Image similarity measures can be used to capture useful structure in video processing. In this paper one popular variation, the colour coherence vector, is discussed. It is shown to perform poorly for certain tasks and a simpler, but more effective alternative is proposed. This alternative is examined for the initial task of anchor person spotting in news broadcasts, and extended to generic interview detection.


A MATLAB-function serving as a sort of graphical interface to the MATLAB ODE-solver ode45 is presented. The main use of it is to facilitate phase plane analysis of nonlinear 2-D systems via simulation. The numerical integration of the system is mouse-operated via the ginput-function. After each choice of initial value a simulation is made and plotted in the phase plane.


The current definitions of emergence have no effects in the context of artificial life that could convincingly be called 'constructive'. They are rather descriptive labels or tests. In order to get towards recipes of generating emergence we need to know systemic characteristics that help during the design phase of artificial life systems and worlds. In this paper, we develop and discuss five hypotheses that are not meant to be irrevocable but rather thought-provoking. We introduce two modeling approaches for Langton's ant to clarify these hypotheses. Then we discuss general properties of systems, such as (ir-)reversibility, dependence on initial states, computation, discreetness, and undecidable properties of system states.


ABSTRACT The alfalfa leafcutting bee, Megachile rotundata (F.), is a solitary, cavity-nesting bee and is the primary pollinator for alfalfa seed production. Bee management practices include cold storage during the prepupal stage. Fluctuating thermal regimes during cold storage increases survival of cold storage and allows a doubling of the cold storage period with no decrease in survival. However, survival, characterized as successful adult emergence, is not qualitative. In this study, we determined whether extended storage affects adult bee respiration or flight physiology. We overwintered bees for a single winter (current management protocol) or for 12 mo longer (extended storage). We used resting and tethered flight metabolic rates and resting critical PO2 (the oxygen partial pressure below which metabolism can no longer be sustained) as indices of adult bee quality. We found no significant differences in body mass, resting or flight metabolic rates, or critical PO2 between the two groups. Together these data indicate that extended storage of M. rotundata produces bees of similar respiratory capacity and flight ability. These findings could increase the use of M. rotundata as an alternative pollinator, allowing for extended storage to time adult emergence with early blooming crops.


Spatial transferability of travel demand models has been an issue of considerable interest, particularly for small- and medium-sized planning areas that often do not have the resources and staff time to collect large-scale travel survey data and estimate model components native to the region. Traditional approaches to identifying geographic contexts that may borrow and transfer models between one another involve the exogenous a priori identification of a set of variables used to characterize the similarity between geographic regions. However, this ad hoc procedure presents considerable challenges because it is difficult to identify the most appropriate criteria a priori. To address that issue, this paper proposes a latent segmentation approach: the most appropriate criteria for identifying areas with similar profiles are determined endogenously in the model estimation phase. The end products are a set of optimal criteria for clustering regions as well as a fully transferred model, segmented to account for heterogeneity in the population. The method is demonstrated, and its efficacy established through a case study in this paper that uses the National Household Travel Survey data set for information on weekday activities of nonworkers in nine regions in the states of California and Florida. The estimated model is then applied to a context withheld from the original estimation to assess its performance. The method is found to offer a robust mechanism for identifying latent segments and establishing criteria for transferring models between areas.


Surface modification is a process in which Si-CH3 groups of trimethylchlorosilane (TMCS) replace -OH groups on the inner surface of SiO2 aerogels, so the surface property of aerogels has shown hydrophobic performance which could be changed back to hydrophilic by 450 heat treatment. This aerogels with surface property controlled are prepared via sol-gel process with polyethoxydisiloxanes (E-40) used as precursor, and have typical porous structures dried at ambient pressure: high porosity (above 90 %), super specific surface area (about 1000 m2/g), low bulk density (down to 3.03 kg/m3) and average pore size is about 20 nm. This paper presents adsorption mechanisms in aerogels and illustrates that the adsorption capacity of aerogels is three or four times as much as that of activated carbon fiber (ACF) and granule of activated carbon (GAC). So SiO2 aerogels are potentially important to be used as absorbents being quite efficient to adsorb toxic substances.


The aim of this review was to examine the results over a seven-year period of treatment for ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (RAAA). From 2002 on, our tertiary referral centre offered both open and endovascular (EVAR) treatment modalities for RAAA. All patients with a proven RAAA who were admitted into our hospital were included. Primary outcome measure was surgical mortality. In total 261 patients were admitted with suspicion of acute AAA. Of these, 175 (67%) had a RAAA, confirmed by computed tomography-scanning or at laparotomy. One hundred and fifty-nine patients (90.9%) were treated, 114 by open repair and 45 by EVAR. Overall mortality of patients treated was 25.2%, with an open repair mortality of 27.2%, and EVAR mortality of 20%. EVAR was used more often in patients who were hemodynamically more stable. Evaluation for EVAR and treatment by EVAR increased during the study period. Overall mortality rate for treatment of RAAA in our centre was 25% over the seven-year study period.


Indeed, intellectual property rights are not new to traditional African communities. Traditional legal systems of protection in Africa such as customary law protected the rights of members of these communities. These systems of protection are still used. There are also practices of monopoly from the past regarding the use of some products of creative works. This paper examines the various ways in which traditional intellectual properties have been protected over the years which are similar in some ways to modern intellectual property rights. Thus, proposing that the adoption of a pluralistic protection mechanism (legal pluralism) for traditional intellectual properties could resolve legal issues related to them in Africa.


Purpose of review One of the most important challenges in the intestinal (ITx) and multivisceral transplant (MVTx) is to achieve a successful abdominal wall closure. Recent findings A tension-free primary closure should be our aim. In most of the cases, we need to perform a component separation technique, alone or combined, to the use of a synthetic mesh. If those options are not feasible, the abdominal wall composite vascularized allograft transplant (AW-CVA) utilizing direct orthotopic vascularization can be considered. The nonvascularized abdominal rectus fascia has also become an alternative method used worldwide, proving to be simple and well tolerated procedure. Furthermore, the use of the AW has been recently proposed as a new tool for a sentinel monitoring of the intestinal or pancreas allograft. Summary There are different validated options for abdominal wall closure following intestinal transplantation. The long-term benefits of transplanting the abdominal wall, full or partial thickness and vascularized or nonvascularised, were shown. New developments might help to expand their applications in different areas such as reconstructive surgery and immunology.


A new method is described for one-dimensional alignment of small particles such as biological cells. A drop of the particle suspension is spread out on a flat disk or plate equipped with V-shaped grooves such as are present on a gramophone disk. After drying, the particles are located on the bottom of the grooves and are thus aligned in a one-dimensional array. The new alignment procedure is demonstrated with a suspension of fluorescent polystyrene microspheres (diameter 3.8 microns) and a suspension of the unicellular algae chlorella vulgaris (diameter about 3 microns). It appears that the alignment of cells and spheres is very good. When using microspheres, more than 95% of the particles in the grooves are located within +/- 2 microns of the centre line of the groove. Based upon this cell-alignment principle, a new cytometer, named the cytodisk, is proposed. The proposed system has a number of advantages over the flow cytometer, among which is the unique ability of relocating a previously measured cell for further measurement or visual examination. A prototype of a cytodisk, developed for initial test measurements, was built in our laboratory. The apparatus, constructed from a record player and ordinary long-playing records, uses a simple mechanical tracking system and a single optical fiber for fluorescence excitation and detection. With this apparatus it is demonstrated that a cytodisk can indeed perform quite well: A histogram of fluorescing microspheres could be measured with a coefficient of variation of 4.1%. The performance of this prototype is limited by the quality of the mechanical tracking system and the optical system used.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


We study the effect of adolescent motherhood on education and labor outcomes among 20-24 year old women in Chile. We identify causal effects of motherhood with family fixed effects using a large data set covering the 1990-2011 period. Teen motherhood has negative effects on education and labor outcomes, and timing of motherhood matters: teen births reduce education outcomes, while young motherhood reduces labor force participation. Labor outcome effects are present among the non-poor, and effects changed between 1990 and 2011. Results highlight the important role of adolescent motherhood in women's human capital accumulation and income inequality.


The Epstein Barr viral (EBV) infection may be associated with liver side-effects from ezetimibe treatment in children. An 11-year-old child with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) presented with a normal biochemical liver profile before ezetimibe treatment, with no significant alterations of liver enzymes. Three months after beginning treatment with ezetimibe 10 mg/day, he complained of constant weakness, and blood testing revealed marked transaminase elevations. Administration of ezetimibe was stopped. However 15 days later alanine transferase (ALT) levels showed a further increase, followed, 10 days later, by an improvement in all pathological levels. After a further 2 months, all values had returned to normal. Tests for antibodies to the EBV were positive, suggesting a recent but not acute EBV infection. It was thus decided to test ezetimibe 10 mg/day again, and after 1 month aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and ALT levels were in a normal range, together with a very satisfactory LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) response. This is the first report of a child with significant liver side-effects from ezetimibe treatment. Ezetimibe treatment may not have been the direct cause of liver damage in this child, because a concomitant EBV infection. Association of the two should be a warning for possible liver complications. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4021/jmc903w


There is perhaps a certain irony in the fact that those in peace studies often find it difficult to work together. Peace workers hold very strong views and find it easier to preach than to practice compromise. However, in Australia and New Zealand and the Pacific, university staff involved in teaching and researching peace have decided to work together in a consortium for the benefit of the region as a whole extending out beyond academia to the very grass-roots of remote island villages. The core of the exercise is being funded by the Australian Carrick Institute, which has recognised that the professionalization of the training of those engaged in practical work in the field as peacekeepers and peacebuilders needs to be recognized and planned for. In our region defence forces are becoming increasingly active – but as peace keepers not war fighters. Equally INGOs are more and more involved in working with people, often traumatised people, in post-conflict situations. There are many, many local problems but no national boundaries to good ideas and sharing as widely as possible opens up new perspectives and vistas for possible new solutions. Whilst the core consortium is made up of Antipodean academics, we regard the INGOs, the aid community and defence as stakeholders and our aim is to maximize the involvement of people and especially youth from right across the region from remote islands to urban squatter settlements.


Heuristic search is a successful approach to cost-optimal planning. Bidirectional heuristic search algorithms have been around for a long time, but only recent advances have led to algorithms like BAE* that have the potential to outperform unidirectional heuristic search algorithms like A* in practice. In this work, we analyze BAE* for classical planning and the challenges associated with the underlying assumption of an explicit state representation. We show that it is crucial to use mutexes and reachability analysis to reduce the potentially exponential number of goal states, which makes it possible to create an explicit representation of a reversed planning task that can be used for the backward search of BAE*. Our empirical evaluation shows that BAE* solves more instances than A* in multiple domains with significantly fewer node expansions, demonstrating the usefulness of BAE* in planning.


This paper will introduce the theory and practice of DNA-based computing models (DNAbCM). Several models will be provided with the basic tools necessary to understand current research in DNAbCM. Discussion will focus on potential applications to artificial intelligence, scheduling problem, molecular memory and smart machines (or bio-robotics). Following a brief review of DNA structure, an overview of the basic tools from molecular biology utilized in biotechnology (e.g., DNA molecular annealing, ligation, polymerization, restriction enzyme, PCR and POA etc.) will be undertaken. A discussion of the major, basic computational architectures of classical DNA computing models (e.g., Adleman's algorithm for HPP, DNA Chip-based SAT, and etc.) will be provided in each presenting an animation detailing execution of a simple example. Attention will then turn to advanced topics related to molecular memory, hybrid artificial intelligence, in particular, a new semantic network and scheduling smart machine will be presented and implemented on a DNAbCM-inspired semantic model. This discussion on the models and implementations will be undertaken with attention to both theoretical and chemical points of view.


In this paper, we propose a method based on minimum mean squared error (mmse) criterion to estimate synthetic aperture radar interferometry (InSAR) interferometric phase. In this method, the cross-correlation coefficient vector with large coregistration error is given first, and then, the cost function under the mmse criterion is used to estimate the InSAR interferometric phase. The method can auto-coregister the SAR images and reduce the interferometric phase noise simultaneously. Theoretical analysis and computer simulation results show that the method can provide an accurate estimate of the terrain interferometric phase (interferogram) even when the coregistration error reaches 1 pixel.


It is time that formal verification (of both software and hardware systems) be demoted from an art practiced by the enlightened few to an activity routinely and mundanely performed by a cadre of Verification Engineers (a new profession), as a standard part of the system development process. In the talk, we will assess how far we are from the realization of this obvious necessity in terms of 1 2. 3 ,. 4. The current state of the art of existing verification approaches and tools of the two prevalent kinds: Model Checking and De-ductive Verification. The power, =cessibil-ity, friendliness, ease of use and operation of existing tools, and the size of systems they can verify. The qualification and sophistication required of a potential user. The degree of acceptability and future expectations of formal verification within different industrial sectors. The educational background and a proposed curriculum for the new discipline of Verification Engineering. Integration of formal verification with other 5. commonly practiced methods of validation such as testing and simulation. The main obstacles standing in the way: the needs for user interaction. We will analyze the various places where user creativity is called for, such as in the design of powerful abstractions, reduction by symmetry and similarity, and the construction of auxiliary invariants and progress measures. It will be shown that, for particular classes of applications , it is possible to identify verification patterns and application-specific heuristics that can significantly reduce the amount of fresh intellectual effort needed for the consideration of each new instance of a system in this class. Re-usability of verification modules should go hand in hand with re-usability of system modules .


Our longitudinal study unpacks how an informal summer science and mathematics enrichment program influenced the educational pathways of four first-generation college-bound students. Through the lens of identity-in-practice and navigations, we explore their figured worlds of science, positioning and authoring of self in science as they applied to the program, as they participated in the program and later, in light of their college pathways. We explore the range of social and material supports the program made available to the four youth. We also show how they became consequential and for some facilitated navigations into college and STEM degrees while others experienced uncoordinated practices over time that pushed them out of science. Our study of local struggles at three pivotal moments in time attests to the agentive side of youth as they navigate in and out of science and engage in improvisational acts to get educated despite being tangled up in a matrix of oppression. At the same time, our study calls for systemic approaches that bring formal and informal science venues together in a more seamless manner. We call for a strength-based model that recognizes and leverages youths' figured worlds, positionings, and authored selves in science across context and over time in ways that they become consequential, empowering, and supportive of STEM pathways. We also call for more longitudinal studies committed to a theoretical grounding in identity-in-practice and navigations. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 53: 768–801, 2016


The present study began 18 months ago with the isolation of an unidentified organism from four cases of meningoencephalitis, 3 infants and a 56-year-old male. At the post-mortem examination the organism was obtained from all lesions in the last case in conjunction with Pneumococcus Type III. There were multiple foci of necrosis and exudation in the liver of all cases and in both adrenals of one case. Those cases in which the central nervous system was examined showed an extensive meningitis and in two cases an encephalitis. The organism is a Gram-positive, non-spore-forming rod appearing singly, in clumps, or in chains. The colonies resemble those of Streptococcus hemolyticus, differing in that they are larger, flatter, and with a smaller zone of hemolysis. The usual sugars except lactose and glycerine are fermented without gas production. Lactose and glycerine undergo late fermentation. The results with animal inoculation vary with the numbers introduced and with the route. Intravenous injections in rabbits of from 10,000 to 1,000,000 bacilli result in paralysis on the third or fourth day and death in 5 to 6 hours after paralysis. At autopsy the liver and central nervous system show the same lesions as do the human cases. Monkeys remain well until the third or fourth day and then show signs of involvement of the central nervous system but with no paralysis. On being sacrificed, there is present an extensive meningitis. Guinea pigs die in four to five days and at autopsy show a myocarditis and some pericarditis. Intraperitoneal injections of amounts larger than 1,000,000 caused in some cases a fatal septicemia with meningeal involvement. Carriers were not found in the patients' families. Other investigators have isolated the organism from cases of meningoencephalitis. The organism which produces a suppurative meningitis in cows seems to be identical with the one isolated in the present study. A. A. R.


During the past six years at the Biomedical Technical Center of Corning Glass Works, extensive studies on blood film preparation have resulted in a method and an instrument which offer the hematology laboratory better quality than that routinely attainable with the conventional wedge or cover-slip techniques. This spinning method provides the operator with a uniform blood "film" whose cell type distribution accurately reflects the distribution of the original liquid blood sample instead of a "smear." This film improves the accuracy of white blood cell differential counts performed manually; it also enhances the accuracy of recently developed machines which automatically locate and classify leukocytes.


Female specimens of Heteropneustes fossilis show marked seasonal changes in liver and serum proteins, serum calcium, inorganic phosphate and magnesium levels in relation to the ovarian cycle. Their levels increase with the ovarian maturation, record the maximum values during the prespawning phase and gradually decline during spawning and postspawning phases. Thus, a positive correlation exists between liver and serum proteins, serum calcium, inorganic phosphate and magnesium levels during the annual ovarian cycle which seems to be related with vitellogenin synthesis.


One woman is killed every 18 hours in Honduras, but fewer than one in five cases are investigated. Such large-scale human rights abuses and appalling levels of impunity mean that tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) is central to the Raising Her Voice Honduras governance programme. This paper is a snapshot of the work undertaken to challenge the social acceptance of VAWG, from grassroots to state level, and the drive for policy implementation to hold institutions and individuals to account on their obligations to prevent and protect women from violence. Equally powerful is the mass mobilization of grassroots campaigners to amplify, with force and conviction, the message that women have a right to lives free from violence.


The issue of Middle Eastern democracy has long inspired lively academic debate and research from across the ideological and political spectrum. Despite their differences, much of this work measures the successes and failures of Middle Eastern democracy against the Western model, with its antecedents in the political machinations found in Athens during the 5th century B.C. However, there is growing evidence to suggest that the history of democracy began on the other side of the Occidental/Oriental line and can be traced as far back as the early Mesopotamian myths of Enuma Elish, through to the grand empires of the Babylonians, Assyrians, Egyptians and Phoenicians. In the interest of fostering a liberal, democratic and egalitarian Middle East, this paper concludes by suggesting that one strategy for re-thinking the Middle East's democratisation is to engage the powerful discourses of the Middle East's ancient, and democratic, past.


Detailed numerical analysis of monocyclical optical pulse generation using induced-phase modulation between two-color carrier-phase-locked femtosecond pulses is presented. For the generation of a short pulse with a quasi-linear chirped white-continuum spectrum, it is found to be important that the large spectral broadening of each input pulse after fiber propagation is as similar as possible and the total spectral intensity of the synthesized wave at the fiber output is as homogenous as possible. As a result, it is shown that a 2.2-fs 1.3-cycle pulse is generated.


A new solution to the force, displacements, and charges developed in piezoelectric beams is derived. Differing from previous solutions, this development determines the neutral axis where the bending strains are zero and results in a closed form solution (without matrix inversion). With the closed form, simplifications become evident which increase understanding and facilitate calculations. These equations are than expanded to account for axial, built-in strains in the beam. A design example where axial forces exerted by the piezoelectric layer are important is presented.


This paper shows results from experiments diagnosing the development of the Rayleigh–Taylor instability with two-dimensional initial conditions at an embedded, decelerating interface. Experiments are performed at the Omega Laser and use ∼5 kJ of energy to create a planar blast wave in a dense, plastic layer that is followed by a lower density foam layer. The single-mode interface has a wavelength of 50 μm and amplitude of 2.5 μm. Some targets are supplemented with additional modes. The interface is shocked then decelerated by the foam layer. This initially produces the Richtmyer–Meshkov instability followed and then dominated by Rayleigh–Taylor growth that quickly evolves into the nonlinear regime. The experimental conditions are scaled to be hydrodynamically similar to SN1987A in order to study the instabilities that are believed to occur at the He/H interface during the blast-wave-driven explosion phase of the star. Simulations of the experiment were performed using the FLASH hydrodynamics code.


ABSTRACT Anterior mesoderm (AM) and definitive endoderm (DE) progenitors represent the earliest embryonic cell types that are specified during germ layer formation at the primitive streak (PS) of the mouse embryo. Genetic experiments indicate that both lineages segregate from Eomes-expressing progenitors in response to different Nodal signaling levels. However, the precise spatiotemporal pattern of the emergence of these cell types and molecular details of lineage segregation remain unexplored. We combined genetic fate labeling and imaging approaches with single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to follow the transcriptional identities and define lineage trajectories of Eomes-dependent cell types. Accordingly, all cells moving through the PS during the first day of gastrulation express Eomes. AM and DE specification occurs before cells leave the PS from Eomes-positive progenitors in a distinct spatiotemporal pattern. ScRNA-seq analysis further suggested the immediate and complete separation of AM and DE lineages from Eomes-expressing cells as last common bipotential progenitor. Summary: Cells lineages are specified in the mouse embryo already within the primitive streak in which Mesp1-positive mesoderm and Foxa2-positive endoderm are generated in a spatial and temporal sequence from unbiased progenitors.


Ethanol consumption disturbs the balance between the pro- and anti-oxidant systems of the organism, leading to oxidative stress. Electrolyzed-reduced water (ERW) is widely used by people in East Asia for drinking purposes because of its therapeutic properties including scavenging effect of reactive oxygen species. This study was performed to investigate the effect of ERW on acute ethanol-induced hangovers in Sprague-Dawley rats. Alcohol concentration in serum of ERW-treated rats showed significant difference at 1 h, 3 h and 5 h respectively as compared with the rats treated with distilled water. Both alcohol dehydrogenase type 1 and acetaldehyde dehydrogenase related with oxidation of alcohol were significantly increased in liver tissue while the level of aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase in serum was markedly decreased 24 h after pre-oral administration of ERW. Moreover, oral administration of ERW significantly activated non-ezymatic (glutathione) and enzymatic (glutathione peroxidase, glutathione-S-transferase, Cu/Zn-superoxide dismutase and catalase) antioxidants in liver tissues compared with the control group. These results suggest that drinking ERW has an effect of alcohol detoxification by antioxidant mechanism and has potentiality for relief of ethanol-induced hangover symptoms.


This paper provides an assessment of the total cost of ownership (TCO) of a number of 5G fronthauling solutions based on digital and analog radio-over-fiber (RoF) architectures in cloud radio access network (C-RAN). We computed the capital and operational expenditures (CAPEX, OPEX) in the case of an optical fiber aggregation network based on a ring topology. Three different RoF architectures were considered: intermediate frequency analog RoF (IF-A-RoF), digital signal processing assisted analog RoF (DSP-A-RoF), and digital RoF (D-RoF) based on the common public radio interface (CPRI). A greenfield scenario considering both fiber deployment and fiber leasing was analyzed. The results presented in the paper show how the TCO changes with the number of aggregated carriers for the considered RoF architectures and fiber deployment strategy. They also reveal the impact that each cost category has on the overall CAPEX and OPEX value.


SUMMARY We evaluate far-field tsunami hazard in the Indian Ocean Basin based on hydrodynamic simulations of ten case studies of possible mega earthquakes at the major seismic zones surrounding the basin. They represent worst-case scenarios of seismic rupture along the full extent of seismogenic faults having supported large earthquakes in the historical record. In a series of numerical experiments in which the source parameters of the 2004 Sumatra tsunami are allowed to vary one by one, while keeping the seismic moment and the fault orientation unchanged, we document that the main patterns of far-field tsunami amplitudes are remarkably robust with respect to nominal variations in such parameters as hypocentral depth, exact centroid location, and slip distribution on the fault plane. These results validate the concept of modelling case scenarios of potential future earthquakes whose source is by definition imprecise. We consider seismic sources located at the extremities of the 2004 Sumatra‐Andaman rupture, namely along the southern coast of Sumatra and in the Andaman‐Myanmar province; along the Makran coast of Pakistan and Iran; and also along the southern coast of Java, where the possibility of a large interplate thrust earthquake cannot be entirely dismissed. The results of our hydrodynamic simulations indicate that the distribution of maximum amplitudes in the Indian Ocean Basin is primarily controlled by the classical effect of source directivity, and additionally by refraction and focusing along bathymetric features. As a result, many provinces in the basin could be threatened by higher tsunami amplitudes than in 2004. This pattern is particularly important along the coast of East Africa, from Somalia to and including South Africa, in Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands, especially under a South Sumatra scenario involving an earthquake comparable to, or even possibly larger than, the 1833 event, whose epicentral area is widely believed to be under enhanced seismic risk as a result of stress transfer from the 2004 and 2005 ruptures to the northwest, possibly even in the wake of the 2007 Bengkulu earthquakes.


Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been extensively used in studies of biological interactions. Particularly, AFM based force spectroscopy and recognition imaging can sense biomolecules on a single molecule level, having great potential to become a tool for molecular diagnostics in clinics. These techniques, however, require affinity molecules to be attached to AFM tips in order to specifically detect their targets. The attachment chemistry currently used on silicon tips involves multiple steps of reactions and moisture sensitive chemicals, such as (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) and N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) ester, making the process difficult to operate in aqueous solutions. In the present study, we have developed a user-friendly protocol to functionalize the AFM tips with affinity molecules. A key feature of it is that all reactions are carried out in aqueous solutions. In summary, we first synthesized a molecular anchor composed of cyclooctyne and silatrane for introduction of a chemically reactive function to AFM tips and a bifunctional polyethylene glycol linker that harnesses two orthogonal click reactions, copper free alkyne-azide cycloaddition and thiol-vinylsulfone Michael addition, for attaching affinity molecules to AFM tips. The attachment chemistry was then validated by attaching antithrombin DNA aptamers and cyclo-RGD peptides to silicon nitride (SiN) tips, respectively, and measuring forces of unbinding these affinity molecules from their protein cognates human α-thrombin and human α5β1-integrin immobilized on mica surfaces. In turn, we used the same attachment chemistry to functionalize silicon tips with the same affinity molecules for AFM based recognition imaging, showing that the disease-relevant biomarkers such as α-thrombin and α5β1-integrin can be detected with high sensitivity and specificity by the single molecule technique. These studies demonstrate the feasibility of our attachment chemistry for the use in functionalization of AFM tips with affinity molecules.


Explicit solvent molecular dynamics simulations (in total almost 800 ns including locally enhanced sampling runs) were applied with different ion conditions and with two force fields (AMBER and CHARMM) to characterize typical geometries adopted by the flanking bases in the RNA kissing-loop complexes. We focus on flanking base positions in multiple x-ray and NMR structures of HIV-1 DIS kissing complexes and kissing complex from the large ribosomal subunit of Haloarcula marismortui. An initial x-ray open conformation of bulged-out bases in HIV-1 DIS complexes, affected by crystal packing, tends to convert to a closed conformation formed by consecutive stretch of four stacked purine bases. This is in agreement with those recent crystals where the packing is essentially avoided. We also observed variants of the closed conformation with three stacked bases, while nonnegligible populations of stacked geometries with bulged-in bases were detected, too. The simulation results reconcile differences in positions of the flanking bases observed in x-ray and NMR studies. Our results suggest that bulged-out geometries are somewhat more preferred, which is in accord with recent experiments showing that they may mediate tertiary contacts in biomolecular assemblies or allow binding of aminoglycoside antibiotics.


In 1992, the Nursing Department Documentation Committee at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital decided to revise the process of and forms for documenting nursing diagnoses. A sub-committee developed a format for standardized nursing care plans and piloted its use on two patient care units. The unit nursing staffs selected a number of common nursing diagnoses and, using the new format, developed standardized nursing care plans for them. After refining the process based on this pilot, the development of care plans was extended to all patient care units. A collaborative partnership was then formed between interested Primary Nurses, the Psychiatric Clinical Nurse Specialist and the Nursing Practice Coordinator to focus on developing psychosocially-oriented care plans as well as physically-oriented plans. Although psychosocial diagnoses are less frequently identified in the assessment process and included in nursing care planning, they are still very important for providing comprehensive care. This article describes the process of developing and implementing psychosocial care plans. This article also describes the components of the standardized nursing care plans developed for four psychosocial nursing diagnoses.


We propose a probabilistic video model, the Video Pixel Network (VPN), that estimates the discrete joint distribution of the raw pixel values in a video. The model and the neural architecture reflect the time, space and color structure of video tensors and encode it as a four-dimensional dependency chain. The VPN approaches the best possible performance on the Moving MNIST benchmark, a leap over the previous state of the art, and the generated videos show only minor deviations from the ground truth. The VPN also produces detailed samples on the action-conditional Robotic Pushing benchmark and generalizes to the motion of novel objects.


During a severe accident of a nuclear reactor, radioactive aerosols may be released from degraded nuclear fuels. Pool scrubbing is one of the efficient filters with a high aerosol removal efficiency, in other words a high decontamination factor (DF). Because of its high performance, many pool scrubbing experiments have been performed and several pool scrubbing models have been proposed. In the existing pool scrubbing experiments, an experimental condition of aerosol number concentration was seldom taken into account. It is probably because DF is assumed to be independent of aerosol number concentration, at least, in the concentration where aerosol coagulation is limited. The existing pool scrubbing models also follow this assumption.
 In order to verify this assumption, we performed a pool scrubbing experiment with different aerosol number concentrations under the same boundary conditions. The test section is a transparent polycarbonate pipe with an inner diameter of 0.2 m. 0.5 μm SiO2 particles were used as aerosols. As a result, DF was increasing as decreasing the aerosol number concentration. In order to ensure a reliability of this result, three validation tests were performed with meticulous care. According to the results of these validation tests, it was indicated that DF dependence on the aerosol concentration was not because of our experimental system error including measurement instruments but a real phenomenon of the pool scrubbing.


Analysis of Modified Mercalli intensity (MMI) observations for a training set of 22 California earthquakes suggests a strategy for bounding the epicentral region and moment magnitude M from MMI observations only. We define an intensity magnitude MI that is calibrated to be equal in the mean to M. MI = mean (Mi), where Mi = (MMIi + 3.29 + 0.0206 * Δi)/1.68 and Δi is the epicentral distance (km) of observation MMIi. The epicentral region is bounded by contours of rms [MI] = rms (MI − Mi − rms0 (MI − Mi), where rms is the root mean square, rms0 (MI − Mi) is the minimum rms over a grid of assumed epicenters, and empirical site corrections and a distance weighting function are used. Empirical contour values for bounding the epicenter location and empirical bounds for M estimated from MI appropriate for different levels of confidence and different quantities of intensity observations are tabulated. The epicentral region bounds and MI obtained for an independent test set of western California earthquakes are consistent with the instrumental epicenters and moment magnitudes of these earthquakes. The analysis strategy is particularly appropriate for the evaluation of pre-1900 earthquakes for which the only available data are a sparse set of intensity observations.


This special section of Focaal explores processes of social recovery and peacebuilding in the aftermath of radical violence and political upheaval. The articles draw on detailed ethnographic case studies from Bosnia and Herzegovina, a country that was shattered by war and ethnic cleansing in the 1990s, and raise issues of relevance to other post-conflict situations. Challenging "reconciliation" as a moral discourse with universalist claims, the articles highlight the dynamics of its localization in different contexts of intervention in post-war society. The four contributions explore different facets of this dynamic as it is played out in the key areas of justice, the return of refugees and internally displaced persons, and NGO peace-building activities. They illuminate what happens when the global paradigm of reconciliation encounters and filters through meanings and motivations of actors in local contexts. They also note that everyday interactions between former adversaries take place not as a moral engagement with reconciliation but as part of rebuilding a sense of normality. The findings point to the need to critically investigate the conditions under which such encounters may empower or prohibit the rebuilding of social relations and trust in post-war societies.


By using fluorescent microscopy and acridine orange staining it was shown in the studies on short-term culture of human cells that the melting patterns of chromatin DNA of intact lymphocytes of healthy individuals represented the curves with 6 maxima (F530) at the temperature ranges of 45 degrees C, 65 degrees C, 85 degrees C, and 92 degrees C (P less than 0.01). The melting patterns of lymphocytes from patients with Down's disease represented curves with 4 maxima at the temperature ranges of 65 degrees C, 85 degrees C, 88 degrees C, 92 degrees C (P less than 0.01). No decline in the fluorescence intensity at the temperature intervals of 78 degrees C-85 degrees C was apparently due to a greater degree of condensation of definite regions of the trisomal cell chromatin complex. Possible mechanisms accounting for structural readjustments of the interphasic human lymphocyte chromatin occurring under thermal effects are discussed.


This short monograph, described by the author as a "text atlas," is, in reality, a "master's class" for a select group of surgeons who perform extensive rhinoplasty. No doubt the book will be a classic for those for whom it is intended. However, the book succeeds beyond these limited confines. It is a marvelously crafted gem—a single-authored book in which the teacher conveys a cohesive, integrated, and tightly woven message. The text is very brief but is quite cogent as it is supported and complemented by a wealth of world-class photographs and illustrations. The use of close-up photographs of fresh cadaver specimens coupled with clear, color renderings of the same stage of dissection is simply outstanding. In this case, a picture is worth more than the proverbial thousand words. The book is arranged in four sections that establish the basics and flows nicely from surface anatomy to deeper and more complicated structures


The development of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and colon cancer (CC) has been shown to involve the up-regulation of inflammatory mediators and the machinery producing them such as the eicosanoids. Changes in the expression of extracellular matrix proteins and their related integrin receptors have also been shown to be important in the advancement IBD and CC. In light of this, we have investigated the role of eicosanoids in cell migration a key process in IBD and CC. This was through direct stimulation, with the eicosanoid leukotriene D4 (LTD4) or indirectly through inducing cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2; an enzyme involved in the production of various eicosanoids) expression, by activating integrin collagen receptors. We observed that direct stimulation with LT D4, induced intestinal epithelial cell migration, through activation of the CysLT1 receptor, phosphotidylinositol-3 kinase, Vav2 and Rac localisation to membrane ruffles. Indirect stimulation, by activating COX-2 expression in a _2_1 integrin dependent manner was able to elicit a migratory response. The integrin dependent COX-2 expression was shown to be mediated through the activation of CD47 and its associated G_i3 protein, which in turn lead to protein kinase C_, the Ras GTPase and NF_B activation. COX-2 expression is synonymous with activation of the protein. Inhibition of COX-2 expression or specifically inhibiting COX-2 activity, resulted in cell adhesion being favoured over cell migration in a CD47 dependent manner. Thus understanding cellular mechanisms leading to cell migration may reveal novel targets and lead to new therapeutic strategies in treating IBD and CC. (Less)


Girls' access to secondary education is a serious challenge, especially in remote rural areas of Pakistan. At the primary level, 32 per cent of girls are out of school, by grade six the percentage of out of school-girls reaches 59 per cent and only 13 per cent make it to the 9th grade. It has a very serious bearing on their capacities to claim their full potential, achieve their basic human rights and attain an acceptable standard of living. // Bedari, a women and girls' rights civil society organization in Pakistan has supported 1000s of girls from rural areas of Pakistan to complete their secondary education. The support included community mobilization around the benefits of girls' education and financial incentives to bear the school expenditures. Along with ensuring girls' access to formal education, Bedari trained these girls on life skills and basic human rights. It also trained parents and community volunteers on the rights of girls and the importance of secondary education. It also did intensive community mobilization in the partner communities. Bedari implemented these projects during the last 12 years. It is high time to evaluate the impact of these projects. This research aims to see the impact of these innovative efforts on the lives of girls, their families and communities. It will also see the challenges of girls' secondary education in semi-tribal societies such as the district of Chakwal, Pakistan. // The researcher will conduct a random selection of partner villages and the girls who participated in these projects. We will conduct FGDs and In-depth Interviews of selected stakeholders of all kinds. The indicators will include the role of girls in decision-making at individual, family and community levels, SRHR status, age at marriage, family size and birth spacing, income and wellbeing of the family. More indicators can be added if suggested by the communities during the field research. The paper will give a clear picture of the impact of the innovative approach. // The author will present the results of the research already conducted.


The error against the right thing, and error driving and mis tide against right has erred errors wrong ... and sin guilt or deliberately him Kalkhte broken, and the error is not deliberately, and his mistake faulted and Taktiia said he made a mistake and Khtye faulting mistake and sinners Peixarhama, and sin ostracism little of everything and Khtye in religion and made a mistake: wire for error deliberately or other deliberate or wrong. Error is not for everyone it accidentally is valid excuse to fall right God if obtained for diligence and become compromised in the punishment so as not criminalizes the sinner not be punished for a no punishment and did not make an excuse in the right subjects until he shall ensure that the aggression and Ojpt its blood money as if he threw someone thinks Sidon or of war. If is Muslim or purpose, wounding Adamia what happened Knaum its course and then turned on the man, killing him. The error also slippage on the right for non-intentionally, but the determination of injury or d that is not wrong. The linguistic errors have some in the single and this individual is different from its counterpart In the movements just like: Khartoum and Khartoum, and the difference here opening included a ha character, including: Mataath and Mataath broken Almim or opened and throat, larynx annexation ha or opened, or that the difference with a single character such as (a) a D as a character in the sorry and unfortunately, others will be the difference in capital letters the word, including: the rich and the dirt, fortitude and resilience, and Juan table. With regard to the second part, which is the errors contained in the phrase, it included a few sentences, including: from now, from now and where we mentioned (now) and the issue of expressing and construction in the Koran did not respond, expressing, but based on the Conquest in eight locations However, there are some language holders, including Suyuti in his book: HmaAlhuama to explain the collection of mosques, c 2 / p. 187 prepared by expressing ((and chosen me to say expressing because it has not been proven to build bug, saying he Mansob on circumstantial though it entered the drag and out for situational non-static)) . It is the sentences  too: a pilgrimage to the house pilgrimage to the House, nor Alaomina not Alaumna: to Aalaomina wrong; because Alamlawma be of the blame has been received in the Koran once and that are also covered by this section: (authorized b) and (his ear in) and a difference enhanced meaning of each sentence a witness or more from the Holy Quran, and also including: like us to, right: just like us in, and other sentences.


A comprehensive electron spectroscopic study combined with partial electron yield measurements around the Br 1s ionization threshold of HBr at ≅13.482 keV is reported. In detail, the Br 1s-1 X-ray absorption spectrum, the 1s-1 photoelectron spectrum as well as the normal and resonant KLL Auger spectra are presented. Moreover, the L-shell Auger spectra measured with photon energies below and above the Br 1s-1 ionization energy as well as on top of the Br 1s-1σ* resonance are shown. The latter two Auger spectra represent the second step of the decay cascade subsequent to producing a Br 1s-1 core hole. The measurements provide information on the electron and nuclear dynamics of deep core-excited states of HBr on the femtosecond timescale. From the different spectra the lifetime broadening of the Br 1s-1 single core-hole state as well as of the Br(2s-2,2s-12p-1,2p-2)  double core-hole states are extracted and discussed. The slope of the strongly dissociative HBr 2p-2σ* potential energy curve is found to be about -13.60 eV Å-1. The interpretation of the experimental data, and in particular the assignment of the spectral features in the KLL and L-shell Auger spectra, is supported by relativistic calculations for HBr molecule and atomic Br.


Abstract : In control system design, it is often the case that the structure of the system is known, but some of the coefficients of the system equations are functions of parameters that cannot be determined until the system is in operation. For systems whose coefficients depend on parameters, a major problem of interest is the design of controllers or regulators which satisfy a given set of performance specifications for all possible values of the parameters. In this paper we shall concentrate on the design of regulators to achieve tracking and/or disturbance rejection for all possible values of the parameters. The gains in the regulators will be functions of the parameters. To be able to implement the gains for real-time operation, they must be 'nice' functions of the parameters, such as polynomial functions. We shall give conditions which insure that tracking and disturbance rejection can be accomplished using polynomial gains, and then indicate how the polynomial gains can be computed off-line.


The performance of several combinations of feature extraction and target classification algorithms is analyzed for Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery using the standard Moving and Stationary Target Acquisition and Recognition (MSTAR) evaluation method. For feature extraction, 2D Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) is used to extract Fourier coefficients (frequency information) while 2D wavelet decomposition is used to extract wavelet coefficients (time-frequency information), from which subsets of characteristic in-class "invariant" coefficients are developed. Confusion matrices and Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves are used to evaluate and compare combinations of these characteristic coefficients with several classification methods, including Lp metric distances, a Multi Layer Perceptron (MLP) Neural Network (NN) and AND Corporation's Holographic Neural Technology (HNeT) classifier. The evaluation method examines the trade-off between correct detection rate and false alarm rate for each combination of feature-classifier systems. It also measures correct classification, misclassification and rejection rates for a 90% detection rate. Our analysis demonstrates the importance of feature and classifier selection in accurately classifying new target images.


Objectives The objectives of this study were to asses (1) inter-rater and intrarater reliability of ultrasound imaging in patients with hip osteoarthritis, and (2) agreement between ultrasound and X-ray findings of hip osteoarthritis using validated Outcome Measures in Rheumatology ultrasound definitions for pathology. Design An inter-rater and intrarater reliability study. Setting A single-centre study conducted at a regional hospital. Participants 50 patients >39 years of age referred for radiography due to hip pain and suspected hip osteoarthritis were included. Exclusion criteria were previous hip surgery in the painful hip, suspected fracture or malignant changes in the hip. Intervention Bilateral ultrasound examinations (n=92) were performed continuously by two experienced operators blinded to clinical information and other imaging findings. After 4–6 weeks, one operator reassessed the images. X-rays were assessed by a third imaging specialist. Primary and secondary outcome measures Inter-rater and intrarater reliability and agreement between ultrasound imaging and X-ray were assessed using Cohen's ordinal kappa statistics for binary categorical variables and weighted kappa for ordered categorical variables. Results Kappa values (κ) for inter-rater reliability were 0.9 and 0.8 for hip effusion/synovitis and osteoarthritis grading, respectively. For acetabular and femoral osteophytes, femoral cartilage changes and labrum changes κ ranged from 0.4 to 0.7. Intrarater reliability had κ equal or higher compared with inter-rater reliability. Agreement between ultrasound and X-ray findings ranged from κ=0.2 to κ=0.5. Conclusion This study demonstrated substantial to almost perfect reliability on the most common ultrasound findings related to hip osteoarthritis and osteoarthritis grading. Agreement on the grade of osteoarthritis between ultrasound and X-ray was moderate. Overall, these results support ultrasound imaging as a reliable tool in the assessment of hip osteoarthritis.


The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of top management team characteristics on the performance of municipal councils. The target population was 50 top and middle level managers at the Municipal ·Councils in Nyeri County. The researcher gave a background of the study, its purpose, objectives and the research questions. The researcher also recognized the work done by other researchers through reference to their literature, reference to recent studies or publications on the effects of top management team characteristics, justification of the study, conceptual framework and operational framework. Finally, the methodology that was used in carrying out the research was outlined. A descriptive cross sectional survey was carried out to establish the effects of top management team characteristics on the performance of municipal councils. 50 members of the municipal councils top management team were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. The means of data collection, analysis and presentation was also highlighted. Additional data was retrieved from files and reports in custody of the council. The study found that 68% of the respondents in the study were male with the women making up only 32% of the study population. All the respondents' agreed that the size of the top management team mattered and the major reason given for this was the influence of the level of interpersonal relations. The experience of the top level management was found to have influence on the performance of organizations especially with regards to the functional field. The researcher concluded that the country still has a long way to go with regards to achieving gender equality. The researcher also concluded that more and more people were embracing education. Among others the researcher recommended that more research should be carried out to determine what between small and big size management teams produce the best results.


Inflation allows the problem of the Arrow of time to be understood as a question about the structure of spacetime: why was the intrinsic curvature of the earliest spatial sections so much better behaved than it might have been? This is really just the complement of a more familiar problem: what mechanism prevents the extrinsic curvature of space from diverging, as classical General Relativity suggests? We argue that the stringy version of "creation from nothing", sketched by Ooguri, Vafa, and Verlinde, solves both of these problems at once. The argument, while very simple, hinges on some of the deepest theorems in global differential geometry. These results imply that when a spatially toral spacetime is created from nothing, the earliest spatial sections are forced to be [quasiclassically] exactly locally isotropic. This local isotropy, in turn, forces the inflaton into its minimal-entropy state. The theory explains why the Arrow does not reverse in black holes or in a cosmic contraction, if any. 1. The Arrow of Time: What Inflation Does For Us One of the deepest mysteries in physics is the origin of the Arrow of time. The first step towards understanding this mystery was identifying where the explanation is to be looked for: in cosmology. For example, the immediate origin of the low-entropy conditions in our local environment is the Sun; and the Sun's ability to play this role can readily be traced back to the extremely low total entropy of the Big Bang era. [Excellent surveys of this question have been given by Albrecht [1], Price [2], and Carroll and Chen [3]; see also [4] for relevant general background.] The problem is now in the cosmological domain: why was the entropy so low at that time — what set up the conditions that allowed the nucleosynthesis which provided the raw materials for the Sun, together with the subsequent local contraction which formed it? It is important to understand that we have no right to expect a single answer to this question. The low entropy of the very earliest universe might well have been stored in a vast variety of ways, as Price [2] emphasises. In fact, however, the theory of Inflation [5] provides a beautifully simple answer. The matter and radiation of the early Big Bang era derived its low entropy from a single source: the inflaton. For it was the inflaton that generated the equilibrium that obtained just before re-heating, and it was of course the inflaton that drove re-heating itself. This is the first service that Inflation performs in our search for the origin of the Arrow of time: it reduces what could have been an enormously complex collection of problems [explaining a whole variety of ways in which the initial low entropy state might have been arranged] to a single one: why was the inflaton itself in a special state [6] in the beginning? The special initial state of the inflaton had a precise form: the inflaton was in a "potential-dominated" state. The stress-energy-momentum tensor for the inflaton has the form


Abstract. The exponential increase in the use of altimeter data in oceanographic studies in the past two decades has improved the knowledge of the processes that govern the interaction between the ocean and the atmosphere. One of these processes is the response of the ocean to atmospheric pressure variations, which has been deeply analysed in the past. That response is based on the isostatic assumption used to establish a standard correction for altimetric purposes, the Inverse Barometer Correction ( IBC ). As a general rule, the ocean goes up/down 1cm when the atmospheric pressure goes down/up 1mbar. However, in light of recent works in some oceanic regions, discrepancies arise when the real response is compared to the hypothetical one. It is important to quantify this discrepancy, in order to improve the accuracy of the correction, which is one of the most significant geophysical corrections applied to altimeter records. Some aspects of this response remain unclear, such as the real space-temporal scales where IBC can be applied, the influence of wind, non-isostatic atmospheric pressure-driven signals, and the effect of aliasing from high frequency signals. This paper is an attempt to gain insight into this phenomenon. The data used are the residuals obtained between sea surface heights from the ERS-2 altimeter and the outputs of a global barotropic ocean model. Significant departures from the hypothetical isostatic response in all data series (spatial and temporal domain) have been found, especially in the case of altimeter records. By applying the collinear track method, we observe that the estimated Atlantic Ocean response is quite similar to the one deduced from the isostatic assumption at all latitudinal bands. Nonetheless, the Indian and Pacific Oceans show important departures from the hypothetical value at low latitudes. Results obtained with the crossover track method show important deviations at low latitudes in the three basins. In order to understand why the Atlantic Ocean response is different from the one obtained in the other two, we can infer some explanations based on the interaction of seasonal and intraseasonal signals with the isostatic one. Key words. Meteorology and atmospheric dynamics (ocean-atmosphere interactions). Oceanography: physical (sea level variations; remote sensing, instruments and techniques)


BACKGROUND
The risk of developing open angle glaucoma increases in the presence of associated disorders such as hypertension, Diabetes mellitus and migraine. In recent years, sleep apnoea is also being investigated as a risk factor in the development of open angle glaucoma.

AIM
To ascertain the significance of sleep apnoea as a risk factor in patients with glaucoma. Study Setting and Design: A non - randomised, cross sectional study was undertaken at an urban teaching hospital.

MATERIAL AND METHOD
A sleep disturbance questionnaire and the Epworth sleepiness scale were used to screen the potential cases of sleep apnoea amongst 40 glaucomatous subjects, with both Primary Open Angle Glaucoma (POAG) and Normotensive Glaucoma (NTG), as well as 40 controls. Those which gave a positive response to the questionnaire were subjected to poly-somnography for the diagnosis of sleep apnoea, with the calculation of the Apnoea Hypopnoea Index. The data was analysed by using the Chi - square test and the odds ratio calculations.

RESULTS
Positive responses to the sleep apnoea questionnaire were obtained from a total of twenty participants, 16 (40%) from the glaucoma Group and four (10%) were obtained from the control Group. In the glaucoma Group, ten (37.03%) of the 27 POAG individuals, and six (46.15%) of the 13 NTG cases showed significant positive responses to the questionnaire. Four subjects (10%) (1POAG, 3 NTG) from the glaucoma Group and one (2.5%) from the control Group were diagnosed to have sleep apnoea by polysomnography. The percentage of the sleep apnoea positive cases was higher among the NTG subjects (23.07%) than among the POAG subjects (3.7 %). This study had an odds ratio of 4.333 (>1) and a p value of 0.382.

CONCLUSION
Although the odds ratio was significant, this study did not find the association between sleep apnoea and glaucoma to be statistically significant.


The primary purpose of the study was to examine methodological issues in investigations of the relative effects of schooling and age on school performance. One means of separating these 2 effects involves the use of a between-grade regression discontinuity approach. However, amongst other things, this approach is based on assumptions concerning the mechanism for allocating students to grades. Using the Swedish sample of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 1995, which comprised 3 grades (Grades 6, 7, and 8), the study investigates the robustness of the regression discontinuity approach in terms of deviations from underlying assumptions. The main finding is that the technique is robust vis-à-vis deviations from a strictly age-based grade allocation present in the data. The pattern of substantive results also corresponds with those obtained in previous research, with the grade effect being about twice as strong as the age effect.


Background: Drug administration is a main duty of a nurse's clinical role. It involves great risk in patients' lives and can potentially cause great harm. Despite many safeguards, preventable medication errors still occur. The aim of this descriptive quantitative study is to explore geriatric nurses' perceptions of medication errors, perceived causes and their reporting behaviours. Methods: A selfreport standardized survey was used to collect data from a purpose sample of nurses (n=17) working on geriatric wards at the Montfort hospital located in the province of Ontario. Data entry and analysis were done by using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 12 and presented using frequencies, number and percentage. Results: The most frequently identified causes of medication errors were failure to check patient's name band with the patient's medication administration record (MAR), nurses' tiredness, illegible physician handwriting, and nurses' miscalculations of medication doses. In general, nurses were usually sure of constitutes a medication error and when to report it. However, only 30% of errors were perceived by nurses to be reported to the nurse manager. More than half (64.7%) of participants perceived that, some errors are not reported because nurses are afraid of the reaction they will receive from the nurse manager and the majority of them will notify the physician than to complete an incident report. Conclusion: Recognizing a medication error is the first step to reduce report and eliminate them, especially in acute care settings. Finding suggests that nurses need more educational reenforcement as to various issues related to medication errors, particularly defining and reporting these errors. Furthermore, the introduction of hospital policies and the development of structured protocols on drug administration may decrease medication errors. The hospital administration system needs to stress the importance of reporting errors and adopt a non-punitive approach to safeguard patient safety.


AIM
This paper is a report of a study of the judgement processes nurses use when evaluating World Wide Web information related to nursing practice.

BACKGROUND
The World Wide Web has increased the global accessibility of online health information. However, the variable nature of the quality of World Wide Web information and its perceived level of reliability may lead to misinformation. This makes demands on healthcare professionals, and on nurses in particular, to ensure that health information of reliable quality is selected for use in practice.

METHOD
A grounded theory approach was adopted. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups were used to collect data, between 2004 and 2005, from 20 nurses undertaking a postqualification graduate course at a university and 13 nurses from a local hospital in the United Kingdom.

FINDINGS
A theoretical framework emerged that gave insight into the judgement process nurses use when evaluating World Wide Web information. Participants broke the judgement process down into specific tasks. In addition, they used tacit, process and propositional knowledge and intuition, quasi-rational cognition and analysis to undertake these tasks. World Wide Web information cues, time available and nurses' critical skills were influencing factors in their judgement process.

CONCLUSION
Addressing the issue of quality and reliability associated with World Wide Web information is a global challenge. This theoretical framework could contribute towards meeting this challenge.


We consider generalized chameleon models where the conformal coupling between matter and gravitational geometries is not only a function of the chameleon field ϕ, but also of its derivatives via higher order co-ordinate invariants (such as ∂μϕ∂μϕ,□ϕ,…). Specifically we consider the first such non-trivial conformal factor A(ϕ,∂μϕ∂μϕ). The associated phenomenology is investigated and we show that such theories have a new generic mass-altering mechanism, potentially assisting the generation of a sufficiently large chameleon mass in dense environments. The most general effective potential is derived for such derivative chameleon setups and explicit examples are given. Interestingly this points us to the existence of a purely derivative chameleon protected by a shift symmetry for ϕ → ϕ+c. We also discuss potential ghost-like instabilities associated with mass-lifting mechanisms and find another, mass-lowering and instability-free, branch of solutions. This suggests that, barring fine-tuning, stable derivative models are in fact typically anti-chameleons that suppress the field's mass in dense environments. Furthermore we investigate modifications to the thin-shell regime and prove a no-go theorem for chameleon effects in non-conformal geometries of the disformal type.


The credit derivatives market is booming and, for the first time, expanding into the banking sector which previously has had very little exposure to quantitative modeling. This phenomenon has forced a large number of professionals to confront this issue for the first time.
Credit Derivatives Pricing Models provides an extremely comprehensive overview of the most current areas in credit risk modeling as applied to the pricing of credit derivatives. As one of the first books to uniquely focus on pricing, this title is also an excellent complement to other books on the application of credit derivatives.
Based on proven techniques that have been tested time and again, this comprehensive resource provides readers with the knowledge and guidance to effectively use credit derivatives pricing models. Filled with relevant examples that are applied to real-world pricing problems, Credit Derivatives Pricing Models paves a clear path for a better understanding of this complex issue.


Background: Use of wrist-worn activity monitors has increased over the past few years; however, the use of the Fitbit® Charge HR (FCHR) in a community setting in patients with heart failure has not been tested. Purpose: The purpose of the study was to assess the feasibility, practicality and acceptability of utilizing the FCHR to validate self-reported exercise diaries and monitor exercise in community dwelling patients with heart failure. Methods: Thirty heart failure patients (12 females and 18 males) aged 64.7 ± 11.5 years were provided with a FCHR. Participants were provided with an exercise routine and for eight weeks, recorded their exercise sessions in self-reported exercise diaries and used the FCHR to record those exercise sessions. Results: Exercise data from the self-reported exercise diaries were validated with data from the FCHR. Participants' perception and acceptance of using the FCHR was positive. Validation of exercise and physical activity interventions using the FCHR appears feasible and acceptable in patients with heart failure. Conclusion: Wrist-worn activity monitors can be useful for objective measurement of exercise adherence and monitoring of physical activity in patients with heart failure in a community setting.


This paper compares financial costs and benefits of floating rice-based and intensive rice farming systems using data from focus group discussions and household survey in four locations in the Mekong Delta. We argue that the net financial benefit per 1000m2 of integrated floating rice-based farming systems is greater than the net financial benefit of intensive rice farming system. The total net benefit of floating rice-leeks shows the highest net benefit (VND 24.8 mil./1000 m2), followed by floating rice-sweet corn- two baby corn crops and cattle systems (VND 18.5 mil./1000m2), and floating rice-chili (VND 16.7-17.7 mil./1000m2). If farmers cultivate monoculture of rice either two or three crops, the net benefits are ranging from VND 2.2-4.8 mil./1000m2 respectively. Alternatively, farmers integrate vegetables; the net benefit was ranging from VND 5.6 to 11.7 mil./1000m2. The net benefit of the two rice crops is lowest (VND 1.3-2.3 mil./1000m2). Surprisingly, if farmers convert from two intensive rice crops to two maize crops, the net benefit can reach to VND 21 million/1000m2. The results support the argument that the floating rice based systems allows farmers diversified into profitable upland crops, which can help farmers to improve their total income.?


Time is an essential component of instructional decision-making and subject area prioritization.  The greater the amount of instructional time teachers allocate toward a specific subject the greater the content exposure and opportunity to engage learners.  Evidence suggests that social studies receives short shrift in the elementary schools resulting in the undermining of opportunities to learn the subject in meaningful ways.  Using survey data from 2,336 elementary social studies teachers, we examined relationships among the professional attitudes and instructional decision-making of elementary school teachers on reported social studies instructional time.  Results from analyses indicated that teachers who used discipline-specific methods, integrated within English Language Arts, and who reported being satisfied with teaching social studies spent significantly increased time on social studies.  Moreover, teachers who reported more frequent social studies content integration or who reported having a mandated test spent more time on discipline-specific strategies than teachers who did not.  Findings have implications for teacher educators preparing elementary practitioners, school leaders accommodating the field, and policymakers attempting to position social studies within an era of accountability.


The ability to monitor the behaviour of machine tools and cutting processes is important both from a research perspective as well as in industrial applications such as adaptive control, condition monitoring, process optimization and quality control. The division of Manufacturing Engineering at Lulei University of Technology has been carrying out research in the area of hgh speed and multi axis (5-axis) machming since the mid 1990s. Ths European and nationally funded research, much of it carried out with Nottingham University and Sandvlk Coromant, as well as in manufacturing companies in Sweden and the UK, has focused on understanding the possibilities offered by 5-axishgh-speed machining, as well as understanding the machining process. This initially empirical work has become more qualitative through the development of an instrumented machine tool test bed based on a 5-axis Leichti Turbomill equipped with a 24,000 rpm spindle and fast controller. The machine installation costs approximately 1.000.000 USD. The instrumentation that has been implemented includes piezo-electric force transducers in the machine table whilst ongoing work will move the research focus towards monitoring vibration in the workpiece for which accelerometers and acoustic emission sensors will be used. The work presented will highlight the problems and solutions involved in creating the present test bed as well as indicating future research directions and challenges.


BACKGROUND
At 2.2 percent in 2012, the home birth rate in Iceland is the highest in the Nordic countries and has been rising rapidly in the new millennium. The objective of this study was to compare the outcomes of planned home births and planned hospital births in comparable low-risk groups in Iceland.

METHODS
The study is a retrospective cohort study comparing the total population of 307 planned home births in Iceland in 2005-2009 to a matched 1:3 sample of 921 planned hospital births. Regression analysis, adjusted for confounding variables, was performed for the primary outcome variables.

RESULTS
The rate of oxytocin augmentation, epidural analgesia, and postpartum hemorrhage was significantly lower when labor started as a planned home birth. Differences in the rates of other primary outcome variables were not significant. The home birth group had lower rates of operative birth and obstetric anal sphincter injury. The rate of 5-minute Apgar score < 7 was the same in the home and hospital birth groups, but the home birth group had a higher rate of neonatal intensive care unit admission. Intervention and adverse outcome rates in both study groups, including transfer rates, were higher among primiparas than multiparas. Oxytocin augmentation, epidural analgesia, and postpartum hemorrhage rates were significantly interrelated.

CONCLUSIONS
This study adds to the growing body of evidence that suggests that planned home birth for low-risk women is as safe as planned hospital birth.


This paper examines the compressive failure mechanism in edge-to-edge loaded corrugated sandwich panels. The formation of face wrinkles is specifically considered. A detailed finite element model of face sheets and web core of a sandwich panel was developed to provide insight on the failure mechanism. A gradient enhanced continuum damage theory was implemented to capture length effects caused by the material microstructure including formation of damage in the face sheets and core. Distributions of strains in the face sheets determined from finite element analysis (FEA) are compared to experimentally measured strains. The predicted location and orientation of the face wrinkle, as indicated by high values of the second principal strain, agrees well with experimental observations.Load vs. out-of-plane deflection curves obtained from FEA with the gradient enhanced damage material model are compared to those obtained from a linear-elastic material model and experimentally determined curves. The gradient enhanced solution gives qualitatively better agreement with experimental results, although the magnitudes of strains are less than those determined experimentally.


The release of pollutants such as metals into the aquatic environment has raised concerns over the health of coral reefs, as elevated concentrations of metals are known to cause oxidative stress and bleaching. This is an important issue to address as metals are continuously released into the environment and there is evidence that metals such as copper can still be prevalent after historical mining activities, particularly in estuaries around the Plymouth Sound, UK. Anemonia viridis is commonly found around this area and is used in the literature as a model organism for coral species. A.viridis harbours symbiotic zooxanthellae and is also known to have strong regenerative abilities. The aim of this study was twofold: 1) to determine whether copper affected the regenerative abilities of A.viridis, using zooxanthellae density, glutathione content and lipid peroxidation products as indicators of oxidative stress, and 2) to generate new data on the regenerative abilities in A.viridis of different sizes. A new image analysis method was employed to quantify regeneration in tentacles. Results showed that copper induced oxidative stress as there was significant bleaching of zooxanthellae and an increase in total glutathione content (P < 0.05). Oxidative stress appeared to have an adverse effect on the initial growth rates of tentacles. Larger anemones had faster rates of regeneration compared to smaller anemones (P < 0.05) and the symbiont density varied in regenerating tentacles. This study demonstrated that copper had an adverse effect on the symbiotic status and regenerative ability in anemones, which may have implications for the health and growth of anemones and coral reefs worldwide as a result of metal pollution.


Two new algorithms that facilitate the implementation of RSA in software are described. Both algorithms are essentially concerned with performing modular arithmetic operations on very large numbers, which could be of potential use to applications other than RSA. One algorithm performs modular reduction and the other performs modular multiplication. Both algorithms are based on the use of look-up tables to enable the arithmetic computations to be done on a byte by byte basis. >


The formation of gas phase boron and carbon containing molecular species at high temperatures (thermal plasma) is investigated theoretically, by computing the equilibrium composition of the gas mixture containing boron, carbon, hydrogen and argon. The calculations are performed for the temperature range between 500 and 6000 K, B/C=1 and 2 and for the total pressure in the system of 1 bar. Use is made of the fact that the thermal plasma is plasma in local thermodynamic equilibrium, which makes possible theoretical determination (by employing the Gibbs free energy data for the compounds present in the system) of its equilibrium composition. From the calculated compositions of the investigated gas systems, presented in this paper, it was concluded that the initial molecule for cluster formation, as a connection between individual molecules and the solid state, in the case of the synthesis of solid boron carbide by means of thermal plasma should be the B2C molecule.


What it may lack in numbers, Scotland has always made up for in the independence and enterprise of its inhabitants. While Scotland cannot claim much part in the earliest stages of printed circuit development, it should come as no surprise that the land which bore Alexander Graham Bell and John Logie Baird should have seized the opportunity of exploiting this other aspect of innovative technology, and that, for its mere 5 million inhabitants, it should boast a disproportionately large share of involvement in the printed circuit board industry. The total number of people involved in the PCB manufacturing industry (non‐captive market only) in England has been estimated at approximately 9,000—the numbers involved in Scotland total approximately 2,000, not far off 25% of the English figure. Wales and Ireland trail behind with about 300 and 400 respectively, while the Isle of Man, putting up a good show, numbers 16. Michael Hannon, of Michael Hannon Marketing (Ayr), comments, 'Scottish PCB manufacturers have a disproportionate share of the UK rigid PCB home and export markets, as well as including in their number one of the largest flexible manufacturers in the UK. Out of the top five UK/Republic of Ireland PCB manufacturers' production, the Scottish manufacturers represent about 55%. This is quite surprising when one considers that Scotland's population represents less than 10% of the total.' Narrowing the focus from country to specific area, the Borders region is host to a number of PCB companies which together account for 55% of PCBs manufactured in Scotland, and 10% of the UK total.


1. Measurements were made of the non-oxidative reactions of the pentose phosphate cycle in liver (transketolase, transaldolase, ribulose 5-phosphate epimerase and ribose 5-phosphate isomerase activities) in a variety of hormonal and nutritional conditions. In addition, glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase activities were measured for comparison with the oxidative reactions of the cycle; hexokinase, glucokinase and phosphoglucose isomerase activities were also included. Starvation for 2 days caused significant lowering of activity of all the enzymes of the pentose phosphate cycle based on activity in the whole liver. Re-feeding with a high-carbohydrate diet restored all the enzyme activities to the range of the control values with the exception of that of glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, which showed the well-known ;overshoot' effect. Re-feeding with a high-fat diet also restored the activities of all the enzymes of the pentose phosphate cycle and of hexokinase; glucokinase activity alone remained unchanged. Expressed as units/g. of liver or units/mg. of protein hexokinase, glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, transketolase and pentose phosphate isomerase activities were unchanged by starvation; both 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase and ribulose 5-phosphate epimerase activities decreased faster than the liver weight or protein content. 2. Alloxan-diabetes resulted in a decrease of approx. 30-40% in the activities of 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, ribose 5-phosphate isomerase, ribulose 5-phosphate epimerase and transketolase; in contrast with this glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, transaldolase and phosphoglucose isomerase activities were unchanged. Treatment of alloxan-diabetic rats with protamine-zinc-insulin for 3 days caused a very marked increase to above normal levels of activity in all the enzymes of the pentose phosphate pathway except ribulose 5-phosphate epimerase, which was restored to the control value. Hexokinase activity was also raised by this treatment. After 7 days treatment of alloxan-diabetic rats with protamine-zinc-insulin the enzyme activities returned towards the control values. 3. In adrenalectomized rats the two most important changes were the rise in hexokinase activity and the fall in transketolase activity; in addition, ribulose 5-phosphate epimerase activity was also decreased. These effects were reversed by cortisone treatment. In addition, in cortisone-treated adrenalectomized rats glucokinase activity was significantly lower than the control value. 4. In thyroidectomized rats both ribose 5-phosphate isomerase and transketolase activities were decreased; in contrast with this transaldolase activity did not change significantly. Hypophysectomy caused a 50% fall in transketolase activity that was partially reversed by treatment with thyroxine and almost fully reversed by treatment with growth hormone for 8 days. 5. The results are discussed in relation to the hormonal control of the non-oxidative reactions of the pentose phosphate cycle, the marked changes in transketolase activity being particularly outstanding.


Bringing together presidential scholars, leading voices on the presidency, and former White House aides, this book provides a timely and thorough assessment of George W. Bush at the historic midpoint of his presidency. The book covers Bush's character and leadership style, domestic policy, foreign policy and the War on Terror, and the Bush administration. It concludes with a report card on the Bush presidency, whereby the President, his staff, and his legislative record are graded.


As CMOS technology is scaled down, buried channel (BC) PMOS has been replaced by surface channel (SC) PMOS due to the poor short channel effect (SCE) in BC PMOS. Until now, however, BC PMOS has been widely used even in deep submicron CMOS devices because ofits advantage of simple fabrication process, no boron penetration, high driving capability due to no gate depletion, and higher mobility compared with SC PMOS. Several approaches have been proposed to suppress SCE in BC PMOS. A 0.15/spl mu/m single gate CMOS was reported using the conventional punchthrough stopper by arsenic implantation. A tilt implanted punchthrough stopper structure by using phosphorous or arsenic implantation was also proposed. However, these techniques have the disadvantage of insufficient anti-punchthrough or low current drivability. In this paper, Double Arsenic Punchthrough Stopper (DAPS) is proposed and compared with other structures. The DAPS is formed by arsenic implantation before and after the gate definition to improve both SCE and current drivability for BC PMOS.


The primary biological response of living organisms to the passage of fast charged particles is traditionally believed to be dominated by the chemical reactions of the radical products from the radiolysis of cellular water (OH, H, eaq−, O2−, H2O2) and by the bioradicals that they produce (and which can also result from the direct electronic activation of biomolecules). This understanding has provided insight into how ionizing radiations affect biological systems and, most importantly, what radioprotection and radiosensibilizing effects are produced by chemical compounds introduced into an organism. However, a number of key radiobiological facts remain unexplained by the current theory, stimulating a search for other biologically active factors that may be triggered by radiation. This review examines a fact that is usually ignored in discussing the biological impact of ionizing radiation: the local increase in acidity in the water solution along the track of a charged particle. The acidity in the track is very different from its value for cellular water in a living organism. Biological processes are well-known to be highly sensitive to changes in the environmental acidity. It seems that the biological impact of ionizing radiations is dominated not by the water radiolysis products (mostly radicals) listed above but particles of a different nature, hydroxonium ions H3O+, where the term hydroxonium refer to protonated water molecules. This modification of the mechanism of primary radiobiological effects is in good agreement with experimental data. In particular, the extremal dependence of the relative biological efficiency (RBE) of radiations on their ionizing energy losses is accounted for in quantitative terms, as is the increase in the RBE in the relativistic energy range.


Abstract This thesis was designed to explore the nature of risk-taking behaviour in people diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder (BD). Research has traditionally attributed risk-taking behaviour in BD to difficulties in impulse control. Nonetheless, impulsivity remains predominantly measured using self-report questionnaires, with dubious validity. The links between impulsivity and risk-taking have also been challenged by new research in the field of decision-making suggesting a different conceptualisation of this often misunderstood set of behaviours. In particular, Fuzzy Trace Theory (FTT) offers an interesting framework to understand risk-taking as a "rational/deliberate" act, rather than an impulsive one, providing evidence for a "reasoned route" to risk-taking. This piece of research comprised of a systematic review, an empirical paper and a critical appraisal. The aim of the systematic review was to clarify whether there is consistent evidence to suggest that risk-taking behaviours are more prevalent in people diagnosed with BD compared to controls. Clinical and demographic predictors of risk-taking in BD were also explored. The research paper aimed at characterising a group of people with BD in the context of FTT and to explore whether measures of FTT were predictive of higher risk-taking tendencies after controlling for impulsivity and mood. Finally, the critical appraisal aimed at discussing the dilemma of conducting quantitative research as a trainee clinical psychologist. The review suggested that people diagnosed with BD are more likely to engage in risk-taking behaviour, but that this is dependent on mood state and mainly prevalent during states of mania. Some evidence in support of clinical and demographic predictors of risktaking in BD was also found. The empirical paper also supported the hypothesis that FTT predicts risk-taking behaviour, even after accounting for the effects of mood and impulsivity. The findings were discussed in relation to previous research on the topic


Rim-driven thrusters have received much attention concerning the potential benefits in vibration and hydrodynamic characteristics, which are of great importance in marine transportation systems. In this sense, the rim-driven permanent magnet, brushless dc, and induction motors have been recently suggested to be employed as marine propulsion motors. On the other hand, high-temperature superconducting (HTS) synchronous motors are becoming much fascinating, particularly in transport applications, regarding some considerable advantages such as low loss, high efficiency, and compactness. However, the HTS-type rim-driven synchronous motor has not been studied yet. Therefore, this paper is devoted to a design practice of rim-driven synchronous motors with HTS field winding. A detailed design procedure is developed for the HTS rim-driven motors, and the design algorithm is validated applying the finite element (FE) method. The FE model of a three-phase 2.5-MW HTS rim-driven synchronous motor is utilized, and the electromagnetic characteristics of the motor are then evaluated. The goal is to design an HTS machine fitted in a thin duct to minimize the hydrodynamic drag force. The design problem exhibits some difficulties while considering various constraints.


This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in International Journal of Epidemiology following peer review. The version of record "Didelez, V. 'Commentary: Should the analysis of observational data always be preceded by specifying a target experimental trial?', International journal of epidemiology, 2016", is available online at: xxxxxxx [insert URL that the author will receive upon publication here].


In the present study, the in-vitro scavenging activities of hydroxyl, superoxide anion and DPPH radical of hulless barley pigment were studied. The results indicated that hulless barley pigment had excellent radical scavenging activity which was equivalent to the standard antioxidant, vitamin C. It was found that the radical scavenging effect of hulless barley pigment is gradually strengthened along with the increasing of concentration. In the range of test concentration, the maximum scavenging rate of the pigment to hydroxyl, superoxide anion and DPPH radical was 92.9%, 90.6% and 88.3% and the IC50 was 4.2, 5.0 and 1.6 mg/L, respectively. Moreover, the scavenging velocity of hulless barley pigment was examined. It was observed that the radical scavenging activities of hulless barley pigment also increased with reaction time. These results suggested that colored hulless barley can be used for a new source of natural pigment with antioxidant activity.


Paradigms are theoretical frameworks explaining society (Griffiths et al. 2015). These frameworks are perspectives, a way of observing and examining people and the world through different lenses. As a sociological practitioner, you must learn to use and apply sociological theories to understand and evaluate people and their social situations or conditions from an objective viewpoint to identify appropriate interventions.


In the use of hydrogen energy, the hydrogen embrittlement should be investigated, and it is necessary to improve reliability and safety of machine components which are used in hydrogen environment. The hydrogen sensitivity of material depends on material structure, defect and stress distribution. There is a possibility that the hydrogen invasion into material and the fatigue crack propagation with hydrogen embrittlement can be suppressed by introducing compressive residual stress by us- ing surface modification such as cavitation peening. The cavitation peening is a one of the peening technique, and enhancement of the fatigue strength of the mechanical components and structural materials by cavitation peening have been revealed. In this study, the austenite stainless steel JIS SUS316L with precrack were charged by a cathodic hydrogen charging method, and the fatigue test with and without hydrogen charge were conducted by a plate bending fatigue test. The results demonstrated that the fatigue crack propagation with hydrogen embrittlement can be greatly suppressed by cavitation peening.


As part of the diagnosis of liver disease, a Computerised Tomography (CT) scan is taken of the patient, which the clinician then uses for assistance in determining the presence and extent of the disease. This thesis presents the background, methodology, results and future work of a project that employs automated methods to segment liver tissue. The clinical motivation behind this work is the desire to facilitate the diagnosis of liver disease such as cirrhosis or cancer, assist in volume determination for liver transplantation, and possibly assist in measuring the effect of any treatment given to the liver. Previous attempts at automatic segmentation of liver tissue have relied on 2D, low-level segmentation techniques, such as thresholding and mathematical morphology, to obtain the basic liver structure. The derived boundary can then be smoothed or refined using more advanced methods. The 2D results presented in this thesis improve greatly on this previous work by using a topology adaptive active contour model to accurately segment liver tissue from CT images. The use of conventional snakes for liver segmentation is difficult due to the presence of other organs closely surrounding the liver this new technique avoids this problem by adding an inflationary force to the basic snake equation, and initialising the snake inside the liver. The concepts underlying the 2D technique are extended to 3D, and results of full 3D segmentation of the liver are presented. The 3D technique makes use of an inflationary active surface model which is adaptively reparameterised, according to its size and local curvature, in order that it may more accurately segment the organ. Statistical analysis of the accuracy of the segmentation is presented for 18 healthy liver datasets, and results of the segmentation of unhealthy livers are also shown. The novel work developed during the course of this project has possibilities for use in other areas of medical imaging research, for example the segmentation of internal liver structures, and the segmentation and classification of unhealthy tissue. The possibilities of this future work are discussed towards the end of the report.