Abstract. Exceptionally preserved specimens of the Cambrian stem-group brachiopod Mickwitzia occidens Walcott, 1908 are described in detail from the Indian Springs Lagerstätte in Nevada, USA. Shell structure and preserved mantle setae from these specimens reveal a variable diagenetic (taphonomic) history and provide insight into the phylogenetic position of mickwitziids. Morphologic and morphometric comparison to M. monilifera (Linnarsson, 1869) from Sweden and M. muralensis Walcott, 1913 from British Columbia, Canada reveals clear species-level distinctions. Scanning electron microscopic analysis allows revision of the generic diagnosis. The Mickwitzia shell is characterized by the presence of inwardly pointing phosphatic cones and tangential setae-bearing tubes. The inwardly pointing cone structures are not consistent with setal bearing structures as previously thought, but rather represent endopunctae-like structures. Acrotretid-like shell structures and shell-penetrating setae in M. occidens strengthen the previously proposed close relationship between stem-group brachiopods and tommotiids, a group of small shelly fossils.


Each coordinate rotation digital computer iteration selects the rotation direction by analyzing the results of the previous iteration. In this paper, we introduce two arctangent radices and show that about 2/3 of the rotation directions can be derived in parallel without any error. Some architectures exploiting these strategies are proposed.


Abstract Based on ethnographic research conducted in Pittsburgh, this article examines the experiences of American-born intermarriage converts to Eastern Orthodoxy. Long characterized as a variety of Christianity fundamentally ethnic in its orientation and insular in its relationships to American religious and cultural mainstreams, Eastern Orthodoxy has attracted increasing numbers of American-born converts over the last thirty years. While the motives and perspectives of more overtly theologically driven conversions have garnered attention, intermarriage conversions are often dismissed as the natural outcomes of entering into marriage and family life. Significantly, intermarriage converts frequently stress their decisions to enter the Orthodox church as autonomously made apart from external influences. By gauging the ways intermarriage converts are depicted in parish life as well as the motives and perspectives they themselves convey in interviews, I argue that the language and assumptions of the American spiritual marketplace profoundly influence Orthodox Christian understandings of family and religion today. Personal choice and individualism rather than the expectations of traditionally ascribed identities have come to be highly valued and valorized means of counting Orthodox identity in the United States. Yet, the prevalence of marketplace values does not diminish the emotional and social impacts of family and community for intermarriage converts. Rather, I observed a general elevation in the importance of both and a frequent substantiation of their roles as the transmitters of shared values among these individuals. Thus, this article provides a case study of how individual and familial concerns further religious choice-making.


Abstract: The aim of this study was to explore the effect and mechanism of action of resveratrol (RSV) on cardiac function in diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM). Hyperglycemia-induced apoptosis contributes to the pathogenic changes in DCM. RSV treatment inhibited high glucose–induced apoptosis of neonatal rat ventricular myocytes. Additionally, high glucose decreased cell viability, prevented serine–threonine kinase (Akt) and FoxO3a phosphorylation, and suppressed cytoplasmic translocation of FoxO3a. However, these effects of apoptosis were reversed by 10 &mgr;M of RSV. The PI3K inhibitor LY294002 abolished the RSV protective effect in vitro. RSV (5 or 50 mg·kg−1·d−1 orally for 8 weeks) prevented the deterioration of cardiac function and structural cardiomyopathy in a streptozotocin-induced rat model of diabetes and reduced apoptosis in diabetic myocardium. Furthermore, it restored streptozotocin-impaired phosphorylation of Akt and FoxO3a (p-Akt and p-FoxO3a) and suppressed nuclear translocation of FoxO3a in vivo. Together, these data indicate that RSV has therapeutic potential against DCM by inhibiting apoptosis via the PI3K/Akt/FoxO3a pathway.


Recently there has been a growing interest in sketch recognition technologies for facilitating human-computer interaction. Existing sketch recognition studies mainly focus on recognizing pre-defined symbols and gestures. However, just as there is a need for systems that can automatically recognize symbols and gestures, there is also a pressing need for systems that can automatically recognize pen-based manipulation activities (e.g. dragging, maximizing, minimizing, scrolling). There are two main challenges in classifying manipulation activities. First is the inherent lack of characteristic visual appearances of pen inputs that correspond to manipulation activities. Second is the necessity of real-time classification based upon the principle that users must receive immediate and appropriate visual feedback about the effects of their actions. In this paper (1) an existing activity prediction system for pen-based devices is modified for real-time activity prediction and (2) an alternative time-based activity prediction system is introduced. Both systems use eye gaze movements that naturally accompany pen-based user interaction for activity classification. The results of our comprehensive experiments demonstrate that the newly developed alternative system is a more successful candidate (in terms of prediction accuracy and early prediction speed) than the existing system for real-time activity prediction. More specifically, midway through an activity, the alternative system reaches 66% of its maximum accuracy value (i.e. 66% of 70.34%) whereas the existing system reaches only 36% of its maximum accuracy value (i.e. 36% of 55.69%).


BACKGROUND
To assess the Prevalence and self perception of dental fluorosis among 15 - year old school children.

MATERIALS & METHODS
A cross sectional study was conducted on 840, 15 - year old school children from 12 schools of Prakasam district. After taking informed consent from their parents or legal representatives, an interview was conducted using a pretested questionnaire to collect the data regarding self perception of dental fluorosis, dental behaviour, and source of water and diet and socio demographic characters. Oral examination was done under natural light to score Deans fluorosis index. Statistical test used was chisquare test.

RESULTS
Study revealed that 82.04% of the study population were having dental fluorosis. Out of which only 42.3% were aware of the existing situations. 47.90% of boys are aware of dental fluorosis where as 40.50% of girls are aware of dental fluorosis. Fluorosis score in relation to gender is not statistically significant (chisquare (8.796);p=0.117).

CONCLUSION
Dental fluorosis is a public health problem in Kanigiri town. As there was no study conducted in Kanigiri town even though it is one of the severely affected area in our country. Active steps must be taken to De fluoridate the water before distribution to reduce the morbidity associated with dental fluorosis in this area. How to cite this article: Naidu GM, Rahamthullah SA, Kopuri RK, Kumar YA, Suman SV, Balaga RN. Prevalence and self perception of Dental Fluorosis among 15 year old school children in Prakasham district of south India. J Int Oral Health 2013; 5(6):67-71.


This paper details the steps to design and implement a positive deviance-informed, "Hearth" approach for the nutritional rehabilitation of malnourished children in the district of Leogane, Haiti. Groups of four to five children met daily for two weeks at the home of a local volunteer mother for nutritional and health messages and a well-balanced meal. Health messages and meal components were determined using information gathered from interviews with the mothers of positive deviant children in the community who are well nourished despite their family's limited economic resources. Hearth participants were then followed for six months in their own home by the program "monitrices," women hired from each village and intensively trained to supervise the Hearth program, periodically weigh the children to evaluate their progress, and liaise between the hospital and the community. Monitoring from the first cycle indicated that 100% of children in eight villages and 66% of children in the remaining five villages continued to gain weight as fast or faster than the international standard median six months after participating in a Hearth program. At the conclusion of this cycle, programmers interviewed participant and non-participant families and made six modifications to the model, including the addition of a microcredit option for participating mothers.


Previous studies have demonstrated that functionalised T8 polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes with fluoride anions encapsulated within the T8 cage (T8-F) have very low reactivity, with no reports of successful modification of the organic moieties. Herein, we report the successful modification of a styryl functionalised T8-F compound with mercaptopropyltriethoxysilane using a thiol–ene click reaction. This strategy enables the vinyl moiety to be modified while maintaining the influence of the electron-withdrawing phenylene group, which stabilises the fluoride within the cage. The triethoxysilylated T8-F cages were subsequently converted into nanohybrids by sol–gel processing. Multinuclear NMR experiments (29Si, 19F, 13C) demonstrated that the POSS cage remained intact during both post functionalisation of T8-F and subsequent sol-gel processing. Furthermore, 29Si cross polarisation solid state NMR experiments using 19F as a cross polarisation agent demonstrated that the fluoride anions remain localised within the cages in the nanohybrids. The functionalisation of the styryl bearing T8-F POSS cage is the first example of both the successful modification of the poorly reactive T8-F family and the formation of a nanohybrid material incorporating fluoride ions immobilised within covalently bound T8 cages.


Social presence has long been considered to be a key factor in enhancing learning in online contexts (Garrison, Anderson & Archer, 2000; Gunawardena & Zittle, 1997; Kehrwald, 2010; Ko, 2012; Tu, 2002b). New modes of online interaction, however, require researchers to engage in constant re-evaluation of social presence theory. This study set out to investigate online mediated interaction in the voice-based chat room and the text-based forum in the context of Chinese online education. The main aims were to compare the level of social presence generated using the two technological tools, to explore how learners form an online community and to contribute to theory in this area.

A mixed-method approach was taken to investigate levels of social presence, drawing on data from 124 questionnaires, 96 postings of text messages and 3 hours and 12 minutes of voice messages collected from the text-based forum and the voice-based chat room and eight one-hour interviews with students, either individually or in pairs. The answers to the questionnaires were subjected to statistical analysis, the interactional data of both the text and voice messages were analysed using Rourke et al.'s (2001) categories and indicators of social presence while the interviews were transcribed and subjected to a more qualitative analysis.

The statistical analysis of the questionnaires showed that students tended to use text to a much greater extent than voice, probably because of technical constraints, and that students' perceptions of social presence in the two media were not significantly different. The analysis of the interactional data revealed that the density of social presence overall was slightly higher in the voice-based chat room than in the text-based forum, but the difference between the two media was not statistically significant. However, the density scores for the interactive category were shown to be significantly higher in the voice-based than in the text-based interaction, while the opposite was the case for the cohesive category. When affective categories were compared, text and voice data were not significantly different.

As the voice-based chat room was synchronous and had the advantage of sound, students became more involved in the communication and thus a greater sense of community was created. As students developed closer relationships with each other, cohesive features could be dispensed with in the voice-based chat room, and this was why the text-based forum had a higher density of cohesive features. Voice-based interaction clearly enhances social presence and a community of learning. However, for technical reasons, it is currently recommended that students work in small groups for discussion activities and learners should have strong technical support.

From a theoretical perspective, the study underlines the need for the constant renewal of analytical tools and categories in the face of rapidly evolving interactional practice online. The multi-media resources drawn upon by students may include social media as well as university platforms and the use of emoticons, special symbols, multiple punctuation, photos and video-clips – not to mention the use of avatars and virtual worlds, which have not been considered in the context of the current study.


The most up to-date figures show that total factoring volume (as far as turnover is concerned) of £77.1 billion ranks the UK as the largest factoring market in the world ahead of the USA and Italy (Bank of England, 2001, p.25). Also, recent evidence reveals that SMEs in the UK still ahve a poor or negative perception of factoring or they lack knowledge as to what it can offer.

However, even taking the above into account there has been no substantial research carried out in relation to factoring and SMEs, although research has been done on the supply side of this topic. This study is comprised of in depth face to face interviews with 20 manufacturing SMEs. The sample was derived from two CD Rom databases commonly known as FAME and EMMA.

This agenda explores SMEs perceptions of factoring and finds out their reasons for not wanting to sign up with a factor. Also, the study looks at why some companies do enter the factoring relationship and how their decision to use a factor is established. The results sho that SMEs perceptions fall into 3 general areas of: Image, Cost and Loss of Control and that the main reason for companies using a factor is due to severe cash flow problems.

Finally, the project looks at the relationship factoring has with late payment and some useful answers to this perplexing and worrying problem emerge from the research findings. This problem is also given a high profile in the media at the moment with the government legislation which will charge late payers specified amounts of interest (this was introduced on 1/11/98). The Governments small business minister feels that this route is the best way to proceed and they hope this will go someway towards improving the payment culture within today's SMEs. It is also envisaged that this study will show how good a SMEs credit management function is in relation to that of factoring.


Abstract This paper presents the design criteria for Visual Cues – visual stimuli that are used in combination with other pedagogical processes and tools in Disruptive Learning interventions in sustainability education – to disrupt learners' existing frames of mind and help re-orient learners' mind-sets towards sustainability. The theory of Disruptive Learning rests on the premise that if learners' frames of mind or frames of reference can be disrupted (in other words, challenged), then learners' mind-sets can be re-oriented towards sustainability, and indeed learners can be motivated to engage in change agency for sustainability. The use of Visual Cues thus unsettle or challenge learners' mind-sets, and in doing so, set them on the pathway towards re-orientation in becoming more sustainability oriented, and/or in motivating engagement in sustainability change agency. The findings form part of a broader research study on ESD conducted in a higher education institution in Ireland within an undergraduate degree of teacher education. Kathy Charmaz' Constructivist Grounded Theory approach guided the entire study, resulting in the articulation of the theory of, and processes within, Disruptive Learning. This paper presents design criteria for Visual Cues that were articulated through a thematic analysis approach from data emerging from reflective diaries, follow-up interviews, audio recordings and observational notes. The findings from this study in respect of design criteria state that Visual Cues must disrupt rather than disturb; must represent (have impressions of) real life contexts, scenarios, practices or events; must provoke controversy; must contain a visual stimulation; and can have a critical question.


Whatever you thought about science fiction, think again. And keep on thinking, because that's what science fiction does. It makes us think, and helps us prepare for the future, understand the present and cope with the unknown by posing such questions as 'What if...?' or 'Just suppose...'. This book, which accompanies a major British Library exhibition on the scope and nature of science fiction, reveals what science fiction has achieved and seeks to achieve. It shows its history over the last two thousand years and its international importance. Divided into six sections - Alien Worlds, Parallel Worlds, Future Worlds, Virtual Worlds, Perfect Worlds and The End of the World - the book explores how science fiction has responded to the impact of science, technology and socio-political change on ourselves and our societies. From the works of Cyrano de Bergerac to Ray Bradbury and Mary Shelley to J G Ballard this book reveals the full heritage and wonder of science fiction.


Background & Purpose: Recent studies have suggested a "smoker's paradox," referring to higher recanalization rates and better outcomes after IV thrombolytic therapy for ischemic stroke in smokers compared to nonsmokers. Our goal was to evaluate whether this paradox exists for both IV and endovascular therapies (ET) in our population. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated consecutive AIS patients (March 2014-April 2015) admitted to our comprehensive stroke center. Patients were stratified by treatment: IV tPA, ET, or neither. The primary endpoint was the modified Rankin scale (mRS) at discharge ("favorable outcome" score 0- 2) analyzed by logistic regression adjusted for demographic factors and admission NIHSS score. Successful reperfusion after ET was classified as Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction (TICI) scores of 2b or greater on immediate angiographic imaging. Results: Of 765 patients, 29 % were smokers (n= 222) including 63 % white (Table). Among smokers, 15% received tPA and 3% of patients received ET. Among nonsmokers 14% received tPA and 6% received ET. There was no difference in favorable outcome between smokers and nonsmokers in patients treated with tPA (60.6% vs. 52.6%; P= 0.43) or ET (26% vs. 40.0%; P= 0.325). There was no difference between smokers and nonsmokers in re-canalization after ET (70.6 % vs. 70.0%; P= 0.62). In patients without tPA or ET treatment, favorable outcome was more frequent in smokers compared to nonsmokers (66.5% vs. 47.8 %; P Conclusions: Our study did not support presence of the "Smoker's Paradox" in AIS patients who receive IV or ET therapy. A rigorous adjustment for risk factors is likely to eliminate the paradoxical finding of more frequent favorable outcome in smokers who have not received tPA or ET.


Review of the bacteriology records of a University Hospital pediatric service for a 30-month period revealed 42 patients with Hemophilus influenzae type b bacteremia and 30 patients with Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteremia, all under age 10. Eighty-eight percent of the Hemophilus bacteremias and 7% of the pneumococcal bacteremias occurred in children less than 2 years of age. Hemophilus bacteremia was seen mot frequently in the first year of life, in contrast to pneumococcal bacteremia which was seen evenly throughout the first and second years of life. In all but one of the Hemophilus infections, a definite source of the bacteremia was apparent; these included CNS infection (58%), cellulitis (14%), and pneumonia (12%). In contrast, no obvious source was apparent in 37% of the pneumococcal bacteremias. When a focus for pneumococcal bacteremia was identified, otitis media and pneumonia were the most frequent diagnoses. Most of the occult pneumococcemias were transient; the results of repeat blood cultures before a treatment decision were helpful in determining the necessity for and duration of antibiotic therapy in those patients with no obvious source of infection.


This paper presents a circularly-polarized dual-band antenna for Ka-band satellite communications which operates simultaneously in both civil and military downlink (17.7–21.2 GHz) and uplink (27.5–31 GHz) bands. The antenna is composed of a metallic ridged cavity that is perforated with a crossed-slot. This cavity is excited in sequential rotation through four feeding coaxial cables, thus producing circular polarization (CP). The required feed distribution is obtained by a dedicated beam-forming network (BFN) able to provide phases to generate right/left-handed CP in the downlink/uplink-bands, respectively. The prototype of the antenna cavity is 3D printed basing on stereolithography (SLA), while the BFN is realized in printed circuit technology. Good agreement is obtained between theoretical and measured results, thereby validating the antenna concept and confirming the strong potential of SLA to conceive compact RF components.


OBJECT
This study aimed to investigate the incidence rate of heterotopic ossification (HO) after implantation of Coflex interspinous devices. Possible risk factors associated with HO were evaluated.

METHODS
The authors retrospectively analyzed patients who had undergone single-level (L4-5) implantation of a Coflex device for the treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis. Patient data recorded were age, sex, height, weight, body mass index, smoking habits, and surgical time. Heterotopic ossification was identified through lumbar anteroposterior and lateral view radiographs. The authors developed a simple classification for defining HO and compared HO-positive and HO-negative cases to identify possible risk factors.

RESULTS
Among 32 patients with follow-up times of 24-57 months, HO was detectable in 26 (81.2%). Among these 26 patients, HO was in the lateral space of the spinous process but not in the interspinous space in 8, HO was in the interspinous space but did not bridge the adjacent spinous process in 16, and interspinous fusion occurred at the level of the device in 2. Occurrence of HO was not associated with patient age, sex, height, weight, body mass index, smoking habits, or surgical time.

CONCLUSIONS
A high incidence of HO has been detected after implantation of Coflex devices. Clinicians should be aware of this possible outcome, and more studies should be conducted to clarify the clinical effects of HO.


Young adults are at significant risk for increased substance abuse, worsening mental health issues, and elevated suicidal behaviors. These risks have increased since the beginning of the COVID -19 pandemic. Self-help interventions (e.g., mindfulness meditation) are available to counteract these negative effects on mental health. Mindfulness meditation has become popular as a tool for stress reduction and emotional regulation. There are significant health benefits to mindfulness-based interventions, such as increased awareness. This study's purpose was to gain greater understanding of whether mindfulness is helpful to mental health among young adults during COVID-19. Quantitative analyses found: (1) Current employment predicted greater adherence to formal mindful practice and trait mindfulness;(2) formal practice was associated with trait mindfulness;(3) adherence to informal practice yielded a significant inverse association with trait anxiety;and (4) avoidance coping acted as mediator between both employment status and college experience (as exogenous variables), and trait anxiety, generalized anxiety/depression, and COVID-19 stress (as endogenous variables).


Abstract Two measures for assessing English vocabulary knowledge, the Vocabulary Size Test (VST) and the Word Familiarity Test (WordFAM), were recently validated for web-based administration. An analysis of the psychometric properties of these assessments revealed high internal consistency, suggesting that stable assessment could be achieved with fewer test items. Because researchers may use these assessments in conjunction with other experimental tasks, the utility may be enhanced if they are shorter in duration. To this end, two "brief" versions of the VST and the WordFAM were developed and submitted to validation testing. Each version consisted of approximately half of the items from the full assessment, with novel items across each brief version. Participants (n = 85) completed one brief version of both the VST and the WordFAM at session one, followed by the other brief version of each assessment at session two. The results showed high test-retest reliability for both the VST (r = 0.68) and the WordFAM (r = 0.82). The assessments also showed moderate convergent validity (ranging from r = 0.38 to 0.59), indicative of assessment validity. This work provides open-source English vocabulary knowledge assessments with normative data that researchers can use to foster high quality data collection in web-based environments.


This document reports on the Epinet workshop on the making of robot autonomy, held in Utrecht 16-17 February 2014. The workshop was part of a case study focused on developments in this area, in particular, autonomy for assistive robots in care and companionship roles. Our participants were of relevant expertise and professional experience: law and ethics, academic and industry robotics, vision assessment and science and technology studies (STS). The workshop was intended to explore the expectations of robot autonomy amongst our participants, against a backdrop of recent policy views and research trends that are openly pushing an agenda of "smarter", more dynamic and more autonomous systems (e.g. European Commission, 2008; EUROP, 2009; Robot Companions for Citizens, 2012). Robotics development is intimately connected with visions of robot autonomy, however, as a practical achievement, robot autonomy remains till this day part real, part promise. Ideas of robot autonomy are nevertheless powerful societally and culturally-specific visions, even if the very notion of "autonomy" is vague and inconsistent in recent accounts of future robots. These accounts still come together with considerable force in directing the efforts of researchers and experimenters, for example, in establishing funding priorities. They have a function in strategic planning for future developments. Accounts of future robots are also informing and shaping the efforts of legislators, ethicists and lawyers. To that effect, one can say that there is an official vision of future robots, a yardstick with which everyone implicated in robotics development has to measure their expectations.


Surgery is generally accepted as the basis of therapy in endometrial carcinoma. In stage I disease with well-differentiated lesions (G I), the mainstay and generally accepted basis for management is surgical, usually extrafascial total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. In the cases of stage I and dedifferentiated lesions (G II/G III) bilateral pelvic lymphadenectomy is performed additionally. The surgical method in stage II lesions is radical abdominal hysterectomy, bilateral pelvic lymphadenectomy, and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy.


scabies-a highly contagious and littleknown disease-should be considered in the presence of a hyperkeratotic, desquamating, and possibly non-itchy rash occurring in a patient suffering from carcinomatosis and on corticosteroid therapy. A skin biopsy will provide sufficient evidence for the timely prophylactic treatment of contacts a measure of great importance both in the hospital ward and the home.-I am, etc.,


This paper presents a part of the results of broader research conducted on exposed concrete. While the knowledge and contemporary materials used in the restoration of reinforced concrete works guarantee the initial mechanical performances with significant improvements in terms of the durability of the works, when the project involves reinstating the original architectural quality, for example by redesigning the veining of the wood impressed into the facade or by adjusting the original color tones on smooth and polished surfaces, the expertise and products available to us do not always appear adequate. The research, moreover, seeks to systematize the materials and innovative methodologies used in the renovation of quality exposed concrete facings.


The unsteady behavior of a nozzled turbocharger turbine under pulsating flow conditions has been studied experimentally in a cold flow test facility that replicates engine pulses. The results presented are obtained at a turbine speed of 48,000 rpm for pulsating frequencies of 40 Hz and 60 Hz (which correspond to 1600 rpm and 2400 rpm in a twin turbocharger six cylinder internal combustion engine). The turbine unsteady behavior is compared for nozzle vane angles ranging between 40 deg and 70 deg. A nozzled turbocharger turbine is found to behave differently from a nozzleless turbine under pulsating flow. The existence of a nozzle ring "damps" the unsteady flow leading to a reduced level of flow dynamics affecting the turbine wheel for all vane angles. The bigger volume in the nozzled turbine is also another contributing factor to the observed characteristics. The results are more pronounced in the higher frequency and maximum vane opening condition. Given this "damping" behavior, the concept of unsteady efficiency is questioned. The level of unsteadiness in the flow is characterized by the relevant nondimensional parameters, and the onset of the unsteadiness in the flow and its effect on a nozzled turbocharger turbine is discussed. The onset of the unsteady effect is suggested to be at 40 Hz flow condition. However, the nozzled turbine exhibits more of filling and emptying characteristics for both the frequency conditions, especially at close nozzle position cases. The effect of unsteadiness on the instantaneous efficiency calculation is more pronounced in the nozzled turbine compared with a nozzleless turbine.


This study was aimed at demonstrate the application of the Bayesian based global sensitivity analysis (GSA) approach to Denitrificatin and decomposition (DNDC) model using the tool of Gaussian emulation machine for sensitivity analysis (GEM-SA), in order to provide information on the relative effect of parameters on major model outputs. To execute the GSA study, twenty-eight input parameters were selected and eighty-six years' DNDC simulation was run on basis of Three Hill's spring wheat system. Three interested multiyear's model outputs were chosen, whose sensitivity to inputs has been tested: yield, annual change in soil organic carbon (dSOC) and N2O flux. We found the effect of input parameters on three mentioned DNDC outputs not vary only with different simulated year but also with specific output variable. Moreover, the influence of inputs on variance of outputs varies with the form of sensitivity indices, i.e. main effects (individual contribution of each input to variance of model output) or total effects (when all inputs' interactions are considered). Consequently, multi year's SA is necessary for the nonlinear DNDC model and most sensitive parameters to specific output should be focused on further validation and calibration of that variable.


PURPOSE In a clinical study, the feasibility of using a mammography workstation for the display and interpretation of digital mammography images was evaluated and the results were compared with the corresponding laser film hard copies. MATERIALS AND METHODS Digital phosphorous plate radiographs of the entire breast were obtained in 30 patients using a direct magnification mammography system. The images were displayed for interpretation on the computer monitor of a dedicated mammography workstation and also presented as laser film hard copies on a film view box for comparison. The images were evaluated with respect to the image handling, the image quality and the visualization of relevant structures by 3 readers. RESULTS Handling and contrast of the monitor displayed images were found to be superior compared with the film hard copies. Image noise was found in some cases but did not compromise the interpretation of the monitor images. The visualization of relevant structures was equal with both modalities. Altogether, image interpretation with the mammography workstation was considered to be easy, quick and confident. CONCLUSIONS Computer-assisted visualization and interpretation of digital mammography images using a dedicated workstation can be performed with sufficiently high diagnostic accuracy.


The paper is structured as follows: Section 2 introduces the concept of targeted behavioural advertising, the key entities involved therein and the tools used to track users along with an assessment of the users' control over these tools. In this regard, it is asked whether users can actively opt out of being tracked or whether tracking is mandatory when using a given online service. Section 3 dissects the EU data protection framework regulating targeted behavioural advertising which is currently being reformed. The centre-piece of this analysis is the functioning of the informed consent requirement as well as the introduction of simplified notices and icons. Section 4 critically assesses the efficacy of notice and consent for targeted behavioural advertising. It first paints a picture of the individual and systemic problems users face, followed by an analysis of the tools introduced by the GDPR to improve informed consent. It draws on insights from empirical research, behavioural economics and semiotics to gauge the effectiveness of the proposed improvements to the notification system. Section 5 reflects on the usefulness of EU competition law to further data protection goals in the event that the data protection framework fails to provide an improvement. Section 6 concludes this article.


Background. We compared the efficacy of P. granatum (P) flower extract with that of silver sulfadiazine (SSD) for treating thermal burn injuries in rats. Methods. Ten Wistar rats in each group were topically given base cream, normal saline, cream containing 1% SSD, or creams containing 5% or 10% Punica granatum flower extract. The treatments were administered once daily until complete wound healing was observed. The wound area and healing time were assessed. In addition, percentage wound contraction and histopathological characteristics such as neovascularization and collagen formation were determined. The tannin content in P. granatum extract was determined. Results. The decrease in the average size of wounds on day 15 of the treatment was higher in rats treated with creams containing P. granatum extract than in rats treated with cream containing SSD (2.8 ± 0.9 cm2 versus 8.4 ± 3.2 cm2). The wounds completely healed on day 25 of the treatment in rats treated with creams containing P. granatum flower extract compared with those in rats treated with the other agents. Conclusion. These results indicated that P. granatum flower extract promoted wound healing in rats and could be used for managing burn injuries.


Mobile cloud computing represents the most explicit attempt yet to move computing technology beyond the confines of tool usage towards a pervasive penetration. The increasing role and importance of mobile technology and cloud computing in our daily lives implies the need for new approach. The mobile users' motivation and cloud computing characteristics make them very appropriate for developing mobile cloud service. The aim of this paper is to complement previous research on adoption and use of mobile cloud computing by benefiting from theory of consumer research and media use, namely `uses and gratification'. The focus is on cognitive, social and technological motivation dimensions that a mobile user experiences when possessing, interacting and using mobile devices with cloud computing.


In this research, the transient heat transfer due to exponentially increasing heat input was experimentally measured for upward water flowing in a vertical small tube. The heat generation rate was increased exponentially with a function of Qoexp (t/τ), where, Qo is an initial heat generation rate, t represents time and τ is e-folding time. The heat generation rate was controlled by high speed computer system. The test tube was heated with exponentially increasing heat input by direct current. The average temperature of test tube was measured by resistance thermometry using a double bridge circuit. The experimental apparatus consists of a test section, a cooler, a heater, a pump, a tank and a pressurizer. The working fluid was distilled and deionized water. The inlet fluid temperature of test tube was controlled by the cooler and the heater. The system pressure was up to 800 kPa. The test tube was 0.7 mm in inner diameter and 12.0 mm in heated length respectively. The ratio of heated length to inner diameter was 17.1. The test tube was electrically isolated from experimental loop by Bakelite plates. The experimental data were compared with previous correlations of nucleate boiling. It was obtained that the experimented data agree well with full-developed flow boiling correlation by Rohsenow. Moreover, the transient critical heat flux (CHF) and nucleate boiling with onset of nucleate boiling (ONB) values increased with the increase in flow velocity. The transient CHFs and ONBs increased with a decrease in e-folding time at τ < 1 s, and they approached steady-state value at τ > 1 s. It was understood that the heat transfer is in steady-state at τ > 1 s, and it is in transient state at τ < 1 s.


OF DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics in the College of Science of Northeastern University April 24, 2013


ABSTRACT The Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale (LEAS) has received considerable support as a reliable and valid measure of individual differences in emotional awareness (EA) since the original report involving 40 participants (Lane, Quinlan, Schwartz, Walker, & Zeitlin, 1990). However, the hypothesized developmental nature of EA (conceptualized as a cognitive skill) has thus far only been examined in that 1 early study. Here we report multiple regression analyses on the entire sample of 94 participants who completed the LEAS as part of that original study, as well as the same developmental and affective measures used in the original report. We first observed that different developmental measures, including the Object Relations Inventory and the Sentence Completion Test of Ego Development, accounted for unique portions of the variance in LEAS scores. We also observed that higher LEAS scores were associated with greater within-category variance in the self-reported positive and guilt- and shame-related emotions people reported experiencing on a typical day. Based on these findings, we introduce a 3-dimensional cognitive-developmental framework that LEAS scores plausibly track, including (a) the transition from focusing on external/physical to internal/psychological characteristics, (b) greater conceptual complexity, and (c) self–other differentiation. We then discuss the implications of this framework for understanding the nature of EA and for future research.


Purpose To initiate a prospective study of glaucoma in a Greek village reported over 30 years ago to have several large families with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). Methods A random group of 126 villagers from Taxiarchis, Greece was examined in the village community center. The detailed evaluation included ophthalmic and general history, measurement of blood pressure, intraocular pressure (IOP), and central corneal thickness (CCT) as well as evaluation of the optic nerve status. Results The incidence of glaucoma approached 18% in this small isolated village. Myocilin variants were present in almost half of the individuals screened with Arg76Lys and Thr377Met being the most common finding (25% and 17%, respectively). Over half of the individuals with the Thr377Met mutation were diagnosed with glaucoma. Two of these patients were homozygous for the Thr377Met mutation. Three individuals with the Arg76Lys polymorphism had glaucoma; however, two of these individuals also had the Thr377Met mutation. Only two patients with pseudoexfoliation were identified. Conclusions The incidence of glaucoma and the Thr377Met MYOC mutation in this population is much higher than that reported for other European populations.


The different aspects of the problem of health maintaining and strengthening are discussed. The special attention is devoted to the problem of diet that at present is characterized by deficiency of macro- and micronutrients. It is supposed that this factor together with the change in ecological condition promotes the development of different somatic diseases and their atypical course. To correct the dietary regimen, to strengthen the body functional reserves and to improve its nonspecific resistance to the influence of environmental unfavorable and pathogenic factors the possibility of wide use of biologically active food additives (BAA) is discussed. The examples of BAAs based on plant materials and results of their use in health resort conditions are given.


Between 2000 and 2004 a disease occurred in an aviary in Germany affecting various bird species belonging to the order Passeriformes including Collared Grosbeaks (Mycerobas affinis), Eurasian Bullfinches (Pyrrhula pyrrhula griseiventris), Brown Bullfinches (Pyrrhula nipalensis), Grey-headed bullfinches (Pyrrhula erythaca) and Yellow-bellied Tits (Periparus venustulus). The major clinical signs included increased mortality of fledglings and young birds, as well as feather disorders and feather loss in adult birds. In addition, adult Eurasian Bullfinches showed in one year a disease course, in which the major symptom was inflammation of the skin beginning on the basis of the beak and spreading over the head occurring a few days before death. Bacteriological and parasitological investigations did not reveal any consistent findings. Using a newly developed polymerase chain reaction protocol, DNA of the recently discovered finch polyomavirus (FPyV) was demonstrated in several affected birds. Because of the consistent detection of FPyV-DNA and the similarity of the symptoms with those observed during infection with the closely related avian polyomavirus in other bird species, an etiological role of FPyV in the observed disease is assumed.


Studies were made of the effects of pre- and post-weaning undernutrition and/or protein deficiency on intestinal phytase and phosphatase activities in albino rats and reversibility of the same by subsequent dietary rehabilitation. Neonatal undernutrition induced by rearing the pups in litters of 16 caused a marked decrease in alkaline phytase activity (as compared to those reared in litters of 8), while acid phytase activity decreased to a lesser extent and acid and alkaline phosphatase activities did not change. When neonatally undernourished rats were subsequently continued on a 4 or a 20% protein diet in restricted amounts (2.5 g/day) for 6 weeks the decreases in the alkaline phytase activity but not in that of acid phytase were further aggravated. Acid and alkaline phosphatases were not influenced by these treatments either. On dietary rehabilitation of these rats for subsequent 6 weeks on a 20% protein diet (ad libitum) acid and alkaline phytase activities of intestine recovered partially. These studies indicate the importance of alkaline phytase activity as a marker of intestinal maturation and is also suggestive of interrelationships between nutrition, intestinal development and its alkaline phytase activity.


The main objective in content-based image retrieval is to find images similar to a query image in an image collection. Matching using descriptors computed from regions centered at local invariant interest points (key points) have become popular because of their robustness to changes in viewpoint and occlusion. However, local descriptor matching can produce many false matches. RANSAC can robustly fit a model to data in presence of outliers and has been used to find correspondences in presence of noise. But obtaining a good hypothesis may require many runs, particularly when the proportion of inliers in the data is low. In this paper, we utilize topological information from the Delaunay triangulation to construct a refined set of matches that is presented to the RANSAC algorithm to fit a homography. Experiments show that with this refined match list, RANSAC is able to obtain correct hypothesis in very few runs. The result is often superior to ordinary RANSAC even after thousands of runs and the method consumes substantially less processing time.


Although many single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been identified to be associated with metabolic syndrome (MetS), there was only a slight improvement in the ability to predict future MetS by the simply addition of SNPs to clinical risk markers. To improve the ability to predict future MetS, combinational effects, such as SNP—SNP interaction, SNP—environment interaction, and SNP—clinical parameter (SNP × CP) interaction should be also considered. We performed a case-control study to explore novel SNP × CP interactions as risk markers for MetS based on health check-up data of Japanese male employees. We selected 99 SNPs that were previously reported to be associated with MetS and components of MetS; subsequently, we genotyped these SNPs from 360 cases and 1983 control subjects. First, we performed logistic regression analyses to assess the association of each SNP with MetS. Of these SNPs, five SNPs were significantly associated with MetS (P < 0.05): LRP2 rs2544390, rs1800592 between UCP1 and TBC1D9, APOA5 rs662799, VWF rs7965413, and rs1411766 between MYO16 and IRS2. Furthermore, we performed multiple logistic regression analyses, including an SNP term, a CP term, and an SNP × CP interaction term for each CP and SNP that was significantly associated with MetS. We identified a novel SNP × CP interaction between rs7965413 and platelet count that was significantly associated with MetS [SNP term: odds ratio (OR) = 0.78, P = 0.004; SNP × CP interaction term: OR = 1.33, P = 0.001]. This association of the SNP × CP interaction with MetS remained nominally significant in multiple logistic regression analysis after adjustment for either the number of MetS components or MetS components excluding obesity. Our results reveal new insight into platelet count as a risk marker for MetS.


A practical challenge in reinforcement learning are combinatorial action spaces that make planning computationally demanding. For example, in cooperative multi-agent reinforcement learning, a potentially large number of agents jointly optimize a global reward function, which leads to a combinatorial blow-up in the action space by the number of agents. As a minimal requirement, we assume access to an argmax oracle that allows to efficiently compute the greedy policy for any Q-function in the model class. Building on recent work in planning with local access to a simulator and linear function approximation, we propose efficient algorithms for this setting that lead to polynomial compute and query complexity in all relevant problem parameters. For the special case where the feature decomposition is additive, we further improve the bounds and extend the results to the kernelized setting with an efficient algorithm.


Rule testing in scheduling applications is a complex and potentially costly business problem. This thesis reports the outcome of research undertaken to develop a system to describe and test scheduling rules against a set of scheduling data. The overall intention of the research was to reduce commercial scheduling costs by minimizing human domain expert interaction within the scheduling process.

This thesis reports the outcome of research initiated following a consultancy project to develop a system to test driver schedules against the legal driving rules in force in the UK and the EU. One of the greatest challenges faced was interpreting the driving rules and translating them into the chosen programming language. This part of the project took considerable effort to complete the programming, testing and debugging processes. A potential problem then arises if the Department of Transport or the European Union alter or change the driving rules. Considerable software development is likely to be required to support the new rule set.

The approach considered takes into account the need for a modular software component that can be used in not just transport scheduling systems which look at legal driving rules but may also be integrated into other systems that have the need to test temporal rules. The integration of the rule testing component into existing systems is key to making the proposed solution reusable.

The research outcome proposes an alternative approach to rule definition, similar to that of RuleML, but with the addition of rule metadata to provide the ability of describing rules of a temporal nature. The rules can be serialised and deserialised between XML (eXtensible Markup Language) and objects within an object oriented environment (in this case .NET with C#), to provide a means of transmission of the rules over a communication infrastructure. The rule objects can then be compiled into an executable software library, allowing the rules to be tested more rapidly than traditional interpreted rules. Additional support functionality is also defined to provide a means of effectively integrating the rule testing engine into existing applications.

Following the construction of a rule testing engine that has been designed to meet the given requirements, a series of tests were undertaken to determine the effectiveness of the proposed approach. This lead to the implementation of improvements in the caching of constructed work plans to further improve performance. Tests were also carried out into the application of the proposed solution within alternative scheduling domains and to analyse the difference in computational performance and memory usage across system architectures, software frameworks and operating systems, with the support of Mono.

Future work that is expected to follow on from this thesis will likely reside in investigations into the development of graphical design tools for the creation of the rules, improvements in the work plan construction algorithm, parallelisation of elements of the process to take better advantage of multi-core processors and off-loading of the rule testing process onto dedicated or generic computational processors.


doi: 10.5431/aramit4308 Abstract: spiders leave draglines, faeces and other secretions behind when traveling through their microhabitat. the presence of these secretions may unintentionally inform other animals, prey as well as predators, about a recent and possible current predation risk or food availability. for a wolf spider, other spiders including smaller conspecifics, form a substantial part of their prey, and larger wolf spiders, again including conspecifics, are po - tential predators. We tested two hypotheses: that large wolf spiders may locate patches of potential spider prey through the presence of silk threads and/or other secretions; and that prey spiders may use secretions from large wolf spiders to avoid patches with high predation risk. We used large (subadult or adult) Pardosa saltans to provide predator cues and mixed dwarf spiders or small (juvenile) P. saltans to provide prey cues. subadult wolf spiders were significantly attracted to litter contaminated by dwarf spiders or small conspecifics after 6 hours but no longer after 24 hours. in contrast, neither dwarf spiders nor small P. saltans showed significant avoidance of substrate contaminated by adult P. saltans. however, small P. saltans showed different activity patterns on the two substrates. the results indicate that wolf spiders are able to increase the efficiency of foraging by searching preferentially in patches with the presence of intraguild prey. the lack of a clear patch selection response of the prey in spite of a modified activity pattern may possibly be associated with the vertical stratification of the beech litter habitat: the reduced volume of spaces in the deeper layers could make downward rather than horizontal movement a fast and safe tactic against a large predator that cannot enter these spaces.


We propose Neural Transformation Machine (NTram), a novel architecture for sequence-to-sequence learning, which performs the task through a series of nonlinear transformations from the representation of the input sequence (e.g., a Chinese sentence) to the final output sequence (e.g., translation to English). Inspired by the recent Neural Turing Machines [8], we store the intermediate representations in stacked layers of memories, and use read-write operations on the memories to realize the nonlinear transformations of those representations. Those transformations are designed in advance but the parameters are learned from data. Through layer-by-layer transformations, NTram can model complicated relations necessary for applications such as machine translation between distant languages. The architecture can be trained with normal back-propagation on parallel texts, and the learning can be easily scaled up to a large corpus. NTram is broad enough to subsume the state-of-the-art neural translation model in [2] as its special case, while significantly improves upon the model with its deeper architecture. Remarkably, NTram, being purely neural network-based, can achieve performance comparable to the traditional phrase-based machine translation system (Moses) with a small vocabulary and a modest parameter size.


Image-text retrieval is a fundamental task to bridge vision and language by exploiting various strategies to finegrained alignment between regions and words. This is still tough mainly because of one-to-many correspondence, where a set of matches from another modality can be accessed by a random query. While existing solutions to this problem including multi-point mapping, probabilistic distribution, and geometric embedding have made promising progress, one-to-many correspondence is still under-explored. In this work, we develop a Multilateral Semantic Relations Modeling (termed MSRM) for image-text retrieval to capture the one-to-many correspondence between multiple samples and a given query via hypergraph modeling. Specifically, a given query is first mapped as a probabilistic embedding to learn its true semantic distribution based on Mahalanobis distance. Then each candidate instance in a mini-batch is regarded as a hypergraph node with its mean semantics while a Gaussian query is modeled as a hyperedge to capture the semantic correlations beyond the pair between candidate points and the query. Comprehensive experimental results on two widely used datasets demonstrate that our MSRM method can outper-form state-of-the-art methods in the settlement of multiple matches while still maintaining the comparable performance of instance-level matching.


Abstract Bacteriophages (phages) are viruses that kill bacteria specifically but cannot infect other kinds of organisms. They have attracted new attention since the increasing antibiotic resistance developed into a global crisis. Phage therapy, a 100-year-old form of antibacterial treatment in medicine, is gaining momentum because phages represent a therapy concept without such negative side effects as toxicity; phages are the only therapeutic agent that regulates itself at the sites of infection and decays when the infectious bacteria have been killed. Nature is an almost infinite phage resource: New ones can be isolated for most kinds of problem bacteria as needed; bacteria and their phages constantly co-evolve. This is important as new pathogenic bacterial variants evolve and new challenging situations arise. In human therapy, "cocktails" of multiple phages may reduce the probability of selecting bacteria that developed resistance to a certain phage. Antibiotic agents can be applied together with phages in many circumstances; the two often function synergistically. Phages cannot be expected to replace antibiotic agents in our medical arsenal, but can be used where antibiotic agents fail. The selected phages, however, must be obligately virulent, well-characterized, and highly purified before application. Countless patients and their physicians are waiting for re-establishing phage therapy as a flexible, tailored medicine; infrastructures should be built in all countries urgently: The 2015 World Health Organization assembly resolution 68.7.3. called for national action plans by May 2017 to combat the antimicrobial drug resistance crisis. This article discusses the therapeutic potential of phages and describes challenges and recent developments.


Biopotential signals are recorded mostly by using sticky, pre-gelled electrodes, which are not ideal for wearable, point-of-care monitoring where the usability of the personalized medical device depends critically on the level of comfort and wearability of the electrodes. We report a fully-wearable medical garment for mobile monitoring of cardiac biopotentials from the wrists or the neck with minimum restriction to regular clothing habits. The wearable prototype is based on elastic bands with graphene functionalized, textile electrodes and battery-powered, low-cost electronics for signal acquisition and wireless transmission. Comparison of the electrocardiogram (ECG) recordings obtained from the wearable prototype against conventional wet electrodes indicate excellent conformity and spectral coherence among the two signals.


In recent days the problem faced by the construction industry is acute shortage of raw materials. We have responsibility to reduce the effect the application of concrete materials to environmental impact. The concrete should be used as efficiently as much as possible. In structural design, an ideal situation in material saving is to reduce the weight of the structure without having to compromise on its strength and serviceability. Partial replacement of the concrete below the neutral axis is an idea that can create reduction in weight and savings in materials. In this paper, an experimental investigation is on partial replacement of concrete below the neutral axis by placing bricks with spacing and without spacing. Specimens of solid RC beams and two composite beams with different variations are casted and tested under two-point flexure loading. The results of Load deflection relationship, Load strain relationship, first crack, Ultimate load, concrete saving and reduction of Self weight of the beam are compared and effects are studied.


ABSTRACT Aerobic organisms contain antioxidant enzymes, such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase, to protect them from both direct and indirect effects of reactive oxygen species, such as O2·− and H2O2. Previous work by others has shown that Escherichia colimutants lacking SOD not only are more susceptible to DNA damage and killing by H2O2 but also contain larger pools of intracellular free iron. The present study investigated if SOD-deficient E. coli cells are exposed to increased levels of hydroxyl radical (·OH) as a consequence of the reaction of H2O2 with this increased iron pool. When the parental E. coli strain AB1157 was exposed to H2O2 in the presence of an α-(4-pyridyl-1-oxide)-N-tert-butyl-nitrone (4-POBN)–ethanol spin-trapping system, the 4-POBN–·CH(CH3)OH spin adduct was detectable by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, indicating ·OH production. When the isogenic E. coli mutant JI132, lacking both Fe- and Mn-containing SODs, was exposed to H2O2 in a similar manner, the magnitude of ·OH spin trapped was significantly greater than with the control strain. Preincubation of the bacteria with the iron chelator deferoxamine markedly inhibited the magnitude of·OH spin trapped. Exogenous SOD failed to inhibit·OH formation, indicating the need for intracellular SOD. Redox-active iron, defined as EPR-detectable ascorbyl radical, was greater in the SOD-deficient strain than in the control strain. These studies (i) extend recent data from others demonstrating increased levels of iron in E. coli SOD mutants and (ii) support the hypothesis that a resulting increase in ·OH formation generated by Fenton chemistry is responsible for the observed enhancement of DNA damage and the increased susceptibility to H2O2-mediated killing seen in these mutants lacking SOD.


During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of incarcerated people in the United States decreased by at least 16%---the largest, fastest reduction in prison population in American history. Using an original dataset curated from public sources on prison demographics across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, we show that incarcerated white people benefited disproportionately from this decrease in the U.S. prison population, and the fraction of incarcerated Black and Latino people sharply increased. This pattern deviates from a decade-long trend before 2020 and the onset of COVID-19, during which the proportion of incarcerated Black people was declining. Using case studies of select states, we explore and quantify mechanisms that could explain these disparities: temporary court closures that led to fewer prison admissions, changes in the frequency of police interactions, and state-level prison release policies that sought to de-densify congregate settings. These findings illuminate how systemic racism pervades juridical and penal institutions and is the engine of mass incarceration in America.


Learning English is not an easy step that can be managed in a short time, especially in acceleration program because in this program, students have to learn and memorize all materials of English faster than those who are in regular classes. The researcher intended to investigate the
learning style used by the students in acceleration class in learning English. The purposes of this study were to know the kinds of learning styles, and to know the learning style mostly used by the students in Acceleration class at MAN 03 Malang. This study used descriptive research design because the researcher wanted to describe the English learning style used by the students in acceleration class. The respondents were the eleventh grade students at MAN 03 Malang in the academic year 20082009. There were 10
students in acceleration class. Afterwards, they were given the Likert Scale on English learning styles.
After collecting and analyzing the data, the researcher found that the students used all of the learning styles, especially modalities. The most learning style used among six styles employed by the students in learning English was kinesthetic style with the mean score 50, which was
appropriate with their intellectual characteristics. The mean score for tactile styles was 48, auditory with mean score 46.8, individual was 45.2, group was 44.6, and visual styles was 34.4 as shown in table II.
In conclusion, the learning styles used by the students in Acceleration class at MAN 03 Malang was vary based on their way of learning. This learning style used to improve the student's ability in learning English. Therefore, the students in Acceleration class at MAN 03 Malang are
prospective language learners or we called them gifted students, because they are structuring or synthetic thinkers.


Book Review: The Boss: J. Edgar Hoover and the Great American Inquisition. by Athan G. Theoharis and John Stuart Cox; the Party of Fear: from Nativist Movements to the New Right in American History. by David H. Bennett; Kelley: The Story of an FBI Director. by Clarence M. Kelley and James Kirkpatrick Davis; Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia. by Joseph D. Pistone with Richard Woodley; Spy Vs. Spy: Stalking Soviet Spies in America. by Ronald Kessler; the Spy Who Got Away: The Inside Story of Edward Lee Howard, the Cia Agent Who Betrayed His Country's Secrets and Escaped to Moscow. by David Wise.


Background: The private medical sector is a resource that must be estimated for efficient inclusion into public healthcare during pandemics. Methods: A survey was conducted among private healthcare workers to ascertain their views on the potential resources that can be accessed from the private sector and methods to do the same. Results: There were 213 respondents, 80% of them being doctors. Nearly half (47.4%) felt that the contribution from the private medical sector has been suboptimal. Areas suggested for improved contributions by the private sector related to patient care (71.8%) and provision of equipment (62.4%), with fewer expectations (39.9%) on the research front. Another area of deemed support was maintaining continuity of care for non-COVID patients using virtual consultation services (77.4%), tele-consultation being the preferred option (60%). 58.2% felt that the Government had not involved the private sector adequately; and 45.1% felt they should be part of policy-making. Conclusion: A streamlined pathway to facilitate the private sector to join hands with the public sector for a national cause is the need of the hour. Through our study, we have identified gaps in the current contribution by the private sector and identified areas in which they could contribute, by their own admission.


Witnessing two drastically different political regimes and the ending of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st within one single lifetime, as many other people, I have been profoundly affected by these changes and mainly by the new access to information provided by the electronic revolution.
On the one hand, this paper aims to present, in a subjective and informal manner, my personal review of the evolution of technology, and my own contact with information and communication technology as a person, but mainly as a teacher. From the letters, the hand-written notes and the library books of my childhood, I am now faced with emails from students, laptop or iPad notes taken during classes and virtual libraries that instantly give access to numerous books. But this is not enough and the need for virtual modules, electronic resources, online learning and teaching is greater than ever, requiring innovative working methods and a complex educational design in addition to an adapted content design.
On the other hand, the case study the article focuses on is an example of best practice that could also be used in Romania, boosting the modernisation of education and training. Finland is a pioneer in distance learning (since 1986) and e-learning (web-based education since 1998) and having experienced their educational services as an Erasmus teacher, I would like to refer to their expertise and promote their techniques. My purpose is to present the rationale, the benefits, and the challenges that the Finns have already faced, using their experiences for addressing and using e-learning appropriately in the process of teaching and learning. In addition it could also be used as a potential model of societal inclusion of the unemployed and low educated, people living in remote or poor areas, migrants, persons with disabilities or elderly, such as implied by the European Commission programmes.


The field of reliability engineering is developing, as needed in the industry. This is especially in arctic regions which now are being explored and vast recourses and opportunities are found. The reliability research is limited in the arctic, little knowledge is known about operating in the arctic regions. This research study will analyze equipment in an arctic region, Svalbard. It calculates the effects of operational conditions and the availability of a conveyor system found in a coal mine in Svalbard. The aim of the thesis is to understand the availability for the system and try to make a practical impact on the operations in the coal mine. The study has used two types of reliability methods – parametric and non-parametric method. These approaches can be used to find the reliability with and without the operational conditions included in the analysis. Similar for both methods are that they depend heavily on the data available. It seems that the operational conditions data collection is rare or nonexisting. The study has produced two papers in order to analyze the main conveyor systems and a Stacker. It found for one year of operation (2010) that the availability was 96,44%. Although this is a high availability, it was found that the reliability was low. A second analysis was done on the Stacker with consideration of operational conditions. It was found that during the winter season the hazard rate increased by 4,78 times the design conditions. It was also found that if the Stacker's performance operated like the other conveyors, this could save the company more than 3 million dollars. Some improvement measures are discussed for the data collection of failure and covariate data. The result presents an application of reliability and maintainability which seems to be useful for the operations in Svea.


A Review of:
Tummon, N., & McKinnon, D. (2018). Attitudes and practices of Canadian academic librarians regarding library and online privacy: A national study. Library and Information Science Research, 40(2), 86-97. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lisr.2018.05.002
Abstract
Objective – To assess attitudes of Canadian academic librarians regarding online privacy issues and to gauge their knowledge of related procedures and policies at their institutions.
Design – Attitudinal online survey in English.
Setting – English-language academic libraries in 10 Canadian provinces.
Subjects – English-speaking academic librarians across Canada.
Methods – Survey, based on Zimmer's 2014 study of librarians in the United States of America, announced via email to 1,317 potential participants, managed using LimeSurvey, and available from April 7 to May 5, 2017. In 28 optional multiple choice or Likert scale questions, the survey prompted participants to express their attitudes regarding online privacy scenarios and privacy-related library practices, including patron data collection. Results were analyzed in Microsoft Excel and SPSS.
Main Results – The survey response rate was 13.9% (183 respondents). Job position, age, or geographic location did not appear to influence attitudes towards privacy, with almost all respondents strongly agreeing or agreeing that individuals should control who sees their personal information (96.2%) and that companies collect too much such information (97.8%). Respondents voiced slightly less concern about government information collection, but nearly all respondents agreed that governments should not share personal information with third parties without authorization and that companies should only use information for the purposes they specify. When asked if privacy issues are more important today than five years ago, 69.9% of respondents said they were more concerned and 78.1% noted they knew more than five years before about privacy-related risks.
Regarding online behaviour, 53.3% of respondents felt web behaviour tracking is both beneficial and harmful, with 29.1% considering it harmful, and 13.7% finding it neither beneficial nor harmful. Online shopping and identify theft, social media behaviour tracking, search engine policy display, and personal information sharing were also areas of concern for respondents, with the majority noting they were somewhat or very concerned about these issues.
 In terms of library practices, most respondents strongly agreed that libraries should not share personal information, circulation records, or Internet use records with third parties unless authorized, though 33% of respondents noted they could neither agree nor disagree that libraries are doing all they can to prevent unauthorized access to such information. The majority of respondents strongly agreed or agreed that libraries should play a role in educating patrons about privacy issues. Many respondents (68.9%) did not know if their libraries had practices or procedures for dealing with patron information requests from law enforcement or governmental representatives. The majority of respondents did not know if patrons at their libraries had inquired about privacy issues, 42.3% did not know if their libraries communicate privacy policies to patrons, and 45.4% noted their libraries did not inform patrons about library e-resource privacy policies. Many respondents (55.2%) had attended educational sessions about online privacy and surveillance in the past five years, while 52.2% noted their libraries had not hosted or organized such sessions over the same period.
Conclusion – Survey participants showed concern about online and patron privacy, though their lack of knowledge about local procedures and policies highlights a potential need for enhanced privacy education.


Positioning and navigation with GPS and other Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) usually work well in open sky conditions like in the air and in flat landscapes. However, reception problems have been observed in mountainous and urban areas, where high structures obscure some or many Line of Sight Signals (LOS) of satellites and where the signal interacts with the local environment and multipath (MP) such as reflections, diffractions and transmissions can reach the receiver. These echoes can lead to a lack of signals and to erroneous input to the receiver front end resulting in less accurate and imprecise position fixes and sometimes to a position blackout. For many years, GNSS hardware simulators, have been used to emulate realistic GPS, Galileo, Beidou and GLONASS signal environments and to reproduce multiple atmospheric, environmental, vehicular, antenna and satellite error effects in a controlled and repeatable way. Obscuration and multipath have been represented by different models, usually in a mathematical, stochastic, geotypical way, representing a certain type of environment but not a specific location, city map, 3D building structure or mountain profile. One of the main obstacles was the huge wealth of data needed to define the shapes and surfaces of the structures and the physical properties of the surfaces. Another main obstacle was the processing power needed to handle both the 3D map data, the vehicle motion and the behaviour of RF signals interacting with these surfaces. In last few years, these problems have been solved by Oktal Synthetic Environment (OktalSE), who have programmed a deterministic software simulation tool capable of handling the massive amount of mapping and of calculating signal multipath and obscuration in real-time. This tool uses a GPU-oriented raytracing algorithm to compute, in record times, the masks generated by the environment as well as the impact of the multipath on the performance of the system. For some types of GNSS receiver testing, it is useful to be able to test multipath and obscuration for specific locations and not just in a general way. Thus a new tool has been created which combines GNSS software simulation and hardware simulation by remote control, in order to enable the simulation of more realistic, geospecific obscuration and multipaths effects of GNSS signals as seen by the antenna of a moving vehicle in real-time.


India is one of the few newspaper markets in the world that is showing a climbing graph, especially due to rapid growth of the Hindi newspapers. But the attention and time spent by the consumers is splitting among the various media options available to them to obtain information and entertainment. The revenue from the advertisement is directly related to the numbers of audience one has. Therefore, the Hindi newspaper houses are strengthening their presence across media channels. At the same time the Hindi newspapers are involved in the process of convergence that is enabling them to target their audience with specific content through multiple channels. On other side they are providing different options and choices to the advertisers to reach their target customers in the best manner. The research has found that the convergence model that one encountered generally are different from the convergence model that has emerged in the Hindi newspapers.


The Cote d'Ivoire, like many African nations, has been greatly influenced by the presence of foreign powers. However, the case of the Cote d'Ivoire is unique because of the country's contemporary and continuous relations with France – despite the many negative consequences that this relationship has produced. By examining the presence of the European colonial power throughout the history of the Cote d'Ivoire, it is clear that a direct link between the French and the modern problems of the Cote d'Ivoire, specifically when addressing unfair and authoritative rulers, weighted social stratifications, issues with economy, trade, and the Ivoirian Civil War of 2002, is unmistakable. France as a Negative Influence on the Cote d'Ivoire


The glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) is selenium-containing enzyme, which catalyses the reduction of hydrogen peroxides and lipid hydroperoxides preventing the oxidative damages in animal tissues. The selenium (Se) deficiency increases the need for vitamin E. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation of chelated Se on the poultry meat quality. Fourteen Cobb chicks with 1 day of age were divided into two groups: C-Control group (without supplementation) and S-Supplemented group (with 0.03mg of chelated Se.kg-1 of feed). Birds at 42 days of age were slaughtered and boneless skinless chicken thighs were collected and stored at –18oC for 30 days. Thighs were analyzed for the cooking loss, lipid oxidation by Thiobarbituric-Acid-Reactive Substances (TBARS) and GSH-Px activity by coupled assay procedure recording the NADPH (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate reduced) oxidation. Samples of Supplemented group presented 33.8% less water after cooking (p ? 0.05) and were 23.6% (p ? 0.10) less oxidized when compared with samples of group Control. The GSH-Px activity of thighs did not differ significantly (p> 0.05) between groups Supplemented and Control. The supplementation with 0.03mg of Se in the kg of feed improved the meat quality by reducing the lipid oxidation and cooking loss, however did not increase the GSH-Px activity.


Capsule Female feeding rate behaviour was highly variable between individuals but no effect of the doubly labelled water (DLW) procedure on female visit rate was detected, whereas visit rates by males, which were neither trapped or manipulated, increased following trapping and manipulation of their partners. Aims To test the assumption that the subject's behaviour is normal during the measurement period when using DLW to measure energy expenditure. Methods Visits to the nestbox by parents feeding young were counted separately for females and males on the day before and the day after the female only was trapped to measure her energy expenditure using DLW. Visit rates were also counted for control pairs. Results Female visit rates did not differ before and after manipulation, or between experimental and control pairs, but bird behaviour was highly variable between individuals. In contrast, the visit rates of both experimental and control males, which were not trapped, increased on the second day. Conclusion The results for female behaviour supported the assumption of normality, but a small subset of particular individuals may be prone to adverse reactions. The response of the males may have been a reaction to disturbance at the nest.


This is an explication and defense of P. F. Strawson's naturalist theory of free will and moral responsibility. I respond to a set of criticisms of the view by free will skeptics, compatibilists, and libertarians who adopt the core assumption : Strawson thinks that our reactive attitudes provide the basis for a rational justification of our blaming and praising practices. My primary aim is to explain and defend Strawson's naturalism in light of criticisms based on the core assumption. Strawson's critiques of incompatibilism and free will skepticism are not intended to provide rational justifications for either compatibilism or the claim that some persons have free will. Hence, the charge that Strawson's "arguments" are faulty is misplaced. The core assumption resting behind such critiques is mistaken.


Review of the Studies on Exposure to Aluminum and Alzheimer's Disease A review has been made of the epidemiological studies published evaluating the role of aluminum as a risk factor for developing Alzheimer's disease. A search for published studies was conducted in the Medline database by combining the terms «Aluminum» and «Alzheimer's disease». In most of the studies reviewed, exposure to aluminum in drinking water was examined. These studies suggest that a relationship exists between aluminum (Al) and Alzheimer's disease involving relative risks of around 2 for populations exposed to Al concentrations in drinking water higher than 0.1 mg/l. Types of exposure to this metal by other means (food, medications and occupational exposure) have received little attention. These epidemiological studies entail certain methodological limitations, and their results are not consistent, so the results available to date therefore not making it possible to clearly determine that any relationship exists between exposure to aluminum and the etiology of Alzheimer's disease. Nevertheless, the toxic effect of aluminum on human health cannot be ruled out either, and thus exposure to aluminum should be monitored and limited as far as possible.


In this thesis, I study the self-assembly of monodisperse colloidal particles on liquid-liquid interfaces. Specifically, I examine the relevant parameters that govern the size of self-assembled clusters when they pass through a liquid-liquid interface. I first describe a millimeter length-scale self-assembly system, where I find that the number of particles within a sinking cluster is proportional to a power law of the dimensionless Bond number. I find that the sphere deposition geometry also plays an important role, where I observe distinctly different scaling for monolayer rafts in comparison to stacked sphere clusters. I then develop an analogous microfluidic self-assembly system, where I use a magnetic field gradient to self-assemble paramagnetic microparticles on an aqueous two-phase liquid-liquid interface. Here, I observe empirically that the number of particles within a microparticle cluster scales inversely with the
magnetic Bond number.


Phytoestrogens possess beneficial effects in the management of menopausal symptoms with few side effects. Soybeans are major natural sources of isoflavones, with high estrogen receptor (ER)-β selectivity. The objective of this study therefore was to develop a solvent-mediated extraction method for soybean germinated embryos (SGEs) and to investigate the biological activities of the extract. Ethanolic extraction yielded the SGE extract (SGEE), which had a unique composition of biologically active aglycones and soyasaponins. SGEE showed a proliferative effect in MCF7 cells and ERβ-selective transcriptional activities in human embryonic kidney cells. In addition, oral administration of SGEE to ovariectomized rats resulted in the induction of ERβ and estrogen-responsive genes in the uterus and a decrease in tail skin temperature and uterus weight. Our data suggest that germination and ethanolic extraction are effective measures for producing isoflavone-rich food supplements, which may be useful as alternative menopausal hormone therapy.


Predicting details of aircraft engine combustion by means of numerical simulations requires reliable information about spray characteristics from liquid fuel injection. However, details of liquid fuel injection are not well documented. Indeed, standard droplet distributions are usually utilized in Euler-Lagrange simulations of combustion. Typically, airblast injectors are employed to atomize the liquid fuel by feeding a thin liquid film in the shear zone between two swirled air flows. Unfortunately, droplet data for the wide range of operating conditions during a flight is not available.
 Focusing on numerical simulations, Direct Numerical simulations (DNS) of full nozzle designs are nowadays out of scope. Reducing numerical costs, but still considering the full nozzle flow, the embedded DNS methodology (eDNS) has been introduced within a Volume of Fluid framework (Sauer et al., Atomization and Sprays, vol. 26, pp. 187–215, 2016). Thereby, DNS domain is kept as small as possible by reducing it to the primary breakup zone. It is then embedded in a Large Eddy Simulation (LES) of the turbulent nozzle flow. This way, realistic turbulent scales of the nozzle flow are included, when simulating primary breakup. Previous studies of a generic atomizer configuration proved that turbulence in the gaseous flow has significant impact on liquid disintegration and should be included in primary breakup simulations (Warncke et al., ILASS Europe, Paris, 2019).
 In this contribution, an industrial airblast atomizer is numerically investigated for the first time using the eDNS approach. The complete nozzle geometry is simulated, considering all relevant features of the flow. Three steps are necessary: 1. LES of the gaseous nozzle flow until a statistically stationary flow is reached. 2. Position and refinement of the DNS domain. Due to the annular nozzle design the DNS domain is chosen as a ring. It comprises the atomizing edge, where the liquid is brought between inner and outer air flow, and the downstream primary breakup zone. 3. Start of liquid fuel injection and primary breakup simulation. Since the simulation of the two-phase DNS and the LES of the surrounding nozzle flow are conducted at the same time, turbulent scales of the gas flow are directly transferred to the DNS domain.
 The applicability of eDNS to full nozzle designs is demonstrated and details of primary breakup at the nozzle outlet are presented. In particular a discussion of the phenomenological breakup process and spray characteristics is provided.


EFFECTS OF INSTRUMENT HANDLE DESIGN ON FOREARM MUSCLE ACTIVITY DURING SCALING BY DENTAL HYGIENISTS Jessica Rae Suedbeck Old Dominion University, 2016 Director: Professor Susan Lynn Tolle Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of 4 different commercially available instrument handle designs (A. 16 grams and 12.7 mm diameter; B. 23 grams and 11.1 mm diameter; C. 21 grams and 7.9 mm diameter; D. 18 grams and 6.35 mm diameter) on the muscle activity of four forearm muscles during a simulated scaling experience. Methods: A convenience sample of 27 dental hygienists used a Columbia 13/14 curet with four different instrument handles to scale artificial calculus. While scaling, each participant's muscle activity was measured using surface electromyography (sEMG). Participants completed an end user opinion survey. Results: Similar muscle activity was generated when scaling with instruments at 16, 18, and 21 grams with varying diameter handles. Instrument B generated significantly more muscle activity when compared to each of the other 3 instrument handle designs (p=0.001, p=0.002, p=0.039). Additionally, the lower left quadrant displayed significantly less muscle activity during scaling than the right quadrants (p=0.026, p=0.000), although no significant interaction effect was found with instruments within quadrants. Most participants (62.96%) preferred instrument A, which was rated more comfortable based on weight when compared to the other instruments tested (z=2.643, p=0.008; z=3.708, p=0.000; z=3.819, p=0.000). The smallest diameter instrument was rated significantly less comfortable (A. z=4.398, p=0.000; B. z=4.023,p=0.000; C. z=3.333, p=0.001). Conclusions: Instrument handle design has a significant effect on forearm muscle activity when performing scaling in a simulated environment. The heaviest instrument produced the highest muscle activity. Similar amounts of muscle activity were produced by instruments weighing between 16 and 21 g. Participants' instrument preferences were more affected by handle diameter than weight. The need for further research is needed to determine the impact of these results on arm muscle load related to risk of cumulative trauma disorders in a real-world setting.


Chondrosarcomas are malignant cartilaginous tumors. Most are located in the medullar cavity (central chondrosarcoma), and a minority develop in a preexisting osteochondroma (peripheral chondrosarcoma). The authors present karyotypes for 37 central, peripheral, juxtacortical, and dedifferentiated chondrosarcomas. Using loss of heterozygosity (LOH) analysis and DNA flow cytometry, the authors previously showed that central and peripheral chondrosarcomas probably evolve by different genetic mechanisms. Peripheral chondrosarcoma is characterized by genetic instability, as was previously shown by a high percentage of LOH and a broad range in DNA ploidy. The authors now show that all peripheral chondrosarcomas tested are aneuploid, combined with many nonspecific chromosomal aberrations. Two juxtacortical chondrosarcomas showed normal chromosome numbers combined with limited structural alterations, substantiating that juxtacortical and peripheral chondrosarcomas are two clinicopathologically different entities with a different genetic background. Central chondrosarcomas were previously found to be peridiploid with limited LOH, most frequent at 9p21. In the current study, chromosome 9 was involved in five of seven central chondrosarcomas compared with only one of four peripheral chondrosarcomas. Three central tumors showed involvement of the 9pl2-22 region, suggesting an important role for chromosome 9 in the oncogenesis of central chondrosarcoma. Moreover, trisomy 22 was found in four central chondrosarcomas only.


What are the effects on adolescent well-being of positive and negative experiences in both the vocational and relationship careers of youngsters and their parents? Data from the Dutch national panel study Utrecht Study of Adolescent Development (USAD) were used; this is a study of developmental processes as they occur in the life course of young people during the 1990s. A quarter of the total variance of the variable adolescent well-being is found at family level. Individual vocational and relationship factors appear to have significant long-term effects on adolescent well-being. The same holds true for relationship problems in the family, especially for girls. Vocational family factors and parents' personal characteristics are not important as predictors of adolescent well-being.


This paper presents a new approach to system partitioning based on clustering techniques. The adaptation of the heuristic is based on a robust system model. Major modifications include the formulation of a general and effective closeness function and the use of a new control scheme. The final implementation has been widely checked, obtaining promising conclusions.


Premature infants are subject to numerous interventions ranging from a simple diaper change to surgery while residing in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs). These neonates often suffer from pain, distress and discomfort during the first weeks of their lives. Although pharmacological pain treatment often is available, it cannot always be applied to relieve a neonate from pain or discomfort. This paper describes a non- pharmacological solution, called Mimo, which provides comfort through mediation of a parent's physiological features to the distressed neonate via an intelligent pillow system embedded with sensing and actuating functions. Clinical tests at Maxima Medical Centre in the Netherlands show that among the 9 of 10 infants who showed discomfort following diaper change, a shorter recovery time to baseline Skin Conductance Analgesimeter (SCA) values could be measured when the maternal heartbeat vibration in the Mimo was switched on and in 7 of these 10 a shorter crying time was measured.


A method is proposed for dealing with nonuniform data distributions in database organizations in order to estimate the expected number of blocks containing the tuples requested by a query. When tuples with equal attribute value are not uniformly distributed over the Mocks of secondaq memory that store the relation, a clustering effect is observed. This can be detected by means of a single parameter, (the clustcringfuctor), which can be stored in the system catalog. The metbod can be applied to uniform data distributions as well, since it is shown that a uniform distribution can be viewed as a perticular instance of a class of clustered distributions. In this case the proposed method allows considerable rednetion of the number of computational steps needed to compute the estimated result.


This paper proposes a filtered-sequence phase-locked loop (FSPLL) structure for detection of the positive sequence in three-phase systems. The structure includes the use of the Park transformation and moving average filters (MAF). Performance of the MAF is mathematically analyzed and represented in Bode diagrams. The analysis allows a proper selection of the window width of the optimal filter for its application in the dq transformed variables. The proposed detector structure allows fast detection of the grid voltage positive sequence (within one grid voltage cycle). The MAF eliminates completely any oscillation multiple of the frequency for which it is designed; thus, this algorithm is not affected by the presence of imbalances or harmonics in the electrical grid. Furthermore, the PLL includes a simple-frequency detector that makes frequency adaptive the frequency depending blocks. This guarantees the proper operation of the FSPLL under large frequency changes. The performance of the entire PLL-based detector is verified through simulation and experiment. It shows very good performance under several extreme grid voltage conditions.


Individual creativity is standardly treated as an 'internalist' process occurring solely in the head. An alternative, more interactionist view is presented here, where working with objects, media and other external things is seen as a fundamental component of creative thought. The value of chance interaction and chance cueing — practices widely used in the creative arts — is explored briefly in an account of the creative method of choreographer Wayne McGregor and then more narrowly in an experimental study that compared performance on a Scrabble-like word discovery problem. Subjects were presented with seven letters and given two minutes to call out three-to-seven-letter English words. There were three conditions: The tiles were fixed in place, subjects were free to move the tiles manually or the tiles could be randomly shuffled. Results showed that random shuffling was best, with manual movement second. Three reasons are provided: Shuffling is faster and cheaper than mentally thinking of candidates; randomizing strings covers the search space better than a deterministic method based on past successes; and randomizing is equivalent to adding diversity to a team, which is known empirically to lead to more creative solutions.


The determination of leaf area index is a variable of great importance for predicting productivity, especially when it comes to forage species where the desired product is the leaves. This study aimed to determine the variation of the leaf area index of forage sorghum when subjected to different irrigation depths in four culture cuts. Treatments consisted of six irrigation depths, these being 0, 60, 80, 100, 120 and 140% of the reference evapotranspiration. Seven evaluations of leaf area index (LAI) were performed, which were in the four cuts, specifically at 50, 80, 110 and 140 days after sowing (DAS), and also 15 days after each cut to evaluate the culture's resprouting, that is, at 65, 95 and 125 DAS. The delineation was randomized blocks, with six treatments and four blocks, totaling 24 experimental units. The experiment was conducted in Santiago-RS. Sowing was done on November 18, 2014. Using an irrigation system sprinkler, with one main row and six lateral rows, of PVC, being the irrigation levels differentiated by the nozzle diameter difference of sprinkler each lateral row. Samples of 0.5 linear meters per plot were collected in each of the seven evaluations, totaling 24 samples for evaluation. The analysis of leaf area index was performed using the computer program ImageJ. Significant results were found for the influence of the different irrigation levels on the leaf area index in the four cuts (recommended periods for grazing) evaluated, as well as for resprouting evaluations in the intermediate periods between cuts. Quadratic equations were adjusted for all the evaluation dates, where the 100 and 120% reference evapotranspiration levels alternated the largest LAI for all evaluations. The results also characterize that the second cut, or second grazing period of the irrigated forage sorghum, was the most productive, being it possible to recommend an increase in the animal load, or increase in grazing period in the area in this period. In this way, irrigation by sprinkling in the sorghum culture was characterized as an alternative for producers to increase leaf area index, and, consequently, crop productivity.

 Key words: Sorghum bicolor L. (Moench), irrigation management, pasture irrigation, sprinkler irrigation, production estimation.