There is a current trend towards ever more slender concrete floor structures, which is
resulting in more frequent problems with their vibration serviceability. Predictive
methods for vibration serviceability must consider not only the structures themselves,
but also the non-structural elements which are attached to them, as these may have a
significant effect on the dynamic characteristics of the floor structural system. As there
has been very little past research in this area, this thesis describes an investigation into
the effects of raised access floors on the vibration serviceability of long-span concrete
floors.
The development of a new modal testing facility based on electrodynamic shaker
excitation, which was capable of producing high quality estimates of the modal
properties of full-scale floor structures, is described. This was subsequently utilised to
determine the modal properties of three full-scale floor structures, before and after the
installation of various configurations of raised access floors. The response of these
structures to controlled pedestrian excitation was also measured. Realistic finite element
models of all structures were developed and updated using the results from the
experimental work. These were subsequently utilised for investigation of the
experimentally measured effects of the raised access floors.
It was found that raised access floors had only minor effects on the modal properties of
the long-span concrete floors. Reductions in natural frequencies due to the increased
mass were, to some extent, offset by the slight increases in stiffness following the
installation of the access floors. Modal damping ratios increased for some modes of
vibration, but these changes were rather unpredictable and hence they were too
unreliable to be used in design.
The response of the structures under controlled pedestrian excitation reduced following
the installation of various configurations of raised access floors. The reduction appeared
to be greater for relatively deep access floors (500 - 600 mm) than for relatively shallow
access floors (150 - 200 mm). Therefore, it is recommended that the effects of access
floors may be included in vibration serviceability analyses by applying a reduction
factor to predicted responses calculated by assuming a bare floor. The proposed
reduction factors are 0.9 for access floors where the finished floor height is less than
500 mm and 0.8 for access floors where the finished floor height is 500 mm or greater.


Background: Myocardial infarction is associated with the autophagy and apoptosis of cardiomyocytes, and the protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin (AKT/mTOR) pathway plays a crucial role in this mechanism. Methods: Acute myocardial infarction rat models were assessed 0.5, 2, 4, and 6 hours after the induction of the myocardial infarction using hematoxylin and eosin staining, triphenyl tetrazolium chloride staining, myocardial enzyme measurements, and levels of autophagic activity. Additionally, diazoxide, 5-hydroxydecanoate, and LY294002 were intraperitoneally administered to rat models at peak myocardial injury to assess their effects on cardiac injury. The expression levels of autophagy-related and apoptosis-related proteins, as well as p-AKT and p-mTOR, were measured. Electron microscopy was used to assess the ultrastructure and the number of autophagosomes in the cardiac tissue. Results: We demonstrated that the degree of myocardial injury and the level of autophagy were significantly elevated in the experimental cohort compared with the control cohort. In addition, the myocardial infarct size was significantly smaller in diazoxide-treated acute myocardial infarction rats compared with untreated rats. Diazoxide also decreased the levels of myocardial injury markers, autophagy, and apoptosis, while it also induced the levels of AKT and mTOR phosphorylation, decreased the number of autophagosomes, and improved the myocardial ultrastructure of the acute myocardial infarction rats. 5-Hydroxydecanoate treatment resulted in an opposite effect to those observed upon diazoxide treatment. LY294002 was also able to reverse diazoxide treatment effects. Conclusion: Peak levels of myocardial tissue injury and autophagy were observed 2 hours post-acute myocardial infarction induction in rats. Diazoxide treatment inhibited myocardial autophagy and apoptosis while protecting cardiac tissue from ischemic injury, which is likely to have proceeded through activation of the AKT/mTOR pathway.


Contrastive representation learning is crucial in medical time series analysis as it alleviates dependency on labor-intensive, domain-specific, and scarce expert annotations. However, existing contrastive learning methods primarily focus on one single data level, which fails to fully exploit the intricate nature of medical time series. To address this issue, we present COMET, an innovative hierarchical framework that leverages data consistencies at all inherent levels in medical time series. Our meticulously designed model systematically captures data consistency from four potential levels: observation, sample, trial, and patient levels. By developing contrastive loss at multiple levels, we can learn effective representations that preserve comprehensive data consistency, maximizing information utilization in a self-supervised manner. We conduct experiments in the challenging patient-independent setting. We compare COMET against six baselines using three diverse datasets, which include ECG signals for myocardial infarction and EEG signals for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. The results demonstrate that COMET consistently outperforms all baselines, particularly in setup with 10% and 1% labeled data fractions across all datasets. These results underscore the significant impact of our framework in advancing contrastive representation learning techniques for medical time series. The source code is available at https://github.com/DL4mHealth/COMET.


The major traditions of organizational analysis have not been characterized by a significant and explicit concern with gender, sexuality, and violence. This article considers some of the changing ways in which gender and sexuality are being approached, or indeed avoided, within organizational analysis, and some of the reasons why a focus on gender and sexuality might lead on to the study of the relationship of violence and organizations. This argument is elaborated through the identification of significant questions that need to be addressed in the study of violence and organizations, the illustration of some of these through a case study, and an evaluation of the potentials and limitations of this "violence" perspective for organizational analysis.


Spherical void models of Gpc-scale have widely been discussed in the literature as a possible alternative to the spatially homogeneous Friedmann models with dark energy. In this framework, the local universe is modeled by an exact solution of Einstein's field equations, the so-called Lemaitre-Tolman-Bondi (LTB) metric, which constitutes a spherically symmetric spacetime that is solely filled by pressureless dust. In extension to recent multi-probe analyses of void models in a cosmological context, we study the evolution of linear, gauge-invariant perturbations on top of LTB backgrounds starting from a full spectrum of Gaussian initial conditions. The relativistic framework of perturbation theory on radially inhomogeneous spacetimes is substantially more complicated than in standard homogeneous models of FLRW type, because the spacetime is intrinsically dynamical already at first order which causes gauge-invariant perturbations to couple. As shown by Clarkson et al. in 2009 (\cite{clarkson_perturbation_2009}), their evolution is constrained by a system of linear partial differential equations which need to be integrated numerically. We present a new numerical scheme based on finite element methods to solve this equation system and generate appropriate scalar initial conditions in the homogeneous asymptotic limit of the LTB patch. In this context, we involve realisations of Gaussian random fields with an underlying power spectrum for the Bardeen potential. After spherical harmonic decomposition, the initial fluctuations are mapped to the corresponding LTB gauge-invariant variables and those evolved into the radially inhomogeneous LTB regime. Estimates of angular power spectra of each gauge-invariant quantity are computed as functions of redshift on the past null cone. This enables us to analyse the coupling strength in a statistical way. We find significant couplings up to $25\%$ for large and deep voids of Gpc scale as required to fit the distance redshift relations of SNe. As a major complication, LTB gauge-invariant perturbations are abstract mathematical objects that, although in principle observable, cannot feasibly be transformed to physically meaningful quantities. We therefore adapt a relativistic framework of light propagation to perturbed LTB models that allows to map the combined contribution of gauge-invariant metric and matter perturbations to sources of the optical tidal matrix. The corresponding Sachs equation is derived for generically perturbed LTB spacetimes and numerically investigated in case of negligible perturbation coupling.


Global Illumination is affected by the slightest change in a 3D scene, requiring a complete reevaluation of the distributed light. In cases where real-time algorithms are not applicable due to high demands on the achievable accuracy, this recomputation from scratch results in artifacts like flickering or noise, disturbing the visual appearance and negatively affecting interactive lighting design workflows. We propose a novel system tackling this problem by providing incremental updates of a baked global illumination solution after scene modifications, and a re-convergence after a few seconds. Using specifically targeted incremental data structures and prioritization strategies in a many-light global illumination algorithm, we compute a differential update from one illumination state to another. We further demonstrate the use of a novel error balancing strategy making it possible to prioritize the illumination updates.


Social innovation discourses see in social challenges opportunities to make societies more sustainable and cohesive through inclusive practices, coproduction and pro-active grassroots initiatives. In this paper we are concerned first that the concept has been stretched in so many directions that it is at breaking point. We illustrate this by documenting the varied uses of social innovation in different academic and policy discourses. Second, we assume that, if social innovation is to be a useful concept for policy-makers, then it must tell us something about what adjustments are needed to develop an effective political economy that is social innovation ready. Finally, we argue that what is needed is more theoretical and empirical work to help social innovation to develop into an effective policy tool.


Exotic effects such as slow light, fast light and even stored light have been observed in the laboratory. Now, optical scientists are turning their attention toward developing applications of slow light, including controllable optical delay lines, optical buffers and true time delay methods for synthetic aperture radar.


— A ciphertext inherits some properties of the plaintext, which is considered as a source of vulnerability and, therefore, it may be decrypted through a vigorous datamining process. The vulnerability increases when a community of users is communicating with each other. Masking the ciphertext is the solution to this vulnerability. We have developed a new block cipher masking technique named Vaccine for which the block size is random and each block is further divided into segments of random size. Each byte within a segment is instantiated using a dynamic multi-instantiation approach, which means (i) the use of Vaccine does not produce the same masked outcome for the same given ciphertext and key and (ii) the choices for masking different occurrences of a byte are extremely high. Vaccine is tested in both single-paired-user and multi-paired-user communities with the revoking option. A key agreement is used to manage key changes required by the revoking option. For testing in a single-paired-user environment, two sets (100 members in each) of 1K long plaintexts of natural (borrowed from natural texts) and synthesized (randomly generated from 10 characters to increase the frequency of characters in the plaintext) are built. For each plaintext, two ciphertexts are generated using Advanced Encryption System (AES-128) and Data Encryption Standard (DES) algorithms. Vaccine and two well-known masking approaches of Cipher Block Chaining (CBC), and Cipher Feedback (CFB) are applied separately on each ciphertext. On average: (a) the Hamming distance between masked and unmasked occurrences of a byte using Vaccine is 0.72 bits higher than using the CBC, and CFB, and (b) Vaccine throughput is also 3.4 times and 1.8 times higher than the throughput for CBC and CFB, correspondingly, and (c) Vaccine masking strength is 1.5% and 1.8% higher than the masking strength for CBC and CFB, respectively. For testing in a multi-paired-user community with the revoking option, the findings remain the same for every single-paired-user. However, there is an overhead cost related to re-keying and re-profiling, which is caused by the revoking of a user from the community or expanding the community of users. The overhead cost is linearly related to the size of community.


Growing evidence suggests that the affordances of algorithms can reproduce socially embedded bias and discrimination, increase the information asymmetry and power imbalances in socio‑economic relations. We conceptualise these affordances in the context of socially mediated mass harms. We argue that algorithmic technologies may not alter what harms arise but, instead, affect harms qualitatively—that is, how and to what extent they emerge and on whom they fall. Using the example of three well-documented cases of algorithmic failures, we integrate the concerns identified in critical algorithm studies with the literature on social harm and zemiology. Reorienting the focus from socio‑economic to socio-econo-technological structures, we illustrate how algorithmic technologies transform the dynamics of social harm production on macro and meso levels by: (1) systematising bias and inequality; (2) accelerating harm propagation on an unprecedented scale; and (3) blurring the perception of harms.


One prediction about the future of pervasive technology is that people will carry the tools needed to interface with technological resources sprinkled throughout the environment. A problem with this vision is the dark side of the network effect: early adopters will end up carrying around interfaces for technology that largely does not yet exist, and building managers will question the value of installing technology with features that almost no one will be able to use. An intermediate solution is that certain buildings with specific needs for efficiency or security (such as hospitals) may become smart, with technology insinuated into particular spaces. Since many, or even most of the people in these spaces will not have the technology to interface directly with the new pervasive resources, we must think of the interaction idiom as initially being closer to the notion of smart environments. These environments will have to sense, interpret, and facilitate the actions of the inhabitants, possibly with very little help from technology attached to the people involved, or even their cooperation. We survey a body of work on perceptual tools for smart buildings, built on the sensor network model, and focused on the idea that statistical methods and population dynamics can provide valuable information even in situations where detection of individual instances of behavior may be difficult to detect. These are some of the tools which will fuel the building optimization applications that will justify the efforts of early adopters to build smart buildings studded with pervasive technology.


Molecular cloning has revealed the existence of three distinct small conductance (SK1-3) Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channels. Because SK channels underlie the afterhyperpolarization (AHP) that is critical for sculpturing phasic firing in hypothalamic neurons, we investigated the distribution of these channels in the female guinea pig. Both SK1 and SK3 cDNA fragments were cloned using PCR, and ribonuclease protection assay as well as in situ hybridization analysis illustrated that the SK3 channel was the predominant subtype expressed in the guinea pig hypothalamus. Combined in situ hybridization and fluorescence immunocytochemistry revealed that SK3 mRNA was expressed in GnRH, dopamine, and vasopressin neurons, and all of these neurons exhibited an AHP current. Moreover, SK3 mRNA was found in other brain areas, including the septum, bed nucleus, amygdala, thalamus, midbrain, and hippocampus. Using quantitative ribonuclease protection assay, the rank order of SK3 mRNA expression was septum >or= midbrain > rostral thalamus >or= rostral basal hypothalamus >or= caudal thalamus >or= preoptic area >> caudal basal hypothalamus >or= hippocampus. Moreover, 17beta-E2 treatment, which reduces plasma LH during the negative feedback phase, significantly increased SK3 mRNA levels in the rostral basal hypothalamus (P < 0.05; n = 6). Therefore, these findings suggest that estrogen increases the mRNA expression of SK3 channels, which may represent a mechanism by which estrogen regulates hypothalamic neuronal excitability during negative feedback.


In this work, we have analyzed the delamination caused by a low velocity impact on carbon-epoxy laminates made with balanced 0/90 braided fabrics and made by resin infusion. The items have been tested with a fall drop system. The numerical simulation was performed using the Explicit Non-Lineal Finite Element Method (NASTRAN SOL700). Delamination was analyzed using cohesive zone models (CZM). The parameters of the Tvergaard and Hutchinson constitutive law have been defined based on experimental fracture data of the laminate and mechanical properties of the resin used. The results show a good correlation (error<2%) regarding the maximum force, contact time and residual stiffness. The good correlation in evaluating the residual stiffness after impact has special interest since it allows the designer to evaluate the integrity level of a structure that has suffered an impact, generating damage.


The rambutan is an exotic tropical fruit that presents high perishability after the harvest due to the intense metabolic activity and the high water content in its chemical composition that together with the darkening process of the pericarp compromise its acceptance by the consumer. In this context, the present research had the objective of evaluating the effect of the passive modified atmosphere with the evaluation of different packing packages aiming at prolonging the useful life of the fruits by the greater acceptance of the final consumer. The rambutans were packaged in polyethylene bags, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) trays, polystyrene styrofoam trays coated with 14 micron PVC plastic film and in cardboard boxes during storage at 10 ° C and 85% of RH for 16 days with analyzes performed at four-day intervals on the variables: loss of fresh mass, soluble solids, total soluble sugars, titratable acidity, pH, vitamin C and pericarp appearance. A DIC experimental design with 4x5 factorial was adopted with five replicates and the experimental plot formed by five fruits. The analysis of variance showed no significant effect of the package on the maintenance of fruit quality during storage days. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and styrofoam trays made of polystyrene coated with PVC film (BPE + PVC) favored a shelf life of up to 12 days by controlling the physico-chemical changes and the control of browning in the fruit pericarp. The use of the packaging (BPE + PVC) is more suitable for the packaging of the fruits because of the more affordable cost. Key-words: Exotic Fruit, Packaging, Darkening of the Pericarp, Postharvest Quality


We analyze the possibility of observing CPT violation in the top sector by looking for a mass difference between top and anti-top. We present current bounds on CPT violation in this sector from the Tevatron data, and analyze the prospects of improving these bounds at the LHC. We show that bounds at level of a percent can be obtained at future colliders.


With the emergence of cloud computation, we are facing the rising waves of big data. It is our time to leverage such opportunity by increasing data usage both by man and machine. We need ultra-mobile computation with high data processing speed, ultra-large memory, energy efficiency and multi-functionality. Additionally, we have to deploy energy-efficient multi-functional 3D ICs for robust cyber-physical system establishment. To achieve such lofty goals we have to mimic human brain, which is inarguably the world's most powerful and energy efficient computer. Brain's cortex has folded architecture to increase surface area in an ultra-compact space to contain its neuron and synapses. Therefore, it is imperative to overcome two integration challenges: (i) finding out a low-cost 3D IC fabrication process and (ii) foldable substrates creation with ultra-large-scale-integration of high performance energy efficient electronics. Hence, we show a low-cost generic batch process based on trench-protect-peel-recycle to fabricate rigid and flexible 3D ICs as well as high performance flexible electronics. As of today we have made every single component to make a fully flexible computer including non-planar state-of-the-art FinFETs. Additionally we have demonstrated various solid-state memory, movable MEMS devices, energy harvesting and storage components. To show the versatility of our process, we have extended our process towards other inorganic semiconductor substrates such as silicon germanium and III-V materials. Finally, we report first ever fully flexible programmable silicon based microprocessor towards foldable brain computation and wirelessly programmable stretchable and flexible thermal patch for pain management for smart bionics.


The origins of the baryton have been identified in England in the early part of the 17th century. The only other well evidenced repertory for the baryton is that of Haydn and his contemporaries.

Until recently the arias by Ariosti and Fux were believed to be isolated examples of the baryton at the Vienna Hofkapelle. The recent discovery of the arias by Leopold I, Draghi and Conti has added significantly to the known repertoire of the baryton.

This publication contains part of a body of compositions which has established the existence of a school of baryton composition/playing at the Vienna Hofkapelle and with a distinctive identify. Surprisingly other evidence is scant. There is no iconography or contemporary accounts and only two court records. Although barytons exists, instruments of the Fussen school of baryton making in Vienna, no direct provenances can be established which link the instruments with the Vienna court.

The repertoire for baryton prior to these arias was arrangements of pieces for lyra viola and lute, notated in and played from French lute tablature. Figures were added subsequently added to indicate the lower manual plucked tones of the baryton. All were for the self-accompanying, solo baroque baryton. The arias of Draghi and Ariosti do not make great technical demands on the barytonist, but the Fux work is more challenging. They therefore provide significant evidence of developments in playing technique which complement Krause's publication of c 1700, most notably: first music composed for the baryton; earliest evidence of the use of staff notation for the baryton; baryton as part of an ensemble, providing an obbligato to the solo voice; lower manual functioning as a self-accompanying bass; use of the same pitch range for the lower manual as in entabulated works.


Sacred Playground is an ethnographic study of adult play and transformation at Burning Man, a countercultural gathering that takes place in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada each summer. I studied this cultural phenomenon using mixed methods, relying primarily on person-centered interviewing with sixteen informants from the Los Angeles Burning Man community. I began this project in 2009, conducting this research as a cultural insider who has been participating in the event since 1999 and collecting quantitative data there since 2004. People who go to the event report having personal transformations there, and this research seeks to understand the psychocultural processes that produce these reported experiences. I conclude that some people experience transformative moments at the event, which I refer to as entering into a mood of play in which a person becomes absorbed in the present moment, highly sensitive to their environment, susceptible to external influences, and more likely to take risks that can lead to learning. It is a state of mind that seems difficult to achieve in adulthood and is rarely enjoyed by adults in public spaces in the United States, and so the sensation can feel particularly intense and profound when it happens out in the open during the Burning Man event. The primary argument presented here is that if we conceptualize play as a mood, and if this mood can increase social learning and cultural adaptation, we must question why this mood is often repressed in adulthood.In the course of my research I came to describe my field site as a sacred playground. The place is especially meaningful to those who participate year after year, becoming experts in particular play practices, adopting the ethos of play that predominates in this community, and endeavoring to spread their ethos and practices to other locations. This ethos of play contradicts the dominant culture that posits adult play as useless frivolity, suggesting instead that the experiences occurring at Burning Man are important and highly meaningful. This dissertation offers an in-depth description and person-centered analysis of five play practices--going naked, heckling, sexy encounters, drinking alcohol, and working--building out from the body to larger social contexts as I seek to understand the consequences to a participant's mind, body, and developmental trajectory.


Packed and Fluidized beds are commonly found in industries such as chemical processing and refining. A major advantage to these configurations lies in the large solid-surface area exposed to the flow, allowing for rapid interaction between the solid and fluid phases. While these types of flow configurations have been heavily studied over the years, computational software and hardware are only recently becoming advanced enough to allow realistic simulations of industry relevant configurations. Recent developments have allowed for the coupling of Discrete Element Modeling approaches, where conservation equations are typically solved on a particle-by-particle basis, with traditional continuum-fluid dynamics simulations. Nonetheless, when fluid-particle interaction is important, such as in packed bed analysis, modeling of the individual particles may still be computationally prohibitive except for simple applications. Methods to improve computational costs include grain coarsening or parcel-based approaches, where particle sizes may be scaled up or groups of particles are treated statistically. The present study develops and validates an analytical approach for the scaling of the Coefficient of Drag equations in a simplified packed bed simulation with scaled-up particles, using CD-adapco's STAR-CCM+ software. Pressure drop predictions are compared against the accepted Ergun Correlation for the high density cylindrical packed bed. Container contact forces and packed bed height are also monitored as the flow rate is increased toward fluidization. It is shown that by properly scaling the Coefficient of Drag, while doubling the particle diameter (effectively reducing the total number of simulated particles by 8), a more than 15X speed-up in simulation time is achieved. This speed-up is achieved with an increase in error of only 8% maximum for the cases studied. Additionally, similar physical behavior is observed between the cases. This analytical approach proves to be a robust method of reducing computational expense without sacrificing accuracy, effectively making industrial scale simulations feasible.


Hospital acquired Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia presents a serious health risk to inpatients, due to the high risk of transmission and high mortality rates, which is in part is due to the emergence of multiple drug resistant strains of S. aureus. Therefore, the prompt diagnosis and treatment of S. aureus bacteraemia is of paramount importance in the Intensive Care department. Staphylococcal Protein A (SpA) is an immunoglobulin-binding surface protein, expressed by more than 98.9% of S. aureus strains, with a primary function of aiding S. aureus in the colonisation of the host. While many Staphylococcal toxins are excreted by the kidneys, the method of SpA processing and removal by the body has not been confirmed. If SpA is present in urine, it could provide a key marker of S. aureus infection. The aim of this research was to develop techniques for the detection of SpA in samples, and evaluate the surface protein as a target for S. aureus urinary antigen testing. This was to be assessed in a sample population of 45 Intensive Care patients, each providing up to 8 samples over a 48 hour inpatient stay. An effective and specific Western Blot was developed for the detection of commercial SpA in both buffer and control urine; however, this method failed to detect any SpA bands in patient urine samples. Subsequently, an optimised ELISA displayed increased sensitivity, being able to detect lower levels of SpA down to 0.78ng/ml. Using this technique, we detected an increased absorbance in 25% of patient samples tested, implying the presence of SpA. However, these samples did not display the same characteristics as commercial SpA, lacking the heat-resistance of the purified protein when ELISA samples were subject to boiling. Additionally, the application of mass spectrometry to analysing the SpA ELISA positive samples did not identify SpA. Furthermore, positive ELISA results were significantly associated with renal failure, but not with markers of infection. This research represents a comprehensive analysis of immunoblotting and immunoassay methods for detecting SpA in urine samples. Further work is required to fully assess the route of excretion of SpA, and the techniques developed could prove useful in the testing of other clinical samples, such as serum, for SpA.


BACKGROUND
Individuals who prepare for public emergencies can mitigate the effects of an incident, but denial of personal susceptibility may reduce the likelihood of preparation. Some denial may be due to a positive self-image that is at odds with being "at risk". The potential for an enhanced warning message that included a positive image of a protector to circumvent this denial was tested in two studies.

METHODS
Optimistic denial threat orientation was measured. Then participants received either a traditional or a positive protector warning message about terrorism (Study 1; nationally representative sample of US adults; N = 587) or campus emergency preparation (Study 2; US college students; N = 179).

RESULTS
As predicted, in the enhanced image condition optimistic denial was no longer related to stronger denial reactions and lower intentions to protect oneself. In addition, Study 2 tested explanatory mediators and found that negative perceptions of and low similarity to a protector partially explained the denial of those higher in optimistic denial and why their denial was dampened in the positive image condition.

CONCLUSIONS
An enhanced message including a positive image of protector may be an effective way to encourage protection for those prone to optimistic denial.


Promoting and protecting the health of their families is a high priority of households in Tajikistan-half of all households identify health as the aspect of life that is of greatest concern to them. Thirty five percent, or 2.5 million of the total estimated population of 7.2 million people in the country, are under 15 years of age. The median age of the population is just 21.6 years (UN, 2008). Although fertility has fallen in recent years, the total fertility rate remains above three. Thus, policies to improve maternal and child health (MCH) outcomes are central to improving the health of the nation. Tajikistan faces considerable challenges in its quest to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for MCH over the next six years. The fourth MDG target of a two-thirds reduction in child mortality calls for Tajikistan to decrease its current under-five mortality rate (U5MR) of 79 deaths per 1000 live births to less than 30 per 1000, and the current Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) of 65 deaths per 1000 to under 25 per 1000. Countries with GDP levels similar to Tajikistan have made significantly better progress towards reaching their MDG targets. For instance, IMRs in the Lao People's Democratic Republic and Cambodia stand at 52 and 59 deaths per 1000 live births, respectively, compared to 65 per 1000 in Tajikistan. IMRs in neighboring Uzbekistan and the Kyrgyz Republic are 38 and 36 per 1000 live births, respectively. Similarly, with child mortality rates of 69 and 41 per 1000 live births respectively, Lao and the Kyrgyz Republic are in a better position than Tajikistan.


The structural optimization and the frequency for chitosan monomer, chitobiose and chitotriose with the quantum chemistry abinitio HF and the density functional B3LYP method by choosing 6-311 + G (d, p) as the basis set were calculated and studied. For its three rotational isomers, gauche-trans (gt), gauche - gauche (gg), and trans-gauche (tg), the calculations comparatively were performed respectively. The charge distribution and frontier molecular orbit were analyzed by using the method of natural bond orbital (NBO). The calculated IR spectrum was compared with the experimental data. The results showed that the three rotational isomers gt, gg, and tg can stably existed in chitosan with the stability order gg﹥gt﹥tg. Its highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) was provided primarily by nitrogen atom and its lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) was provided mainly by the oxygen atom; Its reaction active sites were concentrated in -NH2 and –OH. The calculated infrared spectra were in good agreement with the experimental values.


AIM
To report the long-term vision-threatening complications in patients who underwent phakic intraocular lens (pIOLs) implantation for high myopia.

METHODS
This study was designed from a consecutive series of phakic intraocular lens complication and corrective surgeries. Sixteen eyes of 13 patients had implantation of phakic intraocular lens for correction high myopia and developed serious complications have been included in this study. The mean age of patients was 38.6±6.35y (range 32-50y) and the mean time of history of pIOL implantation for high myopia was 6±2y (range 2-10y). Before corrective surgery, best spectacle-corrective visual acuity (BSCVA) ranged from perception to 20/200 in the eyes in which severe complications occurred.

RESULTS
Corneal decompensation occurred in 12 eyes of 9 high myopic patients after anterior chamber pIOL implantation. Rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) occurred in 4 eyes of 4 high myopic patients following anterior chamber and posterior chamber pIOL implantation. Patients with corneal decompensation, had combined procedures consisting of pIOL removal and penetrating keratoplasty (PKP). Removals of pIOL, phacoemulsification and pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) with silicone oil tamponade were performed in patients with RRD. After corrective surgeries, all patients but one (P+, patient 2, right eye) achieved moderate BSCVA ranged from 20/200 to 20/50 at the last visit.

CONCLUSION
Phakic IOLs may be effective for the correction of high myopia. Although these IOLs may have severe complications and it affects safety and efficacy of this surgery. As seen here, corneal decompensation and rhegmatogenous retinal detachment are possible postoperative vision-threatening complications of phakic IOLs. Patients must be carefully examined before and after surgery for possible endothelial cell loss and vitreoretinal problems.


Received 2nd, April, 2015 Received in revised form 10th, April, 2015 Accepted 4th, May, 2015 Published online 28th, May, 2015 India's diverse ecosystems and climatic conditions have lead to abundance of plant species. A variety of seasonal plants are a part of Indian diet. Amorphophallus commutatus Linn., locally known as Shevra, belonging to Family Araceae, grows in wild during monsoon season in Maharashtra. According to the locals, only certain parts of the plant are edible and those are considered to render certain health benefits. Therefore, a comparative analysis of phytochemical constituents and antimicrobial activities of its edible and inedible parts was taken up that would help in highlighting its prospective use in healthcare sector along with minimising the wastage of inedible plant part. Elemental analysis of the edible part also established the nutritional benefits of this seasonal but less popular plant of urban population.


Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have an important role and strategic for economic growth. This is because at the time of the economic crisis in Indonesia, SMEs are the economic sectors which have the most excellent durability. Wedoro Village in Sidoarjo city, Indonesia, is famous for the footwear creative industry especially slippers and shoes. A wide variety of slippers and shoes with different types available. Stores and outlets are widespread across the village. Wedoro region has been known as one of the predecessors of creative industries in the field of footwear. Currently the industrial centres of creative footwear is experiencing a decline in sales compared with its heyday in 2001-2006 years ago. This research aims to design a development strategy of the creative industry centre in Wedoro by using SWOT analysis and grand strategy. The results of this study indicate that the cause of the decline in sales is a flood of Chinese products, rising raw material prices, and the lack of innovation in product design. Hence, creative industry in Indonesia especially in Wedoro Village might need a guidance from the government in developing innovation in product design and marketing. It is therefore expected that the existence of a creative industry in Wedoro can grow and create occupations especially for local residents and also increase the revenue of the Sidoarjo city.


Calculations of the quantum information entropy have been extended to a non-analytically solvable situation. Specifically, we have investigated the information entropy for a one-dimensional system with a schematic "Landau" potential in a numerical way. Particularly, it is found that the phase transitional behavior of the system can be well expressed by the evolution of quantum information entropy. The calculated results also indicate that the position entropy S_x and the momentum entropy S_p at the critical point of phase transition may vary with the mass parameter M but their sum remains as a constant independent of M for a given excited state. In addition, the entropy uncertainty relation is proven to be robust during the whole process of the phase transition.


Deep learning as performed by artificial deep neural networks (DNNs) has achieved great successes recently in many important areas that deal with text, images, videos, graphs, and so on. However, the black-box nature of DNNs has become one of the primary obstacles for their wide adoption in mission-critical applications such as medical diagnosis and therapy. Because of the huge potentials of deep learning, the interpretability of DNNs has recently attracted much research attention. In this article, we propose a simple but comprehensive taxonomy for interpretability, systematically review recent studies on interpretability of neural networks, describe applications of interpretability in medicine, and discuss future research directions, such as in relation to fuzzy logic and brain science.


ABSTRACT QM(UB3LYP)/MM(AMBER) calculations were performed for the locations of the transition structure (TS) of the oxygen–oxygen (O–O) bond formation in the S4 state of the oxygen-evolving complex (OEC) of photosystem II (PSII). The natural orbital (NO) analysis of the broken-symmetry (BS) solutions was also performed to elucidate the nature of the chemical bonds at TS on the basis of several chemical indices defined by the occupation numbers of NO. The computational results revealed a concerted bond switching (CBS) mechanism for the oxygen–oxygen bond formation coupled with the one-electron transfer (OET) for water oxidation in OEC of PSII. The orbital interaction between the σ-HOMO of the Mn(IV)4–O(5) bond and the π*-LUMO of the Mn(V)1=O(6) bond plays an important role for the concerted O–O bond formation for water oxidation in the CaMn4O6 cluster of OEC of PSII. One electron transfer (OET) from the π-HOMO of the Mn(V)1=O(6) bond to the σ*-LUMO of the Mn(IV)4–O(5) bond occurs for the formation of electron transfer diradical, where the generated anion radical [Mn(IV)4–O(5)]-• part is relaxed to the •Mn(III)4 … O(5)- structure and the cation radical [O(6)=Mn(V)1]+ • part is relaxed to the +O(6)–Mn(IV)1• structure because of the charge-spin separation for the electron-and hole-doped Mn–oxo bonds. Therefore, the local spins are responsible for the one-electron reductions of Mn(IV)4->Mn(III)4 and Mn(V)1->Mn(IV)1. On the other hand, the O(5)- and O(6)+ sites generated undergo the O–O bond formation in the CaMn4O6 cluster. The Ca(II) ion in the cubane- skeleton of the CaMn4O6 cluster assists the above orbital interactions by the lowering of the orbital energy levels of π*-LUMO of Mn(V)1=O(6) and σ*-LUMO of Mn(IV)4–O(5), indicating an important role of its Lewis acidity. Present CBS mechanism for the O–O bond formation coupled with one electron reductions of the high-valent Mn ions is different from the conventional radical coupling (RC) and acid-base (AB) mechanisms for water oxidation in artificial and native photosynthesis systems. The proton-coupled electron transfer (PC-OET) mechanism for the O–O bond formation is also touched in relation to the CBS-OET mechanism. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT


Many commentators claim Adam Smith failed to realize that no objective standard of value exists. Instead, he adhered to the labor theory of value. Like others, we argue that in the The Wealth of Nations Smith discussed the "early and rude state" in which the labor theory of value made some sense since labor and human circumstances were relatively simple and knowable. However, because the labor theory of value is only sensible in that special case, his description of the theory suggests its own insufficiency. With the emergence of the division of labor, labor heterogeneity and the waning know-ability of circumstances render the earlier analysis moot, but that is only implicit in the Wealth of Nations. So why does Smith exposit an analytically weak position? We suggest that Smith thought that his rhetorical use of the labor theory of value would advance his "liberal plan of equality, liberty, and justice." The labor theory of value served as a rhetorical device to underpin his claims that the movement toward an economic system based on an extensive division of labor was a movement toward a better society without any systemic injustice in labor remuneration.


The book entitled Educating The Muslim Adolescents in The 21st Century has been
written by Associate Professor Dr Sharifah Sariah Syed Hassan and edited by Assistant Professor
Dr Mohaida Mohin. It consists of seven chapters specifically focusing on the current issues
related to education. The implications of the related issues include the needs to revise the
curriculum in Teacher Education. This book has been designed and written in simple language
that target a wide audience which include parents, teachers, lecturers and Higher learning
students. It is essential for post graduate students who have the interest in research of Teacher
Education and Curriculum as it relates to theory and practice. Teachers in schools can benefit
from reading this book as a motivation for self reflection. The source of writing is based on
library search, Internet resources and empirical evidence from primary research carried out by
the author.
Issues related to knowledge and skills in content and pedagogy are highlighted in
Chapter 1-Introduction. Finland has been cited to be an example of having good and stable
education system where education policies and implementation are free from political influence.
The second chapter entitled 'Parenting in Information and Communication Technology era' has
highlighted the importance to embrace communication technology in the adolescents' lives. The
chapter discusses the importance of partnership between parents and teachers. The roles of
teachers and parents are elaborated. Chapter 3- 'Teaching Through Reflections: Food of
thoughts' bring teachers and educators to evaluate their commitment in educating the students.
The importance of values is embedded in effective teaching quality. The histories of world
civilizations are discussed briefly as to highlight the contributions of education and values in the
society for the nation building. Chapter 4- 'Promoting Problem Solving Skills In Life: From
Problem To Project Based Learning' brings the readers to conceptualize problem Based learning as essential skills for the success and development of a nation. ICT can be integrated in the curriculum to ensure Problem and Project based learning can take place. Thus, creative and critical thinking can be promoted in ICT learning environment.
In Chapter 5- 'Learning From The Multimedia: New Perspectives Of Learning' has elaborated on the learning theory involving learning with multimedia. Learning styles and multiple intelligence are discussed to provide explanation on adolescents' way of learning and thinking. The following chapter 'Integrating Mobile Technology in Curriculum' encompasses the Technology Pedagogy Content Knowledge (TPCK) highlighting how mobile technology can be used for teaching and learning. Models of teaching are also discussed when mobile technology in integrated in the classroom. Chapter 7 elaborates the summary of the book. The importance of reforming teachers in school with synergy efforts is analyzed. Japanese Education system is the example cited for the reform of training for teachers. A synergy effort in lesson study has been introduced. The book ends with a summary to conclude the contents discussed.


Part of the 'Critical Perspectives on Business and Management' series, this is one book in a four-volume collection of cutting-edge and canonical research on marketing research.


Abstract: Fishing has led to local extirpations of reef fishes. For conservation and management purposes, it is important to identify all those species that are vulnerable to fishing, but this cannot be done using a priori assessments or by describing trends in abundance because the necessary scientific resources are not available. Thus the predictions of vulnerability that provide the basis for conservation action will have to be made with existing data or data that can be acquired rapidly before further extirpations occur. The life histories of species may determine their responses to exploitation, and we describe how an easily measured parameter, maximum observed size, is related to population trends of exploited fishes on coral reefs. Using a phylogenetic comparative approach, we demonstrated that species of grouper (Epinephelinae), snapper (Lutjanidae), and parrotfish (Scaridae) that decreased in abundance more than their nearest phylogenetic relative had greater maximum size. Our results suggest that one can predict the vulnerability of reef fishes to exploitation based on responses of their relatives. The quality of the prediction was good for the intensively fished groupers and snappers but poor for the lightly fished parrotfishes. Our approach may help proactive conservationists and fishery managers identify and conserve vulnerable species in new, developing, or lightly exploited fisheries, thereby reducing their reliance on reactive management methods.


Although third-party punishment plays a crucial role in the maintenance of reciprocal cooperative relationships in human society, for various reasons such punishment is not consistently levied even when it may be appropriate to do so. The present study investigated the effects of external incentives and psychopathy on non-intervention in a situation where third-party punishment would be warranted. Forty participants who completed a measure to assess psychopathy participated in an experiment in which they had to choose either to punish social norm violators as third-parties, to help victims, or to refrain from correcting the unfair outcomes, under conditions where non-intervention was either rewarded or punished. Results showed that frequency of non-intervention decreased in a condition where there were assured punishments with non-intervention, with participants more likely to intervene in the unfair situation as a third-party. On the other hand, frequency of non-intervention increased when there was assured rewards for non-intervention, with many participants failing to correct the unfair outcomes. Additionally, this tendency was accentuated in high psychopathy individuals. The implications of these results for future research on the cultivation and continuation of reciprocal human relationship is discussed.


It is widely believed that officials of the South Sea Company deliberately engineered London's stock market bubble of 1720, hoping in the process to line their own pockets. This article considers the available evidence, including some manuscript records of securities trading by Company officials, and finds there is little support for the standard view. An alternative account is proposed. The Company had broader aims to which the bubble was in fact a major obstacle. The directors acted to support the market price of South Sea stock whenever it came under downward pressure.


What happens after the end of art? A multi-screen moving image installation takes its cue from the work of one of the artists included within Somewhat Abstract - Gustav Metzger, instigator of the 1966 Destruction in Art Symposium (DIAS).

Under the invitation of Metzger, artists from around the world congregated to debate, discuss and make 'art as destruction', or 'auto-destructive art'. Much of the activity took place at Better Books, an alternative bookshop in London, which the following year would become home to the newly formed London Filmmakers Co-op. Art had been destroyed and in its wake film, a new form of art-making, had emerged.

An accompanying talk by the exhibition's curator Duncan White will explore some of the problematic questions raised by the works included in the installation in relation to our current exhibition, Somewhat Abstract.

Selected works include Carolee Schneemann, Viet Flakes, 1965; Yoko Ono, One (Fluxus Film no.14) 1965; Malcolm Le Grice, Castle One, 1967; Raphael Montanez Ortiz, 'Cowboy' and 'Indian' Film 1958 and Gustav Metzger, Auto-Destructive Art, 1966.


Progress towards universal primary education by 2015 is monitored by primary school enrolment rates survival rates to grade 5 and youth literacy rates. For the period 2000-2004 official statistics show Nairobis primary school gross and net enrolment rates as being much lower than any other province in Kenya. Nairobis informal settlements (slums) are estimated to be home to over 50% of the citys population and are largely served by low cost private community and non-formal schools managed by individual entrepreneurs communities and non-governmental organizations. This paper examines Nairobis slum and non-slum primary school enrolment rates and their under-reporting in government statistics. The study was conducted in two slum settlements (Korogocho and Viwandani) as well as in two non-slum sites (Jericho and Harambee) in Nairobi. A total of 13882 children aged 5-19 years were identified in 2005 regardless of whether or not they were in school in the four geographically-defined study sites.The study used retrospective schooling history data for six years (2000-2005) collected within the longitudinal framework of the Nairobi Urban Health and Demographic Surveillance System. Data were collected on a range of issues in modular form using five questionnaires each addressing a specific theme. For children aged 5 6 7 8 and 9 years in 2005 only data for one (2005) two (2005 and 2004) three (2005-2003) four (2005-2002) and five (2005-2001) years were collected starting in 2005 respectively. For those aged 10 to 19 years data for six years (2000-2005) were collected. We use these data to calculate the gross and net enrolment rates as well as the Gender Parity Index (GPI) and rate of underreporting of these enrolment rates in government statistics for the four sites in 2005. The results show high gross enrolment ratios of 100.7% and 106.8% for the slum and non-slum sites respectively for 2005. The net enrolment ratio is equally high at 83.3% and 94.5% for the slum and non-slum areas for thesame year. These are however under-reported in government statistics by up to 23.3% for all the four sites. At an average of 1.08 for the period 2000-2005 the GPI values in the slums are in favor of girls while the opposite is true for the non-slum sites at an average GPI value of 0.93 in favor of boys. This evidence shows that Nairobis enrolment rates are quite high contrary to official statistics which show these as much lower compared to the rest of the country. We largely attribute these low enrolment rates to under-reporting. (authors)


After a long absence from taxonomy, I accepted a contract to revise Diospyros for the Tree Flora of Sabah and Sarawak in July 1999. The last comprehensive revision of Diospyros that covered Borneo was Bakhuizen van den Brink's Revisio ebenacearum malayensium [Bull. Jard. Bot. Buitenzorg III, 15 (1936-1941) 1-515]. In the present revision, 22 species are reduced to synonymy and 12 new taxa will be described. This brings the total number of confirmed species in Borneo to 78. Another 8 species cannot be resolved until I can examine their types, because all other evidence available is insufficient to support decision-making. Of these 78 species, 33 (42%) are endemic to Borneo. Within Borneo, most range across political boundaries. Consequently, Sarawak has only 8 endemics, Sabah has 5, Kalimantan 2, and Brunei none. However, Brunei has D. yeobii, which occurs nowhere else in Borneo, but is found on the other side of the South China Sea, in Peninsular Malaysia. The level of endemism will certainly drop if Diospyros is revised for the Philippines and E Indonesia. Indeed, the revision of Diospyros for Borneo had a spill over effect on the status of Diospyros in Peninsular Malaysia (which I had revised for the Tree Flora of Malaya in 1978). Four peninsular species had to be reduced to synonymy and the number of peninsular endemics dropped from 23 to 17 due to extension of their known ranges to Borneo.


Objective: This article analyzed gender differences in professional advancement following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic based on data from open-source software developers in 37 countries.
Background: Men and women may have been affected differently from the social distancing measures implemented to contain the Covid-19 pandemic. Given that men and women tend to work in different jobs and that they have been unequally involved in childcare duties, school and workplace closings may have impacted men's and women's professional lives unequally.
Method: We analyzed original data from the world's largest social coding community, GitHub. We first estimated a Holt-Winters forecast model to compare the predicted and the observed average weekly productivity of a random sample of male and female developers (N=177,480) during the first lockdown period in 2020. To explain the cross-country variation in the gendered effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on software developers' productivity, we estimated two-way fixed effects models with different lockdown measures as predictors – school and workplace closures, in particular.
Results: In most countries, both male and female developers were, on average, more productive than predicted, and productivity increased for both genders with increasing lockdown stringency. When examining the effects of the most relevant types of lockdown measures separately, we found that stay-at-home restrictions increased both men's and women's productivity and that workplace closures also increased the number of weekly contributions on average – but for women, only when schools were open.
Conclusion: Having found gender differences in the effect of workplace closures contingent on school and daycare closures within a population that is relatively young and unlikely to have children (software developers), we conclude that the Covid-19 pandemic may indeed have contributed to increased gender inequalities in professional advancement.


Context: Women who survive life-threatening complications related to pregnancy and delivery have many common aspects with those who die of such complications. This similarity brought forward the near miss concept in maternal health. Analysis of the similarities, differences, and the relationship between these two groups of women provide a complete assessment of quality of maternal health care. Aims: The aim of this study is to assess the baseline indices of maternal near miss (MNM) and analyze the quality of care at a tertiary care center in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Settings and Design: Facility-based, cross-sectional study. Subjects and Methods: The study was conducted for a period of 18 months from January 1, 2015, to August 31, 2016. Cases, who met the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria of severe obstetric morbidity, were included and followed up during their hospital stay and till their discharge or death. Quality of maternal health care was assessed through the WHO near-miss criteria and criterion-based clinical audit methodology. Statistical Analysis Used: Descriptive statistics using mean and percentages and Student's t-test were used. Results: Among 4720 women who delivered in our hospital, there were 4677 live births, 52 patients were near miss, and there were 9 maternal deaths. The MNM incidence ratio was 11.11%, the MNM mortality ratio was 5.77, and the mortality index 14.75%. The most common cause of maternal morbidity was hemorrhage followed by hypertensive disorders. Conclusions: Improving referral systems, effective use of critical care, and evidence-based interventions can potentially reduce severe maternal outcomes.


Credit card fraud events take place frequently and then result in huge financial losses [1]. The number of online transactions has grown in large quantities and online credit card transactions holds a huge share of these transactions. Therefore, banks and financial institutions offer credit card fraud detection applications much value and demand. Fraudulent transactions can occur in various ways and can be put into different categories. This paper focuses on four main fraud occasions in real-world transactions. Each fraud is addressed using a series of machine learning models and the best method is selected via an evaluation. This evaluation provides a comprehensive guide to selecting an optimal algorithm with respect to the type of the frauds and we illustrate the evaluation with an appropriate performance measure. Another major key area that we address in our project is real-time credit card fraud detection. For this, we take the use of predictive analytics done by the implemented machine learning models and an API module to decide if a particular transaction is genuine or fraudulent. We also assess a novel strategy that effectively addresses the skewed distribution of data. The data used in our experiments come from a financial institution according to a confidential disclosure agreement.


AIM
In light of the progressive ageing of the population and the consequent inability of a section of the population to attend health service facilities on their own, this study aims to establish the proportion of this population which could enter a programme of longterm home treatment, to identify their health problems and to assess what services they might require.

DESIGN
Descriptive study of a crossover type. SITE. Four Sections of the Primary Care Centre in Andoain (Guipúzcoa).

PATIENTS
Criteria of mobility, social and family support, mental state and limitations on daily activities were those considered when including patients in the study. The selection was made by examining clinical histories, long-treatment cards, the number of home alerts and by contacting institutions.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS
A survey of 68 patients in their homes was undertaken. The average age was 81, with a 76.47% majority of women. 41.06% were bed-ridden or in a wheel-chair and 50% suffered severe invalidity. We noted an average of 2.9 pathologies per patient; with cardiovascular problems (26.6%) accounting for the largest number. The average consumption of medicines was 2.83 per patient.

CONCLUSIONS
The chronic home-bound patient presents several characteristics: advanced age, little mobility and a high level of invalidity. She/he suffers several pathologies and takes a large number of medicines, which require some level of primary care control. Both this control and any improvement in the quality of life and satisfaction for this type of patient crucially depend on nursing care.


Rural finance has long been an important tool for poverty reduction and rural development by donors and governments, but the impacts have been controversial. Measuring impact is challenging due to identification problems caused by selection bias and governments' targeted interventions, while randomised trial data are scarce and limited to contexts where little to no rural finance exists. Using an author‐collected dataset, we provide insights on a large‐scale long‐lasting subsidised rice credit programme in Myanmar, one of the poorest and, until recently, most economically isolated countries in Asia. Identification relies on a fuzzy regression discontinuity design, exploiting an arbitrary element to the credit provision rule which is based on rice landholding size. Although we find little evidence that rice yield or output is increased, we do see that the programme has some positive effects on total household income, suggesting a positive spillover effect on other farm income activities.


In Pakistan, millions of people have access to internet and now it has become essential part of their lives. It is now a driving force for innovation of all industries. After arrival of wireless service providers, internet users are growing rapidly. On the other hand, internet is still just a source of information sharing and social interaction. Its role in trade and business is limited. Some business organizations have adopted partial ecommerce solutions but no pure-ecommerce business model is implemented throughout the country. E-Commerce plays an important role in economic development. It reduces cost of products and services and creates new job opportunities. Major obstacles in the way of ecommerce in Pakistan are absence of cyber law, poverty, illiteracy and lack of infrastructure. Apart from these, the most challenging one is lack of suitable electronic payments system. Existing systems are either unavailable in Pakistan or not suitable for local entrepreneurs. In this paper, current potentials for ecommerce growth are explored and a new protocol "Dual-Network E-Payments Protocol" is proposed. Protocol is based on combination of IP and GSM networks. It satisfies all desired characteristics of e-payment mechanism. The protocol is quite secure, trust worthy and suitable for local infrastructure.


The current approach to forensic examination during search and seizure has predominantly been to pull the plug on the suspect machine and subsequently perform a post mortem examination on the storage medium. However, with the advent of larger capacities of memory, drive encryption and anti-forensics, this procedure may result in the loss of valuable evidence. Volatile data may be vital in determining criminal activity; it may contain passwords used for encryption, indications of anti-forensic techniques, memory resident malware which would otherwise go unnoticed by the investigator. This paper emphasizes the importance of understanding the potential value of volatile data and how best to collate forensic artifacts to the benefit of the investigation, ensuring the preservation and integrity of the evidence. The paper will review current methods for volatile data collection, assessing the capabilities, limitations and liabilities of current tools and techniques available to the forensic investigator.


Objective: The objective of this study was to project the health and economic impacts of providing a workplace smoking cessation benefit. Methods: The authors conducted an update of a previously published outcomes model using recently published data and clinical trial results. Results: In four example workplace types evaluated, coverage of a cessation benefit resulted in greater numbers of successful cessations and decreased rates of smoking-related diseases. Total savings from benefit coverage (decreased healthcare and workplace costs) exceeded costs of the benefit within 4 years. Total savings per smoker ranged from $350 to $582 at 10 years and $1152 to $1743 at 20 years. Internal rate of return ranged from 39% to 60% at 10 years. Conclusion: Providing a workplace smoking cessation benefit results in substantial health and economic benefits with economic savings exceeding the cost of the benefit within a relatively short period. Clinical Significance: Providing a workplace smoking cessation benefit is projected to increase the rate of smoking cessation as well as decrease the incidence of smoking-related conditions and healthcare costs. In addition, workplace cessation benefits can result in decreased absenteeism, increased productivity, and net cost savings within 4 years.


While there is already a common understanding of the services, which 5th generation (5G) mobile communications systems should support, and the key technology components needed to achieve this, there is still the need for further clarification and consensus among key players on the overall 5G radio access network (RAN) architecture and its detailed functional design. The 5G public private partnership (5G PPP) project METIS‐II has the objective to foster exactly this consensus building before and in the early days of the standardisation work for 5G. This paper lists the 5G RAN design requirements as identified in the project and summarises the latest considerations of METIS‐II on the air interface landscape in 5G, the envisioned logical RAN architecture and related aspects, as well as key functional design considerations in 5G, which have found wide endorsement within the project. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The International Air Transport Association aims at representing the airline industry by enhancing awareness about the benefits of airlines to the national economies, and in this way, improving decision making regarding airline activities. Integrity is an important value if at all member airlines are expected to have trust in the organization's duty to protect their interest. The main benefit that airlines can gain in joining IATA is the ability to be adequately represented by an organization whose voice in the industry is powerful. Member airlines are also assured of financial success as IATA recommends best practices that should be implemented in order to uphold safety, environmental sustainability, and efficient processes. Ultimately, IATA's role in championing for the rights of airlines has been influential, and the improved performance in the industry is evidence that the association's efforts have been fruitful.


There has been recently a notable growth in the number of studies written on the nature of
cities in the medieval period and, at the same time, a rise in the number of analyses of
cathedral clergy, both of which have unquestionably contributed to an advance in our
knowledge of these areas. In this context, conclusions centering on the existence of spaces of
intersection and influence between urban and ecclesiastic elites are relatively common.
One of the main objectives of this study is to identify, in the Portuguese case, the spaces of
intersection, influence or differentiation between these elites and to establish trends and
chronologies in the social composition of these institutions. For this purpose, use will be made
of the data collected in four case studies carried out for the dioceses of Braga, Lamego, Lisbon
and Evora between the second half of the 13th century and the first half of the 14th century.
This attempt to establish a global and comparative vision will still allow for the identification
of several main questions that remain open, namely those relating to the presence of certain
social groups inside these cathedral chapters and the importance of ecclesiastic careers for the
strategies adopted by some families.


In addition to constitutive plant resistance against pests or pathogens, plants can activate protective mechanisms upon contact with an invader or a chemical elicitor. Studies on induced plant resistance to herbivores, especially piercing-sucking insects, are less abundant than those devoted to pathogens. Several experiments under controlled conditions have been conducted to demonstrate that infestations by Macrosiphum euphorbiae induce plant resistance to Bemisia tabaci in susceptible tomato plants. After three days of exposure to 20 apterous adult aphids, the plants acquired a transiently induced resistance to B. tabaci when aphid removal occurred one or 18 hours prior to B. tabaci infestation; the effect disappeared when four days passed between aphid and whitefly infestations. The resistance observed was both locally and systemically induced. Other assays were performed to evaluate the effect of preinfestation with ten adults of B. tabaci during 48 h on the tomato responses to two different clones (Sp and Nt) of M. euphorbiae. The numbers of nymph and adult aphids were counted after the same time interval as the pre-reproductive period and 20 (Sp clone) or 22 (Nt clone) days after adult aphid removal. The tomato responses induced by whitefly feeding depend on the aphid clone. For the Sp clone, the number of aphid nymphs ten days after adult removal was significantly higher on whitefly preinfested plants than on uninfested plants. However, no significant differences were observed when the aphid clone Nt was tested. The duration of plant response to a previous infestation by B. tabaci is apparently limited.


Drug-resistant bacteria are caused by antibiotic abuse and/or biofilm formation and have become a threat to the food industry. Carbon dot (CD)-based nanomaterials are a very promising tools for combating pathogenic and spoilage bacteria, and they possess exceptional and adjustable photoelectric and chemical properties. In view of the rapid development of CD-based nanomaterials and their increasing popularity in the food industry, a comprehensive and updated review is needed to summarize their antimicrobial mechanisms and applications in foods. This review discusses the synthesis of CDs, antimicrobial mechanisms, and their applications for extending the shelf life of food. It includes the synthesis of CDs using small molecules, polymers, and biomass. It also discusses the different antimicrobial mechanisms of CDs and their use as antibacterial agents and carriers/ligands. CD-based materials have proven effective against pathogenic and spoilage bacteria in food by inhibiting planktonic bacteria and biofilms. Optimization of the production parameters of CDs can help them achieve a full-spectral response, but degradability still requires further research.


Described by Sir Mortimer Wheeler as the 'Pompeii of East Africa', the settlement of Kua in the Mafia Archipelago of Tanzania has considerable archaeological potential. The site was surveyed and excavated in 2009 and 2010 as part of a larger project that aimed to explore the sociocultural context of maritime interactions in the archipelago. Prior to this, there is no record of the site ever having been systematically excavated. Consequently, dates for the occupation of the settlement have previously been determined entirely from historical sources and oral traditions. This paper reports the results of the radiometric dating of samples recovered from Kua during the excavations in 2009 and evaluates them in the light of historical, architectural and archaeological data in order to refine the chronology of the settlement. While the data presented have yet to conclusively date the settlement's foundation and abandonment, the radiocarbon dates suggest that its occupation sequence is likely to have been more complex than is reported in historical sources. Further archaeological research will be necessary to gain a more complete picture of life at the settlement and its role in the sociopolitical organisation of the Archipelago more generally.


This study explored the association between dietary patterns and kidney function parameters in adults with metabolic syndrome in Taiwan. This cross-sectional study was undertaken in 56,476 adults from the health screening centers in Taiwan from 2001 to 2010. Dietary intake and dietary patterns were assessed using a food frequency questionnaire and principal component analysis, respectively. Blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and uric acid were measured as clinical parameters of kidney function. Multivariate linear regression was conducted to explore the relationship between dietary patterns and kidney function parameters. After adjusting for confounders, the highest tertiles of the processed food–sweets dietary pattern and the meat–seafood–eggs dietary pattern were associated with increased BUN, creatinine, and uric acid but decreased eGFR (all adjusted p < 0.05). Meanwhile, the highest tertiles of the veggie–fruit–grains dietary pattern and the milk–dairy dietary pattern were associated with decreased BUN, creatinine, and uric acid but increased eGFR (all adjusted p < 0.05). A processed food–sweets dietary pattern or a meat–seafood–eggs dietary pattern is associated with worse kidney function parameters in adults with metabolic syndrome. In contrast, a veggie–fruit–grains dietary pattern or a milk–dairy dietary pattern is associated with better kidney function parameters.


The glycosylations of hydroxylysine during collagen biosynthesis in isolated chick-embryo tendon cells were studied by using pulse-chase labelling experiments with [14C]-lysine. The hydroxylation of lysine and the glycosylations of hydroxylysine continued after a 5 min pulse label for up to about 10 min during the chase period. These data differ from those obtained previously in isolated chick-embryo cartilage cells, in which, after a similar 5 min pulse label, these reactions continued during the chase period for up to about 20 min. The collagen synthesized by the isolated chick-embryo tendon cells differed markedly from the type I collagen of adult tissues in its degree of hydroxylation of lysine residues and glycosylations of hydroxylysine residues. When the isolated tendon cells were incubated in the presence of L-azetidine-2-carboxylic acid, the degree of glycosylations of hydroxylysine during the first 10 min of the chase period was identical with that in cells incubated without thcarboxylic acid for at least 60 min, whereas no additional glycosylations took place in the control cells after the 10 min time-point. As a consequence, the collagen synthesized in the presence of this compound contained more carbohydrate than did the collagen synthesized by the control cells. Additional experiments indicated that azetidine-2-carboxylic acid did not increase the collagen glycosyltransferase activities in the tendon cells or the rate of glycosylation reactions when added directly to the enzyme incubation mixture. Control experiments with colchicine indicated that the delay in the rate of collagen secretion, which was observed in the presence of azetidine-2-carboxylic acid, did not in itself affect the degree of glycosylations of collagen. The results thus suggest that the increased glycosylations were due to inhibition of the collagen triple-helix formation, which is known to occur in the presence of azetidine-2-carboxylic acid.


Preterm birth is associated with a higher prevalence of neurodevelopmental deficits. Indeed, preterm children are at increased risk for cognitive, behavioral, and socio-emotional difficulties. There is currently an increasing interest in introducing music intervention in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) care. Several studies have shown short-term beneficial effects. A recent study has shown that listening to a familiar music (heard daily during the NICU stay) enhanced preterm infants' functional connectivity between auditory cortices and subcortical brain regions at term-equivalent age. However, the long-term effects of music listening in the NICUs have never been explored. The aim of this study was to evaluate at 12 and 24 months the effects of music listening in the NICU on cognitive and emotional development in preterm children by comparing them to a preterm control group with no previous music exposure and to a full-term group. Participants were 44 children (17 full-term and 27 preterm). Preterm children were randomized to either music intervention or control condition (without music). The preterm-music group regularly listened to music from 33 weeks postconceptional age until hospital discharge or term-equivalent age. At 12 months, children were evaluated on the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition, then with 4 episodes of the Laboratory Temperament Assessment Battery (assessing expressions of joy, anger, and fear, and sustained attention). At 24 months, the children were evaluated with the same tests, and with 3 additional episodes of the Effortful Control Battery (assessing inhibition). Results showed that the scores of preterm children, music and control, differed from those of full-term children for fear reactivity at 12 months of age and for anger reactivity at 24 months of age. Interestingly, these significant differences were less important between the preterm-music and the full-term groups than between the preterm-control and the full-term groups. The present study provides preliminary, but promising, scientific findings on the beneficial long-term effects of music listening in the NICU on neurodevelopmental outcomes in preterm children, and more specifically on emotion mechanisms at 12 and 24 months of age. Our findings bring new insights for supporting early music intervention in the NICU.


The process of precision gear forging has been developed recently because of its advantages of giving high production rates, improved strength and surface finish. For complete filling up, predicting the power requirement is an important feature of the forging process. To analyze the process of incremental forging of hollow spur gear forms from initially ring-type specimens, a series of simulations using the program DEFORM-3D was carried out. The results of current simulation were compared with the experimental data those obtained by forging of hollow spur gear forms. In addition, the influences of the process parameters such as module, number of teeth, the ratio of the inner radius to the outer radius, friction factor and the height of the billet on the forging force is also examined.


A BSTRACT Background In patients with isolated syndromes that are clinically suggestive of multiple sclerosis, such as optic neuritis or brain-stem or spinal cord syndromes, the presence of lesions as determined by T 2 -weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain increases the likelihood that multiple sclerosis will develop. We sought to determine the relation between early lesion volume, changes in volume, and long-term disability. Methods Seventy-one patients in a serial MRI study of patients with isolated syndromes were reassessed after a mean of 14.1 years. Disability was measured with the use of Kurtzke's Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS; possible range, 0 to 10, with a higher score indicating a greater degree of disability). Results Clinically definite multiple sclerosis developed in 44 of the 50 patients (88 percent) with abnormal results on MRI at presentation and in 4 of 21 patients (19 percent) with normal results on MRI. The median EDSS score at follow-up for those with multiple sclerosis was 3.25 (range, 0 to 10); 31 percent had an EDSS score of 6 or more (including three patients whose deaths were due to multiple sclerosis). The EDSS score at 14 years correlated moderately with lesion volume on MRI at 5 years (r=0.60) and with the increase in lesion volume over the first 5 years (r=0.61). Conclusions In patients who first present with isolated syndromes suggestive of multiple sclerosis, the increases in the volume of the lesions seen on magnetic resonance imaging of the brain in the first five years correlate with the degree of long-term disability from multiple sclerosis. This relation is only moderate, so the volume of the lesions alone may not be an adequate basis for decisions about the use of disease-modifying treatment. (N Engl J Med 2002; 346:158-64.)


After 2009 where direct electoral system started, Indonesia was one of where vote buying becomes a centre issue to be discussed during the election. The term of money politic defines as one of the political strategy in which the candidate deliver money or other material for the voters or other parties in order to support particular party or candidate. This study purposed to review on how the Behaviour Change Communication (BCC) applied for money politics prevention, which used as one of Hj. Nihayatul's political strategy in 2014. Another aims of this research is to describe its constituent's responses after BCC applied into her coverage area election of district III: Bondowoso, Situbondo and Banyuwangi, East Java Province. Descriptive qualitative used in this research, by collecting data trough interview and observation method. The research figured that Hj. Nihayatul manage the community networks and local media for mediating her campaign, besides, she also generates BCC's media such as Radio, Facebook, twitter, fan page, WA group, and website. Additionally, this research found political education strategy in order to prevent money politic succeeded to influence women cadres and women groups voter to support women leader. Nevertheless Hj. Ninik does not distribute money yet she still provides political attributes and food for them. Last, local event such as religious events, Muslim gathering considered as the successfully media to draw women voters.

Keywords: Behaviour Change Communication (BCC), women parliament candidate, money politic prevention, political campaign


This paper estimates the effect of early lead exposure on academic achievement and adult earnings. We analyze longitudinal information from individuals attending primary and secondary schools in the city of Arica (in northern Chile). Between 1984 and 1989, Arica received more than 20,000 tons of toxic chemicals containing high concentrations of lead. Initially, the chemical waste was located several kilometers from the city. However, Arica's rapid expansion, which included the construction of housing projects just meters away from the waste deposit, put a large number of families at risk. Our data include information on residential proximity to the polluted area, levels of lead exposure, comprehensive demographic information, nationally representative academic test scores and administrative data on adult earnings. We document a strong relationship between blood lead levels and student academic performance. We find that an increase of one microgram of lead per deciliter of blood reduces math and language scores by 0.15 and 0.21 standard deviations, respectively. For earnings, we estimate that for each extra microgram of lead, monthly earnings decrease by CLP 11,458 (or USD 22.92). This translates into a reduction of USD 6,000 in lifetime earnings per microgram of lead per deciliter of blood.


Black Brant Branta bernicla nigricans have one of the most specialised of goose diets during the non-breeding season, utilising coastal habitats to up-end and feed on dense beds of intertidal Common Eelgrass Zostera marina. Past studies suggested that Black Brant may not reach energetic requirements during diurnal foraging on eelgrass beds and must use alternate, less energetically beneficial foraging strategies ( e.g . searching for and consuming sparse drifting eelgrass and night-time eelgrass bed foraging) to meet energy demands. Time-activity budgets and daily energy expenditure (DEE) were quantified and use of alternate foraging strategies during periods of limited food availability were described for Black Brant along the Lower Alaska Peninsula in Kinzarof and Izembek Lagoons during winter (February–March) and spring (April–May) 2011. Based on 577 instantaneous flock scans across seasons and tide stages, predominant Black Brant activities were vigilance (41%), foraging (33%), comfort (16%) and locomotion (8%). Estimated mean DEE across months and locations was 1,181 ± 110 kJ/day. Flight costs accounted for an estimated 23–46% of expended energy in winter and spring, roosting 22–27%, thermoregulatory costs 13–18%, foraging 8–15% and vigilance 10–17% in spring. Black Brant only met daily energetic requirements by employing alternate foraging strategies, particularly nocturnal foraging, which offset their DEE by 21–43% in winter and 17–28% in spring.


We propose and evaluate transformer-based acoustic models (AMs) for hybrid speech recognition. Several modeling choices are discussed in this work, including various positional embedding methods and an iterated loss to enable training deep transformers. We also present a preliminary study of using limited right context in transformer models, which makes it possible for streaming applications. We demonstrate that on the widely used Librispeech benchmark, our transformer-based AM outperforms the best published hybrid result by 19% to 26% relative when the standard n-gram language model (LM) is used. Combined with neural network LM for rescoring, our proposed approach achieves state-of-the-art results on Librispeech. Our findings are also confirmed on a much larger internal dataset.


The enantioselective hydrogenation of pyravate esters has been investigated over cinchona alkaloid modified platinum catalysts. Three topics have been examined: (i) A1MCM-41 as a novel support for the platinum catalysed enantioselective hydrogenation of ethyl pyruvate. (ii) The enantioselective hydrogenation of pyruvate esters over cinchonidine pre-modified PtAy-AbQa catalysts in a continuous flow reactor. (iii) An investigation into the modifier concentration dependence on the sense of enantioselectivity in ethyl pyruvate hydrogenation exhibited by derivatives of hydroquinidine and hydroquinine. A series of Pt-A1MCM-41 catalysts were synthesised using both CI 6- and CI 8-alkyl chain surfactant templates with platinum loadings approaching 2 wt/%. High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) data confirmed retention of the mesoporous structure in the active catalysts and gave information on the platinum particle size and their location within the mesopore. High resolution magic angle spinning (HRMAS) 27 Al NMR was used to study the movement of aluminium within the mesoporous structure during the different preparation stages. The resultant platinum catalysts afforded enantioselectivities comparable to that obtained with the standard reference catalyst EUROPT-1 (6.3% Pt/silica), at rates moderated by an order of magnitude by mass transfer limitations. This is the first report of an enantioselective hydrogenation occurring in a mesopore. The hydrogenation of pyruvate esters over cinchonidine pre-modified catalysts in a continuous flow reactor operating at ambient temperature and pressure (0.25 bar/g) has been investigated. With dichloromethane as a solvent sustained enantiomeric excess of > 70% was maintained at very low cinchonidine/platinum ratios and are comparable to the enantioselectivity achieved when the reaction is conducted in the same solvent at autogeneous pressures (50 bar). When dichloromethane is used as a reaction solvent conversion is seen to decrease with time on line and is considered to be the result of polymer formation on the catalyst surface. The pre-treatment of the catalyst bed with (R)-ethyl lactate prior to the introduction of methyl pyruvate is detrimental to the catalytic system with an 18 % drop in enantioselectivity, potentially the result of an unfavourable interaction between lactate and modifier. In the enantioselective hydrogenation of ethyl pyruvate over hydroquinidine-4-chlorobenzoate modified Pt/v-AbQ} the sense of enantioselectivity is a function of modifier concentration. At low concentration (S)-ethyl lactate is preferentially formed while at high concentration (K)-ethyl lactate is the preferred enantiomer with an enantiomeric swing of 40% across the modifier range tested. The opposite trend with a similar magnitude was observed with hydroquinine-4-chlorobenzoate. The effect is sensitive to the way in which the Pt/y-Al203 catalyst is prepared with reduction temperature determining if inversion of enantioselectivity was observed. The same experiments conducted over platinum silica and platinum graphite catalysts failed to demonstrate the same modifier concentration dependence on the sense of enantioselectivity.


With globalization steadily reshaping the cultural landscape, scholars have long called for a full-scale reassessment of art history's largely Eurocentric framework. This collection of case studies and essays, the latest in the Clark Studies in the Visual Arts series, brings together voices from various disciplinary and theoretical backgrounds, each proposing ways to remap, decenter, and reorient what is often assumed to be a unified field. Rather than devise a one-size-fits-all strategy for what has long been a divided and disjointed terrain, these authors and artists reframe the inherent challenges of the global--most notably geographic, political, aesthetic, and linguistic differences--as productive starting points for study. As the book demonstrates, approaching art history from such alternative perspectives rewrites some of the most basic narratives, from the origins of representation to the beginnings of the "modern" to the very history of globalization and its effects.


The Spoken Language Translator (SLT) is a multi-lingual speech-to-speech translation prototype supporting English, Swedish and French within the air traffic information system (ATIS) domain. The design of SLT is characterized by a strongly corpus-driven approach, which accentuates the need for cost-efficient collection procedures to obtain training data. This paper discusses various approaches to the data collection issue pursued within a speech translation framework. Original American English speech and language data have been collected using traditional Wizard-of-Oz (WOZ) techniques, a relatively costly procedure yielding high-quality results. The resulting corpus has been translated textually into Swedish by a large number of native speakers (427) and used as prompts for training the target language speech model. This "budget" collection method is compared to the accepted method, i.e., gathering data by means of a full-blown WOZ simulation. The results indicate that although translation in this case proved economical and produced considerable data, the method is not sensitive to certain features typical of spoken language, for which WOZ is superior.


Quackery/street dentistry in dental profession has been an issue for quite a long time. It emerges when there are defi- cient quantities of capable and prepared specialists or when their charges seem restrictive to a portion of the popula- tion. Inadequately instructed individuals frequently become prey to quacks who perform dental treatment, which is destructive to patients and the quality of life is compromised. The time has come to take measures to stop such ex- ploitative practices.
Keywords: Quackery, street dentistry, Quacks, complete denture.


Context: Stroke caused 6.7 million deaths worldwide in 2013. In India, the cumulated incidence of stroke was 105–152/100,000 persons per year in last decade. Dearth of data on predictors of stroke subtype and severity in India lead to this study. Aims: (1) To categorize presenting stroke patients by subtype and severity. (2) To establish association of risk factors with above. (3) To predict subtype and severity by risk factors. Settings and Design: Hospital-based cross-sectional analytic, retrospective study. Subjects and Methods: A predesigned, pretested, semi-structured questionnaire with standard tool (National Institute of Health Stroke Scale Score), informed consent after prior approval of institutional ethics and research committees. Statistical Analysis Used: Percentages, proportions, Chi-square trends, linear regression, independent t-test, and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results: Mean age of 102 patients was 62.1 (±12.8 years). Stroke subtype associated with socioeconomic status (χ2 = 6.38775, P = 0.0115) and stroke severity (χ2 = 18.98, P = 0) and stroke severity associated with stroke subtype (χ2 = 9.79366, P = 0.0018). Stroke subtype could be predicted by stroke severity and stroke severity by subtype, sex, and dyslipidemia (regression models). Independent t-test revealed excessive alcohol intake was a significant predictor and one-way ANOVA revealed education was a significant predictor of severe stroke. Conclusions: Stroke subtype is significantly associated with higher socioeconomic status and severe stroke. Stroke severity is significantly associated with hemorrhagic stroke. Stroke subtype, sex, dyslipidemia, alcohol intake, and education may act as predictors of stroke severity.


We investigate an approach to the approximation of ambiguous chance constrained programs (ACCP) in which the underlying distribution describing the random parameters is itself uncertain. We model this uncertainty with the assumption that the unknown distribution belongs to a closed ball centered around a fixed and known distribution. Using only samples drawn from the central distribution, we approximate ACCP with a robust sampled convex program (RSCP), and establish an upper bound on the probability that a solution to the RSCP violates the original ambiguous chance constraint, when the uncertainty set is defined in terms of the Prokhorov metric. Our bound on the constraint violation probability improves upon the existing bounds for RSCPs in the literature. We also consider another approach to approximating ACCP by means of a sampled convex program (SCP), which is built on samples drawn from the central distribution. Again, we provide upper bounds on the probability that a solution to the SCP violates the original ambiguous chance constraint for uncertainty sets defined according to a variety of metrics.


This presentation will focus on hay and grass harvesting in the Mývatn area in the northeastern highlands of Iceland during the period ca. 1700 to 1950. Mývatn refers to the lake that is the most significant geographical feature of the region. The name literally means "Midge Lake" and refers to the flies or midges, of vital importance for the local ecosystem, that provide food for fish and waterbirds. Mývatn is regarded as one of Iceland's most precious natural treasures. The lake and its outflowing river, the Laxa, are renowned as a breeding ground for a large number of species of migratory waterfowl. Mývatn and the Laxa river were protected by law in 1974, and in 1978 placed on the RAMSAR list of wetlands of international importance (http://www.ramsar.org/). The area may have been one of the first regions of Iceland to be settled, and is unique in the way that it has practiced sustainable natural extraction for its most vital resources for an extended period of time. Part of the reason for this lies in the rich natural resources of the area. Until the early part of the twentieth century, the inhabitants lived almost entirely on the proceeds of the land by farming, fishing for trout in the lake, and collecting the eggs of wild birds. However, the area has experienced a series of "boom and bust" cycles in terms of the identification and use of its natural resources, and it is noteworthy that soil erosion has ravaged the area and the adjacent hinterlands at alarming rates (Juliusson, 2001; Hicks, 2014). In recent decades, economic and social life has changed radically, accompanied by a very rapid increase in tourism. The original settlers to Iceland in the late ninth century brought with them a way of life that focused on a farming economy based on animal husbandry. Cattle, sheep, and horses were the main domestic animals. With its North Atlantic location, marginal for agriculture, grass was the only viable crop. Thus, the success or failure of the all-important grass crop, coupled with winter rangeland grazing, was the one aspect of the economy on which all else rested. The significance of this cannot be overemphasized, and the single most important activity for the farmer was to gather enough hay to keep the livestock fed over the winter. If the harvest failed, and the livestock starved, then the human population was also subject to major stressors leading to malnutrition, social dislocation, and ultimately death.