We report on a passively Q-switched end pumped Nd:YLF laser including a noncritically phase-matched KTP singly resonant intracavity optical parametric oscillator (IOPO-KTP). For the Q-switching operation we have used Cr:YAG saturable absorber. The optimized passively Q-switched Nd:YLF laser without IOPO generated linearly polarized pulses of 11.5 ns and 1.07 mJ at 1047 nm. The conversion efficiency of the optimized Q-switched pulse energy at 1047 nm to 1547 nm of a signal approached about 47%. For optimizing both Nd:YLF laser and IOPO we have numerically solved a theoretical model. We have achieved 1.6-ns duration pulses at 1547 nm with energy of 0.5 mJ and peak power of above 300 kW. The beam quality was excellent (M2 ≈1).


The Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN) conducts a number of surveys within the framework of the Joint Harmonised EU Programme of Business and Consumer Surveys. This programme was launched in 1962 with the industrial survey, and since then there has been a spectacular growth of business and consumer surveys in the EU. At present five surveys are conducted on a monthly basis: Industry, Consumers, Retail Trade, Construction and Service Sector. In addition, twice a year data for a harmonised investment survey is collected and published. Finally, the quarterly EconomicSurvey International (ESI) provides us with an assessment of the world-wide economic situation by 500 experts in 60 countries.All indicators must be revised from time to time in order to validate their explanatory properties. Therefore, structural economic changes demand periodic revisions of the indicators in order to explain the economic reality.This study contracted to IFO shows that although there is some room for improvement, the current indicators still seem to be quite adequate. The study contains four main suggestions which will be extensively tested by DG ECFIN in order to evaluate the convenience of adopting each one of them for an eventual overhaul of the Economic Sentiment Indicator in the near future.


This article investigates the asymptotic properties of the Gaussian quasi-maximum-likelihood estimators (QMLE's) of the GARCH model augmented by including an additional explanatory variable—the so-called GARCH-X model. The additional covariate is allowed to exhibit any degree of persistence as captured by its long-memory parameter dx; in particular, we allow for both stationary and nonstationary covariates. We show that the QMLE's of the parameters entering the volatility equation are consistent and mixed-normally distributed in large samples. The convergence rates and limiting distributions of the QMLE's depend on whether the regressor is stationary or not. However, standard inferential tools for the parameters are robust to the level of persistence of the regressor with t-statistics following standard Normal distributions in large sample irrespective of whether the regressor is stationary or not. Supplementary materials for this article are available online.


Osteoporosis is defined as a progressive systemic skeletal disease characterized by low bone mass and microarchitectural deterioration of bone tissue, with a consequent increase in bone fragility and susceptibility to fracture. Although bone mass and quality is mainly determined genetically, many other factors, including lifestyle and nutrition also have an impact on bone health. It has been suggested that dietary protein intake may be a risk factor for osteoporosis, and high-protein diets are associated with increased bone loss. Many scientists have examined the relationship between types of protein and urinary calcium excretion, and found that although animal protein was associated with increased urinary calcium excretion, soy protein was not. There is sufficient evidence suggesting soy isoflavones may have potential benefits for bone. Soy protein with naturally occurring phytoestrogens, mainly isoflavones protect against bone loss and synthetic soy ipriflavone in some studies has been shown to favorably affect, but a cause and effect relationship has not been established between the consumption of ipriflavone and maintenance of bone mineral density in post-menopausal women. Therefore it is too early to recommend it as a supplement for this group of women.


A former and long-time Chief Executive Officer of the Walt Disney Company once said: "Our business is telling stories". The Walt Disney Company surely did, as movie pictures such as Peter Pan, the Lion King, Cinderella, Pocahontas and so many many others and, most importantly, in the light of Caroline ́s last inaugural editorial to this Quarterly, Mary Poppins demonstrate so aptly and all so vividly. Story-telling has always also been an ambition of this Quarterly. What State aid control law needed very desperately when this journal came into being was a stage, all abound with spot-lights to be turned on and curtains to be lifted, to have the audience watch the movies that depicted the stories that for too long were kept a secret pleasure to the services of the European Commission and the Member States` authorities. Since its inception this Quarterly has presided over two wholesome reforms of EU State aid law, branded in the first round as the State aid Action Plan (SAAP) and in the second the State aid Modernization (SAM). With these having been duly finalised (perhaps with the exception of the project of the Notion on the Concept of an aid still lingering in the cupboards of the Directorate General for Competition) the question arises whether the engine of this Quarterly is at risk of running out of fuel. No, I do not think so. The reasons for this are manifold. Yes, there is a novel General Block Exemption Regulation in place, meant, as DG COMP chiefs never stop assuring the crowds, to cover almost the entirety of all aid grants in this Union. But, when looking at it more closely, it is abound with terms completely cryptic. The Commission, with its more conservative knights having taken the lead, has drafted an attempt to explain to Member States what the notion of an aid is all about. Apart from the more procedural feature that this notion is still in nascent, meaning draft state, it resembles in many parts more a dreamy version of Peter Pan ́s flight to the Neverland than a sound analysis of the jurisprudence of the EU courts. An initiative is on the way to tackle unfair tax competition identified in multinational groups ́ low tax payments due to the sneaky use of the enigmatic tool of inter-group transfer pricing. However, the opening decisions stemming from 2014 look all but legally convincing. A more recent one is clad in more robust argumentative attire, granted. Still, the new Commissioner ́s time-table to adopt final decisions before the summer break 2015 has recently been reported to have collapsed. Finally, as perhaps no one would deny any more, the most recent amendments of the procedural rules on State aid can hardly be termed a reform. Procedures are therefore still slow and out-of-touch with economic reality, third parties still reduced to the role of bloodless backbenchers andmany substantive results being simply based on the eager and persistence of Member States ́ muscles menu than on apt administration. Stories are therefore still many to be told, projects of improvement not lacking even in the absence of a third big reform. One of the tunes of Curtis Mayfield, the man who composed many of the songs that formed a core part of the US Civil Rights Movement of the 1960ies, is entitled "Move on up.". This, I guess, is where State aid control law needs to be moving and, perhaps this is what Caroline had in mind when she asked in the end of her inaugural editorial to have us fly a kite. Andreas Bartosch w w w .le xx io n. eu


Technologies offer a range of tantalizing potentials for education – in terms of providing access to media-rich context and for students to visualize and interact with learning materials, as well as a variety of mechanisms for students to communicate and collaborate with their peers and tutors. This book describes the findings of an interdisciplinary research project which provides a contextualized, case study of a concerted attempt to integrate e-learning in one discipline, Geography, across an international context. This chapter outlines the learning philosophies and learning strategies that inform the development of e-learning materials, focusing on a particular discipline context. The chapter authors come from a range of disciplines: geography, education and computer science and out of this inter-disciplinary collaboration has come new understanding of the range of approaches to learning (by the geographers) and new understanding of the enthusiasm of subject specialists (by the non-geographers). We will also report on understanding developed through working with colleagues in another country. In particular we have gained valuable insights into the challenges associated with carry out interdisciplinary research in this area, as well as working in an international context.

At the heart of the work reported here is the notion of creation and use of learning materials for geography. We set down some definitions of learning materials to begin with. We critique the widely used 'learning object' concept as being computationally convenient, but restrictive and argue for a more specialized term which better describes the discipline context. Some definitions demand that a learning object standalone without reference to external resources. Geography teachers usually want their learners to engage with web-based materials. Geographers want their students to tap into a wide variety of digital resources out there in cyberspace that inform them about the world. They wish to guide the students through the resources and their uses, empowering them to make their own explorations in future. To import materials and hermetically seal them within learning objects potentially sterilizes them and presents an oversimplified view of the world. This argument leads to the definition of a learning material unit (i?½nugget' was the shorthand we debated and developed in the JISC-funded DialogPLUS project, part of the Digital Libraries in the Classroom program) as materials for student use with one or more activities designed to develop understanding, combined with student evaluation of the knowledge gained (tests, exercises, reflections). Nuggets connect to external digital resources held in libraries, repositories or websites. This chapter illustrates how e-learning has developed over time within a masters program, initially in one university but now involving collaboration between three. We conclude by drawing lessons for developing e-learning in geography.


Since gaining independence, Kazakhstan has been experiencing internal and external economic crises due to the nature of its economy, which relies on the oil and gas sector. To transform and drive national economic development, Kazakhstan has adopted policies and several strategic documents that aim to boost innovation activities and growth of nanotechnology sector, particularly in the industrial sector. This paper aims to review and analyse the national innovation and nanotechnology policy in Kazakhstan, showing the three main practical problems that Kazakhstan faces with the implementation of the policy in context of the "Dutch disease".


This reproduction was made from a copy of a m anuscript sen t to us for publication and microfilm ing. While the m ost advanced technology has been used to p ho  tograph and reproduce th is m anuscript, the quality of the reproduction is heavily dependent upon the quality of the material subm itted. Pages in any m anuscript may have indistinct prin t. In sill cases the best available copy has been filmed.


This paper asks why developing countries engage, or not, with their migrant populations, focusing specifically on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Due to increasingly stringent border controls imposed by traditional migrant-receiving states in Europe and North America and decreasing refugee resettlement rates, hundreds of thousands of migrants and refugees fleeing conflict and poverty in neighbouring African and Arab states have settled in MENA countries. To understand why and how new countries of settlement engage with migrants, this paper uses the case study of Egypt and 59 interviews conducted between September and December 2014 in Cairo and Alexandria. This paper concludes that only some factors from the literature on migration and citizenship are useful in explaining the Egyptian state's engagement with its migrant populations; namely, political economy factors, cultural embeddedness, and host state security interests, though security factors take precedence. To better characterise the type of engagement that Egypt pursues vis-a-vis migrants and refugees, this paper proposes the term 'strategic ambivalence', referring to a policy that aims to neither drive out nor to entirely include migrants and refugees into a host society, but instead aims to maintain the status-quo.


Stochastic context-free grammars (SCFGs) are used to fold, align and model a family of homologous RNA sequences. SCFGs capture the sequences' common primary and secondary structure and generalize the hidden Markov models (HMMs) used in related work on protein and DNA. The novel aspect of this work is that SCFG parameters are learned automatically from unaligned, unfolded training sequences. A generalization of the HMM forward-backward algorithm is introduced The new algorithm, based on tree grammars and faster than the previously proposed SCFG inside-outside algorithm, is tested on the transfer RNA (tRNA) family. Results show the model can discern tRNA from similar-length RNA sequences, can find secondary structure of new tRNA sequences, and can give multiple alignments of large sets of tRNA sequences. The model is extended to handle introns in tRNA.<<ETX>>


ABSTRACT Zhang, N. and Zheng, K., 2020. Research and design of the architecture of the marine logistics information platform based on big data. In: Gong, D.; Zhang, M., and Liu, R. (eds.), Advances in Coastal Research: Engineering, Industry, Economy, and Sustainable Development. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 106, pp. 628–632. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Using Internet of Things (IoTs) and cloud computing technologies in the era of big data to design a highly shared marine logistics information platform is the basis for realizing the information, efficiency, and intelligence of its logistics process. This research integrated big data thinking and sharing concepts into shared logistics, designed the architecture of a highly shared marine logistics information platform, and proposed an implementation method and application model for the architecture. The platform design introduces artificial intelligence and IoT technologies based on GPS, general packet radio service, and automatic identification system. The platform realizes real-time positioning and monitoring of land and sea cargo, which greatly improves the efficiency of marine logistics management.


The article deals with the results of sociological survey of feldshers of emergency medical service concerning satisfaction of conditions of professional work. The complex of activities of development of organization of feldsher activities is substantiated.


BACKGROUND
Computer modeling is used to predict inhaled aerosol deposition in the lung based on definition of the aerosol characteristics and the breathing pattern and airway anatomy of the subject. Validation of the models is limited by the lack of detailed experimental data. Three-dimensional imaging provides an opportunity to address this unmet need.

METHODS
Radioactive aerosol was administered to six male asthmatic subjects on two occasions under carefully monitored input conditions. Input parameters varied in particle size, depth of breathing, and carrier gas. The aerosol distribution was measured by combined single photon emission computed tomography and x-ray computer tomography (SPECT/CT) and airway anatomy by high resolution CT. The deposition distribution was measured by both a 2D and 3D analysis and described in terms of the percentage of inhaled aerosol deposited in sections of the respiratory tract and in both spatial and anatomical subdivisions within each lung. The percentage deposition in the conducting airways was also assessed by 24 h clearance.

RESULTS
A set of imaging data of aerosol deposition has thus been produced in which the input parameters of inhalation are well described. The results in asthmatics were compared to previous measurements in healthy controls using an identical inhalation protocol. The percentages of deposition in extra-thoracic and thoracic compartments of the airways were not significantly affected by disease, but the regional pulmonary deposition pattern was, with asthma leading to increased deposition in the conducting airways.

CONCLUSIONS
The dataset acquired in this study will be useful in validating computer models of aerosol deposition in asthmatic subjects. Asthma did not affect the fraction of inhaled aerosol depositing in the lungs, but gave rise to a more central deposition pattern. The use of 3D SPECT imaging in combination with 24 h clearance measurements enables differentiation of deposition between bronchial and bronchiolar airways.


Southern pine plantations are increasingly established using herbicides to control herbaceous and/or woody competing vegetation to enhance growth, but little is known about the effect on wood quality. A study was established at 13 southern locations in 1984 to examine the effects of complete control of woody, herbaceous, and woody plus herbaceous competition for the first 3 to 5 years on the growth and stand dynamics of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L) plantations. After 15 years, herbaceous plus woody control increased pine merchantable volume per acre by an average of 23 to 121 percent compared to no competition control. Increment cores, 12 mm in diameter, were collected from 36 trees in each of the 4 treatments from each of the 13 locations. X-ray densitometry was used to determine annual growth, proportion of latewood, and specific gravity (SG) of earlywood, latewood, and annual rings. Woody plus herbaceous competition control significantly increased growth at all locations, did not significantly reduce ring SG of earlywood or latewood, and did not significantly affect proportion of latewood in the annual ring. Woody plus herbaceous competition control did significantly increase growth during juvenile wood formation in years 1 to 5 and thus increased the diameter of the juvenile wood core by an average of 19 percent. Cross-sectional weighted proportion of latewood decreased 10 percent and cross-sectional weighted SG decreased 3 percent as a result of increased growth during the juvenility period in trees receiving the woody plus herbaceous control treatment. However, growth gains substantially offset the slight reduction in percent latewood and SG.


In this book Bernard Salanie studies situations where competitive markets fail to achieve a collective optimum and the interventions used to remedy these so-called market failures. He includes discussions of theories of collective decision making, as well as elementary models of public economics and industrial organization. Although public economics is traditionally defined as the positive and normative study of government action over the economy, Salanie confines himself to microeconomic aspects of welfare economics; he considers taxation and the effects of public spending only as potential remedies for market failures. He concludes with a discussion of the theory of general equilibrium in incomplete markets.


Library resources for the study of the psychology of language. Students in Psych 358 "Language Acquisition," and Psych 433 "Psychology of Language," may find it especially helpful.


Asymmetry of information between agency and principal, make the management have opportunityto create earnings management. Earnings management has a disadvantage to investors. Auditorshave a risk that investor can make a assertion to auditor is called litigation risk. The purposeof this research is to examine the influence of Litigation Risk to Earnings Management and theinfluence Audit Quality as the moderating variable in relations between Litigation Risk andEarnings Management. The proxy for earnings management is discretionary accruals by JonesModel (performance-matched discretionary accruals). Audit Quality in this research use auditorsize. This study uses secondary data from financial statement of manufacturing companies whichlisted on Bursa Efek Indonesia in 2008-2010. This research uses purposive sampling method. Themethod analysis of this research used multiple regression analysis.The results of this research show that litigation risk had no influence on earnings management.The result of the test to moderating variable shows that audit quality had negative influence onthe relations between Litigation Risk and Earnings Management.


Abstract Gender disparities in testing rates for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have been identified as one potential factor sustaining high rates of STIs and repeat infections in the Northern Territory of Australia, especially in remote Indigenous communities. The study aimed to investigate the reasons for these disparities utilising a mixed-method study design. We conducted an audit on client information at a remote community health clinic, focus-group discussions with young men in the same community and interviews with experienced remote area clinicians. The clinic audit found a significantly higher proportion of female residents of the community than males visited the clinic (72.8 versus 55.3%, p < 0.005). Women were also more likely to be tested for STIs than men when visiting the clinic (49.7 versus 40.3%, p = 0.015). Major barriers to men's seeking STI testing included a sense of shame from being seen visiting the clinic by women, men's lack of understanding of STIs and the need for testing, and inadequate access to male clinicians. Increasing men's access to healthcare and STI testing requires offering testing at a gender-sensitive and separate locations, and community-based sexual health promotion to increase knowledge of STIs.


In this article a unified model of nerve pulse and EEG is discussed.

a) In TGD Universe the function of EEG and its variants is to make possible communications from the cell membrane to the magnetic body and the control of the biological body by the magnetic body via magnetic flux sheets traversing DNA by inducing gene expression. This leads to the notions of super- and hyper-genome predicting coherent gene expression at level of organs and population.

b) The assignment the predicted ranged classical weak and color gauge fields to dark matter hierarchy was a crucial step in the evolution of the model, and led among other things to a model of high T_c superconductivity predicting the basic scales of cell, and also to a generalization of EXG to a hierarchy of ZXGs, WXGs, and GXGs corresponding to Z^0, W bosons and gluons.

 c) Dark matter hierarchy and the associated hierarchy of Planck constants plays a key role in the model. For instance, in the case of EEG Planck constant must be so large that the energies of dark EEG photons are above thermal energy at physiological temperatures. The assumption that a considerable fraction of the ionic currents through the cell membrane are dark currents flowing along the magnetic flux tubes explains the strange findings about ionic currents through cell membrane. Concerning the model of nerve pulse generation, the newest input comes from the model of DNA as a topological quantum computer and experimental findings challenging Hodgkin-Huxley model as even approximate description of the situation.

d) The identification of the cell interior as gel phase containing most of water as structured water around cytoskeleton - rather than water containing bio-molecules as solutes as assumed in Hodkin-Huxley model - allows to understand many of the anomalous behaviors associated with the cell membrane and also the different densities of ions in the interior and exterior of cell at qualitative level. The proposal of Pollack that basic biological functions involve phase transitions of gel phase generalizes in TGD framework to a proposal that these phase transitions are induced by quantum phase transitions changing the value of Planck constant. In particular, gel-sol phase transition for the peripheral cytoskeleton induced by the primary wave would accompany nerve pulse propagation. This view about nerve pulse is not consistent with Hodkin-Huxley model.

The model leads to the following picture about nerve pulse and EEG.

a) The system would consist of two superconductors- microtubule space-time sheet and the space-time sheet in cell exterior- connected by Josephson junctions represented by magnetic flux tubes defining also braiding
in the model of tqc. The phase difference between two super-conductors would obey Sine-Gordon equation allowing both standing and propagating solitonic solutions. A sequence of rotating gravitational penduli coupled to each other would be the mechanical analog for the system. Soliton sequences having as a mechanical analog penduli rotating with constant velocity but with a constant phase difference between them would generate moving kHz synchronous oscillation. Periodic boundary conditions at the ends of the axon rather than chemistry determine the propagation velocities of kHz waves and kHz synchrony is an automatic consequence since the times taken by the pulses to travel along the axon are multiples of same time unit. Also moving oscillations in EEG range can be considered and would require larger value of Planck constant in accordance with vision about evolution as gradual increase of Planck constant.

c) During nerve pulse one pendulum would be kicked so that it would start to oscillate instead of rotating and this oscillation pattern would move with the velocity of kHz soliton sequence. The velocity of kHz wave and nerve pulse is fixed by periodic boundary conditions at the ends of the axon implying that the time spent by the nerve pulse in traveling along axon is always a multiple of the same unit: this implies kHz synchrony. The model predicts the value of Planck constant for the magnetic flux tubes associated with Josephson junctions and the predicted force caused by the ionic Josephson currents is of correct order of magnitude for reasonable values of the densities of ions. The model predicts kHz em radiation as Josephson radiation generated by moving soliton sequences. EEG would also correspond to Josephson radiation: it could be generated either by moving or standing soliton sequences (latter are naturally assignable to neuronal cell bodies for which \hbar should be correspondingly larger): synchrony is predicted also now.


Venous thromboembolism (VTE) carries a high morbidity and mortality and leads to a substantial economic burden. From the traditional perspectives, liver cirrhosis tends to bleeding but not VTE. However, modern concepts suggest that liver cirrhosis is also at a risk of VTE. The pooled incidence and prevalence of VTE in liver cirrhosis are 1% (95% confidence interval: 0.7–1.3%) and 1% (95% confidence interval: 0.7–1.2%), respectively. Evidence indicates that a higher international normalized ratio and a lower albumin should be associated with a higher probability of VTE in liver cir‐ rhosis. Additionally, the presence of VTE significantly worsens the outcomes of liver cirrhosis.


Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are a relatively new and rapidly developing technology; they have a wide range of applications including environmental monitoring, agriculture, and public health. Shared technology is a common usage model for technology adoption in developing countries. WSNs have great potential to be utilized as a shared resource due to their on-board processing and ad-hoc networking capabilities, however their deployment as a shared resource requires that the technical community first address several challenges. The main challenges include enabling sensor portability: (1) the frequent movement of sensors within and between deployments, and rapidly deployable systems; (2) systems that are quick and simple to deploy. We first discuss the feasibility of using sensor networks as a shared resource, and then describe our research in addressing the various technical challenges that arise in enabling such sensor portability and rapid deployment. We also outline our experiences in developing and deploying water quality monitoring wireless sensor networks in Bangladesh and California


Abstract. Data from volcano-monitoring studies constitute the only scientifically valid basis for short-term forecasts of a future eruption, or of possible changes during an ongoing eruption. Thus, in any effective hazards-mitigation program, a basic strategy in reducing volcano risk is the initiation or augmentation of volcano monitoring at historically active volcanoes and also at geologically young, but presently dormant, volcanoes with potential for reactivation. Beginning with the 1980s, substantial progress in volcano-monitoring techniques and networks – ground-based as well space-based – has been achieved. Although some geochemical monitoring techniques (e.g., remote measurement of volcanic gas emissions) are being increasingly applied and show considerable promise, seismic and geodetic methods to date remain the techniques of choice and are the most widely used. Availability of comprehensive volcano-monitoring data was a decisive factor in the successful scientific and governmental responses to the reawakening of Mount St. elens (Washington, USA) in 1980 and, more recently, to the powerful explosive eruptions at Mount Pinatubo (Luzon, Philippines) in 1991. However, even with the ever-improving state-of-the-art in volcano monitoring and predictive capability, the Mount St. Helens and Pinatubo case histories unfortunately still represent the exceptions, rather than the rule, in successfully forecasting the most likely outcome of volcano unrest.


Unlike fullerene derivatives, current nonfullerene n-type organic semiconductor (n-OS) electron acceptors can rarely work efficiently with different band-gap polymer donors in polymer solar cells (PSCs). To address this issue, we designed and synthesized a new n-OS electron acceptor, namely m-MeIC, which is proved to be effective with different band-gap polymer donors including wide band-gap J71, medium band-gap PBDB-T and low band-gap PCE-10. Photovoltaic devices based on J71:m-MeIC and PBDB-T:m-MeIC achieved power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) as high as 12.08% and 10.93%, respectively. The difference in PCEs between the devices based on J71 and PBDB-T is mainly ascribed to the gap of the open circuit voltage. It should be mentioned that the J71-based device exhibited an energy loss of 0.62 eV, which is significantly lower than the most reported energy loss. For the low band-gap polymer donor PCE-10, the device also showed a relatively high PCE of 8.34%. The different device performances are analyzed in depth from charge transport and collection, to recombination loss mechanism and morphology of blend films. This work reveals that the new n-type organic semiconductor is very promising as a universal nonfullerene acceptor, pairing with different band-gap polymer donors.


The coexistence of English and French alongside Kinyarwanda results in various sociolinguistic aspects. One of the sociolinguistic phenomena observed in this coexistence is the influx of French and English loanwords in Kinyarwanda. Included in these alien words are deceptive cognates of French and English, which render the use of the three languages more complex. The speaker faces a challenge while conversing in either English or French. The understanding of deceptive cognates, false friends or 'look alikes', would enable the speaker to express his ideas correctly and communicate more fluently. Pairs of words in French and English with a common origin where the homonym suggests the synonym are seldom mastered. The predominance of French loanwords testifies that French lent more words to Kinyarwanda than any other language. This is understandable because of the historical ties between Rwanda and two European French speaking countries: Belgium and France. Rwanda obtained independence from the colonial master, Belgium, on 1 July 1962, but continued the ties it enjoyed during the colonial era. Later, when a military coup brought late President Juvenal Habyarimana into power, France was in better shape to exercise its influence over Rwanda.


The Observatory for Monitoring Data-Driven Approaches to Covid-19 (OMDDAC) is an Arts and Humanities Research Council funded research project investigating data-driven approaches to Covid-19, focused upon legal, ethical, policy and operational challenges. The project is a collaboration between Northumbria University (Law School, Department of Computing and Information Sciences, Department of Mathematics) and the Royal United Services Institute, a defence and security think-tank, and aims to carry out integrated interdisciplinary research, regarded as the most challenging type of interdisciplinarity but where the outputs can be the most impactful. Due to the constraints of the pandemic, the project has been carried out in a fully distributed and remote manner, with some team members never having met in person. The subject of the research is continually changing and developing, creating unique project management issues, with the impact of the pandemic pervasive in the lives of the researchers. This article takes the form of a series of reflections from the points of view of individual project researchers – the specialist legal researcher, the think-tank Co-Investigator, the post-doctoral researcher, statistical and data science researchers, and the Principal Investigator – and organised under two main themes - project management and internal communication; and methodologies/interdisciplinary research. We thus draw out lessons for future remote and distributed research, focused upon interdisciplinarity, the benefits and challenges of remote research methodologies, and issues of collegiality. Finally, we warn that it will be a false economy for universities and funders to assume that research projects can continue to be conducted in a mainly remote manner and therefore, that budgetary savings can be made by reducing time allocations, travel and academic networking.


[1] An algorithm, Determination of Earth Surface Structures (DEST), is presented to reconstruct digital terrain models of complex landforms from topographic data, such as contour lines and spot heights. The algorithm provides a triangular irregular network (TIN) of the source data, based on a modified Delaunay approach. Delaunay triangulation can introduce artificial terraces from a nonrandom distribution of input points such as a sampled contour line. The algorithm proposed here constructs the three-dimensional principal skeletons of these artificial flat areas, eliminating the unwanted effects of contour lines. The algorithm can also be applied to topographic data from a variety of mixed sources such as photogrammetric information, radar altimetry measurements, and traditional contour lines. The sparse fine-surface structures present in the source data are preserved, allowing accurate morphological evaluations, tectonic lineament extraction, and volume estimation. A methodology (D-DEST) to easily derive, from a TIN computed by DEST, the drainage path and the catchment areas is also presented. A comparison of DEST with other methodologies is performed. It results that our approach does not introduce sensible biased effects in slopes, aspects, drainage network, and catchment areas. The evolution of the upper cone of Vesuvius volcano (Italy) during the last century, as derived from historical cartography, is presented as an application of DEST. The algorithm implemented in C can be requested at email@example.com.


The main results of a static analysis with a finite element model of the cervical section between C3 - C5 of a human spine are reported. In this case, it is assumed that the element C4 is completely damaged and has to be replaced. Therefore, a bone graft was installed between the anterior side of C3 and C5. Besides, a cervical plate of 55 mm. was fixed at the same side with 4 expansive screws. The resultant stresses caused by compression loads were analyzed and the displacements between the graft and adjacent vertebrae were calculated. Three loading conditions were applied: 80 N, 637.5 N and 6374.5 N. The first one corresponds to the head weight. In the second case, it is assumed that the average patient weight is supported by those vertebrae, while in the last one; the compression load failure is applied on the vertebrae. Results show that displacements were lower than 3 mm between the graft and the adjacent vertebrae. In accordance with the concept of spine stability after Muller (1), the arrangement is a stable one. Another advantage is that no wires are used in this surgical technique. Two more issues should be noticed. There is no risk that the plate may be broken and the geometry of the bone graft allows bone regeneration. These results are on line with those observed in preliminary experimental tests with porcine vertebrae.


In this paper, we present an ongoing work that will ultimately result in a movie recommender system based on the Mise-en-Scène characteristics of the movies. We believe that the preferences of users on movies can be well described in terms of the mise-en-scène, i.e., the design aspects of movie making influencing aesthetic and style. Examples of mise-en-scène characteristics are lighting, colors, background, and movements. Our recommender system opens new opportunities in the design of new user interfaces able to offer a personalized way to search for interesting movies through the analysis of film styles rather than using the traditional classifications of movies based on explicit attributes such as genre and cast.


The purpose of this case study was to determine the workable and legitimate means the North Carolina Community College system has for making governance decisions. Four questions were formed to determine (1) the formal distribution of authority on January 1, 1981; (2) the same approximately a year later; (3) the input and influence of the North Carolina Association of Public Community College Presidents (NCAPCCP) and the North Carolina Trustees' Association of Community Education Institutions, Inc. (NCTACEI); and (4) their impact on the decision-making process. Data were collected from the researcher's observation of and notes on the State Board of Community Colleges' 1981 and 1982 decision making; agendas and minutes of the State Board, the two associations, and state legislative committees; and interviews. Frederick Wirt's Authority Centralization Scale was used to analyze and compare the system's laws and codes. Four governance decisions, which challenged the distribution of authority, were chosen for further analysis.


The purpose of this paper is to verify the power consumption of different topologies of cooling system for the storage of vaccine in a portable solar powered vaccine carrier box for the domestic use in South Africa. The efficiency of the cooling holder is evaluated under normal operating conditions to determine if its cooling capacity is adequate. It is important to know the exact power requirements for the design in order to determine the correct size of the photovoltaic panels and batteries. The cost of the power supply increase with the increase in power consumption due to the increase in the power ratings of the photovoltaic panels and batteries to provide enough power to the Thermoelectric Cooling Modules (TECMs). The objective is to keep the power consumption to a minimum so that the cost of the power supply is kept as low as possible, but still providing enough cooling power for the refrigeration compartment. Various simulations done in SolidWorks® and the temperature profile of different cooling holder topologies were evaluated and discussed and the best topology for the scenario is proposed.


A configurable electrochemical sensor microarray system-on-a-chip fabricated in a standard digital 0.18-mum complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) process is presented. Each pixel within this 5times10 array occupies a 160 mumtimes120 mum area and contains a differential electrochemical transducer with a programmable sensor. The sensor has a digitally configurable topology capable of performing different electroanalytical measurements for a variety of affinity-based biomolecular sensing applications. The main modes of operation for this system are impedance spectroscopy, voltammetry, potentiometry, and field-effect sensing


The present study was carried out to find out the current status of antenatal care services. A cross-sectional study was carried out in rural areas of Aligarh taking WHO 30 cluster methodology. The required number of villages from each stratum was selected with probability proportional to size (PPS). There were 154 currently pregnant women (CPW) and 248 recently delivered women (RDW), of these, a majority of CPW (72.1%) and RDW (59.7%) did not have any ANC checkup. 65.1% of CPW and 40.0% of RDW had their first ANC checkup in the first trimester. Majority of CPW (53.9%) did not receive any TT vaccination. On the contrary, most of the RDW (73.0%) had two doses of TT vaccination. Similarly, large number of the CPW (75.3%) and 52.4% of RDW did not receive iron folic acid (IFA) tablets. In CPW, weight was measured only in 16.3% women. However, height was measured in 41.9%, B. P. was recorded in 46.5%, The same pattern was observed in RDW. Preferred place of delivery was home in CPW (64.9%) and RDW (81.4%) and mostly conducted by trained birth attendant (TBA). It is concluded that among the aspects ignored during antenatal period, patient education is of vast importance and even a low level of counseling can improve utilization of health services by mothers.

 Key words: Currently pregnant women (CPW), recently delivered women (RDW), ANC checkup, trained birth attendant (TBA).


Borehole-ground Electrical measurement is an important geophysical exploration method to determine the underground distribution of remaining oil. The author designs a set of network measurement system, where the intelligent electrodes were arrayed. Potentials are measured continuously to realize the dynamic monitoring. We adopt multi-channel simultaneous sampling and linear accumulated digital averaging to suppress electromagnetic noise. Feedback compensative method is used to exclude the influence of SP (spontaneous potential) and covers a wide dynamic measurable scope. In order to make all measurements validity, all electrodes earthing situation are collected. We present the oilfield survey data measured by this self-developed instrument. Practical application shows that the system is characterized with high efficiency, portable and strong anti-jamming capability.


The International Program in Survey and Data Science (IPSDS) is an online educational program, which can be attended through the Joint Program in Survey Methodology (JPSM) at the University of Maryland (UMD) and a part-time Master of Applied Data Science & Measurement (MDM) at the University of Mannheim and Mannheim Business School (MBS). It is targeted towards and attended by working professionals involved or interested in data collection and data analysis including those working in official statistics. The program conveys competencies in the areas of data collection, data analysis, data storage, and data visualization. The faculty of the program includes researchers and lecturers from both the University of Maryland and the University of Mannheim as well as other organizations such as destatis and Statistics Netherlands in the field of official statistics. The program was awarded the label of 'European Master in Official Statistics (EMOS)' under conditions in May 2021. In the article, we summarize the methodological and statistical competencies needed in official statistics and show how IPSDS covers this set of skills. We will present the flipped classroom design used for the IPSDS program and demonstrate that it is especially suited for students who are working professionals at the same time.


Abstract This paper describes the nature and relative significance of stratigraphic and structural compartmentalization in dryland fluvial reservoirs using data drawn from the Heron Cluster (Heron, Egret and Skua) oil fields in the UK Central North Sea. The Triassic Skagerrak Formation reservoir in these fields was deposited in a variety of dryland terminal fluvial settings, ranging from relatively arid terminal splay and playa to more vegetated, channel-confined systems with associated floodplain and palustrine facies. Laterally extensive floodbasin shales punctuate this terminal fluvial architecture. Static and dynamic data indicate that these fields are compartmentalized: geochemical data indicate significant fluid variations both between wells and vertically within individual wells; material balance calculations suggest production from restricted connected volumes, locally from a subset of the range of oils present; and re-perforation across significant shale boundaries access undepleted reservoir with different fluid compositions. Lateral variations could be ascribed to prominent structuration within these fields, but in general these high net:gross reservoirs do not have a viable fault seal mechanism. Early (syn-halokinetic) grounding of Triassic 'pods' between salt swells during salt withdrawal has resulted in zones of intense faulting along the zone of contact of the pod and the underlying basement, and also on the flanks of pods as the margins collapsed under further salt withdrawal. This deformation occurred under relatively shallow burial depths and is largely expressed by disaggregation zones and phyllosilicate fault rocks. Fault property averaging algorithms (e.g. shale gouge ratio), indicate that the sands should communicate across the juxtapositions, implying that the fluids and pressures should equilibrate between reservoir sands. However, the stratigraphic differences across major shales in both fluid geochemistry and pressure caused by draw-down are preserved despite the presence of these faults. The preservation of stratigraphic compartments indicates that for these faults the deformation mechanism was probably dominated by clay smear, in which the shale-prone sequence was smeared down the fault planes without losing its coherence. This style of stratigraphic compartmentalization occurs across several shale-prone intervals that are correlatable across the region. In some cases these mark the boundaries to major changes in fluvial depositional character, provenance and floodplain drainage, suggesting an extrinsic control that led to shale packages defining consistent barriers in all the fields. Other shale barriers do not show major changes in depositional character and, although correlatable, appear to be the product of semi-regional advance and retreat of the fluvial systems, possibly combined with nodal avulsion. In contrast to reservoirs deposited by large exorheic rivers, the terminal nature of these dryland fluvial systems appears to have resulted in the repeated interfingering of fluvial and floodbasin facies over a scale of many tens of kilometres. As a result such terminal fluvial reservoirs are prone to stratigraphic compartmentalization. However, thinner shales are prone to breaching by fluvial erosion and as a result not all correlatable shale events form barriers and only a subset will compartmentalize. Mitigation against this compartmentalization requires a development strategy where well trajectory and perforation maximizes stratigraphic exposure.


The impact of methanol (CH3OH) as a source of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) in denitrification at wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) has never been quantified. CH3OH is the most commonly purchased carbon source for sewage denitrification. Until recently, greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting protocols consistently ignored the liberation of anthropogenic CO2 attributable to CH3OH. This oversight can likely be attributed to a simplifying notion that CO2 produced through activated-sludge-process respiration is biogenic because most raw-sewage carbon is un-sequestered prior to entering a WWTP. Instead, a biogenic categorization cannot apply to fossil-fuel-derived carbon sources like CH3OH. This paper provides a summary of how CH3OH use at DC Water's Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant (AWTP; Washington, DC, USA) amounts to 60 to 85% of the AWTP's Scope-1 emissions. The United States Environmental Protection Agency and Water Environment Federation databases suggest that CH3OH CO2 likely represents one quarter of all Scope-1 GHG emissions attributable to sewage treatment in the USA. Finally, many alternatives to CH3OH use exist and are discussed.


Compared with ground-based lidar, airborne lidar has a wider observation area, which is useful for studying aerosol distribution and transportation. A dual-wavelength high spectral resolution Lidar (HSRL) was developed for the validation and calibration of an upcoming satellite payload. The HSRL was installed on an airplane, and field campaigns were conducted in Qinhuangdao, China. Meanwhile, four observation sites were established at different locations on the ground to verify the results of the airborne lidar. This article compares the HSRL measurements with those from ground-based micro-pulse lidar (MPL), Mie-scattering lidar, sun photometer, and spaceborne cloud-aerosol Lidar and infrared pathfinder satellite observations (CALIPSO), and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). The stability and reliability of the HSRL system were fully verified. The flight area covered several surface types, including ocean, town, mountain, and forest, which strongly affect the AOD above them. The boundary layer AOD was analyzed in different regions, based on the impact of human activities. The results demonstrated that the AOD in urban area was the largest, and smallest in marine areas, a result ascribed to the influence of industrial activities. © 2020 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement


Background: Low socioeconomic status is consistently associated with reduced physical and mental health, but the mechanisms remain unclear. Increased levels of urban air pollutants interacting with parental stress have been proposed to explain health disparities in respiratory disease, but the impact of such interactions on mental health is unknown. Objectives: We aimed to determine whether prenatal air pollution exposure and stress during pregnancy act synergistically on offspring to induce a neuroinflammatory response and subsequent neurocognitive disorders in adulthood. Methods: Mouse dams were intermittently exposed via oropharyngeal aspiration to diesel exhaust particles (DEP; 50 μg × 6 doses) or vehicle throughout gestation. This exposure was combined with standard housing or nest material restriction (NR; a novel model of maternal stress) during the last third of gestation. Results: Adult (postnatal day 60) offspring of dams that experienced both stressors (DEP and NR) displayed increased anxiety, but only male offspring of this group had impaired cognition. Furthermore, maternal DEP exposure increased proinflammatory interleukin (IL)-1β levels within the brains of adult males but not females, and maternal DEP and NR both decreased anti-inflammatory IL-10 in male, but not female, brains. Similarly, only DEP/NR males showed increased expression of the innate immune recognition gene toll-like receptor 4 (Tlr4) and its downstream effector, caspase-1. Conclusions: These results show that maternal stress during late gestation increases the susceptibility of offspring—particularly males—to the deleterious effects of prenatal air pollutant exposure, which may be due to a synergism of these factors acting on innate immune recognition genes and downstream neuroinflammatory cascades within the developing brain. Citation: Bolton JL, Huff NC, Smith SH, Mason SN, Foster WM, Auten RL, Bilbo SD. 2013. Maternal stress and effects of prenatal air pollution on offspring mental health outcomes in mice. Environ Health Perspect 121:1075–1082; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1306560


A major research direction in AI argumentation is the study and development of practical computational techniques for reasoning in different argumentation formalisms. Compared to abstract argumentation, developing algorithmic techniques for different structured argumentation formalisms, such as assumption-based argumentation and the general ASPIC framework, is more challenging. At present, there is a lack of efficient approaches to reasoning in ASPIC. We develop a direct declarative approach based on answer set programming (ASP) to reasoning in an instantiation of the ASPIC framework. We establish formal foundations for direct declarative encodings for reasoning in ASPIC without preferences for several central argumentation semantics, and detail ASP encodings of semantics for which reasoning about acceptance is NP-hard in ASPIC. Empirically, the ASP approach scales up to frameworks of significant size, thereby answering the current lack of practical computational approaches to reasoning in ASPIC and providing a promising base for capturing further generalizations within ASPIC.


The histological classification of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) (keratinizing and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-related non-keratinizing subtypes) does not take into account the underlying heterogeneity in molecular processes and tumor micro-environment. Also, treatment decisions for NPC are made on stage and not subtype. This impedes better understanding of NPC subtypes, but also development of more precise and tailored treatment and follow-up strategies. We found that all patients regardless of NPC subtype have a higher risk of developing second primary malignancies (SPM), however, SPM were especially prevalent in keratinizing NPC. The differences in risks suggest differences in tumor biology. What we also see is that positive EBV-status is not related to development of other EBV-related cancers. Thus, other underlying (genetic) defects/risk factors are probably also important, as there still is a higher risk of SPM in non-keratinizing/EBV positive NPC patients. We also concluded that close clinical follow-up of patients with all NPC subtypes, with specific attention on the detection of SPM, is warranted. We also studied the prognostic effect of molecules in the EGFR-pathway in NPC, because EGFR is strongly induced by LMP1-CTAR1, a viral oncogene. We found overexpression of EGFR to predict worse survival. We additionally assessed gene copy number alterations between EBV positive and negative NPCs and see that they are distinct entities with CCNL1 gain/amplification conferring worse prognosis in EBV positive NPC. We also show EBV positive and negative NPCs to have important differences in hypermethylation patterns, with hypermethylation of RASSF1A being more prevalent and of prognostic importance in EBV positive NPC. EBV negative NPC correlated strongly with APC hypermethylation which has been described in other (smoking/alcohol related) HNSCC suggesting a common pathogenesis. We also assessed the tumor-microenvironment. There are differences in tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) between NPC subtypes. We found that not only the amount, but also the composition of the infiltrate is important for a positive effect on survival. In the EBV positive NPC CD4 and CD8 seem to predict better OS despite PDL1 expression, and in EBV negative NPC absence of CD8 seems to predicts worse OS despite also less PD1 expression. Thus, immunotherapy can possibly also be of use in treating patients with NPC. In addition, there were differences in tumor-associated macrophages between EBV positive and negative NPC with also functional differences in the macrophages. The macrophage infiltrate in EBV negative NPC was unable to recruit Tregs. Also, a higher FOXP3 count seems to be an independent prognostic factor for better OS in the whole NPC group. Finally, we studied specific characteristics in EBV infected NPC and found a correlation between positive EBV status and immunohistochemical SSTR2A positivity. Thus, 68Ga-DOTA-TOC PET/CT can be used in the follow-up of patients with EBV positive NPC. Also, treatment with (177Lu) DOTA-TATE and/ or (90)Y-DOTATOC, and somatostatin analogues needs study. As we have shown differences in risks of developing SPMs, genetics, epigenetics, but also the tumor micro-environment and novel markers, we strongly suggest that the various NPC subtypes are different entities, and require different approaches to treatment and follow-up.


Pullulanase has great significance due to its wide range of potential applications in pharmaceutical and food industries. Pullulanase is used for the saccharification of starch in various industries and it is also a good amylolytic agent. The enzyme hydrolyzes the alpha-1, 6-glucosidic linkages of pullulan, amylopectin, glycogen, etc. The enzyme is used for manufacture of glucose, maltose, etc. In present study Pullulanase enzyme collected from Aspergillus Niger [ATTC16404] strain of onion peels. Optimum parameters were studied for the maximum enzyme activity at different physical conditions such as temperature 50°C, Time 120hrs, pH 6 and in different culture mdias. After the detail analysis the enzyme activity was found to be stable at different optimum parameters. It was found to be 130.66 IU at 540nm in U.V.spectroscopy.


Recently statistical channel modeling for underwater acoustic communication has been widely studied. Because of the complex ocean environments experimental approaches are used for estimating the statistical properties of communication channels. One can easily imagine that the received data impaired by background noise cannot give the accurate values of statistical parameters. In order to investigate the effect of SNR on the statistical estimation, this paper numerically analyzes the probability density functions for various SNR conditions. The results show that small SNR induces inaccurate statistical channel model when narrow-band signal is used for transmitting sound waves. A field experiment demonstrates similar results but further study should be made to overcome some discrepancies.


Advances in conformal radiation therapy and advancements in pre-clinical radiotherapy research have recently stimulated the development of precise micro-irradiators for small animals such as mice and rats. These devices are often kilovolt x-ray radiation sources combined with high-resolution CT imaging equipment for image guidance, as the latter allows precise and accurate beam positioning. This is similar to modern human radiotherapy practice. These devices are considered a major step forward compared to the current standard of animal experimentation in cancer radiobiology research. The availability of this novel equipment enables a wide variety of pre-clinical experiments on the synergy of radiation with other therapies, complex radiation schemes, sub-target boost studies, hypofractionated radiotherapy, contrast-enhanced radiotherapy and studies of relative biological effectiveness, to name just a few examples. In this review we discuss the required irradiation and imaging capabilities of small animal radiation research platforms. We describe the need for improved small animal radiotherapy research and highlight pioneering efforts, some of which led recently to commercially available prototypes. From this, it will be clear that much further development is still needed, on both the irradiation side and imaging side. We discuss at length the need for improved treatment planning tools for small animal platforms, and the current lack of a standard therein. Finally, we mention some recent experimental work using the early animal radiation research platforms, and the potential they offer for advancing radiobiology research.


The period of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars is now widely viewed as seeing the emergence of the first modern or 'total' war, as whole populations came to be mobilised for the nation's war effort. The period's print culture and popular entertainments responded to these demands by creating a media spectacle, eliciting popular support for the war by enabling its audience to visualise scenes of conflict. Sir Robert Ker Porter's work as both a writer and artist had a significant presence in this emergent spectacle of war. Utilising personal correspondence from eyewitnesses and placing enormous emphasis in his work on accurate depictions of warfare, he sought to enable the citizen to share the soldier's view of war, allowing him or her to visualise and imagine conflict from the vantage point of the soldier and his subjective experience. Whilst Porter thus sought to provide images of willing sacrifice for the nation, there is nonetheless a transgressive aspect to his work. By privileging the soldiers' personal view, the images presented by Porter could conflict with the state's attempts to control information about the war. The articulation of a soldier's subjective experience of war could be unsettling, eliciting affective and horrified responses to war that were far removed from the needs of a militaristic state.


Logs are an important facility for fault-tolerant distributed systems since they allow to reliably store information that is needed to provide a global consistent system state also in the presence of failures. The authors focus on the problem of fast recovery after a node crash. The approach is mainly based on minimizing the number of log records to be retrieved. This is achieved by periodically discarding obsolete information in a very efficient manner without effecting the normal logging procedure. The main idea behind is that the generic Log-Service provides a high level interface to the application which allows the Log-Service itself to interpret the semantics of log records without consulting the application during run-time. In addition, the authors are able to reduce the overhead in analyzing the log contents during restart by scanning the log only once and only forward.


Poly(2-(2,5-di(thiophen-2-yl)-1H-pyrrol-1-yl) (SNS) acetic acid) was electrochemically deposited on graphite electrodes and functionalized with lysine (Lys) amino acid and poly(amidoamine) derivatives (PAMAM G2 and PAMAM G4) to investigate their matrix properties for biosensor applications. Glucose oxidase (GOx) was immobilized onto the modified surface as the model enzyme. X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to report the surface properties of the matrices in each step of the biosensor construction. The biosensors were characterized in terms of their operational and storage stabilities and the kinetic parameters (K(app)(m) and I(max)). Three new glucose biosensors revealed good stability, featuring low detection limits (19.0 μM, 3.47 μM and 2.93 μM for lysine-, PAMAM G2- and PAMAM G4-functionalized electrodes, respectively) and prolonged the shelf lives (4, 5, and 6 weeks for Lys-, PAMAM G2- and PAMAM G4-modified electrodes, respectively). The proposed biosensors were tested for glucose detection on real human blood serum samples.


Abstract The interaction of physical and mental vulnerability and environmental constraints is thought to foster the development of psychiatric disorders such as major depressive disorder (MDD). A central factor in the development of psychopathology is mental stress. Despite some evidence for parasympathetic withdrawal and sympathetic overactivity in MDD, the psychophysiological response to stress in depression is not clear-cut. Given the growing interest in heart rate and heart rate variability as indicators for remote monitoring of patients, it is important to understand how patients with MDD react to stress in a laboratory-controlled environment. We conducted a systematic review of studies using electrocardiography to derive heart rate and heart rate variability during stress in patients with clinical depression. We focused on well-validated stress tasks- the mental arithmetic stress task, the Trier social stress task and public speaking task- to minimize confounding effects due to the nature of the stressor. The majority of studies found hypo-reactivity during stress as a hallmark of depression as evidenced by lower fluctuation in heart rate and heart rate variability in the high-frequency band. We address the potential underlying biological mechanisms, the influence of covariates on these measures and briefly discuss the specificity and potential for remote monitoring by using these variables.


The field of "World Englishes" takes on ever more importance in the modern era. Mario Saraceni's World Englishes: A Critical Analysis looks at the developments in the field from a critical perspective. It examines the historical, linguistic, ideological and pedagogical aspects in the study of the ever-evolving forms, roles and statuses of English around the world. The principal aim is to offer a critical overview of the field in order both to inform readers about the main issues at stake and to challenge established positions and descriptive/analytical paradigms. The book has four sections, each of which reviews established accounts and offers alternative perspectives on those. "History" considers representations of the evolution of 'old English' and 'new Englishes' and begins to unveil the strong link between conventional accounts and ideological motivations. "Language" critically examines the traditional notion of 'difference' in the description of varieties of English, and discusses more recent orientations which aim to describe English as a lingua franca and the phenomenon of language hybridity. "Ideology" examines ideological debates around the presence and status of English in the world, such as linguistic imperialism, language ownership and language ecology. The final section, "Pedagogy" discusses pedagogical implications, such as the choice of appropriate 'models' of English and considers the possibility of teaching English as a fully de-anglicised language.


A descriptive taxonomy, the pragmatic protocol, was developed for this study. The protocol consists of 30 pragmatic parameters of language. The purpose of the study was to test the utility of the tool to evaluate a range of pragmatic aspects of language in a sample of conversational speech from subjects in six groups. Among the disordered subjects, four distinct profiles emerged that separated the diagnostic groups. Individual differences in the way pragmatic deficits were distributed within a diagnostic category were also identified. The authors stress that the assessment of pragmatics should encompass a range of parameters that includes aspects of linguistic structure as well as those aspects of communication that have to do with principles governing language use. We offer our data as an early look at the way in which pragmatic deficits stratify across disordered populations.


This paper proposes a new fingerprinting decoder based on the Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method. A Gibbs sampler generates groups of users according to the poste- rior probability that these users could have forged the sequence extracted from the pirated content. The marginal probability that a given user pertains to the collusion is then estimated by a Monte Carlo method. The users having the biggest empirical marginal probabilities are accused. This MCMC method can decode any type of fingerprinting codes. This paper is in the spirit of the 'Learn and Match' decoding strategy: it assumes that the collusion attack belongs to a family of models. The Expectation-Maximization algorithm estimates the parameters of the collusion model from the extracted se- quence. This part of the algorithm is described for the binary Tardos code and with the exploitation of the soft outputs of the watermarking decoder. The experimental body considers some extreme setups where the fingerprinting code lengths are very small. It reveals that the weak link of our approach is the estimation part. This is a clear warning to the 'Learn and Match' decoding strategy.


: The diagnostic value of pattern visual evoked potentials has been assessed in a pilot study of 22 patients with proven or suspected multiple sclerosis. Of 7 patients satisfying McAlpin's criteria for diagnosing definite multiple sclerosis, 6 had delayed potentials. Four of 5 patients with probable multiple sclerosis, and 5 of 10 patients with possible multiple sclerosis, had delayed potentials. Ten patients with delayed potentials had no history of optic neuritis. Changes in the evoked potential with other neurological conditions that may affect the visual system are also described.


Abstract : It is of considerable interest to developers of military vehicles, in early phases of the concept design process as well as in Analysis of Alternatives (AoA), to quickly predict occupant injury risk due to under body blast loading. The most common occupant injuries in these extremely short duration events arise out of the very high vertical acceleration of vehicle due to its close proximity to hot high pressure gases from the blast. The primary objectives of this paper are to conduct an extensive parametric study in a systematic manner so as (1) to determine if a single blast loading parameter is sufficient to adequately characterize the occupant injury, at least for the duration of typical blast events (0-20ms) and (2) to create look-up tables and/or an automated software tool that decision-makers can use to quickly estimate the different injury responses for both stroking and non-stroking seat systems in terms of such a parameter.


This commentary analyzes the 2010-11 Supreme Court Term case, Erica P. John Fund v. Halliburton. The Erica P. John Fund sued Halliburton Co. in a securities fraud class action for losses stemming from alleged misleading statements. The Court will determine the plaintiff's burden of proof to support class certification based on so-called "fraud-on-the-market" presumption. The issue in Fund focuses on whether plaintiffs seeking certification of a securities fraud class action also must, in addition to invoking a rebuttable fraud-on-the-market presumption, demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence "loss causation" ― that alleged misrepresentations had an impact on a company's stock price.Nearly two decades after the Supreme Court's articulation of the fraud-on-the-market presumption of reliance in Basic v. Levinson, the Fifth Circuit in its 2007 Oscar decision clarified standards for applying the presumption. The Fifth Circuit indicated that courts may not apply the presumption where the evidentiary record at class certification shows that the alleged misstatements did not affect market price. And, one year after Oscar, the Second Circuit similarly concluded that a court may not certify a securities class action using the fraud-on-the-market presumption if the evidence offered by the parties demonstrates that the alleged market misrepresentations did not affect market price. In 2010, however, the Seventh Circuit strongly repudiated the Fifth and Second Circuit's approach, holding that a securities class action may be certified on the fraud on-the-market presumption without considering whether alleged misrepresentations affected market price. The Seventh Circuit indicated that the requirement that plaintiffs show that statements actually caused material changes in stock prices erroneously required that plaintiffs prove everything (except falsity) that would be required to win on the merits at trail. The Seventh Circuit held that price impact was a question related to the merits of the case, and therefore courts could not and should not consider this question at the class certification stage.In addition to the Seventh Circuit's strong repudiation of the Oscar approach, several federal district and circuit courts have disagreed with or distinguished the Oscar holdings. Consequently, there currently is a split among the federal courts concerning how the Court's Basic presumption applies at the class certification stage of proceedings.The Fund appeal is significant because the Court will determine whether to re-impose a very liberal set of standards for certification of securities class actions, upholding the Basic presumption of fraud-on-the-market without any other showing, or will affirm lower court decisions which have, in effect, tightened and enhanced those Basic requirements. The fight embodies a dispute between the Fifth and Seventh Circuits concerning what plaintiffs have to demonstrate at the class certification stage to permit a court to allow a securities class action to proceed.As such, the Fund decision has broad implications for stock market investors seeking recovery for investment fraud. The plaintiffs and their many friends-of-the-court amici have cast the appeal as a consumer protection case, asking the Court not to turn investors away from the courthouse door at the class certification stage. The United States government, as a friend-of-the-court amicus, has joined the plaintiffs in asking for reversal of the Fifth Circuit's decision and the Oscar interpretation of the Basic holdings.The Court will have to determine whether federal courts may require plaintiffs to prove loss causation at the class certification stage. The plaintiffs have suggested that this requirement embodies illegitimate "heightened pleading" at the class certification stage and imposes an improper assessment of the merits of the case, before trial. In recent years, the Supreme Court has evinced a trend towards supporting heightened pleading requirements for ordinary and class action complaints. In addition, several prominent lower federal courts, including the Second and Third Circuits, also recently have issued landmark decisions clarifying and strengthening the evidentiary burdens of production and persuasion at class certification. Court watchers will now focus on whether the Court in this Fund appeal will endorse the Oscar standard, in light of these recent trends in pleading and class certification.


OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to evaluate diagnostic practices for suspected community-acquired central nervous system (CNS) infection in an urban pediatric population.

METHODS
This is an observational, retrospective single-center review of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) studies in children, 1 month to 21 years old, evaluated for suspected CNS infection from 2004 to 2014. Cases of suspected nosocomial meningitis were excluded. The frequency of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antibody (NMDAR ab) encephalitis was analyzed from 2010 to 2014.

RESULTS
A total of 940 unique patient visits with CSF studies were included in the final analysis. There were 940 bacterial cultures sent; 4 (0.42%) grew suspected CSF bacterial pathogens, and 18 (1.9%) grew organisms that were suspected contaminants. Bacterial pathogens included late-onset group B Streptococcus in 3 infants younger than 3 months and Streptococcus pneumoniae in an unvaccinated 9-year-old child. Viral CNS infection was 7.5 times more frequent than bacterial infection. Enterovirus was the only virus isolated. Five cases positive for NMDAR ab were identified since 2010.

CONCLUSIONS
Bacterial studies were performed more frequently than viral and other studies. Cerebrospinal fluid bacterial culture was nearly 5 times more likely to yield a contaminant than a pathogen. The frequency of viral infection was likely underestimated as only 20% were tested, mainly by culture, which is suboptimal. These data suggest diagnostic practices for the evaluation of suspected community-acquired CNS infections in children need to be modified to reflect current epidemiology and highlight the need for greater accessibility to polymerase chain reaction for viral diagnostics. Furthermore, NMDAR ab-mediated encephalitis should be considered early in children presenting with suggestive symptoms.


Replicability of findings is the key factor of scientific reliability. However, literature on this topic is scarce and apparently taboo for large scientific areas. Some authors named the failure to reproduce scientific findings 'replication crisis'. Geometric morphometrics, a vastly used technique, is especially silent on replication crisis concern. Nevertheless, some works pointed out that sharing morphogeometric information is not a trivial fact, but need to be careful and meticulous. Here, we investigated the replicability of geometric morphometrics protocols on complex shapes and measurement error extension in three different types of taxa, as well as the potentiality of these protocols to discriminate among closely related species. We found a wide range of replication error that contributed from 19.5% to 60% of the total variation. Although, measurement error decreased with the complexity of the quantified shape, it often maintained high values. All protocols were able to discriminate between species, but more morphogeometric information does not imply better performance. We present evidence of replication crisis in life sciences and highlight the need to explore in deep different sources of variation that could lead to low replicability findings. Lastly, we enunciate some recommendations in order to improve the replicability and reliability of scientific findings.


Author's "Disclaimer". Introduction. Derivatives Models on Models. Nassim Taleb on Black Swans. Chapter 1 The Discovery of Fat-Tails in Price Data. Edward Thorp on Gambling and Trading. Chapter 2 Option Pricing and Hedging from Theory to Practice: Know Your Weapon III. 1 The Partly Ignored and Forgotten History. 2 Discrete Dynamic Delta Hedging under Geometric Brownian Motion. 3 Dynamic Delta Hedging Under Jump-Diffusion. 4 Equilibrium Models. 5 Portfolio Construction and Options Against Options. 6 Conclusions. Alan Lewis on Stochastic Volatility and Jumps. Chapter 3 Back to Basics: A New Approach to the Discrete Dividend Problem Together with Jorgen Haug and Alan Lewis. 1 Introduction. 2 General Solution. 3 Dividend Models. 4 Applications. Emanuel Derman the Wall Street Quant. Chapter 4 Closed Form Valuation of American Barrier Options. 1 Analytical Valuation of American Barrier Options. 2 Numerical Comparison. 3 Conclusion. Peter Carr, The Wall Street Wizard of Option Symmetry and Volatility. Chapter 5 Valuation of Complex Barrier Options Using Barrier Symmetry. 1 Plain Vanilla Put-Call Symmetry. 2 Barrier Put-Call Symmetry. 3 Simple, Intuitive and Accurate Valuation of Double Barrier Options. 4 Static Hedging in the Real World. 5 Conclusion. Granger on Cointegration. Chapter 6 Knock-in/out Margrabe with Jorgen Haug. 1 Margrabe Options. 2 Knock-in/out Margrabe Options. 3 Applications. Stephen Ross on APT. Chapter 7 Resetting Strikes, Barriers and Time with Jorgen Haug. 1 Introduction. 2 Reset Strike Barrier Options. 3 Reset Barrier Options. 4 Resetting Time. 5 Conclusion. Bruno Dupire the Stochastic Wall Street Quant. Chapter 8 Asian Pyramid Power with Jorgen Haug and William Margrabe. 1 Celia in Derivativesland. 2 Calibrating to the Term Structure of Volatility. 3 From Geometric to Arithmetic. 4 The Dollars. Eduardo Schwartz: the Yoga Master of Mathematical Finance. Chapter 9 Practical Valuation of Power Derivatives. 1 Introduction. 2 Energy Swaps/Forwards. 3 Power Options. 4 Still, What About Fat-Tails? Aaron Brown on Gambling, Poker and Trading. Chapter 10 A Look in the Antimatter Mirror. 1 Garbage in, Garbage Out? 2 Conclusion. Knut Aase on Catastrophes and Financial Economics. Chapter 11 Negative Volatility and the Survival of the Western Financial Markets Knut K. Aase. 1 Introduction. 2 Negative Volatility - A Direct Approach. 3 The Value of a European Call Option for any Value - Positive or Negative - of the Volatility. 4 Negative Volatility - The Haug interpretation. 5 Chaotic Behavior from Deterministic Dynamics. 6 Conclusions. Elie Ayache on Option Trading and Modeling. Chapter 12 Frozen Time Arbitrage. 1 Time Measure Arbitrage. 2 Time Travel Arbitrage. 3 Conclusion. Haug on Wilmott and Wilmott on Wilmott. Chapter 13 Space-time Finance The Relativity Theory's Implications for Mathematical Finance. 1 Introduction. 2 Time dilation. 3 Advanced stage of Space-time Finance. 4 Space-time Uncertainty. 5 Is High Speed Velocity Possible? 6 Black-Scholes in Special Relativity. 7 Relativity and Fat-Tailed Distributions. 8 General Relativity and Space-time Finance. 9 Was Einstein Right? 10 Traveling Back in Time Using Wormholes. 11 Conclusion. Andrei Khrennikov on Negative Probabilities. Chapter 14 Why so Negative about Negative Probabilities? 1 The History of Negative Probability. 2 Negative Probabilities in Quantitative Finance. 3 Getting the Negative Probabilities to Really Work in Your Favor. 4 Hidden Variables in Finance. 5 The Future of Negative Probabilities in Quantitative Finance. 6 Appendix: Negative Probabilities in CRR Equivalent Trinomial Tree. David Bates on Crash and Jumps. Chapter 15 Hidden Conditions and Coin Flip Blow Up's. 1 Blowing Up. 2 Coin Flip Blow Up's. Peter J ackel on Monte Carlo Simulation. Index.


The hyper-diverse avian family Zosteropidae (~100 species) is renowned for its exceptional colonising ability and rapid recent diversification. The genus Zosterops dominates within the family, including over 70% of all recognised species, and is notorious for the phenotypic uniformity that has traditionally made designation of taxon boundaries within the genus difficult. While the last decade has seen an abundance of research focusing on colonisation abilities and speciation patterns of insular taxa, relationships between continental forms, specifically mainland African taxa, remain subject to great uncertainty. This thesis focuses on uncovering the relationships, origin and evolutionary history of African Zosteropidae. Chapter 1 introduces the family Zosteropidae, reviews the current literature that is based predominantly on insular systems. In introducing the African Zosteropidae complex, this chapter highlights questions associated with this group and presents the aims of the thesis. Chapter 2 focuses in on one of the most geographically complex areas within the African system, to explore the relative importance of past climatic fluctuations as a driver of diversification in Zosterops endemic to the isolated montane massifs of East Africa. Results provide the first molecular assessment of mainland African Zosteropidae and are used to examine alternative models of speciation. A dated molecular phylogeny demonstrates that divergence within African Zosteropidae is very recent (<5Ma) coinciding with periods of climatic instability during the Plio-Pleistocene. Furthermore, the non-monophyly of mainland taxa, specifically the polyphyletic nature of Z. poliogaster, leads to the rejection of a widely held assumption that the montane endemics of East Africa are relics of a previously widespread population. Instead results provide evidence for evolutionary model based on ancestrally adaptive populations. Chapter 3 attempts to further investigate relationships within the East African Zosterops and explores the usefulness of amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLPs) in revealing inter- and intra-specific relationships. Resolution of relationships across the AFLP phylogeny is generally poor which is attributed to the low information content of the AFLP matrix generated. Bayesian hypothesis testing failed to provide support for various topological constraints tested and consequently this study was unable to confirm or reject the non-monophyly of East African montane endemics. Chapter 4 builds upon the molecular phylogeny of Chapter 2, by substantially increasing the taxonomic sampling of African species using DNA obtained from museum specimens. The use of both archive and fresh material enabled the largest genetic assessment of western Zosteropidae to date. Extensive sampling across Sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian Ocean region, the Arabian Peninsula and the Gulf of Guinea region reveals six major clades within the African Zosteropidae complex. Results confirm the widespread non-monophyly of mainland African species rendering current taxonomic arrangements invalid. GMYC (General mixed Yule-coalescent) analysis recovers 14 distinct evolutionary lineages within the African Zosteropidae system and provides a framework for further work using model-based species delimitation approaches. Finally, Chapter 5 draws together key findings from Chapters 2-4, and reviews how this work advances our understanding of the African Zosteropidae system. This chapter also highlights new gaps in our understanding of the western Zosteropidae and discusses several areas for future research.


Aldehyde oxidases (AOXs) are a small group of enzymes belonging to the larger family of molybdo-flavoenzymes, along with the well-characterized xanthine oxidoreductase. The two major types of reactions that are catalyzed by AOXs are the hydroxylation of heterocycles and the oxidation of aldehydes to their corresponding carboxylic acids. Different animal species have different complements of AOX genes. The two extremes are represented in humans and rodents; whereas the human genome contains a single active gene (AOX1), those of rodents, such as mice, are endowed with four genes (Aox1-4), clustering on the same chromosome, each encoding a functionally distinct AOX enzyme. It still remains enigmatic why some species have numerous AOX enzymes, whereas others harbor only one functional enzyme. At present, little is known about the physiological relevance of AOX enzymes in humans and their additional forms in other mammals. These enzymes are expressed in the liver and play an important role in the metabolisms of drugs and other xenobiotics. In this review, we discuss the expression, tissue-specific roles, and substrate specificities of the different mammalian AOX enzymes and highlight insights into their physiological roles.


Publish/subscribe communication systems, where nodes subscribe to many different topics of interest, are becoming increasingly more common in application domains such as social networks, Internet of Things, etc. Designing overlay networks that connect the nodes subscribed to each distinct topic is hence a fundamental problem in these systems. For scalability and efficiency, it is important to keep the maximum node degree of the overlay in the publish/subscribe system low. Ideally one would like to be able not only to keep the maximum node degree of the overlay low, but also to ensure that the network has low diameter. We address this problem by presenting Topic Distribution Constant Diameter Overlay Design Algorithm (TD-CD-ODA) that achieves a minimal maximum node degree in a low-diameter setting. We have shown experimentally that the algorithm performs well in both targets in comparison to the other overlay design algorithms.


This paper characterizes the bandwidth value (h) that is optimal for estimating parameters of the form $\eta \, = \,E\left[ {\omega /f_{V|U} \left({V|U} \right)} \right]$, where the conditional density of a scalar continuous random variable V, given a random vector U, $f_{V|U} $, is replaced by its kernel estimator. That is, the parameter η is the expectation of ω inversely weighted by $f_{V|U} $, and it is the building block of various semiparametric estimators already proposed in the literature such as Lewbel (1998), Lewbel (2000b), Honoré and Lewbel (2002), Khan and Lewbel (2007), and Lewbel (2007). The optimal bandwidth is derived by minimizing the leading terms of a second-order mean squared error expansion of an in-probability approximation of the resulting estimator with respect to h. The expansion also demonstrates that the bandwidth can be chosen on the basis of bias alone, and that a simple "plug-in" estimator for the optimal bandwidth can be constructed. Finally, the small sample performance of our proposed estimator of the optimal bandwidth is assessed by a Monte Carlo experiment.


Credit scoring models have been widely studied in academic world and the business community. Many novel approaches such as artificial neural networks (ANNs), rough sets, or decision trees have been proposed to increase the accuracy of credit scoring models. the C4.5 is a learning algorithm which adopts local search strategy, it cannot obtain the best decision rules. On the other hand, the simulated annealing algorithm is a global optimized algorithm, it avoids the drawbacks of C4.5. This paper proposes a new credit scoring model based on decision tree and simulated annealing algorithm. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed model is effective.


Michael Goheen's doctoral dissertation, published here, represents a major contribution to the emerging scholarship surrounding Lesslie N ewbigin' s formidable impact on the church in the latter half of the twentieth century. Following an introduction, the book unfolds in three parts. The first is historical, detailing what Goheen sees as "major ecclesiological shifts" in Newbigin'slife. The two chapters here are "From a Christendom to a Missionary Ecclesiology (1909-1959)" and "From a Christocentric to a Trinitarian Ecclesiology (1959-1998)." In the end Goheen concludes that the latter shift was incomplete because Newbigin's fundamental Christocentrism remained in unresolved tension with his "trinitarian basis" for mission. (Goheen's case for such discontinuous "paradigm shifts" will not be convincing to everyone, given the ample counterevidence-even within the book.) Part 2, "Systematic Articulation," traces Newbigin's missionaryecclesiology in relation to God ("The Missio Dei as Context for the Church's Missionary Identity" and "The Missionary Character of the Church"), to the church's mission ("The Missionary Church as Institution" and "The Task of the Missionary Church in the World"), and to the religio-cultural milieu ("The Relation of the Missionary Church to Its Cultural Context" and "The Missionary Church in Western Culture"). Part 3, "The Nature and Relevance of Newbigin's Missionary Ecclesiology," summarizes Goheen's evaluation in interaction with two current discussions: that in the World Council of Churches regarding the church's relationship to the world, and that in the Gospel and Our Culture Network (North America) regarding the "missional church." Goheen is at his best in part 2, especially when tracing some particular facet of Newbigin's missiology. Of special importance are two themes. First, Newbigin believes that the mission of the church plays out most fundamentally and routinely in the daily life and work of Christian believers. Goheen's ear for that emphasis makes a profound contribution to the pursuit of what it means for the church to be missional. Second, Goheen in one section (pp. 147-53) provides a stunning reflection on the ways Newbigin saw and told the significance of the atonement. All subsequent work on this theme in Newbigin's theology will have to begin here. Goheen's critiques of Newbigin fall mostly in the category of what Newbigin failed to develop in his theological writings. His theology is variously said to be weak, inadequate, underdeveloped, obscured, inconsistent, and unresolved (regarding some tension or other). Such judgments, more asserted than argued, seem to presume an agreed frame of


Researchers and practitioners working with spatial data often develop fundamental new techniques they would like to share with their community. These are not necessarily new research results, not yet in any textbook, but they are interesting, self-contained techniques for doing something useful in the domain of spatial data. We call these techniques "spatial gems".


Abstract Policy makers in the Netherlands and elsewhere have increasingly put their faith in sports in general and especially club-based sports activities as an easy and effective tool for creating and maintaining cohesion in an ethnically heterogeneous society. Various studies, however, have hinted towards the limits of using sports activities and clubs for interethnic mixing. Using a unique and comprehensive dataset of amateur football club memberships over ten years, this paper investigates to what extent ethnic groups are unequally distributed over clubs in the Netherlands' most popular organised sport. The results show that despite the wide popularity of club membership across ethnic groups, there exists a substantial amount of ethnic segregation between clubs. I conclude that sports, even when widely popular, face limitations in their potential to bring people of different backgrounds together and that while organised sports prove to be a fruitful case for further research on ethnic homophily and interethnic relations, we should also temper and carefully (re)consider our expectations of its use for social integration.


This article describes how experts create and use bundles-organized, highly selective collections of information- to help solve problems and maintain situation awareness. In field observations of expert clinicians caring for patients in critical care units, bundles appear to be a widely used means of managing information to support diverse, complex, and often simultaneous tasks. They may be especially useful in settings that are characterized by high uncertainty, low predictability, frequent interruptions, and potentially grave outcomes; where time and attention are highly constrained; and where interdisciplinary teamwork is essential. Reports of analogous observations from other domains such as aviation and air traffic control suggest that bundles may be a common information management tool for solving problems and maintaining situation awareness. In an age of digital libraries, computer-based tools for creating and managing bundles may be useful as the information in these settings is increasingly represented in digital collections that are larger, more complex, more diverse, and potentially more difficult to explore and manipulate.


This edited volume entitled "Bayesian Estimation and Reliability Estimation of Generalized Probability Distributions" is being published for the benefit of researchers and academicians. It contains ten different chapters covering a wide range of topics both in applied mathematics and statistics. The proofs of various theorems and examples have been given with minute details. During the preparation of the manuscript of this book, the editor has incorporated the fruitful academic suggestions provided by Dr. Peer Bilal Ahmad, Dr. Sheikh Parvaiz Ahmad, Dr. J. A. Reshi, Dr. Tanveer Ahmad Tarray, Dr. Kowsar Fatima, Dr. Ahmadur Rahman, Dr. Showkat Ahmad Lone, Mudasir Sofi, Uzma Jan, Aaliya Syed, and Dr. Humaira Sultan. It is expected to have good popularity due to its usefulness among its readers and users.


The purpose of this study was to understand how infant-juvenile prostitution is being explained by researchers through an extensive bibliographical survey on national and international scientific sources. It was possible to access 20 references in full text form, which were analyzed according to the Content Analysis method. The analysis consisted in answering how infant-juvenile prostitution is represented by the author in relation to the concepts, causes, effects and solutions described in the references. It was found that the authors approached the subject as a way of survival, resulting from an unequal society, adult-centered and male chauvinist causing mental and physical diseases in children.


Separate-sex rearing of slaughter ostriches was investigated as a management strategy to minimize skin damage. Day-old ostrich chicks were divided into three treatment groups; a group of mixed-gender and two single-sex groups, one male and one female. At three months of age, because of the large variation in live weights, the birds were sorted within treatment according to weight. Each gender treatment was represented by six replications and each weight class treatment was represented by nine replications. At slaughter, chest circumference, slaughter weight, carcass weight, skin weight, skin area and skin grading were recorded. The only slaughter trait that was affected by gender treatment was skin weight without fat, with all-male groups having significantly heavier skins than all-female groups. Behavioural observations, carried out at nine and 13 months of age, indicated that aggression was more prevalent in all-male groups compared to all-female and mixed-gender groups. The all-female groups had the lowest levels of aggression. Diurnal time-activity budgets were largely unaffected by the gender composition of the groups. Evaluation of the skins at slaughter showed that kick marks on the area outside of the crown were more prevalent in all-male groups, indicating that increased aggression was associated with increased kicking behaviour which led to skin damage. However, because of the location of the kick marks, skin grading was not influenced. Weight class treatment also affected the prevalence of kick marks. Aggression and kick marks on the skin were generally more pronounced in the groups comprising the heavier chicks, suggesting that body weight may have an important effect on hormone levels and aggressive behaviour. Because of the general lack of improvement in the skin grading of the ostriches due to the increased skin damage in all-male groups when separated, it is concluded that the practice of separate-sex rearing has no definite benefits for slaughter ostrich production and product quality.