An email system is a critical business tool. However, as electronic business activity increases, ad-hoc email implementation, prolonged management neglect and user abuse of email systems have generated negative effects. Anticipating, managing and preventing these negative effects has become increasingly important as organisations struggle to derive benefits from these systems. Many organisations try to control the negative effects of email through a combination of policies and electronic monitoring. However, monitoring can be contentious and policies are often inadequate. This paper presents the results of a multiple case study investigation of email system monitoring and control in four organisations. The study highlights the need to formulate a coordinated and comprehensive response consisting of technical, formal and informal controls. The study reveals the effectiveness of email management committees, training, policies, and sustained awareness when combined with email monitoring. The paper concludes by identifying key factors for effectively monitoring and controlling email usage.


We have previously reported the usefulness of two‐dimensional gel electrophoresis followed by Western blotting with sera from patients with systemic candidiasis in the detection of the major Candida albicans antigens (Pitarch et al., Electrophoresis 1999, 20, 1001—1010). The identification of these antigens would be useful for the characterization of good markers for the disease, and for the development of efficient diagnostic strategies. In this work we have used nanoelectrospray tandem mass spectrometry to obtain amino acid sequence information from the immunogenic proteins previously detected. We report here the cross‐species identification of these antigens by matching of tandem mass spectrometry data to Saccharomyces cerevisiae proteins. Using this approach, we unambiguously identified the four C. albicans immunogenic proteins analyzed, namely aconitase, pyruvate kinase, phosphoglycerate mutase and methionine synthase. Furthermore, we report for the first time that aconitase, methionine synthase and phosphoglycerate mutase have antigenic properties in C. albicans.


Introduction: In patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) predisposition to bleeding is frequently seen due to disturbances in platelet adhesion and aggregation. Various tests have been utilized to evaluate the disturbance of hemostasis in end-stage renal disease patients. In this trial; we evaluated skin bleeding time in patients admitted to our hospital with uremic symptoms and having hemodialysis (HD) for the first time. We also examined the effects of HD and uremia on this test and investigated its effectiveness in predicting the hemorrhagic complications before implementation of invasive procedures in uremic patients. Material-Method: Twenty nine patients (13 men,16 women; mean age 59.7±18.1) with CKD who presented with symptoms of uremia and treated with HD for the first time were enrolled in this trial. The skin bleeding time were measured before initiation of first hemodialysis and after the second hemodialysis session. Results: The skin bleeding time after the second dialysis was significantly shorter when compared to pre-dialysis values (p < 0.05). Correlation analysis between the skin bleeding time and urea, creatinine, hemoglobin, platelet, and bicarbonate showed no correlation. Conclusions: Skin bleeding time could reveal the uremic platelet dysfunction and beneficial effect of dialysis in the patients who presented with uremic symptoms and treated with HD for the first time. We suggest that skin bleeding time may be an appropriate test for the evaluation of hemostasis disturbance in uremic patients and prediction of the bleeding risk before invasive procedures.


The current research examined whether fair consideration—a social norm that people inherently prefer to confirm—would modulate face recognition. Each neutral face was associated with fair or unfair offers via an economic decision task, the Ultimatum Game (UG) task. After the UG, participants were asked to identify the faces of proposers who made different offers. Enhanced memory was observed for fair-related compared to unfair-related faces. Furthermore, high trait anxiety was associated with reduced memory for fair-related faces. These results were further confirmed by signal detection theory. The current research provided initial evidence that people showed enhanced memory for faces that made fair offers from the economic decision task, and that high trait anxiety was associated with reduced fair-related memory. Possible neural mechanisms and the implication in economic and social situations have been discussed.


The availability and adoption of modern therapeutic protocols for childhood cancer have continuously reduced the mortality rate of childhood malignancies in most countries over the past decades. Children being treated for cancer are actively growing, creating unique problems not only in the short-term but also in the long-term development of both the orofacial hard and soft tissue. Complications during and after cancer therapy depend on the type of malignancy, age at diagnosis, and the drugs used during the therapy. The adverse oral effects of irradiation have long been known, and high-dose chemotherapy can cause similar oral late effects, such as dental disturbances, delayed tooth eruption, oral mucosa changes, and craniofacial effects. There are many protocols to prevent acute oral toxicity and infections like mucositis, candidiasis, or hyposalivation. The aim of this chapter is to define the short-term and long-term effects of cancer therapy on the oral health.


Complex seismic behaviour of soil–foundation–structure (SFS) systems together with uncertainties in system parameters and variability in earthquake ground motions result in a significant debate over the effects of soil–foundation–structure interaction (SFSI) on structural response. The aim of this study is to evaluate the influence of foundation flexibility on the structural seismic response by considering the variability in the system and uncertainties in the ground motion characteristics through comprehensive numerical simulations. An established rheological soil‐shallow foundation–structure model with equivalent linear soil behaviour and nonlinear behaviour of the superstructure has been used. A large number of models incorporating wide range of soil, foundation and structural parameters were generated using a robust Monte‐Carlo simulation. In total, 4.08 million time‐history analyses were performed over the adopted models using an ensemble of 40 earthquake ground motions as seismic input. The results of the analyses are used to rigorously quantify the effects of foundation flexibility on the structural distortion and total displacement of the superstructure through comparisons between the responses of SFS models and corresponding fixed‐base (FB) models. The effects of predominant period of the FB system, linear vs nonlinear modelling of the superstructure, type of nonlinear model used and key system parameters are quantified in terms of different probability levels for SFSI effects to cause an increase in the structural response and the level of amplification of the response in such cases. The results clearly illustrate the risk of underestimating the structural response associated with simplified approaches in which SFSI and nonlinear effects are ignored. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Based on the latest evidence of the meaning of individual sounds, we studied multiyear indices of letter-sounds frequency in poetic texts, %, in relation with natural environment conditions of the year they were composed. We analyzed lyrics of 2,300 songs and 1,600 poems written in 1935–1985 and in 1955–2014 respectively. In both cases reliable changes in the variations of each sound frequency were detected by Fisher's criterion at p≤0.001. Correlation analysis of yearly average speech indexes and geocosmic weather parameters revealed multiple correlations at p≤0.05÷0.001. Apparently, natural environment conditions have an impact on speech and musical sounds production through influencing the psychophysiological state. Consequently, unconscious unity with natural environment helps to find right sounds and right words. The similar process, probably, takes place in the practice of the best traditional healers and psychotherapists.


This article first briefl y examines the textual structure of the Bhikkhu Saṃyutta of the Pali Saṃyutta-nikāya in conjunction with two other versions preserved in Chinese translation in Taishō vol. 2, nos. 99 and 100. Then it compares the main teachings contained in the three versions. These three versions of this collection on the subject of monks represent three diff erent early Buddhist schools within the Sthavira branch. This comparative study of these three diff erent versions focuses on four major topics: physical appearance, Dharma talk, solitude, and heat meditation. It reveals significant differences in structure and doctrinal content, thus advancing the historical/critical study of early Buddhist doctrine in this area.


Interesterification is an industrial transformation process aiming to change the physico-chemical properties of vegetable oils by redistributing fatty acid position within the original constituent of the triglycerides. In the confectionery industry, controlling formation degree of positional isomers is important in order to obtain fats with the desired properties. Silver ion HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography) is the analytical technique usually adopted to separate triglycerides (TAGs) having different unsaturation degrees. However, separation of TAG positional isomers is a challenge when the number of double bonds is the same and the only difference is in their position within the triglyceride molecule. The TAG positional isomers involved in the present work have a structural specificity that require a separation method tailored to the needs of confectionery industry. The aim of this work was to obtain a chromatographic resolution that might allow reliable qualitative and quantitative evaluation of TAG positional isomers within reasonably rapid retention times and robust in respect of repeatability and reproducibility. The resulting analytical procedure was applied both to confectionery raw materials and final products.


The distributed multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) techniques across multiple cooperative base stations (BS) can significantly enhance the capability of the broadband wireless networks in terms of quality-of-service (QoS) provisioning for wireless data transmissions. However, the computational complexity and the interfering range of the distributed MIMO systems also increase rapidly as the number of cooperative BS's increases. In this paper, we propose the QoS-aware BS-selection schemes for the distributed wireless MIMO links, which aim at minimizing the BS usages and reducing the interfering range, while satisfying diverse statistical delay-QoS constraints characterized by the delay-bound violation probability and the effective capacity technique. In particular, based on the channel state information (CSI) and QoS requirements, a subset of BS with variable cardinality for the distributed MIMO transmission is dynamically selected, where the selections are controlled by a central server. For the single-user scenario, we develop two optimization frameworks, respectively, to derive the efficient BS-selection schemes and the corresponding resource allocation algorithms. One framework uses the incremental BS-selection and time-sharing (IBS-TS) strategies, and the other employs the ordered-gain based BS-selection and probabilistic transmissions (OGBS-PT). The IBS-TS framework can yield better performance, while the scheme developed under the OGBS-PT framework is easier to implement. For the multi-user scenario, we propose the optimization framework applying the priority BS-selection, block-diagonalization precoding, and probabilistic transmission (PBS-BD-PT) techniques. We also propose the optimization framework applying the priority BS-selection, time-division-multiple-access, and probabilistic transmission (PBS-TDMA-PT) techniques. We derive the optimal transmission schemes for all the aforementioned frameworks, respectively. Also conducted is a set of simulation evaluations which compare our proposed schemes with several baseline schemes and show the impact of the delay-QoS requirements, transmit power, and traffic loads on the performances of BS selections for distributed MIMO systems.


The theory of ecosystem services (ES) needs to be operationalized to contribute to practices leading to sustainable use of ecosystems, which includes solving trade-offs between private and public benefits and incorporating monetary and non-monetary values to help inform decisions. We developed a framework to analyse the impacts of farmers' management alternatives on Nothofagus antarctica (G. Forst.) Oerst. forest in northern Patagonia, and analysed synergies and trade-offs between private and public benefits based on three conceptual and methodological approaches: a) a state-and-transition model of ecosystem dynamics, and b) indicators of values of ecosystem service benefits based on the cascade model, implemented as c) a decision support tool based on a Bayesian network. We optimized a utility function for short (0-10 yr) and long (70-140 yr) term management decisions (levels of grazing, logging and tree planting) based on monetary and non-monetary indicators of benefits that fulfilled "farmer's satisfaction" objectives. We then assessed the consequences of these decisions on the fulfilment of public benefits as defined by the National Forest Law when projected into short (0-10 yr), intermediate (10-40 yr) and long (70-140 yr) time horizons. We found that when the short-term decisions are projected into a long-time horizon, they lead to high losses of benefits, mainly linked to "regulating and maintenance" ES. On the other hand, long-term decisions improved the level of benefits in degraded systems but resulted in the degradation of well-preserved forests. The decisions that optimize farmer's satisfaction did not change with different weights of "farm income" in the utility function, indicating the absence of trade-offs between monetary and non-monetary benefits considered in the utility function. The tool developed helps to show long-term impacts of management, and discloses cause-effect relationships between levels of use and multiple benefits. It can therefore support measures aiming to raise awareness about degradation trends, and improve the functional understanding of the system that can lead to identify solutions for socio-economic and environmental sustainability. https://doi.org/10.25260/EA.18.104.22.168.295


Hypoxia, a low level of oxygen in the tissue, is a feature of most solid tumors. It arises due to an imbalance between the oxygen supply from the abnormal vasculature and oxygen demand by the large number of tumor and stromal cells. Hypoxia has been implicated in the development of aggressive tumors and tumor resistance to various therapies. This makes hypoxia a negative marker of patients' survival. However, recent advances in designing new hypoxia-activated pro-drugs and adoptive T cell therapies provide an opportunity for exploiting hypoxia in order to improve cancer treatment. We used novel mathematical models of micro-pharmacology and computational optimization techniques for determining the most effective treatment protocols that take advantage of heterogeneous and dynamically changing oxygenation in in vivo tumors. These models were applied to design schedules for a combination of three therapeutic compounds in pancreatic cancers and determine the most effective adoptive T cell therapy protocols in melanomas.


In recent years, bike share programs have become more popular as they contribute to the move toward sustainable mobility in cities. Electric bike sharing, however, remains in the early stages of development. In contrast to traditional bikes, electric bicycles (e-bikes) provide an extra boost via an electric pedal-assist motor, thereby making it much easier to travel around a city with a hilly terrain, such as Park City, Utah. The Summit Bike Share system in Park City is the nation's first fully electric bike share system (e-BSS). Based on an analysis of historical trip data of Summit Bike Share, this paper presents the system's performance experience and evaluates user characteristics and travel behavior. A Poisson regression analysis is performed to investigate the factors that influence the e-bike share usage of this e-BSS. The regression results reveal that weather factors, including temperature and wind speed, significantly affect e-bike share usage. It was also found that weekends, summer months, high population density, proximity to public transit centers, recreational centers, and bike trails positively affect the demand for e-bikes. The findings of this paper can help the operators of Summit Bike Share to better understand their users and their e-BSS, while also providing a guide for other e-bike projects currently in the planning stages.


This paper studies the nature of spillover effects in bank lending flows from advanced to the emerging market economies and identifies specific channels through which such effects occur. Based on a gravity model we examine a panel data set on cross-border bank flows from 17 advanced to 28 emerging market economies in Asia, Latin America and central and eastern Europe from 1993 to 2008. The empirical analysis suggests that global as well as country specific factors are significant determinants of cross-border bank flows. Greater global risk aversion and expected financial market volatility seem to have been the most important factors behind the decrease in cross-border bank flows during the crisis of 2007– 08. The decrease in cross-border loans to central and eastern Europe was more limited compared to Asia and Latin America, in large measure because of the higher degree of financial and monetary integration in Europe, and relatively sound banking systems in the region. These results are robust to various specification, sub-samples and econometric methodologies. JEL classification: F34, F36, G01, O57, C23


Proper normalization of structural response data that accounts for the environmental and operational conditions (EOCs) of a structure is a key step in structural health monitoring (SHM) analyses. Normalizing data based on EOCs enables a more effective comparison of damage sensitive features extracted from structural response data derived from a system operating under a wide variation in its operations. In this paper, structural response data from an operational wind turbine is used for both damage detection as well as for EOC-based data normalization in a damage detection framework. The structure under consideration is the tower of a 3-kW wind turbine located at Los Alamos National Lab. A wireless monitoring system was installed in the turbine tower to record the tower acceleration response when the tower was undamaged and intentionally damaged. Gaussian Process Regression is used to find tower response features that correlate with EOCs, specifically rotor angular velocity and nacelle yaw angle, yet are insensitive to structural damage. The features are then used in the damaged detection framework to enhance the performance of clustering algorithms used for EOC normalization. Damage-sensitive features are then used as condition parameters for damage detection. The efficiency of the proposed EOCs normalization process is evaluated by comparing the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves of a threetier damage detection strategy previously proposed for wind turbine systems


This paper examines a wide range of issues relating to the mix between loans and grants as well as the degree of concessionality of loans. A number of empirical tests are carried out based on annual panel data over 1970 to 1999 for 22 donor countries and 72 recipient countries. Based on the tests, we observe that for bilateral donors, past grant-loan mix (and, hence, reflows from past transfers) do not influence the volume of current resource transfers. Our tests also show that the rate of official borrowing by the recipients (and, by deduction, the extent of their past debt burden) is positively influenced by the extent of the concessionality of such loans - irrespective of whether it is in the form of subsidised interest rates or longer grace periods. The paper concludes with a review of the circumstances in which grants, soft loans and non-concessional loans might have their respective comparative advantage, as well as a discussion of the need, so as to overcome the negative incentive problems of soft loans, for a typical concessional loan package to be separated into two constituent parts. This would enable the recipient to be given the grant component and the option to take from the non-concessional loan component as much as desired. Copyright Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2004.


BACKGROUND
 Despite widespread adoption and demonstrated value in a range of industries, machine learning predictive algorithms are yet to be routinely used in frontline medical care. Significant health system and industry-based resources are allocated towards validating and refining predictive algorithms for a range of applications to ensure accuracy and reliability. For these algorithms to be useful and useable, further work is required to understand how and why they might fit into, and augment existing clinical workflows.

 OBJECTIVE
 This qualitative study assessed the value and usability of a novel machine learning technology to predict and explain the risk of 30-day hospital readmission in patients with heart failure (HF). It involved exploring opportunities for integration of the technology within existing clinical workflows, and investigating key roles that use current readmission risk scores and may use future scores.

 METHODS
 Semi-structured interviews (n=27) and targeted observations (n=3) were carried out with key stakeholders, including physicians, nurses, hospital administration, and non-clinical support staff. Participants were recruited from cardiology and general medicine units at an academic medical center within the Partners HealthCare system. Data was analyzed via inductive thematic and workflow analysis. Findings were validated via member checking across limited key roles (n=3).

 RESULTS
 Results highlighted a number of factors that were deemed necessary by staff for successful integration of a risk prediction tool into existing clinical workflow. These included, but were not limited to the following. Staff clearly stated that any new tool must be easily accessible from within the electronic health record, which dictates the majority of existing clinical workflow. Staff emphasized that information should be consistently accurate and that any display must be digestible efficiently, intuitively and quickly (ie, within <5 seconds). Additionally, staff discussed that outputs of the risk prediction tool must match their clinical intuition, experience and interactions with the patient. To be truly valuable, the tool must also provide added value over and above these factors: some staff indicated that provision of role-specific and actionable next steps based on the system output would provide novel value to their daily work. Using these considerations, a number of role groups were identified as potentially able to derive value from the proposed risk prediction tool, including case managers, attending RNs, responding clinicians, hospital administration staff, nursing directors and attending physicians. Acceptability and value varied by role, specialization and clinical context. For example, cardiology-trained clinicians reported feeling well-versed in providing good clinical care and minimizing preventable readmissions, and thus saw less value in the tool. General medicine staff, however, indicated that a HF-specific tool may be impractical for their day-to-day work given the range of clinical presentations seen by them.

 CONCLUSIONS
 Findings resonate with existing literature around successful implementation and adoption of technologies in health care. Frontline clinicians are incredibly discerning around proposed changes to their existing workflow. Many HF readmission risk tools and initiatives have been trialled with mixed success; frontline staff demonstrated fatigue around piloting new initiatives. However, given the right conditions, staff reported some perceived value in machine learning-based tools to improve their daily work.


The emergence of the Industrial Internet results in an increasing number of complicated temporal interdependencies between automation systems and the processes to be controlled. There is a need for verification methods that scale better than formal verification methods and which are more exact than testing. Simulation-based runtime verification is proposed as such a method, and an application of Metric temporal logic is presented as a contribution. The practical scalability of the proposed approach is validated against a production process designed by an industrial partner, resulting in the discovery of requirement violations.


Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), formerly known as reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD), is a difficult to treat condition characterized by debilitating pain and limitations in functional ability. Neuromodulation, in the form of spinal cord stimulation (SCS) and peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS), have been traditionally used as a treatment for CRPS with variable success.


The Journal of Electronic Resources in Medical Libraries considers for review professional literature concerning all aspects of electronic resources, and related services and systems. Health science librarians are the primary audience for these reviews. It is the purpose of each review to provide a detailed description and critical evaluation of the work. Recommendations for purchase are also included. Full bibliographic information is provided whenever possible. Reviews reflect the opinion of the individual reviewer, not of the editor or publisher of the Journal of Electronic Resources in Medical Libraries. Anyone interested in reviewing a book for the Journal of Electronic Resources in Medical Libraries is invited to contact the Book Review Editor: Ellen C. Burchill Brassil, Librarian for Health Sciences, Sacred Heart University, 5151 Park Avenue, Fairfield CT 06085. E-mail: email@example.com


Person re-identification (re-ID) has received great success with the supervised learning methods. However, the task of unsupervised cross-domain re-ID is still challenging. In this paper, we propose a Hard Samples Rectification (HSR) learning scheme which resolves the weakness of original clustering-based methods being vulnerable to the hard positive and negative samples in the target unlabelled dataset. Our HSR contains two parts, an inter-camera mining method that helps recognize a person under different views (hard positive) and a part-based homogeneity technique that makes the model discriminate different persons but with similar appearance (hard negative). By rectifying those two hard cases, the re-ID model can learn effectively and achieve promising results on two large-scale benchmarks.


The aim of this study was to evaluate the timeliness of winter wheat sowing on results obtained in practical production. The research material comprises results of farm surveys conducted in years 1986-2003 and 2008-2013. Yields obtained by sowing earlier than the date adopted as the optimum did not cause reduction in yields and in many cases were higher than those obtained by sowing in the optimal dates. Delayed sowings were a risk factor reducing yields significantly. After taking into account differences in technology the average yields, on fields sown after optimum sowing date were significantly lower in both analyzed periods, respectively 4,5% and 2,5%. The relatively high yields were obtained from some very late sown fields. It proves that use of appropriate agricultural technology and good forecrops allows to limit the decrease in yield due to late time of sowing.


A single pathophysiological mechanism of Chiari Type I malformations (CM-I) has been a topic of debate. To help better understand CM-I, the authors review disorders known to be associated with CM-I. The primary methodology found among most of them is deformation of the posterior cranial fossa, usually with subsequent decrease in volume. Other mechanisms exist as well, which can be categorized as either congenital or acquired. In understanding the relationship of such disorders with CM-I, we may gain further insight into the process by which cerebellar tonsillar herniation occurs. Some of these pathologies appear to be true associations, but many appear to be spurious.


This project report concerns Establishment of Motor Cycle Rider SACCOs in
Butiama District Mara region. The over role objective of this project was to increase
the income level of house hold of the community in order to improve their
livelihood, standard of living and eradicate poverty among its members. The problem
has been caused by a number of factors including limited access to local capital
financing, business training, and dependency syndrome. Cross sectional research
design used in conducting the project. We used variety of research tools including
questionnaires, focus group discussion, interviews and pair wise ranking matrix.
Training was done to 55 members after negotiation with VETA to volunteer on
training. We managed to secure motorcycle loan to 14 community members as a
solution to self-employment to members repayable in one year time. Participatory
approach was used to identify the key problem facing the community, how to
implement the study in collaboration with the intended stakeholders. Participatory
monitoring was also a key issue that mandated every member to be a watch dog to
cooperatives activities. On sustainability point of view, it is assumed that Motorcycle
riders Co operative will continue to work together with the District Council and the
community members of the project in participation, owning the project as theirs in
solving community income problems. Moreover the project in question is in line
with the long-term policies of our government in improving the income for our
communities. The project have already started, in near future could be expanded to
other wards within the District in future as it has shown positive response.


3D CAD systems are used in practical product design to realize simultaneous engineering and also to improve productivity. It is today acknowledged that CAD tools can highly increase design performances. Although 3D CAD is a widely used and highly effective tool in mechanical design, it also has its drawbacks: mastery of CAD skills is rather complex and time-consuming. In this article we primarily led an inventory of fixtures in CAD among several Engineering and Design Departments in order to see in which way CAD training can be made. We studied e-learning in an attempt to simplify the learning process and get performance evaluation in CAD. We depict a state of the art regarding e-learning in CAD research works and present commercial e-learning tools. We then compare four e-learning CAD experiments and strive to define the best learning and evaluation path for building a high-performance CAD training, allowing monitoring CAD users? competence.


Despite its place in the francophone world and its proximity to North America, the language and culture of Haiti are usually not included within the mainstream French curriculum. This paper will discuss the advantages of introducing students to the language, literature, history, and culture of Haiti within regular French classes. By reading literary excerpts and comparing Haitian Creole with French vocabulary and structures, students develop an appreciation for language in Haiti and how standard French can differ throughout the francophone regions of the world. As well, students gain a deeper awareness of the social and political issues in Haiti by looking at how French and Creole co-exist, and how one language is privileged over the other. By including Haiti in a broader discussion of the francophone world, students learn about its unique situation and history, which allows for a greater understanding of current problems and the influence of the United States in this island nation. In addition, the author briefly discusses a service learning trip to Haiti in spring 2011, where students engaged in several areas of community service and were able to use their basic knowledge of French to form a deeper connection with the Haitian people.


This article describes the design, synthesis, and study of alkoxyphenylethanethiol-based adsorbates with one (R1ArMT), two (R2ArMT), and three (R3ArMT) pendant octadecyloxy chains substituted at the 4-, 3,5-, and 3,4,5-positions, respectively, of the phenylethanethiol group. These adsorbates are being developed for use in the preparation of compositionally versatile "mixed" self-assembled monolayer (SAM) coatings. The resultant SAMs were characterized by ellipsometry, contact angle goniometry, polarization modulation infrared reflection-absorption spectroscopy (PM-IRRAS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The studies revealed that R1ArMT generates a well-ordered monolayer film, while R2ArMT and R3ArMT generate monolayer films with diminished conformational order in which the degree of crystallinity decreases as follows: C18 ∼ R1ArMT > R3ArMT > R2ArMT. In addition, comparison of the molecular and chain packing densities of SAMs derived from these new adsorbates reveals that the R2ArMT and R3ArMT adsorbates give rise to SAMs with reduced chain tilt and smaller surface area per chain when compared to the SAMs derived from C18 and R1ArMT.


The incentive for this research is to gain insight into fundamental aspects of turbulent fluid-particle flows. The project investigates the influence of inter-particle collisions on the particle and fluid phase variables in the context of particle agglomeration, dispersion and deposition for turbulent bounded flows laden with low particle numbers. The mathematical modelling technique used is large eddy simulation (LES), with flow solutions provided by this method coupled to a discrete element method (DEM) to predict particle motion and interaction. The results have been compared with single-phase bounded flows in order to investigate the effect of the particles on turbulence statistics. The four-way coupled simulations are also contrasted with one-way coupled (flow affects the particles only) results in which the inelastic collisions between particles are neglected.
The influence of different particle surface energies, particle size, particle density, particle concentration and flow Reynolds numbers on particle agglomeration is investigated. The turbulent structure of the flow is found to dominate the motion of the particles, although the agglomeration rate is found to be strongly influenced by all of the variables noted above, with most of the particle-particle interactions taking place at locations close to the channel walls, aided by the higher turbulence levels and concentration of particles in these regions.
The research proposed makes an original contribution to the literature in applying advanced predictive techniques which have not been coupled and applied to the problem of cohesive particle-interaction effects in turbulent flows before. It yields a fundamental understanding of how particles interact, and how these interactions result in the formation of agglomerates which affect the dispersion and deposition of particles within the flow. The overall results are relevant, and underpinning, to processes employed in a wide range of applications in the industrial and health sectors.


Scientists in all domains face a data avalanche - both from better instruments and from improved simulations. We believe that computer science tools and computer scientists are in a position to help all the sciences by building tools and developing techniques to manage, analyze, and visualize peta-scale scientific information. This article is summarizes our experiences over the last seven years trying to bridge the gap between database technology and the needs of the astronomy community in building the World-Wide Telescope.


Bayesian Optimization (BO) is a well-studied hyperparameter tuning technique that is more efficient than grid search for high-cost, high-parameter machine learning problems. Echocardiography is a ubiquitous modality for evaluating heart structure and function in cardiology. In this work, we use BO to optimize the architectural and training-related hyperparameters of a previously published deep fully convolutional neural network model for multi-structure segmentation in echocardiography. In a fair comparison, the resulting model outperforms this recent state-of-the-art on the annotated CAMUS dataset in both apical two- and four-chamber echo views. We report mean Dice overlaps of 0.95, 0.96, and 0.93 on left ventricular (LV) endocardium, LV epicardium, and left atrium respectively. We also observe significant improvement in derived clinical indices, including smaller median absolute errors for LV end-diastolic volume (4.9mL vs. 6.7), end-systolic volume (3.1mL vs. 5.2), and ejection fraction (2.6% vs. 3.7); and much tighter limits of agreement, which were already within inter-rater variability for non-contrast echo. These results demonstrate the benefits of BO for echocardiography segmentation over a recent state-of-the-art framework, although validation using large-scale independent clinical data is required.


We exhibit a correspondence between subcategories of modules over an algebra and sub-bimodules of the dual of that algebra. We then prove that the semisimplicity of certain such categories is equivalent to the existence of a Peter-Weyl decomposition of the corresponding sub-bimodule. Finally, we use this technique to establish the semisimplicity of certain finite-dimensional representations of the quantum double of sl_2 for generic q.


Most protein sequences contain one or several short aggregation prone regions (APR) that can nucleate protein aggregation. Under normal conditions these APRs are protected from aggregation by protein interactions or because they are buried in the hydrophobic core of native protein domains. However, mutation, physiological stress or age-related disregulation of protein homeostasis increases the probability that aggregation-nucleating regions become solvent exposed. Aggregation then results from the self-assembly of APRs into β-structured agglomerates that vary from small soluble oligomeric assemblies to large insoluble inclusions containing thousands of molecules. The functional effects of APR-driven aggregation are diverse and protein-specific leading to distinct disease phenotypes ranging from neurodegeneration to cancer. On a cellular and physiological level both wild type loss-of-function as well as aggregation-dependent gain-of-function effects have been shown to contribute to disease. Several molecular mechanism have been proposed to contribute to gain-of-function activity of protein aggregates including cellular membrane disregulation, saturation of the protein quality control machinery or the ability of aggregates to engage non-native interactions with proteins and nucleic acids. These different mechanisms will all, to some extent, contribute to gain-of-function as in essence they all contribute to the rewiring of the cellular interactome by aggregation-specific interactions, resulting for instance in the pronounced neurotoxicity of TDP43 aggregates by the sequestration of RNA molecules or the promotion of cell proliferation by the entrapment of homologous tumor suppressor proteins in p53 aggregates in cancer. In this review we discuss the mechanism of APR driven aggregation and how APRs contribute to modifying the cellular interactome by recruiting both misfolded as well as active proteins thereby inhibiting or activating specific cellular functions. Finally, we discuss the ubiquity of APRs in protein sequences and how selective pressure shaped protein sequences to minimize APR aggregation.


We have investigated the feasibility of continuous infusion of undiluted factor IX (F IX) over several days using minipumps. The stabilities of seven different reconstituted F IX products were substantially better than those declared by the manufacturers. Several concentrates maintained factor activities 80% of baseline for the entire period of 4 weeks at 4‐8d̀C as did one product at 20–23d̀A. At 37d̀C the latter concentrate was stable for at least 1 week. The stability seemed to correlate with the purity of the product. Analysis of two prothrombin comples concentrates by gel electrophoresis demonstrated degradation of prothrombin to prethrombin‐1 and fragment 1 at 37d̀C and in one of the concentrates also at 20–23d̀C. In two F IX concentrates the corresponding analysis did not reveal any degradation. Four patients were treated with continuous infusion with a pure F IX concentrate (Mononine™, Armour) after surgery or for serious haemorrhage (two each) with good haemostatic effect, an initial progressive decrease of the F IX clearance, and no side‐effects. Continuous infusion with F IX, using a minipump and undiluted reconstituted factor, is therefore feasible and effective, and can be conveniently prepared for several days at a time. Pure F IX products are more stable and probably safer for this purpose.


Introduction Huntington's disease (HD) is an inherited neurodegenerative disease characterized by a progressive motor and non motor decline. To date there is little information on caregiver burden in HD. The main objective of this study is to assess the caregiver burden (CB) and dependence of patients diagnosed with HD, and to analyze the main clinical variables associated with CB. Methods Single-center, pilot longitudinal study of patients with genetically confirmed HD patients and caregivers. We evaluated the severity of motor symptoms and non motor symptoms using the Unified HD Rating Scale (UHDRS), and a structured questionnaire for CB. Correlations were analyzed using the Pearson's test. A p value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results We included 26 patients with HD with a mean age of 51.8+16.1 years (57.7% women/42.3% men) and 17 caregivers (4 women, 13 men). Patients had at baseline a mean UHDRS motor score of 30.8+24.1 and UHDRS cognitive score of 170.1+98.2. The average score of CB was 22.1+15.1. The main clinical variables associated with CB were motor severity (r=0.63), cognitive impairment (r=−0.50), and depression (r=0.48). Conclusion HD caused a significant CB. The severity of motor symptoms followed by cognitive and behavioral impairment were the main clinical variables associated with CB.


We study the category of left unital graded modules over the Steinberg algebra of a graded ample Hausdorff groupoid. In the first part of the paper, we show that this category is isomorphic to the category of unital left modules over the Steinberg algebra of the skew-product groupoid arising from the grading. To do this, we show that the Steinberg algebra of the skew product is graded isomorphic to a natural generalisation of the the Cohen-Montgomery smash product of the Steinberg algebra of the underlying groupoid with the grading group. In the second part of the paper, we study the minimal (that is, irreducible) representations in the category of graded modules of a Steinberg algebra, and establish a connection between the annihilator ideals of these minimal representations, and effectiveness of the groupoid.
Specialising our results, we produce a representation of the monoid of graded finitely generated projective modules over a Leavitt path algebra. We deduce that the lattice of order-ideals in the $K_0$-group of the Leavitt path algebra is isomorphic to the lattice of graded ideals of the algebra. We also investigate the graded monoid for Kumjian--Pask algebras of row-finite $k$-graphs with no sources. We prove that these algebras are graded von Neumann regular rings, and record some structural consequences of this.


Methylating the Family Tree DNA sequences show a high level of similarities between humans and ancient hominids but the degree to which there are differences between methylated regions in their genomes that may explain phenotypic differences is unclear. Gokhman et al. (p. 523, published online 17 April) demonstrate that naturally degraded methylated cytosines in ancient DNA are converted to thymines and can be used to reconstruct ancient methylomes. The results suggest differences in methylation in bone tissues between modern humans and ancient hominids in a set of genes important for limb development. Estimates of differentially methylated nucleotides illuminate differences between modern human and ancient hominid bones. Ancient DNA sequencing has recently provided high-coverage archaic human genomes. However, the evolution of epigenetic regulation along the human lineage remains largely unexplored. We reconstructed the full DNA methylation maps of the Neandertal and the Denisovan by harnessing the natural degradation processes of methylated and unmethylated cytosines. Comparing these ancient methylation maps to those of present-day humans, we identified ~2000 differentially methylated regions (DMRs). Particularly, we found substantial methylation changes in the HOXD cluster that may explain anatomical differences between archaic and present-day humans. Additionally, we found that DMRs are significantly more likely to be associated with diseases. This study provides insight into the epigenetic landscape of our closest evolutionary relatives and opens a window to explore the epigenomes of extinct species.


OBJECTIVE—To quantitate insulin sensitivity in lean and obese nondiabetic baboons and examine the underlying cellular/molecular mechanisms responsible for impaired insulin action to characterize a baboon model of insulin resistance. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—Twenty baboons received a hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp with skeletal muscle and visceral adipose tissue biopsies at baseline and at 30 and 120 min after insulin. Genes and protein expression of key molecules involved in the insulin signaling cascade (insulin receptor, insulin receptor substrate-1, p85, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, Akt, and AS160) were sequenced, and insulin-mediated changes were analyzed. RESULTS—Overall, baboons show a wide range of insulin sensitivity (6.2 ± 4.8 mg · kg−1 · min−1), and there is a strong inverse correlation between indexes of adiposity and insulin sensitivity (r = −0.946, P < 0.001 for % body fat; r = −0.72, P < 0.001 for waist circumference). The genes and protein sequences analyzed were found to have ∼98% identity to those of man. Insulin-mediated changes in key signaling molecules were impaired both in muscle and adipose tissue in obese insulin-resistant compared with lean insulin-sensitive baboons. CONCLUSIONS—The obese baboon is a pertinent nonhuman primate model to examine the underlying cellular/molecular mechanisms responsible for insulin resistance and eventual development of type 2 diabetes.


Metabolites of cytochrome P-450 are produced in cells when arachidonic acid cascade is activated. Fever genesis depends largely on the cyclooxygenase branch of arachidonic acid cascade, which is caused by many stimuli, such as interleukin (IL)-1, IL-6, and interferon-alpha. To assess the significance of cytochrome P-450 branch in fever, murine recombinant IL-1 beta was bilaterally microinjected (1 ng/microliter) into the medial preoptic area and anterior hypothalamus in conscious rats treated 60 min previously with or without the cytochrome P-450 inhibitor econazole (15 mg/kg im). The IL-1 beta-induced rise in colonic temperature was enhanced after the plateau phase of fever (from 240 min after IL-1 beta) in econazole-pretreated rats (P < 0.001). Another cytochrome P-450 inhibitor, clotrimazole (15 mg/kg im), also enhanced IL-1 beta-induced fever from 160 min after IL-1 beta injection (P < 0.001). Econazole also enhanced the fever when it was given 120 min before injection of IL-1 beta (P < 0.001). The cytochrome P-450 inhibitor, however, did not affect the fever when given 10 min after IL-1 beta (P = 0.95). Econazole and clotrimazole did not alter normal body temperature (P = 0.65 and 0.73, respectively). The results suggest that the metabolite(s) of cytochrome P-450 affect the falling phase after the plateau phase of fever and act as putative endogenous antipyretic(s).


The cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitor seliciclib (R-roscovitine, CYC202) shows promising antitumor activity in preclinical models and is currently undergoing phase II clinical trials. Inhibition of the CDKs by seliciclib could contribute to cell cycle arrest and apoptosis seen with the drug. However, it is common for drugs to exert multiple effects on gene expression and biochemical pathways. To further our understanding of the molecular pharmacology of seliciclib, we employed cDNA microarrays to determine changes in gene expression profiles induced by the drug in HT29 human colon cancer cells. Concentrations of seliciclib were used that inhibited RB phosphorylation and cell proliferation. An increase in the mRNA expression for CJUN and EGR1 was confirmed by Western blotting, consistent with activation of the ERK1/2 MAPK pathway by seliciclib. Transcripts of key genes required for the progression through mitosis showed markedly reduced expression, including Aurora-A/B (AURK-A/B), Polo-like kinase (PLK), cyclin B2 (CCNB2), WEE1 and CDC25C. Reduced expression of these mitotic genes was also seen at the protein level. siRNA-mediated depletion of Aurora-A protein led to an arrest of cells in the G2/M phase, consistent with the effects of seliciclib treatment. Inhibition of mitotic entry following seliciclib treatment was indicated by a reduction of histone H3 phosphorylation, which is catalyzed by Aurora-B, and by decreased expression of mitotic markers, including phospho-protein phosphatase 1α. The results indicate a potential mechanism through which seliciclib prevents entry into mitosis. Gene expression profiling has generated hypotheses that led to an increase in our knowledge of the cellular effects of seliciclib and could provide potential pharmacodynamic or response biomarkers for use in animal models and clinical trials.


Medicare provides payments to hospitals for services they have provided through a patient classification system of Diagnosis Related Group (DRG). To achieve more equitable reimbursement, Medicare has made substantial changes to the DRG system for hip and knee replacements in recent years. The objective of this paper was to describe the implications of the changes in the Medicare coding system on hospital reimbursement for these procedures. Until 2005, the DRG code was the same for primary and revision hip and knee replacements. Because revisions are more costly procedures than primary replacements, Medicare implemented two separate DRG codes for primary and revision surgeries. In 2006, the amount of reimbursement for a revision procedure was approximately 26% higher than the amount of reimbursement for a primary replacement at the same facility. Beginning in fiscal year 2008, a newer Medicare Severity (MS) DRG system was placed in use. Under the newer MS-DRG system, in addition to the replacement type (primary or revision), Medicare now considers the severity of illness in its reimbursement policies. Hospitals treating patients with secondary diagnoses that drive up the cost of care are compensated at increased rates. For a given facility, the amount of reimbursement for a primary replacement would be approximately 64% higher for the sicker patient. Reimbursement is expected to be shifted to hospitals serving and documenting more severely ill patients. For the sustainability of hospital care in the hospitals taking care of the most severe cases, quality clinician documentation is more important than ever.


This report describes the characterization and expression of a human myeloid differentiation antigen defined by use of an IgG1 monoclonal antibody (AHN‐7). This antibody binds to many granulocytic precursors in normal marrow, to most but not all granulocyte‐macrophage progenitors (CFU‐GM), and to approximately half of nonlymphoid leukemia specimens. The protein antigens recognized by AHN‐7 were purified from 35S‐labelled HL‐60 cells by antibody affinity column chromatography. The molecule reacting with AHN‐7 was markedly heterogeneous, appearing as several forms ranging in pl from 4.5 to 6.4 with apparent molecular weights from 43,000 to 68,000. The molecules were not disutfide‐linked. Proteins bearing the antigen were minor components of the plasma membrane. The antigen was expressed by normal human peripheral blood neutrophils, monocytes, eosinophils, and basophils, and weakly on a small percentage of lymphocytes; it was not detected in red blood cells, platelets, or the majority of lymphocytes. The antibody also bound to a variety of human myeloid leukemia cell lines but not to any lymphoid leukemia cell line tested. AHN‐7 had no effect on several in vitro neutrophil functions tested.


Payments of interest amounts in floating rate loans are generally linked to specific reference parameters, such as EURIBOR. Given the decrease of such parameters to reference values around zero, what would happen if such a fall continued below this value (so that lenders have to pay interest amounts to borrowers)? General principles of interpretation of contracts, good faith and equity, jointly with an analysis of nature / characteristics of loan contracts could help to find a solution being the most transnational possible. In particular, reference could be made to: (i) an interpretation of the loan contract by which such contract cannot betray its nature (and interest payments are necessary in non-gratuitous loans); (ii) the equity principle, under which contracts have to be reasonable / fair (and lenders should receive back by borrowers at least the capital amount); (iii) the nature of loans as contracts necessarily requiring interest payments by borrowers.


This thesis postulates some kind of contact, direct or otherwise, between the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Pauline Epistles. On examination of these two sets of documents certain similarities of thought and expression were noted. These similarities are noted in detail, and given extensive examination and comment. Differences, too, are noted and examined. After an Introduction, the thesis is divided into seven chapters as follows:- Chapter One An examination of the nature of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls and an examination of their contents. Attention is paid to the authorship and ownership of the scrolls and the reasons for their being put in the caves. The link with the ruins at Qumran is examined, and the identity of the former inhabitants. They are found to be the ancient sect of the Essenes, who lived at Qumran, and who hid their library, possibly at the approach of the Roman forces around the year 68 A.D. Chapter Two An extensive treatment of the Theology of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Pauline Epistles. The subjects of Predestination and Justification are regarded as the most important for this study. Texts are listed and a common background in Judaism found. Chapter Three The Eschatology of the Scrolls and the Epistles is dealt with here. This is subdivided under three headings;- The Resurrection, the Messiah and the Final Battle. Texts are again examined and scholarly opinion assessed. A common background is found in Old Testament, Apocryphal and Intertestamental literature. No direct contact, but sharing of a common heritage of ideas. Chapter Four Chapter Four The Sacramental aspects of the two sets of texts are looked at in this chapter. Again the chapter is sub-divided into two headings;- The Sacramental Meal and Baptism. Here there is found to be a very close affinity of thought and texts are given to support this theory. Chapter Five The Ethics of the Scrolls and the Epistles are dealt with in this chapter. There is a short Appendix dealing with certain lists of virtues and vices in both sets of documents. In this subject there are many instances of close verbal similarity and expression of thought. These similarities are often quite strong. But at the last there is only a common background in sectarian Judaism to postulate as an indirect link. Chapter Six This is a very short chapter dealing with the hypothesis that during his three years in Arabia, Paul came into contact with the Essenes at either Qumran itself or in the city of Damascus. No definite conclusion is arrived at, although the balance is weighed on the side of some personal contact between the two parties at some place and time. Chapter Seven This concluding chapter is divided into four parts;- a review of studies on the Scrolls and the relative importance of the Scrolls in Biblical studies; a similar treatment of Pauline studies and the relative importance of Paul in Christian thought; a review of the conclusions of each chapter of this thesis; and a final conclusion. Note that most quotations from the Scrolls are from the translation by Dr. Geza Vermes (1) and the Biblical quotations from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible.


Vibrations of the body: sounding out a way carves out a way to write in close proximity to creative work and embodied experience. The primary research examined in this paper is the group of four films and videos constructed by Angela Joosse during her Master's study. This body of work includes, Ear after ear (5 min. 16mm, 2D and 3D computer animation), City window (10 min. digital stills, digital video, computer annimation), 4C (7.5 min. digital video), and Shapes eat shapes (3 min. digital stills, computer animation).

By working through an acoustic epistemology, this thesis proposes a means of including dynamic processes in writing and analysis. How might thinking, speaking and creating through metaphors of sound engender a more dynamic and embodied relation with being? Thinking through metaphors of sound necessarily includes elements of duration and modulation in time, as well as simultaneity and layering of disparate tones and textures.


CA19.9 antigen is a glycoprotein present in human serum and found elevated in various diseases. It is intensively studied since long time as a potential marker for managing cancers of the gastrointestinal tract, but its reliability is widely accepted only for pancreatic cancers. Here, we focused on the tetrasaccharide epitope (NeuAc 2-3Gal 1-3[Fuc 1-4]GlcNAc) sialyl-Lewis a studying the biosynthesis, expression, and secretion in colon cancers and related cancer cell lines. We found that the 1,3 galactosyltransferase 3Gal-T5, responsible for sialyl-Lewis a synthesis, is dramatically reduced in colon adenocarcinomas, in terms of both transcript and enzyme activity levels. Moreover, no or very faint antigen is detectable in colon cancer homogenates, by dot-blot or enzyme immunoassay, while it is commonly evident in sera from different patients. In cancer cell lines synthesizing CA19.9, the amount of antigen secreted is proportional to that expressed on the cell surface, and depends on appreciable levels of 3Gal-T5, which appear much higher than those measured in colon cancer specimens. Since colon cancers appear unable to synthesize relevant amount of CA19.9, we suggest that the antigen circulating in the serum of colon cancer patients may have a different and more complex origin than expected so far. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.


Gigantopterids are a morphological group consisting of a number of enigmatic fossil plants with angiosperm‐like leaves and reticulate venation that are of uncertain systematic affinity. Gigantopterid plants were abundant and a characteristic floral element in the Late Palaeozoic Cathaysian floras. However, in China, their oldest occurrence was much later than that in North America (Artinskian) and Indonesia (Asselian to Sakmarian). Here, we document the gigantopterid Gigantonoclea cf. mira from basal Permian (Asselian) strata in the North China Block that represents the oldest unequivocal evidence for the gigantopterids. The foliage is characterized by complex venation composed of four orders, small isodiametric meshes, and intercalary subsidiary veins arising directly from the rachis, being a distinctive morphological type of leaf venation. In addition, a nonmarginal feeding trace is detected on the lamina, extending the earliest record of plant–animal interaction between gigantopterid plants and arthropods to the earliest Permian. Our new observations show that the venation characters of Gigantonoclea mira and Gigantonoclea cf. mira more closely resemble Gigantopteris dictyophylloides than other members of gigantopterids including the evolutionary Callipteridium sequence to which it was previously assigned.


Using a sample of 45,283 firm year observations between 1993–2012, I examine the influence of different types of diversification and M&A accounting on firm value. I find that there are different explanations for earlier variations among documented discounts. I find different value effects for geographical and industrial diversification. These effects vary over time, with decreasing discounts for geographical diversification. Furthermore, I find different value effects of M&A accounting between industries. Controlling for firm fixed effects leads to insignificant results for most regressions, which indicates that underlying firm characteristics play an important role in the determination of the discount. Together, these findings explain earlier documented differences in the literature on the diversification discount.


What was said is often interpreted relative to what was left unsaid. Evaluate statements such as That's good can sound negative, because the speaker could have said great instead. That's great, on the other hand, might be interpreted as 'not so great', if we believe the speaker was just being nice. How, then, can we ever credibly convey our true intentions when making evaluate statements? We present evidence showing that prosody can be used to modulate the interpretation of evaluative statements, and can specifically be used to preempt inferences about positive evaluations toward a more negative interpretation. It is less able to modulate negative evaluations. The observed asymmetry makes sense if we tend to be kind to each other, and inflate our evaluative statements toward the nicer end of the spectrum.


This document describes developing an environment for effective use of functional/equational programs and rule-based expert systems. There are significant advantages in using these paradigms for reliability, parallelism, and accumulation of expertise in knowledge bases. The environment will make it easier to understand and use these paradigms, construct more reliable systems, and automatically enrich rulebased knowledge bases with the expertise. It will consist of the following components: (1) Visualization: for composing systems using a graphical interface and for understanding of algorithms. (2) Consistency Checking: for an equational and a rule-based language in accordance with the semantics of the languages. (3) Knowledge Base Generation and Testing: a translator that extracts expertise from existing programs and accumulates it as rules in knowledge bases; the rules are tested to enhance reliability. (4) Verification: interactive heterogeneous reasoning that consists of equational reasoning based on visual and textual information. These tools will be integrated in the proposed environment. The environment will greatly reduce the costs and increase the reliability of functional/equational and rule-based systems. Comments University of Pennsylvania Department of Computer and Information Sciences Technical Report No. MSCIS-91-60. This technical report is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/cis_reports/334 Equational and Rule-Based Programming: Visualization, Reliability, and Knowledge Base Generation


This article deals with the way individuals translate governmental rationality into specific self-understandings in everyday life. Based on the case study of a state-run boarding school in Israel, the article draws a link between deliberate governmental intervention in the self-concept of ethnic subjects and the manner in which boarding-school graduates experience this intervention and their selfhood, years after their education in the boarding school. This deliberate governmental intervention is shown to be a form of pastoral power. The boarding school is presented as a voluntary organization acting to enhance the life opportunities of citizens described as 'marginal'. Furthermore, governmental intervention encompasses organized and deliberate transformation of students' ethnic identities. The interviews with boarding school graduates reveal that they do not experience their selfhood as one whole but rather as two simultaneous types of self: Eastern and Western. This type of selfhood maintains an antithetical relationship between its two components as well as a lasting attempt to discard one selfhood in favor of the other. The discussion section elucidates the internal logic at the heart of the relationship of the self to self and the meaning of the concept of 'acting at a distance' that is bound up with governmentality.


Sources and rates of mortality of a San Joaquin kit fox population (Vulpes velox macrotis) were investigated at Camp Roberts Army National Guard Training Site, California, from November 1988 through September 1991. National Guard-authorized activities, including military training, caused the death of three of the 94 (3%) kit foxes radiocollared, and do not appear to jeopardize the continued existence of the population. Predation by larger carnivores, primarily coyotes (Canis latrans), caused the death of 75% of the 32 radiocollared kit foxes recovered dead for which a cause of death could be determined; vehicle impacts, disease (rabies), poisoning, and shooting were each responsible for the deaths of 6.3%. Adult annual mortality rate was 0.47 and the juvenile mortality rate was 0.80, and both rates are similar to rates reported for kit foxes in other locations. There was no significant difference between male and female mortality rates in either age class. The proportions of dead kit foxes recovered in different habitat types were similar to the availability of the habitat types within the distribution of kit fox on the installation.


HindIII fragments D to P of DNA from a Chinese vaccine strain (Tian Tan) of vaccinia virus have been molecularly cloned into the plasmid pAT153 at the unique HindIII site. The Chinese strain DNA differs from a non-vaccine American strain (WR) in having an additional HindIII fragment (P). Twelve HindIII D clones and 12 HindIII F clones of the Chinese strain were analysed by digestion by EcoRI, BamHI, PstI and XhoI. Two forms of D (designated a and b) and of F (a and b) were demonstrated. In each the differences were detected as the presence of an additional EcoRI site, in Da and Fa. The HindIII Fa and Fb fragments of the Chinese strain were shown to differ significantly from the WR strain in their restriction site maps.


Understanding the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is important for a greater understanding of the current state of sexual and reproductive rights of Palestinian women. Constant military occupation has been a determining factor hindering the development of comprehensive and coherent health policies and programmes. As a result of the Oslo Accords and the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement in 1994, the Palestinian National Authority was granted limited authority over portions of the West Bank and Gaza. In 2007-2008 a multinational, multi-disciplinary study team undertook a national study to assess the reproductive health content of nursing education and identify gaps in curricular coverage and implementation. One component of this project included exploring final year nursing and midwifery students' attitudes toward a range of sexual and reproductive health issues. This thesis analyzes these data and explores the demographic factors, including gender, region, and residence, associated with nursing and midwifery students' attitudes toward abortion and contraception-related laws and policies. Our findings suggest that there is a considerable need to incorporate values clarification exercises as well as structured sessions dedicated to laws and policies governing sexual and reproductive health into the formal curricula of programs in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Our results also shed further light on the dynamics shaping abortion and contraception attitudes among health professions students in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.


The KinetiSol® Dispersing (KSD) technology has enabled the investigation into the use of polyvinyl alcohol (PVAL) as a concentration enhancing polymer for amorphous solid dispersions. Our previous study revealed that the 88% hydrolyzed grade of PVAL was optimal for itraconazole (ITZ) amorphous compositions with regard to solid-state properties, non-sink dissolution performance, and bioavailability enhancement. The current study investigates the influence of molecular weight for the 88% hydrolyzed grades of PVAL on the properties of KSD processed ITZ:PVAL amorphous dispersions. Specifically, molecular weights in the processable range of 4 to 18 mPa · s were evaluated and the 4-88 grade provided the highest AUC dissolution profile. Amorphous dispersions at 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50% ITZ drug loads in PVAL 4-88 were also compared by dissolution performance. Analytical tools of diffusion-ordered spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were employed to understand the interaction between drug and polymer. Finally, results from a 30-month stability test of a 30% drug loaded ITZ:PVAL 4-88 composition shows that stable amorphous dispersions can be achieved. Thus, this newly enabled polymer carrier can be considered a viable option for pharmaceutical formulation development for solubility enhancement.


The beta-adrenergic receptor (betaAR) signaling system is one of the most powerful regulators of cardiac function and a key regulator of Ca(2+) homeostasis. We investigated the role of betaAR stimulation in augmenting cardiac function and its role in the activation of Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMKII) using various betaAR knockouts (KO) including beta(1)ARKO, beta(2)ARKO, and beta(1)/beta(2)AR double-KO (DKO) mice. We employed a murine model of left anterior descending coronary artery ligation to examine the differential contributions of specific betaAR subtypes in the activation of CaMKII in vivo in failing myocardium. Cardiac inotropy, chronotropy, and CaMKII activity following short-term isoproterenol stimulation were significantly attenuated in beta(1)ARKO and DKO compared with either the beta(2)ARKO or wild-type (WT) mice, indicating that beta(1)ARs are required for catecholamine-induced increases in contractility and CaMKII activity. Eight weeks after myocardial infarction (MI), beta(1)ARKO and DKO mice showed a significant attenuation in fractional shortening compared with either the beta(2)ARKO or WT mice. CaMKII activity after MI was significantly increased only in the beta(2)ARKO and WT hearts and not in the beta(1)ARKO and DKO hearts. The border zone of the infarct in the beta(2)ARKO and WT hearts demonstrated significantly increased apoptosis by TUNEL staining compared with the beta(1)ARKO and DKO hearts. Taken together, these data show that cardiac function and CaMKII activity are mediated almost exclusively by the beta(1)AR. Moreover, it appears that beta(1)AR signaling is detrimental to cardiac function following MI, possibly through activation of CaMKII.


With the decreases in government funding of medical trials, manufacturers of the products being tested finance more and more clinical trials, whether for medication, therapies or equipment. Tests are obviously needed to determine the effectiveness and safety of new products in order to make medical progress. That system, however, can put unpredictable pressure on physicians conducting the trials.


Motivation: Development of high-throughput technology makes it possible to measure expressions of thousands of genes simultaneously. Genes have the inherent pathway structure, where pathways are composed of multiple genes with coordinated biological functions. It is of great interest to identify differential gene pathways that are associated with the variations of phenotypes. Results: We propose the following approach for detecting differential gene pathways. First, we construct gene pathways using databases such as KEGG or GO. Second, for each pathway, we extract a small number of representative features, which are linear combinations of gene expressions and/or their transformations. Specifically, we propose using (i) principal components (PCs) of gene expression sets, (ii) PCs of expanded gene expression sets and (iii) expanded sets of PCs of gene expressions, as the representative features. Third, we identify differential gene pathways as those with representative features significantly associated with the variations of phenotypes, particularly disease clinical outcomes, in regression models. The false discovery rate approach is used to adjust for multiple comparisons. Analysis of three gene expression datasets suggests that (i) the proposed approach can effectively identify differential gene pathways; (ii) PCs that explain only a small amount of variations of gene expressions may bear significant associations between gene pathways and phenotypes; (iii) including secondorder terms of gene expressions may lead to identification of new differential gene pathways; (iv) the proposed approach is relatively insensitive to additional noises; and (v) the proposed approach can identify gene pathways missed by alternative approaches. Contact: email@example.com Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.


For a given finite poset $P$, $La(n,P)$ denotes the largest size of a family $\mathcal{F}$ of subsets of $[n]$ not containing $P$ as a weak subposet. We exactly determine $La(n,P)$ for infinitely many  $P$ posets. These posets are built from seven base posets using two operations. For arbitrary posets, an upper bound is given for $La(n,P)$ depending on $|P|$ and the size of the longest chain in $P$. To prove these theorems we introduce a new method, counting the intersections of $\mathcal{F}$ with double chains, rather than chains.


A programme integrating course (PIC) is a special type of course, lasting for several academic years and aiming to strengthen programme coherence, by tying the students, instructors and programme director closer together. The first PIC was started at KTH in 2008. Since then, the concept has been polished and adopted by many engineering and masters of science programmes at KTH and at other universities. The course is built around regular (four times a year) reflection seminars in small cross-grade groups, mentored by a teacher. Each seminar has a topic, for example, study skills, procrastination, exchange studies, generic skills, minorities and equal treatment and ergonomics and mental health. Before the seminar, the students are presented with some material to read and view. Based on the texts and videos, each student should write a reflection document and read and comment some other students' reflections. At the seminar, the students will further discuss the topic and discuss the courses that they are currently taking. PIC has been evaluated and found very valuable by both the students and the teachers acting as mentors. This chapter will review the existing literature on PICs, which is mostly in Swedish.


This paper introduces Mode Explorer, a novel interactive auditory data exploration method to investigate features of high-dimensional data distributions: scratching-interactions on a 2D scatter plot of high-dimensional data with a pencil induces real-time dynamical processes according to a particle sonification model, excited in data space at the nearest mode in the probability density function (pdf) obtained by Kernel Density Estimation. Specifically, the sign-inverted pdf is used as potential energy function in which test particles perform oscillations at low friction, yielding trajectories, and via their instantaneous kinetic energy signals that are directly played back as sound. This Model-based sonification approach enables an interactive search for different modes, to investigate their details, e.g., comparing cluster mass. We present results of a user study, which allows us to conclude that the Mode Explorer enhances users' ability to discriminate clusters and to compare their relative a-priori probabilities.

**V1.mov**: Demonstration of sniffing the particles as they traveled through the data space and converged to the mode with a low friction.

**V2.mov**: Demonstration video of the Mode Explorer using a Wacom Tablet and modified stylus.

**trajectory.txt**: Cython code of the potential function. Note: This code only demonstrates the algorithm, to use it Cython library needs to be installed. We will release a full demonstration program for public use for the camera ready version.


Urbanization causes tremendous pressure on biodiversity and ecosystems at the global scale. China is among the countries undergoing the fastest urban expansion. For a long time, ecological environment protection has not been a priority in China's urban planning process. Current urban growth optimization research has some limitations regarding the selection of more scientific ecological constraint indicators and the interaction between urban expansion and ecological factors. This paper at first aimed to establish a reasonable comprehensive biodiversity constraint indicator based on the indicators of net primary productivity, habitat connectivity and habitat quality, and then conducted a case study in Beijing and compared biodiversity loss and urban growth patterns under different developing situations. The integrated valuation of ecosystem services and trade-offs model and GIS-related methods were used to obtain biodiversity and ecological spatial distribution layers. Then an ecological priority-oriented urban growth simulation method was proposed to search for minimum biodiversity loss. The results showed that the important biodiversity security areas were mostly distributed in the western part of the study area and that the ecological degradation in 2000 had a radial pattern and was well in line with the urban construction and ring road distribution patterns. Meanwhile, biodiversity loss with the biodiversity constraint was much less than actual urban growth in 2000–2010. Under the guidance of ecological optimization, urban growth in the research results reflects decentralized and multi-center spatial development characteristics. This type of urban growth not only provides a new model for breaking the inertia of urban sprawl but also proposes 'biodiversity security' as an applicable regulatory tool for urban planning and space governance reforming.


Nez Perce is one among many ergative languages that consistently use nominative case, rather than ergative, for 1st and 2nd person transitive subjects. Two major lines of analysis have been proposed for the synchronic grammar of this type of ergative split. Morphological analyses approach the phenomenon as a case of syncretism between ergative and nominative in 1st and 2nd person; all transitive subjects are assigned an identical syntax. Syntactic analyses posit a featural or structural distinction between 3rd person subjects and 1st and 2nd person subjects, or the clauses containing them. On the basis of modification and coordination patterns, I argue that person-based split ergativity in Nez Perce requires a syntactic analysis. Comparison of the Nez Perce data with recent findings by Legate (2014) reveals variation among languages showing person-based split ergativity: some languages require a morphological analysis, and some (like Nez Perce) require a syntactic analysis. A treatment of the syntactic type of person-based split ergativity is proposed, making use of person-sensitive phrase structure as introduced by Bianchi (2006) and Merchant (2006).


Background: In patients with severe COVID-19, activation of blood coagulation and endothelial cells orchestrated with complement activation and cytokine storm leads to disease worsening and death. Hypercoagulable state and endothelial cell activation and fi brinolytic unbalance are common alterations in patients with COVID-19 hospitalized either at the conventional medical ward or at the intensive care unit (ICU). Two systematic reviews multivariate The ROADMAP-postCOVID-19 study offers an analysis of a large panel of biomarkers of endothelial cell activation and hypercoagulability in survivors of COVID-19. The study documents that two months after symptoms' onset, activation of endothelial cells, in vivo thrombin generation, and fi brin lysis are frequent phenomena up to two months from COVID-19 symptom onset. The data presented herein allow to propose that evaluation of blood hypercoagulability (using D-dimer for instance) and endothelial cell activation could offer the possibility of prompt identi fi cation of COVID-19 survivors at risk of post-COVID-19 vascular complications. The fi ndings of the present study underline the need for a thorough evaluation of a potential correlation between the sustained hypercoagulability and endothelial cell activation with the symptomatology of long-COVID-19 to apply anticipated diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. The clinical relevance of the identi fi ed biomarkers of endothelial activation and hypercoagulability in the assessment of the risk of long COVID-19 must be investigated in a prospective study.


Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate asthma control after the introduction of a leukotriene modifier (Montelukast), in addition to the current controller asthma therapies, in patients with inadequately controlled mild-to-moderate persistent asthma. Asthma control and patient perception were assessed prior to, and 4 weeks after, the introduction of Montelukast, and the pre-introduction and post-introduction results were compared. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional, observational study collected information on 1,490 eligible adult asthmatic patients in Saudi Arabia. The eligibility criteria included patients aged 15 years or more with symptomatic mild-to-moderate persistent asthma despite treatment with inhaled corticosteroids with or without long-acting beta agonist; also, the patient should attend the initial visit and follow-up visits after at least 4 weeks. Results: Of the 1,490 eligible patients, 79.5% received inhaled corticosteroids alone, and the remaining 20.5% received combination of inhaled corticosteroids and long-acting bronchodilator. Despite the treatment with daily controller medications, asthma symptoms persisted in more than two-thirds of the study population. Upon adding Montelukast, more than 80% of patients reported improvement in symptoms, which was consistent in all patients irrespective of corticosteroid type or dose (stratum) or the addition of long-acting β2-agonist. At the follow-up visit, 92.2% of patients reported that they felt better on Montelukast. Conclusion: Leukotriene modifier Montelukast has significant additive benefits in the management of patients who suffer from mild-to-moderate asthma and who are inadequately controlled on inhaled corticosteroids therapy with or without long-acting bronchodilator.


layers represented by basal endometrial and was considered normal between 4 and 8 mm. Patients with endometrial abnormal elevated thickness (26 cases) were treated with didrogesteron 30 mg b.d. for 3 days and then 20 mg b.d for another 7 days. In these cases, the preventing treatment was conducted in a discontinuous manner, with 20 mg didrogesteron b.d., ten days, starting with the 15th day of the cycle, for 3 months. Patients with endometrial atrophy (11 cases) were treated with combined oral contraceptive containing 30 μg etinilestradiol and 150 μg levonorgestrel, 2–3 pills b.d. until the bleeding ceased followed by 1 pill b.d. for completing 21 days of therapy. In these cases the preventive treatment was done in the same discontinuous manner, with didrogesteron. Results: In both groups the bleeding ceased after a medium of 3, 6 days of treatment. One patient with endometrial hyperplasia needed after 6 days of treatment uterine haemostatic curettage. Four patients in the first group and one in the second have experienced in the following six months after completing preventive therapy bleeding recurrences. In these cases was applied the same treatment and no relapse was encountered another six months. Conclusions: The endometrial thickness ultrasound evaluation is a valuable criterion for the treatment of juvenile uterine functional bleeding. Hormonal therapy in such cases is highly efficient in bleeding cessation. Prevention of the illness's receive needs in 16% of cases am additional treatment until maturation of the hypothalamushypophysis-ovarian axe is established.


This is the fourth in a series of publications examining Australians' responses to climate change. Introduction This report presents the basic findings of a survey undertaken in July and August of 2013 with 5219 Australians. The survey forms part of a longitudinal research program investigating the ways in which Australians think about climate change. These respondents included a cohort of 2202 people who had undertaken two or more of these surveys since 2010. We present a snapshot of current Australian attitudes and behaviours relevant to climate change, and an analysis of changes in attitudes since 2010. The survey was administered online using a representative group of respondents from across metropolitan, regional, and rural Australia. Respondents were drawn from a research-only1 panel of 300 000 individuals. The panel used for this survey was administered by ORU, an online fieldwork company with QSOAP 'Gold Standard' and Global ISO 26362 accreditation. The demographic profile of all respondents corresponded closely with the population characteristics of Australians, although among repeat respondents, males and older respondents were overrepresented.


Inquiring into the fiscal constitution and the regional economic geography of Colombia, this dissertation carries out an exploration of the linkages running from the fundamental fiscal rules of the country's multilevel system of government to the disparities in economic development among its regions, or, more precisely, among the jurisdictions of the intermediate level of government. With a comparative focus and with an eye to identifying factors that accentuate or moderate regional economic disparities in Colombia, it also offers an analysis of selected aspects of the fiscal constitutions of Canada and Spain, where, akin to the Colombian case, a less uneven regional economic development is a constitutionally declared governmental goal. Three dimensions of regional economic development are considered, namely, education, health, and income.Similarities and differences in the assignment of functions of government and the design of taxes, intergovernmental transfers and the rules of public indebtedness between cases belonging to the same legal tradition (Colombia and Spain for the civil law tradition) and to different legal traditions (e.g., Colombia vis-a-vis Canada, where the latter to a good extent fits in the common law tradition) are singled out and illustrated, and so are relevant quantitative patterns of the multilevel government finances and the outcomes in the three dimensions of development under study, using longitudinal and cross-section data for within and between country analysis. A sample of policy makers affiliated with the Colombian national and subnational levels of government, interviewed for the study, provide insights into the workings of intergovernmental relations, especially regarding the pros and cons of political and fiscal decentralization, as designed and implemented in Colombia, for regional and local development. The dissertation discusses and exemplifies some ways of assessing the adaptability and robustness of the Colombian fiscal constitution and of harnessing the fiscal state, through the legal system, to deal with regional economic disparities, drawing from the international comparative exercise and from a variety of theoretical approaches, including the economic analysis of law and the theories of public finance and public policy design.


Abstract We describe an architecture design and implementation of the optically transparent wavelength-division-multiplexed (WDM) asynchronous-transfer-mode (ATM) multicast (3M) switch for all optical high-speed networks. By using the WDM techniques, the wire complexity in both the switch fabric and the concentrator can be reduced from O(N2) to O(N). By using integrated photonic devices and highly parallel processing and pipeline control electronic circuits the switch is handling signals at the cell level (53 bytes) instead of at the bit level and can achieve very high speed and high throughput operation. Several key components, including a cell synchronizer, a photonic VCI over-writting unit, a wavelength converter, an optical concentrator, and a WDM memory, have also been proposed to realize this 3M switch. All of the photonic devices are highly integratable and are very suitable for building future large-scale, low-cost photonic ATM switches. A combination of both the ATM and WDM techniques will provid...


A total of 450 isolates of Staphylococcus aureus were typed using multilocus sequence typing (MLST). They were isolated from the cattle and environment of a UK organic dairy farm, 43 dairy herds in the USA, the mammary glands of cattle in Chile and the UK, and also included the reference strain Newbould 305 (NCIMB 702892). Strains were compared to investigate differences between isolates from varying sites of isolation and the population detected on a single farm.

MLST was suitable for the differentiation of bovine associated S. aureus, and thirty different sequence types were detected. These contained a number of novel alleles detected at each loci, agreeing with previous reports of host-specialisation, and indicating localised strain evolution. MLST was also able to discriminate between isolates detected in milk and on teat skin. The N ewbould 305 strain was significantly (p<0.05) associated with teat skin, and this may have important implications for future studies. The majority of isolates (87.4%) were present within one previously undescribed clonal complex (CC97), which contained representatives from all three geographic locations.

Analysis of isolates from a single farrri demonstrated the clonality of the organism, supporting the theory of cow-to-cow spread of disease. No isolates were detected in heifer mammary secretions, suggesting transmission to these animals did not occur. Typing of multiple colonies from a single sample demonstrated strain heterogeneity within individual quarters. Environmental isolates were detected, though it is unlikely that they formed a significant reservoir of infection on the farm studied.


ASP or polymer flooding in reservoirs with permeabilities below 100 mD has not been often applied due to the perceived and/or potential issues related to the injection of viscous polymer solution under those conditions. Poor injectivities become an even bigger issue if injection under matrix conditions is required. This is usually the case for pilot projects with relatively short inter-well distances to optimize response time, project costs and pilot duration. One of the major problems that could lead to injectivity deterioration is plugging of the formation in the near wellbore due to trapping of polymer molecules in smaller pores and polymer adsorption. The higher injected fluid viscosity due to polymer also leads to higher injection pressures. The injection pressure should, however, not exceed the formation breakdown pressure if matrix conditions are required. A proper flood design should achieve the compromise between polymer molecular weight, its concentration, viscosity of injected solution and injection pressure, and should include appropriate plans to mitigate injectivity loss. The paper describes the injectivity challenges experienced during water, ASP and subsequent polymer injection in the West Salym ASP pilot. The project is implemented in a sandstone reservoir with permeabilities in the range from 10 mD to 100 mD. Conventional waterflooding in West Salym is performed under fracturing conditions, hence it was recognized from the beginning that the injection of ASP and polymer solutions under matrix conditions in the pilot would be challenging. The paper provides the injectivity history for the pilot wells, describes the surveillance methods used, and provides details on the steps taken to improve the injectivity. New analysis approaches to effectively extract information contained in the real-time data that were developed for this project are also discussed. Overall, this paper will provide the reader with hands-on experience in injection of ASP and polymer solutions in reservoirs with permeabilities below 100 mD.


We live in a hypersexualized society that
infantilizes women and commodifies girls at the
service of the capitalist system. In recent years,
Western societies have witnessed a rising concern
about preadolescent girls showing signs of
precocious sexualization. This issue, dismissed by
some as a media moral panic, is taken very seriously
by many others who worry about the increase in
negative health outcomes. The media sell an ideology
that normalizes sexualized attitudes and behaviours.
On one hand, corporate culture "seduces" girls with
offerings of glitter, popularity and fame through
sexualized popular icons; on the other hand, girls
are blamed for letting themselves be lured into
dressing and/or acting in oversexualized ways. Girls
are caught in the crossfire between competing
scripts: "Be sexy! Popular girls are" and "Good
girls don't". This book, based on a thesis but
written in accessible language, should help shed
some light on these issues for teachers, youth
workers, parents and academics concerned by the
subject.


This is a research based on a relational survey model that determins the effects of the theoretical and applied studies on skill of the principles and methods course on teacher candidates. The research was carried out according to two basic aims. The first aim is to determine the effects of the theoretically-oriented cognitive learning, which is acquired based on instructors' lecture, and the level of concrete experience provided by microteaching applications, which are adopted from Kolb's learning model, on the skills of lesson plan preparation and application. The other aim is to test the mediating effect of the skill of lesson plan preparation on the relationship between the application of lesson plan and cognitive learning with concrete experience. The research used the scores of 96 teachers who were sophomores at the department of Teaching Mathematics at Primary School at Kocaeli University. As a result of the research, while it was found that, in terms of regression value, lesson plan preparation was affected more by theoretical learning; and lesson plan applications were affected more by concrete experience, it was also found that lesson plan preparation skill is an important mediating variable.


We investigate preprocessing for vertex-subset problems on graphs. While the notion of kernelization, originating in parameterized complexity theory, is a formalization of provably effective preprocessing aimed at reducing the total instance size, our focus is on finding a non-empty vertex set that belongs to an optimal solution. This decreases the size of the remaining part of the solution which still has to be found, and therefore shrinks the search space of fixed-parameter tractable algorithms for parameterizations based on the solution size. We introduce the notion of a c-essential vertex as one that is contained in all c-approximate solutions. For several classic combinatorial problems such as Odd Cycle Transversal and Directed Feedback Vertex Set, we show that under mild conditions a polynomial-time preprocessing algorithm can find a subset of an optimal solution that contains all 2-essential vertices, by exploiting packing/covering duality. This leads to FPT algorithms to solve these problems where the exponential term in the running time depends only on the number of non-essential vertices in the solution.


Mangroves and coral reefs are among the major ecosystems of tropical and subtropical coastlines. The Andaman group of islands, situated at the juncture of Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean, are one of the richest coastal ecosystems of India in terms of biodiversity. Since the tsunami waves of 2004 affected this region severely, the outer fringes as well as inland areas of these islands faced extensive ecological degradation. Mayabunder is one such place of this region, where corals and mangroves had experienced both natural and anthropogenic threat. Considering the notable vulnerability of this coastal environment, the present study aimed to assess the transformations of the coral and mangrove ecosystems at Mayabunder both in pre-tsunami and post-tsunami periods till the present year using multi-temporal satellite imageries and geospatial techniques. Results showed that the areal coverage of healthy living coral reefs was reduced by 466.56 ha (10.42 %) from 1990 to 2000. Afterwards, the coupled ecosystem had experienced serious degradation again during the 2000−2010 phase. The areal coverage of dense mangroves decreased by 47.37%, whereas the area of dead coral covers showed a significant rise of 55.52%. However, partial restoration of both mangroves as well as healthy corals had also been observed here in recent years. It was raised from the extensive field visits and feedbacks from local inhabitants that this restoration initiative could become more effective if a participatory mode of management is adopted. AbstrAct Debaleena Majumdar1, Subha Chakraborty2, Swati Saha2, Debajit Datta1*