Freshman retention is a top priority in nearly all engineering schools. Increased retention optimizes new-student recruitment dollars, decreases students' time to graduation, impacts school rankings, and helps to meet industry's increasing demand for engineers. Most researchers and experts in the field agree on a number of basic tenants in retaining engineering freshmen. Topmost are the tenants of creating community amongst freshmen, bonding freshmen with returning students, creating opportunities for meaningful interaction between freshmen and faculty both in and outside of the classroom, helping freshmen understand and internalize the vision and mission of the school, and helping freshmen develop a personal identify as an Engineer. This paper focuses on this last tenant. Most engineering programs incorporate career exploration as one of the topics in their Introduction to Engineering course or a separate course or seminar. The Introduction to Engineering course is typically taught as either a discipline-specific course or a general course open to all engineering majors. In both cases, the content and delivery of the engineering career exploration topic is heavily influenced by the faculty member teaching the class. In the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University, we teach program/major-specific Introduction to Engineering courses, and—in the past—discussion of career exploration had been inconsistent, at best. In the fall of 2010, by piloting a Freshman Engineering Career Exploration event, the Fulton Schools of Engineering made a commitment to help our freshmen develop a personal identity with their chosen degree programs and/or to help them explore other engineering majors. Our Engineering Career Center—already heavily engaged in career services for our students with very successful career fairs, career development programming, and strong industry relations— engaged our freshman students in the Engineering Career Exploration event which introduced them to industry partners and alumni in a career fair-type atmosphere. The Engineering Career Center had invited our 1,100 engineering freshman to attend that pilot Career Exploration Event to provide context to the entry-level courses that they were enrolled in. As pilots are meant to do, our 2010 inaugural event, though a tremendous success, taught us many lessons for planning the event for fall 2011. This paper defines the rationale for conducting the Freshman Career Exploration Event and discusses how we implemented the lessons learned from our pilot event. In doing so, the paper also inspects the desired learning outcomes that governed the redesign of the event and details how the ASU Engineering Career Center partnered with Introduction to Engineering faculty to develop a three-pronged curriculum to create significant impact on our engineering freshmen. The logistics of the event, including strategies for recruiting company participation, are also discussed. The paper also analyzes the feedback received from students, faculty, and industry partners and how that feedback informed the lessons learned from this second annual event.


We develop and extend theoretical and computational methods for the calculation of the deformation, gravity and potential change due to a point source of magma injection into a multilayered, elastic-gravitational earth model. In our calculations, which are based upon the method outlined by Rundle, two distinct layers overlying a half-space may be incorporated. The source can be located in either of the layers or the half-space. The method is quite general, and can be readily adapted to calculations in which stresses in either the layers or the half-space relax by viscoelastic flow. The results obtained indicate that the use of homogeneous half-space to represent the Earth may in some cases be too simple a model and that variations in elastic moduli have a more significant effect than variation in reference density on both the surface displacements and gravity changes. As an example, we calculate the displacement and gravity changes due to a subsurface mass injection in a crust-mantle model appropriate to the volcanic island of Lanzarote, which is presently the subject of numerous geophysical experiments. Both historical and recent data indicate that Lanzarote may be subject to some risk of volcanic eruption in the future, thus our calculations may be useful in interpreting observations of preemption phenomena. The results are discussed in terms of prediction versus measurement capabilities.


Within economics a remarkable new development is underway: the theoretical and empirical economic analysis of individual well-being or happiness. This development transcends the borders of standard economics in various ways. The economics of happiness argues that the measurable concepts of happiness or life satisfaction allow us to proxy the theoretical concept of utility in a satisfactory way. This approach provides new insights into how human beings value goods and services and more general social and economic conditions, and suggests new policies that significantly deviate from what has been proposed so far. These developments could even be called "revolutionary" in that they change the way society is looked at from an economics point of view (Frey, 2008). Happiness economics has the potential to change economics substantially in the future, both with respect to analysis of economic problems and the policy recommendations intended to solve them. Our argument rests on three pillars: measurement, new insights, and policy consequences.


The chapter discusses soft computing techniques for solving complex computational tasks. It highlights some of the soft computing techniques like fuzzy logic, genetic algorithm, artificial neural network, and machine learning. The classification of the remotely sensed images is always a tedious task. So, here we explain how these soft computing techniques could be used for image classification. Image classification mainly concentrates on the feature ' s extraction process. The features extracted in an efficient manner improve classification accuracy. Hence, the different kinds of features and different methods for these extractions are explained. The best extracted features are selected using genetic algorithm. Various algorithms are shown and comparisons are made. Finally, the results are verified using a hypothetical case study.


In the process of carrying out research work, certain methods were investigated for conducting research into the occurrence of accidents of a non-productive nature, determining the compliance of actions of responsible persons, whose competence includes issues of life safety with regulatory requirements governing their activities.

In this article, in order to provide a scientifically-based methodological base of experts in addressing such issues, improving quality, ensuring the completeness of expert studies, which in turn will avoid possible erroneous conclusions when solving questions raised by the customer to conduct an examination, application of the algorithm of such studies recommended in the article.

Also, based on the implementation of expert developments in conducting such examinations and expert studies on the results of such examinations, it is advisable to supplement the list of main tasks, respectively, and expand the indicative list of issues to be solved during such examinations. The main objectives of such studies are determined by the subject of the study determined by these guidelines.

It is evidence of an accident, the condition of the conditions of any activity, the circumstances of the occurrence of a hazard that threatens or causes an accident, the conditions that led to the occurrence of the accident, and other data that are important for solving problems researched and established on the basis of specific expertise in the field of life safety, including such studies are conducted on the events:

– when the accident under investigation is connected with the performance of the job duties by the injured person;

 – when the investigated accident is not related to the performance of work duties by the injured person.

Key words: forensic examinations, life safety, accidents of non-productive character.


Smectic liquid crystals are unique condensed phases in that they exhibit properties of a one‐dimensional solid and of a two‐dimensional liquid. There exist various types of the hydrodynamic modes, propagating and diffusive modes, such as second sound or layer undulation modes, related to the existence of the internal degree of freedom in the complex fluid. Mechanical properties have been investigated of hyperswollen lyotropic smectic phases, with focus on its low dimensionality and large intrinsic fluctuations. This layer structure is supported by the microscopic long‐range intermembrane interactions such as electrostatic or steric repulsion that play an important role in the hyperswollen regime. The layer compressibility measurements tell one that the layer structure is supported by entropic repulsion, which originated in the undulation fluctuation motion of the membranes. The light scattering experiments are also shown which provide information on the relation between the static structure and the dynami...


Based on the assumption that the interest rate is constant, the unemployment insurance risk model for migrant workers is established. The premium income and the expense of this risk model are compound Poisson process. Among them, the premium of an insurance policy and the claim amount of unemployment insurance belong to random sequence. The proof procedure of model deduction and relevant ruin probability are put forward, and then the estimation formula for exact value of ruin probability of insurance company is obtained without considering the interest rate. Taking a certain city in China as an example, willingness investigation on unemployment insurance purchase is carried out among some migrant workers in six industries. According to the investigation data, the unemployment insurance risk model of migrant workers is used to estimate the ruin probability of insurance company. Results show that the more initial capital leads to lower ruin probability of insurance company and stronger survival capability. It is proved that under the background of financial crisis, implementation of unemployment insurance of migrant workers is an effective way to solve the unemployment problem of migrant workers.


Bolta' and 'Frontier' balansa clover seedlings were counted through two autumns following a large seed set in November 2006, from monocultures sown in a dryland environment in Canterbury. Following rain on 5 January 2007, 65% of 'Bolta' seed and 54% of 'Frontier' seed emerged. Approximately 11% of seed produced in 2006 remained in the soil in April 2008. These results highlight the regeneration potential of balansa clover. In a separate dryland grazing experiment at Lincoln University, six 'Bolta' balansa clover/cocksfoot plots were managed individually during five spring flowering periods to provide different amounts of seed. The total annual dry matter production of the balansa clover was dependent on this grazing management. Specifically, clover content in those cocksfoot pastures averaged above 30% for the 3 years following a major seeding event. Closing the balansa clover/cocksfoot pasture on 6 September to allow flowering after a February sowing, or no spring grazing after a late May sowing, provided sufficient seed for successful re-establishment of the balansa clover for the next 3 years. In contrast, when the February sown plots were closed on 24 October, only half as much clover was produced in the following years. Thus, successful regeneration of balansa clover will require management for seed production in the establishment year and then on a 3 year cycle.


In 1907, M. Petrovitch initiated the study of a class of entire functions all whose finite sections (i.e., truncations) are real-rooted polynomials. He was motivated by previous studies of E. Laguerre on uniform limits of sequences of real-rooted polynomials and by an interesting result of G. H. Hardy. An explicit description of this class in terms of the coefficients of a series is impossible since it is determined by an infinite number of discriminant inequalities, one for each degree. However, interesting necessary or sufficient conditions can be formulated. In particular; J. I. Hutchinson has shown that an entire function p(x) = a(0) + a(1)x + ... + a(n)x(n) + ... with strictly positive coefficients has the property that all of its finite segments a(i) x(i) + a(i+1)x(i+1) + ... + a(j)x(j) have only real roots if and only if a(i)(2)/a(i-1)a(i+1) >= 4 for i = 1, 2,.... In the present paper, we give sharp lower bounds on the ratios a(i)(2)/a(i-1)a(i+1) (i = 1, 2,...) for the class considered by M. Petrovitch. In particular, we show that the limit of these minima when i -> infinity equals the inverse of the maximal positive value of the parameter for which the classical partial theta function belongs to the Laguerre-Polya class L - PI. We also explain the relation between Newton's and Hutchinson's inequalities and the logarithmic image of the set of all real-rooted polynomials with positive coefficients.


Prosthetic management of maxillectomy cases is challenging, and a multidisciplinary approach is usually needed. This clinical report describes the treatment provided to a patient who presented with a moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinoma. A two-stage surgical protocol was followed for this purpose. At the first surgery, the anterior maxilla was resected, and the oral and nasal mucosal and osseous defect was reconstructed with an osteocutaneous flap from the radial forearm. At the second surgery, all fascias and the connective tissue between the skin and the bone were resected to provide an optimal thickness for denture stability. Two months after the second surgery, prosthetic rehabilitation was completed with a maxillary telescopic overdenture. During the 15-month follow-up period, the patient's oral condition and physical appearance improved, and no complications occurred.


Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a crucial public health concern with substantial detrimental effects, including poorer physical and mental health as well as increased difficulties accessing formal services. Most research to date has focused on frequencies, barriers, and facilitators of service use among IPV survivors. However, what remains poorly understood is the perspectives of IPV survivors on their experiences of accessing multiple services after leaving the abusive situations. To answer this, six one-on-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with survivors using expanded definition of "services," which included social services, shelters, health care, police, legal assistance, and so forth. Data were analyzed using Constant Comparison. Four resulting themes were (a) Positive Aspects, (b) Negative Aspects, (c) Impact of Experiences With Services, and (d) Contextual Factors. Within each of these categories, several sub-categories emerged and are discussed within the context of the literature and recommendations are made for improving services for IPV survivors.


The goal of copyright law has always been to balance society's interest in access to information against the right of the creators to profit from the fruits of their labour. However, every so often copyright law comes up against a new technology that threatens the ability of copyright holders to enforce their rights. Initially, these new technologies seem to be the death knell to copyright protection, but in nearly every case copyright law has adjusted to the new technology. In the process often creating a lucrative source of revenue for the copyright holders who had initially been so opposed to its introduction. The Internet is the most recent in a line of copyright-threatening technologies. In the context of digital music, the Internet has upset the balance between the consumer and the copyright holder in an unprecedented manner. From the US perspective this thesis examines some of the first high-profile cases involving the Internet and digital music distribution. Firstly, the thesis provides a background to music, technology, and copyright law. Secondly, it details and critically analyses the Diamond, MP3.com and Napster cases. Next, the thesis highlights some legal and technological solutions to the current problems. Ultimately the thesis concludes that the legal legacy left behind by these cases is unsatisfactory. Questions remain unanswered and it seems that a landmark ruling is necessary on the legal status of everyday practices such as 'space-shifting' and 'sampling'. Furthermore, this thesis calls for the recording industry to consider cheaper and more secure alternatives to the current methods of distribution. If other more suitable alternatives are implemented successfully and the above legal questions answered decisively then a working business model compatible with the online environment could pave the way for the future, not only in the context of music but for all types of digital content.


Mesh Network has the advantages of fast implementation, easy maintenance and low direct investment while comparing with the existing networks. Wireless mesh networks are implemented as wireless anchors, but they are not stabilized. WMN experience frequent link failures caused by channel interference, dynamic obstacles and/or applications bandwidth demands. These failures cause severe performance degradation in WMNs. This paper presents the fast autonomous network reconfiguration system which provides the multi radio Wireless Mesh Networks to recover from link failure automatically to maintain the network performance. Fast autonomous network reconfiguration system gives the necessary changes in local radio and channel allocations to rescue from fails. The cooperative networks reconfigure network protocol for routers. FARS widely used in Wireless Mesh Networks test. The Implementation results Shows Fast Autonomous Network Reconfiguration System failure recovery by more than 97%. Recover Mechanism have been introduced in order to increase the network performance while failure occurs. The infrastructure will be implemented to create disjoint paths in those frameworks.


In this paper, we investigate the performance of multicast-enabled landmark ad-hoc routing (denoted as M-LANMAR) protocol using a Linux implementation as well as a QualNet simulation model. The main objectives are the validation of our implementation and the demonstration of the advantages of M-LANMAR. Using a Linux implementation of ODMRP, we compare the performance of M-LANMAR to that of ODMRP in a small-scale testbed. Through simulation, we show also the scalability of M-LANMAR to large networks.


Background Accurate monitoring and integration of both internal and external feedback is crucial for guiding current and future behavior. These aspects of performance monitoring are commonly indexed by two event-related potential (ERP) components: error-related negativity (ERN) and feedback negativity (FN). The ERN indexes internal response monitoring and is sensitive to the commission of erroneous versus correct responses, and the FN indexes external feedback monitoring of positive versus negative outcomes. Although individuals with schizophrenia consistently demonstrate a diminished ERN, the integrity of the FN has received minimal consideration. Method The current research sought to clarify the scope of feedback processing impairments in schizophrenia in two studies: study 1 examined the ERN elicited in a flanker task in 16 out-patients and 14 healthy controls; study 2 examined the FN on a simple monetary gambling task in expanded samples of 35 out-patients and 33 healthy controls. Results Study 1 replicated prior reports of an impaired ERN in schizophrenia. By contrast, patients and controls demonstrated comparable FN differentiation between reward and non-reward feedback in study 2. Conclusions The differential pattern across tasks suggests that basic sensitivity to external feedback indicating reward versus non-reward is intact in schizophrenia, at least under the relatively simple task conditions used in this study. Further efforts to specify intact and impaired reward-processing subcomponents in schizophrenia may help to shed light on the diminished motivation and goal-seeking behavior that are commonly seen in this disorder.


Even though international investment law (IIL) has developed at an unprecedented pace, its newly acquired popularity has come at a high cost. In a time of crisis of Western liberal-democracy and questioning of the economic model even by its fierce advocates, it has become easy prey for those disappointed with the distribution of wealth and prestige and for the political class, which has tried to "outsource" responsibility for problems unresolved domestically. Deficiencies in the construction of IIL has aggravated a legitimacy crisis. Unfortunately, current reform initiatives do not address the roots of the problem.
In this paper, I suggest ways of solving the legitimacy problem and for restructuring the normative framework. I start by asking whether the legitimacy crisis is an actual problem worth analysis or if it is a theoretical exercise void of practical relevance (Part 2). On the assumption that addressing this issue is necessary for the subsistence of IIL, three possible sources of legitimacy are indicated. Having opted for so-called social legitimacy, I refer to the Weberian legal-rational model (Part 3). In order to decide which stakeholders should be allowed to influence investment law directly, I recall Leon Petrazycki's notion of the law's superiority over morality (Part 4), which leads me to the conclusion that IIL reform should focus on home states, rather than on the investor-host state balance. With the backdrop of the subjective scope of investment law, I highlight major substantive shortages of IIL (Part 5). In accordance with the theory of legal impulsions, I subsequently argue that the current restrictive definition of IIL not only does not reflect the reality of arbitral decision-making but also hinders meaningful reform debate. From this rift between formal definition and actual understanding of IIL stem misconceptions about domestic problems that are transferred to an international plane. I argue that without reaching domestic compromise in terms of wealth distribution, current international initiatives constitute an anaesthetic, at best (Part 6).
The solution advocated in this paper is to fully embrace the principle of rule of law as the substantive contents and formal requirements with respect to IIL. It is argued that an investment consensus based on this principle simultaneously resolves the legitimacy concerns and contributes towards the development of law (Part 7). Because investment law both constitutes and is created by the international investment community, a separate passage is dedicated to the relationship between the rule of law and the rule of arbitrators, and its possible impact on legitimacy (Part 8).
Having thus prepared the ground for internalisation of the rule of law, I argue that IIL can embrace a broader standard (thick rule of law) than what would be reasonable in other branches of public international law (Part 9), which is adapted for investment purposes (Part 10). I conclude with general remarks (Part 11).


Smart Home is a context-aware home environment which is constantly attentive to the activities of its inhabitants and provides proactive support to their goals -- that is, not only responds to the users' requests, but also initiates interactions with the users. Smart Home can interact with its inhabitants and guests via diverse home computers, augmented home appliances and personal devices, and act upon user's context and preferences. Apart from learning user preferences in different contexts from interaction history, Smart Home shall provide users with means to configure most important settings whenever they want it in a convenient and up-to-date way (so that the users can find all options fast, and do not wonder why they see broken devices in the list instead of recently bought ones). This work presents a summary of configuration requirements, based on discussions with users during system development; and implementation of GUI for acquisition of user preferences for Smart Home personalisation, which adapts to different users and system capabilities.


The mapping of sugarcane yield is still not as widely available as it is for grain crops. Sugarcane harvesters cut and process the cane in a single or maximum of two rows, facilitating the monitoring of cane yield and its behavior on a small scale. This study tested a method for sugarcane yield data cleaning, investigating if the data recording frequency influences the characterization of yield variations in mapping high-resolution spatial data within a single row. Four data sets from yield monitors of single row harvesting were used. A cleaning process with global and anisotropic filtering in a single sugarcane row was applied. The local outlier cleaner compares the yield value of a point with its nearest neighbors within the same row. Even after the elimination of outliers, there is great variation in yield between the rows, and this variation is much smaller in a single row. A frequency of 2 Hz was required for identifying and characterizing small yield variations within the sugarcane rows whilst other frequencies tried (0.2 and 0.1 Hz) resulted in loss of information on yield variability within the row. The difference between the root mean square error (RMSE) of ordinary kriging (OK) and inverse distance weighting (IDW) techniques is large enough to suggest the use of an individual yield line. Individual yield lines saved information in the data generated by the yield monitor unlike IDW and OK interpolation methods which omitted information over short distances within the rows and compromised the quality of high-resolution maps.


In this study, we conduct three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations systematically to investigate the flow patterns behind the accretion shock waves that are commonly formed in the post-bounce phase of core-collapse supernovae. Adding small perturbations to spherically symmetric, steady, shocked accretion flows, we compute the subsequent evolutions to find what flow pattern emerges as a consequence of hydrodynamical instabilities such as convection and standing accretion shock instability for different neutrino luminosities and mass accretion rates. Depending on these two controlling parameters, various flow patterns are indeed realized. We classify them into three basic patterns and two intermediate ones; the former includes sloshing motion (SL), spiral motion (SP), and multiple buoyant bubble formation (BB); the latter consists of spiral motion with buoyant-bubble formation (SPB) and spiral motion with pulsationally changing rotational velocities (SPP). Although the post-shock flow is highly chaotic, there is a clear trend in the pattern realization. The sloshing and spiral motions tend to be dominant for high accretion rates and low neutrino luminosities, and multiple buoyant bubbles prevail for low accretion rates and high neutrino luminosities. It is interesting that the dominant pattern is not always identical between the semi-nonlinear and nonlinear phases near the critical luminosity; the intermediate cases are realized in the latter case. Running several simulations with different random perturbations, we confirm that the realization of flow pattern is robust in most cases.


DNA degradation is a fundamental problem for any gene therapy or genetic immunization approach, since destruction of incoming genes translates into loss of gene expression. To characterize the biology of DNA degradation after naked DNA injection, the location and levels of tissue nucleases were assessed. Extracts from the serum, kidney, and liver of mice had high levels of calcium-dependent endonuclease activity. High levels of acidic endonuclease activity were identified in the spleen, liver, kidney, and skin with little activity in skeletal or cardiac muscle. Relatively little exonuclease activity was observed in any tissue. The presence of endonucleases in the skin and muscle mediated degradation of 99% of naked DNA within 90 min of injection. This degradation most likely occurred in the extracellular space upstream of other cellular events. Despite this massive destruction, gross tissue nuclease levels did not determine skin-to-muscle transfection efficiency, or site-to-site transfection efficiency in the skin. While gross tissue nuclease levels do not appear to determine differences in transfection efficiency, the presence of robust tissue nuclease activity still necessitates that massive amounts of DNA be used to overcome the loss of 99% of expressible DNA. In addition to destroying genes, the nucleases may play a second role in genetic immunization by converting large plasmids into small oligonucleotides that can be taken up more easily by immune cells to stimulate CpG-dependent Th1 immune responses. For genetic immunization, vaccine outcome may depend on striking the right balance of nuclease effects to allow survival of sufficient DNA to express the antigen, while concomitantly generating sufficient amounts of immunostimulatory DNA fragments to drive Th1 booster effects. For gene therapy, all nuclease effects would appear to be negative, since these enzymes destroy gene expression while also stimulating cellular immune responses against transgene-modified host cells.


Global health challenges and the proliferation of mobile technologies have been key in the adoption of mHealth for provision of low-cost and equitable healthcare. Evolution of mobile networks to 5G is expected to revolutionise healthcare service delivery due to the stringent performance requirements imposed on 5G. However, because of the open nature of 5G systems, securing patient health information has been identified as a significant barrier to the full adoption of mHealth. In this paper, we propose a security architecture for an mHealth system based on a review of standard principles and guidelines for designing 5G security systems. We present a structured approach for developing and implementing an end-to-end 5G mHealth security system. We propose a security architecture that can be realised using keyless signature infrastructure blockchain, X-tee technology to secure the communication system including hospital and third-party health data networks, physical layer security for securing the wireless interface in access networks, physical unclonable functions, and a trusted execution environment for securing end-user devices. We propose the adoption of network slicing for isolating health systems from other 5G industry verticals. We define system domains that are used to identify security threats and propose mechanisms to mitigate these threats.


BIOPHYSICS. For the article ''An allosteric model for heterogeneous receptor complexes: Understanding bacterial chemotaxis responses to multiple stimuli,'' by Bernardo A. Mello and Yuhai Tu, which appeared in issue 48, November 29, 2005, of Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA (102, 17354–17359; first published November 17, 2005; 10.1073 pnas.0506961102), the authors note that the citation given for ref. 24 [Ames, P. & Parkinson, J. S. (2004) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 101, 2117–2122] was incorrect. The citation should have read as follows:


Pineapple (Ananas comosus L. Merr.) is a tropical and economic fruit with encouraging market potential in the global market. It is the first crop grown as a commodity crop in Malaysia and raised the country's position to a very significant level in the world between the late 60 s and early 70 s. However, Malaysian pineapple's contribution to the global market in the recent time has been experiencing downward trend, resulting to a set-back in its competitiveness. This study aimed to determine factors influencing pineapple market supply in Johor, Malaysia, with objectives of identifying factors affecting pineapple market supply and quantity supplied of pineapple to the market in the study area. Data were collected using a well-structured close ended questionnaire via face-to- face from 170 randomly selected pineapple farmers. The obtained data were analysed using descriptive analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and regression analysis. Six factors identified by exploratory factor analysis as the factors affecting pineapple supply are credit access, pineapple varieties, distance to the market, cost of input, price of pineapples and extension services. The result of regression analysis revealed that, quantity of pineapple supplied to the market was found affected by farming experience, farm size, credit access, pineapple varieties, cost of inputs, price of pineapples, and extension services at 5%, 1%, 1%, 5%, 1%, 5% and 5% significant level respectively. The study recommends the need for designing appropriate intervention mechanisms focusing on the aforementioned factors to improve industry's performance in the global market and uplift the status of smallholder pineapple farmers.


This paper proposes to apply optimal multiphysic models to the design of highly constrained electrical machines, such as interior permanent-magnet (IPM) machine intended for an automotive integrated starter generators. One of the main problems in the use of such optimal approaches remains the accuracy of the models used by the optimizer. In a recent study, we proposed a design model linked to three strong hypotheses: 1) Iron losses are calculated according to the flux density fundamental (sinusoidal approach); 2) flux densities are estimated with a saturated but decoupled d,q reluctant circuit model neglecting the cross saturation effect; and 3) thermal states are indirectly treated with a current density limit. This paper improves these models by using first the finite element method for the determination of flux and iron losses in the machine and then an equivalent thermal steady-state lumped-parameter network. These models are included in the optimization loop and so are evaluated at each iteration. The optimization method uses standard sequential quadratic programming algorithm and Sequential Simplex algorithm. A comparison between the design of an IPM machine with the previous model and the new one will be performed.


We operated an eleven-station network of digital instruments in the Wabash Valley region from November 1995 through June 1996 in order to investigate seismic activity in the Wabash Valley seismic zone. One station of the network was a ten-element, three-component, high-frequency, phased array The array was primarily responsible for lowering the detection threshold by approximately 1.5 magnitude units below that achieved previously, to magnitudes of 1.2 to 1.5. We observe a significant excess of events in the region from that expected by extrapolation of the historical and earlier instrumental catalogs. We show that the excess is related to a cluster of earthquakes near New Harmony, Indiana. We argue that their shallow depth, similarity of waveform characteristics, and proximity to producing oil wells and underground coal mines suggest that these small-magnitude events may be artificially induced. We find that discarding the events from this cluster leads to seismicity rates more consistent with previous data.


A methodology based on FEM-calculations and experimental tests for predicting coated tool efficiency in milling Ti6Al4V by coated cemented carbide inserts is introduced. The used coatings were: (Ti,Al,Si)N and (Ti,Al)N films. The stress-strain curves and the fatigue critical loads of the coatings were determined by nanoindentations and impact tests respectively at various temperatures, employing FEM-supported procedures developed for results evaluation. The milling investigations were conducted at various cutting speeds. The stress and temperature fields in the cutting edge region were obtained by FEM calculations of the milling process. These results facilitated the explanation of the coated inserts' cutting performance versus the cutting speed. The cutting tests at various cutting speeds and the impact tests at ambient and elevated temperatures revealed that the tool life and the film impact resistance versus the temperature are not linear. Moreover, a sufficient correlation of the coatings' impact resistance at various temperatures with their cutting performance at corresponding cutting speeds was revealed. In this way, an adaption of the cutting conditions to the films' temperature-dependent strength can lead to a considerable cutting performance improvement.


Objective: Coronavirus is a retrovirus first found in Wuhan, China The airborne spread of the coronavirus has created a pandemic all across the globe and various had implemented social distancing and quarantine periods to limit the spread Doctors nurses and other social helpers who deliver services to the sick and ailing people either directly or indirectly fall under the category of healthcare workers Healthcare workers are more vulnerable to coronavirus disease Medical workers are unwillingly quarantined in the hospitals where they do not have another choice and conventional protection such as masks and gloves are not completely effective This pandemic had a major impact as there was decline in the financial and social conditions The aim of the analysis was to assess the attitude of family members of healthcare workers during COVID-19 Materials and method: The present study population consisted of family members of healthcare workers in the South Indian population through an online Setting The study design was a questionnaire based cross sectional study, conducted in 2020 and approval was obtained from the scientific review board Self administered questionnaire was prepared pertaining to the topic and circulated through an online google forms link Statistical analysis: The results obtained from the survey were analysed using SPSS version 22 The statistical analysis was descriptive statistics to summarise the demographic data and chi square analysis to summarise the survey data Result: The survey found that the majority had healthcare workers as their family members and they had a positive attitude towards their work and felt proud The family members were sometimes forced to follow hygiene measures and were regularly tested for the presence of coronavirus At the same time the healthcare workers were also under physical and mental stress which in turn affected their family members Conclusion: Family members' attitudes have an influence on healthcare workers who work everyday in this pandemic situation Awareness in relation to maintenance of hygiene among family members healthcare workers needed to be enhanced © 2020 Ubiquity Press All rights reserved


Titanium (Ti) is one of the most promising biomaterial for biomedical devices due to its high corrosion resistance and specific combination of strength and biocompatibility. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanostructures are obtained by electrochemical anodization of Ti foils under self-organization condition; anodization parameters such as anodization time, voltage, temperature and most important electrolyte composition are critical for the resulting morphology. Nanostructures are grown in ethylene glycol (EG) based electrolytes and we evaluated the influence of the water content, as no nanostructures are formed in the electrolyte without water addition, and with increasing water content, either nanopores or nanotubes are obtained (depending also on the applied potential and anodization time). The increase in water content in the electrolyte enables the slow transition from nanopores to nanotubes, which occurs by a pore-wall splitting mechanism. From the current results, one can conclude that the water in the electrolyte has a definite effect on the type of nanostructures obtained by electrochemical anodization in organic electrolytes. This current investigation of effect of water in EG based electrolytes is useful for obtaining the desired morphology of the nanostructures (diameter, length, open-top morphology) for specific bioapplications. Copyright © 2016 VBRI Press.


We demonstrate experimentally how achiral dielectric nanoparticles when arranged in a chiral geometry can exhibit chiro-optical activity. Such a response originates in the dynamic electromagnetic interactions between the resonant modes of the individual nanoparticles, as confirmed by numerical simulations. When such nanoparticles are extended into an infinite periodic array, additional chiro-optical bands were induced at the lattice/collective modes of the nanoparticle system which have been experimentally observed. Our fabrication method is wafer scale and the material platform is low loss and CMOS-compatible, which together can allow a seamless integration of this novel material system into existing optoelectronic technologies.


The addition of rare earth elements (REE) is an effective way to improve the corrosion properties of magnesium alloys. Dysprosium has a very high solubility in Mg (25.3 wt.% at 561 °C) and could therefore be a promising alloying element for Mg based implants. In this study, four binary Mg-xDy (x=5, 10, 15 and 20 in wt.%) alloys were prepared by permanent mould direct chill casting. Microstructure and Dy distribution were investigated using optical microscope and EDX analysis. Corrosion rate was measured with hydrogen evolution method and corrosion morphology was observed after immersion for different time in 0.9 wt% NaCl solution with optical and SEM. The results show that with the increase of Dy, the amount of Dy in Mg matrix and area of Dy segregation are both increased. At the same time, the amount of second phase is also increased. Filiform corrosion is reduced while pitting corrosion is increased with the increment of Dy. As a result, lowest corrosion rate is obtained at Mg-10Dy alloy.


The paper will follow the purposes and the literary patterns of the Diary written by V.K. Kiukhel'beker during the years of the imprisonment (1828-1835) and the Siberian exile (1835-1846). The Diary becomes for the poet the unique substitute of the literary and professional milieu from which he was pull up while he considered himself as one of the prominent critics and poets of the young generation. In jail, and later in the Siberian exile, Kiukhel'beker creates an alternative literary world, with internal polemics, discussions, reviews of books and articles, memoirs and perspectives concerning the present and the future of the Russian literature, as if he still took an active part in the cultural life of his Country. Therefore, there are in the writer's Diary some particularities differentiating it from the general model of diary: at first, the relationship between the author and the diary is something like a mix of typical intimate self-writing and a simulation of public 'comparison' (very close to a journal column), where reality and fantasy strictly join and mix with each other; secondly, an inter esting peculiarity of this Diary is the predominance of the future tense over the past: Kiukhel'beker is scarcely interested in his own past years, and only partially in his troubled present: he often lives in an 'eternal' dimension, writing his Diary for the posterity. Hence, the Diary acquires a didactical or ever prophetical tone, which is typical for Kiukhel'beker's self-perception.


Nanotechnology has opened new opportunities for delivering bioactive agents. Their physiochemical characteristics, i.e., small size, high surface area, unique composition, biocompatibility and biodegradability, make these nanomaterials an attractive tool for β-carotene delivery. Delivering β-carotene through nanoparticles does not only improve its bioavailability/bioaccumulation in target tissues, but also lessens its sensitivity against environmental factors during processing. Regardless of these benefits, nanocarriers have some limitations, such as variations in sensory quality, modification of the food matrix, increasing costs, as well as limited consumer acceptance and regulatory challenges. This research area has rapidly evolved, with a plethora of innovative nanoengineered materials now being in use, including micelles, nano/microemulsions, liposomes, niosomes, solidlipid nanoparticles, nanostructured lipids and nanostructured carriers. These nanodelivery systems make conventional delivery systems appear archaic and promise better solubilization, protection during processing, improved shelf-life, higher bioavailability as well as controlled and targeted release. This review provides information on the state of knowledge on β-carotene nanodelivery systems adopted for developing functional foods, depicting their classifications, compositions, preparation methods, challenges, release and absorption of β-carotene in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and possible risks and future prospects.


Abstract With the Introduction of the internet and human technological advancement, our everyday lives have changed dramatically over the past 20 years and because of this, how we communicate, form social networks and purchase or sell goods have also developed. In the light of this, we have completed this thesis which concerns the influence of the internet and the possibilities of forming long lasting relationships between businesses and customers through what we have described as 'Locking in' the customer. This is done by forming 'Psychological Switching Costs' that make the cognitive process of switching too expensive or un-wanted by the customer. In order to develop an understanding of this we saw it as prudent to interview senior managers of businesses that operate mainly on the internet to discover if they attempt such strategic moves in, 'Locking in' customers. Thus forming the research question; How are Companies based on the internet using Psychological Switching Costs as a strategy to Lock in the customers? The process by which the information was collected was through a qualitative method and semi-structured interviews. We found from the respondents that were interviewed that when it comes to operating a business on the internet it is important to consider, Transparency, Two-way communication, Simplicity, Agility and Flexibility in creating a loyal customer who is positively locked in. These were the strategies considered by the respondents to have an effect on customers. One of the most interesting points that were made was that if the customer was locked in to the business, the business did not have to be as dynamic. Thus, according to the respondents, Psychological Switching Costs do have an influence on how they form strategy to Lock In customers. In that it can be beneficial to attempt to Lock in customers rather than develop other Dynamic Capabilities. This factor seems very relevant when considering communication, agility and flexibility, in that by forming relationships and strategies directly to the customer these companies are creating something that is difficult to substitute, un-imitable for their competitors and convenient to the customer.


Prostanoids are mediators of the inflammatory process in many organs, including the eye, and their production from arachidonic acid is triggered by a variety of stimuli including laser burns. The authors have suggested that prostanoids might be involved in laser induced retinal burns and that it is likely that anti-inflammatory drugs that inhibit arachidonic acid metabolism can help accelerate retinal healing. In addition, they have suggested that an increase in prostanoid levels in the retina/choroid or vitreous cavity might cause a break in the blood retinal barriers and protein leakage into the vitreous. Their preliminary study indicates that both a single retinal laser burn and 10 laser burns cause an increase in PGE2 and prostacyclin levels of the choroid at 18 hours after lasing. However, results were inconsistent and required the use of 3 samples of each tissue for a single determination. Modifications done in order to overcome these problems involved the use of a tissue preparation of unseparated retina/choroid, and exposed the retina to 30 laser burns. Thus, a single tissue sample was adequate for measurement. Indeed, PGE2 levels in retina/choroid and vitreous of eyes subjected to 30 moderate laser applications demonstrated an increase in prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) andmore » prostacyclin levels throughout a 3-day period after lasing. This mode of lasing was chosen as the working model and confirmed the hypothesis of PGE2 and prostacyclin involvement in laser induced retinal damage.« less


Introduction To assess the bone fusion rates and clinical results of two surgical methods (pedicle screw claw-hook fixation and pedicle screw hook fixation) of lumbar spondylolysis repair. Methods A multicenter database of surgical patients with lumbar spondylolysis was reviewed. All patients < 20 years old with a minimum of 6 months of follow-up and computed tomography images were included. Operation time and blood loss amount were investigated. Visual analogue scale (VAS; 0-10) scores for lower back pain were evaluated to assess clinical results. Results A total of 17 patients met the inclusion criteria. Pedicle screw hook fixation was performed in five patients (the hook group), and pedicle screw claw-hook fixation was performed in 13 patients (the claw-hook group). One patient was included in both groups because each method was performed at different lumbar levels (L4 and L5). The bone fusion rates at 3, 6, and 9 months after surgery were significantly higher in the claw-hook group than those in the hook group. Operation time and blood loss amount were not significantly different between the groups. VAS scores improved in the claw-hook group but not in the hook group because of a small number of patients. Conclusions Pedicle screw claw-hook fixation was more effective than pedicle screw hook fixation in terms of bone fusion rates.


In the literature, the examination timetabling problem (ETTP) is mostly described as a post enrollment problem (PE-ETTP). As such, it is known at optimization time how many students will take an exam and consequently how big a room is needed and which exams should not be held at the same time because of overlapping student lists. To compute a timetable using this approach, students need to register for exams before the timetable is generated. A direct consequence is that at registration time students have no idea when their exams are being held. Furthermore as timetables are often released at the end of the semester, it is hard for lecturers to plan their other responsibilities accordingly. This leads to a negative reaction from both the student body and the staff holding the exams. In this paper, we describe a curriculum-based examination timetabling variant that is similar to the curriculumbased examination timetabling problem model (CB-ETTP) introduced by Cataldo et al. [1]. The aim of the model introduced in this work is to combine the positive aspects of PE-ETTP and CB-ETTP by the use of machine learning while reducing the problems of the CB-ETTP, namely the overestimation in the number of students taking an exam. We describe an approach to calculate the number of students taking an exam by using old planning data. Furthermore we give an example for integrating the knowledge from past experience as a new soft constraint. Through the addition of this new soft constraint, we get a measure for the robustness of the timetable in respect to the uncertainty in the data. Finally, we present experiments based on real world data from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU) showing that the approach gives a good estimation for the number of students with only slight deviations from the actual numbers.


Current concepts of therapeutic landscape combine landscape with principles of holistic health and the interaction of social, affective and material factors. As social tensions widen the gap between the places of emotional retreat and healing from those of everyday sociability, concepts of therapeutic landscape are evolving to reflect society's current values. This chapter examines how cultural place-based values affect and maintain physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health and well-being in the context of a therapeutic landscape. Five case studies from Australasia, Africa, Middle East and Latin America are analysed to understand better the interrelationships between land, culture and health that make an environment therapeutic. The case studies were selected based on their engagement with the cultural traditions of landscape architecture and how the boundaries of these cultural traditions are negotiated within a modern context. The chapter contributes to the knowledge base of landscape architects and academics interested in the role of culture in producing and maintaining therapeutic landscapes by presenting a cross-cultural analysis to illustrate a range of strategies for incorporating cultural traditions and customs into modern landscape architectural contexts to promote health and well-being.


Aberrant methylation of the promoter CpG island of human genes is an alternative gene inactivation mechanism that contributes to the carcinogenesis of human tumours. We have determined the methylation status of the CpG island of 11 tumour-related genes (RB1, p14ARF, p16INK4a, p73, TIMP-3, MGMT, DAPK, THBS1, caspase 8, TP53 and GSTP1) in 18 neurofibromas (including one plexiform neurofibroma) and three neurofibrosarcomas, as well as two non-neoplastic peripheral nerve sheath samples, using methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction. The series included sporadic and neurofibromatosis type 1-associated tumours. The incidence of aberrant methylation in the tumour samples was 52% for THBS1, 43% for MGMT, 33% for TIMP-3, 19% each for p16INK4a and p73, 14% for RB1, 5% for p14ARF, and 0% for DAPK, caspase 8, TP53 and GSTP1. No methylation of these genes was detected in the two samples of non-neoplastic peripheral nerve sheath. All but three samples in the study displayed aberrant methylation in at least one of the studied genes, and there was no correlation between methylation status and the patients' clinical parameters. These findings suggest that methylation of some tumour-related genes may play a significant role in the tumourigenesis of neurofibromas/neurofibrosarcomas.


This project focused on the pulmonary application of magnetic resonance (MR) quantitative equilibrium signal (qS0) mapping, dynamic oxygen-enhanced (OE-) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE-) MRI in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Initially, a retrospective analysis of MRI and X-ray computed tomography (CT) data from 24 COPD patients and 12 healthy controls demonstrated that MR qS0 mapping had good one-week reproducibility and was comparable to CT in the localization and quantification of emphysema in patients with COPD. In the same data, a reduced oxygen (O2) delivery signal was detected by dynamic OE-MRI in COPD patients regardless of the presence or absence of emphysema on CT, while a significantly reduced baseline spin-lattice relaxation time (T1air) was only observed in emphysematous COPD. Emphysematous COPD also showed significant correlations between dynamic OE-MRI readouts, i.e. enhancing fraction (EF) and the change in the partial pressure of O2 in lung parenchyma (?PO2max), and pulmonary diffusion capacity and CT estimates of emphysema. A prospective pilot study was conducted in 10 asthmatic patients which demonstrated that dynamic OE-MRI readouts, including EF, ?PO2max and O2 wash-in time constant (?up), were reproducible within one month, sensitive to asthma severity and strongly correlated with spirometric readouts of airway function and lung volume. This was followed by a second prospective intervention study in 30 asthmatic patients and 10 healthy controls which revealed a pattern of decreased O2 delivery signal as a response to salbutamol inhalation in severe asthmatics but not in mild asthmatics or healthy controls using short-term repeated dynamic OE-MRI. In addition, DCE-MRI was also performed on 30 asthmatic patients and 10 healthy subjects. A semi-quantitative analysis demonstrated that contrast agent kinetics in asthmatic lungs were characterised by a reduced first-pass peak (SI%max) and a shallower downslope during the late redistribution phase (kwashout) than was observed in healthy controls, and that these were related to pulmonary function test measurements. An extended Tofts model-based quantitative analysis further revealed a significantly increased fractional extravascular extracellular space (ve) in patients with asthma than in healthy controls while the contrast agent transfer coefficient (Ktrans), an index related to vascular permeability, and the fractional blood plasma volume (vp), did not distinguish asthmatics from controls. In conclusion, this project demonstrated the promise of 1) MR qS0 mapping for the assessment of emphysema in COPD lungs, 2) dynamic OE-MRI for the assessment of impaired pulmonary oxygenation in COPD and asthma and for the monitoring of short-term treatment effects in asthma and 3) DCE-MRI for the evaluation of pulmonary microvascular inflammation in asthma. The non-invasive non-ionizing properties and simple setup requirements make these three proton MRI techniques attractive options in the assessment of structural and functional alterations of the lungs in asthma and COPD in clinical settings.


Based on the clonal evolution model and the assumption that the vast majority of tumor cells are able to propagate and drive tumor growth, the goal of cancer treatment has traditionally been to kill all cancerous cells. This theory has been challenged recently by the cancer stem cell (CSC) hypothesis, that a rare population of tumor cells, with stem cell characteristics, is responsible for tumor growth, resistance, and recurrence. Evidence for putative CSCs has been described in blood, breast, lung, prostate, colon, liver, pancreas, and brain. This new hypothesis would propose that indiscriminate killing of cancer cells would not be as effective as selective targeting of the cells that are driving long-term growth (ie, the CSCs) and that treatment failure is often the result of CSCs escaping traditional therapies. The CSC hypothesis has gained a great deal of attention because of the identification of a new target that may be responsible for poor outcomes of many aggressive cancers, including malignant glioma. As attractive as this hypothesis sounds, especially when applied to tumors that respond poorly to current treatments, we will argue in this article that the proposal of a stemlike cell that initiates and drives solid tissue cancer growth and is responsible for therapeutic failure is far from proven. We will present the point of view that for most advanced solid tissue cancers such as glioblastoma multiforme, targeting a putative rare CSC population will have little effect on patient outcomes. This review will cover problems with the CSC hypothesis, including applicability of the hierarchical model, inconsistencies with xenotransplantation data, and nonspecificity of CSC markers.


The aim was to describe how bullying was experienced by individuals who had been exposed to bullying at their workplaces. Open interviews were conducted with 22 participants from different professional and organizational status groups in the public service sector, who had experienced bullying at their workplaces. The interviews were analyzed according to guidelines for grounded theory. The core category illuminated a social process of "being rejected and expelled from the workplace." Based on the informants´ descriptions, the meaning of bullying seemed to be conflict resolution through rejection of a threatening workmate. Additional categories described assumed intentions of indirect aggressive behaviors; "changing a person's image by means of slander," "betraying a person through deceit," "devaluing a person through insults," and "legitimizing bullying through unjust treatment." The category "mobilizing power through support" showed that the informants perceived temporary relief from suffering through support from others. Often support from those other than family and close friends was sparse. All categories formed a conceptual model describing a process of workplace bullying, as experienced and described by the informants. A conceptual model is proposed to illustrate a social process of rejection and expulsion from the workplace, based on interview data from informants who have experiences of bullying at the workplace. Bullying seemed to hold meaning in that it was perceived by the informants to solve values conflicts in the workplace.


Inflation rates in advanced economies experienced two consecutive puzzles during the period following the global financial crisis—unexpectedly high inflation from the end of 2009 to 2011 and unexpectedly low inflation from 2012 to the middle of 2014. We investigate these developments in two ways. First, we show that accounting for inflation expectations by households explains a significant share of the inflation puzzles at the international level. Second, we find that, for Canada, elevated competition in the retail sector is also important for understanding inflation dynamics in the post-crisis period.


Concrete casting effect and the hooping effect of concrete filled tubular members is considered in the study of this paper. Firstly, standard stress-strain relationship of concrete and steel is chosen to simulate others' test, and meanwhile the calculation results by nonlinear finite element analysis are compared with the results of the test. Then the bearing capacity of horizontally casted concrete filled steel tubular members under axial compression is contrasted among different construction processes. Finally, the effect of slenderness ratio of concrete filled tubular members is studied so as to reveal the relationship between the bearing capacity and slenderness ratio.


There is strong evidence that reading and spelling in alphabetical scripts depend on a shared representation (common-coding). However, computational models usually treat the two skills separately, producing a wide variety of proposals as to how the identity and position of letters is represented. This article treats reading and spelling in terms of the common-coding hypothesis for perception-action coupling. Empirical evidence for common representations in spelling-reading is reviewed. A novel version of the Start-End Competitive Queuing (SE-CQ) spelling model is introduced, and tested against the distribution of positional errors in Letter Position Dysgraphia, data from intralist intrusion errors in spelling to dictation, and dysgraphia because of nonperipheral neglect. It is argued that no other current model is equally capable of explaining this range of data. To pursue the common-coding hypothesis, the representation used in SE-CQ is applied, without modification, to the coding of letter identity and position for reading and lexical access, and a lexical matching rule for the representation is proposed (Start End Position Code model, SE-PC). Simulations show the model's compatibility with benchmark findings from form priming, its ability to account for positional effects in letter identification priming and the positional distribution of perseverative intrusion errors. The model supports the view that spelling and reading use a common orthographic description, providing a well-defined account of the major features of this representation.


Accurate duplication of chromosomal DNA is essential for the transmission of genetic information. The DNA replication fork encounters template lesions, physical barriers, transcriptional machinery, and topological barriers that challenge the faithful completion of the replication process. The flexibil-ity of replisomes coupled with tolerance and repair mechanisms counteract these replication fork obsta-cles. The cell possesses several universal mechanisms that may be activated in response to various replication fork impediments, but it has also evolved ways to counter specific obstacles. In this review, we will discuss these general and specific strategies to counteract different forms of replication associated damage to maintain genomic stability.


Let p > 0 be the probability that a (randomized) algorithm generates the correct (optimal) solution. It turns out that, even if p is much smaller than 1 we can obtain an algorithm with that succeeds with high probability just by executing the original algorithm independently many times. In particular, if we run the original algorithm k times, the probability that at least one copy succeeds is at least 1 − (1 − p). For small values of p one can always approximate 1 − p with e−p, and during this course we always use such an approximation. It follows that for k = 100/p, at least one copy finds the correct (optimal) solution with probability at least 1− e−pk = 1− e−100.


A new method for the MEMS die package process was reported. Using the method of bionic package, a novel MEMS vector hydrophone was fabricated from a typical mass-beam accelerometer structure. According to the auditory principle of fish's lateral line and its nature's fundamental acoustic sensors-stereocilia, a rigidity cylinder was fixed on the center of the mass as a stereocilia, and the sensitivity structure of the hydrophone was obtained. By means of a specific package process, the sensor was fabricated properly for the underwater sound detection application. From the test results of the sensor, we can see that, this vector hydrophone has a receiving sensitivity of -165dB (0dB=1V/µPa, the amplification factor of the preamplifier is 100.) and a good directional pattern in form of "8"-shape. The hydrophone can work well under the maximum pressure of 2MPa.


We study competitive equilibria with moral hazard in economies with aggregate risk and where trading occurs with an incomplete set of financial assets. The main conclusion of the paper is that, contrary to the individual risk economies, moral hazard is compatible with trading in competitive linear financial contracts, and gives rise to no manipulation problem. We establish existence of nonmanipulable equilibria provided that there are no relative price effects (e.g. a one-commodity economy), and that ...nancial markets display nonlinearly homogeneous payoffs (e.g., nominal), and are sufficiently incomplete. Finally, we justify the linear contract as the optimal pricing schedule in a specific trading game with an auctioneer.


Silicon carbide whiskers were prepared by carbothermal reduction. Materials are silica fume and carbon black, Si, Fe2O3, Si-Fe as catalyst, the phase composition and microstructure of compound products were investigated by XRD and SEM, effect of synthesized temperature, kind of catalysts, amount of catalyst were discussed. The results showed that: Silicon carbide whiskers were synthesized by silica fume and black carbon, add catalyst, synthesis temperature is 1550°C. Synthesis effect of silicon carbide whiskers with Si is better than Si-Fe and Fe2O3. Adding amount of Si is 2%, synthesized rate of silicon carbide whiskers is high, it is straight, length is 10~15μm, diameter is 0.1~0.3μm.


Abstract This study tested the hypothesis that preschool-aged children with significant externalizing behavior problems are more likely to have insecure attachment relationships than nonproblem peers, as measured by separation/ reunion behavior at the time of clinic referral. Fifty children (ages 3–6) and their mothers participated: 25 referred to a child psychiatry clinic for one of the DSM-III-R Disruptive Behavior Disorders, and 25 matched comparison children without behavior problems. Using two new attachment coding systems for children of this age, we found that 84% of the children in the clinic group were classified as insecure, whereas only 28% of the comparison group were so classified (p <.001). Clinic children were also found more frequently to protest their mother's departure and to search for her more often during the separation. The implications of these results for the validity of separation/reunion behavior as an index of attachment at this age are discussed, as well as the methodological and conceptual problems that complicate our study of the link between attachment and behavior disorder.


The spread of genes and individuals through space in populations is relevant in many biological contexts. I study, via systems of reaction-diffusion equations, the spatial spread of advantageous alleles through structured populations. The results show that the temporally asymptotic rate of spread of an advantageous allele, a kind of invasion speed, can be approximated for a class of linear partial differential equations via a relatively simple formula, c 5 2 , that is reminiscent of a classic formula attributed to R. A. Fisher. The parameters r and D̄ represent an ̄ ÏrD asymptotic growth rate and an average diffusion rate, respectively, and can be interpreted in terms of eigenvalues and eigenvectors that depend on the population's demographic structure. The results can be applied, under certain conditions, to a wide class of nonlinear partial differential equations that are relevant to a variety of ecological and evolutionary scenarios in population biology. I illustrate the approach for computing invasion speed with three examples that allow for heterogeneous dispersal rates among different classes of individuals within model populations.


We performed a critical analysis of 13 papers evaluating the use of NMR in MS. Out of an ideal 17 criteria for validation and reproductibility, a top 11 (65%) was the maximum found. Foremost defficiencies were a lack of blind analysis and inadequate patient samples. Thus the claim that NMR is the diagnostic tool of choice in MS remains to be proven


—The new version of the Brazilian Forest Code prescribes a 30 m forest buffer around small width streams (less than 10 m width) as Areas of Permanent Preservation (APPs), to ensure water supply, erosion control, and biodiversity conservation. We tested the effectiveness of the prescribed buffer in maintaining lizard assemblages in riparian forests associated with small width streams in the Cerrado of central Brazil. We used a capture-recapture study in three riparian forests: two in protected areas, and one deforested until the limit imposed by law. We captured lizards using pitfall traps with drift fences during a period of 12-14 months in each forest. We recorded 11 lizard species during the sampling period. The reduced riparian forest had lower abundance, richness, evenness, and phylogenetic diversity compared to the preserved habitats. This forest also lacked forest specialist species (e.g., Enyalius bilineatus), bearing an assemblage composed exclusively by two generalist, synanthropic species (Tropidurus


This article discusses Asghar Ali Engineer's interpretation of women in Islam. Two topics discussed in this article are the status of women in Islam and the veil. Engineer offers an approach in understanding the Qur'an to deal with these topics and his method is based on three principles: firstly, the Qur'an has two ingredients: normative and contextual. Normative ingredient refers to the fundamental values and principles of Qur'an such as equality and justice, and these principles are eternal and can be applied in various social contexts. Contextual revelations, on the other hand, deal with verses that were tailored to socio-historical problems of the time. In line with the changes in context and time these verses can be abrogated. Secondly, the interpretation of the Quranic verses is very dependent on one's own perceptions, world-view, experiences and the sociocultural background in which he/she lives. Thus, a 'pure' interpretation of the Scripture is not possible; it is always influenced by sociological circumstances, no one can be free of such influences. Thirdly, the meaning of the Quranic verses unfolds with times, therefore, the interpretations of classical scholars can be radically different from the interpretation of modern scholars. This is because Quranic verses often use symbolic or metaphorical language that is ambiguous in meaning. This ambiguity serves, of course, to promote flexibility and creative change. These three principles can be employed to understand the status of women in Islam and the veil.


Debates have persisted about the character of the East–West population flows that followed the EU expansions. Some of the discussions surround the extent to which the mobility has been temporal and hence how likely these migrants are to settle permanently or to stay for long periods in host countries. This paper enhances the understanding of such issues through examining survey data on 700 Polish recent migrants in seven English and Welsh towns and supplemented by an analysis of qualitative data. Three categories of migrants are initially identified on the basis of their intentions of stay in the UK. Multinomial logit models are then estimated to examine the characteristics of individuals in each category to establish the factors that influence migration strategies and changes in plans. Results indicate that although standard socio-economic characteristics tend to be insignificant, migration strategies and changes in intentions are affected by migrant's view of whether their job matches their expectations, the time of entry into the UK and remittances. Analysis of the qualitative information reinforces some of the key findings and also indicates the importance of migrants' ability to reference their experiences in two settings.


This paper reviews a number of low-swing on-chip interconnect schemes and presents a thorough analysis of their effectiveness and limitations, especially on energy efficiency and signal integrity. In addition, several new interface circuits presenting even more energy savings and better reliability are proposed. Some of these circuits not only reduce the interconnect swing, but also use very low supply voltages so as to obtain quadratic energy savings. The performance of each of the presented circuits is thoroughly examined using simulation on a benchmark interconnect circuit. Significant energy savings up to a factor of six have been observed.


Metaknowledge management is the judicious or strategic management or leveraging of the different ways in which we come "to know," based on Churchman's (1971) classic work, "The Design of Inquiring Systems" so that we respond to situations in the most appropriate way. It differs from knowledge management in that it is concerned more with how we know what we know than with what we know per se (information and knowledge). By helping individuals and organizations to understand and be aware of their preferred ways of thinking and knowing, in terms of Churchman's inquiring systems, organizations can leverage their knowledge assets and collective wisdom to increase innovation and responsiveness. This workshop builds on, and provides a means to integrate, the Churchmanian based works of Courtney, Croasdell and Paradise's (1998) work on Inquiring Organizations, Harrison and Bramson's (1982) Inquiry Modes, Malhotra's ( 1997, 1998) work on Knowledge Management in Inquiring Organizations and Knowledge Ecology, and Mitroff and Linstone's (1993) work on New Thinking for the Information Age and Unbounded Systems Thinking. Such a synthesis can provide a practical and applied approach to the development of a knowledge ecology conducive to the generation and utilization of actionable knowledge at the individual, group, and organizational/community levels.


Simultaneous switching noise can significantly impact the performance of high-speed systems and needs to be accurately analyzed. The simulation program with integrated circuit emphasis (SPICE) transient simulation with transistor circuits, packages, and boards is the most accurate method but may require a huge computer resource and a long simulation time. Hence, an estimation method of the simultaneous switching noise from the frequency-domain impedance of power distribution networks was presented in this paper. The estimation method can quickly but still accurately calculate the simultaneous switching noise. The estimation method is validated by SPICE transient simulations with transistor models for both the terminated and unterminated systems. In high-speed systems, the difference between the estimation and the worst noise of the transient simulations is less than 20%.


The severe criticism by lawyers and judges of medical expert testimony is often based on facts and is not altogether unjust. Physicians in the witness stand are often very stupid, and give strained interpretations of scientific facts, mixed up with opinions and theories, which give rise to a suspicion of hazy, inexact ideas, or of some personal motives. Such testimony concerning the mental condition of inebriates who have committed crime is still more confusing and doubtful. Physicians who are generally clear on other matters in their everyday life, particularly relating to questions of cause and effect, hesitate and are confused when called to describe the mental condition of persons continuously poisoned by alcohol. The toxic effects of alcohol on the organism seems to be a matter of uncertainty, but when in place of the word alcohol, arsenic or mercury is used there is great emphasis and clearness of statement. The


Abstract Objective To assess Australian consumers' perception of portion size of fast-food items and their ability to estimate energy content. Design Cross-sectional computer-based survey. Setting Australia. Subjects Fast-food consumers (168 male, 324 female) were asked to recall the items eaten at the most recent visit to a fast-food restaurant, rate the prospective satiety and estimate the energy content of seven fast-food or 'standard' meals relative to a 9000 kJ Guideline Daily Amount. Nine dietitians also completed the energy estimation task. Results Ratings of prospective satiety generally aligned with the actual size of the meals and indicated that consumers perceived all meals to provide an adequate amount of food, although this differed by gender. The magnitude of the error in energy estimation by consumers was three to ten times that of the dietitians. In both males and females, the average error in energy estimation for the fast-food meals (females: mean 3911 (sd 1998) kJ; males: mean 3382 (sd 1957) kJ) was significantly (P < 0·001) larger than for the standard meals (females: mean 2607 (sd 1623) kJ; males: mean 2754 (sd 1652) kJ). In women, error in energy estimation for fast-food items predicted actual energy intake from fast-food items (β = 0·16, P < 0·01). Conclusions Knowledge of the energy content of standard and fast-food meals in fast-food consumers in Australia is poor. Awareness of dietary energy should be a focus of health promotion if nutrition information, in its current format, is going to alter behaviour.


Recently in Japan, we found much public debt in local public finance. In this treatise, we refer to some backgrounds of current increase of local debt, and analyze the present situation of Okayama Prefecture. We also investigate the financial structures of Yamaguchi Prefecture,
Hiroshima Prefecture and Osaka Prefecture. Following these analyseis, we suggest the necessity to introduce the system of stock-accounts including double entry bookkeeping in local public finance.


As short video industry grows up, quality assessment of user generated videos has become a hot issue. Existing no reference video quality assessment methods are not suitable for this type of application scenario since they are aimed at synthetic videos. In this paper, we propose a novel deep blind quality assessment model for user generated videos according to content variety and temporal memory effect. Content-aware features of frames are extracted through deep neural network, and a patch-based method is adopted to obtain frame quality score. Moreover, we propose a temporal memory-based pooling model considering temporal memory effect to predict video quality. Experimental results conducted on KoNViD-1k and LIVE-VQC databases demonstrate that the performance of our proposed method outperforms other state-of-the-art ones, and the comparative analysis proves the efficiency o f our temporal pooling model.


Constitutional monarchies have proved to be resilient, and some have made substantive political interventions even though their positions are mostly hereditary, without granted constitutional channels to do so. This article examines how constitutional monarchs can influence political affairs and what impact royal intervention can have on politics. I argue that constitutional monarchs affect politics indirectly by influencing the preferences of the public who have de jure power to influence political leaders. The analyses herein show that constitutional monarchs do not indiscriminately intervene in politics, but their decisions to intervene reflect the public's preferences. First, constitutional monarchs with little public approval become self-restraining and do not attempt to assert their political preferences. Second, they are more likely to intervene in politics when the public is less satisfied about the incumbent government. These findings are illustrated with historical narratives regarding the political involvement of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand in the 2000s.


of Bioactive Compounds Extraction from Rambutan By-Products their Antioxidant Activities. Abstract Rambutan ( Nephelium lappaceum ) and its by-products have great potential in the agricultural, pharmaceutical, and food industries due to its antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-diabetic, and anticancer properties. This study aimed to obtain rambutan extract rich in phenolic compounds with possible antioxidant properties by using extraction parameters such as temperature, solvent, and liquid to solid ratio. Once total phenolic compounds (TPC) from rambutan peel and seed were extracted, antioxidant assays such as 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH • ), 2, 2 ˊ -azinobis-3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS • ), and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) were investigated and optimization was performed by means of Second-order, Power, Peleg and Page's law models. The results show that rambutan extract possesses scavenging effects on DPPH • radical and ABTS • radical cation, as well as FRAP capacity. The antioxidant profile and phenolic content of rambutan extract was noted to be altered by temperature and extraction time with the highest extraction efficiency achieved after 120 min at 45 °C. Furthermore, Peleg model with R 2 > 0.89 was found to be the best model to describe the generated extraction data. The outcome of this study showed that the solid-liquid extraction could be an efficient extraction technique to obtain rambutan extract rich in phenolic compounds with high antioxidant properties.


Despite the oft-noted move toward multi-disciplinarity, it remains the case that scholars tend to defend their own methodological turf. This can be unfortunate; no particular discipline or methodology is inherently worthy. The methodological questions regarding any given piece of scholarship should be (a) whether the project is talking an unanswered question of some importance; (b) whether the tools utilized are reliable, i.e., apt to teach us something about that question; and (c) whether the conclusions are sound. I address these questions in response to a symposium held concerning my book, The Will of the People: How Public Opinion Has Influenced the Supreme Court and Shaped the Meaning of the Constitution. They symposium, at Michigan State University School of Law, brought together scholars from history, politics and law. In this piece I explain the intellectual journey that led to The Will of the People, and respond to critics, on both substantive and methodological grounds. The focus, however, is on the issue that leads this abstract: what are the "right" tools in a multi-disciplinary world?


BACKGROUND
Nicotine receptor partial agonists may help people to stop smoking by a combination of maintaining moderate levels of dopamine to counteract withdrawal symptoms (acting as an agonist) and reducing smoking satisfaction (acting as an antagonist).

OBJECTIVES
The primary objective of this review is to assess the efficacy and tolerability of nicotine receptor partial agonists, including cytisine, dianicline and varenicline for smoking cessation.

SEARCH METHODS
We searched the Cochrane Tobacco Addiction Group's specialised register for trials, using the terms ('cytisine' or 'Tabex' or 'dianicline' or 'varenicline' or 'nicotine receptor partial agonist') in the title or abstract, or as keywords. The register is compiled from searches of MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO and Web of Science using MeSH terms and free text to identify controlled trials of interventions for smoking cessation and prevention. We contacted authors of trial reports for additional information where necessary. The latest update of the specialised register was in December 2011. We also searched online clinical trials registers.

SELECTION CRITERIA
We included randomized controlled trials which compared the treatment drug with placebo. We also included comparisons with bupropion and nicotine patches where available. We excluded trials which did not report a minimum follow-up period of six months from start of treatment.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
We extracted data on the type of participants, the dose and duration of treatment, the outcome measures, the randomization procedure, concealment of allocation, and completeness of follow-up.The main outcome measured was abstinence from smoking at longest follow-up. We used the most rigorous definition of abstinence, and preferred biochemically validated rates where they were reported. Where appropriate we pooled risk ratios (RRs), using the Mantel-Haenszel fixed-effect model.

MAIN RESULTS
Two recent cytisine trials (937 people) found that more participants taking cytisine stopped smoking compared with placebo at longest follow-up, with a pooled RR of 3.98 (95% confidence interval (CI) 2.01 to 7.87). One trial of dianicline (602 people) failed to find evidence that it was effective (RR 1.20, 95% CI 0.82 to 1.75). Fifteen trials compared varenicline with placebo for smoking cessation; three of these also included a bupropion treatment arm. We also found one open-label trial comparing varenicline plus counselling with counselling alone. We found one relapse prevention trial, comparing varenicline with placebo, and two open-label trials comparing varenicline with nicotine replacement therapy (NRT). We also include one trial in which all the participants were given varenicline, but received behavioural support either online or by phone calls, or by both methods. This trial is not included in the analyses, but contributes to the data on safety and tolerability. The included studies covered 12,223 participants, 8100 of whom used varenicline.The pooled RR for continuous or sustained abstinence at six months or longer for varenicline at standard dosage versus placebo was 2.27 (95% CI 2.02 to 2.55; 14 trials, 6166 people, excluding one trial evaluating long term safety). Varenicline at lower or variable doses was also shown to be effective, with an RR of 2.09 (95% CI 1.56 to 2.78; 4 trials, 1272 people). The pooled RR for varenicline versus bupropion at one year was 1.52 (95% CI 1.22 to 1.88; 3 trials, 1622 people). The RR for varenicline versus NRT for point prevalence abstinence at 24 weeks was 1.13 (95% CI 0.94 to 1.35; 2 trials, 778 people). The two trials which tested the use of varenicline beyond the 12-week standard regimen found the drug to be well-tolerated during long-term use. The main adverse effect of varenicline was nausea, which was mostly at mild to moderate levels and usually subsided over time. A meta-analysis of reported serious adverse events occurring during or after active treatment and not necessarily considered attributable to treatment suggests there may be a one-third increase in the chance of severe adverse effects among people using varenicline (RR 1.36; 95% CI 1.04 to 1.79; 17 trials, 7725 people), but this finding needs to be tested further. Post-marketing safety data have raised questions about a possible association between varenicline and depressed mood, agitation, and suicidal behaviour or ideation. The labelling of varenicline was amended in 2008, and the manufacturers produced a Medication Guide. Thus far, surveillance reports and secondary analyses of trial data are inconclusive, but the possibility of a link between varenicline and serious psychiatric or cardiovascular events cannot be ruled out.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
Cytisine increases the chances of quitting, although absolute quit rates were modest in two recent trials. Varenicline at standard dose increased the chances of successful long-term smoking cessation between two- and threefold compared with pharmacologically unassisted quit attempts. Lower dose regimens also conferred benefits for cessation, while reducing the incidence of adverse events. More participants quit successfully with varenicline than with bupropion. Two open-label trials of varenicline versus NRT suggested a modest benefit of varenicline but confidence intervals did not rule out equivalence. Limited evidence suggests that varenicline may have a role to play in relapse prevention. The main adverse effect of varenicline is nausea, but mostly at mild to moderate levels and tending to subside over time. Possible links with serious adverse events, including serious psychiatric or cardiovascular events, cannot be ruled out.Future trials of cytisine may test extended regimens and more intensive behavioural support. There is a need for further trials of the efficacy of varenicline treatment extended beyond 12 weeks.


In this article Professor Dowd sets out the asymmetric pattern of men's caretaking as compared to women's caretaking, and raises the issue of why greater equality has not been achieved in care as women's participation in the workforce has increased. She argues that not only is this linked to the lack of institutional and structural supports for parenthood, which leads to gendered outcomes in who does care, but in addition, and perhaps most importantly, the barrier to care is cultural, linked to masculinities norms. Dowd sets out the barriers to care linked to masculinities, and suggests a further analysis linked to vulnerability and its connection to caregiving. Changes in masculinities, therefore, are critical to changing the pattern of men's caretaking, and she sets out ways that this might be accomplished.


At the end of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement, its members agreed to put in place a WTO-compatible free trade area. WTO-compatibility implies that 90% of the bilateral trade between the European Union (EU) and the Africa-Caribbean-Pacific (ACP) countries would have to be duty free and quota free within a reasonable (unspecified) period (e.g., 80% duty-free for ACP partners and 100% for the EU). The East African Community (EAC) negotiating group is in the process of finalizing its Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the EU. The EU accounts for around 15% of Rwanda's and for 14% of Uganda's imports, and the share of the EU import in tariff revenue is around 14% for these two countries. This paper explores the effects of an EPA on Rwanda's revenues, benefits to consumers and producers, net welfare effects and probable dynamic benefits.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Dense deposit disease (DDD) is a rare disorder that most commonly affects children. This study reports the largest North American series addressing clinicopathologic and outcome differences in children and adults.

DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS
Thirty-two patients with DDD were analyzed from the archives of Columbia University between 1977 and 2007. Characteristic intramembranous electron-dense deposits defined all diagnoses.

RESULTS
The cohort included 14 children (<16 yr) and 18 adults, with 39% of adults >60 yr. The female/male ratio was 1.9. At presentation, the mean 24-h urine protein was 4.6 g, nephrotic syndrome was present in 33%, renal insufficiency in 59%, and hematuria in 87% of patients. Compared with adults, children had lower incidence of renal insufficiency and were more likely to have reduced C3. Histologic pattern included membranoproliferative, mesangial, endocapillary, and crescentic glomerulonephritis. Treatment included immunosuppression (IS) alone in seven, renin angiotensin system (RAS) blockade alone in six, and combined IS/RAS blockade in 11. On follow-up (mean 63 mo) available in 27 patients, 26% had complete response, 48% had persistent renal dysfunction, and 26% had ESRD. Correlates of ESRD were older age and higher creatinine at biopsy, the absence of combined IS/RAS blockade therapy and the presence of subepithelial humps, but not histologic pattern. On multivariate analysis, age and creatinine emerged as the only independent predictors of ESRD.

CONCLUSIONS
DDD is clinically and pathologically heterogeneous. Adults have worse outcome than children, despite similar treatment. Combined IS/RAS blockade appears superior to either agent alone.


This study is based on the most recent state of the art report about Youth in Colombia; the article summarizes the process of construction of youth as a specialized field of knowledge in Colombia. It reviews the researches and studies carried out during a period of 20 years (1985–2003) in 18 Colombian cities. This state of the art is a model that aims at transcending the cataloguing and abstract-type synthesis of research studies, in order to consolidate a more profound analysis that will account for the thematic treatment and the underlying notions of young subjects. The project has been produced on the basis of the following questions: What knowledge of male and female Colombian youth has been produced? Who has produced it? How has it been produced and what kind of subject is being constructed? After 2003, there is a sustained production of bibliography concerning the main topics of the youth condition, with progressively qualified contributions. By contrast, the State since 2006 has practically abandoned the institutionality that had been created for designing and managing public policies on youth.


A structural health monitoring system contains two components, i.e. a data collection approach comprising a network of sensors for recording the structural responses as well as an extraction methodology in order to achieve beneficial information on the structural health condition. In this regard, data mining which is one of the emerging computer-based technologies, can be employed for extraction of valuable information from obtained sensor databases. On the other hand, data inverse analysis scheme as a problem-based procedure has been developing rapidly. Therefore, the aforesaid scheme and data mining should be combined in order to satisfy increasing demand of data analysis, especially in complex systems such as bridges. Consequently, this study develops a damage detection methodology based on these strategies. To this end, an inverse analysis approach using data mining is applied for a composite bridge. To aid the aim, the support vector machine (SVM) algorithm is utilized to generate the patterns by means of vibration characteristics dataset. To compare the robustness and accuracy of the predicted outputs, four kernel functions, including linear, polynomial, sigmoid, and radial basis function (RBF) are applied to build the patterns. The results point out the feasibility of the proposed method for detecting damage in composite slab-on-girder bridges.


Objectives
Physical activity (PA) estimates obtained from recent accelerometer data reduction algorithms have not been compared in women of reproductive-age, a population more likely to engage in unstructured and intermittent PA (such as household cleaning, walking) than men. We investigated whether the accelerometer data from the Crouter, Sasaki and Santos-Lozano algorithms: 1) reported significantly different PA estimates; 2) interacted with weight and age to modify PA estimates; and 3) provided different prevalence of adults meeting PA guidelines.

Methods
At least four days of accelerometer data were collected from 29 women, ages 18 to 38 years, and processed through three algorithms using an Excel model that automatically removed non-wear data and simultaneously calculated PA estimates [i.e., wear minutes, metabolic equivalent minutes (MET-min)]. A combination of mixed-effects linear regression models and bivariate correlation analyses were used to examine associations between accelerometer data with weight, age, and clinical markers of metabolic status across algorithms.

Results
The Crouter algorithm estimated significantly more wear minutes in Moderate intensity compared to the Sasaki and Santos-Lozano algorithms [+384 (SE 33) and+356 (SE 33) minutes, respectively]. There were significant interactions between Crouter estimates of Sedentary/Light and Moderate wear minutes with weight and age (all P interaction ≤ 0.001, Santos-Lozano algorithm as the reference). Algorithm selection also provided inconsistent findings in the prevalence of adults meeting PA guidelines.

Conclusions
Recently proposed data reduction algorithms varied in their PA estimates in women of reproductive age. Algorithm selection interacted with weight and age to influence PA estimates and provided inconsistent classification of those who met PA guidelines. Thus, depending on the algorithm selected, behavior change recommendations might differ for each individual due to varying PA estimations. Larger sample sizes are needed to confirm these findings.

Funding Sources
This research is partially supported by the Cornell University Human Ecology Alumni Association. The first author is currently being supported by the National Institutes of Health.


2nd lecture in the international course of lectures in English during the wintersemester 2006/07 at the University Duisburg-Essen
"Essentials in Adult and Continuing Education in Europe"