-Malaysian is one of the develop countries that need to face environmental pollution. Have many ways to reduce environmental pollution that causes by production of Portland cement and cause by the increasing of waste material. Geopolymer concrete incorporating with recycle concrete aggregate (RCA) is one of the method. Waste Paper Sludge Ash (WPSA) and alkaline liquid as a binder are being used to replaced the Portland cement to produce geopolymer concrete. The alkaline liquid that been used in geopolymerisation is the combination of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and sodium silicate (Na2SiO3). In the present study, two (2) series of geopolymer concrete specimens composing two (2) different molar of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) which are 8M and 14M were adopted. There are 30 cube specimens at size 100mm x 100mm x 100mm were prepared which is 15 cubes for 8M and another 15 cubes for 14M. The compressive strength of the geopolymer concrete specimens is tested at the age of 3, 7, 14, 21 and 28 days after cured in local laboratory ambient condition. The result shows that the strength of geopolymer concrete based Waste Paper Sludge Ash (WPSA) incorporating with recycle concrete aggregate (RCA) increase by increasing the molarities of sodium hydroxide (NaOH).


Summary Our study examines how personality and coping influence soldiers' psychological health among 648 US Army personnel who were at that time deployed in Iraq at the height of an insurgency. Conscientiousness, neuroticism, and extraversion were associated with different coping behaviors, and these were in turn related to psychological distress. Conscientiousness was positively associated with problem-focused coping and negatively with avoidance coping, whereas neuroticism was most positively associated with avoidance coping. Extraversion was positively related to both seeking social support and avoidance coping. As expected, avoidance coping was positively associated with psychological distress. Coping style explained more variance in the relationship between personality and distress among soldiers who perceived higher levels of threat, thus supporting a moderated mediation hypothesis. We discuss implications for facilitating the stress coping of workers who face acute and potentially traumatic stress exposures. Copyright # 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Type systems are widely used in programming languages as a powerful tool providing safety to programs, and forcing the programmers to write code in a clearer way. Functional-logic languages have inherited Damas & Milner type system from their functional part due to its simplicity and popularity. In this paper we address a couple of aspects that can be subject of improvement. One is related to a problematic feature of functional logic languages not taken under consideration by standard systems: it is known that the use of opaque HO patterns in left-hand sides of program rules may produce undesirable effects from the point of view of types. We re-examine the problem, and propose a Damas & Milner-like type system where certain uses of HO patterns (even opaque) are permitted while preserving type safety, as proved by a subject reduction result that uses HO-let-rewriting, a recently proposed operational semantics for HO functional logic programs. At the same time that we formalize the type system, we have made the effort of technically clarifying additional issues: one is the different ways in which polymorphism of local definitions can be handled, and the other is the overall process of type inference in a whole program.


In this study, the complex hygrothermal behavior of two epoxy systems used for strengthening applications was studied. In these systems, property loss by plasticization simultaneously occurred with property gain during additional curing. A comparison of the changes in the glass-transition temperature (Tg) and crosslink density with water immersion at different temperatures clearly showed that the two effects of additional curing by a postcuring reaction and plasticization by water absorption were in competition with each other during the exposure. The changes in the conversion with different exposure conditions suggested that water accelerated the postcuring reaction, even at low temperatures; this resulted in a significant difference in the postcuring reaction between unexposed and exposed epoxies. The construction of the plot of Tg versus conversion for the unexposed system and the placement of the Tg for exposed systems onto this master plot provided a method for evaluating the plasticization effect while excluding the influence of additional curing. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012


The yellow cardinal (Gubernatrix cristata) is a passerine found in southern Brazil, especially along the border with Uruguay and Argentina. It is an endangered species and its population is decreasing. Among the parasites that affect passerines, the genus Isospora is the most easily found in both captive and free-living birds. This parasite commonly causes injury to the intestinal tissue and could occasionally affect other organs. In this work we examined the occurrence of coccidiosis in captive yellow cardinals and its association with factors such as sex, use of parasiticides, type of enclosure, contact with feces, type of food and cleaning frequency. We collected fecal samples of 45 yellow cardinals, healthy and kept in captivity, in late afternoon at the end of the reproductive period. The examination showed parasitic infection by Isospora bocamontensis in 44.5% of the birds. This infection is not influenced by the sex of birds, but is significantly affected by the type of enclosure, contact with the feces, use of parasiticides, type of food and cleaning frequency. The results indicate that to keep yellow cardinals captive, these factors must be observed.


Though the processes of change are conceived as the core constructs of the transtheoretical model (TTM), few researchers have examined their construct validity in the physical activity domain. Further, only 1 study was designed to investigate the processes of change in an adolescent sample. The purpose of this study was to examine the exercise behavior processes of change in a sample of adolescents using novel three-step confirmatory validation procedures, including (a) the item-level aggregation of processes, (b) the higher order structure of aggregation, and (c) the discriminant validity of processes across the stages of change. Participants were 15 to 17 year old high school students (N = 284) who completed measures of the exercise behavior processes of change and stages of behavior change. Results using structural equation modeling identified that the processes of Dramatic Relief, Helping Relationships, Environmental Reevaluation, and Self-Reevaluation had acceptable item-level measurement properties ( p < .01), while the construct of Social Liberation was not supported. Distinct processes structures were a better fit of the observed data than any higher order behavioral or experiential structure (p < .01). Finally, validation tests of the processes of change across stage of change using discriminant function analysis and univariate F tests supported Counter Conditioning as the critical process of exercise behavior change in adolescents (p < .01) and found no support for the experiential processes. Changes and implications to TTM theory and measurement were discussed as well as practical implications for exercise behavior intervention strategies.


Elusive Cu(III) organometallic complexes are extremely attractive intermediates in catalysis. Using a computational approach, we show that C-X activation by some Cu(I) complexes to yield Cu(III) intermediates is actually feasible, although ligands of appropriate structure must be used.


BACKGROUND
Salicylic acid (SA) acts as a potential non-enzymatic antioxidant and a plant growth regulator, which plays a major role in regulating various plant physiological mechanisms. The effects of salicylic acid (SA; 0.05 mM) on physiological parameters, antioxidative capacity and phenolic metabolism, lignin, alkaloid accumulation in salt stressed Catharanthus roseus were investigated.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Catharanthus roseus seeds were grown for two months in a glass house at 27-30°C in sunlight, and then divided into four different groups and transplanted with each group with the following solutions for one month: group I (non-saline control), group II, 100 mM NaCl, group III, 0.05 mM SA, group IV, 100 mM NaCl+0.05 mM SA and to determine the physiological parameters (DW, FW, WC), chlorophyll contents, carotenoid contents, lipid peroxidation, phenolics, lignin, alkaloid and enzymatic assays in each leaf pairs and roots.

RESULTS
SA exhibited growth-promoting property, which correlated with the increase of dry weight, water content, photosynthetic pigments and soluble proteins. SA has additive effect on the significant increase in phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) activity, which is followed by an increase in total soluble phenolics and lignin contents in all leaf pairs and root of C. roseus. SA enhances malondialdehyde content in all leaf pairs and root. The antioxidant enzymes (catalase, glutathione reductase, glutathione-S-tranferase, superoxide dismutase, peroxidase) as well as alkaloid accumulation increased in all treatments over that of non-saline control but the magnitude of increase was found more in root. Further, the magnitude of increase of alkaloid accumulation was significantly higher in 100 mM NaCl, but highly significant was found in presence of 0.05 mM SA and intermediate in presence of both 0.05 mM SA+100 mM NaCl.

CONCLUSION
We concluded that applied SA to salt stress, antioxidant and phenolic metabolism, and alkaloid accumulation were significantly altered and the extent of alteration varied between the SA and salt stress.


According to Krueger (2005) the main reason for concert ticket prices for popular music to show a sharp increase between 1996 and 2003 is that artists felt less con-strained from increasing prices due to the erosion of the complementary relation-ship with album sales. This paper continues his analysis in a more current context by focusing on how the rise of music streaming services has influenced concert ticket prices and revenues, while also providing a brief analysis on the effects of the eco-nomic crisis.


While Eye Gaze Tracking (EGT) systems have demonstrated their potential as computer cursor control devices, their application outside the laboratory environment has been less prominent than originally expected. This may be due to limitations in the stability of the cursor controlled by EGT devices and in the potential for unintended selections ("clicks"). To address these EGT limitations, we have developed a cursor control system that integrates electromyogram-based control with EGT-based control. This integrated system allows a user to perform small cursor displacements and selection operations ("left click") by detecting distinct changes in electromyogram (EMG) signals generated during specific facial movements. Specifically, the system monitors and processes, in real time, EMG signals from four electrodes attached to the head of the subject. We compared the performance of this EMG/EGT integrated system, with the performance of a stand-alone EGT system and a hand-held mouse, in point-and-click trials. Statistical analysis of the results indicates that the EMG/EGT system is slower than the EGT system and the mouse, but it also revealed that it is significantly less error-prone than the EGT-only system. The analysis also revealed that the performance of the EMG/EGT system does not seem to be well matched to Fitts' model.


We present a compositional control synthesis method based on assume-guarantee contracts with application to correct-by-construction design of vehicular mission plans. In our approach, a mission-level specification expressed in a fragment of signal temporal logic (STL) is decomposed into predicates defined on non-overlapping time intervals. The STL predicates are then mapped to an aggregation of contracts associated with continuously differentiable time-varying control barrier functions. The barrier functions are used to constrain the lower-level control synthesis problem, which is solved via quadratic programming. Our approach can avoid the conservatism of previous methods for task-driven control based on under-approximations. We illustrate its effectiveness on a case study motivated by vehicular mission planning under safety constraints as well as constraints imposed by traffic regulations under vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication.


High-frequency oscillations >80 Hz (HFOs) have unique features distinguishing them from spikes and artifactual components that can be well-evidenced in the time-frequency representations. We introduce an unsupervised HFO detector that uses computer-vision algorithms to detect HFO landmarks on two-dimensional (2D) time-frequency maps. To validate the detector, we introduce an analytical model of the HFO based on a sinewave having a Gaussian envelope, for which analytical equations in time-frequency space can be derived, allowing us to establish a direct correspondence between common HFO detection criteria in the time domain with the ones in the frequency domain, used by the computer-vision detection algorithm. The detector identifies potential HFO events on the time-frequency representation, which are classified as true HFOs if criteria regarding the HFO's frequency, amplitude, and duration are met. The detector is validated on simulated HFOs according to the analytical model, in the presence of noise, with different signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) ranging from −9 to 0 dB. The detector's sensitivity was 0.64 at an SNR of −9 dB, 0.98 at −6 dB, and >0.99 at −3 dB and 0 dB, while its positive prediction value was >0.95, regardless of the SNR. Using the same simulation dataset, our detector is benchmarked against four previously published HFO detectors. The F-measure, a combined metric that takes into account both sensitivity and positive prediction value, was used to compare detection algorithms. Our detector surpassed the other detectors at −6, −3, and 0 dB and had the second best F-score at −9 dB SNR after the MNI detector (0.77 vs. 0.83). The ability to detect HFOs in clinical recordings has been tested on a set of 36 intracranial electroencephalogram (EEG) channels in six patients, with 89% of the detections being validated by two independent reviewers. The results demonstrate that the unsupervised detection of HFOs based on their 2D features in time-frequency maps is feasible and has a performance comparable or better than the most used HFO detectors.


The cavitating flow simulation is of practical importance for many engineering systems, such as marine propellers, pump impellers, nozzles, injectors, torpedoes, etc. The present work has developed a base code for simulating cavitating flows past cylinders and hydrofoils. The governing equation is the Navier-Stokes equation based on homogeneous mixture model. The momentum and energy equation is in the mixture phase while the continuity equation is solved in liquid and vapor phase, separately. The solver employs an implicit preconditioning algorithm in curvilinear coordinates. The computations have been carried out for the cylinders with spherical, 1- and 0-caliber forebody and hydrofoil of ALE and NACA cross-section and, then, compared with experiments and other numerical results. Fairly good agreements with experiments and numerical results have been achieved. The present base code has shown the feasibility to solve the cavitating flow past supercavitating torpedo after the improvement for compressibility effects and interactions with hot exhaust gas of propulsive rocket.


The stability of the current Internet architecture depends mostly on end-to-end TCP congestion control mechanisms. The Network Congestion Analyzer and Controller (NCAC) is an effort to build a complete user interface application to NS-2 that provides graphical access to most of NS2's functionalities. Besides, the application provides powerful visual tools for monitoring and displaying network performance metrics calculated by the simulation. The application is developed in Java to benefit from Java's portability and platform independence. There are three main parts in NCAC: (1) NS-2 interface, (2) network animation and alarm, and (3) graph plotting application. The functionality of each part is discussed.


A glasshouse experiment was conducted to evaluate the external P requirement of two soils (Flagstaff and Qunu) from the Transkei region of South Africa with varying sorption properties using oat (Avena sativa L.) as a test crop. Eight levels of P application estimated from the Langmuir equations that gave a range of P concentrations in the soil solution were evaluated. The rates were 0, 45, 90, 135, 180, 225, 270, and 315 mg P kg for Flagstaff soil and 0, 10, 20, 30 40, 50, 60, and 70 mg P kg for Qunu soil and these resulted in equilibrium soil solution concentrations of between 0 to 0.35 mg P l for both soils. Harvesting was done 10 weeks after planting. Biomass yield and tissue P concentration was increased significantly (P< 0.05) by addition of fertilizer P when compared with the control and the responses were curvilinear for both soils. Biomass yield ranged from 25.3 to 53.6 g for Flagstaff soil and 5.1 to 52.9 for Qunu soil. Maximum biomass yield was achieved at an equilibrium P concentrations of 0.24 and 0.26 mg P l for Flagstaff and Qunu soils, but, the yield obtained from these concentrations were not significantly different from those obtained at a soil solution P concentration of 0.2 mg P l reported in the literature to be a threshold for many crops, over which no response to P is observed. Phosphorus accumulation in the plant tissue followed a pattern similar to that of biomass accumulation and was also curvilinear for both soils. The P accumulation was highly correlated with levels of P applied (r = 0.904) for Flagstaff and (r = 0.955) for Qunu soil. The good relationships between P in solution and biomass yield indicate the usefulness of P sorption approach for making fertilizer recommendations. The results thus confirmed that a soil solution concentration 0.2 mg P l 1 is critical for optimum yields and that this index is independent of soil type.


Millennium- " Colonel Glantz is arguably the West"s finest Soviet military historian and his book on the Soviet airforce will do nothing to diminish his reputation as a meticulous scholar and elegant writer. It is an epic survey of Soviet airborne operations, built firmly upon wide and sensitive research and a detailed mastery of his material...this book is a masterpiece." Slavic and Military Studies- " David Glantz...has produced yet another excellent history and analysis...If the reader wants the best history on Soviet Airborne Forces in World War II and a full analysis of the doctrinal underpinnings which drove airborne force structure and employment, Glantz"s book is the logical choice.


The performance of a new Photonis XP1472 nine-channel photomultiplier (PMT) was studied with the main emphasis to the photoelectron numbers and photoelectron collection efficiency, as measured with a 10 mm diameter NaI(Tl) crystal coupled to the separate channels. Simultaneously, energy resolution and crosstalk were measured for all channels with a /sup 137/Cs source. Time jitter and time resolution for an LSO crystal coupled to the different channels were measured for 511keV annihilation quanta and compared to those measured earlier with XP2020Q PMTs. The studies confirmed high photoelectron collection efficiency in the PMT due to a new design of the input focalization system.


This study deals with a case study of a program that integrates high-functioning autistic spectrum students in Israeli academia. The case study focuses on the attitudes of students and faculty towards high-functioning autistic spectrum (HFA) students, aiming to examine their contribution to the integration of HFA students in academia, with regard to the academic-social climate and their perceived self-efficacy. The case study may serve academic institutions as a model for the adjustment and integration of autistic spectrum students, with the inclusion of academic and administrative elements. The study is based on mixed methods methodology, utilizing both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Five hundred twenty six students, 103 faculty, as well as 30 students with ASD (autism spectrum disorder) and 27 mentoring students participating in the program, were asked to complete a quantitative research questionnaire. The research findings show that the integration of HFA students in academic studies is potentially possible, predicated on awareness among faculty and students as to the nature of the disability. Variables with high significance for the program's success were detected, involving teaching tools, institutional support, and a tolerant academic-social climate. The research findings indicate that with regard to nearly all the variables the faculty have the highest awareness of and sensitivity to integrating HFA students in academic studies. The literature review, as well as the findings of the current study, support the integration of people with HFA in various institutions and confirm the conditions for this success: institutional and social motivation together with a tolerant atmosphere.


I jointly estimate the causal effects of childcare and parental investment on the production of cognitive skills, using experimental data from a large-scale, randomized, high-quality early education program in the US. To do so, I rely on two sources of variation: random treatment assignment at birth and the interaction of treatment assignment and being a twin. The first provides access to childcare. The second reduces parental investment when parents have twins instead of a singleton, arguably due to additional resource constraints. This allows me to decompose the total treatment effect of the program on cognitive skills, as measured by an IQ test at age 3: 73% corresponds to childcare, 47% to parental investment, and -20% to a residual. My evidence on skill production and parental choices suggests that childcare and parental investment are substitutes; both have long-term causal effects on schooling and behavior outcomes. ∗The University of Chicago, Department of Economics. e-mail: email@example.com.


We study the problem of partitioning integer sequences in the one-pass data streaming model. Given is an input stream of integers $X \in \{0, 1, \dots, m \}^n$ of length $n$ with maximum element $m$, and a parameter $p$. The goal is to output the positions of separators splitting the input stream into $p$ contiguous blocks such that the maximal weight of a block is minimized. We show that computing an optimal solution requires linear space, and we design space efficient $(1+\epsilon)$-approximation algorithms for this problem following the parametric search framework. We demonstrate that parametric search can be successfully applied in the streaming model, and we present more space efficient refinements of the basic method. All discussed algorithms require space $O( \frac{1}{\epsilon} \mathrm{polylog} (m,n,\frac{1}{\epsilon}))$, and we prove that the linear dependency on $\frac{1}{\epsilon}$ is necessary for any possibly randomized one-pass streaming algorithm that computes a $(1+\epsilon)$-approximation.


We often observe polydipsia and polyuria after severe head injuries. This study represents our experience with 8 cases following polyuria of head injuries 980 cases (except Araki's type I) during the past 5 years (0.82%). Of these 8 cases, 5 cases with skull fracture urinated daily about 8-10 liters. Pituitary posterior hormone and thiazidederivative were used but the effect was transitory, polyuria appeared again by suspension of medication. However the prognosis is comparatively good and urinary quantity decreased as much as 2-3 liters after 6-10 months, but yet the deficit syndromes, such as excitability and emotional incontinence have remained. The other 3 cases, wiwthout skull fracture, urinated daily about 3-5 liters, invalid by any medication, the prognosis is passably worse and the conditions have no changes after a few years. It seems that diabetes insipidus after severe head injuries in classified in two types. We referred to pathogenesis and prognosis, considering the hydrate metabolism and the hormonal control.


Standard international transmission mechanism of productivity shocks predicts a weak endogenous linkage between trade and business cycle synchronization: a problem known as the trade-comovement puzzle. We provide the foundational analysis of the puzzle, pointing to three natural candidate resolutions: (i) financial market frictions, (ii) Greenwood-Hercowitz-Huffman preferences, and (iii) dynamic trade elasticity that is low in the short run but high in the long run. We show the effects of each of these candidate resolutions analytically and evaluate them quantitatively. We find that while (i) and (ii) fall short of the data, (iii) goes a long way toward resolving the puzzle. (JEL E32, F14, F44)


Fungal quinones can be used for a variety of applications, such as pharmaceuticals, food colorants, textile dyes, and battery electrolytes. However, when producing quinones by fungal cultivation, many considerations arise regarding the feasibility of a production system, such as the quinone yield, purity, ease of extraction, and the co-production of mycotoxins. In this work, we display the initial screening of filamentous fungi for quinone production and evaluate their potential for future optimization. We investigated toluquinone (TQ) potentially produced by Penicillium cf. griseofulvum, terreic acid (TA) produced by Aspergillus parvulus and A. christenseniae, and anthraquinone (AQ) monomers and dimers produced by Talaromyces islandicus. The strains grew on various agar and/or liquid media and were analyzed by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography–diode array detection–quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-DAD-QTOF MS). In the case of AQs, feature-based molecular networking (FBMN) was used for the identification of AQ analogs. TQ was not observed in the production strains. TA constituted one of the major chromatogram peaks and was secreted into the growth medium by A. parvulus. The AQs constituted many major chromatogram peaks in the mycelium extracts and endocrocin and citreorosein were observed extracellularly in small amounts.


Intravenous pump administration (Zyklomat, Ferring) of GnRH (Lutrelef, Ferring) has been used to induce ovulation in 16 patients suffering from hypothalamic amenorrhea between January 1989 and December 1991. One to 6 cycles were performed for a total of 47 cycles. GnRH pulses were set at 20 micrograms/pulse every 90 min up during the follicular phase and decreased to 1 pulse/120 min during the 3-5 days following ovulation. Thereafter, the luteal phase was supported by 1000 IU HCG/48 h up to the end of the 5th week. Response to the treatment was monitored with seriC E2, P and LH and vaginal echography. Cycles (N = 3) were cancelled when E2 did not reach at least 0.25 nmol/l after 30 days. An E2 level > 0.8 nmol/l, associated with a mature follicle (> 20 mm), and the presence of a LH peak or an increased progesterone level were used to determine the day of ovulation. In case of normozoospermy (N = 9), sexual intercourse was recommended to the patients (27 cycles), whereas an intrauterine insemination was performed in case of a male factor (N = 7, 20 cycles). Results can be summarized as follows: 39 (83%) cycles were ovulatory and led to 9 (19%) clinical and 6 (13%) biochemical pregnancies. Five (8.5%) pregnancies aborted and 5 (11%) came to full term. After exclusion of the male factors, the pregnancy rate reaches 26%/initiated cycle, 28%/ovulatory cycle and 56%/patient. No patient developed a hyperstimulation syndrome or a multiple pregnancy. Three cycles (6.3%) were interrupted due to 2 superficial phlebitis and 1 pump failure.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Anderson, D. W. and Smith, C. A. S. 2011. A history of soil classification and soil survey in Canada: Personal perspectives. Can. J. Soil Sci. 91: 675-694. This paper presents an overview of soil classification and soil survey in Canada based on both historical documentation and the personal experiences and perspectives of the two authors. The first soil surveys in Canada beginning in Ontario in 1914 are described along with the earliest systems of soil classification. The roots of the current system of soil classification in Canada can be traced back to the establishment of the first meeting of the National Soil Survey Committee (later the Canada Soil Survey Committee) held in Ottawa in 1945. The Committee met every 2 to 3 years and a hard-cover "first" edition, "The Canadian System of Soil Classification" was published in 1978 and a slightly revised second edition in 1987. The third edition (1998) includes a more complete key and a tenth order, the Vertisolic Order. The four to five decades starting in the late 1940s were the glory years for soil survey in Canada, with well-funded and productive programs in all provinces and territories, with major outputs like the Canada Land Inventory. The period between mid 1990s and 2010 saw declining activity in new field survey and reductions in staff levels by government agencies, but a rise in private sector soil survey, largely for environmental assessment purposes. There is a renewed and on-going interest in and need for soil information. The challenge for pedologists is to provide reliable information in innovative and proactive ways.


The use of the mixture of ionic liquid (IL) and solid inorganic salt in place of the single IL as entrainers for extractive distillation, which integrates the advantages of a liquid solvent, that is, IL (easy operation and nonvolatility) and a solid salt (high separation ability) has been proposed in this work. The vapor–liquid equilibrium experiments indicated that the combination of [EMIM]+[Ac]− and KAc is the most promising for the separation of ethanol and water among all of the entrainers investigated. Based on the thermodynamic study, the conceptual process design was developed to evaluate the competitiveness of the suggested entrainers for the separation of ethanol and water. It was determined that the overall heat duty on reboilers in the extractive distillation process using the new mixed entrainers decreases 19.04% compared with the benchmark entrainer [EMIM]+[Ac]−. Moreover, the density functional theory and COSMO-RS model were used to achieve theoretical insights at the molecular level. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 60: 2994–3004, 2014


The aim of this paper is to propose a strategy able to provide 3D temporal evolution of ground deformations. To this end, for a given multi-temporal dataset of DInSAR (Differential Interferometric SAR) data and GPS measurements, a Grid infrastructure is used to perform parallel execution of the SISTEM (Simultaneous and Integrated Strain Tensor Estimation from geodetic and satellite deformation Measurements) method in order to estimate 3D ground deformation maps. Then a SBAS-like algorithm is used to merge the estimated static maps to provide a 3D temporal evolution of deformations over the whole investigated area.


Requirements engineering is a discipline within software engineering where model based approaches are still not widespread. Generally requirements are regarded as less or more structured text fragments that are interpreted by stakeholders and developers, who manually manage the requirement interrelationships. We give an overview over the basic concepts of a model-based requirements engineering approach that is currently developed by the project KOGITO. The focus of the paper is on the presentation of the underlying conceptual model and its relationship to different kinds of requirements specification documents. We present an overview over a domain specific conceptual model that is targeted at the requirements engineering for Web-enabled B2B systems. The presented model is capable of managing requirements stemming from various kinds of documents, including B2B standard specifications. Finally, we show how these requirements are integrated and related into our conceptual model. Thereby, general guidelines for the structure of conceptual models for requirements engineering are identified.


The advantage of proton therapy over conventional radiotherapy is enormous, with many clinical advantages. In this review, we summarized the important literature in the advantages of Proton Therapy in Non-small Cell Lung Cancers.


Rats and hamsters were exposed to the dust of pulverized asbestos pipe covering at an average concentration of 85 mg/m(3) for 6 h/d, 5 d/wk, for 7 mo, followed by a lifetime observation period. In rats, the pulmonary responses were alveolar adenomatous proliferation, nonprogressive fibrosis, squamous metaplasia, and a substantial incidence of pulmonary carcinoma formation. A smaller group of hamsters exposed under these conditions experienced an earlier onset of mortality than control hamsters, which were not subjected to the exposure regimen. Although this prevented conclusive evaluation of the pulmonary response in this species, no pulmonary neoplasms were noted in the surviving hamsters.


In wireless communication, the channel is characterized by multipath propagation due to scattering by different obstacles. Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) channel which considers this multipath propagation offers significant increase in data throughput and link range without additional bandwidth or transmit power. With the availability of high data rates by MIMO channel, images can be transmitted with high reliability. An image is source coded by using Compressive Sensing (CS) algorithm where the input image is converted to bit streams. These bit streams are spatially multiplexed into four data streams which are transmitted simultaneously over the four antennas. The data streams are then channel coded by using 4-Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (4QAM).Then unequal power allocation scheme is employed where each transmitting antenna gets different amount of power according to the data it transmits. The result is simulated using MATLAB. The results show that the unequal power allocation provides significant quality improvement than the any other technique. The result also reveals that Spatial diversity can be utilized more efficiently using Compressive Sensing.


Article history: Received 15 October 2019 Received in revised form 3 December 2019 Accepted 3 December 2019 Available online 26 February 2020 An understanding of fluid flow in sudden expansion has resulted in a great deal of research work in this area. Of particular interest is the study of base drag which influences the performance of automotive vehicles, aircraft and missiles. Problems of fuel mixing in combustion chambers and reduction of specific fuel consumption are also governed by the phenomenon of base drag. It is the aim of this study to present a brief review of the work carried out in the area of sudden expansion in a duct with particular accent on a few active and passive controls employed to modify the base drag. It is noteworthy that a reduction in base drag is of benefit in combustion mechanisms while an in-crease in base drag is preferred for net drag reduction of bodies moving through air. Suppression of flow oscillations that accompany the control of base drag also merits attention. A few suggestions by way of future work are also discussed.


Chevron, the most famous rule of administrative law, is also a central doctrine of statutory interpretation. But Chevron is understood and operates quite differently from most of the other statutory interpretation rules. This Essay explores six such divergences and how they illuminate of some the most important, unanswered questions of the statutory era.First, thirty years of Chevron highlight the enduring puzzle over the legal status of statutory interpretation methodology in general. Chevron is a "precedent;" the remaining statutory interpretation doctrines do not even rise to the status of 'law." But second, Chevron's own fate is inextricably tied to these other rules, because Chevron relies on them in its famous two-step test. Critics blame Chevron's manipulability, but arguably the blame lies more with the legal indeterminacy of all of the other statutory interpretation rules upon which Chevron relies. Third, as the Chevron doctrine has evolved, it has become more attendant to the realities of how Congress drafts statutes — realities in which the Court seems wholly uninterested when it comes to the rest of statutory interpretation. Relatedly, the Court shows no shame in acknowledging Chevron's source; the Court created the doctrine. The jurisprudential status of the other interpretive rules, however, remains ambiguous, with the federal courts loathe to admit that they have fashioned a common law of statutory interpretation. Fourth, Chevron, as further developed by Mead, is the one instance in which the Court has explicitly used interpretive doctrine to influence the procedures that Congress uses. Again in contrast, across the rest of the statutory landscape, the Court has refused to enter the sausage factory, continuing to reject the idea that courts should interfere in the lawmaking process, or that how a law is made should affect its interpretation. Fifth, Chevron's evolution has blown a hole through conventional notions of statutory stare decisis, but at the same time the Court now seems afraid that it has given away too much. Today, agency statutory interpretations may displace judicial precedents but, when agencies are not in the picture, the Court hoards power: it gives its own statutory precedents "super" stare decisis effect; is stingy when it comes to interpreting congressional overrides; and won't cede any control over interpretive rules to any other branch. Finally — and this is a shared feature — both Chevron and the rest of the statutory interpretation rules rest on an outmoded, "Schoolhouse Rock!" understanding of Congress and agencies that is no more, if it ever was. Thirty years of Chevron thus reveal a statutory law–landscape in remarkable flux, and a Court making few connections between the closely linked administrative and statutory domains.


Intra- and interspecies transfer of dsRNA viruses between black Aspergilli and Aspergillus nidulans strains has been investigated using protoplast fusion. We found interspecies transfer of virus in all combinations of black Aspergillus and A. nidulans strains and vice versa. Using the same conditions, intraspecies virus transfer among heterokaryon incompatible strains was also tested. Whereas such transfer was always found among A. nidulans strains, transfer among black Aspergilli was frequently unsuccessful. The lack of virus transfer between black Aspergillus isolates was further investigated by using a mitochondrial oligomycin resistance marker as a positive control for cytoplasmic exchange. These experiments showed independent transfer of the oligomycin resistance and dsRNA viruses during protoplast fusion of heterokaryon incompatible black Aspergilli. The inefficient transfer of dsRNA viruses between black Aspergilli is not caused by absolute resistance to viruses but may be related to heterokaryon incompatibility reactions that operate intraspecifically. Consequences for the dynamics of mycoviruses in populations of black Aspergilli are discussed.


Simple Summary Diagnosis and treatment of ovarian cancers has changed significantly over the last years. However, the role of primary surgery and chemotherapy remain important parts of the multimodal treatment. Furthermore, real life data are often lacking but are very important for improving quality indicators and for hypothesis generation for future trials. The present work represents the first major analysis of federal cancer registry data of OC patients in Germany. Overall, 2771 primary OC cases were included. The results clearly elucidate quality measurements and treatment results and show good treatment outcomes in patients with primary OC compared to other internationally reported outcomes. Abstract Background: The current therapy of ovarian cancer is based on the so-called "Three-Pillar-Model", consisting of surgery, chemotherapy and maintenance therapy. This study represents the first major analysis of a federal cancer database of OC patients from the states Berlin/Brandenburg in Germany. The primary objective was to evaluate the prevailing established quality indicators surgical outcome, adjuvant chemotherapy and integrity of surgical staging in early stages. Methods: Data from the Clinical Cancer Registry for Brandenburg and Berlin of the years 2009–2019 were analyzed. Objectives were defined by a working group of selected physicians. Descriptive statistics were performed, as well as survival analysis. Results: A total of 2771 primary OC cases were included. Results regarding histological subtype met the suspected allocation with predominantly high-grade serous OC in advanced stage. The rate of complete surgical staging in FIGO stages I–IIA was 57%, and the rate of macroscopic complete resection in >FIGO III was 53%. Five-year survival rate varied from 79% (FIGO I) to 40% (FIGO III). Rate of adjuvant chemotherapy was above 50%. Conclusion: The results elucidate quality measurements and treatment results and show good treatment outcomes in patients with primary diagnosis. However, they also indicate deficits and can help to establish new quality indicators to further improve the treatment.


In this paper thermal analysis was applied to determine the "Critical Stress" of concrete, different from its ultimate strength, able to produce the first damage in the structures under compressive loads. The Critical Stress can be thought as the stress able to produce the beginning of fatigue rupture within the material. Several specimens of high strength concrete were tested in order to define the incipient crack phenomena, also in internal part of the specimen not accessible by direct inspections, with the aid of infrared thermography. A finite element analysis completes the study and compares, for the same static loading conditions, the stress state with the experimental thermographic images. The final results show as the coupling of normal compressive test and the acquisition of the thermal images can be a useful aid to estimate a security stress value, indeed the Critical Stress, before the Ultimate Serviceability Limit (SLU) of the structure, defined as the maximum load condition before its failure.


In this new era where robotics plays important role in performing dangerous
task previously performed by human such as disabling bomb, handling
hazardous material and even helping in search and rescue mission. Collapsed
buildings are the most unstable place to perform search and rescue mission by
human where the weight and size limits the rescuer movements. Sudden
movement will cause further damage to the victims who trapped in the rubble
and also to the rescuer. Robot with conventional locomotion seems to be not
suitable to navigate on uneven and unstable terrain. This project describes the
development of a search and rescue robot with non-conventional locomotion
which is used to help first responder (Fire Fighters, Police and Medical) in a
search and rescue mission on uneven and unstable terrain to determine the
location of the victims in confined places such as collapse buildings without
causing further damage to the victims and the rescuer. The robot that will be
developed is a non-conventional locomotion robot where it have three arms
that enable it to move by dragging itself forward, backward, left and right. It
should able to move on unstable and difficult terrain and also able to climb
stairs. Extra features such as camera, microphone, speakers and other features
could be added according the needs of the project. Robots will be a valuable
asset in the near future for search and rescue teams from around the world.
This project is based on robot that have been developed named TerminatorBot
by Associate Professor Richard M. Voyles from University of Denver.


In the past decade, the amount of attributed network data has skyrocketed, and the problem of identifying their underlying group structures has received significant attention. By leveraging both attribute and link information, recent state-of-the-art network clustering methods have achieved significant improvements on relatively clean datasets. However, the noisy nature of real-world attributed networks has long been over-looked, which leads to degraded performance facing missing or inaccurate attributes and links. In this work, we overcome such weaknesses by marrying the strengths of clustering and embedding on attributed networks. Specifically, we propose GRACE (GRAph Clustering with Embedding propagation), to simultaneously learn network representations and identify net-work clusters in an end-to-end manner. It employs deep denoise autoencoders to generate robust network embeddings from node attributes, propagates the embeddings in the network to capture node interactions, and detects clusters based on the stable state of embedding propagation. To provide more insight, we further analyze GRACE in a theoretical manner and find its underlying connections with two canonical approaches for network modeling. Extensive experiments on six real-world attributed networks demonstrate the superiority of GRACE over various baselines from the state-of-the-art. Remarkably, GRACE improves the averaged performance of the strongest baseline from 0.43 to 0.52, yielding a 21% relative improvement. Controlled experiments and case studies further verify our intuitions and demonstrate the ability of GRACE to handle noisy information in real-world attributed networks.


This paper describes algorithms for probabilistically evaluating multi-frame data-association hypotheses formed in multiple-hypothesis, multiple-target tracking, using Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods (also known as sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) methods). Each algorithm is designed to sequentially, randomly generate multi-frame data association hypotheses, and to converge to a stationary process with the a posteriori probabilities of the multi-frame hypotheses, as the stationary (target) probability distribution. The paper explores three sampling designs: the metropolis sampling, the metropolis sampling with Boltzman acceptance probability, and the metropolis-hasting sampling. Their performances are compared with each other and with the hypothesis evaluation obtained by a K-best hypothesis selection algorithm, using two simple examples.


Objective: to study the frequency, etiological, age, epidemiological features of combined acute intestinal infections in children. Materials and methods. In n the Department of intestinal infections of Pediatric Research and Clinical Center for Infectious Diseases within a year have observed 167 children with combined acute intestinal infections regardless of the severity of the disease. The etiology of the acute intestinal infections was verified by bacteriological, serological methods, PCR reagents "AmpliSens® AII screen-FL. Criteria for inclusion of patients in the study: no signs of nosocomial OKA. Statistical analysis of the results was performed using Excel 2007. Student's criterion was used to estimate the difference of the studied data. Differences were considered significant at p<0.05. Results. Combined acute intestinal infections were diagnosed in 5,6% of 2968 patients, among whom children under 1 year were 21,6%, from 1 to 3 years – 48,4%, from 4 to 7 years – 18%, from 8 to 14 years – 9%, from 14 to 18 years – 3%. The combination of bacterial pathogens was noted in 12% of patients; viral – in 37,1%; viral and bacterial – in 50,9%. Viral-bacterial AII had rises in the frequency of diagnosis in spring, summer, autumn; viral-viral acute intestinal infections – in spring and autumn, bacterial-bacterial acute intestinal infections – in autumn. Infants in the structure of patients with viral-viral acute intestinal infections were 23,3%, viral-bacterial acute intestinal infections – 29,6%, bacterial-bacterial acute intestinal infections – 5%; young age – 45%; 47,%; 40%; preschool age– 25%; 23,3%; 15,5%; school age – 30%; 8.3%; 7% respectively. Among of associates the bacterial-bacterial acute intestinal infections, diarrheal Escherichia (60%), Salmonella (50%) and Campylobacters (40%) dominated. Among of associates of the viral-viral acute intestinal infections noroviruses (74,2%) and rotaviruses (at 69,4%) dominated. Among of viral associates of viral-bacterial acute intestinal infections more prevalent were rotaviruses (52,9%) and noroviruses Оригинальное исследование Том 12, No 2, 2020 ЖУРНАЛ ИНФЕКТОЛОГИИ 114 (27,1%); among bacterial associates were diarrheal Escherichia (at 51,8%). The results of the study allowed establish etiological, seasonal, age patterns of formation of the epidemiological process of intestinal infections of combined etiology in children.


We report on the design and fabrication of a monolithically integrated balanced photodetector module and its application in a single polarization 160 Gbit/s OTDM transmission experiment with RZ-DPSK modulation format. The 2.5 dB improvement in receiver sensitivity enabled transmission over a record fiber link of 410 km using exclusively EDFAs.


In this work, we present a conservative method for three-dimensional inviscid fluid-structure interaction problems. On the fluid side, we consider an inviscid Euler fluid in conservative form. The Finite Volume method uses the OSMP high-order flux with a Strang operator directional splitting [1]. On the solid side, we consider an elastic deformable solid. In order to examine the issue of energy conservation, the behavior law is here assumed to be linear elasticity. In order to ultimately deal with rupture, we use a Discrete Element method for the discretization of the solid [2]. An immersed boundary technique is employed through the modification of the Finite Volume fluxes in the vicinity of the solid. Since both fluid and solid methods are explicit, the coupling scheme is designed to be globally explicit too. The computational cost of the fluid and solid methods lies mainly in the evaluation of fluxes on the fluid side and of forces and torques on the solid side. The coupling algorithm evaluates these only once every time step, ensuring the computational efficiency of the coupling. Our approach is an extension to the three-dimensional deformable case of the conservative method developed in [3]. We focus herein numerical results assessing the robustness of the method in the case of a undeformable solid with large displacements subjected to a compressible fluid flow.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the outcomes of combined organ resection for T4b gastric cancer, and determine the operative indication and prognostic factors.

METHODS
Clinical data of 96 cases with T4bN0-3bM0 gastric cancer treated with combined organ resection in Tianjin Cancer Hospital from 2001 to 2005 were analyzed retrospectively.

RESULTS
Twelve patients developed postoperative complications, including pancreatic fistula (n=4), abdominal infection(n=5), pulmonary infection(n=3), all of which were managed with conservative treatment. There were no perioperative deaths. All the patients had postoperative follow up with a median of 73 months. The 1-, 3-, 5-year overall survival rates were 70.5%, 42.1%, and 23.5%, respectively. Univariate analysis showed that Borrmann type, histologic type, lymph node staging, and pancreatic invasion were associated with the survival in patients with T4b gastric cancer(both P<0.05). Multivariable analysis showed that lymph node staging and histologic type were independent prognostic factors(all P<0.05).

CONCLUSION
For well differentiated gastric cancer with lymph node staging of pN0 or pN1, combined organ resection may offer survival benefit.


: Agricultural systems are often faced by challenges such as crop selection and irrigation planning which can be formulated as optimization problems. Decisions have to be made on the proper set of crops to be cultivated and a proper irrigation scheme. The objectives of such decisions are to maximize net profit or to minimize water waste. In this study, a linear programming model was developed that helped to determine the optimal cropping pattern for an irrigation scheme in Masvingo, Zimbabwe. Crops which considered were wheat, sugar beans for winter and cotton and maize for summer for the 2012/13 agricultural season. The linear programming model was solved by using Microsoft Excel (2007). The model recommended no production of wheat and cotton. Sugar beans and maize gained acreage by 50 percent and 88 percent respectively. On the whole, the optimal cropped acreage did not change as compared to the existing cropping plan. As a result of the optimal solution, a farmer's income could be increased by $1,668.60. The optimal income increased from existing level of $1,919.40 to $3,588.00 showing an improvement of 87 percent. The results show that LP models solutions are worthy implementing.


The genesis of understanding the productivity behaviour of the construction process is underpinned by analysis and synthesis of tasks and processes within each of the main construction phases: conceptual; detailed engineering; and construction. Analysing and synthesizing tasks in any process is an accepted notion since the days of the Greeks and the Romans. It is also a common feature of many modern productivity studies, Total Quality Management, and Benchmarking.
It is generally accepted throughout the construction industry that the conceptual phase has the greatest influence on most construction projects, and yet time spent during this period arriving at the correct decisions incur the least expense. Though the potential is great in terms of productivity improvements, the conceptual phase for construction projects has to date been somewhat overlooked.
This paper presents a pilot study aimed at analysing the tasks and processes associated with the conceptual phase of construction projects. The projects included civil engineering, building construction, process engineering and power supply. Each of the analysed projects has a minimum value of £50 million. Exposition of the results and analyses are also given. The implications of the conceptual phase tasks are deliberated upon, in terms of productivity of site resources, time, plant, finance and labour.


Ultrasonic skin permeation using the SonoPrep (Sontra Medical Corporation, Franklin, MA) device was evaluated as a methodto reduce skin impedance for electrophystology measurements. SonoPrep treatment was compared to QuikPrep (Quinton , Inc, Bothell, WA) and mechanical abrasion with the Kendall Excel electrode release liner (Tyco Healthcare, Mansfield, MA). Five skin sites for each prepping method were treated on the backs of 10 volunteer subjects. Skin impedance was measured across the sites over 24 hours at times equal to 0 to 7 hours, 23 hours, and 24 hours. Average skin impedance for all sites and times following treatment with SonoPrep war 1.9 kiloohms (komega), with QuikPrep was 18. 7komega, and with Excel abrasion was 97.2 komega. Skin impedance was stable for 24 hours following SonoPrep treatment and declined initially following QuikPrep. Skin impedance decilned continually following Excel abrasive preparation. SonoPrep ultrasonic skin permeation reduces skin impedance to significantly decreased levels in a reproducibly consistent manner.


nomic imperialism? Will the major powers possessed of technological knowledge and capable of large capital investments accept a plan for the development of these undersea resources submitted to the UN by the U.S., USSR, Malta or Tanzania? He points out the inability of UN to evolve an acceptable plan. As an alternative, the author proposes the establishment of a new international organization, unencumbered by the politics and technicalities of the United Nations organization, with unconditional membership open to all nations; this organization would administer and regulate legislation relating to the continental shelf, sea farming, underwater communications, transportation, energy production, weather forecasting, and the prevention of undersea military installations. In all these issues, Professor Andrassy points to the inadequacy of current legal controls. He pleads for unanimity of action and for flexible agreements that provide for periodic re-evaluation and the adjustments necessitated by technical progress. He advocates a licensing system controlled by the proposed organization, parceling off areas of exploitation to individual states based on a predetermined and universally acceptable set of precepts, and proclamation of these resources of the sea as a common heritage of mankind.


The Due to the error, parallel manipulators always exhibit some position and orientation errors at the mobile platform. The analysis of accuracy is carried out to find the source errors which affect the pose accuracy of the end-effecter in terms of the error model. The accuracy synthesis is implemented to obtain the geometry tolerance of the major parts affecting the uncompensable pose error. In order to finish these works, one method is proposed, which can also be used to handle the similar mechanism


Duke University was founded on tobacco wealth, and now it has a tobacco-free campus. How should we understand this change? How can communities around this university, and higher education broadly, reckon with our historical and ongoing complicities with tobacco capitalism? This article examines how the individualized subject has been historically constructed, in response to resistances, through supplementary relations between the university and tobacco industries. With abolitionist university studies, the authors focus on the postslavery university as a key site for these individualizing processes. They situate Duke as a nexus of new means of capitalist accumulation, including, on the one hand, the postslavery university as an institution for disciplining, individualizing, and differentiating wage laborers and, on the other, the tobacco industry's shift to monopolization and mass consumption of tobacco commodities. The long Black freedom movement continues in the post-WWII era with resistances that push capitalism into crisis, while simultaneously, capitalism's coping mechanism of tobacco use has the unintended consequence of mass death. This article explores how, at the site of Duke, part of capitalism's response to resistance movements has been to deepen the individualization processes, charging individuals with taking on responsibility for the costs of both tobacco use and higher education. The authors ask how narratives of smoke-free and tobacco-free campuses could interlink with postracial narratives to obscure how the tobacco companies and universities have accumulated capital through racism, deception, dispossession, and exploitation.


Silicon nanophotonics may bring disruptive advances to datacom, telecom, and high performance computing. However, the deployment of this technology is hampered by the difficulty of cost efficient optical inputs and outputs. To address this challenge, we have recently proposed a low-cost, mechanically compliant polymer interface between standard single mode fibers and nanophotonic waveguides. Our concept promises better mechanical reliability and better optical performance than existing technology. To manage the cost of assembly, we show here that self-alignment features can be effectively used to bridge the gap between the accuracy required by single-mode optics (1-2 um) and the capability of high-throughput microelectronic assembly equipment (~10 um). We describe the complaint interface, the assembly strategy, and the design of our re-alignment features. We demonstrate experimentally that misalignments at assembly as large as +/-10 um are re-aligned by our self-alignment structures to +/-1 to 2 um. Our approach enables existing microelectronics equipment to be used for singlemode optics assembly.


The novel RDP came out in 1982, when the new order regime was still firmly established. One of the important criticisms in the work was the "incorrect" handling of communism by the government at that time following the eruption of the G30S/PKI history. The author of the novel tries to bring a different view of the issue. This paper tries to present how the original Banyumas personified the political turmoil-how the laypeople interpreted the events that had consumed them as victims, or the sacrificed. Based on the recurrent reading of the Indonesian-language RDP novel and Javanese language Banyumasan, the authors firmly state that the people of Dukuh Paruk are merely victims of the outside world. People of the hamlet have no idea what they are doing, other than that they want to perpetuate the tradition they are proud of, ronggeng. Nor do they blame or think that there are people outside of those who have committed crimes against them. The disaster that befall them is none other due to their mistakes do not run the rituals that must be done before performances ronggeng. Their elders also realized that the pageblug had been signaled by the appearance of the latitude of the cubes (comets), and they had ignored the cue. Thus, pageblug should be accepted. Against the innocence of clean thought, the author asserts that something is wrong with them, systematically practiced by the regime at that time. He agreed that the coup was false; but the way in which the state deals with such problems is also unjustifiable. The state has clearly punished many Indonesians without trial, and killed thousands of innocent people.


Research is needed that confirms inpatient treatment outcomes and evaluates patient typologies. Factors of early recovery and inpatient treatment are examined to (1) support inpatient treatment effectiveness research, (2) explore impacts on outcomes of patient differences (collegiate vs. traditional), and (3) learn about factors that influence inpatient treatment effectiveness. Overall, 95 of 149 (63.8%) participants were classified as progressing in readiness for change from pre to post treatment. Second, a MANCOVA showed significant increases in hope, resiliency, and family functioning and decreases in craving from pre- to posttreatment. Expectations of significant differences in rates of change of treatment outcome variables between traditional and collegiate recovery programs were partially supported.


T cell clones derived from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) were analysed for their ability to produce interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-2 (IL-2) and interleukin-4 (IL-4). The CSF-T clones were compared for their ability to produce cytokines with autologous peripheral T clones and with liver-infiltrating T cell clones from patients with chronic active hepatitis. IL-4 production was also compared with that by peripheral T clones derived from atopic patients. All the CSF-T clones (both CD4+ and CD8+) produced large amounts of IFN-gamma and particularly of TNF-alpha. These cytokines were synthesized in significantly larger amounts by CSF T clones than by reference clones. Moreover, they were capable of secreting IL-2, but not IL-4. We conclude that the CSF-CD4+ T clones could constitute a subset with functional properties similar to those of T helper 1 (Th1)inflammatory cells of the mouse; and that the large amounts of TNF produced by CSF T cell clones strongly suggest a significant role for this cytokine in MS immunopathogenesis.


The article deals with the postulates of medieval Arabic philosopher Ibn Arabi that express a synergetic type of thinking. The problem of cognition of the world as the synthesis of different views in understand-ing Being and God is in the focus of the authors attention. The author of the article points out the importance of the system approach to the mentioned problem in Russian Literary Studies within the bounds of which the main principles of synergy, so called metameth-odology, were worked out. The article also speculates on the contribution of symbolists to the formation of the synergetic type of thinking in the 20th century. Some statements of symbolists relating to the spiritual bond of East and West, following from the realization of the potential of a symbolic image, have much in common with the works of philosophers of avant-garde, such as T.Adarno, K.Jaspers, M.Heidegger, etc.


Five chemical thinning trials, conducted over 4 years, indicated that BA is an effective thinner for 'McIntosh' apples (Malus domestica Borkh.). Although it can thin at concentrations as low as 25 mg·liter−1, in most years a higher concentration was required to thin adequately. It appeared that 14 to 18 days after full bloom, when fruit size was about 10 mm, may be the period when maximum thinning was achieved. Greater thinning occurred when BA and carbaryl were combined than when they were used individually. BA increased fruit weight, flesh firmness, and soluble solids content at harvest relative to no thinning. The storage life of fruit treated with BA was less than that of fruit from nonthinned trees, but this effect may have been an indirect response related to the larger fruit size rather than a direct response to the chemical. BA caused thinning and induced lateral branching simultaneously on young 'Macspur McIntosh' trees. Therefore, crop load on trees just coming into production may be significantly reduced when BA is used to induce lateral branching. Chemical names used: N-(phenylmethyl)-IH-purine-6-amine [benzyladenine (BA)], 1-napthaleneacetic acid [NAA], 1-naphthalenyl methylcarbamate [carbaryl].


The concept of agro-urban open space (AUOS) is presented as a multifunctional component within the context of how agricultural land uses contribute to the creation of open spaces. This contribution is represented through specific multifunctionality mapping, underlining the importance of spatial representation at a local, and even a plot, scale when dealing with agricultural multifunctionality. To this end we have undertaken a review of agricultural multifunctionality and open-space concepts to locate existing deficiencies as far as the required spatial dimension in planning is concerned. Issues such as permeability, access and other elements enhancing open spaces have been assessed to obtain partial maps and a final map showing the general values for AUOS at a plot level. The proposed method has been tested in a Mediterranean delta, the Vega del Guadalfeo, on the coast of the province of Granada in Spain. We found sugarcane and subtropical farming to be the main contributors to AUOS. The AUOS map presente...


Crowdsensing and personal data markets that have emerged around it have rapidly gained momentum in parallel with the appearance of mobile devices. Collecting information via mobile sensors and the applications relying on these, the privacy of mobile users can be threatened, especially in the case of location-related data. In 2015, a research project called MyGeoTrust was initiated to investigate this issue. One aim of the project was to study the potential business models for a trusted, open-source crowdsourcing platform. This study, carried within the MyGeoTrust project, reviews existing literature about business models, location-based services, and open-source software development. It then investigates the relationship between these topics and mobile crowdsensing. As a whole, this thesis provides an overview on the development of location-based services, as well as the current trends and business models in crowdsensing. The empirical part of the thesis employs embedded case study methodology, acquiring empirical data from several sources. The analyzed case is the MyGeoTrust project itself, and other empirical data is collected via market analysis, interim reports, a user survey, and semi-structured interviews. This material forms the baseline for the empirical study and project-specific recommendations. The findings suggest that creating a twoor multisided platform is the most robust business model for mobile crowdsensing. The identified benefits of platform-based business models include facilitating the value exchange between self-governing groups and possibilities to build positive network effects. This is especially the case with open-source software and open data since the key value for users or "the crowd" in other terms is created through network effects. In the context of open business models, strategic planning, principally licensing, plays a central role. Also, for a differentiated platform like MyGeoTrust finding the critical mass of users is crucial, in order to create an appealing alternative to current market leaders. Lastly, this study examines how transformational political or legal factors may shape the scene and create requirements for novel, privacyperceiving solutions. In the present case study, the upcoming European Union (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) legislation is a central example of such a factor.


Observations with a microstructure/CTD profiler and an ADCP during five cruises in 1994/95 provide a glance at the turbulent mixing climate of a partially mixed estuary, the Hudson River. The cruises took place under widely varying conditions of river discharge and external forcing by water level fluctuations in New York Bight. Tidal and fortnightly variability patterns of stratification, shear and mixing characteristics were qualitatively repeatable, largely following the description of Peters (1997). (i) Longer-term variations of buoyancy frequency and Richardson number (Ri) during flood were weakly correlated with the river discharge. (ii) All flood tides had substantial mixing. Cruise-to-cruise variations of turbulent dissipation rate, salt flux, and stress were large and correlated with variations in Ri. (iii) During ebb tides, mixing was weak in response to stable stratification during neaps, and it increased dramatically toward spring tides parallel with the occurrence of low Ri. Cruise-to-cruise variations of mixing became small toward spring tide. (iv) The largest vertical salt flux occurred during spring ebbs, which provided about 30% of the total fortnightly salt flux; floods throughout the fortnightly cycle providing most of the remainder. (v) The observed level of small-scale mixing, i.e. stress and vertical salt flux, was consistent with the integral momentum and salt budgets in the uniform segment of the Hudson where the bulk of the measurements were taken. (vi) One topographically forced flow feature examined, lee waves behind a trench across the river, was associated with elevated mixing.


It is widely acknowledged that libraries play a positive and important role in the lives of prisoners, just as they do with other people.  They do not only provide resources to support various educational, recreational and welfare programs, but they also create opportunities for prisoners to acquire new skills, skills that they may need once they leave prison.  In addition, prison libraries also help address various psychological issues, attitude problems, as well as other difficulties in coping with prison life.  According to the Ministry of Law and Human Rights of Indonesia, as of 2013, there are 4,622 children in 16 different prisons in Indonesia.  Such statistics show that there is a great need for well-resourced and well-staffed libraries inside these prisons in order to support the educational, recreational, and psychological needs of imprisoned children.  It is evident that the existence of prison libraries and its library collections, facilities, as well as other services could serve as effective rehabilitation for the prisoners and the detainees – to help them develop awareness of their own actions, as well as associated risks and consequences. The purpose of this study is to examine the practical, social, recreational, educational, psychological, and spiritual needs of detained juvenile delinquents in regards to using the collections, facilities and services at the Tangerang Juvenile Detention Center Library and the Salemba Detention Center Library. This study is based on informational interviews conducted with the Head Librarians at the Tangerang Juvenile Detention Center Library (JDC) and the Salemba Detention Center Library.  During these interviews, various problems and challenges related to ethics, professionalism, and other professional issues associated to working as a prison librarian, were discussed.  Other issues related to staffing, organizational structure, facilities and the resource situation of the Tangerang Juvenile Detention Center Library and the Salemba Detention Center Library were also addressed.


Abstract Due to the many restrictions on the use of soil and water resources, increasing greenhouse plants' yield is important. In order to study the effect of humic acid (HA) on some growth and physiological traits of strawberry (Fragaria ananassa var: Selva), an experiment was conducted as a completely randomized design with factorial arrangement with three replications. The experimental factors included HA type (HA extracted from vermicompost, HA extracted from vermicompost in combination with 10 mg indole acetic acid, and commercial HA), three different concentrations of HA (0, 15 and 30 mg/L) and two methods of HA application (foliar and nutrient solution). The results showed that the highest yield, chlorophyll and total soluble solids was obtained from foliar application of 15 mg/L extracted HA, the highest ion leakage was achieved from foliar application of 30 mg/L extracted HA from vermicompost in combination with 10 mg indole acetic acid, and the highest dry weight of roots was obtained from nutrient solution application of 30 mg/L HA extracted from vermicompost in combination with 10 mg indole acetic acid. In general, 15 mg/L HA, extracted from vermicompost, sprayed as foliar application, was more successful in most studied traits.


The objective of the study is to investigate the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) action and strategy used by the top 100 Malaysian Listed Companies followings the 1997 Asian's financial crisis. This research focus on Malaysian companies because Malaysia considered as one of the largest stock market in Southeast Asia countries. These studies utilize company's annual reports as a proxy for their CSR initiatives. As crisis has resulted negative impact to country and society, the result of the study shows that the economic crisis have motivated government and business to joint hand together to mitigate the impacts, as evident since 1920s i.e. after the Stock Market crash in United States and World War II. On the other hand, the crisis has also provide opportunity for the business to redirect away from a threat to an opportunity that differentiate them from the others. Furthermore, the study fairly explains legitimacy theory notions on the managerial actions from the Institutional lens namely "Institutional Legitimacy". Finally, apart from offerings descriptive contribution, our ambition is to assist future research on the post economic crisis particularly after the 2008 global economic crisis. This is because the state social structures, communities and people's ways of life were completely re-shaped after the economic changes.


The phenomenon of aspectual shift has been discussed by several people over the last ten years using an analogy with type coercion in programming languages. This paper tries to take the analogy literally and to spell out the details for an analysis of some common kinds of aspectual shift in English under the insuence of some types of temporal modiÞcation. A model theoretic basis for this kind of type coercion is supplied, and an illustrative fragment is worked out.


The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), a ubiquitously expressed receptor tyrosine kinase, is recognized as a key mediator of tumorigenesis in many human epithelial tumors. Erlotinib is tyrosine kinase inhibitor approved by FDA for use in oncology. It inhibits the intracellular phosphorylation of tyrosine kinase associated with the EGFR to restrain the development of the tumor. To investigate the antitumor effect of erlotinib at different dosing times and the underlying molecular mechanism via the PI3K/AKT pathway, we established a mouse model of Lewis lung cancer xenografts. The tumor-bearing mice were housed four or five per cage under standardized light-dark cycle conditions (light on at 7:00 AM, 500 Lux, off at 7:00 PM, 0 Lux) with food and water provided ad libitum. The mice were observed for quality of life, their body weight and tumor volume measured, and the tumor growth curves drawn. After being bled, the mice were sacrificed by cervical dislocation. The tumor masses were removed at different time points and weighed. The mRNA expression of EGFR, AKT, Cyclin D1 and CDK-4 were assayed by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Protein expression levels of AKT, P-AKT and Cyclin D1 were determined by Western blot analysis. The results suggest that erlotinib has a significant antitumor effect on xenografts of non-small cell lung cancer in mice, and its efficacy and toxicity is dependent on the time of day of administration. Its molecular mechanism of action might be related to the EGFR-AKT-Cyclin D1-CDK-4 pathway which plays a crucial role in the development of pathology. Therefore, our findings suggest that the time of day of administration of Erlotinib may be a clinically important variable.


A niobium tungsten bronze crystal with a nominal composition 3 Nb2O5.8WO3 gives circular diffuse scattering in the electron diffraction pattern. The diffuse rings change shape and size when the crystal is reduced at high temperature. The observations are explained by improving the cluster model proposed by De Ridder, Van Tendeloo, Van Dyck & Amelinckx [Phys. Status Solidi A (1977), 41, 555–560]; the present clusters are composed of nine pentagonal-tunnel sites. The 1 MV high-resolution electron microscope images reveal that the clusters have several different atomic arrangements and compositions. The relation between the clusters and the micro-domains, formed in the initial stage of long-range ordering, is clarified.


In particle physics experiments, the momenta of charged particles are studied by observing their deflection in a magnetic field. Dedicated detectors measure the particle tracks and complex algorithms are required for track recognition and reconstruction. This CPU-intensive task is usually implemented as off-line software running on PC clusters. In this paper, we present a system-on-chip design for the track recognition and reconstruction based on modern FPGA technologies. The basic principle of the algorithm is ported from software into the FPGA fabric. The fundamental architecture of the tracking processor is described in detail. Working as processing engines in compute nodes, the tracking processor contributes to recognize potential track candidates in real-time and promotes the selection efficiency of the data acquisition and trigger system. Our design study shows that the tracking module can be integrated in a single Xilinx Virtex-4 FX60 FPGA. The processing capability of the design is about 16.7K sub-events per second per module with our experimental setup, which achieves 20 times speedup compared to the software implementation.


ABSTRACT We have suggested that intestinal microflora reduces the activity of the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD) in the mouse cecal mucosa. In this study, gnotobiotic mice were used to examine the species of intestinal microflora influencing SOD activity in the cecal mucosa. The total SOD activity in the cecal mucosa of each germ-free (GF), gnotobiotic mouse with Escherichia coli, Lactobacillus and Bacteroides was significantly higher than that in the cecal mucosa of gnotobiotic mice with chloroform-treated feces (CHF), conventionalized (CVz) mice and conventional (CV) mice (P<0.05). In addition, CuZnSOD mRNA expression showed similar tendencies. Our results suggest that the antioxidant defense status in the cecal mucosa is influenced by CHF inoculation.


Machine-generated speech is characterized by its limited or unnatural emotional variation. Current text to speech systems generates speech with either a flat emotion, emotion selected from a predefined set, average variation learned from prosody sequences in training data or transferred from a source style. We propose a text to speech(TTS) system, where a user can choose the emotion of generated speech from a continuous and meaningful emotion space (Arousal-Valence space). The proposed TTS system can generate speech from the text in any speaker's style, with fine control of emotion. We show that the system works on emotion unseen during training and can scale to previously unseen speakers given his/her speech sample. Our work expands the horizon of the state-of-the-art FastSpeech2 backbone to a multi-speaker setting and gives it much-coveted continuous (and interpretable) affective control, without any observable degradation in the quality of the synthesized speech.


BACKGROUND
Windmill softball pitching is a highly skilled movement, combining whole body coordination with explosive force. Successful pitching requires sequential movement to transfer energy produced by the lower extremity to the pitching arm. Therefore, drive leg ground reaction force (GRF) and the time over which a pitcher can develop force during push off, defined as rate of force development (RFD), is essential for optimal performance. The purpose of this study was to examine GRF and RFD in the drive leg during the windmill softball pitch, as well as pitch velocity, throughout a simulated game.

METHODS
Fourteen softball pitchers (17.9±2.3 years, 166.4±8.7cm, 72.2±12.6kg) pitched a simulated game. Pitch velocity and anterior-posterior and vertical GRF and RFD, each normalized to body weight, were collected for each inning. Average pitch speed remained consistent across all seven innings, 49.57±0.42mph. Changes in GRF and RFD were assessed, with level of significance set as p<0.05.

RESULTS
A one-way repeated measures analysis of variance showed no significant differences in apGRF%BW (p=0.297), vGRF%BW (p=0.574), apRFD (BW/s) (p=0.085) and vRFD (BW/s) (p=0.059).

CONCLUSIONS
Training programs can be improved with the knowledge of the magnitude and rate in which forces are developed by the drive leg during push-off of the windmill softball pitch.


To achieve the twin objectives of satisfaction and loyalty, service quality in the university sector needs to be evaluated from both the internal (customers) and external (service providers) perspectives. Against this background, this article reviewed issues involved in service quality in universities from the customer satisfaction and attachment points of view, taking students as primary customers, especially in technology-based universities in Nigeria. The review noted that, service quality and customer satisfaction has direct relationship, because the students' expectations of a university education are skewed towards learning experiences and individual preferences, implying students' enrolment decision depends on the service encounters relating to factors like support facilities and infrastructure, image and marketing, academic issues, administrative issues, location and access.

 Key words: Service quality, higher education, customer satisfaction, institutional attachment.


The quality of rainwater, which is the main source of domestic water in Dzodze, a community in the Volta Region of Ghana, was unknown. Therefore, the possible utilization of contaminated domestic water and occurrence of health hazards could not be underestimated due to prevailing poor hygiene and a great lack of standard maintenance and treatment systems in the community. In this study, we assessed the quality of rainwater in the Dzodze Community community and how it varies along the DRWH[BH1] chain from free-fall to storage. Rain samples were collected at three points along the domestic rainwater harvesting (DRWH) chain. Specifically, the three points from were free-fall, roof-catchmentroof catchment, and storage tank, and the two systems were "described as poorly-maintained" and "well-maintained" systems. The physico-chemical and bacteriological patterns of rainwater samples were analyzed for physico-chemical and bacteriological parameters and results were compared with World Health Organization (and Ghana Standards Board guideline values. The harvested rainwater was found to be of good physico-chemical quality, but not bacteriological, quality but not bacteriological, calling for treatment before utilization. Also, irrespective of the type of DRWH system (poorly-maintained or well-maintained), there were substantial changes in rainwater quality upon interaction with roof-catchmentroof catchment, with an increase noticed in all parameters.


: Two new benzene tricarboxylato derivatives [(Cy 2 NH 2 )] 3 [C 6 H 3 (CO 2 ) 3 ]·4H 2 O ( 1 ) and [ i -Bu 2 NH 2 ][(Me 3 SnO 2 C) 2 C 6 H 3 CO 2 ] ( 2 ) have been synthesized and characterized by X-ray crystallography. In the solid state, compound 1 shows a three-dimensional structure involving intra-and inter-molecular hydrogen bonds, whereas the X-ray structure of 2 consists of pentacoordinated Sn centers bonded to three methyl groups and two O atoms in a trans -O 2 SnC 3 environment, bridged by oxyanions leading to a layered structure; the cation is involved in intramolecular hydrogen bonds.


Abstract We quantified forest stand attributes at ruffed grouse Bonasa umbellus drumming display sites to develop tree stocking guides as a tool for guiding ruffed grouse management. We estimated tree density and basal area surrounding grouse drumming sites and compared these with unused sites. We used model selection to assess predictions about whether tree density and basal area surrounding drumming sites varied by site classification (primary drumming site, alternate site, unused site) or forest type. We plotted the predicted values from the best model on tree stocking guides, which are tools commonly used by forest managers. Tree density and basal area varied by site classification and by forest type. Our results show that stem density was higher and basal area lower at both primary and alternate drumming sites compared to unused sites in all forest types. We also found that grouse sites in aspen stands had a greater stem density and lower basal area than grouse sites in pine and spruce/fir stands. Incorporating these results into a tree stocking guide suggested that management for grouse in aspen stands should attempt to maintain stands with average stem density and basal area for this species. In contrast, foresters who are managing for conifers and also wish to maintain some grouse habitat should favour wider spacing of trees in stands. Wider spacing will encourage the development of dense understory vegetation favoured by grouse as well as enhance the growth of quality saw-logs. Our study describes a method for incorporating habitat data on ruffed grouse and other wildlife into tree stocking charts, which are commonly used to facilitate management of forest stands.


Introduction Recently we presented novel methodology for the assessment of oesophageal function and symptoms during and after a standard test meal.1 In the absence of a "gold standard", outcome data provides insight into the clinical impact of this test in patients with reflux symptoms Methods 18 patients referred for investigation of reflux symptoms and 10 healthy volunteers underwent High Resolution Manometry (HRM) with 5ml water, 200ml water drink and test meal followed by 10min post-prandial observation. 24hr pH studies were performed in patients. The number of Symptoms Associated with oesophageal Dysfunction(SAD) was calculated. HRM findings and initial diagnosis were compared with the final diagnosis and outcome at 2 years Results No symptoms occurred with 5ml water. 12/18(67%) patients had SAD (mean SAD 2(range 0–7)) during/after the meal. Compared to 5ml water, manometric diagnosis was altered in 12/18(67%). No healthy volunteers had SAD. 11/18 patients had GORD on pH studies. By 2 years, 5/11 had anti-reflux surgery with excellent outcome. All 5 exhibited dysmotility (e.g. hypotensive/failed peristalsis) during the meal with symptomatic postprandial reflux events (transient lower oesophageal sphincter relaxation + common cavity). Of the 6/11 with GORD who did not have surgery, 2 declined it despite pathological pH results and symptomatic reflux events after the meal; both remain symptomatic despite acid-reducing therapy. The remaining 4 of 6 patients also had symptomatic dysmotility but were not offered surgery. 2 with severe hypotensive dysmotility and symptomatic reflux responded to acid suppression. 1 with (peptic) outlet obstruction and 1 with diffuse spasm did not respond to medication. Of the 7 with functional heartburn (negative pH results), 2 who had normal HRM responded to dietary/stress management. 2 with symptomatic reflux during HRM had good response to acid-suppression (i.e. false neg pH study). The final 3 with reflux-like symptoms had outflow obstruction identified only during the meal; 1 had good outcome after dilatation, 1 was too frail for therapy and remains symptomatic and the last was lost to follow-up. Conclusion HRM studies which include a test meal and post-prandial observation provide an objective explanation for symptoms in the majority of patients referred for investigation of "reflux" symptoms. Long-term follow-up suggests this information can guide management especially in patientswithout definitive diagnosis following standard 5 ml water HRM and negative pH-studies Disclosure of Interest None Declared Reference Sweis R et al. Gastro 2011; 140


Our detailed problem is one of having multiple orthogonal sensors that are each able to observe different objects, but none can see the whole assembly comprised of such objects. Further, our sensors are moving so we have positional uncertainties located with each observed object. The problem of associating multiple time based observations of a single object by fusing future estimate covariance updates with our best estimate to date and knowing which estimate to assign to which current location estimate becomes a problem in bias elimination or compensation. Once we have established which objects to fuse together, next we must determine which objects are close enough together to be related into a possible assembly. This requires a decision to determine which objects to group together. But if a group of nearby objects is found, how are their spatial locations best used? Simply doing a covariance update and combining their state estimates yields a biased answer, since the objects are "not" the same and "not" superimposed. Therefore, naive covariance updating yields estimates of assemblies within which we find no objects. Our proposed spatial correlation and voting algorithm solves this spatial object fusion problem.


In this paper, we present a novel algorithm that guarantees of finding a variable-length error-correcting code (VLEC) with minimal average codeword length for a fixed free distance dfree. We also propose a low complexity maximum a posterior (MAP) decoding algorithm for our codes under the premise that the receiver knows the number of codewords being transmitted. The resulting VLEC provides significant gains over other codes from the literature. When compared with separate source-channel tandem codes with identical dfree, such as a tandem code consisting of a Huffman source code concatenated with a (2, 1, 4) tail-biting convolutional channel code, our system has only a 0.3 dB performance loss at a bit error rate of 10−5 while requiring significantly less decoding complexity.


Prior to the existence of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Forest Service district rangers had considerable latitude to make resource management decisions and execute management plans with relatively little encumbrance by documentation and process requirements. Today there appears to be differences not only in the district ranger population, but in the decision-making processes they use and how they adapt their management style to particular circumstances. In-depth interviews were conducted with 12 district rangers to obtain their experiences with project design and development, and how project planning is influenced by considerations about the NEPA process. District rangers appear to have changed their management style to accommodate a shifting social and policy climate, and rangers often view NEPA as a risk factor and as a process to be managed. Research methods can be used to further analyze risk in terms of resource versus process risk, both of which can potentially affect the agency in terms of opportunity and monetary costs, efficiencies, and decision confidences.


Subsea inter-field pipelines are an important element of offshore oil and gas infrastructure. Leakage or fracture of these pipelines is associated with the risk of large economic and environmental losses. One of the main sources of pipeline fracture is pipe defects. The presented section discusses the methodological aspects of assessing the hazard of defects of subsea inter-field pipelines by risk criteria of accidents. A conceptual approach of defects hazard assessing by risk criteria has been formulated, based on analysis the requirement of modern standards. The risk is defined as the probability of negative consequences, the scale of which is determined by the hazard class of pipeline accidents. The probability and scale of accidents are linked by a risk matrix. A method for a three-level assessment of the suitability of a pipeline for operation after in-line inspection has been developed. The method allows assessing the hazard of the most typical defects in subsea pipelines, such as metal loss, metal delamination, cracks and crack-like defects. The allowable defect sizes are determined for the given risk criteria using partial safety factors. The novelty of the methodology lies in the substantiation of safety factors according to risk criteria corresponding to a given class of damage and loss. A scheme for making decisions on the admissibility of defects by risk criteria has been developed. An example of hazard assessment of defects in subsea pipelines is presented.


Abstract The international community often seeks to promote political reforms in recalcitrant states. Recently, some scholars have argued that, rather than helping, international law and advocacy create new problems because they have negative spillovers that increase rights violations. We review three mechanisms for such spillovers: backlash, trade-offs, and counteraction and concentrate on the last of these. Some researchers assert that governments sometimes "counteract" international human rights pressures by strategically substituting violations in adjacent areas that are either not targeted or are harder to monitor. However, most such research shows only that both outcomes correlate with an intervention—the targeted positively and the spillover negatively. The burden of proof, however, should be as rigorous as those for studies of first-order policy consequences. We show that these correlations by themselves are insufficient to demonstrate counteraction outside of the narrow case where the intervention is assumed to have no direct effect on the spillover, a situation akin to having a valid instrumental variable design. We revisit two prominent findings and show that the evidence for the counteraction claim is weak in both cases. The article contributes methodologically to the study of negative spillovers in general by proposing mediation and sensitivity analysis within an instrumental variables framework for assessing such arguments. It revisits important prior findings that claim negative consequences to human rights law and/or advocacy, and raises critical normative questions regarding how we empirically evaluate hypotheses about causal mechanisms.