The financial meltdown has affected businesses around the globe. Businesses are facing extreme pressures to reduce overheads, rationalize costs, and consolidate operations. It is, therefore, decisive to scrutinize all of the options available to the business before making an investment into information technology infrastructure and select the best option within the available means towards growth and seizing long term opportunities. These considerations are even more important in government departments or agencies, where broader public good and the need to demonstrate responsible usage of taxpayer funds are always paramount. Open source technology presents itself as a viable alterative to proprietary software and offers best little opportunity cost and trade offs. Open source software technologies offer genuinely collaborative innovation, at a fraction of cost, and provide robust and secure solutions. This paper presents a study of the open source software penetration in Australian state governments departments, and puts into perspective the value that open source software can add to these departments. It examines why the adoption of OSS for e-government is successfully utilized elsewhere but not in Australia.


Trends in terrestrial temperature variability are perhaps more relevant for species viability than trends in mean temperature. In this paper, we develop methodology for estimating such trends using multi-resolution climate data from polar orbiting weather satellites. We derive two novel algorithms for computation that are tailored for dense, gridded observations over both space and time. We evaluate our methods with a simulation that mimics these data's features and on a large, publicly available, global temperature dataset with the eventual goal of tracking trends in cloud reflectance temperature variability.


Our population is ageing. Vision impairment is highly correlated with ageing and the population of older people with vision impairment is increasing. ICT competence is essential to fully partake in society. Older people, in particular those with vision impairment, are at a high risk of being excluded from the digital revolution and must be ecnourage to use ICT's. This paper outlines four projects in which NCBI has been involved in relation to older adults and digital inclusion . Improving access to ICT for older people with vision impairment will enhance their participation in social, cultural and economic life and bridge the digital divide .


Associations of individual base excision repair (BER) genotypes with colorectal adenoma risk are unclear, but likely modest. However, genetic risk scores (GRS) that aggregate information from multiple genetic variants might be useful for assessing genetic predisposition to colorectal adenoma. We analyzed data pooled from three colonoscopy‐based case‐control studies of incident, sporadic colorectal adenoma (n = 488 cases, 604 controls) that collected blood for genotyping and extensive dietary and other data. We randomly split our population sample into training samples (half of the participants) and validation samples (the remaining participants) 10 times. Associations of 65 individual single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 15 BER genes were assessed in the training samples and used to combine information from multiple risk variants into a BER GRS among the validation samples using unweighted and weighted methods. We also combined 15 extrinsic exposures with known pro‐ or antioxidant properties into an oxidative balance score (OBS). Associations of the BER GRS with colorectal adenoma, overall and jointly with the OBS, were assessed using multivariable logistic regression. The odds ratio for those in the highest relative to the lowest tertile of the weighted BER GRS was 2.07 (95% confidence interval, 1.26‐3.40; ptrend = 0.01). Relative to those with both a low GRS and a high (more antioxidant) OBS, the estimated direct association for those with both a high BER GRS and a low OBS was stronger than for those in other GRS/OBS categories. Our findings suggest that BER genotypes collectively may be associated with incident sporadic colorectal adenomas.


INTRODUCTION Why are so many oil-rich states so frequently undemocratic? Is there a link between an oil-rich state's reliance on natural resource exports as the primary source of government revenue and autocracy? Interest in this topic is in large measure due the persistence of despotism in the oil-rich Middle East. At first glance, there appears to be some degree of correlation. For instance, amongst all the oil-rich states that depend on oil exports for at least 25 percent of their total annual revenue, only Norway is a genuinely functioning democracy. Whereas Mexico and Indonesia have maintained an electoral democracy with some degree of success over the years, the vast majority of oil export-dependent countries have been unable to translate vast oil resources and revenue into either democratization or sustainable economic growth. Regarding economic development and growth in Gross Domestic Product, several authoritative studies have demonstrated an inverse relationship between natural resource export dependence and sustained economic growth. For instance, Jeffrey D. Sachs and Andrew M. Warner conducted a study of 97 countries over a 19-year period, and found that high ratios of natural resource exports to GDP effectively translated into markedly slower rates of economic growth. (1) Several other studies have arrived at similar conclusions. (2) To be sure, as the experiences of Botswana and Norway indicate, natural resource abundance does not drive down economic growth in a linear, deterministic fashion. (3) Rather, the booming oil section potentially discourages investment in ... agricultural and manufacturing exports by raising their prices on international markets". (4) To make matters worse, oil revenue funds monopolies, crowds out entrepreneurship, and increases corruption. The consensus is that in relatively large samples, "higher natural resource dependency is associated with lower economic growth." (5) In contrast to the issue of economic growth, the empirical data concerning the linkages between natural resources' export dependence and authoritarianism, often referred to as the "resource curse," is not well-established and is subject to debate. (6) In particular, there is a void in the literature regarding the impact of natural resources' price changes, petroleum in particular, and the relative validity of the resource curse hypothesis. (7) In this study, we will focus on democratic rights and civil liberties in oil-rich states whose economies are most reliant on petroleum exports. Accordingly, the study will address the following key questions: (1) Are governments highly dependent on revenue from the export of oil less likely to embrace political freedoms? If so, has this always been the case?; (2) To what extent do significant changes in oil prices translate into decreased levels of political freedom in such states? The second question is especially important because it points to a dynamic perspective on the relationship between natural resource prices over time and governments' degree of receptivity (or lack thereof) to political freedom. Indeed, most studies on the subject tend to take a snapshot of the resource curse at certain crucial periods. Yet, the prices of natural resources fluctuate dramatically over time. Unless we account for such fluctuations and their subsequent impact on the pace of democratization, a resource curse study of this kind is likely to be incomplete. Thus, a gap exists in the resource curse literature, and we hope to offer preliminary insights to help fill this void. (8) A study of this type is especially warranted because of the dramatic fluctuations in the price of oil and concomitant political changes and. in some instances, upheavals, in oil rich Third World countries, the Middle East in particular. As such this study will help fill a void in the literature. Specifically, this study will track changes in the price of oil over a significant period of time, pinpoint major oil price swings, and relate these price swings to changes in the level of political freedoms, thereby shedding light on whether changes in oil prices affect political liberalization. …


Many sequential applications are difficult to parallelize because of unpredictable control flow, indirect data access, and input-dependent parallelism. These difficulties led us to build a software system for behavior oriented parallelization (BOP), which allows a program to be parallelized based on partial information about program behavior, for example, a user reading just part of the source code, or a profiling tool examining merely one or few executions.
 The basis of BOP is programmable software speculation, where a user or an analysis tool marks possibly parallel regions in the code, and the run-time system executes these regions speculatively. It is imperative to protect the entire address space during speculation. The main goal of the paper is to demonstrate that the general protection can be made cost effective by three novel techniques: programmable speculation, critical-path minimization, and value-based correctness checking. On a recently acquired multi-core, multi-processor PC, the BOP system reduced the end-to-end execution time by integer factors for a Lisp interpreter, a data compressor, a language parser, and a scientific library, with no change to the underlying hardware or operating system.


The Uemachi fault zone extends north to northeast for about 51 km across metropolitan Osaka, southwest Japan. We conducted paleseismological surveys along the fault zone to estimate the timing of recent faulting events. We identified two reverse faulting events in the northern section of the fault zone, including the latest event, which occurred after ca. 2400 yr BP. In the southern section, the timing of the most recent event is estimated to be ca. 2200–2300 yr BP or later. The timing of the latest events in the northern and southern sections is coincident, implying that the most recent event was a multi-segment rupture through the whole Uemachi fault zone. We also examined geomorphic changes around the fault zone resulting from the most recent faulting event, based on previously reported archaeological and geological studies. As a result, we found: 1) coastal uplift occurred in the Osaka Castle Town archaeological site on the hanging wall side of the fault zone at the end of the middle Yayoi period; and, 2) numerous archaeological sites around the old Lake Kawachi were abruptly submerged at the end of the middle Yayoi period, and the submerged area had not been in residence again until around the final stage of the Yayoi period. These major, simultaneous geomorphic changes can be explained only by crustal movements resulting from a faulting event in the Uemachi fault zone. Thus, the timing of the most recent faulting event is estimated to be at the end of the middle Yayoi period. To evaluate the total risk due to active faulting, we have to understand not only tectonic landforms and coseismic surface ruptures, but also related regional abrupt geomorphic changes such as coseismic broader submergence in the Kawachi Plain from the perspectives of tectonic geomorphology and paleoseismology.


Osmotic treatment (OT) of nettle leaves was assessed in various osmotic solutions (sugar beet molasses – SBM and ternary aqueous solution – TAS), at temperatures of 20, 35 and 50 °C, under the atmospheric pressure. The influence of the kind of utilized osmotic solution, process temperature and osmotic time on the antioxidant activity (AOC), expressed with the spectrophotometric assays (ABTS, FRAP and DPPH), as well as two direct current polarographic assays, Hydroxo Perhydroxo Mercury (II) complex assay, based on the decrease of anodic current and assay based on the decrease of a cathodic current of Hg (II) reduction. For determination of the total phenolic content Folin-Ciocalteu assay was used. The Relative Antioxidant Capacity Index (RACI), obtained by setting equal weight for every involved assay was applied in order to get an extensive comparison among analyzed samples and between the used assays. Based on these results, after the OT of nettle leaves in TAS, the AOC decreased, while the OT in SBM increased AOC values. The phenolic antioxidant coefficients (PAC), calculated as the ratio between particular AO capacity and TPC, were used to achieve a more comprehensive comparison between analysed samples, as well as applied assays. The results of RACI evaluation revealed that the most favorable osmotic treatment is the one performed for 5h at 35 °C.


Knowledge management (KM) is increasingly gaining significance in the academic and professional realms as a source of organisational competitive advantage. However, despite the promise of competitive advantage, knowledge management initiatives can sometimes be unsuccessful. Historically, the discipline of knowledge management has multidisciplinary roots in various organisational sciences. Added to that, there exist multiple definitions and perspectives in the field, all influencing the way in which knowledge management is implemented in organisations. Further, the organisational context in turn plays a key role in outlining the knowledge management strategy. As such, there is a lack of a standard framework for knowledge management implementation, adding to the dilemma of how organisations plan and implement knowledge management.The knowledge management literature points to the need for an integrated effort for knowledge management implementation, embracing the complexity inherent in the field marked by the interconnectedness of multiple critical success factors, networks of knowledge and the critical role of knowledge management in facilitating competitive advantage. Knowledge audits have been cited as the critical first step in the design and implementation of knowledge management practice. However, the current knowledge audit methodologies in the literature predominantly adopt a systematic, snapshot and fragmented approach to inquiry conducted by external consultants in order to recommend and design independent knowledge management solutions. This appears to be at odds with the need for an integrated effort for knowledge management implementation.This research contributes to the knowledge audit literature by rethinking the audit methodology. A knowledge management review methodology is proposed emphasising a systemic and iterative approach to inquiry, facilitated by the embeddedness of the researcher in the context. The study contributes by arguing that knowledge management practice that is systemically embedded across the organisation is more likely to be sustainable and resilient to changes in the context and provide continuous competitive advantage. The knowledge management review methodology draws from an interaction of three action research approaches, insider action research, systemic action research and critical participatory action research, to contribute to theoretical understanding and practice of knowledge audits.The research is conducted in a high-performance sport institute where the researcher was embedded as an employee. The case study organisation is further recognised as a knowledge intensive firm and a public-sector organisation, with specialised and esoteric knowledge that interacts in multilinear ways to facilitate the attainment of the organisation's strategic objectives. As such, the case study organisation presents a unique opportunity to conduct and review the methodology for informing their knowledge management practice. The iterative and systemic approach to inquiry, facilitated by the interaction between the three action research approaches, was instrumental in simultaneously enhancing the learning across the organisation and facilitating systemic organisational knowledge management.The research further positions itself amongst the ongoing debates on the future of the discipline of knowledge management, emphasising true systemic integration of knowledge management practice in the organisational context, functions and objectives for sustained competitive advantage.


In the present work, we prepared a super-microporous silica gel via a nonhydrolytic methanol–formic-acid solvolytic sol–gel process and using a hydrophobic short-chain ionic liquid (IL), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate, as the template solvent and tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) as the precursor. Low-temperature solvent extraction (65–70 °C) and subsequent vacuum drying were adopted to remove the confined IL. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), nitrogen sorption (BET), and small/wide-angle X-ray scattering (S/WAXS) experiments were carried out to explore the structures of the prepared porous silica gels and the corresponding formation mechanism. The results from BET and TEM revealed that the synthesized silica gels with higher IL/TEOS molar ratio of ≥2.0 formed fractal matrix with embedded disordered worm-like super-micropore (pore size of 1.1–1.2 nm and surface areas of 690–800 m2 g−1). Further, S/WAXS analysis revealed the formation of super-micropore in the silica matrix strongly depended on the formation of highly-branched fractal silica framework (mass-fractal dimension of silica matrix Df > 2.8) and the segregation of the confined IL, which was basically driven by the strong IL/pore wall repulsive interactions when excess amount of IL was used here.


The vision of this thesis is to improve the metal cutting process, with emphasis on the cutting tool, to enable stable and economical industrial production while using expensive tools such as hobs. The aim is to increase the tribological understanding of the mechanisms operating at a cutting edge and of how these can be controlled using different tool parameters. Such understanding will facilitate the development and implementation of future, tribologically designed, cutting tools.Common wear and failure mechanisms in gear hobbing have been identified and focused studies of the material transferred to the tool, in both metal cutting operations and in simplified tribological tests, have been conducted. Interactions between residual stresses in the tool coating and the shape of the cutting edge have also been studied.It was concluded that tool failure is often initiated via small defects in the coated tool system, and it is necessary to eliminate, or minimize, these defects in order to manufacture more reliable and efficient gear cutting tools. Furthermore, the geometry of a cutting edge should be optimized with the residual stress state in the coating, in mind. The interaction between a compressive stress and the geometry of the cutting edge will affect the stress state at the cutting edge and thus affect the practical toughness and the wear resistance of the coating in that area.An intermittent sliding contact test is presented and shown to be of high relevance for studying the interaction between the tool rake face and the chip in milling. It was also demonstrated that material transfer, that can have large effects on the cutting performance, commences already after very short contact times. The nature of the transfer may differ in different areas on the tool. It may include glassy layers, with accumulations of specific elements from the workpiece, and transfer of steel in more or less oxidized form. Both tool coating material, its surface roughness, and the relative speed between the tool surface and the chip, may influence the extent to which the different transfer will occur.


We introduce a new x-ray radiation detector. The detector employs high-energy current (HEC) formed by secondary electrons consisting predominantly of photoelectrons and Auger electrons, to directly convert x-ray energy to detector signal without externally applied power and without amplification. The HEC detector is a multilayer structure composed of thin conducting layers separated by dielectric layers with an overall thickness of less than a millimeter. It can be cut to any size and shape, formed into curvilinear surfaces, and thus can be designed for a variety of QA applications. We present basic dosimetric properties of the detector as function of x-ray energy, depth in the medium, area and aspect ratio of the detector, as well as other parameters. The prototype detectors show similar dosimetric properties to those of a thimble ionization chamber, which operates at high voltage. The initial results obtained for kilovoltage x-rays merit further research and development towards specific medical applications.


The focus of this four-stage, longitudinal, qualitative, and quantitative study was to explore, from the caregivers perspective, the impact of caring for a person with a diagnosis of terminal cancer, in order to improve the planning and coordination of home-based hospice services in Australia. Caregivers identified five primary-care needs relating to lack of information and ineffective communication with health professionals, inadequate emotional support, the need for assistance with physical care and household tasks, support for caregiver health and social wellbeing, and financial issues. The extent to which current service provision met each of these needs varied. The findings of this study suggest that if palliative care is to be shifted to the home environment, improvement in services concerned with providing support for family caregivers is essential if existing guidelines for palliative care provision are to be met.


The hot plasticity of Mnl8Crl8 high nitrogen austenitic stainless steel is studied using the thermal simulated test in this paper. In addition, microstructural evolution and precipitate morphology are investigated through optical microscope(OM), scan electron microscope(SEM), X-ray diffraction(XRD) and Electron probe micro-analyzer(EPMA). The results show that the area reduction of Mnl8Crl8 steel varies in a "V" shape in the elevated temperature region. It means that plasticity of Mnl8Crl8 steel is relatively low when the deformation temperature is in 1000~1100°C, whereas an excellent plasticity can be obtained in 850~950°C and 1150~1200°C. The peak value of area reduction appears at 1050°C. The analysis of SEM on fracture morphology indicates that the inter-granular fracture and dimple fracture occur at 1050°C and 1150°C respectively. The results of OM exhibit that the dendrite precipitation occurs while the precipitate in grain boundary solutions as the temperature increasing and the grain coarsens immensely beyond 1000°C. However, dendrite precipitate solutions into the austenite matrix at further elevated temperatures. It causes the plasticity substantial improvement in 1150~1200°C. Moreover, the observed precipitation of the steel is confirmed to be Cr23C6 by XRD and EPMA.


Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection usually presents with upper and lower respiratory tract infection. Extrapulmonary involvement is not uncommon, however. We report two cases of predominantly extrapulmonary manifestations of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection without significant pulmonary involvement. Both cases were diagnosed by serology. These cases illustrate the diversity of clinical presentations of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection. Clinicians should maintain a high index of suspicion.


Or Roark is a second-year dermatology resident, and Dr Hsu is assistant professor, department of dermatology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston. Correspondence: Sylvia Hsu, MD, Department of Dermatology, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, FB800, Houston, TX 77030. E-mail: email@example.com. Puzzles in Practice is coordinated by Yehia Y. Mishriki, MD, professor of clinical medicine, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, and general internist, Lehigh Valley Hospital, Allentown, Pennsylvania.


Electronic transport and hysteresis in metal halide perovskites (MHPs) are key to the applications in photovoltaics, light emitting devices, and light and chemical sensors. These phenomena are strongly affected by the materials microstructure including grain boundaries, ferroic domain walls, and secondary phase inclusions. Here, we demonstrate an active machine learning framework for "driving" an automated scanning probe microscope (SPM) to discover the microstructures responsible for specific aspects of transport behavior in MHPs. In our setup, the microscope can discover the microstructural elements that maximize the onset of conduction, hysteresis, or any other characteristic that can be derived from a set of current-voltage spectra. This approach opens new opportunities for exploring the origins of materials functionality in complex materials by SPM and can be integrated with other characterization techniques either before (prior knowledge) or after (identification of locations of interest for detail studies) functional probing.


Patient well-being and recovery have been positively correlated to the involvement of the nurse in the patient's spiritual dimension. If religion, faith, or spiritual values are seen as woven into the fabric of life, it is an inescapable function of nurses to recognize such values, because spirituality influences wellness. Examining the attitudes of hemodialysis nurses toward the role of spiritual care provider may reveal opportunities for hemodialysis nurses to better meet the spiritual care needs of their patients and thus improve the long-term health of these same patients. Therefore, a need exists to identify how the spiritual perceptions and practices of nephrology nurses impact nurse coping strategies in meeting hemodialysis patient care needs. This investigation was based on Travelbee's Human-to-Human Relationship Theory. The purpose of this descriptive-correlational investigation was to explore the level of spiritual perception and practices, and the level of coping strategies in outpatient hemodialysis nurses, and to identify to what extent spirituality impacts coping strategy utilization and effectiveness in meeting hemodialysis patient care needs. Data were collected from Certified Nephrology Nurses working in chronic outpatient hemodialysis in five Midwestern states using (a) Reed's Spiritual Perspective Scale, (b) the Jalowiec Coping Scale, and (c) the Seaton Demographic Information Sheet. Nurse respondents (N = 234) saw themselves as moderately and privately spiritual. Some nurses perceived forgiveness to be most of their spirituality, while others included forgiveness with other aspects of spirituality. Confrontive, optimistic, supportant, and reliant coping strategies were most used and effective, and correlated with levels of spiritual practice, and perception. Spirituality in this investigation correlated with desirable coping strategies in the setting of chronic outpatient hemodialysis. Further research may elucidate the relationship between spirituality and certain coping strategies. Spirituality may account for the use and effectiveness of coping mechanisms, or certain coping skills may lead to greater spiritual awareness.


Clustered data arise in many scenarios. We may wish to fit a marginal regression model relating outcome measurements to covariates for cluster members. Often the cluster size, the number of members, varies. Informative cluster size (ICS) has been defined to arise when the outcome depends on the cluster size conditional on covariates. If the clusters are considered complete then the population of all cluster members and the population of typical cluster members have been proposed as suitable targets for inference, which will differ between these populations under ICS. However if the variation in cluster size arises from missing data then the clusters are considered incomplete and we seek inference for the population of all members of all complete clusters. We define informative covariate structure to arise when for a particular member the outcome is related to the covariates for other members in the cluster, conditional on the covariates for that member and the cluster size. In this case the proposed populations for inference may be inappropriate and, just as under ICS, standard estimation methods are unsuitable. We propose two further populations and weighted independence estimating equations (WIEE) for estimation. An adaptation of GEE was proposed to provide inference for the population of typical cluster members and increase efficiency, relative to WIEE, by incorporating the intra-cluster correlation. We propose an alternative adaptation which can provide superior efficiency. For each adaptation we explain how bias can arise. This bias was not clearly described when the first adaptation was originally proposed. Several authors have vaguely related ICS to the violation of the 'missing completely at random' assumption. We investigate which missing data mechanisms can cause ICS, which might lead to similar inference for the populations of typical cluster members and all members of all complete clusters, and we discuss implications for estimation.


The stability of aqueous Zn-ion batteries (AZIBs) is highly dependent on the reversibility of stripping/plating Zn anode. In this work, an organic ligand etching method is proposed to develop a series of in situ multifunctional protective layers on Zn anode. Particularly, the 0.02 m [Fe(CN) 6]3- etching solutions can spontaneously etch the Zn anode, creating an in situ protective layer with unique terraced structure, which blocks the direct contact between the electrode and electrolyte and increases the area for Zn2+ ions deposition. Interestingly, all elements in the organic ligands (i.e., C, N, Zn, and Fe) exhibit strong zincophilic, significantly promoting zinc deposition kinetics and enhancing 3D nucleation behavior to inhibit zinc dendrite growth. As a result, the etched Zn anode can provide as high a Coulombic efficiency of 99.6% over 1000 cycles and sustain over 400 h long-term stability at a high current density of 10 mA cm-2 . As general validation, the small amount of metal cations additives (e.g., Ni2+ , Mn2+ , and Cu2+ ) can accelerate the synthesis of artificial interface layers with 3D structures and also regulate zinc deposition behavior. This work provides a new idea from the perspective of etching solution selection for surface modification of Zn metal anode.


A detailed and dynamic RF path loss map of a large wireless network is critical to applications such as power-efficient routing, unknown emitter locating, spectrum management, etc. With an RF sensor network, we can measure the path loss between sensors. Based on these path loss measurements, we can devise simple but robust and efficient algorithms to estimate the path loss between any sensor and any arbitrary point inside the network. The estimation accuracy of our algorithm is analyzed and quantified as a function of key model parameters, leading to estimates of required sensor density for different environments and accuracy requirements. The derived relationship between estimation accuracy and network coverage has implications for deployment of sensor networks.


In this paper we investigate how observational effects could possibly bias cosmological inferences from peculiar velocity measurements. Specifically, we look at how bulk flow measurements are compared with theoretical predictions. Usually bulk flow calculations try to approximate the flow that would occur in a sphere around the observer. Using the Horizon Run 2 simulation we show that the traditional methods for bulk flow estimation can overestimate the magnitude of the bulk flow for two reasons: when the survey geometry is not spherical (the data do not cover the whole sky), and when the observations undersample the velocity distributions. Our results may explain why several bulk flow measurements found bulk flow velocities that seem larger than those expected in standard Λ cold dark matter cosmologies. We recommend a different approach when comparing bulk flows to cosmological models, in which the theoretical prediction for each bulk flow measurement is calculated specifically for the geometry and sampling rate of that survey. This means that bulk flow values will not be comparable between surveys, but instead they are comparable with cosmological models, which is the more important measure.


Gun violence and homicide have been pressing issues in the South Side of Chicago for decades, yet little research exists on the relationship between the passage of firearm-purchase laws by the United States Congress and gun homicide rates in the South Side. Firearm-purchase laws define (and usually tighten) the process to buy guns. Our study analyzes firearm-purchase laws passed by Congress between 1993 and 2018 to determine their success in reducing gun homicides in the South Side of Chicago. The hypothesis of this study is that firearm-purchase laws decrease gun homicides in the South Side. We used an interval-analysis method to determine eight firearm-purchase laws' effectiveness in decreasing gun homicides. The results show that during the first six intervals, when the first five firearm-purchase laws were passed, gun homicides decreased in the South Side. However, gun homicides increased in the next three intervals, with the passages of the next three firearm-purchase laws. Additionally, the passage of firearm-purchase laws that merely extended previous firearm-purchase laws were found to result in higher gun murder rates, suggesting that such laws were ineffective and actually counterproductive.


This article proposes a comparative method to assess the performance of artificial neural network's direct inverse control (DIC-ANN) with the PID control system. The comparison served as an analysis tool to assess the advantages of DIC-ANN over conventional control method for a UAV attitude controller. The development of ANN method for UAV control purposes arises due to the limitations of the conventional control method, which is the mathematical based model, involving complex expression, and most of them are difficult to be solved directly into analytic solution. Although the linearization simplified the solving process for such mathematical based model, omitting the nonlinear and the coupling terms is unsuitable for the dynamics of the multirotor vehicle. Thus, the DIC-ANN perform learning mechanism to overcome the limitation of PID tuning. Therefore, the proposed comparative method is developed to obtain conclusive results of DIC-ANN advantages over the linear method in UAV attitude control. Better achievement in the altitude dynamics was attained by the DIC-ANN compared to PID control method.


Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity. The Kashmir valley, in Northern India, has been described as a high-risk area for colorectal cancer. Aim: The aim was to make a preliminary attempt to study mutations in exons 5–8 (the DNA binding domain) of the tumour suppressor gene TP53 in 42 CRC patients from Kashmir. Materials and methods: The study population consisted of 42 patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer. Mutations in exons 5–8 of the TP53 gene were detected by means of single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP). All samples that showed different band migration patterns in the SSCP were confirmed by sequencing. Results: The 28 mutations were found in the TP53 gene in 19 patients, comprised 23 substitutions (17 transitions + six transversions), and five insertions. The 23 substitutions represent 18 missense mutations, leading to amino acid substitutions, two nonsense mutations, leading to stop codons, while the remaining three were silent mutations. The five insertions represented frameshifts. Two of 28 mutations (7.14%) have not been previously reported in colon cancer samples and were identified as novel TP53 mutations. Comparison of the mutation profile with other ethnic populations and regions reflected both differences and similarities indicating co-exposure to a unique set of risk factors. Conclusions: Mutation of the TP53 gene is one of the commonest genetic changes in the development of human colorectal cancer. The high frequency of TP53 gene mutations implicates TP53 as a predominant factor for colorectal cancer in the high-risk ethnic Kashmir population.


Traditional computational models always assume idealized crack geometry. However, actual crack geometry is very complex in real materials and thus, those simulations do not realistically represent the actual loading conditions of a real crack. In this paper, three-dimensional (3D) image-based simulation was performed to investigate the fracture behavior of an aluminum alloy, and the model takes into account the real crack geometry based on the 3D images of the crack. Accordingly, many essential features of fracture can be identified and interpreted, and some new insight into fracture behavior in real materials can be offered.


Communication experiences of outpatients and users during a brief encounter with the hospital personnel - This study is aimed at investigating outpatients' and clients' experience of communication with a group of employees of a hospital in the North of Italy. Participants in the study were 328 patients/users who were asked to report their communicative experience with 20 hospital employees using the Health Care Communication Questionnaire (HCCQ). Employees were 40% administrative, 60% ambulatory nurses and technicians, and 82% females. The comparison between employees on scores obtained showed significant differences in two of the four factors of the questionnaire (Lack of hostility and Non verbal immediacy). Furthermore, the female employees have been perceived by patients as less hostile then men. Female patients/users felt to be more respected then males, but this difference was linked to age, as among males the feeling of being respected decreased with age. Finally, it was possible to observe the scores obtained by each hospital employee in the HCCQ factors, to detect which of the four communicative behaviours has been evaluated by the users as less appropriate. This seems useful for planning personalized training. Key words: communication, patients, hospital personnel. Parole chiave: comunicazione, pazienti, personale ospedaliero


In this paper, silicon direct bonding was performed by two different cleaning processes, and the bonding quality was obtained by tensile test and IR test. For (100) P-type double side polished wafer, the optimum process condition was established with respect to the results of two different cleaning processes. The cleaning process of NH3•H2O/H2O2/H2O (Standard Cleaning 1, SC1) after the H2SO4/H2O2 (piranha solution) was found to be better suited for high bonding quality. The bonding strength of the SC1-cleaned samples is about 5.4 MPa with partially crack but no more than 0.7 MPa for the only piranha solution cleaned samples.


We present a new method for accelerating the rendering of complex static scenes. The technique is applicable to unstructured scenes containing arbitrary geometric primitives and has sublinear asymptotic complexity. Our approach is to construct a spatial hierarchy of cells over the scene and to associate with each cell a simplified representation of its contents. The scene is then rendered using a traversal of the hierarchy in which a cell's approximation is drawn instead of its contents if the approximation is sufficiently accurate. We apply the method to several different scenes and demonstrate significant speedups with little image degradation. We also exhibit and discuss some of the artifacts that our approximation may cause.


Titanate ferroelectric materials play more and more important roles in electronic industry due to their particular performances, so the synthesis of ultra-fine ferroelectric powder with high purity is the key issue to improve the performance of electronic components. In this paper, Ba(Ti0.85Zr0.15)O3 nano-powder with perovskite structure and homogeneous granularity was prepared by oxalate precipitation method, the particle size of the powder calcined at 800oC is about 50 nm. The sintering ability of the powder is excellent so that the compact ceramics can be obtained at sintering temperature of 1200°C, which is much lower than that of the powder prepared by the conventional solid method. With the powder prepared by oxalate precipitation method, we developed an ultrafine-grained dielectric material showing Y5V characteristics with the room temperature dielectric constant over 14,000, which can be used in base metal electrodes multilayer chip capacitors.


The importance of post-stroke rehabilitation cannot be overestimated. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a standardized post-stroke rehabilitation program for patients with moderate impairments. A total of 122 stroke survivors participated in the study. Group 1 (the comparison group) consisted of 59 patients undergoing standard rehabilitation. Group 2 (the main group) consisted of 63 patients participating in a specially designed social rehabilitation program. The functional, cognitive, psychological and emotional states and the level of social activity were monitored for 6 months. Group 2 demonstrated more pronounced improvement than group 1 after 6 months of follow-up, confirmed by higher Rivermead (p = 0.011) and SS-QOL (p < 0.05) scores and lower DASH and Beck scores (p = 0.015 and p < 0.001, respectively). In both groups, MMSE (cognitive function) scores slightly increased, but the differences between the groups were insignificant. The proposed post-stroke rehabilitation program is effective in helping patients regain their independence and improve social adaptation. The scales and scores used in the study, especially DASH and SS-QOL, are sensitive to changes in the functional state of stroke survivors with moderate impairments.


ABSTRACT Copper monoxide is a popular p-type material in semiconductor and sensor technology. In this paper, Al-doped CuO thin film has been deposited on a glass substrate by the thermionic vacuum arc technique. The microstructural, morphological and optical properties were investigated. According to the X-ray diffraction patterns, the polycrystalline CuO material was obtained by means of the Al doping element. Using the Scherrer formula, the calculated crystallite size values are between 11 and 28 nm in different reflection planes. The thickness of the film was 50 nm. In the optical analysis, the average transmittance, absorbance and refractive index were 74%, 0.13, and 2.05, respectively. The optical band gap was 2.13 eV, which is in good agreement with the photoluminescence result. In the doping by Al, the band gap of the CuO shifted towards the visible region. Finally, the thin film is seen as a promising material for solar cell application.


This Note argues that courts should interpret 28 U.S.C. § 1441, which permits removal from state court to federal court, to allow removal from state administrative agencies when the agency performs "court-like functions." Circuits that apply a literal interpretation of the statute and forbid removal from state agencies should adopt this "functional" approach. The functional approach, which this Note calls the McCullion-Floeter test, should be modified to comport with legislative intent and public policy considerations: first, state agency adjudications should not be removable when the adjudication requires technical expertise, which federal courts cannot obtain because they adjudicate cases in a variety of subject areas; second, they should not be removable where an agency's authorizing statute demonstrates a clear legislative intent to prefer plaintiffs. Absent either of these features, however, court-like agency adjudications should be removable.


We present an extensive numerical study of the critical behavior of dimer models in three dimensions, focusing on the phase transition between Coulomb and crystalline columnar phases. The case of attractive interactions between parallel dimers on a plaquette was shown to undergo a continuous phase transition with critical exponents close to those of the O(N) tricritical universality class, a situation which is not easily captured by conventional field theories. That the dimer model is exactly fine-tuned to a highly symmetric point is a non trivial statement which needs careful numerical investigation. In this paper, we perform an extensive Monte Carlo study of a generalized dimer model with plaquette and cubic interactions and determine its extended phase diagram. We find that when both interactions favor alignment of the dimers, the phase transition is first order, in almost all cases. On the opposite, when interactions compete, the transition becomes continuous, with a critical exponent \eta ~ 0.2. The existence of a tricritical point between the two regimes is confirmed by simulations on very large size systems and a flowgram method. In addition, we find a highly-degenerate crystalline phase at very low temperature in the frustrated regime which is separated from the columnar phase by a first order transition.


Marital shocks are exceedingly common for women in Sub-Saharan Africa. The paper investigates whether women who have suffered a marital rupture experience lower welfare levels relative to married women in their first union. Conditional means for women's nutritional status are compared by marital status across 20 countries. Overall, the results indicate significantly lower nutritional status for Africa's widows and divorcees between ages 15 and 49. With some exceptions, this is found to be the case with country and household fixed effects and controls for HIV status. However, looking at country-specific associations underlines that disadvantage is by no means universal.


This document describes the segmentation guidelines for the Penn Chinese Treebank Project. The goal of the project is the creation of a 100-thousand-word corpus of Mandarin Chinese text with syntactic bracketing. The Chinese Treebank has been released via the Linguistic Data Consortium (LDC) and is available to the public. The segmentation guidelines have been revised several times during the two-year period of the project. The previous two versions were completed in December 1998 and March 1999, respectively. This document is the third and final version. We have added an introduction chapter in order to explain some rationale behind certain decisions in the guidelines. We also include the English gloss to the Chinese words in the guidelines. In this document, we first discuss the notion of word and tests for wordhood that have been proposed in the literature. Then we give the specification for word segmentation. The specification is organized according to the potential Part-of-Speech tag of an expression and the internal structure of the expression. Next, we specify the treatment for some common collocations. Finally, we compare our guidelines with two segmentation standards: the first (Liu et al., 1993) is used in Mainland China and the second (CKIP, 1996) is used in Academia Sinica in Taiwan. Comments University of Pennsylvania Institute for Research in Cognitive Science Technical Report No. IRCS-00-06. This technical report is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/ircs_reports/37 The Segmentation Guidelines for the Penn Chinese Treebank (3.0)


This paper addresses retinal vessel segmentation on optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A) images of the human retina. Our approach is motivated by the need for high precision image-guided delivery of regenerative therapies in vitreo-retinal surgery. OCT-A visualizes macular vasculature, the main landmark of the surgically targeted area, at a level of detail and spatial extent unattainable by other imaging modalities. Thus, automatic extraction of detailed vessel maps can ultimately inform surgical planning. We address the task of delineation of the Superficial Vascular Plexus in 2D Maximum Intensity Projections (MIP) of OCT-A using convolutional neural networks that iteratively refine the quality of the produced vessel segmentations. We demonstrate that the proposed approach compares favourably to alternative network baselines and graph-based methodologies through extensive experimental analysis, using data collected from 50 subjects, including both individuals that underwent surgery for structural macular abnormalities and healthy subjects. Additionally, we demonstrate generalization to 3D segmentation and narrower field-of-view OCT-A. In the future, the extracted vessel maps will be leveraged for surgical planning and semi-automated intraoperative navigation in vitreo-retinal surgery.


Policy makers are rational actors who use distinct ideologies in forming their preferences and deciding on which courses of policy to pursue. Yet often times, the decisions of these actors are based off skewed ideologies which deviate from those positions which have proven their utility and success in the past. In this thesis, the claim is made that despite the proven success of realist political thought in confronting twentieth century international challenges, policy makers who advocated the use of military force in both the Vietnam and Iraq Wars based their decisions off of liberalist and neo-conservative tenets. The result of both conflicts has been military quagmires which have resulted in each conflict being characterized as a foreign policy blunder. In proving this argument, the paper explores the justification for war given by political actors and systemically contrasts them with the tenets of realist thought, showing the flagrant violations in each instance. Furthermore, once it has been established that realist thought was in fact ignored, evidence supporting the embrace of liberalist ideologies to justify each conflict in offered. Finally, an examination into the lasting historical consequences of each conflict and the theoretical implications that each war has had on the shaping of United States history concludes the piece, suggesting that readers consider the magnitude of a seemingly trivial topic such as foreign policy ideology.


When preparing β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP), it is difficult to industrialise traditional methods because of the problem of particle aggregation. In this paper, β-TCP was prepared by calcining calcium-deficient hydroxyapatite (CDHA) powders obtained by the wet precipitation method at pH=6 and 40 °C, together with additions of poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG), in order to prevent powder agglomeration. The effect of the Ca/PEG mass ratio on the particle size distribution and the morphology of the resulting powders was evaluated. For comparison purposes, one powder without PEG addition was also synthesized. All synthesized powders were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction analysis, particle size analysis and scanning electron microscopy prior and after calcination in static air at 1000 °C for 15 h. Single-phase β-TCP powders have been obtained by calcining CDHA powders in the temperature range of 850°C-1150°C. It was also found that increasing the PEG content in solution decreased the particle size distribution of the agglomerated particles and the β→α-TCP transition temperature. A plausible explanation consistent with these experimental findings is proposed.


(A short version of this paper appears in IEEE INFOCOM 2009: http://www.research.ibm.com/people/i/iyengar/INFOCOM2009-kanon.pdf.) Peer-to-peer VoIP (voice over IP) networks, exemplified by Skype, are becoming increasingly popular due to their significant cost advantage and richer call forwarding features than traditional public switched telephone networks. One of the most important features of a VoIP network is privacy (for VoIP clients). Unfortunately, most peer-to-peer VoIP networks neither provide personalization nor guarantee a quantifiable privacy level. In this paper, we propose novel flow analysis attacks that demonstrate the vulnerabilities of peer-to-peer VoIP networks to privacy attacks. We then address two important challenges in designing privacy-aware VoIP networks: Can we provide personalized privacy guarantees for VoIP clients that allow them to select privacy requirements on a per-call basis? How to design VoIP protocols to support customizable privacy guarantee? This paper proposes practical solutions to address these challenges using a quantifiable k-anonymity metric and a privacy-aware VoIP route setup and route maintenance protocols. We present detailed experimental evaluation that demonstrates the performance and scalability of our protocol, while meeting customizable privacy guarantees.


Fail First Principle (FFP) is a general heuristic algorithm (for solving constraint satisfaction problems) considering the order of variables. However, FFP neglects the order of values in domains. In this paper, we describe two algorithms, DH_FFP and Rank_FFP based on FFP. DH_FFP partitions a domain recursively with the middle value after choosing the variable that has the smallest domain. Rank_FFP makes use of the heuristic information between variables and constraints, evaluating and ranking every partition of a domain. We implemented these two algorithms and embedded into the constraint solving platform "Ming Yue SOLVER 1.0" designed by us. The experimental results show that both DH_FFP and Rank_FFP enhance FFP to much extent on both solving efficiency and size


A double diffusion-in-agar test was used to investigate precipitation reactions of 75 arboviruses. Specific reactions were regularly observed with members of arbovirus groups B, California, Simbu, Turlock, Hart Park, vesicular stomatitis, and several other arboviruses as well as with a member of the Tacaribe group and a herpesvirus. The results demonstrated the feasibility of applying this technique to the identification of arboviruses.


Situational cues have been known to enhance visual speech perception. In the present study the influence of relevant and nonrelevant visual and auditory background information on visual perception of everyday sentences was measured in geriatric subjects using videotaped material. Results indicated that visual speech perception with relevant situational cues was significantly different from performance when nonrelevant cues were provided and when situational cues were absent. Individual subject deviations in performance were noted and their therapeutic implications were presented.


The study of infra-human society and well as man; the latter, by definition, mentality forms a basic part of the introfound only in human society. duction to the study of man in most Allee and Kohler have become widely textbooks and universities. Of course, the known in this field, and their works are primary rationale is the assumption that classics, providing fascinating reading as there is a socio-psychological continuity well as important instruction. The booklet based upon the assumed biological conby Leuba, attempting to get at man's tinuity from non-human to human forms. original state "mainly from field studies Of more practical and theoretical value, of men and chimpanzees" includes an however, is the light that such studies approach (including analysis of \ feral throw upon the nature of the distinctions man) which has been acceptable to PSY' between society and culture, the former chologists perhaps more than to anthrobeing characteristic of many animals as pologists.


The thesis introduces a low complexity, power efficient communication system based on joint source-channel coding principle for medical wireless sensor networks. The design of the communication system relies on the separation theorem by C. Shannon where there exists a binary interface between the source coding and channel coding. Nevertheless, the well-structured attribute of the source coder is carefully taken into account when designing the channel coding part, and in return the channel quality is used to design the source coding. In particular, the source coder produces a binary source sequence which can be divided into different layers, and each layer requires a certain level of protection when transmitting over the channel. The unequal level of protection can be implemented either by allocating unequal power or by unequal transmission rate. To keep the source coder at low complexity level and to have scalable property, the compression efficiency of the source coder must be sacrificed when considering the source coding part alone. However, power gain for the whole system is obtained when the scalable property of the source coder is used to combat with wireless fading channels. Although the main work of the thesis is for the conventional Rayleigh fading channel, the advantages of the communication systems are still obtained for the human abdominal fading channel in medical wireless sensor networks. The low complexity, high robustness, and power efficiency of the communication systems proposed in this thesis are meaningful for medical wireless sensor networks.


A new chip on glass (COG) technique using flip chip solder joining technology has been developed for excellent resolution and high quality liquid crystal display (LCD) panels. The flip chip solder joining technology has several advantages over the anisotropic conductive film (ACF) bonding technology: finer pitch capability, better electrical performance, and easier reworkability. Conventional solders such as eutectic Pb-Sn and Pb-5Sn require high temperature processing which can lead to degradation of the liquid crystal or the color filter in LCD modules. Thus it is desirable to develop a low temperature process below 160/spl deg/C using solders with low melting temperatures for this application. In our case, we used eutectic 58 wt%Bi-42 wt%Sn solder for this purpose. Using the eutectic Bi-Sn solder bumps of 50-80/spl mu/m pitch sizes, an ultrafine interconnection between the IC and glass substrate was successfully made at or below 160/spl deg/C. The average contact resistance of the Bi-Sn solder joints was 19m/spl Omega/ per bump, which is much lower than the contact resistance of conventional ACF bonding technologies. The contact resistance of the underfilled Bi-Sn solder joints did not change during a hot humidity test. We demonstrate that the COG technique using low temperature solder joints can be applied to advanced LCDs that lead to require excellent quality, high resolution, and low power consumption.


Peptide amphiphile micelles (PAMs) are a powerful platform technology for improving the delivery of therapeutic and prophylactic peptides. While previous research has shown aptamer-displaying PAMs enhance cell association, transportation to intracellular targets still remains a substantial hurdle for these biomaterials. In this article, we detail our efforts to address this challenge through the creation of disulfide-linked peptide amphiphile (PAs). These molecules were found to self-assemble in water into PAMs for which lipidated DNA oligomers (i.e., antitail amphiphiles – AAs) could be entrapped and used to tether aptamers (Apt) to the nanoparticle surface. These Apt∼A/PAMs were physically characterized and evaluated for their blood-serum stability using fetal bovine serum exposure and glutathione reduction. To assess their enhanced intracellular delivery capacity and therapeutic functionality, PAMs bearing cell-penetrating peptide modified "Plenty of SH3 domains" scaffold protein competitive inhibitor (Tat-POSH) and B cell lymphoma targeting aptamer (C10.36) were incubated with Ramos cells, a non-Hodgkin lymphoma cell line. C10.36∼A/PAMs were found not only to be stable in blood-like conditions, but also to be capable of facilitating delivery of therapeutic Tat-POSH peptide to Ramos cells in vitro.


Computer-based cognitive tools can offer learners an intellectual partnership that transcends the limitation of human cognition, such as limitations to memory, thinking, and problem solving. Databases, for example, can function as cognitive tools because of their organized and searchable nature. The purpose of this study is to examine the potential of databases to function as cognitive tools to promote cognitive skill acquisition, share learners' cognitive load, and impact learning. A total of 98 students from 6 intact sixth grade science classes at a suburban middle school in the southern United States participated in the study. 57.9% of the participants were Caucasian, 24% were Hispanic, 18% were African American, and 0.01% were Asian. The six classes were assigned to one of three treatment conditions: (a) online database, (b) paper-based database, (c) no database. All groups completed a 3-week instructional program using the same version of Alien Rescue, a multimedia learning environment, which contains the same content and tools. Measures of task difficulty rating, instructional efficiency, transfer, and factual knowledge recall were administered to evaluate learners' cognitive load, cognitive skills, and overall performance.
Students in online database groups received positive and higher instructional efficiency scores, which indicated a more efficient allocation of cognitive load. Online database groups also received significantly higher scores on cognitive skill transfer test than did students in both paper-based database and non-database groups. In addition, students in online database groups scored significantly higher on achievement tests than both the paper-based database and non-database groups. The results support researcher's hypothesis that the online database tool can reduce learners' extraneous cognitive load and increase learners' germane cognitive load; support the transfer of cognitive skills; and help learners perform better in a multimedia learning environment. However, future research is needed to confirm the results and to further investigate the effects of individual differences on learning using database tools.


Abstract Over the last few decades, there is a clear target for reducingenergy needs in the building sector. The above objective can be achieved both by renovating the existing building stock and/or by constructing new buildings that will meet the characteristics of zero or nearly zero energy buildings. In order to construct or renovate a building into a zero or almost zero energy building, different passive, active and hybrid systems can be used. One such system is a solar air heater collector. The above system was installed in the south facade of the outdoor test cell (ZED-KIM (Zero Energy Demand – Kimmeria)), located at the Campus of the Environmental Engineering School, DUTH at Xanthi (Greece). In the present study, the monitoring results of the solar air heater collector and its contribution to cover the cooling load of a building will be presented. The system was monitored under real weather conditions for the period June 2017 to August 2017. This period was separated in two sub-periods. In the first one, the system operated as a solar air heater and with the appropriate modifications air from inside the test cell was passed through solar collector and hot air was rejected out. In the second sub-period, a ventilation inlet was added in the north facade of the test cell, and the system operated as a solar chimney. The heating load that rejected out in the first sub-period was 12 KWh and in the second sub-period was 58.5 KWh. In other terms the cooling load of the test cell was reduced by 70.5 KWh for the whole period of measurements. In addition the cooling load for the specific climate zone of Greece and for 20 m2 cooling space was 488 KWh so there was a reduction of 15 percent. Furthermore, it was noticed that the thermal efficiency of the system increased above 50 percent between 1st and 2nd sub period, with values being 16% and 34% respectively. Based on the above results, it is concluded that even in hot weather conditions prevailing in northern Greece, the use of a solar air heater collector with the appropriate modifications can cover, in a significant degree, the cooling load of a building and in conjunction with other passive and active systems it can lead at a nearly zero energy building.


Pure phase modulators are key building blocks for Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs). Si modulators based on plasma dispersion suffer from spurious amplitude modulation and high insertion losses. Thin-film electro-optic devices relying on the Pockels effect have therefore been proposed as an ideal alternative for phase modulators on Si. Strongly electro-optic thin films of ferro-electric Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT) grown on Si waveguides allow for Hybrid PZT/Si phase modulators. We present here simulation studies of a co-planar TE/TM modulator structure.


The detection of aeroacoustic sources in closed or open wind-tunnels usually involves microphone arrays. In this case, the source are searched in a planar two-dimensional grid. Recently, the potential of beamforming with a three-dimensional grid has been studied but with a two-dimensional planar array. In this paper, we apply sound source localization techniques to a three-dimensional array. First, a numerical solver is used to simulate the acoustic propagation to the microphone arrays in order to validate the source localization methods. The results show that the source position is localized accurately. An experiment in a closed wind-tunnel is presented. We use four microphone arrays installed on the sides of a wind-tunnel. Each microphone array has 48 microphones. Two types of acoustic sources are used. The first one is a monopolar sound source with known amplitude and position. Then a cylinder is mounted across the flow to generate dipolar radiation patterns.


Through their role, entrepreneurs differently contribute to economic activity and economic development of national economies. Some of them are driven by the development of new products/services and new markets, others try to increase their business and number of employees in line with their company's needs, while some of them see their opportunity in other markets, often beyond the borders of their country. The key issue, as well as the overall orientation of this research, is related to the analysis of the impact of entrepreneurs' aspiration (innovation, growth and internationalization) on the technological orientation, i.e. the use of new technologies in entrepreneurial venture. In order to provide deeper insight into the subject of the research, the analysis extends to cooperation with other organizations for the implementation of the open innovation strategy. The aim of this paper is to analyse the impact of entrepreneurs' aspirations (direct and indirect) on technological orientation of entrepreneurs and their cooperative capacities for development of open innovations, and to analyze the impact of technological orientation of entrepreneurs on the implementation of the open innovation strategy. The main source of data of the analysed factors (variables) in this study is the GEM research database for 2012. The results of path analyses of Structural Equation Modelling indicate a positive direct and indirect impact of innovation as well as entrepreneurs' aspirations and business internationalization on technological orientation of entrepreneurs and cooperation with other organizations. The positive impact was not found during the analysis of the impact of business growth and its direct impact on the technological orientation of entrepreneurs, as well as the indirect impact on cooperation with other organizations. However, when observing the growth of business enterprise and its direct impact on cooperation with other organizations, the positive impact of the observed variable is identified.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ee.29.2.17907


The investment-grade-rated, build-operate-transfer (BOT) power project, nearing completion, serves the city of Cali in Columbia. It is owned by Emcali, the local utility, and Intergen, an affiliate of Bechtel enterprises. It was financed "out of the box" by Dresdner Kleinwort Benson in the rule 144A private placement market with a back-up commercial loan commitment. The project's bonds had the longest term to date for a Colombian borrower. Among the project's distinctive features is a bank debt-service letter of credit facility that replaces the government guarantee or power purchase commitment common in previous project financings.


ABSTRACT Automobile chassis is a major element of structural crashworthiness in road motor vehicles. Various chassis geometry and topology research studies have been conducted to improve crash energy absorption characteristics of the chassis. In side impacts, crashworthiness of an automobile body depends not only on the chassis geometry and topology, but also on the design and reliability of other structural members such as B-pillar and side panels. This study aims to contribute to the investigations on the effects of chassis geometry over crashworthiness, particularly focusing on the structure of a ladder frame chassis subjected to full frontal and pole side collisions. Preliminary work has been conducted to evaluate the behaviour of steel beam profiles under impact loading through finite element (FE) modelling, which helps understand the mechanics of the particular beams chosen as chassis elements. Another FE model is developed utilising a previously generated mesh of a pickup truck with a ladder frame chassis. The FE model is employed to simulate full frontal and pole side crash test scenarios on the isolated chassis as well as on the whole body of the vehicle. Crash energy absorption results and reaction forces are collected for different thicknesses and beam profile cross sections of the vehicle chassis to be utilised in several proposed design improvements aiming to enhance crashworthiness. Computational results exhibit good agreement with experimental findings.


We construct several score functions for use in locating unusually conserved regions in a genomewide search of aligned DNA from two species. We test these functions on regions of the human genome aligned to the mouse genome. These score functions are derived from properties of neutrally evolving sites on the mouse and human genome and can be adjusted to the local background rate of conservation. The aim of these functions is to try to identify regions of the human genome that are conserved by evolutionary selection because they have an important function, rather than by chance. We use them to get a very rough estimate of the amount of DNA in the human genome that is under selection.


Chronic widespread musculoskeletal pain is a major cause of disability. Pro-inflammatory glial cell activity, also known as gliosis, has been associated with the development and maintenance of hyperalgesia within several forms of chronic pain, yet its role in the pathophysiology of chronic widespread musculoskeletal pain has not been clearly established. The aim of this study was to quantitatively compare the expression of glial cells in the acidic saline (AS) model of chronic widespread musculoskeletal pain with controls and determine whether a relationship exists between glial cell expression and pain response. Activation markers of astrocytes (GFAP) and microglia (Iba-1), detected via immunohistochemistry, were quantitatively analyzed in the lumbar spinal cord and thalamus ventrobasal complex. Hyperalgesia was determined using electronic algesiometer measurement of cutaneous mechanical withdrawal threshold. Five out of twenty-one (24%) AS animals developed bilateral hyperalgesia. The expression of Iba-1 and GFAP in the L5 and L6 spinal cord was found to be significantly increased in AS animals relative to controls, regardless of behavioural pain response (p<0.05). When sub-grouped according to pain response, only hyperalgesia responders showed increased lumbar Iba-1 expression (p<0.05 versus control). In contrast, both hyperalgesia responders and non-responders had increased lumbar GFAP expression (p<0.05 versus control). This study provides evidence of spinal cord gliosis in an animal model of chronic widespread musculoskeletal pain and suggests a positive correlation between lumbar microglia expression and hyperalgesia. This novel finding establishes a possible pathophysiological link between reactive gliosis and hyperalgesia in chronic widespread musculoskeletal pain disorders.


The GridRPC model [17] is an emerging standard promoted by the Global Grid Forum (GGF) that defines how to perform remote clientserver computations on a distributed architecture. In this model data are sent back to the client at the end of every computation. This implies unnecessary communications when computed data are needed by an other server in further computations. Since, communication time is sometimes the dominant cost of remote computations, this cost has to be lowered. Several tools instantiate the GridRPC model such as NetSolve developed at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA, Ninf developped at the University of Tokyo, Japan and DIET developed at LIP laboratory, ENS Lyon, France. They are usually called Network Enabled Servers (NES). In this paper, we present a discussion of the data management solutions chosen for two NES (NetSolve and DIET) as well as experimental results.


This study examined the effect of waste particle size on stabilization performance of hazardous electric arc furnace dusts (EAFD) from steel foundries through the measurement of the temperature rise during hydration and heavy metals leaching. EAFD was characterized by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), granulometry, and acid neutralization capacity (ANC) analysis. Portland cement was used to stabilize EAFD. Two types of paste samples, with EAFD content varying between 0% and 50% by weight, were prepared. The first type contained original EAFD, and the second contained ground EAFD with increased surface area. The increase in the temperatures of the mixes was monitored during the hydration reactions of the pastes. Ground EAFD yielded higher temperature rise rates than the original EAFD. Heavy metals leaching were determined by toxicity characteristics leaching procedure (TCLP). Pastes containing ground EAFD up to 50% yielded lower zinc and lead leaching than that of samples containing original EAFD. The results revealed that surface area of the EAFD may affect the stabilization performance and therefore care should be given to storage conditions at the foundries.


Background The General Medical Council (UK) has called for more patient and public involvement in assessment of medical students.1 In the US, simulated patients (SP) perform summative assessments of communication skills as part of medical licensing examinations.2 The use of SP's and RP's has been shown to demonstrate adequate reliability for OSCE's and structured long cases.3,4 This project aimed to evaluate the reliability of simulated (SP) and real (RP) patient ratings in the Integrated Structured Clinical Examination (ISCE) of the Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry (PCMD).5 This undergraduate summative assessment requires students to perform a complex combination of skills, simulating real patient encounters, through the course of six stations. Each station represents a different patient presentation. Methodology This is a quantitative evaluation of SP's, RP's and Physicians ratings of student's communication skills and overall performance based on six point rating scales using assessment data collected through 3 years iteration of the ISCE at PCMD. The students were from either their second or fourth year of a five year programme. Data from >300 student assessments has been used. Inter-rater reliability of patient-physician ratings was measured using the Intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). Results Preliminary analyses demonstrate good inter-rater reliability in most stations, particularly those focusing on communication, including 'communication in difficult circumstances' (ICC = 0.653, p < 0.001). Some stations showed poor inter-rater reliability, such as 'Endocrine' (ICC = 0.152, p = 0.148) Conclusion Reliability of SP assessments during undergraduate ISCE's is context dependent. SP ratings of communication skills during ISCE are reliable measures at undergraduate level and could replace physician ratings in communication based topics. Impact This study has important implications for the ISCE and other clinical skills examinations. The results have financial and strategic dimensions which could reduce the burden to the Institution of these elements without reducing the reliability of assessment of communication skills. References GMC, Patient and public involvement in undergraduate medical education, Advice supplementary to Tomorrow's Doctors (2009), May 2011 www.usmle.org/step-2-cs/ (accessed 6.6.14) Wass V, Jones R, van der Vleuten C. Standardised or real patients to test clinical competence? The long case revisited, Medical Education 2001;35:321–325 Wallace J, Rao R, Haslam R. Simulated patients and objective structured clinical examination: Review of their use in medical education, Advances in Psychiatric Treatment 2002;8:342–350 Mattick K, Dennis I, Bradley P, Bligh J. Content Specificity: is it the full story? Statistical modelling of a clinical skills examination. Medical Education 2008;42: 589–599


Spinning-Elevation (SE) tracking system produces a decent image on the receiver surface; however, it is subjected to large variations in tracking speed. In this research, a Graphical Ray Tracing (GRT) model for Center-Oriented Spinning-Elevation (COSE) tracking method is developed to evaluate tracking angles. Instead of a target, a heliostat is pointed towards the on-field center point of the tower. Therefore, a spinning-axis of rotation is a line joining a heliostat, and a center of the tower and elevation-axis is perpendicular to it. This aiming strategy has shown a substantial reduction in rotations of spinning-motor. In contrast, the elevation-motor runs at slightly higher rotations than the target-oriented SE method for the same application. Also, COSE tracking method obtains better shape of the reflected image with less aberration on the receiver surface as compared to SE and the traditional Azimuth-Elevation (AE) method.


Abstract Recovery and desistance in mentally ill offenders can be more complicated than in respectively general psychiatric or offender populations due to factors and processes on individual, contextual and structural levels. In this paper we focus on a specific element of the interplay between the individual and the contextual level; the working alliance. Beneficial working alliances during (quasi-)compulsory treatment and offender supervision can facilitate recovery and desistance in mentally ill offenders. These alliances are however characterized by a tension between care and control and further complicated by mentally ill offenders' experiences of trauma and stigma. To our opinion, a procedurally just approach can counterbalance these two difficulties by setting a sound rehabilitative climate in which recovery and desistance can be facilitated in mentally ill offenders. We support our argument by a critical review of findings from theoretical papers and empirical research studies from psychological-psychiatric and legal-criminological scientific domains on the subjects of recovery, desistance, (quasi-)compulsory treatment processes, and procedural justice. A procedurally just approach can be valuable for policy, treatment as well as future research regarding recovery and desistance in mentally ill offenders.


A large share of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) budget takes the form of subsidies for supporting and stabilising the income of European Union farmers. This paper assesses whether CAP subsidies stabilise farm income and examines how subsidies may reduce the variability of farm income over time. The analysis is developed on a constant sample of Hungarian and Slovenian Farm Accountancy Data Network farms during the period 2007–2015. It incorporates both the whole sample and farms classified according to two criteria: economic size, and the relative importance of subsidies. Farm income variability is analysed by means of variance decomposition using three main income components: market revenue income, subsidies, and the cost of external factors. Variability in farm income over time is high due to the high variability in the market revenue component. Subsidies mitigate instability in farm income because their variability is lower than that of market revenue income. While CAP subsidies thus represent a stable source of farm income, they have played a limited countercyclical role in stabilising total farm income. Subsidies are not found to be targeted at the farms that face the highest level of income variability and thus may not be an efficient tool for stabilising farm income.


The leaf, bark and root oils of Goniothalamus cylindrostigma were obtained by hydrodistillation method and investigated by capillary GC and GC/MS. The chemical components were identified by comparison of their mass spectral data with those existing in the Wiley library, their retention indices and co-chromatography of some constituents with authentic samples. The oils and several reference compounds were further evaluated for their antimicrobial activity using broth microdilution methods. The bark and root oils were qualitatively similar but with some variation in levels of the individual constituents, with geranyl acetate as the most abundant compounds. The bark oil contained a higher amount of geranyl acetate (41.5%), geraniol (20.5%) and linalool (8.6%) than the root oil. However, the major group of compounds in the leaf oil of G. cylindrostigma was dominated by monoterpenoids and terpinen-4-ol (38.9%) and 1,8-cineole (17.7%) were the important representatives. The antimicrobial activity results showed that the essential oils of G. cylindrostigma exhibited strongest inhibitory activity against S. epidermidis and Candida albicans. Based on the results of the assay on standard samples, compounds such as geranyl acetate, geraniol, linalool and terpinen-4-ol in the oils might be responsible for the high antimicrobial activity.


Summary. The performance of three consecutive classes of students admitted to the Colleges of Medicine and Medical Sciences at King Faisal University was studied. All students took the high school graduation examination and sat the college admission test. It was found that performance on the admission test was a better predictor than high school grades in the first two levels of the medical curriculum. However, performance in a combination of certain high school and admission test subjects was a more powerful predictor of students' achievement at all levels. This study indicates that the college admission test is a useful additional tool in the process of medical student selection at this college. Further studies are needed, however, for the formulation of general recommendations.


PAVLOVA, E., D. DIMOVA, E. PETROVA, Y. GLUHCHEVA and N. ATANASSOVA, 2013. Changes in rat testis and sperm count after acute treatment with sodium nitrite. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., Supplement 2, 19: 186–189 Sodium nitrite (NaNO 2 ) is an inorganic salt with various industrial applications. The adverse health effects of NaNO 2 in animals and humans are typically due to the formation of methemoglobin in the blood. This can lead to cyanosis and, at very high levels, death. Humans are constantly exposed to sodium nitrite through food and drinking water. The aim of the present study is to follow up the changes in rat testis and sperm count after acute treatment with NaNO 2 . Four-month-old male Wistar rats were intraperitoneally injected with NaNO 2 at dose of 50 mg.kg –1 body weight (distilled water for controls). Treated animals were sacrificed at different time intervals (1 h, 5 h, 24 h and 48 h) following the administration. Testes and epididymides were sampled, weighed and embedded in paraffin using routine histological practice. Spermatozoa were isolated from both vasa deferentia and counted. Preliminary histological observations of the testis of some experimental animals demonstrated disorganization of seminiferous epithelium and assemblance of undifferentiated germ cells in the luminal area of the tubules. Testis weight/body weight index was increased in the first hours after administration, which is probably due to higher seminal fluid volume. Statistically significant reduction in sperm count ranging between 480 g.kg –1 (fifth hour) and 280 g.kg –1 (48 h) was observed. These results may be associated with impaired hormonal balance and tissue anoxia – an adverse environment for germ cell development. In conclusion, acute treatment with NaNO 2 affects testis morphology, some weight indices and sperm count in mature rats.


Taiwan has many high-level music colleges that prepare students for
performance and teaching careers. These music colleges are competitive environments in which students are potentially learning to cope with musical performance anxiety (MPA). MPA has been widely researched in recent years. Studies have found that college musicians use their own unique coping strategies or rely on past experiences of coping with MPA to manage it. Nevertheless, literature that focuses on MPA self-management is still limited.
The aim of this thesis is to fill this gap by investigating the ways in which MPA is self-managed by Taiwanese college musicians (TCMs). The research
questions are: 1) How do TCMs define and perceive MPA? 2) How do TCMs self-manage MPA? 3) What strategies for managing MPA do the TCMs believe they will use with their students when they carry out teaching as
part of their future portfolio careers? Fifty-three undergraduates were recruited from a music college in Taiwan. Each participant was interviewed before all of their performances taking place in one semester: formal concert, exam, and graduate recital. The data was analysed through a qualitative approach by using thematic analysis in order to examine the
strategies used and the process of managing MPA. The findings are
presented as four themes: 1) Strategies used in preparation for different types of performance, during different time periods of preparation and
performance. 2) Strategies in context: people and places. 3) Understanding the strategies: metacognition in musical learning and managing MPA.
4) MPA self-management and the teaching–learning cycle. Results revealed that it is possible for TCMs to self-manage their MPA through developing metacognitive processes with support networks in the conservatoire environment and with various external resources. However, information on MPA-coping strategies are like pieces of a puzzle that are scattered rather than being coherently fitted together. Therefore, recommendations for further research and applications to practice are made.


Based on least squares support vector machines (LS-SVM) and Wavelet Transform theory, a novel approach for short-term power load forecasting is presented. The historical time series is decomposed by wavelet, so the approximate part and several detail parts are obtained. Then the results of Wavelet Transform are predicted by a separate LS-SVM predictor. The new forecast model combines the advantage of WT with LS-SVM. Compared with other predictors, this forecast model has greater generalizing ability and higher accuracy.


This paper proposes methods to automate recovery and analysis of Windows NT5 (XP and 2003) event logs for computer forensics. Requirements are formulated and methods are evaluated with respect to motivation and process models. A new, freely available tool is presented that, based on these requirements, automates the repair of a common type of corruption often observed in data carved NT5 event logs. This tool automates repair of multiple event logs in a single step without user intervention. The tool was initially developed to meet immediate needs of computer forensic engagements. Automating recovery, repair, and correlation of multiple logs make these methods more feasible for consideration in both a wider range of cases and earlier phases of cases, and hopefully, in turn, standard procedures. The tool was developed to fill a gap between capabilities of certain other freely available tools that may recover and correlate large volumes of log events, and consequently permit correlation with various other kinds of Windows artifacts. The methods are examined in the context of an example digital forensic service request intended to illustrate the kinds of civil cases that motivated this work. a 2007 DFRWS. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.


This article is a condensation and summary of the "Lincoln-Douglas Debate on Whether to Repeal Code 1031" held at the Teaching Tax Committee meeting at the 2105 ABA Section of Taxation Midyear Meeting in Houston, Texas. The article provides a brief history of section 1031. It then presents arguments for repealing section 1031, such as the inequitable distribution of section 1031 benefits, the asset-type lock-in effect of section 1031, and the administrative burden caused by section 1031. It also presents arguments for retaining section 1031, including equity justification for section 1031 under the continuity-of-investment theory, the asset-specific lock-in effect that section 1031 helps ameliorate, and the potential tax-revenue gains presented by section 1031. It concludes with a discussion of possible reform alternatives, such as a move to a rollover provision and a modification to the definition of like-kind property.


Data-driven operations management methods can transform company operations, respond rapidly to customer demands, and enable new business models. However, companies face the challenge of measuring and evaluating how new technology will impact operational processes. This article takes a systems engineering approach to assess the tradeoffs of adopting data-driven mechanisms to improve operational processes in a multichannel customer support system. In this article, we investigate potential cost savings from two technology applications: classification methods to direct customers to efficient self-service communication channels and routing methods to match customers with agents based on the query type and available skill set. Discrete event simulation evaluates how new technology adoption affects system-level performance. What-if scenarios combine distinct configurations of customer classification mechanisms and available communication channels to evaluate the reduction in the total number of agents required to meet a target service quality level. Discussion includes practical examples of how operational managers could use experimental information to make strategic operational decisions when adopting data-driven technologies.


Introduction: National guidelines endorse that eligible acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients should be treated with intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (IV tPA) within 60 minutes of arrival to an emergency department (ED). We participated in the American Heart Association's Target: Stroke program which successfully reduced door to needle (DTN) times through 10 best practices, but academic hospitals face a unique challenge as junior residents evaluate and manage AIS patients. We hypothesized that a "stroke boot camp" could improve resident efficiency during stroke codes and shorten DTN times through faster stroke code to tPA times.

Methods: A neurology resident educational protocol was developed and implemented in April 2013 using a Socratic case-based discussion to emphasize focused history and exam, medication history, and tPA exclusion criteria. We distributed cards with IV tPA risks/benefits and a checklist for tPA exclusion criteria. We compared pre-intervention (January 2010-April 2013) to post-intervention (April 2013-April 2014) patient demographics, comorbidities, resident level, relevant times, and outcomes using appropriate tests.

Results: We analyzed 122 consecutive AIS patients treated with IV tPA in our ED during the study period. Pre and post intervention groups did not differ by demographics except gender (p = 0.005). There were no difference in comorbidities, baseline NIHSS, or resident post graduate year (PGY). After the intervention, stroke-code-to-tPA was significantly reduced (75 min vs. 45 min; p < 0.001), whereas door-to-stroke-code (7 min vs. 6 min, p = 0.56) and door-to-CT (18 min vs. 19 min, p = 0.44) did not change. The proportion of patients treated within 60 minutes increased (16.4% vs. 51.4%, P < 0.001) and median DTN time decreased (81 min vs. 60 min P < 0.001) significantly after the intervention. Time reductions were consistent across PGY levels without increased adverse outcomes.

Conclusion: Reduction in stroke code-to-tPA times after implementation of a "stroke boot camp" led to a significant reduction in DTN time. Focused neurology resident acute stroke education should be implemented at academic institutions to improve rapid IV tPA administration


In 5G wireless networks, cooperative non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) and wireless power transfer (WPT) are efficient ways to improve the spectral efficiency (SE) and energy efficiency (EE). In this paper, a new cooperative NOMA scheme with WPT is proposed, where EE optimization with a constrained maximum transmit power and minimum required SE is considered for the user grouping and transmit power allocation of users. We obtain a sub-optimal solution by decoupling the original problem in two sub-problems: an iterative algorithm is considered for the user grouping, while, in addition, we utilize the Bat Algorithm (BA) for solving the power allocation problem, where BA was proved to be able to achieve a higher accuracy and efficiency with respect to other meta-heuristic algorithms. Furthermore, to validate the performance of the proposed system, analytical expressions for the energy outage probability and outage probability of users are derived, confirming the effectiveness of the simulation results. It is demonstrated that the proposed cooperative NOMA with WPT offers a considerable improvement in terms of SE and EE of the network compared to other methods. Finally, the effectiveness of BA in solving the EE optimization problem is demonstrated through a high convergence speed by comparing it with other methods.


Object detection is a major challenge in computer vision, involving both object classification and object localization within a scene. While deep neural networks have been shown in recent years to yield very powerful techniques for tackling the challenge of object detection, one of the biggest challenges with enabling such object detection networks for widespread deployment on embedded devices is high computational and memory requirements. Recently, there has been an increasing focus in exploring small deep neural network architectures for object detection that are more suitable for embedded devices, such as Tiny YOLO and SqueezeDet. Inspired by the efficiency of the Fire microarchitecture introduced in SqueezeNet and the object detection performance of the singleshot detection macroarchitecture introduced in SSD, this paper introduces Tiny SSD, a single-shot detection deep convolutional neural network for real-time embedded object detection that is composed of a highly optimized, non-uniform Fire subnetwork stack and a non-uniform sub-network stack of highly optimized SSD-based auxiliary convolutional feature layers designed specifically to minimize model size while maintaining object detection performance. The resulting Tiny SSD possess a model size of 2.3MB (~26X smaller than Tiny YOLO) while still achieving an mAP of 61.3% on VOC 2007 (~4.2% higher than Tiny YOLO). These experimental results show that very small deep neural network architectures can be designed for real-time object detection that are well-suited for embedded scenarios.


The purpose of this research is to prove the use of glutaraldehyde disinfectants and benzyl methyl ammonium chloride can decrease the total number of bacteria on layer chicken cages. This research used 12 samples obtained from layer chicken cage swab results before spraying disinfectants and 12 samples obtained from the chicken cage swab after spraying. The research method used VCT (Viable Count Technique) using the standard dropping pippetes. The observed parameters were colonies that grow on the nutrient agar being calculated as total bacteria. The result showed that combination of glutaraldehyde and benzyl methyl ammonium chloride more effective to decrease bacteria after spraying than before spraying desinfectants.


Conjunctive regular path queries are an expressive extension of the well-known class of conjunctive queries and have been extensively studied in the database community. Somewhat surprisingly, there has been little work aimed at using such queries in the context of description logic (DL) knowledge bases, and all existing results target expressive DLs, even though lightweight DLs are considered better-suited for data-intensive applications. This paper aims to bridge this gap by providing algorithms and tight complexity bounds for answering two-way conjunctive regular path queries over DL knowledge bases formulated in lightweight DLs of the DL-Lite and EL families.


Despite the social, pathological, physiological and psychological effects that skin bleaching presents, it has become a widespread practice among different groups in Nigeria. This cross sectional study involving two selected universities in Osun State, Nigeria, assessed the perceived risks and consequences of skin bleaching among undergraduates in higher institutions in Osun State, Nigeria. Data was collected from 400 undergraduates using a validated self-administered questionnaire with a Cronbach's alpha value of 0.78. The data was analyzed descriptively and inferentially. Findings showed that almost half of the respondents (41.5%) had used bleaching agents, and 70.5% have a negative perception of its risks and consequences. Reasons for the use of bleaching product included removal of facial pimples or scars (79.8%), skin lightening (58.3%), spot removal (79.5%), fashion enhancement (67.0%) and to become more attractive (65.8%). There was a significant difference in the perception of the risks of skin bleaching based on institutional affiliations (t=3.57, p=.000). This study concluded that skin bleaching was prevalent among the studied population and that the participants had a negative perception of its risks and consequences. Key words : Adverse effects, bleaching, bleaching agents, cosmetics use, undergraduate students


Introduction/Group Overview The RLE Computational Biophysics Group is focused on understanding conformational changes in biomolecules that play an important role in common human diseases. The group uses an interdisciplinary approach combining computational modeling with biochemical experiments to make connections between conformational changes in macromolecules and disease progression. By employing two types of modeling, molecular dynamics and probabilistic modeling, hypotheses can be developed and then tested experimentally.