Methods in-person, semi-non-person presence, modulation techniques with "traditional" and "modern" education system and the integrity of the facility provides for sweeping. In this case, the education system more power to solve the problems ahead and can provide to human obligations legal, human resources and empowerment play their international commitments to action today .. Group believe that the media should countries in the educational system should be of particular importance and the first arguments justify this type of education, based on the fact that the media in everyday life are of special importance. Therefore the task system of education and the schools to teach their students that take advantage of the media. Postmodernism and postmodern space so that if the media is linked to postmodernism media interpreted the rule, we have gone astray a little. Postmodern condition gradually in schools and classrooms wall collapses the boundaries of structural information technology education pre-modern and modern will prevail and for learning new social fields are formed, but despite the major changes the teacher's role in coordinating the learning process does not remove. According to this article as the subject of distance education, media and media features and post-modern education and media in order to affect the advantages and disadvantages of education distance education system are examined. Methods in-person, semi-non-person presence, modulation techniques with "traditional" and "modern" education system and the integrity of the facility provides for sweeping. In this case, the education system more power to solve the problems ahead and can provide to human obligations legal, human resources and empowerment play their international commitments to action today. Group believe that the media should countries in the educational system should be of particular importance and the first arguments justify this type of education, based on the fact that the media in everyday life are of special importance. Therefore the task system of education and the schools to teach their students that take advantage of the media. Postmodernism and postmodern space so that if the media is linked to postmodernism media interpreted the rule, we have gone astray a little. Postmodern condition gradually in schools and classrooms wall collapses the boundaries of structural information technology education pre-modern and modern will prevail and for learning new social fields are formed, but despite the major changes the teacher's role in coordinating the learning process does not remove.


Extending the Warnerian tradition of social class dynamics, this article explores the attainment of secular immortality through affluence. A diverse set of literary media directed to or written about wealthy consumers was interpreted in a hermeneutic fashion to discern the dominant themes composing the ideology of affluence. Among the themes identified were entrepreneurial achievement, the achievement of celebrity status via consumption, and secular achievement in artistry and craftsmanship. The ideology of affluence was found to promote the seeking of personal secular immortality through the cultural celebration of achievement, wealth,and the accumulation of possessions. Copyright 1990 by the University of Chicago.


Research is done into the perception of an ACT treatment in chronic pain patients at the Roessingh Revalidatiecentrum. Initially there is been looked at what situations / learning experiences were mentioned by the patients. A total of 16 interviews, from two chronic pain patients who followed an eight-week (group) Acceptance and commitment therapy, were analyzed and 66 situations were coded. Eleven categories are generated from these situations. These categories are: adequate handling of external stimuli, adequate handling of internal signals, taking rest, letting you know / sharing / asking for help, setting boundaries in interpersonal contacts, live according to what is important to you, be aware of current experience , room for negative feelings and thoughts, balanced physical stress, dealing with difficult situations and hinder by pain. The difference between the occurrences of the categories is not large, but the most common category is room for negative feelings and thoughts. The least mentioned category is taking rest and be aware of the current experience. It was striking that the categories found were identifiable as processes of therapy. Patients called in their own words what was covered in the treatment. Despite the fact that the treatment was based on ACT, other processes seem to play an important role too. The eleven categories that are called are housed in different subjects. These subjects are: ACT processes, pain coping, social skills and general stress coping skills. Act processes are mentioned most often by patients, the difference between certain subjects is not large. The total package, not just ACT, is what the patient seems to get along and tries to apply. The study, by category and person, looked at what situations are more successful and which ones are less successful. Both patients have the most success in the category letting you know sharing/asking for help and being aware of the current experience. The scores of the components setting limits in interpersonal contacts and dealing with difficult situation are close together with the two patients, they succeed more often than they fail. There seems no similarity in the categories that are not well succeeding, in contrast to the similarities in successful cases, these are different in both patients. If you look at the success of the subjects in general, not per patient, we see that the subject social skills is most successful. Most effort may experienced by chronic pain patients in pain coping, followed by ACT. As last the research studied the barriers and facilitators mentioned by the patients whether or not to manage a situation. There are quite a number of factors mentioned by the patients. It is remarkable that pain is not often called as a barrier, despite the patients are suffering from chronic pain. Not being in contact with your body and pleasure are by both patients called
as a limiting factor in the skill(taking rest by one patient and adequate handling of internal signals in the other) that is been applied least successful. Most important in this research is that although the patients say they have learned the same, the learning process of each patient is different.


Field and laboratory research has repeatedly shown that free-living soil nematodes differ in their sensitivity to soil pollution. In this paper, we analyze whether nematode genera proved sensitive or tolerant toward heavy metals and organic pollutants in six long-term field experiments. We discuss overlaps between nematode physiological responses to heavy metals and to organic pollutants, which may explain why nematodes can exhibit co-tolerance toward several contaminants. We propose a simple method for separating direct effects of soil contamination on nematode populations from indirect effects mediated through the food chain. Finally, we analyze the extent to which nematodes exhibited consistent responses across the experiments analyzed. Our results show that (a) indirect effects of pollution were generally strong; (b) fewer nematode genera were tolerant than sensitive; (c) many genera, including practically all Adenophorea, exhibited a common response pattern to contaminants; and (d) several genera of the Secernentea exhibited differential tolerance toward particular pollutants. We conclude that bioindication of soil contamination should preferentially be based on tolerant, and less on sensitive, nematodes. We provide a list of nematode genera that may potentially serve as differential bioindicators for specific soil contaminants.


The merger of a binary of neutron stars provides natural explanations for many of the features of short gamma-ray bursts (SGRBs), such as the generation of a hot torus orbiting a rapidly rotating black hole, which can then build a magnetic jet and provide the energy reservoir to launch a relativistic outflow. However, this scenario has problems explaining the recently discovered long-term and sustained X-ray emission associated with the afterglows of a subclass of SGRBs. We propose a new model that explains how an X-ray afterglow can be sustained by the product of the merger and how the X-ray emission is produced before the corresponding emission in the gamma-band, though it is observed to follow it. Overall, our paradigm combines in a novel manner a number of well-established features of the emission in SGRBs and results from simulations. Because it involves the propagation of an ultra-relativistic outflow and its interaction with a confining medium, the paradigm also highlights a unifying phenomenology between short and long GRBs.


The piezoelectric effect is extensively encountered in nature and many synthetic materials. Piezoelectric materials are capable of transforming mechanical strain and vibration energy into electrical energy. This property allows opportunities for implementing renewable and sustainable energy through power harvesting and self-sustained smart sensing in buildings. As the most common construction material, plain cement paste lacks satisfactory piezoelectricity and is not efficient at harvesting the electrical energy from the ambient vibrations of a building system. In recent years, many techniques have been proposed and applied to improve the piezoelectric capacity of cement-based composite, namely admixture incorporation and physical. The successful application of piezoelectric materials for sustainable building development not only relies on understanding the mechanism of the piezoelectric properties of various building components, but also the latest developments and implementations in the building industry. Therefore, this review systematically illustrates research efforts to develop new construction materials with high piezoelectricity and energy storage capacity. In addition, this article discusses the latest techniques for utilizing the piezoelectric materials in energy harvesters, sensors and actuators for various building systems. With advanced methods for improving the cementations piezoelectricity and applying the material piezoelectricity for different building functions, more renewable and sustainable building systems are anticipated.


An open radial fracture in an adult horse (450 kg) was repaired by internal fixation, using two 18-hole 4.5-mm broad dynamic compression plates and 5.5- and 4.5-mm bone screws. The fracture healed completely, but when evaluated 9 months after surgery, the horse was lame on the fractured limb at a trot. Local infiltration of anesthesia along the distal half of the bone plates greatly ameliorated the lameness, suggesting that the plates were irritating the soft tissues and extensor tendons along the cranial and lateral aspects of the antebrachium. Both bone plates were removed simultaneously with no complications, and the horse became sound.


Background: Obesity has become global pandemic problem in the world as WHO said that it is the largest chronic health problems in adults. Riskesdas 2007 shown that national obesity prevalence in adult based on BMI in 15 years age groups were 10.3%. The aim of this study was to determine risk factors of obesity on CHD i. e socio demography, behavior risk factors and blood test results. Methods: Cross sectional design with a deep analysis on the data evaluation subset of "Risk Factors Cohort Study of Non Communicable Diseases" research in Kebon Kalapa village, Bogor. The samples took were 1079 respondents CHD patients with obesity. CHD patients were determined based on ECG examination in 2013 and had obesity (BMI > 25 cm and hip ratio > 80 cm on women, and > 90 cm on men). Analysis Chi-square test and logistic regression. Results: The research shows that hypertension gives 1.8 of risk compared to obese CHD respondents with no hypertension with 95% of CI 1.31–2.53; LDL gives 1.6 of risk compared to respondents with no risk LDL in obese CHD group with 95% CI 1,18–2,32; HDL give 1.66 higher risk to respondents with risky HDL in obese CHD group with 95% CI 1,23–2,23 while Triglycerides gives 1.5 risk to obese CHD respondents with 95% CI 1,07–2,22. Conclusion: People of old ages, females, divorced, housewifes, well educated and high socioeconomic status would have CHD risk. Suggestion: Required further study of obese CHD on the quality of the food intake, especially in fat of the oil used for frying in order to know more detail the types of saturated fatty acids that affect the deterioration of the blood lipid profile.


Succinct representation of complex signals using coordinate-based neural representations (CNRs) has seen great progress, and several recent efforts focus on extending them for handling videos. Here, the main challenge is how to (a) alleviate a compute-inefficiency in training CNRs to (b) achieve high-quality video encoding while (c) maintaining the parameter-efficiency. To meet all requirements (a), (b), and (c) simultaneously, we propose neural video representations with learnable positional features (NVP), a novel CNR by introducing"learnable positional features"that effectively amortize a video as latent codes. Specifically, we first present a CNR architecture based on designing 2D latent keyframes to learn the common video contents across each spatio-temporal axis, which dramatically improves all of those three requirements. Then, we propose to utilize existing powerful image and video codecs as a compute-/memory-efficient compression procedure of latent codes. We demonstrate the superiority of NVP on the popular UVG benchmark; compared with prior arts, NVP not only trains 2 times faster (less than 5 minutes) but also exceeds their encoding quality as 34.07$\rightarrow$34.57 (measured with the PSNR metric), even using $>$8 times fewer parameters. We also show intriguing properties of NVP, e.g., video inpainting, video frame interpolation, etc.


Theory predicts that a predator can promote coexistence among competing prey, and so enhance prey diversity (the keystone predation effect), by fostering dominance of slow-growing, consumption-resistant prey. In contrast, if the predator promotes dominance by fast-growing vulnerable prey, theory predicts that the predator is unlikely to promote prey diversity. Theory is silent about keystone predation effects when the predator does not cause a net change in the vulnerability of the prey assemblage. I present experimental evidence that Daphnia can act as a keystone predator without causing a net change in the grazing resistance of the phytoplankton assemblage. No change in resistance was observed, despite strong Daphnia effects on the species composition of the phytoplankton.


Scan-based test has been the industrial standard method for screening manufacturing defects. Scan chains are vulnerable to most manufacturing defects and process variations. Therefore, chain failures diagnosis is critical for successful yield learning. However, traditional chain diagnosis requires failing masking patterns to identify faulty chains and their fault types for designs with test compression. In other words, it cannot diagnose the chain failures which don't fail the masking chain patterns. Unfortunately, advanced FinFET technologies with more manufacturing challenges and higher process variations may result in more subtle chain timing failures which can't be detected by chain masking patterns. In this work, we present a new debugging methodology, which combines chain diagnosis and tester-based test to effectively diagnose such intermittent chain failures. The proposed methodology is validated on silicon data for one modern large SOC design and successfully identified all scan cells with hold-time issues, which were validated by STA with corrected models. The subsequent mask fixes for these identified hold-time violations resolved this yield issue and dramatically improve the yield.


Prior research has shown that free walking can enhance creative thinking. Nevertheless, it remains unclear whether bidirectional body-mind links are essential for the positive effect of free walking on creative thinking. Moreover, it is unknown whether the positive effect can be generalized to older adults. In Experiment 1, we replicated previous findings with two additional groups of young participants. Participants in the rectangular-walking condition walked along a rectangular path while generating unusual uses for chopsticks. Participants in the free-walking group walked freely as they wished, and participants in the free-generation condition generated unconstrained free paths while the participants in the random-experienced condition walked those paths. Only the free-walking group showed better performance in fluency, flexibility, and originality. In Experiment 2, two groups of older adults were randomly assigned to the free-walking and rectangular-walking conditions. The free-walking group showed better performance than the rectangular-walking group. Moreover, older adults in the free-walking group outperformed young adults in the rectangular-walking group in originality and performed comparably in fluency and flexibility. Bidirectional links between proprioceptive-motor kinematics and metaphorical abstract concepts can enhance divergent thinking for both young and older adults.


What would you do if you were unable to pay your rent and you were threatened with home-eviction? Would you ask you family or close friends for help, or would you prefer the professional help of a social worker? Or maybe both? What kind of support can family, friends, neighbors, offer in a situation like this? This thesis tries to answer these questions. The research project focused on vulnerable people who were threatened with home-eviction. A Family Group Conference (FGC) was offered to them by social workers. An FGC is a meeting with a person and his/her social network, during which they make their own plan. Professionals merely give information but are not present during the decision-making process and they carry out their part of the plan as presented by the person and the social network. The experiences with nearly evicted persons were compared to FGC experiences with two other target groups. This way, conditions were identified for a successful implementation of the FGC method with people facing home-eviction.


A method for non-linear dynamic analysis of wall masonry structures is presented. The method takes advantage of a Generalized Matrix Formulation (GMF) for the serviceability and ultimate analysis of structures composed of arches and/or masonry walls, in which open and solid walls are described as equivalent frame systems. This formulation has been complemented with a cyclic constitutive model and an algorithm for the integration of the equation of motion, resulting in a numerically efficient method for non-linear analysis in time domain of complex masonry systems.


Robust vertex fitting algorithms are expected to improve the knowledge of the vertex position and of its uncertainty in the presence of mismeasured or misassociated tracks. Such contaminations are likely to happen in real data as well as in realistic detector simulations. This paper describes a simulation study of the sensitivity of two types of robust algorithms: a trimmed least squares estimator and an adaptive estimator. The statistical properties of the algorithms are studied as a function of the source and the level of contamination, and compared to the results obtained with classical least squares estimators. Two typical event topologies are studied: one resembling a high multiplicity primary vertex with a possible contamination from a nearby vertex and one resembling a low multiplicity secondary vertex in a jet.


Few composers have been such revealing letter writers as Francis Poulenc. From his early youth until his death in 1963 he maintained a lively correspondence with a wide circle of friends, writing - as he spoke - with a compelling need to confide and to share. This colleciton of letters to and from Poulenc brings new understanding of Poulenc's creative processes and of Poulenc the man, the quality of his friendships, his wit and humour, and the nature of the depressions to which he fell prey in his later years. 350 letters are included, most published in English for the first time; and over 100 have never appeared even in French. These contain moving interchanges between Poulenc and the baritone Pierre Bernac, letters which reveal the true extent of Poulenc's reliance on Bernac not only for advice on matters of composition but also for support and counsel during times of emotional turmoil. Other fascinating, newly-discovered items include Poulenc's early communications with Diaghilev, illustrated letters from Cocteau, Stravinsky's last postcard to Poulenc, a eulogy from Edward Sackville-West on "The Carmelites" at Covent Garden, a plea from Rostropovitch for a cello sonata, several letters to Benjamin Britten, and touching exchanges with Manuel de Falla and Paul Eluard. Supplemented by Sidney Buckland's notes, the letters provide an insight not only into Poulenc's life and work, but also into the brilliant world of music, art and literature in France in the first half of this century.


The aim of this study was to perform optimization of floating microspheres of diltiazem hydrochloride for the prolongation of gastric residence time. The microspheres were prepared by a nonaqueous solvent evaporation method using polycarbonate. A full factorial design was applied to optimize the formulation. Preliminary studies revealed that the concentration of polymer and stirring speed significantly affected the characteristics of floating microspheres.The optimum batch of microsphere exhibited smooth surfaces with good flow and packing properties, prolonged sustained drug release, remained buoyant for more than 10 h, high entrapment efficiency up to 97% w/w. Scanning electron microscopy confirmed the hollow structure with particle size in the order of 190 μm. The studies revealed that the increase in concentration of polycarbonate increased the drug release from the floating microspheres.The results of two third full factorial design revealed that the concentration of polycarbonate (X1) and stirring speed (X2) significantly affected drug entrapment efficiency, percentage release. Key words: Diltiazem hydrochloride, factorial design, floating microspheres, polycarbonate


Wildland fire behavior research has largely focused on the steady-state interactions between fuels and heat fluxes. Contemporary research is revealing new questions outside the bounds of this simplified approach. Here, we explore the complex interactions taking place beyond steady-state assumptions through acknowledging the manufactured separation of research disciplines in fire science and the dynamic interactions that unfold when these separations are removed. Through a series of examples spanning at least four research disciplines and three ranges of spatial scale, we illustrate that by precisely defining parameters in a way that holds across scales and relaxing one steady-state simplification, we begin to capture the inherent variability that has largely eluded the fire behavior community. Through exploring examples of "deep interdependence," we make the case that fire behavior science is well equipped to launch forward into more complex lines of inquiry.


French legislation requires the control of private on-site sanitation systems by local authorities. This will result in a large increase of the quantity of sludge from septic tanks to be treated. Nevertheless, large wastewater treatment plants are not systematically able to treat this sludge because they may have reached their nominal load or they are not so numerous in rural zone to avoid too long transportation. The study concerns both the feasibility of sludge reed beds devoted to the treatment of septage and the assessment of a simultaneous treatment with aerated sludge. The experiments have been carried out on eight pilot-scale drying reed beds (2 m(2)) planted with Phragmites australis. Two filtration layers of either vegetal compost or sand were tested. The study is focused on the commissioning period (first vegetative year) with a loading rate of 30 kg SS m(-2) yr(-1). According to these operational conditions, dewatering efficiencies reached approx. 30% DM during summer but less than 20% DM in winter for each filtration layer and sludge. High removal efficiencies, with an average of 96%, 92% and 89% for SS, COD and TKN respectively, were achieved with septage whereas they were lower for the mixture of aerated sludge and septage. The dewaterability of septage and its filtration behaviour were assessed by several parameters (Capillary Suction Time, bound water) which may be some interesting tools for an optimised loading strategy.


Property valuation is a process of estimating value of an immovable property. The legal, geometric, physical and environmental characteristics of the immovable property together with the economic indicators are taken into consideration during this process. Traditional cadastral systems only provide two-dimensional (2D) legal and geometric information about property units. However, today's complex valuation practices (e.g. computer aided mass appraisal) would benefit significantly from three dimensional (3D) information on not only property units but also their physical counterparts (e.g. buildings, building parts). Moreover, 2D and 3D environmental information is needed for determining environmental conditions about immovable properties to better estimate the values of them. A collaborative research initiative has proposed an international valuation information model that extends the LADM for specifying semantics of valuation registries maintained by public authorities. The current version of the LADM Valuation Information Model, however, does not include detailed specification for the environmental characteristics of immovable properties (e.g. presence of views, level of visibility and distance to amenities) which can be derived with 2D and 3D geospatial analyses by means of various data sources. The purpose of this paper is to examine which geospatial analyses, especially 3D analyses, can be used to provide information about immovable properties including environmental and locational characteristics for property valuation activities. Furthermore, it is investigated that how property valuation can benefit from data sources including semantically rich 3D building, city and cadastral models for deriving environmental and locational characteristics of property units. To achieve these objectives, the data sources and geospatial analyses are initially investigated in the context of property valuation. Then, the paper focuses more on viewshed analysis. By using open topography, building and height datasets of the Netherlands and 3D GIS analysis, a viewshed analysis is presented to show how it can be utilized using different data sources for better understanding and explanation of values of the properties. The paper is concluded with a discussion to what extent it is possible and meaningful to include (derived) environmental characteristics of properties in the LADM Valuation Information Model.


The relationship between chemical structure and estrogenic activity in a series of terpenoid esters with aromatic and aliphatic acid substituents isolated from Ferula plants, was studied. The fragments of the terpenoid structure that are potentially responsible for estrogenic activity were revealed. A quantitative structure-estrogenic activity study has been carried out using the QSAR approach with use of data derived from quantum-chemical calculations as well as data generated from three-dimensional structures of terpenoids. A number of molecular descriptors was obtained from the density functional theory (DFT) at the B3LYP/6-31G(d, p) level of calculation. Comparative analysis of the quantum-chemical computational data was also performed to confirm hypothesis concerning importance of the distance between the oxygen of alcohol hydroxyl group and the functional group in the para-position of the benzene ring (the hydroxyl or methoxy group). Use of the Genetic Algorithm in the QSAR analysis allowed the structural and physicochemical parameters of the terpenoids responsible for estrogenic activity to be determined. A significant QSAR model was obtained with an r 2 value of 0.892. The resulting model showed a reliable dependence of estrogenic activity of the terpenoids on such parameters as molecular shape, number of phenolic groups, surface polarity and the energy of the highest occupied molecular orbital.


An 88-year-old man was transfered to our hospital due to loss of consciousness. Intravenous dopaminewas initiated for a shock status and endotracheal intubation was performed. Computed tomographywith contrast medium showed Stanford type A acute aortic dissection complicating cardiac tamponade.Because cardiac drainage was not effective, we performed an emergent operation. Intrapericardial cavitywas filled with clotted blood. Prosthetic graft replacement of ascending aorta was performed successfullyunder deep hypothermic circulatory arrest. His clinical course was uneventful and he was dischargedon foot without any neurologic deficits.


With the arrival of the era of the creative economy, the "creative community", a joint product of the regional/community revival movement and the localization of cultural and creative industries, has become a new goal of sustainable urban development. Creative communities can be government-oriented (top-down), or they can involve a sequence of autogenic developments (bottom-up) depending on the initial motivating force behind their formation. This paper provides a case study of the government-oriented Foshan 39° Space Art Creative Community (hereinafter, the 39° Community), though questionnaires, interviews, field observations, and other methods, to obtain a better understanding of how government-oriented creative communities formed. The paper discusses the mechanisms driving such communities in Chinese cities by constructing a driving mechanism model. The results show that policy decisions, under a special policy and industrial background jointly provided by the Foshan municipal government and the Nanhai District government together, is the initial impetus for the emergence of the 39° Community. The community has a concise and flexible organizational structure, creative community members, reasonable community function partitioning, a vibrant and innovative environment, and a variety of creative elements. Finally, the key to the sustainable development of the government-oriented creative community lies in the combined effect of endogenous and exogenous motivations that include a strong support from the local government, market demand, a favorable location, high-quality community services, and creative spirit. High-quality community service is a critical factor in the interaction between exogenous forces and endogenous factors because it can create bridges among governments, enterprises, employees, and the community.


Acoustic transmission-line vocal tract models are used to study formant frequencies, bandwidths and amplitudes of hyperbaric heliox speech versus those of speech in air at 1 ATA. The models account for energy losses due to glottal impedance, lip/nostrils radiation, wall vibration, viscous friction and thermal conduction. New wall impedance values are presented, matching measurements of the closed tract resonance. On basis of, a uniform tube model, an extended version of the classic Fant-Lindquist formula [1] describing formant frequency shift is developed, and formulas for bandwidth and amplitude shifts are given. A multitube vocal tract model is applied for analysis of the effects of nonuniform vocal tract cross-sectional area on the formant shift.


ABSTRACT Mammalian telomeres are protected by the shelterin complex, which contains single-stranded telomeric DNA binding proteins (POT1a and POT1b in rodents, POT1 in other mammals). Mouse POT1a prevents the activation of the ATR kinase and contributes to the repression of the nonhomologous end-joining pathway (NHEJ) at newly replicated telomeres. POT1b represses unscheduled resection of the 5′-ended telomeric DNA strand, resulting in long 3′ overhangs in POT1b KO cells. Both POT1 proteins bind TPP1, forming heterodimers that bind to other proteins in shelterin. Short hairpin RNA (shRNA)-mediated depletion had previously demonstrated that TPP1 contributes to the normal function of POT1a and POT1b. However, these experiments did not establish whether TPP1 has additional functions in shelterin. Here we report on the phenotypes of the conditional deletion of TPP1 from mouse embryo fibroblasts. TPP1 deletion resulted in the release of POT1a and POT1b from chromatin and loss of these proteins from telomeres, indicating that TPP1 is required for the telomere association of POT1a and POT1b but not for their stability. The telomere dysfunction phenotypes associated with deletion of TPP1 were identical to those of POT1a/POT1b DKO cells. No additional telomere dysfunction phenotypes were observed, establishing that the main role of TPP1 is to allow POT1a and POT1b to protect chromosome ends.


Using a dynamic augmented Solow model, I estimate the effect of students' schooling attainment, schooling expenditures, and students' test scores on growth rates over the period 1985-2005. I also estimate the effect of related measures for human capital stocks on national income in a static model in 2005. Individually all of the measures cause growth, and when included in the same model, more than one is statistically significant. Relative measurement error appears to determine which measure provides the best results. The results support the importance of increases in human capital for growth and the validity of the augmented Solow model.


Objectives: This qualitative study aimed to understand the experiences, information and support needs of family members of cancer patients and their satisfaction with the services provided to them as a family member. Design: Inductive qualitative and critical realist approach to data collection and analysis. Methods: Purposive sampling was used to identify family members of cancer patients. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 10 participants by means of email, enabling us to explore sensitive topics at a pace appropriate for each participant and gain rich sources of information. We analysed the data using an inductive thematic approach. Results: Three superordinate themes were identified: information acquisition, seeking support and family members' experiences of cancer. Needs were high, and a complex relationship between information and support was apparent. Many participants felt dissatisfied with the support and information received as it was sometimes inconsistent, incorrect or vague, and some reported deterioration in their own health as a consequence. Online communities were reported as being informative and supportive as the participants felt they could relate to the firsthand experience of the other members. Conclusion: Improving healthcare professionals' awareness of the type of information and support the family members need is vital for both family members and patients. There is a need for the development of educational and psychological interventions to assist family members in coping when a loved one is diagnosed with cancer, is undergoing or recovering from treatment, or is receiving palliative care.


: Behavioural and cognitive therapeutic strategies follow a multidimensional pathogenetic model of depression. The different approaches are more successful when well planned and depend on the combination of various techniques. Their rationale is based on the common approach that the patient must be convinced that he is able to control his cognition, behaviour and, also, his depression. By training in skills he should be in the position of improving the quality of life and behavioural reactions thereby avoiding sinking into depression. Behavioural and cognitive methods are useful in increasing compliance with medical prescriptions; sometimes they prevent the premature termination of biological treatment when compliance is especially poor. Through cognitive-behavioural approaches the discussion on nosology and course of depression is enlarged. An episodic course of depression is usually characterized by an underlying anxiety state and loss of reinforcers; attention to these factors may lead to new therapeutic strategies.


The dynamics of the exciton generated by photoexcitation of a regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) polymer dispersed in a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) matrix was examined using electro-photoluminescence (E-PL) spectroscopy, where electric field effects on the photoluminescence (PL) spectra were measured. The quadratic electric-field effect was investigated using the modulation technique, with field-induced changes in the PL intensity monitored at the second harmonic of the modulation frequency of the applied electric field. Absorption and PL spectra indicated the formation of both ordered crystalline aggregates and amorphous regions of P3HT polymer chains. Although previous studies of electric field effects on π-conjugated polymers have generally shown that the PL intensity is decreased by electric fields, we report that the PL intensity of P3HT and PL lifetime increased with the quadratic electric-field effect. The magnitude of the change in PL intensity was quantitatively explained in terms of the field-induced decrease in the nonradiative decay rate constants of the exciton. We proposed that a delayed PL, originating from charge carrier recombination, was enhanced in the presence of electric fields. The rate constant of the downhill relaxation process of the exciton, which originated from the relaxation in distributed energy levels due to an inherent energetic disorder in P3HT aggregates, was implied to decrease in the presence of electric fields. The radiative decay rate constant and PL quantum yield of P3HT dissolved in solution, which were evaluated from the molar extinction coefficient and the PL lifetime, were compared with those of P3HT dispersed in a PMMA matrix.


Summary 1898 marked a crucial point in the end of the nineteenth-century Spanish crisis. The military defeat ending the Spanish-American War was seen as proof that the country was in terminal decline. With the ideals of regeneration spreading throughout Spanish society, the State became more interested in supporting and sponsoring science and technology, as well as in creating a modern educational system. The resulting reforms reflected this strong interest in scientific education, and consequently, the first decades of the twentieth century saw a turning point in the development of science and technology in Spain. Some recent papers have discussed various initiatives taken by Spanish governments, particularly in the creation of new official institutions. Such institutions played an important role in the development of science and technology, but their activity in the promotion of scientific education was very limited. However, other governmental initiatives were taken in order to develop this area, particularly focusing on the acquisition of scientific instruments. Scientific instruments were needed not only to improve Spanish scientific research but also to improve the teaching of experimental sciences. These instruments were specifically adapted for use by students. This paper aims to present some of the lesser-known individuals and firms who, in the new social and cultural context, provided scientific instruments for educational centres in order to meet the increasing demand for this material in Spanish educational institutions during these years.


In this paper, we have proposed a novel feature-based fragile watermarking scheme for image authentication. The proposed technique extracts Feature Points (FP) by performing the Harris corner detector and used them as germs to decomposes the host image in segments using Voronoi Diagram (VD). The authentication of each segment is guaranteed by using the Cyclic Redundancy Check code (CRC). Then, the CRC encoding procedure is applied to each segment to generate the watermark. Voronoi decomposition is employed because it has a good retrieval performance compared to similar geometrical decomposition algorithms. The security aspect of our proposed method is achieved by using the public key crypto-system RSA (Rivest–Shamir–Adleman) to encrypt the FP. Experimental results demonstrate the efficiency of our approach in terms of imperceptibility, the capability of detection of alterations, the capacity of embedding, and computation time. We have also prove the impact of VD decomposition on the quality of the watermarked image compared to block decomposition. The proposed method can be applicable in the case where the tamper detection is critical and only some regions of interest must be re-transmitted if they are corrupted, like in the case of medical images. An example of the application of our approach to medical image is briefly presented.


For the last 30 years, Wasmannia auropunctata (the little fire ant) has spread throughout the Pacific and represents a severe threat to fragile island habitats. This invader has often been described as a disturbance specialist. Here we present data on its spread in a dense native rainforest in New Caledonia. We monitored by pitfall trapping the litter ant fauna along an invasive gradient from the edge to the inner forest in July 1999 and March 2000. When W. auropunctata was present, the abundance and richness of native ants drops dramatically. In invaded plots, W. auropunctata represented more than 92% of all trapped ant fauna. Among the 23 native species described, only four cryptic species survived. Wasmannia auropunctata appears to be a highly competitive ant that dominates the litter by eliminating native ants. Mechanisms involved in this invasive success may include predation as well as competitive interactions (exploitation and interference). The invasive success of W. auropunctata is similar to that of other tramp ants and reinforces the idea of common evolutionary traits leading to higher competitiveness in a new environment.


In situ covalent synthesis followed by solution crystallization of the n-type semiconducting polymer derived from perylenediimide-bridged silsesquioxanes (PDIB-SSQ) yielded 1D-nanoarrays of 40–100 nm widths and up to 80 μm lengths. Morphologies and dimensions of nanostructures resulting from different base concentrations were characterized by SEM, fluorescence optical microscopy, SAXS, elemental analysis, MALDI-TOF-MS, and absorption and fluorescence spectroscopies. As revealed by SAXS, the nanostructures are composed of crystalline unit cells with cell parameters of d[001] = 24.8 A and d[100] = 10.3 with multiple π–π stacking distances ranging from 4.71 to 2.57 A. The ordering in polymer nanoarrays is favoured by the π–π interactions between the cofacially arranged PDI cores, resulting closely packed polymer arrays with the d-spacing ranging from 3.67 A to 3.24 A. The spectroscopic traces of nanoarrays in solution resembled that of the monomer except the slightly red shifted features of the emission spectrum associated with π–π stacking of polymer chains in aggregated form. Thin film emission spectra followed the similar spectral pattern with a noticeable shoulder corresponds to cofacial π–π interactions. The excited state lifetimes of aggregated polymer nanoarrays in both solution and solid phase were nearly identical. The electrical characterization of thin films made from polymer nanoarrays shows typical semiconducting behaviour with the electrical conductivity of 0.48 × 10−3 S cm−1. The covalent synthesis followed by solution-based crystallization of PDIB-SSQ reported herein provides a new synthesis path to make ordered-crystalline semiconducting polymer nanoarrays and ultimately a benefit for better understanding of their role in organic electronics.


We develop a theory for the electronic excitations in UPt 3 which is based on the localization of two of the 5f electrons. The remaining f electron is delocalized and acquires a large effective mass by inducing intra-atomic excitations of the localized ones. The measured deHaas-vanAlphen frequencies of the heavy quasiparticles are explained as well as their anisotropic heavy mass. A model calculation for a small cluster reveals why only the largest of the different 5f hopping matrix elements is operative causing the electrons in other orbitals to localize.


Although it is now apparent that the intracellular pH may rise considerably above neutrality under physiological conditions, information on the effect of alkaline pH on microtubule assembly and disassembly is still quite fragmentay. We have studied the assembly/disassembly of bovine brain microtubule protein at alkaline pH in vitro. When microtubules are assembled to a new steady state at pH less than 7 and pH is then made more alkaline, they undergo a rapid disassembly to a new steady state. This disassembly is reversed by acidification. The degree of disassembly is determined largely by the pH- dependence of the critical concentration, which increases five to eight times, from pH 7 to 8. A fraction of assembly-incompetent tubulin is identified that increases with pH, but its incompetency is largely reversed with acidification. Measurements of microtubule lengths are used to indicate that disassembly occurs by uniform shortening of microtubules. A comparison of shortening by alkalinization with dilution suggests that the intrinsic rate of disassembly is accelerated by increasing pH. The capacity for initiating assembly is progressively lost with incubation at alkaline pH (although some protection is afforded by sulfhydryl-reducing agents). However, direct assembly from depolymerized mixtures is possible at least up to pH 8.3, and the steady state achieved at these alkaline pH values is stable. Such preparations are readily disassembled by cold and podophyllotoxin (PLN). Disassembly induced by PLN is also markedly enhanced at alkaline pH, suggesting a corresponding enhancement of "treadmilling." The implications of physiological events leading to alkaline shifts of pH for microtubule assembly/disassembly are discussed, particularly in the light of recent hypotheses regarding treadmilling and its role in controlling the distribution of microtubules in vivo.


Summary: A system was developed for the formation of ethylene in vitro by an extract of Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola PK2. The ethylene-forming activity of a cell-free extract of this bacterium measured in a system reported previously was almost completely lost when the cell-free extract was dialysed against potassium phosphate buffer for 24 h at 4 °C. When the fraction of cell-free extract with a molecular mass < 10 kDa (SupI) was added back to the enzyme fraction after gel filtration of the cell-free extract, the enzymic activity increased to about four times that of the gel-filtered crude enzyme. The action of SupI could be reproduced by the addition of l-arginine. The complete system for the formation of ethylene under aerobic conditions in vitro required 0·25 mm-2-oxoglutarate, 0·2 mm-FeSO4, 2 mm-DTT, 10 mm-l-histidine and 0·2 mm-l-arginine. The cofactor specificity was examined by replacing l-arginine or l-histidine with various analogues, but none of them were effective. The components of this system, with the exception of l-histidine, were similar to those of a system derived from the ethylene-producing, plant pathogenic fungus Penicillium digitatum which also produced ethylene in vitro in a reaction dependent on 2-oxoglutarate. The intermediates in the ethylene-forming reaction are postulated and the roles of l-arginine and l-histidine in the formation of ethylene by Ps. syringae are discussed.


The objective of this investigation was to evaluate two methods for measuring the maximum sublimation rate that a freeze-dryer will support—the minimum controllable pressure method and the choke point method. Both methods gave equivalent results, but the minimum controllable pressure method is preferred, since it is easier, faster, and less subjective. The ratio of chamber pressure to condenser pressure corresponding to the onset of choked flow was considerably higher in this investigation (up to about 20:1) than in previously published reports. This ratio was not affected by the location of the pressure gauge on the condenser; that is, on the foreline of the vacuum pump versus on the body of the condenser itself. The total water loss due to sublimation as measured by tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy was consistently within 5% of gravimetrically determined weight loss, regardless of whether the measurement took place during choked versus non-choked process conditions.


This publication presents comprehensive statistics on aid flows in support of water supply and sanitation for the years 2001-2006, including trends in donors' aid and the degree of targeting of countries most in need. Individual donor profiles provide summary statistics in the form of charts and tables, and descriptions of donors' development co-operation policies in the water sector. The publication also records the relevant aid activities reported by DAC members and multilateral institutions to the CRS Aid Activity database (Creditor Reporting System). The information is based on individual commitments and disbursements of Official Development Assistance (ODA) to water supply and sanitation.

This edition is the product of collaboration between the Secretariat of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) and the World Water Council (WWC).

This title belongs to OECD Report Series .

ISBN: 9781780406107 (eBook)

ISBN: 9781843392361 (Print)


Samples for studying the ciliate communities of the open Baltic Sea were taken on 2 transects from the Kattegat to the entrance of the Gulf of Finland during 1988 and 1990. The abun- dance of HCIL (heterotrophic ciliates) was highest close to the surface, the maximum values ranging from ca. 7000 (entrance of the Gulf of Finland in 1988) to ca. 20 000 cells l -1 (Arkona Basin in 1990). The dominating HCIL groups were small strobilidiids, strombidiids, or prostomatiids. The photo- autotrophic ciliate Mesodinium rubrum was most abundant in the surface water of Arkona Basin in 1990 (ca. 26 000 cells l -1 ) but was also found at a high concentration in deeper layers during both cruises in daytime (down to 80 m in 1988). Large ciliates dwelling in the oxic/anoxic boundary layer at ca. 100 m depth were found in both years, the highest numbers being ca. 1000 cells l -1 (1988). HCIL community grazing was estimated by using a biovolume-dependent, mostly experimentally derived exponential function. We estimated that in 1988 the ciliate community cleared close to 50% of the water volume per day, whereas in 1990 the highest values reached up to 125% cleared d -1 . In both years, small (≤ 30 µm ESD) ciliates dominated the communities and were also responsible for most of the estimated grazing. Three distinct ciliate associations were revealed from the data of both years by correlation analysis. A deep-water association characterized by large ciliates was found at the oxic/anoxic water interface at the 2 deepest stations, Bornholm and Gotland Basins, in both years, whereas the other associations found were found closer to the surface. Some of these groups may rep- resent true feeding guilds bound together by utilization of same resources, while others could be united by abiotic factors or internal dynamics (e.g. predator-prey relationships) of the association.


Situs inversus, a very rare congenital
anomaly of reversal site of thoracic and abdominal organs, can be very
problematic to surgeon while dealing with a case of trauma in emergency.
Surgical procedures are considered difficult, complex and more challenging in
patients with this condition due to the anatomical difference and position of
organs. We came across an interesting and very rare case of isolated blunt
traumatic diaphragmatic injury in a case of situs inversus. Traumatic injuries
of the diaphragm are uncommon and isolated blunt traumatic injuries of
diaphragm are very rare. Our case is very unique of its kind of situs inversus
with isolated right sided diaphragmatic rupture in a 60-year-old male patient
presenting 4 hours after blunt trauma to chest and abdomen.


The field of ophthalmic imaging has grown substantially over the last years. Massive improvements in image processing and computer hardware have allowed the emergence of multiple imaging techniques of the eye that can transform patient care. The purpose of this review is to describe the most recent advances in eye imaging and explain how new technologies and imaging methods can be utilized in a clinical setting. The introduction of optical coherence tomography (OCT) was a revolution in eye imaging and has since become the standard of care for a plethora of conditions. Its most recent iterations, OCT angiography, and visible light OCT, as well as imaging modalities, such as fluorescent lifetime imaging ophthalmoscopy, would allow a more thorough evaluation of patients and provide additional information on disease processes. Toward that goal, the application of adaptive optics (AO) and full-field scanning to a variety of eye imaging techniques has further allowed the histologic study of single cells in the retina and anterior segment. Toward the goal of remote eye care and more accessible eye imaging, methods such as handheld OCT devices and imaging through smartphones, have emerged. Finally, incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) in eye images has the potential to become a new milestone for eye imaging while also contributing in social aspects of eye care.


We propose a novel scheme for designing fiber-optic parametric amplifiers whose operation does not depend on the input signal polarization. In our scheme, four-wave mixing takes place inside a birefringent fiber pumped at 45deg from a principal axis. We show numerically that output power varies by <0.1 dB for arbitrary states of input polarization under practical conditions


Objectives: The objective of this study is to study the role of urinary vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (uVCAM-1) as a marker for disease activity in lupus nephritis (LN). Methodology: This was a diagnostic study where patients with active LN were taken as cases and those without LN were taken as disease controls. uVCAM-1 was correlated with the classes of LN and standard of care markers. Results: There was a significant difference between the uVCAM-1 values in cases (59.69 [range: 0.07–13752.5]) pg/mg and controls (2.11 [range − 0.11 − 1138.5] pg/mg [P = 0.02]). Maximum levels of VCAM 1 were seen in Class 4 and Class 5 LN (P = 0.96). Although higher renal systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity index score had a higher median value of uVCAM 1, the values were not statistically significant (P = 0.2). There is a positive correlation between the uVCAM1 and anti-double-stranded DNA (anti-dsDNA) levels (r = 0.38) and a negative correlation between VCAM 1 levels and C3 (r = −0.19).The sensitivity of uVCAM1 for determining the disease activity was 65.2%, and the specificity was 75% at a cutoff value of more than 23.8 pg/mg. Conclusions: uVCAM 1, although not in isolation, but along with the other standard of care markers may be useful in assessing the disease activity.


In the present paper we will discuss the task of a pilot (namely of a high performance jet plane) sampling the information given to him by the instruments on his panel. We will present a model that attempts to explain and match the behavior of pilots under actual flight conditions. This model is based on the concept of the different instruments competing for the attention of the pilot. Some may be unimportant under a given flight condition, but many should be looked at, the urgency of doing so being measured by the risk incurred if the corresponding value is beyond a certain threshold. Costs are assigned to each instrument; at each sampling instant the decision as to what instrument to look at is based on comparing for the different instruments the combined effect of both the probability of exceeding the threshold and a cost of exceeding that threshold. Effectively, the instruments queue for the pilot's attention; the instrument with the highest priority at each instant is then served (looked at).


In the 25-year period 1950–1975 forty-four patients with pheochromocytoma were observed at Vanderbilt University Affiliated Hospitals. Bilateral adrenal tumors occurred in 3 patients (6.8%) and extra-adrenal tumors occurred in 7 others (16%), 33 patients (75%) had single tumors arising in one of the adrenal glands; in one of these 5 years after operation, a malignant tumor developed in the same renal fossa. Five of the 44 patients (11.3%) proved to have malignant tumors and died with metastases. In 11 patients in the earlier years of this study the clinical diagnosis was not made and the tumor was identified by the pathologist at autopsy. There was a single postoperative fatality among the 33 patients in whom the clinical diagnosis was made. Seventy per cent of all survivors with benign tumors have remained normotensive during follow up periods of one to 20 years.


It is speculated that virtual environments (VE) might be used as a training tool in brain injury rehabilitation. The rehabilitation process often involves practicing so-called instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), such as shopping, cooking, and using a telephone. If a brain injury patient is to practice such activities in a VE, the patient must be able to navigate the viewpoint and interact with virtual objects in an understandable way. People with brain injury may be less tolerant to a poor interface and a VE might therefore become unusable due to, for example, an unsuitable input device. In this paper we present two studies aimed to do initial usability testing of VE interaction methods on people without experience of 3D computer graphics. In the first study four navigation input device configurations were compared: the IntelliKeys keyboard and the Microsoft Sidewinder joystick, both programmed with two and three degrees of freedom (DOF). The purpose of the second study was to evaluate a method for interaction with objects, and to find a sufficiently usable input device for this purpose. The keyboard was found to be more suitable for navigation tasks in which the user wants to give the viewpoint a more advantageous position and orientation for carrying out a specific task. No big differences could be found between two and three DOFs. The method for interaction with objects was found to work sufficiently well. No difference in performance could be found between mouse and touch screen, but some evidence was found that they affect the usability of the VE interface in different ways.


Abstract Marine transportation is the most important transport mode of in the international trade, but the maritime supply chain is facing with many risks. At present, most of the researches on the risk of the maritime supply chain focus on the risk identification and risk management, and barely carry on the quantitative analysis of the logical structure of each influencing factor. This paper uses the interpretative structure model to analysis the maritime supply chain risk system. On the basis of comprehensive literature analysis and expert opinion, this paper puts forward 16 factors of maritime supply chain risk system. Using the interpretative structure model to construct maritime supply chain risk system, and then optimize the model. The model analyzes the structure of the maritime supply chain risk system and its forming process, and provides a scientific basis for the controlling the maritime supply chain risk, and puts forward some corresponding suggestions for the prevention and control the maritime supply chain risk.


The 8th edition of John Tiley's major text on revenue law has been massively restructured to focus upon the UK Tax System, Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax, and Inheritance Tax. Published as a single volume, this edition comprehensively covers the most important UK taxes. Its reduced size will make the book a more manageable and portable volume for law students and practitioners. As with previous editions, the text has been revised to incorporate changes wrought by new enactments in the past four years. This, however, remains the only book on tax law which continues to explain the new law found in ITEPA, ITTOIA and ITA in light of its legislative predecessors, with references to the former enactments still remaining where relevant. Those familiar with the old law of income tax but wanting to find their way round the new will find this work particularly valuable. The book is designed for law students taking the subject in the final year of their law degree course or for more advanced courses. It is intended to be of interest to all who enjoy tax law. Its purpose is not only to provide an account of the rules but to include citation of the relevant literature from legal periodicals and some discussion of, or reference to, the background material in terms of policy, history, or other countries' tax systems.


A combined model of health, risk and financial analysis was applied to the economic sector of retail trade. The financial statements of 2238 companies, in Colombia, were sorted out into healthy and sick clusters, by items of cash at end of period, profit and loss and equity, in a cluster analysis. A cutoff point for the items of the financial statements to discriminate between healthy and sick companies was computed. Based on the dichotomous categories of sick/healthy company and over/under cutoff point for each item, odds ratio and relative risk for financial health, were calculated. Finally, acid test, working capital, current assets, indebtedness, concentration of indebtedness and leverage ratios were computed using the risk factors for the whole sector.

 Key words: Financial health, risk factors, financial indicators, financial ratios, retail trade.


This paper traces the move of the concept of "creolization" from thediscipline of linguistics to those of anthropology and history during thesecond half of the twentieth century, focusing on its uses in New Worldslavery studies. Two positions are contrasted in recent studies of NorthAmerican slavery, those of African-Centrists and those of creolists, withthe first stressing the continued importance of African heritage andidentities in the New World and the second emphasizing the newness of theinstitutions that enslaved Africans and their descendants created in theAmericas. Several exemplary studies of creolization in different parts ofthe Americas are reviewed. The paper suggests that ideology and subjectposition often drive historical analyses and that only stricthistoricization will permit further advances in understanding the complexprocesses that we call "creolization."


Introduction The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is often accompanied by renal dysfunction. It is expected that metabolic syndrome (MetS) may exacerbate renal impairment. Objective We therefore determined the prevalence of MetS and the association thereof with renal function in a South African cohort infected with HIV. Methods We matched 114 HIV-infected (77.3% on antiretroviral therapy [ART] and 22.7% ART-naïve) and 114 HIV-uninfected individuals according to age, sex and locality. We examined cardiovascular, anthropometric and metabolic measurements and determined the MetS. Renal function was assessed using standardised procedures. Results The prevalence of MetS was lower in the HIV-infected individuals as compared to the uninfected individuals (28% vs. 44%, p = 0.013). The HIV-infected group presented with a lower body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) (all p < 0.001), as well as blood pressure (BP) (p ≤ 0.0021). The results were confirmed when comparing the HIV-infected group using ART (N = 85) and the HIV-uninfected group. When comparing the HIV-infected individuals with MetS to the HIV-uninfected individuals with MetS, no differences in BP were seen. With regard to renal function, the HIV-infected individuals with MetS (n = 32) had 43% higher urinary albumin-creatinine ratio (uACR) compared to the HIV-uninfected individuals with MetS, after adjusting for age, sex and WC (p = 0.032). None of the other renal function markers differed after adjustments for WC or BMI. Conclusion The HIV-infected Africans with MetS had almost twofold higher uACR, despite the low prevalence of MetS, compared to their uninfected counterparts. The combination of HIV and MetS seemed to increase the risk for renal impairment.


Analysis of electromagnetic interactions on nanodevices can oftentimes be carried out accurately using "traditional" electromagnetic solvers. However, if a gap of sub-nanometer scale exists between any two surfaces of the device, quantum-mechanical effects including tunneling should be taken into account for an accurate characterization of the device's response. Since the first-principle quantum simulators can not be used efficiently to fully characterize a typical-size nanodevice, a quantum corrected electromagnetic model has been proposed as an efficient and accurate alternative (R. Esteban et al., Nat. Commun., 3(825), 2012). The quantum correction is achieved through an effective layered medium introduced into the gap between the surfaces. The dielectric constant of each layer is obtained using a first-principle quantum characterization of the gap with a different dimension.


The coordination behaviour of the pseudohalide ions (NCO¯ NCS¯ NCSe¯ NCTe¯) has been studied. A number of N- and S-bonded thiocyanate complexes
of rhodium(I), of the type Rh(PPh3)2(L)CNS (L = ligand), have
been prepared. The mode of linkage of the thiocyanate group has been
established by means of infrared spectral measurements. The preparation of Rh(PPh3)2(piperidine)NCS clearly demonstrates that a strongly π-accepting ligand such as CO is not a prerequisite for a N-thiocyanato complex
of the type Rh(PPh3)2(L)NCS. [Continues.]


Background: It has been suggested that limb circulation may be disturbed in patients with muscle cramps due to leg venous hypertension. The aim of this study. was to examine the incidence and characteristics of muscle cramps from venous insufficiency. Patients and methods: The incidence and characteristics of muscle cramps, which were investigated by a questionnaire, were compared between 288 patients with incompetence of the long or short saphenous vein and 550 age-matched individuals from the general population. Results: The patient group showed a significantly higher incidence of muscle cramps in the last year than the general population group, 67% and 53%, respectively (p < 0.001). The incidence of calf cramps was significantly higher in the patient group than in the general population group, 91% and 75%, respectively (p < 0.001). Although most subjects reported symptoms occurring only at night, the incidence was significantly higher in the patient group than in the general population group, 78% and 52%, respectively (p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in the duration or severity of muscle cramps between the groups. The patient group showed a significantly higher incidence of more than 12 episodes per year than the general population group (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Muscle cramps in patients with varicose veins occur more frequently and more often at night and in the calf in comparison with those from the general population.


The preparation of the cations of [Fe(η5-C5H5)(dppe)(CO)]PF6(1)(dppe = Ph2PCH2CH2PPh2) and [Fe(η5-C5H5)(PPh3)2(CO)]PF6(5) and their reduction with LiAlH4 to form the complexes [Fe(η5-C5H5)(dppe)(CO)H](2) and [Fe(η5-C5H5)(PPh3)(CO)H](6), respectively, is described. Evidence is presented for the intermediacy of [Fe(η5-C5H5)(dppe)(CHO)](4) in the low-temperature reduction of (1). High-temperature reduction of (1) occurs with loss of regioselectivity yielding both [Fe(η5-C5H5)(dppe)(CH3)](9) and [Fe(η4-C5H6)(dppe)(CO)](8). The latter product is formed exclusively by exo attack on the cyclopentadienyl ligand as evidenced by carrying out the reduction with LiAlD4. The disproportionation of (2) in toluene to give [{Fe(η5-C5H5)(CO)H}2(µ-dppe)](12) and its subsequent thermal and photochemical elimination of dihydrogen has been studied. In contrast, in tetrahydrofuran solutions, (2) disproportionates to (9)via(4). The thermal migration of hydrogen from (2) to produce (8) has been studied. The use of [Fe(η5-C5H5)(dppe)(CO)D](3) has shown this migration to be endo first-order and intramolecular with a kinetic isotope effect close to unity.


This paper presents a unique technique for significantly improving the bandwidth of a conventional distributed amplifier (CDA) using negative resistance. It is demonstrated that by making the gate-line of the CDA configuration negative resistance, the amplifiers operational bandwidth is improved by 14% without compromising its gain performance. In this case the 4-stage CDA was implemented using packaged pseudomorphic HJ-FET devices. The simplicity of the proposed technique makes it amenable to MMIC technology.


Body Mass Index (BMI) and skinfolds are common indicators of adiposity. Many studies have shown relationships between the BMI in childhood and adolescence and the BMI in adulthood. Similar correlations were observed for the skinfolds, although they tend to be lower. The aim of this study was to estimate changes with age in the genetic variance and heritability of the BMI and skinfolds among Polish twins born between 1959 and 1965. Observations involved male and female monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins, who were measured annually between 8 and 18 years of age. Body Mass Index and skinfold thicknesses at the triceps (TSF), subscapular (SSF) and suprailiac (SIF) sites were measured. Genetic variance and heritability were estimated for individual skinfold thicknesses, the sum of three skinfolds (SUMSF) and BM, separately by age classes for both sexes. Intraclass correlations were significantly higher for MZ twins than for DZ twins in both sexes and across all ages. Heritability estimates were significant for all indicators of adiposity, but varied with age and had different ranges for boys and girls. Estimates of genetic variance were significant for all indicators of adiposity and were higher for girls than for boys.


The use of mullite as a ceramic material proliferate from the field of conventional ceramic to the most advanced structural and functional area of ceramic due to its many advantageous properties. The properties of a sintered mullite ceramic are very much dependent on the type of processing route by which powder precursor was prepared.
In the present work, the stoichiometric diphasic mullite precursor powder was prepared by reverse addition technique using fume silica and aluminium nitrate nonahydrate as raw material. The effects of solution pH on the properties of the prepared powder have been investigated. The precursor powder made at ph-6, pH-8 and pH-10 were studied by TG-DSC analysis to know about the thermal decomposition behavior. Phase analysis of the precursor powder and calcined powder at different temperatures was done by XRD study. The presence of the different functional group in the precursor powder and calcined powder is confirmed by the FTIR study. The particle morphology, tendency of agglomeration and surface area, was investigated by microstructure analysis, particle size distribution and surface area analysis respectively. It was found that though the desired mullite phase formation is not very much affected by the variation of solution pH but the other properties are pH dependent.
The precursor powder formed at pH-8 exhibited better properties compared to the other batches. Therefore, the sintering study of the precursor powder in the presence of the different quantity of TiO2 additive is continued with that powder only. Samples made from different batches were sintered at three different temperatures i.e. 1450 ˚C, 1550 ˚C and 1650 ˚C under ambient atmosphere. The sintered pellets were characterized with respect to shrinkage, percent apparent porosity and bulk density. The phases formed in the sintered pellets were analyzed by X-Ray diffraction study. Morphology and microstructure were evaluated by FESEM.


Resource management agencies are often confronted with conflicts between natural resource protection and public recreation in wildland areas. An example of such a conflict is the stocking of non-native trout for recreational fisheries versus the protection of unaltered freshwater habitat for native wildlife. Declines and losses of over half the species of native amphibians and fish found in the Sierra Nevada have been attributed to the introduction of exotic species, especially trout. Although the effects of non-native trout on native biodiversity have been documented for many Sierran lakes, there is practically no information on their impact on Sierran stream ecosystems and communities, which evolved in the absence of fish. These mountain streams harbor high proportions of endemic species in insect groups such as stoneflies and caddisflies, and these insects potentially are vulnerable to direct and indirect effects of fish predation. Inadequate data on the distribution and diversity of stream invertebrates is a major obstacle to evaluating and monitoring the health of native aquatic species and habitats in the High Sierra. The objective of this research has been to compare the composition of invertebrate communities in streams lacking introduced trout with paired nearby streams containing trout. The studies involved surveys of aquatic invertebrate diversity in riffle and pool habitats of first and second order streams in Yosemite National Park, at elevations from 1350 to over 3000 meters. Invertebrate samples were collected along with an inventory of their food resources, water chemistry and physical habitat. Analyses of the data emphasizes contrasts of the impacts of trout on the organization and diversity of stream communities. Fish stocking and its impacts on high elevation aquatic ecosystems is a controversial topic currently under review in California by a variety of public and private organizations. The research results presented here provide essential scientific input to policy development through (1) the evaluation of the impact of non-native trout on the biodiversity and ecological integrity of Sierran streams, (2) the development of criteria for identifying aquatic diversity management areas for conserving native species, and (3) the establishment of baseline biological indicators for the monitoring of programs designed to restore stream biodiversity. The introduction of non-native trout into the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, USA, has caused important changes in the densities of many invertebrate and vertebrate species inhabiting lakes of this region. Researchers, however, know little about the effects of trout introductions on invertebrates in streams of the Sierra Nevada. In this report, we present the results from surveys of 21 fishless streams and 21 paired streams containing introduced trout in Yosemite National Park. Results show that environmental conditions did not differ between the fishless and trout streams, but that algal biomass and macroalgal cover were significantly higher in the streams containing trout. The majority of taxa were unaffected by trout presence in Yosemite streams but enough were affected that we conclude trout have caused changes in benthic stream community structure and function in many but not all streams to which trout have been introduced. Moderate effects of trout on the structure of the invertebrate community were evident in significant and/or consistent changes in the density of 26 different taxa (20 decreasing and 6 increasing in the presence of fish). Among common taxa, trends were statistically significant for 10 taxa and qualitatively consistent for 8 taxa (statistical power insufficient). This represents 18 of 43 common taxa groups (over 40%). Another 8 uncommon taxa also showed distinct patterns of association with fishless or trout streams but were not abundant enough for statistical tests. The strongest effects of trout appeared to be on endemic taxa (such as the caddisfly Neothremma spp., the mayfly Edmundsius agilis, Triclad flatworms, and others), which may be vulnerable because of the absence of evolved selection for mechanisms of coexistence with fish predators. The effects of trout on the function of benthic communities were also evident in increased (1) algal density and cover, (2) abundance of midges (which play dominant roles in the consumption of organic matter and algae and as prey to invertebrate predators), and (3) reduced density of the most common large predator (Doroneuria baumanni, likely the dominant aquatic predator prior to trout introductions). These changes suggest that trout alter the resource production and transformation in high Sierra streams. Because the strongest effects from trout fell primarily on endemic species, we recommend that managers first focus on endemic invertebrates by conducting taxonomic verifications, detailed surveys of species-specific distributions and, when necessary, eradicating trout to increase and recover populations of threatened invertebrates. In addition, experimental removals of trout from stream segments should be combined with benthic invertebrate community monitoring before and after treatments to evaluate the potential for recovery.


In this paper, we propose a novel algorithm for hyper-spectral (HS) image deblurring with principal component analysis (PCA) and total variation (TV). We first decorrelate the HS images and separate the information content from the noise by means of PCA. Then, we employ the TV method to jointly denoise and deblur the first principal components (PCs). Subsequently, noise in the last principal components is suppressed using a simple soft-thresholding scheme, for computational efficiency. Experimental results on simulated and real HS images are very encouraging.


In the fast changing business environment, knowledge has turn out to be the basis of every organization in creating and sustaining competitive differentiation. This study sought to examine factors that influence institutionalization of Knowledge Management (KM) in manufacturing enterprises in Kenya. A sample of 60 senior managers in the three selected manufacturing enterprises revealed that there are two critical factors that influence institutionalization of knowledge management. These factors are organizational practices and technological infrastructure. This paper concludes that the organizational practices have the highest influence and therefore when a comprehensive view is taken in instituting knowledge management practices, organizational practices be considered first and technological infrastructure second.


We study the effect of board independence and CEO duality on firm performance for a sample of stock-listed enterprises from Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea and Thailand, applying quantile regression. Quantile regression is more powerful than classical linear regression since quantile regression can produce estimates for all conditional quantiles of the distribution of a response variable, whereas classical linear regression only estimates the conditional mean effects of a response variable. Moreover, quantile regression is better able to handle violations of the basic assumptions in classical linear regression. Our empirical evidence shows that the effect of board independence and CEO duality on firm performance is different across the conditional quantiles of the distribution of firm performance, something classical linear regression would leave unidentified. This finding suggests that estimating the quantile effect of a response variable can well be more insightful than estimating only the mean effect of the response variable. Additionally, we find a negative moderating effect of board size on the positive relationship between CEO duality and firm performance.


Contact tracing is a very effective way to control the COVID-19-like pandemics. It aims to identify individuals who closely contacted an infected person during the incubation period of the virus and notify them to quarantine. However, the existing systems suffer from privacy, security, and efficiency issues. To address these limitations, in this article, we propose an efficient and privacy-preserving Blockchain-based infection control system. Instead of depending on a single authority to run the system, a group of health authorities, that form a consortium Blockchain, run our system. Using Blockchain technology not only secures our system against single point of failure and denial of service attacks, but also brings transparency because all transactions can be validated by different parties. Although contact tracing is important, it is not enough to effectively control an infection. Thus, unlike most of the existing systems that focus only on contact tracing, our system consists of three integrated subsystems, including contact tracing, public places access control, and safe-places recommendation. The access control subsystem prevents infected people from visiting public places to prevent spreading the virus, and the recommendation subsystem categorizes zones based on the infection level so that people can avoid visiting contaminated zones. Our analysis demonstrates that our system is secure and preserves the privacy of the users against identification, social graph disclosure, and tracking attacks, while thwarting false reporting (or panic) attacks. Moreover, our extensive performance evaluations demonstrate the scalability of our system (which is desirable in pandemics) due to its low communication, computation, and storage overheads.


For more than four centuries, Europeans and Euroamericans have been making written records of the spoken words of American Indians. While some commentators have assumed that these records provide absolutely reliable information about the nature of Native American oral expression, even its esthetic qualities, others have dismissed them as inherently unreliable. In Native American Verbal Art: Texts and Contexts, William Clements offers a comprehensive treatment of the intellectual and cultural constructs that have colored the textualization of Native American verbal art. Clements presents six case studies of important moments, individuals, and movements in this history. He recounts the work of the Jesuits who missionized in New France during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and textualized and theorized about the verbal expressions of the Iroquoians and Algonquians to whom they were spreading Christianity. He examines in depth Henry Timberlake's 1765 translation of a Cherokee war song that was probably the first printed English rendering of a Native American "poem." He discusses early-nineteenth-century textualizers and translators who saw in Native American verbal art a literature manque that they could transform into a fully realized literature, with particular attention to the work of Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, an Indian agent and pioneer field collector who developed this approach to its fullest. He discusses the "scientific" textualizers of the late nineteenth century who viewed Native American discourse as a data source for historical, ethnographic, and linguistic information, and he examines the work of Natalie Curtis, whose field research among the Hopis helped to launch a wave of interest in Native Americans and their verbal art that continues to the present. In addition, Clements addresses theoretical issues in the textualization, translation, and anthologizing of American Indian oral expression. In many cases the past records of Native American expression represent all we have left of an entire verbal heritage; in most cases they are all that we have of a particular heritage at a particular point in history. Covering a broad range of materials and their historical contexts, Native American Verbal Art identifies the agendas that have informed these records and helps the reader to determine what remains useful in them. It will be a welcome addition to the fields of Native American studies and folklore.


Changes to software requirements occur during initial development and subsequent to delivery, posing a risk to cost and quality while at the same time providing an opportunity to add value. Provision of a generic change source taxonomy will support requirements change risk visibility, and also facilitate richer recording of both pre- and post-delivery change data. In this paper we present a collaborative study to investigate and classify sources of requirements change, drawing comparison between those pertaining to software development and maintenance. We begin by combining evolution, maintenance and software lifecycle research to derive a definition of software maintenance, which provides the foundation for empirical context and comparison. Previously published change 'causes' pertaining to development are elicited from the literature, consolidated using expert knowledge and classified using card sorting. A second study incorporating causes of requirements change during software maintenance results in a taxonomy which accounts for the entire evolutionary progress of applications software. We conclude that the distinction between the terms maintenance and development is imprecise, and that changes to requirements in both scenarios arise due to a combination of factors contributing to requirements uncertainty and events that trigger change. The change trigger taxonomy constructs were initially validated using a small set of requirements change data, and deemed sufficient and practical as a means to collect common requirements change statistics across multiple projects.


The IS field is a fragmented field with many different research strategies and topics. To complicate this matter, there are many different publication venues and geographic locations. This study will try to look at the co-authorship social network (SN), using three different venues. One of the venues is the top journal in our field, the other a regional conference, and the third is a top French IS journal. The study will take a social network analysis (SNA) approach to see if there are differences in these venues and to take a preliminary look at the IS field. The results indicate that even though we research under the umbrella of IS, differing venues seem to have differing cliques of researchers. The divide between North American and France is also seen in how different the publication strategies seem to be between the two geographic areas.


I. INTRODUCTION If you sleep on the street in Hungary, you become a criminal. (1) The Hungarian government has criminalized the actions of its homeless population in an attempt to clear them from its streets. (2) In 2010, Hungary enacted legislation that authorizes local governments to criminalize homelessness and, in doing so, has violated its commitment to human rights. (3) When the Constitutional Court of Hungary rightfully overturned the legislation, the government refused to revoke it, amended the Constitution to permit promulgation of such laws, and most recently, under its newly established authority, the Parliament passed an amended version of the original law (2013 Anti-homelessness Law) to permit fining and imprisoning of the homeless. (4) There are different perspectives regarding the causes of homelessness and these perspectives have policy implications: the perspective that homelessness is a choice leads to harsher and less sympathetic policies against homelessness, including criminalization. (5) The perspective that homelessness is not a choice, but rather a crisis cause by factors often outside of one's control, leads to more positive approaches to homelessness, such as affordable housing programs. (6) These approaches to homelessness make up a spectrum ranging from criminalization by legislation to national strategies to end homelessness by positive methods. (7) The Hungarian government has chosen criminalization, causing further exclusion and harm to an already vulnerable population. (8) Housing has been identified as a human right; therefore, Hungary's policies have implications on international human rights. (9) The United Nations has reacted to this legislation by calling on Hungary to revoke it and instead create affordable housing programs. (10) Although Hungary's Constitutional Court has ruled against the law, the government resisted its revocation and was organizing to keep it in place. (11) The government managed to amend the Hungarian Constitution to permit legislation that criminalizes homelessness and subsequently passed a law enacting such legislation. (12) This Note addresses Hungary's recent anti-homelessness legislation and discusses the need for its revocation. (13) Part II of this Note will provide information on the homeless population in Hungary, the development of the legislation, the Constitutional Court decision that overturned it, and the Hungarian government's passage of constitutional amendments to allow it. (14) This part will also examine the opposition against the legislation, by international, regional, and local communities, and the effect, both legal and social, it has in Hungary. (15) Part III of this Note will explain the historical context in which this legislation has arisen, tracing back to the treaties and resolutions meant to govern Hungary's approaches to homelessness as well as the recognition of housing as a human right. (16) Part IV will analyze how Hungary's insistence on enabling the legislation--by amending the constitution and passing the 2013 Anti-homelessness Law--diverges from international human rights law, regional agreements, resolutions, and EU values and must be corrected. (17) This part will also analyze the Constitutional Court proceedings related to the anti-homeless legislation in Hungary and how its reasoning aligns with Hungary's human rights obligations. (18) Additionally, it will recommend that Hungary revoke its legislation criminalizing homelessness to follow the ruling of the Hungarian Constitutional Court and fulfill both the international human rights and regional obligations Hungary has made through treaties and resolutions. (19) This part will further recommend that Hungary also repeal the constitutional amendment permitting the Anti-homelessness Law and address the issue of homelessness in a more humane way by honoring the right to housing and its commitment to end homelessness. (20) Finally, Part V will summarize the development and status of the anti-homelessness legislation in Hungary and recommend that Hungary change it. …


In 2012 year two yeasts strains were isolated from yeasts populations that were active in concentrated grape must and suprasulfited must. The aim of this work was the characterization and identification of two yeasts strains and established their affiliation at osmofile or sulfites species, or proof that this property was acquired as a result of their adaptation to unfavorable environmental conditions. Research shows that these two yeasts strains marked with an 1- MC and 2-MS belong to Saccharomyces oviformis and Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. ellipsoideus species. It was found that their growth and reproduction in unfavorable environmental conditions are a result of adaptation to these conditions. This adaptation is a warning to the fact that even if the equipment of work is technologically advanced (on the construction and operation of ) can not prevent biological degradation of concentrated musts and of suprasulfited musts with these yeasts strains, if the hygiene measures are not taken for the technological lines, vessels and spaces for wines storage.


Background: Genome-wide association studies have identified germline genetic variants in 25 genetic loci that increase the risk of developing glioma in adulthood. It is not known if these variants increase the risk of developing glioma in children and adolescents and young adults (AYA). To date, no studies have performed genome-wide analyses to find novel genetic variants associated with glioma risk in children and AYA. Methods: We investigated the association between 8,831,628 genetic variants and risk of glioma in 854 patients diagnosed up to the age of 29 years and 3,689 controls from Sweden and Denmark. Recruitment of patients and controls was population based. Genotyping was performed using Illumina BeadChips, and untyped variants were imputed with IMPUTE2. We selected 41 established adult glioma risk variants for detailed investigation. Results: Three adult glioma risk variants, rs634537, rs2157719, and rs145929329, all mapping to the 9p21.3 (CDKN2B-AS1) locus, were associated with glioma risk in children and AYA. The strongest association was seen for rs634537 (odds ratioG = 1.21; 95% confidence interval = 1.09–1.35; P = 5.8 × 10−4). In genome-wide analysis, an association with risk was suggested for 129 genetic variants (P <1 × 10−5). Conclusions: Carriers of risk alleles in the 9p21.3 locus have an increased risk of glioma throughout life. The results from genome-wide association analyses require validation in independent cohorts. Impact: Our findings line up with existing evidence that some, although not all, established adult glioma risk variants are associated with risk of glioma in children and AYA. Validation of results from genome-wide analyses may reveal novel susceptibility loci for glioma in children and AYA.


Background PROTACs are comparably large and flexible compounds with limited solubility (S) and permeability (Pe). It is crucial to better understand, predict and optimize their human clinical pharmacokinetics (PK). Methods The main objective was to use the ANDROMEDA by Prosilico software to predict the human clinical in vivo dissolution potential (fdiss) and fraction absorbed (fa) of 23 PROTACs at a dose level of 50 mg and to explore whether there is any relationship between in vitro S and in silico predicted in vivo fdiss. Results In silico predictions showed that the PROTACs are effluxed by intestinal transporters and have limited fdiss (34 to 98 %), permeability and fa (13 to 58 %) in man. For some PROTACs this may be a major obstacle and jeopardize the clinical development programs, especially in cases of required high oral dose. A modest relationship between in vitro S and predicted in vivo fdiss was demonstrated (R2=0.26). Predicted human fa (27 %) and oral bioavailability (20 %) of ARV-110 (a PROTAC with some available in vivo PK data in rodents and man) were consistent with data obtained in rodents (estimated fa approximately 30-40 %; measured oral bioavailability 27-38 %). Laboratories were unable to quantify S for 7 (30 %) of the PROTACs. In contrast, ANDROMEDA could predict parameters for all. Conclusion ANDROMEDA predicted fdiss and fa for all the chosen PROTACs and showed limited fdiss, Pe and fa and dose-dependent fdiss and fa. One available example shows promise for the applicability of ANDROMEDA for predicting biopharmaceutics of PROTACs in vivo in man. Weak to modest correlations between S and fdiss and a considerable portion of compounds with non-quantifiable S limit the use of S-data to predict the uptake of PROTACs.


The present work aimed to select drought tolerant barley ( Hordeum vulgare L.) cultivars through identification of stress genes responsible for drought tolerance. Several barley genotypes were tested for drought resistance using specific molecular markers, nine out of all the genotypes were chosen for this study; five out of them were drought resistant (ALEXES, Giza 121, Giza 122, Giza 123 and Giza 128) and four were drought sensitive (Jazan, Qassim, Giza 123 and Giza 2000). The presence of late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins genes was correlated with the drought tolerance in the studied cultivars; hence, this gene confers drought tolerance trait. Drought stress responses such as reduced plant height, number of leaves, tillers and leaf area were noted in all genotypes under water stress conditions as compared to the normally irrigated ones. In order to characterize their genomes, the studied barley cultivars were further analyzed using 10 simple sequence repeats (SSR) and 11 inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSR) primers. The resulted SSR (19 markers) and ISSR (39 markers) were analyzed using NTSYS-pc program for addressing the phylogenetic relationships of the studied genotypes. Key words : Cultivated barley, drought tolerance, late embryogenesis abundant (LEA), simple sequence repeats (SSR), inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSR).


The model training algorithm is a critical component in the statistical pattern recognition approaches which are based on the Bayes decision theory. Conventional applications of the Bayes decision theory usually assume uniform error cost and result in a ubiquitous use of the maximum a posteriori (MAP) decision policy and the paradigm of distribution estimation as practice in the design of a statistical pattern recognition system. The minimum classification error (MCE) training method is proposed to overcome some substantial limitations for the conventional distribution estimation methods. In this thesis, three aspects of the MCE method are generalized. First, an optimal classifier/recognizer design framework is constructed, aiming at minimizing non-uniform error cost. A generalized training criterion named weighted MCE is proposed for pattern and speech recognition tasks with non-uniform error cost. Second, the MCE method for speech recognition tasks requires appropriate management of multiple recognition hypotheses for each data segment. A modified version of the MCE method with a new approach to selecting and organizing recognition hypotheses is proposed for continuous phoneme recognition. Third, the minimum verification error (MVE) method for detection-based automatic speech recognition (ASR) is studied. The MVE method can be viewed as a special version of the MCE method which aims at minimizing detection/verification errors. We present many experiments on pattern recognition and speech recognition tasks to justify the effectiveness of our generalizations.