Here we consider the design of a general subsystem model which is required to operate in series with the
known dynamics of a plant or actuator, to achieve a desired overall system response. The example model
is used in series with a motion platform to emulate vehicle handling dynamics. The method works in
stages, first isolating the required linear response by fitting a frequency response function, then modelling
this with a fixed order linear system in modal canonical form. A nonlinear saturation is then optimised
for each modal state. The results are demonstrated for simulated and vehicle test data, and these achieve
the principal objectives, of low state and parameter order. Some limitations to the method emerge –
principally that there remain challenges to extension of the model to multi-input / output operation.


For a number of years, only a single species of the genus Microcyclus Orskov 1928, namely M. aquaticus Orskov, was reported in the literature. Eventually, two more species, M. major Gromov 1963 and M. flavus Raj 1970, were named and described. Brief mention was also made in the literature of a marine Microcyclus strain (Raj 1970) originally isolated in 1966 from the Pacific Ocean and tentatively, hence not validly, named M. marinus. To establish its taxo-nomic status, the marine isolate was studied extensively and compared with M. aquaticus ATCC 25396 and M. flavus ATCC 23276, both from freshwater habitats. On the basis of its similarity index, as determined by numerical taxonomy with these previously named species, the marine microcyclus is believed to belong to a new species, for which the name Microcyclus marinus is proposed. The type strain of M. marinus has been deposited in the American Type Culture Collection under the number 25205 and in the Deutsche Sammlung von Mikro-organismen Collection under the number 745.


The NKX2-1 transcription factor, a regulator of normal lung development, is the most significantly amplified gene in human lung adenocarcinoma. To better understand how genomic alterations of NKX2-1 drive tumorigenesis, we generated an expression signature associated with NKX2-1 amplification in human lung adenocarcinoma, and analyzed DNA binding sites of NKX2-1 by genome-wide chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP-seq) from three NKX2-1-amplified human lung adenocarcinoma cell lines. Integration of these expression and cistromic analyses suggested that aberrant over-expression of NKX2-1 primarily activates the expression of transcriptional target genes whose expression is not trans-activated by NKX2-1 at physiological expression levels, and identified LMO3, itself encoding a transcription regulator, as a candidate direct transcriptional target of NKX2-1. NKX2-1 amplification is most significantly associated with over-expression of the LMO3 gene, a member of the LMO family of oncogenes that are translocated in T-ALL, the same disorder in which NKX2-1 translocation has been observed. We further show that NKX2-1 interacts physically with the LMO3 locus, and activates its expression. RNA interference analysis of NKX2-1-amplified cells compared to non-amplified cells demonstrated that LMO3 mediates cell proliferation downstream of NKX2-1. Further cistromic analyses found that consensus binding motifs including a nuclear hormone receptor signature and a Forkhead box motif, indicating that NKX2-1 might cooperate with Forkhead box FOXA1 and nuclear hormones to regulate gene expression. Genome-wide analysis of FOXA1 occupancy by ChIP-seq in the NCI-H3122 cell line revealed that FOXA1 binds not only to the LMO3 locus upstream of NKX2-1 binding site but also to many NKX2-1 occupied regions (47% of total NKX2-1-bound sites). Our findings provide new insight into the transcriptional regulatory network of NKX2-1 and suggest that LMO3 is a transducer of lineage specific cell survival of NKX2-1-amplified lung adenocarcinomas. Citation Format: Hideo Watanabe, Joshua M. Francis, Michele S. Woo, Banafsheh Etemad, Wenchu Lin, Daniel F. Fries, Shouyong Peng, Eric L. Snyder, Purushothama Rao Tata, Anna C. Schinzel, Jeonghee Cho, Peter S. Hammerman, Roel G. Verhaak, William C. Hahn, Jayaraj Rajagopal, Tyler Jacks, Matthew Meyerson. Integrated cistromic and expression analysis of amplified NKX2-1 in lung adenocarcinoma identifies LMO3 as a functional transcriptional target. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3127. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-3127


The authors thank Martin Barkman, a McKinsey alumnus, for his contribution to this article. Hospitals bought up the practices of primary-care physicians to gain additional patient referrals, but instead they transformed those physicians from entrepreneurs into salaried, complacent bureaucrats. The damage can't easily be undone, but it can be mitigated in the present and avoided in the future. Seeking a profitable and steady source of patient referrals, in the early 199 Os US hospitals and hospital systems began hungrily acquiring primary-care physician practices (Exhibit 1, on the next spread). [1] By 1998, they owned roughly 10 percent of such practices, yet this strategy has done little, if anything, to increase their supply of patients. Moreover, proprietary primary-care practices have become a drain on their parent hospitals, which in 1998 lost a net average of roughly $80,000 per physician from them. [2] That adds up to more than $1 billion in losses, roughly 30 percent of the net revenue these doctors generated. Such deals are not easily undone. But by thoughtfully applying two practical ideas from the world of marketing--segmentation and sound channel management--hospitals can increase the number of patients referred to them and turn this channel into a source of competitive advantage. [3] A postmortem Hospitals failed to improve their economic performance through the ownership of primary-care physician practices for several reasons. In the first place, most of the hospitals overestimated the ability of affiliated physicians to change their referral patterns. In a recent study of a large system-owned network of primary-care practices, for example, we found that even several years after the network had been acquired, referrals to it had actually increased by less than 10 percent. In absolute terms, fewer than half of the patients seen by the system's primary-care physicians received follow-up care from affiliated specialists or hospitals. About 75 of 100 physicians in recently acquired primary-care practices told us that there were four main barriers to changing their referral patterns. Often, neither the doctors nor their patients were familiar with the affiliated specialists. Patients were unwilling to travel unusually long distances to see them. Payor incentives or policies sometimes encouraged primary-care physicians to refer patients to unaffiliated hospitals and physicians. And affiliated hospitals suffered from shortages of critical technologies (such as CAT scanners) or surgical facilities, thus causing excessively long waits for patients and physicians alike. The second reason hospital systems could not improve their economic performance by purchasing practices of primary-care physicians was their new mode of compensation. Traditionally, primary-care physicians ran their own businesses and were paid for each patient they saw. Because every dollar they saved went straight into their own bank accounts, they had every incentive to keep their support staffs lean, to control other expenses, and to monitor billings and reimbursements closely. But hospitals encouraged primary-care physicians to join hospital systems by offering lump-sum payments over and above the value of the assets of the practices. The hospitals then put the physicians on salary. Assured of a certain income regardless of performance, the physicians' productivity declined by 15 to 20 percent in the two years after acquisition. Finally, hospitals tended to overestimate the value of direct referrals from primary-care physicians into hospital systems--referrals that actually generate relatively little income (Exhibit 2). More than three-quarters of an average hospital's net income is derived from referrals by specialists. Specialists refer not only more patients than primary-care physicians do but also patients requiring more elaborate care--thus generating higher hospital bills and, potentially, more profit. …


Abstract A partly destabilised Na-richterite has been found in an olivine-nephelinite from Morocco. The riehterite crystal (600 × 420 μm) is surrounded by a reaction zone (400-700 μm) of K- and Si-rich glass containing small (<50 μm) olivine (Fo80-83%) and endiopside crystals. Outwards, another zone is formed of normal magmatic minerals and circumscribes the original crystal, indicating that the destabilisation event took place at the end of the crystallisation sequence. Estimated ascent time of about 100 hours would have completely decomposed an isolated richterite crystal, which suggests that the amphibole was originally included in a xenolith. A mass-balance calculation shows that the fichterite isovolumic decomposition was accompanied by exchanges with the magma. The loss of Na from the reaction zone and the gain of AI from the magma allowed the precipitation of an analcime-rich zone observed around the destabilised amphibole and the concentration of K in the reaction zone glass. Compositional variations, Fe and Ti increase and Mg, Ca and F decrease at the richterite edge are interpreted as the result of a diffusion process. No alkali gradients are observed. The diffusion phenomenon lasted less than 100 hours and ceased to be operative at a temperature of 900-950°C i.e. just below the solidus temperature. Diffusion coefficients for the amphibole are proposed: e.g 10−9 cm2 s−1 for K2O and 10−10 for FeO at 900°C


The aim of this pilot study was to explore whether home care service personnel used knowledge and skills in transfer technique in their daily work; knowledge and skills gained by participating in training programmes, and to identify factors that may hinder and support their use. Focus group interviews were held with 2 home care service groups in 2 Swedish towns. Individual interviews were conducted with the personnel's managers, unit leaders and safety representatives. Qualitative content analysis was used. The findings revealed that the personnel tried to use their knowledge and skills. However, there were both hindering and supporting factors for the use of safe work technique. The findings indicate that training programmes in transfer technique should not be implemented as isolated actions without considering the physical environment, the wishes of persons receiving care and their relatives, the work organisation, the safety culture and the role of managers.


We argue that understanding the cognitive foundations of computational thinking will assist educators to improve children's learning in computing. We explain the conceptual relationship between executive functions and aspects of computational thinking. We present initial empirical data from 23 eleven year old learners which investigates the correlation between assessments of programming and debugging in the visual language Scratch and scores from the BRIEF2 assessment of executive functions. The initial data shows moderate to large correlations between assessments of debugging and programming with the BRIEF2 teachers' rating of executive function as manifested in classroom behaviour. Case studies from the empirical data are used to qualitatively illustrate how executive functions relate to a game making task. We discuss the implications of these findings for educators, and present suggestions for future work.


BACKGROUND
Long-term data from patients with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC)-associated renal angiomyolipoma (angiomyolipoma) are limited.

STUDY DESIGN
Retrospective observational study.

SETTING & PARTICIPANTS
Adult patients with TSC treated at the University Medical Center Utrecht (the Netherlands) from January 1990 through April 2012.

PREDICTORS
Patient age and angiomyolipoma stage, based on computed tomography lesion count, size, and impact on renal anatomy, with higher stage representing higher angiomyolipoma burden. Patients in stages 3 or higher were considered at high risk for hemorrhage and candidates for selective arterial embolization.

OUTCOMES
Kidney-related outcomes included hypertension, anemia, decreased kidney function, dialysis, kidney transplantation, nephrectomy, kidney-related blood transfusions, and mortality. Observed mortality was compared to the Dutch National Bureau of Statistics using standardized mortality ratio.

RESULTS
Median follow-up was 15.8 years, of which staging was available for 5.4 years. Of 351 patients with TSC, 244 (69.5%) had confirmed angiomyolipoma; 144 (59.0%) reached stage 3 or higher. Age and angiomyolipoma stage were positively correlated: median age in the none-detected stage was 36.8 years, increasing to 43.6 years for stage 6. Embolization was performed in 117 patients; 57 had 2 or more embolization procedures. Higher stage was associated with hypertension, anemia, decreased kidney function, and transfusion. Hypertension, anemia, and decreased kidney function were more common in patients who underwent selective arterial embolization. 7 patients required dialysis, 7 received a kidney transplant, and 16 underwent nephrectomy. 29 deaths were recorded, most commonly related to renal complications (n=9[31%]). Mortality was significantly higher in the study cohort versus the general population (standardized mortality ratio, 4.8; 95% CI, 3.4-6.9).

LIMITATIONS
Duration of follow-up with staging was too short to observe stage progression in most patients.

CONCLUSIONS
Despite the use of preventive selective arterial embolization, patients with TSC exhibit clinically significant kidney disease and excess mortality, largely because of kidney-related complications.


Some marked advances in the reduction of size and weight of B batteries for portable receivers are discussed. By volume savings effected through new design developments, the package size per unit of capacity has been lowered by about 50 per cent. These improvements enhance portability and are reflected in such developments as the personal receiver.


Inverted index traversal techniques have been studied in addressing the query processing performance challenges of web search engines, but still leave much room for improvement. In this paper, we focus on the inverted index traversal on document-sorted indexes and the optimization technique called dynamic pruning, which can efficiently reduce the hardware computational resources required. We propose another novel exhaustive index traversal scheme called largest scores first (LSF) retrieval, in which the candidates are first selected in the posting list of important query terms with the largest upper bound scores and then fully scored with the contribution of the remaining query terms. The scheme can effectively reduce the memory consumption of existing term-at-atime (TAAT) and the candidate selection cost of existing document-at-a-time (DAAT) retrieval at the expense of revisiting the posting lists of the remaining query terms. Preliminary analysis and implementation show comparable performance between LSF and the two well-known baselines. To further reduce the number of postings that need to be revisited, we present efficient rank safe dynamic pruning techniques based on LSF, including two important optimizations called list omitting (LSF_LO) and partial scoring (LSF_PS) that make full use of query term importance. Finally, experimental results with the TREC GOV2 collection show that our new index traversal approaches reduce the query latency by almost 27% over the WAND baseline and produce slightly better results compared with the MaxScore baseline, while returning the same results as exhaustive evaluation.


ABSTRACT The implementation of the Smart Specialisation approach was expected to require an especially challenging commitment to policy learning in less advanced regions compared with advanced ones. This paper suggests a partially different analytical framework by discussing the relevance of path dependency in the design and implementation of Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialisation (RIS3). The research question concerns the relationship between previous experiences in innovation policy also in less advanced regions and RIS3 policy processes. Based on the two case studies of Sicily and Apulia (Italy), the paper investigates in which way policy heritage contributed to the quality of processes and outcomes.


Voting algorithms make decisions in fault tolerant systems where a redundant module provides inconsistent outputs. Popular voting algorithms are majority voting, weighted voting and inexact majority voters. Each technique suffers from areas where agreements are lacking for voter inputs. This was overcome using fuzzy theory in literature. Our earlier work concentrated on a neuro-fuzzy algorithm where training using neuro system improved the voting system's prediction result. Neural Network Weight training is sub-optimal. This paper proposes to optimize the weights of the Neural Network using Hybrid Artificial Bee Colony algorithm. Experimental results show the proposed system improves the decision making of the voting algorithms.


This study presents a paper-based thin-layer optical cuvette for absorption spectroscopy with a pneumatically driven pump for the introduction of an aqueous sample. The three major components, a sample reservoir, an open-channel as an optical path and a pneumatic pump, are patterned in polypropylene paper using an electronic cutting machine. When sealed with transparent tape, the patterned paper serves as the side walls of the paper-based cuvette with an integrated pneumatic pump. Due to the reduced pressure inside the open-channel caused by the depression of the pump with a finger, aqueous samples spotted onto the reservoir are introduced into the open-channel of the paper-based cuvette. We demonstrated that the paper-based cuvettes are compatible with conventional spectrophotometers for absorption spectroscopic measurements and capable of quantifying the concentrations of various colored dyes in aqueous samples.


Parathyroid scintigraphy with 99mTc-MIBI was performed using two kinds of collimators, namely, a pinhole one and a parallel-hole one, to evaluate which one was more suitable for the detection of hyperfunctioning parathyroid lesions. In the studies using 99mTc source, the pinhole collimator showed better efficiency and spatial resolution in the distance where the parathyroid scan are actually performed. In the phantom study, the nodular activities modeling parathyroid lesions were visualized better on the images obtained using the pinhole collimator. In clinical studies for 30 patients suspicious of hyperparathyroidism, hyperfunctioning parathyroid nodules were better detected when the pinhole collimator was used. In conclusion, the pinhole collimator was thought to be more suitable for parathyroid scintigraphy with 99mTc-MIBI than the parallel-hole collimator.


The purpose of this study was to explore structural relationships among social support, parenting stress, self-perception and parenting behavior perceived by mother and provide preliminary data useful for desirable parenting behavior. For this purpose, the data of fourth wave Panel Study on Korean Children(PSKC) including social support, parenting stress, self-perception and parenting behavior measured by 1,746 mothers with 3-year-old children were analyzed. We identified structural relationships among the variables using SPSS 18.0 and AMOS 18.0 applying structural equation modeling. Measurement model and structure model had favorable goodness of fit and the results of structure models on each path were as follows. First, parenting behavior had positive correlations with social support and self-perception but there was a negative correlation between parenting behavior and parenting stress. Second, the relationship between social support and self-perception was mediated by parenting stress and parenting stress and self-perception mediated the relationship between social support and parenting relationship. In conclusion it is required to raise awareness about the importance of development of various parent education programs and parenting behavior.


This study examines Korean L2 learners' production of English sound contrast not attested in their L1, focusing on word-final /S/ and /Si/. L2 pronunciation error patterns such as vowel deletion and epenthesis were more frequently found in the low group than in the high group. Acoustic properties of lexical and epenthetic vowels were also different according to learners' proficiency levels. The low group's epenthetic and lexical vowels showed similar acoustic properties with respect to friction and vowel ratio and F1 and F2 midpoint values. On the other hand, the high group's epenthetic vowels exhibited longer friction ratio, shorter vowel ratio, higher F1 and lower F2 than lexical vowels. While the low group did not distinguish epenthetic vowels from lexical vowels, the high group pronounced epenthetic vowels differently from lexical vowels, possibly as transitional vowels. As for word-final [S] from /S/ or /Si/, both groups showed longer friction ratio for [S] from /Si/ than for [S] from /S/. The findings suggest the use of production strategies by L2 learners is different from native speakers and is mediated by their proficiency levels.


Abstract The objective of this article is to present 3 various types of gummy smile treated with botulinum toxin-A injection per site at Yonsei points. The patients, who visited the department to demand a more aesthetic smile, were classified according to gummy smile type: asymmetric, anterior, and mixed. Botulinum toxin-A injection at Yonsei point was considered. Preinjection and postinjection pictures were taken, and the severity of excessive gingival display was measured for each tooth between second premolars. Two weeks after botulinum toxin injections, no complication was noted. The amount of excessive gingival display for each tooth between second premolars was measured less than 3 mm, and the percentage of improvement for each case was calculated 100%. The botulinum toxin injection at Yonsei point may be a predictable and noninvasive treatment option for various types of gummy smile.


Offshore petroleum systems are often very complex and subtle because of a variety of depositional environments. Characterizing a reservoir based on conventional seismic and well-log stratigraphic analysis in intricate settings often leads to uncertainties. Drilling risks, as well as associated subsurface uncertainties can be minimized by accurate reservoir delineation. Moreover, a forecast can also be made about production and performance of a reservoir. This study is aimed to design a workflow in reservoir characterization by integrating seismic inversion, petrophysics and rock physics tools. Firstly, to define litho facies, rock physics modeling was carried out through well log analysis separately for each facies. Next, the available subsurface information is incorporated in a Bayesian engine which outputs several simulations of elastic reservoir properties, as well as their probabilities that were used for post-inversion analysis. Vast areal coverage of seismic and sparse vertical well log data was integrated by geostatistical inversion to produce acoustic impedance realizations of high-resolution. Porosity models were built later using the 3D impedance model. Lastly, reservoir bodies were identified and cross plot analysis discriminated the lithology and fluid within the bodies successfully.


Eukaryotic peroxiredoxins are highly susceptible to sulfinic acid formation. This overoxidation, which is thought to convert peroxiredoxins into chaperones, can be reversed by sulfiredoxins. Several organisms, including Caenorhabditis elegans, lack sulfiredoxins but encode sestrins, proteins proposed to be functionally equivalent. We induced peroxiredoxin overoxidation in C. elegans with a short peroxide pulse. We found that reduction of overoxidized peroxiredoxin 2 (PRDX-2) was extremely slow and sestrin-independent, strongly implying that worms lack an efficient repair system. Analysis of PRDX-2's overoxidation status during C. elegans lifespan revealed no accumulation of overoxidized PRDX-2 at any point, questioning whether PRDX-2 overoxidation in worms is physiologically relevant.


HUMAN CAPITAL, BUSINESS CYCLES AND LABOR SUPPLY VOLATILITY Diana Alessandrini Advisors: University of Guelph, 2014 Thanasis Stengos and Stephen Kosempel This doctoral thesis investigates the effect of business cycles on individuals decisions, with an emphasis on human capital accumulation. The first chapter shows that low-productivity individuals take advantage of the education sector during a recession by substituting schooling for work and accumulating more human capital. Whereas, high-productivity individuals face a lower unemployment rate and earn a higher labor income. Therefore, they are less likely to leave the labor market and accumulate more human capital. By using survey data from the Current Population Survey, I confirm that this was the case in the US for the period 1986-2011. The findings of the first chapter have important implications on the volatility puzzle in Real Business Cycle models. One of the shortcomings of these models is the inability to correctly predict the volatility of hours worked. Specifically, the volatility is lower than empirical estimates. The second chapter shows that it is possible to improve the ability of the model to predict labor supply volatility by modeling heterogeneity in productivity. Further, previous papers in the literature find that education can explain the volatility puzzle in a representative-agent setting. I show that this is no longer the case once heterogeneity is introduced in the model and agents face a finite lifetime. The third chapter focuses on the empirical relationship between business cycles and post-secondary education using Canadian data. The cyclicality of schooling decisions has been extensively analyzed in the literature by using US data. However, there are no studies on the Canadian economy. Main results show that university enrollment is counter-cyclical. Ability, proxied by parental education, negatively affects the counter-cyclicality of university enrollment. Further, economic downturns stimulate the acquisition of theoretical rather than practical education. In fact, contrary to university enrollment, college enrollment is pro-cyclical and enrollment in other (non-university) PSE institutions is acyclical. Finally, macroeconomic conditions mainly affect decisions of recent high-school graduates. Workers are not likely to return to school during recessions.


We propose and analyze new finger replacement techniques for RAKE reception in the soft handover (SHO) region with multiple base stations. The proposed schemes are basically based on the block comparison among groups of resolvable paths from different base stations and lead to the reduction of complexity while offering commensurate performance in comparison with previously proposed schemes. Relying on the newly derived analytical expressions, we investigate not only the complexity in terms of the average number of required path estimations/comparisons and the SHO overhead but the error performance of the proposed scheme over independent identically distributed (i.i.d.) fading channels as well. We also examine, via computer simulations, the effect of path unbalance/correlation as well as outdated/imperfect channel estimation and show the robustness of our proposed scheme to these practical limitations.


OBJECTIVE
To examine the effect of the epsilon 4 allele on cognitive decline in the oldest old.

METHODS
We studied all 601 citizens of the city of Vantaa age 85 years and older in 1991. A total of 553 subjects (92%) took part in the study, which used the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and assessment of dementia according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, third ed., revised (DSM-III-R) criteria. The survivors were re-examined 3 years later. APOE genotype was determined in 510 subjects, representing 83.2% of the original population.

RESULTS
Approximately one-half of the subjects (n = 250) died before the follow-up, and 253 subjects (97.3% of the survivors) were re-examined. The occurrence of the APOE epsilon 4 allele did not have any significant effect on survival. Of the 187 previously nondemented subjects, 58 (31%) had developed dementia. The OR for the epsilon 4 carriers to develop dementia was not significant: OR = 1.78; 95% CI = 0.88 to 3.60. In individuals with a follow-up MMSE score (n = 222), the mean decline in the score was 3.1 points. APOE epsilon 4 carrier status did not have a significant effect on the mean MMSE change except in the previously demented subjects, among whom the drop was larger in the APOE epsilon 4 carriers.

CONCLUSIONS
The lack of association between APOE epsilon 4 carrier status and mortality, or development of dementia, or cognitive decline in these very elderly people, whether analyzed in the whole population or among the nondemented subjects only, suggests that the APOE epsilon 4 effect in younger subjects is age-dependent, and that it is no longer present in very old age.


Plans to make 1986 a uniquely productive year for U.S. space science activities ended in one horrible moment with the January 28, 1986, explosion of the space shuttle Challenger. The joyless scene at Cape Canaveral, Fla., stood in sharp contrast to the overwhelming success of Voyager 2 in its encounter with Uranus 4 days earlier. (Scientific details of that encounter will follow in upcoming issues of Eos.)

Of the 15 space shuttle flights planned for fiscal year 1986, beginning October 1, 1985, a total of seven were to have carried scientific payloads for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The remaining eight flights were evenly divided between missions for the U.S. Department of Defense and commercial missions for NASA's paying customers. The explosion caused NASA to put its entire space shuttle program on hold to allow time for engineers to find the cause of the accident and for NASA to implement corrective measures. As Eos went to press, NASA acting administrator William R. Graham had not yet released the names of those who would serve on the formal investigative panel. "I think everybody's agreed that it will take weeks to months to unravel," said Alexander Dessler, director of the space science laboratory at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center near Huntsville, Ala. Dessler speculated that investigators would begin with a list of hundreds of possible causes for the explosion.


We study the O(N) vector model and the U (N) Gross-Neveu model with fixed total fermion number, in three dimensions. Using non-trivial polylogarithmic identities, we calculate the large-N renormalized free-energy density of these models, at their conformal points in a " slab " geometry with one finite dimension of length L. We briefly comment on the possible implications of our results.


Twenty patients, showing retention cysts in vaginosonographic examination, were included in our study. We differentiated between superficial and deep located Nabothian cysts. Fourteen cases showed primarily visible superficial cysts, the other six could only be detected vaginosonographically. The Nabothian cysts varied in size from 4 to 26 mm, the average diameter was 13 mm. Only four cases showed solitary Nabothian cysts, the other sixteen cases were multiple. The clinical significance of Nabothian cysts in the field of sterility diagnostics, especially the deep located retention cysts, cannot be assessed at present.


Many economists and policy makers have long favored the use of a price instrument to control greenhouse gases because they are a stock pollutant and as such the marginal benefit of abatement is relatively flat. While the early literature on the problem is consistent with this view, the later literature is less categorical. It showed that the choice between a price or quantity control depends, in part, upon the assumption on the dynamic structure of cost uncertainty. Temporary shocks to abatement cost favors the use of a price control, while permanent shocks favor a quantity control. Unfortunately, the importance of this assumption to the optimal choice has not yet received wide currency among economists. We analyze the problem in an alternative setting and reproduce the result that temporary shocks favor use of a price control while permanent shocks favor use of a quantity control. Our contribution is the simplicity of the model and the accessibility of the results, which reinforce the critical role played by the assumed structure of uncertainty.


Tissue engineering may be defined as the application of biological, chemical and engineering principles toward the repair, restoration or regeneration of living tissue using biomaterials, cells and biologically active molecules alone or in combinations. The rapid restoration of tissue biomechanical function represents a great challenge, highlighting the need to mimic tissue structure and mechanical behavior through scaffold designs. For this reason, several biodegradable and bioresorbable materials, as well as technologies and scaffold designs, have been widely investigated from an experimental and/or clinical point of view. Accordingly, this review aims at stressing the importance of polymer-based composite materials to make multifunctional scaffolds for tissue engineering, with a special focus on bone, ligaments, meniscus and cartilage. Moreover, polymer-based nanocomposites will also be briefly introduced as an interesting strategy to improve the biological and mechanical performances of polymer scaffolds, especially for bone tissue engineering.


This paper introduces three geometric features, from deformed shape of a soft tissue, which demonstrate good correlation with probing force and maximum local stress. Using FEM simulation, 2D and 3D model of an in vivo porcine liver was built for different probing tasks. Maximum deformation angle, maximum deformation depth and width of displacement constraint of the reconstructed shape of the deformed body were calculated. Two neural networks were trained from these features and the calculated interaction forces. The features are shown to have high potential to provide force estimation either for haptic devices or to assess the damage to the tissue in large deformations of up to 40%.


Background
Package and tissue patch implantation are common methods for repair of filtering bleb leaking after anti-glaucoma surgery.But the scarring or re-leakage of filtering bleb probably occur again.

Objective
This study was to investigate the repair effect of acellular dermal matrix (ADM) on filtering bleb leaking in rabbit model and compare the effectiveness among ADM, amniotic membrane and conjunctival overlap.

Methods
Trabeculectomy was performed on 48 eyes of 24 New Zealand rabbits, and models of filtering bleb leaking were established.The models were randomized into ADM group, amniotic membrane group and conjunctival covering group based on randomized number table.ADM patches with 4 mm×4 mm were implanted across lamellar cornea and sclera at a bridge in the ADM group, and the same size of amniotic membranes were used in the amniotic membrane group, and conjunctiva was sutured to limbus in the conjunctiva overlap group.The intraocular pressure (IOP) was measured before surgery and 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months after surgery.The biocompatibility of materials above was assessed under the slit lamp microscope, and the status of filtering bleb was evaluated and compared with anterior segment optical coherent tomography (AS-OCT) 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months after surgery.

Results
Before surgery and 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months after surgery, the IOP was (26.9±4.3), (16.6±5.1), (22.1±6.2), (18.3±6.5), (22.7±2.5), (23.4±1.4) mmHg in the AMD group, (29.9±5.4), (14.9±6.4), (21.6±7.8), (26.3±4.1), (26.0±4.2) and (23.0±5.3) mmHg in the amniotic membrane group, and (28.7±4.3), (15.7±7.0), (22.0±6.3), (28.2±4.1), (24.7±4.1), (23.0±2.7) mmHg in the conjunctival overlap group, showing significant differences among different groups and various time points (Fgroup=8.419, P=0.011; Ftime=15.543, P=0.000). The IOPs were significantly lower from 1 day through 3 months after operation than those before operation in the AMD group (P=0.000, 0.000, 0.006, 0.045); while the IOPs were reduced only from 1 day through 1 week after operation in comparison with before operation in the amniotic membrane group and the conjunctival overlap group (P=0.000, 0.001). One month after surgery, the IOPs were significantly declined in the ADM group compared with the amniotic membrane group and the conjunctival overlap group (P=0.001, 0.000). The grafts were clear under the slit lamp microscope and exhibited the valid filtering bleb until 3 months after operation under the AS-OCT in the ADM group.However, the valid filtering bleb remained only 1 month after surgery in the amniotic membrane group and the conjunctival overlap group.Neovascularization on the filtering bleb was found 3 months in the AMD group but 1 month in the amniotic membrane group and the conjunctival overlap group.

Conclusions
Compared with amniotic membrane and conjunctival tissue, ADM patch for the repair of filtering bleb leakage can increase the survival duration of filtering bleb and remain lower IOP.

Key words:
Human acellular dermal matrix; Trabeculectomy/complication; Filtering blebs; Leakage; Repair; Amniotic membrane; Intraocular pressure; Rabbit


Saturating functional responses are a unifying principle in ecology, influencing processes at organizational levels from dietary specialization in individuals, to population instability, to community-level indirect interactions among alternative prey. These effects are interrelated. We explore a predator–prey model and demonstrate that unstable dynamics promote coexistence of specialist and generalist predators, when the specialist attacks only high-quality prey, and the generalist attacks high- and low-quality prey (that alone cannot maintain the predator). Coexisting specialist and generalist predators are vulnerable to invasion and replacement by predators with fixed partial preferences. The evolutionarily stable partial preference increases with increasing dynamic instability, but typically declines with increasing abundance of the low-quality prey. Coexisting specialist and generalist consumers, or partial preferences, typically reduce the potential for poor-quality prey to indirectly benefit high-qu...


The original Memory Impairment Screen by Telephone (MIST) was designed to identify individuals with dementia but was relatively ineffective for identification of less severe impairment observed in mild cognitive impairment (MCI). We expanded the original MIST to create a modified instrument (mMIST) with greater sensitivity to less severe memory impairment. Older men and women with subjective cognitive decline were assessed by phone with the mMIST and subsequently classified independently with MCI or non-pathological cognitive decline. Participants with MCI produced lower scores on the mMIST than did participants without MCI, 10.8 ± 2.7 vs 13.3 ± 1.3, t = 5.68, p < 0.001, and performance on the mMIST predicted performances on the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT), Verbal Paired Associate Learning Test (VPAL), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) total score, and MoCA memory index score, p < 0.001. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses identified the optimal cut score on the mMIST to distinguish participants with and without MCI with Sensitivity = 73.1%, Specificity = 79.1%, and AUC = 0.79. Predictive values for distinguishing the amnestic form of MCI (aMCI) from non-amnestic MCI were Sensitivity = 81.8%, Specificity = 30%, and AUC = 0.82. These findings indicate that the mMIST is a valid screening instrument for identifying MCI. It can be administered remotely at low cost and low participant burden. Also, the mMIST has potential utility for remote cross-sectional and longitudinal evaluation in research and clinical contexts. Further investigation is indicated to corroborate its utility for assessment of aging patients and research participants.


We compute the growth effects of adopting a revenue-neutral flat tax for both a human capital--based endogenous growth model and a standard neoclassical growth model. Long-run growth effects are decomposed into the parts attributable to the flattening of the marginal tax schedule, the full expensing of physical-capital investment, and the elimination of double taxation of business income. The most important element of the reform is the flattening of the marginal tax schedule. Without this element, the combined effects of the other parts of the reform can actually reduce long-run growth. In the years immediately following the reform, the transition dynamics implied by the neoclassical growth model are quite similar to that of the endogenous growth model. (JEL E62, H21) Copyright 2004, Oxford University Press.


The article discusses the possibility of applying the theories of human and social capital to the sociological study of "pension capital". The authors methodologically substantiate that "pension social capital" in modern Russia already has certain institutional characteristics. On the example of an applied sociological study carried out with the financial support of a grant from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, it is revealed that the public opinion of residents of large cities is dominated by attitudes towards paternalistic, traditional ways of forming pension capital. Responsibility for the future provision of pensions is massively entrusted to state institutions by the townspeople. Alternative sources of pension savings are perceived by the population as secondary, not enjoying special trust. The team of authors comes to the conclusion that among active citizens, groups are formed that have a special potential for future active formation of social pension capital.


The new types of conserved quantities, which are directly induced by Lie symmetry of nonholonomic mechanical systems in phase space, are studied. Firstly, the criterion of the weak Lie symmetry and the strong Lie symmetry are given. Secondly, the conditions of existence of the new type of conserved quantities induced by the weak Lie symmetry and the strong Lie symmetry directly are obtained, and their form is presented. Finally, an Appell–Hamel example is discussed to further illustrate the applications of the results.


In this paper, the thermal infrared radiation (TIR) induced by the interaction between bolt and rock and the mechanism of thermo-mechanical coupling are investigated. The experiment study shows that the TIR radiation caused by stress concentration, strong friction and interaction area between rock and bolt, is much stronger than that caused by stress relaxation and week friction. The bolted ranges with the single bolt and two bolts are determined from the change ratios of TIR temperature of the different areas of the bolted rocks. The bolting effects could be detected by means of thermal infrared imaging detection. The infrared thermal image anomaly appeared bolted rock failure, which reflected the spatial and temporal features of infrared precursor respectively. The infrared thermal image precursor was classified as high-temperature strip and low-temperature strip.


Abstract Study aim: Recent evidence has revealed a reduction in the strength of correlation between ratings of perceived exertion and a heart rate (HR) derived training load in elite field hockey players during competition. These competitive periods involve sustained levels of cardiovascular performance coupled with considerable time performing above the anaerobic threshold. As such, the purpose of this investigation was to examine the magnitude of correlation between ratings of perceived exertion and time spent above threshold and two HR derived training loads. Material and methods: Seventeen (n = 17) international caliber female field hockey players competing as a national team were monitored over four matches during a seven-day competition period within the 2016 Olympic Cycle. Cardiovascular indices of exercise intensity were derived from HR dynamics and were quantified through estimating time spent above anaerobic threshold (LT2), the Edwards training load model (TLED) and the Polar Training Load (TLPOL). Sessional ratings of perceived exertion (sRPE) were recorded after each match. Results: 64 samples were recorded for analysis. HR derived (TLED& TL POL) and sRPE training loads remained comparable between matches. A large correlation (p = 0.01) was observed between sRPE and each heart rate derived training load (TLED& TLPOL). An unremarkable relationship (p = 0.06) was revealed between time spent above LT2 and sRPE. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate HR derived training loads (TLPOL& TLED) exhibit a stronger correlation with sRPE than time spent above LT2 in elite field hockey players during competition.


This work considers hypothesis testing in networked systems under severe lack of prior knowledge. In previous work we derived a centralized Uniformly Most Powerful Invariant (UMPI) approach to testing unknown inputs in unknown Linear Time Invariant (LTI) networked dynamics subject to unknown Gaussian noise. The detector was also shown to have Constant False Alarm Rate (CFAR) properties. Nonetheless, in large-scale systems, centralized testing may be infeasible or undesirable. Thus, we develop a distributed testing version of our previous work that utilizes a statistic that is maximally invariant to the unknown parameters and the nonlocal/neighboring measurements. Similar to the centralized approach, the distributed test is shown to have CFAR properties and to have performance that asymptotically approaches that of the centralized test. Simulation results illustrate that the performance of the distributed approach suffers marginal performance degradation in comparison to the centralized approach. Insight to this phenomena is provided through a discussion.


Background: In patients with acute myocardial infarction, age, BMI, blood pressure, and electrolytes all influence ejection fraction improvement following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) . Many studies have looked into the long-term consequences of these factors, but none have found evidence that they have an impact on PCI efficacy. Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and predict prognosis in AMI patients by measuring blood pressure and serum electrolytes. Methods: It is a study that will last for a lengthy period of time. Before and after angioplasty, the EF of 40 patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) was measured in this research. The data were analysed using the SPSS 23 statistical package. Results:The effects of age (P = 0.34) and BMI (P = 0.49) on EF improvement are not well understood. The difference between those with initial high blood pressure and those without (P = 0.12), although not significantly different. Although serum calcium levels (P = 0.74) were normal, elevated sodium and potassium levels (P = 0.05) were shown to be associated with lower EF improvement. The concentrations of sodium and potassium in the blood were found to have a P value of 0.07. Conclusion: After PCI, patients with AMI have a better prognosis if they are older and have a normal BMI; nonetheless, greater blood sodium and potassium levels have a worse prognosis. Key words: Acute Myocardial Infarction; Percutaneous Intervention; Ejection Fraction; Serum Electrolytes


It is shown that the equations of relativistic Bohmian mechanics for multiple bosonic particles have a dual description in terms of a classical theory of conformally "curved" space-time. This shows that it is possible to formulate quantum mechanics as a purely classical geometrical theory. The results are further generalized to interactions with an external electromagnetic field.


Deep seafloor explorations have numerous scientific applications in the fields of archeology, geology and biology et al. To obtain large-scale detailed visual information, it is needed to stitch multiple adjacent images into a photo-mosaic. Here we focus on image matching which is a key step in photo stitching application. Due to the complexity of underwater imaging environment such as light attenuation, non-uniform illumination and scattering, the images taken in deep water are degraded greatly and the performance of classical methods for image matching is reduced which seriously affect subsequent image alignment. In this paper, we try to investigate three underwater image preprocessing methods to increase the number of matched feature points. These three methods include color channel selection, lighting compensation and contrast enhancement. The experiment results show some encouraging conclusions. More feature points are matched in blue or green channel than red one. By proper inhomogenous lighting compensation and/or linear contrast enhancement, the matched points also increase significantly. When the pre-processes methods are used in combination, the number of matched features is improved 2.7 times statistically.


AIM
Vascular endothelial growth factor C (VEGFC) is thought to promote lymphangiogenesis in various human cancer tissues.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
The present study analyzed data from 72 patients with gastric cancer. The lymphatic vessel density (LVD) was determined by immunohistochemical staining using a monoclonal antibody (mAb) against D2-40, and the expression of VEGFC was investigated using a mAb against VEGFC.

RESULTS
The intratumoral LVD was higher in cases with nodal metastasis. The VEGFC-positive cases had a higher intratumoral LVD and were more invasive to the lymphatic vessels or lymph nodes than negative cases. Patients with VEGFC-positive cancer had significantly lower survival than those with negative cancer (p<0.05).

CONCLUSION
The expression of VEGFC was related to intratumoral lymph angiogenesis and serves as a pertinent predictive factor for lymphatic invasion or metastasis, while also providing prognostic value.


The simulation of complex systems can be made more efficient by splitting the system into several, weakly interacting subsystems, and then integrating their equations separately. The paper discusses the required extension to the Modelica language, as well as the corresponding integration algorithms. Possible applications include real-time integration of large systems, distributed simulation, and the integration of Modelica with external simulators.


Public panic prevailed in every part of the Andaman and Nicobar Iislands of India following the megathrust Sumatra earthquake ( Mw 9.3) on 26 December 2004. In this article, we present a very brief analysis of our continuous three-month (January-March 2005) monitoring and recording of aftershock data following the main earthquake to show how this endeavor reduced public panic and constituted an important ingredient to a disaster management program for the Andaman-Nicobar region. Monitoring was conducted using six short-period three-component temporary digital seismograph stations set up in different parts of the Andaman and Nicobar islands. Our findings demonstrate that 1) there was no aftershock gap zone as recorded by the far-distant seismographic network, hence negating the possibility of immediate strong quakes in the Andaman and Nicobar islands; 2) there was no strong shaking at full moon (26 January 2005) due to tidal stresses, although the rate of aftershock activity increased by about 31% from the events of the preceding day; 3) there is a north-south trending 850 × 350-km2 rupture area beneath the Andaman and Nicobar islands; and 4) eruptions of mud at the Baratang volcanic zone and lavas at the Barren volcanic zone occurred because of strong shaking due to the mainshock and a series of aftershock clusters within 100 km of the individual volcanic zones. These eruptions may continue for a couple of years, until the aftershock sequence ceases. We show that this new dataset from the local seismographic network constituted an important factor in reassuring the coastal people and islanders about imminent dangers from future earthquakes and tsunamis, and we propose geochemical tests of the erupted mud samples from the Baratang volcanic zone, with geophysical exploration followed by drilling, to ascertain the presence of oil and gas reserves and the phenomenon of gas seepage under the …


In this article, using our original data on party leadership succession in 23 parliamentary democracies, we investigate the determinants of a party leader's survival rate: how long he/she remains in office. Unlike previous studies, which focus on institutional settings of leadership selection or on situational (political, economic and international) conditions at the time of succession, we propose a perceptual theory of leadership survival, focusing on the expectations of party constituents (or indirectly, the voting public) who have the power to remove a leader. Specifically, we argue that they 'benchmark' their expectation of a current party leader's performance by comparing it against their memory of that leader's immediate predecessor. Empirically, we show that party leaders who succeeded a (very) long-serving party leader and/or a leader who had also been the head of government experience lower longevity than others, making these types of predecessor 'hard acts to follow'.


A characterization procedure of domain-inverted layers employed in LiTaO3 optoelectronic devices by line-focus-beam acoustic microscopy is explored. A special specimen of -Z-cut LiTaO3 with a domain-inverted layer of about 1.8 µm thickness, processed under the fabrication conditions for quasi-phase-matching second-harmonic-generation devices, was prepared for measurements of the leaky surface acoustic wave (LSAW) velocities in the frequency range 100 to 300 MHz. Intrinsic decreases in LSAW velocity were obtained with the rate of 0.127 m/s/MHz, which were in excellent agreement with the theoretical results. These resulted from formation of a domain-inverted layer on the -Z surface. Slight variations in domain-inverted depth on the specimen, caused by variation in process temperature, were also detected, with the measurement resolution of 0.01 µm at 225 MHz.


When looking at strategies leading toward conflict-resolution in the troubled Muslim-dominated deep South of Thailand one should also take into account existing touching-points between Islam - understood by many of its followers as an all-encompassing approach toward life that is, nevertheless, grounded in spirituality - and Theravada Buddhism which is practised by the overwhelming rest of the Thai citizens. Theravada (Pali for 'Teaching of the Elders' or 'Ancient Teaching') is the oldest surviving Buddhist school. It is relatively conservative and generally closest to early Buddhism. Elsewhere this writer has argued that the currently ongoing conflict in southern Thailand is mainly not a religious one, but rather the result of mutual deep distrust between a far-away central administration in Bangkok and the local Malay Muslims in the South. However, this writer would like to argue that a meaningful dialogue between truly religious people on both sides of the fence could help to dissolve tensions and misconceptions.


Purpose
This study aims to explore intergroup relations between two Jewish religious groups in Israel, namely, ultra-Orthodox and national-religious communities, by using an integrated model that combines two psychosocial concepts: perceptions of collective narratives and identity strategies.

Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from a representative sample of 402 ultra-Orthodox and 388 national-religious Jews living in Israel, of age 18 and over. Repeated-measures ANOVAs were conducted to examine group differences in perceiving in-group and out-group collective narratives and in patterns of identity strategies. Further, partial correlations and hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted to test the relative contribution of perceptions of collective narratives and patterns of identity strategies.

Findings
Willingness to compete with and to separate from the out-group was related to the tendency to reject its collective narrative while endorsing the in-group one. In the same vein, the opposite pattern was found in the relations between willingness to integrate and unite with the out-group and the perceptions of collective narratives. The results also indicate group differences: the ultra-Orthodox exhibited stronger tendencies to preserve their in-group collective narratives and to reject the out-group, as well as stronger endorsement of identity strategies of competition and separation compared to national-religious.

Practical implications
The results suggest that it might be useful to encourage dialogue between both groups to clarify each side's narratives and rationale underlying the endorsement of specific identity strategies. Such an open dialogue could help each group understand the other group's needs and might also reduce their sense of threat as well as anxiety about losing their religious and social uniqueness. One possible opportunity for such dialogue is workplaces in which members of each group can gradually uncover stereotypes, enhancing reconciliation and willingness to accept the "other's" collective narrative and choose to adhere more to the similar than dissimilar characteristics.

Originality/value
This is the first study, to the best of the authors' knowledge, to examine collective narratives and identity strategies as powerful indicators of intergroup relations between two minority groups of the same religion. Within such a unique context, the power struggle exists and the separation and competition strategies are apparent, but the main conflictual issue is related to similarities and discrepancies of religious ideologies, values, norms and worldviews that shape one's daily life and his/her encounter with the similar but different "other".


I take issue with Dr Colvin and coauthors (January 1998 JRSM pp26-29) on some statements in their article. A cervical collar does not immobilize the neck and will not prevent 'secondary spinal cord injury'. It restricts access to the patient, is uncomfortable, and can cause pressure sores. It certainly should not be necessary for an intensive care unit patient to wear such a collar 'for several days'. If the neck is at risk, light skull traction is the simplest and most effective means of controlling it. If it is not at significant risk, simple sandbags and routine postural nursing are all that is required. All patients should be examined neurologically, not simply 'the awake patient'. Treating lower limb fractures by traction 'makes nursing difficult' only because these nursing skills are being lost through changes in nursing training and career structure. Nursing lower limb fractures in traction is not difficult in the hands of trained and experienced orthopaedic nurses. Treating lower limb fractures by traction does not (cause unnecessary pain' but rather relieves pain, and it does not 'increase bleeding at the fracture site'. Open surgery on the fracture results in much greater blood loss than does conservative treatment. The reference they cite does not support those statements. In my experience the nursing care of locomotor injuries is of much higher standard on an orthopaedic ward than in an intensive care unit, and the sooner such patients are transferred to the ward, the lower the incidence of complications of their locomotor injuries.


The integral containment electromagnetic (ICE) gun constitutes a structural containment design method that has been proposed to achieve desirable prestressing of railguns. The principal purpose of this method is to minimize the maximum strain excursion of the rail containment structure during firing stresses to maximize the fatigue life of lightweight armament. The ICE gun may be considered a means to achieve an "autofrettage" effect from a laminated steel disk railgun construction where the disks are strained upon assembly to achieve the desired prestress of the containment structure.


Black rice production in organic farming system does not meet the demand of local customers because of its low productivity. This research aimed to set an interaction model using multivariate analysis via smartPLS to identify environmental factors which simultaneously affects the growth of black rice. The growth of black rice in two irrigated organic paddy field in Malang, Indonesia was observed during planting period from November 2011 to March 2012. In each rice field, the growth was periodically recorded during planting periods: 19-29 days after planting (dap), 41-45 dap, 62-66 dap, 77-81 dap, 90-94 dap and 104-106 dap. Environmental factors such as water quantities, soil conditions, weed communities and cultivation system around the black rice population were also measured. Black rice growth was influenced simultaneously by water quantities, soil, weed communities and cultivating systems with predictive-relevance value reaching 92.83%. Based on the model, water quantities in paddy field is a key factor which directly and indirectly determined the growth and productivity of black rice.


Here, we present a novel approach for the transient permeabilization of cells. We combined laminar shear flow in a microchannel with chaotic advection employing surface acoustic waves. First, as a fundamental result on the one hand, and as a kind of reference measurement for the more complex acoustofluidic approach on the other hand, we studied the permeabilization of cells in pure shear flow in a microchannel with Y-geometry. As a proof of principle, we used fluorescent dyes as model drugs and investigated their internalization into HeLa cells. We found that drug uptake scaled non-linearly with flow rate and thus shear stress. For calcein, we obtained a maximal enhancement factor of about 12 at an optimum flow rate of Q = 500 µL/h in the geometry used here compared to static incubation. This result is discussed in the light of structural phase transitions of lipid membranes accompanied by non-linear effects, as the plasma membrane is the main barrier to overcome. Second, we demonstrated the enhanced permeabilization of acoustically trapped cells in surface acoustic wave induced vortices in a microchannel, with an enhancement factor of about 18 compared to quasi-static incubation. Moreover, we optimized the trapping conditions regarding flow rate, the power level of the surface acoustic wave, and trapping time. Finally, we showed that our method is not limited to small molecules but can also be applied to compounds with higher molecular weight.


This book explores the dynamics of language and social change in central Europe in the context of the end of the Cold War and eastern expansion of the European Union. One outcome of the profound social transformations in central Europe since the Second World War has been the reshaping of the relationship between particular languages and linguistic varieties, especially between 'national' languages and regional or ethnic minority languages. Previous studies have investigated these transformed relationships from the macro perspective of language policies, while others have taken more fine-grained approaches to individual experiences with language. Combining these two perspectives for the first time - and focusing on the German language, which has a uniquely complex and problematic history in the region - the authors offer an understanding of the complex constellation of language politics in central Europe. Stevenson and Carl's analysis draws on a range of theoretical, conceptual and analytical approaches - language ideologies, language policy, positioning theory, discourse analysis, narrative analysis and life histories - and a wide range of data sources, from European and national language policies to individual language biographies. The authors demonstrate how the relationship between German and other languages has played a crucial role in the politics of language and processes of identity formation in the recent history of central Europe


Nowadays, carbon dioxide and different greenhouse emissions are one of the major causes to affect the climate change in the world. The Carbon foot print is commonly used to calculate the amount of different types of greenhouse gasses (GHG) emitted and carbon dioxide in the air. In road construction industry, the Carbon foot print is a very vulnerable issue, which is affecting economy and climatic condition of any nation. Therefore, the need to reduce the carbon foot print from our atmosphere through adoption of different optimizing techniques is a must. The life cycle approach has been accepted as a robust method of measuring carbon footprint. The road sector is coming under pressure to review current practice and the potential to reduce carbon emissions. This paper presents a review on state of art methodologies which needs to be adapted to reduced carbon footprint in the fast growing road construction industry due to increasing infrastructure demand. The ever increasing road construction will lead to increased carbon emission in the future decade especially when strong lobbying is for concrete roads in India, which have a much larger Carbon foot print as against Asphalt roads.


BACKGROUND
Use of eGFR to determine preemptive waitlisting eligibility may contribute to racial/ethnic disparities in access to waitlisting, which can only occur when the eGFR falls to <20 mL/min1.73m2. Use of an alternate risk-based strategy for waitlisting (e.g.,a Kidney Failure Risk Equation [KFRE] estimated two-year risk of kidney failure) rather than the standard eGFR threshold for determining waitlist eligibility may reduce these inequities. Our objective was to model the amount of preemptive waittime that could be accrued by race and ethnicity, applying two different strategies to determine waitlist eligibility.

METHODS
Using electronic health record data, linear mixed models were used to compare racial/ethnic differences in preemptive waittime that could be accrued using two strategies: estimating the time between an eGFR<20 and 5 mL/min/1.73 m2 versus time between a 25% 2-year predicted risk of kidney failure (using the KFRE, which incorporates age, sex, albuminuria, and eGFR to provide kidney failure risk estimation) and eGFR of 5 mL/min/1.73 m2.

RESULTS
Among 1,290 adults with CKD stage 4-5, using the CKD-EPI equation yielded shorter preemptive waittime between an eGFR of 20 and 5 mL/min/1.732 in Black (-6.8 months;95%CI -11.7, -1.9), Hispanic (-10.2 months;-15.3,-5.1) and Asian/Pacific Islander patients (-10.3; 95%CI -15.3,-5.4) compared with non-Hispanic White patients. Use of a KFRE threshold to determine waittime yielded smaller differences by race and ethnicity than observed when using a single eGFR threshold, with shorter time still noted for Black (-2.5 months;95%CI-7.8,2.7), Hispanic (-4.8 months; 95% CI -10.3,0.6) and Asian/Pacific Islander individuals (-5.4 months;-10.7,-0.1) compared to non-Hispanic White individuals, but findings only met statistical significance criteria in Asian/Pacific Islander individuals. When we compared potential waittime availability using a KFRE versus eGFR threshold, use of the KFRE yielded more equity in waittime for Black (p=0.02), Hispanic (p=0.002) and Asian/Pacific Islander (p=0.002) patients.

CONCLUSIONS
Use of a risk-based strategy was associated with greater racial equity in waittime accrual compared with use of a standard single eGFR threshold to determine eligibility for preemptive waitlisting.


In the context of the wine industry, we investigate producers' choice between geographical indications and brand advertising to convey information to consumers. Producers also decide whether or not to select an effort level for improving the quality of their products. We show that if this effort level is selected, a producer will prefer to rely on brand advertising for promoting its products and setting up its own reputation. Despite allowing the cost of promotion to be shared, a geographical indication does not sufficiently reward the effort to improve quality. Finally, the selection of both instruments by producers is examined.


The Bidirectional LSTM (BLSTM) RNN based speech synthesis system is among the best parametric Text-to-Speech (TTS) systems in terms of the naturalness of generated speech, especially the naturalness in prosody. However, the model complexity and inference cost of BLSTM prevents its usage in many runtime applications. Meanwhile, Deep Feed-forward Sequential Memory Networks (DFSMN) has shown its consistent out-performance over BLSTM in both word error rate (WER) and the runtime computation cost in speech recognition tasks. Since speech synthesis also requires to model long-term dependencies compared to speech recognition, in this paper, we investigate the Deep-FSMN (DFSMN) in speech synthesis. Both objective and subjective experiments show that, compared with BLSTM TTS method, the DFSMN system can generate synthesized speech with comparable speech quality while drastically reduce model complexity and speech generation time.


A novel dual-field time-domain finite-element domain-decomposition method is presented for numerical simulation of electromagnetic phenomena. The method divides the computation domain into several non-overlapping subdomains and computes both the electric and magnetic fields in each subdomain by solving second-order vector wave equations. A leapfrog-like scheme is employed in the time marching to update the alternating electric and magnetic fields. Adjacent subdomains are related to each other by the equivalent surface currents on the subdomain interfaces, which are also updated in a similar fashion. The method requires minimum communications between the subdomains, thus, is highly suitable for parallel computations. The proposed domain decomposition method is particularly attractive for the numerical simulation of finite arrays and large-scale electromagnetic problems. Numerical stability and dispersion error analyses are conducted and several radiation examples are presented to demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of the method.


This essay discusses the international anti-war campaigns of the International of Seamen and Harbour Workers (ISH) and the International Trade Union Committee of Negro Workers (ITUCNW) against Japanese imperialism in Manchuria and Italian imperialism in Ethiopia during the first half of the 1930s. Both crises propelled international campaigns, 'Hands off China' and 'Hands off Abyssinia', that were orchestrated by the Third (Communist) International or the Comintern and the Red International of Labour Unions ( Profintern ) and their affiliated organisations such as the ISH and ITUCNW. Comintern / Profintern anti-war campaigns were organized under the banner of the prevailing 'class-against-class' strategy. In practice, this meant that the campaigns were both calls for international solidarity and at the same time attempts to position communist activities against those of the 'social fascists', i.e., socialist, social democratic, reformist and / or syndicalist controlled parties and trade unions.


Debate as to whether abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) are caused by atherosclerosis or whether they have a strong genetic etiology continues. We have investigated the hypothesis that risk factors are likely to be strongest in patients with generalized aneurysmal disease. We screened 232 consecutive AAA patients for popliteal aneurysm and investigated cardiovascular and genetic risk factors in these patients. Ultrasonography demonstrated the presence of a popliteal aneurysm in 24 of 232 (10%) patients. Multivariate analysis identified four independent factors associated with popliteal aneurysm: age (p = 0.013), height (p = 0.017), triglyceride concentration (p = 0.009), and systolic blood pressure (p = 0.037). In the AAA patients a significant association of fibrillin-1 genotype was present, determined by a tandem repeat polymorphism, with both systolic and pulse pressure. The genotypes associated with the highest pressures were significantly more common among the patients with popliteal aneurysm, p = 0.03. Following these findings we investigated whether there was an association between fibrillin-1 genotype and blood pressure in a healthy population, 245 men aged 50-61 years. Again we found a significant association between fibrillin genotype and pulse pressure, p = 0.003. We suggest that a strong interaction occurs between fibrillin genotype and blood pressure which contributes to the development of aneurysmal disease.


Message Queuing allows applications to use components that communicate with one another using queued messages. In this paper, we propose a Message Queuing Markup Language (MQML), which is an XML based markup language designed to describe e-business applications and enterprise integration. The MQML language is extensible. The detailed description of the MQML is presented in this paper. An research prototype is given to validate the effectiveness and value of our proposed MQML for enterprise integration.


Statistics of amplitudes and obliquity of lower band chorus whistler mode waves have been obtained from Cluster measurements in Earth's outer radiation belt and fitted as functions of L, latitude, magnetic local time, and three geomagnetic activity ranges for Dst∈[+10,−80] nT. Very oblique chorus waves have generally a much smaller average intensity than quasi‐parallel waves, especially on the nightside. Nevertheless, analytical estimates and full numerical calculations of quasi‐linear diffusion rates show that dayside very oblique waves (θ>60°) dominate pitch angle scattering of energetic electrons during moderately disturbed periods. As geomagnetic activity increases, leading to higher wave amplitudes, electron lifetimes are only slightly reduced, due to a decrease of the wave obliquity probably related to Landau damping by stronger incoming fluxes from the plasma sheet. As a result, electron energization by chorus waves for Dst>−80 nT generally occurs in a loss‐dominated regime in which energization increases at lower L. However, at L≥6 the most disturbed periods (Dst<−40 nT) produce a stronger energization independent of losses. Double‐belt structures may therefore arise when Dst<−40 nT, with two peaks of energization located just outside the plasmapause and at L∼6. The variability of lower band chorus wave obliquity with geomagnetic activity could actually account for some part of the observed variability of energization and loss in the outer belt. It is also suggested that quasi‐linear pitch angle diffusion by very oblique waves together with energy diffusion by parallel waves might contribute to the steep wave growth observed in the day sector between the equator and 25°.


This study was implemented to research the effects of parent education and parents understanding of Montessori, in the form of a parent book club. The aim of this action research project was to improve parents understanding of the basic concepts of the Montessori Method with the goal to persuade parents to keep their students in a Montessori environment as long as possible. This study was conducted in a small private Montessori school. All participants had children that were enrolled in the Montessori school. Data collection was gathered using a pre/post survey, self-assessment surveys, videotaping of the book club sessions, and guided discussion questions. Results suggest that parent education was beneficial regarding parents understanding of the Montessori Method. Results also showed that through parent education parents had more questions about the nuances of education in general after the book club concluded. Through a detailed analysis of the pre and post survey, self-assessment surveys, guided discussion questions, and video recording a secondary result, the creation of community and likeminded individuals, presented itself as a beneficial outcome of parent education. The issue of Montessori students and their transition from a Montessori environment to a traditional educational setting was identified and poses the need for additional research. Overall, findings suggest that as Montessori educators we can strengthen the Montessori movement with the implementation of parent education and additional research.


The influence of platelet activating factor (PAF) was investigated in vivo on the ultrastructure of bovine platelets, and on the platelet count. The effect of an intravenous administration of ketoprofen (a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) pretreatment followed by PAF infusion was also observed in a group of six healthy male Friesian calves. PAF infusion alone caused a moderate thrombocytopenia, which peaked one minute post challenge and returned to levels not significantly different from control after 30 min. Electron microscopy revealed that after PAF infusion, platelets lost their lentiform shape and became irregular, with many pseudopods. Their microtubules became impossible to distinguish. The numbers of alpha granules and dense bodies were significantly decreased. Glycogen particles became rare or even disappeared. Giant platelets occasionally appeared. The Golgi apparatus was more often visible and the number of mitochondria was significantly increased. Ketoprofen pretreatment lowered PAF-induced thrombocytopenia and decrease in the number of dense bodies. Under these conditions, the Golgi apparatus was rarely visible and giant platelets were not observed. These results showed that the morphological ultrastructure of blood platelets in bovines were modified following PAF infusion and that ketoprofen pretreatment before PAF infusion provided partial protection, limiting the extent of the morphological alterations and maintaining a normal platelet count.


Characterization of a fluid-controlled elastomeric grating is presented. Using a HeNe laser beam (λ = 632.8nm), changes in diffraction angle and beam profile are measured and observed as gradual volumetric increments of water are introduced into a fluidic chamber. A diffraction angle range of 17 degrees was achieved with the addition of 1.0 mL of water.


Identification and classification of imported iron ores according to their production countries and brands are required for quality control and safety in the iron ore trade. In this work, a method based on laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) combined with principal component analysis (PCA) and scaled conjugate gradient (SCG) algorithm in an artificial neural network (ANN) was used to identify 138 brands of iron ore samples from Australia, Brazil and South Africa. Quadratic fitting, Savitzky–Golay polynomial smoothing and Multiplicative Scatter Correction were applied to preprocess spectra in combination. The pretreatment data remove the noise and enhance the sensitivity of the spectra. PCA was employed to reduce the dimensionality of the data. In particular, the loadings for PC1 and PC2 included Fe, Na, Ca, Mg and Al lines. Among them, the first 3 were the most important with the largest contributions to the result of classification. With the developed PCA-ANN model, the accuracy rates of classification according to the production countries reached 100% for the validation and test data sets, respectively. With the final brand classification model, after being optimized for the number of neurons in the hidden layer, the accuracy rates of classification reached 99.19% and 99.19%, respectively, for the validation and test data sets.


Software DSMs (SDSMs) are an appealing alternative to message passing, since they facilitate the programmability of clusters. However the ease of programming comes at the expense of performance. Although accesses of data that reside to the memory of remote nodes are transparent to the programmer, they suffer from significantly higher latencies compared to local accesses. As a consequence, it is desirable to move data as close as possible to the nodes that need them most. In this paper we introduce a protocol for dynamically migrating memory pages in home-based SDSM systems. In these systems each page has a designated home node; yet our protocol allows a node that heavily modifies a page to become its new home. The new protocol targets multiple-writer DSMs, i.e. DSMs that allow multiple nodes to concurrently modify the same page. The process is dynamic and transparent to the applications programmer. Moreover, it does not assume a specific consistency protocol. Experimental results show that our page migration protocol reduces remote page modifications, decreases the average memory access latency, as well as the overhead for the preservation of memory consistency. The benefit for the end-user is a significant improvement in application performance


Transition region explosive events are considered to be a manifestation of small-scale magnetic reconnection ubiquitously occurring—even in the quiet Sun. In this paper, we report a close association between transition region explosive events and chromospheric upflow events seen in Hα. From a comparison of the Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO) Hα spectrograph data and the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)/Solar Ultraviolet Measurements of Emitted Radiation (SUMER) data, we found a succession of chromospheric upflow events at sites where repeated explosive events occurred. Individual chromospheric events appear as compact dark features that are best visible in Hα-0.5 Å and that have a size of 2''-3'' and a lifetime of 1-2 minutes. They are characterized by an upward motion of 15-30 km s-1, a temperature of 104 K, a mass density of 1×10−13 g, and a nonthermal velocity less than 10 km s-1. Unlike spicules, which display descending motion following their ascending phase, these upflow events are not followed by noticeable redshifts. "Hα jets" at -1.0 Å studied by Wang et al. appear to be a special case of this kind of chromospheric upflow event. The physical characteristics of chromospheric upflow events and their close association with transition region explosive events suggest that chromospheric upflow events may be the manifestation of cool plasma material flowing into magnetically diffusive regions, while explosive events represent hot plasma material flowing out of the same regions.


In addition to the well-recognized syndromes described (FAP, HNPCC) clusters of colorectal cancers occur in families much more often than would be expected by chance. This familial clustering in about 10-20% of colorectal cancers has implications for screening because the immediate family members of a patient with apparent sporadic colorectal cancer have a twofold to threefold increased risk of the disease. The magnitude of the risk depends on the age at diagnosis of the index case, the degree of kinship of the index case to the at-risk case, and the number of affected relatives. In addition to screening the easily identifiable high-risk groups such as FAP and HNPCC, care should be taken to recognize intermediate-risk patients and to provide them with appropriate screening recommendations. Because the molecular basis and the natural history of these intermediate-risk patients are largely unknown, screening recommendations are as yet more empirical. If a person has a first degree relative with colon cancer, average risk colon cancer screening is recommended, but starting at age 40 years. The decreased age is given because the risk at age 40 for those with an affected first-degree relative is similar to the risk at age 50 for the general population. An individual with two first-degree relatives affected with colon cancer or one first-degree relative diagnosed under the age of 60 y should have colonoscopy beginning at age 40, or 10 years younger than the earliest case in the family. Colonoscopy should be repeated every five years if negative. An even stronger family history of colon cancer syndromes of colon cancer should suggest the consideration of one of the inherited syndromes.


The concept of workers participation in management has been exercising thoughts of management experts, industrial owners, the working class and the research scholars the world over so much that many countries have attempted to give practical shape to it in one form or another. It is one of the widely debated issues in industrial relations. Diversity of views makes difficult a clear understanding of the concept. Participation is one of the most misunderstood ideas that have emerged from the field of human relations. The book Participative Management written by me has given a clarity to the concept. The book has dealt elaborately the participative experience of various countries. It has reviewed all relevant literature relating to the topic. Besides it has developed a strong theoretical base for the concept. The rest part of the book is based on research study conducted in certain mills of National Textile Corporation of India. The study has explored the various facets of participative management practiced by National Textile Corporation (NTC).


Low-frequency (0.18 Hz to 1.5 kHz) effective dielectric spectra have been measured on a set of near-saturated samples of argillite. The measured spectra of the real part of the complex apparent permittivity did not show significant correlation with cation exchange capacity (CEC) per unit mass of rock values. They satisfied a power law relationship with the frequency, at least for samples with CEC values lower than 10 cmol/kg. The Maxwell-Wagner-Hanai-Bruggeman formulation used for a two-phase mixture has been modified to account for mutual polarization between the pockets of water located in the micropores and those located in the macropores. The results of the modeling calculations illustrate (1) the ability of this new formulation to reproduce the power law relationships of the measured spectra of the real and imaginary components of the complex permittivity and (2) the strong impact of the pore electrical conductivity.


Packet-based on-chip interconnection networks, or Network-on-Chips (NoCs) are progressively replacing global on-chip interconnections in Multi-processor System-on-Chips (MP-SoCs) thanks to better performances and lower power consumption. However, modern generations of MP-SoCs have an increasing sensitivity to faults due to the progressive shrinking technology. Consequently, in order to evaluate the fault sensitivity in NoC architectures, there is the need of accurate test solution which allows to evaluate the fault tolerance capability of NoCs. This paper presents an innovative test architecture based on a dual-processor system which is able to extensively test mesh based NoCs. The proposed solution improves previously developed methods since it is based on a NoC physical implementation which allows to investigate the effects induced by several kind of faults thanks to the execution of on-line fault injection within all the network interface and router resources during NoC run-time operations. The solution has been physically implemented on an FPGA platform using a NoC emulation model adopting standard communication protocols. The obtained results demonstrated the effectiveness of the developed solution in term of testability and diagnostic capabilities and make our solutions suitable for testing large scale NoC design.


Inter-temporal decisions involves assigning values to various payoffs occurring at different temporal distances. Past research has used different approaches to study these decisions made by humans and animals. For instance, considering that people discount future payoffs at a constant rate (e.g., exponential discounting) or at variable rate (e.g., hyperbolic discounting). In this research, we question the widely assumed, but seldom questioned, notion across many of the existing approaches that the decision space, where the decision-maker perceives time and monetary payoffs, is a Euclidean space. By relaxing the rigid assumption of Euclidean space, we propose that the decision space is a more flexible Riemannian space of Constant Negative Curvature. We test our proposal by deriving a discount function, which uses the distance in the Negative Curvature space instead of Euclidean temporal distance. The distance function includes both perceived values of time as well as money, unlike past work which has considered just time. By doing so we are able to explain many of the empirical findings in inter-temporal decision-making literature. We provide converging evidence for our proposal by estimating the curvature of the decision space utilizing manifold learning algorithm and showing that the characteristics (i.e., metric properties) of the decision space resembles those of the Negative Curvature space rather than the Euclidean space. We conclude by presenting new theoretical predictions derived from our proposal and implications for how non-normative behavior is defined.


The anticipation of future adversity confers adaptive benefits by engaging a suite of preparatory mechanisms, but this process can also be deleterious when carried out in excess. Neuroscientific investigations have largely treated anticipation as a unitary process, but we show here using functional magnetic resonance imaging that distinct stages of aversive anticipation are supported by dissociable neural mechanisms. Immediate anticipatory responses were observed in regions associated with threat detection and early processing of predictive cues, including the orbitofrontal cortex and pregenual anterior cingulate cortex, as well as the amygdala for individuals with elevated anxiety symptoms. Sustained anticipatory activity was observed in the forebrain/bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, anterior insula, anterior mid-cingulate cortex (aMCC), and midbrain/periaqueductal gray, regions associated with anxiety, interoception, and defensive behavior. The aMCC showed increased functional coupling with the midbrain during sustained anticipation of aversion, highlighting a circuit critical for the expression of preparatory fear responses. These data implicate distinct sets of regions that are active during different temporal stages of anticipation, and provide insight into how the human brain faces the future both adaptively and maladaptively.


Abstract : The heat transfer and fluid mechanics of a turbulent separating and reattaching flow past a single-sided backward-facing step are studied using large eddy simulation. A fully coupled, low Mach number preconditioned, collocated-grid, central differenced, compressible, finite volume formulation was developed to conduct the simulations. A sixth-order compact filter was used to prevent pressure-velocity decoupling. A compressible version of the dynamic subgrid scale model was used to model the effects of the smaller eddies. Navier-Stokes characteristic boundary conditions designed by Poinsot and Lele were used to provide boundary conditions. The isothermal turbulent flow past the step, at a Reynolds number of 5,540 (based on the step height and upstream centerline velocity) and a Mach number of 0.006, was simulated to validate the formulation. Subsequently, the bottom wall downstream of the step was supplied with constant wall heat flux levels of 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 kW/m2. The viscous sub-layer played a critical role in controlling the heat transfer rate. Streamwise and wall-normal turbulent heat fluxes were of the same order of magnitude. The Reynolds analogy did not hold in the recirculation region. However, the Stanton number profiles showed a striking similarity with the fluctuating skin-friction profiles.


Water-perfused open-tip catheters were used to measure the pressure profiles in the nipple valve of the continent ileostomy. In in vitro studies the conditions required to measure the yield pressure in collapsed vessels like the nipple valve were determined. Flow rates below 4--5 ml/min should not be used when measuring the pressure with open-tip catheters size Ch 8. At lower flow rates the yield pressure was underestimated. When appropriate flow rates were used, a moderate increase of the perfusional flow rate did not increase the measured pressure notably. Measurements were performed in 31 patients with continent or incontinent ileostomy reservoirs. Nineteen patients had outlets with a nipple valve, and 12 patients outlets without such a valve. In most cases it was possible to distinguish a pressure zone in the outlet. The length of the pressure zone was fairly constant in consecutive measurements, whereas the pressure varied, presumably owing to contractile activity, in the outlet. In continent patients with nipple valve outlets the pressure was significantly higher than in patients who were incontinent owing to nipple valve sliding. In patients who were incontinent owing to fistula formation the pressure was of the same order of magnitude as in continent patients.


Interpreting the decisions of deep learning models has been actively studied since the explosion of deep neural networks. One of the most convincing interpretation approaches is salience-based visual interpretation, such as Grad-CAM, where the generation of attention maps depends merely on categorical labels. Although existing interpretation methods can provide explainable decision clues, they often yield partial correspondence between image and saliency maps due to the limited discriminative information from one-hot labels. This paper develops a Language-Image COnsistency model for explainable image classification, termed LICO, by correlating learnable linguistic prompts with corresponding visual features in a coarse-to-fine manner. Specifically, we first establish a coarse global manifold structure alignment by minimizing the distance between the distributions of image and language features. We then achieve fine-grained saliency maps by applying optimal transport (OT) theory to assign local feature maps with class-specific prompts. Extensive experimental results on eight benchmark datasets demonstrate that the proposed LICO achieves a significant improvement in generating more explainable attention maps in conjunction with existing interpretation methods such as Grad-CAM. Remarkably, LICO improves the classification performance of existing models without introducing any computational overhead during inference. Source code is made available at https://github.com/ymLeiFDU/LICO.


Abstract Objectives This research employed a forward-masking paradigm to estimate the current spread of monopolar (MP) and bipolar (BP) maskers, with current amplitudes adjusted to elicit the same loudness. Since the spatial separation between active and return electrodes is smaller in BP than in MP configurations, the BP current spread is more localized and presumably superior in terms of speech intelligibility. Because matching the loudness requires higher current in BP than in MP stimulation, previous forward-masking studies show that BP current spread is not consistently narrower across subjects or electrodes within a subject. Methods The present forward-masking measures of current spread differ from those of previous studies by using the same BP probe electrode configuration for both MP and BP masker configurations, and adjusting the current levels of the MP and BP maskers so as to match them in loudness. With this method, the estimate of masker current spread would not be contaminated by differences in probe current spread. Forward masking was studied in four cochlear implant patients, two females and two males, with speech recognition scores higher than 50%; that is, their auditory-nerve survival status was more than adequate to carry out the experiments. Results The data showed that MP and BP masker configurations produce equivalent masking patterns (and current spreads) in three participants. A fourth participant displayed asymmetrical patterns with enhancement rather than masking in some cases, especially when the probe and masker were at the same location. Discussion This study showed equivalent masking patterns for MP and BP maskers when the BP masker current amplitude was increased to match the loudness of the MP masker, and the same BP probe configuration is used with both maskers. This finding could help to explain why cochlear implant users often fail to accrue higher speech intelligibility benefit from BP stimulation.


In this paper, we present a straightforward technique for constructing interpretable word embeddings from morphologically analyzed examples (such as interlinear glosses) for all of the world's languages. Currently, fewer than 300-400 languages out of approximately 7000 have have more than a trivial amount of digitized texts; of those, between 100-200 languages (most in the Indo-European language family) have enough text data for BERT embeddings of reasonable quality to be trained. The word embeddings in this paper are explicitly designed to be both linguistically interpretable and fully capable of handling the broad variety found in the world's diverse set of 7000 languages, regardless of corpus size or morphological characteristics. We demonstrate the applicability of our representation through examples drawn from a typologically diverse set of languages whose morphology includes prefixes, suffixes, infixes, circumfixes, templatic morphemes, derivational morphemes, inflectional morphemes, and reduplication.


ABSTRACTPore size distributions in rocks may be represented by fractal scaling, and fractal descriptions of pore systems may be used for prediction of petrophysical properties such as permeability, tortuosity, diffusivity, and electrical conductivity. Transverse relaxation time (T2) distributions determined by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements may be used to determine the fractal scaling of the pore system, but the analysis is complicated when internal magnetic field gradients at the pore scale are sufficiently large. Through computations in ideal porous media and laboratory measurements of glass beads and sediment samples, we found that the effect of internal magnetic field gradients was most pronounced in rocks with larger pores and a high magnetic susceptibility contrast between the pore fluid and mineral grains. We quantified this behavior in terms of pore size and Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill (CPMG) half-echo spacing through scaling arguments. We additionally found that the effects of intern...