Abstract : Following the September 11th attacks, President Bush declared a "war on terrorism" and gave the go ahead to the CIA to carry out direct attacks against bin Laden and his followers around the world. This declaration by President Bush brought to the forefront the issue of assassination and whether or not the pursuit of it violated U.S. domestic or international law. Today's law of armed conflict has its roots in teachings from early law scholars and various treaties, conventions, and attempts to codify armed conflict. They include the Hague conventions of 1899 and 1907, Geneva conventions, the U.S. "Lieber Codes," and the United Nations Charter. Each has tried to put a limitation on how one could kill the enemy during times of conflict. The United States has had its own problems with the issue of assassination. As such, an Executive Order (E.O.) banning assassination was enacted. President Reagan's E.O. is the latest in the series and is still in force today. The use of deadly force is authorized in armed conflict, but only when approved by the U.N. Security Council or when a state is exercising its inherent right of self-defense. Since killing the enemy is legal and all military members, including the military leadership, are valid targets, their deaths cannot be construed as assassination. There are several issues to contend with when deciding on an appropriate course of action. They include whether to conduct unilateral or multilateral operations, the use of conventional or unconventional troops, and whether it would be better to kill or capture the target. Each has its own implications and constraints. (32 refs.)


This paper demonstrates the use of moderate resolution imaging spectro-radiometer (MODIS) data for fish forecasting mapping of seasonal spatial distribution of sea surface salinity (SSS), temperature (SST) and chlorophyll-a in the ocean waters off the coast of Semporna, Malaysia. Multi-linear regression analysis was performed to estimate SSS and the Brown and Minnet algorithm was used for the SST. The extracted parameters were validated using in situ measurement taken with Hydro-Lab equipment. The extracted parameters from MODIS images reveal the signature values which establish the relationships between these parameters, and thus delineating the potential fish zonation (PFZ) map. These developed models will help for accurate monitoring of large coverage areas at low cost and within short period of time. Furthermore, such models will allow the prediction of the total fish catch in different seasons, thus contributing to fish industry management and marketing. This research recommends the use of PFZ map for mass scale fish harvesting in short time for larger areas. Finally, the research has developed a potential fish zone model amalgamating all the above parameters. The PFZ mapping was carried out off the coast of Semporna, Sabah as there were sufficient fish catch data for accuracy assessment. The R was computed as 0.93 and the higher fish catch areas have coincided very well with the higher PFZ values, meaning the tool is ready for use for operational near real-time fish forecasting.


Summary.  The paper presents microlevel evidence on the role of the sociodemographic characteristics of a population and the characteristics of the data collection process as predictors of survey response. Our evidence is based on the public use files of the European Community Household Panel, a longitudinal household survey covering the countries of the European Union, whose attractive feature is the high level of comparability across countries and over time. We model the response process as the outcome of two sequential events: contact between the interviewer and an eligible interviewee, and co‐operation by the interviewee. Our model allows for dependence between the ease of contact and the propensity to co‐operate, taking into account the censoring problem caused by the fact that we observe whether a person is a respondent only if she has been contacted.


We explore the effect of different galactic disc environments on the properties of star-forming clouds through variations in the background potential in a set of isolated galaxy simulations. Rising, falling and flat rotation curves expected in halo dominated, disc dominated and Milky Way-like galaxies were considered, with and without an additional two-arm spiral potential. The evolution of each disc displayed notable variations that are attributed to different regimes of stability, determined by shear and gravitational collapse. The properties of a typical cloud were largely unaffected by the changes in rotation curve, but the production of small and large cloud associations was strongly dependent on this environment. This suggests that while differing rotation curves can influence where clouds are initially formed, the average bulk properties are effectively independent of the global environment. The addition of a spiral perturbation made the greatest difference to cloud properties, successfully sweeping the gas into larger, seemingly unbound, extended structures and creating large arm-interarm contrasts.


We report a case of localized linear IgA dermatosis (LID). The patient suffered from herpes zoster on the right waist and received three localized ultraviolet (UV) light treatments. One month later he presented with bullae on the same site. Direct immunofluorescence showed deposition of linear IgA and weak C3 along the basement membrane zone. Indirect immunofluorescence on the salt‐split human skin demonstrated that IgA antibodies were bound to the epidermal side. To our knowledge, this is the first case of localized LID induced by UV light treatment for herpes zoster. It is also the third case of LID induced by UV light.


The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of two warm-up modalities (scheduled before a soccer match) on short-term maximal performance and physiological responses in soccer players. Twenty soccer players (Age = 22.1 ± 4.4 years; Height = 183.2 ± 7.1 cm, Body mass = 77.6 ± 8.5 kg) participated in this study. They randomly performed two different pre-match warm-up protocols on separate days with different excitation order component sequences where the last component of the warm-up excitation sequence was imputed completed either in the middle (WU-1), or at the end of the warm-up (WU-2). During the completion of the warm-up, heart rate (HR), and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) were recorded. After the warm-up, participants performed a repeated sprint ability test (RSA) and the five jump (5JT) test. The results revealed no significant differences in WU-1 and the WU-2 for HR and RPE. In WU-2 condition, significant differences in the 7th acceleration phase of the repeated 10 m sprint (S7) (p < 0.05) was observed in comparison to WU-1. Likewise, the performance of 5JT (p < 0.05), and the 10-m of the RSA (p < 0.05) increased to WU-2 in comparison with WU-1. In conclusion, we recommended performing warm-up at the end of pre-match rather than in the middle to ameliorate the performance of soccer players during the competition.


Using controlled environmental growth chambers, whole plants of soybean, cv. 'Clark', were examined during early development (7–20 days after sowing) at both ambient (≈ 350 μL L–1) and elevated (≈ 700 μL L–1) carbon dioxide and a range of air temperatures (20, 25, 30, and 35 °C) to determine if future climatic change (temperature or CO2 concentration) could alter the ratio of carbon lost by dark respiration to that gained via photosynthesis. Although whole‐plant respiration increased with short‐term increases in the measurement temperature, respiration acclimated to increasing growth temperature. Respiration, on a dry weight basis, was either unchanged or lower for the elevated CO2 grown plants, relative to ambient CO2 concentration, over the range of growth temperatures. Levels of both starch and sucrose increased with elevated CO2 concentration, but no interaction between CO2 and growth temperature was observed. Relative growth rate increased with elevated CO2 concentration up to a growth temperature of 35 °C. The ratio of respiration to photosynthesis rate over a 24‐h period during early development was not altered over the growth temperatures (20–35 °C) and was consistently less at the elevated relative to the ambient CO2 concentration. The current experiment does not support the proposition that global increases in carbon dioxide and temperature will increase the ratio of respiration to photosynthesis; rather, the data suggest that some plant species may continue to act as a sink for carbon even if carbon dioxide and temperature increase simultaneously.


Applying the Pseudo-Panel Approach to International Large-Scale Assessments: A Methodology for Analyzing Subpopulation Trend Data Dissertation by Martin Hooper Advisor: Ina V. S. Mullis, Ph.D. TIMSS and PIRLS assess representative samples of students at regular intervals, measuring trends in student achievement and student contexts for learning. Because individual students are not tracked over time, analysis of international large-scale assessment data is usually conducted cross-sectionally. Gustafsson (2007) proposed examining the data longitudinally by analyzing relationships between country-level trends in background constructs and trends in student achievement. Through longitudinal analysis of international large-scale assessment data, it becomes possible to mitigate some of the confounding factors in the analysis. This dissertation extends this country-level approach to subpopulations within countries. Adapting a pseudo-panel approach from the econometrics literature (Deaton, 1985), the proposed approach creates subpopulations by grouping students based on demographic characteristics, such as gender or parental education. Following grouping, the subpopulations with the same demographic characteristics are linked across cycles and the aggregated subpopulation means are treated as panel data and analyzed through longitudinal data analysis techniques. As demonstrated herein the primary advantages of the subpopulation approach are that it allows for analysis of subgroup differences, and it captures within-country relationships in the data that are not possible to analyze at country level. Illustrative analysis examines the relationship between early literacy activities and PIRLS reading achievement using PIRLS 2001 and PIRLS 2011 data. Results from the subpopulation approach are compared with student-level and country-level cross-sectional results as well as country-level longitudinal results. In addition, within-country analysis examines the subpopulation-level relationship between early literacy activities and PIRLS reading achievement, multiple group analysis compares regression coefficient estimates between boys and girls and across parental education subgroups, and mediation analysis examines the extent that partaking in early literacy activities can explain differences between boys and girls in PIRLS reading achievement.


There has recently been remarkable Interest in making an optical IC having the function of complicated optical signal processing by combining several guided-wave devices on a common substrate. Since each device is usually at least 5 mm, the total length of such an optical IC becomes >30 mm. Large- area waveguide patterning, therefore, is required. For this requirement, laser-beam lithography Is more suitable than existing photo-beam and electron-beam lithographies, as already pointed out by some researchers who used a simple experimental setup comprising manually controlled translation stages and appropriate focusing optics.1,2 We recently developed a computer-controlled laser-beam lithographic system to make large-area optical ICs.3 The laser-beam lithography for two different types of practical optical IC, used for velocity measurement, is demonstrated to discuss performance of the developed system.


We investigated whether emergency dynamic computed tomography (CT) is helpful to identify bleeding colonic diverticulum treatable by colonoscopy. We enrolled 95 consecutive patients given diagnoses of colonic diverticular bleeding at Hiroshima City Hospital in the present study, of whom 60 underwent CT before colonoscopy (CT group), and 35 underwent colonoscopy alone (CS group). In the CT group, bleeding diverticula were identified and treated by colonoscopy in 31 of 32 (96.9%) patients in whom extravasation was detected by CT. The interval between bleeding being recognized and CT (median 1.0 hours) in patients in whom extravasation was detected by CT was shorter than that in whom extravasation was not detected (median 5.0 hours). To identify and treat bleeding diverticula by colonoscopy, the use of emergency dynamic CT prior to colonoscopy is recommended.


Patients with cancer have a high risk of developing cancer-associated thrombosis (CAT). Current guidelines suggest preferential use of low molecular weight heparins (LMWH) in CAT. The real-world data show that compliance with recommended LMWH therapy in cancer patients is low. Many patients discontinue injectable anticoagulants prematurely, in some cases even after a month, despite a high recurrence rate in this population. In recent years an increasing number of cancer patients are treated with direct oral anticoagulants, mainly rivaroxaban. Recent data confirming the safety and efficacy of rivaroxaban are starting to emerge and support the growing trend of using direct oral anticoagulants in cancer patients. If positive results of the recently completed SELECT-D trial are confirmed in the upcoming trials and registries of CALLISTO project, the guidelines for the treatment of CAT will have to be revised in favour of DOAC use in cancer-associated thrombosis.


The synthesis and self-assembly of amphiphilic polymers based on unsaturated vegetable oils and poly(2-methyl-2-oxazoline) (POx) are reported. Two architectures of lipopolymers were explored starting from fatty methyl esters and raw vegetable oils. The latter were converted into macroinitiators for cationic ring-opening polymerization (CROP) of 2-methyl-2-oxazoline. Firstly, a thiol–ene coupling reaction in the presence of mercaptoethanol under UV irradiation was performed to introduce hydroxyl groups that were further transformed into initiating species used for cationic polymerization. According to this strategy, various lipopoly(2-methyl-2-oxazoline)s (LipoPOxs) with different lipidic/POx ratios were successfully obtained and characterized by 1H NMR, SEC and MALDI-TOF analyses. Finally, the self-organization of the LipoPOx was studied using dynamic light scattering (DLS). Well-shaped nanoparticles were obtained with characteristic radii of 4.3 and 10.2 nm for the fatty ester- and triglyceride-based lipopolymers, respectively. The latter value is about twice the former one due to the higher lipidic fraction of the triglyceride-based polymer that promotes hydrophobic interactions. The relaxation time distributions of both systems were found to be monomodal, indicating monodisperse colloidal suspensions.


The avian automatic perching mechanism (APM) involves the automatic digital flexor mechanism (ADFM) and the digital tendon-locking mechanism (DTLM). When birds squat on a perch to sleep, the increased tendon travel distance due to flexion of the knee and ankle supposedly causes the toes to grip the perch (ADFM) and engage the DTLM so perching while sleeping involves no muscular effort. However, the knees and ankles of sleeping European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) are only slightly flexed and, except for occasional balancing adjustments, the distal two-thirds of the toes are not flexed to grip a 6-mm-diameter perch. The cranial ankle angle (CAA) is ∼120° and the foot forms an inverted "U" that, with the mostly unflexed toes, provides a saddle-like structure so the bird balances its weight over the central pad of the foot (during day weight further back and digits actively grasp perch). In the region of the pad, the tendon sheath of many birds is unribbed, or only very slightly so, and it is always separated from the tendon of the M. flexor digitorum longus by tendons of the other toe flexor muscles. Passive leg flexion produces no toe flexion in anesthetized Starlings and only after 15-20 min, at the onset of rigor mortis, in freshly sacrificed Starlings. Anesthetized Starlings could not remain perched upon becoming unconscious (ADFM, DTLM intact). Birds whose digital flexor tendons were severed or the locking mechanism eliminated surgically (no ADFM or DTLM), so without ability to flex their toes, slept on the perch in a manner similar to unoperated Starlings (except CAA ∼90°-110°). Consequently, there is no APM or ADFM and the DTLM, although involved in lots of other activities, only acts in perching with active contraction of the digital flexor muscles.


Hernia is one of the most common defects in pigs. The most prevalent are the scrotal (SH), inguinal (IH) and umbilical (UH) hernias. We compared the inguinal ring transcriptome of normal and SH-affected pigs with the umbilical ring transcriptome of normal and UH-affected pigs to discover genes and pathways involved with the development of both types of hernia. A total of 13,307 transcripts was expressed in the inguinal and 13,302 in the umbilical ring tissues with 94.91% of them present in both tissues. From those, 35 genes were differentially expressed in both groups, participating in 108 biological processes. A total of 67 polymorphisms was identified in the inguinal ring and 76 in the umbilical ring tissue, of which 11 and 14 were novel, respectively. A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) with deleterious function was identified in the integrin α M (ITGAM) gene. The microtubule associated protein 1 light chain 3 γ (MAP1LC3C), vitrin (VIT), aggrecan (ACAN), alkaline ceramidase 2 (ACER2), potassium calcium-activated channel subfamily M α 1 (KCNMA1) and synaptopodin 2 (SYNPO2) genes are highlighted as candidates to trigger both types of hernia. We generated the first comparative study of the pig umbilical and inguinal ring transcriptomes, contributing to the understanding of the genetic mechanism involved with these two types of hernia in pigs and probably in other mammals.


With the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks upon us there is no shortage of reflections on two decades of global counterterrorism practice. Much of the commentary is focusing on the situation in Afghanistan and the Taliban's return to power. While understandable, this potentially obscures some of the important developments that have taken place during the period, including those related to our understanding of the threat and how best to counter and prevent it. Three important ones point to the growing relevance of cities in preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE).


The importance of nucleic acids in pure form for preparative and analytical perspectives, have increased constantly, demanding the development of new and more efficient methods for their recovery and isolation. This thesis describes a series of different innovative methods for recovery and purification of these biomolecules. In a general overview of a downstream processing, there are several critical steps that may influence the yield and quality of the final product, especially in the lysis, clarification and purification steps.
The lysis process is the first critical step, since it can be detrimental to the nucleic acids and it also can release all the content from the cells by its disruption. A new approach was developed in order to minimize this effect and reduce the main host cell contaminants. The electropermeability approach for extraction of small nucleic acids from bacteria avoids complete cell disruption and thereby reduces contaminants for the next stages.
The clarification and concentration steps are normally done to remove most of the contaminants from the cell lysis steps. In this thesis an aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) approach based on poly(ethylene glycol)/poly(acrylate)/salt two phase system is described. This method allows the handling of large volumes, which is important in the preparative industrial scale. ATPS resulted in a pure plasmid DNA directly from crude cell lysates. In addition, smaller DNA fragments from Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) can be isolated using this method.
The regular downstream process is normally finished by chromatographic approaches, which often are the main final purification step. DNA molecules harbour some intrinsic chemical properties that render them suitable for chromatographic separations. These include a negatively charged phosphate backbone as well as a hydrophobic character originating mainly from the major groove of DNA which exposes the base pairs on the surface of the molecule. In addition, single stranded DNA often allows for a free exposure of the hydrophobic aromatic bases. In this thesis, multimodal chromatography (MMC) was evaluated as an alternative tool for complex separations of nucleic acids. MMC embraces more than one kind of interaction between the chromatographic ligand and the target molecules. This resin demonstrated a superiority for DNA isolation, including in the purification of pDNA from crude cell lysate and for DNA fragments from PCR samples.


The Arab Spring has been shaped by successive episodes of the revolutions of freedom, the largest geopolitical movement that has rocked the Arab world and the Middle East since the 1960s, which witnessed the eruption of the socalled national revolution that sanctified the Arab exodus from the yoke of old colonialism and their aspiration to independence, freedom, dignity and national sovereignty, like other nations. This study aimed at determines the role played by the Jordanian society during the Syrian crisis in all fields, and to identify the impact of the Syrian crisis on Jordanian society (education, and health). In order to achieve the objective of the study, a questionnaire was designed as a main tool for collecting data. It included (54) items divided into four variables (educatione and health). The sample comprised of (177) individual's that selected randomly from all employees of the Jordanian Refugee Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Interior. After the distribution of the questionnaire and data collection, the SPSS software was used to answer the study questions through the use of descriptive analysis. The study found that there is great impact of Syrian asylum on Jordanian society in all aspects, the threats facing Jordan, due to Syrian asylum, are not only linked to direct security and military threats Syrian refugees have exhausted economic infrastructure and resources in Jordan, and Jordan faces significant challenges to its economic resources under Syrian asylum. In the light of the results the study recommended that the Syrian crisis, its continuation and its impact on Jordan require a new course through the holistic approach to transform the Syrian refugee crisis into a development opportunity that positively reflected on host communities and refugees.


The differential quadrature method based on cosine expansion is applied to obtain numerical solutions of the RLW equation. The propagation of single solitary wave is studied to validate the efficiency of the algorithm. Then, test problems including interaction of two and three solitary waves, undulation, and evolution of solitary waves are implemented. Solutions are compared with earlier results. Discrete conservation quantities are computed for test experiments. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2009


Extramedullary plasmacytoma (EMP) results from uncontrolled plasma cell proliferation and consists of monoclonal plasmacytic infiltration without bone marrow involvement. These tumors occur most commonly in the head and neck region, followed by gastrointestinal tract, central nervous system, thyroid, breast, parotid gland, testis and lymph nodes. Primary renal plasmacytoma is very rare. We report a primary renal plasmacytoma in a 76 year old female.

 Key words: X-ray computed, plasmacytoma, renal neoplasm, tomography, positron emission tomography.


Herein, with the aim of enhancing tribological properties of lubricating oils, by adopting stable nano-additives and without substantially modifying oil rheological properties, carbon nanotubes and graphene-based nano-carbons were synthesized through simple and scalable processes. Afterward, a systematic study of their stability in Group I and III base oils, with and without low amounts of dispersant/surfactants, was performed, revealing the effectiveness of the synergistic combination of SDBS and Tween 80. Tribological tests showed a significative reduction of coefficient of friction and wear scar diameter up to 22% and 19%. Moreover, a significant reduction of the surface roughness was also recorded both at ambient temperature and 80°C due to the addition of the 0.1 mass% FLG sample.


A multiplex PCR is described which detects capsular types K1, K2, K5, K54 and K57, which are those most associated with invasive disease or pathogenicity, a further capsular type (K20), two putative virulence factors (rmpA and wcaG) and the 16S-23S internal transcribed spacer unit of Klebsiella pneumoniae, facilitating identification of this organism. wcaG encodes capsular fucose production and was associated with capsular types K1 and K54, but was also found in strains of other capsular types; 18 of the 543 isolates screened were PCR-positive for this gene. An eight-locus variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) scheme was designed, which provided discrimination at a level similar to that afforded by PFGE among a panel of 36 isolates representing 29 PFGE types. All isolates tested of the virulent K1 clone of CC23, associated with pyogenic liver abscesses, shared the same VNTR profile, which may be helpful in identifying this clone; such isolates were also PCR-positive for allS. These methods provide a rapid means of characterizing and typing isolates of this important agent of community-acquired and nosocomial infection.


Al-SiC composites are among the most demanding metal matrix composites due to their excellent strength, good ductility, good corrosion resistance, low coefficient of thermal expansion and reasonable price. Manufacturing of cast metal matrix composites usually involves some problems such as inhomogeneous distribution of the particles due to poor wetability of ceramics to molten alloys, porosity and formation of particle-void clusters. Thus it seems necessary to utilize secondary processes for these materials in order to obtain suitable properties. In this research Al6061 composites reinforced with 10 volume percent SiC particles of 48?m average size were produced by the stir casting method and effect of extrusion process on the microstructure and strength of these materials was investigated. Results showed that the average particle size and porosity of the composite samples decreased after extrusion. Moreover, tensile strength of the composite increased by increasing the extrusion temperature and/or the extrusion ratio since the pores in the microstructure diminished and the interface bonding was improved.


Recurrent freeze–thaw cycling is a powerful weathering process that subjects soil to frost heave and thaw settlement. The cycling significantly changes the soil structure and leads to particle recombination, ultimately causing deterioration of the soil's properties. Herein, we investigated the effect of freeze–thaw cycles on loess-like soil in seasonally frozen regions; specifically with respect to the engineering geological properties, such as changes in grain-size distribution, liquid–plastic limit and collapse behaviour. The results indicate that over the course of 20 freeze–thaw cycles, the soil samples' dry density decreased, the particle diameter of each soil fraction changed in a bi-directional manner (large particles were broken into finer sizes and fine particles agglomerated into larger particles), and the liquid limit and plasticity index first increased and then decreased. An increase in the initial water content resulted in more significant changes. In contrast to the undisturbed soil samples, the freeze–thaw cycles caused non-collapsible remoulded loess-like soil to collapse. Furthermore, microscopic evaluation allowed us to determine the collapse mechanism. Essentially, after the freeze–thaw cycles, the quantity of micropores in the soil decreased, whereas that of medium pores and macropores significantly increased. In addition, a trellis structure, similar to the typical loess structure, was generated.


Having instruments validated in Chile for Erectile Dysfunction (ED), motivated the validation of the Spanish version of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF), in Chilean population. A non-experimental quantitative study of non-probabilistic sample was carried out for convenience, with 95 adult males from three health centers (Concepcion, Talcahuano and Santiago), during November 2012 and June 2013. Blind experts conducted a clinical interview using DSM-V criteria and medical-surgical causes of ED. After the pilot application and adaptation of the IIEF, version IIEF-Ch was achieved by applying it to the entire sample. The results were analyzed with SPSS 15.0, obtaining high correlation between variables (X2: 956,533) and high sample adequacy (0,893); two factors that explain 81.59% of the variance of the instrument, with high reliability (.971) and adequate criterion validity, high sensitivity (84.5%) and acceptable specificity (91.9%). The IIEF-Ch is a valid and reliable instrument for studies on ED in Chile.


Heteroaromatic sulfones react with cysteine via nucleophilic aromatic substitution, providing a mechanistically selective and irreversible scaffold for cysteine conjugation. Here we evaluate a library of heteroaromatic sulfides with different oxidation states, heteroatom substitutions, and a series of electron donating and electron-withdrawing substituents. Select substitutions profoundly influence reactivity and stability compared to conventional cysteine conjugation reagents, increasing the reaction rate by >3-orders of magnitude. The findings establish a series of synthetically accessible electrophilic scaffolds tunable across multiple tunable centers. New electrophiles and their corresponding alkyne-conjugates were profiled directly in cul-tured cells, achieving thiol saturation in a few minutes at sub-millimolar concentrations. Direct addition of desthiobiotin-functionalized probes to cultured cells simplified enrichment and elution to enable mass spectrometry discovery of >3000 reactive and/or accessible thiols labeled in their native cellular environments in a fraction of the standard analysis time. Surprisingly, only 1/2 of annotated cysteines were identified by both iodoacetamide-desthiobiotin and methylsulfonylbenzothiazole-desthiobiotin in replicate experiments, demonstrating complementary detection by mass spectrometry analysis. These probes offer advantages over existing cysteine alkylation reagents, including accelerated reaction rates, improved stability, and robust ionization for mass spectrometry applications. Overall, heteroaromatic sulfones provide modular tunability, shifted chromatographic elution times, and superior in-cell cysteine profiling for in-depth proteome-wide analysis and covalent ligand discovery.


Non-cognitive skills predict a range of socioeconomic outcomes including educational attainment and employment. Many studies have used cross sectional data and therefore the longitudinal consistency of non-cognitive skills are poorly understood. Using data from a UK cohort, we assess (1) the consistency of non-cognitive skills over a 17-year period throughout childhood, (2) their associations with educational outcomes, and (3) their genomic architecture. Consistency over time is high for behavioural and communication skills but low for others, implicating a high noise to signal ratio for many non-cognitive skills. Associations between non-cognitive skills and educational outcomes are observed for skills measured in mid to late childhood and are at most a third of the size of IQ-education associations. Consistent non-zero heritability estimates and genetic correlations with education are observed only for behavioural difficulties. Our results suggest caution in the use of non-cognitive measures as consistent indicators of underlying skills during early childhood.


A case of a primary rhabdomyosarcoma that appeared to be arising from the filum terminale in a 48-year-old man is reported. The histological diagnosis of rhabdomyosarcoma was supported using immunocytochemical methods. Twenty-two cases of primary rhabdomyosarcoma of the central nervous system previously reported in the literature are reviewed briefly. The possible origin of these tumors from neuroectoderm is discussed.


Invasions of non-indigenous insects and pathogens threaten trees and forest ecosystems worldwide. For example, the arrival and spread of the pathogens causing chestnut blight and Dutch elm disease, along with the bark beetles vectoring the latter, had dramatic effects on North American forests. Despite our improved awareness of the risks associated with biological invasions, globalization and an increase in international trade have facilitated the continued arrival and establishment of non-indigenous forest pests and diseases.


Modern machine learning classifiers often exhibit vanishing classification error on the training set. They achieve this by learning nonlinear representations of the inputs that maps the data into linearly separable classes. Motivated by these phenomena, we revisit high-dimensional maximum margin classification for linearly separable data. We consider a stylized setting in which data $(y_i,{\boldsymbol x}_i)$, $i\le n$ are i.i.d. with ${\boldsymbol x}_i\sim\mathsf{N}({\boldsymbol 0},{\boldsymbol \Sigma})$ a $p$-dimensional Gaussian feature vector, and $y_i \in\{+1,-1\}$ a label whose distribution depends on a linear combination of the covariates $\langle {\boldsymbol \theta}_*,{\boldsymbol x}_i \rangle$. While the Gaussian model might appear extremely simplistic, universality arguments can be used to show that the results derived in this setting also apply to the output of certain nonlinear featurization maps. We consider the proportional asymptotics $n,p\to\infty$ with $p/n\to \psi$, and derive exact expressions for the limiting generalization error. We use this theory to derive two results of independent interest: $(i)$ Sufficient conditions on $({\boldsymbol \Sigma},{\boldsymbol \theta}_*)$ for `benign overfitting' that parallel previously derived conditions in the case of linear regression; $(ii)$ An asymptotically exact expression for the generalization error when max-margin classification is used in conjunction with feature vectors produced by random one-layer neural networks.


Stalagmite
luminescence
excitation
emission
wavelength
timeseries
can
provide
high-resolution
palaeoclimate
records.
Here,
we
employ
multidimensional
visualisation
techniques
in
order
to
interpret
a
10,000
year
luminescence
record
from
a
stalagmite
from
Crag
Cave,
SW
Ireland.
Our
results
demonstrate
three
periods
of
distinct
luminescence
properties:
(1)
0-4,000
BP,
when
they
are
affected
by
overlying
agriculture.
(2)
4,000-9,600
BP,
where
there
is
a
strong
correlation
between
luminescence
and
isotopic
variations;
we
suggest
the
correlation
demonstrates
a
vegetation
response
to
climate
change,
(3)
Before
9,600
BP,
where
a
strong
early
Holocene
transition
is
visible.
Our
results
suggest
that
it
took
about
400-600
years
for
soils
above
the
cave
to
stabilise
after
significant
climate
or
environmental
change,
and
that
there
was
a
complex
vegetation
response
between
8,000
and
7,100
BP
that
my
have
been
a
lagged
response
to
the
"8.2
ka
event"


To overcome challenges in multiple object tracking task, recent algorithms use interaction cues alongside motion and appearance features. These algorithms use graph neural networks or transformers to extract interaction features that lead to high computation costs. In this paper, a novel interaction cue based on geometric features is presented aiming to detect occlusion and re-identify lost targets with low computational cost. Moreover, in most algorithms, camera motion is considered negligible, which is a strong assumption that is not always true and leads to ID Switch or mismatching of targets. In this paper, a method for measuring camera motion and removing its effect is presented that efficiently reduces the camera motion effect on tracking. The proposed algorithm is evaluated on MOT17 and MOT20 datasets and it achieves the state-of-the-art performance of MOT17 and comparable results on MOT20. The code is also publicly available.


Recent studies support the notion that there is an intricate relationship between hematopoiesis and bone homeostasis in normal steady states. Using mice undergoing chronic inflammatory arthritis, we investigated the relationship between hematopoiesis and bone homeostasis in pathologic conditions. We demonstrate that mice undergoing chronic inflammatory arthritis displayed osteoporosis resulting from a severe defect in osteoblast function. Despite the defective osteoblast function, however, the hematopoietic stem cells from these mice exhibited normal properties in either long-term repopulation or cell cycling. Therefore, the bone-forming capacity of osteoblasts is distinct from their ability to maintain hematopoietic stem cells in chronic inflammatory conditions.


Recent years have seen the development of signal denoising algorithms based on the wavelet transform. It has been shown that thresholding the wavelet coefficients of a noisy signal allows us to restore the smoothness of the original signal. However, wavelet denoising suffers a main drawback: around discontinuities the reconstructed signal is smoothed, exhibiting the pseudo-Gibbs phenomenon. We consider the problem of denoising piecewise smooth signals with sharp discontinuities. We propose to apply a traditional wavelet denoising method and to restore the denoised signal using a total variation minimization approach. This second step allows us to remove the Gibbs phenomena and therefore to restore sharp discontinuities, while the other structures are preserved. The main innovation of our algorithm is to constrain the total variation minimization by the knowledge of the remaining wavelet coefficients. In this way, we make sure that the restoration process does not deteriorate the information that has been considered as significant in the denoising step. With this approach we substantially improve the performance of classical wavelet denoising algorithms, both in terms of SNR and in terms of visual artifacts.


The COVID-19 pandemic has left no area in the society that has not been affected. For auditing the spending of public money, especially in times of uncertainties imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the state audit is a crucial factor, hence the synonym for state audit is "watchdog of public money". The activities related to the state audit in the Republic of North Macedonia are performed by the State Audit Office (SAO), as the Supreme Audit Institution. This paper attempts to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the state audit in the Republic of North Macedonia, through the state auditors' perception of the COVID-19 pandemic impact on the dynamics and the scope of SAO activities, with a special focus on ethical dilemmas and expectations for the post-covid period and what have the state auditors specifically learned from the crisis. For that purpose, a structured and detailed survey was submitted to all state auditors in the Republic of North Macedonia, covering all aspects of the audit process, the independence of the State Audit Office, changes in the environment, and the post-covid period. The obtained answers are analyzed through `descriptive statistics` and `analysis of variance`. In general, it can be concluded that the state auditors have retained their independence and the quality of conducting audits during the pandemic.


We have previously shown the deregulation of various miRNAs post Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV) infection. Host miRNAs can potentially bind to viral DNA and/or virus-encoded mRNAs thus acting as hosts' antiviral defense. The goal of the present study was to investigate the mechanism of action of ToLCNDV encoded RNA silencing suppressor (RSS) AC2 on the host miRNA machinery. Here, we report the possible role of AC2 in miRNA dysregulation and found that AC2 associates with miR319 and miR172 which are deregulated during ToLCNDV infection. We furthermore confirmed this association was mediated by direct interaction of AC2 with AGO1 using in vitro and ex vivo assays. These results provide mechanistic insight on understanding of AC2-mediated deregulation of host miRNA pathway.


Abstract Objective.—Small chemical hand and foot warmers are used by many winter sport athletes and other outdoor enthusiasts. The purpose of this study was to characterize the thermal behaviors of 14 commercially available hand and foot warmers. Methods.—Both types of warmers were instrumented with a fast-responding thermistor. One of each pair of warmers was placed in a boot or glove. Temperature was recorded in a data logger for a period of hours to more than a day until the heat output of the devices ceased and returned to room temperature. Thermal behaviors were characterized and graphed, including peak temperature, time to peak temperature, and duration of temperature greater than 30°C. Reliability was determined by comparing thermal behavior of 2 hand or foot warmers of the same type and from the same manufacturer. Comparisons were also made between package claims and measured behaviors. Results.—Measured outcomes were most noteworthy in their variability within and between manufacturers and types of warmers. A strong correlation was found between the masses of the warmers and their duration of heat production. Conclusions.—Although there is a paucity of research information on these types of warmers, this experiment showed that some of the devices exceeded packaging claims while others fell short; that the thermal behavior over time of the devices was variable; and that there appears to be a simple but strong relationship between the mass of the devices and the duration of their heat production.


Importance Hospital-at-home (HaH) care provides acute hospital-level care in a patient's home as a substitute for traditional inpatient care. In September 2017, the Physician-Focused Payment Model Technical Advisory Committee recommended implementation of an alternative payment model for a new model of HaH that bundles the acute episode with 30 days of postacute transitional care. Objective To report outcomes of this new payment model for HaH care. Design, Setting, and Participants Case-control study of HaH care patients with a concurrent control group of hospital inpatients recruited from emergency departments (EDs) and residences in New York City from November 18, 2014, to August 31, 2017. HaH patients were 18 years or older with fee-for-service Medicare and acute medical illness requiring inpatient-level care. Control patients met HaH eligibility but refused participation or were seen in the ED when a HaH admission could not be initiated. Exposures HaH care or inpatient care. Main Outcomes and Measures Primary outcomes were acute period length of stay (LOS), all-cause 30-day hospital readmissions and ED visits, admissions to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), referral to a certified home health care agency, and patient experiences with care. Analyses accounted for nonrandom selection using inverse probability weighting. Results Among the 507 patients enrolled (mean [SD] age, 74.6 [15.7] years; 68.6% women), data were available on all patients 30 days postdischarge. HaH patients (n = 295) were older than controls (n = 212) and more likely to have a preacute functional impairment. HaH patients had shorter LOS (3.2 days vs 5.5 days; difference, −2.3 days; 95% CI, −1.8 to −2.7 days; weighted P < .001); lower rates of readmissions (8.6% [25] vs 15.6% [32]; difference, −7.0%; 95% CI, −12.9% to −1.1%; weighted P < .001), ED revisits (5.8% [17] vs 11.7% [24]; difference, −5.9%; 95% CI, −11.0% to −0.7%; weighted P < .001), and SNF admissions (1.7% [5] vs 10.4% [22]; difference, −8.7%; 95% CI, −13.0% to −4.3%; weighted P < .001); and were also more likely to rate their hospital care highly (68.8% [119] vs 45.3% [67]; difference, 23.5%; 95% CI, 12.9% to 34.1%; weighted P < .001). There were no differences in referrals to certified home health agencies. Conclusions and Relevance HaH care bundled with a 30-day postacute transitional care episode was associated with better patient outcomes and ratings of care compared with inpatient hospitalization. This model warrants consideration for addition to Medicare's current portfolio of shared savings programs.


The present work is entitled as "A Study on Socio-Economic Profile of Women Prisoners". It is an apt title since it is intended to highlight the social and economic status of women who were in prison. Socio-economic status is an important indicator for understanding the differences within and between human communities. The socio-economics of a community (levels of income and education) affect its access to different kinds of financial, informational, institutional, and political resources. Socio-economic conditions also affect people's perceptions of one another. Socioeconomic status is based on family income, parental education level, parental occupation, and social status in the community (such as contacts within the community, group associations, and the community's perception of the family). The study will help the researchers, policy makers, non-governmental organizations and society to understand the women's background and reasons for crime. It will also help to think on the strategies for rehabilitation of women in prison.


This interferometer is designed to measure 75x40 cm laser glass. The entire surface is measured at a Brewsters angle, 56.57°, with an s-polarization beam. The reflected beam is retro-reflected by a highly reflective mirror. Thus, a 75x40 cm surface can be tested with a 60-cm aperture. The most troublesome problem is the ghost reflection from the rear surface of a flat while the front surface is being measured. After the second surface is polished, both surfaces are reflective and their beams can interfere. However, the second surface of a flat is to be polished to ensure the transmitted wavefront quality, not the quality of the surface itself. Therefore, the second surface does not need to be measured directly. To avoid reflection from both surfaces, the laser is switched to a p-polarization after the first surface is measured while the flat is still at a Brewster's angle. Thus, the transmitted wavefront is not affected by the reflection. We believe that a 60-cm clear aperture, Fizeau phase-shifting interferometer is the most practical and accurate instrument for testing 75x40 cm optical flats. In this paper, we briefly summarize the important design factors, and show in theory that the design can meet the required performance.


Abstract The 100 km wide late Svecofennian granite-migmatite zone in southern Finland contains the Sulkava, the Turku and the West Uusimaa low-pressure, high-temperature granulite areas. In the West Uusimaa area the peak metamorphic conditions are estimated at T = 750-800°C and P = 4-5 kbars. Detailed isotopic dating of different parts of migmatites (mesosomes and leucosomes) as well garnet-orthopyroxene gneisses was undertaken by conventional analysis of U-Pb on monazite and Sm-Nd on garnet. U-Pb monazite ages show that the West Uusimaa area underwent a granulite facies metamorphism at peak conditions between 1832±2 Ma and 1816±2 Ma. The area was then cooled down to 700-600°C at 1.81-1.79 Ga according to Sm-Nd garnet-whole rock data. These results together with previous data show that all the three granulite areas in southern Finland share a coeval thermal event probably stemming from common or similar heat sources.


A comprehensive study of domestic buildings in London from about 1200 to the Great Fire in 1666. John Schofield describes houses and such related buildings as almshouses, taverns, inns, shops and livery company halls, drawing on evidence from surviving buildings, archaeological excavations, documents, panoramas, drawn surveys and plans, contemporary descriptions, and later engravings and photographs. Schofield presents an overview of the topography of the medieval city, reconstructing its streets, defences, many religious houses and fine civic buildings. He then provides details about the mediaeval and Tudor London house: its plan, individual rooms and spaces and their functions, the roofs, floors and windows, the materials of construction and decoration, and the internal fittings and furniture. Throughout the text he discusses what this evidence tells us about the special restrictions or pleasures of living in the capital; how certain innovations of plan and construction first occurred in London before spreading to other towns; and how notions of privacy developed. The text is illustrated and accompanied by a selective gazetteer of 201 sites in the City of London and its immediate environs.


This study entitled "Method to Post-method Pedagogy Administered by a Classroom Teacher in the Teaching of English" intends to portray the teaching method and methodology used by the teacher in the teaching of English at the tenth grade of a senior high school in Bandung.  Looking at the purpose, it is obvious that the present study is descriptive in nature.  This study is guided by three research questions covering: 1) what is the expected method used by the teacher in the teaching process? 2) Do the procedures of the expected method conform to its theoretical principles? 3) What methodology is actually practiced by the teacher in the teaching process?  The data for this study were compiled through classroom visits. To attain comprehensive and accurate information about the teaching methods used by the classroom English teachers, this study utilized two techniques namely videotaping and document analysis. The study found out that: 1) the expected method, which is claimed to follow by the classroom English teacher is the Grammar Translation Method or GTM; nevertheless 2) The procedures of GTM conducted by the teacher are not exactly conforming to the principles of this expected method; 3) the methodology, which is actually practiced by the teacher in the classroom belongs to Language-centered method of which its principles characterize the actual procedures.  This study concludes that though the teacher claims that she uses the grammar translation method, as the method proposed by theorist, but the procedures that she actually conducted are in line with the various principles taken from several methods.


There is empirical evidence that information technology projects are exposed to multiple sources of risks because it seems certain that the IT projects are considered as agile, technical and complex projects. However, it is necessary to know why majority of IT projects fail and what the perceived success/failure factors are and to what extent the risk management concept is of central importance in every IT projects. This study fills the gap in the current literature by unpacking comprehensive project level factors, risk areas that may influence the risk perception of project managers and consequently, lead to fail in infant, toddler and mature stages of IT projects. Therefore, a theoretical revision on this topic was performed. Although many studies have explored success/failure factors in projects, a few of them are comprised of the perception that to what extent project's success/failure factors are noteworthy. Key-Words: IT Project, Critical Success Factor, Risk Perception, Risk Mitigation, Success/Failure Factors and Project Management


Introduction Inadequately supported clinicians risk burnout, which is prevalent among them. Balint-like groups can be utilized to address clinician stressors and augment interpersonal skills by exploring the clinician-patient relationship. Methods In January 2012, we initiated the Clinical Case Discussion Group (CCDG), based on Michael Balint's Balint group, at the Boston University School of Medicine Section of General Internal Medicine. The CCDG is an interprofessional group discussion founded on self-reflection of patient cases designed to tease out ethical, psychosocial, and medical issues that impact the clinician-patient relationship. The format consists of a facilitator-led small group session including 5–10 minutes of case discussion followed by open group discussion. In April 2014, we conducted a cross-sectional survey of clinicians who participated in the CCDG to evaluate the group's ability to foster skills in self-reflection, empathy, response to patient challenges, personal awareness, and tolerance of uncertainty, and to address clinicians' personal and professional stressors. Results More than 75% of clinicians surveyed agreed that participation fostered skills in tolerating uncertainty, increasing empathy, and navigating difficult patient relationships. All respondents agreed the group developed skills in self-reflection. At least 40% of clinicians reported some degree of isolation, professional stress, and personal stress; group participation addressed these issues at least 70% of the time. Discussion This self-reflection case discussion group, incorporated into academic clinical practice, supports the professional development of a broad cadre of clinicians and addresses both personal and professional stressors. Clinical departments should consider systematically implementing similar groups in practice.


Work-life balance is a crucial issue for every employee in government and private institutions today, especially in Indonesia. This is because there will be a decrease in employee productivity and performance if an organization does not think about the work balance of employees properly and is not managed properly. The fact is, that at present the workforce places more emphasis on work-life balance rather than on income alone where the company is currently filled more by the millennial generation who are happy about the flexibility of work and are very close to technology. The purpose of this study is to look at various theories regarding the effect of the influence of work-life balance on employee performance. The final goal of this paper is to collect various theories to be used in developing work-life balance strategies to improve the welfare of organizations and individual workers. This study uses a qualitative method in a systematic review. The findings show that work-life balance affects the performance of millennial generation employees. An important implication for behavioral science research that arises from this research is that to achieve high company and employee performance, the company must provide a work-life balance policy for its employees so that employees can be motivated and commit to working optimally in the company.


OBJECTIVE
To study the therapeutic efficacy of 48-week telbivudine treatment on cirrhosis resulting from chronic hepatitis B.

METHODS
80 patients were equally divided into two groups, and treated with telbivudine 600 mg or lamivudine 100mg once daily for 48 weeks, respectively. The changes of virological and biochemical markers, PTA, Child-Pugh score, and viral resistance were observed at the different time points after antiviral treatment.

RESULTS
The mean of serum HBV DNA level in telbivudine group before treatment was (6.52+/-1.33) log10 copies/ml, and the mean reduction of serum HBV DNA was (2.09+/-1.30), (2.83+/-1.22), (3.23+/-1.27), (3.42+/-1.32), (3.65+/-1.30), (3.67+/-1.43) log10 copies/ml at 2, 4, 8, 12, 24, 48 weeks, respectively. The proportion of patients with serum HBV DNA undetectable was 92.5% (37/40) at 24, 48 weeks. At week 24 and 48, the rates of HBeAg/anti-HBe seroconversion were 30.0% (6/20), 35.0% (7/20), respectively. ALT, AST, albumin, total bilirubin, PTA, and Child-Pugh score were improved (P less than 0.05). Mutation of YMDD observed in telbivudine group was 5.0%. The mean reduction of serum HBV-DNA and the proportion of patients with undetectable serum HBV-DNA were greater in telbivudine group than in lamivudine group (P less than 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS
Telbivudine can rapidly and effectively inhibit the replication of HBV in patients with cirrhosis resulting from chronic hepatitis B, and the resistance mutation rate was low. In addition, telbivudine treatment can improve the liver function.


This paper presents a closed-form expression for the integral kernels associated with the derivatives of the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck semigroup $e^{tL}$. Our approach is to expand the Mehler kernel into Hermite polynomials and applying the powers $L^N$ of the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck operator to it, where we exploit the fact that the Hermite polynomials are eigenfunctions for $L$. As an application we give an alternative proof of the kernel estimates by Portal [2014], making all relevant quantities explicit.


We investigate the infrared (IR) contribution from supermassive black hole activity versus host galaxy emission in the mid- to far-IR spectrum for a large sample of X-ray bright active galactic nuclei (AGN) residing in dusty, star-forming host galaxies. We select 703 AGN with erg s−1 at 0.1 < z < 5 from the Chandra XBoötes X-ray Survey with rich multiband observations in the optical to far-IR. This is the largest sample to date of X-ray AGN with mid- and far-IR detections that uses spectral energy distribution (SED) decomposition to determine intrinsic AGN and host galaxy IR luminosities. We determine weak or nonexistent relationships when averaging star formation activity as a function of AGN activity, but see stronger positive trends when averaging LX in bins of star-forming activity for AGN at low redshifts. We estimate an average dust covering factor (CF) of 33% based on IR SEDs and bolometric AGN luminosity, corresponding to a Type 2 AGN population of roughly a third. We also see a population of AGN that challenge the inclination-based unification model with individual dust CFs that contradict the nuclear obscuration expected from observed X-ray hardness ratios. We see no strong connection between AGN fractions in the IR and corresponding total IR, 24 μm, or X-ray luminosities. The average rest-frame AGN contribution as a function of IR wavelength shows significant (∼80%) contributions in the mid-IR that trail off at λ > 30 μm. Additionally, we provide a relation between observed LX and pure AGN IR output for high-z AGN, allowing future studies to estimate AGN IR contribution using only observed X-ray flux density estimates.


Research for a preliminary study of Bur Ni Telong, geothermal area, Bener Meriah district using remote sensing techniques has been done. The aims of the research were to determine the morphological condition based on the fault and fracture (FFD) map from the interpreted digital elevation model (DEM) shuttle radar topography mission (SRTM) and to know the vegetation density and surface temperature distribution using Landsat 8 image. The DEM SRTM data were analyzed using the lineament pattern which related to faults and fractures. The vegetation density was calculated using normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) transformation. The estimated surface temperature was used to locate temperature anomaly. Referring to the geographical map, the dense class area include Silih Nara-Ketol-Peulimbang to Peudada, Juli to Sawang, and Bandar area. The fault and fracture dominantly have directions in East-West and Northwest-Southeast. While based on NDVI map we conclude that the area is covered by dense vegetation, dominated by intermediate to dense of vegetation. The LST map shows the location of maximum surface temperature values are in agreement with residential areas and uncovered areas, as in the areas of Simpang Tiga Redelong and Takengon. Some geothermal manifestations are located in sparse to intermediate vegetation areas with high temperature.


BACKGROUND
Despite numerous benefits related to the utilization of biomass as an alternative source of energy, the handling of biomass creates a risk for the power industry workers of exposure to harmful microbiological agents. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the exposure of the workers to such agents at a power plant co-firing biomass with coal. This assessment was based on quantitative and qualitative characteristics of bioaerosols, supplemented with the analysis of biomass samples.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Air samples were collected with both MAS and Andersen six-stage impactors. Two different kinds of biomass samples used in the co-firing technological process were collected: sunflower seed peel pellet and wood chips. Bacterial and fungal concentrations were assessed in the air and biomass samples, and isolated microbial colonies were identified to the genus and/or species level.

RESULTS
Bacterial and fungal concentrations at workplaces ranged between 5.1 x 10(2) cfu/m3 and 2.0 x 10(4) cfu/m3, and between 2.2 x 10(2) cfu/m3 and 2.3 x 10(4) cfu/m3, respectively. The highest concentrations were determined at workplaces related to reloading, screening and biomass transport via conveyor belts to silos. Fungi representing the genus Aspergillus, including A. fumigatus, A. niger, A. flavus and Gram-negative rods of the genus Citrobacter, Pseudomonas and Rahnella prevailed in the air at all investigated workplaces. Bacterial and fungal concentrations in biomass samples amounted to 1.8 x 10(6) cfu/g and 1.1 x10(6) cfu/g, respectively. The qualitative analysis revealed that the composition of species in the biomass samples was similar to that observed in the air at workplaces.

CONCLUSIONS
Workers engaged in the biomass combustion technology are exposed to bioaerosol containing potentially pathogenic bacteria and fungi.


A two-photon reversible fluorescent probe L1 was designed and synthesized. The fluorescence intensity of the probe solution was strong, while the fluorescence of the solution was obviously quenched and the color of the solution was changed after the addition of hypochlorous acid, indicating this is "naked-eye sensor" for the detection of HClO. The probe showed great selectivity for hypochlorous acid over other reactive oxygen species (ROS) and anions. Fluorescence titration experiments showed that the probe has a low detection limit of 0.674 μM. Because of a morpholine group introduced to the naphathalimide framework, probe L1 was successfully applied to detect intracellular HClO in lysosome.


Contextual L2 word learning may be facilitated by increasing readers' engagement with form and meaning of novel words. In the present study, two adult L2 populations, Chinese and Dutch speakers, read English sentences that contained novel vocabulary. These contextual exposures were accompanied either by form-focused elaboration (i.e. word-writing) or by meaning-focused elaboration (i.e. actively deriving word meaning from context). Immediate and delayed offline and online measures of word knowledge showed superior learning outcomes for the word-writing treatment. This finding is aligned with the predictions of the lexical quality hypothesis (Perfetti and Hart 2002), highlighting the added value of more precise encoding of a word's form, in addition to learning its meaning. The key pedagogical implication of this study is that a simple act of copying novel words, while processing meaningful L2 input, may significantly boost quality of lexical knowledge.


Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) can be used for safe, noninvasive probing of cortical excitability (CE). We review 50 studies that measured CE in people with epilepsy. Most showed cortical hyperexcitability, which can be corrected with anti-epileptic drug treatment. Several studies showed that decrease of CE after epilepsy surgery is predictive of good seizure outcome. CE is a potential biomarker for epilepsy. Clinical application may include outcome prediction of drug treatment and epilepsy surgery.


The present study describes the clinical and immunological features of children with Hib vaccine failure, who were identified through national surveillance between 1996 and 2001 in Europe, Israel and Australia. True vaccine failure was defined as invasive Hib disease occurring ≥2 weeks after one dose, given after the first birthday, or ≥1 week after ≥2 doses, given at <1 year of age. Of the 423 cases (representing 0.2 cases per 100,000 child-years at risk) reported, 330 (78%) had received three doses in the first year of life and developed disease at a median age of 28 months. Of the remaining 93, 48 had received two doses in infancy, 34 had received four doses including a booster, and 11 had received a single dose after 12 months of age. These children developed disease at a median age of 12, 33 and 71 months, respectively. In total, 47 out of 258 children (18%) with available information had an underlying medical problem (including prematurity) and 53 out of 161 (33%) had immunoglobulin deficiency. Convalescent Hib antibody concentrations were above the putative protective concentration of 1.0 mg/L in 147/194 (76%) children; low concentrations were associated with both the presence of an underlying medical problem and young age at the time of Hib disease. Almost all children who received an additional vaccine dose developed antibodies at protective concentrations. Thus, Hib vaccine failure is rare, but can occur with any immunization schedule. Children with Hib vaccine failure should have immunoglobulin and convalescent Hib antibody concentrations measured after infection and receive additional vaccination, if required.


The objective of this work was twofold: (1) measure reliable fatigue crack growth relationships for X65 steel and its girth weld in high-pressure hydrogen gas to enable structural integrity assessments of hydrogen pipelines, and (2) evaluate the hydrogen accelerated fatigue crack growth susceptibility of the weld fusion zone and heat-affected zone relative to the base metal. Fatigue crack growth relationships (da/dN versus ΔK) were measured for girth welded X65 pipeline steel in high pressure hydrogen gas (21 MPa) and in air. Hydrogen assisted fatigue crack growth was observed for the base metal (BM), fusion zone (FZ), and heat-affected zone (HAZ), and was manifested through crack growth rates reaching nearly an order of magnitude acceleration over rates in air. At higher ΔK values, crack growth rates of BM, FZ, and HAZ were coincident; however, at lower ΔK, the fatigue crack growth relationships exhibited some divergence with the fusion zone having the highest crack growth rates. These relative fatigue crack growth rates in the BM, FZ, and HAZ were provisional, however, since both crack closure and residual stress contributed to the crack-tip driving force in specimens extracted from the HAZ. Despite the relatively high applied R-ratio (R = 0.5), crack closure was detected in the heat affected zone tests, in contrast to the absence of crack closure in the base metal tests. Crack closure corrections were performed using the adjusted compliance ratio method and the effect of residual stress on Kmax was determined by the crack-compliance method. Crack-tip driving forces that account for closure and residual stress effects were quantified as a weighted function of ΔK and Kmax (i.e., Knorm), and the resulting da/dN versus Knorm relationships showed that the HAZ exhibited higher hydrogen accelerated fatigue crack growth rates than the BM at lower Knorm values.


Social insurance is an individual's protection against risks such as retirement, death or disability. Big data mining and analytics are a way that could help the insurers and the actuaries to get the optimal decision for the insured individuals. Dependently, this paper proposes a novel analytic framework for Egyptian Social insurance big data. NOSI's data contains data, which need some pre-processing methods after extraction like replacing missing values, standardization and outlier/extreme data. The paper also presents using some mining methods, such as clustering and classification algorithms on the Egyptian social insurance dataset through an experiment. In clustering, we used K-means clustering and the result showed a silhouette score 0.138 with two clusters in the dataset features. In classification, we used the Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier and classification results showed a high accuracy percentage of 94%.


OBJECTIVE
To determine whether the extent, distribution, and duration of vitiligo are associated with impairment of specific aspects of quality of life.

DESIGN
A prospective questionnaire-based study of 1541 adults with vitiligo.

SETTING
Online questionnaire.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Affected body surface area (BSA), distribution and duration of vitiligo, associated symptoms, and quality of life using the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI).

RESULTS
Vitiligo had a negative effect on numerous aspects and the total score of the DLQI (mean [SD], 5.9 [5.5]). The DLQI scores in vitiligo were associated with an affected BSA of more than 25% (ordinal logistic regression; adjusted odds ratio, 2.17 [95% CI, 1.71-2.75; P<.001]) and number of body parts affected with vitiligo (P≤.009) but not laterality (P=.06) or duration of disease (P≥.54). Itching and/or burning skin occurred in a sizable percentage of vitiligo patients (35.1%) and were predicted by an affected BSA of more than 25% (adjusted odds ratio, 1.59 [95% CI, 1.26-2.01; P<.001]). Sexual dysfunction occurred in 18% of patients and was predicted by an affected BSA of more than 25% (adjusted odds ratio, 1.94 [95% CI, 1.44-2.61; P<.001]) and vitiligo lesions in the genital area (1.82 [1.30-2.53; P<.001]).

CONCLUSIONS
Vitiligo extent is associated with increased quality-of-life impairment, including itching and sexual dysfunction. Moreover, different distributions of vitiligo lesions are associated with impairment of different aspects of quality of life.

TRIAL REGISTRATION
clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01401374


Historical data on two plant-herbivore interactions from southern Norway were used to test the hypothesis that the degree of herbivore outbreaks in post-mast years is negatively related to summer temperatures in the mast year, because plants are more depressed after a high seed production if temperatures and thus the photosynthetic activity is low. The plant species were the sessile oak Quercus petraea and the bilberry Vaceinium myrtillus. For the former species post-mast years were identified from reports given by the local forest authorities for the period 1930–48, and from acorn export curves for the period 1949–98, For the latter species, post-mast years were identified mainly from bilberry export curves for the period 1920–31, from game reports for the period 1932–78. and from diary notes for the period 1979–87. The herbivore species used were the green oak leaf roller moth Tortrix viridana and the capercaillie Tetrao urogallus. Eight moth outbreaks on oak forests were reported by the forest authorities in the period 1930–98, and they all started in a post-mast year of the sessile oak. There were however also eleven post-mast years without moth outbreaks. According to game reports, observations and autumn counts, all increases in the autumn population size of capercaillie during 1920 88 occurred in or after a year with high bilberry production. Among i8 post-mast years, there were seven with strong increase, seven with slight or moderate increase, and four with no increase. For both herbivore species, post-mast years with marked population increases had significantly lower summer temperatures in the preceding (mast) year than had post-mast years with no or slight increases. For moth populations there also was a negative effect of high temperatures in April, possibly because moth eggs tend to hatch too early relative lo budburst if spring temperatures are high. For the capercaillie, high amount of precipitation in June – July seemed to have some negative impact on the autumn population sizes, as also found in previous studies.


Partially Observable Markov Decision Process  (POMDPs) have been suggested as a suitable model to formalizing the planning of educational management.  In this paper, we discuss a specialization of POMDPs that is tailored to a frequently re-occurring type of educational problem, with five states (bad, moderate, good, very good, excellent), two teaching methods a traditional based to National program and a new education method based to the British system. We extend the model of POMDPs with finite discrete signal space to a more natural model where the signal space is continuous instead of finite. We consider the significant and realistic problem with probability density functions for the signals to be uniformly distributed. We prove the piecewise affinity of the infinite horizon optimal utility function associated with this problem. To solve this problem we use a procedure that take advantage of  special problem structure, and we provide optimal policies to stochastic and dynamic decisions naturally arise in finding the optimal educational method.


Congenital midline spinal hamartomas are relatively rare. Patients harboring this anomaly are generally asymptomatic, but present with an overlying skin anomaly. MR imaging depicts a mass that is isointense with the spinal cord on all sequences, and may show a dermal sinus tract that tethers the cord at the level of the lesion. We report the MR features of congenital midline spinal hamartoma in two children.


Abstract:This study sought to understand where children like to play using arts-based methods. Participants were recruited from a large US medical clinic serving a predominantly Latinx and low-income urban area. While waiting to see the doctor for a well-child visit, 19 6- to 12-year-old children were given drawing materials and asked to draw the places where they like to play. We conducted a descriptive content analysis of identifiable elements in the drawings, followed by an interpretive analysis of locations, social relationships, and activities. Children's drawings predominantly depicted outdoor environments and physical activities. Few drawings depicted children playing with others.


This paper describes a 0.35-/spl mu/m CMOS chopper-stabilized switched-capacitor 2-1 cascade /spl Sigma//spl Delta/ modulator for automotive sensor interfaces. The modulator architecture has been selected from an exhaustive comparison among multiple topologies in terms of resolution, speed and power dissipation. To obtain a better fitting with the characteristics of different sensor outputs, the circuit can be digitally programmed to yield four input-to-output gain values (/spl times/0.5,/spl times/1,/spl times/2, and /spl times/4) and has been designed to operate within the stringent environmental conditions of automotive electronics (temperature range of -40/spl deg/C to 175/spl deg/C). In order to relax the amplifier's dynamic requirements for the different modulator input-to-output gains, switchable capacitor arrays are used for all the capacitors in the first integrator. The design of the building blocks is based on a top-down CAD methodology which combines simulation and statistical optimization at different levels of the modulator hierarchy. The circuit is clocked at 5.12 MHz and the overall power consumption is 14.7 mW from a single 3.3-V supply and occupies 5.7 mm/sup 2/ silicon area. Experimental results show a maximum SNR of 87.3 dB within a 20-kHz signal bandwidth and 90.7 dB for 10-kHz signals, and an overall DR of 110 and 113.8dB, respectively. These performance features place the reported circuit at the cutting edge of state-of-the-art high-resolution /spl Sigma//spl Delta/ modulators.


In this paper, we propose Energy-conservation Social Networking Service (ESNS). To realize ESNS, we developed Intelligent Tap, which measures the power consumption of electrical appliances plugged in. With ESNS a user could monitor the power consumption of his/her possessing appliances by graph and could post opinions or comments about energy-conservations with the graphs as the evidence. The user of ESNS also could set up communities with other users who have same appliances. In this way, ESNS stimulates users' willingness to do energy conservation. To verify the effects of ESNS, we conducted experiments with subjects. As the results, we confirmed that the number of conversations and the willingness of energy conservation were increased when they used Intelligent Tap with ESNS.


In structural engineering earthquakes are often represented as random phenomena. Frequently, filtered white noise stochastic processes are adopted to properly model their frequency content. In order to model the time variation of earthquake intensity, these processes are assumed nonstationary, and time modulation functions (MFs) are used. For these, different shapes and formulas have been proposed in literature till now, but only few works have dealt with their comparison in terms of structural response. This paper focuses on this topic: at this aim, a simple linear single degree of freedom (SDoF) system, which represents a structure vibrating in its fundamental mode, is considered subject to a time modulated filtered stochastic process. Different shapes of the MF are considered and the influence on two structural response indices, i.e. the maximum displacement standard deviation and the failure probability, is investigated. A sensitivity analysis is finally performed by varying peak ground acceleration (PGA), Arias intensity and structural period.


This work describes the development of low-power embedded systems for miniature quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy (QEPAS) laser based trace gas sensors. Such sensors must address the following functions simultaneously: 1) laser current control, 2) laser temperature control, 3) multi-harmonic quadrature lock-in amplification, and 4) digital data processing. Currently used methods for control and acquisition result in shoebox sized sensors requiring ~3 to 4 W of electrical power consumption, which is too high for portable energy harvesting powered monitoring. In order to improve sensors to meet required size and cost demands of portable health monitors and environmental sensor networks, we have consolidated and minimized the necessary processing resources for QEPAS sensors. Our processing system has been reduced to a single 10 cm times 6.5 cm circuit board constructed entirely from low-cost off-the-shelf components, and achieves power consumption of ~0.2 W.


Increasing water cut in oil-producing zones is a common issue, particularly in mature fields. Currently, most decisions are governed by economics, and incurring additional expenses, such as handling produced water, is undesirable. Depending upon the source of the water production, chemical isolation provides one effective solution to this issue.
 This paper describes a cost-effective coiled tubing (CT) intervention to implement permanent zonal isolation for water shutoff using an organically crosslinked polymer (OCP) sealant system and a modified organically crosslinked polymer (m-OCP) sealant system to provide a controlled, shallow penetration solution to the problem in a high-permeability, low-pressure reservoir.
 The traditional water shutoff method uses rig intervention for cement squeezes, which targeting shallow penetration can be time consuming and expensive in a high-permeability, low-pressure reservoir.
 The OCP sealant system is an organically crosslinked polymer that is thermally activated to effectively seal the targeted interval. The m-OCP sealant system combines particulates with the OCP sealant system to provide leakoff control to help promote shallow matrix penetration.
 The production logging tool (PLT) data for the candidate well indicated that the maximum water cut originated from the lower perforations and a single zone. CT intervention was selected to accurately place the OCP and m-OCP sealant systems and to permanently block water production by creating polymer barriers inside the reservoir and to remove any remaining OCP/m-OCP from the wellbore.
 OCP and m-OCP are resistant to acid and H2S and provide the required radial penetration. This system provides a predictable and controlled set time (as shown by laboratory testing). Because this system does not develop compressive strength, a simplified cleanout with a jetting nozzle is required to wash it from the well.
 After completing the zonal isolation with the OCP sealant system, the pressure test for the zone indicated a good seal. An electric submersible pump (ESP) was run on the completion string, and initial test results showed that the water cut was reduced from 97 to 75%, and oil production increased from 175 to 300 bpd. Increased production will recover all intervention and chemical costs within 20 days.
 The polymer sealant system with the customized intervention solution successfully reduced the water cut for this west Kuwait field. The same approach can be applied to other similar fields worldwide.


The widespread application of sequencing technologies, used for example to obtain data from healthy individuals or patient cohorts, has led to the identification of numerous mutations, the effect of which remains largely unclear. Therefore, developing approaches allowing accurate in‐silico prediction of mutation effects is becoming increasingly important. In their recent study, Beltrao and colleagues (Wagih et al, ) describe an integrative approach for determining the effects of mutations from the perspective of protein structure, conservation and transcription factor binding. This allows for predicting the mechanisms underlying the most impactful variants rather than just identifying these variants.


The goal of microwave breast imaging is to recover the profile of the dielectric properties of the breast by solving an inverse problem. In this thesis, a novel DBIM algorithm based on the TwIST method is proposed to reconstruct the complex permittivity of 2-D anatomically realistic numerical breast phantoms. A combined optimisation of the algorithm parameters is applied to improve the quality of reconstructions and the robustness of the algorithm. Furthermore, we present new strategies which improve further the performance of the DBIM-TwIST algorithm by refining our previous work on multiple-frequency reconstructions using a single-pole Debye model. Multiple-frequency approaches can combine the stabilizing effects of lower frequencies with enhanced resolution of higher frequencies, thereby overcoming stability and resolution limitations of single-frequency algorithms which tend to be very dependent upon the chosen frequency. And then a novel hybrid frequency approach is proposed to optimise stability and reconstruction accuracy at lower computational cost relative to frequency-hopping techniques. Besides, we propose an innovative two-step reconstruction approach for optimising the initial guess prior to reconstruction. Our approach adds low computational cost to the final breast reconstructions, and improves significantly the reconstruction quality for different breast phantoms. It can then be proposed that an L1 norm regularisation of the TwIST method is based on the Pareto curve, which contributes to de-noising and stabilising the algorithm convergence. At last, we focus on the application of the optimized DBIM-TwIST algorithm to data obtained from an MWI prototype, including direct measured data from MWI experiments, and numerical data from a CAD model emulating the MWI experiments using CST EM software. Based on our new eight-antenna microwave system with a small triangular patch printed monopole, our research demonstrates that the algorithm is able to image cylindrical targets immersed in a background (known) medium despite the model errors due to approximating the real experiment with our 2-D FDTD model. Moreover, a frequency selection method based on correlation analysis is proposed to improve the usage of the frequency information. Finally, we perform image reconstructions using a two-layer medium in order to enhance signal transmission through the imaging domain and at the same time reduce unwanted multi-path signals that do no interact with the interrogated imaging domain.


Of the consequences of war, the movement of large numbers of displaced peoples across international borders is among the most significant. I examine the determinants of international refugee flows in Africa during the period from 1992 to 2001. I begin with a gravity model of refugee flows, which posits that levels of such flows will vary as a function of the population of the two states in question and the distance between the two. To this, I add consideration of two key factors theorized to generate refugee populations: the presence of armed conflict, and the regime type of both the source and target nations. Most important, distance between the source and the target countries is the single most important determinant of dyadic refugee flows; in addition to its direct effect, distance also mediates the effects of conflict and regime type on volumes of refugees. My findings confirm the strong influence of distance on the levels of refugee flows. Although I find clear effects for the presence of conflict, with war in the source country substantially increasing refugee flows and war in the host country decreasing them, I also find strong evidence that this effect is mediated by distance.


Atlas is modeled contexture contents of treated thematic of space on optimal map union. Atlases are higher form of cartography. Atlases content composition of maps which are different by projection, scale, format methods, contents, usage and so. Atlases can be classified by multi criteria. Modern classification of atlases by technology of making would be on: 1. classical or traditional (printed on paper and 2. electronic (made on electronic media - computer or computer station). Electronic atlases divided in three large groups: view-only electronic atlases, 2. interactive electronic atlases and 3. analytical electronic atlases.


Abstract This paper demonstrates that the shallow water semigeostrophic equations arise from a degenerate second-order Hamilton principle of very special structure. The associated Euler–Lagrange operator factors into a fast and a slow first-order operator; restricting to the slow part yields the geostrophic momentum approximation as balanced dynamics. While semigeostrophic theory has been considered variationally before, this structure appears to be new. It leads to a straightforward derivation of the geostrophic momentum approximation and its associated potential vorticity law. Our observations further affirm, from a different point of view, the known difficulty in generalizing the semigeostrophic equations to the case of a spatially varying Coriolis parameter.


Errors in orientation elements and displacements of model co-ordinates are discussed and analysed as the linear functions of the error of photographic coordinates from the view point of analytical photogrammetry. It is also given the case of a grid plate oriented by 6 point method as a simple example. For this case, numerical results are compared for two categories of observational methods. In the first category, one measure the co-ordinates of the points on both photographs with point transfer device and ordinary co-ordinate comparator and in the second, one measure the co-ordinates of the points on the first photograph and horizontal and vertical parallaxes with stereo-comparator.


Mapes, R.H. & McComas, G.A. 2010: Septal implosion in Late Carboniferous coiled nautiloids from Ohio. Lethaia, 10.1111/j.1502–3931.2009.00213.x

More than 200 relatively mature coiled nautiloid specimens, assigned to Metacoceras mcchesneyi, were recovered from an Upper Carboniferous shale in northeastern Ohio. Twenty-seven undistorted specimens reveal that the septa in every specimen were collapsed and/or telescoped. This septal collapse without external shell distortion could only have been accomplished by limited implosion due to excessive pressure. Analysis of the fossils, sediment and the depositional environment indicate that after burial, the nautiloid cameral spaces were probably filled with both liquid and gas, and the body chamber was filled with semi-solid thixotropic mud. To prevent conch collapse at the time of septal implosion, the thixotropic mud filling the nautiloid body chamber acted as a liquid at the time of stress release during septal failure. The stress was produced by combined lithostatic and hydrostatic pressures, which fluidized the unlithified thixotropic mud that flowed from the body chamber into the phragmocone during septal collapse. After the septal implosion and when flowage ceased, the thixotropic mud quickly resolidified into a solid state providing internal conch support that prevented the collapse of the conch. □Carboniferous, nautiloids, septal implosion, taphonomy, thixotropic mud.


The CP20K series of field-programmable gate array (FPGA) chips is described. Consisting of an array of individual CMOS transistors and small logic elements linked via antifuse-programmable interconnections to form large functional blocks, the CP20K closely mimics the flexibility and capacity of a mask-programmable gate array (MPGA). It is shown that the chip's fine-grained architecture makes it easy to use logic synthesis tools because area and performance can be traded off exactly as in MPGA logic synthesis.<<ETX>>


Thermally tapered optical fiber components such as couplers, wavelength division de/multiplexers require a precise analysis of the relationship between technological and device parameters. Over the past 15 years there have been a lot of studies devoted to the familiar "fused biconical taper coupler" and similar fused bitapered optical components usually fabricated with microbumers. The main drawback with this fabrication method is that the temperature cannot be monitored during the fiber- coupler fabrication and hence the fabrication conditions are not controlled by physical parameters such as the fusion temperature and the fusion time of the fibers. Recently, to solve this problem an interesting method using a microheater has been proposed which allows wide and stable heat regions in order to obtain couplers with smooth and gradual taper shapes for low excess losses. Using this fabrication method, we propose in this paper a precise model for predicting the shape of thermally tapered fibers and for analyzing the influence of tapering on the sintering of fibers during the fabrication of fused bitapered optical components. The model has been developed and verified by preliminary experimental measurements in order to relate technological parameters to the characteristics of fused optical fiber components. Much of the literature published previously about this problem still lacks of generality and often approximates the taper geometry with simple analytic function and considers that tapering and sintering (fusion) phenomena are uncoupled. The basic approach is first to fuse the fibers and then elongate the fused fibers while considering that the degree of fusion is conserved during the tapering step. This hypothesis can be justified if the sintering is executed at high temperature ( above 1500°C) and elongation at a lower temperature (about 1300°C). But if sintering and tapering are executed at a similar temperature, or more generally if fibers are elongated at high temperature (typically 1500°C) it appears necessary to consider both sintering and tapering as coupled phenomena. Given that most glasses can be modeled as Newtonian liquids, we have simplified the basic model of nearly unidirectional viscous dominated extensional flow by using a simple rheological model to describe the process of pulling fibers in the range of their softening temperature. But the salient feature of our model is that it allows also a description of the degree of fusion by taking into account of surface tension forces and clearly demonstrates a coupling between the tapering and sintering phenomena.


Natural forest regeneration after natural or anthropogenic disturbance is difficult to predict given its high variability. The process is poorly documented for commercial northern hardwood species in the Acadian forest of eastern Canada. Our objective was to identify the silvicultural, environmental, and ecological factors that best explain the variability in sapling density and occurrence of two commercial tolerant hardwood species in New Brunswick: American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) and sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.). Forty-three permanent sample plots were established in 2002 and measured before harvesting in 2004. Sapling density and occurrence were measured 14 years after harvesting. The results showed that the interactions between the species and the residual merchantable basal area and between the species and the percent of hardwoods in the original stand best explained the sapling density and occurrence variation of tolerant hardwoods. The sapling density of sugar maple increased with increasing merchantable residual basal area. However, the effect of this variable was not significant for the density of American beech saplings. The density and occurrence of tolerant hardwood saplings both increased along with the percent of hardwoods in the original stand. These results provide an improved understanding about tolerant hardwood regeneration dynamics in New Brunswick forests.


Swarm-based optimization algorithms have demonstrated to have effective
ability to solve the classification problem in multiclass databases. However, these algo-
rithms tend to suffer from premature convergence in the high dimensional problem space.
This paper proposes a novel simplified swarm optimization (SSO) algorithm to overcome
the above convergence problem by incorporating it with the new local search strategy. The
proposed algorithm can find a better solution from the neighbourhood of the current solu-
tion produced by SSO. The performance of the proposed algorithm has been evaluated by
using 13 different widely used databases and compared with the standard PSO and three
other well-known classification algorithms. In addition, the practicability of the approach
is studied by applying it in analysing golf swing from weight shift data. Empirical results
illustrate that the proposed algorithm can achieve the highest classification accuracy.


Abstract The results of four balloon flights of the NOAA ultraviolet fluorescence stratospheric water vapor instrument are presented. A series of improvements in the instrument has brought results which are credibly free from contamination by outgassing. The results are in essential agreement with the extensive soundings by H.J. Mastenbrook. The minimum water vapor mixing ratio occurs 2–3 km above the tropopause in both tropical and temperature latitudes. Our measured minimum values were 2.6 ppmv over Brazil (5°S) and 3.6 ppmv over Wyoming (41°N), with an estimated total error of 20%. This degree of dryness permits the conclusion that the global circulation originally proposed by Brewer is correct; i.e., that air enters the stratosphere from the troposphere in substantial quantities only through the tropical tropopause. This general circulation must apply to all other trace gases of tropospheric origin as well. The carbon monoxide measurements of Seiler support the conclusion.


This paper proposes a compact dual-band rat-race hybrid composed of composite right/left-handed transmission lines (CRLH-TLs). Using CRLH-TLs with phase delays of −270 and −90 degrees at low frequency (f1), and −90 and 90 degrees at high frequency (f2), respectively, relative bandwidths of about 20 % can be obtained at two operating frequencies of 1.0 GHz and 1.8 GHz. Furthermore, size reduction of about 80 % can be achieved in comparison with the previous CRLH-TLs rat-race hybrid. The validity of this design procedure has been demonstrated by em-simulations and experiments.


Tubal sterilization methods may damage surrounding tissue, potentially disrupting the ovarian blood supply and hormonal functioning, and may decrease breast cancer risk. We examined this hypothesis, within the Nurses' Health Study, among 77,511 women, aged 30–55 years and free of cancer at the start of follow‐up in 1976. We documented 4,176 cases of invasive breast cancer from 1976 to 2000. Cox proportional hazards models, adjusting for multiple breast cancer risk factors, provided rate ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Overall, tubal sterilization was not associated with breast cancer risk (RR = 0.95, 95% CI = 0.88–1.03). However, tubal sterilizations performed from 1970 to 1974 were inversely associated with risk (RR = 0.84, 95% CI = 0.73–0.97), while procedures performed in other years were not associated with risk. Among women with procedures performed in 1970–1974, those who were ≥35 years old at the time of sterilization were at the lowest risk (RR = 0.81, 95% CI = 0.66–0.98), while younger women had a suggested decreased risk (RR = 0.87, 95% CI = 0.72–1.06). Overall, tubal sterilization was not associated with breast cancer risk. However, a modest inverse association was observed at a time when the potentially destructive unipolar electrocautery method was commonly used, providing some support for an association between lower lifetime exposure to hormones and a decreased risk of breast cancer. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.