Insertion tasks are a major difficulty for automatizing manufacturing processes. The bench-mark problem in this category, peg-in-hole, is representative of the challenges that arise in uncertain assembly operations. Humans can carry out this task with ease, even in absence of visual information, relying on haptic and tactile sensing to align the peg with the hole. No generic control approach exist that can reproduce this capability in robots. In this work, we propose a system that allows to transfer this skill to a robot through collaborative task executions. The robot learns from these executions by monitoring its pose and sensed force information and encoding it as a multivariate probability distribution. This distribution is then used to realize an active correction strategy allowing the robot to execute the task autonomously. The approach is validated through a comparative study of peg-in-hole insertion using five different adaptation schemes. The results indicate a significant advantage of the learned model compared to blind random search and insertion without adaptation.


The goal of surtitling as a mode of audiovisual translation (AVT) is to help the opera-goers to overcome language barriers faced in opera production. Modern technologies have made opera production more audience-friendly introducing new languages and works in opera houses worldwide. However, this relatively new field of research has not been investigated in Lithuania. Hence, this study aims at the analysis of surtitling as a new field of research highlighting technical and translation issues as well as complexity and obstacles that are encountered when producing this kind of translation. Even though subtitling and surtitling hold a number of similarities as two modes of language transfer when translating different types of audiovisual media, there are differences in their production process likewise technical difficulties to be dealt with. As illustration of multiple nature of opera surtitling, a contemporary opera performance Have a Good Day! is chosen. The modern opera, revealing inner lives, secret thoughts and wishes of cashiers in a shopping centre, includes a number of culture-specific items that are grouped according to Davies's classification of translation strategies. Not only culture-specific items are studied, but also particular means like entries for different parts of chorus and vocal lines that interlace at the same time preserving syllabic number and rhyme pattern in libretto translation are thoroughly considered in the research. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.sal.0.26.12422


Rainfall modeling is one of the most critical factors in agricultural monitoring and statistics, transportation schedules, and urban flood prevention. Weather anomaly during the dry season in urban coastal areas of tropical countries such as Jakarta, Indonesia has become a challenging issue that causes unexpected changes in rain patterns. In this paper, we propose the Bayesian Network (BN) approach to model the probabilistic nature of rain patterns in urban areas and causal relationships among its predictor variables. Rain occurrences are predicted using temperature, relative humidity, mean-sea level (MSL) pressure, cloud cover, and precipitation variables. Data are obtained from the remote sensing sources of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellite in Jakarta 2020-2021. We compare both of the score-based, i.e., Hill Climbing (HC), and hybrid structure learning algorithms of Bayesian Network including the techniques of Max-Min Hill Climbing (MMHC), General 2-Phase Restricted Maximization (RSMAX2), and Hybrid-Hybrid Parents & Children (H2PC). Further, we also compare the performance of score-based model (Hill Climbing) under five different popular scorings: Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC), K2, Log-Likelihood, Bayesian Dirichlet Equivalent (BDE), and Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) methods. The main contributions of this study are as follows: (1) insights that the hybrid structure learning algorithms of Bayesian Network models are either superior in performance or at least comparable to its score-based counterparts (2) our proposed best performed Bayesian Network model that is able to predict the rain occurrences in Jakarta with a promising overall accuracy of more than 81 percent.


Multimedia-based teaching and learning is an interesting, interactive, innovative and individualized teaching-learning mode. But according to our survey, there are often some problems in multimedia teaching and learning in practice, such as: lack of emotional exchange between students and teachers, insufficiency of student's independent learning ability, students' dilemma in what to choose to learn from diverse online contents, unexpected technical failures, etc. All these factors affect the effectiveness of multimedia teaching. Teachers and students who involve in the multimedia-based English teaching-learning should pay full attention to the problems above, so as to take full advantage of the multimedia technology to improve the effectiveness of the multimedia teaching and learning.


This classic study was originally published in 1949 in Dutch as Samenleving in een grensgebied. This English translation is based on a second revised Dutch edition from 1971. The point of departure is J.S. Furnivall's concept of 'plural society' to sketch the historical development of Suriname. The author focuses on the social relations that determined life in the colony. In the final part, discussing the period from the abolition of slavery to World War II, relatively more attention is given to the Creoles or Afro-Surinamese than to the populations of Asian descent, because the influence exercised by the Creole group during that period was predominant.


Significance Young adults, especially those who identify as racial/ethnic minorities, are legal targets of the tobacco industry. Cigarillo initiation is a risk among these vulnerable groups. Estimating the age of initiation of cigarillo use among young adults may inform the timing of prevention interventions. Methods Weighted interval-censored survival analyses of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) young adult (ages 18–24 at their first wave of adult participation) annual datasets were conducted (2013–2017). Young adult never cigarillo users (n = 7,101; represents N = 24,023,488) at their first wave of adult participation (2013–2016) were followed-up through 2014–2017 to estimate the age of initiation of ever, past 30-day and fairly regular cigarillo use outcomes. Differences by sex and by race/ethnicity, accounting for previous use of other tobacco products and marijuana and blunt use, were assessed using weighted interval-censored Cox proportional hazards models. Results Among PATH young adults, by age 21, 5.8% initiated ever cigarillo use, 4.1% initiated past 30-day cigarillo use, and 1.4% initiated fairly regular cigarillo use. By age 26, 15% initiated ever cigarillo use, and 10.4% initiated past 30-day cigarillo use. Males had higher risk of initiating ever (AHR: 1.63, 95% CI: 1.37–1.95) and past 30-day cigarillo use (AHR: 1.65, 95% CI: 1.32–2.06) at earlier ages than females. Non-Hispanic Blacks had higher risk of initiating ever (AHR: 2.81, 95% CI: 2.26–3.50), past 30-day (AHR: 4.88, 95% CI: 2.95–5.09) and fairly regular cigarillo use (AHR: 4.62, 95% CI: 2.70–7.93) at earlier ages than non-Hispanic Whites. Hispanics had higher risk of initiating past 30-day cigarillo use at earlier ages than non-Hispanic Whites (AHR: 1.51, 95% CI: 1.12–2.03). Non-Hispanic Other race (i.e., Asian, multiracial, etc.) had lower risk of initiating ever (AHR: 0.43, 95% CI: 0.28–0.65) and past 30-day cigarillo use (AHR: 0.40, 95% CI: 0.26–0.63) at earlier ages than Non-Hispanic Whites. Conclusion Along with those aged 21 and younger, interventions should target young adults over the age of 21, specifically males, non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic young adults, to stall initiation and progression of cigarillo use behaviors.


Humanitarianism has long been thought of as the promotion of human welfare. In the context of peace and war, humanitarianism refers to the delivery of safety and protection to vulnerable populations. But humanitarianism has another history – one that cannot be understood apart from a history of experimentation, including experimental colonial and postcolonial endeavours in foreign territories and on foreign bodies to test new technologies and to make them safe for use by more valued citizens often located in metropolitan states. In this article, I explore how the United Nations High Commission for Refugees' (UNHRC) repatriation of Afghan refugees from Pakistan between 2002 and 2007 constitutes a case of humanitarian experimentation because of how the UNHCR deployed iris recognition technology to control the flow of refugees across the Afghan/Pakistan border. I argue that the UNHCR's use of iris recognition technology not only served to detect 'deserving' refugees, correct refugee movements, and innovate a manageable refugee. It also cultivated technological failures, corrected the technology's performance and linked local refugee databases to international biometric databases, all of which potentially introduced new insecurities into this border region and beyond. The effect of humanitarian experimentation in this case was to render the safety of refugees subordinate to the production of apparently safe technologies, so much so that refugees subjected to humanitarian experimentation in the world's dangerous 'wild zones' delivered 'safety' (by delivering presumably safer technologies) to citizens in the world's relatively secure 'tame zones' – not the other way around. In this way, the UNHCR's use of iris recognition technology made design safe for some citizens, but not for others.


Oxygen ion conductivity of doped ceria is observed to be two-three orders of magnitude higher than yttria stabilized zirconia, the most widely used solid electrolyte material at temperatures below 600 degrees C. Gadolinium doped ceria (GDC) is known to be one of the most promising solid electrolyte materials for operation of solid oxide fuel cells below 600 degrees C. To understand the atomic defect migration in GDC, we have used total energy calculations within the framework of density functional theory to follow oxygen vacancy migration in GDC. We report activation energies for various oxygen vacancy migration pathways in GDC. Oxygen vacancy formation and migration were evaluated for first, second, and third nearest neighbor positions to a Gd(3+) ion. Due to the comparable ionic radii of Gd(3+) and host Ce(4+) ions, the first nearest neighbor site with respect to the dopant cation is found to be the most favorable oxygen vacancy formation site. The migration pathway where the vacancy migrates from a second to first nearest neighbor is found to be most favorable. The calculated activation energies for oxygen vacancy migration in GDC are compared against the reported measured and calculated values from the literature. This work will provide a foundation for the development of a kinetic lattice Monte Carlo model for vacancy diffusion in GDC, which will improve the understanding of oxygen ion conductivity in doped ceria.


Abstract Occupation of the Ambato Valley in north-western Argentina ended abruptly in around AD 1200, with destructive abandonment resulting in burnt and collapsed buildings. Analysis of broken pottery sherds from La Rinconada suggests that this may have been the outcome of a deliberate 'closing' activity. Re-fitted vessels were found to be largely complete despite extensive fragmentation; two portions of one vessel were 10m apart with a wall in between. Conjoining fragments of other vessels exhibited contrasting effects of thermal alteration, or were associated with lithic objects that may have been used to destroy them, or appeared to have been deliberately arranged. The evidence is altogether indicative of the intentional destruction and deposition of this material immediately prior to the burning of the site.


Two studies (a cross-sectional survey of 90 UK workers and an experiment with 100 UK workers) examined the cognitive and behavioral effects of abusive supervision. Both studies confirmed the hypothesis that workers who experience abusive supervision show paranoia and this makes them more prone to a type of cognitive error called the "sinister attribution error". This is where workers misattribute innocent workplace events such as tripping over something or hearing colleagues laughing to malevolent motives such as wanting to harm or mock them. Study 1 also showed that abusive supervision is associated with lower wellbeing. Perceived organizational support buffers these effects, and this is associated with workers making less sinister attribution errors, thereby protecting wellbeing. Study 2 explored the role of contextual cues by exposing workers to images of abusive supervision. This increased their paranoia and contributed to workers making sinister attribution errors when they were asked to interpret workplace events. Moreover, depending on the types of contextual cues, workers were more likely to express intentions of workplace deviance after thinking about past experiences of abusive supervision. We recommend that corporate ethical responsibilities include training managers and workers about the negative cognitive and mental health effects of abusive supervision.


OBJECTIVE
To determine whether the rheumatoid arthritis (RA)-predisposing class II molecules of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) can present cartilage proteoglycan (PG) aggrecan, and if so, to determine the epitope repertoire of the human cartilage PG in HLA-transgenic mice and determine whether HLA-transgenic mice develop arthritis in response to immunization with human cartilage PG.

METHODS
Mice transgenic for HLA-DR2.Ab(0), DR3.Ab(0), DR4.Ab(0), and DQ8.Ab(0), lacking their own (mouse) class II antigens (Ab(0)), on the original (arthritis-resistant) and the arthritis-susceptible BALB/c backgrounds, were immunized with human cartilage PG. The T cell epitope repertoire presented by these class II MHC alleles was determined using a synthetic peptide library (143 peptides of the core protein of human cartilage PG), and arthritis development was monitored and compared in wild-type and HLA-transgenic/congenic BALB/c mice.

RESULTS
Mice of the 4 HLA-transgenic lines, either on the original mixed, arthritis-resistant background or DR4.Ab(0)- and DQ8.Ab(0)-transgenic/congenic mice on the arthritis-susceptible BALB/c genetic background, responded well to PG immunization (as assessed by T cell responses and antibody and cytokine production), and a number of T cell epitopes along the core protein of human cartilage PG were identified. DR4.Ab(0)- and DQ8.Ab(0)-transgenic mice immunized with human cartilage PG developed arthritis, but only when these class II MHC molecules were present on the arthritis-susceptible (BALB/c) genetic background.

CONCLUSION
A number of human cartilage PG epitopes can be presented by HLA alleles that predispose to the development of RA, but the epitopes of the cartilage PG presented by HLA-DR4 or HLA-DQ8 can induce arthritis only in the presence of an appropriate genetic (non-MHC) background.


Compressed sensing (CS) aims to recover a high-dimensional signal with structural priors from its low-dimensional linear measurements. Inspired by the huge success of deep neural networks in modeling the priors of natural signals, generative neural networks have been recently used to replace the hand-crafted structural priors in CS. However, the reconstruction capability of the generative model is fundamentally limited by the range of its generator, typically a small subset of the signal space of interest. To break this bot-tleneck and thus reconstruct those out-of-range signals, this paper presents a novel method called CS-BGM that can effectively expands the range of generator. Specifically, CS-BGM introduces uncertainties to the latent variable and parameters of the generator, while adopting the variational inference (VI) and maximum a posteriori (MAP) to infer them. Theoretical analysis demonstrates that expanding the range of generators is necessary for reducing the reconstruction error in generative CS. Extensive experiments show a consistent improvement of CS-BGM over the baselines.


Case-hindering, multi-year digital forensic evidence backlogs have become commonplace in law enforcement agencies throughout the world. This is due to an ever-growing number of cases requiring digital forensic investigation coupled with the growing volume of data to be processed per case. Leveraging previously processed digital forensic cases and their component artefact relevancy classifications can facilitate an opportunity for training automated artificial intelligence based evidence processing systems. These can significantly aid investigators in the discovery and prioritisation of evidence. This paper presents one approach for file artefact relevancy determination building on the growing trend towards a centralised, Digital Forensics as a Service (DFaaS) paradigm. This approach enables the use of previously encountered pertinent files to classify newly discovered files in an investigation. Trained models can aid in the detection of these files during the acquisition stage, i.e., during their upload to a DFaaS system. The technique generates a relevancy score for file similarity using each artefact's filesystem metadata and associated timeline events. The approach presented is validated against three experimental usage scenarios.


Intensive natural gas development causes habitat loss that reduces nutritional carrying capacity for ungulates and other species of conservation concern. To offset habitat loss from energy development, wildlife managers are experimenting with large-scale sagebrush fertilization on western public rangelands. We synthesize what is known about basic sagebrush ecosystem biogeochemistry and ungulate nutritional ecology to anticipate the benefits and risks of this emerging mitigation tool. Under some environmental conditions, fertilization can temporarily increase sagebrush biomass, and potentially, the nutritional carrying capacity of mule deer limited by digestible energy. However, nitrogen additions are costly and pose environmental risks when applied to arid and semi-arid systems. Fertilization may promote weed invasions, changes to biogeochemical cycles, and potentially irreversible ecosystem shifts that reduce shrub communities. Fertilization also creates excess nitrogen at 2–8 × natural background levels and increases greenhouse gases, ozone pollution precursors, downwind nitrogen deposition, and freshwater degradation. Considering these risks and recognizing that potential benefits are short-term, uncertain, and expensive to achieve, the practice of sagebrush fertilization may pose a net conservation cost. © 2015 The Authors. Wildlife Society Bulletin published by The Wildlife Society.


The accelerated exploration of the materials space in order to identify configurations with optimal properties is an ongoing challenge. Current paradigms are typically centered around the idea of performing this exploration through high-throughput experimentation/computation. Such approaches, however, do not account fo the always present constraints in resources available. Recently, this problem has been addressed by framing materials discovery as an optimal experiment design. This work augments earlier efforts by putting forward a framework that efficiently explores the materials design space not only accounting for resource constraints but also incorporating the notion of model uncertainty. The resulting approach combines Bayesian Model Averaging within Bayesian Optimization in order to realize a system capable of autonomously and adaptively learning not only the most promising regions in the materials space but also the models that most efficiently guide such exploration. The framework is demonstrated by efficiently exploring the MAX ternary carbide/nitride space through Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations.


ABSTRACT Participatory approaches elicit information from multiple stakeholders while planning and implementing resource management systems. Such elicited information is often associated with significant variability. Public participation geographical information science (GIS) (PP-GIS) solutions can reduce this variability by helping stakeholders to measure the factors involved and provide the elicited information. We propose a 'Quality Function Deployment'-based participatory framework for developing such PP-GIS solutions. It is demonstrated using a case study to enhance an existing PP-GIS into a solution for rainwater harvesting systems in Indian villages. The novelty of the proposed framework is that it identifies metrics and carries out comparative analysis of three existing solutions: participatory rural appraisal, participatory mapping and PP-GIS. In the case study, PP-GIS scored less than participatory mapping as it scored less on usability and affordability. To improve PP-GIS in these aspects, an easy-to-use mobile and web based, free and open source PP-GIS solution, Watershed GIS, was developed. It scored better than the three existing solutions and its usage resulted in substantial reduction of variability in criteria values and thus better ranking of alternatives, with the average coefficient of variation decreasing from 0.12 to 0.05.


The inflator for an air bag comprises a non-azide gas generating propellants surrounding the igniter attached to the housing. Gas generating propellant is surrounded by a coolant / filter device having a pressure loss of 100l / minute at a flow rate of 0.3 x / ㎠ 10 The gap is passed through the entire area of the coolant / filter is provided with the combustion gas between the outer periphery and the housing unit of the coolant / filter device. In addition, the coolant / filter device is also surrounded by a swell suppressing layer to prevent the gas generated due to combustion of the propellant coolant / filter device has expanded.


The City of Little Rock's Neighborhood Alert Center program assessment focuses on understanding program functions, how these centers serve the respective neighborhoods, and the roles and responsibilities of neighborhood facilitators (program directors stationed at each location). A case study approach is used to provide a holistic, rigorous evaluation of the program. Though much has changed for these centers since the inception of the program, this assessment reveals that citizens appreciate the Neighborhood Alert Centers and their neighborhood facilitators. Assessment results show that these centers are key components to sustaining healthy, vibrant Little Rock neighborhoods. The project demonstrates the usefulness of an outside evaluation for providing recommendations to enhance a program and increase its capacity.


Augsburg University's Center for Wellness and Counseling offers programs and mental health counseling services to support the health and well-being of Augsburg students.


With the rapid development of mixed-signal system-on-chip (SOC), the verification before tape-out is a critical phase during the design flow in order to guarantee the products yield. A design flow based on mixed-signal verification is proposed. Exemplified with the design of a mixed MCU (MV06), this paper proposes the verification precept and introduces the simulation principle and method of mixed signals in the Synopsys simulation environment, and then describes the simulation process with the Discovery AMS and presents the verification result. This methodology is implemented in our tape-out, the feasibility and efficiency of the method has been verified.


This review considers the current literature on sinkhole formation and occurrence. It incorporates several examples from around the world in order to gain a broader geographical scope on the problem. Challenges associated with sinkholes center around atmospheric acidification (pollution) and the formation of dissolution sinkholes. In addition, urbanization and its imposed changes on surface drainage as well as aquifer contamination also bear upon this geohazard. Solutions have been grasped through the deployment of geophysical techniques, in particular GPR. Engineering solutions are presented and critically discussed. Preventative planning based on early detection (through geophysical, GIS and multivariate analysis plus modeling, and possibly remote sensing techniques) are among the most effective available solutions. More research is needed to investigate the effects of increasing surface temperatures and interactions (synergies) with pollution.


Additive Manufacturing, or 3D printing, is moving from the research labs and into both consumer and commercial manufacturing markets. As the systems, processes and materials available are becoming more mature we are seeing them being tested for new application areas such as electronics. In this paper we review how fused deposition modelling (FDM) is being explored for creating microwave circuits and componentry, their RF performance and the materials challenges faced. In recent years such microwave circuits and components have included antennas, lenses, antireflective coatings, transmission lines and planar circuits, waveguide terminations, performing at frequencies ranging from low GHz up to tens of GHz. Additive manufacture of such objects allows new, novel and complex structures to be fabricated with lower impact on the environment relative to current manufacturing processes, plus the rapid prototyping of circuits. Additionally it currently offers reasonable RF performance that can be competitive through further advances in manufacturing processes and materials. Index Terms — Fused deposition modelling, microwave, manufacturing, materials.


Recent discovery of a cracked and leaking Reactor Pressure Vessel Head (RPVH) nozzles have raised concerns about the structural integrity of RPVH nozzles in the pressurized water reactor (PWR) nuclear power plants. In order to remove crack abnormalities in the areas of nozzle J-Groove Weld on reactor pressure vessel head, we have developed an "Automated Robotic Grinding" (ARG) system which removes the surface cracks of the J-Groove Weld nozzles. Cracks are removed by the means of grinding of the J-Groove Weld performed both automatically and remotely. A manipulator was designed to be attached to the nozzle of the reactor head and enable the grinder tool to move according to cylindrical coordinate system with three degrees of freedom. Control system allows a synchronized motion of the manipulator axes and remote operation of the ARG manipulator. The inputs for grinding are the surface area coordinates of the crack and the maximum depth of the crack. Due to the limited accessibility in the area around the CRDM nozzle, the system is designed to include combined sensor and actuator. The grinder tool is first used as a sensor in a procedure to automatically detect the surface topology in the given area of the J-Groove Weld and then as an actuator which grinds with predefined depth, leaving the surface smooth and free of sharp edges. In this paper we present main features of the ARG system as well as main features of the grinding procedure.


Reptile and terrestrial beetle populations were sampled within adjoining mallee communities of similar botanical composition, but differing in fire history and vegetation structure. Studies were aimed at determining whether there were any major differences between faunal communities in sites with different fire histories. While the number of beetle species captured was significantly higher in the two most recently burnt sites, overall abundance of beetles did not differ significantly between various fire histories. Captures of Carenurn interiove were highest in a site burnt seven years prior to the study whereas captures of Tvichocarenum sp. were most common in the two most recently burnt areas. The number of reptile species captured did not differ significantly between sites but the relative abundance of nocturnal and diurnal reptiles was found to be significantly related to time since last fire. The number of geckos captured at the oldest fire site (burnt 18 years earlier) were significantly fewer than at the more recently burnt sites whereas captures of diurnal lizards did not differ. These patterns of reptile abundance are consistent with those found in other fire studies undertaken in similar habitats. This preliminary study confirms that both reptiles and beetles may be usefully incorporated in future management systems designed to monitor biological diversity in mallee ecosystems. Key words: fire, mallee, porcupine grass, nocturnal and diurnal reptiles and beetles


The aim of this study was to assess a recently established 3D model of congenital ichthyosis, representing severe epidermal barrier function defects, for skin penetration and permeation. We have generated disease models by knock‐down of either TGM1 or ALOXE3 in primary human keratinocytes, and using keratinocytes and fibroblasts from patients with congenital ichthyosis. The results indicate disturbed barrier function as demonstrated by increased permeation of testosterone and caffeine particularly in TGM1 knock‐down models compared to control models. In addition, enhanced penetration of the model dye nile red incorporated into solid lipid nanoparticles and core‐multishell nanotransporters, respectively, was evident in disease models. Thus, in vitro skin disease models reproduce differences in barrier permeability and function seen in congenital ichthyosis and pave the way to personalised disease models. Furthermore, our findings indicate that nanocarriers may be useful in new, topical therapeutic approaches for the currently very limited treatment of congenital ichthyosis.


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The aim of this thesis is to explore and illustrate empirically how brand values are co-created in communication by users on a corporate Facebook page. The text from two months of conversa-tion on IKEA Sweden's Facebook page has been analyzed using qualitative and quantitative meth-ods. The concept of value co-creation has been excessively discussed in marketing literature during the last decades. In co-creation the customers, or stakeholders, create value together with the brands, but how this happens in communication on the social media remains to be further exam-ined. This thesis takes a close perspective of the phenomenon and the result shows how a few brand values of the IKEA brand are recurrently reinforced in the text communication as IKEA and other users of their Facebook page share practical advices, emotions, and thoughts. The communication is surprisingly friendly and supportive, the atmosphere reminds of a big family, an IKEA family, even though users don't know each other. The social values appear to be of fun-damental importance as one of the world's largest furnisher retailers uses the world's largest social media, and these values are co-created between the users in the IKEA Facebook community. Fur-thermore, there is a brand value of IKEA explaining that IKEA understands their customers living situations and needs. This value is continuously co-created as employees of IKEA talks with cus-tomers and learn from what is said, commented and suggested on their corporate Facebook page.


Arithmetic coding is a highly efficient lossless source coding technique. Multiplication-free arithmetic coding algorithms provide an excellent tradeoff between operation complexity and coding performance. A whole family of multiplication-free arithmetic codes, which achieve the best coding efficiency and can be used for arbitrary size of alphabets, is derived. The complete tradeoff between the complexity of operations and compression performance of all the algorithms is presented.


In the expanding e-society, mobile embedded systems are increasingly used to support transactions such as for banking or database applications. Such systems entail a range of heterogeneous entities - both the devices and the networks connecting them. While these systems are exposed to frequent and varied perturbations, the support of atomic distributed transactions is still a fundamental requirement to achieve consistent decisions. Guaranteeing atomicity and high performance in traditional fixed wired networks is based on the assumption that node and link failures occur rarely. This assumption is often not supported in current and upcoming mobile environments where the heterogeneity and mobility often result in link and node failures as a dominant operational scenario. In order to continue guaranteeing strict atomicity while providing for high efficiency (low resource blocking time of transaction participants and message overhead) and acceptable commit rate, transactional fault-tolerance techniques need to be revisited perhaps at the cost of transaction execution time. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive classification of perturbations for a wide range of mobile environments including infrastructure-based, ad-hoc, and hybrid environments. We also investigate the impact of these perturbations on the design of mobile transactions. In particular we argue for the delay-awareness of mobile transactions to allow for the fault-tolerance mechanisms to ensure resilience to the various and frequent perturbations.


Background
Facial symmetry is intimately correlated with attractiveness. Perfect facial symmetry is disconcerting and a degree of facial asymmetry is considered normal. There is a lack of data on the limits of normality across facial subunits.

Objectives
This systematic review aims to establish categories of facial asymmetry perception for facial aesthetic units by establishing a discriminative threshold of "deformity perception" across facial subunits and a threshold for intervention (unacceptable asymmetry).

Methods
A review of the literature was performed across Medline and Embase databases using OvidSP. All prospective studies evaluating the perception of progressive facial asymmetry in laymen or clinicians using a two- or three-dimensional model were included. Studies that did not evaluate rates of perception at varying degrees of asymmetry were excluded as these did not allow for the identification of a perceptive threshold.

Results
Each facial feature possesses a unique threshold of perception defined by an abrupt, statistically significant increase in detection. Asymmetry of the eyelid position at rest is the most sensitive facial feature (perceptive threshold, 2 mm) (P < 0.02). This is followed by deviations of the oral commissure (3 mm) (P < 0.001), brow position (3.5 mm) (P < 0.001), nasal tip deviation (4 mm) (P < 0.001), and chin deviation (6 mm) (P < 0.001). Desire for surgery for worsening deformities beyond the intervention threshold is characterized by an exponential, rather than linear, correlation.

Conclusions
Categories of facial asymmetry perception establish a framework to counsel patients with facial asymmetries, and are a valuable adjunct to clinical judgment in the management of static and dynamic facial deformities.


Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) is characterized by nutrient malabsorption, associated with an excessive number of bacteria in the proximal small intestine. Unfortunately, the diagnosis of bacterial overgrowth presents several difficulties and limitations, and as yet there is not a widespread agreement on the best diagnostic test. SIBO occurs when there are alterations in intestinal anatomy, gastrointestinal motility, or a lack of gastric acid secretion. The true association between SIBO and irritable bowel syndrome and celiac disease remains uncertain. The treatment usually consists in the eradication of bacterial overgrowth with repeated courses of antimicrobials, nutritional support and when it is possible, the correction of underlying predisposing conditions.


Researchers invested in K-12 education struggle not just to enhance pedagogy, curriculum, and student engagement, but also to harness the power of technology in ways that will optimize learning. Online learning platforms offer a powerful environment for educational research at scale. The present work details the creation of an automated system designed to provide researchers with insights regarding data logged from randomized controlled experiments conducted within the ASSISTments TestBed. The Assessment of Learning Infrastructure (ALI) builds upon existing technologies to foster a symbiotic relationship beneficial to students, researchers, the platform and its content, and the learning analytics community. ALI is a sophisticated automated reporting system that provides an overview of sample distributions and basic analyses for researchers to consider when assessing their data. ALI's benefits can also be felt at scale through analyses that crosscut multiple studies to drive iterative platform improvements while promoting personalized learning.


IMPORTANCE
Limitations of current antidepressants highlight the need to identify novel treatments for major depressive disorder. A prior open trial found that a single session of whole-body hyperthermia (WBH) reduced depressive symptoms; however, the lack of a placebo control raises the possibility that the observed antidepressant effects resulted not from hyperthermia per se, but from nonspecific aspects of the intervention.

OBJECTIVE
To test whether WBH has specific antidepressant effects when compared with a sham condition and to evaluate the persistence of the antidepressant effects of a single treatment.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
A 6-week, randomized, double-blind study conducted between February 2013 and May 2015 at a university-based medical center comparing WBH with a sham condition. All research staff conducting screening and outcome procedures were blinded to randomization status. Of 338 individuals screened, 34 were randomized, 30 received a study intervention, and 29 provided at least 1 postintervention assessment and were included in a modified intent-to-treat efficacy analysis. Participants were medically healthy, aged 18 to 65 years, met criteria for major depressive disorder, were free of psychotropic medication use, and had a baseline 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale score of 16 or greater.

INTERVENTIONS
A single session of active WBH vs a sham condition matched for length of WBH that mimicked all aspects of WBH except intense heat.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES
Between-group differences in postintervention Hamilton Depression Rating Scale scores.

RESULTS
The mean (SD) age was 36.7 (15.2) years in the WBH group and 41.47 (12.54) years in the sham group. Immediately following the intervention, 10 participants (71.4%) randomized to sham treatment believed they had received WBH compared with 15 (93.8%) randomized to WBH. When compared with the sham group, the active WBH group showed significantly reduced Hamilton Depression Rating Scale scores across the 6-week postintervention study period (WBH vs sham; week 1: -6.53, 95% CI, -9.90 to -3.16, P < .001; week 2: -6.35, 95% CI, -9.95 to -2.74, P = .001; week 4: -4.50, 95% CI, -8.17 to -0.84, P = .02; and week 6: -4.27, 95% CI, -7.94 to -0.61, P = .02). These outcomes remained significant after evaluating potential moderating effects of between-group differences in baseline expectancy scores. Adverse events in both groups were generally mild.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
Whole-body hyperthermia holds promise as a safe, rapid-acting, antidepressant modality with a prolonged therapeutic benefit.

TRIAL REGISTRATION
clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01625546.


Given the vulnerability of the child psychiatric population, this study examined whether parenting a child referred to a child and adolescent psychiatry department leads to a higher risk of physical child abuse and if that risk is associated with a specific child psychopathology. The clinical sample consisted of caregivers with a six-to-11-year-old child who consulted child and adolescent psychiatry for a psychiatric assessment. The Dutch Child Abuse Potential Inventory (CAPI), socio-demographic data and child psychiatric diagnosis were collected from 59 caregivers of 59 children. Ten per cent of the sample obtained an Abuse scale score indicative of a potential risk for physically maltreating their child. Compared to a non-clinical sample, this study showed a two and a half times higher risk potential for physical child abuse in caregivers with children referred to child and adolescent psychiatry. The elevated risk was not associated with a specific child psychiatric diagnosis. The caregivers at risk were more unhappy and experienced more problems with their child, their family and with others. Results support the need for implementing a standard risk assessment for physical child abuse in a child psychiatric setting.


This article provides an overview of the on-line platforms for trading credit derivatives. The article also discusses the key issue facing parties intending to establish similar platforms in Australia, that is whether or not the operation of such a platform constitutes the establishment or conduct of a futures market in Australia. Finally, the article comments on the new market licensing provisions proposed in the Financial Services Reform Bill 2001 (which is expected to be enacted in October 2001). It is likely that the various credit derivatives presently transacted on-line would, if transacted in Australia, constitute "futures contracts" under the Australian Corporations Law. Accordingly, it will therefore be necessary for the operator of an on-line platform to ensure that the credit derivatives transacted via that platform are, in fact, being transacted on an "exempt futures market" (in order to avoid the civil and criminal sanctions imposed for breaches of the futures licensing provisions of the Corporations Law). The Financial Services Reform Bill, introduces a new form of licence, the "Australian market licence". A party that operates a "financial market" in Australia must hold this licence. A financial market includes facilities through which offers to acquire or dispose of "financial products" are regularly made. It is likely that credit derivatives would fall within the definition of "financial products" set out in the Bill. However, it remains unclear whether or not an on-line platform for transacting credit derivatives constitutes a "facility". Notwithstanding this, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission is likely to consider a platform through which a substantial volume of business is transacted as constituting a facility for financial products and thus a regulated financial market.


Hydrological models are useful tools for better understanding the hydrological processes and performing the hydrological prediction. However, the reliability of the prediction depends largely on its uncertainty range. This study mainly focuses on estimating model parameter uncertainty and quantifying the simulation uncertainties caused by sole model parameters and the co‐effects of model parameters and model structure in a lumped conceptual water balance model called WASMOD (Water And Snow balance MODeling system). The validity of statistical hypotheses on residuals made in the model formation is tested as well, as it is the base of parameter estimation and simulation uncertainty evaluation. The bootstrap method is employed to examine the parameter uncertainty in the selected model. The Yingluoxia watershed at the upper reaches of the Heihe River basin in north‐west of China is selected as the study area. Results show that all parameters in the model can be regarded as normally distributed based on their marginal distributions and the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, although they appear slightly skewed for two parameters. Their uncertainty ranges are different from each other. The model residuals are tested to be independent, homoscedastic and normally distributed. Based on such valid hypotheses of model residuals, simulation uncertainties caused by co‐effects of model parameters and model structure can be evaluated effectively. It is found that the 95% and 99% confidence intervals (CIs) of simulated discharge cover 42.7% and 52.4% of the observations when only parameter uncertainty is considered, indicating that parameter uncertainty has a great effect on simulation uncertainty but still cannot be used to explain all the simulation uncertainty in this study. The 95% and 99% CIs become wider, and the percentages of observations falling inside such CIs become larger when co‐effects of parameters and model structure are considered, indicating that simultaneous consideration of both parameters and model structure uncertainties accounts sufficient contribution for model simulation uncertainty. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Recognizing human gender automatically by a computer is a challenging problem. It has been attracting research attention due to its wide real-life applications. Gender classification can be viewed as an essential preprocessing step in face recognition. Because human faces contain a lot of really useful information, many approaches based on facial features have been investigated for gender classification. In this paper, we present a novel texture pattern as feature descriptor to identify the gender from the facial images. The classification is performed by using a support vector machine. Experimental results on the FERET database are provided to illustrate the proposed approach is an effective method, compared to other similar methods. KeywordsGender Classification, Local Texture Pattern, Support Vector Machine


A mathematician is a master of critical thinking, of analysis, and of deductive reasoning. These skills travel well, and can be applied in a large variety of situations—and in many different disciplines. Today, mathematical skills are being put to good use in medicine, physics, law, commerce, Internet design, engineering, chemistry, biological science, social science, anthropology, genetics, warfare, cryptography, plastic surgery, security analysis, data manipulation, computer science, and in many other disciplines and endeavors as well. The unique feature that sets mathematics apart from other sciences, from philosophy, and indeed from all other forms of intellectual discourse, is the use of rigorous proof. It is the proof concept that makes the subject cohere, that gives it its timelessness, and that enables it to travel well. The purpose of this discussion is to describe proof, to put it in context, to give its history, and to explain its significance. There is no other scientific or analytical discipline that uses proof as readily and routinely as does mathematics. This is the device that makes theoretical mathematics special: the tightly knit chain of reasoning, following strict logical rules, that leads inexorably to a particular conclusion. It is proof that is our device for establishing the absolute and irrevocable truth of statements in our subject. This is the reason that we can depend on mathematics that was done by Euclid 2300 years ago as readily as we believe in the mathematics that is done today. No other discipline can make such an assertion.


Abstract Nakamura, H., Ejiri, H. and Kitamura, H. A New Method for Calibration and Response Measurement of a Scintillation Detector Using Radioisotope Source. Radiat. Res. 170, 811–814 (2008). A new method for calibration was developed that takes the energy deposited by radioisotope sources into account; it was validated with a plastic scintillation plate using a 207Bi source. The energy deposits of the conversion electrons in the 207Bi source led to an energy difference of a few keV for the 976 keV monoenergetic peak. Calibration with high accuracy is essential to estimate radiation doses as well as to evaluate detector performance. The method will be available not only for use in scintillation detectors but also for other detectors.


The Argentine Precordillera was rifted from the Ouachita embayment of Laurentia during Cambrian time. The Ouachita rifted margin along the Texas promontory of Laurentia exhibits a narrow zone of transitional crust, a lack of synrift rocks, and a thin passive-margin succession, indicating slow and limited postrift subsidence. In contrast, data from the western margin of the Precordillera suggest more extensive synrift sediment accumulations and document a thick passive-margin succession, indicating more rapid and relatively greater postrift subsidence than along the Ouachita margin of Laurentia. Passive-margin deposition began in latest Early Cambrian time around the Precordillera, but it did not begin before latest Middle Cambrian time around the Ouachita embayment. The contrasts in structure and stratigraphy are best explained by an asymmetric rift system in the context of simple-shear, low-angle–detachment models for continental rifting. Differences in subsidence rates and inferred crustal structure suggest that the rifted margin of the Ouachita embayment represents an upper-plate configuration, whereas the conjugate margin on the western Precordillera represents a lower-plate configuration.


In the article, the authors analyze the effectiveness of the software developed by them for forming the technological process of production of import-substituting products and determining the specific reduced costs , which allows calculating the statistical parameters of the effective technological process of production of high-quality products in various forms of production organization , and the software developed by the authors for calculating the receipt of funds from the technological process of production of quality products guarantees light industry enterprises to obtain stable TA and prevent them from bankruptcy providing them with financial stability.


Although an implicit assumption of speciation biology is that population differentiation is an important stage of evolutionary diversification, its true significance remains largely untested. If population differentiation within a species is related to its speciation rate over evolutionary time, the causes of differentiation could also be driving dynamics of organismal diversity across time and space. Alternatively, geographic variants might be short-lived entities with rates of formation that are unlinked to speciation rates, in which case the causes of differentiation would have only ephemeral impacts. Combining population genetics datasets including 17,746 individuals from 176 New World bird species with speciation rates estimated from phylogenetic data, we show that the population differentiation rates within species predict their speciation rates over long timescales. Although relatively little variance in speciation rate is explained by population differentiation rate, the relationship between the two is robust to diverse strategies of sampling and analyzing both population-level and species-level datasets. Population differentiation occurs at least three to five times faster than speciation, suggesting that most populations are ephemeral. Population differentiation and speciation rates are more tightly linked in tropical species than temperate species, consistent with a history of more stable diversification dynamics through time in the Tropics. Overall, our results suggest investigations into the processes responsible for population differentiation can reveal factors that contribute to broad-scale patterns of diversity.


PURPOSE
The pharmacology, clinical efficacy, safety, cost, dosage and administration, and place in therapy of carfilzomib for the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM) are reviewed.

SUMMARY
Proteasome inhibition in MM has become a cornerstone in treatment regimens. Carfilzomib, a second-generation proteasome inhibitor, has demonstrated efficacy in patients with relapsed or refractory disease who have received at least two prior therapies including bortezomib and an immunomodulatory agent. Carfilzomib is an irreversible inhibitor and binds to a different site than bortezomib on the proteasome. A Phase II study evaluated 266 heavily pretreated patients with relapsed or refractory MM who had received at least two prior therapies, including bortezomib and either thalidomide or lenalidomide. The overall response rate was 23.7%, with a median duration of response of 7.8 months. The median overall survival time was 15.6 months. Carfilzomib has a similar adverse-effect profile to bortezomib, including anemia, thrombocytopenia, fatigue, dyspnea, and nausea; however, it does not result in the development or worsening of peripheral neuropathy. Carfilzomib is infused intravenously over 2-10 minutes for 2 consecutive days every week for three out of four weeks, with a 12-day rest period. Dosing is based on the patient's actual body surface area. Carfilzomib is available in 60-mg vials for single infusion. The total cost for a year of therapy is approximately $155,852.

CONCLUSION
Carfilzomib, a second-generation proteasome inhibitor that irreversibly inhibits the 26S proteasome, has shown efficacy in clinical studies of patients with relapsed or refractory MM, though the drug's role in the management of MM is not yet clear.


Microstructural changes taking place in an as-cast coarse-grained 7475 Al alloy was studied by using multidirectional forging (MDF) at a temperature of 250oC and at a strain rate of 3 × 10-4 s-1. The samples were deformed by MDF with a strain of 0.7 per pass up to cumulative strain (Σε) of 8.4. In the earlier stages of deformation, microstructural changes are mainly characterized by development of dislocation subboundaries with low-to-moderate misorientation angles. The misorientation angle initially increases with straining and reaches a plateau of around 3.7o in the strain range from 0.7 to 2.1, where new grain formation scarcely takes place in the original grain interiors. With further straining, grain fragmentation starts to occur accompanying with deformation bands developed at various directions, followed by rapid evolution of a new fine grain structure at large strain. The average grain size is around 1 μm at large strains and the average misorientation angle approaches a value of about 25o at Σε = 8.4.


According to the different frequency areas decomposed by shearlet transform, the selection principles of the lowpass subbands and highpass subbands were discussed respectively. The lowpass subband coefficients of the fused image can be obtained by means of the fusion rule based on the region variation, the highpass subband coefficients can be selected by means of the fusion rule based on the region energy. Experimental results show that comparing with traditional image fusion algorithms, the proposed approach can provide more satisfactory fusion outcome.


The paper argues that, well aware of the developments in contemporary science, including biology and political economy, Dickens believed in the significance of the scientific paradigm shifts for ordinary human life. Dickens's early fiction constituted, among other things, a passionate critique of para-Malthusian political economy. This critique is resumed in Our Mutual Friend, yet with the new awareness of the shift of dominant paradigms from political economy to Darwinist biological thinking. Whereas the legislature that grew out of political economy could be challenged and modified, Darwin's account of natural selection, a biological theory that had permanent ontological ramifications, had a claim to the stability of a natural law which disabled beliefs in Providential design. Darwin's work, however, did not deny the potential of benevolent sympathetic human agency. Dickens's novel pits such agency against the blind forces of the struggle for survival, even while subverting the confidence in overall ethical design trailed in by the residual elements of the traditional melodrama.


A method of determining antibodies by their adsorption on large-pore or surface immunosorbents with subsequent treatment of the carrier with anti-immunoglobulin serum and antiphage serum isologous to the antibodies and then with the bacteriophage has been presented. The adsorbed virions are split off by means of papain-induced hydrolysis of the antibody complex. The antigens are determined by the reaction of phage fixing inhibition. The method permits to determine small amounts of antibodies to proteins, haptenes and cells with objective calculation of results.


The timing synchronization design for OFDM systems has attracted a great deal of attention from both academy and industry. Recently, the multiple input multiple output OFDM (MIMO-OFDM) technique has become one of the hottest research topics thanks to its high data rates. A novel time synchronization method for MIMO-OFDM-based WLAN is presented. The approach mitigates the ambiguity from the cyclic shift for multiple transmission chains of IEEE 802.11n standard.


The idea of Gamification is very popular for applying the gaming concept theory in various fields. Nowhere else is this more important than in education. Consid-ering the careful build-up and implementation of game-elements could improve academic performance outcome and student motivation. However, Gamification could require much more time to be designed and applied to education related ac-tivities and it also comes with significant operating and design cost to provide highly engaging activities for students. One of the main problems in designing Gamification is the question: "which game elements should be applied to student activities?". Moreover one must make sure that it has great impact on students' performance in terms of their education related performance. Hence, in this re-search, we focused on studying the impact of each element in order to investigate the behavioral outcome of game elements in educational environments through the concept of knowledge and game-based learning from the Gamification con-cept. In our experiment, we examined the impact of each game element on senior high school students based on the basic elements of Gamification such as Lead-erboard, Cooperative and Awarding badges. In addition, we studied the effect of the game-based learning application called Aqua republica from UNEP and DHI centers with partner of Thailand. The experiment design compared two groups: the"Non-Gamified" and the "Gamified" groups participating in the game-based learning activity Aqua Republica. Academic indicators and numerical indicators were used to directly measure the effect and behavioral outcome of the use of game elements. Finally, the study suggested that leaderboards could improve the overall performance of students so it can be worth implementing it in classroom activities.


ABSTRACT Purpose: To compare the Schlemm's canal area (SCA) and to define iris features in patients with unilateral herpetic anterior uveitis (HAU) by using anterior segment spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (AS SD-OCT). Methods: Unilateral HAU cases that had been in complete remission for ≥ 3 months were included. Two investigators analyzed the iris features of HAU. SCA in both healthy (N), and affected eyes (HAU) were compared. Results: The mean age of the participants (n = 22) was 36.3 ± 15 (17–70) years. The mean nasal and temporal (n-t) SCA was measured as 10,844 ± 4806 µm2 and 8,772 ± 3138 µm2 in HAU in comparison with 10,200 ± 4,824 µm2 and 10,045 ± 3,889 µm2 in N, respectively (p = .47 and p = .12, respectively). The most common iris features were the sectoral iridoplegia (100%) on biomicroscopy and the disorganization of the iris layers (DIL) (77%) on AS SD-OCT images. Conclusion: SCA found similar on both sides. DIL is the most common iris feature of affected eyes.


HuR is an mRNA-binding protein whose overexpression in cancer cells has been associated with poor prognosis and resistance to therapy. While reports on HuR overexpression contributing to chemoresistance exist, limited information is available on HuR and radioresistance especially in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). In this study we investigated the role of HuR in radiation resistance in three TNBC (MDA-MB-231, MDA-MB-468 and Hs578t) cell lines. Endogenous HuR expression was higher in TNBC cells compared to normal cells. siRNA mediated knockdown of HuR (siHuR) markedly reduced HuR mRNA and protein levels compared to scrambled siRNA (siScr) treatment. Further, siHuR treatment sensitized TNBC cells to ionizing radiation at 2 Gy compared to siScr treatment as evidenced by the significant reduction in clonogenic cell survival from 59%, 49%, and 65% in siScr-treated cells to 40%, 33%, and 46% in siHuR-treated MDA-MB-231, MDA-MB-468 and Hs578t cells, respectively. Molecular studies showed increased ROS production and inhibition of thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) in HuR knockdown cells contributed to radiosensitization. Associated with increased ROS production was evidence of increased DNA damage, demonstrated by a significant increase (p < 0.05) in γ-H2AX foci that persisted for up to 24 h in siHuR plus radiation treated cells compared to control cells. Further, comet assay revealed that HuR-silenced cells had larger and longer-lasting tails than control cells, indicating higher levels of DNA damage. In conclusion, our studies demonstrate that HuR knockdown in TNBC cells elicits oxidative stress and DNA damage resulting in radiosensitization.


Abstract To facilitate student-teachers' transition from internship to permanent positions, they are advised to meticulously learn from real experiences of practicum process as it might form their future teaching practices. To help promote the effectiveness of this process, investigating student-teaching from stakeholder perspectives could be enriching. Research on the cooperating teacher has mainly dealt with the perspective of student-teachers; however, this study focuses on student teaching process from the perspective of both cooperating teachers and the pupils in student-teacher's classes of EFL in a Turkish teaching context. We administered open-ended questionnaires to 21 teachers and 114 pupils and carried out inductive qualitative content analysis to analyze the data. The study elaborates on the cooperating teachers' and pupils' perceptions of the student-teachers as well as the impact of their teaching. Results reveal that the arrival of student-teachers was highly welcomed by most of the students and some of the cooperating teachers even though some expectations from student-teachers were not met.


In this article, the very different cotton production schemes that the state introduced in colonial and post-colonial Mozambique are explored. Three distinct periods in the history of cotton production are examined. In the first, the focus is on the impact of cotton cultivation on the daily lives of peasants trapped in a highly coercive labor regime which Portugal imposed in 1938 and enforced for almost a quarter of a century. An outline of the abortive attempt of the newly independent FRELIMO government to revitalize cotton production from 1977 to 1985 as part of its broader socialist agenda to transform the countryside, is given next, and the study is concluded with a discussion of recent state efforts to promote joint cotton ventures under the guise of the IMF—World Bank structural adjustment program. An analysis of these changing cotton regimes offers a way of exploring a wide set of issues in the sustainability debate, The Mozambican cotton scheme demonstrates the extent to which state development planning often is not only about either social or ecological sustainability but also about control, power, and effectively silencing the rural poor by experts disconnected from the countryside. It is also stressed that the politics of memory is an important dimension of the sustainability debate and the broader ideological struggles which it reflects. Try as they might, neither the colonial state nor the postcolonial state could control how peasants constructed and interpreted the past. The official representations of cotton as a path to progress, whether on a capitalist or a social road, were simply dismissed by most growers who knew better.


The false-negative Papanicolaou (Pap) smear is the major quality issue currently facing the practitioners of diagnostic cytology. Failure to detect cervical disease in women can be due either to sampling error or to screening error. Sampling errors account for the majority of false-negative Pap tests; the remainder are due to the cervical abnormality either not being detected or not being properly classified during microscopic screening. The ThinPrep Pap test was recently cleared by the United States Food and Drug Administration as significantly more effective than the conventional Pap smear and as a replacement for the conventional method of Pap smear preparation. The ThinPrep Pap test increases detection of squamous intraepithelial lesions and significantly improves specimen quality. These features of the ThinPrep Pap test also have a heretofore unreported direct effect on the false-negative rate of the Pap examination. In two recently conducted clinical trials, the ThinPrep test resulted in a significant reduction in the sampling false-negative rate in women undergoing routine Pap screening. In addition, screening false negatives, as expressed by the false-negative proportion, were reduced from 5.6% with the conventional Pap smear, to 2.2% with the ThinPrep Pap test. More high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions were detected in the screening populations with the ThinPrep test. The ThinPrep Pap test improves the quality of cervical cancer screening through a reduction in false-negative Pap examinations. This improvement has important implications for women undergoing Pap screening and for those who practice gynecologic cytopathology.


ABSTRACT Salinity intrusion is a complex issue in coastal and estuarine areas. Currently, remote sensing techniques have been widely used to monitor water quality changes, ranging from inland river networks to deep oceans. The Vietnamese Mekong Delta is an important rice-growing area, and intrusion of saline water into irrigated freshwater-based agriculture areas is one of the most crucial constraints for agriculture development. This study aimed at building a numerical model to realize the salinity intrusion through the relationship between reflectance from the Landsat-8 Operational Land Imager images and salinity levels measured in situ. A total of 103 observed samples were divided into 50% training and 50% test. Multiple Linear Regression, Decision Trees and Random Forest (RF) approaches were applied in the study. The result showed that the RF approach was the best model to estimate salinity along the coastal river network in the study area. However, the large samples size needed was a significant challenge to circumscribe predicting ability of the RF model. The reflectance has a good correlation with salinity when locations (latitude–longitude) of salinity measured stations were added as a parameter of the Step-wise model with R-square 77.48% in training and 74.16% in test while Root Mean Square Error was smaller than 3.


The protective effect of breast feeding against infections is well proved by the experiences in underdeveloped countries and in industrial countries as well as shown by numerous investigations in several populations of different social structure. Various factors are meant to be responsible for this special property of human milk, the importance of which is to be discussed. The lysozyme and the lactoferrin are two different antibacterial factors well known since a long time, the former of which is mainly directed against grampositive organisms and against gramnegative ones only under special conditions. Lactoferrin is effective against E. coli and Staphylococcus as well. The neuraminic acid of which the human milk contains a larger quantity than cow's milk also inhibits the growth of E. coli and Staphylococcus. A further factor consisting of isomers of linoleic acid protects mice against lethal Staphylococcus - infections. The most important antibacterial principles of human milk are meant to be specific immunoglobulins, specially secretory IgA. The immunoglobulins are mainly important for the young baby in the early stage of life. The fecal bifidusflora specific for the breast-fed infant is also meant to be protective against several infections. The factors of human milk provoking this special kind of intestinal flora are to be discussed. In the artificial-fed infant bifidus flora like that of breast-fed one can arise by application of lactulose. Nowadays, bifidus-flora can probably be obtained by application of beta-lactose. It is suggested, that infants with bifidus-flora provoked by one of this means are protected against intestinal infections. The results of all investigations on mother's milk lead to the conclusion, that breast-feeding is the optimal kind of alimentation in the first time of life, not only concerning the composition of the food, but concerning protection against infections.


In the next generation cellular mobile multimedia networks, a resource allocation policy, which prioritizes handoff requests over new calls while making efficient use of the network resources, will be an essential component for successful operation. In this paper we develop a new handoff prioritized scheme which adapts the allocation policy according to the current traffic conditions. The goal is to minimize the new call blocking while keeping the handoff failures close to a targeted objective. This problem is formulated as a constrained semi-Markov decision process (SMDP) with average cost criterion. A simulation-based learning algorithm is developed to determine a control policy from direct interaction with the network without a priori knowledge of the network dynamics or traffic. Extensive simulations test the effectiveness of the algorithm under a variety of traffic conditions. Comparisons with other resource allocation policies, such as complete sharing and channel reservation, are presented.


Molluscan shell possesses excellent strength, stiffness and fracture toughness that are closely related to its exquisite microstructure. SEM observation of a clam' shell showed that the shell is a kind of bioceramic composite consisting of aragonite and protein layers parallel with the surface of the shell. The observation also showed that the aragonite layers are composed of long and thin aragonite sheets. Many aragonite sheets are of curving shape at the center of the shell. The higher fracture toughness of the shell was analyzed based on the representative model of the curving aragonite sheets and the concept of the maximum pullout force that is related to the fracture toughness of the shell. The analytical result showed that the maximum pullout force of the curving aragonite sheet is larger than that of straight aragonite sheets, which may effectively enhance the fracture toughness of the shell.


The management of musculoskeletal tumours has progressed tremendously over the past few decades. Limb salvage surgery has become a standard practise without compromising the oncological outcome. Patients generally will benefit with superior function and a better quality of life compared with definitive amputation. The multidisciplinary approach and advancement of surgeries are important to achieve patient survival and optimum function.


In commercial buildings, about 40%–50% of the total electricity consumption is attributed to Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems, which places an economic burden on building operators. In this paper, we intend to minimize the energy cost of an HVAC system in a multi-zone commercial building with the consideration of random zone occupancy, thermal comfort, and indoor air quality comfort. Due to the existence of unknown thermal dynamics models, parameter uncertainties (e.g., outdoor temperature, electricity price, and number of occupants), spatially and temporally coupled constraints associated with indoor temperature and CO2 concentration, a large discrete solution space, and a non-convex and non-separable objective function, it is very challenging to achieve the above aim. To this end, the above energy cost minimization problem is reformulated as a Markov game. Then, an HVAC control algorithm is proposed to solve the Markov game based on multi-agent deep reinforcement learning with attention mechanism. The proposed algorithm does not require any prior knowledge of uncertain parameters and can operate without knowing building thermal dynamics models. Simulation results based on real-world traces show the effectiveness, robustness and scalability of the proposed algorithm.


Abstract. High-resolution records of dust and trace element fluxes were studied in a firn core from the coastal Dronning Maud Land (cDML) in East Antarctica to identify the influence of climate variability on accumulation of these components over the past ~ 50 yr. A doubling of dust deposition was observed since 1985, coinciding with a shift in the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) index to positive values and associated increase in the wind speed. Back-trajectories showed that an increase in dust deposition is associated with the air parcels originating from north-west of the site, possibly indicating its origin from the Patagonian region. Our results suggest that while multiple processes could have influenced the increased dust formation, shift in SAM had a dominant influence on its transport. It is observed that since the 1985s the strength of easterlies increased significantly over the cDML region, which could sink air and dust material to the region that were brought by the westerlies through mass compensation. The correlation between the dust flux and δ18O records further suggest that enhanced dust flux in the firn core occurred during periods of colder atmospheric temperature, which reduced the moisture content and increased dust fall. Interestingly, the timing and amplitude of the insoluble dust peaks matched remarkably well with the fluxes of Ba, Cr, Cu, and Zn confirming that dust was the main carrier/source of atmospheric trace elements to East Antarctica during the recent past.


Craniopharyngiomas are slow growing tumours arising from remnants of the craniopharyngeal duct and occupy the sellar region. The patients may remain asymptomatic for long duration or present with headache or visual disturbances. Surgery is the mainstay of the treatment. Traditionally these tumours have been removed by neurosurgeons through the cranial approach but the advent of nasal endoscopes has opened new avenues for ENT surgeons to treat such patients. We hereby present a case of craniopharyngioma who was successfully treated by Trans-nasal Hypophysectomy.


This study was designed to provide analysis of factors affecting stock market
development in Tanzania: The case of Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange. Specifically
the study assessed economic, socio –cultural, legal, and other factors that affect the
development of Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange market.The study employed
quantitative approach. The data were collected through questionnaires. 112 business
owners in Dar es Salaam were involved in the study. Data were analyzed using SPSS
through descriptive statistics and correlation analysis.The findings revealed that there
are strong positive correlation between DSE development and economic factors,
socio cultural factors, rules and regulations issues and other factors such as education
and government support. The findings also revealed that economic factors affecting
DSE are interest rate, profitability, low cost of executing trade, possibility of getting
dividend, technological advancement and household savings. Furthermore sociocultural
factors affecting DSE are investors' behaviours and presence of reference
group and perception of DSE market attractiveness. In addition, laws and regulations
factors affecting DSE are cumbersome of these rules and regulation. Moreover
findings indicate that local investors do not have enough education on DSE
operations. The study recommends policy makers to take stern measures to regulate
the business environment such that economic factors, socio-cultural factors, and legal
framework of the country supports the investors participation in the Dar es Stock
Exchange operations, this will help the market development.


Micro/nano-robots are powerful tools for biomedical applications and are applied in disease diagnosis, tumor imaging, drug delivery, and targeted therapy. Among the various types of micro-robots, cell-based micro-robots exhibit unique properties because of their different cell sources. In combination with various actuation methods, particularly externally propelled methods, cell-based microrobots have enormous potential for biomedical applications. This review introduces recent progress and applications of cell-based micro/nano-robots. Different actuation methods for micro/nano-robots are summarized, and cell-based micro-robots with different cell templates are introduced. Furthermore, the review focuses on the combination of cell-based micro/nano-robots with precise control using different external fields. Potential challenges, further prospects, and clinical translations are also discussed.


This is a study on impact, the meanings given to a language exam when the exam was launched. Ingrians are ethnic Finns who have been living in Russia for many generations. In order to immigrate to Finland on the basis of Finnish origin they have to prove Finnish language skills. The Ingrians' language exam was designed to test if the residence permit applicant is at A2 level in Finnish. This study is based on both oral and written data. In this article I analyze parliamentary protocols and media texts. In addition to these written materials I have interviewed persons who worked on the language exam when it was designed. The topics analyzed construct a continuum between the Finnish identity (past) and moving to Finland (future), both in a text and between texts written over several years. Finally, this article discusses some implications concerning language testing in the future.


The high Peak-to-Average Power Ratio (PAPR) is a main drawback of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) systems. We propose a twostep technique to reduce the PAPR consisting of a metricbased constellation extension method, such as Simple Amplitude Predistortion (SAP) algorithm, aided by Orthogonal Pilot Sequences (OPS) in a previous step, where we also provide a low-complex implementation of OPS scheme. We show that our proposal, named OP-SAP, outperforms previous approaches in terms of PAPR reduction, due to joining the benefits of Orthogonal Pilots with SAP algorithm. Moreover, it is energy efficient within two aspects: transmitted energy and implementation energy. OP-SAP saves up to 57% of transmitted energy per predistorted symbol compared to SAP. Regarding implementation energy, PAPR reduction techniques introduce some additional computational complexity, which requires extra cycles in the processor that demand energy consumption. We present an exhaustive analysis on computational power cost that shows the low power consumption of OP-SAP compared to other methods as SeLected Mapping (SLM), what yields a remarkable energy saving in its practical implementation1.


The lack of motivation and sense of community within schools have proven to be the two most relevant factors behind the decision to drop out. Despite the notable progress made in school access in countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, dropping out of school has still been a problem. This paper explores Scholas Occurrentes pedagogical approach to address these dropouts. Scholas focuses on the voice of students. It seeks to act positively on their motivation by listening to them, creating spaces for discussion, and strengthening soft skills and civic engagement. Scholas aims to enhance the sense of community within schools by gathering students from different social and economic backgrounds and involving teachers, families, and societal actors. This will break down the walls between schools and the whole community. This paper presents Scholas work with three examples from Paraguay, Haiti, and Argentina. It analyzes the positive impacts that Scholas' intervention had on the participants. Then, it focuses on future challenges regarding the scalability and involvement of the institutions in the formulation of new public policies. The approach highlights the participatory nature of education and the importance of all actors engagement.


The arrival of capitalism in Iran was accompanied by extensive changes in the economic system. While the structure of the country's production in the early Qajar period was based on the production of agricultural products and handicrafts and its export, recently with serious decline and damage, the country became a major importer from European countries and Russia. Attempts to internalize capitalism failed with the closure of domestic factories, and the inability of the private sector to compete with foreign capitalism led to the profitability of trade based on imports, rents, and the stock market. As a result, the country's architecture and urban planning are focused on two aspects: one is the increase in the population of cities and the need to develop them, which was accompanied by new street construction and the presence of buildings with new functions. An event that led to the land exchange and emphasized the separation of social classes. Second, the indirect impact of foreign capitalism, which led to the presence of European citizens in Iranian cities and intensified the process of acquainting Iranians with the culture and manifestations of Western civilization. The construction of foreign embassies and houses of European character is one of its examples. In this research, with interpretive-historical methods and logical reasoning, the interrelationship between the economic situation and the architectural and urban development developments of Iranian cities in the Qajar period has been studied. A relationship that not only affects the shape of cities and the appearance of buildings, but is also accompanied by broad socio-political and cultural ties that have made its consequences more complex and influential.


An investigation is carried out on the linear and nonlinear optical properties of quasicrystals. The linear and nonlinear susceptibilities are determined for two- and three-dimensional quasicrystals. The results show that for optical linearity, two-dimensional quasicrystals are uniaxial, while icosahedral quasicrystals are optically isotropic. Meanwhile all quasicrystals, except those with 5, 5 m, N, Nmm (N = 8, 10, 12) symmetries, have no the first-order optical nonlinearity. The tensor scheme of the first order nonlinear susceptibility is the same for these eight exceptional kinds of quasicrystals.


Releasing diffuse artificial clouds into the space environment using a rocket or spacecraft can modify the natural plasma state. This uses space itself as a laboratory for studying plasma phenomena that cannot be reproduced on the ground. The Space Measurement of A Rocket‐released Turbulence (SMART) mission will inject a beam of barium neutral vapor into the ionosphere and perpendicular to the Earth's magnetic field. Barium atoms will be photoionized, forming an ion ring distribution that is unstable to lower hybrid waves. Large amplitude lower hybrid waves nonlinearly scatter to whistler and magnetosonic waves that can propagate out to the magnetosphere. This paper details the theory, modeling, and simulation we used to design this release experiment to optimize the energy in the plasma waves under a variety of constraints. A product of this analysis is quantitative predictions for some in situ and remote measurements. Hydrocode simulations of barium vapourization and acceleration via shaped charge provide the initial state of the neutral beam. We optimize the apogee, orientation, and position of the payload and instruments. Cloud dynamics are simulated with a direct simulation Monte Carlo technique, which includes photoionization with metastable barium states, collisions with the neutral background atmosphere, optical line emission, gravity, and electromagnetic forces. We predict the plasma density measured by the instrument payload and the remotely measured optical intensity. We also examine how the plasma wave growth differs at the measurement location compared to the bulk of the barium cloud.


Complex deformities of the foot and ankle remain a difficult problem for even the most experienced surgeon. Many techniques are available to provide correction and no single one is appropriate for all cases. Identical deformities often can be treated with different techniques with equally successful outcomes. Each deformity is unique and the surgeon should be capable of using multiple techniques to provide the most appropriate treatment for the patient and the deformity. Simple deformities often can be handled with simple techniques but more complex problems often require more complex solutions. The techniques discussed here have worked well at the authors' institution but are undergoing constant reevaluation and occasional modification. It is important that the surgeon and the patient understand that with these techniques it is usually possible to provide a functional outcome but never possible to provide a normal foot or ankle. If appropriate goals are set, correction of these challenging deformities can be satisfying to surgeon and patient.


Terrestrial-type exoplanets orbiting nearby red dwarf stars (M dwarfs) are among the best targets for atmospheric characterization and biosignature searches in the near future. Recent evolutionary studies have suggested that terrestrial planets in the habitable zone of M dwarfs are probably tidally locked and have limited surface water inventories as a result of their host stars' high early luminosities. Several previous climate simulations of such planets have indicated that their remaining water would be transported to the planet's permanent nightside and become trapped as surface ice, leaving the dayside devoid of water. Here we use a three-dimensional general circulation model with a water cycle and accurate radiative transfer scheme to investigate the surface water evolution on slowly rotating tidally locked terrestrial planets with limited surface water inventories. We show that there is a competition for water trapping between the nightside surface and the substellar tropopause in this type of climate system. Although under some conditions the surface water remains trapped on the nightside as an ice sheet, in other cases liquid water stabilizes in a circular area in the substellar region as a wetland. Planets with 1 bar N2 and atmospheric CO2 levels greater than 0.1 bar retain stable dayside liquid water, even with very small surface water inventories. Our results reveal the diversity of possible climate states on terrestrial-type exoplanets and highlight the importance of surface liquid water detection techniques for future characterization efforts.


In today's era AMBA (advanced microcontroller bus architecture) specifications have gone far beyond the Microcontrollers. In this paper, AMBA (Advanced Microcontroller Bus Architecture) ASB APB (Advanced system bus - Advanced Peripheral Bus) is implemented. The goal of the proposed paper is to synthesis, simulate complex interface between AMBA ASB and APB. The methodology adopted for the proposed paper is Verilog language with finite state machine models designed in ModelSim Version 10.3 and Xilinx-ISE design suite, version 13.4 is used to extract synthesis, design utilization summary and power reports. For the implementation APB Bridge, arbiter and decoder are designed. In AMBA ASB APB module, master gets into contact with APB bus. Arbiter determines master's status and priority and then, starts communicating with the bus. For selecting a bus slave, decoder uses the accurate address lines and an acknowledgement is given back to the bus master by the slave. An RTL view and an extracted design summary of AMBA ASB APB module at system on chip are shown in result section of the paper. Higher design complexities of SoCs architectures introduce the power consumption into picture. The various power components contribute in the power consumptions which are extracted by the power reports. So, power reports generate a better understanding of the power utilization to the designers. These are clocks total power which consumes of 0.66 mW, hierarchy total power which consumes of 1.05 mW, hierarchy total logical power which consumes of 0.30 mW and hierarchy total signal power which consumes of 0.74 mW powers in the proposed design. Graph is also plotted for clear understanding of the breakdown of powers.


Cutting temperature has direct effects on tool wear and tool life, as well as machining accuracy and machining quality. Titanium alloys, however, are generally machined at lower cutting speeds with cemented carbide tools due to its low thermal conductivity and high chemical reactivity with cutting tool materials. This paper deals with cutting temperature in high-speed milling of a near alpha titanium alloy. The measuring principle of cutting temperature by the workpiece-constantan thermocouple method was illustrated and the physical meaning of the electromotive force (EMF) signals was described in the paper. The effects of cutting parameters and wear status on cutting temperature were studied, and the temperature distribution along the cutting edge was investigated.


Nowadays, manufactures are encountered with production of different version of products due to quality, cost and time constraints. On the other hand, Additive Manufacturing (AM) as a production method based on CAD model disrupts the design and manufacturing cycle with new parameters. To consider these issues, the researchers utilized Design For Manufacturing (DFM) approach for AM but until now there is no integrated approach for design and manufacturing of product through the AM. So, this paper aims to provide a general methodology for managing the different production issues, as well as, support the interoperability with AM process and different Product Life Cycle Management tools. The problem is that the models of System Engineering which is used for managing complex systems cannot support the product evolution and its impact on the product life cycle. Therefore, it seems necessary to provide a general methodology for managing the product's diversities which is created by using AM. This methodology must consider manufacture and assembly during product design as early as possible in the design stage. The latest approach of DFM, as a methodology to analyze the system comprehensively, integrates manufacturing constraints in the numerical model in upstream. So, DFM for AM is used to import the characteristics of AM into the design and manufacturing process of a hybrid product to manage the criteria coming from AM. Also, the research presents an integrated design method in order to take into account the knowledge of layers manufacturing technologies. For this purpose, the interface model based on the skin and skeleton concepts is provided, the usage and manufacturing skins are used to show the functional surface of the product. Also, the material flow and link between the skins are demonstrated by usage and manufacturing skeletons. Therefore, this integrated approach is a helpful methodology for designer and manufacturer in different decisions like material and process selection as well as, evaluation of product manufacturability. Keywords—Additive manufacturing, 3D printing, design for manufacturing, integrated design, interoperability.


In applying machine learning to malware identification, different types of features have proven to be successful. These features have also been tested with different kinds of classification methodologies and have had varying degrees of success. Every time a new machine learning methodology is introduced for classifying malware, there is the potential for increasing the overall quality of malware classification in the field. Even new classifiers with the same accuracy as those used previously can be combined using one of a few different ensemble techniques sharpen the classification and raise the accuracy to new heights. For our purposes, we have attempted to create a coalition of classifiers which each use different features. These classifiers when trained, provide multiple angles to the same problem and can be used to test ensemble techniques. Eventually, such an ensemble of individual malware classifiers could create a highly precise means of picking out malware from other software. Specifically, we have created a convolutional neural network which processes byte data as an image, and a deep feed forward neural network which utilizes opcode N-gram features. Both of these classifiers, while not perfect, provide a significant level of classification. They achieve this independently of one another, and when combined, they each contribute enough to improve the final accuracy. The majority of the effort in this research was placed on gathering the N-gram features, a time and resource intensive process. Tinkering with the parameters or structure of classifiers could provide further improvements to the system.


The study addressed the phenomenon according to which even educated adult individuals often confuse sensations received from physical objects (such as colour, sound, taste, weight, temperature) with physical properties of the objects that initiated these sensations. This means that in many cases scientific education fails to achieve its goal, which is to create in an individual the physical-scientific view of the world. To examine this phenomenon four experiments were conducted with the aims to determine to what extent: (1) children of various ages and adults were able (a) to acknowledge the fact that sensations appear due to the work of the human mind or sense organs and are not physical properties of the objects that produce them; (b) to appreciate the difference between the mind and sense organs as contributors to the production of sensations (Exp. 1); (2) various types of training could enhance children's and adults' understanding that sensations do not belong to the physical properties and objects (Exps. 2-4). The results of Experiment 1 conducted with 6- and 9-year-old children and adults did not reveal an age-related increase in the appreciation of the subjective character of sensations. However, 9-year-old children and adults (but not 6-year-old children) showed a diffentiated approach to various types of sensations, attributing pain mainly to the subject and softness-hardness mainly to the objects. Experiment 2 (direct explanation treatment), and Experiment 3 (cognitive conflict treatment) yielded no improvement in 6- and 9-year-old children's appreciation of the subjective character of sensations and only partial improvement in adults. In Experiment 4 (social conflict treatment) adult subjects only were involved; the experiment showed a significant improvement in the subjects' judgements about colour sensations and a marginal improvement in their judgements about weight sensations.


Online Matrix Factorization (OMF) is a fundamental tool for dictionary learning problems, giving an approximate representation of complex data sets in terms of a reduced number of extracted features. Convergence guarantees for most of the OMF algorithms in the literature assume independence between data matrices, and the case of a dependent data stream remains largely unexplored. In this paper, we show that the well-known OMF algorithm for i.i.d. stream of data proposed in \cite{mairal2010online}, in fact converges almost surely to the set of critical points of the expected loss function, even when the data matrices form a Markov chain satisfying a mild mixing condition. Furthermore, we extend the convergence result to the case when we can only approximately solve each step of the optimization problems in the algorithm. For applications, we demonstrate dictionary learning from a sequence of images generated by a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampler. Lastly, by combining online non-negative matrix factorization and a recent MCMC algorithm for sampling motifs from networks, we propose a novel framework of Network Dictionary Learning, which extracts `network dictionary patches' from a given network in an online manner that encodes main features of the network. We demonstrate this technique on real-world text data.


Robotic routers (mobile robots with wireless communication capabilities) can create an adaptive wireless network and provide communication services for mobile users on-demand. Robotic routers are especially appealing for applications in which there is a single mobile user whose connectivity to a base station must be maintained in an environment that is large compared to the wireless range. In this paper, we study the problem of computing motion strategies for robotic routers in such scenarios, as well as the minimum number of robotic routers necessary to enact our motion strategies. Assuming that the routers are as fast as the user, we present an optimal solution for cases where the environment is a simply-connected polygon, a constant factor approximation for cases where the environment has a single obstacle, and an O(h) approximation for cases where the environment has h circular obstacles. The O(h) approximation also holds for cases where the environment has h arbitrary polygonal obstacles, provided they satisfy certain geometric constraints - e.g. when the set of their minimum bounding circles is disjoint.