UNLABELLED
Incremental increases in the moisture content of powdered soy protein products from 4.4% to 13.4% produced an inverse effect on the ability of soy proteins to maintain metastable free radicals. The corresponding reduction in electron paramagnetic resonance signal was not due to dielectric loss in the range of moisture contents examined. Subsequent evaluations of various treatments were conducted after drying soy proteins with molecular sieve to a water activity below 0.085 in order to minimize the influence from variations in moisture. Isolated soy protein (ISP) samples, prepared with "defatted flour" that had been further extracted with chloroform/methanol (2: 1), had a 96% reduction in total lipids compared to the control ISP samples. The initial rate of radical accumulation in the "reduced-lipid" ISP for the first 3 wk was not significantly different from the initial rate of radical increases in the control ISP. After 3 wk, radical accumulation in the "reduced-lipid" ISP continued to increase, but at a rate that was less than the control. These findings indicate that the initial reactions contributing to the formation of metastable radicals in the powdered ISP are not strongly dependent on associated lipids. Blocking sulfhydryl groups during ISP preparation with N-ethylmaleimide did not significantly slow the rate of radical accumulation compared to the control ISP. Blocking arginine residues in ISP samples with phenylglyoxal caused an increased rate of radical accumulation for the first 4 wk.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION
Levels of metastable radicals in powdered soy protein products typically range from 10 to 100 times greater than the free radicals in other food protein sources. This current research examines various compositional and treatment parameters that might be used to minimize the content of free radicals in foods containing soy proteins.


This dissertation extended the existing scientific literature concerning the detection, explanation, and reduction of substance use, mental health, and violence victimization inequities for sexual and gender minority (SGM) youth and emerging adults (people aged less than 18 years and 18-25 years, respectively). This dissertation aimed to: (1) estimate sexual-orientation differences in longitudinal alcohol use trajectories (AUTs) and alcohol use disorders (AUDs) during emerging adulthood, and test whether AUTs mediated sexual-orientation differences in AUDs; (2) investigate sexual-orientation differences in typologies of familial and non-familial warmth during childhood and adolescence, and test whether these differences mediated sexual-orientation differences in AUTs and AUDs during emerging adulthood; and (3) systematically review the peer-reviewed scientific literature on interventions and their efficacy in preventing or reducing substance use, mental health problems, and violence victimization among SGM youth. In Aim 1, this dissertation found that several sexual-minority subgroups had higher odds of belonging to heavier AUTs than completely heterosexuals. These differences partially explained the higher risk of AUDs among sexual-minority women but not among sexual-minority men. In Aim 2, sexual-minority women were less likely to report having familial and non-familial warmth during childhood and adolescence, which partially explained why they have greater risk of AUDs. However, there were fewer sexual-orientation differences in warmth for men, and these did not explain the sexual-orientation differences in AUTs and AUDs for men. In Aim 3, this dissertation found that 6 interventions were evaluated among SGM youth for reducing mental health problems, 1 for substance use, and 0 for violence victimization in the extant scientific literature. In conclusion, this dissertation used the life-course perspective to advance research concerning the detection and explanation of sexual-orientation inequities in AUTs and AUDs during emerging adulthood. This dissertation also found significant gaps in intervention research for SGM youth. Without more evidence-based interventions, SGM youth and emerging adults will likely continue to experience health inequities in substance use, mental health, and violence victimization across the life course. Despite the major advances in public health research on SGM populations, intervention research is sorely lacking—but essential—for SGM youth and emerging adults to achieve health equity.


Section Editor: José Tarcísio Medeiros de Vasconcelos ABSTRACT Introduction: Epicardial fat (EF) is biologically active and, through its paracrine eff ect, interacts with the atrial myocardium and may be involved in the atrial remodeling observed in obese individuals. P-wave duration (PWD) is a non-invasive marker of atrial conduction time and refl ects changes related to atrial remodeling. The eff ects of the reduction of EF induced by bariatric surgery on PWD have not yet been defi ned. Methods: We prospectively recruited 22 morbidly obese patients with no other comorbidities at the Unidade de Cirurgia Bariátrica (Bariatric Surgery Unit) of Unviversidade de São Paulo's Hospital das Clínicas. The patients were submitted to clinical and laboratorial evaluations, 12-lead eletrocardiography (ECG), two-dimensional echocardiogram and 24 h Holter. The same evaluation was performed 12 months after bariatric surgery. In order to make a comparison of the continuous variables, we used the paired and Wilcoxon T tests. To evaluate the association between independent variables, a regression model was used for repeated measures. Results: A total of 20 patients completed the protocol (age: 36.35 ± 10.26 years, 18 women). There was a signifi cant reduction of PWD, body mass index (BMI) and EF after bariatric surgery (p<0.05). There was also an average reduction of 11.55 ± 8.49 ms in PWD. In the multiple regression analysis, an association was observed between the reduction of PWD and the reduction of EF and BMI. Conclusions: In morbidly obese patients with no other comorbidities, the reduction of EF after bariatric surgery was associated with an improvement in atrial remodeling indicated by a signifi cant reduction in PWD.


Abstract In the context of the emerging Semantic Web and the quest for a common logical framework underpinning its architecture, the relation of rule-based languages such as Answer Set Programming (ASP) and ontology languages such as the Web Ontology Language (OWL) has attracted a lot of attention in the literature over the past years. With its roots in Deductive Databases and Datalog though, ASP shares much more commonality with another Semantic Web standard, namely the Simple Protocol and RDF Query Language (SPARQL). In this paper, we take the recent approval of the SPARQL1.1 standard by the World Wide Web consortium (W3C) as an opportunity to introduce this standard to the Logic Programming community by providing a translation of SPARQL1.1 into ASP. In this translation, we explain and highlight peculiarities of the new W3C standard. Along the way, we survey existing literature on foundations of SPARQL and SPARQL1.1, and also combinations of SPARQL with ontology and rules languages. Thereby, apart from providing the means to implement and support SPARQL natively within Logic Programming engines and particularly ASP engines, we hope to pave the way for further research on a common logical framework for Semantic Web languages, including query languages, from an ASP point of view.


A novel boron complex based on a squarylium dye was synthesized by a simple two-step procedure starting from the pyrrole derivative. The absorption and fluorescence maxima of the squarylium–boron complex were slightly blue-shifted relative to those of the corresponding squarylium dye, and the fluorescence quantum yield of the former increased significantly. Deprotonation of the squarylium–boron complex led to the formation of the corresponding anion, with a further blue-shift of the absorption and fluorescence maxima.


Free-living litostomatean ciliates, prominent microeukaryote predators commonly encountered in freshwater and marine habitats, play vital roles in maintaining energy flow and nutrient cycles. Nevertheless, understanding their biodiversity and phylogenetic relationships remains challenging due to insufficient morphological information and molecular data. As a new contribution to this group, three haptorian ciliates, including two new species (Actinobolina bivacuolata sp. nov. and Papillorhabdos foissneri sp. nov.) and the insufficiently described type species, Actinobolina radians, were isolated from wetlands around Lake Weishan, China and investigated by a combination of living morphology, stained preparations, and 18S rRNA gene sequence data. An illustrated key of the valid species within the two genera is provided. In addition, we reveal the phylogenetic positions of these two genera for the first time. Although they differ in all key morphologic characters such as general appearance (ellipsoidal with numerous tentacles vs. cylindrical), extrusomes (stored in tentacles vs. anchored to pellicle), circumoral kinety (present vs. absent), composition of somatic kineties (kinetosome clusters vs. monokinetids), and number of dorsal brush rows (1 vs. 4), they both cluster in a fully supported clade in the phylogenetic tree, which indicates that the biodiversity and additional molecular markers of this group need further exploration.


Implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) have become a well-established therapy for people experiencing potentially lethal dysrhythmias. Australian recipients' quality of life and adjustment to the device over time, device-related complications, shock and associated sensations, and potential sequelae have not been widely explored. This paper reports a longitudinal prospective study of Australian ICD recipients (n = 74) to determine their responses to the device, health-related quality of life over time and shock experiences. A questionnaire designed for the study and the Medical Outcomes Trust Quality of Life Instrument, the SF36, were completed by recipients prior to and at 3 and 12 months post insertion. Results show that quality of life decreased for general health and social function between 3 and 12 months. Nearly half (49%) of the recipients received shocks within 12 months and the majority (92%) of these experienced sequelae that could make driving hazardous. Half of the population (49%) were driving at 3 months and 69% by 12 months, including 67% of those who had been shocked. Twenty-seven percent were hospitalized with device-related complications. Driving, the shock experience and rehospitalization, the shock experience and driving behaviour are significant issues for those with the implanted device. While it is a limitation of the study that partners and carers were not included, these findings will also be of interest to them.


ABSTRACT Cities are considered key to addressing climate change. A substantial volume of scholarship is now available on urban climate transitions (focusing on social and technological change) and on the urban climate governance structures that underpin those transitions. The scholarship is, however, dominated by studies from European and Anglo-Saxon cities. Seeking to add insights from a currently underexplored world-region to this literature, the current article explores urban climate governance in the Russian Federation and focuses specifically on Moscow and St. Petersburg. In doing so, the article also explores the analytical power of the dominant urban climate transitions literature for explaining urban climate transitions outside European and Anglo-Saxon countries.


Despite the growing interest in GTP-binding proteins and their role in higher plants, no compartimental analysis has been performed on tonoplast, until now. After successive extraction with a cushion of saccharose and a glycerol gradient, the tonoplast of Spinacia oleracea was checked by electron microscopy and the purity of the preparations verified by enzyme marker analyses. Guanosine triphosphate (GTP) binding assays were carried out on the extract with guanosine 5'[7-thio] triphosphate, [-'%I (GTPI~~~S) as the non-hydrolysable substrate. A specific binding was observed and a KD of 0.3 mM was estimated by displacement curves. The characteristic enhancement by Mas 7 was also observed. Two dimensional gel electrophoresis of the GTP-binding test permitted localization of proteins between 20 and 55 kDa which bound specifically to GTP;%. lmmunodetection was performed in the same experimental conditions with an antibody raised against the conserved consensus sequence of the GTP-binding site of the animal G, subunit of the heterotrimeric G-Protein. It confirmed the presence of proteins of 41-'44 kDa which correspond to those detected with the GTP-binding test. Copyright


Airborne C- and L-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images were acquired for three test sites over different sea ice regimes around Svalbard in March 2007, complemented by optical imagery, environmental data, and ice observations. One objective was to use the high-resolution low-noise radar data for investigations on the technical performance of European Space Agency's Sentinel-1 mission for sea ice mapping, the other to assess the potential gain of additional use of L-band SAR data currently available from Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS). The airborne SAR images were employed to simulate data products resembling the interferometric wide-swath mode (IWSM) of Sentinel-1 and ALOS PALSAR fine resolution mode (FRM) in order to quantify the information loss due to the higher noise level and coarser spatial resolution. At the IWSM noise level, zones of deformation, level ice, and new ice can be well separated at like-polarization. At cross-polarization, the noise level is too high for a robust automated classification including thin ice, but deformed and level ice can be discriminated. PALSAR FRM is on average better suited to distinguish deformed and level ice over all ice regimes. It was worse for separating new from thicker level ice at two test sites. For the third test site with very few patches of new ice, the PALSAR FRM showed larger intensity contrasts between new and level ice than Sentinel-1 IWSM. The spatial resolution provided by the IWSM and FRM is sufficient to identify most ice features and types without ambiguities. Typical characteristics of the imaged ice regimes are described.


VANETs currently represent one of the most prominent solutions that aim to reduce the number of road accident victims and congestion problems while improving the quality of driving. VANETs form a very dynamic open network in which vehicles exchange information and warnings about road situations and other traffic information through several routing protocols, without any intermediate control. However, the absence of a central control makes such a network vulnerable to several types of attack, not only from the outside but also, and mostly, from the interior. This makes their detection by classical security techniques more difficult and requires the development of new techniques to control the information circulating in the network. In this context, a proposed routing protocol called TDMA-aware Routing Protocol for Multi hop communication in Vehicular networks, is vulnerable to security threats, such as Black Hole and Gray Hole attacks, as well as MAC attacks such as Denial of Service (DoS), which lead to a considerable deterioration in the network's performance in terms of packet delivery ratio, end-to-end delays, channel access rate, etc. To mitigate the effect of those attacks, we propose a trust-based model in which each node will establish a trust relationship with its neighbors based on their behaviors during the channel access and packet forwarding process. The simulation results show a significant decrease in the effect of attacks on the performance of the TRPM protocol.


The possibility of tuning the vibrational properties and the thermal conductivity of layered van der Waals materials either chemically or mechanically paves the way to significant advances in nanoscale heat management. Using first-principles calculations we investigate the modulation of heat transport in MoS2 by lithium intercalation and cross-plane strain. We find that both the in-plane and cross-plane thermal conductivity (, ) of MoS2 are extremely sensitive to both strain and electrochemical intercalation. Combining lithium intercalation and strain, the in-plane and cross-plane thermal conductivity can be tuned over one and two orders of magnitude, respectively. Furthermore, since and respond in different ways to intercalation and strain, the thermal conductivity anisotropy can be modulated by two orders of magnitude. The underlying mechanisms for such large tunability of the anisotropic thermal conductivity of MoS2 are explored by computing and analyzing the dispersion relations, group velocities, relaxation times and mean free paths of phonons. Since both intercalation and strain can be applied reversibly, their stark effect on thermal conductivity can be exploited to design novel phononic devices, as well as for thermal management in MoS2-based electronic and optoelectronic systems.


Abstract A general model for statistically optimal estimates is presented for dealing with scalar, vector and multivariale datasets. The method deals with anisotropic fields and treats space and time dependence equivalently. Problems addressed include the analysis, or the production of synoptic lime series of regularly gridded fields from irregular and gappy datasets, and the estimate of fields by compositing observations from several different instruments and sampling schemes. Technical issues are discussed, including the convergence of statistical estimates, the choice of representation of the correlations, the influential domain of an observation, and the efficiency of numerical computations.


We present a suppressing technique of the antisymmetric mode by superposition of Lamb waves generated by two laser beams in a thin plate. Two Lamb waves of the same frequency propagating from the opposite direction simultaneously arrive at the point of measurement and are superposed to compose one Lamb wave. The amplitude of the superposed Lamb wave depends on the distance between two laser beams. The suppressing of antisymmetric Lamb wave mode is accomplished by selecting the distance between two beams which simultaneously satisfies the condition of the anti-node(maximum) for the symmetric mode and the minimum for the antisymmetric mode. By this method, the antisymmetric Lamb wave mode is suppressed to the degree of 1.4% of the amplitude measured at zero distance between two beams.


As mobile traffic is dominated by content services (e.g., video), which typically use recommendation systems, the paradigm of network-friendly recommendations (NFR) has been proposed recently to boost the network performance by promoting content that can be efficiently delivered (e.g., cached at the edge). NFR increase the network performance, however, at the cost of being unfair towards certain contents when compared to the standard recommendations. This unfairness is a side effect of NFR that has not been studied in literature. Nevertheless, retaining fairness among contents is a key operational requirement for content providers. This paper is the first to study the fairness in NFR, and design fair-NFR. Specifically, we use a set of metrics that capture different notions of fairness, and study the unfairness created by existing NFR schemes. Our analysis reveals that NFR can be significantly unfair. We identify an inherent trade-off between the network gains achieved by NFR and the resulting unfairness, and derive bounds for this trade-off. We show that existing NFR schemes frequently operate far from the bounds, i.e., there is room for improvement. To this end, we formulate the design of Fair-NFR (i.e., NFR with fairness guarantees compared to the baseline recommendations) as a linear optimization problem. Our results show that the Fair-NFR can achieve high network gains (similar to non-fair-NFR) with little unfairness.


The Transparent Becoming of World undertakes a penetrating inquiry into the quotidian world we take for granted and the brain that silently hoists our bubbles of world-thrownness. After critiquing the traditional views of direct realism, indirect realism and idealism, the continual becoming of world is explained by a novel integration of process dynamics, as formulated by Whitehead, Heidegger and Bohm, with the burgeoning field of quantum neurophilosophy. A rich ontological duality newly opened by quantum brain theory is exploited: the "between-two" of dual quantum modes. Existence as world-thrownness is between-two in waking and dreaming alike. This highly original interdisciplinary book may be of interest to philosophers, psychologists, neuroscientists, consciousness researchers, indeed anyone attracted to the enigma of their own lived existence. (Series A)


In the presence of ground reflections, the traditional methods for aircraft noise direction of arrival estimation based on the time differences between the microphones of a compact array lose accuracy in the vertical angle. This paper studies the benefits of using a tetrahedral array geometry of first order directional microphones instead of omnidirectional ones to reduce this error. It shows that the ground reflections introduce a systematic error in the time delay estimates, which is considerably reduced by using directional microphones, and that the selection of the optimum directivity pattern depends on the height of the array over the ground. The mean square estimation errors of the proposed approach are compared to the Cramer-Rao bound of those of a minimum variance estimator for a tetrahedral array of omnidirectional microphones in free field. Finally, computer simulations using real jet and propeller signals are used to assess the performance of the proposed method in the presence of microphone self noise and wind induced noise.


Abstract Congenital herat disease is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in the newborn. Its diagnosis may lead to a crisis in the affercted families; there are the percerived implications of having an abnormality of so vital on organ. To that may be added the assumed guilt or blame, grief and at times anger, frequently experienced by parents of abnormal infants. It often befalls the paediatric cardiologist to initiate counselling while providing the expert information concerning the abnormality and its optimum management Such counselling differs from that needed for minor lesions as compared for more complex abnormalities where a fatal outcome may ensure. While it is important to provide an accurate diagnosis and management plan to the parents, early detailed information is often confusing and may not be assimilated at a time of great stress. The parents seem more concerned as to whether the infant will survive, what the long term outlook will be, whether he or she will attend school, play, work and so on. With the more severe cardiac abnormalities, especially where there is a family history, one need be aware of the often perceived guilt of the parents. At times, it may be necessary to help the parents retain sufficient 'self-control', delaying the grieving process to enable them to contribute to the decision making. Where the infant has died, a follow-up appointment can facilitate grieving and help deal with unresolved issues Through skilled counselling, the cardiologist in addition to his/her diagnostic and management skills, may meaningfully influence the ongoing care of the infant. They may help avoid the development of unrealistic fears or an over-optimistic outlook, thereby fostering the normal development of the child


Abstract In the case of sp2 amorphous carbons, formed by nanoscale graphene domains framed by heteroatom necklaces (basic structure units in total), inelastic neutron scattering and photoabsorption ensure studying vibrational spectra of the latter mainly. Examination of a set of samples of the highest carbonization rank representing natural substances (shungite carbon, anthraxolite, and anthracite), technical graphenes (laboratory reduced graphene oxides), and industrial products (carbon blacks) has shown, that while INS spectra revealed the hydrogen-enriched component of these necklaces only, the DRIFT spectra exhibited two components determined by both hydrogen and oxygen compositions. Taking together, INS and DRIFT spectra exhibit methine groups, typifying the hydrogen component of all natural amorphics as well as hydroxymethyls and methyls doing the same job for the studied technical graphenes, and hydroxyfurans - for carbon blacks. A comparable analysis of DRIFT and XPS spectra has allowed a reliable personification of the oxygen functional groups compositions. Based on the results obtained, a set of reliable molecular models of the amorphics' basic structural units has been proposed.


Transesterification is the reaction to produce methyl esters in which this reaction's catalyst involves coconut shell burnt ash at temperature of 550, 600, 650 °C for 8 hours and uses 1%, 2%, 3% (w/w) of ash. Ash used was dissolved in 75 ml of methanol to obtain potassium methoxide compound and was analyzed by AAS (Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer) to determine potassium content. Palm oil involved in the processing stage of degumming with the addition of 0,6% (w/w) H3PO4 85% to remove gum then followed by an esterification reaction using 3,0% (w/w) H2SO4 98% as the catalyst to reduce FFA<1%. The temperature of transesterification reaction was at 65 °C for 2 hours, ratio of methanol:CPO 6:1 (n/n) and 500 rpm agitation. Quantitatively, the optimum yield of 81% methyl esters is gained with shell burnt ash at temperature of 600 ° C, 1% (w/w) of ash with the specification of methyl esters as density, kinematic viscosity and flash point are relatively conformed to SNI 04-7182-2006 biodiesel and 92.99% purity methyl ester with 4.62% total glycerin, 2.39% free glycerin based on GC (Gas Chromatography).


The Supreme Court's recent Sixth Amendment cases have garnered much attention for their potential impact on ineffective assistance of counsel claims asserted in the context of a criminal case. This short article explores the unintended consequences of these decisions on structural ineffective assistance of counsel claims made in the civil context alleging that systemic deficiencies are likely to lead to right to counsel violations. The article concludes that the Court's departure from a trial-centered conception of the right to counsel, its willingness to articulate specific pre-trial duties of counsel and its more pragmatic approach towards enforcing the Sixth Amendment will help those seeking indigent defense reform to establish the likelihood of future injury, a necessary element of successful structural challenges.


Many parallel architectures support a memory model where some memory accesses are local, and thus inexpensive, while other memory accesses are remote, and potentially quite expensive. In order to achieve good parallel performance, it is often necessary to reduce the number of remote memory accesses. This can be done by the programmer, the compiler, or a combination of both. The overall goal is to minimize the work required by the programmer, and have the compiler automate the process as much as possible. The paper reports on compiler techniques for decreasing the number of remote memory accesses using locality analysis for a parallel dialect of C called EARTH-C. The locality analysis uses an algorithm inspired by type inference algorithms for fast points-to analysis. The algorithm estimates when an indirect reference via a pointer can be safely assumed to be a local access. The locality inference algorithm is also used to guide the automatic specialization of functions in order to take advantage of locality scientific to particular calling contexts. The locality analysis and automatic specialization has been implemented in the EARTH-C compiler which produces low level threaded code for the EARTH-C multithreaded architecture. Experimental results are presented for a set of benchmarks that operate on irregular, dynamically allocated data structures. The techniques give moderate to significant speedups and they do lessen the burden on the programmer.


In various functional regression settings one observes i.i.d. samples of paired stochastic processes (X,Y ) and aims at predicting the trajectory of Y, given the trajectory X. For example, one may wish to predict the future segment of a process from observing an initial segment of its trajectory. Commonly used functional regression models are based on representations that are obtained separately for X and Y. In contrast to these established methods, often implemented with functional principal components, we base our approach on a singular expansion of the paired processes X,Y with singular functions that are derived from the crosscovariance surface between X and Y. The motivation for this approach is that the resulting singular components may better reflect the association between X and Y. The regression relationship is then based on the assumption that each singular component of Y follows an additive regression model with the singular components of X as predictors. To handle the inherent dependency of these predictors, we develop singular additive models with smooth backfitting. We discuss asymptotic properties of the estimates as well as their practical behavior in simulations and data analysis. AMS 2010 subject classifications: 62G08, 62G20.


Mutual fund is a burgeoning business in not only US but the world. There is a growing tendency that participations of individual investors in financial market are migrated to mutual funds, an indirect channel to invest. Thus, the flows to and out of mutual funds, once a neglected topic, are becoming a new field for financial study.

The primary instrument and subject of my PhD is mutual fund flows. Mutual fund flows have special merits for academic research. Firstly, it is purely driven by demands but not supplies, as the supply elasticity of mutual fund is nearly infinite. The characteristic reveals investor behaviours and decisions in a mass scale. Traditional instruments for behaviour studies relies on asset prices and volumes, which are less exogeneous as they are driven by both demand and supply. Secondly, mutual funds specify their objectives and asset classes in prospectus. The characteristics help us understand how investors respond to changing market conditions by changing their exposures on asset classes or styles. Thirdly, a majority of individual investors in mutual funds (as suggested by ICI statistics) provides a natural field for behavioural finance. Fortunately, data is available not only at aggregated level, but also individual and account level, which serve as a great supplement to the existing studies using trading data.

The second chapter is based on a simple hypothesis: if flows are (rationally) responding to fund performance, what information does the flow-performance sensitivity convey? How flow, a measure of actual fund investor trading decisions, helps us decompose and finely measure the outcome of these investors? The study is based on several established papers on flow performance relationships in mutual fund market. Warther (1995) is a pioneer paper that discovers a significant correlation between flows and performance. Sirri and Tufano (1998) discovers a convex-shaped flow-performance function and attributes the cause to asymmetrical information. Berk and Green (2004) established a model in which investors trade against good performers and against bad performers but funds themselves suffer from diseconomy of scale. As the fund change in size, it deviates from optimal portfolio size and IV result to better or worse performance. Huang, Wei and Yan (2012) argues that flow performance sensitivity is a rational investor learning process. Based on their arguments, I obtain a simple but effective proxy for investor sophistication: the sensitivity of flows to recent (abnormal) performances. To granularly measure their respective performance, I decompose their performance into three aspects: abnormal returns, fees and timings, a scheme proposed in Fama (1972). The abnormal return is alpha on a four-factor model, which is a traditional before fee, relative measure of whether a fund has beat the market. Fee selection takes into account the average fees that jeopardize the performance and timing cost is measured by "performance gap", a concept used in Nesbitt (1995); Dichev (2007); Friesen and Sapp (2007); Bullard, Friesen and Sapp (2008). The result is that sophisticated investors earn higher risk adjusted returns and avoid high fees. In addition, investors' timing performance can be greatly improved by trading less, with the most significant improvements seen on most sophisticated investors.

The research question in third chapter is: is there a calendar effect for flow-performance relationship? Does the shape of the function change across the months and what drives the change? The study fills the gap by emphasizing several exogeneous factor of flow-return relationship such as portfolio rebalance and tax-loss selling which interact with calendar dates. Previous literature commonly finds a convex function. Chevalier and Ellison (1997) is first to document the convexity and they argue the convexity may incentivize agency problems. Sirri and Tufano (1998) explained using information search cost and Lynch and Musto (2003) explained with survivalship bias of mutual fund strategies. However, all the study examines only average shape of the flow-performance function. None of them attempt to tackle calendar effect. Calendar effect is potentially a strong determinant of flow performance relationship. Factors such as tax-loss selling (Constantinides (1983)), portfolio rebalance, disposition effect (Kaustia 2011)) and seasonal variation in risk appetite (Kamstra et al. 2017) may interact with dates and change the flow-performance relationship. In this study, I conduct a similar flow-performance regression for each month. The regression is piecewise which separates the sensitivity of mutual fund flows to returns into five parts. I also construct a concise measure of whether a group of funds are bought or sold at any time during the year to disentangle several confounding effects. I find that the shape of the function does change throughout the year and they are affected by tax-loss selling and portfolio rebalance.

In fourth chapter, I focus on a special group of funds, the leveraged funds, which mainly caters for day traders. The research question is whether their flows reflect market wide sentiment. Leveraged funds are funds that allows investors to bet on daily performance of stock indexes with leverage and direction. As these funds track only daily index returns and investment horizon longer than one day will result to material deviation from index returns, these funds are unlikely used by mid- or long-term optimizers. As common study suggest too much trading can be harmful (Barber and Odean 2000), I notice that the flows for these funds may be sentiment driven. In this study, I obtain daily flows of nearly 100 largest leveraged funds trading in US and extract the first principal component from these funds. In addition, I follow Baker and Wurgler (2006a) to construct a daily sentiment index (the alternative sentiment measure) from several market variables, which are purposely chosen to be unrelated to fund markets. I find that the first component from leveraged funds is associated with investors' migration between bull and bear funds and it has strong correlation with our alternative daily sentiment measure. In a later test, the two sentiment measures have similar price impact as a hypothetical sentiment measure would have. I have also examined the limits of arbitrage effect proposed in Shleifer and Vishny (1997). The sentiment component predicts similar cross-section of price revision for up to 7 days into future.


Scholars and practitioners have extensively examined patterns of racial inequality in U.S. corporate law firms. In the corporate bar, pull factors that have long shaped legal professionals' careers include promotions, outside job offers, and family priorities that may lead to leaving the labor force altogether. Push factors, such as discrimination, problems with management, and work-life conflict, also precipitate work transitions. Beyond corporate firms, however, an urgent question remains open to empirical scrutiny: How does race affect career moves in the contemporary American legal profession?

In this Article, I address this question drawing upon data from the first nationally representative, longitudinal survey of U.S. lawyers. This study is one of few that uses event history analysis as a statistical technique to examine legal careers. It also draws on in-depth interviews to unravel how lawyers view their experiences at firms. These legal professionals detail how race influences assignment distribution and promotion within American law firms. Assessment of work histories of over 4,000 law school graduates, from the time they were admitted to practice in the year 2000, shows that, all else being equal, Black lawyers are pushed out of private law firms at much higher rates than white lawyers. As Black lawyers continue to strive for racial equality, these results indicate that race-conscious remedies remain critical not only for the future of law firms, but also for the broader legal profession.


Artifact-rich countries have recently begun to campaign more vigorously for the return of their cultural property that has found its way illegally into the United States. Whether blatantly stolen or taken in violation of a country's export law, the National Stolen Property Act is the vehicle through which these countries can hope to retrieve their property. Its requirements, however, have often proven too difacult for countries to overcome. The United States, on behalf of the source country, must meet the mens rea requirement of the National Stolen Property Act, an often insurmountable goal because of the confusion surrounding the circumstances under which the property was taken. By relaxing the mens rea requirement, the National Stolen Property Act will become more effective and its goals of punishment and deterrence will be furthered.


Kislyakova, E., Berezkina, G., Vorobyeva, S., Kokonov, S., & Strelkov, I. (2019). Infl uence of using seeds of fl ax and raps in cow rates on the quality of milk and dairy products. Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science, 25(1), 129–133 The article presents the results of scientifi c and economic experience of determine of effectiveness of using fl ax and rape oilseeds passed through the press in feeding high-producing cows. Studies have established that fi rst-calf cows, who received rape seeds in their diet, outperformed their counterparts in terms of milk productivity by 6.2% and 2.3%. In the production of yoghurt, the duration of fermentation of milk obtained from cows which used rape seeds in ration was 3 hours 18 min, that is 37 minutes less compared to the same indicator of the control group (P≥0.95). The product obtained from the milk of the cows of the experimental group had less whey during storage. The degree of syneresis was 26.1-28.4%. The use of fl ax seeds adversely affected the technological properties of milk in production of cheese. Milk was poorly folded by rennet enzyme, the clotting time was 125.7 minutes, there was 119.9 mg% of calcium content in the milk, it is low content (the standard is not less than 125 mg%), milk consumption per 1 kg of cheese was 9.1 kg (in control 8.4 kg), while the cheese was not plastic in consistency, it did not hold the shape well. The milk obtained from cows feeding with fl ax seeds is not recommended for production of hard cheeses.


A space-occupying mediastinal mass was discovered in a 16-year-old boy with metastasizing non-seminomatous testicular tumour six months after successful conclusion of cytostatic chemotherapy. Metastases at other sites were excluded. An enlarged thymus was the only finding at operation. Histological and histochemical examination demonstrated diffuse hyperplasia. The findings demonstrate that reactive benign thymic hyperplasia after cytostatic chemotherapy has to be considered in the differential diagnosis of space-occupying mediastinal lesions. They can also occur in adults. They are benign, explainable as immunological rebound phenomena, and do not require operative intervention. In case of doubt, short-term corticoid administration will diminish the size of the mass and thus confirms the diagnosis.


At present, there is a worrisome increasing prevalence of obesity and cardiovascular
risk among adolescents in Malaysia, which could have a major impact on the health of
the later adult population of the country if no proper action is taken. Although there are
several methods available for the assessment of the dietary intake of a population, the
food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) is one of the dietary tools commonly used to assess
the habitual intake of a population. Different versions of the FFQ are needed to assess
different populations' dietary habits and patterns. The aim of this study was to investigate
the socio-demographic factors that influence the dietary intake of the Malaysian
adolescent population and also to develop a FFQ that suits the multi-ethnic Malaysian
adolescent population that can be used in future diet–disease relationship studies. In part
one of the study, diet data from the Malaysian Health and Adolescents Longitudinal
Research Team Study (MyHeARTs) 2014 database were used to investigate the macroand
micronutrient intake of Malaysian adolescents by sex, place of residence, ethnicity,
parent's education, body mass index (BMI) and household income. The nutritional status
of the adolescents was also examined. In part two of the study, collective food data from
the MyHeARTs 2012 database were used to construct the Malaysian Adolescent FFQ
(MyUM Adolescent FFQ). A total of 78 participants aged between 13 and 15 years old
in 2014 were selected through convenience sampling for the test-retest study. A total of
156 MyHeART study participants who were 15 years old in 2014 were randomly selected
for the comparative validity study. They completed a 7-day diet history (7DDH) and
subsequently completed the self-administered MyUM Adolescent FFQ. In part 1 of the
study, the mean intake of energy, protein and sodium for both sexes were significantly
iv
higher than the Malaysian recommended nutrient intake (RNI), while the mean intake of
fibre, vitamin D, potassium, calcium, magnesium and phosphorus were significantly
lower than Malaysian RNI for both sexes. Although the male adolescent iron intake was
adequate, the female iron intake was significantly below the recommended amount.
Except for crude dietary fibre, sugar and vitamin D, the boys had significantly higher
macro- and micronutrient intake compared to the girls. There were also significant
differences in the macro- and micronutrient intakes and in the nutritional status indicators
by residency, ethnicity, parent's education, household income and BMI. In part 2 of the
study, the intra-class correlation between the first and second administration of the FFQ
was 0.71 to 0.88 for macronutrients and 0.67 to 0.85 for micronutrients. Energy-adjusted
correlations for protein, carbohydrate, and fat were 0.54, 0.63 and 0.49, respectively.
Cross-classification analyses revealed that more than 70 percent of adolescents were in
either the same or adjacent quartile of nutrient intake when the data of the 7DDH and the
FFQ were compared. No serious systematic bias was evident in the Bland–Altman plots.
In conclusion, a comprehensive national strategy is required to deal with the long-term
hazard of chronic diseases in Malaysia. The 200-item MyUM Adolescent FFQ that was
developed by this study has moderate to good comparative validity for the assessment of
most macro- and micronutrients, and therefore can be used in future studies to assess the
diet of multi-ethnic adolescents in Malaysia


We assessed the effect on performance of shifting from a perceptual area judgment situation, in which the physical quantity to be judged (the area) is present in the stimulus, to a situation in which it is not present in the stimulus. Adults, 9-year-olds, and 5-year-olds were shown combinations of horizontal and vertical lines of various sizes, presented on the same wall or on different walls, and asked to estimate the corresponding area. The following main results were obtained (a) When width and height information items were completely separated, 5- and 9-year-old children gave the same weight to both dimensions in their estimations; (b) when width and height information items were on two different walls, adults gave a greater weight to the larger dimension; (c) when width and height were joined, 9-year-old children gave a greater weight to the larger dimension but when they were separated, they did not.


Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an evidence-base for home modification guidelines for people with visual impairment due to age-related macular degeneration (AMD), from the perspective of people with AMD, by exploring the home modifications they find useful and would recommend to other people with visual impairment due to AMD as being effective. Design/methodology/approach – People with impairments may not be aware of their own coping with inability strategies until they are asked to express their strategies. A qualitative approach using semi-structured individual interviews was used to elicit the perspectives of people with AMD with regards to their preferred home modification interventions. Interviews were recorded and then transcribed verbatim into text for thematical analysis using Nvivo 8. Findings – In total, 31 individuals (aged 79.1 ^ 5.6 years) with AMD and no other ocular diseases were recruited from a low vision clinic or the Macular Degeneration Foundation database in a metropolitan city. Interviewees had not received any formal home modification assessment from a government provider. Nevertheless, 70 per cent of participants stated that they undertook home modifications themselves or with the assistance of family and friends. The most important functional modifications as perceived by the participants concerned the installation of hand rails, non-slip matting, colour contrasting safety stair nosing, single lever taps, slip resistant flooring, lift chairs and motion sensors that activated pathway lighting. Kitchens, steps and bathrooms were perceived as hazardous locations. Most participants had difficulties with reading fine-print material on kitchen appliances, washing machines, microwave ovens and remote controls for electronic devices in the home. Originality/value – An evidence-base for useful home modifications as suggested by people with visual impairment was perceived to be a valuable resource for other people with visual impairment who may not yet have developed adaptive strategies. Industrial and interior designers and low vision rehabilitation services who aim to improve functionality of the home environment will also find these suggestions useful.


Abstract : This report describes the results and analysis of the field test of the Improved Anti-Personnel Mine Neutralization Device (APMINUD). This is the second test of this equipment and follows a six month design and engineering effort on the equipment to correct and improve upon deficiencies identified in the initial version of the APMINUD. The APMINUD is a mechanical tool designed to safely detonate antipersonnel landmines as part of a peace time clearance operation. The APMINUD consists of a mobile blast and fragment containment shell, with a mechanical striker inside. It can be used in conjunction with a shielded, all terrain vehicle with crane. The vehicle is used to move and lower the shell over a marked mine location. The internal striker is released and impacts the mine or ground above the mine and actuates the pressure fuze. The blast and fragments from the detonating mine are contained within, or are directed out the top of the shell and away from surrounding personnel and equipment.


Surgery of Arthritis. Robert A. Milch, MD (ed.). Price, $11.50. Pp 280, with several illustrations. Williams & Wilkins Co., 428 E Preston St, Baltimore, Md 21202, 1964. Arthritis and Rheumatism. Vol 7, Part 2. William S. Clark, MD (ed.). Price, $3. Pp 549-613. Grune & Stratton, Inc., 381 Fourth Ave, New York 10016, 1964. In recent years, surgeons have assumed new roles in the combined treatment of arthritis. They have been willing to operate even in the presence of active rheumatoid arthritis, and internists have been willing to let them do so. They thus contribute to the prevention and earlier treatment of the various forms of arthritis, instead of being called upon merely to correct late deformities. Until recently, surgeons had been consulted early only when infectious arthritis required treatment. Von Volkmann attempted to eradicate tuberculosis of the joints through a synovectomy in 1877, but the first modern synovectomy


Abstract. We present a three-parameter streamflow elasticity model as a function of precipitation, potential evaporation, and change in groundwater storage applicable at both seasonal and annual scales. The model was applied to 245 Model Parameter Estimation Experiment (MOPEX) basins spread across the continental USA. The analysis of the modified equation at annual and seasonal scales indicated that the groundwater and surface water storage change contributes significantly to the streamflow elasticity. Overall, in case of annual as well as seasonal water balances, precipitation has higher elasticity values when compared to both potential evapotranspiration and storage changes. The streamflow elasticities show significant nonlinear associations with the climate conditions of the catchments indicating a complex interplay between elasticities and climate variables with substantial seasonal variations.


Optimum design of high-energy cascaded parametric down-conversion schemes from 1 μm requires accurate knowledge of the laser induced damage threshold (LIDT) of the nonlinear crystal employed. We report surface LIDT measurements in KTiOPO4 (KTP) and Rb:KTP (RKTP) with nanosecond pulses at 1.064 μm and 2.1 μm. LIDT results for nanosecond pulses at 2 μm for KTP and RKTP have not been previously reported to the best of our knowledge.


Many visual phenomena suggest that humans use top-down generative or reconstructive processes to create visual percepts (e.g., imagery, object completion, pareidolia), but little is known about the role reconstruction plays in robust object recognition. We built an iterative encoder-decoder network that generates an object reconstruction and used it as top-down attentional feedback to route the most relevant spatial and feature information to feed-forward object recognition processes. We tested this model using the challenging out-of-distribution digit recognition dataset, MNIST-C, where 15 different types of transformation and corruption are applied to handwritten digit images. Our model showed strong generalization performance against various image perturbations, on average outperforming all other models including feedforward CNNs and adversarially trained networks. Our model is particularly robust to blur, noise, and occlusion corruptions, where shape perception plays an important role. Ablation studies further reveal two complementary roles of spatial and feature-based attention in robust object recognition, with the former largely consistent with spatial masking benefits in the attention literature (the reconstruction serves as a mask) and the latter mainly contributing to the model's inference speed (i.e., number of time steps to reach a certain confidence threshold) by reducing the space of possible object hypotheses. We also observed that the model sometimes hallucinates a non-existing pattern out of noise, leading to highly interpretable human-like errors. Our study shows that modeling reconstruction-based feedback endows AI systems with a powerful attention mechanism, which can help us understand the role of generating perception in human visual processing.


Introduction Many patients present to gastroenterology services with multiple upper GI symptoms. Complaints of postprandial retrosternal/epigastric discomfort with regurgitation are common and can suggest gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, gastroparesis, or both. Disentangling the differentials can be difficult on clinical history alone. The need for several tests to exclude each diagnosis has cost and time implications for clinicians and patients. It is known that intragastric pH rises from a baseline of ~1 to a median of 4.5 during a meal, and gradually returns to fasting-state as the buffer (i.e. ingested food) leaves the stomach (Gardner et al, 2002). We aimed to establish if reflux monitoring, where intragastric pH is recorded routinely, could also detect longer periods of high pH postprandially in subjects with confirmed gastroparesis compared to those with normal gastric emptying. Methods From our database of patients seen in our tertiary referral GI physiology unit, we identified patients with confirmed delayed gastric emptying on 13C-octanoic acid breath test from 2009–2015 who had also undergone 24 hour reflux monitoring off PPI (pH-only or combined pH-impedance). Another group of symptomatic patients with normal gastric emptying times on breath test, who also had reflux monitoring, were identified as controls. We interrogated reflux monitoring traces for baseline fasted pH, then measured the time taken for intragastric pH to return to baseline from the end of self-reported mealtimes. Median times for return of postprandial intragastric pH to baseline were compared between groups. Results 80 eligible patients with gastroparesis (54 female; age range 13 to 84 years, median 42 years) were identified and compared with 20 subjects with normal gastric emptying times (12 female; age range 14 to 70 years, median 42 years). Median baseline fasting intragastric pH in both groups was 1.3. The median duration for postprandial intragastric pH to return to baseline for the gastroparesis group was 118 minutes (95% CI: 109–153 min) compared to 42.5 min for the control group (95% CI: 36–68 min). The difference between the two groups was extremely significant (two-tailed p < 0.0001).Abstract OC-082 Figure 1 Conclusion Intragastric pH is elevated for longer periods postprandially in patients with gastroparesis. The intragastric pH data readily captured on reflux monitoring shows promise as an alternative modality for identifying gastroparesis. To evaluate this hypothesis, a prospective study where 13 C-octanoic acid breath testing using standardised meals is performed with concurrent reflux monitoring is currently underway at our unit. Disclosure of Interest J. Ooi: None Declared, G. Amarasinghe: None Declared, K. Nikaki: None Declared, S. Gabieta-Sonmez: None Declared, E. Yazaki: None Declared, D. Sifrim Grant/research support from: Reckitt Benckiser, Hull, UK; Sandhill Scientific, Colorado, USA, P. Woodland Grant/research support from: Reckitt Benckiser, Hull, UK


A sample of 26 bright spiral galaxies (B tot < 12.7) with low to medium inclination and without a bar was observed with UBVRI filters. The CAFOS focal reducer camera at the Calar Alto 2.2 m telescope was used. The surface-brightness distributions were fitted using a 2-dimensional algorithm with corresponding functions for the disk- and bulge-structure. For the disks an exponential function was used, for the bulges a Sersic R β law, was applied with the concentration parameter β = 1/n as another fit variable. Correlations of the resulting structural parameters of disks and bulges in UBVRI are investigated, giving clues to the formation history of the bulges. We confirm that the large and bright bulges of early-type spirals are similar to elliptical galaxies. They were probably formed prior to the disks in a monolithic collapse or via early mergers. Late-type spirals have tiny and faint bulges with disk-like profiles. These bulges were probably formed after the disk in secular evolution processes, e.g. from a disk instability. The comparison of the color indices of corresponding spirals and bulges with population synthesis computations support above formation scenarios.


Large case/control genome-wide association studies (GWAS) often include groups of related individuals with known relationships. When testing for associations at a given locus, current methods incorporate only the familial relationships between individuals. Here, we introduce the chromosome-based Quasi Likelihood Score (cQLS) statistic that incorporates local Identity-By-Descent (IBD) to increase the power to detect associations. In studies robust to population stratification, such as those with case/control sibling pairs, simulations show that the study power can be increased by over 50%. In our example, a GWAS examining late-onset Alzheimers disease, the p-values among the most strongly associated SNPs in the APOE gene tend to decrease, with the smallest p-value decreasing from 1.23 × 10-8 to 7.70 × 10-9. Furthermore, as a part of our simulations, we reevaluate our expectations about the use of families in GWAS. We show that, although adding only half as many unique chromosomes, genotyping affected siblings is more efficient than genotyping randomly ascertained cases. We also show that genotyping cases with a family history of disease will be less beneficial when searching for SNPs with smaller effect sizes.


Abstract The present study was conducted in order to determine the opinions of prospective teachers about peer assessment in teaching practice. Twenty two prospective teachers in the 4th year of the Primary School Class Teaching Program at Cumhuriyet University participated in the study. In every teaching practice, prospective teachers observed their peers and filled out peer assessment forms which include teacher competences; and the assessments were discussed in the theoretical part of the teaching practice, this takes 2 hours. At the end of the teaching practice where peer assessment was made, the opinions of prospective teachers about peer assessment were taken via a semi-structured negotiation technique, and content analysis was carried out. Of all the prospective teachers, 90.91% stated that the use of peer assessment in teaching practice was beneficial. Prospective teachers think that peer assessment helps develop skills in using standards while making assessments; increases the awareness of the individual's strengths and weaknesses; supports learning from the strengths and weaknesses of colleagues; increases the responsibility towards mutually supportive learning and development; improves teacher competences; gives the opportunity to make comparisons with other colleagues) (diversity of practice) ; increases cooperation and interaction; decreases the anxiety that results from being assessed; enables the teacher to focus on teaching; improves openness to criticism; develops assessment skills; improves empathetic skills and critical thinking; brings peer assessment skill and strengthens the relationship with colleagues. The findings of the present study show that peer assessment is an effective method in the configuration of the teaching process. Key Words Peer Assessment, Teacher Education, Teaching Practice In recent years, a passage from "assessing of learning" to "assessing for learning" is observed (Cartney, 2010; Torrance, 2007 cited in Willey & Gardner, 2010). Assessment for learning focuses on learning task and includes learning in assessment (Keppell & Carless, 2006). Assessment for learning has three main elements (Black & William, 1998; Carless, 2007 cited in Willey & Gardner, 2010): 1) Assessment tasks which focus on learning, 2) Participation of students in the assessment process in order to improve their rating aspects which includes judgment, 3) Transmitting feedback to increase learning. Assessment for learning focuses on the usage of assessment strategies which can increase student learning, unlike summative assessment made for the confirmation or documentation of learning (Keppell, Au, Ma, & Chan, 2006). According to Boud (1990), the assessment process should be a learning instrument. Ideal assessment intends to make students plan their own learning; define their weaknesses and strengths and improve their transferable skills (cited in McLaughlin & Simpson, 2004). According to Strijbos and Sluijsmans (2010), summative assessment focuses only on the cognitive aspect of learning; includes generally only one performance grade and it is designed and applied by the teacher. However, assessment should not just serve level setting; it should also serve to the targets of formation in a wider point of view. Formative evaluation is an integral part of the learning process and it should take place not only at the end of a program but also throughout the entire program. Formative evaluation focuses on cognitive, social, affective and superior cognitive aspects. It generally includes a multi-method approach and creates a complete profile rather than simply a final grade. Students take an active role in the assessment process. In the context of formative assessment or assessment for learning, peer assessment, which was seen to increase student's learning, plays an important role (Cartney, 2010; Ploegh, Tillema, & Segers, 2009). Peer Assessment Peer assessment is generally defined as a process in which students assess their peers or they are assessed by their peers. …


When a true survival endpoint cannot be assessed for some subjects, an alternative endpoint that measures the true endpoint with error may be collected, which often occurs when the true endpoint is too invasive or costly to obtain. We develop nonparametric and semiparametric estimated likelihood functions that incorporate both uncertain endpoints available for all participants and true endpoints available for only a subset of participants. We propose maximum estimated likelihood estimators of the discrete survival function of time to the true endpoint and of a hazard ratio representing the effect of a binary or continuous covariate assuming a proportional hazards model. We show that the proposed estimators are consistent and asymptotically normal and develop the analytical forms of the variance estimators. Through extensive simulations, we also show that the proposed estimators have little bias compared to the naA ve estimator, which uses only uncertain endpoints, and are more efficient with moderate missingness compared to the complete-case estimator, which uses only available true endpoints. We illustrate the proposed method by estimating the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease using data from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. Using our proposed semiparametric estimator, we develop optimal study design strategies to compare survival across treatment groups for a new trial with these data characteristics. We demonstrate how to calculate the optimal number of true events in the validation set with desired power using simulated data when assuming the baseline distribution of the true event, effect size, correlation between outcomes, and proportion of true outcomes that are missing can be estimated from pilot studies. We also propose a sample size formula that does not depend on baseline distribution of the true event and show that power calculated by the formula matches well with simulation based results. Using results from a Ginkgo Evaluation of Memory study, we calculate the number of true events in the validation set that would need to be observed for new studies comparing development of Alzheimer's disease among those with and without antihypertensive use, as well as the total number of subjects and number in the validation set to be recruited for these new trials. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Epidemiology & Biostatistics First Advisor Sharon X. Xie


Ecclesiastes is at once a strange book and a modern one, at once enigmatic and curiously familiar. Here we find a man detached from the world and yet intensely aware of it, setting down in writing his thoughts about human life. Yet from the very first his readers have been unable to agree about his basic attitude to life. Whybray sorts through the options by asking questions regarding the author, his times, his language and his ideas.


: The potential exists today for dental health professionals to assist parents in rearing caries-free children. The knowledge and technology are available and the request for this service is growing. The dental professional has the opportunity to accept this role with enthusiasm and continue to be a leader among the health professions in disease prevention. The dental profession must not ignore the oral health needs of infants and toddlers under three years of age. We must instead, take advantage of our knowledge and technology and begin our disease prevention efforts with children as infants, and educate parents regarding their important role in the oral health of their children. By doing so we can provide a pleasant and logical introduction to dentistry and promote the profession in a most positive way.


Objectives Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at the frontline of efforts to treat those affected by COVID-19 and prevent its continued spread. This study seeks to assess knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) as well as training needs and preferences related to COVID-19 among frontline HCWs in Nigeria. Setting A cross-sectional survey was carried out among 1852 HCWs in primary, secondary and tertiary care settings across Nigeria using a 33-item questionnaire. Participants Respondents included doctors, nurses, pharmacy and clinical laboratory professionals who have direct clinical contact with patients at the various healthcare settings. Analysis Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to establish independent factors related to COVID-19 KAP. Analysis of variance was used to identify any differences in the factors among different categories of HCWs. Results EFA identified four factors: safety and prevention (factor 1), practice and knowledge (factor 2), control and mitigation (factor 3) and national perceptions (factor 4). Significant group differences were found on three factors: Factor 1 (F(1,1655)=5.79, p=0.0006), factor 3 (F(1,1633)=12.9, p<0.0.0001) and factor 4 (F(1,1655)=7.31, p<0.0001) with doctors scoring higher on these three factors when compared with nurses, pharmaceutical workers and medical laboratory scientist. The most endorsed training need was how to reorganise the workplace to prevent spread of COVID-19. This was chosen by 61.8% of medical laboratory professionals, 55.6% of doctors, 51.7% of nurses and 51.6% of pharmaceutical health workers. The most preferred modes of training were webinars and conferences. Conclusion There were substantial differences in KAP regarding the COVID-19 pandemic among various categories of frontline HCWs surveyed. There were also group differences on COVID-19 training needs and preferences. Tailored health education and training aimed at enhancing and updating COVID-19 KAP are needed, particularly among non-physician HCWs.


This case study was conducted from April 2013 to August 2013 at Sukau, Kinabatangan, Sabah and in the laboratory of the School of Sustainable Agriculture (SSA), Universiti Malaysia Sabah Sandakan Campus. It was carried out to document
the technical and socioeconomic details of a model chicken-oil palm integrated farming under Nestle Malaysia Sdn Bhd in Sabah. This study was conducted through interviewing a model farmer and laboratory works. The interview was conducted to
collect the socioeconomic and farm management information while the laboratory works were done to discover the nutritional status of the chicken reared in chicken-oil
palm integrated system. Interviewed data showed that integrated farming were beneficial to the small-scale oil palm farmers, specifically to increase their income for
supporting the daily family need and family's animal protein consumption, and also for controlling the weeds in oil palm plantation effectively and biologically. Gross analysis
of the feed resources available to the integrated chicken showed that their feed consisted of 50.91% grain, 39.65% green grasses, 0.00% kitchen wastes and 9.44% other materials. Proximate analysis of the crop and gizzard contents of the integrated chicken indicated that they suffers from serious imbalance of nutrition and receive
18.68% crude protein, 10.06% crude fibre, 13.61% ether extract, 32.01% dry matter and 67.99% moisture. Overall findings suggested that the integrated farmers might
increase their productivity and profitability if all the technical limitations are eliminated or minimized effectively. Therefore, standardization of all the technical aspects of integrated farming including feeding of the chicken is recommended before disseminating this model to the farmers living in different socio-economic situation and
agro-ecological zones.


We report the clinical and histopathologic findings in ocular and vascular tissues of a patient with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome type IV. The diagnosis was confirmed by analysis of skin fibroblasts. The patient had multiple vascular complications including recurrent, spontaneous carotid-cavernous sinus fistulas, multiple arterial dissections, and spontaneous rupture of the abdominal aorta. Ocular complications resulted from attempted repair of the carotid-cavernous sinus fistulas. Ocular, cardiac, and renal artery autopsy specimens were examined by light microscopy. The coronary artery internal elastic membrane was discontinuous. The central retinal and renal arteries were normal. Early clinical recognition of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome type IV is critical due to complications associated with arterial puncture and surgery. The diagnosis of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome type IV should be considered in young and middle-aged patients seen with spontaneous, direct carotid-cavernous sinus fistulas.


Social security fraud is currently estimated at £7 billion per year out of an annual socialsecurity budget of £90 billion. The social security system is hugely bureaucratic andadministrative, leaving it wide open to abuse. Obviously there are individuals keen toexploit such vulnerability, but many innocent claimants also fall foul of its rules, quiteinadvertently. In 1997, the Conservative government declared that its anti-fraudinitiatives would save taxpayers £7 billion over the next three years.2 The main plankin the Conservatives' anti-fraud strategy, which has now been implemented by theLabour Government, was the Social Security Administration (Fraud) Act 1997,designed to make the detection, prosecution and punishment of benefit fraud moreeffective.3 The aim of this note is to examine the legislation previously used in thebattle against benefit fraud, to identify the rationale for legislative change, and toanalyse the problems which arise from this new legislative position.


We investigated whether an exercise challenge protocol is suitable for mea- suring bronchial responsiveness in epidemiological studies of asthma in children, and determined its comparability with histamine challenge. The exercise challenge was 6 minutes of outdoor, free-range running at 85-90% of maximum heart rate, measured by heart rate monitor. Nose clips were worn. Distance run was measured to estimate oxygen consumption. Water content of the inspired air was < 10 mg H 2 O·l-1. Histamine challenge was by the rapid method. We used ques- tionnaires to measure respiratory symptoms and skin prick tests to measure atopy. A total of 96 children aged 8-11 years were studied. Bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) to exercise challenge was defined as a fall in forced expiratory volume in one sec- ond (FEV 1 ) of 13% or greater. Eleven children had a positive response to exercise chal- lenge and 11 to histamine challenge but 12 responded to one challenge and not to the other. The correlation coefficient between the two tests was 0.65 (p=0.0001). Exercise challenge thus proved to be a practical epidemiological tool for objective mea- surements of bronchial responsiveness in children. In this sample, some children responded to one challenge and not to the other which suggests that the two chal- lenges identify different abnormalities of the airways.


A large bank is attempting to cost justify a proposed, large (60,000 sq. ft.) data center based upon energy savings achieved through "green" technology, principally through water cooling and energy recovery. The investments total about $100 million, offset somewhat by funds recouped from the closing of an older facility. The new building is expected to open with 700 racks of server computers. The power consumed by each rack costs more than the amortized cost of the computers themselves. The bank expects a 12% return on discounted cash flows.


The socio-spatial restructuring of Delhi was accompanied by large-scale slum demolitions that increased homelessness. This paper focuses on the people made homeless, and their struggle to assert their place in the city. First, it expounds the context of homelessness in Delhi and analyses the mechanisms behind its aggravation. Then, it examines a decisive moment in this struggle: a mobilisation campaign for the homeless' right to shelter, triggered by a tragic eviction during the preparations for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. This research shows that the campaign's success is due to the combination of long-term structural work at the grassroots level and the timely reaction of various connected actors in different spheres (civil society, media, justice) and institutional levels, and how the campaign for the homeless faces several challenges in sustaining its outcomes.


In connection with the phenomenon that the quality of products is affected seriously, because the connecting nut on the pillar of pillar flat vulcanizing machine is easy to loose, where no reliable connection, and the problem that lines between the flat are not parallel is often caused。In this paper, a kind of threaded connection to achieve reliable locking anywhere and benign dismountability is presented. The connection bases on ratchet wheel movement principle. The ratchet-shaped trench is designed on the contact surface of nut and gasket. The trench is circular uniform distribution and its axial section is triangular cone. This combination ensures that the fastening can be connected for the relative movement when the thread is rotated directly and for the self-locking when the thread is rotated reversely. The dismountability can be achieved by tilting the side wing of ratchet-gasket to remove the circumferential fix.


The literature of count regression models covers a large scope of studies and applications that implemented simple and standard models for count response variables by using Poisson regression models, binomial regression models, negative binomial regression models, geometric regression models, or generalized Poisson regression models. These regression models have received considerable attention in various situations. Nevertheless in many fields, the distribution of the count response variable may display a feature of excess zeros for which the aforementioned regression models may fail to provide an adequate fit. To remedy this handicap, a class of distributions known as zero-inflated models is considered as the most appropriate approach for dealing properly with this issue of excess zeros. In addition to the zero-inflated problem, it happens quite often that the sample data sets under investigation are not completely observed. This refers to the missing data problem. In this study, our primary interest is in reviewing studies that considered simultaneously the missing data problem and the zero-inflated feature in modeling zero-inflated data. Moreover, we discuss their methodologies and results and some potential directions of the future research.


Understand the fundamentals and develop your own AI solutions in this updated edition packed with many new examples
Key Features
AI-based examples to guide you in designing and implementing machine intelligence

Build machine intelligence from scratch using artificial intelligence examples

Develop machine intelligence from scratch using real artificial intelligence
Book Description
AI has the potential to replicate humans in every field. Artificial Intelligence By Example, Second Edition serves as a starting point for you to understand how AI is built, with the help of intriguing and exciting examples.

This book will make you an adaptive thinker and help you apply concepts to real-world scenarios. Using some of the most interesting AI examples, right from computer programs such as a simple chess engine to cognitive chatbots, you will learn how to tackle the machine you are competing with. You will study some of the most advanced machine learning models, understand how to apply AI to blockchain and Internet of Things (IoT), and develop emotional quotient in chatbots using neural networks such as recurrent neural networks (RNNs) and convolutional neural networks (CNNs).

This edition also has new examples for hybrid neural networks, combining reinforcement learning (RL) and deep learning (DL), chained algorithms, combining unsupervised learning with decision trees, random forests, combining DL and genetic algorithms, conversational user interfaces (CUI) for chatbots, neuromorphic computing, and quantum computing.

By the end of this book, you will understand the fundamentals of AI and have worked through a number of examples that will help you develop your AI solutions.
What you will learn
Apply k-nearest neighbors (KNN) to language translations and explore the opportunities in Google Translate

Understand chained algorithms combining unsupervised learning with decision trees

Solve the XOR problem with feedforward neural networks (FNN) and build its architecture to represent a data flow graph

Learn about meta learning models with hybrid neural networks

Create a chatbot and optimize its emotional intelligence deficiencies with tools such as Small Talk and data logging

Building conversational user interfaces (CUI) for chatbots

Writing genetic algorithms that optimize deep learning neural networks

Build quantum computing circuits
Who this book is for
Developers and those interested in AI, who want to understand the fundamentals of Artificial Intelligence and implement them practically. Prior experience with Python programming and statistical knowledge is essential to make the most out of this book.


The scapula is a rare location for osteoid osteoma, which in most cases does not involve the flat bones. The en bloc excision in this uncommon location can be problematic since the surgical exposure is difficult, and shoulder joint function can be affected if the lesion is subchondral. In an 18-yearold man, an osteoid osteoma was located in the subchondral area of the glenoid. A guided needle biopsy of the nidus resulted in complete healing. This mode of treatment, with proper follow-up examination, is acceptable for a benign lesion situated in a problematic location.


Background: The persistence or recurrence of minimal residual disease (MRD) after chemotherapy predicts relapse of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). CD19-directed chimeric antigen receptor-modified T (CD19 CAR-T) cells have shown excitable response in B-ALL. Recently, some studies have shown that ALL patients with lower burden had higher CR rate and lower risk of CRS after CAR-T therapy (Park, et al, NEJM. 2018; 378(5):439-448. Lee, et al, Blood.128 (22):Abstract 218.). However, its role in chemotherapy-refractory MRD-positive B-ALL remains unclear. Here we aimed to assess the effectiveness and safety of CD19 CAR-T in MRD-positive B-ALL patients.
 Methods: Since January 2018, a total of 14 B-ALL patients with persistent (n=8) or recurrent (n=6) MRD were enrolled in the CAR-T clinical trials (ChiCTR-ONN- 16009862 and ChiCTR1800015164). The patients were from two different clinical trials about CAR-T. If patients were treated in an MRD positive state, they would be included in this analysis. All the patients received one or more infusions of autogenous CD19 CAR-T.
 Results: Median age was 37.5 (13-62) years and 7 patients were female. The median dose of infused CAR-T cells was 6.78´106cells/kg, and 5 patients received more than one infusion. After one cycle of CAR-T infusion, 12 patients achieved MRD-negative remission, leading a response rate of 85.7%. Of the subgroup of 5 Ph-positive patients who subsequently underwent transplantation, 2 patients died due to transplant-related toxic effects, whereas the other 3 patients all currently alive without leukemia. Of the subgroup of 9 Ph-negative patients, 8 patients did not undergo subsequent transplantation (Figure 1). Three patients finally suffered CD19-positive relapse and 1 patient suffered CD19-negative relapse. Importantly, 4 patients (50%) are in ongoing molecular remission without transplantation, with a duration of response averaging 22.9 months (range: 12.1-28.6 months).
 The most frequent adverse events were fever and hematopoietic toxicities. Ten patients (71.4%) had grade 1 or 2 cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and no patients died of CRS. At a median follow-up time of 599.5 days (range: 172-915 days), the probability of 2-year relapse-free survival and 2-year overall survival was 61.2%±14.0% and 78.6%±11.0%, respectively.
 Conclusion: In conclusion, pre-emptive CD19 CAR-T treatment is an effective and safe approach and may confer a sustained remission in B-ALL patients with chemotherapy-refractory MRD.

 No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Earthquake rupture complexity is described for three recent large underthrusting earthquakes along the Costa Rican subduction zone, the 1983 Osa, 1990 Nicoya Gulf, and 1999 Quepos events. These earthquakes occurred in regions characterized by distinctly different morphologic features on the subducting plate. The 1990 and 1999 events occurred along linear projections of subducting seamount chains and had fairly simple earthquake rupture histories. Both events are interpreted as failure of the basal contact of closely spaced isolated seamounts acting as asperities. In contrast, the 1983 event occurred along the subducting Cocos Ridge and had a complex rupture history. Comparison of rupture characteristics of these large underthrusting earthquakes with size and location of subducting features provides evidence that seamounts can be subducted to seismogenic depths and that variations in seafloor bathymetry of the subducting plate strongly influence the earthquake rupture process.


without further evidence of neoplasm, and 12 patients died unrelated disease without recurrent tumor. 7 patients have developed recurrent neoplasms in the peritoneal cavity at 9 to 63 months (mean 35 months) after initial excision. Conclusions: The findings confirm the excellent prognosis for patients with BTO. BTO were most frequently recognised in stage I. The most common histological type of BTO were serous and mucinous neoplasms. Type of surgery is dependent on age of patients, obstetrical past, clinical stage and tumor pathology


Background/Aims:Cholelithiasis is a common disorder in north-eastern Germany. Analyses of risk factors for gallstone formation in this population may have high explanatory power. Gender-specific risk factors for gallstone formation and their interactions were investigated by using data of the population-based Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP). Methods:Data of 4,202 persons aged 20–79 years were available. Cholelithiasis was defined by either a prior history of cholecystectomy or the presence of gallstones on abdominal ultrasound. Multivariable analyses were performed to identify independent risk factors for gallstone formation. Results:There were 468 persons (11.1%) with previous cholecystectomy and 423 persons (10.1%) with sonographic evidence of gallstones. Women had a twofold higher risk for cholelithiasis compared to men. Age, body mass index and low serum HDL cholesterol levels were independently associated with cholelithiasis in both men and women. In the male population, low alcohol and high coffee consumption and in the female population, low physical activity, were further independently related to gallstone formation. Additionally, sex-specific interactions between risk factors were found. Conclusions: Female sex, age and being overweight are major risk factors for gallstone formation in this region where cholelithiasis is a frequent disorder. Additional factors and interactions contribute to a gender-specific gallstone risk.


Approximately 130,000 adenoidectomies are performed each year in the United States. Few studies have examined adenoid regrowth and the incidence of revision surgery or have compared four different surgical instruments commonly used for adenoid surgery within the same institution. This study aimed to determine the incidence of revision adenoidectomy after the use of microdebrider, Coblation, suction cautery, and curette instruments over a 10-year period at a single major tertiary children's center in the United States. A retrospective chart review was performed for all patients who underwent primary and/or revision adenoidectomy at the Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) between August 2004 and August 2014. During the 10-year study period, a microdebrider was used in 212 cases, Coblation in 382, suction cautery in 1,926, and curette in 3,139 adenoidectomies. The percentages of revision adenoidectomy were 1.42% (3 patients) for microdebrider, 0.79% (3 patients) for Coblation, 0.36% (7 patients) for suction cautery, and 0.03% (1 patient) for curette. The cumulative incidence of revision adenoidectomy for initial surgeries performed at CHLA was 0.2% for the 10-year study period. Pearson chi-square analysis showed statistically significant differences between the surgical techniques (p < 0.0001). In conclusion, regrowth of adenoid tissue requiring revision surgery occurs very infrequently irrespective of the instrument used for the primary procedure, and the most common indication for revision adenoidectomy is to improve eustachian tube dysfunction rather than nasal obstruction due to adenoid hypertrophy.


PCSK-9 has a tremendous role in lipid metabolism. PCSK9 variants have been concomitantly linked to alterations in plasma lipid profile, leading to increased risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus. The aim of our study was to determine the frequency of PCSK-9 I474V variant in hypercholesterolemic and diabetic subjects. Plasma lipid profile and fasting blood glucose were assayed in 30 healthy, 25 hypercholesterolemic, and 45 diabetic subjects. Genomic DNA was extracted from whole blood and PCR was run using specific primers to obtain an amplicon harbouring exon 9. The amplicon was later subjected to Sanger sequencing and. A missense mutation of PCSK9 I474V SNP was detected in the exon 9 of PCSK9 gene. Our results show a frequency of the PCSK9 I474V SNP in Hail region of Saudi Arabia and this frequency is higher among hypercholesterolemic and diabetic patients. To our best knowledge, this is the first report of mutation of this nature in Hail region of Saudi Arabia.


We study biwarped product submanifolds which are special cases of multiply warped product submanifolds in Kähler manifolds. We observe the non-existence of such submanifolds under some circumstances. We show that there exists a non-trivial biwarped product submanifold of a certain type by giving an illustrate example. We also give a necessary and sufficient condition for such submanifolds to be locally trivial. Moreover, we establish an inequality for the squared norm of the second fundamental form in terms of the warping functions for such submanifolds. The equality case is also discussed.


Background. The influence of continuity of care on outcomes of care for patients with type 2 diabetes is poorly understood. Objective. To examine the relationships between continuity, glucose control, and advancement through stages of change for selfmanagement behaviors. Design. Prospective cohort study. Setting. Five community health centers on the Texas‐Mexico border. Subjects. A random sample of 256 adults, 18 years of age and older with an established diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. Measures. Stage of change for diet and exercise were assessed during two patient interviews, averaging 18.9 months apart. Phlebotomy was performed at each interview to measure glycosolated hemoglobin (HbA1C). Medical records were abstracted for ambulatory care utilization. A continuity score was calculated based on the number of visits and number of providers seen. Results. Patients who advanced one or more stages of change for diet had higher levels of continuity. As continuity improved, the change in HbA1C was smaller. (r = –0.25; P <0.001) This relationship remained significant after controlling for number of visits, months since diagnosis, number of days in the study, duration of diabetes, and advancement in stage of change for diet. Advancement through stage of change for diet explained a significant amount of the variance in the relationship between continuity and HbA1C (t test = –11.33; P <0.01). Conclusions. Continuity of care with a primary care provider is associated with better glucose control among patients with type 2 diabetes. This relationship appears to be mediated by changes in patient behavior regarding diet.


Using weekly data over the period 2002-2011, we examine market integration among 22 international markets from the viewpoint of Malaysian investors. We also analyse the impact of the subprime financial crisis of 2007-2008 on the linkages of these markets. In general, our results indicate a lack of cointegration in all market groups. We find that the subprime crisis has resulted in a temporary cointegration in the groups during the peak of the crisis, but cointegration is weak or absent in the pre- and post-crisis periods. We also find that cointegration is strongest in the Malaysian and European market groups and surprisingly weak in the group involving Malaysia and its neighbouring emerging markets. The results of the causality and variance decomposition analyses strongly indicate that Malaysia is largely unrelated with other markets. Overall, our evidence points towards the possibility for diversification benefits to local investors.Keywords: Stock Market Integration, Subprime Crisis, Cointegration, Structural Breaks, Granger Causality, Variance DecompositionJEL: F30, F36, G15


The capabilities of unmanned airborne systems (UAS) have become diverse with the recent development of lightweight remote sensing instruments. In this paper, we demonstrate our custom integration of the state-of-the-art technologies within an unmanned aerial platform capable of high-resolution and high-accuracy laser scanning, hyperspectral imaging, and photographic imaging. The technological solution comprises the latest development of a completely autonomous, unmanned helicopter by Aeroscout, the Scout B1-100 UAV helicopter. The helicopter is powered by a gasoline two-stroke engine and it allows for integrating 18 kg of a customized payload unit. The whole system is modular providing flexibility of payload options, which comprises the main advantage of the UAS. The UAS integrates two kinds of payloads which can be altered. Both payloads integrate a GPS/IMU with a dual GPS antenna configuration provided by OXTS for accurate navigation and position measurements during the data acquisition. The first payload comprises a VUX-1 laser scanner by RIEGL and a Sony A6000 E-Mount photo camera. The second payload for hyperspectral scanning integrates a push-broom imager AISA KESTREL 10 by SPECIM. The UAS was designed for research of various aspects of landscape dynamics (landslides, erosion, flooding, or phenology) in high spectral and spatial resolution.


Abstract Objective: Supernumerary teeth, a term describing a condition where patients have an abnormally large number of teeth, can be associated with non-syndromic or syndromic phenotypes. PDGFRs are cell surface tyrosine kinase receptors, and are involved in several aspects of tooth development. The purpose of this study was to identify causative genes of familial supernumerary teeth and the molecular pathogenesis of tooth number abnormalities through genetic analysis of a family that showed supernumerary premolars in two successive generations. Material and methods: We recruited a Korean family with supernumerary premolars and performed mutational analyses to identify the underlying molecular genetic aetiology. Results: Targeted exome sequencing identified a missense mutation in PDGFRB (c.C2053T, p.R685C). Sanger sequencing confirmed that three affected individuals in the patient's family were heterozygous for the mutation. Conclusions: This is the first report of a Korean family that carries a PDGFRB mutation potentially responsible for supernumerary premolars. Our results demonstrate the power of next-generation sequencing in rapidly determining the genetic aetiology of numerical tooth abnormalities.


There have been many reports about the bainitic phase decomposition of annealed Cu-Zn alloy. During annealing at 523 K, the hardness of this alloy increased at the early stage of annealing, although the β-phase couldn't be observed in the matrix of β'-phase (CsCl). The crystal structure of β' phase, thus, was investigated by a high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) to find its structural change. As the result, the striations were observed in the HRTEM image of matrix at the early stage of annealing. The selected area diffraction pattern was also obtained from this area, and it showed the extra streaks which couldn't be explained by the normal CsCl structure of the β'-phase.


In this work, the modeling and control of a batch crystallization process used to produce tetragonal hen egg white lysozyme crystals are studied. Two processes are considered, crystal nucleation and growth. Crystal nucleation rates are obtained from previous experiments. The growth of each crystal progresses via kinetic Monte Carlo simulations comprising of adsorption, desorption, and migration on the (110) and (101) faces. The expressions of the rate equations are similar to Durbin and Feher. To control the nucleation and growth of the protein crystals and produce a crystal population with desired shape and size, a model predictive control (MPC) strategy is implemented. Specifically, the steady-state growth rates for the (110) and (101) faces are computed and their ratio is expressed in terms of the temperature and protein concentration via a nonlinear algebraic equation. The MPC method is shown to successfully regulate both the crystal size and shape distributions to different set-point values. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 59: 2317–2327, 2013


The Internet of Things emphasizes the concept of objects connected with each other, which includes all kinds of wireless sensor networks. An important issue is to reduce the energy consumption in the sensor networks since sensor nodes always have energy constraints. Deployment of thousands of wireless sensors in an appropriate pattern will simultaneously satisfy the application requirements and reduce the sensor network energy consumption. This article deployed a number of sensor nodes to record temperature data. The data was then used to predict the temperatures of some of the sensor node using linear programming. The predictions were able to reduce the node sampling rate and to optimize the node deployment to reduce the sensor energy consumption. This method can compensate for the temporarily disabled nodes. The main objective is to design the objective function and determine the constraint condition for the linear programming. The result based on real experiments shows that this method successfully predicts the values of unknown sensor nodes and optimizes the node deployment. The sensor network energy consumption is also reduced by the optimized node deployment.


SummaryThe official document adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing 1995 is called the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action for Equality, Development and Peace (PfA). The PfA is an agenda for women's empowerment that reaffirms the fundamental principle whereby the human rights of women and the girl child are an inalienable, integral and indivisible part of universal human rights. As an agenda for action, the platform seeks to promote and protect the full enjoyment of all human rights and the fundamental freedoms of all women throughout their life cycle.The report Beijing + 15: The Platform for Action and the European Union is the third review of development at the EU-level in relation to the 12 critical areas of concern of the PfA, building on the follow-up by the EU in 2000 and on the report from the Luxembourg Presidency in 2005.The report is based on the Council Conclusions on the follow-up of the Beijing PfA since 2005 and on information provided by the Member States in their answers to the UNECE questionnaire sent out in January 2009. The report has been realised under the supervision of the Ministry for Integration and Gender Equality in Sweden and Director Marianne Laxen has been responsible for its compilation.


A 420-kV gapped-core five-legged variable shunt reactor is modeled in the frequency range 5 Hz-10 MHz based on frequency sweep measurements and curve fitting using rational functions. Comparison with time-domain measurements at reduced voltage shows that the model can accurately predict the transient behavior of the shunt reactor, both for impinging overvoltages and circuit-breaker transient recovery voltages. Among the observations is that mutual coupling between the phases leads to a beat phenomenon in the reactor voltage following disconnection. Representing the shunt reactor by an LC parallel circuit leads to unrealistic results for steep-fronted incoming waves and high-frequency oscillating overvoltages, and for the attenuation of the transient recovery voltage following disconnection.