This work explores the quantitative and qualitative development of homicide in eastern Finland in the second half of the eighteenth century and the early years of the nineteenth. The area studied comprised northern Savo and northern Karelia in eastern Finland. At that time, these were completely agricultural regions on the periphery of the kingdom of Sweden. Indeed the majority of the population still got their living from burn-beating agriculture. The analysis of homicide there reveals characteristics that were exceptional by Western European standards: the large proportion of premeditated homicides (murders) and those within the family is more reminiscent of modern cities in the West than of a pre-modern rural society. However, there also existed some archaic forms of Western crime there. Most of the homicides within the family were killings of brothers or brothers-in law, connected with the family structure (the extended family) that prevailed in the region. This study uses case analysis to explore the causes for the increase in both familial homicide and murder in the area. One of the explanatory factors that is dealt with is the interaction between the faltering penal practice that then existed and the increase in certain types of homicide. Despite the fact that it focuses on a particular region, the study and the questions it poses have both international and current relevance. This work builds a bridge between research into legal history and the sociologically oriented study of the history of criminality.


Galectin-4 is a member of galectin family and has two carbohydrate recognition domains. Although galectin-4 has been thought to function in cell adhesion, its precise carbohydrate binding specificity has not yet been clarified. We studied the carbohydrate binding specificity of galectin-4 comparatively with that of galectin-3, using surface plasmon resonance, galectin-3- or -4-Sepharose column chromatography and the inhibition assay of their binding to immobilized asialofetuin. Galectin-3 broadly recognized lactose, type 1, type 2, and core 1. The substitution at the C-2 and C-3 position of beta-galactose in these oligosaccharides with alpha-fucose, alpha-GalNAc, alpha-Neu5Ac, or sulfate increased the binding ability for galectin-3, whereas the substitution at the C-4 or C-6 position diminished the affinity. In contrast, galectin-4 had quite weak affinity to lactose, type 1, and type 2 (K(d) congruent with 8 x 10(-4) M). Galectin-4 showed weak binding ability to core 1 and C-2' or -3'-substituted lactose, type 1, and type 2 with alpha-fucose, alpha-GalNAc, or sulfate (K(d) : 5 x 10(-5) approximately 3 x 10(-4) M). Interestingly, the K(d) value, 3.4 x 10(-6) M, of SO(3)(-)-->3Galbeta1-->3GalNAc-O-Bn to galectin-4 at 25 degrees C was two orders of magnitude lower than that of core 1-O-Bn. 3'-Sialylated core 1 had very weak affinity to galectin-4, suggesting that 3'-O-sulfation of core 1 is critical for the recognition. These results suggest that galectin-4 has a unique carbohydrate binding specificity and interacts with O-linked sulfoglycans.


Abstract:The origins, structure and ideology of the Pakistani nationalist movement coupled with critical elite choices made in the early years of the republic in large part explain Pakistan's current problems of governance. The Pakistani nationalist movement was woven around the charismatic personality of Mohammed Ali Jinnah but lacked a firm organizational and institutional structure. More to the point, it had little or no internal democracy. Not surprisingly, in the aftermath of the creation of Pakistan, the leadership, especially after Jinnah's early demise, proved singularly incapable of coping with an ethnically and socially diverse state and inept at handling competing demands and priorities. As public order rapidly deteriorated, the military, with the tacit support of the elitist civil service, seized power. Once in power, the military came to relish its privileges and even when it relinquished power it remained primus inter pares. Long periods of military rule led to the steady deterioration of fragile political institutions further undermining the prospects of democracy


Background. Epidemiological studies indicate that physical activity reduces the risk of cancer. Physical inactivity or sedentary behavior, has recently been suggested as a risk factor independent of physical activity level. Breast and endometrial cancer incidence have both been associated with physical activity, and endometrial cancer incidence with physical inactivity/sedentary behavior. The purpose of the present study was to investigate physical inactivity as a risk factor for breast cancer, divided into pre- and postmenopausal subtypes, and for endometrial cancer, and to explore possible dose-response relations regarding the level of physical inactivity. Methods. In a population-based prospective cohort study, 29 520 women in the southern part of Sweden, in ages between 25 and 64 years, participated. A questionnaire-based survey was performed 1990-92. Their reported professions were classified as sedentary or not which together with reported participation in competitive sports constituted the basis for classification into three activity-levels; (1) physical inactivity, defined as having sedentary occupation and no participation in competitive sports, (2) partly inactive, defined as either having a sedentary occupation or non- participation in competitive sports, (3) Physical active, defined as not having a sedentary occupation and participation in competitive sports. The association between physical inactivity and pre and postmenopausal breast and endometrial cancer incidence were analyzed by Cox regression, adjusted for hormonal factors, family history of cancer, body mass index (BMI) and age. Results. Physical inactive women had a significantly increased risk of endometrial cancer (HR = 2.41, 95% CI 1.14-5.11) and premenopausal breast cancer (HR = 2.40, 95% CI 1.14-5.02), compared with women who were less physical inactive. No such association was found for postmenopausal breast cancer. Analysis of linear trend showed a significant dose-response relationship with increased risk of both premenopausal breast cancer (ptrend 0.02) and endometrial cancer (ptrend


A musical scale can be viewed as a subset of notes or pitches taken from a chromatic universe. Given integers (N,K) N > K we use particular integer partitions of N into K parts to construct distinguished sets, or scales. We show that a natural geometric realization of these sets have maximal area, so we call them maximal area sets. We then discuss properties of maximal area sets for the integer pairs (12,5) (12,6) (12,7) and (12,8) with the obvious relevance to our normal chromatic collection of 12 pitches.


The realization of a highly efficient linearized amplifier has emerged as a paramount issue in the design of advanced mobile handsets. In this paper, a new RF amplifier linearization scheme using a compensating transistor combination is proposed. The devised approach ably utilizes all terminals of an additional transistor that offers a unified pre-post-distortion and cubic distortion characteristic for performance improvement. Meticulous modeling along with a power-dependent Volterra series is performed to identify contributions on each mechanism under various power levels. An experimental four-tone test reveals a maximum 28-dB reduction for the intermodulation distortion at 1.95 GHz, which outperforms typical pre-distortions of 5-10 dB. A single-ended two-stage amplifier module demonstrates a state-of-the-art power efficiency of 55% with 27-dB transducer gain at 24-dBm output power. Meanwhile, the adjacent channel power ratio (ACPR 1) is maintained with good margins of -35dBc for a four-channel wideband code-division multiple-access signal under all output dynamics. Graceful degradations on modulation bandwidths, tone spacing, bias, and gain variations are also discussed, showing superb performance with virtually no dedicated retuning circuit parameters for multicarrier applications. By combining a bias control along with the proposed linearization technique, the average efficiency (12%) is 3times higher than that of the fixed bias (3.94%), demonstrating the potential utility on further prolonging battery lifetime in practical scenarios


This article performs a welfare analysis of markets with private information in which agents condition on prices in the rational expectations tradition. Price-contingent strategies introduce two externalities in the use of private information: a pecuniary externality and a learning externality. The pecuniary externality induces agents to put too much weight on private information and in the standard case, when the allocation role of the price prevails over its informational role, overwhelms the learning externality which impinges in the opposite way. The price may be very informative but at the cost of an excessive dispersion of the actions of agents. The welfare loss at the market solution may be increasing in the precision of private information. The analysis provides insights into optimal business cycle policy and a rationale for a Tobin-like tax for financial transactions.


The objectives were to examine the effect of time, aspect, and soil horizon on N and P availabilities across a 4- to 85-yr-old post-fire chaparral chronosequence. Nitrogen and P availabilites were measured with plant bioassays, soil incubations, soil chemical extractions, and field leaf analyses. The A horizons contained significantly higher levels of available N and P than B horizons. In general, N availability was higher in north aspect stands than in south aspects stands, while P availability was higher in south aspect stands than in north aspect stands. Nitrogen availability increased with increasing stand age up to 50 to 60 yr (aggradation phase); beyond 60 yr, N availability declined (degradation phase). Phosphorus availability decreased logarithmically with increasing age. Declining N availability in the older stands was due to declining total soil N and a decline in the fraction available; the declining P availability in the older stands was due to a decline in the fraction available. The lowering of both soil and plant N and P concentrations in older stands may contribute to stand senescence. Contribution from the Systems Ecology Res. Group. This work was funded by NSF Grant DEB-8025977 to San Diego State Univ.


The parallels between writing research and translation process research range from the objects of study (text producers and texts) to the methods employed in investigating them. Similar to writing research, translation studies has recently moved from an almost exclusive focus on products towards considering workplace and cognitive processes and the effects of those processes on the quality of products. In this paper, we outline how the methods common to both fields can be applied to the investigation of translators' understanding of their roles and responsibilities as text producers and their treatment of the specific problem of title translation. The data are drawn from a corpus built up in a longitudinal research project about the relationship of translation competence and the translation process. The multi-method approach we use combines keystroke logging, screenshot recording, eye-tracking, retrospection, and interviews. It allows us to monitor translators at their workplace in as controlled and non-invasive a manner as possible. It also provides rich data that make it possible to infer the practices and metalinguistic awareness that characterize the translation competence of translators with different levels of experience.


This paper offers an imminent interpretation of Kant's political teleology in the context of his response to Moses Mendelssohn in Theory and Practice III concerning prospects of humankind's moral progress. The paper assesses the nature of Kant's response against his mature political philosophy in the Doctrine of Right. In `Theory and Practice III' Kant's response to Mendelssohn remains incomplete: whilst insisting that individuals have a duty to contribute towards humankind's moral progress, Kant has no conclusive answer as to how individuals might act on that duty. `Theory and Practice III' lacks a clear conception of the distinctness of political morality from the domain of virtue; Kant's resort to teleological argumentation is indicative of his lack of an account of instituting Right. The latter can be found in the Doctrine of Right—yet Kant's earlier teleological arguments contribute crucially to the development of his mature morality of Right.


Engineering heat transfer problems are very often of a complex nature and most often no analytical solutions exist. One way to create solutions to such problems is to apply numerical methods. This study concerns heat transfer problems with coupled conduction, convection and thermal radiation. Five important but different engineering problems are considered:

1) The transient temperature distribution in a rotating cylinder which is exposed to a time varying incident heat flux, e. g. a nuclear burst, is determined. The cylinder is cooled by mixed convection and thermal radiation. The effects of the leading parameters, such as rotation speed, the cooling parameters and the physical properties of the shell are studied.

2) The cooling of a roll system which is transporting/casting a thin hot plastic film. The leading roll is heated by the hot film, cooled at the interior by forced convection and on the outside by forced convection, thermal radiation and contact with a support roll. The influence of the cooling parameters and the rotation are studied.

3) The heat and mass diffusion in pre-insulated district heating/cooling pipes. The task is to determine the effects of the gas mass transport through the casing of the pipes on the thermal behaviour and the effects of condensed water due to the mass diffusion of water vapour. The importance of the density of the casing, the wall thickness of the casing, the thickness of the insulation and the surrounding temperature is revealed.

4) The development of a cooling system for an electrical unit in which a time dependent heat is generated due to the Joule effect.

5) The heat transfer from a rectangular fin in a confined space. The fin is cooled by turbulent forced convection. The turbulence model applied is a low Reynolds k-e-model. Predicted results are compared with experimental ones, and a correlation for the Nusselt number is proposed. The effects of thermal radiation for non-participating as well as participating media are considered.


Antibiotic use in infancy disrupts gut microflora during a critical period for immune system development. It is hypothesized that this could predispose to the development of allergic diseases. We investigated the associations of antibiotic use in the first 2 yr of life with the development of asthma, eczema or hay fever by age 7.5 yr in a longitudinal birth cohort.


English Lectures Mathematics mostly deals with comprehension questions, grammar and vocabulary related to the field of mathematics. The goal is that students have the confidence in communicating using English as well as utilize various sources of English teaching materials. But in reality, they usually experience several problems as the medium of instruction changes from their mother tongue to another language. This phenomenon in the case of mathematics education brings the consequences faced by mathematics educators. This paper describes the understanding of mathematical concepts in English textbooks (Algebra) on the students of English Mathematics Study Course of Mathematics Education of Madura University

Keyword: Understanding Concept of Fraction, English Math Textbook


Headache is one of the leading symptoms often associated with brain tumours. Secondary headaches attributed to intracranial neoplasias have been included in subchapter 7.4 of the third edition of the International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD-3). According to ICHD-3, the headache may be attributed to a brain tumour if it has developed in close temporal relation with the development of the neoplasia, has significantly worsened in parallel with the worsening of the tumour, and/or has significantly improved following the successful treatment of the neoplasia. Brain tumour headache was traditionally thought to display some specific clinical characteristics, including worsening in the morning and/or when lying down, being aggravated by Valsalva-like manoeuvres and accompanied by nausea and/or vomiting; however, the studies performed after the advent of modern neurodiagnostic techniques have pointed out that the "classic" brain tumour headache is uncommon, particularly at the time of clinical presentation. Therefore, it becomes critical to seek some specific factors associated with the presence of an intracranial mass (the so-called "red flags") that can guide the physician to establish an accurate diagnosis.


Differential evolution DE has become a prevalent tool for global optimization problems since it was proposed in 1995. As usual, when applying DE to a specific problem, determining the most proper strategy and its associated parameter values is time-consuming. Moreover, to achieve good performance, DE often requires different strategies combined with different parameter values at different evolution stages. Thus integrating several strategies in one algorithm and determining the application rate of each strategy as well as its associated parameter values online become an ad-hoc research topic. This paper proposes a novel DE algorithm, called multicriteria adaptive DE MADE, for global numerical optimization. In MADE, a multicriteria adaptation scheme is introduced to determine the trial vector generation strategies and the control parameters of each strategy are separately adjusted according to their most recently successful values. In the multicriteria adaptation scheme, the impacts of an operator application are measured in terms of exploitation and exploration capabilities and correspondingly a multi-objective decision procedure is introduced to aggregate the impacts. Thirty-eight scale numerical optimization problems with various characteristics and two real-world problems are applied to test the proposed idea. Results show that MADE is superior or competitive to six well-known DE variants in terms of solution quality and convergence performance.


Aluminium ion (Al3+) toxicity and hydrogen ion (H+) activity are the major constraints for plant growth in acid soil. This study was undertaken to determine the effect of pH and Al on the growth response and changes in root morphology of Al-tolerant (ET8) and Al-sensitive (ES8) wheat seedlings. Different levels of AlCl3 and CaCO3 were added to the soils to manipulate soil pH and extractable Al. The results showed that the bulk soil pH remained constant at pH 4.1 with further applications of AlCl3, and that the seedlings died at the 200 mg AlCl3/kg treatments. The ET8 seedlings responded better than the ES8 seedlings in both low and high Al and pH. The ET8 seedlings had higher root surface areas and root tip numbers than the ES8 seedlings in the Al treatment. In contrast, the ES8 had higher root diameters than the ET8 seedlings due to the elevated Al supply. Apoplast Al increased with the increase of soil available extractable Al, and declined with the decrease of soil extractable Al. The ET8 seedlings accumulated more Al in their apoplast than the ES8 seedlings. This study concluded that accumulation of Al in the apoplast is also involved in Al tolerance mechanism with the addition of organic acid exudation.


Per the requirements in the Affordable Care Act of 2010, any medical facility receiving federal funds must perform a community health needs assessment (CHNA) every three years. The main objective of this assessment is to develop and implement a program that acts as a community benefit to the public health of the target population. This essay reflects the CHNA experiences at The Children's Home of Pittsburgh (TCH), which aimed to establish the needs of its patient population. Results from the needs assessment will be used to establish interventions to meet the identified needs, within range of TCH's services. TCH crafted community surveys and disseminated those surveys to agencies that serve the pediatric population. Providers who received the surveys administered them to their clients then returned them to TCH. The initial surveys showed 28% of respondents chose "access to basic needs for families" as their most pressing concern ranked out of seven possible choices with "basic parenting skills" at 20%. Key informant interviews with professionals that serve the pediatric community supported those results. With this in mind, TCH seeks to implement a program available to the community offering new parent education and a support group for parents held at TCH. This essay will also discuss the obstacles and challenges we faced during the CHNA process. The public health significance of the CHNA is that can be a very useful tool in improving care and public health outcomes. During the CHNA process, we ran into obstacles caused by our limitations as a small, niche hospital required to meet the same standards as a multi-billion-dollar hospital. The CHNA could benefit hospitals in serving their specific populations better by altering their requirements based on factors like size and scope of services. The CHNA is designed to improve services offered by hospitals by creating a community benefit. Making it clearer who defines "community" and allowing hospitals to define what their "community benefit" would be would have a larger impact on the public health of the populations each hospital is trying to serve.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate camelids with hypertriglyceridemia with regard to signalment, clinical features of disease, and response to treatment with insulin.

DESIGN
Retrospective case series.

ANIMALS
23 alpacas and 8 llamas with hypertriglyceridemia.

PROCEDURES
For analysis of medical record data, 20 hypertriglyceridemic camelids with multiple recorded measurements of serum or plasma triglycerides concentration were classified as follows: those with an initial triglycerides concentration > 60 to > or = 500 mg/dL that were or were not treated with insulin (HT-I and HT-N camelids, respectively) and those with an initial triglycerides concentration > 500 mg/dL that were treated with insulin (lipemic [LIP-I] camelids). Only 1 recorded triglycerides concentration was available for an additional 11 hypertriglyceridemic camelids; data from those records were included in the characterization of signalment and clinical features of disease.

RESULTS
Compared with the general population of hospitalized camelids, hypertriglyceridemic camelids did not differ significantly with respect to age or sex. Of 22 female camelids, only 7 were lactating or pregnant. Serum or plasma triglycerides concentrations in HT-N and HT-I camelids did not differ significantly at admission, but triglycerides concentrations in HT-I camelids decreased significantly after insulin treatment. Posttreatment triglycerides concentrations in HT-I camelids were significantly lower than those in HT-N camelids. During the period of hospitalization, triglycerides concentrations in HT-N camelids increased, whereas those in LIP-I camelids decreased significantly.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Results indicated that hypertriglyceridemia affects llamas and alpacas of all ages and both sexes. Insulin treatment may reduce serum or plasma triglycerides concentrations in camelids with hypertriglyceridemia.


The research presents the analysis of geopolitical developments of the South Caucasus since the collapse of the USSR. The research aims at investigating the role of the South Caucasus in world geopolitics, the balance of power in the region and the circumstances providing the balance, geopolitical interests of Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan, the trilateral interaction between these states, as well as Russia, Turkey, USA, European Union, the clash of national interests of above mentioned states. Current research also scrutinizes the role of the regional conflicts (issues of Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Nagorno-Karabakh). In order to accomplish the presentation of the topic and to provide a complete notion about the geopolitics in South Caucasus and its place in world geopolitics, a comparative analysis is given over the regional developments of 1990s and those of 2000s. Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan, as well as neighboring states hardly manage to solve the challenges of international regional relations, still leaving a myriad of issues unsolved. Due to new realities the South Caucasus has entered the first decade of the XXI century, being transformed into a geopolitically more important region as well as gaining energy and transit significance for global geopolitical powers. Aforesaid constitutes the main accent of the research


In this paper we describe collaborative reflection as a core way of informal learning at the workplace. From three case studies we derived reflection on social practice as a good example for learning at the workplace. The way employees talk to third parties like patients or customers was observed to be a major topic in discussions within teams as it triggers the sharing of experiences about cases and fosters building of mutual understanding of common problems. We identified articulation to be a core part for this kind of reflection and derived requirements which were than implemented in a tool to support reflection on this topic focused on a healthcare setting and tested out application to reflect on talks with relatives of patients.


During the Danish cartoon controversy, appeals to universal liberal values were often made in ways that marginalized Muslims. An analysis of the controversy reveals that referring to 'universal values' can be exclusionary when dominant actors fail to distinguish their own culture's embodiment of these values from the more abstract ideas. The article suggests that the solution to this problem is not to discard liberal principles but rather to see them in a more deliberative democratic way. This means that we should move from focusing on citizens merely as subjects of law and right holders to seeing them as co-authors of shared legal and moral norms. A main shortcoming of the way in which dominant actors in Denmark responded to the cartoons was exactly that they failed to see the Muslim minority as capable of participating in interpreting and giving shared norms. To avoid self-contradiction, liberal principles and constitutional norms should not be seen as incontestable aspects of democracy but rather as subject to recursive democratic justification and revision by everyone subject to them. Newcomers ought to be able to contribute their specific perspectives in this process of democratically reinterpreting and perfecting the understanding of universalistic norms, and thereby make them fit better to those to whom they apply, as well as rendering them theirs.


Speaking and presenting in public are critical skills for academic and professional development. These skills are demanded across society, and their development and evaluation are a challenge faced by higher education institutions. There are some challenges to evaluate objectively, as well as to generate valuable information to professors and appropriate feedback to students. In this paper, in order to understand and detect patterns in oral student presentations, we collected data from 222 Computer Engineering (CE) fresh students at three different times, over two different years (2017 and 2018). For each presentation, using a developed system and Microsoft Kinect, we have detected 12 features related to corporal postures and oral speaking. These features were used as input for the clustering and statistical analysis that allowed for identifying three different clusters in the presentations of both years, with stronger patterns in the presentations of the year 2017. A Wilcoxon rank-sum test allowed us to evaluate the evolution of the presentations attributes over each year and pointed out a convergence in terms of the reduction of the number of features statistically different between presentations given at the same course time. The results can further help to give students automatic feedback in terms of their postures and speech throughout the presentations and may serve as baseline information for future comparisons with presentations from students coming from different undergraduate courses.


An equally lowered insulin specific binding in the fatty cell plasmic membranes was found in patients with glucocorticoid, somatotropin and catecholamine hyperproduction during diabetes mellitus and/or its absence. This fall is due exclusively to a reduced amount of binding sites in patients with hypercorticism and acromegaly, accompanied or not by diabetes, and in persons with diabetes-aggravated pheochromocytoma. The above decrease is caused by a lowered binding site number and augmented negative cooperativity in patients suffering from pheochromocytoma without diabetes. The results obtained allow a conclusion that inhibited expression of insulin receptors in the presence of counter-insulin hormone hyperproduction promotes diabetes arising.


We study the average error probability performance of binary linear code ensembles when each codeword is divided into J subcodewords with each being transmitted over one of J parallel channels. This model is widely accepted for a number of important practical channels and signaling schemes including block-fading channels, incremental redundancy retransmission schemes, and multicarrier communication techniques for frequency-selective channels. Our focus is on ensembles of good codes whose performance in a single channel model is characterized by a threshold behavior, e.g., turbo and low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes. For a given good code ensemble, we investigate reliable channel regions which ensure reliable communications over parallel channels under maximum-likelihood (ML) decoding. To construct reliable regions, we study a modifed 1961 Gallager bound for parallel channels. By allowing codeword bits to be randomly assigned to each component channel, the average parallel-channel Gallager bound is simplified to be a function of code weight enumerators and channel assignment rates. Special cases of this bound, average union-Bhattacharyya (UB), Shulman-Feder (SF), simplified-sphere (SS), and modified Shulman-Feder (MSF) parallel-channel bounds, allow for describing reliable channel regions using simple functions of channel and code spectrum parameters. Parameters describing the channel are the average parallel-channel Bhattacharyya noise parameter, the average channel mutual information, and parallel Gaussian channel signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs). Code parameters include the union-Bhattacharyya noise threshold and the weight spectrum distance to the random binary code ensemble. Reliable channel regions of repeat-accumulate (RA) codes for parallel binary erasure channels (BECs) and of turbo codes for parallel additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channels are numerically computed and compared with simulation results based on iterative decoding. In addition, an examp


Liquid phase transmission electron microscopy (LP-TEM) enables real-time imaging of nanoparticle self-assembly, formation, and etching with single nanometer resolution. Despite the importance of organic nanoparticle capping ligands in these processes, the effect of electron beam irradiation on surface bound and soluble capping ligands during LP-TEM imaging has not been investigated. Here we use correlative LP-TEM and fluorescence microscopy (FM) to demonstrate that polymeric nanoparticle ligands undergo competing crosslinking and chain scission reactions that non-monotonically modify ligand coverage over time. Branched polyethylenimine (BPEI) coated silver nanoparticles were imaged with dose-controlled LP-TEM followed by labeling their primary amine groups with fluorophores to visualize the local thickness of adsorbed capping ligands. FM images showed that free ligands crosslinked in the LP-TEM image area over imaging times of tens of seconds, enhancing local capping ligand coverage on nanoparticles and silicon nitride membranes. Nanoparticle surface ligands underwent chain scission over irradiation times of minutes to tens of minutes, which depleted surface ligands from the nanoparticle and silicon nitride surface. Conversely, solutions of only soluble capping ligand underwent successive crosslinking reactions with no chain scission, suggesting nanoparticles enhanced the chain scission reactions by acting as radiolysis hotspots. The addition of a hydroxyl radical scavenger, tert-butanol, eliminated chain scission reactions and slowed the progression of crosslinking reactions. These experiments have important implications for performing controlled and reproducible LP-TEM nanoparticle imaging as they demonstrate the electron beam can significantly alter ligand coverage on nanoparticles in a non-intuitive manner. They emphasize the need to understand and control the electron beam radiation chemistry of a given sample to avoid significant perturbations to the nanoparticle capping ligand chemistry, which are invisible in electron micrographs.


Electrocardiography (ECG) signals are largely accessed to monitor the health condition of the human heart, and the resultant time series signals are analysed manually by the
medical professionals to detect if there are any kind of anomalies such as arrhythmia.Manual Diagnosis of ECG Signals is often Prone to Errors.Past work in Automating the Analysis requires extensive Pre-Processing which is time consuming and cumbersome. It takes a significant time of Heart Patients in their Precarious Condition. There is a requirement of Computational Analysis which is fast and efficient. Some of the analysis develop the marked features and design a classifier for discriminating between the healthy ECG signals and those which contains Arrhythmia. This method requires knowledge and the relevant data
of the various different types of Arrhythmia for training the model. However, there can be many different and different new types of Arrhythmia can occur which previously were not a part of the original training set. Thus, it may be more wise to adopt an anomaly detection approach towards analysing them. In this Project, we are utilizing A deep recurrent neural network (RNN) architecture with the Long Short Term Memory Network (LSTM) units for developing a predictive model from the healthy ECG signals. The probability distribution of the prediction errors from the models, using Maximun Likelihood Estimate (MLE) are used
for indicating anomalous or non-anomalous behaviour. The main advantage of using LSTM networks is that the ECG signals be directly applied into the network without any extensive pre-processing as used by other Detection techniques. No Prior information of abnormal signals makes it worthwhile, as it needs to be trained only on normal data. MIT-BIH Arrhythmia Physionet Database has been used to obtain ECG time series data for both non-anomalous periods and anomalous periods. Both the Stateful and Stateless Modes of LSTM are proposed and implemented. The results are compared with the already developed models such as NN Classsifier, RNN and GRU. The Results from the Stateful LSTM Model show Precision of 99.31% and a TPR/FPR ratio of 144.38. Results are promising and indicate that the Deep-Stacked Long Short Term Memory Networks (LSTM) models are feasible for detecting anomalies in ECG signals within a short span of time.


—In this paper, we develop a formalism called a distributed constraint satisfaction problem (distributed CSP) and algorithms for solving distributed CSPs. A distributed CSP is a constraint satisfaction problem in which variables and constraints are distributed among multiple agents. Various application problems in Distributed Artificial Intelligence can be formalized as distributed CSPs. We present our newly developed technique called asynchronous backtracking that allows agents to act asynchronously and concurrently without any global control, while guaranteeing the completeness of the algorithm. Furthermore, we describe how the asynchronous backtracking algorithm can be modified into a more efficient algorithm called an asynchronous weak-commitment search, which can revise a bad decision without exhaustive search by changing the priority order of agents dynamically. The experimental results on various example problems show that the asynchronous weak-commitment search algorithm is, by far more, efficient than the asynchronous backtracking algorithm and can solve fairly large-scale problems.


In Belgium, to control the abuse of anabolic steroids in cattle, urine samples have been gradually replaced by feces samples, because the latter can be obtained more easily from living animals. Urine and feces samples were collected from heifers after administration of boldenone, norethandrolone or ethylestrenol. Metabolites present in feces or urine were determined by GC-MS. Large qualitative and quantitative differences in the metabolic profiles were observed. In feces, in contrast to urine, the parent compounds or their major metabolites were detectable only shortly after administration. On the other hand, metabolites resulting from the reduction of the 3-oxo group and the unsaturated carbon-carbon bonds, present on the A-ring, allow for long-term detection in feces. A-ring reduced metabolites have been identified in samples found positive for norgestrel, boldenone, methylboldenone and methyltestosterone, respectively. These results are in agreement with concomitant in vivo experiments.


Background To support the self-management of heart failure, a team of hospital clinicians, patients, and family caregivers have co-designed the consumer mobile health app, Care4myHeart. Objective This research aimed to determine patient experiences of using the app to self-manage heart failure. Methods Patients with heart failure used the app for 14 days on their own smart device in a home setting, following which a mixed-methods evaluation was performed. Eight patients were recruited, of whom six completed the Mobile Application Rating Scale and attended an interview. Results The overall app quality score was "acceptable" with 3.53 of 5 points, with the aesthetics (3.83/5) and information (3.78/5) subscales scoring the highest. The lowest mean score was in the app-specific subscale representing the perceived impact on health behavior change (2.53/5). Frequently used features were weight and fluid restriction tracking, with graphical representation of data particularly beneficial for improved self-awareness and ongoing learning. The use of technology for self-management will fundamentally differ from current practices and require a change in daily routines. However, app use was correlated with potential utility for daily management of illness with benefits of accurate recording and review of personal health data and as a communication tool for doctors to assist with care planning, as all medical information is available in one place. Technical considerations included participants' attitudes toward technology, functionality and data entry issues, and relatively minor suggested changes. Conclusions The findings from this usability study suggest that a significant barrier to adoption is the lack of integration of technology into everyday life in the context of already established disease self-management routines. Future studies should explore the barriers to adoption and sustainability of consumer mobile health interventions for chronic conditions, particularly whether introducing such apps is more beneficial at the commencement of a self-management regimen.


CONTEXT
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is common. Kidney disease severity can be classified by estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and albuminuria, but more accurate information regarding risk for progression to kidney failure is required for clinical decisions about testing, treatment, and referral.

OBJECTIVE
To develop and validate predictive models for progression of CKD.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
Development and validation of prediction models using demographic, clinical, and laboratory data from 2 independent Canadian cohorts of patients with CKD stages 3 to 5 (estimated GFR, 10-59 mL/min/1.73 m(2)) who were referred to nephrologists between April 1, 2001, and December 31, 2008. Models were developed using Cox proportional hazards regression methods and evaluated using C statistics and integrated discrimination improvement for discrimination, calibration plots and Akaike Information Criterion for goodness of fit, and net reclassification improvement (NRI) at 1, 3, and 5 years.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE
Kidney failure, defined as need for dialysis or preemptive kidney transplantation.

RESULTS
The development and validation cohorts included 3449 patients (386 with kidney failure [11%]) and 4942 patients (1177 with kidney failure [24%]), respectively. The most accurate model included age, sex, estimated GFR, albuminuria, serum calcium, serum phosphate, serum bicarbonate, and serum albumin (C statistic, 0.917; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.901-0.933 in the development cohort and 0.841; 95% CI, 0.825-0.857 in the validation cohort). In the validation cohort, this model was more accurate than a simpler model that included age, sex, estimated GFR, and albuminuria (integrated discrimination improvement, 3.2%; 95% CI, 2.4%-4.2%; calibration [Nam and D'Agostino χ(2) statistic, 19 vs 32]; and reclassification for CKD stage 3 [NRI, 8.0%; 95% CI, 2.1%-13.9%] and for CKD stage 4 [NRI, 4.1%; 95% CI, -0.5% to 8.8%]).

CONCLUSION
A model using routinely obtained laboratory tests can accurately predict progression to kidney failure in patients with CKD stages 3 to 5.


We study connections between two seemingly very distant constructions: Gray-product of higher categories and famous Kontsevich Swiss-Cheese conjecture. Gray-product of 2categories is known for almost 50 years and it is an extremely important construction in 2-category theory. It was proved by Crans and later by Bourke and Gurski that a naive analogue of Gray-product in higher dimensions does not exist. Nevertheless, there is a conjecture that there exists a weaker version of this product in all dimensions such that it descends to a closed structure on homotopy level. Swiss-Cheese conjecturewas proposed byFieldsmedalistM.Kontsevich in 1998 to handle a problem of the existence of higher order Hochschild complexes. It is geometrical in nature and is very important in deformation quantisation theory. In the thesis we outline a surprising relationship between these two important conjectures, whichwas not observed before. Namely, the existence of a homotopically closedGray-product ofV-enriched categories implies the Swiss-Cheese conjecture inV . We provide a full proof of this statement forV = Set,Ab and Cat using the idea of categorification.


The notion that indigenous entrepreneurship is inherently paradoxical to participation in the western marketplace must be challenged, even though there is a fine balance indigenous entrepreneurs maintain with their own world and the western world. This balance considers that indigenous entrepreneurs exist within transgenerational communities with complex cross-cultural linkages with the west. Far from fully segregating from western society and the states in which they reside, indigenous entrepreneurs seek to promote indigeneity through indigenous and non-indigenous commerce. As Hindle and Lansdowne explain, "[t]here need be no paradox, no contradiction, no values sacrifice, no false dichotomy between heritage and innovation." Reference to the goals and objectives of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples bear this out. For example, article 19 of the Declaration relates to Indigenous peoples' participation with respect to issues that affect them, their lands, their resources, and their rights. The Declaration also calls for good-faith efforts by states to consult and cooperate with Indigenous peoples about economic and social development that directly or indirectly impacts their rights. Relevant to this paper, article 31 of the Declaration deals with Indigenous peoples' right to exercise authority and control over their cultural heritage, traditional knowledge, and traditional cultural expressions in addition to any intellectual property rights in these assets and resources. Accordingly, this Article promotes the use of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a basis for asserting indigenous control over article 31 assets and resources to spur indigenous enterprise and innovation. After asserting control, Indigenous peoples can then operationalize the use of their article 31 assets and resources to counteract the "history of dispossession, assimilation, child removal and other previous colonial policies [that have] created a legacy" of economic disadvantage, political and structural disadvantage, geographic and cultural disadvantage, and collective and individual disadvantage. This article focuses on licensing as a mechanism to both implement the goals and objectives of the Declaration and to reassert indigenous authority and control over indigenous assets and resources.


Objective: Diazinon causes oxidative stress and dysfunction of the liver. This study was undertaken to evaluate the effects of the hydroalcoholic extract of Terminalia chebula, on some biochemical and histopathological parameters of liver tissue in diazinon-administered rats. Materials and Methods: Wistar rats were orally administered with 25 mg/kg body weight diazinon. Vehicle (distilled water) and silymarin (50 mg/kg body weight) were used as the negative and positive control groups, respectively. Diazinon-administered groups were treated with T. chebula (Terminalia chebula) fruit extract (200, 400, and 800 mg/kg). After 15 days of treatment, the blood specimens and liver samples were examined. Results: In diazinon-treated group, the levels of serum urea, high density lipoprotein (HDL), and liver superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and vitamin C significantly decreased (p<0.05) compared to control. Also, in this group, serum triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), very low density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL), protein carbonyl (PC), malondialdehyde, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and TNF-α gene expression significantly increased (p<0.05) as compared to the control (vehicle-treated rats). Treatment with T. chebula resulted in a significant increase (p<0.05) in CAT, SOD, vitamin C, HDL and a significant decrease (p<0.05) in the level of urea, MDA, PC, TG, TC, VLDL, TNF-α protein, and the gene expression of TNF-α compared with test without treatment group. Histopathological evidence demonstrated that treatment with T. chebula extract could decrease liver lymphocyte infiltration. Conclusion: The present study suggests that T. chebula fruit extract has protective effects against diazinon-induced oxidative stress.


How can an in principal binary alloy of iron and carbon show so many fascinating phenomena and still today give surprises to users, foundrymen and researchers? This paper points out some critical steps in the understanding of the whole chain, from the melt to a cast iron product in service. The understanding of the material is gradually improved, assisted by the advances of other fields, e.g. analyzing methods and computational techniques. The heart in cast iron is the graphite, which is a highly difficult phase to understand but gives the material its unique properties. The linkage between understanding and modelling is necessary to calculate/simulate the processes occurring, where the precipitation, nucleation and growth of the different phases are the keys. Proper nucleation and growth models have been introduced to predict e.g. primary precipitation of austenite and graphite, eutectic growth of different morphologies of graphite or cementite and austenite, solid state transformation of austenite into ferrite and pearlite in both grey and ductile irons, and now gives realistic microstructures and solidification curves for most practical cases. The microstructure formation models gives input to shrinkage and volume calculations to predict porosities, and to predictions of mechanical properties. By linking microstructure formation models, characterization models for mechanical properties and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) it is today possible to use local properties in simulations of the behavior of cast iron components. Many phenomena in cast iron, however, still remain unexplained. As one student labelled one of his experimental files on ductile iron, cast iron materials and simulations are indeed a never ending story, with a bright future in industrial applications.


Out-of-plane stability of unreinforced masonry walls is an important aspect to be taken into account in edification. This construction technique is widely used and it is one of the most vulnerable to seismic loading. It has been observed that damage produced by out-of-plane loadings is one of the most commonly produced failure mechanisms in seismic hazards. Despite of that, research into the out-of-plane stability of masonry walls is not yet enough developed. The aim of this research is to create a three-dimensional finite element model in order to study the latter problem. A parametrical study is performed on two numerical models under monotonic and cyclic out-of-plane loads. The influence of various geometrical and boundary conditions are studied in two different models of a single wall: a homogenized and a distinct model.

A damage plasticity formulation, appropriate for brittle materials, is implemented for modeling the behavior of the wall. In the distinct model, frictional and cohesive interaction models are used for modeling the joints, which are constituted by mortar.

Firstly a monotonic homogeneous distributed out-of-plane pressure is applied, in order to determine both, the resistance of the wall in terms of its force-displacement curve, and the failure mechanism. Next, the same model is submitted to cyclic out-of-plane uniform pressure and energy dissipation, as well as stiffness degradation is analyzed.

Finally, some qualitative recommendations for the unreinforced masonry walls are derived from the results, with the purpose of maximizing the resistance in front of out-of-plane loading.


Employees who are engaged in their work are fully connected with their work roles. They are bursting with energy, dedicated to their work, and immersed in their work activities. This article presents an overview of the concept of work engagement. I discuss the antecedents and consequences of engagement. The review shows that job and personal resources are the main predictors of engagement. These resources gain their salience in the context of high job demands. Engaged workers are more open to new information, more productive, and more willing to go the extra mile. Moreover, engaged workers proactively change their work environment in order to stay engaged. The findings of previous studies are integrated in an overall model that can be used to develop work engagement and advance job performance in today's workplace.


The uranium-lead ages for two massive uraninite samples from two deposits, one each in the Gas Hills and Shirley Basin districts, are both 22 + or - 3 m.y. as determined by 206 Pb/ 238 U and 207 Pb/ 235 U. These are sufficiently concordant to confirm an early Miocene time of mineralization for both deposits. Uranium-lead ages for several ore-grade samples from an upper sandstone layer of the Shirley Basin indicate 24 + or - 5 m.y. The ore samples show less concordancy in age than the massive uraninite samples and are believed to give a less reliable age because of a large common lead correction.Radioactive secular equilibrium between 238 U and 234 U was determined by alpha spectrometry to be > 99 percent for the massive uraninite samples; equilibrium between 238 U and 230 Th (ionium) was established by a direct method of isotopic mass ratios. A method of indexing the common lead correction using 208 Pb is used with these young samples which contain negligible 232 Th.Both the Gas Hills and Shirley Basin uranium deposits, located about 85 miles (137 km) apart, are in the Wind River Formation. The radioactive equilibrium found in the massive uraninite samples supports the reliability of the age found for these two samples. The loss of equilibrium in the ore-grade samples, along with the less reliable lead age, indicates that some local migration of elements occurred surrounding the roll at the Shirley Basin. Apparently this has not affected the lead-uranium system sufficiently to invalidate a date of 22 m.y. for the emplacement of both deposits and the conclusion that ore deposition stopped at about that time.


[1] The chemistry, morphology, and microscale to nanoscale structures of carbonaceous aerosols from the marine boundary layer of the Arctic Ocean were investigated by a variety of electron microscopy techniques, including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and energydispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The relative levels of particles of black carbon (BC) were determined by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) absorbed onto BC particles were extracted by the soxhlet extraction method and analyzed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The results show that the dominant particles of BC are char particles with spherical shape, porous structure, and high sulfur content, which are typically derived from residual oil combustion on ships. The spatial distribution of BC from ship emissions was found to be concentrated around the periphery of the Arctic Ocean, suggesting relatively intensive contamination by ships in the Russian and Canadian Arctic. The abundance of PAHs on BC particles ranges from 142 to 2672 pg/m 3 (mean = 702 pg/m 3 ), which is significantly higher than values previously measured by land-based observation. Thus we find that ship emissions are a potentially important contributor to the PAH levels at some locations in the Arctic Ocean during the summer.


The Jurassic carbonate platforms of the central High Atlas in Morocco are well known for several high-quality outcrops. In the central High Atlas, there are two complementary locations that offer critical lessons for our understanding of Jurassic carbonate system evolution in extensional basins: a Lower Jurassic high-relief, carbonate platform with steep slopes that developed on the footwall of a rotating fault block in an active half-graben (Djebel Bou Dahar [DBD]) and an upper Lower to Middle Jurassic low-angle prograding carbonate ramp rich in ooids (Amellago ramp [AR]). The DBD and AR outcrops provide superbly exposed, structurally intact, and fully accessible platform to basin transects. They provide valuable analogs for depositional geometries at reservoir and seismic scales that are highly relevant for hydrocarbon exploration and production. The DBD serves as an analog for isolated carbonate platforms developed in rift basins (particularly synrift carbonate platforms with a coral calcareous sponge and microbial boundstone facies belt in the upper slope and margin). The AR provides one of the rare examples whereby a large-scale oolitic ramp can be examined in great detail, providing an analog for a range of oolitic reservoirs, mostly Mesozoic.


: The authors discuss different variants of resection of the trachea and adjacent organs in relation to the localization and character of the disease, the variants being used in 212 patients. Special attention is given to problems of plastic repair of the trachea defects after resection. Under analysis are specific features of the combined treatment of malignant tumors of the trachea, surgical treatment of trachea-pleural and trachea-esophageal fistulas. Complications took place in 26.4%, postoperative lethality was 10.5%.


Environmental impact assessment (EIA) and mine closure planning became formally integrated in Western Australia in 2011 when amendments to the Mining Act 1978 resulted in the requirement of a mine closure plan (MCP) to be submitted by proponents along with their EIA documents. This procedural innovation aimed to force early consideration of mine closure in line with international best practice and raise the level of closure planning compliance. Internationally, it is generally held that early closure planning will reduce costs and improve closure outcomes thereby reducing financial, environmental and social liabilities.
This paper presents the results of the first study to explore the integration of EIA and mine closure planning in Western Australia and consider the extent to which such integration facilitates effective MCPs at the project approval stage. The opinions of twelve experienced EIA and/or mine closure professionals, representing regulators and proponents alike, were obtained from semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis used both top down and bottom up approaches to identify recurring themes and novel concepts. Overall both regulators and proponents were found to be strongly supportive of the integration of EIA and the potential of early planning to improve mine closure outcomes, particularly with regard to the identification and reduction of risk. However, opinions were divided about the influence of integration on the effectiveness of early MCP or if the current Western Australian 'Guidelines for Preparing Mine Closure Plans' are capable of delivering effective early MCP. The responses suggest that although the current regulatory framework exists to drive integration that could enable effective MCP at the project assessment and approval stage, the most important factor is the motivation of key facilitators to pursue good outcomes. Opportunities to enhance the current framework lie in increasing transparency, expanding aspects of the guidance and ensuring enforcement of the commitments made in mine closure plans.


Mr Shelley described the results obtained during four years' experience of stimulating muscle and nerve to empty the bladder, both in dog and man, particular attention having been paid to the manner in which the characteristics of the stimulus affected the quality of the contraction. He reviewed the factors determining the choice of method for any particular patient and mentioned the problems as yet unsolved.


To the Editor: The study reported by Rosenthal et al.' gave conclusions similar to those of a prospective study of 348 patients admitted to the Coronary Care Unit in Bishop Auckland General Hospital in England (December 1991 to March 1992), done to determine the rate of thrombolysis in elderly.2 The overall rate of thrombolysis was 43%, but only 31% of those older than 70 years of age received this treatment compared with 53% of those less than 70. The most common reason for withholding this effective treatment was found to be failure to diagnose myocardial infarction (MI) on early electrocardiograms (56%). As a part of the study, we also compared the accuracy among physicians of diagnosing MI from initial electrocardiogram^.^ The senior physicians (Consultants) had a significantly lower rate of false negatives (23%) than that of the junior doctors (46%). Maybe the answer to improved prescribing of this effective treatment in older persons lies in a positive reinforcement of its importance and the greater availability of senior physicians in Accident and Emergency departments to diagnose early MI.


AZ31 Mg / 5083 Al clad sheet was fabricated by the hot rolling method and its mechanical properties were investigated in this study. The tensile strength and yield strength of Mg- Al clad samples were slightly higher than that of AZ31 Mg sample, resulting in high strength 5083 Al alloy. Also, in the case of the AZ31 Mg sample, tensile strength indicated different values to the rolling directions. The thickness of interface layers between magnesium and aluminum materials increased with increasing rolling temperature. The thickness of interface layer was about 1.2 μm and 1.6 μm, respectively. The difference of thickness on the interface layer with variation of rolling temperature was attributed to promote the diffusion between magnesium and aluminum materials. The Vickers hardness of Mg-Al interface layer was around 125 Hv. The interface layer composed of hard inter-metallic phases which may act a increment of Vickers hardness depending upon its thickness.


Event traces are helpful in understanding the performance behavior of parallel applications since they allow the in-depth analysis of communication and synchronization patterns. However, the absence of synchronized clocks on most cluster systems may render the analysis ineffective because inaccurate relative event timings may misrepresent the logical event order and lead to errors when quantifying the impact of certain behaviors or confuse the users of time-line visualization tools by showing messages flowing backward in time. In our earlier work, we have developed a scalable algorithm that eliminates inconsistent inter-process timings postmortem in traces of pure MPI applications. Since hybrid programming, the combination of MPI and OpenMP in a single application, is becoming more popular on clusters in response to rising numbers of cores per chip and widening shared-memory nodes, we present an extended version of the algorithm that in addition to message-passing event semantics also preserves and restores shared-memory event semantics.


The micellization properties and phase behaviour of model ternary surfactant—oil—water systems were studied by grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations assisted by histogram reweighting techniques. Larson's lattice model was used for a symmetrical H4T4 surfactant, where H represents hydrophilic and T hydrophobic groups. In contrast to earlier studies, oil chains of variable length, from T to T4, were studied and the effect of added oil on the critical micelle concentration (cmc) was determined quantitatively. It was found that the cmc decreases as the volume fraction of oil in the aqueous phase is increased. Longer oil chains have a stronger effect than shorter chains for the same volume fraction. The oil, tail and head density profiles were obtained for typical micelles. Simulation results for the density profiles indicate that long chain oils are almost exclusively located within the micellar aggregates, in agreement with single-chain mean-field theory predictions. Ternary phase diagrams were obtained both by simulations and by quasichemical theory. The results suggest that the critical micelle concentration line is directed towards the oil-lean corner of the three-phase triangle, if there is one present in the system. It was also found that the amount of oil that can be dissolved in the ternary system increases sharply at the surfactant critical micelle concentration, indicating that micellization greatly enhances oil solubility.


The antimicrobial drug 1-methyl-2-nitro-5-vinylimidazole (MEV) preferentially blocked DNA synthesis, was mutagenic and induced coliphage lambda in Escherichia coli. The antibacterial effects of MEV are the consequences of repairable damage to DNA, as shown by hypersensitivity of recA and uvr strains to MEV and related drugs, stimulation by MEV of DNA turnover which was dependent on the product of the uvrA gene, and the presence of cross-links in DNA from MEV-treated bacteria.


Thomas F. Martin, OSA, Our Restless Heart. The Augustinian Tradition (London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 2003. £8.95. pp. I72. ISBN 0-232-524I0-6). The editor of the series, Traditions of Christian Spirituality, in which this book appears, explains (p. 8) that no single definition has been imposed on the word 'Spirituality', and Thomas Martin has performed a notable feat in drawing together the various elements in Augustine's theology which have influenced later Latin contemplative thinking. The Rule is an obvious element. From the twelfth century onwards it has been adopted by various religious associations which seek to follow the apostolic way of life of Acts 4:3 2-3 5; but Augustine's spirituality is not concerned exclusively with monastic living


Several researchers have proposed that drivers do not just respond to the vehicle directly ahead, but also to the second, and even the third, fourth or fifth vehicle ahead. Little empirical evidence for this hypothesis has however been presented so far. We provide empirical evidence showing that drivers are not only reacting on the vehicle directly ahead, but also the 'second leader'. This is achieved by analyzing vehicle trajectory data collected by observing a motorway traffic flow from a helicopter. These microscopic data enable estimation of individual car-following models. The extent to which this multi-anticipatory behaviour occurs turns out to be considerable: on average, the sensitivity with respect to stimuli coming from the second vehicle is half the sensitivity of the first vehicle ahead. For some vehicle triples, even higher sensitivities to the behaviour of the second leader than to the behaviour of the first have been observed. The estimation results show large differences in car-following behaviour between the different drivers. These differences can in part be explained by the vehicle-type composition of the considered vehicle triples. Trucks drivers show different behaviour than person-car drivers; drivers following a truck show dissimilar car-following behaviour than drivers following a personcar. Although not being a benchmarking study aimed at providing the best model of car-following behaviour, the research presented in this article shows that including multiple leaders can improve modelling of driving behaviour considerably.


Sustainability of any aquaculture venture especially for enhanced food security and socio-economic development of the target population is the challenge of the new millennium. With the right environment and best management practices (BMPs), the envisaged expectations of the integrated investment can be achieved. This paper compares the economic performance and environmental friendliness of two adaptive integrated aquaculture systems at Njala University fish farm, Sierra Leone. The studies were carried out for six months (June-November, 2014). Fish, rice cum piggery and fish, rice cum poultry production integration platforms were set up to perfect the ideas of integrated fish farming in Sierra Leone. Water quality parameters measured biweekly included: dissolved oxygen, water temperature, pH, water hardness, water alkalinity, ammonia, nitrate, BOD and nitrite. These parameters were determined using Jenway analytical probes and Pondlab multi-parameter kits. Three samples were collected in thoroughly washed 600ml water bottles at each sampling point. Water quality parameters determined in the studies were found to be within the recommended range for the culture of tropical fish species and were not also statistically significant (p<0.05). However, the pH of adaptive research platform (ARP) was slightly acidic. Economic analysis gave a negative incremental benefit and Net Present Value (NPV) for the fish, rice cum piggery synergy in the first year. The calculated benefit/cost ratio for the pig, rice cum piggery production was positive but below 1 (0.87).The system had a negative NPV (-Le 2,990,708), and a payback period of 1.33 years; a net profit of Le 8,944,000 with a gross profit margin of 0.46. The fish, rice cum poultry production, however, gave a positive NPV (Le 841,930.32 (US189.3)) and a cost – benefit ratio of 1.02. Net profit, Gross Profit Margin and the payback period calculated for the investment were Le 13,892,000, 0.34 and 0.98 years, respectively. The poultry project broke even and payback in the first year while the piggery project did not but can only break even and pay back in the second year of production. The culture of genetically poor fish fingerlings, high construction costs of the adaptive research platform, scale of operation and pricing of the farm produce were seen as major causes of reduced profitability. The results obtained from the study, clearly indicate that the two integrated synergies have the potential to help solve the problems of hunger and poverty in Sierra Leone, especially among the rural poor that constituted more than 70% of the population. Key words: Cost-benefit, Integrated aquaculture, Water quality, Sierra Leone, grassroots farmers


Background: Dietary non-digestible galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) suppress allergic responses in mice sensitized and challenged with house dust mite (HDM). Budesonide is the standard therapy for allergic asthma in humans but is not always completely effective. Aim: To compare the efficacy of budesonide or different doses of GOS alone or with a combination therapy of budesonide and GOS on HDM-allergic responses in mice. Methods:BALB/c mice were sensitized and challenged with HDM, while fed a control diet or a diet supplemented with 1 or 2.5 w/w% GOS, and either or not oropharyngeally instilled with budesonide. Systemic and local inflammatory markers, such as mucosal mast cell protease-1 (mMCP-1) in serum, pulmonary CCL17, CCL22, and IL-33 concentrations and inflammatory cell influx in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were determined. Results: Budesonide or GOS alone suppressed the number of eosinophils in the BALF of HDM allergic mice whereas budesonide either or not combined with GOS lowered both eosinophil and lymphocyte numbers in the BALF of HDM-allergic mice. Both 1 w/w% and 2.5 w/w% GOS and/or budesonide suppressed serum mMCP-1 concentrations. However, budesonide nor GOS alone was capable of reducing Th2 driving chemokines CCL17, CCL22 and IL-33 protein levels in supernatants of lung homogenates of HDM allergic mice, whereas the combination therapy did. Moreover, IL-13 concentrations were only significantly suppressed in mice treated with budesonide while fed GOS. A similar tendency was observed for the frequency of GATA3+CD4+ Th2 and CD4+RORγt+ Th17 cells in the lungs of the allergic mice. Conclusion: Dietary intervention using GOS may be a novel way to further improve the efficacy of anti-inflammatory drug therapy in allergic asthma by lowering Th2 driving mediators and mast cell degranulation.


To know what is going on in physicians' surgery hours, assessment of practice performance is important with regard to quality assessment activities. The incognito standardized patient (SP) method is a powerful method to assess this. However, until now no reports have been published about specialists' performance using this method. In this study, 27 rheumatologists in 16 hospitals were each visited by eight incognito SPs to study the feasibility of sending incognito SPs to specialists working in different hospitals, of follow-up consultations and of simulating additional investigations. SPs recorded performance on case-specific checklists. The different steps needed for these visits are described in detail. A total of 136 first and 32 follow-up visits took place. SPs remained undetected in 98% of the visits. It is concluded that this SP method is a feasible one, however, only to be used for very specific purposes. Use of incognito SPs for larger scale projects is not recommended.


The formation of oscillons in a synchronously oscillating background is studied in the context of both damped and self-exciting oscillatory media. Using the forced complex Ginzburg-Landau equation we show that such states bifurcate from finite amplitude homogenous states near the 2:1 resonance boundary. In each case we identify a region in parameter space containing a finite multiplicity of coexisting stable oscillons with different structure. Stable time-periodic monotonic and nonmonotonic frontlike states are present in an overlapping region. Both types of structure are related to the presence of a Maxwell point between the zero and finite amplitude homogeneous states.


For many years, it has been an expectation that authors of original, empirical research articles should reveal funding sources that supported the research project. Within medical journals, the emphasis has been on the disclosure of pharmaceutical funding or affiliations (cf. Koepp & Miles, 1999). However, the interests of authors that may be associated with decreased objectivity are not limited to pharmaceutical funding. In November 2003, the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors established ''Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals'' (available for viewing online at http:// www.icmje.org). These guidelines make clear the idea that all forms of funding, whether commercial, private, or governmental are to be disclosed by authors, along with the description of any direct involvement of any research sponsor. Similarly, journals of the American Psychological Association employ a ''Full Disclosure of Interests Form'' (available for viewing online at http://www.apa.org/journals/disclosure_ of_interests.pdf). This form states, in part, that because of the possibility that it could be associated with positive or negative bias, it is an author's responsibility to disclose to readers any possible financial interest in a test or product, including having a copyright or royalty interest in a test or test competitor that is the object of study within a manuscript. Authors of original research, narrative and meta-analytic review papers, book reviews, and test reviews whose work is submitted for consideration of publication to the Editors of the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology have the obligation to disclose any and all interests that potentially could affect objectivity in reporting of subject matter. Such disclosures include, but are not limited to: funding sources of any kind that wholly or in part supported the submitted work, paid employment or consulting positions held with a test company whose products are the subject of the submitted work, and copyright ownership or royalty interest in a test or test competitor that is the subject of the submitted work. These disclosures by the authors will not preclude publication of their work, but will allow readers to judge for themselves the possibility of influences on objectivity of information reported within a specific publication.


assess this. We should be told how many patients receiving long-term anti-inflammatory therapy were examined in order to find the 249 patients who had no gastric lesions at the initial endoscopy, incorrectly named the pretreatment endoscopy. If few were rejected this would support the view that the lesions are often transient. We do not accept the authors' reasons for not including a control group, and would suggest the use of paracetamol in a group with osteoarthrosis. This is an important area of work in which much more information is required, but we would reluctantly question the conclusions drawn by these workers. Further studies of better design should be undertaken.


The implementation of Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) on healthcare courses in Higher Education Institutions has been explored in a number of studies. This paper presents research into the experience of PAL on a BSc Speech & Language Therapy (SLT) programme. The research was conducted by final year undergraduate SLT students to form the basis for their final dissertations. The focus for their research was on the effects of PAL on academic and professional development for both mentees and mentors on the same course. Data were generated from standard PAL evaluations and focus groups. Findings indicate that mentees benefit from PAL in terms of their university experience and learning. Mentors benefited from opportunities to develop and practice skills for their future employment. Engagement with PAL is attributed to its structured yet informal nature and the enthusiasm of the mentors. However, the collaborative nature of PAL takes time to develop, impacting on the behaviours of both mentees and mentors. Overall PAL offers mentees and mentors opportunities which enhance their academic learning and professional development.


The Global Financial Crisis demonstrated that banks and other financial institutions risk management capabilities were deficient and, in some ways, flawed. Given that senior management and the board of directors are ultimately responsible to shareholders for financial institutions' risk management, it is critical that they be able to determine, at a high level, the bank's risk exposures and whether its risk management function is operating effectively. In this context, this paper examines how dashboard and business intelligence (BI) information systems can extend and help supplement existing financial risk management facilities. A three-layer framework that supports monitoring of market risk is presented, comprised of dashboard, business intelligence, and business analytics layers. Traditional risk management information systems, which calculate value at risk (VaR), constitute the business analytics layer. This paper focuses on the functions that the dashboard and interactive BI layers of the framework provide and the information systems that can be used to implement them. The aim is to provide simplified and intuitive views of financial institutions' risk that can be compared with more complex, analytical reports. Specifically, the layers of the three-tier framework perform the following functions: Dashboard Layer – enables executives to visualize critical key risk indicators based on raw data available from the enterprise risk management data warehouse that is integrated with other relevant business information that is integrated from other front- and back-office systems. Business Intelligence Layer – provides the interactive visualization of risk and other business information using BI analysis techniques. It enables the business managers to drill down, and investigate concerns or anomalies that appear in the dashboards. Business Analytics Layer – computes and presents VaR and stress test information. It is used primarily by risk managers. To date, there has been little research on how business intelligence systems can supplement traditional risk management information systems and support management-level decisions about financial risk. The framework described in this paper aims to assess financial risk from three different perspectives so as to improve the quality of risk decisionmaking. Keywords: Financial Risk Management, Dashboard, Business Intelligence, Value at Risk (VaR)


The possibility of extending Barenblatt's hypothesis of incomplete similarity for the velocity profile is analyzed for rough-pipe flows. The verification of this hypothesis, which leads to a power law in the intermediate region of the flow, is performed using Nikuradse's well-known data for pipes with homogeneous sand roughness. As detailed comparison between the log law and the power law would require much higher measurement resolution, no attempt is made here to assess the validity of one or the other law, and the power law profile is simply used as a working hypothesis. The power law fits well for a large part of the pipe section both for the transitionally rough regime and the fully rough regime. The coefficients of the power law show an interesting behavior as a function of the Reynolds number and the relative roughness. For the fully rough regime, it is possible to obtain simple expressions for the power law coefficients and the resistance law.


Autism is a life-long developmental disorder affecting as many as 1 in 500 children. The causes for this profound disorder are largely unknown. Recent research has uncovered pathology in the gastrointestinal tract of autistic children. The pathology, reported to extend from the esophagus to the colon, is described here along with other studies pointing to a connection between diet and the severity of symptoms expressed in autism. The evidence that there is impaired intestinal permeability in autism is reviewed, and various theories are discussed by which a leaky gut could develop. Lastly, some possible ways in which impaired gastrointestinal function might influence brain function are discussed.


A new thermal system for tumor treatment was designed to enhance the curative effects while minimizing invasion to the surrounding healthy tissue. This system includes LN2 cryosurgery and RF ablation, which can be used separately or simultaneously. A heat transfer model describing the thermal field during treatments was established. The SAR distribution was assumed to be resulted from an infinite linear source. Numerical simulation of the temperature distributions inside the tissue was performed using Fluent 6.1. Parameters such as the RF power, nitrogen flow rate, and the starting time of each treatment were adjusted to control the treatment region. The simulation results demonstrated that the RF power is the key factor to control the heating and thawing process, while the protecting nitrogen flow can adjust the heating rate slightly


We define reconsideration, a non-prioritized belief change operation on a finite set of base beliefs. Reconsideration is a hindsight belief change repair that eliminates negative effects caused by the order of previously executed belief change operations. Beliefs that had previously been removed are returned to the base if there no longer are valid reasons for their removal. This might result in less preferred beliefs being removed, and additional beliefs being returned. The end product is an optimization of the belief base, converting the results of a series of revisions to the very base that would have resulted from a batch revision performed after all base beliefs were entered/added. Reconsideration can be done by examining the entire set of all base beliefs (both currently believed and retracted) -- or, if the believed base is consistent, by examining all retracted beliefs for possible return. This, however, is computationally expensive. We present a more efficient, TMS-friendly algorithm, dependency-directed reconsideration (DDR), which can produce the same results by examining only a dynamically determined subset of base beliefs that are actually affected by changes made since the last base optimization process. DDR is an efficient, anytime, belief base optimizing algorithm that eliminates operation order effects.


Prasad and Tampi (1959) in their paper ' On a collection of palinurid phyllosomas from the Laccadive seas' described a type of phyllosoma larvae which resembles the phyllosomas of palinurids except in that the larvae have bifid second antennae. This type was provisionally designated as the larva of Panulinis sp. VI. Since the publication of the paper the authors had occasion to examine several specimens of Puerulus sewelli Ramadan collected from the west coast of India at depths varying from 200 to 350 m. The collections included a good many berried individuals
with the eggs in different stages of development. As there is no information in literature on the larvae of Puerulus an attempt was made to dissect out the embryos to study them. Some of the eggs were in an advanced stage of development and the embryos taken out from them showed sufficient diagnostic characters.


BACKGROUND
Assessing the aortic valvular orifice is important in judging the severity of aortic stenosis. Magnetic resonance imaging visualizes in-plane valvular motion. We studied the value of magnetic resonance planimetry of the aortic valve orifice.

METHODS
We used breath-hold gradient echocardiographic sequences on a clinical magnetic resonance system (1.5 T) and studied 25 patients with symptomatic valvular aortic stenosis. We performed a planimetry of the valvular orifice in systolic images of the valvular plane. The results were compared with echocardiography (continuity equation) and cardiac catheterization (Gorlin formula).

RESULTS
Magnetic resonance planimetry was feasible in all patients, and the image quality was invariably adequate. The magnetic resonance imaging results correlated well with the data calculated from catheterization and less robustly with the echocardiographic results. The 3 methods were similar in terms of leading to clinical decisions.

CONCLUSIONS
We suggest that magnetic resonance flow planimetry of the aortic valve orifice offers a simple, reliable, fast, and safe method to noninvasively quantify aortic stenosis.


Abstract. Biogeochemical processes were investigated in the Kamniska Bistrica River (Slovenia), which represents an ideal natural laboratory for studying pollution sources in catchments with high weathering capacity. The Kamniska Bistrica River water chemistry is dominated by HCO3−, Ca2+, and Mg2+ and Ca2+/Mg2+ molar ratios indicate that calcite weathering is the major source of solutes to the river system. The Kamniska Bistrica River and its tributaries are oversaturated with respect to calcite and dolomite. pCO2 concentrations were on average up to 25 times over atmospheric values. δ18O values in river water ranged from −10.4 to −7.7‰ and plotted near the local meteoric water line, δ13CDIC values ranged from −12.7 to −2.7‰, controlled by biogeochemical processes in the catchment and within the stream; carbon dissolution is the most important biogeochemical process affecting carbon isotopes in the upstream portions of the catchment, while carbon dissolution and organic matter degradation control carbon isotope signatures downstream. Contributions of DIC from various biogeochemical processes were determined using steady state equations for different sampling seasons at the mouth of the Kamniska Bistrica River; results indicate that: (1) 1.9 to 2.2% of DIC came from exchange with atmospheric CO2, (2) 0 to 27.5% of DIC came from degradation of organic matter, (3) 25.4 to 41.5% of DIC came from dissolution of carbonates, and (4) 33 to 85% of DIC came from tributaries. δ15N values of nitrate ranged from −5.2‰ at the headwater spring to 9.8‰ in the lower reaches. Higher δ15N values in the lower reaches of the river suggest anthropogenic pollution from agricultural activity.


Cities find it tremendously difficult to specialize in all the competencies involved in designing, building and maintaining data infrastructures. However, cities have neither the incentive nor the means of bringing external partners round to the necessary supply chain networks. The consequence of not doing so is that complexity has often overtaken data infrastructures development. Often, it has become longer than a simple ICT project, and as a consequence, more expensive and difficult to design and maintain. A platform-centric approach for the provision of city data in smart cities enables pooling of multiple organizations' knowledge bases - especially cross-sectorial domains - that are more valuable in combination than in isolation. Building an ecosystem of stakeholders who complements the capabilities of a data infrastructure can potentially bring insights about specialized domains, different application markets, lower costs and shorten the time to market for the development of new services. We give an overview of the theory of platforms and their main characteristics. In an effort to move beyond this confusion, a growing literature on open data and data platforms has emerged, though what practical guidance it offers to governments is often unclear. Examining the prevailing strategy of data catalogues or platforms design is an essential starting point in understanding why a new approach is needed to integrating both technology and non-technology components more effectively into data management and business models.


The paramyxovirus phospho- (P) and nucleocapsid (NP) proteins are involved in transcription and replication of the viral genome. To study the interaction between NP and P proteins, we established HeLa cell lines that constitutively expressed the NP and/or P proteins of human parainfluenza virus type 2 (hPIV-2). Co-immunoprecipitation assays revealed that the NP and P proteins can form complexes in HeLa cells expressing both proteins (HeLa-NP+P cells) and in mixed cell lysates of HeLa-NP and HeLa-P cells. Deletion mutant analysis of the P protein was performed to identify the regions of P protein that interact with NP protein. The results indicate that two independent NP-binding sites exist on P protein: one is located in the N-terminal part of the protein, aa 1-47, and the other in the C-terminal part, aa 357-395. In addition, cells co-expressing NP and P proteins with N-terminal deletions showed immunofluorescence staining patterns (granular pattern) similar to those found in hPIV-2-infected cells. However, cells co-expressing NP and P proteins with C-terminal deletions showed a different immunofluorescence staining pattern (diffuse pattern), indicating that the C-terminal region is required for granule formation.


The growing global human population and the expansion of agriculture into less productive areas result in an increased demand for fertilisers. At the same time, sustainability of agricultural practices and increasing cost of fertilizers both call for reduced input and a use of genotypes with increased fertiliser use efficiency. This trend is applicable to all major fertilisers including potassium (K\(^+\)). Potassium is an essential macronutrient for plants and plays a crucial role in growth, development, yield, quality, quantity and stress resistance of all plant crops. The use of K\(^+\)-efficient genotypes along with optimised soil fertilisation would be important to develop optimal nutrient management strategies for sustainable farming systems. High potassium-use efficiency (KUE) genotypes can tolerate nutrient deficiency because they have adapted physiological mechanisms that enable access to adequate levels of specific nutrients (uptake efficiency) and use that nutrient effectively (utilisation efficiency).
The issue of KUE is further exacerbated by the fact that K\(^+\) biological availability is severely affected by hostile environmental conditions. One of them is soil salinity. Salinity affects 10% of the earth's land surface and around 50% of all irrigated land, leading to lost agricultural production in excess of $27.3Bln per annum. At the same time, K\(^+\) nutrition, both directly and indirectly, affects plant resistance to a broad range of abiotic and biotic stress. The causal relationship between KUE and salinity stress tolerance, nonetheless, remains elusive. In this project, we used a wide range of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) genotypes contrasting in salinity stress tolerance to understand mechanisms conferring KUE and understand how these are affected by the presence of high NaCl concentrations in the rhizosphere.
Thirty barley genotypes, originating from Australia, China, USA and Japan were evaluated in a randomized block design with four levels of K\(^+\) (0.002 mM, 0.2 mM, 2 mM, and 20 mM) in three replicates, for phenotypic and physiological variation in K\(^+\) efficiency in shoot growth and grain yield. A subset of genotypes with contrasting KUE identified in the first experiment (highly efficient varieties YF374, Skiff and Yan 89110; and genotypes with low KUE - Dayton, Dysyh and Franklin) was used in the second experiment. Here, plants were grown at two potassium levels (low, 0.002 mM; and high, 20 mM) under two sodium levels (no salt and in the presence of 300 mM NaCl) for five weeks.
The results showed that the availability of K\(^+\) in the soil had a major effect on yield components, i.e. spike number, grain number and grain weight, in most of the studied genotypes and the increase in grain weight in the response to K\(^+\) application was correlated with an increase in numbers of spikes and grains. Although an increase in K\(^+\) supply led to an increase in plant height in all genotypes, the extent of response differed significantly between genotypes. K\(^+\) availability did not increase tiller number in barley and 0.02 mM K\(^+\) would be the threshold of deficiency for tiller number for most genotypes. The positive effect of K\(^+\) on yield components, plant height and plant dry weight might be due to the role of K\(^+\) in activating protein synthesis and improved enzymatic and photosynthetic activity, which shifts assimilates to sink and produce more grains with heavier weight.
K\(^+\) supplementation caused only a small increase in plant dry shoot, which indicated that shoot dry weight alone cannot be used as a suitable selection criterion to detect tolerance of K\(^+\) deficiency. It might be due to the fact that K\(^+\) utilization influenced the translocation of dry assimilates into grains and caused a reduction in dry biomass. This variable response to low K\(^+\) exhibited by these genotypes could be because of the difference in their ability to absorb K\(^+\) and translocate it by K\(^+\) transporter channels in the high and low-affinity uptake systems.
K\(^+\) availability led to an increase in K\(^+\) uptake and leaf K\(^+\) content. Elevated leaf K\(^+\) content correlated with higher xylem K\(^+\) content, pointing out at essentiality of xylem K\(^+\) loading as a key trait conferring KUE. The leaf Na\(^+\) has an opposite trend to leaf K\(^+\). The high performing plants showed the lowest leaf Na\(^+\) and the lowest yielding plants showed high leaf Na\(^+\). This indicates that plants that are not capable of accumulating enough K\(^+\) instead rely on Na\(^+\) to partially replace Na\(^+\) with K\(^+\) for opening and closing of stomata, which helps to regulate internal water balance.
The result of the second experiment showed that the application of K\(^+\) alleviates the adverse effect of salinity, significantly improved the yield, and yield components, fresh and dry weight. Under salinity stress, genotypes Dayton, Dysyh and Franklin did not produce any grain regardless of the amount of K\(^+\) applied (except Dysyh that produced 0.02 g/plant in high K\(^+\)), but genotypes with high KUE were doing well under saline conditions. Salinity stress caused an increase in leaf osmolality and a decrease in stomatal conductance. Leaf chlorophyll content (SPAD readings) was adversely affected by salinity; increased K\(^+\) availability reverted this effect.
The overall outcomes of this work are three-fold. First, varieties with high KUE (Gebeina, Skiff, YF374, and Flagship) may be recommended to growers. Second, contrasting varieties selected in phenotyping experiments can be used to create DH lines to understand the genetic basis of KUE. Finally, this project provided further insights into mechanisms underlying KUE and plant responses to salinity. While a competitive interaction between the K\(^+\) and Na\(^+\) and their transport into plant parts exist, Na\(^+\) uptake showed a strong dependence of KUE, with K\(^+\)- efficient cultivars being more responsive to reduce Na\(^+\) uptake under K\(^+\) supply along with greater increases in K\(^+\) uptake compared with K\(^+\) inefficient cultivars. In the current study, application of salt stress promoted the uptake of Na\(^+\) in plant leaves and xylem cells; however, the application of K\(^+\) reduced its uptake in plants and promoted the accumulation of K\(^+\) contents in plant leaves and xylem cells. This study also confirmed that application of supplemental K\(^+\) could significantly ameliorate the toxicity of Na\(^+\) to promote plant growth in soil-affected soils.


Advanced vehicle control systems (AVCS) encompass a wide range of technologies that aid a driver in the driving task by automatically performing control actions (braking, accelerating, or steering) or prompting the driver to perform such actions. Over the last fifteen years, relatively simple systems such as anti-lock braking systems (ABS) and traction control systems have reached production on road vehicles. More recently, advanced systems that provide full-time automatic steering throttle, and/or brake control have been successfully demonstrated by various research groups and automobile manufacturers. The essential benefits offered by these systems relative to manually controlled vehicles are improved operating efficiency and vehicle safety. While the technical feasibility of such systems has been demonstrated, issues of cost and liability risk pose major barriers for near-term deployment on production vehicles. Highway maintenance vehicles, however, offer an excellent testbed for new AVCS technologies, as maintenance departments are often receptive to experimental systems that promise to provide improved safety and productivity for their operations. This study considers the technical and economic feasibility of vehicle control systems for two specific highway maintenance operations, snow removal and work zone following, and concludes that there are significant benefits associated with AVCS for these applications. This conclusion is based on findings from highway maintenance research, interviews conducted with state maintenance officials, and an assessment of the state-of-the-art in vehicle control technology.


End-to-end models are suitable for realizing practical automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems run on a device with limited computing capability. This is because the models are composed of a single neural network hence many techniques like quantization and compression to make the model footprint lower are easily applied. One important issue when realizing such an ASR system is the segmentation of input audio. The ideal scenario is to integrate audio segmentation and ASR into a single model achieving low latency and high accuracy. In addition, reducing the real-time factor of decoding is important to achieve low latency. Non-autoregressive Transformer is a promising approach since it can decode an N length token sequence with less than N iterations. We propose a method to realize audio segmentation and non-autoregressive decoding using a single model. It is an insertion-based model that jointly trains with connectionist temporal classification (CTC) loss. The CTC part is used for segmentation. Then, the insertion-based non-autoregressive decoding generates a hypothesis considering the full context inside the segment. It can decode an N -length token sequence with approximately log2(N) iterations. Experimental results on unsegmented evaluation sets of a Japanese dataset show the method achieves better accuracy than baseline CTC.