: It is established on the material of 116 legal-medical autopsies of 11-50-year-old subjects deceased of occasional causes that calcinosis of the aorta media appears in subjects under 20 years and progresses with age. As distinct from the aorta, the first calcium deposits in the coronary arteries appear in the intima, in the foci of muscular-elastic hyperplasia. Calcium deposits in the coronary and other arteries appear a decade later than in the aorta. The beginning of the mediacalcinosis coincides in time with focal intima lipoidosis but the correlation between the intima thickening and the intensity of mediacalcinosis is not observed. Calcinosis of the atherosclerotic plaques appears in preexisting mediacalcinosis. Calcium deposits are closely linked with the elastica, and the media calcinosis occurs in the elastica destruction and is not followed by proliferation of the smooth cells. Cell membrane fragments and vesicular structures are found ultrastructurally in the calcinosis foci, this suggesting that the mediacalcinosis is connected with the elastica destruction and the smooth cell death.


This study evaluated individual factors relating to work and the organization, related to adherence to standard precautions for nurses working in intensive care. It was a cross-sectional study conducted in a large hospital with 178 professionals. For data collection, Likert-type psychometric scales were used. In the Adherence Scale to Standard Precautions we obtained a score of 4.45 (SD=0.27), classified as intermediate. There was a correlation when compared with the individual risk factors of the Scale of the Risk Personality (r =- 0.169, p=0.024) and the factors related to working with the barriers of the Scale for following standard precautions(r =- 0.359, p=0.000). Adherence to standard precautions among the nursing professionals was intermediate. Individual factors and factors related to work influenced the adherence to standard precautions.


ABSTRACT Background: Oversimplified, reductionist approaches to operationalising Physical Literacy (PL) have been a barrier to the development of a complex, dynamic and embodied understanding of the individual Physical Literacy journey. Further, there has been no appropriate approach that might allow practitioners to integrate Physical Literacy in Physical Education (PE). Whilst popular approaches, such as Teaching Games for Understanding (TGfU) and Game Sense (GS), for operationalising learner-centred and problem-based learning, have gained professional traction in the last three decades, the development of a comprehensive theoretical basis to underpin pedagogical principles has been neglected – particularly in Physical Education. Pedagogical approaches grounded in play have gained popularity as a vehicle for Physical Literacy development in Physical Education. Despite the prominence of a Constraint-Led Approach (CLA) in sport pedagogy to assist in developing 'the intelligent, autonomous individual' in sport, application to Physical Education is limited. Purpose: In this article, we propose key pedagogical principles of a Constraints-Led Approach (CLA) in primary physical education, underpinned by the theoretical framework of Ecological Dynamics (ED). Driven by the challenge of designing affordance landscapes for learning, we present our reflections on a recently designed PE curriculum for primary schools, Boing, which could facilitate the development of movement capacities in play-based curricula designed to nurture the Physical Literacy journey for individuals. An articulation of support for the key theoretical ideas is provided in this paper. Design: This is achieved through reflections on the play-based curriculum (BOING) founded on the principles of Ecological Dynamics (ED) underpinning a Constraints-Led approach (CLA) to better serve the implementation of a Physical Literacy focussed Physical Education in a Primary school setting based on key principles for delivery. Findings: Summarising the findings, the we were able to highlight the importance of developing key principles for delivering a theoretically informed curriculum that elicits key principles of Physical Literacy. Whilst movement skills are key, these approaches are able to elicit the intended outcomes in learners of confidence, motivation and competence (Whitehead 2010, 2016). Conclusions: A CLA affords the theoretical design of play-based curricula beyond just play or sport towards purposeful, inclusive learning environments. Practitioners should look to underpin their practice with key theoretical ideas. This paper is of particular interest to those coaches and teachers tasked with designing practical environments for learning beyond the rhetoric of skill development in sport.


Every page will both catch the eye and enrich the mind with the new "Britannica Visual Dictionary". Discover a visual world of information of immense scope and depth. See the component parts of an aeroplane, go inside the human body, explore the solar system and understand a variety of different sports and games. Introducing a new dimension to illustrated reference books, the "Britannica Visual Dictionary" uses a unique combination of comprehensive images and detailed definitions to explain even the most complex of words in rich detail. The result is an indispensable visual reference that goes beyond object-identification to answer questions about function, significance and purpose.The first visual dictionary to incorporate real dictionary definitions, the "Britannica Visual Dictionary" incorporates more than 20,000 words and their definitions into 6,000 full-colour illustrations covering a wide variety of objects from all aspects of life. Each clear and precise definition has been prepared in cooperation with Merriam-Webster[registered] lexicographers. "The Britannica Visual Dictionary" is ideal for teachers, parents, translators, and students of all skill levels including learners of English as a second language. Unlike conventional dictionaries with A to Z listings, the "Britannica Visual Dictionary" is organised by subject area. Full colour pictorial images are grouped into 17 chapters outlining subjects from astronomy to sports, with more complex subjects divided into 94 individual themes.Search ideas to quickly locate words, or consult pictures to read clear, up-to-date definitions. View thousands of highly realistic illustrations and detailed diagrams created by skilled graphic artists. This work features more than 20,000 terms indexed for easy reference, and 6,000 full-colour illustrations. It provides visual answers to children's endless questions. It is an ideal resource for inquisitive children who enjoy knowing how things work and the names for them. It is a useful reference tool to help with homework and projects. The high-quality illustrations keep children engaged. It is thematically arranged around all aspects of modern life.


: Pharmacological activity of 6 newly synthetized water-soluble derivatives of barbiturylo propanosulfonic acids, was evaluated. The compounds were obtained under the conditions of the Ritter reaction. The experiments were performed with the aim to determine the anti-inflammatory and immunotropic activities as well as the central action of the new derivatives; indomethacin was a reference preparation. 5-Allyl-2,4,6-trioxo-5-hexahydropyrimidine-beta-sulfooxy+ ++-propanesulfonic acid displayed pronounced anti-inflammatory and analgesic activity accompanied by immunosuppressive effect observed in the in vitro tests. An introduction of the cyclohexyl group by nitrogen in position 1 of the barbituric ring deprived the new compound of numerous properties; its activity was preserved only in Jerne's test, PFC number was reduced by 50%. On the other hand, the presence of two cyclohexyl groups and beta-hydroxypropanesulfonic and beta-sulfatopropanesulfonic in position 5, conditioned the anti-inflammatory and immunotropic activity of the new derivative. 1,3-Dicyclohexyl-2,4,6-trioxo-hexahydropyrimidine-5, 5-di(beta-hydroxy-propanesulfonic acid) (prep. 5) as the only one in this group, almost completely suppressed the post-carageenin edema. It also diminished the number of RFC and PFC and weakened the cellular response to SRBC. The preparation also increased the viability of multipotential stem cells exposed to Rtg irradiation (the number of endogenous CFU-s increased by 50%). The preparations examined displayed various anti-inflammatory and immunotropic activity dependently on the chemical structure and in some experimental models they appeared more effective than indomethacin.


This paper develops an analytically tractable Bewley model of money demand to shed light on some important questions in monetary theory, such as the welfare cost of inflation. It is shown that when money is a vital form of liquidity to meet uncertain consumption needs, the welfare costs of inflation can be extremely large. With log utility and parameter values that best match both the aggregate money demand curve suggested by Lucas (2000) and the variance of household consumption, agents in our model are willing to reduce consumption by 3% ~ 4% to avoid 10% annual inflation. The astonishingly large welfare costs of inflation arise because inflation increases consumption risk by eroding the buffer-stock-insurance value of money, thus hindering consumption smoothing at the household level. Such an inflation-induced increase in consumption risk at the micro level cannot be captured by representative-agent models or the Bailey triangle. Although the development of financial intermediation can mitigate the problem, with realistic credit limits the welfare loss of moderate inflation still remains several times larger than estimations based on the Bailey triangle. Our findings provide not only a justification for adopting a low inflation target by central banks, but also a plausible explanation for the robust positive relationship between moderate inflation and social unrest in developing countries where money is the major form of household financial wealth.


A DISSERTATION IN THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH PROMOTION AND EDUCATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF PUBLIC HEALTH, COLLEGE OF MEDICINE, IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF PUBLIC HEALTH (HEALTH PROMOTION AND EDUCATION) OF THE UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN


The 2020 election was a referendum on many pressing issues of the time. COVID-19, climate change, and civil unrest propelled Americans to the voting booth in unprecedented numbers, shattering previous turnout records for both previous Vice President Joe Biden and the incumbent Donald Trump. Biden and the Democratic Party field won, but narrowly. With the Democratic Party ostensibly holding only a slim majority in the House and the Vice Presidency as a tiebreaker in a dead-locked Senate, there have been large cries of a "stolen election" and "rampant voter fraud." This has prompted several states, usually with Republican majorities, to pass sweeping restrictions on voting. Using both historical and contemporary lenses, this paper investigates the causes, effects, and motivations to curb voting accessibility and redistricting with an emphasis on red and swing states in the aftermath of the 2020 election, as well as potential solutions to combat the push to further restrict voting rights.


OBJECTIVECritically ill neurological patients are susceptible to infections that may be distinct from other intensive care patients. The aim of this study is to quantify the prevalence, risk factors, and effect on the outcome of nosocomial infectious complications in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). METHODSWe studied 573 consecutive patients with SAH, identified the most prevalent infectious complications, and performed univariate analyses to determine risk factors for each complication. Multiple logistic regression models were constructed to calculate adjusted odds ratios for associated risk factors and to assess the impact of infectious complications on 3-month outcome as evaluated with the modified Rankin Scale. RESULTSThe most prevalent nosocomial infections were pneumonia (n = 114, 20%), urinary tract infection (n = 77, 13%), bloodstream infection (BSI) (n = 48, 8%), and meningitis/ventriculitis (n = 28, 5%). Significant independent associations with pneumonia included older age, poor Hunt and Hess grade, intubation/mechanical ventilation, and loss of consciousness at ictus. Urinary tract infection was associated with female sex and central line use. BSI was also associated with central line use, and meningitis/ventriculitis was associated with the presence of intraventricular hemorrhage and external ventricular drainage (all P < 0.05). After adjustment for Hunt and Hess grade, aneurysm size, and age, pneumonia (adjusted odds ratio, 2.04; 95% confidence interval, 1.12–3.71; P = 0.020) and BSI (adjusted odds ratio, 2.51; 95% confidence interval, 1.14–5.56; P = 0.023) independently predicted death or severe disability at 3 months. Prolonged length of stay was significantly associated with all infection types (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONPneumonia and BSI are common infectious complications of SAH and independently predict poor outcome. The implementation of infection-control measures may be needed to improve outcome after SAH.


An ethogram for male rainbow skinks, Carlia jarnoldae (mean snout-to-vent length 44 mm), was derived from observations of captive individuals in large, semi-natural field enclosures during the summer. Males were observed in one of four treatments: solitary, socially with a male conspecific, socially with a female conspecific, or with a model of an avian predator. We identified 32 different types of behaviour, including postures and simple movements. Six of the behaviours (dorsolateral orientation, head bob, letisimulation, slow motion, throat flash and tail wave) are of particular interest because their functions are either controversial or unknown. We describe them in detail, and infer their functional significance from the contexts in which they occurred. Dorsolateral orientation and slow motion behaviours appear to function primarily in courtship; throat flashes may provide information to conspecifics; and letisimulation may function as an antipredator behaviour. The function of head bobs remains unresolved, and tail waves appear to signal residency, but need further investigation. Although the behaviours exhibited by C. jarnoldae males were generally similar to those reported in other skinks, two of the behaviours we observed (letisimulation and throat flash) have not previously been recorded in a skink. Carlia jarnoldae males were outside refugia for most of our observation periods, and appeared to defend areas of the enclosures from conspecific males. Both visual signals (dorsolateral orientations, slow-motion behaviour and throat flashes) and chemical cues were used to communicate with conspecifics.


ABSTRACT Of the known essential division proteins in Escherichia coli, FtsN is the last to join the septal ring organelle. FtsN is a bitopic membrane protein with a small cytoplasmic portion and a large periplasmic one. The latter is thought to form an α-helical juxtamembrane region, an unstructured linker, and a C-terminal, globular, murein-binding SPOR domain. We found that the essential function of FtsN is accomplished by a surprisingly small essential domain (EFtsN) of at most 35 residues that is centered about helix H2 in the periplasm. EFtsN contributed little, if any, to the accumulation of FtsN at constriction sites. However, the isolated SPOR domain (SFtsN) localized sharply to these sites, while SPOR-less FtsN derivatives localized poorly. Interestingly, localization of SFtsN depended on the ability of cells to constrict and, thus, on the activity of EFtsN. This and other results suggest that, compatible with a triggering function, FtsN joins the division apparatus in a self-enhancing fashion at the time of constriction initiation and that its SPOR domain specifically recognizes some form of septal murein that is only transiently available during the constriction process. SPOR domains are widely distributed in bacteria. The isolated SPOR domains of three additional E. coli proteins of unknown function, DamX, DedD, and RlpA, as well as that of Bacillus subtilis CwlC, also accumulated sharply at constriction sites in E. coli, suggesting that septal targeting is a common property of SPORs. Further analyses showed that DamX and, especially, DedD are genuine division proteins that contribute significantly to the cell constriction process.


STUDY OBJECTIVE--The aim was to assess the differences in suicide data obtained from different database sources. DESIGN--Death certificate based data on suicidal deaths were compared with the information obtained from the non-natural death investigation files at the Public Prosecutor's Office. SETTING--The study was confined to the time period of 1981-1984 and to the residents of the district of Leuven (Belgium) who died in the district. MAIN RESULTS--Differences were found in the number of suicidal deaths reported as well as in the demographic variables, the distribution of suicide methods, and the place of death. Sixty percent of the records in both databases could be matched for all variables studied (age, gender, civil state, place of death, and suicide method), and another 10% if only place of death was allowed to differ. For 4.5% of the cases in the judicial files and for 8% of the records in the official statistics database no corresponding record from the other data source could be found. Based on simple probability statistics [P(missing record)+P(different information[present)] the possible minimum global information bias could be estimated to range from 7 to 42%. CONCLUSIONS--Different epidemiological pictures of suicide mortality may result from studying different data sources.


Design features that adjust and account for excess variation in a transgenic mouse mutation assay based on a lacl target transgene from E. coli are considered. These features include proper identification of plate, packaging reaction, and animal identifier codes throughout the experimental and analysis phases of the study, "blocking" of exposed and unexposed animals when preparing and plating multiple packaging reactions from the same genomic DNA sample, separating sectored mutant plaques and complete mutant plaques before performing any quantitative analyses, and testing for sources of excess variation attributable to features of the experimental protocol—such as plate‐to‐plate (within packaging reactions), packaging reaction‐to‐packaging reaction (within animals), and animal‐to‐animal (within study). Control and ethylnitrosourea‐treated animal data are presented from a fully designed study in the lacl assay. The study design incorporates many of these experimental principles. Statistical methods to identify excess variability are noted, and the designed study data are used to illustrate the types of variability encountered in practice. A standard statistical test for two‐sample testing is highlighted, from which recommendations are made for sample size selection in future studies. © 1995 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Background and Aim: Cardiovascular autonomic function tests (CAFTs) are non-invasive tests that can assess both sympathetic and parasympathetic autonomic functions. Autonomic dysfunction may be considered as a risk factor for obesity and vice versa. For measurement of obesity, body mass index (BMI) is a simple, valid and inexpensive method. Hence, this study was designed to evaluate the effect of obesity based on BMI criteria on autonomic nervous system based on CAFT in young adult males. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out on 43 young adult males in the age group of 18–25 years with an age-matched control (n = 43) group. After initial screening, anthropometric measurements were recorded. CAFTs were performed and recorded by the Cardiac Autonomic Neuropathy Analysis System (CANWin). Unpaired t- test was done to compare the parameters of study and control groups in Microsoft Excel® 2010. Results: Parasympathetic test parameters of study and control groups when expressed in mean ± standard deviation were not found statistically significant (P > 0.05). The fall in systolic blood pressure (BP) in orthostatic test of study group (12.19 ± 4.8 mmHg) was significantly (P = 0.0001) higher than that of control group (7.33 ± 5.16 mmHg). Increase in diastolic BP in isometric handgrip exercise test of study group (11.84 ± 5.39 mmHg) was significantly less (P = 0.004) than that of control group (16.39 ± 8.71 mmHg). Conclusion: Overweight young males have altered sympathetic activity but parasympathetic activity did not show any significant difference when compared to normal weight males.


ABSTRACT Background: Cervical cancer has a high prevalence and mortality, while early diagnosis greatly reduces its complications. Therefore, it is important to identify the factors affecting the screening of cervical cancer. Studies have shown that health locus of control plays an important role in beliefs about screening. This study aimed to identify the correlation between health locus of control and beliefs about Pap smear among women. Methods: This was a descriptive study which was conducted cross-sectionally. It was conducted on 250 married women who had the inclusion criteria and attended health centers selected by Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Oct. 2017 to February 2018 (a period of 5 months). Data collection tools included a demographic information questionnaire, multidimensional health locus of control scale, and the Pap Smear Belief Questionnaire (PSBQ). Data analysis was carried out through SPSS (v.17) using statistical tests including correlation and regression. The significance level was considered 0.05. Results: Among the participants, 50.8% never had a history of undergoing a Pap smear test. The mean scores for the internal health locus of control (IHLC), chance health locus of control (CHLC), and powerful others health locus of control (PHLC) were 22.59±5.32, 22.84±4.65 , and 24.54±4.28, respectively. The total score for the Pap smear belief had a significant positive correlation with two dimensions: IHLC (r=0.209, P=0.001) and PHLC (r=0.216, P=0.001). In addition, based on the results of the linear regression analysis, the scores of IHLC (R2=0.03, P=0.004), PHLC (R2=0.036, P=0.003), and CHLC (R2=0.16, P=0.04) were the predictors of the total score for the Pap smear belief. Conclusion: Our results showed that all dimensions of the health locus of control were the predictors of belief in women's Pap smear screening. It is necessary that health care providers hold programs for health locus control of cervix cancer prevention in Iranian women.


The acid generation mechanisms and neutralizing capacities of sulfidic sediments from two inland wetlands have been studied in order to understand the response of these types of systems to drying events. The two systems show vastly different responses to oxidation, with one (Bottle Bend (BB) lagoon) having virtually no acid neutralizing capacity (ANC) and the other (Psyche Bend (PB) lagoon) an ANC that is an order of magnitude greater than the acid generation potential. While BB strongly acidifies during oxidation the free acid generation is less than that expected from the measured proton production and consumption processes, with additional proton consumption attributed to the formation of an acid-anion (chloride) FeIII (oxyhydr)oxide product, similar to akaganéite (Fe(OH)2.7Cl0.3). While such products can partially attenuate the acidification of these systems, resilience to acidification is primarily imparted by sediment ANC.


Scanning and transmission electron microscopy were used in conjunction with standard microbiological procedures to examine some aspects of contamination of broiler carcass skin by bacteria during processing as well as the subsequent growth of these microorganisms during storage.
The autochthonous skin microflora of the skin of poultry prior to processing, was mainly Micrococcus spp. which were located in accumulations of sebum-like substances on the surface of the stratum corneum. During scalding and plucking, the skin epidermis was removed and the exposed dermal tissue was contaminated by microorganisms from the mechanical plucker and subsequent stages of processing. The major sources of contamination of psychrotrophic bacteria were immersion washer and chiller water. Microorganisms contaminating the skin were mainly found within a fluid film covering this surface, but also deep inside skin channels. The fluid film contained serum proteins and some amino acids and the quantity of fluid and concentration of the components increased during storage of broiler carcasses. Skin microtopography and the presence of the liquid film were implicated as major factors controlling contamination of carcasses during processing.
Fixation of skin in osmium tetroxide vapour allowed preservation of the liquid film components in situ, whereas fixation by immersion in solutions of glutaraldehyde or osmium tetroxide rinsed these materials from the skin and allowed unobstructed observation of the surface. Addition of alcian blue 8GX to glutaraldehyde solutions improved preservation of the fluid film components ,especially when high numbers of spoilage bacteria were present.
During storage of carcasses under humid conditions, bacteria grew within the fluid film but were also found in deep skin channels and in feather follicle shafts, whereas under drying conditions, microorganisms grew in discrete colonies. Spoilage bacteria were not attached by acidic mucopolysaccharide fibrils to the skin of carcasses stored at 20, 40, and 10°C, although bridging substances were associated with bacteria on carcasses stored at 15° and 22°C.
Skin invasion or gross degradation of this substrate by the spoilage microflora was not observed for carcasses stored at 20C. However, bacteria did degrade proteinaceous material present within the liquid film even before onset of spoilage. Strains of Pseudomonas groups I and II were the predominant types producing off odour on the skin of carcasses stored at 2°C. Sulphide-like or fruity-type off odours were produced by pure cultures of these bacteria when grown on either leg muscle pieces or skin. The major sulphur volatile produced was methanethiol. This volatile was also produced by these isolates when grown in a methionine supplemented medium, although the presence of glucose inhibited production of methanethiol.
The significance of the results is discussed in relation to the mechanisms of contamination of broiler carcasses
during processing and the growth and metabolism of microorganisms during storage.


A state-of-the-art automatic speech recognition (ASR) system can often achieve high accuracy for most spoken languages of interest if a large amount of speech material can be collected and used to train a set of language-specific acoustic phone models. However, designing good ASR systems with little or no language-specific speech data for resource-limited languages is still a challenging research topic. As a consequence, there has been an increasing interest in exploring knowledge sharing among a large number of languages so that a universal set of acoustic phone units can be defined to work for multiple or even for all languages. This work aims at demonstrating that a recently proposed automatic speech attribute transcription framework can play a key role in designing language-universal acoustic models by sharing speech units among all target languages at the acoustic phonetic attribute level. The language-universal acoustic models are evaluated through phone recognition. It will be shown that good cross-language attribute detection and continuous phone recognition performance can be accomplished for "unseen" languages using minimal training data from the target languages to be recognized. Furthermore, a phone-based background model (PBM) approach will be presented to improve attribute detection accuracies.


Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) treatment is limited by the availability of antiviral agents and the variable response to those agents. Currently, the only approved antiviral agents are Pegylated interferon and nucleos(t)ide analogues. The response to these therapies varies widely between CHB patients. Thus, the patients with non-favorable response are ultimately exposed to unnecessary side effects and costs. All current guidelines provide information regarding the time to initiate therapy. However, a clear consensus regarding the predictors of non response and consequently terminating the treatment is still lacking. Many studies that determine the adequacy of the use of predictive markers early in the course of the disease will be reviewed here. During Pegylated interferon therapy, combination of decline in serum HBV DNA and HBsAg levels from baseline at week 12 could generate a solid stopping rule. Using nucleos(t)ide analogues in chronic HBeAg-positive patients, the on-treatment HBsAg quantitation at 6 months appears to have a useful role in determining the duration of therapy in patients who achieve HBeAg loss (or seroconversion) during treatment. In chronic HBeAg-negative patients, the Asian Pacific Association for the Study of Liver (APASL) stopping rules are adequate with proper off-therapy monitoring. Furthermore, the durability of off-therapy response for both classes based on long term follow-up studies will be discussed here. Through this review we will present a clear generation of stopping rules to guide the antiviral therapy early enough to predict non response and shift to other agents. Therefore, adopting a costeffective approach in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B.


Modern infant formulations based on milk have been shown to cause severe diarrhoea and malnutrition during weaning, unlike the traditional weaning foods such as uji (cereal porridge). Such diseases can be attributed to the unhygienic conditions and dirty water used during preparation of infant foods. Results on microbial growth or death of Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhimurium, entero‐pathogenic Escherichia Coli and Shigella dysenteriae during uji fermentation and storage of ready‐to‐eat products are described. All the pathogens declined during uji fermentation and storage, with the declining rate being higher during storage. Invitro studies on antimicrobial activities on plates by uji culture against the pathogens, suggest that the inhibition mechanism could be due to both acid production and antibiotic substances.


AkzoNobel has been producing salt from solution-mined brine since 1919. Production in the Hengelo area started in 1933, and is still ongoing today. Because at some point in time the mineable salt will all be mined and preparations for extension of the concession will need to be made, it is important to know the remaining amount of salt in the Hengelo area. To date no singular method for estimation of these reserves has been adopted. This leaves room for the development of a local method. It was chosen to develop this method in accordance with international standards. Due to its worldwide influence and being recognised by the Amsterdam Stock Exchange that AkzoNobel is registered on, it was opted to use the code of the Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM). The geology of the Hengelo area was modelled using a modified version of the ordinary Kriging algorithm to take into account the presence of faults. Kriging was used because it also provides an estimate of uncertainty in the horizons that are modelled. To factor in the uncertainty about the continuity of the salt body, the resources in three areas were calculated: the area was investigated as a whole, and two sub-areas were investigated separately: · Sub-area 1 is the area within 500m distance of any measurement in the area. · Sub-area 2 is the area for which the geology was previously studied in great detail by GeoWulf Laboratories[5]. This area is essentially the area in-between the different measurements. The modelled horizons and their uncertainty values were then used in a Monte Carlo simulation, yielding cumulative probability distributions for the estimated amount of salt in the three scenarios. The total amount of salt was also calculated deterministically, meaning all calculations were performed using expected values. This produced the same values as the expectations of the probabilistic approach. It was decided that the probabilistic approach of the total area produced an over-optimistic value of the total Resource, and to only use the expected values of the three areas to distinguish between Inferred, Indicated and Measured Resources. Reserves were estimated for three scenarios: 1. Salt has been produced in the past in this area using a no longer used leaching strategy that results in large caverns with multiple wells. What would be the Salt Produced if the same locations had been chosen to produce salt using the modern Single Completion Cavern design? And what would be the historical recovery? 2. Assuming no production had taken place in the past, what would be the total Salt Reserve if the field would be developed now? 3. What is the Salt Reserve left in the area? It was found that the recovery percentages per cavern as asked for in scenario 1 were so widespread that no conclusive numbers could be given. The cavern lay-out throughout the area in scenarios 2 and 3 was not optimized, but because the overall estimation process was conservative the numbers could still be used as minimal values in future evaluations of the area. The results of scenario 3 are given in the table below.


There is a gap in the research regarding applications of Lean tools in the wood fiber supply chain. A Value Stream Map (VSM) tool that focused on identifying Lean waste in logistic operations was developed and applied to three case study firms: a paper mill, a sawmill, and a logger. Using the VSM tool an absence of structured methods to select and assess suppliers was found, which promotes a fluctuating environment for suppliers. Therefore, a tool that implements a hierarchy system to categorize suppliers was developed, verified and validated. Through the use of the VSM implementation the author found a lack of information sharing between supply chain stakeholders, which causes a reactive environment for the industry. Improvements in wood flow planning, tract allocation, truck scheduling, and communication were projected as a future state of the system. The annual potential savings by implementing the projected improvements in the total cost were as follows for the paper mill, the sawmill, and the logger respectively: $306,232, $312,085, $756,504. As a result of the findings obtained through the VSMs, a supplier selection model was designed. The tool was implemented into software for the wood industry. The tool was then verified and validated. The verification process consisted of comparing the output through previously known results and was performed through seven interviews with different stakeholders. The appropriate application of the supplier selection tool improves the way in which companies in the wood industry select and assess their suppliers and guarantee that the best alternatives are selected. Improving efficiency in logistics operations of the wood fiber supply chain Paula Daniela Fallas Valverde


Shear strength of reinforced concrete (RC) members is composed of the contributions of the nominal shear strength provided by transverse reinforcement and concrete. The shear strength of RC members under cyclic lateral loading degrades much faster than the flexural strength. Based on this state, Seismic Codes tend to be excessively conservative and do not take into account the contribution of concrete in certain cases. The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of displacement ductility on concrete contribution to shear strength using finite element analyses (FEA). Based on the agreement between the FEA and experimental results selected from literature, a simple relation is proposed for the prediction of the concrete contribution to shear strength of RC beams. The relation proposed takes into account a reduction of the normalized concrete contribution for increasing inelastic displacement demands, with a small residual strength at large ductility levels.


The solvable condition of nonlinear H∞ control problems is given by the Hamilton Jacobi inequality (HJI). The state-dependent Riccati inequality (SDRI) is one of the approaches used to solve the HJI. The SDRI contains the state-dependent coefficient (SDC) form of a nonlinear system. The SDC form is not unique. If a poor SDC form is chosen, then there is no solution for the SDRI. In other words, there exist free parameters of the SDC form that affect the solvability of the SDRI. This study focuses on the free parameters of the SDC form. First, a representation of the free parameters of the SDC form is introduced. The solvability of an SDRI is a sufficient condition for that of the related HJI, and the free parameters affect the conservativeness of the SDRI approach. In addition, a new method for designing the free parameters that reduces the conservativeness of the SDRI approach is introduced. Finally, numerical examples to verify the effect of this method are presented.


Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) magnets generally need an extremely uniform magnetic field in the space where the specimens will be placed. Although high temperature superconducting bulk magnets can obtain an intense magnetic field of more than 3 T, the field distribution is intrinsically characterized to be inhomogeneous, showing steep gradient. Aiming at the practical application of compact and portable NMR magnets, the authors have developed magnet systems capable of generating uniform magnetic fields in a narrow space between face-to-face settled magnetic poles, targeting to obtain a uniform magnetic field between the poles. Here, the authors modified the shape of magnetic field distribution from convex to concave by attaching a ferromagnetic iron plate on one of the pole surfaces, and then settled them face to face with a gap of 70 mm. The uniformity of the magnetic field in the x-y plane was experimentally measured and estimated along various z-axis directions. The best uniformity of 463 ppm at 1.25 T was obtained in the experimental evaluation in the x-y plane of 4 × 4 mm2 at z = 0.5 mm from the iron plate surface. The value of uniformity along the z-direction range was extended from 0.8 mm to a depth of 1.1 mm. These results show that the possible space of NMR signal detection or the available sample size can be enlarged.


One major cause of elastic wave attenuation in heterogeneous porous media is wave-induced flow of the pore fluid between heterogeneities of various scales. It is believed that for frequencies below 1 kHz, the most important cause is the wave-induced flow between mesoscopic inhomogeneities, which are large compared with the typical individual pore size but small compared to the wavelength. Various laboratory experiments in some natural porous materials provide evidence for the presence of centimeter-scale mesoscopic heterogeneities. Laboratory and field measurements of seismic attenuation in fluid-saturated rocks provide indications of the role of the wave-induced flow. Signatures of wave-induced flow include the frequency and saturation dependence of P-wave attenuation and its associated velocity dispersion, frequency-dependent shear-wave splitting, and attenuation anisotropy. During the last four decades, numerous models for attenuation and velocity dispersion from wave-induced flow have been developed with varying degrees of rigor and complexity. These models can be categorized roughly into three groups according to their underlying theoretical framework. The first group of models is based on Biot's theory of poroelasticity. The second group is based on elastodynamic theory where local fluid flow is incorporated through an additional hydrodynamic equation. Another group of models is derived using the theory of viscoelasticity. Though all models predict attenuation and velocity dispersion typical for a relaxation process, there exist differences that can be related to the type of disorder periodic, random, space dimension and to the way the local flow is incorporated. The differences manifest themselves in different asymptotic scaling laws for attenuation and in different expressions for characteristic frequencies. In recent years, some theoretical models of wave-induced fluid flow have been validated numerically, using finite-difference, finite-element, and reflectivity algorithms applied to Biot's equations of poroelasticity. Application of theoretical models to real seismic data requires further studies using broadband laboratory and field measurements of attenuation and dispersion for different rocks as well as development of more robust methods for estimating dissipation attributes from field data.


Low iron concentrations limit growth of Antarctic phytoplankton throughout the year. Results from the European Iron Fertilization Experiment (EIFEX) showed that large, chain forming diatoms were the main beneficiaries of iron fertilization. However, it was demonstrated for the first time that small diatoms benefited from increased iron availability as well. Laboratory experiments showed that light limitation of Southern Ocean diatoms may be less common than hitherto suggested. Further, iron and silicate co-limitation in Chaetoceros dichaeta resulted in distinct frustule malformation that would likely decrease grazing protection of this species in the field. Decreases in the elemental Si : C, Si : N, and Si : P ratios of diatoms under high iron concentrations were caused by different mechanisms instead of solely by the assumed decreased silicification. Additionally, it was demonstrated for the first time that Southern Ocean diatoms are able to use volcanic ash as an iron source and increase chlorophyll concentrations and photosynthetic efficiency significantly.


Over the coming century humanity may need to find reservoirs to store several trillions of tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted from fossil fuel combustion, which would otherwise cause dangerous climate change if it were left in the atmosphere. Carbon storage in the ocean as bicarbonate ions (by increasing ocean alkalinity) has received very little attention. Yet recent work suggests sufficient capacity to sequester copious quantities of CO2. It may be possible to sequester hundreds of billions to trillions of tons of C without surpassing postindustrial average carbonate saturation states in the surface ocean. When globally distributed, the impact of elevated alkalinity is potentially small and may help ameliorate the effects of ocean acidification. However, the local impact around addition sites may be more acute but is specific to the mineral and technology. The alkalinity of the ocean increases naturally because of rock weathering in which >1.5 mol of carbon are removed from the atmosphere for every mole of magnesium or calcium dissolved from silicate minerals (e.g., wollastonite, olivine, and anorthite) and 0.5 mol for carbonate minerals (e.g., calcite and dolomite). These processes are responsible for naturally sequestering 0.5 billion tons of CO2 per year. Alkalinity is reduced in the ocean through carbonate mineral precipitation, which is almost exclusively formed from biological activity. Most of the previous work on the biological response to changes in carbonate chemistry have focused on acidifying conditions. More research is required to understand carbonate precipitation at elevated alkalinity to constrain the longevity of carbon storage. A range of technologies have been proposed to increase ocean alkalinity (accelerated weathering of limestone, enhanced weathering, electrochemical promoted weathering, and ocean liming), the cost of which may be comparable to alternative carbon sequestration proposals (e.g., $20–100 tCO2−1). There are still many unanswered technical, environmental, social, and ethical questions, but the scale of the carbon sequestration challenge warrants research to address these.


— The paper is a research investigation on the analysis of classroom interaction pattern and students' learning outcomes in physics in Ankpa education zone of Kogi state, Nigeria. The study was guided by three research questions. The study adopted descriptive survey design. The population of the study comprised of all the secondary schools and all the physics teachers in Ankpa education zone of Kogi state. A sample of 344 SSI students was used as respondents (227 males and 117 females) and 10 physics teachers (9males and 1 female). Total sample size for the study was 354 for both students and teachers drawn from 10 intact classes of SS1 physics in 10 secondary schools in the zone using purposive sampling technique. The instrument used for the collation of data was direct observation manual (DOM), a modified Flanders interaction analysis category. The instrument was face-validated by 2 experts in physics education and one expert in measurement and evaluation both from Kogi State University, Anyigba. The reliability coefficient of the instrument DOM was determined using Pearson product-moment correlations to be 0.78. Data collected were analyzed using simple percentage. The raw scores are converted into percentages. The results of the findings are coded based on the average percentages of the boys (males), girls (females) and choral responses (the whole class) to the teachers' question. The findings of the studies revealed that questions that elicit answer and repetition purpose were mostly answered chorally in both single and mixed schools and that the feedback of the teacher affects the pattern and extent of classroom interaction in physics lesson. The study revealed that teachers use only one style of feedback, affirmation, more, neglecting other forms of feedback styles that can enhance positive interaction among teachers and learners for better learning outcomes in physics teaching and learning. The study equally revealed that feminine gender interacts positively among themselves than the masculine gender in the physics lesson. This indicates that girls are shy of interacting with the teacher and the boys during classroom instruction in physics. Analysis of the research revealed that the teachers do not interact actively with their students and most of the physics teachers lack the qualities of a good teacher. Teachers adopt only one method of teaching which was mainly for the lecture method. The opportunity to interact more among themselves and quality of classroom interaction was very poor. Boys had a greater proportional share of positive interaction pattern than the girls during physics lessons. Based on the findings, recommendations were made, that physics teacher should avoid discrimination in their classroom interaction with male and female students. Girls should be motivated in whatever way possible to participate in classroom interaction since it helps them to learn better among others.


The research focuses on the study of speech phenomena developed in the context of the conceptual sphere as an effective approach to the use of neuropsychology. Neuropsychology considers the acquisition of new knowledge on human perception and processing of new information as a separate mental process. This paper studies the formation of linguistic phenomena in the context of the cultural development of man, which in the course of evolutionary-historical process has created distinctive linguistic-ethnic linguistic images. The linguistic identity of man is created in the representation of man and is represented by a set of concepts, i.e. it is a conceptual sphere. The current state of the humanities has led to the relevance of ethno linguistic studies, which present the results of studies of the reflection in the national consciousness of extra linguistic phenomena that form the basis for a holistic worldview and function as concepts. The latter are cultural, mental and linguistic phenomena that are integral mental-linguistic constructs, but can be studied for each of the components, including language. Cognitive experience, which can be identified and analyzed in language phenomena, is a verbalized (fixed to a bilateral linguistic unit) reflection of sensual and rational experiences of an individual (group, society, ethnicity) of a number of events, impressions, often located in speech - in dialect, literary language, the carrier of which he is). General scientific and special linguistic methods will ensure the complexity of the study of verbalizers of the concepts of folk morality.


: In two Francisella species (F. tularensis and F. novicida) neuraminidase activity, heretofore unknown, was detected. The enzyme exhibited specificity with respect to the substrates used in the investigation, neutralizing natural mucins, but not other compounds (glycoproteins and glycoproteins). All F. tularensis strains were found to have enzymatic activity irrespective of their subspecies, but neuraminidase activity was higher in the strains belonging to the American subspecies. Experimentally obtained F. tularensis noncapsular variants possessed higher neuraminidase activity than the capsular parent strains. The conclusion on the possible role of this enzyme in F. tularensis colonization of the host body was made.


Extirpation of cranial neural crest cells in presomite to 5 somite chick embryos produces monsters which in all essential respects are identical to human cyclopias. The primary lesion involves damage to the forebrain and consequently the inhibition of the nasal placode and nasal organ development as well as the destruction of the anterior neural crest cells, with the resultant absence of the nasal and interobital septa and of the facial dermal skeleton.


It has been observed, that a paradigm shift is taking place, from discussing sharehold-ers' relationship to companies in terms of rights, towards including their duties. This article provides a terminological foothold for the emerging discussion on sharehold-ers' duties, by analysing the concept of duty , and how it applies to shareholders. By application of moral philosophical theories, the concept of shareholders' duties is subjected to classi fi cation which provides a framework for further discourse. Thereby, this article provides not only guidelines to what should be considered a shareholder's duty, but furthermore what should be kept out of that group.


CONTEXT
Altered foot dynamics due to malalignment of the foot may change plantar-pressure properties, resulting in various kinds of overuse injuries.

OBJECTIVE
To assess the effect of foot characteristics on plantar-pressure-related measures such as maximum pressure, maximum pressure-time, and pressure-time integral underneath the medial aspect of the foot during running.

DESIGN
Cross-sectional.

SETTING
Laboratory.

PARTICIPANTS
8 men and 17 women.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Static non-weight-bearing rear-foot and forefoot alignment and navicular drop were measured. Plantar-pressure data were collected while subjects jogged at 2.6 m/s on a treadmill. Maximum pressure, time to maximum pressure, and pressure-time integral of the medial side of the foot were extracted for data analysis. Multiple-regression analysis was used to examine the effect of arch height and rear-foot and forefoot alignment on maximum pressure and pressure-time integral in the medial side of the foot.

RESULTS
In the medial rear-foot and midfoot regions, only rear-foot alignment had a significant effect on the variance of maximum pressure and pressure-time integral. There were no significant difference effects in the medial forefoot region.

CONCLUSION
Rear-foot alignment was found to be a significant predictor of maximum plantar pressure and pressure-time integral in the medial rear-foot and midfoot regions. This indicates that control of rear-foot alignment may help decrease plantar pressure on the medial region of the foot, which may potentially prevent injuries associated with excessive rear-foot eversion.


Compressed sensing (CS) reconstruction relies on the sparsity of the signal in the transform domain and on the incoherence between sensing and sparsifying transform matrices. In CS-MRI, the sensing matrix is the randomly undersampled Discrete Fourier transform (DFT) matrix while Wavelet is used as the sparsifying transform. However the incoherence between the DFT and the Wavelet transform matrices is suboptimal for CS-MRI. In this paper we investigated the use of Noiselets as sensing matrix in MRI in order to improve the incoherence between sensing and sparsifying transform matrices. Noiselet basis are totally incompressible by Wavelets and spread out energy of the Wavelets in the Noiselet domain. In this work the k-space is encoded with Noiselet basis in the primary phase encode direction and a few random phase encodes are taken for the CS reconstruction. We compared the CS reconstruction error with uniform undersampling of the Fourier encoded and the Noiselet encoded MR images for various reduction factors in simulation, and showed that Noiselet encoded MRI performs better than Fourier encoded MRI. However for pseudo random undersampling in the Fourier domain and uniform random undersampling in the Noiselet domain both techniques perform equally well. However when both Noiselet encoded and Fourier encoded CS-MRI techniques were combined with parallel imaging using distributed compressed sensing model, the Noiselet encoded CS-MRI with uniform random undersampling outperforms the Fourier encoded CS-MRI with pseudo random undersampling. A tailored spin echo sequence is proposed to encode primary phase encode direction with Noiselet basis for MR imaging.


The main objective of this study was to examine the effects of a plant protein- vs. fishmeal-based diet on growth response in a population of 24 families, as well as expression of growth-related genes in the muscle of adult zebrafish (Danio rerio). Each family was split to create two fish populations with similar genetic backgrounds, and the fish were fed either fishmeal (FM diet) or plant protein (PP diet) as the unique protein source in their diets from 35 to 98 days postfertilization (dpf). To understand the effect of the PP diet on gene expression, individuals from three families, representative of the mean weight in both populations, were selected. To understand the effect of familiar variation on gene expression, the same families were evaluated separately. At 98 dpf, growth-related genes Igf1a, Igf2a, mTOR, Pld1a, Mrf4, Myod, Myogenin, and Myostatin1b were evaluated. In males, Myogenin, Mrf4, and Igf2a showed changes attributable to the PP diet. In females, the effect of the PP diet did not modulate the expression in any of the eight genes studied. The effect of familiar variation on gene expression was observed among families. This study shows that PP diet and family variation have effects on gene expression in fish muscle.


Caste persists as an important socio-psychological phenomenon in many spheres of Indian social life and particularly within village contexts. It is argued that socio-psychological insights into caste identity and caste-based stigma may complement ongoing sociological and anthropological research into caste. Drawing upon identity process theory, this article explores the possible functions performed by caste-based stigma both for the higher caste groups (HCGs) and the 'Scheduled Caste' (SC) groups. It examines how the maintenance of the social hierarchy implicated in the caste system, the spatial and endogamous separation of caste groups and the historical division of labour in accordance with caste group affiliation, may impinge upon identity processes among both groups. It is argued that caste group affiliation and caste-based stigma have differential and sometimes conflicting implications for identity processes among the HCGs and SCs. While negative social representations of the SCs may threaten self-esteem among SC members, it may enhance the self-esteem, meaning and distinctiveness principles among the HCGs. The systematic positioning of the caste ingroup and outgroups within the social matrix may enhance meaning and distinctiveness among both the HCGs and SCs. This article highlights a potential rationale underlying caste group members' resistance to social change vis-à-vis caste, even among those who might be expected to benefit from such change. Some theoretical points are made in the form of testable hypotheses and methodological issues in caste-related research are considered.


Sweetpotato is used in various food preparations in place of rice, cassava, yam and plantain in Ghana. In spite of this it does not have the same importance in Ghanaian diet as other root and tuber crops. Consumer taste, preference and acceptance are critical in determining the suitability of sweetpotato cultivars to any locality. A study was carried out in some selected communities of Ghana where sweetpotato is popular which span all five ecozones of Ghana in February, 2012. The main objective was to investigate why sweetpotato has low utilization compared with other root and tuber crops and to increase its utilization through breeding. The study employed Focus Group Discussion (FGD) followed by administration of Semi-structured Questionnaire (SSQ). Data collected were analysed using Genstat and Statistical Package for Social Sciences. Seventy-nine people consisting of 63% males and 37% females, and 178 people consisting of 52% female and 48% males were involved in the FGD and SSQ, respectively. Majority (94%) of farmers' ranked sweetpotato from 1 to 5 among 24 cultivated crops. Only about 28% of consumers ate sweetpotato at least six days per week. The survey revealed that consumers in Ghana desired non-sweet, high dry matter sweetpotato cultivars. Therefore, there is need for Research and Development to adjust sweetpotato breeding objectives and selection procedures to develop high dry matter non-sweet sweetpotato varieties in Ghana.


For some years now, the ever continuing dimensional scaling has no longer been considered to be sufficient for the realization of advanced CMOS devices. Alternative approaches, such as employing new materials and introducing new device architectures, appear to be the way to go forward. A currently hot approach is to employ ferroelectric materials for obtaining a positive feedback in the gate control of a switch. This work elaborates on two device architectures based on this approach: the negative-capacitance and the piezoelectric field-effect transistor, i.e., the NC-FET (negative-capacitance field-effect transistor), respectively π-FET. It briefly describes their operation principle and compares those based on earlier reports. For optimal performance, the adopted ferroelectric material in the NC-FET should have a relatively wide polarization-field loop (i.e., "hard" ferroelectric material). Its optimal remnant polarization depends on the NC-FET architecture, although there is some consensus in having a low value for that (e.g., HZO (Hafnium-Zirconate)). π-FET is the piezoelectric coefficient, hence its polarization-field loop should be as high as possible (e.g., PZT (lead-zirconate-titanate)). In summary, literature reports indicate that the NC-FET shows better performance in terms of subthreshold swing and on-current. However, since its operation principle is based on a relatively large change in polarization the maximum speed, unlike in a π-FET, forms a big issue. Therefore, for future low-power CMOS, a hybrid solution is proposed comprising both device architectures on a chip where hard ferroelectric materials with a high piezocoefficient are used.


Perioperative factors including hypoxia, hypocapnia, and certain anesthetics have been suggested to contribute to Alzheimer disease (AD) neuropathogenesis. Desflurane is one of the most commonly used inhalation anesthetics. However, the effects of desflurane on AD neuropathogenesis have not been previously determined. Here, we set out to assess the effects of desflurane and hypoxia on caspase activation, amyloid precursor protein (APP) processing, and amyloid β-protein (Aβ) generation in H4 human neuroglioma cells (H4 naïve cells) as well as those overexpressing APP (H4-APP cells). Neither 12% desflurane nor hypoxia (18% O2) alone affected caspase-3 activation, APP processing, and Aβ generation. However, treatment with a combination of 12% desflurane and hypoxia (18% O2) (desflurane/hypoxia) for 6 h induced caspase-3 activation, altered APP processing, and increased Aβ generation in H4-APP cells. Desflurane/hypoxia also increased levels of β-site APP-cleaving enzyme in H4-APP cells. In addition, desflurane/hypoxia-induced Aβ generation could be reduced by the broad caspase inhibitor benzyloxycarbonyl-VAD. Finally, the Aβ aggregation inhibitor clioquinol and γ-secretase inhibitor L-685,458 attenuated caspase-3 activation induced by desflurane/hypoxia. In summary, desflurane can induce Aβ production and caspase activation, but only in the presence of hypoxia. Pending in vivo confirmation, these data may have profound implications for anesthesia care in elderly patients, and especially those with AD.


The objective of the study is to reconstruct the history of Derbe Belanbel historical and cultural site. This is very crucial because though the historical and cultural site in question played a significant role in revealing the history and the tourism industry of the Region and by extension the history of the country; scholars have not given the attention it deserves so far. In the process of reconstructing its history, we came to realize that no scholar has studied the site before. Derbe Belanbel is located in Dhuhun wereda of Nogob Zone of the Ethiopian Somali Regional State. It is far from the town of Jigjiga, the administrative center of the Region, by about 450 kilometers in its southern direction. Methodologically the researcher mainly used the qualitative method and culled data from secondary literature but the study heavily relies on field observation and information gathered from knowledgeable informants. As far as we have tried to establish, Derbe Belanbel was a medieval center of culture and civilization of the Harla Somalis characterized by stone built houses, steles, and a Mosque that appropriately suggest a religious settlement. The stone built houses are similar with those located in the Harar, Dire Dawa and Zeila areas as well as with those located in the northern parts of proper Somalia. Though differences in the softness and hardness of the surfaces of the materials used in their productions and the artistic elements we see in them, many of the steles found at Derbe Belanbel display interesting geometric similarity with the A¢iya steles located in the Guraghe Zone of southern Ethiopia. Fragments of pottery, grains of beads, and fragments of glasses that we recovered from the very site suggest the people were skilled in the preparation of household materials from clay soil and had established commercial link as far as the port of Zeila in the northwest and Mogadishu in the east. Overall, though the site is found in a precarious condition owing to lack of attention by the concerned bodies, Derbe Belanbel represented a medieval culture of greater importance, which would immensely contribute to the history of the Ethiopian Somalis and for the growth of the tourism industry of the Regional State. Depending on the effort of the Regional State, the site could be registered in UNESCO as world heritage site.


Scientists turn to metaphors to formulate and explain scientific concepts, but an ill-considered metaphor can lead to social misunderstandings and counterproductive policies, Brendon Larson observes in this stimulating book. He explores how metaphors can entangle scientific facts with social values and warns that, particularly in the environmental realm, incautious metaphors can reinforce prevailing values that are inconsistent with desirable sustainability outcomes. "The Metaphoric Web" draws on four case studies - two from nineteenth-century evolutionary science, and two from contemporary biodiversity science - to reveal how metaphors may shape the possibility of sustainability. Arguing that scientists must assume greater responsibility for their metaphors, and that the rest of us must become more critically aware of them, the author urges more critical reflection on the social dimensions and implications of metaphors while offering practical suggestions for choosing among alternative scientific metaphors.


It has been shown that time-reversal (TR) techniques focus energy back to the dominant scatters, lead to super-resolution focusing, and gains in detection. Time reversal has so far mainly been studied when the channel remains invariant between the initial and time-reversed signal transmission times. In this letter, we relax this assumption and study the benefits of TR over time-varying channels. To do so, we compare a time-reversed and a non time-reversed system by comparing the mutual information between the channel impulse response and channel outputs given the transmitted signals. We present analytical results for a simple scalar problem which illustrates the impact of nonstationary channels on TR, and for general channels, numerically evaluate the difference in mutual informations, which demonstrate that, if the channels are nonstationary yet correlated, TR may still provide mutual information gains over non time-reversed systems.


Background: Lung cancer is the most deadly cancer in men and women worldwide. The major reason for its high mortality rate is that it is less likely than many other cancers to be detected at an early stage. Age, gender, smoking status, tumor size, and disease stage at the time of diagnosis are highly related to the prognosis of patients with lung cancer. In this study, we developed a method for simulating the characteristics of, at an individual level, lung cancer in a population at the time of diagnosis, according to the progression and detection of the disease. Model framework: In this framework, the carcinogenesis, tumor-progression, and detection models work together with data on the lifespan of an individual from his/her birth to the time of lung cancer diagnosis. The carcinogenesis model combined with data on the patients' smoking duration and intensity generated by the Smoking History Generator (SHG) was used to predict the incidence of lung cancer in a person's lifetime, as well as to calculate the age of the patient at the initiation of lung cancer. The tumor growth (with parameters: ξ,μ_n,μ_m,k,θ) and detection models (with parameters: α,W_0,W_1 and W_2) were applied jointly to predict the age, tumor size, and disease stage at the time of diagnosis for the modeled individual. Estimation and prediction: Lung cancer data from Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database collected between 2004 and 2008 were reconstructed to fit the lung cancer progression and detection model. We derive the least-squares function: F(f(x| ξ,μ_n,μ_m,k,θ,α,W_0,W_1,W_2)-Y ^(x)), where f is the simulated joint distribution of tumor size and stage and Y ^ is the observed joint distribution of SEER data, based on these parameters, and apply the Nelder-Mead method to achieve the best fit parameters in the model. The fitted model combined with a previously fitted carcinogenesis model was used to predict the distribution of age, gender, tumor size, and disease stage at diagnosis and the results were validated against independent data from the SEER database collected from 1988 to 1999. Result: The model predicted both the gender distribution (58.1% are male) among LC patients and median age (69 years old) at the time of diagnosis, whereas 58.8% male patients and the same median age were presented in SEER 1988-1999. The model predicted that about 26.5%, 22.4%, and 51.1% would be staged as N0M0, N1M0, and M1, respectively, whereas about 17.0%, 25.4%, 45.7, and 11.9% were actually staged as N0M0, N1M0, M1, and missing stage, respectively. The predicted tumor size (diameter; mean, 4.57; Standard Deviation (SD), 3.21) is comparable to the tumor size (diameter; mean, 4.44; SD, 5) in SEER. Conclusion: The model accurately predicted the gender distribution and median age of LC patients of diagnosis, and reasonably (but not exactly) predicted the tumor size and disease stage distribution. Citation Format: Xing Chen, Millennia Foy, Marek Kimmel, Olga Y. Gorlova. Modeling the natural history and detection of lung cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Eleventh Annual AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research; 2012 Oct 16-19; Anaheim, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Prev Res 2012;5(11 Suppl):Abstract nr B02.


We examined cortical and trabecular bone density and geometric properties of the unfractured distal radius in 70 women with recent Colles' fractures, using multilayer peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT). We found that cortical volumetric density, cortical area and mean cortical thickness were lower in the displaced than in the undisplaced fractures, suggesting that the cross-sectional volumetric density and geometric properties of cortical bone may be essential in determining the severity of a Colles' fracture. We also compared lumbar spine and femoral neck bone mineral density (BMD) and the occurrence of osteoporosis in the displaced and undisplaced fracture groups and found no significant difference, which suggests that displacement of a Colles' fracture is not associated with general osteoporosis.


Boron, B, has many interesting electronic and structural properties, which makes it an ideal material for technical and industrial needs. The different binary materials that have been in focus in the present thesis, do all include B; metal diborides (MB2), cubic boron nitride (c-BN) forming an interface with diamond, and various phases of BN [cubic (c-BN), hexagonal (h-BN), wurtzitic (w-BN), and rhombohedral (r-BN)]. Density Functional Theory (DFT) methods have been used in studying structural geometries, energetical stabilities, electronic properties, and surface reactivity.A structural and electronic comparison has been made for various MB2 compounds in planar and puckered structural forms. The resulting MB2 structure was found to correlate to the degree of electron transfer from the metal atom to B. A transfer of more than one electron was observed to induce a planar B structure. This is to be compared with the planar MgB2 structure, for which an electron transfer of two electrons was observed.The initial nucleation of c-BN onto a diamond substrate has also been focused in the present thesis. This step has experimentally been found to be critical for a phase-pure c-BN thin film growth to occur. The evolution of an interfacial diamond//BN structure was investigated, with the purpose to simulate a layer-by-layer growth of c-BN. The obtained results were found to strongly support the experimental findings, in that there is a need for an extra energy in order to avoid non-cubic phases in the closest vicinity to the substrate. However, the simulations showed that it is possible to diminish this need of extra energy by completely terminating the surface by species like H or F. These calculations also showed that terminated diamond//BN generally show a stronger interfacial bond energy, thereby improving the adhesion to the diamond substrate. The importance with surface termination was not found crucial for thicker BN adlayers.A combined effect of doping and surface termination was investigated for the various BN allotropes, (using O, C, and Si). The electron induced in c-BN by the O (or C) dopant was observed to move towards the surface B atoms, and thereby creating a more reactive surface. For the upper surface N atoms, doping was observed to create a less reactive N surface. The Si dopants did only show a positive effect on surface reactivity at the B surface sites on both h-BN (001) and r-BN (001) surfaces.


A case of acute myelomonocytic leukemia terminating in histiocytic medullary reticulosis is reported. The evolution of a single cellular clone presenting with progressive change of the morphological features of the leukemic cells towards more anaplastic elements endowed with prominent phagocytic properties is suggested on the basis of both cytochemical and chromosomal data. The histiocytic nature of the malignant proliferating cells and platelet phagocytosis has been confirmed by electron microscopic investigation. The main pathogenetic explanations of the evolutionary patterns of the disease are discussed with relation to: a) involvement of a common stem cell giving rise to different proliferative patterns of cells in a multiphasic sequence; b) release of dysplastic platelets and defective erythrocytes with massive sequestration by histioid phagocytic cells; and c) coexistence of two different disorders.


EDTA-fluorocarbon microspheres (EDTAFM), calcium disodium ethylene diaminetetraacetate (CaNa2EDTA), calcium- or zinc-diethylene triamine pentaacetate (Ca- or Zn-DTPA) were investigated for their ability to treat experimental lead intoxication in mice. The 48 ICR mice were divided into six groups. Group I = no treatment; The other groups were injected with single ip doses of 210Pb (10 mg Pb2+ +555 kBq/kg). After 24 h they were injected in the tail vein with the chelating agents (20 mg/kg) or an equal volume of 10% glucose (10 mg/kg). Each mouse was housed in one metabolic cage, and urine was collected daily for 3 d. After 3 d, the mice were sacrificed for comparison of lead distribution within the liver, kidney, femur and the entire carcass as measured by 0.047 Mev gamma emission from 210Pb. The results reveal that injection of EDTA-FM to lead poisoned mice pretreated with 210Pb was more effective than Zn- or Ca-DTPA and CaNa2EDTA in reducing the lead induced inhibition in the activity of blood ALAD, and that it increased the excretion of 210Pb into the urine. The hepatic, renal and femur 210Pb contents after treatment with EDTAFM were much more decreased than Zn- or Ca-DTPA and CaNa2-EDTA. The order of effectiveness was EDTAFM greater than Zn-DTPA greater than Ca-DTPA greater than CaNa2-EDTA.


Issues related to immigration have long been present in U.S. television and print news cycles. In recent years, those issues have become more prevalent in U.S. popular culture, especially in television and popular music. In this essay, we analyze three representative and diverse examples from U.S. popular media to better understand the representation of immigrant narratives: ABC's Ugly Betty, the Chicano band, Los Lobos's 2006 album, The Town and the City, and CNN Presents "Immigrant Nation." From our analysis, we advance three interconnected arguments: First, personalized narratives of the immigrant experience reify stereotypes through accumulation and repetition that contributes to the construction of border spectacle. Second, audiences interpret individualized accounts through ambivalent readings that function to entrench audience beliefs and attitudes about immigrants and immigration which create unmotivated sympathies. Finally, individual accounts humanize issues related to immigration, but they also individualize responsibility and absolve collective responsibilities by emphasizing immigrants' hard work and pursuit of the U.S. American Dream.


Background/Aims SCN5A encodes the cardiac-specific NaV1.5 sodium channel, and Brugada syndrome is a cardiac conduction disorder associated with sodium channel α-subunit (SCN5A) mutation. The SCN5A-encoded NaV1.5 channel is also found on gastrointestinal smooth muscle and interstitial cells of Cajal. We investigated the relationship between functional dyspepsia (FD) and SCN5A mutation to evaluate sodium channelopathy in FD. Methods Patients with Brugada syndrome or FD were examined using upper endoscopy, electrogastrography (EGG), FD symptom questionnaire based on Rome III criteria and genetic testing for SCN5A mutation. Symptom scores of FD and EGG findings were analyzed according to SCN5A mutation. Results A total of 17 patients (4 Brugada syndrome and 13 FD) participated in the study. An SCN5A mutation was noted in 75.0% of the patients with Brugada syndrome and in 1 (7.7%) of the patients with FD. Of 4 patients with SCN5A mutation, 2 (50%) had FD. Postprandial tachygastria and bradygastria were noted in 2 (50%) and 1 (25%) of the patients with SCN5A mutation, respectively. The EGG findings were not significantly different between positive and negative mutation in 17 patients. Conclusions Although we did not find statistically significant results, we suggest that it is meaningful to attempt to identify differences in symptoms and gastric myoelectric activity according to the presence of an SCN5A mutation by EGG analysis. The relationship between FD and sodium channelopathy should be elucidated in the future by a large-scale study.


Thermal stressing of polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA)- rich culinary oils according to routine frying or cooking practices generates high levels of cytotoxic aldehydic products (predominantly trans-2-alkenals, trans,trans-alka-2,4-dienals, cis,trans-alka-2, 4-dienals, and n-alkanals), species arising from the fragmentation of conjugated hydroperoxydiene precursors. In this investigation we demonstrate that typical trans-2-alkenal compounds known to be produced from the thermally induced autoxidation of PUFAs are readily absorbed from the gut into the systemic circulation in vivo, metabolized (primarily via the addition of glutathione across their electrophilic carbon-carbon double bonds), and excreted in the urine as C-3 mercapturate conjugates in rats. Since such aldehydic products are damaging to human health, the results obtained from our investigations indicate that the dietary ingestion of thermally, autoxidatively stressed PUFA-rich culinary oils promotes the induction, development, and progression of cardiovascular diseases.


This study was carried out under greenhouse conditions in 1994-1995. The influence of phosphate treatments (0, 1, 2, 3 and 4g P 2 O 5 /pot) on chromosome segregaiton at the first anaphase (AI) and tetrad regularity in plants of diploid Senu variety of meadow fescue ( Festuca pratensisHuds.) and its artificial autotetraploid were studied. In addition, the relationship was determined between balanced AI segregations and regular tetrads with respect to regular meiosis. AI segregations were often balanced in eutetraploids but the frequency of balanced groups was found to be lower than that of the diploids. The difference between diploid and eutetraploid in terms of the frequencies of balanced cells and the frequency of cells with laggards at AI was found to be significant. The frequencies of cells with different AI segregations showed no difference under various phosphate treatments in the two ploidy levels. The number of micronuclei per tetrad (M/Q) was higher in eutetraploids than that of diploids whereas the percentage of regular tetrads was lower in the formers. The differences were significant between diploids and eutetraploids in terms of these two characteristics. On the other hand, the difference was significant between the phosphate treatments in terms of the percentage of regular tetrads in diploids and eutetraploids. In both diploids and eutetraploids, there was positive and significant correlation between the frequency of balanced AI cells and the percentage of regular tetrads whereas negative and highly significant relationship between the former and M/Q was noted.


When nonparametric statistical tests are used to rank-order a list of alternatives, Simpson-like paradoxes arise, in which the individual parts give rise to a common decision, but the aggregate of those parts gives rise to a different decision. Haunsperger (2003) and Bargagliotti (2009) showed that the Kruskal-Wallis (Kruskal and Wallis, 1952), Mann-Whitney (Mann and Whitney, 1947), and Bhapkar's V (Bhapkar, 1961) nonparametric statistical tests are subject to these types of paradoxes. We further investigate these ranking paradoxes by showing that when they occur, the differences in rankings are not statistically significant.


The dramatic decline in the settlement of puerulus of the rock lobster (Panulirus cygnus) along the coast of Western Australia over the past six years has led to major changes in the management of the fishery. It has also prompted several research projects including a multi-institutional study of the biological oceanography of the planktonic phyllosoma larval stages. The phyllosoma stages precede metamorphosis into the puerulus and, during this period of almost a year spent drifting in the SE Indian Ocean pelagic ecosystem, the poorly understood phyllosoma larvae are subject to a wide range of oceanographic conditions. Using a surface net at night, phyllosoma larvae were captured for feeding experiments conducted at sea aboard the research vessel RV Southern Surveyor. The experiments showed that the phyllosoma (mid-late stages) are fussy feeders preferentially selecting arrow worms (Chaetognatha) from the offered variety of planktonic prey items. Intriguingly, a high-throughput amplicon sequencing approach on DNA obtained from the contents of the gut of wild-caught phyllosoma also indicated the presence of colonial radiolarians in the diet. An extensive survey of the prey field from the coast out to 400 km offshore between 28°and 32°S was also conducted. The water masses in this area comprised both Leeuwin Current Water and Subtropical Surface Water. The importance of links between the oceanographically-driven prey field and phyllosoma nutritional state in the oligotrophic SE Indian Ocean are currently being investigated.


The paper deals with the problem of efficient adaptation of speech recognition systems to individual users. The goal is to achieve better performance in specific applications where one known speaker is expected. In our approach we adopt the MAP (Maximum A Posteriori) method for this purpose. The MAP based formulae for the adaptation of the HMM (Hidden Markov Model) parameters are described. Several alternative versions of this method have been implemented and experimentally verified in two areas, first in the isolated-word recognition (IWR) task and later also in the large vocabulary continuous speech recognition (LVCSR) system, both developed for the Czech language. The results show that the word error rate (WER) can be reduced by more than 20% for a speaker who provides tens of words (in case of IWR) or tens of sentences (in case of LVCSR) for the adaptation. Recently, we have used the described methods in the design of two practical applications: voice dictation to a PC and automatic transcription of radio and TV news.


Bubbling fluidized beds are used extensively in energy and chemical industries because of their excellent heat and mass transfer characteristics. Recently, CFD has been identified as a useful tool for predicting reactor performance, but application to large scales continues to be challenging because of limitations on computational resources. Given that the hydrodynamics can largely be characterized by bubbles rising through the bed, a more feasible approach for investigating large-scale reactors is to quantify bubble dynamics and specifically, gas distribution in different phasesvisible bubble flow, bubble-through flow and dense-phase flow. In this study, 3D CFD simulations of bubbling fluidized beds are first conducted to establish the impact of scale (bed diameter) on the hydrodynamics. Using solids circulation and bubble statistics (1), it is established that wall effects cease to be significant in beds larger than 50 cm (bed aspect ratio less than 1). At this scale, simulations are then carried out for two distinct Geldart B particles and data is subsequently analyzed for gas-flow distribution in the bed. Bubble statistics are also compared with existing correlations and their relation to solids circulation and mixing is investigated. The physical model and numerical tool were developed and validated in previous studies (1,2), while 3D Bubble statistics are computed using MS3DATA (Multiphase Statistics using 3D Detection and Tracking Algorithm) (3). Accurate description of the gas-flow is crucial for large-scale combustor design since quantifying gas distribution will indicate both fuel rich zones as well as oxidant bypass through bubbles leading to inefficient performance.


The Batinah Coastal plain, located between the Hajar mountains and the sea, from Muscat to the UAE border, is a favorable region for groundwater occurrence in Oman and the main source of fresh water in this coastal area. The coastal parts of the Batinah plain, particularly Barka and Suwaiq, have suffered from groundwater deterioration over the past 20 years. This paper reviews the monitoring activities of groundwater electrical conductivity in the Batinah coastal plain between Seeb and Suwaiq over the period 1984 to 2005, an area of approximately 394 km 2 . GIS and Auto-Cad techniques were applied to illustrate different salinity zones as the wells coordinates and their field EC were digitized on maps with contours. Zones of salinity ranges are identified and their areas were computed and compared to the total catchment area of each wadi. All samples were collected from the same upper gravel layer, ranging in depth 20-100 meters. There has been a substantial deterioration in water quality as indicated by a 7% reduction in areas of water suitable for agriculture use (2.000 – 6.000 μS/cm), reflecting a loss of 2,714 hectares of irrigated land. Also, a saline interface is reported 12 km inland at Wadi al Taww, Barka area, an indication of aquifer over-exploitation. It is therefore critical that monitoring of water quality and quantity is continued. It is recommended to improve implementation of the standard water resources management solutions to coastal aquifer saline contamination. Cooperation of different organizations and water users is essential to conserve these precious water resources.


The recent emergence of digital platforms as labor market intermediaries disrupts collective work practices, fostering fragmentation and individualized sub-contracting. In these environments where isolation dominates, how do social networks operate, and how do they support social resilience? And how can we, as researchers, apprehend them? To address these questions, this chapter reviews insights from socio-economic studies of networks, discusses their applicability to platforms, compares and contrasts them to existing evidence on platform work. The analysis confirms that overall, technology-enabled platform intermediation restrains sociability and limits interactions, but specific cases where networking has been possible highlight the fundamental advantages it may have for workers, and suggest directions for future research and policy action.


In a recent article in this journal, Carl Knight and Andreas Albertsen argue that Rawlsian theories of distributive justice as applied to health and healthcare fail to accommodate both palliative care and the desirability of less painful treatments. The asserted Rawlsian focus on opportunities or capacities, as exemplified in Normal Daniels' developments of John Rawls' theory, results in a normative account of healthcare which is at best only indirectly sensitive to pain and so unable to account for the value of efforts of which the sole purpose is pain reduction. I argue that, far from undermining the Rawlsian project and its application to problems of health, what the authors' argument at most amounts to is a compelling case for the inclusion of freedom from physical pain within its index of primary goods.


The purpose of this study was (i) to determine the selected characteristics of the potato farmers, (ii) to determine the adoption level of improved practices by the farmers in potato cultivation and (iii) to explore the relationships between the selected characteristics of the potato farmers with their adoption of improved practices. Out of 500 potato farmers, which consituted the population, 100 of them were selected following random sampling method. Data were collected from the farmers by interview schedule. Findings revealed that majority of the potato growers (63 percent) had moderate level of adoption, 32 percent low and only 5 percent had high adoption. The correlation analysis indicated that farm size, potato farm area, extension contact and attitude towards improved practices were significantly related with the adoption of improved practices of potato. However, farmers age, education and organizational participation were not related with adoption.


Amidst a sweltering orchestral haze, the flute traces the sinuous outline of an imagined curve; atop the impassioned orations of a nymph, the flute seduces and enthralls; alongside a freize- like arrangement of nude models, the flute observes, detached and aloof. Claude Debussy's flute compositions of 1894-1914 reconceived of the instrument's capabilities. But it is not only technical innovation that renders these works compelling, emotive and unsettling. These works are exceptional and unusual in that they rest clearly upon imaginations of gender, sexuality and desire. It is those imaginations which propelled radical technical change. Prélude à l'après- midi d'un faune, Syrinx and Bilitis: through performance, these works animate fraught conceptual battles in art and gender. When embedded in experience, these works contest a general set of interests beyond their own limits. Inhabiting the mystery of a non-linguistic artform as able to sweep performers up in great gestures of eroticism and definitional power, these works uneasily bolster the discursive frames through which art and gender are understood. Establishing a dialogue between practices of performance in artistic and lived experience, this thesis draws heavily on Theodor Adorno's Aesthetic Theory and Judith Butler's Gender Trouble. Problematizing assumptive distinctions between gender performativity and musical performance, this thesis aims to understand the possibilities of the content inhabited, projected and observed through musical experience.


Exploiting the latest information is very important for winning a motorbike race. However, it is difficult for a pit crew to acquire the latest information while working. The miniaturization of computers has enabled the creation of wearable computers, which permit users instant, and hands-free access to information. Therefore, we propose a wearable system that supports motorbike racing teams. This system allows pit crew to browse for various race information easily and effortlessly.


In assisted reproductive techniques two moral agents are confronted in informed dialogue: the medical team and the couple with infertility or sterility problems. The offspring in this dialogue is a basic human rights for both parts. There is danger of scientificism and of giving excessive importance to the commercialization of these techniques. Furthermore, it is necessary to establish the conditions to respect the rational ethical norms of discourse in the physician-patient dialogue, under the dialogical ethical perspective and to consider the interests and rights of the offspring as "the other" present-absent. The personalized bioethics perspective and the ethics of basic goods may complement the ethical dilemma's analysis related to assisted reproductive techniques.


Deer frequently visit areas where they may cause damage. Incidents along roadways and runways inflict numerous injuries to animals and humans, and cause considerable economic losses. Concerns are increasing that deer interactions with domestic animals may contribute to spread of disease. Deer foraging in residential areas, agricultural fields, or plant propagation sites can impede growth and possibly survival of desirable plants. We conducted a series of trials to determine whether mild electric shock would induce place avoidance in deer. Shock was delivered through a device attached to a collar. A noise cue was emitted as an animal approached a defined area if the animal failed to retreat a shock followed. Deer learned to avoid areas associated with shock. We concluded that place avoidance induced through negative reinforcement may be a feasible means to protect valuable resources from resident animals. However, the technological limitations of tested devices, costs to implement, and required training for individual deer reduced the practicality of this approach for highly mobile animals and as a means to protect resources with low economic significance.


The objective of this research was to examine whether users of mental health or substance abuse (MH/SA) services incurred greater costs for non-MH/SA services than nonusers of MH/SA services. Two years of health care utilization data were collected on 443 at-risk drinkers from six southern U.S. states. We then examined predictors of using MH/SA services and costs associated with non-MH/SA services. The results showed that use of MH/SA services was associated with female gender, military service, health insurance, and not being employed full-time. Unadjusted analyses indicated that non-MH/SA service costs were significantly higher among MH/SA service users than nonusers. However, this association did not endure in multivariable models. In fact, emergency department costs were significantly lower among MH/SA users. It is commonly assumed that users of MH/SA services are also heavy users of other medical services. Through multivariable models, this study found that overall costs of non-MH/SA services were similar between users and nonusers of MH/SA services.


Sexual assault has gone largely under-reported, and social media movements, like #WhyIDidntReport, have brought great awareness to this issue. In order to take advantage of the large amounts of data the #WhyIDidntReport movement has generated, the study uses tweets to explore reasons why victims do not report their assault. The thesis cites current research on the topic of assault to generate a list of explanations victims use to describe their lack of reporting and compares the distributions with existing studies. We use a supervised learning technique to automatically categorize tweets into one of eight categories. This approach uses social sensing to determine why people do not report rather than surveys and interviews like current research.
The machine learning algorithms used to categorize the tweets as having a reason or not are Naive Bayes, Random Forest, and Recurrent Neural Networks. Only Naive Bayes and Random Forest were used for categorizing the reasons because there was not enough data to train large numbers of parameters of RNN. Each algorithm produces relatively precise results for the binary classification and categorizing whether a tweet references shame, denial/minimization, fear of consequences, hopelessness/helplessness, drugs or drinking or disassociation, lack of information, protecting the assailant, or age as the reason they did not report. These algorithms and tweets can be used to label data in future studies.
Using the current research, natural language processing, and machine learning, we were able to determine a list of reasons mentioned on Twitter under the #WhyIDidntReport movement. The distribution of the reasons differed from current research, most likely as a result of the form of data collection. However, the categories themselves were consistent with findings from other studies. The use of social sensing to determine reasons presents a new perspective on the topic and allows for comparison with other research.


This study estimates a stochastic production frontier to measure technical efficiency (TE) using farm-level survey data for a random sample of small-scale farmers in Central Chile. Socioeconomic and productive information was collected in season 2005/06 through a survey of 319 farmers in the Province of Linares. An important issue in the paper is the effect of adoption of soil and water conservation practices on productivity. The results reveal a positive relationship between the adoption of soil and water conservation and farm-level TE. The results also indicate that improvements in TE, when associated with conservation practices, not only lead to higher output and thus improvements in net returns, but also contribute to environmental sustainability. Moreover, the analysis reveals a positive relationship between TE and human capital variables such as education and agricultural extension.


We investigate phase transitions in a solid-on-solid model where double-height steps as well as single-height steps are allowed. Without the double-height steps, repulsive interactions between up-up or down-down step pairs give rise to a disordered flat phase. When the double-height steps are allowed, two single-height steps can merge into a double-height step (step doubling). We find that the step doubling reduces repulsive interaction strength between single-height steps and that the disordered flat phase is suppressed. As a control parameter a step doubling energy is introduced, which is assigned to each step doubling vertex. From transfer matrix type finite-size-scaling studies of interface free energies, we obtain the phase diagram in the parameter space of the step energy, the interaction energy, and the step doubling energy.