The paper reports on a project in the area of simulation based decision support (SBDS) at the operational level of the manufacturing system. The purpose of the project was to explore and describe the possibilities to use a standard discrete event simulation package for capacity planning in a situation where labor was a primary and scarce production resource. This has been done through a case study at a Radio Base Station (RBS) assembly line at Ericsson Radio System, Gavle in Sweden. Results from the study are a conceptual structure for a SBDS system and a prototype simulation system tailored for the RBS-2000 assembly line. The system has been tested in a simulated environment and results indicate a delivery precision improvement of eleven percent. Conclusions from the study are that this kind of tool for operational decision support offers a flexible decision support environment and that the need for high quality information and information collecting systems are crucial for the success of such tools.


For the past two decades simulated annealing has been playing a crucial role in the design of optimization strategies for flow shop scheduling applications. This paper presents an efficient simulated annealing algorithm for minimizing the total flow time in permutation flow shop scheduling problems. Empirical results demonstrate the improvement in solution quality obtained by the proposed approach over state-of-the-art methods in the literature.


Val di Non, in Italy's Alpine Trentino region, is characterized by thousands of small apple growers, united in sixteen co-operatives, each one with members from a micro-local community of the valley. During the 1980s, apples' big buyers were able to play each co-operative against the other and, thereby, to decrease growers' profits. This difficult situation inspired an ambitious project in a group of institutional leaders, three to six people coming from the co-operatives: building a new single consortium of co-operatives, called «Melinda, capable of centralizing marketing, promotion and trading and, still more, enhance production techniques and product quality. Powerful cognitive and identity obstacles, not to say of the dilemmas of collective action, faced the institutional leaders; nevertheless, in ten years they succeded. Their action was based on: piecemal but continuative negotiated institutional changes; a skillfull identity reformulation from the micro-local level of the village to the local level of the valley; a re-training of the growers, supported by regional public technical assistance, toward more value-adding production techniques. The background of all this was a clever strategy of trust-building between leaders and growers - based on a continuos dialogical activity of information, proposition and co-decision - which was able to link the democratic character of the co-operative institutions with the modernizing activity of the «Melinda consortium.


This paper examines the increasing integration of the radical human enhancement project into the cultural mainstream. The tacit identification of enhancement with therapy is no longer contested, but widely accepted. Transhumanism leads the way by pointing out the deficiencies of our nature and presenting radical human enhancement as the urgently needed cure. The paper traces this particular self-conception, which I call the enhancementtherapy identity thesis, and how it is reflected in our culture. I look at what I consider the two main arguments in support of the identity thesis, namely the moral argument, which was made by John Harris, and the biological argument, which was made by Allen Buchanan. According to the moral argument, there is no relevant moral distinction between repairing a dysfunction and enhancing a function, so that if the former is a duty, then the latter is too. According to the biological argument we have been so poorly constructed by nature that we can only survive by radically enhancing ourselves. The analysis of these two arguments is followed by examples of public discourse that rely on or otherwise make use of the enhancement-therapy identity thesis. The chosen examples cover the four main areas of human enhancement: emotional enhancement, cognitive enhancement, moral enhancement, and life extension. In each of these cases I identify a diagnosis relating to the supposedly intrinsically pathological human condition and a proposed cure that consists in the successful execution of some form of capacity enhancement. I conclude with a brief reflection on the change in our normative attitude that the endorsement of the enhancement-therapy identity thesis induces.


Detonation sprayed coatings are nowadays applied on many kinds of heavily loaded sliding pairs and in the case high-speed machines. The basic problem in such applications lies in their durability and their scuffing resistance. Detonation sprayed coatings have a different in comparison with other junction surfaces microstructure and their behaviour in boundary condition let us better estimate possibilities of their application. This paper deals with the findings from experiments with regard to the seizure phenomenon when the friction pairing embodies an element with detonation-sprayed coatings. The progression of seizure is examined and evaluated for a number of aluminum oxide-13 titanium dioxide WC-Co 88/12 coatings that were applied to steel by means of detonation spraying. Paper includes a German-language abstract.


Based upon two years of ethnographic fieldwork in London, England, which incorporated nearly 200 interviews with gang members, gang associates, and police officers, among others, this thesis addresses three questions presently unresolved in the street gangs literature: What is the business of gangs? How are gangs organised? And how do gangs recruit? With regard the business of gangs, this thesis illustrates how recreation, crime, enterprise, and extra-legal governance represent sequential stages in the evolutionary cycle of London's street gangs. Gang member testimony emphasises how gangs typically begin life as neighbourhood-based peer groups, but also how, in response to external threats and financial commitments, gangs grow to incorporate street-level drugs distribution businesses that very much resemble the multi-level marketing structure of direct-sales companies. People join gangs to make money, achieve status, and obtain protection. Gangs engage in turf wars, acquire violent resources, and develop hierarchical structures in order to maintain provision of these desirable goods and services. Gang organisation, in turn, becomes a function of gang business. To better understand the nature and extent of gang organisation, this thesis moves on to discuss the presence of subgroups, hierarchy and leadership, pecuniary and non-pecuniary incentives, rules, responsibilities, and restrictions, and consequences for absconding within gangs. It further presents how, in order to convey reputation and achieve intimidation, gangs seek association with elements of popular culture that help promote their image. Finally, through the novel application of signalling theory to the gang recruitment process, this thesis demonstrates how gangs face a primary trust dilemma in their uncertainty over the quality of recruits. Given that none of the trust-warranting properties for gang membership can be readily discovered from observation, gangs look for observable signs correlated with these properties. Gangs face a secondary trust dilemma in their uncertainty over the reliability of signs because certain agents (e.g., police informants, rival gang members, and adventure-seekers) have incentives to mimic them. To overcome their informational asymmetry gangs thus screen for signs that are too costly for mimics to fake but affordable for the genuine article. The thesis concludes with a discussion of gang desistance and intervention in the context of escalating youth violence in London.


Evaluating anthropogenic changes to natural systems demand greater quantification through innovative transdisciplinary research focused on adaptation and mitigation across a wide range of thematic sciences. Southernmost Africa is a unique field laboratory to conduct such research linked to earth stewardship, with 'earth' as in our Commons. One main focus of the AEON's Earth Stewardship Science Research Institute (ESSRI) is to quantify the region's natural and cultural heritage at various scales across land and its flanking oceans, as well as its time-scales ranging from the early Phanerozoic (some 540 million years) to the evolution of the Anthropocene (changes) following the emergence of the first human-culture on the planet some 200 thousand years ago. Here we illustrate the value of this linked research through a number of examples, including: (i) geological field mapping with the aid of drone, satellite and geophysical methods, and geochemical fingerprinting; (ii) regional ground and surface water interaction studies; (iii) monitoring soil erosion, mine tailing dam stability and farming practices linked to food security and development; (iv) ecosystem services through specific biodiversity changes based on spatial logging of marine (oysters and whales) and terrestrial (termites, frogs and monkeys) animals. We find that the history of this margin is highly episodic and complex by, for example, the successful application of ambient noise and groundwater monitoring to assess human-impacted ecosystems. This is also being explored with local Khoisan representatives and rural communities through Citizen Science. Our goal is to publicly share and disseminate the scientific and cultural data, through initiatives like the Africa Alive Corridor 10: 'Homo Sapiens' that embraces storytelling along the entire southern coast. It is envisioned that this approach will begin to develop the requisite integrated technological and societal practices that can contribute toward the needs of an ever-evolving and changing global 'village'.


Objective Opioid-induced constipation is among the most common side effects associated with opioid use in patients with chronic non-cancer pain, and it can have a significant negative impact on health-related quality of life (QOL). This analysis evaluated the effect of naldemedine 0.2 mg on patient-reported outcomes in three phase 3 clinical studies. Methods COMPOSE-1 and COMPOSE-2 were identical randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group studies of 12 weeks' duration, allowing data to be integrated (n=1095). COMPOSE-3 was similar in design, but of 52 weeks' duration (n=1241). Patients were adults with chronic non-cancer pain who had been treated with opioid analgesics for ≥3 months and experiencing opioid-induced constipation. Patient-reported outcomes included Patient Assessment of Constipation Symptoms (PAC-SYM; 12 questions assessed on a 5-point Likert scale), PAC-QOL (28 questions assessed on a 5-point Likert scale), and Subject Global Satisfaction (measured on a 7-point Likert scale). The proportion of patients achieving a ≥1.5 improvement in PAC-SYM and PAC-QOL was calculated. The correlation between change in PAC-SYM and PAC-QOL scores and frequency of bowel movements was also explored. Results The proportion of PAC-SYM and PAC-QOL responders was significantly higher for naldemedine than for placebo at all assessed time points in COMPOSE-1/COMPOSE-2 (p<0.005 for both) and COMPOSE-3 (p<0.005 and p<0.0001, respectively). There was a statistically significant correlation between improvement in PAC-SYM/PAC-QOL and frequency of bowel movements at all time points (p≤0.0002). The majority of patients treated with naldemedine reported markedly or moderately improved satisfaction with constipation and abdominal symptoms on the Subject Global Satisfaction questionnaire. Discussion Naldemedine treatment was associated with a rapid and sustained clinically relevant improvement in patient-reported outcomes, indicating improvement in opioid-induced constipation-related symptoms and QOL. ClinicalTrials.gov Registration NCT01965158, NCT01993940, NCT01965652.


Immediate fixation of stool specimens in polyvinyl alcohol fixative (PVA) was compared with Schaudinn's fixation delayed until the specimens were received in the laboratory, in a series of 100 consecutive positive stool specimens. More specimens were found positive following PVA fixation, and the numbers of organisms present on the slides were greater in specimens processed by this technique than after Schaudinn's fixation. It is concluded that immediate fixation results in the preservation of larger numbers of organisms in a recognizable state. The routine use of PVA fixation prior to transportation of the specimen to the laboratory is recommended.


The increasing demand on reinforced concrete infrastructure, coupled with environmental challenges, results in accelerated degradation evident for example by corrosion. Composite FRP rebar used to reinforce concrete structures can address durability challenges, making progress towards a safe and resilient built infrastructure. While FRP rebars have been commercially available for at least two decades, with the foreseen increasing demand for its use, establishing reliable and effective quality control (QC) methodology to provide assurance of the manufactured composite rebar properties is paramount for full implementation of this concrete reinforcing technology; and assure extended service life, safety and reliability of concrete infrastructure. This study first presents an initial QC assessment criterion, which is applied to existing QC standard specification, and then validates an alternative methodology based on a flexural test of FRP rebars as a response to the need of additional reliable, effective and rapid tests that FRP rebar manufactures can implement to assess the continued quality of pultruded rebars during production. To this end, various parameters where preliminary evaluated including, two test configurations, span-to-depth ratios, eight manufactures and three different rebar diameters per manufacture (nominal 9.5 mm, 12.7 mm, 25.4 mm). Overall the selected test procedure was validated with over 100 tests and results compared and correlated to FRP rebar tensile properties. Based on the results, reliable and valid physio-mechanical properties can be determined from the test protocol, which can be directly related to design properties. The test is timeand costeffective and can be adopted to obtain quantitative quality control data in as little as seven minutes. Fifth International Conference on Sustainable Construction Materials and Technologies. http://www.claisse.info/Proceedings.htm


The records of 68 patients with cancer of the floor of the mouth were reviewed. 56 patients underwent surgical management, 51 of them got additionally postoperative radiation. The tumour-specific five years' survival for patients with operation was 46%, 57% of treatment failures developed from local recurrence of the tumour. In 52% of all cases there was a spread to the lymphatic system in the histological evaluation. There was high incidence of false negative clinical examinations of the neck. Conservative neck dissection was the procedure of choice for clinically positive lymph nodes and for the elective management of the neck. Only advanced tumours showed involvement of the mandibular bone. Therefore a conservative management of mandibular resection was preferred. Radical tumour extirpation and histological controlling with serial sectioned specimens are methods of avoiding local tumour recurrence.


The three decades following World War II were a period of rapidly increasing fishing effort and landings, but also of spectacular collapses, particularly in small pelagic fish stocks. This is also the period in which a toxic triad of catch underreporting, ignoring scientific advice and blaming the environment emerged as standard response to ongoing fisheries collapses, which became increasingly more frequent, finally engulfing major North Atlantic fisheries. The response to the depletion of traditional fishing grounds was an expansion of North Atlantic (and generally of northern hemisphere) fisheries in three dimensions: southward, into deeper waters and into new taxa, i.e. catching and marketing species of fish and invertebrates previously spurned, and usually lower in the food web. This expansion provided many opportunities for mischief, as illustrated by the European Union's negotiated 'agreements' for access to the fish resources of Northwest Africa, China's agreement-fee exploitation of the same, and Japan blaming the resulting resource declines on the whales. Also, this expansion provided new opportunities for mislabelling seafood unfamiliar to North Americans and Europeans, and misleading consumers, thus reducing the impact of seafood guides and similar effort toward sustainability. With fisheries catches declining, aquaculture—despite all public relation efforts—not being able to pick up the slack, and rapidly increasing fuel prices, structural changes are to be expected in both the fishing industry and the scientific disciplines that study it and influence its governance. Notably, fisheries biology, now predominantly concerned with the welfare of the fishing industry, will have to be converted into fisheries conservation science, whose goal will be to resolve the toxic triad alluded to above, and thus maintain the marine biodiversity and ecosystems that provide existential services to fisheries. Similarly, fisheries economists will have to get past their obsession with privatising fisheries resources, as their stated goal of providing the proper incentives to fishers can be achieved without giving away what are, after all, public resources. Overall, the crisis that fisheries are now going through can be seen as an opportunity to renew both their structure—away from fuel-intensive large-scale fisheries—and their governance, and to renew the disciplines which study fisheries, creating a fisheries conservation science in the process. Its greatest achievement will be the creation of a global network of Marine Protected Areas, which, as anticipated by Ramon Margalef, is the way to make controlled exploitation compatible with the continued existence of functioning marine ecosystems.


In 1996, approximately six percent of the students enrolled in postsecondary educational institutions had disabilities (National Clearinghouse on Postsecondary Education for Individuals with Disabilities, 1998). According to the National Center for Education Statistics (1999), college students with disabilities have traditionally reported sensory (visual or hearing loss) or orthopedic conditions. But the National Center (1999) also noted that, given advances in medical, educational, and environmental technologies, students with a variety of other types of disabilities including learning and neuromuscular impairments have enrolled in and successfully completed higher education programs. In studying the ways in which a wide variety of impairments are dealt with in postsecondary institutions, Brinckerhoff, Shaw, and McGuire (1993) identified multiple accommodations ranging from special housing and equipment to notetakers, tape recorded lectures, readers, scribes, and interpreters. Moreover, the legal requirement to provide academic accommodations challenges student services professionals to generate an ever increasing range of accommodations for students with disabilities. Unfortunately, research indicates that young adults with disabilities enrolled in postsecondary education have little understanding of accommodations or of effective ways to implement their civil rights (Carroll & Johnson-Bown, 1996). In a study of college students with disabilities at fifteen colleges across eight states, Thompson (1993) found significant deficits in the knowledge of disability rights in a majority of the participating students. Other researchers have reported that many college students with disabilities need assistance in dealing with complex social interactions such as the `request and negotiate' demands in the accommodation situation (Chavez, 1984; Evenson & Evenson, 1983; Wall & Culhane, 1991. Knowledge and skill deficiencies are not the only factors limiting students' success in requesting accommodations. Institutional resistance is a critical environmental condition making it more difficult for students with disabilities to request accommodations. Although more than 20 years have passed since the publication of Section 504 regulations and nine years have passed since the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), higher education, like many other social systems, continues to struggle with implementing policies for providing reasonable accommodations (Tucker & Goldstein, 1995). Heyward, Lawton and Associates (1995) stated that a struggle is underway between service providers and institutions of higher education over compliance with federal regulations and proper implementation of accommodations for students. Unfortunately, students with disabilities are frequently the casualties of this conflict (Heyward et al., 1995). Therefore, self-advocacy and conflict resolution training is an important intervention to offer college students with disabilities. Recently developed educational materials and instructional programs define reasonable accommodations and the procedures for requesting them (Rumrill, Roessler, & Brown, 1994; Thompson & Bethea, 1996). Unfortunately, few, if any, training programs are available that delineate the sequence and timing of conflict resolution behaviors when disputes occur. The student with a disability must not only be educated in the procedures of requesting accommodations, but must also be provided the tools to resolve the inevitable differences of opinion that occur in the absence of clear accommodation policies. The intervention evaluated in this study, Self-Advocacy and Conflict Resolution Training (SACR), addressed both the communication (self-advocacy) and negotiation (conflict resolution) skills that students need to implement their rights to accommodation in the educational process. In the SACR training program, students received information about academic barriers and reasonable accommodations; they were provided information detailing the protection they can expect from civil rights laws as well as the responsibilities expected of them; they received training in social competence skills for self-assertion and self-advocacy; and they practiced situational conflict resolution strategies. …


Developing flexible shape changing actuators by means of 3D printing has become an exciting research area and has been widely used in our daily life and they are expected to play more important roles in soft robotics, biomedical devices and other high-tech areas. However, the development of such 3D printed shape changing actuators is limited due to the lack of 3D printing functional materials and insufficient response sensitivity of the actuators. This study demonstrates the 3D printing of photo-responsive shape changing composites based on polylactic acid (PLA) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on paper substrates with fused deposition modeling (FDM) printing technology for the construction of flexible photothermal-responsive shape changing actuators. Introducing MWCNTs to a PLA matrix results in the enhancement of processabilities of the MWCNT–PLA composite during the FDM printing process compared to pure PLA. In the MWCNT–PLA composite filaments prepared in this work, MWCNTs are dispersed homogeneously in the PLA matrix. Furthermore, the MWCNT–PLA composite exhibits excellent photothermal effects and sensitivity under near-infrared irradiation (NIR), with the temperature of the composite increasing up to the Tg of PLA after 1 s irradiation and also being close to the Tm of PLA after irradiation for 15 s. Paper-based bilayer semicircular actuators that possess phototriggered shape changing properties are fabricated via 3D printing of the MWCNT–PLA composite on paper, which deform under near infrared irradiation and recover their original shape once the light source is switched off. This facile 3D printing strategy for flexible paper-based actuators would provide tremendous opportunities for the design and fabrication of biomimetic photothermal actuators and soft robotics.


Abstract. We consider issues associated with the Lagrangian characterisation of flow structures arising in aperiodically time-dependent vector fields that are only known on a finite time interval. A major motivation for the consideration of this problem arises from the desire to study transport and mixing problems in geophysical flows where the flow is obtained from a numerical solution, on a finite space-time grid, of an appropriate partial differential equation model for the velocity field. Of particular interest is the characterisation, location, and evolution of transport barriers in the flow, i.e. material curves and surfaces. We argue that a general theory of Lagrangian transport has to account for the effects of transient flow phenomena which are not captured by the infinite-time notions of hyperbolicity even for flows defined for all time. Notions of finite-time hyperbolic trajectories, their finite time stable and unstable manifolds, as well as finite-time Lyapunov exponent (FTLE) fields and associated Lagrangian coherent structures have been the main tools for characterising transport barriers in the time-aperiodic situation. In this paper we consider a variety of examples, some with explicit solutions, that illustrate in a concrete manner the issues and phenomena that arise in the setting of finite-time dynamical systems. Of particular significance for geophysical applications is the notion of flow transition which occurs when finite-time hyperbolicity is lost or gained. The phenomena discovered and analysed in our examples point the way to a variety of directions for rigorous mathematical research in this rapidly developing and important area of dynamical systems theory.


The MEVVA (Metal Vapor Vacuum Arc) ion source that has been developed at LBL was reported on for the first time at the 1985 Particle Accelerator Conference [l]. This source can produce hundreds of milliamperes of beam current of metal species from lithium up to uranium. In the period since then we have developed the source further, and this work is summarized here. We have now run the source with over 30 different beam species, and with an extraction voltage up to 110 kV. We have made and operated a miniature source, the MicroMEVVA. A multi-cathode version, in which one can switch rapidly between cathodes of different materials, has recently been constructed and tested. Applications of the source include: as a synchrotron ion source, as an ion source for heavy ion fusion, and for metallurgical ion implantation; we have done some preliminary work in these directions.


A new D/SiO2 CMG tool for Al2O3 ceramic process was developed by adding some diamond abrasive into SiO2 CMG tool. The solid state reaction between the CMG tool and Al2O3 ceramic played a key role for achieving ultra-precision, high efficiency and low damage.Three kinds of formulations for the D/SiO2 tool were tested and evaluated. The material removal rate(MRR) of Al2O3 ceramic mainly depended on the content of diamond abrasive. In contrast with the corresponding SiO2 tool,the D/ SiO2 tool, which had minimal content of diamond abrasive,could achieve a minimal Ra and better MRR. The enhanced mechanical removal action made the MRR improve nearly twice times, and the process surface roughness of Al2O3 ceramic specimen using the D/ SiO2 tool kept almost same value as using the SiO2 tool without surface damage. Thus the D/ SiO2 tool is more suitable for process of Al2O3 ceramic workpieces.


The production of nano-scale hydroxyapatite (HA) suspensions to be used for the reticulated foam method of scaffold production was investigated at temperatures of between 10 and 60OC. An increase in reaction temperature was associated with an increase in the particle size and some decrease in the aspect ratio of the particles. Pre-treatment of the polyurethane foam template using PPDS (potassium peroxodisulfate) solution resulted in a significantly improved coating of HA when compared to the untreated samples or those treated with ethanol. Initial trials coating the polyurethane with HA produced at the different reaction temperatures showed a superior coating with the suspension produced at 10OC compared to that at 60OC. A scaffold was produced using the HA suspension produced at room temperature, but further understanding of the suspension properties and the optimum conditions for coating of the PU foam are required for improved mechanical performance.


Sixty-nine male and 103 female workers aged 45 and over in a cotton spinning mill in Bolton, Lancashire were examined clinically for rheumatic disease and had radiographs taken of the hands and feet and of the cervical, dorsal, and lumbar spine. To these were added the male and female cotton workers aged 45 and over from a random sample of the population of Leigh, giving a total of 117 males and 228 females. They were compared with a control group of 117 males and 228 females from random samples in Leigh and Wensleydale who had never worked in a cotton mill. These were matched by age and sex. Rheumatic symptoms as a whole were less frequent in the cotton workers than in the controls and loss of work from rheumatic complaints was less frequent in the male cotton workers than in the male controls. Dorsal and chest pain were more common and caused more incapacity in both male and female cotton workers than in controls. Heberden's nodes were present in 38% of male and 35% of female cotton workers compared with 12% and 22% respectively in the controls. Radiological evidence of osteo-arthrosis was more frequent in the distal and proximal interphalangeal joints of the fingers and in the first carpo-metacarpal joints in the male cotton workers than in the controls. In the metacarpo-phalangeal joints of the fingers, the male cotton workers had much the same prevalence of osteo-arthrosis as the controls but it was more severe. The female cotton workers showed the same osteo-arthrosis joint pattern as the males and had similar prevalences in each joint, but did not differ substantially from the female controls. There was no significant difference between the cotton workers and controls in respect of disk degeneration of the cervical spine, but in the dorsal and lumbar spine there was less disk degeneration in the cotton workers, the difference being greater in the females.


Child rights are a set of international conventions which define the conditions for the normal development of a child. In Romania, child rights are now the subject of a specific law, law nr. 272/2004 on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of the Child, which is in accordance with the international conventions. All children have their own rights - whether at home with their natural parents, in foster families, child care institutions or at school. Parents and families, the professional groups who work with children, as well as any responsible citizen, should know about these rights. The law on children's rights makes it clear, for the first time, that the main responsibility for raising a child lies with his/her parents. The law also states that the local community has an obligation to support the child and his/her family if they are facing difficulties. The State is only a guarantor of child rights. This is contrary to what many people believe - that the State can be a substitute for parents and families, since it can supply food and shelter. The law promotes the new idea of alternative family based services as opposed to the old residential type state institutions. If their rights are violated, children face serious risks: abnormal physical and emotional development, bad health, poor or no education, lack of shelter, insecurity, vulnerability, unhappiness


Big data and its use by artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the way intellectual property is developed and granted. For decades, machines have been autonomously generating works which have traditionally been eligible for copyright and patent protection. Now, the growing sophistication of AI and the prevalence of big data is positioned to transform computer-generated works (CGWs) into major contributors to the creative and inventive economies. However, intellectual property law is poorly prepared for this eventuality. The UK is one of the few nations, and perhaps the only EU member state, to explicitly provide copyright protection for CGWs. It is silent on patent protection for CGWs.

This chapter makes several contributions to the literature. First, it provides an up-to-date review of UK, EU and international law. Second, it argues that patentability of CGWs is a matter of first impression in the UK, but that CGWs should be eligible for patent protection as a matter of policy. Finally, it argues that the definition of CGWs should be amended to reflect the fact that a computer can be an author or inventor in a joint work with a person.


We develop a multi-sector DSGE model to calculate upstream and downstream industry exposure networks from U.S. input-output tables and test the relative importance of shocks from each direction by comparing these with estimated networks of firms' equity return responses to one another. The correlations between the upstream exposure and equity return networks are large and statistically significant, while the downstream exposure networks have lower — but still positive — correlations that are not statistically significant. These results suggest a low short-term elasticity of substitution across inputs transmitting shocks from suppliers, but more flexible ties with downstream firms. Additionally, both the DSGE model and simulations of our empirical approach highlight the importance of accounting for common factors in network estimation, which become more important over our 1989-2017 sample period, explaining 11.7% of equity return variation over the first ten years and 35.0% over the final ten.


Microstructure Sensitive Design (MSD) offers a rigorous mathematical framework for representing the relevant statistical details of the material microstructure for a given design problem, and for developing quantitative invertible relationships between these microstructure representations and the macroscale properties of interest. The methodology makes extensive use of Fourier representations of the distribution functions representing the material internal structure and existing homogenization theories. In this paper, we describe the application of the MSD framework to fcc polycrystals with a specific focus on the crystallographic texture as the microstructure design variable. The advantages of the MSD approach are demonstrated through a number of elastic-plastic property closures for cubic metals.


ABSTRACT Here, we show the strategies to strengthen Mg alloys through modifying the matrix by planar faults and optimizing the local lattice strain by solute atoms. The anomalous shifts of the local phonon density of state of stacking faults (SFs) and long periodic stacking-ordered structures (LPSOs) toward the high-frequency mode are revealed by HCP-FCC transformation, resulting in the increase of vibrational entropy and the decrease of free energy to stabilize the SFs and LPSOs. Through integrating bonding charge density and electronic density of states, electronic redistributions are applied to reveal the electronic basis for the 'strengthening' of Mg alloys. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT IMPACT STATEMENT Through integrating the bonding charge density, the phonon and electronic density of states, this work provides an atomic and electronic insight into the strengthening mechanism of Mg alloys.


An SiGe bipolar IC for directly driving a differential electroabsorption modulator (EAM) in a 40 Gbit/s fibre optic TDM system is presented. An adjustable modulator bias voltage (0 to 2 V) is generated on-chip by a novel active network in the output stage. Clear eye diagrams at 40 Gbit/s and output swings up to 2.5 V/sub pp/ (nominal 2 V/sub pp/) were measured on mounted chips.


Nowadays, embedded processor cores are integrated into most system-on-chip (SoC). Processor cores can be designed to be dedicated for an SoC. However, reusing of generic processors is often preferred due to time to market constraint. Such processors have drawbacks in terms of hardware complexity and power consumption. Indeed, some of their instructions and hardware resources are useless. These area and energy inefficiencies are problematic for low-cost and low-energy systems. In this paper, we propose a methodology for automatically reducing processor functionalities and the resulting hardware complexity according to real-application requirements. This approach was evaluated on two open-source processor cores. The results show that the average area and power consumption savings are over 20% on both application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) and field-programmable gate array (FPGA) technologies.


In this report, we demonstrate a facile and versatile methodology for synthesizing a series of titanium phosphates (TiPs) with various morphologies. The hydrothermal reactions of TiO2 in different concentrations of H3PO4 aq. yield 4 types of crystal structures with diverse shapes, such as nanoparticles, nanorods and nanosheets, which are assembled into a variety of flower-like morphologies. The dependence of the crystal phases and morphologies of TiPs on the synthesis conditions have been comprehensively investigated. This synthetic process can be further extended to other TiP derivatives incorporated with guest cations (e.g. NH4+ and Na+) simply by adding the corresponding phosphate salts to the starting composition, which leads to the morphological variation associated with the change of the crystal phase. The mechanism for the formation of the TiPs is discussed in terms of the stable Ti-based ion species relying on the pH value of the reaction solution. In addition, the correlation between the crystal structures and morphologies of TiPs and their electrochemical Li- and Na-ion storage behaviors are demonstrated as well, which discloses the different tendencies of morphological effects between the Li- and Na-ion systems.


The restricted source differentiated almost ideal demand system (RSDAIDS) is used to estimate source differentiated meat demand for U.S. NAFTA partners. In the Canadian meat market, the estimated price and expenditure elasticities indicate that Canadian beef has a competitive advantage compared to U.S. beef, while U.S. pork has a competitive advantage compared to Canadian pork. In the Mexican meat market, the estimated expenditure elasticities indicate that an increase in Mexican meat expenditures would lead to an increase in the demand for meats from all sources. Seasonality and Canadian and U.S. BSE outbreaks had small impacts on Canadian and Mexican meat demand.


In March 2019, over fifty people were criminally charged with participating in a scheme to gain fraudulent student admissions to various U.S. universities. How did these individuals end up engaging in plainly nefarious felony criminal offenses? Some of the perpetrators were likely fully aware of both the criminal and unethical nature of their behavior. But others seem to have convinced themselves that their behavior was acceptable because this is how the "system" works. In his book "The Law of Good People," Yuval Feldman argues that people's limited awareness of the unethical nature of their behavior requires redesigning legal rules to anticipate this aspect of human psychology. Feldman's bottom line is that because people are often unaware of the moral meaning of their behavior, law must focus on identifying and regulating that behavior before the fact, rather than punishing it afterwards. This review explores an important category of wrongdoing for which the traditional regulatory approach of threats of punishment ex-post might in many cases be suboptimal: corruption. This category provides examples of settings where actors are difficult to deter within standard enforcement frameworks because their motivations are complex. Building on my earlier work on expressive law and social norms, I develop an alternative conception of compliance achieved by supplementing threatened sanctions with leveraging the expressive power of law to decrease the likelihood that people will deceive themselves about the social and ethical meaning of their behavior. Theories of expressive law posit that law can influence behavior through means that go beyond the legal sanctions threatened for violation. I will specifically focus on informational expressive law: the idea that the state can deploy law to provide information, which can in turn change individual beliefs and social norms, which in turn can shape behavior. By leveraging the informational function of expressive law, the state can identify situations in which individuals are likely to fail to fully appreciate the meaning of their behavior. Identifying and sorting "good people," I argue, is less important than identifying situations and structures that are amenable to legal interventions that leverage social norms.


Based on perturbation theory, formulas for multi-user detection in CDMA systems are derived. Starting from single user detection and applying iterative perturbations to correct for interference, we obtain better linear combination amplitudes for codes of the multi-user waveform and hence lower bit error rate (BER). The computation complexity is reduced to the minimum by calculating the interference in frames and sliding 3-symbol-window for all users.


Hip and pelvic disorders can be both functionally limiting and nonspecific. There are multiple offending etiologies that often have significant cross over with regard to their symptoms. An improved understanding and an increase in the treatment modalities have allowed physicians to better identify and treat a wide range of ailments. Furthermore, the increase and availability of ultrasound has made evaluation and diagnosis of a multitude of conditions possible in an office setting. These advances in diagnosis have been followed by improved treatment options, including femoroacetabular impingement procedures and hip arthroscopy. However, the first-line treatment for the majority of hip and pelvic conditions consists of extensive conservative management. Injections are a major part of the nonoperative treatment and can be an effective diagnostic and therapeutic tool. This review describes injection techniques that can be used to treat a variety of hip and pelvic conditions, including bursitis, gluteus medius tendinosis, piriformis syndrome, hamstring pathology, labral tears, and osteoarthritis.


In Ukraine, up to 75% of all electricity is supplied by thermal power plants, the main type of fuel for which is coal, which leads to the release of ash and slag waste at power plants in huge quantities. Every 10 years (according to statistical data) the amount of ash and slag produced at thermal power plants doubles. The use and creation of new modified consumers of coal-water fuel (CWF) and coal-water suspensions (CWS) occurs periodically. The ease of handling suspensions is captivating: in the energy sector, they can serve as the basis for the effective disposal of numerous accumulated wastes from coal preparation and oil refining, a significant reduction in the consumption of minerals for generating heat and electric energy, and minimizing the effect of heat power engineering on public health and the state of nature.


Infants' manipulative exploratory behavior within the environment is a vehicle of cognitive stimulation[McCall 1974]. During this time, infants practice and perfect sensorimotor patterns that become behavioral modules which will be seriated and imbedded in more complex actions. This paper explores the development of such primitive learning systems using an embodied light-weight hand which will be used for a humanoid being developed at the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory [Brooks and Stein 1993]. Primitive grasping procedures are learned from sensory inputs using a connectionist reinforcement algorithm while two submodules preprocess sensory data to recognize the hardness of objects and detect shear using competitive learning and back-propagation algorithm strategies, respectively. This system is not only consistent and quick during the initial learning stage, but also adaptable to new situations after training is completed.


Supporting Quality of Service (QoS) in WSNs is still a largely unexplored research field. The commonly accepted QoS metrics include bandwidth, delay, delay jitter and reliability. Besides, whereas the majority of developed applications for WSNs are event-critical applications, achieving reliable data transfer as the main factor of dependability and quality of service seems vital. In this paper, we focus on building a tree-based routing protocol called TBRR which routes packets towards the destination node in a highly reliable manner in two stages. Using a nearly complete set of reliability metrics, TBRR tries to find the best nodes satisfying the level of reliability required by data in order to forward packets to them as the next nodes of reliable paths towards the sink.


We have developed a protocol enabling the study of protein-protein interactions (PPIs) at the proteome level using in vitro-synthesized proteins. Assay preparation requires molecular cloning of the query gene into a vector that supports in vitro transcription/translation (IVTT) and appends a HaloTag to the query protein of interest. In parallel, protein microarrays are prepared by printing plasmids encoding glutathione S-transferase (GST)-tagged target proteins onto a carrier matrix/glass slide coated with antibody directed against GST. At the time of the experiment, the query protein and the target protein are produced separately through IVTT. The query protein is then applied to nucleic acid programmable protein arrays (NAPPA) that display thousands of freshly produced target proteins captured by anti-GST antibody. Interactions between the query and immobilized target proteins are detected through addition of a fluorophore-labeled HaloTag ligand. Our protocol allows the elucidation of PPIs in a high-throughput fashion using proteins produced in vitro, obviating the scientific challenges, high cost, and laborious work, as well as concerns about protein stability, which are usually present in protocols using conventional protein arrays. © 2017 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.


Abstract The present meta-analysis is a comprehensive investigation of the effectiveness of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) on student achievement in postsecondary statistics education across a forty year period of time. The researchers calculated an overall effect size of 0.566 from 70 studies, for a total of 219 effect-size measures from a sample of n = 40, 125 participants. These results suggest that the typical student moved from the 50th percentile to the 73rd percentile when technology was used as part of the curriculum. This study demonstrates that subcategories can further the understanding of how the use of CAI in statistics education might be maximized. The study discusses implications and limitations.


Robots will eventually be part of every household. It is thus critical to enable algorithms to learn from and be guided by non-expert users. In this paper, we bring a human in the loop, and enable a human teacher to give feedback to a learning agent in the form of natural language. We argue that a descriptive sentence can provide a much stronger learning signal than a numeric reward in that it can easily point to where the mistakes are and how to correct them. We focus on the problem of image captioning in which the quality of the output can easily be judged by non-experts. We propose a hierarchical phrase-based captioning model trained with policy gradients, and design a feedback network that provides reward to the learner by conditioning on the human-provided feedback. We show that by exploiting descriptive feedback our model learns to perform better than when given independently written human captions.


Rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament constitutes a major disability in young athletes and those patients with persistent disabling instability who have failed to respond to conservative treatment. A new method of reconstruction by means of semitendinsous tenodesis was used in five patients with satisfactory end results after an average follow-up of 21.4 months. Limited clinical experience indicates that with this method less anteroposterior instability persists than with other methods.


Aim: Tadalafil is a potent, selective and reversible inhibitor of phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) enzyme breakdowning cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP). In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of tadalafil on nociception, morphine analgesia and tolerance.
Methods: In this study, 54 Wistar Albino (230-250 g) male rats were used. First of all, four different doses (2, 4, 8, 16 mg/kg) were used to determine the optimum effective dose of tadalafil on nociception. Optimum activity was found at 8 mg/kg and animals were divided into six groups: Saline (S), 8mg/kg tadalafil, 5mg/kg morphine (M), M+ tadalafil, morphine tolerance (MT) and MT+ tadalafil. Saline was given to the control group, tadalafil intraperitoneally and morphine subcutaneously administered at the indicated doses. To develop tolerance to morphine, 10mg/kg morphine was injected daily in the morning and evening for five days and tolerance was evaluated with single dose of morphine on sixth days. The resulting analgesic effect was measured with hot plate and tail flick analgesia tests and recorded at 30th, 60th, 90th and 120th minutes.
Results: Tadalafil showed anti-nociceptive effect when given alone at different doses (p<0.05). However, tadalafil significantly decreased the analgesic effect of morphine (p<0.05). In addition, tadalafil significantly increased the tolerance to morphine (p<0.05).
Conclusions: The phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor tadalafil have anti-nociceptive properties and it decreases analgesic effect of morphine, in addition improves tolerance development. These effects probably may occur via NO/cGMP pathway.


The ethnic distribution of 288 patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) from five medical centers in Israel during the decade 1960--1970 was investigated as well as other features of the disease. 80.5% of the patients were of East European descent, 14.5% originated from Asia and Africa and 5% were born in Israel. Based on the ethnic distribution of the elderly population of Israel during the above period, it is suggested that CLL occurs more frequently in European-born Jews than in Asian and African Jews. A low occurrence of Coombs positive hemolytic anemia was revealed, amounting to 7.2% of the patients. Of 68 patients who underwent serum immunoglobulin studies, up to 74% exhibited deficiency of at least one type of immunoglobulin. Low levels of IgA were encountered in 61.2%, IgM in 51.5% and IgG in 29.5% of the patients. 26 of 206 patients with CLL (12.5%), all of East European origin, had an additional primary malignant tumor, cancer of the skin and breast being the most frequent associated malignancies. In 6 patients of the 26, two additional neoplasms were diagnosed. Hypogammaglobulinemia was more frequent in patients with additional primary malignant tumors and in patients with advanced disease. The possible causes for the ethnic distribution of CLL in Israil as well as of other tumors are discussed.


Introduction: Food security is an essential universal dimension of household well-being. Food security is usually defined as an access by all people at all times to enough food for an active and healthy life. The deprivation of basic need represented by food insecurity is undesirable.

Objective: To determine the associations between selected household food security parameters and socio-demographic characteristics.

Methods: Data were derived from 3000 respondents participated in the Malaysian Adult Nutrition Survey 2014. Food security parameters were measured based on the modified Short Form of the Household Food Security 6-Item Scale by the USDA. Associations for categorical data were carried using chi-square test for complex sample survey.

Results: The prevalence of Malaysian adults that had both reduced the size of meals and skipped main meals because of financial constraints at least one or two months in the past 12 months was 13.4% (95% CI: 11.5%, 15.5%). This prevalence was significantly higher in East Malaysia (20.3%) than in Peninsular Malaysia (11.5%) and in rural areas (18.8%) than in urban areas (11.0%). It was also highest among households with income <RM3000 (19.1%) and no formal education (45.8%) whereas lowest among household income RM 6000 (2.1%) and tertiary education (6.0%). The prevalence of households that both relied on cheap foods and could not afford to feed their children with food variety because of financial constraints was 18.9% (95% CI: 16.7%, 21.3%). It was significantly higher in East Malaysia (34.5%) than in Peninsular Malaysia (14.8%).

Discussion: Food insecurity is still presence in large segments of the Malaysian households. Therefore, there is a need to review the current strategy to effectively address food insecurity in the country.

Keywords: food quantity, food variety, skip meal, food security, MANS 2014.


Scintillation dosimetry is a promising avenue for evaluating dose patterns delivered by intensity-modulated radiation therapy plans or for the small fields involved in stereotactic radiosurgery. However, the increase in signal has been the goal for many authors. In this paper, a comparison is made between plastic scintillating fibers and plastic scintillator. The collection of scintillation light was measured experimentally for four commercial models of scintillating fibers (BCF-12, BCF-60, SCSF-78, SCSF-3HF) and two models of plastic scintillators (BC-400, BC-408). The emission spectra of all six scintillators were obtained by using an optical spectrum analyzer and they were compared with theoretical behavior. For scintillation in the blue region, the signal intensity of a singly clad scintillating fiber (BCF-12) was 120% of that of the plastic scintillator (BC-400). For the multiclad fiber (SCSF-78), the signal reached 144% of that of the plastic scintillator. The intensity of the green scintillating fibers was lower than that of the plastic scintillator: 47% for the singly clad fiber (BCF-60) and 77% for the multiclad fiber (SCSF-3HF). The collected light was studied as a function of the scintillator length and radius for a cylindrical probe. We found that symmetric detectors with nearly the same spatial resolution in each direction (2 mm in diameter by 3 mm in length) could be made with a signal equivalent to those of the more commonly used asymmetric scintillators. With augmentation of the signal-to-noise ratio in consideration, this paper presents a series of comparisons that should provide insight into selection of a scintillator type and volume for development of a medical dosimeter.


In the absence of effective antiviral chemotherapy and still in the context of emerging vaccines for severe acute respiratory syndrome-CoV-2 infections, passive immunotherapy remains a key treatment and possible prevention strategy. What might initially be conceived as a simplified donor–recipient process, the intricacies of donor plasma, IV immunoglobulins, and monoclonal antibody modality applications are becoming more apparent. Key targets of such treatment have largely focused on virus neutralization and the specific viral components of the attachment Spike protein and its constituents (e.g., receptor binding domain, N-terminal domain). The cumulative laboratory and clinical experience suggests that beneficial protective and treatment outcomes are possible. Both a dose- and a time-dependency emerge. Lesser understood are the concepts of bioavailability and distribution. Apart from direct antigen binding from protective immunoglobulins, antibody effector functions have potential roles in outcome. In attempting to mimic the natural but variable response to infection or vaccination, a strong functional polyclonal approach attracts the potential benefits of attacking antigen diversity, high antibody avidity, antibody persistence, and protection against escape viral mutation. The availability and ease of administration for any passive immunotherapy product must be considered in the current climate of need. There is never a perfect product, but yet there is considerable room for improving patient outcomes. Given the variability of human genetics, immunity, and disease, and given the nuances of the virus and its potential for change, passive immunotherapy can be developed that will be effective for some but not all patients. An understanding of such patient variability and limitations is just as important as the understanding of the direct interactions between immunotherapy and virus.


This article seeks to model daily asset returns using log-ARCH-Levy type model which is expected to reproduce most of the stylized features of financial time series data (such as volatility clustering, leptokurtic nature of log returns, joint covariance structure and aggregational Gaussianity) that are empirically found in different types of market. In addition, unconditional variance of daily log returns in risk neutral world of different conditional heteroscedastic models is derived. A key observation is that liquid markets and illiquid market may not have the same underlying dynamics. For instance empirical analysis based on S&P500 index log returns as a liquid market do not have autoregressive part in their first moments while in Nairobi Securities Exchange NSE20 index there is strong presence of autoregressive dynamics of order three, i.e. AR(3). Higher moments of both markets are serially correlated.


This study aimed to determine the effects of five nitrogen doses (0, 40, 80, 120 and 160 kg.ha) on mineral content of smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis Leyss.). Nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium and tetany ratio were determined in this research. Nitrogen rates significantly affected all components determined in smooth bromegrass. Nitrogen applications increased N, P, K and tetany ratio but decreased Ca and Mg concentrations. The highest N, P, K concentrations and tetany ratio were obtained from 160 kg ha N treatment, while the lowest values were obtained from control treatment.


FASTE-CNS is a dynamic communications estimating tool that is accessible through the Internet using a browser such as Internet Explorer or Netscape. It provides means to model the data communications traffic load associated with existing and new applications. FASTE-CNS ultimately resides within NASA GRC's multi-fidelity simulation environment and be an integrated component of GRC's modeling and simulation capability. FASTE-CNS allows a user to dynamically define application message sets and configure communications traffic profiles composed of those message sets. The user also can define a geographical region and assign a number of aircraft to the region. The combination of traffic profiles assigned to regions provides a researcher with an understanding of the quantity and type of air/ground and air/air data link communications that occur in the region. FASTE-CNS also calculates the number of frequencies needed to support communications within the region. This article presents features of FASTE-CNS and the results of field trials conducted in July 2003.


The article deals with the investigation of syntagma and relative syntagmas in the Azerbaijani and English languages. They are researched as syntactic units of linguistics, classified according to their types and spoken widely of their meanings in the article. This unit consisting of two members of the combined words is used in the functions of determining and determined. It is explained as a semantic-syntactic event, studied and developed its semantic features. It should be noted that signs perform the system of approaches in the form of syntagmatics and paradigmatics. Syntagmatic approaches are based on distributive potentials of signs, their valence, but paradigmatic approaches are based on the selection of definite element of paradigm signs, namely for that reason Saussure considers the morphology as the "sphere of paradigmatics", but the syntax – the "sphere of syntagmatics". But a notion of "verticality" and "horizontality" exists even in the row of language signs of classic linguistics. So syntagmatics is explained as a "horizontality", but paradigmatics as"verticality". This work is one of the first attempts in this area. Thus, the theoretical and methodological basis of the origin and development of combinatorial linguistics as a fundamental discipline in which we investigate the relative syntagmas (RS), it should be regarded as theoretical works of Azerbaijani and foreign (Western European and American) linguists. In European languages researching the syntagma and its nature has intensified in the twentieth century, helped by scientific advances in the field of not only the humanities but also in psychology, anthropology, psycholinguistics, sociology, various fields of knowledge that explore communication processes. Researching of syntagmas in Western schools of linguistics based on the search for a methodology that promotes the creation of the basic fundamentals of communication of different languages. The object of study in this article is also to review the linguistic theories of Germanic studies, the definition of typological studies which may be used in the development of RS of the Azerbaijani language. The object of our scientific interest is the further development of the theory and its application in consideration of the nature of the Azerbaijani RS syntagmatic way. The American linguists (J.Kats, J.Fodor, U.Vaynraykh) made the greatest contribution to the development of combinatorial linguistics in the twentieth century. They stressed the need of semantics in syntagmatic description. London linguists, headed by J.R.Firth include the need to focus the study of speech is not only its linguistic, but also extra-linguistic features of speech utterances. Despite of the progress of structural linguistics in German studies is still no classification of the forms of verbal means. Thus there is a need for a global description of semiological systems which relate to the same slice in synchronic German studies.


After a long period time of working, an auxiliary shaft RC headframe in a colliery got series quality problems, such as the concrete carbonation of the RC members, the concrete loosen and spalling, the exposed steel bar, steel corrosion and the degradation of the bond quality. After making a detailed operating environment and safety detection and evaluation, we studied the deterioration mechanism and the rehabilitation and strengthening technology. Considering that the headframe belongs to the special structures of colliery, we emphatically introduced the strengthening design method and process in order to provide the similar reinforcement project with a reference.


Demand has recently increased for high packaging density and memory capacity of memory modules for electronic equipment. The new three-dimensional memory module satisfies this demand. This module has almost the same size as single memory packages [thin small outline packages (TSOPs): 17.4/spl times/9.22/spl times/1.2 mm] currently being used, and a package density four times as large. Electrical performance is better than that of TSOP's because the length of the wires is about half that of the TSOP's wires. Moreover, the cost of fabrication of this module is low. This paper reports the module's characteristics and fabrication process. The design concept is that next-generation memory devices will be produced by using current mass-produced memory devices.


In The Expectation of Justice Megan Koreman traces the experiences of three small French towns during the troubled months of the Provisional Government following the Liberation in 1944. Her descriptions of the towns' different wartime and postwar experiences contribute to a fresh depiction of mid-century France and illustrate the failure of the postwar government to adequately serve the interests of justice.

As the first social history of the " apres - Liberation " period from the perspective of ordinary people, Koreman's study reveals how citizens of these towns expected legal, social, and honorary justice—such as punishment for collaborators, fair food distribution, and formal commemoration of patriots, both living and dead. Although the French expected the Resistance's Provisional Government to act according to local understandings of justice, its policies often violated local sensibilities by instead pursuing national considerations. Koreman assesses both the citizens' eventual disillusionment and the social costs of the "Resistencialist myth" propagated by the de Gaulle government in an effort to hold together the fragmented postwar nation. She also suggests that the local demands for justice created by World War II were stifled by the Cold War, since many people in France feared that open opposition to the government would lead to a Communist takeover. This pattern of nationally instituted denial and suppression made it difficult for citizens to deal effectively with memories of wartime suffering and collaborationist betrayal. Now, with the end of the Cold War, says Koreman, memories of postwar injustices are resurfacing, and there is renewed interest in witnessing just and deserved closure.

This social history of memory and reconstruction will engage those interested in history, war and peace issues, contemporary Europe, and the twentieth century.


Asset allocation has primarily focused its attention on attaining mean variance efficiency by employing diversification strategies following the portfolio selection methodologies of Markowitz[1952]. These are important principles that have given rise to a large variety of diversified investment choices in mutual funds that now outnumber the available choices for investment in stocks. Paralleling this development has been a growing interest in the second odd moment describing returns, the level of skewness. The empirical stability of return skewness has been noted in Beedles and Simkowitz[1980]. Earlier, the importance of skewness for portfolio selection was studied by Arditi and Levy[1975] and Kraus and Litzenberger[1976]. More recently, motivated by the persistence skews observed in option markets (Bates[1991]), Bakshi Kapadia, and Madan [2000] take up the issue of studying the links between the statistical and risk neutral skews, while Harvey and Siddique[1999] address the asset pricing implications of investor preferences for skewness. Evidence is also presented by Carr, Geman, Madan, and Yor [2000] that the primary model for diversified returns is that of a pure jump return process reflecting both, excess kurtosis and skewness.


Nanocrystal superlattices are materials formed by assembly of monodisperse nanocrystal building blocks that are tunable in composition, size, shape, and surface functionalization. Such materials offer the potential to realize unprecedented combinations of physical properties, but theoretical prediction of such properties, particularly elastic properties, remains a challenge. Here we report the Young's moduli, bulk moduli, and Poisson's ratios of CdSe nanocrystal superlattices computed from fully atomistic molecular dynamics simulations, coarse grained models, and effective medium theory. The atomistic simulations yield Young's moduli in the 4-5 GPa range, in agreement with previously reported results for similar nanocrystal superlattice systems. A clear increase of Young's modulus and bulk modulus with increasing nanocrystal core size is observed, while Poisson's ratio decreases slightly with core size. Effective medium theory overpredicts the moduli, and it is surmised that this arises from its neglect of the atomic-level details of the of the core-ligand interface. The coarse grained calculations, using existing nanocrystal interaction models from the literature, also show similar increases with core size but predict moduli that are two orders of magnitude lower than the present atomistic results and previous literature. It is concluded that coarse grained models, in their current form, are not appropriate for calculating elastic properties of nanocrystal superlattices and that fully atomistic models are better suited for this purpose.


The growing name of the cyber world demands more strict laws to be created. And these regulations will become more complex and intricate with the development of internet. The only online arbitration model shaped by the Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) society is The Uniform Domain-Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP). The issues related to the domain name have been very efficiently tackled by the E-arbitration (UDRP). Social networking problems such as Control, Non Money Value dispute and the Enforcement Ability are almost similar to the problems in issues related to the domain name. In this research will study the UDRP- based legal frame work Social Network Dispute Resolution. We will also discuss the resemblances between problems related to social network and domain name and will use them in the implementation of UDRP system to solve social network issues.


The enzymatic reaction between DOPA and tyrosinase, the enzyme considered to be responsible for melanogenesis, was carried out in the presence of polyethylene glycol (PEG). This choice was made in order to increase the solubility of melanins, since these polymers are highly insoluble. The reaction mixtures were sampled at different times, immediately ultrafiltered to remove the enzyme, lyophilized, and analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry. The results were very different from those obtained in the absence of PEG. Only a few oligomers of dihydroxyindole (DHI) and dihydroxyindole-2-carboxylic acid (DHICA) were detected in low abundances, whereas new species originating from reaction of PEG with species belonging to the Raper-Mason pattern appeared. The results show that, in the presence of PEG, tyrosinase-catalyzed oligomerization of DOPA exhibits kinetics slower than those observed in the absence of the polymer. However, melanogenesis still takes place in the presence of PEG, as indicated by the formation of black pigments and by the detection of DHI and DHICA oligomers, considered to be the first intermediates in melanin formation.


Ab-mediated rejection of organ transplants remains a stubborn, frequent problem affecting patient quality of life, graft function, and grant survival, and for which few efficacious therapies currently exist. Although the field has gained considerable knowledge over the last two decades on how anti-HLA Abs cause acute tissue injury and promote inflammation, there has been a gap in linking these effects with the chronic inflammation, vascular remodeling, and persistent alloimmunity that leads to deterioration of graft function over the long term. This review will discuss new data emerging over the last 5 y that provide clues into how ongoing Ab-endothelial cell interactions may shape vascular fate and propagate alloimmunity in organ transplants.


Long-term stay of human in microgravity instigates body hypohydration. Specifically, it leads to noticeable reduction in the extracellular fluid volume and consequent orthostatic instability and some other hemodynamic disorders immediately after flight. To prevent these developments and to improve g-tolerance during descent, the cosmonauts administered a complex of end-of-flight countermeasures consisting of, besides the physical and LBNP training sessions, water-salt supplements (WSS). Basing on the experience of WSS application in long-duration space flights we can assert the effectiveness of this method of pharmacological body hydration maintenance on the phase of preparation for descent and the post-landing period. The present work is an attempt to analyze the data about WSS administration and effectiveness on the program of the MIR long-term missions.


The hydrological model is an important tool in water resource management, allocation, and prediction. However, the hydrological models are subject to the uncertainty resulting from different sources of errors involved in the large number of parameters. The hydrological models in the management of water resources play a very significant role in quantifying uncertainty. Therefore, uncertainty analysis implementation is essential to advance confidence in modeling before performing the hydrological simulation. The purpose of the study was to assess the uncertainty parameters for the streamflow using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) hydrological model integrated sequential uncertainty fitting (SUFI-2) algorithm to Nashe watershed located in the Northwestern, Upper Blue Nile River Basin. The required input data for this study were digital elevation model, land use, soil map and data, meteorological data (precipitation, minimum and maximum temperature, wind speed, solar radiation, and relative humidity), and streamflow data. The calibration and validation model was computed to simulate the observed streamflow data from 1985 to 2008 including two years of warm-up periods. Model calibration, validation, and analysis of parameter uncertainty were conducted for both daily and monthly observed streamflows at the gauging stations through SUFI-2, which is one of the algorithms of the SWAT-Calibration and Uncertainty Program (SWAT_CUP). The results show that CN_2, GW_DELAY, ALPHA_BNK, CH_N2, and SOL_AWC were the most sensitive parameter for the monthly period and had a great impact on the streamflow simulation. Modeling results indicated that the method provides better results for the monthly time period than the daily time period for both calibration and validation. The result indicated that R2 and NSE were 0.89 and 0.85 and 0.82 and 0.79, respectively, monthly and daily during the calibration. The validation likewise demonstrated a good performance with R2 and NSE results of 0.88 and 0.78 and 0.85 and 0.76, respectively, for monthly and daily time periods. The results of this study provide a scientific reference based on uncertainty analysis to decision-makers to improve the decision support process in river basin management.


The rare earth silicides form islands with a tetragonal or a hexagonal structure that coexist when grown on the Si(100) surface. We show using medium energy ion scattering that it is possible to selectively grow one of these as a pure phase by controlling the mobility of the rare earth atoms as they are deposited. When dysprosium, holmium, and erbium are deposited onto a liquid nitrogen cooled substrate the hexagonal structural phase is formed after annealing. When erbium and holmium are deposited onto a hot substrate only the tetragonal phase results. For dysprosium silicide growth under conditions of high mobility causes approximately equal numbers of hexagonal and tetragonal islands to form. The system offers a means to obtain fine control over physical properties such as the Schottky barrier height.


The architectural design of modern buildings has been highly integrated and multi-functional. Connected high-rise structures, which comprise of main towers and corridor in between at a certain height falls under the category of irregular building structure system. This thesis presents a study on the various buildings with connecting structures, under lateral loading conditions such as the seismic loads. The software ETABS was used for modeling the structure. Linear static analysis and linear dynamic analysis was conducted to analyse the models. For seismic loading, the parameters such as storey displacements, storey drifts, overturning moment, base shear, axial and bending moments in the corridor beams are studied. It is understood that each building behaved differently under seismic loads.


HIV-1 Reverse Transcriptase (RT) remains a key target for HIV drug development. As successful management of the disease requires lifelong treatment, the emergence of resistance mutations is inevitable, making development of new RT inhibitors, which remain effective against resistant variants crucial. To this end, previous computationally-guided drug design efforts have resulted in catechol diether compounds, which inhibit wildtype RT with picomolar affinities and appear to be promising preclinical candidates. To confirm that these compounds remain potent against Y181C, a widespread mutation conferring resistance to first generation inhibitors, they were screened against the HIV-1 N119 clinical isolate, reported as a Y181C single mutant. In comparison to a molecular clone with the same mutation, N119 appears less susceptible to inhibition by our preclinical candidate compounds. A more detailed sequencing effort determined that N119 was misidentified and carries V106A in combination with Y181C. While both indolizine and naphthalene substituted catechol diethers are potent against the classical Y181C single mutant, the addition of V106A confers more resistance against the indolizine derivatives than the naphthalene derivatives. Crystal structures presented in this study highlight key features of the naphthyl group, which allow these compounds to remain potent in the double mutant, including stronger interactions with F227 and less reliance on V106 for stabilization of the ethoxy-uracil ring, which makes critical hydrogen bonds with other residues in the binding pocket. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


Objective—Myeloid lineage cells (MLCs) such as macrophages are known to play a key role in postischemic neovascularization. However, the role of MLC-derived reactive oxygen species in this process and their specific chemical identity remain unknown. Methods and Results—Transgenic mice with MLC-specific overexpression of catalase (TgCat-MLC mice) were created on a C57BL/6 background. Macrophage catalase activity was increased 3.4-fold compared with wild-type mice. After femoral artery ligation, laser Doppler perfusion imaging revealed impaired perfusion recovery in TgCat-MLC mice. This was associated with fewer collateral vessels, as assessed by microcomputed tomography angiography, and decreased capillary density. Impaired functional recovery of the ischemic limb was also evidenced by a 50% reduction in spontaneous running activity. The deficient neovascularization was associated with a blunted inflammatory response, characterized by decreased macrophage infiltration of ischemic tissues, and lower mRNA levels of inflammatory markers, such as tumor necrosis factor-&agr;, osteopontin, and matrix mettaloproteinase-9. In vitro macrophage migration was impaired in TgCat-MLC mice, suggesting a role for H2O2 in regulating the ability of macrophages to infiltrate ischemic tissues. Conclusion—MLC-derived H2O2 plays a key role in promoting neovascularization in response to ischemia and is a necessary factor for the development of ischemia-induced inflammation.


Data generated using different antimicrobial testing methods often have to be combined, but the equivalence of such results is difficult to assess. Here we compared two commonly used antimicrobial susceptibility testing methods, automated microbroth dilution and agar disk diffusion, for 8 common drugs, using 222 Salmonella isolates of serotypes Newport, Typhimurium, and 4,5,12:i-, which had been isolated from clinical salmonellosis cases among cattle and humans. Isolate classification corresponded well between tests, with 95% overall category agreement. Test results were significantly negatively correlated, and Spearman's correlation coefficients ranged from -0.98 to -0.38. Using Cox's proportional hazards model we determined that for most drugs, a 1 mm increase in zone diameter resulted in an estimated 20%-40% increase in the hazard of growth inhibition. However, additional parameters such as isolation year or serotype often impacted the hazard of growth inhibition as well. Comparison of economical feasibility showed that agar disk diffusion is clearly more cost-effective if the average sample throughput is small but that both methods are comparable at high sample throughput. In conclusion, for the Salmonella serotypes and antimicrobial drugs analyzed here, antimicrobial susceptibility data generated based on either test are qualitatively very comparable, and the current published break points for both methods are in excellent agreement. Economic feasibility clearly depends on the specific laboratory settings, and disk diffusion might be an attractive alternative for certain applications such as surveillance studies.


Sampling-based motion planning techniques have emerged as an efficient algorithmic paradigm for solving complex motion planning problems. These approaches use a set of probing samples to construct an implicit graph representation of the robot's state space, allowing arbitrarily accurate representations as the number of samples increases to infinity. In practice, however, solution trajectories only rely on a few critical states, often defined by structure in the state space (e.g., doorways). In this work we propose a general method to identify these critical states via graph-theoretic techniques (betweenness centrality) and learn to predict criticality from only local environment features. These states are then leveraged more heavily via global connections within a hierarchical graph, termed Critical Probabilistic Roadmaps. Critical PRMs are demonstrated to achieve up to three orders of magnitude improvement over uniform sampling, while preserving the guarantees and complexity of sampling-based motion planning. A video is available at https://youtu.be/AYoD-pGd9ms.


Seismic anisotropy is a ubiquitous feature of the subcontinental mantle. This can be inferred both from direct seismic observations of shear wave splitting from teleseismic shear waves, as well as the petrofabric analyses of mantle nodules from kimberlite pipes. The anisotropy is principally due to the strain-induced lattice preferred orientation (LPO) of olivine. The combined use of these mantle samples, deformation experiments on olivine, and numerical modeling of LPO, provides a critical framework for making inferences about mantle deformation from observed seismic anisotropy. In most cases there is a close correspondence between mantle deformation derived from seismic observations of anisotropy, and crustal deformation, from the Archean to the present. This implies that the mantle plays a major, if not dominant role in continental deformation. No clear evidence is found for a continental asthenospheric decoupling zone, suggesting that continents are probably coupled to general mantle circulation.


Conventional limb rehabilitation requires a person-to-person meeting in a same physical place within a fixed setting. The virtual reality (VR) aid for rehabilitation therapy eliminates such limitations by utilizing computer generated virtual environment and off-the-shelf haptic devices. In the proposed upper limb rehabilitation system, two identical VR systems, placed one in the expert (therapist) location and the other in the learner (patient), are connected via communication network, enabling interactive rehabilitation training in separate places. For the effective training and evaluation, the expert and learner's haptic devices are synchronized in real-time with slight active correction by human's active visual feedback. To verify the feasibility and usability, example tests are presented for the developed laboratory test system.


The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of real estate transparency ( RET ) on foreign real estate investments ( FREI ). Most of the previous studies have argued that the free flow of information and the fair and consistent application of local property laws could attract greater amounts of FREI . Using observations from 32 countries covering 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010 and applying fixed-effect and the generalized method of moments ( GMM ) techniques, our empirical results reveal that RET is not a major determinant of FREI . However, we find that the effect of RET on FREI is dependent on its interaction with the level of income implying that the higher the level of income in the host country, the higher the effect of RET on FREI . Finally, the results show that foreign direct investment (FDI) in other sector, market size and property prices are important determinants of FREI .


This research aimed to investigate whether the unique numerical methods available within CFD model software Fluidity could progress the state– of–the–art in various aspects of modelling effluent dispersion within the marine environment. Fluidity contains a large library of models and numerical methods that enable modelling of flow processes at a wide range of scales. It has been proven to perform well when used for massively– parallel simulations (i.e. it scales well), and it has the un–common facility of unstructured mesh adaptivity, which has the prospect of significantly increasing the efficiency of CFD simulations when guided skillfully.

This research also forms part of a longer–term project to create a coupled (or even single) model of effluent dispersion that represents influencing factors from a wide range of scales (from tidal currents down to turbulent eddies) entirely using CFD techniques. As such, one aspect of the research was to validate the numerical methods available within Fluidity for use in modelling effluent dispersion. To facilitate this validation, some
of the model studies investigate aspects of effluent dispersion modelling from a hypothetical outfall site off the North–East coast of the United Kingdom.

Studies were performed in a series of stages in which key aspects of effluent dispersion modelling were addressed. CFD models were created of near–field jet dispersion, tidal motion, and far–field plume dispersion. Idealised test cases were also performed to investigate the performance of advection–diffusion solver methods. At each stage the aim was to investigate the benefit of novel numerical modelling techniques and compare their accuracy and efficiency to existing methods.

A set of near–field buoyant jet dispersion CFD models were created, one representing conditions associated with power, and combined power and desalination plants, and one representing conditions typically associated
with desalination discharge. These CFD models utilised a mesh adaptivity algorithm to optimise mesh resolution during the course of the simulation. Model predictions were compared with published laboratory data and the predictions from validated integral models. An assessment was made of when CFD offers a benefit over other modelling options, and when it might be sufficient to use cheaper tools. There was also a discusii sion of the effectiveness of mesh adaptivity in increasing model efficiency, together with advice for how and when it is best to use mesh adaptivity when modelling buoyant jet dispersion. Model results showed that with modest parallel computing resources and expertise, high–resolution simulations of jet dynamics can be achieved with reasonable accuracy using CFD modelling.

A model was created of tidal flow within the European continental shelf and results were compared to a large database of tide gauge measurements. This model took advantage of recently published methods for ocean model meshing and coastline resolution reduction. The purpose of this study was to confirm that these methods offered a benefit to model accuracy and efficient, and also that Fluidity could be used to accurately generate the tidal forcing boundary conditions for a far–field model of effluent dispersion at a hypothetical outfall site.

The predictions of M2 tide amplitude in the vicinity of the outfall site had an average error of 10.1% compared with tide gauge measurements. The predictions of S2 tide amplitude in the vicinity of the outfall site were even closer to tide gauge measurements, with an average error of 3.7%. The speed of the model solve showed a vast improvement over a previous comparison model study, with 37 days of tidal motion being simulated in 15.2 hours (58.4 seconds of simulation for each second of solving), compared to the comparison simulation with a similar level of accuracy, which simulated 2 seconds of tidal motion for every second of solver time.

A series of simplified test cases were run to assess a commonly–used advection–diffusion solution method from the library of those available within Fluidity. This work was intended to give general confidence that the numerical methods available within Fluidity are suitable for modelling coastal processes and so give confidence in later multi–scale results. The test cases chosen were relevant to coastal dispersion, including those testing tracer advection, diffusion, point sources and stratification. The method compared well with results published using world–leading free surface modelling software, Open TELEMAC.

A model was created of the dispersion of neutrally–buoyant dissolved pollutant from a hypothetical outfall. The assumed effluent is typical of that released from a manufacturing plant. The aim of this modelling was to validate the use of Fluidity for modelling effluent dispersion within the coastal zone, and also investigate the benefit of using 2–d horizontal mesh adaptivity to optimise model mesh resolution during the course of the simulation. It was shown that the use of mesh adaptivity improved model efficiency, significantly lowering the effect of numerical diffusion.

Finally, a short outline was given of a prospective strategy for producing a coupled–model of effluent dispersion, using as a basis the techniques developed within this thesis. The proposed coupled model of effluent dispersion would include a near–field jet model two–way (i.e. "fully– coupled") to a far–field plume model. Tidal forcing would be provided by a one–way coupled tidal model. Fluidity is capable of modelling all of these processes and so third party coupling software would be unnecessary.


Blueberries are rich in polyphenols, and their effect on cardiovascular health, including risk factors for endothelial dysfunction and hypertension, has been investigated in interventional studies. However, the difference between blueberry treatments in varied forms for their cardiovascular-protective effect remains poorly understood. The current study assessed the effects of whole blueberry and freeze-dried blueberry powder compared to a control on cardiovascular health in young adults. A cross-over randomised controlled trial (RCT) was implemented with 1 week of treatment for three treatment groups, each followed by 1 week of wash out period. Systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), pulse wave velocity (PWV), plasma cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and total cholesterol) and triglyceride levels (TAG), and glucose and nitrite (NO2-) concentrations were compared following fresh blueberry, freeze-dried blueberry powder, and control treatments. Thirty-seven participants with a mean age of 25.86 ± 6.81 completed the study. No significant difference was observed among fresh blueberry, blueberry powder, and the control arm. Plasma NO2- levels were improved by 68.66% and 4.34% separately following whole blueberry and blueberry powder supplementations compared to the baseline, whereas the control supplementation reported a decrease (−9.10%), although it was not statistically significant. There were no other effects shown for SBP, DBP, total cholesterol, HDL-C, LDL-C, TAG, or glucose. No difference was shown between whole blueberry and freeze-dried blueberry powder consumption for improving cardiovascular health.


Author(s): Nielsen, Kristina Frances | Advisor(s): Browner, Tara C | Abstract: Across Los Angeles, Mexican-American men, women, and children of all ages perform Danza, a communal dance accompanied by the reverberating beat of rattles and the emblematic Aztec log drum known as the huehuetl. Presently, a growing number of Danza communities incorporate additional Indigenous identification projects that include learning Indigenous languages, songs and dances, marking a distinct shift from the initial form introduced in the 1970s that was positioned more broadly as a syncretic Mexican cultural practice. Many of these efforts aim to recover a pre-Hispanic aesthetic through song and dance. These attempts to re-capture a perceived authenticity in the Mexican-American diaspora offer insight into competing interpretations of Indigenous aesthetics, histories, identities, and authenticities, and highlight incongruities between United States and Mexican perceptions of Indigeneity. Drawing on interviews and research with three generations of Los Angeles dancers in the tradition, I examine how identities and histories are created, sustained, and embedded in the songs and dances of the Danza repertoire. These findings are further contextualized through an intertemporal methodology, and I suggest that seminal influences of colonial-era Catholic conversion theater and twentieth-century nationalist art movements endure and provide a vital framework for the composition of repertoires and histories within Danza. Drawing on Latin American, Chicano, and Indigenous studies, I argue that musics, identities, and histories reinforce and inform each other within Los Angeles Danza communities, creating powerful spaces of experiential historicity for participants. These findings contribute to broader ethnomusicological discourses regarding Indigenous intangible cultural ownership, authenticities, and the roles of music and history in contemporary cultural movements.


Management of aortic root pathology during repair of acute type A aortic dissection (TAAD) requires a comprehensive evaluation of the patient's anatomy, demographics, comorbidities and physiologic status at the time of emergent operative intervention. Surgical options include conservative repair of the root (CRR) (with or without replacement of the aortic valve), replacement of the native valve and aortic root using a composite valve-conduit and valve sparing root replacement (VSRR). The primary objective of this review is to provide data for surgeons to aid in their decision-making process regarding management of the aortic root during repair of TAAD. No time or language restrictions were imposed and references of the selected studies were checked for additional relevant citations. Multiple retrospective reviews have demonstrated equivalent operative mortality between aortic root repair and replacement during TAAD. There is a higher incidence of aortic root reintervention with aortic root repair compared to aortic root replacement (ARR). Experienced, high-volume aortic centers have demonstrated the safety of VSRR in young, hemodynamically stable patients presenting with TAAD. In conclusion, aortic root repair can safely be performed in the vast majority of patients with TAAD. Despite the increased surgical complexity, ARR does not increase operative mortality and improves the freedom from root reintervention. VSRR can be performed in highly selected populations of patients with TAAD with durable mid-term valve function.


This paper presents several theoretical and fundamental results on the register need in periodic schedules, also known as MAXLIVE. Our first contribution is a novel formula for computing the exact number of registers needed by a scheduled loop. This formula has two advantages: Its computation can be done by using a polynomial algorithm with O(n lg n) complexity (n is the number of instructions in the loop) and it allows the generalization of a previous result [13]. Second, during software pipelining, we show that the minimal number of registers needed may increase when incrementing the initiation interval (II), which is contrary to intuition. For the case of zero architectural delays in accessing registers, we provide a sufficient condition for keeping the minimal number of registers from increasing when incrementing the II. Third, we prove an interesting property that enables us to optimally compute the minimal periodic register sufficiency of a loop for all its valid periodic schedules, irrespective of II. Fourth and last, we prove that the problem of optimal stage scheduling under register constraints is polynomially solvable for a subclass of data dependence graphs, whereas this problem is known to be NP-complete for arbitrary dependence graphs [7]. Our latter result generalizes a previous achievement [13] which addressed data dependence trees and forest of trees. In this study, we consider cyclic data dependence graphs without taking into account any resource constraints. The aim of our theoretical results on the periodic register need is to help current and future software pipeliners achieve significant performance improvements by making better (if not the best) use of the available resources.


Examined here is the way in which the indigenous uprising in Chiapas has been able to mobilize international support by employing globally shared discourses to articulate collective identities and political demands. The focus is on the group of liberation theology Roman Catholics in San Pedro Chenalhó and their political association Las Abejas, today one of the most potent symbols of civil indigenous resistance in Chiapas. Of interest is how peasants use suffering as a key concept to position themselves within a global humanity. Evoking Christian ethics as well as international human rights legislation, they demand the right to live without suffering, and regard their political struggle as part of a global struggle for justice and peace.


Watermarking is an effective technology that solves many problems within a digitization project. A high capacity data entrenching scheme based on precise and fast framework for the computation of Zernike moments (ZMs) is proposed in this paper. The high capacity is achieved by maximizing data entrenching size and improving the hiding ratio after dipping the inaccuracies in the computation of ZMs. Furthermore, a concept of conditional quantization technique which enables to reduce the total number of ZMs needed to be modified during watermark embedding. Conditional quantization technique concept enhances the visual imperceptibility of the watermarked image and its robustness against various at tacks.