The central panel in steel plate shear walls (SPSWs) with two openings is considered as an Ishaped beam extending the height of the opening. Based on its "height to width" ratio, the dominant behavior can be due to shear or flexure or a combination of the two. The double stiffeners on the vertical sides of the central panel act as columns, comparable to columns of a typical SPSW system. Care is taken to keep the sectional area of the stiffeners above a minimum specified value in order to ensure that shear yielding of the central panel's plate precedes flexural yielding of the stiffeners. The leading dimensions of central panel directly govern the behavior of the panel in shear and flexure. In this paper, central panel has been modeled as an I-shaped beam and equations have been derived for panel aspect ratio and cross sectional area of double stiffeners for different modes of behavior. Theoretical results are then compared with results of finite element analysis using ABAQUS Finite Element software. Based on this comparison, it can be concluded that in SPSWs with two openings, selection of a reasonable aspect ratio for central panel can cause shear dominant behavior in central panel.


The International Criminal Court (ICC) has the mandate to "end impunity" for serious international crimes around the world but the budget to prosecute only a few cases per year. This high degree of selectivity represents one of the greatest threats to the Court's legitimacy. Every selection decision the Court makes is scrutinized and many have been strongly condemned. States that supported the creation of the Court have become critical and one has threatened to withdraw from the regime. Unlike national courts, which are expected to prosecute most serious crimes, the ICC's legitimacy rests on perceptions of relevant audiences that it is selecting the "right" crimes and defendants for prosecution. The scholarly and advocacy discourse surrounding the problem of the ICC's selectivity currently focuses on the role of politics in selections, with critics charging that the prosecutor is improperly influenced by political considerations and the prosecutor protesting that his decisions are apolitical. This Article argues that such debates miss the ICC's fundamental problem: that its creators failed to endow it with goals and priorities to undergird its choices. In light of this deficiency, current efforts to address the ICC's selectivity by ensuring good process through independence, impartiality, objectivity, and transparency are bound to fail. Instead, what is needed is sustained dialogue among the ICC's various constitutive communities about what the institution should be seeking to accomplish. This Article contributes to that process by proposing an expressive theory of ICC selection. While the dominant theories of ICC action – retribution, deterrence, and restorative justice – provide partial justifications for its work, such theories are inadequate as rationales for selection decisions. Instead, the ICC should select crimes and defendants for prosecution according to their ability to maximize its expressive impact. Through a dialogic process of norm expression, reaction, and adjustment, the Court will ideally generate increased consensus around its work over time. If it fails to do so, the ICC's demise will at least result from the inability of the international community to agree about the Court's core mission rather than its failure to conceptualize fully an agenda for the institution.


OF DISSERTATION Impedance-to-Scattering Matrix Method for Large Silencer Analysis Large silencers used in the power generation industry usually have a very large cross section at the inlet and outlet. Higher-order modes will populate the inlet and outlet even at very low frequencies. Although the silencer itself is often modeled by a three-dimensional analysis tool such as the boundary element method (BEM) or finite element method (FEM), a direct computation of the transmission loss (TL) from the BEM or FEM model can be challenging without incorporating certain forms of modal expansion. A so-called "impedance-to-scattering matrix method" is proposed to extract the modes at the inlet and outlet from the BEM impedance matrix based on the point collocation method. The BEM impedance matrix relates the sound pressures at the inlet and outlet to the corresponding particle velocities, while the scattering matrix relates the modes at the inlet and outlet. Normally there are more boundary elements than the total number of modes at the inlet and outlet, and a leastsquares procedure is used to condense the element-based impedance matrix to the mode-based scattering matrix. The TL computation will follow if a certain form of the incident wave is assumed and the outlet is non-reflective. Several commonly used inlet/outlet configurations are considered in this dissertation, which include axisymmetric, non-axisymmetric circular, and rectangular inlet/outlet shapes. In addition to the single inlet and outlet silencers, large multi-inlet and multi-outlet silencers are also investigated. Besides the collocation-based impedance-to-scattering matrix method, an integralbased impedance-to-scattering matrix method based on the reciprocal identity is also proposed for large silencer analysis. Although it may be more time-consuming to perform the additional numerical integration, an integral-based method is free of any uncertainties associated with collocation points. The computational efficiency, accuracy and stability are compared between two proposed methods. One bonus effect of producing the scattering matrix is that it can also be used to combine subsystems in series connection. The Redheffer's star product is introduced to combine scattering matrices of subsystems. In the design stage, rapid assessment of the silencer performance is always preferred. However, the existing analytical approaches are only suitable for simple dissipative silencers such as straight lined ducts. A two-dimensional first-mode semi-analytical solution is developed to quickly evaluate the performance of tuned dissipative silencers below the cut-off frequency. The semi-analytical solution can also serve as a validation tool for the BEM.


type="main"> The increasingly disputed concept of gentrification-induced displacement is combining with the argument that the poor benefit from social mix to produce a theoretical case for 'positive gentrification'. The notion that new middle-class residents not only attract more investment but bring opportunities for 'upward social mobility' to low-income people who manage to stay in gentrifying areas has become policy orthodoxy. While there are scholarly challenges to the extent of these benefits, the disadvantages of imposed social mix on low-income communities even where they are not physically displaced remain under-researched. This article helps to fill this gap by reporting on research into the experience of long-term low-income residents of gentrifying neighbourhoods who managed to stay put. The research explores notions of social mix, place and displacement among residents of secure community housing in Melbourne, Australia (the equivalent of small-scale social housing in Europe and North America) with the object of establishing whether the absence of physical displacement is sufficient to ameliorate gentrification's negative impacts. The findings demonstrate that transformations in shops and meeting places, and in the nature of local social structure and government interventions, cause a sense of loss of place even without physical displacement.


This paper examines the need for legal regulation of mobile money transfer services in Tanzania. It notes that mobile money transfer services are supposed to be regulated by two institutions, namely, the Bank of Tanzania – on the financial aspect – and the Tanzania Telecommunications Regulatory Authority – on the telecommunications aspect. It is pointed out in this paper that the two institutions ought to work in collaboration in order to protect the consumers of the services. It is observed that there is no legal framework to regulate mobile money transfer services in Tanzania and hence the need for such legal framework in order to protect consumers of such services.


The research is based on the phenomenon of the many bands indipendent
(indonesia) that exist today. Indipendent bands with much of that typically use
television and radio as a medium to introduce himself to the community. The
medium used different band indipendent much of bands. They use the media
alternative band for existence. One of them by using the internet in this website
YouTube.
The method used in this study is a qualitative method that aims to explain
phenomena that exist in society with deeply through deep data collection. This
study uses purposive sampling for the selection of informants. This study focuses
on the public perception of indipendent bands in use youtube as a medium for a
existence.
The results of this study, according to researchers, the public perceives that
the judge indipendent Band YouTube and functional foods has a contributed to
their development both in performing and music-making as a primary medium for
a spreading the video to their existence.
Keywords: Perception, Public, Indipendent band, YouTube, Existence, Reception
Analysis.


This paper argues that the law and literature movement has failed to generate the excitement it is capable of generating within the American legal academy because it has not been sufficiently interdisciplinary, or - to be more precise - it has not been very thoughtful about interdisciplinarity. At the same time, it has had less influence than it might have had with actual lawyers because it has seemed too interdisciplinary, in the sense of not having a lot to say about the aspect of law with which most lawyers are most concerned: doctrine. There is less of a paradox here than might appear. Law and literature scholarship has not questioned what the category law consists of and has thus tended inadvertently to reinforce the notion of law as autonomous. Before developing this critique in more detail, I state a separate critique, which may be a helpful backdrop. This background critique is that the law and literature movement has tended to undermine itself from within. If there is a single movement here, it is certainly a very fractured one. The concerns of its humanist, hermeneutic, and narrative strands are quite disparate. This is a movement of many methodologies and conclusions. The multiplicity of approaches and concerns that leads some to see literature as a source of nearly endless possibilities may lead skeptics to dismiss law and literature as an empty vessel, a phrase devoid of content. While the interdisciplinarity critique and the background critique are not logically connected, the critiques may not be wholly unrelated. Each strand of the law and literature movement seeks to demonstrate that literature has something to offer to law. The less attention is paid to what law is, for purposes of this comparison, the easier it is to make the case for literature; the less law already includes, for example, the more obvious it is that it requires the supplementation of literature. Assessing connections requires understanding what lies on either side of the and bridge, but this is precisely the terrain that is not being carefully mapped. Both critiques, then, point to a single problem: by treating law's boundaries as both necessary and natural, the law and literature movement seems to beg questions it is ostensibly committed to answering, such as whether it makes sense to use the outside discipline of literature as a tool to examine what is or could be inside law and, more importantly, how we define what is internal and external to law as a discipline. A more fruitful exploration of interdisciplinarity in law and literature does not require the delineation of the true and real boundaries between law and literature. It cannot, for precisely the reason that law and literature are not natural categories describing disciplines that are just there, pre-existing and pre-defined. Our understanding of the categories may be as much a product of our attempts to compare and contrast them as of any quality that they have apart from the context of those contrasts. And the interesting question is not whether any particular definition of the categories is true, but what it might tell us about our aspirations for law, and for the place of law in our culture.


After the 'El Nino' drought in 1997, 1998 will be remembered as the 'krismon', or the year of dire monetary depreciation in Indonesia. However, in Sulawesi, in a free market background, a highly competitive marketing chain, and an already booming economy, its cocoa sector is experiencing an unexpected and fabulous windfalL: the price of cocoa increased five fold within a few months. This helped farmers in the hills to recoup the losses in yields caused by the drought, and even slightly improve their purchasing power. In the plains, where the cocoa trees resisted the drought quite well, the windfall enabled farmers to buy motorcycles, cars, improve their houses and also to invest in new land. The Sulawesi cocoa sector was already booming before the crisis, but 1998 definitely was the cocoa year. It will accelerate deforestation and investments in new plantings and create jobs. Rice farmers and people from the rice growing regions will keep coming to cocoa pioneer fronts in the highest numbers. However, those who gain the greatest profit from the 1998 windfall are the already established cocoa farmers who have all required information and experience about cocoa. Very few new migrants seem to have come from cities, and none from among unemployed people in the cities. (Resume d'auteur)


The 9–12%Cr martensitic steels are candidate materials for several components of the generation IV and fusion nuclear reactors. In these future applications, in addition to long holding periods, cyclic loadings corresponding to start and stopoperations and maintenance must also be taken into account. Creep-fatigue interactions must therefore be considered to design these components. A broad literature review showed that between 20°C and 650°C the fatigue lifetime of these materials followed a unique Manson-Coffin law. Adding a stress-relaxation holding period significantly reduces the fatigue lifetime for total strain lower than Δet = 0.7%. For higher strain ranges, no significant effect of holding period exists anymore. Moreover, several studies reported a more deleterious effect of compressive hold times compared to tensile holding periods. Additional tests and detailed observations of the damage mechanisms responsible for fracture of pure fatigue, relaxation-fatigue and creep-fatigue tests were carried out on a 9 Cr − 1 Mo modified steel tested at 550°C in air. This material showed a strong work softening effect. The cyclic plastic behavior of the material was studied using an enhanced stress partitioning method to evaluate the kinematic, isotropic and viscous parts of the cyclic stress. It was concluded that in all the cases the observed softening effect was mainly due to the kinematic stress decrease [1]. The effect of a tensile or compressive hold time on fatigue life was also investigated [2, 3]. The deleterious effect of compressive hold times was thus confirmed. No creep cavitation was observed and the fracture was due to the propagation of transgranular fatigue cracks. Two distinct damage mechanisms were identified, depending on the strain range and the hold time : (i) crack initiation occurred due to usual Stage I extrusions/intrusions mechanisms leading to the propagation of a bifurcated crack; (ii) multiple cracks were initiated from the brittle fracture of the oxide layer formed at the free surface of the specimens. It was shown that this oxide failure leads to a penetration of oxygen along the microstructural boundaries enabling the cracks to propagate. Oxide layers grown during tensile (compressive) holding periods are mainly loaded in compression (tension) during the fatigue cycle. The critical strains necessary to crack oxide layers are lower for tensile loading (i.e. compressive holding periods) as shown by finite element and analytical calculations. Therefore compressive holding periods leads more easily to the second and more severe damage mechanism [2, 3]. A model, identified on short crack propagation tests and from experimental endurance curves, gives excellent predictions in pure-fatigue [4]. In creep-fatigue the predicted lifetimes are in the usual range [Nexp /2, 2Nexp ] for all strain amplitudes and hold times. In addition, complex phenomena, such as the deleterious effect of compressive holding periods are also reproduced. An attempt is made to show how this model can be extrapolated in temperature to longer hold times.Copyright © 2008 by ASME


The Division of Computing Studies at Arizona State University at the Polytechnic campus is in the process of instituting a laptop requirement policy for undergraduate and graduate students. The paper describes the motivation and rationale for this policy, the information gathered during the feasibility study, and finally the policy itself as well as a rationale for the decisions. The paper provides others considering similar requirements the experience gained by this organization. The study also considered a campus-wide laptop policy, but concluded there were too many unanswered questions and risks which are both discussed in the paper.


The content of the article analyzes the fundamentals of the influence of Eurocentric vectors on the development of national educational policy, partly marked by the branching of the educational quality assessment scale. The priority is given to the development of a modern institutional audit of educational establishments based on the principles of transparency, openness, independence, and publicity. Attention is drawn to the representative and controlling functions of the National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance and the State Education Quality Service of Ukraine, which are intended to diagnose the existing indicator of the quality of the educational activity.
In the course of theoretical generalizations, the author defines the concept of "institutional audit of educational establishments" and emphasizes his expositional orientation of education to meet the market needs of highly qualified personnel.
To deepen the theoretical generalizations, the consequential regularities of functioning in the time and space of educational establishments are problematized. The results of the definitive analysis of the categories of "quality" and "quality of educational activity" in domestic and foreign scientific achievements of the XX-XXI centuries are presented. The available theoretical formulations of the latter category by the criterion of priority are generalized.
Emphasis is placed on the transmission of value orientations, due to the regularity of circulation of the modern institutional audit of educational establishments in space and time.
The three-level structure of the institutional audit of educational establishments is represented, reflecting at the level of the object of audit, the content of audit procedures, quality indicators, internal audit (self-assessment), external independent evaluation by authorized persons.
The study used systematic, complex, process, axiological, anthropological, activity, normative, and constructive approaches. In the course of the study, a whole range of methods was involved - analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, comparison, and system analysis. The use of such a wide methodological spectrum made it possible to structure the issue under study with the help of illustration elements, which facilitate the perception of existing theoretical fact.


Abstract in Undetermined Noun phrases involving relative clauses are assumed to universally comprise syntactic "islands" for extraction, but Swedish exists as a possible exception. Using eyetracking while reading, we investigated whether extraction from Swedish restrictive relative clauses (RCE) ([such old wheelbarrows]1 saw I a man that always washed __1 with benzine...) elicit similar processing costs as extractions from non-restrictive relative clauses, which are known to comprise strong islands (StrongIs); or if they pattern closer to extractions from non-island constructions (NonIs). We also examined to what extent non-linguistic variables (working memory WM, verb-object frequency, and pragmatic-fit) contribute to such differences. Results from a mixed models analysis of the embedded verb (washed) and spillover region (with...) suggest that in early measures, both RCE and NonIs show facilitation relative to StrongIs, but in late measures, RCE patterns closer to StrongIs as WM and pragmatic-fit increase, suggesting that Swedish RCE acceptability is partly dependent on non-linguistic factors. (Less)


Pseudomonas syringae pathovars cause bacterial diseases of cereals in nearly all temperate and subtropical cerealgrowing regions. As being of low importance compared to fungal diseases, P. syringae has not been studied in cereal crops in Lithuania. However, leaf blights and glume discolorations, uncharacteristic of fungal diseases, were found relatively frequently in the fields. Therefore, the study aimed to identify the occurrence of P. syringae in cereals grown in Lithuania. In this study, cereal crops were tested for the presence of plant pathogen P. syringae. In total, 452 symptomatic plant samples of winter wheat, winter triticale, spring wheat and spring barley were collected in 2013–2015. Symptoms of leaf blight and basal glume blotch on grain were more frequently detected in spring and winter wheat crops than in winter triticale and spring barley. Symptomatic leaves and grain yielded 113 P. syringae strains (51 from leaves and 62 from grain), but only 13 strains (10 from wheat, 2 from triticale and 1 from barley) were pathogenic to host plants when tested by spray method (SM). These strains were isolated from grain (10 strains) and leaves (3 strains) of all sampled plant species originating from different districts of the country. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, leaf injection method (LIM) and origin of pathogenic strain, it can be assumed that P. syringae pv. atrofaciens is the dominat causal agent of bacterial diseases of cereals, particularly basal glume


Summary Detailed stratigraphical descriptions are given of the foreshore inter-tidal exposures and undercliff sections of the Jet Rock Series and Alum Shale Series which stretch from Port Mulgrave to Ravenscar on the north Yorkshire coast. Comparisons and correlations are made between the main development of these beds to the north-west of the Peak Fault at Ravenscar and the completely different development exposed in a single outcrop immediately south-east of the fault. The Jet Rock Series and Alum Shale Series belong to the Falciferum and Bifrons Zones respectively of the Upper Lias. The area discussed is the type area for the subdivisions of the Falciferum Zone, and an area of some importance for the subdivisions of the Bifrons Zone. On the basis of 1450 ammonites belonging to forty-six species collected from known horizons, the stratigraphical sequence and ranges of the species are given, and from these details of the subzonal divisions are deduced. The generic classification of the Dactylioceratidae is discussed in the light of this stratigraphical knowledge of the large number of Yorkshire species.


HEVC is one of the most recent video coding standards, designed to face a new age of video processing challenges, such as higher video resolutions and limited traffic share bandwidth. The HEVC standard is divided into multiple steps, whereas the entropy encoding is the final stage before the coded bitstream generation. The CABAC (Context Adaptive Binary Arithmetic Coding) is the sole algorithm used for the entropy encoding at HEVC, providing reduced final bitstream generation, at the cost of increasing computational complexity and difficulties for parallelism opportunities. One of the novelties of the CABAC for the HEVC is the increase of certain types of input data (called bins), which have smaller dependencies among them (i.e. bypass bins), thus leading to the possibility to process multiples of them in parallel at once. The present work introduces a novel scheme for multiple bypass bins processing at once, leading to increasing bins-per-cycle throughput compared to related works. Moreover, the new technique is suitable for achieving a BAE (Binary Arithmetic Encoder) architecture (the CABAC critical part) able to process 8K UHD videos. Along with the multiple bypass bins technique, a low-power approach is achieved, based on statistical analysis of the recommended test video sequences, accomplishing around 15%of power savings.


Spatial-spectral representation plays an important role in hyperspectral images (HSIs) classification. However, many of the existing local feature algorithms for HSIs are based on the two-dimensional image and do not take full advantage of the information hidden in HSI, such as spatial-spectral locality correlation information, thereby reducing the robustness of these algorithms. In response to these problems, this study presents a robust multi-view spatial-spectral representation method with the characteristics of HSIs. There are two key techniques in this representation method, called spatial-spectral locality constrained linear coding (SSLLC) and spatial-spectral pyramid matching model (SSPM). Firstly, SSLLC applies the locality information of the feature points and visual words and uses the discriminant information provided by the nearest-neighbouring spatial-spectral feature points in HSIs. Secondly, SSPM works by partitioning the image into increasingly fine sub-cubes and uses the cubes to match the local features of the HSIs. The multi-view representation is tolerant to illumination change, image rotation, affine distortion etc. To assess the validity of authors' algorithm, the authors compared their results with several existing approaches, including a deep learning method. The experimental results show that this representation method can effectively improve the accuracy of HSIs classification.


The construction industry has witnessed unprecedented levels of technological change over the last 10 years in particular, the corollary of which has required key decision makers to fundamentally re-think the way they: (a) have undertaken business in the past; (b) are currently doing business at the moment; and, (c) will need to change their business practices in order to compete in the future. This research attempts to understand this trichotomy, with a specific emphasis on understanding key decision makers' perception of e-readiness within the context of the construction industry. Research findings highlighted the importance of People, Process and Technology, along with five core enablers that are deemed priority areas for operationalisation. The rubrics for managing these dependences are also discussed in the context of future leveraging opportunities. This research reports the significant importance of ICT to capture, store and reuse knowledge in the organisational and demonstrates the need for the organisation to be e-ready.


We present two cases of histologically proven maternal intraperitoneal granulomata following cesarean section delivery. One patient presented during the immediate postpartum period with clinical symptoms consistent with subphrenic abscess. The other patient required operative intervention for a suspected ruptured tubo-ovarian abscess. In both cases, microscopic examination of the tissue obtained at the time of reoperation showed granuloma reaction, lanugo hair, and fetal squamous cells consistent with meconium deposition. The authors conclude that meconium granuloma should enter the differential diagnosis in cesarean section patients with unexplained postoperative pain.


The term 'human capital' is being employed by economists, as labour (one of three factors of economic production), nonetheless, according to social psychologists, the term encompasses a wider scope of human capacity and ability of production and management of life. Besides this complementary divergence, both economists and social psychologists agree on the importance of human capital development to cope with the rapidly changing economic, political and administrative circumstances of human life. Today, the importance of improving the 'human capital' is best illustrated by the massive international and national efforts through educational and academic programs to enhance the administrative and productive talents of human individuals. Thus, academicians, social scientists and scholars of education have made an imperative endeavour, to expose effective measures of how to develop and improve revenues of the 'human capital'. Likewise, through its educational system and intellectual teachings, Islam has provided certain ways and methods to develop and improve the human capacity of economic production and life management. This is because, according to the Qur'an, Allah (s.w.t) will not change the social, economic and political conditions of human communities unless communities give effort for change to the betterment of their economic and social life; nevertheless, such change for the betterment of economic and social life is not conceivable without effective human capital development. Through textual and analytical methods, this paper aims to expose conceptual understanding and theoretical measures as well as methods of human capital improvement in the Islamic perspective. The Qur'anic dictums and the Prophetic statements related to the subject would be exposed, while the opinions of the Muslim jurists and theologians on the subject would be unveiled.


This paper investigates the dimensions of trust and the role of information sources and channels in developing differentiated forms of science communication. The discussions from two public consultations carried out in Italy and Slovakia about controversial science-related topics were quali-quantitatively content analysed. The results show that scientific knowledge pervades diverse communication spheres, producing differentiated paths of trust in science. Each path is determined by topics (environment or health-related), information sources and channels preferred, and specific features of the multifaceted notion of trust. The contribution discusses cross-national commonalities and specificities and proposes implications for science communication.


In the present study, we analyze the fate of airborne nitrogen in heathland ecosystems (NW Germany) by means of a 15N tracer experiment. Our objective was to quantify N sequestration and N allocation patterns in an ecosystem that is naturally limited by N, but that has been exposed to airborne N inputs exceeding critical loads for more than 3 decades. We hypothesized that the system has a tendency towards N saturation, which should be indicated by low N sequestration and high N leaching. We analyzed 15N partitioning (aboveground biomass and soil horizons) and investigated 15N leaching over 2 years following a 15N tracer pulse addition. 15N tracer recovery was 90% and 76% in the first and second year, respectively. Contrary to our expectations, more than 99% of the tracer recovered was sequestered in the biomass and soil, while leaching losses were <0.05% after 2 years. Mosses were the most important short‐term sink for 15N (64% recovery in the first year), followed by the organic layer. In the second year, the moss layer developed from a sink to a source (23% losses), and soil compartments were the most important sink (gains of 11.2% in the second year). Low 15N recovery in the current year's shoots of Calluna vulgaris (<2%) indicated minor availability of 15N tracer sequestered in the organic layer. N partitioning patterns showed that the investigated heaths still have conservative N cycling, even after several decades of high N loads. This finding is mainly attributable to the high immobilization capacities for N of podzols in soil compartments. In the long term, the podzol A‐ and B‐horizons in particular may immobilize considerable amounts of incoming N. Since N compounds of these horizons are not readily bio‐available, podzols have a high potential to withdraw airborne N from the system's N cycle.


Abstract. Airborne laser scanning (ALS) is a widely spread operational measurement tool for obtaining 3D coordinates of the ground surface. There is a need for calibrating the ALS system and a test field for ALS was established at the end of 2013. The test field is situated in the city of Lahti, about 100 km to the north of Helsinki. The size of the area is approximately 3.5 km × 3.2 km. Reference data was collected with a mobile laser scanning (MLS) system assembled on a car roof. Some streets were measured both ways and most of them in one driving direction only. The MLS system of the Finnish Geodetic Institute (FGI) consists of a navigation system (NovAtel SPAN GNSS-IMU) and a laser scanner (FARO Focus3D 120). In addition to the MLS measurements more than 800 reference points were measured using a Trimble R8 VRS-GNSS system. Reference points are along the streets, on parking lots, and white pedestrian crossing line corners which can be used as reference targets. The National Land Survey of Finland has already used this test field this spring for calibrating their Leica ALS-70 scanner. Especially it was easier to determine the encoder scale factor parameter using this test field. Accuracy analysis of the MLS points showed that the point height RMSE is 2.8 cm and standard deviation is 2.6 cm. Our purpose is to measure both more MLS data and more reference points in the test field area to get a better spatial coverage. Calibration flight heights are planned to be 1000 m and 2500 m above ground level. A cross pattern, southwest–northeast and northwest–southeast, will be flown both in opposite directions.


An assembly for processing substrates, which processing comprises a vacuum deposition process, such as, for instance, sputtering, CVD or PECVD, which vacuum deposition process is carried out in at least one process chamber, the assembly being provided with a conveying device for moving the substrates from a vacuum lock to a process chamber, the conveying device, which extends in a vacuum space, permitting a continuous conveyance of a substrate adjacent the at least one process chamber and permitting an intermittent conveyance adjacent at least the at least one vacuum lock.


In business organization and other institution, men dominance as leader is very strong though women have the equal competence compared to men. Recently, many women are able to become business leader in Indonesia. In addition, men and women have equal opportunity and women are not inferior in capabilities to men to become entrepreneurs. However, the number of women entrepreneur, however, are still limited comparing to men entrepreneur. Due to the fact that the role of entrepreneurship in the national economy is very important as it contributes positive impact on the dynamics of the economy, entrepreneurship need to be developed. Women in Indonesia should be encouraged to contribute in the national economy through entrepreneurship. In regard to these facts, a primary issue in this study is: the role of motivation in the entrepreneurship of women entrepreneur. The scope of this research takes place in Surabaya. This study was designed as qualitative research based on case –study, because this model was best used to identify the issues that are being discussed. Research instrument used in-depth interviews. The analysis of qualitative data was done interactively and continues over time until complete as the data saturated. Result indicates that women entrepreneurs in this study have motivation based on opportunity in practicing entrepeneurship. This motivation role in the entrepreneurship is by encouraging them to start business, create innovation to build business competitive advantage.


Network-aware content delivery is an attractive approach to mitigate the problems produced by the significant fluctuations of the available bandwidth present in today's Internet. Such network-aware applications require information about the current condition of the network to adapt their resource demands. Such information can be obtained at the network level, the transport protocol level, or directly by the application. This paper compares two kinds of application-level monitoring (at the sender and receiver side) and transport-level monitoring with regard to their ability to provide useful information to network-aware applications. The results indicate that transport-level monitoring can effectively and efficiently satisfy the need for timely and accurate bandwidth information. This observation has direct implications for protocol/OS design. It is desirable to widen the transport layer API to allow the application efficient access to network status information required for adaptation.


We addressed the rarely studied issue of how different soil organic matter pools respond to disturbances from historical oil and gas well development in semi-arid Intermountain sagebrush steppe. We selected twenty-nine study well sites in south-central Wyoming that were plugged and abandoned 33–90 years ago. We designed our study to understand the long term impact of oil and gas development for soil organic matter pools on non-reclaimed sites, and evaluate the importance of this disturbance type relative to other major influences on soil organic matter and the fine-scale, shrub-induced heterogeneity of soil organic matter. We compared total, labile, and recalcitrant pools of soil C and N in disturbed sites to adjacent, un-disturbed sites. We found that that natural site-specific conditions such as soil texture and fine-scale heterogeneity associated with shrubs are the most important controls over soil C and N, particulate organic matter C and N, and potential C and N mineralization, and that these older well-pad disturbances did not have a significant effect on any soil organic matter pools. Fine-scale, shrub-induced heterogeneity was higher for those pools that have a fast turnover rate than those with a slow turnover rate. Moreover, fine-scale heterogeneity of total soil C was higher for well sites that were located in loamy sand soils compared to well sites on sandy soils. In addition, heterogeneity of total soil C recovered through time on the finer textured soils. Overall our study suggests that soil organic matter pools were not affected by old oil well development, and that recovery of shrub cover is a key component of soil organic matter recovery in these semi-arid shrublands. A comparison of our work to other work on recent and reclaimed sites suggests that some reclamation procedures may decrease soil organic matter more than the absence of reclamation.


A thermo-diffusional problem of a free dendrite growing in a binary mixture is considered analytically. Effects of the anisotropy and convective flow on the stable mode of the dendrite with four-fold crystal symmetry are studied. Special analysis is given for the parabolic dendrite growing at arbitrary Péclet numbers and with small anisotropy of surface energy and atomic kinetics. The stable growth mode is analyzed through the solvability condition giving the stability criterion for the dendrite tip velocity V and dendrite tip diameter ρ as a function of growth Péclet number, Pg, flow Péclet number, Pf, and Reynolds number, Re. Using the obtained criterion of stability, a complete sequence of transitions in growth regimes (namely, from solute diffusion-limited to thermally controlled and further to kinetically-limited regimes) of the anisotropic dendrite is derived and revealed. Limiting cases to known criteria for small and high growth Péclet numbers of the solidifying system with and without convective fluid flow are found. Two-dimensional solidification regimes and scalings obtained are discussed for their extension to three-dimensional dendritic growth.


Multisite phosphorylation is known to be an important and dynamic mechanism for regulating the activity of transcription factors. Here we propose a stochastic pi-calculus modelling approach able to handle the complexity of post-translational modifications and to overcome the limitations of the ordinary differential equations based methods. The model can be applied without a priori assumptions to every (multisite) phosphorylation regulation for which some basic rates are known or can be indirectly set with experimental data. We apply it to the multisite phosphorylation of the Pho4 transcription factor that plays a crucial role in the phosphate starvation signalling in Saccharomyces cerevisiae using available in vitro experiments for the model tuning and validation. The innovative modelling of the sub-path with the stochastic pi-calculus allows quantitative analyses of the kinetic characteristics of the Pho4 phosphorylation, the different phosphorylation dynamics for each site (possibly combined) and the variation of the kinase activity as the reaction goes to completion. One of the performed predictions indicates that the Pho80-Pho85 kinase activity on the Pho4 substrate is nearly distributive and not semi-processive as previously found analysing only the phosphoform concentrations in vitro. This result is obtained because the model can consider and quantify the binding events without phosphorylations that cannot be experimentally measured. Thanks to the compositionality property of process algebras, we also developed the whole PHO pathway model that gives new suggestions and confirmations about its general behaviour. The potentialities of process calculi based in silico simulations for biological systems are highlighted and discussed.


The meaning and influence of the recently introduced concept of the Mediterranean diet are explained herein. Although now viewed as a discovery the Mediterranean people's surprise at this new concept is stressed as they are already well acquainted with the qualities of this dietary model. Important changes in lifestyle and nutrition are currently taking place, which may not be the best way to maintain a healthy diet. Possibly, too many ancient nutritional traditions have been abandoned. If this is so, the return to this old dietary model, which has proven to be so beneficial to health, should be welcomed. To understand the significance of the Mediterranean diet the most beneficial compounds and details of the Mediterranean classical model of lifestyle and nutrition are explained. Finally hypotheses about the scientific basis of the benefits of the Mediterranean diet are explained.


BACKGROUND
Various frailty markers have been developed to guide better patient selection for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). This study aimed to investigate the frequency and specific causes of unplanned hospital readmission after TAVI, and to investigate which frailty markers better predicted outcomes.Methods and Results:We retrospectively reviewed 155 patients for whom we calculated their Short Physical-Performance Battery (SPPB), Placement of AoRTic TraNscathetER Valve (PARTNER) frailty scale, frailty index, clinical frailty scale, modified Fried scale, and gait speed. The primary endpoint was unplanned readmission following TAVI. The clinical model was established using variables that were identified as independent predictors in multivariate analysis. Incremental values were assessed after adding each frailty marker to the clinical model, and were compared between frailty markers. Although unplanned readmission <30 days was 1.9%, 23% of patients had an unplanned readmission following TAVI mainly because of heart failure and pneumonia within 1 year. Frailty markers other than the modified Fried scale were independently associated with unplanned readmission. The SPPB and the PARTNER frailty scale significantly increased discriminatory performance for predicting unplanned readmission.

CONCLUSIONS
Unplanned readmissions following TAVI in the present study were fewer than previously reported. There seems to be a difference between frailty markers in their predictive performance. Precise frailty assessment may result in reducing unplanned admissions after TAVI and therefore better quality of life.


Serogroup 6 of Streptococcus pneumoniae contains three serotypes, named 6A, 6B and 6C, with highly homologous capsule gene loci. The 6A and 6B capsule gene loci consistently differ from each other by only one nucleotide in the wciP gene. The 6A capsule gene locus has a galactosyltransferase, which has been replaced with a glucosyltransferase in the 6C capsule gene locus. We considered that a new serotype named '6X1' would be possible if the galactosyltransferase of the 6B capsule gene locus is replaced with the glucosyltransferase of 6C. We demonstrate that this gene transfer yields a viable pneumococcal strain and that the capsular polysaccharide (PS) from this strain has the predicted chemical structure and serological similarity to the capsular PS of the 6B serotype. The new strain (i.e. serotype 6X1) is typed as 6B by the quellung reaction, but it can be distinguished from 6B strains with mAbs to 6B PS. Reexamination of 264 pneumococcal isolates that had been previously typed as 6B with classical typing methods revealed no isolates expressing serotype 6X1. Nevertheless, this study shows that this capsular PS is biochemically possible and could exist/emerge in nature.


Adolescent and parental evaluation of family strength may have different significant impact on adolescent emotional and behavioural adjustment. The aim of this study was to examine adolescents' and parents' perception of family strength and the relationship of these perceptions to adolescent adjustment. 180 families participated in the study through a survey and standardized self-administered questionnaires were utilised. Significant differences were found regarding family strength between adolescent and their parent. Result showed adolescent perception of family strength was a significant predictor of their emotional and behavioural adjustment. The results of this study emphasise the importance of adolescent perception of family strength, and provide support to be taken into account when implementing any family programme.


We prove Abelian magnetic monopole dominance in the string tension of QCD. Abelian and monopole dominance in low energy physics of QCD has been confirmed for various quantities by recent Monte Carlo simulations of lattice gauge theory. In order to prove this dominance, we use the reformulation of continuum Yang-Mills theory in the maximal Abelian gauge as a deformation of a topological field theory of magnetic monopoles, which was proposed in the previous article by the author. This reformulation provides an efficient way for incorporating the magnetic monopole configuration as a topological non-trivial configuration in the functional integral. We derive a version of the non-Abelian Stokes theorem and use it to estimate the expectation value of the Wilson loop. This clearly exhibits the role played by the magnetic monopole as an origin of the Berry phase in the calculation of the Wilson loop in the manifestly gauge invariant manner. We show that the string tension derived from the diagonal (abelian) Wilson loop in the topological field theory (studied in the previous article) converges to that of the full non-Abelian Wilson loop in the limit of large Wilson loop. Therefore, within the above reformulation of QCD, this result (together with the previous result) completes the proof of quark confinement in QCD based on the criterion of the area law of the full non-Abelian Wilson loop.


This paper approaches the PPP puzzle by using the Bitcoin/US Dollar exchange rate. The use of the virtual currency as macroeconomic laboratory allows us to remove frictions that previously impeded the empirical demonstration of the law of one price. We show that price adjustments are still far from perfect due to information asymmetry between agents. Nevertheless, the real exchange rate is stationary and adjusts by 81% within one day. Finally, because of the different speed of information spread, good market arbitrage takes place in the Bitcoin economy but not in the US economy. Thus, we conclude that in a frictionless economy the PPP holds and the speed of arbitrage for the good market depends on the speed of information spread among agents.


At present, cervical cerclage is indicated in those patients with a classic history of cervical incompetence. For the majority of these patients, a postconceptional cerclage procedure is better suited because it is done after the fetus has been evaluated ultrasonographically for obvious abnormalities and after the risk for spontaneous abortion is past. The greatest experience is with the Shirodkar and the McDonald procedures; allowing for operator differences, neither appears to have an important advantage. The transabdominal cervicoisthmic cerclage may be a useful postconceptional procedure in the selected patient whose cervix is either markedly foreshortened, deeply lacerated, or infected. Preconceptional cerclages are best reserved for those rare patients in whom a markedly foreshortened incompetent cervix is associated with early second-trimester pregnancy losses (preconceptional isthmic cerclage) or in whom the cervix has a single, identifiable scar or deep laceration extending through the internal os (Lash procedure).


This paper describes a global, daily sea surface temperature (SST) analysis based on satellite microwave and infrared measurements. The SST analysis includes a diurnal correction method to estimate foundation SST (SST free from diurnal variability) using satellite sea surface wind and solar radiation data, frequency splitting to reproduce intra-seasonal variability and a quality control procedure repeated twice to avoid operation errors. An optimal interpolation method designed for foundation SST is applied to blend the microwave and infrared satellite measurements. Although in situ SST measurements are not used for bias correction adjustments in the analysis, the output product, with a spatial grid size of 0.1°, has an accuracy of 0.48 ∘ C and 0.46 ∘ C compared to the in situ foundation SST measurements derived by drifting buoys and Argo floats, respectively. The same quality against the two types of in situ foundation SST (drifters and Argo) suggests that the two definitions of foundation SST proposed by past studies can provide same-quality information about the sea surface state underlying the diurnal thermocline.


We present a technique to reduce speckle in optical coherence tomography images of soft tissues. An average is formed over a set of B-scans that have been decorrelated by viscoelastic creep strain. The necessary correction for the deformation-induced spatial distortions between B-scans is achieved through geometrical co-registration using an affine transformation. Speckle reduction by up to a factor of 1.65 is shown in images of tissue-mimicking soft fibrin phantoms and excised human lymph node tissue with no observable loss of spatial resolution.


An analytical technique for predicting the instantaneous magnetic field distribution in the airgap region of radial-field topologies of brushless permanent-magnet DC motors, under any specified load condition and accounting implicitly for the stator winding current waveform and the effect of stator-slot-openings, has been developed. It is based on the superposition of the component fields due to the permanent magnet and the stator excitation. A 2D analytical method for predicting the open-circuit airgap field distribution in both internal and external rotor radial-field motor topologies is presented. It involves the solution of the governing field equations in polar coordinates in the annular airgap/magnet region of a multipole slotless motor in which the magnets are assumed to have uniform radial magnetization and a constant relative recoil permeability. Results for various radial-field motors are compared with predictions from corresponding finite element analyses. >


Morphological changes in the kidneys in nonspecific ulcerative colitis were studied and the following variants of the kidney involvement were established: (1) allergic changes manifested by membraneous and mesangio-proliferative glomerulonephritis, renal vasculitis, phenomena of stromal desorganization with lymphoid and histiocyte infiltrations; (2) metabolic changes manifested by various kinds of degeneration of the tubular apparatus including changes typical of potassium-deficient nephropathy; (3) toxic -- necrotic nephrosis and (4) infectious -- nonsuppurative and suppurative interstitial nephritis.


Objective Alarmins S100A8 and S100A9 are major products of activated macrophages regulating cartilage damage and synovial activation during murine and human osteoarthritis (OA). In the current study, we investigated whether S100A8 and S100A9 are involved in osteophyte formation during experimental OA and whether S100A8/A9 predicts osteophyte progression in early human OA. Methods OA was elicited in S100A9−/− mice in two experimental models that differ in degree of synovial activation. Osteophyte size, S100A8, S100A9 and VDIPEN neoepitope was measured histologically. Chondrogenesis was induced in murine mesenchymal stem cells in the presence of S100A8. Levels of S100A8/A9 were determined in plasma of early symptomatic OA participants of the Cohort Hip and Cohort Knee (CHECK) cohort study and osteophytes measured after 2 and 5 years. Results Osteophyte size was drastically reduced in S100A9−/− mice in ligaments and at medial femur and tibia on days 21 and 42 of collagenase-induced OA, in which synovial activation is high. In contrast, osteophyte size was not reduced in S100A9−/− mice during destabilised medial meniscus OA, in which synovial activation is scant. S100A8 increased expression and activation of matrix metalloproteinases during micromass chondrogenesis, thereby possibly increasing cartilage matrix remodelling allowing for larger osteophytes. Interestingly, early symptomatic OA participants of the CHECK study with osteophyte progression after 2 and 5 years had elevated S100A8/A9 plasma levels at baseline, while C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate and cartilage oligomeric matrix protein were not elevated at baseline. Conclusions S100A8/A9 aggravate osteophyte formation in experimental OA with high synovial activation and may be used to predict osteophyte progression in early symptomatic human OA.


We employ a two-stage random utility model (RUM) to estimate people' marginal willingness to pay (WTP) for enhancing community-level floodplain management activities reflected in the National flood insurance program (NFIP)'s Community Rating System (CRS) program. CRS is a voluntary program, which provides the participating communities with discounts on flood insurance premium in exchange for strengthened flood protection activities. Results show that people with different demographics react differently to flood risk and generally value flood protection activities. We find that among the CRS program activities, people place the highest value on activities concerning repetitive flood loss reduction, with the second highest being public information disclosure about flood risk. In addition, results suggest that people significantly value structural mitigation projects such as flood- and debris- control dams. Importantly, our results suggest that water body as an amenity measure is perceived positively in people's location choices, nonetheless flood risk information disclosure diminishes the amenity value.


Direct Infusion (DI) Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) mass spectrometry (MS) is becoming a popular measurement platform in metabolomics. This thesis aims to advance the data processing and analysis pipeline of the DI FT-ICR based metabolomics, and broaden its applicability to a clinical research. To meet the first objective, the issue of missing data that occur in a final data matrix containing metabolite relative abundances measured for each sample analysed, is addressed. The nature of these data and their effect on the subsequent data analyses are investigated. Eight common and/or easily accessible missing data estimation algorithms are examined and a three stage approach is proposed to aid the identification of the optimal one. Finally, a novel survival analysis approach is introduced and assessed as an alternative way of missing data treatment prior univariate analysis. To address the second objective, DI FT-ICR MS based metabolomics is assessed in terms of its applicability to research investigating metabolomic changes occurring in liver grafts throughout the human orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). The feasibility of this approach to a clinical setting is validated and its potential to provide a wealth of novel metabolic information associated with OLT is demonstrated.


Most discussions of search engines focus on technology or user experience. By contrast, this paper asks about those who produce the recommendations that search engines gather. How are these people and institutions affected when search engines incorporate their work into search results, but no credit is given? The paper argues that the lack of attribution encourages the myth of automated meaning, the false belief that computers and algorithms have created rather than simply gathered these recommendations. It further argues that by concealing the role of these producers, search engines undermine public support for the individuals and institutions that create trustworthy recommendations, especially libraries. Because search engines borrow so extensively from public institutions and the public at large, their ethical obligations are far greater than previously recognized. The paper concludes with some comparisons between the ethical practices of libraries and those of search engines. Acknowledgements: An earlier version of this paper was delivered at the Symposium Ethics of Electronic Information in the 21st Century, 2005. I would like to thank Mardi Mahaffy for commenting on the paper.


Once-daily administration of aminoglycosides may be a safe and effective therapeutic regimen, on the basis of the microbiologic and pharmacokinetic characteristics of these antibiotics. This study was designed to determine serum and tissue concentrations following i.v. administration of gentamicin, at dosages of 6.6 mg/kg of body weight, every 24 hours, and 2.2 mg/kg, every 8 hours, for 10 days in adult horses. Nephrotoxicosis from these dosage regimens also was compared, and microbiologic effects, including postantibiotic effects, were determined with various concentrations of gentamicin against an equine clinical isolate of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Treatment at the 6.6-mg/kg dosage resulted in maximal serum concentrations (77.93 +/- 19.90 micrograms/ml, mean +/- SEM) and area under the concentration-vs-time curves (83.79 +/- 14.97 micrograms.h/ml) that were significantly (P < 0.05) greater than those following treatment at the 2.2-mg/kg dosage (5.05 +/- 0.50 micrograms/ml and 6.03 +/- 0.66 micrograms.h/ml, respectively). Nephrotoxicosis was not induced with either dosage regimen, and postantibiotic effects were prolonged with a higher gentamicin concentration. This study provided evidence to support the use of once-daily gentamicin treatment in adult horses.


Neutron scattering (at ENGIN-X) was used to examine strain distributions in two hydrocarbon reservoir rock types (i.e. sandstone and chalk) under uniaxial stress (up to 35 MPa) at temperature as high as 70 °C to utilise the advantages of neutron scattering to draw a detailed picture of the structural evolution in the porous rock core plugs subjected to heating. Each sample was cylindrical in shape (i.e. 38.1 mm diameter and 48 mm length). The corresponding strain free lattice parameter (d 0) for each sample at each measurement point at 5 MPa compressive stress condition were obtained by testing at 25°C. Various microstructural and material characterisation were carried out using X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Comparison of Rietveld refinement for multiple peak of crystalline phases in both samples were made. Results are discussed in terms of the influence of temperature and compressive stress on the residual strain profile along radial direction of cylindrical rock sample. It was found that the sandstone sample has significantly high strain bearing capability when compared with the chalk, however, the overall strain profile from the central axis in the radial direction looked very similar.


Sensitivity of Styphimurium strains isolated under conditions of a hospital infection to antibiotics were studied in comparison with the strains of the given serological type isolated from other sources and with the strains of other serological types of groups B, C, D and E. It was shown that the strains causing outbreaks of hospital infections were characterized by polyresistance to 7 out of 9 antibiotics tested. All the Salmonella strains tested were sensitive to gentamicin and about a half of them was sensitive to polymyxin M.


We investigate the evolution of US bank capitalization and examine its role in the crosssection of bank stock returns. We use the book capital ratio (BCR), the market capital ratio (MCR) and the stressed capital ratio (SCR) as three proxies for bank capitalization and find that the MCR and the SCR have similar dynamics, while the BCR develops very differently. Our Fama-MacBeth cross-sectional regressions suggest a negative and significant relationship between bank capitalization and bank stock returns between 1994–2007, especially when bank capitalization is measured by the MCR or the SCR. We apply Fama-French factor models to estimate the risk-adjusted returns of our capital ratio-sorted decile portfolios and their sensitivities to systematic risk factors. We find that the BCR proxies for bank portfolio exposures to the market and value factors, while the MCR and the SCR contain some information on exposures to the market and size factors.


The discovery of a novel strain of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) able to jump from livestock to humans has sparked a multicountry effort to see how dangerous it might be. So far, the worst fears about the strain have not been realized. It did jump from pigs to people, scientists determined through gumshoe detective work. And it has caused serious disease—although rarely—among farmers and veterinarians who work with pigs and other livestock, and their families, although most of them carry the microbe harmlessly in their noses. But it doesn9t appear to be readily transmissible between humans, so the chance of a broad community epidemic seems low. However, MRSA readily mixes and matches genes with other bacteria that make it more virulent, more transmissible, and harder to treat—and this newly emerged strain could take that route too.


Introduction: Glioblastoma multiforme is the most common and aggressive primary brain tumor. Valproate has been used as an anti-epileptic drug and mood stabilizer for decades. Recently, it was found to inhibit the proliferation of various cancers including glioblastoma multiforme. Areas covered: We provide a comprehensive review of the mechanisms of action of valproate in gliomas, of its potential side effects and of the published clinical results obtained with this drug in glioblastomas. Valproate inhibits a subset of histone deacetylases and cellular kinases, and affects gene transcription through histone hyperacetylation, DNA hypomethylation and the modulation of several transcription factors. As a result, VPA induces differentiation of glioma cells, can prevent their invasion in surrounding tissues and may inhibit tumor angiogenesis. VPA can also inhibit DNA repair, thereby potentiating cytotoxic treatments such as chemotherapies or radiation therapy. Based on these mechanisms and case reports of glioblastoma remissions following VPA treatment, several clinical studies currently assess the therapeutic potential of VPA in glioma therapy. Expert opinion: The combination of VPA treatment with chemotherapy and radiotherapy in glioblastoma appears a rational option that deserves well-designed prospective clinical trials that assess the efficacy and the molecular characteristics of the responding tumors in these patients.


The end-to-end performance of applications in broadband wireless networks is a key concern from the user perspective. Mobile WiMAX is designed to support a wide range of different applications including media streaming, voice-over-IP (VoIP), video conferencing, and web browsing. All of these applications require different levels of Quality of Service (QoS) and this imposes a variety of different performance requirements on the WiMAX Physical (PHY) and Medium Access Control (MAC) layers. For example, TCP-based applications such as FTP or web-browsing use Automatic-Repeat-reQuest (ARQ) to tolerate a relatively high PHY Packet Error Rate (PER), whilst a UDP-based application such as video streaming requires very low PER due to the lack of ARQ. This means that the same WiMAX system configuration needs to be able to provide different performance levels for different types of applications in order to operate efficiently. This paper analyses and compares the performance of a Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO) mobile WiMAX system in terms of achievable throughput and operating range for different PHY PER requirements. The paper shows that TCP applications can achieve higher throughputs and operating ranges due to higher PER tolerance. It also shows that this important QoS parameter affects the AMC switching points. Cross-layer interaction is required between the PHY and the scheduler in the MAC layer in order to efficiently fulfil the various QoS requirements at the application layer.


In response to new demands for increased removal of nitrogen and phosphorus, the Henriksdal and Bromma treatment plants, with hydraulic loads of 283,000 and 148,000 m3/d, respectively, built filtration steps as a final process step in the plants. The denitrification rates in a full-scale and in a pilot plant filter are calculated to 13.1 and 21.3 g (NO3+NO2)-N/(m3 x h), respectively, in the total filter bed after 2.5-24.2 and 16.0-28.0 h of operational time, and 6.4 and 18.7 g (NO3+NO2)-N/(m3 x h), respectively, after 1.0 and 0.1-0.9 h of operational time. In composite samples, the denitrification rate in the total filter bed is 10-20 g (NO3+NO2)-N/(m3 x h) in the full-scale filter. The average values for k = deltaCODf/deltaC(T) are 1.6 and around 3 in the total filter bed in steady state and in the beginning of the experiments, respectively, both in the full-scale and in the pilot plant study. The carbon source costs for reducing the concentration of nitrate nitrogen in the Bromma plant from 12 to 8 mg/l in the effluent are 117,400 EUR and 147,400 EUR with methanol and ethanol, respectively, as a carbon source.


The growing of urban population and the fast urbanization process, in developing nations and those in transitions, are both strongly affecting to which extent quality and safe food can be made accessible to urban households. In order to meet urban food needs of urban family units, effective, coordinated and sustainable interventions, framed within local policy, strategy and planning perspectives, are required to increase the efficiency, dynamism, comprehensiveness and sustainability of Food Supply and Distribution Systems (FSDS). This work aims to discuss how a complex-systems perspective can shed light on the analysis of complex FSDS when aiming to meet urban food needs. Firstly, the study explores the common features between complex systems and FSDS and defines the viability of a System Dynamics approach to meet the challenge. Then it proceeds through a qualitative analysis by means of specific tools of the methodology and finally ends up with a quantitative analysis and explores the outcomes of a first set of testing scenarios.


This paper presents results from the initial stage of an ongoing project exploring changes in pottery production at the Late Bronze Age/Early Iron Age transition in the south-western part of the Iberian Peninsula. For the chosen study area this period is of particular interest because of the introduction of new pottery types, manufacuring techniques, and possibly also different organisational models in the wake of the Phoenician expansion into the western Mediterranean. The initial stage of our project focused on samples from the key site of Setefilla, with a methodology based on both non-destructive and destructive analysis of ceramic samples: 1) non-destructive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF), 2) very precise optical emission spectrometry (OES) and 3) petrography of pottery samples. The results of this research show a significant correlation between manufacturing techniques, type of clay paste used and elemental composition. Alongside this approach we also conducted a radiocarbon dating programme on cremated human remains from the site, to provide a chronological context for any changes observed in the pottery assemblage over time. Our results demonstrate that through systematic spectrographic and petrographic analysis we can overcome some of the basic problems relating to the chemical and petrographic identification of different pottery groups, with a view to establishing the provenance of so-called "imports".


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE
Drug prescription at hospital discharge often implies continuation of the treatment in primary health care. The aim of this study was to assess prescription of generics at discharge from a hospital emergency service.

MATERIAL AND METHOD
Longitudinal and retrospective study, on a random sample of medical reports in a hospital emergency service during one year (August 2000 to July 2001). Information on the medical specialty, prescribed generic drugs and marked availability of the corresponding generic drugs pharmaceutical specialties was collected. Factors associated with generic prescription were analyzed by means of logistic regression analysis.

RESULTS
A sample of 1,245 medical reports was selected in which 2,315 drugs were prescribed. Although generic drugs were available for 33.3% (CI 95%, 31.4-35.2) of prescriptions, 9.5% (95% CI, 8.3-10.7) of prescribed drugs were generics. The average price of trademark prescribed medicines, for which there was a generic equivalent, was 7.09 Euros (95% CI, 6.54-7.63 Euros), and that of the corresponding generic versions was 5.08 Euros (95% CI, 4.68-5.48 Euros). Variables associated with generic drug prescription included the particular study period (OR=1.35; 95% CI, 0.99-1.84), the medical specialty of the prescriber (OR=1.40; 95% CI, 1.05-1.86), availability of generic drugs (OR=1.76; 95% CI, 1.30-2.39) and low price of prescribed drugs (OR=2.67; 95% CI, 1.80-3.98).

CONCLUSION
In spite of the availability of generic drugs, prescription of generic drugs at discharge of this hospital emergency service was low. Prescription and use of generic drugs should be promoted in hospitals.


We use variance decompositions from high-dimensional vector autoregressions to characterize connectedness in 19 key commodity return volatilities, 2011-2016. We study both static (full-sample) and dynamic (rolling-sample) connectedness. We summarize and visualize the results using tools from network analysis. The results reveal clear clustering of commodities into groups that match traditional industry groupings, but with some notable differences. The energy sector is most important in terms of sending shocks to others, and energy, industrial metals, and precious metals are themselves tightly connected.


Background/Objective: The WeCare program aims to reduce infant mortality through the community health worker model by assisting high risk women of child-bearing age. The COVID-19 pandemic introduced additional challenges for women already at high risk factor for infant mortality (IM). The aim of this survey study is to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in this population.
Methods: Enrolled WeCare participants were given an optional COVID-19 phone survey (modified from the IeDEA survey*) between August 2020 and May 2021 to assess the impact of COVID-19 on their daily lives, income, food security, and mental health. Trained research assistants and community health workers administered surveys. Verbal consent was obtained over the phone.  Data was entered into REDCap.  From REDCap, data was exported to SAS version 9.4 to calculate descriptive statistics and chi square tests.
Results:  Fifty-six primarily women of color (68%) completed the survey. Sixty-two percent of women lived in high-risk zip codes for infant mortality in Central Indiana. Fifty-seven percent of women worked prior to the outbreak. Forty-eight percent of the working women lost income, and seventy percent of women worked jobs requiring interaction with the public.  These women experienced greater food insecurity (38%), depression (24%), and anxiety (31%) compared to before the pandemic (p<0.001).
Conclusion/Discussion: The demographics and residence of those interviewed were representative of the WeCare cohort (NS differences in race/ethnicity/age). In comparing the prevalence of food insecurity, depression and anxiety between the survey sampled during covid and prior to covid, all factors were significantly increased. These vulnerable women (many pregnant or postpartum), often major breadwinners in their household, held jobs putting them at high risk for covid infections, and lost these high-risk jobs at an alarming rate.  These data confirm the detrimental impact of COVID-19, especially on a population already at high risk for IM.
Acknowledgement of original authors of the *IeDEA survey: Suzanne Goodrich, Michael Scanlon, Leslie Enane, Kara Wools-Kaloustian


Long intergenic non-coding RNAs (lincRNAs) represent a large fraction of transcribed loci in eukaryotic genomes. Although classified as non-coding, most lincRNAs contain open reading frames (ORFs), and it remains unclear why cytoplasmic lincRNAs are not or very inefficiently translated. Here, we analysed signatures of repressed translation in lincRNA sequences from six eukaryotes. In species under stronger selection, i.e. fission yeast and worm, we detected significantly shorter ORFs than in intronic and non-transcribed control regions, a suboptimal sequence context around start codons for translation initiation, and trinucleotides ("codons") corresponding to less abundant tRNAs than codons in control regions, potentially impeding translation elongation. We verified that varying tRNA expression levels affect ribosome-binding to lincRNAs by analyzing data from five human cell lines. Notably, for three cell lines, codons in abundant cytoplasmic lincRNAs corresponded to lower expressed tRNAs than control codons, substantiating cell type-specific repression of lincRNA translation in human. Finally, comparing non-coding with peptide-encoding ORFs suggested that codon usage at the start of ORFs to be of particular relevance for ribosome-binding. The identified sequence signatures may assist distinguishing peptide- from real non-coding lincRNAs in a cell.


ABSTRACT Surface Synoptic Meteorological Observations (SSMO-data) provide the primary data source for this analysis of the regional wave climate of the Gulf of Alaska. The wave climate is expressed in terms of deep water wave power, which, when combined with wave refraction diagrams derived from the most recent bathymetric map of the area, permits the estimation of gross and net annual sediment transport rates along the ocean-facing beaches. The wave analysis indicates a general westward transport of sediments on the beaches of the northeast Gulf of Alaska, a trend well supported by field observations of coastal geomorphology. Both the wave climate calculations and field observations confirm a reversal in this trend on the west side of Icy Bay and Yakutat Bay where the net transport direction is toward the northeast or toward the bay heads. The potential annual average gross longshore sediment transport rate is estimated at about 2.0 million cubic meters along the ocean beaches. The annual net transport rate is found to range from about 1.4 million cubic meters to the west on the West Malaspina Foreland, to about 220,000 cubic meters to the east between Sitkagi Bluffs and the western shores of outer Yakutat Bay.


The emergence of crowdsourcing has enabled workforce seekers to delegate various tasks to the unknown public to accomplish. Crowdsourcing serves in Software development where projects often fail due to the inability to find and allocate expertise. In cloud application (i.e. Software as Service – [SaaS]) development, projects severely suffer from shortage of expert developers due to its recent and rapid evolution. Therefore, many software manufacturers resort to crowdsourcing to find and recruit experts in SaaS development. To address this need, we conducted a survey of SaaS crowdsourcing to identify its challenges and to explore the crowdsourcing facilities that support addressing these challenges. Furthermore, we review two widespread existing approaches for software development crowdsourcing and propose a novel approach. Additionally, we discuss the challenges in SaaS development crowdsourcing and evaluate our proposed approach for its ability to address these challenges. Finally, we provide future adopters with a list of attributes to assist them in choosing the proper crowdsourcing service. This paper aims to provide a state-of-the-art assessment of the work carried out so far in applications development crowdsourcing and proposes recommendations to enhance it.


This study was aimed to isolate, identify and characterize Pectobacterium spp. causing soft rot disease of cabbage and Chinese cabbage in Central Poland. Of fifty two plant samples of cabbage and Chinese cabbage showing disease symptoms collected in Central Poland from 2007-2010, 542 bacterial isolates were obtained. Of isolates 117 caused soft rot on cabbage and Chinese cabbage leaves and potato slices and showed pectinolytic activity on crystal violet pectate medium. PCR using Y1/Y2 primers specific for Pectobacterium genus revealed that twenty three of them belonged to this genus. Phenotypic characterization in combination with DNA-based typing methods (rep-PCRs) and sequence analysis of 16S rRNA, and housekeeping genes gyrB , infB , rpoB , atpD , and rpoS (MultiLocus Sequence Typing) done for 12 Polish representatives and reference strains allowed for their identification and revealed genetic diversity. Additional phylogeny analysis of the rpoS gene for Polish and worldwide well defined Pectobacterium spp. strains allowed to classify obtained strains into Pectobacterium spp. phylogenetic clusters (PcI-PcV). The presented studies showed that 8 of 12 isolated Pectobacterium carotovorum strains belong to the Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum ( Pcc ) cluster PcII and other four strains belong to the subspecies Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. odoriferum ( Pco ) cluster PcIII. To our knowledge, this is the first report that P. carotovorum subsp. odoriferum cause soft rot of cabbage and Chinese cabbage in Central Poland.


One of prevailing modes of finance in emerging Islamic banking system is Murabah'a. It means a financial dealing or transaction in which seller tells cost of the goods to be sold to buyer. Otherwise, the transaction would become invalid. In this mainstream, import Murabah'a transaction is divergent in such a way that the cost is not recognized and identified due to execution of import transaction in foreign currency i.e. US Dollar and the next transaction of Murabaha'a with the client is executed in local currency. Since this transaction is executed in dual currency i.e. bank pays supplier in foreign currency and executes Murabah'a with its client in local currency and it is not allowed in according to Islamic Injunctions as mentioned in hadith narrated by Hazrat Ibn-e-Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) used to sell his camels with Dirhams and take dinars instead and vice versa. Upon revealing before the Prophet (Peace be upon him), he was advised that it must not be contingent in the agreement and the ready rate would be applied and possession of one of the consideration is compulsory. The solution in this regard is that the import Murabah'a transaction should be in single currency However, other currency can be paid in payment at the time of payment in a very indispensable situation provided that ready rate would be applied. Moreover, some of other solutions have also been given in this regard. Keywords—Shariah compliance, import murabaha, islamic banking, product development.


OBJECTIVE: To describe an additional case of idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis. METHODS/RESULTS: A 56-year-old man consulted for abdominal pain and previous symptoms of intermittent claudication. A CT scan disclosed a retroperitoneal mass, for which reason the patient was submitted to surgery. Analysis of the biopsy specimen demonstrated retroperitoneal fibrosis. CONCLUSION: Although the clinical diagnosis of this disease is usually based on the CT findings, a histological analysis of the biopsy specimen provides a definitive diagnosis and permits intraperitonization of the ureters, which is the widely accepted treatment, during the same surgical session.


In spite of existence of many standard security mechanisms for ensuring secure e- Commerce business, users still fall prey for online attacks. One such simple but powerful attack is 'Phishing'. Phishing is the most alarming threat in the e-Commerce world and effective anti-phishing technique is the need of the hour. This paper focuses on a novel anti-phishing browser plug-in which uses information hiding technique - Steganography. A Robust Message based Image Steganography (RMIS) algorithm has been proposed. The same has been incorporated in the form of a browser plug-in (safari) called Pixastic. Pixastic is tested in an online banking scenario and it is compared with other well-known anti-phishing plug-in methods in practice. Various parameters such as robustness, usability and its behavior on various attacks have been analysed. From experimental results, it is evident that our method Pixastic performs well compared to other anti-phishing plug-ins.


CADTH recommends that pemigatinib should not be reimbursed by public drug plans for the treatment of adults with previously treated, unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) with a fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) fusion or other rearrangement.
The clinical evidence reviewed by CADTH was not strong enough to show whether treatment with pemigatinib benefits patients with CCA. It is not known if pemigatinib would lead to better outcomes for patients compared to treatments that are currently available.
Patients identified a need for treatments that improve tumour response, delay disease progression, and improve quality of life. It is not clear whether pemigatinib meets these needs.


Determination of the ordinary high water line (OHWL) has been and continues to be an important issue. The OHWL defines the separation of sovereignty lands and private ownership on non‐tidal water bodies. Determination of OHWL is conducted on a case‐by‐case basis in Florida through court challenges. A judge makes the decision on where the line exists based upon several criteria—including remote sensing data. This study investigated the possibility of using various remote sensing technologies to provide an efficient and accurate means of determining OHWL for a lake in central Florida. Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM) satellite imagery was compared with the higher resolution imagery IKONOS and Light Detection And Ranging (LIDAR) imagery in order to determine the water's edge and location of vegetation communities that may be correlated with OHWL. It was found that ETM imagery could be used only for mapping vegetation community transition zones and that this zone provided limited insight to OHWL. IKONOS imagery, on the other hand, was more promising for land cover mapping, but requires further study in order to draw general conclusions regarding its application to OHWL. LIDAR data provided the best results for determining OHWL, but also need further study over a larger area in order to draw final conclusions.


Business collaboration is about cooperation between organisations by linking their business processes and exchanging messages. Collaborative business process development requires loose coupling between individual business processes so that they can interact freely across the internet; and that the collaboration can be established in a highly dynamic fashion and on-demand basis. Unfortunately, the current web service development and management solutions including the de facto standard Business Process Execution Language for Web Service (WS-BPEL) are too narrowly focused and not capable of addressing the requirements of business collaboration that demand agility and dynamics. To remedy this situation, we advocate an approach in which rules are used to develop and maintain the business collaboration. We first introduce a Business Collaboration Context Framework (BCCF), which provides enterprises with the context required for business collaboration.We then show how enterprises can capture this context via a modelling process. Following these preliminaries, we demonstrate how the modelling endeavour is controlled by rules, and how consistency can be assessed by these rules. Lastly, we demonstrate the feasibility of the approach in the form of a prototype called Icarus.


Background Pakistan stands along top ten countries responsible for two-third of global child mortality burden. To improve Child Mortality (CM) estimates in Pakistan, there is an exigent need to understand the in-depth reasoning behind mortalities. In Pakistan, the data on cause-ofdeath (CoD) for a large number of child mortalities in Pakistan is either not available or not suitable for use. Pakistan uses an alternative technique called Verbal autopsy (VA). Since VA only determines the biological cause of death (BCoD), and does not capture multitude of other modifiable social, cultural and health system determinants, it has a limited importance. Such non-biological determinants are captured by another technique i.e. Social Autopsy (SA). Objective By integrating VA with SA, extended set of mortality related determinants will be explored, in addition to strengthening death notification coverage and assigning CoD in such missed out mortalities. Method Under the working group of Health Advocacy Council for Women and Children (HACWC) in collaboration with Child Registry of Pakistan (CROP), mixed method (QUAN-QUAL) interventional study will be carried out in urban-slums of Karachi city using VASA-integrated under-five mortality investigative technique. Parents of dead children will be interviewed. Second stage of study will be followed by qualitative interviews with different cadres of stakeholders. Expected Outcomes By focusing the specific determinants related to case-management and care-seeking process (identified by The Pathway to Survival Framework-TPtoSF) an in-depth understanding of related determinants can be achieved, which will help in crafting potential interventions required to limit the barriers that increase the chances of CM in developing nations.


Removal of patients' airway secretions is an important ancillary procedure for ensuring the effectiveness of mechanical ventilation (MV). Healthcare professionals may choose the closed suctioning (CS) or open suctioning (OS) method to remove airway secretions. While each procedure adequately achieves its primary purpose, caregivers may prefer CS due to the relative advantages it offers with respect to patient and caregiver safety. To compare closed and open airway suctioning methods with respect to patient and caregiver safety, evaluations of peer-reviewed literature and clinical practice recommendations were conducted. Safety concerns specifically for treated patients were accentuated by recurring emphasis on comparative effects of OS and CS on physiological parameters, which cited more robust disturbances in association with OS. The safety information for caregivers and neighboring patients pertained to an awareness of the potential for bacteria to be inadvertently distributed to caregivers and patient environments during OS, and the preferred choice of CS use to help contain microbial outbreaks in clinical settings. Compared to OS, CS appears to be a safer method, with respect to patients and caregivers for suctioning airway secretions during MV. The benefit of having potentially fewer complications associated with CS compared to OS suggests less overall deleterious impact of suctioning on patients and caregivers, thereby making CS worth the investment.


Interpretation of averaged evoked potentials is difficult when the time relationship between stimulus and response is not constant. Later components are more prone to latency jitter, making them insufficiently reliable for routine clinical use even though they could contribute to greater understanding of the functioning of polysynaptic components of the afferent nervous system. This study is aimed at providing a simple but effective method of identifying and quantifying latency jitter in averaged evoked potentials. Autocorrelation techniques were applied within defined time windows on simulated jittered signals embedded within the noise component of recorded evoked potentials and on real examples of somatosensory evoked potentials. We demonstrated that the technique accurately identifies the distribution and maximum levels of jitter of the simulated components and clearly identifies the jitter properties of real evoked potential recording components. This method is designed to complement the conventional analytical methods used in neurophysiological practice to provide valuable additional information about the distribution of latency jitter within an averaged evoked potential. It will be useful for the assessment of the reliability of averaged components and will aid the interpretation of longer-latency, polysynaptic components such as those found in nociceptive evoked potentials.


The advantage of scaling devices is to achieve high performance, low power, large integration and low cost continues to be attractive to the semiconductor industries. However, increasing variability in the device characteristics, soft errors and device degradation in CMOS technologies pose major challenges in the future scaling. Variation in process, voltage and temperature cause uncertainty in the worst case critical path delays. Delay Margins or Voltage Margins are added to obtain fully functional chips, but results in high power consumption and/or performance loss. In electronics, a flip-flop or latch is a circuit that has two stable states and can be used to store state information. The circuit can be made to change state by signals applied to one or more control inputs and will have one or two outputs. It is the basic storage element in sequential logic. Flip-flops and latches are a fundamental building block of digital electronics systems used in computers, communications, and many other types of systems. In VLSI systems, the clock system consumes anywhere between 20-50% of the total chip power with approximately 90% of the clocking power used to drive storage elements such as flip-flops. The significant power consumption of the clock system is mainly due to the 100% transition probability of the clock signal.


This paper investigates whether the market rewards firms meeting current period earnings expectations, and whether any such reward reflects the implications of meeting expectations in the current period for future earnings or reflects a distinct market premium. We document that abnormal annual returns are significantly greater for firms meeting expectations, controlling for the information in the current year's earnings. We then test whether firms meeting expectations experience higher returns simply because their expected future earnings are also higher. We find firms meeting expectations have significantly higher earnings forecasts and realized earnings than firms that do not. We find that controlling for these higher future earnings, firms meeting expectations in one or two years do not receive a greater valuation than their fundamentals would suggest. We find, however, that the market assigns a higher value to firms that meet expectations consistently, controlling for an estimate of the firm's fundamental value.


s | 33 receptor antagonist DU-125530 for antidepressant treatment. Br J Pharmacol 2012; 167:1021–1034 Hughes ZA, Starr KR, Langmead CJ, Hill M, Bartoszyk GD, Hagan JJ, Middlemiss DN, Dawson LA. Neurochemical evaluation ofhe novel 5HT1A receptor partial agonist/serotonin reuptakeinhibitor, vilazodone. Eur J harmacol. 2005;510:49–57. Sanchez C, Asin KE, Artigas F. Vortioxetine, a novel antidepressant with multimodal activity: Review of preclinical and clinical data. Pharmacol Ther 2015; 145:43–57 Ferrés-Coy A, Santana N, Castañé A, Cortés R, Carmona MC, Toth M, Montefeltro A, Artigas F, Bortolozzi A Acute 5-HT(1A) autoreceptor knockdown increases antidepressant responses and serotonin release in stressful conditions. Psychopharmacology 2013; 225:61–74 Bortolozzi A, Castañé A, Semakova J, Santana N, Alvarado G, Cortés R, Ferrés-Coy A, Fernández G, Carmona MC, Toth M, Perales JC, Montefeltro A, Artigas F (2012) Selective siRNA-mediated suppression of 5HT(1A) autoreceptors evokes strong antidepressant-like effects. Mol Psychiatry 2012; 17:612–23 Speaker 2: Yasumasa Okamoto Title: The role of serotonin in waiting for future rewards in depression Yasumasa Okamoto, Go Okada, Saori Tanaka, Kayoko Miyazaki, Katsuhiko Miyazaki, Kenji Doya, Shigeto Yamawaki 1Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima University 2 Computational Neuroscience Laboratories, Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute, Kyoto, Japan 3Neural Computation Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Okinawa 904-0495, Japan Abstract Serotonin (5-HT) is a major neuromodulator implicated in a broad assortment of behavioral and physiological functions, including aggression, appetite, aversion, behavioral inhibition and impulsivity. The 5-HT system is one of the most important targets for the treatment of depression. It has been difficult, however, to explain the diverse effects of serotonin on adaptive behavior within a unified framework. Based on the review of experimental data and theoretical models, we previously proposed a model in which the function of serotonin is to modulate the value of waiting for a future reward. In this hypothesis,Serotonin (5-HT) is a major neuromodulator implicated in a broad assortment of behavioral and physiological functions, including aggression, appetite, aversion, behavioral inhibition and impulsivity. The 5-HT system is one of the most important targets for the treatment of depression. It has been difficult, however, to explain the diverse effects of serotonin on adaptive behavior within a unified framework. Based on the review of experimental data and theoretical models, we previously proposed a model in which the function of serotonin is to modulate the value of waiting for a future reward. In this hypothesis, a higher level of 5-HT means a higher setting of the discount factor, which promotes waiting for longer delays. A low level of serotonin is often associated with impulsive behaviors (Doya, 2002). Here, we show a part of the results of a series of research carried out based on the hypothesis. Human functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies show differential involvement of brain areas in the prediction of immediate and delayed rewards, with the dorsal striatum and prefrontal cortex showing consistent activity for delayed rewards (Tanaka et al., 2004). To elucidate the role of serotonin in the evaluation of delayed rewards, we performed an fMRI experiment in which subjects chose either small-immediate or large-delayed rewards under dietary regulation of tryptophan, a precursor of serotonin. The study showed that the dorsal striatal activity correlated with long-term reward prediction was enhanced with the activation of the serotonergic system (Tanaka et  al., 2007). From the behavioral data, we found an increase of proportion in small reward choices, together with an increase in the rate of discounting of delayed rewards in the low-serotonin condition compared with the control and highserotonin conditions (Schweighofer et  al., 2008). Recently, we found the attenuated activation in the dorsal striatum during waiting for delayed rewards in depressed patients (Okada et al., in preparation). To examine any causal relationship between serotonergic activity and waiting behavior for delayed reward, we applied a 5-HT1A receptor agonist locally in the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) in rats; this treatment is known to suppress 5-HT neural activity through autoreceptors. Rats performed a sequential food-water navigation task in which they alternately visited food and water sites to acquire rewards after waiting periods. The rats performed the task under two reward conditions: a short delayed reward condition and a long delayed reward condition. We found that the suppression of 5-HT neural activity in the DRN by a 5-HT1A receptor agonist increased premature exit from reward sites before the delivery of delayed rewards, which indicated impaired patience for delayed rewards (Miyazaki et al., 2012). From both human and animal studies, these results strongly supported our hypothesis that 5-HT promotes waiting for longer delays, and might explain not only impulsive behavior, but also certain aspects of depressive behavior.