This study investigated the types and profile of defects facing newly constructed houses through conducting a survey and analyzing defect records of data observed for 652 houses out of 1000 houses newly constructed for Salahaddin University academic staff in Erbil City. The result of analysis revealed that the overall of 6758 defects identified with the mean average of 10 defects per house. The overall percentage of defected houses for each type of defects and the location of the defect ranged from 10% to 67%. The most defected components found in the doors and windows, which comes in rank 1 with the highest percentage of defected houses reached to 76%, whereas coating and painting of doors come in rank 2 with percentage of 75%, and cracks in structural elements come in rank 3 with 73%. Analyzing the defects in terms of area and location showed that the finishing works representing the major defects area of 48%. While, the defects in the doors and window representing second highest defects of 42%. The results indicated that the quality performance in newly constructed houses is low due to poor workmanship and lack of experience and skills of construction staff and inadequate supervision. KeywordsDiagnosis, Defects Evaluation, Erbil City, Newly Constructed, Residential Houses. How to cite this article: K.I. Wali and N.S. Ali, "Diagnosis and Evaluation of Defects Encountered in Newly Constructed Houses in Erbil City, Kurdistan, Iraq," Engineering and Technology Journal, Vol. 37, Part A, No. 02, pp. 70-77, 2019.


Frequency selective limiters (FSLs), which selectively attenuate above threshold signals while allowing low power signals to pass with little attenuation, have potential application in maintaining the dynamic range of RF receivers in the presence of interference. Stripline FSLs, fabricated using thick yttrium iron garnet (YIG) films, are suitable for broadband, microwave applications but have typical threshold power levels of 0 dBm which is too high for many RF applications. Here magnetostatic wave (MSW) FSLs are described with frequency selectivity and threshold power levels at least 10 times lower than achieved with stripline devices. The performance of an MSW FSL operating in the UHF band will be presented and compared with a model for threshold power. Based on these results the performance limits of FSLs will be discussed with emphasis on reducing threshold power levels significantly below -40 dBm as required in potential GPS applications.


Financing and payout decisions generally affect company's economic performance: they have impact (both directly and indirectly) on the free cash flow and, thus, on company's and shareholders' value. Search for optimal capital structure and optimal payout policy strategy that are likely to maximize shareholders' utility resulted in the papers, dedicated to determinants of capital structure and payout policy. In such papers, one of the policies is usually treated as a determinant for another one. This bound does not let researchers to make some conclusions about existence or absence of interrelation between payout and financing choices. To capture this interrelation, simultaneous regression analysis should be performed. Researchers, though, cannot come up with unified conclusion about the existence and direction of such interrelation. The absence of certain results as well as low level of research done on emerging markets make this topic rather relevant. The results of recent research on the interrelation between payout and financing decisions are discussed in this paper. We also develop an econometric model that allows us to check the existence of interrelation in emerging markets and to compare the results to those obtained from developed markets. The article contributes to the existed literature in the following directions: first, two debt variables are taken into account (total and long-term debt) as well as two payout policy variables (total payout and dividend payout). Second, macroeconomic variables are controlled. Third, the results obtained from the companies from emerging countries are compared to those obtained from developed markets.


A comparative study of proteome and transcriptome changes during Medicago truncatula (cultivar Jemalong) seed development has been carried out. Transcript and protein profiles were parallel across the time course for 50% of the comparisons made, but divergent patterns were also observed, indicative of post-transcriptional events. These data, combined with the analysis of transcript and protein distribution in the isolated seed coat, endosperm, and embryo, demonstrated the major contribution made to the embryo by the surrounding tissues. First, a remarkable compartmentalization of enzymes involved in methionine biosynthesis between the seed tissues was revealed that may regulate the availability of sulfur-containing amino acids for embryo protein synthesis during seed filling. This intertissue compartmentalization, which was also apparent for enzymes of sulfur assimilation, is relevant to strategies for modifying the nutritional value of legume seeds. Second, decreasing levels during seed filling of seed coat and endosperm metabolic enzymes, including essential steps in Met metabolism, are indicative of a metabolic shift from a highly active to a quiescent state as the embryo assimilates nutrients. Third, a concomitant persistence of several proteases in seed coat and endosperm highlighted the importance of proteolysis in these tissues as a supplementary source of amino acids for protein synthesis in the embryo. Finally, the data revealed the sites of expression within the seed of a large number of transporters implied in nutrient import and intraseed translocations. Several of these, including a sulfate transporter, were preferentially expressed in seeds compared with other plant organs. These findings provide new directions for genetic improvement of grain legumes.


There are various forces driving change in the knowledge and skills areas for information professionals: 1) technologies, 2) changing environments, and 3) the changing role of information technology management. These forces affect all levels of information technology-based professionals--those responsible for information processing and those responsible for information services. This paper discusses and reviews the pertinent literature that deals with the competencies needed of information technology (IT) professionals, covering both general and project management knowledge and skills. Discussion follows relating this review to the library and information studies (LIS) field. The analysis leads to a composite picture, presented in a classification framework, of the competencies and skills needed of the new LIS professional.


The aim of this study is to determine whether the domestic economy as represented by the interest rate, the international economic status as represented by the exchange rate or both determine sovereign Credit Default Swap (CDS) spreads. Using a Vector Autoregressive (VAR) and Granger noncausality tests, the results suggest that it is the exchange rate that has the most important effect on sovereign CDS spreads, with domestic interest rates having only a limited effect. There is also some evidence of causality running from the CDS spread to the exchange rate.


This thesis examines the motif of the desert island in anglophone post-war popular culture as it coincides with the destabilisation of modern conceptions of identity. The extent to which desert island narratives either reify or challenge normative societal ideals is charted through the analysis of a range of texts across media: novels, radio, advertising, magazine cartoons, television, films and video games. Each text is placed into the context of a dialectic between discipline, the coercive method of state control theorised by Michel Foucault, and seduction, the technique of market dominance described by Zygmunt Bauman. Semiotic, psychoanalytic and spatial approaches are also used in close readings.
The relationship of 'home' to 'the Other' was transformed by the advent of affordable international travel and communication; the thesis considers desert island texts since 1942, from the period since our planet has been opened up to tourism and global capitalism. This post-war timeframe maps onto the development of a self that is increasingly understood as fragmented, reflexive and alienated. A chronological approach is used in order to chart the ways in which desert island texts reflect this trend during what Bauman calls the liquid modern era.
Power structures are examined but, rather than taking an overtly postcolonial stance, the thesis explores relationships between the 'mainland' and the castaway. The desert island is a useful site for exploring such concerns precisely because its desertedness, (presumed) Otherness and distance from 'home' allow it to function as an analogy of both the subject and the Other, and as an altered reflection of ostensibly normative continental life. Desert islands are often revealed to be inhabited; if the desert island represents a fantasy of agency in self-creation then the appearance of the Other represents the anxiety that that fantasy intends to dispel or seeks to embrace.


The augmented encrypted key exchange (A-EKE) uses a shared secret key for encryption. The A-EKE uses the hash of sender's password as the shared secret key. By using Simmon's attack the sender's password can be broken. If this is accomplished, the attacker is able to know the communicating parties session key used after authentication as well as in the authentication of the sender. Furthermore, using the broken session key and the password, the attacker can impersonate the real sender. To prevent this from happening, we propose a method to keep the session key and sender's password secret even if the attacker can break the shared secret key. This is accomplished by using RSA encryption. In our proposed scheme we use public keys which will be kept by the communicating parties and will be exchanged indirectly, i.e. instead of sending the whole public key the two parties will send the number which determines their public key, along with the shared key.


BACKGROUND
Some epithelial neoplasms of the appendix, including low-grade appendiceal mucinous neoplasm and adenocarcinoma, can result in pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP). Little is known about the mutational spectra of these tumor types and whether mutations may be of clinical significance with respect to therapeutic selection. In this study, we identified somatic mutations using the Ion Torrent AmpliSeq Cancer Hotspot Panel v2.

METHODS
Specimens consisted of 3 nonneoplastic retention cysts/mucocele, 15 low-grade mucinous neoplasms (LAMNs), 8 low-grade/well-differentiated mucinous adenocarcinomas with pseudomyxoma peritonei, and 12 adenocarcinomas with/without goblet cell/signet ring cell features. Barcoded libraries were prepared from up to 10 ng of extracted DNA and multiplexed on single 318 chips for sequencing. Data analysis was performed using Golden Helix SVS. Variants that remained after the analysis pipeline were individually interrogated using the Integrative Genomics Viewer.

RESULTS
A single Janus kinase 3 (JAK3) mutation was detected in the mucocele group. Eight mutations were identified in the V-Ki-ras2 Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (KRAS) and GNAS complex locus (GNAS) genes among LAMN samples. Additional gene mutations were identified in the AKT1 (v-akt murine thymoma viral oncogene homolog 1), APC (adenomatous polyposis coli), JAK3, MET (met proto-oncogene), phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase (PIK3CA), RB1 (retinoblastoma 1), STK11 (serine/threonine kinase 11), and tumor protein p53 (TP53) genes. Among the PMPs, 6 mutations were detected in the KRAS gene and also in the GNAS, TP53, and RB1 genes. Appendiceal cancers showed mutations in the APC, ATM (ataxia telangiectasia mutated), KRAS, IDH1 [isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (NADP+)], NRAS [neuroblastoma RAS viral (v-ras) oncogene homolog], PIK3CA, SMAD4 (SMAD family member 4), and TP53 genes.

CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggest molecular heterogeneity among epithelial tumors of the appendix. Next generation sequencing efforts have identified mutational spectra in several subtypes of these tumors that may suggest a phenotypic heterogeneity showing mutations that are relevant for targeted therapies.


The proportions of body fat and fat-free mass are determining factors of adiposity-associated diseases. Work in Caenorhabditis elegans has revealed evolutionarily conserved pathways of fat metabolism. Nevertheless, analysis of body composition and fat distribution in the nematodes has only been partially unraveled because of methodological difficulties. We characterized metabolic C. elegans mutants by using novel and feasible BODIPY 493/503-based fat staining and flow cytometry approaches. Fixative as well as vital BODIPY staining procedures visualize major fat stores, preserve native lipid droplet morphology, and allow quantification of fat content per body volume of individual worms. Colocalization studies using coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering microscopy, Raman microspectroscopy, and imaging of lysosome-related organelles as well as biochemical measurement confirm our approaches. We found that the fat-to-volume ratio of dietary restriction, TGF-β, and germline mutants are specific for each strain. In contrast, the proportion of fat-free mass is constant between the mutants, although their volumes differ by a factor of 3. Our approaches enable sensitive, accurate, and high-throughput assessment of adiposity in large C. elegans populations at a single-worm level.


In 2014 the Texas Digital Library (TDL) convened a working group, charged with updating the existing descriptive metadata standard for electronic theses and dissertations (ETDs), published by TDL in 2008. The metadata working group's report and accompanying data dictionary were released in September of 2015 (http://hdl.handle.net/2249.1/68437). The group's mixed-methods approach to revising the standard revealed divergences between the 2008 guidelines as they were originally published and the emergent practices of librarians, repository administrators, and others involved in ETD workflows. The updated standard needed to address and recommend significant changes to the Vireo ETD Submission Management System, also developed and hosted by TDL. In this presentation, members of the TDL ETD metadata working group will discuss the effort to update the standard, with a focus on negotiating barriers to dramatic shifts in community standards. We will also discuss outstanding issues, areas of future focus, and the difficult-to-achieve balance between ease of adoption and creating an optimal descriptive metadata standard.


In this report, we present our solution for the task of temporal action localization (detection) (task 1) in ActivityNet Challenge 2020. The purpose of this task is to temporally localize intervals where actions of interest occur and predict the action categories in a long untrimmed video. Our solution mainly includes three components: 1) feature encoding: we apply three kinds of backbones, including TSN [7], Slowfast[3] and I3d[1], which are both pretrained on Kinetics dataset[2]. Applying these models, we can extract snippet-level video representations; 2) proposal generation: we choose BMN [5] as our baseline, base on which we design a Cascade Boundary Refinement Network (CBR-Net) to conduct proposal detection. The CBR-Net mainly contains two modules: temporal feature encoding, which applies BiLSTM to encode long-term temporal information; CBR module, which targets to refine the proposal precision under different parameter settings; 3) action localization: In this stage, we combine the video-level classification results obtained by the fine tuning networks to predict the category of each proposal. Moreover, we also apply to different ensemble strategies to improve the performance of the designed solution, by which we achieve 42.788% on the testing set of ActivityNet v1.3 dataset in terms of mean Average Precision metrics.


An extension of the AdaBoost learning algorithm is proposed and brought to bear on the face detection problem. In each weak classifier selection cycle, the novel totally corrective algorithm reduces aggressively the upper bound on the training error by correcting coefficients of all weak classifiers. The correction steps are proven to lower the upper bound on the error without increasing computational complexity of the resulting detector. We show experimentally that for the face detection problem, where large training sets are available, the technique does not overfit. A cascaded face detector of the Viola-Jones type is built using AdaBoost with the totally corrective update. The same detection and false positive rates are achieved with a detector that is 20% faster and consists of only a quarter of the weak classifiers needed for a classifier trained by standard AdaBoost. The latter property facilitates hardware implementation, the former opens scope for the increease in the search space, e.g the range of scales at which faces are sought.


Objective: In this contribution it will be discussed which pedagogical facts and framework requirements must be taken into account during the development and design of a so called Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). In our research work we concentrate on xMOOC as defined by Yuan & Powell (2013).

Main part: The University of Graz and Graz University of Technology have a long tradition in doing online courses. Following the latest trends as mentioned in the NMC Horizon Report (2013) a project on developing a MOOC-platform has been started. Due to the fact that providing an information system does not automatically lead to a perfect online course further research is necessary to guide lecturers through their content development as well as their online lecturing.For example previous research (Khalil & Ebner, 2013a) pointed out the lack of interaction during such courses, which leads to dissatisfaction on the learners' side (Khalil & Ebner, 2013b). Very high drop our rates (YUAN & POWELL 2013) gave us a hint that the course content differs from learners' expectations. It's not only a good technological background and interesting content that count for the learners' online learning experience, but also the methodological approach concerning interaction, communication and an appropriate form of assessment. However to overcome this issue research has been done addressing following questions:
o Which main issues should be taken into account by a lecturer before planning / starting an xMOOC?
o Which structure should a MOOC follow?
o What do learners expect from a MOOC? Which kind of assessment is appropriate?
o What are the key issues concerning resources and media as well as communication and interaction?

Methods: In this publication we concentrate our research work on a deep literature study followed by a structural analysis. Together with our first practical experiences first recommendations concerning didactics and methodology are carried out.

Results & Findings: We carry out the answers to the proposed research questions in a structural form. Furthermore pedagogical and didactical guidelines are presented in order to show how a MOOC should be designed and devolopped to optimize the learning experience in an online course for learners as well as teachers.

Conclusion: An xMOOC is not a typical online course as we are used to in the last years. This publication should assist practitioners in doing their daily work and guide them through their first massive online open course.

References:
o Khalil, H. & Ebner, M. (2013a). Interaction Possibilities in MOOCs - How Do They ActuallyHappen? International Conference on Higher Education Development, p. 1-24, Mansoura University, Egypt. http://de.scribd.com/doc/134249470/Interaction-Possibilities-in-MOOCs-%E2%80%93-How-Do-They-Actually-Happen [2014-01-09].
o Khalil, H. & Ebner, M. (2013b). "How satisfied are you with your MOOC?" - A Research Study on Interaction in Huge Online Courses. In Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2013 (pp. 830-839). Chesapeake, VA: AACE
o New Media Consortium (2013), The NMC Horizon Report 2013: Higher Education Edition, http://www.nmc.org/pdf/2013-horizon-report-HE.pdf [2014-01-09].
o Yuan, L. & Powell, S. (2013) MOOCs and Open Education: Implications for Higher Education, http://publications.cetis.ac.uk/2013/667 [2014-01-09].


Abstract Patterns in sediment metal, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), chlorinated pesticide, and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations at 290 sites within coastal, port, harbor, and marina areas of the Southern California Bight (SCB) were evaluated using cluster analysis and principal components analysis (PCA). Cluster analysis identified five primary site groups, with two large groups representing 96% of the total area of the SCB. One of these two groups contained many of the open coastal sites, characterized by relatively coarse-grained sediments (∼30% fines), low organic carbon, and low contaminant concentrations. The second large cluster group included a higher proportion of the embayment, marina, and harbor sites, with finer-grained sediments (∼70% fines) and proportionately higher mean concentrations of most metals and trace organics. Both site groups were considered representative of SCB background conditions with minimal alterations from contaminant inputs. The other three site groups exhibited elevated concentrations of one or more contaminants, but accounted for only 4% of the total area of the SCB. In particular, two small cluster groups consisted mainly of port, harbor, and marina sites with elevated mean concentrations of certain metals (e.g., Cu, Pb, Sb, and Zn), as well as elevated chlordane, PAH, and PCB concentrations for one of the two site clusters. The fifth cluster group consisted of Palos Verdes Shelf sites that were characterized by high sediment DDT, PCB, Cd, and Ba concentrations, and clearly different from other open coastal sites in the SCB. PCA identified four principal components that explained 67% of the variance in the data set. The first two components (PC1 and PC2) accounted for 52% of the total variance. PC1 was highly loaded with a suite of metals (Cu, Pb, Hg, Zn, Al, and Fe), with high scores primarily for industrialized port and harbor sites. PC2 had high loadings for DDTs, PCBs, Cd, and Cr with highest scores for sites on the Palos Verdes Shelf. PC3 and PC4 each accounted for less than 10% of the total variance, with high loadings for low- and high-molecular weight PAHs and for a subset of metals (Ba, Ni, and Se) and fines, respectively. Although contaminant sources were not analyzed for this study, PC1 and, to a lesser extent, PC3 likely reflected recent industrial inputs to ports, commercial shipping and boatyard operations, and small marina activities. In contrast, PC2, reflected historical, wastewater-derived inputs to the Palos Verdes Shelf. Distinct sediment contaminant patterns were not evident for other large and small wastewater or riverine discharges.


: The effectiveness of a postoperative thyroid-hormone therapy in preventing a goiter-recidiv was investigated two years after goiter-resection. Of 3381 patients with goiter, who were operated on in the years 1964 to 1973 in the Surgical Department of the Krankenhaus Nordwest in Frankfurt/Main, Germany, 129 patients who were operated on in the first six months of 1969, were questioned and examined in a follow-up study. A rezidiv-goiter was found in 4, 6 p.c. of patients. If only palpable recidiv-goiters are taken into consideration 2, 3 p.c.), patients without postoperative thyroid-hormone therapy developed a recidiv goiter twice as often as patients with thyroid-hormone therapy.


Hyperresponsiu-ity of spontaneously hypertensive rat to indirect measurement of Mood pressure. Am. Physiol. Am. J. Physiol.: Physiol. 1978. - A chronic, indwelling, tail arterial cannula was implated in conscious undisturbed rats for measurement of blood pressure and heart rate and for obtaining blood samples. As an index of sympathetic activity, plasma levels of catecholamines in arte- rial blood of conscious animals were assayed by a radioenzy- matic, paper-chromatographic procedure. Blood pressures of unrestrained spontaneously hypertensive (SHR) rats in their home cages (161 t 3/141 t 4 mmHg) were not different from those of pentobarbital-anesthetized, hypertensive animals but were about 25 mmHg lower than awake animals during the restraint required for the tail-cuff procedure. Basal levels of plasma catecholamines in awake, undisturbed or in pentobar-bital-anesthetized animals were similar in age-matched SHR and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats. SHR rats were shown to have greater increase in plasma catecholamines than WKY rats during forced immobilization or restraint for indirect measurement of blood pressure. indwelling


The Sheffield Type 1 Diabetes Policy Model is a patient-level simulation model of type 1 diabetes and its associated complications, which was developed as part of the National Institute for Health Research Dose Adjustment for Normal Eating (DAFNE) research programme. The aim of this paper is to describe the conceptual modelling, model implementation, and model validation phases of the Sheffield Type 1 Diabetes Model development process. The model is highly flexible and has broad potential application to evaluate DAFNE, other diabetes structured education programmes, and other interventions for type 1 diabetes.


Background During 2007 and 2008 it is likely that millions of patients in the US received heparin contaminated (CH) with oversulfated chondroitin sulfate, which was associated with anaphylactoid reactions. We tested the hypothesis that CH was associated with serious morbidity, mortality, intensive care unit (ICU) stay and heparin-induced thrombocytopenia following adult cardiac surgery. Methods and Findings We conducted a single center, retrospective, propensity-matched cohort study during the period of CH and the equivalent time frame in the three preceding or the two following years. Perioperative data were obtained from the institutional record of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons National Database, for which the data collection is prospective, standardized and performed by independent investigators. After matching, logistic regression was performed to evaluate the independent effect of CH on the composite adverse outcome (myocardial infarction, stroke, pneumonia, dialysis, cardiac arrest) and on mortality. Cox regression was used to determine the association between CH and ICU length of stay. The 1∶5 matched groups included 220 patients potentially exposed to CH and 918 controls. There were more adverse outcomes in the exposed cohort (20.9% versus 12.0%; difference = 8.9%; 95% CI 3.6% to 15.1%, P<0.001) with an odds ratio for CH of 2.0 (95% CI, 1.4 to 3.0, P<0.001). In the exposed group there was a non-significant increase in mortality (5.9% versus 3.5%, difference = 2.4%; 95% CI, −0.4 to 3.5%, P = 0.1), the median ICU stay was longer by 14.1 hours (interquartile range −26.6 to 79.8, S = 3299, P = 0.0004) with an estimated hazard ratio for CH of 1.2 (95% CI, 1.0 to 1.4, P = 0.04). There was no difference in nadir platelet counts between cohorts. Conclusions The results from this single center study suggest the possibility that contaminated heparin might have contributed to serious morbidity following cardiac surgery.


We present a quadratic outer approximation scheme for solving general convex integer programs, where suitable quadratic approximations are used to underestimate the objective function instead of classical linear approximations. As a resulting surrogate problem we consider the problem of minimizing a function given as the maximum of finitely many convex quadratic functions having the same Hessian matrix. A fast algorithm for minimizing such functions over integer variables is presented. Our algorithm is based on a fast branch-and-bound approach for convex quadratic integer programming proposed by Buchheim, Caprara and Lodi [5]. The main feature of the latter approach consists in a fast incremental computation of continuous global minima, which are used as lower bounds. We generalize this idea to the case of k convex quadratic functions, implicitly reducing the problem to 2 − 1 convex quadratic integer programs. Each node of the branch-and-bound algorithm can be processed in O(2n) time. Experimental results for a class of convex integer problems with exponential objective functions are presented. Compared with Bonmin's outer approximation algorithm B-OA and branch-and-bound algorithm B-BB, running times for both ternary and unbounded instances turn out to be very competitive.


Multibaseline European Remote Sensing (ERS) interferometric synthetic aperture radar coherence images from Cardiff, U.K. are investigated with respect to urban form. A model of spatial coherence, taking into account the vertical distribution of scatterers, is inverted to allow urban building height variance to be retrieved. Sixty-nine coherence maps are employed, generated from 20 ERS images. No a priori information is required in the analysis. However, realistic vertical scatterer distributions are retrieved, and Cardiff's central business district is automatically identified. This analysis demonstrates the utility of the urban decorrelation models employed.


A century and a half after Marx's Capital, a synthetic idea of post-revolutionary society remains to be completed. We note a disconnect between Marx's brilliant dialectical analysis of the commodity and the prophesized post-revolutionary world where people are once and for all free of domination. Unlike Marx's analysis of the commodity, his vision of communism is untenable because it lacks an adequate social ontology and rational conceptual structure: in short, it represents what can best be described of as an atopia. We detect what amounts to an Oedipal fantasy in the theory of communist association in which the famous general intellect is taken back from Father Capital such that liberated subjects enjoy the immediacy of perverse enjoyments offered up by the repossessed means of survival, the new Machine Mother that hums along in the background. Lost are the mediating particularities of callings and specializations necessary for life in a modern world. Primitivism, anarchism, and neoliberalism exhibit a similar atopic structure, in which callings and even jobs are negated, while the latter embodies a new transcendental logic that can summarized as an X –– anti-X –– non-X dialectic. We point to an augmented Marxist political imaginary that incorporates mediating structures of particularity and higher sublations of labour and social enjoyment.


Before a computational model updating or an error localization is to be carried out, a prepara tory error localization using only analytical data is justified. The purpose of such preparation should be to select the parameters for quantifying model errors and also to design optimal tests for determining the correct parameter setting. For a successful error localization, it is required that the test data should be informative with respect to the parameters chosen. The demand for test data informativeness limits the experiment with regard to the spatial resolution of sensors, bandwidth of excitation, signal-to-noise ratios, etc. On the other hand, for a given test condition and test data, the omnipresent noise may make parameter estimates useless because of estima tion covariances that are too large. This is often caused by over parameterized models; these should be identified by the preparatory error localization and remedied by are-parameterization before model updating take place. The aim of this study is to quantify data informativeness with respect to physical parameters that are used in error localization and model updating. The data informativeness is shown to relate to the Fisher information matrix. Deterministic finite-element related state-space models in combination with stochastic noise models are used for evaluating data informativeness. A nu merical study utilizing a finite-element model validated by test data from a scanning laser vi brometer is used to substantiate the theory.


NKT cells are innate-like T cells with powerful regulatory functions that are a promising target for immunotherapy. The efficacy of glycolipids, such as the prototypic NKT cell antagonist α-galactosylceramide (αGalCer), is currently being evaluated in clinical trials, but little is known about factors that target lipid antigens for CD1d presentation and NKT cell activation in vivo. Lipid uptake via the LDL receptor (LDLR) has been shown for digalactosylceramide; however, whether this pathway contributes to CD1d presentation of other important NKT cell agonists remains unclear. We therefore investigated receptor-mediated uptake pathways for CD1d presentation using a panel of structurally diverse lipid antigens. We found that uptake via scavenger receptors was essential for the CD1d presentation of αGalCer and Sphingomonas glycolipids. Moreover, in vivo NKT cell responses, i.e., cytokine production, proliferation, and NKT cell help for adaptive CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, required the uptake of αGalCer via scavenger receptor A. Importantly, our data indicate that structural characteristics of glycolipids determine their receptor binding and direct individual lipids toward different uptake pathways. These results reveal an important contribution of scavenger receptors in the selection of lipids for CD1d presentation and identify structural motifs that may prove useful for therapeutic NKT cell vaccination.


Nonhost resistance (NHR) pertains to the most common form of plant resistance against pathogenic microorganisms of other species. Bipolaris maydis is a non-adapted pathogen affecting soybeans, particularly of maize/soybean intercropping systems. However, no experimental evidence has described the immune response of soybeans against B. maydis. To elucidate the molecular mechanism underlying NHR in soybeans, proteomics analysis based on two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2-DE) was performed to identify proteins involved in the soybean response to B. maydis. The spread of B. maydis spores across soybean leaves induced NHR throughout the plant, which mobilized almost all organelles and various metabolic processes in response to B. maydis. Some enzymes, including ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO), mitochondrial processing peptidase (MPP), oxygen evolving enhancer (OEE), and nucleoside diphosphate kinase (NDKs), were found to be related to NHR in soybeans. These enzymes have been identified in previous studies, and STRING analysis showed that most of the protein functions related to major metabolic processes were induced as a response to B. maydis, which suggested an array of complex interactions between soybeans and B. maydis. These findings suggest a systematic NHR against non-adapted pathogens in soybeans. This response was characterized by an overlap between metabolic processes and response to stimulus. Several metabolic processes provide the soybean with innate immunity to the non-adapted pathogen, B. maydis. This research investigation on NHR in soybeans may foster a better understanding of plant innate immunity, as well as the interactions between plant and non-adapted pathogens in intercropping systems.


Children and youth with disabilities (CYD) have a higher prevalence of mental health problems than their typically developing peers. Extensive research has established the beneficial effects of physical activity (PA) for mental health outcomes, however, this relationship has received limited attention among CYD. Using a subsample of data derived from the National Physical Activity Measurement study, this study examined the relationship between PA and mental health outcomes for CYD. Parents (N = 334) of school-aged children and youth (276 boys) with single or comorbid diagnosis of developmental, sensory, physical and/or other disabilities completed online proxy-reported measures of their child's moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) behaviour using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire as well as internalizing (i.e., emotional/peer symptoms) and externalizing (i.e., conduct/behavioural symptoms) problems using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Results showed 59% and 53% of CYD scored at or above the "slightly raised" criterion for internalizing and externalizing problems, respectively. Using linear regression analysis, findings revealed MVPA significantly predicts internalizing problems (R2 = .04, ? = -0.15, p = .01), but not externalizing problems (? = 0.01, p = .83), after adjusting for age and gender. Examining each disability type revealed MVPA is only a significant predictor of internalizing problems for children with developmental disabilities (R2 = .04, ? = -0.16, p = .03). Overall, findings suggest MVPA may have protective effects for internalizing disorders among CYD, particularly those with developmental disabilities. Future studies using balanced designs should investigate whether the magnitude of this relationship differs depending on type of disability.Acknowledgments: Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities


Research in the surveillance domain was confined for years in the military domain. Recently, as military spending for this kind of research was reduced and the technology matured, the attention of the research and development community turned to commercial applications of surveillance. In this paper we describe a state-of-the-art monitoring system developed by a corporate R&D lab in cooperation with the corresponding security business units. It represents a sizable effort to transfer some of the best results produced by computer vision research into a viable commercial product. Our description spans both practical and technical issues. From the practical point of view we analyze the state of the commercial security market, typical cultural differences between the research team and the business team and the perspective of the potential users of the technology. These are important issues that have to be dealt with or the surveillance technology will remain in the lab for a long time. From the technical point of view we analyze our algorithmic and implementation choices. We describe the improvements we introduced to the original algorithms reported in the literature in response to some problems that arose during field testing. We also provide extensive experimental results that highlight the strong points and some weaknesses of the prototype system.


Given an uncountable cardinal $\kappa$, we consider the question of whether subsets of the power set of $\kappa$ that are usually constructed with the help of the Axiom of Choice are definable by $\Sigma_1$-formulas that only use the cardinal $\kappa$ and sets of hereditary cardinality less than $\kappa$ as parameters. For limits of measurable cardinals, we prove a perfect set theorem for sets definable in this way and use it to generalize two classical non-definability results to higher cardinals. First, we show that a classical result of Mathias on the complexity of maximal almost disjoint families of sets of natural numbers can be generalized to measurable limits of measurables. Second, we prove that for a limit of countably many measurable cardinals, the existence of a simply definable well-ordering of subsets of $\kappa$ of length at least $\kappa^+$ implies the existence of a projective well-ordering of the reals. In addition, we determine the exact consistency strength of the non-existence of $\Sigma_1$-definitions of certain objects at singular strong limit cardinals. Finally, we show that both large cardinal assumptions and forcing axioms cause analogs of these statements to hold at the first uncountable cardinal $\omega_1$.


This thesis addresses itself to the solution of a number of problems which arise in the development of Radio Frequency filters, particularly those involving coupled transmission lines as resonant elements. The text is divided into a number of sections dealing with individual topics. After a brief description of Darlington filter design principles, there is an account of the pivotal role of quarter wave sections and their vital part in the realisation of high frequency filters. This is followed by the development of new material relating to equivalent circuits of physical lines in terms of quarter wave sections, and its application to improvements in the design of wide-band filters. There follows an account of a new procedure for calculating the dimensions of comb-line and inter-digital filters. This section includes a new proposal for the inversion of Getsinger's procedure to permit the calculation of rectangular rod dimensions and spacings from given electrical data. There is also an algorithm for use with round rods which circumvents the tedious manual interpolation procedure devised by Cristal. There follows an investigation of and a proposed solution to a long-known but unexplained discrepancy existing between the calculated and measured pass-band width of the class of comb-line filters. With the new procedure the discrepancy reported previously to be of the order of 10% is eliminated. Finally, experimental evidence is adduced to verify the algorithms outlined in the preceding chapters.


Clustering is a mathematical approach that allows one to find a group of data with similar attributes. This approach is also often used in the field of computer science to group a large amounts of data. Triclustering analysis is an analysis technique on 3D data (observation—attribute—context). Triclustering analysis can group observations on several attributes and contexts simultaneously. Triclustering analysis has been frequently applied to analyze microarray gene expression data. We proposed the δ-Trimax method to perform triclustering analysis on microarray gene expression data. The δ-Trimax method aims to find a tricluster that has a mean square residual smaller than δ and a maximum volume. Tricluster is obtained by deleting nodes from 3D data using multiple node deletion and single node deletion algorithms. The tricluster candidates that have been obtained are checked again by adding some previously deleted nodes using the node addition algorithm. In this research, the program improvement of the δ-Trimax method was carried out and also the calculation of the resulting tricluster evaluation result. The δ-Trimax method is implemented in two microarray gene expression data. The first implementation was carried out on gene expression data from the differentiation process of human-induced pluripotent stem cells (HiPSCs) from patients with heart disease, resulting in the best simulation when δ=0.0068, λ=1.2, and obtained five tricluster, which are considered as characteristics of heart disease. The second implementation was implemented on HIV-1 data, best simulation when δ=0.0046, λ=1.25 and produced three genes as biomarkers, with the gene names AGFG1, EGR1 and HLA-C. This gene group can be used by medical experts in providing further treatment.


BACKGROUND & AIMS
Assay of altered DNA exfoliated into stool represents an intriguing approach to screen for colorectal neoplasia, but multiple markers must be targeted because of genetic heterogeneity. We explored the feasibility of a stool assay panel of selected DNA alterations in discriminating subjects with colorectal neoplasia from those without.

METHODS
Freezer-archived stools were analyzed in blinded fashion from 22 patients with colorectal cancer, 11 with adenomas > or =1 cm, and 28 with endoscopically normal colons. After isolation of human DNA from stool by sequence-specific hybrid capture, assay targets included point mutations at any of 15 sites on K-ras, p53, and APC genes; Bat-26, a microsatellite instability marker; and highly amplifiable DNA.

RESULTS
Analyzable human DNA was recovered from all stools. Sensitivity was 91% (95% confidence interval, 71%-99%) for cancer and 82% (48%-98%) for adenomas > or =1 cm with a specificity of 93% (76%-99%). Excluding K-ras from the panel, sensitivities for cancer were unchanged but decreased slightly for adenomas to 73% (39%-94%), while specificity increased to 100% (88%-100%).

CONCLUSIONS
Assay of altered DNA holds promise as a stool screening approach for colorectal neoplasia. Larger clinical investigations are indicated.


To clarify the effect of micro/nanosizing of materials onto biological organism, the particle size dependence of reaction of cells and tissue as investigated by both biochemical cell functional test and animal implantation test. Especially for nanoparticles the behavior of invasion and internal diffusion inside body was visualized using an XSAM (X-ray Scanning Analytical Microscope). The increase of specific surface area is usually counted as nanosizing effect which causes the enhancement of chemical reactivity and therefore toxicity of materials such as carcinogenicity found in 500 nm Ni particles for the long term implantation in the soft tissue of rat. Even biocompatible materials such as Ti and TiO2 shows stimulus with the decrease of particle size. They cause phagocytosis to cells and inflammation to tissue when the size of particles is below 3 μm. For the size below 50 nm, they may invade into the internal body through the respiratory or digestive system and diffuse inside body. After compulsory exposure test of 30 nm TiO2 particles through the respiratory system, the Ti mapping by XSAM showed the internal diffusion inside the whole body. Nanoparticles injected from caudal vein diffused with time course to lung, liver and spleen. The uptake of 30 nm TiO2 particles through the digestive system and diffusion into these organs was also confirmed. These phenomena observed in biocompatible or bioinert materials are the nonspecific, physical particle and shape effects which occur independent of materials. Nanoparticles might be the objects whose existence has not been assumed by the living body defense system.


One of the challenges that liberal neutrality faces in diverse societies is how to maintain neutrality towards conception of the good life, when establishment of a particular conception of the good and exclusion of other conceptions is inevitable, as in the case of language regulation. A possible solution is to justify this establishment by appealing to universal reasons, thus refraining from endorsing the intrinsic value of the established conception. This paper argues that such a solution is limited, as it does not cover all inevitable-establishment domains. This is because there is a distinction within inevitable-establishment domains: domains in which rival options can coexist, such as language policy, and domains in which options are mutually exclusive, such as land-use policy. The paper argues that language policy is a coexistence domain, since it allows for a degree of personal agency, and it can refrain from making value judgments about the language that is endorsed by the state. Spatial organization and land-use policy, on the other hand, must rest on value judgments about the good life and cannot accommodate neutral justifications. The distinction has important implications for the scope of neutrality: neutrality turns out to be applicable in coexistence domains, and inapplicable in mutually-exclusive domains. Ultimately, it may be the case that neutrality may not be applicable even in language policy, since language policy exhibits characteristics of a mutually-exclusive domain.


Native pasture and Old World bluestems (Bothriochloa spp.) have contrasting herbage production characteristics that suggest potential for incorporation into a complementary forage system. We compared 2 yearling beef production systems consisting of either native pasture (Native) or Old World bluestem combined with native pasture (Old World bluestem-Native) over 5 years. Crossbred steers (initial weight 257 kg) grazed only native pasture in the Native system, but alternated between Old World bluestem and native pastures in the Old World bluestem-Native system. Production system had no effect on the frequency of any plant species in the native pastures (P > 0.16) even though stocking rate in the growing season was increased 31% in the Old World bluestem-Native system. Peak standing crop of Old World bluestem averaged 4640 kg ha(-1) but did not differ between the cultivars 'WW-Iron Master' and 'WW-Spar' (P = 0.16). Individual steer gain was higher in the Native system during the Winter (P < 0.01) and Early Native (P = 0.03) management periods, but was greater in the Old World bluestem-Native system when steers were grazing Old World bluestem in June and July (P < 0.001). Over the entire season, steers in the Native system gained 13.5 kg head(-1) more than steers in the Old World bluestem-Native system. Total livestock production was greater in the Old World bluestem-Native system (77 versus 47 kg ha(-1), P < 0.01). Relative economic returns between the 2 systems were dependent on the marginal value of livestock gain and the relative costs of production for the 2 types of pasture. With average costs for native pasture of $17 ha(-1) and for Old World bluestem pasture of $62.10 ha(-1), the Native system was often more profitable, even though livestock production per ha was much higher with the Old World bluestem-Native system. Lower costs for native pasture and high values of livestock gain favored the Native system. DOI:10.2458/azu_jrm_v54i4_gillen


We study the dynamic response of a [111] quantum impurity, such as lithium or cyanide in alkali halides, with respect to an external field coupling to the elastic quadrupole moment. Because of the particular level structure of a eight-state system on a cubic site, the elastic response function shows a biexponential relaxation feature and a van Vleck type contribution with a resonance frequency that is twice the tunnel frequency Δ/ℏ. This basically differs from the dielectric response that does not show relaxation. Moreover, we show that the elastic response of a [111]-impurity cannot be reduced to that of a two-level system. In the experimental part, we report on recent sound velocity and internal friction measurements on KCl doped with cyanide at various concentrations. At low doping (45 ppm) we find the dynamics of a single [111]-impurity, whereas at higher concentrations (4700 ppm) the elastic response indicates rather strongly correlated defects. Our theoretical model provides a good description of the temperature dependence of δv/v and Q-1 at low doping, in particular the relaxation peaks, the absolute values of the amplitude and the resonant contributions. From our fits we obtain the value of the elastic deformation potential γt = 0.192 eV.


A group of seven halophilic strains (optimal growth at 2.5-10.0% NaCl) was isolated from samples of a wall and a mural painting, both heavily contaminated by microbial growth, inside the Saint-Catherine chapel of Castle Herberstein (Austria). The strains were subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic study that included DNA-DNA relatedness studies, DNA base-ratio determinations, 16S rDNA sequence analysis, rep-PCR genomic fingerprinting, fatty acid analysis and phenotypic and biochemical characterization. The data obtained indicate that the strains belong to the genus Halomonas and represent a novel species, for which the name Halomonas muralis sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is strain LMG 20969(T) ( = DSM 14789(T)).


Although a unifying view of literacy development is already implicit within
several studies, much of the knowledge is still fragmented. Hence, practitioners lack a
comprehensive theoretical framework within which to articulate their practice. This
thesis contributes to this framework by investigating whether children's conceptions of
the alphabetic system:
1) determine the quality of their orthographic representations and their ability
to make inferences about graph-phonetic segments,
2) are affected by adults' explanations of how scripts represent speech and by
the characteristics of the particular orthography that children are trying to
learn.
Sixty two monolingual Brazilian children (mean age 6 years) and 28 bilingual
Portuguese children attending two schools in London (mean age 6:7 years),
participated in this study, which involved a brief intervention (20 daily sessions).
The findings suggested that children's full understanding of the alphabetic
principle is not affected by orthographic transparency and that it is the result of a
process involving two levels of conceptual change:
1) The characteristics of written words are not related to their meaning -
letters represent sub-lexical phonological units. This allows children to
detect phonological identity of the initial syllable and to produce syllabic
spellings by collating letters that represent syllables. Explicit information
about letter-sound correspondences is not essential for this understanding.
2) Adding up the sounds of letters does not produce a word - letters within
words or syllables do not sound the same as in isolation. This discovery
triggers the use of partial phonological recoding, the production of syllabicalphabetic
spellings, the use of analogies and the detection of phonological
identity based on articulatory cues. Explicit information about the role of
the letters within words may facilitate this understanding and enables the
children to work out the grapheme-phoneme correspondence, which is the
last step towards grasping the alphabetic principle.


ABSTRACT We introduce a nonparametric graphical model whose observations on vertices are functions. Many modern applications, such as electroencephalogram and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), produce data are of this type. The model is based on additive conditional independence (ACI), a statistical relation that captures the spirit of conditional independence without resorting to multi-dimensional kernels. The random functions are assumed to reside in a Hilbert space. No distributional assumption is imposed on the random functions: instead, their statistical relations are characterized nonparametrically by a second Hilbert space, which is a reproducing kernel Hilbert space whose kernel is determined by the inner product of the first Hilbert space. A precision operator is then constructed based on the second space, which characterizes ACI, and hence also the graph. The resulting estimator is relatively easy to compute, requiring no iterative optimization or inversion of large matrices. We establish the consistency and the convergence rate of the estimator. Through simulation studies we demonstrate that the estimator performs better than the functional Gaussian graphical model when the relations among vertices are nonlinear or heteroscedastic. The method is applied to an fMRI dataset to construct brain networks for patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Supplementary materials for this article are available online


Purpose: The objective of this article is to know if there are differences in the variables that explain the entrepreneurial intention of the Physical Activity and Sport Science students addressing academic training and gender of them. Design/methodology/approach: To know entrepreneurial intentions and the different variables related to entrepreneurship, a questionnaire previously validated was used. The questionnaire was provided to 578 students pre-graduated (1st-4th course) and post-graduate of Physical Activity and Sport Science degree of Valencia. Findings: Statistically significant differences (p ≤ 0.05) in the variables that predict entrepreneurial intention of Physical Activity and Sport Science students by gender and training were found. In both genders, the attitude towards entrepreneurship and the perceived behavior control were the predictors of entrepreneurial intentions and in men also the subjective norms. Research limitations/implications: The students sample belongs only to the Physical Activity and Sport Science degree of Valencia, so the results cannot be extrapolated to the entire population. Practical implications: It should be developing the attitude toward the behavior of entrepreneurship and perceived behavioral control to promote entrepreneurship. In this way, the graduates will be more prepare for insertion into the working world. Social implications: To increase the number of entrepreneurs (male and female) in the sports sector throughout the education, reducing the gender gap in entrepreneurship and improve the quality of entrepreneurship, as this is a key issue because of the positive impact that this phenomenon generates on the economy Originality/value: It is interesting to know the predictor variables of entrepreneurial intentions, and to know if there are differences based on education and gender due to the massive entry of women into the sport workplaces and low intention to undertake of the. So it is quite important training in the best way, both graduates (male and female) with entrepreneurial skills.


The Labour government has outlined its plans to 'replace' the competitive internal market with a more collaborative system based on partnership. Agreement amongst purchasers and providers is to be based on co-operation rather than competition. Longer term agreements covering periods of 3-5 years are to replace annual contracts within this new environment. The aim of this paper is to explore the potential economic implications of these policy changes by drawing on the economics of co-operation and the transaction costs approach to longer term contracting. Issues surrounding the role of trust in contractual relationships are explored and the relevance of experience and evidence from non-health care sectors is considered in the context of the NHS. It is concluded that both theory and empirical evidence suggest that co-operation and trust can play a central role in the efficient organisation of contractual arrangements in circumstances similar to those under which the NHS operates. However, we warn against the expectation that the policy changes will produce automatically the scale of benefits predicted by the Labour government, especially as they will have to find a way of extracting reasonable performance from providers under a system of collaboration and long term agreements. They may find they need to tread a fine line between competition and co-operation in order to reap the benefits of both.


Background Little is known about whether relative or absolute measures of the neighbourhood food environment better predict dietary outcomes. Little is also known about whether using spatially explicit regression models such as Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) may improve our ability to detect neighbourhood effects. Here we test i) whether relative or absolute measures of the food environment better predict fruit and vegetable intake and ii) whether using a GWR approach improve model fit and reveal spatial variations in exposure-effect relationships undetectable in global models. Methods Individual adult data from the baseline of The ORiEL Study (n = 980) were used. Kernel density estimations were used to calculate relative and absolute density metrics of the food environment using an adaptive bandwith of 5%. First we modelled whether density measures predicted fruit and vegetable consumption using linear regression. Second, we modelled the same relationship using geographically weighted regression. We controlled for socio-demographic covariates. Results We found little evidence for the effect of absolute neighbourhood food environment measures on fruit and vegetable intake, but relative measures performed strongly for fruit (β=0.086, p = 0.009) and vegetable intake (β=0.088, p = 0.007). A 10 percentage point increase in the proportion of healthy outlets was associated with an increase of 1.74 portions of fruit and vegetable per day. Use of GWR revealed non-stationarity in exposure-effect relationships for fruit and vegetable intake and improved model fit (a reduction in the Akaike's Information Criterion across all models). Cartographic presentation of exposure-effect relationships revealed large spatial variations in exposure-effect relationships. Discussion Relative measures perform better than absolute measures of the food environment in predicting fruit and vegetable intake. The use of spatial regression approaches reveal large localised environmental effects on diet that are obscured if global regression models are used.


We introduce clustered millimeter-wave (mmWave) networks with invoking non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) techniques, where the NOMA users are modeled as Poisson cluster processes and each cluster contains a base station (BS) located at the center. To provide realistic directional beamforming, an actual antenna array pattern is deployed at all BSs. We propose three distance-dependent user selection strategies to appraise the path loss impact on the performance of our considered networks. With the aid of such strategies, we derive tractable analytical expressions for the coverage probability and system throughput. Specifically, closed-form expressions are deduced under a sparse network assumption to improve the calculation efficiency. It theoretically demonstrates that the large antenna scale benefits the near user, while such influence for the far user is fluctuant due to the randomness of the beamforming. Moreover, the numerical results illustrate that: 1) the proposed system outperforms traditional orthogonal multiple access techniques and the commonly considered NOMA-mmWave scenarios with the random beamforming; 2) the coverage probability has a negative correlation with the variance of intra-cluster receivers; 3) 73 GHz is the best carrier frequency for the near user, and 28 GHz is the best choice for the far user; and 4) an optimal number of the antenna elements exists for maximizing the system throughput.


A stripline gyromagnetic nonlinear transmission line (NLTL) was constructed out of yttrium iron garnet ferrite and tested at charge voltages of 35 kV-55 kV with bias fields ranging from 10 kA/m to 20 kA/m. Typically, high power gyromagnetic NLTLs are constructed in a coaxial geometry. While this approach has many advantages, including a uniform transverse electromagnetic (TEM) mode, simple interconnection between components, and the ability to use oil or pressurized gas as an insulator, the coaxial implementation suffers from complexity of construction, especially when using a solid insulator. By moving to a simpler transmission line geometry, NLTLs can be constructed more easily and arrayed on a single substrate. This work represents a first step in exploring the suitability of various transmission line structures, such as microstrips and coplanar waveguides. The resulting high power microwave (HPM) source operates in ultra high frequency (UHF) band with an average bandwidth of 40.1% and peak rf power from 2 MW to 12.7 MW.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the comparative effectiveness of common pleural drainage procedures for treatment of pneumonia complicated by parapneumonic effusion (ie, complicated pneumonia).

DESIGN
Multicenter retrospective cohort study.

SETTING
Forty children's hospitals contributing data to the Pediatric Health Information System.

PARTICIPANTS
Children with complicated pneumonia requiring pleural drainage.

MAIN EXPOSURES
Initial drainage procedures were categorized as chest tube without fibrinolysis, chest tube with fibrinolysis, video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS), and thoracotomy.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Length of stay (LOS), additional drainage procedures, readmission within 14 days of discharge, and hospital costs.

RESULTS
Initial procedures among 3500 patients included chest tube without fibrinolysis (n = 1762), chest tube with fibrinolysis (n = 623), VATS (n = 408), and thoracotomy (n = 797). Median age was 4.1 years. Overall, 716 (20.5%) patients received an additional drainage procedure (range, 6.8-44.8% across individual hospitals). The median LOS was 10 days (range, 7-14 days across individual hospitals). The median readmission rate was 3.8% (range, 0.8%-33.3%). In multivariable analysis, differences in LOS by initial procedure type were not significant. Patients undergoing initial chest tube placement with or without fibrinolysis were more likely to require additional drainage procedures. However, initial chest tube without fibrinolysis was the least costly strategy.

CONCLUSION
There is variability in the treatment and outcomes of children with complicated pneumonia. Outcomes were similar in patients undergoing initial chest tube placement with or without fibrinolysis. Those undergoing VATS received fewer additional drainage procedures but had no differences in LOS compared with other strategies.


• Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in Virginia, taking more than 9,200 lives each year. Tobacco-induced healthcare costs are $1.92 billion annually, including $369 million in Medicaid payments. • The growth of tobacco, and its importance to the economy of Virginia, has declined significantly. In 2008, tobacco was only the fifth most harvested and valuable crop, behind hay, corn, soybeans, and wheat, and constituted only 2.3% of the value of all Virginia agricultural products sold. • Virginia is becoming increasingly urban and its citizens are less concerned with Virginia's tobacco heritage. Significant majorities of Virginians support stronger clean indoor air laws and higher cigarette taxes. In 2009, 75% polled supported strong clean indoor air laws. • The tobacco industry has a significant presence in Virginia: Philip Morris has a large manufacturing and corporate presence in the Richmond area. • The tobacco industry's lobbying expenditures have significantly exceeded spending by tobacco control advocates. The industry also built strong ties to hospitality groups, trade associations, and tobacco growers to oppose tobacco control measures. • Republican legislators are significantly more supportive of the tobacco industry control than Democrats, who are more supportive of public health. • The tobacco industry gave about twice as much money to Republicans than Democrats. Controlling for party and legislative house, greater tobacco industry campaign contributions are statistically significantly associated with more pro-tobacco industry policy behavior. • Between 1970 and 2008, 70 cities and two counties imposed local cigarette excise taxes, an attractive and politically nonvolatile source of revenue. The tobacco industry has not been able to counter this activity. • Prior to 1990, many localities enacted local clean indoor air ordinances. Despite strong support among Virginians for clean indoor air laws and a growing movement among localities for local tobacco control, these measures were blocked in 1990 by the passage of the weak preemptive statewide Virginia Indoor Clean Air Act (VICAA). • Virginia was selected by the National Cancer Institute in 1990 to participate in the 17-state American Stop Smoking Intervention Study (ASSIST). ASSIST established a network of local tobacco control coalitions through Virginia Department of Health. Organizational issues and strong industry interference prevented ASSIST from accomplishing its mission of reducing smoking through policy change. • Virginia was awarded a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation SmokeLess States (SLS) grant in 1994 to support lasting statewide coalitions to reduce tobacco use; the effort failed in Virginia. • Virginia SmokeLess States was involved with the successful Southern Communities Tobacco Project to bring tobacco farmers together with tobacco control advocates; this effort accomplished little substantive change in tobacco control policy in Virginia. • In 1998, Virginia was part of the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) between 46 states and the tobacco industry and will to receive about $4 billion from the settlement over 25 years. Virginia committed 10% of the proceeds to a youth-only tobacco control program; 40% was directed at financially supporting tobacco-growing communities negatively affected by declining growth of tobacco in the state, and the rest went to the General Fund. • Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation (VTSF)was founded in 1999 with the 10% of MSA funds. VTSF mounted a youth multimedia campaign, but little data are available on the effectiveness of VTSF programming. • In 2009, the General Assembly expanded VTSF's mission to include youth obesity prevention and changed its name to Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth without any additional funding. The consequences for tobacco control programming are not known, but are likely to be negative if resources are diverted from tobacco control. • Virginia had the lowest cigarette tax in the nation from 1993-2004. The 2004 "2.5 Cents to Common Sense" campaign run by Virginians for a Healthy Future (VFHF), comprised of the Virginia chapters of AHA, ALA, and ACS, successfully used polling data to show popular support for an increase, targeted key legislators, and ran an effective media campaign. This effort resulted in a tax increase of 30 cents per pack in 2004. None of the increased tax went to fund tobacco control. • In 2006, with encouragement from VFHF, Governor Tim Kaine (D) issued Executive Order 41, prohibiting smoking in most executive branch buildings and state-owned vehicles. • In 2007, VFHF worked closely with Gov. Kaine and Sen. Brandon Bell (R) to introduce SB 1161, a strong expansion of the VCIAA to extend make most public places, including restaurants, smokefree. This effort failed. • The City of Norfolk decided to pass an ordinance prohibiting smoking in restaurants in 2007, arguing that it not preempted by the VCIAA because of the city's inherent police powers. The ordinance was rescinded before it went into effect because of complaints by local restaurateurs and the likelihood of a statewide law passing. Statewide public health advocates did not effectively support this effort to test state preemption. • In 2009 VFHF focused an intense "district campaign" on Assembly Speaker William Howell's (R) home district of Fredericksburg, forcing Howell to stop blocking all clean indoor air legislation. Instead of supporting 100% smokefree legislation, he proposed a weak amendment to the VCIAA that created exemptions for smoking rooms in restaurants. The member organizations of VFHF split in 2009 over support for the Kaine-Howell compromise legislation. After securing an agreement with Gov. Kaine in a back-room meeting, the Kaine-Howell bill passed and was signed into law by Kaine. The law prohibited most smoking in restaurants and bars but allowed separately vented smoking rooms. • Given strong support from Virginians for stronger clean indoor air laws, Virginia tobacco control advocates should reexamine their strategies. VFHF and its member organizations should provide financial and political resources to expand their successful 2009 Fredericksburg district campaign to repeal preemption. They should also consider identifying and supporting local efforts to enact stronger laws using the Norfolk model.


In this paper, two nonlinear methods for stabilizing the orientation of a Four-Wheel Independent Drive and Steering (4WIDS) robot while in the air are analyzed, implemented in simulation, and compared. AGRO (the Agile Ground Robot) is a 4WIDS inspection robot that can be deployed into unsafe environments by being thrown, and can use the reaction torque from its four wheels to command its orientation while in the air. The goal of this work is to decrease the stabilization time and reject disturbances using nonlinear control methods. Model-based Feedback Linearization (FL) was added to PD control to compensate for nonlinear dynamics. However, with external disturbances, model uncertainty, and sensor noise the FL+PD controller does not guarantee stability. As an alternative, a backstepping controller was designed based on Lyapunov analysis with adaptive compensation for external disturbances, model uncertainty, and sensor offset. A simulation was written using the full nonlinear dynamics of AGRO in an isotropic steering configuration in which control authority over its pitch and roll are equalized. The PD+FL control method was compared to the backstepping control method using the same initial conditions in simulation. Both the backstepping controller and the PD+FL controller stabilized the system within 250 ms. The adaptive backstepping controller was also able to compensate for offset noisy sinusoidal disturbances through an adaptation law.


A programmable software-defined networking- enabled (SDN-enabled) sliceable bit rate variable transceiver based on hybrid electro-optical multicarrier modulation as a key enabler for superchannel generation in future 5G metro networks is proposed. Multiple discrete multitone signals can be multiplexed/demultiplexed with optical orthogonal transform processors such as spectral selective switches (SSSs). By implementing optical spectrally efficient transforms at the SSSs, we are able to generate a high-capacity superchannel to support the transmission targets envisioned in 5G networks. Specifically, the optimal transform can be programmed by the control plane through the corresponding SDN agents by suitably configuring the phase and attenuation of the SSS ports. Furthermore, with the adoption of multicarrier modulation formats, increased system/network flexibility is achieved. In this work, two different transceiver configurations have been proposed and assessed. They are based on intensity modulation with direct detection and amplitude modulation with coherent reception. A flexible receiver configuration selection is envisioned according to the target network requirements/condition.


As the data sets increase in size, the process of manually labeling data becomes unfeasible by small groups of experts. Thus, it is common to rely on crowdsourcing platforms which provide inexpensive, but noisy, labels. Although implementations of algorithms to tackle this problem exist, none of them focus on scalability, limiting the area of application to relatively small data sets. In this paper, we present spark-crowd, an Apache Spark package for learning from crowdsourced data with scalability in mind.


The amount of raw information available for basketball analytics has been given a great boost with the availability of player tracking data. This facilitates detailed analyses of player movement patterns. In this paper, we focus on the difficult problem of offensive playcall classification. While outstanding individual players are crucial for the success of a team, the strategies that a team can execute and their understanding of the opposing team's strategies also greatly influence game outcomes. These strategies often involve complex interactions between players. We apply techniques from machine learning to directly process SportVU tracking data, specifically variants of neural networks. Our system can label as many sequences with the correct playcall given roughly double the data a human expert needs with high precision, but takes only a fraction of the time. We also show that the system can achieve good recognition rates when trained on one season and tested on the next.


: Background : Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) catalyzes histone methylation at H3 Lys27, and plays crucial roles during development and diseases in numerous systems. Its catalytic subunit EZH2 represents a key nuclear target for long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) that emerging to be a novel class of epigenetic regulator and participate in diverse cellular processes. LncRNAs are characterized by high tissue-specificity; however, little is known about the tissue profile of the EZH2-interacting lncRNAs. Objective : Here we performed a global screening for EZH2-binding lncRNAs in tissues including brain, lung, heart, liver, kidney, intestine, spleen, testis, muscle and blood by combining RNA immu-no-precipitation and RNA sequencing. We identified 1328 EZH2-binding lncRNAs, among which 470 were shared in at least two tissues while 858 were only detected in single tissue. An RNA motif with specific secondary structure was identified in a number of lncRNAs, albeit not in all EZH2-binding lncRNAs. The EZH2-binding lncRNAs fell into four categories including intergenic lncRNA, antisense lncRNA, intron-related lncRNA and promoter-related lncRNA, suggesting diverse regulations of both cis and trans- mechanisms. A promoter-related lncRNA Hnf1aos1 bound to EZH2 specifically in the liver, a feature same as its paired coding gene Hnf1a, further confirming the validity of our study. In addition to the well known EZH2-binding lncRNAs like Kcnq1ot1, Gas5, Meg3, Hotair and Malat1, majority of the lncRNAs were firstly reported to be associated with EZH2. Conclusion : Our findings provide a profiling view of the EZH2-interacting lncRNAs across different tissues, and suggest critical roles of lncRNAs during cell differentiation and maturation.


To enhance the safe operation of modern railway vehicles, an online condition monitoring scheme is proposed for vehicle suspension systems. The core technology of the scheme is based on the average correlation signals based stochastic subspace identification (ACS-SSI) algorithm which allows system identification to be implemented reliably with output signals only that have strong noise and nonlinearity in vehicle applications. To validate the scheme, a series simulation studies were carried out based on a more realistic bogie model, developed in SIMPACK, under typical random excitations including vertical, lateral, rolling and gauging directions. ACS-SSI is then applied to the signals from the model under common faults in the bogie suspensions to identify the system parameters. The agreeable results obtained by comparing the identified results with that calculated by SIMPACK shows that the proposed scheme performs reliably in obtaining the system parameters: modal frequency, damping and shape that are required for online diagnosis.


Providing the first few letters of a missing word in a sentence gives information about this word. This paper attempts to measure the information transmitted in that case. In order to do so, we analyzed response accuracy for open cloze questions, that is fill-in-the-blank questions without multiple choice answers. In this study, native and non-native speakers of English answered a series of open cloze questions that were semi-automatically generated. Hints were provided that consisted of the first few letters of the missing word. Results showed that question difficulty, hence the quantity of information transmitted, is related to the number of letters that are provided, to physical properties of these letters and to syllables formed by these letters. Performances did not appear to depend on letter or syllable frequency. Controlling hint level in a word completion task is critical in order to provide practice exercises adapted to student levels.


Helen Seward, Richard Packard, David Allen####  Management problem

A 52 year old high myope presents with misty vision as a result of cataracts. With his contact lenses he sees 6/9 part right eye, 6/9 left eye and reads N8 right eye, N6 left eye with glasses.

  He is wearing −12.00/−2.00 × 75 right eye, −11.00/−1.00 × 90 left eye. He has bilateral posterior subcapsular plaques R > L and myopic retinal degeneration. Axial lengths measured using SRK-T are 30.60 mm right eye, 30.31 mm left eye. He is a keen runner and would like good unaided distance vision post-surgery. He is very light sensitive and finds tonometry difficult. How would you manage this patient's cataract surgery, in particular the type of anaesthetic, the surgical management plan, and the choice of intraocular lens?

# View 1 {#article-title-2}

  This patient, who is highly myopic presents with reasonably good distance vision but compromised reading. However, we may assume that his distance VA in glare conditions will be much worse because of his posterior subcapsular plaques and that it is from this that his problems really arise. He has also expressed a desire for good unaided distance vision post-surgery which will require some form of correction for his astigmatism.

As part of the preoperative assessment the following tests should be carried out to assist in developing the appropriate surgical plan.

(1)
: Full fundal examination has shown myopic degeneration. Assess these lesions in the retina as they may require treatment either before or immediately after the surgery.

(2)
: Ultrasonic A-scan using the appropriate formula and A-constant. As used here SRK-T is accurate for high myopes. As an alternative the Holladay II may be used, which requires the white to white corneal measurement. When doing the A scan be aware that high myopes may have posterior polar …


Cracking due to the restrained shrinkage stress has been frequently observed at early age in concrete construction. The early-age shrinkage cracking reduce the structural performance of concrete and may accelerate deterioration to shorten the service life. Two kinds of strategies and instrumentation have been developed to assess early age cracking: ring tests with a restraining core, longitudinal tests where the restraint is at the end grips of the specimen. Early-age concrete exhibits creep or relaxation behavior that is a typical response of viscoelastic materials. Viscoelastic constitutive model should be used to analyze stress development of the restrained concrete. The assessment of the risk of cracking can be based on the model with input of the estimated concrete deformation.


Objective: To examine whether physical activity was associated with decreased risk of vasomotor symptoms in a prospective study of women transitioning through menopause. Design: Hypotheses were evaluated in the Harvard Study of Moods and Cycles, a longitudinal study of women with and without a history of major depression (N = 523). Ordinal logistic regression models were utilized to assess the odds of vasomotor symptoms (none, mild, moderate/severe; Greene Climacteric Scale) associated with physical activity (quartiles of metabolic equivalent-hours per week) at study enrollment and over a 3- to 5-year follow-up period. Results: No significant associations between physical activity and vasomotor symptoms were observed for the sample as a whole. However, exploratory analyses stratified by depression history revealed that among the 157 women with a lifetime history of major depression, high (odds ratio [OR] = 0.28, 95% CI: 0.09-0.83) or moderately high (OR = 0.33, 95% CI: 0.11-0.99) physical activity proximal to the vasomotor assessment, as well as consistently high (OR = 0.27, 95% CI: 0.10-0.75) or increasing (OR = 0.33, 95% CI: 0.12-0.92) physical activity over the duration of the 3- to 5-year follow-up period was associated with decreased vasomotor symptoms relative to sedentary behavior. No significant associations were observed for women without a history of depression. Conclusions: Physical activity may be associated with decreased risk of vasomotor symptoms among women with a history of major depression.


Abstract Systematic assessment of muscle strength of the lower extremities throughout the annual training cycle in athletes is crucial from a performance perspective for the optimization of the training process, as well as a health perspective with regard to injury prevention. The main aim of the present study was to determine isokinetic muscle strength of the knee flexors and extensors in female handball players at the beginning of a preparatory period and to assess whether there were any differences between players of different performance levels. The performance level was expressed by means of membership of the Women's Junior National Handball Team (JNT, n=8) or the Women's National Handball Team (NT, n=9). The isokinetic peak torque during concentric and eccentric single-joint knee flexion and extension was measured at angular velocities of 60, 180, 240°/s (concentric) and 60°/s (eccentric). The Mann- Whitney test showed no significant differences in the peak torques or ipsilateral ratios between the two groups. The bilateral force deficit (BFD) for concentric extension at 240°/s was significantly higher in the JNT compared with the NT (p=0.04; d=1.02). However, the results of individual evaluation show that the BFD was more frequent in the NT in most measurements. A high BFD was evident in the eccentric mode in both groups highlighting a need for particular strengthening. With regard to low strength ratios a prevention programme should be suggested for both observed groups of professional female handball players to reduce the risk of injury.


Abstract In early postmenopausal women, estrogen withdrawal is associated with increased bone turnover leading to bone loss and increased risk of fracture. Recent studies have suggested that the remaining bone tissue is significantly stronger, stiffer and has an increased tissue-level mineral content. Such changes may occur to compensate for bone loss or as a direct result of estrogen deficiency. To date many details of the physiology of osteoblastic cells during estrogen deficiency are vague. In this study we test the hypothesis that osteoblastic matrix mineralisation is altered at the onset of estrogen deficiency. In vitro cell culture experiments were carried out up to 28 days to compare the mineral production of MC3T3-E1 osteoblastic cells subject to estrogen deficiency (fulvestrant), enhanced estrogen supplementation (17-β-estradiol) or a combination of both. Mineralisation was detected using von Kossa staining and was quantified with alizarin red absorbance readings. The expression of osteocalcin and osteopontin proteins, markers of osteoblast differentiation and mineralisation, was monitored using immunohistochemistry. Our results demonstrate that estrogen enhancement improves matrix mineralisation by MC3T3 cells in vitro. Furthermore this study found a significant reduction in the level of mineralisation when cells were treated with a combination of estrogen and fulvestrant. In an estrogen deficient environment mineralisation by osteoblastic cells was not altered. These findings suggest that altered tissue mineralisation following estrogen deficiency is not a direct result of estrogen deficiency on osteoblasts. Rather, we propose that altered tissue mineralisation may be a compensatory mechanism by bone to counter bone loss and reduced strength.


A series of alumina-supported gold catalysts was investigated for the CO-free production of hydrogen by partial oxidation of methanol. The addition of alkaline-earth metal oxide promoters resulted in a significant improvement of the catalytic performance. The methanol conversion was ca. 85 % with all studied catalyst materials, however, the selectivity for hydrogen increased from 15 % to 51 % when going from the unpromoted to a BaO-promoted catalyst. The formation of the undesired byproducts CO, methane, and dimethyl ether was considerably reduced as well. The observed trend in catalyst performance follows the trend in increasing basicity of the studied promoter elements, indicating a chemical effect of the promoter material. Superior catalytic performance, in terms of H(2) and CO selectivity, was obtained with a Au/La(2)O(3) catalyst. At 300 degrees C the hydrogen selectivity reached 80 % with only 2 % CO formation, and the catalyst displayed a stable performance over at least 24 h on-stream. Furthermore, the formation of CO was found to be independent of the oxygen concentration in the feed. The commercial lanthanum oxide used in this study had a low specific surface area, which led to the formation of relative large gold particles. Therefore, the catalytic activity could be enhanced by decreasing the gold particle size through deposition on lanthanum oxide supported on high-surface-area alumina.


Why does one federation succeed while another fails? Federations may fail for exogenous reasons: foreign invasion, collapse of its currency, or global market forces. If we focus on endogenous factors, the possible reasons for failure include diversity, where populations drift apart or clash too often, or jealousy from redistributive asymmetry, with unequal shouldering of costs or dispersion of benefits, and, of course, corruption and insurrection. While potentially significant, these problems are not particular to federalism; they threaten all democracies. There is, however, one threat that afflicts federations in particular. It is the one that perplexed and animated James Madison in the American context: opportunistic authority migration between levels of government.


When people say Shanghai looks like the future the setting is almost always the same. Evening descends and the skyscrapers clustered on the eastern shore of the Huangpu light up. Super towers are transformed into giant screens. The spectacular skyline, all neon and lasers and LED, looms as a science fiction backdrop. Staring out from the Bund, across to Pudong, one senses the reemergence of what JG Ballard once described as an "electric and lurid city, more exciting than any other in the world." The high-speed development of Pudong – in particular the financial district of Lujiazui – is the symbol of contemporary Shanghai and of China's miraculous rise. Yet, Pudong is also taken as a sign of much that is wrong with China's new urbanism. To critics the sci-fi skyline is an emblem of the city's shallowness, which focuses all attention on its glossy facade. Many share the sentiment of free market economist Milton Friedman who, when visiting Pudong famously derided the brand new spectacle as a giant Potemkin village. Nothing but "the statist monument for a dead pharaoh," he is quoted as saying. This article explores Pudong in order to investigate the way spectacle functions in China's most dynamic metropolis. It argues that the skeptical hostility towards spectacle is rooted in the particularities of a Western philosophical tradition that insists on penetrating the surface, associating falsity with darkness and truth with light. In contrast, China has long recognized the power of spectacle (most famously inventing gunpowder but using it only for fireworks). Alongside this comes an acceptance of a shadowy world that belongs to the dark. This acknowledgment of both darkness and light found in traditional Chinese culture (expressed by the constant revolutions of the yin/yang symbol) may provide an alternative method for thinking about the tension between the spectacular visions of planners and the unexpected and shadowy disruptions from the street.


ABSTRACT Scabies is known in Indonesia as gudik, kudis, buduk, kerak, penyakit ampera or gatal agogo or body louse. This diseases is transmitted from human being to the human being, from animals to human being, and conversely. The prevalence of scabies at the Puskesmas (primary health care) in Indonesia is 4,6% – 12,9% and scabies is on the third rank of 12 skin diseases. The prevalence of scabies is the higher in environment with the higher density and the poor sanitation. This research aims to study a correlation between environment sanitation and personal hygiene with the scabies incident at Rutan (detention center) branch of Sibuhuan, regency of Padang Lawas. The applied method in this research is analytic by corss sectional design. The population of this research is all of prisoners who live in Detention center branch of Sibuhuan. The sample is total population for 42 persons. The data is analyzed by univarian and bivarian with Chi – square test on significant level 95%. The results of study indicates that environment sanitation variable, i.e. the floor condition (p = 0,001) has a correlation to the scabies incident. The variable of ventilation, humidity, lighting and availability of pure water are not considered because fulfill requirement by the density of the detention center did not fulfill the health requirement. The personal hygiene variable, i.e. genital cleanness (p = 0,029) and clothes and towel cleanness (p = 0,014) has a correlation to the scabies incident. While the skin and hair cleanness variables (p = 0,286), the hand, foot and nail cleanness (p = 0,636) and the cleanness of bad and bad cover (p = 0,654) has not a correlation to the scabies incident. It is suggested the Management of Rutan (detention center) Branch of Sibuhuan Regency of Padang Lawas to regulate the density of the facility and improve the floor condition and to maintain the environment sanitation of the detention center to minimize the scabies. Keywords : Scabies, Environment Sanitation, Personal Hygiene


It is a well-known fact that in many species of reef-corals the form of different colonies is largely subject to external influences that affected it during its growth. Not only in different colonies is this variability found, but also parts of the same colony may offer a striking contrast when compared with one another. One of the causes that modify the growth-form of various colonies of reef-corals, especially of the branching ones, is the action of the waves that roll in upon the reef after they have been more or less dissolved at the edge. These waves constantly sweep over the tops of the coral-colonies so as to prevent them to grow in height above a certain level. Together with the larger colonies whose tops are constantly in contact with the waves there usually are smaller and younger ones growing in shallow places between the former. As a rule these smaller colonies are much more regularly built: they display in all directions an almost equal development. In their further growth the tops of these colonies at last also reach the level of wave-action and from that time the uppermost parts are constantly in contact with these waves. Then in many species no further increase of height takes place, but the highest part of the colony tends to enlarge itself in a lateral direction by the formation of thicker and larger branches as may be observed in colonies of Pocillopora and Montipora. The same formation of irregular and stunted branches is observable in specimens of Montipora that are exposed to strong currents 1). In other species the lateral growth-tendency gives rise to the formation of a multitude of small branches that form a dense mass on the top of the colony. This phenomenon I observed in the higher parts of Merulina


In this paper we propose a new compressive coding method of stereo audio signals extracting sparseness among sound sources by using independent component analysis. Some researchers have proposed a compressive coding method of multi-channel audio called binaural cue coding (BCC), and the ISO/MPEG standard ization group discusses standard of next generation audio based on BCC. BCC has an underlying model assuming existence of only a single sound source in each subband of the multi-channel audio signal. Mismatch of this model often occurs and as a result qual ity of reconstructed multi-channel signal degrades. To extract the time-frequency grids where only a single source exists, we apply independent component analysis (lCA) to stereo signals. Using this analysis, a single dominant source can be chosen e筒ciently in each of frequency bins. In addition, transfer functions to recon struct stereo signal from the dominant source is also extracted by lCA. Experiments based on both objective and subjective evalua ttons ascert創ns efficiency of the proposed method.


To enhance the forming quality of pneumatic bulging for abnormity thin-wall pot and reduce such forming defects as severe wall thickness reduction and fold breaks. Based on numerical simulation, this article analyzes the impact of the friction factor, die radius of curvature, pot wall thickness and load pressure on the wall thickness reduction rate, maximum stress and axial contraction. The experiment result is consistent with the numerical simulation. The research results have greater practical value to process optimization and process control.


: The meaning and significance of Keynes's Treatise on Probability has changed over the 100 years since its publication. Initially it stood on its own as an original contribution to probability theory. After The General Theory some saw the Treatise strengthening Keynes's later arguments. Yet by the time New Classical Economics became dominant it became largely ignored. This paper attributes that later rejection to the mainstream economics' reliance on Savage's subjective expected utility restriction of probability thinking to what he called small worlds. It argues that his small worlds-large worlds distinction produces a small worlds-closed worlds conception of economics the mainstream employs, and that Keynesian economic thinking and the Treatise employ a large worlds-open worlds conception of economics. It frames this open-closed opposition in terms of two contrasting conceptions of science from 1930s system theory, and argues that in economics it is the basis for two conceptions of time: a static, before-after view of temporal sequences and a dynamic, past-present-future view of temporal sequences. The paper then shifts to how Sraffa explained the relationship between production and distribution as an interaction between a relatively closed production system open to distributional forces, shows an analogous view exists in the later thinking of Wittgenstein with whom Sraffa interacted, and then argues Keynes's thinking in the Treatise employs a similar Cambridge understanding whereby our probability judgments are relatively closed but also open to fundamental uncertainty.


It is too often the case that a public speaking classroom is one that creates a sense of stress, nervousness and tension in undergraduate students. While many sources offer tips to help students and others prepare successful speeches and get through their presentations (Lucas, 2010; DeVito, 2009; Griffin, 2009; Osborn, Osborn, & Osborn, 2009; Verderber, Verderber, & Sellnow, 2008; Bourne, 2007; Beaver, 2005), few address how instructors may be contributing (i.e., cultural differences and misunderstandings, instructor bias, lack of class time for preparation, and overly strict instructor critique and scoring criteria) to this atmosphere of anxiety and communication apprehension nor what instructors can do specifically to help create an environment where public speaking anxiety can decrease progressively in the classroom. This article will explore some options towards making the speech-learning environment one that lessens the anxiety and fear students experience in the public speaking classroom. For instructors who wish to create a more comfortable public speaking environment in order to help reduce the fear students experience in the public speaking classroom, the authors suggest respecting cultural differences, avoiding instructor bias, using class time for practice, and providing an encouraging classroom atmosphere.