsedge at all stages of sampling. Meanwhile, the weed seed bank was patches with different sizes and densities according to spatial distribution maps. Seed bank patchy pattern at the beginning of season was in accordance with seed bank at the end of season and seedling germination pattern. Therefore the seed bank maps can be used as information database of seedling germination. The results of this study showed that spatial distribution monitoring in soil depth (0-10, 10-20 and 20-30 centimeters) can be a valuable tool for prediction of weed behavior and increases our understanding about dynamics of weed populations


Precise classification of cancers of the esophagogastric junction according to Siewert may be difficult for the presence of Barrett's esophagus or hiatal hernia, which subsequently leads to a difficult choice of the surgical procedure of esophagectomy or gastrectomy. Ninety-six patients with such cancers were operated on in our department in 7 years. Twenty-nine patients (30.2%), classified as type I (group 1), underwent a transthoracic esophagectomy with gastric pull up. Sixty-seven patients (69.8%) classified as type II or III (group 2) underwent an extended gastrectomy. We compared the patients of both groups retrospectively for disease-free survival and postoperative complications. The general performance status of most patients was comparable in both groups and was assigned to the American Society of Anesthesiologists class II or III. Statistically significant differences between the groups were seen for the postoperative reintubation rate [group 1: 31.0% vs. group 2: 9.0% (P = 0.009)], median time for surgery [group 1: 6 (3.5-8.5) hours vs. group 2: 4.7 (2.2-11.5) hours (P = 0.001)], time in the intensive care unit [group 1: 6 (3-85) days vs. group 2: 3 (1-54) days (P = 0.001)], median hospitalization time [group 1: 23 (14-105) days vs. group 2: 18 (10-63) days (P = 0.018)]. No statistical difference was observed for the recurrence-free survival of 40% after 3 years (P = 0.311), the mortality rate, the morbidity rate (P = 0.108), surgical and respiratory complications, and the incidence of anastomotic leakage (P = 0.645). We conclude that in selected cases it may be possible to perform an extended gastrectomy for small type I cancers.


The present invention relates to a cathode / separator / electrode assembly of the cathode structure of the secondary battery-stacked structure, in a state through the electrically insulating member on the outer surface of the electrode assembly and the conductive member of the plate is attached, the conductive member is an electrode terminal Consisting of a structure that is electrically connected to, even if the internal short circuit caused by a fall, an impact, penetration of the needle-shaped conductor, by preventing the heat generation concentrated to quickly disperse the electron flow in the cell it is possible to improve the safety of the battery .


Summary
• Epicormic bud producing structures in the eucalypts, a large group of woody plants of considerable ecological, horticultural and silvicultural importance, are described here.
• The outer portion of epicormic strands excised from the bark of large diameter stems of 18 Eucalyptus species, two Angophora species and Lophostemon confertus was examined anatomically in semithin sections.
• In the inner bark each eucalypt strand usually possessed 5–12 radially orientated strips of tissue of meristematic appearance. The meristem strips were c. 30–50 µm high, 70–110 µm wide and 2000–10 000 µm long, with a lacuna above the meristem surface. Few buds or bud primordia were associated with the strands and the strands appeared to have a reduced regenerative potential in the outer bark.
• In most angiosperm trees dormant epicormic buds are present in the outer bark, a position where they could be killed by fire. By contrast, in eucalypts the greatest epicormic bud initiation potential is at the level of the vascular cambium, which is protected by the maximum bark thickness. This might explain the pronounced ability of eucalypts to produce bole and branch epicormic shoots after moderate to intense fire.


Efficient spectrum sensing plays a vital role in opportunistic and dynamic spectrum access for cognitive radios. Several spectrum sensing algorithms based on energy detection, matched filtering and autocorrelation based feature detection have therefore been proposed in the literature. All these algorithms tend to have higher complexity for achieving better sensing performance, which requires higher computing power and/or more sensing time. Moreover they are not flexible enough to dynamically trade complexity with sensing performance. In this paper, we present a novel low-complexity spectrum sensing technique based on correlation of intra-segment decimated vectors. The primary signal to be detected is sampled at a particular frequency, and digitized samples are segmented and decimated by suitable decimation index. The means of resulting vectors are correlated to detect the presence of the signal. MATLAB simulations of the proposed technique have been carried out to validate the proposed technique. Single-tone and Multi-tone signal at a 25MHz IF frequency and ATSC DTV (in UHF) signal and PAL-B Analog TV (in VHF) signal are down-converted to 25MHz IF frequency, and used to validate the proposed detection technique. Not only the proposed scheme is found to able to detect the presence of a signal effectively, but also the complexity of the proposed scheme is only nearly 1/10th of the complexity (for vector length n = 10) of the simplest of the existing correlation based technique.


ABSTRACT Jeon, H.; Eem, S.H., and Park, J., 2018. Flood Damage Assessment in Building Scale Caused by the Coastal Inundation Height at Haeundae Beach, Busan. In: Shim, J.-S.; Chun, I., and Lim, H.S. (eds.), Proceedings from the International Coastal Symposium (ICS) 2018 (Busan, Republic of Korea). Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 85, pp. 1561–1565. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Damages of coastal areas due to natural disasters such as storms and floods are expected to occur along with rise in sea level owing to climate change. To reduce the flood damage, it is important to identify the expected inundation areas and estimate its loss. Therefore, this study evaluates the assessment of the flood damage in a building scale of Busan around the Haeundae beach in various scenarios. The scenarios vary with the inundation height from the approximate highest high water level announced by the Korea Hydrographic and Oceanographic Agency. The geographic information system (GIS) is established around the Haeundae beach area for the flood damage assessment in a building scale. The loss estimation is used by the multi-dimensional flood damage analysis (MD-FDA), suggested by the Ministry of Construction and Transportation to provide the flood damage assessment based on the building scale results. The flood damage of the Haeundae beach areas is then analyzed with flood areas, building damages, and economic losses caused by the inundation heights then the results are analyzed and visualized using the GIS. The analyzed data can be utilized in the field of flood damage mitigation and the policy of disaster prevention.


Abstract Background: A direct renin inhibitor (DRI), aliskiren, may be effective for blood pressure (BP) control in hemodialysis patients. However, it is unclear whether aliskiren has a greater beneficial effect on BP and humoral factors than angiotensin II receptor antagonists (ARBs) in hypertensive patients on hemodialysis. Methods: Eighteen hemodialysis patients (58 ± 14 years) on the recommended dose of an ARB were prospectively randomized into two groups: ARB and DRI groups. Patients in the ARB group continued taking their previous ARB, whereas those in the DRI group switched to aliskiren (150 mg/day) for 12 weeks. Baseline measurements of BP and humoral factors such as plasma renin activity (PRA), plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC) and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) were performed. Measurements were repeated every 4 weeks. Results: At baseline, no differences were observed in age, gender or BP between the two groups. Systolic BP was unaffected by treatment in either groups (group effect, p = 0.26; time effect, p = 0.38; group × time effect, p = 0.24). PRA decreased in DRI (p ≦ 0.02, group effect, p = 0.65; time effect, p = 0.13; group × time effect, p = 0.048), but not in ARB (p ≧ 0.94). PAC increased only in DRI (p ≦ 0.03), whereas BNP was unaffected in either group. Conclusion: Aliskiren at a dose of 150 mg/day had a similar effect on BP compared with ARBs, but significantly lowered PRA.


A field experiment was conducted in 2007-2010 to study the effects of no-tillage, subsoiling, and deep-ploughing combined with balanced fertilization, traditional fertilization, and no (or lower amount) fertilization on the soil water storage, crop yield, water use efficiency (WUE), and economic return of winter wheat-spring maize rotation field in Weibei highland. Among the tillage measures, no-tillage in fallow period had the best effect in soil water conservation, followed by sub-soiling, and deep-ploughing. The average water storage in 0-200 cm soil layer in crop growth period under no-tillage and sub-soiling was 6.7% and 1.9% higher than that under deep-ploughing, respectively. Under the balanced, traditional, and no (or lower amount) fertilizations, subsoiling all showed the highest yield, WUE, and economic return, with the best effect under balanced fertilization. The three-year crop yield under sub-soiling combined with balanced fertilization was 6909, 9689, and 5589 kg x hm(-2), WUE was 18.5, 25.2, and 23.0 kg x hm(-2) x mm(-1), and economic return was 5034, 5045, and 7098 yuan x hm(-2), respectively. It was suggested that balanced fertilization combined with sub-soiling had the best effect in soil water conservation and yield- and income increase, being the more appropriate fertilization and tillage mode for the wheat-maize rotation field in Weibei highland.


Problems such as low recommendation precision and efficiency often exist in traditional collaborative filtering because of the huge basic data volume. In order to solve these problems, we proposed a new algorithm which combines collaborative filtering and support vector machine (SVM). Different with traditional collaborative filtering, we used SVM to classify commodities into positive and negative feedbacks. Then we selected the commodities that have positive feedback to calculate the comprehensive grades of marks and comments. After that, we build SVM-based collaborative filtering algorithm. Experiments on Taobao data (a Chinese online shopping website owned by Alibaba) showed that the algorithm has good recommendation precision and recommendation efficiency, thus having certain practical value in the E-commerce industry.


The leukocyte adhesion to endothelium is pivotal in leukocyte recruitment which takes place during inflammatory, autoimmune and infectious conditions. The interaction between leukocytes and endothelium requires an array of adhesion molecules expressed on leukocytes and endothelial cells, thereby promoting leukocyte recruitment into sites of inflammation and tissue injury. Intervention with the adhesion molecules provides a platform for development of anti-inflammatory therapeutics. This review will focus on developmental endothelial locus-1 (Del-1), an endogenous inhibitor of leukocyte adhesion.


This report discusses the November 7, 2010 parliamentary elections in Burma, which have long been controversial, mainly due to election fraud concerns. The report discusses debates about U.S. policy toward Burma, which has been sparked by the elections and the issues surrounding them.


Ablation of the frontal pole was followed by the deterioration of returning behavior; position discrimination in an enclosed T maze was also affected. Both tests required the utilization of response produced cues: In the elevated T maze, in which extra-maze visual cues were available, the lesion had no effect on position discrimination. Introduction of differential visual cues to the enclosed T maze resulted in superior performance of the frontopolar group compared to that of the normal group. However, the visual discrimination experiment did not reveal the superiority of frontopolar rats, which suggests that the frontopolar rats are more attentive to visual stimuli only in situations requiring the use of response produced cues.


The (PNP)Ir fragment displays a thermodynamic preference for the oxidative addition of aromatic vs benzylic C−H bonds. However, in the case of the mesitylene activation products, the benzylic isomer is kinetically accessible and can be trapped by an external donor ligand. The preference for the benzylic isomer in the six-coordinate Ir(III) adduct of mesitylene activation is ascribed to steric factors.


The use of deuterium-tritium (D-T) fuel for operation of the Compact Ignition Tokamak (CIT) imposes a requirement for remote handling technology to carry out maintenance operations on auxiliary machine components. These operations consist of removing and repairing components such as diagnostics and radio frequency (rf) heating modules using remotely operated maintenance equipment. The major equipment that is being developed to accomplish maintenance external to the plasma chamber includes the bridge-mounted manipulator system for test cell operations, decontamination (decon) equipment, hot cell equipment, and solid rad-waste handling equipment. Wherever possible, the project will use commercially available equipment. Several areas of the maintenance system design have been addressed in fiscal year (FY) 1987. These included conceptual designs of manipulator systems, the start of a remote equipment research and development (R and D) program, and definition of the hot cell, decon, and equipment repair facility requirements. The manipulator work included investigating transporters and viewing/lighting subsystems. In each case, existing commercial units are being assessed initially, along with viable alternative approaches. R and D work also included demonstrations of remote handling operations on full-size, partial mock-ups of the CIT machine at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Remote Operations and Maintenance Development Facility.


Prevalent Markovian and semi Markovian methods to predict the reliability and performance of component based heterogeneous systems suffer from several limitations: they are subject to an intractably large state space for more complex scenarios, and they cannot take into account the influence of various parameters such as reliability growth of individual components, dependencies among components, etc., in a single model. Discrete event simulation offers an alternative to analytical models as it can capture a detailed system structure, and can be used to study the influence of different factors separately as well as in a combined fashion on dependability measures. We demonstrate the flexibility offered by discrete event simulation to analyze such complex systems through two case studies, one of a terminating application, and the other of a real time application with feedback control. We simulate the failure behavior of the terminating application with instantaneous as well as explicit repair. We also study the effect of having fault tolerant configurations for some of the components on the failure behavior of the application. In the second case of the real time application, we initially simulate the failure behavior of a single version taking into account its reliability growth. We also study the failure behavior of three fault tolerant systems: DRB, NVP and NSCP which are built from the individual versions of the real time application. Results demonstrate the flexibility offered by simulation to study the influence of various factors on the failure behavior of the applications for single as well as fault tolerant configurations.


The mechanical vibration and low frequency stimulation are known to have a physical and physiological effects. We conducted clinical experiment to confirm the effects of the breast management device with vibration and low frequency stimulation on the breasts of 32 women. The respondents applied the device on both breast for 1 hr per day during 6 weeks. Parameters related with breast volume and lifting as well as skin elasticity before and after experiment were measured. The elasticity parameters (R0~R9, F0~F1) were calculated from deformation curve by suction using Cutometer MPA580. Breast volume parameters showed significant increase in both breasts. Breast showed significant increase in elasticity, which indicates increase of skin elasticity and skin recovery, and decrease of tiring effect. In conclusion, we suggest that massage treatment with combined vibration and low frequency stimulation in a long term use could improve the volume and elasticity of breast.


Abstract This article is one in a series describing the functionality of the Flow-Following, Finite-Volume Icosahedral Model (FIM) developed at NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory. Emphasis in this article is on the design of the vertical coordinate—the "flow following" aspect of FIM. The coordinate is terrain-following near the ground and isentropic in the free atmosphere. The spatial transition between the two coordinates is adaptive and is based on the arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian (ALE) paradigm. The impact of vertical resolution trade-offs between the present hybrid approach and traditional terrain-following coordinates is demonstrated in a three-part case study.


This paper evaluates the role of inflation-forecast heterogeneity in US monetary policy making. The deviation between private and central bank inflation forecasts is identified as a factor increasing inflation persistence and thus calling for a policy reaction. An optimal policy rule is derived by the minimization under discretion of a standard central bank loss function subject to a Phillips curve, modified to include the forecast deviation, and a forward-looking aggregate demand equation. This rule, which itself includes the forecast deviation as an additional argument, is estimated for the period 1974-1998, covering the Chairmanships of Arthur Burns, Paul Volcker and Alan Greenspan, by using real-time forecasts of inflation and the output gap obtained from the FOMC's Greenbook and the Survey of Professional Forecasters. The estimated rule remains remarkably stable over the whole sample period, challenging the conventional view of a structural break following Volcker's appointment as Chairman of the Fed. Finally, the substantial decline in the significance of the interest-rate smoothing term in the rule indicates that monetary policy inertia may, to a large extent, be an artifact of serially correlated inflation-forecast errors that feed into policy decisions in real time.


The series of corporate accounting scandals drew attention to the stewardship function of accounting. This exposition deals with the characteristics of accounting from perspective of institutional economic theory. I analyze relationship between owner and manager by the principal-agent model. This model helps us to reveal the causes which led to corporate scandals at the beginning of this millennium. As a reaction to these scandals, American Congress approved Sarbanes-Oxley Act. This act should help to protect investors by improving the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures.


The agenda of technology for losers is closely related to a politically more correct concept of using technology to empower disadvantaged regions or individuals. Technology for losers emphasizes the fact that losers are those that had something valuable which they have subsequently, for whatever reason, lost. Although commonly used as a highly patronizing and even offensive term, the term loser, literally, refers to diverse users of technology such as people marginalized because of unemployment, individuals with special needs, and poor people in developing regions. Hence, together they form a majority of the humankind. Working with losers requires technology designers to focus more on the urgent and urging, concrete problems, while the traditional perspective of disadvantaged users calls for correct strategies at the policy level. The key characteristic of designing technology for losers is the fact that it starts from the identification of their strengths rather than needs or lacks; thus recognizing their ultimate resources which can be released by re-equipping them with what they have lost.


Countries with a high investment GDP ratio benefit from better, competitive
products and services. Which increases capital stock for production, more
employment, and income; in turn reducing social and income disparities. The
Kenyan government envisaged a sustained economic growth of 10% by investing
in priority sectors; to become an industrialized middle-income country by the year
2030; though un-achieved to date. To examine the nexus between internal
investments and economic growth, the study used annual time-series observations
from the years 1996 to 2017; where internal investments are from the government;
private domestic; and public-private partnership; and exogenous variables were
rates of real interest; social discount; commercial lending interest; and the country
risk premium on lending for investment decisions. The inference used stationarity;
cointegration; significance; causality; variance decomposition of forecast error; and
impulse response function. Stationarity tests suited the ARDL model which also
supports small size observations. Findings were; a significant and positive influence
on economic growth from lags of real GDP, government, private domestic, except
public-private partnership investments. Anticipation for growth lies with;
significant pairwise causality (real GDP with public investment); significant block
exogeneity (public investment); endogeneity (real GDP), and exogeneity (public
investment) influence; and short-run private domestic investment recovery.
Keywords: ARDL, Economic Growth, Public Investment, Private Domestic
Investment, Public-Private Partnership Investment, Investment Decisions.


The scholarship on gender in the Middle East takes two objectives as its mandate: first, to dismantle the stereotype of passive and powerless Muslim women and, second, to challenge the notion that Islam shapes women's condition in the same way in all places. The urgency of this endeavor is heightened by the fact that gender has come to demarcate battle lines in geopolitical struggles since September 11, 2001, and to occupy a central place in the discourse of international relations in regard to Muslim countries. To reflect the major developments in the field, I offer a critical analysis of the scholarship on issues that constitute the core of the intellectual discourse on gender in the Middle East. These include the critique of Orientalism past and present; the exploration of the diversity within Islam; the study of states and gender with respect to symbolic representations, institutions, and kin-based solidarities; the analysis of women's agency; and the debates surrounding feminism and the veil.


Hereditary hypophosphatemic rickets (HHR) is a rare disorder of renal phosphate wasting and the most common form of heritable rickets. Here, we report a case of an active 25-year-old male with HHR showing atraumatic bilateral femoral neck pseudarthrosis after 4 years of consecutive knee pain. A conservative therapy was administered, taking into account both the risks of surgical treatment and the little impairment even in the sport activities which the patient experienced.


In the last few decades, several cyber-threats against cyber-physical systems (CPSs) have been reported. Of particular interest are the classes of network attacks capable of affecting the control systems' performance while remaining undetectable. In this article, under some conditions, we show the existence of a novel class of finite-time undetectable attacks against constrained CPSs. The proposed finite-time attack has the peculiar capability of not producing anomalies after its termination. This is particularly dangerous because it enables a malicious entity to repeatedly or intermittently affect the CPS without raising alarms. Such an attack is here designed by resorting to a set-theoretic approach that leverages robust reachability arguments. Moreover, given the desired attack duration, the set of initial states from which the attack is feasible is characterized. A numerical simulation example involving an industrial continuous-stirred tank reactor system is presented to support the theoretical results.


Background: Organizational commitment is the relative strength of an individual's identification with and involvement in a particular organization. It is an important predictor of absenteeism, turnover, organizational performance and success. Even though organizational commitment has a paramount importance for health care organizations, very few studies were done so far in Ethiopia particularly among health professionals. Therefore, the aim of this study was to measure level of organizational commitment and associated factors among health professionals working in public health facilities of Bench Sheko zone southwest Ethiopia. Methods: Facility based cross-sectional study was conducted in 14 Public health facilities found in randomly selected districts of Bench Sheko zone. Structured self-administered questioner was used to collect data from a total of 610 Health professionals from 10th of March – 30th of April. Data were entered into Epi-data manager Version 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 24 for further analysis. Factor analysis was done to create factor scores. Simple and multiple linear regression were done. Variables with p- value ≤ 0.25 in simple linear regression were candidate for multiple linear regression. Independent sample t-test and one-way ANOVA were done. Statistical significance was declared at p-value ≤ 0.05. Results: The response rate of the study was 96.8%. The percentages mean score of organizational commitment of health professionals' was 74.6%. Perceived recognition of employees (B 0.806 [95% CI: 0.711 - 1.00, p=0.000], perceived conducive work climate (B: 0.421 [95%CI: .322 - 0.520], perceived transformational leadership style (B 0.749 [95%CI: .604 - .894, p=0.000], perceived transactional leadership styles (B: 0.294 [95%CI: .198 - .390 p=0.000] and not having managerial position(B:-.293 [95%CI:-.559 -0.028] were predictors of organizational commitment. Conclusion: Overall level of organization commitment of health professionals' was higher than what is reported in many other studies. Organizational commitment was affected by job satisfaction, leadership styles and managerial position of health professionals. Hence, policy makers and human resource managers need to pay special attention to intervene on these factors.


Loyalty programs (LP) and rewards are ubiquitous in retailing, designed to increase customer expenditures and retention, gather abundant customer-level data, and design individually targeted coupons. Although studies have analyzed the individual impacts of LP rewards and targeted coupons on shopping trip incidence and expenditures, they have not compared the two instruments. By investigating the LP of a leading German grocery retailer that uses both LP rewards (points to redeem for free products) and individually targeted coupons, the current study establishes a comparison of their profitability and relative contributions to increasing shopping trips and expenditures. The investigated LP also relies on in-store kiosks to interact with customers, so they can decide when to redeem LP points and request coupons. By jointly modeling the effects of LP point redemptions and coupons on shopping trip incidence and expenditures, using their decision to access the kiosk as a dependent variable and rich data that span thousands of customers over 60 weeks, this study reveals that both instruments increase shopping trip incidence, kiosk access, and expenditures. The LP point redemptions have a stronger effect on shopping trip incidence; coupons have a stronger effect on kiosk access. Although a single redemption of LP points leads to a greater increase in expenditures than a single coupon redemption (€1.46 vs. €0.48), coupons yield three times greater expenditures after controlling for usage frequency; lower discounts also contribute to coupons' higher profitability. Therefore, LP point redemptions and individually targeted coupons are complementary tools for retailers. This empirical study provides practical insights and pertinent managerial implications regarding the management and design of modern LPs.


In this work the influence of nanocrystalline structure on magnetic losses is pointed out. Annealed samples, with and without SiO/sub 2/ coating, show mainly hysteretic losses. Eddy current losses are more important in the as cast state than in the other cases. These measurements suggest that the occurrence of the nanocrystalline structure modifies the wall kinetics and so the contribution of eddy current losses in comparison with the amorphous state. >


This special edition of African Population Studies (Etude de la Population Africaine) is the initiative of the Programme of Demography and Social Statistics, Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria, to harvest in a single compendium, the various research outputs that could provide insightful understanding and enhancement of the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 (SDGs-2030) as it relates to Nigeria. The theme is Covenant University's Perspectives on Nigeria Demography and Achievement of SDGs-2030. This expository compilation covers certain salient challenges of Nigeria, ranging from family breakdowns and wellbeing, Boko Haram insurgency, environment and climate change, effects of smoking, child mortality, agricultural output, human capital and inclusive growth, unsuspected self-help medical knowledge, and best approach to health-aid. The findings presented in this edition are ground breaking qualitative and empirical findings coming from indigenous data and knowledge in attempt to provide solutions to the problem of Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa as a whole.


We give conditions for the existence of the Minkowski content of limit sets stemming from infinite conformal graph directed systems. As an application we obtain Minkowski measurability of Apollonian gaskets, provide explicit formulae of the Minkowski content, and prove the analytic dependence on the initial circles. Further, we are able to link the fractal Euler characteristic, as well as the Minkowski content, of Apollonian gaskets with the asymptotic behaviour of the circle counting function studied by Kontorovich and Oh. These results lead to a new interpretation and an alternative formula for the Apollonian constant. We estimate a first lower bound for the Apollonian constant, namely $0{.}055$, partially answering an open problem by Oh of 2013. In the higher dimensional setting of collections of disjoint balls, generated e.\,g.\ by Kleinian groups of Schottky type, we prove that all fractal curvature measures exist and are constant multiples of each other. Further number theoretical applications connected to the Gauss map and to the Riemann $\zeta$-function illustrate our results.


AIMS
In-stent restenosis (ISR) is an important cause of drug-eluting stent (DES) failure and target vessel revascularisation. In this study we aimed to evaluate differences between early and late-presenting restenosis in second-generation DES using optical coherence tomography (OCT).

METHODS AND RESULTS
Overall, 171 cases of second-generation DES ISR with a follow-up OCT minimum lumen area <3.0 mm2 were included: 33.3% of patients (n=57) had early ISR, and 66.7% (n=114) had late ISR (duration from stent implantation >1 year). Minimum stent area (MSA) <4.0 mm2, neointimal thickness <100 µm, and heterogeneous neointimal hyperplasia (NIH) were more prevalent in early ISR, whereas NIH with neoatherosclerosis trended towards being more frequent for late ISR (28.9% vs. 15.8%, p=0.06). Multivariable analysis revealed that duration from implantation >2 years, absence of statin use, and NIH >50% were independent predictors for neoatherosclerosis (all p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS
OCT morphological characteristics of second-generation DES ISR differ between early and late presentation. Early ISR was associated with MSA <4.0 mm2, while neoatherosclerosis contributed more commonly to late ISR.


Objective. It has been hypothesized (1) that pain and low vitality lead to an increase in avoidance of activities in persons with early symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (OA), and (2) that avoidance of activities leads to an increase in activity limitations. The present study aimed to evaluate these hypotheses. Methods. Baseline, 2-year and 5-year follow-up data of 828 participants from the Cohort Hip and Cohort Knee (CHECK) study with early symptomatic knee OA were used. Autoregressive generalized estimating equations (GEE) and linear regression models were used to analyse the longitudinal and cross-sectional associations between self-reported knee pain, vitality, pain-related avoidance of activities and activity limitations. The models were adjusted for the covariates age, gender, education level, body-mass index, comorbidity, radiographic severity, and hip pain. Results. (1) In longitudinal analyses, knee pain and vitality predicted a subsequent increase in avoidance of activities. (2) Pain-related avoidance of activities predicted a subsequent increase in activity limitations, however this relationship lost statistical significance (p = 0.089) after adjustment for covariates. Cross-sectional analyses showed strong relationships between knee pain, low vitality, pain-related avoidance of activities and activity limitations at all time-points. Conclusions. In persons with early symptomatic knee OA, knee pain and low vitality lead to a subsequent increase in avoidance of activities. Pain-related avoidance of activities is related to activity limitations at inception of symptoms but also years later. Therefore, it can be recommended to monitor and target avoidance of activities at various stages of the disease. Avoidance of activities longitudinal


Neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, MS, which are common around the world and particularly in developed countries with high proportion of elderly, stimulate the development of bio-sensors for early diagnostics of such diseases. For instance the treatment of Alzheimer's patients constitutes a substantial proportion of NHS budget nowadays. Therefore, the development of highly sensitive optical devices for early diagnoses of Alzheimer's disease (AD) will be beneficial to society. This PhD is mainly dedicated to the application of the method of Spectroscopic Ellipsometry for AD diagnostics. Total Internal Reflection Ellipsometry (TIRE) was utilized in this work as an immunosensor for detection of Amyloid Precursor Protein 770 (APP[770]) and beta amyloid peptide (Abeta[1-16)]. The detection of low concentrations of APP[770] in a complex medium containing other proteins, salts, and amino acids was achieved using the method of TIRE in direct immuno assay with monoclonal DE2 antibodies. The calibration of TIRE with a complementary QCM measurements in air allowed the evaluation of (originally unknown) concentration of APP[770] as 121 pmol/l. The immune reaction between APP[770] and DE2 antibodies was also tested using QCM technique operating in liquid. The application of TIRE was extended to the detection of much smaller peptide Abeta[1-16] which bind to the same DE2 antibody. The results were very encouraging since low concentrations (0.05ng/ml) of Abeta[1-6] were detected; this showed good prospects for detection of Abeta[40-42], an actual marker of AD.The second part of this work was dedicated to detection of mycotoxins, a hazardous contaminant in agriculture products (grains) and associated food and feed. Two mycotoxins, namely Aflatoxins B1 and Zearalenone, were detected in TIRE direct immunoassay. Zearalenone was also detected using TIRE competitive assay. The obtained limits of detection of 0.04 ng/ml for Aflatoxin and 0.1 ng/ml for Zearalenone are well below the legislation limit. Such remarkable results are due to a combination of high sensitivity of TIRE method and the aggregation of hydrophobic molecules of mycotoxins in aqueous solutions. A new method of purification of substances contaminated with mycotoxins based on the use of polyelectrolyte microcapsules functionalized with specific antibodies was successfully tested in this work.


The non-pharmaceutical intervention to reduce the impact and spread of COVID-19 requires the development of policies and guidance through a collaborative effort among government, academia, medicine, and citizens. To operationalize this effort, we have developed an all-encompassing situational awareness platform that can process multi-modal and multi-source data allowing informed decision making. Besides, showing the current spread of infection, the platform also captures the impact of human dynamics on the infection spread, location, and availability of critical infrastructure, prediction, and high-performance computing driven simulation. The platform is extensible, allowing third-party integration and services to consume the curated data and analytics in near real-time. We believe the platform will augment critical decision making for reducing the impact and spread of the pandemic.


Background: The IL33/ST2 pathway has been implicated in the pathogenesis of different inflammatory diseases. Our aim was to analyze whether plasma levels of biomarkers involved in the IL33/ST2 axis might help to predict mortality in burn patients. Methods: Single-center prospective observational cohort pilot study performed at the Burns Unit of the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Department of the Vall d'Hebron University Hospital (Barcelona). All patients aged ≥18 years old with second or third-degree burns requiring admission to the Burns Unit were considered for inclusion. Blood samples were taken to measure levels of interleukins (IL)6, IL8, IL33, and soluble suppression of tumorigenicity-2 (sST2) within 24 h of admission to the Burns Unit and at day 3. Results are expressed as medians and interquartile ranges or as frequencies and percentages. Results: Sixty-nine patients (58 [84.1%] male, mean age 52 [35–63] years, total body surface area burned 21% [13%–30%], Abbreviated Burn Severity Index 6 [4–8]) were included. Thirteen (18.8%) finally died in the Burns Unit. Plasma levels of sST2 measured at day 3 after admission demonstrated the best prediction accuracy for survival (area under the receiver-operating curve 0.85 [0.71–0.99]; P < 0.001). The best cutoff point for the area under the receiver-operating curve index was estimated to be 2,561. In the Cox proportional hazards model, after adjusting for potential confounding, a plasma sST2 level ≥2,561 measured at day 3 was significantly associated with mortality (hazard ratio 6.94 [1.73–27.74]; P = 0.006). Conclusions: Plasma sST2 at day 3 predicts hospital mortality in burn patients.


The improvement of renewable energy sources exploitation is a central topic of the present studies in the energetic field. One of the main obstacles to the renewable energy increase in the global energetic mix is represented by the fluctuating nature of renewable power sources. The power fluctuations are cause of stress for the electric grid to which the individual nodes are connected. A wider exploitation of renewable power is possible through the implementation of a "smart grid", constituted by an interconnection of several smart nodes consisting in a user and a renewable source. To reduce the stochastic effects of the renewable energy source it is possible to introduce in the nodes composing the smart grid an energy storage, finalized to smooth the power peaks, rending the node itself less disturbing for the electric grid. This paper presents a simulation model of a smart node, consisting in a user power profile, a photovoltaic panel, an electric vehicle and a battery. Through the simulation model it is possible to evaluate the node effect on the electric grid, with a quantitative approach. Tests were worked out in different node configurations: basic (the only user power profile), basic with photovoltaic panel, basic with storage, basic with panel and storage and finally the complete configuration including also the electric vehicle. The tests were repeated for a domestic and an industrial user to evaluate the size influence over the parameters of interest.


We propose that novel superfluid with supersolid-like properties - angular stripe phase - can be realized in a two-dimensional spin-1/2 Bose gas with spin-orbital-angular-momentum coupling. We predict a rich ground-state phase diagram, including the vortex-antivortex pair phase, half-skyrmion phase, and two different angular stripe phases. The stripe phases feature modulated angular density-density correlation with sizable contrast and can occupy a relatively large parameter space. The low-lying collective excitations, such as the dipole and breathing modes, show distinct behaviors in different phases. The existence of the novel angular stripe phase is also clearly indicated in the energetic and dynamic instabilities of collective modes near phase transitions. Our predictions of the angular stripe phase could be readily examined in current cold-atom experiments with $^{87}$Rb.


BACKGROUND: Parents play a key role in the care, monitoring, management of symptoms experienced in children with cancer, the support, and follow-up of treatment. However, there is a paucity of research as how to improve the health literacy of parents with cancer. The aim of this study was to identify the best and most important strategies to promote health literacy in parents of children with cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A two-step modified Delphi method was used to establish consensus in Iran in 2021. Fourteen experts representing oncology, clinical nursing, and faculty members of nursing were selected by purposive sampling. In round one, 90 strategies to promote health literacy obtained in the qualitative study were distributed to the experts, which were scored from 1 to 5. In order to discuss statements without consensus in the first round, round two was held in a face-to-face meeting. Descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation, and percentage of response frequency were used to calculate agreement levels between experts. RESULTS: In round one, 57 statements reached a consensus. In round two, 21 statements reached a consensus. Finally, 78 statements reached consensus representing four domains including functional health literacy, interactive health literacy, critical health literacy, and care health literacy. CONCLUSION: Delphi method helps to identify the best and most important strategies to use in health literacy promotion programs for parents of children with cancer. Identifying these strategies will help health officials, planners, and policymakers.


We present a simple method of obtaining various equations of state for hard sphere fluid in a simple unifying way. We will guess equations of state by using suitable axiomatic functional forms (n = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) for surface tension Smn(r), r ≥ d/2 with intermolecular separation r as a variable, where m is an arbitrary real number (pole). Among the equations of state obtained in this way are Percus—Yevick, scaled particle theory and Carnahan—Starling equations of state. In addition, we have found a simple equation of state for the hard sphere fluid in the region that represents the simulation data accurately. It is found that for both hard sphere fluids as well as Lennard—Jones fluids, with m = 3/4 the derived equation of state (EOS) gives results which are in good agreement with computer simulation results. Furthermore, this equation of state gives the Percus—Yevick (pressure) EOS for the m = 0, the Carnahan—Starling EOS for m = 4/5, while for the value of m = 1 it corresponds to a scaled particle theory EOS.


1. Leung PS, Rossaro L, Davis PA, Park O, Tanaka A, Kikuchi K, et al. Antimitochondrial antibodies in acute liver failure: implications for primary biliary cirrhosis. HEPATOLOGY 2007;46:1436-1442. 2. Ferret PJ, Hammoud R, Tulliez M, Tran A, Trebeden H, Jaffray P, et al. Detoxification of reactive oxygen species by a nonpeptidyl mimic of superoxide dismutase cures acetaminophen-induced acute liver failure in the mouse. HEPATOLOGY 2001;33:1173-1180. 3. Wu CT, Eiserich JP, Ansari AA, Coppel RL, Balasubramanian S, Bowlus CL, et al. Myeloperoxidase-positive inflammatory cells participate in bile duct damage in primary biliary cirrhosis through nitric oxide-mediated reactions. HEPATOLOGY 2003;38:1018-1025. 4. Bernal W, Ma Y, Smith HM, Portmann B, Wendon J, Vergani D. The significance of autoantibodies and immunoglobulins in acute liver failure: a cohort study. J Hepatol 2007;47:664-670. 5. Ma Y, Okamoto M, Thomas MG, Bogdanos DP, Lopes AR, Portmann B, et al. Antibodies to conformational epitopes of soluble liver antigen define a severe form of autoimmune liver disease. HEPATOLOGY 2002;35:658-664. 6. Longhi MS, Ma Y, Bogdanos DP, Cheeseman P, Mieli-Vergani G, Vergani D. Impairment of CD4( )CD25( ) regulatory T-cells in autoimmune liver disease. J Hepatol 2004;41:31-37. 7. Longhi MS, Ma Y, Mitry RR, Bogdanos DP, Heneghan M, Cheeseman P, et al. Effect of CD4 CD25 regulatory T-cells on CD8 T-cell function in patients with autoimmune hepatitis. J Autoimmun 2005;25:63-71. 8. Longhi MS, Hussain MJ, Mitry RR, Arora SK, Mieli-Vergani G, Vergani D, et al. Functional study of CD4 CD25 regulatory T cells in health and autoimmune hepatitis. J Immunol 2006;176:4484-4491. Copyright © 2008 by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/hep.22179 Potential conflict of interest: Nothing to report.


In the present work, elasto-plastic creep crack growth simulations are performed using continuum damage mechanics and extended finite element method. Liu–Murakami creep damage model and explicit time integration scheme are used to evaluate the creep strain and damage variable for various materials at different temperatures. Compact tension and C-shaped tension specimens are selected for the simulation of crack growth analysis. For damage evaluation, both local and nonlocal approaches are employed. The accuracy of the extended finite element method solutions is checked by comparing with experimental results and finite element solutions. These results show that the extended finite element method requires a much coarser mesh to effectively model crack propagation. It is also shown that mesh independent results can be achieved by using nonlocal implementation.


Difficulty in reading comprehension and problem solving presented in the results of large- scale assessment may be in basic cognitive processes of reading. Researches suggest the relation between reading comprehension skills and mathematical problem solving. The aim of this article is to present the articulation between reading and problem solving, considering the cognitive dimension, and to accentuate the importance of automaticity and reading comprehension for solving problems in the Mathematics test of Prova Brasil. We analysed the descriptors of three topics of the reference matrix of Portuguese Language that indicate the reading abilities in items of Prova Brasil of a standardized test, elaborated in order to emphasize the need for the student to have developed the processes of reading comprehension to be successful in solving mathematical problems.


A rapid, simple, and highly sensitive method for sequence analysis of RNA was developed, which consists of the following steps: (i) controlled hydrolysis of the RNA by brief heating in water; (ii) (32P)-labeling of 5'-hydroxyl groups of the fragments produced in (i); (iii) resolution of labeled fragments by size on polyacrylamide gels giving the familiar "ladder"; (iv) contact transfer ("print") of the ladder from the gel to a PEI-cellulose thin layer; (v) in situ treatment of the ladder with RNase T2 resulting in the release of 5'-(32P)-labeled nucleoside-3',5' diphosphates; (vi) contact transfer and thin-layer separation of (32P)-labeled nucleotides on PEI-cellulose in ammonium sulfate and ammonium formate solvents; (vii) autoradiography. The chromatographic behavior of the 4 major and 18 modified nucleotides was determined. The positions of major and modified nucleotides in the sequence can be read directly from the separation patterns displayed on X-ray film. As this is the only sequencing method presently available that allows one to display and identify directly the positions in the RNA chain of major and modified nucleotides, no additional procedures are required to analyze the latter.


The treatment of spinal fractures in patients with osteoporosis can be challenging. Osteoporotic bone weakens the purchase of internal fixation devices, which may be required for stabilization. There have been few reports on the use of polymethylmethacrylate for the structural augmentation of pedicle-screw fixation1,2.

Theoretical complications of screw augmentation include leakage of cement causing nerve root or spinal cord compression, infection, and osteolysis due to particulate wear debris leading to screw loosening and hardware failure. The fat-embolism syndrome is a well-described complication of long-bone fractures and orthopaedic procedures involving reaming of long bones; however, it has rarely been described in association with spinal procedures. We are aware of only three cases of fat embolism syndrome following spinal arthrodesis and are aware of no such no cases following screw augmentation3-5. We present the case of a patient with intraoperative fatal fat-embolism syndrome following augmentation of screw fixation during a revision posterior spinal arthrodesis.

A sixty-one-year-old woman with diabetes presented with a several-week history of left-sided weakness, back pain, and night sweats. Radiographic evaluation revealed progressive collapse of the eighth thoracic vertebra. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed decreased signal intensity on T1-weighted images and increased signal intensity on T2-weighted images. Blood cultures were positive for Streptococcus viridans . A diagnosis of vertebral osteomyelitis was made. The patient underwent corpectomy of the seventh and eighth thoracic vertebrae and anterior spinal arthrodesis with placement of a titanium cage filled with rib autograft, followed by a posterior arthrodesis from the sixth to the ninth thoracic vertebrae ( Fig. 1 ). The patient tolerated both of the procedures well, and no early postoperative complications occurred.

Fig. 1:
Initial radiograph made after corpectomy of the …


Stuttering is a fluency disorder, partially alleviated during altered auditory feedback, suggesting abnormal sensorimotor integration in adults who stutter (AWS). As weighting of multiple integrating-information sources would be decided based on their reliabilities, the use of external (auditory feedback) and internal information (prediction of sensory consequences) could correlate with speech processing. We hypothesized that abnormal auditory-feedback processing in AWS could be related to decrease in internal processing precision. We used a perceptual-adaptation experiment of delayed auditory feedback (DAF) to verify the hypothesis. Seventeen AWS and 17 adults who do not stutter (ANS) were required to say "ah" and judge the simultaneity between their motor sensations and vocal sounds in each stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) (0, 25, 50, 75, 100, 125, or 150 ms) after inducing adaptation of DAF (three conditions with 0-, 66-, or 133-ms delay). While no adaptation occurred during the 0 ms condition, perceptual change in simultaneity judgment (adaptation effect) occurred during the 66 and 133 ms conditions. The simultaneity judgments following exposure in each SOA were fitted to the psychometric function in each condition for the AWS and ANS groups. We calculated the μ (signifying the point of subjective simultaneity and adaptation-effect degree) and σ (signifying the detecting precision) of each function and analyzed them by parametric analyses. For the μ, participant groups and adaptation conditions showed a significant interaction; the adaptation effect was greater in the AWS than in the ANS group. Additionally, the μ and σ were only positively correlated in the AWS group. The point of subjective simultaneity for auditory delay by inducing DAF was higher in AWS than in ANS, indicating that perception of simultaneity in AWS was influenced by DAF to a greater extent. Moreover, the significant positive correlation between the μ and σ in AWS showed that the more imprecise the internal auditory processing, the more AWS relied on auditory feedback. It is suggested that the reliability of internal information differed within the AWS group, and AWS with reduced internal reliability appeared to compensate by relying to a great extent on auditory feedback information.


The aim of this paper is to propose a new event-based mesoscopic approach to model multi-class traffic flow on multi-lane road sections. The mesoscopic model was first proposed by Leclercq and Becarie (2012) and turns out to be equivalent to the resolution of the seminal LWR model in lagrangian-space coordinates n − x. It is fully consistent at a macroscopic scale with the LWR model while keeping track of individual vehicles. Our model is built on Hamilton-Jacobi equations which have been proven to provide an efficient framework in traffic flow modeling for exact numerical methods at a low computational cost. The paper revisits the multi-class problem with a continuous moving bottleneck approach (instead of a sequential one), introducing a capacity drop parameter for multi-lane sections. It also overhauls the Daganzo diverge model with a relaxed FIFO assumption.


We find that firms with higher gender and racial diversity of inventors have significantly superior stock returns than firms with more homogeneous inventors. A long-short value-weighted portfolio of firms, ranked on inventor diversity (ID), earned a four-factor alpha of 4.32% per year. The results are robust to controlling for known risk factors, firm characteristics, industry dummies, and weighting methodologies. The evidence suggests that the market does not fully price inventor diversity. Inventor diversity is also positively associated with future operating performance and future innovation. Consistent with the mispricing hypothesis, we find that the ID-return predictive power is stronger for firms with low investor attention, high valuation uncertainty, and for firms in industries with more competition for products, innovation, or labor. We also find that firms with greater ID are associated with larger future earnings surprises and higher cumulative abnormal returns around subsequent earnings announcements. Our results highlight the importance of gender and racial inventor diversity for firms and have important implications for regulators, economists, and investors.


This article describes a bale-wrapping decision tool designed for use by Extension educators, lenders, and beef cattle producers. Use of bale-wrapping machines reduces storage losses and increases nutritional content of stored forages. This software tool allows users to estimate costs of production associated with purchase of a bale-wrapping machine and how the purchase decision affects the potential cost savings for the cattle operation. It is available to interested users in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.


We estimate the accuracy in the measurement of the tidal Love number of a supermassive compact object through the detection of an extreme mass ratio inspiral (EMRI) by the future LISA mission. A nonzero Love number would be a smoking gun for departures from the classical black hole prediction of General Relativity. We find that an EMRI detection by LISA could set constraints on the tidal Love number of a spinning central object with dimensionless spin ˆ a = 0 . 9 (ˆ a = 0 . 99) which are approximately four (six) orders of magnitude more stringent than what achievable with current ground-based detectors for stellar-mass binaries. Our approach is based on the stationary phase approximation to obtain approximate but accurate semi-analytical EMRI waveforms in the frequency-domain, which greatly speeds up high-precision Fisher-information matrix computations. This approach can be easily extended to several other tests of gravity with EMRIs and to efficiently account for multiple deviations in the waveform at the same time.


Congenital earpits or auricular sinuses are defects in the development of the outer ear from the 1st and 2nd branchial arch. They are most often located in front of the ear. Six cases are described. Early surgery is recommended because of a tendency towards infection with scarring. They can be associated with serious internal abnormalities, especially deafness and kidney malformations.


Smartphones and tablets are gaining more popularity due to their increasing capabilities and affordable prices. While most of the applications built for these devices are business, social, or entertainment oriented, few applications provide tools for developers. This is because of the limited screen size and the virtual keyboards that do not provide a comfortable programming environment. In this paper, we propose a framework, called CodeRoid, for developing Java programs that can be used on tablets and smartphones. Using CodeRoid, developers visually interact with the device to specify the specifications of the required code and CodeRoid automatically generates the required Java source files. CodeDroid provides the building programming blocks which the developer can choose and customize. CodeRoid checks the syntax of the produced Java files. In order to minimize the memory and computational requirements. Java source files can be sent to a server to produce the bytecode. Therefore, a complier and a JVM are not required. CodeRoid is developed with Android and set to run on smartphones and tablets with different screen sizes, computational and memory capabilities. The current version of the framework generates Java sourcecode, however, it can be extended to support other object-oriented programming languages (e.g., C++).


Crabs belong to the phylum Arthropoda together with other successful animals having exoskeletons. They are crustacean with broad, compact body and abdomen which is greatly reduced and tucked away underneath the cephalothoraxes. About 50 specimens, used for this study, were bought from Makoko market on June, 2011. They were caught by artisanal fishermen from Nigerian coastal waters. These specimens were examined for their growth pattern, food and feeding habit and reproductive biology of the shelf fish. The carapace length of the specimen ranged from 4.5 to 7.0. The correlation coefficient was 0.61 which showed a strong correlation between the standard length and weight. Out of the fifty shellfish specimens 24% has empty stomach. The condition factor ranged from 3.1 to 6.5 for the combined sexes. The result from chi-square test showed that the number of female was significantly more (p > 0.05) than the number of males.


Fever in infants (age less than 24 months) is a medical urgency because of the possibility that a severe bacterial infection may be present. A clinical approach to this recurring dilemma is provided to help the practitioner avoid the twin dangers of either missing a serious infection or embarking on an over-exuberant diagnostic work-up.


In an era when traditional engines – or suppliers – of development are being increasingly criticized, sport is being seen by some as a vehicle that can reach communities with messages in a way that politicians, multilateral agencies and NGOs cannot. The list of development-through-sport initiatives is impressive, spanning many aspects of international development, from national development strategies to HIV/AIDS awareness. Those that favour the use of sport in such a manner are quick to point out its qualities. However, the traditional field of development is taking longer to warm to the idea that sport might be an engine that drives development initiatives forward. This paper, the first of three, begins by outlining some of the ways that sport is being used for development. It concludes by noting that these schemes receive insufficient evaluation. The following two papers discuss how these initiatives might be evaluated, and share the results of the evaluation process.


This review deals with the Vanilla plant: history; botanical description; chemistry of vanilla beans; curing of vanilla beans; commercial extraction of vanilla flavour; standard specifications and uses of vanilla flavour. The production of vanillin by both chemical and biotechnological methods is described. The biotechnological production of vanilla flavour metabolites by plant tissue/cell culture, microbial biotransformation and molecular approaches is also presented, together with a discussion on economic and safety considerations.

© 2000 Society of Chemical Industry


Calsequestrin-1 knockout (CASQ1-null) mice suffer lethal episodes when exposed to strenuous exercise and environmental heat, crises known as exertional/environmental heatstroke (EHS). We previously demonstrated that administration of exogenous antioxidants (N-acetylcysteine and trolox) reduces CASQ1-null mortality during exposure to heat. As aerobic training is known to boost endogenous antioxidant protection, we subjected CASQ1-null mice to treadmill running for 2 months at 60% of their maximal speed for 1 h, 5 times/week. When exposed to heat stress protocol (41°C/1 h), the mortality rate of CASQ1-null mice was significantly reduced compared to untrained animals (86% versus 16%). Protection from heatstrokes was accompanied by a reduced increase in core temperature during the stress protocol and by an increased threshold of response to caffeine of isolated extensor digitorum longus muscles during in vitro contracture test. At cellular and molecular levels, aerobic training (i) improved mitochondrial function while reducing their damage and (ii) lowered calpain activity and lipid peroxidation in membranes isolated from sarcoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria. Based on this evidence, we hypothesize that the protective effect of aerobic training is essentially mediated by a reduction in oxidative stress during exposure of CASQ1-null mice to adverse environmental conditions.


Data in sufficient detail to support a qualitative assessment of the geomorphic response of the Rio Grande to the construction of main-stem dams are available for two reaches in New Mexico: below Elephant Butte Dam and below Cochiti Dam. Documentation of channel adjustments below Elephant Butte Dam during 1917-32 provides a set of interpretive keys to support a detailed analysis of the response of the Rio Grande to the construction of Cochiti Dam in 1973. A comparison of cross-section, planform, and profile data develops a time-sequenced picture of geomorphic change during 1970-80 in the 50-mi (80 km) reach of the Rio Grande below Cochiti. When correlated with the hydrologic records, hydraulic data, and the history of engineering activity in the reach this analysis provid s a qualitative assessment, in terms of trends, of the response of a semiarid zone alluvial river to dam construction. Regulation of discharge and alternation of sediment load following closure of Cochiti Dam required major adjustments in the alluvial system below the dam. In the upper reaches, gravel armor and base-level control by the volume and size of sediment in arroyo and tributary deltas restricted change in the vertical dimension. Correlative adjustment in river planform was strongly influenced by channelization activities. In the lower reaches, adjustment has been through significant shifts in longitudinal profile with relatively little change in planform. Degradation was limited by gravel armor and arroyo control in the upper reaches, but became the dominant process in the middle reaches. In the lower reaches, an initial period of degradation was followed by aggradation as the heavy sediment load derived from upstream scour encountered a slightly reduced gradient and depletion of main channel flow by successive irrigation diversions. Available hydrologic data also permit evaluation of the impact of an extended period of regulated low flow and a sustained period of high flow on system stability. A qualitative analysis, alone, yields meaningful results, and also supports a more precise assessment of river response as well as the predictive capability that can be derived from physical-process computer modeling. End_of_Article - Last_Page 563------------


Learning should be well prepared from planning, implementing, to evaluating learning This encourages research to examine how the role of teachers in the learning process is seen from the learning process The focus of this research is to describe the Role of Teachers in the Implementation of Distance Learning, from the planning, implementation, and evaluation of learning This research uses a descriptive qualitative research model Main Findings: This research was conducted at MIN 1 Banda Aceh with the subject of the research being the teachers, in this case the teachers were given questionnaires and interviews to find out some indicators of the teacher's role (1) the teacher's role as a source of learning in distance learning the teacher provided the source of learning among them namely the theme books and programs that the government made through television namely on TVRI;(2) the teacher's role as a demonstrator in this distance learning where the teacher provides facilities such as media for example with video media to help students in the learning process;(3) the teacher's role as a motivator gives the teacher motivating students The motivation provided by the teacher also varies, there are those who provide motivation with rewards and also those that go directly to students (4) the role of the teacher as a manager in distance learning here the teacher acts as a manager of learning so that learning can be directed according to the basic competencies and learning objectives that must be achieved;(5) the teacher's role as an evaluator here the teacher's role is to provide an evaluation in order to know the extent to which students master a learning material Regarding supporting and inhibiting factors for the role of the teacher in implementing distance learning


Recreation of the past—of historical buildings—sits at the intersection of the spatio-temporal manifestation of cultural memories, socio-cultural meanings, values, and identity remolds, and refines the existing understanding and sense of place. Digital technologies have become a popular tool in recreation of the past by creating a new body of knowledge and historical discourse based on identifying the gaps within our written histories. Designers and policymakers around the world have been exploring various tools and technologies, such as diachronic modeling, yet there is a gap in evidence-based understanding regarding the actual functioning and success of applications for placemaking. This paper, therefore, sets out to scrutinize the role of digital technologies in facilitating digital placemaking. To do so, it investigates the potential of a new "digital heritage" narrative in the revival of the lost architectural narrative of the Dennys Lascelles wool store, Geelong. The proposed paper aims to investigate the potential of a new "digital heritage" narrative and storytelling as a means towards a digital placemaking framework. While exploring the new and unique capabilities provided by the digital narrative in capturing, simulating, and disseminating lost heritage, it will further imbue a sense of place by connecting the everyday city dweller.


Onychomycosis is a relatively common fungal infection that lies underneath the nail plate or nail bed. It most often presents as yellowish, white, black or green discolouration of the nail. The infected nail may also appear thickened, brittle and/or distorted. In severe cases from long-standing infection (where all the tissues of the nail apparatus have been simultaneously infected), the nail plate becomes friable and nail structure is lost. This results in total dystrophy of the nail plate, and the infected nail may break up and fall off .


Within a group of cooperating countries, all breeding animals are judged according to the same criteria if a joint breeding goal is applied in these countries. This makes it easier for dairy farmers to compare national and foreign elite bulls and may lead to more selection across borders. However, a joint breeding goal is only an advantage if the countries share the same production environment. In this study, we investigated whether the development of a joint breeding goal for each of the major dairy cattle breeds across Denmark, Finland, and Sweden would be an advantage compared with national breeding goals. For that purpose, economic values for all breeding goal traits in the 3 countries were derived, and estimated rank correlations between bulls selected for a national breeding goal and a joint breeding goal were compared. The economic values within country were derived by means of an objective bio-economic model, and the basic situation in each of the 3 production environments was based on an average dairy cattle herd with regard to production system, production level, and management strategy. The common Nordic economic values for each trait were calculated as the average of that specific trait in each of the 3 production environments. Balanced breeding goals were obtained in all situations because the derived economic values for traits related to health, fertility, milk production, and longevity were sizeable. For both Nordic Red Dairy Cattle and Nordic Holstein, the estimated rank correlations between bulls selected for a national breeding goal and a joint breeding goal were very high. Thus, a joint breeding goal within breed is feasible for Denmark, Finland, and Sweden.


Variations in individual fann characteristics and behavior of fann operators are taken into account in a procedure for estimating production potentials of agricultural areas. The procedure combines sampling and programming techniques. It differs from the purely synthetic approach, or the representative finn approach, in that the programmed or budgeted results are adjusted for changes in individual fann situations on the basis of the socioeconomic characteristics of individual fanners and their resource baSE. Aggregate output is shown by a case study to be influenced by variables other than those nonnally included in budgeted linear progranlming models.


This report will explain on the basis of the final year project of developing an
application for mobile staffs using personal data assistant (PDA) andnotebooks. Named
as 'Mobile Staff Info', the author aims to create an application for mobile staffs that
compromises of the basic procedures (such as to apply leave or promotion) that are
usually done manually in the office; that are time consuming. This report contains the
background of study of the project, its problem statement, objective and scope of study,
literature review and theory, methodology, and lastly the conclusion of the project.
Basically the problem of the current procedures are they are done manually using
papers, thus this will obviously consumes a lot of time especially in a big company that
may have staffs applying for their requests simultaneously at the same time. Mobile
staffs that used these manual procedures will be affected, as it is not efficient and time
consuming; since time management is very crucial for them. The scope of this project is
to do a research on the reliability of the proposed application. This study will be
performed in Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) campus and aims at several staffs of
UTP as the target users. Themethodology of this project is incremental model which is
under iteration model architecture. This model will help to identify problems and also
the services that need to be included in the application. For the conclusion, the author
has reviewed back about the proposed application in the context of efficiency and
reliability to users.
in


Unnoticed in the literature on sovereign bonds, an innovation has been taking place over the past decade and a half. Starting with a single issuance in 2006 by Mexico and two issuances by Brazil in 2007, a small number of issuers have been using what are known as "doomsday†or "make whole†call provisions. These are call options set deep out of the money at issuance, and therefore unlikely to ever be triggered. We report the birth and evolution of the clause over the past fifteen years and ask what drove its application to sovereign bonds. We also estimate its cost for the issuing country. It turns out, at least thus far, that it is free.


Using nonlinear electrodynamics coupled to teleparallel theory of gravity, regular charged spherically symmetric solutions are obtained. The nonlinear theory is reduced to the Maxwell one in the weak limit and the solutions correspond to charged spacetimes. One of the obtained solutions contains an arbitrary function which we call general solution since we can generate from it the other solutions. The metric associated with these spacetimes is the same, i.e., regular charged static spherically symmetric black hole. In calculating the energy content of the general solution using the gravitational energy—momentum within the framework of the teleparallel geometry, we find that the resulting form depends on the arbitrary function. Using the regularized expression of the gravitational energy—momentum we obtain the value of energy.


Intensity coding mechanisms are explored in a paradigm involving both forward and simultaneous masking. For intensity discrimination of 1000-Hz pure tone in quiet, a near-miss to Weber's law is observed. However, as more stimulus components are added to this relatively simple experiment, interactions among components produce a more complex pattern of results. An intense forward masker, while not causing any threshold shift for the test tone, produces a nonmonotonic intensity discrimination function ["the midlevel hump," Zeng et al., Hearing Res. 55, 223-230 (1991)]. The midlevel hump can be removed by the presence of additional notched noise [Plack and Viemeister, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 92, 1902-1910 (1992)] or narrow-band noise whose level is increased along with the test tone's standard level. The same midlevel hump can also be enhanced by a fixed-low-level notched noise or a high-level, high-pass noise which causes minimal masking at the test frequency. Interactions of forward masking and simultaneous masking present a serious problem for a clear interpretation of these results. For example, the notched noise was originally intended to restrict off-frequency listening, but on-frequency masking compromised this original purpose and confounded the interpretation of the notched noise effects. By measuring systematically the growth-of-masking functions, the present study identified various interactions of forward and simultaneous masking and clarified the role of off-frequency listening in forward-masked intensity discrimination. Both peripheral and central mechanisms may have contributed to the occurrence, reduction and enhancement of the midlevel hump under these masking conditions.


Recent mine disasters in the U.S. exposed various inadequacies and gaps in mine-safety technology. Congress responded to these tragedies by enacting the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006 (MINER Act), which resulted in the most significant change to mine-safety laws in 30 years. To help meet the requirements of the MINER Act and to help eliminate future tragedies, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health initiated aggressive research programs for developing new, and enhancing existing, mine-safety technologies. A major research emphasis addressed the lack of postaccident communications, which surfaced as a critical deficiency in some disasters. As a result, three communications approaches emerged as viable technologies-enhanced leaky-feeder, wireless-mesh, and medium-frequency systems. This paper describes the operation, application, advantages, and disadvantages of each system, as well as the challenges associated with underground wireless communications.


During the COVID-19 pandemic, social media served as an important channel for the public to obtain health information and disseminate opinions when offline communication was severely hindered. Yet the emergence of social bots influencing social media conversations about public health threats will require researchers and practitioners to develop new communication strategies considering their influence. So far, little is known as to what extent social bots have been involved in COVID-19 vaccine-related discussions and debates on social media. This work selected a period of nearly 9 months after the approval of the first COVID-19 vaccines to detect social bots and performed high-frequency word analysis for both social bot-generated and human-generated tweets, thus working out the extent to which social bots participated in the discussion on the COVID-19 vaccine on Twitter and their participation features. Then, a textual analysis was performed on the content of tweets. The findings revealed that 8.87% of the users were social bots, with 11% of tweets in the corpus. Besides, social bots remained active over three periods. High-frequency words in the discussions of social bots and human users on vaccine topics were similar within the three peaks of discourse.


A Review of:
Knapp, P. B. (1966). The Monteith College library experiment. New York, NY: Scarecrow Press.

Objective — To create a college-level, four-year plan of library instruction in which assignments directly relate to students' course work. To develop tools to assess the plan's effectiveness in improving students' library skills and contributing to their overall academic success.

Design — Exploratory longitudinal cohort study employing pilot library assignments, interviews, and questionnaires.

Setting — Monteith College, one of eleven colleges at Wayne State University. Monteith was a small liberal arts college established in 1959 which stressed innovative teaching methods such as team-teaching, small-group discussion, and independent study (Worrell, 2002).

Subjects — Teaching faculty from all three college divisions–social sciences, natural sciences, and humanities–and students at Monteith College. Over the course of the study the college employed between 15 and 30 faculty members and enrolled 300 to700 students.

Methods — The project team consisted of project director Patricia Knapp, a project librarian, and a project research analyst. The team worked with the teaching faculty to develop course-related library assignments. Students completed a series of assignments over several semesters as part of their course requirements. The assignment series changed over the course of the project. Students who entered in the fall of 1959 or the spring of 1960 completed Sequence A consisting of six assignments. Students who entered in the fall of 1960 completed Sequence B, six assignments that were a mixture of original and revised assignments. Students who entered in the spring or fall of 1961 completed two revised library assignments.

In the summer of 1961, the investigators conducted the first of two small studies. They interviewed a random sample of 21 Monteith students about their experiences with the library and the required library assignments. The students also completed library performance tests such as choosing a subject heading to match a topic or deciphering an entry in a periodical index. This allowed the investigators to compare different measures of library competence and get feedback on the library assignments. In the summer of 1962, the investigators conducted a second small study of 40 Monteith students. The investigators evaluated the tests and other tools used in the first study.

The investigators then analyzed student and faculty data collected from Sequences A, B, and C, and from the two sample studies. Data included faculty interviews and feedback from student participants in the sample studies. The investigators also analyzed questionnaire data and the completed student assignments. They analyzed data using nonparametric, small sample statistics.

Main Results — Knapp's results helped shape the final plan of instruction and assessment presented in her book-length published report The Monteith College Library Experiment. It should be stated again that the project objective was not to implement a plan of instruction and assessment but simply to develop one.

One of the most important findings was that small sample studies can effectively test the reliability of library assignments. The sample studies allowed the team to "...define and measure library competence and to identify factors associated with its achievement" (Knapp, 1966, p. 17).

On a different level, the project offered insight into the faculty-librarian relationship. The investigators found that faculty resisted librarian input into their courses. They also discovered that the most effective group size for developing library assignments was a small group of two to four people, but this sized group was conducive to informal meetings in which key players, often the librarian, were left out. When faculty did not share in decision-making, project morale was low. The project team reorganized and reassigned roles, and the project ran more smoothly.

Knapp also learned about the faculty-student relationship. Knapp felt that some faculty simply passed on their knowledge to students rather than teaching students how to acquire it for themselves (Worrell, 2002). She found that student enthusiasm mirrored faculty enthusiasm about library assignments. Early in the project, faculty members presented library assignments to their students. The investigators discerned that both students and faculty were more amenable to the assignments when a librarian presented them and explained their purpose. Knapp (2000) agreed with Bruner who stated in The Process of Education that context is important when teaching any skill; students need to be able to relate the skills they are learning to the importance of why they are learning them (1960).

Finally, Knapp learned that students need more than to understand library organization (such as cataloging and classification systems). Students also need to understand "the organization of scholarly communication" to foster true library competence (Knapp, 1966, p. 81). Whereas library organization concerns itself with subject and form, the organization of scholarship "reflect[s] discipline, 'school,' concept, and method" (Knapp, 2000, p. 10).

Conclusion — The Monteith College Library Experiment ended in 1962 with a thoughtfully planned and tested program of library instruction. The final proposed program included 10 library assignments that were: of increasing complexity and aligned with the curriculum; intellectual with a focus on problem-solving; and feasible within the library's parameters. Students would complete one or more of the assignments each semester for four years as part of specific course requirements. Knapp noted the program could be adapted to any college curriculum. It would require six years for implementation and assessment. This includes an initial year for planning in which teaching faculty and librarians would collaboratively develop course-related library assignments, four years for student completion of assignments, and a sixth year for assessment.

Knapp outlined three levels of assessment. Investigators would assess the appropriateness of individual assignments through interviews and questionnaires collected from faculty and students, as well as completed student assignments. Knapp outlined two ways to assess library competence. First, Monteith faculty members would assess literature reviews in their subject specialties written by second semester seniors. Next, faculty from other Wayne State colleges would review papers from both Monteith and non-Monteith students to comparatively assess the students' use of sources. Knapp proposed that faculty judgment would be the most valuable measure of the relationship between library competence and overall academic success.

Knapp was prepared to implement her plan of instruction using all of her findings, but her proposal to move into phase two of the project was rejected by both the Office of Education, whose members cited economic reasons, and the Council on Library Resources, whose members were not satisfied that faculty were invested in the idea of curriculum-integrated library instruction (Worrell, 2002).


The purpose of this study was to find and analyze phrasal verb mistake based on surface strategy taxonomy in English essays written by students. This research was conducted using a qualitative approach with content analysis methods. The data source of this research is the first semester students of the Accounting Program Prof. Dr. Hazairin, SH University in academic year 2019/2020. The data consisted of 24 essays written by students. The results of this study indicate that there are 76 errors from four categories of errors including: obmission, misformation, addition, and misordering. Based on the research findings, it can be concluded that the highest error is found in misformation namely 30 times (86%). Causing a misperception between the writer and the reader. Therefore phrasal verb is indispensable in writing essays in English.


The application of time-series radar measurements to accurately invert the thickness of saline ice is presented in this study. The authors describe briefly some experimental observations from the United States Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Hanover, NH, 1993 (CRRELEX'93) campaign of microwave scattering from sea ice. They demonstrate that volume scattering from brine inclusions is an important contribution to the backscatter response of saline ice in this case. From the experimental findings and the thermophysics of ice growth, they develop an inversion algorithm for the ice thickness based on a dynamic electromagnetic scattering model of saline ice. This inversion algorithm uses a parametric estimation approach in which the radiative transfer equation is used as the direct scattering model to calculate the backscattering signatures from ice medium and the Levenberg-Marquardt method is employed to retrieve ice thickness iteratively. Additional information provided by the saline ice thermodynamics is applied to constrain the electromagnetic inverse problem to achieve a reasonably accurate reconstruction. The inversion results using this algorithm and the data from CRRELEX'93 experiment are compared. The accurate thickness retrieval suggests the potential use of this algorithm for retrieving geophysical parameters from satellite remote-sensing data.


The study investigated the information seeking-pattern of Nigerian textile market women and strategies for improvement of which the study was an ex-post-facto type and adopted survey research design. Disproportional stratified random technique was used to select markets for the study while questionnaire was used to collect data to elicit information from 1556 respondents and data were analyzed with the aid of frequency counts, percentages, mean and standard deviation. Findings revealed that majority of textile market women in Nigeria had information needs and these needs were adequately recognised by them. Also, they often seek information about their businesses and other life related issues. Gender bias, culture, lack of adequate skills, attitude and lack of awareness are the major challenges facing textile market women in Nigeria. Adequate training for textile market women and making information relating to their experiences public are largely major strategies that can be used to improve the information seeking behaviour of these women. Keywords: Information seeking behaviour, information needs, information, textile market women


Regionally recurrent and P-regionally recurrent flows are characterized in purely prolongational notions. An example is given to show that the condition z E J(z) is not, as many authors asserted, equivalent to regional recurrence. Introduction. Let (X, T) be a flow, where X is a topological space and T is a topological group. Then a point x E X is said to be T-regionally recurrent or simply regionally recurrent if for each neighbourhood U of x there exists an extensive subset A of T such that U n Ua $ 0 for all a E A [6]. In [3] the author showed that for a flow (X, T), a point x E X is regionally recurrent if and only if x E JP(x) for all replete semigroups P in T. An example is provided (Example 14) to show that the condition x E J(x) is not equivalent to regional recurrence as it was stated in [7] and [8]. However, in the setting of continuous flows, where the phase group is the additive group of real numbers R, a necessary and a sufficient condition for a point x E X to be regionally recurrent is either one of the following (1) x E J+(x) or, (2) x E J-(x) or (3) x E J(x). This is due to the simple structure of replete semigroups in R. Every replete semigroup in R contains either a ray in R+ or a ray in R-. Thus if x E J+(x), then x E JP(x) for all replete semigroups P in R+. Furthermore, x E J+(x) implies that x E J-(x). Consequently, x E JQ(x) for all replete semigroups Q in Rand hence x is regionally recurrent. Similar analysis is available for the cases x E J-(x) and x E J(x). The situation is far more complicated in general flows as is shown in Example 14. In this example we have x E J(x) for each x E X but x ? JQ(x) for some replete semigroups Q in the phase group T. In [3] it was shown that x E X is P-regionally recurrent iff it is P-nonwandering. The same conclusion holds for T-regionally recurrent and T-nonwandering. Hence, the work here is a natural generalization of the work in [1] on nonwandering continuous flows. However, our techniques are different and much simpler. In addition to the above-mentioned, one purpose of this note is to introduce prolongational techniques which are widely used in Dynamical Systems Theory but surprisingly unknown in the theory of Topological Dynamics. As far as I know it was Hajek [7] who suggested the use of prolongational techniques in Topological Dynamics. R. Knight [8, 9] and Elaydi [2-5], with Kaul followed suit. But the power of these techniques has yet to be shown. Our main references for notations and terminology are [7] and [3]. Received by the editors April 6, 1981 and, in revised form, September 20, 1981. 1980 Mathematics Subject Classification. Primary 54H20.


This paper presents an attempt of using Hidden Markov Model to model the high level emotions (such as, encouraging, interest, unsure, disagreeing and discouraging) through low level facial expressions (such as, happy, sad, surprise and neutral). The rationale behind using HMM is that the HMM models human brain as human emotion is quite complex, naturally a human instinct contain hidden layer as well (like sub conscious mind). In addition, Markov state chain property is good to model human emotion as our emotion is also through our mind state that it is always dependent on our previous state of our emotion and current event will end up our current emotion state. Our proposed work is to develop an emotion indexer acting as a higher level analysis to interpret more advanced emotional states out of the basic emotions.