Parapagus (laterally fused) diprosopus (two faces) dibrachius (two upper extremities) dipus (two lower extremities) conjoined twins are extremely rare and the coexistence of anencephaly with contiguous spinal defect (craniorachischisis totalis) makes it more extreme. In this report we present such a case diagnosed finally by the aid of 3D ultrasonography (US) at the 12th week of the gestation of a gravida 2, para 1, 22 year old woman. 2D abdominal and vaginal US were inefficient for the diagnosis (Figure 1). The family decided to terminate the pregnancy. Postabortal anatomic fine dissection is still going on at the time of this writing. Macroscopic evaluation confirmed the US diagnosis. The heart, diaphram, liver and the perineum were observed as all united. Fine dissection of the heart showed 4 vessels arising from the ventricles and there was a membraneous type ventricular septal defect.


Presents an obituary for Karen Jill Saywitz, who passed on March 17, 2018. Saywitz devoted her life to advancing children's mental health and children's "voice" in the legal system. She completed internship and postdoctoral fellowships at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and became director of child and adolescent psychology at Harbor-UCLA. She returned to the main UCLA campus as professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences. In February 2018, her research, clinical service, and advocacy on behalf of abused children and their families was recognized by the American Psychological Association's (APA) Society for Child and Family Policy and Practice (Division 37) with its highest honor, the Lifetime Advocacy Award. A month later, Karen lost her valiant fight against cancer. Through science, advocacy, and the translation of science into practice, Karen directly affected more child- and family-relevant laws, policies, and daily forensic practices than virtually anyone else in the field. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).


This research paper presents a proposed method for the compression of medical images using hybrid compression technique (DWT, DCT and Huffman coding). The objective of this hybrid scheme is to achieve higher compression rates by first applying DWT and DCT on individual components RGB. After applying this image is quantized to calculate probability index for each unique quantity so as to find out the unique binary code for each unique symbol for their encoding. Finally the Huffman compression is applied. Results show that the coding performance can be significantly improved by the hybrid DWT, DCT and Huffman coding algorithm. Keywords- Image compression, hybrid, quantization, DWT, DCT, Huffman encoding, medical image.


A self-powered graphene-based photodetector with high performance is particularly useful for device miniaturization and to save energy. Here, we report a graphene/silicon carbide (SiC)-based self-powered ultraviolet photodetector that exhibits a current responsivity of 7.4 mA/W with a response frequency of over a megahertz under 325-nm laser irradiation. The built-in photovoltage of the photodetector is about four orders of magnitude higher than previously reported results for similar devices. These favorable properties are ascribed to the ingenious device design using the combined advantages of graphene and SiC, two terminal electrodes, and asymmetric light irradiation on one of the electrodes. Importantly, the photon energy is larger than the band gap of SiC. This self-powered photodetector is compatible with modern semiconductor technology and shows potential for applications in ultraviolet imaging and graphene-based integrated circuits.


The development of symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in patients with neurogenic amnesia for the traumatic event is recorded in 2 own patients and in 19 cases from the clinical literature. With a single exception, all patients were accident victims with closed head injuries. Only about three quarters of the patients completely fulfilled DSM-III-R criteria of PTSD. Nineteen patients displayed involuntary conscious memories of aspects of the traumatic event (presenting as recurrent intrusive thoughts, images or dreams) co-existent with a complete or partial lack of voluntary conscious memories of the trauma, suggesting that different memory systems and distinct brain mechanisms subserve these phenomena. The said clinical observations are discussed against the background of current neuropsychological models of multiple memory systems. The recorded cases demonstrate that declarative episodic memory is not necessary for symptoms of PTSD to emerge, whereas preserved functions of non-declarative memory systems represent a sufficient condition for the development of PTSD symptoms.


TIMELINE 2006-2010 Policy Issue One half of the world's households, and 75 percent of people in South Asia, burn biomass fuels, such as wood, leaves, dung, and peat, for energy. The smoke released from using such fuels has been shown to lead to respiratory diseases and lung cancer, which disproportionately affects women, who are primarily responsible for cooking, and the young children they are caring for. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), indoor air pollution is the single largest risk factor for female mortality. Among the entire population, indoor air pollution is responsible for nearly two million deaths annually. In response, NGOs and governments have distributed tens of millions of "improved" or "clean" stoves, but the adoption and use of these nontraditional cookstoves in the developing world has, with few exceptions, remained extremely low.


Introduction: SPECT is a diagnostic imaging technique the main disadvantage of which is the existence of Poisson noise. So far, different methods have been used by scientists to improve SPECT images. The Wavelet Transform is a new method for de-noising which is widely used for noise reduction and quality enhancement of images. The purpose of this paper is evaluation of noise reduction in SPECT images by wavelet. Material and Methods: To calculate and simulate noise in images, it is common in nuclear medicine to use Monte Carlo techniques. The SIMIND software was used to simulate SPECT images in this research. The simulated and real images formed using the current typical (hexagonal) collimator were de-noised by different types of wavelets. Results: The best type of wavelet was selected for SPECT images. The results demonstrated that the best type of wavelet in the simulated and real images increased Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) by 33% and 45% respectively. Also, Coefficient of Variation (CV) decreased by 77% and 71% respectively, while Contrast of Recovery (CR) was reduced by only 4% and 9% respectively. Conclusion: Comparing the results for real SPECT images in this paper with previously acquired results in real PET images, it can be concluded that the images of both nuclear medicine systems using Wavelet Transform differ in SNR and CR by only 5% and 7% respectively, and in CV by about 20%. Therefore, wavelet transform is applicable for nuclear medicine image de-noising.


The papers deals with the levels of cytokines in the tear and blood serum of patients with ophthalmoherpes. Damaging the cornea, herpes virus is shown to induce the synthesis of IL-1alpha, alpha-TNF, and alpha2-INF both in the tear and serum. The levels of these cytokines are much greater than the controls. Superficial corneal damages are characterized by lower cytokine concentrations than deep damages. The treatment of ophthalmoherpes with recombinant alpha2-interferon, superoxide dismutase and anti-herpes I serum leads to significant reductions in all the cytokines in question. However, the levels of the antiinflammatory cytokines IL-1beta and alpha-TNF remain higher than the controls. Those of alpha2-IFN reach the control values. The data presented in the paper indicate that antiinflammatory cytokines are involved in the pathogenesis of ophthalmoherpes.


UNLABELLED
The aim of this study was to identify needs of families with premature newborns in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, perceived by parents and nurses. The study was conducted in the Kaunas Perinatal Center, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Hospital of Kaunas University of Medicine. The sample consisted of 181 parents and 37 nurses. The NICU Family Needs Inventory was used for data collection. The instrument included five dimensions of needs. Reliability of the scale was identified as 0.94 using Cronbach's alpha.

RESULTS
The importance of the needs by parents was prioritized as following: assurance, proximity, information, support, and comfort, and by nurses--assurance, information, proximity, support, and comfort. The needs for assurance, proximity, and information were significantly more important for parents as compared with nurses. Needs for support were significantly more important for nurses. Forty-seven (83.9%) items (out of 56) were identified as important by parents and 49 (87.5%) items--by nurses. Both parents and nurses identified the same 7 items within the group of 10 most important. Parents and nurses identified the same 7 items within the group of 10 least important.

CONCLUSIONS
Both groups of respondents identified needs for assurance as the most important for parents. The needs for comfort were perceived as the least important by parents and nurses. All groups of needs, except the needs for support, were significantly more important for parents as compared with nurses. Both parents and nurses identified the same 44 items (out of 56) as important for parents in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The 10 most important need statements and 10 least important need statements were identified by parents and nurses.


Several relatively small-scale experimental setups aimed on prototyping of future laser gravitational-wave detectors and testing of new methods of quantum measurements with macroscopic mechanical objects, are under development now. In these devices, not devoted directly to the gravitational-wave detection, Mach-Zehnder interferometer with pass-through Fabry-Perot cavities in the arms can be used instead of the standard Michelson/Fabry-Perot one. The advantage of this topology is that it does not contain high-reflectivity end mirrors with multilayer coatings, which Brownian noise could constitute the major part of the noise budget of the Michelson/Fabry-Perot interferometers. We consider here two variants of this topology: the "ordinary" position meter scheme, and a new variant of the quantum speed meter.


In this paper, we present a modification to the internal border gateway protocol that prevents oscillation. We deal with oscillations caused by multi-exit-discriminators within a single autonomous system. The algorithm keeps track of all valid routes it has received. Then the best route is chosen from the set of valid routes. There is no need for extra messages as compared to the standard internal border gateway protocol. As long as there is just one route to a destination, the algorithm stays dormant and the properties of the standard internal border gateway protocol are preserved


Experimental results of an optical binary phase-only correlator using aerial imagery for ground exploitation is presented. The correlator uses magnetooptic spatial light modulators (SLMs) for dynamic operation. Input images to the correlator originate from actual aerial imagery containing aircraft and a variety of distortions. Digital image processing techniques are used on images before being input into the optical correlator to enhance the performance of the system. Filters or templates used as a database for the system are derived from models of aircraft. Rotation and scale invariance is achieved through an adaptive filtering technique in which filters are displayed sequentially against an input image. Experimental results are presented which show that the system performs well with different types of segmented images.


The interaction of insulin with the vascular smooth muscle was studied using cultures derived from the bovine aortic arch. The cultured cells exhibited specific binding of 125I-insulin that was reversible and dependent on pH. Both insulin and insulinlike growth factor (IGF) I competed for 125I-insulin binding; IGF I, however, was less effective than insulin by at least an order of magnitude. Insulin binding was accompanied by internalization and degradation of the hormone in a temperature- and time-dependent manner. Chloroquine and other lysosomotropic agents elevated the internalized insulin and reduced its degradation. Pre-exposure of cell cultures to insulin resulted in downregulation of cell surface receptors. Insulin stimulated alpha-aminoisobutyric acid transport in confluent smooth muscle cells. The maximal response was observed at 100 ng/ml insulin with a half-maximal effect at 10 ng/ml. Sparse, serum-starved smooth muscle cells responded to insulin with a dose-dependent increase in [3H]-thymidine incorporation into DNA. Although the effect was already apparent at 1 ng/ml insulin, it reached near maximal level only at 10,000 ng/ml. IGF I also stimulated DNA synthesis in smooth muscle cells; however, at low concentrations insulin was more efficient in this respect. Human growth hormone was inactive. The data indicate the presence of specific receptors for insulin in bovine aortic smooth muscle cells. These receptors appear to mediate the metabolic activity as well as part of the mitogenic effect of insulin in these cells.


Schema matching is a process that serves in integrating structured and semi-structured data. Being a handy tool in multiple contemporary business and commerce applications, it has been investigated in the fields of databases, AI, Semantic Web, and data mining for many years. The core challenge still remains the ability to create quality algorithmic matchers, automatic tools for identifying correspondences among data concepts ( e.g. , database attributes). In this work, we offer a novel post processing step to schema matching that improves the final matching outcome without human intervention. We present a new mechanism, similarity matrix adjustment , to calibrate a matching result and propose an algorithm (dubbed ADnEV ) that manipulates, using deep neural networks, similarity matrices, created by state-of-the-art algorithmic matchers. ADnEV learns two models that iteratively adjust and evaluate the original similarity matrix. We empirically demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithmic solution for improving matching results, using real-world benchmark ontology and schema sets. We show that ADnEV can generalize into new domains without the need to learn the domain terminology, thus allowing cross-domain learning. We also show ADnEV to be a powerful tool in handling schemata which matching is particularly challenging. Finally, we show the benefit of using ADnEV in a related integration task of ontology alignment.


We complete the enumeration of cyclic permutations avoiding two patterns of length three each by providing explicit formulas for all but one of the pairs for which no such formulas were known. The pair $(123,231)$ proves to be the most difficult of these pairs. We also prove a lower bound for the growth rate of the number of cyclic permutations that avoid a single pattern $q$, where $q$ is an element of a certain infinite family of patterns.


Since the beginning of the 1930s research has been directed towards improving the effectiveness of water as a forest fire extinguishing agent. Throughout this time various chemical substances have been added to the water, and this is still the case today. Among these substances are the various types of long-term forest fire retardant, which maintain their ability to alter combustion when the water has been removed by evaporation. In order to provide an account of the current state of development of studies on long-term forest fire retardants, we carried out a bibliographic analysis with special attention to work done after 1976 on the different aspects that influence the final effectiveness of forest fire retardant: quality (programs and evaluation), effectiveness, application and environmental impact on streams and aquatic organisms, vegetation and humans. The scope of this work covers the wide subject of fire retardants and it introduces the significant works related to all the aspects of fire retardant use.


The continued evolution of electronic devices relies on the development of new semiconductor memory technology. Given the high compatibility of the Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 thin films with the CMOS technology, we investigate the charge transport mechanisms that occur in a relative thick Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 thin film (4 to 6 nm-thick) when subjected to electrical stresses. To that end we fabricate Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 heterostructures with a Pt tip as the top electrode and TiN and Pt as bottom electrode by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering. After analyzing the surface morphology of the as-received and as-deposited films by atomic force microscopy, the transfer of the desired chemical stoichiometry from the sputtering target to the substrate surface is studied by Raman spectroscopy. The ferroelectricity of the Hf0.5Zr0.5O2 thin films is confirmed by piezoresponse force microscopy measurements, and a retention of 22 h is obtained, attesting to the non-volatility of the samples. Nanoscale electrical measurements reveal the presence of resistive switching, where the low resistance state (ON state) in both Pt-tip/Hf0.5Zr0.5O2/TiN and Pt-tip/Hf0.5Zr0.5O2/Pt heterostructures can be created by the formation of a conductive filament based on oxygen vacancies. Copyright © VBRI Press.


A quantitative seasonal study has been made on aspects of the ecology of marine algal-dwelling harpacticoid copepods at Island Bay, Wellington, New Zealand. Results are based on 154 samples collected from six species of macro-algae between April 1973 and March 1974 and is the first integrated research programme into the population dynamics of members of the phytal meiobenthos. Harpacticoid species collected are listed and brief taxonomic and zoogeographic notes on selected species is given. An analysis is made of the southern hemisphere zoogeographic relationships of the N. Z. marine harpacticoid fauna and this suggests distinct affinities with the Magellanic region of South America. The numerical contribution of harpacticoids to the total phytal meiofauna shows them to be the dominant taxon. Density comparisons are made with parallel studies on the sediment meiobenthos; in general the phytal is comparable with those from sandy bottoms. Species occurrence on each algal substrate, their specific association between each seaweed and within the rocky shore algal biotope as a whole is assessed. Seasonal periodicity in population .density is variable and is dependent on the reproductive activity of individual species. Breeding data are analysed for twenty species and reveal continuous or protracted breeding seasons, providing useful comparisons with interstitial and epibenthic representatives. Substrate preference for particular algae by truly phytal-dwelling harpacticoids is demonstrated for the first time.


Generative adversarial networks (GANs) provide state-of-the-art results in image generation. However, despite being so powerful, they still remain very challenging to train. This is in particular caused by their highly non-convex optimization space leading to a number of instabilities. Among them, mode collapse stands out as one of the most daunting ones. This undesirable event occurs when the model can only fit a few modes of the data distribution, while ignoring the majority of them. In this work, we combat mode collapse using second-order gradient information. To do so, we analyse the loss surface through its Hessian eigenvalues, and show that mode collapse is related to the convergence towards sharp minima. In particular, we observe how the eigenvalues of the $G$ are directly correlated with the occurrence of mode collapse. Finally, motivated by these findings, we design a new optimization algorithm called nudged-Adam (NuGAN) that uses spectral information to overcome mode collapse, leading to empirically more stable convergence properties.


: Cholesterol granulomas arise scarcely within the middle ear cavities revealed by a conductive deafness. They appear on the CT scan as a non specific mass developed in the middle ear cavities with bone defects. MRI allow the diagnosis as cholesterol granulomas is defined by hyperintensity on all sequences.


Der Odyssee-Dichter und die Ilias. By A. HEUBECK. Pp. 102. Erlangen: Palm & Enke, 1954. DM. 7.50. Dr. Heubeck first discusses the poetic characteristics which in the Odyssey are developed or adapted from the usage of the Iliad. This is of interest whether they should be attributed to poet or editor, but the author's object is to show that a poet created our Odyssey by imposing his personality on the pre-Iliad tradition which was his inheritance and the Iliad which was his model. He propounds the dilemma that the Telemachy, without the parts which clearly belong to the Odyssey, has too little substance for a separate epic, while if a later poet composed the Telemachy to turn an original Mostos into the Odyssey, we are back in the difficulty that the same poet was responsible for the neat narrative and the awkward joins. To the literary arguments, he adds a good discussion of Fate and the gods; in the Iliad, divine blinding and human blindness are inseparable, although characteristically Agamemnon puts all the blame on the gods and Hector takes all the blame to himself, and the gods in the end enforce yoTpa; in the Odyssey men may offend and ruin themselves Onip p6pov, and the gods can only dissuade them (Aegisthus and the Suitors), or, with no disposition to sin, men may be brought by circumstances to offend (Odysseus and his crew). The poet of the Odyssey assimilated the Iliad; the poets of the Cycle, as far as is known, were mechanical imitators. The judgement of the Chorizontes is justified by modern arguments ; and, whether or not the relation of the two poets was that of master and pupil, it is certain that the poet of the Iliad had many imitators but only one successor. The book is inspired by Professor Schadewaldt's treatment of the Iliad, and owes much to German scholarship, especially in the form of robbing the analysts of their arguments; works in other languages are almost ignored, although the author's approach is English rather than German. The case would be stronger if the Unitarianism were less indiscriminate. The resemblance, if there is one, between n 168-97 a n c ' ^ 35~37 ' s ' mechanical', and the comparison of the ACrrpa in O and the CTTTOVSCXI in co shocks all poetic feeling, especially as the compulsive motives of the hero's excessive wrath and the enemy's nobility are lacking in the Odyssey. But in general the working hypothesis of a highly individual poet, on whom the Iliad was the chief formative influence, is maintained with effective moderation.


The daily rhythm in body temperature in rats was continuously monitored during exposure to low-intensity environmental illumination of various colors in the visible and near-ultraviolet spectrum. The ability of phase shifts in the lighting schedule to induce concomitant changes in the rhythm was used to determine the spectral sensitivity of the retinal photoreceptor systems mediating rhythm entrainment. Green light (λ = 530 � 45 nanometers) was most potent, and red (λ = 660 � 19 nanometers) and ultraviolet (λ = 360 � 34 nanometers) were least potent in entraining the temperature rhythm.


Guigo II is commonly known and praised among specialists of Western mysticism for his Scala claustralium, a work that presents a spiritual program for cloistered monks. His Meditations, on the other hand, have usually been relegated to the margin of attention. The First Meditation, in particular, is generally regarded as a minor piece. The paper argues, however, that a new approach can make better sense of the First Meditation, while also enabling us to recognize its specific function and value. Seen from this new perspective, Guigo's purpose with the text is to train and exercise his readers' minds according to the spiritual program laid out in the Scala. The paper shows that the First Meditation realizes that goal, surprisingly, by having the same essential features that Umberto Eco found in the 'open works' of the Western avant-garde.


Background: In 1997, the US Food and Drug Administration passed a unique ruling that allowed oat bran to be registered as the first cholesterol-reducing food at a dosage of 3 g b-glucan/d. Objective: The effects of a low dose of oat bran in the background diet only were investigated in volunteers with mild-tomoderate hyperlipidemia. Design: The study was a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, parallel study. Sixty-two healthy men ( = 31) and women (n = 31) were randomly allocated to consume either 20 g oat bran concentrate (OBC; containing 3 g b-glucan) or 20 g wheat bran (control) daily for 8 wk. Fasting blood samples were collected at weeks –1, 0, 4, 8, and 12. A subgroup ( n = 17) was studied postprandially after consumption of 2 meals (containing no OBC or wheat bran) at baseline and after supplementation. Fasting plasma samples were analyzed for total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, triacylglycerol, glucose, and insulin. LDL cholesterol was measured by using the Friedewald formula. The postprandial samples were anlayzed for triacylglycerol, glucose, and insulin. Results: No significant difference was observed in fasting plasma cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, glucose, or insulin between the OBC and wheat-bran groups. HDL-cholesterol concentrations fell significantly from weeks 0 to 8 in the OBC group (P = 0.05). There was a significant increase in fasting glucose concentrations after both OBC ( P = 0.03) and wheat-bran (P = 0.02) consumption. No significant difference was found between the OBC and wheat-bran groups in any of the postprandial variables measured. Conclusions:A low dosage of b-glucan (3 g/d) did not significantly reduce total cholesterol or LDL cholesterol in volunteers with plasma cholesterol concentrations representative of a middle-aged UK population. Am J Clin Nutr2000;72:49–55.


Compliance with medication is essential if treatment is to be effective. Noncompliance can include underuse, overuse, and erratic use of medication; underuse being the most frequently reviewed. Generally estimated to be around 10%-46%, noncompliance with asthma therapy is a serious problem and studies have shown that compliance with the mainstay of asthma treatment, inhaled corticosteroids, is low. Oral therapy offers better compliance with treatment, with many patients preferring tablets to inhalers. Different ways to monitor compliance include monitoring prescriptions, counting tablets, measuring levels of medication in blood or urine, and measuring canister weight, although none are fully effective. Contributing factors to noncompliance with treatment include side effects, lifestyle, social and economic factors, method of drug delivery, and dosing. The consequences of these include increased symptoms and asthma exacerbations, both of which can lead to increased morbidity. To improve compliance, causal factors need to be addressed; there is a need to educate patients and those who support them about the disease and the importance of following the physician's recommendations. Various self-management programs have also been established to improve patient compliance at a relatively low cost. Difficulties with treatment may be addressed by simplifying the treatment regimen using oral therapy. A relatively new class of oral agents, the leukotriene modifiers, is being increasingly used in clinical practice.


Popular concern over water quality has important implications for public water management because it can both empower water utilities to improve service but also limit their ability to make changes. In the desert city of Phoenix, Arizona, obtaining sufficient high-quality water resources for a growing urban population poses a major challenge. Decision makers and urban hydrologists are aware of these challenges to water sustainability but the range of acceptable policy and management options available to them is constrained by public opinion. Therefore, this study examines cultural models of water quality and water management, termed ethnohydrology, among urban residents. The study yields three key findings. First, urban residents appear to have a shared model of ethnohydrology which holds that a) there are significant water quality risks associated with low financial investments in city-wide water treatment and the desert location of Phoenix, and b) government monitoring and management combined with household-level water treatment can yield water of an acceptable quality. Second, people with high incomes are more likely to engage in expensive water filtration activities and to agree with the cultural ethnohydrology model found. Third, people living in communities that are highly concerned about water quality are less likely to share high agreement around ethnohydrology. The results have implications for water policy making and planning, particularly in disadvantaged and vulnerable communities where water quality is perceived to be low.


Semipurified diets whose cholesterol content varied from 34 to 120 mg/100 kcal were given to adult female cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) for 9 months. The intake of dietary fiber was increased through the addition of wheat, rice, or soya bran; 5% cholestyramine was given to one group of monkeys. None of the brans reduced plasma levels of cholesterol, whereas cholestyramine produced marked hypocholesterolemic effects. Triglyceride levels increased with higher cholesterol intake, but no additional changes were induced by any of the experimental diets. Plasma phospholipids were reduced by cholestyramine.


In today's world of resource intensive research, the need for enough processing power for students and researchers remains unfulfilled. There might be a scarcity of these resources but at the same time there is also wastage of CPU cycles on almost all computers. Mobile ad hoc networks (MANETS) are being rigorously studied and researched by computer scientists all over the world and the Message passing interface (MPI) has become the 'de facto' standard for use in high-performance computing. This paper explains the use of MPI in MANETS to build an education/research centric network architecture where each node in the network can use unused/partially reserved CPU cycles of other nodes in the network to carry out research in an affordable manner without the need of any high end infrastructure, It also explains the scope of improvement in this architecture by new technologies and emerging paradigms.


Commons and food are experiencing a revival in recent years and yet the links between both are almost absent in academic and political discourses. Commons are often portrayed as historical and yet innovative governing mechanisms that can challenge the State-Market hegemony. On the other side, food is both a relevant agent of change and a major driver of planetary destruction, being thus cause and solution to multiple crises that affect humankind. Departing from the commodification of food as one root cause of the broken global food system, this text firstly situates and discusses the different schools of thought (or epistemologies) that have addressed the private/public, commodity/commons nature of goods in general, and then explores how those schools have considered food in particular. To do so, the author has defined five epistemologies, four academic (economic, legal, historical and political) and one non-academic (grassroots activists). The analysis highlights how those epistemologies have yielded incommensurable understandings and conflicting vocabularies, hence creating confusion in the socio-political realm and even rejection around the idea of food being considered as a commons. The economic epistemic regard has reigned over the others by applying an approach to commons, public and private goods that is theoretical, reductionist and ontological instead of phenomenological, therefore preventing or obscuring other scholarly or practical understanding of commons. When applied to food, the iron law of economics dictated that food, a private good based on rivalry and excludability, shall be better allocated through market mechanisms with absolute proprietary rights and valued as a pure commodity. This reductionist view collides with the plurality of meanings of food in different societies, civilisations and historical periods, as other schools of thought indicate. The author uses diverse epistemic tools to re-construct food as a commons, based on its essentiality to human beings and societies and the customary and contemporary praxis to produce, consume and govern food collectively through non-market mechanisms for more than 2000 centuries. As commoning has instituting power to create different political and legal frameworks, if food is valued differently the entire architecture of the global food system would change, as the grassroots activist school claims. Re-commoning food defies the legal and political scaffoldings that sustain the hegemony of market and state decision-makers over eaters and food producers and informs sustainable forms of food production (agro-ecology), new collective practices of governance (food democracies) and alternative policies to regain control over the food system (food sovereignty). Food as a commons is an agent of change with transformative power, no matter what economists say.


Manufacturing diamond-cobalt composites by sintering results in residual stresses due to the mismatch of thermal expansion coefficients mainly. To understand the influence of manufacturing process parameters on residual stresses of sintered diamond-cobalt composites samples are produced by different process parameters. The investigated diamond composites are pressureless sintered as well as pressureless sintered combined with hot isostatically pressing. Here the influence of powder characteristics and process parameters like compaction pressure and sintering temperature on the residual stresses and microstructure was analysed by X-ray diffraction, microscopy and tomography. The aim of this study is to correlate residual stresses with manufacturing parameters and to give hints for optimising the residual stress state and for improving the lifetime of diamond-cobalt composites.


Chlorantraniliprole (CAP) is a newly developed, widely applied insecticide. In the aquatic environment, several transformation products are formed under natural conditions, one by dehydration and others by photoinduced degradation. Data on aquatic ecotoxicity of CAP can mainly be found in registration and regulatory evaluation reports. Moreover, the toxicity of its transformation products and especially effects upon chronic exposure remain completely unknown. Hence, our aim was to investigate the acute and chronic toxicity of CAP and its transformation products to the daphnid Daphnia magna. The results showed that CAP is extremely toxic to D. magna, with an acute and chronic LC50 of 9.4 and 3.7 μg/L, respectively. No effects on daphnid reproduction were observed, but the impact on daphnid survival also affected population growth rate, with an EC50 of 3.5 μg/L. In contrast, no negative effects of the two main degradation products were observed. The present study demonstrated a high sensitivity of nontarget microcrustaceans to CAP. However, the actual risk of CAP in water diminishes with its spontaneous or light-induced degradation into two transformation products, showing no toxicity to the daphnids in the present study.


In 3D registration of point clouds, the goal is to find an optimal trans- formation that aligns the input shapes, provided that they have some overlap. Existing methods suffer from performance degradation when the overlapping ratio between the neighbouring point clouds is small. So far, there is no existing method that can be adopted for aligning shapes with no overlap. In this letter, to the best of knowledge, the first method for the registration of 3D shapes without overlap, assum- ing that the shapes correspond to partial views of a known semi-rigid 3D prior is presented. The method is validated and compared to exist- ing methods on FAUST, which is a known dataset used for human body reconstruction. Experimental results show that this approach can effec- tively align shapes without overlap. Compared to existing state-of-the-art methods, this approach avoids iterative optimization and is robust to outliers and inherent inaccuracies induced by an initial rough alignment of the shapes.


In this study, a series of microencapsulated phase change materials with poly(methyl methacrylate-co-methacrylic acid) P(MMA-co-MAA) shell and n-octadecane or n-eicosane core were synthesized by emulsion polymerization method. The aim was to produce microencapsulated n-alkanes having functional groups on their outer surface, so that functional groups would help increasing physical interactions between microcapsules and fiber surface. Therefore, methyl methacrylate (MMA), ethylene glycoldimethacrylate (EGDM), and methacrylic acid (MAA) were copolymerized in oil phase of n-alkane. FT-IR results proved the successful synthesis of P(MMA-co-MAA) shell of microencapsulated n-alkanes. The DSC results indicated that the microencapsulated n-alkanes have considerable latent heat storage capacity in a range of 58–145 J/g. The average melting and freezing temperatures of the microencapsulated n-alkanes were measured as 27 and 26 °C for n-octadecane and 36 and 35 °C for n-eicosane, respectively. The microcapsules were of spherical and compact shape with particle sizes between 15 and 32 μm. The microcapsules on the cotton fabric applied by pad-dry-cure method were found highly durable and they showed sufficient stability upon several washings and rub fastness. Thermo-regulating properties of the fabrics were declared as a result of thermal history measurements.


Resveratrol (Res; 3,4′,5-trihydroxy-trans-stilbene), which is a polyphenol found in grapes, can block cell proliferation and induce growth arrest and/or cell death in several types of cancer cells. However, the precise mechanisms by which Res exerts anticancer effects remain poorly understood. Res blocked both anchorage-dependent and -independent growth of HT-29 and COLO 201 human colon cancer cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Annexin V staining and Western blot analysis revealed that Res induced apoptosis accompanied by an increase in Caspase-8 and Caspase-3 cleavage. In HT-29 cells, Res caused autophagy as characterized by the appearance of autophagic vacuoles by electron microscopy and elevation of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3)-II by immunoblotting, which was associated with the punctuate pattern of LC3 detected by fluorescein microscopy. Inhibition of Res-induced autophagy by the autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine caused a significant decrease in apoptosis accompanied by decreased cleavage of Casapse-8 and Caspase-3, indicating that Res-induced autophagy was cytotoxic. However, inhibition of Res-induced apoptosis by the pan-caspase inhibitor Z-VAD(OMe)-FMK did not decrease autophagy but elevated LC3-II levels. Interestingly, Res increased the intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) level, which correlated to the induction of Casapse-8 and Caspase-3 cleavage and the elevation of LC3-II; treatment with ROS scavenger N-acetyl cysteine diminished this effect. Therefore, the effect of Res on the induction of apoptosis via autophagy is mediated through ROS in human colon cancer cells.


While the study of the causes of civil conflict is a well-established sub-discipline in the conflict literature, less is known about how political violence affects society. Although the majority of the direct victims of war are men, women face more insidious challenges, such as difficulty in providing for families and coping with sexual violence. The consequences of a conflict in terms of sexual violence are not limited to the abuses performed by conflict actors, nor are they limited to the period when the conflict was active. Drawing on psychological theories, this paper argues that armed conflict can have negative consequences for sexual violence in the private sphere. Combining subnational data on armed conflict events with individual-level data on partner abuse from DHS surveys in 17 Sub-Saharan African countries for a total of 95,913 women aged 15-49, I analyse the impact of conflict intensity on intimate partner sexual violence (IPSV). Individual-level analyses show that there is an independent, significant effect of armed conflict intensity in the home region of the respondent as regards her risk of experiencing IPSV. This result is robust even when controlling for factors such as childhood exposure to parent violence and the husband's alcohol consumption.


A change in regulatory policy regularly affects more than one organization and may involve an entire industry comprised of thousands of diverse organizations. These types of regulatory changes often encounter significant resistance from industry stakeholders as they often view new regulation with a certain level of skepticism, contributing to policy gridlock. A significant factor in whether any change initiative fails or succeeds is the organization's readiness for change. However, a preponderance of the organizational change research to date has focused on individuals, targeted small groups, or single organizations – little has focused on regulatory policy changes that may affect a very large and diverse industry group. By better understanding an industry's readiness for change, regulators may more effectively identify and understand the potential opposing forces, develop strategies to overcome these forces, and therefore may create a change vector. Recently, the Federal Aviation Administration proposed a major regulatory change affecting the United States' aviation repair station industry. This heavily debated regulation would require industry organizations to develop a formal Safety Management Systems. Thus far the regulation has met stiff industry resistance. This research attempted to gain perspective of the industry's readiness for change and found their overall readiness level was low. Although this research was limited in scope and intended as an initial exploration of change readiness concepts across a large industry faced with a proposed major public policy shift, the results suggest readiness for change assessments may assist public agencies with managing major regulatory change.


Abstract : This briefing presents an assessment of the need for information technology interoperability standards and recommends actions that the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO) can take based on that assessment. It highlights Issues in using the DoD Joint Technical Architecture (JTA) for the Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) Battle Management, Command, Control and Communications (BMC3). These issues were identified by examining selected joint BMD scenarios, the standards needed to support these scenarios, and the state of relevant standards and suites of standards. The recommendations are divided into three areas: (1) standards selections and tracking, (2) interoperability architecture development, and (3) compliance and migration planning. Significant effort should be expended to monitor the maturity and usability of the relevant JTA standards and emerging technologies, and certain key standards and products should be accelerated. The BMD technical architecture should be extended to identify where and how such standards will be applied. Computer-to-computer transactions and application-level protocols should be defined and standardized for open system communications between BMD systems, separating the communications messages from the medium that carries them. BMDO and the Services should coordinate their compliance efforts, and note that compliance is an evolutionary process that should be based on long-term criteria.


Khushwant Singh, one of India's most read and well-known writer in Contemporary Indian Literature, has written about the societal, political and individual's faults and lacunae, which create interest into significant appraisal of his novel Burial at Sea with the intention of ascertaining individual's survival as well as the struggle for independence and the after effects of India's independence. In this paper we turn towards the Indian history where Victor Jai Bhagwan is depicted as a different kind of freedom fighter who did not fight physically but economically. This paper analyzes his life course from his birth in slave India, education in England, disagreement with Gandhiji's vision for the future India but respect for him, establishment of the mills to bring the benefits of modern industry, recognition as famous business tycoon of India, revitalization of his sexual instinct and love for a tantric woman, and finally murder by some people which is adroitly portrayed by Khushwant Singh. In this paper an attempt has been made for a psychedelic insight into the life of a striving figure and a brilliant young man who was fiercely committed to his country.


On November, 11th, 1630, Queen Marie de' Medici demanded, in vain, that her son, King Louis XIII, dismiss Richelieu as Principal Minister. Historians agree that this crisis known as the Journée des Dupes (the Day of the Dupes) was the true foundation stone of French "absolutism", but they disagree about whether the decision made by the Queen was rational. We analyze the historical setting of the crisis from a game theory viewpoint where the King and the Queen are two players. We consider two assumptions regarding the King and the Queen's cognitive skills. On the one hand, we assume that both the King and the Queen are perfectly rational. On the other hand, we assume that they both have limited cognitive skills (that is, they are level-k players). In this last case we propose a definition of naivety and we provide necessary and sufficient conditions for the Queen to be naive. We then study the Nash equilibrium when both the King and the Queen are perfectly rational as well as the behavioral theoretical solution of the game when they have limited cognitive skills. We rely on this study to propose an analytical narrative of the Journées des Dupes. We conclude that what we know of the historical facts does not allow us to reject the assumption that the Queen was perfectly rational, or, if she was not, that she had not been naive.


Gallium Nitride is a promising material for different applications due to its superior characteristics with respect to conventional semiconductors: wide band gap, low intrinsic carrier density, high electron mobility, high critical field, high thermal stability and high saturation velocity. Despite of these advantages, GaN materials also show negative aspects, such as the very high cost and the less effective growing methods. In fact, the different techniques used for the GaN epitaxial growth does not seem very simple due to the risk of obtaining undesired effects in the final structure. Valid examples can be the presence of non-intentional doping inside the material or the formation of dislocation layers, which produce worse electrical and optical properties that compromise the resulting structure. The III-V Nitride materials, such as GaN, AlN, InN and compounds, have a wurzite structure characterized by a strong polarization in the direction, known as the C-direction, whose effect is very important to understand the electronic properties of these materials. The total polarization field has two different components, the piezoelectric and the spontaneous one. The piezoelectric field is associated to an electrostatic charge produced in a strained material and the spontaneous field corresponds to the same charge density in relaxed conditions. These polarization charges exist in the whole crystal, but the sum of the internal components is zero, therefore the remaining charge density is distributed along the two opposite faces of the material forming a dipole. In this work, the electronic properties of Gallium Nitride and the polarization effect of the wurzite crystals are exploited in an AlGaN/GaN heterostructure to form the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) at the interface between the two materials without the use of dopants. The 2DEG channel is not considered into a conventional planar device, but in a three-dimensional structure like the FinFET, that can be called more precisely Fin-HEMT. A simulation on the TCAD Synopsys Sentaurus is performed in order to understand how the device works and what are the physical mechanisms responsible of a certain behaviour. Moreover, the purpose of this kind of analysis is to highlight advantages and disadvantages of using, in the same structure, an interesting material like Gallium Nitride and a Fin-shaped channel instead of the conventional planar one. With this aim, the simulation is carried on by modulating precise quantities that characterize the device. As regards the Gallium Nitride, the parameters under analysis can be the thickness, the spontaneous and piezoelectric charges and the presence of traps. On the other hand, the quantities to be modified in the Fin-shaped structure are the geometrical ones, for example the gate length, the fin width and the fin height. The simulation results are evaluated in order to understand the possible advantages that the device shows with respect to a conventional planar structure and if each positive feature can be exploited for a specific application. For example, digital applications require the shift of the threshold voltage towards positive values, while analogue applications need an improvement in the cut-off frequency, gains and output power density.


Abstract Both maternal Fe deficiency (ID) and being overweight or obese (Ow/Ob, BMI≥25 kg/m2) may negatively affect offspring brain development. However, the two risk factors correlate and their independent effects on infant neurodevelopment are unclear. PREOBE is a prospective observational study that included 331 pregnant Spanish women, of whom 166 had pre-gestational Ow/Ob. Fe status was analysed at 34 weeks and at delivery, and babies were assessed using Bayley III scales of neurodevelopment at 18 months. In confounder-adjusted analyses, maternal ID at 34 weeks was associated with lower composite motor scores at 18 months (mean 113·3 (sd 9·9) v. 117·1 (sd 9·2), P=0·039). Further, the offspring of mothers with ID at delivery had lower cognitive scores (114·0 (sd 9·7) v. 121·5 (sd 10·9), P=0·039) and lower receptive, expressive and composite (99·5 (sd 8·6) v. 107·6 (sd 8·3), P=0·004) language scores. The negative associations between maternal ID at delivery and Bayley scores remained even when adjusting for maternal Ow/Ob and gestational diabetes. Similarly, maternal Ow/Ob correlated with lower gross motor scores in the offspring (12·3 (sd 2·0) v. 13·0 (sd 2·1), P=0·037), a correlation that remained when adjusting for maternal ID. In conclusion, maternal ID and pre-gestational Ow/Ob are both negatively associated with Bayley scores at 18 months, but independently and on different subscales. These results should be taken into account when considering Fe supplementation for pregnant women.


We consider the solution of electromagnetics problems involving perfectly conducting objects formulated with the electric-field integral equation (EFIE). Dense matrix equations obtained from the discretization of EFIE are solved iteratively by the generalized minimal residual (GMRES) algorithm accelerated with a parallel multilevel fast multipole algorithm. We show that the number of iterations is halved by transforming the original matrix equations into normal equations. This way, memory required for the GMRES algorithm is reduced by more than 50%, which is significant when the problem size is large.


Predictive maintenance aims to predict failures in components of a system, a heavy-duty vehicle in this work, and do maintenance before any actual fault occurs. Predictive maintenance is increasingly important in the automotive industry due to the development of new services and autonomous vehicles with no driver who can notice first signs of a component problem. The lead-acid battery in a heavy vehicle is mostly used during engine starts, but also for heating and cooling the cockpit, and is an important part of the electrical system that is essential for reliable operation. This paper develops and evaluates two machine-learning based methods for battery prognostics, one based on Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) neural networks and one on Random Survival Forest (RSF). The objective is to estimate time of battery failure based on sparse and non-equidistant vehicle operational data, obtained from workshop visits or over-the-air readouts. The dataset has three characteristics: 1) no sensor measurements are directly related to battery health, 2) the number of data readouts vary from one vehicle to another, and 3) readouts are collected at different time periods. Missing data is common and is addressed by comparing different imputation techniques. RSF- and LSTM-based models are proposed and evaluated for the case of sparse multiple-readouts. How to measure model performance is discussed and how the amount of vehicle information influences performance.


The wide accessibility of mobile devices and the potential for selfmanagement and informational support through mHealth applications provides an opportunity to address unmet informational needs, achieve patient self-management, and provide long-term care for young cancer patients and their parents/caregivers. The aim of this paper is to examine the functionalities and features offered by mHealth applications for the support and self-management of childhood and adolescent cancer patients. In order to evaluate the influence of these apps on the user's motivation for behaviour change, an extensive review was conducted and the features of the selected applications are further analysed using the Persuasive Systems Design. The review provided in this paper found a number of mobile health applications fulfilling a variety of functions and needs for childhood and young adult cancer patients and their families. Most of the analysed applications provide one or few features from the Persuasive Systems Design primary task support, dialogue, or social support category.


The Department of Architecture Mission The Architecture major establishes an intellectual context for students to interpret the relation of form, space, program, materials and media to human life and thought. Through the Architecture curriculum, students participate in the ongoing shaping of knowledge about the built environment and learn to see architecture as one among many forms of cultural production. At the same time, the major stresses the necessity of learning disciplinary-specific tools, methods, terms and critiques. Thus, work in the studio, lecture or seminar asks that students treat architecture as a form of research and speculation which complement the liberal arts mission of expansive thinking.


This paper presents the concept, structural design and implementation of components of a multifunctional sensory network, consisting of a Mobile Robotic Platform (MRP) and stationary multifunctional sensors, which are wirelessly communicating with the MRP. Each section provides the review of the principles of operation and the network components' practical implementation. The analysis is focused on the structure of the robotic platform, sensory network and electronics and on the methods of the environment monitoring and data processing algorithms that provide maximal reliability, flexibility and stable operability of the system. The main aim of this project is the development of the Robotic Nurse (RN)—a 24/7 robotic helper for the hospital nurse personnel. To support longlasting autonomic operation of the platform, all mechanical, electronic and photonic components were designed to provide minimal weight, size and power consumption, while still providing high operational efficiency, accuracy of measurements and adequateness of the sensor response. The stationary sensors serve as the remote "eyes, ears and noses" of the main MRP. After data acquisition, processing and analyzing, the robot activates the mobile platform or specific sensors and cameras. The cross-use of data received from sensors of different types provides high reliability of the system. The key RN capabilities are simultaneous monitoring of physical conditions of a large number of patients and alarming in case of an emergency. The robotic platform Nav-2 exploits innovative principles of any-direction motion with Omni-wheels, navigation and environment analysis. It includes an innovative mini-laser, the absorption spectrum analyzer and a portable, extremely high signalto-noise ratio spectrometer with twodimensional detector array.


China has the world's largest population of people with rare diseases. However, defining rare diseases remains a challenge in China. Over the past few decades, several definitions have been proposed but they have yet to be agreed to by all stakeholders. To overcome this impasse, a list of several rare diseases has recently been created. This rare disease list might be used in place of a prevalence-based definition, especially in healthcare policy-making.


Academic collaboration has often been at the forefront of scientific progress, whether amongst prominent established researchers, or between students and advisors. We suggest a theory of the different types of academic collaboration, and use topic models to computationally identify these in Computational Linguistics literature. A set of author-specific topics are learnt over the ACL corpus, which ranges from 1965 to 2009. The models are trained on a per year basis, whereby only papers published up until a given year are used to learn that year's author topics. To determine the collaborative properties of papers, we use, as a metric, a function of the cosine similarity score between a paper's term vector and each author's topic signature in the year preceding the paper's publication. We apply this metric to examine questions on the nature of collaborations in Computational Linguistics research, finding that significant variations exist in the way people collaborate within different sub-fields.


Though the majority of veterans are able to reintegrate into civilian society without incident, a portion of the population does experience mild to severe stressors such as mental health disorders, suicide risk, incarceration, substance abuse and dependence, interpersonal relationships and readjustment, workplace difficulties, and sleep disturbance (Blow et al., 2013; Bonanno et al., 2012; Haller, Angkaw, Hendricks & Norman, 2016; Sayer et al., 2010; Short et al., 2016). Unfortunately, the current literature focuses on only one or two stressors, and rarely acknowledges all stressors as they coexist among the veteran population. The current study will focus on all prevalent reintegration stressors, and the relationship they may have for veterans. More specifically, the study will identify: (1) which reintegration stressors are more prevalent than others, (2) which co-occur with other stressors, and (3) the perception of the reintegration process. A sample of 31 veterans completed a comprehensive questionnaire that assessed these reintegration stressors; frequencies and Spearman's r correlations were conducted to evaluate the previously mentioned relationships. Many of the veterans experienced each of the reintegration stressors measured, at varying degrees. More veterans experienced at least one mental health diagnosis, but there were many who experienced more than one. Almost half of the sample had thought about suicide, and almost 20 percent had made a plan. A large portion of the veterans in this sample experienced relationship difficulties as well as interpersonal difficulties. The overall co-occurrence of reintegration stressors are consistent with the previous literature, providing more insight into what has been previously found. In regard to veteran perception of the process, several themes emerged including: difficulty finding a "tribe", adjusting to the loose structure of civilian life, lack of a marketable trade, and difficulties with mental health issues. These findings demonstrate a deep need to re-evaluate the reintegration process and increase the number of programs and support systems available to veterans after leaving the military.


A central aim of the COVEN project was to prototype large-scale applications of collaborative virtual environments (CVEs) that went beyond the existing state of the art. These applications were used in a series of real-scale networked trials that allowed us to gather many interesting human and technological results. To fulfill the technological and experimental goals of the project, we have modified an existing CVE platform: the DIVE (distributed interactive virtual environment) toolkit. In this paper, we present the different services and extensions that have been implemented within the platform during the four years of the project. Such a presentation will exemplify the different features that will have to be offered by nextgeneration CVE platforms. Implementation of the COVEN services has had implications at all levels of the platform: from a new networking layer through to mechanisms for high-level semantic modeling of applications.


A series of 1-alkyl-3-ethylcarboxylic acid imidazolium chloride ([AEImi][Cl]) ionic liquids was synthesized and evaluated as a new kind of lubricant for microelectromechanical system (MEMS). In this research, novel molecular thin ionic liquid films (ILs) with various bonding percentages were prepared with different annealing temperatures and times. Film wettability was determined by measurement of contact angle and thickness with the ellipsometric method. The chemical composition, structure and morphology were characterized by the means of multi-technique X-ray photoelectron spectrometric, and atomic force microscopic analysis, respectively. The nano- and microtribological properties of the ionic liquid film were investigated. The morphologies of wear tracks of IL films were examined using a 3D non-contact profilometer. The influence of chain length on friction in nano-scale, and the effect of bonding percentage and sliding frequency on friction coefficient, carry-bearing capacity and durability in micro-scale were studied. Data are compared to the perfluoropolyether lubricant Z Dol. The [AEImi][Cl] ionic liquid films with appropriate bonding percentage exhibited comparable loadbearing capacity and durability than Z Dol 3800 at thickness level of several nanometers. Therefore, the[AEImi][Cl] ionic liquid filmshows strong potential applications involving the lubrication and protectionof MEMS.


Introduction Primary pneumothorax has been defined as occurring in patients with no known lung disease but the assumption that the underlying lung is normal is increasingly contentious. The purpose of this case-control study is to evaluate lung structure and quantify the extent of any emphysema in patients with primary and secondary spontaneous pneumothorax compared with a control group without pneumothorax and to assess the influence of smoking on this process Methods 20 patients with primary pneumothorax (PSP), 20 patients with secondary pneumothorax (SSP) and 40 control patients with computed tomography scans suitable for quantitative analysis were evaluated. Demographics and smoking histories were collated. Quantitative evaluation of low attenuation areas of the lung was performed using semi-automated software. The percentage of segmented lung below the low attenuation threshold value of -950 Hounsfield units was calculated, based on a previously validated threshold.1 The extent of emphysema-like destruction was also assessed visually by an experienced consultant chest radiologist. Results The extent of emphysema and percentage low attenuation area was greater in PSP patients compared with controls matched for age and smoking history (Median 0.25 vs 0.00, p = 0.019) and was also higher in SSP compared with PSP patients (16.15 vs 0.25, p < 0.001). PSP patients who smoked had significantly greater low attenuation area than PSP non-smokers (0.7 vs 0.1, p = 0.034). No such difference was detected between smokers and non-smokers within the control group (0.0 vs 0.05, p = 0.798). Conclusions The majority of patients with PSP had quantifiable evidence of parenchymal destruction and emphysema. The presented data is supportive of the hypothesis that there is likely to be a spectrum of lung damage ranging from 'normal patients' through to patients with SSP, and rather than a clear distinction between PSP and SSP these conditions exist on a continuum. Reference 1 Heussel CP, Herth FJ, Kappes J, et al. Fully automatic quantitative assessment of emphysema in computed tomography: comparison with pulmonary function testing and normal values. Eur Radiol. 2009;19(10):2391-402Abstract S24 Figure 1


The similar to 1300-km-long rupture zone of the 2004 Andaman-Sumatra megathrust earthquake continues to generate a mix of thrust, normal, and strike-slip faulting events. The 12 June 2010 M(w) 7.5 event on the subducting plate is the most recent large earthquake on the Nicobar segment. The left-lateral faulting mechanism of this event is unusual for the outer-rise region, considering the stress transfer processes that follow great underthrusting earthquakes. Another earthquake (M(w) 7.2) with a similar mechanism occurred very close to this event on 24 July 2005. These earthquakes and most of their aftershocks on the subducting plate were generated by left-lateral strike-slip faulting on north-northeast-south-southwest oriented near-vertical faults, in response to north-northwest-south-southeast directed compression. Pre-2004 earthquake faulting mechanisms on the subducting oceanic plate are consistent with this pattern. Post-2004, left-lateral faulting on the subducting oceanic plate clusters between 5 degrees N and 9 degrees N, where the 90 degrees E ridge impinges the trench axis. Our study observes that the subducting plate off the Sumatra and Nicobar segments behaves similarly to a chip of the India-Australia plate, deforming in response to a generally northwest-southeast oriented compression, an aspect that must be factored into the plate deformation models.


The terrestrial flora of Antarctica's frozen continent is restricted to sparse ice-free areas and dominated by lichens and bryophytes. These plants frequently battle sub-zero temperatures, extreme winds and reduced water availability; all influencing their ability to survive and grow. Antarctic mosses, however, can have canopy temperatures well above air temperature. At midday, canopy temperatures can exceed 15°C, depending on moss turf water content. In this study, the optimum temperature of photosynthesis was determined for six Antarctic moss species: Bryum pseudotriquetrum, Ceratodon purpureus, Chorisodontium aciphyllum, Polytrichastrum alpinum, Sanionia uncinata, and Schistidium antarctici collected from King George Island (maritime Antarctica) and/or the Windmill Islands, East Antarctica. Both chlorophyll fluorescence and gas exchange showed maximum values of electron transport rate occurred at canopy temperatures higher than 20°C. The optimum temperature for both net assimilation of CO2 and photoprotective heat dissipation of three East Antarctic species was 20–30°C and at temperatures below 10°C, mesophyll conductance did not significantly differ from 0. Maximum mitochondrial respiration rates occurred at temperatures higher than 35°C and were lower by around 80% at 5°C. Despite the extreme cold conditions that Antarctic mosses face over winter, the photosynthetic apparatus appears optimised to warm temperatures. Our estimation of the total carbon balance suggests that survival in this cold environment may rely on a capacity to maximize photosynthesis for brief periods during summer and minimize respiratory carbon losses in cold conditions.


Transition metal complexes of Cu(II), Co(II) and Ni(II) with eflornithine hydrochloride hydrate (EFN), an antitrypanosomiasis drug, as ligand have been synthesized and characterized by melting point, elemental analysis, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), electronic spectra, magnetic susceptibility and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). The FTIR spectral data suggested the coordination modes of the ligand to be bidentate, coordinated to the metal ions through its carboxylate oxygen atom and an amino nitrogen atom. From the microanalytical data, the stoichiometry of the metal complexes is 1:2 (metal to ligand). The electronic absorption and magnetic susceptibility studies generally suggested octahedral geometry for the metal complexes. Toxicological evaluation of the ligand (EFN) and complexes were carried out using albino rats. Twenty-five albino rats that were used for the experiment were randomly divided into five groups and animals in group 1 served as a control. All the animals were sacrificed twenty-four hours after completion of their doses. The results revealed a high level of toxicity of EFN than the synthesized metal complexes.


A novel zero-voltage-transition (ZVT) full-bridge (FB) PWM converter for high power applications is proposed. An auxiliary resonant network which consists of two small switches (10-20% of main switches) and one small inductor provides zero-voltage-switching (ZVS) for wide line and load ranges. This allows addition of external capacitors to the switches maintaining reasonable ZVS range, and IGBTs can be used instead of MOSFETs for the main switches. In addition, the proposed converter has advantages over the ZVS-FB-PWM converters such as minimum device voltage and current stresses, negligible duty cycle loss, and no severe parasitic ringing on the secondary, which enables the proposed converter to handle higher voltage and power with lower cost. Operation, features and design considerations are presented and verified experimentally on a 2 kW, 85 kHz IGBT based prototype.


Abstract Although data journalism is practiced globally, data journalism research has traditionally focused on a limited set of countries, primarily within the liberal and democratic corporatist media systems. Many recently published studies illustrate a growing scholarly interest in data journalism in other parts of the world, but these studies are still limited in number. This special issue brings together five new empirical studies of data journalism around the world, as well as two commentaries and two book reviews on the topic with the aim of broadening the theoretical, empirical, and geographic perspectives on data journalism. The core of the special issue consists of five national and comparative case studies studying data journalism in Africa, the Arab world, Italy, the UK, and Argentina. Combined, these articles and the other publications in this special issue point to three important contextual factors that shape data journalism worldwide: journalistic cultures, media markets, and the political environment. After a discussion of each of these three factors, areas for future research are proposed.


Introduction. Clots may be seen during hematopoietic progenitor cell (HPC) collection or on product arrival to the cell therapy processing laboratory. We have always given one 81 mg acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) when clotting is seen during collection if there is no allergy, but hypothesized that the incidence of clotting would decrease if ASA was given to all autologous collectors with a platelet count of ≥80×109/L prior to collection (pre‐emptively). Methods. Autologous HPC were collected using the Spectra Optia instrument or Cobe Spectra instrument (Terumo BCT®, Lakewood, CO) with heparinized citrate. A retrospective review was performed to determine the total number of HPC products, including products with clots, collected between September 2010 and August 2013 (group 1). All autologous HPC collectors from September 2013 onwards were given ASA pre‐emptively if their platelet count was ≥80×109/L (group 2), and a similar review was performed in this group. We included the cell density and platelet count of the HPC products and the platelet count of the patient in the data collected. We reviewed procedure notes for adverse events or bleeding. Results. A total of 2574 HPC products were collected between September 2010 and August 2013; clotting was observed in 66 HPC products (66/2574; 2.56%). A total of 1906 HPC products were collected between November 2013 and October 2016; clotting was observed in 24 HPC products (24/1906; 1.25%). Thus an overall reduction was seen in incidence of clotting between groups 1 and 2 (2.56% versus 1.25; P=0.002). Since not all collectors in group 2 received pre‐emptive ASA, we reviewed the incidence of clotting within this group. A decrease in incidence of clots was noted with preemptive ASA (group 2A) (5/512, 0.97%) versus no ASA (group 2B) (19/1394, 1.36%), but this was not statistically significant. The mean cell density of the HPC products did not differ significantly between these two groups (group 2A and 2B) but a higher platelet count was observed in the pre‐emptive ASA group as expected (group 2A) (P=0.004). Multivariate logistic analysis after adjusting for platelet count of the HPC products showed a trend towards reduced incidence of clotting in the pre‐emptive ASA group (group 2A); however no association was seen after adjusting for the cell density of HPC products, nor was an association between patient's platelet count and incidence of clotting seen. None of the collectors who received ASA suffered any adverse events, including bleeding. Conclusion. We observed an overall reduction in the incidence of clotting in our HPC products after initiating pre‐emptive ASA usage (2.56% versus 1.25%; P=0.002). A trend towards lower incidence of clotting was noted when further analysis was performed to include pre‐emptive ASA usage and platelet count of the HPC products. Although the overall incidence of clotting was very small (<3.0%), giving ASA pre‐emptively further reduced the incidence of clotting and thus prevented wastage/cell loss of HPC products.


A dibenzofuran (DF)-degrading bacterium, Nocardioides sp. DF412, was isolated and its genes responsible for the degradation of DF were cloned and characterized. The dfdA1A2A3A4 gene cluster coding for a ring hydroxylating dioxygenase was located on a plasmid, and the dfdBC gene cluster coding for a ring-cleavage dioxygenase and a following hydrolase respectively was located on the chromosome. Reverse transcription-PCR analysis revealed that the transcription of both gene clusters was induced in the presence of DF. These two gene clusters also conferred the activity of each enzyme to a host strain. These results strongly suggest that the clusters are responsible for the degradation of DF in strain DF412.


This paper presents a novel two-level control architecture for a fully autonomous vehicle in a deterministic environment, which can handle traffic rules as specifications and low-level vehicle control with real-time performance. At the top level, we use a simple representation of the environment and vehicle dynamics to formulate a linear Model Predictive Control (MPC) problem. We describe the traffic rules and safety constraints using Signal Temporal Logic (STL) formulas, which are mapped to mixed integer-linear constraints in the optimization problem. The solution obtained at the top level is used at the bottom-level to determine the best control command for satisfying the constraints in a more detailed framework. At the bottom-level, specification-based runtime monitoring techniques, together with detailed representations of the environment and vehicle dynamics, are used to compensate for the mismatch between the simple models used in the MPC and the real complex models. We obtain substantial improvements over existing approaches in the literature in the sense of runtime performance and we validate the effectiveness of our proposed control approach in the simulator CARLA.


The introduction colonial capitalist economic policies and practices such as land alienation, forced labour and commercial crop production acted as a major catalyst of change on the existing African indigenous subsistence production especially the Agikuyu Women's Indigenous Knowledge System (AWIKS). This research paper focused on examining the effects of European colonialism on the AWIKS on food crop production from 1902-1918. The study employed descriptive research design and historical trend analysis and it was done in three sub-counties of Kiambu West, namely, Limuru, Lari and Kikuyu. Purposive and snowballing technique was used to get the respondents who were the bearers of the most relevant information. The main source of information was the corroboration of oral interviews, archival records analysis and secondary data. Oral interviews data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) and reported using basic simple descriptive statistics. The Women and Development (WAD) theory helped to examine the nature in which the Agikuyu women were integrated in colonial capitalist economy, which explains their marginalization, subordination, oppression and dependency on men. The study found out that during the establishment of colonial rule the Agikuyu people were moved from their indigenous land and were pushed to poor, marginal and unproductive reserve areas where they did not have enough experience and accumulated indigenous knowledge system of the new agro-ecosystem. In addition, most of the drought tolerant food crops were neglected and others destroyed a move that may have led to underutilization of AWIKS on food crop production. This implied that the food supply was compromised and the society became more vulnerable to drought and famine. Therefore, in order to enhance food supply in the households some of the AWIKS on food crop production may be integrated into the modern western agricultural production practices.


The environmental awareness, coming to the front in the 21st century, motivates us to supply the plant nutrient demand (in point of the plant, the environment and the human health) with natural materials.Composting is known since the beginning of civilization. We came to know more the processes of composting as a result of last decades' research, but numerous unexplained questions remained up to this day. The good compost is dark gray or brown, and it should not create an odor. It has aggregate structure, and it's pH is neutral. Compost is soil-like (Feher, 2001), nutrient-rich material, which contains valuable nutrients extracted from soil, so if we recycle this, we can decrease the chemical fertilizer and other (example: mineral energy) expenses.The reason of that we chose the more accurate cognition of compost utilization is to do more effective the site-specific nutrient supply. This increases the average yield and the quality of yield. Besides we can decrease the harmful effects, which endanger the plant, the environment, and the human body.During the compost utilization experiment we blended the  acid sandy soil with compost in 4 different volumetric proportions (5 treatments) than we set the pots randomized. The advantage of this method is that we can provide equal conditions for plants so we can measure the effect of  treatments correctly. Our experimental plant was ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.), that grows rapidly, tolerates the glasshouse conditions, and indicates the effect of treatments well. After the harvest of ryegrass we measured the fresh and dry weight of harvested leaves and the total C-, N-, S-content of the dry matter and of the soil, we examined the pH and the salt concentration of  soil as well. Our aim was to study and evaluate the relations between the compost-soil proportion and the nutrient content of soil and plant. In our previous experiments we confirmed (based on variance analyses) that the compost has a beneficial effect on soil and increases the nutrient content of the soil (Szabo, 2009). But it's important to appoint that the compound of compost is seasonally change: in winter the selective gathered municipal solid waste contains salt that were applied for non-skidding of roads, but salt has a negative effect to the plant. We proved that in our experiment the 25/75% compost/soil proportion was ideal for the plant. This content of compost effected 6 times higher green matter weight compared to the 100% sandy soil.


The increasing globalization of agricultural markets in recent decades appears to be changing the economics of the American production agriculture sector, reducing its economic importance and raising questions about its life cycle. This study contributes to the product life cycle literature by creating tests of hypotheses about the economic life of American production agriculture. A methodology to test the hypotheses is proposed and then applied in an empirical analysis. In general, it appears that a new stage in American agriculture's life began during the 1973-1983 period. Finally, the results and their implications for the American production agriculture sector are discussed.


DOI: 10.14254/2071789X.2021/14-3/4 ABSTRACT. Studying economic culture fills in the research gap that refers to understanding how soft factors of the European Union's LEADER Programme influence economic growth. The aim of this paper is to present the regional specifics of selected economic culture elements of Local Action Group (LAG) communities from the peripheral regions of Eastern Poland. The research was based on literature analysis, the diagnostic poll method, and statistical analysis (measures of descriptive statistics and the Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA test). The features of economic culture exhibited some similarities in the selected voivodeships, but each of them also had its own characteristics. The normative system in particular voivodeships should be considered internally differentiated at the average level. Such a situation can create positive conditions for LAG development wherever the level of norms acquisition is high (mainly in the Podkarpackie and Lubelskie Voivodeships). In Warmińsko-Mazurskie, the level of trust in agents and organisations beyond LAGs (as prospective cooperation partners) is relatively low. The research outcomes can be the premise to suggest ways and mechanisms for LEADER Programme implementation at the regional level, such as: strengthening identification with the LEADER normative system as well as shaping the normative system in terms of norms referring to the area of economic activity; increasing the bridging social capital component, as this, in particular, seems to be crucial for the ability of organisations to grow and innovativeness.


Electrically active defects induced by ion implantation of boron and phosphorus into silicon and their recovery under isothermal annealing at 450 °C were investigated using Deep Level Transient Spectroscopy (DLTS) and Energy Resolved Tunneling Photoconductivity (ERTP) spectroscopy at cryogenic temperatures. DLTS results show electrically active deep traps located at Ev+0.35 eV and Ev+0.53 eV in boron implanted Si and at Ev+0.34 eV, Ev+0.43 eV, and Ev+0.38 eV in phosphorus implanted Si. These meta-stable defect sites were found to be either eliminated or significantly reduced in thermally annealed samples. We assigned these defect sites to hydrogen and carbon incorporated complexes formed during ion implantation. Corroborating the DLTS results, the photocurrent measurement also revealed a strong reduction of electrically active defects states, extended from EC – 0.3 eV up to the conduction band edge of Si, upon isothermal annealing.


Bone geometry is a significant component of bone strength, and has a clinical utility in predicting fractures and quantifying bone loss. Bone geometry is known to have a substantial genetic component. We performed linkage analysis to identify chromosomal regions governing metacarpal bone geometry. A genome‐wide scan (with a set of 615 markers with spacing of ∼5.7 cM) was performed on 1,702 individuals from 330 extended families of the Framingham Study. Midshaft width was measured and several indices calculated, namely Metacarpal Cortical Thickness (MCT), Cortical Index (MCI), and Section Modulus (MZ), using digitized X‐rays of 1,380 participants (men, n = 666, mean age 55.2 yr, women, n = 714, 55.5 yr). Metacarpals 2, 3, and 4 were averaged. Heritability was significant for all indices, ranging from 0.51 to 0.72. Linkage analysis of indices adjusted for age, age2, and estrogen status in women, identified chromosomal regions 6p21, 9p21, 11q21‐q22, and Xq26‐Xq27, with LOD scores >2.0. Additional adjustment for smoking, height, and BMI, generally reduced the LOD scores. Finally, bivariate linkage analysis confirmed that a QTL on chr. 6 (51 cM) was shared by midshaft width and MZ (LOD = 2.40, adjusted for all covariates). Neither MCT nor MCI shared linkage loci with width or MZ. In conclusion, we have identified chromosomal regions potentially linked to bone geometry. Genes in these regions may regulate bone geometry via effects on body size. Identification and subsequent characterization of loci for bone geometry can further elucidate the genetic contributions to bone's resistance to stress. Am. J. Hum. Biol., 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Development of cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) reinforced polypropylene (PP) nanocomposites using melt compounding processes has received considerable attention. The main challenges are to obtain well-dispersed CNFs in the polymer matrix and to establish compatible linkages between the CNFs and PP. Manufacturing of CNF reinforced PP nanocomposites was conducted using a twin-screw co-rotating extruder with the masterbatch concept. Modifications of CNFs using maleic anhydride polypropylene were performed. The best mechanical properties of the nanocomposites are 1.94 GPa (tensile modulus), 32.8 MPa (tensile strength), 1.63 GPa (flexural modulus), 50.1 MPa (flexural strength), and 3.8 kJ m−2 (impact strength), which represents about 36, 11, 21, 7, and 23% improvement, respectively, compared to those of pure PP (1.43 GPa, 29.5 MPa, 1.35 GPa, 46.9 MPa, and 3.1 kJ m−2). Fracture morphology examination indicated good dispersion of CNFs in the PP matrix was achieved through this specific manufacturing process. MAPP treatments enhanced the interfacial adhesion between the CNFs and PP. POLYM. COMPOS., 2014. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers


Polymer flooding is an effective enhanced oil recovery technology used to reduce the mobility ratio and improve sweep efficiency. A new polymer injection scheme is investigated that relies on the cyclical injection of low-salinity, low-concentration polymer slugs chased by high-salinity, high-concentration polymer slugs. The effectiveness of the process is a function of several reservoir and design parameters related to polymer type, concentration, salinity, and reservoir heterogeneity. We use reservoir simulations and design-of-experiments (DoE) to investigate the effectiveness of the proposed polymer injection scheme. We show how key objective functions, such as recovery factor and injectivity, are impacted by the reservoir and design parameters. In this study, simulations showed that the new slug-based process was always superior to the reference polymer injection scheme using the traditional continuous injection scheme. Our results show that the process is most effective when the polymer weight is high, corresponding to large inaccessible pore-volumes, which enhances polymer acceleration. High vertical heterogeneity typically reduces the process performance because of increased mixing in the reservoir. The significance of this process is that it allows for increased polymer solution viscosity in the reservoir without increasing the total mass of polymer, and without impairing polymer injectivity at the well.


Oxide heterointerfaces constitute a rich platform for realizing novel functionalities in condensed matter. A key aspect is the strong link between structural and electronic properties, which can be modified by interfacing materials with distinct lattice symmetries. Here, we determine the effect of the cubic-tetragonal distortion of SrTiO3 on the electronic properties of thin films of SrIrO3, a topological crystalline metal hosting a delicate interplay between spin-orbit coupling and electronic correlations. We demonstrate that below the transition temperature at 105 K, SrIrO3 orthorhombic domains couple directly to tetragonal domains in SrTiO3. This forces the in-phase rotational axis to lie in-plane and creates a binary domain structure in the SrIrO3 film. The close proximity to the metal–insulator transition in ultrathin SrIrO3 causes the individual domains to have strongly anisotropic transport properties, driven by a reduction of bandwidth along the in-phase axis. The strong structure–property relationships in perovskites make these compounds particularly suitable for static and dynamic coupling at interfaces, providing a promising route towards realizing novel functionalities in oxide heterostructures.


Extreme events such as extreme drought and precipitation are expected to increase in intensity and/or duration in the face of climate change. Such changes significantly affect plant productivity and the biomass allocation between reproductive and vegetation organs (i.e., reproductive allocation). Our aims are to test the effects of water addition on the trade-offs in allocation of plant biomass and whether such effects are modified by species. A manipulative experiment was conducted from May 2000 to October 2001, where four dominant plant species (i.e., Leymus chinensis, Stipa grandis, Artemisia frigida, and Potentilla acaulis) in the Inner Mongolia steppe in China were treated with 8 levels of water addition. Results demonstrated that water addition significantly affected the reproductive allocation of plants, and such effects were modified by species. Specifically, with increasing water availability, L. chinensis was not impacted, while A. frigida allocated more biomass to reproductive organs than to vegetative organs, while such allocation in S. grandis and P. acaulis first decreased, and then increased after reaching a peak. Our results indicated that plant species can adjust their reproductive allocation patterns to deal with water availability gradients. Climatic factors such as rainfall and temperature usually co-appearing, thus future research should explore the joint effects of several climate change factors on grasslands in order to maintain the health and sustainability of grasslands.


In the past decade, American professional psychology has taken significant steps toward a unified statement of the competencies that define the practice of psychology, regardless of specialty. The purpose of this article is to explain the current competency initiative in professional psychology and examine its implications and potential impact on graduate training in school psychology. A brief overview of competency-based training and the current competencies initiative in psychology is presented. Two significant challenges to implement competency-based training are then discussed. The first challenge has to do with conceptualizations of training and practice across accreditation agencies. As a part of the discussion, two recently published competency documents from the Assessment of Competencies Benchmark Workgroup of the American Psychological Association and the National Association of School Psychologists are compared in a content analysis. The second challenge discussed is the difficulties associated with operationalizing and measuring competencies. Specifically, the empirical and consequential bases for existing assessment methods are examined. In spite of current pressure by accrediting agencies to implement a competency-based training model, based on the challenges examined in this article, significant work remains if school psychology trainers want to assure that competency-based training is done well. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


The thermal regulation problem for a lithium ion (Li-ion) battery with boundary control actuation is considered. The model of the transient temperature dynamics of the battery is given by a nonhomogeneous parabolic partial differential equation (PDE) on a two-dimensional spatial domain which accounts for the time-varying heat generation during the battery discharge cycle. The spatial domain is given as a disk with radial and angular coordinates which captures the nonradially symmetric heat-transfer phenomena due to the application of the control input along a portion of the spatial domain boundary. The Li-ion battery model is formulated within an appropriately defined infinite-dimensional function space setting which is suitable for spectral controller synthesis. The key challenges in the output feedback model-based controller design addressed in this work are: the dependence of the state on time-varying system parameters, the restriction of the input along a portion of the battery domain boundary, the observer-based optimal boundary control design where the separation principle is utilized to demonstrate the stability of the closed loop system, and the realization of the outback feedback control problem based on state measurement and interpolation of the temperature field. Numerical results for simulation case studies are presented. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 59: 3782–3796, 2013


Background Mutation C677T of the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) is the main cause of mild hyperhomocysteinemia. Hyperhomocysteinemia is a recognized risk factor for aterothrombosis. MTHFR C677T patients have higher levels of homocysteine in absence of dietary folates. Methods Retrospective study over data from patients studied for MTHFR C677T diagnosed of ischemic stroke (IS) younger 50 or older 50 without classic vascular risk factors or with familiar or personal history suggesting thrombophilia in a period of 3 years. MTHFR C677T was screened in 90 healthy blood donors as a control group. Computer database was used for descriptive statistics. Results Blood samples from 99 patients and from 90 donors (control). Mean age: 44.3 with Standard deviation (SD) 13.9 years in IS group and 39.1 with SD 8.3 years in control group. We found 19 (19.19%) homozygotes for MTHFR C677T in IS group and 14 (15.55%) in control group. Conclusions Homozygosis for MTHFR C667T is more frequent in the IS group than in the control one, although there is no significant differences. Anyway, we suggest that, because of the high prevalence of the mutation MTHFR C677T found, screening should be made in the thombophilia studies, so that we could find patients with a risk factor that could be lowered by folates in the diet.


NATURAL aptitude, training, experience: these are the three factors necessary for competence in any vocation. But having stated the ideal, what is the reality? Recruitment to libraries is quite as haphazard as it is to any other job. It is best when unemployment is rife. It is poorest when full employment is achieved. The assistant arrives more by accident than design. He is usually an amenable, adaptable creature, ready enough to learn and make the most of the estate to which he has been called. Thus it is that training becomes paramount, and education in librarianship the prime duty of the Library Association.


We will tackle the translation of visual poetry based on two examples selected from the avant-garde period (1918 and 1921 respectively), two poems written in French by Vicente Huidobro.  The sense (in both its sensory and semantic aspect) and its relation to a plural and non-immanent conception of it will be examined through contrastive analysis of two visual poems, which, despite carrying the same title, Tour Eiffel, derive from very distinct composition processes. One of these examples shares features of the calligramatic genre, while exploiting analytical and synthetic techniques of Cubism (d'Asprer 2002); while the other combines painting and poetic writing, with the text inserted in a figurative background of thematic reference and where intense colour predominates. These two modalities of iconicity: secondary iconicity (in accordance with G. Sonesson's terminology), in the first case, and direct iconicity in the second, as well as some nuanced distinctions between imagic, diagrammatic and metaphoric iconicity (Peirce 1903), more sensitive to the plural and dynamic nature of the creative process and of significance, will serve as a basis for engaging in poetic and reflective translation (Berman 1985) and for analysing the process we have followed in elaborating it in Spanish.


Poetry is formal. Rhythm and form are closely related. Rhythm is componential. Form is paradigmatic. The qualities of the rhythmic components are the source of formal paradigms. Poetic paradigms are quadratic, organizing linguistic, rhetorical, and symbolic forms into four temporalities (cyclical time, centroidal time, linear time, and relative time) following the four components of rhythm (meter, grouping, prolongation, and theme). Each poem is a complex mixture of these four temporalities. It is this complex mixture of temporalities that gives a poem its unique "inner" form, its distinct sensibility/subjectivity/psychology. Cyclical time is physical/perceptual/ecstatic. Centroidal time is emotional. Linear time is actional/volitional. Relative time is memorial/imaginative. I call this approach to poetry "temporal poetics." Using this "temporal poetics," this essay provides complete readings of four poems by William Carlos Williams: "The Young Housewife," "The Red Wheelbarrow," "This is Just to Say," and "Flowers by the Sea."