The unsteady behavior of the shock wave was studied in an oscillating transonic compressor cascade. The experimental measurement and corresponding numerical simulation were conducted on the cascade with different shock patterns based on influence coefficient method. The unsteady pressure distribution on blade surface was measured with fast-response pressuresensitive paint (PSP) to capture the unsteady aerodynamic force as well as the shock wave movement. It was found that the movement of shock waves in the neighboring flow passages of the oscillating blade was almost anti-phase between the two shock patterns, namely, the double shocks pattern and the merged shock pattern. It was also found that the amplitude of the unsteady pressure caused by the passage shock wave was very large under the merged shock pattern compared with the double shocks pattern. The stability of blade vibration was also analyzed for both shock patterns including 3-D flow effect. These findings were thought to shed light on the fundamental understanding of the unsteady aerodynamic characteristics of oscillating cascade caused by the shock wave behavior.


Particle size is one of the most important factors to the successful application of calcium phosphate bioceramics as it may have an important role on its final properties such as mechanical resistance and reactivity. Thus, a process which results on very small and homogeneous particles is required, since it avoids further contamination derived from long milling times. On this context, a process such as sol-gel synthesis may be feasible, due to its simplicity on handling and its well known characteristic of producing homogeneous nanoparticles. Moreover, precipitated HA also may lead to satisfactory results regarding particle size and phase purity. The aim of this article was to demonstrate a preliminary characterization study of powders obtained by both methods and to compare them to a commercial sample available in Brazil. Characterization was made by XRD, Scherrer's equation, XRF, SEM-LV, SEM-FEG and SEM-EDS. It has been found out that all samples consist of pure nanostructured hydroxyapatite with crystallite size between 37nm and 62nm.


Low to moderate consumption of red wine reportedly has a relatively greater benefit than other alcoholic beverages in the prevention of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease (CHD). This beneficial effect is increasingly attributed to the polyphenol resveratrol, present in red wine. In the present study, we investigated the effects of resveratrol and red wine on aggregation of platelets isolated from healthy, normotensive male volunteers and in rabbits with experimental hypercholesterolemia. Platelet aggregation rate (PAR) was measured using Born's method. The results showed that aggregation of platelets from healthy subjects induced in vitro by collagen (5 microg/ml), thrombin (0.33 units/ml), and ADP (4 microM) was significantly inhibited by 10-1000 microM resveratrol, in a concentration-dependent manner. Hypercholesterolemic rabbits showed enhanced ADP-induced platelet aggregation; the average PAR increased from 39.5+/-5.9% in normal animals to 61.0+/-7.0% in the high-cholesterol fed group (n=8, p<0.001). Resveratrol (4 mg/kg/day) inhibited ADP-induced platelet aggregation in vivo by maintaining the PAR at 35.7+/-6.3% (vs. 39.5+/-5.9% for control rabbits, n=8, p=0.228), but had no effect on serum lipid levels. Similarly platelet aggregation in hypercholesterolemic rabbits was also inhibited when animals received intragastrically Chinese red wine (with or without alcohol, 4 ml/kg/day). These results suggest that resveratrol can inhibit platelet aggregation both in vitro and in vivo, which conceivably could be one of the mechanisms by which this red wine polyphenol exerts its cardioprotective effects.


Testicular Connexin43 (Cx43) connects adjacent Sertoli cells (SC) and SC to germ cells (GC) in the seminiferous epithelium and plays a crucial role in spermatogenesis. However, the distinction whether this results from impaired inter-SC communication or between GC and SC is not possible, so far. Thus, the question arises, whether a GC-specific Cx43 KO has similar effects on spermatogenesis as it is general or SC-specific KO. Using the Cre/loxP recombinase system, two conditional KO mouse lines lacking Cx43 in premeiotic (pGCCx43KO) or meiotic GC (mGCCx43KO) were generated. It was demonstrated by qRT-PCR that Cx43 mRNA was significantly decreased in adult pGCCx43KO mice, while it was also reduced in mGCCx43KO mice, yet not statistically significant. Body and testis weights, testicular histology, tubular diameter, numbers of intratubular cells and Cx43 protein synthesis and localization did not show any significant differences in semi-quantitative Western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry comparing adult male KO and WT mice of both mouse lines. Male KO mice were fertile. These results indicate that Cx43 in spermatogonia/spermatids does not seem to be essential for successful termination of spermatogenesis and fertility as it is known for Cx43 in somatic SC, but SC-GC communication might rather occur via heterotypic GJ channels.


Experimental research on policing is inspired by the public health analogy of officers as treatment providers. A randomised violence reduction experiment in Philadelphia recently used foot patrols as place-based interventions in violent city spaces during a hot spots policing experiment, and a 23% reduction in violent crime was observed. This paper reports on field observations of foot patrol officers involved in this experiment, which were designed to capture officers' perceptions of, and experiences with the foot patrol function. While the findings resonate with Bittner's depiction of policing on 'skid row', they illuminated the importance of 'territoriality' in a place-based intervention. Officers developed extensive local knowledge of their beat areas, which allowed them to draw from a repertoire of techniques to exert spatial control in the management of disorder. The choice of techniques depended in part on officer style, and the ways in which individual police negotiated the tensions between 'reassurance policing' and the crime fighting demands of 'real police work'. Perhaps most importantly, officers felt constrained by the (artificial) parameters of an experiment that did not allow for the incorporation of local knowledge. This research helps to highlight the value of qualitative research for experimental designs, and reinforces the need to acknowledge and integrate officer knowledge in the design of sustainable interventions.


Recent applications have imposed stringent requirements within the Data Center Network (DCN) switches in terms of scalability, throughput and latency. In this thesis, the architectural design of the packet-switches is tackled in different ways to enable the expansion in both the number of connected endpoints and traffic volume.
A cost-effective Clos-network switch with partially buffered units is proposed and two packet scheduling algorithms are described. The first algorithm adopts many simple and distributed arbiters, while the second approach relies on a central arbiter to guarantee an ordered packet delivery.
For an improved scalability, the Clos switch is build using a Network-on-Chip (NoC) fabric instead of the common crossbar units. The Clos-UDN architecture made with Input-Queued (IQ) Uni-Directional NoC modules (UDNs) simplifies the input line cards and obviates the need for the costly Virtual Output Queues (VOQs). It also avoids the need for complex, and synchronized scheduling processes, and offers speedup, load balancing, and good path diversity.
Under skewed traffic, a reliable micro load-balancing contributes to boosting the overall network performance. Taking advantage of the NoC paradigm, a wrapped-around multistage switch with fully interconnected Central Modules (CMs) is proposed. The architecture operates with a congestion-aware routing algorithm that proactively distributes the traffic load across the switching modules, and enhances the switch performance under critical packet arrivals.
The implementation of small on-chip buffers has been made perfectly feasible using the current technology. This motivated the implementation of a large switching architecture with an Output-Queued (OQ)
NoC fabric. The design merges assets of the output queuing, and
NoCs to provide high throughput, and smooth latency variations.
An approximate analytical model of the switch performance is also proposed.
To further exploit the potential of the NoC fabrics and their modularity features, a high capacity Clos switch with Multi-Directional NoC
(MDN) modules is presented. The Clos-MDN switching architecture exhibits a more compact layout than the Clos-UDN switch. It scales better and faster in port count and traffic load. Results achieved in this thesis demonstrate the high performance, expandability and programmability features of the proposed packet-switches which makes them promising candidates for the next-generation data center networking infrastructure.


This study sought to investigate the effectiveness of improvisational music therapy for a client with Williams Syndrome (WS). The study employed both quantitative and qualitative analysis to assess the quality of attention of a client with WS during improvisational music therapy. The participant of this study was a teenage boy with Williams Syndrome who received music therapy at the Rebecca Center for Music Therapy and Molloy College in New York. The study analyzed the participant's attention behaviors in musical-play by reviewing video recordings that had been made of the client's therapy sessions at the Rebecca Center. To analyze the quantitative data, this study measured the client's attention behaviors by using select dimensions (focusing on musical attention) of the Individual Music-Centered Assessment Profile for Neurodevelopmental Disorders (IMCAP-ND; Carpente, 2013). These ratings were examined for directionality of change over the course of five therapy sessions by using a linear regression analysis. For the qualitative analysis, video recordings were reviewed to determine separately the effects of improvisational therapy treatment on the client over the five sessions. The study described the quality of attention based on the linear regression graphs and notes about the sessions, including how the music therapist and client played music interactively, how the client improved, and what the client's behavior meant.


About 1 out of 100 full term born infants develops intracranial hemorrhage. The study represents an analysis of intracranial hemorrhage over a ten-years period. Diagnosis was based on ultrasound scan. A division into five major bleeding types was done according to the location of the hemorrhage. The neurological outcome was reviewed. Patients were classified into three groups according to their neurological outcome: normal neurological development, mild neurological impairment, and severe neurological impairment. Between 1989-1999, 2019 full-term newborn infants were treated at the neonatal intensive care unit in Graz. 54 of them (2.7%) developed intracranial hemorrhage, of whom 13 (24%) suffered from subdural hemorrhage, 1 (2%) from primary subarachnoid hemorrhage, 14 (26%) from hemorrhage within the choroid plexus, 6 (11%) from intraventricular hemorrhage grade I (IVH I), 11 (20%) from intra- and periventricular hemorrhage (IVH III/PVH), 6 (11%) from hemorrhage within the basal ganglia, and 3 (6%) from intracerebellar hemorrhage. Considering the neurological outcome, 34 (63%) were diagnosed as being developed normally, 15 (28%) developed any neurological impairment, 3 (5%) died, whereas 2 (4%) did not participate our follow up program.


OBJECTIVES
We sought to determine 5-year survival after extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for cardiac failure and its predictors, to assess survival and its predictors after bridging to transplantation or weaning from extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, and to identify factors influencing the likelihood of these outcomes.

METHODS
Two hundred two adults (mean age, 55 +/- 14 years) were supported with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation between 1992 and July 1999 after cardiac failure. Follow-up extended to 7.5 years (mean, 3.8 +/- 2 years). Multivariable hazard function analysis identified predictors of survival, and logistic regression identified the determinants of bridging or weaning.

RESULTS
Survival at 3 days, 30 days, and 5 years was 76%, 38%, and 24%, respectively. Patients surviving 30 days had a 63% 5-year survival. Risk factors (P <.1) included older age, reoperation, and thoracic aorta repair. Forty-eight patients were bridged to transplantation, and 71 were weaned with intent for survival. Survival was similar after either outcome (44% vs 40% 5-year survival, respectively). Failure to bridge or wean included (P <.03) renal and hepatic failure on extracorporeal membrane oxygenator support, occurrence of a neurologic event, and absence of infection. The dominant modes of death were cardiac failure and multisystem organ failure.

CONCLUSIONS
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation is versatile and salvages some patients who would otherwise die. Improvement in intermediate-term outcome will require a multidisciplinary approach to protect organ function and limit organ injury before and during this support.


Bidirectional relaying is a promising approach to improve the performance in wireless networks such as sensor, ad-hoc, and even cellular systems. Bidirectional relaying applies to three-node networks, where a relay establishes a bidirectional communication between two other nodes using a decode-and-forward protocol. First, the two nodes transmit their messages to the relay which decodes them. Then, the relay broadcasts a reencoded message in such a way that both nodes can decode their intended message using their own message as side information. We consider uncertainty in the channel state information (CSI) and assume that all nodes only know that the channel over which the transmission takes place is from a pre-specified set of channels. In this work, we concentrate on the second phase, which is called the compound bidirectional broadcast channel. We present a robust coding strategy which enables reliable communication under channel uncertainty and show that this strategy actually achieves the compound capacity. Further, we analyze scenarios where either the receivers or the transmitter have perfect CSI. We show that CSI at the receivers does not affect the maximal achievable rates, while CSI at the transmitter improves the capacity region. A numerical example and a game-theoretic interpretation complete this work.


This research's objective was to investigate an alternative cost effective means of direct georeferencing for airborne photogrammetry using small UAVs. Through added computational functionality, a custom data acquisition script was developed to directly associate the aircraft's position and orientation to an image being captured in real time. The implemented system was tested by conducting an aerial survey on River Field, located on the campus of Carleton University. A comparison between the data recorded from the aircraft's telemetry log with the results obtained from the custom data acquisition script was conducted to verify its efficacy. The calculated parameters of exterior orientation for the direct and assisted methods were then compared to the reference values determined through indirect georeferencing. Additionally, a comparison of the generated 3D point clouds was undertaken. The results showed good agreement between the point clouds generated through direct and assisted georeferencing with the reference point cloud.


In air transportation, container crossdocking refers to a loaded container that is transferred at an airport from an incoming flight to an outgoing flight without handling the freight on the container. It reduces handling time and handling cost relative to unloading the container and sorting the freight, and is an economical alternative if a sufficient amount of freight on the incoming flight continues on the outgoing flight. The planning of container crossdocking is very important in express shipment services, both because of its time advantages and its cost advantages. Unfortunately container crossdocking has to be planned before the amount of freight for each origin-destination pair for the day is known. This paper addresses an operational planning problem for an express shipment service network in which flight schedules are given, and container crossdocking decisions have to be made before freight flow demand information is revealed. A two-stage stochastic programming model is formulated in which crossdocking container movements are decided in the first-stage and package flows are determined in the second stage after demand becomes known. The proposed problem takes too long to solve with existing methods, and we address the computational challenges by proposing a two-phase branch-and-Benders-cut approach as well as additional cuts that use characteristics of solutions found so far to improve the progress of the algorithm. We present results from a computational study using real-world data that demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed approach.


ABSTRACT This article reviews some of the strengths and limitations of the comparative use of meta-analysis findings, using examples from the Sutton Trust-Education Endowment Foundation Teaching and Learning 'Toolkit' which summarizes a range of educational approaches to improve pupil attainment in schools. This comparative use of quantitative findings has similar characteristics to umbrella reviews which provide a succinct but applicable summary of the current state of evidence to inform practice or policy. Meta-analysis helps to identify which approaches have, on average, made the most difference to tested learning outcomes, in terms of effect size. We suggest that any comparative inferences made between meta-analyses should be treated cautiously, but taken seriously. Additionally, we present alternative ways of interpreting effect sizes, security ratings and cost-estimates to make research findings accessible, whilst retaining appropriate accuracy which is discussed using the 'Toolkit' as an example. We conclude by arguing that we should consider the available information not as 'what works', but 'what has worked' to understand its value and limits in terms of supporting the development of research-based practice.


In this paper a new consensus based algorithm for decentralized recursive estimation of parameters in linear discrete-time stochastic errors-in-variables MIMO systems is proposed. One starts from a multi-agent setting, in which an agent has access only to a subset of noisy input-output variables. The proposed algorithm consists of two stages. The first stage is based on a combination of local stochastic approximation algorithms for estimating input-output covariance functions based on locally available measurements and a dynamic first order consensus scheme. At the second stage each agent utilizes a stochastic approximation algorithm with expanding truncations for generating all system parameter estimates on the basis of current estimates of the matrices in the modified Yule-Walker equations obtained at the first stage. In the given convergence analysis it is proved that the estimates of the covariance functions and the overall parameter estimates converge almost surely to their true values under appropriate assumptions concerning system properties and the multi-agent network topology.


This document reports the findings of an evaluation of the Transitions within the Community Project in Perth and Kinross (The Project). The evaluation was commissioned by Perth and Kinross Council and conducted by researchers from CELCIS at the University of Strathclyde. The Project is a change programme designed to reshape services for children and young people with Learning Disability, Additional Support Needs and Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties. The Project is a 'preventative spend' measure financed through around £805,000 provided through the Investment and Improvement Fund (IIF). It aims to ameliorate a projected overspend for Education and Children's Services of around £1,000,000 per annum and annually increasing costs of around £400,000 to Housing and Community Care Services for young people transitioning to adult services. A simultaneous dual aim was to improve services by helping more young people with Learning Disability, Additional Support Needs and Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties to be part of their local community. The Evaluation is based on data and information gathered by Perth and Kinross Council over the duration of the Project; this material has been supplemented by some new interview data gathered by the researchers. As a result of this mixed approach to data collection, the evaluation has a number of strengths and limitations; these are discussed in the report.


Adolescence is a critical period of development with increased sensitivity toward psychological stressors. Many psychiatric conditions emerge during adolescence and animal studies have shown that that acute stress has long-term effects on hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis function and behavior. We recently demonstrated that acute stress produces long-term electrophysiological changes in locus coeruleus and long-lasting anxiety-like behavior in adolescent male rats. Based on prior reports of increased stress sensitivity during adolescence and increased sensitivity of female locus coeruleus toward corticotropin releasing factor, we hypothesized that the same acute stressor would cause different behavioral and physiological responses in adolescent female and adult male rats one week after stressor exposure. In this study, we assessed age and sex differences in how an acute psychological stressor affects corticosterone release, anxiety-like behavior, and locus coeruleus physiology at short- and long-term intervals. All groups of animals responded to stress with elevated corticosterone levels at the acute time point. One week after stressor exposure, adolescent females showed decreased firing of locus coeruleus neurons upon current injection and increased exploratory behavior compared to controls. The results were in direct contrast to changes observed in adolescent males, which showed increased anxiety-like behavior and increased spontaneous and induced firing locus coeruleus neurons a week after stressor exposure. Adult males were both behaviorally and electrophysiologically resilient to the long-term effects of acute stress. Therefore, there may be a normal developmental trajectory for locus coeruleus neurons which promotes stress resilience in adults, but stressor exposure during adolescence perturbs their function. Furthermore, while locus coeruleus neurons are more sensitive to stressor exposure during adolescence, the effect varies between adolescent males and females. These findings suggest that endocrine, behavioral, and physiological responses to stress vary among animals of different age and sex, and therefore these variables should be taken into account when selecting models and designing experiments to investigate the effects of stress. These differences in animals may also allude to age and sex differences in the prevalence of various psychiatric illnesses within the human population.


Indian music has a very long, unbroken tradition and is an accumulated heritage of centuries. Music in India was popular among all the sections of society and intertwined in life and culture from birth to death. Indian music was formed with the evolution of ancient religious and secular music. The Indian culture absorbed all the best that was brought by other nations in the process of historical development. The Indian music is quite diverse: there are classical instrumental and vocal works and traditional singing of sacred hymns, folk songs and music of different nations. In contrast to the music scholarship, where typically image is a certain regularity, discipline and harmony, beauty of the traditional Indian music in the free improvisation, which is used by the performer. Listening carefully of this music, the man in a new world, a different sounds and explore a different idea of music for himself. The aim of the Indian music, unlike European musical culture define, explore, create and move depths to people's moods. And the Indian instruments is a miracle, that could reflect all these philosophical and aesthetic views. Along with the vocal art, this musical tradition has rich variety of melodic and rhythmic instruments.


While the surface atomic structure of RuO2 has been well studied in ultra high vacuum, much less is known about the interaction between water and RuO2 in aqueous solution. In this work, in situ surface X-ray scattering measurements combined with density functional theory (DFT) were used to determine the surface structural changes on single-crystal RuO2(110) as a function of potential in acidic electrolyte. The redox peaks at 0.7, 1.1 and 1.4 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) could be attributed to surface transitions associated with the successive deprotonation of –H2O on the coordinatively unsaturated Ru sites (CUS) and hydrogen adsorbed to the bridging oxygen sites. At potentials relevant to the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), an –OO species on the Ru CUS sites was detected, which was stabilized by a neighboring –OH group on the Ru CUS or bridge site. Combining potential-dependent surface structures with their energetics from DFT led to a new OER pathway, where the deprotonation of the –OH group used to stabilize –OO was found to be rate-limiting.


In the early period of investigations (in 1 month) polyvinylpyridine-N-oxide (PNO) causes a fall in the content of lipid compounds (total lipids, phospholipids, choesterol) in the liver and an inhibition of the lipolytic activity in the tissue of intratracheally quartzdust laden rats. Introduction of PNO into the lungs of dust-laden rats over a period of 4 months produces an appreciable diminution in the quantity of all the lipid components against the background of an increased lipolytic activity, recuced under the effect of quartz dust. In healthy rats PNO depresses the lipolytic activity of the pulmonary tissue and intermittently brings down the lipid compounds therein and in the spleen. In the blood of healthy and silicotic rats receiging PNO the level of the total and free cholesterol goes up. Early after administration of PNO the content of total lipids and beta-lipoproteids in the blood serum of dust-laden rats augments, while later on the concentration of total lipids goes down, while the level of summary ketone bodies rises.


We carry out a numerical study of the quantum walk search algorithm of Shenvi, Kempe and Whaley Shenvi et al. (2003) and the factors that affect its efficiency in finding an individual state from an unsorted set. Previous work has focused purely on the effects of the dimensionality of the dataset to be searched. In the current paper we consider the effects of interpolating between dimensions, the connectivity of the dataset and the possibility of disorder in the underlying substrate: all these factors affect the efficiency of the search algorithm. We show that in addition to the strong dependence on the spatial dimension of the structure to be searched, there are also secondary dependencies on the connectivity and symmetry of the lattice, with greater connectivity providing a more efficient algorithm. We also show that the algorithm can tolerate a non-trivial level of disorder in the underlying substrate.


We present a method for fast resting-state fMRI spatial decompositions of very large datasets, based on the reduction of the temporal dimension before applying dictionary learning on concatenated individual records from groups of subjects. Introducing a measure of correspondence between spatial decompositions of rest fMRI, we demonstrates that time-reduced dictionary learning produces result as reliable as non-reduced decompositions. We also show that this reduction significantly improves computational scalability.


In this paper, we introduce a practical simulation system to analyze a real inventory system of a top 3 detergent manufacturer in China. The simulation system has been actively executed to support weekly inventory policy decision making since online. We detail how we simulate the client's finished product inventory at its manufacturing sites and warehouses. We concentrate on describing its structure, as well as its applications. We also demonstrate how to apply this simulation system to obtain an optimized policy to manage the stock keeping unit (SKU) level inventory through numeric experiments.


Rather than presume to understand the ways in which young people think about and effectively resolve their problems, it is important to learn from their successes. Therefore, exploration into young people's perspectives can provide valuable insight into how young people have made the transition into adulthood, negotiated their way through difficult issues and circumstances, and understood their social environments. This paper explores the concept of coping through interviews with 30 young people in a small, rural community in New South Wales, Australia. Young people identified their problems and coping strategies, and talked about how they understood and resolved issues. Young people did not feel that they could address problems with people in authority nor issues about their future. Generally, they were not effective in dealing with interpersonal relationships. This raises doubt about the coping strategies used by young people and their ability to employ effective problem-solving techniques.


Abstract:China is under international pressure to provide more global public goods commensurate with its international status. While China has generally remained cautious in assuming too many responsibilities, there are signs that it is playing a more active role in at least two areas. First, China appears to be focused on reshaping the international economic and financial order to its advantage. In particular, it is actively pushing for the establishment of new financial institutions to, in its own words, complement existing multilateral development banks. Second, in combating piracy off the coast of Somalia, China has stepped up efforts to play up the softer aspects of its hardware contributions. These two aspects manifest a China that is ready and confident in providing the public goods that the international community welcomes.


A comparative description of imagines, subimagines, eggs, and nymphs of Procloeon bifidum (Bengtsson) and P. ornatum Tshernova is given on the basis of material from Poland. Some remarks about the type specimens of both species are presented with the designation of their lectotypes. From the other European species of Procloeon Bngtss. the P. pseudorufulum Kimmins and P. lychnidense lkonornov are regarded as the junior synonyms of P. bifidum (Bengtsson).


Significant evolutions in pharmacy education have occurred over the last century, including the emergence of the doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) degree as the sole professional degree for entry into practice. Over the last 40 years, colleges and schools of pharmacy have devoted significant resources to reengineering curricular paradigms from a product orientation to a patient-centered focus. These curricular changes have involved significant modifications in both the depth and breadth of instruction. Pharmacotherapeutic coursework as a component of overall credits in most programs has increased dramatically, as has instruction in patient communication and physical assessment. Early and continuous exposure to patients and practice settings is now an expectation of PharmD programs.1 Pushing the envelope further, some have proposed a vision where postgraduate residency training is a requirement for direct patient care activities.2 Finally, the influence and popularity of Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties certification also has increased, with over 7,000 pharmacists being certified in 1 of 5 recognized areas through 2009.3

Two central elements which have accompanied the curricular changes associated with making the PharmD degree the first-professional degree have been the incorporation of active or high-impact learning and a collateral focus on assessment. The increased emphasis on active learning has led many colleges and schools to move toward small-group and team-based learning, thus increasing the interactivity of pharmacy classrooms and coursework. Meanwhile, mandates to improve assessment processes have resulted in more authentic and innovative evaluations, including but not limited to the use of standardized mock patients and simulated patient encounters.1 Often these encounters approximate real-life practice and are designed so that interactions can be captured digitally to improve future performance.

While significant modifications to pharmacy curricula have occurred in recent years, few alterations have been made to the North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination (NAPLEX). Design of the NAPLEX is guided by a blueprint document that is modified on a semi-regular basis. The most recent modifications to the NAPLEX blueprint took effect in March 2010.4 The blueprint consists of 3 competency areas with an associated percentage breakdown for each in terms of examination emphasis. The competency areas fall into 1 of 3 domains: pharmacotherapy and therapeutic outcomes (56% of the examination); safe and accurate dispensing (33% of the examination); and public health (11% of the examination).4 The competency areas were the same as those prior to March 2010, but modifications were made to the percent distribution of test items for each area. In the previous blueprint iteration, dispensing comprised 35% of the examination, pharmacotherapy comprised 54%, and public health comprised 11%.4 Students generally perform exceptionally well on the NAPLEX examination. Pass rates by colleges and schools of pharmacy for first time candidates ranged from 83.5% to 100% in 2008 and 81.9% to 100% in 2009.5 National examination pass rates in 2008 and 2009 for first-time candidates were 95.5% and 97.5%, respectively.5

In comparison to the United States, Canada appears to employ a more comprehensive pharmacist examination process. The Canadian qualification examination is designed to measure both understanding and application of pharmacy-based knowledge and the ability to perform critical practice-based functions and tasks.6 The licensing examination is a 2-part assessment consisting of both a written and performance-based evaluation.6 The written assessment is comprised of multiple-choice items aimed at evaluating a candidate's ability to make judgments and apply knowledge to pharmacy practice-based scenarios. The performance-based component of the examination is designed as an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). Several OSCE stations are used to evaluate a candidate's ability to interact with standardized patients and/or other health care providers. A trained examiner using standardized assessment criteria observes, records, and assesses the candidate's interactions and ability to complete the given OSCE task.6 Similar to the Canadian pharmacy model, the US National Board of Medical Examiners employs both a written examination and a performance-based component as part of the US Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE).7 The USMLE is designed to assess a physician's ability to apply knowledge, concepts, and principles, and to demonstrate patient-centered skills. The examination consists of 3 complementary steps.7 Step 1 focuses on the application of sciences basic to the practice of medicine and employs an objective multiple-choice format. Step 2 focuses on the application of medical knowledge and skills with an emphasis on disease prevention and health promotion. Step 2 consists of both an objective multiple-choice examination (known as the clinical knowledge section) and a hands-on component (known as the clinical skills section). The clinical skills component of the USMLE involves assessment of communication and interpersonal skills utilizing standardized patients. Step 3 of the USMLE employs both multiple-choice questions and computer-based case simulations. The computer-based case simulations are designed to allow candidates to assess a simulated clinical scenario and subsequently request data and formulate treatment plans that include monitoring and follow-up. This final step focuses on clinical and biomedical knowledge with an emphasis on clinical decision-making skills essential for the unsupervised practice of medicine. Candidates for the USMLE may complete steps 1 and 2 while enrolled in medical school, while step 3 is typically completed following 1 year of postgraduate training. National pass rates for step 1 were 92% in 2007 and 91% in 2008.8 For the step 2 clinical knowledge section, pass rates were 94% in both 2007 and 2008.8 For the step 2 clinical skills section, pass rates were 97% in 2007 and 2008. For Step 3, pass rates were 95% in 2007 and 94% in 2008, respectively.8

Both the Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada and the US National Board of Medical Examiners currently employ some level of innovative assessment meant to better evaluate the hands-on application of skills that are critical to unsupervised pharmacy or medical practice. Similarly most US colleges and schools of pharmacy also employ more authentic assessments meant to simulate practice-based encounters. While the current NAPLEX examination seems to sufficiently assess attainment of the minimal level of knowledge required to practice pharmacy, questions remain in terms of candidates' ability to execute and apply this knowledge. Historically, some states required "wet: or "dry" laboratory components for pharmacy licensing processes. These laboratories were intended to measure the ability of candidates to apply knowledge in the actual compounding and dispensing of prescription and nonprescription products. With the ongoing evolution of pharmacy from a product to a patient-oriented profession, has the time come to reexamine the validity of the processes used to license new practitioners? At a minimum, the profession should explore the utility of clinical skills examinations as a component of the licensing process. Clinical skills examinations, when conducted in a standardized fashion, afford the ability to delineate more clearly a candidate's ability to apply drug management skills and use basic physical assessment to evaluate and monitor drug therapy. A clinical skills component would also allow examiners to assess a candidate's ability to effectively communicate with patients and other health care providers.

The authority to determine licensing processes is vested in each individual state board of pharmacy, but with each state currently employing the NAPLEX examination at least in part, modifications to this assessment process might have the most far-reaching effects on a national level. Certainly altering an existing and validated examination would be costly and time consuming. Authentic assessments utilizing simulated patients and/or health care providers require significant resources with both the validity and standardization of evaluation criteria being critical. In addition to the need for standardization in delivery and evaluation, these types of clinical examinations are also time intensive and likely would necessitate multi-day test-taking procedures to ensure that the integrity of the examination(s) was maintained.

US colleges and schools of pharmacy continued to be challenged by national and state agencies as well as accrediting bodies to demonstrate that "students can do what we say they can do." An era of intense scrutiny in terms of assessment has led many colleges and schools to reexamine how they teach and evaluate. Certainly accreditation standards demand this level of inquiry and analysis.1 Has the time come for the NABP to reexamine its procedures given the landscape in US colleges and schools and the general direction of the profession? Much could be learned from our Canadian pharmacy counterparts who have years of experience with authentic assessments and clinical-based skills examinations as components of licensing.9 The profession might also explore a model that incorporates both clinical examinations and a step-based approach similar to that used in medicine.

Regardless of the specific approach taken, some discussion seems warranted given the current inconsistencies between teaching and assessment in US schools and colleges and assessment criteria used by the NABP specifically with regards to the NAPLEX. Undeniably, the mismatch between the breadth and depth of assessments used in colleges and schools and that of the NAPLEX sends mixed messages to students and future practitioners.


Government formation in multi-party systems often requires coalition negotiations and finding common ground among coalition partners. Supporters of parties involved in the government formation process face a tradeoff when evaluating such bargaining processes: on the one hand, voters usually prefer seeing their party being in government rather than in opposition; on the other hand, negotiations require coalition compromises that they might dislike. In this paper, we study voters' willingness to accept policy compromises during government formation processes. We argue that voters' acceptance of policy compromises depends on both the strength of their party attachment and the importance they assign to the issue at stake during the coalition negotiations. Not giving in on important issues is key, especially for supporters of challenger parties, who hold strong policy preferences on a selected number of issues. To test these expectations, we collected original survey data immediately after the Spanish general election in November 2019. The results show support for the hypothesized effects, shed light on the pressure potential coalition partners face during government formation and help explain the failures of government formation attempts in increasingly polarized societies.


At Deimos Field in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, surface seismic imaging cannot fully image sedimentary structure near the steeply dipping base of salt. 3D vertical seismic profile (VSP) imaging was introduced to the deepwater GOM to improve seismic imaging of complex structural and stratigraphic features (Ray et al., 2003; Hornby et al., 2006) and recently has been used for imaging "blind spots" in surface seismic coverage (Hornby et al., 2005; Hornby et al., 2007). With this method, 3D surveys are conducted using a surface source vessel and downhole geophones. Here we investigate the use of 3D VSP imaging to complement the surface results with additional coverage beyond that of the surface seismic adjacent to the complex salt body.


Improving predictions of restoration outcomes is increasingly important to resource managers for accountability and adaptive management, yet there is limited guidance for selecting a predictive model from the multitude available. The goal of this article was to identify an optimal predictive framework for restoration ecology using 11 modeling frameworks (including machine learning, inferential, and ensemble approaches) and three data groups (field data, geographic data [GIS], and a combination thereof). We test this approach with a dataset from a large postfire sagebrush reestablishment project in the Great Basin, U.S.A. Predictive power varied among models and data groups, ranging from 58% to 79% accuracy. Finer‐scale field data generally had the greatest predictive power, although GIS data were present in the best models overall. An ensemble prediction computed from the 10 models parameterized to field data was well above average for accuracy but was outperformed by others that prioritized model parsimony by selecting predictor variables based on rankings of their importance among all candidate models. The variation in predictive power among a suite of modeling frameworks underscores the importance of a model comparison and refinement approach that evaluates multiple models and data groups, and selects variables based on their contribution to predictive power. The enhanced understanding of factors influencing restoration outcomes accomplished by this framework has the potential to aid the adaptive management process for improving future restoration outcomes.


In this paper, a numerical approach for predicting sloshing or roll-stabilization effects is proposed. A 3D non-linear time domain seakeeping code, MOTSIM, was coupled with a commercial CFD code (Flow-3D) and used to predict roll stabilizing performance of an unconventional U-tube tank installed in an oceanographic vessel. The codes were fully coupled and thus provided coupled effects of the external flow field and the motion of the fluid with a free surface inside the anti-roll tank on the ship motion in six degrees of freedom. MOTSIM is a well validated code that has been proven to provide accurate motion prediction for various vessels. The CFD code allows for modeling of complex tank geometry as well as detailed investigation of locations in the tank where severe loads might be experienced. Comparisons of the simulation results with experimental data showed good agreement and significant effects of the anti-roll tank on decreasing the ship's roll motion. This study also demonstrated the coupled code's potential use for any type of sloshing problems including the design of roll-stabilization tanks and LNG carriers.Copyright © 2013 by ASME


Photocatalytic water splitting has gained increasing attention, since it utilizes renewable resources, such as water and solar energy, to produce hydrogen. Using the first-principles density functional theory, we investigate the properties of the single layer C2N which was successfully synthesized. We reveal that monolayer C2N has a substantial direct band gap of 2.45 eV. To regulate its band gap, four different nonmetal elements (B, O, P, and S) on the cation and anion sites are considered. Among them, B-doped N site is the most effective one, with the lowest formation energy and a band gap of 2.01 eV. P-doped N site is the next, with a band gap of 2.08 eV, though its formation energy is higher. The band alignments with respect to the water redox levels show that, for these two dopings, the thermodynamic criterion for the overall water splitting is satisfied. We therefore predict that B- or P-doped C2N, with an appropriate band gap and an optimal band-edge position, would be a promising photocatalyst for visible-light water splitting.


Surgical site infections (SSIs) remain a significant cause of postoperative complications. The risk of death from a medical error in a UK hospital remains one in 300. Increased theatre traffic has been identified as a modifiable determinant of SSI and surgical error. This cross-sectional study for the first time describes the pattern of theatre traffic in a UK cardiac centre. An electronic door counter and galaxy theatre management software (v3.4, iSOFT Banbury, UK) were used to calculate frequencies and rates of door opening during operations. Forty-six cases were analysed with 4273 door openings recorded. The median age of patients was 65 (range 43–75) with a median EuroSCORE of 5 (1–14). The mean frequency of door openings per case was 92.9 (45–205), with 19.2 (6.4–38.2) openings per hour. The theatre door was open for 10.7% of each hour of operating. Prolonged, acute and cases involving patients with higher EuroSCOREs demonstrated a trend towards increased opening. Door opening disturbs theatre airflow and results in increased air and wound contamination. It is also described as a contributor to surgical mistakes. Current levels of traffic are unacceptably high and represent a modifiable risk factor for SSI and error.


This study examined the relation between attachment to opposite sex parents and attachment to romantic partners. Previous research has indicated that attachments to parents closely resemble attachments to romantic partners (Hazan & Shaver, 1987). However, little research has examined whether attachment to the mother or father is more predictive of attachment to romantic partners, and whether this varies by gender. The present study surveyed 236 college students about their attachment to parents, as well as romantic partners. We hypothesized that attachment to opposite sex parents would be significantly related to attachment with romantic partners. Results indicated that those who exhibit trust, communication, or alienation with opposite sex parents show significant positive correlations with fearful attachment styles to romantic partners. Furthermore, attachments to same sex parents showed similar results. This study can provide an important contribution to the understanding of how trust, communication, and alienation from parents influences adult romantic relationships.


Due to high integration density the influence of manufacturing technologies on the system behavior has to be considered very early in the design process of 3D systems. Therefore, information from different physical domains, design rules, and guidelines have to be provided to designers. The variety of structures and physical effects requires efficient modeling approaches and simulation algorithms. In the following a modular approach which covers detailed analysis with PDE solvers and more abstract behavioral modeling is described.


Anelevatedtricuspidregurgitantjetveloc-ity (TRV) is associated with hemolysis and early mortality in sickle cell disease, yet risk factors, clinical parameters, and mortality associated with this biomarker in thalassemia are poorly defined. This report summarizes the prevalence of an elevated TRV in 325 patients screened by Doppler echocardiography in the Thalassemia Clinical Research Network.Adocu-mented TRV was reported in 148 of 325 (46%) of patients. Average age was 25.9 years (range, 5-56 years) and 97% were transfusion-dependent. Mean TRV was 2.3 (cid:1) 0.4 m/s (range, 0.2-3.5 m/s). An abnormal TRV > 2.5 m/s was identified in 49 of 148 (33%) of patients with a documented TRV, 5% (8/148), with a TRV > 3.0 m/s, suggesting significant PH risk. Older age was strongly associated with a high TRV; however, 16% of children had a TRV > 2.5 m/s.Ahistory of splenectomy,hepatitisC,smoking,orhigh white blood cell count was associated with TRV elevation. In summary, an elevated TRV is noted in one-third of transfusion-dependent thalassemia patients with a documented value and devel-ops in both children and adults. Age, splenectomy, hepatitis C, and smoking are significant univariate risk factors, with splenectomy surfacing as the domi-nant risk factor over time. Mortality was low in this cohort. Prospective longitudinal studies are needed. This study is registered at http://www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00661804. ( Blood . 2011;118(14): 3794-3802) 2 test (or Fisher exact test if any expected cell value was (cid:2) 5) and logistic regression. The results of logistic regression are presented as odds ratios (ORs) and their 95% confidence interval (CI). Multivariate effects of predictors significant in univariate analysis were modeled by the use of logistic regression for elevated TRV. All analyses were performed at the data coordinating center (New England Research Institutes) with SAS 9.2 statistical software (SAS Institute). P values (cid:3) .05 were considered statistically significant.


Variational Inference makes a trade-off between the capacity of the variational family and the tractability of finding an approximate posterior distribution. Instead, Boosting Variational Inference allows practitioners to obtain increasingly good posterior approximations by spending more compute. The main obstacle to widespread adoption of Boosting Variational Inference is the amount of resources necessary to improve over a strong Variational Inference baseline. In our work, we trace this limitation back to the global curvature of the KL-divergence. We characterize how the global curvature impacts time and memory consumption, address the problem with the notion of local curvature, and provide a novel approximate backtracking algorithm for estimating local curvature. We give new theoretical convergence rates for our algorithms and provide experimental validation on synthetic and real-world datasets.


The purpose of this thesis is to explore the relation between national economic ventures, environmental security and community development. It does so through a case study of the implementation process of an iron and copper mine (La Dominga Project) in a "biodiversity hotspot" in central-northern Chile. Using qualitative methods to gather empirical data and a discursive analytical framework, it seeks to understand how the mine affects livelihoods and community development, as perceived by local citizens. The results show that the state, the extractive industries and private landowners constantly contest the local community's access to land. The state and the industry have an advantage in power, manifested in the decision-making procedure. As a consequence of the deficient participation in this process, the community faces a forced exposure to risk. La Dominga jeopardizes local livelihoods and alternative development plans, which show potential to be long-term ecologically sustainable. Those are 1) the community based- and adaptively co-managed area for exploitation of benthic resources and 2) the tourist activities, based on the bird and whale spotting tours to the closely located protected islands. The thesis further suggests that social mobilization and articulation of local resistance fails because of 1) elements of social control within the community, 2) the discursive role of mining, and more specifically copper mining in the Chilean landscape ideologies and 3) CSR-interventions in form of extensive, individual "grant programs".


Gait training has an important role in rehabilitation of standing and walking in spinal cord injury (SCI) patients. There were different types of gait training in these subjects. Both the body weight support treadmill training and robotic-assisted and robotic exoskel- eton are effective and secure methods for gait training and improving the energy demand and metabolic cost in SCI patients in different level of injury. The powered exoskeletons can provide patients with SCI the ability to walk with the lowest energy consumption. The powered exoskeleton's energy consumption and speed of walking depend on the training duration. Based on different types of gait training methods, training time, and other affected parameters, the aim of this chapter was to evaluate the role of gait training in recovery of standing and walking in SCI patients.


We sought to evaluate the use of combined oesophageal multichannel intraluminal impedance and pH (MII-pH) monitoring in the Paediatric department of a large tertiary hospital, and to determine whether there is added value of MII-pH monitoring beyond that of conventional pH monitoring. We conducted a retrospective study of all paediatric patients who underwent MII-pH monitoring during a two year period (01/01/2012–31/12/2013) in a large tertiary hospital. We analysed the demographics, indications for investigation and MII-pH results for each patient. We assessed the effect of anti-reflux treatment on MII-pH results and compared the relative contribution of MII data with pH data in each test. 96 studies were performed on 96 patients (mean age 3 years 8 months, range 2 months to 16 years, 55 male, 41 female). 57 studies produced interpretable results of greater than 20 h' duration. Respiratory symptoms were the most common indication for study. Patients who had taken anti-reflux medication at any point in the week prior to the study were significantly less likely to have an abnormal reflux index (RI; p < 0.05) but were not less likely to have positive symptom correlation. When considering patients off treatment in the week prior to the study, patients with an abnormal RI were found to have a significantly higher frequency of both total reflux and acid reflux events compared to those with a normal RI (p < 0.001), and were also more likely to have a positive correlation between their symptoms and impedance-detected reflux events (p < 0.01). 19 patients had both an interpretable MII-pH study and a contemporaneous oesophageal biopsy; however, no significant correlation was seen between biopsy result and any of the MII-pH indices. This study provides a comprehensive review of the use of MII-pH monitoring in a large tertiary centre. It reinforces previous literature findings that anti-reflux medication reduces oesophageal acid exposure, but does not necessarily reduce total reflux frequency or symptom correlation. The value added by MII-pH monitoring beyond that of conventional pH monitoring remains to be established. The results here support the use of RI (derived from pH monitoring) as an indicator for reflux disease in patients off treatment.


This work documents the project and development of various computational linguistic resources that support the Brazilian Portuguese language according to the formal methodology used by the corpus processing system called UNITEX. The delivered resources include computational lexicons, libraries to access compressed lexicons, and additional tools to validate those resources.


Copper in the aquatic ecosystem may remain adsorbed or be incorporated into the biomass and undergo biomagnification causing unwanted effects to aquatic macrophyte communities. This study evaluated the biomass reduction of Salvinia molesta (Mitchell) exposed to copper sulphate pentahydrate (CuSO4.5H2O) under laboratory conditions. Approximately 20.5 g of fresh mass (FM) of S. molesta (0.74 g dry matter, DM) were placed in glass tanks with different concentrations (n = 3) of CuSO4.5H2O as follows: 0.0; 2.0; 4.0; 6.0; and 8.0 mg L -1 for 28 days. The dry mass was determined after each seven-day interval over 28 days and submitted to repeated ANOVA measures, followed by a Tukey test (P<0,05). The results show that macrophyte increased until the seventh day of exposure in all treatments. After this period, the biomass of S. molesta decreased; but there was no significant difference between treatments with copper, except for the 8.0 mg L -1 treatment. The copper treatments decreased the S. molesta biomass an average of 43.2% (0.50 g DM) after 28 days. At the end of the experiment, copper absorption in the treatments with 6.0 and 8.0 mg L -1 was on average 77.9% higher than in the treatments with 2 and 4 mg L -1 . The treatments with 6.0 and 8.0 mg L -1 reached their maximum bioaccumulation capacity after 14 days. The results show that contamination of the aquatic environment at concentrations above 2 mg L -1 Cu 2+ can reduce the S. molesta biomass by approximately 43%.


This work aims to provide evidence on the impact of public investment on local business decisions. In particular we want to see the effect of public investment on the development of local area - measured by GDP and employment - and therefore the effect that the development of the area determines the location decisions of businesses.In other words, we therefore wish to demonstrate how the infrastructure is one of the determinants of competitiveness and development potential of an area of active firms. A good level of infrastructure produces significant advantages (so-called positive externalities) for the local economy because, not only allows to increase the productivity of factors of production, reducing costs, but also influences the degree of attraction of the area (residents, tourists, businesses, funders), the location decisions of new businesses, the strengthening of existing ones.The conceptual framework draws on the contributions made by many national and international literature on the role that public investment play in economic growth in the territories and the attractiveness of the territory.The paper is organized in two parts. Part 1 discusses the concept of local public investment, which is under a legal entity, examines the issue of investment planning and illustrates how the literature has suggested and tested empirically with reference to the role of public investment in the dynamics of growth and competitiveness of the territories. In the Part 2, is empirically tested the research hypothesis, through an econometric analysis, describing the models and variables used in the application of panel techniques, and presents the results of the estimates, while last section concludes with summary of some considerations.


Climatic and geological processes associated with glaciation cycles during the Pleistocene have been implicated in influencing patterns of genetic variation and promoting speciation of temperate flora and fauna. However, determining the factors promoting divergence and speciation is often difficult in many groups because of our limited understanding of potential vicariant barriers and connectivity between populations. Pleistocene glacial cycles are thought to have significantly influenced the distribution and diversity of subterranean invertebrates; however, impacts on subterranean aquatic vertebrates are less clear. We employed several hypothesis‐driven approaches to assess the impacts of Pleistocene climatic and geological changes on the Northern Cavefish, Amblyopsis spelaea, whose current distribution occurs near the southern extent of glacial advances in North America. Our results show that the modern Ohio River has been a significant barrier to dispersal and is correlated with patterns of genetic divergence. We infer that populations were isolated in two refugia located north and south of the Ohio River during the most recent two glacial cycles with evidence of demographic expansion in the northern isolate. Finally, we conclude that climatic and geological processes have resulted in the formation of cryptic forms and advocate recognition of two distinct phylogenetic lineages currently recognized as A. spelaea.


A major challenge in nanocomposite research is to predict the optimal nanomaterial concentration (ONC) yielding a maximal reinforcement in a given property. We present a simple approach to identify the ONC based on our finding that it is typically located in close proximity to an abrupt increase in polymer matrix viscosity, termed the rheological percolation threshold, and thus may be used as an indicator of the ONC. This premise was validated by rheological and fractography studies of composites loaded by nanomaterials including graphene nanoribbons or carbon or tungsten disulfide nanotubes. The correlation between in situ viscosity, the rheological percolation threshold concentration and the nanocomposite fractography demonstrates the utility of the method.


In this paper we consider a process which complements the learning process for building personal knowledge through the exchange of knowledge chains. This approach consists in the partial automatization of the process of creating knowledge chains, through the use of the technology from agents, ontologies and data mining. The agents will monitor all media used by the learner, and will classify its content using an ontology. From there, we want to create and recommend a chain to the learner. This point became important when we observed that the learners weren't motivated to create their chains, which, normally, takes a lot of effort


Famajal is a kinship model that can be found in Papua. This tradition is carried out in religious rituals such as Aqika and Khitan. To strengthen kinship needed donations in the form of money from relatives and guests. In this tradition, there is an acknowledgment of kinship spoken by the money giver and singing a folk song about kinship. This study uses qualitative methods, verbs of social phenomenology with the research area in Lilinta village. the analysis model uses interpretive. The results of the study include 1. Religious rituals in Lilinta such as study in Islamic studies for children, Reciting Surah Yaseen by women, entering new homes accompanied by recitation of the prayer of Manakib, and Reciting Tahlil are a religious unit that is maintained in religious life in the Lilinta village community. 2. Religion can adapt to local culture so cause changes at the surface level. 3. No written source reveals about this tradition so that the tradition has shifted. 4. Not all religious rituals carried out in Lilinta village are combined with Famajal. 7. In Aqikah and Khitanan is not merely ceremonial, in the ritual the child is introduced about the kinship that exists in the family environment with various advice given. 8. Tradition can develop the beliefs, knowledge, and habits (meaning) of the local community which is unique and underlies mutual understanding, develops further interactions and actions in community life and knowledge about kinship.


Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the utility of automated focal plane merging with the collection of gonio-photographs with different depths of field (DOF) using an established focus-stacking algorithm. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted at Shimane University Hospital, Izumo, Japan. Sixteen eyes from 16 subjects from the glaucoma clinic were included in this study. Image processing was performed for the images of 16 eyes from 16 angle sector following the successful gonio-photography. The 256 sets of focus-stacked and best-focused images were prepared in random order and were compared for the DOF and informativeness to diagnose angle pathology by masked observers in each set as the subjective assessments. Moreover, the energy of the Laplacian (average |ΔI|), which is an indicator of image sharpness between the photographs with and without the focus-stacking processing was also analyzed with the Laplacian filter as the objective assessment. Results The automated image processing was successfully performed in all stacks of images. The significant deepening of DOF and improvement of informativeness achieved in 255 (99.6%) and 216 (84.4%) images (P < 0.0001 for both, sign test) and the energy of the Laplacian also significantly increased in 243 (94.9%) images (P < 0.0001, sign test). Conclusions Focal plane merging by the automated algorithm can make the gonio-images deeper focus compared with the paired best-focused images subjectively and objectively, which would be useful for angle pathological assessment in clinical practice. Translational Relevance Focal plane merging algorithm for the automated gonio-photography can facilitate the angle assessment by providing informative deep-focus image, which would be useful for glaucoma care.


Leading flood loss estimation models include Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA's) Hazus, FEMA's Flood Assessment Structure Tool (FAST), and (U.S.) Hydrologic Engineering Center's Flood Impact Analysis (HEC-FIA), with each requiring different data input. No research to date has compared the resulting outcomes from such models at a neighborhood scale. This research examines the building and content loss estimates by Hazus Level 2, FAST, and HEC-FIA, over a levee-protected census block in Metairie, in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. Building attribute data in National Structure Inventory (NSI) 2.0 are compared against "best available data" (BAD) collected at the individual building scale from Google Street View, Jefferson Parish building inventory, and 2019 National Building Cost Manual, to assess the sensitivity of input building inventory selection. Results suggest that use of BAD likely enhances flood loss estimation accuracy over existing reliance on default data in the software or from a national data set that generalizes over a broad scale. Although the three models give similar mean (median) building and content loss, Hazus Level 2 results diverge from those produced by FAST and HEC-FIA at the individual building level. A statistically significant difference in mean (median) building loss exists, but no significant difference is found in mean (median) content loss, between building inventory input (i.e., NSI 2.0 vs BAD), but both the building and content loss vary at the individual building scale due to difference in building-inventory-reported foundation height, foundation type, number of stories, replacement cost, and content cost. Moreover, building loss estimation also differs significantly by depth-damage function (DDF), for flood depths corresponding with the longest return periods, with content loss differing significantly by DDF at all return periods tested, from 10 to 500 years. Knowledge of the extent of estimated differences aids in understanding the degree of uncertainty in flood loss estimation. Much like the real estate industry uses comparable home values to appraise a home, flood loss planners should use multiple models to estimate flood-related losses. Moreover, results from this study can be used as a baseline for assessing losses from other hazards, thereby enhancing protection of human life and property.


In this study, a novel control method for LLC resonant converter with wide output voltage range and constant switching frequency is proposed targeting wide range of Electric Vehicle (EV) battery charger standards. In conventional LLC converter control topologies, in order to reach lower output voltage levels, switching frequency happens to move away from the resonance frequency, increasing in most of the cases. However, the switching losses due to switching devices start to become the main bottleneck at high switching frequency operation. Furthermore, high switching frequency operation may cause irreversible inrush current damage at the input terminals during the start-up with corresponding overshoot at the output voltage as well, risking the clients on this particular supply. The work presented in this paper proposes a robust and reliable control solution for these particular resonant converter drawbacks. Theoretical analysis for both conventional and proposed control methods are presented in detail. In order to show the effectiveness of the proposed technique, performance metrics of the both are compared experimentally on an LLC resonant converter specification having an output voltage range of 150-500 V with a maximum output power of 7.5 kW.


Wind energy sources are characterized by irregularity and unpredictability. In normal operation, random properties of wind and blade rotational turbulence can produce unwanted fluctuation on the voltage and power supplied into the system. Power output of a wind turbine is a function of wind speed. Wind turbine is a source of power fluctuations due to the nature of wind speed. This fluctuating power will have its impact on power balance and voltage at the point of common coupling. Small variation of wind speed could cause a large variation in the extracted power. As a result, large voltage fluctuation may result in voltage variations outside the regulation limit at connection point. In this paper, a method has been developed to reduce output power fluctuations of a wind turbine with an energy storage system using stator side converter. The developed method has been tested through modelling a doubly fed wind turbine and a battery storage system, using SimPowerSystems tools of MATLAB and simulated for operation as a grid connected system.


Aims Currently there are no published reports on the use of prasugrel in paediatric patients. Literature search using Embase and Medline databases for 'PAEDIATRICS' and 'PRASUGREL' with no limits retrieves no published articles on this topic (13 July 2012). Our aims are to: ▸ Document our experience of using prasugrel in paediatric patients on Ventricular Assistance Devices (VADs) ▸ Compare the responses seen between clopidogrel and prasugrel Methods Data was collected retrospectively (over last 12 months) from all patients who had received prasugrel as part of their anti-platelet therapy whilst on a VAD. Data was collated from drug charts filed in patient notes for dosing information and the electronic pathology system for thromboelastography (TEG) results. Results In total, two patients were identified as having received prasugrel as part of their anti-platelet therapy whilst on a VAD. Our VAD anticoagulation protocol states a loading dose of 1 mg/kg (no maximum) followed by 0.1 mg/kg (max 5 mg) maintenance, adjusted to achieve TEG ADP inhibition of >70%.1 The mean age was 11 months (range 5–18 months) and mean weight 8.5 kgs (range 6–11 kgs). Both patients were female. Mean duration of treatment was 57 days (range 24–90 days). The mean loading dose was 1.04 mg/kg (0.91–1.17 mg/kg) and the mean maintenance dose was 0.30 mg/kg (0.21–0.49 mg/kg). The mean ADP inhibition was 64.0% (range 59.4–68.7%). Additionally, in these two patients the mean dose of clopidogrel used prior to initiating prasugrel was 0.8 mg/kg (range 0.64–0.96 mg/kg). The previous mean ADP inhibition achieved on clopidogrel was 48.6% (range 40.8–56.5%). The average duration of treatment was 22 days (range 20–24 days). The mean time taken to achieve an ADP inhibition of >70% was 10 days (range 4–16 days) and 15.5 days (range 13–18 days) for prasugrel and clopidogrel respectively. Conclusions The response seen in our patients to prasugrel is similar to studies conducted in adults where prasugrel achieves a greater ADP inhibition than clopidogrel.2 Additionally the time take to achieve effective ADP inhibition was faster. One of the possible causes of this is likely to be due to the different expression of metabolising enzymes in individual patients as both drugs are metabolised in vivo to form their active substrates.3 As prasugrel gives more effective ADP inhibition than clopidogrel, the risk of bleeding events will also be higher. This has been observed in adult clinical trials.2 The intra- and inter-patient variation in TEG response observed supports routine monitoring using TEG analysis to guide dosing and manage side effects such as bleeding. Effective anticoagulation is imperative to prevent complications on VAD including cerebrovascular accidents that occur in about 30% of patients.4 The management of these patients highlights the importance of prescribers to have access to high quality medicines information to guide dosing, avoid interactions and ensure therapy is optimised.


A method to determine site effects and the Q factor using a reference event is described. Spectral ratios between pairs of earthquakes and a reference one were written as logarithmic summations in order to obtain individual solutions for the numerators and denominators. Given the seismic moment and corner frequency for one of the events following the ω 2 model, a source model was assumed to constrain the amplitude of the solution. The validity and limitations of this technique were tested on synthetically generated data. We analyzed the variances of the results depending on the different number of stations used, the amount of noise present in the records, and the change in the seismic moment, corner frequency, and source model of the reference event.

Aftershocks of the 2000 Tottori, Japan, earthquake were used to estimate the site effects and Q factor in that region. Two strong motion networks, K-NET and KiK-net, recorded the aftershocks. The latter network contained both surface and borehole receivers at every station. Data were inverted first using only surface records and then using the borehole records from KiK-net stations in order to study amplitude differences. Our results suggest that the study area presents a low Q value and that there is also amplification at borehole sites.

Manuscript received 18 January 2002.


This exhibition, being held at the University of Portsmouth, seeks to explore the human experience in a world of data. Building on the field of data visualisation and embodiment, we are moving into multi-sensory and physical ways of making sense of digital information. All 3 creative contributors to this exhibition were working with the same live industrial data sample provided by the Centre of Intelligent Data Solutions (CIDS). The data was then interpreted, processed and manifested using the same set of rules, seeking to explore the algorithm as a metaphor. Dr. Simone Gumtau, who conceived the overall exhibition concept, is designing a screen based data visualisation, which will in future feed into a functioning interface implemented on marine vessels. This is part of a project led by Professor David Brown and Dr. Edward Smart using sensor data to predict catastrophic engine failures. The same data and process is then interpreted and applied by London based textile artist Cassi Hill, responding to a set of instructions that maps the data into a 3D textile sculpture; and in the same way, experimental sound and interactive artist Simon Kunath is creating a vibrotactile display that allows the visitor to literally sense the data. The results may produce patterns that are perceivable across the different media, although it may not. It is expected that the results will have considerable variation, highlighting the individual human experience in producing and consuming these works. The work also allows us to question the tensions between commonly held perceptions around craft-making as a generative, complex, messy, intuitive process, and commonly held perceptions around code making (programming) as a predictable, linear, constrained and logical process.


Online community administrators are attempting to encourage their users to contribute knowledge and resources in order to provide value to members and ensure sustainability. A large number of online communities fail mainly due to the reluctance of users to share knowledge in them. Many studies on this topic have highlighted the importance of reciprocity for knowledge contribution. However, it is unclear how reciprocity is developed and what influences its development. Motivated by this concern, this study focuses on investigating the antecedents of knowledge receivers' reciprocity in online communities. It formulates and tests a theoretical model to explain reciprocity behaviour of knowledge receivers based on equity theory and Social Identity explanation of Deindividuation Effects (SIDE) model. Our proposed model is validated through a large-scale survey in an online forum for English language learning. The results reveal that indebtedness and community norm not only are key antecedents of intention to reciprocate but are also positively related to each other. The perceived anonymity of the online community not only has a positive effect on indebtedness and intention to reciprocate, but also has an interactive effect with community norm on intention to reciprocate. Theoretical and practical implications of this study are discussed.


Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common and aggressive form of cancer. Due to a high rate of postoperative recurrence, the prognosis for HCC is poor. Subclinical metastasis is the major cause of tumor recurrence and patient mortality. Currently, there is no reliable prognostic method of invasion. Aim: To investigate the feasibility of fingerprints of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for the in-vitro prediction of metastasis. Methods: Headspace gases were collected from 36 cell cultures (HCC with high and low metastatic potential and normal cells) and analyzed using nanomaterial-based sensors. Predictive models were built by employing discriminant factor analysis pattern recognition, and the classification success was determined using leave-one-out cross-validation. The chemical composition of each headspace sample was studied using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Results: Excellent discrimination was achieved using the nanomaterial-based sensors between (i) all HCC and normal controls; (ii) low metastatic HCC and normal controls; (iii) high metastatic HCC and normal controls; and (iv) high and low HCC. Several HCC-related VOCs that could be associated with biochemical cellular processes were identified through GC-MS analysis. Conclusion: The presented results constitute a proof-of-concept for the in-vitro prediction of the metastatic potential of HCC from VOC fingerprints using nanotechnology. Further studies on a larger number of more diverse cell cultures are needed to evaluate the robustness of the VOC patterns. These findings could benefit the development of a fast and potentially inexpensive laboratory test for subclinical HCC metastasis.


ABSTRACT

MUH. DAHLAN. 2013. School-based Management Implementation at SDN 18 Parepare (supervised by Abdul Salam and M. Arifin Ahamd)

The study aimed at discovering (1) the description of the autonomy of scool on School-Based Management (MBS) at the management of school, (2) the description on the fleksibility, transparency, and accountability on MBS at the management of school, (3) the description on the role of people on MBS at the management of school, and (4) the supporting and inhibiting factors on the implementation of MBS at SDN 18 Parepare.
The study was a qualitative descriptive research. The informants of the study were the principal, the supervisor of school, teachers, school committee, and students' parents at SDN 18 Parepare who were selected by employing purposive sampling technique. Data were collected through interview and observation, as well as documentation analysis. The validation of data was conducted through extended observation and triangulation. The data then were analyzed by employing descriptive qualitative analysis with interactive model.
The results of the study revealed that the wider autonomy arranged and managed the curriculum and learning, teachers and administrative ataff, students, finance and financing, school's facilities and infrastructure, and special services. School has flexibility in managing, arranging, and utilizing school's resourcesin transparent way and accountable, as well as a democratic and participative decision making toward curriculum management and learning, teachers, administrative staff, student, finance and financing, school's facilities and infrastructure, and special services. The roles of people on school management were the planning, and evaluation of school program toward curriculum management and learning, teachers and administrative staff, students, finance and financing, school's facility and infrastructures, and special service, three were two factors which influenced the implementation of MBS at SDN 18 Parepare, namely the supporting and inhibiting factors. Although there were constraints in the implementation of MBS, but the school was optimistic in conducting MBS that th impact could be felt by SDN 18 Parepare.


Controlled nuclear fusion is one of the most promising sources of energy for the future. Before this goal can be achieved, one must be able to control the enormous energy densities which are present in the core plasma in a fusion reactor. In order to be able to predict the evolution and thereby the lifetime of different plasma facing materials under reactor-relevant conditions, the interaction of atoms and molecules with plasma first wall surfaces have to be studied in detail. In this thesis, the fundamental sticking and erosion processes of carbon-based materials, the nature of hydrocarbon species released from plasma-facing surfaces, and the evolution of the components under cumulative bombardment by atoms and molecules have been investigated by means of molecular dynamics simulations using both analytic potentials and a semi-empirical tight-binding method. The sticking cross-section of CH3 radicals at unsaturated carbon sites at diamond (111) surfaces is observed to decrease with increasing angle of incidence, a dependence which can be described by a simple geometrical model. The simulations furthermore show the sticking cross-section of CH3 radicals to be strongly dependent on the local neighborhood of the unsaturated carbon site. The erosion of amorphous hydrogenated carbon surfaces by helium, neon, and argon ions in combination with hydrogen at energies ranging from 2 to 10 eV is studied using both non-cumulative and cumulative bombardment simulations. The results show no significant differences between sputtering yields obtained from bombardment simulations with different noble gas ions. The final simulation cells from the 5 and 10 eV ion bombardment simulations, however, show marked differences in surface morphology. In further simulations the behavior of amorphous hydrogenated carbon surfaces under bombardment with D+, D2 , and D + 3 ions in the energy range from 2 to 30 eV has been investigated. The total chemical sputtering yields indicate that molecular projectiles lead to larger sputtering yields than atomic projectiles. Finally, the effect of hydrogen ion bombardment of both crystalline and amorphous tungsten carbide surfaces is studied. Prolonged bombardment is found to lead to the formation of an amorphous tungsten carbide layer, regardless of the initial structure of the sample. In agreement with experiment, preferential sputtering of carbon is observed in both the cumulative and non-cumulative simulations.


Sensor setup for the measurement of gas sensing behavior was designed using square glass chamber with gas flow control facility. Polyaniline (PANI) and polyaniline/magnesium chromate (PANI/MgCrO4) composites were synthesized by single step insitu polymerization technique and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR) & scanning electron micrograph (SEM), which confirms the presence of MgCrO4 in PANI matrix. The variation of resistance with temperature suggests thermally activated exponential behavior. Using the designed gas sensor setup, authors have studied the change in resistance with concentration of liquid petroleum gas (LPG) of polyaniline and polyaniline/magnesium chromate composites. The increase in electrical resistance and hence decrease in conductivity is due to transfer of charge from sensing material to analyte gas and penetration of gas into the polymer, accompanied by swelling of polyaniline and its composites. The time response of sensor chamber shows that, there is a linear increase in concentration of gas inside the chamber with time.


Implicit-feedback Recommenders (ImplicitRec) leverage positive only user-item interactions, such as clicks, to learn personalized user preferences. Recommenders are often evaluated and compared offline using datasets collected from online platforms. These platforms are subject to popularity bias (i.e., popular items are more likely to be presented and interacted with), and therefore logged ground truth data are Missing-Not-At-Random (MNAR). As a result, the widely used Average-Over-All (AOA) evaluator is biased toward accurately recommending trendy items. In this paper, we (a) investigate evaluation bias of AOA and (b) develop an unbiased and practical offline evaluator for implicit MNAR datasets using the Inverse-Propensity-Scoring (IPS) technique. Through extensive experiments using four real-world datasets and four widely used algorithms, we show that (a) popularity bias is widely manifested in item presentation and interaction; (b) evaluation bias due to MNAR data pervasively exists in most cases where AOA is used to evaluate ImplicitRec; and (c) the unbiased estimator significantly reduces the AOA evaluation bias by more than 30% in the Yahoo! music dataset in terms of the Mean Absolute Error (MAE).


In order to maximize electrothermal-chemical (ETC) gun performance, the power supply for the ETC gun driver needs to have a capability of producing a flexible current pulse. This current pulse forming can be realized by a combination of current pulses from multiple modularized capacitor banks. For this purpose, a 2.4-MJ pulse power system (PPS) has been developed. The 2.4-MJ PPS consists of eight modular 300-kJ capacitor banks (CBs). The 300-kJ CB modules are designed to operate independently and have a charging voltage of 22 kV and a current capability of 150 kA. Operation characteristics of 2.4-MJ PPS have been investigated. Various shapes of current pulse have been tried for a dummy resistive load and an ETC gun load. In this paper, we discuss some problems that take place during multiple modules operation and suggest solutions for these problems. We also show some experimental results when the 2.4-MJ PPS was applied to resistive dummy load and a 30-mm ETC gun load.


In the energy-efficient smart building, occupancy detection and localization is an area of increasing interest, as services, such as lighting and ventilation, could be targeted towards individual occupants instead of an entire room or floor. Also, an increasing quantity and diversity of environmental sensors are being added to smart buildings to ensure the quality of services provided by the building. The need for particulate matter (PM) sensors in consumer devices such as air purifiers, is an example where manufacturing advances have made the sensors much less expensive than laboratory equipment. Beyond their original intended use, air quality, they can also be used for occupancy monitoring. The work presented in this article proposes to use a low-cost (< 8 USD) PM sensor to infer the local movement of occupants in a corridor by sensing the resuspension of coarse (≥ 2.5 μm) particles. To obtain meaningful values from the inexpensive sensors, we have calibrated them against a laboratory-grade instrument. After calibration, we conducted a 7.8 hour experiment measuring coarse PM within a pedestrian corridor of a heavily-used office area. Comparing against ground truth data obtained by a camera, we show that the PM sensor readings are correlated with human activity, thus enabling statistical methods to infer one from the other.


Since the late 1970s, New Zealand red meat consumption has declined considerably whereas white meat consumption has gradually increased. The purpose of this research is to determine whether there has been a structural change in the domestic demand for meat in New Zealand. A parametric approach was used as it allows for the estimation of price and expenditure elasticities. The first-differenced form of the Linear Approximate Almost Ideal Demand System (LNAIDS) model was estimated, using quarterly New Zealand data for the period 1985-2000 on meat consumption, prices and real total expenditure. The null hypothesis of no gradual shift in the share of each type of meat was tested using a time trend. Although the sign on the coefficients of the time trend in each equation conformed with a priori expectations, they were not statistically significant. These results suggest that the empirically observed changes in the pattern of meat consumption in New Zealand can be explained by changes in relative prices and expenditure. Both Marshallian and Hicksian price and expenditure elasticities were estimated. The estimated Marshallian elasticities suggested that the demand for beef and veal is price elastic whereas the demand for poultry is price inelastic. They also suggested that the demand for lamb and mutton is price unitary. Beef and veal, and lamb and mutton were determined to be luxuries whereas pigmeat is a necessity. The estimated Marshallian expenditure elasticity for poultry had an unexpected negative sign but was not statistically significant. The Marshallian cross-price elasticities revealed a complementarity relationship among many of the meats, which contrasted with a priori expectations. Results for the estimated Hicksian elasticities were largely ii t:':';::~:;: ~~.c<.~:> consistent with the Marshallian elasticities. Compared to the Marshallian elasticities, the Hicksian own-price elasticities are smaller in magnitude. In addition, the Hicksian cross-price elasticities indicate a higher degree of substitution than the Marshallian cross-price elasticities.


: Flood hazards in coastal regions induce risks toward lives, property, economy and the environment. In need of sustainable and holistic actions to reduce risks, these should include innovative Disaster Risk Management (DRM) and Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) measures. While differing on important parameters such as political commitment, awareness and uncertainty of the hazard/risk, commonalities between DRM and CCA can also be identified that affect human settlement, institutional adaptation, and the economy. This supports coordination of mitigation and adaptation measures to create resilience and sustainable solutions that take into account present and future outcomes. Adaptation must be integrated in existing policy making and be a planning process priority to become effective, however. In relation to coastal hazards in Denmark, deficits are identified in how DRM is brought into effect, e.g. though lack of planning and awareness. This, we argue, may be the golden opportunity to improve the national DRM-CCA integration. Past coastal risk mitigation and adaptation in Denmark only focused on structural measures. Due to a long coastline this is neither a sustainable nor an economically feasible solution ahead, and emphasis on non-structural measures is crucial. From qualitative research, we show that for the Danish case this should include: new policies, legislative changes, a higher degree of preparedness, and an improved awareness among stakeholders and civil society. The shift towards non-structural measures is hampered by lack in coordination that should be improved to agree e.g. on an acceptable risk definition and to avoid duplicating efforts. To advance awareness and coordination between DRM and CCA and to improve measures, a bottom-up approach could by initiated by civil society using recent flood events to exert pressure on the national government, and in a top-down approach the government could identify the needs among the civil society to include these in the decision-making process.


In order to study the very fast transient overvoltage (VFTO) distribution in the taper winding of a tesla transformer under high-frequency steep-fronted voltage surge, we built a distributed line model based on multiconductor transmission line (MTL) theory. We used a new hybrid algorithm combining finite-element-method (FEM) and interpolation formulas to quickly evaluate the induction coefficient matrix K by utilizing some characteristics of the taper structure. The turn-to-ground and interturn voltage distributions can be obtained by solving the telegraphist's equations in the frequency domain. We measured the voltage distribution inside the taper winding to find some ways to weaken the voltage oscillations. Here, we compare the results with numerical values.


Objectives: To study the interrelationships of adiponectin, C-reactive protein (CRP) and fibrinogen with each other in T2DM patients with (T2DM-C) and without complications (T2DM-NC) among healthy individuals. Design and methods: The study comprised of 120 T2DM-C, 59 T2DM-NC patients and 40 healthy volunteers. Biochemical markers were determined in the serum. Results: Positivity rates of CRP and fibrinogen were significantly increased in T2DM-C as compared to T2DM-NC or controls, whereas adiponectin showed highest level in healthy individuals. Inflammatory biomarkers were inversely correlated with adiponectin (P < 0.01). Lipid profiles, kidney functions and BMI, showed positive significant correlation with CRP and fibrinogen but negative correlation with adiponectin. For better detection of T2DM, the combined sensitivity (98.9%) and specificity (92.5%) of fibrinogen and adiponectin was higher than the combined sensitivity and specificity of fibrinogen and CRP or adiponectin and CRP or than that of the biomarkers alone. Conclusion: Elevated levels of CRP and fibrinogen and reduced level of adiponectin can be used for early diagnosis of T2DM and can predict diabetic complications.


A study of the methods used by 20 general practitioners to perform developmental screening examinations of preschool children showed that routine physical examination was adequately performed but at the expense of additional tests of child development. A total of 348 children were examined by either a doctor (144 cases) or a health visitor (90), or both (114). The degree of participation by health visitors suggests that developmental screening need not necessarily be the sole responsibility of doctors, and health visitors should have training opportunities as they have an important contribution to make in this area of child care. Some omissions in testing hearing, vision, and language were clearly due to conflicting demands on the general practitioners' time, but some tests were not performed because the doctors doubted their value. Nevertheless, too many children still enter school with hearing, visual, and speech handicaps that could have been easily identified. If preventive medicine is to become an increasing component of general practice, the methods used by doctors and health visitors must be scrutinised before attempting to evaluate the outcome of large-scale screening programmes.


A review of literature identified 287 references describing computer applications with deaf children. Of those, 162 investigated computers as a tool in educational settings. The academic applications of computers were distributed among the following categories: academic instruction (120, or 74 percent); psychological investigations (12, or 7 percent); and general education (30, or 19 percent). Further analysis of the academic instruction references found a scant 9 percent (N = 16) reported efficacy data. Although the majority found CAI outcomes to be positive, the degree of CAI success was inversely related to methodological rigor (r = -.69, p < .003). Well-designed studies suggested that CAI is no better than alternative forms of instruction. The available literature suggests computers are neither poison nor panacea, and may be nothing more than expensive placebo. Implications of these findings are discussed with reference to educational decision making and future research activities.


A novel method is devised for Bessel beams generation in the microwave regime. The beam is decomposed in terms of a number of guided transverse electric modes of a metallic waveguide. Modal expansion coefficients are computed from the modal power orthogonality relation. Excitation is achieved by means of a number of inserted coaxial loop antennas, whose currents are calculated from the excitation coefficients of the guided modes. The efficiency of the method is evaluated and its feasibility is discussed. Obtained results can be utilized to practically realize microwave Bessel beam launchers.