Biomass monitoring is vital for studying the carbon cycle of earth's ecosystem and has several significant implications, especially in the context of understanding climate change and its impacts. Recently, several change detection methods have been proposed to identify land cover changes in temporal profiles (time series) of vegetation collected using remote sensing instruments, but do not satisfy one or both of the two requirements of the biomass monitoring problem, that is, operating in online mode and handling periodic time series. In this paper, we adapt Gaussian process (GP) regression to detect changes in such time series in an online fashion. While GP have been widely used as a kernel‐based learning method for regression and classification, their applicability to massive spatiotemporal data sets, such as remote sensing data, has been limited owing to the high computational costs involved. We focus on addressing the scalability issues associated with the proposed GP based change detection algorithm. This paper makes several significant contributions. First, we propose a GP based online time series change detection algorithm and demonstrate its effectiveness in detecting different types of changes in Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data obtained from a study area in IA, USA. Second, we propose an efficient Toeplitz matrix based solution which significantly improves the computational complexity and memory requirements of the proposed GP based method. Specifically, the proposed solution can analyze a time series of length t in O(t2) time while maintaining a O(t) memory footprint, compared to the O(t3) time and O(t2) memory requirement of standard matrix manipulation based methods. Third, we describe a parallel version of the proposed solution which can be used to simultaneously analyze a large number of time series. We study three different parallel implementations: using threads, Message Passing Interface (MPI), and a hybrid implementation using threads and MPI. Experimental results show that the hybrid implementation scales better than the multithreaded and MPI based implementations. The application of the proposed scalable algorithm is demonstrated in analyzing massive remote sensing observation data. The hybrid implementation, using 1536 computing cores, can analyze an NDVI data set for the Iowa study area in nearly 5 s, while a serial algorithm, using standard Cholesky decomposition based routines, takes several days to process the same data set. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Statistical Analysis and Data Mining 4: 430–445, 2011


High power low frequency ultrasonic systems used in sonochemistry, for cell disruption or sonophoresis are usually calibrated and controlled with procedures (electrical power measurement, calorimetry, chemical dosimetry) that just give an indication about performance. The surface vibration amplitude, both in air and in water of a high power low frequency ultrasonic system, is determined by laser interferometry combined to calculation. A good agreement was found between simulations and experiments. Finally, the system acoustic power output in water is determined precisely.


This framework paper intends to construct the 2015 "migration crisis" as a scientific object, moving away from the naturalisation of the crisis operated in media and political discourses and rather exploring the dynamics of migration crisis-making. To do so, it offers a insights on the semantic and political genealogy of the notion in the context of Western European discourses. We argue that an ideal type or generic "migration crisis" was brought about in the early 2010s, building upon previous situated crises in discourses produced on migration. This ideal type is constructed as a category of power, which in turn gives way to particular ways of dealing with and responding to migration. Therefore, in line with previous work, this paper adopts a constructivist stance on crises that seeks to investigate "migration as crisis" in policy, media and academic discourses.


: Investigations of non-photosinthesizing mutants of Chlamydomonas reinhardii with damaged activity of both or one of the photosystems have shown that the chlorophyll a form with the absorption maximum at 685 nm and low temperature fluorescence band at 696 nm is a part of the pigment-protein complex of PS-2. Chlorophyll a forms with absorption maxima at 689, 698 and 703 nm belong to the pigment-protein complex of PS-1. They seem to be responsible for the long-wave band of chlorophyll fluorescence with the maximum at 707--718 nm. Chlorophyll a forms with absorption at 661, 667 and 678 nm and a short-wave fluorescence band at 685--690 nm rank among the pigments of the light-converging complex, as well as chlorophyll b with the absorption maximum at 644 and 649 nm.


Pediatric psoriasis is an autoimmune diathesis with a complex immunologic basis. It is associated with extensive psychological morbidity and should be treated rapidly and effectively to limit psychologic effects on children. The most common trigger in childhood is upper respiratory tract infection. Once disease has occurred, treatment is based on severity and presence of joint involvement. Topical therapies include corticosteroids and calcipotriene. UV light, systemic retinoids, and cyclosporine remit cutaneous psoriatic lesions. Methotrexate sodium and etanercept benefit both skin and joint manifestations of psoriasis. Concern for psychological symptoms and psychological growth is needed in treating pediatric patients with psoriasis vulgaris.


Replication is one of the primary techniques used to improve the quality of distributed content service. It generally reduces user latencies and increases a site's availability. However, to our knowledge, there is no systematic framework that combines the structure of both content and service components of a Web application to design effective replica hosting architectures. Recent advances in interconnected and multiple content distribution network (CDN) architectures render this problem even more complex. In this study, we develop a systematic framework for designing and evaluating large-scale, component-based replication architectures for Web systems that are driven by both the quality and effectiveness of service provisioning on the service network. The proposed framework employs a combination of problem decomposition, configuration evaluation through controlled system simulations, and a neural-network-based feedback learning mechanism in the exploration of the design space. A case study demonstrates the viability of the framework. The framework can be an effective decision support tool for a system designer to systematically explore design options and select an appropriate design configuration that best meets the desired design objectives.


Knowledge is nowadays considered to be the main source of competitiveness in many companies. Knowledge may also be the facilitator of organizational change, and thereby, contribute indirectly to the competitiveness. Organizational change is, however, a broad concept and it is examined from many perspectives in multiple disciplines. Therefore, the aim of this theoretical paper is to analyze and categorize concepts, theories and models of organizational change. This paper also provides some preliminary views of what is the role of knowledge for changes in organizations. Based on a literature review, change is categorized based on the theory (selection, adaptation, or coevolution), intentionality (planned or emergent), and the type or magnitude of change. Knowledge forms and processes are proposed to be seen as a facilitator of incremental and radical changes.


A detailed architectural analysis has been performed on the porcelaneous species Taberina bingistani Henson, 1948 from diverse localities, including its type locality in Iran. Characterized by a subcylindrical to slightly conical shape, with a cribbed apertural face, the Cenomanian Middle-East species bingistani is removed from the American early-Paleogene genus Taberina Keijzer, 1945 (type species: T. cubana ) and ascribed to the new genus Praetaberina. In the early stages of growth, the chambers are planispiral-involute, becoming uncoiled in the later stages. The interior of the chambers shows numerous septula and pillars. The septula are radial and distributed in the marginal area of the chamber lumen, while the pillars occupy the central area and are regularly distributed between the intercameral foramina. Pillars are in alignment from one chamber to the next. A new species, from southeast Italy, Praetaberina apula , is also erected. It differs from P. bingistani in its smaller size and significantly reduced structural elements. Both species characterize upper Cenomanian shallow-water deposits.


Parallel computing operates on the principle that large problems can often be divided into smaller ones, which are then solved concurrently to save time (wall clock time) by taking advantage of non-local resources and overcoming memory constraints. The main aim is to form a cluster based parallel computing architecture for MPI based applications which demonstrates the performance gain and losses achieved through parallel processing using MPI. This can be realized by implementing the parallel applications like solving matrix multiplication problem, using MPI. The architecture for demonstrating MPI based parallel applications works on the Master-Slave computing paradigm. The master will monitor the progress and be able to report the time taken to solve the problem, taking into account the time spent in breaking the problem into sub-tasks and com- bining the results along with the communication delays. The slaves are capable of accepting sub problems from the master and finding the solution and sending back to the master. We aim to evaluate these statistics of parallel execution and do comparison with the time taken to solve the same problem in serial execution. We also demon- strate communication overhead involved in parallel computation. The results with runs on different number of nodes are compared to evaluate the efficiency of MPI based parallel applications. We also show the performance dependency of parallel and serial computation, on RAM. Finally we show the relationship between the number of slave processes to be specified for computation and the number of cores available for parallel computation.


Model-driven engineering (MDE) provides tools and methods for the manipulation of formal models. In this letter, we leverage MDE for the transformation of production system models into flat files that are understood by general purpose planning tools and that enable the computation of "plans", i.e., sequences of production steps that are required to reach certain production goals. These plans are then merged back into the production system model, thus enriching the formalized production system knowledge.


AND/OR Multi-valued Decision Diagrams (AOMDD) were shown to provide a more compact representation of discrete-domain realvalued functions compared to other decision diagram variants [1]. We show the performance of AOMDDs on inference tasks in graphical models. We introduce the elimination operator to AOMDDs, which in conjunction with the combination operator introduced in previous work, yields a full bucket elimination (BE) scheme using AOMDDs as an alternative function representation to tables. We show that we are able to solve instances that do not fit in main memory when using tables.


Pulmonary rehabilitation does have a place in the medical management of COPD. It is the responsibility of the primary care practitioner to be sufficiently informed to make intelligent choices among programs for optimum benefit to the patient. Beyond bronchodilators and small volume nebulizers is the concept of pulmonary rehabilitation, aimed at the art of living with lung disease, which may not alter the outcome of the disease but may change the quality of life for those who are sufficiently motivated to develop new habits.


Interview with Charles "Chuck" Beatty, African-American alumnus of North Texas State University. The interview includes Beatty's personal experiences of childhood and education, accepting an athletic scholarship to North Texas, playing football at North Texas and with the Pittsburgh Steelers and other professional teams, being in the National Guard during the Vietnam era, and returning to North Texas to earn a degree following his professional football career. Additionally, Beatty speaks of social life among African-American students and relations with white students and faculty, his experiences as an elected official in Waxahachie and as a member of the UNT Board of Regents, and his perceptions of change at North Texas over time.


AbstractThis study evaluated the spatial and temporal distribution and density of the bivalve Donax striatus, at beaches close to the Apodi/Mossoró River estuary, through, six semiannual sampling campaigns were performed between April/2009 and October/2011. The sampled area was delimited by 20 transects that were laid perpendicular to the beach line and extended over 300 m in the intertidal zone. Seven sampling points were established in each transect, organisms and sediment were collected, and water temperature and salinity were recorded. The highest D. striatus average density (103 individuals.m-2) was observed in April/2009 and the lowest (18 individuals.m-2) in October/2010. The highest D. striatus densities occurred in beaches further from the estuarine region as demonstrated by a significant positive correlation (r2 = 0.67 and p = 0.0007). The D. striatus densities presented significant negative correlations with the percentages of organic matter in the water. This species demonstrated an aggregated distribution in the studied area.


This study examined whether publication outcome was affected by the gender of author, handling associate editor (AE), or reviewer, and whether there was gender bias in reviewer selection, in the journal Reproduction. Analyses were carried out on 4289 original research manuscripts submitted to the journal between 2007 and 2019. Both female and male AEs appointed more male reviewers than female reviewers, but female AEs were significantly more likely to appoint female reviewers than male AEs were (p < 0.001). When examining the gender of either first or last author manuscripts, those with female authors that were reviewed by female reviewers received better scores than those with male authors that were reviewed by female reviewers (p < 0.05): where the reviewer was male, no such effect was observed. Acceptance rates of manuscripts were similar for both female and male authors, whether first or last, regardless of AE gender. Overall, there was no significant correlation between gender of first or last author, or of AE, on the likelihood of acceptance of a research paper. These data suggest no bias against female authors during the peer review process in this reproductive biology journal.


Withania somnifera (Ashwagandha) is a plant used in medicine from the time of Ayurveda, the ancient system of Indian medicine. The dried roots of the plant are used in the treatment of nervous and sexual disorders. this review article is presented to compile all the updated information on its phytochemical and pharmacological activities, which were performed by widely different methods. Studies indicate ashwagandha possesses antioxidant, anxiolytic, adaptogen, memory enhancing, antiparkinsonian, antivenom, antiinflammatory, antitumor properties. Various other effects like immunomodulation, hypolipidemic, antibacterial, cardiovascular protection, sexual behaviour, tolerance and dependence have also been studied. These results are very encouraging and indicate this herb should be studied more extensively to confirm these results and reveal other potential therapeutic effects. Clinical trials using ashwagandha for a variety of conditions should also be conducted.


The problems associated with the use of conventional rolling mill models are described. These include the unavoidable variations in temperature and strain rate (rolling speed) during rolling. They are exacerbated by the wide variety of mill types and configurations found in industry and their correspondingly broad ranges of interpass time. Finally, a major limitation arises from the approach currently employed to model the "strain accumulation" attributable to incomplete softening between passes, particularly during the processing of microalloyed steels.


Different Information Retrieval (IR) methods have been proposed to recover traceability links among software artifacts. Until now there is no single method that sensibly outperforms the others, however, it has been empirically shown that some methods recover different, yet complementary traceability links. In this paper, we exploit this empirical finding and propose an integrated approach to combine orthogonal IR techniques, which have been statistically shown to produce dissimilar results. Our approach combines the following IR-based methods: Vector Space Model (VSM), probabilistic Jensen and Shannon (JS) model, and Relational Topic Modeling (RTM), which has not been used in the context of traceability link recovery before. The empirical case study conducted on six software systems indicates that the integrated method outperforms stand-alone IR methods as well as any other combination of non-orthogonal methods with a statistically significant margin.


[1] We present observations of Pc 1 waves (∼0.6 Hz) that occurred shortly after a strong (>20 nPa) compression of Earth's magnetosphere at 1321 UT, 18 March 2002. Intense Pc 1 waves were observed at several high-latitude ground stations in Antarctica and Greenland from 1321 UT to beyond 1445 UT. Two wave bursts were recorded at the Polar satellite at 1338 and 1343–1344 UT as it passed outbound in the Southern Hemisphere at 1154 local time (SM magnetic latitude of −22° and near L = 7.5) in good magnetic conjunction with the Antarctic. The pressure increase created a significant population of protons between a few hundred eV and several keV, whose fluxes were mostly perpendicular to B. These protons seem to have replaced the quiescent stream of protons (presumably convected from the plasma sheet) that existed before this increase. There was also a nearly two-order-of-magnitude increase in the population of thermal/suprathermal (0.32–410 eV) protons. The generation of ion cyclotron waves is expected to limit the proton temperature anisotropy A, defined as T⊥/T∥ − 1. The ion cyclotron instability driven by the observed hot ion temperature anisotropy is studied using two models, with and without the presence of cold background plasma. Peaks in the calculated instability as a function of time show excellent agreement with the times of the Polar wave bursts, which were measured a few tens of seconds after maxima in the instability calculation. The time delay is consistent with the propagation time to the spacecraft from a source nearer to the equatorial plane. The hot proton population at Polar appears to be driven back to stability by a sudden increase in very field-aligned protons having energies less than the hot perpendicular population, suggesting a different source for the two populations. These observations confirm the importance of both the energization and/or increase in population of protons transverse to B in the several keV range (possibly betatron acceleration as a result of the pressure pulse), and the presence of greatly increased fluxes of lower energy protons (100s of eV to a few keV), predominantly aligned along B, in determining whether the particle population is unstable at a given time.


Modified functional reach test is valid and reliable tool to assess sitting balance in children in forward and lateral direction. Normative data of modified functional reach test for school going children has not been established yet in central India, as well correlation of anthropometric data with reach distance values not studied, hence this study was undertaken. Total 280 children (6 to 12 years), 140 Boys and 140 Girls, were selected by stratified random sampling method, subdivided into 7 subgroups (10B, 10G in each group) from two schools. Height was measured using stature meter, trunk length and leg length were measured using measuring tape, weight was measured using weighing machine, spinal flexibility was tested with the help of sit and reach test, hamstring angle was measured using goniometer by 90-90 test. Child reached with dominant shoulder at 90 degree of flexion and abduction in forward and lateral direction respectively while sitting on height adjustable stool with hip and knee at 90 degrees and feet placed neutral on ground. The reach distance was measured using a yard stick mounted on the wall, at the height of child's shoulder. The mean of three successive trials was calculated. Karl Pearson correlation moment product was used to determine correlation between age, gender and anthropometric measurements with modified forward and lateral reach. Normal values of modified forward and lateral reach were observed as 19.53 to 26.48cm and 17.68 to 22.50cm respectively. Height and weight correlated significantly with modified functional reach values. Keywords: Sitting balance assessment, School children, Modified functional reach, Modified lateral reach, Height, Weight.


State-of-the-art scene text detection techniques predict quadrilateral boxes that are prone to localization errors while dealing with straight or curved text lines of different orientations and lengths in scenes. This paper presents a novel multi-scale shape regression network (MSR) that is capable of locating text lines of different lengths, shapes and curvatures in scenes. The proposed MSR detects scene texts by predicting dense text boundary points that inherently capture the location and shape of text lines accurately and are also more tolerant to the variation of text line length as compared with the state of the arts using proposals or segmentation. Additionally, the multi-scale network extracts and fuses features at different scales which demonstrates superb tolerance to the text scale variation. Extensive experiments over several public datasets show that the proposed MSR obtains superior detection performance for both curved and straight text lines of different lengths and orientations.


As part of the United Nations' (UN) Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7), SDG target 7.1 recognizes universal electrification and the provision of clean cooking fuel as two fundamental challenges for global society. Faltering progress toward SDG target 7.1 calls for innovative technologies to stimulate advancements. Hydrogen has been proposed as a versatile energy carrier to be applied in both pillars of SDG target 7.1: electrification and clean cooking. This paper conducts a semi-systematic literature review to provide the status quo of research on the application of hydrogen in the rationale of SDG 7.1, covering the technical integration pathways, as well as the key economic, environmental, and social aspects of its use. We identify decisive factors for the future development of hydrogen use in the rationale of SDG target 7.1 and, by complementing our analysis with insights from the related literature, propose future avenues of research. The literature on electrification proposes that hydrogen can serve as a backup power supply in rural off-grid communities. While common electrification efforts aim to supply appliances that use lower amounts of electricity, a hydrogen-based power supply can satisfy appliances with higher power demands including electric cook stoves, while simultaneously supporting clean cooking efforts. Alternatively, with the exclusive aim of stimulating clean cooking, hydrogen is proposed to be used as a clean cooking fuel via direct combustion in distribution and utilization infrastructures analogous to Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG). While expected economic and technical developments are seen as likely to render hydrogen technologies economically competitive with conventional fossil fuels in the future, the potential of renewably produced hydrogen usage to reduce climate-change impacts and point-of-use emissions is already evident today. Social benefits are likely when meeting essential safety standards, as a hydrogen-based power supply offers service on a high tier that might overachieve SDG 7.1 ambitions, while hydrogen cooking via combustion fits into the existing social habits of LPG users. However, the literature lacks clear evidence on the social impact of hydrogen usage. Impact assessments of demonstration projects are required to fill this research gap.


The Yeoman Warders at the Tower of London (colloquially known as 'Beefeaters') have been represented as a quintessential part of British history. Their distinctive Tudor costumes and their highly visible role at the Tower made them iconic symbols of Britishness. One would think that the Beefeater could only be seen in London yet the iconography of the Beefeater was widespread across the British Empire, including India, Hong Kong, Malaya, Australia and New Zealand. This essay explores the transmission of a symbol of Britishness, arguing that while the Beefeater was a global icon, it resonated most with those who desired a direct connection to Anglo-British history. The reception and consumption of the Beefeater differed substantially. In Australia and New Zealand, the Beefeater allowed 'distant Britons' to celebrate a nostalgic history shared with the old country, while elsewhere in the Empire and Commonwealth, the Beefeater was too historically obscure to hold resonance and often symbolised the commercial...


Hormesis is a dose response phenomenon where low doses of a stress bring about a positive response in the organism undergoing treatment. UV-C hormesis has been known for over three decades and has a broad range of benefits on postharvest produce. Benefits include increased nutritional content, delayed chlorophyll degradation and disease resistance. The beneficial effects have been observed on many varieties of fresh produce including climacteric and non-climacteric fruit, tubers, salads and brassicas. The majority of previous studies have used low-intensity (LIUV) UV-C sources. LIUV sources require lengthy treatment times, which are in the region of 6 minutes for tomato fruit. This has, in part, prevented the commercial application of this technique. High-intensity, pulsed polychromatic light (HIPPL) sources, however, have recently been developed. HIPPL sources may have the potential to drastically reduce treatment times and increase their commercial viability.
It was shown, here, that the use of HIPPL can control disease (reduce disease progression) caused by Botrytis cinerea and Penicillium expansum and also delay ripening on tomato fruit. Both disease control and delayed ripening were at similar levels for LIUV and HIPPL treatments on mature green fruit. The HIPPL treatments used in these studies can reduce treatment times for tomato fruit by 97.3%. Both HIPPL and LIUV treatments elicit local responses irrespective of the treatment orientation and tomato fruit, therefore, require full surface irradiation. Furthermore, UV-C in the HIPPL source is not required for disease control or delayed ripening. It does, however, contribute approximately 50% towards the total observed effects.
Investigations into the mechanisms underpinning postharvest HIPPL and LIUV hormesis, on tomato fruit, identified that the expression of genes involved in plant hormone biosynthesis, defence, secondary metabolism and ripening were affected. This indicates that disease control is achieved through induced resistance. Changes to expression, following treatment, were highly similar for both HIPPL and LIUV treatments and were mediated by salicylic acid, jasmonic acid and ethylene. This may lead to broad range resistance against necrotrophic and biotrophic pathogens as well as abiotic stresses and herbivorous pests.
Recently, the exposure of foliage to UV-C has been shown to induce resistance against B. cinerea on Arabidopsis thaliana. The horticultural applications of such treatments, however, have not been explored. Pre-harvest treatments of lettuce in the glasshouse showed variation in damage threshold and optimal treatment to control disease following LIUV and HIPPL treatment. Further sources of variation included the cultivar, pathogen of interest and the point that treatment was applied during the year. Using a controlled environment allowed seasonal variation to be mitigated and both HIPPL and LIUV treatments controlled disease against B. cinerea. For pre-harvest treatments to be a success in the glasshouse, further studies into how both biotic and abiotic factors influence treatment is required.
To circumvent the problems associated with pre-harvest treatments and environmental variation in the glasshouse, LIUV seed treatments were performed on tomato. Control of B. cinerea was established with an approximately 10% reduction in incidence and disease progression with a 4 kJ/m2 treatment. When monitoring the effect of treatment on germination and early seedling development it was also identified that an 8 kJ/m2 treatment led to biostimulation of germination and root and shoot growth.


Children adopted from Central and Eastern Europe have often had negative early experiences, including prenatal exposure to alcohol. We examined a group of Polish children, adopted by Dutch parents, to see how many were diagnosed with foetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) and to what extent features of FASD were present.


It is difficult to resolve the global warming free-rider externality problem by negotiating many different quantity targets. By contrast, negotiating a single internationally-binding minimum carbon price (the proceeds from which are domestically retained) counters self-interest by incentivizing countries to internalize the externality. In this contribution I attempt to sketch out, mostly with verbal arguments, the sense in which each country's extra cost from a higher emissions price is counter-balanced by that country's extra benefit from inducing all other countries to simultaneously lower their emissions in response to the higher price. Some implications are discussed. While the paper could be centered on a more formal model, here the tone of the discussion resembles more that of an exploratory think piece directed to policymakers and the general public.


The availability and utility of large numbers of Graphical Processing Units (GPUs) have enabled parallel computations using extensive multi-threading. Sequential access to global memory and contention at the size-limited shared memory have been main impediments to fully exploiting potential performance in architectures having a massive number of GPUs. After performing extensive study of data structures and complexity analysis of various data access methodologies, we propose novel memory storage and retrieval techniques that enable parallel graph computations to overcome the above issues. More specifically, given a graph G = (V,E) and an integer k <= |V |, we provide both storage techniques and algorithms to count the number of: a) connected subgraphs of size k; b) k cliques; and c) k independent sets, all of which can be exponential in number. Our storage techniques are based on creating a breadth-first search tree and storing it along with non-tree edges in a novel way. Our experiments solve the above mentioned problems by using both naive and advanced data structures on the CPU and GPU. Speedup is achieved by solving the problems on the GPU even using a brute-force approach as compared to the implementations on the CPU. Utilizing the knowledge of BFS-tree properties, the performance gain on the GPU increases and ultimately outperforms the CPU by a factor of at least 5 for graphs that completely fit in the shared memory and by a factor of 10 for larger graphs stored using the global memory. The counting problems mentioned above have many uses, including the analysis of social networks. Â


While teacher educators prepare students throughout their coursework for successful teaching careers, the subjects of interviewing and the rigorous demands of full-time teaching are often not specifically covered. This paper reviews the essentials of interviewing techniques and addresses issues related to the realities of a first full-time teaching position. Steps in the hiring process are outlined, including those prior to the interview and aspects beyond the control of the candidate; 26 possible questions candidates may encounter are listed. Suggestions are offered for helping students prepare to meet the challenges that will probably confront them as beginning teachers. These are: maintaining classroom discipline; managing classroom instruction and facilitating students' learning and mastery of material; and adapting to the workload. The paper closes with suggestions to help students prepare for a fourth challenge: that teachers be familiar with the formal and informal requirements for successful teaching in their specific school and district. (Contains 12 references.) (ND) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** From Field Experience to Full-time Teaching: Letting Teachers Know How to Face Interviews and What to Expect on the Job


Polymers are often applied in concrete for multiple purposes and aims. For instance, surface impregnation of concrete with silanes is a reliable technology to protect cement-based materials from ingress of aggressive solutions into the materials. An alternative method is to add silane emulsion into fresh concrete or mortar to produce integral water repellent materials. In this contribution integral water repellent concrete was prepared by adding 1 %, 2 %, 3 %, 4 % and 6 % of silane emulsion. The influence of silane emulsion on the compressive strength, porosity and pore size distribution, water capillary suction and chloride penetration have been investigated. The results indicate that addition of silane emulsion moderately reduced compressive strength of concrete. With 3 % of silane emulsion the reduction is about 10 %. The addition of silane emulsion hardly has influence on pore size distribution. Silane does not block the capillary pores, but only forms a hydrophobic film on the walls of capillary pores. Addition of silane emulsion reduces water capillary suction significantly. The reduction rate is higher than 89 %. Even the surface of integral water repellent concrete is abraded off 7 mm, the material still demonstrates high water repellency because the entire volume is hydrophobic. In addition, chloride penetration also can be reduced substantially.


Multiwalled carbon nanotubes have been shown to possess unusual fibrogenic activity in vivo and are currently the focus of intense toxicological investigations. This study further determines the fibrogenic potential of well-dispersed MWCNT in human lung cell culture models and to develop a novel platform for understanding the cellular mechanisms of MWCNT-induced lung fibrosis. Survanta, a natural lung surfactant, showed effectiveness in dispersing agglomerates of MWCNT to fine structures similar in size to aerosolized one. At relevant low doses (0.002-0.2 µg/cm2), MWCNT exhibited a dose-dependent bio-effect on the human lung epithelial cells which is more pronounced in dispersed-MWCNT compared to non-dispersed form. Significantly elevated levels of fibrogenic mediators, such as transforming growth factor-β1 and matrix metalloprotienases-9 were observed in the dispersed-MWCNT treated lung epithelial cells. Based on previous in vivo studies showing that dispersed-MWCNT penetrated the interstitium and caused rapid interstitial fibrosis, we evaluated the potential direct interaction between lung fibroblasts and MWCNT. Direct stimulation of human lung fibroblast cell proliferation, collagen expression and fibroblast growth factor-2 were observed which suggests novel mechanisms of MWCNT-induced lung fibrosis. Our results indicate that the dispersion status of MWCNT determines their fibrogenic activity which is consistent with in vivo findings.


A research was conducted at Experimental Farm of Faculty of Agriculture, Syiah Kuala University in February – Mei 2011. The objectives of the research were to determine effect of kind of fertilizer on growth  and yield of  several  sweet corn varieties and also to know interaction between both factors mentioned.  The experiment was performed using a randomized complete block design (RCBD),  3 x 3 with 3 replications. There were two factors studied, namely kinds of fertilizer, consisting of 3 levels: organic fertilizer, NPK and liquid organic fertilizer NASA. The second factor was varieties consisting of 3 levels: Bonanza, Manise, and Jago F1.  The results showed that kinds of fertilizer exerted highly significant effects on diameter of bottom stem at age 45 day after planting (DAP), number of leaves at 45 DAP, leaf length at age 30 and 45 DAP and exerted a significant effect on ear length without cornhusk. The highest growth and yield of sweet corn was found in NPK fertilizer treatment.  Varieties of sweet corn exerted highly significant effects on plant height age 15 DAP, diameter  of bottom stem  at age 30 and 45 DAP, number of leaf at age 15 DAP, leaf width at age 15, 30, and 45 DAP and exerted significant effects on ear length without  cornhusk, ear diameter  without  cornhusk, ear weight per bed with border plant, ear weight per bed without border plant,  ear weight with cornhusk and plant height at age 30 and 40 DAP, diameter of bottom stem at age 15 DAP, number of leaf at age 45 DAP, leaf length at age 15 and 45 DAP. The highest of growth and yield was found at Variety Bonanza.  Additionally, there was no interaction between kinsd of fertilizer and several varieties of sweet corn on growth and yield of all variables observed.


The objective of this study was to determine differences in isometric force output, muscle activation (interpolated twitch technique), and electromyographic activity of the quadriceps, plantar flexors (PF), and their antagonists under stable and unstable conditions. Instability in subjects was introduced by making them perform contractions while seated on a "Swiss ball." Eight male subjects performed unilateral leg extensor (LE) and PF contractions while seated on a bench (LE), chair (PF), or a ball. Unstable LE and PF forces were 70.5 and 20.2% less than their stable counterparts, respectively. Unstable quadriceps and PF activation averaged 44.3 and 2.9% less than activation under stable conditions. Unstable antagonist/agonist ratios were 40.2 and 30.7% greater than stable ratios in the LE and PF protocols, respectively. The greater decrements with LE can be attributed to the instability of only 2 points of floor contact, rather than 3 points of floor contact as with the PF. Swiss balls may permit a strength training adaptation of the limbs, if instability is moderate, allowing the production of overload forces.


In this paper, we investigate the impact of uncertainty in advanced mine optimisation. We consider Maptek's software system Evolution which optimizes extraction sequences based on evolutionary computation techniques and quantify the uncertainty of the obtained solutions with respect to the ore deposit based on predictions obtained by ensembles of neural networks. Furthermore, we investigate the impact of staging on the obtained optimized solutions and discuss a wide range of components for this large scale stochastic optimisation problem which allow us to mitigate the uncertainty in the deposit while maintaining high profitability.


Topical medications are commonly used to manage mild-to-moderate psoriasis and serve as adjunct therapies used in combination with phototherapy and systemic treatments. Fixed-dose calcipotriene (Cal) 0.005%/betamethasone dipropionate (BD) 0.064% aerosol foam is a safe, efficacious topical therapy approved for the treatment of psoriasis vulgaris in the United States and European Union. Several investigator-initiated studies (IISs) have been conducted to provide real-world evidence related to the safety, effectiveness, and therapeutic indications of Cal/BD foam and are relevant to clinicians' every-day practice. This paper summarizes the findings of the IISs around the globe published to date and presents the real-world data related to the effectiveness and clinical considerations of Cal/BD foam as a treatment for psoriasis.


An electrolyzer is part of a renewable energy system and generates hydrogen from water electrolysis that is used in fuel cells. A dc-to-dc converter is required to couple the electrolyzer to the system dc bus. This paper presents the design of three soft-switched high-frequency transformer isolated dc-to-dc converters for this application based on the given specifications. It is shown that LCL-type series resonant converter (SRC) with capacitive output filter is suitable for this application. Detailed theoretical and simulation results are presented. Due to the wide variation in input voltage and load current, no converter can maintain zero-voltage switching (ZVS) for the complete operating range. Therefore, a two-stage converter (ZVT boost converter followed by LCL SRC with capacitive output filter) is found suitable for this application. Experimental results are presented for the two-stage approach which shows ZVS for the entire line and load range.


Spherically symmetric equilibrium configurations of perfect fluid obeying a polytropic equation of state are studied in spacetimes with a repulsive cosmological constant. The configurations are specified in terms of three parameters\char22{}the polytropic index $n$, the ratio of central pressure and central energy density of matter $\ensuremath{\sigma}$, and the ratio of energy density of vacuum and central density of matter $\ensuremath{\lambda}$. The static equilibrium configurations are determined by two coupled first-order nonlinear differential equations that are solved by numerical methods with the exception of polytropes with $n=0$ corresponding to the configurations with a uniform distribution of energy density, when the solution is given in terms of elementary functions. The geometry of the polytropes is conveniently represented by embedding diagrams of both the ordinary space geometry and the optical reference geometry reflecting some dynamical properties of the geodesic motion. The polytropes are represented by radial profiles of energy density, pressure, mass, and metric coefficients. For all tested values of $ng0$, the static equilibrium configurations with fixed parameters $n$, $\ensuremath{\sigma}$, are allowed only up to a critical value of the cosmological parameter ${\ensuremath{\lambda}}_{\mathrm{c}}={\ensuremath{\lambda}}_{\mathrm{c}}(n,\ensuremath{\sigma})$. In the case of $ng3$, the critical value ${\ensuremath{\lambda}}_{\mathrm{c}}$ tends to zero for special values of $\ensuremath{\sigma}$. The gravitational potential energy and the binding energy of the polytropes are determined and studied by numerical methods. We discuss in detail the polytropes with an extension comparable to those of the dark matter halos related to galaxies, i.e., with extension $\ensuremath{\ell}g100\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{kpc}$ and mass $Mg1{0}^{12}\text{ }{\mathrm{M}}_{\ensuremath{\bigodot}}$. For such largely extended polytropes, the cosmological parameter relating the vacuum energy to the central density has to be larger than $\ensuremath{\lambda}={\ensuremath{\rho}}_{\text{vac}}/{\ensuremath{\rho}}_{\mathrm{c}}\ensuremath{\sim}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}9}$. We demonstrate that the extension of the static general relativistic polytropic configurations cannot exceed the so-called static radius related to their external spacetime, supporting the idea that the static radius represents a natural limit on the extension of gravitationally bound configurations in an expanding universe dominated by the vacuum energy.


A methodology allowing one to include iron losses in voltage fed time stepping finite elements simulations is presented in this paper. Hysteresis, eddy currents and anomalous losses models are introduced in the 2D field formulation based on the magnetic vector potential. The influence of the losses on the behavior of an Epstein frame is given. Comparison between simulated and measured results shows the validity of the proposed methodology.


We report a patient with rapidly accelerating HIV dementia accompanied by seizures and an unusual movement disorder despite highly potent antiretroviral therapy. This clinical constellation was associated with the non-parenteral use of methamphetamine and cocaine. Fractional enhancement time on post contrast magnetic resonance imaging studies revealed a progressive breakdown of the blood brain barrier particularly in the basal ganglia. The movement disorder but not the dementia responded to a combination of dopamine replacement and anticholinergic therapy. While the movement disorder may have been unmasked by concomitant anticonvulsant therapy, we suggestin this instance, that prior drug abuse synergized with HIV to cause a domino effect on cerebral function. Careful attention and analysis to histories of remote non-injecting drug abuse may help substantiate our hypothesis.


In a study examining the relationships between two social psychological factors and exercise partner preferences, 97 women (mean age 32.42; SD = 9.85 years) provided demographic information, indicated their exercise partner preference, and completed measures of social physique anxiety (SPA) and perceived social discomfort (PSD) in exercise settings. Chi-square analyses on PSD and exercise partner preferences revealed significant effects, X2 (4) = 34.53, p < .001. Logistic regression revealed an effect for the SPA X PSD interaction, LR = 0.97, p < .01. When PSD was low, SPA had little impact on the odds of selecting a partner. When PSD and SPA were high, there were far lower odds of selecting an exercise partner. Overall, based upon the results, the number of exercise partners may be an important issue for women and women with high SPA may use an exercise partner to help moderate their anxiety, thereby increasing the palatability of the exercise setting.


This slender volume initiates the Hampstead Clinic Psychoanalytic Library, appropriately celebrating Miss Anna Freud's 75th birthday. This promising scholarly series is, to begin with, an attempt to define psychoanalytic concepts in terms of their origins in Freud's writings. Based on six years of effort by a large team of analytic collaborators under the leadership of Humberto Nagera (and backed up by a distinguished panel of senior consultants), this important lexicographic work will appear in four volumes: the book under review thus constitutes but a fraction of the whole. The reviewer's task is inevitably too difficult when it involves focusing on such a fragment; in this case, the editor has provided no assistance through describing the overall schema of his project. It is only from the publisher's dust jacket that one learns about the three volumes that will complete this set and their titles; this clue is, however,


This quantitative study investigates teachers' and students' perceptions on remote emergency teaching in terms of readiness, attitude, and competence, their significant differences based on their profile, and the significant difference of the respondents' identified variables. Participated by 147 teachers and 409 students of a Senior High School in a comprehensive Catholic university in Manila, results revealed that respondents show their readiness, positive attitude, and competence toward online teaching; however, specific measurements affect student attitude on their online engagement and learning, such as their discomfort and ineffectiveness of this learning modality in producing creativity, interaction, and innovation in e-learning that affects the acquisition of knowledge. Among the respondents' profiles, only their age shows a statistically significant difference, while educational advancement established its significant difference in readiness and competence. Finally, a statistically significant difference between the teachers' and students' readiness, attitude, and competence was evident. Results further proved that behind the sudden shift of the learning environment, the respondents remain positive and resilient in dealing with academic challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study further implicates that measuring teachers' and students' readiness, attitude, and competence in different inevitable circumstances remains a significant frame of reference for academic and instructional policy-making.


Purpose To investigate with magnetisation transfer (MT) MR imaging the microstructural changes of the residual brain subcortical and cortical grey matter (GM) in carriers of the Huntington's disease (HD) gene and to preliminarily assess their correlation with the clinical features. Materials and methods 15 HD gene carriers with a range of clinical severity and 15 age and sex matched healthy controls underwent MT MR imaging on a 1.5T scanner. The MT ratio was measured automatically in several subcortical and cortical GM regions (striatal nuclei, thalami and the neocortex of the frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital lobes) using FMRIB Software Library tools. Results The MT ratio was significantly (p<0.05 with Bonferroni correction for multiple comparison) decreased in all subcortical structures but the putamen and diffusely in the cerebral cortex of HD carriers compared with controls. Close correlation was observed between the subcortical and cortical regional MT ratios and several clinical variables, including disease duration, motor disability and scores in timed neuropsychological tests. Conclusions MT imaging demonstrates degeneration of the subcortical and cortical GM in HD carriers and might serve along with volumetric assessment as a surrogate marker in future clinical trials of HD.


Findings of epimastigotes forms of a tripanosomatide is reported in the hemolymph of the cattle tick Boophilus microplus in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. Morphological evidences suggest they are similar to Trypanosoma theileri, a species described as non pathogenic to cattle, and usually transmitted by tabanids.


Objectives There are increasing requirements to make research data, especially clinical trial data, more broadly available for secondary analyses. However, data availability remains a challenge due to complex privacy requirements. This challenge can potentially be addressed using synthetic data. Setting Replication of a published stage III colon cancer trial secondary analysis using synthetic data generated by a machine learning method. Participants There were 1543 patients in the control arm that were included in our analysis. Primary and secondary outcome measures Analyses from a study published on the real dataset were replicated on synthetic data to investigate the relationship between bowel obstruction and event-free survival. Information theoretic metrics were used to compare the univariate distributions between real and synthetic data. Percentage CI overlap was used to assess the similarity in the size of the bivariate relationships, and similarly for the multivariate Cox models derived from the two datasets. Results Analysis results were similar between the real and synthetic datasets. The univariate distributions were within 1% of difference on an information theoretic metric. All of the bivariate relationships had CI overlap on the tau statistic above 50%. The main conclusion from the published study, that lack of bowel obstruction has a strong impact on survival, was replicated directionally and the HR CI overlap between the real and synthetic data was 61% for overall survival (real data: HR 1.56, 95% CI 1.11 to 2.2; synthetic data: HR 2.03, 95% CI 1.44 to 2.87) and 86% for disease-free survival (real data: HR 1.51, 95% CI 1.18 to 1.95; synthetic data: HR 1.63, 95% CI 1.26 to 2.1). Conclusions The high concordance between the analytical results and conclusions from synthetic and real data suggests that synthetic data can be used as a reasonable proxy for real clinical trial datasets. Trial registration number NCT00079274.


Recently there has been an increasing interest in developing parallel programming capabilities in Java to harness the vast resources available in clusters, grids and heterogeneous networked systems. In this paper, we introduce a Java object-passing interface (JOPI) library. JOPI provides Java programmers with the necessary functionality to write object-passing parallel programs in distributed heterogeneous systems. JOPI provides a Message Passing Interface (MPI)-like interface that can be used to exchange objects among processes. In addition to the well-known benefits of the object-oriented development model, using objects to exchange information in JOPI is advantageous because it facilitates passing complex structures and enables the programmer to isolate the problem space from the parallelization problem. The run-time environment for JOPI is portable, efficient and provides the necessary functionality to deploy and execute parallel Java programs. Experiments were conducted on a cluster system and a collection of heterogeneous platforms to measure JOPI's performance and compare it with MPI. The results show good performance gains using JOPI. Copyright c © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Background: In the elderly, diagnostic findings of pneumonia are often atypical. Computed tomography was recommended for the diagnosis of pneumonia in elderly patients. Recently, the usage of computed tomography as a screening tool for pneumonia in emergency departments has increased. Sarcopenia is defined as the loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength with aging. In this study, the association between sarcopenia and prognosis measured through computed tomography was evaluated compared to CURB-65. Methods: This study was conducted on patients diagnosed with pneumonia through computed tomography from 1 March 2018 to 31 March 2020. The paraspinous muscle size and attenuation were measured at a level located at the T12 pedicle level on axial computed tomography images. Paraspinous muscle size was presented as paraspinous muscle index. Differences in the prognostic performance among the paraspinous muscle size and attenuation, and CURB-65 were evaluated by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. Results: A total of 509 patients were included and 132 patients (25.9%) were admitted to the ICU, and 58 patients (11.4%) died in hospital. Paraspinous muscle index was the significant factor for predicting in-hospital mortality and ICU admission. The area under the receiver operating characteristic value of paraspinous muscle index for prediction of mortality was 0.738 and CURB-65 was 0.707. The area under the receiver operating characteristic of paraspinous muscle index and CURB-65 for predicting ICU admission were 0.766 and 0.704, respectively. Conclusion: As a method of measuring sarcopenia, paraspinous muscle index was superior to CURB-65 in elderly pneumonia patients. The use of computed tomography in predicting prognosis for elderly pneumonia patients will ease the economic burden.


Selection logging in the tropics is increasingly moving to systems that reduce the impact of harvesting operations on forests and soils. While much of the focus has been on modifying the tractor logging system using RIL principles, alternative harvesting systems have also been introduced. One of the alternative systems is the use of helicopters, which eliminates the need for skid trails and reduces the number of roads required. WTK pioneered helicopter logging in Malaysia when it started using the helicopter logging system in Sarawak in the early 1990's. Beginning in 2002, the company started using Sikorsky helicopters and since then has used three different models, including the Sikorsky 61F, 64E and 64F. While the use of helicopters creates a significant improvement in environmental impact of logging, the operating cost of helicopters is also significantly higher. Given the cost of using helicopters, a key element of harvest planning is understanding the factors that influence productivity. This paper provides an analysis of logging productivity in the tropics for the Sikorsky helicopters using daily production data collected by WTK on three different timber licenses between 2002 and 2009. The regression results show that average hourly volume produced is a function of the average distance flown per turn, the weighted average number of logs carried per turn, and the type of helicopter. The results also show the importance of pre-harvest inventory and planning that ensures that helicopters are used productively.


This paper presents a shunt active power filter with a control method based on neural networks. The objective of the active power filter is to eliminate harmonics, compensate power factor and correct unbalanced problems. The filter acts as a current source, which is connected in parallel with a nonlinear load and controlled to generate the required compensation currents. The control method of the active power filter is based on a neural network, extracting the fundamental sinusoid from the distorted load current waveform without harmfully phase shift due to adopting electronic bandpass filters, on the other hand, the circuit of this method is simple in structure, easy to adjust, adaptability to load currents, etc. The results of computer simulations and experiments are given, which can confirm the feasibility of the proposed active power filter.


Food is a powerful cultural signifier. It can connote inclusiveness, belonging, attachment and be a symbolic expression of social binding. Similarly, food can signify exclusiveness, generate stereotypes and feelings of revulsion and disgust which demarcate boundaries between the us and the other. As Marcel Proust's teasoaked sweet Madeleine illustrates, food can produce good memories as much as recall painful experiences. Food is as much a nutritional and physiological requirement as it is cultural, symbolic and meaningful. Multiethnic societies praise their food diversity and flag it as a marker of inclusiveness. Australian cuisine is supposed to be a representation of cultural and ethnic diversity underpinned by its culinary variety in foods and tastes. As the food writer Cherry Ripe claims, '... we have become some of the most eclectic eaters in the world.'1 Banning the 'ethnicity factor' from the Australian cuisine would be unthinkable. Yet this is not universally the case. For example, a 2009 article in the New York Times read, 'A walled city in Tuscany clings to its ancient menu.'2 The article reflected on the Italian right-wing city council of Lucca and its controversial decision to ban 'ethnic' restaurants from its historical centre. Ethnic food was regarded as a malaise that destabilised the concept of Italian cuisine, its culinary roots and essential traditions. Ethnic food and the 'other from within' constituted a threat to Italian-ness. Based on these case studies, this chapter explores the concept of ethnic food as a site of struggle where the national is challenged, destabilised and re-invented. It examines how representations of ethnic food are contextual and evaluates the meanings of a national cuisine by asking: does what is on your plate change who you think you are?


This paper provides an empirical analysis of the role that private benefits play in explaining charitable donations to large cultural organizations. We use a multiple discrete choice model with differentiated products, and estimate the model using a unique data set of donor lists for the ten largest cultural and environmental charitable organizations in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. We find that private benefits that furnish social status to donors provide important incentives for donors to support the related charities.


AIM: To compare and evaluate the clinical efficacy of anesthetic trainee-administered propofol deep sedation (PDS) by using a syringe pump for small bowel enteroscopy (SBE) procedure between patients aged<65 years and patients aged≥65 years in an endoscopic unit outside operating room in Thailand. METHODS: We undertook a retrospective review of SBE procedures. Patients were classified into two groups: group A (age < 65 years) and group B (age ≥65 years). The primary outcome variable of the study was the successful completion of procedure. Secondary outcome variables were sedation-related complications during and immediately after the procedure. RESULTS: After matching the patients' characteristics, duration and indications of procedure, there were 45 patients in group A and 28 patients in group B. There were no significant differences in characteristics of patients, duration of procedure and indications of procedure between the two groups. All sedations were used successfully except one patient in group A. There were no significant differences in overall, respiratory and cardiovascular-related complications between the two groups. However, hypotension in group B was significantly higher than in group A. CONCLUSION: In the setting of endoscopy unit outside operating room, PDS by anesthetic trainee using a syringe pump for SBE procedure in elderly patients with appropriate monitoring was relatively safe and effective. Clinical efficacy of this technique in elderly patients was not different or worse than in younger patients. However, the rate of hypotension was significantly high in the elderly patients than younger patients. Serious complications were rare.


Abstract Digital radar data are being collected as part of the Bureau of Reclamation's High Plains Cooperative Program (HIPLEX). The radars used in this study are sensitive, narrow-beam, 5 cm wavelength systems which record echo data on computer compatible magnetic tape. The antenna scans continuously in a volume mode of 360° in azimuth and 12° in elevation. The time interval for a complete volume scan is approximately 5 min. An overview of the HIPLEX radar operational program and data flow from collection to analysis products is presented. Computer programs to edit, correct, compress, process and archive the data have been developed and tested. Examples and descriptions of printed, microfiche and magnetic tape output are described. These include composite maximum reflectivity and echo top displays, an equivalent reflectivity file, and a case study summary file which contains location, area, volume, rain and motion information for cells that were identified and tracked. It is shown that the flow of digita...


Objective; Lymphangiomatous macroglossia in children though uncommon may cause significant morbidity which maybe functional or developmental when untreated and also presents a significant surgical challenge when trying to balance complete surgical excision and maintenance of contour and function. Case report; We report a case of extensive tongue lymphangioma in which surgical excision was performed with good cosmetic and functional results. Conclusion; Lymphangiomatous macroglossia in children is a debilitating condition not only due to the physi-cal problems it causes but also the attendant psychological issues that arise. Prompt treatment is required to improve the patient's physical and psychosocial condition of Nairobi, Kenya

 Keyword; Lymphangiomatous macroglossia


A simple dipole antenna maybe not intended to measure the transient electromagnetic pulse of sharp rise time in order of picoseconds. The pulse might be produced from numerous ways and their particular recognition is a need for proficient innovative work of the related systems. Magnetic-field sensor (B-dot) and Electric-field sensor (D-dot) are the more suited choice for precise detection of such pulse, owing to their pungent rise time. In this paper, the new conceptualized design of the B-dot sensor using a Mobius loop and detailed design of the Ground Plane D-dot sensors using an Equivalent Charge Distribution Method, followed by the principal, configuration, and calibration methods are introduced. Furthermore, an advanced prototype of the electric field sensor is developed based on simulation analysis and lightweight Aluminum (Al) Alloy. Moreover, the paper emphasizes the consequence of material choice on bandwidth and technically deployment of Al-Alloy in sensor manufacturing. The developed prototype is up to 3.0 times lesser in weight and up to 3.0 times, economical compared to a like Copper-based sensor and has a bandwidth greater than 12.1 GHz, which minimize multi-sensor requirement in the measurement of the electromagnetic pulse with wide-band EM systems.


As of October 2005, the semipermanent Global Positioning System (GPS) network called MAGNET (Mobile Array of GPS for Nevada Transtension) included 60 stations and spanned 160 km (N-S) × 260 km (E-W) across the northern Walker Lane and central Nevada seismic belt. MAGNET was designed as a cheaper, higher-density alternative to permanent networks in order to deliver high-accuracy velocities more rapidly than campaigns. The mean nearest-neighbor spacing is 19 km (13–31 km range). At each site, the design facilitates equipment installation and pickup within minutes, with the antenna mounted precisely at the same location to mitigate eccentricity error and intersession multipath variation. Each site has been occupied ~50% of the time to sample seasonal signals. Using a custom regional fi ltering technique to process 1.5 yr of intermittent time series, the longest-running sites are assessed to have velocity accuracies of ~1 mm/yr. The mean weekly repeatability is 0.5 mm in longitude, 0.6 mm in latitude, and 2.1 mm in height. Within a few years, MAGNET will characterize strain partitioning in the northern Walker Lane to improve models of (1) geothermal activity, which is largely amagmatic in the Great Basin, (2) seismic hazard, (3) the ways in which northern Walker Lane accommodates strain between the Sierra Nevada block and the extending Basin and Range Province, and (4) Neogene development of the northern Walker Lane and its broader role in the ongoing evolution of the Pacifi c–North America plate-boundary system. MAGNET's design is generally applicable to regions with an abundance of vehicle-accessible rock outcrops and could be replicated elsewhere.


In this study we provide aerosol characteristics for two case‐studies from a summertime campaign over the northern Mediterranean region. Airborne measurements over the northern Adriatic and the western coast of the Black Sea provide a vertically resolved picture of aerosol optical, microphysical and chemical properties, and the horizontal variability of pollution across eastern and western Europe. Observed variations in the characteristics can be principally attributed to the source region of each air mass. This is particularly evident in a stratified aerosol profile over the Black Sea that results from an eastern European air mass at low altitudes underlying an air mass originating from central and western Europe. The atmospheric column over the Adriatic was found to be more homogeneous, both optically and in composition, comprising western European industrial pollution. Analysis of the chemical components of the sampled aerosol showed that the elevated pollution layer over the Black Sea was dominated by sulphates, while the lower layer was dominated by organic compounds, most likely due to agricultural fire events that were visible from the aircraft. This difference in chemical composition was reflected in the in situ single‐scattering albedo; the lower layer had a mean value of 0.91 while the elevated layer had a higher mean value of 0.95, indicative of a stronger scattering component. Measurements over the Adriatic Sea displayed more consistency in composition between the two layers and a less apparent difference in the single‐scattering albedo (SSA; 0.89 and 0.90 for the lower and elevated pollution layers, respectively). Airborne observations are complemented by surface sunphotometer and lidar retrievals, and satellite retrievals where available, and a closure investigation is performed to examine consistency of optical properties between these datasets. Copyright © 2007 Royal Meteorological Society


OBJECTIVE
To assess pattern and to determine risk factors associated with tobacco consumption in various forms among adult women above 18 years of age in a low socioeconomic community of Manora Island, Karachi.

METHODS
A cross-sectional survey was conducted and 200 adult women above 18 years of age were selected using systematic sampling with random start from a community of 5000 people in Manora Island, Karachi. There were 400 households in the community. Every 2nd household was visited and a woman above 18 years was selected. A semi-structured pre-tested questionnaire was administered to respondents by investigators. Data on tobacco consumption and other variables such as age, sex, marital status, education, employment and stress and anxiety related symptoms were obtained.

RESULTS
A total of 104 (52%) reported tobacco consumption. Use of huqqa (hubble bubble) was more prevalent (79%). Women above 30 years of age, being married and living in a joint family were more likely to consume tobacco. Illiterate women as compared to women with more than five years of schooling were more likely to consume tobacco (OR = 3.16,95% CI = 1.13-7.72). Women having household income more than 5000 rupees were more likely to consume tobacco (OR = 2.63,95% CI = 1.36-5.09) and face more financial difficulties at home (OR = 4.72, 95% CI = 2.45-9.81). Women consuming tobacco reported anxiety related symptoms more as compared to women who did not consume tobacco.

CONCLUSION
Our study concluded that in this particular study setting, huqqa is the commonest form of tobacco consumption among women of low socioeconomic class. They start huqqa usually in childhood and after marriage by peer pressure especially in joint families. Women consuming tobacco report more psychosomatic symptoms and financial difficulties at home.


Fairness of machine learning algorithms has been of increasing interest. In order to suppress or eliminate discrimination in prediction, various notions as well as approaches have been proposed to impose fairness. Given a notion of fairness, an essential problem is then whether or not it can always be attained, even if with an unlimited amount of data. This issue is, however, not well addressed yet. In this paper, focusing on the Equalized Odds notion of fairness, we consider the attainability of this criterion and, furthermore, if it is attainable, the optimality of the prediction performance under various settings. In particular, for prediction performed by a deterministic function of input features, we give conditions under which Equalized Odds can hold true; if the stochastic prediction is acceptable, we show that under mild assumptions, fair predictors can always be derived. For classification, we further prove that compared to enforcing fairness by post-processing, one can always benefit from exploiting all available features during training and get potentially better prediction performance while remaining fair. Moreover, while stochastic prediction can attain Equalized Odds with theoretical guarantees, we also discuss its limitation and potential negative social impacts.


Nuclear power is a highly disputed and powerful industry that continues to grow worldwide alongside safer renewable resources. No country seemed to have as much unwavering faith in the nuclear industry as Japan, until the catastrophic events of Fukushima in 2011. Although large-scale disasters caused by nuclear power facilities are few and far between, the devastation to the environment is, in most cases, irreparable. Fukushima remains to this day a painful reminder of this fact.  In 2011 Japan suffered an unprecedented three-strike disaster. First a 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck the country. This was followed by a subsequent tsunami which tore apart Japan's East Coast and resulted in the loss of more than 20,000 lives. However, it was the triple meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant that was the final devastating blow. 160,000 people were forced to evacuate. These nuclear refugees, as they have come to be known, have paid the ultimate price. Their home lands have been permanently scarred by the radiation, with only small sections able to be decontaminated. Even in these areas, land that has been cultivated for centuries will likely never again be able to produce safe crops in the traditional way. In a region highly valued for its agriculture and fishing industries, they have lost everything that they spent generations working and caring for.  The Architecture and Dystopia Stream challenges architectural projects to call attention to the dystopian realities that our generation will face in the future. This is a project for a small broken town, Namie, and how we might propose a future where the people can live alongside the damage left by nuclear contamination. The project attempts to capture intimate day-to- day moments for the people within a much larger scheme that sheds light on the potentially damaging consequences of the nuclear industry. In this sense, the true challenge of the project is to simultaneously explore both the megascale and the human-scale.  Earlier this year Namie was one of the first towns in the Fukushima exclusion zone to be partially reopened. Since then thousands of residents have made the tough decision between the familiarity of and love for their home town and the invisible threat of radiation. It is heard continually in surveys, interviews, and political rallies that these evacuees simply want their old lives back, and those who are returning to Namie have seized this chance. It is clear, however, that the 'cleanup' of these towns that are reopening cannot repair the lasting damage of the nuclear radiation on the natural environment. Fishing in the river, picking mushrooms in the foothills, these sorts of activities were part of daily life in this rural town that can no longer be enjoyed without great risk. Not only have they lost many of the joys that come with living so closely amongst the environment, they also can no longer make a living off their land. It is feared that their lives here will be a shadow of what they were before. Although the reality sounds bleak and dystopian, the architectural intervention designed for Namie will be Utopian, focussing on the future that these returning residents are daring to hope for.  Lastly, it has been openly speculated that the heavy influence of the nuclear industry on Japanese government is responsible for Japan's lack of exploration into safer, sustainable energy sources. Japan is usually on the forefront of new technologies. Following the Fukushima meltdown, for the first time since it was introduced to the country, Japanese are questioning and openly challenging the use of nuclear energy in their country. The uncertainty of the future has spurred opportunities for a change in direction, in what many consider is a pivotal moment in Japan's history. This project aims to be bold and push past what might be an expected solution, capitalising on this rare openness towards new beginnings, to propose a highly unconventional project that optimistically envisions a better future for the people of Namie.


Background It is acknowledged that to date, capturing meaningful and timely feedback from patients within the last year of life, and their families, remains a challenge. Project aim and objectives The objectives of the project were to ascertain the acceptability and usefulness of a real time survey and reporting system to capture the experience of patients, families and carers receiving end of life care. Organisations within Lincolnshire were invited to join the pilot and four different care settings, where end of life care is commonly provided were engaged; care home, persons own home, hospice and hospital. Approach Survey questions were tailored to each care setting with volunteers and staff inviting participants to use a hand held 'ipad' device to feedback their experience of care; alternative options, such as web link and paper survey, were also offered. Outcomes and application The pilot was successfully implemented across all four different care settings. The use of the devices and the length of the survey were acceptable to individual receiving care and their family member. The trial of a reworded 'family & friends 'question with those at the end of life proved acceptable to the majority of users The role of the volunteer was instrumental in engaging participants. Volunteers expressed satisfaction and reported back on the added value of one to one engagement with survey participants. Anecdotal feedback from the volunteers and staff suggested that patients and carers were happy to participate and expressed enjoyment in taking part. "Patients appreciate the opportunity to speak to someone and to have their voice heard as well as trying new technology" Provides timely, concise and meaningful information to service providers Provides opportunities for organisations to benchmark end of life care county-wide Next phase will seek to inform on further learning for a national roll out


The grain refinement and its effect on the mechanical properties of AZ31 magnesium alloys were investigated. The grain refinement was conducted using one of the severe plastic deformation methods, warm constrained groove pressing (CGP) technology. The effective strain was analyzed using the DEFORM-3D software. It was found that the effective strain distribution in AZ31 sheet was homogeneous after a complete four-stage of CGP at 473 K. The average grain size was reduced from 20 μm to 9 μm and the hardness was improved from 55.84 HBW to 69.16 HBW after a complete CGP process at 473 K. The yield stress and ultimate tensile strength increase with grain refinement, from 132 MPa and 240 MPa to 155 MPa and 285 MPa, respectively, following the Hall-Petch relationship. Subjected to annealing at 530 K for 15 minutes, the average grain size of CGP sample decreases slightly and the elongation increased up to 16.2%, close to 17.72% for the pre-CGP samples. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ms.23.1.14392


Abstract Natural disturbances historically created structurally diverse patterns across the landscape, and large herbivores concentrated herbivory in areas where disturbance decreased standing senesced biomass that acted as a grazing deterrent through decreased palatability and overall forage quality. However, following European settlement, many natural large-scale disturbance regimes that influence vegetation and herbivore grazing selection were altered or removed and replaced with fine-scale anthropogenic disturbances. It is unclear how fine-scale focal disturbance and alteration of vegetation structure influences livestock distribution and grazing. Therefore we used a tracked vehicle as a disturbance agent in a mesic mixed-grass prairie to assess the influence of focal anthropogenic disturbance on livestock distribution and grazing. Track vehicle disturbance decreased the height of vegetation (P < 0.05) but did not alter plant species composition (P > 0.05). Cattle fecal pat density was greater (P ≤ 0.05) in locations with track vehicle disturbance. Little bluestem tiller height was shorter (P ≤ 0.05) in tracked locations than nontracked locations in grazed treatments, but was not different in nongrazed locations the first growing season following disturbance. Fecal pat density and tiller height were not different (P > 0.05) between tracked and nontracked locations following the second growing season. Therefore, we concluded that fine-scale focal anthropogenic disturbance alters herbivore distribution and defoliation and can maintain structural heterogeneity, but the effect is ephemeral and does not create long-lasting grazing lawns.


Vehicular Networks (VNs) improve the transportation systems with useful applications that enhance driver safety, minimize operating costs, and enable real-time infotainment services. These applications are based on a general scheme, the vehicular network architecture, which defines the role of each entity in the VN. Several architectures had been proposed to meet the security and performance requirements of the VN. This work presents a taxonomy of different architectures while focusing on blockchain technology inclusion in VNs. We describe each architecture and analyze its limitations and challenges. Furthermore, we emphasize the motivation behind blockchain technology adoption in VNs.


Objective To investigate how cancer patients' and family members' perspective and health locus of control are presented in clinical encounter decision-making. Methods Semi-structured in-depth interviews were carried out with 16 cancer patients and 6 family members living in Israel (n = 22). Interviews were transcribed verbatim, and data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results Following the health locus of control model, the findings were divided into an external and internal locus of control themes, and we added a theme regarding shared decision-making. Internal locus of control sub-themes included asking for a second opinion, negotiating with the doctor, asking questions, looking for information, and fighting for their rights. External locus of control sub-themes included powerful others, oncologists, and fate. The dominant approach of most of the interviewees was an external locus of control. Women demonstrated more external locus of control than men. On the direct question of who should decide on treatment—the doctor, the patient, or both jointly—the answers ranged from only the doctor (n = 8) to together (n = 7) to only the patient (n = 8). Conclusions This study provides insights into different aspects of locus of control in the clinical encounter involving cancer patients. The findings reflect the need to devote comprehensive attention to cancer patients' perceptions and experiences in the clinical encounter. A patient-centered care approach and a personalized framework for decision-making in cancer care are essential to achieving better treatment outcomes. Further research can engage in the development and validation of an up-to-date health locus of control questionnaire for cancer patients based on the findings of this study.


Longan (Dimorcarpus longan Lour.) is a commercial fruit crop mainly cultivated in subtropical countries of Southeast Asia. In Thailand, longan flowers from late December to late February due to flower inducing climatic conditions with a relatively dry and cool(<18 C) environment throughout the natural period of flower induction from mid November to mid December. However, the application of potassium chlorate (KClO3) can induce o-season flowering within 20‐30 days even so climatic conditions may not be suitable. Thus, this chemical oers a unique opportunity not only to improve the irrigular bearing behaviour of longan but also to use it as a potent inducer of longan flowering all year. It is hypothesised that an alteration in the hormonal status triggers the programmed sequential morphogenetic events and turns the switch from vegetative to reproductive bud meristem. Specific genes, coding for hormone biosynthesis and/or flowering will therefore be up-regulated, temporarily or spatially, with the transition to flowering in tree crops. Several genes involved in the switch from vegetative to floral bud meristem have already been identified and characterised in Arabidopsis. Some of the molecular basis in this flowering process has been shown to play a similar role in other annuals. A central protein in this process is flowering locus T (FT), which trigger flowering once it accumulates to high levels in plant tissue.We attempt to identify the molecular basis of flower induction in Longan by expression patterns of genes that encode for proteins similar to Arabidopsis flowering genes. Sixyear-old potted longan trees were grown at at Chiangmai University, Thailand conducted to compare the eects of KClO 3 application on flower induction in between longan and litchee trees. Six-year-old potted longan trees were grown in Horticulture station, Faculty of Agriculture. Potassium chlorate was applied at 15 g pot -1 to fully mature plants as soil drench in April 2008. Samples for RNA extraction from terminal buds and leaves were collected 6 times at 7 day intervals following application. Eight degenerate primers of FT (FTDEG) were designed by using five highly conserved regions of Arabidopsis thaliana, Vitis vinifera, Citrus unshiu, Oryza sativa and Hordeum vulgare. Four of the FTDEG primers were successfully amplified in Longan and fragments were subsequently cloned and sequenced.


In this study, we employ density functional theory calculations to investigate the very initial formation of a buffer layer during atomic layer deposition of MoS2 at the SiO2 (001) surface. In our previous study, we described that the self-limiting atomic layer deposition (ALD) reactions using Mo(NMe2)2(NtBu)2 as precursor and H2S as co-reagent terminate in the formation of a so-called building block on the SiO2 (001) surface. This building block consists of Mo which shares bonds with the surface O of SiO2 (001) at the bottom and terminal S at the top. Electronic band structure calculations indicate that the subsequently deposited buffer-layer that is composed of these building blocks has (opto)-electrical properties that are far from the ideal situation. Based on our studies, we propose alternative ALD chemistries which lead to the formation of a so-called underpinned building block. In this cluster, the Mo atoms are underpinned by S atoms, suppressing the formation of a buffer layer. This ultimately facilitates the formation of a free standing conformal 2D-MoS2 nanolayer at the interface. Through the proposed chemistries, the opto-electrical properties of the deposited layers will be preserved.


This paper describes novel MEMS probe card device, which is composed of silicon (Si) cantilever beams actuated by titanium-nickel (Ti-Ni) shape memory alloy (SMA) films. Since Ti-Ni SMA film can yield a higher work output per unit volume, Ti-Ni film-actuated Si cantilever beam is expected to be a MEMS probe card device providing large contact force between probe and electrode pad. The developed cantilever beam produces a contact force by not only cantilever bending in contact but also the shape memory effect (SME) of Ti-Ni film arising from Joule's heating. The SME of Ti-Ni film containing Ti of 50.5 atomic (at.) % to 53.2 at. % can generate an additional contact force of 200 μN on average under applying an electric power of 500 mW to the film. Ti-Ni film-actuated Si cantilever beam would be a key element for successful MEMS probe card with larger contact force and smaller size.


Text is the easiest means to record information but need not always be the best means for understanding a concept. In psychological theories, it is argued that when information is presented visually, it provides a better means to understand a concept. While techniques exist for generating text from a given image, the inverse problem that is to automatically fetch coherent images to represent a given set of instructions (sequence of text), is a hard one. In this paper, we present a novel multistage framework to convert textual instructions into coherent visual descriptions (text instructions annotated with images). The key components in the proposed approach are: (i) novel framework, which combines the text as well as image analysis to generate visual descriptions; (ii) ensure coherency across visual descriptions, using a combination of deep learning and graph based approach. Effectiveness of our proposed approach is shown through a user study on a dataset of instructions and corresponding images collected from WikiHow website.


Due to the widespread proliferation of today's Internet of Things (IoT), a system designer needs the IoT system and software design patterns to assist in designing scalable and replicable solutions. Patterns are encapsulations of reusable common problems and solutions under specific contexts. Many IoT patterns have been published, such as IoT design patterns and IoT architecture patterns to document the successes (and failures) in IoT systems and software development. However, because these patterns are not well classified, their adoption does not live up to their potential. To understand the reasons, we conducted a systematic literature review. From the 32 identified papers, 143 IoT architecture and design patterns were extracted. We analyzed these patterns according to several characteristics and outlined directions for improvements when publishing and adopting IoT patterns. Of the extracted patterns, 57% are non-IoT patterns, suggesting that IoT systems and software are often designed via conventional architecture and design patterns that are not specific to IoT design. Although most IoT design patterns are applicable to any domain, IoT architecture patterns tend to be domain specific, implying that the unique nature of IoT adoption in specific domains appears at the architecture level. As more domains adopt IoT, the number of domain-specific IoT design patterns should increase. In terms of quality attributes, many IoT patterns address compatibility, security, and maintainability.


The resonant sphere technique (RST) is a method of resonant ultrasound spectroscopy developed to measure elastic constants of solids. In this method, resonant frequencies of a spherical specimen are measured and the elastic constants are determined by comparing the measured frequencies with theoretical ones that have been computed for a set of elastic constants. A perfect sphere is not always obtained, however; the specimen sometimes has small asphericity. In this case, the effect of asphericity on the resonant frequencies has to be corrected. Thus a method has been developed to determine simultaneously the elastic constants and asphericity of an aspherical specimen. When RST is employed for elasticity measurements of an ellipsoidal specimen, the difference between measured and computed resonant frequencies is expressed by δω=φiei+AijδCij, where summation convention is assumed for repeated indices, and ei and δCij (i,j=x,y,z) are asphericity of the ellipsoid and small corrections for a set of elastic cons...


Fruit and vegetables are extremely important for their potential contribution to human 'nutritional security' and economic well-being. Nutritional security recognises that food security is not just about providing sufficient calories to keep people alive, but ensuring the food they consume is adequate for a healthy life. Yet much of this contribution is prevented by the extreme perishability of some of these products and poor infrastructure in many countries. In New Zealand, without exception, only products that can be safely stored for at least 4-6 weeks and still retain sufficient shelf-life to last a further five days at ambient conditions are exported by sea to higher-value markets in Asia, Europe or the Americas. Exports from industries based around these products have grown to over $50M per annum (kiwifruit, apples, onions, squash, avocadoes), whereas industries with more perishable products have to rely on airfreight and find their industry struggling to grow over $40M per annum. Rigorous attention to harvest maturity, product grading and tailored packaging and storage systems characterise high-value trade. Lessons learned from experiences with New Zealand industries are now being applied to support health and economic wellbeing of producers and consumers in newly-industrialising or developing countries, such as Indonesia or Vanuatu, to improve nutritional security and enable exports that can transform rural livelihoods.


Heart diseases are leading causes of death in the world. The inability of heart muscles to regenerate or restore the lost function makes the use of stem cells an attractive therapeutic option for patients with heart diseases. Stromal cells from fat tissue, namely adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs), exhibit properties of mesenchymal stem cells and can be differentiated towards several cell types. That adipose tissue is abundant and easily harvested from patienti¯s own body makes it an ideal source for patient specific stem cells. Yet, less is known about the capacity for self-renewal and stability properties of mesenchymal ADSCs during expansion in culture. Furthermore, efficient differentiation of these cells towards cardiogenic lineage has not been established. We first characterized human ADSCs cultured for varying times. Flow cytometry indicated that ADSCs maintained expression of mesenchymal markers (CD29, CD44 and CD90) for extended expansion over 20 passages. In contrast, mRNAs for pluripotent markers, such as Nanog, Oct4 and Sox2, were significant only in early passages, but were dramatically declined during culture. Serum removal increased mRNA levels for various cardiogenic genes, such as Mef2C, cardiac actin and troponin. Moreover, the protein kinase activator phorbol ester (phorbol myristate acetate PMA, 10 nM) caused further increases in these cardiac mRNAs. The upregulation of cardiac mRNAs by serum removal and PKC activation were constant in ADSCs cultured for various times. The use of various inhibitors specific for PKC subtypes suggested that the novel PKC theta/delta isoforms mediate this upregulation. RT-PCR revealed that ADSCs express significant mRNA for PKC delta, but not theta isoform. Overexpression of cDNA for PKC delta resulted in marked increases in cardiac mRNA expression. These results indicate that activation of PKC delta induces expression of multiple cardiogenic genes freshly-prepared and expanded ADSCs. These findings demonstrated that human ADSCs maintain the expression of mesenchymal markers and the ability to exhibit cardiac gene expression for extended expansion. They also suggest that a specific signaling molecule is involved in the transdifferentiation towards cardiogenic lineage.


The present work deals with the development of particle swarm optimization algorithm to solve the multi-objective flowshop scheduling problem. In this paper, minimization of makespan, total flowtime and completion time variance are considered simultaneously. Performance of the proposed methodology has been tested by solving benchmark scheduling problems available in the literature. The proposed methodology is guided to search a set of non-dominated solutions close to the Pareto front. The search capability of the proposed PSO algorithm is enhanced using a local search mechanism. This work is a preliminary step in our research to identify the reference or Pareto solution sets for the benchmark FSPs proposed in the literature, when (Cmax), (tft) and (ctv) are to be simultaneously optimized.


Digital literacies are those capabilities that are necessary for an individual living, learning and
working in a digital society (JISC, 2014). The use of digital technologies has become integral to
every aspect of daily routines, including teaching and learning processes and academic
administration. Accordingly, academic staff need to be digitally literate to work competently in
this rapidly growing area. This module aims to provide skills, knowledge, and understanding of
how to work in your digital environment in an academic context, and to enhance your skills to
efficiently, critically, creatively, and safely work with digital technologies in your daily
academic routine.
The first topic reminds us of basic computer concepts and operations. We then move on to
internet fundamentals, which covers recommended techniques of searching for information, and
introduces useful web-based applications. The third topic concerns making good use of your
virtual learning environment, using Moodle as an example. Then we explore the fundamentals of
multimedia, with the aim of developing the necessary skills to create and introduce engaging
resources for your students. In the final topic, you have the opportunity to practice editing digital
media.


The work was motivated by studies of Austin and Lentz (2002) and Pedlosky (2007). The above mentioned works considered two different responses of the stratified flow to a downwelling favorable wind forcing. The first study investigated a time dependent flow with a formation of a constantly expanding relatively well mixed region near the shore and the second considered a steady flow that arises when an offshore varying wind is applied. In my thesis I use ROMS to determine which type of response will take place based on the wind amplitude near the coast. It was demonstrated that if the value of the wind is much smaller than the critical value (determined by the stratification, the rotation rate and the horizontal diffusivity) then the flow is steady (the bbl case) and similar to the one investigated by Pedlosky. If the wind is of the order, or larger than, the critical value then the response is time dependent (the pool case) and similar to the one described by Austin and Lentz. The resulting flow structure of each response was also investigated. I examined the sensitivity of the bbl response to variations in the background vertical diffusivity, the initial stratification and the bottom slope. It was shown that a higher background vertical diffusivity, a higher stratification and a shallower bottom slope correspond to thinner (vertically) and narrower (horizontally) bbl. For the pool case the time dependent structure was also examined, using a number of idealized models. It was shown that the rate of the pool region expansion is a complex function of the local wind stress amplitude and the local depth. Thesis Supervisor: Joseph Pedlosky Title: Scientist Emeritus