The taxonomy of the African, Madagascan and Comoro Island (Afro-Malagasy) Gesneriaceae attracts a large amount of interest given the horticultural importance of Cape Primroses (Streptocarpus) and African Violets (Saintpaulia). Earlier studies indicated that the Afro-Malagasy genera form a strongly supported clade, and recent classifications have included some of the genera within an expanded Streptocarpus. Given the global importance of this group, we carried out a comprehensive molecular phylogenetic analysis of all Afro-Malagasy genera in subfamily Didymocarpoideae, tribe Trichosporeae, subtribe Streptocarpinae, to investigate species relationships in these genera as the basis for a new classification. Phylogenetic analyses of the nuclear ribosomal spacer (ITS, 5S NTS) and chloroplast intron and spacer regions (rpl20-rps12 spacer, trnL intron, trnLF spacer) of 226 samples were performed, including all Streptocarpinae genera, except the monotypic Nodonema. The molecular phylogenies demonstrate that the genera with non-twisted fruits are nested within Streptocarpus which has twisted fruits. Two main clades were found, one comprising herbaceous caulescent Streptocarpus that also included Saintpaulia, the caulescents Hovanella and Schizoboea, and the unifoliates Acanthonema and Trachystigma. The second clade comprises the woody caulescents and acaulescent Streptocarpus, Colpogyne and Linnaeopsis. Altogether, twelve well-supported subclades can be recognized, each with a combination of distinct morphological characteristics. A new classification of tribe Streptocarpinae, de facto Streptocarpus, is presented, retaining the two subgenera, Streptocarpus and Streptocarpella, and dividing them into five and seven sections respectively. Nodonema is attributed to subg. Streptocarpus for morphological reasons. The former genus Saintpaulia is classified as Streptocarpus subg. Streptocarpella sect. Saintpaulia with ten species recognized.


Poor information means incomplete and insufficient information, such as unknown probability distributions and trends. Evaluation for the evolvement of the rolling bearing quality as a time series belongs to the category of information poor process. Statistics relied on known probability distributions and trends could become ineffective. For this end, a fuzzy hypothesis testing model is proposed to make variability analysis of a time series with poor information. By introducing the weight into the rejection region, the relationship of the improved equivalence relation and the empirical confidence level is established, laying the new foundation for a fuzzy decision-making for a time series with poor information. The model is characterized by permitting the probability distribution and the trend of a stationary or nonstationary time-series to be unknown. The experimental investigation on the friction torque of a rolling bearing shows that the model is correct and effective.


Abstract Background Functional somatic disorders (FSD) feature medical symptoms of unclear etiology. Attempts to clarify their origin have been hampered by a lack of rigorous research designs. We sought to clarify the etiology of the FSD by examining the genetic risk patterns for FSD and other related disorders. Methods This study was performed in 5 829 186 individuals from Swedish national registers. We quantified familial genetic risk for FSD, internalizing disorders, and somatic disorders in cases of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), fibromyalgia (FM), and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), using a novel method based on aggregate risk in first to fifth degree relatives, adjusting for cohabitation. We compared these profiles with those of a prototypic internalizing psychiatric – major depression (MD) – and a somatic/autoimmune disorder: rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Results Patients with FM carry substantial genetic risks not only for FM, but also for pain syndromes and internalizing, autoimmune and sleep disorders. The genetic risk profiles for IBS and CFS are also widely distributed although with lower average risks. By contrast, genetic risk profiles of MD and RA are much more restricted to related conditions. Conclusion Patients with FM have a relatively unique family genetic risk score profile with elevated genetic risk across a range of disorders that differs markedly from the profiles of a classic autoimmune disorder (RA) and internalizing disorder (MD). A similar less marked pattern of genetic risks was seen for IBS and CFS. FSD arise from a distinctive pattern of genetic liability for a diversity of psychiatric, autoimmune, pain, sleep, and functional somatic disorders.


The status of the Vulnerable Wattled Crane (Grus carunculatus) in Mozambique is poorly known, but historical accounts indicate that the species was previously more abundant and widespread than today. Annual surveys during 1995–2002 suggest a core population of about 120 breeding pairs remains in the Zambezi Delta region. Wattled Cranes in the delta are exclusively associated with sedges of the genus Eleocharis, the tubers of which provide the adult cranes' main food supply. The main Eleocharis areas in the delta, and those supporting the highest density of Wattled Cranes, occur below the adjacent Cheringoma escarpment, where unregulated streams flow onto the floodplain. These wetlands experience some seasonal inundation in all years — conditions essential for the production of underground tubers — and high soil penetrability to enable the cranes to extract tubers. Eleocharis tuber production and soil penetrability is extremely low in the remaining vast areas of the delta that no longer receive regular annual flooding due to regulation of the Zambezi River. Significant differences in crane density between the Eleocharis beds of the Cheringoma and Zambezi floodplains suggest that the carrying capacity of the delta for cranes has been reduced. Simulation modelling suggests that the present population of Wattled Cranes in the Zambezi Delta is viable, despite the long-term, severe hydrological degradation of large parts of the floodplain. Restoration of the hydrological conditions in the delta may have global implications for the species, however. In 1990, an estimated 2 570 Wattled Cranes (more than 30% of the global population) were observed in the delta. This was likely an occasional flock from elsewhere in southern Africa, as prolonged regional drought resulted in failed floods, low tuber productivity and relatively impermeable soils in the region.


At Punta Blanca, a Schoenoplectus californicus marsh of about 1,190 m long and 175 m wide is separated from the Rio de la Plata estuary by a sand bar interrupted at one extreme by a channel through which tidal exchange of water occurs. Water movement in and out the marsh was estimated by installing a water stage height meter and following stage height variations through complete tidal cycles. Incoming river water was sampled twice and outcoming marsh water three times along six tidal cycles, and main physical and chemical variables were determined. The marked decrease of the suspended matter concentration in the outcoming water points out the large retention of sediments by the marsh. Oxygen concentration and water pH decreased in the outcoming water in four over six samplings. Higher concentrations of soluble reactive phosphorus in the outcoming tidal water suggest P release related with riverine suspended matter transformation upon sedimentation, in response to acidification and reduction within the marsh environment. Nitrate impoverishment in the outcoming water suggests denitrification losses. Since ammonium concentration in the outcoming water was larger than in the incoming water, a net flux from the sediments is suggested. Nevertheless, as a result of nitrate depletion and ammonium release, a net loss of inorganic nitrogen took place.


We study the dynamics of order flows around large intraday price changes using ultra-high-frequency data from the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. We find a significant reversal of price for both intraday price decreases and increases with a permanent price impact. The volatility, the volume of different types of orders, the bid–ask spread and the volume imbalance increase before the extreme events and decay slowly as a power law, which forms a well-established peak. The volume of buy market orders increases faster and the corresponding peak appears earlier than for sell market orders around positive events, while the volume peak of sell market orders leads buy market orders in the magnitude and time around negative events. When orders are divided into four groups according to their aggressiveness, we find that the behaviors of order volume and order number are similar, except for buy limit orders and canceled orders that the peak of order number postpones 2 min later after the peak of order volume, implying that investors placing large orders are more informed and play a central role in large price fluctuations. We also study the relative rates of different types of orders and find differences in the dynamics of relative rates between buy orders and sell orders and between individual investors and institutional investors. There is evidence that institutions behave very differently from individuals and that they have more aggressive strategies. Combining these findings, we conclude that institutional investors are better informed and play a more influential role in driving large price fluctuations.


Vegetable oils are a potential alternative to the partial or total substitution of diesel fuels. An experimental investigation is conducted to evaluate the effects of using ethanol and diethyl ether as additives to biodiesel/diesel blends on the emission and performance of direct injection unmodified diesel engine. Biodiesel was made by pyrolysis process. Cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL) was selected for biodiesel production. The fuel containing 20% biodiesel and 80% Number 2 diesel fuel, is called here as B20, 90% B20 and 10% ethanol by volume is called B20+E10 and 90% B20 and 10% diethyl ether by volume is called B20+D10. The effect of test fuels on engine torque, power, brake specific fuel consumption, brake thermal efficiency, exhaust gas temperature, were ascertained by performance tests. The influence of blends on CO, CO2, HC, NO and smoke opacity were investigated by emission tests. The experimental results showed that the exhaust emissions for 10% diethyl ether with B20 were fairly reduced, especially the NO is reduced remarkably by 51% while comparing diesel. B20+D10 blend reflect better engine performance and lower emissions than B20+E10and B20 blends.


OBJECTIVES
We screened the type I interferon signal pathway factor involved in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) by whole-genome sequencing in SLE patients and initially analyse their potential functions.

METHODS
Use high-throughput sequencing technology to sequence mRNAs on peripheral blood mononuclear cells from SLE patients and healthy controls,and screen out differentially expressed genes related to the type I interferon (IFN) pathway. Quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) was utilised to verify the expression of the IFI44L gene in SLE patients and healthy controls, and the correlation between its expression level and clinical test indicators of SLE patients were analysed. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were conducted to explore the value of IFI44L for SLE diagnosis. Cell counting kit-8 assay and flow cytometry were used to detect the effects of IFI44L on cell proliferation, apoptosis, and cell cycle.

RESULTS
A total of 122 genes were significantly up-regulated and 34 genes were significantly down-regulated in the SLE group compared with the healthy control group in this research. The significantly up-regulated IFI44L in SLE patients was verified by RT-qPCR (p<0.01), furthermore, male SLE patients were significantly higher than that in female SLE patients (p<0.05). Moreover, ROC analyses proved IFI44L may have diagnostic value for SLE. Meanwhile, IFI44L expression level was significantly correlated with platelets, mean platelet volume, red blood cell distribution width to platelet ratio, complement component 3, and C-reactive protein (p<0.05). In addition, under the action of high interferon, IFI44L can resist the proapoptotic effect of IFN-α and improve the proliferation activity of cells.

CONCLUSIONS
IFI44L may play an important role in SLE pathology through abnormal regulation of the type I interferon signalling pathway.


Repeated cross-sectional (RCS) designs are distinguishable from true panels and pooled cross-sectional time series (PCSTS) since cross-sectional units (e.g., individual survey respondents) appear but once in the data. This poses two serious challenges. First, as with PCSTS, autocorrelation threatens inferences. However, common solutions like differencing and using a lagged dependent variable are not possible with RCS since lags for i cannot be used. Second, although RCS designs contain information that allows both aggregate- and individual-level analyses, available methods�from pooled ordinary least squares to PCSTS to time series�force researchers to choose one level of analysis. The PCSTS tool kit does not provide an appropriate solution, and we offer one here: double filtering with ARFIMA methods to account for autocorrelation in longer RCS followed by the use of multilevel modeling to estimate both aggregate- and individual-level parameters simultaneously. We use Monte Carlo experiments and three applied examples to explore the advantages of our framework.


Background: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) findings are often used to diagnose meningitis in neonates given antibiotics before the lumbar puncture is performed. Traumatic lumbar punctures are common and complicate interpretation of CSF white blood cell counts. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the diagnostic utility of adjusting CSF white blood cell counts based on CSF and peripheral red blood cell counts. Methods: Cohort study of lumbar punctures performed between 1997 and 2004 at 150 neonatal intensive care units managed by the Pediatrix Medical group. Traumatic lumbar punctures were defined as CSF specimens with ≥500 red blood cells/mm3. CSF white blood cell counts were adjusted downward for traumatic lumbar punctures using several commonly used methods. We calculated sensitivity, specificity, likelihood ratios, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of unadjusted and adjusted CSF white blood cell counts for predicting meningitis in neonates with traumatic lumbar punctures. Results: Of 6374 lumbar punctures, 2519 (39.5%) were traumatic. 114/6374 (1.8%) were positive for meningitis; 50 neonates with traumatic lumbar punctures had meningitis. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve for white blood cell count unadjusted and adjusted by all methods were similar. Conclusions: Adjustment of CSF white blood cell counts to account for increased red cells does not improve diagnostic utility. Adjustment can result in loss of sensitivity with marginal gain in specificity. Adjustment of WBC counts in the setting of a traumatic lumbar puncture does not aid in the diagnosis of bacterial and fungal meningitis in neonates.


In connection with ancient and recent view on cosmology, it is interesting to note that our universe could be a spherical crystal and it moves as a crystal in a relative position with others spherical universes, where the Burgers vector for cellular dislocations dynamics is the Hubble length: λH=1.32x1026m. The expansion process of this polycrystalline spatially extended system obey the hyperbolic granular flow, which it is due to an accelerated motion manifested during the deformation process of super plastic advanced structural universes in a similar behaviour of super plastic advanced structural materials. Consequently, in this work the phenomenology and mechanics of super plastic flow are analyzed in the context of the unified interpretation of Hubble flow, plastic flow and super plastic flow, where the combination of fundamentals constants with the natural Planck length, allows obtain in a closed agreement with the Orowan equation the magnitude of the nature Burgers vector of dislocation in the cosmic structure for the universe as follow: 1.62 10 . 35 3 0 x m c H G b P − ⊥ ⊥ ⊥ = = = = h λ ρ ν Where, b⊥ = magnitude of the nature Burgers vector for the universe (b⊥ = 1.62x10-35m), λP = Planck length (λP = 1.62x10-35m), H0 = the Hubble parameter (H0=70 (km/sec)/Mpc = 2.26854593 x10-18s-1), ρ⊥ = dislocation density (ρ⊥ = 1.273x1011 dislocations/m2) in the universe. ν⊥ = the recession velocity of galaxies related with dislocations dynamics in the cosmic structure (ν⊥ = 1100x103 m/s, it is the recession velocity of the Virgo super cluster at 16 Mpc distance). h = h / 2π . Here h = the Planck constant (h = 6.6262x10-34 Joule-s), G = the Newtonian constant (G = 6.67259x10-11 m3/kg s2) and c = the speed of light (c = 299 792 458 m/s) [1-3].


Design automation for digital microfluidic biochip comprises of many combinatorial optimization problems, which are NP-complete in nature. Efficient optimization algorithms to solve them is in dearth till date. In this paper, we propose a multi-objective optimization algorithm that simultaneously minimizes several resources during bioassay operations in a digital microfluidic biochip. We design the progressive droplet routing as a constrained multi-objective optimization problem considering three objective functions to be optimized, named (i) electrode usages, (ii) routing completion time, or latest arrival time, and (iii) control pin allocation. A composite objective function is constructed by a weighted sum of the first two objective functions. This composite function is minimized pertaining to an upper bound on the third objective function, control pin allocation. A fractional constant weight factor (λ) is chosen to confer upon the necessary weightage on the two factors involved in the composite objective function for accurate optimization procedure. We perform experimentations with several existing benchmarks, and experimental results are quite encouraging.


Maintenance of aerospace equipment, including aircraft, requires highly trained personnel and expensive test equipment. The job has become increasingly complex over the years as more sophisticated electronic equipment has been added to perform the functions of sensing, communication and control. This paper explores the need and requirements for hand-held devices in the field of avionics system maintenance. A number of research programs are described that have as an objective the development of hand-held or clothing-mounted electronic devices for assisting the user while performing various tasks. A new, highly integrated microcontroller is used to illustrate the design of a cost effective, hand-held maintenance device for avionics system maintenance.


Assessing reading skills is an important task teachers have to perform at the beginning of a new scholastic year to evaluate the starting level of the class and properly plan next learning activities. Digital tools based on automatic speech recognition (ASR) may be really useful to support teachers in this task, currently very time consuming and prone to human errors. This paper presents a web application for automatically assessing fluency and accuracy of oral reading in children attending Italian primary and lower secondary schools. Our system, based on ASR technology, implements the Cornoldi's MT battery, which is a well-known Italian test to assess reading skills. The front-end of the system has been designed following the participatory design approach by involving end users from the beginning of the creation process. Teachers may use our system to both test student's reading skills and monitor their performance over time. In fact, the system offers an effective graphical visualization of the assessment results for both individual students and entire class. The paper also presents the results of a pilot study to evaluate the system usability with teachers.


Purpose of review The purpose of this study is to provide a summary of current trends and recent developments in postoperative care after cataract surgery. Recent findings There is new evidence challenging the routine use of a protective eye shield after uncomplicated cataract surgery. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are effective in decreasing the risk of cystoid macular edema (CME) in high-risk eyes, but must be used with caution in patients with prior corneal disease. Pre-existing ocular comorbidities can have significant effects on postoperative outcomes. Management of postoperative visual expectations can be challenging in patients receiving newer advanced technology intraocular lenses (IOLs). Summary Key practices such as restrictions on activities, prophylactic regimens against infection and inflammation, appropriate follow-up with adjustments for individual risk factors and management of complications, and continuing care until visual rehabilitation is complete are advised to optimize visual outcome for patients after cataract surgery.


A new technique for breast reconstruction following mastectomy is suggested. It is based on three principles: (1) use of excess abdominal skin that is stretched upward; (2) use of skin from the healthy breast, when breast reduction or corrective ptosis is necessary; and (3) transposition of skin and excess subcutaneous tissue from the abdomen and the healthy breast, as a contralateral flap (abdominomammary flap), but with a homolateral and a heterolateral pedicle. The abdominomammary flap, adequately deepithelialized, provides material for subclavicular and axillary contouring, as well as a first, partial, or total covering of the prosthesis, while the cutaneous covering is obtained by stretching upward the thoracoabdominal skin of the affected side.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the incidence, prevalence, and outcomes of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) in a geographically defined community.

METHODS
Using the Rochester Epidemiology Project computerized medical record system, we screened all records of Olmsted County, Minnesota, residents with any diagnosis consistent with psoriasis and/or PsA made between January 1, 1982 and December 31, 1991. Medical records were reviewed using a pretested data collection form. Only those cases of psoriasis where the diagnosis was confirmed by a dermatologist were included. PsA was defined as inflammatory arthritis associated with a definite diagnosis of psoriasis. All identified cases were followed until death, migration from the county, or January 1, 1992. Cases with seropositive rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, crystal induced arthritis, Reiter's syndrome, arthritis associated with inflammatory bowel diseases, and inflammatory osteoarthritis were excluded. Clinical characteristics were described using summary statistics. Age and sex adjusted incidence and prevalence rates were calculated. Survival was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method.

RESULTS
We reviewed the records of 1844 patients with a diagnosis of psoriasis. In 1056 of these, the diagnosis was confirmed by a dermatologist. Among these 1056 psoriasis cases, we identified 66 cases (34 female, 32 male) of PsA first diagnosed between 1982 and 1991. The average age and sex adjusted incidence rate per 100,000 US population was 6.59 (95% confidence interval, CI, 4.99, 8.19) and the prevalence on January 1, 1992, was about one per 1000 (95% CI 0.81, 1.21). The average age at diagnosis was 40.7 years. At diagnosis, 91, 3, and 6% of cases had oligoarthritis, polyarthritis, and spondylitis, respectively. Over the 477.8 person-years of followup, 25 developed extraarticular manifestations (enthesitis, n = 15; ocular inflammation, n = 11; urethritis, n = 9), 10 patients received disease modifying antirheumatic drug treatment (methotrexate, n = 7; sulfasalazine, n = 5; intramuscular gold, n = 1; oral gold, n = 1), 3 received corticosteroids, and 5 had surgical interventions (synovectomy, n = 3; arthroplasty, n = 1; other reconstructive surgery, n = 2). Survival was not significantly different from the general population (p = 0.546).

CONCLUSION
Unlike results from previous referral based studies, our findings indicate that PsA is a mild, uncommon inflammatory arthritis, not associated with a significant increase in mortality.


Defined cultures of rabbit kidney cortical collecting tubule (CCT) and cortical thick ascending limb of Henle's loop (CAL) were grown in monolayers from individual microdissected tubules and maintained for up to five passages, a maximum of 53 days. CCT cells contained cytochemically demonstrable vasopressin-stimulated adenylate cyclase, whereas CAL cells were characterized by the localization of Na+-K+-ATPase. [3H]thymidine labeling index decreased with time in primary cultures in the presence or absence of 3% serum. When added to unsupplemented serum-free media alone or in combinations, the growth factors dexamethasone, thyroxine, insulin, epidermal growth factor, and prolactin stimulated [3H]thymidine incorporation to different extents. CCT cells were maximally stimulated by addition of dexamethasone alone, whereas a combination of dexamethasone, thyroxine, insulin, and prolactin was most stimulatory for CAL cells. Addition of hormones concerned with renal ion and water transport to fully supplemented serum-free media inhibited [3H]thymidine labeling index: 1) vasopressin, isoproterenol, and dibutyryl cAMP were equally inhibitory in CCT and CAL cultures; 2) parathyroid hormone and prostaglandin E1 were more inhibitory in CAL cultures; and 3) aldosterone was particularly inhibitory in CCT cultures.


Millimeter-wave (mm-Wave) communications have become an integral part of WLAN standards and 5G mobile networks and, as application data rate requirements increase, more and more traffic will move to these very high frequency bands. Although there is an ample choice of powerful experimental platforms for sub-6 GHz research, building mm-Wave systems is much more difficult due to the very high hardware requirements. To address the lack of suitable experimentation platforms, we propose mm-FLEX, a flexible and modular open platform with real-time signal processing capabilities that supports a bandwidth of 2 GHz and is compatible with current mm-Wave standards. The platform is built around a fast FPGA processor and a 60 GHz phased antenna array at front-end that can be reconfigured at nanosecond timescales. Together with its ease of use, this turns the platform into a unique tool for research on beam training in highly mobile scenarios and full-bandwidth mm-Wave signal processing.


Objectives To describe the epidemiology and geographical differences in prevalence of congenital cerebral anomalies in Europe. Design and setting Congenital cerebral anomalies (International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision code Q04) recorded in 29 population-based EUROCAT registries conducting surveillance of 1.7 million births per annum (29% of all European births). Participants All birth outcomes (live births, fetal deaths from 20 weeks gestation and terminations of pregnancy after prenatal diagnosis of a fetal anomaly (TOPFA)) from 2005 to 2014. Main outcome measures Prevalence, proportion of associated non-cerebral anomalies, prenatal detection rate. Results 4927 cases with congenital cerebral anomalies were identified; a prevalence (adjusted for under-reporting) of 9.8 (95% CI: 8.5 to 11.2) per 10 000 births. There was a sixfold difference in prevalence across the registries. Registries with higher proportions of prenatal diagnoses had higher prevalence. Overall, 55% of all cases were liveborn, 3% were fetal deaths and 41% resulted in TOPFA. Forty-eight per cent of all cases were an isolated cerebral anomaly, 25% had associated non-cerebral anomalies and 27% were chromosomal or part of a syndrome (genetic or teratogenic). The prevalence excluding genetic or chromosomal conditions increased by 2.4% per annum (95% CI: 1.3% to 3.5%), with the increases occurring only for congenital malformations of the corpus callosum (3.0% per annum) and 'other reduction deformities of the brain' (2.8% per annum). Conclusions Only half of the cases were isolated cerebral anomalies. Improved prenatal and postnatal diagnosis may account for the increase in prevalence of congenital cerebral anomalies from 2005 to 2014. However, major differences in prevalence remain between regions.


Evidence from memory studies demonstrating impaired relational processing in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has most commonly been based on the learning of verbalisable material (such as lists of words) by high-functioning, verbally-able participants with ASD, who are matched to a control group on full-scale IQ scores, which limited any commentary on the universality of these difficulties across the spectrum. The current research aimed to develop a set of non-verbal tasks that test relational memory, to examine the level of this ability in children with ASD and reduced language.

It aimed to replicate some of the characteristic impairments found in relational memory in high-functioning individuals with ASD, in order to generalise these impairments to the autism spectrum as a whole. This was done by adapting behavioural paradigms which have already been used with non-human animals, and which measure relational memory non-verbally, for use with humans with and without ASD. This aimed to provide paradigms which would be suitable for all participants with ASD, and to provide more rigorous tests of relational memory in ASD, independent of the level of functioning of the individual. The current research has shown that the paradigms adapted are effective measures of relational memory, which are suitable for use with all individuals with ASD, at any level of functioning. These findings extend the previous research demonstrating characteristic impairments in relational memory in high-functioning individuals with ASD, to include individuals with ASD who would be considered lower-functioning. They also support the view that individuals with ASD have potentially compromised hippocampal function.


The prognostic value of clinical, quantitative, and qualitative microscopical features of both the primary tumour and also of the affected lymph nodes were investigated in 71 patients with breast cancer with spread to lymph nodes (T X N + M0). Age, tumour size, and localisation of the tumour comprised the clinical features; morphometry included assessment of the cellularity index, the mitotic activity index, and seven nuclear indices; the qualitative features investigated were histological type and grade, nuclear grade, oestrogen receptor content, number of lymph nodes affected, capsule infiltration of the nodes, presence of metastatic deposits in the efferent lymph vessels, percentage area of lymph node occupied by tumour. Immunohistochemistry was performed to show the presence of carcinoembryonic antigen and peanut agglutinin. All the patients had a minimum follow up of 24 months (maximum 48 months, mean 36 months). Analysis of the results showed that the combined results of morphometry (of the primary tumour and the axillary lymph node metastatic deposits) yielded more information than analysis of axillary lymph node state, or morphometry of the primary tumour, or the lymph node metastases alone. Patients with a nuclear axes ratio of greater than 1.41 in the primary tumour and greater than 1.36 in the lymph node metastatic deposits were less likely to develop distant metastases than patients with values below any of these thresholds (recurrence rates 5.2% and 46%, respectively). Thus the preliminary results of this prospective study indicate that morphometry provides important prognostic information in patients with breast cancer that has spread to lymph nodes.


Plant size has long been implicated in plant response to drought stress. This study is a first in a series of two intended to examine the effect of plant size on plant performance under the effect of various agents of drought stress. Variable plant size (in terms of plant height and shoot biomass) independent of genetic background effects was experimentally achieved using rht (tallest), Rht1 and Rht2 (medium) and Rht3 (shortest) homozygous height isogenic lines of spring wheat (Triticum aestivum cv. Bersee). Top-root drying is a common stress condition when the top soil dries in the field. In this experiment wheat was grown in hydroponics system in long PVC tubes. Stress was applied by allowing the top (40 cm) roots to dry throughout most of the growing season while the remaining roots were immersed in the nutrient solution. Average seasonal top-root water potential was reduced from –0.097 MPa in the controls to –1.93 MPa under stress. This stress condition caused a reduction in shoot biomass while it increased total root length. There was a general progressive increase in leaf diffusive resistance under the treatment as plants became larger. This stomatal closure could not be accounted for by reduction in leaf water potential. In fact, leaf turgor increased as stomatal diffusive resistance increased with increasing plant size, leading us to conclude that stomatal closure was the primary response to top-root drying, followed by turgor maintenance possibly as a result of a non-hydraulic signal produced by the drying top-roots. Smaller plants were affected relatively less than were larger plants by this stress condition in terms of stomatal closure, plant height, tillering and shoot biomass reduction. Grain yield per plant was actually increased by stress in the smallest plants while it was unaffected by stress in the larger plants. It is concluded that the smallest plants were the most resistant to top-root drying but absolute biomass and yield under this stress condition was the greatest in the largest plants because of their relatively greater potential.


This paper studies the application of the multilevel fast multipole algorithm (MLFMA) to the analysis of electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) problems. For structures composed of complex surfaces, wires, and interconnections of the latter, the MLFMA achieves the same accuracy as the classical method of moments, but requires far less simulation time and memory resources. In this paper, the MLFMA is used to predict the input impedance of a modules-on-backplane structure. Experimental results are used to validate the algorithm. Comparison with other numerical techniques (the classical method of moments, the finite element method, and the finite-difference time-domain method) shows that the MLFMA is the most effective technique in solving large-scale EMC problems.


This paper presents the design and implementation of a new authentication and access control system, called CRISIS. A goal of CRISIS is to explore the systematic application of a number of design principles to building highly secure systems, including: redundancy to eliminate single points of attack, caching to improve performance and availability over slow and unreliable wide area networks, fine-grained capabilities and roles to enable lightweight control of privilege, and complete local logging of all evidence used to make each access control decision. Measurements of a prototype CRISIS-enabled wide area file system show that in the common case CRISIS adds only marginal overhead relative to unprotected wide area accesses.


Introduction: Ulnar nerve compression is the second most frequent compressive neuro pathy. It mostly occurs in the cubital tunnel at the elbow, and its surgical treatment is controversial. Here, we aim to describe the results of subcutaneous decompression and anterior transposition of the ulnar nerve performed by the Plastic Surgery Team of the Sarah Brasilia Hospital over a 6year period. Methods: We assessed the results of decompression and anterior transposition of the ulnar nerve performed in 58 patients between 2001 and 2007 according to the modified McGowan classification. Results: Elbow fracture and le prosy were the most frequent causes of ulnar nerve compression, followed by heterotopic ossification due to spinal cord and/or brain injury. Flexor muscle retinaculotomy, Guyon's canal decompression, and tendon transfer for intrinsic muscles were performed in 57% of the patients. Overall, 80% of the patients demonstrated good or excellent results; the remaining 20%, especially those with diabetes or leprosy, exhibited complications such as neuropathic pain, complex regional pain, and persistence of symptoms. Conclusion: De compression and anterior transposition of the ulnar nerve at the elbow reduces tension and neuritis. Moreover, it is possible to obtain 80% good or excellent results in patients with Grade II and Grade III compression.


Derived datasets can be defined implicitly or explicitly. An implicit definition (of dataset O in terms of datasets I) is a logical specification involving the source data I and the interface data O. It is a valid definition of O in terms of I, if any two models of the specification agreeing on I agree on O. In contrast, an explicit definition is a query that produces O from I. Variants of Beth's theorem state that one can convert implicit definitions to explicit ones. Further, this conversion can be done effectively given a proof witnessing implicit definability in a suitable proof system. We prove the analogous effective implicit-to-explicit result for nested relations: implicit definitions, given in the natural logic for nested relations, can be effectively converted to explicit definitions in the nested relational calculus (NRC). As a consequence, we can effectively extract rewritings of NRC queries in terms of NRC views, given a proof witnessing that the query is determined by the views.


We describe reversible changes of intermediate filaments of fibroblastic cells associated with changes in the functional state of the cells. The changes are revealed by com- paring the immunofluorescence patterns given by a monoclonal antibody and a polyclonal serum, both recognizing vimentin. The state of the filaments depends on culture density; this effect can- not be attributed to the nutritional state of the cells, their growth rate, or substances released into the medium. It seems to depend mainly on the aggregation of filaments during strong cell move- ments. The possible significance of these findings for the func- tional role of intermediate filaments is discussed.


This PhD dissertation focuses on the evaluation of the environmental impact of different photovoltaic technologies, with special focus on the benefits of replacing conventional fossil fuels with clean electricity production from photovoltaic systems. Emissions of CO2 are highlighted as the main reason of climate change. Human life style (transport, industry, etc.) has to be changed in order to follow the IEA directives. Sustainable energy has an important role to reduce the use of fossil fuels as energy source. Growing economies depend strongly on fossil fuels, and therefore, changing its energy policy are key to slow down global warming. The study follows a detailed methodology based on "Life Cycle Analysis" in combination with technical approaches to monitor working PV facilities and therefore provides quantitative results in term of avoided emissions and the potential for climate change mitigation of PV in different context, ranging from building integration of grid-connected systems to electrification of rural livelihoods.


Global health achievements require highly innovative knowledge management approaches. The diffusion of innovations theory helps explain and predict factors that influence the adoption of public health innovations. This guide provides tangible ways to apply the theory to ensure effective sharing and use of new health knowledge guidance and practice among health professionals particularly program managers and knowledge management practitioners.


This paper describes results of shock recovery compaction experiments with a diamond / silicon composite powder. Under diamond compaction process, the addition of silicon causes to increase the hardness of recovered specimens. Because additive silicon reacts with diamond accompanying heat generation. This heat process contributes to reduction of micro and macro clack generation. The purpose of this study is to clarify the microstructure in the diamond compacts including silicon, and the effect caused by the addition method of silicon. By transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis, the boundary between diamond grains consist of amorphous carbon, graphite, silicon carbide and silicon. Silicon-carbite exist in the amorphous carbon layer as very fine particles.


This research tests a hypothesis that is built upon the assumption that samples of cultural knowledge can serve as appropriate scale measures of biodiversity for within-hotspot distribution analysis. Correlation between ethnographic and botanical research methods is used to evaluate the hypothesis. Research conducted in Northeast Thailand will be presented as an example.

Will McClatchey grew up on the White Mountain Reservation in Arizona before his family moved to Oregon where he finished college at Oregon State University earning B.S. degrees in Anthropology and Pharmacy. He worked as a community and consultant pharmacist for ten years during which time he earned an M.S. in Botany (Ethnobotany) from Brigham Young University and a Ph.D. in Botany (Evolutionary Biology) from the University of Florida. He is currently Professor of Botany at the University of Hawaii.

Dr. McClatchey's research addresses hypotheses about the evolution of patterns of human interactions with plants and ecosystems. While his past research was largely conducted in the South and Western Pacific region his current research is taking place in Southeast Asia where he is studying relationships between distribution patterns of human knowledge of biodiversity and actual biodiversity.


Abstract Some languages around the Pacific have multiple possessive classes of alienable constructions using appositive nouns or classifiers. This pattern differs from the most common kind of alienable/inalienable distinction, which involves marking, usually affixal, on the possessum, and has only one class of alienables. The Japanese language isolate Ainu has possessive marking that is reminiscent of the Circum-Pacific pattern. It is distinctive, however, in that the possessor is coded not as a dependent in an NP but as an argument in a finite clause, and the appositive word is a verb. This paper gives a first comprehensive, typologically grounded description of Ainu possession and reconstructs the pattern that must have been standard when Ainu was still the daily language of a large speech community; Ainu then had multiple alienable class constructions. We report a cross-linguistic survey expanding previous coverage of the appositive type and show how Ainu fits in. We split alienable/inalienable into two different phenomena: argument structure (with types based on possessibility: optionally possessible, obligatorily possessed, and non-possessible) and valence (alienable, inalienable classes). Valence-changing operations are derived alienability and derived inalienability. Our survey classifies the possessive systems of languages in these terms.


The title of this thesis, Mai Rangiriri ki Pōkaewhenua, refers to the battle of Rangiriri as the point of reference that marks the first confiscation of Waikato land. It was at Rangiriri that Waikato Māori took up arms to defend their land against the invading army and in doing so, by Crown law, forfeited their customary ownership over their land through confiscation. It would be one hundred years later that another confiscation occured at Pōkaewhenua in the 1960s. The confiscation of Māori land is commonly discussed in New Zealand history literature as a practice of the nineteenth-century. However in this thesis I argue the practice of confiscation has endured into the 1960s through facilitated alienations of allegedly unproductive Māori land through lease and sale. This thesis examines the case study of Lot 512 in the Parish of Whangamarino to show how government agencies utilised some common practices of confiscation such as through legislation, economic expansion, settlement, conflict of interests, tenurial revolution and the concept of waste land to confiscate Pōkaewhenua through facilitated alienation in the national interest. Although the practice of alienation was widespread, the sale and lease of Māori land due to an alleged lack of productivity under Part XXV of the Māori Affairs Act 1953 was seldom investigated as part of Treaty settlements. For hapū and whānau, particularly in the Waikato, the re-examination of land alienation may change their land history and the manner in which future Treaty claims are investigated. Contemporarily, the drive for greater productivity of Māori land, as seen in the 2013 Review of the Te Ture Whenua Māori Act, focuses again on making all Māori land productive in the national interest, with little consideration of the impact on it's Māori owners. The criteria and rationale for this push for productivity is strongly reminiscent of the practice in the 1960s and 1860s, and suggests any national interest alienations that occur as a result of the 2013 review, may also be confiscation. One significant implication of this thesis for the field of Māori Studies is that the investigation of Lot 512 provides another perspective on confiscation. This thesis expands the definition of confiscation to allow for alienation by sale and lease in the national interest and departs from the limitation of the nineteenth-century. This research also contributes to Māori Studies through the analysis of Part XXV of the Māori Affairs Act 1953. As a wider implication for Māori land, it challenges researchers to look more closely at Māori land sales in the 1950-1960s, the manner in which those sales and leases were undertaken and questions national interest arguments for alienating further Māori land. This thesis is centred around a Māori world view and approach to research and is tied specifically to Pōkaewhenua – Lot 512 in the Parish of Whangamarino, but has implications for thinking about the way Indigenous rights are made subservient to colonial interests.


McDermott Middle East, Inc. executed the Maersk Oil Qatar Project in 2009, Offshore Qatar. The project involved the installation of one of the heaviest lifts in the region — the 3283 MT BD Module. The deciding factor for the offshore installation methodology was the restriction on the lift capacity of the derrick barge. The execution strategy, therefore, involved utilizing two derrick barges, a semi-submersible and a mono hull barge, in tandem for the lift operation (Dual Lift). This paper discusses the engineering studies and the simulation model for a Dual Lift with insight into the technical complexities and the analytical strategy used for the study.On site adherence to the engineering analyses was achieved by a system of pre-installed motion sensors and instruments capable of delivering real time data of the key parameters required for the lift. The engineering and operations experience presented in this paper covers the Dual Lift operation with focusing on two main engineering aspects, the engineered lift study of BD Module and the multi-body mooring analysis compromising six floating bodies connected together by means of lashing and/or mooring lines.Copyright © 2012 by ASME


This descriptive, cross-sectional study aimed to describe the characteristics of participants who engaged in leisure-time daily walking (LTDW) and examine the relationship between LTDW and blood pressure (BP) in Chinese older adults in general, and specifically among Chinese older adults with hypertension. Participants included 780 adults who were 65 and older from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). Participants self-reported their LTDW time, and BP was measured three times using an Omron HEM-7200 Monitor. Multiple linear regression models and ordinal logistical models were used to examine the characteristics of daily walkers and associations between LTDW time with systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP). Older adults of younger age (ß = -0.02, p = 0.012) and higher education (ß = 0.52, p = 0.018) were more likely to engage in LTDW, whereas being married was associated with less LTDW (ß = -0.24, p = 0.025). In addition, 2 to 4 hours of LTDW time was associated with lower DBP (ß = -4.13, p = 0.002). For hypertensive older adults, 30 minutes to 2 hours of LTDW time was related to lower DBP (ß = -4.42, p = 0.024). LTDW may have varying benefits on BP. Clinical recommendations should be based on patient characteristics and chronic conditions. [Res Gerontol Nurs. 20xx; x(x): xx-xx.].


National, regional and sectoral innovation systems are considered key concepts in economic and industrial analysis for understanding the (re)combination of existing knowledge and physical systems to produce innovation in goods and services. Therefore, the framework of innovation systems is widely analysed in both academic and policy circles given that it provides both theoretical and empirical insights. Yet, the extant literature has paid less attention to a number of important matters – 1) the centralised top-down model, 2) low-tech industry and SMEs innovation, 3) the role of intermediaries, 4) the evolutionary process of innovation systems, and 5) a lack of consideration of policy leverage, which is part and parcel of innovation (systems). Furthermore, there is a paucity of empirical applications regarding how to connect three types of innovation systems within one single research framework. To fill these gaps above, this research examines the restructuring process of an old textile region in Daegu, South Korea. Daegu's textile industry was the subject of policy during the past developmental state period (from the 1960s to the end of the 1980s) and it has been the focus of the first government-led regional attempt at industrial upgrading in the post-developmental state (since the end of the 1990s) period. This suggests that the study of the contribution of the South Korean innovation system to industrial upgrading in Daegu requires an evolutionary approach involving in-depth longitudinal observation covering ample historical events to compensate for the typical methodological weaknesses of the static snapshots found in many innovation studies. With an evolutionary perspective of the Daegu textile industry as a case study, this research unearths the following questions: 1) how Korea's innovation systems have contributed to the revitalisation of the old industrial region; 2) how local textile intermediaries themselves have evolved and stimulated knowledge dissemination; 3) how the local textile SMEs have transformed their businesses toward a high value-added one, and; 4) how the post-developmental state model has affected the regional upgrade, compared to the previous governance.


The characteristic collision energy to obtain 50% fragmentation, expressed as the characteristic collision voltage (CCV), was used as a tool to discriminate different classes of polymers. The CCV value of different polymers was determined in a quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometer. Good linear correlation (0.980 < R(2) < 0.999) between the CCV values and precursor ion mass was found for all polymers studied. The position of the various linear trend lines varied among the various polymers, which allowed their grouping based on the respective CCV values. The collision energy necessary to drive fragmentation was decreasing in the order of polyethers > polymethacrylates > polyesters > polysaccharides. This suggests that polysaccharides fragment most easily (low CCVs), while polyethers require the highest collision energy among the polymers studied. The effect of end group on the CCV was also studied, showing a minor influence in most cases. In addition, the applicability of CCV as discriminator was studied for a mixture of (1) polylactic acid (PLA), (2) poly(tetramethylene glycol) (PTMEG), and (3) PLA-block-PTMEG-block-PLA block copolymer. Differences between the CCV values of four nominally isobaric polymers (of which two were copolymers and two were homopolymers) were observed. These results demonstrate that the insertion of a "weak" link into a polymer chain significantly affects the energy required for fragmentation.


Empathy is one of the skills that we need in order to understand the emotions of other people. Although many empathy scales exist, few are designed for children. The Kids' Empathic Development Scale (KEDS) can be applied onward of age 6 and provide information about empathy's affective, cognitive and behavioural components. The aim of this study is to present the Turkish validity study of KEDS and to provide a new tool that has satisfactory psychometric properties. Nine language experts made the translation and back translation form English to Turkish and vice versa. After that, the experts asked to rate the translation validity. According to experts' opinions, the appropriate level of the items in the scale varied between 4.60 and 5.00 (X= 4.80, SD = .44). The results indicated that the Turkish scale closely approximated with the original. The scale's language validity, analyses were performed on 30 (21 girls, 9 boys, average age = 9.5, SD = 1.17), bilingual students. Analysis, which was performed between the English and Turkish forms, showed that only the item I7_1 was found out to be problematic. Afterward, the scale's language validity was ensured and easily accessible sampling method was adopted, and then it was applied to 293 (144 girls, 149 boys) students who were attending in seven different schools (four public, three private). Correlation analysis, which was performed to test concurrent validity, showed that there is a positive correlation (p < .01) between the total scores of Children's Empathy Scale and Kids' Empathic Development Scale. The results of variance analysis, which were performed in order to test if the empathy scores vary according to age, were significant as follows: total empathy score F (4, 248) = 3.10, p < .05, affective F (4, 251) = 4.70, p < .01, cognitive F (4, 250) = 2.6, p < .05 and behavioural F (4, 248) = 4.09, p < .01. Taking into consideration the gender variable not significant results were obtained. The results of the study showed that the Turkish version of KEDS is a valid and reliable, and has acceptable psychometric properties.


Encouraging exports is a primary concern of most governments. In the United States, the Department of Commerce has many programs devoted to the development and nurturing of beginning exporters. Substantial resources are devoted to export promotion programs designed to increase the propensity of small companies to export. This approach to the stimulation of export sales is similar in many countries. However, while useful politically throwing monetary resources at a problem can be very wasteful. In the era of government budgetary problems and fiscal frugality, program accountability is part of every politician's and administrator's agenda. In the export promotions sector, the need to spend money wisely has emerged as a key concern. Traditionally, small and medium-sized firms have played an important role in local economies. However, the role of small and medium-sized firms in international trade is changing. A report by Birch (1988) noted that U.S. firms most likely to be exporters are small, not large firms. More than half of all exporters have fewer than 100 employees. The purpose of this study is to begin developing a preliminary screening device to help government agencies effectively allocate scarce time and financial resources for support and assistance given to exporters. Previous models of export behavior and success have tested the statistical significance of key variables but do not address this task. In this article, a regression approach is used to assess the relative importance of several variables that have been shown in prior studies to be related to export success. Based on this regression analysis, a weighted checklist is developed to assess a firm's potential for export success. This screening device can help predict how successful firms are likely to be in their export efforts. We do not intend for this model to be the final or only model for screening export candidates. However, it is useful in segmenting candidates in the initial screening process. Literature Review Academic research has identified several aspects of the firm which influence export strategy. According to Bilkey (1978), Miesenbock (1988), and Aaby and Slater (1989), the majority of the research has been focused on internal and external influences on the export decision process. Internal Influences Internal influences to export strategy are characterized by variables over which the firm has control. Many studies have examined the impact of internal influences on the export behavior of firms. Examples include Bilkey (1978), Cavusgil and Nevin (1981), Cavusgil (1984), and Cavusgil and Naor (1987). The latter study examined constructs such as the organization's commitment to exporting, motivation of the firm to export, management capabilities and perceptions of exporting, firm size, and product advantages. We examine each of these constructs in turn. Commitment of. the Organization. Commitment to exporting has traditionally been of two forms - financial and personnel. To understand the commitment level of the firm, researchers have examined the firm's behavior in gathering foreign market information, hiring and training additional staff, making international visits, learning about exporting procedures and documentation, and financing sales (Cavusgil and Naor 1987). Although research has found that commitment is not always a clearly significant factor in helping to achieve export success, several studies have found that the lack of investment in an infrastructure that supports exporting is a deterrent to achieving export success (Cavusgil and Naor 1987; Cavusgil and Nevin 1981). Other researchers have looked at the firm's strategy regarding its marketing mix in an effort to determine the firm's commitment to export. Jain (1989) emphasized that it is necessary to modify a product in order to sell it successfully overseas. Cavusgil and Kaynak (1982) suggested that strategies "suitable for modification" included extension of credit, promotion directed at distributors or end-users, and channels of distribution. …


MY 59-YEAR-OLD MOTHER IS LEARNING ABOUT TRINOMIALS AND THE SUBjunctive. When she is not working, she goes to algebra class, to French, to programming. As long as she can carry a halftime load at the local college, she is not one of the 41.2 million uninsured in the United States. Because her job does not offer benefits, she has no employer-based care. Because a doctor once wrote in a chart that she might have emphysema (which she apparently does not), she has been refused coverage from the major private carriers. Because she is not disabled or blind, and I am no longer a minor, she is not eligible for Medicaid. Because neither of us could afford the $796 per month "safety-net" coverage she was offered in her state, we pay tuition at the local college, and she sits up late at night doing homework. Neither her situation nor our absurd solution is typical, and neither is anyone else's. There are many ways to end up uninsured in this country, and just as many ways to be insured. But something is not working. As a nation, we spend more (whether measured in absolute terms, as percentage of gross national product, or per capita), and we cover less. The numbers are overwhelming: 15% of the US population is uninsured, and millions more are underinsured. Lack of insurance is associated with more illness and earlier death. There are myriad possible solutions. California alone, in last year's Health Care Options Project, generated 9 proposals aimed at universal coverage. They provide a microcosm of current health policy: 5 involve expanding eligibility for current programs; 2 propose employer-based coverage plans, and 2 are publicly funded "single-payer" plans. Which, if any, will be politically plausible remains to be seen. Because the formulation is shocking and because it is true, people like to say we are the only industrialized nation in the world without a national health care system. (And yet we are not a country without a public health care system—Medicare and Medicaid together cover approximately 80 million people—over a quarter of the population.) What is left to understand is why, and whether what we do instead is working. In this issue, Bridget Harrison looks back to the five moments in the last century when we might have created a national system. Asaf Bitton and James Kahn review what we spend now, and where it goes. Jason Etheredge and Paul Uhlig ask how far incremental change to these existing programs can take us, while Joseph Harrell and Olveen Carrasquillo consider the particular combination of factors that leaves 1 in 3 US Latinos uninsured. That too many people are without coverage is clear. That this compromises health has been proven. That we can do better is certain.


A large number of sorting and searching techniques, covering a variety of applications, are dealt with in computer science literature. The classical problem associated with these methods has been determining which set of algorithms is most appropriate for a given application. With the recent advances in LSI technology and the assured proliferation of microprocessors and RAM memory, yet another application has evolved. Memory address widths associated with microprocessor systems are limited, in many cases, to a maximum of 16 bits, severely restricting maximum memory size. Minimal storage implementation techniques, characterized by the optimal use of the data space associated with an algorithm, therefore, are most appropriate for these restricted address space environments common to microprocessor systems.


I study the impact of net foreign wealth on the optimal monetary policy of an open economy in a two-country DSGE model with incomplete markets, sticky prices and deviations from the Law of One Price. I find that by optimally manipulating monetary policy, central banks can affect the timing of interest receipts (or payments) and therefore increase the risk-sharing role of the internationally traded asset. In particular, debtor nations find it optimal to allow their currency to float relatively more freely than do creditor nations. In order to maximize consumer welfare, in most specifications of the model central bank should target a weighted average of CPI inflation and changes in the nominal exchange rate.


Improving end-to-end speech recognition by incorporating external text data has been a longstanding research topic. There has been a recent focus on training E2E ASR models that get the performance benefits of external text data without incurring the extra cost of evaluating an external language model at inference time. In this work, we propose training ASR model jointly with a set of text-to-text auxiliary tasks with which it shares a decoder and parts of the encoder. When we jointly train ASR and masked language model with the 960-hour Librispeech and Opensubtitles data respectively, we observe WER reductions of 16% and 20% on test-other and test-clean respectively over an ASR-only baseline without any extra cost at inference time, and reductions of 6% and 8% compared to a stronger MUTE-L baseline which trains the decoder with the same text data as our model. We achieve further improvements when we train masked language model on Librispeech data or when we use machine translation as the auxiliary task, without significantly sacrificing performance on the task itself.


Arriving on the New York literary scene in the late 1970's, Kathy Acker has been hailed as a punk beatnik virtuoso. Her style of writing has been referred to as "equal parts gossip, kinky sex and high theory." Her stylistics have been eagerly digested according to the tenets of postmodern discourse while her protagonists are held up as proof of her generation's rage against "control societies." The transgressive sexuality enacted in her texts, including sexual masochism, sexual violence and self-mutilation, is frequently interpreted as anarchic attempts to circumvent this logic. I purport to show that these tactics do not, in fact, spring from a reactionary politics. Rather, Acker is attempting to convey an abject carnal sexuality that struggles for expression within the name-of-the-father logic that structures conventional language and a lack of alternative feminist propositions.

Key Words:

Kathy Acker, feminism, literary criticism, French feminism, sexuality, queer theory, linguistics, translation, visuality, third wave, mode or modalities


This paper aims at exploring the representation of post-imperial London in Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses and Hanif Kureishi's The Buddha of Suburbia with a view to highlighting how the post-colonial history of Britain is re-written by the above two writers through the alternative cityscapes they depict in their works. I argue that the protagonists of the novels, Saladin and Karim, reflect on their attitudes toward the past via the act of flânerie. The act of strolling will be treated as a spatial politics that helps relativize these two immigrant protagonists' positions in the city of London. The routes of their journeys not only limn the alternative cityscape of the transforming empire but also disclose the socially and politically marginalized immigrant communities which are either demonized or stereotyped in the racialization of space. The reconfiguration of the past in the two novels, looked at in this way, is not just a remapping of the city; rather, it reveals the need to re-examine how Asian British writers deal with the past, on the one hand, and aspire to carve out a niche for themselves in the contemporary British society, on the other.


"How many of you knew there was a writing center that helped students with
writing essays?" No hands went up. The response of this small group of
Hispanic students, three in all, was the perfect motivation for our writing center
to start an outreach program. During the first summer session in 2003, the
Communication Skills Center (CSC) at Texas A&M-Commerce began a
small outreach effort to help ESL students enter the university. This "reaching
out" to ESL high school students started as a way for them to improve basic
writing skills under the guise of test preparation. Using computer-based
practices enabled the students to connect with the tutor, the computer, and
each other. This development created an opportunity for the writing center to
play an integral part in not only preparing these students for impending
standardized tests, but also developing a relationship with new students from
the start It also promises many benefits in recruiting, mentorship, bridging
departmental gaps, and writing across the curriculum.


Recent laboratoryexperiments have advanced our understanding of heterogeneous ice nucleation at low temperatures. We use these laboratory results, along with field measurements of aerosol composition, to constrain a parameterization of heterogeneous nucleation rate dependence on temperature and supersaturation. We apply this nucleation parameterization in detailed simulations of transport and cloud formation in the Tropical Tropopause Layer (TTL, ≃14–18 km) constrained by high‐altitude aircraft measurements of TTL cirrus microphysical properties and supersaturation. The model results indicate that if the abundant TTL organic‐containing aerosols were effective glassy ice nuclei (IN), as indicated by laboratory experiments with simple sugars/acids, then heterogeneous nucleation would prevent the occurrences of large ice concentrations and large ice supersaturations, both of which are clearly indicated by the in situ observations. If glassy organic aerosols are relatively poor IN, as indicated by laboratory experiments with more atmospherically relevant secondary organic aerosol‐like composition, then the simulated ice concentrations and supersaturations are in reasonable agreement with the observations. Concentrations of effective mineral dust or ammonium sulfate IN larger than about 50/L can drive significant changes in cirrus microphysical properties and occurrence frequency. The cloud occurrence frequency can either increase or decrease, depending on the efficacy and abundance of IN added to the TTL. Relatively low TTL concentrations of mineral dust particles (≤10 L−1 indicated by the limited available field measurements) have negligible impact on cirrus frequencies or microphysical properties. Given the assortment of uncertainties, meaningful estimates of TTL aerosol‐cirrus indirect effects on radiative forcing are likely not possible at this time.


The paper first demonstrates some relevant concepts with virtual maintenance, and further discusses the concepts and connotations of virtual maintenance. As the key techniques, virtual maintenance model and simulation method are studied in the paper. Virtual maintenance model (VMM) is present, and the model is based on Petri Net and can describe the relations of maintenance resources. In addition, virtual maintenance simulation rules are built in the paper. Finally, a case study of the LRU repair of an aircraft is conducted, and the result confirms the validation and feasibility of all the studies, which can become a new technique means for maintainability engineering.


This research indicates how information retrieval activity is a social process helping to foster a network of organizational expertise. After describing knowledge management practices in a distributed research and development laboratory we identify recent introduction of Experts' Retrieval System (ERS). A four steps model RESONER: Information Retrieval, Caring (social support), Negotiation, and Reification is suggested. This model specifies DemonD an ERS relying on transparent profile construction based on user's activity, community's participation and shared documents. DemonD eventually encourages the emergence of informal knowledge networks and competencies awareness in a distributed context.


Modern mobile computing paradigms have set new challenges for the development of distributed mobile applications and services. Because of the variability which characterizes the context of such environments, it is important that mobile applications are developed so that they can dynamically adapt their extra-functional behavior, in order to optimize the experience perceived by their users. This paper proposes an approach for developing adaptive, mobile applications. It is argued that this approach eases the development effort by clearly separating the work required for the development of the application logic from that required for enabling its adaptive behavior. It is argued that in addition to mitigating the development complexity, this approach also enables a new generation of distributed applications. The novelty in the latter is that the applications can dynamically and collaboratively adapt in an ad-hoc manner to improve the quality of the services offered to mobile users


Due to the development of construction technology, there is a considerable increase in the number of skyscrapers in the world. Accordingly, there are rapid growing requests about maintenance systems such as cleaning, painting, and monitoring the processes of facade in high-rise buildings. However, it is extremely dangerous working the walls of high-rise buildings, and crashes from buildings have accounted for large proportion of constructional accidents. An alternative solution must be developed with the commercialization of automatic robot systems. For the last decade, interest in developing robots for cleaning and maintenance in facade of high-rise buildings has continuously increased. The use of automatic robot systems can be expected to reduce accidents and decrease labor costs. In this paper, we propose a new kind of cleaning mechanism. We have designed and manufactured various cleaning tools for different types of facades with economic commercialization. The cleaning cycle, size, and intensity will be determined by economic constraints as well. The final goals are to design and manufacture tools and robots that can clean facades efficiently and rapidly even in dangerous places. The cleaning tool systems consist of nozzles, brush rollers, and squeezing devices. Furthermore, these tools and robots perform each process utilizing the systems of built-in guide types and gondola types for building maintenance. The performance of the proposed cleaning tools is evaluated experimentally; however additional study should be necessary for safer and more stable commercialization.


Antitrust authorities of many countries have been trying to establish appropriate competition policies based on economic analysis. Recently an anti-cartel policy called a "leniency program" has been introduced in many countries as an effective policy to dissolve cartels. In this paper, we studied several kinds of leniency programs through laboratory experiments. We experimentally controlled for two factors: 1) cartel size: the number of cartel members in a group, small (two-person) or large (seven-person), 2) schedule of reduced fine: the number of firms that are given reduced fines. The experimental results showed that (1) an increase in the number of cartel members in a group increased the number of cartels dissolved, (2) changing the coverage of reduced fine had no significant effect both in two-player case and in seven-player case.


Generative adversarial networks (GANs) have demonstrated impressive image generation quality and semantic editing capability of real images, e.g., changing object classes, modifying attributes, or transferring styles. However, applying these GAN-based editing to a video independently for each frame inevitably results in temporal flickering artifacts. We present a simple yet effective method to facilitate temporally coherent video editing. Our core idea is to minimize the temporal photometric inconsistency by optimizing both the latent code and the pre-trained generator. We evaluate the quality of our editing on different domains and GAN inversion techniques and show favorable results against the baselines.


Purpose Facial asymmetry is a common comorbid condition in patients with jaw deformation malocclusion. Heritability of malocclusion is advancing rapidly, but very little is known regarding genetic contributions to asymmetry. This study identifies differences in expression of key asymmetry-producing genes that are down-regulated in patients with facial asymmetry. Methods Masseter muscle samples were collected during bilateral sagittal split osteotomy orthognathic surgery to correct skeletal-based malocclusion. Patients were classified as class II or III and open or deep bite malocclusion with or without facial asymmetry. Muscle samples were analyzed for gene expression differences on Affymetrix HT2.0 microarray global expression chips. Results Overall gene expression was different for asymmetric patients compared with other malocclusion classifications by principal component analysis (P < 0.05). We identified differences in the nodal signaling pathway, which promotes development of mesoderm and endoderm and left-right patterning during embryogenesis. Nodal and Lefty expression was 1.39- to 1.84-fold greater (P < 3.41 × 10−5), whereas integral membrane Nodal modulators Nomo1,2,3 were −5.63 to −5.81 (P < 3.05 × 10−4) less in asymmetry subjects. Fold differences among intracellular pathway members were negative in the range of −7.02 to −2.47 (P < 0.003). Finally Pitx2, an upstream effector of Nodal known to influence the size of type II skeletal muscle fibers was also significantly decreased in facial asymmetry (P < 0.05). Conclusions When facial asymmetry is part of skeletal malocclusion, there are decreases in nodal signaling pathway genes in masseter muscle. This data suggest that the nodal signaling pathway is down-regulated to help promote development of asymmetry. Pitx2 expression differences also contributed to both skeletal and muscle development in this condition.


Background: Improper food production, handling, and preparation techniques have direct influence on health. A food borne disease is a disease usually either infectious or toxic in nature, caused by agents that enter the body through ingestion of food. The objective of the present study was to assess the food safety knowledge and hygienic practices among food handlers and to assess the improvement in knowledge and hygienic practices after educational intervention.Methods: This was a longitudinal educational interventional study, carried out during October to December 2017 among 50 randomly selected food handlers in and around Gandhi Medical College campus, where the study subjects were interviewed by using a questionnaire in local language regarding their knowledge and practices of food handling, and were then later educated on proper food handling practices by lecture and demonstration method followed by a post intervention interview after a gap of 2 weeks.Results: Out of 50 food handlers, 62% had knowledge of the food borne diseases and it raises up to 100% post intervention. During pre-intervention, only 78% of the participants used to wash their hands before preparing meal and after intervention 92% were washing their hands before preparing meal.Conclusions: Food safety knowledge and hygienic practices among food handlers improved by 73% after the educational intervention. Maximum improvement was seen in the use of gloves, caps and hand washing practices.


In this study, about 400 nm thick BCN films with different compositions were grown by reactive DC magnetron sputtering of a B4C target by varying the N2/Ar proportion in the sputtering gas from 0 to 50%. The microstructures of the films were determined by FE-SEM. The chemical composition was determined by electron probe microanalyser (EPMA). The crystallinity of the films was studied by grazing incidence XRD analyses. FTIR was used to determine the chemical bonding structures. The elemental depth profiles of the films were obtained from SIMS measurements. Nanoindentation and wear tests were used to determine the mechanical and tribological properties. Hardness, elastic modulus and wear rates of BCN films were significantly decreased with the increase of nitrogen in the coating composition. The results demonstrated that thin films in the ternary triangle B–C–N with tailored properties can easily be deposited by reactive DC magnetron sputtering with varying N2 flow rates.


The European Union's enlargement policy is universally recognized as contributing decisively to the transformation of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) in the two decades following the end of Communism. With the historic enlargements of 2004 and 2007 the EU extended its borders to the east and to the south east. One important geopolitical consequence of the cumulative expansion process is that the EU is now a direct neighbour of all of the states of the Western Balkans. Utilizing the different templates employed in the design of the successful eastern enlargement policy, the EU is now engaged in a similar process of negotiations with the Western Balkan states which is designed to lead to membership and full incorporation in the institutional and policy regimes of the European Union.
The tragic context in which the EU's relations with the Western Balkans developed along a separate and very different trajectory to Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) after 1989 hardly needs to be pointed out. As CEE drew closer to the EU, the Western Balkans region was inflamed by a series of ethno-nationalist and inter-communal conflicts that splintered the old federal state of Yugoslavia and left more than two hundred thousand people dead. In the aftermath of the Dayton Agreement in 1995, EU engagement with the region, if painfully fitful and uneven from the perspective of the Western Balkans, was fashioned through a familiar mix of political, economic and institutional instruments. Gradually the EU has become the most important point of reference for the countries of the region as they recover from the destructive conflicts of the 1990s and seek to integrate into the successful structures of the European integration process. Just as the countries of Central and Eastern Europe sought to 'return to Europe' in the 1990s, the EU's gravitational pull has been the most important factor in the reconstitution of economic, political and civic life in the Western Balkans region over the past decade. The transformative potential offered by an 'accession perspective' is by now well known and documented within the vast corpus of writing on European integration studies (Dimitrova, 2003; O'Brennan, 2006).
In the aftermath of the 1989 revolutions in CEE, civil society played an important, if often neglected role, in providing an early legitimising rationale for the EU's eastern enlargement process (Vachudova 200x). Similarly, across the Western Balkans civil society has sought a place for itself within the accession (and pre-accession) framework. This chapter examines the relationship between the European Commission (the EU's principal actor within the enlargement process) and civil society in the Western Balkans region. It does so with the aim of understanding how the Commission has sought to engage with civil society, and what, if any, role civil society has played within the unfolding SAP and enlargement process.
The Commission's engagement with civil society derives from an understanding that the enlargement process, developed over decades as an elite-led process, derives at least some measure of legitimacy from the input of non state actors and groups which are closer to the citizens of prospective member states. Civil society support has been part of the EU accession framework since the mid 1990s and has developed in quite specific ways as a result of different but quite purposeful types of engagement on the part of both EU and external actors. The Commission's approach to enlargement and SAP is highlighted as the most important element of the EU's 'Europeanization' strategy for enlargement candidate states which has seen an effort to 'modernize', 'democratize', 'pluralize' and transform the most fragile part of Europe and connect it progressively to the mainstream landscape of EU politics. The chapter argues, however, that the Commission's approach to the Western Balkans, consistent with that employed during eastern enlargement and the 'output' legitimacy model of EU governance, has been a top-down one, with a preference for engagement with state actors and hierarchical rather than horizontal modes of communication and decision-making. Although civil society has featured strongly in Commission rhetoric about the 'transformative potential' of an EU-oriented Western Balkans, EU policy has in fact helped to neutralize any meaningful contribution by civil society actors and community sector as a substantive partner in governance. And although the Commission has at least broadened out the circle of participation in enlargement/SAP to include civil society as a stakeholder, the Commission's engagement with the Western Balkans has been accession driven rather than community-centred, meaning that civil society has continued to play a subordinate part in the transforming landscape within the region.


The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and Sri Lanka Council for Agricultural Research Policy (SLCARP), recognized the complimentarity of their objectives and the need to facilitate the implementation of the research project on natural resources management, entitled ''Vulnerability to Climate Change: Adaptation Strategies and Layers of Resilience'' in seven Asian countries, including India, China, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Vietnam and Thailand. Accordingly, they have been working together to implement the project in Sri Lanka. Climate change is the most important global environmental challenge facing humanity today. Farmers in the Asian countries need to adjust to climate that is changing and accordingly adapt with layers of resilience in their farming practices and investment decisions...


Abstract Recently Varghese (2018), in his report to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Commonwealth of Australia, remarked that till 2035 India will be in the list of top three economies and will be in Asia's top three trading partners for Australia. In this context, the research questions addressed in this paper are: What is the current efficiency level of India in exporting its merchandises; What constraints does India have to overcome to improve its export efficiency; and Has the governance structure of the 'majority government' played an effective role in rigorous opening up to improve its export efficiency. The empirical analysis covering the period 2001 to 2019 indicates that on average India's export efficiency with its trading partners worked out to be about 80%. The empirical analysis has identified human capital, physical capital, and 'majority government' as important factors contributing to improvement in India's export efficiency.


Regolith‐mantled hillslopes are ubiquitous features of most temperate landscapes, and their morphology reflects the climatically, biologically, and tectonically mediated interplay between regolith production and downslope transport. Despite intensive research, few studies have quantified both of these mass fluxes in the same field site. Here we present an analysis of 87 meteoric 10Be measurements from regolith and bedrock within the Susquehanna Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory (SSHO), in central Pennsylvania. Meteoric 10Be concentrations in bulk regolith samples (n = 73) decrease with regolith depth. Comparison of hillslope meteoric 10Be inventories with analyses of rock chip samples (n = 14) from a 24 m bedrock core confirms that >80% of the total inventory is retained in the regolith. The systematic downslope increase of meteoric 10Be inventories observed at SSHO is consistent with 10Be accumulation in slowly creeping regolith (~ 0.2 cm yr−1). Regolith flux inferred from meteoric 10Be varies linearly with topographic gradient (determined from high‐resolution light detection and ranging‐based topography) along the upper portions of hillslopes at SSHO. However, regolith flux appears to depend on the product of gradient and regolith depth where regolith is thick, near the base of hillslopes. Meteoric 10Be inventories at the north and south ridgetops indicate minimum regolith residence times of 10.5 ± 3.7 and 9.1 ± 2.9 ky, respectively, similar to residence times inferred from U‐series isotopes in Ma et al. (2013). The combination of our results with U‐series‐derived regolith production rates implies that regolith production and erosion rates are similar to within a factor of two on SSHO hillcrests.


In Chapters 2-6, we have determined the primary wave aberrations of simple optical imaging systems. In this chapter, we use the relationship between the wave and ray aberrations given in Section 1.2 to determine the ray distribution for a point object, called the ray spot diagrams, in the Gaussian image plane. For each primary aberration, we determine the extent or the size of the image spot in terms of its peak value and the focal ratio of the image-forming light cone. In the case of spherical aberration and astigmatism,
we consider the ray distributions in defocused image planes as well, and we determine the plane in which the spot size is minimum. These minimum-size spots are referred to as the circles of least confusion and represent the best aberrated images based on geometrical optics. We define the centroid and the standard deviation of the ray distribution and calculate them for the primary aberrations. In lens design, one often tries to minimize the spot sigma rather than the spot radius. However, we will see in Chapter 8 that, in reality,
which is based on diffraction of light at the exit pupil of the system, an image distribution is not given by the corresponding ray spot diagrams. For example, the aberration-free image of a point object is a point according to geometrical optics, but its diffraction image for a circular pupil consists of a bright spot surrounded by concentric dark and bright rings. Even so, it is quite common practice in lens design to look at the spot diagrams in the early stages of a design, as discussed in Section 7.10. 7.2 WAVE AND RAY ABERRATIONS Consider an optical system consisting of a series of rotationally symmetric coaxial refracting and/or reflecting surfaces imaging a point object. We have discussed in Chapter 1 that the primary aberration function representing the wave aberration at its exit
pupil can be written (7-1) where ( r , θ) are the polar coordinates of a point in the plane xy of the exit pupil of the system, h ′ is the height of the Gaussian image point P ′, and a s , a c , a a , a d , and a t represent the coefficients of spherical aberration, coma, astigmatism, field curvature, and distortion, respectively. The angle q is equal to zero or p for points lying in the tangential or meridional plane (i.e., the zx plane containing the optical axis and the point object and, therefore, its Gaussian image). The chief ray, which, by definition, passes through the center of the exit pupil, always lies in this plane. The plane normal to the tangential
plane but containing the chief ray is called the sagittal plane. As the chief ray bends when it is refracted or reflected by a surface, so does the sagittal plane.


Ca 2 1 release from internal stores (sarcoplasmic reticulum or SR) in smooth muscles is initiated either via pharmaco-mechanical coupling due to the action of an agonist and involving IP3 receptors, or via excitation-contraction coupling, mostly involving L-type calcium channels in the plasmalemma (DHPRs), and ryanodine receptors (RyRs), or Ca 2 1 release channels of the SR. This work focuses attention on the structural basis for the coupling between DHPRs and RyRs in phasic smooth muscle cells of the guinea-pig urinary bladder. Immunolabeling shows that two proteins of the SR: calsequestrin and the RyR, and one protein the plasmalemma, the L-type channel or DHPR, are colocalized with each other within numerous, peripherally located sites located within the caveolar domains. Electron microscopy images from thin sections and freeze-fracture replicas identify feet in small peripherally located SR vesicles containing calsequestrin and distinctive large particles clustered within small membrane areas. Both feet and particle clusters are located within caveolar domains. Correspondence between the location of feet and particle clusters and of RyR- and DHPR-positive foci allows the conclusion that calsequestrin, RyRs, and L-type Ca 2 1 channels are associated with peripheral couplings, or Ca 2 1 release units, constituting the key machinery involved in excitation-contraction coupling. Structural analogies between smooth and cardiac muscle excitation-contraction coupling complexes suggest a common basic mechanism of action.


The UC Davis IGERT grant for Transportation Technology and Policy (TTP) began October 1, 1998 and officially concluded September 30, 2005, although no students were funded in its seventh and final year. The TTP theme of the grant was shared by the degree-granting program of the same name (the students in which overlapped, but did not completely coincide, with IGERT recipients), and focused on the need to integrate the often-segregated policy and technology sides of transportation, so as to better prepare students to address today's and tomorrow's complex transportation-related challenges. The budget totaled $2.66 million, which directly funded 43 students in eight different degree programs (including research, teaching, international internships, and travel activities), 14 distinguished speakers, two graduate research conferences, a variety of recruiting practices, laboratory and computing equipment, project administration, and this evaluation. More than 2/3 of the budget directly funded students. In less than 15 years, the Institute of Transportation Studies at UC Davis (ITS-Davis, established in 1991) has vaulted into the top ranks of university transportation centers. IGERT has had everything to do with this meteoric rise: the IGERT grant was active for nearly half of that period, and was seminal in supporting numerous and diverse research and educational activities of the Institute.


The objective of this study is to investigate the porosity and microstructure-induced mechanical property variations in additive manufactured (AM) stainless steel (SS) 316L alloy with a view to create functionally graded (FG) bulk structures in the future. The first step towards fulfilling this objective is to explore the range of mechanical properties of SS 316L (such as hardness, density, Modulus, and stress-strain behavior) achievable by varying Volumetric Energy Density (VED)-related process parameters such as laser power and scanning speed, in a pulsed selective laser melting (SLM) process. In the present work, the mechanical properties of interest are hardness, density, and Young's modulus. For this, a design of experiments consisting of 28 samples was assembled. The results demonstrate the significant variations achievable in hardness (209–318 HV), relative density (90–99%) and modulus (154–211 GPa) across the samples. In summary, a strong correlation between the process parameters and the resulting mechanical properties were identified which also depends on the underlying porosity and microstructure. Altogether, this study exhibited the feasibility of fabricating tailored spatial mechanical properties, thereby demonstrating the feasibility of SLM to tailor mechanical responses.


The problem of train traction calculations is considered as the one of resource allocation in a vector formulation. The solution is based on dynamic programming using a set of points of the optimal Pareto objective function values (energy, time).