Abstract. The active fraction of soil organic carbon is an important component of soil health and often is
quickly assessed as the pulse of CO2 released by re-wetting dried soils in short-term
(24–72 h) assays. However, soils can lose carbon (C) as they dry and, if soil samples vary in moisture content at sampling, differential C loss during the pre-assay dry-down period may
complicate the assay's interpretations. We examined the impact of pre-assay CO2 loss in
a long-cultivated agricultural soil at initial moisture contents of 30 %, 50 %, and 70 %
water-filled pore space (WFPS). We found that 50 % and 70 % WFPS treatments lost more C during
drying than did those in the 30 % WFPS treatment and that dry-down losses led to a 26 %–32 % underestimate of their CO2 pulses. We developed a soil-specific
correction factor to account for these initial soil moisture effects. Future C mineralization
studies may benefit from similar corrections.


The objective of this examiner-blind clinical study was to compare the extrinsic tooth-stain removal efficacy of a novel, nontray, "paint-on" liquid whitening gel containing 18% carbamide peroxide (Colgate Simply White Clear Whitening Gel) with a commercially available whitening dentifrice. After a baseline examination for extrinsic tooth stain, qualifying adult men and women from Canada were randomized into two treatment groups balanced for age, gender, and level of extrinsic tooth stain. Subjects were instructed to brush their teeth twice daily (morning and evening) for 1 minute with their assigned dentifrice (Group 1: nonwhitening dentifrice; Group 2: whitening dentifrice). The subjects in Group 1 also were instructed to use the paint-on whitening gel for 30 minutes twice daily. Examinations for extrinsic tooth stain were repeated after 2 and 3 weeks. Ninety-seven subjects complied with the protocol and completed the entire study. At both the 2- and 3-week examinations, subjects assigned to the liquid whitening gel-treatment group exhibited statistically significant reductions in extrinsic tooth stain (P < .05) with respect to stain area (22.7% reduction at 3 weeks), stain intensity (26.3% reduction at 3 weeks), and overall stain removal (32% reduction at 3 weeks) compared with the commercially available whitening dentifrice group. Thus, the results of the examiner-blind clinical study support the conclusion that Colgate Simply White Clear Whitening Gel provides a significantly greater level of extrinsic tooth-stain removal efficacy than a commercially available whitening dentifrice.


Cross domain recommender systems have been increasingly valuable for helping consumers identify the most satisfying items from different categories. However, previously proposed cross-domain models did not take into account bidirectional latent relations between users and items. In addition, they do not explicitly model information of user and item features, while utilizing only user ratings information for recommendations. To address these concerns, in this paper we propose a novel approach to cross-domain recommendations based on the mechanism of dual learning that transfers information between two related domains in an iterative manner until the learning process stabilizes. We develop a novel latent orthogonal mapping to extract user preferences over multiple domains while preserving relations between users across different latent spaces. Combining with autoencoder approach to extract the latent essence of feature information, we propose Deep Dual Transfer Cross Domain Recommendation (DDTCDR) model to provide recommendations in respective domains. We test the proposed method on a large dataset containing three domains of movies, book and music items and demonstrate that it consistently and significantly outperforms several state-of-the-art baselines and also classical transfer learning approaches.


Language learning strategies play a crucial role in language learning. The choice of strategies is influenced by a variety of factors such as learning style, motivation, age, gender, attitudes, beliefs, type of task, L2 level, tolerance of ambiguity, cultural and contextual factors. This study was an attempt to examine the relationship between Iranian EFL learners' social classes and their language learning strategies (LLS). Two types of questionnairequestionnaire of Oxford's (1990) Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) and a general biographical questionnaireas well as an interview and an observation were employed as the instruments for the data collection procedure. The questionnaires were distributed among 90 Isfahanian female EFL learners enrolled in Iran Language Institute (ILI) to look for different strategiesif any occupied by learners. To determine whether there was a relationship between social class and language learning strategies, an ANNOVA test was administrated. The findings revealed that (a) there was not a significant relationship between social class and the language learning strategies; (b) Iranian EFL learners were medium users of language learning strategies; (c) the cognitive category had the highest mean, followed by compensatory, metacognitive, memory, affective, and social; (d)in all social classes, Cognitive strategies were used at most; (e) and finally, in higher mediate and mediate class, students preferred to use Social strategies less than other categories while, in lower mediate class the less preferred category was the Affective one. It is suggested that educators and administrators can look for more trenchant factors that affect learners' choices of language learning strategies.


We propose an extension with deterministically timed multiactions of discrete time stochastic and immediate Petri box calculus (dtsiPBC), previously presented by I.V. Tarasyuk, H. Macia and V. Valero. In dtsdPBC, non-negative integers specify multiactions with fixed (including zero) time delays. The step operational semantics is constructed via labeled probabilistic transition systems. The denotational semantics is defined on the basis of a subclass of labeled discrete time stochastic Petri nets with deterministic transitions. The consistency of both semantics is demonstrated. In order to evaluate performance, the corresponding semi-Markov chains and (reduced) discrete time Markov chains are analyzed.


In 1989, the Austrian Federal Railways (OBB) started to retrofit an existing 110 kV overhead line and to provide it with a ground wire with integrated optical fibers. However, part of the line sections are up to 40 years old, i.e. a number of specific design constraints had to be borne in mind when implementing the project. A ground wire with integrated optical fibers has been designed so as to be able to replace the existing conventional ground wire without requiring any major changes in pole statics. The authors describe the tests conducted on the fiber optical ground wire, the laying and installation method, and provides an outlook for the expected use of such a wire.<
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The inverse problem considered is that of determining the shape of an acoustically hard obstacle in R3 from a knowledge of the time-harmonic incident plane wave and the far-field pattern of the scattered wave. To solve this inverse Neumann problem in acoustic scattering without requiring the solution of integral equations, the authors have introduced a parametric representation in which the parameters are determined by a method of optimisation. Direct scattering can also be handled by this technique. Comparisons reveal that results are obtained quite simply and are just as accurate as those from other methods.


Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) applications require accurate measurement of temperatures in the 0 to 30/sup 0/C range. This report documents an experimental examination of commercially available quartz-crystal thermometers and thermistors. Three fixed-point baths were used for temperature measurements: the distilled-water/distilled-ice-water slurry, the triple-point-of-water cell, and the gallium melting-point cell. The temperature of carefully prepared ice-water slurries was verified routinely as 0.001 +- 0.003/sup 0/C. Quartz-crystal probes proved accurate to about 1 to 2 mK, with drift errors of the same order over a few days. Bead- and disk-type thermistor probes were found to be about equally stable with time in the 0 to 30/sup 0/C range. The overall probable error of using thermistors was found to be +-4 mK. A solid-block temperature bath suitable for on-site calibrations in OTEC work was used in the temperature-sweeping mode. Various polynomial fits were examined for the purpose of thermistor calibration; fits of order two and higher yielded about equally accurate calculated temperatures.


The incidence of pneumothorax following a review of 55 single-sitting bedside pleural aspirations of malignant effusions over an 18-month period in the clinical oncology departments of the Middlesex and Mount Vernon Hospitals was assessed and two groups were compared. Group 1 (29 aspirations in 16 patients) involved a technique using an 8 ch (French) gauge trocar and cannula, a three-way tap and a sealed bag system, resulting in no pneumothoraces. Group 2 (26 aspirations in 18 patients) involved a variety of other techniques with a pneumothorax rate of 19.2% (p = 0.0189 using Fisher's Exact Test). The small trocar/sealed bag system was complication-free, relatively painless, quick to perform, cheap, gave the option of draining to dryness and was easily learnt by the junior doctors who most often perform this procedure at the bedside. This technique is described in detail in the text. A reduction in the risk of pneumothorax minimizes the need for a postaspiration chest radiograph, facilitating aspiration in an outpatient, hospice or domiciliary setting. A domiciliary study is to be planned using the procedural standard described.


Molecular genetic analysis of breast cancers indicates that the mechanisms underlying tumorigenesis are complicated. Many oncogenes and tumour suppressor genes have been implicated, encoding proteins that are important at many levels of cell regulation, from cell surface molecules responding to external signals (eg ERBB2) to nuclear factors controlling gene transcription (eg TP53, MYC). Several correlations have been found between certain genetic events and clinical outcome and have therefore proved useful prognostic indicators. The mapping and cloning of genes important in familial breast cancers (eg BRCA1) have provided the essential tools for pinpointing the genes that may be critical in early stage breast cancer as well as for developing genetic tests for predicting carrier status in breast cancer families. Clarification of the molecular consequences of mutation in breast cancer associated genes is beginning to address the factors that drive a normal breast cell to change into a breast cancer cell. However, these studies are still in their infancy, and considerable research will be required to complete the picture.


PURPOSE
To evaluate magnetic resonance (MR) hydrometry, a method of quantifying fluid amounts by using MR imaging, for assessing the exocrine function of the pancreas after stimulation with secretin.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Images were obtained with a single-shot turbo spin-echo sequence by using a 1.0-T magnet with a quadrature body coil. Image postprocessing and evaluation were performed at an external workstation by using a specially designed histogram algorithm that translates the MR signal intensity of duodenal filling into an actual amount of duodenal fluid. This algorithm was tested in vitro and in vivo. Finally, MR hydrometry results in five patients were correlated with those of the secretin-cerulein test.

RESULTS
The phantom measurements showed a high correlation (r = 0.99) between the actual amount of fluid in the imaging volume and the calculated results. In vivo, the ability of MR hydrometry to enable exact quantification of fluid amounts was demonstrated. In correlating the signal intensity of duodenal filling with the exact amount of additional fluid in the duodenum in volunteers, a coefficient of 0.043 gray tones per pixel per milliliter was calculated. The correlation (r) between secretin-stimulated duodenal fluid output estimated by using tube aspiration and that estimated by using MR hydrometry was 0.946 (P <.05).

CONCLUSION
MR hydrometry is a promising noninvasive method of assessing fluid output as a measure of exocrine pancreatic function.


This study examined the nutritional status and mental/physical functions of care-dependent individuals living in residential homes for the elderly, focusing on malnutrition as a leading cause of the progression of care dependency, to clarify the associations among them. A status survey was conducted, involving 147 care-dependent individuals living in 3 residential homes with care services for the elderly in Tokyo and Kanagawa. When focusing on physical functions, the Alb level was higher among residents exhibiting higher total ADL20 scores; based on this, approaches to prevent decreases in the nutritional status may be essential for the maintenance of ADL independence. This tendency was particularly marked when examining scores from the following ADL20 subscales: <indoor walking>, <ascending/descending stairs>, and <outdoor walking>, as the Alb level was higher among those who were able to perform these activities more independently. Regarding cognitive functions, the Alb level was lower when the total CDR score and scores from the following subscales indicated higher severity: <memory>, <orientation>, <judgment>, <social adaptation>, <family situation>, and <care situation>. This highlights the necessity of continuous nutritional management as a preventive measure against dementia. This study is suggesting the necessity of performing nutritional management, such as maintaining and restoring a favorable nutritional status in residential homes for the elderly lead a healthy and mentally and physically independent life. <Key-words> nutritional status, mental/physical functions, residential homes for the elderly firstname.lastname@example.com (Yuko FUJIO; Japan) Asian J Human Services, 2017, 12:1-7. © 2017 Asian Society of Human Services Received


The use of priorities allows us to improve the quality of service of inhomogeneous customers in telecommunication networks, inventory and health-care systems. An important modern direction of research is to analyze systems in which priority of a customer can be changed during his/her stay in the system. We considered a single-server queuing system with a finite buffer, where two types of customers arrive according to a batch marked Markov arrival process. Type 1 customers have non-preemptive priority over type 2 customers. Low priority customers are able to receive high priority after the random amount of time. For each non-priority customer accepted into the buffer, a timer, which counts a random time having a phase type distribution, is switched-on. When the timer expires, the customer with some probability leaves the system unserved and with the complimentary probability gains the high priority. Such a type of queues is typical in many health-care systems, contact centers, perishable inventory, etc. We describe the behavior of the system by a multi-dimensional continuous-time Markov chain and calculate a number of the stationary performance measures of the system including the various loss probabilities as well as the distribution function of the waiting time of priority customers. The illustrative numerical examples giving insights into the system behavior are presented.


Abstract. The area of the "Foro Emiliano", the current "Piazza del Municipio" in the coastal town of Terracina in southern Latium, consists of an articulated group of building belonging to different historical moments. On the roman pavement of the forensic square stand out: a Roman theatre, the urban cathedral, medieval houses, a roman temple and recent buildings dating from the first half of the 20th century. Thanks to recent funding the "Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio per le province di Frosinone, Latina e Rieti" has undertaken the demolition of some modern houses insisting on the theatre's porticus post scaenam and began an excavation of the entirely preserved cavea of the Roman theatre building. These interventions of urban archaeology were taken as an opportunity to plan an impressive 3D survey of the historic center, aiming: on one side at monitoring demolition and excavation work, offering a cartographic base for valorization projects, and on the other at the investigation of a vast monumental area. This paper analyses in detail the phases of integration, alignment, filtering and post processing of the acquired data, showing with evidence how the integration of active and passive sensors is the best approach in similar scenario.


The article states the sufficient polystability conditions for part of variables for nonlinear systems of ordinary differential equations with a sufficiently smooth right-hand side. The obtained theorem proof is based on the establishment of a local componentwise Brauer asymptotic equivalence. An operator in the Banach space that connects the solutions of the nonlinear system and its linear approximation is constructed. This operator satisfies the conditions of the Schauder principle, therefore, it has at least one fixed point. Further, using the estimates of the non-zero elements of the fundamental matrix, conditions that ensure the transition of the properties of polystability are obtained, if the trivial solution of the linear approximation system to solutions of a nonlinear system that is locally componentwise asymptotically equivalent to its linear approximation. There are given examples, that illustrate the application of proven sufficient conditions to the study of polystability of zero solutions of nonlinear systems of ordinary differential equations, including in the critical case, and also in the presence of positive eigenvalues.


Objective To explore the significance of the ACE gene insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism in peoples of Hainan Li and Han nationality with coronary heart disease (CHD). Methods Used the PCR to detect the polymorphisms of ACE gene insertion/deletion (I/D) in 150 patients with CHD and 150 healthy people from Hainan Han and Li nationality respectively. Observed the genotype frequencies and allele frequencies of DD, DI and II. Specific PCR detection was performed for patients who have been determined as DD by normal PCR to reduce misclassification rate. Meanwhile detected the blood lipid, the lipoprotein, the blood pressure, the blood sugar in all people. Used the multiple regression analysis to find out the risk factor in CHD patients. Results The genotype frequencies of DD in the CHD group of Han and Li nationality are significantly higher than the control group of Han and Li (p<0.05). There were no significant differences in the genotype frequencies of DD, DI and II between the Han and Li with CHD. By the multiple regression analysis it shows: the genotype frequencies of DD in the CHD group of Han and Li nationality increased, the high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) level in the CHD group of Han and Li nationality decreased. The triglyceride (TG) level in the CHD group of Han nationality increased. Conclusions The genotype frequencies of DD are associated with CHD. The susceptibility of CHD in Han and Li nationality is the same. Increasing the HDL-C level can protect the CHD patients. The high level of TG is the independent risk factor in Hainan Han people with CHD.


ABSTRACT Irrigation using the photovoltaic water pumping (PVWP) systems represents a sustainable and attractive solution, which can combat Chinese grassland desertification and promote a sustainable development of the agricultural sector. This paper investigates the economics of PVWP systems taking into consideration the effects of the key components on the initial capital cost (ICC), life cycle cost (LCC), and revenues. Sensitivity analyses are conducted regarding the crop yield and price, cost of photovoltaic modules, and system components included in the ICC. Results show that the cost of the PVWP system is the most sensitive parameter affecting the ICC under the assumptions made, especially the cost of the PV modules; whereas, the crop production and price affect the net present value (NPV) and payback period (PBP) clearly. The PVWP has surplus power output when the crop water demand is low or it is non-irrigation season. The potential benefit from selling the surplus electricity is also discussed. In addition, the indirect benefits of carbon sequestration and CO2 emission reduction by applying PVWP systems are addressed in this paper.


Abstract This article presents a reflection on two interrelated topics: the modification of eating habits in Spain, a key aspect of everyday life, through the presence of a substantial migration movement that started in the 1990s, and the intervention of migrant workers into the food economy, particularly in rural areas with heavy agriculture development such as seen in Lleida and its surrounding towns. It will provide a reading of two recent texts (a film and a book) that engage with issues of immigration and food. Both El próximo Oriente (2006) directed by Fernando Colomo, and La pell de la frontera (2014) authored by Francesc Serés offer evidence about contemporary Spain's transformation through food. In these texts food is a powerful weapon of social and physical control, and encapsulates some of the many adjustments that have occurred in Spanish society. The kitchen, at home or in a restaurant, as a private or as a public space, becomes a setting to display the fine line between the familiar and the uncanny, between a domestic (safe) and a hostile environment.


A variety of factors can contribute to the failure of combination antiretroviral therapy to durably suppress viral replication in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Patients who have a low CD4(+) T cell count or high plasma viral load before therapy is initiated are at high risk for subsequent virological failure. Previous therapy is also a strong determinant of subsequent virological response, presumably because of pre-existing viral resistance. Drug exposure, as determined by adherence, drug absorption, and drug metabolism, has a significant impact on future long-term virological responses. Although definitive proof is lacking, some tissues may have limited drug penetration, thus allowing for ongoing viral replication. Understanding why combination therapy fails for HIV-infected patients may allow clinicians to individualize treatment strategies. Unfortunately, almost any factor (drug, host, or viral) that leads to virological failure of an initial combination regimen is likely to persist-and perhaps become more challenging-once a salvage regimen is initiated.


The literary production that flow in the newspapers of the provinces from Argentina during the end of the 19th Century and the beginning of 20th Century has been poorly studied in comparison with the literature from Buenos Aires and its zone of influence that was considered as the representative literature of Argentina. We verify this situation in the particular case of province of Tucuman: the scarce interest in the study of the feuilleton of the press and in its consideration as a literary product has made invisible this section for the critics. The present paper analyzes the contradictions in the literary critic about the newspaper serial as a place of literary production and reproduction in Tucuman in this epoch. In this paper we apply the theoretical and conceptual terms of the cultural sociology and intellectual history. The methodology of this study is to analyze the critical arguments about the existence of literary production in Tucuman in 19th Century. Our hypothesis is that exist a metropolitan center (in Buenos Aires) that establishes a literary canon, and that determines its validity for research. The position of the local researchers varies in time from a traditional attitude to the resistance.


[1] Accurate knowledge of Henry's law constants (Kaw) is very important for fate and transport studies of organic chemicals. Here field-derived Kaw values for polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners (PCBs 28, 49, 52, 118, 138, 149, and 153) were determined in the open Atlantic Ocean, at locations where air and seawater were assumed to be at equilibrium. Field-based Kaw values were derived from air and seawater samples simultaneously collected at these locations, and their relationship with temperature was determined. The average field-derived Kaw for PCBs 28, 49, 52, 118, and 138 was generally 2–3 times higher than laboratory-derived values reported in the literature. Possible causes of differences between the field and the laboratory data may be attributed to differences between pure water and seawater and the use of much higher persistent organic pollutant concentrations in laboratory studies compared to that of the remote ocean. Field-derived Kaw values for PCB 149 and PCB 153 were up to 10 times higher than literature values. The comparison of field- and laboratory-derived Kaw shows that their temperature dependence is not significantly different (95% confidence) from those reported in the literature.


There is little published data regarding the caseloads of general surgeons working in rural Australia conducting outreach services as part of their practice. It remains difficult to attract and retain surgeons in rural Australia. This study aims to describe the workload of surgeons working in a rural centre with outreach practices in order to determine the required skills mix for prospective surgeons.


Pidotimod ((R)-3-[(S)-(5-oxo-2-pyrrolidinyl) carbonyl]-thiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid, PGT/1A, CAS 121808-62-6) is a dipeptide-like molecule with immunostimulating activity in animals and in men. According to a cross-over randomized study design, 12 healthy volunteers received pidotimod both as 800 mg sachets and 800 mg ampoules after fasting and after a standard meal. The intake of a standard meal before pidotimod administration, either as sachet or as ampoule, reduced the bioavailability of the drug, probably due to an interference at the absorption level. After eating, the time of maximum plasma level was significantly longer than that observed after fasting, while AUC values and the maximum concentration were reduced by 50%. On the contrary, the pharmacokinetics after absorption phase were not influenced by food: as a matter of fact, half-life and MRT did not differ significantly when the drug was taken after fasting or after a standard meal. Finally, the two formulations used in this study resulted bioequivalent.


Background: Intestinal atresia is a common cause of neonatal intestinal obstruction. Jejunal atresia occurs more frequent than duodenal or colonic atresias while single atresias are most commonly encountered. Jejunal atresia is classified into 4 types: Type I (a mucosal/ septal), Type II (a fibrous cord/band), Type III (blind ends are entirely separated without a fibrous cord between them and a large mesenteric defect), and Type IV (combination of atresia type I to III). This study aims to elaborate jejunal atresia in the newborn after resection and end-to-end anastomoses. Case Description: We report three cases of jejunal atresia consists of different types: type IV (first case), type IIIa (second case) and type I (third case). Cases were neonates born with signs of upper gut obstruction. Bile-stained vomiting was reported a few hours after birth and failed to pass meconium in the first 24 hours. Postnatal abdominal X-ray showed dilatation of the gaster and no gas present in the pelvic floor. In the third case, it showed a triple bubble sign on abdominal x-ray and a laparotomy revealed the type of jejuno-ileal atresia. Also, the resection on the atresias and end to end anastomosis were performed. Cases were admitted to neonatal intensive care unit with total parenteral nutrition. The first two cases died due to sepsis, while the third case survived. Conclusion: Jejunal atresia is a rare disease among newborn. All of the patients have provided resection and end-to-end anastomoses, although 2 of them did not survive.


Recent theoretical work has provided major new insights into the ways that species interactions in food webs are organized in ways that permit the coexistence of significant numbers of species. But, we seem to have forgotten about trees! Not the phylogenetic ones that are increasingly important for dissecting the evolutionary structure of food webs, but the trees, shrubs and grasses that are the basal species in all terrestrial ecosystems. Many of the food webs available for analysis over the last 30 years were based on freshwater or marine systems where algae were the main plants. Trees are very different from algae; they can live for centuries, while annually producing leaves, fruits and seeds that provide nutrients for a diversity of species on higher trophic levels. In sharp contrast to algae, they are only partly consumed by herbivores and usually compensate or recover from herbivory. Most of the biomass in terrestrial systems is in the plants, this again contrasts with aquatic systems, where most of the biomass is in primary and secondary consumers. Moreover, each individual tree supports its own food web of species that are only partially coupled to those of surrounding trees. If we are going to apply our theoretical understanding of food-web structure to species-rich terrestrial ecosystems in ways that are insightful for conservation, then we need a deeper examination of the role that higher plants play in food webs. While community ecology has developed an increasingly detailed understanding of the ways plant communities are organized, this seems to have evolved almost independently of the food-web literature. In this article, we make a plea to more sharply consider higher plants in food webs and to do this by combining recent theoretical work on food webs, with recent empirical and theoretical work on plant communities. Ultimately, we argue for a deeper integration of plant community ecology into studies of food webs.


Repeat photographs of Cordillera Blanca glaciers, taken by the 1932, 1936, and 1939 climbing and cartographic expeditions of the Deutscher und Osterreichischer Alpenverein (DuOAV or German and Austrian Alpine Association), illustrate the significant retreat of glacial ice and the growth of glacial lakes that has occurred during the past 80 years. As predictive modeling and remote sensing technologies become more sophisticated with each passing year, it is suggested that repeat photography can nevertheless complement these methods by providing a range of fieldbased historic, educational, and community involvement tools. It is also suggested that repeat photography will most likely remain a valuable research method in the decades to come as the oblique photographic database increases, and as new generations of physical and social scientists take to the field in pursuit of enhanced understandings of the high mountain world.


In pursuit of a more robust provenance in the field of species distribution modelling, an extensive
literature search was undertaken to find the typical default values, and the range of values, for configuration
settings of a number of the most commonly used statistical algorithms available for constructing species
distribution models (SDM), as implemented in the R script packages (such as Dismo and Biomod2) or other
species distribution modelling programs like Maxent. We found that documentation of SDM algorithm
configuration option settings in the SDM literature is very uncommon, and the justifications for these settings
were minimal, when present. Such settings were often the R default values, or were the result of trial and error.
This is potentially concerning for a number of reasons; it detracts from the robustness of the provenance for
such SDM studies; a lack of documentation of configuration option settings in a paper prevents the replication
of an experiment, which contravenes one of the main tenets of the scientific method. Inappropriate or
uninformed configuration option settings are particularly concerning if they represent a poorly understood
ecological variable or process, and if the algorithm is sensitive to such settings; this could result in erroneous
and/or unrealistic SDMs.
We test the sensitivity of two commonly used SDM algorithms to variation in configuration options settings:
Random Forests and Boosted Regression Trees. A process of expert elicitation was used to derive a range of
appropriate values with which to test the sensitivity of our algorithms. We chose to use species occurrence
records for the Koala (Phascolartos cinereus) for our sensitivity tests, since the species has a well known
distribution. Results were assessed by comparing the geospatial distribution from each sensitivity test (i.e.
altered-settings) SDM for differences compared to the control SDM (i.e. default settings), using geographical
information systems (QGIS). In addition, two performance measures were used to compare differences among
the altered-setting SDMs to the control. The aim of our study was to be able to draw conclusions as to how
reliable reported SDM results may be in light of the sensitivity of their algorithms to certain settings, given the
often arbitrary nature of such settings, and the lack of awareness of, and/or attendance to this issue in most of
the published SDM literature. Our results indicate that all two algorithms tested showed sensitivity to alternate
values for some of their settings. Therefore this study has showed that the choice of configuration option
settings in Random Forests and Boosted Regression Trees has an impact on the results, and that assigning
suitable values for these settings is a relevant consideration and as such should be always published along with
the model.


A 55-year-old Japanese female with no family history of neurological disease showed gait disturbance with rigidity and resting tremor. She was initially diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, but neither laterality of symptoms nor levodopa benefit were observed. The parkinsonism and gait freezing progressed unusually slowly and she experienced frequent falls 17 years after the onset of symptoms. When neurologic examination revealed vertical gaze palsy, masked face, bradykinesia and dominant axial rigidity, the diagnosis was modified to progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). Retrocollis, grasp reflex, and bilateral Babinski's sign developed, but resting tremor disappeared. Gastrostomy was performed 22 years after onset, after which she was still capable of walking with assistance. Tracheotomy was not performed. The patient died of an acute subarachnoid hemorrhage 24 years after onset at the age of 79. On autopsy, the brain weighed 1,050 g and showed frontal lobe atrophy. Coronal cerebral slices showed atrophy of the globus pallidus and subthalamic nucleus. Tegmental atrophy of the brainstem and depigmentation of the substantia nigra were observed. Neuropathologic examination showed severe neuron loss with gliosis in the globus pallidus, subthalamic nucleus, substantia nigra, and tegmentum of the brainstem. The Purkinje neuron layer and cerebellar dentate nucleus showed mild neuron loss. Globose-type neurofibrillary tangles were widespread, particularly in the globus pallidus, subthalamic nucleus, substantia nigra, nucleus of oculomotor nerve, locus ceruleus, and cerebellar dentate nucleus. Glial fibrillary tangles (coiled body and tuft-shaped astrocyte) and argyrophilic threads were also widespread, particularly in the frontal lobe and basal ganglia. Lewy bodies were not observed. Although, the pathologic findings were consistent with PSP, Gallyas-positive and tau-positive structures were generally small in number. According to the clinicopathological findings, we speculate that this case showed a distinct subtype of PSP with a slowly progressive clinical course and generally mild tau deposition.


The light field is a four-dimensional function representing radiance along rays. By inserting a microlens array into the optical train of an ordinary microscope, we can record these light fields. From these we can generate perspective views, refocused images, focal stacks, and volume data. Inserting a similar array into a microscope's illumination path, we can control the light falling on a specimen in space and angle. This control can be used to simulate exotic microscope illumination modalities, to increase the contrast of ordinary fluorescence microscopy, and to correct digitally for optical aberrations in a microscope imaging system.


Railway infrastructure is a nonlinear complex system as witnessed by its actual behaviors, geometry and alignment, wheel-rail contact and operational parameters such as tractive efforts. It generally experiences harsh dynamic load conditions due to train-track interactions. In addition, ballast pressure and its degradation will cause differential settlement, resulting in further aggravated impact forces acting on partial and unsupported tracks. Especially at switch and crossing areas, the aggressive dynamic train-turnout interaction often damages the supporting components such as turnout bearers and fastening systems. This study pre-sents a nonlinear finite element model of a standard-gauge concrete bearer in a turnout system, taking into account the nonlinear tensionless nature of ballast support. The finite element model was verified using static and dynamic measures from in laboratory and in the field. In this paper, the dynamic effects of topologic asymmetry on both dynamic sagging and hogging behaviours of sleepers under a wheelset's impulse loading are firstly highlighted. In addition, it is the first to demonstrate the dual-wheel effects of asymmetrical length on the nonlinear dynamic behaviour of the turnout bearers when the wheel running over the crossing nose. It would be naively thought that a failure of a single bearer or sleeper would not affect train operations; indeed, historical findings shows that such the failure at critical locations (e.g. at crossing panel, joints/welds, misaligned track, location with rail foot damage, and many more) could give rise to crossing nose damage, broken rail, broken joints, bowed ba-seplates, broken bolts, and so on. The outcome of this study is very critical to public safety and will improve the insight into structural damage and predictive condition-based track maintenance. It will help track engineers to appropriately adjust support profile and develop solution in order to mitigate excessive bearer/ballast interaction.


Attitudes directed at people with disabilities by people without disabilities are formed through encounters with people with disabilities and are mediated by the characteristics of each person and what occurs during their interactions. Disability simulation activities are used to help positively affect people's attitudes and levels of empathy. The purpose of this study was to examine 10 participants' changes in attitudes toward people with disabilities that occurred as a result of participating in disability simulation activities held during an inclusive recreation services study abroad program. A three-phase mixed-methods research design that included the use of transformative procedures was used. The social model of disability served as the theoretical lens for this study. The quantitative component involved the administration of two scales pre- and post-test: The Attitudes Toward Disabled Persons (ATDP) scale and the Multidimensional Attitudes Scale Toward Persons with Disabilities (MAS) scale. Quantitative results indicated that participants' experienced positive attitude changes in 12 of the 16 emotions as measured on the MAS and four emotions as measured on the ATDP. Statistical significance was not found for the other examined emotions. Qualitative data were collected using an in-depth thematic analysis of verbal and behavioral responses to participants' responses to participation in extensive disability simulation activities. Qualitative results showed that the participants transitioned from a sympathetic response to an empathetic response, and then to an advocacy response. This transition demonstrated the potential for the emergence of a model specific to guiding participants through disability simulation activities. Suggestions for research and for facilitating effective disability simulation activities within or outside of recreational therapy practice are presented. Subscribe to TRJ


Offshore oil and platforms are found on continental shelves throughout the world's oceans. Over the course of their decades-long life-spans, these platforms become ecologically important artificial reefs, supporting a variety of marine life. When offshore platforms are no longer active they are decommissioned, which usually requires the removal of the entire platform from the marine environment, destroying the artificial reef that has been created and potentially resulting in the loss of important ecosystem services. While some countries allow for these platforms to be converted into artificial reefs under Rigs-to-Reefs programs, they face significant resistance from various stakeholders. The presence of offshore platforms and the associated marine life alters the ecosystem from that which existed prior to the installation of the platform, and there may be factors which make restoration of the ecosystem unfeasible or even detrimental to the environment. In these cases, a novel ecosystem has emerged with potentially significant ecological value. In restoration ecology, ecosystems altered in this way can be classified and managed using the novel ecosystems concept, which recognises the value of the new ecosystem functions and services and allows for the ecosystem to be managed in its novel state, instead of being restored. Offshore platforms can be assessed under the novel ecosystems concept using existing decommissioning decision analysis models as a base. With thousands of platforms to be decommissioned around the world in coming decades, the novel ecosystems concept provides a mechanism for recognising the ecological role played by offshore platforms.


Cyberculture (or net culture) is growing and becoming increasingly rich and manifold, and is consequently an obvious field for studies of communication, social action, genre etc. However, when doing Internet research the researcher has to cope with a technology that is developing fast and making new, unpredicted things possible. It's also true that not all ordinary net users, particularly not children and youths, are concerned about the dangers on the net, like privacy matters, and many slightly illegal activities are going on (such as the transfer of copyright music). The existing rules and guidelines for doing net research therefore tend to be very restrictive, to the degree vast fields of human activities are closed to research. But society needs to know what is going on in cyberculture, and research is therefore necessary. I consquently argue for the need for net-ethical principles that will include the researcher as a 'natural' participant in cyberculture. Research should definitely not intimidate net users and reduce the net's liberating potential, but net users should be aware of the open nature of the net. This is a double challenge that should be faced in developing net-ethics for both users and researchers. Neither of them can survey all technological possible consequences already existing or approaching, but like in society at large, they can find regulations that are tolerable and beneficial to society. The first principle I propose concerns the user's self-decision, his autonomy, and hence the need for informed consent for doing research on his or her texts. But this should be balanced with a principle of development where the judgement of the researcher and the technological development is taken into consideration. Not all research without consent violates autonomy in an unacceptable way. All net users should be aware that privacy on the net is always a quasi-privacy, because the net is an enormous system of computers and people woven together.


BACKGROUND
More than 200,000 individuals worldwide have received a cochlear implant (CI). Social media Websites may provide a paramedical community for those who possess or are interested in a CI. The utilization patterns of social media by the CI community, however, have not been thoroughly investigated.

PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to investigate participation of the CI community in social media Websites.

RESEARCH DESIGN
We conducted a systematic survey of online CI-related social media sources. Using standard search engines, the search terms cochlear implant, auditory implant, forum, and blog identified relevant social media platforms and Websites. Social media participation was quantified by indices of membership and posts.

STUDY SAMPLE
Social media sources included Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs, and online forums. Each source was assigned one of six functional categories based on its description.

INTERVENTION
No intervention was performed.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
We conducted all online searches in February 2014. Total counts of each CI-related social media source were summed, and descriptive statistics were calculated.

RESULTS
More than 350 sources were identified, including 60 Facebook groups, 36 Facebook pages, 48 Twitter accounts, 121 YouTube videos, 13 forums, and 95 blogs. The most active online communities were Twitter accounts, which totaled 35,577 members, and Facebook groups, which totaled 17,971 members. CI users participated in Facebook groups primarily for general information/support (68%). Online forums were the next most active online communities by membership. The largest forum contained approximately 9,500 topics with roughly 127,000 posts. CI users primarily shared personal stories through blogs (92%), Twitter (71%), and YouTube (62%).

CONCLUSIONS
The CI community engages in the use of a wide range of online social media sources. The CI community uses social media for support, advocacy, rehabilitation information, research endeavors, and sharing of personal experiences. Future studies are needed to investigate how social media Websites may be harnessed to improve patient-provider relationships and potentially used to augment patient education.


▪ Abstract  CP violation plays a privileged role in our quest for new physics beyond the electroweak standard model. In the standard model, the violation of CP in the weak interactions has a single source: the phase of the quark mixing matrix (the CKM matrix, for Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa). Most extensions of the standard model exhibit new sources of CP violation. For instance, the truly minimal supersymmetric extension of the standard model has two new phases in addition to the CKM phase. Given that CP violation is so tiny in the kaon system, is still largely unexplored in B physics, and is negligibly small in the electric dipole moments, it is clear that new physics may have a good chance to manifest some departure from the standard model in this particularly challenging class of rare phenomena. On the other hand, it is also apparent that CP violation generally represents a major constraint on any attempt at model building beyond the standard model. In this review, we tackle these two sides of the relation between CP violation and new physics. Our focus will be on the potentialities to use CP violation as a probe on supersymmetric (SUSY) extensions of the standard model. We wish to clarify the extent to which such indirect signals for SUSY are linked to a fundamental theoretical issue: Is there a relation between the mechanism that originates the whole flavor structure and the mechanism that is responsible for the breaking of supersymmetry? Different ways to answer this question lead to quite different expectations for CP violation in B physics.


This study examined ethnic differences in the use of pain descriptors, comparing standardized pain assessment data from African American and European American patients with heterogeneous chronic pain syndromes. The measure was the Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ) including the embedded Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Exploratory factor analyses of SF-MPQ data identified differences in factor structure with the VAS loading on a different factor for each group. A 5-factor solution was obtained from the African American group and a 4-factor solution was obtained from the European American group. There was little overlap in the pattern matrices for African American and European American groups. Results suggest that the VAS is as sensitive to ethnic differences as other traditional pain measures.


Knowledge-aware methods have boosted a range of Natural Language Processing applications over the last decades. With the gathered momentum, knowledge recently has been pumped into enormous attention in document summarization research. Previous works proved that knowledge-embedded document summarizers excel at generating superior di-gests, especially in terms of informativeness, coherence, and fact consistency. This paper pursues to present the first systematic survey for the state-of-the-art methodologies that embed knowledge into document summarizers. Particularly, we propose novel taxonomies to recapitulate knowledge and knowledge embeddings under the document summarization view. We further explore how embeddings are generated in learning architectures of document summarization models, especially in deep learning models. At last, we discuss the challenges of this topic and future directions.


We consider a setting in which an agent seeks nancing for a project with uncertain cash o ws. There is both a moral hazard problem: the agent can divert cash for personal consumption, and an adverse selection problem: the investors are initially uncertain about the type of the project. The nancing contract must solve the agency problem and be attractive only to agents with a good project. We nd that optimal contracts exhibit increasing nancial exibilit y over time after good performance. Such contracts can be implemented by a credit line agreement, with a credit limit that increases with good performance.


BACKGROUND
Family occurrence ranks belong the factors followed in etiology and pathogenesis of germ-cell tumours of the testis. Its association with abnormal testicular development, respectively with other risk factors is relatively frequent.

OBJECTIVES
The aim of this study was to indicate this coherence by means of case histories of author's patients and to propose further procedures.

METHODS AND RESULTS
There were 535 patients treated for testicular cancer in the period of 1982-1994. Family occurrence was observed in 6 cases (1.12%), most frequently incombination with maldescensus testis. Individual families were analysed in detail, including HLA typization. Bilaterality of testicular cancer was observed in two brothers who were HLA identical. Other two brothers had the history of bilateral maldescensus testis, one of whom was subdued to bilateral orchiectomy in childhood, the other at the age of 16, a tumour in one testicle following orchidopexy performed in childhood. The history of maldesensus testis was observed in four members of another family, two of whom developed tumours. CONCLUSIONS AND MEANING FOR PRACTICE: Authors recommend supplementation of the initial examination of each patient with suspective testicular cancer with detailed family history aim at the occurrence of urogenital anomalies and tumours. General knowledge of the first-degree relatives about the possibility of family occurrence of tumours, and instructions for testicular self-examination are considered as the most suitable method from the stand point of secondary prevention. (Ref. 21.)


Since pandemic era, global frozen food consumption increased as followed by the year 2019 USD 29.9 million (2019), USD 32.26 million (2020), and USD 33 million (2021), respectively (USDA 2022). In Indonesia, meat processed frozen food like sausage still dominated in the market. Healthier food nowadays was an issue that need to be considered. So that, in sausage filler agent such as tapioka flour could be replaced with garut flour that heathier and easy to digest but it still needed to research about physical and organoleptik characteristic of garut flour in sausage. Sausage was made according to the following steps: grinding, mixing & emulsifying, stuffing, steaming & smoking, and storing. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used in this research with different comparison of garut flour to tapioka flour, P1 (100% Tapioca flour), P2 (90% Tapioca flour and 10% garut flour), P3 (80% Tapioca flour and 20% garut flour), P4 (70% Tapioca flour and 30% garut flour), and P5 (60% Tapioca flour and 40% garut flour). Organoleptik data were analyses using Kruskal-Wallis. Result showed no significant difference (P>0.05) on hardness, elasticity, pH and a w . Organoleptic results showed no significant difference in hedonic and hedonic quality test for colour, aroma and texture. But it showed significant difference (P<0.05) in taste for hedonic quality test. In taste P2&P4 showed significant difference to P3&P5.


Increasing charge storage and fast charging capability has been a long-standing challenge for supercapacitors. In this study, a novel, facile high isostatic pressing-assisted nanocasting method was developed to produce zeolite templated carbon (ZTC) with excellent supercapacitance performances. There is a strong positive correlation between the isostatic pressure imposed on the carbon source and the surface area, nitrogen doping and electrochemical properties of the ZTC material. Consequently, the ZTC-P300 (300 MPa pressure denoted as P300, which is the maximum operation pressure) electrode with a narrowly distributed interconnected micropore channel system shows the best supercapacitor performance, i.e. remarkable specific capacitance of 253 F g−1 (areal capacitance: 759 mF cm−2) at a current density of 1.25 A g−1 in 6 M KOH electrolyte, high charging capability of 163.5 F g−1 at an ultrahigh current density of 62.5 A g−1, excellent cycling stability with only 5% loss in capacitance after 10 000 cycles (at 5 A g−1), and relatively high energy density of 7.5 W h kg−1 at a power density of 625 W kg−1. Its outstanding capacitive performance is attributed to its high large surface area (2169 m2 g−1), proper pore size (average pore size of 1.2 nm), and high content of doped nitrogen (6.27%). Significantly, the electrochemical analyses show that the ZTC porous structure containing optimum micropores allows efficient ion diffusion and charge transfer, resulting in an excellent energy storage performance and rate capability.


The aim of this research was to evaluate different methods of preservation for actinobacteria with phosphate solubilization activity due to there are a few specific methods reported for these organisms. The methods were evaluated at three different time periods; long, medium and short-term and employing methods as cryopreservation and dry-freezing; clay, silica and sand; and periodically plating, respectively. Therefore 15 isolates from 3 different locations (La Vega, Mani and Tota) and a bank reference from Livestock Research Unit of the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana were used. All inocula were prepared in 0.85% saline solution (w/v) which were adjusted to a concentration of 10 8 cells/mL, followed each vial was inoculated with their respective storage cryoprotectants , glycerol 20% (v/v), 30% (v/v) to freeze and 18% skim milk (w/v) for dry-freezing. Medium-term methods were performed similarly; the inoculum was added to 10 clay beads, 10 g of sand and 5 g of silica and then stored at 4 °C. The short-term method was evaluated in oatmeal agar (15 g/L). The evaluation was performed by direct counting in a Neubauer chamberusing trypan blue staining technique, in addition to macroscopic and microscopic characterization of each isolate in periodic plating. It was established that the phosphorus solubilizing activity was more stable in glycerol 30% (w/v) and lyophilization for statistical analysis. Keywords: Viability; cryoprotectants; bank; dry-freezing; cryopreservation.


With its cool climate, Finland has a lower prevalence of fungal infections than many other European countries that have hosted the annual congress of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. However, changing patterns of infection and drug resistance, and their impact on treatment decisions, are as important to Nordic infectious disease specialists as to their colleagues in warmer countries. Similarly, developments in diagnostic techniques that enable fungal invasion to be identified before there is clinical evidence of infection will be a major step forward for physicians wherever they practise. It should therefore come as no surprise that this year's European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases was as well attended as previous meetings, with over 8000 participants arriving from all parts of Europe.


The purpose of this research is to investigate and analyze food allergy labelling for the arrangement of improvement plans. Survey was done as a quantitative research targeting food industry employees with 399 random workers in Seoul and Gyonggi area. The data was analyzed using SPSS windows (ver. 12.0) for frequency analysis, t-test and factor analysis. The importance and performance of the food allergen labelling were divided by 15 items. Only 43.1% of the workers understood the operation allergic food labels. The first improvement on allergic food labels was "using boldface for food allergen labes". The importance of all of these factors was significantly higher than performance. The selection attributes with relatively low the performance but high importance(2 quadrant) were" consumer education for allergic food labels" and "training of professional counselors on food allergy". Therefore, the factors to be improved through the IPA were consumer education and training of professional counselors. With this research and extended efforts for revision of laws, reliability of food industry and accuracy of food labelling would improve, thereby boosting the productive·commercial activities in labelling code.


Problem Rivers-West Conference of Seventh-day Adventist Church, like most Seventh-day Adventist Conferences in Nigeria, is growing at 1% (GC Statistics 2020) while the population of Nigeria is growing at 2.5% (The World Bank Data, 2021). The local Adventist church membership growth is not matching the country's population growth when compared to the obvious spontaneous growth of other Christian churches like the Redeem Christian Church of God (RCCG) which began thirty-eight years after the advent of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Nigeria; they have about twenty thousand (20,000) churches (History and Growth of RCCG, 2014) while the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Nigeria has two thousand seven hundred and ninety four (2,794) churches in 2021 (GC Annual Report 2021). A major contributing factor is the Conference's lack of a strategy for planting churches. Method Under the author's leadership, and the support of the Conference, a vision for church planting, as well as a strategy for accomplishing this vision, was developed. Volunteers, which composed the church-planting team were drawn from the Conference in 2019 for this mission endeavor. These volunteers were inspired and trained to become missionaries for this enterprise. At the conclusion of the project, 17 people from the church planting team were given questionnaires to evaluate the outcome of the church planting project and their spiritual growth and maturation over the course of the process. Result In the Rivers-West Conference of Seventh-day Adventist Church, a church was planted at Anyu in the Odul clan of Abua/Odual Local Government Area, Rivers State, Nigeria. Volunteers chosen from different parts of the Conference reported a greater awareness of the secrets for success in church planting. These success secrets include: (a) creating a mindset for pioneering mission among the members and within the conference, (b) longer-term planning, and training of volunteers, (c) creating a process for volunteers working in the church plant effort to grow and become mature disciples, and (d) recruiting participants who understand the language and the culture. Finally, the need to plant more churches and recruit volunteers for future church planting efforts was noted. Conclusions From the Conference's perspective, the volunteer's feedback, and the author's experience and engagement with this church-planting project, it was demonstrated that a combination of vision, strategy, planning, training, and perseverance resulted in a significant impact upon Anyu, Nigeria. Further, some volunteers developed a stronger drive for future church planting. But, most compelling, was the demonstration of how essential revival is, and complete reliance on the Holy Spirit. Further, research on integrating a deeper discipleship model with the volunteers and those who formed the new church plant is recommended.


The aim of this paper is to present the possibilities and purposefulness of the application of fuzzy set theory to the valuation of real options. Owing to temporal fluctuations in the market, some input parameters in a model of a real option cannot always be expressed in a precise sense. Therefore, it is natural to consider them as a fuzzy numbers. Such an approach allows us to keep more information about the possible value of real options. A hybrid (fuzzy-stochastic) model for valuing a switch option is presented. Under these assumptions, the value of a switch option will be a fuzzy random set. This article assesses the incremental benefit of product switch options in steel plant projects. Such options are valued by Monte Carlo simulation and modelling the prices of and demand for steel products using fuzzy geometric Brownian motion. Finally, the value of a product switch option is defined by the upper and lower probability distribution function


How much carbon is stored in the organic soils of tropical wetlands is becoming an important question as erosion, agriculture, and global climate change slowly set into motion a series of processes that could potentially release carbon locked up in these wetlands. In a recent study, Glaser et al. reconstructed a complete, carbon-14 dated 4000-year history of both organic and inorganic matter accumulation in the Everglades of south Florida. The authors found that despite the fact that erosion, fires, and similar processes may have removed as much as 2 meters of soil from the Everglades, there is a remarkable consistency in the accumulation rates of both organic and inorganic matter in the Everglades over the past 4000 years. They speculate that processes such as sea level rise that operate on time scales of centuries or even millennia may be ultimately controlling the rates of formation and accumulation of organic matter in the Everglades.


One series of data comprising the present J, H, K broadband IR photometry of the cataclysmic binary system U Geminorum over the course of two orbital cycles was obtained several days before an outburst, while a second was gathered when the system had almost completely returned to quiescence from that outburst. In quiescence, the M4-M5.5 red dwarf star supplies most of the IR luminosity of the system, while the light curves at this time are tidally induced ellipsoidal variations of the red dwarf which exhibit an amplitude such that the red dwarf must fill, or nearly fill, its Roche lobe. This shows directly that Roche lobe overflow is important in cataclysmic variable stars. The range of the disk IR colors after outbursts suggest that cool and optically thick gas, together with optically thin gas, supply most of the IR light of the disk.


Stochastic settings differ from deterministic ones in many subtle ways, making it easy to slip into errors through applying deterministic thinking inappropriately. We suspect this is the cause of much of the disagreement about model validation. A further technical issue is a common misapplication of cross‐validation, in which it is applied only partially, leading to incorrect results. Statistical theory and empirical investigation verify the efficacy of cross‐validation when it is applied correctly. In settings where data are relatively scarce, cross‐validation is attractive in that it makes the maximum possible use of all available information, at the cost of potentially substantial computation. The bootstrap is another method that makes full use of all available data for both model fitting and model validation, at a cost of substantially increased computation, and it shares many of the broad philosophical background of cross‐validation. Increasingly, the computational cost of these methods is not a major concern, leading to the recommendation, in most circumstances, to use cross‐validation or bootstrapping rather than the earlier standard method of splitting the available data into a learning and a testing portion. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Plasmodium vivax, the most widespread species of human malaria parasite responsible for 70–80 million cases each year requires a vaccine. In recent years, many potential vaccine candidate antigens have been identified from P. vivax including PvTRAg. We describe here cellular immune response to recombinant PvTRAg expressed in Escherichia coli. The in vitro stimulation of PBMCs derived from P. vivax‐exposed individuals (n = 16) showed strong proliferative response (SI > 2·2) to PvTRAg as compared to PBMCs from normal healthy controls (n = 8). Although both Th1 (IFN‐γ, TNF‐α and IL‐12) and Th2 (IL‐4 and IL‐10) cytokines were secreted by the PBMCs of the P. vivax‐exposed individuals in response to PvTRAg, the overall response was more inclined towards Th2. In conclusion, recombinant PvTRAg was found to elicit strong cellular immune response among the P. vivax‐exposed individuals.


Few methods are available for measurement of muscle strength during physical activities. This study addresses the validity of estimating the force of the quadriceps femoris during the forward lunge and squat carried out by 18 healthy men. Data were collected by the utilization of a musculoskeletal model through computer simulation. From the electromyographic (EMG) recordings of the vasti medialis (VM) and lateralis (VL) and rectus femoris (RF) muscles a correlation coefficient (r) was calculated between the estimated value for the muscle force and the root mean square (RMS) value. The median r for VM and VL was found to exceed 0.65 during the flexion and extension phases of forward lunge and below 0.44 for VM and VL during squat for the same phases. For RF, the median r for both tasks was below 0.39 except during the flexion phase of squat. The coefficient of the similarity in the EMG patterns exceeded 0.93 between the estimated muscle force and EMG RMS for both the forward lunge and squat. The value of the estimated muscle force for RF in these 2 tasks was found to be very small. The results show that the musculoskeletal model can be considered a valid measure for estimating muscle force.


The present study analyzed the predictive power of lateralized cortico-electrical patterns (measured by EEG) and arousal (measured by Galvanic Skin Conductance) on performance during a visuo-spatial, motor-response task. The task was a videogame specifically designed to induce flow based on the criteria for flow state established by Csikszentmihalyi (1999). Specifically, alpha activity (8-12Hz) and delta activity (1-4Hz) in the temporal lobes, and skin conductance were examined as predictors of improved performance on the videogame. A regression analysis of the data found that greater left temporal alpha activity, compared to that of the right temporal lobe, was a positive predictor of performance. No significant results were found regarding delta activity, however skin conductance was found to positively correlate with performance. Surprisingly, theta activity (4-8Hz) and mid beta activity (16-20Hz) were also found to have a main effect on performance.


Recent progress in fingerprint reconstruction has shown that most of the fingerprint information can be restored using only the minutia set. During the reconstruction procedures, orientation field reconstruction is a critical step. Proposed is a Gaussian weighted method for fingerprint orientation field reconstruction from the minutia template only. In the method, prior information about ridge flow characteristics is considered to more accurately model the ridge orientation. Experimental results show that our method can obtain an accurate orientation field in terms of the accuracy of the orientation field based fingerprint classification and the performance of the orientation descriptor based fingerprint matching.


This is an important book offering a wealth of new information on Latino access to equal educational opportunities. Meier and Stewart analyze the quality of education for Latino children in 142 school districts with at least 5% Spanish-surname enrollment from 1971 to 1986. Most of the data for this study is taken from Mexican-American school districts, with some compar- ative data on Puerto Ricans in the Northeast and Cubans in Florida.


A new series of benzotriazole moiety bearing substituted imidazol-2-thiones at N1 has been designed, synthesized and evaluated for in vitro anticancer activity against the different cancer cell lines MCF-7(breast cancer), HL-60 (Human promyelocytic leukemia), and HCT-116 (colon cancer). Most of the benzotriazole analogues exhibited promising antiproliferative activity against tested cancer cell lines. Among all the synthesized compounds, BI9 showed potent activity against the cancer cell lines such as MCF-7, HL-60 and HCT-116 with IC50 3.57, 0.40 and 2.63 µM, respectively. Compound BI9 was taken up for elaborate biological studies and the HL-60 cells in the cell cycle were arrested in G2/M phase. Compound BI9 showed remarkable inhibition of tubulin polymerization with the colchicine binding site of tubulin. In addition, compound BI9 promoted apoptosis by regulating the expression of pro-apoptotic protein BAX and anti-apoptotic proteins Bcl-2. These results provide guidance for further rational development of potent tubulin polymerization inhibitors for the treatment of cancer.


Purpose To reduce lung cancer mortality, lung cancer screening was recommended using low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) to high-risk population. A protocol for multicenter lung cancer screening pilot project was developed to evaluate the effectiveness and feasibility of lung cancer screening to implement National Cancer Screening Program in Korea. Materials and Methods Multidisciplinary expert committee was comprised to develop a standardized protocol for Korean Lung Cancer Screening Project (K-LUCAS). K-LUCAS is a population-based single arm trial that targets high-risk population aged 55-74 years with at least 30 pack-year smoking history. LDCT results are reported by Lung-RADS suggested by American Radiology Society. Network-based system using computer-aided detection program is prepared to assist reducing diagnostic errors. Smoking cessation counselling is provided to all currently smoking participants. A small pilot test was conducted to check the feasibility and compliance of the protocols for K-LUCAS. Results In pilot test, 256 were participated. The average age of participants was 63.2 years and only three participants (1.2%) were female. The participants had a smoking history of 40.5 pack-year on average and 53.9% were current smokers. Among them, 86.3% had willing to participate in lung cancer screening again. The average willingness to quit smoking among current smokers was 12.7% higher than before screening. In Lung-RADS reports, 10 (3.9%) were grade 3 and nine (3.5%) were grade 4. One participant was diagnosed as lung cancer. Conclusion The protocol developed by this study is assessed to be feasible to perform K-LUCAS in multicenter nationwide scale.


Background and Objectives: It is generally accepted that the highest cost in software development is associated with the software maintenance phase. In corrective maintenance, the main task is correcting the bugs found by the users. These bugs are submitted by the users to a Bug Tracking System (BTS). The bugs are evaluated by the bug triager and assigned to the developers to correct them. To find a related developer to correct the bug, recent developers' activities and previous bug fixes must be examined. This paper presents an automated method to assign bugs to developers by identifying similarity between new bugs and previously reported bug reports. Methods: For automatic bug assignment, four clustering techniques (i.e. Expectation-Maximization (EM), Farthest First, Hierarchical Clustering, and Simple Kmeans) are used where a tag is created for each cluster that indicates an associated developer for bug correction. To evaluate the quality of the proposed methods, the clusters generated by the methods are compared with the labels suggested by an expert triager. Results: To evaluate the performance of the proposed method, we use real-world data of a large scale web-based system which is stored in the BTS of a software company. To select the appropriate algorithm for the clustering, the outputs of each clustering algorithm are compared to the labels suggested by the expert triager. The algorithm with closer output to the expert opinion is selected as the best algorithm. The results showed that EM and FarthestFirst clustering algorithms with 3% similarity error have the most similarity with the expert opinion. Conclusion: the results obtained by the algorithms show that we can successfully apply them for bug assignment in real-world software development environments.======================================================================================================Copyrights©2020 The author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, as long as the original authors and source are cited. No permission is required from the authors or the publishers.======================================================================================================


Before the development of purified insulin in the 1970s, lipoatrophy was a common complication of insulin therapy (1,2). With the arrival of human insulin, lipoatrophy has decreased dramatically, becoming a rare problem in clinical practice. Lipoatrophies are considered an adverse immunological side effect of insulin therapy, and in some cases they are mediated by a local high production of tumor necrosis factor-α, which leads to a dedifferentiation of adipocytes in the subcutaneous tissue. The treatment with corticosteroids is useful because of its immunomodulating properties and also because it is able to produce a differentiation of adipocytes (2–4).

In most reported cases of insulin-induced lipoatrophies, there were attempts of changing the injection areas without any evidence of improvement (5–8). Kumar et al. (9) in a single-blind study used small amounts of dexamethasone, adding 4 μg/unit to insulin injections, in nine patients with marked lipoatrophy in both thighs. A mix of insulin and dexamethasone was injected into one thigh and insulin without dexamethasone was injected into the other. This way, each patient was her own control subject. Six patients showed significant improvement. None used …


Tensile tests and detailed microstructure observation were performed for Al–7%Si–0.4%Mg alloy castings with systematically controlled microstructure. The semi-liquid die-cast alloy showed improved ductility compared to the cast alloys exhibiting ordinary dendrite structure. The microstructure of the alloy was characterized by colonies consisting of single or several globular dendrite cells. The EBSP analysis and slip line observation have revealed that the misorientation among these colonies are large and so they can be recognized as "effective grains". Presence of refined effective grains reduces stress concentration at the grain boundaries and prevents the localized crack formation during tensile deformation. This is considered to be the origin of the improved ductility in the semi-liquid die-cast alloy.


The purpose of this study was to determine the market segmentation X Hospital so as to determine the focus of the marketing will be done. The market segmentation is important to understand the hospital's target market. The aim of implement hospitals market segmentation is to focus more on marketing in order to set priorities in serving patients optimally. Market segmentation has not been analyzed and documented. The market segmentation is done by classifying patients based on geographic segmentation, demographic, psychographic and behavioral patient's identity using the form contained in the registration section. Data inputted using a computer program to obtain a predetermined percentage segmentation then analyzed.


Distributed control of modular multilevel converter (MMC) submodules (SMs) offers several potential benefits such as flexibility, scalability, and modularity. In this approach, low-level control tasks, such as capacitor voltage balancing, can be distributed amongst controllers placed in the SMs. This decreases the computational burden for the central control system that performs high-level control tasks; also, a single point of failure is avoided. Distributed control architecture requires a cyber-physical network (CFN) through which local controllers share all the information necessary to perform their respective control loops. To date, none of the reported works in this field have paid attention to potential imperfections in the CFN. Indeed, previous works are based on the assumption that the network always provides correct information to the local controllers. However, erroneous measurements in the CFN may degrade the distributed control scheme operation, leading to suboptimal or even unstable operation. These events can occur in the presence of cyberattacks, for example, which can be created through illegitimate data intrusion into the distributed control architectures. This article is the first to investigate the impacts of cyberattacks on distributed control schemes used in MMCs. The effects of a specific cyberattack, named false data injection attack (FDIA), on a consensus-based distributed control strategy are studied in this article. Additionally, a method for detecting FDIAs is proposed, along with a countermeasure strategy, to ensure the safe operation of the MMC, while the attack is cleared. The proposals reported in this article are validated using simulation and experimental results.


Bokbunja (wild raspberry) seed waste from the Bokbunja wine industry is a serious environmental problem due to the increasing popularity of Bokbunja wines in recent years. In the present study, Bokbunja seeds were carbonized and used as an adsorbent for the removal of Procion Red MX-5B. A batch of carbon was further treated with n-hexane to remove excess seed oil and used separately as an adsorbent for comparison. There was a slight variation in the adsorption capacities of n-hexane untreated (HUTC) and n-hexane treated carbon (HTC). The adsorption capacities predicted by the Langmuir isotherm were 29.37 and 30.65 mg/g for HUTC and HTC, respectively. The adsorption was found to be dependant on initial pH, contact time and initial dye concentration. The dye removal rates were higher at pH 2, while equilibrium time was achieved at 120 min. Kinetic studies showed a pseudo-first-order rate of adsorption. The results show that Bokbunja carbon could be used as a potential adsorbent for dye removal from wastewaters.


Frame semantics-based approaches have been widely used in semantic parsing tasks and have become mainstream. It remains challenging to disambiguate frame representations evoked by target lexical units under different contexts. Pre-trained Language Models (PLMs) have been used in semantic parsing and significantly improve the accuracy of neural parsers. However, the PLMs-based approaches tend to favor collocated patterns presented in the training data, leading to inaccurate outcomes. The intuition here is to design a mechanism to optimally use knowledge captured in semantic frames in conjunction with PLMs to disambiguate frames. We propose a novel Knowledge-Augmented Frame Semantic Parsing Architecture (KAF-SPA) to enhance semantic representation by incorporating accurate frame knowledge into PLMs during frame semantic parsing. Specifically, a Memory-based Knowledge Extraction Module (MKEM) is devised to select accurate frame knowledge and construct the continuous templates in the high dimensional vector space. Moreover, we design a Task-oriented Knowledge Probing Module (TKPM) using hybrid prompts (in terms of continuous and discrete prompts) to incorporate the selected knowledge into the PLMs and adapt PLMs to the tasks of frame and argument identification. Experimental results on two public FrameNet datasets demonstrate that our method significantly outperforms strong baselines (by more than +3% in F1), achieving state-of-art results on the current benchmark. Ablation studies verify the effectiveness of KAF-SPA.


This paper explores the dynamics of the Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) innovation in Singapore, tracing its implementation to subsequent diffusion to delineate the links between technology and society. The ERP system, introduced in 1998, is an elaborate and sophisticated toll collecting system using ICTs to regulate road usage. We use the actor–network theory (ANT) as a conceptual tool to analyse the dynamics of this innovation. Through a detailed examination of both human and non‐human actors, we are able to analyse how interests of heterogeneous members of a societal network can be aligned to introduce a technological innovation. In the process, we have observed issues arising from the differential power relationship that exists between road users and government planners as well as the integration of the social and technical aspects of this emerging socio‐technological system. As an emergent technology, the ERP innovation system reflects the social morphology of Singapore as it plays out its part in the making of this nascent nation.


Summary The purpose of this study was to compare the outcome between exposure to single vs multiple courses of antenatal corticosteroids (AC) in pre-term births. The study involved 704 neonates delivered between 24 – 32 weeks. Maternal and perinatal outcome were compared between 294 (42%) neonates who received no AC; 257 (36%) who received single AC and 153 (22%) who received multiple AC. Any AC compared with no AC showed decreased composite neonatal morbidity (51% vs 62%, p = 0.004, odds ratio (OR) = 0.6), neonatal death (52% vs 62%, p = 0.004, OR = 0.6) and hyaline membrane disease (45% vs 57%, p = 0.002, OR = 0.6) with increased chorioamnionitis (17% vs 11%, p = 0.037, OR = 1.6) and pulmonary oedema (12% vs 1%, p = 0.0001, OR = 13). Multiple AC compared with single AC was associated with increased positive maternal cultures (44% vs 31%, p ⩽0.005, OR = 1.8), small for gestational age infants (35% vs 21%, p = 0.001, OR = 2) and intraventricular haemorrhage (45% vs 34%, p <0.05, OR = 1.6). Multiple corticosteroid courses when compared with single corticosteroid course did not further reduce composite neonatal morbidity but increased the risk of positive maternal cultures and neonatal small for gestational age and intraventricular haemorrhage.


Manned submersibles are used for surveying and underwater exploration missions. In this paper, an effort is made to do a preliminary design of a twin sphere hull manned submersible which can accommodate three crew members to operate at ocean depth of 1000 metre. The safety of the structure against elastic yielding is studied using ANSYS APDL. The outer fairing of the hull is studied using ANSYS CFX to estimate drag forces induced on structure for various operating speeds to estimate effective horsepower (EHP) requirement for the vehicle.


Purpose

– The need in disaster response to assess how reliably and equitably funding was accounted for and distributed is addressed by a standardized report and index applicable to any disaster type. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

– Data from the Nepal earthquake (2015), Typhoon Haiyan (2013), the Haiti earthquake (2010), Sri Lankan flood (2011), and Hurricane Sandy (2012) illustrate uses of a public equitable allocation of resources log (PEARL). Drawing from activity-based costing and the Gini index, a PEARL spreadsheet computes absolute inequity sector by sector as well as a cumulative index. Response variations guide index value interpretation.

Findings

– Index values indicates major inequity in Nepal hygiene kit distribution and Haiti earthquake (both PEARL indices near 0.5), moderate inequity for the Sri Lankan flood (index roughly 0.75) and equitable distributions for Typhoon Haiyan and Hurricane Sandy (both indices approximately 0.95). Indices are useful to approximate proportions of inequity in the total response and investigate allocation under uncertainty in sector need specification.

Originality/value

– This original tool is implementable using a website containing a practice PEARL, completed examples and downloadable spreadsheet. Used across multiple sectors or for a single sector, PEARL may signal need for additional resources, correct inequitable distribution decisions, simplify administrative monitoring/assessment, and foster greater accounting transparency in summary reports. PEARL also assists historical analysis of all disaster types to determine completeness of public accounting records and equity in fund distribution.


This paper reviews the obstacles for an appropriate financial architecture of new economy firms in developing countries by reviewing the theoretical and some preliminary empirical underpinnings of the importance of legal and institutional barriers. Apart from the more conventional institutional and legal barriers, which are advanced by the recent law and finance literature, the analysis in this paper focuses on the importance of the ICT environment, as a potentially important barrier to the development of the business sector in general, and new economy firms in particular. This preliminary analysis confirms the importance of this ICT environment for asset allocation (and the creation of intangibles) for the financial structure and, ultimately, for firm growth.


Bicycle spacers have been widely used in Scandinavia for a number of years and are now being promoted in the UK. They are primarily designed to discourage overtaking drivers from passing dangerously close. The device consists of a rod at the end of which is a flexible flag or rigid disc or rectangle. The overall length is about 0.4M. The device is normally mounted horizontally on the rear off-side of the bicycle so it projects into the road. A total of 460 spacer flags were given out to children in eight schools in the greater Manchester area to gather information about their performance under normal riding conditions. After A 2-3 week period they were asked to complete questionnaires. Observers positioned near one school recorded riding and driving errors. There was considerable support for the effectiveness of the flag. Most riders indicated that they wanted to retain and continue to use the spacers they were given. However there were problems in using the spacer when cyclists were riding abreast. Also many spacers broke after a few weeks of use and it was considered that there was scope for some improvement in their design. (TRRL)


A case of cloacogenic carcinoma with cutaneous metastases in a 74 year old man is reported. The patient presented with a six months history of two polyps of the lowest portion of the anal canal. Physical examination of the inguino-scrotal area revealed a 5 X 7 cm. hard infiltrative plaque with three ulcero-vegetative scars. Histologic examination of both polyps revealed two of the four cytologic patterns described in this neoplasm. One polyp showed undifferentiated cells, type IV and second one, type II differentiated. The biopsy of the cutaneous metastases showed dermal infiltrative clusters of the cytologic type II differentiated epidermal cells. Treatment with radiotherapy and chemotherapy was ineffective. Cloacogenic carcinoma of the canal anal is a transitional cells neoplasm believed to arise from vestigial remnants of cloacal origin. Metastases occurred in 19% of cases but cutaneous colonization develops exceptionally.


While relatively neglected in the historiography, the 4th Earl of Minto, who achieved the distinction of serving consecutively as Governor-General of Canada and Viceroy of India from 1898-1910, is more truly representative of the methods Britain adopted to govern its Empire than his more illustrious contemporaries. He was one of the many aristocrats who, while increasingly marginalised in other aspects of British political life, were believed to possess important qualities that made them ideally suited to the highest levels of imperial service. As part of the governing elite, Britain's aristocrats shared many of the assumptions held by politicians, civil servants and military officers, about imperial governance. Vague notions circulated about Britain's duty to civilize its possessions, but most policy-makers eschewed 'ideological' visions in favour of a more pragmatic approach based on recognition that protecting the empire from both internal and external threats was vital to maintaining Britain's leading position amongst its rival Great Powers. The pragmatism of its governors provided an element of continuity in the diverse territories of Britain's empire.

This thesis examines the role of Lord Minto in the formation of defence and foreign policy to illustrate the centrality of the pragmatic approach to British imperialism. He held his posts at a time of transition for the Empire. Ideas about the duties of imperial governors were changing, as power shifted either to local governments in the self-governing colonies or back to the metropole from the periphery. Yet as Britain faced an increasing range of challenges, governors remained able to influence many of the decisions made in response. Like most governors Minto worked under a series of constraints. He was forced to repair the damage caused by his predecessors and contain the unrealistic aspirations of his superiors, although, a soldier himself, he found his military colleagues a valuable source of support throughout his career. In Canada Minto worked hard to ensure that Laurier's government accepted its imperial responsibilities, most notably during the South African war, but also that his British superiors understood Canadian attitudes towards the Empire and rapprochement with America. As Viceroy, Minto's priority remained protecting the security of the Raj, particularly the strategically vital North West Frontier, often against the insistence of a Liberal government focused on economic retrenchment. That he was able to achieve these aims and restore stability to previously troubled territories is a tribute to the effectiveness of pragmatism.


This study examined agricultural land use and productivity with particular reference to its effects on population density in the Nsukka Agricultural Zone of Enugu State, Nigeria. The study involved distribution of  questionnaires to 96 respondents, with only 60 being valid. Majority of the respondents had farms of between one and two hectares in size. Most of the respondents left their lands fallow for periods not more than two years. Cassava was the crop with the highest mean yield, with 26.4 mean point among the selected crops. The regression results of income (Cr), land use intensity (Lu), quantity of fertilizer used (Qf), level of education (Ed) and farming experience (Fs) were statistically significant at 5% level in explaining the observed variability in the dependent variable (Y) based on semi-logarithm model. From the study, we recommend the provision of modern inputs like tractors, fertilizers, pesticides and among others necessary for adequate agricultural production without any form of restrictions. Keywords: Land-use, population density, farming system, crop yield, cassava


Abstract. In the quest to understand how biotic interactions respond to climate change, one area that remains poorly explored is how interactions involving organisms other than vascular plants will respond. However the interactions between plants and biological soil crusts (BSCs) are relevant in many ecosystems and they will likely respond uniquely to climate change. Simultaneous considerations of both plant–plant and plant–BSC interactions may substantially improve our understanding of this topic. The aim of this study is to assess whether water availability differentially affects the biotic effects of BSCs and pioneer shrubs on the early life-history stage of tree seedling growth. We conducted a greenhouse factorial experiment with soil surface cover (bare soil, soil covered by a creeping shrub and BSC covered soil) and water regime (control and drought) as factors. We monitored Nothofagus pumilio (a native tree species of ecological and economic relevance) seedling water status and growth as well as changes in soil water content and soil properties. The shrub cover had a positive effect on soil water conservation and on the water balance of seedlings under water stress. However, its effect was negative for seedling growth under both water conditions. The BSC also contributed to soil water conservation and apparently added nutrients to the soil. The net effect of the BSC on seedling growth was negative under full-watering conditions but positive under water stress conditions. This result highlights how the studied biotic interactions, and especially interactions involving BSCs, depend on changes in water availability.


A simple and rapid assay for estimation of total urinary estrogens is presented. The test is based on a commercial latex agglutination inhibition assay designed for urinary estrogens in pregnancy. To obtain the appropriate sensitivity range for the application of the test it was necessary to concentrate the urine using self contained C 18 mini cartridges. A fairly good correlation was found between the obtained values from the urine and estradiol-17 beta estimated by radio-immunoassay in serum (correlation coefficient r = 0,77). Comparing those results and regarding the number of follicles present at ultrasonic examination, and/or laparoscopy a value of 23,79-31,29 mg/l TE in urine/follicle was calculated according to 300-400 pg/ml serum/follicle, at which ovulation should be induced. Even withstanding the inherent limitations of this semiquantitative test and some loss of precision in terms of absolute values, when combined with ultrasound, excellent guidelines were established by this rapid and simple test to determine ovulation induction by hCG.


In this paper, we propose a new discriminative training approach based on the criterion of least phone competing tokens. In our approach, we first collect a competing token set for each physical HMM from training data. Different from the previous in-search token selection, an off-line token collection procedure is used in this work to collect the competing-tokens from word lattices. Then we re-estimate HMM parameters discriminatively to minimize the total number of competing tokens counted in the phone level. The phone token counts are approximated by a sigmoid-based objective function. The GPD algorithm is used to adjust HMM parameters to minimize the objective function. In this work, a merging mechanism and a gradient normalization in the HMM tied-state level are proposed to improve the generalization power of our discriminative training method. The proposed method is evaluated on the Resource Management (RM) and the Switchboard (a 24-hr mini-train set) tasks. Experimental results clearly show that our new discriminative training method achieves significant improvements over our best MLE models in both tasks, namely about 8% and 4.5% relative error rate reduction in RM and Switchboard respectively, over the best MLE models.