The Upper Cambrian Deadwood Formation of north-central Montana is composed mainly of fine-grained calcareous sandstone and intercalated silty shale, and contains scattered intraclastic flat- pebble conglomerate. These rocks, typical of many mixed carbonate- siliciclastic, subtidal shelf successions of Proterozoic through Early Ordovician age, are distal storm deposits in which the conglomerates are conventionally thought to record occasional, very high energy events that scoured incipiently cemented layers. In the Deadwood Formation, most sandstone beds have a linear to crudely reticulate pattern of vertical cracks filled with injected silt and clay. The cracks exhibit a consistent northwest-southeast trend, and are very shallow burial deformation structures caused by the passage of seismic waves possibly originating from strong earthquakes in Idaho. Most conglomerates are composed of angular to subangular sandstone intraclasts, the polygonal plan view of which is similar in outline to the areas between cracks in the sandstones. The deformation implied by the cracks, sporadic distribution of conglomerates, high degree of scouring indicated, and angularity of the intraclasts argue that, rather than storms, the conglomerates were generated by occasional tsunamis. The sweep of these tsunamis across the shallow intracratonic sea created extraordinarily strong oscillating bottom currents at the deeper reaches of storm wave base. "Tsunamites" are therefore identified with confidence virtually for the first time in shallow subtidal shelf deposits.


Case studies suggest that ethnic groups with autonomous institutional arrangements are more prone to secede, but other evidence indicates that autonomy reduces the likelihood of secession. To address this debate, we disaggregate their autonomy status into three categories—currently autonomous, never autonomous, and lost autonomy—and then unpack how each shapes the logic of collective action. We argue groups that were never autonomous are unlikely to mobilize due to a lack of collective action capacity, whereas currently autonomous groups may have the capacity but often lack the motivation. Most important, groups that have lost autonomy often possess both strong incentives and the capacity to pursue secession, which facilitates collective action. Moreover, autonomy retraction weakens the government's ability to make future credible commitments to redress grievances. We test these conjectures with data on the autonomous status and separatist behavior of 324 groups in more than 100 countries from 1960 to 2000. Our analysis shows clear empirical results regarding the relationship between autonomy status and separatism. Most notably, we find that formerly autonomous groups are the most likely to secede, and that both currently autonomous and never autonomous groups are much less likely.


Bond length and bond angle exhibited by valence electrons is essential to the core of chemistry. Using lead‐based organic–inorganic perovskite compounds as an exploratory platform, it is demonstrated that the modulation of valence electrons by compression can lead to discovery of new properties of known compounds. Yet, despite its unprecedented progress, further efficiency boost of lead‐based organic–inorganic perovskite solar cells is hampered by their wider bandgap than the optimum value according to the Shockley–Queisser limit. By modulating the valence electron wavefunction with modest hydraulic pressure up to 2.1 GPa, the optimized bandgap for single‐junction solar cells in lead‐based perovskites, for the first time, is achieved by narrowing the bandgap of formamidinium lead triiodide (HC(NH2)2PbI3) from 1.489 to 1.337 eV. Strikingly, such bandgap narrowing is partially retained after the release of pressure to ambient, and the bandgap narrowing is also accompanied with double‐prolonged carrier lifetime. With First‐principles simulation, this work opens a new dimension in basic chemical understanding of structural photonics and electronics and paves an alternative pathway toward better photovoltaic materials‐by‐design.

publisher-specific, author manuscript: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions


Outdoor heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) units emit a significant amount
of noise, which may lead to poor sound quality and a perceived low product quality. It is the job
of the noise control engineer to reduce the undesired noise and improve the sound quality of the
outdoor HVAC unit to decrease consumer annoyance. There is great interest in developing a
detailed and accurate acoustic model of the outdoor HVAC unit so that the sound of the outdoor
HVAC unit can be listened to before the unit is constructed. Having an acoustic model which can
synthesize sounds allows the noise control engineer to evaluate and improve the sound quality of
the outdoor HVAC unit during the design process, without the need for extensive prototyping.
Acoustical holography methods will be used to identify and localize noise due to the fan, and other
significant noise sources, to visualize the sound field. In the current study, an acoustic model is
described which can be used to model the noise due to structural radiation and vortex shedding of
the outdoor HVAC unit's rotating fan blades, one of the top contributors to the unit's overall noise
level. This moving source model simulates the Doppler effect which occurs when the blade moves
towards and away from a receiver. The results from this moving source model is shown for
different source signals, including sinusoidal, bandpass random, repeating random, and sinusoidal
with time-varying frequency source signals. The parameters of this moving source model will be
optimized to reproduce the experimental results, including the power spectral densities, tonal
power component, and auralizations.


Pulmonary alveolar cells and tissues owe their defensive capacity partly to properties shared with components of other exposed surfaces and partly to properties developed locally to a unique degree. Among the various surfaces of the body the epithelium differs greatly, but the connective tissue remains much the same. It is the principal region where cellular and immunological defense measures of the body are enacted. Alveolar connective tissue forms only a very thin layer beneath an equally thin epithelium, and, being free from chronic inflammatory cells, normally contributes little to alveolar defense. This normally is entrusted to alveolar macrophages and to epithelial lining cells. Certain properties of these cells fit them for a defensive role. These are considered in the final pages of this survey.


Ultrafast pump-probe spectroscopies have proved to be an important tool for the investigation of charge carriers dynamics in perovskite materials providing crucial information on the dynamics of the excited carriers, and fundamental in the development of new devices with tailored photovoltaic properties. Fast transient absorbance spectroscopy on mixed-cation hybrid lead halide perovskite samples was used to investigate how the dimensions and the morphology of the perovskite crystals embedded in the capping (large crystals) and mesoporous (small crystals) layers affect the hot-carrier dynamics in the first hundreds of femtoseconds as a function of the excitation energy. The comparative study between samples with perovskite deposited on substrates with and without the mesoporous layer has shown how the small crystals preserve the temperature of the carriers for a longer period after the excitation than the large crystals. This study showed how the high sensitivity of the time-resolved spectroscopies in discriminating the transient response due to the different morphology of the crystals embedded in the layers of the same sample can be applied in the general characterization of materials to be used in solar cell devices and large area modules, providing further and valuable information for the optimization and enhancement of stability and efficiency in the power conversion of new perovskite-based devices.


ABSTRACT This article examines the production of illustrations for David Livingstone's Missionary Travels (1857) by concentrating on the assumed connection or closeness of the images to Livingstone. First, it focuses on illustrations that were produced on the basis of sketches made by Livingstone or on objects collected by him. Second, it examines images produced with his assistance and, third, illustrations that were only remotely connected or completely unrelated to Livingstone and the journey told in the book. The article shows how questions of truthfulness and distance were present and intertwined at every stage of the illustration process. Some illustrations were more closely connected to Livingstone than others, but the origin of pictures alone did not guarantee that their special character would remain intact during the inevitable technical process. Due to the multiple stages of the process and the number of persons involved, illustrations tended to diverge from the original sketches and some even underwent drastic change. At the same time, images with only a loose connection to Livingstone were actively sought after in order to embellish the story. The active role adopted by Livingstone in commenting on the various stages of the process significantly blurred the line between reality and fabrication.


Brain Hypoxia. Edited by J. B. BRIERLEY and B. S. MELDRUM. Proceedings of the International Symposium on Brain Hypoxia at Carshalton, Surrey, 26-28 August 1970. (Pp. vi + 320; illustrated + tables. £4.50.) London: Spastics International. 1971. This book is made up of the 31 papers delivered at a symposium on brain hypoxia held in Carshalton, England in August 1970. The papers are divided into 7 sections; the first 3 by techniques-cerebral blood flow measurement, electron microscopy, and biochemistry; the remaining 4 by situations-posthypoxic brain swelling, atmospheric decompression (5 papers on this-an odd bias when there is no direct study of hypoxia associated with accidental haemorrhage, birth, respiratory failure, or shock), hypoglycaemia, and epilepsy. All but 7 of the papers use data derived from laboratory animals, but the questions studied define problems of immense importance to the clinician. Many are clearly multifactorial and the contribution of hypoxia to brain damage after epileptic seizures or symptomatic hypoglycaemia is shown to be more important than that of the electrical discharges or low blood sugars themselves. Conversely, the brain oedema after acute hypoxia or head injury may be more critical than the initial insult. The value of monitoring intracerebral pressure in neurosurgical patients is shown. The levels of arterial blood pressure or arterial oxygen tension, below which signs of tissue hypoxia appear, are defined. In addition there are useful and critical discussions of the value of Redox pairs as a measure of tissue hypoxia; the limitations of various measures of intracerebral pressure; and provocative hypotheses concerning the natural history of seizures associated with fever. It is a pity that all of the hypoglycaemia studies involve a method using insulin. As this may initially protect cells from the effects of a low circulating blood sugar, the applicability of these studies to neonatal hypoglycaemia may be questioned. The book would be easier for the general reader if more background discussion was included in the introductions to the papers, and if the content was summarized. These remarks should not detract from the overall worth of the book, which is stimulating and contains much of value for the general reader and is required reading for the specialist.


This paper describes the metallurgical investigation of a broken spindle used to attach an antenna to the mast of a naval vessel. Visual inspections of both failed and intact fastener assemblies were carried out both on-board ship and in the laboratory followed by metallographic and fractographic examinations. Simulations were also performed on stressed material in a suitable environment to assess the relative importance of postulated failure mechanisms. Factors contributing to this failure including assembly procedures and applied preloads, service loading and environment, and material selection and specification. The discussion considers whether this failure was an isolated incident or is likely to be a fleet-wide problem, and suggests ways to prevent reoccurrence.


Abstract. 3D indoor GIS is now being widely used as its improved spatial visualization can be applied to a variety of projects – one of which is emergency management in multi-level buildings. This study assesses the fire evacuation plan of the Main Library in the University of the Philippines – Diliman using 3D indoor GIS. Currently, the Main Library has a two-dimensional fire evacuation plan for every floor all following general routes to several exit points. With 3D indoor routing using GIS and network analysis, an origin-based and scenario-dependent evacuation management plan is created to have a more systematic process for fire events. Certain factors – priority of resources, origin of fire, all possible routes and exits, duration of evacuation – were used as basis of the fire evacuation plan assessment. The resulting geometric 3D model of Main Library is presented with both the library patron routes and staff routes that have stops along the way in to save priority resources before proceeding to exit points. Color-coded routes are mapped out symbolizing evacuation time while the route line thickness represents the population count in each route. Furthermore, three obstruction scenarios were created in order to simulate a fire event. Although a fire model was not considered, the scenarios proved to show the versatility of the generated routes in accordance to each case. Additionally, two new exit points were suggested for the ease of the library staff – who had a much longer evacuation time – resulting to an average time deficit of 15.25 seconds.


Much of Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation for consumer durables reflects shifts to newer product models that display higher prices, not price increases for a given set of goods. I examine how these higher prices for new models should be divided between quality growth and price inflation based on (a) whether consumer purchases shift toward or away from the new models and (b) whether new-model price increases generate higher relative prices that persist through the model cycle. I conclude that two-thirds of the price increases with new models should be treated as quality growth. This implies that CPI inflation for durables has been overstated by almost 2 percentage points per year, with quality growth understated by the same magnitude.


Tan spot, caused by Pyrenophora tritici-repentis, is a serious foliar disease of wheat (Triticum aestivum) in North America. Control of tan spot through management practices and fungicide application is possible; however, the use of resistant varieties is the most effective and economical means of controlling tan spot. This study was conducted to determine the disease reaction of 126 elite hard red spring, white, and durum wheat varieties and advanced breeding lines collected from the northern Great Plains of the United States and Canada to individual races/toxins of P. tritici-repentis. Seedling evaluation of the 126 genotypes was done under controlled environmental conditions with virulent races 2, 3, and 5 of P. tritici-repentis and toxins Ptr ToxA and Ptr ToxB. Based on disease reactions, two resistant varieties and two advanced breeding lines adapted to the northern Great Plains were found to be resistant to all the races and insensitive to the toxins tested. Additionally, six genetically diverse lines/varieties were identified to be resistant to tan spot; however, these sources may not be well adapted to the northern Great Plains. These results suggest that the wheat germ plasm contains a broad genetic base for resistance to the most prevalent races of P. tritici-repentis in North America, and the resistant sources identified in this study may be utilized in wheat breeding programs to develop tan spot resistant varieties.


Reliability optimization design of Ball Grid Array (BGA) solder joints is a major concern in area array electronics packaging technology. In this paper, shapes of the solder joints and their reliability were predicted and analyzed. Through the variations of lower pads' diameters, the shapes of full array BGA solder joints with different solder volumes were predicted by using surface evolver software. Based on the results of shape prediction, 3-D finite element models were established with MSC.MARC and the distribution of the stress and strain in the BGA solder joints under thermal cyclic loading were simulated. Finally, fatigue lives of the BGA solder joints with different solder volumes were calculated, and the diameter ratios of lower pad to upper pad for these two kinds of BGA assemblies with the best reliability were optimized.


How to deal with the relationship between interior design and traditional culture, Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism and other main ideas in traditional culture and its application in interior design are worthy of our thinking. This paper discusses how to link the traditional culture with the modern art design, in order to form an interior design style with the characteristics of traditional culture. The Essence of Chinese Traditional Culture and Its Application in Interior Design Chinese traditional culture in the course of its thousands of years of history, Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, three in the struggle, mutual integration, promote the prosperity and development of Chinese culture. Regardless of the historical or contemporary Chinese design works, all by its influence. Confucian Doctrine of the Mean. The core idea of the doctrine of Confucius and Mencius is a middle course. First, attach importance to the Confucian philosophy of man and heaven "the person and the nature harmonious thinking mode and value orientation, and a Chinese designers with the design philosophy and constitutes the traditional Chinese design the basic philosophical connotation. Some brands of real estate interior design, attaches great importance to describe the nature, like heaven and earth, using human nature's intricate, reconstruction of the beauty of nature, and did not reveal as much as possible artificial chisels traces, achieve "although the people, like natural" harmony between human and nature, the unity of the heaven and the aesthetic realm. Secondly, the Confucian doctrine of the mean, in the decorative culture has also been applied. For example, home, do not do any decoration, will appear simple, backward and no angry, and too much too vulgar. Just right of the decoration is pleasing to both the eye and the mind, both spiritual encouragement and conducive to physical and mental and correct attitude and desire to exercise restraint, do not do too much to expect, make the scene situation Aioi, community rise for spiritual realm. Taoist Elegant Mystery. Laotse held that beauty in the Tao, and Tao nature in nature, that is, naturally, the so-called "imitation of nature", "Da Yin Xi Sheng, invisible elephant, Tao is hidden and unknown." Lao Tzu's "Tao" is the pleadings of the unknown void, not logic, reason, language can convey it beyond all the sense and language in the world, it rely on is not the language, but by super language image symbol system to achieve, so it has abstract and transcendent. The application of Taoism culture in interior design, mainly to enrich the interior space of Chinese architecture. In space to create many of the actual situation of outside, such as each other alternately, sharing, such as doors and windows of the building, introduction of the indoor outdoor scenery; between interior space partition, decoration of a room introduced to another room to each other by means of the king, to strengthen the sense of space of flows, increased sense of openness. Another style of traditional culture of Taoism in the interior design is elegant, poetic creation camp. The key to the construction of this kind of artistic conception space is to be able to introduce virtual static, introducing a peaceful state of mind. The traditional color techniques, simple elegance of the material and the traditional decorative visual symbols, entry into the feeling of entering, open taste, simple light, modest, quiet, sparsely long. 2nd International Conference on Economics, Social Science, Arts, Education and Management Engineering (ESSAEME 2016) © 2016. The authors Published by Atlantis Press 19 The Relationship between Interior Design and Traditional Culture Interior design is an organic part of social culture, from the point of view of the horizontal dimension, no matter what kind of style design, have a specific mental and psychological structure of culture is in certain cultural context start and finish, and reflects the different value and aesthetic concepts, reflect the prevailing cultural outlook. From the longitudinal perspective, the design of the interior space of any era is closely related to the productivity and culture at that time. Design form comes from culture, people in accordance with the rich experience (history and tradition) of the processing of all the existing impression. In this sense, the design of history is the history of design. Ttraditional culture affects the interior design. Although some modern designers, especially those with avant-garde sense of the designer, often claimed to abandon any tradition, that his work is not traditional, but the actual situation can not be so. Even the most "anti traditional" designers, it is necessary to "traditional" as the opposite of the reference object to define and interpret their own thinking. Design never is not a purely personal behavior, from the dominant tradition media, language and technique of expression. To to design awareness of cultural mentality, thinking mode, aesthetic point of view such as hidden traditions are intentionally or unintentionally affects every interior designer. The development of science and technology and the progress of the times make contemporary designers have the conditions that the predecessors did not have. The application of computers, the development of information, so that the design of the work has a stronger sense of the times. However, the richness of the works means can not replace people's sense of return, interior designers must be closely related to human from the utility to consider the work of the fine texture and warmth. We will create the indoor environment with elegant style, is bound to follow the "invisible elephant", "Da Yin Xi Sheng" creative way. Otherwise it is impossible to let the audience feel the corresponding aesthetic imagery. This "beauty" and "beauty" of the creation of the law, it is from China's thousands of years of traditional culture to extract. Therefore, it is an excellent designer should pay attention to the traditional culture into the modern design concept. Meditation in Buddhism Zen Buddhism is a Chinese Buddhist sect formed on the soil of Chinese culture because of the gradual eastward spread of Buddhist culture. It promotes the way of thinking through the individual's intuitive experience and meditation, so as to achieve spiritual freedom in the sense through the understanding of the environment. In the eyes of Zen, provisions of the smaller, imagine the greater room for, and thus less able to win, only a simple to the extreme, to set aside to maximize the space for people try to figure out thinking. In recent years, in the classical and modern, Chinese and Western colored furniture, with Zen furniture uptake in the classical furniture of elegant and modern furniture simple, neat lines, pure colors, with rich Oriental means image, quite can create a quiet and comfortable home atmosphere. The Zen furniture material with walnut wood, camphor wood is in the majority, some of the desktop and then supplemented with glass, stone and other materials and in pottery dish placed some chayote, citrus. Dark wood with light cloth, leather, stone or glass furniture sells well, slightly calm but not significant old-fashioned style by the consumer favorite. The existence of regional culture is a fact, take the building and indoor environment, Tibet, Xinjiang, Yunnan,... Protection and development of excellent regional culture is very necessary, only so, human culture can be colorful, not to mention the protection and development of the prosperity of the


This paper provides a critical assessment of the OECD's Employment Protection Legislation (EPL). This indicator is designed to measure and compare employment protection legislation across countries and has dominated much of recent labour market policy making in the EU.
The authors of this paper demonstrate that the construction of this instrument involves simplifications, estimations and omissions that make it highly suspect as an indicator of employees' protection. Empirical tests do not confirm the predicted negative effects of laws to protect employment. EU policy documents tacitly acknowledged this, but continue to give policy recommendations based on unproven claims.
The paper also asks whether this instrument can be improved or should be abolished and what could be more useful alternatives.


1 Invading species typically need to overcome multiple limiting factors simultaneously in order to become established, and understanding how such factors interact to regulate the invasion process remains a major challenge in ecology. 2 We used the invasion of marine algal communities by the seaweed Sargassum muticum as a study system to experimentally investigate the independent and interactive effects of disturbance and propagule pressure in the short term. Based on our experimental results, we parameterized an integrodifference equation model, which we used to examine how disturbances created by different benthic herbivores influence the longer term invasion success of S. muticum. 3 Our experimental results demonstrate that in this system neither disturbance nor propagule input alone was sufficient to maximize invasion success. Rather, the interaction between these processes was critical for understanding how the S. muticum invasion is regulated in the short term. 4 The model showed that both the size and spatial arrangement of herbivore disturbances had a major impact on how disturbance facilitated the invasion, by jointly determining how much space‐limitation was alleviated and how readily disturbed areas could be reached by dispersing propagules. 5 Synthesis. Both the short‐term experiment and the long‐term model show that S. muticum invasion success is co‐regulated by disturbance and propagule pressure. Our results underscore the importance of considering interactive effects when making predictions about invasion success.


ABSTRACT Interest in airborne smallpox transmission has been renewed because of concerns regarding the potential use of smallpox virus as a biothreat agent. Air disinfection via upper-room 254-nm germicidal UV (UVC) light in public buildings may reduce the impact of primary agent releases, prevent secondary airborne transmission, and be effective prior to the time when public health authorities are aware of a smallpox outbreak. We characterized the susceptibility of vaccinia virus aerosols, as a surrogate for smallpox, to UVC light by using a benchtop, one-pass aerosol chamber. We evaluated virus susceptibility to UVC doses ranging from 0.1 to 3.2 J/m2, three relative humidity (RH) levels (20%, 60%, and 80%), and suspensions of virus in either water or synthetic respiratory fluid. Dose-response plots show that vaccinia virus susceptibility increased with decreasing RH. These plots also show a significant nonlinear component and a poor fit when using a first-order decay model but show a reasonable fit when we assume that virus susceptibility follows a log-normal distribution. The overall effects of RH (P < 0.0001) and the suspending medium (P = 0.014) were statistically significant. When controlling for the suspending medium, the RH remained a significant factor (P < 0.0001) and the effect of the suspending medium was significant overall (P < 0.0001) after controlling for RH. Virus susceptibility did not appear to be a function of virus particle size. This work provides an essential scientific basis for the design of effective upper-room UVC installations for the prevention of airborne infection transmission of smallpox virus by characterizing the susceptibility of an important orthopoxvirus to UVC exposure.


Moving from the experience gained in home telemonitoring of elderly patients with Congestive Heart Failure, that confirmed a reduction of the rehospitalization rate and an improved monitoring of drugs assumption by the patients, this paper extends the evaluation of technological approaches for remote health monitoring of older adults. Focus of the evaluation is on telemedicine effectiveness and usability, either from a patient's or a medical operator's perspective. The evaluation has been performed by testing three remote health platforms designed according to different technological approaches, in a realistic scenario involving older adults and medical operators (doctors and nurses). The aim of the testing activity was not to benchmark a specific solution with respect to the others, but to evaluate the main positive and negative issues related to the system and service design philosophy each solution was built upon. Though preliminary, the results discussed in the paper can be used as a set of guidelines in the selection of proper technological equipments for services targeted to elderly users, from a usability perspective. These results need to be complemented with more focused discussions of the ethical, medical, and legal aspects of the use of technology in remote healthcare.


We compared transpirations and vase lives of cut hydrangea (Hydrangea spp.) flowers using two cultivars with lacecap inflorescence ('Blue sky' and 'S-1') and their mutants with hortensia inflorescence ('BM-1' and 'SM-1'). There was no significant difference in the transpirations from cut flowers with the lacecap and hortensia inflorescences in the two cultivars. However, transpiration from 'S-1' cut flowers tended to exhibit higher transpiration than 'SM-1'. There was also no significant difference in the vase lives of 'Blue sky' and 'BM-1'. However, 'S-1' had a significantly shorter vase life (3 days) than its mutant 'SM-1'. This was due to the greater number of total florets in 'S-1' cut flowers than 'SM-1'. The non-decorative floret clusters and clusters of petals, stamens, and pistil of decorative florets exhibited lower temperatures than decorative sepals in both 'Blue sky' and 'BM-1' on thermal images. Therefore, we estimated the transpiration from the nondecorative florets and studied the effect of removal of non-decorative florets on the vase life of cut flowers using two lacecap cultivars, 'Blue sky' and 'Fairy eye'. Estimated transpirations from the non-decorative florets of 'Blue sky' and 'Fairy eye' accounted for approximately 61.8% and 39.7%, respectively, of total transpirations per cut flower, and the removal of non-decorative florets significantly extended the vase lives of cut flowers (18 and 22 days, respectively). The difference in the contribution of the non-decorative florets to the transpiration between the cultivars is due to the difference in the number of non-decorative florets in the inflorescences. We conclude that the use of cut flowers that do not bear too many non-decorative florets and/or treatments that suppress the transpiration from non-decorative florets would be effective in extending the vase life of cut hydrangea flowers with lacecap inflorescence.


In this paper, a novel multiple-input-multiple-output network model entitled "infinite-mode networks" (IMNs) is explained. The model proposes a new and challenging design concept. It is a dual structure and combines neural networks (NNs) to linear models. It has mathematically clear input-output relationship as compared to NNs. The model has a desired embedded internal function, which roughly determines a route for the whole system to follow as DNA does for biological systems. By this model, infinitely many error dimensions can be defined, and each error converges to zero in a stable manner. The network outputs include logical combinations of infinite modes of reference states, which consequently result in a substantial improvement of the control system performance. In order to support the network theory, time-delay and noise-suppression experiments on a four-channel haptic bilateral teleoperation control system are analyzed. An analysis between NNs, sliding-mode NNs, and IMNs is introduced. Possible future applications of IMNs are discussed.


Free trade benefits are not well-harnessed despite the WTO because of the regional groupings. Such groupings have, in fact, resulted in a chaos. Pakistan has been a member of the SAARC and the ECO. In both the groups, intra-regional trade accounts for only four percent of total trade. The present study briefly reviews and identifies constraints to intra-regional trade and other modes of economic cooperation in the region. The SAFTA agreement and the possibilities of greater economic cooperation are also examined. Comparative advantage and low trade complementarity are found to be the main impediments to trade. Other obstacles such as limited capacity to generate exportable surpluses, restrictive trade policies, and political problems have also inhibited the growth of intra-regional trade. Higher trade levels can be achieved through intra-industry trade, vertical specialisation, joint export marketing of competing regional export products, deepening trade liberalisation, promoting monetary cooperation, and encouraging joint industrial ventures. It is imperative for the success of SAFTA that the negative list is kept quite small and the countries are prepared for closure of a few industries. Thus the SAFTA has great potential and South Asian countries should accept short-term costs for long-run benefits. Expansion of trade as well as efficiency and improved quality of exports would benefit the countries participating in the regional co-operation effort.


The repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell offered legal equality to sexual minorities in the military. However, this big step forward had no impact on the policy of exclusion and rejection and the fear and secrecy that resulted for transgender people (whether lesbian, gay, bisexual, or heterosexual). In this article, we argue that transgender citizens should have equal opportunity to honorably serve their country, and to be treated with respect and sensitivity as they do so. Many transgender persons may be drawn to military service and its ethos of masculine values. However, they are currently not permitted entry, and, if they are to enter, must remain hidden or face dismissal, leaving them vulnerable to harassment. While they report both positive and negative experiences during their service, research documents discrimination in veterans' healthcare as well as mental health risks resulting from fear and harassment. In contrast to the United States, 11 countries include transgender people in their militaries. Drawing in part from their examples, we end with recommendations for change in the direction of respect and equality of opportunity.


Studies of pathogen–host specificity, virulence, and transmissibility are critical for basic research as well as for assessing the pandemic potential of emerging infectious diseases. This is especially true for viruses such as influenza, which continue to affect millions of people annually through both seasonal and occasional pandemic events. Although the influenza virus has been fairly well studied for decades, our understanding of host-cell binding and its relation to viral transmissibility and infection is still incomplete. Assessing the binding mechanisms of complex biological systems with atomic-scale detail is challenging given current experimental limitations. Much remains to be learned, for example, about how the terminal residue of influenza-binding host-cell receptors (sialic acid) interacts with the viral surface. Here, we present an integrative structural-modeling and physics-based computational assay that reveals the sialic acid association rate constants (kon) to three influenza sites: the hemagglutinin (HA), neuraminidase (NA) active, and NA secondary binding sites. We developed a series of highly detailed (atomic-resolution) structural models of fully intact influenza viral envelopes. Brownian dynamics simulations of these systems showed how structural properties, such as stalk height and secondary-site binding, affect sialic acid kon values. Comparing the kon values of the three sialic acid binding sites across different viral strains suggests a detailed model of encounter-complex formation and indicates that the secondary NA binding site may play a compensatory role in host-cell receptor binding. Our method elucidates the competition among these sites, all present on the same virion, and provides a new technology for directly studying the functional balance between HA and NA.


Since November 2007, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) of the US Federal Reserve has regularly published participants' qualitative assessments of the uncertainty attending their individual forecasts of real activity and inflation, expressed relative to that seen on average in the past. The benchmarks used for these historical comparisons are the average root mean squared forecast errors (RMSEs) made by various private and government forecasters over the past twenty years. This paper documents how these benchmarks are constructed and discusses some of their properties. We draw several conclusions. First, if past performance is a reasonable guide to future accuracy, considerable uncertainty surrounds all macroeconomic projections, including those of FOMC participants. Second, different forecasters have similar accuracy. Third, estimates of uncertainty about future real activity and interest rates are now considerably greater than prior to the financial crisis; in contrast, estimates of inflation accuracy have changed little. Finally, fan charts – constructed as plus-or-minus one RMSE intervals about the median FOMC forecast, under the expectation that future projection errors will be unbiased and symmetrically distributed, and that the intervals cover about 70 percent of possible outcomes – provide a reasonable approximation to future uncertainty, especially when viewed in conjuction with the FOMC's qualitative assessments. That said, an assumption of symmetry about the interest rate outlook is problematic if the expected path of the federal funds rate is expected to remain low.


We tested alternative methods to diver visual censuses of juvenile goliath grouper Epinephelus itajara in turbid mangrove habitat. We used a dual-frequency identification sonar (DID- SON) acoustic camera. DIDSON generates high resolution images of fish with a high-frequency multibeam sonar. The system can record the shape, size and movement of fish under low visibility conditions. A paired DIDSON-digital underwater video camera system was used to survey the man- grove shorelines of Niles Channel, in the Lower Florida Keys, USA. In high visibility conditions, the specific E. itajara DIDSON acoustic signal was obtained and used to evaluate DIDSON's performance for E. itajara surveys in turbid conditions. Under both clear and turbid conditions DIDSON enabled the quantification and measurement of juvenile E. itajara in mangrove undercuts and submerged dead trees that were not visible or detected using video or by a diver. DIDSON could not detect immobile juveniles, as it was unable to discern them from the substrate or the underwater structures where they rested. We demonstrate that mangrove microhabitat underwater structures do not inter- fere with acoustic fish signals. This study represents the first known successful application of a DID- SON acoustic camera in mangrove shorelines to achieve juvenile E. itajara detection and sizing.


The purpose of this article is to consider the development and management of the Maldivian tuna fishery against the backdrop of the development of the global tuna fishing industry. The Maldives tuna fishery is of particular interest as an example of an industry that has evolved from small-scale fishery (SSF) beginnings some half a century ago into a commercial enterprise employing modern technology in terms of boats and gear, as well as contemporary approaches to trading in the global marketplace for tuna products. It is also notable for the predominant use of pole and line gear technology that produces a high quality of catch with minimal environmental impact, and for the retention of key aspects of SSF characteristics in the gender-based division of labor, in which men go to sea and women play a key role in the shore industry. The discussion that follows begins with an overview of the development of the world's tuna fisheries with particular reference to the Western Indian Ocean in which the Maldives are situated. This is followed by an outline of the methodology employed in the present study. The development of fisheries in the Maldives is then considered, followed by a detailed discussion of the respective roles of fishermen and the fishing communities, including the roles of women. There follows a section dealing respectively with ecosystem impacts and related fisheries management measures. Finally, there is a section on development, management and governance, including considerations of the fishermen, women and fishing community, the structure of management and governance, and current issues.


Robot teleoperation systems face a common set of challenges including latency, low-dimensional user commands, and asymmetric control inputs. User control with BrainComputer Interfaces (BCIs) exacerbates these problems through especially noisy and erratic low-dimensional motion commands due to the difficulty in decoding neural activity. We introduce a general framework to address these challenges through a combination of computer vision, user intent inference, and arbitration between the human input and autonomous control schemes. Adjustable levels of assistance allow the system to balance the operator's capabilities and feelings of comfort and control while compensating for a task's difficulty. We present experimental results demonstrating significant performance improvement using the shared-control assistance framework on adapted rehabilitation benchmarks with two subjects implanted with intracortical brain-computer interfaces controlling a seven degree-of-freedom robotic manipulator as a prosthetic. Our results further indicate that shared assistance mitigates perceived user difficulty and even enables successful performance on previously infeasible tasks. We showcase the extensibility of our architecture with applications to quality-of-life tasks such as opening a door, pouring liquids from containers, and manipulation with novel objects in densely cluttered environments.


Benign cementoblastoma was acknowledged by World Health Organization as an odontogenic tumor originating from cementum. Nowadays, it has been included into tumors of mesenchyme and/or odontogenic ectomesenchyme origin, with or without odontogenic epithelium. This article reports an unusual case of cementoblastoma in a 16-year-old male patient, which involved right mandibular first and second molars causing sharp spontaneous pain radiating to temporal region along with local swelling, which was progressive in nature since 3 months. The lesion showed slow growth and was usually asymptomatic; however, pain and swelling were also been reported in a plethora of cases including the one in this article. Radiographically, the lesion commonly highlights a radiopaque mass often merged with the roots of a tooth, which was enveloped and limited peripherally by a radiolucent halo. The treatment involves surgical excision of the mass along with extraction of involved teeth.


Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing pathogens are emerging as a cause of urinary tract infections (UTI) worldwide. In this matched-case control study, clinical characteristics and associated risk factors for ESBL UTI were evaluated. In a total of 463 positive urine cultures, 48 (10.4%) (from 39 patients, 23 boys) were phenotypically ESBL-producing bacteria. The most frequently isolated microorganism was , followed by Klebsiella spp. and Enterobacter cloacae. Children with ESBL UTI (n=39) were on prophylaxis more (21% vs. 6%, p=0.01), had higher rates of urinary tract anomalies (36% vs. 10%, p=0.0007), presented abnormal 99m Tcdimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) findings (i.e. scars) (23% vs. 4%, p=0.001), and had longer hospitalization (9.8 vs. 7.4 days, p=0.004) compared to those with non-ESBL UTI (n=117). The recognition of risk factors for UTI caused by ESBL bacteria in children may aid in the identification of high-risk cases and may enable proper management of these patients.


This study examined the methodological appropriateness of categorizing Latinos as a homogenous population when assessing ethnic identity, self-esteem, emotional autonomy, and familial ethnic socialization. Reliability coefficients of Phinney's Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM), Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale (SES), Steinberg and Silverberg's Emotional Autonomy Measure, and Umaña-Taylor's Familial Ethnic Socialization Measure (FESM) were compared among Colombian, Guatemalan, Honduran, Mexican, Nicaraguan, Puerto Rican, and Salvadoran adolescents (N = 1,176) living in the United States. The measures demonstrated moderate to strong coefficients for certain Latino populations but considerably lower coefficients for other Latino groups. Furthermore, the concurrent validity of the MEIM and the FESM varied across Latino groups. Nationality, immigration history, and generational status are discussed as possible reasons for the divergent findings among groups. These findings call into question the grouping of Latino nationals into one homogenous population and have implications for researchers who study pan-ethnic populations (i.e., Latinos, Asians).


Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is an aggressive cancer associated with high mortality worldwide. HCC develops in the setting of underlying cirrhosis due to chronic liver disease. Surgery is usually considered the treatment of choice for early disease; however, most patients have locally advanced or metastatic HCC at diagnosis in which case treatments are limited. Immune checkpoint blockade of programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1) pathway offers a potential treatment strategy based on the encouraging results of the phase I/II trial of nivolumab (Checkmate 040 trial). This has led to the off-label use of nivolumab after failure of treatment with sorafenib either due to intolerance or progression of disease. Although rare (<5%), clinical response to anti-PD-1 antibody may be preceded by "pseudoprogression" -- increase in the size and number of tumor lesions before actual tumor shrinkage. We report a case of pseudoprogression followed by an excellent response in an HCC patient treated with nivolumab and review the literature for ongoing trials of immune checkpoint blockade in HCC. The pseudoprogression in our case is supported by increase in both tumor size and alpha-fetoprotein after four treatments with nivolumab; however, regression of tumor size and normalization of alpha-fetoprotein occurred after subsequent treatments. To our knowledge, there are no reports of pseudoprogression in HCC although pseudoprogression has been well described in melanoma.


We report DNA-mediated simple synthetic methods to obtain anisotropic plasmonic nanostructures with a tailorable intra-nanogap distance ranging from 0.9 to 4.0 nm. Anisotropic half-shell structures with sub-1.0 nm intra-nanogaps showed a wavelength-independent surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) intensity and a highly sensitive SERS response to NIR light. We found that the reaction conditions such as pH and NaCl concentration are responsible for the resulting shell structures and intra-nanogap distances. Three noticeable plasmonic nanostructures [i.e., half-shell with sub-1.0 nm nanogaps, closed-shell with a wide nanogap (2.1 nm) and star-shaped with an irregular nanogap (1.5–4.0 nm)] were synthesized, and solution-based and single particle-based Raman measurements showed a strong relationship between the plasmonic structures and the SERS intensity. An understanding of DNA-mediated control for nanogap-engineered plasmonic nanostructures and studies of SERS-activity relationships using single particle-correlated measurements can provide new insights into the design of new plasmonic nanostructures and SERS-based biosensing applications.


Our present model of distributed computing is built around network-based services. However, as yet, we do not have good analytical models for such systems. One way of analysing such systems is by using gate-limited queuing models. However, practical solutions for gate-limited models have not been readily available.

This talk looks at development of a new Markov Model for gated-limited service. An approximate solution is presented by making use of the Standard Partial Batch model. The solution is then applied to a system designed for video-on-demand applications which are served over the network using pre-fetching techniques. Finally the effects of different network types as well as different network loads are also examined.


Introduction: Ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) is defined as nosocomial pneumonia in patients who have mechanical ventilation (MV) for more than 48 hours. The diagnosis of VAP is based on radiological-microbiological examinations. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Health Care Network (NHSN) have an incidence of VAP of 5.8% per 1,000 days on mechanical ventilator. Aim: In this study, we had an aim to determine the occurrence of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in patients with MV who were hospitalized in the intensive care unit. Method: The study was retrospective, clinical, conducted in the period from January 1, 2016 until December 31, 2016. In a one-year period, 719 patients of both sex, aged 14 to 91, were hospitalized in the intensive care unit of the Clinic for Anesthesia and Resuscitation of the University Clinical Center in Sarajevo. The study included 250 patients of both sex who had respiratory support with mechanical ventilator. No patient was excluded from the study. As a confirmation of VAP, we used microbiological reports from the patient history documentation. The results were presented statistically through tables and graphs, numerically, by a percentage, and by a mean value with standard deviation. Results: Out of the 719 hospitalized patients, 250 or 34.8% underwent controlled ventilation. In 103 or 41.2% of patients some form of pneumonia was confirmed microbiologically. An average patient age on controlled ventilation was 60.4 ± 16.8 years. The mean age of a female patients who were on controlled ventilation was 63.2 ± 16.7, higher than that of male patients, which was 57.8 ± 16.6 years. The most frequent patients were over 60 years of age (52.8%). The shortest hospitalization of patients on controlled mechanical ventilation was 1 day and the longest was 120 days. Average duration of mechanical ventilation was 6.9 ± 10.5 days. Conclusion: VAP is a relatively common complication in patients with MV that can increase morbidity and mortality, as well as treatment costs. It is more frequent in females and in the elderly. Medical staff should provide normal maintenance of respiratory functions to a patient who is on MV, which will reduce the risk of VAP.


The automotive industry in ASEAN started thirty years under different automotive policies and approaches leasing to different performance among its country members. This paper focus on Porter's five forces model analysis between Malaysia and Thailand since these two countries are made up the top three vehicles manufacturers in ASEAN. Thailand' s annual production exceeds two million vehicles per year compared to Malaysia around five hundred thousand vehicles. The automotive components and parts in Malaysia recorded trade deficit which import of automotive parts at RM 4 billion of values compared to exported parts only at RM2 billion. Previous study suggested Thailand successful automotive policy strategy which launched thirty years ago emphasized on dependent strategy on foreign investment whereas Malaysia focus its automotive development on its national car company Proton. After thirty years, the successful Thailand performance in the automotive industry has been viewed as saturated and dominated by Japanese and American manufacturers. On the contrary, the lack of performance in the automotive manufacturing and components industry in Malaysia has been seen as attractive for investors to invest in Malaysia. Furthermore the high car passenger density in Malaysia offers advantage for the manufacturer in this industry.


Study of the vibration cylindrical shells made of a functionally gradient material (FGM) composed of stainless steel and nickel is important. Material properties are graded in the thickness direction of the shell according to volume fraction power law distribution. The objective is to study the natural frequencies, the influence of constituent volume fractions and the effects of boundary conditions on the natural frequencies of the FGM cylindrical shell. The study is carried out using third order shear deformation shell theory. The governing equations of motion of FGM cylindrical shells are derived based on shear deformation theory. Results are presented on the frequency characteristics, influence of constituent volume fractions.


Colour Filter Array (CFA) demosaicking is a process to interpolate missing colour values in order to produce a full colour image when a single image sensor is used. For smooth regions, a higher order of interpolation will usually achieve higher accuracy. However when there is a colour edge, a lower order of interpolation is desirable as it will avoid interpolation across an edge without blurring it. In this paper, a bilateral filter, which has been known to preserve sharp edges, is used to adaptively modify the weights for interpolation. When there is a colour edge, the weights will bias towards a lower order of interpolation using closer pixel values only. Otherwise, the weights will bias towards a higher interpolation for smooth regions. In order to avoid interpolation across a possible edge adjacent to the missing pixel location, four estimates using the adaptive bilateral filter are first determined for each cardinal direction. A classifier comprising a weighted median filter together with a bilateral filter is then used to produce an output of the missing colour pixel value from the four estimates. It has been shown that our proposed method has improved performance in preserving sharp colour edges with minimal colour artifacts, and it outperforms other existing demosaicking methods for most images.


Background The purpose of this study was to determine visual acuity at different contrast levels under photopic and mesopic conditions in patients with retinitis pigmentosa. Methods Sixty eyes of 31 normal controls, 92 eyes of 52 patients with retinitis pigmentosa without other ocular disorders (RP-1 group), and 20 eyes of 14 patients with retinitis pigmentosa with cataracts and without other ocular disorders (RP-2 group) were studied. Conventional visual acuity was measured using a conventional Landolt ring chart with 100% contrast and luminance of 150 cd/m2. All of the patients with retinitis pigmentosa had a decimal visual acuity better than 1.0. Contrast visual acuity was measured with the same Landolt ring chart with contrasts of 100% and 10% and under photopic (200 cd/m2) and mesopic (10 cd/m2) conditions. Decimal visual acuities were converted to logMAR units for the analyses. Results The 100% contrast visual acuity and the 10% contrast visual acuity determined under both photopic and mesopic conditions were significantly poorer in both the RP-1 and RP-2 groups than in the controls. The differences between the conventional visual acuity and the 100% contrast visual acuity were significantly greater in the RP-1 and RP-2 groups than in the controls under both photopic and mesopic conditions. The differences between the 100% contrast visual acuity and the 10% contrast visual acuity were not significant among the three groups under photopic and mesopic conditions. Conclusion Contrast visual acuities were greatly reduced in patients with retinitis pigmentosa with relatively well preserved conventional visual acuity, and the contrast visual acuity was largely influenced by ambient light levels in patients with retinitis pigmentosa. Although a longitudinal study for confirmation has to be performed, our findings indicate that contrast visual acuity is a better test to follow changes in visual function in patients with retinitis pigmentosa.


Questions: What is the optimum combination of image dates across a growing season for tree species differentiation in multi-spectral data and how does species composition affect overstorey canopy density?

Location: Monks Wood, Cambridgeshire, eastern England, UK.

Methods: Six overstorey tree species were mapped using five Airborne Thematic Mapper images acquired across the 2003 growing season (17 March, 30 May, 16 July, 23 September, 27 October). After image pre-processing, supervised maximum likelihood classification was performed on the images and on all two-, three-, four- and five-date combinations. Relationships between tree species composition and canopy density were assessed using regression analyses.

Results: The image with the greatest tree species discrimination was acquired on 27/10 when the overstorey species were in different stages of leaf tinting and fall. In this image, tree species were mapped with an overall classification accuracy (OCA) of 71% (kappa 0.63). A similar OCA was achieved from the other four images combined (OCA 72%, kappa 0.64). The highest classification accuracy was achieved by combining three images: 17 March, 16 July, 27 October. This achieved an OCA of 84% (kappa 0.79), increasing to 88% (kappa 0.85) after a post-classification clump and sieve procedure. Canopy height and percentage cover of oak explained 72% of variance in canopy density.

Conclusions: The ability to discriminate and map temperate deciduous tree species in airborne multi-spectral imagery is increased using time-series data. An autumn image supplemented with an image from both the green-up and full-leaf phases was optimum. The derived tree species map provides a more powerful ecological tool for determining woodland structural/compositional relationships than field-based measures.


Background: Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in women and the second leading cause of cancer death in the US. Women with a diagnosis of breast cancer have a risk of developing contralateral breast cancer of up to 11%. Despite lack of clear evidence supporting an increase in the rate of the procedure, rates of contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM) increased dramatically in the past 10 years. Genetic predisposition to breast cancer is an indication for CPM, however it is inconsistently documented. We sought to explore the trends in CPM and variables associated with CPM and genetic counseling within a large healthcare system over a 15-year period. Methods: Retrospective review of CPM documented by the Network Tumor Registry period 1994 — 2008 performed within a four hospital health system in Louisville, KY. We calculated time trends of CPM as a proportion of mastectomy patients each year, and we analyzed clinical, pathologic, and demographic variables among mastectomy patients who underwent CPM compared to those who did not have procedure. Descriptive variables included: age, year of diagnosis, tumor grade, tumor stage, tumor size, tumor histology type, estrogen receptor status, progesterone receptor status, lymph node status, node dissection type previous cancer diagnosis, family history, menopausal status, use of immediate reconstruction, and type of insurance. Our statistical analysis included chi-square (x2), and odds ratios (OR) to determine differences among groups. We evaluated the prevalence and timing of genetic testing among CPM patients by matching CPM patient level data with a prospectively maintained genetic testing comprehensive database. CPM patient level data was matched with corresponding genetic counseling data to determine the trends in usage of genetic counseling. Results: During the study period, 2,496 women with stage I-III invasive breast cancer underwent mastectomy: 2,288 (91.7%) had unilateral mastectomy (UM) alone and 208 (8.7%) underwent UM and CPM. The proportion of all female mastectomy patients who had CPM increased from 0% in 1994 to 27.1% in 2008. Variables significantly associated with CPM were: Age under 65, immediate breast reconstruction, private insurance, family history of cancer and lobular tumor histology. Favorable tumor characteristics such as stage I and tumor size of Stage I disease and tumors > 1cm. There was a statistically significant association with CPM and negative lymph nodes and a history of hormone use. No differences were found in UM vs. UM+CPM by race, ethnicity, tumor grade, ER/PR status or previous history of cancer. Among the 208 CPM patients, 44 (21.2%) received genetic testing and 6 (2.9%) were positive for BRCA mutations. Of the 44 women who received genetic testing, 5 (11.4%) did so prior to surgery. Conclusions: Performance of CPM was associated factors such as small tumor size and age Citation Information: Cancer Prev Res 2010;3(12 Suppl):B6.


: The PRE repairs DNA by the specific and exclusive monomerization of pyrimidine dimers. Photoreactivation thus provides an analytical test for determining the role of pyrimidine dimers in UV damage to biologic systems. We have shown the first UV transformation of cultured human cells (judged by ability to grow in soft agar). Preliminary results indicate that 1) lesions leading to cell transformation are subject to photoreactivation and 2) pyrimidine dimers may well be important in solar carcinogenesis.


Adiabatic quantum optimization has been proposed as a route to solve NP-complete problems, with a possible quantum speedup compared to classical algorithms. However, the precise role of quantum effects, such as entanglement, in these optimization protocols is still unclear. We propose a setup of cold trapped ions that allows one to quantitatively characterize, in a controlled experiment, the interplay of entanglement, decoherence, and non-adiabaticity in adiabatic quantum optimization. We show that, in this way, a broad class of NP-complete problems becomes accessible for quantum simulations, including the knapsack problem, number partitioning, and instances of the max-cut problem. Moreover, a general theoretical study reveals correlations of the success probability with entanglement at the end of the protocol. From exact numerical simulations for small systems and linear ramps, however, we find no substantial correlations with the entanglement during the optimization. For the final state, we derive analytically a universal upper bound for the success probability as a function of entanglement, which can be measured in experiment. The proposed trapped-ion setups and the presented study of entanglement address pertinent questions of adiabatic quantum optimization, which may be of general interest across experimental platforms.


With the rapid development of aviation at home, particle reinforced metal matrix composites (PRMMCs) has been widely applied recently. But at the same time, the difficult machining has gradually been one of the most outstanding bottle-necks that restrict the rapid enhancement of productivity. Here, in virtue of the self-developed ultrasonic drilling equipment, hole-making experiments of common and ultrasonic vibration drilling are performed on SiC particle reinforced aluminum-matrix composites (SiCp/Al)with different content of SiC by using two types of tungsten carbide drill. Drilling characteristics of machining composites with ultrasonic vibration are analyzed from such respects as the composites crush, drilling force, drill wear and hole surface quality. Studies show that, during the ultrasonic vibration drilling process, SiC particle in the composites is prone to break along the crystal connection boundary or suffer ductile fracture under the dynamic ultrasonic impulse, in which the cutting resistance could be reduced and the tool edge could be protected. Thereby, drilling locating precision and hole surface quality could be enhanced, wear of the drill chisel edge effectively improved, and the drilling torque reduced about 30%.


The micromanipulator is basically required sufficient workspace and high natural frequency. However, previous designs are hard to satisfy the required workspace and natural frequency simultaneously. In this study, a previous design was analyzed from the viewpoint of the axiomatic design. Then, a new design parameter as displacement amplifier which transforms a coupled design into a decoupled design, was suggested. And a design procedure based on axiomatic design was developed. A spatial 3-DOF parallel-type micromanipulator was chosen as an exemplary device. According to the suggested design procedure, the micromanipulator having the required natural frequency was designed in the first step, and then the displacement amplifier satisfying the required work space was designed sequentially. To check the effectiveness of the manipulator and displacement amplifier, simulations and experiments were performed. Those are verified that the displacement amplifiers implemened work very well for satisfying the required task workspace.


Tackling complex urban problems requires us to examine and leverage diverse sources of information. Today, cities capture large amounts of information in real-time. Data are captured on transportation patterns, electricity and water consumption, citizen use of government services (e.g., parking meters), and even on weather events. Through open data initiatives, government agencies are making information available to citizens. In turn, citizens are building applications that exploit this information to solve local urban problems. Citizens are also building platforms where they can share information regarding government services. Information that was previously unavailable is now being used to gauge quality of services, choose services, and report illegal and unethical behaviors (e.g., requesting bribes). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first paper to examine the range of citizen applications ("citizen apps") targeting urban issues and to address their effects on urban planning, decision-making, problem solving, and governance. We examine citizen apps that address a wide range of urban issues from those that solve public transportation challenges to those that improve the management of public utilities and services and even public safety.


Primary amines functionally replace lysine 258 by catalyzing both the 1,3‐prototropic shift and external aldimine hydrolysis reactions with the inactive aspartate aminotransferase mutant K258A. This finding allows classical Brønsted analyses of proton transfer reactions to be applied to enzyme‐catalyzed reactions. An earlier study of the reaction of K258A with cysteine sulfinate (Toney, M.D. & Kirsch, J.F., 1989, Science 243, 1485) provided a β value of 0.4 for the 1,3‐prototropic shift. The β value reported here for the transamination of oxalacetate to aspartate is 0.6. The catalytic efficacy of primary amines is largely determined by basicity and molecular volume. The dependence of the rate constants for the reactions of K258A and K258M on amine molecular volume is nearly identical. This observation argues that the alkyl groups of the added amines do not occupy the position of the lysine 258 side chain in the wild type enzyme. Large primary Cα and insignificant solvent deuterium kinetic isotope effects with amino acid substrates demonstrate that the amine nitrogen of the exogenous catalysts directly abstracts the labile proton in the rate‐determining step.


Microscale and nanoscale magnetic objects can be driven and assembled in defined locations efficiently and rapidly in magnetic fields. In this study, we present a strategy to fabricate flexible electronic circuits using non-contact magnetic printing and a volume additive substitution reaction. The process involves assembling iron nanoparticles in designated fields in the magnetic field, thereby forming patterns of iron nanoparticles. Thereafter, the nanoparticles were fused together by converting the iron nanoparticles to silver through an Fe–Ag replacement reaction. A silver flexible electronic circuit was fabricated conveniently through this process. Using this approach, flexible electronic circuits with double-sided conductive patterns could be prepared. This method provides a general and highly effective approach to fabricate various conductive silver patterns on flexible materials, such as paper, PI, PET, and others.


The Electronic Health Record (EHR) has brought unique challenges in the effort to share information. How data is captured varies from institution to institution. In order for data to be well understood, data should have a definition that is consistent and comprehensively understood by all users of the data. Standardization of how data is captured is critical to allow the production and export of data needed to support quality assessment, decision support, exchange of data for patients with multiple health care providers and public health surveillance. Patient safety and quality improvement are dependent upon embedded clinical guidelines that promote standardized, evidence-based practices. Unless we can achieve standardization with terminology, technologies, apps and devices, the goals of EHR implementation won't be realized.


Echinochloa spp. is one of the most invasive weeds in rice fields worldwide. Acetolactate synthase (ALS) and acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACCase) inhibiting herbicides are two of the most widely used rice herbicides. However, overuse has led to the resistance evolution of Echinochloa spp. to penoxsulam (ALS-inhibitor) and cyhalofop-methyl (ACCase-inhibitor). In this work, 137 different Echinochloa spp. populations were collected in different rice fields in Extremadura (western Spain) where lack of control was detected. Target-site based resistance (by sequencing ALS and ACCase gene) and characterization of Echinochloa species at the molecular level (based on PCR-RFLP analyses) were carried out in those populations. Most of the populations studied (111 of 137) belong to the E. oryzicola/E. oryzoides group. Three-point mutations were identified in ALS genes: Pro197Ser, Pro197Thr, and Ser653Asn, the first being the most frequent substitution in resistant plants. In the ACCase gene, the Ile1781Leu substitution was found. In both ALS and ACCase sequencing, evidence of heterozygosity was also observed. To assess whether cross-resistance patterns differed between mutations, two populations belonging to the E. oryzicola/E. oryzoides group had its most frequent mutations (Pro197Ser, population ech3-14 and Ile1781Leu, population ech114-10) chosen to be carried out in a dose-response assay. It was confirmed that Pro197Ser conferred resistance to triazolopyrimidine, imidazolinone, sulfonylurea, and pyrimidinyl benzoate families. On the other hand, the Ile1781Leu change gave resistance to aryloxyphenoxypropionate and cyclohexanedione families. Of the authorized herbicides in rice in Spain, more that 80% belong to these families. It is therefore important that farmers carry out an integrated control system that combines both chemical and non-chemical tools.


In this paper, two methods for the design of discrete Fourier-invariant signals are proposed. The direct design method provides splitting between independent and dependent signal parts and calculation of the dependent part for any given independent part. The iterative design method generates a family of discrete Fourier-invariant signals by a successive approach. Further we show how the proposed direct design method can be combined with the Gabor uncertainty principle to generate discrete Fourier-invariant signals with the minimum product of their bandwidth (B) and their time-width (T). We show that these signals as well as signal families generated with the iterative design method achieve the theoretical lower BT bound. Also, it is shown that the BT product of discrete Hermite-Gauss signals converges to the theoretical lower bound. Finally, possible applications are illustrated in the case of time-frequency spectral analysis using the obtained discrete Fourier-invariant signals as the window that provides isoresolution.


Metaphor, due to the high level of abstraction and non-literal way of content communication, is an extremely mysterious and attractive form of expression. No wonder, then, that it has been the subject of much discussion and theoretical considerations since antiquity. However, it was the twentieth century that brought the biggest changes in the approach and understanding of metaphors, mainly through the findings of researchers in the field of cognitive linguistics. Since then, the metaphor appearing in the sentence structure has been regarded as a unique figure of perception of the surrounding world. The metaphor has a semantic nature, i.e., has the potential of portraying the true dimension of reality. This paper is an attempt to summarize the considerations of Paul Ricoeur on the role and importance of the psychological factor in the process of building and communicating of the content through metaphor. The French researcher, in a manner characteristic for his writing, presents a theory about this form of expression, referring to ideas of other thinkers, which he reinterprets, develops, and with which he often argues.


Soybean Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Act - Declares that it is the policy of the Congress to authorize the establishment of an orderly procedure to develop and implement soybean research, promotion, and consumer and industrial education in order to maintain and expand domestic and foreign soybean markets. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to issue, upon request of an interested party or on the Secretary's own initiative, national soybean orders applicable to producers and first purchasers of soybeans. Specifies required terms and conditions of any such order, including: (1) establishment of a United Soybean Board; and (2) producer assessments and assessment refunds. Subjects a person to a fine of up to $1,000, and imprisonment for up to one year, or both, for violations of related commercial or financial information confidentiality. Requires the Secretary, not earlier than 18 months nor later than 36 months following the issuance of an order, to conduct an initial referendum among soybean producers regarding such order's continuation. Requires approval by a majority of the voting producers. Provides for: (1) additional referenda upon the request of ten percent or more of soybean producers; and (2) reconfirmation referenda at five-year intervals. Provides for petition and review of an order in U.S. district court. Authorizes: (1) U.S. district courts to enforce such orders; and (2) administrative monetary penalties and cease and desist orders. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) make necessary investigations; (2) subpoena records; and (3) invoke court assistance. Authorizes appropriations.


This report presents an evaluation of emissions from indoor building materials that may cause health damage to the people who occupy the building, since these materials emit toxic chemicals into the air and indoor surfaces. This report presents a case study which evaluates Gypsum Boards, frequently used in the construction of dividing walls and ceilings. The experimental part of this report is based on a three-dimensional space that simulates a common room; for example, a classroom or a workstation. The indoor environmental conditions, such as ventilation, temperature, and humidity, affect chemical emissions from building materials. The technical methodology used, is based on the comparison of conventional materials and alternative materials with similar characteristics and different composition, using similar testing methods, environmental conditions, and instruments and tools. This is a very important report to understand problems related to environmental pollution, specifi cally of air and its effects indoors, directly on public health, and indirectly on building systems and selection of materials. The tests conclude that alternative materials (with recycled content) are better than traditional ones, because they reduce indoor pollution.


There is ongoing debate on the significance of capillary leukostasis for the manifestation of ischemia-reperfusion (I/R)-induced capillary "no-reflow". Using intravital fluorescence microscopy, we studied leukocyte trafficking through the hepatic microvasculature and the relevance of sinusoidal leukostasis for nutritive perfusion failure in rats after hepatic I/R (n = 8). Sham-operated animals (n = 8) served as controls. Hepatic reperfusion was characterized by perfusion failure of individual sinusoids and a significant increase of sinusoidal leukostasis. However, in both nonischemic and postischemic livers, the major fraction of sinusoids presenting with stagnant leukocytes were found perfused (97 +/- 1 and 73 +/- 5%, respectively), whereas only 3 +/- 1 and 27 +/- 5% failed to conduct flow. Analysis of leukocyte trafficking in sinusoids with leukostasis revealed a marked reduction of leukocyte velocity and leukocyte flux in nonischemic and postischemic livers compared with sinusoids without leukostasis. Thus stagnant leukocytes retard cellular passage through hepatic sinusoids, probably due to an increase of flow resistance. However, the fact that during postischemic reperfusion > 70% of the sinusoids accommodating stagnant leukocytes are still perfused indicates that sinusoidal leukostasis per se does not necessarily determine perfusion failure ("no-reflow") after I/R of the liver.


This review considers three recently published texts concerned with risk and uncertainty. The review discusses their relevance for the critical analysis of risk thinking and management in health care contexts. Social theories of risk and uncertainty (Zinn 2008) offers a useful source for major risk social theories written by leading proponents, together with synthesising chapters produced by the editor. Uncertainty and risk: multidisciplinary perspectives (Bammer and Smithson 2008) provides chapters which analyse the uncertainties arising in a wide range of disciplines and substantive areas. Organized uncertainty: designing a world of risk management (Power 2007) explores the development of corporate risk management. The three books provide a substantial resource of ideas which can potentially be applied to the analysis of risk management in health care systems. However, these books, like many others, take for granted the concepts of risk and uncertainty, and do not attempt to systematically compare their meanings.


We consider dynamic random walks where the nearest neighbour jump rates are determined by an underlying supercritical contact process in equilibrium. This has previously been studied by den Hollander and dos Santos (arXiv: 1209.1511). We show the CLT for such a random walk, valid for all supercritical infection rates for the contact process environment.


Objectives: The authors report a case of hypomelanosis of Ito (HI), a rare neurocutaneous syndrome with neurological and chromosomal alterations associated with cutaneous involvement and recurrent pneumonia. Case report: This is the case of a male patient, 1 year and 11 months old, hospitalized with bilateral bronchopneumonia at the Sao Vicente de Paulo Hospital. Examining the patient, hypochromic maculas in the skin, compatible with HI, and a delay in the neuropsychomotor development were observed. The patient was submitted to incisive biopsy of the skin lesions of the abdomen, electroencephalogram, magnetic resonance and cytogenetic evaluation. Results: The histologic and immunohistochemistry exams evinced melanin absence and melanocyte reduction in focal areas of the epidermis, respectively. The electroencephalogram revealed diffuse cortico-subcortical disfunction. The encephalon magnetic resonance imaging was compatible with arachnoid cyst in the temporal region. The cariotipo evinced chromosome mosaic with a normal lineage (46,XY) and a cellular lineage revealing interstitial deletion in the 22.2 - 24.2 bands of the arm of chromosome 10 (25%). Conclusions: With the present study, the authors emphasize the importance of skin lesions in the etiologic definition of neuropediatric disorders.


As global industry developed rapidly, the energy demand also rises simultaneously. In the production process, there's a lot of energy consumed in the process. Formally, the energy used in generating the heat in the production process. In the total energy consumption, 40% of the heat was used in process heat, mechanical work, chemical energy and electricity. The remaining 50% were released into the environment. It will cause energy waste and environment pollution. There are many ways for recovering the waste heat in factory. Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) system can produce electricity and reduce energy costs by recovering the waste of low temperature heat in the factory. In addition, ORC is the technology with the highest power generating efficiency in low-temperature heat recycling. However, most of factories executives are still hesitated because of the high implementation cost of the ORC system, even a lot of heat are wasted. Therefore, this study constructs a nonlinear mathematical model of waste heat recovery equipment configuration to maximize profits. A particle swarm optimization algorithm is developed to generate the optimal facility installation plan for the ORC system. Keywords—Green facility planning, organic rankine cycle, particle swarm optimization, waste heat recovery.


Introduction: The HFEA has authorised egg sharing since 1998;
however it remains a controversial service. This paper reports
on the first empirical study in the UK of the experiences of
women who have considered egg sharing and their partners.
Methods: Retrospective semi-structured interviews with 20
female patients - and 18 husbands/partners - attending one UK
licensed treatment centre, all of whom had received counselling
with a view to participating in the centre's egg sharing
programme.
Results and Discussion: After counselling, 12 women proceeded
with egg sharing (seven of whom were successful with their
own treatment and five remained unsuccessful at the time of
interview). Six women decided to proceed with egg sharing but
did not produce enough oocytes to enable egg sharing to take
place; two women decided not to proceed.
Interview data included: (in)fertility history and motivation for
egg sharing; treatment experiences; attitudes regarding
recipients of donated oocytes, towards receiving information
about outcomes of recipients' treatment and regarding any
children born following egg sharing; information management
within their own family and social networks and responses of
others within family and social networks.
Egg sharing was supported as an acceptable means of family
creation for involuntarily childless people with limited options.
No participant regretted undertaking egg sharing. The majority
of respondents distinguished egg sharing from remunerated
donation, citing both altruism and self-interest as significant
motivating factors. Almost all participants thought donor
information should be updated periodically, in particular any
new medical information. Participants were evenly divided
whether they would wish to learn the outcome of a recipient's treatment. Two thirds believed any child born following egg
sharing should be told about their origins and half thought that
the child should be able to learn the donor's identity. A majority
would continue to donate if they were identifiable to any child


The purpose of this work was to investigate the capability of a model, which explicitly accounts for multiple sources of nonequilibrium, to predict the transport of nonequilibrium sorption-constrained solute in a stratified porous medium. Microaquifer experiments reported in the literature served as the source of the data that were analyzed. The best available information was used to identify values for all model input parameters, allowing the multiprocess nonequilibrium (MPNE) model to be used in a predictive mode. The prediction produced by the MPNE model provided a good description of the breakthrough curve obtained at a given velocity. A breakthrough curve obtained at a slower velocity could be simulated when the apparent velocity dependence of the physical nonequilibrium parameters was taken into account. Based on the reported results, the MPNE model would seem to provide a valid representation of sorption dynamics and solute transport for stratified systems influenced by sorption capacity heterogeneity and multiple sources of nonequilibrium. The relative and combined impact of interlayer mass transfer, chemical nonequilibrium, and sorption capacity heterogeneity on the transport of a sorbing solute was elucidated.


Flow cytometry and autoradiography are extensively used for the evaluation of the number of cells in S-phase in order to study the proliferative activity within tissues and organs. The recent development of a monoclonal antibody against 5-bromo-2'deoxyuridine (BrdUrd), a nonradioactive thymidine analogue that is incorporated within DNA-synthetizing cells, allows the immunochemical detection of proliferating cells. The use of this antibody allows an immunocytochemical detection of proliferating cells "in situ" on tissue sections. We have applied this new technique for the identification of proliferating cells within the tooth and other organs of rat mouth during development. We believe that this technique, for its precision and simplicity, may be a powerful tool for studying the cytokinetic and the differentiation of normal and neoplastic cells within the mouth as well as in other districts of the body.


The neutron exhibits rich physics both as a tool for studying materials, particle and nuclear physics, as well as the object of experimental study. The neutron lifetime is an important input to Big Bang Nucleosynthesis models and is currently known only to approximately 0.3% with the most precise measurements from two different experimental techniques in disagreement by more than 3σ [sigma]. Parity violation has been the subject of study since its discovery in 1957. Parity violation experiments provide access to studying the hadronic weak interaction, which is otherwise suppressed by several orders of magnitude below that of the strong interaction. It is the hadronic weak interaction that the NPDGamma experiment accesses via studying the asymmetry in gamma ray emission from the capture of polarized neutrons on liquid parahydrogen. Finally, as part of the NPDGamma experiment, the opportunity arose to use the well known and characterized apparatus for conducting a measurement of the liquid parahydrogen scattering cross section which has important implications in the design of neutron sources and moderators at cold neutron research facilities.


A new compact gamma-ray spectrometer based on a Silicon Photo-Multiplier (SiPM) coupled to a LaBr3(Ce) crystal has been developed for the upgrade of the Gamma Camera (GC) of JET, where it must operate in a high intensity neutron/gamma-ray admixed field. The work presents the results of an experiment aimed at characterizing the effect of 14 MeV neutron irradiation on both LaBr3(Ce) and SiPM that compose the full detector. The pulse height spectrum from neutron interactions with the crystal has been measured and is successfully reproduced by MCNP simulations. It is calculated that about 8% of the impinging neutrons leave a detectable signal of which less than < 4% of the events occur in the energy region above 3 MeV, which is of interest for gamma-ray spectroscopy applications. Neutron irradiation also partly degrades the performance of the SiPM and this is mostly manifested as an increase of the dark current versus the neutron fluence. However, it was found that the SiPM can be still operated up to a fluence of 4×1010 n/cm2, which is the highest value we experimentally tested. Implications of these results for GC measurements at JET are discussed.


ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of low molecular mass antioxidants and NaCl salinity on growth, ionic balance, proline, and water contents of 'Zard' olive trees under controlled greenhouse conditions. The experiment was carried out by spraying 2 mM of ascorbic acid (Asc) and 3 mM of reduced glutathione (GSH) on the plants that were treated with two salinity levels (0 and 100 mM NaCl) on their root medium. Plant growth parameters (leaf fresh weight, leaf dry weight, leaf number, total fresh weight, and total dry weight) were significantly improved by Asc compared with growth parameters in GSH and control plants. Higher concentrations of Na+ and Cl– were observed in salt-stressed plants, while Na+ and Cl– concentrations were decreased in the olive leaves that were sprayed with Asc. Salinity in the root zone caused a considerable decline in both K+ concentration and K/Na ratio. K+ concentration and K/Na ratio were significantly increased by application of Asc on plant leaves. Salinity caused an increase in electrolyte leakage (EL) compared with the control plants. Lowest EL and tissue water content (TWC) was obtained in Asc-sprayed plants, whereas TWC was increased in salt-stressed plants. Plants were subjected to salt stress and showed a higher relative water content (RWC) than the control plants. Salt stress induced proline accumulation in olive leaves. In conclusion, exogenous application of Asc is recommended to improve tolerance of olive plants under saline conditions.


Background: Empathy is a behavioural aspect of understanding and communicating with a desire to help. Empathy in medical personnel with patient is one of the basic ingredients of good physician/dentist –patient relationships.
Objectives: To assess empathy level among dental undergraduate students, interns and dental postgraduate students of Nepal and to investigate the differences in empathy scores based on gender and year of dental training.
Methodology: A cross-sectional questionnaire study was carried out among 240 dental students of different dental colleges in Nepal. Eighty students were included in each group of third to final-year undergraduate dental students, interns and postgraduate students. Data was collected using a standard-validated, self-administered Jefferson Scale of Empathy-Health Care Provider Student Version (JSE-HPS). This questionnaire included 20 items with a seven-point Likert scale. This scale has relevant content that allows assessing empathy between students and their patients. The collected data was entered in Microsoft Excel and statistical analysis was done in Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 20.
Results: Out of 240 dental students, 74 (30.8%) were males and 166 (69.2%) were females with the mean age of 25.35 ±3.203. The mean empathy score was 79.59 ± 6.492.There was no significant difference in mean empathy level score by gender. The interns were the most empathetic (80.80 ± 6.147). The mean empathy score was found to be highest for the students with less than one year of experience of treating patient (81.85 ± 7.841).
Conclusion: Empathy should be given importance to in dental curriculum to improve dentist-patient relationship, thereby improving the treatment outcomes.


Objective: To study the prevalence and risk factors of urinary incontinence in 6-week postpartum women . Methods: Total of 363  women, aged 15 to 44 years, delivered in a University Hospital and scheduled for 6-week postpartum check up were recruited.  Self-administration questionnaires and structural interview were used to collect baseline data. The quality of life was measured with a condition-specific validated instrument. Urine analysis was used to determine the urinary tract infection in the woman with postpartum urinary incontinence. Results: The prevalence of urinary incontinence in 6-week postpartum women was 75 in 363 (20.66%; 95% CI 16.61, 25.19). Divided into three groups, stress incontinence 56, urge incontinence 2 and mixed incontinence 17.The 6-week postpartum urinary incontinence women affected her quality of life 89.3% (67 in 75). The urinary tract infection was detected 17.3% (13 in 75). Risk factors of postpartum urinary incontinence were: BMI more than 30 (OR 6.94; 95% CI 2.15, 22.42), baby head circumference more than 35 cm (OR 4.07; 95% CI 1.51, 10.95). Pelvic floor muscle exercise showed protective effect in postpartum urinary incontinence (OR 0.007; 95% CI 0.002, 0.025). Conclusion: The prevalence of urinary incontinence in woman after 6-week postpartum period was high.  BMI, baby head circumference and pelvic floor muscle exercise were contributing factors to postpartum urinary incontinence.


The mechanisms whereby nerve growth factor (NGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) block apoptosis in serum-deprived PC12 cells were investigated. NGF, but not bFGF, strongly activated Akt/protein kinase B, a downstream effector of phosphoinositide (phosphatidylinositol) 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase). In addition, inhibition of PI 3-kinase by LY294002 partially blocked inhibition of apoptosis by NGF, but not that by bFGF, suggesting divergence in NGF and bFGF anti-apoptotic signalling pathways. Both growth factors strongly activated mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases, but blockade of signalling through this pathway, either by the expression of dominant-negative Ras or by treatment with the MAP kinase/ERK kinase (MEK) inhibitor U0126, partially inhibited only bFGF, but not NGF, anti-apoptotic signalling. Use of isoform-specific protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitors such as bisindoylmaleimide-I and Gö 6983 suggested that PKC delta is a likely component of bFGF trophic signalling. A role for PKC delta was confirmed in PC12 cells expressing a dominant-negative PKCdelta fragment, in which reversal of apoptosis by bFGF was partially blocked. The PKC delta signal was not mediated by the MAP kinase cascade, as bFGF activation of this pathway was not affected in cells expressing the dominant-negative PKC delta fragment. Full inhibition of bFGF anti-apoptotic signalling occurred when both the PKCdelta and Ras/MAP kinase pathways were inhibited. Together, these data demonstrate that inhibition of apoptosis by bFGF in PC12 cells operates differently from that mediated by NGF, requiring the addition of signals from both the Ras/MAP kinase and PKC signalling pathways.


This thesis sheds new light on Janet Frame's major novels by investigating her extensive and wide-ranging personal reading throughout her lifetime. It demonstrates how she weaves together her literary sources to create a web of intertextual relationships. Frame's poetic language and literary allusions encourage many-layered readings and Mikhail Bakhtin's analyses of novelistic prose illuminate my central research question concerning the relationship between Frame's reading and her novels. I detail the literary context of early twentieth-century New Zealand, available reading material; attitudes towards literacy; and Frame's schooling. I make an exhaustive study of under-examined material in the children's page of Frame's local newspaper; school, college and university reading; and her reading during her maturity.

Frame considered poetry to be the highest of the literary arts, and I foreground the reading of poetry which chiefly informed Frame's writing, including poetry which has so far not received attention, and show how her insertion of verse into her novels encourages a more investigative reading of her texts. I examine Frame's use of the King James Bible, focussing on the less considered area of Frame's use of the Bible's poetry, before analysing her references to key Shakespeare plays. Finally I explore Frame's allusion to folklore, European and Maori myth and oral literature. I examine the psychological insight of folk tale into childhood experience and its use in elucidating dark and uncommunicating elements of Frame's characters.

My investigation makes an original contribution to Frame studies by revealing that there are aspects of Frame's literary hinterland and her intertextual use of it which merit more attention than they have received: poets and prose writers who have played a major but largely unrecognised contribution to her novels; and that Frame's intertextuality is deeper, broader and more self-conscious than has so far been considered.


With the development of social economy, science and technology, and the popularity of mobile Internet, human society has gradually entered the information age. The rapid growth and disorderly distribution of information have posed challenges to English learners who conduct independent and individualized learning anytime and anywhere. Reading plays an important role in language learning. Traditionally, it is difficult for the English reading method based on chapters to meet the fragmented learning needs of learners who are often in a mobile environment. Through the literature research, this paper designed the five-dimensional feature model of learners and the three-dimensional feature model of English reading resources in the fragmented learning environment. Combined with the machine learning algorithm ID3, the decision tree classification model of English fragmented reading was constructed to push resources, adapt to the individual needs of the learners, and then specifically enhance the different aspects of the learner's reading ability, thereby improving the pass rate of the College English Test-Band Four. (Submitted


This paper analyses the interactions between, on one hand, monetary policy and financial stability responsibilities of the ECB and, on the other hand, Post-Trading-Financial Market Infrastructures. In the author's opinion, payment Systems are critical for monetary policy while Central Counter Parties (CCPs) are critical for financial stability. However, in stressed conditions CCPs can be the source of risks also for monetary policy.