During the period 2005-2014, S&P 500 firms distributed to shareholders more than $3.95 trillion via stock buybacks and $2.45 trillion via dividends — $6.4 trillion in total. These shareholder payouts amounted to over 93% of the firms' net income. Academics, corporate lawyers, asset managers, and politicians point to such shareholder-payout figures as compelling evidence that "short-termism" and "quarterly capitalism" are impairing firms' ability to invest, innovate, and provide good wages.We explain why S&P 500 shareholder-payout figures provide a misleadingly incomplete picture of corporate capital flows and the financial capacity of U.S. public firms. Most importantly, they fail to account for offsetting equity issuances by firms. We show that, taking into account issuances, net shareholder payouts by all U.S. public firms during the period 2005-2014 were in fact only about $2.50 trillion, or 33% of their net income. Moreover, much of these net shareholder payouts were offset by net debt issuances, and thus effectively recapitalizations rather than firm-shrinking distributions. After excluding marginal debt capital inflows, net shareholder payouts by public firms during the period 2005-2014 were only about 22% of their net income. In short, S&P 500 shareholder-payout figures are not indicative of actual capital flows in public firms, and thus cannot provide much basis for the claim that short-termism is starving public firms of needed capital. We also offer three other reasons why corporate capital flows are unlikely to pose a problem for the economy.A prior version of this paper was circulated under the title "Short-Termism and Shareholder Payouts: Getting Corporate Capital Flows Right."


A radiodensitometrical study was carried out on 46 Pinus uncinata (Ramond) in Font-Romeu (French Pyrenees). Correlation functions with monthly climatical data were calculated using separately the ring-widths, the earlywood and the latewood densities. The Mountain Pine shows narrow rings (1.5 mm) and a high sensitivity to climate (M.S. = 0.221), but it does not seem to suffer from drought despite the dryness of the climate (788 mm rainfall per year). This species is more sensitive to temperature than to precipitation, since temperature governs latewood formation. A hot spring and a mild autumn with maximum temperatures above threshold levels will extend the growing period. A warm autumn also increases the latewood density, whereas cold nights during the previous year's autumn are unfavourable to growth because they may affect the cambium and bud initiations.


Purpose Aniridia is a congenital disorder caused by variants in the PAX6 gene. In this study, we assessed the involvement of PAX6 in patients with aniridia from Australasia and Southeast Asia. Methods Twenty-nine individuals with aniridia from 18 families originating from Australia, New Caledonia, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan were included. The PAX6 gene was investigated for sequence variants and analyzed for deletions with multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification. Results We identified 11 sequence variants and six chromosomal deletions, including one in mosaic. Four deleterious sequence variants were novel: p.(Pro81HisfsTer12), p.(Gln274Ter), p.(Ile29Thr), and p.(Met1?). Ocular complications were associated with a progressive loss of visual function as shown by a visual acuity ≤ 1.00 logMAR reported in 65% of eyes. The prevalence of keratopathy was statistically significantly higher in the Australasian cohort (78.6%) compared with the Southeast Asian cohort (9.1%, p=0.002). Variants resulting in protein truncating codons displayed limited genotype–phenotype correlations compared with other variants. Conclusions PAX6 variants and deletions were identified in 94% of patients with aniridia from Australasia and Southeast Asia. This study is the first report of aniridia and variations in PAX6 in individuals from Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and New Caledonia, and the largest cohort from Australia.


A novel computational model for detecting salient regions in color images is proposed, based on a two-stage coarse-to-fine framework. Firstly, different early visual feature maps - including the edge intensity; the black-white, red-green, and blue-yellow color opponents; and the Gabor features with four directions - are incorporated into the eight channels of an octonion image. Spectral normalization is achieved with the octonion Fourier transform by preserving the phase information of the octonion image. Then, with mean-shift segmentation, the saliency values in each segment are averaged to form a coarse saliency map. Finally, the coarse saliency map is subject to Bayesian inference to further refine the salient regions. The integration of frequency normalization, spatial segmentation and Bayesian inference exploits the benefits from both the spectral domain and the spatial domain. Experimental results show the superiority of the proposed method compared to several existing methods.


Children with rare or life-limiting chronic conditions and their families are at high risk of psychosocial distress. However, despite its impact on patient and family health and functioning, psychosocial distress and its antecedents may not routinely be captured in medical records. The purpose of this study was to characterize current medical record documentation practices around psychosocial distress among children with rare or life-limiting chronic conditions and their families. Medical records for patients with rare or life-limiting chronic conditions (n = 60) followed by a pediatric complex care program were reviewed. Study team members extracted both structured data elements (e.g., diagnoses, demographic information) and note narratives from the most recent visit with a clinician in the program. Psychosocial topics were analyzed using a mixed quantitative (i.e., frequency counts of topics) and qualitative approach. Topics related to psychosocial distress that were documented in notes included child and parent emotional problems, parent social support, sibling emotional or physical problems, family structure (e.g., whether parents were together), and financial concerns. However, 35% of notes lacked any mention of psychosocial concerns. Although examples of psychosocial concerns were included in some notes, none were present in over one-third of this sample. For both patients with rare or life-limiting chronic conditions and their caregivers, more active elicitation and standard documentation of psychosocial concerns may improve the ability of healthcare providers to identify and intervene on psychosocial concerns and their risk factors.


Objetives. Evaluate occupational exposure to cyclophosphamide in nine hospitals of Peru. Materials and methods. Crosscutting observational study conducted in 2010, for which 24-hour urine samples were obtained from 96 employees of the oncologic mixture units and oncology services of nine hospitals in Peru, the quantification of cyclophosphamide was done through the GC-MS methodology (Gas Cromathography-Mass Spectroscopy). Additionally, working surfaces were tested by obtaining samples with wet wipes for identification of cyclophosphamide. Results. Cyclophosphamide was detected in urine samples in 67 employees (average concentration of excretion: 74.2 ng/24 h), accounting for 70% of the total population to be assessed. Based on the excretion, total exposure among hospitals can be classified as high level (>18.9 ng/24 h), moderate level (1,725 – 18.9 ng/24 h) and low level (<1,725 ng/24 h), with a percent incidence of 31.3; 26.0 and 42.7% respectively. Additionally, as part of the environmental evaluation, concentrations of cyclosphamide were found in 14.72, 14.98 and 5,12 ng/cm2. Conclusions. Contamination through cyclophosphamide in areas where oncological preparations are done and the presence of cyclophosphamide in urine samples of workers exposed to cytostatics substance were observed.


The authors propose a method aiming to characterize the spatial organization of the main cartographic elements of a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image and thus giving an almost automatic interpretation of the scene. Their approach is divided into three main steps which build the whole image interpretation gradually. The first step consists of applying low-level detectors taking the speckle statistics into account and extracting some raw information from the scene. The detector responses are then fused in a second step using Dempster-Shafer theory, thus allowing the modeling of the knowledge that there is about operators, including possible ignorance and their limits. A third step gives the final image interpretation using contextual knowledge between the different classes. Results of the whole method applied to different SAR images and to various landscapes are presented.


Abstract. The importance of the biogeophysical atmosphere-vegetation feedback in comparison with the radiative effect of lower atmospheric CO2 concentrations and the presence of ice sheets at the last glacial maximum (LGM) is investigated with the climate system model CLIMBER-2. Equilibrium experiments reveal that most of the global cooling at the LGM (-5.1°C) relative to (natural) present-day conditions is caused by the introduction of ice sheets into the model (-3.0°C), followed by the effect of lower atmospheric CO2 levels at the LGM (-1.5°C), while a synergy between these two factors appears to be very small on global average. The biogeophysical effects of changes in vegetation cover are found to cool the global LGM climate by 0.6°C. The latter are most pronounced in the northern high latitudes, where the taiga-tundra feedback causes annually averaged temperature changes of up to -2.0°C, while the radiative effect of lower atmospheric CO2 in this region only produces a cooling of 1.5°C. Hence, in this region, the temperature changes caused by vegetation dynamics at the LGM exceed the cooling due to lower atmospheric CO2 concentrations.


Preclinical studies with metabotropic glutamate (mGlu) type 2 receptor agonists have shown promising results in the treatment of anxiety. The mGlu receptor agonist LY354740 has shown anxiolytic properties in animal models of anxiety. We present the results obtained with LY354740, in a placebo-controlled double-blind randomized study with paroxetine as an active comperator in outpatients with panic disorder. This study was part of a multicentre phase II efficacy study. Patients were randomly assigned to receive LY354740 (100 or 200 mg), paroxetine (60 mg) or placebo for 9 weeks. The primary outcome parameter was the percentage of patients having no panic attacks during the final 3 weeks of treatment. Secondary outcome measures were the Panic Disorder Severity Scale (PDSS) and the clinical global impression (CGI). Patients treated on paroxetine improved on the PDSS and CGI but, due to small sample size, these effects just failed to reach statistical significance. LY354740 was well tolerated (with gastrointestinal complaints as the most common side-effects) but failed to show treatment effects that were different from placebo. Because preclinical data collectively indicate anxiolytic properties of mGlu type 2 receptor agonists, clinical studies with other agents are warranted.


In the past years great importance has been attributed to antioxidant therapy in the prevention and treatment of disorders developed in connection with oxidative stress. After initial success, undesirable effects, toxicities, and prooxidant effects of antioxidants were reported [CARET, ATBC study]. In addition, metaanalyses failed to confirm the role of antioxidant supplementation in the primary and secondary prevention. The authors review the prooxidant effects of antioxidants, and their role in cell signalling and cell process modulation. Finally, the authors summarize possible explanations why combined use of antiooxidants is more favourable.


This is a manual for complete beginners. It assumes no knowledge of the MIT computer systems. This guide will teach you how to log onto the computer called OZ, a DEC PDP-20 computer running the TWENEX (TOPS-20) operating system. You will learn how to use various operating system features, send and receive electronic mail, create and edit files using EMACS, process text using YTeX, and print out your files. This manual has a companion on-line directory on OZ, called , which contains sample programs and examples to use in conjunction with this guide.


The Middle Jurassic Brent Group sediments and their correlatives on the Norwegian shelf are, in economic terms, the most important hydrocarbon reservoir in NW Europe. In 1971 the Brent Field was discovered by Shell/Esso and tested in 1972 with 1.8 billion barrels of recoverable oil; nine major Brent sandstone fields were discovered by the end of 1973 (Brennand et al. 1990). In 1980 the northern North Sea (overwhelmingly comprising fields with Brent Group reservoirs) was ranked as the 13th largest petroleum province in the world, containing 1.60f produced and recoverable oil equivalent reserves (Ivanhoe 1980). By 1988, discovered Brent hydrocarbons comprised some 490f the UK's recoverable reserves, totalling 22.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent. Brent recoverable hydrocarbons currently known in the Norwegian sector add approximately 8 billion barrels of oil equivalent (Brennand et al. 1990). Now that the UK Brent Province has reached maturity in exploration terms, this book provides a timely review of the geology and petroleum geology of one of the worlds major petroleum reservoirs. The book provides a wide-ranging coverage of Brent Group geology, including exploration history, structural evolution, sequence stratigraphy, sedimentology, diagenesis, palynology, hydrocarbon generation and migration, and petrophysics. Accounts of the geology of individual Brent Group fields are not included, as these are available in the books of Spencer et al. (1986) and Abbotts (1991). The book shows that despite the long passage of time since the original discovery was made, over 20 years ago, and despite the subsequent drilling of several hundred


Recently, ultra-precision machining of components and dies for information and communication industries, such as fresnel mirrors, diffraction lens, and die for super high intensity reflective sheet is one of the major target. To machine three-dimensional micro patterns, such as super high-intensity reflective sheets, ultra-precision and mirror surface fabrication processes are required. It has been reported, however, that continuous cutting, such as turning or shaping, is more suitable to ultra-precision machining. Many researchers have studied the manufacturing process of reflective sheet dies to obtain high form accuracy and surface quality. In this paper, ultra-precision shaping system was developed to fabricate micro patterns mechanically. In order to estimate performance of the shaping system, micro V-shaped grooves and tetrahedron pattern arrays for a super high intensity reflective sheet was applied. Also, a new measuring technology to inspect form and machining errors of a machined tetrahedron patterns was proposed. The results show that shaping system has a positioning accuracy of x, y, z axis with 100, 10, 10nm resolution, respectively. Micro V-shaped grooves could be machined at various depths and micro tetrahedron patterns with a good quality were obtained as well.


The Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network conducted 2 parallel multicenter phase 2 trials for individuals with leukemia or lymphoma and no suitable related donor. Reduced intensity conditioning (RIC) was used with either unrelated double umbilical cord blood (dUCB) or HLA-haploidentical related donor bone marrow (Haplo-marrow) transplantation. For both trials, the transplantation conditioning regimen incorporated cyclophosphamide, fludarabine, and 200 cGy of total body irradiation. The 1-year probabilities of overall and progression-free survival were 54% and 46%, respectively, after dUCB transplantation (n = 50) and 62% and 48%, respectively, after Haplo-marrow transplantation (n = 50). The day +56 cumulative incidence of neutrophil recovery was 94% after dUCB and 96% after Haplo-marrow transplantation. The 100-day cumulative incidence of grade II-IV acute GVHD was 40% after dUCB and 32% after Haplo-marrow transplantation. The 1-year cumulative incidences of nonrelapse mortality and relapse after dUCB transplantation were 24% and 31%, respectively, with corresponding results of 7% and 45%, respectively, after Haplo-marrow transplantation. These multicenter studies confirm the utility of dUCB and Haplo-marrow as alternative donor sources and set the stage for a multicenter randomized clinical trial to assess the relative efficacy of these 2 strategies. The trials are registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov under NCT00864227 (BMT CTN 0604) and NCT00849147 (BMT CTN 0603).


The recent isolation of the CLN3 gene involved in Batten disease (juvenile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis) creates possibilities for direct detection of mutations which can confirm or indicate the clinical diagnosis of Batten disease. We have designed a rapid and reliable allele specific PCR test for the detection of the major deletion, which can be used in carrier diagnosis, presymptomatic diagnosis, and prenatal diagnosis.


Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles (NPs) are one of the main sources of the nanoparticulate matter to which humans are directly exposed and several studies have demonstrated their potential toxic effects. The in vivo detailed spatial distribution of TiO2 NPs is investigated herein for the first time, using a 2D chemical imaging analysis based on confocal Raman spectroscopy. The invertebrate nematode C. elegans was employed as a prototypical model of living organisms. Rod, bipyramidal and quasi-spherical engineered TiO2 NPs with different primary particle sizes and agglomeration states were prepared, characterized and then administered to nematodes. Exploiting the typical fingerprint of TiO2 in the Raman spectrum, we monitored the biodistribution of NPs inside the worm using a non-invasive, label-free method. The high spatial resolution chemical imaging and the specificity of the Raman technique in the localization of TiO2 NPs helped in the design of behavioral C. elegans studies aimed at elucidating the relationship among the size, shape, and agglomeration state of NPs and their ability to induce specific toxic effects. Rod-shaped NPs were the most toxic, greatly impairing pharyngeal function, reproduction and larval growth; this indicates that the rod shape, more than the bipyramidal and spherical shapes, enables NPs to interact with biological systems. These findings indicate that this Raman-nematode combined approach represents a step forward in the field of detection of NPs in living organisms, and being rapid and inexpensive enough, it can be applied as the first screening for the ability of NPs to biodistribute and exert toxicological properties in vivo.


Generalized linear models offer convenient and highly applicable tools for modeling and predicting the behavior of random variables in terms of observable factors and covariates. This paper investigates applications of a special case of generalized linear model to improve the accuracy of predictions and decisions adopting Bayesian methods, in the specific context of assessing coronary artery disease. The basic model is developed for this application using binary response. The results clearly demonstrate the potential advantages offered by this approach.


Summaries This article shows the intimate links between human-rights discourses today and globalisation. It highlights how rights discourses have contributed greatly to the radical critique of developmentalism, reconfiguring the notion of development by placing the human person, not the state, as the central subject and beneficiary. The article warns, however, of two contemporary processes of regression in rights discourses. The first is the emergent episteme that discredits thoughts that dare imagine alternatives to global capitalism and strays beyond the languages of economic rationalism. The second is the replacement of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights paradigm with a trade-related, market-friendly human rights (TRMF/HR) paradigm that promotes and protects the collective rights of global capital. In the latter the rights to entrepreneurship, innovation and economic progress are said to create the essential conditions for better realisation of social and human rights.


Abstract Evolutionary theory predicts that infection by a parasite that reduces future host survival or fecundity should select for increased investment in current reproduction. In this study, we use the cestode Ligula intestinalis and its intermediate fish host Engraulicypris sardella in Wissman Bay, Lake Nyasa (Tanzania), as a model system. Using data about infection of E. sardella fish hosts by L. intestinalis collected for a period of 10 years, we explored whether parasite infection affects the fecundity of the fish host E. sardella, and whether host reproductive investment has increased at the expense of somatic growth. We found that L. intestinalis had a strong negative effect on the fecundity of its intermediate fish host. For the noninfected fish, we observed an increase in relative gonadal weight at maturity over the study period, while size at maturity decreased. These findings suggest that the life history of E. sardella has been shifting toward earlier reproduction. Further studies are warranted to assess whether these changes reflect plastic or evolutionary responses. We also discuss the interaction between parasite and fishery‐mediated selection as a possible explanation for the decline of E. sardella stock in the lake.


This paper proposes and experimentally demonstrates a fully-distributed All-Optical TOKEN (AO-TOKEN) contention resolution technique for AWGR-based optical interconnects. The AO-TOKEN technique is implemented by exploiting the saturation effect in SOAs placed at the AWGR outputs. A polarization-diversity scheme allows thoe data and control planes to share the same physical link. The AO-TOKEN is more scalable than alternative electrical/optical solutions since it eliminates the need for a centralized electrical control plane. Our experimental results show that the technique can work over a wavelength-range of ≈ 23 nm using off-the-shelf components. We also successfully demonstrate all-optical contention resolution, packet transmission, and switching with error-free operation at 10 Gb/s.


This article reports eight distance teachers' stories about teaching at two open universities over the past two decades with a focus on their perceptions and feelings about the changes in their teaching practice. This qualitative study employed a methodological approach called the autoethnographic interview, aiming to document more realistic histories of the open universities and to imagine a better future for those universities. As a result, the paper presents autobiographical narratives of distance teachers that dissent from the general historical accounts of open universities. These narratives are categorized into three interrelated themes: a) openness: excessive openness and a lost sense of mission; b) technological innovation: moving online and long-lasting resistance, and c) teaching: transactional interactions and feelings of loneliness. The paper then presents a discussion of useful implications for open universities, which can serve as a starting point for more meaningful discussions among distance educators in a time of change.


Multicast switching is emerging as a new switching technology that can provide efficient transport in a broadband network for video and other multipoint communication services. The authors develop and analyze call scheduling algorithms for a multicast switch. In particular, they examine two general classes of scheduling algorithms: call packing algorithms and call splitting algorithms. The performance improvement by the call packing algorithms examined is shown to be negligible. In contrast, the call splitting algorithms can provide significantly lower blocking by reducing the level of output port contention. However, excessive call splitting could degrade performance because of the additional load introduced to the input ports. The authors present a simple call splitting algorithm called greedy splitting which achieves near-optimal performance. >


. The current research was undertaken with an aim to provide empirical evidence to the proposed relationship between the constructs of empathy and collectivism. Accordingly, following the hierarchical model of collectivism (Realo, Allik, and Vadi 1997), the study focused upon the relations between collectivistic attitudes and empathy – seen as a multi-dimensional construct consisting of both affective and cognitive components (Davis 1980). The results showed that links between the collectivistic attitudes and empathy were first and foremost due to correlations between the affective aspect of empathy and the family-and society-related forms of collectivism. To test whether and to what extent the hypothesized relationship between empathy and collectivistic attitudes may be attributed to their relations with Agreeableness, we also examined relations of collectivism and empathy with underlying personality dimensions. The results of multiple regression suggested that at least the affective aspect of empathy has an independent contribution to the prediction of the general collectivism index COL and that the NEO-PI-R domain Agreeableness does not fully explain the relationship between the constructs of collectivism and affective aspect of empathy. Yet, the established empirical relationship between empathy and collectivistic attitudes in our research was somewhat weaker than one would expect on the basis of the relevant theoretical statements – nerely certain forms of collectivistic attitudes appeared to be moderately and selectively related to certain specific manifestations of empathy – the results of our study suggest that empathy, on the whole, cannot be considered as an essential attribute of collectivism, at least at the personal level.


The lethal action of mitomycin C and the effect of mutual treatment with mitomycin C and spermidine on Escherichia coli were studied. DNA repair in cells treated with mitomycin C was shown to have some differences, as compared to that of UV-induced pyrimidine dimers. The presence of the additive sbcB mutation increases the resistance of wild-type bacteria as well as of recBrecC and recF mutants to the lethal action of mytomicin C. Preliminary treatment of bacteria with spermidine increases resistance to the lethal action of the mutagen in wild-type bacteria as well as uvrB, recBrecC and sbcB strains. However, no such effect was observed in recF, recFsbcB and uvrE strains. The data suggest that the protective action of spermidine may be connected with stimulation of RecF-pathway of postreplication repair.


This interior architectural design-led research investigation chronicles a journey from the Canterbury Plains into Canterbury high country. This peregrination sequences eight individual sites along The Main West Coast Road: State Highway 73, and uses the author's home and batch as bookends. Engaging theorist Joseph Campbell's book The Hero's Journey as a literary provocateur, the interventions are designed for each site according to the eight stages we all must pass through in order to progress to a new level of growth. As an interior architectural design-led research thesis, the interventions assume the mode of 'furnishing' the landscape, so as to spatially deconstruct the exterior journey as an interior architectural response to the natural landscape features found within each site. The 'furnishings' critically operate as narrative devices that frame the landscape through the construction of the threshold. The thresholds are designed so as to reawaken and witness the heritage stories that reside within each site. And in this way, the eight points of pause in the sequence equate to an expression of 'home'. This thesis argues that cultural identity arises from personal associations with history and place: relationships in time and space. As such, New Zealand citizens or residents who have lived here for many generations or even just a few years, even if they are not Māori or European, all contribute to our greater understanding of New Zealand's cultural identity from their own as well as a shared perspective. This designled research investigation asks: How can interior architectural interventions, framed as an allegorical architectural project, help enable shared narratives about local communities and their surrounding contexts to be reawakened and witnessed? This design-led research investigation seeks ways that architectural interventions sited in a rural landscape can contribute to establishing community-based stories of cultural heritage that will also contribute to New Zealand's national identity as a whole. As an Interior Architecture master's thesis, this research investigation looks to establish these architectural interventions as 'furnishings' strategically sited upon the landscape in ways that critically help to define place identity for rural New Zealanders. This investigation argues that interior architecture is as much about the narrative that ties a space to time and place, as it is about the shape and layout of the space. It is about the whole experience, the 'identity' of place. The design-led research investigation explores the interior topology of home by engaging spatial memory, curation, and pentimento as key storytelling devices within the narrative investigation. The investigation engages three primary modes of design to build critical responses to these design drivers: the physical model, the digital mode, and the print.


For first responders entering into a post-disaster situation, there is usually a severe lack of up-to-date ground truth. The initial period of time has multiple sources of conflicting information coming in and creating confusion about the situation. The most important immediate requirement is to create a traversal map, highlighting navigable paths to victims of the disaster and possible hazardous locations. Due to infrastructure damage, it is hard for existing centralized geospatial portals to quickly update and provide this information, which has become outdated. IoT solutions that can be deployed without extensive preparation provide the capability to quickly acquire and disseminate essential information to rescue teams. In this paper, we present a decentralized system, named DEIMOSBC, that is able to provide such a mapping service faster and more reliably, utilizing the work of volunteers and relying on a blockchain backend that is based on an IoT system. Our solution utilizes the availability of modern smartphones with GPS receivers and processing capabilities to collect sequences of GPS locations and chain them into trajectories. These trajectory data are submitted as entries into a blockchain after cleaning them through a purpose-built smart contract. DEIMOSBC relies on the inherent robustness and distributed nature of a blockchain to make collating and assembling a map from these paths more accurate and less susceptible to disruption. We describe how DEIMOSBC would work for a hypothetical disaster scenario of a Category 5 hurricane striking an area of the Gulf of Mexico.


Cold swaged and annealed samples of INCOLOY MA 956 (UNS S67956) were investigated using light optical microscopy (LOM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD), and Vickers microhardness testing. The as-received oligocrystalline material presented a strong <111>-texture parallel to the longitudinal direction of the bar. This texture results from secondary recrystallization promoted by zone annealing. The microstructure in the deformed state was found to be very inhomogeneous. Deformation bands were observed in all grains. The extent of deformation banding varied from grain to grain in terms of morphology and spacing. The deformation substructures were found to be very different in each grain. A sharp <110>-fiber texture was developed during plastic deformation becoming more pronounced with increasing strain. Intense recovery during annealing has been observed in this alloy. Recrystallization did not change the texture significantly.


To determine the relationship between age and gray matter structure and how interactions between gender and hemisphere impact this relationship, we examined correlations between global or regional gray matter volume and age, including interactions of gender and hemisphere, using a general linear model with voxel-based and region-of-interest analyses. Brain magnetic resonance images were collected from 1460 healthy individuals aged 20–69 years; the images were linearly normalized and segmented and restored to native space for analysis of global gray matter volume. Linearly normalized images were then non-linearly normalized and smoothed for analysis of regional gray matter volume. Analysis of global gray matter volume revealed a significant negative correlation between gray matter ratio (gray matter volume divided by intracranial volume) and age in both genders, and a significant interaction effect of age × gender on the gray matter ratio. In analyzing regional gray matter volume, the gray matter volume of all regions showed significant main effects of age, and most regions, with the exception of several including the inferior parietal lobule, showed a significant age × gender interaction. Additionally, the inferior temporal gyrus showed a significant age × gender × hemisphere interaction. No regional volumes showed significant age × hemisphere interactions. Our study may contribute to clarifying the mechanism(s) of normal brain aging in each brain region.


This report describes the calculation of local errors in Chamfer masks both in two- and in three-dimensional anisotropic spaces. For these errors, closed forms are given that can be related to the Chamfer mask geometry. Thanks to these calculation, it can be obsrved that the usual Chamfer masks (i.e. 3x3x3 or 5x5x5) have an inhomogeneously distributed error. Moreover, it allows us to design dedicated Chamfer masks by controlling either the complexity of the computation of the distance map (or equivalently the number of vectors in the mask), or the error of the mask in $\mathbbZ^2$ or in $\mathbbZ^3$. Last, since Chamfer distances are usually computed with integer weights (and approximate the Euclidean distance up to a multiplicative factor), we demonstrate that the knowledge of the local errors allows a very efficient computation of these weights.


As competing factions debated the cause of declining fish populations in early 1870s Rhode Island, the crisis took on a political character. That, in turn, shaped the creation and early progress of the United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries, the nation's first federal conservation agency, presumably dedicated to a scientific approach to fisheries regulation.


m-Aminobenzeneboronic acid at levels of 0.2 mM in nutrient broth medium selectively inhibited sporulation without appreciably altering vegetative growth. Significant inhibitory effects were seen even when it was added as late as 6 h after the end of logarithmic growth. The pH changes associated with growth and sporulation of Bacillus subtilis in nutrient broth were not significantly altered by the inhibitor. When it was present in cultures of actively growing cells, its inhibitory effect could not be reversed by simple dilution. The compound caused extensive clumping, of cells, which appeared not to be related to the ability of boronates to esterify to diols.


Abstract. In the frame of the Chemistry-Aerosol Mediterranean Experiment (ChArMEx), we analyse the budget of primary aerosols and secondary inorganic aerosols over the Mediterranean Basin during the years 2012 and 2013. To do this, we use two year-long numerical simulations with the chemistry-transport model MOCAGE validated against satellite- and ground-based measurements. The budget is presented on an annual and a monthly basis on a domain covering 29 to 47° N latitude and 10° W to 38° E longitude. The years 2012 and 2013 show similar seasonal variations. The desert dust is the main contributor to the annual aerosol burden in the Mediterranean region with a peak in spring, and sea salt being the second most important contributor. The secondary inorganic aerosols, taken as a whole, contribute a similar level to sea salt. The results show that all of the considered aerosol types, except for sea salt aerosols, experience net export out of our Mediterranean Basin model domain, and thus this area should be considered as a source region for aerosols globally. Our study showed that 11 % of the desert dust, 22.8 to 39.5 % of the carbonaceous aerosols, 35 % of the sulfate and 9 % of the ammonium emitted or produced into the study domain are exported. The main sources of variability for aerosols between 2012 and 2013 are weather-related variations, acting on emissions processes, and the episodic import of aerosols from North American fires. In order to assess the importance of the anthropogenic emissions of the marine and the coastal areas which are central for the economy of the Mediterranean Basin, we made a sensitivity test simulation. This simulation is similar to the reference simulation but with the removal of the international shipping emissions and the anthropogenic emissions over a 50 km wide band inland along the coast. We showed that around 30 % of the emissions of carbonaceous aerosols and 35 to 60 % of the exported carbonaceous aerosols originates from the marine and coastal areas. The formation of 23, 27 and 27 %, respectively of, ammonium, nitrate and sulfate aerosols is due to the emissions within the marine and coastal area.


In the Act II finale of Mozart's Don Giovanni, as the title character enjoys his dinner, a domestic wind band, called a Harmonie in Mozart's time, plays some Tafelmusik music intended to accompany a meal. 1 The Tafelmusik that Mozart chose for Don Giovanni's last supper consists of melodies quoted from three contemporaneous opere buJfe (Example 1): Vincente Martin y Soler's Una cos a rara (1786), Giuseppe Sarti's Fra i due litiganti il terzo gode (1782), and Mozart's own The Marriage of Figaro (1786).2 Such musical quotation is a specific type of allusion. As Christopher Reynolds has pointed out, an allusion is not simply a "reference to another work made by means of a resemblance;' but must be intentional; since "motivic possibilities are finite;' unintended similarities between two works are bound to occur. Quotation employs an especially high degree of resemblance to the source being alluded to; in the case of the Tafelmusik, whole melodies are reproduced from other operas, not just smaller motives. "Quotations;' Reynolds writes, "are neither more nor less meaningful than less exact references-only a different degree of artistic appropriation:'4 I would go further and argue that quotations, in comparison to less exact forms of allusion, demonstrate intentionality. Leaving aside situations where there exists documentary proof of a composer's intentions, it is always possible to argue that resemblances between two pieces are unintended. With quotations, however, this possibility is greatly diminished because the reference is much more exact. In the Tafelmusik, not only are the melodies unmistakable quotations from other operas; Mozart even has Leporello announce them as such to the audience. There can thus be no doubt that Mozart intended these quotations to be heard and easily identified. As the quotations from Martin's and Sarti's operas begin, Leporello announces their titles. "Bravi! 'Cosa raraT' he cries (mm. 53-54), then later "Evvivano i 'LitigantiT' (mm. 123-25). Finally, Leporello hears the quotation from Figaro-the tune of Figaro's aria "Non pili andrai:' This time, instead of announcing the title of Mozart's earlier opera, he sings, "Questa poi la conosco pur troppo" (mm. 164-66; "This one, then, I know only too well"). At the Prague premiere of Don Giovanni, this line would have had a special significance for the local audience, for Felice Ponziani, the baritone singing Leporello, had also sung the role of Figaro-and "Non pili andrai" in Prague the year before.


In this paper, we present a new video watermarking approach which is robust to efficient video coding standards such as H.264/AVC.We show the contradiction between embedding watermarks in the irrelevant part of a video and using a lossy compression algorithm to reduce the video data rate. Because the compression algorithm removes irrelevant information, the watermark can not be recovered. To solve this problem, we propose the embedding of the watermark in the relevant part of the video but in an imperceptible manner. We realize this by changing the spatial position of object borders. We propose our new Normed Centre of Gravity (NCG) to describe these borders. Of course, lossy compression influences the NCG. We present a method to predict the strength of this influence. Hence, we can embed the watermark with a defined robustness to lossy compression. The watermarking is embedded by quantizing the NCG. We present a geometric warping process to quantize the NCG and embed the watermark payload with a defined robustness. To demonstrate the robustness we use the new and at present most efficient available compression standard H.264/AVC.


Purpose: To develop a fast‐converging SART‐type algorithm and show clinical feasibility in CBCTreconstructions by combining the algorithmic enhancements with a parallel computing hardware (GPU). Methods: SART reconstructs a volumetric image by iteratively conducting volume projection and correction backprojection. However, this reconstruction problem can also be cast as a least squares problem for minimizing the volume projection errors with respect to the scanner projection data. This way, SART can be viewed as equivalent to a gradient method for minimizing the quadratic objective function f(x), with a fixed step‐size. Novelty in this work is that we implemented a simple yet much faster algorithm by computing a unique step‐size at each iteration. We applied this variable step‐size (VS)‐SART algorithm to numerical and physical phantoms for reconstruction. Furthermore, we accelerated the reconstruction by implementing the algorithm on NVIDIA GTX 295 GPU card. CBCT projections of CatPhan phantom were acquired from the Varian TrueBeam system. Results: We first compared SART and VS‐SART using Shepp‐Logan numerical phantom with 180 parallel‐beam projections. As the iterations progress, f(x) is asymptotically minimized for both algorithms but VS‐SART is found to converge much faster. Therefore, for a fixed number of iterations, VS‐SART commands superior image quality. In addition, compared with the FDK algorithm with 364 projections, our VS‐SART algorithm produces visibly equivalent quality CBCTimage for CatPhan phantom with only 120 projections, in 12 iterations completed in 33 seconds. This is a factor of three dose reduction while maintaining the reconstruction time acceptable. Conclusions: By approaching SART reconstruction problem from a gradient method perspective, we enhanced the reconstruction speed significantly (i.e., less number of iterations). In addition, with GPU acceleration, the overall reconstruction time is achieved within a clinically viable range. We anticipate that the VS‐SART algorithm can be applied to CT,PET, and SPECT also.


Introduction Inequalities in health have long been described showing an inverse relationship between social class and morbidity. However, analysis of work-related mental ill-health (WRMIH) and socio-economic group reported by General Practitioners (GPs) show incidence rates are greater amongst higher socio-economic groups. The Health & Occupation Research network (THOR) collects data on WRMIH from GPs and occupational physicians (OPs); and (until 2009) from consultant psychiatrists. This study aimed to analyse the psychosocial factors associated with the medically reported incidence of WRMIH in different socio-economic groups. Methods With each case of WRMIH, participating physicians reported the associated occupation and psychological stressor. Occupations were coded using the National Statistics Socio-Economic Classification (NS-SEC). A multi-level logistic regression (adjusted by age and gender) calculated odds ratios (ORs) reporting the likelihood of the stressor occurring within each socio-economic group compared to the highest group – 'Large employers & higher managerial occupations' (as reference category). Results Results from all three types of reporting physicians similarly showed how socio-economic groups were exposed to significantly different workplace psychological stressors. Cases reported from the highest socio-economic group were more likely to be associated with workload and workplace change with a fall in ORs with decreased socio-economic status, e.g. for workload, ORs in the lowest NS-SEC group were 0.51 (GPs), 0.14 (OPs) and 0.16 (psychiatrists). However, workers within the lower NS-SEC groups were more likely to have problems associated bullying/interpersonal difficulties, e.g. for bullying, ORs in the lowest NS-SEC group were 2.60 (GPs), 1.76 (OPs) and 1.60 (psychiatrists). Conclusions WRMIH rates may be greatest amongst the highest socio-economic groups as they are more likely to have problems associated with a heavy workload and workplace change such staff shortages and organisational restructure. Information from this study may help develop workplace interventions targeted to prevent psychosocial factors affecting different sections of the workforce.


Purpose: This article provides information about clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) to facilitate their application to the practice of speech-language pathology. CPGs are sets of recommendations based on evidence, including expert clinical opinion, that have been developed by a panel of reviewers. In this article, CPGs are defined and their components and rationale for use are discussed. A guide for analyzing CPGs critically and recommendations for applying them to clinical practice are also described. Method: Two of the authors and 1 graduate student in speechlanguage pathology independently evaluated a CPG from the early intervention literature using the guide described in the article. An illustrative evaluation of a CPG is presented to facilitate application of the proposed critiquing guide. Results: The guide was revealed to have high interrater reliability. However, analysis of the raters' responses to the individual items revealed problems with 3 items. The authors present possible resolutions and/or explanations for the problems. Conclusion: By using the proposed guide, speech-language pathologists can increase their application of research to clinical practice, thereby enhancing their skills in informed clinical decisionmaking.


The Support Vector Machine (SVM) is an effective classification tool. Though extremely effective, SVMs are not a panacea. SVM training and testing is computationally expensive. Also, tuning the kernel parameters is a complicated procedure. On the other hand, the Nearest Neighbor (KNN) classifier is computationally efficient. In order to achieve the classification efficiency of an SVM and the computational efficiency of a KNN classifier, it has been shown previously that, rather than training a single global SVM, a separate SVM can be trained for the neighbourhood of each query point. In this work, we have extended this Local SVM (LSVM) formulation. Our Local Adaptive SVM (LASVM) formulation trains a local SVM in a modified neighborhood space of a query point. The main contributions of the paper are twofold: First, we present a novel LASVM algorithm to train a local SVM. Second, we discuss in detail the motivations behind the LSVM and LASVM formulations and its possible impacts on tuning the kernel parameters of an SVM. We found that training an SVM in a local adaptive neighborhood can result in significant classification performance gain. Experiments have been conducted on a selection of the UCIML, face, object, and digit databases.


Objective:
 Ischemic preconditioning (IPC) serves as a protective role in improving ischemic tolerance to subsequent severe stroke. Understanding the mechanisms underlying IPC-induced neuroprotection is essential to reveal potential therapeutic targets of ischemia attack. Here, we tested the hypothesis that moderate level flux of nitrosative stress contributes to IPC-associated neurovascular protection in mice subjected to ischemia-reperfusion injury.
 Methods:
 IPC was modeled in WT or
 eNOS
 -/-
 mice with two cycles of 5-min ischemia and 30-min reperfusion. 24h-reperfusion later, mice were subjected to 2h-transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) and neurological deficits, infarct volume, blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability as well as neurovascular damage-related protein expression were evaluated 24 h later. Peroxynitrite donor SIN-1 preconditioning in brain and knockout of
 eNOS
 were further performed to determine the role of nitrosative stress during ischemic preconditioning.
 Results:
 IPC treatment ameliorated neurological dysfunction after cerebral ischemia compared to the tMCAO group without IPC, which was accompanied by a reduction of infract volume, evans blue leakage from BBB and MMP9 activation. In contract, inhibition of nitrosative stress by eNOS deficiency blocked the benefits of IPC on neurovascular protection during ischemic stroke. SIN-1 preconditioning at 0.5 mM significantly decreased neurological deficit scores and infarct volume after ischemic stroke. While both of 0.1 mM and 2 mM SIN-1 failed to active cell survival programs against ischemic injury.
 Conclusion:
 Nitrosative stress at moderate level is a key mediator of IPC-associated cell survival response and neurovascular protection during ischemic insult, thus implicating a novel therapeutic approach that selectively targeting nitrosative stress to active cell survival response during adaptive phase and ameliorate prolonged ischemic damage during later phase in stroke.


The identification of kinase substrates and the specific phosphorylation sites they regulate is an important factor in understanding protein function regulation and signalling pathways. Computational prediction of kinase targets – assigning kinases to putative substrates, and selecting from protein sequence the sites that kinases can phosphorylate – requires the consideration of both the cellular context that kinases operate in, as well as their binding affinity. This consideration enables investigation of how phosphorylation influences a range of biological processes. We report here a novel probabilistic model for the classification of kinase-specific phosphorylation sites from sequence across three model organisms: human, mouse and yeast. The model incorporates position-specific amino acid frequencies, and counts of co-occurring amino acids from kinase binding sites in a kinase‐ and family-specific manner. We show how this model can be seamlessly integrated with protein interactions and cell-cycle abundance profiles. When evaluating the prediction accuracy of our method, PhosphoPICK, on an independent hold-out set of kinase-specific phosphorylation sites, we found it achieved an average specificity of 97% while correctly predicting 32% of true positives. We also compared PhosphoPICK's ability, through cross-validation, to predict kinase-specific phosphorylation sites with alternative methods, and found that at high levels of specificity PhosphoPICK outperforms alternative methods for most comparisons made. We investigated the relationship between experimentally confirmed phosphorylation sites and predicted nuclear localisation signals by predicting the most likely kinases to be regulating the phosphorylated residues immediately upstream or downstream from the localisation signal. We show that kinases PKA, Akt1 and AurB have an over-representation of predicted binding sites at particular positions downstream from predicted nuclear localisation signals, demonstrating an important role for these kinases in regulating the nuclear import of proteins. PhosphoPICK is freely available online as a web-service at http://bioinf.scmb.uq.edu.au/phosphopick.


We report how seven independent critical access hospitals collaborated with a rural referral hospital to standardize workflow policies and procedures while jointly implementing the same health information technologies (HITs) to enhance medication care processes. The study hospitals implemented the same electronic health record, computerized provider order entry, pharmacy information systems, automated dispensing cabinets (ADC), and barcode medication administration systems. We conducted interviews and examined project documents to explore factors underlying the successful implementation of ADC and barcode medication administration across the network hospitals. These included a shared culture of collaboration; strategic sequencing of HIT component implementation; interface among HIT components; strategic placement of ADCs; disciplined use and sharing of workflow analyses linked with HIT applications; planning for workflow efficiencies; acquisition of adequate supply of HIT-related devices; and establishing metrics to monitor HIT use and outcomes.


The goal of this thesis is to produce sharp and stylized upsampled images. We present cumulative range geodesic filter and bilateral roundup filter, with the former excels at edge sharpening and the latter finds a better balance between edge sharpening and fine-detail preservation. Moreover, we propose a pixel migration idea that relocates pixels in the image plane. We implemented pixel migration using a mass-spring physics simulation. In the context of image upsampling, we assign short rest lengths to pixels along edges, thus the gaps between those pixels are closed, and edge sharpness is recovered. Applying pixel migration on the original image plane, we propose a two-stage approach to painterly rendering of photographs, where the image plane is first warped to produce a distorted or caricatured effect and then the resulting image is rendered with a painterly effect. This work on image warping is published in Expressive, 2015.


Specimens of 2507 super-duplex stainless steel aging at 850°C for 5 min, 15 min and 60 min were investigated to evaluate the pitting corrosion resistance in 3.5% NaCl solution at 30°C and 50°C. The results are correlated with the microstructures obtained with different aging time. The precipitation of σ phase remarkably decreases the pitting corrosion resistance of the steel and the specimen aged for 60 min presents the lowest pitting potential at both 30°C and 50°C. With increasing the ambient temperature from 30°C to 50°C, the pitting potential exhibits a reduction tendency, while this tendency is less obviously in enhancing the ambient temperature than in extending the isothermal aging duration from 5 to 60 min. SEM analysis shows that the surrounding regions of σ phase are the preferable sites for the formation of corrosion pits which grew up subsequently. This may be attributed to the lower content of corrosion resistance elements in these regions formatted with σ phase precipitation.


The history of surgery of the thymus gland is presented through highlights and landmark publications ranging from prehistoric times to the present day. The evolution of surgical techniques includes transcervical and transthoracic thymectomy along with other techniques such as current thoracoscopic VATS procedures. The significance of myasthenia gravis, autoimmunity, thymic oncology, adjuvant developments, and speculation on the future is discussed.


This article examines the Turkish-Armenian relations, its development throughout the history and the situation between those two countries since Recep Tayyip Erdogan became the prime minister of Turkey in 2003 resulting in the change of the Turkish foreign policy. The main focus is on the problems between Turkey and Armenia stemming out from the different view on the happenings in 1915 and the recognition of the so called Armenian genocide. The article analyzes the decision-making of the individuals, the international organizations and the states when it comes to the question of the so called Armenian genocide and the reasons of the decisions made by individuals and states. These decisions are subjected to criticism on the basis of the reality image theory by Ibrahim Canbolat (1993) and the Thomas theorem (1928) as well as other criteria. States are the most important actors in the article because they form the foreign policy and the influence of this particular problem of the decisions of states influences the relations between Turkey and the EU as well as other world powers. Turkey's importance and image are still worsened due to these reasons and unfortunately, it seems that states have no interest in finding the truth.


The secretory and autophagy pathways can be thought of as the biosynthetic (i.e., anabolic) and degradative (i.e., catabolic) branches of the endomembrane system. In analogy to anabolic and catabolic pathways in metabolism, there is mounting evidence that the secretory and autophagy pathways are intimately linked and that certain regulatory elements are shared between them. Here we highlight the parallels and points of intersection between these two evolutionarily highly conserved and fundamental endomembrane systems. The intersection of these pathways may play an important role in remodeling membranes during cellular stress.


A polygon motor consists of several mirror faces and it is one of the core components for a laser beam printer and a copier. Under high-speed rotation, aeroacoustic noise with a peak frequency of rotational speed times the number of mirror faces and its harmonics is prominently generated from a polygon motor covered with a casing. This paper describes a method to predict such noise that is generated from the flow in between the rotating mirror and stationary casing, propagates through the casing and is radiated into the ambient air. The unsteady flow is firstly computed by large-eddy simulation. The computed pressure fluctuations on the inner wall of the casing are then fed to structural analysis based on a dynamic explicit finite element method that computes the propagation of the elastic waves in the casing. Resulting external surface velocities are finally used for the computation of the acoustical field. A good correlation between the computed and measured results has been observed both in terms of velocity spectra on the casing and spatial distribution of sound pressure level. The proposed method thus seems a promising engineering tool for predicting and identifying the generation mechanism of such noise that is generated from unsteady flow, propagates through solid walls and is radiated to ambient air, in general.


In the effort to provide simulation support to the future Network Based Defence (NBD) that are currently being applied by the Swedish Armed Forces (SwAF), and the similair work within US and NATO, the authors opinion is that simulation should be treated as any other services, existing in the operational systems. Meaning that architecture should be conformant between the operational and simulated systems, for a start use the same infrastructure. The choice so far for simulation is the High Level Architecture (HLA). During the author's participation in ongoing work supporting NBD, questions have gradually been raised if HLA is the simulation path to walk. In the Core Enterprise Services (CES) and Swedish Armed Force Enterprise Architecture (FMA) Services IT- Kernel, core services are specified and HLA do address a lot of non-simulation specific services giving unwanted redundancy. However, the services already defined may with some enhancements deliver the same services addressed within FMA Services IT-Kernel. The Next Generation HLA could be more than just a simulation standard if it utilizes the FMA ideas. In this paper the authors present the ongoing work, as it stands today, with Service Oriented Simulations, that is an outlook for simulation using the architectural structuring, services, components and infrastructures concepts evolving in FMA and Global Information Grid (GIG). The focus of the work is to enable interoperable simulation support for the whole system lifecycle - Acquisition, Development, Training, Planning, In- the-Field decision support, System removal - within NBD, entailing that the architecture for simulation is uniform regardless of its application and giving end-users the capability to focus on what to simulate instead of how to simulate.


The work presents an algorithm for the calculation of the consumption of stretch foil used to wrap
cylindrical bales of fodder in order to isolate the fodder from the air and other external factors. Mechanical properties of the foil, its arbitrary dimensions and any overlapping width of subsequent wrapped foil layers ware taken into account. A simulation program was written that allows to compute the number of foil layers in the bale lateral surface as a function of the width of the foil, the angle of the bale's rotation around its axis and the number of wrappings. The computer program contains graphical module which allows visualization of geometry of the distribution of subsequent foil strips and the
arrangement of foil layer in a bale cross-section. The length and surface area of the foil taken from the roll are computed for different variants of the wrapping process. The computational example is presented for two geometrically different ways of wrapping and different initial widths of the foil. Conclusions and suggestions were formulated as a result of the simulation.


Twenty-six strains belonging to the five main species of the genus Listeria were examined for production of thiol-dependent exotoxins. All strains of L. monocytogenes cultured in charcoal-treated broth secreted a haemolytic factor at a level ranging from 200 to 800 haemolytic units (HU) ml-1, except for the strain EGD (1500 HU ml-1) and the type strain CIP 82110T (10 HU ml-1). The haemolytic activity reached a maximum level by 8-10 h and then rapidly declined as soon as bacterial exponential growth ceased. The titres of haemolytic activity were markedly reduced when bacteria were grown in charcoal-untreated broth. The haemolytic factor produced by L. monocytogenes strains was characterized as listeriolysin O (Mr about 60,000), a member of the group of thiol-dependent exotoxins. Strains of Listeria ivanovii also produced high levels of thiol-dependent exotoxin (about 2500 HU ml-1), in both charcoal-treated and untreated broth. Small amounts of haemolytic factor (about 9-30 HU ml-1) were also produced by Listeria seeligeri in charcoal-treated broth. The haemolysin produced by L. seeligeri was identified for the first time as a thiol-dependent exotoxin of Mr about 60,000, antigenically related to listeriolysin O. As expected, we failed to detect thiol-dependent exotoxin in the two nonhaemolytic species, Listeria innocua and Listeria welshimeri.


With the implementation of the principle of the Internet of Things raises demands for new services as well as technical requirements that enable their implementation. One of the fields is the localization of wounded in mass disasters. Currently, the identification is performed by paper / plastic triage tags, which are used to label wounded victim at first contact with rescue unit based on the state of the causality. Automatic identification using active RFID technology is in such a case a solution which permits remote technically sophisticated surveillance of the situation. It is advantageous to use active RFID tags as a low-power transmitter, which is an immense advantage comparison with GPS technology. Lifetime of such tag can be several months. Managed active RFID tags can localize wounded objects within the range of a few hundred meters in free space and indicate the degree of severity of the injury of individual causalities. RFID readers, i.e. locators placed in that area, evaluate the direction of arrival of each tag and transmit obtained information to the computer system, which calculates the position of each RFID tag using sophisticated signal processing methods. This information can be displayed in a specific map including classification of tags, their movement or history. This paper focuses on the testing and experimental verification of such a system. The results of the experiment verify the concept of an RFID locator with achieved accuracy of 2.1 m in the area of 100 × 100 m.


The detection of signals in the presence of noise is one of the most basic and important problems encountered by communication engineers. Although the literature abounds with analyses of communications in Gaussian noise, relatively little work has appeared dealing with communications in non-Gaussian noise. In this thesis several digital communication systems disturbed by non-Gaussian noise are analysed. The thesis is divided into two main parts. In the first part, a filtered-Poisson impulse noise model is utilized to calulate error probability characteristics of a linear receiver operating in additive impulsive noise. Firstly the effect that non-Gaussian interference has on the performance of a receiver that has been optimized for Gaussian noise is determined. The factors affecting the choice of modulation scheme so as to minimize the deterimental effects of non-Gaussian noise are then discussed. In the second part, a new theoretical model of impulsive noise that fits well with the observed statistics of noise in radio channels below 100 MHz has been developed. This empirical noise model is applied to the detection of known signals in the presence of noise to determine the optimal receiver structure. The performance of such a detector has been assessed and is found to depend on the signal shape, the time-bandwidth product, as well as the signal-to-noise ratio. The optimal signal to minimize the probability of error of; the detector is determined. Attention is then turned to the problem of threshold detection. Detector structure, large sample performance and robustness against errors in the detector parameters are examined. Finally, estimators of such parameters as. the occurrence of an impulse and the parameters in an empirical noise model are developed for the case of an adaptive system with slowly varying conditions.


by Syeda Rasheda Begum David A. de Wolf, Chairman Electrical Engineering (ABSTRACT) A general discussion on propagation of an electromagnetic wave in a random medium is presented. Emphasis is placed on the bistatic scattering problem. The first phase of the investigation is focused on a random continuum. This is an extension of work done by de Wolf [191 recently. He derives a formal expression for the enhancement factor of the electromagnetic flux at large angles (excluding backscatter) from an extended weakly random medium. Enhancement describes the factor by which the singly-scattered flux is modified when the effects of cumulative forward scatterings are taken into account before and after one large-angle scattering. Explicit results are calculated here for a two-dimensional geometry describing cylindrical scattering from a slab of width L filled with a uniformly turbulent dielectric described by a power-law spectrum in the inertial subrange. The results show that the enhancement factor is close to unity beyond the mean free path of the small-angle scatterings and it increases when the medium width L exceeds the mean free path of a large-angle scattering. This result is extended for a generalized power-law structure function of the dielectric pennittivity fluctuation, which shows a possibility of using the cumulative forward and single large-angle scattered flux to detect the statistical properties of a random continuum. The negligence of the Fresnel terms in the expression of the scattered flux is justified by including those in the phase term and investigating the resulting effects. This investigation reveals that the inclusion of the Fresnel terms makes the scattered flux complex, an error arising from the truncation of the higher-order phase terms, which is not observed when the Fresnel terms are neglected. The second phase of the investigation involves discrete random media. A mathematical model is developed for the purpose of deriving an integral equation of the coherent field and autocorrelation function in the very general case of an electromagnetic wave propagating in a medium of densely packed nontenuous particles. All orders of N-tuple particle correlation function are included. The resulting equations are a generalization of those derived recently by Tsolakis et al. (23); the four lowest-order terms of each equation include those of Tsolakis et al.'s equations which incorporate only binary correlation between particles. The mathematical model is then used to derive an expression for the scattered flux of an electromagnetic wave under a first-order cumulative forward and single large-angle scattering approximation. The resulting expression is valid at high frequencies under Twersky's approximation (5). It is shown that the discrete scatterer case may be treated by an approach similar to the continuum case by using the new formulation.


We examine the feasibility of learning causal domains by observing transitions between states as a result of taking certain actions. We take the approach that the observed transitions are only a macro-level manifestation of the underlying microlevel dynamics of the environment, which an agent does not directly observe. In this setting, we ask that domains learned through macro-level state transitions are accompanied by formal guarantees on their predictive power on future instances. We show that even if the underlying dynamics of the environment are significantly restricted, and even if the learnability requirements are severely relaxed, it is still intractable for an agent to learn a model of its environment. Our negative results are universal in that they apply independently of the syntax and semantics of the framework the agent utilizes as its modelling tool. We close with a discussion of what a complete theory for domain learning should take into account, and how existing work can be utilized to this effect.


Orthophragmines from late Lutetian (Alaman), Bartonian (Kecili) and early Priabonian (Sarkoy) localities in Turkey are described and illustrated for the first time. Biometry of megalospheric individuals, based on a large number of free specimens sectioned mainly in the equatorial plane, contributes to our knowledge about the orthophragmines in several aspects. They are of western Tethyan affinity and belong to the evolutionary lineages of the genera Discocyclina, Nemkovella, Orbitoclypeus and Asterocyclina, known mainly from the European part of peri-Mediterranean region. Identified foraminifera are categorized into evolutionary lineages, different developmental stages of which are distinguished by biometrically defined subspecies. Two new species of Asterocyclina, A. sireli n. sp. and A. ferrandezi n. sp. from the late Lutetian and early Priabonian respectively, one subspecies of Discocyclina, D. trabayensis elazigensis n. ssp. and one of Orbitoclypeus, O. douvillei malatyaensis n. ssp., both from the Bartonian, are introduced. An emended description of Nemkovella daguini, the poorly known orthophragminid taxon (formerly ascribed to Orbitoclypeus), is given, with emphasis on equatorial development and generic position. Stratigraphic position of orthophragminid populations is ascertained from the calcareous nannoplankton, planktonic foraminifera and the assemblages of accompanying larger foraminifera, such as Heterostegina, Spiroclypeus and some lineages of Nummulites (especially of N. fabiani and N. perforatus). The stratigraphic distribution of some orthophragminid taxa is rearranged and a revision of late Lutetian to early Priabonian orthophragminid foraminiferal zones (marked by OZ), in the context of shallow benthic zonation of Tethyan early Paleogene, is proposed. In the updated zonation, OZ 12 corresponds to the latest Lutetian to earliest Bartonian interval, OZ 13 to the late early Bartonian, and OZ 14 to the late Bartonian to earliest Priabonian time-span.


Background: Microfracture is the most commonly applied arthroscopic marrow stimulation procedure. Hypothesis: Articular cartilage repair is improved when the subchondral bone is perforated by small-diameter microfracture awls compared with larger awls. Study Design: Controlled laboratory study. Methods: Standardized rectangular (4 × 8 mm) full-thickness chondral defects (N = 24) were created in the medial femoral condyle of 16 adult sheep and debrided down to the subchondral bone plate. Three treatment groups (n = 8 defects each) were tested: 6 microfracture perforations using small-diameter awls (1.0 mm; group 1), large-diameter awls (1.2 mm; group 2), or without perforations (debridement control; group 3). Osteochondral repair was assessed at 6 months in vivo using established macroscopic, histological, immunohistochemical, biochemical, and micro–computed tomography analyses. Results: Compared with control defects, histological cartilage repair was always improved after both microfracture techniques (P < .023). Application of 1.0-mm microfracture awls led to a significantly improved histological overall repair tissue quality (7.02 ± 0.70 vs 9.03 ± 0.69; P = .008) and surface grading (1.05 ± 0.28 vs 2.10 ± 0.19; P = .001) compared with larger awls. The small-diameter awl decreased relative bone volume of the subarticular spongiosa (bone volume/tissue volume ratio: 23.81% ± 3.37% vs 30.58% ± 2.46%; P = .011). Subchondral bone cysts and intralesional osteophytes were frequently observed after either microfracture treatment. Macroscopic grading, DNA, proteoglycan, and type I and type II collagen contents as well as degenerative changes within the adjacent cartilage remained unaffected by the awl diameter. Conclusion: Small-diameter microfracture awls improve articular cartilage repair in the translational sheep model more effectively than do larger awls. Clinical Relevance: These data support the use of small microfracture instruments for the surgical treatment of cartilage defects and warrant prolonged clinical investigations.


In this study rainfall is calculated from Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Version 6 (V6) 3B42 datasets and calibrated with reference to the observed daily rainfall by rain-gauge collected at 15 locations over Nepal during 1998-2007. In monthly, seasonal and annual scales TRMM estimated rainfalls follow the similar distribution of historical patterns obtained from the rain-gauge data. Rainfall is large in the Southern parts of the country, especially in the Central Nepal. Day-to-day rainfall comparison shows that TRMM derived trend is very similar to the observed data but TRMM usually underestimates rainfall on many days with some exceptions of overestimation on some days. The correlation coefficient of rainfalls between TRMM and rain-gauge data is obtained about 0.71. TRMM can measure about 65.39% of surface rainfall in Nepal. After using calibration factors obtained through regression expression the TRMM estimated rainfall over Nepal becomes about 99.91% of observed data. TRMM detection of rainy days is poor over Nepal; it can approximately detect, under-detect and over-detect by 19%, 72% and 9% of stations respectively. False alarm rate, probability of detection, threat score and skill score are calculated as 0.30, 0.68, 0.53 and 0.55 respectively. Finally, TRMM data can be utilized in measuring mountainous rainfall over Nepal but exact amount of rainfall has to be calculated with the help of adjustment factors obtained through calibration procedure. This preliminary work is the preparation of utilization of Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) data to be commencing in 2013.


The environmental impacts of the polypropylene (PP) manufacturing process are not fully understood in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. There is a growing interest in assessing the environmental impacts of this highly demanded product, especially for the petrochemical industry sector. This research examines the environmental impacts of the polypropylene manufacturing process using a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach. Gabi software is selected to carry out this research study and quantify the risks associated with manufacturing one ton of polypropylene, chosen as the functional unit for this LCA study. This work has the following merits: (i) an evaluation of environmental impacts specific to GCC region based on actual plant data; (ii) the results in this work can be used to evaluate LCA impacts of PP based products; and (iii) emphasizing the importance of waste management in reducing environmental impacts. This study shows that the polypropylene manufacturing process releases numerous pollutants into the environment, as the gross CO2 emissions for the manufacturing process of PP in the plant located in the GCC region were estimated to be 1.58 kg CO2 eq./kg-PP. The manufacturing process of propylene has extremely high impacts on global warming potential, fossil resource depletion (1.722 kg Oil eq./kg-PP), human toxicity (0.077 kg 1,4-DB eq./kg-PP), acidification (0.0049 kg SO2 eq./kg-PP), and petrochemical oxidant formation (0.0042 kg NMVOC/kg-PP). Additionally, based on the results of this present research, this study proposes possible improvements and alternative solutions such as applying advanced technologies, clean energy, and safe recycling processes in the GCC that are environmentally friendly.


Teachers' answers to such major questions as 'who am I?', 'what kind of teacher do I want to be?', and 'how do I see my role as a teacher?' (Korthagen, 2004) constitute their professional identity, growing over career stages and in light of educational, cultural, and political contexts (Flores and Day, 2006). Furthermore, teaching strategies, reflectivity and affectivity build up it. However, these issues have rarely been accommodated integratedly, which motivated this study to address them through lengthy journal writing stages each followed by professional constructive feedback. So, the research question covering the continuum of development from teaching in general to reflectivity were addressed. To do so, a sample of 30 Iranian MA EFL teachers attempted RTI of Akbari et al (2010) prior to and after the experiment run through guided journal writings during a ten-session course. Each journal was analyzed based on the PPP approach and necessary constructive feedback was explicitly given in written. The data analyzed based on mixed research paradigms revealed promising results and proved the feasibility of the PID. Parametric statistical analyses revealed moderate effects of the given feedback on the PID, but significant effects on the reflectivity. Qualitatively, a remarkable trend of developments in all three PPPs indicated a trend of shift from teacher-centeredness to learner autonomy and strategic teaching.


Afghanistan is a profoundly insecure country, with a very high rate of insurgent violence, affecting large swathes of the population. Despite contributing to physical and economic insecurity across the country, Taliban insurgents have succeeded in creating what we call the "paradox of the heavy-handed insurgent." Insurgents use attacks on government-controlled areas to generate public support by fostering a reputation for effective security provision for the civilian population under its control. For civilians who have a strong unmet need for physical security—especially those in rural and contested communities—heavy-handed insurgents are preferable to government forces who are perceived as either incompetent or unwilling to provide governance. We test this argument using data from the 2018 Asia Society Survey of the Afghan People. We find that the most important factor driving sympathy for the Taliban among Afghan Pashtuns is their sense of insecurity where they live. This indicates that an insurgent group that wears down government forces and weakens their ability to provide public goods and services can actually benefit by appearing as the more viable alternative for governance despite their heavy-handed tactics.


OBJECTIVE
To describe how practice effects influence cognitive trajectories and determine if a reduction in practice effects is a potential marker of Stage-III preclinical Alzheimer's disease (AD).

METHOD
Participants included 263 older adults who were cognitively normal at baseline (i.e., had a Clinical Dementia Rating [CDR] of 0; Morris, 1993) and returned for an average of 9.5 annual visits. Participants completed standard tests of episodic memory, visuospatial ability, semantic memory, and executive function. Progressors (n = 66) converted to CDR > 0 with a diagnosis of symptomatic AD after a minimum of 3 visits and stable participants (n = 197) never progressed to CDR > 0. Practice effects, defined as the slope of performance across Visits 1-3, were compared between groups and used within subjects to predict risk of conversion. Change-point models that accounted for retest were contrasted with linear models that ignored retest.

RESULTS
The stable group showed practice effects on episodic-memory measures (β = 0.14, SE = .02, p < .0001) but the progressor group did not (β = 0.03, SE = .03, p = .343). Across all participants, practice effects on episodic-memory tests were associated with a decreased risk of progression to AD as indicated by the subdistribution hazards model (SHR; Fine & Gray, 1999); SHR = .110, 95% CI [.032, .384], p = .001). Finally, use of change-point models dramatically altered rate-of-change estimates compared with models that ignored practice.

CONCLUSION
Our results indicate that preclinical AD is marked by a reduction in practice effects in episodic memory and that the magnitude of gain from retesting is inversely related to progression risk. Assessment of practice effects may be a face-valid indicator of Stage-III preclinical AD.


Conceptually, plant functional types represent a classification scheme between species and broad vegetation types. Historically, these were based on physiological, structural and/or phenological properties, whereas recently, they have reflected plant responses to resources or environmental conditions. Often, an underlying assumption, based on an economic analogy, is that the functional role of vegetation can be identified by linked sets of morphological and physiological traits constrained by resources, based on the hypothesis of functional convergence. Using these concepts, ecologists have defined a variety of functional traits that are often context dependent, and the diversity of proposed traits demonstrates the lack of agreement on universal categories. Historically, remotely sensed data have been interpreted in ways that parallel these observations, often focused on the categorization of vegetation into discrete types, often dependent on the sampling scale. At the same time, current thinking in both ecology and remote sensing has moved towards viewing vegetation as a continuum rather than as discrete classes. The capabilities of new remote sensing instruments have led us to propose a new concept of optically distinguishable functional types ('optical types') as a unique way to address the scale dependence of this problem. This would ensure more direct relationships between ecological information and remote sensing observations.


An application to formulate and to solve mathematical models of multieffect evaporation systems Is presented. The application allows that any user, without being an expert in optimization, simulation and chemical engineering can simulate, optimize, make re-engineering or synthesize a multieffect evaporation system. The information of the problem is entered by means of tables or flowsheet and the application formulates the model and it solves it using a commercial optimizer. In the mathematical model the number of effects, the condenser and a heater/cooler for the final product, are considered. In addition, the use of software eliminates the necessity of verifying the model, it allows to model in a fast and reliable way, considerably reducing the time consumed in the analysis from the specification of the model until the optimal result is obtained.


Although, the Olympic Flame with the closing of the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics, extinguished, the enthusiasm of the world towards the Olympic Games keeps going. So the thoughts of the effects from Olympics onto the host country. This study, after presenting the general ideas of the Olympic economic effects that is boom to bust, briefly analyzed the macroeconomic effects of the Beijing Olympics on Chinese Economy. And based on authorized statistics and through the methods of comparison and deduction, the study concluded that those effects will keep functioning on transformation of Chinese economic growth pattern and through the sectors of transportation, banking, insurance and travel consumption in a long term.


New pleuromutilin-like compounds were synthesized in approximately 11 steps from 3-allylcyclopent-2-enone by a strategy featuring sequential carbonyl addition reactions. Several analogs possessing the C14 tiamulin ester side chain displayed activity in a Mycobacterium tuberculosis mc(2)7000 assay. The results described herein provide a basis for further efforts to expand the structural and stereochemical diversity of the pleuromutilin class of bacterial protein synthesis inhibitors through advances in chemical synthesis.


Research Findings: University-based child development laboratory programs have a long and rich history of supporting teaching, research, and outreach activities in the child development/early childhood education fields. Although these programs were originally developed in order to conduct research on children and families to inform policy and practice, this mission has yet to be fully achieved. Practice or Policy: This paper provides an overview of the potential for 21st-century child development laboratory schools to be places that generate and disseminate new knowledge and understanding of children, families, teachers, curriculum, and classroom processes. An overview of the current context for laboratory schools is presented, outlining the challenges that limit schools' ability to actively support comprehensive teaching, research, and outreach/engagement activities. An overview of applied developmental science is presented as a framework that can play a critical role in the future as laboratory schools strive to continue and enhance their important roles in the generation of new knowledge into the 21st century. A laboratory schools consortium is proposed as a mechanism to support knowledge generation.


Abstract The aim of this study was to determine the effect of subgingival scaling and root planing on healing of the distal surface of second molars following extraction of third molars. Twenty-eight patients with contralateral erupted third molars and pocket depths greater than or equal to 3 mm on the distal surface of the second molars participated in this study. Measurements of supragingival bacterial plaque, bleeding on probing, pocket depth, and relative attachment level were performed at baseline and 2 months after treatment. Extraction of contralateral third molars was carried out simultaneously. The experimental site received thorough scaling and root planing of the distal surface of the second molar, while the control site received extraction alone. Experimental sites showed significant improvement in all clinical parameters assessed compared to the control sites. In conclusion, periodontal lesions on the distal of second molars can be significantly improved following scaling and root planing after extraction of third molars.


Abstract : Historically, there has been a separation between the U.S. military and outside agencies, to include non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and international organizations (IOs). These communities often have misconceptions, biases, and stereotypical misperceptions of each other. Furthermore, these effects have sometimes degraded the ability of the military to accomplish its missions in stability, stabilization, transition, and reconstruction operations. It is imperative that the military and outside agencies cooperate with each other. From this observation, we ask the question: How can we develop a system to share information and lessons learned and collaborate on humanitarian activities within the international community? From this question the following hypothesis emerges: Information sharing and collaboration on lessons learned can be accomplished through a web-based network. The thesis will study the rift between the military, NGOs and IOs, show their overlapping area of operations, the results of this separation, and the fact that these communities have a desire and a need to share information; discuss the definition of networks and explain how networks and communities of interest have developed and advance a business model of how to best implement a web-based information sharing network. Note: This thesis includes the establishment of a prototype website to test the hypothesis.


The lens module is widely used in many types of equipment, such as mobile phone, image recognition product, iPad, computer camera module, security product, car rear view module, industrial endoscope and medical endoscope product. In the process of appearance quality inspection of lens module, it is a problem that the inspection accuracy depends mainly on manual workers. To save the time and amount of this quality detection labor, it's necessary for us to design the lens module's appearance quality automatic inspection system. This paper proposes a subpixel-accurate edge detection algorithm based on wavelet transform with the cubic spline interpolation for the lens module's appearance quality inspection system. Firstly, calculate the wavelet modulus maximum, and detect a pixel-accurate edge. Then apply the cubic spline interpolation to obtain subpixel-accurate edge at the side of the pixel-accurate edge. Finally, an industrial measurement method using this subpixel-accurate edge detection algorithm is studied, and some experiments are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the lens module's appearance quality inspection system. Comparing with the traditional methods, the lens module's appearance quality inspection system has a good anti-noise performance and stable inspection accuracy.


In reliability design and maintenance plan, determining statistical distribution type of interrelated structure is a very important job, and it is always determined through reliability test, which are time-consuming and needs a large number of tests. In this paper, a method determining statistical distribution function was proposed through the experimental data of the Creep Behavior. This method uses the test data; the results of Larson-Miller Method obtained from the data from experiments, and use the least-squares linear regression to get the parameter of common probability distribution function, such as Weibull Distribution, Lognormal Distribution and Normal Distribution. Statistical function of structural failure data was derived through discussion and comparison of results from various methods. The examples proved the validity and usability of this method.


Abstract The crustal structure of the Mesozoic deep Galicia margin and adjacent ocean-continent boundary (OCB) was investigated by seismic reflection (including pre-stack depth migration and attenuation of seismic waves with time). The seismic data were calibrated using numerous geological samples recovered by drilling and/or by diving with submersible. The N-S trending margin and OCB are divided in two distinct segments by NE-SW synrift transverse faults locally reactivated and inverted by Cenozoic tectonics. The transverse faulting and OCB segmentation result from crustal stretching probably in a NE-SW direction during the rifting stage of the margin in early Cretaceous times. The Cenozoic tectonics are related to Iberia-Eurasia convergence in Palaeogene times (Pyrenean event). In both segments of the deep margin, the seismic crust is made of four horizontal layers: (1) two sedimentary layers corresponding to post- and syn-rift sequences, where velocity ranges from 1.9 to 3.5 km s−1, and where the Q factor is low, the two sedimentary layers being separated by a strong reflector marking the break-up unconformity; (2) a faulted layer, where velocity ranges from 4.0 to 5.2 km s−1, and where the Q factor is high. This layer corresponds to the margin tilted blocks, where continental basement and lithified pre-rift sediments were sampled; (3) the lower seismic crust, where the velocity (7 km s−1 and more) and the Q factor are the highest. This layer, probably made of partly serpentinized peridotite, is roofed by a strong S-S' seismic reflector, and resting on a scattering, poorly reflective Moho. A composite model, based both on analogue modelling of lithosphere stretching and on available structural data, accounts for the present structure of the margin and OCB. Stretching and thinning of the lithosphere are accommodated by boudinage of the brittle levels (upper crust and uppermost mantle) and by simple shear in the ductile levels (lower crust and upper lithospheric mantle). Two main conjugate shear zones may account for the observations and seismic data: one (SZ1), located in the lower ductile continental crust, is synthetic to the tilting sense of the margin crustal blocks; another (SZ2), located in the ductile mantle, accounts for the deformation of mantle terranes and their final unroofing and exposure at the continental rift axis (now the OCB). The S-S′ reflector is interpreted as the seismic signature of the tectonic contact between crustal terranes and mantle rocks partly transformed into serpentinite by syn-rift hydrothermal activity. It is probably related to both shear zones SZ1 and SZ2. The seismic Moho is lower within the lithosphere, at the fresh-serpentinized peridotite boundary.


Since 1979 Britain has embarked upon a more wide ranging programme of housing privatization than other European countries. A considerable amount has been written about changes in British housing policy in this period but references to privatization tend to be to policies to sell municipally owned housing. This article argues that to equate privatization with the sale of state housing involves too narrow a view. A more appropriate perspective is one which sees privatization as a key element in a wider range of housing policies. In this way privatization policies have taken a variety of forms and had a more general impact on the restructuring of housing in Britain. This article identifies a range of elements in privatization and indicates different forms of privatization before drawing conclusions related to comparisons with other European countries.


Experimental infection of the intubated and previously sterile biliary tract of the dog with particles of the stools leads to a formation of urobilin from the bilirubin of the bile as it flows through the ducts. No urobilinuria occurs, however, unless temporary biliary obstruction is produced, or the liver parenchyma injured. Then urobilinuria develops, despite the fact that no bile is reaching the intestine and, by corollary, no urobilin being formed there. Cholangitic urobilinuria, as one may term the phenomenon just described, to distinguish it from the urobilinuria having origin in pigment absorbed from within the intestine, is far more pronounced in animals possessing a healthy gall bladder than in those with a pathological gall bladder or with one prevented from functioning by severance of the cystic duct. These facts suggest that there may be an active absorption of urobilin from the normal gall bladder. There can be no doubt that the pigment is absorbed from within the bile ducts. There is no evidence whatever to justify the belief that urobilin is ever formed through the action of liver parenchyma. There may conceivably be an intralobular formation of the pigment consequent upon the activity of bacteria within the liver tissue, though such a happening has yet to be demonstrated.


The conventional approach to three-dimensional computer graphics produces images from geometric scene descriptions by simulating the interaction of light with matter. My research explores an alternative approach that replaces the geometric scene description with perspective images and replaces the simulation process with data interpolation.
I derive an image-warping equation that maps the visible points in a reference image to their correct positions in any desired view. This mapping from reference image to desired image is determined by the center-of-projection and pinhole-camera model of the two images and by a generalized disparity value associated with each point in the reference image. This generalized disparity value, which represents the structure of the scene, can be determined from point correspondences between multiple reference images.
The image-warping equation alone is insufficient to synthesize desired images because multiple reference-image points may map to a single point. I derive a new visibility algorithm that determines a drawing order for the image warp. This algorithm results in correct visibility for the desired image independent of the reference image's contents.
The utility of the image-based approach can be enhanced with a more general pinhole-camera model. I provide several generalizations of the warping equation's pinhole-camera model and discuss how to build an image-based representation when information about the reference image's center-of-projection and camera model is unavailable.