Objective There is currently substantial heterogeneity in electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) treatment methods between clinical settings. Understanding how this variation in clinical practice is related to treatment outcomes is essential for optimizing service delivery. The Clinical Alliance and Research in ECT Network is a clinical and research framework with the aims of improving clinical practice, enabling auditing and benchmarking, and facilitating the collection of naturalistic clinical data. Methods The network framework and clinical and treatment variables collected and rationale for the use of particular outcome measures are described. Survey results detailing the use of ECT across initial participating clinical centers were examined. Results The data are reported from 18 of 22 participating centers, the majority based in Australia. Melancholic unipolar depression was the most common clinical indication (78%). Right unilateral (44%) and bifrontal (39%) were the most commonly used electrode placements. Eighty one percent of the centers used individual seizure titration for initial dosing. Conclusions There was substantial heterogeneity in the use of ECT between participating centers, indicating that the Network is representative of modern ECT practice. The Clinical Alliance and Research in ECT Network may therefore offer the opportunity to improve service delivery and facilitate the investigation of unresolved research questions pertaining to modern ECT practice.


An optimum design of thick-walled components such as high-pressure vessels and reactor vessels requires knowledge of the local strain distribution, the strain/stress state, and the material's behavior under elastic-plastic deformations. The multiaxial strain-state is transformed into a uniaxial strain-state according to Von Mises's yield criterion. Fatigue experiments on planar and cylindrical specimens with high strain concentrations and biaxial strain-states prove that low-cycle material properties as determined from unnotched specimens can be applied for design based on a defined initial crack length. A design including the stage of crack-propagation can be practiced only in special cases; in general it can not be recommended because of very high strain intensities and the resulting small critical crack depths, as service experience shows. For the functional reliability of the component it is also important that the local structural yield point, which can be a multiple of the material's yield point, is not exceeded by maximum loading. When designing such structures prestrains resulting from manufacturing or overloading must also be considered. Tests carried out with prestrained specimens show that fatigue life is decreased with increased prestrain due to cyclic softening.


Abstract In this paper, the optimal filtering problem for linear systems with state and observation delays is treated proceeding from the general expression for the stochastic Ito differential of the optimal estimate, error variance, and various error covariances. As a result, the optimal estimate equation similar to the traditional Kalman-Bucy one is derived; however, the resulting system of equations for determining the filter gain matrix consists, in the general case, of an infinite set of equations. It is then demonstrated that a finite set of the filtering equations, whose number is specified by the ratio between the current filtering horizon and the delay values, can be obtained in the particular case of equal or commensurable delays in the observation and state equations. In the example, performance of the designed optimal filter for linear systems with state and observation delays is verified against the best Kalman-Bucy filter available for linear systems without delays.


Genetic factors may play an important role in frozen shoulder etiology, which may involve matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP3) gene polymorphisms. In this study, we examined single nucleotide polymorphisms in MMP3 for their association with frozen shoulder susceptibility in a Chinese Han population. The rs591058, rs650108, and rs679620 polymorphisms in the MMP3 gene were genotyped in 112 subjects diagnosed as having frozen shoulder and in 143 healthy controls. rs650108 was found to be significantly associated with an increased risk of frozen shoulder. For other single nucleotide polymorphisms, no statistically significant associations with frozen shoulder were found. In conclusion, our data demonstrated that the MMP3 rs650108 variant was significantly associated with increased frozen shoulder susceptibility in a Chinese Han population.


The aim of this study is to demonstrate that Wells's early works are the supreme fruits of his ambiguous and complicated reaction against, and interaction with, romance and realism in fiction. Wells's efforts concentrate on combating against and, at the same time, capitalising on the popular narratives that flooded the expanding fin-de-siecle mass market and the powerful influence of the continental and American Realists. In so doing, Wells eventually purports to revive and modify the English novel tradition from Chaucer to Scott and Dickens, and the romantic transformation of everyday life without losing a sense of reality. By reading Wells's fictional and non-fictional works published between the 1890s and the 1900s, this thesis maintains that Wells is a novelist who could exploit romance contingencies in his fiction Wells's early literary criticism demonstrates that his theory of the novel is preoccupied with the potential of the romance rather than with the strict realistic representation of everyday life advocated by Naturalists and Realists. His non-scientific romances reveal Wells's instinctive grasp of the romance potential Wells's major scientific romances confirm his effort in writing within the established romance grammar and deconstruct the forms and themes of fin-de-siecle popular romances. Mikhail Bakhtin's theory of carnivalism and Foucaulťs theory of power are also applied to Wells's texts. This study contends that Wells's major scientific romances not only differentiate themselves from other popular narratives but also create a new genre: the carnivalesque romance. Wells's early twentieth century Utopian projects continue the carnival theme, and develop the carnivalised narrative space in which the sociologist's logical speculation is mixed with the romancer's dream. Reading Wells's Edwardian novels, Tono-Bungay and The History of Mr Polly as marking a turning point in his literary career, the thesis advocates that when Wells ceased to be a romancer, his creative energy began to wane.


Linear instability predictions of liquid sheets injected into a gas medium are well established in the literature. These analyses are often used in Lagrangian-Eulerian spray simulations, a prominent simulation method, to model the dynamics occurring in the near-nozzle region. In the present work, these instability predictions are re-examined by first generalizing the treatment of interfacial conditions and related assumptions with a two-phase Orr-Sommerfeld (OS) system, and second, by employing highly resolved-Volume-of-Fluid (VoF) simulations. After presenting some validation exercises for both the VoF and OS solvers, the OS predictions are compared to earlier studies from the literature leading to reasonable agreement in the limit as the boundary layer thickness tends to zero. Results from VoF simulations of liquid sheet injection are used to characterize the range of scales of the liquid structures immediately before atomization. The mean value in this range is found to be approximately two to three orders of magnitude larger than the corresponding predictions from previous studies. A two-phase mixing layer under the same physical conditions is used to examine this disparity, revealing that within the linear regime, relatively good agreement exists between the VoF and OS predicted instability mechanisms. However, the most unstable mode in the linear regime is too small to cause a fracture or atomization of the liquid sheet and hence cannot be directly responsible for the atomization. The generation of a much larger mode, which emerges well beyond the linear regime, is the one causing breakup.


This article presents the results of a study of the complex formation of samarium(III) with 3-(2-hydroxy-3-sulpho-5-(nitrophenylhydrazo)pentan-2,4-dione (R) in the presence and absence of surfactants: cetylpyridinium chloride (СPСl), cetylpyridinium bromide (СPBr), cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTMABr). The ratio of the reacting components in the composition of the same- (1:2) and mixed-ligand (1:2:2) compounds was established. The range of compliance with Beer's law was determined. The specific electrical conductivity of the studied complexes was studied by the method of conductometric titration. A technique for the photometric determination of samarium in monazite has been developed. The acidity of the solutions was monitored on an I-130 ion meter with an ESL-43-07 glass electrode. The optical density of the solutions was measured on a LAMBDA-40 spectrophotometer (Perkin Elmer) and a KFK-2MP photocolorimeter in a cuvette with a layer thickness of 1 cm. The specific electrical conductivity of the solutions was measured on a Mettler Toledo conductometer. It was found that in the presence of third components analytical parameters of mixed-ligand complexes. Results of investigation were used for determination of Sm(III) in monacite


Partial AUC (pAUC) represents the area with a restricted range of specificity (e.g. low false positive rate). It may identify important regional differentiated genes missed by full-range analysis. Unlike the popular t-test, which is based on the mean difference and the standard deviation between the disease and health groups, pAUC based test statistic relies on the rank of a gene in different samples. It can effectively detect genes that are not significant in a t-test and only differentiated in a subset of the disease groups. Our experiments with real gene expression data show that the proposed pAUC statistic is appealing in terms of both detection power and the biological relevance of the results.


A fast closing valve (FCV) system has been built to protect the vacuum of the electron storage ring against sudden vacuum failures during synchrotron radiation experiments. An electronic control detects the failure, and closes a 140 × 17 mm aperture within 32 ms with a guillotine blade driven by pneumatic pressure. This pressure is gated by a magnetic valve which is operated by an explosive charge from a capacitor bank. The design of the FCV itself is very simple; it is operated directly by a single pneumatic piston. The FCV system has a long operating lifetime and the blade can be readily rearmed in 0.5 s.


ABSTRACT The transition metals nickel and cobalt, essential components of many enzymes, are taken up by specific transport systems of several different types. We integrated in silico and in vivo methods for the analysis of various protein families containing both nickel and cobalt transport systems in prokaryotes. For functional annotation of genes, we used two comparative genomic approaches: identification of regulatory signals and analysis of the genomic positions of genes encoding candidate nickel/cobalt transporters. The nickel-responsive repressor NikR regulates many nickel uptake systems, though the NikR-binding signal is divergent in various taxonomic groups of bacteria and archaea. B12 riboswitches regulate most of the candidate cobalt transporters in bacteria. The nickel/cobalt transporter genes are often colocalized with genes for nickel-dependent or coenzyme B12 biosynthesis enzymes. Nickel/cobalt transporters of different families, including the previously known NiCoT, UreH, and HupE/UreJ families of secondary systems and the NikABCDE ABC-type transporters, showed a mosaic distribution in prokaryotic genomes. In silico analyses identified CbiMNQO and NikMNQO as the most widespread groups of microbial transporters for cobalt and nickel ions. These unusual uptake systems contain an ABC protein (CbiO or NikO) but lack an extracytoplasmic solute-binding protein. Experimental analysis confirmed metal transport activity for three members of this family and demonstrated significant activity for a basic module (CbiMN) of the Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium transporter.


: A case of recurrent cerebral aneurysm after complete neck clipping is described. A 47-year-old male who presented with headache and nausea underwent neck clipping of a berry aneurysm of the left middle cerebral artery. Ten days later, angiographic findings suggested the presence of a second, large aneurysm adjacent to the first, which suggested misplaced clipping. Reoperation confirmed that a new aneurysm had formed next to the original aneurysm. A possible explanation of the recurrence is as follows. The M1 flowed into the M2 at a right angle. The aneurysmal neck was situated on the distal end of the M1 and the dome protruded antero-inferiorly at an angle of nearly 90 degrees to the long axis of the M1 opposite the origin of the M2. The parent artery bulged slightly, and its wall was thin and reddish, just distal to the aneurysmal neck. Proximal to the neck there was another small bulge, but the wall here was normal. These bulges were coated with Oxycel and Biobond at the time of aneurysmal neck clipping. After clipping, blood flow into the dome was interrupted, and the consequent hemodynamic stress caused the bulges to expand dramatically and form a new aneurysm. The authors conclude that there is a likelihood of early recurrence after neck clipping if the parent artery exhibits such morphological features as observed in this case.


This is the first interim report covering the first three tasks of the study. This phase included the development of a procedure for the assessment of routine maintenance needs. The proposed procedure is based on unit foremen's evaluation of highway deficiencies. The validity of the proposed approach was tested in different randomly selected maintenance units. The research team objectively measured the distresses on those sections that were subjectively evaluated by the unit foremen. Both subjective and objective data together with estimations of expected work load by unit foremen provided the basis for statistical analyses of the proposed approach. The report includes a plan for implementation of the procedure.


Background Trials in Alzheimer's disease are increasingly focusing on prevention in asymptomatic individuals. This poses a challenge in examining treatment effects since currently available approaches are often unable to detect cognitive and functional changes among asymptomatic individuals. Resultant small effect sizes require large sample sizes using biomarkers or secondary measures for randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Better assessment approaches and outcomes capable of capturing subtle changes during asymptomatic disease stages are needed. Objective We aimed to develop a new approach to track changes in functional outcomes by using individual-specific distributions (as opposed to group-norms) of unobtrusive continuously monitored in-home data. Our objective was to compare sample sizes required to achieve sufficient power to detect prevention trial effects in trajectories of outcomes in two scenarios: (1) annually assessed neuropsychological test scores (a conventional approach), and (2) the likelihood of having subject-specific low performance thresholds, both modeled as a function of time. Methods One hundred nineteen cognitively intact subjects were enrolled and followed over 3 years in the Intelligent Systems for Assessing Aging Change (ISAAC) study. Using the difference in empirically identified time slopes between those who remained cognitively intact during follow-up (normal control, NC) and those who transitioned to mild cognitive impairment (MCI), we estimated comparative sample sizes required to achieve up to 80% statistical power over a range of effect sizes for detecting reductions in the difference in time slopes between NC and MCI incidence before transition. Results Sample size estimates indicated approximately 2000 subjects with a follow-up duration of 4 years would be needed to achieve a 30% effect size when the outcome is an annually assessed memory test score. When the outcome is likelihood of low walking speed defined using the individual-specific distributions of walking speed collected at baseline, 262 subjects are required. Similarly for computer use, 26 subjects are required. Conclusions Individual-specific thresholds of low functional performance based on high-frequency in-home monitoring data distinguish trajectories of MCI from NC and could substantially reduce sample sizes needed in dementia prevention RCTs.


A critical problem with wireless LAN-based positioning systems is the degradation in position estimation accuracy due to complex variation in the strength of the received signal, which originates in the nature of the underlying wireless channel. Handling such variation effectively is essential for the creation of practical wireless LAN-based positioning systems. In this paper, we propose a collaborative mechanism for correcting position estimation errors. The main objective is to assist users in correcting estimation errors manually by providing access to a shared body of accumulated information on corrections made by many other users. In particular, the mechanism is designed to enable any group of users to collaboratively build upon this body of information. Finally, we evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed mechanism through experiments. The results confirm that the proposed mechanism can provide effective estimation error correction in a realistic environment.


The paper presents the results of potassium-lithium-borate glass containing copper ions investigations. The glass was irradiated by 1.25 MeV gamma rays. The dose of radiation was 360 Gy. The exciting of the irradiated glass at 360 nm led to the long-wavelength photoluminescence band shift from 635 nm to 671 nm in comparison with non-irradiated glass. A new luminescence band at 685 nm also appeared for excitation wavelength 405 nm in the irradiated glass. It has been assumed that the luminescence band in glass at 671 nm – 685 nm corresponds to the luminescence of copper ions in the modified environment of the first coordination sphere. Copper-containing luminescent structures in borate glass with the luminescence maximum at 671-685 nm have been obtained for the first time. For the detailed study of these luminescent centers properties, thorough study of the structural variations in the gamma rays irradiated glass is required.


When consumers make purchase decisions, they generally refer to the reviews generated by other consumers who have already purchased similar products in order to get more information. Online transaction platforms provide a highly convenient channel for consumers to generate and retrieve product reviews. In addition, consumers can also vote reviews perceived to be helpful in making their decision. However, due to diverse characteristics, consumers can have different preferences on products and reviews. Their voting behavior can be influenced by reviews and existing review votes. To explore the influence mechanism of the reviewer, the review, and the existing votes on review helpfulness, we propose three hypotheses based on the consumer perspective and perform statistical tests to verify these hypotheses with real review data from Amazon. Our empirical study indicates that review helpfulness has significant correlation and trend with reviewers, review valance, and review votes. In this paper, we also discuss the implications of our findings on consumer preference and review helpfulness.


At the Technical University of Denmark course evaluations are performed by the students on a questionnaire. On one form the students are asked specific questions regarding the course. On a second form they are asked specific questions about the teacher. This study investigates the extent to which information obtained from the course evaluation form overlaps with information obtained from the teacher evaluation form. Employing canonical correlation analysis it was found that course and teacher evaluations are correlated. However, the structure of the canonical correlation is subject to change with changes in teaching methods from one year to another.


The effects of sensitivity and resolution of a nucleation detector on induction time were mathematically analysed. The induction time was defined here as the time at which the number density of crystals nucleated under isothermal conditions had reached the minimum detectable number density of crystals (N/M)det. The value of (N/M)det depends on the detector used, and therefore can be called the detector sensitivity. Meanwhile, the detector resolution is defined as the minimum detectable crystal size Ld. The equation for induction time tind was derived for a simplified case wherein secondary nucleation and concentration reduction were both neglected. For a more general case where such a simplification cannot be made, the induction time tind was calculated numerically. The sensitivity and resolution had effects on induction time. The induction time increased as the sensitivity decreased (i.e., the value of (N/M)det increased). It also increased with a decrease in the resolution (i.e., an increase in the minimum detectable size Ld). The effect of nucleus size L0 on induction time tind was also analysed. The analysis suggested that the induction time in an actual experiment, where the minimum detectable size Ld would be much larger than the nucleus size L0, was independent of nucleus size itself but was affected by the resolution Ld. The interfacial energy of a crystal nucleus in solution that is deduced from the widely used plot of ln tindvs. 1/(ln S)2 (S: supersaturation ratio) was pointed out to be questionable. The effect of agitation rate (or stirrer speed) on induction time was also discussed.


The mechanical properties of pre-sintered Al-10Si-5Fe-1Cu-0.5Mg-1Zr (wt%) alloy were investigated in the temperature range from 673K to 813K and at initial strain rates from 10-4 to 100 s-1. In the high temperature range of 793K and 813K, the strain rate sensitivity index was close to that for superplasticity (0.3). Stress exponent was estimated to be 2 and 5 in the temperature range from 793K to 813K and from 673K to 773K, respectively. The activation energies for the plastic flow were calculated to 77kJ/mol for the n=2 region and 127kJ/mol for the n=5 region. These values were close to that for grain boundary diffusion and self-diffusion in pure aluminum, respectively. We found that a dynamic recrystallization (DRX) and grain boundary sliding (GBS) occur depending on the test temperature and stain rate. A filament-like phase containing Cu and Mg was observed in the cracked surface of the specimen deformed at 793K and 813K.


Many metals which fail by void growth mechanism display a macroscopically planar fracture process zone of one or two void spacing in thickness characterized by intense plastic flow in the ligaments between the voids. To model this process cell elements, each of which contains a void, are employed on the plane ahead of the initial crack. The linear dimension of these elements is D. We use Gurson model to describe the hole growth in a cell resulting in material softening and, ultimately, loss of stress carrying capacity leading to void coalescence and formation of new crack surface thereby advancing the crack. The void-free material surrounding the cells is described by the J 2 flow theory of plasticity. The two cell parameters, D and f 0 , characterize the mean spacing and volume fraction of voids in the material lying in the plane of fracture. Finite element calculations have been carried out for plane strain, mode I crack growth under small scale yielding. A wide range of fracture behavior is captured by proper combinations of D and fo. Resistance curves are calculated for crack extensions two orders of magnitude larger than D. The parameters affecting fracture resistance are discussed emphasizing the roles of microstructural parameters and continuum properties of the material. Geometry effects on fracture resistance are investigated by way of the T-stress. As a final application, resistance curves for a deep and a shallow crack bend bar are computed. These are compared with experimental data.


Clinical Use of Neural Transplant: The Unresolved Problems, P.N. Tandon and G. Gopinath Neural Grafting for Parkinson's Disease: An Evaluation of Dopaminergic Donor Tissues, J.H. Kordower, S. Schueler, D. Bredesen, T.B. Freeman, and J. Sagen Neural Graft Augmentation Through Cografting of Cells as Sources of Important Molecules: Studies in Animal Models of Parkinson's Disease, T.J. Collier) Adrenal Medullary Grafts in Nonhuman Primates, M. Dubach Restoring Plasticity in Connections between Grafts and Damaged Sensory Cortex, F.F. Ebner Mechanisms of Selective Neuronal Vulnerability: Bioenergetics and Excitotoxicity, J.T. Greenamyre, J.G. Greene, D.S. Higgins, and R.V. Eller Potential Mechanisms Underlying Transplant-Mediated Recovery of Function after Spinal Cord Injury,, B.S. Bregman, and E. Kunkel-Bagden After Spinal Cord Injury Chronically Injured Neurons Retain the Potential for Axonal Regeneration, J.D. Houle, J.W. Wright, and M.K. Ziegler Fetal Spinal Transplant Vascularity: Metabolic and Immunologic Mechanisms, P.J. Horner, P.G. Popovich, P.J. Reier, and B.T. Stokes Restoration of Circadian Rhythms by Neural Transplants, M.N. Lehman and R. Silver Neural Heterografts as a Model for the Study of Mammalian Circadian Behavior, P.J. Sollars and G.E. Picard Positron Emission Tomography Imaging of Brain Transplants for Parkinsonism, F.J.G. Vingerhoets, B.J. Snow, and D.B. Caine Cellular Transplantation into Selectively Neuron-Deficient Neocortex After Photolytic Degeneration, J.D. Macklis Establishment of Terminally Differentiated Neuroblastoma Cells and Immortalized Nerve Cells in Culture for Neural Transplant Studies, K.N. Prasad, S. Kentroti, E. Carvalho, S. Kumar, J.E. Prasad, F.G. La Rosa, C. Freed, and A. Vernadakis Biology of Encapsulated Cells: In Vitro and In Vivo Survival and Function (M.A. Palmatier, B.R. Frydel, D.F. Emerich, S.R. Winn, and T.R. Flanagan Focal Cerebral Ischemia-Reperfusion: A Model for Studying the Molecular Mechanism of CNS Injury and Regeneration, C.Y. Hsu, T.N. Lin, J.S. Liu, G. An, G. Sun, J.J. Xue, and Y.Y. He Normal Proteolytic Processing Produces the Alzheimer Amyloid ss-Protein, S.G. Younkin Index


This study designed composite wooden construction elements strengthened with woven wire fiberglass netting and determined the technical attributes. Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) was used in wooden layers, and woven wire fiberglass netting was used in intermediate layers. Layers were pressed with polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) D3 and Desmodur-VTKA adhesives to form 7 solid 13-layer laminated composite specimens. Experiments on 95 specimens determined density, bonding strength, bending resistance, and compression strength; solid and solid laminated wooden materials were tested and compared. BS EN 204 and BS EN 205 standards were complied with for bonding strength tests, TS 5497 EN 408 was used for densities, and TS 549 EN 408 was followed for bending resistance and compressive strength. Most factors, except for intermediate layer material in compressive strength and bending resistance tests perpendicular to the glue line, did not cause significant differences. Variables (adhesive, intermediate layer material) used for determining bending strength parallel to the glue line were effective. Polyurethane adhesive increased resistance to bending parallel to the glue line. These composite wooden construction elements supported with woven wire fiberglass netting could be advantageous for applications that require high bending resistance perpendicular to the glue line. However, these composites do not hold a compressive strength advantage.


This article examines child care policies in three countries-France, Sweden, and the United States-to explore the links between labor markets and social policy and to probe the applicability of the "varieties of capitalism" literature to the human services. Countries differ in the extent to which they subsidize early childhood care and education programs, reflecting, in part, the nature of the child care workforce. In liberal market economies such as the United States, a low-skill, low-wage workforce has enabled a private market of child care to develop, letting federal and state governments off the hook from having to subsidize these programs. In the more coordinated market economies of Western Europe, by contrast, higher labor market regulations, wages, and rates of unionization raise the cost of labor and impede the growth of a private child care market. As a result, governments aiming to promote women's employment or assure the education of young children will feel pressed to provide extensive public subsidies for these services. While these differences reflect long-standing variations in labor market skill regimes, strong public sector unions also shape diverging trajectories in the "production" of child care services.


A hydrologic model based on the Analytic Elements Method (AEM) has been developed for a phreatic aquifer in the General Separations Area (GSA), of the Savannah River Site (SRS), South Carolina, USA. The AEM is a semi-analytical method that relies on the superposition of individual closed-form solutions of elements representing the main hydrologic features of a site. Our study adopts techniques from the stochastic subsurface hydrology to assess the impact of precipitation (and consequently infiltration) variations on the flow field. The precipitation was considered as a random variable following a statistical model that was obtained from a record of the past 112 years. A measure of the variability of the hydraulic head field is obtained through Monte Carlo simulations and a discussion on the uncertainty in different regions of the model is provided. The ease of model development and the small processing power required by AEM models, make the method applicable not only to initial investigations for the identification of test parameters and boundary conditions but also as a tool that in a stochastic framework can provide initial estimations of uncertainty associated with certain model assumptions.


Fretting involves contact between surfaces undergoing small cyclic relative tangential motion. The resultant wear and initiation of fatigue cracks are strongly influenced by the nature of the surface. The induction hardening treatment is an established surface hardening treatment, which produces both local hardness and the development of compressive stresses in the surface. The present investigation is designed to assess the effect of the induction hardening treatment on the fretting fatigue behaviour of AISI 1045 steel under two different contact pressures (100 and 200 MPa). The results showed that the plain and fretting fatigue behaviours of induction hardened AISI 1045 steel were improved compared to untreated. However, the effect of contact pressure in the range of the present study was not significant for both untreated and induction hardened specimens. K e y w o r d s: fatigue, fretting fatigue, induction hardening


Two-thirds the population in the United States of America are overweight or obese. The annual medical expenditures attributable to obesity may be as high as $215 billion per year. Obesity has been linked to many types of diseases, including cancer, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, stroke and birth defects. Deaths related to obesity are estimated at 300,000 each year in the United States. In order to understand the etiology of the obesity epidemic and develop effective weight management methods for obese patients, accurate dietary data is an essential requirement. However, the current dietary assessment methods, which depend on self-reported data by the respondents, have an estimated 20% to 50% discrepancy from the intake. This large error severely affects obesity research.
The recent rapid advances in electrical engineering and information technology fields have provided sophisticated devices and intelligent algorithms for dietary assessment. Considering portability and battery-life, systems installed with a single camera have the advantages of low cost, space saving, and low power consumption. Although several methods have been proposed to estimate food quantities and dimensions, many of these methods cannot be used in practice because of their inconvenience, and the requirement of calibration and maintenance. In this dissertation, we present several approaches to food dimensional estimation using two types of structured lights. These approaches are low in cost and power consumption, and suitable for small and portable image acquisition devices.
Our first design uses structured laser beams as reference lights. Three identical laser modules are structured to form an equilateral triangle on the plane orthogonal to the camera optical axis. A new method based on orthogonal linear regression is proposed to release restrictions on the laser beams, so that the precision requirement for equilateral triangle can be relaxed. Based on the perspective projection geometry, intersections of structured laser beams and perspective projection rays are estimated, which construct a spatial plane containing the projection of the objects of interest. The dimensions of the objects on the observed plane are then calculated. In the second design, an LED diode is used as a reference light. A new algorithm is developed to estimate the object plane using the deformation of the observed ellipse.
In order to provide a precise system calibration between the structured lights and the camera, an orthogonal linear regression method is proposed to calibrate the structured lights. Characteristics of the reference features are investigated. A color-based thresholding method is proposed to segment features. An ellipse fitting method is used to extract feature parameters. The extraction results of our algorithms are very close to those manually performed by human.
Several experiments are performed to test our designs using both artificial and real food. Our experimental results show an average estimation error of less than 10%.


Four new species of the genus Armascirus, namely A. akhtari n. sp., A. jasmina n. sp., A. sabrii n. sp. and A. gojraensis n. sp. are described and illustrated from Pakistan. Distribution records of four already known species (A. satianaensis Bashir & Afzal, A. asghari Bashir & Afzal, A. mactator Muhammad & Chaudhri and A. pluri Muhammad & Chaudhri) are given. A key to the species of the genus Armascirus from Pakistan is prepared and phenetic affinities of these species have been inferred.


Suppose that P θ (g) is a linear functional of a Dirichlet process with shape OH, where 0 > 0 is the total mass and H is a fixed probability measure. This paper describes how one can use the well-known Bayesian prior to posterior analysis of the Dirichlet process, and a posterior calculus for Gamma processes to ascertain properties of linear functionals of Dirichlet processes. In particular, in conjunction with a Gamma identity, we show easily that a generalized Cauchy-Stieltjes transform of a linear functional of a Dirichlet process is equivalent to the Laplace functional of a class of, what we define as, Beta-Gamma processes. This represents a generalization of an identity due to Cifarelli and Regazzini, which is also known as the Markov-Krein identity for mean functionals of Dirichlet processes. These results also provide new explanations and interpretations of results in the literature. The identities are analogues to quite useful identities for Beta and Gamma random variables. We give a result which can be used to ascertain specifications on H such that the Dirichlet functional is Beta distributed. This avoids the need for an inversion formula for these cases and points to the special nature of the Dirichlet process, and indeed the functional Beta-Gamma calculus developed in this paper.


Numerical simulation is used to predict the performance of a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) H-Darrieus. The rotor consists of three straight blades with shape of aerofoil of the NACA family attached to a rotating vertical shaft. The influence of the solidity is tested to get design tendencies. The mesh has two fluid volumes: one sliding mesh for the rotor where the rotation velocity is established while the other is the environment of the rotor. Bearing in mind the overall flow is characterized by important secondary flows, the turbulence model selected was realizable k-epsilon with non-equilibrium wall functions. Conservation equations were solved with a Third-Order Muscl scheme using SIMPLE to couple pressure and velocity. During VAWT operation, the performance depends mainly on the relative motion of the rotating blade and has a fundamental period which depends both on the rate of rotation and the number of blades. The transient study is necessary to characterise the hysteresis phenomenon. Hence, more than six revolutions get the periodic behaviour. Instantaneous flows provide insight about wake structure interaction. Time averaged parameters let obtain the characteristic curves of power coefficient.


Despite water scarcity and high agricultural water demand in the Middle East and North Africa region, substantial proportions of treated wastewater are discharged into the environment and seas without proper utilization. All countries of the region, low pricing of reclaimed wastewater is a common tool to make reuse attractive. However, low pricing of reclaimed wastewater is ineffectual due to farmers' access to freshwater for irrigation at low tariff. Therefore, increasing the prices of freshwater in such a way that does not jeopardize feasibility of agriculture would promote irrigation with reclaimed wastewater even at increased prices. On one hand, it increases the gap between the price of freshwater and that of reclaimed wastewater, making the later more attractive. On the other hand, it would be used as a financial resource for funding the investment costs of the infrastructure needed for conveyance and distribution of reclaimed wastewater. This paper studies the viability of increasing the prices of freshwater and reclaimed wastewater. The results show that irrigation with reclaimed wastewater even for restricted irrigation can be as profitable as, and sometimes better than, freshwater irrigation. Some of the permitted crops such as fruit trees can be more profitable than vegetables. Thus, it appears that the level of knowledge farmers and others on the benefits of reclaimed wastewater is still limited.


Tobacco use costs approximately $167 billion annually in the U.S., but few tobacco education opportunities are available in schools of public health. Reasons for the discrepancy between the costs of tobacco use and the creation of tobacco training opportunities have not been well explored. Based on the Behavioral Ecological Model, we present 10 recommendations for increasing tobacco training in schools of public health. Six recommendations focus on policy changes within the educational, legislative, and health care systems that influence funds for tobacco training, and four recommendations focus on strategies to mobilize key social groups that can advocate for change in tobacco control education and related policies. In addition, we present a model tobacco control curriculum to equip public health students with the skills needed to advocate for these recommended policy changes. Through concurrent changes in the ecological systems affecting tobacco control training, and through the collaborative action of legislators, the public, the media, and health professionals, tobacco control training can be moved to a higher priority in educational settings.


Background: Placement of intraoral appliances such as space maintainers (SMs) may be associated with the alteration of microbial and nonmicrobial parameters of saliva which may lead to the initiation of incipient caries. Aim: The aim of this study was to compare and evaluate the changes in salivary flow rate, pH, and Streptococcus mutans levels in children undergoing fixed and removable SM therapy. Materials and Methods: The study participants comprised 40 children aged 4–10 years divided into two groups of 20 each. Children undergoing fixed (Group I = 20) and removable SM therapy (Group II = 20). Salivary flow rate, pH, and S. mutans levels were recorded just before and 3 months after the placement of SMs. Data were compared for both groups. Statistical Analysis: It was analyzed using SPSS software version 20. The level of significance was kept at 5%. Results: A significant increase in salivary flow rate (<0.05) and S. mutans level (<0.05) was evident, however, no significant difference in pH was found in both the groups from baseline to 3 months after appliance placement. Group I showed a significant increase (<0.05) in S. mutans level as compared to Group II. Conclusion: SM therapy allied both favorable and unfavorable changes in salivary parameters, thus emphasizing the importance of parent and patient education about maintaining proper oral hygiene during SM therapy.


Abstract. In this paper, we studied the frequency of occurrence and shortwave direct radiative effects (DREs) of above-cloud aerosols (ACAs) over global oceans using 8 years (2007–2014) of collocated CALIOP and MODIS observations. Similar to previous work, we found high ACA occurrence in four regions: southeastern (SE) Atlantic region, where ACAs are mostly light-absorbing aerosols, i.e., smoke and polluted dust according to CALIOP classification, originating from biomass burning over the African Savanna; tropical northeastern (TNE) Atlantic and the Arabian Sea, where ACAs are predominantly windblown dust from the Sahara and Arabian deserts, respectively; and the northwestern (NW) Pacific, where ACAs are mostly transported smoke and polluted dusts from Asian. From radiative transfer simulations based on CALIOP–MODIS observations and a set of the preselected aerosol optical models, we found the DREs of ACAs at the top of atmosphere (TOA) to be positive (i.e., warming) in the SE Atlantic and NW Pacific regions, but negative (i.e., cooling) in the TNE Atlantic Ocean and the Arabian Sea. The cancellation of positive and negative regional DREs results in a global ocean annual mean diurnally averaged cloudy-sky DRE of 0.015 W m−2 (range of −0.03 to 0.06 W m−2) at TOA. The DREs at surface and within the atmosphere are −0.15 W m−2 (range of −0.09 to −0.21 W m−2), and 0.17 W m−2 (range of 0.11 to 0.24 W m−2), respectively. The regional and seasonal mean DREs are much stronger. For example, in the SE Atlantic region, the JJA (July–August) seasonal mean cloudy-sky DRE is about 0.7 W m−2 (range of 0.2 to 1.2 W m−2) at TOA. All our DRE computations are publicly available1. The uncertainty in our DRE computations is mainly caused by the uncertainties in the aerosol optical properties, in particular aerosol absorption, the uncertainties in the CALIOP operational aerosol optical thickness retrieval, and the ignorance of cloud and potential aerosol diurnal cycle. In situ and remotely sensed measurements of ACA from future field campaigns and satellite missions and improved lidar retrieval algorithm, in particular vertical feature masking, would help reduce the uncertainty. 1 https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B6gKx4dgNY0GMVYzcEd0bkZmRmc&usp=sharing


Underlying all theories are philosophical presuppositions that lend themselves to different epistemological approaches, which need to be unfurled when comparing theories and offering alternative explanations. Contrary to Verheggen and Baerveldt's (2007) promulgation that `enactivism' may be an adequate alternative for Wagner's social representation approach, this commentary outlines how this may be a misguided position. Enactivism, following an outward trajectory from nervous systems, to minds, to `(inter)action', to social enactivism, is incompatible with the dialogical epistemology underpinning social representations theory. Social representations are not reducible to individual minds, and dialogical interaction is not reducible to operationally closed `systems' in (inter)action. The difference between the two approaches lies in the fundamental paradigmatic distinction between molar and molecular explanatory frameworks. Offering one as an alternative to the other overlooks the epistemological differences between the two and fails to appreciate the discrepancies between different levels of analysis, explanatory frameworks and the very phenomena that theories problematize.


CEO equity-based compensation is designed to reduce the agency problem between top management and shareholders, which should have direct consequences on firm's capital structure decisions as evidenced by the behaviors of new security issuances. This research paper focuses on the impact on the propensity of issuing new securities by two common CEO equity-based compensations – option compensation and restricted stock compensation. Empirical results show that CEO option compensation yields statistically significant evidences that it will lower firm's propensity of SEO issuance and debt issuance. However, it has no direct effect on firm's preferred stock issuance. On the other side, CEO restricted stock compensation has only statistically significant and negative impact on firm's propensity of SEO issuance. Moreover, CEO option compensation has much higher estimated marginal effects in absolute value on SEO issuance than CEO restricted stock compensation does. JEL classification numbers: G32; G34Keywords: CEO Equity-based Compensation, Option Compensation, Restricted Stock Compensation, SEO Issuance, Preferred Stock Issuance, Debt Issuance


The earliest methods of instruction on brass instruments were probably based on imitation; signals and simple ensemble pieces were probably learned by rote. The first documented brotherhood of musicians was the Nicolai-Zechbruder which was chartered in 1288 in Vienna and functioned until 1782. Five trumpets formed a fraternity in Lucca, also in 1288. The Confrerie de Saint-Julien was founded in 1321 and lasted until 1773. By 1330, musicians' brotherhoods expanded, and thirty-one such organisations met in Tournai to discuss common issues. Not until the written records and apprenticeship indentures of the guilds and Stadtpfeifer become available is there tangible evidence of how instruction actually took place. Members of church or civic ensembles and court musicians are seldom seen in pictures with printed music in front of them. This suggests that the music they were playing was memorised. Keith Polk has described 'the existence of a tightly interwoven network of contacts which would have connected players and repertory in Glogau, Leipzig, Nuremberg, Augsburg, Ferrara, and Florence, and, for that matter with Brussels, Mechelen and Antwerp'. How did they learn their craft? The possession of a highly developed memory and a talent for improvisation, in addition to the timeless prerequisite of a keen ear, were essential to success as a musician in the Middle Ages and early Renaissance.

Manuscript and printed instruction material survives from the Renaissance. The idiom that brass players followed can be deduced from the works of such writers as Ganassi, Ortiz, Maffei, Dalla Casa, Bassano, Conforti, Bovicelli and Virgiliano. A concise study of the manuals of these writers by Howard Mayor Brown, Embellishing Sixteenth-Century Musky is a good starting point for modern players of early brass instruments, as it provides an overview of sixteenth-century practices. In the seventeenth century, Rognoni continued the discussion of technique and used the model of the human voice as the ideal for wind players to imitate.


We have developed surface plasmon interferometric microscope and demonstrated that by integrating a phase spatial light modulator (SLM) on conjugate back focal plane of confocal microscope objective lens, this enables us to perform surface plasmon phase imaging and phase sensing using phase stepping interferometry over well confined region [1-6]. In this paper, we address one of the key limitations of the system, which is data acquisition time. Since phase stepping algorithm requires 3 (for 120 degrees step) to 4 (for 90 degrees step) phases in order to obtain a relative phase value between the reference beam and the signal beam the phase pattern on the SLM needs to be frequently updated and the liquid crystal takes time to respond. This slows down the data acquisition process. Moreover, acquiring the phase steps at different times increases microphonic noise and introduces artefacts into real time experiments, such as protein binding. In this paper, we show that a simple and innovative method to overcome these issues is to employ a vortex reference beam provided by 0 to 2π rad topological phase pattern on the SLM; this enables us to obtain multiple phase information in one single shot measurement without updating the SLM pattern.


OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to identify the principal determinants that are longitudinally associated with the performance of social roles in the first 3 years following a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.

DESIGN
Inception cohort with 5 measurements over 3 years.

PATIENTS
A total of 156 patients recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

METHOD
Performance of social roles was measured using the 2 role functioning and the social sub-scales of the Medical Outcome Study Short Form 36. Potential determinants (n = 43) were divided into the following clusters: patient and disease characteristics (n = 12), psychosocial characteristics (n = 10), basic functions (n = 18) and basic activities (n = 3). Multivariate longitudinal regression analyses were performed with generalized estimating equations. A backwards selection procedure for every cluster per outcome reduced the large number of potential determinants. In order to determine whether longitudinal associations are present the selected determinants were entered into an overall regression model.

RESULTS
Twenty-three candidate determinants were selected. Vitality, measured with the SF36 sub-scale vitality, the T2-weighted supratentorial lesion load and the perceived amount of social support, measured with the Social Support List Discrepancies, were longitudinally associated with the performance of social roles in 2 or 3 of the models.

CONCLUSION
Vitality, the perceived amount of social support, and disease activity, i.e. the T2-weighted supratentorial lesion load, determine the performance of social roles in the early stages of multiple sclerosis.


In my previous paper on Liberian Birds 1) I have already called attention to Mr. Stampfli, whom I enabled to carry on my zoological investigations after my return from Liberia. Mr. Stampfli, from July 1884 to April 1886, on different times had his headquarters at Paynesville and Oldfield, on the banks of the Messurado River about 15 sea-miles above Monrovia, and at Schieffelinsville on the Junk River, about 3 miles (in straight line) from the coast. From this latter place he explored not only the large Junk River, but also some of its tributaries, the Too- and the Du Queah River, which latter is about as large as the Junk River itself. Some of his specimens he collected in the vicinity of Monrovia, during several longer and shorter stays he had in this place. Mr. Stampfli most zealeously braved all the disagreeablenesses of a collectors life in that unhealthy country, until he got weakened in such a degree by repeated heavy attacks of malaria, that he was obliged to return to Europe in order to restore his health. Nevertheless the zoological explorations of that interesting country will not he stopped, as we both are decided to return together to Liberia at the end of October next. For that purpose I have got leave for a half years stay in Liberia, and after my return to Europe Mr. Stampfli will carry on the work alone. To all Zoologists, especially to Ornithologists, I should be thankful for every hint they would kindly give me with regard to the interesting fauna of Liberia, before my departure from Europe. Especially Anatomists would do well to call my attention to every wished for interesting species, which I readily will preserve in spirits as far as they can be obtained. As our first stay will be on the banks of the Junk River, I after my return shall better be able than now to give a short sketch of that country.


Sludge reduction by electrolysis and its subsequent influence on removal rate of COD, NH3-N, PO43- and on the sludge activity in the aeration tank were investigated. In this research, two parallel sequencing batch reactors were used with one set was operated in convention modality and the sludge of the other set was electrolyzed and then fed back to the reactor. The results showed that: sludge electrolyze could reduce the sludge production around 21% and had slight effect on substrate removal efficiency. After the sludge being electrolyzed, removal rate of COD and NH3-N decreased by 1.1% and 6.9%, respectively. PO43- removal rate increased by 6.1%. The number of protozoa, metazoan and protonema decreased and the structure of sludge floc became more compact. Moreover, the activity of microorganism and carbon source metabolism of sludge changed slightly, but the microbial community structure and metabolic function of microorganism had little change.


Prestressed Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) system is generally used for strengthening reinforced concrete beams where CFRP laminate can improve both the strength and serviceability behaviour of reinforced concrete beams via increasing the overall member stiffness. However, the applicability of this technique to strengthening steel structures is still lagging behind its application to concrete structures. In this study, the flexural behaviour of steel I-beams strengthened with prestressed CFRP laminate using a mechanical anchorage system is experimentally investigated. A total of nine steel beams subjected to flexural loading are tested in various conditions to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed strengthening system. The experimental investigation confirmed that CFRP prestressing increases the ultimate load of the strengthened steel beams and moderately delays the premature debonding failure of the CFRP laminate. Even with low level of CFRP prestressing, significant enhancement in the ultimate load of the strengthened beam was recorded. Beams strengthened using non-prestressed CFRP laminate mainly failed due to premature debonding of the laminate with a slight increase in the failure load. Mechanical end anchorages maintain the CFRP laminate prestress after releasing the jacking force without encountering any debonding of the CFRP laminate till final failure of the strengthened steel beam. The results of the experimental programme and its outcomes are presented and discussed.


Type 2 diabetes develops spontaneously in obese aging rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). This study investigates the association between polymorphonuclear leukocytes and development of retinopathy. Blood pressure and plasma glucose levels were determined in 15 diabetic and 6 nondiabetic monkeys. The plasma levels of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and triglycerides were determined just before the start of the animal's final decline and elective necropsy. Retinas were incubated for ADPase (labels viable retinal blood vessels) and nonspecific esterase (labels neutrophils) activities. Polymorphonuclear leukocytes were counted per millimeter squared of retina. After the retina was flat-embedded in glycol methacrylate, tissue sections were taken through areas of interest and observed microscopically. Elevated numbers of intravascular polymorphonuclear leukocytes were present adjacent to areas with retinal capillary nonperfusion. There were significantly more polymorphonuclear leukocytes per millimeter squared in diabetic retinas (6.91 +/- 5.01) compared with normal retinas (1.45 +/- 1.62, P = 0.018). Severity of hypertension in diabetes was also significantly associated with greater numbers of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (P = 0.02). There was a significant positive exponential correlation between the number of polymorphonuclear leukocytes per millimeter squared and the level of total cholesterol (R = 0.907), LDL cholesterol (R = 0.875), the total cholesterol-to-HDL cholesterol ratio (R = 0.86), and total triglycerides (R = 0.888). This study demonstrates that severity of diabetes and the development of retinopathy are associated with increased numbers of polymorphonuclear leukocytes in the retina of diabetic monkeys. Hypertension, high plasma levels of LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, and low plasma levels of HDL cholesterol also are associated with increased polymorphonuclear leukocytes in retina.


This inquiry began as a SPIRT or APA(I) grant between the University of Wollongong and the Catholic Diocese of Broken Bay and reflected a common are of need namely an interest in the relationship between literacy based teacher professional learning and their resulting classroom practice. Or, how what teachers learn from their professional learning experiences is translated into their classroom practice. In order to understand this relationship a series of five case studies located within three schools from a Catholic school system were explored. Within Australia there have been calls for increased investments in the professional learning of teachers (McKenzie, 2002; Vinson, 2001; Ramsay, 2000) and more extensive understanding regarding the impact of professional learning on teachers beliefs (Rodgers, 2002). There class have been motivated in part by pressures linked to globalisation (Fullan, 2000; Darling-Hammond, 1996; Hargreaves, 1994; DEST, 2003; NITL 2005) and driven by the need for educators to produce students who realise the need for diverse, continuous and appropriate or life-long learning (DarlingHammond, 2005; Fullan, 2000). Of interest to this inquiry is the notion that individual teacher change occurs within an organisational context (Weick, 1995; Vaughan, 1996; Mills, 2003; Coburn, 2001, 2004, 2005) fraught with powerful organisational and cultural factors that work to either enable or inhibit teacher change (Datnow, 2002; Fullan, 2000; Goodson, 2001). There is a paucity of literature reporting studies conducted at a classroom level that focus upon understanding how teachers transform professional learning experiences into their individual classroom environments. This study aims to address this research gap by working towards the development of a more robust theory of the change process involved in the transfer of literacy based professional learning experiences into classroom practice. This inquiry utilises a qualitative constructive methodology in a 'bricolage' (Denzin & Lincoln, 2000a: 4; Arminio & Hultgren, 2002:456) that reflects the complex nature of classroom research and enables both a grounded theory methodology and case study methods to be utilised within this study. This choice acknowledges the importance of understanding the 'multiple realities' of the respondents (Guba & Lincoln, 1989:143) as well as the complex nature of the phenomena under study. The elements of Case Study and Grounded Theory, the way they are used in this inquiry, the unique setting and the interconnections between and among various methods of data collection and analysis serve to create the environment within which this inquiry is contained. The resultant grounded theory presents a theory that is grounded in or emerges from data (Dick, 2002; Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Strauss & Corbin, 1990). This is represented in diagrammatic form and demonstrates and discusses the type of change processes that teachers engage in. Implications and recommendations for a range of stakeholders are discussed in a number of related areas.


Objective: Describe the modalities for the management of Primary nasal lymphoma. Materials and methods: We report the case of a 63-year-old man who presented with Primary nasal lymphoma. Case report: This is a 63-year-old patient admitted to the emergency department. He was consulted for progressive nasal obstruction, first unilateral right then bilateral, complete on the right and partial on the left, with rhinorrhoea mucopurulent streaked with blood. On inspection, there is a swelling in the right nasal fossa protruding through the nostril opening and effacing the nasolabial fold, with the facing skin inflamed. A biopsy of the mass with pathological examination and immunohistochemical study (IHC) confirmed the diagnosis of plasma cell lymphoma. The remainder of the extension record was normal. The patient received 5 courses of adjuvant chemotherapy according to the CHOP protocol (adriamycin + vincristine + cyclophosphamide + prednisone), followed by locoregional external radiotherapy (sinuses and nasal cavities) at a dose of 48.6 Gy in 27 sessions. Conclusion: Nasosinus lymphomas represent a rare entity, characterized by initial symptomatology often rough, delaying the diagnosis. Radiology is non-specific, and the diagnosis remains histological. Chemotherapy adjuvant to radiotherapy gives good results.


The Bayoud disease, caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. albedinis (Foa, constitutes a serious threat to the date palm plantations in Morocco, Algeria and Mauritania. Three isolates of Foa were in vivo and in vitro examined for their pathogenicity and effect of culture filtrate phytotoxicicity. Our results indicated that, the agressivity of Foa strains was related to the effect observed with their culture filtrate and toxic fraction FII, which contains fusaric acid as a major compound, on detached leaves and seedling of date palm susceptible cultivars. This relationship between pathogenity and phytotoxic effect raises the question of the role of those phytotoxic compounds on beyond pathogenicity, and consequently their key role on breeding for resistance.


This study examines the effect of child allowances in Israel on fertility in the years 1994–2007, with special reference to the cuts in allowances in 2003. Based on the administrative database of the National Insurance Institute and the significant changes in the allowances, it was found that the effect differed among population subgroups. The average high-order child allowances increased the probability of a married Arab woman giving birth by about 6–7 percent, and of a married ultra-orthodox Jewish woman doing so by about 3 percent. The allowance had no effect on other Jewish or Druze women, bringing the effect on the total population down to less than 2 percent. Older women, those with many children, with a low family income or who grew up in large families generally reacted more strongly to changes in the level of child allowances, ceteris paribus.The study was carried out shortly after the cuts in child allowances and therefore we measured only the short term effect. Furthermore, the cuts took place near turning points in the business cycle and in parallel to reductions in other social benefits, which may not be fully reflected in the estimations.


This study aimed to reveal the motivational styles of biology students and to find out the gender difference regarding motivational styles. Students\' motivational styles were explored by a questionnaire whose items were written to correspond to four motivational pattern: achievement, curiosity, conscientious and sociability. A total of 164 university students who were studying biology in the faculty of science participated in this study. The results showed that i) for the whole sample, the numbers of curious and social students are fairly higher than the achiever and the conscientious students however, there are differences for each level, ii) more boys than girls appeared as achiever, on the other hand, more girls than boys appeared as conscientious. The implication of the results for teaching and learning biology as well as for instructional materials is discussed in the light oMotivasyon tarzi, cinsiyet, basari, merak, bilinclilik, sosyallikMotivational style, gender, achievement, curiosity, conscientious, sociability Tam Metin


Two approaches to fiber-optic subscriber loop system development in Japan are described. In the first. Approach I, NTT aims at introducing inexpensive fiber-optic subscriber loop systems using conventional LED's, multimode fiber, and analog transmission techniques in the near future. In the second, Approach II, fiber-optic subscriber loop systems will be made highly functional by evolving from analog to digital transmission. This paper presents system fabrication examples for each approach and the results obtained in the tests.


Abstract Mucocele is a mucous filled benign cystic lesion. It develops due to obstruction of any natural os-tium of the paranasal sinus. Even though being benign, it has capability to erode and cause thinning the adjacent bony structures. Isolated intraorbital mucocele without paranasal sinus disease is a rare condition. We present a 39-year-old female patient with right medial canthal swelling without any nasal symptoms, and normal nasoendoscopic finding. Imaging revealed the lesion as a right ethmoidal mucocele with normal paranasal sinuses. However intraoperatively, it was an isolated intraorbital lesion, lateral to lamina papyracea with thick-yellowish mucin discharge.


This paper examines the relationships between uncertainty and the perceived usefulness of traditional annual budgets versus flexible budgets in 95 Swedish companies. We form hypotheses that the perceived usefulness of the annual budgets as well as the attitudes to more flexible budget alternatives are influenced by the uncertainty that the companies face. Our study distinguishes between two separate kinds of uncertainty: exogenous stochastic uncertainty (deriving from the firm's environment) and endogenous deterministic uncertainty (caused by the strategic choices made by the firm itself). Based on a structural equations modelling analysis of data from a mail survey we found that the more accentuated exogenous uncertainty a company faces, the more accentuated is the expected trend towards flexibility in the budget system, and vice versa; the more endogenous uncertainty they face, the more negative are their attitudes towards budget flexibility. We also found that these relationships were not present with regard to the attitudes towards the usefulness of the annual budget. Noteworthy is, however, that there was a significant negative relationship between the perceived usefulness of the annual budget and budget flexibility. Thus, our results seem to indicate that the degree of flexibility in the budget system is influenced by both general attitudes towards the usefulness of traditional budgets and by the actual degree of exogenous uncertainty a company faces and by the strategy that it executes.


The Nigeria Paper Industry has undergone several travails. The import substitution policy of the early 1960's (1962 – 1968) encouraged the establishment of three pulp and paper mills in the country. Two of the mills, the Nigeria Paper mill, Jebba and the Nigerian Newsprint Manufacturing Company (NNMC), Oku-Iboku were completed and performed well in the 1980's to 1990's. However, the third mill, the Iwopin Pulp and Paper Company, Iwopin was 85% completed before work stopped on it in the 1990's as a result of policy implementation and inconsistency problems. The recession of the 1990's worsen the situation in the industry. By 1996, the mils stopped production as a result of the negative effects the of import substitution policy. The policy enthroned a regime of dependence on importation of raw materials, equipment, spare parts and skilled manpower. The recession that occurs between 2010 to 2016 as a result of the reduction in the price of commodities and oil worsen the situation in the primary pulp and paper manufacturing sector due to inadequate availability foreign exchange to fund importation. Nevertheless, the period saw the establishment of three new recycling plants that depend solely on waste brown paper. The new mills a total of more than 1 million tons per annum has led to increase in local capacity for the manufacturing of corrugated liners and packaging papers in Nigeria.


Daijosai, which is regarded as an indispensable ceremony for the accession of the throne, is a Shinto ceremony. Therefore, as Japanese Constitution defines separation of church and state, it is not held as a national ceremony (a state act) but held as a ceremony of the imperial house. On the other hand, since it is said to be an indispensable ceremony for the accession of the throne, government finds public significance, and the cost is covered by the national expenses. Criticisms that claim violation of separation of church and state arise, and many lawsuits were filed. This article reveals that behind the argument of Daijosai and separation of church and state, there are two contexts. On the one side, Japanese Constitution is drafted on the introspection of Meiji Constitution, and restriction of emperor's authority, denial of his deity, abolishing state Shinto, etc. were sought. On the other side, the emperor have been religious and ceremonial being throughout Japanese history, and such existence is deeply rooted both in history and culture. The conflict between these two contexts is inevitable because the constitution maintained the emperor system and at the same time provided for the separation of church and state.


Although there has been much debate about biodiesel production, only now is the government showing real interest in the sector. Small scale biodiesel production has been running for more than a decade, despite all the challenges faced by biodiesel producers. The industry remains gripped by so many challenges hampering its prospects for economic development, employment creation and alternative energy production. This paper argues that there is a need for comprehensive government support, including the protection and availing of UVO to local producers if the emerging industry should sustain.


Abstract The clash of civilizations thesis, first formulated by Bernard Lewis and popularized by Samuel Huntington in the 1990s was, in the course of time, embraced by President George W. Bush for execution, virtually making it the cornerstone of US foreign policy during the early years of the 21st century. The situation thus created has pushed the Muslim world to the centre-stage of international politics. An in-depth analysis, however, finds the thesis to be seriously flawed. Despite differences, Islamic and Western civilizations share a number of common values such as human dignity, trust, justice, transparency and freedom of choice. The idea of a clash between these two civilizations appears to be based on a misapprehension of certain events in history and its implications for world peace are simply horrendous. Luckily there are indications that the new American administration under President Obama seems to have realized the essential flaw of the clash of civilizations thesis. The present article ventures to explore the outlines of an alternative paradigm that might pave the ground for peaceful civilizational co-existence. Introduction The term civilization has come into focus in current intellectual and political discourse especially since the publication of Samuel Huntington's controversial "clash of civilizations" thesis on the subject.1 Since Huntington's recent writings revolve around ideas that concern the future of humanity, a number of scholars have joined the debate. However, several observers of the current affairs, particularly in the mainstream media, are convinced that the clash of civilizations is a fact of international politics today.2 It has now become quite pertinent for every historian, philosopher, and social scientist concerned about world peace and amity to contribute to this debate. Some of the questions in this regard that stare us in the face are: Has the idea proven to be a reality? Or is it just a myth which some groups and individuals have contrived in order to promote their interests and ambitions? Moreover, what results can be expected to ensue if the thesis were to be widely accepted as true by the world community? Will this theoretical framework necessarily lead to an all-out conflict between civilizations? Or is it possible that this conflict and its attendant consequences can be averted? We shall attempt to answer these questions in the pages that follow. The Context of the Thesis It is widely recognized that the clash of civilizations thesis emerged in the 1990s in the context of the end of the cold war in international politics. Therefore, one needs to have a careful view of history to be able to properly understand the phenomenon. Toward the end of the 20th century Robert Nisbet (1913-1996) wrote his History of the Idea of Progress.3 The last chapter of this work was entitled "Progress at Bay" in which he concluded that "the skepticism regarding Western progress that was once confined to a very small number of intellectuals in the nineteenth century has grown and spread to not merely the large majority of intellectuals in this final quarter of the century, but to many millions of other people in the West."4 Nisbet recommended a religious awakening or "even a major religious reformation" to revive faith in and optimism about the progress of Western civilization.5 The subject was of such a wide interest that several other scholars were motivated to express themselves. As a result in 1987 Paul Kennedy published The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers.6 Even though his approach varied from Nisbet's, yet he arrived at similar conclusions. He analyzed the economic and military changes that have taken place in the European civilization since 1500 CE and expressed the view that big powers have always maintained their supremacy in world affairs by keeping a prudent balance between the creation of wealth and military expenditure. The failure to maintain such a balance in modern Europe had caused the fall from supremacy of Spain, the Netherlands, France and Britain at different times in history. …


Foot involvement is very frequent in patients affected by psoriatic arthritis (PsA). However, evaluation of the painful foot can be problematic, because it is often difficult to distinguish between arthritis, tenosynovitis, and enthesopathy. Plain radiographs can show bone erosion or other features of joint involvement, but give little information about the soft tissues. We therefore studied foot involvement in 31 PsA patients using high resolution sonography, and compared the results with the findings on x-ray and clinical examination. Ultrasound revealed pathological findings in a large proportion of the patients, most of whom exhibited no clinical (pain or swelling) or radiological signs of foot involvement at the time of the study. Our data suggest that involvement of the tendons and entheses may be more frequent in PsA patients than has thus far been supposed, even in cases of not particularly aggressive disease, and that clinical evaluation tends to underestimate these manifestations.


This research focuses on Text Classification. Text classification is the task of automatically sorting a set of documents into categories from a predefined set. The domain of this research is the combination of information retrieval (IR) technology, Data mining and machine learning (ML) technology. This research will outline the fundamental traits of the technologies involved. This research uses three text classification algorithms (Naive Bayes, VSM for text classification and the new technique -Use of Stanford Tagger for text classification) to classify documents into different categories, which is trained on two different datasets (20 Newsgroups and New news dataset for five categories).In regards to the above classification strategies, Naïve Bayes is potentially good at serving as a text classification model due to its simplicity.


Typical soil profiles in arid and semi-arid regions where groundwater is pumped consist of geological materials that vary from uncemented soils to rock. A finite-element analysis using a 20 m thick stiff cemented top layer over a 400 m thick aquifer is used to study how the cemented layer affects earth fissure initiation. This paper presents the results of this study on the key parameters influencing earth fissure formation in a soil profile with a top cemented layer. Three scenarios, each representing three cementation strength parameters, are investigated. A method based on the gradient of the slope of the subsidence bowl is proposed to determine earth fissure initiation. It is shown that earth fissures will not form for gradients below 8 × 10−5. The gradient at which an earth fissure would form depends on the cementation strength and tensile strength of the upper cemented alluvium layer. A highly cemented upper alluvium layer is more prone to earth fissure formation than an uncemented one. However, if the top layer is stiff enough to be classified as a 'rock', it will be less prone to earth fissure initiation when the cementation increases.


ABSTRACT In this study, we explored the molecular basis determining the virulence of H5N1 avian influenza viruses in mammalian hosts by comparing two viruses, A/Duck/Guangxi/12/03 (DK/12) and A/Duck/Guangxi/27/03 (DK/27), which are genetically similar but differ in their pathogenicities in mice. To assess the genetic basis for this difference in virulence, we used reverse genetics to generate a series of reassortants and mutants of these two viruses. We found that a single-amino-acid substitution of serine for proline at position 42 (P42S) in the NS1 protein dramatically increased the virulence of the DK/12 virus in mice, whereas the substitution of proline for serine at the same position (S42P) completely attenuated the DK/27 virus. We further demonstrated that the amino acid S42 of NS1 is critical for the H5N1 influenza virus to antagonize host cell interferon induction and for the NS1 protein to prevent the double-stranded RNA-mediated activation of the NF-κB pathway and the IRF-3 pathway. Our results indicate that the NS1 protein is critical for the pathogenicity of H5N1 influenza viruses in mammalian hosts and that the amino acid S42 of NS1 plays a key role in undermining the antiviral immune response of the host cell.


The birth and rapid progress of scientific periodicals during the closing decades of the seventeenth century was a process that entailed new challenges for scholars and had many implications for the relations between the republic of letters and society as a whole. From this point forward, stronger demands were placed upon scholars to publicly account for their findings, as well as to improve their ability to communicate their research to a general audience. Inherent in this process was the gradual development of a new genre, the modern scientific article, together with spin-off forms like reviews, summaries, and abstracts. In Sweden, the quarterly Acta literaria Sueciae (Uppsala, 1720-1729) was pioneering in its ambition to give Swedish scholarship a more conspicuous place in the learned world than it had been bestowed in foreign journals. In this the Latin Acta did experience some success, but a more comprehensive breakthrough for Swedish learning in the European media came during the next few decades, reflecting the country's prosperity in the natural sciences. Of vital importance for this breakthrough was, beginning in 1739, the quarterly Handlingar (written in the vernacular) of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which was extensively translated and reviewed abroad. In the francophone sphere, however, its reception lagged in comparison to what was the case in the German area, and in the renowned Journal des savants , the Swedish journal was practically disregarded for many years. Then, in the 1770s and 1780s, it unexpectedly became the subject of a rather intense series of reviews composed by French intermediaries who took pains to learn Swedish. The article concludes with several examples of their techniques for transmitting the contents of Handlingar through the use of summaries, paraphrases, and translations.


Contract Bridge is an intelligent game, which enhances the creativity with multiple skills and quest to acquire the intricacies of the game, because no player knows exactly what moves other players are capable of during their turn. The Bridge being a game of imperfect information is to be equally well defined, since the outcome at any intermediate stage is purely based on the decision made on the immediate preceding stage. One among the architectures of Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) is applied by training on sample deals and used to estimate the number of tricks to be taken by one pair of bridge players is the key idea behind Double Dummy Bridge Problem (DDBP) implemented with the neural network paradigm. This study mainly focuses on Cascade-Correlation Neural Networks (CCNN) which is used to solve the Bridge problem by using Resilient Back- Propagation (RBP) Algorithm and Work Point Count System.


Economics brings powerful insights to water management, but most water professionals receive limited training in it. This text offers a comprehensive development of water resource economics that is accessible to engineers and natural scientists as well as economists. The goal is to build a practical platform for understanding and performing economic analysis using both theoretical and empirical tools. The mathematics needed to understand the subjects covered in this text include basic optimization methods and integral calculus. Familiarity with microeconomics or natural resource economics is helpful, but all the economics needed is presented and developed progressively in the text. Many water-based example calculations are included. Thus the book can be used for independent study as well as course work. The book focuses on the scarcity of water quantity (rather than water quality). The author presents the economic theory of resource allocation, recognizing the peculiarities imposed by water, and expands the theory to encompass time-defined matters such as ground water depletion. He then discusses such subjects as institutional economics, water law, how economics is used in policy and cost-benefit analysis, the roles of water marketing and water pricing, demand and supply estimation, privatization, and modeling with demand and supply functions. As an aid to readers with specific interests, references to recent literature are given for all of these topics. Each chapter ends with a summary and exercises. All graphic portrayals of economic theory and most calculations are performed using Mathematica software. These programs are downloadable, but their use is entirely optional.


Although the frequency of extra-pair paternity (EPP) has been described for many species, the relative importance of the various contemporary and historical factors explaining EPP variation is still the subject of debate. In this study, we found 11 polymorphic microsatellite loci in the Savi's Warbler (Locustella luscinioides), and used eight loci to analyze the paternity of 392 nestlings belonging to 102 broods of this little-known species. The frequency of EPP was 4.1% of nestlings and 5.9% of broods, which is surprisingly low given what is known about Savi's Warbler's life history and ecology, and among the lowest found of any socially-monogamous passerine bird. Comparisons with similar species indicate that this low frequency is unlikely to have been determined by the ancient evolution of life history strategies. Our observations suggest that the costs of engaging in extra-pair copulations might be high for the females. Larger males, particularly those with longer bill and tarsus, are more likely to be cuckolded; and the few possible comparisons between cuckolded males and extra-pair sires reveal a similar pattern. We further show that bill and tarsus lengths correlate with arrival date, which is associated with individual quality in many migratory bird species.


Forgiveness might be said to involve a certain kind of intellectual suffering: we forgive, and are forgiven, whilst a great many questions remain undecided, and while it is far from obvious that they are unimportant. This thesis explores the way in which the difficulties in submitting forgiveness to thought may be significant. Contemporary accounts of forgiveness are put into creative dialogue with the work of Simone Weil, Rene Girard and Jacques Derrida in an attempt to assess different forms of approach to the resistance forgiveness offers to thought. Utilising the work of Simone Weil in particular, and through a creative interpretation of some of the gospel sayings from which the modern notion of forgiveness originates, the argument is made that forgiveness can be seen to involve a process of transformation of understanding that is akin to spirituality of death and resurrection. On this account, forgiveness is paradoxical and resistant to thought not because it involves a simple suspension of, or opposition to reasoned forms of judgment, but because it involves a way of holding together attitudes, concerns and insights that do not easily cohere. As such it calls for a 'posture' that cultivates and waits with this tension, rather than a theory that allows the meaning and goodness of forgiveness to appear unambiguously. In this sense forgiveness is an expression of a love that both hopes all things and bears all things; a way of accepting the worst whilst desiring the best.


The disputed outcome of the 2000 presidential election provides an opportunity to examine changes in public confidence in various political institutions at a time when these were under unusual stress. The present research draws upon three-wave panel data. Measures of confidence were asked in August, December, and February. Particular institutions show distinct patterns, in line with their salient roles in the crisis. Confidence in the Supreme Court polarized considerably along partisan lines as a direct function of opinions about the Court's decision. Confidence in the Presidency, already polarized in August, shows weakening polarization and reverses direction upon Bush's inauguration. Confidence in Congress increased significantly, with no growth in polarization. Findings confirm that confidence in various institutions has dynamic components related to both "diffuse" and "specific" support.


The purpose of this work was to investigate the effects of pre-load static load and dynamic load on the visco-elastic in polycarbonate. In the paper, static-dynamic sweep experiment of polycarbonate was performed on EPLEXOR 500N, which was manufactured by GABO of Germany. The variation laws of storage modulus, loss modulus and loss tangent as changing dynamic load in a large range were systematically analyzed and the spectral characteristics of dynamic-viscoelastic under static-dynamic loads were obtained. The experiment results on dynamic visco-elastic under the high load shows that the load effects on dynamic visco-elasticity of polycarbonate performing on the changing of the dynamic visco-elastic parameters, storage modulus become lager with the increasing of static load and decreasing with the increasing of dynamic load, while loss tangent decreases with the increasing of dynamic load and varies in a more complicated pattern as the increasing of static load.


Summary Tree architecture shows large genotypic variability, but how this affects water‐deficit responses is poorly understood. To assess the possibility of reaching ideotypes with adequate combinations of architectural and functional traits in the face of climate change, we combined high‐throughput field phenotyping and genome‐wide association studies (GWAS) on an apple tree (Malus domestica) core‐collection. We used terrestrial light detection and ranging (T‐LiDAR) scanning and airborne multispectral and thermal imagery to monitor tree architecture, canopy shape, light interception, vegetation indices and transpiration on 241 apple cultivars submitted to progressive field soil drying. GWAS was performed with single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)‐by‐SNP and multi‐SNP methods. Large phenotypic and genetic variability was observed for all traits examined within the collection, especially canopy surface temperature in both well‐watered and water deficit conditions, suggesting control of water loss was largely genotype‐dependent. Robust genomic associations revealed independent genetic control for the architectural and functional traits. Screening associated genomic regions revealed candidate genes involved in relevant pathways for each trait. We show that multiple allelic combinations exist for all studied traits within this collection. This opens promising avenues to jointly optimize tree architecture, light interception and water use in breeding strategies. Genotypes carrying favourable alleles depending on environmental scenarios and production objectives could thus be targeted.


Introduction The amphibian footprints here described were found by members of the geological faculties of Harvard and Brown universities and are preserved in the paleontological collections of those institutions. The Narragansett Basin (figure 1) in which the tracks were discovered, occupies much of the northern and central parts of Rhode Island and extends northward and northeastward into Massachusetts. Most of the sedimentary reeks of the basin are fresh-water, Carboniferous deposits. They are conspicuously conglomeratic and include much interbedded arkose, sandstone, black shale, and graphitic coal. Although much distorted, the beds contain recognizable fossils. Small amounts of Cambrian sediment underlying the Carboniferous rocks constitute the only other sedimentary deposits older than the Pleistocene that have been recognized in the basin. The fossiliferous Carboniferous rocks are of Pennsylvanian age, and may be Alleghenian. The following geologic column, after Woodworth,2 shows the Carboniferous formations in the northern part of the basin. Distribution and . . .


This paper reports on a study that compares counts of links to the home pages of academic journals with the citation based Impact Factor for two disciplines: library and information science; and law. A significant correlation between these two measures was found for both subjects covered with law showing a weaker relationship, although neither relationship was particularly strong. The weakness may be attributable to journal specific factors that encourage more linking such as: computing-related content or particularly well developed Web sites; and wide distribution, perhaps including to a non-academic audience that may link to the journal but would not be citing it. It is also possible that insularity in a discipline may inhibit link counts but not Impact Factors. This exercise can be seen as (a) a useful way to re-examine the journal Impact Factors and (b) investigating a technique that is a potential source of additional information about the impact of a journal, particularly in terms of reaching out beyond a purely academic audience. The technical issues discussed show, however, the need for careful data collection and interpretation of results.


Substantial evidence suggests that the radiosensitivity of the tumor cells is the primary determinant of tumor response to radiation. More recent studies suggest that tumor stroma radiosensitivity is the principle determinant of response. To assess the relationship between intrinsic tumor cell radiosensitivity and tumor response, we altered the intrinsic radiosensitivity of a cloned tumor cell line and analyzed the effect of this alteration on tumor response. A cloned tumor cell line derived from DNA double-strand break repair--deficient severe combined immunodeficient mice was transfected with the double-strand break repair gene DNA-PKcs. The intrinsic radiosensitivity of the transfected tumor line was decreased by a factor of approximately 1.5. The isogenic lines were used to initiate tumors in NCr-nu/nu mice. When transplanted in the same strain of mice and exposed to the same dose of radiation, the isogenic tumors may be expected to exhibit a similar response to radiation if radiation damage to host stroma is the principle determinant of response. This was not observed. Over the dose range of 20 Gy in four 5-Gy fractions to a single dose of 30 Gy, the 1.5-fold increase in intrinsic tumor cell radioresistance conferred by the introduction of DNA-PKcs caused a 1.5-fold decrease in tumor growth delay. The results show that the intrinsic radiosensitivity of tumor cells is a major determinant of tumor response to radiation.


A domestic biogas digester (BD) is a household-sized system that produces biogas from organic waste under anaerobic conditions. By substituting conventional cooking fuel with biogas, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions can be reduced. In addition, improved livestock manure management from use of the BD system can lead to further GHG emission reductions. However, because the main component of biogas is methane (CH 4 ), with 25 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), leakage of biogas from the BD system can counteract the benefits of this system. Thick vinyl-type BDs were introduced to farming households in a rural area of Vietnam's Mekong Delta in an effort to reduce GHG emissions as a Clean Development Mechanism project. In this project, selected farmers were trained as Key Farmers (KFs). These farmers acquired knowledge about appropriate techniques relating to the BD system and provided technical support to households. Then, biogas usage was monitored in the households where the BD technology was installed. The average proportion of operational BDs reached as high as 92.3%. Therefore, the technical support system provided by the KFs was regarded as practical and effective. Additionally, leakage of biogas from the BD systems was monitored. The average leakage was estimated at 8% of the produced biogas. Including emission reductions from improved livestock manure management, the total GHG emission reductions from the introduction of BD systems was calculated as 2.95 tonnes of CO 2 per year per household. Overall, the emission reduction effects can only be achieved with appropriate installation, operation, and maintenance of the BD systems.


MgO-Al2O3-TiO2 composite refractories were prepared by using magnesium aluminate spinel (MgAl2O4) and titanium dioxide as main starting materials and being sintered at high temperature. The influences of titanium dioxide additions on the room temperature physical properties, phase composition and microstructure were investigated. The phase composition and microstructure were tested by means of XRD and SEM. The results revealed that with increasing TiO2 content, the densification of the composites first increased sand then decreased and maximized at 4% TiO2 loading. This showed appropriate amount of TiO2 could contribute to the sintering of the composites due to the solid solution of TiO2 in magnesium aluminate spinel.


Forward osmosis (FO) as an osmotically driven membrane process is severely affected by the concentration polarization phenomenon on both sides of the membrane as well as inside the support layer. Though the effect of internal concentration polarization (ICP) in the porous support on the draw solution side is far more pronounced than that of the external concentration polarization (ECP), still the importance of ECP cannot be neglected. The ECP becomes particularly important when the feed flow rate is enhanced to increase the permeation flux by increasing the agitation and turbulence on the membrane surface. To capture the effect of ECP a suitable value of mass transfer coefficient must be determined. In this chapter, an FO mass transport model that accounts for the presence of both ICP and ECP phenomena is first presented on the basis of solution-diffusion model coupled with diffusion-convection. Then, three methods for the estimation of mass transfer coefficient based on empirical Sherwood (Sh) number correlations, pressure-driven reverse osmosis (RO), and osmosis-driven pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) are proposed. Finally, a meth - odology for the prediction of water flux through FO membranes using the theoretical model and calculated/measured parameters (hydraulic permeability, salt resistivity of the support layer, and mass transfer coefficient) is presented.


Debris flows are one of the most complex and devastating natural phenomena, and they affect mountainous areas throughout the world. Structural measures are currently adopted to mitigate the related hazard in urbanized areas. However, their design requires an estimate of the impact force, which is an open issue. The numerous formulae proposed in the literature require the assignment of empirical coefficients and an evaluation of the kinematic characteristics of the incoming flow. Both are generally not known a priori. In this article, we present the Grand Valey torrent site (Italian Alps). A monitoring system made up of strain gauges was installed on a filter barrier at the site, allowing the evaluation of impact forces. The system provides pivotal information for calibrating impact formulae. Two debris flows occurred during the monitoring period. We present the interpretation of videos, impact measurements, and the results of numerical analyses. The combined analysis allows a back calculation of the events in terms of forces, flow depth, and velocity. Thus, we investigate the applicability of the impact formulae suggested in the literature and of the recommended empirical coefficients. The results highlight that hydrostatic effects dominated the impact during the first event, while hydrodynamic effects prevailed in the second one.