Purpose: To research information seeking behaviour and discover sources used by people whose community was in a disaster and what they wanted to know.

Design: In-depth interviews were conducted with 37 people in three communities that had suffered a disaster in the previous 12 months. The study covered St George in Queensland (flood), Airlie Beach in Queensland (cyclone) and Gerogery in NSW (bushfire). The interviews were transcribed and then analysed using the constant comparative technique (Wimmer & Dominick 2000).

Findings: There were clear preferences for information sources that differed between disaster types. Those in a bushfire found out about the fire by seeing the smoke or were notified by friends. Radio was a preferred source, for cyclone and bushfire, but in the Gerogery case radio was unable to supply reliable or up-to-date information. In flood and cyclone, the Bureau of Meteorology was the most cited source and was the way many people discovered they were facing a flood or a cyclone. In a flood, a visual of the river and the person's own experience or the flood experience of friends, family or neighbours were then drawn upon to interpret the possible effects on the individual. Radio was not a well used source of information in this particular flood. In a cyclone, however, radio was the second most popular source of information, particularly after the power went out and especially those stations featuring talk back from community members about local cyclone damage and other news. In the bushfire and cyclone, mobile phones were a constant tool for contact with others. Few used their mobile phones to get onto the web and only one person in Airlie Beach used Facebook as a source of information about the situation. Twitter was not used at all.

In all disasters, location, timing and strength/peak was the most prevalent information sought, followed by whereabouts and safety of friends, neighbours and family.

Practical implications: The Bureau of Meteorology provides an effective source of information for communities potentially affected by flood and cyclone. Flood mapping should also be a standard feature of local council communications. In cyclones, mobile phone service should be a priority and post-impact agency recovery texts be used. Radio should continue to be proactively used by agencies as a primary tool in order to build up trust in that media. In a bushfire situation, text or phone messages could be utilised more often for reporting of the location and direction of the fire and radio stations need to be proactively kept up to date.

For all disasters, mobile phones featured as a primary tool that was accessed by all interviewees. This points to the importance of developing mobile phone message technology that is not subject to delays or interruptions.

Originality and value: Very little research has been undertaken around the world on how people seek information in a disaster. Much of the research focus has been on what media sources people use (Greenberg, Hofschire & Lachlan 2002; Piotrowski & Armstrong 1998; Roeser & Schaefer 2002; Seeger et al. 2002; Stempel III & Hargrove 2002). Two very small studies have been undertaken in Australia (Cohen, Hughes & White 2007; King & Goudie 1997) but the study by King et al asked a small number of questions about sources of information as part of a wider study.

This study on information-seeking may provide data on which better communication plans can be built by emergency agencies.


In Kelo v. New London, the United States Supreme Court held that the Fifth Amendment does not forbid states from using eminent domain to condemn homes and businesses and transfer the property to private parties to use for their own profit. But the Court acknowledged that state constitutions can provide greater protection for property owners than does the federal Constitution. Michigan's Supreme Court has already held that that state's Constitution forbids such takings because they are not for public use. Washington and Arizona also have constitutional provisions specifically forbidding takings for private use. But even where a state constitution's language is identical to the federal Constitution, it may have a different meaning, given that state's unique history and legal development. In this article, I argue that the Texas Constitution forbids Kelo-style takings for economic development. I examine the records of the state's several constitutional conventions as well as the development of case law over the history of the state. Until the 1940s, the state observed a strict prohibition on condemnations that benefited private parties. Then, in two cases riddled with fundamental legal errors, the Texas Supreme Court adopted a more expansive interpretation of public use. In addition to exposing the errors of these cases, I explain why they still do not authorize the use of eminent domain for economic development in Texas.


Three suspension cell lines from bone marrow (BMPH-1) and spleens (SPH-2 and SPH-3) of hamadryas baboons with haematosarcoma were presented by analogous lymphoid type cells of a high proliferative activity. The modal class of cells in all the three lines was presented by diploids and pseudodiploids, though there was a significant admixture of heterodiploid and subtriploid cells and cells having various types of marker chromosomes. The reconstructed chromosome 1 and satellite chromosomes dominated among the marker chromosomes indicating their relatively greater mutability. No change was observed in Giemsa-banding during a year's cultivation of all three cell lines. The total number of weakly and poorly differentiating chromosomes in aneuploids is more variable compared to the number of well differentiating chromosomes, due, presumably, to a lesser biological significance of the former.


Aim: The aims of this thesis were to explore the characteristics of individuals who accepted, declined or were not offered cystic fibrosis (CF) carrier screening and the outcomes of reproductive genetic screening through the evaluation of two separate carrier screening programs in Victoria, Australia. Research Projects: 1. Multi-disease carrier screening program in Jewish high schools Background/Aim: A screening program for Tay Sachs disease (TSD) carrier status was introduced in high schools in Victoria in 1997, and was expanded to screen for six other genetic conditions common in the Ashkenazi Jewish population in 2008. The aim of this questionnaire-based study was to evaluate the current program and compare it with an evaluation of the program when screening was offered for TSD alone. Methods: All students, in the second last year of high school, who were offered multi-condition carrier screening were invited to participate in the study. Results/Conclusion: This study found that knowledge levels were decreased and predictive negative feelings if found to be a carrier increased, compared to the previous study when only TSD screening was offered. 2. Carrier couples identified through the Genetic Health Services Victoria CF carrier screening program Background/Aim: In 2006 a population-based CF carrier screening program was implemented in Victoria by Genetic Health Services Victoria (GHSV). Screening is offered to pregnant women and couples planning a pregnancy by private obstetricians and general practitioners for a cost of $220 for each test. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of couples who were both identified as carriers of CF. Methods: Between January 2006 and December 2010, 10 carrier couples were identified, and all were invited to participate in the study. A total of nine interviews were conducted, seven couple interviews and two individual interviews, and 12 completed questionnaires were received. Results/Conclusions: The results of the interview-based study indicated that couples were shocked and were unprepared for a positive carrier couple result. All couples changed their reproductive behaviour as a result of their carrier couple status and informed family members of their increased risk. The results of the questionnaire-based study were compared to a previous evaluation of the program exploring the attitudes and outcomes of CF screening for carriers and non-carriers. It was found that carrier couples have a high knowledge of CF and screening and there is no difference in knowledge between carrier couples and carriers, however both groups have a significantly higher knowledge than non-carriers. No carrier couples regretted having screening, with all saying that if they had their time again they would still have CF carrier screening. 3. Pregnant women who declined CF carrier screening Background/Aim: CF carrier screening is currently offered to women during the early stages of pregnancy and couples planning a pregnancy by private obstetricians and general practitioners. The aim of this study was to assess the attitudes of women declining an offer of screening and to compare these to the attitudes of individuals who accepted an offer of screening. Methods: Pregnant women who were offered CF carrier screening through the GHSV program and declined the offer were recruited at ultrasound and obstetric clinics and invited to participate in this questionnaire-based study. Results/Conclusion: There was no difference in demographics between those who declined and those who accepted an offer of screening. However, knowledge levels were significantly lower in those who declined screening compared to those who accepted it (carrier couples, carriers and non-carriers). The main reason for declining an offer of screening was lack of family history of CF. 4. Pregnant women who were not offered CF carrier screening Background/Aim: Carrier screening for CF is currently only offered in the private health system in Victoria. The aim of this study was to determine the attitudes of pregnant women who did not receive an offer of CF carrier screening, towards carrier screening for CF and compare it to those who were offered screening. Methods: Participants were recruited at antenatal clinics at two public hospitals and were invited to participate in this questionnaire-based study. Results/Conclusion: Those who were not offered screening were significantly younger, had a lower level of education and lower income compared to those who were offered screening. Knowledge of CF and screening was significantly lower in those who were not offered screening compared to those who were. Family history is potentially the most influencing factor in the decision whether to have screening. While only half of the participants would have liked to receive an offer of screening during their current pregnancy, the majority believe CF carrier screening should be available to those who wish to have it. Conclusions: As programs expand to screen for more diseases, truly informed consent may not be possible, with the more diseases screened resulting in a decrease in knowledge. Pre-test information should provide basic information on the genetics of recessive conditions which can be applied to all of the diseases screened for, while detailed information should be targeted towards carriers during post-test counselling. As the main reason for declining an offer of CF carrier screening is lack of family history of the disease, pre-test information needs to make clear that most children with recessive conditions have no family history of the condition. The current CF screening program is inequitable as screening is only offered in the private health sector. In order to ensure equity of access, screening needs to be offered in the public health sector with no out-of-pocket expenses, and educational resources and programs need to be developed and targeted towards potential participants.


Possible techniques for representing automatic decision-making behavior approximating human experts in complex simulation model experiments are of interest. Here, fuzzy logic (FL) and constraint satisfaction problem (CSP) methods are applied in a hybrid design of automatic decision making in simulation game models. The decision processes of a military headquarters are used as a model for the FL/CSP decision agents choice of variables and rulebases. The hybrid decision agent design is applied in two different types of simulation games to test the general applicability of the design. The first application is a two-sided zero-sum sequential resource allocation game with imperfect information interpreted as an air campaign game. The second example is a network flow stochastic board game designed to capture important aspects of land manoeuvre operations. The proposed design is shown to perform well also in this complex game with a very large (billionsize) action set. Training of the automatic FL/CSP decision agents against selected performance measures is also shown and results are presented together with directions for future research.


Flavonoids are natural antioxidants that include the groups of notable pigments such as anthocyanins and proanthocyanidins. Flavanone 3-Hydroxylase (F3H) is a key enzyme needed for the biosynthesis of flavonoids, the main ingredients of muscadine grape extracts. This study reports the first successful isolation, cloning and characterization of F3H gene from Vitis rotundifolia Michx. The full length cDNA of V. rotundifolia F3H gene (designated as VrF3H) had an open reading frame (ORF) of 1081 bp encoding 364 amino acids with a calculated molecular mass of 40.8kDa as well as an isoelectric point of 5.60. Comparative and in silico analyses revealed that the cloned VrF3H from muscadine grapes has high identity with F3H from other plant species. The deduced VrF3H protein showed similarities with other available plant F3H proteins, and the conserved amino acids ligating ferrous iron and residues participating in 2-oxo-glutarate binding were found in similar positions comparable to other F3Hs. Furthermore, three-dimensional structure modeling showed that F3H protein had the enzyme core consisting of β-sheet, a typical structure shared by all 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenases including F3Hs. Phylogenetic tree analysis indicated that VrF3H belongs to the Vitis F3H cluster. VrF3H transcripts were found to be abundantly expressed in the in-vitro red cells, veraison and physiologically mature red berries, but not expressed in the skins of the green berries. The isolation and characterization of VrF3H gene will enable further study in the role of VrF3H gene in the biosynthesis of flavonoids in V. rotundifolia.


Several state and federal conservation programs provide financial assistance or benefits for landowners who remove cropland from production or implement soil and water conservation measures. Due to limited funding, only a small fraction of a watershed can be included in such programs. The goals of this project were to: (1) Define priority areas in which landowners would be given first access to available funds, or to target specific fields for recruitment into conservation programs and (2) Evaluate the sediment contribution from county roads and target specific road segments for improvement. Two Oklahoma basins were considered, Stillwater Creek and Cobb Creek. Land cover data for both basins were derived from 2001 LandSat TM+ imagery. Both basins were modeled using SWAT and WEPP Roads. SWAT model results for sediment were extrapolated to a 30 meter grid for each basin using the original soils, land cover and Digital Elevation Model themes. This grid was used to target the 5% of the basin with the greatest sediment yield, which accounted for 31% and 75% of the total sediment load for the Fort Cobb and Stillwater Creek Basins, respectively. Visits to fields marked as priority areas visually corroborated that the model was targeting highly erodible fields. Likewise road segments predicted to have high erosion were visually corroborated. Responses from the local conservation personnel and landowners to the targeting maps were positive. The identification of critical source areas at the watershed scale may enable conservation programs to place practices where they are needed most. © 2010 Oklahoma Academy of Science.


Concrete is one of the most resourceful and environmental friendly building materials. It can be cast to fit any structural shape from a cylindrical water storage tank to a rectangular beam, slabs and column in a high-rise building. In RC buildings, portions of columns that are common to beams at their intersections are called beam column joints. Beam-column joints have a crucial role in the structural integrity of the buildings. Review of literature indicates that numerous studies were conducted in the past to study the behaviour of beam-column joints with normal concrete. However, those recommendations are not intended for the fibre reinforced concrete. Some indicates that this material is an alternative to the confining reinforcement in the joint region. So the comparative study of the performance of different fibres in beam column joint has a greater importance and relevance in the field of RCC framed structures. This thesis aims to study the behaviour of beam column joint by evaluating the performance of fibre reinforced concrete. The incorporation of fibres in beam column joint is analysed in this study. The use of different types of fibres such as steel and polypropylene are evaluated.


Organic Computing (OC) and other research initiatives like Autonomic Computing or Proactive Computing have developed the vision of systems possessing life-like properties: they self-organize, adapt to their dynamically changing environments, and establish other so-called self-x properties, like self-healing, self-configuration, self-optimization, etc. What we are searching for in OC are methodologies and concepts for systems that allow to cope with increasingly complex networked application systems by introduction of self-x properties and at the same time guarantee a trustworthy and adaptive response to externally provided system objectives and control actions. Therefore, in OC, we talk about controlled self-organization.
 Although the terms self-organization and adaptivity have been discussed for years, we miss a clear definition of self-organization in most publications, which have a technically motivated background.
 In this article, we briefly summarize the state of the art and suggest a characterization of (controlled) self-organization and adaptivity that is motivated by the main objectives of the OC initiative. We present a system classification of robust, adaptable, and adaptive systems and define a degree of autonomy to be able to quantify how autonomously a system is working. The degree of autonomy distinguishes and measures external control that is exerted directly by the user (no autonomy) from internal control of a system which might be fully controlled by an observer/controller architecture that is part of the system (full autonomy). The quantitative degree of autonomy provides the basis for characterizing the notion of controlled self-organization. Furthermore, we discuss several alternatives for the design of organic systems.


: The U.S. EPA has taken an important step in developing these guidelines, the first of their kind. They more precisely delineate the hazard identification process and the factors important in supporting risk decisions for developmental toxicants than does any other document. Unfortunately, however, more precise estimates of risk are hampered by our lack of understanding of a number of factors, including the biological mechanisms underlying developmental toxicity, intra/interspecies differences, the influence of maternal effects on the dose-response curve, the likelihood of thresholds for certain of these end points, and the appropriate quantitative models for dose-response data and for low-dose extrapolation. To this extent, the Agency is supporting and conducting a number of investigations which will hopefully further our knowledge and improve our ability to assess risks for the developing human. The guidelines will be updated as such information becomes available.


Wireless Service Providers (WSPs) aim to maximize the revenue from their investment in spectrum lease and infras- tructure. In this paper, we present a simple model for enabling temporary wireless access for Secondary (unsubscribed) Users (SUs) along with Primary (subscribed) Users (PUs) to the same Base Station (BS), allowing SU access provided there is unutilized spectrum available at the BS after all the PUs have been served. We develop a distributed framework focusing on the efficient utilization of the spectrum leased by a WSP, in contrast to the centralized approach based on spectrum/spectrum information pooling prominent in literature. This paper includes a detailed signaling framework along with a novel Differentiated Service Code Point (DSCP) based mechanism for distinguishing PUs from SUs at the BS. A novel incentive based pricing model for SUs with an inherent property of resource management at the BS is proposed along with a criterion for autonomous network selection at the SU terminal and a SU terminal initiated price based handoff scheme. The distributed approach proposed in this paper, provides a framework for a single WSP to maximize its profits by allowing SU access, without the need for coordination with other WSPs through a centralized mediating entity.


The effect of protocatechuic acid, tannic acid and trans-resveratrol on the activity of p-nitrophenol hydroxylase (PNPH), an enzymatic marker of CYP2E1, was examined in liver microsomes from acetone induced mice, trans-Resveratrol was found to be the most potent inhibitor (IC50 = 18.5 ± 0.4 μM) of PNPH, whi1e protocatechuic acid had no effect on the enzyme activity. Tannic acid with IC50 = 29.6 ± 3.3 μM showed mixed and trans-reseveratrol competitive inhibition kinetics (Ki = 1, μM and 2.1 μM, respectively). Moreover, trans-resveratrol produced a NADPH-dependent loss of PNPH activity, suggesting mechanism-based CYP2E1 inactivation. These results indicate that trans-resveratro and tannic acid may modulate cytochrome P4502E1 and influence the metabolic activation of xenobiotics mediated by this P450 isoform.


Carpooling is an efficient transportation option in real life because it reduces traffic and cost. We apply this idea to MANETs and propose multiple-target route discovery (MTRD) for on-demand routing protocols. MTRD aggregates multiple route requests into one RREQ message and discovers multiple targets simultaneously. When a node has to find a route to a destination, instead of immediately injecting a new RREQ message into the network, the node tries to discover a route by attaching its request to in-transit RREQ packets that it relays for other nodes. MTRD improves routing performance by reducing the number of regular route discoveries. The results of an extensive simulation study show that MTRD improves the routing performance significantly. Moreover, several important properties of MTRD are analyzed.


The evaluation of the free energy of hydration depends essentially upon a calculation of the difference in polarization energy in a vacuum and in water. This is feasible by electrostatic continuum theory which is lucid and computationally effortless. It is, however, insufficient to apply the frequently used linear response approximation and nonlinear response effects must be integrated with the continuum model. We start from the time-honored Langevin-Debye theory and modify it to even describe polar liquids such as aqueous solvents. The modified Langevin-Debye model is then applied to study the hydration of cations. It is to be noted that reaction-field models are unapplicable to a nonlinear dielectric in an inhomogeneous field. The nonlinear effects are less than 10 kJ/mol or 2% for monovalent ions. However, for multiply charged ions the effect can be as large as 1000 kJ/mol or 15% and the nonlinear response model reduces the mean error of the calculated hydration free energy by at least 60%, which results in a mean error of only 4% for such ions. The mean error is of the same magnitude as the electrostatic free energy uncertainty.


PurposeThe purpose of this research is to investigate the effects that Formal Organizational Structures have on the formation of Inter-organizational NetworksBackground/ ProblemWhen organizations are formed, they tend to lack access to resources that they need for their growth and development. The owners are forced to form interactions with relatives and close friends so as to acquire the resources they need. This results in having strong network ties. However to develop they require access to resources which are only available through weak ties. Due to their newness these organizations may be limited to strong network ties.At the same time, when organizations are in their maturity stages, they tend to interact more with organizations they have worked with before and hence are familiar to. This also creates strong network ties. However, what these organizations need is to innovate so that they can remain competitive but strong network ties lack the information required for innovation. Weak network ties offer more opportunities for innovativeness and creativity as they have access to new information. Due to their interaction practices, these organizations may be limited to strong network ties.As organizations grow, they develop from being young and organic to mature and mechanistic but the other forms between organic and mechanistic are not documented. There is also limited documentation on how the network interactions formed by organizations are affected by dimensions of the Formal Organizational Structure acting together as organizations develop from organic to mechanistic.MethodOur study focuses on the manufacturing industry, the forest technology sector particularly on organizations that deal in original equipment manufacturing in Vasterbotten County in northern Sweden. We conducted a qualitative research using multiple case study on six organizations located in this region. We interviewed top managers with reference to the dimensions of the Formal Organization Structure and Inter-organizational Networks in order to come up with our results.ConclusionIn conclusion, we found out that Formal Organizational Structure affects the formation of Inter-organizational Networks as organizations develop. We also found out that there are phases between the organic form and the mechanistic form that are a mixture of the two. Furthermore, our results show that it is not realistic for an organization to exist purely in an organic or mechanistic form.Key Words Formal Organizational Structure, Inter-organizational Network, Resource Based View, Lifecycle, Mechanistic, Organic, Network Interaction, Resources


The structure of silica-based glasses consists on a disrupted network of SiO4 tetrahedra where network modifiers generate non-bridging oxygen groups (NBO), that play an important role at the initial steps of the bioactive process. Infrared spectroscopy is a sensitive technique to the presence of NBO groups and glass local structure modifications. The infrared study has been complemented with a theoretical approach using the Y Stevels parameter. Moreover, the in vitro bioactivity of the glasses as a function of Y Stevels paremeter has been studied, which can be a finding of a predictive tool for bioactivity of glasses.


What is investigated in this research?
Mobility as a Service (abbreviated MaaS) is a relatively new concept in the 'world of mobility'. It is 'a mobility distribution model in which customer's major transportation needs are met over one interface and are offered by a service provider' (Hietanen in Smith et al. (2018a)). MaaS could lead to more frequent use of transit and more multimodal travelling, as is concluded from the UbiGo and SMILE field trials. More case studies are needed to reveal what type of travelers have an intention to use MaaS and how many of them do really use MaaS. In addition, there is a strong need for reflection on the process of setting up a MaaS pilot. Both aspects are investigated for a MaaS pilot in the densely populated, inner-city located neighborhood the Paleiskwartier in 's-Hertogenbosch.
What explains the intention to use MaaS?
It is concluded that a fifth of the Paleiskwartier residents has an intention to use MaaS, mostly driven by positive attitudes towards MaaS. Potential MaaS users have a high preference to take the train to reach different destinations, do use the train on a (very) frequent basis and have the lowest car possession rates per capita. Semi-structured interviews with potential MaaS users (N=15) reveal that the added value of MaaS compared to separately available shared modes and transit is questioned. Socio-economic characteristics – such as income level, gender or age – do not significantly explain the intention to use MaaS, for Paleiskwartier residents. The intention to use ridesharing by Paleiskwartier students is predominantly driven by practical benefits, social aspects and cost savings.
Which barriers and opportunities are experienced throughout the process?
Concerning the inclusion of societal goals in Mobility as a Service (MaaS level-4), both private and public involved actors are concerned about the translation of societal goals and the absence of legitimacy to include societal goals in MaaS. An important barrier experienced is the lack of open data – and accompanied absence of a level playing field – between existing transit companies and MaaS integrators. The process of setting up Mobility as a Service in the Paleiskwartier is characterized by difficulties in the integration of different shared modes and accompanied delays. Actors involved indicate that commitment towards shared goals and trust are the most important factors for a vital collaboration in the future.
What is relevant to investigate in the future?

Why people use MaaS: it is relevant to investigate the amount of potential MaaS users in different socio-spatial contexts, based on the (possible) interaction between socio-economic characteristics and spatial configuration (i.e. residential self-selection).

The effect of MaaS: it is of relevance to estimate the effect of MaaS on modal shift, car possession rates and perceived usefulness ex-ante and ex-post the operational phase. This, to conclude if MaaS lead to desired outcomes (e.g. less use of the private car) and no adverse effects occur (e.g. shift from transit to shared car).

Stimulation mechanisms: Analysing the effect of different mechanisms towards MaaS users, such as gamification, on the stimulation of certain travel behavior. The effect could be investigated from the user, MaaS integrator and authority perspective.

Process evaluation: It is of relevance to investigate if the experienced barriers and opportunities for MaaS Paleiskwartier also hold for other MaaS pilots in the Netherlands. If this is the case, the role of transportation authority concerning the mitigation of perceived barriers – e.g. data policies or new forms of public-private cooperation – should be investigated.

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eurostat Manuscript completed on: 25.11.2003 ISSN 10244352 Catalogue number: KSNK03026ENC © European Communities, 2003 Didier DupréAntti Karjalainen The year 2003 is the European Year of People with Disabilities. The preliminary results of the ad hoc module on employment of disabled people of the Spring 2002 round of the Labour Force Survey provide the following estimates for persons aged 16-64 living in private households in 25 European countries: • Of those persons aged between 16 and 64 years, 44.6 million i.e. one in six (15.7%) stated that they had a long-standing health problem or disability (LSHPD). • Labour force participation is indeed much lower for the disabled: 78% of the severely disabled aged 16-64 are outside of the labour force as compared to 27% forthose without LSHPD. And even among those in the labour force, the unemployment rate is nearly twice as high among the severely disabled as compared to the non-disabled. Only 16% of those who face work restrictions are provided with some assistance to work. • Overall there is little difference in the prevalence of disability among males and females, while the prevalence rates of LSHPD strongly increase with age. They are higher among those with lower education, among the widowed, divorced and the inactive. • The percentage of the working-age population with LSHPD varies widely among countries, with the highest percentage (32.2%) found in Finland and the lowest in Romania (5.8%). This wide-ranging spectrum might also reflect differences in how respondents perceived the question. Although utmost attention was paid to translation of the questions, the replies could have been mediated by cultural traits.


Are financial constraints preventing firms from importing capital goods? Sourcing capital goods from foreign countries is costly and requires internal or external financial resources. A simple model of foreign technology adoption shows that credit constraints act as a barrier to importing capital goods under imperfect financial markets. In our study, we investigate this prediction using detailed balance-sheet data from Indian manufacturing firms having reported information on financial statements and imports by type of good over the period 1997-2006. Our empirical findings shed new light on the micro determinants of firms' choices to import capital goods. Baseline estimation results show that firms with a lower leverage and higher liquidity are more likely to source their capital goods from foreign countries. Quantitatively, a 10 percentage point improvement of the leverage or liquidity ratio increases the probability of importing capital goods by 11 percent to 13 percent respectively. Different robustness tests demonstrate that these results are not driven by omitted variable bias related to changes in firm observable characteristics as well as ownership status. These findings are also robust to alternative specifications dealing with the potential reverse causality issues. Copyright 2012, Oxford University Press.


This study experimentally and numerically investigate fatigue damage in CFRP cross-ply laminates with an open hole under some test conditions, and verified the numerical simulation for predicting the fatigue damage progress proposed by the authors. Splits in the 0° plies, transverse cracks in the 90° plies and delaminations at 0°/90° ply interfaces were experimentally observed due to the cyclic loading, even if the maximum stress was much lower than the stress to generate the initial damage under the static loading condition. All the cracks gradually extended with increasing number of cycles under the low stress levels. After a damage analysis with cohesive elements was confirmed to represent the damage under static loading condition, the fatigue damage observed near the hole was analyzed by the damage analysis with a fatigue damage law that was applied to the stiffness degradation process of cohesive elements. The predicted fatigue damage progress agreed well with the observations, and this approach accurately represented the difference of the damage state due to the change in the critical energy release rate or in the maximum stress in cyclic loading. These experiments and simulations demonstrated the validity of the numerical approach for predicting the fatigue damage progress in composite laminates, and the parameters in the fatigue law for cohesive elements were discussed.


Droplet-based micro total analysis systems have been investigated by many researchers and used in bioengineering. In these systems, individual water-in-oil (W/O) droplets perform as microreactors. To manipulate W/O droplets, an electrostatic field is one of the most useful tools. For example, by applying a direct current (dc) electric field between electrodes soaked in oil, W/O droplets in the electrode spacings reciprocate due to dielectrophoretic force and Coulomb force. In this paper, gene transformation to Escherichia coli cells by using the droplet recycling is carried out. A droplet containing E. coli and plasmid deoxyribonucleic acid was located between the electrodes, and dc voltage was applied. As a result, the transformants were obtained. Therefore, the gene transformation by the electrostatic droplet manipulation was confirmed. In this method, sample volume can be smaller than that of conventional method. Therefore, our novel gene transfection method is expected to be a new tool in miniaturized bioengineering.


Renalase is a recently discovered flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD)-dependent soluble monoamine oxidase. It is expressed principally in the kidney, but its expression in the heart, brain, and skeletal muscle has also been confirmed. It is thought that renalase is involved in cardiac function and control of systemic blood pressure primarily by metabolizing circulating catecholamines. Animal experiments have suggested the possibility that exercise is involved in renalase secretion, but this has not been confirmed in human studies. The principal aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between exercise and renalase concentration in humans. Subjects were young men who were continuously training to run distances of 10-20 km; the total distance that was run in the present study was 30 km. Measurements were performed at four points (before running and after running 10 km, 20 km, and 30 km). The results of one-way analysis of variance examining repeated measurements of serum renalase concentration revealed significant differences (P = 0.007). A significant negative correlation between serum renalase concentration and estimated glomerular filtration rate, which indicates renal function, calculated using serum cystatin C concentration was noted. A significant positive correlation between serum renalase concentration and oxidative stress was observed in the period before exercise and after running 20 km. The present study verified the exercise-induced increase in serum renalase concentration in amateur runners who were continuously training.


This working paper uses remote sensing data and methods to characterize land cover change in four sites in the lowland Peruvian Amazon over a period of three decades (1987-2017). Multi-village landscapes were purposefully selected to include road accessible sites and others only accessible by river. Landscape analysis focused on buffers around the selected villages used to approximate the areas of influence of farmers in these communities. Deforestation in the Peruvian Amazon has been commonly attributed to agriculture expansion by smallholders. This belief falls short in acknowledging that the contribution of smallholder deforestation is mediated by others decisions around infrastructure development. In this analysis, road connected landscapes experienced greater loss of closed-canopy forest while closed canopy forest remained mostly stable in the river sites over the thirty year study period. Results indicated that closed canopy forest loss occurred in parallel with agricultural expansion at the road sites. The findings contribute to a more nuanced understanding of local land use dynamics and the role of regional infrastructure development as a driver of forest loss.


Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) land retirement contracts will begin to expire in late 1995. A multinomial logit model is used to identify characteristics influencing New Mexico CRP participant post-CRP land use plans. Results indicate post-CRP land uses intentions will vary with attributes reflecting characteristics of the land enrolled, socioeconomic variables, and participant attitudes. Results point to a CRP-facilitated retreat from crop production to future ranching by many producers. The analysis suggests future changes in the structure and character of southern Great Plains agriculture and surrounding communities.


The death of Bernie O'Brien in February 2004 brought a premature end to one of the most productive and influential careers in the area of health technology assessment and economic evaluation. A long-term member of the Society for Medical Decision Making, Bernie will be remembered for his research contributions in areas including outcome valuation, decision modeling, statistical methods in economic evaluation, and applied cost-effectiveness studies. He was also an excellent communicator and teacher and, above all, a fun guy to work with. In this article, the authors provide a review of Bernie's academic contributions.


Abstract The Assyrian King List (AKL) is central to the reconstruction of Assyrian and broader Near Eastern history and chronology. Because of AKL's significance, locating its original moment of composition has far-reaching historiographical implications. There is no scholarly consensus on the dating of AKL, but a closer look at the internal evidence of AKL indicates a firm, fifteenth century terminus post quem for the creation of AKL, while the bilingual tablet fragment BM 98496 establishes the thirteenth century reign of Tukulti-Ninurta I as a secure terminus ante quem. Within this temporal range, it is possible to trace the genesis of AKL to the reign of Aššur-uballiṭ I. This period witnessed great change in Assyria, and the nature of this change provides an ideal historical, political, and ideological context for the production of AKL. No other moment in Assyrian history offers so compelling a conjunction of political motives and historical circumstances for AKL's composition.


The recent success in StyleGAN demonstrates that pre-trained StyleGAN latent space is useful for realistic video generation. However, the generated motion in the video is usually not semantically meaningful due to the difficulty of determining the direction and magnitude in the StyleGAN latent space. In this paper, we propose a framework to generate realistic videos by leveraging multimodal (sound-image-text) embedding space. As sound provides the temporal contexts of the scene, our framework learns to generate a video that is semantically consistent with sound. First, our sound inversion module maps the audio directly into the StyleGAN latent space. We then incorporate the CLIP-based multimodal embedding space to further provide the audio-visual relationships. Finally, the proposed frame generator learns to find the trajectory in the latent space which is coherent with the corresponding sound and generates a video in a hierarchical manner. We provide the new high-resolution landscape video dataset (audio-visual pair) for the sound-guided video generation task. The experiments show that our model outperforms the state-of-the-art methods in terms of video quality. We further show several applications including image and video editing to verify the effectiveness of our method.


Despite recent developments in the field of human–animal studies and a surge of growth in scholarship in this area, organisational theory has been accused of facilitating the "virtual exclusion" of the non-human animal. This article attempts to address this through its investigation of the non-human in the business and management literature within an ethic of care framework. It accomplishes this through a bibliometric review of the articles available in the Social Sciences Citation Index. The focus of investigation is the nature of the human–animal relationship within the articles. It is hoped that this framework will assist scholars in attempts to increase the visibility of animals within our organisations and enhance their moral consideration, as well as facilitate the review of other literatures relating to the marginalised within our organisations.


Cytoplasmic free calcium [( Ca2+]c) plays an important role in cellular signal transduction in response to hormones. The development of microfluorometric digital image analysis makes it possible to obtain an image of a calcium-indicator dye, fura-2, in a single living cell. Subconfluent primary cultured cells from isolated proximal convoluted and straight tubules were analyzed for [Ca2+]c. The basal level of [Ca2+]c was 92.0 +/- 0.82 nM in convoluted and 75.0 +/- 4.7 nM in straight tubule cells. Exposure of convoluted tubule cells to parathyroid hormone (10(-7) M) elicited a 1.4-fold transient rise in [Ca2+]c. Treatment of straight tubule cells with calcitonin (0.1 U/ml), on the other hand, evoked a 1.6-fold transient increase in [Ca2+]c. [Ca2+]c in proximal straight tubule cells did not respond to parathyroid hormone, nor did that in convoluted tubule cells to calcitonin. [Ca2+]c peaks were diminished in straight tubule cells by repeated additions of calcitonin at 5-min intervals. These hormonal responses were abolished by perfusing the cells with calcium-free solution and were not mimicked by perfusion with adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (10(-4) M) or with forskolin (5 X 10(-5) M). The results suggest that the [Ca2+]c response to the selected peptide hormones is different in proximal convoluted and straight tubule cells in primary culture.


In the modern astronomical CCD observation, fringes are annoying problems. It is critical to remove fringes in order to provide properly uniform photometry across the field. Usually a fringe map can be constructed by combining frames and taking medians at every pixel from the corresponding frames' stack. Furthermore, the fringe map should be scaled based on a target frame in order to remove the fringes precisely. Astrometric work is another different measurement from photometry (for astrophysics), fringes' impetus to positional determination is often overlooked. When CCD frames are taken with a slow movement of telescope used, it's hard to construct a fringe map from data themselves. We extracted the fringe map from other CCD frames in telescope's different pointings, and thus practiced the approach according to Snodgrass and Carry [1] to derive a scale for a target frame. Furthermore, the positional measurement was studied for the fringes' impetus. In more detail, the positional measurements for stars were performed by a well-known 2-D Gaussian fit and were compared before and after de-fringing in the presentation. Our results showed that the biggest positional difference from fringes could be as big as 1 pixel for some faint stars. On average, the mean impetuses (standard deviation) were about 0.03 pixels, 0.25 pixels for bright stars, faint stars, respectively.


Increasing catch rates are considered the main impact of dynamic fisheries practices on marine ecosystems, but other effects can be equally important and are often ignored. Here we quantify a major, previously unknown source of shark mortality: entanglement in drifting fish aggregating devices, now widely used in the global tropical tuna purse-seine fishery. Using satellite tagging and underwater observational data, we developed two novel, independent, and complementary approaches, which quantify and highlight the scale of this problem. Entanglement mortality of silky sharks (Carcharhinus falciformis) in the Indian Ocean was 5–10 times that of the known bycatch of this imperiled species from the region's purse-seine fleet. More importantly, these estimates from a single ocean (480 000–960 000 silky sharks) mirror those from all world fisheries combined (400 000–2 million silky sharks), a situation that clearly requires immediate management intervention and extensive monitoring.


While online maps have been widely used in the society, the number of providers who develop applications to serve those users needs have also been increasing. To make use of data or exchange data from each provider, some standards are involved. The OpenGIS Consortium (OGC) is an association offering certain standards for geoprocessing which can be helped in developing and implementing software. The purpose of this project is to use WFS-T in combination with geolocation for online transactional editing of geographic features through mobile browsers on mobile phones based on one of OGC standards called WFS (Web Feature Service), which WFS-T (Transactional Web Feature Service) is a part of WFS. With WFS-T, users can perform transactional operations such as create, update and delete geographic features. Geographic features can be described as a set of properties which may include a name, type and value. For example, one country can be defined as a geographic feature containing the following properties: {country name, country capital, country lonlat, country population}; each property can have different type and value such as country name has a type as string and has a value as Norway while country population has a type as number and has a value as 4882600. In this implementation, GeoServer is selected to be used as GIS server software, PostgreSQL with PostGIS is used as datastore and OpenLayers is used in creating web-based geographic application. Additionally, W3C Geolocation API is used to detect users' locations from using their devices, in this case, an Android phone is used as a test device during the implementation. Once users launch their mobile browsers to connect to the Internet. The application will figure the users' locations and show the position as a point on a map through their mobile browsers. Moreover, the amenity places around their area will be displayed. The prototype allows users to make online transactions such as insert a new point as a new place. When users finish and save their work, all data will be recorded in the database via WFS-T operations. The project report will give readers some background information about geolocation, the OpenGIS Standards including concepts and technologies of GIS and mobile browsers, how the prototype is created, and also the results of the implementation to provide information for those who are interested in using WFS-T to edit geographic features through web browsers on mobile phones.


Employee performance and their new ideas, as well as their efforts to promote the company in positive ways help build the values of an enterprise. Properly motivated managers, white-collar, and blue-collar workers use their performance to affect the business efficiency, and therefore the success and sustainability of the enterprise. Selecting the right structure of motivation factors, especially those aimed at job category and gender, is the main role of enterprise management. The aim of this study is to analyze and define differences in the perception of the preferred level of motivation in terms of gender and job category. The questionnaires were given to randomly selected employees working in Slovak enterprises in order to ensure variability and randomness of respondent selection which is necessary for relevant data acquisition. Following the average, the order of the importance of motivation factors of 3720 respondents was defined. The Student's t-test and Tukey's HSD test were used. We confirmed that there are statistically significant differences in the perception of the motivation in terms of job category. Moreover, we proved the significant differences between genders in the job category of blue-collar workers. We did not observe differences between genders in the other job categories studied. The results reported should be accepted and implemented in motivational programs by the employees of human resource departments as a way to keep up with strategic human resource management.


We provide a theoretical model to explain the procyclicality of hedge fund activism. In our model, hedge funds which compete to retain investor flows excessively increase the net leverage of target firms in order to deliver high short-term payouts and signal their ability. Such excessive leverage leads to debt overhang in economic downturns, thereby destroying incentives for activism and engendering procyclicality. Our model thus provides a theoretical explanation that links the procyclicality of hedge fund activism with increases in the leverage or payouts ratios of target firms. In addition, the model generates several new testable implications and reconciles seemingly contradictory evidence on the wealth effects of activism for shareholders and bondholders.


AbstractThis paper presents a theoretical and experimental framework for the application of size-effect analysis to microscratch testing as a means to quantify the fracture properties and internal friction of materials at the microscale. The energetic size-effect law (SEL) for microscratch tests is developed for a general monomeric probe shape in terms of an intrinsic size function. The fundamental idea of the proposed approach is to rescale the scratch response to that of the flat punch, a conjecture that allows one to compare the SEL for different probe geometries, and thus solve for the asymptotic fracture toughness and effective process zone length from scratch tests done on homogenous (acetal homopolymer resin and polycarbonate resin) and inhomogeneous materials (mica ceramic and gas shale). As a material of current interest for controlled fracture studies, two samples of gas shale cored from the Marcellus and Eagle Ford formations are tested and analyzed to quantify all material properties that may ...


We present a visual imitation learning framework that enables learning of robot action policies solely based on expert samples without any robot trials. Robot exploration and on-policy trials in a real-world environment could often be expensive/dangerous. We present a new approach to address this problem by learning a future scene prediction model solely on a collection of expert trajectories consisting of unlabeled example videos and actions, and by enabling generalized action cloning using future image similarity. The robot learns to visually predict the consequences of taking an action, and obtains the policy by evaluating how similar the predicted future image is to an expert image. We develop a stochastic action-conditioned convolutional autoencoder, and present how we take advantage of future images for robot learning. We conduct experiments in simulated and real-life environments using a ground mobility robot with and without obstacles, and compare our models to multiple baseline methods.


LASIK is currently the most common refractive surgery performed in the U.S. Traditionally the success and outcome of LASIK is assessed by using a high contrast Snellen chart. This provides limited information since our environment is composed of varying contrasts. Evaluating contrast sensitivity provides a more functional assessment of overall visual ability after LASIK. However, there is little information concerning this subject. This study further investigated the effect of LASIK on contrast sensitivity. Preoperative and 5 and 10 week postoperative contrast sensitivity measurements were taken on 28 eyes of 14 subjects who underwent bilateral LASIK. The spatial frequencies of 1.5, 6.0, 12.0, and 30.0 cpd were tested. There was no statistically significant decrease in contrast sensitivity at the 1.5, 12.0, and 30.0 cpd between preoperative and the 5 week postoperative exam. There was a statistically significant decrease at the 6.0 cpd spatial frequency at 5 weeks post LASIK. By 10 weeks after LASIK, this decrease was no longer statistically significant. There was no statistically significant decrease in contrast sensitivity at the 1.5, 12.0, and 30.0 cpd from the preoperative through to the 10-week postoperative exam. Further research needs to be performed in order to determine the cause of any decrease in contrast sensitivity after LASIK surgery.


Aviation safety organizations have recommended that airline pilots are trained for startle and surprise. However, little information is available on useful training interventions. Therefore, a training intervention trial was executed during airline recurrent simulator training. The method consisted of a slow visual scan from the side-window, over the instruments, ending with facing the other pilot. Following a recorded video instruction, 38 airline pilots in two-pilot crews performed a training scenario in which they could apply the method. Data on application and evaluation of the method were obtained from each pilot. Few pilots actually applied the method (18.4%), and many gave low ratings to applicability of the method in the scenario, as well as in operational practice. Results show that a startle management method, as well as manner in which it is trained, should be carefully evaluated before being implemented in training practice.


High density functionalization of DNA with ethynyl and octadiynyl side chains followed by CuAAC "click labeling" with 9-azidomethylanthracene was performed. Alkynyl DNA was also cross-linked with fluorogenic 9,10-bis-azidomethylanthracene employing the "bis-click" reaction. By this means the fluorescence of the anthracene moiety was imparted to the virtually nonfluorescent DNA. Phosphoramidites of 8-aza-7-deaza-2'-deoxyadenosine with short and long linker arms in a steric nondemanding 7-position were utilized in solid phase oligodeoxynucleotide synthesis. High density alkynylated DNA-without anthracene residues-was found to be of comparable stability with both long and short linker arms. High density anthracene functionalized DNA became less stable with the short linker compared to that with the long linker connectivity. Interstrand cross-linked homodimers constructed from alkynylated oligonucleotides with fluorogenic 9,10-bis-azidomethylanthracene were hybridized with complementary strands to form double helices. They are more stable when the linker was located at a terminus than in a central position. Short linker anthracene adducts were destabilizing compared to long linker adducts. The fluorogenic anthracene residues not only have a significant effect on the duplex stability, but also impart fluorescence to the species. Fluorescence of cross-linked double helices with long linker connectivity was quenched when the cross-link was in a terminal position and was dequenched when the linker was connecting the two double helices at the center of the molecule. The fluorescence of the anthracene cross-linked double helices was strongly increased (dequenched) when the correct base pair was formed, while no change occurred upon mismatch formation.


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As part of the Micro Impacts of Macroeconomic Adjustment Policies project, this study focuses on the manufacturing component of the industrial sector. Specifically, the paper highlights the sector's export component. It traces the macro adjustment policies and the institutional reforms from 1986 to 1992. Utilizing the Cebu export and subcontracting model, a sectoral analysis of the industrial and informal export manufacturing is performed. Results indicate that reforms on the sector under Aquino administration are virtually the same as that of the Marcos government. It then recommends the continuous dialogue between the government and the private sector


Objective To compare the effects of atorvastatin 10 mg versus 40 mg in circulating angiogenic cell mobilisations and in restoring coronary flow reserve (CFR) during the 8-month follow-up in patients with a first acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Design CFR was measured using an intracoronary Doppler wire in 102 patients with AMI at baseline and at 8 months. Changes in the absolute number of circulating angiogenic cells were measured at baseline, 1 day, 5 days and at 8 months. Stented patients were randomly assigned to either low-dose atorvastatin 10 mg (ATOR10, n=52) or moderate-dose atorvastatin 40 mg (ATOR40, n=50). Setting University Hospital. Results CFR increased significantly in both groups during the 8-month follow-up. The 8-month increases from baseline in CFR were significantly greater in the ATOR40 group than in the ATOR10 group (0.99±0.69 vs 0.55±0.47, p=0.017, respectively). The serial increases in the absolute number of CD34+ and CXCR4+ cells were significantly greater in the ATOR40 group, especially at 24 h after the procedure (two-way repeated-measures analysis of variance: p=0.046 and p=0.022, respectively). Decreases from baseline for interleukin 6 (−2.94±3.31 vs −1.52±2.82 pg/ml), tumour necrosis factor α (−1.31±2.96 vs −0.01±1.29 pg/ml), soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (−71±95 vs 37±83 ng/ml) and soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (−51±364 vs 190±204 ng/ml) were significantly greater in the ATOR40 group. Conclusions The recovery of microvascular integrity after acute ischaemic injury in the ATOR40 group was expedited by greater circulating angiogenic cell mobilisations such as CD34+ and CXCR4+ cells, together with greater decreases in inflammatory cytokines and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol concentrations. Registration number http://ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00536887.


Anwar al-Aulaqi is a natural born American citizen of Yemeni descent who was reportedly added to U.S. targeted killing lists in early 2010. The United States argues that al-Aulaqi is a lawful target due either to his role in an ongoing armed conflict between the United States and Al Qaeda or under the auspices of self-defense. In fact, the United States relies on self-defense and armed conflict in general to justify the lawfulness of its targeted killing programs. When applicable, each of these frameworks provides legal authority for a state to use force against an individual. However, neither framework provides a blanket justification-or a blanket prohibition-on the use of targeted killing. Instead, each framework provides authority for use of force, including targeted killings, when that framework's particular requirements are satisfied. This article argues that, although both self-defense and armed conflict provide authority for a state's use of force when their respective parameters are satisfied, self-defense fails to justify the continuous targeting of Anwar al-Aulaqi and other individuals on U.S. targeted killing lists. Rather, al-Aulaqi is likely justifiably targetable on a continuous basis due only to his direct participation in an ongoing armed conflict between AQAP and Yemen in which the United States is intervening.


This comment responds to an article by Professor Gerald Neuman on the Supreme Court's recent decision in Reno v. American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. The Court in AADC rejected a selective prosecution claim by immigrants targeted for deportation based on First Amendment-protected activities, finding that Congress had stripped the federal courts of jurisdiction over such claims, and that in any event the Constitution does not recognize a selective prosecution objection to a deportation proceeding. Professor Neuman argues that the decision should not be read as implying that aliens have less First Amendment protection than citizens, and that the decision can be squared with the First Amendment because the First Amendment simply does not extend to fundraising for foreign terrorist organizations, even when provided by citizens. Professor Neuman's argument fails for two fundamental reasons. First, the Court in AADC did not focus on allegations of fundraising, but rather on allegations of membership per se. This is because the government's own concessions in the case made clear that they selectively sought to deport the plaintiffs for a range of core associational activities, including but not limited to fundraising. Thus, neither the Supreme Court decision on its face nor the underlying facts support an argument that the case is about the peculiar constitutional status of fundraising. Second, and more fundamentally, Professor Neuman's conception of the First and Fifth Amendment rights of United States citizens is too parsimonious - fundraising is a core form of association, and is worthy of no less constitutional protection. A law that forbade payment of dues to Amnesty International would be just as invalid as a law that forbade membership in Amnesty International, and for the same reasons. There is strong support in constitutional principle and precedent for the proposition that the government may not selectively criminalize material support to foreign terrorist organizations without proof that the individual supporter specifically intended to further some illegal activity of the group. In the end, Professor Neuman advocates abandoning the prohibition on guilt by association where the group associated with has been designated a "foreign terrorist organization." But that principle was itself developed in the context of association with a foreign organization that had been designated as "terrorist," the Communist Party. In short, then, Professor Neuman misreads the AADC decision as being about fundraising rather than association, and more fundamentally, misreads the First and Fifth Amendments by contending that selective punishment of fundraising for particular groups does not violate the right of association.


Present experiment was conducted by using 22 upland and lowland rice varieties grown in nutrient solution with four different concentrations of silicon (Control, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 mM) for 30 days to observe the variable accumulation rate in Indica rice. Significant differences were observed in relative shoot growth than the relative root growth. The maximum relative shoot growth rates were observed in var. Swarna (203.45%), var. Pratikhya (202.70%), var. Ghanteswari (196.04%) and var. Jyortirmayee (154.55%) at 1.0 to 1.5 mM Si concentration after 20 days of treatment, higher concentration showed pessimistic effect. Relative shoot growth showed positive correlation with silicon accretion and highest accumulation in case of var. Swarna (3.96 mg/g) and var. Ghanteswari (3.79 mg/g) at 1.5 and 1.0 mM Si application, respectively. Among the 22 varieties used, six varieties were selected including 3-upland and 3-lowland on considering their differential Si-uptake potentials and analyzed for nutrient mobilization ability in combination with silicon. The EDX maps showed the different level of element deposition on leaf surface under Si influence in var. Ghanteswari. With the increase in external Si supply in each genotype, the amount of silicon deposited varies, influencing the other nutrient mobilization. Both major (P, K, Ca and Mg) and minor nutrients (Mn, Fe and Cu) showed affirmative correlation with increase in Si concentration. Thus, Si supplementation in rice is a cost effective, sustainable and environmental friendly nutrient management system for enhancing rice yield. * Corresponding author KEYWORDS


This paper deals with a new configuration for a haptic system, which is able to simultaneously replicate independent force/displacement and force/area behaviors of a given material. Being force/area information a relevant additional haptic cue for improving softness discrimination, this system allows to extend the range of materials whose rheology can be carefully mimicked. Moreover, according to the Hertz theory, two objects with different curvature radius having the same force/displacement behavior can respond with different contact area to the same applied force. These behaviors can be effectively replicated by the integrated haptic system here proposed enabling and independent control of force/displacement and force/area. The system is comprised of a commercial device (delta haptic device) serially coupled with a contact area spread rate (CASR) device. Two specimens of a material and two of another one, all with different curvature radii, were identified and modeled in terms of force/area and force/displacement. These behaviors were successfully tracked by the integrated haptic system here proposed


ABSTRACT Purpose This study aims to identify the potential sources of radon exhalation and its measurement in underground uranium mines to control the radiation levels within safe limits and protect miners from radiation hazards. Methods An extensive literature review on radon exhalation in underground uranium mines from various sources such as uranium ore, backfill tailings and mine water has been carried out. The influence of different important factors, viz. ore grade, porosity, grain size and moisture content on radon exhalation has been discussed in depth. Different methods for the measurement of radon exhalation from various sources in mines have also been presented in this paper. Results The review of literature revealed that the radon exhalation rate in porous uranium bearing rocks is less affected by the ore grade than in non-porous rocks. The exhalation of radon from backfill tailings is quantitatively more significant than from the uranium ore itself due to higher bulk porosity and enhanced surface area. Thus, porosity is the dominant factor that affects the rate of radon exhalation from rock surfaces into mine openings. Practical implications The knowledge of the sources of radon and quantitative estimation of radon from various sources will be very much useful in the planning and designing of ventilation systems in underground uranium mines. The accurate measurement of radon exhalation in underground uranium mines can be made by choosing the optimum size of accumulation chamber and a suitable radon build-up period in the chamber. Originality/value The study portrays the important sources of radon and its measurement techniques in underground uranium mines based on an extensive literature review. The methods of measurement of radon exhalation from the ore body and backfill tailings in underground uranium mines, used by the authors of this paper, comparatively give more accurate results than previously used methods. Furthermore, the methods are more effective in terms of portability, cost and time for measuring the average radon exhalation across a large.


Key-value stores are a vital component in many scale-out enterprises, including social networks, online retail, and risk analysis. Accordingly, they are receiving increased attention from the research community in an effort to improve their performance, scalability, reliability, cost, and power consumption. To be effective, such efforts require a detailed understanding of realistic key-value workloads. And yet little is known about these workloads outside of the companies that operate them. This paper aims to address this gap.
 To this end, we have collected detailed traces from Facebook's Memcached deployment, arguably the world's largest. The traces capture over 284 billion requests from five different Memcached use cases over several days. We analyze the workloads from multiple angles, including: request composition, size, and rate; cache efficacy; temporal patterns; and application use cases. We also propose a simple model of the most representative trace to enable the generation of more realistic synthetic workloads by the community.
 Our analysis details many characteristics of the caching workload. It also reveals a number of surprises: a GET/SET ratio of 30:1 that is higher than assumed in the literature; some applications of Memcached behave more like persistent storage than a cache; strong locality metrics, such as keys accessed many millions of times a day, do not always suffice for a high hit rate; and there is still room for efficiency and hit rate improvements in Memcached's implementation. Toward the last point, we make several suggestions that address the exposed deficiencies.


An investigation is made of the buckling of the compression cover of post-stiffened box beams subjected to end moments. Charts are presented for the determination of the minimum post axial stiffnesses and the corresponding compressive buckling loads required for the compression cover to buckle with nodes through the posts. Application of the charts to design and analysis and the limitations of their use are discussed.


great surprise that she was getting so much for her 2s. I wonder if some way could not be found to indicate to patients when they receive drugs the cost they would have to meet if they met the cost out of their own pocket. From a different point of view, however, bearing in mind my article on "On not taking P.A.S.,"' I was gratified to find a young woman out-patient who was evidently taking her P.A.S. treatment conscientiously. -I am, etc., Deptford Chest Clinic, J. P. V. RIGBY. London S.E.8.


Data mining provides methods that help to acquire insight in a data set automatically. One of its problem areas is to select a small set of useful patterns from the huge collection of patterns that can be found in a data set. This thesis presents our results in this area. We show that such a small set of patterns, if well-chosen, allows one to answer queries on the data set without referring to the data itself. Moreover, we show how these pattern sets allow one to built quick and scalable recommender systems. To choose such a small set of patterns, we rely on the Minimum Description Length (MDL) principle: the best model compresses the data best. More precisely, we use the code tables that the heuristic Krimp algorithm induces from the data. Our results show that these code tables are highly characteristic of the data set. Anything one wants to know about the data can be inferred from its code table. In more detail, we show how such a code table can be used to compute the answer to a query on the data set. These answers are almost always very close to the answer one gets by actually computing the query on the data itself. This similarity is verified experimentally and quantified using an asymmetric dissimilarity score which is derived from the Normalised Compression Distance. Next we show how the code tables can be used for the -- predictive -- task of tag recommendation. In particular it is shown that the proposed algorithms show a good trade-off between accuracy and time-efficiency; using the full set of patterns yields only slightly better results but requires infeasible amounts of time. In a social networking context we show how to personalize -- and thus improve -- our tag recommendations. This is achieved by using user-centred knowledge in contrast to the collective knowledge used for the general task. For quality and scalability reasons, we use `social batched personomies' by processing queries in batches, instead of individually, such as done in the standard personomy approach. In each chapter we provide extensive experimental evaluation to show that our methods perform well on a large variety of datasets. From these experiments one cannot but conclude that code tables are highly characteristic of the data.


1 - Although wetland ecosystems are able to sustain high degree of biological diversity and provide social and economic value, they are also the most impacted and degraded of all ecological systems. 2 - Natural and human-based alterations are particularly evident in small aquatic ecosystems, where the recovery time can be greatly reduced because of the geological and geomorphological characteristics of the sites. 3 - Although seldom used in lentic environment, benthic communities may represent a suitable tool to measure the recovery effects in aquatic ecosystems, due to several characteristics that make them useful as bioindicator. 4 - Here we study the response of benthic communities to the recovery of the Tarquinia Salterns after their abandon and consequent habitat degradation. The increased deposition of organic and inorganic sediments entailed shallow ponds and laminar circulation, causing eutrophication. The ecological restoration of the site allowed reinstating the water depth and flow and returned environmental parameters (mainly dissolved oxygen) to their typical values. 5 - We measured several characteristics of species assemblage in three different sites of the Tarquinia Salterns, covering a period of ten years spanning from pre-recovery to post-recovery phases. 6 - Our results are twofold: i) they show the feasibility of monitoring wetland restoration activities by investigating the pattern of species assemblage in benthic ecological communities and, ii) show the importance of regional and local processes in the composition and response of benthic communities to perturbations.


who have had a delivery in university and private referral centers. We review all files of CHD newborn admitted in our neonatal care unit. Our routine ultrasound examination included detailed fetal heart examination. It was made five transversal parallel plains including abdomen, four chamber view, aorta outflow tract, pulmonary outflow tract and three vessels view, adding color Doppler, performed by trained sonographers. To determine the sensibility of ultrasound examination in the diagnosis of CHD we compared prenatal and final postnatal diagnosis. Results: There were a total of 5960 births during this period, with thirty-five CHD newborn. Six patients had no prenatal evaluation in our unit. Six newborn cases of minor CHD and twenty-three cases of mayor CHD were identified. Nineteen of mayor CHD were prenatally diagnosticated. In four cases the antenatal diagnosis were no made. The incidence of major CHD was 5.8 per 1000 births. Prenatal detection rate for mayor CHD was 82.6% (19/23). Conclusion: Ultrasound is the best tool for prenatal diagnosis of CHD. Our results are similar that previously published in others referrals centers. The undiagnosticated patients were because sonographer mistakes or because the natural history of some defects. The universal prenatal ultrasound screening done by trained sonographers using a protocol examination have high sensibility of detection of CHD in the antenatal care unit of referrals centers.


PURPOSE
The aim of this study was to analyze the occurrence of the most frequent BCR-ABL transcript variants (b3a2, b2a2 and e1a2) in Serbian patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and compare it with the occurrence reported in other populations.

METHODS
We analyzed peripheral blood and bone marrow samples of 136 Serbian patients with CML by RT-PCR and cytogenetic methods.

RESULTS
In 100 patients (73.5%) the b3a2 and in 34 (25%) the b2a2 forms of BCR-ABL were detected. One (0.75%) patient was BCR-ABL negative, but in lymphoblastic transformation he expressed the e1a2 [corrected] transcript of BCR-ABL. One (0.75%) patient displayed both b2a2 and b3a2 forms of BCR-ABL. Analysis of this group according to karyotype showed b3a2 predominance (79%) in patients with classic t(9;22); b2a2 was found in 20% and both b2a2 and b3a2 forms in 1%. In variant translocations b3a2 in 65% and b2a2 in 35% of the patients were detected. In contrast, the subgroup with normal karyotype expressed slight predominance of the b2a2 form (50%); b3a2 was found in 43% of the patients and one patient (7%) displayed e1a2.

CONCLUSION
Predominance of the b3a2 form in Serbian patients with CML is in concordance with other relevant investigations, conducted mostly on Caucasian ethnic groups, but in contrast to the study performed on the Mestizo ethnic group in Ecuador. Slight predominance of the b2a2 form was also noticed among the patients with normal karyotype.


Testis blood flow per testis closely follows testis weight in rats made aspermatogenic by a single exposure of the testis to 43 degrees C for 30 min or 500 rad (5 Gy) of irradiation from a caesium source, or following ligation of the efferent ducts. Aspermatogenesis following these treatments was associated with only minor changes in the concentrations of testosterone in peripheral blood before stimulation with human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG), and a reduced responsiveness to hCG when testis weight had fallen after heating. The concentrations of testosterone in testicular venous blood was normal or above normal during aspermatogenesis resulting from heat or irradiation, and only slightly reduced following efferent duct ligation. Consequently testosterone production (defined as the product of plasma flow and the veno-arterial concentration difference for testosterone) was markedly reduced during aspermatogenesis, both before and after stimulation with hCG. It appears that the reduced blood flow limits the amount of testosterone leaving the testis, and while the Leydig cells are capable under some circumstances of compensating partially for this fall by increasing the concentration of testosterone in the testicular venous blood, this compensation is not complete when there are severe reductions in blood flow. Therefore one can conclude that the mass of the tubules is the main determinant of testis blood flow and the Leydig cells must manage with what the tubules require.


Viral infection is a stimulus for apoptosis, and in order to sustain viral replication many viruses are known to carry genes encoding apoptosis inhibitors. F1L, encoded by the orthopoxvirus modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA) has a Bcl-2-like structure. An MVA mutant lacking F1L (MVAΔF1L) induces apoptosis, indicating that MVA infection activates and F1L functions to inhibit the apoptotic pathway. In this study we investigated the events leading to apoptosis upon infection by MVAΔF1L. Apoptosis largely proceeded through the pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 family protein Bak with some contribution from Bax. Of the family of pro-apoptotic BH3-only proteins, only the loss of Noxa provided substantial protection, while the loss of Bim had a minor effect. In mice, MVA preferentially infected macrophages and DCs in vivo. In both cell types wt MVA induced apoptosis albeit more weakly than MVAΔF1L. The loss of Noxa had a significant protective effect in macrophages, DC and primary lymphocytes, and the combined loss of Bim and Noxa provided strong protection. Noxa protein was induced during infection, and the induction of Noxa protein and apoptosis induction required transcription factor IRF3 and type I interferon signalling. We further observed that helicases RIG-I and MDA5 and their signalling adapter MAVS contribute to Noxa induction and apoptosis in response to MVA infection. RNA isolated from MVA-infected cells induced Noxa expression and apoptosis when transfected in the absence of viral infection. We thus here describe a pathway leading from the detection of viral RNA during MVA infection by the cytosolic helicase-pathway, to the up-regulation of Noxa and apoptosis via IRF3 and type I IFN signalling.


The management of complex uveitis is often based around the use of oral corticosteroids. To spare the side effects of corticosteroids, second-line oral immunosuppressant drugs are used. Newer systemic immunosuppressive drugs, including biologics, and locally delivered treatments are being evaluated. This article reviews current conventional treatments, discusses their limitations and evaluates newer treatment strategies. Current theories about the pathogenesis of uveitis and potential targets for treatment are discussed in this context. We are still in search of a low-risk, where possible, locally delivered and targeted treatment for uveitis.


Abstract. Regional extent and spatiotemporal dynamics of Arctic permafrost disturbances remain poorly quantified. High spatial resolution commercial satellite imagery enables transformational opportunities to observe, map, and document the micro-topographic transitions occurring in Arctic polygonal tundra at multiple spatial and temporal frequencies. The entire Arctic has been imaged at 0.5 m or finer resolution by commercial satellite sensors. The imagery is still largely underutilized, and value-added Arctic science products are rare. Knowledge discovery through artificial intelligence (AI), big imagery, high performance computing (HPC) resources is just starting to be realized in Arctic science. Large-scale deployment of petabyte-scale imagery resources requires sophisticated computational approaches to automated image interpretation coupled with efficient use of HPC resources. In addition to semantic complexities, multitude factors that are inherent to sub-meter resolution satellite imagery, such as file size, dimensions, spectral channels, overlaps, spatial references, and imaging conditions challenge the direct translation of AI-based approaches from computer vision applications. Memory limitations of Graphical Processing Units necessitates the partitioning of an input satellite imagery into manageable sub-arrays, followed by parallel predictions and post-processing to reconstruct the results corresponding to input image dimensions and spatial reference. We have developed a novel high performance image analysis framework –Mapping application for Arctic Permafrost Land Environment (MAPLE) that enables the integration of operational-scale GeoAI capabilities into Arctic science applications. We have designed the MAPLE workflow to become interoperable across HPC architectures while utilizing the optimal use of computing resources.


The detection of a dangerous emission source location has the potential to be enhanced by using plume-tracing mobile robots, without endangering human life during the detection and source localization process. So far, many researchers focus on odor source localization in simple & laboratory based environments. The present study focuses on more real life odor source localization scenarios. In this study, multiple robots were used and coordinated by a supervisory program to locate an odor source in complicated city-like environments. A series of simulations has been conducted and the results demonstrated the potential of the supervisory program to effectively control a number of robots to locate a dangerous odor source in real life scenarios.


Plasmodium falciparum malaria, alpha-thalassemia, and anemia are frequent in African children. In 494 nonhospitalized Nigerian children, P. falciparum infection rates, alpha-globin genotypes, and hematologic parameters were determined. P. falciparum infection was observed in 78% of the children. The gene frequency of alpha-thalassemia was 0.28. Infection rates and parasitemia were similar for the 3 alpha-globin genotypes. In contrast to nonthalassemic and heterozygous persons, infection in children with homozygous alpha-thalassemia did not influence hemoglobin values. Because microcytosis and anemia are common features of alpha-thalassemia, their significance in P. falciparum infection was examined. Microcytosis was significantly associated with protection from hemoglobin decrease due to P. falciparum. Moreover, the rate of infection was lower in microcytic than in normocytic anemia.


Recent studies have established that decision-making by federal court of appeals judges is influenced not only by the preferences of the judge, but also the preferences of her panel colleagues. Although the existence of these panel effects is well documented, the reasons they occur are less well understood. Scholars have proposed a number of competing theories to explain panel effects, but none has been established empirically. In this Article, I report an empirical test of two competing explanations of panel effects - one emphasizing deliberation internal to a circuit panel, the other hypothesizing strategic behavior on the part of circuit judges. The latter explanation posits that court of appeals judges act strategically in light of the expected actions of others, and that therefore, panel effects should depend upon how the preferences of the Supreme Court or the circuit en banc are aligned relative to those of the panel members. Analyzing votes in Title VII sex discrimination cases, I find no support for the theory that panel effects are caused by strategic behavior aimed at inducing or avoiding Supreme Court review. On the other hand, the findings strongly suggest that panel effects are influenced by circuit preferences. Both minority and majority judges on ideologically mixed panels differ in their voting behavior depending upon how the preferences of the circuit as a whole are aligned relative to the panel members. This study provides evidence that panel effects do not result from a dynamic wholly internal to the three judges hearing a case, but are influenced by the environment in the circuit as a whole as well.


Empirical studies have shown that dependence clusters are both prevalent in source code and detrimental to many activities related to software, including maintenance, testing and comprehension. Based on such observations, it would be worthwhile to try to give a more precise characterization of the connection between dependence clusters and software quality. Such attempts are hindered by a number of difficulties: there are problems in assessing the quality of software, measuring the degree of clusterization of software and finding the means to exhibit the connection (or lack of it) between the two. In this paper we present our approach to establish a connection between software quality and clusterization. Software quality models comprise of low- and high-level quality attributes, in addition we defined new clusterization metrics that give a concise characterization of the clusters contained in programs. Apart from calculating correlation coefficients, we used mutual information to quantify the relationship between clusterization and quality. Results show that a connection can be demonstrated between the two, and that mutual information combined with correlation can be a better indicator to conduct deeper examinations in the area.


Freedom's Lawmakers is the first comprehensive directory of America's first generation of black public officials--those who held office during the Reconstruction era that followed the Civil War. With positions including congressman, justice of the peace, constable, and member of the legislature, the nearly 1500 officials listed here offer a panorama of the black community in all its diversity--freeborn and slave, Northern and Southern, rich and poor. The book draws on extensive research in the era's primary sources, and the voluminous literature on Reconstruction that has appeared in the past generation, providing information about the antebellum status, occupation, property ownership, military service, and other attributes of black officeholders. The concise biographies are augmented by 125 halftones, including seven composite photographs at the front of the book. In some cases, only a few pieces of information are available, but in a remarkable number of instances, the book traces the life histories of previously unknown individuals, most of them born as slaves, who played a role in America's first experiment in interracial democracy. The biographies follow many individuals into the twentieth century, illustrating the impact of these black Americans on post-Reconstruction society and the consequences for black Americans of the overthrow of Reconstruction.


From March 1958 to December 1980, 11284 patients with cancer of uterine cervix were treated with radiotherapy in our hospital. Among them, 282 were complicated with pyometra with an incidence of 2.5%. The incidence of pyometra was higher in patients treated by combined intracavitary with external irradiation than by other radiation methods. 74.1% was diagnosed during the manipulation of intracavitary therapy. Escherichia coli comprised 46.5% by culture. The 5 year survival rate was lower in patients with pyometra than without it. The patients who had a temperature over 38 degrees C and uterus enlarged to more than 6 weeks of pregnancy had a bad prognosis. It was even worse for patients whose pyometra did not heal or developed at the end of radiation. Endometrial biopsy was done in 36 patients with pyometra and cancer cells were seen in 55.6% of them. Endometrial biopsy positive rate reached to 77.8% in the patients whose pyometra was not cured or occurred after radiotherapy. This is the main reason of the poor prognosis. The authors believe that endometrial and cervical biopsy should be taken for cancer of uterine cervix complicated with pyometra; for biopsy positive patients during the treatment, the intracavitary dose should be increased; for positive patients after radiotherapy, operation is strongly indicated.


BACKGROUND
 Despite the high burden of new HIV infections in minor adolescents, they are often excluded from biomedical HIV prevention trials, largely owing to the ethical complexities of obtaining consent for enrollment. Researchers and ethics regulators have a duty to protect adolescents—as a special category of human subjects, they must have protection that extends beyond those afforded to all human subjects. Typically, additional protection includes parental consent for enrollment. However, parental consent can present a risk of harm for minor adolescents. Research involving minor adolescents indicate that they are unwilling to join biomedical trials for stigmatized health problems, such as HIV, when parental consent is required. This presents a significant barrier to progress in adolescent HIV prevention by creating delays in research and the translation of new scientific evidence generated in biomedical trials in adult populations.

 OBJECTIVE
 This protocol aims to examine how parental involvement in the consent process affects the acceptability of hypothetical participation in biomedical HIV prevention trials from the perspectives of minor adolescents and parents of minor adolescents.

 METHODS
 In this protocol, we use a quasi-experimental design that involves a simulated consent process for 2 different HIV prevention trials. The first trial is modeled after an open-label study of the use of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate and emtricitabine as preexposure prophylaxis for HIV. The second trial is modeled after a phase IIa trial of an injectable HIV integrase inhibitor. There are 2 groups in the study—minor adolescents aged 14 to 17 years, inclusive, and parents of minor adolescents in the same age range. The adolescent participants are randomized to 1 of 3 consent conditions with varying degrees of parental involvement. After undergoing a simulated consent process, they rate their willingness to participate (WTP) in each of the 2 trials if offered the opportunity. The primary outcome is WTP, given the consent condition. Parents undergo a similar process but are asked to rate the acceptability of each of the 3 consent conditions. The primary outcome is acceptability of the consent method for enrollment. The secondary outcomes include the following: capacity to consent among both participant groups, the prevalence of medical mistrust, and the effects of the study phase (eg, phase IIa vs the open-label study) and drug administration route (eg, oral vs injection) on WTP (adolescents) and acceptability (parents) of the consent method.

 RESULTS
 Enrollment began in April 2018 and ended mid-September 2019. Data are being analyzed and dissemination is expected in April 2020.

 CONCLUSIONS
 The study will provide the needed empirical data about minor adolescents' and parents' perspectives on consent methods for minors. The evidence generated can be used to guide investigators and ethics regulators in the design of consent processes for biomedical HIV prevention trials.

 INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT
 DERR1-10.2196/16509


Background When an unrelated donor is used for an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (AlloHSCT) highly immunosuppressive treatment is needed during the early post-transplant period as prophylaxis against acute graft versus host disease (aGVHD). Tacrolimus is one the drugs used with a target level of 5–15 ng/mL. Purpose To compare the accuracy of real plasma tacrolimus levels with target levels in the immediate post-transplant period. Materials and methods A retrospective review was made between 2008/01/01 and 2013/09/30 of all aGVHD prophylaxis that included tacrolimus. Data were obtained from the electronic medical history records and the Pharmacy Unit intravenous database. Results Tacrolimus was used in 46 patients (17 women) with a median of 51 years old (17–69). First dose of tacrolimus was administered on day -1 at 0.03 mg/kg/day by continuous intravenous infusion. Only half of patients, 23 (50%), were within the therapeutic range when the first measure was made. Supratherapeutic levels were found in 15 patients and infratherapeutic in 8 patients. This first tacrolimus plasma level was obtained between day + 2 and + 11. Conditioning was done with myeloablative regimens (fludarabine-busulfan: 13 patients; total body irradiation and cyclophosphamide: 5 patients) and non myeloablative regimens (fludarabine-melphalan: 7 patients; fludarabine-busulfan: 17 patients; fludarabine-cyclophosphamide: 4 patients). Antibiotic prophylaxis was administered in all cases with ciprofloxacin and antifungal prophylaxis was fluconazole, voriconazole and caspofungin for 42, 3 and 1 patient, respectively. A direct relationship has not been found between the day of measurement, conditioning regimen, antibiotic or antifungal prophylaxis and the tacrolimus plasma level obtained. Conclusions There is great discordance between theoretical tacrolimus plasma levels and real levels. Renal function doesn't affect tacrolimus pharmacokinetics, although it is potentially nephrotoxic, which might require dose adjustment. After this review a pharmacokinetic drug interaction among drugs used during conditioning or antibiotic or antifungal prophylaxis was excluded. A thorough investigation of how tacrolimus samples are obtained and handled is mandatory. No conflict of interest.