The increasing reliance on ML models in high-stakes tasks has raised a major concern on fairness violations. Although there has been a surge of work that improves algorithmic fairness, most of them are under the assumption of an identical training and test distribution. In many real-world applications, however, such an assumption is often violated as previously trained fair models are often deployed in a different environment, and the fairness of such models has been observed to collapse. In this paper, we study how to transfer model fairness under distribution shifts, a widespread issue in practice. We conduct a fine-grained analysis of how the fair model is affected under different types of distribution shifts and find that domain shifts are more challenging than subpopulation shifts. Inspired by the success of self-training in transferring accuracy under domain shifts, we derive a sufficient condition for transferring group fairness. Guided by it, we propose a practical algorithm with a fair consistency regularization as the key component. A synthetic dataset benchmark, which covers all types of distribution shifts, is deployed for experimental verification of the theoretical findings. Experiments on synthetic and real datasets including image and tabular data demonstrate that our approach effectively transfers fairness and accuracy under various distribution shifts.


Cavitation is a complex multiphase phenomenon, where the production of vapor bubbles leads to opaqueness of the flow. While it is nearly impossible to visualize the interior of the cavitation region with visible light, we show that with X-ray computed tomography it is possible to obtain the time-averaged void fraction distribution in an axisymmetric converging-diverging nozzle (venturi). This technique is based on the amount of energy absorbed by the material, based on its density and thickness. Time-averaged 3D reconstruction of the X-ray images is used (i) to distinguish between vapor and liquid phase, (ii) to get radial geometric features of the flow, and (iii) to quantify the local void fraction. The results show the presence of intense cavitation at the walls of the venturi, and the vapor fraction decreases downstream of the venturi with the vapor cloud.


A 40-year-old woman, when seen elsewhere because of an eruption on the trunk and thigh, was treated with systemic prednisone for 14 days, following which she was little better. She was then given triamcinolone acetonide 40 mg intramuscularly (i.m.), together with loratadine and hydroxyzine orally. After another month, she was again given triamcinolone acetonide 40 mg i.m., but the rash persisted. A biopsy showed an angiocentric lymphocytic infiltrate. She was seen in this office, some 5 months after the eruption began. At that time, there was a somewhat erythematous papular eruption localized to the area under her underclothes (panties). There was also an eczematous eruption posterior to the right axilla on the right shoulder and herpes simplex on the skin of the right hip. Medications included warfarin, hydroxyzine, progestin, diltiazem, norethindrone, digoxin, loratadine, doxycycline and enalapril. A biopsy done on the papular eruption was interpreted as an arthropod reaction. Patch testing showed þþ reactions to nickel and cobalt, budesonide, at the þ level, and þ reactions to Disperse Blue 106, Disperse Blue 124, Disperse Blue 35 and Reactive Blue 238. The patient was advised to avoid dyed fabrics on the upper trunk. She was also advised as to possible sources of the arthropod reaction, which was localized to the area under her underclothes. Because of the multiplicity of lesions, she was asked to use a repellent and to look for a source, particularly for bird mites. She drove home from the office, and on arriving at her home found the bedroom door open, and the family cat sleeping contentedly in her underwear drawer. The next morning, she found a dead bird infested with bird mites (ostensibly brought home by the family cat) on her front porch. The cat was banished from the bedroom, and the chest of drawers was treated with a pesticide. Following this, the patient made steady improvement and was largely clear 3 weeks later. Her contact dermatitis improved with avoidance, and the herpes simplex was not treated.


This deLYTEful ring-bound handbook stands out clearly among the many texts and learning aids that attempt to teach us and our students more about renal and electrolyte disturbances. Dr Mitchell Halperin's expertise in this field is widely acknowledged and is only equaled by his enthusiasm in teaching others concepts he has perceived in the mass of laboratory data that is modern medicine. Each of the text's six chapters has pearls of wisdom, clinical classifications and syndromes, and, finally, elements of differential diagnosis. Each chapter is accompanied by at least one clinical case applicable to the metabolic abnormality discussed, eg, hypernatremia after a skull fracture in a patient who, after all, did not have diabetes insipidus but, rather, urea-induced osmotic diuresis. Both at the beginning of the book and at intervals thereafter, Halperin defines and discusses the transtubular potassium gradient (TTKG), with emphasis on practicality. The TTKG reflects urine potassium/plasma potassium


Selection III mice have particular immunological characteristics: they are high (H III) or low (L III) antibody producer animals, yet both lines display similar T cell responses and macrophage activities. We submitted these mice to infection with Schistosoma mansoni to assess in vivo parasite and egg burden, hepatic collagen and cellular composition of granulomas in both lines. Titration of anti-Schistosoma IgG by ELISA showed remarkably higher values in H III line, at both studied periods (8th and 12th weeks post-infection). Nevertheless, the number of adult worms recovered from the portal system was similar in both lines, being not associated with anti-Schistosoma antibody levels. There is an increase in hepatic collagen from the 8th to the 12th weeks post-infection, which is paralleled by an increase in the number of eggs in the liver. This association apparently occurs at the same ratio in H III and L III animals. The most important difference found between the two lines was the outstanding contrast in terms of volume and eosinophil counts in the granulomas, with lesions from H III mice clearly being larger and containing more of these cells than LIII lesions.


Right atrial isomerism (earlier known as asplenia) is a group of malformations including anomalies of the heart and the visceral organs. Complex defects of the heart are normally found, but these are non-specific. The suspected diagnosis can be confirmed most easily by focusing on a specific and segmental examination of the heart. We report on a fetus referred at 22 weeks in whom AV-septal defect was detected. Heart and stomach were on the left side, but the segmental approach allowed the detection of juxtaposed descending aorta and inferior vena cava as typical signs of right isomerism. The suspected malformation could be verified by the additional detection of infra-diaphragmatic total anomalous pulmonary venous drainage by using colour Doppler. Howell-Jolly bodies from fetal blood supported the diagnosis of asplenia. Autopsy after termination of pregnancy demonstrated the typical signs of right isomerism. The paper reviews the typical prenatal findings which lead to the detection of right isome-rism in the fetus. Segmental approach should be performed in each fetus with an anomaly of the heart especially in the presence of complex defects.


This project report has been conducted because of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) power plant development performance testing (static test) facilities is not fully deployed. The main purpose of this project is to fabricate a test bed for the UAV propulsion system. To test the capability of measuring aircraft performance namely thrust, available power, brake shaft power, propulsive efficiency, brake specific fuel consumption and thrust coefficient. In this study, the test bed model was designed to test the nitro engine Radio Control (RC) which is a model of Thunder Tiger PRO .36. The unknown value of parameters can be determined by reading the sensors. Some sketches software had been used such as Autocad and Solidwork to draft out the shape of the test bed. The fabrication process for this project must through a lot of process that must be followed step by step. This is to ensure that the design had been fabricated by following the design specification. From this experiment, the result shows that the fabricated test bed can be used to study the engine performance and performance parameters are directly proportional to the engine speed which mean the speed of the engine affects the increasing of the parameters. Some methods of improvement for the combination of test bed are also provided for further improvement of the test bed. As the conclusion, all the engine performance parameter can be calculated from the test bed.


The present paper seeks to highlight the appearance of air pollution in Calarasi region on the basis of the annual reports of the environment in recent years and of the integrated air quality management for Cǎlǎraşi (data are presented about current and future emissions and concentrations of pollutants) I tried to mark out the impurity of the atmospheric air from this area.Emission data interpretation was made on the basis of the inventory of emissions of pollutants in the air made for fixed and mobile sources in Calarasi town in recent years using the program Corinvent and Corinair emission factors, and imissions data were used to monitor the air quality monitoring network air quality. The index of the quality of the air showed the highest values in winter.There have been occasional instances of the limit provided by law for particulate matter PM10, Calarasi, or being the intense traffic, the topoclimate in summer periods with high temperatures and deficient pluviometric regime, but also because housing fuel winter warming solid. There major problems of environmental pollution of air quality in Calarasi town that falls within the limits imposed by the legislation in force. This is due especially to the fact that many industrial centres have been closed.


Lettuce drop, caused by the soilborne fungi Sclerotinia minor and S. sclerotiorum, continues to be an important disease on this crop in Arizona. Trials were conducted over a 5-year period to compare different fungicides as well as the number, timing, and method of application. Compared with nontreated plots, disease reduction ranging from 49.6 to 61.0% was achieved on lettuce beds containing S. minor and treated with fluopyram + trifloxystrobin, fluazinam, fluxapyroxad + pyraclostrobin, and boscalid. Treatment of beds containing S. sclerotiorum with Coniothyrium minitans, iprodione, and boscalid reduced lettuce drop from 50.6 to 71.5%. No difference in disease control was noted between one and two applications of boscalid in plots containing either pathogen. In the presence of S. minor, beginning the first of two applications of boscalid after seeding did not differ from starting after thinning; however, in plots containing S. sclerotiorum, starting application after seeding was superior to beginning after thinning. Physical incorporation of soil treated with boscalid to a depth of 5.0 cm did not differ from soil treatment without incorporation in plots containing S. minor or S. sclerotiorum. On the other hand, in beds containing S. sclerotiorum, incorporation of soil treated with iprodione improved disease control compared with no incorporation.


In this paper, a model of the patterns of correlation in Wikipedia, reach and richness, lays the foundation for studying whether or not the free web-based encyclopedia Wikipedia is only for developed countries. Wikipedia is used in this paper, as an illustrative case study for the enormous rise of the so-called Web 2.0 applications, a subject which has become associated with many golden promises: Instead of being at the outskirts of the global economy, the development of free or low-cost internet-based content and applications, makes it possible for poor, emerging, and transition countries to compete and collaborate on the same level as developed countries. Based upon data from 12 different Wikipedia language editions, we find that the central structural effect is on the level of human development in the current country. In other words, Wikipedia is in general, more for rich countries than for less developed countries. It is suggested that policy makers make investments in increasing the general level of literacy, education, and standard of living in their country. The main managerial implication for businesses, that will expand their social network applications to other countries, is to use the model of the patterns of correlation in Wikipedia, reach and richness, as a market screening and monitoring model.


In the central nervous system (CNS), the synapse is a specialized junctional complex by which axons and dendrites emerging from diŠerent neuron intercommunicates. Changes in the e‹ciency of synaptic transmission are important for a number of aspects of neural function. Much has been learned about the activity-dependent synaptic modiˆcations that are thought to underlie memory storage, but the mechanism by which these modiˆcations are stored remains unclear. Thus, it is important to ˆnd and characterize ``memory molecules,'' and ``memory apparatus or memory forming apparatus.'' A good candidate for the storage mechanism is Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaM kinase II). CaM kinase II is one of the most prominent protein kinases, present in essentially every tissue but most concentrated in the brain. Neuronal CaM kinase II regulates important neuronal functions, including neurotransmitter synthesis, neurotransmitter release, modulation of ion channel activity, cellular transport, cell morphology and neurite extension, synaptic plasticity, learning and memory, and gene expression. Studies concerning this kinase open a door of the molecular basis of nerve function, especially learning and memory, and indicate one direction for the studies in the ˆeld of neuroscience. This review presents molecular structure, properties and functions of CaM kinase II, as a major component of neuron, which are mainly developed in our laboratory.


Plants, as living systems, depend simultaneously on their internal status and their surroundings. Changes in plants' surroundings, generated by different environmen‐ tal factors (abiotic stress), could perturb existing homeostasis, thus imposing stress. Abiotic stress includes heat, cold, freezing, flooding, drought (refers to water deficit), weak or strong light, oxygen deficiency or sufficiency, increased UV or other ionising rays, high salinity or acidity of the soil, deficiency or sufficiency of mineral elements, and presence of pollutants (xenobiotics). The effect of each abiotic factor depends on its severity, duration, developmental stage of the plant and its susceptibility to stress. During stress, requirements for energy increase (with increased intensity of respiration —domination of exergonic processes) as well as entropy. Variations in environmen‐ tal factors could push the plant's metabolism out of homeostasis. In order to reestab‐ lish it, smaller or higher amounts of energy are required. The intention to increase the yield (grain or biomass production) of cultivated plants requires additional energy for successful completion of their life cycle, which makes them especially susceptible to stressful environments. From this point, the necessity to develop tolerant genotypes, which require less energy for maintaining homeostasis, arises.


Abstract:Christina Sharpe responds to engagements with In the Wake: On Blackness and Being by Régine Jean-Charles, Rinaldo Walcott, and Tezeru Teshome (with K. Wayne Yang). In her response to their questions and elaborations around voice, freedom, resistance, and subjectivity, Sharpe reprises her discussion of an ordinary note of care and her readings of some of the images of black girls and women that appeared in In the Wake. Sharpe then expands her attention to questions of care as theory and practice both in In the Wake and in her current book project, Black. Still. Life.


Knowledge producers of Romani ethnicity, like the people to whom they belong, both inside and outside normative frameworks governing development modes and the transmission of knowledge, are hampered profoundly by three fundamental ethical credentials of being: the power to say, the power to act, and the power to collect their own lives into a comprehensible and acceptable story. Due to an historical process of epistemological alienation which appeared with the Enlightenment, it has been impossible for Romani subjects to have as their duty, their responsibility to the world, the power to act. Through a "Foucauldian archaeology" on Romani iconography in the Louvre and Prado collections, and using as a methodological presupposition historical and epistemological decolonial thought, this paper will try to advance the understanding of the genealogy of abnormativity by referring to the study of the Romani motif in the arts. The analysis of the pictographic treatment allows us to understand how those "topoi" responded to religious, ethical-moral, and geopolitical imperatives of majority society in a dialectic that oscillates between formal presence and ontological absence from the fifteenth to nineteenth centuries. The arrival of the Roma in fifteenth-century Europe, in full epistemological caesura, between a dying hermeneutic age and the age of the nascent cogito, conditions a radical change in the consideration of Romani alterity. Indeed, this alteration of the Romani alterity experience by mainstream societies constitutes a paradigmatic example of epistemicidiary structural dynamics and idiomicidiaries born of the slime of "historical modernity."


We focus on the problem of class-agnostic instance segmentation of LiDAR point clouds. We propose an approach that combines graph-theoretic search with data-driven learning: it searches over a set of candidate segmentations and returns one where individual segments score well according to a data-driven point-based model of "objectness". We prove that if we score a segmentation by the worst objectness among its individual segments, there is an efficient algorithm that finds the optimal worst-case segmentation among an exponentially large number of candidate segmentations. We also present an efficient algorithm for the average-case. For evaluation, we repurpose KITTI 3D detection as a segmentation benchmark and empirically demonstrate that our algorithms significantly outperform past bottom-up segmentation approaches and top-down object-based algorithms on segmenting point clouds.


The purpose of this paper is to forge a theoretical framework, which can enable the study of how states construct foreign policy towards non-state actors, which are both ideological as well as transnational in character. It tries to examine the role of an 'epistemic community' (Haas, Peter, 1989, 138) composed of academic scholars, journalists affiliated with both the print as well as the electronic media corporations, and policy analysts associated with think tanks, research centers and policy institutes, in the shaping of this policy. While this paper is not a case study, it formulates the theory by applying it to a contemporary scenario. In this regard, it makes reference to how the United States has shaped its possible policy toward the phenomenon of Islamism, which manifests itself in the shape of multiple ideological and transnational non-state actors. These are the sundry moderate, radical, and militant Islamist groups seeking to create Islamic states all across the Muslim world and beyond.


Electric welding with energy stored in condensers offers the advantage of a reduced welding power and a better balance of the energy supplied in the joining area of the components. It can also supply hard thermal regimes in a short time, while the heat is generated only by the contact resistance. This is a major advantage for welding materials with high thermal conductivity, among which are the copper "based shape memory alloys. Since the energy accumulation only needs a few seconds and is released in very short time, it has favorable influence on welding, so that the effect on the shape memory effect is reduced. The paper details the process of electric stored-energy point welding, the structural and phase transitions in the welded seam and in the heat affected zone, as well as the influence of the welding process on the shape memory effect.


A review of publications on breast self-examination (BSE) up to the middle of 1991 showed that evidence supporting BSE has strengthened since 1989. BSE is associated with a smaller size of tumor at diagnosis and has the potential to reduce breast cancer mortality. Mortality reduction is likely to be achieved only if BSE is competently performed and if appropriate diagnostic follow-up is accessible. Because screening is justified when preclinical disease is prevalent, BSE practice is important for women 40 years of age and older.


The paper presents results of a partial experimental programme carried out within the project EUREKA E! 2462 TRUS, which aim is to demonstrate a novel form of hybrid electric drive line without the need for overhead lines. The zero emissions public transport vehicle is based on a hybrid electric drive line with novel, strongly innovative features. The concept includes the use of a small on-board energy storage unit (flywheel) to store the energy that would otherwise be lost on braking. Results of an experimental complex programme of an evaluation of static mechanical and fatigue properties of long glass-fibre reinforced polyester composite material with biaxial or multiaxial structures, respectively, to be used for a manufacture of the flywheel hub disc are presented in the paper. It was shown that results of interlaminar shear fatigue strength of the disc mostly almost correspond to those obtained on basic material – biaxial GRP plates and are close to results obtained on a similar uniaxial GRP used for railways springs. Some ascertained differences are discussed.


AbstractThis paper addresses the development of an integrated system to support maritime situation awareness based on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), emphasizing the role of the automatic detection subsystem. One of the main topics of research in the SEAGULL project was
 the automatic detection of sea vessels from sensors onboard the UAV, to help human operators in the generation of situational awareness of maritime events such as (a) detection and geo-referencing of oil spills or hazardous and noxious substances, (b) tracking systems (e.g., vessels, shipwrecks,
 lifeboats, debris), (c) recognizing behavioral patterns (e.g., vessels rendezvous, high-speed vessels, atypical patterns of navigation), and (d) monitoring environmental parameters and indicators. We describe a system composed of optical sensors, an embedded computer, communication systems,
 and a vessel detection algorithm that can run in real time in the embedded UAV hardware and provide to human operators vessel detections with low latency, high precision rates (about 99%), and suitable recalls (>50%), which is comparable to other more computationally intensive state-of-the-art
 approaches. Field test results, including the detection of lifesavers and multiple vessels in red-green-and-blue (RGB) and thermal images, are presented and discussed.


James Joyce's interest in medicine has been well established--he attempted to embark on medical studies no fewer than three times--but a comprehensive assessment of the influence his interest in medicine had on his work has been lacking until now. Joyce, Medicine, and Modernity fills that gap as the first sustained study of Joyce's artistic uses of turn-of-the-century medical discourses. In this wide-ranging study, author Vike Plock balances close readings of Joyce's major texts with thorough archival research that retrieves principal late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century medical debates. The result is a fascinating book that details the ways in which Joyce reconciled, integrated, and blurred the paradigmatic boundaries between scientific and humanist learning.


Interviews with local people and a survey were carried out in 23 counties of south-west Guangxi Province from April 2002 to June 2003 to evaluate the conservation status of François' langur Trachypithecus francoisi and assess the extent and nature of threats to the species' survival. François' langurs were found in only 10 counties compared with their presence in 23 counties before 1990. The total population size is estimated to be 307 individuals in 14 isolated populations. This represents a 90% decrease in population size since the early 1980s and an 85% decrease since the mid 1990s. The primary threat to the langur is hunting, mainly for traditional medicine. Our results suggest that conservation efforts for the species have been ineffectual during the last decade and, even within reserves, few direct management measures seem to have been taken to protect and conserve the langurs. Without the instigation of such measures it seems likely that François' langur will disappear both inside and outside reserves. To ensure the long-term survival of Francois' langur in Guangxi Province increased investment and improved management, planning, and training of reserve managers and staff is required, with a particular focus on the key remaining reserves and sites for the langur. Some of this work is now underway.


ABSTRACT We investigate whether macroeconomic factors adequately proxy for systematic influences in stock returns within the South African context. We also investigate whether a commonly used solution to factor omission in macroeconomic factor models, the residual market factor, adequately reflects systematic influences not reflected by a set of macroeconomic factors. Our contribution lies in precisely quantifying the ability of macroeconomic and residual market factors to proxy for systematic drivers of returns. Systematic influences are represented by statistically derived factor scores which are then related to a set of carefully selected macroeconomic factors. We find that the identification of macroeconomic factors that proxy for systematic influences is a challenge in itself. Once identified, macroeconomic factors are poor and unstable proxies for systematic influences and the use of a residual market factor does not significantly improve the approximation of factor scores. Our conclusion is that macroeconomic linear factor models are likely to be underspecified, even if a residual market factor is included. This has implications for researchers, investors, econometricians and economists that rely on macroeconomic factor models to study financial markets.


The problem under investigation in this study is the determination of the usefulness of the concept of saving set forth by John M. Keynes in his The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, both as a method of prediction and prevention of business cycles and as a conceptual framework which is for use in explaining past economic activity, particularly economic growth. The study has a twofold purpose. The first is to evaluate the workability of the Keynesian definitions when applied to existing sources of economic data; to see if a meaningful savings aggregate is a statistical possibility. The second is to attempt to explain in terms of related parts of the rest of Keynes' theoretical system the conclusions reached under the first purpose above.


Abstract. Cochlodinium polykrikoides (C. polykrikoides) is a phytoplankton that causes red tides every year in the middle of the South Sea of Korea. C. polykrikoides is a harmful Algae that has migratory ability and causes the fisheries damage over a long period of wide sea area if it causes red tide once. To minimize red tide damage, it is important to anticipate and prepare the red tide occurrence timing and location in advance. In this study, we predicted the occurrence of red tide of C. polykrikoides using machine learning techniques and compared the results of each algorithm. Logistic regression model, decision tree model, and multilayer neural network model were used for prediction of red tide occurrence. To produce the data set for model learning, we used the red tide occurrence map provided by the National Institute of Fisheries Science, the Local Data Assimilation and Prediction System (LDAPS) provided by the Korea Meteorological Agency, and the G1SST provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The feature vectors used for modeling consisted of 59 elements, which were made by using temperature, water temperature, precipitation, solar radiation, wind direction and wind speed. Only a very small number of red tide cases can be collected compared to the case of no red tide cases. Thus, an imbalance data problem arises in the data set. To overcome this imbalanced data problem, we used adding noise after oversampling to data of red tide occurrence to solve the difference of data between two classes.The data set is divided into 8 : 2 to prevent over-fitting and 80% is used as the learning data. The remaining 20% was used to evaluate the performance of each model. As a result of evaluating the prediction performance of each model, the multilayer neural network model showed the highest prediction accuracy.


In a realistic distributed storage environment, storage nodes are usually placed in racks, a metallic support designed to accommodate electronic equipment. It is known that the communication (bandwidth) cost between nodes which are in the same rack is much lower than between nodes which are in different racks.
In this paper, a new model, where the storage nodes are placed in two racks, is proposed and analyzed. Moreover, the two-rack model is generalized to any number of racks. In this model, the storage nodes have different repair costs depending on the rack where they are placed. A threshold function, which minimizes the amount of stored data per node and the bandwidth needed to regenerate a failed node, is shown. This threshold function generalizes the ones given for previous distributed storage models. The tradeoff curve obtained from this threshold function is compared with the ones obtained from the previous models, and it is shown that this new model outperforms the previous ones in terms of repair cost.


Digital filters suitable for hearing aid application on low power perspective have been developed and implemented in FPGA in this dissertation.
Hearing aids are primarily meant for improving hearing and speech comprehensions. Digital hearing aids score over their analog counterparts. This happens as digital hearing aids provide flexible gain besides facilitating feedback reduction and noise elimination. Recent advances in DSP and Microelectronics have led to the development of superior digital hearing aids. Many researchers have investigated
several algorithms suitable for hearing aid application that demands low noise, feedback cancellation, echo cancellation, etc., however the toughest challenge is the
implementation. Furthermore, the additional constraints are power and area. The device must consume as minimum power as possible to support extended battery life and should be as small as possible for increased portability. In this thesis we have made an attempt to investigate possible digital filter algorithms those are hardware configurable on low power view point.
Suitability of decimation filter for hearing aid application is investigated. In this dissertation decimation filter is implemented using 'Distributed Arithmetic' approach.While designing this filter, it is observed that, comb-half band FIR-FIR filter
design uses less hardware compared to the comb-FIR-FIR filter design. The power consumption is also less in case of comb-half band FIR-FIR filter design compared to
the comb-FIR-FIR filter. This filter is implemented in Virtex-II pro board from Xilinx and the resource estimator from the system generator is used to estimate the resources.

However 'Distributed Arithmetic' is highly serial in nature and its latency is high; power consumption found is not very low in this type of filter implementation.
So we have proceeded for 'Adaptive Hearing Aid' using Booth-Wallace tree multiplier. This algorithm is also implemented in FPGA and power calculation of the whole system is done using Xilinx Xpower analyser. It is observed that power consumed by the hearing aid with Booth-Wallace tree multiplier is less than the hearing aid using Booth multiplier (about 25%). So we can conclude that the hearing aid using Booth-Wallace tree multiplier consumes less power comparatively.
The above two approached are purely algorithmic approach. Next we proceed to combine circuit level VLSI design and with algorithmic approach for further possible reduction in power.
A MAC based FDF-FIR filter (algorithm) that uses dual edge triggered latch (DET) (circuit) is used for hearing aid device. It is observed that DET based MAC FIR filter consumes less power than the traditional (single edge triggered, SET) one (about 41%). The proposed low power latch provides a power saving upto 65% in the FIR filter. This technique consumes less power compared to previous approaches that uses low power technique only at algorithmic abstraction level.
The DET based MAC FIR filter is tested for real-time validation and it is observed that it works perfectly for various signals (speech, music, voice with music). The gain of the filter is tested and is found to be 27 dB (maximum) that matches with most of the hearing aid (manufacturer's) specifications. Hence it can be concluded that FDF FIR digital filter in conjunction with low power latch is a strong candidate for hearing aid application.


The self-organizing learning algorithm of Kohonen and most of its extensions are controlled by two learning parameters, the learning coefficient and the width of the neighborhood function, which have to be chosen empirically because neither rules nor methods for their calculation exist. Consequently, often time-consuming parameter studies precede neighborhood-preserving feature maps of the learning data. To circumvent those lengthy numerical studies, this article describes the learning process by a state-space model in order to use the linear Kalman filter algorithm training the feature maps. Then the Kalman filter equations calculate the learning coefficient online during the training, while the width of the neighborhood function needs to be estimated by a second extended Kalman filter for the process of neighborhood preservation. The performance of the Kalman filter implementation is demonstrated on toy problems as well as on a crab classification problem. The results of crab classification are compared to those of generative topographic mapping, an alternative method to the self-organizing feature map.


The material characterization on the weak points of the structural systems is essential to evaluate safety accurately. However, general material characterization methods such as uniaxial tensile test and CTOD (crack tip opening displacement) test are destructive, therefore, it cannot be applied to the system in use. To overcome this problem, the material characterization using instrumented indentation technique was developed. However, current researches on instrumented indentation technique focus on the hardness measurement. The evaluation of flow property, residual stress and fracture toughness using instrumented indentation technique is not sufficiently performed. In this paper, we introduce the evaluation method of the flow property, the residual stress near the weldment and the fracture toughness developed from damage mechanics. The algorithm of flow property evaluation, the residual stress evaluation model and the fracture toughness model by using indentation were verified comparing with the experimental results.


A newly developed material, which we call biocement, consisting of bisphenol-a-glycidyl methacry-later` ('epoxide methacrylate') as organic matrix and Bio-ceramic Battelle, Bioglass Hench and/or pentacalcium hydroxide triphosphate ('tri-calcium phosphate') powder as filling particles is presented. In an extension of previous experiments, various types of this biocement, containing different admixtures of paniculate matter, were employed to test their usefulness in head surgery, in particular maxillo-facial reconstruction, on dogs and a rhesus monkey. Encouraging results were obtained with regard to (a) fixing a titanium alloimplant under some degree of mechanical stress; (b) covering a defect in the skull cap, including the closure of an artificially induced meningeal fistula with liquorrhea; and (c) reconstruction of defects in the anterior wall of frontal sinuses. Spescial emphasis is placed on direct contact between biocement and bone, interdigitations between these two, reactions of meningeal tissue, ...


This article estimates the fee for a credit guarantee that can enhance a renewable energy project bond to a targeted rating and discusses the risk exposure assessment of a participating financial institution, a development finance institution (DFI), and an institutional investor under the guarantee structure. A solar power developer in India is operating a solar power project through a special purpose vehicle (SPV). An institutional investor, operating within the Solvency II framework, wants to invest in the project bond to be issued by this SPV, but only if the bond is domestically rated at least AA. By improving the green bond's risk–return profile, the partial credit guarantee will catalyze the participation of investors who otherwise would not have participated. The guarantee fee is estimated using two different approaches: 1) the equivalence premium principle using the simulated cash flows and 2) the expected cost methodology using the default rates and loss given default obtained from the credit ratings. The cost of a counter guarantee provided by the DFI is estimated using the loss costs by layer of guarantee coverage.


Fully updated, this revised edition describes the statistical aspects of both the design and analysis of trials, with particular emphasis on the more recent methods of analysis.About 8000 clinical trials are undertaken annually in all areas of medicine, from the treatment of acne to the prevention of cancer. Correct interpretation of the data from such trials depends largely on adequate design and on performing the appropriate statistical analyses. This book provides a useful guide to medical statisticians and others faced with the often difficult problems of designing and analysing clinical trials.


The composition range of tetrahedrite in the Cu-Sb-S system has been redetermined in detail at 300 degrees C, 355 degrees C, 400 degrees C, 500 degrees C, and 540 degrees C. The results at 500 degrees C and 540 degrees C are essentially similar to those of Skinner et al. (1972).Within the temperature range between 300 degrees C and 350 degrees C, the pseudotetrahderite solid solution has a narrow composition field along the Cu 2 S-Sb 2 S 3 join. Above 350 degrees C it merges with the tetrahedrite solid solution.Below 250 degrees C, tetrahedrite and pseudotetrahedrite solid solutions become unstable and both decompose finally to mixtures of famatinite, digenite, and elemental antimony.However, if the homogeneous tetrahedrite solid solution is quenched to room temperature from a temperature above 300 degrees C, it decomposes to form two solid phases. If these phases subsequently are heated to 95 degrees C, they react to form one homogeneous phase.


− Mechatronic Systems are characterised by interacting subsystems of different types. To model this class of dynamic systems an interdisciplinary approach is required. In this paper a way to model a controlled hydromechanical system using three different kinds of simulation tools is presented. The mechanical system, described in MOBILE, is coupled with a DSHplus model of the hydraulic system and a controller modelled in MATLAB/SIMULINK. This concept is applied to the oscillating boom of a concrete pump.


PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES
To chart the incidence and course of three types of arm morbidity (lymphedema, pain, and range of motion [ROM] restrictions) in women with breast cancer 6-12 months after surgery and the relationship between arm morbidity and disability.

DESIGN
Longitudinal mixed methods approach.

SETTING
Four sites across Canada.

SAMPLE
347 patients with breast cancer 6-12 months after surgery at first point of data collection.

METHODS
Incidence rates were calculated for three types of arm morbidity, correlations between arm morbidity and disability were computed, and open-ended survey responses were compiled and reviewed.

MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES
Lymphedema, pain, ROM, and arm, shoulder, and hand disabilities.

FINDINGS
Almost 12% of participants experienced lymphedema, 39% reported pain, and about 50% had ROM restrictions. Little overlap in the three types of arm morbidity was observed. Pain and ROM restrictions correlated significantly with disability, but most women did not discuss arm morbidity with healthcare professionals.

CONCLUSIONS
Pain and ROM restrictions are prevalent 6-12 months after surgery, but lymphedema is not. Pain and ROM restrictions are associated with disability.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING
Screening for pain and ROM restrictions should be part of breast cancer follow-up care. Left untreated, arm morbidity could have a long-term effect on quality of life. Additional research into the longevity of various arm morbidity symptoms and possible interrelationships also is required.


Biocides, such as formaldehyde (HCHO), sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) and glutaraldehyde (C5H8O2) that are commonly used in thermal, desalination and power plants and industries were tested on the commercially important mullet fish, Liza klunzingeri to determine the environmental contamination in the stressed ecosystem of Kuwait Bay sites. Multi-factor Probit analysis toxicity tests (96 h) on L. klunzingeri showed the lowest observed effective concentration (LOEC) and median lethal concentration (LC50) with NaOCl (0.019 and 0.027 μg L-1) followed by HCHO (0.058 and 0.157 μg L-1) and C5H8O2 (0.056 and 0.072 μg L-1). Site-wise analysis in the absence of feed showed high biocides toxicity in L. klunzingeri reared in seawater from Site I when compared to Sites II-III. Experiments were conducted (2-9 months) by rearing fish separately in seawater collected from three Kuwait Bay sites to test the bio-accumulated toxicity levels at LOEC of biocides fed fish using Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) calculation. The lowest FCR was observed in fish fed with biocides in the sequence of NaOCl (0.40-1.1) followed by C5H8O2 (0.91-1.2) and HCHO (0.92-1.3) as well as with fish reared in seawater from Site I followed by Site II and Site III. High FCR was recorded in control (1.2-1.6) without the addition of biocides. These results exemplify the use of L. klunzingeri as an indicator species and may characterize a better quantification of biocides bioaccumulation using FCR calculation in mullet fish.


Thermalizing quantum systems are conventionallydescribed by statistical mechanics at equilib-rium. However, not all systems fall into this category, with many-body localization providinga generic mechanism for thermalization to fail in strongly disordered systems. Many-bodylocalized (MBL) systems remain perfect insulators at nonzero temperature, which do notthermalize and therefore cannot be describedusing statistical mechanics. This Colloquiumreviews recent theoretical and experimental advances in studies of MBL systems, focusing onthe new perspective provided by entanglement and nonequilibrium experimental probes suchas quantum quenches. Theoretically, MBL systems exhibit a new kind of robust integrability: anextensive set of quasilocal integrals of motion emerges, which provides an intuitive explanationof the breakdown of thermalization. A description based on quasilocal integrals of motion isused to predict dynamical properties of MBL systems, such as the spreading of quantumentanglement, the behavior of local observables, and the response to external dissipativeprocesses. Furthermore, MBL systems can exhibit eigenstate transitions and quantum ordersforbidden in thermodynamic equilibrium. An outline isgiven of the current theoretical under-standing of the quantum-to-classical transitionbetween many-body localized and ergodic phasesand anomalous transport in the vicinity of that transition. Experimentally, synthetic quantumsystems, which are well isolated from an external thermal reservoir, provide natural platforms forrealizing the MBL phase. Recent experiments with ultracold atoms, trapped ions, superconductingqubits, and quantum materials, in which different signatures of many-body localization have beenobserved, are reviewed. This Colloquium concludes by listing outstanding challenges andpromising future research directions.


Reactive and consequently scar-forming glial cells, particularly astrocytes, are implicated in the inability of mammalian spinal cords to regenerate following spinal cord injury (SCI). Thus, it is relevant to study pharmacological methods of manipulating these cells, which could result in efficacious treatments for SCI in humans. The current study used larval sea lampreys (Petromyzon marinus), because lampreys can functionally recover from a spinal cord transection, making them a relevant model organism for studying how the process of physiological recovery may be sped up. Lampreys were given either a single injection of 27 μM curcumin, an established antiinflammatory compound, or a vehicle not containing curcumin immediately following spinal cord transection and allowed to recover for 24 hours or one week. To assess the effects of curcumin on glial cells, spinal cord slices were labeled with an anti-cytokeratin antibody, LCM29, that labels lamprey glial cytoskeleton. There were no significant differences in immunoreactivity of the LCM29 antibody between vehicleand curcumin-injected groups as measured by mean pixel value, or as measured by the standard deviations of these means. Despite the overall lack of significant main effects of curcumin according to these quantitative measures, there were distinct visual differences between spinal cord slices from curcuminand vehicle-injected animals. While curcumin did not affect the overall levels of glial filaments, it may affect the uniformity of location of these filaments by attenuating the development of darker patches (decreased expression of glial filaments) and brighter patches (increased expression of glial filaments) seen in slices from vehicle-injected lampreys. Future studies should continue investigating curcumin for its ability or inability to attenuate reactive glial cells and explore new methods for quantifying glial reactivity.


Mercuric Chloride (HgCl2) is one of the most toxic heavy metal which induces oxidative stress in the body. And also it acts as a neurotoxin. Mercury contamination in drinking water and inhalation appears to be serious and causes metabolic, functional and structural damages in the brain. This study aims to evaluate the protective effect of Resveratrol in mercuric chloride-induced neurotoxicity. Neurotoxicity was induced by drinking water containing 1.29mg/kg of mercuric chloride (HgCl2) for 21 days. Neurotoxicity induced by mercuric chloride was assessed by behavioral, biochemical and Histopathological studies. There is decrease in muscle strength by rota rod, locomotor activity by actophotometer, number of entries into closed and open arms by elevated plus maze test, time spent in central squares by open field test in mercuric chloride treated group compared to normal control. There is increase in antioxidant parameters like malondialdehyde (MDA) and decrease in catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), AChE activity and reduced glutathione in mercuric chloride treated group when compared to control group. Administration of Resveratrol significantly (P<0.05) attenuated the behavioral, biochemical and Histopathological changes. Resveratrol is generally available in all the daily consumed grape fruits and vegetables. Finally we conclude that mercuric chloride intoxication in water can be detoxified by Resveratrol which is naturally present in daily consumed food.


Since a large fraction of statisticians use their trade by interacting with nonstatisticians working on applied problems, this book should have broad appeal. The authors have developed a diverse and readable book that tackles many aspects of consulting in good proportion. It describes the consulting process and common statistical methodologies, strategies of effective communication skills, and provides a broad range of case studies as a means of gaining consultingrelated experience. It illustrates what information a consultant needs to obtain from the client, and what motivates those needs. Although there are other books that effectively tackle the individual aspects described above, this book seems to be the one most ideally suited to teaching a well-rounded statistics course at the undergraduate or graduate level. Derr (2000) did a more thorough job of dealing with all aspects of oral and written communication, since that is the primary focus of her book. Boen and Zahn (1982) discussed the business aspects of being a consultant more comprehensively. Spurrier (2000) and ChatŽ eld (1988) gave a more complete overview of statistical methods and the problem-solving aspects of determining an appropriate method for a particular situation. Other sources for case studies, ranging from straightforward to quite advanced, are Holcomb (2002), Peters and Gray (1994), Spurrier (2000), and Andrews and Herzberg (1985). Statistical Consulting gives informative and self-contained discussions for the many aspects of consulting in balanced proportions that would make using the book for a textbook delightfully straightforward. The collection of case studies is diverse in disciplines considered and level of difŽ culty, and seems to focus on interesting problems that students will Ž nd highly motivating. The book is divided into two major parts: The Ž rst part, called the Methodology of Statistical Consulting, discusses the communication and statistical skills that a statistical consultant needs to be successful. The second part consists of three collections of increasingly complex case studies. Details of some of the contents of individual chapters are given in the following. Chapter 1 gives an overview of the scientiŽ c method and addresses where a statistician should actively seek to contribute. As well, it discusses broad categories of problems commonly found in Ž ve major areas where statisticians are typically employed. This chapter gives a context for the discussions in the remainder of the book and does a superior job of giving students an overview of their possible roles in a number of careers. Chapter 2 addresses oral and written communication skills commonly used by consultants. Chapter 3 discusses a wide array of statistical issues and frequently occurring methodologies, with terminology that a moderately sophisticated client would be able to grasp. Statistical methods described range from the elementary to the quite sophisticated. In addition, a good list of textbook references are given to provide a starting point for learning some of the methods presented. Key terminology and ideas of each topic are presented. Given the richness of the list of topics presented, it is clearly beyond the scope of the book to give complete details about any individual topic. The style of presentation of topics is ideal for readers with some general statistical expertise but with no previous exposure to the particular methods. A nice comparison of the statistical software packages SAS and S-Plus is given, outlining some of their relative strengths and weaknesses. The Ž nal chapter in part I of the book provides details of the entire consulting interaction between consultants and clients, from initial contact to Ž nal written report. Excellent information is given about the Ž rst meeting, administrative details, the nature of the correspondence between client and consultant, as well as the thought process of the consultants at various stages of the project. In our graduate-level course in statistical consulting, we frequently teach consulting methods to students who are waiting for their Ž rst real-world experience as a consultant, which occurs partway through the course. This chapter will be particularly beneŽ cial to help students to develop more realistic expectations about the consulting process and their roles in it. Part II of the book contains case studies grouped into categories by their level of complexity. Twelve studies with partial analyses are presented with four from each of three categories, including"simple" (contingency tables, surveys, analysis of variance, and observational study assessment), "more-complicated" (regression, logistic regression, response surface methods, and time series analysis) and "research-oriented" (mixed models and some multivariate methods). SufŽ cient details about the contexts of the problems are given so that the reader has a realistic sense of the importance of each project to the client, the complications faced in analyzing the data, and the requirements for summarizing the results. Unlike so many textbooks, the data in these case studies has the feel of "real data," with inconsistencies, missing values, and multiple responses. Careful tables at the start of each case study make it easy to get a quick sense of the statistical methods suggested for the analysis, and the nature of the data collected. In addition, there are eight additional partial case studies that present only the setting of the problem. The appendixes contain helpful information grouped into several categories. The resources section has links to Web pages where one can obtain datasets for all of the detailed case studies and some of the partial case studies. A second section has basic help for both SAS and S-Plus. The authors have designed this section to get a beginning user started, but it would need to be supplemented with other readily available resources. Overall, this book is a valuable resource for statistical consultants, both beginningand established. As an instructor of a statistical consultingclass, this is a prime candidate for use as a stand-alone textbook in my course, since it contains a desirable balance of materials with statistical methodology, oral and written communication skills, and rich case studies. A sample course outline is given in the book to give suggestions about how to organize a single-semester 15-week project-oriented course around the book. It will make a solid long-term reference for students. Also, for instructors of more traditional senior undergraduate and junior graduate courses, it provides useful case studies to illustrate standard methods in realistic settings that can easily be implemented.


Abstract The phytochemical investigation of the flower and twig extracts of Garcinia mckeaniana yielded a new xanthone, mckeanianone F (1) and a new biphenyl, mckeaniabiphenyl (2) together with 15 known compounds. The isolated compounds were characterized using spectroscopic techniques and mass spectrometry. Some of the isolated compounds from the twigs exhibited antimalarial and cytotoxic activities. Graphical Abstract


Increasing popularity of Cyber Physical System in Industry and automation applications generate a large amount of sensor data using IoT Devices. Majority of these sensed data are materialized in the form of interval events, i.e., event with duration. The temporal relationship between interval events, known as Interval Pattern, has many useful applications like, in human activity detection, patient monitoring and anomaly detection, etc. Existing work on Cyber Physical System have not incorporated the interval event analysis. In this paper, we examine the need of interval pattern discovery in CPS and propose a novel efficient algorithm called STIPA (Shrinkable Temporal Index based Pattern-growth Algorithm) for discovering the frequent interval patterns. Existing pattern-growth based interval pattern mining solutions keep index information in memory whereas index size increases monotonically as the length of pattern increases. As a result, existing solutions are not suitable to run pattern mining algorithm on devices which have limited memory. However, STIPA is equipped with a memory efficient indexing technique whose index size shrinks as the length of prefix increases in interval patterns. Moreover, a compressed interval pattern representation is also introduced which further reduces the memory requirement. Our performance study on synthetic and real-world dataset shows that STIPA demands less memory in comparison to existing techniques and it also outperforms the existing methods in execution time.


Corporate reputation has never been more valuable – or more vulnerable. All of the corporate malfeasance of the past few years in the US not only showed how precious and fleeting reputation is, but it also demonstrated how one company's misdeeds taint an entire industry. Some businesses with superb reputations have found themselves unfairly lumped with the pack of fraudulent companies, and some executives have been dismayed to learn that they are viewed as greedy and unprincipled. One of the most important rules of reputation management is the need for constant vigilance. Companies today are exposed to unprecedented scrutiny through the Internet and 24‐hour all‐news television channels. Business is truly global and information, especially gossip, travels fast. Many people mistakenly equate reputation with corporate social responsibility and ethical behavior. While certainly of growing importance, ethics and social responsibility are but two elements of the equation. Financial performance, the workplace, quality of products and services, corporate leadership, and vision also figure into reputation. There's also that elusive emotional bond between a company and its stakeholders that is central to the most enduring reputations. If they ever hope to maximize the value of their reputations, companies must make reputation management a fundamental part of the corporate culture and value system. Companies must spread the message of reputation management throughout the organization and make employees cognizant of how each and every one of them affects reputation on a daily basis. Reputation must be central to the corporate identity, not merely clever image advertising and manipulative public‐relations ploys.


The Myrtaceae family in Mexico is represented by twelve genera widely distributed in temperate, tropical and semiarid regions. The family has economic importance due mainly to the extraction of wood (from Eucalyptus spp.), of fruit for human use ( Psidium spp.) and to the practice of apiculture (in Eugenia spp.) , among other uses. Several genera representing the family have been recorded in Quintana Roo, among which Eugenia, with several species, is well represented in the tropical rainforest. Wood of this genus has important local uses: poles and pillars used in the construction of rural houses, it has also been used to build railroad (sleepers). Valuable melifer species have also been found. Its wood structure has been poorly studied; therefore this paper describes the anatomy of Eugenia capuli (Schlecht. & Cham.) Berg. and of Eugenia mayana Standley, wich were collected in the common land (ejido) Cafetal Limones, Quintana Roo. The anatomical descriptions, have produced esthetic, macroscopic and microscopic studies using the three typical cuts and dissociated material. A statistical analysis was done using the measurable characters which were determined based on the value of the mean. Botanical data was included in each description. In both species, the wood is light brown, with diffuse-porous and the vessels have simple perforation plates; the axial parenchyma comes in stripes and it is diffused; rays are heterogeneous type I, II, III and libriform fibres. E. mayana is different from E. capuli in that it has axial parenchyma vasicentric, triseriate rays and its fibres have gums.


In the present work the occurrence of surface transformations triggered during chemical and biological leaching of chalcopyrite at 70 °C in basal medium were investigated with the aid of the Rietveld technique. Leaching experiments were conducted in 250 ml shake flasks at 150 rpm, contacting 1 g of a -80 # + 120# chalcopyrite concentrate with 100 ml of iron-free basal medium at pH 1.5 at 70°C. Three different conditions were used: experiment (a) in aerated conditions with basal medium inoculated with Sulfolobus metallicus (4x108 cells/ml); experiment (b) in aerated abiotic conditions; experiment (c) in abiotic conditions under N2 atmosphere. Copper and iron dissolved in solution was analyzed with atomic absorption. Samples of the initial chalcopyrite and the treated samples obtained after 16 days under the various experimental conditions were analyzed by Grazing-Incident X-ray diffraction (GID). The obtained x-ray spectra were then analyzed with the Rietveld refinement technique using the Topas software. Results showed that the initial concentrate consisted mainly of tetragonal chalcopyrite (JCPDS : 37-0471). Chalcopyrite leached under abiotic-anaerobic conditions was crystallographically unaffected. In chalcopyrite leached under aerated abiotic conditions there was evidence of surface texturization showed as preferential orientation to the crystallographical planes ( 3 1 2 ) and (1 1 6). Finally, surface texturization was also observed in chalcopyrite leached under inoculated conditions, but in this case showed as preferential orientation to the crystallographical planes ( 0 2 4 ) and ( 2 2 0). These results give a first evidence of surface texturization phenomena during dissolution of chalcopyrite at 70 °C. They suggest that chalcopyrite dissolution occurs via selective leaching of specific crystallographic planes, and this selectivity is influenced by both the chemical action of oxygen and the microorganism actvity.


The present study investigates the effects of water temperature on digestive enzymes activity and food transit time in Caspian kutum ( Rutilus kutum ) larvae. Caspian kutum larvae (532 ± 0.05 and 543 ± 0.02 mg) were divided into two groups with three replicates and reared at different water temperature i.e. 25.6 ± 0.4°C (T 1 ) and 18.4 ± 0.1°C (T 2 ). At the end of the experiment, sampling of intestine was performed at 0, 1, 3, 5, 8, 16, 24 and 30 h after feeding from each treatment. In T 2 , food was observed until 24 h after feeding and the intestine was empty 29 h after feeding, while in T 1 19 h after feeding the intestine was empty. Digestive enzymes activities were higher in T 2 treatment. The peaks of trypsin and alkaline phosphatase enzymes activity were found 8 h after feeding in T 1 , while occurred 16 h after feeding in T 2 . The highest chymotrypsin and alpha-amylase enzymes activity were observed 5 and 8h after feeding in T 1 and T 2 , respectively. These results confirmed remarkable effects of temperature on food transit time and digestive enzymes activity of Caspian kutum.


The fringing-induced barrier lowering (FIBL) effect of sub-100 nm MOSFETs with high-k gate dielectrics is investigated using a two-dimensional device simulator. An equivalent capacitance theory is proposed to explain the physics mechanism of the FIBL effect. The FIBL effect is enhanced and the short channel performance is degraded with increasing capacitance. Based on equivalent capacitance theory, the influences of channel length, junction depth, gate/lightly doped drain (LDD) overlap length, spacer material and spacer width on FIBL is thoroughly investigated. A stack gate dielectric is presented to suppress the FIBL effect.


In the developing chicken retina, optic fibres migrating to the tectum express on their surfaces several cell adhesion molecules, including Bravo/Nr‐CAM and G4/Ng‐CAM. We have previously described differential distribution along the retinotectal projection and differential modulation by environmental cues for Bravo and G4 and here we further compare the characteristics of these immunoglobulin superfamily molecules. From day 6 of embryonic development (E6) to day 20 (E20), Bravo and G4 were found to coexist in the retinal optic fibre layer. However, while G4 staining was confined to that layer, as development proceeded Bravo staining spread to the plexiform layers and some radial structures of the retina. G4 displayed a dose‐dependent neurite‐outgrowth promoting activity for E6 retinal explants, while Bravo did not support neurite growth. Surprisingly, when the retinal explants were grown on mixtures of the two molecules, a much more vigorous growth of neurites was seen, revealing a synergistic effect. We propose that Bravo and G4, as well as other axonal surface molecules, affect axonal growth in different ways when they are present in combination than when they are alone.


This paper concerns three genes model of synthetic network that carries out many essential functions in living cell. It is designed network of genes with mutual inhibition and/or activation resulting in triple negative, double negative (i.e. positive feedback) or classical negative feedback or positive feedback. Mathematical model which describes these networks is nonlinear. Approximating two main processes as fast and slow, the model results into multiple (specifically, two) time scale model, i.e. singular system which is of reduced dimension. Further, approximating Hill's nonlinear terms with switch-like function, the model results to impulsive or singularly-impulsive model. Also, having in mind that different species might have different number of molecules present, for case of small number of molecules discrete approximation is given, since by nature, the continuum approximation is not valid any more. Further, it is possible to have some species in small number of molecules with discrete approximation, while other species are present in excess so that continuum approximation holds, what results in mixed discrete-continuous model, what is another class of singularly impulsive, i.e. hybrid model. Stability results and responses are given for the biologically plausible set of parameter data.


Felids are among the species most threatened by habitat fragmentation resulting from land-use change. In the Uruguayan Savanna ecoregion, about 30% of natural habitats have been lost, large felids have been eradicated from most of the region, and the impact of anthropogenic threats over the smaller species that remain is unknown. To develop management strategies, it is important to enhance knowledge about species population structure and landscape connectivity, particularly when land-use change will continue and intensify in the next years. In this study, we evaluate the population structure and gene flow of Geoffroy's cat in the Uruguayan Savanna ecoregion. We generated a matrix of 11 microsatellite loci for 70 individuals. Based on Bayesian approaches we found that within the Uruguayan Savanna, Geoffroy's cat shows high levels of genetic variability and no population structure. However, we observed genetic differences between individuals from the Uruguayan Savanna and those from the contiguous ecoregion, the Argentinian Humid Pampa. Four first-generation migrants from Humid Pampa were identified in the Uruguayan Savanna, suggesting a stronger gene flow in the west-east direction. We detected a past bottleneck followed by a subsequent recovery in Geoffroy's cat populations in both ecoregions. These results lay the groundwork to understand the population dynamics and conservation status of Geoffroy's cat in the Uruguayan Savanna ecoregion, and provide baseline data to establish population monitoring.


This exploration is to find out the expected usage of spent sea squander of the inexhaustible
 natural material in supportable earth block fabricating. In such manner, the molecule sizes,
 mineralogical, warm properties of the block crude materials were broadly described from
 physical, spectroscopic and warm insightful techniques, individually. Innovative properties
 including green thickness, straight terminated shrinkage, terminated thickness, water ingestion,
 evident porosity and compressive qualities of the demonstrated blocks were researched. The idea
 of pores and warm conductivity of the demonstrated blocks were likewise learned. The different
 test outcomes show that utilization of sea squander in development could add to financial
 terminating, further develop the fluxing properties of crude materials, also, usefully ease up
 block loads just as improving their warm protection properties.


Low temperature epitaxy (LTE) of SiGe by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) has attracted dramatic attention during the last decade for CMOS and BiCMOS application. LTE relates to a temperature range of 350÷650 °C. The low temperature budget provides the possibility of integrating epitaxy in the process line when the sensitive active parts are already present on the chips. In this case, the benefits of LTE are to avoid the thermal mismatch between different layers in the transistors, preventing damages to the poly gate and to ensure the integrity of thin gate oxide.The challenge to deal with the lowering temperature process is the quality of epitaxial layer. In particular, the low temperature processing results in low growth rates and more oxygen (or water moisture) contamination in the layer growth. For these reasons, particular attention has been paid to islands formation at the interface and within the layer. Choosing appropriate Si precursor, optimizing the growth parameters and reducing oxygen (or moisture) contamination are critical issues for growing high quality epitaxial layers at low temperatures.This thesis work presents the characterization of layers grown using Trisilane (Si3H8), Germane (GeH4) and Hydrochloric acid (HCl) as precursor gases at LTE. Characterization tools were high-resolution scanning electron microscope (HRSEM), Secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS), high-resolution x-ray diffraction (HRXRD) and noise measurements.The results of this work suggest that only electrical measurements are most sensitive way to study the effects of low amounts of contamination on crystal quality of LTE grown structures. It also shows that the presence of HCl in the chamber increases the noise level in these types of structures. This higher level of noise is believed to be a result of higher defect density due to the etching caused by HCl and metal contamination that could arise from the aging and the corrosion of the pipelines.


We identify a border between regular and chaotic quantum dynamics. The border is characterized by a power-law decrease in the overlap between a state evolved under chaotic dynamics and the same state evolved under a slightly perturbed dynamics. For example, the overlap decay for the quantum kicked top is well fitted with [1+(q-1)(t/tau)2](1/(1-q)) (with the nonextensive entropic index q and tau depending on perturbation strength) in the region preceding the emergence of quantum interference effects. This region corresponds to the edge of chaos for the classical map from which the quantum chaotic dynamics is derived.


Clinicians have frequently observed that patients with a passive congestion in the lung due either to a heart condition, or resulting from a pulmonary condition, rarely develop clinical evidences of tuberculosis. A recent exposition of this view was put forward by Sewall,1who described patients with labile vasomotor systems as well as with symptoms of neurasthenia. On physical and roentgen-ray examination, these patients reveal slight sclerosis of the hilum lymph nodes and upper bronchial radiations. These findings, Sewall asserts, are due to a "subtle intoxication" by the tubercle bacillus; they are nonprogressive, and most of the subjects of this toxemia never develop clinical tuberculosis. Passive congestion in the lungs may result from a variety of clinical conditions. Very commonly, pulmonary irritation may occur in the form of bronchitis due to a degeneration in some part of the circulatory system. The lung vessels become engorged and the surface epithelial cells


The solidified microstructure and the modified treatment have been systematic studied for the low carbon high boron Fe-C-B steel. The cast solidified microstructures of the low carbon high boron steel are consisted of the matrix and the boride phases. The matrix phase is consisted of the ferrite, pearlite and a few martensite phases. The boride phases of the hypoeutectic steel are based mainly on the Fe2B phase. With the increasing of the boron content, the Fe2B phase is decreased. When the boron content is excess 2.6wt.%, the boride phases are changed from the single Fe2B phase to the compound structures. Meanwell, the morphologies of the boride phases are transformed from the long strip-shaped and the fish-bone reticular structure to the rosette type. The boride phases of the eutectic steel are mainly the M2B phase. However, for the hypereutectic steel, it are composed of the M23(C, B)6 and B0.7Fe3C0.3 phases. The suitable modifier for the hypoeutectic low carbon high boron steel is the compound modifier 0.2%RE+0.2%Ti. After modified, the reticular boride phases are disconnected. Moreover, there existed some of isolated massive borides. The appropriate modifier for the hypereutectic steel is the compound modifier 0.9%Nb+0.4%RE. After modified, the primary borides are fine refined and tend to round.


BACKGROUND
Klebsiella spp. are among the bacteria most commonly isolated from patients with infections in ICUs. The source of these infections may be the microflora of the patient or the hospital environment. Increasingly, Klebsiella strains are also being isolated from epidemic outbreaks. This situation is largely the result of widespread, irrational antibiotic use, the virulence of the bacterial strains and their ability to survive in the hospital environment. The purpose of this dissertation was to estimate the prevalence of Klebsiella pneumoniae strains isolated from patients hospitalised in a single ICU.

METHODS
Seventy-eight isolates of K. pneumoniae were studied. The identification and the susceptibility to selected antibiotics were tested by an automated system, VITEK2 Compact. For the analysed strains, the production of different beta-lactamases was noted.

RESULTS
Production of ESBL was detected in 64.1% of the K. pneumoniae strains isolated from infections and 74.4% from rectal swabs. Most of the strains were susceptible to imipenem (97.7%) and meropenem (96.1%). Sixty-nine (57.0%) of the analysed strains were identified as multidrug resistant.

CONCLUSION
Most of the analysed Klebsiella pneumoniae strains produced ESBL-beta-lactamases. The frequency of colonisation and infection with multidrug resistant strains of K. pneumoniae in patients hospitalised in the ICU is very high.


We present our XML-based Distributed Metadata Server (Dimes) - which comprises a flexible metadata model, search software, and a Web-based interface - to support multilevel metadata access, and introduce two prototype systems. Our Scientific Data and Information Super Server (SDISS), which is based on Dimes and GDS, solves accurate data-search and outdated data-link problems by integrating metadata with the data systems. On the implementation front, we combine independent components and open-source technologies into a coherent system to dramatically extend system capabilities. Obviously, our approach can be applied to other scientific communities, such as bioinformatics and space science.


Many taxpayers in the Tenth District and elsewhere have become concerned about their state and local government tax burdens. Yet, few citizens are willing to accept fewer public services to ease their tax burdens. As a result, keeping the lid on public spending requires that state and local governments provide services more efficiently. It is believed by many taxpayers that excessive spending and taxation by the state and local government sector are due to too many governments. They urge consolidation, aimed at eliminating duplication of effort, as the best means to increase efficiency. One way consolidation might be achieved is by centralizing the state-local sector, that is, by providing services from the state house rather than from courthouses and city halls. Another way consolidation might be achieved is by merging units of local government. But making governments bigger through consolidation does not necessarily make government more efficient or the public sector smaller. Indeed, some researchers suggest just the opposite--that a greater number of governments in a certain area will reduce the overall size of the public sector in that area. Consolidation of governments is a live issue in the Tenth District, where local governments are abundant and state and local taxes are rising. In Kansas, for example, a legislative committee was charged in 1991 with studying whether efficiency could be improved and taxloads reduced by combining some of the state's 3,800 local governments. The state's economic development agency argued for consolidation, but the Kansas Association of Counties denied that making governmental units bigger would make the public sector run more efficiently. Resolving this debate, in Kansas and elsewhere, will depend partly on how the consolidation of governments will affect the efficiency and overall size of the public sector. This article reviews the evidence on the consolidation argument, especially on how the number of governments and the structure of the state-local sector affect the efficiency and size of the public sector. First, the article describes the state-local sector in the Tenth District. Next, the article examines whether the public sector is likely to be larger overall if consolidation is achieved by increasing the state's share of state-local activity. The article then examines whether consolidating local governments tends to increase their efficiency and reduce the size of government overall--and if so, what types of local government are more likely to gain from consolidation. The article concludes that those interested in controlling tax burdens must look beyond the number of governments and not jump to the conclusion that consolidation inevitably makes government more efficient. THE STATE-LOCAL SECTOR IN THE TENTH DISTRICT Kansas is not alone among district states in having a large number of local governments, nor in its interest in consolidating governments to help curb overall state and local government spending. Indeed, the district has a disproportionate share of the nation's local governments. TYPES OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS In the Tenth District as elsewhere, local governments can be divided into two types of jurisdictions general purpose governments and limited purpose governments. General purpose governments comprise counties, municipalities, and townships. Limited purpose governments comprise independent school districts and special districts, such as fire protection or water supply districts. General purpose governments perform an array of functions. They build and maintain streets, highways, parks, and recreation areas. They also provide health and hospital services, social services, and police and fire protection. And they administer these and other activities. About 40 percent of all local governments in the district are general purpose governments, compared with 47 percent nationwide.(1) Limited purpose governments perform specific functions, such as providing fire protection or operating public schools. …


The distribution of firm performance is much dispersed. Rational behind it is still not fully understood. According to upper echelon theory, top managers' personal characteristics determine firm-level performance. In the spotlight of research is the role of education, which is often referred as proxy for human capital. I provide evidence that firms managed by CEO with MBA degree are on average 5-7 percentage points more productive. Meanwhile, prestige of education is not important. Cross-sectional dataset combining 18 European countries and 15 sectors allows accounting for unobservables at country-sector level. I also address the gap in the literature by analyzing the impact of different types of education. Evidence suggests that the engineering degree is probably the worse option for CEO. Juridical background has limited positive impact on firm performance. Education in economics, finance, accounting, marketing, or fine arts has no effect.


Background: In this study, we investigated the effect of adjuvant coronary endarterectomy in the left anterior descending (LAD) artery on mortality and morbidity in subjects that underwent coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery.

Methods: A total of 140 patients that underwent coronary endarterectomy (CE), performed as an adjuvant to CABG between November 2010 and November 2019, were assigned to one of two groups and examined. Early postoperative outcomes were compared between 30 patients that underwent CE in the LAD (LAD group) and 110 patients that underwent CE in the right and circumflex coronary arteries (non-LAD group).

Results: Atrial fibrillation, renal failure, and re-exploration due to bleeding were more frequent in the LAD group during the early postoperative period. The incidence of postoperative complications in the LAD group (56.7%) and in the non-LAD group (29.1%) were statistically significant (p=0.010). The mortality was 13.3% in the LAD group and 4.5% in the non-LAD group, although no statistically significant difference was found between the groups (p=0.099).

Conclusion: The subjects that underwent CABG and simultaneous LAD endarterectomy may have had higher rates morbidity and mortality due to the presence of a complex vascular structure and additional comorbid factors.


The present study examined the relationship among body composition, measures of self-rated health and activi- ties of daily living in a group of free living elderly aged >60 years belonging to poor economic status. A sample of 147 subjects (82 males, 65 females) from Tirupati suburbs of Andhra Pradesh, India was selected. The subjects were divided into three age groups i.e. 60-69, 70-79 and >80 years for comparison. Mean height, weight, circumferences of waist and hip and waist hip ratio (WHR) were higher in males than females with no difference in body mass index (BMI). However, none of the anthropometric variables showed significant association with age. The majority of the subjects rated them- selves as 'poor' or 'fair' self-rated health and this corresponds well with the lower mean values of anthropometry as well as activities of daily living, well-being and memory and cognitive function, impaired health aids and in general health. Polytomous logistic regression showed that subjects with the highest score on well-being compared to the lowest score rated 0.325 times (CI: 0.124, 0.851; P<0.05) good vs fair. The odds ratio was 0.519 times (CI: 0.206, 1.306) between good vs poor. Regarding BMI, subjects who rated their health as good/fair tended to have BMI in the normal range. In the poor self-rated health group a maximum of 55% of males and 47% of females were below 19 units of BMI, which was reflected in the increase in odds ratio of 1.361 in males and 1.134 in females between good vs poor health ratings. The findings reveal that well-being and BMI are related to self-reported health status.


OBJECTIVE
To report the outcome of double pelvic osteotomy (DPO) for craniodorsal luxation of total hip replacement (THR).

STUDY DESIGN
Retrospective case series.

ANIMALS
Eleven client-owned animals.

METHODS
Dogs with craniodorsal luxation of THR and high angle of lateral opening (ALO) were considered candidates for DPO. The ALO and the version angle (VA) were measured on pre- and post-DPO radiographs. Pre- and post-DPO ALO and VA were compared using a Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Clinical and radiographic outcomes were assessed at 2 and 6 months post-DPO.

RESULTS
Eleven DPOs were performed on 11 dogs after THR luxation. The ALO was reduced from a median of 66.2° (range 37.3-73.1°) to 55.9° (range 13.2-60.0°) (p ≤ .001), and VA increased from a median of 25.6° (range 6.8-51.9°) to 35.3° (range 15.1-51.7°) (p ≤ .03). Craniodorsal luxation recurred in five dogs and was managed with closed reduction (one dog), capsulorrhaphy (one dog), or repositioning of the acetabular cup (three dogs). The median clinical follow-up duration was 19.7 months (range 3.4-73.0). In the long term, seven dogs required explantation (five aseptic loosenings, two infections) (median 8.2 months, range 2.6-50.6).

CONCLUSION
Reluxation was frequent after DPO, 5/11 dogs requiring additional procedures, including three cup revisions. The long-term outcome was considered to be poor due to frequent explantation.

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE
Double pelvic osteotomy may be considered to avoid cup replacement when managing craniodorsal THR luxations in dogs but is not recommended due to high complication rates.


Molecular dynamics simulation using the reactive force field was performed to investigate the stability and formation mechanisms of organic porous thin films made of 1,3,5-tris(4-carboxyphenyl) benzene (BTB) molecules fabricated at the air/water interface. A single-layer honeycomb structure is found to be unstable, whereas thicker films are stable, which is consistent with experimental findings. The slight corrugation of the existing film produces local charge variation that attracts isolated molecules via the Coulomb interaction. When the isolated molecule approaches the film, a hydrogen bond is formed, and then the molecule adjusts the adsorption configuration by itself to maximize both horizontal and vertical intermolecular interactions. The key to the initial hydrogen bond formation is suggested to be the density of the molecules provided in the system as well as the spontaneous alignment of the BTB molecules to the solution/water interface. Our study showed that the BTB film is stable, and the molecules are self-assembled without external forces in the quasi-two-dimensional system. These results suggest that the dominant factor for the film formation at the air/water interface is interactions among BTB molecules and confinement to the two-dimensional space.


The paper presents results of theoretical and experimental studies on the influence of strip temperature reduction at the final stage of the normalizing rolling process in a continuous bar rolling mill on the energy and force parameters. The studies were carried out for 38 mm-diameter round bars of constructional steel S355J2G3 (St52-3 acc. to DIN). At the first stage, numerical modelling of the rolling process was performed for the conditions of the currently used rolling technology. The aim of this stage of the work was to determine the distribution of strip temperature during the rolling process and of strip temperature after the rolling process. The obtained computation results were compared with the measurement results recorded during the actual rolling process using a thermovision camera. A computer program designed for three-dimensional modelling of metal flow during rolling in passes was used for the determination of the distribution of strip temperature during rolling. The second stage of the studies included modelling of the bar rolling technology modified by applying normalizing rolling after introducing accelerated strip cooling at the final stage of rolling. The aim of this stage of the work was to establish the influence of reduced strip temperature on the change in the values of the energy and force parameters of the process. By comparing the computed values of rolling power with those of the permissible power it was found that these values were lower than the permissible power of the rolling machine's main drives installed in the Rolling Mill under analysis. Thus, it was demonstrated that it was possible to implement the process of normalizing rolling in the conditions of the Shape Mill under study.


An ultrasonic computerized complex for measurement of residual and applied stresses UltraMARS® was recently introduced. Average through thickness stresses can be measured based on the acoustic-elasticity effect, according to which the velocity of elastic wave propagation in solids is dependent on the mechanical stress. The system was used successfully in numerous applications proving to be a reliable, fast and economical way to evaluate residual and applied stresses in materials and structures. The newly developed complex was used in a number of applications that called for non-destructive evaluation of stresses. Examples of such applications will be discussed in the paper.The system was further developed to allow for measurement of subsurface and surface stresses in structural materials and made of them structures.Copyright © 2013 by ASME


Biological membranes form the boundaries to cells. They are integral to cellular function, retaining the valuable components inside and preventing access of unwanted molecules. Many different classes of molecules demonstrate disruptive properties to the plasma membrane. These include alcohols, detergents and antimicrobial agents. Understanding this disruption and the mechanisms by which it can be mitigated is vital for improved therapeutics as well as enhanced industrial processes where the compounds produced can be toxic to the membrane. This mini-review describes the most common molecules that disrupt cell membranes along with a range of in vitro liposome-based techniques that can be used to monitor and delineate these disruptive processes.


Stanley Porter and Mark Boda here bring together a group of respected theologians to provide an up-to-date assessment of translation of the New Testament in terms of textual criticism, translation theory, and theology. Each section includes theoretical essays on the interface of a given area with particular issues in translation, followed by applications of the theory to a common passage -- the story of the rich man and Lazarus found in Luke 16:19-31. Advocates of different positions note the translational implications that follow from choosing a particular textual tradition or type over another. These differing perspectives allow for both theoretical diversity and concrete differences in the practice of translation. "Translating the New Testament"concludes with an overall assessment of the field of text criticism and translation studies. Contributors: Barbara Aland Mark J. Boda Philip Comfort Alain Gignac Edith M. Humphrey Luke Timothy Johnson Richard N. Longenecker Matthew Brook O'Donnell Stanley E. Porter Maurice A. Robinson Elsa Tamez Francis Watson Khiok-Khng (K. K.) Yeo"


Background:
 as a Joint Commission (TJC) certified Comprehensive Stroke Center (CSC), we managed a total of 797 cerebral angiogram cases over the last 15 months. During a TJC survey site visit, inconsistencies between post-angiography nursing hand-offs and documentation of assessments were identified. As a result, a large scale process improvement initiative was organized by a team of Stroke Nurse Practitioners. Objectives: The key objective was to improve the post-angiography hand off and assessment performance to > 90%; Complete a work flow analysis of this process and define critical barriers; Compare existing practice to best practice guideline and develop, implement, and evaluate a comprehensive PI plan. Methods: Search of common electronic databases and guidelines to identify post-cerebral angiography complications and evidence based guidelines for post-procedure nursing assessment and transition; Auditing of 100% of the cerebral angiogram cases during the defined time period. Survey of practice policies utilized by other certified CSCs and GWTG sponsored CSC collaborative networking activities; Coordinated development of an EMR based abstraction program for data capture and designed a desktop analysis tools. Results: TJC compliance standard of > 90% performance was demonstrated and sustained. Multiple barriers were identified which lead to the development of targeted interventions associated with nursing practice and policies, electronic order sets that highlighted inconsistency in post-procedure orders and discrepancies in knowledge and practice among nurses. The most crucial intervention proved to be standardization of the cerebral angiogram order sets resulting in an almost immediate 14% improvement. Conclusion: This clinical application project validated the importance of standardizing care practices, pathways, documentation, training and tools to sustain a system wide improvement in post-angiography assessment. The project also demonstrated the value added role of a team of specialized advance practice nurse practitioners and clinical specialists in leading multidisciplinary stroke practice change.


Background: Adequate calcium consumption during early adulthood can help prevent osteoporosis in women. Purpose: The effects of gain-framed, targeted messaging on calcium intake were examined over 12 months. Methods: Young women (18–19 years) not consuming sufficient calcium were randomly assigned to receive standard care materials (control) or gain-framed, targeted materials (experimental). Health belief model (HBM) constructs, calcium intake and markers of bone formation, resorption and bone mineral density were assessed at various time points throughout the year. Results: Calcium intake increased significantly more in the experimental versus the control condition (p < 0.01). Self-efficacy was the only HBM construct to improve significantly more in the experimental condition versus control (p = 0.05). The HBM did not mediate changes in calcium intake. Measures of bone health did not differ between conditions by the end of this nonpharmacological intervention (p's > 0.05). Conclusions: It is possible to increase young women's calcium consumption through gain-framed, targeted messages.


IgM antibodies are one of the fastest growing groups of diagnostic and therapeutic candidates. The large size of IgMs makes their purification very challenging. Bio-Rad has developed a new strong anion exchange resin (AEX), Nuvia HP-Q, to overcome the multiple issues faced when purifying large biomolecules. Purification of an acidic IgM was performed using Nuvia HP-Q Resin, which resulted in good binding and purification. Further polishing of the Nuvia HP-Q eluate pool on the mixed-mode CHT Ceramic Hydroxyapatite Media led to highly pure IgM, with minimal productand process-related impurities. The workflow resulted in >99% IgM purity, as measured by size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and SDS-PAGE analysis. This AEX-based purification platform helps overcome the limitations of traditional ion exchange resins for IgM purification and provides a successful and scalable platform strategy. The purified IgM is suitable for diagnostic applications and potentially for pharmaceutical applications.


The present study aimed to: (1) examine whether experiencing ethnic harassment was related to violent behaviors among immigrant youths (2) identify the conditions that elevate ethnically harassed youth's engagement in violent behaviors. Specifically, current study examined the moderating roles of youth's ethnic identification, anger regulation, and impulsivity on the association between ethnic harassment and violent behaviors. Participants included 341 firstand second-generation immigrant youth (Mage= 14.11, SD =.93; 48 % girls) who were recruited from seven different schools in a mid-size Swedish city. Regression analyses was conducted to test whether ethnic harassment predicted violent behaviors over the course of one year after and whether youth's ethnic identification, anger regulation and impulsive personality trait moderated the association between ethnic harassment and violent behaviors. Results showed that when immigrant youth were exposed to ethnic harassment, they were more likely to display violent behaviors one year later. In addition, the results suggested that immigrant youth who identified themselves with their heritage culture, i.e., high ethnic identification, were more at risk displaying violent behaviors in the case of ethnic harassment. Moreover, the results indicated that anger regulation and impulsive personality trait did not moderate the relationship between ethnic harassment and violence.


Recently, we have proposed the anti symmetric product coding (APC) and odd-multiple-storage (OMS) techniques for lookup-table (LUT) design for memory-based multipliers to be used in digital signal processing applications. Each of these techniques results in the reduction of the LUT size by a factor of two. In this brief, we present a different form of APC and a modified OMS scheme, in order to combine them for efficient memory-based multiplication. The proposed combined approach provides a reduction in LUT size to one-fourth of the conventional LUT. We have also suggested a simple technique for selective sign reversal to be used in the proposed design. It is shown that the proposed LUT design for small input sizes can be used for efficient implementation of high-precision multiplication by input operand decomposition. It is found that the proposed LUT-based multiplier involves comparable area and time complexity for a word size of 8 bits, but for higher word sizes, it involves significantly less area and less multiplication time than the canonical-signed-digit (CSD)-based multipliers. For 16and 32-bit word sizes, respectively, it offers more than 30% and 50% of saving in area–delay product over the corresponding CSD