In this paper we consider an extended Gauss–Bonnet gravity theory in arbitrary dimensions and in a space provided with a Weyl connection, which is torsion-free but non-metric-compatible, the non-metricity tensor being determined by a vector field. The action considered consists of the usual Einstein–Hilbert action plus all the terms quadratic in the curvature that reduce to the usual Gauss–Bonnet term for vanishing Weyl connection, i.e., when only the Levi-Civita part of the connection is present. We expand the action in terms of Riemannian quantities and obtain vector–tensor theories. We find that all the free parameters only appear in the kinetic term of the vector field, so two branches are possible: one with a propagating vector field and another one where the vector field does not propagate. We focus on the propagating case. We find that in four dimensions, the theory is equivalent to Einstein's gravity plus a Proca field. This field is naturally decoupled from matter, so it represents a natural dark matter candidate. Also for d = 4, we discuss a non-trivial cubic term in the curvature that can be constructed without spoiling the second-order nature of the field equations, because it leads to the vector–tensor Horndeski interaction. In arbitrary dimensions, the theory becomes more involved. We show that, even though the vector field presents kinetic interactions which do not have U 1 ?> symmetry, there are no additional propagating degrees of freedom with respect to the usual massive case. We show that, interestingly, this relies on the fact that the corresponding Stückelberg field belongs to a specific class within the general Horndeski theories. Finally, since Weyl geometries provide the natural ground on which to build scale invariant theories, we apply the usual Weyl gauging in order to make the Horndeski action locally scale invariant, and discuss new terms that can be added.


The need for new cutting tool technologies is driven by the constantly increasing performance of machine tools and the rising market competition. Current research results show that an improved combination of the cutting edge macro- and microgeometry, together with an appropriate substrate and coating, leads to a significant enhancement of cutting tool performance. Furthermore, inappropriate cutting edge microgeometries cause, in addition to the higher production costs, a reduction of the tool life. Hence, it is essential to produce tailored cutting edge microgeometries with high precision and process reliability. This paper presents the influence of brushing process parameters on the size and the form of produced cutting edges of indexable inserts. This leads to a better understanding and higher quality of the cutting edge preparation process by means of abrasive brushes. Furthermore, the process reliability of 5-axes brushing is analyzed. An example of a tool life map presents the significantly enhanced tool performance through cutting edge preparation and its sensitivity towards varying the cutting edge microgeometry.


This research guide contains listings of Davidson College library and archives materials related to microaggressions, diversity and inclusion, social justice, and equity.


In this work, we formulate the interaction between image segmentation and object recognition in the framework of the Expectation-Maximization (EM) algorithm. We consider segmentation as the assignment of image observations to object hypotheses and phrase it as the E-step, while the M-step amounts to fitting the object models to the observations. These two tasks are performed iteratively, thereby simultaneously segmenting an image and reconstructing it in terms of objects. We model objects using Active Appearance Models (AAMs) as they capture both shape and appearance variation. During the E-step, the fidelity of the AAM predictions to the image is used to decide about assigning observations to the object. For this, we propose two top-down segmentation algorithms. The first starts with an oversegmentation of the image and then softly assigns image segments to objects, as in the common setting of EM. The second uses curve evolution to minimize a criterion derived from the variational interpretation of EM and introduces AAMs as shape priors. For the M-step, we derive AAM fitting equations that accommodate segmentation information, thereby allowing for the automated treatment of occlusions. Apart from top-down segmentation results, we provide systematic experiments on object detection that validate the merits of our joint segmentation and recognition approach.


Abstract Single drop microextraction technique uses microamounts of organic solvents. Simplicity, low cost, low environmental impact, compatibility with chromatographic systems as well as its applicability to different matrices are main advantages of single drop microextraction. This technique has become frequently used for the extraction of a broad scope of compounds for numerous analytical applications. This review provides an overview of the existing single drop microextraction modes of realisation and the main scope is devoted to the optimization of parameters influencing the efficiency. The state of the art is discussed on the basis of examples selected from representative application areas. Extraction parameters for toxic organic compounds extraction and microdrop stability were evaluated.


Cell phone cameras have small apertures, which limits the number of photons they can gather, leading to noisy images in low light. They also have small sensor pixels, which limits the number of electrons each pixel can store, leading to limited dynamic range. We describe a computational photography pipeline that captures, aligns, and merges a burst of frames to reduce noise and increase dynamic range. Our system has several key features that help make it robust and efficient. First, we do not use bracketed exposures. Instead, we capture frames of constant exposure, which makes alignment more robust, and we set this exposure low enough to avoid blowing out highlights. The resulting merged image has clean shadows and high bit depth, allowing us to apply standard HDR tone mapping methods. Second, we begin from Bayer raw frames rather than the demosaicked RGB (or YUV) frames produced by hardware Image Signal Processors (ISPs) common on mobile platforms. This gives us more bits per pixel and allows us to circumvent the ISP's unwanted tone mapping and spatial denoising. Third, we use a novel FFT-based alignment algorithm and a hybrid 2D/3D Wiener filter to denoise and merge the frames in a burst. Our implementation is built atop Android's Camera2 API, which provides per-frame camera control and access to raw imagery, and is written in the Halide domain-specific language (DSL). It runs in 4 seconds on device (for a 12 Mpix image), requires no user intervention, and ships on several mass-produced cell phones.


Despite the importance of Streptococcus dysgalactiae ssp. dysgalactiae (SDSD) as an udder pathogen, the reservoir and epidemiological characteristics of this bacterium are largely unexplored. The aims of this study were to investigate risk factors for SDSD intramammary infections (SDSD-IMI) in Norwegian bovine dairy herds, identify sources of SDSD on animals and in the environment, and elucidate the genetic diversity of SDSD isolates. Data from herd recordings and a questionnaire were used to investigate herd-level risk factors for SDSD-IMI in 359 freestall dairy herds. Seven herds with a suspected high prevalence of SDSD-IMI were visited to sample extramammary sources (e.g., skin, wounds, mucous membranes, and freestall environment). Bacterial isolates were whole-genome sequenced to investigate the distribution of SDSD genotypes within herds and to assess the phylogenetic relationship between SDSD isolates from 27 herds across Norway. Risk factors for high incidence of SDSD-IMI in freestall dairy herds were related to housing, including closed flooring in alleys and rubber mats in cubicle bases. Parlor milking was also a risk factor compared with automatic milking systems. From herd visits, a considerable proportion of extramammary samples were SDSD positive, particularly from wounds and skin of the animals and the cubicle bases. Samples from mucous surfaces (nostrils, rectum, and vagina) and water troughs were least frequently positive. Eight multilocus sequence types (ST) were identified among the sequenced isolates from 27 herds, and phylogenetic analyses revealed 8 clades corresponding to ST. No significant association was identified between sampling site (milk, body sites, and environment) and ST. In 4 of 6 herds from which 5 or more isolates were available, one ST dominated and was found in milk and extramammary samples. One ST (ST453) was found in 15 of 27 herds, which implies that this is a widely distributed and possibly a bovine-adapted strain. Findings in this study suggest that SDSD is a cow-adapted opportunist with potential for contagious transmission, and that the freestall environment is likely to play a role in transmission between cows.


At present, the time domain dielectric spectroscopy is mainly used to analyze thin liquids or materials composed of molecular orderly substances. The various relaxation processes need to be unrelated or be superposed linearly. But it will be clearly limited when the method is applied to the complex heterogeneous mixture analysis. In order to widen its scope of application, the analysis method is improved in this paper by using the wavelet transform. Through the analysis of the oil-water mixture, the experimental results show that the time domain dielectric spectroscopy based on wavelet transform can not only offer the whole spectral information but exhibit the time domain and frequency domain information of various components. Therefore, the analysis method of time domain dielectric spectroscopy based on wavelet transform can be used to analyze complex heterogeneous mixtures.


Techniques are described for research on deep-sea fishes using in situ lander platforms equipped with cameras for imaging fishes, sonars for tracking movements and other environmental monitoring sensors. Fishes are attracted to the vicinity of the platform by bait placed within view of the camera. Over most of the world's oceans at depths greater than 3000 m the dominant scavenging fish is the grenadier Coryphaenoides (Nematonurus) armatus arriving at bait within 15-150 min depending on local population abundance. Applying an inverse square law relationship scavenger abundance can be calculated from fish arrival times. These fish show evidence of optimal foraging, staying longer at the bait if food is sparse. Ingestible acoustic transmitters embedded in baits allow tracking of fish departing from the bait source. Average radial rate of movement in the abyss is 1.75 cm s -1 dispersing small food falls within a few hours. C. armatus in the north Pacific Ocean double their swimming speed in late summer associated with seasonal enrichment of the benthos with organic carbon. In situ techniques allow comparison of swimming performance of different species, allowing elucidation of mechanisms of niche separation in otherwise apparently similar fish. Autonomous lander platforms are proposed as an important adjunct to conventional research methods based on capture of dead specimens of fish from the wild.


Wind forces acting on an offshore wind turbine are transferred to the bottom of the tower and consequently to the floating structure. Thus, drag forces acting on each component of the wind turbine such as the blades, the nacelle, and the tower must be accounted for properly in order to evaluate the performance of the supporting platform. In the aero-elastic wind turbine simulation tool FAST v.7, the nacelle drag component, however, has not been implemented, which means that only the drag forces on the tower and on the blades are represented. In this work, the front and side nacelle drag forces are modelled in FAST v.7 via different drag contributions. This paper will examine the behavior of a floating offshore semisubmersible platform, the WindFloat, for different Rotor-Nacelle-Assembly (RNA) yaw-misalignments with emphasis on the nacelle drag component.


Abstract An overview is given of the wide range of diagnostics that is providing valuable information on the interaction between plasma and the material wall in a fusion device. Of each technique, a brief description is given in combination with the main advantages and disadvantages for PSI research.


In this paper, various issues related to packet transportation in dynamically reconfigurable networks are studied and techniques for transmitting the associated signaling are discussed. A novel transportation frame based on multisymbol coding is presented, its functionality is analyzed, and the various alternatives for transmitting multiwavelength label/headers are reviewed and benchmarked. A physical layer performance comparison between two multiwavelength schemes, i.e., the bit-parallel and the multilevel (M-ary) coded, is carried out using analytic modeling as well as simulation tools. It is shown that the multilevel coding is an interesting solution, particularly in a wide-area network environment deploying line rates higher than 10 Gb/s.


A major National Gallery of Indonesia initiative, Masters of Modern Indonesian Portraiture is an exhibition of thirty-five significant Indonesian art works presented at the National Portrait Gallery. The exhibition offers significant insight into the rich portrait practice of Indonesia, showcasing key modernist works (1930–80s) drawn from the National Gallery of Indonesia's collection. These will be shown alongside a selection of contemporary works by leading contemporary Indonesian artists. It will be the first time works from the National Gallery of Indonesia will be shown in Australia and importantly a rare opportunity for Australian audiences to view the work of eminent artists from Indonesia, including masters S. Sudjojono, Hendra Gunawan and Affandi. The project is a National Gallery of Indonesia Travelling exhibition developed collaboratively for display at the National Portrait Gallery by both institutions' professional staff. It is the first formal project in what is hoped to be an ongoing relationship between the National Portrait Gallery and the National Gallery of Indonesia. Eleven Indonesian cultural professionals will travel from Jakarta to Canberra for the event, including the National Gallery of Indonesia's director, two leading curators and two artists. The National Portrait Gallery and the National Gallery of Indonesia are collaborating with the Australian National University's Australian Consortium of Asian Art on an associated seminar to be help on Tuesday 23 September 2014. Prominent academics from both Indonesia and Australia will be brought together for the event.


High speed milling (HSM) on inclined plane is the basic process of die and mould. The dynamic characteristics of the process are experimentally studied by changing the factors as inclined plane, cutting parameter and feeding mode on the high speed milling machine tool. The angles of inclined plane, spindle speed, feed amount and cutting depth are evaluated by the parameters of cutting forces and vibration. The feeding of projection process limits the milling vibrations mainly from horizontal (X) and (Y) directions. The cutting force reaches the peak value when the angle of inclined plane is 45°. The radial cutting depth shows more effects than the axial cutting depth to cutting force and vibration. However, the axial cutting depth should keep a minimum value when using ball mill.


Objective: This study "Profiling of SDS-PAGE based differentially expressed proteins from sera of patients with prostate carcinoma" provides an update on the novel candidate biomarkers in development, which have shown potential for improving the detection of clinically significant cases of this malignancy. Study Design: Cross sectional studies. Settings: Bolan Medical Complex and Civil Hospital Quetta Duration: From 08-01-2018 to 30-06-2018. Methodology: In this study, 50 serum samples were screened from prostate cancer patients and 10 from healthy donor sera using SDS PAGE in order to investigate the protein expressions in the form of bands. We compared these proteins with controls of healthy donors to find their upregulation Results: The results reveled the upregulation of proteins found in Prostate Cancer Patients as compare to healthy donors which were used as a control, which can further used as a biomarker for the diagnosis of early stage Prostate cancer. Conclusion: In the study we initially found 33 kDa, 34 kDa, 50 kDa, 75 kDa, and 100 kDa to be candidates for PCa progression biomarkers in Prostate cancer serum patients.


Acute kidney injury (AKI) continues to have an exceedingly high mortality rate, despite advances in dialysis technology. Current dialysis therapies replace only the filtration function of the kidney, not the critical transport, metabolic, and endocrine functions of renal tubule cells. Replacement of these additional functions would provide more complete AKI therapy and thereby change the natural history of this disease process. A renal tubule assist device (RAD) containing living renal proximal tubule cells has been successfully engineered and has demonstrated differentiated absorptive, metabolic, and endocrine functions of normal kidney in vitro and ex vivo in animal experiments. The addition of the RAD containing human cells to conventional continuous renal replacement therapy has been shown in preclinical and clinical studies to have the potential to advance AKI treatment, from enhancing renal clearance to providing more complete renal replacement therapy. This "bioartificial kidney" demonstrates metabolic activity with systemic effects and improvement of survival in patients with AKI and multiorgan failure. It also appears to influence systemic leukocyte activation and the balance of inflammatory cytokines, suggesting that cell therapy by use of the RAD may improve morbidity and mortality by altering the proinflammatory state of patients with renal failure. In addition to providing cellular metabolic function, technologies directed toward disrupting systemic inflammatory response may well enhance the clinical outcome of critically ill patients in the future. Innovative approaches to intensive renal care such as the RAD may break the mold of current institutional dialysis therapies and provide numerous opportunities to develop lifesaving technologies.


Cross sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of gastro intestinal parasite and protozoan emeria, to determine the common risk factor and to identify the commonly existing parasitic eggs at Horoguduru animal production and research center of Wollega University. To determine the sample size, an expected prevalence of 50% was taken into consideration since there was no research work on gastro intestinal parasitic eggs at the center. 384 animals' fecal samples were collected directly from the rectum of cattle into a universal bottle containing 10% formalin and transported to the laboratory for examination. Carpological examination was done at Wollega University Shambu campus animal science and, food and nutrition department. Coprological examinations were made within 12 hours after sample collection. Eggs of nematode, cestode and trimatodes were identified. In this study egg of paramphistomum, fasciola, haemonchus, strongylus and monezia are the commonly identified eggs by floatation and sedimentation techniques. Sedimentation technique was used to detect the presence of fluke eggs in the fecal samples. The result showed that the overall prevalence of gastro intestinal parasite is 133/384 (34.6%).The result showed that the prevalence were 27.8% in young age group, 40% in adult age group and 35.4% in old age group. The result also reported that the prevalence of the parasite was 48/86(55.81%) in cross breed and 85/298(28.5%) in local breed. The study depicted that the prevalence of the parasitic egg are 88/219(40.18%) in female animals and 45/165 (27.27%) in male animals. In this study from the total of 134 infected animals 85/134(63%) were infected by single infection and49/134 (36.57%) were infected at least with two different genera of gastro intestinal and protozoan parasites. The prevalence of eggs of each single infection were Paramphistomum 27/85(31.76%), Fasciola 17/85(20%), Ascaris 15/85(17.95%), Monezia 9/85(10.59%), Tricuris 7/85(8.24%), Strongyloid types 6/85(7.06%), Haemonchus 2/85(2.53%), and 1/85(1.18%) of Nematodurous and Emeria It also showed that from the total of multiple infections 9/49(18.36%) was infected with three types of parasitic genera and 40/49 (81.63%) were infected with two different genera. In conclusion separate grazing land for young animals (calves), separate Water and feed trough for different age category and risk factors based strategic deworming were recommended. Keywords : Gastro intestinal parasite Carpological examination Prevalence Protozoan emeria Fecal samples


The aim of this study is to evaluated the possibility of the in-situ synthesized (TiC+TiB) reinforced titanium matrix composites (TMCs) for the application of structural materials. In-situ synthesis and casting of TMCs were carried out in a vacuum induction melting furnace with Ti and B4C. The synthesized TMCs were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, an electron probe micro-analyzer and transmission electron microscopy, and evaluated through thermodynamic calculations. The spherical TiC plus needle-like and large, many-angled facet TiB reinforced TMCs can be synthesized with Ti and B4C by a melting route.


Solarization using 50 μm thick transparent polyethylene sheets for 3, 10, 22, 32 and 42 days was carried out in the greenhouse of a company which produces ornamental crops, in Jose C. Paz, Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Populations of the annual summer weeds Amaranthus hybridus and galinsoga (Galinsoga parviflora), and of the annual winter weeds spotted bur medick (Medicago arabica), chickweed (Stellaria media), sowthistle (Sonchus oleraceus) and twincress (Coronopus didymus) growing in soil that had been solarised for 42 days were significantly (P<0.05) less than in soil from control plots. Carnations growing in soil that had been solarised for 22 days had significantly (P<0.05) greater root weights, flower dry weights and numbers of flowers than carnations growing in unsolarised soil. High temperatures in the soil controlled annual weeds without hazards for workers or contamination of the environment.


OBJECTIVE: Respiratory disease is the major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, mainly in homozygous PI*ZZ individuals. However, this association is uncertain in subjects with other deficiency genotypes. The objective of this study was to assess, in the context of alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, the existence of further risk factors that have been associated with respiratory diseases. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Lung function was assessed by spirometry in a sample of 1334 patients with a known genotype for the SERPINA1 gene whose serum alpha-1 antitrypsin levels had been previously determined. Patients with a normal genotype (PI*MM) were compared to 389 patients carrying a deficiency allele. Results: Statistically significant associations were detected between (i) PI*ZZ genotype and abnormal FEV1 values (χ2 = 26.45; P < .0002), FEV1/FVC (χ2 = 14.8; P < .02) or forced mid-expiratory flow 25%-75% (χ2=22.66; P < .0009); (ii) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and PI*ZZ odds ratio: 26.5; 95% CI: (2.6-265.9); P < .005 and or PI*SS genotype odds ratio: 9; 95% CI: (2-40.1); P < .004; (iii) prevalence of COPD in PI*MZ subjects and smoking habit (P < .01), low body weight (P < .01) or older age (P < .0001). Conclusion: The PI*ZZ and PI*SS genotypes seem to be associated with the prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Tobacco use, low body weight, and older age are risk factors that increase the probability of prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by up to 70% in PI*MZ individuals.


This paper proposes a framework for interference mitigation in multi-BSS infrastructure 802.11 WLANs. Our interference mitigation approach is based on Access Point (AP) Coordination. With this approach, interfering BSSs negotiate and switch from the 802.11 CSMA/CA to a time slotted mechanism if users' QoS is observed to be degraded, diagnoses conclude that the cause is high interference, and the switch to the time slotted modus is expected to be useful and feasible. The proposed algorithms within the framework are driven by measurements. We utilize the wireless bandwidth and improve the fairness among WLAN users. We present results of detailed simulation experiments as well as real implementation.


In this study, we examined the mechanisms that contribute to lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced death responses in cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). In the presence of the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide, LPS primarily induces caspase-dependent apoptotic cell death of HUVECs, which is blocked by siRNA-mediated knockdown of myeloid differentiation factor 88 adaptor protein but not of Toll-like receptor-associated interferon-inducing factor. Knockdown of Fas-associated death domain protein (FADD) by either siRNA or overexpression of a truncated version of FADD that lacks the N-terminal death effector domain (FADD(DN)) increases the sensitivity of HUVECs to LPS plus cycloheximide-mediated death. However, based on the use of proteinase inhibitors, cell death changes from being principally caspase-dependent to being principally cathepsin B (Cat B)-dependent. Knockdown of cellular FLICE inhibitory protein potentiates the caspase-dependent pathway but does not activate the Cat B-dependent death response. Knockdown of either myeloid differentiation factor 88 or Toll-like receptor-associated interferon-inducing factor expression does not affect the LPS-triggered Cat B death response in FADD-deficient HUVECs. Finally, in the presence of either the phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase inhibitor LY294002 or the inflammatory cytokine interferon-gamma, LPS activates both caspase- and Cat B-dependent death pathways. We conclude that LPS can activate a Cat-B-dependent programmed death response in human endothelial cells that is independent of both myeloid differentiation factor 88 and Toll-like receptor-associated interferon-inducing factor, is blocked by both FADD and phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase, and is potentiated by interferon-gamma.


Acquired hearing impairment affects one in six people in the United Kingdom. The process of becoming hearing impaired and seeking help is different for each individual and consequently very little is known about their personal experience of this journey. The aim of this thesis was to explore the essence of the experience of acquiring hearing impairment from the individual's perspective, in order to better understand and meet the needs of clients seeking aural rehabilitation.
Data was generated in the Phenomenological tradition using unstructured interviews and analysed using a constant comparison method drawn from Grounded Theory. Participants were recruited from the UK and the USA. Individual participant's experience ranged from those who had not yet approached services, to those who had worn hearing aid/s for several years. Data is comprised of 24 recorded interviews, reflective journals, field notes and memos. Each interview, journal, field note and memo was coded and analysed to identify a core category. The results produced categories that identified stages the individual experiences when acquiring hearing impairment, and a core category, "Preserving the social identity" emerged.

Most of the data was generated from interviews and focus groups but additionally a comprehensive audiological assessment was carried out with ten of the participants in order to compare their perception of their hearing before and after assessment. The assessment included taking a detailed medical and social history, performing otoscopy, pure tone audiometry, tympanometry, speech testing and the random gap detection test.

This thesis adds to the body of knowledge about the personal experience of acquiring hearing impairment within the framework of Social Identity Theory. It proposes a theory of how individuals experience and adapt to changes in their social identity, and proposes that rehabilitation needs to be available at a much earlier stage than hearing aid fitting. It must also be multifaceted and multidisciplinary in order to meet the needs of the individual and their significant others at various stages in their journey. Finally it identifies an unmet need within Audiology provision and suggestions are made for service development and further areas of research.


Efficient management of patient demands in emergency departments (EDs) has recently received increasing attention by most healthcare administrations. Forecasting ED demands greatly helps ED's managers to make suitable decisions by optimally allocating the available limited resources to efficiently handle patient attendances. Furthermore, it permits pre-emptive action(s) to mitigate and/or prevent overcrowding situations and to enhance the quality of care. In this work, we present a statistical approach based on a vector autoregressive moving average (VARMA) model for a short term forecasting of daily attendances at an ED. The VARMA model has been validated using an experimental data from the paediatric emergency department (PED) at Lille regional hospital centre, France. The results obtained indicate the effectiveness of the proposed approach in forecasting patient demands.


The aim of the study is to analyze the influence of irrigation regime on evapotranspiration (ET) of sunflower, in terms of total and average daily values, its effectiveness in terms of yield, and the peculiarities of its formation. The field experiment was conducted in the region of Plovdiv, with hybrid PR-64-E-83. The variants of the study are: without irrigation, optimal irrigation with initial humidity at 75% of FC for the layer 0-80 cm and irrigation with 50% and 150 % of irrigation rate, respectively. Seasonal evapotranspiration of sunflower varies from 274 to 342 mm. Irrigation with 50% of the optimal irrigation depth causes ET increasing with an average of 33.1% (from 26.1 to 37.4%). The optimally irrigated sunflower uses from 475 to 559 mm. Increase of ET as compared with the rainfed sunflower is an average of 67%. In case of irrigation with 150% of the irrigation depth ET increases with extra 2.5 - 26.7% (an average of 13.5%). ET of sunflower was formed in the following way for the conditions of the experiment: In rain-fed conditions rainfalls share 49 - 82% and water supply - from 18 to 51% of ET. By irrigation with 50% of rate the sharing of rainfalls is 36-64%, for water supply is 17-33% and irrigation depth - 14-31%. By optimum irrigation sharing is respectively 28-56%, 16-23% and 25-49%. The maximum value of daily ET for rainfed sunflower varying from 3.3 to 5.6 mm. Irrigation with norm of 50% increases values of ET to 5.2 - 6.1 mm. The maximal value of this regime of irrigation is most often in the flowering period. In case of optimal irrigation the maximal values of daily ET will remain the same usually to the beginning of phase "seeds fill", and the values are between 6 and 7 mm.


Accelerated long-term forgetting (ALF) is a novel form of memory impairment in which epilepsy patients demonstrate intact recall and recognition after standard delays, but they show an accelerated rate of forgetting in comparison to controls when the retention period is extended. ALF has been evidenced in children with idiopathic generalised epilepsy (IGE), who showed ALF for verbal material over a period of 1 week. Use of a minimum-learning criterion revealed that poorer initial learning was mediating the effect of ALF. The current study aimed to further investigate rates of forgetting in 5 children with IGE in comparison to 13 healthy controls, whilst developing a new spatial object-locations task to be used as a non-verbal measure of ALF. When tested immediately and at 30 minutes, memory for 2 stories was equivalent between groups but at 1 week there was a strong trend (approaching significance) for IGE participants to recall less verbal material than controls and there was a significant main effect of group and delay. IGE and control group participants did not differ in the number of trials required to reach criterion. Neither of the 2 measures of non-verbal, spatial memory revealed significant group differences, nor were there were group differences in verbal or non-verbal recognition performance. The findings are interpreted in relation to previous research and theories of memory consolidation. Directions for future research and further development of the spatial object-locations task are considered. DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW TEST OF ACCELERATED FORGETTING 5


This article deals with the shadow education system of private tutoring which contributes to the reproduction of social class inequalities, focusing on the Greek public secondary education system. It presents a literature review of the issue and the findings of an empirical qualitative and quantitative research that aimed at examining the causes of the students' massive resort to private supplementary tutoring for learning the English language, despite the fact that English is taught at school. The study also set out to examine the relationship between students' socioeconomic background and resort to private supplementary tutoring and the relationship between socioeconomic background and knowledge of the English language as attested by official certifications. Research findings indicate that the widely spread resort to private supplementary tutoring has a negative impact on the teaching of English in Greek public lower secondary education. Using Bourdieu's cultural reproduction theory, we argue that private supplementary tutoring makes closer the relationship between social class, familial cultural and economic capital and educational outcomes. Thus, upper and middle class students are at an advantage, since they can move to the labour market with valued educational qualifications that enhance their occupational prospects. Finally, we discuss educational measures to address the problem.


June 2010 / Vol. 60 No. 6 www.biosciencemag.org Wildlife biologists have long known that pronghorn often travel great distances as seasons change. Until recently, researchers didn't know precisely where particular herds ended up, what routes they took to get there, what impediments they might have encountered along the way, and how long their journeys took. Over the last decade, technological advances have helped answer those questions. Using radio collars fitted with geographic positioning system (GPS) transmitters, scientists can track pronghorn (and other wildlife) at least every few minutes—without leaving their labs. Researchers now can plot more precisely the migratory routes pronghorn follow, identify natural or humanmade dangers the animals face during migration, and use the information for better management. Pronghorn range from the prairies of Canada southward to the Sonoran Desert of northwestern Mexico. Neither antelope nor deer nor goat, pronghorn are the only remaining members of the family Antilocapridae, which 15 million years ago included nearly a dozen species. Once estimated to number 35 million, pronghorn were reduced by overhunting and habitat loss to a mere 13,000 individuals by 1920. Today, following conservation and strict hunting limits, pronghorn number more than one million. Beginning in 2002, wildlife biologists from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in New York and the National Park Service began putting GPS transmitters on the 200 to 300 pronghorn that summer in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. Following an initial radio-collaring of just 10 animals, nearly 300 pronghorn have been outfitted with GPS transmitters over the last eight years, says Jon Beckmann, an associate WCS conservation ecologist and codirector of the study with WCS biologist Joel Berger and Kimberly Murray, of the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle. The GPS transmitters allowed the biologists to pinpoint the migratory route pronghorn followed to the Pinedale area of Wyoming, southeast of Grand Teton, a 120-mile trek. It is the longest migration of a North American terrestrial mammal outside the Arctic, Beckman states, and one of only two remaining long-distance migratory routes left in the greater Yellowstone area. The information from the transmitters also revealed that the Grand Teton pronghorn follow a relatively narrow corridor, in most places no more than a mile wide. The route takes them over mountain ledges and passes, through forests, across rivers and highways, and past southwestern Wyoming's burgeoning oil and gas fields. Once they reach the Pinedale area, the Grand Teton pronghorn join about 5000 others from elsewhere in Wyoming. In all, the WCS study located 25 to 30 migratory paths, though all were shorter than the Grand Teton– Pinedale route. Pronghorn migrate primarily to avoid the deep snows that blanket Grand Teton National Park and other areas in winter. The snow makes it difficult to find food and avoid predators, even coyotes, which they can normally easily outrun, says Steven Cain, senior wildlife biologist at Grand Teton. Nearly all pronghorn that remain in the park over winter die. This year, however, has been an exception, Cain adds; all 15 overwintering pronghorn survived so far. Meanwhile, another team of scientists from WCS, at the Lava Lake Institute and the Idaho wildlife agency, has studied a similar long-distance pronghorn migratory route in south-central Idaho since 2008. Here, pronghorn move from the Pioneer Mountains across Craters of the Moon National Monument on their way to the Idaho National Laboratory, a 570,000-acre Department of Energy nuclear research facility west of Idaho Falls. The Idaho study showed that pronghorn migrate east from the Pioneer Mountains, then north from Craters of the Moon. Most wildlife biologists had previously thought they moved south, says Scott Bergen, the study director and a WCS associate conservation ecologist. Their data also showed the pronghorn follow an 80-mile one-way route that narrows as it passes lava fields and crosses highways and rivers. A few points along the two migrations are of particular concern to scientists: At Trapper's Point, where the Green and New Fork Rivers meet in Wyoming, the pronghorn corridor narrows to less than a half-mile. The area is threatened by the possibility of oil and gas development, new housing in subdivided former ranches, and highway crossings (at which wildlife biologists often direct traffic to allow the pronghorn to pass). Another is on the north side of Craters of the Moon in Idaho at another highway crossing. To protect the migrating pronghorn, the US Forest Service has designated a stretch of the corridor between Grand Teton and Pinedale that runs through Bridger-Teton National Forest, an area of critical environmental concern. For its part, the Bureau of Land Management has withdrawn some oil and gas leases. Additionally, some ranchers have signed conservation easements to keep their land from being subdivided, and $1 million has been devoted to design and install wildlife-friendly fences. "Pronghorn are an iconic species," says Linda Baker, director of the Upper Green River Valley Coalition, a local Pinedale environmental advocacy group. "We have a responsibility to protect their migratory corridors. It is unacceptable to let them go extinct in a national park. They are worth saving."


The heave plate setting up on the hull can effectively improve the movement performance of the cylindrical FPSO. In the research process of its damping effect, a reliable model is also needed to do the further study besides the physical model test. The objective of the present work is to establish a reasonable hydrodynamic model to investigate the damping behavior of the cylindrical FPSO with the heave plate. Based on the k-ε turbulence model and the VOF method, a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model are established to simulate the movement of the cylindrical FPSO in the offshore environment. A typical annular thin plate is set up on the bottom side of the hull as the damping structure. The available experimental data are adopted to preliminarily verify the established model. The structural pattern of the damping plate is optimized considering different widths of the plate and excitation modes. The motion amplitude, natural period and damping coefficient can be extracted from the computation and be analyzed to obtain the hydrodynamic performance of the cylindrical FPSO. From the simulation and verification, the numerical results are agreed quite well with the measured values in the model test, which proves that the model is reliable. When the cylindrical FPSO oscillates in the water body, the vortexes are generated around the heave plate and shed from it, which are the primary reason for the increase of the viscous damping. As the width of the heave plate increases, the damping coefficient and ratio increase gradually, but the natural period of the structure is basically unchanged. As for the amplitude of the motion, the variation of the damping coefficient is not obvious, and the natural period of the structure is also basically unchanged. When the motion amplitude is relatively small, the damping ratio increases gradually with the increase of the motion amplitude; while the motion amplitude is large, the amplitude increment of damping ratio tends to be flat, or even decreases. This hydrodynamic study is meaningful for the researcher and engineer to further understand the damping characteristics of the cylindrical FPSO. It can also provide some technical supports for the structural optimization design of the heave plate.


Essential oils were among the first topical and gastrointestinal antimicrobial agents used by humans. In the present study, the hydro-distilled essential oil of the bark of Juniperus recurva from Kashmir Himalayas, India was analyzed by a combination of capillary GC-FID and GC-MS analytical techniques. The study led to the identification and quantification of 28 chemical constituents belonging to different classes of terpenoids and accounting for 88.8% of the total oil composition. The oil composition was dominated by the presence of monoterpene hydrocarbons like α-pinene (20.7%), p-cymene (15.0%) and γ-terpinene (14.4%). In addition, the oil also contained 5.2% of oxygenated monoterpenes, 3.3% of oxygenated sesquiterpenes, and traces of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons. The oil exhibited strong antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) ATCC-33591, vancomycin resistant Enterococcus faecalis (VRE), Enterococcus faecium ATCC-29212, Enterococcus faecium ATCC-8042, Staphylococcus epidermidis ATCC-12228, with MIC values ranging from 125-250 μg/ml. It also inhibited the growth of fungal strains Candida albicans ATCC-90028, Candida albicans V-0-191 and Aspergillus niger ATCC-16404 with MIC ranging from 500-1000 μg/ml. The results of this study exhibited that the essential oil from Juniperus recurva has promising antimicrobial activity.


Forty-two children exposed to ionizing radiation in prenatal period and 15 children of control group were examined in the remote terms after the accident using the method of differential G-staining of chromosomes in lymphocytes of peripheral blood. It was found that the average group rate of aberrant cells and chromosome aberrations was reliably higher in the children exposed in utero compared to control. Long-term cytogenetic consequences of the pre-natal exposure were characterized by prevalence of aberrations of a chromosome type, mainly stable chromosome lesions. At chronic exposure to low doses of ionizing radiation the increase in the rate both stable and unstable chromosome aberrations.


Attachment theory, as developed by Bowlby and Ainsworth, represented a major departure from the current theories of human development of the time, particularly in its rejection of the major tenets of psychoanalytic theory and its integration
of core ideas from evolution theory and cybernetics (Ainsworth & Bowlby, 1991). Attachment theory posits that a foundational human instinct, the desire to achieve safety and protection through proximity to a protective figure, is responsible for the
formation of a special class of life-long affectional bonds, referred to as "attachments." Emotional security is derived to a great extent, according to the theory, from experience with caregivers who are consistently responsive to the developing infant's expression of attachment behavior toward them. Forty years of empirical research has shown that attachment is a universal characteristic that predicts children's development of cognitive and social competence, emotional regulation, and positive self-image (Weinfield, Sroufe, Egeland, & Carlson, 1999). Social work educators are currently challenged to better integrate the findings of attachment research into their curricula to reflect more the current state of developmental science.


Background: Travelers play a significant role in the spread of infectious diseases across international borders, through their travel patterns and behaviors. Travel maybe the only risk factor for infectious diseases that are well controlled in the travelers' country of residence, particularly vaccine-preventable diseases. The role of vaccination among travelers is an essential component of the control of travel-associated infectious diseases. This study was conducted to assess the knowledge and uptake of travel vaccine among medical doctors in Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH). Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in 2013 using quantitative method of data collection among 189 medical doctors. Epi Info™ statistical software package version 3.5.4 was used for data analysis and a P ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Result: The mean age of the respondents was 33.8 ± 4.5 years, majority of the respondents (96.3%) were aware of travel vaccines with 45 (71.4%) of the 63 respondents who had embarked on international travel prior to the study had taken travel vaccine in their last travel. Knowledge of travel vaccination was found to have statistically significant relationship with uptake of travel vaccine (P = 0.013). Conclusion: This study has revealed the need to improve the knowledge and uptake of travel vaccine among medical doctors.


Global stability analysis (GSA) is applied to a 3D confined cavity flow between rotating and stationary disks (viz., rotor and stator). The Arnoldi method extended for incompressible viscous flow is used together with the eigenvalue spectrum conversion to solve the eigenvalue problem of the GSA. As a first step, the GSA is conducted in an axisymmetric flow, and circular vortices are obtained as eigen modes. Then, the GSA is applied to a flow with circular vortex at a higher Reynolds number, and eigen vectors of spiral vortex are obtained. The result suggests that the GSA shows unstable flows after transition of the baseflow. However, it is necessary to reconsider the convergence of the eigenvalues for the parameters of Arnoldi method.


Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits private employment discrimination on the basis of "sex." In 1986, the United States Supreme Court interpreted the "no sex discrimination" command of Title VII to forbid sexual harassment on the job. In the wake of Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson, perhaps no single area of the law is in a greater state of flux than the question of whether sexual harassment by a member of one sex against a member of the same sex is actionable under Title VII. This Article examines the state of federal law on the question of whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 provides a cause of action for same-sex sexual harassment. It presents and analyzes the reasoning of those courts that have addressed the issue, with a particular focus on recent developments in the law.


IZA DP No. 14827 NOVEMBER 2021 Telework and Time Use* This chapter reviews the evidence on the relationship between telework and households' time allocation, drawing heavily on the empirical evidence from time diary data, and discusses the implications of telework for workers' productivity, wages, labor force participation, and well-being. Telework results in significant time savings for workers, as they reduce time on commuting and grooming activities by over one hour on telework days. This time is reallocated to household and leisure activities, but differentially for men and women. Men spend most of their time windfall on leisure activities; however, fathers also increase time on primary child care. Women, on the other hand, increase their household production. Children and parents benefit because they spend more time together; however, average full-time workers spend more time alone when they telework. JEL Classification: J22, J31, D13


Abstract. A dispersion relation for parallel propagating whistler mode waves has been applied to the magnetosphere of Saturn and comparisons have been made with the observations made by Voyager and Cassini. The effect of hot (suprathermal) electron-density, temperature, temperature anisotropy, and the spectral index parameter, κ, on the temporal growth rate of the whistler mode emission is studied. A good agreement is found with observations. Electron pitch angle and energy diffusion coefficients have been obtained using the calculated temporal growth rates.


OBJECTIVES
To evaluate the effectiveness of the SPAN-intervention, a psychosocial intervention aiming at improving a sense of usefulness and engaging in meaningful activities, for community-dwelling people living with young-onset dementia (YOD) and their family caregivers.

METHODS
A cluster-randomized controlled trial with two parallel groups (SPAN-intervention vs. care as usual) with assessments at baseline and five-month follow-up was performed. Sixty-one persons living with YOD and their family caregivers were included (SPAN-intervention group: n = 35; care as usual group: n = 26). Outcomes included, for the person living with YOD, empowerment (operationalized by self-management abilities using the SMAS-30; primary outcome), quality of life, neuropsychiatric symptoms, disability, apathy; and, for the family caregiver, quality of life, emotional distress, sense of competence. Data were analyzed using linear mixed models.

RESULTS
We found no statistically significant effects of the SPAN-intervention on empowerment, nor on the secondary outcome measures for persons living with YOD or their family caregivers.

CONCLUSION
Although the SPAN-intervention may provide concrete opportunities to engage in activities and stimulate reciprocity, such as meaningful social activities, this study did not demonstrate intervention effects. Additional qualitative evaluations may provide more insight into the implementation process and experiences of people living with YOD and their family caregivers.This trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02937883).


As the paradigm of urban regeneration has shifted to one that considers physical, economic, social, and environmental aspects comprehensively, regional properties are emerging as one of the most important resources of urban regeneration. However the recent utilization of regional properties to urban regeneration is monotonous, hindering the practice of creative and sustainable urban regeneration. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to define the regional properties for creative urban regeneration through conducting domestic and foreign literature review and case analysis of 13 demo urban regeneration area. As a result, it is found that the regional properties should be defined as one that could be discovered, retained, and advanced through the capacities of regional individuals, organizations and institutions. In addition, regional properties could be classified into 6 categories, which are physical, social, human, economic, environmental, and historical-cultural properties. Among these regional properties, human and social properties are crucial since they are the basis of all the other regional properties. Thus sustainable and creative urban regeneration could be achieved through mobilizing regional properties with supports to human and social regional properties.


The article shows how Celso Furtado's interpretation of development and underdevelopment as interdependent phenomena was part of the emergence of development economics as a research field in the 1950s. The main features of underdeveloped economic structures, according to Furtado, were their technological heterogeneity—in the sense of significant differences in the capital-labor ratio between two or more sectors—and underemployment caused by maladjustment between the availability of factors and irreversible production methods. Both characteristics were explained by the historical pattern of integration of those economies into international trade.


Shallow inhomogeneities can lead to severe problems in the interpretation of magnetotelluric (MT) data by shifting the MT apparent resistivity sounding curve by a scale factor, which is independent of frequency on the standard log-apparent-resistivity versus log-frequency display. The amount of parallel shift, commonly referred to as the MT static shift, can not be determined directly from conventionally recorded MT data at a single site. One method for measuring the static shift is a controlled-source measurement of the magnetic field. Unlike the electric field, the magnetic field is relatively unaffected by surface inhomogeneities. The controlled-source sounding (which may be a relatively shallow sounding made with lightweight equipment) can be combined with a deep MT sounding to obtain a complete, undistorted model of the earth. Inversions of the static shift-corrected MT data provide a much closer match to well-log resistivities than do inversions of the uncorrected data.The particular controlled-source magnetic-field sounding which we used was a central-induction Transient ElectroMagnetic (TEM) sounding. Correction for the static shift in the MT data was made by jointly inverting the MT data and the TEM data. A parameter which allowed vertical shifts in the MT apparent resistivity curves was included in the computer inversion to account for static shifts. A simple graphical comparison between the MT apparent resistivities and the TEM apparent resistivities produced essentially the same estimate of the static shift (within 0.1 decade) as the joint computer inversion.Central-induction TEM measurements were made adjacent to over 100 MT sites in central Oregon. The complete data base of over 100 sites showed an average static shift between 0 and 0.2 decade. However, in the rougher topography and more complex structure of the Cascade Mountain Range, the majority of the sites had static shifts of the order of 0.3 to 0.4 decade. The static shifts in this area are probably due to a combination of topography and surficial inhomogeneities. The TEM apparent resistivity (which is used to estimate the unshifted MT apparent resistivity) does not necessarily agree with either the transverse electric (TE) or the transverse magnetic (TM) MT polarization. TEM apparent resistivity may occur between the two, or may agree with one of the two polarizations, or may lie outside the MT polarizations.


We study the problem of sharing the revenues raised from subscriptions to music streaming platforms among content providers. We provide direct, axiomatic and game-theoretical foundations for two focal (and somewhat polar) methods widely used in practice: pro-rata and user-centric. The former rewards artists proportionally to their number of total streams. With the latter, each user's subscription fee is proportionally divided among the artists streamed by that user. We also provide foundations for a family of methods compromising among the previous two, which addresses the rising concern in the music industry to explore new streaming models that better align the interests of artists, fans and streaming services.


The aim of this article is to highlight one possible use of administrative archives in decision making processes. The phenomenon we want to analyse is the carpal tunnel syndrome surgery treatment. Nowadays, from an operative point of view, two different ways coexist in treating the problem: the day hospital (DH) and the ordinary hospitalization (OH) surgery. Causes of this dichotomy are not so clear. In particular, because of the simplicity of the intervention we can hypothesize that, given the effects of some observed factors, no other significant differences should be observed between different hospitals. We extract 16431 observations from the administrative archive of Region Lombardia Data used for this analysis refer to year 2002. The observations are clustered in 128 hospitals. The binary response variable, the hospitalization regimen, is modelled with a logistic regression. Fixed all the other observed variables (referred both at hospital and at patient level), we identify by a random coeffcient a signicant hospitals effect. Day hospital treatment presents lower costs for the national health service. The suspect of the administration is that DRG reinboursement system can create the premise for acting opportunistically. Administrations of hospitals are induced to choice OH instead of DH in order to obtain major reinboursement. The identication of hospitals presenting higher probability (resulting from the random effect values) in deciding for a OH instead of the more common DH could be useful for the administrative control system. Maximum likelihood results will be presented and different methods of estimation of random effects will be compared.


This thesis presents a creative and practical approach to dealing with the problem of selection bias. Selection bias may be the most important vexing problem in program evaluation or in any line of research that attempts to assert causality. Some of the greatest minds in economics and statistics have scrutinized the problem of selection bias, with the resulting approaches – Rubin's Potential Outcome Approach(Rosenbaum and Rubin,1983; Rubin, 1991,2001,2004) or Heckman's Selection model (Heckman, 1979) – being widely accepted and used as the best fixes. These solutions to the bias that arises in particular from self selection are imperfect, and many researchers, when feasible, reserve their strongest causal inference for data from experimental rather than observational studies.
The innovative aspect of this thesis is to propose a data transformation that allows measuring and testing in an automatic and multivariate way the presence of selection bias.
The approach involves the construction of a multi-dimensional conditional space of the X matrix in which the bias associated with the treatment assignment has been eliminated. Specifically, we propose the use of a partial dependence analysis of the X-space as a tool for investigating the dependence relationship between a set of observable pre-treatment categorical covariates X and a treatment indicator variable T, in order to obtain a measure of bias according to their dependence structure.
The measure of selection bias is then expressed in terms of inertia due to the dependence between X and T that has been eliminated.
Given the measure of selection bias, we propose a multivariate test of imbalance in order to check if the detected bias is significant, by using the asymptotical distribution of inertia due to T (Estadella et al. 2005) , and by preserving the multivariate nature of data.
Further, we propose the use of a clustering procedure as a tool to find groups of comparable units on which estimate local causal effects, and the use of the multivariate test of imbalance as a stopping rule in choosing the best cluster solution set. The method is non parametric, it does not call for modeling the data, based on some underlying theory or assumption about the selection process, but instead it calls for using the existing variability within the data and letting the data to speak. The idea of proposing this multivariate approach to measure selection bias and test balance comes from the consideration that in applied research all aspects of multivariate balance, not represented in the univariate variable- by-variable summaries, are ignored.
The first part contains an introduction to evaluation methods as part of public and private decision process and a review of the literature of evaluation methods. The attention is focused on Rubin Potential Outcome Approach, matching methods, and briefly on Heckman's Selection Model.
The second part focuses on some resulting limitations of conventional methods, with particular attention to the problem of how testing in the correct way balancing. The third part contains the original contribution proposed , a simulation study that allows to check the performance of the method for a given dependence setting and an application to a real data set.
Finally, we discuss, conclude and explain our future perspectives.


This study includes all black alder sites (or stands) in Finland in the natural state from wet black alder swamps to fresh black alder -dominated forests. The material is based on 650 sample plots with complete descriptions of vegetation and ecology studied in altogether 200 black alder sites all over the distribution area (59°47′–66°45′N). The a priori classification of the studied sites is based on field observations during several decades and on DCA-ordination and clustering analysis (Euclidian distance with centroid group averages and the Ward linkage method) using the Finnish "Cajanderian" forest and mire site type classification approach. Based on this material, 14 black alder community types and several variations are described. Half of them are black alder swamps and the rest herb-rich and alluvial forests. Most of them are situated on lake and seashores where new sites are exposed continuously as a result of land elevation. The results of the classification are compared with the phytosociology of several Northern and Central European black alder communities. Ecological factors affecting the formation and development of black alder communities in Finland are also discussed. Many of these environmental factors deviate noticeably from conditions in Central Europe and are reflecting the special features of Finnish black alder swamps and forests.


Brain tissue segmentation from multimodal MRI is a key building block of many neuroscience analysis pipelines. It could also play an important role in many clinical imaging scenarios. Established tissue segmentation approaches have however not been developed to cope with large anatomical changes resulting from pathology. The effect of the presence of brain lesions, for example, on their performance is thus currently uncontrolled and practically unpredictable. Contrastingly, with the advent of deep neural networks (DNNs), segmentation of brain lesions has matured significantly and is achieving performance levels making it of interest for clinical use. However, few existing approaches allow for jointly segmenting normal tissue and brain lesions. Developing a DNN for such joint task is currently hampered by the fact that annotated datasets typically address only one specific task and rely on a task-specific hetero-modal imaging protocol. In this work, we propose a novel approach to build a joint tissue and lesion segmentation model from task-specific hetero-modal and partially annotated datasets. Starting from a variational formulation of the joint problem, we show how the expected risk can be decomposed and optimised empirically. We exploit an upper-bound of the risk to deal with missing imaging modalities. For each task, our approach reaches comparable performance than task-specific and fully-supervised models.


s | 51 who represented 3.8% of the entire claims for outpatient medical services in 2010.The measurement units used for psychotropic drugs were drug items and the number of defined daily doses (DDDs). Besides overall description, the data of psychotropic drugs were analyzed by stratifying patient's age and chemical subgroup of antipsychotic drugs. Results: Prescription of psychotropic drug items (n = 1,868,092) was 2.5% of the total drug items (n = 74,348,407) claimed. The psychotropic drugs were prescribed to 27.4% of the total patients and in 9.9% of the total visits. Major consumers of psychotropic drugs were between 35–74  years of age and there were more women than men. The psychiatrists prescribed 48.8% of total DDDs of psychotropic drugs and contributed 33.5% of all drug items. The number of DDDs per 1000 inhabitants per day for all kinds of psychotropic drugs was estimated to be 61.4 in Taiwan, where anxiolytics accounted 17.8, hypnotics and sedatives 27.5, antipsychotics 4.6, antidepressants 7.8 and mood stabilizers 1.6. Ordered by total DDDs, the top 5 most frequently used antipsychotics were risperidone, quetiapine, sulpiride, haloperidol, and olanzapine. Conclusions: The usage level of psychotropic drugs in Taiwan was growing. Women were more inclined to use psychotropics than men. Anxiolytics and hypnotics contributed the major portion of psychotropic drugs. Atypical antipsychotics became the main stream of antipsychotic drugs but haloperidol keeps playing an important role clinically. PT690 Association between catecholamine metabolites after antidopaminergic intervention and mental condition in healthy subjects Tanja Veselinović 1,2* Holger Schorn 1,2, Uwe Henning3, Michael Paulzen 1,2 , Ingo B Vernaleken 1,2, and Gerhard Gründer 1,2 1Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany 2Jülich Aachen Research Alliance JARA, Translational Brain Medicine, Germany 3Neurobiochemical Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf, Germany Abstract Objective: Investigations of the association between the peripheral measurable catecholamine metabolites and the response toObjective: Investigations of the association between the peripheral measurable catecholamine metabolites and the response to antipsychotics and psychopathology in schizophrenia patients have shown incongruent results. Very little is factually known about their possible association with the general mental condition apart from specific psychiatric disorders. Methods: Catecholamine metabolites in plasma and 24h urine were determined in seventy-two healthy volunteers before and after 1-week administration of reserpine, aripiprazole, haloperidol or placebo in a randomized, single-blinded study. At the same time-points their mental condition was assessed using objective and subjective measures. Results: A significant increase of the concentration of the main metabolites of dopamine (homovanillic acid (HVA) in urine) and norepinephrine (3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol in plasma as well as vanillyl mandelic acid concentration in 24h urine) occurred solely in the group receiving reserpine. The HVA plasma concentration measured after the psychopharmacological intervention correlated significantly with some clinical scores (PANSS total, PANSS negative, PANSS cognitive) in the total group of participants who received the antidopaminergic medication. There also was a negative correlation between the HVA levels and the subjective assessments of achievement potential, the ability to concentrate and the general well-being. On the opposite, for the self-assessment of exhaustion and apathy we found statistically significant positive correlations. Discussion: Altogether in our study solely reserpine caused a verifiable increase of some catecholamine metabolites probably as a result from the blockade of the vesicular monoamine transporter and the increased catabolism of monoamines by monoamine oxidase. Further the peripheral levels of monoamine metabolites were related to certain mental functions. Observed in healthy subjects, not affected by any psychiatric disorder, our results decouple this association from any specific pathological state, indicating a fundamental relationship. PT691 Haloperidol aggravates heart failure induced by pressure overload in mice through inhibition of sigma1-receptor Yasaharu Shinoda, Kohji Fukunaga, Hideaki Tagashira Tohoku University, Japan Abstract Haloperidol was commonly used for schizophrenia patients as D2 receptor antagonist. It has been known that haloperidol-induced cardiac sudden death is serious adverse event for schizophrenia patients. Haloperidol antagonizes not only D2 receptor but also σ1-receptor (σ1R), and we previously reported that σ1R stimulation ameliorates cardiac dysfunction by restoring mitochondrial Ca2+ mobilization in transverse aortic constriction (TAC) mice. In the cardiomyocytes, σ1R is associated with IP3 receptor in the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) and promotes mitochondrial Ca2+ mobilization from SR. Here we found that haloperidol impairs mitochondrial Ca2+ mobilization and promotes cardiac hypertrophy via σ1R inactivation in primary cultured cardiomyocytes. The σ1R inactivation by haloperidol also aggravated Ang II-induced impaired mitochondrial Ca2+ mobilization and ATP production. Inversely, σ1R agonist SA4503 ameliorated Ang II-induced impaired mitochondrial Ca2+ mobilization and ATP production. Our observations suggest that haloperidol promotes progression of heart failure via impairment of σ1R-induced mitochondrial ATP production.Haloperidol was commonly used for schizophrenia patients as D2 receptor antagonist. It has been known that haloperidol-induced cardiac sudden death is serious adverse event for schizophrenia patients. Haloperidol antagonizes not only D2 receptor but also σ1-receptor (σ1R), and we previously reported that σ1R stimulation ameliorates cardiac dysfunction by restoring mitochondrial Ca2+ mobilization in transverse aortic constriction (TAC) mice. In the cardiomyocytes, σ1R is associated with IP3 receptor in the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) and promotes mitochondrial Ca2+ mobilization from SR. Here we found that haloperidol impairs mitochondrial Ca2+ mobilization and promotes cardiac hypertrophy via σ1R inactivation in primary cultured cardiomyocytes. The σ1R inactivation by haloperidol also aggravated Ang II-induced impaired mitochondrial Ca2+ mobilization and ATP production. Inversely, σ1R agonist SA4503 ameliorated Ang II-induced impaired mitochondrial Ca2+ mobilization and ATP production. Our observations suggest that haloperidol promotes progression of heart failure via impairment of σ1R-induced mitochondrial ATP production. PT692 Pain, Anxiety and their relationship with Dose of Medications in Intensive Care Unit Sunyoung Park a, Jae-Seok Heo b, c, Jee-Seon Ahn b, Jin Young Parkb,* aDepartment of Psychiatry, Seoul Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea bDepartment of Psychiatry and Institute of Behavioral Science in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Seoul, South Korea cProgram of healthcare & biomedical engineering, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Seoul,


Abstract Collaborative learning is a process that involves a group of peers collaborating with the aim to acquire new knowledge or skills. Collaborative learning environment enables such interactions by means of ICT. The paper focuses on affective collaborative learning environments, i.e., collaborative learning environments that are additionally aware of user's emotions and moods. Based on the analysis of existing research, a general architecture of an affective collaborative learning environment has been proposed in the paper and the main challenges for developing such an environment have been identified, namely, nonintrusive and safe detection of user's emotions, the adaptation of tutoring strategies, as well as modelling of artificial peers. This study can be considered the first step for the development of the collaborative learning environment that takes into account various affective aspects during the collaborative learning process.


Accessibility testing in software development is testing the software to ensure that it is usable by as many people as possible, independent of their capabilities. Few guidelines exist on how to include accessibility testing in an agile process, and how to select testing methods from a cost-benefit point of view. The end result is that many development teams do not include accessibility testing, since they do not know how to prioritize the different testing methods within a tight budget. In this paper, we present an evaluation of four accessibility testing methods that fits in an agile software development process. We discuss the cost of each method with regards to resources and knowledge requirements, and based on a cost-benefit analysis, we present the optimal combinations of these methods in terms of cost and issues discovered. Finally, we describe how accessibility testing methods can be incorporated into an agile process by using the agile accessibility spiral. Keywords—Accessibility testing; Agile software development; Cost-benefit analysis; Usability.


The aim of the article is to present and analyse group compound words that were recently observed in the Polish press in Lithuania. The process of internationalisation of the analysed lexis is connected to the rise of new means of word formation and constituents in the Polish language. As a result, hybrid constructions emerged, i.e., constructions in which foreign international elements of word formation such as: agro-, bio-, cyber-, eko-, euro-, e-, foto-, tele-, wideo- etc are found. The status of the elements of prefix and parts of these compounds is often difficult to determine — we cannot always explain with most certainty — whether the foreign word structure arose on the Polish ground, or was adapted to it and the separation of the morphological element happened only later. The emerging derived words indicate that foreign lexemes are also rooted in the Polish language in Lithuania. Lexems, presented in the article, are a good example of the international words being an evidence of the unified tendencies within the European lexical division.


A novel method is proposed for estimation of the mutual coupling matrix of an antenna array. The method extends previous work by incorporating an unknown phase center and the element factor (antenna radiation pattern) in the model, and treating them as nuisance parameters during the estimation of coupling. To facilitate this, a parametrization of the element factor based on a truncated Fourier series is proposed. The performance of the proposed estimator is illustrated and compared to other methods using data from simulations and measurements, respectively. The Cramér-Rao bound (CRB) for the estimation problem is derived and used to analyze how the required amount of measurement data increases when introducing additional degrees of freedom in the element factor model. We find that the penalty in SNR is 2.5 dB when introducing a model with two degrees of freedom relative to having zero degrees of freedom. Finally, the tradeoff between the number of degrees of freedom and the accuracy of the estimate is studied. A linear array is treated in more detail and the analysis provides a specific design tradeoff.


South African mining companies are becoming increasingly involved in operations throughout the world, particularly in other parts of Africa, while international mining companies are extending their operations into South Africa. South African mining and construction companies have therefore become subject to international standards for the planning, design, construction, operation and closure of mine residue storage facilities. Often the standards imposed in jurisdictions such as Canada, Australia, the USA and European countries differ from those that have commonly been applied in South Africa. As regulators and the public worldwide pay increasing attention to sustainability, environmental, health and safety issues, the international standards themselves are becoming far more onerous on the owner, designer and operator of these facilities than has previously been the case.


Title III, codified at Title 18 USC \S\S 2510-2521, allows for federal and state law enforcement interceptions of wire, oral, or electronic communications, which requires obtaining a court order. For the two parallel court systems in the United States, however, the operational standard being followed by law enforcement agencies may differ. This paper compares the outcomes from wiretap orders authorized by the federal and the state courts. Guided by an economic model of criminal behavior, we show that arrests and convictions increase in wiretap intensity (at a diminishing rate), but federal orders reach the peak point faster than state orders so. We do not find cross effects between the two layers of wiretap orders.


ABSTRACT Spatial and temporal distribution of Maize streak virus (MSV, family Geminiviridae, genus Mastrevirus) was monitored in the vector species Cicadulina mbila and the nonvector species C. chinaï using conventional and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Sustained feeding on MSV-infected plants showed that virus accumulation reaches a maximum in C. chinaï, but not in C. mbila. After a 3-day acquisition access feeding period (AAP), MSV was detected in the gut, the hemolymph, and the head of C. mbila, but only in the gut of C. chinaï. Similarly, Digitaria streak virus (genus Mastrevirus), which is not transmitted by either of the two species, was only detected in the gut. MSV was detected in the hemolymph of C. mbila 3 h after the beginning of the AAP. Although viral DNA progressively decreases in the vector and nonvector species after a 3-day AAP, MSV DNA remained stable in the salivary glands of C. mbila.


This research work investigated the effects of micro-financing on Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) in South-west Nigeria. The study examined how micro-finance and non-financial micro-financing activities and features such as group membership, pre-loan training, cross guaranteeship, loan size, technical and managerial training, among others, impact on the survival, growth, productivity and performance of Micro and Small Enterprises in Southwest Nigeria. The hypotheses formulated were developed around the theories of financial growth model, pecking order theory, and contract theory. Variables were used to evolve a detailed analysis of the survival and growth models. The theoretical models were used in developing four different hypotheses that were investigated through the survey of four hundred and forty three (443) micro enterprises and one hundred and eighty (180) small enterprises which were randomly selected using multi-stage random sampling technique. Copies of well-structured questionnaire were administered to entrepreneurs sampled. The validity and reliability of the instrument were measured using Cronbach's alpha which gave a result of 0.72, while predictive form validity was 0.84. Four hypotheses were raised and tested at 0.05 significant levels. The findings revealed that micro finance and micro-financing enhance survival of Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) but not sufficient for growth and expansion of such Micro and Small Enterprises. The result also revealed that microfinance has positive effects on productivity and performance of local entrepreneurs. The findings from the interview sessions revealed that micro financing is not effective and substantially being practiced in Nigeria as many MFBs grant more individual loans than group based loans, thereby increasing their running cost and putting their portfolio at risk. We therefore recommend a collective and cooperative support as a critical microfinance strategy in the form of solidarity groups at the local level; and at the national and regional level, a networking of groups among operators of MFBs. We also recommend that enterprises supported by MFBs should be linked up with larger financing window like the SMEEIS fund or Strategic Partners for expansion and growth funding after survival.


Background and Objective : Coarctation of aorta is a narrowing of aorta, this accounts for 5 to 8 percent of all congenital heart diseases. Patients can be asymptomatic or develop shock and/or heart failure depending on the severity of lesions. This  study aim to  determine the preoperative risk factors, surgical techniques, complications, and short-term outcomes of coarctation of aorta or hypoplastic aortic arch in children in Srinagarind Hospital (2003-2013). Methods: All patients age younger than 15 years with a diagnosis of coarctation of aorta which were treated in Srinagarind hospital between 1 January 2003 and 31 December 2013 were included. Group 1 patients consisted of those with isolated coarctation of aorta and group 2, coarctation of aorta with other major cardiac anomalies. All medical records were retrospective review for general characteristics, signs and presenting symptoms, preoperative risk factors, surgical techniques, complications, and short-term outcomes. Results: The retrospective review in this study include 67 patients: group 1(Isolated coarctation of aorta) 35 (52%) and group 2(Coarctation of aorta with other major cardiac anomalies) 32 (48%). Common presenting symptoms in both groups were dyspnea and cold skin. For the physical examination, we usually found sign of poor tissue perfusion, differential blood pressure, and heart murmur especially for the group 2. Preoperative risk factors that may predict poor outcome were sepsis, multiorgan failure and oliguria. Surgical correction was done in 53 patients (79%). For group 1 both subclavian flap aortoplasty(n=11, 40%) and end to end anastomosis(n=12, 44%) were commonly used but for group 2 subclavian flap aortoplasty(n=14, 54%) was preferred than end to end anastomosis(n=9, 34%). The most common intraoperative complication was bleeding. The most common short-term postoperative complication was post-operative hypertension, 52% for group 1, and 19% for group 2. For group 2, there were more


This article discusses the benefits of integrating point-of-care diagnostic ultrasound into the four-year medical school curriculum. Handheld ultrasound devices have been used to teach medical students at the University of California (UC), Irvine, since August 2010, and the article explains how the use of this inexpensive, safe, and noninvasive tool enhances the ability of a physician conducting a standard physical exam to confirm suspected findings and uncover other suspected pathology at a reasonable cost. The authors describe the ultrasound curriculum at UC Irvine and the process of its implementation. In the appendix to the article, the authors describe the specific diagnostic benefits of using a handheld ultrasound device for each element of the Stanford 25 physical exam. Their ultrasound-enhanced approach to the physical exam is referred to as the "UCI 30." They make recommendations for how and when to integrate ultrasound into the physical exam. The article points out that early training of medical students in the use of ultrasound can avoid the diagnostic problems of ultrasound by maximizing students' comfort and ability to obtain accurate ultrasound images for diagnostic and procedural purposes.


The development objective of the Water Services and Institutional Support Program Project for Uzbekistan is to: (i) improve coverage, quality, and efficiency of water supply and sanitation services in selected project areas; and (ii) strengthen the regulatory capacity of the sector. Some of the negative impacts and mitigation measures include: (1) use of waste containers and proper waste disposal at local landfills and processing facilities and rehabilitation of disturbed areas; (2) for dust suppression - watering construction sites, equipping construction equipment with gas cleaning equipment; (3) fuel and lubricants tanks must be filled according to the established standards; waste oil must not be drained onto the terrain, refueling and transportation rules must be observed; (4) provision of drainage and surface runoff removal from the working sites; their timely cleaning from construction wastes, as well as rehabilitation works at the disturbed sites; (5) implementation of preparatory measures for waterproofing during well reconstruction; (6) preparatory environmental protection measures aimed at preserving the soil and vegetation layer and wood and shrub vegetation; (7) the noise level in the surrounding residential areas should not exceed 55 dB during the day and 45 dB at night; and (8) reducing the amount of sludge and the area allocated to it through aerobic treatment of waste water and formation of biogas.


Single adults often exert considerable energy searching for a compatible partner. Until recently, people met partners primarily through everyday activities (work, school) and through friends. These ways of meeting partners are still common, although Internet dating sites have also become a main way for couples to meet. The current study was conducted to examine people's attitudes about finding a compatible partner in three different settings: online dating, the social network (e.g., friends of friends), and everyday activities. A sample of 702 single (unpartnered) adults (ages 18 to 40) completed a survey that included items that measured their attitudes about finding a compatible partner in the three different ways. Participants believed they would be less likely to find a compatible partner through online dating than either through friends or in everyday activities. Age and shyness were negatively associated with optimism of finding a partner, particularly in the traditional settings of everyday activities and through one's social network.


CONTEXT Functional magnetic resonance imaging studies in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) revealed fronto-striato-parietal dysfunctions during tasks of inhibition and attention. However, it is unclear whether task-dissociated dysfunctions exist and to what extent they may be influenced by age and by long-term stimulant medication use. OBJECTIVE To conduct a meta-analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging studies in ADHD during inhibition and attention tasks, exploring age and long-term stimulant medication use effects. DATA SOURCES PubMed, ScienceDirect, Web of Knowledge, Google Scholar, and Scopus databases were searched up to May 2012 for meta-analyses. Meta-regression methods explored age and long-term stimulant medication use effects. STUDY SELECTION Twenty-one data sets were included for inhibition (287 patients with ADHD and 320 control subjects), and 13 data sets were included for attention (171 patients with ADHD and 178 control subjects). DATA EXTRACTION Peak coordinates of clusters of significant group differences, as well as demographic, clinical, and methodological variables, were extracted for each study or were obtained from the authors. DATA SYNTHESIS Patients with ADHD relative to controls showed reduced activation for inhibition in the right inferior frontal cortex, supplementary motor area, and anterior cingulate cortex, as well as striato-thalamic areas, and showed reduced activation for attention in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, posterior basal ganglia, and thalamic and parietal regions. Furthermore, the meta-regression analysis for the attention domain showed that long-term stimulant medication use was associated with more similar right caudate activation relative to controls. Age effects could be analyzed only for the inhibition meta-analysis, showing that the supplementary motor area and basal ganglia were underactivated solely in children with ADHD relative to controls, while the inferior frontal cortex and thalamus were underactivated solely in adults with ADHD relative to controls. CONCLUSIONS Patients with ADHD have consistent functional abnormalities in 2 distinct domain-dissociated right hemispheric fronto-basal ganglia networks, including the inferior frontal cortex, supplementary motor area, and anterior cingulate cortex for inhibition and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, parietal, and cerebellar areas for attention. Furthermore, preliminary evidence suggests that long-term stimulant medication use may be associated with more normal activation in right caudate during the attention domain.


Abstract This article presents a descriptive study of the English translations of the classic Chinese novel Jin Ping Mei in the context of the Anglo-American literary censorship of obscenity in the twentieth century. By scrutinizing the strategies employed in the English translations of Jin Ping Mei, this article uncovers the dynamic interactions between literary translation activities and the evolving socio-historical contexts in the target culture. The resurrection of the archaic source text, particularly its erotic component, in the Anglophone world in the twentieth century was based on the (re)discovery of its value in the contemporary target context. In the case of Jin Ping Mei, equivalence at the linguistic and textual levels was simply not a concern of the translators and publishers, who had to decide how they would deal with the social reality of literary censorship, by submissively conforming to its demands, or by creatively confronting them.


The incidence rates of hospitalization for acute stroke (subarachnoid haemorrhage not included) in three municipalities in Copenhagen County, Denmark, were assessed in order to provide a basis for estimating the current need for hospital care and rehabilitation. The crude annual incidence rate was 2.61 per 1,000 population. Adjusted for age and sex by direct standardization to the Danish population, the annual incidence rate was 1.88 per 1,000 population. If hospitalizations, caused by sequelae from former strokes are included, the crude and adjusted rates were 3.00 and 2.16, respectively. The average time spent in hospital was 33.7 days (median: 20 days). If these figures are extended to the entire Danish population of over 5 million, 1,000 hospital beds are estimated to be occupied by stroke patients at any given time.


Airborne remote sensing provides an ideal means of mapping the physical structure of lakes and studying the effects of mixing on the horizontal distribution of phytoplankton. Airborne surveys are easier to integrate with field studies than satellite measurements and currently provide the only means of collecting high resolution spectral and spatial data. In this review, I present some results from a series of airborne campaigns organised in the English Lake District between 1986 and 1991. The main instrument used for the surveys was a Daedalus 1268 Airborne Thematic Mapper. This instrument acquires data in 11 spectral bands ranging from the blue visible to the thermal infrared. The visible band data was used to study the spatial distribution of the phytoplankton and the thermal data to map the surface temperature of the lakes. Examples are presented to show how the instrument was used to track the trajectory of surface currents, study exchange processes with the shallow littoral and map the spatial distribution of phytoplankton. Some of the acquired images highlight patterns and processes that could not have been identified by any other means. These included the development of poorly mixed areas ('dead zones') in the littoral zone and the effect of power-boat movements on the surface temperature of Windermere. The review describes some of the methods used to process the acquired imagery and includes an introduction to the procedures used to analyse the spectral data now being gathered by a new generation of airborne instruments.


Simple, linear classical controllers are highly popular in industrial applications. However, most controllers have to be tuned and manually re-tuned on a trial and error basis at every operating level. This is particularly difficult when the plant to be controlled is significantly nonlinear. The deficiency in localised linearised models associated with 'local model networks' has been overcome by the introduction of 'linear approximation model (LAM) networks'. To address this problem and help in the design of industrial controllers for a wider range of operating trajectories,y, this paper develops a controller network design technique based upon a LAM network of a practical or nonlinear system to be controlled. This is called a 'Trajectory Controller Network (TCN)', which overcomes the deficiency associated with local controller networks. Each element of a TCN can be of a simple form, such as PID, and may be obtained directly from a set of step response data at several typical operating levels for fast prototyping. Since plant step response data are often readily available in control engineering practice, such TCNs can be automatically and optimally evolved from these data directly without the need for model identification. The overall controller is co-ordinated and evolved along the entire operating trajectory in the operating envelope, tackling the control problem of practical or nonlinear plants. Evolutionary computation provides global structural search for the network and multi-objective optimisation of the controllers. This novel technique is illustrated and validated through a nonlinear control example.


Certain marine living resources of South Africa are under severe threat from international organised crime syndicates in conjunction with local fishers. These criminal activities erode respect for the rule of law and lead to socio-economic degradation and the proliferation of gangsterism. The current government approach as custodians of the resources is to maximise the return from confiscations. SAPS are not using the full power of the law to address poaching of marine living resources, particularly abalone, as a priority crime and do not allocate their resources commensurate with the value of the commodity. As a country that is beleaguered by fisheries crime, overfishing and exploitation, South Africa must take a tough stance and should pursue criminal organisations with all the power that the state can muster. It must also ensure that national fisheries resource management is improved so that local communities can benefit. The implementation of a conforming strategy would be socially and politically unpopular, but the future benefits will outweigh the outlay.


This paper presents a study evaluation of the SOAP [13] protocol performance between two different implementations: Java (Axis2) [2] and Erlang. This comparison has been carried out using several testbeds with input and output data of different sizes. More concretely, we developed three different web services representing typical scenarios likely to be found in real environments. The evaluation is two-fold: we measured both the number of requests per second answered (throughput) by each server and the response to a common server workload, mixing stress and stand-by phases. The Erlang [3] functional programming language claims to be specifically designed and suited for distributed, reliable and soft real-time concurrent systems. Moreover, its built-in lightweight process management and easiness of replication within distributed environments stand out Erlang as an appealing choice for service oriented architectures (SOAs) [7]. On the other hand, we compared this new approximation with the well-known Apache Axis2 project, as it is widely employed on the Web Services field by the Java community. This work allows us to conclude that the Erlang server is better when the computational cost of the web service is low, whereas the Axis2 server is more efficient as the service workload increases.


We propose an unsupervised vision-based system to estimate the joint configurations of the robot arm from a sequence of RGB or RGB-D images without knowing the model a priori, and then adapt it to the task of category-independent articulated object pose estimation. We combine a classical geometric formulation with deep learning and extend the use of epipolar constraint to multi-rigid-body systems to solve this task. Given a video sequence, the optical flow is estimated to get the pixel-wise dense correspondences. After that, the 6D pose is computed by a modified PnP algorithm. The key idea is to leverage the geometric constraints and the constraint between multiple frames. Furthermore, we build a synthetic dataset with different kinds of robots and multi-joint articulated objects for the research of vision-based robot control and robotic vision. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our method on three benchmark datasets and show that our method achieves higher accuracy than the state-of-the-art supervised methods in estimating joint angles of robot arms and articulated objects.