In today's world, global warming (GW) and the resulting climate change are a significant threat to humans, plants and animals. The main contributor to GW is greenhouse gases (GHGs) that are created from the burning of fossil fuels, mainly for electrical power. Hence, the way forward in safeguarding the future of life on planet earth is to reduce on our GHG emissions and move rapidly to the utilization of renewable energy resources that are abundantly available. There are numerous advantages in implementing renewable energy projects versus the use of fossil fuels in meeting individual or community energy demands. With renewable energy, an individual or community will be able to have a more diverse and stable long-term energy supply, considering fossil fuel resources are slowly being depleted. Small-scale renewable energy projects, especially in remote communities which are currently served by diesel-generated electricity, offset the community's use of diesel fuel. Although there will be times when renewable energy is not available and a back-up source of power is required, the long-term cost of energy may be reduced. And the use of indigenous energy can contribute to a nation (or region's) energy security by significantly reducing its dependence on imported oil (assuming it is not an oil exporter). There are numerous renewable energy resources available globally (wind, solar, biomass, falling water, geothermal) that can be used for individual or community energy projects. Community energy projects are distinguished from other renewable energy projects in which members of the community are subscribers who use the electricity produced by the project, even though each individual does not solely own the equipment. This chapter presents an overview of how energy captured from the sun can be utilized at the community level by installing solar photovoltaic systems in the form of a solar garden or solar farm or solar power plant to generate electrical energy in meeting some, if not all, of the community total energy demand. In addition, readers will be exposed to three common ownership models and their benefits, barriers affecting the adoption of such projects and selected examples of such projects that have been completed or are in the conceptualization or construction phase within North America, Europe, South America and East Africa.


Abstract This paper describes PlantConnect, a real-time interactive system that explores human-plant interaction via the human act of breathing, the bioelectrical and photosynthetic activity of plants, and computational intelligence to bring the two together. Part of larger investigations into alternative models for the creation of shared experiences and understanding with the natural world, the work is presented as a concrete implementation of a possible model based upon reciprocal interplay and information flows between human and nonhuman worlds.


Identifying the relationship between two articles, e.g., whether two articles published from different sources describe the same breaking news, is critical to many document understanding tasks. Existing approaches for modeling and matching sentence pairs do not perform well in matching longer documents, which embody more complex interactions between the enclosed entities than a sentence does. To model article pairs, we propose the Concept Interaction Graph to represent an article as a graph of concepts. We then match a pair of articles by comparing the sentences that enclose the same concept vertex through a series of encoding techniques, and aggregate the matching signals through a graph convolutional network. To facilitate the evaluation of long article matching, we have created two datasets, each consisting of about 30K pairs of breaking news articles covering diverse topics in the open domain. Extensive evaluations of the proposed methods on the two datasets demonstrate significant improvements over a wide range of state-of-the-art methods for natural language matching.


A phytosociological study was done to assess the composition of Aquilaria malaccensis Lamk. and the ecological relationship between the species within the communities. Braun-Blanquet (1964) method was adopted in the present study. A total of 1668 individual trees with diameter at breast height (DBH) of 5 cm and above were found in the 25 plots in Sungai Udang Forest Reserve, Malacca, Peninsular Malaysia of which overall floristic composition consisted of 85 species belonging to 79 genera and 38 families. The most abundant family is the Euphorbiaceae with 224 individual trees, followed by Myrtaceae and Anacardiaceae representing 212 and 197 individuals, respectively. The phytosociological study identified a community which was Aquilaria malaccensis - Artocarpus rigidus community with two sub-communities known as Palaquium gutta sub-community and Barringtonia racemosa sub-community. Based on the calculated Importance Value Index (IVi), Spondias cytherea (Anacardiaceae) was the most important species in the study area with an importance value index (IVi) of 23.9%. The second most important species in the study area was Syzygium sp. (Myrtaceae) with an importance value index (IVi) of 22.8%, followed by Elateriospermum tapos (Euphorbiaceae) and Aquilaria malaccensis (Thymelaeaceae) with an importance value index (IVi) of 17.2% and 13.0%, respectively. As for species diversity, the Shannon-Weiner Diversity Index (H') for the whole 25 plots of the study area (Aquilaria malaccensis-Artocarpus rigidus community) showed an index value of 3.67, while the Simpson's index of diversity (1-D) for the whole 25 plots (Aquilaria malaccensis-Artocarpus rigidus community) showed an index value of 0.96. The H' values and D values proved that the study plots are considered as obtaining a fairly high species diversity in comparison with many studies conducted at the tropical rainforests in Peninsular Malaysia. The floristic composition in the family level obtained in this study with Euphorbiaceae as the dominant family is quite similar to those found in other tropical forests in Peninsular Malaysia. The fairly high species diversity and the good soil characteristics obtained from the study area shows that Aquilaria malaccensis Lamk. and its communities can successfully interact socially between each other and able to live healthily together in an ecosystem. The soil in the study area was acidic and dominated by clay loam which shows that the soil is suitable for the provision of nutrients to the plants. This study also concluded that high soil fertility promotes the high species diversity and richness of an area. The correlation analysis between the physico-chemical characteristics of soil at all the 25 plots in the Sungai Udang Forest Reserve concluded that the correlation between the chemical content of soil in this study was moderate. Furthermore, the Pearson's correlation analysis determined that the vegetation diversity or plant communities were significantly and positively correlated with soil parameters, particularly soil pH, CEC, available K, available P, available C and available N. Therefore, the soil characteristics of an environment should be an important criterion for species distribution. The composition and distribution of species in this study might be also influenced by other environmental factors such as natural forest gap, altitude and topography. The new information on Aquilaria malaccensis Lamk.and its communities obtained from this study could contribute to the future plantation work, by using all the exact species existed in the discovered new communities as a reference in planting trees.


Background: Vitamin D deficiency represents a major health problem in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the Knowledge and attitude towards vitamin D deficiency in Ha'il Region (Northern Saudi Arabia). Methodology: A total of 500 Saudi volunteers living in the city of Ha'il and surrounding towns were included during the period from January 2020 to March 2020. Adults aged 15 years or older were randomly selected regardless of gender, occupation or marital status. Results: Out of the 500 study subjects, 214 (42.8%) did previous vitamin D testing (72/207 (34.8%) males and 142/293 (48.5%) were females). Females were significantly better for testing their vitamin D status than males (p=0.0032). Conclusion: Vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent in Ha'il Region. Although there is a relatively higher awareness level towards vitamin D sources, vitamin D testing, as well as knowledge about vitamin D deficiency-related disorders are poor among Saudi living in Ha'il Region.


The Ironman World Championship is one of the most gruelling tests of mental and physical endurance and athleticism in the world. Its competitors have 17 hours to swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles and run a full marathon, 26.2 miles. Chris McCormack has dedicated his life to training for - and winning - this race, a feat he has accomplished twice, along with winning the Australian Ironman five years in a row and coming in first at both the Triathlon World Championships and the International Triathlon Union World Cup. But his journey to athletic greatness is more than one of just physical endurance. I'M HERE TO WIN is McCormack's account of everything it takes - mind, body and spirit - to become a champion. In 2010, McCormack silenced his critics when he won the Hawaiian Ironman Championship at 37. He ran the race not just for himself, but for his late mother and the charity he founded in her honour to fight breast cancer. While Macca gives much credit to his physical performance, he believes his success comes from what he does before and after the race as much as during.


This index is primarily one to new information. Previously published information referred to in this volume has not been indexed unless extensive comparisons or reinterpretations are involved. For some species, especially ones not in the AOU check-list, only scientific names have been entered, and, in some instances, entries under scientific names are more extensive than those under vernacular names. New generic, specific, and subspecific names are printed in boldface type.


Gender, an important concept in African elections, has been largely ignored, yet the majority of voters tend to be women, while those who hold the authority and are elected to political positions are mostly men. This article examines the understanding of gender in the African context and analyses the underlying causes of the gender paradox. Using a multi- inter- and trans-disciplinary approach, the concept of gender is scrutinised within the election cycle. Findings about gender dynamics drawn from African nations showed that less than 30% of representatives in elected African parliaments are women. The reasons for this gender disparity appear to be deeply embedded in the historical and ideological traditions within the political, economic and social dimensions of Africa's development. The article ends with the identification of barriers to entry for women candidates in selected African countries. Strategies for transforming gender inequities in elections are discussed.


This collection of original essays highlights the intertwined fates of the modern short story and periodical culture in the period 1880–1950, the heyday of magazine short fiction in Britain. Through case studies that focus on particular magazines, short stories and authors, chapters investigate the presence, status and functioning of short stories within a variety of periodical publications – highbrow and popular, mainstream and specialised, middlebrow and avant-garde. Examining the impact of social and publishing networks on the production, dissemination and reception of short stories, this essay collection foregrounds the ways in which magazines and periodicals shaped conversations about the short story form and prompted or provoked writers into developing the genre.


Our breath catches and we jump in fear at the sight of a snake. We pause and marvel at the sublime beauty of a sunrise. These reactions are no accident; in fact, many of our human responses to nature are steeped in our deep evolutionary past - we fear snakes because of the danger of venom or constriction, and we welcome the assurances of the sunrise as the predatory dangers of the dark night disappear. Many of our aesthetic preferences - from the kinds of gardens we build to the foods we enjoy and the entertainment we seek - are the lingering result of natural selection. In this ambitious and unusual work, evolutionary biologist Gordon H. Orians explores the role of evolution in human responses to the environment, beginning with why we have emotions and ending with evolutionary approaches to aesthetics. Orians reveals how our emotional lives today are shaped by decisions our ancestors made centuries ago on African savannas. During this time our likes and dislikes became wired in our brains, as the appropriate responses to the environment meant the difference between survival or death. His rich analysis explains why we mimic the tropical savannas of our ancestors in our parks and gardens, why we are simultaneously attracted to danger and approach it cautiously, and how paying close attention to nature's sounds has resulted in us being an unusually musical species. We also learn why we have developed discriminating palates for wine, why we have strong reactions to some odors, and why we enjoy classifying almost everything. By applying biological perspectives ranging from Darwin to current neuroscience to analyses of our aesthetic preferences for landscapes, sounds, smells, plants, and animals, Snakes, Sunrises, and Shakespeare transforms how we view our experience of the natural world and how we relate to each other.


Maximum-likelihood (ML) estimation in wavefront sensing requires careful attention to all noise sources and all factors that influence the sensor data. We present detailed probability density functions for the output of the image detector in a wavefront sensor, conditional not only on wavefront parameters but also on various nuisance parameters. Practical ways of dealing with nuisance parameters are described, and final expressions for likelihoods and Fisher information matrices are derived. The theory is illustrated by discussing Shack-Hartmann sensors, and computational requirements are discussed. Simulation results show that ML estimation can significantly increase the dynamic range of a Shack-Hartmann sensor with four detectors and that it can reduce the residual wavefront error when compared with traditional methods.


In this paper a new 11 level multi inverter topology introduced by the NearestLevel Control method. By this topology we are reducing the switches for the reduction of switching losses and harmonic distortions. The reduction of power switches in the topology leads to the minimization of size and cost of the system. The new topology is compared to the different techniques present and this model is controlled by Pulse Width Modulation. The performance of this 11 level multi inverter topology is higher in the power applications where it is simulated in the MATLAB. The results are verified and compared to the various techniques.


The enzyme kinetics reaction scheme of single enzyme-sub-strate dynamics, originally proposed by V. Henri, is considered. The system of ODEs induced by the reaction scheme is compared to two approximate models, namely the Michaelis-Menten model and the model of exponential decay. Validity conditions for the Michaelis-Menten model are briefly reviewed. A case specific for ``superefficient enzymes'' is used as a setting for a comparison between the three models via computational experiments. The case study proves the importance of validating the applicability of the approximate model. A novel cell growth model is proposed and analyzed. The approach of model development is to make use of the original Henri enzyme kinetics law in the context of metabolic processes in living cells, namely cell growth. Two approximations corresponding to different cell growth phases are introduced in order to study the model analytically.


In today's global higher education environment, international students represent not only an important source of external income for universities: the degree of cross-border student mobility also reflects the internationalization of higher education sector. Universities have engaged in efforts to sell themselves to prospective students and promotional videos are among the most widely used marketing tools for this purpose. This article reports the results of a study analyzing the content of 140 higher education promotional videos from 14 countries available on YouTube. The results reveal that while the pattern of use of YouTube for two-way communication with viewers, information contents and appeal messages among sampled universities is fairly homogenous, some marked differences emerge when cultural background and global position ranking of the university are taken into account. The implications of these findings are that, although transnational higher education has been profoundly globalized, culture still plays a significant role in marketing practice for the recruitment of mobile students. In addition, different universities have various student-targeted segments. These findings provide the basis of a series of recommendations for universities looking to optimize their use of YouTube and promotional video design to market to international students.


Study design. A cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis using two different datasets. Objective. To investigate if the number of different magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings present is more strongly associated with low back pain (LBP) than single MRI findings. Summary of Background Data. Most previous studies have investigated the associations between single MRI findings and back pain rather than investigating combinations of MRI findings. If different individuals have different pathoanatomic sources contributing to their pain, then combinations of MRI findings may be more strongly associated with LBP. Methods. This study used data from two previous studies that investigated the association between single MRI findings and LBP. One study was a cross-sectional population cohort of 412 people of 40 years; the second was a longitudinal cohort of 76 people recently recovered from LBP who were followed for 12 months. The outcome for the cross-sectional study was presence of LBP during the last year. The outcome for the longitudinal study was days to recurrence of activity limiting LBP. In both datasets, we created an aggregate score of the number of different MRI findings present in each individual and assessed the relationship between this aggregate score and LBP. Results. The risk of LBP outcome increased with increasing numbers of different MRI findings. Compared with those with no MRI findings, those with three MRI findings were at substantially greater risk of LBP in the last year (odd ratio = 14.1; 95% confidence interval, 4.32–49.47) in the cross-sectional study, or of future recurrence of LBP (hazard ratio = 12.2; 95% confidence interval 1.26–118.21) in the longitudinal study. Conclusion. The aggregate MRI score was more strongly associated with LBP outcomes than single MRI findings in both datasets. Further investigation of this approach is indicated. Level of Evidence: 2


Many people assume that a French-English cleavage has always existed and historians have been uncertain as to just how it unfolded. This book provides the answer. Greenwood re-creates a Quebec in which trust between French and English Canadians was an early casualty of the execution of Louis XVI and the descent of the French Revolution through terror into war. Fearing invasion, the English community, through the law officers of the crown, drafted draconian legislation and established an efficient counter-intelligence service. Lower Canada in these years was a hotbed of spies and counter-intelligence, highlighted by the trial for high treason of an American undercover agent for revolutionary France. Placing the legal history of Quebec in the foreground of these dangerous and dramatic events, Greenwood reveals this period as a turning point that altered not only French-English relations but Canada's legal and constitutional inheritance. While the focus is on legal and political history, the narrative also details intellectual, military, social, and economic developments. The author pursues many dynamic themes of the period including the riots among working people in the 1790s; the differences in judicial behaviour when security matters were at stake; the setting up of the first formal counter-intelligence service, and issues related to the suspension of habeas corpus. Murray Greenwood is one of Canada's finest legal historians. In this work his wide perspective, supported by extensive documentation, brings new evidence and insight to a formative and somewhat neglected period in Canada's history.


In the sensory systems of insects, the primary olfactory centre in the antennal lobe has been one of the major areas of interest for the last two decades. Considerable progress has been made in understanding this earlier part of the olfactory network, whereas very little is known about the odour processing of the higher order centres within the protocerebrum. In this study, the olfactory system of the moth Heliothis virescens was employed as a model. Intracellular recordings and stainings of neurons in the higher order olfactory centre in the lateral protocerebrum (LP) were performed during stimulation with identified primary plant odorants and multicomponent blends. Neurons were visualized by scanning with confocal laser microscope and 3-dimensional reconstructions. In order to morphologically identify and characterize neurons in the LP, recontructed neurons were registered into a standard brain atlas that has been developed for this species. Two different analyses were performed on the obtained physiology. First, a cluster analysis revealed clear divitions with respect to different neurons interspike interval (ISI) distributions, thus indicating groups of neurons with different functional properties within the higher order olfactory network. Secondly, a novel method in which to quantify complex temporal response patterns was introduced. A t-test used to compare the quantified reponses to single odorants versus blends showed that the majority of neurons ( ~70%) in the LP responded stronger to multicomponent blends. This indicated a predominant synergistic interaction of plant odours in the higher order olfactory centre of H. virescens.


At the railways, some parts of the a high speed corridor are being finished at present. In these corridors, trains can reach the speed of up to 160 km per hour. Consequently, the demand on switch point machine computer diagnostics has arisen. This paper present the way how it is possible to realize this demand in a very cheap manner and only with a small intervention into the existing connection of the interclocking system.


In this article we present the performance results in tomographic mode of a low cost PET camera, dedicated for small animal imaging. The system consists of two pixelated LSO crystal arrays, two Hamamatsu H8500 PSPMTs, fast amplification electronics and an FPGA based read out system. Tomographic experiments were carried out using phantoms consisted by capillary line sources positioned on a rotated controlled motor. The opposite PET heads are static during the tomographic experiments. The parameters related to: (i) saturation as a function of head distance and acceptance angle, (ii) effect of projections number, (iii) spatial resolution as a function of heads distance, were examined. Image reconstruction has been carried out with QSPECT, an opensource software developed by our group. This software is developed for 2D reconstruction of parallel projections using projection raw data obtained from coincidence images.


Although 3D printing is becoming more popular, but there are two major problem. The first is the slowness of the process because of requirement of processing information of an extra axis comparing to tradition 2D printers. The second is the printable dimension of 3D printers. Generally, the larger the model is printed, the larger a 3D printer has to be and the more expensive it is. Furthermore, it would also require a large amount of extra inflation materials. With the entrance of cheap 3D printers, such as OLO 3D printers [Inc. 2016], parallel printing with multiple cheap printers can possibly be the solution. In order to parallel print a 3D model, we must decompose a 3D model into smaller components. After printing out all the components, we assemble them together by attaching them to the skeleton through supporters and joints to form the final result. As shown in our results, our designed shell-and-bone-based model printing can not only save the printing time but also use lesser material than the original whole model printing.


Burkitt-like lymphoma with 11q aberration is a rare diagnostic entity commonly occurring in children and young adults with a nodal presentation. This entity shares many similar morphologic and immunophenotypic features with conventional Burkitt lymphoma and other aggressive B-cell lymphomas, making its recognition challenging. However, the presence of its characteristic 11q gain/loss pattern is helpful in the diagnosis. We report a case of Burkitt-like lymphoma presenting as a right neck mass in a 17-year-old female patient that demonstrated no improvement with antibiotic therapy. The neoplasm displayed a diffuse proliferation of intermediate-sized atypical lymphoid cells with prominent nucleoli in a background of apoptotic debris, morphologically raising concern for conventional Burkitt lymphoma. Subsequent immunohistochemical and cytogenetic studies established the most likely diagnosis of Burkitt-like lymphoma with 11q aberration. Though rare, Burkitt-like lymphoma exhibits significant morphologic overlap with other high-grade B-cell lymphomas, making it an important entity to consider on the differential diagnosis of these lesions.


Working Among Flowers explores the infusion of new spirit and meaning into the traditional genre of floral still-life painting in 19th-century France, even as the advent of modernism was radically transforming the art world. This beautiful book features works by more than 30 artists, including well-known painters such as Vincent van Gogh, Edouard Manet, and Paul Cezanne as well as less familiar figures such as Antoine Berjon and Simon Saint-Jean. Insightful essays reveal the emerging dialogue between the floral still life, botanical illustration, and models of science; the critical context for instruction in and reception of flower painting; the misunderstood relationship between avant-garde flower painting and the market; the cultural meanings of the vases and ceramic vessels depicted by painters; and the literary context for flower painting.


This article proposes the axiomatizations of contingency logics of various natural classes of neighborhood frames. In particular, by defining a suitable canonical neighborhood function, we give sound and complete axiomatizations of monotone contingency logic and regular contingency logic, thereby answering two open questions raised by Bakhtiari, van Ditmarsch, and Hansen. The canonical function is inspired by a function proposed by Kuhn in~1995. We show that Kuhn's function is actually equal to a related function originally given by Humberstone.


Abstract. Protecting the historical character of a valued structure during the assessment and damage repair process is a very challenging task for many engineers. Heritage protection is complicated by a lack of design details and restrictions on sample extraction needed to obtain accurate material properties and limited studies on the restoration of certain types of historical structures. This study aims to assess the effects of soil settlement on a structure's stress concentrations and the value of laser scanning techniques on structure analysis in obtaining correct data of settlement vs. deformation. Terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) data are used to analyse the 500-year-old historical structure of Naziresha's Mosque. The obtained TLS data allow an accurate definition of the imperfect geometry patterns lying on every side of the structure. The soil profile and general crack formation together with TLS measurement proves that the structure deformed toward the south facade, where a railway and motorway are also located. Stress concentration and mode period results have a considerable difference, which highlights earthquake vulnerability and failure mechanisms and changes the strategy of possible retrofitting.


We develop the framework for testing Lorentz invariance in the dark matter sector using galactic dynamics. We consider a Lorentz violating (LV) vector field acting on the dark matter component of a satellite galaxy orbiting in a host halo. We introduce a numerical model for the dynamics of satellites in a galactic halo and for a galaxy in a rich cluster to explore observational consequences of such an LV field. The orbital motion of a satellite excites a time dependent LV force which greatly affects its internal dynamics. Our analysis points out key observational signatures which serve as probes of LV forces. These include modifications to the line of sight velocity dispersion, mass profiles and shapes of satellites. With future data and a more detailed modeling these signatures can be exploited to constrain a new region of the parameter space describing the LV in the dark matter sector.


Background Recent evidence from alcohol and trauma studies suggests that disasters are associated with increases in the consumption of alcohol. The Great East Japan Earthquake and the associated nuclear disaster have continued to affect the mental health of evacuees from Fukushima. This study aimed to extend these findings by examining the relationship between drinking behaviors and the risk of mental illness after the compound disaster. Methods We conducted the Mental Health and Lifestyle Survey with 56,543 evacuees. Kessler's K6 was used to assess the risk of mental illness, and logistic regression models were applied to analyze how drinking behavior patterns influence the risk of serious mental illness after adjustment for confounding variables. Results Logistic regression analysis evidenced that beginning heavy and light drinkers had the highest and a higher risk of serious mental illness, respectively. Individuals who were nondrinkers pre‐ and postdisaster had the lowest proportional risk of mental illness. Abstainers also had some risk to their mental health after the compound disaster. Conclusions The results of this study highlight that beginning drinkers have a high risk of serious mental illness. Thus, mental health professionals should pay attention to the drinking behaviors of evacuees, which might predict increased risk of serious mental illness and consequently indicate a need for psychological intervention.


During the nineteenth century, the rules of local politics at the Swedish parishes were changed. From having been based on land ownership (mantal), the numbers of votes became distributed in proportion with the taxable income in the 1860s. Similar to shareholders of a joint-stock company, the parishes' residents received more votes (fyrkar), the higher taxable income they had. A single person could thus have several thousand votes, and even attain the majority of votes in a single parish.In this paper, I will analyse the impact of this change in voting rights on the expansion of the elementary school system in Sweden, 1840-1900. What consequences did the changing voting rights have on e.g. the establishment of new schools, the hiring of teachers and the purchasing of new textbooks and teaching materials?Through an extensive study of 12 parishes in the Sundsvall region, this paper, informed by studies in the social and economic history of education, will show how the basic political conflicts of schooling changed over time. Instead of pitting landholding peasants against landless crofters, the voting system of the late nineteenth century pitted those with a high taxable income against those with a low taxable income. The conflicts also changed character, for various reasons that are investigated in this paper. From being focused on the employment of teachers, the geographical positioning of schools, and the purchase of textbooks during the 1840s and the 1850s, the conflicts came to centre on the erection and funding of school buildings.


The facial nerve passes through the substance of the parotid gland and therefore, surgery on this gland (commonly for parotid tumours) places the nerve at great risk. The facial nerve needs to be preserved as it supplies the muscles of facial expression and therefore damaging it will have severe cosmetic and functional consequences. There has been dispute in the past as to whether to locate the facial nerve during parotid gland surgery from an anterograde approach, where the main trunk is identified early in the procedure (Corcione and Califano, 1990) or, by a retrograde approach, where the peripheral branches are identified first (Yu, 2001). In Glasgow, the facial nerve is identified in parotidectomy by the anterograde approach. This means that the facial nerve is identified after it leaves the skull at the stylomastoid foramen but before it enters the parotid gland. A landmark at this point which can be used to identify the facial nerve is the tympanomastoid suture, although other landmarks have been used in the past (Holt, 1996; Conley, 1978; Heeneman, 1975 and Boswell, 1959). The null hypotheses which are to be tested are that in parotid surgery: The tympanomastoid suture is not a reliable landmark to use to locate the extra-temporal portion of the facial nerve. The tympanomastoid suture is not a safe landmark to use to locate the extra-temporal portion of the facial nerve. o The tympanomastoid suture is not any more reliable in locating the extratemporal portion of the facial nerve compared to other landmarks which have been used in the past. To test this proposition the following work will be undertaken: To test the reliability of using the tympanomastoid suture in locating the facial nerve: 1. The tympanomastoid suture will be identified in the cadaver. 2. The suture will be used to identify the facial nerve. 3. The distance will be measured from the tympanomastoid suture to the main trunk of the facial nerve (ie. its extra temporal portion) and this will be repeated on a series of cadavers. To test the safety of the tympanomastoid suture in locating the facial nerve: 1. The relationship of the suture line to the facial nerve and other surrounding structures will be examined. 2. The facial nerve will be traced distally and surrounding structures to it will be examined. 3. A parotidectomy (which involves identifying the facial nerve early in the operation) will be carried out on the cadaver to see the other structures which may be at risk. To test the reliability of the tympanomastoid suture against other landmarks: 1. Three other surrounding landmarks will be identified: the "tragal pointer", the posterior belly of digastric muscle and the junction of the cartilaginous and bony external auditory canal to examine their relationship to the facial nerve. 2. Distances will be measured from the main trunk of the facial nerve to each of these landmarks and serial measurements will be undertaken. Finally, the identification of the facial nerve at operation will be observed to judge the safety and reliability of identifying the main trunk early in the operation and to see if any other complications arise. It is hoped these types of measurements above may also be useful in the future in terms of computer-guided surgery.


Anthanthrene small molecules with different pendant groups were investigated as semiconductors for organic field-effect transistors and solar cells. Field-effect mobilities were greatly improved with solvent annealing and reached maximum values of 0.078 cm2 V−1 s−1 for a thiophene-appended anthanthrene derivative. When used as donors in conjunction with PC61BM in bulk heterojunction solar cells, a maximum PCE of 2.4% was achieved with good Voc and FF of 0.77 V and 59%, respectively. Although solvent annealing induced J-aggregation of all anthanthrene compounds, such processing step did not necessarily improved the solar cell J–V characteristics as opposed to the field effect mobility. The results showcase the potential of the polycyclic anthanthrene core as a building block for organic electronics.


The optical properties of tungsten oxide (WO3) films prepared by DC sputtering on unheated glass substrates with different film thicknesses have been studied. The structural characteristics of the samples were investigated using X-ray diffraction. The optical properties of the prepared films were studied by transmittance and reflectance measurements, and the integrated transmittance (TUV, TVIS, and TNIR) and absorption (AUV, AVIS, and ANIR) in UV, VIS and NIR regions. The integrated UV absorption and transmittance are varied with the film thicknesses, also, no remarkable change in VIS and NIR regions was observed. The dependence of refractive index as well as extinction coefficient on wavelength was also reported. The energy gap was calculated and is located around 3.25 eV.


Multi-source remote sensing data has the potential to enable robust image analysis. These sources can be images taken from different sensors on the same region of interest, or multiple different types of diverse features extracted from the same sensor. Either way, composite kernel methods can effectively use information from different sources for classification tasks. In recent work, Angular Discriminant Analysis (ADA) was developed as a technique for effective supervised dimensionality reduction of hyperspectral images. In this thesis, we present a composite-kernel variant of locality preserving ADA (CKLADA) for multi-source remote sensing image analysis. Experiments using a dataset that contains hyperspectral imagery (HSI), light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data and extended multi-attribute profile (EMAP) features, and a single-sensor dataset that contains HSI and EMAP features were conducted whose results show that proposed method provides very effective feature reduction for multi-source remotely sensed data.


The indices of infestation by the mites Echinolaelaps echidninus and Laelaps nuttalli, the louse Popyplax spinulosa and the flea Xenopsylla cheopis, obtained monthly, from June 1980 to September 1982, on Rattus norvegicus norvegicus in the city of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais state, Brazil were related to seasonal period, sex of the host and area of capture. Mites and insects showed different behaviour in relation to these factors. Only the fleas and lice exhibit significant association between the rodents' infestation and the seasonal period, or between the infestation and the rodents' sex or else a variation of the distribution by the three main areas of capture. The fleas showed the highest indices of infestation in the warm-rainy season (October to March) while the infestation by the lice was more prevalent in the dry-cool season. The climatic factors most related with the hosts' infestation were, in decreasing order, rainfall, temperature and relative humidity. Fleas and lice preferentially infested male rodents, being infestation by X. cheopis highly significant.


A conceptual temperature dependent multispecies model for stock interactions and harvesting of herring, capelin and cod in the Norwegian Sea-Barents Sea region has been developed. The concept presupposes that good recruitment of herring and cod is linked to warm ocean climate, which may occur with a frequency of 8 to 10 years. Strong herring year classes overlap the distribution of capelin larvae in 3-4 years causing mass mortality of the capelin fry, and depletion of the capelin stock. At the same time the herring is about to leave the Barents Sea, and lack of food in subsequent years reduces the potential yield of cod. Immature cod is the main predator on mature capelin and cannibalism is an important factor in reducing the abundance of juvenile cod when the capelin stock is rebuilding. The model is used in a study of the effects of different fishery management strategies on stocks and yield. Results show that optimum yield of cod is obtained by high fishing mortality on immature cod from the end of a warm period until the spawning stock of capelin is rebuilt. This fishing strategy will result in large fluctuation in the yearly cod catches but yield an optimum average biomass production of capelin and an optimum potential catch of cod. These results are in accordance with the catch history of cod. Prior to the 1970s, the effort of the fishery in the Barents Sea followed to a large extent the abundance of immature cod, resulting in large catches when the stock was abundant. The yearly catches varied from 0.4 to 1.3 million tonnes, but the average catch obtained in the two periods 1950-1958 and 1959-1969 are the highest on record. Moreover, the trawlers fished with small meshes in the cod end, discarding considerable quantities of the smallest fish. It is concluded that the interaction between climate and fish stocks, and fish stock interactions in the north east Atlantic region, are of fundamental importance to the dynamic of the processes which govern the fish production of the region.


This paper focuses on message complexity performance analysis of mobile ad hoc network (MANET) address autoconfiguration protocols (AAPs) in reference to link errors generated by mobile wireless nodes. An enhancement was made using a proposed retransmission limit, S, to be computed for error recovery (based on the link error probability), to measure message complexity of AAPs in reference to the link error probability, Pe. The control procedures for the retransmission limit have been included for each of the AAPs. Retransmission limit control is critical for efficient energy consumption of MANET nodes operating on limited portable energy. O-notation has been applied to analyze the upper bound of the number of messages generated by a MANET group of nodes. The AAPs investigated in this paper are strong duplicate address detection (DAD), weak DAD with proactive routing protocol (WDP), weak DAD with on-demand routing protocol (WDO), and MANETConf. Each AAP reacts different to link errors, as each AAP has different operational procedures. The required number of broadcasting, unicasting, relaying, and received messages of the nodes participating in a single-node joining procedure is investigated to asymptotically calculate the message complexity of each AAP. Computer simulation was conducted and the results have been analyzed to verify the theoretical message complexity bounds derived. The message complexity of WDP was lowest, closely followed by WDO, based on the simulation results and analysis of the message complexity under nominal situations. The message complexity of MANETConf was higher than WDO, and strong DAD resulted to be most complex among the four AAPs.


N-type calcium channels are omega-conotoxin (omega-CgTx)-sensitive, voltage-dependent ion channels involved in the control of neurotransmitter release from neurons. Multiple subtypes of voltage-dependent calcium channel complexes exist, and it is the alpha 1 subunit of the complex that forms the pore through which calcium enters the cell. The primary structures of human neuronal calcium channel alpha 1B subunits were deduced by the characterization of overlapping complementary DNAs. Two forms (alpha 1B-1 and alpha 1B-2) were identified in human neuroblastoma (IMR32) cells and in the central nervous system, but not in skeletal muscle or aorta tissues. The alpha 1B-1 subunit directs the recombinant expression of N-type calcium channel activity when it is transiently co-expressed with human neuronal beta 2 and alpha 2b subunits in mammalian HEK293 cells. The recombinant channel was irreversibly blocked by omega-CgTx but was insensitive to dihydropyridines. The alpha 1B-1 alpha 2b beta 2-transfected cells displayed a single class of saturable, high-affinity (dissociation constant = 55 pM) omega-CgTx binding sites. Co-expression of the beta 2 subunit was necessary for N-type channel activity, whereas the alpha 2b subunit appeared to modulate the expression of the channel. The heterogeneity of alpha 1B subunits, along with the heterogeneity of alpha 2 and beta subunits, is consistent with multiple, biophysically distinct N-type calcium channels.


The lungs of anesthetized rabbits were embolized by intravenous injection of 75 mg/kg of starch particles in divided doses. One group received high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) at a rate of 15 Hz. Both groups were ventilated with an FIO2 of 1.0. After 3 hr of ventilation, the animals were sacrificed, and the extravascular lung water (EVLW) was determined gravimetrically. With conventional mechanical ventilation (CMV), the EVLW/body weight ratio was 4.1 ± 1.4g/kg(mean ± SD) and was significantly higher than the ratio of 2.8 ± 0.6 in animals given HFOV (P < 0.05). In a second series of animals, 20 °Ci of 125I-labeled bovine albumin was injected intravenously prior to embolization and followed by the same two types of ventilation. After the rabbits were sacrificed, the lungs were lavaged with 0.9 N saline, and the radioactivity of the fluid was measured to determine the protein leak. After CMV, 2.76 ± 2.05% of the injected radioactivity was recovered from the fluid, significantly higher (P < 0.01) than the amount of radioactivity recovered after HFOV, 0.3 ± 0.28%. There also was significantly more labeled protein in the lung tissue that had been on CMV. We conclude that in this model of pulmonary edema, HFOV significantly reduces both the amount of fluid and protein leaking into the lung.


iPS cells from patients with kidney disease are a new tool with the potential to impact the future of renal care. They can be used in the laboratory to model the pathophysiology of human kidney disease, and have the potential to establish a new area of immunocompatible, on-demand renal transplantation. Critical challenges remain before the full potential of these cells can be accurately assessed. We need to understand whether the derived cell types are mature and can replace kidney function(s). To what extent can iPS cells model kidney disease in the simplified environment of cell culture? Ultimately, successful integration of these cells as autograft therapies will require demonstration of safety and efficacy equal or superior to the existing gold standards of kidney allograft transplantation and dialysis. Specific educational and infrastructural changes will be necessary if these specialized technologies are to be adopted as an accepted modalities in clinical medicine. Given these barriers, the first fruit of these labors is likely to be improved understanding of pathophysiological pathways in human IPS cell disease models, followed by drug discovery and testing. These experiments will lead naturally to improvements in differentiation and experiments in animal models testing function. The time course to achieve the desired goals remains unknown, but the ultimate hope is that new, more effective and less expensive modalities for renal replacement therapy will occur in the foreseeable future. A new standard of care for patients is anticipated that addresses limitations of currently available treatments.


Comprehending words and expressions in the English language is a critical challenge for English as a foreign language (EFL) learners in the Saudi context given the enigmatic nature of the language and ambiguity of texts with multifaceted interpretations. Focusing on the use of Jacques Derrida's deconstruction approach, William Golding's "Lord of the Flies" was analysed in terms of characterisations, themes, and textual structure to explore how a deconstructive reading influences the interpretation of this post-world war English novel and the implications and challenges of applying deconstructive textual analysis among EFL learners in the classroom. This qualitative study was purely descriptive that employed purposive and convenience sampling techniques for the selection of the texts, where the novel and the researcher served as the key instruments. In particular, the deconstructive reading procedure, advantages and challenges of deconstructive reading for the EFL learners, and multifaceted interpretations of the novel were discussed in this study. Through a deconstructive reading, the EFL learners play an active role in deconstructing the meanings of texts based on their own interpretation and understanding, which can indirectly enhance their interest in language and improve their critical thinking skills. Expectedly, this study would spark interest and appreciation to the concept of deconstruction as well as other prominent literary works, particularly William Golding's allegory debut novel. In order to discover the various dimensions of meanings in literature, it is recommended for future research to comprehensively explore the novel in detail and conduct deconstructive analysis on prominent speeches and characters in play.


Summary Residual infectivity detected after the interaction of Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis virus with specific antiserum was caused mainly by the formation of infective virus + antibody complexes (sensitized virus) that could be neutralized by serum containing antigamma globulin (IgG). The quantities of virus sensitized by antiserum to Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis and neutralized by anti-IgG serum depended on the antibody concentrations of these sera. In contrast to the marked temperature and time-dependence of Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis virus neutralization by antiserum, neutralization of sensitized virus by anti-IgG serum was more rapid, being almost complete within 1 min. at 35°, and less sensitive to temperature. Virus sensitization preceded neutralization and indicated that infective virus + antibody complexes were formed before virus neutralization began. The neutralization of sensitized virus by anti-IgG serum was generally species specific. Differences in the ability of anti-IgG, anti-IgA, and anti-IgM sera to neutralize sensitized virus indicated that the reaction was also influenced by the class specificity of the anti-immunoglobulin. Sensitized virus was partially neutralized by goat antiserum to monovalent Fab fragments of human IgG and, to a lesser degree, by the Fc fragment. Sensitized virus was neutralized by an in vitro mixture of these fragments to almost the same degree as by goat antiserum to intact human IgG. The Fc fragment may, therefore, by involved in virus neutralization.


Electron transfer to ferric iron in (oxyhydr-)oxides (hereafter iron oxides) is a critical step in many processes that are central to the biogeochemical cycling of elements and to pollutant dynamics. Understanding these processes requires analytical approaches that allow for characterizing the reactivity of iron oxides toward reduction under controlled thermodynamic boundary conditions. Here, we used mediated electrochemical reduction (MER) to follow changes in iron oxide reduction extents and rates during abiotic ferrous iron-induced transformation of six-line ferrihydrite. Transformation experiments (10 mM ferrihydrite-FeIII) were conducted over a range of solution conditions (pHtrans = 6.50 to 7.50 at 5 mM Fe2+ and for pHtrans = 7.00 also at 1 mM Fe2+) that resulted in the transformation of ferrihydrite into thermodynamically more stable goethite or magnetite. The changes in iron oxide mineralogy during the transformations were quantified using X-ray diffraction analysis. MER measurements on iron oxide suspension aliquots collected during the transformations were performed over a range of pHMER at constant applied reduction potential. The extents and rates of iron oxide reduction in MER decreased with decreasing reaction driving force resulting from both increasing pHMER and increasing transformation of ferrihydrite into thermodynamically more stable iron oxides. We show that the decreases in iron oxide reduction extents and rates during ferrihydrite transformations can be linked to the concurrent changes in iron oxide mineralogy.


65 INTRODUCTION Cosmetic surgery continues to grow in popularity in the United States, perhaps stimulated by the impressive physical rejuvenations exhibited by media figures and/or the spate of provocative television shows illustrating the "miracle" of drastic surgical self-transformation. Regardless of the reasons, cosmetic procedures are on the rise—up 34 percent from 2005 to 2006. According to the 2006 membership survey of the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, these increases were largely attributed to non-surgical cosmetic procedures (e.g., Botox injections, microdermabrasion treatments, hyaluronic acid injections, chemical peels, dermal fillers, fat injections). Additional findings of the 2006 membership survey indicate that blepharoplasty was the most commonly performed cosmetic surgical procedure, followed by rhinoplasty and rhytidectomy. These procedures were followed, in turn, by hair transplantation, lip augmentation, laser resurfacing, forehead lifts, and breast enhancement. Nearly 80 percent of the recipients of these cosmetic undertakings were Caucasian. As for the prevalence of specific cosmetic procedures among other ethnic groups, rhinoplasty was most common among AfricanAmerican and Hispanic subgroups, whereas blepharoplasty was most common among Asian Americans. Nearly 60 percent of the patients reported in this survey underwent multiple facial procedures in the same year. Clearly, cosmetic procedures are on the increase in the US. As a result, these patients are not uncommon in primary care and psychiatric settings. But, how much do we really know about the psychological issues related to these individuals? In this article, we focus on two important psychiatric phenomena among cosmetic surgery patients: 1) the suicide risk among women who have undergone breast augmentation surgery and 2) body dysmorphic disorder (BDD).


Today, most Internet applications still establish user authentication with traditional text based passwords. Designing a secure as well as a user-friendly password-based method has been on the agenda of security researchers for a long time. On one hand, there are password manager programs which facilitate generating site-specific strong passwords from a single user password to eliminate the memory burden due to multiple passwords. On the other hand, there are studies exploring the viability of graphical passwords as a more secure and user-friendly alternative. In this paper, we present GPEX, a password manager program implemented as a web browser plug-in to enable using graphical passwords to secure Internet applications without any need to change their authentication interface. Experimental results show that GPEX has security and usability advantages over other password manager plug-ins. specifically; we find that with the visual interface of GPEX, users have a more complete and accurate mental model of the system and incorrect login attempts causing security exposures can easily be avoided.


Conduction of clinical trials with drugs in Brazil requires prior approval by Committees for Ethics in Research (CEPs) and, in certain cases, by the National Commission for Ethics in Research (CONEP). Approval by the National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA), through its Office for New Drugs, Research and Clinical Trials (GEPEC), is currently required only for drugs and medical devices manufactured in other countries and therefore need permission to be imported. This article briefly reviews the history of clinical research regulation in Brazil, then presents an overview of the current regulatory role of ANVISA and its future prospective. Major points discussed are the new forthcoming ANVISA regulations, with emphasis on adverse event notifications and inspections/audits on clinical trials and their impact on clinical research in Brazil, from the standpoint of the industry, university, contract research organizations, physicians and other health professionals. It should be stressed that to decide upon the licensing of new drugs ANVISA must obtain information from clinical trials.


Vasopressin (VP) stimulates adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP) formation in an immortalized renal tubule cell line, TKC2, which is derived from transgenic mouse harboring temperature-sensitive SV40 T-antigen gene. VP (10(-8) M)-induced cAMP formation was significantly attenuated by either non-peptide vasopressin receptor V1 or V2 subtype antagonist, OPC-21268 (10(-8) and 10(-6) M) or OPC-31260 (10(-8) and 10(-6) M), respectively, and it was completely abolished by combination of both agents (10(-6) M). VP (10(-8) M) also induced an increase in cytosolic free Ca2+ and prostaglandin (PG) E2 synthesis, both of which were significantly inhibited by OPC-21268 (10(-8) M), but not by OPC-31260 (10(-6) M). Either OPC-21268 (10(-8) M), depletion of extracellular Ca2+ or inhibition of cyclooxygenase attenuated both VP-induced PGE2 synthesis and cAMP formation. In conclusion, both V1 and V2 receptors can stimulate cAMP formation. V1 receptor, however, stimulates cAMP formation via Ca(2+)-dependent PGE2 synthesis, whereas V2 receptor may stimulate it directly.


A survey questionnaire was sent to members of the British Society of Dentistry for the Handicapped to investigate their opinions about the need for education and training of dentists in the delivery of oral care to people with handicaps. Their educational experience was explored. Views on education and training were investigated in relation to timing, content and methods. Three hundred and sixty five questionnaires were sent and the total response rate was 67.4 per cent. There was a higher percentage of females than males and a higher percentage of 30 to 39 year old subjects in the sample. The data were analysed using the 'Survey Plus' program. A high proportion of respondents thought there was a need for education and training of dentists in the delivery of care to people with handicaps (70 per cent). Their views on training provided information on three main issues: the type of training course, and the content and methods of training or education. In-service training, observation of other dentists and continuing education courses were opportunities that people considered would have helped them. Although views varied, there was a notable desire for contact with experienced clinicians, particularly the observation of them carrying out treatment, the opportunity for participating in teaching methods, discussions and problem-solving aids. The involvement of carers and of people with handicaps themselves was suggested. Undergraduate and postgraduate education were both considered important, although postgraduate training was the more highly favoured. In relation to the content of training, behaviour management, communication skills and appropriate treatment planning were most commonly identified. This information will be useful for those wishing to establish courses.


Aiming at the problem that it is difficult to measure the electromagnetic radiation produced by the equipment at present, this paper presents a method for measuring the noise of electromagnetic interference (EMI) based on wavelet analysis. The technique uses time frequency localization features of the wavelet transform, based on threshold function filtering method to filter the test signal, which makes it possible in open space or noisy environment for measurement of electromagnetic interference  of  equipment. Simulation  and experimental results show that the technique is able to eliminate or attenuate the noise in the frequency band of 30Hz~1000MHz.


Men who have sex with men (MSM) in India are a hidden population, facing unique environmental stressors and cultural pressures that place them at risk for depression. Depression may affect HIV risk behavior in MSM, and may affect the degree to which MSM may benefit from HIV prevention interventions. Depression in MSM in India, however, has largely been understudied. Two hundred ten MSM in Chennai completed an interviewer-administered behavioral assessment battery, which included the 20-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), demographics, sexual risk and identity, and other psychosocial variables. Over half (55%) of the sample exceeded the cutoff (CES-D ≥ 16) to screen in for clinically significant depressive symptoms; this was associated with having had unprotected anal sex (OR = 1.97; 95% CI: 1.01–3.87) and higher number of male partners (OR = 1.04; 95% CI: 1.01–1.07). Statistically significant bivariate predictors of meeting the screen in for depressive symptoms included sexual identity (Kothi > Panthi; OR = 4.90; 95% CI: 2.30–10.54), not being married (OR = 3.40; 95% CI: 1.72–6.81), not having a child (OR = 4.40; 95% CI: 2.07–9.39), family not knowing about one's MSM identity (OR = 2.30; 95% CI: 1.18–4.90), having been paid for sex (OR = 5.10; p 95% CI: 2.87–9.47), and perceiving that one is at risk for acquiring HIV (OR = 1.10; 95% CI: 1.02–1.17; continuous). In a multivariable logistic-regression model, unique predictors of screening in for depressive symptoms included not being married (AOR = 3.10; 95% CI: 1.23–7.65), having been paid for sex (AOR = 3.80; 95% CI: 1.87–7.99) and the perception of increased risk for HIV (AOR = 1.10; 95% CI: 1.03–1.21; continuous); unprotected anal sex in the 3 months prior to study enrollment approached statistical significance (AOR = 2.00; 95% CI: 0.91–4.48). Depression among MSM in Chennai is of concern and should be considered while developing HIV prevention interventions with this population. MSM who are not married, sex workers, and those who perceive they are at risk for acquiring HIV may be of higher risk for symptoms of depression.


The role of the driver changes to that of a passenger in autonomous cars. Thus, the vehicle interior transforms from a cockpit into a multimedia station and workspace. This work explores concepts for Artificial Intelligence (AI) to provide a personalized user experience for the passengers in the form of Contextual Personalized Shortcuts and Personalized Services in the infotainment system. The two use cases were iteratively developed based on literature research and surveys. We evaluated AI- Personalized Services and compared AI-generated to the manually configurable shortcuts. AttrakDiff (Hassenzahl et al., 2003) and Car Technology Acceptance Model (CTAM; Osswald et al., 2012) were used to evaluate UX and user acceptance. The AI-Personalized interface obtained positive scores and reactions in the user testing and shows potential. Based on the insight from the user studies and literature review, we present and human-AI interaction guidelines to build effective AI-personalized HMIs.


The d 18 O values of pedogenic calcites, phyllosilicates, and iron (oxyhydr)oxides from fossil soils throughout the southwestern United States show systematic paleolatitudinal and temporal trends that indicate a significant change in soil moisture conditions and atmospheric circulation patterns over southwestern Euramerica throughout latest Pennsylvanian and Early Permian time. A progressive depletion of as much as 6‰ in mineral 18 O values with increasing distance northward (to 108) of the paleoequator indicates a weakening or disruption of zonal easterly flow over the study area by latest Pennsylvanian time. Furthermore, elevated d 18 O values suggest a proximal source of paleoprecipitation over the study area, perhaps due to initiation of reversed equatorial flow over tropical southwestern Euramerica. Coupling of the geographic and temporal trends defined by pedogenic mineral d 18 O values with those defined by climatically sensitive paleosol pedotypes in the study area, along with overall elevated mineral d 18 O values, provides some of the strongest evidence that Northern Hemisphere monsoonal circulation was well established over Pangea by Early Permian time.


The U.S. Government has developed a real-time 2400 bps Linear Predictive Coded (LPC) voice algorithm which was designed to provide maximum intelligibility and quality within the time and accuracy limitations imposed by modern high-speed minicomputers. The algorithm which resulted provides excellent intelligibility and quality when transmitted over an ideal channel. However, the speech is significantly degraded in an error environment. This paper describes several techniques for reducing the effect of channel bit errors on the synthesized speech. These techniques cause no measurable degradation of the LPC speech transmitted over an error-free channel and they require less than a one percent increase in computer execution time.


Purpose: To detect, separate, and quantify more cerebral metabolites than is currently possible with one‐dimensional magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1D MRS) by using 2D localized correlated spectroscopy (2D L‐COSY) with prior‐knowledge fitting algorithm (ProFit). Methods: 14 patients with minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) (mean age ± standard deviation (SD) = 53.3± 10.6 years) and 18 control subjects (52.7±12.6 years) were studied with 1.5T GEMRScanner. A body coil for transmission and a 3‐ inch surface coil for reception were used. A localizer followed by high‐ resolution T1‐weighted axial images (TR/TE = 800/8 ms, 35 slices, 4 mm thickness with no gap) were collected. We used a CHESS sequence for water suppression. 2D L‐COSY spectra were recorded using the following parameters: TE = 30 ms; TR = 2000 ms; total number of scans = 768 (96 Δt1 increments and 8 averages per Δt1); and spectral width, F1 = 625 Hz and F2 = 2500 Hz. A 27ml voxel was placed on the anterior cingulate gyrus. A battery of neuropsychological tests (NP) was done to correlate the MRS results with the NP data. Results: : The 2D L‐COSY data processed with the ProFit was able to separate and quantify fourteen cerebral metabolites in both healthy controls and patients as opposed to five with 1DMRS. The ratios of myoinositol (mI), glutamate (Glu), total choline, scyllo‐inositol (sI), phosphoethanolamine (PE), and total NAA with respect to creatine (Cr) showed a statistically significant decline in patients compared to healthy controls whereas the ratio of glutamine to Cr (Gln/Cr) was significantly increased. Conclusions: Our technique allows for separation and quantitation of Glu from Gln, strengthening the astrocyte‐ ammonia detoxification hypothesis in HE. In addition, clear separation of glycerol‐phosphocholine (GPC) from total choline in conjunction with the decline in PE, points to a decrease in phospholipid metabolism in HE. This research was supported by National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) grant #1R01MH06569501A1


The regional integration of the Romanian economy implies the continuation of modernizing existent structures, expanding the new entrepreneurial culture and foster the individual competences for corresponding to the European model. Foreign direct investments represent the link between financial and productive systems, integrating them at a regional and global level. Beside the imported capital flows, they have a direct impact upon the management of the productive entities, assure a transfer of modern technologies, increase the level of occupation and the household available income, modifying the consumers culture. The regional development policy must ensure the reduction of disparities between the different levels of development of the Romanian regions through encouraging foreign direct investment capable of completing the little dimension of the local capital. Taking into consideration the movement of disparities to East and the fact that the increase of economical development disparity after the last two European Union enlargements did not involve a higher level of allocated funds, foreign direct investments remain an alternative for the disparity elimination and accelerating the restructuring marked by the globalization


As a result of rising health care costs, health plans are experimenting with in- surance products that shift greater financial responsibility for medical care to consumers and create incentives for consumers to consider cost differences when choosing among providers. Based on an October 2002 roundtable discussion, this paper discusses insur- ance product trends, particularly tiered hospital networks. Issues addressed include these product features' potential to reduce system costs, the effect on the hospital-health plan relationship, consumers' ability to consider cost and quality in decision making, and finan- cial barriers to care for the chronically ill.


Rod shaped nanocrystalline powders of hydroxyapatite (HAp) were synthesized by a low temperature chemical route involving calcium nitrate tetrahydrate and sodium phosphate. Three types of alkyl ammonium bromide surfactants i.e. tetrapropylammonium bromide, tetraethylammonium bromide and tetramethylammonium bromide were used to regulate the nucleation and crystal growth. The synthesized powders were characterized by XRD, SEM and FTIR. The effect of the various alkyl ammonium bromide surfactants on the phase formation, particle size and morphology of the hydroxyapatite powders has been investigated and reported.


This present study hears voices of in-service airlines passenger handlers about conversations between them and passengers that occur in their work desks almost every day and their language problem. They will share their experience about conversations with passengers related to their job tasks or procedures, which are routine, and other non-procedural conversation topics which may occur several times. Data are gathered through in-depth interview with three in-service staffs from separated distinguished airports in Indonesia that already passed their first year working. This study reveals that in handling checking-in passengers the staffs need to be able to use English in order to demonstrate both procedural and non-procedural conversations. Dealing with their job, however, the staffs still find several language problems during the communication with English-speaking passengers which make them feel insecure. In this way, this article will present real report from in-service staffs that can be a valuable source for ESP teachers or practitioners, course developers, and researchers.


Comparative biochemical studies on phosphorylase b, aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase in muscles of various vertebrates (the lamprey Lampetra fluviatilis, dogfish Squalus acanthias, rays Dasyatis pastinaca and Raja clavata, teleosts Scorpaena porcus, Spicara smaris, Esox lucius, Tinca tinca, Abramis brama, Lucioperca lucioperca, Cyprinus carpio, Salmo ischchan, frog Rana temporaria, tortoise Testudo horsfieldi) revealed some peculiarties of their molecular evolution. It was shown that isoenzyme PH-II, which comprises in most on the investigated lower vertebrates the main bulk of phosphorylase b, disappears in evolution of the type. Isoenzyme PH-I which is found in fisches in small amounts, increases in evolution becoming the sole form of phosphorylase b in skeletal muscles of endothermic animals. Mitochondrial and cytoplasmic isoenzymes of aspartate aminotransferase were found in all the vertebrates studied. Cytoplasmic isoenzyme from ectothermic and endothermic animals does not differ significantly, whereas the mitochondrial one undergoes considerable changes in the evolution of vertebrates.


This paper demonstrates the use and value of stochastic difierential equations for modeling space-time data in two common settings. The flrst consists of point-referenced or geostatistical data where observations are collected at flxed locations and times. The second considers random point pattern data where the emergence of locations and times is random. For both cases, we employ stochas- tic difierential equations to describe a latent process within a hierarchical model for the data. The intent is to view this latent process mechanistically and endow it with appropriate simple features and interpretable parameters. A motivating problem for the second setting is to model urban development through observed locations and times of new home construction; this gives rise to a space-time point pattern. We show that a spatio-temporal Cox process whose intensity is driven by a stochastic logistic equation is a viable mechanistic model that afiords mean- ingful interpretation for the results of statistical inference. Other applications of stochastic logistic difierential equations with space-time varying parameters in- clude modeling population growth and product difiusion, which motivate our flrst, point-referenced data application. We propose a method to discretize both time and space in order to flt the model. We demonstrate the inference for the geosta- tistical model through a simulated dataset. Then, we flt the Cox process model to a real dataset taken from the greater Dallas metropolitan area.


Most biomaterials widely used in nerve regeneration are either inert or modified with ECM proteins or their epitopes. Neurotransmitters play a key role in neuronal development and function. Thus we decided to investigate the feasibility of using neurotransmitters to create biofunctional materials that actively engage nerve cells to achieve functional restoration after injury of the nervous system. Our data indicated that a properly designed biodegradable polymer with dopamine functional groups was more capable of promoting neurite growth. Such biofunctional materials can potentially provide a new strategy for nerve regeneration.


AIDS after renal transplantation To the Editor: Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) has recently been described in the recipients of blood transfusions and in patients with haemophilia who had received clotting factor concentrate a group which constitutes 2.2070 of reported cases in the United States. ' We wish to report a case of a renal allograft recipient who had received multiple blood transfusions and who subsequently developed AIDS. A 55-year-old woman was diagnosed with membranous nephropathy in 1963. In 1979, an infected intrahepatic hydatid abscess was drained. Regular haemodialysis was commenced in March, 1981. Between 1979 and 1982, 28 units of blood were administered; on April 2, 1982, she received a cadaveric renal allograft. The donor was a 7-year-old boy who died of head injuries. The graft functioned well and the serum creatinine level fell to 120 umol/L. The major problem was persisting lymphopenia (0.3-0.5 x 10'/L), so that she could only tolerate azathioprine at a dose of 75 mg (1.5 mg/kg) a day. In December, 1984, she was admitted to hospital with clinical Pneumocystis carinii pneumonitis; the T4:T8 ratio was 0.28. After the administration of azathioprine was ceased and high-dose cotrimoxazole by the intravenous route was commenced, her clinical condition improved. She was discharged on January 11, 1985 taking 12.5 mg of prednisolone a day. She remained lymphopenic and azathioprine therapy was not recommenced. She was readmitted to hospital on May 6, 1985 with fever, a clear chest x-ray film and negative results of blood cultures. Viral titres revealed Toxoplasma tit res of 1:4096; Candida albicans, 1:1290 and ELISA assay gave a positive result for HTLV-III antibody on two occasions. The T4:T8 ratio was now zero. On May 29, she became drowsy and confused. Physical examination showed oral mucosal candidiasis and a cerebral CT scan showed foci consistent with cerebral abscesses in the left temporal and right occipital areas. The results of cerebrospinal fluid examination showed 0.24 lymphocytes x 10 but no organisms were grown. Cytomegalovirus was isolated from the urine. Appropriate treatment was commenced for putative toxoplasmosis, listeriosis and/or a fungal infection. The patient died one month later; no autopsy was performed. Her husband had a negative result of an HTL VIII antibody test; there were no other known sexual contacts. Patients with AIDS develop infections such as Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, extensive mucosal candidiasis, cytomegalovirus infections and toxoplasmosis in which cell mediated immunity plays a major role. Marked lymphopenia and a depressed T4:T8 ratio are also present. 2All these features can be seen in renal allograft recipients who are immunosuppressed. The detection of antibodies to the HTL V-III/LAV virus the probable cause of AIDS' is useful in differentiating a possible AIDS infection in an immunosuppressed patient from an opportunistic infection that is secondary to immunosuppression alone. Transplant recipients who develop repeated or severe opportunistic infections should be screened for the presence of HTLV-III antibody. Although this is the first reported case in Australia, AIDS has been described previously in a renal allograft recipient. 4 As with this case, the most likely cause of infection was blood transfusion. However, it should be pointed out that an additional risk factor is the organ donation itself. Although unlikely in this case, two patients in New South Wales have died of opportunisitc infections within three months of renal transplantation when the kidneys were taken from a donor who was shown subsequently to have had AIDS. It is now policy in Australian that all cadaveric donors are screened for the presence of HTL V-III antibodies. The routine screening of organ and blood donors will help to eliminate organ transplantation as a "risk factor" for the acquisition of AIDS. P. J. O'Connell, MB BS Renal Registrar J. F. Mahony, FRACP Renal Physician A. G. R. Sheil, FRACS Professor of Surgery Department of Renal Medicine The Royal North Shore Hospital of Sydney St Leonards, NSW 2065


PURPOSE
Subretinal transplantation of retinal (RPE) or iris (IPE) pigment epithelial cells has been advocated as a treatment for retinal degeneration. However, to our knowledge, in patients with age-related macular degeneration no significant beneficial effects on vision have been shown. Since the transplanted cells did not appear to maintain a healthy avascular and neuroprotective environment, we postulate that it will be necessary to transplant cells that express elevated levels of anti-angiogenic and neuroprotective activities. In our study, we provide a protocol for the efficient stable gene transfer and sustained gene expression of pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF), a potent anti-angiogenic and neuroprotective factor, using the nonviral Sleeping Beauty transposon system (SB100X).

METHODS
Pigment epithelial cells were electroporated with a Venus reporter or a PEDF encoding plasmid, controlled by either CMV or CAGGS promoters. Transfection efficiencies and protein expression stability were evaluated by flow cytometry and immunoblotting. Gene expression profiles were analyzed by RT-PCR.

RESULTS
SB100X-based delivery resulted in efficiencies of 100% with the Venus gene and 30% with the PEDF gene. Cell sorting enabled establishment of pure PEDF-transfected ARPE-19 populations. Transfected RPE and IPE cells have been shown to maintain stable PEDF secretion for more than 16 and 6 months, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS
Transfection using the nonviral SB100X vector system avoids complications associated with viral gene delivery. SB100X-mediated transfer allows for stable PEDF gene integration into the cell's genome, ensuring continuous expression and secretion of PEDF. Stable expression of the therapeutic gene is critical for the development of cell-based gene addition therapies for retinal degenerative diseases.


Abstract Various new imaging techniques have been used at the C2RMF, in order to digitize paintings and objects. These techniques are used for extensive and detailed non-destructive analysis of works of art in different ways and include multispectral imaging, panoramic viewing of objects, 3D laser scanning of painting surfaces and 3D photogrammetric modelling of objects. These techniques are valuable tools in the restoration and conservation arsenal, allowing us to perform regular and accurate monitoring of works of art, to measure their conservation state and compare these with previous analyses. These techniques, however, result in huge quantities of data, which needs to be visualized and disseminated in several ways. The resulting images must also be accessible to various partners around the world via the Internet, but the data needs to be protected and the vast data sizes involved require careful handling and management. This paper describes several new developments that have been made at the C2RMF by our team in order to make extremely high resolution images available on line. We will examine as a case study the use, the manipulation and the share of high resolution colorimetric images between members of the museum research community. The system that has been developed is a light-weight client-server architecture that efficiently streams image data to the client, allowing the user to quickly view very large images even over a slow Internet connection. These developments have been released as Open Source software in the IIPImage project.


The Problem: From moment to moment, while tending their patients, physicians can slip from: patience to impatience; genuine enquiry to assumptions; attention to the task-at-hand to inattention; certain doubt to doubtful certainty; and from doing what is inconvenient to doing what is convenient. In summary, one can slip from neo-cortex to archi-cortex (reptilian brain) emphasis. (The hazardous attitudes associated with aviation and medical mishaps are reptilian in character). This is expressed: to err is human, the reptilian part. Objectives: Therefore, to improve decisions, one needs to reclaim the new-brain emphasis, the advocate for the patient's interests. Method: To be aware which emphasis one commands, ask oneself a few reptilian-revealing questions. Then counter the reptilian attitude by specific and or generic antidotes to be less error prone. Conclusion: Doctors should realize that there is also another patient one is tending: the patient called oneself, whose symptoms are haste, egoism and apathy and whose diagnosis is the reptilian brain. While this lesion is inoperable and the prognosis is guarded, yet amid the uncertainty and demands of our medical tending, one can toggle back to patience and doing the inconvenient to reach after fact and reason.


Background: Safety and efficacy of tiotropium Respimat 5 µg (R5) and 2.5 µg (R2.5) doses were compared with tiotropium HandiHaler 18 μg (HH) in two recent chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) trials.

Aims and objectives: To compare bronchodilator efficacy of once-daily R5 and R2.5 and HH in TIOtropium Safety and Performance In Respimat (TIOSPIR; [NCT01126437][1])1 and the 205.458 ([NCT01222533][2])2 trials.

Methods: TIOSPIR: Randomized, double-blind (n=17,135; mean 2.3 years' follow up) trial assessing mortality and exacerbations. Included a spirometry substudy (n=1370), predefined test of noninferiority of R5 and R2.5 vs HH for trough forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), average 24-120 weeks (noninferiority margin 50 mL). 205.458: Multicentre, placebo-controlled, randomized within Respimat (1.25, 2.5, 5 µg), five-way crossover trial with 4-week treatment periods (n=154).

Results: TIOSPIR: Adjusted mean trough FEV1 (average 24-120 weeks) was 1.285L for R5 and 1.295 L for HH (difference vs HH, -10 mL; 95% confidence interval [CI], -38 to 18 mL), and 1.258 L for R2.5 (difference vs HH, -37 mL; 95% CI, -65 to -9 mL).

205.458: R2.5, R5 and HH showed significant improvements in trough FEV1 versus placebo. Mean trough FEV1 for R5 was comparable to HH but was 27 and 41 mL lower than HH for R2.5 and R1.25, respectively.

Conclusion: In TIOSPIR, R5 was noninferior to HH for FEV1, but R2.5 was inferior to HH. Similar results were seen in the 205.458 trial and support the use of tiotropium Respimat 5μg once daily for the maintenance treatment of COPD.

TIOSPIR and 205.458 trials were funded by Boehringer Ingelheim.

 [1]: /lookup/external-ref?link_type=CLINTRIALGOV&access_num=NCT01126437&atom=%2Ferj%2F44%2FSuppl_58%2FP924.atom
 [2]: /lookup/external-ref?link_type=CLINTRIALGOV&access_num=NCT01222533&atom=%2Ferj%2F44%2FSuppl_58%2FP924.atom


Abstract Collisional orogenic belts usually form as approximately wedge-shaped dynamic units irrespective of their bulk rheology. Quantitative models suggest that if the boundary conditions and mechanical properties of a wedge remain unchanged, it will undergo internal yielding (shortening or extension) until a stable, unchanging shape (or 'taper') is established. It follows that geological processes periodically leading to changes in wedge shape, or mechanical properties, will perturb the system, generating internal deformation as the wedge strives to re-establish a stable taper. Geological applications of wedge models to upper-crustal features such as accretionary prisms and foreland thrust belts have highlighted the importance of internal, thrust-parallel shortening strains. The Caledonian, mid-crustal ductile thrust zone of Sutherland, N Scotland, displays many geometric and kinematic similarities to shallow-crustal thrust belts. In contrast to such belts, however, deformation fabric studies suggest a predominance of thrust-parallel extension strains which developed synchronously with large bulk shortening due to thrust telescoping. Using a viscous wedge model, it is suggested that the deformation occurs due to a process of dynamic spreading, possibly triggered by intermittent thrust-slice accretion, towards the foreland, at depth ('underplating') and/or strain softening in amphibolite-facies mylonite zones along the ductile thrusts. Similar deformation fabrics are recognized in many regions of ductile thrusting which suggests that a dynamic spreading model may be applicable to mid-crustal deformation regimes in collision zones worldwide.


ABSTRACT Spirogyra gratiana transeau alga was liquefied in organic solvents with and without catalyst in a cylindrical reactor at temperatures of 493, 513, and 533 K under supercritical conditions. The liquefied compounds were extracted with diethyl ether and benzene using an extraction procedure. The product yields in supercritical methanol, ethanol, and acetone were found to be 15.5, 23.7, and 34.4% at 533 K, respectively. The highest conversion to liquid products was obtained in supercritical ethanol with 10% sodium hydroxide as catalyst at the same temperature in the catalytic runs. Main chemical compounds present in the liquid product obtained in acetone without catalyst at 533 K were analyzed and characterized by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).


Brand equity is central to an understanding of the worth of any business, yet it exists in the minds of consumers as a mixture of awareness and image. To measure and understand how this equity is developed, mananged, and enhanced is central to all theories of value creation. This article looks at the concepts of brand identity, brand meaning, brand response, and brand relationship with an eye toward how the measure of brand equity correlates with and is influenced by technology equity, communication equity, and foreign strategic investments. Seventy-seven multinational firms are tracked through the years 1986-1988 and results are reported on based on R&D expenses, advertising costs, and investments in foreign subsidiaries.


Background Suicide is a leading cause of death among adolescents and more knowledge from high risk groups is needed in order to develop effective preventive strategies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between sexual minority status and suicidality in a multinational sample of European school pupils. Methods A self-report questionnaire was delivered to 2046 adolescents (mean age 15.34±1.01; 56.3% females) recruited from 27 randomly selected schools in 6 European countries. Suicidal ideation, measured with the Paykel Suicide Scale (PSS), and lifetime suicide attempts were compared between heterosexual and sexual minority (i.e. those with a non-heterosexual orientation) youth. Poisson regression analyses studied the longitudinal association between sexual minority status and the rate of serious suicidal ideation, measured at three time-points during a 4-month period. Several variables, including alcohol and illegal drugs use, bullying, family interaction, school-related stress, economic status, and religiosity, were included in multivariable analysis. Sex-stratified analyses evaluated the association respectively among females and males. Results Of 1958 pupils included in analysis (mean age 15.35±1.00; females 56.8%), 214 (10.9%) were categorized as sexual minority youth (SMY). When compared to heterosexual youth (HSY), SMY were significantly more exposed to substance abuse, bullying, school-related stress, and lower economic status. SMY pupils had significantly higher suicidal ideation scores (p<0.001; r 0.145) as well as higher prevalence of serious suicidal ideation (odds ratio [OR] 2.64, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.83–3.79) and previous suicide attempts (OR 2.72, 95%CI 1.77–4.18), compared to their HSY peers. The rate of serious suicidal ideation reports during the study was significantly higher among SMY compared to HSY (rate ratio [RR] 2.55, 95%CI 1.90–3.43). A significant difference was found even when controlling for the pupils' country as well as after adjustment for alcohol and illegal drugs use, bullying, family interaction, school-related stress, economic status, and religiosity (adjusted RR 1.73, 95%CI 1.23–2.48). Stratified analyses showed significant associations between SMY status and persistent serious suicidal ideation for both sexes, with a notably strong association among male pupils (females aRR 1.51, 95%CI 1.01–2.24; males aRR 3.84, 95%CI 1.94–7.59). Conclusions European sexual minority youth are a high-risk group for suicidality, independently from objective factors such as victimization or substance abuse. There is a need to develop primary and secondary preventive measures for sexual minority youth, including the management of context vulnerabilities and related distal stressors, before the establishment of proximal stressors. Context-targeting interventions may effectively focus on social and economic factors, as well as on the potentially different risk profile of female and male sexual minority youth.


Abstract This paper presents a comparative analysis of complexity between the B-TREE and the Binary Search Algorithms, both theoretically and experimentally, to evaluate their efficiency in finding overlap of classes for students and teachers in the University Course Timetabling Problem (UCTP). According to the theory, B-TREE Search complexity is lower than Binary Search. The performed experimental tests showed the B-TREE Search Algorithm is more efficient than Binary Search, but only using a dataset larger than 75 students per classroom.


and thrombosed, biopsy of the temporal arteries would not have been carried out, and I would have missed the discovery of a new disease entity. In the original description' my coauthors and I stated, " The two cases which form the basis for this report probably represent a new clinical syndrome the aetiology of which is still obscure. It [temporal arthritis] is apparently a focal localization of some systemic diseases. . . At the present time no name can be given to the condition, but other cases will probably be found and the condition dignified by nomenclature." Our prediction that " other cases will probably be found" and reported proved to be true.


In the debate about racial and ethnic profiling in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, critics of the administration's policies have frequently argued that the government has made the same fundamental error as the Roosevelt administration made when it forced 110,000 Japanese Americans into camps during World War II. This is a powerful rhetorical strategy, but is it an accurate one? What was the "fundamental error" of the Japanese American internment? In this article, Professor Muller argues that the fundamental error of the internment was not the inference of suspicion that the government drew from the fact of Japanese ancestry, but the enormity of the deprivations that the government imposed on the basis of that inference. Seen this way, the internment recedes as a rhetorical device, which allows for a more careful and subtle debate about whether the socio-legal landscape has changed enough in the past 60 years to prevent a civil liberties tragedy like the internment from recurring. Professor Muller concludes that that landscape has not changed enough to ensure that national-origin-conscious enforcement strategies will not leap from minor to massive intrusions.


Balancing selection can maintain genetic variation in a population over long evolutionary time periods. Identifying genomic loci under this type of selection not only elucidates selective pressures and adaptations but can also help interpret common genetic variation contributing to disease. Summary statistics which capture signatures in the site frequency spectrum are frequently used to scan the genome to detect loci showing evidence of balancing selection. However, these approaches have limited power because they rely on imprecise signatures such as a general excess of heterozygosity or number of genetic variants. A second class of statistics, based on likelihoods, have higher power but are often computationally prohibitive. In addition, a majority of methods in both classes require a high-quality sequenced outgroup, which is unavailable for many species of interest. Therefore, there is a need for a well-powered and widely-applicable statistical approach to detect balancing selection. Theory suggests that long-term balancing selection will result in a genealogy with very long internal branches. In this thesis, I show that this leads to a precise signature: an excess of genetic variants at near identical allele frequencies to one another. We have developed novel summary statistics to detect this signature of balancing selection, termed the β statistics. Using simulations, we show that these statistics are not only computationally light but also have high power even if an outgroup is unavailable. We have derived the variance of these statistics, allowing proper comparison of β values across sample sizes, mutation rates, and allele frequencies variables not fully accounted for by many previous methods. We scanned the 1000 Genomes Project data with β to find balanced loci in humans. Here, I report multiple balanced haplotypes that are strongly linked to both association signals for complex traits and regulatory variants, indicating balancing selection may be affecting complex trait architecture. Due to their high power and wide applicability, the β statistics enable evolutionary biologists to detect targets of balancing selection in a range of species and with a degree of specificity previously unattainable. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Genomics & Computational Biology First Advisor Benjamin F. Voight


We study estimation of (semi-)inner products between two nonparametric probability distributions, given IID samples from each distribution. These products include relatively well-studied classical $\mathcal{L}^2$ and Sobolev inner products, as well as those induced by translation-invariant reproducing kernels, for which we believe our results are the first. We first propose estimators for these quantities, and the induced (semi)norms and (pseudo)metrics. We then prove non-asymptotic upper bounds on their mean squared error, in terms of weights both of the inner product and of the two distributions, in the Fourier basis. Finally, we prove minimax lower bounds that imply rate-optimality of the proposed estimators over Fourier ellipsoids.


Tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) experiences increase with age and frequently heighten concerns about memory decline. We studied 73 clinically normal older adults participating in the Harvard Aging Brain Study. They completed a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) task that required remembering names associated with pictures of famous faces. Older age was associated with more self-reported TOT experiences and a decrease in the percentage of remembered names. However, the percentage of TOT experiences and the percentage of remembered names were not directly correlated. We mapped fMRI activity for recollection of famous names and TOT and examined activity in the hippocampal formation, retrosplenial cortex, and lateral prefrontal cortex. The hippocampal formation was similarly activated in recollection and TOT experiences. In contrast, the retrosplenial cortex was most active for recollection and lateral prefrontal cortex was most active for TOT experiences. Together, the results confirm that age-related increases in TOT experiences are not only solely the consequence of age-related decline in recollection, but also likely reflect functional alterations in the brain networks that support retrieval monitoring and cognitive control. These findings provide behavioral and neuroimaging evidence that age-related TOT experiences and memory failure are partially independent processes.